When Doubts Arise and Tempests Rage

Once again, the world is on the edge of a wide-spread war. Tensions are rising in every part of the globe and American military muscle is being flexed in the Middle East. The horror that Hamas terrorists carried to Israel and the response in Gaza that has devastated (hardly a word to describe the awfulness there) the lives of people has pushed the ongoing death and destruction in Ukraine.

As I cried out to the Lord in my prayers on behalf of the suffering, asking Him to turn the hearts of leaders to seek peace, I felt faith wane. Doubt shaped my pleas-  “Lord, if you are the sovereign One, then do something. How can You allow this to go on?”

I know the answer. He gives us a gift that is wonderful and awful in the same moment - the ability to choose. We can turn to Him and find life and freedom from sin, or we can serve ourselves and descend ever deeper into sin and darkness.  But, that is a subject for another day. 

Let’s think about dealing with our doubts, finding faith renewed. You are not an awful or weak Christian if you experience the dark moments of doubt.  Righteous Job, after enduring awful loss, finally cries "know that God has wronged me and drawn his net around me. "Though I cry, 'I've been wronged!' I get no response; though I call for help, there is no justice. He has blocked my way so I cannot pass; he has shrouded my paths in darkness. He has stripped me of my honor and removed the crown from my head." (Job 19:6-9, NIV)  Was he right in saying these things about the Lord?  Yes, because that is what life looked like for him at that moment.  When Job was willing to give voices to his doubt, he was ready to deal with it. No Christian sets out to doubt! We do not want to be angry with the One we have loved, yet it happens. 

Too often Christians try to ignore their conflicted emotions or overwhelm their doubt by turning up the volume of their praise songs, or escaping into churchy platitudes, or they may try to make a deal with God becoming perfectionistic in behavior. Those tactics will fail.  The answer is in the pursuit of the God in spite of doubt, choosing honesty, willing to confess to the Father- "I feel like You have abandoned me."  Lay it out and say it out loud. Cry.  Jesus did that very thing. In His anguish He cried out “why have You forsaken me?”

It may seem illogical but it is true. Our trials and suffering that may stir up doubt in us can become a source of growing faith. Our Father's desire is that we move beyond a childish relationship that demands only comfort in this moment, that we grow a mature Christ-centered character that endures the personal moments of doubt.

There are basic choices we can make when the storms of doubt are blowing over us.  In no special order consider these things.

Remain in church, strengthening your connections with His Body.  Faithful friends will carry us when we collapse, for a time, under the weight of our doubts.  Be part of a church that is authentic, that will not judge people who admit to their struggles. Beware of a church that turns the blame back on you in your time of need. There is a time for examination, but in the crisis love is paramount. Some unwise Christian will likely say hurtful things, but forgive them. You can show them a better way when they enter their own time of suffering, and we all do.

Focus on the fundamentals of faith. When your mind is clouded with doubt or confused by fears, it is not the best time to get wrapped up in the philosophical questions of life. Read the Psalms of comfort. Go back to the stories of Jesus in the Gospels. Thank Jesus for His love shown in the Cross. Celebrate communion with quiet reverence. Yes, re-connect with the foundation.  Jesus promises that He is there to meet those whose faith is very small, akin to a tiny seed.  Borrow that desperate father's prayer who reached out to Jesus and said, "I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24, NLT)

Balance your perspective!  Is it all as bad as you have come to believe?  Turn off the endless news with scenes of death and destruction and take in the sunset. Remember the joyful moments of victories past. Remember the enduring love of a couple who has weathered life's storms for decades together.  My point is that we can listen only to the guns of war, see only the litter along the highway of life, and see only the hatred of those psychopaths whose depravity fills the news. If we do, we miss the beauty that remains even in a sin-broken world.

Be quiet! Endlessly rehearsing our doubts gives them fertile soil to grow. We need not deny them, but we can stop talking about them for a while, as we open our heart and mind to the Holy Spirit in contemplative prayer.

A wonderful transformation happens to those who persevere through doubt. They become less attached to the things of this world and Heaven comes nearer.  Yes, suffering remains. Mystery still exists. For some questions there are simply no answers while we remain robed in flesh.

Here's the word from the Word.  They are Job's prayer that followed his outburst of frustration with God.

"Oh, that my words were written!
Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!
That they were engraved on a rock
With an iron pen and lead, forever!

For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;
And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,

That in my flesh I shall see God,
Whom I shall see for myself,
And my eyes shall behold, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!" (Job 19:23-27, NKJV)

Lord, I believe, help me overcome my doubts! Amen.

(Video of this blog at this link)

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Trust In God

Blessed assurance

Jesus is mine

He's been my fourth man in the fire

Time after time

Born of His Spirit

Washed in His blood

And what He did for me on Calvary

Is more than enough

 

I trust in God

My Savior

The One who will never fail

He will never fail

 

Perfect submission

All is at rest

I know the author of tomorrow

Has ordered my steps

So this is my story

And this is my song

I’m praising my risen King and Savior

All the day long

 

I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered

I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered

I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered

That’s why I trust Him

That’s why (I trust Him)

 

Brandon Lake | Chris Brown | Mitch Wong | Steven Furtick

Brandon Lake Music; Music by Elevation Worship Publishing; A Wong Made Write Publishing; Integrity's Praise! Music

CCLI License # 810055

A Transactional Relationship?

Many of our relationships are simply transactional, based on our need and the ability of another to meet that need. The mechanic who repairs my automobile is a friend, but it is an example of a transactional relationship. He fixes the car. I pay him money; end of story.  Sometimes even relationships we thought to be more than that turn out to be only that. That person we believed to be a true friend fades from sight when we no longer supply a need in his life or live up to his expectations and we are left puzzled or disappointed.

Tragically, there are marriages that are transactional in which the spouses are each focused on having their own needs met, on making sure their efforts are matched by the other, affection based on the other person meeting a list of expectations, knowing only limited emotional engagement. 

Here’s a question for your thoughts - are you a devoted worshipper of Jesus or is your ‘love’ for Him transactional?  IF we offer prayers and are more faithful to attend to ‘worship’ only when we are in crisis, or desperate, or alone, when we need something, ours is not a healthy Christ-focused faith. If we unconsciously allow ourselves to play "Let's Make A Deal" with God a ‘game’ in which we come to believe that if we are really 'good,' then God will reward us with the answer we seek, we have missed the heart of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.  He gave us a sobering warning about that kind of ‘faith.’  “So why do you call me ‘Lord,’ when you won’t obey me?  …. anyone who listens and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will crumble into a heap of ruins.” (Luke 6:46,49, NLT)

 

The richest life of faith, the deepest kind of Christianity is based on a covenant relationship! In a covenant relationship, the commitment is made to prioritize the well-being of the other person above our own needs. We make the decision that we will make sacrifices and put in the effort to maintain the relationship, even during difficult times.  God has made a covenant with us in Christ Jesus. He loved us when we did not even know Him. He died to save us when we cared nothing for our failures. He acted to bring us to Himself, though He is self-sufficient and needs nothing from us. His promise is not conditional. There is no quid pro quo. He loves. IF we receive that love in faith, we are included in His covenant, our sins forgiven, our eternal destiny changed, our life marked by the Spirit’s seal of ownership.

 

Does that mean that we have no necessary response to His love, that we can live willfully or selfishly?  We certainly can but not if we want to know the deepest, most fulfilling kind of Christianity. Jesus invites us to be His disciples, followers who walk in His steps, not to get rewards or earn prayer points but because we love Him for who He is - the glorious Lord of Glory.  Being a disciple is a costly choice, an abandonment of our Self-centered desires. He says it clearly - "So no one can become my disciple without giving up everything for me." (Luke 14:33, NLT) With that in mind, let me put the question to you again - Are you a devoted worshipper of Jesus or is your ‘love’ for Him transactional? 

 

The paradox is that we experience the best of love when we are willing to forget ourselves and give ourselves to seek the highest and best of another. This is true in marriage, in friendships, and as a disciple of Jesus. If we carefully measure our benefits, if we keep score of effort trying to balance the scale of service, if we withhold love when we are disappointed by missed expectations - we can never know the rich, joyful experience of a covenant relationship. He is worthy of our love, our worship, our constant devotion.  

 

Here is a word from the Word. May we be inspired to follow Him with joy today. "God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-12, NIV)

 

(Video of this blog at this link)

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Majesty

 

Majesty worship His majesty

Unto Jesus be all glory

Honor and praise

Majesty kingdom authority

Flow from His throne

Unto His own His anthem raise

 

So exalt lift up on high

The name of Jesus

Magnify come glorify

Christ Jesus the King

Majesty worship His majesty

Jesus who died now glorified

King of all kings

 

Jack Hayford © 1981 New Spring (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.)

CCLI License # 810055

A Smart Fool?

I am presently rewatching the amazing story of The Pacific (Netflix) which chronicles the struggle to defeat Japan in the island campaigns of World War 2.  Each beach landing scene included men going from ship to shore in a craft called the “Higgins boat.”  A man named Andrew Higgins built the boats, officially called LCVP (Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel) in military jargon.  Historian Stephen Ambrose tells us that Higgins refused to hire engineers who were graduates of college programs because he believed that schools of engineering taught students to think too narrowly and turned out engineers that began their processes from what they thought could not be done in design, rather than attempting innovation. Higgins wanted people with common sense and he found them! His self-taught engineers came up with a shallow draft boat that could go right up to the beaches, drop a ramp on the front, and allow the men to disembark without having to crawl up and over the sides, a slower process that exposed them to enemy fire for a longer period of time.

Here’s a question for your thoughts - are you smart or are you wise? 

Wisdom and intelligence are not necessarily one and the same. Mastering a great body of information and having the ability to recall those facts can be a valuable skill, but if learning is not matched with wisdom - which includes:

the ability to apply information to life,
               to adapt and create solutions to problems, and
                to understanding how to relate to other people-

you could be just a smart fool!  I do not intend to demean or dismiss education. Learning provides rich resources that a wise person can use to build a better world, a richer life, and with which he can make a lasting impact on the world. What we must never forget is that information, especially today, has a very short shelf life. The world changes rapidly.  However, the wise person will commit to life-long learning, continuing to study, to read; seeking to understand the world in which he lives.

Wisdom makes useful in God’s work, too! The Proverb says "The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death." (Proverbs 13:14, NIV)

So, how do we gain wisdom?

"Start with God—the first step in learning is bowing down to God; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning." (Proverbs 1:7, The Message)  Negatively, David says it this way - "The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1, NIV)  Without recognizing God as the Source of all things we cannot find true wisdom, but when our minds are open to Him, the Spirit will help us see life clearly, that we can gain wisdom. "Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them." (Hosea 14:9, NIV)  I hasten to add this - the ability to quote Bible texts and know the details of Biblical history is not the same as understanding the ways of the Lord!

The second step on the road to wisdom is humility. A wise man realizes that there is much he does not know and reveals his wisdom by gathering wise counselors! "Without wise leadership, a nation falls; with many counselors, there is safety." (Proverbs 11:14, NLT)  Who is on your life team? From whom are you taking advice and counsel? Are you walking with the wise?

Third, the wise will not be trapped by the need to have ‘all the answers.’  The wiser a person becomes the more willing she is to live with mystery and ambiguity!  Seeing the world in stark black and white is not for the wise for there are things for which have no explanation. There is much that remains to be revealed. The wise will gladly say “I do not know that answer.” 

Consider Job. When his life went from bad to worse, at first he demanded an explanation - from others and from God. His friends consumed day after day with tedious philosophical arguments about the reasons for Job's suffering. In the end, the Lord swept away their musings. Job himself rose up to demand fair answers from the Lord, to which God said "Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!" Then Job answered the LORD: "I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth." (Job 40:2-4, NIV) Job learned wisely to live with the mystery of faith.

Here's a word from the Word for your thoughts. "Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning. "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For through me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life. If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer." (Proverbs 9:8-12, NIV)

Lord help us to live wisely, to know Your will, to humbly walk in Your ways. Amen.

(Video of this blog at this link)

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Be Thou My Vision

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart!

Naught be all else to me save that thou art.

Thou my best thought, by day or by night.

Waking or sleeping thy presence my light.

 

Be thou my wisdom, be Thou my true word.

I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord.

Thou my great Father, and I thy true son!

Thou in me dwelling and I with thee one.

 

Riches I heed not nor man's empty praise,

Thou my inheritance now and always.

Thou and thou only, first in my heart.

High King of heaven, my treasure thou art!

 

High King of heaven when battle is done,

Grant heaven's joy to me, Bright Heaven's Sun.

Christ of my own heart whatever befall,

Still be my vision thou ruler of all.

 

Public Domain