In Mark 10:17-31, a man runs up to Jesus, falls on his knees and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus tells the man to obey the commandments, which Jesus then lists for him. When the man replies that he has kept all those commandments, Jesus replies, “One thing you lack…”
Do you think the man was feeling pretty good at that point? He’s thrown himself on his knees in front of Jesus and declared that he’s kept the commandments. And now Jesus is telling him he only lacks one thing to inherit eternal life.
That’s when things taken an unpleasant turn for the man.
Jesus tells the him to sell everything he owns, give the money to the poor and then come follow Him. It’s essentially what He said to Peter, Andrew, James and John. He called those men to follow Him and they immediately left everything behind and went with Him.
They didn’t hesitate. They didn’t debate. They didn’t talk it over. They didn’t try to make a deal with Jesus. They left everything and followed Him.
That’s not what the man in Mark 10 does though. He went away sad because he was very wealthy. Jesus then goes on to tell His disciples how hard it is for the rich to enter heaven.
So why is it so hard?
Because the wealthy have made their money, their pleasure and their personal comfort their god.
Is Jesus saying that money is evil and that everyone must sell everything they have? No. The problem this man had was that his money was an idol. It was his god. To him, Jesus wasn’t just telling him to give his money away, He was telling him to give his god away. And the man was unwilling to do that. He chose his god and it wasn’t going to be Jesus.
Money, comfort and pleasure are excellent servants. But they’re terrible gods.
Now consider what the man gave up. Jesus promised him “treasure in heaven” and invited him to be one of His followers. Later, when Peter declares, “We have left everything to follow You!”, Jesus tells His disciples that no one who has made sacrifices to follow Him will fail to receive much more in return in both this life and in the life to come.
The man gave up following the one true God to hold onto his false god. He forfeited eternal life to gain the fleeting pleasures of this life.
By the way, if you live in the United States and make $25,000 a year–you’re among the wealthiest 10% of people in the world. No, I didn’t mistakenly leave off a zero. That’s $25,000, not $250,000. And if you make $75,000 a year–you’re among the wealthiest 1% of people in the world.
When Jesus talks about the rich, He’s talking about most of us. If you’re reading these words, it means you have access to a computer. That means you probably also have access to clean water, food, air conditioning and medical care. I think Jesus would consider you wealthy. As He does me.
So that makes us susceptible to the same temptation as the man in Mark 10. It’s tempting to make money our god. Our idol. The thing we can’t give up. The thing we want more of can’t quite seem to get enough of. The thing that occupies most of our thoughts.
The man wanted to know what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. So Jesus told him he only lacked one thing: get rid of the false god you’ve been following and “then come, follow me.”
Are you following Jesus wholeheartedly? Or is there “one thing you lack?”
Does money, comfort and pleasure come before Jesus?
Isn’t it interesting that we say we need to pray about whether or not to financially support a missionary, but it would never occur to us to pray about whether or not to buy a pizza and instead give that money away?
Would any of us ever consider giving up a vacation to help a neighbor in need?
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with eating pizza or taking vacations. That is unless they’ve become symptomatic of having the wrong god.
Ask any high school football player who played prior to just a few years ago and he’ll probably tell you he heard a coach yell, “Get away from the water!” more than once in his life.
Things have changed though.
There was a mandatory parent meeting at my son’s high school last night for the parents of the football players. One of the topics was hydration and heat related illnesses (heat exhaustion and heat stroke). None of it was new information for me because I’d heard much of it at the parent meeting for junior high football last year. And the year before.
My son’s junior high football coach is one of the toughest I’ve seen. He’s a great coach and excellent teacher of the game. He has high expectations of the players and pushes them to perform. But he also frequently stops practice for water breaks.
Last night, the head varsity coach made it clear that his players could get water during practice whenever they needed it. No player would ever be told he couldn’t have water. And if an assistant coach denied water to a player–he probably wouldn’t be coaching there any more.
When I played high school football between 1977 and 1980, the conventional wisdom was that drinking water was a sign of weakness. Going without water made you tough.
Now we know how absolutely stupid that kind of thinking is. Now we know football players die from becoming dehydrated and over-heated. And a coach knows they’d probably be sued by the parents of any player who became ill during practice because he was denied water.
Of course staying hydrated isn’t just for athletes. We all need water to function. A lot of us are probably dehydrated and don’t even know it. It’s especially true during the hot, humid summer months.
Much of the United States is currently experiencing high heat and humidity. That large pink area on the map is an “excessive heat warning.” The heat index for Ames, Iowa today is forecast to be around 117 degrees. Ames, Iowa. 117!
This is a plant in my front yard. It not only requires a lot of water, but it’s in a spot that doesn’t get hit by the sprinkler. This morning, I filled a 2-quart pitcher at the kitchen sink and watered this poor plant. I filled the pitcher twice. As you can see, it needed it.
It’s not too strong a statement to say: water is life. Ask this plant. Or my son when he starts football practice on August 1.
It’s not just water that’s life though.
In Deuteronomy 30, Moses is speaking to the nation of Israel just before he dies. He’s giving them their final instructions before they cross the Jordan River to take possession of the land God promised to give them. In verses 19 and 20, he said:
“This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
The Lord is your life.
It was true for Israel. It’s true for me.
And it’s true for you. The Lord is YOUR life.
In Jeremiah 2:13, God said it this way:
“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
A cistern is a receptacle to hold water. When we turn away from the source of living water, we naturally look for “water” (life) in other places. We try work, pleasure, relationships, possessions or anything else we can think of to fill our souls. What we don’t realize is that those things are broken cisterns. They can’t hold water. They won’t work. They won’t give us life.
Sadly, we will hear of a football player dying of dehydration and heat stroke somewhere in the United States this summer. His core body temperature will rise to 108 degrees and his internal organs will begin to fail. And it will be a totally preventable death.
Just like your death. Or mine.
Are we dying and don’t even know it? If we could examine our “spiritual organs”–would some of us find they’re shutting down? That we’re close to losing our spiritual lives and we don’t even know it’s happening?
I’m not even talking about heaven or hell. I’m simply talking about living life as it was intended.
You and I were created to live in an intimate friendship with the One who created us. We exist for His pleasure. And He commands us to seek Him and know Him and love Him. But we’re trying to find life in people and things who, like us, can’t provide it.
If we’re not drinking deeply of living water by spending time in God’s word and in spiritual conversations with others who are also drinking deeply, then we’re dying. We just are.
Maybe when you see your lawn turning brown or a plant wilted from lack of water or you think about all those football players out on the practice field this summer–you’ll let it remind you that your soul is in desperate need of the living water only God can provide and that His word is a constantly flowing spring. And that whether you feel it or not–you’re dying without it.
Yesterday morning, I was reading in the book of James. One of the passages I read was:
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (James 2:14-17)
Later in the morning, I was listening to a podcast of a sermon by Mark Driscoll. He was teaching from the parable about the unrighteous judge and the widow who kept asking for justice. The judge finally relented and gave her what she wanted because she simply wore him out with her asking.
Naturally, we will all want to identify ourselves with the widow and conclude we need to persist in our prayers, which is the point Jesus was making. But Mark first encouraged us to put ourselves in the position of the judge. Are we in a position to help someone, but are withholding our help even though it’s in our power to act?
Early yesterday afternoon, I was helping to breakdown a fireworks tent that we’d operated to raise money for Young Life in Fayetteville. As I was breaking down cardboard boxes and stacking them in my truck, a beat-up, old car pulled up to where I was working. An elderly man waved for me to come over to his car.
I’ll be honest, I was little annoyed at that point. I was tired and hot, and now some guy wanted me to stop what I was doing and come see what he wanted. He could get out and come to me, I thought. So I approached the car and stuck my head in the passenger side window. Then I saw it would have been difficult for the man to get out of the car. His seatbelt didn’t really buckle–he had sort of tied himself in with it.
The man asked me if he could help stack the boxes, because he needed money for gas. He showed me a clipboard that had a number of addresses and dates written on it. It was his list of odd jobs he’d lined up to do around town. He just didn’t have a job that day and needed to put some gas in his car.
I told him I was almost done with the boxes and didn’t have any cash. I even opened my wallet to show him all I had were some receipts and a couple of used baseball tickets from last week.
It was very hard to understand what he was saying, but he kept looking at the fuel gauge and mumbling about needing gas.
I was about to send him on his way and get back to work when…
It hit me that wishing him well and sending him off with an empty gas tank wasn’t right. It didn’t matter that I was hot and tired. It didn’t matter I felt annoyed. It was in my power to help him.
There was a Conoco gas station about 200 feet away, so I told the man to drive over there and I would use my debit card to buy him some gas. As I was walking over, I was looking for a friend of mine who had called about ten minutes earlier and said he was going to stop by.
I thought about only putting $20 worth of gas in the man’s car, but decided I would go ahead and fill his tank. The pump clicked off at $50.81.
By this time, my friend had walked over to the gas station. I explained to him the situation with the old man and then we talked as we walked back to the fireworks tent.
After several minutes, my friend pulled two checks from his pocket and handed them to me.
One was a $1,000 donation to Young Life. Surprise!
The profit from the fireworks tent was below what we’d hoped for, so that check went a long way toward making up the difference and was a great encouragement, especially to my wife, Robyn, the Young Life director in Fayetteville.
The other check was made payable to me. For $500. Surprise!
If I hadn’t read that passage in James or listened to Mark Driscoll’s sermon, would I still have put gas in that man’s car?
I don’t know. Maybe I would have allowed my annoyance to override doing the right thing.
And if I hadn’t put the gas in his car, would God have still provided that money through my friend?
Well, the checks were written and he was on his way to see me, so yes, I probably would have still been given the money. I guess God could have changed my friend’s mind, but I suspect I still would have received the checks. I just wouldn’t have received the blessing of helping an old man who needed me yesterday. And I would have kicked myself the rest of the day (and today too) and felt terrible for not being generous when God was being so generous to me.
As I was reflecting on how God must delight in surprising us with blessings the way he did for me yesterday, I wondered if it’s not so much that God is surprising us as He is just doing what He said He’d do. What we see as a surprise is God just being faithful. We’re surprised because we really don’t think He’ll do what He says.
Now I know we won’t always see God give back to us within minutes. The reaping often comes much later than the sowing. Let’s never forget though–the reaping does come. It’s not a matter of “if” God will act, it’s only a matter of “when.” God is faithful to His promises.
If we act in faith, we show that our faith is alive. And when we do, God shows up. And sometimes, He shows up with a surprise.
Is it within your power to help someone today? I mean with physical or financial needs.
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.
It’s a warm, windy, sunny day in Fayetteville. It’s too nice to be inside all day, so at lunch, I drove to a nearby park and listened to worship music while enjoying the beautiful weather. As I sat there in the park, I saw something I’d never really seen before.
The sky was mostly sunny, but there were a few small clouds passing overhead. As I kept watching one cloud go by, it slowly began to disappear. It reminded me of this verse in the book of James:
You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
Here’s that verse in context:
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.
That passage got me thinking…
How often do we pursue our own plans, but convince ourselves they’re really God’s plans?
Does our decision-making simply come down to asking ourselves one question: Is this what I want?
What would happen if we stopped asking God to give us stuff and instead gave ourselves and our stuff to God so we could experience His will?
So how do you get what you want?
You want what God wants. The “secret” is found in Psalm 37:4…
“Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)
If we make the Lord our delight, which we’re created to do anyway, He’ll give us His desires and then fulfill them for us.
Try praying:
Lord, I am Yours and I’m putting aside my own dreams and plans. I want to delight in You and only want what You want. Please help me do that. Amen.
What’s holding you back from fully committing your life to Christ?
Maybe there’s nothing. As far as you know, you’ve fully given yourself to Him. You’ve held nothing back. There’s nothing you wouldn’t be willing to do for Him.
On the other hand, maybe there is something. Something you’re just not ready to let go of.
You may not be willing to stop sleeping with your boyfriend or girlfriend. What’s the harm, right? You love each other, so it can’t really be that bad.
Or is it your career plan? You’ve always planned to go to medical school. Your parents have planned on it too. You’d always wanted to be a doctor. Until a couple months ago when you began to sense that God might want you to be a teacher. You’re just not ready to change your plans.
There once was a man who came to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
Wouldn’t we expect Jesus to say something like, “Well, you don’t have to “do” anything. Eternal life comes through faith in me. It’s not something you work for. Just believe in me and you will receive eternal life.”
That’s not what Jesus says though. He tells the man, “If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”
Huh? What happened to “just believe?” What about “receiving Jesus” into your life?
The exchange doesn’t stop there though. The man asks Jesus, “Which ones?”
So Jesus lists some commands. The man says he has obeyed them and then asks Jesus the big question, “What do I still lack?”
That’s when Jesus tells the man to sell his possessions and give to the poor so he’ll have treasure in heaven. “Then come, follow me,” Jesus concludes.
Is selling all of our possessions a requirement before we can follow Jesus. No, Jesus didn’t tell everyone He met to do this. This man though needed to sell his possessions because they were standing in the way of him following Jesus. No doubt his trust was in his money. Money was his god.
Earlier in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus taught that we cannot serve both God and money. We have to choose one or the other. This rich man had chosen money. Jesus was telling him to turn away from the false god of money and follow Him, the one true God. But the man was unwilling. He wouldn’t forsake his god.
How about you? What false god would Jesus tell you to turn from? What is that’s holding you back from fully committing your life to Him?
Whatever it is, it’s not worth holding onto. Let’s not make the mistake the rich young man did. He heard the words Jesus spoke, but went away sad because of his great wealth. He lost out on eternal life to hold onto this earthly one.
It’s a lie to believe that a created thing (money, sex, possessions, food, cars, relationships, etc.) can give us true life and happiness.
In John 4, Jesus is tired and sits down near a well while His disciples go into town to buy some food. Read the story here.
Now just imagine how weary you would feel having to put up with the disciples nonsense 24/7. Fortunately, Jesus is more interested in the woman who comes to draw water than He is in being able to relax for a few minutes.
If you’re familiar with the story, you know Jesus starts a conversation by simply asking, “Will you give me a drink?”
As they begin to talk, Jesus intentionally guides the conversation toward deep truths about the woman and about Himself. She, on the other hand, seems to want to keep the conversation at the surface. She doesn’t really want Jesus getting personal.
Do you do that? Do you try to keep Jesus from digging down to the real issue in your life?
You’ve asked God to help you control your temper, find a job, stop worrying, get over your pornography addiction or make your spouse more attentive to your needs. But maybe God wants to deal with the real issue that lies beneath each of those requests.
What if you’re angry because when others disappoint you it reminds you of how many times your father disappointed you when you were a child?
Maybe you’ve believed the lie that you’ll only feel valuable and significant if you have an important job.
Or you struggle with pornography because you replaced God with sex as the #1 priority in your life. And now sex has become an idol that has enslaved you.
Rather than deal with the real issues, we prefer to keep Jesus at arms-length where He can’t dig too deeply. We’d rather talk about which mountain is the right one to worship on instead of the fact that we’re worshiping all the wrong things in the first place: money, sex, television, media, food, clothes, cars, houses, what others think about us, etc.
What if the next time you got alone and started to pray, God interrupted you and said, “Excuse me. I know that feels very important to you, but I really think we need to talk about something else today. That thing you keep avoiding. You know what I’m talking about. Let’s get it on the table and deal with the real issue.”
What would “it” be for you? What’s the real issue?
If you know, then maybe God just brought it up and now is the time to deal with it.
Have you ever been doing well one minute, but felt worried or anxious the very next minute? It happens to me. Sometimes it’s not even apparent why my feelings have changed. One minute I feel peace and the next minute I’m anxious. Usually though, if I stop and think about it, I can identify the thought that led to the change in feelings.
Maybe you can relate.
You feel confident God will meet your financial needs, but then you think about that tax bill or medical bill that’s due. And a wave of panic washes over you.
You believe God is going to heal you, but you remember that your type of illness usually gets worse, not better.
You’ve applied for several jobs and even had a couple of good interviews. You’ve felt God’s assurance that things will work out, but several weeks have passed and you haven’t heard any news.
One minute we feel God’s presence and sense His peace. We feel so confident He’s going to come through for us. And then, almost without warning, we’ve overcome by worry or anxiety or fear. Then God seems distant and our situation feels hopeless.
I think Peter could relate to us. Check out this story in Matthew 14:22-33…
Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distancefrom land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
This isn’t the first time the disciples have experience a miracle while on the lake. Previously, they encountered a great storm while trying to cross the lake. It was so bad they feared they were going to drown. Where was Jesus? He was in the stern of the boat. Sleeping.
They weren’t in any danger. God Himself was in the boat with them. Jesus stood up, calmed the storm and then asked His disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
This time though, Jesus isn’t in the boat. He sent the disciples on ahead while He prayed. In the middle of the night, He walks out on the water to them.
Of course, they’re frightened, but Jesus tells them, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
That’s not good enough for Peter though. He’ll believe it’s Jesus if he’s able to walk on the water.
Don’t you love Peter? Maybe he made mistakes and said some dumb things, but at least he took action. We don’t see the other eleven disciples willing to get out of the boat. Just Peter.
So Peter gets out of the boat and begins to walk on the water toward Jesus. Stop there for a minute. Peter. Walked. On water. He was just a regular guy. He was no different than you or me, but when He listened to Jesus, he was able to walk on water.
Everything changes in verse 30 though:
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
It has always struck me that Peter “saw the wind.” You can’t really see wind, right? He saw something that you really can’t see. I guess he actually saw the effects of the wind blowing the waves around. Still though, Matthew makes the point of telling us that Peter saw the wind and was afraid. And once the fear hit him, he began to sink.
Peter was fine as long as he was looking at Jesus and walking toward Him. It’s when he took his eyes off Jesus and got them on the situation that he was afraid.
That’s what happens to us. We’re fine one minute–walking on the water in the midst of a storm, but then we look around at what we can see (or can’t see) and we panic.
We’re not meant to live by sight though. We’re meant to live by faith, by trusting God, not our circumstances. We worry and feel anxious and afraid when we start looking at the wrong things. Yes, the bills, the diagnosis, the broken relationship–they’re all real, but they’re not to be our focus.
Jesus calls all of us to get out of the boat and walk toward Him. And when we do, we can experience His supernatural presence, protection and provision in the midst of the most terrible storms…if we will keep our eyes on Him and trust that He is able to keep our heads above water.
When you feel the waves of worry and fear starting to pull you under, choose to stop looking at the wind. Choose instead to focus on Jesus and continue walking toward Him.
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.
A number of years ago, I was part of a ministry that believed in taking the initiative to tell others about Christ. I mean, really taking the initiative, like randomly knocking on doors or approaching people you didn’t know in a public place. It certainly meant sharing your faith with the person sitting next to you on the airplane.
I’m not suggesting there’s anything wrong with this approach. I’m just not sure how effective it is.
On the other end of the spectrum is the idea of simply “living good lives” and then waiting for others to ask us how we do it. This method also has limited effectiveness for at least a couple reasons.
First, there are many people who don’t know Christ, but are attempting to live good, moral lives. Many of them do a much better job of feeding the homeless and caring for AIDS patients than Christians do.
The second problem with the “wait to be asked” method is that most of us aren’t being asked.
Are you with me?
We get into debt. We worry about money. We spend more on ourselves than spreading the gospel. On average, those who profess to follow Christ give just over 2% of their income. When is the last time we did anything radical for Christ with our money?
We spend several hours watching television everyday, but we’re too busy to read the Bible or volunteer to mentor a child.
Our marriages aren’t all that great and most of our kids are running from the church once they leave our homes.
When difficulties come, we worry and get anxious. Just like those who don’t know Christ.
No wonder we don’t have many people asking about our God. They just don’t see Him in us.
In Deuteronomy 4:5-8, Moses writes…
See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?
As they are preparing to enter the Promised Land, Moses is urging the Israelites to obey God’s commandments. Why? Because when they obey, other nations will take notice.
This is a passage about the nation of Israel entering the Promised Land, but I can’t help thinking there’s a principle here for us. If we are careful to obey God, then we put ourselves in a position for God to work our lives in such a way that others will notice. And maybe even ask us about it.
Psalm 34:8 says:
Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
It doesn’t say the one who tastes is blessed. It’s the one who takes refuge, the one who runs to Him for protection, the one who trusts in Him–he is the one that is blessed.
Could it be that we’ve tasted the LORD and we’ve learned that He is good, but we have failed to take refuge in Him. Like the person who is offered a bite of chicken from a vendor at the mall food court, we have tasted, enjoyed it, but moved on to find something we like more.
Maybe if we were to actually take refuge in Him, to trust Him enough to obey Him, our lives would be different enough that someone might actually ask us about Him.
Is there anything keeping you from taking refuge in God? From radically placing your trust in Him? From obeying His commands?
Now is the time to turn back to Him.
Maybe our prayer simply needs to be:
Lord, please make my life one that’s worth asking about.
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.
