How Big is Your God?

Apr15

Last week, I was reading in Numbers 13 and 14, the story of Moses sending twelve men, one leader from each of the twelve tribes of Israel, to spy out the land of Canaan. God had promised Moses that He was giving this land to the people of Israel. Moses gave the men clear instructions. They were to see whether the land was good or bad, rich or poor, whether the people were few or many, whether they were weak or strong.

As they were leaving, Moses encouraged them with these words. “Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land” (Numbers‬ ‭13:20‬). They left the wilderness of Paran, according to the command the Lord had given Moses, and for forty days they spied out the land of Canaan. Then it was time to return with a report on what they had learned. ‬‬‬

After showing some of the fruit of the land, including a single cluster of grapes that was so large two of the men carried it on a pole between two of them, they began their report on a positive note. Canaan was a land flowing with milk and honey.

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But as their report continued, the affirming words were replaced with words filled with doubt and fear. The facts may have been true – the cities were large and fortified, the people strong, some of them extremely large, descendants of the Nephilim, who according to Hebraic and other legends (the Book of Enoch and other non-biblical writings), were a race of giants and super-heroes who did acts of great evil – but they left God out of the picture.
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The report of the majority of the spies ended with these words.

“We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.” (Numbers‬ ‭13:31-33‬) ‭‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

The ten spies were grumbling against their leaders Moses and Aaron, the rest of the congregation raising loud cries against the Lord for bringing them into the land. They were convinced that they would die in the wild, that their wives and little ones would become a prey. Their answer was clear.

“Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” (Numbers‬ ‭14:3b-4)‬

But there were two spies who saw Canaan through a different lens. Caleb saw the same problems ahead, but he had a different attitude from the other spies.

“But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, ‘Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.’” (Numbers‬ ‭13:30)‬ ‬

Through this time, Joshua was silent. But when Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the people of Israel, both Caleb and Joshua tore their clothes in grief over the people’s blasphemy against God and rebellion against Moses. And they said to the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.”

Instead of heeding their wise words, the people of Israel wanted to stone these two righteous men. But Number 14:10 ends with the glory of the Lord appearing and Him speaking.

“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.’” (Numbers‬ ‭14:11-12)‬‬

This is an interesting Bible story, but where is the application in our lives? There are probably as many applications as there are people reading this post.

For me, the application was clear. In the situation we are currently walking through, the changed lifestyle that we are all experiencing because of the COVID-19 pandemic and all the ramifications that have come out of it, what would I make my focus? Would I tremble in fear as I turn my eyes on all the problems we are going through and the possible problems ahead? Or would I focus on our invisible God who is bigger than the visible problems we face – indeed, bigger than the biggest problem I will ever face?

The answer was clear – I choose to turn my eyes on the Lord, to focus on Him and move forward into the future in faith. I don’t want to end up like that whole generation that left Egypt did, except for Caleb and Joshua who saw the situation through the lens of faith. Because of the grumbling, unbelief and rebellion of the people, that generation wandering for forty and then died in the wilderness, just as they feared would happen.

I choose to look at my problems through the lens of faith in a God who is bigger than any problem we may face!

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Jesus: Our Example of Surrender

Nov5

This week, we are coming to the end of our study of I Give Up: The Secret Joy of a Surrendered Life, by Laura Story.

Christian author Katherine J Walden said concerning surrender:

“The enemy knows that without surrender, we will never experience the freedom that God offers us. Without surrender, we will remain spiritually malnourished, ill and confused. Without surrender, our foxholes become prisons of the enemy’s making. Our lack of full surrender limits God’s ability to both work in our lives and through our lives.

“God’s call to surrender is not an intimidating, angry bark heard from the other side of a battlefield. God’s invitation to surrender is expressed through the example of his Son, Jesus, as described in Philippians 2:5-11.”

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians‬ ‭2:5-11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The call to surrender is a call to live like Jesus lived. He willingly took on human flesh, taking on the very nature of a servant. He humbled himself by becoming obedient, even to the point of death on the Cross of Calvary. His choice to always do whatever his heavenly Father asked enabled him to be victorious.

The decision to live a lifestyle of surrender to God can simply be described as following Jesus. And by making this choice, we are set free to live in the freedom God offers us, to walk in the victory he gained.

A lifestyle of surrender is also a life of putting others before ourselves. As Laura Story says, surrender has a “ripple effect.” If you’ve ever thrown a stone in the water, you’ve noticed the ripple effect – with concentric circles going out from the place of contact. How we live matters, not only in our personal lives but also in the lives of those around us. As we follow Jesus’ example, we aren’t the only ones who are changed.

Philippians 2:5 mentions that the mindset of Christ Jesus is to make a difference in our relationships with one another. And to understand more clearly what that means, we just need to look at the two verses right before this passage about the mindset of Jesus.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Philippians‬ ‭2:3-4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

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I wanted to close today with Laura Story’s latest song, one that reminds us of the victory that Jesus won on our behalf. As she says, “Our fears and our failures hang dead on the cross.” And because we were crucified with him, we are able to share in His life and His victory. Following Jesus is choosing the lifestyle he lived, a life of daily surrender to the will of God. And doing so means sharing in His victory, which includes all of the benefits that are a part of that.

The “How” of Surrender

Oct29

This week’s focus in the “I Give Up” Bible study on surrender focuses on the HOW of surrender. Laura Story says, “Surrender requires a willingness to change, it requires trust, and it requires active participation.”

But the truth that is central in this week’s teaching is that surrender isn’t about striving and human effort. Rather, it’s about GRACE and ABIDING IN THE VINE.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John‬ ‭15:5-8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

To abide in Christ means to intentionally remain in an ever-growing relationship with him. The result is over time being transformed to be more and more like Him. Abiding in Christ means not giving up, but continuing on despite our doubts or hardships. Abiding in Christ means allowing God to continue the work He is doing in us by staying attached to our source of life and strength.

Abiding in Christ is the key to living a fruitful life. Charles Swindoll wrote, “Jesus never commanded believers to produce fruit. Fruit is the purpose of the branch, but it is not the responsibility of the branch. The branch cannot produce anything on it’s own. However, if it remains attached to the vine, it will receive life-sustaining sap, nourishment, strength, everything it needs.”

As I was doing some research online I came across an article by Laura Story on what it means to abide. Abiding, she says, is “learning to be a branch.” What does a branch do? It simply remains attached to the vine, and allows the life of the vine to flow through it. Without making any effort itself, it bears fruit.

Laura says, “First of all, Jesus isn’t against doing. He calls us to do a great many things, yet the source of the strength for the doing MUST come from abiding.”

She adds, “I took a moment to gaze out my living room window and noticed something about the trees. None of the branches seemed to be struggling to connect with the trunks, or vines, if you will. It is the most natural thing in the world for these branches to stay attached to their source of life and strength and nourishment.”

So how do we walk in a lifestyle of surrender? It begins by acknowledging in ourselves we lack the ability to do this. We learn to be a branch. We remain attached to the Vine, which is Jesus Christ. We walk by faith, spend focused time daily with the Lord and abiding in His Word. And then we step out to do whatever He instructs us to do, expecting His life to flow through us.

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Jesus: His Example of Surrender

Oct22

“For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.” John‬ ‭6:38‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We all look for ways to bypass suffering. I know I surely do. This morning, I’m in the middle of a flare in the eczema I was diagnosed with earlier this year. Eczema, also known as Atopic Dermatitis, is a chronic condition that causes an extremely itchy and painful rash. Yesterday afternoon and evening, and throughout the night as the painful rash kept waking me up, I was definitely looking for relief. But any help from the lotion and prescription meds only brought short term relief.

Looking for a way to avoid suffering is a characteristic common to all humans. Jesus Christ was God in human flesh, and His experience in the Garden of Gethsemane is one of the clearest pictures of His humanity. He wanted to bypass the suffering of the Cross if there was any other way to save us. But the Father’s answer was “No” and Jesus willingly surrendered to the will of the Father.

To get a clearer picture of the struggle Jesus went through, please read the account in Luke 22:39-46.

Jesus understood what it was to let go of His will when it did not line up with the will of the Father. In doing so, He gave us a pattern to follow.

Jesus told His Father what He longed for – to avoid the suffering of the Cross was His desire.
He listened for God’s answer – His “No” in this case. The suffering of the Cross was the only way to fulfill the purpose for which the Son of God came to earth.
Finally, Jesus surrendered to the will of His Father, choosing it and embracing it fully.

As I read in Luke, some verses in Philippians 2 came to mind.

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians‬ ‭2:5-8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We are called to “have this mind” that Christ Jesus demonstrated in the Garden of Gethsemane. We are free to bring our desires to God, to tell Him what we would like to happen in our current circumstances, but then we need to wait until He reveals His will. The battle is in the wait, in the time between sharing our desires and hearing God’s answer, and then if God’s answer to us is “No” in embracing God’s will with our whole hearts.

When we come to God with a willingness to let go of our right to be in charge and surrender to His revealed will in our situation, we can be assured of God’s presence with us no matter what lies ahead. When we let go, we can be assured that God will never let go of us.

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What Is Surrender Anyway?

Oct8

For the next five week’s, I’m going through a Faithgateway Online Bible study on Christian worship leader and recording artist Laura Story’s newest book, I Give Up: The Secret Joy of a Surrendered Life. My normal Tuesday and Thursday posts will be centered on the teaching in this book and the related videos and study guide.

The title for this week’s study: “What is Surrender Anyway?” So today’s post is to make sure we understand the true meaning of surrender.

Surrender is basically a military term. It is what an army does when it realizes their opposing army is going to be the victor and they lay down their arms and give up their rights to the conqueror.

This world is a battlefield. Since the Garden of Eden, mankind has ignored and rebelled against our Creator and chosen to walk according to our own desires. In essence, we have joined sides with Satan, who has been called the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

There’s one major problem with that – it puts us on the losing side of the battle. Satan hasn’t yet been totally stripped of his power, but he has been defeated by our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. The battle was won when Jesus became the spotless Lamb of God, died for our sin and rose again.

If you are a Christian, if you have accepted the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross as the full payment for your sin, you did so by surrendering to the drawing of the Holy Spirit, revealing the truth to you that you needed a Savior. But surrendering to God doesn’t end when we are born again and experience new life. That is simply the beginning.

In simple terms, surrender is turning the control of my life over to God. Surrendering to God is recognizing His authority in my life and choosing His will over my own. Surrender is not meant to be a one-time decision for a Christian. It is meant to be a daily lifestlyle. It is laying down our desires in order to make pleasing God our top priority. As Laura Story says in our study guide, “Surrendering to God’s will is a learned skill that takes a lifetime to develop.”

The actual word surrender is not used in most translations of the Bible. But the concept of surrender is found throughout both the Old and New Testament.

Surrender is submitting to the Lord. “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7
Surrender is recognizing the truth of Galatians 2:20, which says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Surrender is being a disciple, a follower of Jesus Christ. It is believing and living according to Luke 9:23-24, which says, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.”
Surrender begins with presenting our bodies as living sacrifices, as Romans 12:1-2 tells us to do, the first prerequisite of knowing and doing the will of God. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Surrender is, as Ephesians 6:6 says, “doing the will of God from the heart.” Sometimes the will of God is clearly stated in Scripture, but often this isn’t true. It begins with us coming to the Lord in prayer and asking, “Lord, what is Your plan in this situation?” And then waiting patiently until we receive an answer and walking in obedience to the revealed will of God.
Surrender is yielding to the hands of God as He shapes us into a vessel to bring Him glory. It is making ourselves willing to be molded into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Remember, surrender is a daily choice. It is to choose to make Jesus Christ Lord of every aspect of our lives, seeking His will in every circumstance that we face. It is being who God created us to be.

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The theme song for the “I Give Up” Bible study.

Running to the Lord in our Hopelessness

Oct1

On May 31st, my husband and I had planned to join some friends from our church to celebrate the seventh birthday of a dear friend. But I woke up with extreme pain and swelling in my left knee and my husband ended up going without me. This was the first of a long list of changes in my plans that is still continuing. I now know a little more of what is causing the pain, but four months later I’m no closer to an answer concerning what to do about it.

Each path we have tried to go down has led to a dead end. First, knee replacement surgery wasn’t recommended because of the extensive nerve pain in my knee, which could potentially be made worse from any knee surgery. Cortisone injections did nothing to relieve the pain. And the latest disappointment, after two sessions of physical therapy the pain and swelling in my knee became so bad this weekend that my therapist is meeting to morning to talk with the therapy supervisor to make a decision about whether it’s even safe to continue the exercises she has been teaching me.

Today, my heart has been asking one question. When life with chronic illness is marked by one disappointment after another, when every recommended treatment option leads to another dead end, what are we to do? How do we hold onto our hope in the Lord?

Let’s look at the life of a man in the Bible who experienced overwhelming fear and hopelessness and see if there are any lessons we can learn. The story is found in 1 Kings 19:1-8.

“Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers.” He lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat.” Then he looked and behold, there was at his head a bread cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. The angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you.” So he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.”
‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭19:1-8‬ ‭NASB‬‬

So what did Elijah do in this passage? Other than feeling sorry for himself and asking the Lord to take his life, little worth mentioning. He ran away, but not from God. He was honest with the Lord about where he was emotionally, which was a place where he had lost all hope. And then he laid down and slept, only awakening when an angel touched him twice and provided food and water. Elijah was passive, all the work was done by the Lord. Elijah simply received from the Lord and was strengthened to continue the journey.

When chronic illness or any of the other problems we face in this life strip away our last bit of hope, all God asks of us is to come to Him. Remember, He made us with emotions, and therefore he knows best how to deal with them. If you are battling hopelessness today because of difficult circumstances that you can see no way out of, don’t pretend everything is okay. Run to the Lord and be honest with Him about where you are. Let Him meet the needs you have, and rest in His provision. He will strengthen you to face tomorrow.

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Learning to Wait Well

Sep24

I am in a time of waiting. I have been in a time of waiting since shortly after I heard a call from the Lord last spring to write a Bible study for our small Bible study group at church and made a commitment to do so. I was preparing to get started on this project, even got an outline down on paper, when suddenly my health took a deep dive from which I still haven’t recovered.

Suddenly, my life was filled with one appointment after another, trying to figure out what was going on and come up with a treatment plan for hopefully getting back to where I was before things changed overnight. Unfortunately, since that negative overnight change, there have been no positive overnight changes. Instead, there have been a series of small and gradual steps forward, each including extended times of waiting.

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Waiting isn’t optional. It’s a part of life, some times moreso than others. But choosing how we will wait is up to us. Will we wait with complaining and discontentment? Or will we wait with trust in the One Who rules in our lives, remembering He is not only in control of our circumstances but also in control of the timing? Waiting well means continuing to look forward to the future we’re moving toward while living faithfully where God has us right now.

How do we wait well? God’s Word gives us several answers to this question. Let’s look at a few from the book of Psalms (all verses in ESV)

To wait well is to wait prayerfully. “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.” Psalms‬ ‭25:4-5‬ ‭
To wait well is to wait with strength and courage. “Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭31:24‬ ‭
To wait well is to wait with joyful trust in the Lord and in His steadfast love. “Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.” Psalms‬ ‭33:20-22‬ ‭
To wait well is to wait patiently. “I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭40:1‬ ‭‬
To wait well is to wait with hope and expectancy. “Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he has mercy upon us.” Psalms‬ ‭123:2‬ ‭
To wait well is to wait believing God will do what He has said in His Word. “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭130:5‬ ‭

One of the best ways to wait well is to turn a time of waiting into a time of worship. Worship causes us to shift our focus off of our limiting circumstances and onto our limitless God. Let’s choose to wait well, and let’s back up that choice by turning our hearts toward the Lord in worship.

Count It All Joy!

Sep17

“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.” James‬ ‭1:2-4‬ ‭(from Eugene Peterson’s The Message)

It started on Friday, with another call to my doctor’s office trying to find out why I still hadn’t heard from anyone concerning the home-based therapy my doctor ordered six weeks ago. Finally heard from the office this morning, only to learn the homecare agency had no record of the referral. So the process starts again.

Then on Saturday, car problems were added. My husband just had the car in the shop last week for some routine maintenance, but on the way home from grocery shopping on Saturday, it stopped running. After having a new battery put in on Saturday, it broke down again Sunday afternoon. We had to have the car towed to the repair shop yesterday to get the alternator replaced, and we’re still waiting to get it back and make sure it’s really fixed this time.

In the midst of all of this, on Sunday our internet went out (a broken connection), and this morning our electricity has been going off and on, which didn’t build my confidence that I’d finally be able to get today’s Teach Me Tuesday post written and on line.

None of these have been life threatening problems, but when tests and challenges come at us from all sides, as they have for my husband and me the last few days, I’m grateful God’s Word tells us how to handle it.

Problems come in all shapes and sizes, but one thing is true in the midst of it all. GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL. And in His love, He uses the things we go through, big and small, to accomplish His purposes in our lives. So how do we cooperate with God during these challenging times? Here are a few simple steps.

1. Recognize God is at work in your life through the trials you are walking through, and choose to “count it all joy.” Counting our trials as “all joy” is the opposite of living by our feelings. It is taking control over our emotional reaction to the circumstances and choosing to rejoice. I will count this flood of trials all joy, because God is using it to help me grow to maturity in my faith.

2. Spend time in God’s Word, asking Him to show you any special message He has for you in the midst of this challenging time.

3. Take time to thank God in the midst of the circumstances. In our recent situation with the car, for example, we gave thanks that we had money in savings for all the unexpected expenses, that God sent a stranger over to help Mitch on Saturday so he was able to make it somewhere to get a battery, and that God worked out the details so Mitch was able to get home while the cold items in our groceries were safe.

4. Remember to leave the timing in God’s hands. When we walk through difficult circumstances, the natural desire is to make a way for them to be over as quickly as possible. As Eugene Peterson said above, “don’t try to get out of anything prematurely.” Give God the time to do to finish the work He has started in you.

5. Finally, learn to fix your eyes on Jesus, and to remember how He faced a much bigger trial than most of us will ever face. He endured the Cross by focusing on the joy set before Him (Hebrews 12:2).

On this Teach Me Tuesday, let’s remember that the trials God allows to touch our lives are not without a good purpose. God uses trials to make us more like our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. But the only way we benefit from our trials is by walking through them God’s way.

What trials are you currently walking through? How do you typically respond to trials? Is your reaction based on your emotions or on your desire to learn the lessons God has for you? Is your focus on present comfort or on the joy set before you as you mature into the person God has called you to be? These are a few questions to ask ourselves in the midst of times like my husband and I have been walking through in recent days. And if your answers show you’re not handling the little frustrations of life the way God desires us to, review the five steps above.

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When God Puts Life on “Pause”

Sep10

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;” Psalms‬ ‭130:5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Recently, I’ve been in a time when my life almost seems as if someone hit the “pause” button. My days have been filled with waiting. Waiting for a referral to a doctor to come in. Waiting two months for an appointment I was able to schedule. Waiting for a call from the homecare agency my doctor recommended so my therapy can begin. Waiting for some relief from all the symptoms I’m currently dealing with. Waiting on people who seem to take an unreasonably long time to get routine matters taken care.

So what are we to do during such times? First, we are to remember that God is in control. Delays are a part of life, but they aren’t evidence that nothing is going on. Even when we see no outward changes, God is at work in the background. So see your times when life doesn’t seem to be moving forward as times of waiting on the Lord.

Times of waiting are meant to be times of seeking God, of drawing close and spending time in His presence and His Word. And they are to be times of faithfulness in the things the Lord has already told us to do.

The past is behind us, the future isn’t yet here, so our focus needs to be on living the best life we can during these times when nothing seems to be moving forward. It needs to be on what He is saying to us and putting in front of us … right now. And that means times of waiting need to be times of drawing near to God and His Word so we can hear what He’s saying.

Charles Spurgeon said of these times of waiting that are so much a part of our lives, “If the Lord Jehovah makes us wait, let us do so with our whole hearts; for blessed are all they that wait for Him. He is worth waiting for. The waiting itself is beneficial to us: it tries faith, exercises patience, trains submission, and endears the blessing when it comes. “

Are you currently in a time of waiting? If so, I encourage you to forget the past, don’t be anxious about what lies ahead, and focus on living in the present. Focus on what God has called you to do today, and be faithful. Spend time listening to His voice to receive instructions for today, and then walk them out in faith. He is at work in your life, even during times when it’s difficult to see what He’s doing.

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Hope in the Darkness: Dealing with Discouragement

Sep3

Part of my scheduled Bible reading for today was Psalm 42, which begins with a superscription identifying it as a Maskil of the sons of Korah. What is a maskil?

Easton’s Bible Dictionary describes a maskil as a song enforcing some lesson of wisdom or piety, a song intended to give instruction. So as I read this psalm, the first question I asked myself was what is the intended instruction? I think the answer to that is found in the following verses.

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I believe the lesson God is seeking to teach us through this psalm is how to deal with circumstances that cause us to feel “cast down,” to experience discouragement or even despair. When we walk through problems that seem to stretch on and on, one of the biggest struggles we face is holding onto hope. In this psalm, the message is clear. God is our source of hope, so to experience hope we must shift our focus off our circumstances and on to the Lord.

Corrie ten Boom said, “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at God you’ll be at rest.”

When we walk through on-going trials, the key to victory is fixing our eyes on the One who reigns over everything that touches our lives. God alone can bring peace and rest in the midst of circumstances that bring tears to our eyes and sorrow to our hearts.

Or as Hebrews 12:1-2 says, to find renewed strength to continue the race God has set before us, let’s fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Our Savior was strengthened as He turned His focus beyond the Cross He was facing to the joy to come after, when His death and resurrection would provide the way for us to be forgiven and restored to relationship with the Father.

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