Trials

Let's see if you are like I am. Most of the time I would say that I face trials and tests with a steadfast faith; an acceptance that this is His will and how can I learn from it. BUT, there are those other times when I wonder,(and wander), if there will ever be an extended period of time when I will have complete serenity. (I'm now picturing a Tibetan monk in a garden with water gently rippling down a stream, as a butterfly alights on my knee).

But seriously. Troubles are an unwelcome fact of life, but they can have value. Often what we wanted to avoid turns out to be the very thing we needed. God asks that we have a tender heart, a teachable spirit, and a yielded will.

Does that describe you?

I would say that I have some problems in all three areas.

Do we have a longing to always follow God's ways? Read Psalm 42:1

Are we willing to be taught by the "classroom" of His choice? Read 1Sam. 1:1-2:10; and John 11:17-27

Are we committed to His will? Read 2 Cor. 5:7; and John 15:5

Without Love

The next time you are sitting out on your porch in the beautiful spring evening or wake up to the welcoming sunrise and smell the crisp morning air on your way out to work, consider the seemingly endless hatred that occurs in other parts of the world. I was struck with the contrasts between that and what I experience in my surroundings.

The violence on the South Korean border; the continued atrocity in Darfur; the Taliban spewing hatred in the court room; the tendency to bash our country’s leaders instead of praying for God to give them wisdom; and the list goes on. Here I am in my peaceful surroundings while being bombarded with stories of violence, rage, and hate. I was thinking to myself how sad it is that humans continue to devastate one another. Where does this dark, evil hatred and violence from?

The God who created the birds that fill the morning air with voices of tranquility and peace created people who fill the world with destruction and chaos. How can this be?

In my morning devotion I focused on the Corinthians 13 and it became clear that I often feel the same rage and anger toward those folks who I view as a threat to my sense of security and well-being.

Like the guy in the SUV, who while talking on his cell phone and exceeding the speed limit by 20 MPH nearly hit me as I started to pull out in front of him. He laid on his horn for several seconds, looked at me with disgust and shook his head. I really wanted to mouth two words to him so that he would know exactly what I thought of him. I could have also included some sign language just to be certain he understood how I felt.

To be embarrassing and shamefully honest there was a split second that I thought to myself, “I dare you to get out of your car. I will make you eat that cell phone.”

Out of the same heart that tells my wife she is beautiful; out of the same heart that says, “I love you Jesus”, out of the same heart--
speaks wicked rage. This should not be.

This morning it hit me, in many ways my heart is no different at times than those barbarians I read about in the newspaper. I am capable of some extreme feelings and potential acts of hostility despite my claims of spirituality and being a follower of Jesus.

I may not act on my impulses but it seems to be only by the grace of God that I don’t.

My heart needs help.

When I respond to another’s actions that threaten my sense of well-being and security with hatred or rage I am no different than those I accuse. Jesus said that it’s what comes out of a person that corrupts the person. What comes out of me is apparently what was in my heart—evil. I could have rationalized and justified a stupid, ego-driven, fear-based sense of rage. In the dark corners of my closet I am no different than many of those thugs I hear about on the news. I found this to be shocking—and very humbling.

At times I am nothing more than a loud gong and a clanging cymbal; the noises that drown out the beauty of the birds who fill the earth with God’s beauty and serenity.

I may have the faith to move mountains but not the faith to allow God to remove the mountain of self-righteousness inside of me that prevents me from being love.

I may cherish the hope for more peace in the boundaries of humanity but I don’t possess the love within the boundaries of my own heart to help create the peace that I hope for the world.
I can possess much hope and faith to see change in the world but without love on my part, its all for nothing.

Faith in The Storms

It's easy to have faith that God is going to do something in the distant future. For example, if you walked into church and asked the congregation,"Who believes that Jesus Christ is returning?" nearly every hand would go up. But if you ask a guy who is drowning in debt if he thinks God can eliminate his debts in three months, he's likely to express doubts. And yet our day-to-day life is where we must practice unswerving faith if we hope to be effective for the Lord.

James (chap.1) tells us that our faith can't be like the waves of the sea that rush first in one direction and then seem to double back on themselves and race the opposite way. In the Christian life, we rush forward to do the Lord's will until He makes a difficult request or allows a painful experience to come into our lives. Suddenly we are driven in the other direction by our doubts.

The reason we hesitate to trust God fully is that we judge our circumstances by what we see. Sight is the enemy of faith because our eyes and brains can't envision a way for God to do what He promises. Our knowledge of scripture tells us that our faithful God can do anything, yet we forget and doubt.

Faith can overcome doubt only through action. We must turn a blind eye to circumstances and make the first step toward doing God's work. If we exercise our faith every day, those seas won't be so rough.

Practicing Discernment

Spiritual discernment develops slowly. The Lord doesn’t simply pour knowledge into our heads; we must seek His will daily and study to understand Him better. To do so, we need to regularly spend time in the Word and place ourselves under the Holy Spirit’s teaching.

I know, I know… easier said than done… right?

Church is where we receive instruction. If a poll were taken as people left weekly services, they would give many different reasons for attending: worshipping, fellowshipping, encouraging one another, and inviting others to receive Jesus Christ. How many would say they come to learn righteousness? Yet, teaching about holiness is a primary calling of the pastor. (Ez. 44:23)

A minister’s goal should be to teach in such a way that parishioners hear a godly principle and learn to apply it. In this way, believers grow in spiritual discernment.

Instruction doesn’t do any good unless we practice what we learn. David exercised spiritual discernment throughout his life. He went against conventional military wisdom, facing Goliath armorless and with a few stones. (1 Sam 17:37-39) Later, he repeatedly avoided claiming the throne until God’s plan was fully revealed. But David made mistakes as well, such as his indiscretions with the married Bathsheba. We, too, can ignore the Spirit’s promptings and instead appease our own desires.

Recognizing principles is not enough; we must live out what we learn. It’s wise to observe the consequences of obedience and disobedience so that we, like David, can grow in our spiritual discernment.