For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 NLT
Seasons come and seasons go. Some are warm and soft, spring-like, lovely and nourishing. Others are hard, arid and uncompromising. Some seasons produce fruit and others are seasons of bare branches, leafless trees and no growth. For the past six months we have been in a season of growth in our personal lives. As we enter the summer of 2010, we also enter a new season in our life with the Lord.
In the seasons of my life personal growth comes through experience. In this season the experiences have been beyond my ability to record in my journal. Each one seems to need time to ripen…I need to roll them around in my head, extracting the essence of the lesson before sharing it with anyone.
When I think about writing in the middle of the lesson, I find myself typing the most absurdly negative stuff. Negative stuff is so not what I want to keep; to remember. When I write the negatives it does no good…not for me…not for anyone else.
So…July, in my journal, will all be lessons learned, but recorded in retrospect. I started this post on the 3rd of July. The end of the first paragraph is as far as it went. The rest of the month has been filled with hard lessons, negative thoughts, and blinding realizations. Today is the 31st of July and I’m just now free to write again. That means anything posted here between the 3rd and the 31st has been ripening for weeks. Hopefully, anything I post will be positive and helpful.
The following quote from Thelma Wells says it all.
“When we become disappointed, angry, frustrated and desperate, Satan can have a field day in our minds. He can load our minds with so much junk that we can’t hear God or won’t pay attention to the Holy Spirit when he’s trying to talk to us. It doesn’t matter how much we study the Bible, how long we pray, how constantly we praise God, Satan and his demons are waiting for one tiny port of entry into our minds to deceive us. Satan’s job is to confuse and frustrate us to the point of retaliation, rebellion, disobedience and distrust in God. He is always out to disturb our peace of mind while we are waiting for the manifestation of God’s promises to us.”
In July I have been disappointed, angry, frustrated and desperate! And, my mind has been so full of junk I couldn’t write, or even think straight. I think this morning my peace has returned. Thank God he give us peace that passes all understanding, if we will but seek Him.
"All the commandments that I am commanding you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to give to your forefathers.
"You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
"He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD. Deut. 8:1-3 NASB
I want to ask you something…have you ever felt like a failure? Have you ever failed at anything and because of that failure you carry around a load of guilt and shame? I don’t believe there is a one of us who could stand up and say, “No, there has never been any failure in my life.” Now, some of us might be able to deal with the failure in our lives better than others, but I’m quite certain that most of us have failed, and most of us have felt guilt and shame over our failure.
And let me just say this…maybe what you struggle with is not your own failure, but a great disappointment in your life caused by someone else or circumstances beyond your control.
Maybe you’ve had a child who has gone astray and no matter what you’ve said to him, he just refuses to come to his senses.
Maybe you’ve lost a loved one…through death or divorce.
Maybe you’ve just had one disappointment after another and none of it has been your own fault.
I’m certain most of us have either failed or have experienced disappointment in the past, or are right now experiencing great disappointment.
I’m just as certain that the God we serve doesn’t want us to walk in the shadow of our failure or disappointment. Yes, we’ve failed! Yes, we’ve been disappointed, but God doesn’t want us to walk in failure and defeat and disappointment the rest of our lives. He wants us to walk in joy and victory.
Have you considered the wilderness experience – the great failure of the children of Israel? God had promised these folks that when they left Egypt they would enter into the Promised Land…and this trip from the Red Sea should have taken a very short period of time. But, you remember what happened…when they got to Kadesh Barnea, they sent twelve spies into Canaan and the spies came back and said… “Well, everything God told us about that land is true. It is indeed a land flowing with milk and honey and the grapes over there are as big as watermelons…but God didn’t tell us everything there was to know about that land.” By the way, I’ve sometimes felt that way about the Christian life, haven’t you? I mean everything He said about it is true, He just didn’t tell me all there was… Getting back to the spies…They said, “There’re giants over there…and we’re like grasshoppers compared to them!”
Have you ever felt like there were giants all around you in your Christian life and compared to them you are just a little grasshopper? Well, as a result of that spy excursion and their fear, these folks made a decision that would change the next 40 years of their lives. That very day, because of a deliberate act of disobedience, they spent the next 40 years walking around and around in circles…and it was a time of failure…and it appeared to be wasted time and wasted experience!
Not only was it a time of failure…but it was also a time of disappointment. Have you ever stopped to think of the folks who weren’t in on the decision not to trust God? What about the wives of the unbelieving folks and the young people who really did believe that God could do all He had promised? They did not fail themselves, but they had to suffer the consequences of the failure of someone else. And ever since that time, the term “wilderness experience” or “desert experience” denotes and describes a time in our lives when we walk in disobedience and disbelief and disappointment.
So, I want to ask you…have you ever had a wilderness experience? Have you ever had a period of time in your own life when you have rebelled against God’s will and walked in deliberate disobedience? Have you ever had a time in your own life when you have failed God? Or, have you been greatly disappointed and discouraged and disillusioned because of what God has allowed to come your way? Or AM I THE ONLY ONE?
I wish I could tell you I haven’t…but I can’t do that. I’ve had my wilderness experiences. They may not have lasted 40 years…but they did last far too long!! So, I just want us to see some things about this time of failure and disappointment that I believe God’s Word teaches us…
Deuteronomy 8:1-3; 15-16…
Did you notice the little three-letter word in verse 2 and again in verse 15… “led”? God led them these 40 years.
I believe sometimes we tend to think these folks were just out there in the wilderness on their own wandering around and around. But, Beloved, just because the people turned their back on God at Kadesh Barnea doesn’t mean God turned His back on them. I mean He didn’t say, “Well, you’re on your own…I’ll catch up with you again in 40 years when most of you are dead…” No, the fact of the matter is this…God doesn’t abandon His people – even when His people turn away from Him, He does not turn away from them. He says, “I led you…I didn’t forsake you…I led you, and I did this in order to do some things I could not have done otherwise.” God said I did this in order to humble you…to test you… to make you understand that man does not live by bread alone…” And notice the last phrase of verse 16… “to do good for you in the end…”
Now, wait a minute…does this mean that God is going to take the people’s disobedience…He’s going to take when they quaked and quivered in fear and disbelief and were afraid of the giants and then lived for the next 40 years whining and murmuring and complaining…Do you mean that God is going to take that and do some things in their lives so that in the end they’ll be better than there were in the beginning?
Well, if I understand the Word…that’s exactly what He’s saying!! Is God saying that He excuses our failure? No, He’s saying He uses our failure! Does God get great joy when we’re disappointed? No, but He can use our disappointment. Henry Blackaby says this… “God does not always intervene…but He does always redeem. He may allow us to fail and He may allow us to go through great disappointment, but He stands ready to do good for us in the end.”
See, as far as God is concerned, there’s no such thing as wasted time and wasted experience, because God uses everything in our lives for a purpose! Let’s just look at several ways God uses our failure…
1) God uses our failure and disappointments to humble us…
God uses our failure to empty us of our pride. To quote Ron Dunn, "being humbled is like having the arrogance knocked out of you.” It’s like God just comes up and gives us a blow and “whoosh”…there goes all of our pride!
Listen, these folks were proud people!! They were God’s people!! Out of all the other people of the earth, God chose them!! God sent Moses to deliver them from bondage. God parted the Red Sea and they walked across on dry land…God drowned the Egyptians!! Have you ever thought about this? The children of Israel on one side of the Red Sea and the dead bodies of the Egyptian soldiers and taskmasters were floating up on the shore. How would you have felt? I mean…don’t you think they sort of went over to the edge of the water and looked at these dead bodies floating around? Don’t you think they may have recognized one or two? Don’t you think someone may have said, “Hey, I know him! He used to beat me with a whip when I was slow in making bricks…especially when they wouldn’t give us any straw to make bricks with…Look what my God has done to him!” Can’t you imagine these folks saying, “Yes, our God is a great God! Look what He’s done for us! And, by the way Moses, when we get to Sinai…you go on up the mountain and find out what God wants us to do and no problem…we’ll do it all! These folks were proud, arrogant, self-confident people…and I want to tell you that if we’re not careful…this will happen to all of us every time God does some great things in our lives.
Did you notice how God humbled them?
Verse 3… “by feeding them with manna that they did not know anything about…”
See, they thought they knew every way that God could feed them. They thought no matter what their situation, they knew all the formulas, all the recipes, all the secrets…I mean, after all, they had God all figured out…
Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever felt like you had come so far and you had all this “Christian walk stuff” figured out? I mean…after all, you’ve been a Christian a long, long time. And after all, you read your Bible every day. And after all, you come to church every time the doors are open. And after all, you’ve been to retreats and seminars and revivals and Bible Studies and you have all the right workbooks and notebooks…And you even have a little Bible Study satchel you carry all your colored pencils and other supplies in. And you get to feeling sorry for the poor souls who don’t know as much as you do. Has that ever happened to you?
Well, I’m ashamed to say I’ve been there! I mean, there was a point in my life that I figured that no matter what came my way I could handle it because I knew the right formula!! And then there came a time in my life when none of these things we just mentioned worked…I found myself in a situation where I couldn’t pray my way out…I couldn’t praise my way out…nothing I’d learned in my workbooks helped…nothing worked for me and I discovered in this situation that God often colors outside the lines I’d drawn for Him.
And God showed me that it’s in those times when I am humbled and I’ve had the arrogance knocked out of me that He begins to feed me in ways I haven’t known before…in ways that I didn’t get in all those retreats and conferences and seminars.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with retreats, and Bible Studies and conferences and seminars unless all that know- ledge puffs you up. But if you get puffed up, God will just let some kind of failure, some kind of disappointment, some kind of problem come into your life to “unpuff” you and humble you…and knock the arrogance out of you! But there is also a second thing…
2) God uses our failure and disappointments to expose what is in our hearts…
“testing you, to know what was in your heart…” Now, it’s not God who needs to know what is in their heart! God already knows what is in their heart! They need to know what is in their heart! The word “test” – NAS; “prove” – KJV, here means “to lay open”…It’s like a surgeon who would lay open the chest cavity to expose what is there with the view of approving or disapproving. If the surgeon disapproves of what he sees…what does he do? He removes it!
So, God says, “I let you fall flat on your face so you’ll see and know what’s in your heart!” Well, you may say, “I already know what’s in my heart!”
You may think you do, but you don’t… Jeremiah: “The heart is deceitful above all else and desperately wicked…” and what’s the rest of that verse? “who can know it?” Jesus: “ It’s not what goes into a man that defiles but what comes out…for out of the heart comes the issues of life.”
We all have the potential for all kinds of evil, but we can fool ourselves into thinking that our heart is pure…and God wants us to know what’s in our heart!
I believe the most familiar example of this in the New Testament is Peter. Remember when Jesus told Peter that before the rooster crowed he would deny Him three times? What did Peter say? “Oh no, not me, Lord…the rest of this bunch of guys might pull a stunt like that…but not me…not me!! But, what did Peter do? Before the rooster crowed he denied the Lord three times. See, Jesus said, “Peter, there is ‘Christ denial’ in your heart!” And Peter said, “No, Lord, you’re wrong.” And Peter found out when Jesus humbled him and proved him and exposed to him what was in heart, didn’t he?
Failure and disappointment exposes what’s in my heart. Sometimes I’m shocked at what’s in my heart. Sometimes the way I respond to a situation scares me because it reveals what’s in my heart, and I thought I had that long settled! See, God knows we need to know what’s in our heart so we can deal with it!! When He shows us what’s in our heart, then we can confess and repent and allow Him to cleanse us and empower us… We can think we know it all and we can think we’re so spiritual and we can think we have all the answers and we can look down our righteous noses at other folks and feel sorry for them because they aren’t on the same high spiritual level and then, God allows something to come into our lives to reveal to us what’s really in our hearts! And He does this for a reason…
3) God uses our failure and disappointments to teach us that man does not live by bread alone…
Now, this is literally, physically true. I mean you can have all the bread Gale can make, but, all that bread won’t guarantee us life. Hey, you can even eat a low fat diet, jog 6 miles a day and run into a Mac truck and get killed on your way home from church this morning. See, even though we don’t live by “bread” alone, if you believe that “bread” is the essence of life then your life revolves around that “bread”…and you’ll sacrifice everything that’s dear for that “bread”. I want to ask you…Has God ever allowed you to hunger? God allows us to hunger, Beloved, that He might reveal more of Himself to us than we would have ever known if we had not been allowed to hunger! Let ask you this…would you be willing to be hungry if that’s the case? It’s not “bread” that makes life worth living, Beloved. And you can substitute anything you want to for “bread”…What’s your “bread” this morning? Is it status, success, your children’s success, a perfect marriage, wealth, power, prestige…what have you come to believe is necessary for you to be joyful? Sometimes God has to take away our “bread” before we realize we don’t really live on “bread”. I’ve heard the pastor say that as he has visited critically or terminally ill folks…folks who knew they were dying…that he’s never heard one say, “Oh Preacher, I wish I’d spent more time at the office…” No, they say, “Oh Preacher, “I wish I’d spent more time in the Word,” or “I wish I’d spent more time serving the Lord.” The old maxim, “I never knew Jesus was all I needed until Jesus was all I had…” is really true!
See, God uses failure and disappointment to teach us that it’s not “bread” that makes life worth living! It’s God and every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God that makes life worth living! And, that’s how God uses our failure and that’s how God uses our disappointments! And if we learn these lessons, you know something? He will do us good in the end! I believe the bottom line is this…I can’t always determine what comes into my life, but I can determine how I will respond to what comes into my life…
Some of us need to revisit our wilderness experiences to remember how God has delivered us! Some of you are in your wilderness experience right now. Let me just tell you that God can use every day of your experience to do you good in the end! I heard the question asked this week… “Are you a fair weather Christian? Or do you know God well enough that if He leads you through a wilderness experience you can say, ‘Thank You, Father, that You count me worthy to humble me and test me so that You can do me good in the end.’”
See, God’s plans for us are for good and not evil to give us a future and a hope. God’s purpose in all the circumstances of our lives is for our good and His glory.
Let me just give you several ways God does us good in the end and then we’ll be through…
He does us good by teaching us
1) about life…God wants us to enjoy our new life in Jesus Christ and not long for the old life in Egypt. God does us good by teaching us
2) about Himself…God wants us to not only see what He does but know He does it for a purpose. God does us good by teaching us
3) about ourselves…God wants us to know what He knows about us…that we are but dust and prone to wander. That knowledge about ourselves may just keep us from wandering. God does us good by teaching us
4) about faith…God wants our faith to increase…not faith in a preacher or a teacher, or even ourselves. He wants our faith in Him to increase.
My prayer is that we will take these lessons with us from today forward. God doesn’t want us to fail…but He is sovereign even over our failures and our disappointments and He can use them to do us good in the end!
http://www.christianarsenal.com/study/Numbers/Num26v1-31v13.pdf
Our scripture verses for today point every one of us toward discernment in the things of the world…e-mails, the Internet, books, movies, magazines… The verses are: 2 Corinthians 10:4-5; 1 Peter 1:16; Romans 13:14; Ephesians 6:10-18.
Taken from the New Living Translation and strung together one after the other, they become a prayer we all need to consider daily:
Lord God, by you Holy Spirit
Teach us to use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. Teach us to destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. Help us capture our rebellious thoughts and teach us to obey Christ. — For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” Instead, may we clothe ourselves with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And stop thinking about ways to indulge our evil desires. — Help us to be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Remind us to put on all of God’s armor so that we will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Guide us to put on every piece of God’s armor so we will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle we will still be standing firm.
Enable us to stand our ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, let us put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that we will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, give us the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Give us sure salvation as our helmet, and sharpen the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Holy Spirit teach us to pray through you at all times and on every occasion. Help us to stay alert and be persistent in our prayers for all believers everywhere.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6–7
We all know something about prayer and thanksgiving. In this passage from Philippians Paul adds supplication. By definition supplication is: A humble request for help from someone in authority.
Sometimes we all need to make a humble request for HELP with EVERYTHING that touches our lives and the lives of our families; and every member of our church, from those in the nursery right on up through the White House. Today we are praying, “God heal every heart, enrich every spirit from your Word, and increase your Holy Spirit’s participation in everything about our country. God, guard our hearts, protect our minds, and send us your peace.”
Today I ask God to pour out His LOVE among us. Where egos have been bruised and souls have been wounded, let the Love of Christ reign in hearts. Where there are damaged relationships, let the healing balm of God’s Spirit over-power differences and restore LOVE in our midst as we, the body of Christ, submit to the headship of Jesus.
Be anxious for NOTHING…
God the Father knows the needs of His children and desires to meet every one of them; making us holy and clean, without spot or wrinkle. As members of his body, if we are willing to submit to the headship of Christ, as a loving bride submits to her husband, our hearts and minds will be guarded and we will be blessed with His peace, acceptable to Him in every way; fully equipped to do the work He has for us in this season.
So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. Ezekiel 22:30 (NKJV)
Have you ever heard the phrase: “to stand in the gap?” Of course you have, if you are a child of God. As part of our 31 day prayer covenant for our local church body, our Pastors, Elders and community members we have been placed in the position of standing in the gap…in prayer before God.
Today we asked God to build a wall of protection around our church, our church family; our leaders, their homes and their families. As we all “stand in the gap” for each other, it is imperative that we keep in mind…
…the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One), 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (Amplified Bible)
Today, we are asking our Father God for wisdom and discernment in all of our relationships, as well as in the way we choose to allocate our time. We are asking God to overthrow and destroy the strongholds formed against Him in our lives. We are asking Him to guide and direct us toward the things that will be most pleasing and useful for His Kingdom, in our daily lives and in our church community.
Also, today we will be praying specifically for our Pastor and his wife, that God will put a strong hedge around their marriage. In the eyes of God, “they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together let not man put asunder (separate).” Matthew 19:6 (Amplified Bible) For this reason we are asking God to keep both of them wide awake to the potential for any improper relationships. We also pray that their family time will be protected and enriched.
We are going to include all of our leaders and their families in our request for God’s protection over their homes, their personal relationships, and their commitment to Him. We are asking that, in the power of the Holy Spirit, they will lead by the Biblical standards Paul described in 1 Timothy 3.
“If anyone wants to provide leadership in the church, good! But there are preconditions: A leader must be well-thought-of, committed to his wife, cool and collected, accessible, and hospitable. He must know what he’s talking about, not be over fond of wine, not pushy but gentle, not thin-skinned, not money-hungry. He must handle his own affairs well, attentive to his own children and having their respect. For if someone is unable to handle his own affairs, how can he take care of God’s church? He must not be a new believer, lest the position go to his head and the Devil trip him up. Outsiders must think well of him, or else the Devil will figure out a way to lure him into his trap. 1 Timothy 3:1-7 (The Message)
Let us hear what the Lord will speak for he will speak to his people. Open our ears that we may be in your presence fully.
I love the Lord, because he hears and answers my prayers. Because he bends down and listens. I will pray as long as I have breath! Psalm 116:1-2
Today I’m in a place I never expected to be again…visiting with a friend I thought was lost to me forever. It’s been five years, and a lot of water has gone down the creek, but here we are.
I’ve carried a deep sorrow in my heart for all those years we were separated. This morning I read: “ Experiences of deep sorrow can spread a shadow over the face of our lives. The darkness of grief and pain can leave us feeling spiritually paralyzed and virtually unable to pray. Our minds and hearts are consumed, and we don’t even know what we ought to pray.”
In this case I had a pretty good idea what I ought to be praying. I knew I needed to forgive, and ask for forgiveness. But, as is so often the case in broken relationships, taking that first step takes courage, especially when you know you’ve been, at least partially, wrong.
Maybe the old homily, “time heals all wounds” is true. I know from experience before there can truly be healing, even with time, there must be forgiveness. But I honestly believe forgiveness does not happen by itself. Before there can be healing forgiveness there must also be prayer.
The quote continues: “What a comfort to know that the Holy Spirit can interpret perfectly even the groanings of our souls. When sorrow builds up in your heart and words stick in your throat, even your sighs and groanings become, with the Spirit’s help, eloquent prayers offered to your heavenly Father.”
Romans 8:26-28 says,”…the Holy Spirit helps us with our distress. For we don’t even know what we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”
Prayer works. And the Father never intended for his kids to live in deep sorrow or unforgiveness. He hears and answers my prayers. Because he bends down and listens. I will pray as long as I have breath!
“This is what God’s servants can expect.
I’ll see to it that everything works out for the best.”
Today, during our prayer time, we received some GOOD news for our local congregation…The scriptures from today’s prayer request list are: John 17:15; Isaiah 54:17; 2 Corinthians 2:11; 1 Peter 3:12; Psalms 9:9-10 & 91:9-11.
As we read them and asked God for guidance in requesting prayer support for protection from the evil plots of Satan against our local church body, our Pastors, our Elders, and all of our community members these verses from Isaiah leapt off the screen and seared into my spirit and my soul.
Isaiah 54:17 (The Message)
11-17"Afflicted city, storm-battered, unpitied:
I’m about to rebuild you with stones of turquoise,
Lay your foundations with sapphires,
construct your towers with rubies,
Your gates with jewels,
and all your walls with precious stones.
All your children will have God for their teacher—
what a mentor for your children!
You’ll be built solid, grounded in righteousness,
far from any trouble—nothing to fear!
far from terror—it won’t even come close!
If anyone attacks you,
don’t for a moment suppose that I sent them,
And if any should attack,
nothing will come of it.
I create the blacksmith
who fires up his forge
and makes a weapon designed to kill.
I also create the destroyer—
but no weapon that can hurt you has ever been forged.
Any accuser who takes you to court
will be dismissed as a liar.
This is what God’s servants can expect.
I’ll see to it that everything works out for the best."
God’s Decree.
PLEASE, agree with us, that as a community, we can accept these promises from God’s Word as a word for us today. Please agree with us that God can and will rebuild our church upon the solid foundation of His precious Word; that no weapon formed against us can hurt us and that the attacks of the past are just that – past.
Dear prayer partners, I believe God means what He says here – for us – now, in this hour. I believe God will see to it that everything works out for the best IF we can continue to agree together in prayer.
We thank God. He always watches over His Word to perform it.
