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I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:18
A dear friend of mine passed away suddenly a few weeks ago. While she was in her mid-seventies, she was more active than some half her age. She left behind three adult children, several grandchildren, many, many special friends and Suzie (not her real name).
Suzie was a young, special needs child that my friend adopted at a young age. She’d come from a very bad home life and had been bounced from one family member to another and several foster homes. That changed when she was adopted. My friend raised her as her own, helped her to excel to the best of her ability and watched her mature into a beautiful young lady.
Suzie wrote a letter to ‘her mom’ which was read at the funeral by someone else. It started something like this: “Dear mom, I remember the first time I met you. I asked you if you wanted me. You said yes.”
If there had been a dry eye in the house up to this point, it was gone! ‘Do you want me?’
The words still linger in my mind. We all ask that question. Not in so many words, not in such dire times, although for some we do. We all want to be wanted. We all NEED to be wanted. It’s an intrinsic part of our human nature. That’s why we seek relationships; why we work so hard for status, power and riches. The need to be wanted is at the heart of our social networking sites or our favorite night spots.
The need to be wanted also has a negative effect. When we can’t find fulfillment for the hole in our souls that screams for acceptance we try other relationships that may harm us, harm other people or destroy our bodies with drugs, alcohol or other things.
“Do you want me?”
It’s a question Jesus answers on a daily basis. “I will not leave you as orphans.” Get it? He wants you. Orphans have nothing to give. Orphans have an unknown past, and may bring emotional, physical or intellectual baggage that you aren’t ready to deal with. But Jesus says, I don’t care about all that. I want you.
Each of us is an orphan in a spiritual sense. Each of us have nothing to give, no hope for the future and carry enough luggage to fill an airliner. Our need to feel wanted is fulfilled through Jesus Christ. He makes no requirements other than that we accept his gift of adoption into his family.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, there are so many times I feel alone, rejected or unable to meet the demands of today that others put on me or I put on myself. Thank you for adopting me. Thank you for wanting me, baggage and all. Amen.
Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21 (NIV1984)
“It seemed like such a good idea at the time.”
How many times have you heard yourself or someone else mumble those words?
A couple sits across the courtroom from one another. Eight years ago they pledged their love to each other ‘until death do us part’. Now, the pieces of a family torn by doubt and infidelity and emotional abandonment are all that is left. As she looks at him she thinks back. He was a good Christian man. He was kind, generous, forgiving. Someone she could trust. Now, all she felt was hurt, all she saw in his eyes was anger. What happened?
The story is the same throughout mankind. We have plans. We have visions of what life should look like. Sometimes we make half-hearted prayers to God for wisdom, prayers which are really nothing more than asking his approval for our ideas.
Our plans can be for a successful career, a healthy family, or a large, burgeoning church. But things don’t go as we expected and we revert to our own strength and wisdom rather than look to God. We begin to compare, criticize, covet and complain about each other and about God.
Somewhere along the line we’ve gotten the idea that God’s plan for each of us is to live a fairy tale existence. The frogs of the world turn to princes. The princesses swoon at our kiss. The ‘magic seeds’ of entrepreneurial efforts become beanstalks that lift us to the heavens.
Jesus spent more of his time encouraging those who were down and out than he did catering to the social elite. Why? Because he knew man’s plans would inevitably lead to failure, pain, discouragement and destruction.
As the Lord spoke through the prophet Jeremiah, he assures us “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) But that promise came to a people who were in exile at the time and far removed from Jehovah God.
God’s plan for us, as for the Israelites, was to prosper them AFTER they endured the trials of their own guilt.
God’s plan for each of us is first and foremost to have a healthy, vibrant relationship with him based on living a lifestyle according to his word. Anything that deviates from God’s word is man’s plan and destined to failure. Anything empowered by his Spirit and driven by his word will prosper; prosper by His standards, not the worlds.
Whether you are in ministry, a career or a blue-collar worker take a look at your plans. Make sure they are measured by relationship with God and not personal gain or tradition. God’s plans never go awry.
PRAYER: Father God. It’s so easy to superimpose my own desires and call them yours. Give me wisdom to earnestly seek your path and not the path more easily trodden. In Jesus name, Amen.
You will never succeed in life if you try to hide your sins. Confess them and give them up; then God will show mercy to you. Proverbs 28:13 (GNT)
One time while camping in the north woods of Minnesota we saw an interesting phenomenon. When we retired for the night we’d unknowingly left a jar of peanuts open and on a table. In the early morning hours a chipmunk happened to come along and seeing an opportunity, climbed into the jar and filled his cheeks with delicious peanuts. Unfortunately, the mouth of the jar was just large enough for him to get in, too small for him to get out with his peanut-filled cheeks.
We watched from our camper as he tried repeatedly to escape, but to no avail finally, he took the only recourse he had. He emptied his cheeks and (I imagine) begrudgingly left his treasure behind.
There are times in life when we hold so tightly to things that they keep us from enjoying the freedom God intended for us to have. Guilt is one of those things. Guilt can be ‘real’ guilt, based on things we’ve done against God, against ourselves or against others. Guilt can be false as well, based on the words and activities of others who use their power to keep us subdued and imprisoned by their own anger.
Like the chipmunk, we struggle to move on with victory in sight, but never seem to be able to make that final leap, never seem to be able to rid ourselves of those feelings of guilt and failure that bog us down.
- Guilt forces you to focus on the past and clouds your vision for the future;
- Guilt focuses on your failures not your strengths;
- Guilt sends inaccurate messages about who you are. It tells you that YOU are a bad person when in reality it was your actions that were bad, not you;
- Guilt masquerades as anger (leading to bitterness);
- Guilt is a breeding ground for fear & worry;
- Guilt can shorten your life expectancy by raising your blood pressure, risk of heart disease, diabetes, depression, and anxiety disorders.
Millions of dollars are spent each year to find cures for a variety of illnesses. The good news is that medical science has made great strides in controlling or even curing many diseases that were once life ending.
The better news is that when we talk about guilt, the cure is already available to us…and it’s free! Guilt will never be resolved by a simple pill. Guilt will never be relieved by counselors or religion. Guilt can only be taken from us through confession to the one person who promises to grant us forgiveness and mercy.
Jesus Christ came to free you of the burden of guilt. He came to cleanse your guilty conscience. Other people may refuse to forgive you; other people may continue to remind you of your faults; there may be physical reminders of your poor choices that you will carry the rest of your life. But through confession of your sin, your guilt is taken away through Jesus Christ, who grants mercy to all of us.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I’ve been lugging this baggage of guilt with me for far too long. I confess my wrongs to you and ask you to forgive me and grant me mercy so that I can live free of the guilt that kept me captive. Amen.
Just admit that you rebelled and worshiped foreign gods under large trees everywhere. Jeremiah 3:13 (CEV)
Admitting guilt.
Not an easy thing to do is it? It’s so much easier to explain our actions than just to say, “I was wrong.” It’s even harder to say, “I was wrong and I knew I was wrong when I did it but I wanted to do it anyway…so I did.”
A friend of mine tells about how frustrating his daughter can be a times. She’s a sweet girl. Compassionate, kind, smart…but rebellious. On several occasions she’s been caught doing something that she knows is wrong, but has gone ahead and done it anyway. When confronted about these things her classic response is: “But I want to.”
Translation? I knew it was wrong when I did it. I knew I’d get in trouble when I was doing it. I know I’m busted now and even though I’m being punished, I’m glad I did it because I liked it.
Before you pass judgment on my friend’s daughter or question his parenting skills, ask yourself this question. Isn’t that what we do when we choose our own way and not God’s way? We know we shouldn’t’ think that way, but…; we know we shouldn’t say this, but…’; we know it’s wrong but…’.
God speaks through the prophet Jeremiah to a stubborn rebellious people. He tells them, I know you’ve been unfaithful. You know you’ve been unfaithful. There’s no question about guilt here, not implication that you didn’t know better. I’m not asking for explanations. I’m not asking for promises [because frankly, you never keep them anyway!]. All I’m asking is admission of your guilt.
God doesn’t ask us to admit our guilt to prove we are wrong. He doesn’t ask us to admit our guilt so he is sure we are guilty. He simply wants us to admit our weakness. Why? Because his desire is to free us from the guilt, not condemn us; his desire is to forgive us, not criticize us; his desire is to lift us up, not burden us.
God likens Israel to a prostitute with more lovers than he can count! Not a very kind assessment of them. Yet his desire isn’t to expose their rebellion and failure, his desire is to cleanse them. Confession of sin is hard, but living in guilt is harder. Confession frees us to live, but guilt burdens us with baggage that follows us through life.
It’s interesting that God only asks one thing of the Israelites, confession. He’s already decided he’ll take them back. He’s already committed to loving them and forgiving them and welcoming them back into his arms. All they have to do is admit they were wrong.
The same is true for us today. Your Heavenly Father knows you are weak. He knows you are rebellious. He knows that even if he forgives you, you’ll do it again. But…He loves you and wants a relationship with you. All you have to do is admit it’s your fault. Hard to do? Yes, but essential to live freely in God’s grace.
PRAYER: Father, my failures are constantly before me. Still I find it hard to admit my weakness, even though I know you love me. Give me the strength to confess my weakness so that I can live in your freedom. Amen.
All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him to life. I want to suffer and die as he did, so that somehow I also may be raised to life. Philippians 3:10-11 (CEV)
A crowd of people gathered around a man on a hillside. Excitement fills their eyes and hearts as he teaches. Some have been following him for months. Others have just recently joined the euphoria. Then something he says causes a stir. Expressions of joy fall to concern, some even anger. One by one they leave. Some murmur. Some shake their heads in disgust. Starting in the from the front first and working its way back, the movement begins until just a dozen or so are left. The teacher looks at the remnant and asks, “Will you stop following me too?”
A small room quietly hidden in the streets of Jerusalem. Flickering candles give the only light. The once celebratory atmosphere has left as the teacher begins to tell of his impending doom. One student interrupts him mid-sentence. “I will never leave you! You can count on me to be by your side regardless of what others say or do!” The others nod in agreement until the teacher looks the student in the eye and says “No! No you won’t. You’ll leave me like the others.”
We say we want to know him more. But do we? As one writer states, “Many are willing to reign with Christ, but they would not be willing to suffer with him; many would be willing to wear a crown of glory like him, but not the crown of thorns; many would be willing to put on the robes of splendor which will be worn in heaven, but not the scarlet robe of contempt and mockery.”
To know Jesus deeper involves the risk that we may endure the fellowship of suffering. Peter pledged allegiance—but denied him; the people followed him—but left when his teaching turned to suffering not victory; many today have settled for religion based on rules and feelings, rather than a relationship with the King of Kings.
If you want to wear the robes of glory, you must first bear the scars of earth-life; if you want to experience victory you must pass through the grave, for in death is victory and in suffering comes esteem in God’s eyes and that’s all the really counts.
To know Jesus more is much more than intellectual knowledge, it is experiential and it takes time. Book smarts is knowledge; experience is wisdom. Knowledge without experience is futile for wisdom gives knowledge its power.
Do you want to gain victory? Then use all that is within you to grow in him, without fear, without reservation. For in knowing him in his death and resurrection we receive power and life.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I’ve read this verse many times but today I am aware of my own fears and reservations to totally sell out to you even though I know that is best. Empower me to grow deeper in you. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 