In Need of Him

It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22, 23 (King James Version)

I need the reminder of today’s passage. When my failures and weaknesses give me reason to give up. When my actions and attitudes give others cause to grow frustrated as the patience and love have warn thin. When the enemy of my soul has more ammunition to fire at me then I feel able to withstand. When feelings of worthlessness, insignificance, and sinfulness engulf me and peace, joy, and hope elude me. I need the awareness that God’s mercies and faithfulness do not fail. Rather, they are new every morning. When I least deserve it and shouldn’t have it, His faithfulness abounds. His grace. His compassion. His tenderness. My need.

I wonder this morning how I can come away from a 72 hour retreat with such resolve and promise, only to fall to the issues of life within a day. Did I know the enemy would attack? Yes. Did I realize my flesh would still be very much alive? Absolutely. Do I like what I see in myself and what I know others see as well? No. My desire for consistent strength and victory seem polar worlds apart from my reality. I am not what I want to be and I am grieved that I am not what God wants me to be. Yet His mercies are new today. His faithfulness continues.

He is urging me to get my heart right. He is pleading with me not to go into hiding or withdrawal. He knows the tendencies of my heart and the thoughts that have consumed me in the night. He is fully aware of steps I want to take that would not be for my good or His glory. The battle rages. The thoughts abound. The temptations are many. Yet His mercies are new and fresh today. His faithfulness continues. Not a bit of His loving kindness fades.

In the quietness of this moment, I dare to raise my eyes to His. Not because I fear He will reject me but because I am sickened by my own setbacks and wobbly steps. It is a new day. He is the same God. I am in need of much. Is it any wonder He calls Himself my Rock, Shelter, Stronghold, Abba Father?

Father, the valley after a mountain top experience is always so dark. So foreboding. So uncomfortable. I need You. Amen.

He Knows My Name - Tommy Walker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkw3a4raWfg

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.
http://pathways2freedom.blogspot.com/

The Wrong Conclusion

And he said: “ Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD.” Job 1:21 (New King James Version)

The question was asked at a study I attended last night that seemed easy to answer…at first. It went as follows: “Deep down inside, do you believe God is a giver or a taker?” My mind instantly went to today’s verse and I chose to say He is both…Job said so! Then something dawned on me. I had to consider the fact that Job’s perspective was faulty due to his limited view of things. He spoke those words of the Lord giving and taking away, after the loss of his children, property, possessions, health, reputation, and human support. At first glance he seemed to have a healthy view of things. After all, he served a sovereign God. Yet, I am struck by the fact that the one who actually took the things and people out of Job’s life was not God but Satan. Job didn’t mention that or think of it because, quite frankly, he wasn’t aware of Satan’s involvement in his life or of the conversation that led up to that involvement. He simply believed all his loss was at the hands of God when it actually wasn’t.

This realization is causing me to rethink my original answer to the Bible study question. Even as I ponder other Biblical accounts of people losing things I am coming to see the “other” hands besides God’s at work. Not only was there Satanic involvement but there were many aspects of just living in a fallen world. People take things, sickness takes things, nature takes things, and economic down turns take things. Sometimes, God chooses to intervene with healings. Sometimes He replaces what is taken. He teaches us things through the losses. He helps us see Him in a whole new light after the loss. But all of those are examples of giving. If I see God as a taker I get scared. Fearful that if I make a wrong move He will grab something from me.

For the longest time, when I thought of a significant relationship that had ended, I thought God had taken the person out of my life as a means of punishment. I displeased Him and therefore He took. How far from the truth that is! The broken relationship was the result of my own dependency issues and the other person’s change of heart. After the loss, God in His graciousness showed me aspects about Himself that were precious. He taught me many things. He brought other individuals into my life. He continually gave and He will continue to give. Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Some who are reading this have experienced great losses. If those losses have caused you to view God as a taker (like I had viewed Him), I encourage you to ask Him to show you who really did the taking and to also show you how much He is giving!

Father, Jesus was the ultimate display of Your giving nature. Thank you for the many giving moments You continue to have. Amen.

My Praise - Phillips, Craig, & Dean
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwPeud_V7cg&feature=related

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

It is Okay to Ask

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6 (New King James Version)

I am sure most of us have heard the saying, “God helps those who help themselves.” I have often had that mentality when it came to living the Christian life. I knew when I received Christ as my Savior that it was apart from any works I could muster on my own. The only thing I could bring to God was an open heart to receive His gift of salvation. But somewhere along the line it seemed (in my mind) that the rules had changed and I was expected to pull my own weight so to speak. The Christian life became daunting because it was viewed through what I was doing for God rather than who I was in Christ and what He was still doing in me. I felt “on my own” in many respects and mistakenly thought God was looking for me to go through life seldom asking for His help. Commands were something I should obey in my own strength. Change was something I should incorporate on my own through behavior modification. While I might have prayed for strength, patience, and grace I knew little of getting specific in the areas in which I needed help. So I floundered….for decades.

I am encouraged this morning by what I am seeing David request of God in Psalm 119. In a day when I hear so much about free will and choice I am relieved to know I can ask God to intervene and make changes in me! David had no trouble asking God to take over in the following areas: Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from your law (v.18), make me understand the way of Your precepts (v.27), remove from me the way of lying (v.29), make me walk in the path of Your commandments (v.35), and incline my heart to Your testimonies (v.36). Somehow David knew it was okay to ask God to do in him what he was unable to do for himself. While it was necessary for David to cooperate with God, he knew he could ask God to change him as well as infuse him with the desire to change.

As I consider areas such as forgiveness, love, compassion, kindness, diligence, witnessing, submission, and right thinking, I am encouraged to know that I can ask God to “make me” walk in His ways and turn my heart to follow Him. He is not offended that I should ask….He is delighted that I would! He knows my weaknesses and propensity toward sin. He knows on my own I will not choose His ways. And He invites me to bring the cries for help to Him so He can masterfully do what needs to be done in me. He is the potter, I am the clay. He is the vine, I am the branch. He is the shepherd, I am the sheep. He is the initiator, I am the responder. What precious roles!

Father, how You must ache when I possess wrong perspectives of You and the Christian life. How You must delight when I finally ask for help. Amen.

Power of Your Love - Hillsong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga6Qtxzd6vk&feature=fvw

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

Taking Pleasure in What?

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10 (New King James Version)

I take pleasure in a lot of things. Spending time with special people, watching another person awaken to the truths of God, discovering new facets about my heavenly Father, reading emails that fill my heart with joy and my eyes with tears, listening to music that captures the essence of my spirit and my journey, experiencing the breaking of a stronghold, making spiritual progress, and being overwhelmed by God’s mercy, love, and grace, all bring me pleasure and great delight! But the hardships and heartbreaks of life (like the things Paul listed in today’s verse)? Pleasure in those? Prayed against, maybe. Avoided or delivered from, definitely. Unwanted, absolutely. But take pleasure in? Not without the help and revelation of God!

In and of themselves, these things cannot bring pleasure. But what Paul had learned and what each of us must learn is the richness of what can come of those things. For it is in the very center of difficulty that we turn to God. When we stand in our own strength and experience a comfortable day we tend to not see our need of God. But when life falls apart and our platform of security crumbles, we are left with no choice but to cry out to God for strength, comfort, and encouragement. It is in our loneliness that we most seek His company. It is in our deepest loss that we seek His comfort. It is in our sin and regret that we seek His forgiveness and restoration. It is in our weakness that we finally seek His strength.

Hardships and handicaps keep me in constant touch with my limitations and my need for God’s strength. Instead of cringing at them, God desires that I fully realize my limitations, weaknesses, and propensities to sin in order to drive me straight into His arms to receive His strength and power. What I lack is what God graciously makes available to me. THAT is what I can take pleasure in! It is in seeing where troubles, tragedies, and trials lead me that I can begin to take pleasure in them. I don’t have to wait until it is all over before I can dance in delight. I simply have to fix my eyes on the end of the story that I know is coming! No matter what life throws at me, I KNOW God will infuse me with the grace and strength to stand in it or walk through it. I am limited…..He is NOT!

Father, I choose to embrace all that You gift me with each day. That which causes me to run to You is what I treasure the most. With my tears come Your comfort. With my weaknesses come Your strength. With my losses come Your gains. Pleasure indeed!!!! Amen.

His Strength is Perfect - Steven Curtis Chapman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC_lld_vUCY

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

Accusing the One Who Loves Us Most

Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me. Luke 10:40 (New American Standard Bible)

When was the last time you accused God of not caring about you? You might have said it out loud or it might have been buried in your thoughts, but the feelings were there. Many times the idea arises due to how others are treating us or due to the circumstances in our life.

Martha had graciously invited Jesus into her home. A hospitable gesture. Then why the complaint? Mary wasn’t helping her! She felt on her own and probably neglected. Ever feel like her? Ever look at the people in your life and wish they would do more? Ever want to cry out, “Does anyone care?” When the people in our lives don’t give us what we want it often causes feelings of insecurity, neglect, and even rage to surface. If we are not careful we allow their actions or lack of actions to define our own worth and value.

I find it interesting that the first words out of Martha’s mouth were actually spoken against the Lord. The same was true of the disciples when they were caught in a storm at sea. Jesus was asleep and they were fearing for their lives. When they finally decided to ask for His help, the first words out of their mouths were, “Lord, don’t you care about us?” Where in the world do those thoughts come from?

Often we are trapped in our own stories so much that we fail to see the bigger picture. When human sources fail us or the difficulties of life assault us that is NOT the time to second guess God’s character and His involvement in our life. It is imperative that we realize the enemy of our soul will use any and all opportunities to tarnish God’s reputation in our mind. Pain, disappointment, discomfort, and discouragement can cloud our thinking, dull our senses, and raise our suspicions about God’s care for us. If our response to people or circumstances causes us to view God negatively we must realize we are buying into a lie. A lie that says God doesn’t care, God doesn’t notice, and God doesn’t love me. How far from the truth those words are. Let God’s word tell you what He is like. Start with I Peter 5:7 and ask God to allow its truth to penetrate your life in a powerful way!

Father, may I no longer allow the enemy of my soul to malign Your character. May I see Your attentive ways at every turn. May I allow the truth about You to renew my thinking. Amen.

Your Grace Still Amazes Me - Phillips, Craig, and Dean
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNClAJO2tnQ

Fixing my eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of my faith!

Seeking Enslavement

But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? Galatians 4:9 (New American Standard Bible)

Paul was astounded that those who had come to know Christ would seek to place themselves back in the realm of being a slave to the law. At first glance, I can find myself questioning how they could do such a thing. How could they go from the standing of a child to the position of a slave? Who would do that?

If I take this passage of Scripture and see it only as an indictment against the Galatians I fail to let Scripture become applicable to me. I fail to see myself and therefore fail to see change. Scripture is meant to shine the light of truth on me. It is meant to get personal! So where is it getting personal for me today? Right now?

In my 36 years of being a Christian I have never once desired to go back to the way I was before becoming a Christian. In the almost 6 years of being on a journey that led me out of legalism, I have never once desired to return to a performance-based way of living my Christian life. So what is it that I do find myself turning back to? What is it that I desire to be enslaved to all over again? What is it I fail to let go of completely? A relationship with and connection to a former mentor. Like the children of Israel leaving Egypt, I am physically removed but the emotional pull is still present. Like an alcoholic who refuses to abstain completely from alcohol, I find myself still doing things that will allow me a continual taste of her influence and teaching. It is an addiction and a powerful one at that!

Last night, with the help of my accountability partner, I came to see this as much more than an area of addiction. I saw it as competition for who would sit on the throne that rightly belongs to God. I saw my “giving in” moments as testing God much like a child will test the boundaries set by her parents. I saw it as a willful, determination to keep it a part of my life when God has clearly shown me it is off limits. What I saw was not pretty or comfortable but necessary. It was a serious matter and one that required attention, brokenness, repentance, and a fresh commitment to walk in obedience.

This morning, the tears of last night have dried but the determination to follow through with what I prayed is growing! I no longer wish to reserve a place in my heart to that which has been my enslavement to idolatry.

Father, Your mercy, patience, and forgiveness have been and continue to be amazing! Thank you for persistently working to bring me fully to Yourself. Amen.

Painting Pictures of Egypt - Sara Groves
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcIA4Cnj6j4

He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food. Job 36:16

Tears and Joy

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. James 1:2, 3 (New American Standard Bible)

James penned these precious words to believers who were facing extreme persecution in the early days of the church. They knew the taste of trials in their life. Persecution, separation from loved ones, imprisonment, even death. What could possibly be the joy in that? Some would say joy in the trials but James is pointing toward the result of the trials…the development of endurance. So too for us. Each circumstance of our life, each difficulty we face, each trial that comes upon us, as believers, become the seeds for the fruit that will be produced later on. THAT is what we can joy in as the tears fall, as our heart breaks, as the questions persist, and as our minds race.

Many today wake with pillows soaked from tears that have fallen in the night. The Bible has 175 verses that speak of weeping, crying, and tears. One of those verses is John 11:35 which simply says, “Jesus wept.” It was his response to the tears of Mary and other Jews at the death of Lazarus. He wept even though He knew there was to be a resurrection. He wept even though He knew the end of the story. Rather than condemn Mary’s tears, he mingled them with His. He knew that her tears were a matter of her emotions, broken heart, desperate situation, confusion, and unanswered questions.

For those of you who read this devotional today with tear stained faces and broken hearts, I hand to you two support beams of comfort. Beam #1, God has things He is producing through your trial, trouble, or temptation. It is not in vain that you are facing whatever you are facing. It is not a dead end street. It is not for nothing. What God does with it all is yet to be seen, but please know that the production of endurance and strength is part of what will take place in your life because of it.

Beam #2, God mingles His tears with yours. He knows your sadness. He knows your questions. He knows your ache. He sees it for the emotion that it is…not a lack of faith but rather an appropriate response to your plight. He has not forgotten you. He has not abandoned you. He is not condemning you. He is not waiting for you to “get your act together.” Like in the case of Mary, He is right there with you in the midst of what feels like death. He will give beauty for your ashes, joy for your sorrow, and praise for you heaviness of heart. (Isaiah 61:3) In that you can joy. Even when the tears fall with His.

Father, for each person who hurts today, I pray for Your strength to be upon in. Thank you for what will come of their trial and thank you for Your tears that fall with theirs. Amen.

With All I Am - Hillsong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMrAafe7Mns&feature=PlayList&p=2FB126D48DF4B086&index=80

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.