A Minute In It - Believing

A minute in God’s Word will change your life. Take a moment to read the text below and then answer the questions at the bottom of the post.

1 Early the following spring, in the month of Nisan, during the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was serving the king his wine. I had never before appeared sad in his presence. 2 So the king asked me, “Why are you looking so sad? You don’t look sick to me. You must be deeply troubled.”

Then I was terrified, 3 but I replied, “Long live the king! How can I not be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”

4 The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?”

With a prayer to the God of heaven, 5 I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”

6 The king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked, “How long will you be gone? When will you return?” After I told him how long I would be gone, the king agreed to my request.

7 I also said to the king, “If it please the king, let me have letters addressed to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River, instructing them to let me travel safely through their territories on my way to Judah. 8 And please give me a letter addressed to Asaph, the manager of the king’s forest, instructing him to give me timber. I will need it to make beams for the gates of the Temple fortress, for the city walls, and for a house for myself.” And the king granted these requests, because the gracious hand of God was on me.

9 When I came to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River, I delivered the king’s letters to them. The king, I should add, had sent along army officers and horsemen to protect me. Nehemiah 2:1-9 (NLT)

How long had it been since Nehemiah started asking God for help?
When the king asked him what he could do to help him, what was the first thing Nehemiah did?
The king asked Nehemiah for his plan. Did Nehemiah have one?

For the four months that he was praying, he was also planning. Nehemiah was waiting on God’s timing but also preparing for what would happen when God moved. When we pray for a seemingly impossible prayer, do we move forward to get ready for God’s answer or do we do nothing, not really believing that God will deliver?

When I Am Afraid.....

Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true. Joshua 21:45 (NLT)

I woke up in the middle of the night terrified. Terrified that my business was going to fall flat, that I wasn't making good decisions, that the payment that was due that would help make payroll wouldn't come in, pick a reason. Sometimes, I wake up terrified for a family member. Or I imagine all sorts of really scary things. Does this happen to you? I find that my imagination in the middle of the night is extremely active. The problem is all the things I imagine are usually frightening.

Last night though, I decided to approach it differently. Normally, if I wake up like this I start praying about the situation and give it to God.  That takes a minute depending on what it is. When I wake up afraid for my kid's safety...well that takes a long minute.  

But last night was different. I started praying and thanking God for his faithfulness. I reminded myself of his character and what the Bible says about his goodness. I thanked him for never leaving me or forsaking me (Deuteronomy 31:8). I thanked him for his faithfulness (Psalm 33:4). I thanked him for his protection (2 Thessalonians 3:3).

It wasn't long before I fell asleep knowing that God was in this with me and would not abandon me. No matter what actually happens in my life, I have that to hold on to.

God is trustworthy (Psalm 9:10). As it says in Joshua 21:45, not one of his good promises will fail to come to fruition. He keeps his word. You can depend on it!

Footprints All Around

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber; Psalm 121:1-3 (NIV)

When I was on vacation, I went for a walk on the beach with my grandson. As he ran ahead of me, I noticed his little, tiny footprints in the sand. There was a long line of them that zig zagged across the beach. 

When looking at them in the sand, for a moment you'd think he was all alone. Just a bunch of tiny footsteps looking vulnerable and open. But as you widened your gaze to take in the entire area around the little footsteps, you saw the adult footsteps following close behind and to his side. He was never for one moment unattended.

Neither are we. The God of heaven is forever near. No matter where we go or what we do, he is close by. Sometimes we feel like we are traversing the terrain solo. We feel that way because we are only looking down at the path before us. We just need to broaden our view to see it. We are never alone.

No Rules, Just Relationship

May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:19 (NLT)

Last week I had a conversation with someone about submitting to God. She asked me "How do you do that? What's the process?" As I was praying for her and thinking about this conversation, it occurred to me that this was the wrong question. And, we often ask the wrong question when it comes to God. We want a step by step process for how to do "religion."

This week, the posts have been about our hearts being right during offerings, praising God, repenting and representing God to others. All of these things are important for Christians and for our spiritual walk but let's be clear, if you are making yourself do these things so you can check the box, your offering is stinky (see the post from July 2.)

Often we can make ourselves do the right thing. (I personally have never been good that this.) But doing the right thing isn't at the core of what life with Christ is about. The Bible is really clear that the goal is to know him. To fall in love with him and be in a relationship with him. 

How do you do that? Here is the only thing that you can do that will truly change your life; spend time with him. It doesn't matter if it's five minutes for five hours. Spend time with him.

• Read the Bible or if you are just getting started and that's harder for you, read a devotional.
• Pray - no timer - just talk and listen. When you are done, stop. When you want to talk again, start.
• Listen to Christian music - some of the best encouragement is here.
• Praise! When you are happy, praise him! Shout it out, dance around and yell WOOHOOO!
• Find a friend or two that know Jesus. Share with them.

I left the church for a while after high school.  After I had my kids, I decided to go to church (that felt a little awkward.) I was sitting in the pews, the preacher was preaching and I very clearly heard "Come back." For some strange reason, I knew who it was. And, I said "No. There are too many rules and too much judging." Do you know what he said? "Come and get to know me. No rules. Just me." I thought "Well, what do I have to lose? I'm pretty sure this isn't going to work." So I said "OK." I don't remember everything but I remember starting with a five-minute devotional every morning. When I finished that, I bought another. I started praying more.....not every day at first and slowly, through life's circumstances, God's word (in the devotional) and people, I began to experience Him. That was so long ago but, God is still in it with me to this day.

Get to know who Jesus is - no rules, no check boxes, just honest curiosity. When you do this, your life will take on new meaning and you will be changed. And oh by the way, it does become an exciting adventure.  God is anything but boring. 

As Sure As The Sunrise

Oh, that we might know the Lord!
    Let us press on to know him.
He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn
    or the coming of rains in early spring.  Hosea 6:3 (NLT)

Once in a while we get to go on a Family Beach Week.  This is when a whole lot of our family gets together and rents a house at the beach for a week.  It is one of my favorite things.

Always during the week we get up pre-dawn, go down to the beach and wait for the sunrise. We take blankets and make ourselves comfortable on the sand. Then, we wait. We usually get there too early so we spend time talking and laughing. Never, ever, do we ask "Do you think the sun is going to come up today?"  Why not? We don't ask it because we know it will.

I think it's amazing that God used this analogy when talking about how surely he will respond to us. God will respond to us as surely as the sun will rise. That's a pretty sure thing.

Next time you are wondering if God hears you and is going to respond, remember the sunrise. God is that faithful.