Monthly Archives: March 2013

Fear not (there is nothing to fear), for I am with you; do not look around in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and harden you to difficulties. Yes, I will help you, yes I will hold you up.—Isaiah 41:10

Yesterday, I spoke with a young mom who is facing a devastating situation for which there seems to be no answer.

I have lived long enough to know not to give pat answers to someone in this much pain. To do so is to pour salt into an open wound.

I have no idea what God is doing here and I can’t speak for Him. I will not tell her that I know how she feels because I don’t.

However, all of a sudden, a Bible passage popped into my mind: 2 Chronicles 20.

The Israelites were facing certain annihilation from “a vast multitude.” (v.2)

Their leader, King Jehoshaphat, was understandably terrified. But his first response was not to run and hide. Rather he “set himself (determinedly, as his vital need) to seek the Lord.” (v. 3). He then proclaimed a fast.

But he didn’t stop there. He gathered everyone together to ask for the Lord’s help in prayer. We are told in verse four that the people were “yearning for Him with all their desire.”

Then Scripture records their prayer:

O Lord, God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven? And do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In Your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand You.  Did not You, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham Your friend? They dwelt in it and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your Name, saying, “If evil comes upon us, the sword of judgement or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You…and cry to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save….O our God…we have no might to stand against this great company that is coming against us. We do not know what to do but our eyes are upon You. (vv.6-9, 12).

I see a blueprint in these verses for things that we can do when we feel like we have been hit by a tsunami of trouble:

1) Name your “vast multitude.” Be specific. Look it straight in the face. Denial helps nobody. The king did not bury his head in the sand and pretend that none of this was happening. The threat was real and deadly serious.

You may say, “I can’t face this. I am not up to it.” 

And you would be right. In ourselves, we are frail as breath, a mist, a vapor.

However, if you know Jesus, that is never true of you. Anything you face comes to Him first. He cushions the blow for you. He declares you to be “more than a conqueror” through Him. (Romans 8:37).

2) Make sure you recognize that your vital need is Jesus Himself…not more money, more time, more resources, etc. It is entirely too easy for us to reach for created things to rescue us, rather than reach out in desperation for our Creator, who will never leave us and is always actively at work on our behalf.

Colossians 1:16-17 is very helpful here: “It was in Him that all things were created, in heaven and on earth, things seen and unseen, whethere thrones, dominions, rulers or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him and in and for Him. And He Himself existed before all things, and in Him all things…are held together.”

There is NO part of your life with which Jesus is not intimately involved. And that includes your “vast multitude.”

As I learned in the life-changing book Jesus + Nothing = Everything:  because of Christ’s finished work on the cross, everything I need, I already have in Him! Everything!

Yes…even in those times when a vast multitude comes against me! I may feel as if I have nothing at all, but the absolute fact of the Cross assures me that Jesus has given me everything I need…both now (in the very midst of the mess!) and for all eternity.

3). Do you yearn for Him with all your desire? Or is your desire simply to get out of whatever painful situation you are in?

Really think about that. Do you want Jesus just so that He will release you? (Be honest).

Or are you content with His Presence with you in it, regardless of how long the trouble goes on?

It is normal to want pain removed and Jesus does not begrudge us that. He knows that we are dust. Nobody enjoys pain, nor should we. However, when hard times hit, He is right there with us by the miracle of His Spirit.  And He is always enough.

It is during these very times that He becomes real to us, that His Words cease to be just letters on the pages of our Bibles and become life to us! And there is NOTHING on this earth that can compare to that.

At some point on our faith journey through this world, we must come to a point when the fact and overwhelming preciousness of the Presence of Jesus with us must become more real to us than the presence of pain.

May we never get over the miracle that the same Jesus that we read about in the Gospels is the very same Jesus whose Spirit is now joined with ours both in time and for all eternity!

Whatever you are facing, you are not facing it alone.

4). We need to remind ourselves that He rules over everything. 

Nothing is unknown to Him. Nothing is too hard for Him to fix. Nothing is impossible with Him. He alone holds our destiny in His all-powerful hands.

The Lord is my Light and my Salvation—whom shall I fear or dread? The Lord is the Refuge and Stronghold of my life—of whom should I be afraid?…Though a host encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise against me (even then) in this will I be confident.—Ps. 27:1,3

…He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay His hand or say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’—Daniel 4:35

5). Recall to mind past times when He has graciously rescued you and proved His faithfulness.

We can either choose to rehearse our troubles and our fears or we can choose to rehearse the fact that He has proven Himself to be utterly trustworthy time and time again.

6) When rough times come, make the choice to STAND, no matter what. 

As a believer, you have the privilege (and gift!) of planting your feet firmly on the rock solid, never-changing Word of God.

You need not collapse in fear.

The Lord God is my strength (my personal bravery and my invincible army); He makes my feet like hinds feet and will make me to walk (not to stand still in terror but to walk) and make spiritual progress on my high places of trouble, suffering, and responsibility. —Habakkuk 3:19

7) The best thing you can do when you are overwhelmed is to look UP. Decide to keep your focus on your Savior rather than on your circumstances.

Make the king’s prayer in his moment of greatest crisis your own prayer:  We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on You.

He WILL act.

You may not have all the answers (or even any at all), but He knows the answer to every single one of your questions.

Your “vast multitude” has not taken Him by surprise.

8) He will answer  your pleas for help. This is what He told the king:  The Lord says this to you, “Be not afraid or dismayed at this vast multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s…you shall not need to fight this battle; take your positions, stand still, and see the deliverance of the Lord, Who is with you…fear not, nor be dismayed. Tomorrow, go out against them, for the Lord is with you.” 

Put your name at the beginning of that verse and then take out the words “vast multitude” and write your trial there instead. Take this word personally. It is meant for you. Read it as often as you need to. Write it on post-it notes and place it everywhere you can.

Then praise Him for what He is going to do in His perfect timing.

Fill your waiting moments with worship instead of worry.

That is exactly what King Jehoshaphat and his fellow Israelites did: Believe in the Lord your God and you shall be established…He appointed singers to sing to the Lord and praise Him…as they went before the army, saying, “Give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!” (vv. 20-21)

As they praised, the Lord caused the approaching army to turn on each other and  not one of them remained alive. God took care of that vast multitude in one day.  It took them three entire days to gather the spoils.

He is, and will always be, faithful to His own.

9) Expect the miraculous.

Your finite mind simply cannot comprehend the infinite.

Nothing is impossible with Him and everything is possible with Him.

Life with Jesus is always an adventure and He delights to thrill us and take our breath away with His plans.

God is HUGE!

So…if you are facing a vast multitude right now, rest in God’s sovereignty. Let Him fill you with His strength. Live with expectancy. Dare to be joyful. Banish fear and doubt from your mind and your vocabulary.

He’s got this.

God is the Ruler of all.
God answers to no one.
God can accomplish whatever He wants—in all things.
God sees history from beginning to end.
God is afraid of nothing. Ignorant of nothing. Needing nothing.
God always knows what’s best, and He never makes a mistake.
—James MacDonald, Gripped By The Greatness Of God.

Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight and understanding. In all your ways, recognize and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. —Proverbs 3:5-6

A young woman asked a godly friend to join her in praying that she would be able to give birth to her third child naturally without having a C-section.

The wise friend replied, “I will join you in praying for that because I know it is the desire of your heart. However…whatever happens, I hope you will respond with trust and thankfulness. Think of these two things as parallel train tracks. As long as you respond with these things, you will stay on-track. If you veer off into anything else (complaining, fear, dread, anger) you will go off-track every single time.”

Trust and thankfulness.

This should be the default mode for the follower of Christ. We can fully trust the One who died and rose again so that we would be His treasures forever, and we can overflow with gratitude because every single day of our earthly existence, He lavishes His love on us in hundreds of ways, big and small.

He knows what He is doing.

He has clearly told us in His word that His ways are not our ways. There is no need to be surprised when things do not go according to our plans. We must live with open hands to receive what He knows is best.

He can only do you good.

He loves you more than you can fathom.

Whatever happens in your life today, could you respond with trust and thankfulness?

That is the path of true joy.

For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received…one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift heaped upon gift. —John 1:16

Are you currently waiting for someone else to make a decision that will affect your life? Things such as a banker approving a loan, an employer making a decision as to whether or not you are hired; a buyer to purchase your home?

It is easy to grow discouraged as the wait drags on, isn’t it?

I am currently in waiting-mode and in my quiet time today, I received a very important reminder from Jesus.

We are not waiting for anyone else but HIM.

…for You (You only and altogether) do I wait (expectantly), all day long. —Ps. 25:5

I wait for and expect You. —Ps. 25:21

All the paths of the Lord are mercy and steadfast love. —Ps. 25:10

These verses tell me a couple of things:

1) Our destiny is NOT in the hands of any man, no matter what the situation looks like. He is firmly on His Throne and He is entirely sovereign.

It is God who sits above the circle of the earth and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. –Isaiah 40:22

No one—no matter how powerful he or she may be in the earthly realm— is capable of thwarting His good plan for your life.

I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, “My purpose shall stand and I will do all that I please.”—Isaiah 46:10

2) We are ultimately waiting for His perfect timing (which is hardly ever ours!). Never forget that He alone sees the big picture. We don’t. He knows what He is doing at all times, regardless of how the situation looks to us.

3) We are not to wait in stress, anxiousness, or hand-wringing. We are to wait expectantly for our Savior, who can only do us good! 

4) ALL the paths He leads us along are for our good—even when we do not get the answer or outcome we were hoping for and must begin walking a path we did not ever want to take. As Psalm 25:10 reminds us, His actions are ALWAYS done in mercy and steadfast love. We are surrounded by His mercy and steadfast love at ALL times, both in celebration and heartache.

Remember that Jesus’ resources are infinite. Nothing is impossible with Him.

You are in excellent hands.

Jesus had A LOT to say to me this morning about bold, fearless faith. (Makes me wonder what is coming my way! 🙂 ).

I was so encouraged and strengthened that I wanted to share what He had shown me in the event that you, too, could use the light of His glorious promises for your path today.

So here goes! (Take this personally. Put your name in these verses and know that if you  belong to Him, He is speaking His Word to YOU!).

The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk (not to stand still in terror but to walk) and make spiritual progress upon my high places of trouble, suffering, or responsibility. —Habakkuk 3:19

I have learned how to be content (satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted) in whatever state I am…I have learned in any and all circumstances the secret of facing every situation, whether well-fed or going hungry, having a sufficiency and enough to spare or going without and being in want. I have strength for ALL things in Christ who empowers me (I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency).—Phil. 4:11-13

Who is among you who reverently fears the Lord…yet walks in darkness and deep trouble?…Let him rely on, trust in, and be confident in the Name of the Lord and let him lean upon and be supported by his God.—Is. 50:10

As for me, I will look to the Lord and confident in Him, I will keep watch;  I will wait with hope and expectancy for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. Rejoice not against me, O my enemy! When I fall, I  shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a Light to me. —Micah 7:7-8

Fear not (there is nothing to fear), for I am with you; do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden your to difficulties, yes I will help you; yes, I will hold you up and retain you with My victorious right hand of rightness and justice. —Is. 41:1-

I will bring the blind by a way that they know not; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness into light before them and make uneven paths into a plain. These things I have determined to do for them and I will not leave them forsaken. —Is. 42:16

Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan and be disquieted? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall YET praise Him, my Savior and my God. —Ps. 42:5

I have to include this absolute gem from the pen of the great Charles Spurgeon because it so perfectly speaks to the issue of faith:

“Little faith can save a person but little faith will never do great things for God. Little-faith says, ‘This is a rough road, covered with the sharpest thorns and full of danger. I’m afraid to go.’ but Great-faith remembers the promise, ‘Your shoes shall be iron and brass; and as your days, so shall your strength be.’ (Deuteronomy 33:25) so Great-faith boldly ventures ahead. Little-faith waits in despondency, its tears mingling with the floodwaters it stands beside; but Great-faith  sings, ‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.; (Isaiah 43:2); and then Great-faith fords the stream at once.” —Morning By Morning, p. 67

Does this day find you with little faith?

Be encouraged. These Scriptures are meant for you. Print them out and take them with you wherever you go. Write them on post-it notes and stick them all over the house.

Decide to move into these verses and live there.

Your circumstance was not meant to be the end of you. Jesus intends to use it to strengthen your spiritual muscle, to grow in intimacy with Him, to learn to stand on nothing but the solid foundation of His Word and defy your enemy, who seeks to fill you with such fear that you are paralyzed and miss out on the abundant life Jesus died and rose again to give you. (Not an abundance of things, by the way…but an abundance of HIM! He is all you will ever need).

Just as the pre-incarnate Christ said to Gideon all those years ago, He so says to you, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man (or woman!) of fearless courage!” (Judges 6:12).

You don’t have to work up that kind of courage, which is good news. You don’t have it. But Jesus does and He is willing to pour that courage into your fearful heart and make you strong. Simply ask Him for it.

Be fearlessly courageous today in Him, no matter what you are facing.

And remember these words that Tony Evans posted on Facebook this morning: “Man may have A say, but God has the FINAL say. Look to Him. He’s got you.”