Looking Elsewhere

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Hebrews 12:2 (New King James Version)

There are times in our life when God must redirect our focus and attention. I have often been enamored by other believers. From the beginning steps of the Christian life all the way to the present I have readily placed people on pedestals and fixed my eyes and heart on them. As long as they were available I was distracted from totally fixing my eyes on Jesus. All along, God has known this would be one of my greatest hindrances to growth and dependency on Himself. While His intent was to place examples in front of me for the purpose of learning, He knew the risk that would be mine if they became more than examples to me.

The words of C.S. Lewis in The Problem of Pain have struck me profoundly this morning. He writes, “Now God, who has made us, knows what we are and that our happiness lies in Him. Yet we will not seek it in Him as long as he leaves us any other resort where it can even plausibly be looked for. While what we call ‘our own life’ remains agreeable we will not surrender it to Him. What then can God do in our interests but make ‘our own life’ less agreeable to us and take away the plausible source of false happiness.” The truth of these words cut me to the quick because I know how seldom I willingly relinquish that which God ultimately has to remove. Whatever or whomever stands in competition with God in my life must go. Then and only then will I truly be looking to Jesus.

The very losses that may cause me the greatest amount of pain and heartache are the avenues of freedom for my soul. If I do not give them up or God does not remove them, I will remain in a bondage of sorts. And yet even with this awareness I strain, stiffen my neck, and resist at many levels. Slowly but surely God is working to bring me into conformity with His ways. My heart cry has become, “Give me a teachable spirit. Increase my desire for Your will over my own. Help me to willingly open my close fists to You. At all costs, make me the person You created me to be. Remove all that enamors me until You have all of my heart and my attention.”

The words are easy to say but life has taught me the answer to such a prayer will entail painful moments. But in the midst of tears, sorrow, and heartache, there will also be joy, empowerment, and victory!

Father, each time I take my eyes off You I am in trouble. You know what will be necessary to redirect my focus. May I submit to whatever it takes. Amen.

Seeing It For Myself

And they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.” John 4:42 (New American Standard Bible)

The testimony of the Samaritan woman drew people to Jesus but their relationship with Him was birthed when they saw and heard Him for themselves. No amount of rubbing shoulders with others will put us into connection with God. Until our faith is born out of our own experiences, we will be limited in our view of Him, our love for Him, and our commitment to Him. We may catch glimpses of God through the life and words of others but a full view comes through our own one on one meetings with Him.

I well remember the decades I spent learning truths about God at the feet of others. I was enraptured with their stories, hung on their every word, and walked away excited about their walk with God. While their journeys appealed to me they didn’t do a lot to change me. I was trying to experience God through the avenue of another person’s relationship with Him. That, my friend, is a second-hand faith and results in stagnation and staleness. God’s desire has always been that each one of us see, hear, and relate to Him on an individual, authentic, personal level.

I praise God for the day I looked at an individual whose walk with God exploded with everything I lacked and a hunger was awakened in me. My prayer became, “God, I want what SHE has!” I wanted to live my life with the realization that God loved me. I wanted His Word to come alive to me and prayer to be a two-way conversation. I wanted to live each day out of an intimate relationship with Him. And I thought that would come as I sat at her feet and listened to her tell me of her encounters with God. But God knew better.

He knew I would only experience Him for myself as I learned to cry on His shoulders, take my questions to Him, learn to hear His voice, and sit at His feet. In other words, He was wooing me into a solitary walk with Himself. He has brought me to the place where I am no longer desiring what other people have, I am experiencing it!

It is my heart’s desire that each person reading this devotional is either experiencing God for themselves or being wooed by Him in that direction. He is still in the business of awakening a hunger and thirst for Himself and satisfying both.

Father, it has never been Your intention that I merely hear about You. What I am finally experiencing for myself is beyond words. Draw me still closer. Amen.

Choosing to Embrace

Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold, therefore you will plant pleasant plants and set out foreign seedlings; in the day you will make your plant to grow, and in the morning you will make your seed to flourish; but the harvest will be a heap of ruins in the day of grief and desperate sorrow. Isaiah 17:10,11 (New King James Version)

Oh, the price we pay for having our focus and desires centered on anyone or anything other than God. All the substitutes we fill our life with (even apparent good ones) will eventually become a heap of ruins. We can busy ourselves with our own idea of what life should look like and in the end discover we have failed to receive what God intended for us. That is a stark reality God is presently revealing to me.

I took something to Him in prayer earlier this morning and within minutes He let me know the reason for my dissatisfaction and struggle. It boiled down to this one truth, I was not embracing the journey He had for me. While I wanted to be on the journey, I had a list of things I wanted but God was saying “no” to. I guess you could say I had my plants and seedlings all ready and felt they should be a part of the landscape of the pasture in which my Shepherd has placed me. I wanted an individual in my life that God had clearly removed, I wanted opportunities to serve Him that hadn’t materialized yet, I wanted circumstances to work out for a loved one where change was not forthcoming, and so on. While I would readily say, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” the “I shall not want” part was slow in coming. And then I wonder why it seems I can’t move forward and live with a sense of freedom? God was letting me know, the peace, contentment, joy, and fulfillment will come as I let go of my “wish list” and fully embrace what He has for me.

Part of the process for embracing the journey He has chosen for me is asking Him to show me what lies I am believing about Him. Where is it I still doubt Him? Where has my foundation of trust been damaged? What view of God needs to be aligned with truth once again? How easily I would settle for someone to just answer those questions for me. But God has wisely crossed my path with individuals who keep pointing me back to Himself. They know the joy and growth that will come as I seek to hear His voice on the matters. It is new for me but it is best!

Father, on my own I would not choose Your ways. My journey would look different and the results would be poor in comparison. Thank you for loving me enough to teach me the hard lessons of life. I yield to You. Amen.

My Own Husband

Wives, be subject (be submissive and adapt yourselves) to your own husbands as (a service) to the Lord. Ephesians 5:22 (Amplified Bible)

When my mom was a young Christian, she attended a Bible study where she was taught a principle. She was told the husband should handle all the finances of the household and it was her duty to give her complete pay check to him. She complied. Here was her situation. She was married to my step father who was an alcoholic. If she needed money she was to ask him for it. What she often endured was humiliation and a sense that she was begging for something. My heart broke. Up until this point there had not been a problem with the way they handled their finances. But after this point she put up with a lot of unnecessary turmoil. What my mom learned later on was that this study leader had her own personal checking account and never had to ask her husband for any money.

What troubled me at the time was that this person had failed to see a very important word in today’s verse. The word “own.” My mother was not complying with a desire of her own husband as much as with a general statement made by another individual. Each of us as wives must see the individuality of our own marriages. Our husbands are unique and our relationship to them is unique as well. What one husband desires of his wife may be completely different from that of another husband.

In July of 1983, my husband married an extravert. It has never been his intention to turn me into an introvert. We have different tastes and very different personalities. He knows my strengths as well as my weaknesses and I know his. We know each other’s insecurities and fears. We have laughed together and cried together. We have buried both sets of parents. We have walked through the issues of rearing three children who are now 17, 18, and 20 years of age. There are many qualities we admire in each other and other areas we accept as part of the “package.” We compliment and complete each other.

There have been many changes and there will continue to be many more changes ahead. But it is my heart’s desire that my changes stem from my relationship with the Lord and are in accord with my OWN husband‘s wishes. May I be careful not to conform to something neither the Lord nor my husband intend for me. May my ears be attuned to the sounds of their voices and may I be discerning with all others.

Father, I am one person. Help me to be the person You created me to be. I am Tim’s wife. Help me to be all You meant for me to be to and for him. May I resist all other molds. Amen.

Answering His Questions

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves. Philippians 2:3 (New American Standard Bible)

During the course of a phone conversation last night I shared a situation with a friend. Something had come up earlier in the evening and I had made plans to speak with some individuals later in the week. As I rehearsed the circumstances with my friend, she listened politely and then asked me a question God had led her to ask. She simply said, “What is it you hope to accomplish?” That question got my attention and has held it ever since. It actually became two questions in one to me. God was now probing my heart and mind with the questions of, “What are your motives and what outcome are you seeking?” As I floundered for a clear answer it became obvious to my friend and myself that this needed to become a matter of prayer BEFORE I met with the individuals later this week. The meeting may or may not take place. I am not sure what God is going to reveal to me in the coming days, but I have absolutely no doubt He will make things crystal clear to me and I would be wise to listen to Him.

As this particular phone conversation played out, God brought to my mind today’s verse. The “let nothing” part is becoming prominent in my thoughts this morning. To me it is serving as a reminder that at NO time and with NO person should I be ruled by self interest or self promotion. God’s instructions are clear, “Walk, talk, and relate to others in humility. Put them and their interests above your own. Lose your sense of superiority, independence, and pride. Choose My way.”

I have Jesus as my Example and the Spirit of God as my Enabler. God’s Word is meant to be applied to my life, not just digested into my brain. I can spend each day reading it and writing devotions on it but if I fail to implement it into my thinking, speaking, and living I am missing out on a big reason God gave me His Word. James 1:22 tells me to be a doer of the Word and not merely a hearer lest I walk in deception. I am to take in the whole counsel of God and allow it shape my entire life. Some of God’s commands come easy for me, but many come up against my flesh. I often go through a time of straining against the truth before bending the knee.

The encouraging part for me is that God does not expect me to do apply any of His Word to my life without His help. He is not looking for self sufficiency or behavior modification but rather submission to and dependency on Himself. It becomes a walk of yielding and brokenness, for He longs to conform and transform me. Today is yet another day to rest upon the potter’s wheel and yield to His touch. That is not always easy but it is definitely worth it!

Father, You have once again brought an area to my attention that You desire to touch and transform. If left on my own I will fight the very things You desire to do. Keep me from doing that! Amen.

Full Attention and Perception

They do not pay attention to the deeds of the LORD, nor do they consider the work of His hands. Isaiah 5:12 (New American Standard Bible)

It is a sad commentary indeed for this verse to be hung over any situation of a believer’s life. It is a statement that should cause each one of us to sit up and take notice. We know and serve a God who is never absent, unavailable, or disinterested. He is in the midst of us, inhabiting our very body. He has promised to work all things out for our good. He is inviting each one of us to pay attention and consider all that He is doing! Whether it is in the physical, spiritual, emotional, social, or mental aspects of our life, God is working and desirous that we are take notice.

If I am in the same room with people I dearly love and respect I will tend to focus my full attention on them. I watch them and listen to them with great interest. I do not want to miss a thing they do or say. THAT is the way I want it to be with my heavenly Father. I want to be enraptured and captivated by His every move. I want Him to systematically remove anything or anyone that would pull my attention away from Him. There can be NO competition for my focus or my heart.

He knows when I am searching for Him and wanting to see His fingerprints throughout each day. He delights in the times when my eyes dance in wonder over seeing Him in action. My spirit eyes want to see and my spirit ears want to hear it all! I don’t want to be sight or hearing impaired in any way.

When things don’t go my way, I don’t want to assume there is no work of God to be seen in it. When the unexpected takes place, I don’t want to miss all the ways God is actively involved. When unwelcome changes knock on the door of my life, I don’t want to loose sight of the fact that He is sovereign and in control.

Each one of use were personally formed by God in our mother’s womb. He has not taken His hands or His eyes off us for one second. From eternity past He has planned out each day and nothing will take Him by surprise. I revel in that! I stand on it, find my security in it, and hold to it come what may. My God is faithful. My God is involved. My God is active. My God is working!

Father, I delight in You. I want to take notice of Your deeds. My eyes are on You and my ears are turned toward You. What awesome sights and sounds await me! Amen.

Uncomfortable but Necessary

He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths. Isaiah 2:3 (New King James Version)

I have spent the last couple of days pondering my receptivity to truth and whether or not I live with a teachable spirit. For if I have a smorgasbord mentality when it comes to truth (whereby I pick and choose what I want to hear) then I will greatly hinder and limit the work God desires to do in me. I cannot afford to take in only what sounds good and makes me feel comfortable. I must be willing to listen to what convicts me and reveals the issues of my heart.

In the last number of months a friend of mine has been God’s truth teller to me. As we have talked and emailed back and forth, she has said some things and asked some questions that I found myself resisting. I didn’t like the way her words made me feel because they were bringing to the surface the very things I was not comfortable addressing. It wasn’t that she wasn’t speaking the truth, it was that I knew if I took in what she was saying I would eventually have to act upon what I was hearing. With truth comes responsibility and accountability. No blame shifting, no excuse making, no games of denial, or proclamations of not knowing any better. My spirit hungers for it but my flesh fights it.

She and I are both familiar with the scenario that follows such conversations. She speaks the truth. I listen and sense resistance in myself. The conversation draws to a close and I go through a time of mulling over what has been said. It may take a few hours or even a few days, but eventually God walks me through the issues at hand and helps me to see my need to align myself with His truth. When I am finally at the point of acknowledging and accepting the truth He then shows me practical steps of implementing the truth into my life. As I cooperate with Him there are subtle but profound shifts that begin to take place in my internal world. Given enough time, my friend knows an email or phone call is coming that will let her know the issue has been settled and God has given the victory.

Is it easy? Not usually. Most of the growth and progress has come with tears, fears, and struggles. But when it is all said and done, by God’s grace, I choose to walk the path He has for me. I do not always do it right but He honors and blesses the desire to be taught. He understands my frailties and mindsets. While His eye is on me in the present, it is also on the person I will one day be. He knows what I will be when the transformation is complete. It is the same for each one of us. May we continue to listen as He speaks and follow where He leads.

Father, speak to me, even when the words sting. I want change. I embrace truth.
Amen.