Have you ever felt frustrated when you feel the person in charge is making a serious mistake? I have. I've been a "voyager in someone else's ship" most of my life-- as a child dependent on parents in a troubled marriage, as a teenager in a ultra-restrictive boarding school, as a college student on scholarships trying to please a demanding professor, as a young new-Christian wife struggling to submit to her less-than-wise husband, as an employee attempting to do good work under a corrupt boss, and even as a church member trying her best to follow a confused pastor. I'm sure there are as many tales like this as there are people. The challenge is to stay true to our faith and keep our trust in the Lord.
Once we come of age, we often have choices about what we will do about a "captain" who is sailing off into a seemingly life-threatening storm. I've had to make some difficult decisions, but the Lord was always with me through it all. The Apostle Paul had a word from God to keep him staying on with a ship that was sure to sink. That takes some strong faith! Sometimes marriage feels like a sinking ship, and if you're a wife, you may feel like jumping! (Fortunately, we're not prisoners as Paul was, although it may feel like it sometimes. Reminding ourselves of our desire to make the commitment can help us weather the storm.) Guys have a different problem: they are the ones who have to decide where to take that ship. I'm glad I don't have to take the helm! However, sometimes we have to say what we see, whether it's believed or not. Paul did. Then he just had to hold on to his vision and trust in God for the outcome. I have to wonder what was going on in Dr. Luke's mind during all this, since he was on the ship too!
Prayer is always the first action we should take-- it should be automatic. That's when we get our directions, and peace. So often, things just seem to straighten themselves out when we pray. Staying in the Word, too, keeps our eyes focused on the Lord: isn't He really the Captain of our life anyway? He knows exactly what's going on, and He's committed to our well-being. He is the manager of our trials. Even though being under the leadership of, or even being dependent on, another human being is probably one of the most difficult trials we undergo, we can be assured that the Lord is still watching over us for our benefit-- and for the other person's as well.
There are times we feel we must confront. Emotional pleas just do not work! I've tried it many times, and I simply give up. My overwrought emotional state doesn't convince anyone of my ability to think clearly! I will not be listened to, no matter how right I am. Getting my focus on the Lord and seeking Him for peace is top priority. Then, I may be heard by the "captain" if I present the information I have with calm and clarity. It's up to him, then, to decide what to do with my intelligence (it's called intelligence for a reason-- you'd better know what you're talking about if you want to be listened to). I must maintain in faith.
Even if you end up having to go through a shipwreck, know this: God is able to preserve you. His ways are always redemptive, never forget. He may be working with the "captain" of the ship you're in, to bring some level of change or repentance or growth; but even if it's mostly about them, guess what? God's going to bring you to another level of faith, trust, backbone, maturity-- whatever it is you need to grow in. He uses all things for our good, even shipwrecks.
Showing posts with label tests and trials. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tests and trials. Show all posts
Friday, July 9, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
June 25, 2010 Earth-Shaking Praise
Our trials and tribulations always have redemptive purposes! We can be assured of this because, when we belong to God, He uses everything for good. We have our share of responsibility, I think, in releasing God's redemptive purpose into our sphere of influence. From reading about Paul and Silas in prison, I realize that praising and glorifying God in the midst of trouble and persecution can be the sign that points people to Christ.
Even when our sufferings are entirely private, praising God with abandon is a key to victory. If we're practicing this when no one is looking, we'll be prepared for action when someone actually is. To me, having victory over my difficult circumstances is a good incentive to do what I know: praise God with my whole heart-- which is a pleasing sacrifice. The thought that I might be practicing for the future-- that other people might be brought into the Kingdom because I glorified God while I suffered-- gives my present trials even more meaning. I might even be able to embrace them with gusto!
Even when our sufferings are entirely private, praising God with abandon is a key to victory. If we're practicing this when no one is looking, we'll be prepared for action when someone actually is. To me, having victory over my difficult circumstances is a good incentive to do what I know: praise God with my whole heart-- which is a pleasing sacrifice. The thought that I might be practicing for the future-- that other people might be brought into the Kingdom because I glorified God while I suffered-- gives my present trials even more meaning. I might even be able to embrace them with gusto!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
May 12, 2010 Bullies in a Battle of Words
We're always going to get tested to see what our true motivations are. King Saul was tested, and he flunked. If we look at the story only in the natural we might want to take Saul's part; but if you see what Samuel saw, you'll realize what went wrong, and why the kingdom was to be taken away from him.
The king and his son were the only ones who had swords! The oppressive enemy had seen to it that the people had none (and they put up with it!) In the spiritual sense, Saul was the one who had the word of God-- and he disobeyed it. His explanation sounds plausible, but Samuel says other wise. Saul was not "a man after God's heart," and therefore his kindgom would not continue.
David, on the other hand was a man after God's heart. He knew not to fight the enemy without the Lord going before him: "Give us help from trouble, For the help of man is useless. Through God we will do valiantly, For it is He who shall tread down our enemies." Psalm 108:12-13 Saul sought his own glory, but David sought the glory of God.
Jesus said, "He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him." John 7:18
Jesus said only what His Father told Him to say. He only sought the glory of the Father, and now the kingdom of Christ has been established over all.
We get tested when the enemy is there taunting us and making threats, and we think the Lord isn't doing anything about it. Sometimes He doesn't "show up" fast enough for us. If we don't have the Word in us, we're going to go run and hide in a cave, and the bully gets a victory. If we do have the Word, but we don't have God's heart, we will speak and act presumptuously. We may have been better off running and hiding. When we speak the Word or do an "obedient" action out of God's time, and with a selfish motivation, we can easily become a weapon in the hands of the enemy.
"A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit."
Proverbs 15:4
I think we know, by now, that the perverseness is in the heart (if it were in the physical tongue, we could all cut out our tongues out and be very righteous indeed!). Words can be swords. How many times have our rash words broken another's spirit, and, in turn, our own? I cannot begin to count the times I have done this. But it happens less often now, because I'm tired of hurting others and suffering the pain of it myself-- and I'm tired of grieving the Holy Spirit. I want a wholesome tongue. I want a whole heart after God.
Powerlessness is a bad thing, and God wants to deliver us from it. But power without godly authority is deadly. We cannot inherit the kingdom of God by walking in power without love and submission to God. We can't beat the devil with the devil's attitudes. For one thing, we must realize that Satan is already defeated; but we still must destroy his works. God will help us destroy the works of the enemy if we have God's heart and are seeking His glory and not our own.
Jesus is the Tree of Life. The more we yield to the Spirit and allow Him to grow that Tree in our heart, the more life-giving our words will be. This is God's heart for you, and for all His children. Some of Satan's strategy would be to irritate you so much that you hack away at the Tree growing in someone else's garden. Let's be patient with one another, and look for and nourish that Tree. At this moment, it might be just be a seedling that needs to be nurtured and protected. Someday, it will be a great Tree that will offer shelter to the lost and dying.
The king and his son were the only ones who had swords! The oppressive enemy had seen to it that the people had none (and they put up with it!) In the spiritual sense, Saul was the one who had the word of God-- and he disobeyed it. His explanation sounds plausible, but Samuel says other wise. Saul was not "a man after God's heart," and therefore his kindgom would not continue.
David, on the other hand was a man after God's heart. He knew not to fight the enemy without the Lord going before him: "Give us help from trouble, For the help of man is useless. Through God we will do valiantly, For it is He who shall tread down our enemies." Psalm 108:12-13 Saul sought his own glory, but David sought the glory of God.
Jesus said, "He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him." John 7:18
Jesus said only what His Father told Him to say. He only sought the glory of the Father, and now the kingdom of Christ has been established over all.
We get tested when the enemy is there taunting us and making threats, and we think the Lord isn't doing anything about it. Sometimes He doesn't "show up" fast enough for us. If we don't have the Word in us, we're going to go run and hide in a cave, and the bully gets a victory. If we do have the Word, but we don't have God's heart, we will speak and act presumptuously. We may have been better off running and hiding. When we speak the Word or do an "obedient" action out of God's time, and with a selfish motivation, we can easily become a weapon in the hands of the enemy.
"A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit."
Proverbs 15:4
I think we know, by now, that the perverseness is in the heart (if it were in the physical tongue, we could all cut out our tongues out and be very righteous indeed!). Words can be swords. How many times have our rash words broken another's spirit, and, in turn, our own? I cannot begin to count the times I have done this. But it happens less often now, because I'm tired of hurting others and suffering the pain of it myself-- and I'm tired of grieving the Holy Spirit. I want a wholesome tongue. I want a whole heart after God.
Powerlessness is a bad thing, and God wants to deliver us from it. But power without godly authority is deadly. We cannot inherit the kingdom of God by walking in power without love and submission to God. We can't beat the devil with the devil's attitudes. For one thing, we must realize that Satan is already defeated; but we still must destroy his works. God will help us destroy the works of the enemy if we have God's heart and are seeking His glory and not our own.
Jesus is the Tree of Life. The more we yield to the Spirit and allow Him to grow that Tree in our heart, the more life-giving our words will be. This is God's heart for you, and for all His children. Some of Satan's strategy would be to irritate you so much that you hack away at the Tree growing in someone else's garden. Let's be patient with one another, and look for and nourish that Tree. At this moment, it might be just be a seedling that needs to be nurtured and protected. Someday, it will be a great Tree that will offer shelter to the lost and dying.
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