Where’s God When You Need Him?

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.

Something Better Than Prayer

Before I get started, some disclaimers:

1. I don’t believe in formulas. In Chemistry? Yes. In life? No. God isn’t a predictable science experiment. If we do A and B, God is not obligated to do C.
2. Life is messy. We live in a fallen, broken, sinful world. Bad things can happen even when we do the right things.
3. Mixing a fervent prayer with the right measure of faith doesn’t always yield the results we want. See #1 and #2.
4. I don’t believe people get cancer and die because they didn’t have enough faith.
5. Sin does not always prevent God from blessing us. If it did, none of us would be blessed. Ever.

Those things being said, I’ve been thinking about prayer and obedience the past few days. Now I don’t mean to pit them against each other, but go with me for a moment. Which is better–prayer or obedience?

I guess the next question would be: better for what?

How about–better for getting what we desire?

We desire better health. We desire a new car or house. We want to get married or see our current marriage improve. We want to pay our bills on time, get out of debt and have a little left over for a vacation once in awhile.

Is it better to pray or obey?

I can already hear you saying the answer: Both!

And I would agree with you. It’s obviously better to do both, but my sense is that many of us only do one. We pray. We pray for God to intervene. We pray for Him to rescue us. We pray for Him to change someone’s heart. We pray for a breakthrough.

But often, we don’t obey Him.

A couple weeks ago while driving home from a weekend out of town, I stopped for gas at a little country gas station. As I came out of the store, I noticed a very obese woman sitting in her car smoking a cigarette.

Now imagine this woman begins to experience a chronic cough and shortness of breath. Not hard to imagine, right?

She has a choice now: she could begin praying God will heal her or she could stop smoking, eat healthier and exercise. We would think she was foolish for only praying, but not changing her habits, right?

I wonder how many of us get into difficulties with our finances, our relationships or our own medical issues and beg God for a miracle or some kind of breakthrough, but what may be better is for us to simply obey Him. And then add our prayers.

In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses is giving instructions to the Israelites before they cross the Jordan River to take possession of the land of Canaan. In chapter 28, Moses goes into great detail about what will happen to them if they fully obey God and carefully follow His commands. And he goes into even greater detail about what will happen if they do not obey.

There’s no mention of prayer. God’s blessings are contingent upon their obedience, not the fervency of their prayers. God graciously instructed them on how to live and was very clear about the blessings or curses that would follow their choices.

It’s not just Moses though. In John 15:1-11, Jesus is teaching His disciples that He is the vine and they are the branches. Apart from Him, they can do nothing. In verses 7-8, He says:

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you…” Isn’t that another way to say, “if you obey me?” Obedience plus prayer results in much fruit bearing.

Jesus goes on in verses 9-11 to say:

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

We remain in Jesus’ love by obeying him. And what is the result of doing that?

Joy. Complete joy.

Isn’t that ultimately what we all want? Complete joy?

So what are we to do about the difficulties we find ourselves in?

Let’s take our finances for example. If we’re in a mess–are we continuing to spend beyond our income? And just as importantly, if not more so, are we giving? 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 says:

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷ Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

Are we crying out to God to give us relief from our financial difficulties, while choosing to sow sparingly? God promises we will reap generously if we sow generously.

Are we asking God to heal our high blood pressure, but eating a diet full of unhealthy food? God has given us healthy foods to eat for our enjoyment and good health.

Are we desperately pleading with God to heal our marriage, but not practicing the principles in Ephesians 5:22-33 or reading a good book on marriage or attending a Weekend to Remember marriage conference or seeking counseling? Sure it takes two to heal a marriage, but are we at least doing our part?

God not only gave us His commands for our own good, He also gave us His Holy Spirit to empower us to obey them. He has instructed us on how to live this life. But are we listening? Are we following through on what He’s already told us?

I’m not at all suggesting that obeying God is somehow better than praying to God. But I am saying that if we’re praying without obeying, then I can’t help thinking God is saying, “I’ve already answered your prayer. You’ll discover it as soon as you obey me.”

Last thing: it would be worth re-reading the five disclaimers I started with.

Media Fast

In the last few days…

The credit rating of the United States was downgraded by Standard & Poor’s.

One of our military helicopters was shot down in Afghanistan killing 30 of our most elite soldiers. My son-in-law will be deployed there next year.

As I write this, the DOW is down 450 points today.

The United States Army approved an atheism-themed rock concert at Fort Bragg where my other son-in-law is stationed.

The city of Philadelphia implemented a curfew to deal with rising violence.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said a severe solar storm could cause global chaos and disrupt satellite communications for years.

In Maryland, a 17-year-old robbed a blind man and then stabbed him to death.

These are just today’s headlines. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Yesterday, I deleted an app from my iPhone that I used to access Twitter. Most of what I was reading was producing fear, worry and anxiety. And I mostly follow people I tend to agree with!

Recently, I stopped listening to a couple talk radio programs because they were causing the same kinds of feelings. And again, I was listening to people who were promoting the same beliefs I have.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough. I don’t want to hear any more bad news.

It’s not that I want to live in blissful ignorance, although I seriously believe that’s better than living in fully informed anxiety. It’s just that I can’t do a single thing to change most of what I read or hear. It’s like having a boss who gives you responsibility without authority. It only leads to discouragement, stress and declining health.

Been there. Done that.

So like I said, I’m done.

I’m fasting from Twitter. Fasting from the news. Fasting from political talk radio.

If something big happens in the world that I really need to know about–I’m sure someone will tell me. And if they tell me too much or too often–I’ll fast from them, too.

In the meantime, I’ll choose to believe God. It’s why I write this blog in the first place. I need the consistent reminder that God is bigger and stronger than the politicians and the criminals (who often seem to be one in the same). I need to focus on the fact that God’s promises are true regardless of how the stock market is performing or whether housing prices are rising or falling. I have to remember that God can protect my two sons-in-law just as easy in Afghanistan as He can in California or North Carolina.

But I won’t remember any of those things as long as my mind is constantly being bombarded with bad news and if I neglect time in God’s word.

So how about you? Do you need to join me in a media fast?

Will you try it for 40 days?

What do you have to lose other than fear, anxiety, worry and discouragement?

Tune out the bad news and intentionally spend more time in His word.

Isaiah 26:3-4 says:

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.”

The Hebrew word for “steadfast” literally means: to lean, lay, rest, support, put, uphold, lean upon.

If you and I will choose to trust God, not what we see or feel–we will experience peace. Our minds will lean on and rest in Him.

It doesn’t happen by accident though. And it doesn’t happen without a fight. Sometimes a hard fight. We have an enemy who is intent on deceiving and discouraging us. He wants our minds filled with anxious thoughts. He loves it when we focus on circumstances we cannot control rather than the One in complete control of all circumstances.

I’m starting my fast now. 40 days. At least.

Media is out. More Bible is in.

I’m looking forward to the peace and joy that will result.

Will you join me? Leave a comment and/or email me if you’re in: greggstutts@yahoo.com

God Answers the “Why?” Question

When things go wrong, terribly wrong, we can’t help asking God, “Why?”

Why did You let this happen?

Why did you let him die?

Why can’t I get pregnant?

Why can’t I find a job?

Maybe you’ve asked one of those questions. Maybe you’re asking one now. Or a different one.

Often, no answer comes. Bad things happen, but we’re only left to wonder why. God just doesn’t provide us with a reason.

And in those times, we have to fall back on His character. If we forget or never realize that He is good, faithful, loving, kind and all-powerful no matter what happens, then we will quickly become angry, fearful, depressed or any number of other negative emotions.

Sometimes though, God pulls back the curtain and gives us more information. Sometimes He answers the “Why?” question. In John 11, Lazarus is sick and eventually dies, but Jesus says, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

Now of course the disciples heard Jesus say this, but Lazarus and his two sisters who had sent for Jesus didn’t get to hear what Jesus said. They saw the miracle a few days later when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, but those were a rough few days of silence while they wondered why Jesus wasn’t coming.

In the first chapter of Haggai, we have another instance of God actually explaining why something bad was happening. The temple was in ruins and the remaining Jews in Jerusalem had been saying, “The time has not yet come for the LORD’s house to be built.”

They were wrong.

Apparently, the time had not only come, but had passed. As a result, the people were experiencing drought like conditions in all areas of life. They would plant, but not harvest much. They’d put clothes on, but not be warm. They’d earn wages, but it was like putting money in a purse with holes in it.

Nothing was working out.

Have you been there? I have.

Just when you think a situation can’t get worse–it does. It looks like something will work out, but it doesn’t. You seem so close to getting out of difficult circumstances, but can’t quite ever make it.

Twice in chapter 1, God tells the people, “Give careful thought to your ways.”

I’m not sure we’re very good at that. We don’t stop very often to give careful thought to our ways. I think we just press on, wonder why things aren’t working and then blame God for not helping us.

But in Haggai 1:7-9, God is very clear about why things have not gone well: “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the LORD Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house.”

There it is. God answers the “Why?” question. The people had been busy with their own homes, but had ignored His. God’s temple was in ruins, but the people were saying, “The time has not yet come for the LORD’s house to be built.”

They were wrong. It was time for the temple to be rebuilt. It was time for the people to be about God’s agenda.

You and I don’t have a temple to rebuild, but could it be there’s something else God has given us to do, but we’ve ignored it? We didn’t think it was important or we were busy or it would have made us uncomfortable or we simply forgot?

But the bottom line is we didn’t do it. And it has led to drought like conditions in our lives.

Press pause for just a moment.

PLEASE DO NOT HEAR ME SAYING THAT ALL BAD THINGS ARE THE RESULT OF OUR SIN OR FAILING TO DO WHAT GOD HAS ASKED US TO DO.

We live in a fallen world that’s badly stained by sin. Bad things happen. People get sick. Cars breakdown. Loved ones die. And it’s not because of anything we did or didn’t do.

Sometimes though, God does get our attention through frustrating circumstances. Is this one of those times for you? Maybe there’s something He wants you to do. Or maybe He wants you to start walking according to His ways, not yours.

If you ask Him, He’ll tell you, but if you’ll stop and “give careful thought to your ways”, I suspect you will know what He’s wanting you to do.

Off Course From God

This morning as I was sitting on the porch of the cabin we’re staying at in Branson, I noticed this crooked little tree. I’m sure there was a reason it took the crooked path it did, I just don’t know what it was. It’s interesting though that after a being “off course” for awhile, it corrected itself.

Maybe you can relate to this little tree. I can.

Was there a season in your life when you got off course? Or are you off course now?

Sometimes we can look back and see where we made the wrong turn. It could have started with a small compromise or a bad decision. Or a sin. Maybe you felt like God let you down and that led to feeling disappointed with Him. Even angry at Him. So you decided to go your own way.

I understand all of it. I’ve been there.

We need to be reminded that God’s will is always good and perfect. It’s better than anything we can get on our own. And the longer we stay off course, the longer we miss out on what is best for us.

One of my favorite passages is James 4:1-10…

¹ What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? ² You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. ³ When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

⁴ You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? ⁶ But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”

⁷ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

Who are the proud? Those who choose to go their own way. Those living apart from God. Those who choose to live “off course.”

And God graciously opposes them. He blocks them. So they will come back to Him. So they will correct their course and go His way.

So who are the humble, those who experience God’s grace? The answer is found in verse 7: “Submit yourselves, then, to God.”

The humble are those who submit to Him, who surrender their lives to Him. The ones who turn from the wrong course and intentionally choose to follow Him again.

And what do we find when we do?

He is waiting there with open arms and a heart full of grace. He will not turn us away. He will not berate us. He will not hold our sin over us. He will give us more grace. He will come near to us. And He will lift us up.

Waiting on God

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.

Are You Ready For a Change?

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.

Now is the time to get ready for them.

I Know the Plans I Have For You

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?

What Does God Want?

When I operated a personal training studio a number of years ago, some clients would wonder why they weren’t losing weight even though they’d been working out for several weeks. The issue was always the same–they hadn’t changed their eating habits. Somehow they thought that two one-hour workouts each week would be enough to accomplish their goals. It wasn’t.

The answer was to go back to what I’d showed them at the beginning. Reduce sugar. Increase protein. Eat five or six smaller meals rather than two or three big ones.

When it comes to your relationship with the Lord, does it sometimes feel like you’re not “getting the results” you’d hoped for? Are you frustrated? Does it feel like something is just off?

Maybe it’s time to go back to what He has already told us to do.

Deuteronomy 10:12-13 makes it pretty clear…

And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?

Those words were written for Israel, but Romans 15:4 reminds us, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

If you’re feeling stuck or frustrated in your relationship with the Lord, if you need some hope…maybe it’s time to return to the basics and make sure you’re doing what God has already showed you.

1. Fear Him. That means we respect Him and live in awe of Him.

2. Walk in all His ways. We set the course of our lives toward Him and His ways, not our own.

3. To love Him. When we love someone or something, we willingly give our time, our devotion and our money, don’t we? Do we love Him that way?

4. To serve Him with all our heart and soul. We give Him our very best.

5. To observe His commands and decrees. We obey Him because He is worthy of our obedience, but observing His commands is also for our “own good.”

I’m not suggesting these five things are easy, they’re just not difficult to understand. I suspect if you’re having some trouble figuring out what God wants for you–it may be time to go back to the “basics.” Work on these five and a lot of other things will fall into place.

By the way, if you want to lose weight and get in shape, check out this post.

One other thing, if you’d like to receive all new posts by email, you can subscribe using the form that’s just below “About Me” at the top of the right hand column. New posts will hit your inbox. That’s all you’ll receive. I don’t use your email address for anything else and will never sell it.

Where Are You God?

One of the most confusing and painful things we will ever go through is a desperate, heartfelt prayer that goes unanswered. Or at least seems to.

In John 11, Jesus gets word that his good friend Lazarus is sick. Jesus tells His disciples, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

Then John tells us that Jesus loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus. That’s significant because of the word that comes next. The word that confuses us. The word on which the whole story hinges.

“Yet.”

“Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where he was two more days.”

Does that bother you? Just a little?

Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters. He got word Lazarus was sick. Yet He stayed where He was for two more days.

Of course, if you know the end of the story, it’s not so bad. You know that even though Lazarus dies, Jesus brings him back to life. But put yourself in the story–these were real people, after all. Put yourself in Mary’s position or Martha’s. You’ve sent for help from the one person you know can make a difference, but He doesn’t show.

And it’s not like Jesus let them know He wasn’t coming. He just didn’t show. His good friend is sick, but He stays where He is.

Maybe Lazarus was too sick to even know what was happening, but Mary and Martha saw that Jesus wasn’t coming. I’m sure they kept watching the road, waiting for Him. But He was a no-show.

“Yet.”

Maybe you or a loved one are dealing with a serious illness. You’ve begged God for healing, but God doesn’t seem to be doing anything. And the condition is getting worse.

Could be you’re trying to sell your house. Surely, it’s not God’s will for you to be stuck with a house you can’t get out of, right?

Or you’re waiting for a call back after the job interview. You thought it had gone well, but it’s been two weeks and they were supposed to call back a week ago.

Maybe you’ve tried and tried and tried to get pregnant. Your friends have babies, but God doesn’t seem to be listening to your cries.

Where are you, God?

Jesus told His disciples that the sickness would not end in death, rather it was for God’s glory. Jesus could have easily gone right away and healed Lazarus. We know from other stories that He really didn’t even need to go–He just needed to say the word and Lazarus would have been healed.

This time was going to be different though. This time Jesus was going to raise a man from the dead. A man who’d be in the grave for four days.

What if God is using your circumstances, your waiting, your suffering, your confusion…for His glory? Could it be that God is orchestrating circumstances in a way that brings glory to Him?

I know there’s pain and confusion in the waiting. And unlike the situation with Lazarus, our circumstances don’t always turn out like we’d hoped. Our family member dies. The house doesn’t sell and we lose it in foreclosure. The job goes to someone else. A good, faithful woman remains infertile.

I won’t pretend to understand why God does or doesn’t answer some prayers. And I don’t have the words to erase the pain that unanswered prayers can cause, but there’s something very, very powerful that happens right before Jesus raises Lazarus.

Eventually, Jesus made His way to Bethany where Mary and Martha were now mourning their brother. After talking with Martha, she goes to get Mary. When Jesus sees the pain Mary is in, John tells us that:

“Jesus wept.”

Why did Jesus cry? Think about it–He’d already told His disciples that the sickness would not end in death and He knew He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, but it didn’t matter. He still entered into their pain.

Jesus is not far away and unconcerned. He sees what you’re going through and feels your pain.

As you live in a season of “yet”, remember that while God is orchestrating circumstances for His glory, He also feels your pain. He hurts with you. Waiting is never easy. Often it’s confusing and painful. But there’s a good and loving God in it with you.