You'll Get Through This --- Max Lucado

     

     So this is kind of a shameless plug for Max Lucado’s Bible study “You’ll Get Through This”.  Usually his studies are not really ones that I am interested in but this one spoke to me and opened my eyes in amazing ways drawing me closer to the Lord at a time I really needed it. We have been going through a really difficult trial the last couple years, sometimes making it hard to have hope and easy to look at tossing in the towel and giving up (not in life but in the situation). We have prayed and cried, and cried out to the Lord, begging for a change in the circumstances, wondering when this situation will end, wondering how much more we can take. I saw the quote in the above picture on a FB post, it jumped out at me and I looked up and ordered the material. This study came along at just the right time. I shared in my timeline posts at the time but wanted to kind of bring those thoughts together in one place.  The good very praiseworthy news is that it does appear there may be a change in our circumstances soon. I am scared to hope that it will happen but need to trust in God’s timing.

     Most of the Bible study revolves around the story of Joseph. Max Lucado pointed out that if it were not for Joseph’s trials and hardships (thrown into a cistern, sold into slavery, jailed) the young coddled, spoiled, rich Joseph in his father’s household could not have become Pharaoh’s right hand man that literally saved nations from starvation and was in a position to bring his family to a protected place, which ultimately saves the lineage of Jesus. From the time Joseph was sold into slavery to the time that he was re-united with his father it was 20+ years. That is a long time to go through trials.  Makes our two years look like not much. I want to cry out to the Lord and have him deliver us from our troubles now, have him bring us up out of the miry clay now, bring us up out of the cistern now. I do not want to consider staying in our troubles indefinitely. However I know and trust in God’s timing, not my own.  In the meantime I will stay prayerful, stay faithful, hold on to hope, draw strength and rest from Him. 

     Max Lucado talks about Joseph being in a deep dark pit, not being able to see his way out. But he did not stay in the pit, God was with him. God was with him, placing him in prominence in Potipher’s household. Then later while in prison he continued to remain faithful, and God was with him showing him kindness and granting him favor with the prison warden. He was able to be in a position to interpret dreams which years later led to him being in a position of authority working for the king, and ultimately reunification with his family. We can see the big picture now piecing all of the events together but Joseph went through a time of suffering during which God was with him and eventually brought him out of.  Lucado states “He gets us “through” the Red Sea, he gets us “through” the fiery furnace, he gets us “through” the storm, He gets us “through” even crucifixion.”  “The boy in the pit became the prince in the palace.” Life in the pit stinks but the God that brought Joseph up and out of the pit is the same God that will see us through. The pit does one thing, it forces us to look upward.

     In a chapter of the study titled “Wait While God Works”, Max Lucado draws attention to Daniel 10 when he mourned, fasted and prayed for 21 days. An angel appeared to him and told him that his words were heard from the first day but the angel was held up in spiritual warfare for those 21 days. While Daniel was waiting steadfastly in prayer, God was working. We may not get the answer we want in the timeline we want it in, but that does not mean that our prayers went unanswered, we continue to pray, fast, focus on God, and wait while He works. Obviously this is easier said than done. :)

The following are some other quotes from the book that spoke to me. 

"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." Genesis 50:20  Satan is the source of this evil, but God comes in and takes the actions of evil and reweaves them for good. God will use this mess that you are going through right now. It may take some time but God does not waste this time. He will use this time to train and develop us into the person he needs to accomplish his will. He will use this time to teach us something that he wants us to know.” 

“What is the one thing you still have that no one can take? The answer is God’s destiny. No one can touch it. They can take a lot of things from you but no one can take your destiny. You are God’s child. He chose you. No one can take that from you. He placed you on this planet, in this generation, with these skills, in the place where you live, for a purpose. You are his child, you have to hang on to that. I am still God’s child. I may pass through a tough season, but I am his for eternity, he is still on the throne.” 

"Rather than ask "God, why?" ask, "God, what?" What can I learn from this experience? Rather than ask God to change our circumstances, ask Him to use your circumstances to change you. Life is a required course. Might as well do your best to pass it."

We may have had some difficult times of late and after awhile, it started to get harder and harder to get through it and "soldier on", and I found myself focusing on wanting deliverance of those circumstances. However it is not part of God's plan right now and this study has really helped in growing me spiritually, changing my perspective and teaching me to be content. 
 

The following are some verses that have been helping me. This list is not all inclusive, remember this trial has been going on for awhile and there are soooo many verses that have helped us at different times during this period.

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through him who gives me strength.  Phillipians 4:12,13

Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:7,8

Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. Psalm 30:4,5

Lord, you are my God;  I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. Isaiah 25:1

Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me. You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead; you spared me from going down to the pit. Psalm 30:2,3

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:11-12

All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered. 1 Timothy 6:1

I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1,2

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:4-9

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 1 Peter 1:6,7

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38,39

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you, I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. Isaiah 46:4

Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” Hosea 6:3

Living in the Now

Last week sometime the Old Testament reading from my devotional came out of Numbers 11, and I have been thinking about it all week.  The Israelites had left Egypt and were at this point wandering around in the desert. God had been providing them food in the form of manna, however the Israelites were getting tired of the manna.  They were grumbling and complaining and desiring a variety of food, specifically meat. They were looking back on their time in Egypt with fondness desiring to be back in that place again. Had they forgotten they were slaves in Egypt and actually in a pretty bad situation when living there? Could they not see they were traveling with God and that he was providing for their needs to include food that had all the nutrients they needed? They had the promise of the Promised Land ahead of them, "a land flowing with milk and honey." Why would they want to go backwards, back to a terrible time?
   I have read this passage numerous times throughout my life and heard multiples sermons on this topic. The reason that this struck me so much this time is that I feel like right now I am similar to those Israelites. We have some difficult things going on right now and they have been going on long enough that we really want out of the situation. We keep trying to forge ahead, see the positive, keep our passion and fervor for ministry, focus on our hope in Christ etc, but with the negative things going on we seem to continually get to the point that we feel like we are just done. We have cried out to God asking for relief, asking for change in our circumstances. Yet the circumstances have not changed and I have to admit we have gotten to the point of grumbling and complaining, feeling just beat down. We look back on a particular time with great fondness, wishing we were back in those circumstances, longing for that time. We see God's promises ahead of us, we see the light at the end of the tunnel, yet we still continue to want our current circumstances to change. So as you can imagine this passage kind of struck home.  While the time we look back on fondly was not a terrible time, it was not all sunshine and lollipops either. In fact it was during the time I had cancer, but we look back and think if only our circumstances could be the same, minus my cancer. I wonder if the Israelites looked back at there time in Egypt wishing their circumstances could be the same minus the slavery. We start to look at other people's situations with envy.
    While reading this passage I really felt like God was showing me that while this is a difficult and quite hurtful time, there are so many ways that He is caring for us and providing for our needs. We have so many blessings. I am one of God's chosen people and a daughter of the King. Our family is amazing and the military family relationships that we have forged God has truly used to help sustain us through these times. We live in an incredible place and my husband has a job that provides us so much more than we could ask for. I have great medical care and wonderful doctors here. We have a church family that is so loving and caring and passion for the Lord that blows me away. I am so excited to be spending family camp with our church at Bellows this weekend. And the ministry opportunities abound all around us. Between, chapel, church, PWOC, our unit, and our neighborhood, there is no shortage of ways that we can share the love of Christ and serve our Lord. I needed kind of an adjustment in my spirit and I am thankful that I have the Holy Spirit to help guide me when I get off track. As Psalm 13 says, I need to trust in His mercy, and ask Him to grant my heart joy in His salvation. I need to remember that my hope is in Christ, not our circumstances, this earth is not my home. My home is with Christ. While I am here on earth however, I need to live in the now. I need to live for Christ in these circumstances, learn the lessons He has for me now and use the opportunities he is giving me in the now.

Focus Amidst the Chaos

When I saw this picture I thought it fit this post perfectly.

Isn't this what life seems like sometimes? 

      I so needed my devotional reading this morning. Usually when I do not have a specific Bible Study that I am doing I follow the daily readings laid out in The Word Among Us. It is a Catholic devotional magazine based on the daily mass readings. No I am not Catholic but I picked it up one day in a waiting room a few years ago in Alaska and liked it. I like how it has an Old Testament reading for the day and a New Testament reading and most of the time like the daily meditation. God has really used it to prompt me to dive in deeper on multiple occasions.

      Anyways, today the New Testament reading was Matthew 14:22-36, about Jesus walking on water to his disciples' boat during high winds and waves.  

 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”  Matthew 14:28-30

     Then when discussing this passage the devotional says "As Peter looked at Jesus, the storm seemed to fade away. All that mattered was that Jesus was there, defying the laws of gravity and banishing fear. In that moment, Peter's heart was lifted above the waves, and he stepped out of the boat. Jesus became the source of his confidence and security, not the boat. Even when he turned from Jesus' gaze and began to sink, he called to Jesus for help, and he was saved."

     Again, I really needed that today. We have a lot going on in our life right now, some of it circumstances that like the waves we cannot control. It is so easy to lose our focus and look down, taking our eyes off of Jesus. However that is when we start to sink. If we keep our eyes on Jesus those circumstances tend to fade out and get blurry, we rise above our circumstances with renewed faith, and ability to keep moving forward even through the storm. When we do start to sink He is there to pull us back to Him when we call out to Him.  When I read this passage this morning I felt like Jesus was reaching out His hand to me, calling me to keep my gaze on Him and stay above the craziness going on in our lives right now. I felt like He was reminding me where my focus needs to be and reminding me of His power.



"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 3:14

Unschooled

"They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand......When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus." Act 4:2-4, 13

 God was using Peter and John in extraordinary, supernatural ways, in ways that could only be attributed to God, yet the passage takes care to note that they were unschooled, ordinary men. You don't have to have a seminary or Bible school degree or even have grown up in Sunday School to be used by God in amazing, miraculous ways. I know I have been guilty at times of thinking I did not know enough or had not studied enough or did not have the degree, to do something God was calling me to do but really it is just an excuse. With the power of the Holy Spirit we can truly do anything God is calling us to do. He wants it to be so evident that what we are doing could only be attributed to Him that many times he does use people or call people to do things for Him that are not in their comfort zone or areas of expertise. I urge each of you to be open and willing to be used by God in ways you never could have imagined. Follow where He is guiding you, even if it does not make sense to the world.

Worship

I posted this a few days ago on FB and thought I would share it here as well.

Psalm 95 was in my Bible reading this morning and of course made me think of this song. "Come Let Us Worship and Bow Down." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxPH34udgN0&feature=share So beautiful and soothing. It also makes me think of this Lent season. To me recognizing and following Lent it is a form of worship. The scripture talks about kneeling before the Lord, which is an act of humility, an act of humbleness, denying our self and focusing on the Lord. So too is the time of Lent, when people deny self and yield to God through prayer, fasting, and repentance. While I don't think this should only be reserved for the Lent season, Lent is often a time when people put forth an extra effort in this area. How beautiful is it to just lay everything out before Him, to strip away the old self, humbly kneeling before the Lord, Our God, Our Maker and how beautiful is it that the Maker of the Universe when we do not deserve it shows us grace, takes us in, completes us, and fills our spiritual emptiness. We truly serve and amazing, wonderful, loving, just God.

The other part of Psalm 95 that spoke to me was verse 8 "Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert" This verse has a history and personal meaning for me and my hubby, but what struck me about it today was that as previously stated in the text we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care and I really don't want to be one to harden my heart and choose not to hear his voice. I know there have been times when he has spoken to me and because of my busyness and other self placed obstacles I have not heard him. How I have missed out! It is heartbreaking for me to come to this realization and admit it but I want to make a whole hearted effort for that not to happen. To be quiet and listen and open my heart to all he has to offer.

Keeping the Sabbath - Our Shabbat Meal

Over the last few months through my prayer time, worship, and even just listening to the radio I have felt God really drawing me back to the basic spiritual disciplines.  Through this journey he has me on I started to feel more and more convicted about how myself as an individual and my family spends our Sabbath. Sure we go to church but it seemed that is where our focus and setting apart time on that day ended. The main grocery store we shop at is near church and I do not have the car during the week so often times right after church we head to the grocery store. We come home and I try to work on laundry and other household tasks that have piled up. I usually do some cooking, making treats for the family for the upcoming week and really just occupy my time with a lot of busyness. Then after our youngest goes to bed while my husband and oldest play video games I would spend a couple hours or more if I am being honest on the computer. I felt so heavy about this that when my family was not able to go to church a couple weeks ago due to my husband just having had surgery, during our family church time at home that morning I felt God leading me to give a message about the Sabbath to my family. It was hastily put together and I have a lot more reading and study to do on the topic but here are some of my thoughts.

I do not think that all this busyness  is what God had in mind when in Exodus 16:23 [He said to them, "This is what the Lord commanded: "Tomorrow is to be a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord..."]. This is the first mention of the word Sabbath but certainly not the last. God felt this was so important that he included it in the ten commandments in Exodus 20:8-11 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."  I highlight the word holy because God could have just said the word Sabbath or day of rest but in both these cases he used the word holy just has he did back in Exodus 3:5 when he told Moses to take off his sandals because he was standing on holy ground. My Bible notes point out that piece of ground was not ordinarily holy but it was made so by the presence of God and that holiness involves being consecrated to the Lord's service and is to be separated from the commonplace. Well so is the Sabbath, it is to be consecrated to the Lord's service and separated from the commonplace. I was feeling that we were not making our Sabbath a special separate time to revel in God's rest.

A passage in Isaiah also really spoke to me. "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob." The mouth of the Lord has spoken." Isaiah 58:13-14  How beautiful is that!!

Hebrews 4:9  compares the Sabbath rest to God's rest that we may enter through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ, and goes on in verse 10 to say "for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his." Honoring the Sabbath to me is a symbol and a representation of the rest we have in Jesus.

Some may say that the laws regarding the Sabbath was in the Old Testament and and not applicable to us. In Matthew 17 Jesus clearly states that he did not come to "abolish the law or the Prophets: ..... but to fulfill them."  The notes in my Bible say "Jesus fulfilled the Law in the sense that he gave it its full meaning. He emphasized its deep underlying principles and total commitment to it rather than mere external acknowledgment and obedience."  Jesus never disputed the importance of the Sabbath, in fact in Matthew 12 he declares the Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath and that it was "lawful to do good on the Sabbath."

So when going through all of this and deciding to make some changes in our family regarding the Sabbath I was trying to figure out what it would look like for us. The Jewish people celebrate and bring in the day with a Shabbat meal and while we are not Jewish and do not follow some of the same rituals they do on the Sabbath I thought a meal would be a great idea for us to recognize and give a sign to ourselves and to the Lord that we are taking this seriously and we are setting apart this day for him. Last week was our first one and I did not make a real fancy meal with lots of dishes because it is just the four of us and we are pretty simple but I did make some good Challah bread, potato kugel, and baked chicken. In addition to starting the Sabbath with a special meal I have personally chosen not to turn on the computer on the Sabbath and not to fill my day with busyness and housework, not to go grocery shopping but for us as a family to really spend some quality time together in the Lord and His rest.

A book I recently read on the Sabbath called Sabbath Keeping by Lynne M. Baab. When picturing what changes to make in myself and my family I enjoyed this excerpt from the book.  "When people talk to me about what they enjoy on the Sabbath, they describe bike rides and board games and outings to parks. They talk about skiing and gardening for hours and long walks with close friends. They discuss leisurely candle lit meals with stimulating conversation and laughter. They talk about relaxed recreation that feels open ended and luxurious, that enables them to do the things I've mentioned - breathe deeply, engage their senses, enjoy nature - and experience joy and fun as gifts from God."  Later in the chapter she says " One rabbi reports that his congregation wanted specifics about what they should and shouldn't do on the Sabbath. He used three questions to determine whether an activity was suitable
1. Does it promote rest and/or relaxation?
2. Does it bring delight and enjoyment?
3. Does it give you a sense of holiness and sanctity? In other words does it add to your sense of Sabbath?"

Honoring the Sabbath is going to be different for different people and different families. Just as it is important to honor the Sabbath it is important not to get caught up in the details of following the Sabbath. It is not about following a list of rules but about resting in God's presence and focusing on him and activities that promote resting in God.