The End of the Story

Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored; those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish. Isaiah 41:11

Scripture is full of examples when God reveals to us the end of the stories. Once He has declared it, we can rest in its reality. Just as surely as He has written down a victorious ending for his children, He has also recorded the defeat of those who oppose us ~ especially the enemy of our soul.

Satan loves to mock us when the circumstances of our life overwhelm us. A friend of mine shared with me a list of arrows Satan uses to wound and injure us. Allow me to share the arrows and their definitions:

Doubt ~ Makes you question God's Word and His goodnessDiscouragement ~ Makes you look at your problems rather than at GodDiversion ~ Makes the wrong things seem attractive so that you will want them more than the right things
Defeat ~ Makes you feel like a failure so that you don't even tryDelay ~ Makes you put off doing something so that it never gets done

I must admit that doubt, discouragement, and defeat are the arrows he has been attacking me with recently. But God has given me some darts and a shield of my own to use against his tactics. I can now remind him of his own demise.

When it comes to people, this verse shows me the outcome of their attacks. If they walk in emptiness and blindness they may unknowingly be on the attack against me. Even Jesus had many such individuals in His life when He walked on this earth. So did many of the people we read about in Scripture. God will faithfully carry out the "end of the story" for their words and actions. While I joy to show Satan his end, the scenario changes when it comes to people.

I am called upon to pray for them and bless them. To ask that God's goodness and favor be upon their lives. Why? Because God desires to work in them just like He works in me. He is poised and desirous to bring about change in their life. When that happens their words and actions will change.

Father, You have written the end of the story in very dramatic fashion! Continue to be the Author and Finisher of my faith. Amen.

Friendship At Its Best

You are My witnesses, declares the LORD, and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me. Isaiah 43:10

Friendships are built on mutual interest in each other. We come across new acquaintances all the time. Some remain merely acquaintances. Conversations remain shallow and deep heart sharing never takes place. Some acquaintances become friendships. You recognize each other in passing, smile, and have brief conversations. Then there are the intimate friendships. You have shared with them parts of your story that few people have heard.

I love making new, deep friendships. I can tell when a friendship moves to that level because I am filled with a desire to really get to know the person. I want to hear their story so I can begin to see how their life was shaped. I want to hear of their blessings as well as their wounds. When I am allowed to see where they have been hurt and what hardships they have been through, and when they see the same revelations about me, there is a closeness and bonding that is experienced. I never feel we know everything about each other. There is the continual desire to just keep knowing them better and to be known better by them.

God is no different. He chooses us so that we can begin to know Him, believe Him, and understand who He really is. The day I opened Scripture and said, "God, show me Your heart," was the day God became a deep Friend rather than a mere acquaintance. He knows me thoroughly and wants me to know Him as well. I want to be passionate about Him. I want to feel each talk we have is like opening a treasure chest of His heart.

Father, may I hunger and thirst after You. Share the secrets of Your heart with me. The best human relationships I have are mere shadows of what I can have with You. Amen.

A Continual Process

And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. Luke 2:52

If ever there was a verse I would want to hang over my life it would have to be this one. If ever there was a verse to pray over my life and the life of my loved ones it would have to be this one as well. It is fascinating to see the effect of inserting one’s own name in a verse. I did it with Luke 2:52 and would encourage others to do it as well. And _________ kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. My desire is that daily those words would be alive in me and become my quintessence.

This verse reminds me that mental, physical, social, and spiritual growth was a continual process for Jesus while He lived on this earth. Therefore it is a continual process for me as well. None of those areas are a culmination of a one time event. There is never a point in this life where one can sit back and say, “I am finished learning, growing, and developing in my mind, soul, or spirit.” There is always room and necessity for more!

These same words of growth were spoken of Samuel as a child. He grew in the presence of the LORD (spiritually), in stature (physically), and in favor with God (spiritually) and men (socially). As a child! And look at the profound impact he had on an entire nation in his adult life! Our spiritual growth will ultimately affect others. Our internal world affects our external world. So if you are one who is experiencing growth in your Christian life, anticipate the manifestation of that growth in tangible outward ways.

As you draw near to God, spend time with Him, and make Him the focal point of your life, people will notice! Just like Moses’ face shined when he came away from meeting with God, your countenance will display the rich relationship you have with your heavenly Father. It will change the way you interact with others and even the times you are alone. May we keep growing!

Father, continually cultivate, nurture, and develop in me the essence of Yourself. As I stand in someone’s presence may Your presence in my life be evident. Amen.

A Good Example to Follow

Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. 2 Kings 19:14

Hezekiah knew what to do with the threats brought to him by the enemy. Sennacherib, king of Assyria, flexed his muscles and his mouth, proclaimed his supposed victory, reviewed his past victories, and dared anyone to defeat him. His arrogance was as evident as his ego was inflated. His scare tactics were delivered with intimidation and lies. It had worked before and he was confident it would work again. The only problem was this time he was coming against the living God who was poised to defend His people and God’s servant who trusted in that defense.
Hezekiah had no problem taking the threatening letter out of the hand of a messenger and placing it into the hand of the God of the universe. He knew he served the one, true God. He knew his God loved His people and would fight for them. It is obvious that Hezekiah was a man of prayer. He knew how to come to God with confidence and to spread out the specifics of his situation.

How well do we do at times of turmoil in our own lives? How quick are we to take our situations to God with an expectancy that He desires to act on our behalf? Hezekiah leaves me an example to follow, because I love and serve the same God he loved and served. What is it I can learn from my ancestor of Bible times?

Prayer is a weapon of offense! I must learn to take everything to God and anticipate His loving response to me. Just like with Hezekiah‘s prayers, my prayers move God to act on my behalf. Nothing is too hard for God. Nothing is beyond His reach. As I place my situations, worries, and problems in His hands I can rest assured He will handle things in the right way. I trust His heart! Although He may not always act in the way I want, I know He is always loving, always good, always right, and always in control.

Whatever it is I bring to Him today, His hands are already reaching out to take hold of it. I am not bothering Him with my requests. I am inviting Him to intervene on my behalf and interact in my life.

Father, You are still God! Your Word shows me Your interaction with Your creation. You are still that personal, that involved, and that willing to act on my behalf today. I come to You! Amen.

A Limited and Temporary Transaction

And the devil said to him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.” Luke 4:6

This verse literally sent chills up my back! To think that any part of God’s creation would be handed over to such a one as Satan is tragic. I think of world leaders like Hitler, Saddam Hussein, and Stalin and I see what they did during their rule. When they held such power in their hands they took life instead of giving it. They devastated their own people instead of blessing them. Their rule was based on greed and self promotion. Those under their “care” were used, abused, and discarded. So horrible were their crimes against humanity that any footage shown is hard to watch. But they simply reflected the one who gave them their kingdoms to rule. They served him well and pleased him immensely.

I cringe when I realize what Satan gives away was at one time handed over to him. There is no recorded place in Scripture where this transaction took place so we can only surmise. I am assuming the kingdoms of this world were delivered to him when Adam and Eve chose to sin in the Garden of Eden. At some point, he became the possessor of something that was not originally intended for him. The Bible says all things were created by and for God.

There is no doubt he is the prince of the power of the air as well as the ruler of darkness. From the moment he rebelled against God as one of God’s most beautiful creations, his intent has been to destroy anything he can get his hands on. And his prime target is that which was created in the image of God…men and women.

But today we must realize the very things that Satan himself already knows. His rule is limited and temporary. Limited in the fact that he can only be in one place at a time and that he still must seek God’s permission for certain acts (as in the case of Job). Temporary in the fact that one day his influence on God’s creation will come to an end. He knows he has so little time left in comparison to eternity. But he also knows that because of Calvary we have been given authority to come against him in what is called spiritual warfare. May we take that authority seriously.

Father, all is not lost. Help us to see the truth about Your enemy and ours. Greater is the One in us than the one that is in the world. Amen.

A Tool for Encouragement

Each one helps his neighbor and says to his brother, "Be strong!" So the craftsman encourages the smelter, and he who smoothes metal with the hammer encourages him who beats the anvil, saying of the soldering, "It is good," and he fastens it with nails, so that it will not totter. Isaiah 41:6:7

Oh that we would begin to encourage others with the same passion as these idolaters encouraged one another!

Recently I have begun to realize the power of spoken words. I find that when I speak truth out loud, it has a way of shifting my inner world for good. And there have been numerous times a word of encouragement has been spoken to me by a friend that has been life giving.

Each of us has the power to speak life or death over other people's lives. We speak life whenever we quote portions of Scripture, speak truths about God, speak positive words over a person, or speak hope into situations. We speak death when our words are critical, abusive, negative, or insensitive.

Last week, God lead me to write a two page letter to my husband. At present, he walks in discomfort over circumstances in his life that are out of his control. I know what God is doing. He is using all of it to help Tim find his security, identity, and refuge in Christ. I wrote the letter to speak truth and life into his soul. It will be the platform for future conversations with him. My own journey over the past two years will become a reference point for me.

Whether it is my husband, a family member, a dear friend, or an acquaintance, may I take each interaction with them to verbally encourage them. It WILL make a difference for them. I saw it work in my own life and still do.

Father, may my mouth be Your tool to encourage others. Amen.

A Necessary Change

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Matthew 7:12

God’s principles are such that they don’t always come naturally to us. We live in a world where needs run high, expectations run deep, and longings run rampant. How easy it is to live our lives looking for others to fix us, heal us, encourage us, affirm us, carry us, restore us, and just plain love us. While we are looking to receive, God is urging us to give.

I have often looked at a verse like Matthew 7:12 and limited its meaning to treating people the way I want to be treated. The idea (in my thinking) was that if I do that they will reciprocate. In a sense, I am simply giving to get. God’s ways are higher!

Last night this verse hit me in a way I have not been able to escape. I have pondered it through out the night and it still has my attention this morning. What is God doing with it? He is causing me to search my heart and ask myself what it is I am looking for others to do or be for me. Then He is taking that “list” and helping me to see the necessity of doing and being exactly that to others. For instance, start encouraging others, speak affirming words to others, be upbeat and positive toward others, show an interest in others, nurture others. Why? So they will in turn be that way toward me? No! That would mean I am dependent on them and connected to them to meet my deepest heart needs. God knows that is an endless cycle and doesn’t work.

My Christian life is meant to be such that I live so connected to the heart of God that He fulfills the needs of my heart. As I take in what He has to offer me on a daily basis I am free to then live for others out of ministry instead of deprivation, hunger, and emptiness. God will give me what people are unable or unwilling to give, and out of the abundance of what He gives me I can turn around and lavish it on others. This is a new thought for me and one that is meant to change the way I have been living in relationship to others. May God guide me in the process of seeing it become a reality!

Father, I am catching a glimpse of one of Your principles this morning that is about to revolutionize my life. May I live out its truths today! Amen.