Don’t Fear-get about God

“When I am afraid, I will trust in you” (Psalm 56:3).

I love how little kids make up words.  Like calling pockets “snack-holes” or shoelaces “shoe-snakes.”  When my son was little he had a word that always made me smile – when his memory failed him, he didn’t forget, he said “I fear-get.”  I thought that was so cute – I wanted to box his teacher’s ears when she corrected him.

That is the perfect word for how some of us live.  We fear-get.  We give in to fear and we forget who our God is and what He is able to do.  We fear-get His power and His promises.  We fear-get His Word and His Spirit.

When Israel battled the Philistine army one enemy soldier caused the whole army to tremble in fear.  Goliath was a giant of a man – “over nine feet tall” – and he used his size to his advantage.  He loomed large and heckled Saul’s soldiers and “all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified” (1 Samuel 17: 4-11). Their fear caused them to forget their God and his power and promises as they trembled before their enemy.  Enter David, the young shepherd-boy with a sling, a pocket full of stones and an unwavering faith in the Lord.  He recognized the enemy was defying “the army of the Living God” of Israel (v. 36).   In other words, he knew this battle belonged to the Lord.  While David faced off against Goliath, Goliath faced off against God. And Goliath went down. Hard.

There are two important lessons to learn here.

The Israelite army trembled at the threats and ranting of Goliath.  At words.  They were afraid to stand against the giant because of words.  That is satan’s favorite ploy against us – he is a “roaring lion” (1 Peter 5:8) – but roaring can’t hurt you.  He’s just making a lot of loud noise. When we listen to satan’s words, we fear-get the Word of God and tremble like the army of Israel.

But when David went to confront Goliath, he went “in the name of the Lord Almighty” (v. 45).  He carried five smooth stones in his pouch – and the memory of how God had given him victory in the past.  Recalling how he had killed lions and bears in his shepherding work, David declared, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:37).  Unlike the Israelite army, David didn’t run from the enemy – he “ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him” (v. 48).  He loaded his sling with one stone and all the confidence He had in the Lord.  He didn’t fear-get a thing.

What makes you fear-get?  What makes you tremble and fear-get God’s love, grace, mercy, hope, power and promises.  What makes you fear-get His Word?  What makes you fear-get who you are in Christ?  What makes you fear-get all the God has done for you?  David Jeremiah says, “When we recognize how God has been our help in ages past, we’ll remember He’s our hope for years to come.”  Beloved, the mighty God of David is your God too.  He delivered Israel and He will deliver you.  Don’t give in to the rants of the enemy.  Don’t fear-get about God.

Amazing Grace

Meditating this morning on Luke 1:26-30 and Gabriel’s words to Mary: “Greetings, you who are highly favored!” (vs 28) What was it about Mary that make her “highly favored?” Was it that she was a virgin? Hardly – there were many virgins in Israel. Was she somehow superior to other young women? The Scriptures don’t support that, even though the Roman Catholic Church teaches that she was.
Here’s the point we struggle with in the 21st century – it wasn’t about Mary at all. When we read the Bible we tend to focus heavily on the characters in the story because we are looking for something in them with which we can identify. “My favorite Bible character is Peter, because I can identity with him; we’re just alike.” I’ve said it myself about certain Bible people with whom I feel a “connection.” In the same way, we look at God and identify characteristics that highlight how He relates to us. And again, I’ve done it – my favorite attribute of God is His faithfulness, because He has been so very faithful to me. That is not wrong in and of itself, but it’s miss-focused. You and I need to see God for who He is, not who He is “to me.”
The Greek word “favor” means “grace.” Favor is a gift, a kindness, a blessing and it says nothing about the recipient, and everything about the Giver. When Gabriel spoke his greeting he wasn’t exalting Mary, he was highlighting the undeserved grace of God to her. We have a hard time wrapping our minds around that because we are a merit-based society. But there was really nothing special about Mary – God’s favor was purely His own choice. She received it in the same manner – praising Him for His grace, mercy and power (vs. 46-55). It is the same with our salvation. Despite what the church teaches, we don’t “choose to receive Jesus” – He chooses us to receive His grace – our only part is to respond in faith.
What’s your story with God Beloved? Do you recognize that you were chosen by nothing more or less than His grace? If we are in God’s blessed family it is all His doing, not yours or mine. Let’s refocus our spiritual understanding on this gift. It’s not about who we are – it’s all God’s Amazing Grace.

Sandpaper People

“I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel” (Ezekiel 14:5).

As I pray each day for my granddaughter, I also pray for the people that will touch her life.    I pray for her future friends, caregivers, teachers, beaus, bosses and coworkers, and the man that she will one day marry.  I pray that they will be people who love the Lord, have a passion for His will and will help her achieve God’s purpose in her life.  I always ask Him to surround her with godly people.  But I know that there will be people who will come into her life that will not be godly.  They are what I call “sandpaper people” – gritty and abrasive people who rub us the wrong way.  I’ve had more than a few of them cross my path and I image you have too.  They are the people who frustrate and annoy us, who take advantage of us, fail to keep their word, who lie and who take more than they give.  They hurt us, mistreat us, abandon us and yes, even abuse us.  They make life hard and painful.  But they are there for a purpose.  For what does sandpaper do?  It smooths the rough surface.  Likewise sandpaper people are God’s tool for smoothing off our rough edges.

God used some of those sandpaper people to scrape off judgment and arrogance.  He placed some of them in my life to rub off selfishness and to remove my “victim mentality.”  He used some of them to sand out my attitude of self-righteousness. And He used them to teach me humility, kindness, generosity, compassion, patience, and forgiveness.  Through them He opened a tiny window into His amazing grace.  He taught me about prayer – oh how I learned to pray about some of these abrasive and hurtful people – for me and for them.  He also taught me about discernment and wisdom, for some of those people were there because I foolishly invited them in.  He exploded my understanding about His unconditional love, then asked me to be a conduit of that love into other’s lives.  Let me tell you, when God uses you to love someone to Christ, you will never consider another soul as a “hopeless mess.”  I confess that I complained – a lot and loudly – about some of the people who rubbed me the wrong way – but every one of them taught me something God wanted me to know and each one left an indelible mark on my life – some imprints of grace and forgiveness, some scars of wisdom, and some cracks in the wall I had built around my heart.

Beloved, who has God brought into your life that you sometimes wish wasn’t there?  Can you look at them through His eyes?  Maybe they are the very ones He is using to remove something that keeps you from fulfilling His purpose for your life.  Maybe they are there to teach you some valuable lessons about grace, compassion, forgiveness or discernment.  They may be in your life so that you can love them to Jesus—or so that you can become more like Jesus.  Ask God what He’s up to in your life and in theirs.  Not every relationship is going to be sunshine and roses – some people will bring on the rain.  But rain makes the roses grow and their fragrance is a sweet aroma.  Above all remember – every person – even the one who rubs you the wrong way – is a soul God loves and Jesus died to save.  That’s reason enough to love them.

God is moving . . .

Just an observation . . .
The Bible is a full-circle story – from Genesis to Revelation and points in between.
In Genesis 11 men, in their ego and disobedience, determine to build a tower “that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth” (v. 4). In response to their pride and sin, the Lord confused their language so that they could not understand one another and He scattered them across the earth.
Now hop over to Acts 2 and the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit filled the believers and they “began to speak in other tongues” (v. 4). Because of the season, Jerusalem was filled with multiple nationalities, and suddenly they could hear and understand the Gospel – in their own language. God was moving . . .
Our final destination is Revelation 7:9 where “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language” will stand before the Lamb. The throne room of heaven will ring with Christ’s praises – in every language – languages that came to be because God had to punish man’s rebellion and sin.
God has been working throughout human history for one purpose: the glory of His Son. Every moment, every action, every breath is leading us to this scene. Image the beautiful sound – praise to the Lamb of God in every tongue known to man.
So what does this mean as you struggle through your day? Beloved, God is in control of it all – all of human history and all of your life. Nothing, not even your foolishness and failure is wasted in the hands of the one who holds it all. And just as a multi-language song of praise will fill the heavens, all things in your life will all come together in a beautiful, multi-color picture of God’s glory and grace. Precious one, God is moving . . .

In the Morning

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits. And in His word, I have put my hope.  My soul waits for the Lord, more than watchmen wait for the morning.  More than watchmen wait for the morning.  Psalm 130:5-6

 If the past eighteen months have taught me anything at all, it is that waiting on the Lord is never futile.  It may be uncomfortable, it may be nerve-wracking, and even a bit frightening, but it always ends with blessing.  I have also learned that the key to waiting is to put my hope in God – not in an outcome, but in the Person.  The outcome I hope for may or may not come to pass.  But I can put my hope in God because He never fails.

 The Psalmist understood that as he talked about watchmen waiting for the morning.  The city slept as the watchman kept vigil.  His responsibility was to be alert for any possible danger.  It was an intense and exhausting job.  And he couldn’t wait to see the sunrise so he could go home to his bed.  As he stood guard in the black of night, he never once doubted that the morning would come. It came yesterday.  It came the day before that and the day before that and all the days before – all the way back to the day when God said, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3).  It was dark through the night, but the morning never failed to come.

 You and I can hope in God through the night because He never fails to come in the morning.   He comes just as surely as the sun rises morning and morning.   Even more than this – He is the reason the sun rises morning after morning.  Yes friend, God always comes.  No power in heaven or earth could keep him from coming, not even death. 

He comes every morning with new mercies (Lamentations 3:23).

He comes with glory (Exodus 16:7).

He comes with redemption (Ruth 3:13).

He comes with listening ears (Psalm 5:3).

He comes with rejoicing (Psalm 30:5).

He comes with strength (Psalm 59:16).

He comes with wonders (Psalm 65:8).

He comes with unfailing love (Psalm 143:8).

He comes with a sustaining word (Isaiah 50:4).

He comes with justice (Zephaniah 3:5).

He comes with resurrection power (Luke 24:1-6).

He comes with daily provision (John 21:4).

He comes with His Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4).

He comes with the Morning Star (Revelation 2:28).

 

He comes with peace.

He comes with joy.

He comes with promise.

He comes with faithfulness.

He comes with unfailing love.

And when you hope in Him, He comes with even more hope.

Beloved, are you surrounded by the darkness of a long night?  Put your hope in the Lord.  Morning is coming.   Like the sun that rises at dawn, He always comes.  Keep watching.  Keep waiting.  Keep hoping.  The Lord your God is coming.