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I love the raw emotion of David in the songs he wrote (Psalms). They are filled with virtually every type of emotion from anger to fear; from frustration to doubt; from confession to loneliness. Virtually ever song ends with a acknowledgement of God’s unending, unfailing, unconditional love.
So with such a great God on our side, why would anyone run from him? I’m not sure there are any easy answers but it’s been happening since the beginning of time, with the first two humans to ever walk this earth.
What an amazing relationship Adam and Eve must have had with the triune God. At the end of every day they had the opportunity to walk in the cool of the evening; to talk with him about all the things they’d seen throughout the day; to ask him first hand, eye to eye, about life.
They were completely naked physically, spiritually and emotionally! Boggles my mind!
Then that fateful evening came. The Heavenly Father, the Triune God, came as he always did to walk with the loves of his life…but they were gone. They ran. They hid. Not only did they hide from their loving Father, they hid from each other behind fig leaves. And so the story goes on.
We still do it of course. We see our failings; we grieve over our weaknesses; we hide and blame and pass on the responsibility of our guilt to others. It’s been going on for thousands of years.
One other thing hasn’t changed. He still comes for you. Still seeks you out. In spite of your failings, still passionately desires to be intimately involved with you. He won’t judge. He won’t accuse. He only wants to love on you a bit.
Why do we run from that?! Maybe it’s time we come out of the bushes and renew a love relationship.
Wisdom isn’t dependent on your level of knowledge. Wisdom is using the knowledge you have to its fullest extent.
I have a friend who is my example of the American Dream. He’s well in his 70’s now, owner of over 50 banks, 5 corporations, and his worth is in the billions. One time he said to me, rather sheepishly, “I don’t really know how much money I have, but God has given it to me to bless others.”
The amazing thing to me, and the lesson I’m hoping to learn is that he didn’t operate on tons of knowledge to get him where he is today. He relied on hard work, wisdom and vision. His story starts out as a young man who cut wood and sold it to make a living. But he saw possibilities in what he did know, was wise in pursuing his vision, and along the way picked up the knowledge he needs today to manage his business empire.
What books haven’t you written? What calls need to be made? What is it that you haven’t pursued? (Yes, I have my list!) We serve the God of all wisdom. Seek him to guide you.
Wisdom isn’t dependent on your level of knowledge. Wisdom is using the knowledge you have to its fullest extent!
At first it may sound like the whole prosperity gospel thing; Name it and Claim it! You know, the idea some hold to that all you have to do is claim it and God will give it to you. God wants you to have what you want, what your heart desires. The reason you don’t have is you don’t have enough faith; you haven’t claimed it!
Sounds great if only it were true. God does want you to succeed. God does want to give you the desires of your heart. But only when those desires match his desires Desire is fickle. Desire is deceitful. Desire can trick you into seeing all the ‘good reasons’ to have something. But desire forgets to include God plans become frustrated.
Take Jonah for example. He was called to go to his worst enemy and preach the gospel. There was no good reason for him to do so. His life and his principles would be compromised. Heading the other way made perfect sense in his heart. Desire triumphs!
God had other ideas and when Jonah aligned his heart to God’s an entire city was spared. When you draw near to God and allow his Spirit to control your desires, your success is guaranteed. Not because you got what you wanted, but because you got what he wanted. He never promises us an easy time on earth, but the things he has planned for us for eternity will make the struggles of today seem minuscule.
God’s idea of success is opening your heart to complete submission to his will.
20 years ago I officiated at one of the most difficult funerals I’ve ever had to do. I was pastor of a small church in a small town in NW Wisconsin. We were a close knit church family and I was more of a friend than a pastor to most. That’s one reason this funeral was hard. It was hard enough to mourn the loss of a five year old boy, but when that boy was the son of a close friend, it was almost unbearable.
How do you answer the ‘why’ question? How do you answer the ‘Where was God’ question? It’s often said, especially when a young person dies, that ‘they died too soon’ but in reality, God has every day of our lives planned There are no early deaths, no surprises in heaven.
Life is short. Live it with excellence. Never forget the lessons learned from your past, but let Jesus remove the guilt and shame. Whatever your past, it should be a stepping stone to the future, not an anchor holding you back.
Don’t wish for tomorrow because you don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Rather, trust your Father to bring the things of tomorrow to you in due time. The wisdom God gave you from yesterday’s lessons empowers you to face the challenges of tomorrow.
I remember it vividly. I’d had my eye on a certain truck at the local car dealership for some time. I couldn’t afford it, but had all sorts of good ‘ministry’ reasons to buy it. Finally I went in to talk to the dealer. He gave me a deal I chose not to resist. A deal that was right out of my budget range. You don’t get deals like that everyday! I signed the papers and drove it off the lot, completely ignoring the knot in my stomach. God never yells. God’s soft voice is often drowned out by the voice of desire.
Fast forward…i remember watching the repossession guy hooking my truck up to his truck and watching my dream truck being pulled away down the street.
Today is the first day of 2019! Many will be making resolutions to lose weight, eat better, spend more wisely and the list goes on. Goals are good. Plans are good. But the missing ingredient in many of our planning sessions is the ultimate question of ‘Where is God in my plans?
Each week we say the ‘Lords Prayer’ at our church. Each week we say “thy will be done” but in reality, our hearts are saying ‘my will be done.’ When our hearts are in tune with God’s heart our plans will naturally gravitate towards his desires and not our own.
Make 2019 the year that God shows himself mightily to you because you are close to his heart. Draw close to him and he’ll draw close to you.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 