Category Archives: Challenges & Difficulty

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March 3, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, Fear & Doubt, God's Promises, Prayer, Trusting God

YAHWEH YIRAH – THE LORD WILL PROVIDE

Abraham looked around and saw a ram caught in a bush by its horns. He went and got it and offered it as a burnt offering instead of his son. Abraham named that place “The Lord Provides.” And even today people say, “On the Lord’s mountain he provides.” [Genesis 22:13-14 (GNT)]

It’s not easy for us to trust God’s provision; yet, when we trust, He provides. Abraham trusted God to provide and the ram replaced his son as an offering. God provided manna and water in the wilderness for forty years to the Israelites, food for both Elijah and Elisha, wisdom to Solomon, victory to Joshua, and dinner for thousands on a hillside. Why do I have trouble believing He’ll provide me with what I need when I ask?

In this day of fast food, streaming movies, instant messaging, microwaves, and being able to do my shopping from my desk with a click of a computer mouse, I seem to expect God to provide me with my needs as quickly and easily as Amazon. God’s provision, however, like everything else He does, goes according to His time frame, not ours! Moreover, God’s provision requires our trust in it!

It’s not easy to trust God to provide what we need, especially if we’re running on empty! For example, if I’d been the widow in yesterday’s message (“Would You Have Trusted?”), I would have been more likely to trust Elijah if there had been a few days’ supply of bread and oil rather than only enough for one meal. My trust would have waned with a bare cupboard.

Yesterday, I was running on empty and I desperately needed another devotion. I’d sat at my computer and written word after word to no avail. I was left with several half paragraphs, incomplete thoughts, disjointed Bible verses, and a sense of anxiety. “Where are the words for the next message?” I asked. Satan poked me with a dose of fear and doubt and I even wondered if I should discontinue this mission. “Lord,” I cried, “Provide! Please give me guidance and words!”

My fear and that prayer reminded me of the story of Elijah, the widow and God’s provision. My fingers raced over the keyboard and yesterday’s message nearly wrote itself. As I composed it, I realized how little I actually trust in God’s provision; those thoughts brought me to today’s message. See: He really does provide! We just have to stop running around in circles in a panic, pray and trust. Just pray and trust, and understand that God will provide, in God’s time and in His wonderful way.

God’s divine power has given us everything we need to live a truly religious life through our knowledge of the one who called us to share in his own glory and goodness. [2 Peter 1:3 (GNT)]

 

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February 27, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, Fear & Doubt, God's Plan, Prayer, Trusting God, Worry

ONE BITE AT A TIME

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Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. [Matthew 6:34 (NLT)]

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! When that elephant is on our dinner plate, however, that advice can be difficult to remember!

It was snowing and we were skiing in knee-deep power on an unfamiliar mountain. Totally lost, we ended up on a double-black diamond. With no alternative trail, we stared down a narrow steep run covered with ferocious looking moguls. Powder, steep, narrow and moguls: any two of the four pose no problem and three out of four are a possibility. Doing all four in one run? No way! All I could do was look down at the end of the trail and concede defeat. Defeat, however, wasn’t an option unless I planned on staying frozen in place until the spring thaw. I had to continue forward. Fortunately, the Holy Spirit intervened and reminded me of words spoken years earlier by a ski instructor: “You can get down anything if you take it one turn at a time.”

Too often we see the big picture when, in fact, we should look at the little one instead. We can become overwhelmed by both goals and challenges if we look too far ahead. We end up conceding defeat without even trying. “How will I ever get through the terrible twos?” cries the frustrated mother. “One temper tantrum at a time,” is the answer. “How will I ever get this huge Bible read?” asks the new Christian. One page at a time. How will I get through several months of chemo-therapy? One session at a time. How will I put together a 1,000-piece puzzle? One part at a time. How will I become a published author? One word at a time. How can I ever climb to the top of that mountain? One step at a time. How will we get to the Promised Land? One mile at a time. How will I get through a lifetime of sobriety? One day at a time. How will I endure this incredible pain? One hour at a time. As insurmountable as any challenge or goal may seem, it is merely a succession of small manageable bits and pieces. How do we do it? We do it one prayer at a time.

God will give us what we need for the moment and that’s all we really need. We don’t have to become anxious about getting to the bottom of the ski run or to the top of the mountain. We just have to manage to make the next turn or take the next step. We won’t be alone; He’ll be right there with us. When we tire, we can rest in His presence until God strengthens and restores us enough to make the next move. Our progress may not be fast or graceful and there may be a few stumbles or setbacks along the way. If we’re following God’s plan, however, He will get us where He wants us to be, one turn (or one bite) at a time.

God is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t worry. [Deuteronomy 31:8 (MSG)]

People with their minds set on you, you keep completely whole, Steady on their feet, because they keep at it and don’t quit. Depend on God and keep at it because in the Lord God you have a sure thing. [Isaiah 26:3-4 (MSG)]

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February 13, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, Holy Spirit, Joy

INDEPENDENCE OR IN DEPENDENCE?

At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, ”My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.” Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. [2 Corinthians 12:8-9 (MSG)]

“I can do it all by myself!” the toddler exclaims as he tries unsuccessfully to tie his shoes. We continue with similar exclamations throughout our lives: “I can do it on my own! I don’t need any help! I’m just fine!” Real trials however, challenge that belief. They prove we can’t do it on our own, we do need help, and we’re anything but fine.

We rarely think of our troubles as cause for rejoicing, yet Paul did. He wasn’t a masochist; he was a realist. Our troubles, like his, teach us what is really important and what it is that we truly need in our lives. It certainly isn’t possessions, wealth, or status; more important, it’s not self. Hardships make us come face to face with our limitations and vulnerability. It’s when we’re at wit’s end, at the “end of our rope” and can tolerate it no longer, that we finally acknowledge our weakness: no matter how strong we are, we are simply not strong enough. We come to understand that there needs to be less of us (our inflated egos and feelings of self-sufficiency) and a whole lot more of God! Paul’s words teach us that we must live life not independent of God, but rather in dependence upon Him! It is only when we finally acknowledge our weakness and let God take over that we will find the strength we need.

Father, give us joyful hearts when we must endure adversity and difficulties. Reassure us that victory will only come when we admit that, on our own, we are defeated. May we live our lives in joyful dependence on you knowing that, when your Holy Spirit fills us, we will, indeed, be strong.

Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut down to size – abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks! I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become. [2 Corinthians 12:10 (MSG)]

Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength! [Nehemiah 8:10b (NLT)]

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January 28, 2015

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Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, God's Grace & Love, God's Word: The Bible, Miracles, Prayer

NO SUCH WORD AS “IMPOSSIBLE”

I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? [Jeremiah 32:27 (NIV)]

butterfly (monarch) - naplesBotGa38WEBOur God is an awesome, all-powerful, and unlimited God. There is, however, one word that isn’t in His vocabulary: “impossible.” He is the God of amazing miracles; therefore, nothing for Him is impossible. If He chooses not to do what we ask of Him, it isn’t because he can’t; it’s because He won’t. Apparently, God has a different (and better) plan for us.

If nothing is too difficult for Him, why, do we insult Him by offering only timid and trivial prayers about lost glasses and broken appointments? Why do we hesitate giving Him the stuff that really matters: lost souls and broken hearts? Perhaps we’re hesitant to give God the big stuff because we’re afraid He can’t do it! Of course, He cares about the mundane aspects of our lives, but let’s honor Him with prayers that show we truly do believe in Him! As long as we always remember that prayer is request, not a demand, we can ask anything of God, secure in the knowledge that while it is in His power to do anything, it is also in His power to answer every prayer in His own way.

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord [James 1:6-7 (NIV)]

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January 27, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, Peace of God, Today: Make it Count, Trusting God, Worry

WAITING FOR THE OTHER SHOE

Praise the Lord! Happy is the person who honors the Lord, who takes pleasure in obeying his commands. … He is not afraid of receiving bad news; his faith is strong, and he trusts in the Lord. He is not worried or afraid. [Psalm 112:1,7-8a (GNT)]

“Waiting for the other shoe to drop” is an idiom that comes from when people lived in city apartments in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were built so that bedrooms were placed one under another. Without much insulation, it was common to hear one’s upstairs neighbor remove his shoes. As one shoe dropped to the floor, the person below waited expectantly to hear the other thump. Thus, we use that phrase to mean we’re waiting for a seemingly inevitable, and usually undesirable, event.

As I read through yesterday’s devotion, I thought again of my granddaughter’s heart condition. Although she was treated for one disorder several years ago, the fix was temporary. Her cardiologists expect the problem to reappear sometime soon as adolescence approaches. Her other two cardiac defects will continue to worsen as she ages; eventually open heart surgery will be necessary. There are a variety of shoes just waiting to drop in her life: an enlarged heart, blood clots, stroke, cardiac arrest, and arrhythmias to name a few.

If we lived our days thinking of all of the horrible things that could possibly go wrong, none of us would ever leave bed in the morning. There’s plenty in life that can assault us: cancer, tornadoes, terrorist attacks, stroke, Alzheimer’s, car accidents, hurricanes, identity theft, flu, divorce, the loss of a job, poisonous spiders, venomous snakes, rejection, the sudden death of a spouse, Ebola, and lightning to name a few. While some are far more likely than others, we can’t allow fear to paralyze us or keep us from living our lives today. We can’t go through life anxiously waiting for misfortunes to materialize or disaster to strike.

Does our family worry and sit around anticipating the moment when that other shoe drops on our grand? Of course not! We joyfully celebrate each day we share with her and live that day to its fullest. We trust her future to God and her physicians. We’re not naive; we know there are no medical guarantees and that her future is uncertain. Our faith, however, is not. We know that God will provide us with everything we need to face whatever the future holds. We’ll follow the examples of Abraham, Moses, the disciples and Paul; we’ll step out in faith, one day at a time, one step at a time, and trust our unpredictable tomorrows to our trusted God and His divine plan.

Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God. [Corrie Ten Boom]

It is not the cares of today, but the cares of tomorrow, that weigh a man down. For the needs of today we have corresponding strength given. For the morrow we are told to trust. It is not ours yet. It is when tomorrow’s burden is added to the burden of today that the weight is more than a man can bear. [George Macdonald]

Let us have confidence, then, and approach God’s throne, where there is grace. There we will receive mercy and find grace to help us just when we need it. [Hebrews 4:16 (GNT)]

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January 26, 2015

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Challenges & Difficulty, Church & Worship, Faith & Hope, Fear & Doubt, Holy Spirit, Knowing Him, Salvation: A New You

THE EVOLUTION OF FAITH

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. [John 1:12-13 (NLT)]

When we’re born again, we come into God’s family through faith in Jesus Christ. This spiritual birth is a new beginning, but for some of us, it seems like we’ve had several new beginnings in our lifetimes! In my infant Baptism, my sponsors dedicated me to God and promised that I would be raised in the Christian faith. At my Confirmation in eighth grade, I made a public affirmation of those same promises and accepted Jesus. My teen years were rather troubled and I briefly lost my way. Once in college, I found my way back and once more accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Accepting Christ, however, is not quite the same as walking with Him. When my children were quite young, I again lost sight of the Lord. Serious doubts even briefly kept me from taking communion. God led me back and, once again, I ate at His table. Several years later, perhaps because I got too busy, comfortable and overconfident, I grew lax in my prayer life until a series of crises brought me back to Him.

There were times in my life when I floundered spiritually and others when I walked confidently with the Lord as my shepherd. Whenever I lost my way, once I turned back to Jesus, the Father welcomed me back into His family with open arms. Each time, I’ve been reborn in my faith and each time my faith has become stronger. I can only hope and pray that this time my faith is great enough to keep me firm and strong in my belief until my dying day.

We are so incredibly blessed to have a loving and patient Father in Heaven. Like the father of the prodigal son, He forgives us when we wander off and He patiently waits for us to find our way home to him again.

We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found! [Luke 15:32 (NLT)]

Being born again is a new life, not of perfection but of striving, stretching, and searching — a life of intimacy with God through the Holy Spirit. There first must be an emptying, and then a refilling … It is a highly personal and subjective experience, possible only if we are searching for greater truths about ourselves and God. This experience is challenging, even painful at times, but ultimately deeply rewarding. It provides answers to the most disturbing questions about our existence, the purpose of life, and how to deal with sorrow, failure, loneliness, guilt, and fear. In it, we come to know that our gifts from God are not earned by our own acts but are given to us through his grace … For me, it has been an evolutionary thing. Rather than a flash of light or a sudden vision of God speaking, it involved a series of steps that have brought me steadily closer to Christ. [From “Living Faith” by Jimmy Carter]