Without Sight

Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29 (New King James Version)

I remember as a 14 year old, reading this verse for the very first time and seeing the personal significance. It was the first time I had read Scripture and knew it was talking about ME because I was one who had believed in Christ without seeing Him with my physical eyes. Now, three and a half decades later, I am seeing a new truth come alive to me as I once again read this verse.

The Bible says that God is good, works all things together for good, and has purposed good things for our life. It also says He makes roads in the wilderness, gives beauty for ashes, and is conforming us to image of His Son. Some of us, like Thomas, live with a “I have to see it to believe it” mentality. We hold out believing with abandon until we actually SEE what God is doing, how things will turn out, why things are happening, where God is taking us, and when whatever we are experiencing will be over with. When we can finally see what God is purposing and doing we then make our proclamations of faith in Him. In other words, we believe He is Who He says He is and can do what He says He can do when we see it with our own eyes.

Today’s verse can be a personal invitation to us if we allow it. Jesus is saying to each of us, “Believe Me even when you don’t yet see all that I am doing and why I am doing it. The blessing comes as you walk in confidence even without the full picture and all the answers knowing that My view is really the only view that counts.”

I joy in the fact that THAT is the kind of God I love and serve. No matter what is transpiring in my life, He can be trusted, depended upon, believed in, and followed whether or not I understand and see everything. He already knows the end of each story of my life and my confidence in Him does not have to be weakened in the slightest by what I do or don’t see with my physical eyes. Eternity will reveal ALL the things I may question now, but I don’t have to wait until then to take hold of His hand and walk with boldness now. As far as God is concerned, it is ALL a done deal now even before it has begun.

Father, You’ve seen the tears, fears, and questions of my heart countless times. Now may You see the kind of faith that brings blessing. Amen.

God Will Make A Way - Don Moen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RmdzX5XPpM

I welcome your questions and comments to any devotional thoughts. I am honored and delighted to share my journey with you and privileged to hear of yours.

Platform Living

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33 (New International Version)

Some would read this verse this morning and groan, because the only thing they seem to be experiencing is the tribulation. Peace illudes them, good cheer is absent, and they wonder at the ‘overcoming’ part. If that is you today, may this devotional serve as a lifeline to you. Jesus’ intent is that we experience ALL the promises of this verse. Not to just stick our toe in His pool of words, but to plunge in and saturate ourselves with the hope in which He wants us to immerse ourselves!

This is one of those verses that has a sandwiche principle. The fact of tribulation in this life is sandwiched between the promises of peace and good cheer (taking heart). What does tribulation look like? It comes in many forms. It can be the pressures, hurts, disappointments, afflictions, anguish, burdens, turmoil, persecutions, troubles, or trials of life. Jesus does not want to leave us with the idea that the abundant life He promised would be absent of hardships. If we do not see that truth we will set ourselves up for disillusionment, confusion, and tremendous misunderstanding.

In the midst of the struggles Jesus makes available to us His peace, quietness, rest, and even prosperity. He invites us to live with good cheer, comfort, courage, boldness, and confidence. How? By seeing Him as the Overcomer to all of life. He subdued, conquered, and won the conquest at Calvary. Being in relationship with Him empowers me to live as a conquerer with a quiet boldness even in the midst of life’s difficulties. If nothing else, I stand on the premise that God is able to work all things out for my good and His glory.

As a devotional once reminded me, I can view my tribulations as “a platform for the display of His almighty grace and power.” It is up to me how I choose to live on that platform. I can curl up into a ball of pain, misery, and victimization, or I can accept God’s invitation to live life to the fullest with Him. While there will be tears shed along the way, I want to learn to sing, dance, and celebrate atop the platform!

Father, teach me to not only acknowledge the difficulties of life but to simultaneously proclaim Your Person, power, and presence at the center of it all. May I partner with You in my platform living! Amen.

In The Potters Hand - Hillsong (HQ sound)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6beNoG0H0E0&feature=related

I welcome your questions and comments to any devotional thoughts. I am honored and delighted to share my journey with you and privileged to hear of yours.

The Whole Message

Then they said to Jeremiah, "May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with the whole message with which the LORD your God will send you to us. "Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, we will listen to the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, so that it may go well with us when we listen to the voice of the LORD our God." Jeremiah 42:5,6 (New American Standard Bible)

What pastor would not thrill to hear his congregation proclaim the words the Jews had spoken to Jeremiah. In essence they were saying, “Tell us what the Lord says and we will obey…no matter what!” In reality, they had already made up their minds to do what they wanted to do. If God’s message to them was not what they wanted it to be, they really had no intention on walking in obedience. Jeremiah 43 reveals they did exactly what God warned them NOT to do….they headed to Egypt! They decided since the message was not what they wanted it to be then, in their minds, it wasn’t from God.

I am astounded! The message was crystal clear. “Stay in Babylon and you will be abundantly blessed and protected. Go to Egypt and you will die!” As clear as that was, they rejected the wisdom and warning of God’s message through Jeremiah.

Does that sort of thing still happen today? Absolutely! The Bible is clear about Heaven and Hell. It is clear about salvation coming through faith in Christ alone. And yet people don’t want to accept that as God’s message. They have their own idea of how life and the after life works and that has become “truth” to them. When the Jewish people chose to reject God’s message it did not change the message. When people today choose to reject what the Bible clearly says, it does not change the message. Unfortunately, many will come to realize that when it is eternally too late.

But it is not just the world that picks their way through God’s Word with a smorgasbord mentality. Christians are often guilty of the same mindsets. Hence, we get a prosperity gospel, all law, all grace, God’s love, God’s judgment. God is a God of balance and His Word is just as balanced. Yes, there is grace but there are also warnings for disobedience. There are boundaries and limits God has established and when we live within them we are within the parameters of blessing and favor.

I have known what it is like to live outside of God’s intended will for my life. It is a place of frustration, loneliness, heartache, and profound sadness. Those are the very things God has used to draw me back into submission and obedience to Himself. I came to the place where my way was too uncomfortable. May I speak the words found in today’s verse with a ready and willing heart to yield to whatever God says.

Father, my ears and heart are open to what You have to say to me. May I walk in obedience even when what You say isn’t what I hoped it would be. Amen.

We Bow Down - Twila Paris
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1rjmBNKk-4w&feature=related

I welcome your questions and comments to any devotional thoughts. I am honored and delighted to share my journey with you and privileged to hear of yours.

The Purpose for Second Chances

Joseph said to them, It is as I said to you, you are spies; by this you will be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here! Genesis 42:14-16 (New American Standard Bible)

The account of Joseph in the book of Genesis has so many layers of truth. A favored son of his father was the despised one by his half-brothers. They could not speak kindly to him due to jealousy and hate. Eventually there came an opportunity for them to rid themselves of him and they took it. They sold him into slavery and led their father to believe he had been killed by a wild animal. Years later, they came face to face with this same brother, only now he was the prime minister of Egypt! They did not recognize him but he recognized them and put them through a series of “tests” to see if they had changed.

I use to read this story and limit the tests to showing Joseph there had been a change in them. Now I am seeing it with a much broader view. The tests were also to show the brothers themselves that they had in fact changed. When I read the entire account I am left wondering if they ever fully realized the incredible work God had done in their hearts. For in fact, they were very different men but failed to fully embrace that truth and enjoy the rich forgiveness and relationship Joseph continually offered them.

God had repeated a scenario in their lives to demonstrate to them and others that He had done a work in them. God still does the same in our lives today. Once He has brought us through a difficulty, weakness, or failure, He will often times allow us to step back into a similar experience in order to reveal that change has taken place. He wants us to realize we are not the same person we were and if we can come to see that, then we can live with a joy and freedom that wasn’t ours in the past.

Tears filled my eyes as this truth came home to me yesterday. Having failed in a former relationship due to huge dependency issues, God has once again introduced significant people into my life and I was left wondering why He would ever trust me with such relationships given my past track record. That is when He let me know He was doing so not only for encouragement but to show me that He in fact has been changing me over the past year or so. His intent is that I would see that deep and meaningful relationships are meant for me and He will continue to help me enjoy them in a balanced and healthy way. I marvel that I have been given a “second” chance at receiving the precious gift of friendship. The heart I felt could not be trusted (my own) is the very heart God knows and is faithfully developing through countless ways. I am both undeserving and grateful!

Father, You have given me something I never thought I would ever see again. I see the change in me and trust You to bring about even more change. What a faithful God You are! Amen.

I'm Not Who I Was - Brandon Heath
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3SjCuSkaNs&feature=related

In the Night Seasons

I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel; my heart also instructs me in the night seasons. Psalm 16:7 (New King James Version)

I have come to believe that the true test of spiritual growth and the practicing of infused truth takes place in the night seasons of our soul. Not during the sunny days, clear skies, and smooth roads of life, but rather during the storms, temptations, disappointments, losses, and pain. I have often looked at times when I struggle as simply the exposing of my own weaknesses and I would cringe at the realization. I dreaded the moments when I would slip into despair and discouragement. I didn’t like the darkness. But this morning I am seeing something I have missed. It is during those times that God is giving me the opportunity to live and apply what He has been teaching me in my more “sterling” moments.

The instruction comes easily for me. I love truth! I actually get an energetic high off it. When His Word comes alive to me and something makes sense I am on cloud nine and eager to talk about the thrill of what He is showing me. Applying that truth and integrating it into my every day life is another story all together. It’s harder and sometimes scarier. Yet it is at those times when God wants me to take the principles He has given me and incorporate them into my thinking and heart. They are not meant to simply be nice thoughts to enjoy on good days. They are meant to be my anchor, foundation, stronghold, compass, companion, and guide through every storm, enemy attack, and self imposed difficulty.

God in essence is saying, “Trust Me to bring about the results I intend as you follow me with trust, obedience, and abandon.” He wants me to see that His counsel will not fail me. He wants me to use it to instruct myself in the night seasons of my life. He wants me to learn during the hard times to fix my eyes on Him rather than on myself or my circumstances. He wants me learn to walk in His strength when I feel at my weakest. He wants me to see Him as my Light when things are the darkest. He wants me to accept any and all help He gives me for the purpose of bringing me out of my solitary pits. That help often times comes in the form of friends, books, music, and His Word. Anything or anyone who points me back to Him is a precious tool in His hands that He uses.

I am feeling wonderful this morning, but I know this moment is temporary. There will be a time when my feelings will shift and that will be the opportunity for me to choose to take what I have shared and actually live it!

Father, You have given me instruction many times. Help me to now run with it! Amen.

Praise You In This Storm - Casting Crowns
http://youtube.com/watch?v=uHdcyue0bSw&feature=related

A Place of Protection

In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste, He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye. Deuteronomy 32:10 (New Internation Version)

I have often seen the phrase “the apple of his eye” in scripture and assumed it simply referred to being precious to God. While that is certainly true that is not what this phrase is talking about. The apple of the eye is its pupil. A necessary part of the eye that requires protection at all costs. One Bible note says it is cared for and protected because of its great value. No wonder Deuteronomy 32:10 uses words like shielded, cared for, and guarded. The NASB uses the word encircled. The KJV uses the word kept. Some people would read this verse and mistakenly conclude God’s protection means the removal of trials, pain, disappointment, and heartache from their life. Although that will be the case when this life is over it certainly is not the case as we walk through this world. I would venture to say that most of us face a difficulty in one form or another EVERY day! It may be in the circumstances we face, the people we come into contact with, the unmet needs we live with, illness, loss, or any number of other things. No, God’s protection does not mean absence of these things.

What it does mean is protection from the effects they would have on us. While His protection is there all the time, the times we most need to sense it is when we are going through a difficulty. It is times like that when I try to picture God’s arms or wings enfolding me and holding me securely. To be sheltered by Him. I am learning the necessity and preciousness of running to Him during the times when my heart aches, my tears flow, and my strength fails.

It use to be I thought He expected me to withstand these things on my own. Like somehow, Christian maturity meant I could get to the place where the things of life no longer affected me. I was setting myself up for discouragement as I could never seem to master that ability. It has just been in the last number of months that I have learned in this life I will experience pain, sorrow, and disappointment but now I know where to go for the comfort, healing, and protection. I don't always get it right but I am learning to go straight into the arms of the One who longs to shelter me.

Father, once again I seek the shelter You provide. Hold me! Amen.

You Are My Hiding Place/As The Deer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWYtujZjoUA&feature=related

The Cure for Disappointment

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 (New American Standard Bible)

God’s Word is full of conditional promises. We often want to see the fulfillment of the promise with little regard to the condition that is attached to it. It is imperative that as we come across a promise we look for the “when” and “if” statements that follow. Today’s verse is a great illustration of this principle. There is a promise of finding God WHEN we search for Him with ALL our heart.

I once read a statement in a devotional book that stopped me dead in my tracks. It got my attention because it addressed an issue that had been weighing heavily on my mind and emotions for the past number of days. God often allows me to struggle with an area in my life so that when He finally brings the answer I won’t miss it. Neon lights could not make it any clearer at that point!

In the book My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers made this statement: “Anything that savours of dejection spiritually is always wrong. If depression and oppression visit me, I am to blame; God is not, nor is anyone else. Dejection springs from one of two sources ~I have either satisfied a lust or I have not. Lust means ~I must have it at once.” While I realize there are chemical imbalances that can cause depression and there is certainly the work of the enemy to oppress us, I knew this statement was meant for my ears and heart on a personal level.

What did it mean to me? It addressed the issue of disappointment. He was letting me know that when my focus, hope, and desires are aimed in the wrong direction and placed in the wrong sources I will always experience disappointment. God says He has a better way for me to live my Christian life. His way is that I direct all my attention and energy into His person and plan and I will live with a satisfaction that is guaranteed. He and I are taking an honest look at motives, idols, and distractions. It is a painful but necessary process if I am to really know Him. There is no place for a divided heart in His kingdom. His desire is that I follow Him, search for Him, and embrace Him with abandon and passion.

Father, continue to show me the places in my heart that are not yet searching for You. Show me the wrong sources I continue to look to for satisfaction and significance. It is You I want to know and see! Amen.

All I once held dear - Robin Mark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI6_4KxTg2k