2
Ibid., 19–20.
Stanley, Charles F.: Living the
Extraordinary Life : Nine Principles to Discover It. Nashville,
TN : Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2005, i
Principle
2
2
God’s Grace is the Starting Point
When our ministry began an outreach to
Russia, I took a trip to that formerly oppressed nation. While
there, I decided to visit Vladimir Lenin’s tomb. However, at
that time, the lines were so long that I was forced to leave
without seeing the burial chamber of the toppled dictator.
Thirty years later, I returned to the site,
and there were no lines—no anxious tourists clamoring to see the
remains of a fallen man. I made my way through a row of guards
and stood directly in front of a sign that read, “No talking.”
As I gazed upon Lenin’s lifeless body, which
was encased in an airtight glass casket, I felt a sense of
despair. There, lying in front of me, was the corpse of a man
renowned for creating mass terror and the first concentration
camps ever built on the continent.
Lenin is probably known most for the
merciless imposition of his extreme ideas on an entire nation.
He made terror and bloodshed the hallmarks of his rule, paving
the way for dictators who followed, like Stalin, Hitler, and Pol
Pot. All of these men left their people with shattered dreams
and no hope of a life beyond the dismal ones created by their
tormentors.
I walked out of that place and stood for a
moment, taking in the cold winter air. Immediately my thoughts
went to another tomb—one that was empty. But the crowds were
still coming.
I thought back to a time when I had visited
the Savior’s grave on a trip to Israel. I had waited until
everyone left the area, then fell on my face before God. The
stillness of the moment did not demand my silence. Instead, it
demanded my praise and worship.
There is a profound difference between these
two tombs. One still contains a lifeless form; the other is
empty. One man started a revolution that led to depravity,
destruction, and death; the other Man began a revolution that
continues today, a revolution of hope and eternal life—one that
sets captives free from the bondage of spiritual darkness and
opens the door to unconditional love, forgiveness, and grace.
CHRIST PAID THE PRICE FOR YOUR SINS
Every once in a while I hear somebody
casually say, “Well, I guess I’m just going to hell when I die.”
No one in his right mind should speak so carelessly! Everyone is
going to spend eternity in either heaven or hell—there is no
escape. There is not a single verse of Scripture that says that
your life becomes void once you have died. Let me say this: it
would be better never to have been born than to die without
Christ!
To all of us who know Jesus as our personal
Savior, God has entrusted us with the most awesome and glorious
message, unmatched by anything else in history. That message is
simple: our unconditionally loving heavenly Father sent His only
begotten Son, Jesus, into this wicked, vile, sinful world to die
on a cruel Roman cross. There, Christ paid the sin-debt of all
humanity in order to atone for our sin and reconcile us to God.
When you receive Christ by faith as your personal Savior, your
eternal destiny is transformed. One moment lost, and the next
moment saved. Formerly headed for hell; now with a home in
heaven.
THE RESURRECTION—REASON TO REJOICE
I remember several years ago standing behind
the curtain during our church’s Easter passion play. At the end
of each performance, I stepped out and explained how trusting
the Lord Jesus Christ as one’s personal Savior can save a person
from sin. Onstage, Jesus had just risen, and the disciples were
running back to look inside the tomb. I got so caught up in
their excitement that, for a brief moment, I wanted to go out on
stage amid all those actors dressed like people who lived two
thousand years ago and look inside the empty tomb.
Some ask why we celebrate the Resurrection.
The main reason is that Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, is
alive. No other religious leader who ever lived and died can
make such a claim. For that matter, every single leader or
celebrity who has died—political, academic, or artistic—remains
buried just like Lenin unless his or her body has somehow been
removed by man. Their tombs are often honored as places of
national or religious pride.
But of what do we Christians boast? We
celebrate an empty tomb because the One we love, the One we
follow, the One we serve is no longer there. Now, if Jesus
Christ rose from the dead, where is He? Scripture tells us
precisely where He is: He is seated at the right hand of God.
When we pray, He intercedes with the Father
on our behalf (Heb. 7:25).
Moreover, we know from
John 14 that Jesus is preparing a place for you and me in
heaven, and one day, we will be with Him there (vv.
2–3). In the
meantime, He is arranging all the events necessary for His
return.
According to
1 John 2:1–2,
Jesus Christ is also our Advocate. You see, when the Son of God
saved us, He knew we would not live perfect lives—He knew we
would sin against Him. So He stands between us and the Father to
present our case. This defense is based not merely upon our
confession and repentance for the forgiveness of sin, but upon
the fact that Jesus Himself laid down His life and paid our
sin-debt in full. When He went to the cross, He died a
substitutionary, sacrificial death on our behalf. So we can be
absolutely confident that our sins are totally forgiven.
Salvation has nothing to do with our behavior, but it has
everything to do with the grace of God, the love of God, the
goodness of God, the mercy of God, and the blood of Jesus
Christ.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ has given us
a very definite purpose for being alive. He has saved us for the
purpose of reflecting His life in our work, our ways, our words,
and our walk. That is why you and I are the body of Christ. He
is looking through our eyes, hearing through our ears, speaking
through our voices, and helping through our hands. Having
created us for Himself, He desires that you and I walk in
holiness and righteousness before Him. We are to be Christ’s
representatives, pointing people to Him and reflecting His light
to a dark world that desperately needs Him.
The Resurrection provides assurance,
confidence, and boldness for us. It determines where we are in
life, where we are headed, and where we are going to end up—in
the very presence of the living God instead of eternally
separated from Him.
Revelation
21:27 tells us that no one can enter
heaven except “those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book
of life.” How do you get your name inscribed in that book? By
accepting the Lamb of God—the person of Jesus Christ—as your
personal Savior, based on the fact that He died on the cross,
paying your sin-debt in full. Three days after He was buried, He
rose again. Believe it … and celebrate!
GRACE IS THE ONLY MEANS TO SALVATION; YOU CAN’T EARN IT
I want to share with you a life-changing
experience I had about twenty years ago. I was in my late
forties and working hard as a pastor, but I knew something was
lacking in my walk with the Lord. I began searching my heart to
see if anything was hindering my relationship with God, but I
was left with only the keen awareness of the void in my heart.
When this tension in my spiritual life came
to a head, I called four of my closest friends. They agreed to
meet with me and help me discover what was missing so that I
could find peace with God. The first night of our meeting, I
talked for more than eight hours, telling them everything about
myself. Later, I sat up most of the night filling seventeen
legal-sized pages with more intimate details of my life.
The following morning, I revealed every piece
of personal information to my friends. After the group reflected
upon what I had said, one member asked me to elaborate on the
death of my father, who had died when I was nine months old.
After I finished, he told me to close my eyes. Then he said,
“Picture this: your father has just picked you up in his arms
and is holding you. What do you feel?”
That meeting with my friends took place
decades ago, but I remember it vividly. I cried. I felt warm,
loved, and secure. I had never felt the amazing depth of my
heavenly Father’s love until then. I was saved at twelve years
of age, but that meeting with my friends was the first time I
felt with all my heart that God truly loved me—not as a distant,
impersonal deity, but as my loving, heavenly Father.
Accepting the incredibly expansive love of
God is not easy. For years I was convinced that the distance I
felt from God must be linked to some sin in my life. I prayed
incessantly for forgiveness, even trying to find sins that
weren’t there. Many Christians live this way, harboring feelings
of shame and self-doubt that have more to do with their fear of
intimacy than with reality.
Many people know they are saved but have
never discovered the true joy and contentment of being children
of God. One of the primary reasons Paul wrote to the believers
in Colossae was to express the freedom that was available
through Jesus Christ. False teachers had entered their
fellowship and taught that while it was right to accept Jesus as
the Messiah, one must also live under the regulations of the
Mosaic Law.
The burden was too great for the young
church; its people lost their joy and fell into various forms of
bondage. People today fall into the same trap when they attempt
to demonstrate their Christianity through submission to human
rules rather than allegiance to God alone. This is not the way
of freedom in Christ. We cannot attest to God’s work of grace
while living under the bondage of the law. Completeness is found
only in Jesus, not in abiding by prescribed rules or
regulations.
Paul wrote,
In Him all the
fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have
been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and
authority; and in Him you were also circumcised with a
circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of
the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with
Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him
through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the
dead.
When you were dead in
your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He
made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our
transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt
consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and
He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a
public display
of them, having triumphed over them through Him. (Col.
2:9–15)
All we will ever need is found in Jesus. When
we accept Him as our Savior, we are given a new spirit—one
empowered by the Holy Spirit. We can understand spiritual truth
because the Spirit of God renews our minds.
Paul told us, “If anyone is in Christ, he is
a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things
have come” (2 Cor. 5:17).
Christ’s dwelling within us makes us sufficient and adequate for
all things. God has regenerated our spirits. We are partakers of
His divine nature, and it is no longer our nature to sin.
This does not mean, however, that we are
perfect or will never sin again; it does not mean that when we
abide in close fellowship with Christ, sin loses its appeal.
Even though we are new creatures spiritually, our bodies are
unchanged. God has given us certain natural appetites that are
both normal and essential. Often, when we try to satisfy these
appetites in our own strength, we yield to sinful desires. God
wants us to understand our position as believers—we are totally
complete in the Lord, who has promised to meet all of our needs
within His perfect timing.
Every person carries perceptions acquired
throughout life—particularly those that were instilled in
childhood. When we reach adulthood and are no longer dependent
on our parents, we should see clearly that our spirits need
redemption—we ought to realize our deep, abiding need for a
Savior. If we ask Jesus Christ to come into our lives, He will;
genuine deliverance can be ours.
This process is both wonderful and
challenging. There still remains a struggle. We have a new
nature that no longer corresponds with our old way of doing
things. A conflict erupts between serving God and yielding to
the desires of the flesh.
In order to triumph over the flesh, you must
understand your true identity in Christ. If you begin your
Christian walk by thinking that you still have an old sin
nature, plan to battle temptation the rest of your life. Sin is
easier to yield to when we think we cannot help what we do or
feel. We begin to tell ourselves it is just our old carnal
nature coming through. Likewise, if you believe that God merely
patched you up at the point of salvation, you will spend the
rest of your life dealing with discouragement, doubt, and
defeat.
With this mentality, we miss the radical
truth of salvation; we overlook the truth of God’s power in our
lives. The moment you are saved, your sin nature dies and Jesus
Christ abides in you. You have a new nature in Christ—one of
obedience, submission, love, loyalty, and devotion to God.
Christ enables you to live without submitting to sin.
When we go through baptismal waters, we
proclaim the truth that we have died to our old sin nature and
have been reborn in Jesus Christ (Rom.
6:1–11). We are new creatures in Him, not partially but
completely. We have been raised with Christ and are seated in
the heavenly places with Him.
Paul told us that the old things have passed
away. All things are now new. That includes our spirits, our
natures, our lives—every part of us. Many of us have a hard time
accepting this truth. Often it is more natural to harbor guilt
about past wrongs, but God says He has forgiven us of our
transgressions and canceled our certificate of debt (Col.
2:13). Christ has canceled all judgment against us as
well as condemnation of sin. They were nailed to the cross at
Calvary.
We no longer have a sin-debt. We don’t have
to pay the price for our sins. Jesus paid it in full once and
for all. Not only did God cancel our sin, He took it away—erased
it through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. That is why
the apostle Peter wrote, “He Himself bore our sins in His body
on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness” (1 Peter
2:24).
We do not receive forgiveness through
confession or repentance. The only way we receive forgiveness is
through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is God’s
personal gift of grace toward us.
When you confess your sins to God, you
acknowledge and agree with Him that your life is not in keeping
with His Word, will, or plan. Repentance signals a change in
thinking. It shows that God’s Spirit has convicted you of a
particular sin and that you have chosen to turn away from it.
We cannot lead a sinful life and remain in
right fellowship with God. Although He will never stop loving
us, our disobedience invites God’s discipline. Just as parents
who love their children correct them when they are wrong, God
disciplines us when we choose to disobey Him.
God, who is holy and righteous, has chosen to
express His love for us through His Son. His love is genuine,
undeserved, and unconditional. You can release all the guilt you
have been carrying for years by accepting the complete
forgiveness that is rightfully yours through Jesus Christ.
The truth is that many people miss God’s very
best because they refuse to remove the chains of guilt and sin
from their lives. Each day they try to make it through life the
best they can. Sunday after Sunday, they pray that the pastor
will say something to help them bear the guilt they harbor. God
wants all of us to rest in the liberty purchased by the blood of
His Son, Jesus Christ.
When Jesus rose from the dead, He conquered
every single power in opposition to Him not merely at that time,
but forever: “Christ also died for sins once for all, the just
for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been
put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in
which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in
prison” (1 Peter 3:18–19).
Through His resurrection, Jesus proclaimed
His sovereignty over all demonic powers. Satan and his forces
are forever in subjection to Christ’s rule and reign. That means
nothing can touch your life apart from the permissive will of
God. We have been released and liberated. Jesus, like a
commanding general, walked into the Holy of Holies in absolute
and total triumph over every single power and authority. Nothing
is equal to the Holy Spirit who abides in each of us (John
15:5). Jesus Christ in you is your hope of glory (Col.
1:27).
We have a new nature, a new sense of liberty,
a new freedom in His forgiveness. We have a new standard of
conduct that we can keep through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus cried out from the cross and said, “It
is finished!” (John
19:30). There is nothing you can add to your salvation or
the freedom He has given you. There is nothing you can do to
make yourself more saved, more forgiven. When Christ atoned for
your sins, He erased the slate and marked your account “paid in
full” and credited your ledger with all the benefits of being
His beloved child. All you have to do to experience the
extraordinary life is to begin making withdrawals by faith.
The Christian life is an expression of God’s
grace rather than a checklist of dos and don’ts. It is an
overflow of Jesus Christ. That is what Christianity is all
about—freedom to enjoy the life God has given us, and freedom to
share this truth with others.
Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy
Spirit within you, will empower you to do whatever God requires
of you (1 Thess. 5:24).
You can find all the strength, hope, and love that you will ever
need in Christ when you live and abide in His resurrection
power.
Unless you have trusted Jesus as your Savior,
you have never experienced true freedom. By placing your trust
in Him as your personal Savior and accepting what He has offered
you through the mercy of His grace, you will know freedom from
the bondage of sin. Your life will be made new: the old will be
cut away, and you will be made fully alive.
God made the decision to love us long before
He shaped the foundation of this world. He knew our deepest need
even before it existed. It was the need for a Savior. Have you
ever wondered why God chose to come to earth as a baby—helpless
and seemingly unprotected? The answer lies within His wisdom and
desire for you to know and experience His intimate love. The
apostle Paul wrote, “Just as He chose us in Him before the
foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless
before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons
through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention
of His will” (Eph. 1:4–5).
Although His law demanded payment for sin,
the heavenly Father knew that the payment was far too great for
us. Only God in His infinite wisdom is capable of providing the
atonement needed to eradicate our sin.
ETERNAL SECURITY MATTERS
Every year during Easter, we focus our
thoughts on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ at Calvary. From His
atonement springs our blessed assurance of salvation and eternal
life. Many people who trust Christ as their Savior know they are
saved but are not quite certain about eternal security, the work
of God that assures salvation is permanent. They believe
salvation can somehow be lost through wrong actions or a
voluntary choice to forfeit it.
Does it really matter if we believe in
eternal security? The answer is yes! Eternity is one of God’s
promises, and He wants His children to be confident about their
guaranteed future with Him. That is why John declared, “These
things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son
of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1
John 5:13). In fact, not one Scripture passage in any way
limits the saving power of Christ’s sacrificial, substitutionary
death.
The Bible teaches that when we receive Jesus
Christ as Savior, we unequivocally
have eternal life. This God-given
assurance influences every aspect of our faith. Eternal security
is a foundational cornerstone for effective and godly service in
the power of the Holy Spirit. A believer who is sure of eternity
is not working to get something from God, but is diligently
serving Him out of devotion.
The promise of heaven affects our
understanding of repentance and forgiveness. We repent of our
sins in order to receive Christ as our Savior. That is, we
change our thinking about sinful behavior and confess our
helplessness to God. Because of that repentance, we receive
forgiveness and are “saved”—our relationship with God starts
right then and continues without interruption. Thereafter, the
acts of repentance and confession serve a different purpose.
They are not necessary for gaining our forgiveness because we
already possess a full measure. Instead, repentance makes right
our fellowship with Christ.
Our assurance of salvation depends upon
eternal security. If salvation is based upon
anything other
than the completed work of Jesus Christ on the cross, then we
find ourselves on shaky ground. Some believers attempt to
involve themselves in the salvation process by good works or
right behavior; such people are prone to doubts about eternity
because they feel they must earn
God’s goodwill and heaven. Grace is a gift (Eph.
2:8–9). If we add a single work requirement to salvation,
then it is no longer a gift; it is payment for services
rendered. That is simply not how God works in the life of the
believer.
What’s more, we are eternally secure in our
Lord. There’s not a single verse anywhere in Scripture
indicating our salvation lasts only for a season. Notice what
the Bible says: the Lord gives believers
eternal life,
and we will never perish
(John 10:28,
emphasis added); we are “sealed
for the day of redemption” (Eph.
4:30, emphasis added), which means the ultimate day when
God calls us home. We are assured that no one can snatch us out
of God’s hand (John
10:27–30).
So let me ask you a question: Do you think
you have the power to take anything out of the hand of
Omnipotence? Once you’ve trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior,
you may have doubts or fears. You may rebel and sin against Him.
But that in no way means you have lost your salvation. If it did
imply such a thing, what could God possibly have meant by “I
give eternal life to them, and they will
never perish” (John
10:28, emphasis added)? This isn’t license for sin; this
is reason to rejoice, to praise God, to walk holy before Him,
and to obey Him. If Jesus had not risen from the grave, we might
have reason to doubt our eternal security, but the fact that He
was resurrected settles once and for all the truth of everything
He said as well as the guarantee of everything He promised.
When you and I trusted Jesus as our Savior,
we didn’t receive just forgiveness of our sins; we received His
very life. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus is right now abiding
inside us (John 15:4)
to help each believer live the Christian life (Gal.
2:20). He promised that He would not leave us as orphans,
fending for ourselves, but instead, He would send us another
Helper—the Holy Spirit—who would be with us forever, dwelling
not only with us, but in us (John
14:16).
That is a profound difference between
believers and unbelievers: both experience life on earth, but we
who believe look forward to an abundant life with our heavenly
Father after we die. Jesus was, is, and always will be—He will
live forever, and the eternal life He offers is likewise of
infinite duration. In addition, He gives us the quality and
nature of the life He Himself possesses—it is glorious,
abundant, and indescribable. He has given us Himself.
If He has given us eternal life, will our
bodies get old? Will our muscles weaken and our hair go gray?
Yes, the body will change with time, but the soul and the spirit
will mature and become stronger. Scripture tells us that
Christians are going to live forever, but not in their earthly
bodies. Every single believer is going to experience a bodily
resurrection! We know this, not only because Christ Himself was
resurrected, but also because He told us, “This is the will of
Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose
nothing, but raise it up on the last day” (John
6:39). If you belong to Christ, you are going to
experience a physical bodily resurrection.
We read in
Hebrews 9:27 that
“it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes
judgment.” Every single person will one day stand in the
presence of Jesus Christ to give an account of his or her life.
Scripture speaks of two coming resurrections, the first being
“unto life,” which guarantees reward to every believer (Rev.
20:6). The other resurrection, which is reserved for all
people who have rejected the Lord Jesus, is unto judgment and
condemnation. It results in eternal separation from God, which
the Bible calls the “second death” (Rev.
20:11–15).
LIVING IN GRACE
Do you set rules and regulations for your
life, but then judge yourself very harshly when you do not live
up to your expectations? Do you feel close to the Lord when you
are doing something religious, but distant when you are not?
Many people today are living in this manner—they lack assurance
that they have pleased God. The Bible says that you and I have
been accepted by His grace, which can be defined as God’s
kindness toward us without consideration of any merit on our
part.
In the Old Testament, the ark of the
covenant—which symbolized God’s presence—was kept in a secured
place in the Tabernacle called “The Holy of Holies.” Access to
this divine place was permitted only once per year and was
restricted to the high priest. The Israelite people never were
able to get anywhere close to the ark. A personal relationship
with God was unthinkable. Instead, their whole concept of
relating to God involved living up to laws and achieving
acceptance on the basis of performance. The forgiveness of their
sin was based on a literal animal sacrifice.
Jesus came in order to die for our sins and
be a permanent, one-time substitutionary sacrifice. Forgiveness
was only part of the plan; He came also to initiate an entirely
different lifestyle from what the people of God had been
experiencing. On the day of His crucifixion, the veil hiding the
ark of the covenant was split from top to bottom, symbolizing
that God opened the door to an intimate relationship with Him.
He has made it possible for us to talk directly to Him and know
we are being heard. That change in relationship reflects the
difference between grace and law.
Jesus’ death and resurrection settled the
basis of our acceptance once and for all. Though our conduct
sometimes is not what it ought to be, we are nonetheless
embraced as children of God. In order to enjoy the Christian
life, we must view ourselves the way He sees us. People trying
to live up to an impossible, invisible standard never know when
they have pleased God. If life is a matter of rules and
regulations, we will never have any peace or contentment.
We have a choice to make. We can set rules
and live by legalistic domination, fear, and uncertainty, or we
can choose to live in the wonderful acceptance that comes by the
Cross. The life of grace—lived in His eternal grip—is available
to everyone who will call upon Him.
THE TRANSFORMING GRACE OF GOD
The direction your life takes is affected by
many things, such as the environment in which you live, the
decisions you make, and the education you receive. But by far
the most powerful influence in a believer’s life is the
transforming grace of God, which is His kindness toward you
regardless of your worthiness and in spite of everything you
deserve.
God’s ultimate will is for every believer to
be conformed to the likeness of His Son. His grace is
responsible for your rebirth, and from that point it directs,
moves, and influences you to become increasingly Christlike. In
that way, you can say with the apostle Paul, “By the grace of
God I am what I am” (1
Cor. 15:10).
The apostle’s life, in fact, is a powerful
example of God’s transforming grace. In
Philippians 3,
Paul described how he once depended on his good works, nature,
and conduct to gain acceptance before God. He did not originally
understand there is only one way to be made acceptable in God’s
sight—by His grace. If good works and religious activity could
in some way gain divine approval, Paul would never have written
about his former vain attempts to win God’s favor and his
numerous faulty reasons for confidence: he was an observant Jew
from a family of esteemed lineage (v.
5); he had
zealously kept the law (v.
6); and he even
tirelessly persecuted the Christian church, which he saw as an
enemy of his faith (v.
6).
However, encountering the living Christ
totally changed Paul, and he explained, “Whatever things were
gain to me, those things I have [now] counted as loss” (Phil.
3:7). He recognized that all of his human titles and
achievements had absolutely no spiritual value. We, too, must
realize we will never gain eternity by depending on anything we
are or anything we do—salvation is unrelated to how much money
we give, what excellent citizens we are, or how well we treat
our families. It is by grace, and grace alone, that we are saved
(Eph. 2:8–9).
Paul learned a valuable lesson: the only
thing worth boasting about is the cross of Jesus Christ (Gal.
6:14). The Lord offered Himself as our substitutionary
sacrifice, not because He saw anything in us worth saving, but
because of His great love.
There are millions of people who sincerely
but wrongly believe they will be acceptable to God based on how
good they are. It grieves my heart to think they will die in
ignorance, deceived by the false doctrine of working to earn the
Lord’s approval. By grace, Paul’s thinking was corrected—he
learned that everything he had counted as valuable was
worthless. In this way, the worst enemy of Christianity became
its greatest asset, its greatest motivator, and its dearest
friend.
How did this change come about? Saul, the
“Hebrew of Hebrews” committed to destroying anything related to
Jesus Christ, was approaching Damascus. After a sudden flash of
light, he fell to the ground blinded and heard Jesus saying,
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts
22:7–9). The future apostle learned that being critical
of the church or Christians was equivalent to opposing Jesus
Himself (Matt. 25:40),
and that attacking the body of Christ meant putting oneself
under the condemnation and judgment of God. But God’s grace was
about to transform Saul by giving him a new nature and a fresh
start—his hostile, vengeful heart would abruptly be changed, and
he would become the church’s most powerful promoter. What made
the difference was that Paul knew God was talking to him.
Is God talking to you? Is He asking you to do
something you don’t like or something you are afraid to do? You
have free will, but God’s voice is compelling. George Matheson’s
hymn describes grace this way: “O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee.” God knows that we are children,
growing and being gradually conformed into His likeness—and He
is patient, kind, and forgiving in the process of our
transformation. Sometimes we may say, “No, God,” but He has a
profound way of adding a little more pressure and a little more
“incentive” until we say, “I surrender, Father!”
Remember that it is out of His gentle
love—not out of condemnation or chastisement—that our heavenly
Father arranges our circumstances and challenges. What He asks
us to do is always in our best interest and will be part of the
process that conforms us to Christ’s image. If you have
repeatedly disobeyed Him, you need to ask some serious questions
about your relationship with Him. This is how I see it: When it
comes down to a final decision either for God or against Him,
how can I say no to a Christ who loved me enough to die an
excruciating, humiliating death in my place?
This grace that saves and transforms today is
the same grace that changed Saul, the sinner, into Paul, the
apostle. He acknowledged that God’s grace was completely
responsible for what he had become (1
Cor. 15:10) and that was why he gloried in the Cross—he
had no intentions of being saved, but God in His gracious love
had wonderful plans for him.
Furthermore, Paul was an example to those
around him as well as to future generations. God wanted all of
us to know that if He can save a murderer like Paul and
transform him completely, then He can save anyone. Witnessing
Paul’s conversion makes us ask, “Who among us
cannot be
transformed by the grace of God?”
But don’t be deceived by Paul’s dramatic
experience. I was saved at the age of twelve. I had been reading
the Bible a great deal, and I understood that I needed God’s
forgiveness in my life. There was no flash of light; I simply
stepped from the second pew, walked to the altar, and knelt down
to pray. I came from a home where my mom read the Bible to me,
so my getting saved at age twelve was somewhat normal and
natural. But what I want to tell you is this: it took just as
much grace to save me at twelve as it took to save Saul of
Tarsus, the violent, hateful persecutor of the church. The Bible
says all of us were dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph.
2:1). Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life (John
14:6). When we have Him, we are born again—and truly
alive!
Once someone has been transformed from sinner
to saint, four attitudes should become evident. First, we should
exhibit true humility. Listen to how Paul described himself, the
preeminent missionary and preacher of the gospel: “I am the
least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle,
because I persecuted the church of God” (1
Cor. 15:9). In the following verse, he credited God’s
grace for his transformation, and not anything he did. You will
not find pride in the heart of a man or a woman who truly
understands grace—that person will always point others to
Christ, realizing that anything positive is due entirely to God.
The second attitude is one of obligation.
Paul was so overwhelmed by the undeserved grace of God that he
gave his life to fulfilling the mission the Lord assigned him.
Paul acknowledged he was set aside before birth to be a preacher
of the gospel (Gal.
1:15–16); he considered it an enormous privilege and gave
himself wholeheartedly to the task. The apostle had so much
gratitude for his salvation that he had to tell other people
what had happened to him. You also have a message to share.
Don’t be quiet about it. It is wrong to keep God’s love to
yourself when there is a world of people hurting and dying in
agony, sorrow, frustration, anger, disappointment, and despair.
A third thing we should demonstrate is a
sense of dependence. Paul mentioned laboring “even more than all
of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me” (1
Cor. 15:10). He was saying that he did not strive through
his own efforts; the same grace, goodness, and power that
transformed him are the same loving power at work in the
believer’s life every day. We do not have to depend on our own
wisdom, abilities, talents, or strength. It is Christ in us who
accomplishes things (Phil.
4:13), and apart from Him, we can do nothing (John
15:5).
One final attitude we should display is a
spirit of absolute confidence. At the end of his life, Paul was
able to say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the
course, I have kept the faith” (2
Tim. 4:7). And Paul looked forward to receiving the crown
of righteousness from the Lord Himself (v.
8).
Paul was an awesome example of the
transforming power of God’s grace, which took a man murderously
opposed to Christ and changed him into the world’s greatest
missionary. He gave himself without reservation to proclaiming
the gospel, and he was able to say that God’s grace toward him
“did not prove vain” (1
Cor. 15:10). Has God poured His grace into your life?
Don’t let it be in vain—tell God how thankful you are … and tell
others why.
Suggested Bible
Reading
Hebrews
7:25;
1 John 2:1–2;
Revelation 21:27;
Colossians 2:9–15;
1 Peter 2:24;
3:18–19;
Colossians 1:27;
John 6:39;
10:27–30;
14:16;
15:4–5;
19:30;
1 Thessalonians 5:24;
Ephesians 1:4–5;
2:1–9;
4:30;
Galatians 1:15–16;
2:20;
6:14;
Revelation 20:11–15;
Philippians 3:7;
4:13;
Matthew 25:4;
1 Corinthians 15:9–10;
and 2 Timothy 4:7.
Prayer
Dear heavenly Father, thank You for the gift
of eternal life through the death of Your Son, Jesus Christ. I
know that I cannot earn my way into heaven and am not worthy of
Your favor—it is a free gift of grace. I pray that You will
deepen my desire to know You and teach me the principles of Your
Word so I can bring honor and glory to Your name. Amen.
Journal Questions
• If you died
today, would you go to heaven? Why?
• What is the
means by which people are forgiven?
• How long does
salvation last?
• Should people
who are saved continue to do good works? Why?
Is
it difficult to imagine such an amazing outpouring of grace?
Find out more about God’s love for you, the riches of His
salvation plan, and your hope of eternal security at
ww2.intouch.org/lifeprinciples
today.
Stanley, Charles F.:
Living the Extraordinary Life : Nine Principles to
Discover It. Nashville, TN : Thomas Nelson
Publishers, 2005, S. 18
Principle
3
3
True Effectiveness Comes Through Intimacy with God
Before the concept of abiding in
Christ became a reality for me, I had already been a
pastor for eight years. I’d been to college and
seminary, and I thought that the full Christian life
meant preaching, studying the Bible, witnessing to
people, serving people, and so forth. After eight
years, however, I knew there had to be more.
I remember watching a man in my
congregation walk down the aisle of our church and
rededicate his life to Jesus nearly once a month,
sometimes more. Finally I pulled him aside and asked
him why he felt the need to continue doing that. He
didn’t give me a clear reason, but insisted that he
needed to rededicate his life. I began to think
about the act of rededication and why people do it.
I suspect that young man was probably in the same
place that I was spiritually—stuck at a dead-end
road and trying to make a breakthrough in the only
way he could imagine.
At that time, I was preaching on
the book of Galatians, and when I came to the fifth
chapter, I became genuinely concerned. I thought,
In two more Sundays,
I’m going to preach on the fruit of the Spirit, and
God will show me that there isn’t a lot of peace,
love, joy, and goodness in my life.
I remember thinking that I felt a lot more spiritual
on Sunday, but Monday through Saturday was a
different story.
I knew something was missing. My
heart was troubled. I felt inadequate, like a
complete failure at the Christian life. I spent
hours in our family’s camper in our backyard fasting
and praying, just trying to get God to do something.
In near despair, I prayed, “God, either there is
more to the Christian life than I’ve ever known, or
I have to stop telling people who You are. How can I
keep preaching if the Christian life is just a set
of standards to believe in and there is no real
victory? I can’t keep going on like this.”
As I mentioned earlier, God used
the testimony of Hudson Taylor to open my eyes. When
I read his testimony, I understood, for the first
time in my life, the meaning of
John 15:4–5:
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot
bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine,
so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the
vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and
I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you
can do nothing.” Grapes don’t just grow; it is the
sap running through the vine that brings them to
life. I realized that I had been striving to live
the perfect Christian life since I was twelve years
old but still couldn’t do it. I was so overwhelmed I
couldn’t even pray. I just dropped to my knees. For
the first time, I realized that I wasn’t supposed to
live the Christian life; I was to allow Christ to
live it through me. That discovery radically changed
my world. It was the major turning point in my whole
Christian experience. Since then, my fervent prayer
has been that everyone who comes to a saving
knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ will have an
intimate relationship with Him.
A PASSION TO KNOW GOD
Do you have a strong, intense,
overwhelming desire to know God? Are your thoughts
of Him sweeping and grand, or is your relationship
with Him superficial and shallow? Knowing God should
be the lifelong pursuit of each believer.
During his ministry the apostle
Paul was consumed with an ardent desire to know the
person of Jesus Christ. To the Philippian church he
wrote,
Whatever
things were gain to me, those things I have counted
as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I
count all things to be loss in view of the
surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord,
for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and
count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ …
That I may know Him and the power of His
resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings,
being conformed to His death … I press on so that I
may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold
of by Christ Jesus. (Phil.
3:7–8,
10,
12)
There is quite a difference
between knowing about God and knowing God. Far too
many people know about God, but do not really know
the person of Jesus Christ. Their relationship with
Him—if they have one at all—is very superficial.
Knowing Jesus Christ involves a progressively deeper
understanding through cultivating an intimate
relationship with Him.
Too many Christians are content
to know Jesus only as their Savior. They are
grateful that their sins are forgiven, that heaven
is their destiny. But they are content to rest
there, unwilling to pursue the real meaning of
eternal life: knowing Jesus (John
17:3).
I have counseled many people who
could not find reality with God, however hard they
tried. Our churches are full of people who dutifully
read their Bibles, pray, and attend church but seem
to be on spiritual autopilot. They faithfully go
through the motions, yet intimacy with God evades
them. I sympathize with the person in this
situation, but the truth is, in every case I have
seen, that individual failed to surrender something
to God.
A fine Christian young man
bluntly said to me, “Well, this is as good as I’m
gonna be and as far as I’m gonna go.” That was the
first time I had heard someone come right out and
say, “Don’t count on me for any more than this. This
is as good as I’m gonna be.”
Whenever you draw a line between
you and the Lord Jesus over any issue, you have
chosen failure. By refusing to put something on the
altar for Christ, however small it may be, we limit
our relationship with Him and shut out the very
source of our lives. We often define ourselves much
more narrowly than God does, and because of our own
feeble selfishness, we miss His best for our lives.
If there is anything in your life that means more to
you than Christ, you will never know the fullness of
His love. Because God loves you, He will discipline
you. Ultimately you might yield to Him, or perhaps
you will insist on having your way and die without
attaining your highest reward in life.
Nothing pleases God more than our
full surrender, and He rewards it abundantly. God
says, “The one who comes to Me I will certainly not
cast out” (John
6:37). It is never God’s fault when our
relationship with Him wanes. More than anything else
our Father in heaven wants an intimate relationship
with His children.
Paul was never complacent when it
came to knowing Christ. He always hungered and
thirsted for more, realizing that God would reveal
as much of Himself as Paul desired. He wanted to
experience the power of the Lord’s resurrection in
his daily endeavors, seeing the risen Christ at work
in his personal ventures. How dangerous to think we
can come to a plateau in our relationship with Jesus
Christ! There is no neutral gear in the Christian
faith. If we seek to coast, we can be sure we will
backslide, not advance, in our personal knowledge of
Him.
Knowing Jesus as our Lord
radically rearranges our priorities, alters our
perspective on adversity and success, and influences
our relationships and decision-making processes.
Christ becomes the focus and center of our entire
lives. We desire above all else the great peace we
derive from knowing Him—peace so great that we are
willing to suffer loss in everything so that we
might come to experience His presence and working in
our lives. Our prestige, our possessions, our
losses, and our heartaches are but “rubbish” when
compared with the blessing of knowing Jesus (Phil.
3:8). Discovering His faithfulness,
experiencing His help, and embracing His purposes
bring meaning and significance to every facet of
life.
Paul valued the living,
experiential knowledge of Jesus Christ as life’s
highest goal. He was willing to undergo harsh
treatment and imprisonment if the adversity would
help him to know his Savior more fully. He could
tolerate his afflictions because he viewed them in
the light of a broader spiritual goal: experiencing
and knowing the sufficiency of Christ in every
situation.
Have you come to the point where
you can agree with Paul’s confession of dependence
on Christ? Are you willing to regard anything you
count valuable as loss if forfeiting it means
growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ? Is
knowing Christ your ultimate objective?
The prophet Hosea wrote, “Let us
know, let us press on to know the
Lord.
His going forth is as certain as the dawn; and He
will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain
watering the earth” (Hos.
6:3). God’s promises are sure. If we set our
hearts and minds to know Him, He will open our
spiritual eyes and ears, revealing Himself in
wonderful and often unexpected ways. Although the
world offers enticing substitutes, nothing can
compare to the value of a genuine, growing,
passionate relationship with Jesus Christ. We read
in
Colossians 2:3 that “all the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge” are hidden in Christ. When our
foremost passion is to know God, He assures us He
will provide for the rest of our needs (Matt.
6:33).
HOW DO WE MAKE KNOWING CHRIST OUR HIGHEST GOAL?
To spend time with the Lord and
hear His voice, you must be quiet. Acknowledge that
you are seeking something, say, an answer to a
pressing need. Then read and meditate on His Word.
Inquire of Him and listen for His response.
Oftentimes His answer doesn’t come when we’re
praying; it comes when we’re not praying. I think
sometimes God delays so that we don’t get in the
habit of sending up “quick fix-it” prayers. By
asking Him and listening for His response, we
sometimes “hear” through circumstances or other
revelations.
I used to lie down on the floor
when I prayed. Due to back problems, I can’t do that
anymore, but I have learned that when I get up early
in the morning, the best thing I can do is sit up in
bed. I don’t get out of bed because I will
inevitably become distracted. I just start right
then. I ask God to speak to my heart and show me
what to do. The more frequently you spend time with
the Lord, the more familiar His voice becomes. It’s
like a cloud clearing from your mind. You know God
is speaking. And when you hear His answer, you can
face the world. You know with absolute certainty
that God has told you what He’s going to do. And He
always keeps His word.
Throughout all these years, God
has never failed me. He has kept every promise that
He has made to me. Always. There are some times that
I’d like to force a promise from Him, but that
doesn’t work. When I come to my senses and think
about it, I realize that what He wants is best. When
you ask for something that’s not of God, I think
there’s always a little check in your spirit that
creates a bit of doubt. No matter how sure you think
you are, if your petition is not of God, He will not
give you total assurance.
Hearing the Scriptures on Sunday
morning or through other means is helpful, but there
is no substitute for spending time alone with the
Savior. Spiritual intimacy requires quiet moments
when God can speak clearly to your heart and when
you can speak honestly to Him. We need to spend time
alone in prayer, meditation, and worship of Christ.
We come to hear from Him, not just receive from Him.
We come to adore Him, praise Him, and delight in
Him.
We also must give ourselves to
the study of the Scriptures. The Bible reveals who
God is and what He has done. If we really want to
know Him, we will set aside time to partake of the
living Word, letting His divine counsel saturate our
minds. Reading spiritual biographies of godly people
can further augment our walk with God as we observe
how He has worked in their lives. They have a great
deal to tell us about God’s ways.
I encourage you to lay aside any
desire in your life that supersedes your passion to
know Christ. Jesus wants all of you, not just a
part. You can start today. You can begin to know God
on a new, deeper level by admitting your need and
asking Him to lead you into the knowledge of Him.
When knowing God becomes the passion of your life,
you, too, can learn to “count all things to be loss
in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ
Jesus” (Phil.
3:8).
KNOWING GOD AS YOUR FATHER
When you pray, by what name do
you address God? While all of the grandiose titles
we have given Him are appropriate, we Christians
have the awesome privilege of calling God “Father.”
We can also know
Him that way. I’ll never forget the day this reality
came to life in me. I was seated in my office when
our administrative assistant walked in with her
nine-month-old baby. I stood to admire the infant,
and before I could offer a word of praise, she
thrust the child into my arms. As I looked down at
the tiny baby, I realized she was the same age I was
when my father died. Whenever people asked me about
him, I simply told them that he died when I was too
young to know him. But as I stood holding that baby,
I realized that he
had known me.
Our relationship with God is the same. He tells us,
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and
before you were born I consecrated you” (Jer.
1:5).
The possibility of having a
personal relationship with God was a revolutionary
concept before Christ lived as a human (Matt.
6:9). The Old Testament contains only fifteen
references to God as “Father,” and those speak
primarily of Him as the Father of the Hebrew people;
the idea of Him being a personal God to individuals
is not evident until the New Testament. Yet that is
the reason Jesus Christ came to earth—to die on the
cross for our sins and reveal the heavenly Father so
that you and I might know Him intimately.
“Father,” which appears 245 times
in the New Testament, was Jesus’ favorite
terminology for God—He spoke it more than ten times
just in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt.
5–7), and He also used the name to begin
prayer. The Lord’s purpose was to reveal that God is
not merely a transcendent force somewhere in the
universe but a loving, personal, heavenly Father who
is profoundly interested in the details of our
lives.
Too many people, including
believers, do not think of God as being close like a
parent, especially if they are living in
disobedience. Yet Scripture repeatedly refers to Him
as “Father.” Paul’s letters, for example, begin that
way, and the apostle described believers as the
household or family of God—he called them God’s
children and joint heirs with His Son, Jesus Christ
(Rom. 8:17).
The privilege of knowing God as
Father involves more than acquaintance with Him as a
person or Spirit; it goes beyond simple familiarity
with His matchless grace, love, and kindness, and
even surpasses knowing Him in His holiness,
righteousness, and justice. How wonderful that
we—mere creations—are able to know Him personally as
our very own heavenly Parent. By addressing Him as
“Father,” Jesus revealed His intention that we
understand what the Old Testament saints could not
fully grasp: we can have the blessing of intimate
kinship with the living God of the universe.
In fact, it is through the person
of Jesus Christ that we are able to know God in this
way. Unfortunately many people mistakenly think that
such privilege belongs to all humanity. We sometimes
hear phrases like “fatherhood of God” and
“brotherhood of man”; these official-sounding terms
express the faulty idea that God is everybody’s
Father and we are everybody’s brother. Of course,
since God is the Creator of life, we could in one
sense identify Him as the Father of mankind. But the
Bible uses the name “Father” to indicate a close,
personal relationship, which certainly is not true
of all humanity.
When Jesus gave His disciples a
pattern for prayer, He addressed His words to “our
Father in heaven” (Matt.
6:9
nkjv). Some people argue that this prayer is
for everyone to pray, but notice the very next line:
“Hallowed be Your name.” Immediately after the
reference to our relationship with the heavenly
Father is the mention of God’s holiness, the very
attribute that separates sinful man from Him. So,
while it is true that everybody can
pronounce
this prayer, only those who can truly call God their
Father have a right to pray it.
Furthermore, Jesus said, “No one
comes to the Father but through Me” (John
14:6). An attempt to approach the Father by
circumventing the Son is the equivalent of calling
Jesus a liar. The key is that the name “Father”
implies a relationship and membership in a family.
Christ is the door into the family (John
10:9;
Gal. 3:26), so how can an unbeliever claim to
be a relative while rejecting the one entrance into
God’s household?
Jesus shed more light on the
subject when He told the unbelieving Pharisees, “My
word has no place in you. I speak the things which I
have seen with My
Father; therefore you also do the things which you
heard from your
father” (John
8:37–38, emphasis added). From this we know
that there are two spiritual fathers in the
universe. One of them is Jehovah, the Father of the
Lord Jesus Christ. But who is the other? Jesus
spelled it out for them: “You are of your father the
devil, and you want to do the desires of your
father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and
does not stand in the truth because there is no
truth in him … But because I speak the truth, you do
not believe Me” (vv.
44–45).
That sounds severe, but since our
Savior always speaks truth (John
14:6), His words are trustworthy. Jesus is
saying that unless you are by faith related to
Jehovah, your spiritual father is Satan. Jehovah is
the spiritual Father only to those who love Jesus
Christ and trust Him as Savior. Unless you can claim
that, you have rejected the Son of God, you have
denied His sacrifice on your behalf at Calvary, and
as difficult as it may be to accept, the devil is
your father.
If you are unsure whose family
you are in, take a moment to ask:
Do I use God’s name in profanity
one minute but then say I believe in Him the next?
Do I call upon Him during a crisis but ignore Him at
other times? Do I love Jesus?
Remember: the Bible says that if
you do not know the Son, you cannot know the Father
(John 14:6).
And that is why Jesus Christ came
into the world—to give us a glimpse of who the
Father is and what He is like. As
John 1:18
(nlv)
says, “No man has ever seen God. But Christ has made
God known to us.” Jesus in fact told us, “He who has
seen Me has seen the Father” (John
14:9). How did the Son of God reveal His
Father? He called the children to Himself and held
them in His arms; He healed the sick; He met
people’s needs. In short, He did all the things a
father would do.
HOW GOD EXPRESSES FATHERHOOD
By observing God’s fathering
pattern, we can better understand our relationship
with Him. And by following His lead, we will be able
to express parenthood properly to our own children.
With that in mind, notice these seven aspects of His
Fatherhood to us.
He Desires an Intimate Relationship with Us
The Bible tells us to address Him
as “Father,” and not just as “God,” “King,” “Holy
One,” or “Judge.” While we should know Him in all
these ways, He wants us to realize we can and should
approach Him openly and transparently about
everything, including needs, weaknesses, and
failures.
God Longs to Communicate with Us
Matthew 6:6 tells us to
find a secluded place and pray to our Father, “who
sees what is done in secret [and] will reward” us.
In other words, He hears when we speak to Him, and
He answers prayer. He is the kind of Father we can
talk to, and though He may not give us everything we
want, He will respond to our requests by giving what
He knows is best for us (Matt.
7:7–11).
God Loves Each of Us Unconditionally
It is God’s nature to love both
saint and sinner, based exclusively on the fact that
He is
love (1 John
4:8). The unbeliever has simply positioned
himself in such a way that he cannot experience that
love—a situation that can be remedied by trusting
Jesus as Savior.
Our Heavenly Father Meets All Our Needs
Scripture assures us that God
knows our needs, even before we ask Him, and He will
supply them all “according to His riches in glory in
Christ Jesus” (Matt.
6:8;
Phil. 4:19). His resources are limitless, so
we can be certain no need will go unmet.
God Disciplines His Children (Heb.
12:5–10)
He trains us not out of anger,
but with loving correction for our own good. This
training is evidence that we are truly His children.
God Always Guides Us to Do What is Right
Jesus said the Holy Spirit—our
Counselor—would guide us into all truth (John
14:26;
16:13).
God never leads us in the wrong direction; He will
make our “paths straight” if we trust Him instead of
our own intuition (Prov.
3:5–6).
Our Heavenly Father is Always with Us
While human parents cannot
guarantee they will
physically be with
their children forever, in another sense, they can
always “be there.” For example, to this day I can
hear the way my mother pronounced “Charles” when she
prayed for me and called my name before God. I still
recall specific prayer requests she made on my
behalf, and I continue to sense her compassion,
love, and concern for me. Though I left my house at
age eighteen to attend college, I never got away
from home—I
still live with my mother’s challenges to be my best
and do my best. Even more so, God promises never to
leave or forsake us (Heb.
13:5), and His Spirit, which dwells within
us, is always available to guide and prompt us.
Do you know God as your heavenly
Father? If not, realize that He stands ready to
adopt you into His family (Rom.
8:15;
Gal. 3:26). All it takes is trusting His Son,
Jesus Christ, as your personal Savior.
John 1:12
tells us that “as many as received Him, to them He
gave the right to become children of God, even to
those who believe in His name.”
WHY GOD SPEAKS
The God we serve is not a
distant, silent deity. He has been communicating
with His creation since the beginning (Gen.
2:16), occasionally by an audible voice, but
also in other ways (Ex.
3:4;
Heb. 1:1). Since the first century, He has
spoken to us through His Son, Jesus Christ (Heb.
1:2), and He continues to speak as we read
Scripture, pray, and seek godly counsel from other
believers.
You might wonder,
Why would God want to communicate
today? What does He have to say to us?
I believe there are several
reasons God speaks. The first is that He loves us
and desires an intimate bond with His children. As
with any growing relationship, conversation has to
flow in two directions: we must be willing not only
to talk to Him, but also to listen to Him.
A second reason is to give us
guidance. God’s people today need as much wisdom and
counsel as did the saints of the Bible—we still
require direction regarding finances, family,
career, church, health, and daily life. Divine
wisdom is essential if we are to make sound
decisions. This is the reason God sent the Holy
Spirit to be our Guide and Teacher (John
16:13;
14:26).
One way the Spirit works is by
“illumination”—this happens when we are reading
God’s Word and suddenly His message to us becomes
clear. If we want the Spirit to illuminate the deep
truths of the Lord, we’ve got to give Him something
to work with. We must regularly take in words of
Scripture so that He can help us understand their
meaning.
Another reason for His speaking
is to bring us comfort and assurance. In Scripture,
God spoke to numerous people undergoing hardships
and persecution; reminding them of His sovereign
control over their situations fortified their faith.
We are no different from the people of Bible
times—just as the children of Israel needed God’s
confidence to cross the Red Sea, you and I go
through turbulent experiences in our lives, and our
faith also needs to be strengthened.
A final reason—and, I believe,
the primary one—is that God wants us to know Him.
Though we can never fully grasp all the facets and
wonders of who God is, He wants us to spend our
lives discovering more and more about Him. He speaks
to you, His child, in order to reveal more of His
limitless qualities.
OUR FATHER’S VOICE
God uses a number of methods to
communicate with us: He speaks through His Word and
the Holy Spirit as well as through people and
circumstances. God has specific purposes for
imparting His thoughts to us. He desires that we
comprehend His truth so that it can shape our lives
and so that we can share His good news with others.
If God has a particular intention
for communicating with us, we have to ask, “What
happens when we fail to listen?” We can find the
answer at the beginning of the Bible, in the account
of Adam and Eve. We know that God spoke very clearly
to the first man (Gen.
2:16–17), instructing him not to eat from the
Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The issue is
that the first man and woman understood perfectly (Gen.
3:2–3) but did not obey. Their disobedience
marks the beginning of man’s sin problem, which has
plagued the human race throughout history. Every
person born thereafter—with the single exception of
the Lord Jesus Christ—came into this world with a
sinful nature originating from Adam. You and I have
never met a perfect person. All sin, suffering,
heartache, problems, war, bloodshed, and violence
can be traced back to their origin in the Garden.
Unfortunately what occurred in
the first family centuries ago has been happening in
some form with every family since then. As with Adam
and Eve, once we have received God’s instructions,
we, too, are accountable for what we have heard or
read. We can avoid much heartache and trouble by
listening to the Lord’s communication; failure to
listen results in severe repercussions. By studying
the account in
Genesis 3,
we can identify eight consequences of ignoring the
Lord’s instructions:
1. We End Up Listening to the Wrong Voices (vv.
1–2)
Eve had unmistakably heard God’s
command. But even having understood, she began to
listen to another voice. The serpent spoke and
inserted a question mark into her recollection of
God’s words: “Indeed, has God said … ?” The woman
allowed herself to be drawn into conversation with
him. The voice she listened to was unfamiliar—it was
the voice of neither her Creator nor her husband,
yet she paid attention and allowed it to supplant
God’s clear instruction. As a result, she fell into
sin—just like anyone today who stops listening to
God and offers an ear to Satan.
Consider how many voices we hear
in a given day. What we read and hear continually
bombards our minds, hearts, and spirits. Between the
television, the radio, the newspaper, and
magazines—not to mention the opinions of friends and
coworkers—we are barraged with vain, erroneous,
ungodly philosophy. We must choose whether or not to
listen to it. When we fail to heed God’s words or to
continually remind ourselves of scriptural
principles, we begin to listen to wrong voices, and
then we drift away from God.
2. We are Easily Deceived (Gen.
3:4)
Notice how Satan took what God
said and distorted it. The Lord told Adam and Eve
that if they ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of
Good and Evil, they would “surely die” (Gen.
2:17). Satan used just enough truth to sound
credible, but then embellished ever so slightly:
“You surely will not die!” It is Satan’s nature to
lie and deceive, “because there is no truth in him …
he is a liar and the father of lies” (John
8:44).
Satan deceives with what he knows
will appeal, not the truth. He says, “You need
this,” “You ought to have that,” or “This is exactly
what you have been looking for.” He probably said,
“Now, Eve, you need to get the full picture: God
doesn’t want you to know what He knows, because the
day you eat of that tree’s fruit, you are going to
be just like God.” It so happens that Eve did learn
some things when she partook. How many of us have
learned some things we wish we never knew?
3. We Yield to Pride and Independence (Prov.
16:17–19)
The ultimate root of all sin is
pride—it is the equivalent of our saying that we
know better than God and can handle the situation
our own way. This is in reality an act of rebellion
because it is impossible to know better than an
omniscient, all-wise God. His commands are not given
to make life dull; every single “thou shalt not” in
the Bible is an expression of His love and
protection for His children.
4. We Make Decisions that Appeal to the Flesh (Gen
3:6)
Satan never tempts us by offering
spiritual growth, improved prayer life, or more
effective ways to share our faith. No, Satan always
appeals to the flesh, not to the spirit. There is
nothing wrong with God-given desires, but Satan
takes our legitimate longings and, with our
cooperation, gets them out of balance. As he did
with Eve, the devil appeals to three yearnings we
all have—human appetites, beauty, and wisdom. Then
he twists them so that instead of simply desiring
and enjoying them, we begin to lust after them and
be controlled by them. So, what God gave in freedom
ends up enslaving us. By relying on the Holy Spirit,
however, we can have the wisdom and direction to
keep yearnings within the parameters God designed
for us.
5. We Excuse Our Wrongs and Blame Other People (Gen.
3:12–13)
When God asked Adam why he was
hiding, he immediately pointed at Eve. In fact,
there is even a sense of his blaming God for having
given him the woman! In turn, Eve blamed the
serpent. Neither one could rightly pass the blame
because both knew the command and were therefore
responsible. Besides, the devil can’t make a
believer do anything; we may consent to give in to
his temptation, but we are ultimately accountable
for that decision. People today blame everyone from
parents and coworkers to society itself. But we must
recognize that passing the buck doesn’t solve
anything and that we are responsible before God for
our choices and behavior.
6. We Suffer the Consequences (Gen.
3:14–19)
All three parties involved had to
face the results of their disobedience. Satan was
sentenced to eventual destruction. Next, God
announced that woman would be ruled by man and would
experience pain in childbirth. He also declared that
man would have to leave the Garden and toil
laboriously to earn a living. Furthermore, humans
would ultimately experience death.
At this point, some people look
at the penalties and see only harshness. However,
what God did amidst His justice—amidst His
condemnation of their sin—was to provide a way for
them to be forgiven and cleansed. If He did not do
something to remedy the situation, mankind would now
be eternally and hopelessly separated from Him. So
“the Lord
God made garments of skin” (Gen.
3:21). In the very first book of the Bible,
we see not only the justice of God but also His
grace, doing for Adam and Eve what they absolutely
could never have done for themselves. They wouldn’t
have known what to do, nor would they have known how
to do it.
If you have never trusted Jesus
Christ as your personal Savior, you are just as
helpless as Adam and Eve were. The only possible way
your sins are going to be forgiven is for you to
come to the cross, where Jesus Christ died. The
covering of our sin is strictly by the grace of
almighty God, and it is symbolized in the shedding
of the blood and providing of the skins.
7. We Cause Others Around Us to Suffer (Gen.
3:6,
17–19)
We have seen how sin and its
resulting misery extended from the first woman to
the first man when she gave him the forbidden fruit.
Anguish continued to spread as sin further poisoned
their family: the Bible records that Adam and Eve’s
firstborn son, Cain, murdered his younger brother,
Abel. In the earth’s very first family, we witness
murder, jealousy, and strife. Down through the
centuries, Satan has in one way or another had his
impact of discord, turmoil, or bloodshed in all
families. Everyone is affected because sin is not
something that we can isolate. In other words, if
you and I sin against God, we are going to hurt
somebody else.
8. We Miss Out on God’s Best
When God created Adam and Eve, He
intended for them to live in the Garden of Eden with
all of its absolute perfection. There, God had
provided for their every possible need, and in
addition, they felt no guilt or shame (Gen.
2:25). Yet they chose to disobey, and as a
result, the first family suffered horrible
consequences, including being cast out of their
flawless environment.
Although sin has spread to the
entire human race, there is good news: you can be
forgiven of your sin. But there is only one way, and
that is by receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as your
personal Savior. Keep God’s words and doctrines ever
before you—by frequently and regularly spending time
in His Word, by participating in corporate worship,
by building your knowledge and applying it to your
life, principle by principle. If you constantly
refresh your heart and mind with God’s truth, you
will be able to resist the lure of competing voices.
When this is difficult, God will move heaven and
earth to get your attention—He loves you
that
much!
HIS PRESENCE IS SURE
I’ve lived alone for the past
twelve years. If somebody had told me a decade ago
that I could do it, I’d have said, “No way.” And yet
today I have the most awesome sense of peace and
happiness and joy in my heart because I know I’m
never really alone. There was a time when walking
into my empty home bothered me, but after a while
the Lord reminded me that He is always with me. I
think of how much more time I have these days to
spend with Him. He turned what, at first, was my
complaint into a real comfort. I know now that He is
adequate and that He will turn the lonely hours into
a fruitful time in my life. In fact, He’s already
done that.
There is no substitute for
personal intimacy with God. Nothing compares with
it—it is the key to everything. Most people are
looking for an exciting and fulfilling life, and
they’re looking in all the wrong places: money,
prestige, and relationships—mostly relationships.
They are looking for something that they can achieve
to bring about fulfillment, or someone they can meet
who will make their small life grow. But there isn’t
anything we can do or anyone we can meet who will
sufficiently fill the void in our hearts. As Thomas
Aquinas said, “There is a God-shaped void in all of
us.” The only thing that can fill the indescribable
longing within each human heart is God’s presence.
The gift of His Son abiding in us is totally
adequate for everything we do.
In order to experience intimacy
with the heavenly Father, you must genuinely regard
Him as more important than everything else you
pursue in life. It is important to have goals and
relationships, but your primary pursuit should be to
know God. When I think about all the things I have
been through in my life, I consider my relationship
with God absolutely paramount. He has always been
there to assure me and bring me through life’s
trials, however hard they have been.
Suggested Bible Reading
John 1:18;
6:37;
8:37–45;
14:6–9,
26;
15:4–5;
16:13;
17:3;
Philippians
3:7–12;
4:19;
Hosea 6:3;
Colossians
2:3;
Matthew 5–7;
Jeremiah 1:5;
Romans
8:15–17;
John 10:9;
Galatians
3:26;
1 John 4:8;
Hebrews
1:1–2;
12:5–10;
13:5;
Proverbs
3:5–6;
Genesis
2:16–17,
25;
3;
and Exodus
3:4.
Prayer
Dear heavenly Father, I know that
I cannot manufacture a desire to love You as deeply
as I ought. I pray that You will place in my heart a
hunger for Your Word and a longing for fellowship
with You. Amen.
Journal Questions
• What
does it mean to “abide in Christ”?
• Is
knowing Christ your ultimate objective?
Does the Christian life not seem to work for you?
Discover the role of the Holy Spirit in shaping and empowering your walk of faith at ww2.intouch.org/lifeprinciples today.
Discover the role of the Holy Spirit in shaping and empowering your walk of faith at ww2.intouch.org/lifeprinciples today.
Stanley,
Charles F.: Living the Extraordinary Life
: Nine Principles to Discover It.
Nashville, TN : Thomas Nelson Publishers,
2005, S. 40
Principle
4
4
Trust the Lord, and He Will Move Heaven
and Earth to Accomplish His Purpose
CAN YOU TRUST GOD?
When things are going
your way, trusting the Lord is easy. But
when painful trials come into your life,
leaving you frustrated, anxious, or
despairing, do you trust Him then? In
the face of adversity, many people
wonder,
Does God really love me?
and they conclude that a truly caring
Father would not allow sorrow and
difficulty to touch His children’s
lives. Oftentimes they start to question
whether He is even
willing
to do anything about their
circumstances.
God assured His
people, “Call upon Me in the day of
trouble; I shall rescue you” (Ps.
50:15). Can we truly rely upon
Him to do that? Followers of Jesus
Christ need to understand that He is not
only able but also willing to fulfill
every single promise in Scripture. Even
when we cannot understand why God would
allow certain situations to occur, there
are three essential truths that form the
basis for trusting Him, no matter what.
The First Truth is that God is Perfect
in His Love
In other words, He
always
does what is best for us. If we really
believe this, we will trust Him even in
our most difficult trials. Satan, who
works to undermine our trust, often
takes advantage of adversity by calling
the Father’s motives into question. He
whispers, “If the Lord really loved you,
He would not have allowed this to
happen”—he wants us to associate the
sting of spiritual discipline with a
lack of divine caring. However, the
exact opposite is true.
Hebrews 12:6 tells us, “Those
whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and
He scourges every son whom He receives.”
So, while natural thinking says peace
and happiness are tokens of God’s love,
the Bible says difficulty and discipline
are actually evidence of our membership
in His family. The reason is clear: God
cares for us so much that He will not
allow us to stay as we are. Instead, He
wants to transform us into the likeness
of His Son.
We can depend on
God’s love because of His character—it
is His very nature to love (1
John 4:8). The Bible says, “In
Him there is no darkness at all” (1
John 1:5); in other words, He is
absolutely holy, righteous, and perfect
and therefore could never mistreat one
of His children. He will always do what
is positive and caring in our lives.
Calvary
is
positive proof of God’s profound love
for mankind. All of us were in dire need
of forgiveness and rescue from the
penalty of sin, but we could not save
ourselves—our debt could be satisfied
only by the payment of a perfect life (Deut.
17:1). The heavenly Father made
our salvation possible by sending His
Son, Jesus, to die on the cross as our
substitute, which is indisputable
evidence of His sacrificial, infinite
love for humanity (Rom.
5:8). God’s love is also revealed
in the covenant expressing His intention
to make us His children (Jer.
31:33). Once we trusted Jesus
Christ as our personal Savior, we became
members of God’s family. Our perfect
heavenly Father is patient, loving, and
kind toward us; He understands that we
are children learning to live in this
life.
God loves us
flawlessly. Every action He performs or
permits in our lives is an expression of
His love, even though He allows some
situations that we think could not
possibly be for our good. Always
remember that God is omniscient—He sees
the end from the beginning and knows
exactly what fruit will come from our
pain and challenges. Although we may not
understand His reason for allowing
certain hardships, our difficulties in
no way indicate He is anything but a
good God.
The Second Essential Truth is that God
is Infinite in Wisdom
He never has to poll
the angelic host—or anyone else—to get a
consensus about the wisest action to
take. In His unlimited knowledge, He
always knows what is in our very best
interest and acts accordingly.
Regardless of what our circumstances
look like, we must remember that God
knows the optimal course of action in
every situation and will only benefit
His children.
Sometimes we look at
difficulties facing us and think,
Well now, Lord, I
know You are infinitely wise, but I
think You’ve forgotten something.
Be assured He has not overlooked a
single factor. In our limited
understanding and reasoning, we simply
do not see things from God’s
perspective. We may have all the
information that is humanly possible to
gather, but God is aware of
everything
influencing the situation as well as all
the potential consequences for you and
others. He alone comprehends the
totality of every single decision. And
because He is infinitely wise, He simply
cannot make a mistake (Prov.
3:5–6).
While He completely
understands every situation, He is under
no obligation whatsoever to inform us of
the rationale for His actions or
decisions. For example, God did not make
clear why He let Joseph languish
unjustly in prison for thirteen years
before elevating him to the position of
prime minister (Gen.
39–41). Nor did He spell out why
the Israelites had to live more than
four centuries in Egyptian bondage
before He miraculously rescued them and
made them into a nation (Ex.
12:41).
Probably one of the
hardest things for me is to see some of
the most wonderful, godly people I know
stricken with malignant cancer. No
matter how much you pray and trust God,
they sometimes die. The outcome looks
grim, but I can’t do anything about it.
I feel completely helpless.
In the ministry, I
see a lot of sick people. Young and old
alike are stricken with diseases that
weaken their bodies and disable them. I
think of the war veterans I have known;
some of them are in wheelchairs unable
to walk or even feed themselves. It
seems those with physical afflictions
have the frailest bodies but the
sweetest spirits. I think,
God, I’ve been
physically blessed all of my life, while
others have suffered all of theirs.
There are
just some things I don’t understand—I
never boast of understanding. I just
have to say,
God, You’re in
control. You see the end result. If I
could see the end result in that
person’s life, or if I could see what
You’re doing worldwide, then I’m sure I
would agree with You. But at this point
I don’t know how I can do anything
except trust that in Your wisdom, You
know what is the best thing to do.
While we have no
right to fully know God’s reasons, our
lack of such information is the very
thing that creates our feelings of
frustration, anxiety, and doubt.
Consider the irony of the situation. If
we in our limited human wisdom
could
comprehend God’s motives and actions,
that in itself would be cause to doubt
Him, since His thinking would be no
better than our own! But because God’s
logic vastly exceeds our own (Isa.
55:8–9), we
can
trust Him—we have no legitimate cause
for doubting because He is an infinite,
all-wise God who knows the best action
to take in our lives.
The Third Essential Truth is that God is
Completely Sovereign in His Control
He has absolute
authority over everything in creation.
In other words, if even one tiny event
in the universe happened outside God’s
power and control, we could no longer
trust Him—in that case, we couldn’t have
certainty that He would work every
situation for our best interest. But we
can trust Him because He
is
sovereign and therefore has perfect,
complete control over every last detail
of life.
When Pilate asked
Jesus, “Do You not know that I have
authority to release You, and I have
authority to crucify You?” the Lord
answered him, “You would have no
authority over Me, unless it had been
given you from above” (John
19:10–11). Earlier, Jesus
reassured His disciples that not even a
common sparrow—worth only half a
penny—could fall to the ground apart
from the Father’s will (Matt.
10:29). In other words, whether
the circumstance is large or small, God
is in absolute control.
Some might ask, “Then
what about plane crashes or fires or
terrorist attacks? Where is God in all
that?” He is still in total control,
though this is a perplexing idea for the
human mind to reconcile. Some people
find comfort in the idea of luck, fate,
and chance because trusting God can seem
difficult when tragedy strikes. But what
happens to God’s perfect love, infinite
wisdom, and total sovereignty if luck,
fate, and chance play a role? These
words shouldn’t even be in the
believer’s vocabulary—we would never be
able to trust God if events could take
place outside His control.
It snowed in Georgia
recently—a rare occurrence—and the roads
were so icy that most of Atlanta’s
churches closed their doors. I don’t
watch television very often, but I found
myself alone at home that morning with
extra time. I settled in to watch a
documentary I’d previously taped about
Auschwitz and the Nazis. For almost two
hours, I sat in my living room
completely overwhelmed by what I
saw—every kind of evil imaginable. It
was terrible. When the program was over,
I walked around my house and thought,
God, how am
I to respond to this? This is
reality—this kind of evil.
I thought about the vast numbers of
people Hitler killed. He, Stalin, and
Mao Tse-Tung murdered people thousands
at a time. At the hands of those three
men, millions of people lost their
lives. How am I supposed to respond to
such horrors?
I always go back to
Psalm 103:19: “The
Lord has established His throne
in the heavens, and His sovereignty
rules over all.” I don’t know why God
allowed the Holocaust to occur. I don’t
know why thousands of people died at the
hands of terrorists on September 11,
2001. Or why a tsunami killed more than
170,000 people in some of the poorest
countries on the face of the earth. But
I have come to the conclusion that there
are some things I’m not going to
understand on this side of eternity.
Whether its purpose was to awaken the
world to the reality of evil or to make
us aware of the uncertainty of life, I
do not know. I just have to trust God—in
some way, in some fashion, He will turn
these things to good.
We live in a wicked,
vile world where we are subject to the
consequences of sin. Many circumstances
are not God’s perfect will, but He
allows them through His permissive will,
despite the pain they cause. In His
omniscience, God knows what is
ultimately best, including the long-term
consequences of tragedies that seem
heartless and inexplicable. We should
not doubt God or abandon our trust when
we lack understanding. Instead, we
should surrender our lives to Him,
accepting by faith that He is good and
worthy of our full trust.
Our lives belong to
our sovereign, all-knowing, loving God,
and nothing can touch us except what He
allows. Sometimes that includes hardship
and suffering, which leave us wondering,
How can
this possibly be good?
And yet many people who have gone
through tremendous trials later look
back and say, “I hated the difficulty
while I was going through it and
wondered if God had deserted me. But
now, on this side of it, I can see why
He allowed it.” Not everyone fully
understands the spiritual insight, yet
it happens frequently enough that we can
take comfort, realizing that God has His
purposes and with perfect timing will
bring blessing from our trials (Rom.
8:28).
So when you face
struggles, remind yourself that God has
your best interest in mind. He wants you
to trust Him as your personal Savior and
surrender your life to Him. There is no
reason to doubt Him, because He is
perfect in His love, infinite in His
wisdom, and sovereign in His control of
the entire universe. Why should
believers ever fret, when even in the
deepest, darkest valleys, there can be
abiding joy and confidence? No matter
what befalls you, our all-loving,
all-wise, all-powerful heavenly Father
has you in the cradle of His hand.
TRUSTING GOD MEANS LOOKING BEYOND WHAT
WE SEE TO WHAT GOD SEES
The Scripture
frequently uses the example of walking
as a description of believers’ behavior.
For example, we are told to walk as
children of light, walk in the truth,
walk according to the Spirit, and walk
in love.
Colossians 2:6 uses this
expression to give us an important
command: “As you have received Christ
Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” The
question we must ask is, “What does it
mean to walk in Christ”?
Here, the word
in
does not have a literal usage, like “the
hammer is
in the
toolbox.” Rather, it refers to a vital
relationship—a union between the
believer and the Lord. Just as a wedding
marks the beginning of a new
relationship for a man and a woman,
receiving Christ as Savior commences an
intimate fellowship between the Lord and
His follower. What God desires is not
simply to forgive sins, but to develop a
close and ever-deepening personal
relationship with each of His children.
He wants us to realize that the Son of
God is the source of everything—Jesus
Christ is to the believer what blood is
to the body: indispensable to life.
Therefore, “walking
in Christ” refers to a dynamic
relationship with the Lord. Just as it
is impossible to walk while standing
still, believers are either moving
forward in their Christian life or
falling backward. The key for making
progress is found in that same
Colossians verse: “As
you have received Christ Jesus the Lord,
so walk in Him.” How did you and I
receive Christ? By faith. In order to be
born again, we trusted the testimony of
God’s Word. The Christian life is to be
“walked”—or lived out—in the same way.
Many people walk by
sight and feelings, but allowing our
physical senses to guide us spiritually
does not work because the Lord simply
will not provide all the information we
would like to have. Instead, He wants us
to trust Him daily for whatever need we
may have. That is why followers of Jesus
Christ are commanded to “walk by faith,
not by sight” (2
Cor. 5:7). We must take the first
step by faith, and then another, not
knowing exactly where it will lead us,
but trusting that our omniscient, loving
God has our best interest in mind.
Walking in faith means having a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ that
results in trusting Him for every
circumstance and believing He will do
what is right and what benefits us every
time, without exception.
LEARNING TO WALK BY FAITH
What do you do when
facing a challenge that seems
insurmountable?
Proverbs 3:5–6 instructs you to
“trust in the
Lord with all your heart and do
not lean on your own understanding. In
all your ways acknowledge Him, and He
will make your paths straight.”
The foundation for
living a life of faith is a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ. Unless
we know Him, we cannot discern His will
for our lives. When an opportunity
unfolds, those who desire to live by
faith want to know that it is God who is
leading them and not their own
motivation.
God has a purpose for
every situation we encounter. There are
no coincidences with Him. He is the
Architect behind every blessing that
comes our way. In times of trial and
sorrow, He is working in ways unknown to
us to bring goodness and hope out of
each difficulty. Yet many people wonder
if God truly has a plan for their lives.
The answer is yes. The first step in
understanding this plan comes when we
begin to build an intimate relationship
with Him. Salvation is the starting
point. When we acknowledge our need for
a Savior, pray and ask Him to forgive
our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness, God rescues us from an
eternal death.
God graciously
embraces us with His eternal love and
mercy. He forgives and washes away the
stain that sin has left on our lives (Isa.
1:18). Then He prepares us for
blessing—not necessarily in a material
sense, but spiritually and emotionally.
A person may have tremendous material
wealth but be spiritually and
emotionally bankrupt. Abraham was not a
poor man. He was a leader among his
people. God had given him the ability to
see beyond the immediate challenge to
the blessings of the future.
When God commanded
him to sacrifice his only son on the
altar, Abraham did not cower in fear or
lay awake at night wondering how the
Lord would provide for him. He trusted
God, and in doing so, he was able to
have fellowship with Him. Scripture
tells us that Abraham believed God, and
his belief was “reckoned” to him as
“righteousness” (Gen.
15:6).
There are two things
that are essential to living a
faith-motivated life. First, we must
believe that God exists. Second, we must
believe that He does what He has
promised to do.
Hebrews 11:6 tells us that
“without faith it is impossible to
please [God], for he who comes to God
must believe that He is and that He is a
rewarder of those who seek Him.” Faith
is not a goal that we must work to
achieve. It comes as the overflow of a
personal relationship with God. It is as
natural as taking a breath of air. Faith
is the breath and life of our
relationship with God and His Son.
There also are
material benefits to abiding by faith.
God rewards our desire to trust Him and
live obediently. No matter how small our
faith seems at times, God is pleased
when we depend upon Him. Even the
slightest step of faith does not go
unnoticed by Him. We can be sure that
just as He was faithful to the promise
He made to Abraham, He will be faithful
to us. One of the greatest blessings
Abraham received was being called the
friend of God (Isa.
41:8).
Do you trust God with
your life? He created you and knows you
completely. He understands your
weaknesses and your desire to love Him.
Even when you feel as though you have
failed Him, He is quick to receive you
and prove His love to you.
After the
Crucifixion, the disciples returned to
their former ways of life. Instead of
living by faith and doing what God had
called them to do, they went back out on
the Sea of Galilee to fish (Matt.
4:18;
John 21:3–4)! Have you ever
wondered how God views our lack of
faith? It is certain that He will never
condemn us (Rom.
8:1). Christ’s presence on the
shore of Galilee was enough to let Peter
and the others know that it was time to
stop being distracted by the voices of
the world. Before the Crucifixion, He
had told the disciples that He would
return to them, and He fulfilled His
promise. God has kept every promise He
made. This is why we can trust Him with
every aspect of our lives.
Although Peter denied
knowing Christ, Jesus did not deny
knowing him. We may falter and fail, but
God does not want us to focus on our
shortcomings. Instead, He wants us to
set our focus on Him. God evaluates our
lives not according to
our
ability to remain faithful, but
according to
His
faithfulness and the work that was
accomplished at Calvary. While He does
not want us to yield to temptation, He
knows there will be times when we fall.
But always we remain the beneficiaries
of His endless grace and eternal love.
After the Resurrection, one of the first
things Jesus did was to go to Peter and
reassure him of His eternal love. God’s
plan for Peter’s life had not changed.
Therefore, Jesus encouraged His disciple
not to give up. A person who lives by
faith will recognize the fact that God
never gives up on him.
What does it take to
live a life of faith?
A Desire to Know God and to Be Known by
Him
God desires to know
each of His children intimately.
Therefore, if you pray for the desire to
know Him, you can be certain that He
will fill your heart with longing for
Him. A genuine desire for God cannot be
manufactured, but it can be easily
acquired—all you have to do is ask for
it.
A Commitment to Obey Him
Obedience is a mark
of our ability to trust God, especially
when it comes to facing important
decisions or serious challenges. God may
direct us along a certain course, but we
sometimes find ourselves doubting His
ability to protect and deliver us
safely. However, a person who lives by
faith will continue moving forward as
Abraham did, without yielding to
feelings of doubt or fear. God always
rewards obedience with great blessing.
A Confident Conviction that God Will
Fulfill Every Promise
The ultimate question
is not “Will God do what He promised?”
but “Am I willing to trust Him even
though His timetable may not be mine?”
We must realize that the faith
demonstrated by Abel, Enoch, Noah,
Abraham, Jacob, and Sarah was faith
without limits (Heb.
11). Each one of those people
trusted God despite the fact that they
did not see the end result of their
confidence in Him. They lived by faith
each day, and God gave them an eternal
reward.
A Lifestyle of Faith
A life of faith is
dominated by Jesus Christ, not selfish
desires. The person of little faith
says, “God can.” The person of great
faith says, “God will.” But the person
with perfect faith says, “God has done
it.”
Are you willing to
trust God and see what He will do in
your life? God led Abraham into a land
of tremendous promise and blessing. He
will do the same for you as you trust
Him and walk by faith.
BARRIERS TO FAITH
Moses was chosen for
a task that he did not believe he could
do. Even though God proved Himself to
Moses and spoke directly to him through
a burning bush, the future leader did
not fully trust the Lord to enable him
to fulfill that calling. When God chose
him to deliver the nation of Israel,
Moses retorted, “What if they will not
believe me or listen to what I say? For
they may say, ‘The
Lord has not appeared to you’ ” (Ex.
4:1). Although the reluctant
servant recounted his many weaknesses,
the Lord nevertheless remained firm in
His call.
Why do we experience
barriers to our faith? Like Moses, many
people have a limited understanding of
God. At first, he could not comprehend
what God was telling him to do. How
could he lead millions out of Egyptian
bondage? Afraid that he could not rise
to the task to which God called him, he
presented five reasons to prove his
calculations were correct. Perhaps, at
some point, you have felt the same way.
1. A Poor Self-Image
Moses was a shepherd,
and Egyptians loathed shepherds. Because
he had assessed his life apart from the
miraculous work of God, the prophet
denied he could be of any use to God.
Oswald Chambers wrote, “Don’t plan
without God. God seems to have a
delightful way of upsetting the plans we
have made, when we have not taken Him
into account.”1
God takes great joy in doing the
impossible through the lives of men and
women who place their trust in Him.
Remember, what seems impossible for you
is an opportunity for God to display His
infinite ability.
2. Ignorance of Who God is
Moses had heard the
name Yahweh, but he did not have a
personal knowledge of the God of Israel.
However, this changed when he stepped
into the presence of the living Lord at
the burning bush. That was where God
began to develop Moses’ spiritual
character, a process that continued
throughout his life.
If you want to grow
spiritually while gaining God’s wisdom
and discernment, begin spending time
alone with the Lord on a regular basis.
In times of worship, praise, and prayer,
God will reveal His loving nature to
you.
3. Doubt
Moses doubted God’s
ability, and his doubt kept him from
experiencing the fullness of His
immediate blessings. Each of us has
faced times when we were not sure of
God’s involvement in our circumstances.
We have wondered if we could trust His
promises, and we have questioned the
Christian principles that we had been
applying to our lives.
Years ago, when we
first moved to Atlanta, my wife and I
searched three months for a house and
found nothing. Finally, a house became
available. It wasn’t what we wanted, but
we were desperate. I knew God was
telling us to wait, but we were living
with another couple and their two
children, and I didn’t feel that we
could impose on them any longer. So I
put an offer on the house and signed a
contract. The very next day my wife
found a beautiful Dutch colonial that
was absolutely perfect. Our hearts sank
as I realized the results of my lack of
trust.
Thankfully, God is
incredibly gracious—that isn’t the end
of the story. In the contract I had
signed, there was a stipulation stating
that if there was any water damage in
the basement, it would invalidate the
sale. The night we signed our contract,
a thunderstorm poured down on Atlanta
leaving a foot of water in the house.
Our realtor called to say that he
couldn’t remember the last time he had
seen so much rain. The contract was
nullified and we purchased the other
home—the one God had intended for us to
have.
God never allows us
to face a challenge without providing a
promise for us to cling to in times of
trial and adversity. A lack of trust in
God’s ability often leads to feelings of
unrest and anxiety. Doubt keeps us from
accomplishing God’s will, but it also
prevents us from experiencing His
goodness.
Moses did not realize
it, but the moment he decided to obey
God was the first step he took toward an
eternal blessing. How do you experience
God’s goodness? Lay aside your doubts.
Place your trust in the omnipotent
potential of an all-knowing God who
loves and understands you completely and
will never allow you to experience
defeat.
4. Inadequacy
One of Moses’
strongest excuses was that he could not
speak eloquently. Therefore, he argued,
he could not go to the people of Israel
with God’s message, nor could he go to
Pharaoh (Ex.
4:10).
A person who thinks
he is of great value to God is deceived.
Those who know they need God are the
ones most often used by Him to do great
work. When we think we are bright,
talented, and strong, we usually have
little need of God. Our minds are set on
what we can accomplish, and we do not
seek the wisdom of the Lord. But
depending solely on our own strength can
lead to feelings of doubt, insecurity,
and anxiety.
The person with a
humble heart knows that he can do
nothing apart from God, and this is his
greatest asset. Moses was overwhelmed by
his challenge, but God’s ability
surpassed anything he faced. Whatever
your inadequacy, it is an opportunity
for God to prove His faithfulness
through you.
5. Fear of Failure
Fear of failure is
one of the most debilitating and common
fears people suffer from. I have
counseled countless people who could not
move ahead in their careers,
relationships, or personal goals because
they were afraid of failure. Unable to
trust in God’s strength, they looked
inside at their own human frailty and
concluded there was no hope.
Many people are
actually more afraid to fail than to
die. I am convinced that this is why so
many people struggle to rest completely
in God’s grace—they are afraid He will
let them fail. But God will never give
you a directive and then leave you to
work out the details by yourself.
Instead, He is personally involved in
every aspect of your life. As believers,
we have access to the wisdom and
strength of almighty God. When we
renounce any feelings of pride, doubt,
or fear, God works in our lives to do
“abundantly beyond all that we ask or
think” (Eph.
3:20).
ACQUIRING GIANT FAITH
We all know the story
of the young shepherd boy who slew the
giant. David stood before his formidable
foe with no sword, no armor, and no
battle experience. Biblical commentaries
speculate that Goliath, a mammoth
warrior, stood somewhere between nine
and twelve feet tall and that he weighed
several hundred pounds. He was heavily
armed, and the sight of him struck
terror in the hearts of Saul’s army. By
all rational accounts, David was no
match for his challenger.
At some point, each
of us will face what seem to be mammoth
trials and difficulties. Knowing how to
respond properly to these challenges is
critical to our spiritual growth.
The secret of David’s
success was his ability to trust and
obey God. He also realized that faith
was progressive: what he learned in one
situation, God later applied and
reapplied to his life. He wrote, “[God]
trains my hands for battle, so that my
arms can bend a bow of bronze” (2
Sam. 22:35).
God has a plan to
develop our faith. He takes our limited
trust and grows it into a strong and
mighty faith—one that has the ability to
conquer deadly foes. This is often why
He allows us to face adversity and
challenges of all kinds, good and bad.
In times of extreme pressure, God
stretches our faith and deepens our
dependence on Him. Without strong,
abiding trust, we will quickly yield to
temptation and fear, especially when the
trial or difficulty is intense or
prolonged.
God developed David’s
trust until it became unshakable, and He
wants to do this in our lives as well.
Whether it relates to the beginning of a
new job or the ending of an old one, God
wants to teach us to trust Him at every
turn in life. Had the nation of Israel
learned this, it never would have
suffered Goliath’s verbal abuse for
forty days. The Bible tells us that was
how long the Philistine taunted Israel.
Both armies mistakenly believed that
Goliath was the ultimate offensive
weapon, but they had forgotten God (1
Sam. 17).
When David arrived at
the battlefront, he could not believe
what he was hearing from the mouth of
the Philistine giant. Immediately he saw
past the physical evidence around him to
the spiritual nature of the battle: it
was not a battle between men; it was a
battle between God and the enemy of our
souls—Satan.
One of Satan’s
primary attacks in the life of a
believer is discouragement. Even Jesus
warned us not to be concerned about the
one who could kill our bodies but,
instead, to be aware of the one who
could kill our souls. Once we have
accepted Christ as our Savior, the enemy
assumes a different role. He goes to
work on our emotions by trying to
persuade us to believe that we are not
worthy of God’s love and affection. He
seeks ways to cause us to feel defeated
and discouraged with the goal that if he
can make us give up, then we will
abandon our commitment and love for God.
However, Satan cannot
defeat the love of God. God’s love for
us is paramount and eternal. He loves us
not because of what we do, but because
of what His Son did for us on Calvary’s
cross. There is nothing we can do to
become worthy of God’s unconditional
love. It is simply there for the taking,
whenever we are ready to accept it and
ask Him to show us how to appropriate it
in our lives.
David discovered that
God’s greatest enemy already had worked
his lies into the minds and lives of
Israel’s soldiers. The soldiers wouldn’t
go into battle with Goliath because they
believed they could not win. Not one
arrow had been shot, yet Israel was
ready to concede defeat (1
Sam. 17:24). Imagine what they
thought when David came on the scene,
declaring that God would grant him the
victory.
The Goliath in your
life may come in the form of financial
indebtedness, the death of a loved one,
a teenager who has left home, news of a
serious illness, a broken relationship,
or the betrayal of a friend. God does
not want us to sink into feelings of
doubt and worry. He is our ever-present
help, our rock, our fortress, our
deliverer, our refuge, our strength, and
our infinite stronghold (Ps.
18).
THE FAITH THAT CONQUERS
Whatever Goliath you
face, the one truth you need to bury
deep within your heart is this: God
loves you, and when you place your trust
in Him, He will not allow you to face
defeat. You may go through times of
failure. Life may not always turn out
the way you planned, but ultimately God
will be glorified, and you will be
blessed.
Every challenge
presents an opportunity for God to
display His faithfulness and love.
Instead of yielding to thoughts of fear
and failure, make a commitment to trust
God, even when you do not know what the
next day will bring: “In all your ways
acknowledge Him, and He will make your
paths straight” (Prov.
3:6).
David’s faith was not
based on human understanding. It was
founded in the sovereignty of God.
Therefore, David knew he could not fail
in his quest to defeat the Philistine
giant.
How do you gain a
conquering faith?
Recall Past Victories
David recalled how
God had delivered him from the paw of
the lion and the grasp of the bear (1
Sam. 17:32–37). Spiritual
victories are won in your mind. If you
give in to feelings of fear, doubt, and
unbelief, you will suffer defeat because
your mental focus shifts from God and
His infinite ability to the lies of the
enemy. Set the focus of your heart,
mind, and will on the truth of God’s
Word, and you will gain the victory in
every battle.
Reexamine and Reaffirm Your Motives
David did not rush
into battle without assessing the
situation. He realized that the battle
facing Israel was spiritual in nature
and not just physical. His primary
motivation for seeking the victory was
not personal gain. Instead it was to
bring glory to God.
If your motives for
victory are selfish in nature, God will
deal with you. True victory and peace
can come only as you surrender your
life, along with your desires, to
Christ. In yielding yourself to Him, you
gain a deeper joy and sense of
fulfillment. Always ask three questions
before dealing with any conflict or
challenge:
What is my
motivation?
What is
God’s purpose for me?
and What
really is going on here?
Take time to pray and seek God’s will
for every situation.
Reject Discouraging Words
There was no one to
encourage David in his quest to defeat
Goliath. The soldiers laughed at him.
His brothers were embarrassed by his
presence and urged him to go home. Even
King Saul doubted David’s ability. If he
had listened to their comments, he would
have given up. Instead, David turned his
heart toward God, and it was there that
he found the encouragement he needed.
From a human perspective, there may be
times when you feel as though you are
facing a Goliath alone. But God has
promised never to leave you (Heb.
13:5). His Spirit is with you in
every circumstance.
Recognize the True Nature of the Battle
Goliath cursed David
when he saw him: “Am I a dog, that you
come to me with sticks?… Come to me, and
I will give your flesh to the birds of
the sky and the beasts of the field” (1
Sam. 17:43–44).
David countered these
threats with a wonderful reply:
You come to me with a sword, a spear,
and a javelin, but I come to you in the
name of the
Lord
of hosts, the God of the armies of
Israel, whom you have taunted. This day
the
Lord
will deliver you up into my hands … that
all the earth may know that there is a
God in Israel, and that all this
assembly may know that the
Lord
does not deliver by sword or by spear;
for the battle is the
Lord’s
and He will give you into our hands. (vv.
45–47)
What a victorious
answer to the enemy’s threat!
Respond to the Challenge with a Positive
Confession
David made positive
confessions of faith to those around
him. He asked his critics, “Who is this
uncircumcised Philistine, that he should
taunt the armies of the living God?” (1
Sam. 17:26). To Saul he said,
“The Lord who delivered me … will
deliver me from the hand of this
Philistine” (1
Sam. 17:37). And to Goliath he
said, “I come to you in the name of the
Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of
Israel” (1
Sam. 17:45). David’s words were a
testimony of faith. He was convinced
that he could not lose, because God was
with him.
Rely on the Power of God for the Victory
David did not need a
spear or a javelin to defeat Goliath. He
needed only a conquering faith and a
willingness to follow God. A homemade
slingshot was the weapon God chose for
him. Human strength was not the victor.
God was the One who received the glory.
Reckon the Victory
Once you have spent
time with God in prayer and know that it
is His will for you to enter the battle,
you can reckon the victory to be His.
Even before he stepped on the
battlefield, David knew he would not
lose.
You can face any
circumstance with confidence and hope
because it is not your strength, wisdom,
energy, or power that is the ultimate
source of victory. It is God’s ability,
and when you place your trust in Him,
you tap into an eternal force that
cannot be harnessed by any human
constraints.
Suggested Bible Reading
Psalms 18;
50:15;
103:19;
Hebrews 11:6;
12:6;
Deuteronomy 17:1;
1 John 1:5;
4:8;
Romans 5:8;
8:1,
28;
Jeremiah 31:33;
Proverbs 3:5–6;
Genesis 39–41;
Exodus 12:41;
Isaiah 41:8;
55:8–9;
John 19:10–11;
21:3–4;
Matthew 10:29;
14:9;
Colossians 2:6;
2 Corinthians 5:7;
Exodus 4:1–10;
Ephesians 3:20;
1 Samuel 17; and
2 Samuel 22:35.
Prayer
Dear heavenly Father,
thank You for caring about me enough to
send Your Son to atone for my sin. Thank
You for knowing when I get up and when I
sleep. Thank You for the plan You have
for my life. I pray You will help me to
trust in You and take my strength from
You to slay the giants in my life. Amen.
Journal Questions
• Are
you able to trust God?
• What
are the barriers to your faith?
• Is
there a “Goliath” in your life?
• How
has God shown Himself faithful to you?
Have you faced obstacles that have
caused you to doubt God’s love or power
in your life? Visit
ww2.intouch.org/lifeprinciples
today for in-depth study of His
overarching plan for bringing you into a
new level of spiritual maturity.
1
Oswald Chambers,
My Utmost for
His Highest,
July 5 Devotion, edited by James
Reimann (Grand Rapids, MI:
Discovery House Press, 1992).
Stanley, Charles F.: Living
the Extraordinary Life : Nine
Principles to Discover It.
Nashville, TN : Thomas Nelson
Publishers, 2005, S. 62
Principle
5
5
Obedience Always Brings
Blessing
I once
photographed a beautiful
vineyard in northern
California. I was struck by
the uniformity of the rows—I
had never seen anything in
nature as straight. I knelt
down to see if I could
detect any crooked vines,
but I couldn’t. They were
absolutely perfect. Looking
out across those acres of
meticulous crops, I thought
of how precise God’s ways
are and how He has given us
a simple way to walk the
straight and narrow path.
When we
obey God, we will experience
His blessing; when we don’t,
we will miss out on that
blessing. One of the most
basic yet important
principles a Christian can
ever learn is that of
obedience.
The more
familiar we become with
God’s Word, the more we will
begin to understand
obedience. God’s laws are
not designed to deprive us
of pleasure or prosperity;
rather, they are intended to
protect us from hurting
ourselves and others, and to
guide us toward the
fulfillment in life that He
wants us to enjoy.
When we
are faced with daily
pressures, we may be tempted
to compromise Scripture’s
express teaching in favor of
self-reliance or worldly
solutions. Every person has
God-given desires and
appetites, which can be
satisfied as He intended or
in selfish and even harmful
ways. Throughout our lives,
we will encounter opposition
to biblical living.
Obedience to God involves a
commitment to Him,
regardless of the
consequences.
Obeying
God often involves choices
that we fear could result in
rejection, loss, or
hardship. Sometimes the
decision to follow Christ
brings about unwanted
confrontation. Obedience
always requires courage.
However difficult our
circumstances may be, we can
respond to them with
confidence in the One who
empowers us to do His will.
Has God ever made a mistake,
been too late, or proven
inadequate? No! Our heavenly
Father is all-powerful and
consistently faithful.
The laws
of Scripture are profound
yet simple: the Bible
teaches that we will reap
what we sow, more than we
sow, later than we sow. When
we obey God, we will always
get His best; when we don’t,
life will turn out to be
much harder. We do not
always do what we should,
and there is grace in those
situations, but for
Christians, making a
commitment to obey God is
essential to our faith.
Obedience and faith are
inseparable. We demonstrate
our trust in God by
complying with His will.
When we do so, we will reap
the rewards He has designed
for us—and we will hit our
target every time.
THE KEY TO GOD’S HEART
I was
only in the first grade, but
I still remember the key
that unlocked the door to
our house. It was one of
those long black keys, and
after I left in the morning,
I would hide it under a rock
so nobody but my mother and
I knew where it was.
Sometimes I came home in the
afternoon and wondered if
the key was still there.
When I moved the rock aside
and spotted it, a wonderful
sense of relief flooded over
me. The key was important to
me because it was the key to
our home. It unlocked the
place where my mother and I
lived—where my needs were
met and where our belongings
were kept. Home was where I
felt my mother’s love and
care.
More than
likely, you also have keys
in your life—keys to your
house, your car, or your
desk. But have you ever
thought about having the key
to someone’s heart? When you
have the key to somebody’s
heart, you know how to reach
what is inside. You know how
to move that person toward
you, and you understand how
he or she feels.
For some
people, the key may be love,
faith, or service. I want to
tell you that the key to
God’s heart is
obedience.
Nevertheless, too many
people fail to realize this.
Because we’re taught to be
independent and
self-reliant, the idea of
obedience doesn’t sit well
with most people. But God
does not fashion Himself
according to our vanity.
Though it can be difficult
and sometimes painful,
obedience is what God asks
of us. Obedience should be a
priority for anyone who
desires to know God and
please Him. It is always the
right choice, with no
exceptions. Jesus said, “If
anyone loves me, he will
obey my teaching. My Father
will love him, and we will
come to him and make our
home with him” (John
14:23
niv).
SAYING YES TO GOD
God’s
simple requests are often
stepping-stones to life’s
greatest blessings. Simon
Peter is a good illustration
of what happens when we say
yes to God. In
Luke 5:1–11, people
were pressing in around
Jesus while He was
preaching. The Lord wanted
to use Peter’s boat as a
floating platform from which
to address the throng on
shore, so He asked the
future apostle to push the
vessel out a little way (v.
3). That in itself
was not a particularly
remarkable request, but
Peter’s compliance paved the
way for multiple blessings,
and from his example, we
learn how essential it is to
obey God in even the
smallest matters.
Immediately the people were
blessed by Peter’s
obedience—they could hear
Jesus’ words as He taught.
Then, when the lesson was
completed, the Lord said to
Peter, “Put out into the
deep water and let down your
nets for a catch” (v.
4). Here was another
opportunity to say yes or
no, and Peter must have felt
tempted not to consent.
After all, he had worked the
entire night in hopes of a
catch but had returned
empty-handed and exhausted.
And Jesus was telling him to
go fishing! But notice what
happened as a result of
Peter’s obedience: on a day
that he and his colleagues
had written off as a total
loss, they pulled in not
one, but two overflowing
boatloads of fish (v.
7). Saying yes
resulted in a miracle that
absolutely transformed the
fisherman’s life.
Obedience
is critical to the
successful Christian life,
and there are several truths
that will help you
understand it from a divine
perspective:
1. Obeying God in Small
Matters is an Essential Step
to God’s Greatest Blessings
Suppose
Peter had said, “I’m busy
cleaning my nets right now.
I can’t help You because I’m
going fishing again
tonight—I just don’t have
the time.” Or he could have
said, “Why don’t You ask to
use that other boat over
there?” or “I’ve already
been fishing today. It would
be a waste of time to go
again right now.” Peter
could have said a number of
things. If he had said
anything other than yes, he
would have missed the
greatest fishing experience
of his life. But because of
Peter’s obedience, the Lord
arranged a miracle that he
would never forget.
Oftentimes God’s greatest
blessings come as a result
of our willingness to do
something that appeared to
be very insignificant. So
ask yourself,
Has God
been challenging me to do
something seemingly
unimportant that I have not
yet made an effort to
accomplish? Is there
anything I have rationalized
by saying, “It’s too
difficult,” “I don’t want
to,” or even “I have to pray
about it”?
2. Our Obedience is Always
Beneficial to Others
Think of
all the people who were
blessed by Peter’s
obedience. In addition to
the crowd being able to see
the Lord and hear His
lesson, Jesus Himself
benefited: preaching from
the boat afforded Him the
comfort of being able to sit
down while He spoke (v.
3). Not only that,
but Peter’s friends had a
very profitable day—they
took in two vessels so full
of fish that both began to
sink. More important, they
had the opportunity to
witness something
supernatural.
God often
rewards other
people—especially those
closest to us—as a result of
our obedience. For example,
no father can be obedient to
God without blessing pouring
out into the lives of his
wife and his children. And a
child’s obedience will
likewise bless his or her
parents.
3. Obeying God May Require
Doing Some Things that
Appear to Be Unreasonable
Peter was
a skillful fisherman who
knew all the best fishing
spots and understood the
optimal times and conditions
for a catch. Then Jesus, an
itinerant preacher and
carpenter, approached the
seasoned seaman and said,
“Let’s go fishing.” Peter
must have been thinking,
He is certainly a wonderful
teacher, but I’m the
fisherman. We fished all
night long with no success,
and besides, it is now
midday, the worst possible
time to net anything.
To his credit, Peter chose
to obey (v.
5) and, as a result,
experienced a stunning
display of divine power.
Our
obedience to God should
never be based on whether
something seems rational or
fits with the world’s way of
thinking. That is not to say
God always bypasses common
sense, but oftentimes what
He requires of us may not
appear reasonable or match
our preconceived ideas. That
was exactly what happened
just before I moved to
Atlanta. I always believed
that to be effective, a
pastor needed to stay in one
pulpit for a long time. Yet
after only eleven months in
Bartow, Florida, I began to
hear God speak to me about
coming to Georgia, which
struck me as extremely
unreasonable. I gave the
Lord reason after reason why
I should remain, including
that my preacher friends
would think I had failed in
that position. God was not
at all persuaded and kept
pressing my heart to do as
He instructed. If I had not
submitted—if I had said,
“No, God, it is simply not
logical”—I would have missed
tremendous blessings.
4. When We Obey God, We Will
Never Be Disappointed
Because
of his experience at
fishing, Peter undoubtedly
assumed Jesus’ instructions
would amount to killing
time, waiting for nothing to
happen. But when he complied
with that simple request, he
was gripped with amazement
at what the Lord brought
about. We, like Peter, must
recognize that obeying God
is always the wise course of
action. Jesus turned an
empty boat into a full one.
He can also take our
emptiness—whether it is
related to finance,
relationship, or career—and
change it into something
splendid and thriving.
Perhaps
you are hesitant to obey
because you fear the
consequences. Remember that
the same sovereign,
omnipotent God who keeps
your heart beating and the
planets orbiting is more
than able to handle the
circumstances of your
obedience. I am not saying
that to obey necessarily
results in the exact outcome
you desire; in fact, an
intervening trial could
possibly precede a blessing.
But even when our
expectations do not line up
with God’s purposes, that in
no way means His ways will
be disappointing; on the
contrary, however He chooses
to bless our obedience will
ultimately prove far more
satisfying.
5. Our Obedience Allows God
to Demonstrate His Power in
Our Lives
If Peter
had said no, he would have
missed an awesome
demonstration of divine
power that made his faith
skyrocket and marked the
beginning of the most
thrilling three years
imaginable. Walking with the
Lord Jesus Christ every day,
the disciple would witness
miracles even greater than
two boatloads of fish—a
blind man would begin to
see, dead Lazarus would be
restored to life, and at
Jesus’ urging, Peter himself
would step out of a boat not
into the water, but
onto
it! Why do you think he had
the courage to leave his
vessel and walk on the water
toward Christ? The reason is
that Peter started by saying
yes to a small request. Then
each time God rewarded his
obedience, the apostle’s
faith grew, to the point
that he believed his Master
not only controlled the fish
in the water but also had
absolute authority over the
water!
6. Obeying God Always
Results in Deeper
Understanding
Prior to
this incident, Peter might
have been aware that Jesus
was a carpenter. He
certainly knew Him as a
rabbi and had heard the
profound truths the Lord
taught the crowds. However,
obeying Christ’s request set
the stage for Peter to get
brand-new insight—the Lord’s
holiness and sovereign
authority over nature were
clearly evident through the
miraculous catch. By
contrast, the fisherman
likely recognized his own
sinfulness. When we obey
God, we, too, will discover
that something happens in
our hearts.
7. Obeying God Will Result
in Dramatic Changes in Our
Lives
Simon
Peter had in all likelihood
intended to spend the rest
of his life fishing. But
everything changed with one
simple act of obedience. He
willingly laid down his net
and walked into a whole new
lifestyle of following the
Lord Jesus Christ.
God can
revolutionize our lives. For
some people, this could mean
a change of career, a new
location, or a different
relationship. Are you
willing to do what God says,
when and how He says to do
it? Are you willing to leave
all the consequences to Him?
The hymn writer expressed it
simply: “Trust and obey, for
there’s no other way to be
happy in Jesus, but to trust
and obey.” Let me add a
truth to that: there is no
such thing as happiness
apart from Jesus. Without a
right relationship with
Christ, you will never have
real contentment, peace, or
assurance. Nothing else in
this world can ever truly
satisfy.
To become
wholly surrendered disciples
of Christ, we must begin by
obeying Him in every aspect
of our lives, however small
it may seem. Remember the
good servant, who heard his
master say, “Well done, good
slave, because you have been
faithful in a very little
thing, you are to be in
authority over ten cities” (Luke
19:17). Unless you
say yes to a little request
from the Lord, you will
never know what your life
could have been like—or what
wonderful blessing would
have been yours if only you
had obeyed God. Why risk
losing when you can be
certain of winning?
THE PRIORITY OF OBEDIENCE
Perhaps
you know someone who
believes that living a good
and honest life gains God’s
favor. Many people think
they are demonstrating
obedience to God by helping
others occasionally,
avoiding temptation, and
attending church. But there
is much more to obedience.
True obedience to God means
doing
what
He says,
when
He says,
how
He says,
as long
as
He says,
until
what He says is
accomplished.
Unfortunately this concept
is often rejected in today’s
culture. We have
rationalized disobedience to
the point of missing the
best of God’s blessings. Do
you wonder why God doesn’t
answer your prayers with a
yes or why, though you try
and try, the circumstances
in your life still don’t
work out? The answer could
lie in your level of
obedience to God. If you
have accepted Jesus Christ
as your Savior and yet are
still experiencing great
spiritual frustration, there
may be an area of
disobedience in your life
that you have not addressed.
Perhaps God has asked
something of you, and in
response, you have ignored
His words or done only part
of what He requires.
Before
you try to make a list of
everything God has ever
asked you to do or not to
do, consider this: Is there
one
particular
area of your life in which
you struggle to be obedient
to God’s Word? As you read
the Scriptures, does He
continually bring a
particular sin to your
attention? When you go to
Him in prayer, does the same
issue surface repeatedly? If
the Lord is bringing
something to your mind right
now, it could be that you
have been living in the same
situation for years because
at some point, you chose to
do things
your
way instead of
God’s
way.
Understanding this key
distinction between our way
and God’s way can make a
tremendous difference in
every believer’s life. We
must place obedience at the
top of our priority list.
But to do so, we need to
fully understand why
obedience plays such an
important role in our
relationship with God. To
illustrate this point, I
want to discuss people in
the Bible who approached
obedience in very different
ways.
Disobedience: Adam and Eve
Disobedience always brings
about painful consequences.
Sometimes those consequences
affect only the individual
who sins, and sometimes they
affect others. Perhaps the
clearest illustration of
this truth comes from the
story of Adam and Eve.
God
created a perfect
environment for this young
couple and gave them just
two commands: “Be fruitful
and multiply” (Gen.
1:28), and “From the
tree of the knowledge of
good and evil you shall not
eat” (Gen.
2:17). We know that
Adam and his wife understood
these simple instructions
because Eve was able to
repeat them to the tempter
prior to succumbing to his
evil plan (Gen.
3:3). You may be
thinking,
Well,
things are different today.
There are no talking snakes,
and we have many
instructions on how to live
our lives.
That is true, but one thing
has not changed. God has
offered a path of obedience
to each of us, and we have
the choice of following it
or walking our own way.
Disobedience is rebellion
against God—irreverence
toward Him. It is a
statement from your heart
proclaiming that you have
chosen your way over God’s
way. When you are
disobedient, you are
essentially refusing to
acknowledge God’s authority,
right, and power in your
life. In contrast, to avoid
disobedience, you must bring
your thoughts, actions,
words, and goals in line
with God’s perfect will (2
Cor. 10:5). More
important, when He gives you
words of direction, wisdom,
or warning, you must heed
them completely.
Partial Obedience: King Saul
Contrary
to the belief of some
people, perfect obedience
does not mean that we have
to be perfect people.
Obeying God, however, does
require
exact
obedience. Let’s consider a
person who demonstrates what
can happen when we do not
obey God completely. When we
turn to
1 Samuel 10, we can
follow the case of King Saul
and his struggle with total
obedience.
Saul
received God’s instructions
to go to Gilgal and wait
seven days for the prophet
Samuel to join him. The two
would then make a burnt
offering together (1
Sam. 10:8). Saul
started well, but as the
seventh day approached, he
became restless and
frustrated, and finally
decided to make an offering
without Samuel. But the
Bible tells us that “as soon
as he finished offering the
burnt offering … Samuel
came” (1
Sam. 13:10). Saul
waited
almost
long enough, but partial
obedience is not obedience.
We can
read the result of this
story in verses
13–14: “Samuel said
to Saul, ‘You have acted
foolishly; you have not kept
the commandment of the
Lord your God, which
He commanded you, for now
the
Lord would have
established your kingdom
over Israel forever. But now
your kingdom shall not
endure.’ ” God does not
promise that we will be able
to see or understand how His
plan for our lives is to
unfold. Instead, He often
calls us to obey Him moment
by moment, trusting Him to
pull all the pieces together
in His timing. Many times we
will have to wait, but when
we do so in obedience, God
will bless the outcome.
Complete Obedience: Noah
When we
read about the life of Noah
in
Genesis 6–9, we see a
clear picture of complete
obedience. When God called
this man to do something
extraordinary—a task that
seemed both impossible and
illogical—Noah complied
without asking questions.
Noah obeyed God despite what
other people thought of him.
And when we choose the path
of obedience, we must
likewise be prepared for the
negative responses we will
undoubtedly receive from
others.
Will it
always be popular for you to
obey God? No, it will not.
Will people criticize you?
Yes, they probably will.
Might they think some things
that you do are ridiculous?
Yes. Will they sometimes
laugh at you? Yes. Noah
chose to walk with God in
the midst of a corrupt
society. In fact, it was so
wicked that God chose to
destroy every living human
being on the face of the
earth with the exception of
one family. We can only
imagine what those evil
people must have said to
Noah as they watched him day
after day.
From the
life of Noah, we can deduce
an important key to
obedience: when God tells us
to do something, we must not
focus on the circumstances
or the persons who would
deter us from carrying out
God’s instructions. If Noah
had begun to listen to his
critics, he would not have
built the ark, and he would
have been swept away with
the rest of the earth.
Instead, he chose to be
absolutely obedient to God.
Ultimate Obedience: Jesus
Finally
let us consider the life of
Jesus. He was perfect—God in
human form. We can learn
countless lessons from His
life. Even though we cannot
be perfect and blameless as
Christ was, the Holy Spirit
enables us to obey God. If
this were not possible, God
would not be just.
Therefore, whatever He
requires of us—whether it be
painful or joyful,
profitable or costly—God
Himself will help us to
obey.
The God
we serve is a gracious,
loving, indescribable,
awesome God. I know from
experience that obedience
has to be a priority in
every believer’s life. It is
the only way you will ever
become the person God wants
you to be, and the only way
you will ever achieve the
things in life that He has
so wonderfully prepared for
you.
When you
receive Jesus Christ as your
Savior, your first act of
obedience should be to pray,
“Father, forgive me of my
sins. I’ve sinned against
You; I’ve been living in
rebellion. I’m asking You to
forgive me of my sins, not
because I’m so good, but
because I believe Your Son,
Jesus, paid my sin-debt in
full.” The moment you do
that, the Holy Spirit comes
into your heart. And do you
know what He comes to do? He
comes to enable you to walk
obediently before God, in
His strength and His power.
My prayer
for you—my petition on your
behalf—is that you will be
obedient to God. That way,
you can become the person He
wants you to be, do the work
He desires of you, bear the
fruit He enables you to
bear, and receive the
blessings He has prepared
for you.
THE JOY OF OBEDIENCE
Obedience
can be a challenge,
especially if we think that
we know more about our lives
and circumstances than God
does. However, obeying God
is essential to pleasing
Him—not just in times of
deep, serious temptation,
but in moments of simpler
testing as well.
In fact,
there is never a time when
obedience is unimportant to
the Lord. Though it may seem
easier to obey Him
concerning situations that
have been clearly defined in
His Word, God requires our
obedience in every
circumstance. Telling a
so-called white lie can be
just as detrimental to our
spiritual well-being as
yielding to a greater
temptation such as adultery
or stealing. In commanding
us to obey Him, God has
given us a principle by
which to live. He has set a
framework for our lives that
forms a hedge of protection
from evil.
Can you
remember the last time you
were tempted to do the
opposite of what you knew
God desired you to do? Deep
inside, you probably
understood what was right,
but a struggle ensued in
your mind. The question
arose:
Should I
obey God and please Him, or
disobey Him and hope that He
won’t notice?
In truth, nothing good can
come from disobeying God,
and nothing bad can come
from obeying Him. When we
decide to obey God, we
choose the way of wisdom. It
also is the way to blessing.
Many
people think of obedience
only as it pertains to
parents raising their
children. They think that
today’s youths need to learn
how to be obedient. However,
obedience is crucial at
every level of maturity. As
we grow in our walk with the
Lord, obedience becomes a
cornerstone to fellowship
with God. When we obey Him,
He pulls us closer to
Himself and teaches us more
about His precepts and His
personal love.
Ironically, as we grow
older, our sensitivity to
God’s leading sometimes
diminishes. We reason that
we have learned how to live
righteously before God and
therefore do not need to dig
deeper into the issue of
obedience. We judge others
when they fail to obey God,
but dismiss the issue in our
own lives.
That was
what the nation of Israel
did, as recorded in the book
of Judges. The Bible says
they did what was right in
their own eyes (Judg.
17:6). In other
words, Israel did as it
pleased. The people forgot
the Lord and served other
gods. They made their own
decisions, lived immoral
lives, and refused to
worship the God who, years
earlier, had brought them
out of Egyptian bondage.
Their lives were marked by
disobedience, and slowly
they sank into an even
greater bondage than the one
their forefathers had
experienced at the hands of
Pharaoh.
Disobedience sends a message
to the Lord declaring that
we know better than He does
when it comes to governing
our lives. However, our
self-assurance evaporates
when it comes face-to-face
with God’s sovereignty. When
the prophet Isaiah stood in
the presence of the Lord, He
cried out, “Woe is me!” at
the awesome display of God’s
glory (Isa.
6:5).
Even
Isaiah faced a challenge of
obedience. God was looking
for someone who would take
His word to the people of
Israel. As far as Isaiah was
concerned, no questions
needed to be raised. He had
seen God’s glory, and
obedience was his only
choice. Can you imagine how
different things would have
been if Isaiah had followed
his intuition rather than
God’s directive?
God’s
concern for us springs from
His deep love and devotion.
He commands our obedience
not because He is a strict
taskmaster, but because He
knows the effect that
disobedience and sin will
have on our lives. Satan has
a different goal in mind. He
knows that if he can entice
us to sin, our actions will
dishonor the Lord and bring
sorrow to the heart of God.
Disobedience also has fierce
repercussions. Feelings of
guilt, shame, and
worthlessness are just a few
of the emotional
consequences. Broken lives,
destroyed marriages, and
bitter disputes also happen
when we disobey. While God’s
eternal love for us cannot
change, our sin certainly
disrupts our fellowship with
the Savior.
Sin
alienates believers from
God’s blessings. God
continues to love us but
hates the sin that we have
embraced. This alone is
enough to bring about the
Lord’s rebuke, causing
estrangement between us and
the Savior on whom we
depend. In times of
disobedience, we become
spiritually weak and unable
to discern right from wrong.
Many times, we are unable to
reverse our sinful behavior
and thereby sink deeper into
its grasp.
God does
not leave us hopeless,
however. The apostle Paul
wrote, “No temptation has
overtaken you but such as is
common to man; and God is
faithful, who will not allow
you to be tempted beyond
what you are able, but with
the temptation will provide
the way of escape also, so
that you will be able to
endure it” (1
Cor. 10:13). God has
provided all we need in
order to say no to
temptation. Despite the fact
that Satan’s enticements
lead to fretting, lying, or
negative thoughts, God’s
Word is an infinite resource
of truth, hope, and
assurance. We do not have to
yield to sin, because He is
sovereign and is always in
control.
In
Psalm 139, David
wrote,
My frame
was not hidden from You,
When I
was made in secret,
And
skillfully wrought in the
depths of the earth;
Your eyes
have seen my unformed
substance;
And in
Your book were all written
The days
that were ordained for me. (vv.
15–16)
God stays
close to us and is
personally involved in all
we do. He understands our
deepest needs and heartfelt
longings.
The book
of Deuteronomy chronicles
Israel’s preparation to
enter the promised land. God
knew that His people would
be tempted to stop
worshiping Him and pursue
the gods of other nations.
He made His will very clear
to the Israelites and to
Joshua, who led them into
the promised land: “See, I
am setting before you today
a blessing and a curse: the
blessing, if you listen to
the commandments of the
Lord your God, which
I am commanding you today;
and the curse, if you do not
listen to the commandments
of the
Lord your God, but
turn aside from the way
which I am commanding you
today, by following other
gods which you have not
known” (Deut.
11:26–28).
In
chapter
28, the Lord said,
“Now it shall be, if you
diligently obey the
Lord your God, being
careful to do all His
commandments which I command
you today, the
Lord your God will
set you high above all the
nations of the earth. All
these blessings will come
upon you and overtake you if
you obey the
Lord your God” (vv.
1–2). The rest of
this chapter spells out the
blessings that will come as
a result of Israel’s
obedience. This same
principle is at work in our
lives. Obedience leads to
blessing, while disobedience
leads to disappointment,
sorrow, and brokenness.
You begin
a life of obedience when you
apply the following
principles to your life:
Trust God with Your Life and
Leave the Consequences to
Him
There is
no way to go wrong if you
place your hope and trust in
God. He created you, and He
loves you with an eternal
love. You are His greatest
concern, and He will never
give you second best (Prov.
3:5–6).
Learn to Wait on the Lord
When in
doubt, refuse to move ahead
unless you know that God is
leading you. Not all
temptation involves sin as
we commonly think of it.
When you jump ahead of God
and make the decision to act
without clear instruction
from Him, you are disobeying
Him (Ps.
27:14;
62:1–8).
Learn to Meditate on God’s
Word
Prayer
and meditation are key
elements in resisting
temptation. When you
saturate your mind with the
Word of God, you will gain
God’s viewpoint concerning
your life and situation.
Therefore, when temptation
comes, you will know right
from wrong and can act
accordingly. Never
underestimate the power of
God in your life (Josh.
6:16–20).
Learn to Listen to the Holy
Spirit
Many
wonder if God speaks to His
people today. The answer is
yes. He speaks to us through
His Word, by His Spirit, and
in the counsel of a pastor
or a trusted Christian
friend. Actually the Spirit
of God is the One who draws
us to Scripture and points
out passages that God seeks
to use in our lives.
However, we must be
sensitive to His voice, or
we will miss what He is
saying to us. Seek Him
through His Word, and spend
time with Him by praying and
studying the principles
written in Scripture.
Be Willing to Walk Away When
the Path is Uncertain
Obedience
to God will require you to
be firm if you desire to
please Him above all others.
If you do not sense clear
guidance for your situation,
ask God to confirm His will
to you in His Word. He will
never go against Scripture.
His intentions for your life
always will line up
perfectly with what is
written in the Bible (Num.
23:19).
Be Willing to Experience
Conflict
Even
after Israel entered the
promised land, they had to
continue driving the enemy
out. God rarely empties our
lives of trouble and
conflict. If He did, our
dependence on Him would
fade. He allows enough
difficulty to keep us turned
toward Him (John
16:33). Many times,
your obedience will not be
viewed as popular,
especially if you take a
certain stand against the
peer pressure of the world.
But it will put you in a
favorable position before
God, and just as He promised
to bless the nation of
Israel, He will do the same
for you.
Accept God’s Discipline with
Thanksgiving
When you
do disobey God, realize that
at any point, you can turn
back to Him. The story of
the prodigal son told by
Jesus (Luke
15:11–32) is
especially significant. In
it we read of God’s love and
forgiveness toward us. While
the consequences of sin are
unavoidable, we can
experience true forgiveness
and renewed hope when we
turn back to God. Perhaps
you have made a wrong
decision. You wonder what
the outcome will be. Apart
from God, the outcome is
always eventually sorrow and
grief. However, God does not
want this for your life. He
may not remove all the
heartache and pain your
decision has caused, but He
can forgive you and restore
His blessing in your life.
When we turn to Him in
repentance, He will wash
sin’s darkness from our
lives so that we become
white and pure as snow (Ps.
51:7).
OBEDIENCE BRINGS BLESSINGS
We never
lose when we obey God.
Nevertheless, obedience is
not easy. Many times it is
difficult to understand. But
even in times when adversity
strikes and nothing makes
sense, our best option is
one of obedience to God.
David learned this
principle, and God blessed
him greatly. Even when
Saul’s jealous rage
threatened to end David’s
life, the future king
refused to sin against the
Lord by taking revenge
against his enemy. Committed
to obeying God, David would
not allow his feelings to
shift in a destructive,
self-centered direction.
There are
times in every Christian’s
life when, from our human
perspective, God’s requests
seem unreasonable. When this
happens, we must remember
that He sees the entirety of
our lives. He knows the
plans He has for us and
exactly what it will take to
reach His goal of molding us
into the image of His Son:
“ ‘For I know the plans that
I have for you,’ declares
the
Lord, ‘plans for
welfare and not for calamity
to give you a future and a
hope’ ” (Jer.
29:11).
Jesus
Christ is our greatest
example of obedience. He
obeyed God even to the point
of death so that we might
have eternal life. There is
no greater obedience than
this. Like Jesus, when we
obey, we declare our
dependency on God. We also
demonstrate that we are
willing to submit our lives
to Him and trust Him for the
future. Even though we may
not understand why we are
faced with a sudden trial or
when an open door of
opportunity has closed, our
first and last response
always needs to be
obedience.
There
have been times in my life
when I found that I was
standing at a crossroads.
Deep within my heart, I knew
that the only way to
continue was to be obedient
to the Lord—not just
partially, but completely.
First Samuel 15:22
tells us, “To obey is better
than sacrifice.” What are
you facing today that is
tempting you to disobey God?
Whatever it is, it is not
worth missing out on His
fellowship and His plans for
your life. When you choose
to obey God, you have chosen
the way to hope and
blessing.
Suggested Bible Reading
John 14:23;
16:33;
Luke 5:1–11;
19:17;
Genesis 1:28;
2:17;
3:3;
6–9;
2 Corinthians 10:5;
1 Samuel 10:8;
13:10–14;
15:22;
Isaiah 6:5;
Psalms 27:14;
51:7;
62:1–8;
139;
Deuteronomy 11:26–28;
Proverbs 3:5–6;
Joshua 6:16–20;
Luke 15:11–32; and
Jeremiah 29:11.
Prayer
Dear
Father in heaven, I ask Your
forgiveness for my
self-sufficiency and for all
the times I hear Your
commands yet fail to obey
them. I purpose to align my
life with Your principles
and to obey Your Word.
Please help me in this
pursuit and convict me when
I stray. Amen.
Journal Questions
• Is
there an area of your life
in which you do not obey
God?
• Can
you make a commitment today
to obey the Lord and trust
Him?
• If
possible, find an
accountability partner to
help you with areas in which
you struggle.
Obedience may rarely be
easy, but it is always worth
it.
Learn more about the value of faithful obedience to God at ww2.intouch.org/lifeprinciples.
Learn more about the value of faithful obedience to God at ww2.intouch.org/lifeprinciples.
Stanley, Charles F.:
Living the
Extraordinary Life :
Nine Principles to
Discover It.
Nashville, TN :
Thomas Nelson
Publishers, 2005, S.
85
Principle
6
6
Knowing God’s
Will is Worth
the Wait
Waiting on God’s
timing is one of
the most
profitable
lessons I have
ever learned. I
have petitioned
God on many
occasions and
received virtual
silence as an
answer. At
times, the wait
for a response
to my prayers
seemed to go on
forever. But
however long the
wait, He has
always come
through in the
end.
Waiting is
probably one of
the most
difficult things
that Christians
are called to
do. This is
especially true
when there is
something that
seems to be
right at our
fingertips and
we think that
God is about to
bless us with
the desires of
our hearts.
My daughter,
Becky, learned
this lesson when
she was just
twenty-one years
old—in fact, we
learned it
together. She
had become
engaged to a
wonderful young
man. I could not
point out a
single thing
wrong with him.
He had a
wonderful
family, and they
all loved my
daughter as much
as he did. But
something deep
within my spirit
told me that her
marriage to him
wasn’t right. I
had no
explanation for
my feelings, but
I couldn’t deny
them either.
One evening we
were sitting
around the
dinner table
talking about
the wedding, and
I began to pray
silently, asking
the Lord if I
should reveal my
concerns to
Becky. I looked
across the table
at her, overcome
with feelings of
love and
responsibility.
I knew I had my
daughter’s heart
in my hand, and
it was as if God
said to me,
You must tell
her what you
feel, or you’ll
live the rest of
your life
wishing you had.
The words
spilled from my
mouth: “Becky,
would you like
me to help you
call off the
wedding?” She
was as stunned
as I. “Daddy!
What are you
talking about?”
she said. I
said, “Becky, I
don’t know. I
just felt
impressed by God
to ask you that
question.” She
was very quiet
for a few heavy
moments; then we
started talking
again. I said,
“Becky, if you
could do
anything that
you wanted to do
at this point in
your life, what
would you do?”
She hardly even
hesitated: “I
would go to
seminary.” I
said, “Okay,
that’s what you
should do. I
believe that’s
what God wants
you to do, and
that’s what
we’re going to
plan on.” Then I
reassured her,
“If you’ll wait
for God, He’ll
bring the right
person in your
life. As fine as
this young man
is, I don’t
believe he’s the
right person.”
When we finished
our meal, my
faithful
daughter
telephoned her
fiancé and
informed him of
her new plans.
He responded by
demeaning her
choice, saying
the last thing
he should have
said: “How long
are you going to
listen to your
daddy?” When she
heard that, her
decision was
confirmed.
That whole
process was very
difficult for
both of us. It
was one of those
critical times
in my life when
I knew that I
had to obey God
and be totally
misunderstood or
be loved
forever. As
always, God
rewarded my
obedience. That
fall, Becky
joined her
brother, Andy,
at Dallas
Seminary. After
a period of
waiting, the
Lord blessed her
with a wonderful
husband—this one
was the perfect
match. She
couldn’t be
happier with her
family.
God always has a
very clear
reason for
telling us to
wait, and the
reason is
without
exception to our
benefit. Waiting
is essential in
living the
Christian life,
walking in
obedience to
God, and
receiving the
best of God’s
blessings.
King David
certainly knew
what it meant to
wait upon the
Lord. You may
recall that
David was only
sixteen years
old when he was
anointed king.
Yet he did not
take the throne
until he was
thirty years of
age. So, he had
to wait almost
fifteen years.
Now, how many
times do you
suppose David
said, “Lord, You
haven’t
forgotten me,
have You?” God’s
plan did come to
pass, but David
was made to wait
quite a while.
This is why you
read in
Scripture that
David again and
again waited
upon the Lord.
He learned the
hard way—running
from King Saul,
being chased,
hiding in caves,
and facing
persecution of
many kinds. If
you had asked
him, “Well,
David, did you
learn your
lesson?” he
would have
replied, “Yes,
but after many,
many, many
failures.”
Being patient is
surely
difficult, but
failing to wait
upon the Lord
can bring about
disastrous
consequences.
First, when we
do not wait, we
get out of God’s
will. Second, we
delay God’s
planned blessing
for us. Because
we move ahead of
His steps, we
get out of cycle
and miss God’s
blessings in His
time. Third, we
bring pain and
suffering upon
others and
ourselves.
Throughout
Scripture, you
can see the
resulting pain
that people
endure from
getting out of
God’s will and
doing things
their own way.
Fourth, we are
prone to make
snap judgments
that quite often
turn out to cost
us dearly in
terms of
finances,
emotional
energy, and/or
relationships.
I can think of
far too many
stories that did
not end as
happily as
Becky’s.
Throughout my
years of
ministry, I have
seen a number of
young people who
were eager to
move ahead in
their careers.
Some of them
were willing to
pay the price of
apprenticeship
and work their
way to the top
one step at a
time. Others
barreled ahead
before they were
mature enough to
assume the
responsibilities
of a more
demanding
position. In
doing so, they
not only
frustrated their
own ambitions,
but they caused
discord among
those with whom
they worked.
Trying to bypass
necessary steps
in professional
development and
trampling anyone
who stands in
your way will
not help you to
get ahead more
quickly. You may
get the
promotion or
title you are
seeking, but in
the end you will
sacrifice far
too much for it.
I can’t think of
anyone I saw
step out ahead
of God, trying
to grab more
than his share,
who didn’t leave
the ministry
angry,
disillusioned,
or worse. I have
literally
watched people
ruin their
careers and
their families
trying to move
ahead too
quickly. Their
demise is
predictable and
sad.
Many people are
not willing to
wait on God for
His timing,
particularly
when it involves
the possibility
of letting go of
something they
desire
desperately. I
have often
counseled
couples whom I
felt were not
ready to marry,
and I always
exhorted them to
wait. Some did
and some didn’t.
I’ll never
forget the
expression on
the face of a
young girl I had
advised against
marriage. I’d
explained the
reasons for my
concern, and she
had promised not
to marry, but
did so anyway. A
few years after
her wedding, I
saw her sobbing
in the foyer
outside my
study. When our
eyes met, she
came in and told
me they were
divorcing.
A lot of people
make this
mistake. They
just can’t wait
for God’s
timing. They
think,
I’m thirty-five
years old, and
if I don’t get
married now,
I’ll be single
forever.
Fear grips them,
and they think
they will lose
what they desire
if they don’t
grab it as
quickly as they
can. They fear
losing an
opportunity that
will never again
present itself.
But in reality,
they end up
making mistakes
that last
forever. Instead
of wanting what
God wants in
God’s timing,
they want what
they want in
their own
timing. When we
take our eyes
off God and try
to manipulate
our situation to
conform to our
will, we usually
make a colossal
mess of things.
Whenever we
reach for
something that
is not of God,
it turns to
ashes. He will
never prosper
what we
manipulate. No
matter how hard
we try, it just
doesn’t work.
Either we can
repent, back
off, and wait
for the Lord—in
which case, more
than likely,
He’ll give us
what we ask
for—or we can
step out ahead
of Him and lose
it.
Something may be
the will of God,
but if you step
out ahead of His
timing, you can
ruin His
blessing for
your life. Think
of it this way:
if you assemble
a model airplane
that you intend
to fly, you must
first wait for
the glue to dry
before launching
your aircraft.
Let’s suppose
you have waited
for two hours
and the glue
looks as if it
is nearly dry.
It’s not quite
solid, but
you’re eager to
get going, so
you take your
newly minted
flying machine
outside and
hoist it into
the air. Before
it even gains
altitude, it
comes crashing
to the ground,
pieces falling
everywhere. The
same analogy can
be made for
nearly every
aspect of life:
eating a
half-baked pie
that hasn’t
stayed in the
oven long
enough, pulling
a vegetable from
the garden
before it’s
ripe, running a
race when you
haven’t trained
enough. The law
of waiting
governs much of
the universe,
and we live more
happily when we
learn to obey
with grace.
LEARNING THE ART
OF ACTIVE
WAITING
Waiting on the
Lord does not
mean being
stagnant. God is
moving and
active. He has a
definite plan
for your life,
but He may be
calling you to
wait awhile, for
what purpose I
do not know. I
pray that you
can discover
that for
yourself, in His
time.
Timing is
everything. You
see it in
war—attacking at
the wrong moment
could cost the
battle. You see
it in the
operating
room—too fast,
too short, too
much, too
little, or too
late would be a
tragedy. You see
it in sports,
wherein a delay
could mean the
loss of the
game. Of all the
things in which
timing is
important,
however, it is
in your daily
walk with the
Lord and in your
decision-making
processes that
timing is
crucial.
One of the
primary reasons
that believers
step out of
God’s will—and
out of
fellowship with
the Lord—is that
they step out on
their own
without His
blessing or
guidance. They
are eager and
impatient about
achieving
something they
are convinced
will please Him.
Without waiting
for clear
direction, they
move ahead and
make decisions
apart from
understanding
the will and
purpose of God.
It is important
for you to
realize what it
means to truly
wait upon the
Lord.
First, waiting
upon the Lord
does not require
you to be idle.
Instead, it
simply means
pausing until
you receive
further
instructions.
You should think
of waiting as a
determined
stillness,
during which
time you decide
not to act until
the Lord gives
clear direction.
However, because
this is an
instant-gratification
generation,
people want to
do things now,
get things now,
and move ahead.
Yet there are
many, many
verses in
Scripture about
waiting upon the
Lord. Sometimes
when you step
ahead of Him,
God will bless
you to some
degree, but it
certainly is not
going to be
God’s best.
Furthermore, you
may make a big
mistake for
which you could
be very sorry.
God has a plan
for your life.
That plan is
clearly directed
from the outset.
That is, God
does not leave
you to guess.
God works this
way because all
of His plans are
connected, and
He knows that
what you do will
affect other
people as well
as yourself,
both now and in
the future. It
is essential
that you listen
to Him and wait.
Second, in
Scripture God
often instructs
His people to
wait. For
example, read
Psalm 27:14:
“Wait for the
Lord; be
strong and let
your heart take
courage; yes,
wait for the
Lord.”
Sometimes it
takes a great
deal of courage
to wait and wait
as you start to
think,
If I don’t take
advantage of
this opportunity
now, I’m going
to miss it.
Yet God says,
“Let your heart
take courage;
yes, wait for
the
Lord.”
Also notice
Psalm 37:4–7:
Delight yourself
in the
Lord;
And He will give
you the desires
of your heart.
Commit your way
to the
Lord,
Trust also in
Him, and He will
do it.
He will bring
forth your
righteousness as
the light
And your
judgment as the
noonday.
Rest in the
Lord and
wait patiently
for Him.
The only way to
wait patiently
is to rest in
Him; you must
trust Him to the
point that you
are no longer
anxious.
Clearly, then,
you cannot
separate waiting
upon the Lord
and trusting in
Him; these two
things go hand
in hand.
Third, your
waiting should
be marked by
silence:
My soul, wait in
silence for God
only,
For my hope is
from Him.
He only is my
rock and my
salvation,
My stronghold; I
shall not be
shaken. (Ps.
62:5–6)
How often do you
find yourself
waiting and yet
not being very
silent about it?
Oftentimes, you
may wait but
complain about
it; other times,
you may wait but
tell God why you
think He ought
to hurry up.
Would you agree
that most of the
time, God is a
little too slow
for your
schedule? Yet
“my soul waits
in silence for
God only” (Ps.
62:1).
Remember,
waiting and
trusting are
inseparable. You
must trust
enough to wait
in silence.
Fourth, God will
strengthen you
through your
waiting. See the
promise in
Isaiah 40:31,
which you may
know by heart:
Yet those who
wait for the
Lord
Will gain new
strength;
They will mount
up with wings
like eagles,
They will run
and not get
tired,
They will walk
and not become
weary.
God wants you to
learn how to do
that. The wind
beneath your
wings is your
trust in God. If
you trust in
Him, then He
will help you
shoulder the
weight of your
burdens. Does
that mean that
you will never
get weary? No,
of course not.
It is one thing
to be tired
in
your labors; it
is something
else to be tired
of
your labors,
which is to
become weary on
the inside. You
can go a long
way even though
you may be weary
on the outside.
However, when
you have no one
in whom to
trust, your
spirit becomes
weary, and that
is a far worse
predicament.
Fortunately God
promises us that
when we wait
upon the Lord,
He will renew
our strength. We
will mount up
with wings like
eagles and soar.
Not only that,
but He says we
will run and not
grow weary, walk
and not lose
heart. God has
provided all the
strength and
energy that we
need.
Fifth, waiting
does not involve
looking around
to see what
others are
doing. How often
have you been
sure of what the
Lord has said to
do, but then
changed your
course of action
because of what
you saw others
doing around
you? Or how
often have you
been sure of
what the Lord
has said, but
then begun to
doubt Him
because of the
negative voices
you heard?
When it comes to
your personal,
private walk
with God, this
is the bottom
line: Are you
going to listen
to God and do
what He says?
Are you going to
wait upon Him
when your peers
become impatient
and everything
around you is
pushing you to
move?
Waiting demands
patience, and it
certainly
requires trust.
As you wait upon
the Lord, you
will have to
stand strong
against the
pressure of
other people who
want to goad you
into making a
decision that
fits their
schedules and
timing. Maybe
you are in a
relationship or
a job and don’t
feel ready to
move ahead. If
God has not
given you the
green light,
moving forward
at the
insistence of
others is the
worst thing you
can do.
Yes, waiting is
hard. It is
difficult to
stand still when
everything in
you wants to
move. However,
wise men and
women wait upon
the Lord until
they have heard
from Him. Then,
when they
finally move, it
is with
boldness,
confidence,
courage,
strength, and
absolute
assurance that
God will keep
His word.
WHEN GOD DOESN’T
SEEM TO ANSWER
There are times
in every
Christian’s life
when God seems
distant and
uninterested in
the
circumstances.
We pray and
diligently seek
His will, but
our need, at
least from our
perspective,
remains unmet.
We wait and wait
but do not hear
from the Lord.
Does God truly
have an answer?
Does He care
when we hurt and
struggle against
the pressures of
life? How should
we handle times
of spiritual
silence when we
feel as though
He is standing
at a distance
and is not going
to answer our
prayers
according to our
desires?
The best way to
understand God’s
heart is by
studying the
principles found
in His Word.
Before you
decide this will
not
work for you or
your situation,
take a few
moments to read
the story of
Mary, Martha,
and Lazarus.
Each of these
people had
definite needs.
Lazarus needed a
healing touch
from God. He was
deathly ill (John
11:1),
and Jesus had
the power to
heal him. Mary
and Martha had
tremendous
needs. How would
they survive
without Lazarus?
Not only was he
their brother;
he also was
their financial
provider. He was
the head of
their household,
and because they
were not
married, Lazarus
took care of
them. Jesus knew
that.
In fact, the
Lord was their
close friend and
a frequent guest
in their home.
Bethany, where
Lazarus and his
sisters lived,
was not far from
Jerusalem. Once
Mary and Martha
realized that
the sickness of
their brother
could lead to
death, it only
seemed right to
send for Jesus.
They knew the
power that God
had given Him.
Their appeal to
the Lord was one
of love and
friendship:
“Lord, behold,
he whom You love
is sick” (John
11:3).
The issue in
this story is
not one of
healing—it is
one of need and
how God met that
need. God has
the power to
heal every
disease. The
issue that
confronts us in
a situation like
this one is
God’s will
versus our will.
We are taught to
pray and to ask
God to meet our
needs. But there
is something
deep within this
process that the
Father wants us
to learn. We
begin to
understand just
how committed He
is to meeting
our needs when
we learn to
accept His will
as being
perfect. We also
must acknowledge
that His timing
is right, just
as His strength
is sufficient
and His love is
eternal.
Sometimes when
we have to wait
for God’s
provision or
answer, it seems
as if He is
completely
uninterested in
our situation.
As their brother
lay dying, Mary
and Martha did
not understand
how deeply
involved God was
in their lives.
More than
likely, we have
at times failed
to understand
this reality as
well. However,
Jesus was
determined to
demonstrate His
intimate care
for these women
and for His
friend Lazarus.
But first, Mary
and Martha would
have to wait.
Their prayers,
though in
harmony with
God’s will,
would appear to
go unanswered.
Many times we
lose patience
with God and
attempt to meet
our own unmet
needs. In so
doing, we often
make matters
worse by
resorting to the
following:
Denial
We tell
ourselves there
is not a
problem. While
denial is an
initial defense
we use to
protect
ourselves from
the reality of
deep tragedy, a
prolonged period
of denial is not
healthy. We need
to face reality
with God,
knowing that He
has a solution
for the problems
we encounter.
Avoidance
We distance
ourselves from
the problem in
an attempt to
protect
ourselves from
further pain.
Avoidance works
for a short
time. We can see
how God used it
in the lives of
His saints to
provide brief
intervals of
rest. However,
just like
denial,
avoidance
prevents us from
dealing with the
problem. The
solution is to
seek God for
wisdom and a
precise way to
handle our
circumstances,
even if this
includes waiting
for Him to lead
us beyond this
moment in time.
Be willing to
wait for God’s
best. Jumping
ahead of Him
leads only to
more confusion.
Projection
We use
projection when
we blame others.
Mary and Martha
were quick to
tell Jesus, “If
you had been
here, my brother
would not have
died” (John
11:21,
32). God
is completely
aware of your
situation. He
knows exactly
what you are
facing, and He
knows how you
will react. This
is why it is
crucial for you
to turn to Him
for wisdom and
for the right
response. Accept
responsibility
for your life
and the problems
you are facing.
Lazarus’s
illness was a
fact of life and
not a form of
punishment. God
sometimes uses
painful
circumstances to
mold our lives.
Lying
When we avoid
telling the
truth, we end up
hurting others
and ourselves.
There is only
one way to
handle the
trials of life,
and that is
truthfully. We
do not have to
disclose all we
know or feel,
however. God
wants us to be
careful with our
words. Lying and
rationalization
do not help
solve the
problem. They
only hinder a
final, godly
resolution.
Giving in and
Giving Up
Usually when
trials come, we
are faced with
the temptation
to quit.
Discouragement
is one of
Satan’s favorite
forms of attack.
He believes that
if he can
discourage us,
we will give up
and turn away
from God’s will
and plan for our
lives.
Never give up!
Trust God to the
end, and you
will see His
goodness become
a reality in
your life.
Conformity
Rather than
stand for what
we know is
right, we can
easily conform
to the situation
under pressure.
Our initiative
and creativity
drain away, and
we run the risk
of sinking into
depression.
Mary and Martha
might have been
tempted to fall
into self-pity
and doubt, but
they did not
yield to either
of these. When
Jesus arrived in
Bethany, Martha
met Him with
these words:
“Lord, if You
had been here,
my brother would
not have died.
Even now I know
that whatever
You ask of God,
God will give
You” (John
11:21–22).
How did the
sisters deal
with the fact
that Jesus did
not rush to
their dying
brother’s side?
We are not given
their immediate
response, but
they were
probably
disappointed.
After all, they
loved their
brother.
GOD’S TIMING
Somewhere along
the line, Mary
and Martha had
to deal with the
sovereignty of
God. They had to
come to a point
where they
accepted God’s
will over their
own wills. Each
one of us will
face this
decision at some
time. We may
wonder why, on
the surface, it
appears that God
has not met our
needs. Yet deep
inside we should
understand that
God never leaves
us hopeless. He
has a plan and a
design for our
lives that are
well fitted for
every trial,
sorrow,
heartache, or
problem we face.
Jesus had
predetermined
that He would
heal Lazarus,
but He would do
it in such a way
that He alone
would be
glorified. He
also would
accomplish His
will in the
lives of Mary
and Martha. They
would come to a
place of
acceptance.
HOW SHOULD YOU
HANDLE YOUR
UNMET NEEDS?
Begin with
Prayer. Let Your
Needs Be Made
Known to God (Phil.
4:6)
Jesus taught His
disciples that
prayer is a
lifestyle, not
just an activity
in which you
participate.
When you feel
overwhelmed by
your
circumstances,
prayer is the
one way to
change the
direction of
your mind and
heart. It places
your focus on
God, who is the
only Source of
hope and truth.
Acknowledge Your
Need and the
Burden that You
are Carrying
The saints of
the church used
an endearing
phrase when they
talked about
giving their
problems to God
in prayer. They
said, “Roll your
burden over onto
the Lord.” This
is your hope:
Jesus never
fails. His
compassions are
“new every
morning” (Lam.
3:23),
and they are
specifically
designed to help
you bear up
under the
pressure that
comes from
trial, tragedy,
and sorrow.
Claim God’s
Promises
When you are
facing a
difficult
situation, train
yourself to
appropriate
divine promises.
Scripture is
your greatest
source of
encouragement.
Resist the
temptation to
run to several
people seeking
verification for
what God has
required you to
do. Faith is a
strong anchor
that holds you
steady when
emotional
gale-force winds
strike. Claiming
God’s promises
and remaining
committed to the
course He has
given you is a
powerful way to
face any
tribulation or
change.
Seek God’s
Direction
You can do this
through the
study of His
Word and through
prayer. Ask Him
to help you
distinguish
between the real
need and what
you perceive as
a need. You may
think you have a
specific need,
but it is
actually a
desire. Many
times, if God
gave you what
you wanted, you
would drift in
your devotion to
Him. Make sure
that your
motives are pure
and God-centered
rather than
self-centered.
Also, pray that
the Lord will
show you exactly
where you are
missing His
best. If there
are walls that
you have
erected, you
will not easily
be able to
accept His will
for your life.
Ask Him to tear
down any
barriers that
separate you
from Him. Once
you let go and
allow Him to
meet your needs
according to His
timing and plan,
you will
discover His
goodness and
grace flowing
into every area
of your life.
Be Willing to
Wait
This is crucial.
Mary and Martha
had to wait.
Their hope had
faded—their
brother was
dead. Jesus did
not come when
they sent for
Him. But God had
a grander
purpose in mind
than just
meeting their
expectation. He
would
demonstrate His
power to bring
new life to a
dead man. What
was the greater
miracle: healing
Lazarus or
bringing him
back to life
after he was
dead for four
days? Of course,
his resurrection
was the more
stunning feat.
This miracle
also pointed to
the future
resurrection of
Christ. God
always has a
greater good in
mind. Many times
our spiritual
insight is
limited, but God
sees all. He
knows exactly
what is
transpiring on
every spiritual
level, along
with all that we
are facing. He
has a plan, and
if we are wise,
we will wait for
Him to reveal it
to us.
Thank God in
Advance for His
Provision
Positive
confession is a
powerful force
in the life of a
believer. This
does not mean
talking
boastfully or
claiming God’s
deliverance
apart from His
expressed will
for your life.
Thanking God for
His faithfulness
and provision is
an indication of
your submission
to His will
regardless of
your hopes or
expectations.
Seasons of life
may not turn out
the way you
thought. You may
struggle. Mary
and Martha
watched as their
brother died.
However, because
we serve a risen
Lord and Savior,
we know that no
matter what we
face in this
life, God will
ultimately
deliver us from
all evil. He
will bless us as
we seek to know
Him intimately.
He will guard,
protect, and
lead us into a
place of great
blessing and
hope.
Have you trusted
the Savior with
your unmet
needs, or are
you still
focused on
satisfying your
hopes and
desires as
quickly as
possible? Only
God can
completely meet
your needs.
Trust Him—give
Him your burden
to carry and you
will witness a
tremendous
miracle. And if
you have to be
patient, the
very act of
waiting will
strengthen your
hope and breathe
new life into
your being.
WHY IS IT WISE
TO WAIT?
1. To Receive
God’s Clear
Direction for
Your Life
Can you name
anything you
should not share
with God?
Talking to Him,
listening to
Him, waiting
upon Him …
everything
deserves His
attention. The
Lord desires you
to sift
everything
through His
will, purpose,
plan, and Word.
2. To Keep in
Step with God’s
Timing
Often, what you
want for
yourself is also
what God wants
for you.
However, your
timing may not
be the same as
His. So, even
though God
intends for you
to have a
blessing, He may
withhold it for
a time and say,
“No, this is not
the right time
to proceed.”
3. To Allow God
the Proper Time
to Prepare You
for His Answer
Very often, you
may know exactly
what God wants
for you.
However, He may
tell you to
wait. You may
cry, “But if
this is what I’m
supposed to
have, why can’t
I have it now?”
The answer is
that sometimes
God has to
prepare you for
the blessing or
the next move.
What would be a
delight for you
tomorrow might
be an absolute
disaster today.
4. To Strengthen
Your Faith in
Him
Think about how
Abraham felt.
God had promised
a son, but
decades passed
without a child.
Had Abraham
heard God
incorrectly? No,
because we know
that Abraham
became the
father of the
entire Hebrew
nation. Abraham
was not perfect,
but through
years of waiting
he learned to
trust the Lord.
5. To Allow God
to Sift Through
Your Motives to
Reveal Your
Desires
Even if what you
want meshes with
what God wants,
your motives may
be poorly
aligned. What is
your motive? Is
it something
selfish? Is it
really what you
believe God
wants for your
life? God often
makes His people
wait so that He
may take time to
clean their
hearts of poor
motives.
After fifty
years of
listening to
people’s
frustrations
with
Christianity, I
am fully
persuaded there
is one primary,
underlying cause
for their
dissatisfaction.
They do not
understand the
nature of God’s
will or how to
discern it.
Without that
knowledge—which
affects every
aspect of life
from prayer to
decision
making—they can
never know where
they are in the
Christian
journey.
When people are
unsure of God’s
direction, they
often think,
I will just do
my best and hope
it all works
out.
But that is not
God’s
best. He has a
will—that is, a
specific plan,
purpose, and
desire—for every
one of His
children.
Jeremiah
29:11–13
clearly shows
that His plan is
for our good,
and we can
discover it if
we
wholeheartedly
seek it.
Remember that
God is a
Creator, not a
reactor. He
planned the
creation and the
nation of
Israel. Old
Testament
prophecies make
us aware of
events He mapped
out from the
beginning.
What’s more, He
designed every
detail of the
Messiah’s
arrival, as well
as our
redemption,
resurrection,
and rewards.
After such
precise
planning, God
would never tell
humanity, “Just
do the best you
can.” We could
never fulfill
His unique plan
for us
individually if
left to our own
devices.
God is
sovereign; His
determined will
encompasses all
situations. The
events in His
divine program
are absolutely
inevitable,
immutable, and
irresistible. At
the same time,
our Savior
allows our free
will to play a
part in our
lives. Scripture
spells out
certain aspects
of His desired
will so that we
can wisely
choose His best.
For example, the
Bible tells us
that God wants
us to know His
plan and purpose
for our lives.
Paul wrote to
the Colossians:
“For this reason
also, since the
day we heard of
it, we have not
ceased to pray
for you and to
ask that you may
be filled with
the knowledge of
His will in all
spiritual wisdom
and
understanding” (Col.
1:9).
God does not
withhold any
information we
need regarding
His will, but we
cannot expect
Him to reveal
the next ten
years of our
lives now. Since
He wants us to
live in trusting
dependence upon
Him each and
every day, He
does not show us
too far ahead
what He is going
to do—His Word
is a lamp to our
feet, not a
floodlight to
illuminate the
highway clear
through to our
destination (Ps.
119:105).
God knew that if
we had a book
telling about
our whole lives,
we would read
it, close it,
and walk away
trusting in our
own strength.
Instead, He
desires that you
and I know and
obey His will
for us day by
day.
KNOWING GOD’S
WILL
As a pastor, I
hear this common
question: “How
can I know the
will of God?”
People ask this
not only when
they’re trying
to determine the
overall
direction their
lives should
take, but also
regarding
smaller, daily
decisions. Many
are confused
about whether it
is possible to
know the
Father’s will or
if He even has a
specific will
for their lives.
Be assured: you
can
know God’s will,
and you can know
it for
sure.
God does not
play games with
His children by
hiding His
thoughts from
us. One of His
greatest desires
for us is that
we live out His
plan for our
lives. And yet
people often
agonize about
whether or not
they have
somehow stepped
outside of God’s
will or are
missing the mark
without knowing
it.
You do not have
to fret, because
you can know
with complete
certainty God’s
will for every
circumstance of
your life.
Although He may
not disclose
every detail
about each
situation, His
Word reveals
very specific
steps you can
take each day in
order to learn
and fulfill His
will for your
life.
In his letter to
the Colossian
church, Paul
wrote that he
was praying for
them to be
“filled with the
knowledge of
[God’s] will” (Col.
1:9), not
simply to have
some vague idea
about what the
Lord had in
mind. To be
filled with this
knowledge means
that the will of
God permeates
every single
aspect of what
we think, do,
and say. His
will is to be
the grid through
which we sift
each motivation,
action, and
circumstance. In
other words, no
matter what we
are involved
in—whether it
concerns family,
finances,
relationships,
health, or
faith—our
continual
thought should
be,
Father, what
would You have
me to do? What
is the wise
course of
action?
Unless we know
and follow God’s
will, we are
going to miss
the wondrous
blessings He has
in store for us.
In order to
discern what God
desires for you,
it is helpful to
understand that
His will has two
aspects. First,
His
determined
will includes
those things
that are
unchangeable—God’s
overruling
sovereignty will
see to it that
nothing deters
these
occurrences.
Fulfillment of
prophecy and
divine promises
are examples of
His determined
will. Second,
His
desired
will involves
everything He
wants for you
that, with your
limited free
will, you are
able to turn
down. Both
aspects of God’s
will represent
His very best
for you.
The benefits of
following God’s
will—and the
consequences of
ignoring it—are
compelling
reasons to
search out what
the Lord desires
for your life.
When making
important
decisions,
consider the
following
questions:
1. Is It
Consistent with
the Word of God?
Look for
Scripture that
either indicates
this is the
right way to go
or gives you
reason not to
proceed. Even if
you cannot find
verses
describing a
situation
comparable to
yours, look for
applicable
truths. God’s
Word is full of
life principles;
a single passage
can offer wisdom
that applies to
many
circumstances.
Consider
Psalm 119:11:
“Your word I
have treasured
in my heart,
that I may not
sin against
You.” In other
words, Scripture
is a guide, but
if it is to be
useful, you must
read it, and you
must store its
wisdom in your
heart.
2. Is This a
Wise Decision?
To answer this
question, you
must ask
yourself several
others:
What are the
future
consequences? Am
I rushing into
something? Where
is this going to
take me? Will it
create debt?
Will it harm
anyone?
As you begin to
ask these
questions, the
Holy Spirit will
bear witness to
your spirit
whether moving
ahead is right
or wrong. But
answer these
questions
honestly—Satan
wants to help
program your
mind so that you
will rationalize
and conclude
that what you
want to do is
okay.
3. Can I
Honestly Ask God
to Enable Me to
Achieve This?
Some people will
tell you it is
okay to ask God
for anything,
but that is not
the case. For
example, even if
you need money
badly, you
cannot ask God
to permit a
deceptive or
fraudulent
scheme.
Remember,
anything you
acquire outside
of God’s will
sooner or later
turns to ashes.
4. Do I Have
Genuine Peace
About This?
Colossians 3:15
declares, “Let
the peace of
Christ rule in
your hearts.”
But what does it
mean to have
peace? Some
people “pray”
about their
decisions
without giving
God an
opportunity to
respond. They
simply talk
about their
desires and
assume they have
a divine
go-ahead, but
that is not
seeking the mind
of God. You
cannot force
peace, but you
can know when it
is genuine. As
you lie down at
night and have a
moment to be
still, bring
your concern
before the Lord.
If there isn’t a
ripple in your
heart, your
conscience and
emotions are
saying yes, and
you understand
God to be saying
yes, then you
have perfect
peace. Should
you sense
anything else,
stop and wait.
Sometimes what
you desire is
actually in
God’s will, but
not for the
present moment.
Until His timing
is right, you
will not
experience peace
about
proceeding. An
answer of “no”
or “wait” might
seem frustrating
if you
desperately want
something. But
think about how
safe we are as
believers. God
will never lie
to us or mislead
us. He will
always guide us
in the direction
that is in our
best interest,
and we need to
be wise enough
to follow. He
simply will not
give us any
peace about
something that
is not His
will—if He did,
we would not be
able to trust
Him.
5. Does This Fit
Who I Am as a
Follower of
Jesus?
Some things just
do not fit a
child of God.
For example, the
Bible says that
the body is the
temple of the
Holy Spirit (1
Cor. 6:19),
so anything that
is physically
harmful is not
the will of God.
Divine
discipline comes
in different
ways; if we
disobey the laws
of health, we
will suffer the
consequences,
even though we
are obedient in
other ways.
Another area of
concern is the
believer’s
testimony. The
way we respond
to other
people—whether
they are family,
coworkers, or
waiters serving
our meal—should
be consistent
with the fact
that we belong
to Christ and
reflect Him to
the world. In
other words, if
we claim to be
Christians, it
would not be
fitting to hold
a grudge,
gossip, have
inappropriate
relationships,
or express
unduly harsh
criticism.
6. Does This Fit
God’s Overall
Plan for My
Life?
We need to
consider how our
thinking,
conduct, and
here-and-now
decisions
coincide with
the Lord’s
long-range plans
for us. This is
why we must
teach our
children to be
very careful
about how they
decide upon a
vocation, choose
a marriage
partner, and
make all the
other major
decisions of
life. In each
instance, the
question is,
Does this fit
God’s purpose
for my life?
It would be one
thing if the
Lord left all
choices up to
us; then we
would be free to
make every
decision without
considering His
will on the
matter. But He
has a specific
plan for each of
His children,
and it is for
our best because
He is a loving,
all-knowing,
all-wise Father.
7. Will This
Decision Honor
God?
That is,
Am I showing
respect and
reverence for
the heavenly
Father by taking
this course of
action? Is it
evident by what
I am doing that
I acknowledge
Jesus Christ as
the Lord and
Master of my
life?
Our actions and
attitudes should
be in keeping
with who we know
God to be rather
than a statement
that we are
“doing our own
thing.” Our
disobedience
grieves the
heart of God,
but He is not
the only One who
notices. The
world watches
Christians to
see if we are
consistent or
hypocritical, so
it is important
that our
decisions
reflect an
obedient heart
toward the Lord.
Considered
honestly, these
seven questions
reveal a lot
about what is in
your heart, and
they also help
you to discover
the heart of
God. Once you
know God’s mind
on a matter,
there is one
final question
to ask yourself:
Now that I know
His will, am I
willing to do
it?
Following the
Lord can be
costly (Luke
14:26–33)—you
may be
misunderstood,
criticized, or
penalized in
some way. But no
matter what God
may see fit to
do with your
life, it is
always the best
possible course
of action. By
obeying Him and
watching Him
work, you will
see how faithful
He is.
If you are in
the process of
making a
difficult
decision and are
frightened about
the
consequences,
remember that
you have
entrusted your
life to a loving
heavenly Father
who plans only
the best,
promises only
the best, and
provides only
the best. You
simply cannot
lose when you
obey the will of
God.
Suggested Bible
Reading
Psalms 27:14;
37:4–7;
62;
119:11,
105;
John 11:1–22;
Lamentations
3:23;
Jeremiah
29:11–13;
Colossians 1:9;
3:15;
1 Corinthians
6:19; and
Luke 14:26–33.
Prayer
Lord, I pray
that You will
teach me how to
wait on You for
Your perfect
timing. I turn
over to You all
of my
expectations and
trust that You
will bring about
what is best for
me at the right
time. Amen.
Journal
Questions
• Can
you think of a
time when you
stepped out
ahead of God’s
timing?
• Are
you waiting for
God to do
something in
your life right
now?
• Practice
active waiting
by praying,
reading
Scripture, and
sharing your
experience with
Christian loved
ones who can
wait with you.
How can you know
God is active
when you pray,
even if He
delays His
answer? Discover
the value of
biblical prayer
and patience at
ww2.intouch.org/lifeprinciples
today.
Stanley,
Charles
F.:
Living
the
Extraordinary
Life :
Nine
Principles
to
Discover
It.
Nashville,
TN :
Thomas
Nelson
Publishers,
2005, S.
105
Principle
7
7
God
Refines
Us
by
Fire
Cloth
can
dust
off
a
piece
of
gold,
but
the
metal
must
be
refined
to
remove
embedded
impurities.
That
is,
it
must
be
melted
by
fire
so
that
any
tarnish
or
pollution
can
rise
and
be
skimmed
from
the
surface.
The
Christian
life
is
frequently
compared
to
this
process:
“He
will
…
refine
them
like
gold
and
silver,
so
that
they
may
present
to
the
Lord
offerings
in
righteousness”
(Mal.
3:3).
When
we
face
struggles,
God
is
refining
us
like
precious
metal,
digging
deep
into
our
lives
to
eliminate
all
the
dirt
and
pollution.
He
does
this
not
to
hurt
us,
but
to
help
us
grow
into
beautiful
reflections
of
Him.
Too
often
we
hear
people
exclaim,
“This
world
is
out
of
control!”
Those
with
little
or
no
belief
in
an
almighty
God
of
the
universe
find
themselves
without
any
source
of
strength
or
encouragement
when
their
world
begins
to
collapse.
Family
heartache,
financial
problems,
or
national
tragedies—these
are
all
things
that
we
have
witnessed
firsthand.
In
the
face
of
such
turmoil,
how
can
we
be
sure
that
God
is
in
control?
If I
had
to
choose
a
single
book
in
Scripture
that
powerfully
reveals
God’s
complete
control
on
page
after
page
from
beginning
to
end,
it
would
be
Genesis.
In
this
first
book
of
the
Bible,
we
get
to
see
God
working
through
all
types
of
circumstances
and
obstacles.
The
first
one,
as
revealed
in
the
first
chapter
of
Genesis,
was
absolute
nothingness.
Think
about
that
for
a
moment.
God
created
everything
that
is
…
out
of
nothing
at
all.
Therefore,
He
is
the
supreme
Lord
over
creation.
Next,
in
the
chapter
3,
we
see
that
sin
invaded
God’s
perfect
creation.
Did
this
show
God’s
lack
of
control?
No,
because
in
spite
of
the
presence
of
sin
in
the
world,
He
provided
a
way
for
you
and
me
to
conquer
sin
and
death
and
achieve
victory.
Third,
chapters
6–7
reveal
that
mankind
was
so
vile,
so
wicked,
and
so
evil
that
God
decided
to
destroy
every
single
person
on
earth
with
a
great
flood.
Did
this
show
God’s
lack
of
control?
No,
because
in
His
power,
the
Lord
saved
one
family
to
repopulate
the
earth—a
family
to
be
the
means
by
which
all
people
could
later
be
blessed
through
Christ
Jesus.
Fourth,
after
the
floodwaters
subsided
and
the
population
again
began
to
grow,
God
wanted
the
people
to
scatter,
but
instead,
they
chose
to
stay
together
in
one
place.
They
even
built
a
tower
to
reach
into
the
heavens
so
that
they
could
feel
close
to
the
Lord.
Did
this
show
God’s
lack
of
control?
No,
because
God
stepped
in,
confused
their
languages,
and
thereby
scattered
them
all
over
the
globe.
He
did
not
allow
their
actions
to
cancel
His
plans
for
them.
Again
and
again
throughout
Genesis,
we
see
this
pattern:
God
plans
to
do
something,
and
despite
human
unfaithfulness,
His
perfect
will
is
accomplished.
This
is
the
case
throughout
all
of
Scripture,
and
it
is
still
true
today.
God
is
in
control
despite
our
pain,
questions,
turmoil,
and
selfishness.
GOD
IS
IN
CONTROL
I
remember
a
particular
time
when
I
was
struggling
with
discouragement,
doubt,
fear,
and
loneliness.
I
spent
many
evenings
having
long
conversations
with
a
close
friend
to
whom
I
poured
out
my
heart
for
hours.
Many
times
during
these
talks,
my
friend
stopped
me
and
said,
“But
remember,
God
is
in
control.”
This
statement
became
an
anchor
in
my
life.
No
matter
how
hard
the
winds
blew
or
how
much
the
adversity
intensified,
my
soul
remained
anchored
to
the
simple
truth:
God
is
in
control.
I
discovered
that
when
a
person
is
able
to
face
terrifying
obstacles
with
the
assurance
of
God’s
complete
control,
an
awesome
sense
of
power
and
assurance
begins
to
well
up
inside
his
heart.
The
psalmist
David
learned
this
lesson
through
ups
and
downs,
successes
and
fierce
challenges.
David
praised
God
for
His
dominion,
crying
out,
“The
Lord
has
established
His
throne
in
the
heavens;
and
His
sovereignty
rules
over
all”
(Ps.
103:19).
David—Israel’s
most
beloved
king—recognized
his
humble
submission
to
the
One
who
sits
on
the
heavenly
throne,
the
Lord
of
all
creation.
David
also
introduced
us
to a
vital
aspect
of
God’s
character,
His
complete
sovereignty.
What
do
we
mean
by
sovereignty?
This
word
denotes
God’s
supreme
and
absolute
rule,
control,
and
authority
over
this
entire
universe
and
every
single
human
being.
In
this,
He
is
all-powerful,
all-knowing,
and
all-present.
Many
people
in
this
world
either
deny
God’s
existence
or
try
to
excuse
Him
from
responsibility
when
bad
things
happen.
In
effect,
even
those
who
may
seek
to
defend
God
are
saying,
“God
exists,
but
He
didn’t
allow
that.
That
happened
without
His
consent.”
These
people
do
not
realize
that
they
are
insulting
and
rejecting
His
complete
sovereignty
over
all
aspects
of
life.
Why
do
they
do
this?
Why
do
they
seem
to
stumble
over
or
overlook
God’s
sovereignty?
First,
it
is
clear
that
many
do
not
understand
the
Word
of
God,
which
clearly
teaches
God’s
complete
control
over
creation.
Second,
their
idea
of
God
is
totally
unbiblical
and
unfounded.
They
try
to
put
God
into
a
mold
of
what
they
think
He
should
be
like,
and
therefore
replace
His
righteousness
with
their
own.
If
anything
happens
that
they
cannot
understand,
they
may
claim
that
God
had
nothing
to
do
with
it.
Let
me
ask
you
a
question:
If
God
is
not
in
control,
then
who
is?
If
no
one
or
nothing
is
in
control,
doesn’t
everything
happen
as
the
result
of
chance
or
luck?
Even
Christians
throw
around
the
ideas
of
luck
and
good
fortune.
When
I
hear
this,
I
immediately
know
that
they
do
not
understand
God’s
Word.
Scripture
is
clear:
God
is
not
in
the
luck
business;
He
is
in
the
blessing
business.
If
we
replace
God’s
sovereignty
with
sheer
luck,
we
are
simply
saying
that
there
is
no
plan
or
order
in
the
universe,
and
we
are
the
victims
of
our
circumstances.
If
that
is
the
case,
then
sometimes
we’ll
be
happy,
most
of
the
time
we’ll
be
unfulfilled,
and
we
will
always
fear
the
future.
God
does
not
want
us
to
live
like
this.
He
is
in
absolute
control
of
every
single
event
in
this
life.
He
is
the
Master
over
the
things
that
affect
His
purpose
for
each
of
us.
How
can
we
be
sure?
Let’s
open
God’s
Word
and
examine
some
passages
that
reveal
His
sovereignty.
First,
let
me
say
that
we
will
not
find
a
passage
in
the
Bible
in
which
God
exclaims,
“Thus
saith
the
Lord
God,
‘I
am
sovereign!’ ”
Rather
than
just
using
words,
God
uses
life
itself
to
reveal
His
absolute
control.
Because
God
uses
life
to
demonstrate
His
sovereignty,
it
is
natural
to
begin
our
look
at
the
biblical
evidence
in
the
very
first
word
of
Scripture,
Genesis
1:1,
“In
the
beginning
God
created
the
heavens
and
the
earth.”
Think
about
what
this
means:
God
created
everything
that
exists
out
of
nothing.
He
put
this
and
every
other
world
in
its
place
and
created
galaxies,
solar
systems,
gravity,
time,
space
…
literally
every
speck
of
matter
in
the
universe.
If
He
set
all
of
this
in
motion,
then
He
is
more
than
able
to
sustain
His
creation
for
eternity.
The
Old
Testament
reveals
God’s
control
in
every
area;
most
notably,
His
control
of
nature,
nations,
and
even
unbelievers.
For
example,
His
dominion
over
nature
is
noted
in
Psalm
135:6–7,
which
explains,
Whatever
the
Lord
pleases,
He
does,
In
heaven
and
in
earth,
in
the
seas
and
in
all
deeps.
He
causes
the
vapors
to
ascend
from
the
ends
of
the
earth;
Who
makes
lightnings
for
the
rain,
Who
brings
forth
the
wind
from
His
treasuries.
Psalm
104:14
further
illustrates
this
point:
“He
causes
the
grass
to
grow
for
the
cattle,
and
vegetation
for
the
labor
of
man,
so
that
he
may
bring
forth
food
from
the
earth.”
This
shows
that
despite
man’s
involvement
with
farming,
it
would
be
impossible
if
God
did
not
raise
the
vegetation
from
the
earth.
Man
can
do
only
so
much;
God,
however,
is
not
bound
by
nature.
Now,
when
we
think
about
the
history
of
the
world
and
the
many
nations
that
have
brought
about
pain,
war,
and
bloodshed,
it
is
easy
to
wonder
whether
God
was
in
control
of
these
events.
In
the
face
of
war,
isn’t
it
easier
to
believe
that
vicious,
volatile
men
are
in
charge
rather
than
God?
We
need
to
understand
that
God
is
not
worried
about
world
dictators
because
the
only
reason
they
are
in
positions
of
power
is
that
the
Lord
allowed
them
to
be.
Job
12:23
states,
“He
makes
the
nations
great,
then
destroys
them;
He
enlarges
the
nations,
then
leads
them
away.”
Psalm
22:28
further
stresses
this
idea:
“The
kingdom
is
the
Lord’s
and
He
rules
over
the
nations.”
No
nation,
president,
dictator,
or
army
does
anything
outside
of
God’s
control.
This
does
not
mean
that
we
will
understand
why
certain
things
happen.
There
are
obviously
some
atrocities—such
as
the
Holocaust—that
seem
to
defy
explanation.
However,
we
have
the
assurance
of
Scripture
that—even
when
we
do
not
understand
His
plan—God
remains
in
control
of
every
nation.
Something
else
we
often
fail
to
understand
is
that
God
is
sovereign
over
those
who
do
not
even
believe
in
Him.
How
can
God
reign
in
the
life
of
an
unbeliever?
Daniel
4:28–37
tells
a
wonderful
story
about
the
Babylonian
king
Nebuchadnezzar.
In
verse
30,
the
king
reflected
on
his
greatness,
saying,
“Is
this
not
Babylon
the
great,
which
I
myself
have
built
as a
royal
residence
by
the
might
of
my
power
and
for
the
glory
of
my
majesty?”
How’s
that
for
arrogance?
He
praised
only
himself
for
what
God
had
allowed
him
to
accomplish.
God
heard
Nebuchadnezzar’s
boasts,
and
the
Lord
responded,
“Nebuchadnezzar,
to
you
it
is
declared:
sovereignty
has
been
removed
from
you”
(Dan.
4:31).
God
went
on
to
explain
how
He
would
humble
the
mighty
king
until
he
recognized
“that
the
Most
High
is
ruler
over
the
realm
of
mankind
and
bestows
it
on
whomever
He
wishes”
(Dan.
4:32).
In
verse
37,
we
see
the
king
after
he
had
undergone
his
humbling
experience
of
proclaiming
honor
and
praise
to
“the
King
of
heaven.”
Even
this
unbelieving
ruler
of a
mighty
nation
realized
that
his
control
came
only
from
God.
Because
we
know
that
God
is
in
control,
we
can
find
peace
in
several
assurances
from
the
Father.
First,
we
find
comfort
in
the
fact
that
almighty
God—who
is
in
absolute
control
of
everything—is
intimately
and
continually
involved
in
our
individual
lives
every
single
day.
God
never
stops
providing
for,
protecting,
watching
over,
or
caring
for
each
of
us.
Because
He
is
sovereign
and
all-knowing,
He
knows
exactly
what
we
need
for
today
and
tomorrow.
Because
God
is
sovereign,
we
have
the
assurance
that
He
will
work
out
every
single
circumstance
in
our
lives
for
something
good,
no
matter
what.
It
may
be
painful,
difficult,
or
seemingly
impossible,
but
God
can
and
will
use
that
situation
to
achieve
His
divine
purpose.
Romans
8:28
makes
this
clear:
“We
know
that
God
causes
all
things
to
work
together
for
good
to
those
who
love
God,
to
those
who
are
called
according
to
His
purpose.”
This
claim
makes
sense
only
when
we
realize
that
God
is
in
complete
control.
We
have
the
assurance
that
nothing
can
touch
us
apart
from
the
permissive
will
of
God.
Psalm
34:7
explains,
“The
angel
of
the
Lord
encamps
around
those
who
fear
Him,
and
rescues
them.”
God
is
our
Protector.
When
something
happens
that
is
painful
or
unexplainable
in
our
lives,
does
that
mean
God
lost
control
for
a
moment?
No,
because
we
know
that
these
things
cannot
happen
unless
God
allows
them.
This
hope
enables
us
to
step
boldly
into
the
future
because
we
know
that
God
will
be
there
for
us,
forever
protecting
us
and
guiding
our
steps.
My
friend,
when
you
begin
to
understand
that
God
is
in
complete
control
of
this
world
and
everything
in
it,
your
life
will
change
forever.
God
is
sovereign.
He
is
omniscient—He
can
answer
your
most
trying
questions.
He
is
omnipotent—He
is
strong
enough
to
overcome
your
biggest
obstacle.
He
is
omnipresent—wherever
you
may
go,
He
will
be
there
with
you.
No
matter
what
pain,
trial,
or
tragedy
comes
your
way,
rejoice
that
your
Father
will
be
there
to
work
it
out
for
your
good,
no
matter
what.
GROWING
STRONGER
THROUGH
TRIALS
Adversity
is
one
of
life’s
inescapable
experiences,
and
not
one
of
us
is
ever
happy
when
it
affects
us
personally.
A
popular
theology
says,
“Just
trust
God
and
think
rightly;
then
you
won’t
have
hardship.”
In
searching
the
Scriptures,
however,
we
see
that
God
has
advanced
His
greatest
servants
through
adversity,
not
prosperity.
God
isn’t
interested
in
building
a
generation
of
fainthearted
Christians.
Instead,
He
uses
trials
to
train
up
stalwart,
spirit-filled
soldiers
for
Jesus
Christ.
Most
of
us
don’t
even
want
to
hear
about
difficulties,
let
alone
live
them,
but
it
is
far
better
to
learn
about
adversity
before
you
experience
it
than
to
face
a
hardship
and
wonder,
Lord,
what
on
earth
are
You
doing?
We
live
in a
fallen
world
so,
like
it
or
not,
sin
and
its
consequences
surround
us.
Hardship
is a
part
of
life;
it
can
cause
discouragement
and
even
despair,
sometimes
to
the
point
of
disillusionment
with
Christianity.
When
we
encounter
such
difficulty,
we
typically
consider
the
ordeal
unfair,
unbelievable,
and
unbearable.
Our
attitude
is
usually
“It’s
not
fair,
God.”
But
we
should
be
asking,
“God,
what
is
Your
point
of
view?”
If
our
lives
were
free
from
persecution
or
trials—if
we
had
everything
we
wanted
and
no
problems—what
would
we
know
about
our
heavenly
Father?
Our
view
of
Him
would
be
unscriptural
and
most
likely
out
of
balance.
Without
adversity,
we
would
never
understand
who
God
is
or
what
He
is
like.
How
can
God
prove
His
faithfulness
unless
He
allows
some
situations
from
which
He
must
rescue
us?
Do
you
want
the
kind
of
faith
that
is
based
only
on
what
you
have
heard
or
read?
It
is
never
your
truth
until
God
works
it
into
your
life.
Most
of
us
memorized
these
words
before
we
even
understood
their
meaning:
“Yea,
though
I
walk
through
the
valley
of
the
shadow
of
death,
I
will
fear
no
evil:
for
thou
art
with
me”
(Ps.
23:4
kjv).
But
the
Twenty-third
Psalm
didn’t
become
a
living
reality
until
we
found
ourselves
in
the
valley.
Adversity
can
be a
deadly
discouragement
or
God’s
greatest
tool
for
advancing
spiritual
growth.
Your
response
can
make
all
the
difference.
Remember
that
God
has
a
purpose
for
the
hardship
He’s
allowed,
and
it
fits
with
His
wonderful
plan
for
your
life.
ADVANCING
THROUGH
ADVERSITY
When
it
comes
to
adversity,
no
one
is
immune.
All
of
us
have
experienced
the
heartache,
pressure,
and
anguish
caused
by
hardships.
Whatever
form
our
trials
may
take—whether
sickness,
financial
problems,
animosity,
rejection,
bitterness,
or
anger—we
tend
to
consider
them
setbacks.
God,
however,
has
a
different
perspective.
He
views
adversity
as a
way
not
to
hinder
the
saints,
but
to
advance
their
spiritual
growth.
When
facing
tribulation,
we
often
wonder
where
it
came
from:
Is
this
my
own
doing?
Is
this
from
Satan?
Or
is
this
from
You,
Lord?
Regardless
of
the
specific
source,
ultimately
all
adversity
that
touches
a
believer’s
life
must
first
be
sifted
through
the
permissive
will
of
God.
That
is
not
to
say
everything
coming
your
way
is
the
Lord’s
will.
But
God
allows
everything
that
occurs
because
He
sees
how
even
adversity
will
fit
into
His
wonderful
purpose
for
your
life.
According
to
Isaiah
55:8–9,
God’s
thoughts
are
higher
than
ours,
so
we
cannot
expect
to
understand
all
that
He
is
doing.
He
often
takes
the
most
painful
experiences
of
adversity
and
uses
them
to
prepare
us
for
what
lies
ahead.
God
wants
us
to
regard
our
struggles
the
way
He
does
so
that
we
won’t
be
disillusioned.
Therefore,
far
more
important
than
determining
the
source
of
our
adversity
is
learning
how
to
respond
properly.
Consider
Joseph,
one
of
the
very
few
people
in
the
Bible
about
whom
nothing
negative
is
written,
but
whose
early
life
is
characterized
by
adversity.
Scripture
says
that
God
was
prospering
Joseph
in
the
midst
of
his
affliction—even
in a
foreign
jail!
Every
trial
was
part
of
God’s
equipping
Joseph
to
become
the
savior
of
Egypt
and
also
the
savior
of
his
own
family,
who
would
later
journey
there
to
avoid
starvation.
The
Bible
reveals
a
number
of
reasons
that
the
Lord
allows
difficulties
in
our
lives.
As
we
begin
to
comprehend
His
purposes,
we
can
learn
to
react
in
ways
that
will
strengthen
rather
than
discourage
us.
One
of
God’s
Primary
Purposes
for
Adversity
is
to
Get
Our
Attention
He
knows
when
we
are
frozen
in
anger
and
bitterness
or
set
on
doing
something
our
own
way.
He
may
allow
adversity
to
sweep
us
off
our
feet.
When
we
stand
before
God,
stripped
of
our
pride
and
self-reliance,
He
has
our
complete
attention.
Saul
of
Tarsus,
later
known
as
the
apostle
Paul,
had
to
learn
a
lesson
this
way.
Proud
and
egotistical,
he
was
doing
everything
he
could
to
rid
this
earth
of
Christians.
Then
God
struck
him
blind.
Lying
on
the
Damascus
Road,
Saul
asked,
“Who
are
You,
Lord?”
(Acts
9:5).
God
had
totally
captured
his
attention.
At
the
time,
it
must
have
seemed
like
a
screeching
halt
to
his
life’s
work;
in
actuality,
it
was
the
beginning
of
an
extraordinary
preaching
career.
Another
Way
God
Uses
Adversity
is
to
Remind
Us
of
His
Great
Love
for
Us
Let
me
ask
you:
If
you
moved
out
of
God’s
will
into
sin,
and
He
just
let
you
have
your
way,
would
that
be
an
expression
of
love?
Of
course
not.
He
loves
us
too
much
to
let
us
get
by
with
disobedience.
The
Bible
realistically
agrees
that
“no
discipline
is
enjoyable
while
it
is
happening—it
is
painful!”
(Heb.
12:11
nlt).
We
can
all
say
“Amen!”
to
that.
Just
as
we
lovingly
discipline
our
children
to
protect
them
from
developing
harmful
patterns
in
thinking
and
behavior,
so
our
heavenly
Father
trains
us
by
discipline
in
order
to
bring
about
“a
quiet
harvest
of
right
living”
(Heb.
12:11
nlt).
The
writer
of
Hebrews
said,
“My
child,
don’t
ignore
it
when
the
Lord
disciplines
you,
and
don’t
be
discouraged
when
he
corrects
you.
For
the
Lord
disciplines
those
he
loves,
and
he
punishes
those
he
accepts
as
his
children”
(12:5–6
nlt).
So
if
you
are
experiencing
adversity,
allow
it
to
be a
reminder
of
God’s
great
love
for
you.
A
Third
Reason
God
Sends
Adversity
is
for
Self-Examination
When
God
allowed
Satan
to
buffet
Paul
with
a
thorn
in
the
flesh
(2
Cor.
12:7),
the
apostle
prayed
three
times
for
its
removal.
In
the
process,
Paul
certainly
must
have
searched
his
heart,
asking
the
Lord,
“Is
there
sin
in
my
life?
Is
my
attitude
right?”
When
we
encounter
adversity,
we
would
also
do
well
to
ask,
Am I
in
God’s
will,
doing
what
He
wants
me
to
do?
Perhaps
you’ve
done
that
and
confessed
any
known
sin,
but
the
adversity
persists.
God
deals
not
only
with
acts
of
transgression,
but
also
with
preprogrammed
attitudes
from
youth.
For
many
believers,
it
isn’t
a
matter
of
overt
sin
or
not
loving
the
Lord,
but
something
from
the
past
that
may
be
stunting
spiritual
growth.
To
deal
with
core
issues
like
self-esteem,
attitudes
toward
others,
and
even
misguided
opinions
about
God’s
capabilities,
the
Lord
sends
adversity
intense
enough
to
cause
deeper
examination
than
usual.
He
wants
us
to
ask:
What
fears,
frustrations,
and
suffering
from
childhood
are
still
affecting
or
driving
me?
Is
an
old
attitude
or
grudge
hurting
me?
Did
a
comment
cause
feelings
of
rejection
or
worthlessness?
An
issue
lying
dormant
for
years
may
be
hindering
progress.
Recognize
in
your
adversity
God’s
loving
desire
to
help
you
reach
your
full
spiritual
potential.
A
Fourth
Purpose
for
Adversity
is
to
Teach
Us
to
Hate
Evil
as
He
Does
Satan
sells
his
sin
program
by
promising
pleasure,
freedom,
and
fulfillment,
but
he
doesn’t
tell
you
about
the
hidden
costs.
The
truth
is,
“Whatever
a
man
sows,
this
he
will
also
reap”
(Gal.
6:7).
People
once
trapped
by
drugs,
alcohol,
or
sexual
indulgence
but
now
freed
by
God,
will
speak
of
their
hatred
for
the
sin.
Because
of
the
suffering,
helplessness,
and
hopelessness
they
experienced,
they
have
learned
to
despise
the
very
thing
they
at
one
time
desired.
David
agreed:
“Before
I
was
afflicted
I
went
astray”
(Ps.
119:67).
If
we
could
learn
to
anticipate
sin’s
ongoing
and
future
consequences,
our
lives
would
be
far
holier
and
healthier.
If
you
are
a
parent,
you
need
to
be
honest
with
your
children
about
failures.
There
is
no
such
thing
as a
perfect
father
or
mother,
and
pretending
to
have
no
faults
is
detrimental.
Our
children
need
to
understand
that
God
allows
adversity
for
their
protection.
We
should
be
frank
about
our
weaknesses
and
clearly
explain
sin’s
effect,
Satan’s
desires,
and
God’s
solution.
Warn
them
by
explaining
how
you
responded
to
sin
in
your
life
and
how
they
can
avoid
it
in
theirs.
Your
children
will
be
blessed
by
your
honesty.
A
Fifth
Reason
God
Sends
Adversity
is
to
Cause
Us
to
Reevaluate
Our
Priorities
We
can
become
workaholics,
exhausting
ourselves
and
ignoring
our
children
until
it’s
too
late.
Or
we
can
become
so
enamored
of
material
things
that
we
neglect
the
spiritual.
So
what
happens?
The
Lord
will
do
away
with
whatever
dislocates
our
priorities.
God
doesn’t
initiate
family
trials,
but
when
He
sees
us
neglecting
His
precious
gifts
or
focusing
in
the
wrong
place,
He
may
send
a
“breeze”
of
adversity
as a
reminder
to
check
priorities.
If
the
warning
goes
unheeded,
however,
a
hurricane
may
be
in
the
forecast.
Then
if
we
persist
in
ignoring
the
intensifying
storm,
it’s
as
though
He
withdraws
His
hand
and
lets
the
adversity
run
its
full
course.
For
example,
many
fathers
and
mothers
work
hard
to
balance
career
and
parenthood.
There
are
inevitable
points
of
conflict
between
the
two,
which
can
serve
as
cautionary
breezes.
But
if
priorities
are
misaligned,
and
moving
up
the
corporate
ladder
becomes
the
exclusive
goal,
a
whirlwind
of
adversity
may
be
approaching.
Another
Important
Purpose
for
Adversity
is
to
Test
Our
Works
God
already
knew
the
outcome
when
He
told
Abraham
to
sacrifice
his
son.
His
purpose
was
not
to
discover
what
the
response
would
be,
but
to
show
the
patriarch
where
he
was
in
his
obedient
walk
of
faith.
When
Abraham
came
off
that
mountain,
not
only
did
he
know
more
about
God
than
ever
before;
he
also
understood
more
about
himself
spiritually.
Besides
that,
Isaac
more
than
likely
never
forgot
the
experience!
Children
often
remember
things
we
do
not
expect—things
far
deeper
than
the
externals.
More
than
the
sight
of
that
pointed
dagger,
Isaac
likely
remembered
that
he
had
a
father
whose
obedience
to
God
knew
no
boundaries.
So
when
God
sends
adversity
to
test
us,
do
our
family
members
watch
us
buckle,
or
do
they
see
us
standing
strong
in
faith,
trusting
the
Lord
to
teach
us,
strengthen
us,
and
bring
good
from
the
circumstance?
Remember
that
our
response
carries
a
weighty
influence
for
good
or
for
evil
in
the
lives
of
those
who
love
us
most.
As
you
face
hardship,
keep
in
mind
that
its
intensity
will
not
exceed
your
capacity
to
bear
it.
God
never
sends
adversity
into
your
life
to
break
your
spirit
or
destroy
you.
If
you
respond
improperly,
you
can
destroy
yourself,
but
God’s
purpose
is
always
to
bless,
to
strengthen,
to
encourage,
and
to
bring
you
to
the
maximum
of
your
potential.
Adversity
touches
every
life.
Instead
of
running
from
it,
ask
the
Lord,
“What
are
You
trying
to
teach
me?”
While
it’s
okay
to
tell
Him
you
don’t
like
it
and
you
wish
He’d
take
it
away,
I
challenge
you
to
add,
“But
don’t
quit,
God,
until
You
have
finished.”
FINDING
TRUE
PEACE
IN
ALL
CIRCUMSTANCES
Sometimes
the
trials
aren’t
the
tsunamis
that
threaten
to
destroy
us.
Instead
they
pour
on
us
like
a
steady
rain
that
won’t
stop
until
we
have
had
enough.
When
I am
shouldering
a
particularly
stressful
load
at
work,
I
find
that
small
things
bring
to
the
surface
the
heavier
weight
I am
carrying.
Often
it
happens
on
Fridays
when
I’m
trying
to
wrap
up
the
week’s
work
and
prepare
for
a
sermon.
The
workday
begins
innocently
enough
and
then
the
telephone
rings.
The
person
on
the
other
end
asks
for
information
I do
not
have
at
that
moment,
but
I
promise
to
have
it
within
the
hour.
I
hang
up
the
phone,
feeling
confident
that
the
one
interruption
will
not
change
my
outlook
on
the
day.
A
few
minutes
later,
the
phone
rings
again.
There
is a
meeting
that
shouldn’t
be
rescheduled—it
will
only
take
fifteen
minutes.
I
rush
off
to
that
meeting
and
return
an
hour
later,
realizing
that
I
have
failed
to
keep
my
promise
to
the
earlier
request
and
am
in
jeopardy
of
missing
another
important
deadline.
I
begin
to
restructure
my
day,
wondering
how
I
will
accomplish
everything
I
need
to.
The
pace
quickens
and
the
pressure
builds.
I
think
everyone
can
relate
to
this
scenario.
Whether
you
work
in a
corporate
setting
or
shuttle
your
children
from
home
to
school
to
soccer
practice
to
music
lessons
and
back
home
again,
you
know
the
weight
of
responsibility
and
its
effect
on
your
outlook.
Corporate
employees
are
not
the
only
ones
who
deal
with
the
changing
climate
of
our
demanding
world.
Full-time
moms
know
all
too
well
what
it
feels
like
to
face
intense
pressure.
I
have
heard
many
dads
say
they
would
gladly
change
places
with
their
wives—until
they
were
left
alone
with
their
children
for
a
weekend.
We
all
face
stress.
The
death
of a
loved
one,
an
accident
on
the
way
home
from
the
grocery
store,
or
the
loss
of
one’s
home
to
storm
damage
can
leave
us
struggling
with
feelings
of
hopelessness,
doubt,
and
confusion.
But
God
has
a
solution
for
our
tensions
and
pressures.
He
knows
our
longing
for
peace
and
safety,
and
He
has
promised
to
provide
both
for
us.
THE
GREATEST
NEED
Before
His
arrest,
Jesus
told
His
disciples,
“Peace
I
leave
with
you;
My
peace
I
give
to
you;
not
as
the
world
gives
do I
give
to
you.
Do
not
let
your
heart
be
troubled,
nor
let
it
be
fearful”
(John
14:27).
Jesus
knew
the
days
following
His
arrest
and
crucifixion
would
be
unlike
anything
the
disciples
had
experienced.
Stress,
panic,
disbelief,
and
anxiety
would
converge
on
them.
Jesus
knew
the
peace
of
God
was
the
one
thing
that
would
stabilize
the
hearts
and
minds
of
His
disciples
after
He
died.
At
times,
our
world
is
very
chaotic.
However,
nothing
we
encounter
is
beyond
God’s
reach.
No
problem
is
too
great
for
Him
to
solve.
No
stress
is
too
much
for
Him
to
handle.
Jesus
understands
what
it
feels
like
to
be
under
pressure.
While
He
was
on
earth,
the
Lord
faced
many
a
trial
and
triumphed
over
every
one.
Wherever
He
went,
people
gathered,
reaching
out
to
touch
Him
in
hopes
of
being
healed.
They
hungrily
clung
to
every
word
He
said.
Luke
wrote,
“Now
it
happened
that
while
the
crowd
was
pressing
around
[Jesus]
and
listening
to
the
word
of
God,
He
was
standing
by
the
lake
of
Gennesaret;
and
He
saw
two
boats
lying
at
the
edge
of
the
lake
… He
got
into
one
of
the
boats,
which
was
Simon’s,
and
asked
him
to
put
out
a
little
way
from
the
land”
(Luke
5:1–3).
Because
the
people
were
pressing
against
Him,
the
Lord
stepped
into
Simon
Peter’s
boat
and
instructed
Peter
to
move
away
from
the
shoreline.
He
adjusted
to
the
pressure
so
that
He
could
continue
to
be
effective
in
His
delivery
of
God’s
Word.
We
may
have
to
adjust
to
the
pressures
that
God
allows
to
come
our
way.
But
there
will
never
be a
time
when
He
fails
to
provide
a
path
through
the
difficulty.
His
peace
is a
gift,
and
it
is
available
in
all
circumstances.
PEACE
THROUGH
PRAYER
One
of
the
ways
Jesus
dealt
with
the
pressures
of
life
was
by
stepping
away
from
the
furious
pace
of
His
world
to
be
alone
with
the
Father.
He
understood
that
communion
with
God
was
essential
to
maintaining
His
relationship
with
the
Father.
It
also
is
essential
to
experiencing
peace
on a
continuous
basis.
When
we
go
to
God
in
prayer,
we
express
our
needs
and
total
dependence
on
Him.
The
psalmist
wrote,
“Cast
your
burden
upon
the
Lord
and
He
will
sustain
you;
He
will
never
allow
the
righteous
to
be
shaken”
(Ps.
55:22).
The
idea
of
casting
or
rolling
our
burden
onto
the
Lord
is
that
we
acknowledge
Him
as
our
sufficiency.
He
is
our
Burden
Bearer,
and
He
can
carry
the
weight
that
accompanies
a
stressful
situation.
Many
people
struggle
in
prayer
because
they
feel
guilt
over
past
sin.
They
think
that
because
they
have
sinned
against
God
in
the
past,
He
won’t
hear
their
prayers.
God
wants
us
to
know
that
He
is
waiting
for
us
to
come
to
Him,
just
as
the
father
waited
for
the
prodigal
son
(Luke
15:20).
When
we
go
to
God
in
prayer,
we
find
that
He
receives
us
with
unconditional
love
and
forgiveness.
Never
hesitate
to
take
your
problems
to
God
in
prayer.
He
knows
your
need
for
peace
even
before
you
ask.
FIND
A
QUIET
PLACE
After
particularly
intense
times
of
ministering
to
people,
Jesus
said
to
His
disciples:
“Come
away
by
yourselves
to a
secluded
place
and
rest
a
while”
(Mark
6:31).
When
stress
builds
and
there
is
no
relief
in
sight,
we
need
to
take
Jesus’
advice
and
find
a
quiet
place
to
be
alone
with
God
in
prayer.
I
have
a
prayer
closet
at
work
and
at
home.
Without
spending
time
alone
with
the
Father,
there
is
no
way
that
I
could
continue
to
do
the
work
God
has
called
me
to
do.
My
quiet,
intimate
time
with
Him
is
the
one
thing,
above
all
else,
that
has
buoyed
me
up
for
more
than
seven
decades
of
life’s
hardest
challenges.
If
there
is
one
thing
I
exhort
you
to
do,
it
is
to
spend
time
alone
with
the
Lord
every
day.
Too
much
stress
over
a
period
of
time
weakens
us
physically,
mentally,
and
emotionally.
We
need
breaks
even
after
times
of
rewarding
activity.
Jesus
and
the
disciples
had
been
doing
what
God
called
them
to
do.
Yet
they
needed
rest
and
renewal.
You
may
not
be
able
to
walk
away
from
the
pressures
of
life.
Parents
and
caretakers,
in
particular,
find
it
difficult
to
get
away
from
the
constant
demands
on
their
time.
But
even
if
you
have
to
get
up
early
in
the
morning
to
be
alone
with
God,
it
is
worth
it.
When
I
began
having
a
quiet
time
with
God
at
three
o’clock
in
the
morning,
I
realized
that
I
had
cut
my
sleep
back
from
eight
hours
a
night
to
six.
Yet
I
had
more
energy
than
I
did
when
I
got
more
sleep.
The
Lord
will
reward
any
effort
to
grow
closer
to
Him.
Wherever
you
are
in
life,
you
can
experience
God’s
peace
deep
within
your
soul.
Peace
comes
when
you
acknowledge
your
love
for
the
Lord
and
release
your
control
over
your
situation.
This
does
not
mean
you
avoid
responsibility;
it
means
you
acknowledge
your
need
of
God.
In
doing
so,
you
can
find
solitude
in
your
spirit
through
Jesus
Christ.
Turn
to
Him
in
prayer
even
if
it
is
only
for
a
few
minutes
every
morning.
When
you
do,
you’ll
find
that
it
makes
a
tremendous
difference.
There
are
four
essentials
to
experiencing
the
peace
of
God.
1.
Total
Dependence
on
the
Lord
As
long
as
you
strive
and
struggle
to
accomplish
goals
in
your
own
ability,
you
will
experience
anxiety
and
stress.
Acknowledging
God
as
your
strength
and
refuge
shifts
your
focus
from
yourself
and
your
finite
ability
to
God
and
His
infinite
ability.
Give
God
your
burdens.
Let
Him
take
care
of
you
so
you
can
enjoy
His
peace.
2.
Prayer
There
is a
saying
that
goes
like
this:
“No
prayer;
no
peace.
Know
prayer;
know
peace.”
Prayer
and
meditation
on
God’s
Word
are
essential
to
experiencing
true
peace.
When
we
hide
God’s
Word
in
our
hearts,
the
storms
may
blow,
but
they
will
not
shatter
our
peace.
It
also
is
in
times
of
prayer
that
we
learn
to
worship
the
Lord
and
praise
Him
for
what
He
is
doing
in
our
lives.
These
form
a
cornerstone
to
our
intimacy
with
Christ.
Without
them,
it
is
difficult
to
know
the
full
depth
of
God’s
love.
3.
Faith
The
absence
of
faith
leads
to
anxiety,
which
is
the
antithesis
of
peace.
“Shalom,”
God’s
sweet
peace,
does
not
depend
on
our
external
circumstances.
It
depends
only
on
God.
Before
His
arrest
and
crucifixion,
Jesus
reminded
His
followers
that
they
would
have
trouble
in
this
world,
but
that
He
would
be
with
them
always,
even
to
the
end
of
the
age
(John
16:33).
Residing
in
peace
is
something
you
can
experience
to
its
fullest
because
God
has
promised
never
to
leave
or
forsake
you
(Heb.
13:5).
Even
in
times
of
your
personal
failure,
God’s
love
is
directed
toward
you.
Childlike
faith
is
all
that
He
requires.
4.
Focus
on
God
Dependence,
prayer,
and
faith
must
have
an
object.
If
your
eyes
are
focused
on
the
problem,
anxiety
will
capture
your
emotions.
However,
if
you
are
focused
on
God,
then
you
can
rest
in
the
fact
that
He
will
give
you
the
wisdom,
strength,
and
especially
the
peace
you
need
to
complete
the
task
or
to
withstand
the
pressure.
God
has
something
for
us
to
learn
through
each
trial.
He
never
wastes
our
sorrows.
He
uses
each
one
to
draw
us
closer
to
Him.
In 2
Corinthians,
the
apostle
Paul
wrote,
“We
are
afflicted
in
every
way,
but
not
crushed;
perplexed,
but
not
despairing;
persecuted,
but
not
forsaken;
struck
down,
but
not
destroyed”
(4:8–9).
True
peace
does
not
come
as a
result
of
eliminating
sorrows
and
disappointments.
It
comes
as a
result
of
one
thing,
and
that
is
an
intimate
relationship
with
the
Lord
Jesus
Christ.
He
is
where
anxiety
ends
and
peace
begins.
Suggested
Bible
Reading
Malachi
3:3;
Psalms
22:28;
23;
34:7;
55:22;
103:19–22;
104;
119:67;
135:6–7;
Job
12:23;
Daniel
4:28–37;
Romans
8:28;
Isaiah
55:8–9;
Acts
9:5;
Hebrews
12:5–11;
13:5;
Colossians
12:7;
Galatians
6:7;
John
14:27;
Luke
5:1–3;
15:20;
Mark
6:31;
and
2
Corinthians
4:8–9.
Prayer
Dear
heavenly
Father,
thank
You
for
the
hardships
that
You
bring
into
my
life.
Please
teach
me
through
them,
and
show
me
how
to
accept
them
as
Your
work
in
my
life.
Amen.
Journal
Questions
• Is
God
refining
you
by
fire
in
any
area
of
your
life?
• If
so,
list
the
things
you
have
not
released
to
Him.
• When
you
reach
a
point
of
forgiveness
(where
someone
else
is
involved),
go
to
the
appropriate
people
and
tell
them
of
your
forgiveness.
• Do
you
require
forgiveness
from
another
party?
If
so,
go
to
that
person,
admit
your
fault,
and
ask
for
forgiveness.
Even
when
the
world
seems
to
turn
upside
down,
God
is
in
complete
control.
Learn
more
about
His
sovereignty
and
His
purpose
for
adversity
at
ww2.intouch.org/lifeprinciples.
Stanley, Charles F.: Living the Extraordinary Life : Nine Principles to Discover It. Nashville, TN : Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2005, S. 128
Principle
8
8
Fight Your Battles on Your Knees, and You’ll Win Every Time
If I asked whether or not you knew how to pray, you would probably answer, “Sure I do! All Christians know how to pray!” However, if you seriously examined the track record of your answered prayers, you might not be so sure.
In Matthew 7:7–11, Jesus emphasized an important principle about prayer. Dispelling the assumption that prayer simply “comes naturally” for Christians, He asserted that prayer is an intentional, learned activity for God’s children. In this passage, the Lord was quite simply showing the disciples the three basic steps for an effective prayer life: ask, seek, and knock.
Unfortunately well-meaning Christians can miss fantastic opportunities and blessings because they have taken a completely passive role in their prayer lives. Too often, seeking and knocking are overlooked as the believer merely asks God for something once or twice and then sits back and forgets all about the matter.
For example, when a high school student begins to make college plans, what would happen if he simply sat on the couch and said, “Lord, please show me exactly where You want me to go to college”? Now, on the surface, this seems to be the best way to start the process. But what if the young man never gets off the couch? Instead of talking with other students, visiting campuses, ordering catalogs, reviewing school Web sites, and meeting with counselors, the boy simply sits and waits for an answer from the Lord. Most likely he would still be sitting there when classes started the next fall!
Or think about someone who honestly desires a deeper understanding of Scripture, sets his Bible down on the table, and prays, “Lord, please open up the truths of the Scriptures to me. I desperately want to understand Your Word.” That person can pray continuously, but the only way for him to get a deeper understanding of the Bible would be not simply to ask, but also to seek by digging into the Word of God. Even that is not enough! He would have to knock on the doors of some Scriptures, dealing with difficult passages in order to see them open up in their fullness.
What about matters of spiritual warfare? How should a Christian pray when he is under attack? Do two-sentence platitudes work then? If you ever hope to defeat your spiritual enemy—and you have a very real enemy—you must begin with prayer.
LEARNING TO PRAY THE BIBLE WAY
When you pray, do you have confidence that God will answer, or do you feel unworthy of His attention? Are your prayers specific or general? Is your prayer life a haphazard response to needs and desires, or nourishment for the life of the Lord Jesus Christ within you? One of the simplest but most profound passages on prayer in all of the Bible is found in the Sermon on the Mount:
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! (Matt. 7:7–11)
Prayer is not only asking and receiving, but also giving thanks to, adoring, and praising the Lord God. There are two responsibilities in prayer—God’s responsibility and our responsibility. You cannot have one without the other; prayer is both divine and human. Notice the Lord’s intensity in the progression in this passage: “ask … seek … knock.” Clearly Jesus had in mind that we are to become actively involved in the prayer process. Prayer is not a spectator sport!
Every request, every desire of our hearts, and every need should begin with prayer—asking God for permission, seeking to know His will. Because Jesus Christ has come into our lives and because He has now become our Life, we have the privilege and the authority to approach Him and make a request (Eph. 3:11–12; Heb. 4:16).
God is always in the process of answering prayer. This message is the primary purpose of Matthew 7:7–11. Somebody may ask, “Does that mean anybody and everybody can ask, seek, knock, and find?” No, because the Sermon on the Mount is addressed to the followers of Christ. He is talking about His own children.
There is a vital element in prayer that most people overlook, which is steadfastness in prayer. We may not see anything happening, but a delay between our asking and our receiving doesn’t mean that God refuses to answer our prayers. In Luke 18:1–8, Jesus told a parable of a persistent widow who bothered a judge so much that he finally gave her what she wanted. Christ used this example to teach His followers how they ought to pray, not losing heart. Why did Jesus place this emphasis on perseverance? Because He very often delays answering prayer requests, even if your request is, in fact, the will of God. Why does God delay? If He sees within us attitudes of rebellion, bitterness, or unforgiveness, or if He notices certain unhealthy habits in our lifestyles, God postpones the answer for His children. He may already have it packaged and ready to send your way, but He cannot and will not do so until you are in a spiritual position to receive it.
A second reason for God’s delay is that He is in the process of testing our sincerity in order to build into us a persistent spirit. If we are really earnest, we will not make our request known just once and then give up if it goes unanswered for a time. That is why God says to pray, and to keep on praying, asking, seeking, and knocking. Persevere. Don’t give up. Endure. Hang in there—even when you do not see any evidence that God will answer your prayer in the way you hope He will.
Third, God often delays answering prayer in order to build our faith. He strengthens our trust by testing us. How does God test us? Sometimes by withdrawing. As you and I begin to ask, seek, and knock, something happens in our walk with God. When we talk to Him, we are building and nourishing our relationship with Him. We are getting to know Him—who He is and how He operates. Do you realize that once you have become one of His children, what God wants to give you above everything else is Himself? He wants you to know Him.
A fourth reason for God’s delays is to develop patience within us as we endure in prayer until His timing is right. God’s timing does not always match our own. He is far more interested in our knowing Him than our getting from Him everything our hearts desire.
Would you say that prayer is a vital part of your daily schedule? There is no way for Jesus Christ to be a part of my life unless I am a praying man. I talk, share, and relate with Him all day long. He is my Life! I can tell you every moment I spend with Him is a blessing.
I know countless Christians who become involved in so many activities that prayer begins to shift aside as they diligently go about serving the Lord in their own strength and wisdom. One of the primary reasons we do not pray is that we have busied ourselves with so many distractions that we don’t have time for the truly important things. Why do we do this? I’m convinced it’s a matter of denial and avoidance. We’re not willing for God to take His scalpel, open us up all the way down to our innermost beings, and deal with things that we have never overcome.
Do you realize that one of the largest veins of gold ever discovered in America was found only three feet from where previous miners had stopped digging? Christians often experience the same problem; just beyond where we quit, just out of reach from where we are willing to go, is God’s greatest blessing.
If you petition God and He shows you clearly that it is not His will, then naturally you should stop praying about it. However, if there is something that you believe God is working out in your life, or if there is a serious, deep-felt need, do not stop praying. God wants to answer that prayer. I can think of times when everything in me wanted to stop, and I would just keep on praying and crying out to God. Sure enough, suddenly, with no warning, the veil would lift; and there would be the answer, staring me right in the face. If I had quit the day before, I would have made some foolish decision on my own and missed what God wanted to provide.
Nowhere does the Bible say that prayer is easy. It involves a struggle—there will be times when Satan will attack you as you are on your knees, harassing you with doubt and sending distracting thoughts into your mind. One of Satan’s most effective weapons is to cause you to have feelings of worthlessness before God. I am speaking not of proper humility, but of an unhealthy sense of unworthiness. Scripture shatters this fear by boldly proclaiming that you and I have freedom in Christ to approach the very throne of God in prayer. When you go to the Lord, do not be meek and embarrassed; instead, bow before Him and rejoice! Exclaim, “Lord Jesus, I praise Your name that You are my Life. I thank You that I can come to You in confidence because You have told me to ask, seek, and knock. Lord, I’m coming as Your child, confident that You are listening to what I am saying. Certain that You will give me direction for my life. Confident that You are going to answer my prayer. I praise You and I accept ahead of time the answers for my prayer. Praise God. Amen!”
We do not always like the answers that God gives. He did not promise to give us anything we request; instead, He promises in Matthew 7:11 that everything He gives is good for us. Surely you would not want God to give you something that would harm you or ultimately destroy your life, would you? For that reason, Jesus sets the limitation up front; He says that He will give us only what is good.
Do not worry about asking God for something too big. You cannot ask God for anything so monumental that He cannot do it if He deems it to be good. God is honored by large, difficult, and impossible requests when we ask, seek, knock, and trust our loving Father always to answer for our good.
If you will actively apply this simple truth, God will transform your prayer life, which will in turn transform your relationships, effectiveness, family, business, and all other aspects of your life. The privilege of prayer is a heritage that belongs to every child of God, a potential that is beyond human understanding. It is a work of God’s grace that He has given to each one of us. It is my prayer that you will not let that heritage be wasted in your life. Allow God to make you the man, woman, or young person that He desires you to be. Learn to relate to Him. Nourish that inner being of Christ in your prayer life. Make your daily prayer life an ongoing, intimate relationship of conversation with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Once you establish a prayer life with God, you will begin to harness His strength to fight your spiritual battles. When you fight your battles on your knees, you’ll win every time!
A REAL ENEMY
We hear about conflicts and attacks taking place all over the world, but they often seem very distant. The truth is that every single one of us faces a war each day—we battle the devil. Yet many people do not recognize the work of Satan; they mistake his assault for the struggles of everyday life.
An enemy always wants to be camouflaged and covered so he can walk in the shadows undetected. Satan loves for people to doubt his existence, but do not be deceived—he is very real. Jesus clearly recognized the reality of the devil, who tempted Him in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1). And we know Paul believed the scriptural account of Satan’s temptation in the Garden (Gen. 3) because in 2 Corinthians 11:3, he referred to the serpent that deceived Eve.
Satan is a liar. He tries to convince us that he does not exist. He wants us to believe that all religions are the same and everybody will get to heaven by one way or another. That is the way he operates: it all sounds good, but it is a lie.
Our enemy is very deliberate in the way he approaches us. He appeals to our minds first. We do not immediately act according to our temptations. The downward spiral begins with our thoughts. Our bodies simply turn in the direction our minds are facing.
We read in 2 Corinthians 10:5: “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” We must deliberately take control of our thinking because the mind is the battleground where Satan confronts us. If we are to win the battle against Satan, we must bring our thoughts under the control of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Satan is a formidable foe. We may be able to control some of our thoughts, but we cannot resist him on our own. Left to our natural devices, we will sin by saying, “It’s okay. Everybody does it. That does not apply to our culture—the Bible is outdated.” Such thinking stems from allowing the devil entrance into our minds. We must actively guard our thinking against his deceitfulness.
The battle for our salvation was won at the cross—the devil knows he is a defeated foe, destined for eternity in hell. Since he cannot take a single child of God with him, he tries to destroy our witness instead. However, when we recognize Satan’s deception and depend upon the strength of Jesus Christ to resist him, we can be confident of victory.
THE STRENGTH TO STAND
Have you ever faced circumstances so overwhelming that you wondered how you would stand up under them? At times, we all have feelings of weakness. Though none of us enjoy those experiences, periods of powerlessness and vulnerability are not necessarily negative. If our weakness results in self-pity, despair, or sin, then it is harmful, but if it drives us to dependency upon God, it is beneficial. Oftentimes fear and discouragement are caused by satanic attack—a willful, determined assault by the devil for the purpose of harming your spirit, soul, or body.
Satan is not omnipotent, but he is nonetheless a very powerful adversary. God does not leave us to fend for ourselves, however, and He wants us to understand the fullness and certainty of His supernatural capacity to help us. That is why Ephesians 6:10 tells us to be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. When you trust Jesus as your Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to indwell in you. Living inside you is a member of the Trinity who has supernatural power—power greater than Satan’s—to enable you to stand firm. The same divine power that created the heavens and earth, calmed the ocean, and raised the dead is available to every believer through the Lord Jesus Christ and is absolutely essential during spiritual attacks.
The Bible tells us to stand firm and resist the devil (Eph. 6:11; James 4:7). It does not say, “Arm yourself and go fight him,” for the simple reason that the battle for our salvation has already been won at the cross. Once you are God’s child, you are eternally secure—Satan cannot have your soul, or your eternal life (John 10:29–30). But his goal is to thwart the Lord’s plan for you, and he can do a significant amount of damage. He is out to steal your peace and joy, cause confusion and anger, and encourage wrong relationships in your life. He will do anything he can to cheat you out of the blessings the Lord has promised. And the holier you attempt to live before God, the stronger the attacks are likely to be. Satan is after your testimony—he wants to ruin your witness and make you as ineffective as possible.
Would you say that yours is a holy life and that you are walking in obedience to God? If not, you may have yielded to some satanic attack, believed the devil’s lie, and given yourself over to him in some way. What may have seemed like an innocent temptation at first can eventually exert a viselike grip on you. Christians are to be under God’s control, but the enemy ultimately wants you under his influence, and he will do his best to destroy everything good in your life. Satan’s objectives are very clear, namely, to draw believers away from God and cheat the Lord out of the glory He deserves. As long as the devil is around, we will suffer his assaults, so the question is not how to avoid satanic attacks, but how to overcome them.
Paul laid out the battle plan in the sixth chapter of Ephesians. First, we must identify the enemy (vv. 11–12); second, we are to dress in the full armor of God and stand firm (vv. 13–17). The next verse reveals the key to withstanding Satan’s onslaughts—we must appropriate the strength of the living God. How do we get His power into our lives, to be unleashed in any and every circumstance? There is only one way: by prayer (v. 18).
It is through prayer that the Lord releases His energy, divine power, and protection, enabling us to live a godly, holy, and peaceful life regardless of our circumstances. It is only through prayer that our minds and spirits can discern what the average person cannot detect. Only through prayer can we sense forewarnings of Satan’s attacks, which can be aimed anywhere—finances, family, relationships, or health. The one thing Satan hates above all else is the believer who knows how to persist in prayer and claim the promises of God—the enemy has no defense against persevering prayer, which crushes his might and sends him running. On the other hand, when we do not pray, we set ourselves up for defeat.
We have this power available to us, and yet we often fail to stand firmly against satanic attacks. Since our enemy knows the power of prayer, he will use distractions against us to get our minds focused on anything but prayer. He will do everything possible to keep us from spending time in communion with our heavenly Father. Satan wants us too busy to talk to the One who knows everything, loves us always, and desires to defend us in any situation.
Paul knew how essential it is to recognize prayer’s role in protecting us against spiritual attack. Our heavenly Father sees the whole combat zone in which you and I live each day. He knows where we are in the battlefield and the nature of our weaknesses. He is also aware of what Satan is up to in our lives—every cunning device, exactly where he will attack, and who he will use in the effort.
If you are prayerless, if you don’t cry out for His divine direction and guidance, and if you don’t put on His armor by faith every day, the enemy is going to succeed. And more than likely, he will hit you where you do not expect him to because that is his battle strategy.
The importance of prayer cannot be overemphasized. Your understanding of Scripture will be in direct proportion to your prayers. The holiness and righteousness of your life are directly related to your prayers. Your fruitfulness and usefulness to almighty God are also proportional to your communication with the Father. It is critical that you understand praying is not “Lord, bless me, bless him, bless her. Give me this; give me that.” Those little, quick prayers are fine if you’re “prayed up.” Serious praying, however, is talking to your heavenly Father, who listens and desires to answer. It is about humbling yourself and acknowledging not only your need but also His presence, His holiness, and His righteousness. The source of our strength is the living God, and His power is channeled into our lives primarily when we listen and talk with Him.
Understanding exactly what it takes to release God’s awesome power, Paul wrote, “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit” (Eph. 6:18). By “all prayer,” he was referring to prayer in general, that is, requests, thanksgiving, praise, and intercession (prayer to God on behalf of others), all of which are important. Next, he used the word “petition,” which speaks of a particular, singular request. God displays His power through prayer when we ask for something specific and He does exactly what we requested. But if we are praying only “Bless me, bless this, bless that,” how can we know whether God has answered?
Paul also talked about praying at all times. We are most vulnerable to satanic attacks when we are not praying. Satan arranges a sequence of events in your life and mine to defeat us. He wants to get you too busy, distracted, or negligent to pray because once you are prayerless, you will soon become concerned and worried—burdens will become heavier, and you will feel discouraged and weary. Eventually you will feel emotionally, spiritually, and physically weak. Then when you drop your guard, Satan will hit you. You simply cannot afford to be prayerless!
First Thessalonians 5:17 instructs us further with three powerful words: “Pray without ceasing.” How can we pray at all times? It means living in God-consciousness. Think in terms of a telephone. If you hang up, you have disconnected the call. “Praying without ceasing” means you do not hang up—you continuously stay on the line with God. That is how He intends for us to live. If I meet somebody I have been praying for and something good has happened in his life, I will say, “Thank You, God, for what You did for him.” If I see evil going on, I will say, “God, I am trusting You to correct this situation.” The truth is, we should be able to talk to the Father specifically all the time. “Praying always” means living in communion with the Father, in constant awareness of His presence.
The only way we can be strong enough to withstand the traps and counterfeits of the devil is by having a relationship whereby God is always speaking to our hearts and we are always talking to Him in return. You and I cannot be discerning unless we are praying as we ought. So, when you’re driving down the expressway, what are you thinking about? Why don’t you talk to God? When you wash the dishes and clean your house, what are you thinking about? You can talk to the Father. Talk to Him about everything. Satan wants you to think there are times when you do not need God—since he hates it when you are on your knees, he will keep you too busy to pray.
Is your prayer life pitiful or powerful? No one else can put on your spiritual armor for you. If you want God’s best in your life, get on your knees. Divine, supernatural power is available if you will cry out to God and claim it by faith. Your prayers release God’s power into your life and make it possible for you to stand firm against every onslaught of the devil.
THE ARMOR OF GOD
Aggravations. Frustrations. Feelings of inadequacy. Moments of doubt and fear. Where do these emotions come from? Are they self-imposed? Or do we have another force working against us, someone who, if he could, would destroy our peace and give solid evidence to our fears?
We would be remiss to give Satan credit for everything that goes wrong in our lives. Certainly the last thing we need to do as believers is to constantly focus our spiritual eyes on the enemy and his tactics. Joshua, Jehoshaphat, Nehemiah, Esther, and Daniel had one thing in common: they refused to dwell on Satan’s intervention in their lives. Each faced impossible situations, yet he or she turned to God, who subsequently brought deliverance.
Although we do have a real enemy who seeks our destruction, we are not defenseless. We have the strength given to us by Christ Himself to overcome our adversary. This is our hope: that Christ overcame the deepest, darkest, strongest evil that Satan could muster. In His death and resurrection, Christ broke the power of sin and put an end to eternal death.
Satan can tempt us to sin, but we can say no to his enticements (1 Cor. 10:13). We are not pawns floundering within his grasp. We belong to the Son of God; we are His, and He is our eternal Savior. Jesus won the victory and proclaims the name of all who believe in Him before God’s throne of grace. Nothing can separate us from His eternal love (Rom. 8:38–39).
On the other hand, the apostle Peter cautioned us to “be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith” (1 Peter 5:8–9).
You may ask, “If Jesus Christ has won the victory, why are we still in the battle?” The reason is that we live according to God’s timetable. He knows the exact moment of Satan’s final defeat. The present victory is ours on a daily basis as we cling to Jesus Christ. However, we must claim that victory and learn to walk in the Spirit, as Christ walked while He was here on earth.
One of the principal reasons for Jesus’ coming was to personally identify with us—our needs, heartaches, joys, and even failures. Though Christ never suffered defeat, He knew what it was like to be separated from the Father. On the cross, for a brief time, He was separated from God as He bore our sins. But death could not hold Him. Jesus canceled mankind’s sin with His atoning blood and, in so doing, set the stage for Satan’s final defeat. When we realize that God understands what we are facing and is willing to provide the strength we need, then trusting Him with even the smallest details becomes a natural part of life.
Until Christ returns, we are soldiers engaged in spiritual warfare, and we have the victory when we do battle in the power and name of the living God. Peter’s words of warning to us are a signal not to turn and run, but to stand firm in our faith, trusting God and refusing to be drawn aside by the temptations and deceptions of the enemy. One of the best ways to defend against and overcome Satan’s ploys is to understand your position in Christ. The book of Romans is foundational in this aspect.
The apostle Paul wrote, “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:14–17).
Satan is an enemy to be respected and understood. Instead of submitting to God and His omnipotence, the devil rebelled and drew away one-third of heaven’s forces with him. Christ’s victory over Satan is total and complete. Try as he may, he can never snatch the victory out of God’s almighty hand. If you are living for the Lord Jesus Christ, He will empower you to do God’s will so you can find blessing and safety.
Paul told us to put on the armor of God when we battle our spiritual enemies:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Eph. 6:10–17, emphasis added)
Though at times—especially in our present age—it seems we are in the midst of a horrendous physical battle, the real war is against the powers of spiritual darkness. Satan’s goal has not changed over the years. The enemy knows his ultimate destiny, yet he will never give up his evil intent against the kingdom of God until Christ banishes him to the eternal lake of fire (Rev. 20:10). The only way he can do damage to the kingdom of God now is by enticing God’s beloved children to yield to sin, thus damaging their fellowship with the Lord.
Satan will try to discourage you by filling your mind with an array of doubt and confusion, but you do not have to believe him. The message of the gospel of Christ is given to you as a sure authority. God’s Word provides all the details you need to know about Satan.
Paul also admonished us to “stand firm”—a phrase that denotes extreme faith in the One who gives us life and strength. But the enemy of faith is pride—a sure road to spiritual defeat. In the ministry, I have seen many who have fallen because of pride—they have been undone by their refusal to humble themselves before God and accept His plan for their lives. This is one reason why it is tremendously important to put on the entire armor that God has given to us. The armor keeps us mindful of who is in control of our lives and who is our Advocate before the Father (1 John 2:1).
On our own, we cannot defeat or even resist the enemy. Only through the power of Jesus Christ do we have the ability to stand and claim what God has done through His Son. The victory took place at Calvary (Col. 2:13–15). However, if we demand Satan’s forces to leave without using the name of Jesus Christ, we position ourselves for a prideful defeat. Pride also comes into play when we think we are in control of our lives: “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
Make a habit of claiming the armor of God each morning before you leave your house—this is a conscious act of submitting your life to the Lord as your final authority. Acknowledging your need for Him is a sign not of weakness, but of unshakable trust. When you place your faith in Jesus Christ, heaven is on your side.
Are you standing fully clothed in His armor, or do you rise in the morning, grab a cup of coffee, and run out the door? Do you think of Jesus throughout the day, hoping to make more time for Him in the evening, only to find other commitments taking His place?
Establish and commit yourself to time alone with God. Let the life of Jesus Christ be your example. Even before His day began—which was much busier than ours—Christ rose to be alone with the Father. Your life may be stretched to the limit. God knows what you are facing, and He will help you make time to be with Him if that is truly your heart’s desire.
Whatever transpires in your life, the wisest decision you will ever make is the decision to spend time with the Lord on a regular basis. This teaches you to recognize Satan’s movement and prepares you for battle when the enemy approaches. Paul told the Ephesians they were in a war, but clothed in the armor of God, they were assured of victory.
Suggested Bible Reading
Matthew 4:11; 7:7–11; Ephesians 3:11–12; 6:10–18; Hebrews 4:16; Luke 18:1–8; 2 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Corinthians 10:5–13; James 4:7; John 10:29–30; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Romans 8:14–17, 38–39; 1 Peter 5:8–9; Revelation 20:10; 1 John 2:1; Colossians 2:13–15; and James 4:6.
Prayer
Dear heavenly Father, as I begin this day, I put on, in faith, the belt of truth—I ask You to guide me through the decisions of my day. I put on the breastplate of righteousness—guard my emotions and my heart, and cause me to be pure. I put on my spiritual boots and ask for courage to share the gospel with any who need to hear. I put on my helmet of salvation, asking You to bring to my mind all You have done for me through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Finally I pick up my sword of the Spirit and ask You to bring to my mind Scripture that I have read, helping me to apply it to my life. I want to bring glory to Your name. Amen.
Journal Questions
• What is the armor of God?
• As you begin each day, practice putting on the armor of God.
• What is your first response to a troublesome or tempting situation?
• Who should you turn to first when trials arise? Why?
The armor of God is a serious, vital part of Scripture, yet it is often taken for granted by believers. Take an in-depth look at this and other aspects of spiritual warfare at ww2.intouch.org/lifeprinciples.
Stanley, Charles F.: Living the Extraordinary Life : Nine Principles to Discover It. Nashville, TN : Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2005, S. 149
Principle
9
9
The Bible is the Sourcebook of Life
In a recent survey, 60 percent of the Christians polled said they believe the Bible is “totally accurate in all of its teaching.”1 With the remaining 40 percent questioning the authority of God’s Word, is it any wonder that so many Christians struggle to understand, let alone defend, their faith?
Our belief system governs our lifestyle and choices—it is the foundation from which we form our opinions and make decisions. For Christians, it is absolutely essential to know what we believe and why. Most people inherit their convictions from their parents and simply absorb those ideas without really investigating them. For instance, if their fathers supported the union, then they support the union; if their mothers voted Republican, then they vote Republican; and so on.
But to be certain our system of thinking is accurate, we must base it on the Word of God and not on habit, culture, or even family heritage. A belief system is like a mental grid through which all outside information must pass. If our mental grid has been built on the truth of the Bible, then we can detect false doctrine and philosophy.
False doctrine is usually mixed up with just enough truth to make it sound good. Many Christians who are not grounded in their faith are easily led astray by doctrines that are genuinely too good to be true. They eagerly support an agenda that is inconsistent with God’s Word because it offers license to live according to one’s fleshly desires (2 Tim. 4:3).
Christians should know their convictions so that they can present those beliefs convincingly to others. While it is the work of the Holy Spirit to bring the lost to Christ, God may choose to use us to instruct unbelievers in the way of truth. Our world is full of people who are desperate, lonely, and hurting. They yearn for the amazing hope that we have. But they desire hope sourced in truth, not on someone else’s opinion.
There is no question that our society is permeated with godless ideas and philosophies that can ultimately destroy us. But if our belief system is based upon the Scriptures, we will recognize deceitful teaching when we hear it and will address real needs with real answers.
THE FOUNDATION FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE
People often have difficulty expressing what they believe. Instead of having a verifiable belief system based on godly principles, too many Christians embrace a few vague ideas. Peter told us always to be ready to give a reason for what we believe (1 Peter 3:15). So we want to be sure that we correctly understand scriptural truth. Let’s consider a list of absolute truths that should be a foundational part of your belief system.
The Bible
The Bible is God’s unfolding revelation of Himself. It is His Word to the human race, explaining His intervention in history and nature, and His arrival in this world as the God-man. In keeping with 2 Timothy 3:16, we refer to the Scriptures as the inspired Word of God, or as “God-breathed,” which means the Lord chose individuals to record what He spoke to them. Since He who gave the Word is more than capable of protecting it from error, the Bible we have today is as reliable as when it was originally recorded. Each new discovery of forgotten scrolls and Scripture fragments affirms the accuracy and reliability of the Bible—it has never been contradicted.
The Word of the living God was given to us so that we might grow in our relationship to Him. This is our instruction book for life and the final authority for what we believe.
The Godhead
Although the specific term Trinity is not found in Scripture, the truth of the triune God appears throughout the Bible. Our one God consists of three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They are characterized by the same attributes—they are eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and immutable—but each person has a different function.
Many passages of Scripture reveal a three-part Godhead. For example, the Spirit of God hovered over the waters in Genesis 1:2, and later God said, “Let Us make man in Our image” (v. 26). Who is “Us” if not the Trinity? It is certainly not angels, because they are not creators.
Jesus likewise indicated three persons comprise the Godhead: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16–17). Later He admonished His disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19).
Our heavenly Father is the eternal and absolutely holy Creator God. He has control over every single thing, which is why the apostle Paul said He “causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28). He must be overseeing and executing circumstances in order to make them turn out for our good.
God the Son is Jesus Christ, who took upon Himself human flesh and walked among men. Jesus never questioned His divinity, instead affirming that “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). He came to earth for the specific purpose of dying on the cross—His death was the substitutionary payment in full for our sin-debt (1 Peter 3:18). God the Father cannot look upon sin (Ps. 66:18); consequently only a perfect, holy sacrifice could atone for it before Him. Today God the Son sits at the right hand of God the Father and makes intercession for us.
God the Holy Spirit dwells within every believer from the moment of salvation. Through Him, we have our spiritual gift(s) and the empowerment to do the work God chooses for our lives. The Holy Spirit transforms the life of the believer and brings forth good things (Gal. 5:22–23).
Satan
The Bible tells us that God created Satan and made him an important angel (Ezek. 28:12–15). He is real. The devil so desired to be like God that he rebelled against the Creator, who subsequently cast him and his coconspirators to earth. Here he has chosen to set up a counterfeit kingdom so that he may reign as the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4). Satan uses deception and division to deceive believers; he also desires to keep unbelievers away from the saving grace of Jesus Christ, thereby destroying them. As the source of all sin, he instigates pain, sorrow, and spiritual death, but he disguises his intentions—he tries to lure people into his counterfeit kingdom by whispering to them about indulgence and doing what feels good now. Satan speaks only of the present, not the future. He never mentions consequences.
As Christians, we have no cause to fear Satan. This is true for two reasons. First, “greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). We are under the protection of the Holy Spirit; nothing can happen to us that God does not allow, and we know that He permits only those circumstances—no matter how bad they seem—that He can turn for our good. Second, all of us who have read Scripture have seen Satan’s obituary. It is in Revelation 20 where he is thrown into a lake of fire, eternally punished for his rebellion toward almighty God (v. 10).
Man
God created man in His image in order to love us and fellowship with us. We are also privileged to glorify and serve Him. But when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, man’s relationship to the Creator changed. At the same time, man’s very nature became corrupt so that each of us is born with our will inclined away from God. Consequently we are separated from our holy, perfect heavenly Father. But God provided for man’s sin with His redemptive plan—the sacrifice of His Son.
No man can earn God’s forgiveness or acceptance. It is a lie of Satan that any of us can substitute good works for the grace of Christ. Whatever “goodness” we have and whatever works we perform, they amount to nothing more than “filthy rags,” in terms of meriting salvation (Isa. 64:6 niv). But redemption works in our lives to change our nature and bend it back toward God.
Salvation
The simplest definition of salvation is “the gift of God’s grace, whereby He provides forgiveness for our sins.” Throughout the Old Testament, God’s faithful people brought animal sacrifices to His altar in order to atone for their sins. These blood offerings foreshadowed the once-and-for-all sacrifice that was to come. Jesus Christ, whom John the Baptist rightly called the Lamb of God, died on a cross as a substitute for us. That is, at the time of the Savior’s death, God the Father placed all the sin of mankind upon Him. So our sin-debt was paid in absolute fullness. Now we are sealed in the Holy Spirit and eternally secure.
Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ; it is not something we receive based on our behavior (Eph. 2:8–9). People who are saved do good works as an extension of their changed nature. The Lord said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). However, God gave mankind free will—we have a choice to receive the gift of grace or to reject Jesus Christ. No matter what you believe to be true about God or how good you try to be, there is no salvation for you if you reject the Son of God.
The Church
The church is the whole body of Christ—believers from every part of the globe. It has nothing to do with being Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Catholic, or part of any other denomination. If you have trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you are in the body of Christ, and God is your heavenly Father. As followers of Jesus, we are to express love for one another—encouraging, helping, and praying for fellow Christians. Our conduct should be in keeping with the One we call Lord and Master of our lives.
We meet in local groups to serve the Lord. The clear work of the church is to reach out and bring people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. In addition, we instruct believers so that all may grow in relationship to God. He has commanded us to “go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you” (Matt. 28:19–20).
Within the church, we practice two scriptural ordinances: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism by immersion is a picture of what happens to every single person who is saved: we have put to death the old life and have risen to walk in the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit. Our character, conversation, and conduct are different because we have a new spirit—we are born again. Baptism does not save us; rather, it is an expression of obedience to Jesus’ call that we be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19).
Likewise, the Lord’s Supper is not an optional idea, but an expression of obedience. Through the Lord’s Supper, we rejoice in the blood of the new covenant between God and His children. Instead of an animal sacrifice, there is one perfect sacrifice. When we receive the elements representing Jesus’ body and blood, it is a time to celebrate our forgiveness. Even more, we celebrate His resurrection and the awesome anticipation of His return.
Every one of these issues is a vital part of the Christian’s belief system, and they are all found in one place—the Word of God. As His children, we own the most precious book on the face of the earth. If we know what it says, we will know what we must believe to live for His glory.
FINDING GOD’S FREQUENCY
People use all kinds of methods to make decisions. Far too many Christians choose to say, “Lord, this is what I’m going to do. If this doesn’t suit You, You just let me know.” Or “If this isn’t Your will, You just stop me and I’ll know it’s not of You.” That is no way to find out what God wants you to do.
Having the spiritual discernment to make wise decisions is critical. Discernment is an asset that is not acquired instantly, but grows out of a life totally consecrated to and dependent upon God. When you seek godly discernment with all your heart and your motives are pure, He will help you make wise decisions. He knows your heart, and He wants you to do the right thing.
In seeking God for perfect guidance, you must first confess your sins and allow God complete access to your mind and will. When your relationship with Jesus Christ is right, He will give you wisdom.
When you disobey God in word, action, or motive, there is a hindrance to your fellowship with the Lord, and it is difficult to receive clear guidance. When you sin, you need to confess immediately and accept the responsibility for your actions. Do not wait until you go to bed because you will live the entire day out of harmony with God. If you confess your sins, He is faithful to forgive you right then and there that the rest of the day may be right.
Are you afraid to make decisions? Do you vacillate between two paths because you can’t determine which way to turn? Sometimes this is due to a self-image problem. You don’t trust yourself, and you fear the consequences of making the wrong decision. Other times it is the result of sin that blocks your communication with God. How can you know what God wants you to do if your conscience is not clear?
A guilty conscience is to the mind what static is to a radio. You hear two voices that say two different things. When you struggle between your will and God’s will, you don’t get a clear message. There is instead a distorted, fractional sound. Your mind and will are divided, and you cannot know what God is saying.
It’s time to turn the dial to God’s frequency and tune in to His message for your life. When you do, He will give you the discernment and wisdom required for godly living.
THIS IS THE WAY, WALK IN IT
Have you ever had to make a decision but had no earthly idea how to go about coming to the right conclusion? Deep in your heart you really wanted to do the Lord’s will, but you weren’t quite sure what to do. Maybe you felt a deep need to know the mind of God. You really wanted to know what He thought. You had purposed in your spirit to do the right thing, but you just didn’t know how to find what the Lord desired in that particular situation.
I believe one of the most valuable lessons that you will learn, as a Christian, is how to acquire spiritual discernment. First John 5:14 declares, “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” This is positive assurance that you can know the mind of God.
Life is composed of one decision after another. Some of them are minor decisions and some are major, but all require godly discernment. You may be facing a decision about your vocation. Maybe you feel that a change is coming or is necessary. Or you may feel the crunch of economic recession through employment insecurity. You may be asking God what you should do. Maybe you’re trying to make a decision about a potential spouse. You’re not sure whether it’s the Lord’s will for you to be married or not. Perhaps you’re a student and you’re trying to choose a major for your college career, and you just can’t seem to get God’s clear direction about it.
Whatever decision you are facing, one thing is certain: God is always willing to show you His will, His plan, and His purpose. He always desires to give you guidance and direction in your decisions. God spoke to Abraham, saying, “Abraham, get up out of the land in which you are living and go into a land that I will show you” (Gen. 12:1). He spoke to Gideon and told him to lead the people of God against those who had enslaved them (Judges 6:14). He sent an angel to Mary to tell her of the Christ child (Luke 1:28–31). When Paul was headed in one direction to preach the gospel, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Paul, that’s not My will for your life at this time” (Acts 16:6–7).
Has the Lord ceased speaking to men and women today, as He did in Bible times? Absolutely not! God has spoken in many ways, recorded in the Old and the New Testaments, and He continues to speak to people today. His method of speaking may have changed, but the fact that He speaks and gives us direction for our lives has not.
The Word of God is His clear instruction as to how you should live—the basis upon which you should make decisions. God has given you the Scriptures for guidance and instruction. He has also given you the Holy Spirit, who indwells in you to interpret the Word so that from the Word and through His Spirit, you can have assurance.
All genuine spiritual discernment comes from the Holy Spirit. It may come through another person or a Scripture reading, but the Holy Spirit makes it possible for you to hear the message as God speaks it. Here are a few practical steps that will help you listen to the Holy Spirit and acquire the spiritual discernment necessary to make wise decisions:
Clear the Pathway of Your Mind
In order to hear God’s voice, you must clear your life of all known unconfessed sin. You must be willing to ask the Lord to forgive you and cleanse your life, and you must accept His shed blood on the cross as full and adequate payment for your sin. You must also clear your thinking of your personal desires. This does not mean that you empty your mind and stop thinking or having desires. But you must be willing to be neutral, so you can honestly open yourself to God’s will for your life.
Exercise Patience
One key to finding spiritual discernment is patience. You must be willing to wait until God shows you His way. Patience is a sure sign of spiritual maturity. James 1:4 states, “Let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
Resist Pressure
Pressure is one of your greatest enemies when you seek to discern God’s will. There are two types of pressure: external (the pressure of other people’s opinions or imposed time limits) and internal (the pressure of your spirit). When you make a decision based upon perceived pressure, rather than clear guidance and direction from God, you risk doing the wrong thing.
Persist in Prayer
The key in this area is not simply praying, but persisting in prayer. That is, throughout the day—in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening—pray consistently and passionately (1 Thess. 5:17). Prayer is God’s way of preparing you for an answer. As you begin to pray, He begins to show you things in your life, such as attitudes or motives, that need to be examined.
Lean on His Promises
When you face a major decision, turn to the Word of God and ask Him to show you a promise. The Scriptures are full of God’s promises, which are evidence of His divine guidance. God said, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you” (Ps. 32:8). The author of Proverbs told Christians to “trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (3:5–6). These are specific promises that God truly desires to give you guidance and direction for your life.
Wait for Peace
Colossians 3:15 urges you to “let the peace of Christ rule in your heart.” Regardless of the pressure you may feel, wait for peace. You may seek confirmation from others, but be careful that their confirmation is in keeping with what God has said in His Word. Perfect peace is God’s verdict when you have His mind and His way. Don’t budge until you get God’s peace. This is the final confirmation of a wise decision.
Spiritual discernment is critical in every area of life, no matter how small, because every decision has an effect upon your fellowship with the Lord and the fulfillment of His will. If you don’t acquire spiritual discernment, you will begin to respond from your feelings and instant reactions. You will do what comes naturally. When a Christian does this, he is no longer doing what comes spiritually, as it is always natural for the flesh to disobey God.
That is why it is critical to discern God’s will in everything you do. If you could get a glimpse of His genuine personal interest and involvement in your life, you would have a deeper appreciation, devotion, and sense of adoration toward God. Have you ever thought about how interested God is in your daily affairs—those little, insignificant things that don’t seem to make a difference to most people?
Christians often separate the spiritual life from the common, everyday life. God never intended that to be the approach you take. He intends to be involved in every decision you make, no matter how small.
If you want to make wise decisions, you must live consecrated—you must walk committed to Him. Every morning surrender your life to Him. Separate yourself to Him, for Him, and under Him for that day. Paul said, “I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:1–2).
Every believer can walk in confidence and assurance that he is walking in God’s will. If you clear your conscience, wait patiently, resist pressure, persist in prayer, lean on His promises, and wait for His peace, He will speak truth to your heart and mind. Isaiah 30:21 states, “Your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right or to the left.’ ”
This is a beautiful example of how the Lord speaks to our hearts. Day by day I have to ask, “Lord, what next?” And I have to hear Him say, This is the way. Walk in it. I hear that many times during the day. The Lord will say the same thing to you. You can’t always trust counsel from other people to tell you what is the right way. If you are committed to Jesus Christ—if He is your Savior, your Master, your Lord—and it is your heart’s desire to follow Him, you will find a confidence in your spiritual life that you have never known before. If you will listen carefully, He will whisper to you very quietly, My child, this is the way. Walk in it.
Walk Wisely
From God’s perspective we live our lives in one of two ways: wisely or unwisely. Those who learn to walk wisely in the power of God’s truth have blessing and hope for the future. However, the opposite is true when unwise decisions are made. Therefore, we need to know how to make wise choices. David learned to do this by placing his trust in God. He also found that many times walking wisely required patience and his willingness to wait for God’s guidance.
In the Psalms David wrote, “The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple” (Ps. 19:7). David could have rebelled against God’s laws. Even though he was the anointed king of Israel, he waited for years before he assumed Israel’s throne.
Have you caught yourself wondering, What is God up to in my life? Why are there so many heartaches and difficulties? Couldn’t God step in and change my circumstances? God can change anything that affects our lives. However, often a change of circumstances is not what we need. What we need is real wisdom to face the heartache and difficulties of our world. We also need to make a commitment to stay the course when life becomes difficult. This requires godly wisdom. Far too many people give up when the going gets rough. They seek an easier and faster way through life’s challenges. But God wants us to learn how to seek Him and rely on His wisdom when trouble comes.
Is wisdom needed only in times of difficulty? No. If we fail to gain God’s wisdom for our lives, then even in times of blessing, we will drift spiritually in our devotion to Him. We should strive toward the goal of remaining committed to God, no matter the circumstances.
I have talked with people who are struggling in the aftermath of poor decisions. Many, with pleading eyes, have asked, “What can I do to change all of this?” “How do I begin again after I have fallen to temptation?” “Is there any hope for my life?” The answer is yes! There is hope, and there is a way to start life over. We begin again in our devotion to God through prayer. This is where we can be the most vulnerable and open to God’s presence. Prayer also provides the right opportunity for us to gain God’s wisdom for every situation. If we will come to Him, He will direct our paths. There will be times when we make mistakes. Yet we can gain tremendous wisdom through our errors, especially when we ask God to show us where we have taken a wrong turn.
As we study the life of David, we quickly find that it is outlined with a deep love and affection for God. David also had a strong prayer life. He meditated on God’s love and did not hesitate to seek the Lord’s wisdom. While it seems that David spent much of his younger years running from a jealous king who sought to kill him, we know that God used this time of intense adversity to prepare him to rule over the nation of Israel. Patience and faith became synonymous with his life.
At times, we may wonder, Lord, why am I having to face such heartache or trial? Remember, God is near to us. He provides the wisdom we need even when grief and fear constrict our hearts. If we turn to Him in faith and cry out to Him, He will give us the ability to make wise decisions.
Is God still speaking to us today? Without a doubt. He speaks to those who know Him in one of three ways: through the reading of His Word, through a pastor or trusted Christian friend, or through the presence of the Holy Spirit who lives inside each believer. Faith is the one element that is crucial to gaining the wisdom of God. If you are faced with a difficult choice or challenge, God will provide the wisdom you need to make the correct decision. James wrote, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind” (James 1:5–6).
At one point, David could have taken Saul’s life. David faced a serious decision, but because he had taken the necessary time to know God and meditate on His Word, he knew the right choice to make. He refused to harm Saul, who was God’s anointed. Even though Saul deserved the opposite, David allowed him to live, and God blessed David’s life abundantly because he had not acted with selfish motives.
God later said of David that he was a man after His own heart. David’s life was not free of mistakes. Whenever he failed to exercise wisdom, he suffered grievous consequences. However, the overall view of David’s life was one of wisdom and desire to please God.
The writer of Proverbs reminded us that “wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding” (Prov. 4:7 niv).
How do we gain the wisdom of God for our lives?
We gain wisdom when we seek God. If David came to a point where he did not know what to do, he would “inquire of the Lord.” This is where our faith enters. We must believe, as James instructed us, that if we go to God with even the smallest detail, He will hear our prayer and answer it. This is exactly what He does. He will answer us in one of three ways: yes, no, or wait. If we sense His silence, then we should wait until He moves us forward.
We gain wisdom when we learn to meditate on God’s Word. If we really want to receive a blessing, we must take our requests to God through prayer and then seek His guidance through His Word. God never will contradict His Word. Scripture provides a solution for every problem or decision we face. Scripture is not out of date. Therefore, we can trust the Word of God to provide the guidance we need.
We gain wisdom when we learn to obey the principles of Scripture. Before David could rule as king, he had to learn to obey God. He also had to learn to follow the pathway God placed before him. This meant that he submitted his human desires to God. Some of David’s desires were in keeping with God’s plan for his life. However, David’s desire to submit all that he was to God spoke volumes of his love for the Lord.
Do you love the Lord so much that you are willing to do what David did and release all that you have so God can live His life through you?
We gain wisdom as a result of prayer. In times of prayer, we learn to humble our hearts before God. We also learn to be quiet and listen for God’s voice through the Holy Spirit who lives within each believer. God’s word to us may come to our minds in the form of a Scripture. When it does, our spirits hear God’s Word and immediately respond with gladness and thanksgiving.
We gain wisdom by observing how God works in our world. At times, the workings of the world may seem out of control. However, God is sovereign. He always is in control. Though our lives may be touched by death, sin, and sorrow, God is Lord over all, and He will bring purpose out of each event. He even uses the technology of this age to further His work of salvation on the earth.
We gain wisdom through wise counsel. Talk over your problems with trusted Christian friends, a counselor, or a pastor. Once they have given you their view or counsel, take this to God in prayer. If what they have told you is from God, it will not violate Scripture or any principle of God’s Word.
We gain wisdom when we associate with wise people. Most people know when they have heard true wisdom. However, we must ask God to help us avoid deception. There are people who may seek to speak a “word of knowledge” to us. What they have to say may or may not be on target with God’s plan for our lives.
You can avoid disappointment and feelings of discouragement when you ask God to sift what they have said to you through His infinite grid of wisdom. Never be afraid to say, “Thank you for praying for me, and I know you will understand when I tell you that I plan to seek God on this issue.” Then go to God’s Word for verification.
We seek wisdom to please God and to gain His perspective on our lives and individual situations. Here are the requirements for wisdom:
Have a strong determination to walk wisely. Our motivation for wisdom must begin and end with a love for God. We want to please Him. Therefore, we seek Him, and when we learn wisdom’s way, we find that we are being conformed to the likeness of His Son.
Meditate on God’s Word. God instructed Joshua to meditate on His Word day and night. The psalmist told us to hide the Word of God in our hearts (Ps. 119:11). Corrie ten Boom learned the value of this instruction during World War II. She was able to smuggle a few pages of God’s Word into her Nazi prison cell. Later, she wrote, “Never before had I prayed as now. And I spoke to one who understood, who knew me and loved me. On Him I cast all my burdens.”
Learn to be sensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. The amazing part of seeking the wisdom of God is that we can learn to hear His voice. When the prophet Elijah lost his perspective, God spoke to him. However, the Lord’s voice did not come to His prophet through an earthquake or storm. It came in the form of a still, quiet voice. When we are still—in our thoughts and emotions—God will speak to our hearts the way He did to Elijah. He commands us to “be still, and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10 nkjv).
Believe God is the Source of wisdom. Faith and trust are necessary in gaining the wisdom of God. Human reasoning will fail you. Only the wisdom of God will guide you safely through life.
Have courage to obey God. Obedience reveals our true desire for wisdom. If we seek to obey God, then we are on the road to true wisdom. If we disobey the Lord, we must deal with our actions by seeking His forgiveness. There will be times when God will require us to go forward without knowing all that is ahead. The only way to do this is through having faith and through knowing that He is leading us. Blessings come to those who obey God. Therefore, we should be courageous and go forward by faith, trusting God to make our pathways safe.
Persevere. When you can say, “I know that I am doing the right thing. Therefore, I am going to keep my focus and continue on,” then you are learning perseverance. The wisdom of God will come to you.
A STRONG AND MIGHTY FOUNDATION
You can lay a strong foundation for your life by asking God to come to you and, if you have never accepted His Son as your Savior, asking Him to come into your heart and forgive your sins. Realize the moment you do this, you are a child of God—a new creature in Christ—and you no longer stand at a distance from God. You belong to Him, and His eternal reward and blessing are yours to enjoy and experience from now until forever.
If you have drifted in your devotion to the Savior and feel as though each day you live you grow more distant in your relationship to God, then pray that He would draw you near to Himself. He knows your weaknesses, and if you will tell Him that you no longer want to be in charge of your life, He will come to you in a mighty way and bring hope and light to your dark and hopeless situation (Isa. 55:6–9).
Suggested Bible Reading
2 Timothy 3:16; 4:3; 1 Peter 3:15; John 14:6–17; 1 John 5:14–15; Matthew 28:19–20; Romans 8:28; 12:1–2; 1 Peter 3:18; Psalms 19:7; 32:8; 46:10; 66:18; 119:11; Galatians 5:22–23; Ezekiel 28:12–15; 2 Corinthians 4:4; 1 John 4:4; Ephesians 2:8–9; Genesis 12:1; Acts 16:6–7; James 1:4–6; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Proverbs 3:5–6; 4:7; Colossians 3:15; and Isaiah 30:21; 55:6–9.
Prayer
Dear heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word that is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Please give me a hunger to read it more faithfully and a mind to understand it more clearly. Please show me how to apply Your principles to my life. Amen.
Journal Questions
• What is the Bible?
• What is the Godhead?
• What is salvation?
• What is the Church?
• What steps can you take to gain wisdom in life?
The Bible is more than a series of rules and regulations; it is the living Word of God. Discover how to handle the Bible and the reasons for trusting it by visiting ww2.intouch.org/lifeprinciples.
Stanley, Charles F.: Living the Extraordinary Life : Nine Principles to Discover It. Nashville, TN : Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2005, S. 167
Conclusion
Living a Legacy
When your life here on earth is over, how do you want to be remembered? What do you want people to say about you? What difference will it have made that you ever lived? What will you leave behind that has any lasting value?
The Bible says a great deal about death. The apostle Paul wrote, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). When Martha lamented the death of her brother, Lazarus, Jesus said, “Your brother will rise again … I am the resurrection and the life: he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die” (John 11:23–25). Then in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul dedicated forty-six verses to the subject of life after death, the promise of our resurrection. All through Scripture, we see that for those who believe in Christ, death is not the end of life. Our physical existence here on earth ends, but life continues with Christ in heaven.
There is nothing in the Bible about reincarnation; nor is there anything in the Scriptures about annihilation. We do not return to the earth as more enlightened beings or cease to exist after we die; we dwell either in heaven with God or in hell with Satan. But the life that we leave behind on earth is not entirely extinguished either. All of us—whether we want to or not—leave behind a legacy.
I’ve already covered the subjects of surrender to Christ and eternal security, and I hope that if you have not received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you will seriously consider doing so. If you have made that decision, my prayer is that you will grow closer to Him and more like Him every day. In closing this book, I want to talk about what we leave here on earth when we depart.
What kind of legacy will you leave behind when you die? What will be the message of your life? Think about this for a moment: you are alive because God gave you the gift of life. He gave you a body, a soul, and a spirit. He has equipped you with the abilities and talents that you need in order to accomplish His purpose for your life. He has a very specific will for you.
The problem is that many people do not even begin to ask, “What is God’s personal will for my life?” Scripture tells us clearly that God has a twofold purpose in mind for His children: first, that we would be involved in good works, and second, that we would bring Him honor and glory. Paul said, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Eph. 2:8–10).
One of God’s purposes for us is that our lives be characterized by good works. Paul said to Timothy, “Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed” (1 Tim. 6:18–19). We carry out God’s intentions by investing our lives in those things that bring honor and glory to Him. Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).
Unfortunately people are often more concerned about how long they will live than how they live. They think that having a lasting legacy means living a long life. But Scripture teaches us that God is more interested in what we do with the lives He has given us. When I think about longevity versus effectiveness, a man named Oswald Chambers comes to mind. You have probably heard of him; he wrote My Utmost for His Highest, the best-selling devotional of all time. Oswald Chambers was a man whose life was devoted entirely to God. Some say he was one of the greatest Christian thinkers of our time. He was born on July 24, 1874, in Aberdeen, Scotland, where he became a Christian during his teen years under the ministry of Charles Spurgeon. His death, the result of a ruptured appendix in 1917, left a tremendous void in the churches and fellowships he served.
After his death, a fellow worker remarked: “It is a mighty thing to see even once in a lifetime a man the self-expression of whose being is the Redemption of Jesus Christ manifested in daily hourly living. He would have simply called himself ‘A believer in Jesus.’ ”1 Though he lived only forty-two years, Oswald Chambers’s work lives on today even more powerfully than it did while he was alive. His writings offer refuge and strength to many downcast souls—through his words, God continues to change lives for Christ’s sake.
I first read Oswald Chambers’s devotional as a college student. What impressed me most then—and still rings in my heart today—is that the most important thing, by far, is our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Every time I pick up his devotional, I am blessed. He died nearly one hundred years ago, yet he is still alive today.
LIFE AFTER DEATH
When people consider life after death, they think mostly about what is going to happen to them when they get to heaven. Those who do not believe in Christ contemplate what will become of them if they don’t go to heaven. But I want to focus on the part of our lives that remains here after we have gone.
I have known people who, despite living very short lives, left behind powerful, penetrating, and life-changing influences on others. You and I know that Jesus Christ lives today through those who have received Him as their personal Savior. A believer is simply a person through whom Jesus Christ is still living His life. Our lives are an expression of who He is.
You may think, God couldn’t use me that way. Oh, yes, He can. Far too frequently, we minimize who we are and the potential that God has created in us. I am convinced we do this because we don’t want the responsibility of living a godly life. We don’t want to give account for our actions, so we hide behind a lack of talent or skill. But God has a purpose and a plan for each of His children, and He intends for us to fulfill it. He intends for us to leave a legacy that will affect others long after we are gone.
God has made eternal investments in each of our lives. First He gave us the awesome gift of life itself. Then He gave us redemption through His Son, Jesus Christ, so that we might live abundantly. He made it possible for us to understand our sinful condition, and through the amazing gift of faith, He made it possible for us to accept His forgiveness and to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit so, with His power, we could perform good works and bring glory to His name.
If you talk to your financial planner, he will tell you that your legacy is the material wealth, possessions, or property that you leave to those who survive you. But if such things are all we leave behind when we die, then those who don’t have any money leave nothing, whereas the wealthy leave the best legacy, right? Wrong. Your real legacy is your life, your influence, and your testimony. This is what your loved ones will cherish most, and it is also what matters most to God.
You may think that compared to Oswald Chambers, you don’t have much of a testimony. Wrong again. Everyone has a testimony—good or bad, strong or weak, rich or poor. You are building a legacy right now, in every day of your life. When you die, you will leave a witness for either good or evil.
What are you leaving? What do you want people to remember about you when you are gone? As an illustration, consider what various people in the Bible left. When I think about Abraham, I recall his great faith. That is still the message of Abraham’s life. When I think about Moses, I remember the Ten Commandments that God gave him. When I think about David, the Psalms come to mind—they continue to bless me year after year. David has been gone for centuries, but his words of comfort and encouragement endure. Then I think about Solomon, and my mind goes immediately to the Proverbs, an awesome collection of divinely inspired literature that offers eternal wisdom to those who read it. What about the apostle Paul? He was beset by terrible obstacles and suffered immensely, but he left us letters and epistles that give hope, guidance, and encouragement to millions. I read Paul’s works nearly every day of my life; as I read Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, and his letters to Timothy, I am continuously blessed. And look at the legacy of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the short thirty-three years He lived on the earth, He altered history forever. Through Him, we can live extraordinary lives despite our fallen condition.
Think about people who have left an indelible mark on history. The men who founded America—who established our republic and gave us the Constitution—left an awesome legacy for millions who live in freedom as a result. Think about the hymn writers, who gave us words of worship. Fanny Crosby, one of the most prolific hymn writers of all time, was blinded by a doctor who misdiagnosed her illness. Now, more than a century after her death, people are still singing, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine!” That is her legacy.
The list goes on. Even in our generation, great people are living out their legacies. I think about Dr. Bill Bright who left us Campus Crusade, the greatest missionary discipleship movement in history. This momentous ministry is discipling believers all over the world. Dr. Bright was a quiet, unassuming man, but he followed Christ’s command: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” He gave his life to the Great Commission, and his obedience changed many lives.
I’ve mentioned the great people about whom most of us have heard, but what about the “ordinary” people? There is a woman seldom acknowledged, but she is a perfect example of what I’m talking about. When Paul was writing his second epistle to encourage Timothy during a trial, he said to the young minister: “I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well” (2 Tim. 1:5). Lois’s profound faith was carried down through Eunice to Timothy. Her faith became a living part of Timothy’s ministry.
The impact of parents and grandparents on children’s lives is truly incredible. Very few people have ever heard of George Washington Stanley, but my grandfather left me a few simple truths that live on in my life today. One of those truths is this: obey God and leave all the consequences to Him. I remember vividly the day I sat on his front porch and asked him how to succeed in life. He described obedience this way: “If God tells you to put your head through a wall, you get up and start running. And when you get to the wall, He’ll provide a hole in it.” My grandfather’s sage wisdom concerning obedience is the basis upon which I make my decisions today. He left me a legacy for which I shall ever be grateful. Far more important than any financial inheritance is the wisdom that he left me, which has enveloped and guided my life.
And then there is the legacy my mother left me. She did not have an easy life. I watched her endure constant hardships and trials. I witnessed her persistence and perseverance. She always said to me, “Never give up. Do your best; be your best; look your best. Be what God wants you to be.” Her perspective and tenacity are instilled within my heart and mind. She left me something that is far more valuable than anything money can buy; she left me an example. I learned far more from my mother by watching her live than by listening to what she said.
You have a legacy, and you are living it right now. The question is, what do you want to leave? I’m not a great politician or a hymn writer, but God has given me a very specific purpose in life. He’s given you a purpose too. He’s given all of us good works to do for the kingdom of God. What are you living for? Is it to perform good works because you love God and you want your life to have eternal value? It’s time to take this question seriously and make your life count. One of the most horrible things I can think of is coming to the end of life and looking back with regret, thinking, What difference have I made?
What difference does your life make? What are your goals? God created you for the purpose He wants to accomplish through your life. Consider the following questions:
Will you leave your children a love for the Word of God? If you have children or grandchildren, then more than likely, you have thought about what you are going to leave them. Will they be able to look back and say, “I saw my mom and my dad reading the Scriptures. I heard them reading the Word of God. I heard my parents talking about how God spoke to them through a verse. I watched as they responded to God’s Word. I heard them talking about decisions they made based on guidance from Scripture”? Will they love and trust the Word of God? When they go to school and hear a professor criticize the Bible, will they be able to stand strong and defend the infallible, inerrant Word of the living God? If you do not hand down to them a stalwart faith in God’s Word, you leave them vulnerable to the empty philosophies of our age.
Will your children inherit the legacy of praying parents? How many times has your son or your daughter ever seen you on your knees crying out to God during difficulty and hardship? Are you going to leave your children the inescapable picture of you on your knees talking to your heavenly Father?
I remember when I realized how important this image was to children. I was pastoring my first church in North Carolina. My son, Andy, was about two years of age, but he could communicate well. I remember lying on a particular rug where I would pray; I was stretched out on the floor talking to God. I turned and opened my eyes and saw little Andy stretched out beside me looking me right in the eye, saying, “What are you doing?” It was a cute incident, but I think about how many times he and I stretched out together in the following years to talk to God. He never forgot it, and I never forgot either.
Your visible and audible prayer life becomes an indelible picture that God imprints on your children’s minds. That’s how important prayer is. Have you ever said to your children, “We really need to pray and ask God to give us direction about this”? Can they remember you talking about how God answered your prayers? The wonderful thing about families eating together is that mealtime becomes an opportunity to discuss how God answered your prayers that day. Let your children talk about how He answered their prayers at school and how He’s meeting their needs. Thank God for caring enough to listen and be personally involved in your lives.
Will your children remember you taking them to church? Will they remember that you made it your habit week after week to worship the living God? That you weren’t going to church because you felt compelled or obligated, but because of your deep love for the Lord Jesus Christ? Do they hear you singing hymns as you stand beside them? Do they see you open your Bible as the pastor opens his? Do they see you taking notes during the sermon because what you are hearing is important enough to remember? Will they recall you asking them, “Remember what the pastor said today?”
How have your children learned to spend their time and money? Another gift we can leave our children is the example of how to use the resources of time and money. How much time in any given week do you give to the Lord’s work in order to bring Him glory and honor? Your time is not your own; it belongs to God. The very gift of life itself is time: seconds, minutes, weeks, and years. God has given us this precious resource, and He is going to call us home to give an account for it. I’m not saying that everyone must go into professional ministry as a career, but serving God should be your first priority.
What about your finances? Do you spend at least a portion of your money investing in things that will last for eternity? Will your children remember you giving the first 10 percent of your earnings back to God even when it didn’t seem that you could afford to? One of the best ways to teach your children trust is by giving to God’s work and allowing them to witness firsthand how He multiplies your investment. When they see you giving to God and waiting to see what He does with your tithe, they inherit a conviction about His provision for their lives.
On the other hand, many parents do not realize what a terrible legacy they leave when they don’t give to the Lord’s work. They are sending a loud and clear message: we can’t trust God to provide for our physical needs. Our children will pay closer attention to our actions than the platitudes we offer. We might tell them that it is important to make the Lord our highest priority, but if they never see us pray, read the Bible, spend time with Him, or give to His work, they will have no reason to follow our advice.
What are you leaving your children? If it’s only money, forget it! That simply will not last for eternity. What you plant in your children’s hearts—the spiritual truths you sow in their lives—is the real legacy you leave.
THE LEGACY OF YOUR WITNESS
One of the most important aspects of your legacy is your Christian witness. If you take the Great Commission seriously and share the gospel with others and invest in missionary work, that legacy will be multiplied in countless people long after you are gone. Do your children hear you talk about sharing the gospel? Imagine that a boy or girl mustered up enough courage to witness to someone at school and then came home excited about the opportunity, but Dad changed the subject. This is a disaster—in doing this, the parent blunts the very spirit of the child who is trying to do what God desires. Mothers and fathers, your children need your support—and example—for godly behavior. Encouraging them spiritually is a significant part of your legacy.
The scenario I just mentioned is all too common. I know many young people who desire to follow God, but must do so against the wishes of their parents. Many young people go to college and prepare for a career as an engineer, lawyer, or doctor. Then God calls them to preach or become a missionary, and they have the terrible task of going home and telling their parents. Far too many receive guilt and condemnations from their parents for choosing the path that offers less commercial stability. When God gets hold of your children, you ought to be motivated and inspired! Your reaction and attitude about their spiritual pursuits form an important part of the legacy you leave.
Likewise, the way you react to difficulty in times of persecution, suffering, and pain is a part of what you leave the next generation. Your children will remember your pattern of response in tough times. Do you refuse to give up and walk away? Do you reject the chance to take a pill or a drink? Do you refrain from complaining? When they see you put your trust in the living God, they will do the same.
Keep in mind that your children aren’t the only beneficiaries of your legacy. How many of your friends have heard about Jesus? How many of your coworkers have heard you talk about Christ? How many neighbors hear you express what you believe about God’s Word and how He has answered your prayers in the most awesome ways? Are you ashamed of the gospel?
Oftentimes a person who is sitting nearby is hoping that someone will speak a work of encouragement. How many opportunities do you miss? Whether you know it or not, you are leaving a legacy. It will be strong, penetrating, motivating, and life changing, or it will be weak and wasted.
Now, imagine that you are eighty-five years old, looking back over your life. God has answered your prayers, met your needs, and worked in your life, but you never shared your stories with anybody. There is no record of what He did—you never wrote it down. The only testimony you have of all the wonderful things God did for you is a few fading memories.
I once said to my son, Andy, “I’ve hidden away my diaries because I don’t want anybody to read them right now.” He said, “Dad, don’t worry about it. Your handwriting is so bad, they couldn’t read them even if they saw them!” That amusing comment made me start journaling on a computer.
Think about it—if you never record God’s involvement in your life, you are depriving your children and grandchildren of a priceless treasure. Imagine them picking up a book full of true stories about how God provided for you, the principles He taught you, and the prayers He answered. You can’t afford to soak up blessing after blessing and just ignore the beneficiaries of God’s grace in your life.
My grandfather left me a legacy of wonderful, godly principles and examples, but I’d give a great deal to have a day-by-day or even week-by-week account of his relationship with Jesus Christ and how God worked in his life.
At a recent book signing, I met a young lady who made quite an impression on me. She knelt down by the table and told me that her father had passed away two months earlier, and she went to his home on the West Coast to handle his affairs. In going through his things, she found a big box full of audio and videotapes. Her curiosity got the best of her, and she decided to listen to one of them. Then she listened to another and another. When she left, she packed up a bunch of them and took them back home with her to distribute among friends. It turns out she didn’t know her father very well while he was living, but through listening to the sermons he collected, she found what he treasured in life. She knelt there beside me weeping in thanksgiving that she finally knew what her dad was really like.
You are leaving a legacy—whether you want to or not. The question is, what will it be? Long after we die, the example of who we are lives on. Will your example be for good or for evil? Saddam Hussein boasted that Joseph Stalin was his mentor. That should be no surprise to anyone—both are two of the most wicked people who ever lived. The legacy of Joseph Stalin was the murder of millions, and his “beneficiary” emulated him well. That is an extreme example, but it illustrates an important truth. People observe you when you don’t even know they are watching, and what they learn from you is your legacy to them.
Let your legacy be a reflection of generosity, selflessness, compassion, and love. Consider the ways that God is working in your life today. How will He continue to work through your example and gifts when you are no longer here? I encourage you to be intentional, not just about your impact here and now, but with regard to your influence for Jesus Christ throughout eternity.
Suggested Bible Reading
Romans 6:23; John 11:23–25; 1 Corinthians 15; Ephesians 2:8–10; 1 Timothy 6:18–19; 2 Timothy 1:5.
Prayer
Dear heavenly Father, I thank You for the priceless, life-changing legacy Jesus Christ left for me to inherit. I pray that You will enable me to leave His legacy to my children and loved ones and to share it with people I know here on earth. In Christ’s name I pray. Amen.
Journal Questions
• What is the Great Commission?
• What legacy did your parents and grandparents leave you?
• What is your legacy?
God has called His church to the task of making disciples.
Learn how He’s accomplishing this mission at ww2.intouch.org/lifeprinciples.
Learn how He’s accomplishing this mission at ww2.intouch.org/lifeprinciples.
Afterword
In Matthew 6:33 Jesus said, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” There is an incredible promise in this Scripture: “All these things will be added to you.” Jesus meant what He said, or He was not telling the truth. We know that God cannot lie. Therefore, His promise is real. And it is available to all who love Him enough to live by His ways.
We can think of the kingdom in terms of the principles of our Creator. If we live by the principles God has established, He will assume full responsibility for our lives and give us everything we need to live an extraordinary life. The problem is that people often convince themselves that there is some great mystery to discovering the secret of fulfillment in life. Easily distracted by their own vanity, they chase after material things and worldly success and are never happy. Because they don’t want to live according to God’s Word—thinking that doing so will somehow restrict their lifestyle—they shut out the very source of true happiness.
In her book Tramp for the Lord, Corrie ten Boom tells of the time she visited a hospital where polio patients were being treated. The doctor in charge asked her if she would like to speak to the patients, but the sight of their suffering was too much for her. “No,” she replied, “I think I am unable to talk. I just want to go off somewhere and cry.”
But a moment later, she changed her mind. As she stood beside the bed of a man who could barely breathe, she told him about Jesus Christ, who suffered for each of us. Corrie writes,
I finished speaking and from my bag took a small embroidery. On one side was stitched a beautiful crown. The other side was quite mixed up. “When I see you on this bed,” I said, “not speaking, not moving, I think of this embroidery. Your life is like this. See how dark it is. See how the threads are knotted and tangled, mixed up. But when you turn it around then you can see that God is actually weaving a crown for your life. God has a plan for your life and He is working it out in beauty.” He picked up a pencil and wrote: Thank God I am already seeing the beautiful side. What a miracle!
Many people today are like that patient. They may not lie in a hospital bed, but their hearts are sick with discouragement, fear, and doubt. God has prepared for them an extraordinary life that they cannot seem to grasp. Thankfully our God is merciful and faithful, and the way to that wonderful life is simple. Living by God’s principles is the clear path to the extraordinary life. God does not lie to or mislead His followers. His offer for abundant life is a true promise for us and for generations to come. If you have not received Christ as your personal Savior, I challenge you to compare your life with the one He offers. If you make Him Lord of your life, He will change you in ways so extraordinary, your passion and love for Him will outlive you.
1 David McCagland, Abandoned to God: The Life Story of My Utmost for His Highest, (Oswald Chambers, Pub., 1993).
Stanley, Charles F.: Living the Extraordinary Life : Nine Principles to Discover It. Nashville, TN : Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2005, S. 187
 Living the Extraordinary Life by Dr. Charles F. Stanley (Author) |
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