Did it Ever Occur to You?

"Judah's defenses have been stripped away.

You run to the armory for your weapons.

You inspect the breaks in the walls of Jerusalem.

You store up water in the lower pool.

You survey the houses and tear some down

for stone to strengthen the walls.

Between the city walls, you build a reservoir

for water from the old pool.

But you never ask for help from the One who did all this.

You never considered the One who planned this long ago."

Isaiah 22:8-11

Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.  Engine trouble.  Health woes.  Income cuts.  Mounting debt.  Relationship struggles.  Homelessness threatens and I wonder, can't I ever catch a break?  Why is all this happening to me?  Where did I go wrong and what did I possibly do to deserve such suffering?  So I try harder.  I maintain my car according to my mechanic's recommendations.  I cut out all processed foods and regularly cleanse my body of impurities, adding exercise to my daily routine.  I take on a second job to start paying off my debt.  Still, things don't get better.  What's missing?

It's easy to try to fix what's broken in my life, working hard to turn my life around.  But no matter how hard I try, I can't reverse my misfortune.  How could I have such horrible luck?  Maybe I'm asking the wrong question.

What?  Despite popular perception, life is not what I make of it.  Yes, I do make choices which have consequences; I reap what I sow.  But I can no more direct my own path than a farmer can change the weather.  Mankind is at God's mercy, under His dominion, here for His purposes (John 9:3, Romans 9:16).

Therefore, when things start to go haywire despite my best efforts, instead of asking, "why me?" I'd be wise to turn to my Father through faith in Jesus and ask, "What are You trying to say to me?  What is the message I need to hear?"  And when I ask with a pure heart, truly wanting to know the answer, I will hear from the One who is behind my misfortune, who is using the difficulties to draw me back to Him.  I so easily stray that I often get off track before I realize what's happening.  Thankfully, God is not so easily deceived or misled.

Did it every occur to me to ask God what He's trying to tell me?

How?  My husband and I were struggling to lay the paving stones in a straight line.  We were building a patio area in the corner of our yard between two trees and were relying on our own perception to establish the perimeter.  No matter how we tried to line the bricks up, though, they never looked quite right.  We finally tied a string between two stakes to help us gauge our work.  Once we had a standard by which to judge our work, we were able to lay the stones in a straight line.

In the same way that it's difficult to lay patio pavers in a straight line without a some kind of straight edge to guide me, it's just as hard to tell if my thinking is off by relying on my own perception.  I need a "straight edge" by which to judge my perception.  In fact, I can't even trust my own ability to judge rightly.  Therefore, I'm wise to do as David did and ask God to search me and test me, showing me where I'm off, how my thinking or behavior is offensive to Him (Psalm 139:23-24).  It could just be that I'm reaping the destruction my hurtful habits or selfish ways have sown (Galatians 6:7-9).

Did it ever occur to me to ask God how I've strayed off track?

Help?  I'm a product of my culture, resistant to help, determined to make a go of it by myself.  No matter how much I struggle, I tend to want to try to make it on my own.  I feel bad asking for help, seeking support, or reaching out for assistance.  It's not surprising, then, that this independent streak would translate to my relationship with God.

The going gets tough and I think I need to get going, dig my heels in and apply more elbow grease.  A little determination and grit will get me where I need to go, I think.  That is until I'm overwhelmed, in over my head, and pushed beyond my means.  Then I realize the foolishness of my stubborn autonomy.  I need God and often He places me in positions beyond my ability to handle to get me to come to the end of myself (2 Corinthians 12:9).  When I do, I may realize my need for God because He is the only One who can change my situation, give me what I need, save me from myself.

Did it ever occur to me to ask God for help?

When life gets sticky and it seems like I can't catch a break, I find myself asking the wrong questions.  Instead of wondering why this has to happen to me, it's time I start asking God what and how, and be willing to ask Him for help.  These are the questions to ask in times like these:  Did this ever occur to me?

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can keep a godly perspective when encountering trouble.

When do I automatically blame myself or others when things go wrong?

How have I forgotten to place God in the center of any of life's equations?  

Examination

"Search me, God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting."

Psalm 139:23-24

When I was younger in my faith, I couldn't point out many sin problems.  I knew I suffered from a severe case of impatience and short-temperdness, but it was hard for me to root out any other issues that might offend God.  Then I grew closer to the Great Examiner of my heart and I discovered the ugly truth:  There is no area of sin with which I am not infected, making me even more thankful for Jesus Christ my Lord who has rescued me from this body of death!  

I am completely incapable of examining my own heart.  I am unable to see myself accurately.  Since I can't self-diagnose when it comes to sin, I had better leave that job up to God.  What happens when I invite Him in for a thorough examination?

Search and Try.  Whenever I go to the dentist, I endure his bright light as he peers into my mouth, searching for issues that may cause problems in the future.  Invariably, he'll discover something I knew nothing about; a tiny cavity in the making, gums that are becoming inflamed, or fillings that are weakening.  He also can objectively give me an accurate assessment of my brushing and flossing job, showing me areas I'm neglecting or pointing out particular surfaces to which I must pay special attention.  He does this all for my welfare, not to make me feel bad.

It's the same with God.  When I place myself on His examining table, He can show me areas that cause problems in the way I interact with others, or unhealthy methods for coping that I've adopted, or wrong attitudes or thought patterns regarding life and love, especially when it comes to the way I think about Him.  As I endure His bright Light, He lovingly shows me where I'm off, giving me a gently rebuke for how I've resisted His better way as He renews my mind (Romans 12:2).  His love for me gives me confidence as I place myself under His authority, giving Him a chance to purify my heart.  All the while, I know the exam is for my own good and His glory.

When I invite my kind and loving Father to examine my heart, He will gently search my heart.

Root Out.  I have a friend who maintains a beautiful garden.  As her children have grown, however, her priorities have changed and the job of tending the garden has fallen by the wayside.  To help curb the growth of weeds that have taken over, she borrowed her neighbors pigs.  As they foraged for food in her plot, they rooted out most of the unwanted plants, doing double duty of consuming the weeds while tilling up the soil, saving her hours of back-breaking work.

God has a similar ability to separate the godly stuff from the offensive ways as He continues His examination of my heart.  While I may see no problem with certain attitudes, He shows me how they are offensive to Him and destructive to me.  He is able to give me insight into what makes me tick, burrowing deep to bring dark secrets out into the Light where they can be dealt with.  Healing comes as I repent of these ways I was never meant to follow.  I need God's loving ability to root out the wrong thinking, habits and attitudes buried deep within me, knowing all along that He has my best interest at heart.

When I invite my gentle and gracious Father to examine my heart, He will expertly root out what doesn't belong there.

Lead.  The baby robin sat perched on a piece of exercise equipment in our barn.  My daughter discovered the little guy when she entered the cavernous building we use as a gym one morning in order to work out.  Even though we opened the large door in order to let him out, he would not budge an inch on his own, despite his mother's desperate calling in the adjacent yard.  We had to use a mat to guide him toward the door where he hopped out to freedom, reunited with his relieved mother.

I can be just as ignorant of God's better way for me.  I tend to wander, just like that baby bird, getting myself into tight spots, impossible predicaments, and destructive difficulties.  As God shows me how I'm wrong, He doesn't leave me there, wondering how to do better.  Instead, He shows me a new and improved way to communicate, gives me a more healthy method for coping with stress, or opens up my mind to a more beneficial attitude.  However He chooses to reveal this better way, I must be ready to follow Him wherever He leads me, trusting that He has an emotionally and spiritually prosperous path for me to walk.

When I invite my wise and considerate Father to examine my heart, He will lead me down the path that leads to life (Matthew 7:13-14).

While I may be encouraged to conduct a self-exam when it comes to certain aspects of my health, it is impossible for me to accurately assess my own spiritual well-being.  For this I need my Father who can expertly and lovingly examine my heart, root out what doesn't belong there, and replace it with His better way.  When I place myself under His bright light of scrutiny, I will find freedom and healing.  This is the kind of examination I need not fear.  This is the kind of examination that is for my good and His glory.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God enough to let Him look deep within my heart.

When do I assume I'm okay, or fear God's intense scrutiny?

How can I remind myself that God is for me, not against me?     

Great Hope

"Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.  Whenever I pray, I make my request for all of you with joy,

for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heart it until now.  

And I am certain that God, 

who began the good work within you, 

will continue his work 

until it is finally finished 

on the day when Christ Jesus returns."

Philippians 1:3-6 NLT

I praise God every time I think of you, dear reader, because I know God is at work within you, changing you, growing your faith, transforming you in ways you could never have imagined.  You look at yourself and cannot even recognize who you have become.  

The things that used to make you angry, bringing your blood to the boiling point, have now become opportunities to extend the grace of God.  You can't explain this new you.

Your favorite pastime used to be engrossing yourself in intriguing dramas, but now you are inexplicably drawn to God's Word and can't seem to get enough.  You would never have imagined that you'd ever want to spend time studying the Bible like this.

In the past, the unknown brought about much fear and anxiety, bringing with it sleepless nights and restless days, but now you live in a state of perpetual rest, knowing that God is at work on your behalf.  You can hardly believe such a worrier as you can sleep this well at night.

And so I praise God for you and the difference the Gospel of Jesus Christ has made in your life.  And I praise Him for what He is continuing to do, and all that is to come in the days ahead.

We are a people of great hope! 

Fatherly Compassion

"The LORD is compassionate and gracious,

slow to anger, abounding in love.

He will not always accuse,

nor will he harbor his anger forever;

he does not treat us as our sins deserve

or repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his love for those who fear him;

as far as the east is from the west,

so far has he removed our transgressions from us."

Psalm 103:10-14

A good father is sensitive to the relationship he shares with his child.  It is his desire to train and discipline, but always with the intention of preserving the bond.  Too hard and the connection will be broken under the strain.  Too soft and the respect weakens.  God shows such fatherly compassion to me as His child.

Sin.  I could be a big disappointment to God.  After all, He made me for relationship with Him yet I fail to live life the way He created me to live (Romans 3:23).  I often go my own way, stubbornly refusing His advances and willfully attempt life on my own, under my terms with the goal of pleasing myself.  

Still, His love preserved the bond between He and I by designing a plan for redemption (Titus 2:14).  Out of His love for me and a desire to protect the Father/child relationship, He offered His own Son as a sacrifice to atone for my sins (Romans 5:8).  Now, through faith in Jesus Christ, my sins have been forgiven, removed from me as if I were Jesus, the One without sin (John 3:16-17, Isaiah 1:18).

Therefore, when my Father looks upon me, the wrath is gone, the disappointment doesn't exist, there is no disgust in my choices.  Instead, all that remains is love, and it is the greatest of all powers (1 Corinthians 13:13)!

God shows His fatherly compassion by loving me enough to give His own Son in order to preserve our relationship.

Comfort.  The news was difficult.  To hear he would never drive again, that his freedom had been snatched away, a piece of his identity destroyed was the worst news of his hard life.  How could he bear the thought of never getting out on his motorcycle to enjoy the scenery along the open road?  There was nothing the daughter could say to her dad to give him comfort.  Instead, she relied upon the Father of compassion to do the consoling (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

No one can comfort like our Father can.  He knows exactly what each of us needs to hear, and He has His ways of giving just what each of His children need in order to encourage, uplift, and give a hopeful outlook.  

When all seems lost, His supernatural compassion soothes my aching heart, binding up my wounds and setting the hurts to healing.  When the pain is so great, He mysteriously brings relief and shows me a glimpse of His heart for me.  When I feel I cannot carry on, He strengthens my resolve and gives me a fresh outlook on life.  

God shows His fatherly compassion by comforting me in ways only possible for Him as my Father.

Sanctification.  He loves me too much to leave me as I am.  It is God's desire as my Father to grow me in grace, to purify me for His purposes, to lead me through a life-long process that chisels away more and more of me to make way for more and more of Him.  It is His desire that I resemble His Son when the process is complete (1 Thessalonians 5:23, Colossians 3:4, 1 John 3:2).

Therefore, as a daughter of a compassionate Father such as this, I can expect to be molded through difficult experiences, shaped into Christ-likeness through the hard things I endure in faith, formed into the Jesus model by every life-moment (Romans 8:29).  Nothing is wasted in God's kingdom, for He uses it all to transform me into the woman I'm meant to be.

God shows His fatherly compassion by walking me through the life-long sanctification process that ends at the glory of His Son.

Many of us do not know what good fathering looks like, but as we grow in our relationship with our heavenly Father, we learn what it means to have a good Father.  He preserves my relationship through His plan of redemption, comforting me as only He can, and takes me through a life-long process of sanctification.  In these ways, I experience fatherly compassion at its best!

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God enough as my Father to let Him comfort me when things are hard.

When do I attempt to live my own life instead of cooperating with the sanctification process my Father loves me enough to walk me through?

How do I live as if my sin defines me instead of living as the one who has been set free? 

God's Pursuit

"Although the LORD sent prophets to the people

to bring them back to him,

and though they testified against them,

they would not listen."

2 Chronicles 24:19

They walked in the cool of the day through the beautiful garden, enjoying the company of their Creator.  Dew drops shimmered in the early morning light, transforming their home into a magical land.  The first man and woman basked in the glow of the attentions of their Father, relating to Him openly and without fear.  Their hearts were fully exposed to Him; nothing could be better.

Then came the sin, the disobedience, the turning away.  Suddenly, fear entered in, ruining the fellowship they once knew with God.  Instead of running toward Him with the eagerness of a child greeting his father, they cowered in the shadows, dreading His attentions.  Still, despite their transgression, the Creator sought them out, going after His wayward ones (Genesis 3).

From the beginning, the Lord has been a God of pursuit.  He didn't leave Adam and Eve where they were, trembling in shame and fear, and He doesn't wash His hands clean of me, either.  He patiently and relentlessly goes after me in more ways than I know.

Salvation.  There was a multitude bleating on the hillside, crowding together in a tight group, drawing comfort from each others' presence.  The shepherd circled around his herd, carefully taking stock of his charges.  He sensed that something was wrong; one was missing.  Without hesitation, he leaves the 99 and searches for the one who is lost (Matthew 18:12-14).

This is the heart of God.  He does not desire that any are lost and He goes to whatever lengths are necessary to draw His own into relationship with Himself (2 Peter 3:9, John 6:44).  In fact the perfect evidence of this love is Jesus.  God's love drove Him to send His only Son as a sacrifice so that I could taste freedom from eternal punishment (Romans 5:8).  

Jesus didn't surrender His divinity and enter into His creation as a lowly man to find me guilty, to root out my shortfalls and to point to my sin.  Instead, Jesus came to save me from the wrath of God (John 3:16-17).  My sin earned condemnation, but Jesus came to give me what I don't deserve: redemption, the hope of life eternal and reconciliation in the here and now with the One who makes my life complete.

God's relentless pursuit is evident in His plan for my salvation.

Sanctification.  The refiner carefully holds his treasure to the hottest part of the fire.  Knowing it takes intense heat to purify the silver, he is not hesitant to place it in the blazing-hot furnace.  Knowing also that too much exposure could injure his charge, he carefully watches, never taking his eyes off this precious metal.  He knows when the refining process is finished when the gleaming silver reflects his own image.

God sits as such a refiner of silver (Malachi 3:3).  He is not hesitant to allow trouble, heartache and trial to enter my life, knowing that such heat is necessary to burn out all the impurities found in my heart.  As I endure such agony, I must remember that His hand never leaves me.  He watches carefully so that I will not be burned (Isaiah 43:2).  His goal is not my suffering but transformation.  It is His desire that I be conformed into the image of Christ and only He knows what kind of tests are necessary to reach that end (Romans 8:28-29).

God's relentless pursuit is evident in the life-long sanctification process (Philippians 1:6).

Intimacy.  I'm not naturally inclined to intimacy.  Instead, I tend to put up walls of protection, guarding against any rejection of my true self, the pain of pointing fingers, and my fear of abandonment.  Even though God loves me perfectly and accepts me right where I am, it takes time and patience to get me to trust Him enough to let Him in.

Thankfully, God has the kind of patience that is necessary to woo me into a closeness with Him.  Despite the fact that He won't hurt me in the way I've grown accustomed to, it takes time for me to realize this truth.  As I grow in my relationship with Him, I start to trust Him, giving me the confidence to remove the masks I tend to wear.  Soon I find that I can depend on Him more and more and pose less and less.  Before I know it, I'm letting Him look fully upon my sinful heart so He can lovingly examine it for offense (Psalm 139:23-24).

God's relentless pursuit is evident in His patient quest for intimacy with me (Revelation 3:20).

It's sometimes hard to picture God as the One who goes after me, but His great love doesn't allow forfeiture.  Instead, He eagerly desires me and has gone to great lengths to win me over.  He offered the ultimate sacrifice to secure my salvation, carefully takes me through the refiner's fire to sanctify me, and waits as long as it takes for me to feel comfortable in trusting Him.  In these ways He reveals His relentless pursuit of me.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can appreciate the heart of a God who would go after me so persistently.

When do I put off His advances?

How am I hesitant to trust Him fully?