Category: A Door of Hope

 

"If you will only get alone, where the lights and shadows of earth cannot interfere, where human opinions fail to reach – and if you will dare to wait there silent and expectant, though all around you insist on immediate decision or action – the will of God will be made clear."  Streams in the Desert

 

Isaiah 30:20-21 "And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:
 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left."

 

Are you seeking some specific answer from God?

Are you listening for Him in the midst of the noise around you?

Why do you assume He will SHOUT His answer to you? 

 

We often want answers immediately, but we are not willing to properly listen for them.  We want to continue going about our business, doing what we want, and expect God to chase us down to tell us what He wants us to know.

We love to read the psalms of David, because we find such comfort in their words.  David seems to capture the heartbreak of man and the heartbeat of God so perfectly in his poetry.

We know quite well his story of sin and redemption, so we know why he writes so eloquently of heartbreak; but do you ever wonder how he was able to capture the compassion and heartbeat of God in his poetry?

I believe it all has to do with his attitude toward God.  He was desperate to know God.  His longing wells up uncontrollably as his pen pours out his words:

 

Psalm 42:1-3 "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?
 My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?

 

We will never get to know our God until we are desperate for Him…desperate enough to shut out the world and be alone before Him, waiting for Him to speak quietly in our ears "…This is the way, walk ye in it."

How long has it been since you sat alone and quietly waitied for God to whisper to you?

How desperate are you for that answer you seek?

Perhaps today is a good day to shut out the world…and carefully listen…

 

O Thou of little faith,

God hath not failed thee yet!

When all looks dark and gloomy,

Thou dost so soon forget –

 

Forget that He has led thee,

And gently cleared thy way;

On clouds has poured His sunshine,

And turned thy night to day.

 

And if he's helped thee hitherto,

He will not fail thee now;

How it must wound His loving heart

To see thy anxious brow!

 

Oh! doubt not any longer,

To Him commit thy way,

Whom in the past thou trusted,

And is just the same today.

~Streams in the Desert

 

"When the great Master Plowman comes, as He often does, and furrows through our very souls, uprooting and turning under that which we thought most fair, and leaving for our tortured gaze only the bare and the unbeautiful…Oh, that we might always catch the vision of an abundant harvest"

 

Isaiah 28:24, 29 "Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground? 
This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working."

 

Has your life been ripped up, displaced, overturned and left dry and desolate to bake under the hottest sun of trial and heartbreak?

Are you longing for the cool green meadows of yesterday, when all was well, and flowers bloomed at every turn?

Turn your eyes toward the future if you can…

See that uprooted, ugly dirt being disked and tilled and then planted with the most life-giving vegetables and fruits.  Watch as the rain falls, feeding the soil, and feel the warm sun coaxing to life the seeds. 

Let your hope grow as you see tiny seedlings become mighty stalks of corn and grain, and healthy vines of lovely grapes and melons.  Dig your hands down into the dirt to find the hidden treasure of potatoes and carrots.

The green meadow was pretty, wasn't it?  Refreshing to look at, that is true.  However, when all was uprooted, when the grass was torn away and the flowers plowed up, your life became a perfect garden spot for God to grow life-giving food for His table.

Trust the Master Plowman.  His plan is always the best plan for your life.  He may allow circumstances that we do not understand, and it may be difficult to trust Him during the painful process of plowing.

But the trust is never misplaced when you leave the gardening plans to Him.  He will cultivate strength of character whereby you will be able to feed those around you.

I love the verse above that states that the Lord is "wonderful in counsel and excellent in working."  We can rest easy as He works out His gardening plan for us.

(And I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a few flowers springing up along the border of our newly-tilled garden plot… After all, the Master Plowman is also called the Lily of the Valley and the Rose of Sharon too!)

 

 

Proverbs 4:12 "When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened*; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble."

(*Straighten – To make narrow, tense or close; To reduce to difficulties or distress.)

 

God does not promise safety to us while we are sitting still.  His promise of protection parallels our forward movement.

This is not solely for physical movement (i.e. "goest" and "runnest"), although Scripture uses that picture to illustrate the point.

The Lord's defense from harm is for the one whose faith is propelling him forward in whatever direction the Holy Spirit leads.

Perhaps you are not sure in which direction the Lord would have you go right now.  The answer is not that you sit down, cease all action and twiddle your thumbs while you await further instructions.

There is work to be done today:

• There are people who need a kind word of encouragement.
• There is a child who needs to be shown the love of Christ.
• There is a song of praise to be sung.
• There are dishes to be washed.
• There is a boss who needs the testimony of a happily, obedient employee.
• There are pastors who need prayer.
• There is a sick friend who needs a visit.
• There are floors to be swept and laundry to be washed.
• There are budgets that need to be balanced.
• There is Scripture to be memorized.
• There are meals to be cooked.
• There are people who need to see Christ lived out in your life.

Do not stop today's work while waiting for tomorrow's answer.

Our safe passage is only promised us as we are moving forward in obedience to the Lord's leading.

 

Proverbs 4:12 "When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble."

 

1.)  When we SEE the giants, we will cry and weep and murmur.

 

Numbers 13:33-14:2a "And there we saw the giants , the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.  And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.  And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron…"

 

 2.)  When we SEE the giants, we will run away and be very afraid.

I Samuel 17:23-24 "And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.  And all the men of Israel, when they saw, fled from him, and were sore afraid.

 

3.)  When we SEE our God, we will abhor (to cast off or reject) our self, repent and praise God for the wonderful things He does.

 

Job 42:5-6 "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.  Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."

Job 42:2-3 "I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.   Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not."

 

There's no denying that our giants are many…and they are HUGE:

• failing health
• aging parents
• reversing finances
  
• eroding morals
  
• collapsing nation
• feuding families
• wandering children
• disintegrating churches
• exhausted Christians

 

However, if we are wise, we will not focus on these giants.  We will instead look to our God.

David did not see Goliath.  He never went out to reconnoiter. 

He did not need to gain more military information about his enemy.

David did not need to know about the giant,
because he already knew about his God. 

He knew God's might.  He had experienced God's deliverance, again and again, personally.  He trusted His God to continue to act in accordance to His Divine personality.

David merely heard that the giant was defying the God of Israel and knew that Goliath must and could be defeated.

The more we know about our incredible God, the more we realize that He can do "things too wonderful for me".

We must stop looking at our giants, stop obsessing about them, stop studying them, learning about them, planning how to defeat them.

Instead, we must look to our God…really SEE Who He is.  Read His Book.  Learn His character.  Find out how He delivered His children time after time after time. 

Review our own lives and see how He has protected and delivered us again and again.

May we come to the point when we can say to our giants,

I Samuel 17:45b, 46a,c "I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts…This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand…that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel."

 

Colossians 3:17 "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."

 

Just where you stand in the conflict,

There is your place.

Just where you think you are useless,

Hide not your face.

God placed you there for a purpose,

Whate'er it be;

Think He has chosen you for it;

Work loyally.

Gird on your armor!  Be faithful

At toil or rest!

Whate'er it be, never doubting

God's way is best.

Out in the fight or on picket*,

Stand firm and true;

This is the work which your Master

Gives you to do.

~Streams in the Desert
(* Picket – A guard posted in front of an army to give notice of the approach of the enemy.)

 

Colossians 3: 23-24 "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ."

 

Philippians 4:11-13 "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

 

That place where you are – right now?

God put you there on purpose.

Look for Him.  Stand for Him.  Work for Him.  Witness of Him…

Right where you are...for where YOU are, your God is also…as His Spirit dwells IN you.

You will find great joy and peace as you find Him in the middle of your everyday life; and you will begin to see His presence and sense His purpose all around you.

Do not believe the lie of the enemy that you are unimportant today!

Your position is vital to the victorious campaign of the Faithful God.

Do all that you do today…for Him.