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The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. 2 Peter 3:9 (NLT)
“I can’t wait!”
“Are we there yet?”
“Can we open our presents now?”
“When can I have it? I want it right now!”
How many times have we heard someone say the phrases stated above or similar ones? Young children tend to be the worst at this. They can’t see 60 seconds beyond where they are at any given moment. An hour can seem like eternity, a year? Well, it’s best not to go there. As we get older we tend to be be a little more aware of time frames, but there is that little kid in all of us that ‘can’t wait’ for some exciting, anticipated event.
The patient parent understands the excitement children have, but wisdom has taught them that sometimes waiting and time serve a higher purpose. “We could get to grandma’s house a little faster, but going at high rates of speed may cause great bodily injury…or death” For the eight-year-old who ‘can’t wait to drive a car’ we realize the wisdom of waiting a few years for the legs to reach the foot controls and somewhat better judgment to refine itself.
Patience benefits the person in need of grace, not the person being patient. That’s why our heavenly Father is patient with us as his beloved children. He knows that it will take awhile to break old habits and learn new ones. He knows the pull of worldly things will sometimes be overpowering to us. He knows that on those occasions when he asks us “What’d you do that for?”, we are telling the truth. We really don’t know why we made that stupid decision to have an affair, to visit the porn site, to get drunk again, or whatever else you are struggling with.
Our Father also knows the wisdom in letting us make a few mistakes along the way in order to build character and learn how to be stronger against sin. Could he have instantly changed you when you accepted Christ as Lord and Savior so that you could be perfect? Perhaps, but then you’d not understand the struggles others have. Could he have airlifted you to heaven the moment you said “I do” when he asked you if you’ll accept his forgiveness? You bet, but then others wouldn’t be able to hear your story.
A proud parent looks at the little infant in their arms and can’t wait to watch them grow up. Your Father in heaven is the same way. He is so excited to see how you will turn out. He is passionately looking forward to the day he can spend every moment with you. But for now, he’s patient. He looks at you and says “I can’t wait!” But he will because he wants to make sure you are the best you can be and that takes time.
PRAYER: Father God, I’m so tired of struggling with life. I’m tired of being sick. I’m tired of being poor. I’m tired of making the same mistakes over and over again. Thank you for being patient with me. Thank you for your grace that grants me the forgiveness I need as I grow older with you. In Jesus name, Amen.
Continue to have faith and do what you know is right. Some people have rejected this, and their faith has been shipwrecked. 1 Timothy 1:19 (NCV)
“Well, I know we shouldn’t have sex until we are married, but…”
“Sure, I push the speed limit a little, but I’m a careful driver. Never had an accident, so I…”
“I probably should forgive her, but how many times do I have to do it? I mean, she never even asks forgiveness. She deserves everything she gets.”
“Sure, I pad the expense account a bit. But the wages they pay me and the amount of extra time I end up giving this place isn’t exactly fair either.”
“At least I don’t have any big sins. Little sins here and there won’t matter, will they?”
I live near one of the most beautiful river valleys in the entire world…well, at least in my world. I like nothing more than to take my family or a few friends up the river in our boat. We take the trip slowly and enjoy the scenery. If we’re lucky we see dear, bald eagles, bear and a variety of other wild life. Nothing beats a quiet cruise on the river.
For all of its beauty, however, there is something ominous about the trip. Something that every boater must be aware of or else trouble can come quickly. That danger is dead-heads. Dead-heads are the tips of logs from trees that have fallen into the river over the years, or from logs from logging days long ago.
Dead heads are dangerous because they seem to appear out of nowhere and can render a boat helpless in seconds if one is not careful. They seem worse in spring so your first couple trips call for extra caution. Carelessness and lack of attention to details in the water are disasters in the waiting.
Our lives are much like a river trip. They require attention to detail. That’s why the Apostle Paul warns his young pastor/friend Timothy to continue to do what is right. Letting yourself grow careless in your spiritual walk is like driving the boat at full throttle without concern for what might be lurking just below the surface. The result? Spiritual shipwreck. Suddenly you find yourself floating aimlessly with no control over your life.
So maybe that’s where you are finding yourself on the voyage. Quiet calm waters are a thing of the past. Safe harbor is nothing more than a dream. You feel like you are taking on water at a rapid rate and sinking is inevitable. So, now what?
That’s the good news. A life that’s shipwrecked doesn’t have to stay that way forever. God is pretty good at building boats. Look what he had Noah construct. It doesn’t matter how many poor choices you’ve made. Each of the holes in that hull can be patched through the forgiveness Jesus has to offer. Grace says that no matter how badly shipwrecked you find yourself, there is always hope for a new voyage because of Jesus.
PRAYER: Jesus, you say you see me wherever I am. You say you will be my strength. You say all my sins can be forgiven through you. I’ve tried to navigate these waters on my own for far too long. It’s time for a change. I’ve run aground. I’m powerless to continue. I claim the forgiveness I can have in you and from this day forward will allow you to help me navigate the dangers of life. In your name, Amen.
But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!” Matthew 14:27 (NLT)
It was dark. The storm was so deep that even the ambient light of the night was swallowed by the roaring wind. Only the occasional flash of lightning gave the men any indication of their situation and allowed them to see the fear in each other’s faces. While some rowed hopelessly, the others prayed. Where was Jesus? Why had he sent them out to die in this way?
Then, almost as if on cue from a distant director, they saw it. A faint glow on the horizon wafting over the waves and coming towards them. As if the fear of the wind wasn’t enough, now a ghost was coming near. Panic consumed even the hardiest of men who had weathered many a storm on this sea.
A voice in the dark. Loud enough to rise about the howling of the wind, but at the same time mysteriously gentle and quiet. “Take Courage. I am here!” The actual Greek rendition states, “Don’t worry, the I AM is here.”
How often do we miss that? Especially during the storms of life. We hear the treacherous howling of the wind. Our minds replay every mistake we’ve made. The voices tell us this is all God’s way of getting even. The doubts rise mysteriously and whisper in our ears, “He’s not real you know. If he was he’d never let you go through this.” We live in the false conviction that we deserve this for our sins or we blame others or question God.
Jesus seldom calms the storm until we look to him. He saw the disciples struggling but waited until they looked to him. Even then he didn’t calm the storm until Peter took a dip in the cold lake water.
How often, during the storms of life do we miss the glow, the faint shadow of God’s working? How many times have we forgotten to attribute to Jesus the calming of our fears? Sometimes the things we endure are consequences of our own selfish decisions. Sometimes our pain is the result of malicious and evil acts of those hell-bent on our destruction. Sometimes we are devastated by the seemingly strange quirks of nature. But always, we are under the watchful eye of a loving God and passionate savior who is willing to come to us in the darkest night of our suffering and in the midst of the storm remind us to be brave because he is there.
PRAYER: Jesus, right now I’m going through a storm of sorts in my life. It seems like everything is falling apart around me. I sense the fear and hopelessness of the disciples as I try to battle the waves that want to overtake me. Help me to see you in all this. Calm the storm, but if you don’t choose to do that, calm my spirit so that I can trust you. In your name I pray, Amen.
Our faces, then, are not covered. We all show the Lord’s glory, and we are being changed to be like him. This change in us brings ever greater glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NCV)
Old Preacher Story Ahead! Story is told of a little boy from the city who visited Grandma and Grandpa’s farm. As was their custom, Grandma and Grandpa, with child in tow, headed off to church on Sunday morning. On returning home Grandma walked with the little boy to the barn to check on some new lambs that had just been born. In the stall next to the lambs was a stubborn old mule. The little boy looked at the mule for some time and then asked a question. “Grandma, Is that old mule a Christian?” Puzzled by the question, Grandma responded, “Why no son, why to you ask that?” The boy responded, “Well, it has the same sad face most of the people had at church today.”
Look around you at the faces of people in church during the worship service. (Be sure not to stare…that’s creepy.) Now, I’ll admit I have a personal struggle with what we call the ‘worship’ part of our church services. I’d like to think there is worship going on but sometimes there is everything BUT worship happening. The praise team can get sucked into performance mentality; the Pastor can be so focused on what he’ll say that he forgets that his worship is far more important than his sermon notes. To others worship is the time cushion that allows late-comers to get into the chairs before the important stuff happens.
So, take a look around. What do you see? Bill and Sally must have had another fight on the way to church; they look like they are ready to bite each others head off. Grandma Jones, as usual is looking around to see who ISN’T there and you’ll be sure she mentions her findings to everyone she sees. Fred is thinking about the ballgame this afternoon. It’s obvious he’s not in tune with the music. Harry wishes we could go back to the good ole’ hymns. He misses the piano, the organ and those good old, doctrine filled songs of his youth.
Okay, perhaps I’m being a bit harsh. None of those examples are real people, but our faces should reflect what we have in Jesus. Whether it be in church, at the office, in the store or on the beach we should reflect our joy with the blessings we have in Christ. Those without Jesus in their lives are burdened with worries, fears, and anxiety. They are looking for an answer to the problems that plague them. They have no hope.
As Christ followers our best testimony to Christ’s love dwelling in us can be the countenance of our faces! A simple smile or a ‘good morning’ greeting to a stranger may be all they need to make their day brighter.
PRAYER: Father God, I thank you for Jesus. I thank you for the love, the forgiveness, and the promises of your word and a guarantee of eternal life with you. Help me in my worship and in my daily living to reflect the love I have for you. In Jesus name, Amen.
God is strong and can help you not to fall. He can bring you before his glory without any wrong in you and can give you great joy. Jude 1:24 (NCV)
I sat and watched a group of rock climbers one day as they tried to scale a sheer rock cliff. From a distance it seemed impossible for them to be able to make it to the top safely. It was apparent from my observation which climbers were novices and which were the ‘veterans’ of the group. The novices moved very slowly and tentatively. Some got half way up and came back down by the safety ropes to regroup and try again. One by one the group made it from the bottom to the top safely. With each person’s successful climb you could hear a cheer erupt from the onlookers.
Later, I had the opportunity to ask one of the climbers what he thought were the essential ingredients to a successful climb. He told me that, in his opinion, there were three things each successful climber needed to make it to the top. One was faith in your equipment. The climb I watched was pretty minor but especially on the big climbs you needed to have good equipment and trust that equipment to do what it says it would do.
The second ingredient was remaining focused. He referenced the few ‘novice climbers’. Their biggest problem was that they focused so much on the danger and the possibility of falling and getting injured that they lost their grip. On this climb it was okay because there were safety ropes to lower them to the ground. In a real climb one slip can mean death. “Most climbing accidents are the result of improper use of equipment and/or climber error” He told me. Equipment failure is rare.
Lastly, he said, good climbers don’t climb alone. They would prefer to climb in groups because the support of the group helps them, especially during the tough climbs and during inclement weather. Group support is indispensible when it comes to making it to the top.
As I left I thought about the application to our spiritual lives. When we first start our walk with Christ we are careful to do the things that will help our growth. We read his Word, we pray, we seek every opportunity to make our way up the slippery slope of life.
As we ‘grow older’ in our faith we may tend to lose our focus on the task before us. We may have more faith in our own ability than to trust the equipment. We may be so intent on looking back to our past that we lose sight of the task before us. We may look towards our goal and wonder how we will ever make it to the top. When we lose our focus we increase the chances of losing our footing and falling.
Along with the focus we need to have in our climb, we need to have faith in our equipment. Climbing equipment rarely fails. The word of God and his presence in our lives NEVER fails. But falling is a possibility when we fail to have faith that our God is strong enough to see us to the top.
Lastly, when climbing the sheer rock wall of life, we need each other. Fellowship with other Christ-followers encourages us on the way, reminds us who we are, and gives us another vantage point to see our way to footholds that help us advance.
Proper equipment (Faith in a living and powerful God); Focus (relying on the Holy Spirit to guide us through the daily tasks of life); Fellowship (surrounding ourselves with people who can help us along the way). Three ingredients to making it up the slippery slope of life.
PRAYER: Father God, there are so many times I’ve lost focus on you or relied on my own power and ability to make it through life’s challenges. Empower me with your Spirit to climb the slippery slope of my life relying on you to conquer to obstacles before me. In Jesus name, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 