Tag: storms
What God Does Not Promise
As we journey through life and all its twists and turns, it’s encouraging to be reminded of the promises of God, but it’s also good to remember what God does not promise.
Jesus sat with His disciples as they ate together for the last time. He’d washed their feet, including Judas’s, showing them how they were treat one another.
Once Judas left them, He began to prepare them for what would come.
Over and over He tells them He must go away, that He was going back to the Father, but they would see Him again. In the meantime, He would send the Comforter to be with them forever.
Then He began to prepare them for what would lay ahead – the world’s hatred, persecution, even their murders. But again He reminds them that the Spirit of truth will come and guide them.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
There are some who believe, and some who even teach, that after we’re saved our lives will be perfect, that God will keep us from going through any hardships. But that’s not what Jesus taught.
He did not promise a life with no trouble.
The word for trouble here is thlipsis, which means afflicted, anguish, burdened, persecution, tribulation.
Now, that we live in a world with trouble might seem obvious, but when we’re in the middle of the affliction, the tribulation, the persecution, the anguish, we can be tempted to wonder where God is.
Why is He allowing this? Is He angry with me? Does He hear me? Has He forgotten me? And there may even be times we wonder if we were ever saved at all.
Jesus explicitly said these things because He knew where our minds could be tempted to go when we’re hurting, and He didn’t want us to believe those lies.
We live in a sinful world full of heartache and suffering. He did not promise to take it away, but to be with us in the middle of it.
If you’ve ever sat with a child who’s in some kind of pain, whether emotional, physical, or spiritual, no matter how young or old they are, you know you hurt at least as much as they do, maybe more.
You pray for them, you cry with them, you ache for them.
If we do this with our own children, how much more will our Heavenly Father, who sent His only Son to die for us and sent us His Holy Spirit, who loves us with an everlasting love, do this with us?
Yes, we will have trouble, but Jesus said
“…take heart! I have overcome the world.”
It’s a done deal. He’s conquered this sin-filled world and all the pain that comes along with it. He already has the victory, and in Him we have it, too.
He will be with us through all things. And even more, He will strengthen us with courage and hope and even joy as we go through it. He will grow our faith, give us wisdom and a testimony of His grace and mercy, and prepare us for the life to come when we see our Savior face to face.
“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5b
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Heavenly Father, help us keep our eyes on you, especially when we’re going through the storms of life. We ask for your strength, courage and hope through the power of your Holy Spirit as we walk through our trials with you. Don’t let us believe in the lies of the enemy, but instead walk in faith, believing in your constant love and presence with us and your promise to prepare a home for us and take us to be with you forever. We pray in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.
Photo credit: 21326550 / Storm © Pictureguy66 | Dreamstime.com
The Saturday Song – There Will Be a Day
“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain,
for the former things have passed away.”
Revelation 21:4
Heavenly Father, help us walk through the hard things in this life with the hope you’ve given us for the next. In Christ’s name we pray, amen.
Sunday Praise and a Prayer as We Stand Upon the Rock
Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you. You, Lord, are our Rock, and on you we stand. We declare that as we stand upon You, the Rock of our salvation, we will not be shaken; we will not be moved. You are our Mighty Fortress, our Protector, and we will not fear.
You are our Strength, our Courage, our sure Hope. No matter what storms rage around us, you are our Peace, and our Light in the darkness.
You are our Sustenance, our Fountain of living water.
As we stand upon you and walk in faith, may our lives be a reflection of your great love and grace, and may all we go through magnify and glorify the holy and precious name of Jesus Christ.
In His name we pray, amen.
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If you would like prayer, please feel free to contact me.
For His glory, 
Think About These Things
It is incredibly easy to get focused on what’s going wrong, what went wrong, and what might go wrong in the future.
Paul had plenty he could have been depressed about when he wrote his letter to the Church in Philippi.
He was writing while imprisoned unjustly and constantly guarded, and had to rely on people outside the prison to supply most of his food and anything else he needed. He lived with a chronic health issue. And he faced the real possibility of execution.
Five times he’d been punished with thirty-nine lashes, three times he was beaten with rods and once was stoned. He was shipwrecked three times, and spent a whole night adrift at sea. He faced danger from rivers, robbers, Jews and Gentiles, wolves in sheep’s clothing, in cities, deserts, and on the seas. He had sleepless nights, had gone without food and water, and had shivered from enduring cold without enough clothing to keep him warm.
But Paul did not focus on those outward things.
His focus was on his Savior and his calling, and both of those led him to have a heart for God’s people. Instead of thinking about all that was going wrong or could go wrong, he’s writing a letter to the body of Christ to encourage them.
He tells them not to worry about him, but reminds them the truth that his imprisonment has only served to advance the gospel inside and outside the prison.
He finds it praiseworthy that his imprisonment has served to strengthen the faith of believers, that they “dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.”
And he speaks of the loveliness of this body of believers in sharing in his suffering by sending him aid.
Paul’s whole heart, mind, and soul are laser-focused on the Lord, on getting out the gospel for the sake of lost souls, and encouraging his beloved brothers and sisters.
If we’re abiding in Christ, our circumstances are in the hands of a gracious and merciful and loving Father. And the excellent thing about Him is that He loves to be our strength when we are weak, and He will use those circumstances in ways we might not know about until we see Him face to face.
Paul never knew he was writing the majority of the New Testament, and that 2000 years later we would be benefitting from the encouragement he took and wrote about to the churches while he was in prison.
Yes, there’s a lot going on in our own lives and all around us we could focus on that is untrue, unjust, unrighteous, etc., etc., and etc.
But we can take our thoughts away from those things and focus them on the Lord, the gospel, and our calling. We walk in the Spirit by first thinking in the Spirit, seeing our circumstances through the eyes of Christ, remembering He has a plan, and praise Him for all the ways He’s blessed us, is blessing us, and will bless us.
God’s given each of us spiritual gifts to use, and circumstances that allow us to use them.
I think about my own life, and let me tell you, it’s been a doozy. Almost from day 1 to now it’s been an uphill climb. Sometimes I come to some level ground, although even that’s been rocky. And every once in a while I come to an oasis – a true word from the Lord, a lovely friend, or a praiseworthy answer to prayer.
Yet I remember that it is in the very depths of those difficult circumstances that draw me to Christ, keep me needing Him, abiding in Him, and loving Him more and more. And without all He’s taught me through them, I wouldn’t have had much, if anything, to write about.
Even if we can think of nothing else, we can focus on the fact that
“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 1 Peter 1:6-7
So. What can we focus on right now, today, that is
True (truth)?
Noble (worthy of respect)?
Right (just, in character or act)?
Pure (innocent, modest, perfect)?
Lovely (friendly towards)?
Admirable (well spoken of)?
Excellent (praise, virtue)?
Praiseworthy (commendable)?
Hint: The best place to be reminded of all that is true and praiseworthy and everything in between is in the very pages of God’s Word. (Can you imagine Paul’s joy knowing that here we are in 2021 taking courage from his encouragement?)
And one more word of truth lived out by our brother Paul –
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Cor. 10:5
Heavenly Father, we give you praise for our salvation through Christ and for the continual blessing of the Holy Spirit. When we begin to get our eyes onto things or perspectives that would bring us down, remind us of what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. Help us remember and live worthy of our calling to the praise and glory of Jesus Christ. And thank you for preparing for us a place in heaven, where we will live with you and everything that is good and right and holy forever and ever. In Jesus’ precious name, amen.