In Weakness and Weariness

He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Isaiah 40:29 (New American Standard Bible)

I have several devotional books that are written as if Jesus is doing the talking. They are part of my spiritual sustenance each morning and never fail to speak works I long to hear. This morning was no exception as I opened the book Jesus Calling and read, My power flows most freely into weak ones aware of their need for Me. Faltering steps of dependence are not lack of faith; they are links to my Presence.

It took years for me to understand and embrace Jesus’ invitation when He said, “Come to Me all of you who are weary and heavy laden.” Weariness has the idea of being fatigued or exhausted due to wearisome effort. Jesus is saying, “When you have reached that point, come to Me. When you have exhausted your means, your strength, your initiative, your ability, your stamina, your determination, come to Me. I will give you strength. I will increase your power. I will give you the ability to recover and collect that strength and power.”

What I had to realize is that Jesus is not repulsed by my weakness and weariness. They are the very things that He uses to show me my own need of Him. He is continually inviting me to live my life out of interaction with Him whereby I see my need and bring it to Him. This is not just physical needs. It is ANY need, whether that means physical, spiritual, emotional, mental, or social. What I cannot muster up on my own or receive from another person is what I need to look to Him for. The more I do that the less I will be desiring to find it in myself or others.

Living my Christian life with the attitude that I must present to God a perfected, strong, stable, boundless façade, is a pretense that has disastrous results. Any time I refuse to admit the truth about myself and what is really going on inside of me and refuse to bring all of it to the One who loves me and wants to help me, I am in trouble.

Change has come as I have begun to see God’s loving heart and my needy heart. The biggest issue He has had to walk me through has been in the area of emotional dependency. As painful as it was for me to see myself so raw, so broken, and so needy, it has been a time of knowing God like I have never known Him. Admitting the truth about myself has opened the door to seeing the truth about God. I am in awe!

Father, I am learning to stand before You stripped of all pretense and self-imposed improvements. Your receiving of me as I am is precious and powerful. I love You! Amen.

When Change Did Not Come

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (King James Version)

It’s true! When I accepted Christ as my Savior at the age of 14, many things changed for me. I became a child of God, I became aware of my sin and that each sin was against Him, I began reading the Bible, I desired to be with Christians, I attended church, my ideas and goals changed, and I basically started on a different road. Yet, over the years and even decades, I had to admit that many other things had not changed. I still housed attitudes, addictions, and mindsets that were far from new. They were STILL a part of me. I believe I missed something that many others are also missing.

I often read 2 Corinthians 5:17 and saw my “being in Christ” as merely my salvation experience and wondered why I had yet to see all the old things passing away and all the new things coming my way. It wasn’t a matter of just giving it enough time. It was a matter of there not being deep change beyond behavior modification and grit. Jesus’ words of “My yoke is easy and My burden is light seemed to be far removed from my experience. The changes I needed had to come from God and for some reason they weren’t coming…until recently!

What was the difference? I had to see 2 Corinthians 5:17 along side of John 15:1-11, where Jesus makes the statement, “Abide in Me.” To abide means to remain as one, not depart, be present, be held, to wait for and upon. Basically it has the idea of intimate connection. THAT is not the way I lived most of my Christian life and hence saw little internal change. As I have experienced connecting with God on a daily basis I have begun to see Him change me in some profound areas of my life. I have seen Him break addictions I had to food and people. I have seen Him revolutionize my family life and my marriage. I have seen Him redirect my focus.

I am daily becoming a different person and catching the first glimpses of the abundant life Jesus spoke of in John 15. What I found was that being in Christ for salvation is a one time decision. Being in Christ for a way of life is a daily, moment by moment decision and adventure. It is something I often heard others speak or write of, but failed to possess for myself. That has begun to change and actually started a couple weeks ago when I set a number of things aside for one week and turned my attention and my heart toward a God who continues to draw me to Himself.

Father, I have no doubt that the changes I am seeing are coming from You. I praise You for them and look for more because You are desirous to do more. Amen.

The One Who is For Me

This I know that, God is for me. Psalm 56:9 (New American Standard Bible)

This phrase needs to become a banner I carry with me through out each day. To realize that above every situation, relationship, and circumstance God is for me! I need this reminder today. I need it to make its way to the very center of my being. It has to be more than words on a page to me. It has to be what gives me life, assurance, and comfort.

As the Romans 8:31 says, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8 is a chapter that is filled with ways God is for us. He doesn’t condemn us. He sets us free. He sent His Son to be our offering for sin. He has given us His Spirit. He gives us life and peace. He claims us as His own. He leads us by His Spirit. He is our Abba Father and calls us His children. He makes us His heirs. He adopts and redeems us. He helps us in our weaknesses. He prays and intercedes for us. He works all things for good. He calls us for His purposes. He knows us thoroughly and is conforming us to the image of His Son. He justifies and glorifies us. Any and all that would be against us surely fades in comparison to God being for us.

Ephesians 6 lists the armor I am to put on and when it says to pick up my sword, which is the Word of God, this list from Romans 8 is part of my sword. When thoughts of condemnation begin to circle, THIS list is what I can use against them. When relationships are not what I want them to be, THIS list is what will comfort me. When life gets messy, THIS list is what can bring calm to my internal world. When the enemy mocks me with my own failures, THIS list can silence him. When my mind takes trips down wrong paths and into dark pits, THIS list is what can get me back on the right path and walking in the light once again.

For too many years I could read God’s Word but fail to apply it to my every day life. I am learning how to do that now and it is making a difference. While there are still times I fail and don’t get it right, there are also moments of victory and growth that I praise God for. He and I both know I will not reach perfection in this life time, but together we celebrate the triumphs and progress.

I don’t know what others are facing who read these words today, but I am confident they are meant to encourage you and give you a life line of hope. Time and time again, God has assured me the messages are meant for myself and others. They are meant for you!

Father, of all that I have read this morning from Your Word and various books, THIS was Your message for me today. What a gift! What a precious God You are to me! Amen.

It Will Be Well

Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds. Isaiah 3:10 (New International Version)

Words hold such power. God used words to speak creation into existence. Each day we are given the opportunity to breathe life or death into situations. God would desire us to be a verbal encouragement to those we come into contact with.

At times, we wonder if what we are doing really matters. Is it making a difference in anyone’s life? It is easy to get discouraged when we do not see results immediately or try as we may difficulties still find their way into our life.

Imagine yourself running a race. Along the way spectators call out to you words of encouragement meant to spur you on to finish the race. Words have a way of snapping us back to reality.

The truth of the matter is God’s principle of reaping and sowing is still in place today. “It will be well” is a promise made by God to those who chose to follow Him. They are words we must learn to speak to ourselves and to others. No matter what the circumstances are right now, IT WILL BE WELL. No matter what grim news has just been delivered to you, IT WILL BE WELL. No matter what loss you have just sustained, IT WILL BE WELL. No matter what your finances look like presently, IT WILL BE WELL.

For the righteous (just, lawful) those words are meant to inspire, encourage, sustain, rejuvenate, motivate, and renew. We must not let the things we can see, hear, feel, and experience diminish the promise made from our Father’s mouth to our heart.

Today when you begin to doubt, fear, or become discouraged let the phrase “it will be well” become your mantra. Count on it as surely as anything else. Think of it this way. In the midst of it all, God leans over, takes your head in His hands, and whispers into your ear, “ I know it is hard right now. I know you are hurting and the way has gotten painful. But I give you My word. This is all going to end well. I promise!”

Father, cause Your words to take root in me. They are not only spoken in love but they will be accomplished. Amen.

Finding It In Him

You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever. Psalm 16:11 (New American Standard Bible)

I see three things in this verse that I very much want in my own life and so does God. They are God’s direction, fullness of joy, and pleasures forevermore. What a far cry from those qualities that use to be prevalent in my mind when I thought of what God intended for me! Something is wrong when more attention is given to outward show rather than what is going on internally.

For years I could not figure out why standards, rules, and areas of separation seemed to be my main focus and that of other believers. Then it dawned on me it was because they were so assessable. It was easier to compare myself with another person’s actions and I could always find someone who didn’t quite measure up to my “spirituality.” But the heart is another matter. That is a place that cannot be compared to another person. That is the place where God alone sees all. And that is the place from where the outward behavior must stem. No wonder God said that those who compare themselves among themselves are not wise. Comparisons in that way do not please Him. Honesty in the inward parts does!

If I see one capsule theme for this verse it is found in the word presence. That word epitomizes cherished fellowship, undivided attention, genuine love, and a desire to be close. When those words characterize our walk with God we will be the recipients of direction, joy, and pleasure in abundant and ongoing measures! But far too often we look to people to give us what we long for instead of going to the only true Source.

The best thing that ever happened in my Christian life was when God began to direct me to people who in turn pointed me back to Him as my source for those things. It followed decades of thinking I would be alright if I could just bond with the right person. Time and time again I found they could not give me what I craved the most, in the amounts I wanted, and at the constant level I wanted it. It was like standing near a sprinkler with a cup in hand trying to catch a few drops of water to quench my thirst. When all the while the Fountain of Living Water beaconed me to come to Him.

It took a long time for me to realize my problem was not that I had needs. My problem was where I looked to have the needs met and satisfied. For me, it was in relationships with Christians whom I most admired and wanted to be like. God had to show me He was the One for me to look to and He wanted to bring out the uniqueness of who He created me to be. Am I still learning? You bet! But I treasure the journey I am on to find Him as my All in All.

Father, I did not always know it was You I needed. Not just for eternal life but for abundant life. Quench my deepest thirst with Yourself. Amen.

God-guided Conversations

Nathan then said to David, "You are the man!” 2 Samuel 12:7 (New American Standard Bible)

The prophet, Nathan, was sent to David with a specific message concerning David’s sin. For close to a year, David harbored a “secret” of great proportion. He had committed adultery as well as murder. As far as he was concerned, no one but Bathsheba knew of the adultery. The murder was not even known by her. Nathan was used of God to pinpoint those very things to David. He had no trouble determining that Nathan had been sent to him by God with a message meant for his ears and David’s response was Psalm 51.

While I have never had the experience of having a person sent to me to reveal a “hidden” sin, I have known what it was like to talk with someone and have them pinpoint an area in my life that God was dealing with. Yesterday, I went to talk with a friend. We had set up a time for this talk and yet I wasn’t sure what we were going to talk about. She has been helping me wade through some issues but none of those issues were needing to be discussed. On the way to her house I simply asked God to guide our conversation. THAT is exactly what He did.

We talked for about thirty minutes on various things and then the conversation took a turn. Within moments she brought up a subject that God had been dealing with me in and she had NO idea the hugeness of it. As a matter of fact, as she began to pinpoint this area she wasn’t sure how I was going to receive her words but knew instinctively that she was to say what she said. I was receptive but stunned at the realization that THIS was going to be our God-guided conversation. I saw both the message and the messenger as being from Him and that made it easier to receive what was being said. Her coffee table became an altar of prayer for us and I walked away shaking my head in amazement at how God works. Last year another person had tried to tell me the same things but it has taken this long for me to finally be receptive. God has been graciously patient.

I count it precious that He would carve out a time for a conversation in order to once again target a place of needed change in my life. I now head into a new week with a sense of expectancy over what He will be doing to bring about that change. He has already promised me the grace to walk in obedience and given me the desire to do it. Since I know that His ways and thoughts are higher than my own, I know the end of this story is bound to be amazing!

Father, You have spoken clearly to me through the mouth of a friend….AGAIN. I thank you for the message given and Your presence that goes with me into this area of change. Amen.

Faith or Fear?

All the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Daniel 3:7 (New International Version)

We were created in the image of God and part of that creation is the ability and desire to worship. As I read the book of Daniel I ask myself what would cause so many people to bow down to a statue? Was it the realization that this statue cared for them, created them, and deserved their worship? Was it the belief that this statue could protect them, bless them, and love them? Were they able to ascribe power, wisdom, and majesty to this statue? Was their worship out of faith, passion, and truth? The answer to all these questions is “no.” Their worship was driven and displayed by one source……fear.

Nebuchadnezzar used the one thing that he knew would control others. He threatened them with being thrown into a furnace of blazing fire if they did not bow down and worship the image of his creation. He was not interested in their heart but rather their conformity. Driven by pride and an ever growing ego, he knew the right buttons to push and for the most part it worked.

Oh, how different our worship of God should be. God desires our worship of Him to be out of faith not fear. Love not dread. Passion not apathy. To see God’s character and proclaim praise to Him because of it is at the heart of true worship. It is not an outward posturing but rather an inward prostrating of ourselves before a righteous, holy, loving, powerful, and compassionate God. That is not possible outside of having a daily intimate, personal walk with Him. Knowing Him and being known by Him is what opens the door for true worship.

How I missed that realization for decades. Reducing my walk with Him to an impersonal list of does and don’ts, harboring judgmental attitudes toward others, modifying my behavior while neglecting my heart, performing rather than praising, all kept me at arms length from a God who longed to draw me close. Like the people of Nebuchadnezzar’s day I knew what it was like to live a fearful Christian life. Fearful of other’s opinions and the consequences of their displeasure. But with faith came freedom.

Father, You delivered me from the fear that kept me from really knowing and worshiping You. I now bow to You for the right reasons. Amen.