Our dog, Jack, and I have a game we play whenever it’s walk time. “Jack? Ready for a walk?” I call out knowing he’s always ready. I pick up his harness and the game begins. Jack races down the hall and into the bedroom where he pounces and lands center of the bed. His eyes are bright in anticipation. “Let’s get you dressed,” I say as I come near with the harness. He then jumps off the bed and zooms down the hall to the living room. I know exactly what will happen. It’s been the same game for years. He will come back with his dental stick, which is called his “toothy bone.” I try to get it. He play growls and sometimes howls in happiness as I attempt, but fail every time, to get the toothy bone away from him. He will jump off the bed with me in hot pursuit down the hall. Like a pro footballer he sidesteps, runs past me, and back to the bed before I can catch him. On and on the game goes until he finally surrenders with a great smile. I slip on his harness and away we go.
Earlier this week I grabbed the harness and asked as always, “Jack? Ready for a walk?” He zoomed away as I waited for him to return with his toothy bone. I waited and waited, but Jack didn’t come. Finally I walked down the hallway to see what had happened. There he was sitting stoically beside the dining table. His eyes were fastened on the hallway, waiting for me to appear. I walked over and saw the problem. Somehow his toothy bone was under the table with chair legs blocking any attempt for Jack to get to it. I knelt down, got the toothy bone, gave it to Jack who once again raced down the hallway for the game to proceed.
I was touched by his trust, and in his waiting for me to come and solve his problem. It was obvious that he had no doubt I would come. He did not whine or bark. He just waited, knowing. Oh, if only each of us could do the same in relationship with our Heavenly Father. We go along life’s way, walking through life’s routines as we do everyday when something unexpected happens. A problem or worry or sorrow appears that, at the time, seems insurmountable. How will we get through this? Perhaps we need direction. Which way should we go? How will we find peace in the midst of great grief? Who will help us? Why do we look into our own possible solutions before we realize we need to give our pain or dilemma to God and wait for Him to take care of it for us?
Jack never doubted I would come to his aid. Why do we doubt our Savior? Why do we doubt our Father? Why do we doubt in the leading of the Holy Spirit? I learn a lot from our silly, but lovable dog. This week I am reminded to ask myself in times of trouble, Where does my help come from? (Psalm 121:1) It comes from the One who gave His life for me, who is always watching over me, who finds nothing too hard to handle, who is ever listening for my call for help. In quietness and confidence is your strength (Isaiah 30:15). Do not fret. Be quiet in His presence, letting His love wash over you. Do not agonize. Stand in the confidence that He is your Father. He will come to your aid. He has always loved you and He will never stop.
Do not wait in worry; wait with eyes on Him. Joy and peace grows in the waiting. Waiting is not a curse but a blessing as it allows us to soak in the ever -present beauty of Emmanuel — God with us (Matthew 1:23).
Here in the UK the last several weeks have been wet and cold. It’s been difficult for dog walking as fields and parks are water-logged and muddy but just yesterday while dog walking around the neighborhood a beautiful sight caught my attention. Two bright, yellow daffodils were standing tall and beautiful amidst the sodden ground. I felt my lips stretch into a smile and in my heart a surge of joy burst forth. It was cold and muddy but the daffodils pointed to a great and certain hope — Spring was not far away.
As I joyed in the hope of Spring, I thought of the hope of Jesus coming again. These are dark days in many places around the world. There is political upheaval, demonstrators calling for change, wars taking place and threats of other wars to begin, unprecedented weather calamities, clashes with police powers, dysfunctional family relationships on the rise, and crime everywhere. These are days of, to quote Shakespeare in his play Richard III, “the winter of our discontent.”
Even so, while we endure and wonder about the chaos and evil going on all around us, like Spring coming after winter, we also have a great and certain hope. Jesus told us in Matthew 24 that the signs in the above paragraph would alert us to His return. As we observe these signs growing in intensity, let us take heed to what Paul wrote in I Thessalonians 4:16-18, For the Lord Himself will come down from Heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words (NLT).
There has always been persecution of God’s people. Today there is still mistreatment of Christians. Do not think that living in a western country of great technology and riches that Christians will be free of abuse. As days grow darker, our arch enemy, Satan, and his demonic forces are moving out in strength, but do not fear. We are not alone. We have within us the Holy Spirit to comfort, guide, strengthen, giving peace and courage in every moment of all our days. Because of Jesus we have joy in the midst of every turmoil.
Let us not lose heart in these days of winter for as surely as the daffodils grow tall in splendor and bloom in great beauty, so also will the Lord appear taking us to be with Him for eternity to be in that place where there is no more tears or sorrow or death (Revelation 21).
Spring is on the way; Jesus is, too. He is our great and certain hope.
This past year has seen the impact of severe weather in places around the world. No one can see the wind, but its hurricanes, tornadoes, and storms are evidence of its existence. A friend recently shared with me this example of the evidence of faith. No one can see faith and yet as Christians the Scripture tells us, Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). How do we build something we cannot see? The same way we know there is wind that blows across the earth; it’s the evidence it displays.
In Mark 9 we read the moving story of a father who brought his child to Jesus for healing. Jesus told the man that if he believed then all things were possible. In response the father cries out in the honesty of his broken heart, Lord I believe; help my unbelief (Mark 9:23-24). It is a cry of the heart that you and I experience today. Often I have had to admit to myself that I know God can do anything, but I’m not sure He will. In other words, I have a plan that I want God to fulfill according to my request, but what if He says no? Fatih if trusting in what we cannot understand; faith is trusting in the answer of no or wait. Is there something we can do to build our faith; this thing that we cannot see?
Faith largely depends upon what we focus. If we focus solely on the problem at hand, then our minds are filled with fear of the unknown. If, on the other hand, we focus on Jesus, His love for us, the fact He does all things well, recalling past blessing in our lives, the fact He has never failed anyone, then that quiet peace grows and the evidence of faith, that we cannot see, brings a calm reflected in our attitudes and behavior. This calm comes as we wait before our Father, allowing the intimacy of our being in His presence to dissipate the fear of the yet unknown. He will give us what we need. He will bring about what is best for us. He will bring glory to His name through us. He will give us His own strength. He is our everything to get us through anything.
What happens then, when our focus is upon Jesus rather than upon the problem? The evidence of faith appears in our lives. We are praising. We are thanking God for all He has ever done for us. By faith we thank Him for all He will do in our future moments. Faith is the evidence of things we cannot see (Hebrews 11:1). How lovely it is that God chooses to show the evidence of faith through you and me.
Whatever you are asking God for today; whatever you are hoping He will do, may your thoughts dwell not in the seeming futility of a situation, but in the fact that God does all things well (Mark 7:37). By faith you came to God, trusting Jesus for your salvation. Keep your eyes stayed on Him and sense the beauty of that faith grow into a beacon of light that lets others see Jesus in you.
When Jesus was being baptized by John a voice from Heaven could be heard saying, This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 5:17 KJV). God the Father did not simply say, “This is My Son.” but beloved Son. The Greek word here for beloved is agapesos. It means dearly and precious.
The Father knew the trials Jesus would face all the way to the cross. He knew the agonizing death Jesus would endure for you and me. Since Jesus was beloved, the Father would impart to Jesus all the emotional strength He would need to face, endure, and triumph over our sin on the cross. Magnificently, Jesus also triumphed over death. The grave could not hold Him. Therefore, because our life is hid with Christ in God, (Colossians 3:3 KJV) the grave will not hold us either.
Jesus gained that godly strength from His Father by spending intimate time with Him everyday. Throughout the Gospels we read of Jesus rising early to go someplace to be alone with His Father. This is not just a record of the movements of Jesus; it is recorded as an example for each of us to follow. If Jesus, perfect Son of God, needed alone time with His Father, how much more do we need it?
You see, just as Jesus needed strength for each day of hardship and challenge that He faced, you and I need Gods’ own strength for our hardships and trials along life’s journey. Also, we must know of a certainty that something wonderful happens when we spend time alone with God. We begin to realize the beauty of the fact — as Jesus was beloved of His Father, so are we beloved who become His children when we receive Jesus’ gift of salvation.
When we bask in the loveliness of Father’s presence, we drink in the beauty of His glory and grace. We begin to realize and firmly know beyond all doubt that we are loved dearly by Him. We are precious to Him. When we cry, we are so beloved that Father collects all our tears in a bottle (Psalm 56:8). He plans our paths just as He planned the paths of Jesus. He knows when it will be easy, when it will be difficult, and when it will be grievous. In every moment of our lives we never cease to be dearly loved, counted as precious to Him. Therefore, be assured, just as He gave strength and peace of mind and heart to Jesus as He faced the hardest challenge of all — to allow Himself to be hanged on a cross for you and for me, so will He give us strength and peace of mind to face our every trial.
Whatever you face today, remember, with God nothing shall be impossible (Luke 1:37 KJV). To soak in that truth and live daily in it, do as Jesus did. Spend alone time with God everyday for you are dear and precious to Him. You are beloved,
You’ve probably been in situations, or heard others say when something isn’t going as planned, “Okay, time for Plan B.” There are circumstances in life when having a Plan B is a good idea. However, when it comes to our spiritual journey God does not accept Himself as being a back-up plan.
It’s too easy in our lives to go happily along our way, and run into a difficulty with our first thought being, “what can I do?” When what we attempt to do doesn’t work, we may then tell ourselves that we better ask God about it. A lot of wasted time would be spared if we didn’t treat God as Plan B. When Jesus said in Matthew 7:7, Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you (NIV), He did not mean that to be an action when all else fails.
When Jesus saved us from eternal damnation with the shedding of His own blood, He purchased us. The Apostle Paul reminds us of this is Galatians 3:13, Christ bought us with His blood…being punished instead of us (NIV). When you and I purchase something, it belongs to us. No one else has any right over it above our own decisions about it. It is the same with every child of God. When we receive Jesus’s gift of salvation, asking that He forgive us of all our sin, He does so with the greatest of love for us. He then declares that we are His.
Being a part of God’s family gives us direct access to the throne room of God where we may pour out the troubles of our hearts, then wait in the realm of His love as He soothes our worries, instilling peace that passes understanding (Philippians 4:7) within us. Because we belong to our Heavenly Father, we may seek His perfect direction for our lives. He will reveal His unique plans for each of us and lead us along the right paths. His plans are designed in love and with the greatest of care as we are reminded in Jeremiah 29:11, I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope (NLT).
Since God’s plans for us are made in perfect love, why in the world would we consider a plan B? It’s ludicrous, but it’s human frailty at work in our lives. We are constantly fighting between holiness and carnality. We cannot win this battle on our own. How wonderful, therefore, that we have the Holy Spirit of God living within us. He will teach us and guide us and remind us of the beauty of walking in all the ways of God. Thankfully, He also forgives when we stray or when we forget that His ways are the best ways; not some of the time, but all of the time.
Let us take care with the help of the Holy Spirit to never place God on the Plan B list of our lives. He is never a back-up plan. He is the plan for all our days to ensure peace and joy no matter the trials life brings.
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