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Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6
Have you ever meditated on what it means to have the Creator God, the almighty, all knowing, ever present God in relationship with you? He’s not watching us from heaven on high like we often think of. He’s walking with us! He’s sitting in our car with us during rush hour traffic. He’s holding our hand in the doctor’s office when the test reports come in. He’s got his arm around you when the news comes that a loved one has joined him for the eternal portion of their lives.
You know that feeling of elation you have when the boss tells you that you have a promotion coming…and a raise? Well, he feels it too and he smiles with pride. Just like he does when he’s sitting with you at the basketball game watching your son/daughter score the winning basket! And he cheers too!
When your little one lays sick with fever he has one hand on their tiny little body, and the other on your shoulder. I think he may even have tear on his cheek. Not because he’s worried about the baby, but because he feels your pain of worry and the pain of the little one.
During those times when the challenges of life seem too much to bear and you feel like you are bearing them all alone, he’s there. You may not sense his presence. Especially during those times of weakness when you give into temptation. You may not sense him during those times of disappointment with a spouse, a child or your parents. But God’s presence with you isn’t determined by your awareness of him. He’s always by your side. Watching your back, guiding your future. Comforting your present.
The next time you are attacked by the enemy named worry, worship instead. Worship isn’t reserved for Sunday. Worship isn’t reserved for any particular place or time. Worship is daily walking with the assurance that the one walking with you and loving you is God. That’s grace. That’s relationship. That’s God for you.
PRAYER: Father God, I praise and worship you for your promise to always be by my side. Forgive me for the times I forget that you not only watch over me but you walk with me, side by side and hand in hand. Today I ask that in every circumstance we go through together I will be aware of your presence by my side. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. James 4:13-14
Each of us has dreams growing up. We dream of being famous. We dream of having fancy clothes, big homes and vacation homes and being able to travel. Then life hits us and for the vast majority of us we look back and see that little, if anything, went as planned.
Gravity attacks our body with vengeance. Old age reminds us of our mortality. We fall victim to health issues, financial issues or relational issues. We suffer from own poor choices or the abuse of others. Our children struggle. A car accident, a fall, an illness can change things in an instant and all the dreaming and planning is for nothing.
The only thing we can be certain of in life is uncertainty. Even King Solomon, with all his wealth and power, bemoaned the fact that the things in life are empty. Still we plan all these things about tomorrow without really knowing where our next breath will come from. No matter how wise we are and no matter how much we plan for the future, reality is we just can’t see tomorrow.
That’s the bad news. Now for the good news. We have a Heavenly Father who not only sees tomorrow. He created it. Tomorrow may not hold what you’d hoped for or expected, but it is EXACTLY what He expected. There are no surprises with God.
Not only has He been to tomorrow and back, He wants you to succeed. While the consequences of poor choices may have sent you on a detour, He can always bring you back to the main road. Happiness and contentment in life isn’t from the things we hold in our hands, but from the things we hold in our heart.
James doesn’t tell us not to plan. Planning is vitally important. The old adage “If you fail to plan you plan to fail’ isn’t in the Bible but its very true. What James is telling us as Christ-followers is that we need always to include God in those plans and leave room for his working. Our lives are like vapors, like the early morning fog. Here now, gone later. All the material things we’ve done will soon pass. But the lives we change will continue on.
The key to success in live isn’t planning and education or relying on the advice of other people. Success comes by seeking God’s direction for you. Education and the wisdom of those who’ve gone before you is important, but only when combined with seeking God for direction.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father. I look behind me and see so many mistakes I’ve made, and I suffer the consequences of. I fear what lies ahead of me with health, finances and relationships. I thank you that while my life here is short, my life with you will last for eternity. Help me to learn to include you in all my dreams so that I can store my riches with you for eternity. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Luke 6:27-28
A couple weeks ago we went to a local apple orchard on our fall run to pick some fresh, crisp apples. As we were walking through the rows and rows of trees our conversation turned to the many types of apples there are. Some are sweet, some tart; some soft, some hard; some are good for eating right off the tree, others are better for pies, baking and apple sauce. Amazing the choices we have and there are new varieties coming out every year.
Enemies are like apples in a sense. There are all sorts of them out there. There are enemies a half a world away that we hear about on the news. We shake our heads at them and perhaps our fists. We pray for them, but for most of us, our prayers are vague, general voices of concern for people we’ve never met, and based on fear of our own safety and freedom.
There are the enemies based in the political arena, whether that is church politics or government. Again, we’ve never seen them but the choices they make directly, or indirectly affect our comfort and from time to time attack our convictions.
There is the unseen enemy of course. Satan, or one of his ugly cohorts, lurks behind every corner waiting to through darts of worry, temptation, judgmental, anger or a whole host of lies at us. Lies about our self-worth; lies about our God; lies about other people.
Perhaps the biggest enemy each of us faces every day is the enemy next door. I don’t mean your physical neighbor, but those who are closest to you emotionally. The child that no longer sees it necessary to follow your faith; the spouse who neglects, abuses or abandoned you, the boss who never sees anything you do as worthwhile. The friend or family member that misunderstands you, accuses you or makes you feel worthless. The parent who has never ever been there for you but now has all this advice to give you, advice you don’t need or want.
These enemies hurt the worst because, if we let them, they determine who we are, how we feel about ourselves and what God is like. They are the closest ones to us emotionally and can destroy us in a heartbeat with a flippant word, sarcasm or open attack.
It’s also these enemies that Jesus talked about on the hillside that day. He wasn’t telling the people to love some system that caused them pain. He was talking about the people we rub shoulders with every day. The ones that hurt us constantly. The people who, when we see them, cause the lump to form in your gut.
So, how can we do that? How can we love that person who hates the ground we walk on? How can we love that person who once professed to love us but has now turned their back on us? What Jesus is really commanding us to do is to counter every negative action directed towards us with a positive action. Sometimes that may mean that even though we have to remove ourselves from a harmful situation, we still refuse to speak evil of the person who attacked us. Sometimes it may mean praying a prayer that says, “God, I am supposed to pray for them but I’m so full of hurt right now I can’t. Help me.” I believe God honors the honest prayer of helplessness when we have to deal with the painful enemies of our heart.
I have to confess that the idea of being kind to people who have openly, intentionally and willfully attacked me isn’t pleasant. In fact, I struggle to do that. This is perhaps the hardest part of the Christian life, to love those in my circle who refuse to love back. So, how do we do it? Here are some suggestions from a person who has not yet attained.
- Remember that God DOES love you and understands how hard it is to love people who reject and hurt you. People do it to Him every day and since we are made in His image that means He feels that pain as well.
- Remember that God also created the ‘jerks’ of the world and His desire it to bring them to Himself, just as He did you.
- Remember that God realizes that you can’t do this on your own. It’s a process and requires that we lean heavily on the power of the Holy Spirit to help us.
- Lastly, Remember that we are told to love our enemies and as much as possible live at peace with them. Loving our enemies doesn’t necessarily mean we trust and live in relationship with those who have abused us physically, spiritually or emotionally.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father. I’m hurt. The hurt that I feel right now is the result of people who I thought I could trust who have turned on me. They are family members, friends, former lovers and/or even my own children. I feel completely alone and misunderstood here. Still, because of Jesus in my life I want to do as you’ve commanded. I want to love my enemies through the power of your Holy Spirit. Please help me have the wisdom and strength to love those nearest to me. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” Genesis 12:2
Imagine what it must have been like for Abram to receive a message from Jehovah God that he was going to be leaving his homeland. This wasn’t going to be a temporary trip. He wasn’t able to just go down to the corner rental spot and get a truck. He wouldn’t be coming back. Ever. He was leaving his home, his extended family, friends and life as he’d known it since he was born.
We are never told why God chose Abraham. Elsewhere God tells the Israelites that He didn’t choose them for any of the reasons we might choose to make someone great. They weren’t the strongest people. They weren’t the most numerous people. God seldom has reasons for doing what He does. He’s God, He knows best, and even when we don’t like it, His way usually works out best.
At any rate, there was something that God saw in Abraham that moved him to call Abraham away from everything that was familiar to him, his family, his home and his country in order to make him great.
God had fantastic plans for Abraham, but He couldn’t do His work in Abraham’s life with Abraham where he was. God had to take Abraham out of his comfort zone and place him in a place which forced Abraham to rely completely on God. Abraham had to be willing to give up all of his dreams to attain the dreams God had for him.
Not only would Abraham be blessed by giving up everything to follow God, his life would also be a blessing to others. Our Heavenly Father brings things into our lives to prepare us for greater things and in order to show others His great love and compassion.
Too often we ask God to bless us but expect Him to do so in our time frame and within our comfort zone. But that’s not the way it works. He needs to take us where we are, prepare us and then place us where we will be the most effective workers for Him.
As we progress through this journey we call life, remember that your Heavenly Father, the God of the Universe has your destination already picked out. There may be times when the choices you make cause you to waiver from the path. You may have made decisions that have consequences that follow you daily. Through Jesus Christ He can forgive you of the choices and use you for His glory and to bless others.
Abraham, David, Samuel and many other Bible characters made mistakes in their lives. God was able to bless them and use their life experiences to bless others. If you want to be blessed by God and be a blessing to others expect to have to leave your comfort zone so you can rely on Him completely and be a blessing to those around you.
PRAYER: Father, even though I want to be used by You in mighty ways, I have to admit I’m nervous about leaving the comfort of my current life. Empower me by your Spirit to be willing to step away from what is comfortable so I can experience your power and blessing. Help me use what you’ve taught me to bless those around me. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you. Hosea 10:12
If you are a gardener of any sort you know the difference between unplowed and plowed ground. Try planting a tree in ground that hasn’t been broken up for years and you know how hard it is to penetrate the grass and roots and break up the soil that lay beneath them.
On the other hand, when you try to dig into soil that has been broken up with the plow or tiller you know how easy it is to plant. Plowed soil is easier to work, holds moisture better from the rain and is more able to take in nutrients. It’s no wonder that in the Parable of the Sower and the Seed, Jesus says the richest soil, the soil that produces the most fruit, is the soil that is worked up, plowed, broken apart by the farmer. Soil that is broken up is prepared to bear fruit.
The Bible often compares our relationship with God to soil. Lives that are full of ‘emotional and spiritual’ baggage are unable to completely receive all that God has to offer us. It’s much like how hard rain on dry ground tends to run off and not penetrate the soil even though it is needed in order for the soil to produce fruit.
So, how can we make the ‘soil’ of our lives more productive for Jesus? When King David was ‘caught’ in his sin with Bathsheba he wrote about his journey back to God. In Psalm 51 he says, “Search me and know me…” Often we think of this as a prayer to make when we are on the ropes spiritually, but in reality it’s a prayer that each of should make every day.
It shouldn’t be a fearful or threatening thing to approach the Father and ask Him to reveal the ‘weeds and dead roots’ that keep us from taking in the spiritual nourishment He provides in our lives. It could be painful to some degree. Sometimes the things that keep us from experiencing all that God has for us are ‘good things’. We can fill our lives with family time, church activities, social action activities and godly friends. But if these things keep us from relationship building with Jesus, they can hinder our personal spiritual growth.
Sometimes sin, poor choices, doubt and worry can choke the redeeming forgiveness of God’s love and keep you from the peace He earnestly wants to give you. Forgiveness God’s way is complete, full and final. Don’t let the enemy drag you down by reminding you of past sins that have already been forgiven through the blood of Jesus!
On a daily basis ask God to evaluate the three major areas of your life, Love of God, Love of yourself and Love of others. These three areas must be in agreement with what your Father says about you in order for you to experience God’s blessing. Remember, while we think in the realm of the physical, God thinks in the eternal. What we think of blessing here on earth may not be what he is thinking.
PRAYER: Father God, I ask that you would give me the courage to allow you to take the plow to my life. Empower me with the wisdom and strength of your Spirit to look at my love for you, my love of myself and my love of others. If there are ‘weeds’ in my life that need pulling help me to let go easily so that You can fill me with the spiritual nourishment I need to bear fruit for you. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 