Devotionals – Page 33 – Oh Lord Help Us

Faithful: Pressing On Through Doubt When Tempted to Wander

Devotionals, Stay SaneMarch 8, 2018January 13, 2019

Like the Israelites, we are prone to wander. Even through our doubt, God is faithful, urging us to press on toward His promises.

Last time, we began the journey of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land. The Israelites began in a place so broken and hopeless, they scoffed at the hope of God’s promises given through Moses, yet God remained faithful. He stayed true to His promises and did not condemn the children of Israel for their lack of faith. Instead, He strengthened their faith as He remained faithful to bring them out of Egypt, to safety on the other side of the Red Sea.

We all have an Egypt. We all have a Red Sea to cross. But the story didn’t end there. Crossing the Red Sea, freed from slavery only began their journey. They were not yet at the Promised Land. So let’s continue to learn from this story…

After the Egyptians died in the Red Sea and the Israelites found their freedom secure, what did they do? They had a worship service. There on the opposite side of the Red Sea from where they began, they saw God’s promise of freedom fulfilled, and the praised Him!

Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying,

“I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider He has thrown into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my song,
and He has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise Him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.

Exodus 15:1-2, ESV

Doubt

Though they rejoiced with strength and vigor, their faith quickly turned again to fear and doubt. As they moved on towards the Promised Land, daily life was hard. Water and food were not as easily available as they were in Egypt, and the Israelites did not believe God would provide for them. They quickly began to long for the very slavery they so desperately wanted out of not many days before.

Even as they complained, God still provided. Their faithlessness did not cause His faithfulness to falter. It is impossible for God’s faithfulness to falter due to human faithlessness. Yet as He provided, they kept complaining. They made idols of gold, and they made plans to go back to the slavery of Egypt willingly. In the harsh wilderness, they longed for what was familiar even though it meant chains and slavery.

When they finally reached the edge of the Promised Land, they did not rejoice as they did before. They doubted God and sent their own spies. The report was not good. The inhabitants of the land seemed too powerful to overthrow despite God’s promise to do so for them. Only two of the twelve spies remembered God’s promises and encouraged the Israelites to trust Him who proved faithful again and again. The people ignored them, and they wailed, feeling hopeless once more. They thought it would be better if they died in the wilderness. They called for a leader to take them back to the chains of Egypt.

Retreat

As I considered their desire to go back to the bondage they wanted out of so badly before, I thought about the many times I believe going back to my Egypt—the place of resignation to how life is and that healing isn’t real—is better too. When this journey towards healing feels too hard, I think it is better to go back to the very place I wanted out of for so long. Sometimes, I get to the point where I feel so overwhelmed I can’t see past the moment I’m in. His promises for healing and redemption again seem too far out of reach. Going back appears to be the best choice in the moment, and it seems like the only way to find the relief I am desperate for. I am just like the Israelites once more.

But God wouldn’t let the Israelites go back because He knew it wasn’t best. He led them 40 years in the wilderness, still promising to lead them to the Promised Land, though they now had a very long detour because of their unbelief. He tested them in the wilderness, one year for every day the spies checked out the land. The very generation who wished they died in the wilderness instead of fighting for the land God promised were given their desire. It was their children He would lead into the Promised Land.

When this journey towards healing feels too hard, I think it is better to go back to the very place I wanted out of for so long. Click To Tweet

Wander

He still provided for their every need even when they didn’t believe He would while they complained relentlessly about the journey He was taking them on. He was faithful where they fell short. They were so close to the Promised Land. They stood on its border, but they wandered for 40 long years due to the hardness of their heart.

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,

“Today, if you hear His voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
on the day of testing in the wilderness,
where your fathers put Me to the test
and saw My works for forty years…”

Hebrews 3:7-9, ESV

I’m so much like the Israelites so often, but I don’t want to be. I am admonished to learn from their example. They stood on the edge of the promise fulfilled, but because they couldn’t see past the very moment they were in, they gave up and wandered for decades. I do not want to give up when I am so much closer to the Promised Land than I realize, just because I cannot see past the step directly in front of me. I don’t want to wander on this journey longer than I have to.

Pressing on

When I’m in the wilderness and I want to turn back, I can remember that He is still faithful, even when I can’t hold on to the hope He promises me. I can remember His faithfulness to Israel even in the hardness of their heart. I can remember their hardness of heart and plead with God to remove any hardness I may be harboring, so I can keep walking towards the Promised Land. When I want to go back to my Egypt and just feel nothing again and pretend nothing happened again, I can remember I’m closer to the Promised Land than I think, that the wilderness really is better than Egypt and that God is allowing what is best for me. I can cling to His faithfulness and keep pressing on in the difficult wilderness.

He is still faithful, even when I can't hold on to the hope He promises me. Click To Tweet

I’m in the middle of my own Exodus still. Maybe you are too. Your Egypt and wilderness and Promised Land may be different than mine, but I suspect, if we are honest, we all have an Exodus to travel. We have an advantage the children of Israel didn’t have though. We have their example to remind us to remember who God is, to heed His voice, and not harden our hearts, shutting down again. Also, we have evidence of His faithfulness in the middle of their doubt to remind us He is faithful in the middle of ours.

Sometimes, Egypt seems like a great place to go. The wilderness we muddle through seems too much to bear. The Promised Land seems more like a dream than a reality we will reach one day. We must remember we are in the middle of our own exodus story, and the same God that brought freedom and redemption to the doubting Israelites, leading them every step of the way in the wilderness, is leading the way for us in our wilderness and will bring about our freedom and our redemption just as surely as He did for them. As I was reminded just the other day…keep at it; Jesus is worth it.

If you have found this inspiring, share the encouragement…

Nick de la Force

Faithful: Beginning the Journey from Anguish to Hope

Devotionals, Stay SaneMarch 4, 2018January 13, 2019

The Lord is faithful and leads us on a journey from feeling anguish and hopeless, to a place where we can experience hopefulness.

Growing up in church, it’s easy to glaze over at familiar stories. However, God often times will use these familiar tales to teach me as my husband and I share them with our children. He sets a familiar to me Bible story before my kids and works in my heart just as much as theirs. A while back, God taught me and grew me as I taught my children the story of the exodus.

Before God led the people of Israel out of Egypt, He spoke to Moses, the man He raised up to lead His people out of their slavery. God spoke to Moses this…

“Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be My people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.” Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.

Exodus 6:5-9, ESV

Anguish

As I read this passage, to which I am well acquainted, how the Israelites responded to these incredible promises God gave them through Moses struck me deeply. They didn’t even listen to him. But did you catch the reason? It was “their broken spirit and harsh slavery”. I never noticed those little words before in the many times I’ve read through the book of Exodus, but it really resonated with me.

I decided to look up the meaning of those words and learned that “broken spirit” can be translated “anguish”. That is a strong word for deep hurt. The Israelites were in such anguish of spirit because of the oppressive conditions they lived under for so long that the precious hope held out before them wasn’t even something they could grab hold of. The children of Israel were completely and utterly hopeless.

I know that place of total hopelessness. Just as the Israelites found themselves beaten down to nothing by their slavery and oppressive conditions in Egypt, so, too, I once lived in my own Egypt.

Hopeless

My Egypt is the place I lived after first disclosing my abuse. It was not well received, and for many years, people who claimed the name of Christ wanted to punish me for what happened and the way trauma was playing out in my life. So, I thought God did not care, and I needed to make it all go away.

I spent a decade pretending nothing happened and trying to hide the impact that “nothing” took on me. Too many people told me too many times I shouldn’t be impacted by what happened if I was truly a new creation in Christ. The less than a handful of times I attempted to reach out for help because “nothing” got that bad, I was shamed or silenced or both. Many times Christians acted as Egyptians beating me down to the point of hopelessness. I resigned myself to the way things were and to the lie that God did not care. Complete and utter hopelessness.

Hopeful

However, a few years ago, I heard a new message from someone else claiming Christ. This message was different than any I’d ever heard. A new pastor told me God does care. He does heal. The way things were is not where God wanted me to stay. This pastor held out hope, true hope stemming from God’s never-broken promises. But I responded just as the Israelites.

Hope was in front of me. Hope from God which cannot fail, yet I couldn’t grab hold of it. Not only did my broken spirit not believe this promise of hope, it simply couldn’t. To believe in hope that things could get better, and for healing to be real, was more than my finite mind, broken by the years in my Egypt, could understand. When God’s promises were held out before me, I didn’t believe it was real. I reacted just like the Israelites when Moses brought them hope for the first time in centuries.

Hope was in front of me. Hope from God which cannot fail, yet I couldn’t grab hold of it. Click To Tweet

Faithful

The story of the Exodus doesn’t end there though. Israel doubted, but God kept the very promises they could not believe. Even in their disbelief, in the midst of their brokenness and slavery, He was faithful. God kept His promises because His faithfulness never depended on their faith. He didn’t condemn the Israelites because they faltered and doubted. No. In the middle of their doubt and sufferings, He had compassion on them. He still showed Himself mighty. God still brought about the freedom and redemption He promised but they couldn’t grasp the hope for.

So God started working. He sent Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh. Pharaoh refused to let Israel go, so God worked miracles in the plagues. As He worked, their faith strengthened and their doubt gave way to trust, faith, and belief. By the time the tenth and final plague was upon the land, God told the Israelites to kill a lamb and put the blood on the doorposts. He gave them all the directions for the Passover meal, and they didn’t question Him. They obeyed and trusted and believed He would spare their firstborn when the firstborn of each household in Egypt died in that last and dreadful plague. And He did.

He then told them to plunder the Egyptians by just asking for their valuables. It is absolutely ridiculous to think people will just hand over their most valuable possessions without a fight because they were asked. Yet Israel believed God and did what He said. They were given their loot, and they left Egypt behind.

By the time they arrived at the Red Sea, their faith was strong. They trusted Him enough to walk through the Sea on dry land, enormous walls of water towering on either side of them. They believed He would hold the water until they got to the other side safely. Of course, He once again proved himself faithful, holding back the water until they were all safely across.

The children of Israel started in a place so broken they couldn’t believe the hope God held out for them. Still God was faithful in the midst of their doubt. He brought about their freedom and redemption just as He promised. In the process, their faith strengthened tremendously.

Journey

I also started in such a broken place that when hope was offered, I didn’t know how to accept it. Intrigued by the prospect the pastor held before me, I moved towards the hope he offered in Christ without believing it was even possible. Yet in my doubt, God remained faithful. He worked healing little by little where I doubted healing could ever touch. I took the first step out of Egypt, and as I moved forward towards the hope offered, I crossed my Red Sea.

The Exodus story isn’t over yet. The Israelites still faced a long journey ahead to reach the promised land. There were still many lessons for them to learn. Just like them, moving towards the hope offered was not the end of my story. I faced a long journey ahead to reach my promised land. God taught me more from this story, but that will be for next time….

If you have found this inspiring, share the encouragement…

Denys Nevozhai

Joy: Impacting Others with Our Deeds, Showing God’s Goodness

Devotionals, Stay SaneMarch 4, 2018September 8, 2019

As believers, God’s goodness is the driving force behind our joy. We have the ability to impact others with the joy we hold inside.

Joy is contagious, even if it’s for a moment. We have the power to influence others with our countenance. So, what if we all chose to use our power in positive ways? What if we chose to share the love of God through smiles and joy? We would definitely stand out. What would the impact be on our world around us?

A Rare Smile

I’m not one to wear a smile. It’s not that I’m unhappy, it’s that my face just doesn’t rest on joy. My husband’s goal every day is to get me to smile. Genuinely smile. I just don’t think about it. My resting face is typically blank. That being said, a quick moment made me realize how important a smile can be…

I stopped for a pedestrian. It’s not uncommon, as my usual driving route takes me through a college campus. This day was different, though. It was raining. I saw her yellow rain coat coming down the stairs, her arms full of books and coffee, and no umbrella to shield her. I didn’t receive the awkward wave that usually ends pedestrian/driver interactions. Like I said, her hands were full. So, all she could do was smile at me. It wasn’t a quick glance, smile, and walk on. She smiled and kept smiling to make sure I saw her. We locked eyes and I couldn’t help but smile too. I acknowledged her, she acknowledged me, and for a brief moment two strangers brightened each other’s day.

I know that there is nothing better for people, than to be happy and to do good while they live.

Ecclesiastes 3:12, NIV

Joyful Deeds

On a gray, rainy day, I needed some light. One thing that usually makes me happy is helping others. In fact, acts of service is how I show love. Yeah, obeying traffic laws isn’t much for “acts of service”, but I’ve seen other drivers speed through this campus, paying no mind to people trying to get from one point to another on foot. So, I serve my fellow humans by slowing down and pausing my day for them.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:16, NIV

Now, I don’t know if “Yellow Raincoat” actually needed her day brightened, but having good done to her, made her happy. I could tell her smile was genuine, not forced. She didn’t know I needed to see her smile, but God used her to uplift my spirit. It’s goodness this world needs, and for a moment we helped each other.

Provision Through A Smile

You could say “Yellow Raincoat” not only brightened my dreary day, but she inspired me to write about joy. God is so good. He heard my heart, and provided sustenance to multiple needs through one small action. I needed inspiration and to be uplifted. I needed to be reminded that there is still goodness in this dark world.

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

Hebrews 13:2, NIV

Our interaction reminds me that I have an impact, even if it’s small. Humans are silly. We all walk around, acting like we don’t need one another. The truth is, we all need each other. We are in this world together. Each one of us has an effect on the other. Whether it be our day, our mood, our whole life, the effect a stranger can have is undeniable.

Whether it be our day, our mood, our whole life, the effect a stranger can have is undeniable. Click To Tweet

Joy in God

So, which way does the can go? Does the stranger have a positive or negative effect? Unfortunately, the latter happens more often. There is an underlying heaviness in us all. We feel the darkness in the world. We carry it around, knowingly or unknowingly. It shows all over our faces, postures, beings. Because we are human, we are prone to negativity. It’s easier to be sad and depressed, than to push through with joy.

Our joy rests in the goodness of God. He is so, so good. We have a merciful, generous Father. He bestows undeserving redemption on us every day. His goodness and love breaks through any darkness, heaviness, or tragedy. We can find happiness and joy in this life, because He is our God.

Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

Psalm 90:14, NIV

Don’t hide your powerful smile. Be intentional about showing joy. Allow your joy to reach strangers and don’t pass up opportunities to allow your joy to testify of God’s goodness.

If you have found this inspiring, share the encouragement…

Fun: Accepting God’s Invitation to Life’s Adventure

Devotionals, Stay SaneMarch 1, 2018June 28, 2019

God carries us through times of sorrow, teaching us to live and love with abandon. We can trust God’s invitation to have fun and enjoy life’s adventure.

People have fun in lots of different ways. Go out to dinner, watch a movie, dance, play sports, hang-out with friends. Immersing yourself in hobbies is a great way to relax and unwind. I have been giving this a lot of thought recently.

Confessions…

I have a few confessions to make.

Here is the first: I am too serious. It’s not like I don’t laugh or smile, I do, but I take my life very seriously. I make lists, plans, prepare, and predict. When I was a young girl I would literally plan out conversations. I plan out each step of my day. As a student I would write out my plan for studying before I could begin to study. When we go on vacation I plan out itineraries weeks before we leave.

Confession number two: The thing I pride myself on, isn’t exactly true. Being intelligent has always been an important descriptor to how I see myself. My husband lovingly says I’m the smartest one in the room and it secretly fills me with bubbling joy quickly followed by a deep shame. Because it’s not true. I have a learning disability that makes organization and logical thinking difficult. To combat this I have pushed myself to the opposite extreme.

Finally, my most secret confession: I stopped believing in fun. I have focused my life on striving to find the best. Sometime around the age of twenty or so this seems to have taken a decidedly down hill turn. I decided on being a teacher and gave up my childish dream of being an actress on Broadway. Being a grown up took precedence in my life. When I became a mother I felt the weight of responsibility. A few years later I had my first brush with death, and mortality became a very real entity. Later in my early thirties the greatest tragedy in my life occurred – the death of my son. I lost joy.

By the time I was thirty-five, there was no fun left in my life.

Abandon

But God has a way of changing the story. He surely changed mine. We moved to a town where I knew no one. Our families lived hundreds of miles away. I had no job. What I did have was my husband and my daughter. We spent all of our time together that first year. I did eventually find a job, we met friends through my daughters soccer team, and we all learned to laugh more and have fun when our son was born.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Romans 12:12, NIV

God quite clearly reminded us to laugh and love with abandon. I remember one day when our baby was about 14 months old, the weather turned warm, the trees were in bloom and we spent a whole day out in the backyard. It was beautiful. We had a picnic that included his first popsicle. He drove his tractor, ran around naked, laughed like a loon, and took the sweetest nap curled up next to me while I read. It was the first thing I hadn’t “planned” in a long time.

Control

I wish this was such an awe inspiring moment that I realized my control issues were getting in the way of God living in my life…it wasn’t.

Over the next few years I kept asking God to help me put “fun” back into my life. There were more of these moments, but I never seemed to be able to catch hold of the string, and it kept flying out of my hand just as I would get my fingers around it.

During this time I started listening to a lot more Christian music and found Newsboys. Their song “Live with Abandon” has become an anthem in my life. Let go of the plans and live the life God has made for you. He wants you to have fun, live life to its fullest, and trust in Him. He has the plan.

“I wanna live with abandon
Give you all that I am
Every part of my heart Jesus
I place in your hands
I wanna live with abandon”

Trust

Over the last year I have found myself more trusting in this plan and more willing to give up control to God. I can’t really tell you why this has happened. We moved again, but this time to a town where we had some friends and family closer. My daughter is now grown up and off at college. I had to find a new job – one that was very difficult to begin with. My son has had a hard time adjusting, but finally seems to be settling in.

All this is to say that my life is ordinary…nothing that many other people haven’t dealt with. The one thing that has changed in the past year has been prayer. I am a much more faithful friend to my God. I talk to him everyday. Usually I write those prayers down, but not always. I also try to listen to Him. “What do you want me to do?,” and then I feel a pull, encounter a situation, or hear His words through someone else. His answers are there. I still plan my day, I know what is happening tomorrow and next week, but I have made some room for revision. I have made some room for an old relationship that needed some tending to.

Fun

Now, I am having fun for the first time…maybe in forever. I laugh more with my family, my students, my friends. I see the world brighter and clearer than I ever have before. My sense of optimism and redemption has opened up. Fear and anxiety have lessened. Life is calling me and I am excited to accept its invitation because I know it comes from my Father in heaven. Join me in the fun adventures God has planned for us.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Dear God,

Thank you for being my Creator. You have brought joy and purpose in my life. Help me live with abandon for You. Keep my feet on the path that follows Your plan. I know wonderful adventures await me if I will allow myself to trust in You completely. Thank you for guiding me. Continue to show me Your way forward through this life’s twists and turns. My greatest desire is to join You in the next life.

Love,

How has God changed your story?

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Luca Upper

Known: To Be Known By, and To Know the Unknowable God

Devotionals, Stay SaneFebruary 27, 2018February 14, 2020

Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.

Psalms 91:14, NKJV

Like my father before me, I struggle with SAD – Seasonal Affective Disorder. We SAD folks need sunshine, LOTS of sunshine. Living in a city that is cloudy 56-57% of the time during the months of January and February only serves to exacerbate SADness. Beginning after Christmas, a quiet inner battle for emotional peace and a deep yearning for Spring begins in my soul.

Brennan Manning stated in Reflections for Ragamuffins, “Perhaps this is the essence of trust: to be convinced of the reliability of God.” During some of my darker days, I wonder where my trust in God has gone. Do I know Him as I claim I do? Am I an impostor? It’s usually a fleeting thing, like briefly wondering how different life would have been if I had done a, b, or c. You’ve been there.

And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.

Psalms 9:10, NKJV

Unknowable

Yet, for all the years of knowing God, pursuing God, longing for His presence, I am becoming acutely aware of how little I know Him. It’s so easy to fall into a trap of believing that the length of days one has been a Christian or been a faithful servant of Christ equal a depth of knowledge and wisdom said person has of the Savior. Even suffering doesn’t necessarily promise that God will be your new BFF, although it can certainly result in a closer walk with Him.

In the early years of our marriage, my husband and I had a pastor whom we secretly believed had the ‘red phone’ to God! I mean, he was so knowledgeable about the Bible and God; his sermons were so powerful…but then, well…the higher the pedestal the farther they fall, right?

People sit in churches every Sunday professing to know God but make a plethora of excuses for why they don’t have any other time to spend with Him. Christian authors, actors, small business owners, millennials, baby boomers from every denomination have something to say about knowing Him. It sometimes looks very different from what you or I think it looks like…

It often looks very different from what the gospel says knowing God looks like, too.

Unfortunately, one cause is due to thinking of knowing as in, “Oh yeah, I know her; she’s in my exercise class!” Or, “Sure, I know astrology! I look through my telescope at the stars sometimes.” This knowing is as in perceiving or understanding as fact or truth; to apprehend clearly and with certainty; to be acquainted with, according to Dictionary.com. We can give a head nod to many things in life to which, or to whom, we are acquainted…even God the Father. You know, the “man upstairs.” (Cringe)

Known

But how many people do we know as in “yada“:

The idea of “knowing” in Ancient Hebrew thought is similar to our understanding of knowing but is more personal and intimate. We may say that we “know” someone but simply mean we “know” of his or her existence, but in Hebrew thought, one can only “know” someone if they have a personal and intimate relationship with them. In Genesis 18:19 Elohiym says about Abraham, “I know him” meaning he has a very close relationship with Abraham. In Genesis 4:1 it says that Adam “knew Eve his wife” implying a very intimate relationship. (Strong’s #3045)

Who knows you like that? People who can complete your sentences, but don’t. Or who read your emotional cues and know what to do…

Anyone?

Your Father does. And the incredibly amazing, unfathomable truth is He wants us to intimately know Him, too.

Scripture tells us that God’s greatness is unsearchable, beyond our understanding (Psalms 145:3). His understanding is infinite – we cannot comprehend it (Psalms 147:5)! Paul sounds forth praises exclaiming:

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!

Romans 11:33, ESV

Know

Who can know a God like that? Ancient Greek philosophers and believers in Deism wondered, too, referring to God as the “unmoved mover” or a “clockmaker god,” merely setting things in motion, but never getting personal. It seems absurd, but then I wonder sometimes if we don’t live out what they wrote about.

However, throughout the Old Testament, the Father repeatedly calls Israel into an intimate relationship with Him. Among many other things, God goes so far as to make the prophet Hosea’s life a word picture of His abundant love and mercy, then promises that HE will heal their backsliding ways (Hosea 14:4).

Who can fathom that? Can you wrap your mind around that??

I can’t…but I don’t think I’m expected to fully comprehend, really. I know the love and mercy my Father has shown to me. With that in my heart, I run to the throne room. I run into His arms, believing Him when He said,

I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, In lovingkindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the Lord.

Hosea 2:19-20, ESV

And on the days I struggle, He holds me.

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Yet, for all the years of knowing God, pursuing God, longing for His presence, I am becoming acutely aware of how little I know Him. Click To Tweet

Tragedy: Standing Firm through Grief and Suffering

Devotionals, Stay SaneFebruary 25, 2018June 28, 2019

Tragedy leaves us overcome with grief. How can we keep standing, praising, and trusting? Is God even there? Does He even listen to our cries?

There was another school shooting. It rocks me to my core every time I hear about children in school not being safe. As a teacher, and mother, I know that this is my worst nightmare.

I remember Columbine. God has had miracles come from that tragedy. At one school where I taught, we took part in Rachel’s Challenge.

I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same. People will never know how far a little kindness can go.

Rachel Scott, victim of Columbine High School massacre

Her family loved her and remembers her by trying to stop people from being left out, bullied or ostracized in the hopes that they never feel the need to pick up a gun and kill.

I remember Virginia Tech. There are now much better warning systems on all college campuses to alert students to danger. And as the mother of a college student I am grateful for that.

I remember Sandy Hook. There are not enough tears to cry for that senseless act. The babies that died that day and the adults who shielded as many as they could will forever haunt my dreams. But that community came together and supported each other in such amazing ways.

Now I have to say I remember Parkland, Florida.

So where is God in the middle of all this madness? Does he really want his children to suffer? He has to be here somewhere. He has to have a hand in this somehow. After all, He promised he would never abandon us. We cry out, “BUT WHERE IS HE?”

Grief and Praise

In times like this I return to Job. Everything was taken from him within a few moments. His servants and sons dead. His livestock stolen or killed. And what does Job do…he grieves and praises God.

When Job heard this, he got up, tore his clothes and shaved his head to show his sadness. Then he fell to the ground to bow down before God and said, ‘When I was born into this world, I was naked and had nothing. When I die and leave this world, I will be naked and have nothing. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Praise the name of the Lord!

Job 1:20-21, ERV

Horrible things happen. God doesn’t always intercede. I can’t tell you why. I just know that there is never a moment when He isn’t with us.

Standing Through Tragedy

As the story of Job continues we see that Satan is telling God that humans will not stand with him when tragedy strikes. They will turn their backs and blasphemy His name. But God has faith in his children and tells Satan to do his worst, but to spare Job’s life.

Satan put sores all over poor Job, he was grieving, he was in physical pain, he sat in ashes and used broken pottery to scratch at the sores. But his friends came and sat with him to offer comfort.

Then they sat on the ground with Job for seven days and seven nights. They didn’t say a word, because they saw he was in so much pain.

Job 2:13, ERV

Job does cry out eventually. He begs God to end his torment and let him die. He questions God, “Why was I even born if this is what You had planned for me?”

How many times have we done that? Questioned our Creator? I fully admit to asking him “Why?” and being angry when I didn’t get an answer.

Are You There God?

Most of Job’s friends and family weren’t much better. His wife tells him to curse God. His friends say he has to have been up to no good. They thought, “God is paying you back.”

Not true. God is there in the tragedy holding our hands, lifting us up if we let Him, but never pushing us down. He can use these times, just like He did with Job to show us how He is always there. We must trust in Him to see us through.

Job is blessed to have a great friend who will speak truth to him and who loves God wholeheartedly. Elihu tells Job, you are not innocent, no one is. But he tells the friends they can’t accuse someone of something when they have no knowledge of it. They cannot blame God.

Job, God is not only powerful, but he is fair.

Job 34:17, ERV

He does not respect leaders more than other people. And he does not respect the rich more than the poor. God made everyone. Any of us can die suddenly, in the middle of the night. Anyone can get sick and pass away.

Job 34:19-20, ERV

The Answer to Every Question

God, Himself, then enters the picture. He reminds Job that He is the creator. He has made everything, and everything exists because of God. God then tells the story of Leviathan in Job 41. If we see Leviathan as Satan we can see that God is telling us that only He can control Satan. He is a deadly enemy and we must arm ourselves with God and His Word. Only with His help can we escape the clutches of Satan.

Job and his friends repent and pray to God. God forgives them.

When these moments of tragedy happen we can’t rage against God or blame Him. God loves us. He is our Father and Creator. Find a friend who can help you seek truth and God. We all know that evil exists. Bad stuff happens, but faithfully accepting that our Father is there in the tragedy will help ease the suffering.

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Facing God’s Truth

Now here is the hard part about tragedy. We have to acknowledge if we played a part in it. This could be a blind eye that was turned, a cultural norm that goes against God that we have let slip by, a friend we weren’t true to, or a warning we ignored. Yes, there are times we didn’t play a part, but just as often we are complicit because we let society dictate its own mores. Humans are weak and flawed. God is not. We have to be the friend who stands up and tells the truth, no matter the consequences because we know that God speaks through truth.

Dear God,

Please open our eyes to Your Word. Help us align ourselves with You and put more faith in You than in the world. Let us be leaders of the Light of truth that comes from being Your followers. Thank You for guiding us through tragedy and never leaving our side. Give us the courage and wisdom to speak Your will.

Love,

Are you facing your own tragedy?

We would love to offer our support by praying with and for you.

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Beloved: We are Pursued Even Through Darkness

Devotionals, Stay SaneFebruary 22, 2018September 8, 2019

We all have dark times of our lives where we think we are hidden from God. Times we want to be hidden from God. Yet, we are His beloved. We are recklessly pursued through any darkness. Our Creator fights for us.

Psalm 139 was the very first passage of scripture I ever memorized and not out of intention. Through Psalm 139, I learned a little something about God. He prepares our hearts with words He knows our lives will need. It’s as though while He was knitting us together, He weaved scripture throughout our entire beings. This passage has followed me through my whole life, without me ever forcing it. That can only be God.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

Psalm 139:13, NIV

Beloved Book

My beloved book. My most favorite book as a little girl. I knew I still had it. I’ve moved between 9 and 10 times in my adult life. I knew I kept this book. So, here I am, destroying my house to find it. I can picture the items packed along with it. I can see the box. The garage? The boys’ room? Under the beds? Mass destruction in my home, so I can find my beloved book.

I picture what it looks like, what the years have done to it. I remember specific pages and what they say. My book. Voiced by my parents. Hidden in my heart during scary times at night. I think of the countless times I read it to my stuffed animals and my brothers. Over and over, I chose this book. To the point the covers went missing; the pages are waring and fading.

Darkness

Out of the nest; on my own. I would describe my first flight as dark and broken. Shadows pursued and preyed on me; sensing I was without my “knitting”. A second flight came. Unfortunately, it was even darker. Full of pain that still likes to haunt me. I would describe that second flight as a void. Lonely, empty, without.

February is almost gone. It used to be, I couldn’t wait for this month to end. February has been a brutal month in past years. It seems like everything I considered to be ugly in my life, has fallen in this month. Though I don’t remember specific dates, the conglomeration of events left me dreading the feelings of February.

Most of these events stemmed from my separation from God; from my rejection for my “knitting”. Though I never denied His existence, I didn’t invite Him to dwell either. I stopped pursuing Him. Surely, He didn’t see me hidden in the mess. I was ashamed, broken, depressed. I actually thought if I didn’t pursue Him, He wouldn’t pursue me.

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

Psalm 139:7, NIV

Beloved Words

I did not give up. I even dreamed about where my book could be. The attic! I have an attic; poorly lit, extremely hot or cold depending on the month, and an undesirable area of our home. There it was. Nestled with the books I imagined; in the box it has always been in. I fought through the mess, the uninhabitable parts of my home and found my beloved book!

God Is With Me -Debby Anderson; Based on Psalm 139

While I was searching, I could picture two of the pages. These were the pages that my little mind needed most. The pictures helped remind me no matter what, God is there. They brought comfort when my imagination got out of control and helped me remember to not be scared. The words were simple to grasp. I learned to rely on these words. “He is with me.” I tucked them deep in my heart. My treasure.

God Pursued

I am a treasure to God. I’m His beloved. I was the one lamb, lost from the ninety-nine and pursued by the Good Shepherd. Like my book, I was worn, faded, hiding in invisible covers. And, like my book, my world was torn apart so I could be found. The weaving never unravelled, it only tightened the more I was pursued.

In my darkness, God fought for me. He battled in the mess I thought I was hiding in. He never forgot about me, never left me alone, never gave up. I was (am) His. I can picture Him, bleeding from the briars that grew on my heart, pierced with the sins I gave power to, bruised by the hatred I had for myself. Yet, He prevailed. I tried to hide in the depths. I swam in shame and brokenness. Yet, God prevailed. He was there. Through divorce, medical rooms, abandonment, depression, alcohol… the list is longer still…. He was there. He never stopped fighting for my existence, my life, my heart. God fiercely pursued.

The Lord is with us, wherever we are.

This beautiful watercolor, painted by Katie Braswell, is available as a digital download in the Oh Lord Help Us Shop.
It will remind you of God’s ever present comfort.

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Want: Seeking A Good God Rather Than His Good Gifts

Devotionals, Stay SaneFebruary 20, 2018July 30, 2019

God is a good God who gives good gifts. But let us not fall for the temptation to want those gifts more than we want the Giver.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Matthew 5:6, ESV

Have you ever wanted something so desperately you were willing to pay any price?

Want

In 10^th century BC, the Queen of Sheba caught wind of a very wise king. She had heard rumors about Solomon, and the God he received his wisdom from. Seeking truth, she traveled approximately 1,600 miles to Solomon’s kingdom in Jerusalem, though she had no invitation. Her entrance to the city was flashy, maybe like Aladdin’s when he went to Agrabah as Prince Ali.

Solomon received her and answered all of her questions. Once she realized Solomon’s God had indeed blessed him with profound wisdom, she picked his brain on how to better govern her own country. She brought a staggering amount of wealth to trade for the wisdom she hoped to discover. Upon her departure, she gave Solomon a ton of spices, precious stones, and approximately 192 million dollars in gold.

For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies. Nothing you desire can compare with it.

Proverbs 8:11, NLT

The queen did not appear to need anything. She had great wealth and a kingdom of her own. Leaving the safety of her home to travel so far posed incredible risk. She could have sent envoys, but she wanted to see and hear for herself. Authentic truth was out there and she wanted it.

Seek

I can see myself in her. My kingdom is much smaller, my wealth pales in comparison; but I have everything I need and a lot of what I want. Still, I long for more. Some days I dream about packing up and heading to some place quiet and secluded. Not for the sake of escape; though I’ve been there before. No, simply for the purpose of seeking wisdom without the daily distractions.

The greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable, and almost incurable.

John Piper, A Hunger for God

Matthew 12:42 tells us the Queen of Sheba traveled from the far ends of the earth to acquire the wisdom of Solomon, but we have something greater than Solomon. We have Jesus. A wise person can’t give you their wisdom. But by seeking Jesus, we can attain it.

In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Colossians 2:3, ESV

Find

I’m compiling a list of all the good things that act as stunt men for God in my life. They aren’t inherently evil. Seeing them written out, they’re pretty vanilla. Achieving genuine transformation is not just acknowledging where the infraction is. Asking forgiveness is another important step; but the key to lasting change is to replace the love for the thing with a greater love for God. James 1:7 says every good gift is from God. How quickly we exchange our love for the Creator to love for His gifts!

Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

Colossians 2:7, NLT

What good gifts in your life are stealing your affections for God?

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Safe: Have Peace, Even with Questions About the Unknown

Devotionals, Stay SaneFebruary 18, 2018January 13, 2019

I like to feel safe. Most people do, I believe. There are so many things that make us feel unsafe. Usually, though, it seems to boil down to the unknown. We don’t know what will happen, fear easily creeps in, and the comfort of safety disappears. How do we feel safe in a world of unknowns?

Not long ago, I read “The Hiding Place” by Corrie Ten Boom. She was a Christian who hid Jewish people during the Holocaust. The Nazi’s caught her, but she survived her time in a concentration camp. The book is her story, and she passes on great wisdom on finding safety.

While reading the second chapter, which spoke of memories from when she was a little girl some decades before Hitler rose to power, she mentioned one particular memory with her father. Her father, a clock and watch repairman, regularly took her on a train to Amsterdam. She enjoyed the time alone with her father, no siblings or extended relatives around.

She was about ten or eleven years old and after reading something in school she didn’t understand, she asked her father about it. What the question was, she didn’t say, but like most kids, she was curious about topics that were well beyond her years. Her question was a hard one, and the answer was equally difficult. The response Corrie’s father gave stayed with her through the rest of her life.

Her father took down his travel case and asked her to carry it off the train for him. When she tried but couldn’t, she told him it was too heavy for her as it was filled with watch parts and clock parts. Here are the following paragraphs.

“Yes,” he said. “And it would be a pretty poor father who would ask his little girl to carry such a load. It’s the same way, Corrie, with knowledge. Some knowledge is too heavy for children. When you are older and stronger you can bear it. For now you must trust me to carry it for you.”

And I was satisfied. More than satisfied–wonderfully at peace. There were answers to this and all my hard questions–for now I was content to leave them in my father’s keeping.

What a beautiful picture of a father’s love and protection of his daughter. She asked a question in which the answer was beyond her years, more than her young heart could bear. Her father knew that one day the knowledge she sought would be given, but he understood that the particular moment they were in was not the right time.

He explained she would know one day, but at this time, the answer would be too heavy. He asked her to trust him to carry the knowledge that was too much for her to carry on her own until she was strong enough to bear the weight when her maturity caught up with her curiosity. In her childlike wonder, with her innocence still intact, she was at peace leaving the answers to her hard questions safely in her father’s keeping.

God is a perfect Father to us. The glimpse we see in Corrie’s father is a mere reflection of the love and protection our heavenly Father bestows on us. He promises.

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

Isaiah 26:3, ESV

Safe through the unknown…

In everything we want to know, yet remains unknown, God calls us to leave it in His keeping. It’s safe there. When we leave the unknown—whether knowledge sought, but not gained, or a promise that cannot be made, or a situation we don’t know how will play out—safely in our Father’s keeping, we find peace. Even when the unknown remains, we trust and know our Abba safely keeps it for us. Not only does our Father keep the unknown, He keeps us also.

The Lord is your keeper…The Lord will keep you from all evil; He will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

Psalm 121:5, 6-7, ESV

When we leave the unknown safely in our Father’s keeping, we find peace. Click To Tweet

God keeps us. Nothing in our lives is unknown to Him. He is not caught off guard or surprised by the circumstances we face, not even once. When we are drowning in questions for which we don’t know the answers, we know God holds us safely in His care, and He holds the unknown answers too. His timing in revealing what we don’t know is perfect as well. We find safety, even in the unknown, as we are kept in our Abba’s protection.

So just as Corrie was content to leave her hard questions with unknown answers safe in her father’s keeping, we contently leave our unknowns and even our very lives safe in our Father’s keeping. After all, there is no safer place to be kept than in the arms of our Father.

What do you need to leave safe in your Father’s keeping?

You are intimately known.

But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. 1 Corinthians 8:3, ESV

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Suhyeon Choi

Ask: Approaching the Throne in Prayer with Humility

Devotionals, Stay SaneFebruary 15, 2018January 13, 2019

We have the freedom to ask for all things. Let us approach prayer with humility, and receive the gifts provided.

For years, I could not ask the Lord for anything. Sure, there were many prayers, as in conversations, with the Lord. I would tell Him what was hurting my heart, and thank Him for blessings. The most I would ever ask for was peace, or patience. These were safe to pray for, the Bible promises that we will receive this. Promise? Sweet! I’ll ask for that! That way I’m sure to never deal with disappointment.

See, I had lived through disappointment. I was 24 when my mom died. We were finally getting to the sweet stage of life where we were becoming friends. My family said so many prayers, begging, and pleading. And it was looking like she was going to survive, only for our hopes to be left in a heap of shards.

I didn’t walk away from that experience doubting the existence of God. I could definitely see His hand on the whole situation. My faith was in Him, not the outcome of prayer. No, I walked away in definite awe of His power. It was that power, however, that left me not able to ask for anything. My thought was, since God is all-powerful, and He knows what is best, then why should I ask for anything. I’ll just go along for the ride. He will do what He needs to do, I’ll do what I need to do, and surely we will meet up at certain points along the way.

Years after that, living through experiences where I just couldn’t see what was taking Him so long to come through, I kinda just stopped talking. My prayer was simply to sit in His presence; neither one of us saying anything. Sure, there were moments when I was angry (actually, there were quite of few of those), but it was also comforting. I never doubted He was there. I never stopped loving Him, and I know His love never ceased for me.

This past 6 months has been like a crash course on prayer for me. I went from asking for nothing, to asking for everything! But let me tell you, it is a fine line between asking and demanding. I may have crossed it a time or two. Eek.

Humility to Ask

Yes, we are told to come boldly before for the throne, but if for a moment we believe we have a right to be there, we are deceived. Only after we acknowledge that we do not deserve to be there, and that it is by invitation we are there, may we ask with confidence. We can ask with confidence, not that we will get what we ask for, but confident that we have the freedom to ask because we have the invitation to do so.

…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift…

Romans 3:23-24, ESV

When we can see ourselves as the sinful people we are, who do not deserve a single blessing, then we appreciate the gift of the invitation. In this posture, it is humbling to ask for anything.

Humility to Receive

After we ask, and make our request known, it also takes humility to receive the provision. How often do we long for others to help, only to refuse when the offer is given. It is nothing more than pride that causes us to behave in this ridiculous manner. We want to experience the generosity of others, but then do not accept the help because we want all the control.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:16, ESV

With humility, we are able to accept whatever answer is given. If our prayer was answered in the manner we hoped, then we know we cannot take credit for the outcome; God receives all the praise. If the answer was yes, but in a different way we thought, then we can see that God knew how to better accomplish His plan.

Some things to consider if the answer was “no”. First, we may need to simply trust that He is moving in a different direction, or on a different timeline. Or, secondly, it may be due to sin that we need to repent of. Please be careful here. Let us not act sorrowful in an attempt to manipulate God so that we receive the blessing. Trust me, this doesn’t work. I’ve tried. We must truly want God alone, not the blessings.

The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? Israel has sinned;

Joshua 7:10-11, ESV

Without humility, we come to the Lord with demands, not requests. We are not praying, “Lord your will be done.” We are demanding He follow our plans. We have placed ourselves on the throne, and this a dangerous place to be.

Final Thoughts

I am learning to ask. And when I ask, I ask for big things, because I have an invitation to do so. And when I ask, it is not a demand, but a genuine request.

“Lord, it is humbling to be invited into your presence. I don’t know if it’s part of your plan, but if it is, would you please…”

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jesse orrico