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Test me, Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; Psalm 26:2 (NIV)
When we aren’t feeling right the proper thing to do may be to go to the doctor. We sit in the exam room and he checks our ‘vitals’ and may do a surface examination, checking our posture, ears, nose, throat, reflexes and the like. We’ll be asked about symptoms and changes in energy and bodily functions.
If no problem is detected the doctor will order tests, like blood work or perhaps an x-ray or CT scan. Until the problem is discovered a good doctor will, in a sense peel away at surface issues until he gets to the root of the problem. Until he can do that, a solution can’t be found and treatment won’t be able to happen.
Once the issue is diagnosed a treatment will be prescribed which will solve whatever our problem is. If you want to feel better, you will follow the doctor’s advice, take your medication and allow your body to heal.
What’s true in the physical realm is also true in the realm of our emotional and spiritual health. Sometimes when people are feeling poorly physically they will try to ‘heal’ themselves by asking friends what they think, or going onto the internet. Sometimes this can lead to deeper more serious problems or simply treat the symptoms without getting to the real cause. The best thing to do when you are feeling physically sick is to go to the doctor because the doctor is trained to know where and how to look for the problem.
When you are struggling emotionally or spiritually the best place to go is to your Heavenly Father. Unlike the doctor who makes an educated guess about your condition, your Heavenly Father made you. He knows everything about you. He watched your hands, your feet, and your personality form while you were still in the womb. He knows every fear you’ve ever had, every mistake you’ve ever made, every thought, word or deed you’ve ever done. He knows the things everyone sees on the outside, but he also sees the most secret, intimate, hidden things in your soul.
The Psalmist asks God to examine him. He uses three words to describe that examination: ‘Test me, try me, examine me’. Those three words describe an intense, thorough examination deep inside your soul. Those kinds of examinations are scary whether they be physical or spiritual/emotional because they may reveal some things we don’t want to know about ourselves. But in order to be healthy we need to look into every part of our lives and deal with the issues we find. Otherwise we are only treating symptoms. When God examines us it may be painful, like purifying gold needs intense heat, so our lives must go through some fire to purify and heal our inner wounds.
The good news is we don’t need to fear what God finds and what he shows us about ourselves. God doesn’t examine us to find fault, he examines us to find areas where we can grow stronger. He doesn’t show us our faults to shame us, he shows them to us so we know what to work on to be better. Don’t be afraid to do some self examination of your heart. Ask the maker to look deep within your soul and reveal areas that he can help change to make you better. It’s the best medicine you’ll ever take.
PRAYER: Father, I’m afraid to look at myself too deeply. But I know I must in order to be healthy. Like the psalmist, I ask that you would go with me as I travel deep inside myself. Show me where I need to change and empower me with your Holy Spirit to make those changes. I’m done treating symptoms; I want to be spiritually and emotionally healthy. Amen.
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:3
Adam tried it, so did Eve. They borrowed a couple fig leaves from a neighboring tree. But God came looking for them in the cool of the evening, right about the time they took their normal walk.
Moses tried it too. He ran off into the wilderness and just about the time he thought he’s succeeded, God ignited a bush with an eternal flame.
Elijah used an obscure cave for his game of deified hide-and-seek. But God sought him out with a fire and windstorm before he quietly whispered his name.
Jonah used extra-ordinary measures as well, using the sea as his method of escape, but God intervened and used a fish to bring Jonah to his senses.
Before you are too hard on these men of God, think of how you try to hide from God. It’s easy to try to hide from God through religious activities, work, and family duties. Usually we hide from God because we are afraid of what he will think of us. We may think that unless we do certain things he won’t approve of us or consider us ‘holy’. After all, doesn’t the Bible tell us to be ‘holy’? Aren’t we instructed to obey him?
When I was young and I’d misbehave I’d run to the closet to hide from my parents. My young mind had me convinced that I could hide from my parents long enough for them to forget my wrong or miss me so much they’d overlook my faults. Maybe you did that too. That tactic never worked for me. (Maybe I should have tried a different closet occasionally!) That tactic won’t work with God either. Some pretty important people have tried it.
So when you have failed for the 100th time; when you are ready to cash in all this religion stuff because you can’t make it work; when you find yourself not only doubting your own ability to succeed but doubting God as well, remember Colossians 3:3.
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:3
That verse reminds us that when God sees you it’s like he’s looking through a lens named Jesus. He doesn’t see your sin, he sees Jesus’ sacrifice. He doesn’t see your failings, He see’s Jesus’ perfection. He doesn’t see your rebellion, he sees Jesus’ humility. When God looks at you, he smiles because you are hidden in Jesus. That’s grace!
PRAYER: Lord, I seem to try to fill my days with all sorts of good things to make you love me. I’d never admit that, of course, but in reality, it’s the truth. Forgive me for trying to earn your favor. Empower me to live in the favor I already have because of Jesus. Amen.
You have done many good things for me, Lord, just as you promised. Psalm 119:65 (NLT)
When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
As I write this post our nation is watching as fires of epic proportions and disastrous flooding inundates our beautiful countryside. From a distance we watch the devastation unfold. To most of us, it’s a news story with little or no personal connection. To those connected in anyway it will be remembered as one of the darkest periods in their lives as memories and perhaps even lives are wiped away in an instant.
As I read Psalm 119:26 the words of the old hymn “Count your blessings” came to mind. Counting your blessings is easy when you are removed from hardship. When life is good, the bills are paid, the kids are behaving and your spouse is understanding and helpful, counting your blessings is fun. Oddly enough, counting your blessings is more important when life is hard than when it is good.
When the hard times of life come and you see no hope remember what the Lord has done for you. When sleep evades you and you lie awake at night, use that time to think back over the positive things that God has brought into your life. Sometimes it will be difficult. Other times it may be impossible. The last thing the enemy wants you to do is to count your blessings because counting your blessings destroys despair.
The Psalmist knew the secret power of praise. He knew that looking back was the best way to move forward because looking back showed us the reality of God’s presence in our lives.
I can’t imagine the devastation of standing hopelessly by and watching my home and all the things I’ve worked for go up in smoke. I’ve been blessed thus far in the fact that a flood has never washed away my dreams. But I’ve seen the devastation of divorce. I’ve struggled with job loss, with financial devastation and poor choices. In the midst of those times when the memories of the past threaten to paralyze my future, I can look back and see that even in those darkest times my Heavenly Father has never left my side.
“You have done many good things for me Lord, just as you promised.”
The promises of God are unchangeable. The promises of God are not influenced by natural disaster or political grandstanding. The promises of God are unlimited. He will never leave us or forsake us because of his great love.
PRAYER: Father, today my prayer is simply the prayer of the psalmist. You have done many good things for me, just as you promised, and for that I praise you. Amen.
The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” Jonah 1:1-2
I’ve heard the story of ‘Jonah and the Whale’ retold hundreds of times in Sunday School,VacationBibleSchool, Sunday sermons and even a few theology classes. I know all about the typology of Jonahs three days in the belly of a fish and Jesus’ three days in the tomb.
I know the lesson about not running from God, about the faith Jonah had and how ungrateful he was. I know the story about the faithfulness and forgiveness of God as evidenced by his holding back the judgment promised because of the repentance of the city ofNineveh.
Yet there is another part of this story that escaped me until recently. The Biblical record tells us little about Jonah’s background other than the fact that he was a prophet and that he chose to run from God rather that go where God sent him.
Jonah was most likely a good prophet. His ability to preach the word of God is evidenced by the fact that his message brought a city of 120,000 people to their knees, literally. But Jonah was also a proud and stubborn man. When questioned on the boat about whom he was he proudly testified to his heritage (“I am a Hebrew”) and his theology (“I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Jonah 1:9).
His stubbornness is evidenced by the fact that he refused to follow the leading of the very God he professed to worship and then became angry when God relented of his judgment over repentantNineveh.
Stubbornness and pride are two things God can not honor in a ministry, and all of us, regardless of our walk in life are ministers in some way to the Father. We can be successful, but we will never experience the full measure of God’s blessing if we are governed by pride and stubbornness.
Nineveh can stand for anything that goes against our cultural heritage and our doctrinal/theological distinctives. Ninevehwasn’t the squeaky clean, suburban ministry. It was the little rural church made up of people who were content to stay the way they are. It was the inner city ministry with little money and large problems. It was no place for someone who rigidly stuck to their doctrine.
Nineveh didn’t need more religion, they needed relationship and Jonah was unwilling to give it to them. The story of Jonah is a story of grace. God asked Jonah to show grace to a people he disagreed with culturally, religiously and socially and Jonah refused. His story begs an answer from each of us. If we believe we are called to be ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ (and Matthew 28 gives us that charge) are we willing to passionately pursue those who are different than us in order to show them the forgiveness, mercy and love of Jesus Christ? Jonah wasn’t called to preach his own opinions; he was called to turn people towards the God of heaven, a God who passionately desires to bring ALL people to himself. If your Father calls you to preach to a group of people you dislike, are you willing to go in love?
PRAYER: Father, the message of Jonah is renewed in my heart today. I confess to you that I’ve been close-minded in ministry because of my own standards and doctrine. Open my heart and my eyes to those to whom I’ve been withholding your word by my deeds and attitudes. Amen.
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Psalm 24:1 (NIV)
Walk through any art exhibit or museum and you will see display after display of the giftedness of some people. Some works of art bring a high price tag. Why? Because the maker of that particular work of art is famous. He/she is well-known for their talent.
Someone who has established themselves as being excellent in a particular area (such as writing, the arts, speaking, etc.) may enjoy the privilege of having their work elevated above others simply because of their name. The value of an item is determined by the value of its maker.
What’s true in the world of the arts is true throughout life as well. When you travel, are you drawn to your favorite restaurant for food, or do you tend to look for the small café off the beaten path?
If you buy one brand of automobile and have bad luck with it and with the service, are you likely to go back to that maker or are you inclined to give someone else a try?
If you have a bad experience with one company, how does your mind react when the person across the table tells you they just got a new job at that company?
Our reaction to products, places and events is often determined by the experiences we’ve had in the past with their maker. If we aren’t careful, we can find ourselves doing the same thing with the people we come across.
When we see a person of a particular race, or wearing a particular type of dress, or speaking to a particular topic, or living a particular lifestyle, it’s easy to draw conclusions about the person themselves. The Psalmist reminds us that God made everything and EVERYONE in the world. “All who live in it” is pretty inclusive language.
How will your reaction to others change if you treat them as God’s creation? To be sure their actions may repulse you, but is their value in what they do or who made them?
When Jesus looked at the leper he saw value based on the fact that God made the leper. When Jesus saw the prostitute, he saw her as valued, not because of her lifestyle but because of her maker. How then shall we view those with different lifestyles, different beliefs, or different cultural backgrounds?
As Christ-followers we are called to spread the good news of Jesus to ALL people. To show Christ’s love effectively we must show others their value is based on their maker and not their actions, past, or current lifestyle. Our job is to love others. God’s job is to change them.
PRAYER: Lord, everyday I come in contact people on who are different than I am in action, creed or background. While I may not agree with how they live, empower me with your Spirit to show them the value they have as your creation. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 