Our Very Present Help

"Lord—help me!"

I wonder what it really must have felt like to young Daniel—alone in the darkness, in the midst of the Lion's den?

We've all read the story, or heard it as a child in Sunday school.  Daniel had great faith and God delivered him from the jaws of the hungry lions.  Ultimately, he trusted in God.

It's a powerful story of a man's faith and of God's great faithfulness.

But unless we someday get an opportunity to speak with Daniel personally, we can only guess how he must have really felt—in the middle of the night, with those ferocious lions growling and wandering about, anxious for an easy meal.  Daniel certainly must have had moments of crippling fear and despair.  Times where he, in his human weakness, must have wondered if all was lost.

I know how I would have felt in that lion's den.

Today I am at my wits' end. 

There are some specific things that I have been praying about and asking God to do in my life for many months.  But the open doors I have prayed for have simply not materialized.  This morning I lamented to Him in my frustration:  "Lord, I don't know what else You want me to do!"

Perhaps, like me, you can relate to this group of desperate men of whom David wrote in Psalm 107:

"Some went out on the sea in ships;
they were merchants on the mighty waters.
They saw the works of the LORD,
His wonderful deeds in the deep.
For He spoke and stirred up a tempest
that lifted high the waves.
They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
in their peril their courage melted away.
They reeled and staggered like drunkards;
they were at their wits' end."

Several people that I know feel like they are at the end of their rope right now.  They don't have much, if any, hope in their present situations. And like these desperate sailors that David wrote about, they too are at their wits' end.

So what are we supposed to do?

I was contemplating the words to a song this morning: "Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord..."

The scripture that inspired that song is Isaiah 40:31,

"But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint."

Eagles have extremely large wings, and they have learned to use those wings to catch the thermals and updrafts, and allow the current of the wind to lift them up as high as they want to go.  Great anaolgy in Isaiah.

But practically speaking, in my day to day life, in my current time of distress, what does that look like?  How do I do that?—"Wait upon the Lord?"

I believe the answer is given in Psalm 107—in the response of those desperate sailors who were at their wits' end:

"Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, 

   and He brought them out of their distress. 

He stilled the storm to a whisper; 

   the waves of the sea were hushed. 

They were glad when it grew calm, 

   and He guided them to their desired haven. 

Let them give thanks to the LORD for His unfailing love 

   and His wonderful deeds for mankind. 

Let them exalt Him in the assembly of the people 

   and praise Him in the council of the elders."

So many times in my life as a follower of Christ, I have felt like these desperate sailors, who were at their wit's end.  In my times of trouble my courage also tends to melt away.  I so easily forget how God has brought me out of my distress when I have cried out to Him in my peril.  

I think my courage melts away because He never seems to deliver me in the exact way that way I expect, or in the time frame I expect. I always want out of the jam I got myself into right away.  But God most often seems to take me to the very edge of what I think I can possibly endure.  Then He delivers me.

He wants me to trust in Him completely.

God has been teaching me this past nine months of being unemployed to ask Him in prayer for my needs, no matter what they are, and then trust Him with the results.

But I confess today, that, for me, sometimes this is easier said than done.  I'm weak.  My spirit is willing—but my flesh is oh, so weak.

I need to constantly remind myself of all the troubles and distresses that God has so miraculously delivered me from, throughout these eighteen years that I have sought to follow Him.

"God, I am so thankful!  Lord, You truly have given me a hope and a future.  I know You have good thoughts towards me and good plans for me. Father, thank You for the trials that You have allowed in my life--to bring me closer to You. Thank You for teaching me to trust in You.  Lord Jesus, You have been absolutely faithful to me these many years and have translated me out of my darkness and into Your marvelous light!  I Praise You Lord!"

Drawing near to God—crying out to Him in our times of trouble is the only thing we can do.  It's what God wants us to do.  Only He can fill the empty spaces and the void in our hearts.  Only He can satisfy the longings and the loneliness that we feel when we are rejected or let down.  Only He can heal our broken hearts when we are betrayed or despised. 

As Peter said to Jesus when He asked His disciples if they too would abandon Him:

"Lord, where else would we go?  You have the words of eternal life."

Jesus is eternal life. 

As I heard a brother so eloquently share this weekend:   "Stay, abide—rest in God's love."

Lord—where else would I go?

     You are eternal life.

So today, stretch out your hands to the One who can deliver you out of all your distresses.  And as you place all your trust in Him and rest in His love, you will catch those thermals and updrafts of the wind of His Spirit, and you will rise—on wings of eagles.

Thank You Father, for Your unfailing love.

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

Pour Out Your Heart

"And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table."

The account is given in Matthew 26, of a woman—a worshipper—who, upon learning that Jesus was sharing a meal with a leper named Simon, came to the mans house and brought an alabaster flask of a very expensive fragrant oil, and anointed Jesus' head with it.

Jesus, knowing He would be crucified in the near future, rebuked His disciples who were criticizing the woman for her 'wasting' what could have been sold for much, and the proceeds given to the poor, saying to them, "She did this for My burial."

Some scholars estimate the value of the fragrant anointing oil was equivalent to approximately one years salary today.

The point was, pouring out her heart through pouring the fragrant oil upon Jesus as an act of her worship to Him, cost the woman everything.

What is your heart filled with?

If you are a lover of and follower of Jesus, your heart should be filled with the oil of the Holy Spirit—the oil of joy for mourning. He said He will fill us with rivers of living water—to overflowing. Jesus fills us with rivers of His love so we can be poured out—to refresh and comfort others who are weary, broken, or who need His healing touch and saving grace.

God's grace is not cheap.  

Jesus gave up everything—His very life—to be poured out on the Cross so we could be set free and be restored to a right relationship with God, our Father.  He paid an immeasurably great cost for us.

When Jesus puts His Spirit in us, the Bible says He has put His treasure in earthen vessels.  You could say we are 'cracked-pots.'  That is, He fills us in our brokenness with the oil of the Holy Spirit, so that warm oil of joy for mourning will flow out onto others. 

He only fills broken vessels.

Are you broken today? 

Does your heart bleed for those people you love who, thus far, have angrily rejected Jesus?   Does your soul ache for your spouse who has given up on you and wants out of the marriage?  Are you crushed from the rejection of your children who think your belief in Christ is foolishness?

The Psalmist wrote (Psa 51:17):

"My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart You, God, will not despise."

 As well as (Psa 126:5):

"Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy." 

Jesus' heart was so broken over Jerusalem who rejected Him, that He wept for the entire city.  He had wanted to gather them to Himself the way a protective mother hen gathers her chicks to herself under the shadow of her wings, but His people Israel were not willing to receive Him as their Savior and Lord.  

They didn't think they needed a loving Savior.

Christ's love is a sacrificial love.  Most of the time, the people Jesus showed love to, wanted to kill Him for it.  He had their best interests in mind—He came to save His people.  But they rejected Him for loving them.

And so often, we too will be angrily rejected by the people we love the most, whom we only want to save.

Sacrificial love for those who refuse it most is our cross to bear in this life.   We must die daily on the altar of Love's sacrifice.  Jesus said, "For this purpose I was born."

Giving ourselves to be poured out as a sacrifice to love others with God's love is very costly.  In giving all of himself for Jesus, Paul had to die.

And so too, for us.

The Apostle Paul, knowing his life would soon end violently, writes to his friends (Philippians 2:17, 2 Timothy 4:6-7):

"Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

Paul sacrificially gave himself to be poured out—as a drink offering—because of his great love for God and for people.  And not just for his dear friends who loved him; but for his fellow countrymen—the Israelites who rejected him, and who eventually killed him.

Jesus said,

"If they hate you, it's because they hated Me first."

Husbands are commanded to, "Love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her." 

Ultimately, the purpose of marriage—besides providing companionship—is to teach a man how to die to self. Jesus demonstrated that kind of sacrificial love for us; His Bride. He said,

"Greater love has no man than this—than to lay down his life for his friends."

The people Jesus loved and came to die for, rejected Him, spat upon Him, and cheered when He was killed on a wooden cross intended for criminals and murderers. And yet, knowing all that before He even came into the world as a Man, as He hung on the cross suffering and awaiting death, He prayed for them and said, "Father forgive them—they don't know what they're doing."

As we endure the painful attacks and rejection that we are sometimes crucified with by friends, family and even our spouses—by the power of the indwelling Spirit of God, we too are to offer ourselves as a drink offering, to be poured out as God's love for them. 

We too are to pray for those who hurt us the most:

"Father, forgive them—for they don't realize what they are doing."

Let the prayer of our broken hearts today be: 

"Lord Jesus, fill me up so I can be poured out."

  

"Greater love has no man than this—than to lay down his life for his friends."  

Amen.

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

Wake Up Call

Ever miss an important meeting or appointment because you were late, due to repeatedly hitting the snooze button on your alarm clock?

The fact is—it's just too easy to hit that button.

The very thing which was carefully designed to keep us from getting up late—the snooze button—actually enables us to keep procrastinating from what we already know we are supposed to be doing—which is getting up out of bed.

And yet, the average person probably pushes their snooze button 3-4 times every morning.

We just don't want to get up and go to work. 

Figuratively speaking, think of all the times you push the snooze button each day in your life—such as in your relationships; with your children, or especially in your marriage.  You know how important it is to spend quality time with those people that you love most.  You have to invest yourself deeply into other peoples lives.  And you know when your love deposit is past due in your loved ones emotional bank account. The countenance on your spouses face says it all... "Insufficient Funds!"

Time to wake up. Get up out of your bed, put your feet on the floor and love your spouse sacrificially.

If you continue to haphazardly push the snooze button in your marriage relationship—you may find that one day you'll wake up and your spouse will be gone.  They left while you were snoozing.  

Think about what most blesses your spouse.  

What is his or her love language? If you don't know what the Love Languages are, please check out the following link.  http://www.5lovelanguages.com/

What words or actions on your part make your mate feel most loved, valued and appreciated?  Is it acts of service?  Then get up early and make your wife coffee and an omelet and surprise her with it, along with a fresh flower or two in a small vase.

Is it words of affirmation?  Then be intentional about inviting your husband to go on a long walk and tell him how much you appreciate how hard he works to support you and the family, and how much you feel loved and safe because he is your faithful protector. 

Is your mates love language physical touch?  

You get the point.

You know your spouse better than anyone.  Seek to really learn and know their love language and then fill their cup to overflowing. They'll truly be blessed when you do.

Now, let's go deeper and ask ourselves the really tough question—how many times a day do we push the snooze button in our relationship with God?

Kinda hits you where you live, doesn't it? 

If it doesn't, it should.

Think of all the times that the Lord has spoken a gentle whisper to your heart to come spend time with Him, and yet you put Him on hold because you would rather read the morning paper.  Or of all the times He wants to show you more of Himself in His Word, but you would rather watch your favorite television show.

Jesus gave all of Himself for us.  He willingly sacrificed His life on a torturous wooden Cross, originally designed for the worst of the worst criminals.  It was a device of death made to shame its victim, and inflict the most intense suffering possible. 

And yet, so often, we treat the One who loved us and gave Himself for us like the family dog that we once loved when he was just a puppy, but as he grew older and we became increasingly  bored with him, we now put him out in the garage and we neglect him.

How's your relationship with Jesus today?

Is He truly first in your life?  Are you passionately seeking to love Him with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength?

Think about Jesus' love languages?

1.  Love Him first and foremost.

"You shall love the Lord your God, with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your mind, and with all of your strength." - (Mark 12:30)

2.  Love His people. 

"And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these." - (Mark 12:31)

3.  Trust completely in Him.

"But without faith, it is impossible to please Him." - (Hebrews 11:6)

In today's busy, modern world, with its many enticing temptations and distractions, we tend to take our relationship with God far too casually.  We let other things and other people get between us and God and we conveniently push the snooze button in our relationship with Him.

But if we will carefully look back, and remember all that He has done in our lives, and thank God for forgiving us of all the wrong we have done, we will be set free to love God and love people again, because as Jesus said,

"He who has been forgiven much, loves much."

That's me, and that's you.

We have been forgiven of much.  Love covers a multitude of sins. Freely have we received God's love and grace.  Now go freely give it away.

    

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

Going Through The Motions

Does your life feel like you are sitting on a merry-go-round, going in circles, and you're really not getting anywhere?

It makes me dizzy just thinking about the many years past, when my wife and I were going through the motions in our marriage—not really participating, but were just "along for the ride" to see what we could get out of the deal.  

I don't ever want to go back to that kind of marriage.

So what happens to us? 

Why do we get in such a routine, or rut, where our marriage feels like all we do is get up every morning, punch the time card, and put in our eight hours, then check out at night, with nothing more to look forward to the next day than just to get up and do it all over again?

May I suggest that it's because we tend to so easily forget what a blessing from God that our spouse is, and we have reverted back to the me-monster that we once were. 

So, why is it so hard?  Why won't that monster die once-and-for-all?

Because we keep feeding him.

His name is Self.

In The Love Chapter—1 Corinthians 13—we see the answer:

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking..."

There it is—Love is not self-seeking. 

Selfishness is childish.  After all, what is one of the first words most little children learn?   "Mine!"  For those who have grown up, and matured spiritually—in love; we stop feeding the me-monster and we put away the childishness of self.  Paul goes on to say:

"When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things."

Those who truly love God and who love others, put away the childishness of being selfish. Looking at Paul's exhortation to his Corinthian brothers and sisters, immaturity manifests itself in always speaking about yourself and thinking of yourself first.  But as Paul said, "When I became a man, I put away childish things" (or childishness).

Love is a choice.

You have to choose to put away selfishness and love others—particularly your spouse—above your childish self-love. 

Even more important than marriage to one's spouse, is our marriage to the Lord.   As the Bride of Christ, our Bridegroom is Jesus.  He deserves and commands our complete devotion, love and obedience.  Are you giving Him your best, and all of your heart?  Or does He merely get the left-overs, after you have spent most of your time, energy and resources on seeking to please yourself?

Jesus deserves more than our table scraps.

Those who know me may be tired of hearing me say this, but all of our problems in life and especially our problems in marriage—are merely symptoms of our relationship (or lack of relationship) with God. The root is based on our relationship. Everything else that happens—good or bad—is the fruit of that relationship.

The fruit comes from the root—so, examine your fruit. Then consider the condition of your relationship.

I've talked a lot in this blog about returning to our First Love:  Jesus.

If you've strayed from Him and are stuck on the merry-go-round of selfishness, jump off and run back to Jesus. 

Once you begin to love Him again with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength, the result will be that your relationship with your spouse will flourish and bear fruit again—like a vineyard that has been carefully tended, nourished and watered.

Love one another—and enjoy the fruit.

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.