Hope – Page 10 – Growing 4 Life

Wednesday Wisdom: Treasures in the Darkness

Leave a Comment / May 8, 2013 May 8, 2013

My family loves listening to dramatized stories on the radio, whether it’s Adventures in Odyssey, Focus on the Family Radio Theatre, or Down Gilead Lane. A producer of these stories that most people probably aren’t familiar with is Lamplighter Theatre. They have a series of old stories that are wonderful and so well done! Why am I providing this free commercial for them? Only because, just recently, I listened to a great one about a boy stolen by gypsies entitled The White Gypsy. Today, I am going to share the wise words that were spoken at the very end of this story:

There will be times in your life when you can’t see where you’re going. Remember: keep your heart focused on God. Because on the other side of your dark time, you will discover that your faith has expanded, your vision has increased, your strength has multiplied, and your ability to comfort others has deepened. And the greatest treasure of all is looking back and realizing in a vibrant new way that God has always been with you with every step of your passage.

That’s it for today. I know it’s short, but it is so full of rich truth, I am going to leave it at that. There are treasures to be found in the darkness–or sometimes perhaps it’s after the darkness– if we can but open our eyes to see them.

JAMES 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Wednesday Wisdom: The Incompatibility of Faith and Anxiety

2 Comments / May 1, 2013 May 1, 2013

In this current day it is not difficult to find something to worry about. The economy, financial woes, diseases and illnesses, the future of our country and the church, and struggling relationships are just a few things that can cause us to worry. But our generation doesn’t have the corner on the anxiety market. Throughout the ages, people have struggled with anxiety and fear. Thankfully, the Bible speaks to this sin (yes, it is a sin and not a disorder). In God’s Word we find that not even a sparrow falls unless it is God’s will. When we worry we forget just how big and powerful God is. We forget that His will, His timing, and His ways are not ours. Of course, this is so much easier to write than to live out. John MacArthur wrote a blog series on this topic on his Grace to You website last fall and I want to share one post here today. You can find a link to the whole series after this post. I hope you are challenged by this as much as I was–

If you worry, what kind of faith do you manifest? “Little faith,” according to Jesus (Matthew 6:30). If you are a child of God, you by definition have a heavenly Father. To act like you don’t, nervously asking, “What will I eat? What will I drink? What will I wear for clothing?” is to act like an unbeliever in God’s eyes (vv. 31-32).

Christians who worry believe God can redeem them, break the shackles of Satan, take them from hell to heaven, put them into His kingdom, transform their nature, and give them eternal life, but just don’t think He can get them through the next couple of days. That is pretty ridiculous. We can believe God for the greater gift and then stumble and not believe Him for the lesser one.

The Worrier Strikes Out at God

Some might say, “Why make a big deal out of worry? It’s just a trivial sin.” No, it is not. I suspect many mental illnesses and some physical illnesses are directly related to worry. Worry is devastating. But more important than what worry does to you is what it does to God. When you give in to worry you are saying, in effect, “God, I just don’t think I can trust You.” Worry strikes a blow at the person and character of God.

The Worrier Disbelieves Scripture

It breaks my heart to hear some Christians say, “I believe in the inerrancy of Scripture,” but then live as perpetual worriers. That’s blatant hypocrisy. It is incongruous to say how much we believe the Bible and then live in doubt and worry that God won’t fulfill what He has said in it.

The Worrier Is Mastered by Circumstances

When you or I worry, we are choosing to be mastered by our circumstances instead of by the truth of God. The uncertainties and trials of life pale in comparison to the greatness of our salvation. Jesus wants us to realize it doesn’t make sense to believe God can save us from eternal hell, but can’t help us in the practical matters of life. The apostle Paul reflects a similar desire in Ephesians 1:18-19.

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.

When you catch yourself worrying, go back to Scripture and have your eyes opened again.

The Worrier Distrusts God

When we worry, we are not trusting our heavenly Father. That means we don’t know Him well enough. Take heart—there’s an effective remedy: study the Word of God to find out who He really is and how He has supplied the needs of His people in the past. That will build your confidence in Him for the future. Stay fresh in God’s Word every day so that His truth is constantly on your mind. Otherwise Satan is apt to move into the vacuum and tempt you to worry about something. Instead, let God’s track record in Scripture and in your own life assure you that worry is needless because of God’s bounty, senseless because of God’s promise, useless because of its impotence to do anything productive, and faithless because it is characteristic of unbelievers.

Find this entire post here, and the entire series on attacking anxiety here.

Looking Back or Looking Forward?

4 Comments / April 15, 2013 April 15, 2013

Sometimes you hear just the right sermon at just the right time.

That’s exactly what happened yesterday. The pastor didn’t know that I needed to hear his message. But God did.

You see, I’ve been spending quite a bit of time recently looking in the rear view mirror. Unexcited about what’s ahead of me and mourning what is past, I didn’t really think much of it. Just figured that it’s part of this time in my life. I certainly didn’t think that I was disappointing my heavenly Father with my longing looks back to the past.

But yesterday I realized that I need to stop looking in the rear view mirror and place my focus on what’s ahead of me. Here are a few points that really hit me as to why this is so important, straight from this sermon–

1) While some review of history is helpful (we’ve all heard the quote “those who ignore history are destined to repeat it), we need to be so very careful that this focus doesn’t turn into an obsession with regret, revenge, or remembering the “good ole’ days”.

2) Looking in the rear view mirror always leads to a focus on self–looking at my reflection, looking at what I’ve accomplished, how I’ve been hurt, what I have lost, my failures, my successes–it’s all about me. But when I look forward, that all fades and I can embrace the future and place my focus on God and others–right where it belongs.

3) Success and failure are always history. We can’t let our past successes define us. We can’t let our past failures destroy us.

4) We are told to look straight ahead in the scriptures. I am not sure why I never noticed these verses before. Notice the words in bold:

PROVERBS 4:23-27

²³Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.
²⁴Put away from you a deceitful mouth,
And put perverse lips far from you.
²⁵Let your eyes look straight ahead,
And your eyelids look right before you.
²⁶Ponder the path of your feet,
And let all your ways be established.
²⁷Do not turn to the right or the left;
Remove your foot from evil.

Let your eyes look straight ahead. Not behind you nor to the right or left. But in front of you. There it is–commanded right in scriptures.

Wow. Never noticed that before.

And so it is with humility that I realize that longing for the past is not only detrimental to me, but displeases my heavenly Father. Funny how you can be so blind to some things–and then one day, God opens your eyes.

I thank Him for showing me this. And now that my eyes have been opened, I have a responsibility to change my focus. It won’t happen instantly, but, thankfully, I know I don’t need to do it alone, but can be confident that the Holy Spirit will be with me, strengthening and guiding me.

Where is your focus today? Are you stuck in the past? In regret? Or thoughts of revenge? Or perhaps dwelling on past successes or failures? Let’s take our eyes off the rear view mirror this week and instead turn our eyes straight ahead towards our Savior and others.

Wednesday Wisdom: God, You are Faithful

Leave a Comment / April 10, 2013 April 10, 2013

There are so many beautiful words that describe God: Loving, Kind, Good, Just, Perfect, Omnipotent, to name a few. But I am not sure any is more comforting than the word FAITHFUL. Lamentations 3:22-23 tells us about this: Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

About five years ago now, Christian music artist Steven Curtis Chapman found out about God’s faithfulness the hard way. He and his family experienced a tragedy that none of us would wish on our worst enemy. I heard him say in an interview that he had to figure out if all of the stuff he had sung about for so many years was actually true. Through it all, he grew to understand God’s faithfulness in a way that only those who experience anguished and heart-breaking adversity can. I love this song so much. It is honest and raw and oh, so hopeful. God is faithful!

FAITHFUL by Steven Curtis Chapman

I am broken, I am bleeding,
I’m scared and I’m confused,
but You are faithful.
Yes You are faithful.
I am weary, unbelieving.
God please help my unbelief!
‘Cause You are faithful.
Yes, You are faithful.

I will proclaim it to the world.
I will declare it to my heart
And sing it when the sun is shining.
I will scream it in the dark.

You are faithful!
You are faithful!
When you give and when You take away,
even then still Your name
is faithful!
You are faithful!
And with everything inside of me,
I am choosing to believe
You are faithful.

I am waiting for the rescue
that I know is sure to come,
‘Cause You are faithful.
Yes, You are faithful.
And I’ve dropped anchor in Your promises,
and I am holding on,
‘Cause You are faithful.
God, You are faithful.

I will proclaim it to the world.
I will declare it to my heart
And sing it when the sun is shining.
I will scream it in the dark.

So faithful…

Though I cannot have the answer
that I’m wanting to demand,
I’ll remember You are God
and everything is in Your hand.
With Your hands You put the sun, the moon,
the stars up in the sky,
for the sake of love, You hung Your own Son
on the cross…to die…

You are faithful…
Yes, You are faithful…
When you give and when You take away,
even then, great is Your faithfulness!
Great is Your faithfulness!

And with everything inside of me,
I am choosing to believe You’re faithful!
Oh, oh, oh…
Oh, oh, oh…
When you give and when You take away,
even then still Your name
is faithful!
You are faithful!
And with everything inside of me,
I am choosing to believe…

…You’re faithful…

**If you are not familiar with the tragedy that beset this family, you can read about it here.

**You can listen to this beautiful song on YouTube here.

Not been there and not done that

Leave a Comment / April 1, 2013 April 1, 2013

I was having a conversation with two friends who had decided to go tanning. I didn’t understand why they would want to do this, given some of the health risks. I mean, after all, what does it really matter if they are a little pale? And then one of them said, “You wouldn’t understand.”

Because my complexion is not fair, I wouldn’t understand.

Hmmm…she had a point. While I am not really dark complected, I am not really fair, either. So I couldn’t understand.

But did that disqualify me from expressing concern?

Should it disqualify me from expressing concern?

What do you think?

This is an important conversation, because this same logic applies to what we do with opportunities to share the gospel with others. Have you ever shied away from witnessing to a drug addict or a prostitute or a Muslim, because you felt you couldn’t possibly understand?

I know I have. I have this mindset that the Lord couldn’t possibly use me to witness to someone that is so different than me…who has faced things that I have never faced.

But am I automatically disqualified if I haven’t “been there and done that”?

That is why I have always admired those people who have come to Christ and then been radically and forever changed…saved from addictions and false religions and other very dramatic sins.

I find myself thinking that they can be so much more effective for Jesus than I can. After all, I was raised in a Christian home, married a Christian man, and have spent most of my life knowing the One who saved me. I have changed…oh, my, yes, I have changed from the person I was when I came to Christ, but it has been very gradual…like a gentle, ever-climbing rise on a graph.

Should I even bother trying to witness if I do not have a dramatic testimony?

I think so, and here’s why-

1. It isn’t about me. God draws men to Himself. I am just an instrument in His hands (John 6:44).

2. I am not without resources. God’s Word is a living and powerful tool for this job (Hebrews 4:12).

3. I am called to share the gospel. It is not an option, it is a command (Mark 16:15).

4. And, most importantly, because of love for my fellow man. If I love others, how could I not be compelled to share the amazing and wonderful hope within me (I John 4:7-8)?

And so, yes, I believe God can use me even if I have “not been there and not done that”.

While it is not dramatic by the world’s standards, I can say with absolute confidence that I have been saved from my sins and have been given the peace that passeth understanding while here on earth and a glorious hope for my future! All of this is because Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead all of those years ago. We can be reconciled to God because of this!

All we like sheep have gone astray (Isaiah 53:6). There is none righteous, no, not one (Romans 3:10). I guess when it comes right down to it, all of us believers can understand what it means to be rescued from a life dedicated to self and sin, to be given renewed hearts, and to be given the promise of heaven. No matter where we came from, this alone should qualify us to share boldly with others.