Do Not Flee!

“Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. Then he went on alone into the desert, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!” He looked around and saw some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again. Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, for there is a long journey ahead of you.” So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. There he came to a cave where he spent the night. And the Lord spoke to him…”

1 Kings 19:3-9

Here is Elijah, the most famous of Israel’s great prophets, utterly devastated and praying to God for his very death. Even more, this emotional, spiritual, and physical despair came just after two of his most incredible spiritual victories in the Lord. Through Elijah God had just rained down fire from heaven and defeated Queen Jezebel’s evil priests of Baal. He also empowered Elijah to pray for and predict the rains that ended the kingdom’s three year drought. Elijah was then threatened by Jezebel and his response was to feel depressed, fearful, and ignored by God. In that moment he chose to cling to his grief rather than God’s glory. Elijah not only ran away and hid himself, he lamented. He pleaded for God to take his life from him.

Often, discouragement comes on the heels of blessed, deep spiritual experiences. Particularly when they demand much physical energy or intense emotion. Defeat always tries to shadow our greatest victories. After morning dawns and the warmth of the noonday sun brightens our face… evening draws near and night falls on us.

When darkness suffocates us, as it did the prophet Elijah, God is there to comfort us. He longs to rest and renew us. He is faithful to provide for our recovery in Him. God is always there and we are NOT alone. No, that doesn’t mean we’ll never feel alone, but our feelings do not alter God’s reality. The Lord always has more provision than we can see. There are people, resources, and workings of the Spirit aligning to fulfill His vision for us.  

God comforted Elijah and dressed his ”wounds,” but He then immediately returned to the proposals or plans He had for Elijah. Clearly, there was still work for him to do.  Once the Lord has cared for us He must confront us and command our attention and action! He has work for us to do and blessings spoken over us. When we feel let down and the Spirit glow of our victory fades… it is critical to remember that God’s purpose and promise for our life remains! 

Grace > guilt

“He gives more grace…God gives grace to the humble… Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw you near.”

James 4:6-8

     Confessing our sins, purifying our hearts, and humbling ourselves before the Lord pleases Him. We turn toward His will, abandoning that sinful action, desire, or thought. Then, He graciously takes our burden of guilt upon His shoulders to bear it’s weight for us. If we chose to snatch back that quilt of guilt, pieced together by our many different unwise choices, we then blanket ourselves in shame. This does not honor the Lord, nor accomplish His purpose.

     When we are stooped over, cloaked in guilt… Satan seeks us out. He leans close, his foul breath hot against our neck, whispering all our faults and failures in our ear. He strokes our hair, pats our back, and caresses our cheek… all the while recounting in wicked detail, every mistake - each bad decision we’ve made. His serpent’s tongue sings a haunting lullaby of past defeats. It echoes to the corners of our mind. Soon, our spirits slip into nightmarish slumber and we forget who we really are.

     We need to wake up! Ask ourselves, where does that thought come from? Whose voice is ringing in my ear? Often, if we stop and listen closely we’ll suddenly hear the “sweet” notes of the enemy turn sickeningly sour. Quiet him. Unsheathe the Sword of the Spirit by speaking God’s Holy Word ( the scriptures) aloud in Jesus’ name. We are forgiven, cleansed… sons and daughters of The King. Indeed then, we are princes and princesses in Christ. As such, we should not double over draped in despair. The Lord calls us to stand tall in His grace, put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:11-17), and recount past victories in Him (1Chronicles 16:12).

     In so doing, the Holy Spirit helps us recall our Heavenly Father’s great love, abundant mercy, and bountiful provision for us.  We’re then invigorated. Reminded that we are His redeemed, heirs of The Kingdom… Come again singing, “Grace. Grace is ours. We triumph in Christ’s grace!”

A promise is a promise

“And now, O Lord God, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant.”

2 Samuel 7:28

 

     Have you ever gone to the theater with a certain movie in mind. A comedy, let’s say… and then, you get there and as you’re perusing all the choices you change your mind. Suddenly, you’re in the mood for some action adventure or a romance flick instead? After the show, you head over to dinner at this quaint little restaurant you like to frequent. You already know what food you’re going to order so you don’t need a menu. But, before your waiter comes, the guy across the aisle gets his dish. It smells really good and looks even better. So, now you’re feeling up for some of “whatever he’s got, thank you very much.” 

    Sometimes we treat God’s promises like that. Sort of a Baskin Robbins ”flavor of the week” thing. He speaks a promise over our lives and we’re really into it - at first. Then, as we go about our day to day living, other thoughts and circumstances creep in to mutate our feelings. Instead of trusting His promises and clinging to His Word we start allowing our feelings to dictate. Having our feelings is not the problem. Hoping in them is. The Lord’s promises are not a buffet from which we are encouraged to pick and chose in accordance with our mood. When we are struggling with a promise yet to be fulfilled we can share our shifting feelings with The Heavenly Father. If fear, frustration, lonliness, or weariness sneak in… promptly grab hold of them by their ears and drag them straight to God. He knows exactly what to do with the likes of them.

     Promises from the Lord are firmly rooted in the constancy of His holy nature, not in the continual transformation of our emotions. Our promises in Jesus’ name are great treasures from above. How heart-breaking to let our ever changing perceptions rob us of such riches. Instead, we can pray as David did in 2 Samuel 7:29, “You have promised this goodness to Your servant…You have spoken it.” When we know the Lord has made us a promise we can say, “God - here is Your promise You have given… I trust You to fulfill it majestically!” 

Faithful or Fearful?

“The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

Psalm 118:6

     Prayerful concern and obedient preparation guided by God’s Holy Spirit are good. But, fear is not. Our unfaithfulness masquerades as fear. We are NOT to be unfaithful to God. So often we think of unfaithfulness as only evidenced by direct, defiant disobedience before the Lord. That is not the case. Our doubt fueled fears display the absence of our absolute trust in God. In fear, we abandon our complete allegiance to the Lord’s sovereignty. Without the totality of our spirit’s allegiance, the loyalty of our actions (obedience) wanes.

     As cabably as we justify it, as pretty as we dress it up…the prescence of fear undermines our belief, challenges Christ’s worthiness, and can prepare our hearts for treasonous disobedience. We cannnot simultaneously follow fear and faith. The road forks and we must turn one way or the other… travelling down false-hearted fear or journeying along steadfast faith. Yes, changing directons can be daunting, but it is always a choice.

     In choosing fear, we unwittingly align our hearts with the Enemy’s apprehensions. Fear’s sense of dread breeds agitation causing us not only to suspect, but to then expect infectious devastation and it’s resulting despair. However, laying hold of faith infuses our spirits with Jesus’ peace and purpose. This draws us into a state of harmony and security under God. Through faith we see that Christ is always constant in fact, resolute, and true. He invites us to banish fear in Jesus’ name and come promenade with Him in faith’s dance of freedom.

God Doesn’t Owe Us Anything

“…He (Christ) came once for all time to remove the power of sin forever by the sacrifice of Himself for us. And it is appointed for men to die only once, but after this is the judgement, so Christ was offered once to bear all the sins of the people. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”

 Hebrews 9:26-28

     If we knew God was calling us home to heaven at this day’s end would we be okay? I mean, would we be excited to see Him, ready for glory, prepared for eternity, and fully trusting that the loved ones we left behind He would (more than capably) care for? Then, what about offering up our ease and comfort if it glorified His name?  Would our final prayer conversations conclude with us truely asking for His perfect will above all else, no matter what?  

     Perhaps fear, anger, arrogance, even bitterness could be sprinkled among our thoughts. Maybe we’d be more likely to remind Him of all the things He hasn’t done for us yet. Or of the wonderful plans we’ve been making - our hopes, our dreams. We might ask for mercy while reminding Him of the other people that depend on us for so much in this world. We may even explain to Him that our living witness for Christ would be of far greater use than our heavenly home going.

     Certainly, the Lord wants His children to ask Him for help. We should trust in His promises. He does desire to bless us. We can anticipate His will is always for the best. He loves our servant’s hearts. Using our lives to point others to Jesus is pleasing to Him. His resources are innumerable. Providing for our needs indeed gives Him joy. The bible tells us about all these things. He is Our Heavenly Father full of love, mercy, truth, and grace.  

      God’s Holy Word also teaches that our deepest encouragement comes from Christ Himself, not just from His blessings on us. The zest with which we live should be rooted in what God has already done for each of us, instead of in what we’re waiting for Him to do. As we learn to wait expectantly (and then follow with obedience) where does our sweetest hope lie? Is it in the promises we believe the Lord has spoken over our life, career, finances, ministry, or relationships?  Do we thrill more over the anticipation of those seasons of favor than over Jesus’ blood already shed for each one of us on the cross. We have been given the gift of eternal life in heaven through Christ Jesus’ death on Calvary. Is that not enough?

     Believe and repent, yes. Have faith and expect. Pray and ask, yes. Wait and obey. But demand, demand of God. No. If we never receive anything more than what we have at this very moment. If everything stays the same, nothing else changes. Even if this, right here, right now… is it - it is enough. Not… is it enough? But, it is enough! We already have more than we deserve. More than we could’ve ever hoped for. God’s gift of a blessed perfect eternal life. We’re not to be afraid or ashamed to come before God in prayer and fellowship. But, we should always remember to Whom we pray and for Whose glory we live. God doesn’t owe us anything.

Just visiting.

“When I bring them home from the lands of their enemies, my holiness will be displayed to the nations.”

Ezekiel 39:27

     The Lord promises to bring His people “home from the lands of their enemies.” Certainly, we are called to trust and obey Him in all, but the power through which we prevail against our enemies is not our own. God delivers us. The fight is ultimately His, not ours. It is in the direction of the Holy Spirit, the love of Christ, and the merciful grace of our Father God that we claim victory over our enemies. If we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior we have already won.

     Yes, God is our Deliverer. He desires for every man, woman, and child to hear the name of the Lord and know that He alone is God. When releasing us from an enemy’s hold, God’s “holiness will be displayed to the nations.”  His perfect sovereigness is evidenced by many things, including every victory He gives. In all this, Christ is made known across the Earth.   

      Each time God frees us from one of this world’s “enemy lands,” we feel a weight lift from us. Whether it’s prevailing in finances or work, a ceasefire at home or in our relationships, defusing bad memory bombs, or winning painful battles over our body, mind, or spirit… With hearts encouraged we walk on, a bit bouncier than before.  As liberating as the demolition of our earthly “enemies” may be, far greater victory awaits us.

     Let’s not get so caught up in this Earth’s tactical warfare that we forget Christ our Commander is coming for us. This world is not our home. We are only visitors here. Home, the only one that really matters, is Heaven. Everything and everyone pales when compared to our eternity in Heaven with Jesus. So we must watch and make ready… He’s coming to bring us home!

   

now showing… Only For a Limited Time!

“Do not lose heart… For our present troubles are but for a moment, yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles and things we can see right now; instead we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see are temporary and will soon be over, but the joys to come are eternal!”

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

As years pass, there will be many different movies played out on the cinema screen of our lives. Some side-splitting comedies. Others tender films of romance. The intense thrillers with surprise endings. Perhaps a daring action adventure series. Certainly, plenty of dramatic features. Even gripping horror stories. Often there will be sold out performances. Then, sometimes we seem to watch alone. While this world’s events play on it is easy to lose heart. Focusing on the current pictures of disappointment, criticism, or pain pushes hope away. However, once we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior we have His promise of a perfect eternal life in Heaven. When our scripts read of trials, temptations, failures, or persecutions we can immerse ourselves in the truth of God’s Word. Persist in faith by the power of the Holy Spirit. Swim in Christ’s renewing waters of hope. Remember, the Lord writes the final review in eternity. Let’s not focus on the world’s previews (the things we now see), but instead look forward to the main event (to what we have not yet seen).  The epic joys of Heaven are coming. So, take heart, for the troubles we see are only showing for a limited time!   

Hearts Over Hands

“One thing I desire of the Lord - the thing I seek most - is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord’s perfections and inquire in His temple.”

Psalm 27:4

Dwelling in the Lord’s presence, delighting in His glorious perfection, and desiring His intimate fellowship is our number one job. Certainly, serving others for Jesus and ministering on Christ’s behalf are important. Sharing the good news of the gospel and obeying God’s Word remain essential. Yes, we should be faithful to the Lord’s will in all areas of our lives. There will no doubt be moments in life where we are called to seek out His plan of action in response to a specific problem or event. However, the majority of our time is not to be spent checking off our ”Obedience To Do List.” Instead, the priority of our time must be in caring for our relationship with Him. Being wise, virtuous, generous, or talented are indeed great blessings. Yet, it is vital that we remember such blessings are to be by-products of our personal romance with Jesus. In our courtship with Christ we must genuinely commit our affections to Him. As our love deepens we embrace with trust, respect, excitement, and joy.  If our spirit’s main focus repeatedly shifts from adoration to activity it can then become a disservice to others and a detriment to ourselves. As we burn with devotion for Our Savior, the flames of our servant’s heart shine brighter. This is pleasing to the Lord so long as we remember that the fire is not fueled by ministry, but by Jesus Christ Himself. Pointing people to what God has accomplished should never surpass showing them who He is.

 Heavenly Father, remind us that Your Spirit moves not only through our hand’s work for You, but in our heart’s worship to You.

Sing Your Song!

“…, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities…Then a mob rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. They were severely beaten and thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. So, he put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a great earthquake and the prison was shaken to it’s foundation. All the doors were opened and the chains of every prisoner fell off. The jailer awoke and saw the open doors. He assumed all the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul shouted to him, ‘Don’t harm yourself! We are all here.’ The jailer called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. He brought them out and asked, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They replied, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household.’ Then they spoke and shared the Word of the Lord with him and with all who were in his house. He took them that same hour and washed their wounds. He and everyone in his household were baptized. Then, he brought them into his house, set food before them, and they all rejoiced because they believed in God.”

Acts 16:19 - 34 

Paul and Silas had just been attacked by a mob, terribly beaten with rods, locked in stocks, and tossed in a deep, dank inner prison. They were men of peace and had committed no crime. No doubt they were overwhelmed with pain and exhaustion. Perhaps they might not even live to see another dawn.  Yet, despite the circumstances they clung neither to despair nor anger. Instead, they bolstered their faith by praising the Lord. As they chose to raise their voices to God in prayer and singing, others were listening. Their fellow prisoners heard of Christ’s love, peace, and hope in the most unlikely of places. The prison’s darkness may have squelched the sun’s light but, the brightness of Jesus shone through in the gospel and hymns. As voices rang out the earth shook. Not only did God loose the prisoners bonds … His Word set the jailer and his family eternally free. Rather than run away or seek justice for themselves, Paul and Silas witnessed to the very man who helped secure their chains. They could have been afraid, vengeful, or despaired… but, they made a choice. Instead of consoling themselves, they sang. They sang out for Christ’s victory. We too can raise our voices in prayer and praise to God. No matter what’s happening in our lives today we can do as Paul and Silas did. Trust God’s promises. Believe in His power. Obey His Word. Rejoice in Christ’s victory. Share His story. Sing…by the power of the Spirit. Each one of us has a song to sing. As our praise reverberates we will see God freeing us from our own prisons. So, sing your song (and remember, other prisoners are listening).

 

Stewards of our wounds…

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

2 Corinthians 1:3, 4

Wounds. We all have them. Sometimes we call them by different names…failures, mistakes, grievances, disappointments, sorrows. They hurt and humble us. At times these trials seem more mild. They cause tension, cloud our thoughts with frustration, or simply just bug us. Often we feel a rush of emotion only to have it fade relatively quickly. Life ebbs and flows, washing in joy and peace and rest. God reassures us. Then, distress returns and this time our mild trial has given way to more intense affliction. These pains knock louder and echo longer. Our feelings, energy, and thoughts are tested. Waves of doubt roll in one after the other. We worry as the coastline of our heart erodes. Time passes and the winds of circumstance change direction. The air softens, the sun shines, and we can breathe again. We bask in relief. After awhile our days begin anew, our nights bring sleep…we’re healing. Soon, smiles are brighter, laughter deeper and pleasures dearer. God is still good. Eventually, for most of us tribulations come. Sometimes we see them coming from afar bringing us to our knees. Others blindside us, knocking us flat on our face. Terror claws at our hearts. Minds reel, bodies waste, souls despair and we are broken. It doesn’t matter what the affliction is. Taking away our livelihood - we’ve lost our job, home, or car. An affair betrays and humiliates us. Divorce invades our home and steals our dreams. Lies corrupt, ruining our reputation. Abuse beats down our spirit and we lose ourselves. Disabilities rob us of the future we could have had. Disease breaks our body, ravaging our flesh or mind. Violence cripples us with fear. Death comes to our loved one and we are crushed by grief. Addictions, anger, poverty, and pain. So many wounds. Yet, even amidst such sadness Jesus Christ remains. He does not abandon us. “…the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation,…” He is our comforter. No matter how light or how dark our trial, God will come to our aid. If we will keep trusting in Him and leaning on Him He promises to “work all things together for good to those who love Him…” Romans 8:28. Not only does God offer us comfort, He is training us to comfort others. God enables us to use our sufferings to minister. Our wounds break us but, in our brokenness He leads us to a spiritual depth we didn’t have before. In Christ, our seeds of pain yield understanding and compassion. We must share this harvest with others. He doesn’t want us to nurse our hurts in self-reliance. We are called to persist in Jesus’ name and become great stewards of our wounds - all for His glory.