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Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. James 5:13 (NLT)
The words of an old hymn:
The Lord’s our Rock, in Him we hide, A Shelter in the time of storm;
Secure whatever ill betide, A Shelter in the time of storm.
The words speak of comfort; of protection from life; of security and hope. For every person that calls Jesus Christ their Savior and Lord these words offer us the promise that regardless of how bad things go in our lives, we have a place where we can go to have our needs met.
Imagine climbing a mountain trail. Suddenly a violent storm encloses you. In the distance you see a large hole in a rock wall that is big enough for you to ‘hide’ in. You run to the rock and watch the storm crash around you. The thing that once brought fear (the storm) no becomes a source of awe as you see God’s power unleashed in nature.
Each of us has encountered storms in life. Perhaps you are going through one now. The storm of having a spouse that doesn’t believe in Jesus; a child who is in rebellion; financial pressure; unemployment; health issues or the inner struggle to forgive and let go of bitterness. Prayer should be that rock in which we hide from the storms that surround us.
When people encounter the storms of life they tend to seek advice from others, look for ways of escaping the pain or blame other people for the problem. They’ll try new relationships, new ‘adventures’, different jobs or circles of friends. But those are only temporary fixes. Some will seek books or counselors or even conferences to help weather the storm. But even though these may help, the most powerful thing we can do is pray.
Those of us who call ourselves Christ-followers know that. Some of us even preach that. But do we pray? Talking about prayer may give us some emotional satisfaction.Readingabout prayer may give us insightful information. Going to prayer conferences and ‘prayer houses’ may allow us to see awesome acts of God. But for change in our own life, pray.
Prayer. It’s the most powerful weapon we own as believers. It takes no training to learn its use. It can be done by the youngest and newest believer or by the ‘veteran believer’ steeped in years of experience.
I often have people ask me to pray for them. Sometimes they will say things like, “God listens to you” or “I can’t pray as good as you can.” Prayer isn’t graded. God doesn’t ‘listen’ more to a pastor than he does anyone else. The power of prayer comes from practice and persistence and the presence of the Holy Spirit, not from knowledge.
Prayer. It’s our shelter in the time of storm.
PRAYER: Father I thank you for the shelter you have given me in the midst of the storm. Forgive me for talking about prayer and talking to other people. Help me remember that coming to you is the best weapon I have against the storms I’ll face today. Amen.
In heaven the LORD laughs as he sits on his throne, making fun of the nations. Psalm 2:4 (CEV)
I’m always amused at how some animals don’t get the whole ‘pecking order’ thing. One example that comes to mind is a dog I used to have. My Chocolate Lab/Chesapeake Bay Retriever weighed in around 90 pounds. He was a muscular, fast dog, yet docile as they come. He’d rather play fetch than fight.
Next door to our house was an elderly lady with a small toy poodle. This dog probably weighed in a little over a pound. Yet when she was out in the yard she would come over and bark at my dog, run around him, try to pick a fight. It was obvious she was angry and ready to defend her territory to the end…obvious except perhaps to Charlie, my Lab.
One time in particular ‘the rat dog’ saw Charlie sleeping in the shade. She came flying across the yard barking like a banshee. I watched as Charlie opened one eye to look directly into the barking face of a little dog no more than six inches away. He lifted his head for a moment (maybe to focus?), then, seeing who it was put his head down and went back to his nap.
My dog could have put an end to the confrontation in an instant, yet he chose to ignore the aggressor. The poodle continued its barrage of verbal assault until her owner ‘called her off.’ The smaller dog trotted victoriously across the yard, apparently convinced she’d defeated the threat.
Psalm 2 talks about angry nation’s intent on destroying God, or the concept of God. They throw all sorts of ‘attacks’ heavenward. Yet our Father looks on with a smirk on his face. We as Christ-followers get angry at the way our faith is attacked. We worry about how God’s name will be hurt by this, or religion will be destroyed by that. We look at politicians and economic systems as being a threat to our existence.
In the meantime, like my Lab Charlie, God looks down from heaven and shrugs his shoulders. Nothing to worry about. In fact, the scripture implies he is even somewhat amused by man’s attempts to thwart his plan.
Our heavenly Father isn’t worried about terrorism. Our almighty God isn’t fazed by the economic uncertainty and the predicted upcoming collapse of the world economy. He’s not overwhelmed by the complexity of the global political climate. There is nothing in the seen and the unseen world that will detract from the fulfillment of his plan. You can trust him.
PRAYER: Almighty God and heavenly Father. There are many things in this world that worry me right now. My own finances, my relationships, my physical strength to carry on. Help me to remember that nothing that is going on around me worries you. Nothing I’m going through will keep you from fulfilling your plan. Empower me with your Spirit to walk bravely with you. Amen.
Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile plans? The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one. “Let us break their chains,” they cry, “and free ourselves from slavery to God.” Psalm 2:1-3 (NLT)
We live in an angry world. That’s no secret to anyone who is paying any attention at all to their surroundings. On a global level nearly every nation in the world is feeling the effects of unrest, from peaceful protests to violent exchanges resulting in 1,000’s of deaths.
Within the home anger thrives as well. Husbands and wives clashing because ‘rights’ and ‘needs’ aren’t being met by the other. Anger that drives them to affairs, divorce, violence or even murder and suicide. Children rebelling against the ways of their parents. Casting off the ‘old, irrelevant religion’ of mom and dad for a new way of thinking that places their own ability at the center of the quest for meaning to life. Their search for that meaning leads to apathy, frustration and…anger.
We don’t verbalize it of course, but the foundation of our anger is the need for meaning in life. The catalyst in our quest is Satan. He put the seeds of doubt in the mind of Eve in the garden and has been doing so ever since. Satan, the great enemy of our souls, blamed God for harsh rules then, he’s doing it today.
As humans we are slaves to one power or another. There are no choices in that regard. We can choose to be slaves to the devious plans of the enemy, or we can choose to be slaves to the power of God. The former leads to frustration, hopelessness and anger. The latter leads to hope, faith and a life of fulfillment that started this quest in the first place. The former says, “I’m in charge of my own destiny. My success and happiness is my own responsibility.” Jesus says, “Your happiness and protection are my responsibility. I bring all the power of the almighty, loving God into our relationship for your good.”
The world says “Let’s free ourselves from slavery to God” but Jesus says, “Let me take the chains of slavery that cause your anger, fear and frustration from you.” The choice is yours. Will you continue to fight against God or will you choose to live in the freedom only Jesus can offer?
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I’m surrounded by angry people. I feel the effects of my own anger rising up as I deal with the frustrations of life. Within me I want to fix it myself, but in reality know I can’t. Forgive my anger and rebellion. Empower me to live in the freedom (not the chains) of your love. Amen.
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. James 5:16
A young mom sits alone in the waiting room, waiting for the doctor’s report. Her husband is 1,000’s of miles away. She’s alone. She’s scared. She’s worried for her baby. She earnestly pleads to her Lord Jesus for healing. Moments later the doctor enters. The look on his face tells her the answer. She breaks down in tears as he gently explains the baby’s last moments of life on earth.
A dad tucks in his young children. He looks at the clock. “Where is she tonight? Why hasn’t she called? She promised this wouldn’t happen again. How can she do this to her kids, to me?” He goes to the living room and kneels by the couch and prays, once again, for her. Her unfaithfulness to him hurts, but her unfaithfulness to the kids and to Jesus hurts even more. Earnestly he prays for her safety and for her deliverance. Hours later she comes home drunk, and it’s obvious she’s been in another man’s arms, again.
Pastor Smith listens for the clock to chime. Late again. He wonders where she is. Doubt and worry lead to anger. “Why God? Why can I see you work so strongly in the lives of those in the church and not her? Why do the prayers of her mother and me for our own daughter go unanswered? What has caused her to make these choices that are so radically different from her brother and sisters?” His prayer is interrupted by a door bell. A squad car sits in the driveway. Not again.
It’s been a brutal fight. She’s come to realize why some parents steal their kids to protect them from an angry abusive spouse. All the signs have pointed to her request for her kids to spend less time with their dad have been positive. She has her church praying, her family praying. She’s prayed for his change of heart as well. Then the judge reads the verdict. Her heart melts as the tells the kids the verdict and holds them through terror filled sobs.
Although these stories are fictitious they happen every day. Good people praying earnestly for loved ones. Righteous, faith-filled, Jesus loving moms and dads, pastors, teachers and auto mechanics. Every walk of life. Every denomination. Every country in the world. Praying to a God they trust and believe in for answers that never happen. Where are the wonderful results? Where is their loving Father when they need him most?
Some, to be sure, look at these things as being the final straw. Some turn from him, or blame themselves, or act out in anger. But the person of faith accepts God at his word. Were their words prayers of faith? Yes. Were they asking selfishly? Not from a human perspective anyway. Faith isn’t about believing God answers prayer. Faith is about trusting and accepting God’s answer when it goes against every thing we’d hoped for.
PRAYER: Father God, my prayer today is for my brothers and sisters. For those of us who struggle with our faith from time to time because our prayers aren’t answered as we’d hoped. Help us to trust your answers as best when they seem to be the worst. We know you are a God of hope. We love you. We trust you. Help us grow in that trust. Amen.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” Revelation 21:4 (NLT)
When was the last time you were so afraid that your stomach felt like a huge knot? You woke up in the middle of the night full of concern for your kids, your finances or the doctor’s report? How long has the pain from the divorce haunted you? While the physical bruises may have healed, how is the pain from the hidden emotional bruises affecting your life, your relationships with others, or your view of God? When are you going to be able to let go of the anger and bitterness, to finally forgive and move on?
On this journey called life we spend so much time trying to survive. For some, getting up every morning is a painful chore in and of itself. Physical pain is often far easier to take than the emotional pain we bear. Still we get up and move on. We fear death, but wonder how long we can endure life.
The good news is that someday, all this pain will be gone. One day, we’ll get up in the morning without a single thing to worry about! The things that anger us? Gone. The things that worry us? Eliminated! The bruises (seen and unseen). Forgotten forever! The pain of being cheated on, abandoned or abused? Replaced with comfort, joy and peace.
When we think of death there are so many unanswered questions. But rather than dwelling on what we don’t know, think for a moment about what we do know. Someday, when we cross that river from life as we know it here to eternity with Jesus every tear will be wiped away. Death will lose its grip on us. Sorrow and pain will be no more. We won’t know hate, only love. We’ll not harbor worries, only relief. We won’t contend with sickness or hunger, our every need will be met.
When we see Jesus all the pain and agony we experience here on earth will be eliminated. Paul says our current sufferings are nothing compared to the joy we will experience in the presence of our Lord Jesus.
The sufferings we have now are nothing compared to the great glory that will be shown to us. Romans 8:18 (NCV)
Was Paul treating your pain lightly? Was he unaware of the struggles and worry we all go through? Certainly not! Elsewhere he alludes to the fact that every day of his life was spent in fear of beatings or execution. But Paul also knew that no matter how big your pain now, once we reach glory our pain here on earth will seem miniscule.
Oh happy, happy day. That day when I leave this earthly shell to join my Lord Jesus. Am I suicidal? Most certainly not. With Jesus at my side I shall live life to the fullest and enjoy the many blessings I have here. But I will not fear death! Although I will go through pain here on earth as a result of my own choices or the abuse of others, I will keep my eyes on that day when all my pain will be no more!
PRAYER: Lord God. In the midst of my worries and fears; while I fight physical and emotional pain here on earth; when I’m scared of what I see in our economic and political environment, I praise you for the hope I have to join you one day in Heaven. Even though my pain is great here, I know my joy will be so much greater when I see you face to face and you wipe away the last tear I’ll ever shed! Alleluia. Come quickly Lord Jesus!
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 