Category: Fear Not!

In the Fire

Posted on by Dorci

The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
and His ears are attentive to their cry;

The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
He delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:15a,17,18


I’ve heard so many stories the last couple of years from people who have gone through some extraordinarily difficult times, and of course I’ve faced times like that, too.

Times so painful I’ve wondered where God was. I’ve been brought to the place where my prayers were simply, “God, do You see me? Do You even care? Maybe we’ve all wondered that at one time or another.

Just recently I was reminded of a time a long time ago when I was raising my little boys.  (Funny how that seems like a lifetime ago and at the same time like it was just yesterday. Well, maybe last week.)

Some kind of illness was going around. My kids had just gotten over something not too long before and I just couldn’t take the thought of them being sick and miserable all over again so soon. I loved them too much.

So I prayed and asked God if one of us had to be sick then let it be me, not them. And that was one prayer He graciously and mercifully answered. Yes, I was sick for a little bit, but my sons didn’t have to suffer again so soon and I was thankful.

As the memory of that time came to mind, the Lord impressed on my heart that if I, being such an incredibly flawed parent and human being, could have that much compassion for my children, how much more compassion and love does He have for His children when they suffer?

Jesus wept with Mary and Martha as Lazarus lay in the grave even though He knew in five minutes he’d walk out, as alive as ever, and there would be tears of joy and hugs and celebrating. (Can you just imagine the party they had that night?)

Yes, He took a while in coming back to them, but He had reason to. Obvious reasons like, He wanted to grow their faith; He wanted the opportunity to perform this miracle in front of all of them, and I’m sure reasons we may never know.

And yes, it may seem like He’s taking a long time to answer our prayers, too, but that doesn’t mean He doesn’t hear our prayers, or that He doesn’t know what we’re going through, or that He doesn’t care.

It doesn’t mean He’s not right there with us in the fire, like He was with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (I wonder if they even knew He was with them amidst the flames); like He was with Job in his intense suffering; like He was with Hagar in the wilderness, like He was with Joseph when he was sold into slavery; and like He was with the Israelites as they crossed the desert for forty years.

Matthew even tells us “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel (which means ‘God with us’).”
Matthew 1:23

He doesn’t stand far off. He is right there, suffering with us, having more love and compassion than I could ever comprehend, doing a great, eternal work in our hearts, and using those trials to bring Him great glory, the salvation of souls for some and the deepening of the faith of others.

He has so much love that He couldn’t bear to watch us suffer eternally, so He took on our sin-sickness and our place on the cross; He took on Himself the pain and misery that would have been ours, and kept us from an eternal death.

But He didn’t stop there. When we believed in Him He filled us with His Holy Spirit, whom He called the Comforter, who is with us, who lives in us, at all times, through all our trials and pain, no matter what.


How has God been with you in your trials?


Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you and thank you for your all-consuming love and grace and mercy. Thank you for your promise to never leave us or forsake us. When we are facing a fiery trial, help us to stay in communication with you, to remember that you are with us in it, and that you’ll use our faith in the fire to draw us ever closer to you and to bring you great glory. There is no higher calling in this life. In Jesus’ precious and holy name I pray, amen.

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Saturday Song – I Will Carry You

Posted on by Dorci

Much of my life I seemed to walk alone. Or so I thought. Through more difficult days I can count, more trials, more stumbling and reaching out in the darkness for someone to help me up and thinking no one was there, now I see Jesus was.

It was He who led me, He who protected me, He who lifted me up again and again, and He who loved me through it all, and I know He always will. 

I pray you know He’s there for you, too. I pray you know He carried your sins on the cross, even when He knew the sins that would stumble you, and He loved you still.

I pray you know when you’re in need He’ll provide for you; when you fall He’ll pick you up; when you’re empty He’ll fill you; when you’re lost He’ll come after you; when you’re broken He’ll weep with you, and then He’ll heal your heart, as many times as it takes.  

Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and His understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:28-31

 

 

I Will Carry You
by Ellie Holcomb
 
I know you’re tired, I see it in your eyesAll that anxiety that rules your mindI’ll be your shield when you don’t feel likeYou’ve got strength enough to fightI’ll stand by your side
 
I will carry youThrough your darkest nightWhen you’re terrifiedI will carry youWhen the waters riseWhen your hope runs dryI will carry you
 
You are not the sum of your mistakesYou don’t have to hide the parts of you that acheI choose you as you are a million times‘Cause I am not ashamed of youI won’t walk away from you
 
I will carry youThrough your darkest nightWhen you’re terrifiedI will carry youWhen the waters riseWhen your hope runs dryI will carry you
 
Up and over the mountainsValley deep as the oceanWhen you can’t keep goingI will shoulder your burdensUp and over the mountainsValley deep as the oceanWhen you can’t keep goingI will shoulder your burdens
 
I will carry youThrough your darkest nightWhen you’re terrifiedI will carry you (carry you)When the waters riseWhen your hope runs dryI will carry you
 
I will carry you, carry youThrough the darkest night (you)When you’re terrified(I will shoulder your burdens)I will carry you, carry youWhen the waters rise (you)I will carry you

To Gaze Upon the King

Posted on by Dorci

I’d like to repost one more piece for you, this one from December 2015. I pray you and your loved ones have a very Merry Christmas as we celebrate the birth of the beloved Child, the Savior, the King.  

***

Oh dear ones, loved so greatly by God, can I ask you to, for just a moment, lay down your tape and scissors?  To take your eyes away from the Christmas movies and your ears from the holiday music?

Can I ask you to come take a journey with me?  We are going to see a King.

There is a little, ancient town full of people who have come to be counted in the census.  All the rooms are full, too.

There is a very young woman who is about ready to give birth.  She and her husband have come a long way and she looks tired and uncomfortable. Her labor pains have begun.

“The barn is available,” they’re told.

Humbly, they make their way to the stable.  He tries to make her comfortable with a bed of hay as the animals make room for a royal guest.

She gives birth and the pain is soon forgotten as joy overwhelms her.  He is perfect in every way.  They gaze upon their miracle child, the one given to them by God Himself.  There is a feeding trough, and he makes a bed for this tiny baby.  The stars are shining on this most special of nights.

Meanwhile, out in the nearby fields, men who only a moment ago were tending sheep now stand in shock and fear as a glorious and heavenly light shines around them and an angel of the Lord appears to them and says,

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

The shepherds are barely able to take it in when a whole host of angels appears, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

They grab their staffs and run to the place where this Savior, this long-awaited Messiah has been born.  He is beautiful and they can hardly believe it.  They have seen the great Shepherd.

Room has been made for this little family of three.  They wonder what the future holds in and through this new and precious life.

Sometime later, other worshippers make their way from the east.  A star has led some wise men on a journey.  It’s been long and dusty, but they’ve been moved by something, Someone, beyond them to make it.  They’ve brought gifts suitable to present to royalty: gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Gold for a King, but not just any king.  A King who has chosen to strip Himself of His heavenly robes and crown and become like us.

Frankincense, symbolizing His priesthood, one that would never end.

Myrrh for embalming, for one day in the not-too-distant future, this King will die for the sins of the world.

The star that led them from so far away has stopped directly over the house where the King lay.  They step inside and bow before Him and worship Him.  They present their gifts, and Mary and Joseph continue to marvel at God’s love, His miracles and His glory.

The world looks different to them now.  Suddenly it is filled with hope and love and promise.  Under the light of the stars was the Light of the world. Salvation was here.

This, they knew, was no ordinary child.

This was a King.

Fight the Good Fight

Posted on by Dorci

I’ve talked a few times about the meaning of the words “be strong and courageous” in the Old Testament. The last time, in Be Strong and Very Courageous, I mentioned that this exhortation could be found one time in the New Testament. Now seems like a good time to take a look at that.  

Paul wrote his first letter to his brothers and sisters in Corinth after hearing they were fighting about everything under the sun, and the fellowship of believers was being torn apart by pride, jealousy, sexual immorality, taking one another to court, and the misuse of the Lord’s supper. 

Reminds me of a group of children left to themselves, and spiritually, that is what they were. They were a new church full of new believers. Baby Christians. That’s why Paul writes to them such a long letter as if coming from a father writing home to tell his children – Stop! In Christ, this is how you should think and behave… 

Paul even addresses them by saying “Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil, be infants (or innocent of it), but in your thinking be adults.” 1 Cor. 14:20

Then, one of the last things he tells them in his letter (1 Cor. 16:13), is:

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.” (2011 NIV)

First, the word strong means “to empower, to increase in vigor, to be strengthened.

And courageous. Courageous is good, but as we look back further to the original translations, we begin to get a better, more powerful picture of what’s being said. 

In the 1984 NIV:
“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.”

The Modern King James Version says it like this:
“Watch! Stand fast in the faith! Be men! Be strong!” 

And (stay with me, I’m going somewhere with this) in the King James Version:
“Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.”

That word that’s been translated in modern language as “courageous,” and as “be men of courage,” and in the MKJV which pulls no punches by saying “be men!” is andrizomai, and means “act manly, or quit like men.”

This is the only time this word is used in the NT. 

Of course a phrase like quit you like men is lost on us in the 21st century, so I did some digging. 

In 1 Samuel 4:9, the Philistines encouraged one another in their fight against the Israelites by saying “Be strong, and quit yourselves like men…”  meaning “exist, or become” men. 

Quit in this instance means to conduct or acquit oneself; to behave in a certain manner. 

Of course, just because the phrase is “quit like men” doesn’t mean that leaves out women. At that time it was the men who went to battle, so it makes sense that the origin of the word is phrased that way. But Paul made our identity in Christ clear:

“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”  Galatians 3:26-28

Paul charged believers to not stay spiritual infants, but to mature in their faith, in their behavior, in their love for one another, to fight the good fight, and serve Christ well. 

Fight against the outward enemy, and that of our own flesh that wants our way, in our own time, that sinful nature that is puffed up with pride and doesn’t care how we’re hurting others, or grieving the Holy Spirit.

Fight it to the death.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence Paul uses the phrase, “quit like men” straight out of a battle scene told in the scriptures. Four times in his writings he refers to believers as soldiers. 

“Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.” 2 Timothy 2:3-4

We are (in case you haven’t noticed) in a spiritual battle that seems to intensify every day.  

We don’t know what a day will bring. Inwardly, the enemy will do what he can to tempt us to betray who we are in Christ. I’ve seen many who, in the past, claimed to profess a faith, but who have fallen away. Outwardly, Christians are actively being persecuted, tortured, and killed around the world. 

Let us persevere as good soldiers, remaining in Christ, clothed in our spiritual armor, not giving in to fear, but allowing ourselves to be trained by God’s discipline and His Word, and live our lives as maturing, sanctifying, hopeful, believing servants of our Lord, and remember that

“But my righteous one will live by faith.
And I take no pleasure
in the one who shrinks back.”
(from Habbakuk 2:4)

But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed,
but to those who have faith and are saved.”
Hebrews 10:38-39

 

Heavenly Father, in Jesus’ name and because of Him, we ask you to empower us by your Spirit to grow up in Christ, to walk worthy of our calling, set apart as mature soldiers in the fight against everything that sets itself up against you, to take into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ, and fight the good fight.  

 

Remember Your Position

Posted on by Dorci

Some wise words from Anne Graham Lotz.


“For you are all sons (those who inherit) of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’  Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”
Galatians 3:26, 4:6-7