Category: A Door of Hope

 

There are times when the emotion of the day threatens to overwhelm our reason.

It's not that there have been great catastrophes. 

There have just been many small irritating events that have filled our waking hours.

On these days we feel overwhelmed.

I'm grateful that the writer of the Psalms penned his thoughts on his overwhelming days.

Psalm 143:3-4 "For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.
 Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate."

Did you catch that?  David said that his "enemy" had caused his spirit to feel overwhelmed.

It is Satan himself who is behind many of the infuriating, aggravating circumstances that threaten to ruin our day.

All of those little pesky darts that keep hitting, pinching, nipping, piercing our daily armor…they are from the Wicked.

So we need our shield of faith to stop them!!!

Ephesians 6:16 "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."

But what if our shield is weak?  What if our faith is lacking?

The first mention of faithfulness is in Numbers where God talks about Moses. He says the following:

Numbers 12:7-8 "My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold…"

God equated Moses' faithfulness with speaking face to face with Him and with beholding His "similitude" or likeness.

For us to maintain our shield of faith, we must spend time with the Lord face to face.  We must behold His likeness in His Word.

For days that are overwhelming, we have to run to the Rock so that He can build up our faith!

Psalm 61:1-3 "Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.
 From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
 For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy."

Run to the Lord by running to His Word. 

Let Him shelter you there.  Let Him encourage your faith so that your shield is strong, so that you can thwart the enemy's darts that are hurled against you.

We must remember on days when emotions run high, God's strength runs deep.

We can handle this day.

 

 

My husband is an excellent waiter.

Well, not a "waiter"…as in the person who serves you food at a restaurant;

But rather, a "wait-er".

He has no problem sitting perfectly still, waiting to make his next move.  His patience is really quite impressive.

Me on the other hand?  I am so NOT a good wait-er.

I literally hate to wait.  For anything.  For anyone. 

• I despise waiting.

Even if I'm standing still, and you can detect no movement, I assure you – in my mind, I am not waiting. 

I am calculating how much longer I have to stand here.  I am anticipating my next move.  I am preparing to move.  I am judging the distance I will need to move to accomplish my next task.

I do not wait well.

• There are times, however, when we must wait well. 

God wants us to be physically, mentally and emotionally still to hear from Him.  Until we are perfectly still and at peace, He will remain silent.

For some personalities that is an easy task.  For others of us, it comes only through enforced practice.

In Scripture the first three times we see the phrase "stand still", it is a direct command to the people of God to settle themselves before the Lord and wait for Him to give them their next move.

 

Exodus 13:14 "And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever."

Numbers 9:8 "And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what the LORD will command concerning you."

Joshua 3:8 "And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan."

C.H. Spurgeon said, " 'Stand still'…ready for action, expecting further orders, cheerfully and patiently awaiting the directing Voice…Faith listens neither to presumption, nor to despair, nor to cowardice, nor to precipitancy, but it hears God say, 'Stand still,' and immovable as a rock it stands."

 

• Although I am still not a good wait-er, I am learning.

Often I learn most through times of forced rest and stillness, through pain-filled days when sitting still is the only possible choice for me.

I have found, though, that when I wait properly, I am filled with such peace.  I can hear the Voice of the Holy Spirit speak from His Word so clearly as the other voices fade away.

• I encourage you to cultivate the skills of a good wait-er. 

Practice stilling your heart as you read the Bible.  Focus your heart, mind and body on the Words there, and listen patiently to see what God the Father will speak to your heart.

Do you need to hear from God? 

Stand still…and be a good wait-er.

 

 

"I bear my willing witness that I owe more to the fire, and the hammer, and the file, than to anything else in my Lord's workshop.  I sometimes question whether I have ever learned anything except through the rod.  When my schoolroom is darkened, I see most." ~C.H. Spurgeon

 

Proverbs 13:24 "He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes."

 

Hebrews 12:6-7 "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?"

 

Does the Lord have His hand of correction on you right now?

Let me encourage you:  That correction is proof of His love.

God wants the very best for us at all times.  When we stray from His way, He longs to bring us back into obedience and fellowship. 

If His goodness doesn't move our hearts, then He will chasten us, punish us, in love, to draw us back to His side.

The alternative of God's chastening us, His ignoring our sin, is an awful thing.  If He does not take us to task for our sin, the Scripture tells us that we are not His children.

 

Hebrews 12:8 "But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons."

 

The point of chastisement isn't simply to bring us back into alignment with the will of God.  It also serves to remind us that we are His.

His children are His responsibility, and He used His blessings as well as His chastenings to conform us to the image of His dear Son.

Hebrews 12:10 "For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness."

 

I know it is a painful place to be.  I know that no punishment is joyful.   There have been days that I felt I would surely die under His hand of chastisement.  I felt that I couldn't bear another day of His correction.  But God promises that it will do a work in our hearts and that it will bring blessing into our lives.

 

Hebrews 12:11 "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby."

 

Our heart's response to His chastening should be one of gratitude, submission and obedience.

 

Job 5:17 "Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty"

We must not despise God's punishment.  We must see it for what it is: our Father's love in action.

God's promises are not without condition.  Every one of them is hinged on two things:  God's Word and our obedience.

If we fail to go to the Bible in the midst of our pain and suffering, we rob ourselves of the one Book that will offer us real peace, real answers and real solutions.

In God's Word we find examples of others who suffered just as we do, and we see how they believed God and obeyed Him.  As their stories unfold we see God's hand at work in their lives.

It is sometimes (most of the time) difficult for us to see God's hand at work in our lives.  It's that whole "can't see the forest for the trees" scenario.  As we stand in the middle of our storm, we cannot get the bird's eye view that other's have.

So we go to the stories from the Word, and find comfort in how God worked in the lives of His children, knowing that He has not changed and can still work the miracles and promises in our lives, as He did in theirs.

The writer of Hebrews mentions this principle of learning from others:

Hebrews 6:11 And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:
12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Did you notice that it says "that ye be not slothful"?

If we really want God's answers to our problems, we cannot sit in the corner sucking our thumb, waiting for our answer to come floating down from Heaven on a gossamer thread.

We must read the Word, study the Word, hear It preached, and apply Its principles to our lives.  We must obey God's commands, submit our hearts to His way, and change our way of thinking to line up with His.

It really isn't for the "slothful", is it? 

A lazy woman will not do the work necessary to find the answers that she needs.

Why are you not reading the Bible for yourself?

We cannot use the excuse that it just doesn't make sense, or that we can never glean things for ourselves from Its pages.  That is the excuse of a lazy person.

We have the same Holy Spirit residing in us as the greatest preacher we have ever heard expound the Scriptures.

Do we want God's answers for our lives?

We must Read His Word!

 

"Extraordinary afflictions are not always the punishment of extraordinary sins, but sometimes the trial of extraordinary graces." ~Robert Leighton

 

Luke 4:[1] And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
[2] Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.

 

John 11:[33] When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,
[34] And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.
[35] Jesus wept.
[36] Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!

 

Jesus, being the very Son of God, still knew temptation and hunger. 

In spite of His deity, He still cried tears of grief. 

Our dark days are not proof of deep sin.

They are proof that God is working in us, changing us, molding us, to make us more like His dear Son.

 

"God hath many sharp-cutting instruments, and rough files for the polishing of His jewels; and those He especially loves, and means to make the most resplendent, He hath oftenest his tool upon." ~Robert Leighton

 

"And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel." Isaiah 45:3

 

"We are not meant to always linger in the dark…presently we shall be summoned to take our place in the rush and storm of life; and when that moment comes, we are to speak and proclaim what we have learned." ~F. B. Meyer

 

The Christian life is all about sharing what we know, what we have learned of Christ, to others.

Is your soul is darkness now?

God has a precious truth to share with you there.

Settle your soul before Him and gather the treasures He has for you.

The light will one day shine again, and you will have an abundance of riches to share with others who are cowering in the darkness.

 

"God sometimes shuts the door and shuts us in,

That He may speak, perchance through grief or pain,

And softly, heart to heart, above the din,

May tell some precious thought to us again."

~Streams in the Desert