ARTICLES
It’s an Everyday Thing...
This side of eternity, we have zero chance of attaining perfection. The Bible is clear on this fact (Romans 3:23), even though we are promised that as we grow in our faith; we are being transformed from one degree of glory to the next (2 Corinthians 3:18). It’s truth. I’ve seen signs of the transformation personally in my own life. If I’m completely honest, it’s both exhilarating and frustrating at the same time.
I spend a great deal of time these days in an earnest effort of trying to renew my mind by studying my Bible as instructed in Romans 12:2. That’s the only means of advancing to the next degree of glory. One of the problems I encounter as I continue in this endeavor is that while renewing my mind shows me more of Who God is and what His will is, it also points out a never-ending list of “issues” I need more work on. The list gets overwhelming at times if I forget to use God’s lens to view it instead of my own.
Through my lens, it’s just too much. I get depressed because there’s no way in my meager strength I would ever be able to check off the simplest item; and the frustration usually hits me first thing in the morning…setting me up for a bad day if I stay focused on my circumstances. I’m learning more and more that is the complete wrong mindset; AND I’m gradually learning to get better at this…FINALLY. I’m by no means perfect at it (not even close), but at least now the Spirit has shown me the proper way to deal with it. Here’s an example of how a typical morning goes for me:
As soon as my eyes pop open in the morning, before I even get out of bed, I’ll say a little prayer. “Good morning God. Help me to see You working in my day today and keep me alert for any opportunities to shine Your light on someone today.” Now, if I were God, I’d give me a gold star for starting my day like that…and I reckon some days He does…but then there are the days I get distracted cooking my breakfast and overcook my bacon, or break the yolk on my over-easy eggs, or struggle with any of a hundred simple tasks that make up my morning routine; and find myself saying a bad word, or thinking “God, is it gonna be one of these kind of days?” and feeling all out of sorts.
Here’s what I’ve learned; and this knowledge didn’t just happen upon me, but evolved through my continued Bible study:
- Just because we start off our day with a gold star, doesn’t mean that we have a hedge around us to protect us from attacks by the enemy…in fact,
- As we are successful in making progress on our journey toward being more like Jesus, the devouring lion that is our enemy (1 Peter 5:8) seeks out our Achilles heel(s) as a focal point for his efforts…and,
- The more effort we put into trying to become more like Jesus; the more the enemy focusses his efforts on knocking us off the path of righteousness we are striving to walk. The more persistent we are about becoming more like Jesus, the more we can expect the enemy to throw little monkey-wrenches into our lives every single day. He will not let up unless we back off from our efforts. He has very little interest in muddling through life, mediocre Christians. They are miserable enough as is and have little detrimental effect on his worldly kingdom. But, those of us who strive for all we are promised as children of God pique the lion-share of his interest…everyday!!!
Now, if those three things sound a bit disheartening; well, they are…lol. BUT, here’s what makes it worth the struggle. On the days when I manage to “hit a snag” while cooking my breakfast, (overcooking the bacon, or breaking an egg yolk) and I catch the bad word BEFORE it flies out of my mouth and replace it with “GOD! I CAUGHT IT THIS TIME!!! I MEAN, YOU HELPED ME CATCH IT THIS TIME” the sense of accomplishment is nothing short of the exhilaration of winning a championship trophy of some sort!!! Just to be clear, for me these days are pretty infrequent…lol…but when they do happen, I’ll be in the kitchen doing my “happy I beat the devil dance,” yelling, “HA! I BEAT YOU DEVIL! NOW GITONOUTTAHERE, CAUSE NOT TODAY!!!” That may sound totally corny to everyone reading this, but it really is who I am. There have been SOOO many mornings where I had to say “Sorry God. Please forgive me for saying those bad words” that I may take my little victory celebrations to an unnecessary extreme, but I can’t help but think maybe God is at least amused by my genuine enthusiasm. And it is genuine, because for me the struggle has been real!
What struck me as amusing (for lack of a better word), is that I managed to conquer overreacting to big issues in my life with relative ease. For example, if I have a flat tire, or my truck breaks down, or some trauma of life happens, I am very quick to turn my focus to God and say, “Ok God: how are You gonna help me out with this situation? Show me the best way to get through it.” and then just calmly go about dealing with whatever it is. However, anytime some little insignificant irritation would come about, I’d immediately find myself at rage level 10; because I’ve cooked my bacon and flipped my over-easy eggs without issue every morning for the last 40 years. It’s just stupid and unnecessary when something goes awry with such a simple task…from my perspective. Then I remembered His ways and thoughts are higher than my ways and thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9); and I’m supposed to count it all joy when I get to face trials of life because that’s how faith, endurance, character and steadfastness are built (Romans 5:3-5 & James 1:2-8)…and that makes us act more like Jesus!
I really, seriously talked to God about ALL these little insignificant, unnecessary irritations to the point I’m sure He was tired of hearing about them. Finally, He turned the light on for me. Big troubles are easy. Even people who don’t really believe in God turn to Him in times of desperation. That’s not real faith. But the little everyday simple irritations, we mistakenly like to think we can handle on our own. Here’s a news flash: when Jesus said “apart from me, you can do nothing” in (John 15:5) He meant that literally. And when James told us that “every good gift that comes to us is sent from the father of light” (James 1:17) he meant that literally…even success at flipping a stupid egg without breaking the yolk!!! So our everyday little annoying trials are just His way of reminding us we have to lean on Him because He really is our Source for everything.
When I realized all these things, I added a line to my bedtime prayers; and now every night I ALWAYS ask God to “help me remember it’s an everyday battle.” Little things are going to go wrong. We need to expect them and treat them just like we would the big things. Learning to rely on God for everything is a game-changer!!!
Look for Your Package Every Morning
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;his mercies never come to an end;they are new every morning;great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23
On the surface, those words are a great treasure; a powerful source of hope for all who have given their lives to Jesus…BUT, here’s a thought to ponder: The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart (according to Hebrews 4:12); this should enlighten us to the fact that the Bible is perhaps not a book to just be read on the surface. Let’s look for a moment at how reading the Bible deeper than just on the surface might work to deepen the meaning of these verses from Lamentations.
First of all, we must realize that the Bible is like no other book ever written. The Bible (and I mean the ENTIRE Bible) is the inspired Word of God. The Book is massive, was penned in parts (or books) by numerous authors across a span of centuries. Despite these facts, the entire compilation carries one theme and coherently flows together into the Living Word of God mentioned above. It’s an unfathomable accomplishment that our human minds have a really hard time wrapping around. On our own, in our limited and flawed human understanding; there is zero chance we would ever be able to see and understand all the parallels and draw any of the proper conclusions.
God knew this and that’s why when we come to saving faith in Jesus, He sends the Holy Spirit to live inside our hearts. Jesus tells us in John 14:26 “the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” And Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:12-13 “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.” That is how thorough God is in His infinitely wise planning of our lives. Given all that as a foundation I’m now going to cite some scriptures that will help us to “read between the lines” these verses of promise from Lamentations:
In John 16:33 Jesus says, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
1 Peter 5:8 says, Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Jesus warns us in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
And in Matthew 6:34 Jesus warns us, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us, “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
In John 14:27 (the greatest promise in the Bible) Jesus tells us, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (This is the very same peace that allowed Jesus to sleep through the storm that had His apostles so distraught in Mark 4:35-41…and it’s ours for the taking!!!)
My personal interpretation of those verses in summary is as follows: Life is going to be hard, REALLY HARD, because the devil is going to stop at nothing to make it so for us. We are going to be under constant attack from him, every day of our lives; especially when we are trying to follow Jesus into the most blessed life He has lain out for us. On our own and apart from Jesus we CAN DO NOTHING. And worrying about tomorrow serves no purpose; other than to deplete the strength we have been graciously given to make it through today. Our ONLY hope of survival at all is to learn to trust the Word of God and find the hope and peace Jesus promised He would leave for us in John 14:27. The way God’s glorious plan works is that this (our ONLY hope of survival), once we truly learn to believe God and rely on Him is the one and only way we can come to find the peace that Jesus promised to give us. It’s true and it works 100% of the time as long as we can muster the faith to believe.
Now let’s look again at Lamentations 3:22-23:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;his mercies never come to an end;they are new every morning;great is your faithfulness.
Still a great treasure; a powerful source of hope for all who have given their lives to Jesus on the surface, no doubt. But when we read between the lines given the context of the entire Bible, we can understand a far deeper level of the blessing this scripture promises. Why do we need the mercies to be on our doorstep new every morning?…because every new day is gonna have its own share of tribulations lined up waiting for us. Every day, we can do nothing apart from Jesus, and still every day we will face attacks from the enemy. If we had to deal with even a moment of this life in our own strength, we would immediately be crushed under a load of stress and frustration because not only would we be incapable of dealing with today’s trials; we would also be wasting today’s energy store stressing about tomorrow before it got to us. God metes it out to us on a daily basis because even with His help, one day at a time is all we can handle.
This is the reason we MUST learn to study our Bibles, and this is how it works. We need to commit ourselves to the renewing of our minds in God’s words on a daily basis because our survival depends on it if we want to enjoy our lives. We can never know enough of Who God is and how much He loves us. Our lives need to be a quest for this knowledge because there is no coasting with Jesus. If we are not working daily to get closer to Him, the enemy is going to make sure we are drifting further away from Him. That is a fact!!!
Life is going to be hard. Without faith in God, we are totally incapable of making it on our own…much less being able to enjoy a single moment of peace. But God in His infinite wisdom has given us a How-To manual, along with placing the Holy Spirit inside our hearts to help us understand all His promises and how to walk in them. And this is the ONLY way we can simply pick up and live in the blanket of peace that Jesus promised to give each of us.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;his mercies never come to an end;they are new every morning;great is your faithfulness…INDEED!!!
Father, thank You that Your mercies and grace are promised to come to us in daily portions, fresh and new each and every morning. Open our eyes to see and our ears to hear how important it is for us to seek You; and help us to understand we absolutely must make this an everyday effort because our adversary the devil makes his everyday effort to get us off Your intended path. In Jesus name, Amen.
Why Can’t We Just Remember to Remember?
A Lesson God Used My Puppy to Teach Me:
I’d been struggling and wrestling with some serious thoughts and feelings for at least a few months. By struggling and wrestling with, I mean I’d come to realize these thoughts and feelings were wasting my time and holding me back from real peace and joy in my life and keeping me from moving forward and growing into the life I’m supposed to be living. Finally, clarity came and as I was just short of giving up on ever overcoming this obstacle, deliverance was granted.
Stunned at how suddenly I was liberated from this bondage, I prayed and thanked God for finally bringing me out the other side. I praised Him and basically just found myself in awe of how easily He removed the burden, just at the moment I was ready to throw in the towel. I paused for a moment just to be still and know that He is God and then I asked, “God, how is it that You are always there every time I need You the most?” He replied, “Have I not promised to NEVER leave you or forsake you?”
Here’s what a simple moment of silent acknowledgement of His presence, love for me and greatness pointed out:
He never just magically shows up when we need Him the most. It only appears as such to us because when in a struggle (especially a lengthy one) we tend to get so caught up in our circumstances that we simply forget to look for Him in every aspect of our day. This is why it’s so important for us to push aside pride and self-sufficiency when things are all seemingly ok and running smoothly in our lives, and spend time every day just thanking Him for the season of blessing as we go through it. If it becomes our very nature to acknowledge and be grateful for His presence in our good times, then our default setting as we enter into trials life is sure to throw at us will also be to turn to Him and seek His guidance as He leads us through life’s valleys. He’s always there right beside us…like He promised to ALWAYS be. As flawed, sinful humans, we just can’t ever seem to remember Jesus’ simple command to SEEK FIRST.
Now in this particular trial, I’d prayed asking for help, understanding and the ability to move past these things; and I’d been looking for answers in my Bible diligently with seemingly no luck in finding what I needed. I’m sure my prayers had evolved more into grumbling and complaining sessions than actual prayers as time passed. This thought was brought to my attention by my year-and-a-half-old Jack Russell puppy recently.
This summer has been so miserably hot and dry that we have spent an abnormally large percentage of our days inside the house. My hyper puppy gets bored and whimpers and whines as she begs for attention and entertainment. I find myself scolding her and telling her that she “is just fine, daddy loves her, she has everything she needs to live a happy life and everything is gonna be alright.” Five minutes later, she’s whining and whimpering, seeking attention again.
As we continually cycled through this little routine of ours, it hit me one day. I’m just like my hyper puppy. Life always has me in a hurry, bouncing from one task to the next. Whenever I slow down for a minute, I start stewing over the problems or issues in my life and go whining to God about them; over and over again; just like I did the last time I paused from being busy. The similarities made me literally laugh out loud. I thought to myself, “I wonder if God ever gets tired of my whining and whimpering, like I sometimes do with my puppy?”
Now that was a purely rhetorical thought, because I knew the answer: God never loses His patience with us as His adopted children. He loves us infinitely and has infinite patience with us. I know this because my Bible tells me so. But I was still amused and nudged into deeper ponderance of the concept.
Just like I tell my puppy, the Bible tells us that God loves us and will provide for our every need if we will just remember to seek first. That’s not just in our Bible, it’s part of a direct quote from Jesus himself in one of my favorite passages of scripture found in Matthew 6:25-34.
SEEK FIRST…seek what?…
Seek to know Who God is.
Seek to understand His love for us and how much He thinks of us.
Seek to understand who He says we are through His eyes.
Seek to grow our faith in His word and His promises to the point that we don’t just believe IN God, but instead to the point that we actually just BELIEVE God…regardless of how our surrounding circumstances might try, or seem to cloud those beliefs.
Read your Bible to learn what God’s promises are. Then learn to believe them and trust that He is ALWAYS faithful to His word; and find rest in that trust. That’s how we find peace in this life…and it’s the ONLY way we find real and meaningful peace in this life.
Father, forgive me for being too much like my hyper year-and-a-half-old puppy. Give me the strength and focus to continue always in seeking more of You, making me more keenly aware that You are always right beside me looking for my acknowledgment. Help me keep my feet planted firmly on the path toward the good plan that You designed just for me to walk before time began; and help me let Your light shine through me onto others until my journey is done. In Jesus’ mighty name I pray…amen.