The answers to those questions lie within your heart.
The heart is tough to describe though. Even tougher to figure out.
The heart includes our emotions, passions, appetites and conscience. It includes our mind and will.
Of course, I guess you could separate all those different elements, but when it comes right down to it–we’re talking about the heart.
Recently, I’ve been thinking about the heart and read this familiar verse in Jeremiah 17:9…
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
That sure doesn’t sound good, does it? Deceitful. But not just deceitful–deceitful above all things. Not just some things. ALL things.
What’s interesting to me is that it doesn’t say the heart is evil. Just deceitful…and beyond cure. Medical science can cure a lot of dangerous diseases that used to be beyond cure. But the heart? It’s beyond cure.
Who can understand the heart? The implication is that no one can. No one can understand the heart, other than God, who says in the very next verse:
“I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.”
So the heart is deceitful above all things. And beyond cure. And we cannot even understand our own heart.
No wonder that God warns us in Proverbs 4:23, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”
Above ALL else. Guard your heart. Why? It’s the wellspring, the source, of your life. From it flow your emotions and passions and desires. It sets the direction for your life. It decides what you will care about, what you will invest your life in and who you will worship.
Now listen to God’s heart expressed in Deuteronomy 5:29 says, “Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!”
When we don’t fear (respect and live in awe of) God and keep his commands–our hearts will naturally find someone or something else to fear, to follow, to bow down to, to worship. In other words, we will find another god, an idol for ourselves. We will allow just about anything to take God’s rightful place in our lives.
And then, by consequence, we forfeit God’s best in our lives. There’s no way we can violate the first two of the 10 commandments and think “that it might go well” with us. And yet that’s exactly what our deceitful hearts would have us believe. We think we can live according to our own ways, violate God’s laws and still have life go well.
Because we’ve adopted the world’s values, we’ve come to believe that money, material possessions, the right relationship, food, sex, alcohol, television, pornography, golf, football or some other pursuit will make us feel happy, secure and fulfilled. Many of us will also attend church or a Bible study and think we’re actually living the “Christian life.”
But our hearts have deceived us. We’re not living the life God intended. We’re worshiping idols and lesser gods.
We attend church and toss up a prayer here and there and then wonder why the whole “being a Christian thing” isn’t working for us. We’ll even get angry at God for not coming through for us like we thought He would.
So what’s the answer? What are we supposed to do? How do we know when our own hearts are deceiving us?
Let me suggest two things we can do.
First, we must spend time in God’s word. There’s no substitute for allowing His word to fill our minds and hearts. We will never learn to think like God if all we ever do is fill up on what the world is serving to us. Maybe it’s time to cut back on television, internet, Facebook, Twitter, radio, magazines and the newspaper.
It’s hard to say we don’t have time to spend alone with God if we’re spending four or five hours a day ingesting various forms of media.
Second, we need others. We have to live in community with others who love us and will tell us the truth. And it wouldn’t hurt for us to take the first step and ask for the truth. Give a trusted friend the freedom to speak truth to you. Ask if they see anything in your life that is of concern, any actions or habits or words that aren’t lining up with your beliefs as a follower of Christ.
Yes, we’re forgiven through Christ. Yes, we have a new nature. But we can’t trust our hearts. I wish we could, but I know my own heart wants to deceive me. And yours wants to deceive you.
So above all else, we need to guard them and only allow in what will compel us to love and obey God.
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.
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.
Playing dumb: to pretend to be ignorant of something
Sometimes people play dumb to avoid responsibility. “The lawn needs to be mowed? I’m sorry, I’m not sure how to work a lawn mower.”
Other times, we play dumb to gain an advantage for ourselves. “Well, I guess I could try, but I really don’t know very much about poker.”
Years ago, I already knew what game system I was getting my kids for Christmas, but I would pretend I didn’t know anything about it, so they’d be surprised. “So what was that thing you were asking for? A Nintendo something?”
We’re not the only ones who play dumb though. In Luke 24:13-35, Jesus has just risen from the dead and as a couple of His disciples are walking along the road to Emmaus, Jesus joins them, “but they were kept from recognizing Him.”
He asks them what they’re discussing and they proceed to tell Him all about the events of the past few days. Things, of course, that Jesus already knew. He then begins to explain how the Scriptures spoke about Him. When they get to Emmaus, “Jesus acted as if He were going farther.” But the disciples ask Him to stay and He accepts their invitation.
When they sat down to eat dinner together, He gave thanks, broke the bread and gave it to them. “Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight.”
There are numerous reasons we choose to sometimes play dumb, but why would God? It’s not to avoid responsibility. It can’t be to gain information–He already knows everything.
I guess what I’m really asking is this: why isn’t God more clear? More obvious? Why does He hide Himself?
Take a look at Philippians 2:5-8…
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very natureGod,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing,
taking the very natureof a servant,
being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Jesus humbled Himself. Think about that for a moment. God. Humbled. Himself.
God is not arrogant or prideful. He’s not abrasive. He doesn’t force Himself on anyone. Of course, one day He will return to earth and set up His throne and every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord.
But God doesn’t use force to coerce us into following Him. He pursues us, but He doesn’t force Himself on us. He loves us, but whether we love Him in return is up to us.
Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Could it be that God isn’t more “in your face” obvious, because He wants us to seek Him? If He always showed up with big miracles and lots of fanfare–maybe we’d be less inclined to seek Him because we wouldn’t need to–we’d just be wowed by the sheer force of His presence.
Robyn, my wife, and I were driving home from Texas a couple days ago and encountered a lot of road construction. Orange road signs signaled there was work being done ahead, the speed limit changed and cars came to a complete stop. It was annoying and added about an hour to our trip.
When I’m reading the Bible, I love to pay particular attention to conjunctions. They’re a lot like road construction signs. It’s as if conjunctions are saying, “Hey! There’s something happening here, so slow down! Stay alert!”
In the first ten chapters of 1 Kings, we get a look at how abundantly God has blessed King Solomon with both wisdom and material wealth. There was no one on earth as wise or as wealthy as Solomon. He had everything he could have ever wanted. But when we get to 1 Kings 11:1-6, we encounter some conjunctions that should force us to slow down and take a more careful look:
King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molechthe detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done.
God had instructed Israel to not intermarry with foreign women. He warned them that their hearts would be turned to foreign gods. Solomon didn’t listen though. Not only did he marry foreign women–he married 700 of them. He also had another 300 concubines, which were very much like wives…for a grand total of 1,000. I mean, Solomon REALLY didn’t listen.
He knew it was wrong, but did it anyway and as he grew older, his wives turned his heart away from the one true God.
Now think about this for a moment–Solomon’s father, David, was guilty of adultery and murder and yet God was still pleased with him. Why? Because David turned from his sin. His heart remained fully devoted to God. Solomon’s heart was not fully devoted. Solomon gave his heart to foreign gods and idols. David never did.
If we were reading the story of your life today–where would the conjunctions be?
“Jack had a great job, a wonderful wife and three great kids, however, he often stayed up late after everyone went to bed so he could look at pornography on his laptop.”
“Heather knew what God said about sex before marriage, nevertheless, she regularly slept with her boyfriend.”
“God greatly blessed Tom’s business, but Tom actually gave less money to his church than a single mom supporting two kids.”
“David and Jennifer live in a house they can barely afford, because they feel pressure to keep up their friends.”
Of course, conjunctions can also signal something positive is happening in our lives:
“Alex was willing to make sacrifices now, because he knew a much greater reward was coming.”
“Susan lost her job in the latest round of layoffs, but she knows God is faithful and will meet her needs.”
Conjunction junctions are often where our circumstances and the word of God meet. When life is painful or difficult or confusing–be alert! More than likely, you’re at conjunction junction.
Your circumstances are telling you one thing, BUT God’s word says another thing.
It doesn’t look like you’ll make it, HOWEVER, God is on your side.
Maybe you’ve really blown it. You failed big time. It’s possible to go on though, BECAUSE you are covered by the love and grace of God.
Are you at a conjunction junction? Choose to make it a good one. Choose to believe God, not your circumstances. Choose to be fully devoted to Christ and not allow your heart to be drawn toward idols.
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.
Yesterday, I compared Deuteronomy 4 to a Glory Hole, which is a gold mining term that refers to that place in the mine that most likely contains the most gold. This morning, I’ve been mining deeper in the first four verses and they haven’t disappointed! Today, we’ll take a look at just verses 1 and 2.
1 Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.
Moses is passing on God’s commands to the nation of Israel as they get ready to cross the Jordan River and take possession of the land He promised to give to Abraham hundreds of years earlier. The Israelites have been wandering in the desert for 40 years, but they’re about to experience the fulfillment of God’s promise.
In verse 1, Moses tells the people to follow God’s commands SO THAT they may live and go in and take possession of the land. God’s commands aren’t meant to be a burden. They’re not meant to steal the Israelite’s joy. On the contrary–God’s commands will provide life and will allow Israel to possess, and stay in possession, of the land God is giving them.
Do you ever find yourself thinking of God’s commands as too restrictive? Do you ever wish He hadn’t given a few of them?
I think we’ve all wrestled with those thoughts. At least I have.
What would really be the harm if I ___________________? You can probably fill in the blank with something as easily as I can.
God is the Author of life. He knows how He designed us. He knows how this life is to be lived. We get into trouble when we think we know better. We think just a little sin or a little disobedience won’t be so bad.
That line of thinking is a lie. Crossing the line is dangerous. Even just a little. I wonder how many men thought they could just look at a little pornography. How many thought it wasn’t really hurting anyone?
They didn’t realize Satan was setting a trap. They thought they were going to enjoy a little harmless fun, but found themselves ensnared before they even knew what had happened. Now they can’t get out. Believe me, I’ve talked to a lot of men who are stuck in the trap of pornography and cannot free themselves.
The key is this–you and I must believe that God is good and that He can be trusted. If we don’t, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking God’s commands really aren’t best for us. That maybe He’s holding out on us. It’s the strategy Satan used to deceive Eve. It’s the strategy he still uses today.
In verse 2, Moses tells the people to not add to what God commands or to subtract from it, but to just keep the commands as they’re given.
When we add to God’s commands–it’s called legalism. It’s what the Pharisees were guilty of. It’s another easy trap to fall into.
I think the one of the biggest problems with legalism is the pride it breeds. And pride can lead to being judgmental.
Let’s return to the example of pornography for a moment. Let’s say a guy has struggled with it for years and is finally beginning to see some victory. It hasn’t been easy, but he’s been able to turn away from it and is now seeking God. It’s still a daily battle for him though.
As part of his healing process, he has determined that seeing certain R-rated movies would not be good for him. In fact, to remove as much temptation as possible, he has come to the conviction that he should not see any R-rated movies.
That’s a wise decision. For him. Now it may also be wise decision for others to make, but the Bible is silent on R-rated movies. In other words, it’s not a sin to go see one. The problem comes when our friend decides that seeing R-rated movies are not only wrong for him, but for others as well.
He has now added to God’s commands. And now he wants to hold everyone else to his standards. That’s legalism.
Legalism can rear its ugly head in almost any area that someone has developed a personal conviction and wants to impose it on others, even though the Bible is silent on the matter. It may sound something like…
It’s wrong to get plastic surgery.
It’s a sin to drink alcohol.
You shouldn’t send your child to public school.
A Christian shouldn’t have such a big house.
A Christian woman should be committed to modesty and never wear a two-piece swimsuit.
Depending on where you live or go to church, you could probably add to the list. Again, there’s nothing wrong with developing a personal conviction, but it crosses the line when I want to hold you to my convictions and then judge you for not living up to the standard I’ve set.
Of course, the other extreme is subtracting from God’s commands. It’s easy to see how this plays out…
“Well, I know the Bible says we shouldn’t have sex before marriage, but we love each other. And besides we’re going to get married someday.”
“Yeah, the Bible says to honor my parents, but you don’t what they were like. They don’t deserve it.”
“I know God says to give, but I can’t really afford it right now.”
Again, what’s required is a correct view of God. If I believe He is good and I believe He loves me and wants the best for me, then I can believe His commands are good for me and I will be less susceptible to Satan’s lies and temptations.
How do you tend to view God’s commands? Do you believe they’re really for your good and meant to provide for you and protect you?
Do you add to them and stray into legalism? Or do you subtract from them because you think God is holding out on you? A wrong view of God makes it very easy to slip into error either way.
Tomorrow, we’ll look at an example of what we just talked about. How some of God’s people came so very close to entering the Promised Land and then blew their shot because they strayed from God’s commands. It’s a tragic story.
When I was a kid, my parents taught me to make out a Christmas “wish list.” Of course, there was no internet, so I would flip through the pages of the “Sears Wish Book.” When I saw something I really wanted, I would write it down with the page number!
Now why would they do that? Why would they tell me to make a list of things I wanted? And why would I do that with my own children? Each year around this time, I will come to them and ask, “What would you like for Christmas? Make out your list.”
I do it for the same reason my parents did it. I absolutely delight in giving to my children. On a scale of 1 to 10, “getting” is around a 2 or 3, but “giving” is an 11. I love it! I love giving to them. I love building anticipation for them. I love creating mystery. And I love surprising them.
Could it all be taken too far and become overly materialistic? Sure it could, but what’s interesting is that my kids never really ask for anything unreasonable. And they’re always very grateful for whatever they receive. That’s not my point though.
If I love to give, how much more do you think God delights in giving?
Colossians 4:2 says, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”
God commands us to be devoted to prayer. To be diligent about it. To not quit. And in our praying, to also be thankful.
So let’s break this down for a moment.
What is prayer?
I’m sure we could come up with many definitions, but at its simplest, isn’t prayer talking with God and asking for things?
I know prayer can also include confession and praise, but you can’t get away from the fact that God says very simply:
Talk with Me and ask Me for things. Don’t give up and remember to thank Me.
Let’s not over-complicate it.
God actually commands you to ask Him for things. Now when I say “things”, it could mean you’re asking for wisdom, peace, courage, a spouse, money to pay a bill, an opportunity to share your faith with a friend, a new job, the power to obey or something else.
Often, God doesn’t choose to answer right away. The timing of our request may not be right. Or maybe we’re praying for the wrong thing and He needs to change our thinking. Or could it also be that He enjoys it when we talk with Him and if He answers quickly, we’ll stop praying?
Don’t assume that just because God hasn’t answered yet that He’s not going to. If God did not want to give to us, then He wouldn’t tell us to ask Him for things. Think about that for a moment. I think it’s easy to have a distorted view of prayer and think God really isn’t all that excited about giving to us. And yet…
“Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?” (Romans 8:32)
No, we won’t receive everything we ask for. It would be arrogant to think we always know what is best for ourselves, for others and for God’s kingdom. But we can know with confidence that God will never withhold whatever is for our good and for His glory.
So what are you waiting for?
God delights in giving to you. Could He have something to give you, but is waiting until you ask?
Do you ever read a story in the Bible and wonder what in the world those people were thinking? Doesn’t it seem like some of the things people did were just really, really dumb?
We would never be so stupid.
Or would we?
Check out the first four verses of the book of Jonah:
The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.
Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.
God tells Jonah to go to Ninevah, but Jonah doesn’t want to. Instead, he heads in the opposite direction. God’s response is to cause a violent storm to get Jonah’s attention. You can read the rest of the story here.
My first reaction is to wonder what kind of an idiot Jonah must have been to think he could hide from God. Seriously. Where do you go to hide from God?
But I run from God too. Don’t you? We know what God says to do, but we do our own thing anyway. We turn from His way and go our own way. And we think He won’t really mind or notice or pursue us.
What strikes me in this story is that God alters the weather in a very dramatic way to get the attention of just one man. Many others are also effected by the storm, but God’s purpose is to get the attention of just one person.
I wonder how often God brings storms into our lives to get our attention.
I’m not suggesting that all of our difficulties are due to disobedience, but could some of them be?
If we’re headed in the wrong direction, away from God’s will and God’s best for us, might He use a financial or relational or health-related “storm” to get our attention?
Please hear me, I’m NOT suggesting that every tragedy is the result of sin. And I’m also not saying that our best attempts to obey God will ward off every bad circumstance. In a fallen world, bad things happen…to everyone.
But if God hasn’t changed, then He still cares about how each one of us respond to His commands. And He’s still infinitely creative in how He might choose to get our attention. For Jonah, He used a violent storm and a very large fish.
Could a storm in your life today be God’s loving, gracious attempt to get your attention? To help you see it’s time to turn back to Him and what He’s called you to do?
Don’t keep running. Don’t wait until your circumstances become so bad that it feels like you’ve been swallowed by a fish. Turn back to Him. God’s grace and power are available to you right now.
It’s not too late. You haven’t exhausted God’s grace. Jonah hadn’t. Neither have you.
Do you ever wonder why God doesn’t make things more clear? You know what I mean. You pray and pray and pray. You desperately want to know God’s will. It would be so easy for Him to simply tell you what He wants. But He doesn’t.
And do you ever look around at all of those who don’t believe and are searching in all the wrong places for true life and wonder why Jesus doesn’t reveal Himself in a way that doesn’t leave any doubt? I mean couldn’t Jesus come back every hundred years or so to show Himself to the billions of people who are lost?
Or do you sometimes feel like God is hiding from you, like He’s purposely making it difficult to find His will?
If you’ve ever felt any of those things, then join the club. I’m right there with you.
Essentially what we’re wanting is for God to operate by sight, not faith. We want Him to tell us in advance how He’s going to work things out. We want to see how the bills are going to get paid, when we’ll get the new job, when our loved one will be healed and who we’re going to marry.
We want to see, not trust.
But that’s just not how God does things.
We often talk about wanting to know God better, so know this about Him:
He likes to be trusted.
Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
If you want to please God–trust Him, not what you see or feel. To trust Him, you have to first know Him and His promises. That takes time and effort, which leads to the next point…
God likes to be sought and so He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
To earnestly seek Him means we do it with intensity and seriousness. Earnestly seeking isn’t accomplished in five minutes of Bible reading. Attending church on Sunday morning isn’t enough.
So how much time does it take?
Think of it this way–how much time would you devote to earnestly seeking someone you wanted to date or marry? To what lengths would you go? What distractions would you lay aside so that you could spend more time with him/her?
God wants you to seek Him and trust Him. When you seek Him, He’ll reward you. The more you seek Him, the better you’ll know Him. The more you know Him, the more You’ll trust Him, which pleases Him.
So why isn’t God more clear or obvious to us?
Because if He was, there would be no need to walk by faith, to believe Him rather than our circumstances. If He always spelled things out to us, we wouldn’t feel compelled to seek Him and so we’d never get to know Him any better.
Your confusing circumstances, difficult trials and unmet needs are an invitation to seek God and trust Him today.
Don’t focus on your circumstances. Don’t panic. Don’t anxiously look around you for a quick way out.
Choose to spend time with Him. Dig into His word to know Him better and discover His promises to you, so that you can believe Him.
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.
