The Week in Review: Faith Testing

I try to stay consistent about posting on this blog even if it's only once a week. Last week was different. It's not that God wasn't teaching me anything--au contraire! Sometimes it's better for me to "Be Still" and just listen rather than write.

The past few weeks have been challenging in many ways. I won't go into all the details, but suffice it to say that we all have seasons in our lives that push us out of our comfort zones and stretch us in the faith department.

This morning I was working on a Bible study about faith and immediately realized that God used some of the events of the past few weeks to stretch me in the faith department. I wish I could say that I got an A+. Not even close! I had good moments and bad moments. There were times when I reacted to circumstances through my flesh by saying or doing things that were not so Christ-like. And then I had some Spirit-filled moments when I desperately prayed for God's help and turned to Scripture.

As I look back over the week, I can see that those moments when I turned to God and the Word were some of the most peace-filled moments of the week. Did my circumstances get better? No. Not really. But, I did feel peace that passed all understanding...

And the peace of God, 

which surpasses all comprehension, 

will guard your hearts 

and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Philippians 4:7

...and when I did go to God and Scripture first, I found that things fell into place a little better than if I had tried to do things in my own strength.

Fear not, for I am with you; 

be not dismayed, for I am your God; 

I will strengthen you, I will help you, 

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

There's one other thing I learned this morning about my faith: It's been getting stronger over the years. I can now see how my faith has been shaped by my environment and other people since I was a child. My belief system has been rather limited in the past. My knowledge of Scripture was limited and therefore my knowledge of who God is and what He can do was limited. 

As I've spent more and more time in Scripture, I can see how my perception of who God is has been changing. The God I know right now is not the God I knew 10, 20, or 30 years ago. He's much bigger, He's much more loving, He's much more personal, and He's much more awesome than I would have thought a few decades ago. These are the kinds of things we learn only after spending years getting to know someone.

If you need a faith boost, read the 11th chapter of Hebrews. Faith is the confidence we need when we cannot see anything happening and it is by faith that we trust God, knowing that He is able when we are not.

God Can Make a Way

Earlier this week as I was reading scripture for my quiet time, one verse really jumped out at me. Psalm 77:19 says,

Your road led through the sea, 

your pathway through the mighty waters—

a pathway no one knew was there! 

There’s always a quickening of my spirit whenever the Lord uses the Word to speak to me, so I had to stop and think on it a moment. What was it about this verse that caused me to stop? I had to look at the context of the scripture and look at it in context of my own life.

This particular Psalm is written by Asaph and it's all about comfort during troubled times and remembering how God came through for His people.  I felt as if the Lord was reminding me that His path is rarely ever the easiest path. In fact, they almost always are ones we would not choose, and often in a place where we might not see a path. There was something very encouraging about that thought. It was a simple reminder to me that God can make a way where my eyes can see no way. 

I'm not going through a particularly troubled time. In fact, this is a rather quiet season in comparison to recent months. But, the path to this point has been rough at times and when I look ahead, I do often feel as if the way is obscured or insurmountable. 

It takes me back to just trusting that God does have a plan for my life and He will accomplish what He wants to accomplish in me and through me. Life won't always be easy. In fact, God rarely does the predictable. If the waters need to part so that I can walk on dry land--God will do that. If He needs to divert my path to go around the mountain instead of over it--God will do it.

Ahhh, if only I had that pillar of fire by night and the cloud to guide me by day! (see Exodus 13:21-22)

What do you need to trust God to do this week?

More Than We Can Handle?

Today I want to share some really interesting quotes from the sample chapters of a book entitled Emtpy by Cherie Hill. These sample chapters were included in the eBook I've been reading called Hope Being Gone by this same author.

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"God has never said that He won't give us more than we can handle. 

What He has shown is, throughout history, 

He always gives people more than they can handle." - Cherie Hill

This is the very thing I've been grappling with for months. I wrote about the topic of "burdens: how much is too much" before. You see, there's a phrase that's used a lot in Christian circles: "God will never give us more than we can handle." It's bandied about as a source of comfort when we're "under the pile" of life. It's said by well-meaning individuals and meant to encourage. Although the source of this saying is based in truth, it's been twisted a bit. 

The temptations in your life are no different 

from what others experience. 

And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation

 to be more than you can stand. 

When you are tempted, he will show you 

a way out so that you can endure. -1 Cor 10:13 

This scripture is about temptation, not trouble in life. The Bible is full of real people who experienced difficulties that were more than they could bear. Remember our man Job? He definitely endured a series of hardships that caused him to finally say it would have been better if he had never been born (Job 3). Then there's our friend Paul who was overwhelmed and crushed beyond his ability to endure (2 Cor 1:8-9). If you and I stop and think about it, we can probably cite a personal example of someone we know--even ourselves--who may be/or have been under the weight of severe illness or other extreme hardships. It seems more than they/we can bear on our own. How can this be? That takes me to my 2nd point to share...

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"God always gives us more than we can handle, 

in order to reveal what He is able to do through our faith in Him.

...Without situations in life that we can't handle, 

we'd never need God to show up. 

Why would we even need to pray at all?" - Cherie Hill

Interesting. Paul says that his own weakness demonstrates God's great power (2 Cor. 12:8-10.) It's at this point that I have to bow to God's soveriegnty to know how much is too much for any one person to handle. He knows just how much pressure it will take to accomplish what needs to be done. He created me and you and knows us even better than we know ourselves. I won't pretend that this is an easy subject to explain away and I'm not trying to do that here. Suffering is a bitter pill to swallow. I feel as if the Lord is challenging my thinking about this faith walk I call life. Keeping the Word in context of scripture is vital to understanding.

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My final thought to share is not a quote from the book, instead it's an explanation of the difference between a cistern and a well. I've read the following verse about cisterns and even studied it briefly in the past. For whatever reason (maybe being a city girl), I never really understood this verse.

For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me,
The fountain of living waters,
To hew for themselves cisterns,
Broken cisterns that can hold no water. - Jer. 2:13 

A well

A cistern is an artificial reservoir--sort of a modern-day rain barrel. It's usually above ground, but it can be placed underground. A cistern is designed simply to store water. But, it has to be filled by an outside source. As we all know, a well is dug in the ground, with supporting walls, and usually has a natural source--a continuous flow--of fresh ground water. The cistern water doesn't have that continuous natrual source of water. It can will dry. If it's cracked, the water will leak out. We can never be completely satisfied with water from a cistern. Water in that cistern can get stagnant. Yuck. In life we often fill our "cisterns" with things that may satisfy for the moment (money, relationships, drugs, food), but eventually all of those will leak out through that broken cistern. It's only when we go to the source of this Living Water that we will be truly satisfied and refreshed. That source is Jesus (John 4:11). I think really understanding the difference between these two vessels and the sources of the water helped me. I hope it helps you.

The Power of God

I mentioned last month that I felt as if God wanted to teach me about His power this year. Since that time, I've been actively watching for these moments in scripture as well as day-to-day events. I thought I'd share three scriptures that I've run across that clearly demonstrate God's mighty power.

“Then the earth shook and quaked,  

The foundations of heaven were trembling

And were shaken, because He was angry.  

From 2 Sam. 22:8. This was David speaking of the Lord's deliverance from his enemies. David speaks of God's deliverance many, many times. He witnessed God's powerful hand at work in his life and against his enemies. The entire earth was shaking to it's core. That's power! David goes on to describe even more powerful attributes of God. And it's all because God loved David and wanted to protect him.

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When God spoke from Mount Sinai 

his voice shook the earth,

but now he makes another promise: 

“Once again I will shake not only the earth 

but the heavens also.” 

This means that all of creation 

will be shaken and removed, 

so that only unshakable things will remain. 

Since we are receiving a Kingdom 

that is unshakable, let us be thankful 

and please God by worshiping him 

with holy fear and awe.  

For our God is a devouring fire. 

From Hebrews 12:26-29. At the beginning of this chapter, the writer of Hebrews talks about this great cloud of witnesses--the faithful examples who followed God. By the end of this chapter, the writer warns believers to be very careful to listen to God. A reminder God's voice now must be listened to now with even closer attention and faith than even the Israelites heard through the law at Mount Sinai. It's easy to treat God's Word lightly, but this is a reminder that we should remember God's awesome power and holiness.

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 When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, 

there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 

From Revelation 8:1. The scene: Thousands upon thousands are standing before God in heaven crying out "with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb (Rev. 7:10).” Angels and elders are on their faces before God saying, "Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen (Rev. 7:12)." This is a huge worship service! When the seal is broken on the scroll which contains the judgment to come, the gravity of the situation and the evidence of God's sovereignty and power is so magnificent that all of heaven is hushed for 30 minutes. Complete silence. That's such an amazing picture to me of power. When was the last time something happened in your life that caused you to be completely quiet and still for that long? Incredible.

Be Still and Know Redux

Shortly after I first started this blog (April 2012), I wrote a post called Be Still and Know. During that time I was struggling for answers and upset over a turn of events in my life. As I sought answers from the Lord, He brought up Psalm 46:10 to me, over and over again. Just be still, my daughter, and know that I am God.  The Word provided comfort and peace to my battered soul. It didn't give me the immediate answers I wanted, but apparently answers were not what I needed at the time.

Fast forward to January 2013. The Be Still verses are back. After seeing this same verse pop up several times over the course of a few days, I began to ponder the meaning. My circumstances are much different these days. I'm not distraught or upset. Sure, I can always use a little extra peace in my life--who couldn't!. The Lord has been healing the emotional wounds that I experienced last year. He's also been teaching me much about faith, hope, love, prayer, perseverance, and trust (with an emphasis on the faith and trust portion). So, that left me wondering why I am again seeing these two verses everywhere:

“Be still, and know that I am God!
    I will be honored by every nation.
    I will be honored throughout the world.” 

- Psalm 46:10 (NLT)

"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." 

- Exodus 14:14 (NIV)

I asked the Lord to help me understand. I'm not sure yet that I know the answer, but I am trying to be still and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. He's the best teacher. I do believe that the Lord is reminding me He's in charge--if I let Him be. God also desires to do good things for His children (Ps. 103:2) and He wants to receive the honor and praise. (Psalm 46:10 goes on to say just that.)

The verse before Exodus 14:14 helps me understand the context:

"Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. 

Stand firm and you will see the deliverance

the Lord will bring you today. 

The Egyptians you see today you will never see again."

-Exodus 14:13

 

The Lord was about to deliver His people. Pharaoh and his army were pursuing the Israelites. God wanted to reassure the people to fear not, to stand firm, and watch Him deliver His people from the hands of their enemy. God was about to do something big! The meaning behind Be Still in the 14th verse here is to cut into or inscribe, like a plow. It seems to be saying to dig in and stand firm!

Although the Hebrew word used in Psalm 46:10 for Be Still is different (to let go, relax, cast down), the theme of this Psalm is similar--God is their Help and Deliverer. God is their refuge and their strength so they need not fear. Let go of the worries and trust that God will have their back.

What it boils down to is that no matter what circumstances I (or you) may be in, these verses are sound advice. How this applies to my life at this time remains to be seen. But it is rather interesting to imagine what God may be up to!

Attributes of God

Over the past month, I have had opportunity to reflect on the previous year. I've come to realize that 2012 was a year in which God demonstrated grace, mercy, and love in my life. These are attributes of God that I really hadn't experienced quite like I did in 2012. When you spend a lot of time with someone, you really get to know them on a much deeper level. That holds true for God as well.

It was during this time of reflection that God impressed upon my heart that He wanted to show me another one of His attributes in 2013. I believe that attribute will be His awesome power. I have already seen glimpses of His power in 2012 as He interceded for me in ways I hadn't expected. But it's very exciting to anticipate and actively watch for God to reveal His power around me. 

I decided to do some research and compiled a list of Bible verses which clearly demonstrates these characteristics of God. As I finished typing all of these, I couldn't help but be a little overwhelmed by it all. To simply read this list is to get just a tiny glimpse into what God is really like. We can't handle knowing much more than that. Remember Moses' face when he left God's presence? (Exodus 34:29) 

So, I invite you to read these and let them soak into your soul. Beside each scripture reference, I've summarized the verse. 

Attributes of God's Grace, Mercy, and Love

Deut 7:7-9  Just because He loves you

Deut 10:15-18  He chose you

Deut 33:12  God surrounds him with His loving care

1Chr 16:34  He is good. His love and kindness go on forever

Neh 9:17  He is a God of forgiveness, always ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and full of love and mercy

Ps 63:3  His love and kindness is better to me than life itself

Ps 86:15  He is full of constant lovingkindness

Ps 100:5  He is always loving and kind, and His faithfulness goes on and on

Ps 103:8  He is merciful and tender to those who don’t deserve it

Ps 119:64  The earth is full of your lovingkindness

Ps 145:8  He is full of love

Isa 63:7-9  In His love and pity He redeemed them and lifted them up and carried them through all the years

Jer 31:3  I have loved you with an everlasting love; with lovingkindness I have drawn you unto me

Lam 3:22-26  The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for Him

Dan 9:9  The Lord our God is merciful

John 3:16  God loved the world so much that He gave His only son

Rom 5:8-11  God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us

Gal 2:20  The Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me

Eph 1:6  He has poured out His favor on us

Eph 2:4-10  He loved us so much…only by His undeserved favor have we ever been saved

Titus 3:3-7  He saved us, not because we were good enough to be saved, but because of His kindness

1John 4:9; 5:11-13  God showed how much He loved us…He has given us eternal life

Rev 21:4  He will wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, no sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. All of that has gone forever

Attributes of God’s Power

Gen 17:1  I am the Almighty

Gen 18:14 Is there anything too hard for God?

Deut 32:39  I alone am God.

2Chr 20:6  He is the only God in all the heavens

Ps 33:6-11  He merely spoke and the heavens were formed

Ps 115:3  He does as He wishes

Ps 135:6  He does whatever pleases Him

Isa 14:24-27  The Lord, the God of battle, has spoken—who can change His plans?

Isa 40:28  God…never faints or grows weary

Isa 43:13  From eternity to eternity I am God; No one can oppose what I do

Jer 32:17,27  Nothing is too hard for Him

Matt 19:26  But with God, everything is possible

Luke 1:37  Every promise from God shall surely come true

Luke 18:27  God can do what men can’t

Rom 8:31  If God is on our side, who can ever be against us?

Rev 19:6  Then I heard again what sounded like the shouting of a huge crowd, or like the waves of a hundred oceans crashing on the shore, or like the mighty rolling of great thunder, “Praise the Lord. For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.