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Tagged ‘Isaiah‘

Sep 06

2017

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Tags Anxiety brokenness circumstance Comfort Control created drawn closer fall short favor God God is at work God's Purpose Heart hurricane I am image Isaiah life Love loved overcoming providing purpose Rest Sailboat seasons soul sovereignty of God stand firm supreme theological terms Trials truth understand work

God Is Completely In Control

In July, I wrote we are freed from anxiety when we understand God owns everything, and we are merely the stewards of what he gives us to manage. As you know, the day after posting the article, my sailboat went aground in Lake Okeechobee. The rudder was severely damaged, and the vessel currently sits in long-term storage at a marina waiting for the repair. I am excited to see how God is at work in the situation. A few weeks ago I was asked to do a kitchen remodel for friends of mine. Another friend asked if I would help with their guest house remodel. Yet another friend asked if I would remodel their guest bathroom. Suddenly I had weeks of work lined up! God moved quickly to provide the work. This is the type of work I have done in the past to supplement my ministry income. Through the years, I’ve gutted two different personal properties and rebuilt them, so I have a lot of experience from which to draw. I am grateful God seems to be providing for the rudder by providing this work for me.

Understanding God’s ownership is the first step to overcoming anxiety. The next step is to understand God is fully in control. Not only does he own everything, he also controls everything. Nothing takes him by surprise. He is always in control of our circumstances. In theological terms, we call this the sovereignty of God. This one thought has saturated my mind in the past two months. God is sovereign. He is in control. I am not. And this is fine with me.

Let’s let God speak for himself in regards to this important truth. This is what he says through the prophet Isaiah:

Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,” calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it. (Isaiah 46:8-11, ESV)

Pause for a moment, and let those words saturate your soul. God declares of himself, “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.” He is above all and over all. There is no one like him. He is supreme above all.

When we understand his sovereignty, we get a better picture of ourselves. We are not God. Our ways are not like his. We are created in the image of God, but we are not at all like him. We do not think like God, but we like to think we can understand him and his ways. Herein is where we struggle. We want to understand why trials fall upon us. We want to understand God’s purposes. We want to understand God. But is this even possible? I think not.

It is better to love God than to try to understand him. Perhaps this is where we fall short. We spend our days trying to understand him instead of just crawling up on his lap and enjoying him, loving him, pressing into him. Far better to enjoy his presence than to weary ourselves trying to understand what cannot be understood. In the end, he is God and there is no other. His ways are higher than ours.

God also declares his ways and purposes cannot be thwarted. He will do what he has set out to do. Nothing and no one can change this. He proclaims, “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose… I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it” (Isaiah 46:10-11, ESV).

Ultimately, God’s purpose for my life is for me to love him with all my heart. This is his greatest desire for me. How God brings this about in my life may vary from one moment to the next. Sometimes there are seasons of favor when all is well. We celebrate these moments of the excess of God’s kindness in our lives. In the blessings, we are drawn closer to him. Other times he brings great trials, and in our brokenness we turn to him for comfort. God can use both seasons to draw us closer to himself. Whether he chooses to bless or to burden is not for us to know. It is only for us to know he waits with open arms to draw us to himself in either circumstance.

When God provided the sailboat for me, many remarked that it was the favor of God. What happened to God’s favor when the sailboat went aground? Was not this a moment of his favor as well? We recognize God’s favor when times are good, but when trials come, we are quick to forget he is always in control. What if God shows us the highest favor by allowing great trials into our lives, knowing they may draw us closer to himself?

Our trials bring great pause, because they contain the greatest choice we have to make. Will we choose to let the trial push us away from God and our relationship with him, or will we choose to crawl unto his lap instead?

I choose his lap. I am a child of the sovereign God. When I’ve skinned my knees, I just want to be held by him. And so I run to him. He pulls me up onto his lap, and holds me close to himself. This is enough for me. In that moment, I am loved, and I love him for it. I don’t even care if he tells me the greater purpose he is working out. I rest in the knowledge that he is sovereign. He is fully in control. I do not have to understand him and his ways in order to love him and feel loved by him.

My friend, are you in a season of favor, and all is well? Draw closer to God. Are you in a season of trial, and struggling to get through the day? Draw closer to God. Stop trying to understand what cannot be understood. Just love him. Let this be enough. God is sovereign, and he is also good. His purposes will not be thwarted, and neither will his love for you.

God is completely in control.

As I sit at my desk and write this, I am aware there is a hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean grinding its way toward my home. It will be interesting to see where God directs it. After all, he is sovereign.

I enjoy reading your thoughts. Please write your comments below.

May 02

2017

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Tags Christ Christmas Isaiah Matthew

Celebrating Christ

Merry Christmas! I hope you are enjoying this Christmas season. But if you are like me, this can be the most chaotic time of the year.

Here’s where I struggle. In the midst of the Christmas season, when I am supposed to be celebrating the birth of Christ, I find my attention pulled away to anything but Christ. My schedule feels crushing during this time of year, and it can easily draw my focus away from my relationship with God. Even as I sit here trying to write this devotional, the notifications keep coming in on my cell phone letting me know another email has arrived, a calendar appointment is coming up, or another text needs attention. The funny thing is that I had turned off the ringer so I could work undisturbed, but the flashing light on the phone still let me know that something needed attention. I finally had to turn the phone over so I would not be distracted. Oh the joy!

So here is my plan during the Christmas season. Whenever possible, I make time to pull away from everything and spend some quality time with the one I love most – God. I turn off the Christmas music. I turn off my cell phone. I set aside the shopping list. I put off responding to email. Then I settle into my favorite chair with a cup of coffee and talk with God. Finding the time to do this is one of the most difficult things I do during this time of year, but it is also one of the most important things on my list. I need that time with him because of the needs that are present in my life. In my mind, I see him sitting there with me as I enjoy a cup of coffee. He looks over at me and says, “I know about everything that is going on right now, but I’m here, and I love you.” And I look back at him and say, “I love you too.” In that moment, nothing else matters.

When I do this, I celebrate who Christ is. Notice I did not say I celebrate his birth. Instead of celebrating his birth, I celebrate the God who is with me. I celebrate Christ, not Christmas. Christmas is a one-day event, but I need to celebrate Christ with me all the time.

When the prophet Isaiah prophesied about the birth of Christ, he said this:

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6, ESV).

Consider the names that Isaiah used. Jesus is my wonderful counselor when I don’t know how to handle a situation. He is my mighty God when I feel weak and unable to cope. He is my everlasting father when I need guidance, encouragement, or support. He is my Prince of Peace when the chaos of my schedule presses in. This is the Jesus who was born in a manger, the Jesus we celebrate at Christmas.

Not only is Jesus all of these things, he is also with me all of the time. In the New Testament, when Matthew is writing the account of the birth of Christ, he quotes Isaiah and says this:

“ ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us)” (Mathew 1:23, ESV).

I smile when I read the way Matthew quotes Isaiah because he doesn’t just give the quote. He explains it as well. It is like he is whispering, “In case you didn’t know what the word Immanuel means, it means ‘God with us.’” It is as if he is saying, “This is important! Don’t miss this!”

God is with us. I need that kind of God. I need a God who is with me, not just above me. I tend to imagine God far above me somewhere in the heavens, sitting on a beautiful throne of pure gold. But in reality, he is sitting beside me as I write this note. He is also beside you as you read it. He is with us. He is God with us, Immanuel.

He is with you when you feel overwhelmed. He is with you when you are disappointed. He is with you when you are wounded. He is with you when you are in financial trouble. He is with you when the wayward child leaves. He is with you when you are the wayward child. He is with you in the doctor’s office when the diagnosis is read. He is with you when the loved one dies. He is with you when your marriage is in trouble. He is with you when you feel too busy to take time for him. He is with you. He is always with you.

Friend, will you make time in your schedule to celebrate Christ? Will you celebrate who he is, not just his birth? Maybe coffee isn’t your thing, but find a way to come apart from everything that pulls you away, and spend some time with him. Consider it a gift that you give to yourself, or perhaps a gift you give to God.

Jesus, the wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting father, the Prince of Peace, and God in the flesh, he is with us.

That, my friends, is worth celebrating.

This article was originally published in the December 2014 Newsletter.

May 02

2017

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Tags Hebrews Isaiah Relationship with God Rest Strength Wait Waiting Weary

When You Are Weary

This article was originally published in the September 2013 Newsletter.

What do you do when you feel weary? We all get there at some point. Jobs wear us down, family issues pick away at our peace, or financial troubles squeeze both ends of the month like a vice. At some point, you become weary of it all. At that point, what do you do?

It may surprise you to know that I have to deal with being weary as well. I rarely speak about it except to my closest friends, but I do understand what it means to be weary.

Something changed in my mindset a couple of years ago. I really can’t tell you the day it happened, but at some point I started to become weary of being on the road, being gone for weeks at a time doing ministry. I’ve talked about it with my board members, seeking their counsel and advice. I’ve talked with pastor friends of mine, seeking their encouragement and wisdom. I’ve prayed about it countless times. Weariness. God help me. Please. There is a subtle pressure in being in a public ministry. It is possibly self-imposed, but it is there none the less, this expectation that I need to be “on” when I am with others, to be the encourager, to share my faith, to be the example. But sometimes, honestly, I get weary of it and just want to crawl away and hide.

So what do we do when we feel weary? For me, I take refuge in my relationship with God. The moment I realize I am becoming weary is the moment I pull back. I pull back from the work of ministry and focus simply on my relationship with God. It always comes back to the relationship with God. I spend more time talking with him than I normally would. I spend more time reading his word than I normally do. I focus on the relationship that matters most.

God is the strong one. I am the weak one. It is helpful to remember that. I am at my strongest when I understand how pitifully weak I really am. But God does not grow weary! He is strong beyond measure. The key then is to learn to wait on him. Consider what Isaiah wrote:

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for 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” (Isaiah 40:28-31, ESV, emphasis added).

It is a familiar passage to many of us, but please don’t miss the significance of what the prophet Isaiah wrote. Running ahead of God accomplishes nothing. It is those who have learned to wait for him who find the strength they need.

Why is it so difficult to wait? It is because we are prone to try and fix it on our own. We believe if we just work harder surely we can fix the situation. Our tendency is to focus on what we can do instead of focusing on what God can do. It seems so silly to just wait on God. But waiting on God is the key. The promise of strength is to those who are willing to wait.

Gratefully, Christ also gave us an example and encouragement to not grow weary. The writer of Hebrews wrote:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” (Hebrews 12:1-3, ESV, emphasis added).

When we understand how much Jesus loves us and how much he was willing to endure on our behalf, then we can focus on him in the midst of our trial. He has gone before us. He understands our weakness. He knows what it means to endure. We remind ourselves of these truths so that we may not grow weary.

Allow me to share with you one final verse that has been a great encouragement to me personally. It is from the writer of the book of Hebrews again.

“God is not so unjust as to overlook your work and the love that you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do” (Hebrews 6:10, ESV).

I’ve meditated on this verse countless times. I’m grateful God understands my humanity, my tendency to become weary in well doing. I’m humbled that he is “not so unjust as to overlook” the small sacrifices I’ve made that sometimes lead me to becoming weary. And I’m grateful that Jesus has set the example of what it means to give all for the sake of love. He is my friend, my companion, my love.

Perhaps you are reading this today and you can relate to the feeling of being weary. Maybe right now life is kicking you hard. I feel for you. I pray that you will be encouraged in your relationship with God. Find your refuge in him. Spend more time talking with him than you normally would. Tell him how you feel. Spend more time reading his word than you normally would. Wait on God. Focus on Jesus. Find your rest in him.

When you are weary, wait.