04.30.09
RUN WITH PATIENCE
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This devotion was written by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman, Streams in the Desert
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RUN WITH PATIENCE
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“Let us run with patience” (Heb. 12:1)
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O run with patience is a very difficult thing. Running is apt to suggest the absence of patience, the eagerness to reach the goal. We commonly associate patience with lying down. We think of it as the angel that guards the couch of the invalid. Yet, I do not think the invalid’s patience the hardest to achieve.
There is a patience which I believe to be harder–the patience that can run. To lie down in the time of grief, to be quiet under the stroke of adverse fortune, implies a great strength; but I know of something that implies a strength greater still: It is the power to work under a stroke; to have a great weight at your heart and still to run; to have a deep anguish in your spirit and still perform the daily task. It is a Christlike thing!
Many of us would nurse our grief without crying if we were allowed to nurse it. The hard thing is that most of us are called to exercise our patience, not in bed, but in the street. We are called to bury our sorrows, not in lethargic quiescence, but in active service–in the exchange, in the workshop, in the hour of social intercourse, in the contribution to another’s joy. There is no burial of sorrow so difficult as that; it is the “running with patience.”
This was Thy patience, O Son of man! It was at once a waiting and a running–a waiting for the goal, and a doing of the lesser work meantime. I see Thee at Cana turning the water into wine lest the marriage feast should be clouded. I see Thee in the desert feeding a multitude with bread just to relieve a temporary want. All, all the time, Thou wert bearing a mighty grief, unshared, unspoken. Men ask for a rainbow in the cloud; but I would ask more from Thee. I would be, in my cloud, myself a rainbow — a minister to others’ joy. My patience will be perfect when it can work in the vineyard. –George Matheson
“When all our hopes are gone,
‘Tis well our hands must keep toiling on
For others’ sake:
For strength to bear is found in duty done;
And he is best indeed who learns to make
The joy of others cure his own heartache.”
04.29.09
“WHEN PEACE ISN’T POSSIBLE”
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This devotion is from Answers for Each Day
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WHEN PEACE ISN’T POSSIBLE
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Romans 12:18 says,
If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
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By implication, this verse is telling us that it is not possible to live peaceably with some people because they refuse to make peace. They take the posture of being an enemy, being an antagonist, and they refuse to shift from that position no matter what you do.
But as much as it depends on you, you must pursue the things that make for peace. You need to pray, you need to communicate, and if God leads you, you need to give a gift. And certainly with your actions, you need to express the fact that you want peace.
Sometimes somebody may not yield. They may not yield to the influence of God’s Spirit; they may not yield to your endeavors. But once you have done all you can do, all you can do has been done.
Does that give you a license to be rude to them or to treat them unpleasantly? No. The next few verses address that. Look at Romans 12:19-21,
Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Continue to extend the olive branch. If they never respond, at least you will have a clean conscience. God will deal with the things that you cannot deal with. Do not take matters into your own hands. “Vengeance is Mine,” says the Lord.
04.28.09
“FAITH IS SPELLED R.I.S.K.”
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This devotions was written by Os Hillman, Today God Is First
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FAITH IS SPELLED R.I.S.K.
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“Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’” (Matt 14:29-30).
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Jesus told Peter to get out of the boat. There is always a risk when we attempt something never done before. Naysayers seem to come out of the wood work. Why? Because it’s not their vision, it’s yours. Sometimes we fail the first time out. It’s a fact that most entrepreneurs fail before they are really successful.
“Success,” said Winston Churchill, “is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” Everybody fails. It’s part of the process that leads us to maturity and success. Most successful entrepreneurs don’t think of their failures as defeats. They think of them as lessons.
If you hope to succeed, learn everything you can from your failures. In The Three Success Secrets of Shamgar, Orlando Magic executive Pat Williams observed, “Our experiences may not all be triumphs and successes, but so what? Failure is usually a far better teacher than success – if we are willing to learn the lessons. As Houston Astros pitcher Larry Dierker observed, ‘Experience is the best teacher, but a hard grader. She gives the test first, the lesson later.’”*
God never gets mired in our past failures. He is constantly viewing our lives with future success in mind. “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland” (Isa. 43:19). Someone once said, “When your memories are bigger than your dreams, you’re headed for the grave.” God wants to give us new dreams that are bigger than anything that has ever happened to us in the past.
Don’t let past failures keep you from future successes.
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*Pat Williams and Jay Strack, The Three Success Secrets of Shamgar (Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, Inc., 2004), p. 103.
04.27.09
SEEKING GOD FOR THE RIGHT REASONS
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This devotional was written by by Sarah Jennings, Crosswalk.com Family Editor
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SEEKING GOD FOR THE RIGHT REASONS
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For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Philippians 1: 21
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I ran across an article a couple years ago that really touched me. In her piece “A Change of Plans,” Lindsy Pike details the excruciating decision to call off her wedding to a man she loved dearly. Reflecting on the mix of pain and peace that comes with any situation where we must give up something precious, Pike rewinds a few centuries to Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son, Isaac:
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“God promised to give Abraham a son and finally, after years of waiting, God came through, with Isaac. Why in the world would God ask Abraham to give up that gift? In my opinion, it is for the same reason He asked me to call off my wedding. God wants us to love Him more than we love His promises. The minute we get those out of order, He readjusts us.”
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While we don’t really know the mind of God in Abraham’s situation, Pike’s simple thought sheds light on a struggle I think all of us encounter at some time in our lives — the struggle to love God above everything else, even His blessings. God wants us to love Him because of who He is, not what He can give us. Yet, how often do we confuse our love of God’s promises with love of Him? How often do we see Him as the divine blessing machine, ready to dole out happiness on our terms? The popularity of “prosperity theology” reveals how easy it is for believers to twist love of God into the pursuit of earthly happiness.
To be honest, it’s not just greed that gets in the way of loving God. It’s also a limited understanding of who God is. I used to wonder how some Christians could sit for over an hour praying. Is God really that interesting? I’d wonder. This type of thinking reveals a fundamental flaw in how I perceived God, and I think that flaw is what keeps many from coming to Christ in the first place. It’s easy to see Him as limited like we are limited. It’s easy to forget that God is truly our all in all. As C.S. Lewis once said, “God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.”
Still, had I not gone through a similar situation, I might not have believed Pike’s sincerity when she says: “I am thankful for His grace that saved me from ruining my life by pursuing my dream.”
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In a “reach for the stars, be anything you can be” culture, the idea that pursuing any dream could ruin my life seems foreign. The more I think about it, though, the more I see that living outside God’s will — even if it is for a “good reason” — is a recipe for failure.
Yet, when we give up our dreams for something greater – for Someone greater than ourselves – we begin to see we can trust God no matter what. We find solace in the incredible peace that comes with knowing that even if life here includes sorrow or dreams unfulfilled — which it very well could — there is a God that transcends not only all that’s missing in this life, but also all the good this life has to offer.
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Intersecting Faith & Life: This week, do something for God without expecting any reward or blessing in return.
04.24.09
“THE MOST IMPORTANT QUALITY”
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This devotion is from Answers for Each Day
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THE MOST IMPORTANT QUALITY
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In 1 Samuel 16:6-7, when Samuel came to Jesse’s house to anoint the next king of Israel, we see the criteria God uses to choose people for service to Him,
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So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the LORD’S anointed is before Him.” But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
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This is a fascinating story with a very strong lesson I want you to understand. Right after these verses, Jesse parades each of his sons before Samuel…except for David. Jesse knows why Samuel is there, but he doesn’t even bother to get David.
David’s own father had written him off. His own father didn’t see enough potential in him to call him before Samuel.
But David was anointed king that day. Not based on what Jesse thought was important, but on what God thought was important…David’s heart.
Maybe your own father has written you off. Maybe your parents said you would never amount to anything. Maybe your teacher said, “Look, you’re not going to amount to much. You just better get yourself a minimum wage job.”
Only God can see things in your heart that your father can’t see, that your mother can’t see, that your teachers didn’t see, that your family doesn’t see, that the people around you don’t see.
It is not that God overlooks ability or talent or training. All of those things are important. But God looks first at the most important quality for service, and that is the heart.
Don’t let someone else write your history before it happens.
04.23.09
“CUSHION OF THE SEA”
This devotion is written by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman, Streams in the Desert
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CUSHION OF THE SEA
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“And the peace of God, which transcends all our powers of thought, will be a garrison to guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7) (Weymouth).
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There is what is called the “cushion of the sea.” Down beneath the surface that is agitated by storms, and driven about with winds, there is a part of the sea that is never stirred. When we dredge the bottom and bring up the remains of animal and vegetable life we find that they give evidence of not having been disturbed in the least, for hundreds and thousands of years. The peace of God is that eternal calm which, like the cushion of the sea, lies far too deep down to be reached by any external trouble and disturbance; and he who enters into the presence of God, becomes partaker of that undisturbed and undisturbable calm.–Dr. A. T. Pierson
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When winds are raging o’er the upper ocean,
And billows wild contend with angry roar,
‘Tis said, far down beneath the wild commotion,
That peaceful stillness reigneth evermore.
Far, far beneath, the noise of tempest dieth,
And silver waves chime ever peacefully,
And no rude storm, how fierce soe’er it flieth,
Disturbs the Sabbath of that deeper sea.
So to the heart that knows Thy love, O Purest,
There is a temple sacred evermore,
And all the babble of life’s angry voices
Dies in hushed silence at its peaceful door.
Far, far away, the roar of passion dieth,
And loving thoughts rise calm and peacefully,
And no rude storm, how fierce soe’er it flieth,
Disturbs the soul that dwells, O Lord, in Thee.
–Harriet Beecher Stowe
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“The Pilgrim they laid in a large upper chamber, facing the sun-rising. The name of the chamber was Peace.” –Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress
04.22.09
“BEWARE OF THE LEAST LIKELY TEMPTATION”
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This devotion is from Oswald Chamber’s My Utmost For His Highest, April 19
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BEWARE OF THE LEAST LIKELY TEMPTATION
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“Joab had defected to Adonijah, though he had not defected to Absalom” (1Kings 2:28)
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Joab withstood the greatest test of his life, remaining absolutely loyal to David by not turning to follow after the fascinating and ambitious Absalom. Yet toward the end of his life he turned to follow after the weak and cowardly Adonijah. Always remain alert to the fact that where one person has turned back is exactly where anyone may be tempted to turn back (see 1Corinthians 10:11-13). You may have just victoriously gone through a great crisis, but now be alert about the things that may appear to be the least likely to tempt you. Beware of thinking that the areas of your life where you have experienced victory in the past are now the least likely to cause you to stumble and fall.
We are apt to say, “It is not at all likely that having been through the greatest crisis of my life I would now turn back to the things of the world.” Do not try to predict where the temptation will come; it is the least likely thing that is the real danger. It is in the aftermath of a great spiritual event that the least likely things begin to have an effect. They may not be forceful and dominant, but they are there. And if you are not careful to be forewarned, they will trip you. You have remained true to God under great and intense trials–now beware of the undercurrent. Do not be abnormally examining your inner self, looking forward with dread, but stay alert; keep your memory sharp before God. Unguarded strength is actually a double weakness, because that is where the least likely temptation will be effective in sapping strength. The Bible characters stumbled over their strong points, never weak ones.
“…kept by the power of God…” that is the only safety (1Peter 1:5)
04.21.09
” THE OVERSHADOWING OF GOD’S PERSONAL DELIVERANCE”
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This devotion is from Oswald Chamber’s My Utmost For His Highest, June 27
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THE OVERSHADOWING OF GOD’S PERSONAL DELIVERANCE
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” ‘…I am with you to deliver you,’ says the LORD” (Jeremiah 1:8).
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God promised Jeremiah that He would deliver him personally– “…your life shall be as a prize to you…” (Jeremiah 39:18). That is all God promises His children. Whenever God sends us, He will guard our lives. Our personal property and possessions are to be a matter of indifference to us, and our hold on these things should be very loose. If this is not the case, we will have panic, heartache, and distress. Having the proper outlook is evidence of the deeply rooted belief in the overshadowing of God’s personal deliverance.
The Sermon on the Mount indicates that when we are on a mission for Jesus Christ, there is no time to stand up for ourselves. Jesus says, in effect, “Don’t worry about whether or not you are being treated justly.” Looking for justice is actually a sign that we have been diverted from our devotion to Him. Never look for justice in this world, but never cease to give it. If we look for justice, we will only begin to complain and to indulge ourselves in the discontent of self-pity, as if to say, “Why should I be treated like this?” If we are devoted to Jesus Christ, we have nothing to do with what we encounter, whether it is just or unjust. In essence, Jesus says, “Continue steadily on with what I have told you to do, and I will guard your life. If you try to guard it yourself, you remove yourself from My deliverance.” Even the most devout amongst us become atheistic in this regard–we do not believe Him. We put our common sense on the throne and then attach God’s name to it. We do lean on our own understanding, instead o f trusting God with all our hearts (see Proverbs 3:5-6).
04.20.09
“FAITHFUL IN A LITTLE”
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This devotion was written by Henry T. Blackaby, Experiencing God April 9
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FAITHFUL IN A LITTLE
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“He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.” Luke 16:10
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God rewards those who are faithful. Throughout your life God will seek to grow you in your faith. He will continually bring you to times when you must trust Him. He will lead you into situations that require a “little” faith, and if you are faithful, He will then take you into situations that require even greater trust in Him. Each time you are able to trust God at a higher level, God will reveal more of Himself to you. Your faith and experiencing God are directly linked.
The best way to tell if you are prepared for a greater revelation of God is to see how faithful you have been with what God has given you. This is a foundational principle in God’s relationships with us. If you have been faithful with the little He has given you, you are ready to be entrusted with more. If you failed to trust God with the little He gave you, He will not trust you with more . God will not lead you beyond your present level of trust and obedience to Him. He will return you to your area of unfaithfulness until you are prepared to trust Him. The children of Israel were unwilling to trust God to lead them into the Promised Land, and their generation never again was able to move forward with Him. You stand at an exciting new door of opportunity to know God more intimately every time you believe Him. Every step of faith leads you to a deeper relationship of faith with Him. It is an open invitation to know God more intimately.
04.16.09
“ARE YOU LISTENING TO GOD?”
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This devotion is from Oswald Chamber’s My Utmost For His Highest, Feb. 12
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ARE YOU LISTENING TO GOD?
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“They said to Moses, ‘You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die’” (Exodus 20:19)
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We don’t consciously and deliberately disobey God–we simply don’t listen to Him. God has given His commands to us, but we pay no attention to them–not because of willful disobedience, but because we do not truly love and respect Him. “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Once we realize we have constantly been showing disrespect to God, we will be filled with shame and humiliation for ignoring Him.
“You speak with us,…but let not God speak with us…” We show how little love we have for God by preferring to listen to His servants rather than to Him. We like to listen to personal testimonies, but we don’t want God Himself to speak to us. Why are we so terrified for God to speak to us? It is because we know that when God speaks we must either do what He asks or tell Him we will not obey. But if it simply one of God’s servants speaking to us, we feel obedience is optional, not imperative. We respond by saying, “Well, that’s only your own idea, even though I don’t deny that what you said is probably God’s truth.”
Am I constantly humiliating God by ignoring Him, while He lovingly continues to treat me as His child? Once I finally do hear Him, the humiliation I have heaped on Him returns to me. My response then becomes, “Lord why was I so insensitive and obstinate?” This is always the result once we hear God. But our real delight in finally hearing Him is tempered with the shame we feel for having taken so long to do so.
