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A person’s steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand their own way? Proverbs 20:24
Once upon a time there was a commander of an army. He was a very wise Commander. He knew every move the enemy would make. His weapons were far superior to anyone else’s. His fighting men were given every opportunity to prepare for battle.
One day, word came to the commander that an enemy army was coming to destroy his kingdom. His weapons were in place. His battle plan was flawless. His men were ready…well, almost ready.
A call to arms was issued and everyone reported as trained. But just before the army was to embark on this mission, a mission which was destined to succeed because of better weapons and a superior strategy, trouble arose. One of the men approached the commander and said, “Sir, I don’t understand your plan. In fact, I’ve been talking with my friends and they don’t really understand your plan either.
Soon a murmur spread through the crowd. Some openly began to doubt the commander’s plan. Some of the men in the back ranks even questioned whether the commander was even real. Others argued that he was real alright, It’s just that his plan is outdated and his weapons too weak to overpower the enemy. Still others questioned the wisdom of going to war and complained that they were being confined by the strict rules of the commander.
The commander stopped. He began to go to each of his men to explain every move, the strategy of the enemy, the results of various other battle plans and how they would be benefitted by following his way. One by one, the men began to understand. However, in the time it took for the commander to explain every part of the battle strategy, the enemy overcame him and his nation was defeated, even though he was stronger and smarter than the enemy.
Silly story? Yep. But don’t we tend to take the same attitude when it comes to our Heavenly Father? We claim to have faith but we lack trust. Faith says I believe God is real and able to defeat my enemy. Trust says that even when I don’t understand the process God takes, I follow Him without question.
Several times in scripture we are likened to soldiers and this journey we call life is referred to as a battle. Our commander, Jesus, knows our heart. He knows what makes us afraid. He knows our limitations and weaknesses. He wants nothing more than for us to experience a close, loving relationship with Him
To be sure, there will be times when we don’t understand His ways. There will be times when we may lack a clear view of His presence. We may be battered and bruised by our decisions or the abuse of others. That doesn’t mean Jesus has left us. A good commander may put his men in a position that challenges them, but He will never allow them to be completely destroyed.
Trust in God’s plan doesn’t mean we’ll understand everything He puts in our way. Trust in God plan means we endure the hard times because we know that victory comes in the end. Every day, every moment, every nano-second of our lives are carefully planned by a loving, merciful, all-powerful God. You won’t understand everything He does-guaranteed! But by growing in relationship with Him you will learn how to fight the battles that come across your path.
PRAYER: Father God, I look back at my past and forward to my future and at times really struggle to know why things went the way they did. I ask that you would forgive me for doubting your plan and empower me by your Holy Spirit to trust your ways over mine. Thank you that my commander understands my every fear. In Jesus name, Amen.
I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. Psalm 130:5-6
Have you ever been in a situation where you were waiting anxiously for something to happen? Perhaps you were waiting for God to answer a prayer you had for a loved one who was sick? Waiting for the doctor’s report. Waiting for word on a loved one in the military. Waiting for word from the bank about a loan, or if you were going to keep you house. Waiting for your employer to decide who keeps their job and who becomes unemployed. Waiting for the judge to decide the sentence.
Waiting. It can be agonizing. Waiting can become so much a part of you that controls your thoughts, your sleep, your eating habits, your moods. Waiting can affect your relationships, your outlook on life, and your opinion of God, yourself or others.
I remember when I was going through a terribly stressful time in my life. Everything I had counted on was gone. I was at the mercy of a legal system I didn’t trust. I had no money, no job and, perhaps, no future.
Sleep was fitful at best. I’d go to bed very, very late (or should I say early in the morning) and wake up from a fitful sleep just a few hours later. The lack of sleep caused fatigue which made the problems seem worse. My physical, emotional and spiritual health was failing.
The one thing I looked forward to every morning was seeing the sunrise. Light seemed to ease the fear and the pain. Being able to see what was around me gave me comfort in the midst of hopelessness. I hated the darkness of night.
I would imagine that is the word picture the Psalmist wants us to have in Psalm 130 when he likens waiting to the work of the night watchman. When the Bible repeats a phrase or a word it does so for effect, to show importance. Darkness was scary. Darkness was dangerous.
Today we have security lights and motion detectors. In his day there were torches and, sometimes moonlight. Daylight brought the assurance that you made it through the night without enemy attack. In the daylight you could see the enemy approach and arm yourselves. In the dark you were really at your enemy’s mercy.
That’s often how we feel when we are waiting expectantly, hopefully, earnestly for God to make something happen in our lives. The foundation on which we wait has to be trust. Trust in God’s character. Trust in His word. Trust in His promises. We do what we can to resolve some problems, but there are some where we just trust God for His word.
Your Heavenly Father loves you. He’s promised to take care of you. Everything He brings your way, the good and the bad, is given you in order to draw you closer to Him and trust His promises. Hard as it is to wait, waiting is easier when we really learn to rely on God to see us through the darkness and into the dawn.
PRAYER: Father God. I confess that I’m a lousy wait-er. I want answers and I want them now. I get impatient and don’t understand why you won’t answer me. Right now I’m in a very dark place in my life. I have issues with my relationships, my finances, my health, my faith. I need to see some light. Empower me by your Spirit to endure the darkness and draw close to you. Keep me safe until the dawn. In Jesus name, Amen.
For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.” 2 Chronicles 16:9
After Solomon was King of Israel, the country was divided by civil war into two nations, Israel and Judah. Although these two nations were of the same ancestry, they fought continuously. One day Asa, king of Judah heard that the King of Israel was planning to take some of Judah’s land and perhaps attack.
Asa went to the temple, but not to pray. He went to the temple to take some of the gold and silver that belonged to God and use it to pay off a neighboring king to help defend Judah from Israel. God spoke to Asa through a prophet. In effect, God’s words went something like this.
“Asa, don’t you know that I am sitting here in heaven looking over the entire world just looking for people who need my help? Don’t you realize that I want nothing more than to help you in the battles of life? Haven’t you figured out yet that I’m waiting here for you to ask for help? Yet you still go to other kings, other places to get your protection. From now on you will be subject to those around you and you will face many struggles.
Now, one would think that Asa would have listened to the prophet and confessed his lack of trust in God, but that wasn’t the case. Asa became angry with the prophet and with God. He threw the prophet in prison and tortured him.
Years later, Asa got a serious disease. Once again he refused to ask God for help in healing him and he eventually died.
The tragic story of Asa is played out everyday by people here on earth. We may think that God isn’t interested in our ‘small problems’. I was talking with a woman one day who was telling me her problems. I asked if she’d prayed about it and her response was, “He’s got plenty of bigger problems in the world to deal with. He can’t be bothered by me.” The sad thing was, she really believed that and sometimes we do to.
We may be like a stubborn child who refuses a parent’s help to get dressed. Even though we may struggle with life’s problems we are convinced that if we just try harder we will be able to conquer what ever it is that is troubling us. We may change jobs, or end relationships, or blame others all in an effort to get through this journey called life. We’d never admit it, but in a sense we are saying to God, “I know how to do this better than you. Step aside and see how it’s done!”
Regardless of what you are going through today, realize this. Your Heavenly Father is like an eagle soaring high above the earth, watching your every move and seeing what lies ahead. He not only sees your struggle, He sees your heart. He is waiting for you to let go and trust Him. He may allow you to go through consequences and pain to make you stronger, but He will never leave you alone if you call on Him and walk in relationship with Him.
Your Heavenly Father longs to be involved in every decision of your life because of His great love for you. Invite Him to walk the path of life with you.
PRAYER: Father God. I confess to you that there are many times I have taken matters into my own hands and never even thought of asking for your help. I praise you for the lesson of Asa and the reality that you are watching my every move and know my heart and desires. Right now I’m struggling with life and with consequences of my own choices. Forgive me from forgetting you and empower me with your Spirit to walk in such close relationship with you that you are involved in every decision of my life. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. Psalm 107:8-9
It isn’t during the good times, but the times we wander in the wilderness that we should focus our praise towards God.
That may seem like a strange statement. For it is during our wilderness wanderings that we want to focus more on our pain. It is during those times of loneliness in the desert places that we want to cry out for justice. It is during those times of failure that we tend to allow the feelings of despair to overshadow the fact that we are indeed children of the King. It is during those times when we are treated unfairly that our demands for justice scream loudly.
One of the reasons we tend to turn inward when times are tough is because the enemy wants us to believe that we are in control of our own destiny and that we know what is best for ourselves, our loved ones and our enemies. But the reality is we can only really look back and learn from our mistakes. Looking forward does us no good because at our best we can’t even see one second ahead!
When we are in the wilderness, W When we are alone, beaten up and nursing wounds of our own failures or the attacks of others, or when those we love are being treated unfairly, the only thing that can help is to look to the one constant in life: God. Times change. Circumstances change. Health changes. Relationships change. He is the same today as he was yesterday and He’ll be the same tomorrow.
Not only does our God never change. His love for us never changes either. You may be going through something right now that makes you confused, angry or frustrated. You may doubt God’s ability to work, or your ability to cope. Those are the times He says come to me. Those are the times when He asks us to rest in His love and feel his healing and soothing touch on our lives.
You may be in a wilderness now. You may be too angry, hurt or frustrated to see the wisdom of God’s plan. You may be questioning your ability to go on. That’s okay. He’ll wait for you. Just remember that He is standing nearby waiting for your call.
PRAYER: What an awesome God you are! During this time of hopelessness and wandering I continue to be amazed that you would be so patient with me to love me, comfort me and patiently wait for me to come to you. Forgive me for thinking my way is best and doubting you. Help me to see how you have worked in the past in my life to bring me to you. Empower me with your Holy Spirit to trust you with my today, tomorrow and beyond. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Psalm 37:3
Trust is a learned response. Long before we understand the concept of trust we learn the basis of trust. We can trust the floor to stand on because every floor we happen upon has upheld us. Standing on our favorite ball however results in our falling and perhaps hurting ourselves. Balloons are never to be trusted. They may be bright and colorful. They may be great fun to play with and bat around the room. But we learn early on they are never to be trusted because at any moment they may explode!
We also learn to that over time, we can trust things more. During our first steps we find that our legs are untrustworthy. They seem to let us down (not softly either), they are wobbly, and at times they take us in a direction we had no intention of going. However, if we let our first ‘leg experience’ be the basis of our concept of ‘trust’ then none of us would ever walk. As our legs become more trustworthy we learn not only to walk, but to run, jump and move with confidence.
Trust also requires us to be patient and cautious. Patient because those we love and want to help will (not may) fail us. Trust requires caution because there are those who will intentionally, or otherwise, mislead us and bring us into situations that are harmful for ourselves and/or others.
Trust in relationships is much like learning to trust in the walking experience. It takes time. It takes effort. In relationships we learn, sometimes the hard way that not everyone can be trusted. We experience the heartache and pain of betrayal, hatred, abuse and misunderstanding. Many a relationship has been destroyed because one person misunderstood the motives of another and refused to give another chance. Others have been physically and/or emotionally scarred for life because they never learned that love doesn’t always mean trust.
The Psalmist begins Psalm 37 with a warning. Don’t let evil doers worry you. Soon they will wither away. Eventually the evil motives of evil people will come to a natural end because evil can not stand against faith, hope and love.
True trust, the foundational trust can only be found in relationship with God. Men fail. Women fail. Children and parents fail. We fail by nature because our nature leans towards selfishness and evil.
God never fails. Sometimes we may feel like He does. We pray and He ‘fails’ to answer or give us an answer we don’t like. We go into a relationship we ‘think’ He approves and it blows up like the balloon we played with when we were young. We do good things and they get misread so we get falsely accused. In a moment of weakness we make a stupid decision and our lives are forever changed.
The problem with trust comes when we attach human attributes to a divine being. In our human mindset we see bad things and think that if God were real He could change them. In reality, God can change all the bad things in life. Sometimes God chooses to use the bad things in life to make us stronger. The stumbles during our first steps helped us learn balance. The falls helped us learn to stand. Only God can take a bad thing, a very bad thing and use it to make us stronger.
Trust the only one who can see you through your struggles. People will fail you. YOU will fail you. You will fail others. Sometimes your best efforts will fall short. But God will never ever ever fail you.
Learn to trust Him like you learned to walk. If you knew as an infant that each fall would make you better you wouldn’t enjoy the falls, but they’d be easier to take. In the same way, trusting God is a one-step-at-a-time process.
Trust, true, foundational trust must be built on someone who has proved themselves over time. Our God has never failed and He won’t fail you now.
PRAYER: Holy God. I confess to you that there are many times I’ve gone off on my own. Although I wouldn’t admit it then, in reality those times were times I trusted myself or others and not you. Forgive me for straying, rebelling and wandering. Help me back to my feet. Guide each of my stumbling, wobbly steps until I can walk with confidence in you through faith in Jesus. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 