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Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. John 1:3
“He made all things.” Let those words pause in your mind for a moment. The original languages give the sense of detail, not overall systems. Walk out on a star filled night and look up. How far can you see? In a sense you can see to eternity for there is no canopy.
Every star? He put it there for you. Scientists think that perhaps every star may have a solar system with planets. Does that mean there is life out there? Frankly, I don’t care. I’m more amazed at the enormity of space and the enormity of the God who created it!
“He made all things.” I love to look at newborn babies. Those tiny, tiny fingers and tiny toes. The newness of life. What a miracle. The complexity of life, of growing! Even the brain function it takes to read this sentence is utterly amazing! And to think that the whole process of life from beginning to end is not simply set in motion, but guided, ordained by its maker. Astounding!
And when I think of the unseen world. The fact that our bodies are made up of so many different cells, each working together to bring us life; to help us think, reason, feel, be passionate. The way love makes you feel when it grows and endures the tough times. Exciting!
The one who made the mountains with all their grandeur also made the fragile flower, so delicate to touch yet able to withstand ferocious winds. Soft to touch but able to endure the toughest drought. Saplings springing from the hardest granite.
Take some time to look around you. Look past the pain of life, just for a moment. Ignore the fear and worry of the future, just for a minute. Take a deep breath and enjoy the creativity of the many colors in the sunset; the beauty of the fallen snow; the creativity that surrounds us.
All this was made by Jesus and he did it for you. The bible tells us he came to his own and they didn’t take time to notice. Who were his own? Was it the rocks he created? The animals he formed? The water he separated from the land? Nope. It was the only thing scripture says was made in his image. You and I. He made us in his image because he knew that would be the best way to enjoy the world he created.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus. I’ve been so distracted of late by the worries of life. I see the pain others are going through. I feel my own agony. Just for a moment let me see the beauty you’ve created for me. Thank you for loving me enough to put me where I am. Amen.
To do this, I work and struggle, using Christ’s great strength that works so powerfully in me. Colossians 1:29 (NCV)
Do a study of the Old Testament and you will see a phrase from time to time that goes something like this: ‘And the Spirit of the Lord came upon them/him/her.’ When God’s Spirit comes on the scene you know something exciting is going to happen. When the Spirit of the Lord ‘came upon’ people in the Old Testament there was no question that the actions taken by the person ‘under the power of the Spirit’ was acting on God’s behalf.
People were raised from the dead; received supernatural powers; were given wisdom beyond comprehension. Nations fell and lives were changed when God’s Spirit ‘came upon’ people.
Fast forward to some of Jesus’ last days on earth. The time was fast approaching when he would be brutally murdered on the cross. His time with his followers was short. In John 14 Jesus gives the disciples a totally new revelation, one that when completed would change the course of history. Jesus promises that after he is gone God the Father would send his very own Spirit to help, to guide, to teach and to empower the followers of Jesus to do the work of the Kingdom!
In the Old Testament the Spirit ‘came upon’ people. Now, the Holy Spirit ‘lives in’ people! What a marvelous promise. We no longer need to wait for the Spirit to come to us, He’s here! Living inside me! He sees all the things I see, hears the things I hear, feel the pain I feel, lives through the hardship I live through. He feels the pain of my loneliness; sees the heartache of my failures; hears the words of my accusers!
It’s so easy in the Christian life to ‘know the fact of the Spirit’s presence’ without experiencing the ‘power of the Spirit’s presence.’ We get distracted by the cares of the world and start to believe that we are in this struggle alone. We start to rely on our own efforts, seek the praises of men, or measure our worth by the gifts, talents and abilities others consider worthy.
Don’t let the things you see and feel in this world take away from the power that lives within you. Paul says, in our verse for today, that he struggles using Christ’s strength, not his own to do the work God called him to do.
What work has God called you do to today? Do it in the strength of the Spirit, not your own. Whether it be managing a huge corporation or tending to children in a day care, whether it is flipping burgers at the local fast-food shop, or cleaning rooms in the local hotel. God has called you to a work and given you his Spirit to strengthen you!
PRAYER: Father I thank you for your Holy Spirit that lives in me every second of my day. Forgive me for the times I try to take matters into my own hands and do them in my own strength. Help me use the power within, the power of your Spirit to live. Amen.
The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD will answer my prayer. Psalm 6:9 (NLT)
A small boy sits by the curb looking down the street. A passerby asks if he needs help. The little boy looks up and states confidently, ‘No sir, I’m just waiting for my daddy. He said he’d be home at 5:00 and it’s almost that time. I don’t want to miss him.”
Intrigued by the little boy’s faith, the passerby asks, “How do you know he’ll come?” The child looked up with confidence and said, “Because sir, my daddy always tells me when he’ll be home and he’s never been wrong.”
A simple story. A simple faith. What was it that caused the little boy to wait with confidence? Faith in the consistency of his father. Consistency is defined by the character of an individual. In essence a consistent person is one that does what he says he’ll do. And, because he did it in the past, he can be counted on to do it in the future.
Why did the woman risk ridicule by reaching through the crown to touch Jesus? Why did Mary and Martha send a message to Jesus that Lazarus was sick? Why did four friends dig a hole in the roof to drop their paralytic friend down to Jesus? Consistency.
Jesus could be counted on to do what he says he’d do.
David writes in Psalm 6:9 “The Lord HAS heard my plea, the Lord WILL answer my prayer.”
Was David’s reliance on prayer an act of blind faith in a religious activity? Not on your life. David knew God. He’d seen God deliver him from lions and bears. He’d seen the giant fall before him. He’d felt his presence on cold, dark, lonely nights and in the midst of the storm. He knew God and God’s track record assured him that he’d be heard.
Often times, when our prayers aren’t answered we fall back on the idea that if God didn’t answer it’s because he didn’t want to because of his anger towards us, or his disdain for our past, or because he is powerless to do so.
He may not always answer in the time or manner we’d like, but history shows that we serve a God who is consistent. He does what he says he’ll do time after time. The original word picture David paints in his statement refers to mercy and grace. He knew his God was a God of mercy and grace and because of that, because of what he’d seen God do in the past, he knew he could count on him for the future.
Regardless of what you are going through today, the Lord God, knows your heart and your need. He’s been meeting needs for 1,000’s of years. He’s not about to change that now. You can trust that he’ll do what he says he’ll do.
PRAYER: Father, it’s hard to comprehend what it means to be consistent in faith since there are so few things that are consistent today. Marriages fail, friends leave us, religion seems empty. Help me to rely on your consistency in my faith walk. Amen.
Have compassion on me, LORD, for I am weak. Heal me, LORD, for my bones are in agony. Psalm 6:2 (NLT)
I love plants, but I am not even close to what some may call a person with ‘a green thumb.’ In reality, if my plants could talk they’d probably describe me using the words ‘abusive’ or ‘neglectful’. Not intentionally of course, but the plants I have sit silently every day and quite often go unnoticed until their leaves droop. When that finally catches my attention I water them and hope they ‘come back’.
The Psalmist describes himself as being weak. That phrase ‘for I am weak’ may be better rendered ‘I am as one who droops’. That phrase gives the word picture of a plant in drought conditions…or a plant in my living room from time to time. The ground beneath it yearns for water. The leaves droop under the stress of trying to grow with no nourishment.
We get that way from time to time, don’t we? For some of us it’s not an occasional thing but a daily condition. The burdens of the day weigh us down. We yearn for even a little respite from the agony of worry, the fear of failure, the shame from poor decisions, and the demands of addiction.
We walk (on the inside) like the little boy I saw in the mall the other day. Obviously done with a long day of shopping and wanting to be carried he drug himself down the hall, arms drooping, head down, staggering under some unseen load, and moaning “I’m tired. Carry me.” (You can add the drama according to where you are today!)
In Old Testament times ‘for my bones are in agony’ didn’t refer to the skeletal system that upholds us. It referred more to the emotional make-up of the person. Not only did David feel like he was drooping under the pressure of the day, the pain went to his very soul. He was tired physically and that fatigue went all the way to the very heart of his being.
Another Old Testament author, Jeremiah, voices a similar plea when he says, “O LORD, if you heal me, I will be truly healed; if you save me, I will be truly saved. My praises are for you alone!” (Jeremiah 17:14)
There are times in our lives when we feel like my plant in the corner. We keep doing the things we do, we keep giving, serving and tending to our daily routines, but in the midst of the activity there’s a whole lot more going out than coming in. We can feel unappreciated, unnoticed, neglected or even abused.
That’s when we come to the Father for the refreshment we need from his spirit. Like the woman at the well, we come to the one who promises us water, refreshing water that lives within us to encourage us along the way. His healing is eternal and available regardless of the reason for our stress.
PRAYER: Lord there are times when the stress of my day seems to overwhelm me. Like David, the pain seems to go to my very soul. Heal me with the refreshing water of your Spirit. Help me to find my strength in you when the demands of life seem too great. Amen.
“If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Matthew 21:22
There are certain things in the Christian’s life that I have to admit I struggle with. Perhaps the biggest one is prayer. Don’t get me wrong. I believe in the power of prayer. I’ve seen miracles that can only be explained by the working of God’s hand. I’ve seen lives changed. I’ve seen demons flee. I’ve seen people get up and walk when medical science told us they’d never walk again. Prayer works. Jesus’ words are not void.
On the other hand, I’ve seen parents weep over the casket of a child because their prayers ‘weren’t answered’. I’ve seen the innocent accused wrongly because a judge decided to use his own ‘wisdom’ rather than look at the evidence ‘objectively’. I’ve watched spouses walk away from families while the church prayed things would be different. Prayers offered up to heaven seem to fall harmlessly to the ground leaving lives and bodies strewn in their path. Does that mean I don’t believe in prayer? NO. As I stated earlier, prayer works. I’ve seen far too many personal examples of God’s working to believe otherwise. I believe the Bible to be God’s Holy Word, without error unashamedly. I believe in and take advantage of the promise we have in Hebrews and elsewhere that we can come with confidence before the throne of God to receive mercy and grace in our time of need. I believe our God is sovereign, all-powerful, loving and merciful. I believe my faith is a package deal. You can’t pick and choose which parts of ‘God’ you will believe and which you will not. It’s all or nothing. He believes in you when you fail, all he asks is that you believe in him when he disappoints.
So here are my thoughts on the hard aspects of prayer thus far in the journey. It’s not an inclusive list, I didn’t find them on some tablets buried in the ground. They came from my heart.
When you struggle to believe in prayer, remember that prayer you can believe in means:
- Your Heavenly Father won’t give you something that’s harmful to you. All of us are like 2 year-old children. We want the things we see in life with little regard for the consequences they bring to us. We see for today, not tomorrow. Why else does lust, addiction and spending beyond our means hold such an allure. Jesus promises us that if we pray for bread, God won’t give us a rock. The opposite is also true. If we pray for a rock to eat, God won’t give it to us. He loves us too much to give us something that will hurt us. Having said that, remember he also will never force you to take the best choice. He loves you too much for that too.
- Your Heavenly Father wont keep you from going through something that you need to go through in order grow stronger. None of us like pain. Sometimes we’ll choose painful things because we think that pain will be less than the pain before us, but we never choose pain as the best route. However, strength never comes without adversity. Walking never comes without falling; good health never comes from willing it to as we over-eat and under-exercise; learning faith never comes without an element of doubt leading to trust. A loving Father knows what it’s going to take to make you strong and he won’t give up on you until he has you strong enough to face what lay ahead.
- Your Heavenly Father won’t thwart his eternal purpose by keeping you from going through something you need to go through in order to help others on their journey. Your Father’s ultimate desire is to bring all of his children into relationship with him. The only way that will happen is through Jesus Christ. When Jesus left planet earth he left behind a charge to each of us, a challenge to go, to disciple, to reach out to those caught in the web of sin and despair. The most effective ambassadors are those who’ve struggled themselves. Because of his great love for you and others; because of his eternal goal of passionately desiring to spend eternity with your neighbors, he may allow you to go through things so you can more show more passion and more understanding to those who need Jesus.
- Your Heavenly Father won’t answer a prayer that is contrary to his holiness. This may be the hardest of all for us to endure and understand. He is a holy God. He is a perfect God. Sin can not stand in his presence. Because of this, when sin in in our lives he needs to cleanse us. Not for his sake but for ours. Unconfessed sin keeps us from the passionate relationship he so earnestly desires. We may endure the consequences of our actions, not because he hates us, but because he wants to cleanse us.
That’s the short list. There are no easy answers. There are times we’ll never understand his actions. There are times we won’t even know how to pray. Circumstances may change our view of God, but they will never change God’s love for us.
PRAYER: Father I confess to you that I don’t understand your actions in my life. I thank you and praise you that in spite of my limited view and my weakness you still love me. I worship you for the fact that I can approach your throne even when I question your actions. Thank you for the grace to go on. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 