So, waiting.....Ya, it's a pretty short word, yet it has a lot of meaning and can be so hard to act upon. Lately, I've been realizing that I have a hard time waiting on the Lord. For a long time I felt like it was a choice......that I could take things into my own hands and figure it out or speed it up if it wasn't going my way. But you know, when you have to wait for something that is not in your power to change or speed up, you kind of hit a rock wall and realize what this waiting stuff is all about.
I was looking up verses on waiting on the Lord, and I found something very interesting in Psalm 27:14 "Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!" Ok, so it says "wait for the Lord" like 2 times, so there must be something to that. Not to mention that the Bible's not really giving us much of a choice.....it says "wait on the Lord!" That's an imperative statement. That means we are commanded to do it. So, I guess that means I'll have to scrap what I first thought about waiting.....it's NOT a choice! It's a direct command.
I don't know about you, but most of the time, I find it pretty hard to wait, in general. I'm kind of an impatient person(I'm working on that) especially when it comes down to long term things. But you know what, God doesn't leave us in the dark without some help! He has a few pointers for us while we're waiting on Him. Psalm 37:34 "Wait for the Lord and KEEP HIS WAY, and He will exalt you to inherit the land..." Micah 7:7 "But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God WILL HEAR ME." Psalm 62:5 "For God alone, O my soul, wait in SILENCE, for my hope is from him." So, not only do i have to wait for God's timing, I need to obey, pray, and be silent in the meantime. And although that seems like too much to ask, God isn't going to leave me to do it on my own, obviously! Colossians 1:11-12 "May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father..." God will give me the strength and patience I need in order to do all these things He's commanded me. When I see the long, and sometimes unending path in front of me, or sometimes I see no path at all, I remember that God is always by my side, and if I stay in His word and obey Him, I have no need to fear an uncertain future.
We also need to look at the benefits of waiting. Many times, the reason I don't wanna wait, is because I think that I'll get something better if I figure things out myself. When I do that, I'm undermining the power and love of God. Things NEVER turn out better when we try to do them ourselves.....NEVER. Besides, why would I want to go through all the trouble of forcing things so that they turn out my way, without even knowing if they're gonna turn out right??? At least when I leave it up to God, I know everything is going to work out for good and for His glory. And because it's a command, we know that God blesses those who keep his commandments. Isaiah 40:31 "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." So, that waiting period is like a recharge for our spiritual, and many times physical batteries. God doesn't need my help getting His plan in action, so I better not even waste my breath trying. Proverbs 3:5-6 "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 straight your paths." In order to wait I need to trust that God will bring things to pass exactly the way they should be. And when I do that, I leave the direction of my life completely in His hands, not trusting my own heart or feelings. I think PRAYER is a big part of trusting God.
A really cool verse that i don't think I've ever noticed before is Isaiah 30:18 "Therefore the Lord WAITS to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts Himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him." That's the first time I see the Bible saying that God is waiting. But it's true! The Lord may be waiting to give me certain things, even really good things, until He thinks I'm ready. So instead of impatiently waiting, and whining the whole time, wondering why I'm not getting answers right away, I should be maturing spiritually, so that I can be ready for whatever God brings my way. God uses everything, even the hard things in our lives to get us to grow closer to Him. If I'm waiting in a long line at the grocery store and strike up a conversation with the person in front of me, I'm bound to know more about them than if I would've pouted and complained about the line being so long the whole time. It's similar with God. There are so many things to do while I'm waiting. I can use the time to serve God in ways that wouldn't have been possible otherwise. I can grow closer to Him by reading His word and praying. And most importantly I can learn to praise and trust Him through the slow and rough times, and the good times. It's amazing to see God's blessings in my life when I wait on His perfect timing! Praise the Lord for His goodness and patience with us!!!
Normally, as soon as spring arrives, my youth group heads to our local park every Tuesday to do outreach. We weren't able to go yesterday cause it was cold, windy, and just plain miserable:( But, as soon as Georgia weather decides to stop acting up, we'll be going regularly. As I think about ministry and sharing the gospel with people I've never met, and will possibly never see again, I start considering my testimony. A Christian's testimony is rarely thought of by many believers, but that shouldn't be the case. My testimony, or reputation, is super important!!! Proverbs 22:1 says "A good name is more desirable that great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold." That shows that God really cares about His children having a good reputation.
Now, does this mean that if I happen to be with some unsaved friends, that I should act like them and try to please them just so I can keep my good image in front of them? No! Proverbs is talking about having a good reputation in front of other Christians and in front of God. In turn, though, this will affect your witness in front of unbelievers. If you keep yourself pure and clean in front of God, you will be a bigger testimony than you ever thought possible. If you acted like the world so they could accept you, so that you could possibly, someday, tell them about the gospel, they're not going to ever listen to you. They won't see anything different in you, and therefore won't have any desire to have what you have.
Protecting your reputation isn't always that easy, though. Many people take the simple route, saying, "I'm gonna do this cause I wanna do this! I don't care what that person thinks of me! Who are they to judge, anyway?" This may seem very arrogant, but we've probably all said it at one point or another in our lives. One way of saving our testimony in order to have a bigger impact on others is by keeping ourselves from being a stumbling block to others. I remember when I was in my old church. There were a few families in our church who didn't agree with the girls wearing pants. I, on the other hand, didn't have an issue with it, and neither did my family. Yet, my parents told me that whenever we were with those families I should wear a skirt. I was upset at first. How could they impose their beliefs on me?! Why did I have to wear a skirt just because they did? But I was missing the whole point. Like, I was way off, guys. I wasn't wearing a skirt because they wanted me to, or because they were forcing me to have the same convictions as them. I was supposed to be doing it out of love for them, and out of respect for what they believed. I needed to put aside my pride and my own comforts for my fellow Christian's sake. Unfortunately, it took me a while to get to the point where I was doing it out of love. But eventually, when I finally understood the right purpose and motivation behind what I was doing, it was much easier to do. And, I wasn't judging them anymore. Sometimes people's little quirks or convictions can look unnecessary to us, but remember our greatest example, Jesus Christ. He came to earth, and fulfilled the law. Can you believe it? Jesus Christ, who was sent down to earth to die for all our sins so that we may be saved through grace, and not have to stick by the law and all it's rules, FULFILLED THE LAW. Because if he wouldn't have, the Jews would of thought He was a sinner and unclean. See what a testimony you can be when you're trying to encourage people in their closeness with God, instead of being an obstacle sitting in their way?
Another aspect to keeping your testimony, is not only respecting other Christians' convictions, but also setting your own. Before you even have a chance to step in that puddle, make sure you know how far you're gonna let yourself go. Last year at the Wild's camp in North Carolina, I learned about how when Daniel was in captivity and was surrounded by pagans, he set boundaries for himself before he was even ever confronted with a situation. He told himself what he was going to allow himself to do, and what he wasn't. And he stuck by those decisions, through thick and thin. That is so much easier said than done, though. We can set boundaries for ourselves according to the Scriptures, and everything's fine and dandy....until we actually have to put those convictions into practice. Until you have to sacrifice being the "cool" guy, just because you don't agree with what you're friends are doing and won't participate. That's why it takes a lot of prayer and effort to stay true to what we believe is right. I've set boundaries for myself on all sorts of things that aren't stated in the Bible as black and white. I've done it with the help of the Scriptures and my parents. But you know, it's really easy to slip into complacency and start loosening my grip on the rope that I had decided to hold on so tightly. I realized I need to come before God daily, asking Him to search my heart for anything that I may be allowing to creep into my life or heart. But I'll warn you, if you ask, you WILL get answers. You'll be shown some things that you probably didn't even notice, or didn't want to notice, and aren't exactly very excited about changing. But this is God we're talking about. The King of the universe. The God who created you and loves you enough that He saved you. Christ came down on this filthy earth and died a criminal's death. If we ever even wanted to repay Him, which we can't, we should start by trying to be more like Him and getting rid of EVERY little thing in our life that is keeping us from knowing Him more. I guarantee you, the little things add up. And before you know it, there's a boat load of little sins dragging you down and away from Christ. I sometimes have those days where I just don't feel very close to God. And the first thing I do, is get on my knees, pray, and ask the Lord if there's anything in my life that's creating this wall between me and Him. What if you have a really good friend, and one of you did something as simple as not responding to a text? There would probably be a little bit of, "what's going on? doesn't she want to talk?" going on, right? Now imagine texting a friend like five days in a row and getting no responses in return. I would be kinda worried. I'd feel like all communication is down, like I practically lost my best friend! Yet, we sometimes go days without digging into the Scripture and talking to our Savior, yet we expect a great relationship with Him. Not to mention we expect Him to tell us what His will for our life is.
But, I'm kinda digressing. I hope I've given sufficient reason, along with what the Bible has to say, on why it's important to protect our reputation and remain a good witness. If we want to be used by God, we need to let Him sharpen us continually, so that we will be useful tools in His hand. So, next time you have to ask yourself, "is this really that bad?" Maybe you should ask, "will this in any way, shape, or form, affect my testimony for Christ?" If the answer is yes, DON'T DO IT!!! A good rule of thumb is, if there's a shadow of doubt in your mind about doing something, there's a very big possibility that it's wrong.
So, it's been crazy busy around here lately. With school, work, and everything else, I realize how quickly life can suck me in to only be able to see that small, porthole view of what I'm on this earth for and what's really important. It's so nice to be able to have that time in the morning with my Lord, where I can just reflect on the past day and look forward to what that new day has in store. Lately, my devotional has been focusing on how to intercede for others, and I kinda tie that in with being a good friend. We all would love to have that perfect friend, that friend who never gets angry, but can be firm. That friend who helps you when you're down, but isn't afraid to ask for the same help when he or she is feeling down. That friend who loves with a godly, "fruit of the spirit" kind of love. That friend who is ALWAYS there for you, NO MATTER WHAT. I guess that's a pretty good description of a perfect friend. It also sounds sounds like an impossible thing to ever have or be.
A lot of us think that we are entitled to having good friends. And that we deserve for our best friend to care about us. News flash everybody! We don't deserve anything! But, the Bible does command us to be like Christ. And what did Christ do? 1John 4:19 says that "We love Him because He FIRST loved us". We didn't deserve His love, we didn't even ask for it, yet Christ still came all the way down to earth, suffered a humiliating death on the cross, and rose again, so that we could have eternal life with Him. Now that's love.
So, if Christ did all that for us measly little people down here, and we're supposed to imitate Christ, then what are we supposed to do? Well, we could stop acting like spoiled brats and think that we deserve people's kindness and friendship. 1John 4:10 says "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His son to be the propitiation for our sins." He wasn't returning our love, because we never showed any towards Him. He didn't die on the cross because He felt obligated to. He did it out of pure love. Maybe if we treated people the way Christ treated us, more often, we would start to change our twisted outlook on friendship. I know I used to, and still do sometimes, have a selfish view of what friendship is all about. It isn't about expecting that person to always be there for you, though that would be great, but it's about always being there for the other person. You, not your friend Joey, but YOU, are responsible for taking the first step, just like Christ did.
The phrase "always being there for your friend" has many aspects to it. It could mean, listening to your friend's problems and struggles. A big part of a godly friendship is praying and interceding for your friend. The Bible talks about "where much has been given, much is required". This means that if you are a friend enough to be trusted with a person's personal troubles or problems, you are responsible to pray for him or her. So, the prayer part is pretty simple, but how about intercession? That's a word that we don't exactly use in everyday conversation. The definition for intercede is to "intervene on behalf of another". Some synonyms would be to intermediate, plead, or petition. Plead is probably a good word to use. When someone's going through a really tough time, and there's nothing you can do for him/her, you gotta pray for that person. Even if the person you're praying for isn't a believer. That's what it means to intercede for someone. You're pleading and asking the Lord on their behalf. Prayer is more powerful than all the counseling in the world. So, keep that one in mind.
Also, one last thing that is essential, but probably the hardest part of a friendship, is lovingly confronting your friend when he/she is straying from the godly path. Even though we sometimes see our friends or siblings disobeying the Scriptures, we give ourselves tons of excuses why we shouldn't be honest and just point them back to Christ. We tell ourselves we don't wanna be rude, or we might come off as bossy and goody-goody, or maybe we're guilty of the same thing, and we know we'd just be a hypocrite to tell that person that what he/she is doing is bad. Wrong, wrong, wrong! As for the first two excuses, if we come in a loving and gentle way, praying beforehand for wisdom, we don't have to worry about coming across as uncaring or bossy. And if the person still thinks bad of you, even when you've come to them with the right heart and intentions, then it's probably because he/she knew about the sin or progression all along, and is embarrassed or angry that someone would point it out. You need to go to the person with the mindset that you are worse than, and even less undeserving than him/her. Always view yourself as lower. You're not on earth to set everyone straight. If you think that, you probably need a little straightening out yourself:) We're here to live as godly examples, and to share Christ's love with others. And trust me, people can tell between, "I think you're an idiot for the decisions you've made, and you need to get your act together" and, "Hey, God's been teaching me that I need to change such and such in my life lately, and maybe we could work on it together." See the difference? As for the third excuse, about being a hypocrite. If you see the same problem in your life as you're about to go correct someone else about, you better fix it first. And maybe your example will be all that person needs in order to change. Actions speak louder than words:) I know it's an old saying, but it still works!
Now, if you're gonna be a godly friend and go lovingly rebuke your fellow believers when they're doing something against the Scriptures, then expect the same thing from them. Don't turn around and get offended when a friend, or maybe even someone who has the wrong motives, rebukes you. Just search your heart, pray, and ask God to help you change. I know it can be hard, and even humiliating sometimes to accept correction, but God puts certain people in your life for a reason. And if he wants to use your friends, or even your enemies, to point out ungodly things in your life, then don't mull over who told you, and how they told you, and why they told you, just fix the problem!!! And in doing this, you will gain humility, probably one of the hardest things to attain in the Christian walk.
So, as we can see, being a good friend isn't nearly as shallow as the world portrays it. But, that's cause the world is looking for friends who will make them feel good, and flatter them. That's exactly what Proverbs says. But Christians should be looking for friends who will encourage, rebuke, and stand by them through thick and thin. And, we as Christians should also strive to be that same friend that we want to have. Let's just not forget who our best friend and example is, Jesus!
This video features Guy Penrod, a member of the Gaither Vocal Band. He is singing "What a Friend We Have in Jesus", an old, but still moving hymn. Just reflect on the words, and thank God for what an awesome friend and father He is!
Let's face it. We all know that one person that always seems to do a good job at dampening our spirits when we're excited about something. It's not a good feeling, and we usually want to get away from that person, because we don't want to have the same pessimistic outlook on the situation as they do. Whether we realize it or not, many times our spiritual life is a lot like the picture I just described. Last year, I went to The Wilds, a Christian camp in North Carolina. The whole week I was soaked in the Word and was surrounded by people who wanted to get to know God more. By the end of the week I was super excited, ready to share Christ's love and do whatever He desired of me. The rest of my youth group that I went with shared my eagerness to follow God with all my heart. We all saw each other again that next wednesday in youth group and shared testimonies with each other and the rest of the group. Our youth pastor reminded us that although we made some commitments and had even dedicated our lives to God the past week, it doesn't mean that we can go back to the way we were before and expect those commitments to be carried through on their own. We had made certain decisions that were going to help us grow closer to God, and there's nothing that Satan hates more than a bunch of young people, ready to go out and serve the Lord. That meant that he was going to throw darts and arrows at us, and try to sneak lies and temptations into our hearts. He would do anything to keep us from giving the first part of our day to God. We all considered this truth and took it very seriously. We, as fellow believers HAD to be there for each other, encouraging and lifting each other up when we stumble. The Devil will stop at nothing to dampen our joy that we find in trusting and following God. And I think that very few of us are actually aware of that. We realize we're drifting away from what's good, but we don't recognize the little steps that end up leading us so far from the truth. That's why I believe a daily surrendering of ourselves to God is necessary. It goes back to yielding our every thought and desire to the will of God. Knowing what the Devil wants to accomplish will help make us more alert about our spiritual welfare. I Peter 5:8 says:
"Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."
Wow! The Devil isn't just someone who doesn't like you very much and would like to trip you up every once in a while. No! The Bible describes him as a lion, an angry lion, just waiting for someone to stumble, so he can take him completely. So, if we wanted to use a plastic example, we could compare what the Devil does to someone really wanting to ruin your joy with their pessimism. But it's really much more serious and has much worse consequences if you decide to give into the temptation. Going back to what I said about my youth group, and how we needed to be there for each other. That's also mentioned in the Scriptures. Ephesians 6:17-18 commands:
"and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints."
Like I said in my last post, though. We can't and aren't supposed to do this on our own. Yes, we are responsible to put our armor on, but who provides the armor? Our Savior. He is the commander of the army. You're not in this fight alone, and neither am I. Don't let the Devil and his workers get you far enough away from God so that you're vulnerable to their evil tactics. Stay close to your loving Shepherd and He will always protect you from the roaring lion. I really love Laura Story's song, "Grace". It's a great picture of how we can't do anything on our own, but need God's grace to lead us all the way. Just take a few minutes and click on the video below, and trust me, you'll be encouraged beyond words.
"Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God." 2 Corinthians 7:1
This verse is really powerful. First of all, it's not exactly one of those feel-good, really encouraging types of verse. It's a command verse. Paul is telling the church he is writing to that now that they have confessed their sins and excepted Christ as their Lord and Savior, they are to put away everything that they used do that was not pleasing to God. Notice that Paul never, not even later in the passage, says that this task is going to be easy. Cause it's not supposed to be. If being a follower of Christ was just as easy, or extremely similar to being a non-believer, there would be no point in being a Christian. This process that we call "sanctification" is a constant battle that Christ gives us the grace and strength to fight. If you're following God with all your heart, you've probably noticed how hard it can be when you're confronted with different temptations, especially sins that you used to preform regularly, before you got saved. Well, if you're finding it a struggle, you're doing things right:) Following Christ is never easy. We're constantly having to say no to things. But, like I said in an earlier post about yielding ourselves to God and His will, the battle is well worth it. Living as an unbeliever may be fun for the time being, but is there a lasting reward? Are you benefiting anything or anyone but yourself? Paul says that we have to "run the race" with diligence and patience. There is a goal, an eternal goal. And, when we finally get to heaven, holiness will finally be perfected!!! What an awesome thought! This "purifying of ourselves" doesn't happen on it's own, though. In order to move forward in the sanctification process, we have to constantly be in God's Word and prayer. There are Sunday Christians, and there are REAL Christians. This might sound harsh, but it's the truth. You can't just give God a couple of hours once a week and expect miracles. I have been learning this truth lately. I go to church on Wednesday and Sunday, and I do my devotions every morning, but I'm realizing that God wants more than that. He wants all of me. All of my attention and devotion. Does this mean that I can't do anything else except read the Bible and pray all day? No. But, if I'm in the Word enough, and have time with God first thing everyday, all my actions and thoughts will be filtered through what He's been teaching me. This really goes into a whole new topic, though. Abiding in Christ. I'll save that for another day:) The bottom line is that Paul isn't asking us to purify ourselves of unclean things ON OUR OWN. It's only by the grace of God that we can ever do things that are good in His eyes. Also, we are commanded to live pure and blameless in the sight of God, not just on Sundays and in front of strangers, but EVERYWHERE and ALWAYS.
Yesterday in Sunday school, we had a guest speaker substitute for our regular teacher. He spoke about the assurance of salvation. But, a small portion of his lesson really stuck out to me, and I was able to apply it to my own life. He was talking about trusting God through the thick and the thin. And, even though we ask God for things sometimes that we think are good, if they're not in His plans for us, He will not allow them in our lives, FOR OUR OWN GOOD. This past year I've been learning and experiencing first hand how to REALLY trust God. And you know, it wasn't easy, but looking back, I wouldn't of had it any other way. While I was battling the raging winds and cold rain of the storm, I thought everything was going wrong, and God didn't care about what was going on in my life. But, eventually, the rain stopped and slowly but surely the sun began to come out, ray by hopeful ray. And, it was only at the end of last year that I was able to see why God put me through what He did. First of all, circumstances ended up being even better than before, and, my trust and faith in God had been boosted by like 500%. And, even though it still hurt for a while, and the memories were still there, I have this experience to look back on that will always remind me, "Rachel, remember? Everything turned out ok. Just trust God and stay close to Him throughout the entire storm". God is the Master Planner. He can't do anything wrong. He NEVER makes mistakes. If we love Him and pray that He will help us trust Him more, He will allow faith-building circumstances in our lives. Problem is, we sometimes forget what we've asked Him for, when we're in the thick of the storm. And then, we end up blaming God for things that go "wrong" in our lives. When, if we maybe turned the picture around, we'd be able to see things right side up. God's way. This doesn't mean bad things will never happen to us. But, it's the way we look at them. A tragic event in your life can end up being a bigger testimony than you could ever have had when just being an "ordinary" person. Even if you impact the life of ONE person with your story, it's been worth it. Every Christian has a story, and they can either use it for God's glory, or try to forget it so that the pain doesn't come back. And, if you really want to stay in God's will, just pray, stay in His Word, and know that He's standing right beside you throughout every trial that may come your way. One great example of trusting God through a storm is Laura Story. If you don't know her full story, I'd encourage you to look it up. She has gone through a lot, and she's used her touching story to write music and reach thousands of people. One song in particular, "Blessings", really encouraged me throughout my tough year. It really shows how if you just wait out the storm and then look back, you'll find blessings hidden in places you never expected to find them.
Last Wednesday in youth group we were singing "Glorious Day". I don't know, there's just something about that song that gives me goosebumps, especially if it's sung with a big group. It's probably up there somewhere with my list of top 10 favorite songs. If I had a list:) No, I have too many favorites to ever actually narrow it down to a list!
On my unmade list of favorite songs is probably "I Will Rise" by Chris Tomlin. It's super calming and encouraging at the same time. It's a great song to listen to when you're having a bad day!
Hey guys! So, I was doing my devotions this morning and I'm working through a daily devotional this year called "My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers. It's an older devotional that has been edited and revised to fit our language today. It's really in-depth, and God uses it to point things out in my life almost everyday. Today, it was talking about yielding to God and not to myself and my own desires. It referred to Romans 6:16. I went to Romans and read all the way to the end of the chapter. Romans 6:15-23 read:
"What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Reading the entire passage kind of added on to what the devotional had already said, and helped me get the big picture. Being a slave to sin is destructive and doesn't do me any good. I don't ever produce any fruit, but simply roll around in the filth and stench of my sin. But, as the Scriptures say, to be a slave to righteousness is very different from our idea of being a slave. The things I do, and living in obedience to God now benefits me and I produce fruit that I can look back upon. I now have purpose to my life, and I don't ever have to feel lost or useless again. Yielding to my selfish desires and different temptations might feel good for a moment, but it amounts to nothing at the end of the day. I want to have purpose to my life, so that when I'm at the end of my life, I will know that I didn't waste my life on myself, but allowed God to use me and the abilities He's given me to benefit His kingdom.
