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Come back to the place of safety, all you prisoners who still have hope! I promise this very day that I will repay two blessings for each of your troubles. Zechariah 9:12 (New Living Translation)
The prophet Zechariah ministered to the people of Israel during a very difficult time in the lives of the people of God. They were just returning from years in exile, a consequence of their disobedience to God. It was to rebuild their cities and their lives.
It’s important to remember that the reason for the exile was that the people intentionally and willfully chose to disobey God. They weren’t tricked or deceived. They knew better. But regardless of their knowledge they made a decision to go their own way. Now, their time of discipline was complete and it was time to move on.
The word Zechariah is given for the people is this: “Return to me. Come back to the one place you know you can always return to.” God has the same message for each of us today. You may be suffering now from the consequences of poor choices. Your life may be full or worry, shame, guilt, remorse, fear, anger or a multitude of other factors. It’s possible that the choices you have made will have consequences that will be with you the rest of your life. Even so, God is saying, “Come home. Come to me. You once were imprisoned, trapped in a life of meaninglessness and pain. Come home.”
I have a friend who was involved in a terrible snowmobile accident in which he lost both of his legs. The events leading up to the accident were not good. He never should have been on that snowmobile and riding with the people he was. For the rest of his life he’ll have a reminder of that accident.
The story has a ‘good ending’ of sorts however. As a result of the accident he has found a renewal of his faith and a trust in Jesus such as he’d never had before. He ‘came home’ to his God and Savior Jesus Christ and his life was dramatically changed.
You may be feeling imprisoned by your sins. You may feel shut up under a sense of your guilt and shame. Look to Jesus. He is the only one who can deliver you from your offenses and give you hope regardless of what you have done in the past.
Zechariah gives those of us another promise. He says “I will repay two blessings for each of your troubles!” What an amazing promise of grace. Not only are we forgiven, we can expect to enjoy all fullness of grace and plenty of spiritual and physical blessings. God doesn’t just forgive us when we come home, He blesses us!
No matter where you are in life. Come home to Jesus. Let Him remove the guilt and shame of your past. Trust Him to bless you beyond all you can imagine.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I come before you today realizing that my life is a mess. I’ve made choices I knew were wrong. I’ve accepted you as my Savior but I still struggle with habits, anger, shame and guilt. I know better but still go my own way. Please forgive me for my rebellion. Empower me to live for you today and to experience all the blessings you have for me. Amen.
For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Hebrews 4:1
Maybe it’s a guy thing, but I have the tendency to hesitate to ask for help. It doesn’t matter how heavy the object is to lift or how hard the task is, if there is any way I can do it on my own I’ll do it! I’ve had plenty of sore backs and pulled muscles to prove it!
The ridiculous part about being driven to do things by ourselves is that it often causes physical pain, frustration and even damage to people and property. Still each of us is inclined to risk our physical and emotional health to do things on our own.
Sometimes we do that because we see the need for help as a sign of weakness. Sometimes we do it ourselves because we have that ‘pride thing’ going on inside us that says: (1) My way is the best way; and (2) No one can do it as well as I can!
What is true for us in the physical realm can also be true in the spiritual realm. In fact the two intersect in some ways. Those of us that are Christ-followers agree that we are sinners and willingly rest on God’s promise of forgiveness and grace for our eternal lives. However, for some reason, if we aren’t careful we think that once we receive this ‘free gift’ of grace we need to work hard to keep it or earn it.
We do this by taking responsibility to make sure our job is right, our kids are healthy and responsible, or homes are fancy and well kept, we have all the right toys and latest gadgets. We even work hard to make sure our ministry or church is stronger, larger and has more technology than the people across the street. Not all of these things are bad unless they become the sole reason for our existence. When they become all we live for then frustration sets in because we can’t possible achieve all we want!
Jesus says, in Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Jesus isn’t necessarily talking about physical rest here. He’s telling all of us who are spiritually tired and emotionally spent that we can come to Him for rest. He wants to comfort us and encourage us when we are struggling to keep afloat.
One of the mysteries of our human existence is that when we are at peace with ourselves on the inside, the things that bring stress on the outside aren’t as powerful. When I allow Jesus to completely control my thoughts, my attitudes and my feelings about people, places and things I have the strength to endure the attacks that are thrown at me.
God’s rest is both present and eternal. His rest gives us freedom to live life to the fullest while we are here on earth. When we rely on God’s power nothing that comes our way brings complete despair. This is true whether the circumstances we face are a result of our own failures or the attacks of others.
God’s rest is also eternal. As Christ-followers we have a hope that reassures us that no matter how bad things are now, someday all the pain and frustrations will be gone. Our physical lives will end, but will usher in an eternal life of peace, happiness and health, all in the presence of God Himself!
PRAYER: Father God. I’m tired. I’m tired physically, emotionally and spiritually. The things that are happening around me have taken away the joy I thought I was supposed to have in you. I confess that I’ve been struggling at my spiritual life all alone and not accepting the help you have promised. Forgive me for trying to do it alone. Empower me by your Holy Spirit to accept your comfort, your power and your help to make it through the daily grind that seems to pull me down. Thank you for your understanding and your rest. Amen.
So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. Romans 8:6 (NLT)
There are times in our lives when God seems far from us. Prayers seem to go unanswered. Relationships fail or flounder at best. We can’t seem to control our nasty sin habits. It seems like all of life is going down the tubes.
God loves each of us very much. He loved us enough to send His Son Jesus to die as an innocent man so that we can be forgiven. No matter how many times you fail, no matter how many times you make wrong choices that hurt you or those you love, He will always welcome you back.
That’s the good news. So why is it that even those of us who strive to follow Christ in each aspect of our lives have such a struggle with peace and resisting sin?
The problem lies with our mind. Our mind is a powerful thing that can control how we think about ourselves, others and God. If we allow ourselves to dwell on our failures and our sin, we will never break those habits.
If we allow ourselves to constantly think about the things others have done to us we will never be free to forgive and to move on with life. Forgiveness isn’t for the person that wronged us. Forgiveness is for our freedom!
If we let our desires, lusts and self esteem be controlled by our own desires we will continue to live a life of defeat and frustration.
Not only is the mind powerful, it’s trainable. But it takes lots of work and lots of prayer. Begin each day with a resolve that you will focus only on what God wants in your life. Ask His help in keeping you pure from the thoughts, frustrations and anger that keep you entrapped. Surround yourself with trusted, Christ-following friends that will support you, celebrate your victories and understand your failings.
We live in defeat as followers of Jesus Christ because we allow our minds to be guided and controlled by our own sinful nature and not the powerful, loving, Holy Spirit of God.
PRAYER: Holy God, I come to you today admitting that I’m frustrated and angry with my inability to live the life I want to live. I want your life and peace to control me on one hand, but on the other hand I want my own selfish desires to be satisfied. I live in guilt and shame knowing that I fail You and others so often and you are so willing to take me back. Please forgive me. Help me to start each day with the resolve to live in your peace. Empower me with the wisdom and power of Your Holy Spirit to live one day, one moment at a time learning to control my mind for you. Bring people and healthy relationships into my life that will draw me to You. Amen.
Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Lamentations 3:21-22 (NLT)
Jeremiah walked the streets of Jerusalem in agony. He saw homeless children who had become orphans due to war, now dying in the streets of starvation. He saw the elderly looking lost, confused and yearning for the days when they lived in prosperity, but now lived in hopelessness.
In the midst of the national horror, he’d experienced huge personal loss as well. He was verbally and physically abused by those he tried to help. He was all alone and in despair he cried out to God, but it seemed that even God Himself had turned a deaf ear to his pleas. Everything that he considered sacred and secure had either been destroyed or taken from him. He was alone, brokenhearted and saw no hope.
As Jeremiah looked around and took stock of what he was seeing, he was reminded of one thing that had remained constant throughout his ordeal; his faith in a God that loved him and had shown himself faithful in years past. It was the hope that he had in God that helped Jeremiah see that even in the direst of situations God still was in control.
Later, in chapter three he writes: “For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love. For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.” (Vss. 31-33)
Hundreds of years later Jesus would teach us the same truth in the story of the Prodigal Son. As the young man sat hopelessly in a pile of pig slop with no money, no hope and no friends, he remembered his father. He remembered home. Pulling himself out of the slop he returned to the one place he knew there would be acceptance, love and compassion. The arms of his father.
So it is with us today.
No matter what you have done in your past to separate you from God, you can always come home.
No matter how much debt you have and how hopeless your financial state, you can always come home.
No matter what consequences of poor choices you carry with you, you can always come home.
No matter what relational turmoil you are in, even if it is a result of your actions, you can always come home.
No matter what abuse you have suffered emotionally, physically or spiritually, you can always come home.
No matter how long you have rejected His call in the past, you can always come home.
Your Heavenly Father longs to have a passionate love relationship with you. He is not concerned about your past. He is not worried about your future. He can help you with present struggles. When you see no light in the darkness; no hope in the midst of despair; no comfort in the midst of your pain. Jesus urges you to come home and rest in His loving arms.
PRAYER: Father God. I look at myself and the mess I’ve made of things and am embarrassed to have to come to you time and again for forgiveness. I am under attack by those who constantly attack me verbally, emotionally and physically and struggle to find ways to carry on. I contemplate the future and fear for myself, my children and my grandchildren. I ask today that you would empower me to rest in your arms of everlasting arms. I can’t do this without you. Amen.
On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines. Isaiah 25:6
Have you ever noticed how strong one negative comment can be? If 100 people compliment you on a job well done and one person comes along and criticizes your work it can spoil your whole day. Rather than enjoying the encouragement of the 100 you dwell on the negative comment of one person.
Negative comments and thoughts can cripple you and keep you from moving forward in life. Like a thorn in your foot negative comments and attitudes completely halt your progress. People who continue to be negative will hinder your own attitudes about yourself, others and even God! They can take the hope right out of you if you listen.
The prophet Isaiah describes a huge feast that will be held for us who are Christ-followers. It will be a feast with the best of wine and meat. If God is putting on the party you can count on it being a huge party, the best ever. But the blessings we receive from God aren’t just for later. God’s blessings are both present and future.
Don’t let the negative words and attitudes of others pull you down. Stop allowing the worries of the economy, political upheaval and natural disaster keep you from remembering all the good things God is doing around you. Our Father can use even the worst of times for His glory. Even though things in the world seem to be getting worse, for the Christ-follower the best is yet to come!
Enjoy God’s blessings now while you look ahead to the greater blessings He has in store for you. Our Father is preparing a huge party right now and YOU are the guest of honor!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, Creator of the universe and sustainer of all things. I thank you for the fact that you see all that is going on around me. There are plenty of negative events, attitudes and people around me who are intent on taking away the joy I have in You. I ask that you would empower me by your Spirit to rise above the negative attacks. Keep me from being affected by those who criticize me and those who preach gloom and doom. Keep reminding me throughout the day of the great things You are doing now and the fantastic party You are preparing for me. I praise you for your greatness and power. You are a good God and all good things come from you. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 