Reflection Of Hope

On my way home from work the other day, I wept and prayed for a certain student’s soul. 

This student has chosen darkness because, to them, there is no evidence of light. I cried out to God for mercy. For grace. For hope. And He reminded me, “There is always hope. As long as I am in the world, there is light and there is hope. Do the works of the Father as long as you have the light, for night is coming when no one will work.” As I thought about that this morning during my prayer time, I uttered by the Spirit, “The light is still here because I am here. You are in me and I am in You. As long as Your people are here, Your light is still in this world. And there is still hope.”

In my devotional this morning, Amy Carmichael wrote of a few evenings in India when it appeared that the sun set in the east. She said in the mountainous west, the clouds covered the valley and mountains, and there was no light, only darkness. She said, “yet the eastern sky was aglow” because “that sky saw what we could not see. It saw the light of the sun that was shining beyond the clouds that closed our valley in and covered our mountains. It was looking at and reflecting that great glory.” 

As soon as I read that, the Lord communicated to me, “that is what my people are to those who dwell in darkness.” We are a reflection of the light that they cannot see. Because we see what they cannot see. We see the glory of the Lord. We understand things that the flesh and natural mind encased in darkness cannot perceive. We are a spiritual people, seated in heavenly places— a place where there is no darkness and is perpetually aglow with the light of Christ. 

Then the Spirit brought back to my mind the morning when I was washing my youngest daughter’s hair, when the soap was creeping toward her eyes and she was afraid and cried out, “Mommy! I can’t see!” And I calmly responded, “It’s okay baby. I can.”  In that moment, I reflected the Lord to her. She was in darkness and I was in the light…

…because I could see what she could not see. 

(Is 9:1,2) Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those in distress…The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.

(John 8:12) Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”

(John 1:4) In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.

(Matt 5:14,15) You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

(John 9:4,5) As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

(John 12:35) Then Jesus told them, "For a little while longer, the Light will be among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going..”

“Mommy, I Can’t See”

“Mommy, I can’t see.”

—“It’s okay baby, I can.”

As I helped my youngest wash her hair this morning, shampoo began to ooze toward my daughter’s closed eyes. I could hear the fear in my baby’s voice as she felt the encroaching soap headed toward her eyes and cried out, “Mommy, I can’t see!” And I tenderly responded, “It’s okay baby, I can.” All she could see was darkness, but I was in the light. She could see nothing, but I could see everything, and because of that, she was safe. 

In that moment, I thought about how many times I’ve cried out to the Lord like that. “Lord, I can’t see!” And how many times His response to me was the same as mine to my daughter, “It’s okay, I can.”

I can’t see, but He can. In times when all I can see is darkness, He dwells in the light. When we can see nothing, He can see everything… 

…and because of that, we are safe. 

(Prov 15:3) The eyes of the LORD are in every place, observing the evil and the good.

(Is 40:11) He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.

(Ps 121:3-5,8) He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber. Behold, He who watches over Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand…The LORD will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore.

Love Unto Obedience

“Just get it over with.”

My 7 year-old daughter got in trouble this morning. For her punishment, I gave her the option to be grounded in her room all day or to just get it over with and get a spanking. She thought about it for a little while, and finally said, “Just get it over with.”

In the aftermath, we sat on the bed together and I told her that I loved her. I told her that my rules were good rules that protected her mind and her heart, and her spiritual and physical well-being. That my rules are meant to teach her self-control and how to make good choices. Then I asked her if she trusted me. She thought about that for a minute, then said, “Yes.” And I responded, “Then you need to trust my rules.”

I’ve heard people say that the high-water mark of a true believer is love. And with that, I do not necessarily disagree. However I would expound upon that and include Jesus’ words, “If you love Me, you will keep my commandments”— commandments that are not a yoke upon our neck, but a sword to our heart. Commandments that do not shine the outside of the cup, but deal with the development of godly character within. Commandments that are good rules that protect our mind and heart, and spiritual and physical well-being. Commandments that are meant to teach self-control and how to make good choices. 

Commandments that are followed because we trust that both He and His rules are good. 

(John 13:34,35) A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.

(John 14:15,21) If you love Me, you will keep My commandments…Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.

(John 14:23) Jesus replied, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”

(John 15:10) If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and remain in His love.

(1 John 2:3) By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments.

A Purpose And Plan

Crusty. Stale. Inedible. 

I made extra biscuits this morning. I knew that they wouldn’t be eaten. I knew that they would be left in the pan…crusty. stale. inedible. My children would have thrown these biscuits away. But I have a purpose for these biscuits that my children don’t know about. I have a plan in mind that my children are not aware of. 

As I carefully placed these biscuits aside until I’m ready to use them, I thought about the institution of the earthly church…crusty. stale. inedible. Vast numbers of believers are increasingly becoming aware of Christ knocking at the door of Laodicea. Many are coming out of the house that is desolate. They stand on the porch of the desolate house as the creditors come to collect. The bricks that built this house were borrowed from the ways of the world, and the world is a merciless financier. But the Lord will not leave us as orphans on the porch. 

In four days, I will crush these biscuits into pieces and use them to make a delicious cornbread dressing. I will take what is crusty, stale, and inedible, and I will crush it to turn it into something both desirable and nutritious. I will take what my children would have thrown away, and turn it into something else. Because I have a purpose that my children don’t know about… 

…I have a plan in mind that they are not aware of. 

(John 14:16-18) And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.

(Rev 18:4) Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.”

(Hab 2:6,7) Will not all of these take up a taunt against him, speaking with mockery and derision: ‘Woe to him who amasses what is not his and makes himself rich with many loans! How long will this go on?’ Will not your creditors suddenly arise and those who disturb you awaken? Then you will become their prey.

(Jer 18:4) But the vessel that he was shaping from the clay became flawed in his hand; so he formed it into another vessel, as it seemed best for him to do.

Grace, Grace, And More Grace

“I’m giving everybody grace this week. And you need lots of grace.”

Yesterday morning, one of my High School students turned in their Constantine essay late. I teach Secondary ELA, but I’m also the High School Bible teacher. While I was out the last two weeks dealing with my mother’s passing, one of the assignments I left for the High School Bible class was to write a facts vs. myths essay about Constantine that was due last Friday. 

When this student handed me their essay, they said, “I probably didn’t write enough.” And I responded, “It’s okay kiddo, I’m giving everybody grace this week. And you need lots of grace.” Then tears immediately welled up in this student’s eyes as they responded, “Yes, I do.” In that moment, the Lord reminded me how we often tend to think that our standing with Him is based on “doing enough,” when really it’s based more on recognizing our need for grace. Our Lord is far more interested in hearts that are devoted to Him, rather than hands that do enough work. 

I can’t share the backstory on this student and their particular struggles with responsibility, with identity, and with other things outside of school. But suffice it to say, that the Lord placed this student in my classroom because Jesus said it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. Mind you, not those who are rebellious and recalcitrant in their sinful sickness, but those who are wounded and languishing in it. The smoldering wicks and the bruised reeds…

…and the poor in spirit who need lots of grace. 

(Matt 5:3) Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

(James 4:6,7) But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

(Matt 12:19-21) “…He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish, till He leads justice to victory. In His name the nations will put their hope.”

(Luke 5:30-32) But the Pharisees and their scribes complained to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus answered, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Abiding In The Beloved

“Does a baby reach for its mother when it is in her womb?”

While dealing with my mom’s passing, the last week and a half of my life has seemed like a dream. Each day felt like I was just a body going through the motions of living. I’ve gone back and forth between feeling nothing at all, and feeling everything all at once. The wave of grace that has been carrying me along, brought me and my family back home safely yesterday afternoon. The girls went back to school this morning. And I went out to my barn.

As I sat on the fourth step to the hay loft, I said to the Lord, “I know You have been carrying me through all this. I know you are with me and will never leave me. Yet why do I so often feel like I am reaching for you? Why do I feel like I am frantically trying to grasp your hand in the darkness?” And in His infinite mercy He responded, “Does a baby reach for its mother when it is in her womb?” The voice of the Beloved speaks, and we melt. We cry out, and He responds, and we are undone. 

The Lord speaks because He is alive. He ministers to us because His Spirit indeed resides within us. And in that moment, the Lord showed me a baby in its mothers womb. A baby that may desperately reach out to grasp its mother, not realizing that it abides within her. A baby that dwells in darkness, but the darkness is the mother herself, surrounding the baby in her womb. There is nothing that comes between the mother and the baby in her womb. The baby has no need to reach out…

…because the baby is both nourished by the mother and surrounded by her, because the baby abides within her. 

(John 15:4,5) Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch is not able to bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one abiding in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit. For apart from Me you are able to do nothing.

(John 14:16,17) And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world is not able to receive, because it does not see Him nor know Him. But you know Him, for He abides with you and He will be in you.

(1 John 2:27,28) And as for you, the anointing you received from Him abides in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But just as His true and genuine anointing teaches you about all things, so abide in Him as you have been taught. And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears we might have boldness and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.

Unfair Grace

Grace seems like such an unfair thing. 

To have a lifetime of sin and wrongs committed against others, and then to be able to confess your wrongs, to cry out, “I’m sorry!” from the depths of your soul, and be forgiven, seems unfair to those who suffered those wrongs. It seems like we should have to make amends somehow. To recompense those we’ve wronged, those we’ve hurt. That the burden of restitution for our wrongs should lay solely upon us. But that’s not how grace works. And that seems so unfair. 

As my mother lay dying, I find myself going back over all the times I hurt her. All the wrongs I committed, the treachery and selfishness. All the broken things. As I work through the grief process and the toll of loss…loss of what was and what wasn’t…I have so many “I’m sorry”s to say that she can’t hear. But the Lord hears. The Lord sees. I ask Him to see me in my nakedness. See me exposed before Him and wash me clean. I ask for the grace that seems so unfair. 

We all need this seemingly “unfair” grace. We all need this great equalizer which has been graciously imparted to us through the suffering and death of our Lord. Because that’s one of the things the cross accomplished: “unfair” grace. When we deserve judgement and we deserve to have to make restitution for our wrongs, the cross gives us the ability to cry out for forgiveness and for forgiveness be given, no matter how many wrongs we’ve committed, because Christ makes that restitution on our behalf. So great is His love for me. So great is His love for you. 

What a glorious “unfair” grace we’ve been given. As for God, His way is perfect. 

(Eph 1:7) In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.

(Acts 20:24) However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace.

(Heb 4:16) Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

(James 4:6) But He gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

Lord Of The Valley, Lord Of The Mountainside

“After He had sent them away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone…”

For all intents and purposes, men build far more cities and towns in valleys than they do on mountainsides. Jesus could have prayed anywhere, but we are told that He climbed a mountainside and there He found Himself alone. Perhaps because men are less inclined to climb mountainsides, and more inclined to settle in valleys.

It is not that we cannot pray in the valley. We can. But we are not meant to settle there. If we stay in the valley, we only see ourselves surrounded by looming obstacles. We see only the crookedness of the path, rather than the straightened portion stretching out ahead, because we cannot see what lies in the distance, we only see what lies directly before us. Indeed, there are times in which we need to examine and ponder what lies directly before us, yet to dwell there too long is to become blinded by the “now” and have no vision of the “to be.”

Thus, there are times when we may find ourselves in the valley, pondering and praying about the “now.” And there are times when we will need to climb the mountainside and find ourselves alone, praying for a vision of “to be.” Yet we are not meant to build a city in the valley, nor make a home on the mountainside. 

We are meant to dwell with Christ, Who is Lord of both the valley and the mountainside.

(Matt 14:22,23) Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowds. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray. Later that night, He was there alone…

(Ps 23:4,5) Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

(John 16:32,33) “Look, an hour is coming and has already come when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and you will leave Me all alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”

It’s Okay To Struggle

 

“Struggling” doesn’t mean “failing”…

One of my students has been particularly down lately. A lot of changes are happening in this student’s life, and change can make us feel afraid of the unknown. This student has also encountered a lot of new academic material this year, particularly in my class, and challenges often tend to make us feel frustrated. As this student and I chatted during break, one of the things I asked during our conversation was, “How’s school going?” And the student responded, “I’m struggling.” 

And I looked this student square in the eyes and said, “Perhaps…..but struggling is not failing. It’s okay to struggle.”

(John 16:33) 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.

Where Can I Flee

David, while meditating on God’s sovereignty and ubiquity, asks, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?” 

Of course, these are rhetorical questions, as he well knows that the answer is, “nowhere.” Jesus said, “Yet I am not alone because the Father is with Me.” He said this to His apostles whose time of abandoning Him was near. The hour when each would be scattered, “and you will leave Me all alone…” 

Jesus was well-acquainted with loneliness, yet it never consumed Him because He knew He was never truly alone. He knew the heavenly truth that the Father dwells in our “now”s and our “to be”s. There is no life in our past, for it only exists in eternal record. God does not dwell where there is no life, He dwells in the present and in the future. He dwells in the future because “He goes before you,” and He dwells in the present because He “will be with you.” This deuteronomical promise is for our “now”s and our “to be”s. 

Loneliness is not predicated upon proximity, for one can feel loneliness in a crowd. Loneliness springs forth from the inability to relate. Jesus began His long walk to Golgotha as soon as He began His public ministry. As the months and weeks passed, the crowds dwindled. And when it came time to die for the sins of mankind, there was no human on earth who could truly relate, no human who could understand, and Jesus found Himself alone in the crowd. Yet He was not alone because His Father dwelled in His “now” and His “to be.”

Oh Lord, where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? Nowhere. For You dwell eternally in all my “now”s and my “to be”s. 

(Deut 31:7,8) Then Moses called for Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance. The LORD Himself goes before you; He will be with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”

(John 6:64-66) However, there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him.) Then Jesus said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless the Father has granted it to him.” From that time on many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him.

(John 14:16-18) And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

Overflowing Pools

All that I know of the Lord has been given, not gained. 

When I close my eyes and reach out into the darkness, when I grope into the vast unknown, I grasp nothing. My hands always return to me empty. Yet when I sit and wait upon the Lord, I receive. He pours Himself in from above, like a brook pouring into a pool. The pool does not fill itself, it simply receives, yet it is always full. Not because it works so very hard to be full, but because it has learned how to wait and receive. 

We do not understand God because we figure Him out. We understand God because He reveals Himself to us. God has made a creature capable of comprehending Him. What a marvelous thing. As the Lord peels back layer after layer of the creature’s heart, He gets to the substance hidden deep within: the desire to know Him. “One thing I have asked of the Lord…” David says. One thing. He asks for one, single solitary thing: “That I may dwell in the house of the Lord to gaze upon His beauty and contemplate Him.” Proximity to God for the purpose of knowing Him and worshiping Him— that is the only worthy desire in the human heart. 

The Lord gives…

I give you my body and my blood to atone for your sin (Luke 22:19,20)

My peace I give to you (John 15:27)

I give eternal life (John 10:28)

I give food that will endure (John 6:27)

I will give you a new heart and a new spirit (Ex 36:26)

I give you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19)

I give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32)

…and we are called to receive. 

Lord, teach us to receive 

That which is poured out from above

That we may be pools of living water

Overflowing with incorruptible love

O Lord, make me a pool 

A pool that is filled by Your hand  

A pool that cries out, “Lord I cannot…

..but O Lord, I know that You can!”

Lord, teach us to wait

To wait as You show us your ways 

That we may learn of Your faithfulness 

As we follow You all of our days

(Ps 27:4) One thing I have asked of the LORD; this is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and seek Him in His temple.

Dead Branches

There are many dead branches still attached to the tree. These branches assume that because they are still attached to the tree, that they are a part of the tree. They are not. They will be pruned by the hand of the Lord and burned. 

Our Lord’s mind toward us is corporate, always, because as the Body of Christ our destiny and make-up are corporate. However, His dealings with us right now are personal and individual. He is building His temple living stone by living stone, and those stones are masoned and set individually. The winnowing fork causes upheaval, tossing grain into the wind for separation to take place. The chaff goes in the direction of the wind, but the grain falls onto solid ground. The grain is indeed falling into heaps, but we have yet to be gathered into the storehouse. Selah. 

(1 Pet 2:5; Eph 2:20-22; Matt 3:12)

Be careful of those who have made a ministry of criticism, those who mistake reviling and slander for Spirit-guided reproach. For the wisdom from above is indeed first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and of good fruits, impartial, and sincere. Selah. 

(James 3:17; Ps 44:15,16; Ps 109:27-29)

Be very careful who you listen to in these days of spiritual treachery, for these are not our days of spiritual glory but of spiritual humiliation. Be wary of the Peters, who speak emphatic “You shall..”s, yet are oblivious that the entirety of their ministrations in the name of the Lord are built not on the concerns of God, but the concerns of men. Selah. 

(Luke 8:18; John 13:8; Matt 16:22,23; Phil 2:8)

Be careful that the light in you is not darkness. Perception is the prism of the heart. Many are focused upon the faults in the matrix and the lens through which they look only darkens their heart. Let your gaze be set singly upon the Beloved, then your perception will be healthy and full of light. Selah. 

(Luke 11:34,35; 2 Cor 3:18)

Be careful that you do not follow men of empty words nor men of strong words. For the Lord is not raising up men in this day, but humbling them. A disciple is not above his Master, and it pleased the Lord to crush His own Son. For in suffering, our Lord learned obedience. And so shall it be with His disciples as well. Selah. 

(Luke 6:40; Is 53:10; Heb 5:8; Prov 17:27)

Be careful that you are faithful in the little things. Those who walk in the flesh seek the extraordinary, yet the Spirit of the Lord dwells in the ordinary. For it is in the ordinary things of life in which a person’s character is revealed. A soul is tempered through a trickle of tedium far more than a torrent of travail. Selah. 

(Luke 16:10; James 1:2,3)

Be careful then, how you walk, not as unwise but wise. Be careful how you listen, whoever has wisdom will be given more, and whoever does not have wisdom, even what they think they have will be taken from them. Be careful how you build, for if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. Selah. 

(1 Cor 3:11; Eph 5:15; Mark 4:25; Luke 14:29)

Be careful that you are not a dead branch that will be cut off, but living branch abiding in the Lord to bear fruit. 

(John 16:2-6; Rom 11:19-22)

Just Shine

Just shine. 

If we think that a flower’s purpose is to be observed and enjoyed by humanity in some measurable way, then there would be an awful lot of flowers on this planet that bloomed in vain.   A flower in the desert is still beautiful whether someone observes its beauty or not. A flower’s beauty and purpose is not intrinsically linked to human observation. The same holds true for those who reflect the Lord’s beauty. 

As we grow in our understanding of the Lord, one of the more difficult human notions we will wrestle with crucifying, is the notion that if a thing does something, it does so for a discernible purpose. For many of us, “purpose” is a subtle idol. The sheer notion of something not having a humanly discernible purpose causes us to eyeball the ledge over the abyss of nihilism. What is the purpose of unseen beauty in the desert? Our flesh will fight to find an answer to this question, but our spirit must learn to rest in the notion that there may be no humanly discernible answer. 

Sometimes, all you will be called to do is just shine. To shine unobserved, unrecognized, unacknowledged. To bloom and to be beautiful in a place where no one around you is capable of discerning your beauty. And you will struggle with the tempting notion that you have no purpose. That your shining is in vain because it is unobserved. But you must remember that God’s beauty is not determined by observation. His beauty just is. For no particular reason at all…

…so it’s okay for you to just shine. 

(Prov 25:2) It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to search it out.

(Deut 29:29) The hidden things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, so that we may follow all the words of this law.

(Rom 11:33) Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!

(Is 30:15) This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.

As For God…

“As for God, His way is perfect…” (Ps 18:30)

Perhaps there is no other Scripture in all of the Bible that has caused so much death to my own flesh, while at the same time, built up my faith into a mighty rampart. Such a seemingly simple declaration, yet it is a truth that will immediately silence both the desire of my flesh and Satan’s temptations. It is a truth that girds my mind against both self-pity and spiritual doubt. It is an immovable sentinel against the ever-present, “Did God really say…?” (Gen 3:1)

This “Did God really say…?” notion comes in many forms and in myriad ways. It plagues both believers and unbelievers alike. It is an ever-present enmity against the wisdom, understanding, and will of God. It is both overt and subtle, it was with us in the Garden and it is with us now. It is the plumb line of human conscience, as to whether we will trust in God or trust in ourselves. 

Whatever form of “Did God really say…?” that may be wreaking havoc in our life or causing us to stumble, our answer must always be, “As for God, His way is perfect..His word is flawless.” Especially when we find ourselves doubting it. Especially when we find ourselves in distressing circumstances. Especially when we find ourselves wondering if God will really save us from our enemies, draw us out of deep waters, and complete His work in us. Indeed He will…

because as for God, His way is perfect. 

(Luke 22:42) “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

(Ps 23:4,5) Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

(Ps 18:30-32) As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God? The God who encircles me with strength, And makes my way blameless?

(Phil 1:6) For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus.

(Heb 7:25 AMP) Therefore He is able also to save forever (utterly, completely, perfectly, for eternity) those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede and intervene on their behalf [with God].

Replaced With Christ

This morning, I saw someone post the devotional I wrote a few years ago about my little chicken, Audrey. 

The devotional went viral the first time I posted it, and each year around this time of year, I usually start seeing it passed around on Facebook and it always has a different name attached to it. And each time I see it, I’m tempted to raise my hand up and say, “I wrote that.” And the Lord always reminds me, “It is not your writing people respond to, it is My Spirit within it.” And my flesh groans as it is pierced by His reminder. My ego grimaces under the keen thrust of His truth. And then a little more of “self” dies, and a little more of Christ takes its place. 

The truth is, any true work for the Lord, is by the Lord. The moment we consciously try to take credit for it, He allows us to receive credit, and in that moment, His Spirit departs from that work. And then we are left with credit for a dead work. Oswald Chambers said, “The true character of the loveliness that tells for God is always unconscious…So often we mar God’s designed influence through us by our self-conscious effort to be consistent and useful.” 

Chambers said there must be “the relinquishing of my claim to my right to myself in every phase.” We don’t crucify ourselves, but the crucifixion of our flesh is something we choose— “Whoever does not carry his cross cannot…” The first step is to assent to crucifixion by our own free will, just like Jesus did— “I lay it down of my own accord…” The next step is to agree with God that, “As for God, His way is perfect”— Jesus didn’t go to the cross indignant, but “for the joy set before Him He endured the cross.” Then the next step is to consciously reject what we want and accept what God wants instead— “…yet not my will, but Yours be done.” And then we die a little. Or maybe we die a lot. 

Either way, we die, so that Christ can live in us. 

(Matt 6:5,6) And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

(Gal. 2:20; 6:14) I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me…But as for me, may I never boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

(Is 48:10,11) Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned? And I will not give My glory to another.