Following With Consistency and Confidence

One of my struggles in my faith is feeling that I'm not consistent in my walk with the Lord and I think that comes from my lack of confidence in who he is at times.  I've been focusing on the names of God because through them, I discover more about his character, and as I discover more of who he is, I am able to respond in faith.

I like how Renee Swope says it in her book, A Confident Heart:

"God's names are a promise of who He is.  We learn to trust Him as we come to know Him in the way He is described in the Bible, based on His character.  We will not know God as Jehovah Rapha, our Healer, until we experience and recognize His healing in our lives, whether spiritually, emotionally, mentally, or physically.  We cannot know Him as Jehovah Jireh, our Provider, if we are not in need.  We will not know Him as Jehovah Nissi, our Banner, unless we need Him for victory."

As I seek to follow God more consistently, my confidence to do so will come from knowing who He is.  My prayer needs to be, "Lord show me who you are as I seek to know you better."  I do desire to know him better because after all, he already knows me intimately and not only that, he also sees me as who I am becoming instead of who I am now.  When he looks down at me, he doesn't see me as just one of millions but rather as someone he already knows, and in a good way.  It's like recognizing a loved one across the way in a room full of people.  Just as we seek out those we love, so does the Lord seek me out.  The better I know him, the quicker I'll recognize His presence in every situation.

Submitting Self to God

"Submitting self to God is the only real freedom - because the deepest slavery is self-dependence, self-reliance.  When you live your life believing that everything (family, finances, relationships, career) depends primarily on you, you're enslaved to your strenghs and weaknesses.  You're trying to be your own savior.  Freedom comes when we start trusting in God's abilities and wisdom instead of our own.  Real life begins when we transfer our trust from our own efforts to the efforts of Christ." - Surprised by Grace: God's Relentless Pursuit of Rebels by Tullian Tchividjian

No Fear

"The biblical writers were all on the same page when it came to believing that God is in control of all things and that nothing can happen that he doesn't first review and allow. He's never in a position of wringing his hands in confusion; he's never surprised at what occurs on earth; he's never wondering what to do next." - From Your 100 Day Prayer by John Snyder.


This gives me hope because it means God is taking into account every detail and working things out for the outcome that he already sees. In fact, I have nothing to fear because whatever the future holds, God is already there. His plan is for my good and for His glory whether I cooperate or not; whether I think getting from here to there is how I would like to do it or not. How much better to rest in peace knowing that he is in control and everything will work out. It takes the burden of worry off of me and that's how God wants it all along.

What Have We Become?

Excerpt from an article by Paul Proctor:

"I continue to be both saddened and disturbed by how many professional Christians there are today that are more interested in advancing their own ministries and agendas than they are the Word of God – and frankly, it shows because far too many spend their time and effort talking about we, me and mine – promoting and defending themselves, their feelings, their visions and their experiences with one another, week in and week out, rather than contending for the faith with Bible in heart and hand. (Jude 1:3)

...The Great Commission has not changed since it was given even though the so-called “church” and its hirelings have. What would the Old Testament prophets say to us today if we could hear them? What would the Apostles from the New Testament say if they were still with us?

More importantly – what is our Just and Holy God saying to us right now?

Look around – look in the mirror – and then look in your Bible for answers – that is, if you really want to know what they are. They’ve been there all along."

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” – Matthew 28:19-20

Nothing is Impossible

"The word impossible isn't part of God's vocabulary. It's a word we thought up on our own, and we think it carries lots of weight. But it does so only when we subtract God from the formula. If there's no God, the kind of God portrayed in the Bible, then we would have every right to think that there are all kinds of impossible things in the world." - from Your 100 Day Prayer by John I. Snyder

My Name is On God's Tatoo

"Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his afflicted. But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, And the Lord has forgotten me."

"Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me." -  Isaiah 49:13-16

I read this in my devotional today and was reminded that no matter what happens, no matter how uninvolved God seems in my circumstance, He is still there and is actively at work.  He can't forget about me any more than I, as a mother, can forget about any of my children.

When God seems far away from my struggle, I just have to calm down and see that He is there.  It's usually my own worry that blinds me from His presence.  It's kind of like when a young child loses sight of her parent in Walmart and she panics, but her mom is just on the other side of the clothes rack and never lost sight of her child.  Once I am able to see past the anxiety of the situation, I discover the Lord never left and always had me within reach. 

In fact, this scripture says I am engraved on the palms of His hands and am continually before Him.  That's kind of like having my name permanently tatooed on His hand as a constant reminder that I am His.

That's a huge grace note for today.

A Little of What You Like Does You Good...

"Little luxuries are more conducive to sustained well-being and pleasure than big ones.  These days, this philosophy of happiness is gaining popularity and, while I don't believe that happiness is an absolute state to which we all have a right, I do agree that a little of what you like does you good.

I would hazard a guess that most relatively contented domestic artists subscribe to this philosophy (both knowingly and unknowingly) and treat themselves regularly in small but significant ways.  The gentle arts offer such a wealth of little luxuries that it's not difficult to create a chain of small pleasures that link together to make a necklace of non-precious gems to adorn your life.  Pretty buttons, trimmings, ribbons, lovely yarn, half a yard of a beautiful fabric, a good novel or a book of poetry, a few squares of chocolate, a box of French macaroons - all are strung on my personal necklace of luxuries."

- From The Gentle Art of Domesticity by Jane Brocket

God Has Backup Copies

Today I read something in my devotions that I hadn't noticed before.  It was in Jeremiah 36.  The Lord spoke to Jeremiah the words He wanted delivered to Jehoiakim, king of Judah.  These were words of warning of what would happen if the king and people didn't turn from their evil ways and come back to God.  Jeremiah dictated God's words to a scribe who then delivered the scroll to the king.

The king's response was to burn the scroll because he didn't like what God had to say.  He thought that would take care of the matter.  No scroll, no warning to heed - as if God's word could be undone by simply destroying the evidence.

What he forgot is that God's word is not dependent upon anyone believing it.  God will have His way and His word will always hold true no matter whether a person chooses to believe it or not and no matter what lengths people go to destroy it or discredit its message. In the case of Jehoiakim, God simply told Jeremiah to rewrite the words on another scroll and have that delivered once again to the king, only this time God added more.  It would have gone better for Judah if the king had heeded the first message.

God always has backup copies of his message.  If we don't hear it the first time, He will repeat it as often and in as many ways as necessary until we listen.  As Aldous Huxley said, "Facts do not cease to exist simply because they are ignored."  This is especially true where God's word is concerned.

Keeping Faith When It's Hard

I have no problem believing in God but I often struggle with believing that He will do all He promises in His word. It's a struggle between theology and reality, and faith is the only thing that will close that gap. I don't want to just say "I believe" I want to say "I KNOW" with an unfailing faith and conviction that stands strong even when my circumstances say otherwise. 

I believe what God says about Himself and to believers in the Bible. Either these things are true because God's Word is true, or they are a lie. And if I believe that God's word is true then I have to believe all of it. If He says He is my provider, then I must not doubt His provision. If He says He hears me when I cry out to Him, then I must not live like He doesn't even if the answer doesn't come immediately. If He promises I can do all things through Jesus Christ, then I need to take it and run with it.

If I trust Him with my eternal life and salvation - and I do - then I have no choice but to also trust Him with the daily things and the hard things in life.  I need to be able to trust Him with my friend Diane who recently completed months of chemo, radiation, and a mastectomy for breast cancer only to find out last week that the cancer has metastisized to her bones.  We don't know what the future holds for her but God does so that's where she and her friends and family need to put their faith.  (Update: Diane left this earthly life soon after this was written and is healed and whole in heaven.)

Faith is hard for me sometimes because I rely so much on feelings. If I don't "feel" God at work then I may doubt His presence, but scripture says in Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." My favorite definition of faith is that it is taking God at His word regardless of what we think or feel. Faith is also important because as Hebrews 11:6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

So what do I do when my faith seems weak and I'm having a hard time believing God? I take God at His word regardless of what I think or feel. I meditate on Hebrews 4:12-16 that tells me the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, that God is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of my heart so He is able to take what I believe and help me with my unbelief; that I am not hidden from His sight, that in Him I have a great high priest who can sympathize with my weaknesses, because He Himself was tempted in all things as I am (yet without sin); and that I can draw near with confidence (boldness) to the throne of grace to find mercy and grace in my time of need. Those are powerful promises.

I am reminded of the centurion who came to Jesus, asking him to heal his daughter. Jesus was prepared to go with him but the man said if Jesus would just speak the word, his daughter would be healed because as someone in authority himself, he recognized the authority of Jesus' word. Jesus responded that he never found such faith in all of Israel.

Taking God at His word is where my faith needs to begin and end. Scripture says heaven and earth will pass away before one stroke of God's word will pass away. That means the world will have to end before God's word is not true. That's what my faith must be grounded in regarless of who is president, what is happening economically, in sickness or health, in good times or bad.  What the Lord did for anyone in scripture He can do for anyone today. I just need to rest in the authority of His word, who He says He is, what He says He can do, and who He says I am in Him.

A Perfect Moment

The realist in me wants to say there is no such thing as a perfect moment. But, I found one filed away in a childhood memory.

First, some background. I was born in Illinois on an Air Force base and we soon moved to another base in Texas. When I was about three years old, my parents divorced and my mother, who was pregnant with her fourth child, packed up her other three children and moved us back to her hometown in Indiana. We lived in a tiny cinder-block cottage on my grandparents' property. It was my third home in three years of life.

The moment I remember must have been when I was close to four years old and was in early fall because my older brother and sister were at school and the leaves were still green with just touches of color beginning here and there. The sky was as blue as one of my crayons with cotton ball clouds. I had awakened from a nap after lunch and sat playing on the steps to the door of the cottage. On a rare day, my mother was home instead of at work so I had no apprehensions of being left with a babysitter and my baby sister was napping so there was no opportunity to coax her into a smile. I was left to the company of my constant companions, a stuffed panda and a handmade bear that had been my mother's. Both were dressed up in doll clothes and sat unmoving in my second-hand toy baby carriage. We had finished our tea party with painted metal teacups, saucers and teapot neatly stacked on a plastic plate that served as the tray.

My grandparents' property was part of a nature preserve so I was surrounded by the woodland sounds of wind in trees, birds and chattering squirrels. The field between our cottage and my grandparents' home had been left to grow tall with grass and wildflowers and on this warm autumn day dozens of butterflies came out to play among the blossoms. The whirring sound of cicadas, or locusts as some call them, ebbed and flowed.

Sitting in a combination of the shade of a sycamore tree with its huge leaves and sun as the branches parted in rhythm with the breeze, I remember looking at the sparkles of light between the leaves and releasing a sigh. I was warm, fed, rested and safe and remember feeling totally at peace.  No one required conversation of me, no siblings were there to tease. The stitched on smiles of my teddy bear friends seemed to concur the bliss of the moment.

I still have those teddy bears. Now and then I take them out and recall that perfect afternoon.

Strength For the Moment, Trust For What's Ahead

"God does not give us overcoming life - He gives us life as we overcome. The strain of life is what builds our strength. If there is no strain, there will be no strength. Once you face the strain, you will immediately get the strength. If you completely give of yourself physically, you become exhausted. But when you give of yourself spiritually, you get more strength. God never gives us strength for tomorrow, or for the next hour, but only for the strain of the moment."
- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

This is probably the hardest lesson for me in my faith walk. I forget that God works best in my trials, giving what I need for the moment. Often all I can see is how impossible the situation is and wonder why He isn't doing anything or why I’m not making progress. I want to fast-forward to the end even if means I learn nothing along the way. I end up exhausted because I try to work it all out in my own power, lacking the patience to let Him lead me through it one step at a time so I emerge from the valley spiritually stronger and wiser. Often my short-cuts end up being the most difficult route to the destination.

A scripture I often meditate on to help keep God in my moments is Psalm 119:105: "Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." The lesson in that verse is that God lights each step for me, one step at a time, no matter what the situation. It's like walking along a dark path with a flashlight. It doesn't do any good to shine the light too far ahead because I might miss something right in front of me that may cause me to stumble. Or, by looking too far ahead I may see things I don’t understand or fear and be tempted to turn the other way, going right back to where I started. Instead, I keep the flashlight shining closer to my feet and the next few steps so I can see what is there.

That's what God wants to do in my walk with Him. He wants to light my path one step at a time, one strain or trial at a time, and trust Him for what I can't see further down the road. I can have confidence that He is a trustworthy guide because He has already been there.

Homesick

"Every dreamer knows that it is entirely possible to be homesick for a place you've never been to, perhaps more homesick than for familiar ground." - Judith Thurman

Sometimes it is hard to draw the balance of living between the anticipation of heaven and the reality of life on earth when one has a strong faith in God. I do find myself homesick for heaven even though I have not been there and don't know what it really is like other than what scripture tells me. All I know for certain is that being in heaven means being with the Lord and that is enough of a reason for longing for it.

Until that time, I need to live fully engaged here on earth even though my real home is elsewhere. That means living in a way that glorifies God and reflects His love to those I encounter whether it be my own family or random strangers. It means living with anticipation of the joy to come while dealing with the things on earth that maybe aren't so pleasant, knowing that it is through pain, hardship and disappointment that I am refined and my faith is made stronger. But I also know that amidst the negatives of life there is a lot of joy to be found. God is glorified when I seek those tokens of love from Him from the awesome wonders to the smallest things that almost go unnoticed but are no less awesome.

The Bible has much to say about the question "how should we then live?" but the verses that speak to where I am today are:

Deuteronomy 6:5 - "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."

Micah 6:8 - "And what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?"

I Thessalonians 4:11 - "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands."

Colossians 3:23-24 - "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men."

Ephesians 4:29 - "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear."