He loves everyone. He gives grace to everyone. But does He treat everyone alike?
The answer is “no.” God treats us differently.
If you read John 11, you’ll see that Mary and Martha each said the same thing to Jesus, but His response to them was very different. And think about how differently Jesus spoke to the Pharisees as opposed to the woman caught in adultery.
And then in Luke 1, we read about a couple of encounters with the angel, Gabriel. First, Gabriel shows up in the temple when Zechariah the priest is burning incense. Gabriel tells him his prayers have been heard and that his wife Elizabeth will give birth to a baby.
Because she is an old woman at this point and has never been able to conceive, Zechariah asks, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
That’s a reasonable question, right? You’re an old man and you’re married to a wife who is “well along in years.” You’d want to know how this was going to happen, how you could be sure. After all, you wouldn’t want to run outside and start telling everyone without having some assurance. How many times over the years had Elizabeth gotten her hopes up only to be disappointed again? There’s no way you’d want to do that to her.
Gabriel responds by saying, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time.”
Zechariah gives him some assurance, but there were consequences to his unbelief.
And then there’s Mary (not the sister of Martha, but the mother of Jesus). Gabriel comes and speaks to her as well. He tells her that even though she’s a virgin, she’s going to have a baby. Quite naturally, Mary wants to know how this is going to happen.
So Gabriel responds, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”
That’s interesting to me. Zechariah asks a question and he can’t speak. Mary asks a question and Gabriel explains things to her. Why does God treat them differently?
Could it be that more was required of Zechariah?
He was a priest. Presumably, he had walked with and served God for many years. Mary, on the other hand, was a teenage virgin with a heart for God.
When Gabriel responds to Zechariah’s question, he begins with, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God…”
Standing in God’s presence. That’s powerful enough, but isn’t that also what a priest does when he ministers? Zechariah was in the temple burning incense in God’s presence.
I don’t want to read too much into this, but I can’t help thinking the bar was set higher for Zechariah. He was a priest. He’d been trained. He had opportunities for learning and study that Mary didn’t have. He ministered in God’s presence.
How about you and me?
If you’re reading this post, it means you have a computer and internet access. That means you have the Bible, in just about any translation you prefer, right at your finger tips. It means you can click over to iTunes and listen to great podcasts from Bible teachers like Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler, Francis Chan, Charles Stanely, Tim Keller, etc.
To those who have been given much, much will be required.
We’re much more like Zechariah than we are Mary…and much will be required of us.
I just finished reading through the Old Testament books of Judges and Ruth. They both take place during the same time period in Israel’s history.
In Judges, we get a look at all of the various people who led Israel during the time from about 1382 to 1043 BC, including Deborah, Gideon and Samson. These were dark times in Israel’s history as they continually turned their backs on God and experienced His rebuke.
In Ruth, we’re introduced to one family and all of the pain, confusion and hardship they endured. It’s a powerful story with a great twist at the end. Be sure to read it–it’s only four chapters.
What strikes me as I read about the lives of these men and women is that their stories are always being played out in the context of a much bigger story. And that’s true with you and me also.
There’s God’s story and there’s our story, which is also part of God’s story. Your story and my story are sub-plots. We’re not the main story. God is.
In Ruth’s case, she lived in the country of Moab–just east of Israel. Because of a famine in Bethlehem, a man named Elimelech left there and went to live in Moab with his wife Naomi and their two sons. Eventually, Elimelech dies and the two sons marry Moabite women. Ruth is one of these two women.
About ten years after leaving Bethlehem, both of the sons die also. That’s when Naomi gets word that the famine in Bethlehem has ended, so she decides to go home. Ruth insists on going with her so these two widows set out for Bethlehem.
In a period of ten years, Naomi has gone from living in the Promised Land, being married and being the mother of two sons to living in a foreign country, losing a husband, losing both sons and now returning home unhappy, unfulfilled and feeling bitter about life.
How do we know she feels this way? When she arrives in Bethlehem, she tells people not to call her Naomi, but to call her Mara, which means “bitter.”
It would be hard to blame her, right? It’s been a pretty rough ten years. There had to be many times on that road back to Bethlehem that she thought, “Where’s God when you need Him?”
Have you ever felt that way?
I have. Lots of times. I’ve been angry, confused and bitter. I’ve wondered where God was and why He wasn’t helping. You might feel that way today.
Your marriage is in trouble.
Your child won’t listen to you.
You just lost your job or your house or both.
You desperately want a child, but can’t get pregnant and it doesn’t help that the unmarried teenage girl can.
The diagnosis came back. It’s not good and not what you expected.
So where’s God when we need Him?
Let’s step back into the lives of Naomi and Ruth again and see what we learn…
Once back in Bethlehem, Ruth meets a close relative of Naomi’s deceased husband. This man, named Boaz, has the right to purchase the property owned by Naomi’s husband and sons, which he does. And part of the deal is that Ruth becomes his wife.
God is working out His bigger story, but He’s also caring for Naomi and Ruth.
Eventually, Boaz and Ruth have a son, named Obed. When he is grown, Obed and his wife give birth to a son, named Jesse. Years later, Jesse becomes the father of David. King David.
And about a thousand years later, Jesus, the Savior of the world, is born in the line of King David.
Naomi couldn’t have known that was going to happen. Neither did Ruth. God knew though. He was always working in history to bring about His bigger story, His master plan to save the world.
Do you know how your present difficulties may be used by God one day? No, but He does. He sees your pain and suffering and none of it will be wasted. As you trust Him and persevere, He is conforming you to His image and using your circumstances to advance His kingdom.
No, you can’t see it, but He can. Just keep believing Him.
He’s not just the God of the big story, He’s the God of your story. He has a good plan for you. His love for you will never fail. When you seek Him, you will find Him.
Naomi felt bitter because she thought God was against her. I get that. I’ve felt that way. It’s just not true though. God is never against us. He’s always for us. We just need to remember there’s always a bigger story being played out. And we have a part in it. Our current, painful, confusing circumstances are part of God’s bigger story.
We don’t have to become bitter. That happens when we focus only on what we see and feel. Genuine joy and peace are ours when we choose to keep our eyes on God and trust that He is good and that He is working things out for our good and His ultimate glory.
Where is God when we need Him?
He’s here with us. He can be trusted, even when all hell is breaking loose. He is not the cause of your pain or difficulties, but He can use them to accomplish His purposes in your life and in the bigger story.
Our part is to walk faithfully with Him and not give up. Naomi and Ruth could have given up. On life and on God. But they didn’t.
In the closing scene of Ruth, we see Naomi holding Obed in her lap, caring for him. There’s no way she could have known she was holding the grandfather of King David.
God has a good plan for you. Keep trusting Him. Keep seeking Him. Keep obeying Him. You cannot possibly imagine all the good He’s going to do for you and through you, if only you will keep walking with Him.
My wife and son and I drove to Branson, Missouri today for a long weekend. One of my daughters is working here this summer, so we’ll get to visit her and have some fun at a water park and Silver Dollar City.
After dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack tonight, we were driving back to our cabin when we came to a traffic light. The light was red and there were two vehicles in front of us. Very few cars were on the road that had the green light. So we sat there and waited. And waited. And waited. And waited.
It was one of the longest red lights I’ve ever waited for. Maybe the longest. Apparently, it was also one of the longest for the two cars in front of me because they finally just went through the red light. I can’t blame them because I would have done it too, except that right after they went through it, the light turned green and I was able to go.
It made me wonder how often we get impatient waiting for God to answer a prayer, open a door, give a direction or meet a need we have. And because we’re impatient, we go before we should. We take matters into our own hands. We make a decision before we’ve heard from God.
One of the most difficult things we’ll ever do is wait for God. We don’t like to wait. We want to know now. We want our need met now. We want to see how things will work out now.
We don’t want to wait, but quite often, God requires waiting. It’s just how He works, so we might as well learn how to do it well.
When we find ourselves in a season of waiting, we need to remember that God is always good, He’s always faithful, He alone is all-powerful and He never stops loving us. It’s so important to be reminded of these truths. If we forget them, then we will become impatient and possibly make decisions apart from God’s best for us.
Remember that because He is good, He cannot even think a wrong thought toward us. He cannot even consider doing anything that isn’t best for us.
But if we doubt His goodness or His love for us or His faithfulness to His promises, then we will naturally find it difficult to wait for Him.
Are you needing to wait right now?
If you’re wondering what God is up to and why He won’t just do something, if you’re impatient to the point of moving ahead without God’s clear direction, then spend some time meditating on this passage from Psalm 37:3-7. Let His word saturate your mind. Let it bring calm to your heart.
Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
You will never go wrong if your goal is to trust Him, delight in Him, commit your way to Him and wait patiently for Him, because He will NEVER fail you.
In the mid-90′s, I was in a job I didn’t like and was looking for a change. A couple years later, I was without a job and looking for a change. Ten years later, I was again in a job that was no longer a fit and was looking for a change.
Last week, I visited a friend in the hospital who’d recently undergone major surgery to remove several tumors. A week after the surgery, he was fighting off a serious infection. He just wanted to start feeling better. He was looking for a change.
I’ve talked to numerous men and women who are unhappy in their marriages. They are looking for a change.
When our circumstances are difficult or unpleasant or just less than desirable–we’re all looking for a change. We want to move on. We want something better. We want God to do something. Sooner than later.
I’m sure the nation of Israel felt the same way.
They’d been slaves in Egypt for 400 years and when change finally came, it was short-lived. Because of their rebellion and unbelief, God made them wander in the desert for 40 years until all those over the age of 20 died off.
Once that generation had died, God led Israel to the east side of the Jordan River in preparation for crossing into the land of Canaan–the land He’d sworn to give to Abraham hundreds of years earlier.
Can you imagine the anticipation?
It would be like a few days before your wedding, Christmas and the best vacation ever all rolled into one. All you’ve ever known is slavery and living in a desert and now, you’re about to move into the land that God is giving you for your very own. They will live in cities they didn’t build. They’ll harvest vineyards they didn’t plant. They’ll be out of the dry, dusty desert and enjoying a land with streams and pools of water.
Everything is about to change for the better.
But is Israel ready?
Moses described them as a rebellious and stiff-necked people. They were prone to grumbling, complaining and wandering. They had short memories–often forgetting what God had done for them.
Are they ready for what God is doing for them? Will they be fully able to enjoy this good land He’s giving them? Have they learned anything from their past?
Still valid questions today.
Are you ready? Are you ready for whatever change God may want to bring into your life?
Are you ready for a new relationship? Are you ready for your marriage to become all God intended? Are you ready for the new job? The new city to live in? The new addition to your family? The increase in pay? New opportunities and responsibilities?
I don’t mean are you tired of your current circumstances. That’s a given. I’m talking about actually being ready to receive or enjoy or capitalize on whatever God is about to do.
When Israel came out of Egypt, God led them to Mt. Sinai where they received the 10 commandments. They would camp there for some time as God revealed many other commands. And before they were ready to cross the Jordan, Moses reviewed God’s commands and explained how to live them out in the new land they would possess.
There are a couple significant passages from what Moses taught that may help us answer the question: Are you ready for a change?
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. (Deuteronomy 6:4-10)
Love God. Have His commandments on your heart. Impress them upon your children. Talk about them.
Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love God. He also said we demonstrated love by obeying Him.
Moses also said:
Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers. Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you. (Deuteronomy 8:1-5)
During the 40 years in the desert, God was humbling the Israelites and teaching them that they didn’t just live on bread, but on every word of His. They were to love and cherish and depend on His words. Regardless of how you got to where you are today–God desires to teach you that you cannot live apart from knowing and believing His word.
Are you ready for a change?
We can answer that question with a few other questions…
Are you growing in your love for God? Is your desire to obey Him and walk in His ways increasing?
Do you find yourself talking more about God’s word with others? Are you sharing what you’re learning?
Are you realizing that His word is life to you and that it can be trusted even when your feelings and circumstances aren’t making sense?
Are you only seeking relief from your circumstances or are you seeking God? (If you’re only seeking relief, then it will be easy to forget God once “you eat and are satisfied.”)
A new land, a change of scenery, a better life, relief from present pain and difficulties in the desert–they may be right around the corner.
Most of us don’t have any problem believing God knows the plans He has for us. Of course He knows the plans. He is, after all, God.
The problem for many of us is that WE don’t know the plans. God knows the plans, but we want to know them…and God doesn’t always seem to be telling.
Now if everything was going well in our lives, I suspect that a lot of us, myself included, wouldn’t care quite as much about knowing God’s plans for us. We’d just assume we were already experiencing His plans. Pleasant circumstances have a way of dulling our sensitivity to God.
But when things aren’t going so well, when circumstances aren’t what we desired, hoped for or prayed for–well, then we’re much more interested in knowing God’s plans.
Sometimes, I think we wrongly assume our current circumstances, because they’re painful or difficult, couldn’t possibly be what God had planned for us. But that’s not always the case.
In Jeremiah 29, the chapter the “I know the plans I have for you” verse comes from, we see that many Jews are in exile in Babylon for a period of 70 years. That’s a long time to be in exile, to be away from the land you long to return to. There may have been people who were born during the exile and died during the exile. Exile was all they ever knew.
Hundreds of years earlier, the nation of Israel was in bondage in Egypt for 400 years. I’m sure most of them remembered the promise God had made to their ancestor, Abraham–that God was going to give them the land of Canaan as their possession. And yet, many Jews were born in Egypt, lived their lives as slaves in Egypt, and died Egypt.
Hebrews 11 is a chapter that highlights the great faith displayed by Abraham, Moses, Noah, Rahab, David and others. This is also the chapter that says:
“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.”
To be honest, I really don’t like that verse all that much. They did not receive the things promised? Only saw them and welcomed them from a distance? Huh? I want God’s good plans for me. I’m not into the “did not receive” part. That sounds…hard. Painful. Disappointing.
And yet, a life of believing God is lived by keeping our eyes on God, not our circumstances. Paul said he had learned to be content in all circumstances. Whether he had plenty or he lacked–he was okay with it. Why? Because regardless of his circumstances–he had Christ.
I’m not suggesting we don’t desire or pray for improved circumstances. For those of us with medical issues–we want healing. If we have financial problems–we want God to provide a way through or a way out. If it’s a failing marriage or a rebellious child or some other relationship problem–we want God to fix it.
Jeremiah 29:10-14 says:
This is what the LORD says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity.I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
God’s plan was to bring the Jews back after 70 years in Babylon. His plans were to prosper, not harm them. His plans were to give them a hope and a future. They would call upon Him and He would listen. They would seek Him and find Him.
It wasn’t going to happen immediately though. There was a period of waiting. Surely, some of them died before returning. They saw God’s promise from a distance.
I know we long for God to change things. I do. But what if we were to long for God more?
Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
To delight in God means to find pleasure and enjoyment in Him. What if we made that our highest aim, instead of relief from our difficulties?
Ultimately, God’s best plan for us is simply…Himself.
Could it be that we experience God’s plans when we experience Him in the midst of whatever we’re facing?
I began this blog several years ago, because I’m a worry-aholic. I’m in recovery, but I still battle it everyday.
I forget what my mother was worrying about one day, but when I was about 20-years-old and thought I had the Christian life mastered, I said to her, “Just don’t worry.”
Just don’t worry. I wish it was that easy. The problem is that you and I have a lot that could cause us to worry:
I have a herniated disc in my neck that causes my right arm to feel weak sometimes. I’ve been told by two doctors that the nerve damage could become permanent which would lead to some loss of the use of my arm.
The economy isn’t getting better.
Terrorists aren’t giving up.
I still have a large tax bill to pay.
There’s no guarantee the next round of tornadoes won’t wipe out Fayetteville just as they did Joplin, Missouri.
Your circumstances are different than mine, but we both face the same choice everyday:
Will we choose to believe God or our circumstances?
Right before Israel was going to take possession of Canaan, the land God had promised to Abraham, Moses sent in twelve men to explore the land. After 40 days, they returned to give a report. All twelve agreed it was a good land, but ten of them were worried and fearful. They said, “…the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.”
Caleb tried to convince the people that they should go take possession of the land.
But the ten said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.”
The worry and fear of the ten was so contagious that the Israelite community talked about appointing a leader to take them back to Egypt where they’d lived as slaves. These were people who saw God inflict ten plagues on the Egyptians. They experienced God protecting them by parting the Red Sea so they could escape the Egyptian army who was pursuing them.
Once in the desert, they saw God provide water from a rock. They heard God’s voice speak to them at Mt. Sinai where He gave the law to Moses. And every single day, they saw God lead them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
God could not have been any more real and active in their lives. And yet when they arrived at the land God had promised to give them, they shrunk back in worry and fear because ten men refused to keep their eyes on God rather than what they could see. Read the whole story here in Numbers 13 and 14.
And that error, that sin, cost them their lives. Because they refused to believe God, He ordered them to head back into the desert where they stayed for 40 years while God waited for all the Israelites over the age of twenty to die. They forfeited the Promised Land because they believed their circumstances, what they could see, instead of believing God.
I wonder how often we forfeit God’s blessings, because we refuse to believe Him. How often do we continue to wander in a desert of our own making, because we shrink back in worry and fear when God is calling us to go up and take possession of what He has for us?
I don’t want to miss out on anything God wants to do in me, through me or for me. I don’t want you to miss out either. It’s why I write this blog. And it’s why I put together the devotional: I Believe God: a 40 day adventure. The price is only $2.99 and is available in multiple formats. If you’d like the Amazon Kindle edition, it’s here.
Believing God is a choice to embark on an adventure of filling our minds with truth while learning to recognize and reject the lies of the enemy. It’s an adventure we were designed for by God.
Yeah, I know. Idol worship, right? It’s not even in the same category as the others, is it?
Of course, it may not be in the same category as the others for a different reason than we might think. What if it’s in a different category because it’s even worse than the others?
Please don’t hear me say that murder, adultery, rape are not horrible sins. They are. They’re inexcusable. But what if worshiping idols is even worse?
As I’ve read through 1 Kings, it’s fascinating that God keeps referring to the “sin of Jeroboam son of Nebat.” What was his sin? He made two golden calves, built shrines to false gods and appointed priests who weren’t Levites.
I don’t see anywhere that God continually refers to David’s sin of adultery and murder. In fact, God even holds up David as an example of someone who obeyed Him. When Solomon’s heart turned away from God and he began to worship idols, God said, “So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done.“
Again, please don’t hear me say that murder and adultery aren’t so bad or that God looks the other way and gives a pass. That’s not the case.
But I think we’ve been deceived into thinking that having other “gods” before Jehovah and worshiping idols isn’t any big deal. Like somehow those sins only applied to ancient Israel.
In 1 Kings 18, the prophet Elijah confronts Ahab and tells him to assemble the the people and the false prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. There’s going to be a show down between Elijah and the false prophets of Baal. Actually, there’s going to be a show down between Jehovah and the false god, Baal.
When everyone has assembled, Elijah says:
“How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
You can read the chapter to find out what happens next. It’s awesome.
So the question was asked thousands of years ago, but it’s still relevant. We just need to change the name of the false god.
“How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if _____________ is God, follow him.”
What false gods or idols do we need to place in the blank?
If your job is God, follow him.
If your money is God, follow him.
If sex is your God, follow him.
If your children are God, follow them.
If your house is God, follow him.
If your favorite sports team is God, follow him.
If the way you look is God, follow him.
Jehovah is a jealous God. He isn’t interested in sharing us with our false gods and idols. We have to choose Him or them. We can’t have both.
How long will you and I waver?
We need to pick our God and follow him. Whoever he is.
Very interesting, huh? What you were seeing didn’t match up with what you were hearing, so your brain told you you were hearing a different sound. The truth was that the sound never changed. Only your perception of it did.
I think the same thing happens with our circumstances.
We “hear” God say in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”
Or Hebrews 13:5, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Then in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
And yet everyday we encounter circumstances that seem impossible for us to handle or overcome. A medical diagnosis. A larger than expected tax bill. Unfair treatment from a supervisor. A rebellious child. A never-ending mountain of laundry, a sink full of dishes and an infant that won’t sleep.
We “hear” God say everything will be okay and we even believe Him for a moment or two, but then we “see” our circumstances again and we become fearful, worried, anxious or discouraged.
Is there any hope for us? Is it really possible to rise above the up and down feelings of this life? Is there any way to truly experience the joy and peace of God regardless of what we see?
The answer is “yes.” The key is to see with the right eyes.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 says:
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
A few verses later, in 2 Corinthians 5:6-7, Paul says:
Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.
We live by faith, not by sight.
Abraham was an old man when God told him to leave his home and go to the land God would show him. Abraham had no children when God said, “I will make you into a great nation…”
David was a teenager with no military experience when he faced down Goliath, the Philistine’s most feared soldier.
Noah built a boat. On dry ground.
Moses led Israel out of Egypt and through the desert for 40 years.
Despite a overwhelming odds and a ferocious propaganda campaign, Nehemiah led the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem in just 52 days.
A woman who’d been bleeding for 12 years new if she could just touch the cloak Jesus was wearing she’d be healed. She did. And she was.
A Roman soldier requested that Jesus heal his servant. The father of a dying 12-year-old girls asked Jesus to heal her. The servant was healed. The girl, who died before Jesus arrived, was brought back to life.
We fix our eyes on what is unseen. We live by faith.
God gave us His word, the Bible, to reveal Himself, His purposes and His ways to us. As we read it, we get to know Him better. We see what He’s up to in our lives and in the world. We see how He works. And our faith grows stronger.
The more we read it, the more we understand and trust Him. We are better able to fix our eyes in what is unseen. We find that we are more equipped to live by faith, not by what we see.
None of the people I mentioned above were perfect. Abraham passed his wife off as his sister so he wouldn’t be killed. Twice. David committed adultery and murder. Moses disobeyed God and wasn’t even allowed to enter the Promised Land.
No, they weren’t perfect, but they didn’t give up. They kept going despite their sins and circumstances. They chose to fix their eyes on the unseen. They walked by faith, by believing that what God said was true even though what they saw didn’t line up.
Several days ago, my son had a very bad sore throat. It was hard for him to swallow. He had a fever of 101. You could tell just by looking at him that he was sick.
We gave him ibuprofen to help relieve the pain, but knew we weren’t curing him of anything. He needed medicine to deal with the infection. Our family doctor prescribed an antibiotic and within several hours of taking the first dose, my son was already beginning to feel better.
That was four days ago. Today, he feels 100% better, but knows he needs to finish out the course of the antibiotic to be completely well. The symptoms may be gone, but it doesn’t mean the bacteria that caused the infection are all gone yet.
The first migraine I ever remember was during my sophomore year of high school. I was almost 16-years-old. The Green-White intra-squad football scrimmage was coming up and I was very worried. I was afraid I would have to play against the seniors who were much bigger, stronger and faster. My anxiety led to the migraine.
If I had only known the truth, I could have avoided the severe pain that a migraine causes. The scrimmage wasn’t a big deal after all. Mostly I played against other sophomores. There never was anything to worry about.
I wish I could say I’ve never experienced another migraine, but I have. Just about any time I allow myself to become overly worried, I get a migraine.
Fortunately, I have a prescription that I can take when I feel one coming on. It knocks it out in about 45 minutes. What I really need to do though is get my worry and anxiety under control.
I could take another pill to do that, but I would still only be treating symptoms. Would that be wrong? No, I believe it could be helpful to sometimes take medication that would help control worry or anxiety or depression, especially when a chemical imbalance is involved. But along with the medication, there’s some more work to be done. Some more digging. Digging to get us to the root.
There’s something deeper than worry and anxiety just as there is something deeper than a sore throat. We’re still only dealing with symptoms. The goal is to attack the root of the problem.
So what was at the root of my migraine leading up to the football scrimmage?
The root problem was a wrong belief. I believed I would have to play against much bigger players, which might lead to me getting injured or at least playing poorly and being embarrassed. My wrong belief caused me to worry and feel anxious. My body’s reaction to the stress was a migraine.
Maybe you don’t get migraines, but you probably can relate because you have other symptoms. Fatigue? Stomach pain? Neck or back pain? Hives? If not those, then probably something else.
Do you feel angry or depressed?
Are you worried? Anxious? Afraid?
Are you ashamed? Lonely? Guilty?
Maybe you’re bored or confused or disappointed.
What is it?
And how are you dealing with what you’re feeling? There’s a healthy way to deal with your symptoms, but there are also many destructive behaviors.
Destructive behaviors include denying you have a problem, substance abuse, blaming others, isolating yourself from others and rebelling against authority. There are others, but that covers a lot of what we do.
Engaging in those destructive behaviors don’t really even deal with the symptoms we’re experiencing. In fact, they make them even worse. That’s why they’re called destructive behaviors!
The real solution is to believe the truth. And ultimately, that requires that we know what God says about our situation, about ourselves and most importantly–what He says about Himself.
John 8:31-32 says:
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
If you believe (trust) Jesus and will live according to His teaching, then you are a disciple of His, a learner of His, a follower of His. Then you will know the truth and it will set you free. You will be free from the bondage of fear or worry or any other negative emotion…and the potentially destructive behaviors we engage in to deal with them.
The truth sets us free, but it can’t set us free if we don’t know what it is.
If we don’t choose to spend generous amounts of time in His word, then we will fall victim to the lies the world tells us. We will believe something. If it’s not the truth, then it will be a lie.
The truth leads to freedom.
The lie leads to bondage.
Which are you experiencing today?
Actually, I can tell you.
If you spend hours everyday watching television and movies, cruising around on Facebook, listening to secular music and listening to the opinions of friends who are also spending hours everyday in the same activities, but hardly any time in God’s word, then I’ll bet you’re in bondage. To something.
You may be involved in some of the destructive behaviors I mentioned earlier. You’re probably experiencing one or more physical symptoms. And I’m sure you’re dealing with negative emotions.
How could you not be?
Again, the only real solution is to get to the root of the problem–your wrong beliefs–and then replace them with the truth of God’s word.
By the way, I’m not suggesting it’s wrong to watch television or spend time on Facebook (I enjoy both)…unless it consumes so much of your time that you’re not consuming the truth.
Do you ever feel like God isn’t seeing things correctly? Like you have to explain things to Him?
It’s two weeks before Christmas. Money is tight. Then an unexpected bill arrives in the mail or the car breaks down. You can see this wasn’t a good time, that there isn’t enough in the checking account. So why can’t God see that?
Your dad is a good man who serves others and loves the Lord, but he’s diagnosed with cancer. He’s got three months. Maybe six with chemo. And yet a lot of bad, selfish people live a lot longer than him. Do we have to explain everything to God? Doesn’t He see that’s not right?
You’re believing God for a baby. You’ve been trying for several years to get pregnant. Then you hear about the 16-year-old down the street who just had an abortion. Um, God? Are you seeing this?
You’ve identified a problem at work. The solution is clear. To everyone. But your boss vetoes the idea. Or maybe he implements it, takes credit and gets promoted. Now God, were You not in any of the meetings when I presented my plan? Everyone else knew it was my idea. How did You not know?
“Why, O LORD, do You stand far off? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?” (Psalm 10:1)
“How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?” (Psalm 13:1)
“You are God my stronghold. Why have You rejected me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” (Psalm 43:2)
You and I aren’t the only ones with questions, are we?
No, the Bible is full of real people, with real problems and real questions. People just like us.
Fortunately, the Bible also has real answers. Not always easy or simple ones. Not always ones we’ll even like. But real answers from a real God.
And that’s where it all must begin. And end, really. With God. The one true, real God. The one who has no beginning. The one who spoke everything into existence from nothing. The one who has always desired friendship with us. The one who says:
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10)
“From eternity to eternity, I am God. No one can oppose what I do.” (Isaiah 43:13, The Living Bible)
I know there’s something in your life today that doesn’t make sense. Your finances. A relationship. Your health. An unfulfilled longing. And it feels like God just doesn’t get it.
I’m right there with you.
If you’re like me, you’ve tried analyzing your situation until you’ve seen it from every possible angle. You’ve mentally rehearsed the conversation and presented the undeniable facts. You’ve laid out all the evidence for God so He can see what you so clearly see. And you’ve probably lost sleep over it. But nothing changes. And so you’re left to wonder why in the world God won’t do something.
Maybe after we’ve tried all that, all the stuff that never works and only makes us feel worse, maybe it’s time to try something else…
Be still.
Stop explaining. Stop complaining. Stop analyzing. And stop strategizing.
And just be still.
Give your mind a rest. Let your heart experience His calm.
Know that He is God.
He sees you. He does. He understands your situation.
And He wants you to know Him, so you can trust Him. So you can start to see things more like He sees them.
He will be exalted. Not you. Not me.
This is His world. He made it for Himself. “All things were created by Him and for Him.” (Colossians 1:16)
From eternity to eternity, He is God. No one and no thing can oppose Him.
You and I have a choice. We can be frustrated, even angry with God for not seeing things our way or we can be still long enough to know, to really know that He is God, He is good and He can be trusted.
Maybe we need to simply remember this: if God isn’t worked up over my circumstances, then maybe I shouldn’t be either.
Gregg Stutts - Executive Pastor of The Church at Arkansas in Fayetteville. Husband to Robyn and father to Rachel, Erica, Amy and Rob. On a continuing journey of believing God.
Gregg Stutts - Executive Pastor of The Church at Arkansas in Fayetteville. Husband to Robyn and father to Rachel, Erica, Amy and Rob. On a continuing journey of believing God.
