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Only you, Lord, are a mighty rock! Don’t refuse to help me when I pray. If you don’t answer me, I will soon be dead. Psalm 28:1 (CEV)
Government tells us that safety and prosperity will come from new programs and equality.
Religion tells us that safety and prosperity will come from following certain dogmas and rules.
Education tells us that safety and prosperity will come from new books, higher learning and giving everyone an equal chance.
Society tells us safety and prosperity will come from acceptance and loving relationships.
But governments come and go and things haven’t gotten much better; religion has failed to give us any assurance that life is better by following those rules; education hasn’t solved any major issues of late and society seems on the brink of collapsing within itself.
So what can we hang our hat on every night? What assurance do we have that there is something better ahead? What comfort can we have when the bills are more than the money, our health is failing and the relationship we are in is unsatisfying on the good days and unbearable on the bad days?
A rock climber will tell you that a good foothold in the sheerest of cliffs gives you all the confidence in the world to move on. I’m not a rock climber, but I know about sheer cliffs. I know about getting into a place where there seems to be no way out and having one thing you can count on makes all the difference in the world.
I’m reminded of an old joke I heard years ago. A motorcyclist was driving through the mountains. He navigated one curve after another with no problem. Then the unthinkable happened. He took one curve too fast and ended up going over a sheer 500 foot cliff.
Halfway down he managed to grab a scraggly pine tree growing out of the rock. Suspended 250 feet from the rocky valley below, he screamed for help.
“Is there anybody up there to help me? He screamed at the top of his lungs.
“I’m here,” he finally hears a voice coming from nowhere.
“Well, who are you and can you help me?”
“I’m God, and of course I can help you.”
A bit confused he yells, “Good, can you get me out of here?”
The voice answers back, “Sure, let go of the tree.”
After a moment’s hesitation the man screams again, “Is there anyone else up there that can help me?”
Too often we fail to trust God completely. We acknowledge him as creator God, as controller of the universe, but when life seems impossible we turn to our own resources instead of complete trust in God.
Are you clinging to a tree hoping for some magical rescue? Trust God for who he is and let go of the tree!
PRAYER: Father I’m facing obstacles in my life I neither understand nor have an answer to. I’ve tried everything I know of to get out of this predicament. Now I turn to you and ask you to help me trust you with my entire life. Amen.
Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20 (NLT)
We used to play a game when I was growing up. It was like ‘follow the leader’ but with a twist. One person would be blindfolded and spun around in a circle a few times. Then, another person would lead that person on a walk. The object was to guess where you were going or, once stopped, where you had been led.
While the game was a simple on in some respects, it taught us all a lesson in trust and wisdom. Trust came from the person being led. That person had to rely completely on the leadership of the person who held his/her hand, knowing they would never be led into an area of danger.
The game required wisdom on the part of the person leading. The leader would have to go slowly so that the one following wouldn’t smash into hidden obstacles or trip on obstructions or fall down (or up) stairs. If the follower was injured or hurt in any way, the trust the leader hoped to establish would be gone and hard to re-establish.
Jesus final command to those who would follow him was to make disciples. Matthew challenges us with it in his book, Luke reinforces it in Acts. Our purpose here on earth as Christ followers, is to share the good news of Jesus Christ.
Making converts is easy. Give them a shot of the gospel, get them to make a decision and move on. Don’t forget to add a star to your evangelist hat. But making converts is like delivering a baby and leaving it in the nursery to fend for itself. Not likely to have good results.
Making disciples, on the other hand is hard work. It takes time to pour your life into someone else. It requires strength on your part, and wisdom gained from your own growth experiences. Making disciples can also be discouraging because we may see little or no progress and sometimes time and circumstances work against us and the person being discipled leaves. Even so, making disciples is the focus of our ‘Great Commission’. We aren’t called to ‘go’. We aren’t called to baptize. We are called to teach and make disciples.
Many people shy away from ‘discipleship’ because they feel inadequate, unqualified or feel they need to ‘grow themselves’ before they can help others. But making disciples should be a much like the modified game of follow the leader we played.
Jesus promised to lead us. He promised to take us into uncharted areas, to endure pain and rejection, to stumble at times or even fall occasionally. In his wisdom he’ll take us slowly, but will offer little information on where we are going or what will happen next. The only thing he offers us is a promise. A promise that wherever we go, whatever happens in our lives, whatever circumstances we find ourselves in, he will have our hand. His intent isn’t to injure or make a fool out of us. His intent is to help us grow stronger.
Making a disciple doesn’t follow a program or require a college degree. It is simply holding on to Jesus with one hand and holding on to someone else with the other. It’s sharing your life lessons of the heart with those who need to be comforted with the comfort you have received from the Lord.
Pour yourself into someone else. Both of you will be blessed. Don’t be afraid of where that may lead you. By holding Jesus’ hand you have nothing to fear. He’s a compassionate, trusted leader.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, you called us to make disciples and I must admit the idea of me being a ‘discipler’ is scary. I feel inadequate for the task. Yet this is your calling for me. Give me the courage to hold your hand and take someone else with me on the journey. Amen.
My God, I trust you. Do not let me be disgraced; do not let my enemies laugh at me. Psalm 25:2
People let us down.
That’s not by any means an earth-shattering statement. Sometimes they let us down unintentionally. They have every intention of fulfilling their promise but are unable to do so because of some unexpected circumstance.
Other times they are unable to fulfill their promise because they underestimated their ability to carry out the work they said they would do.
Sometimes, they just forget the obligation they made to you.
And, there are those who, much as we hate to admit it, make a promise that they had no intention of keeping. They quite simply intended on deceiving you.
When promises are broken they cause wounds. The wounds broken promises cause are directly proportional to the importance of the thing promised to us. As an adult, the broken promise of a friend to meet us for coffee is relatively small and easily handled. The broken promise of a parent to be at a child’s ball game may seem small to the parent, but is very painful to the child.
The worst part about a broken promise is the destruction of trust. You trusted your spouse to stay true to the vows they spoke. Now you find out they’ve been cheating on you and you can never trust them again. Your boss promised you the promotion but filled the position from outside, and now your confidence in your job (and yourself) has been dashed. Your parents promised you a family heirloom when they died and you discover they’ve given it to someone else.
Broken trust wounds the soul. Broken trust makes you feel like a fool. Broken trust makes you feel like you are the object of ridicule to all those around you.
“You should have known better.” they say.
“Don’t know why you didn’t see that coming.”
“What did you expect?”
The arrows hit home. They lodge deep in the soul. As a child you may think, I can never trust my mom and dad. God promised me things too. If my parents don’t keep their promises, God won’t keep his either.
As an adult you resolve that you will never be hurt again. You will never take the chance on love. You will never let anyone control you to that extent again. You will never allow yourself to feel this pain.
It’s with this in mind that David pens the words of Psalm 25. David knew about broken promises. David knew the hearts of men could not be trusted. His prayer to his God is that he would not be let down, not embarrassed, not disgraced or laughed at or ridiculed for his faith in a God who was unseen and at times unpredictable.
We serve a God we can trust. Unlike humans, there is never a promise he was unable to keep. Sometimes we need to look back to see how he fulfilled his promises. Sometimes he fulfills them in ways we don’t expect. But you can trust him. He is willing and able to do just as he said he’d do…in his way…in his time. You can count on it. He promised.
PRAYER: Father there have been many times I’ve broken promises to others. I confess sometimes those promises were broken intentionally. Other times I was unable to fulfill my obligation. I thank you for never, ever letting us down. Thank you that I can trust you to do just as you say. 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.
Who is this glorious King? The Lord, strong and mighty. The Lord, the powerful warrior. Psalm 24:8 (NCV)
It’s a rather peculiar phenomenon in the animal kingdom. The Martin will spend days building her nest in preparation for laying eggs and raising their young. Soon after that, a sparrow may decide that the martin nest looks like a pretty cool abode and take it over. That’s right, the little, calm looking; harmless sparrow steals the nest from the Martin. Sometimes even pushing eggs or newly hatched young out onto the ground. But the sparrow’s home isn’t secure either. Starlings have been known to come in and take over the nest the sparrow stole from the Martin!
The problem in this picture is that Martin and Sparrow had the ability to build their home, but not defend it. What the Martin needs is someone to fight on their behalf. Someone to defend all they’ve worked for, to protect their investment.
Like the Martin, each of us sets out to make a life for ourselves. It may not necessarily be a conscious thought, but in the backrooms of our minds we have an idea of what we’d like life to look like. Few of us include, in those plans, divorce, bankruptcy, cancer or the untimely death of a loved one.
The plans we have though are often disrupted, diverted or destroyed by life. The Sparrows and Starlings of life attack us. We didn’t plan on becoming addicted to drugs. We didn’t plan on the affair happening, it just did. We didn’t include in our plans the rebellious child or the disinterested spouse.
Like the Martin, what we need is a defender. Someone who can protect us from the attacks of evil in our lives. Someone who can walk us through the battle ground to the others side. Each of us needs someone we can call on when doubt, worry, anger and frustration raise their ugly heads.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we had someone like that to call on in our time of distress? Religion will try to tell you it has the answer. Politicians have plenty of ideas of how funding can solve this problem or that. Friends and family always seem to have advice. But what we need is a warrior we can count on. Someone who not only knows how to wage battle against the evil one, but knows how to win.
The Psalmist says, ‘The Lord is a powerful warrior’. Most scholars agree that the ‘Lord’ in this passage not only refers to God the Father, but points towards Jesus Christ, his Son. The word picture is clear. There are many things along the path we call life that are there to distract us and destroy our dreams. Reliance on our mighty warrior, Jesus Christ, assures us that even though the battle may be tough, he will fight for us. He is a mighty warrior who believes in us and sees us as worth fighting for.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, as I enter the battle of life ahead of me I see many enemies. Many who are intent on taking away my peace, my trust, my future. Thank you for being a mighty warrior I can count on in the midst of battle. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 