Anticipating Your Answer

I will climb up to my watchtower
    and stand at my guardpost.
There I will wait to see what the Lord says
Habakkuk 2:1 (NLT)

Prayer can be so complicated can’t it? On one hand we know that we should pray but then we ask ourselves Why do I need to pray if God already knows everything? What’s the point if he has a plan? An outcome? And then, sometimes we pray and we don’t really get an answer…..for a long time. Did God even hear me?

Habakkuk had the same questions. Throughout his book he talks about it. See if some of his questions and God’s answers don’t mimic what we experience.

In the first chapter Habakkuk asks “How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen!” And God responds I am doing something! “For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.” Basically, he is saying just because you can’t see it yet, that doesn’t mean I am not working.

Habakkuk ponders what God says and then complains that maybe God’s plan is too much. Are you going to kill us? Wait! (Maybe this is why God doesn’t tell us his plans in advance.)

Habakkuk then understands that God always answers. And he says that he is going to wait for God’s answer. He is going to anticipate it with his actions (2:1).

And finally, Habakkuk realizes that God is always there. He is always at work for his people. He begins to praise God and worship him.

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
    I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
    He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
    able to tread upon the heights. (3:18-19)

So many times we question God and his way. Prayer is not so we can get what we want. Prayer is so we can draw close and experience God. It is so we can get a small glimpse of who he is. He does answer our prayers. Sometimes not the way we want or in the timing we want but he always answers. The true gift is in knowing that he will and learning just a little more about him every time we lift our hearts toward him.

Out Loud Shouts!

We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)

We’ve all had them. The Whispers. You know, that little voice in your head that says things that you shouldn’t or don’t want to hear? The thoughts that sometimes shock you because it popped into your head. Maybe it made you think “Where did that come from?” I get them a lot. I swear that I think someone else has taken up residence in my mind and they interfere at the worst times. Oh wait, there is someone trying to get into my mind. Satan.

He uses all sorts of methods to throw me off balance. He’ll tell me how horrible I am. He’ll tell me that I can’t do anything right or that I am going to fail. He’ll say terrible things about people. He’ll plant the seed of anxiety and worry and try to get it to grow. If those things don’t work, he’ll try to tell me how great I am and that I deserve better and he’ll try to direct me off of God’s path.

I’ve developed some techniques to deal with him. I’ll share them with you but you should really develop your own because he speaks to each one of us differently.

When I’m going through a tough time and he whispers that it’s hopeless and he wants me to believe I am not going to make it through what I am walking through, I ROAR. Out loud and at the top of my lungs. I do this to remind myself that the Lion of Judah has already conquered the lion seeking people to devour. Battle is over. My Lion won.

When I’m being told how great I am and how what I did was amazing and I start thinking that I am all that, I shout “Glory Be!” Out loud at the top of my lungs. This reminds me that all glory and honor go to God, not me.

When I feel I am in a battle and I need to fight, I do a little boxing thing with my hands to signify that I am fighting back with Jesus. The first time I did this was in the car and my husband looked over at me. I said “Sorry, I was…” He said “I knew what you were doing.”

But most of the time I pray. When a judgmental thought about someone pops into my head, I say “That was not nice” and I ask God to forgive me and I pray for me and the person. When negative thoughts about how this is going to work out enter in, I tell God I trust in his plan. When I am not sure which way to go and thoughts of staying in bed all day seem inviting, I ask him for the courage to face the unknown.

Our thoughts are so powerful. They determine so much about how our day, our week, our life is going to go. The Bible says to take them captive. Hold them where you want them. Satan uses them to steal your joy, kill you spirit and destroy your life. Don’t let him. Fight back with the very tool he is using against you. Return the whispers he puts in your heart with an Out Loud Shout!

A Minute In It - Relax!

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

22-24 He continued this subject with his disciples. “Don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or if the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your inner life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the ravens, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, carefree in the care of God. And you count far more.

25-28 “Has anyone by fussing before the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? If fussing can’t even do that, why fuss at all? Walk into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They don’t fuss with their appearance—but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never even seen, don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?

29-32 “What I’m trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don’t be afraid of missing out. You’re my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself.

33-34 “Be generous. Give to the poor. Get yourselves a bank that can’t go bankrupt, a bank in heaven far from bankrobbers, safe from embezzlers, a bank you can bank on. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being. Luke 12:22-34 (MSG)

What are you preoccupied with?
What do you want to get?
Do you spend as much time thinking about giving?
What draws you away from God’s plan into the weeds of your own?
What would happen if we trusted that God had the perfect plan?

Who Is In Control? Not I!

But I have spared you for a purpose—to show you my power and to spread my fame throughout the earth. Exodus 9:16 (NLT)

All throughout the Exodus story, Moses told Pharaoh to let the people, God’s people, go so they could worship him. Pharaoh waffled back and forth between “Yes, Go!” and “No. You can’t go!” It is frustrating to read and I am sure to the people of Israel it was frustrating to live through.

You see, Pharaoh thought he was in control. He actually thought the decision was his. He would decide if and when he was going to let the people go. Don’t we often do this?

We think, especially in our western world mentality, that it’s all about us. Everything that is happening is because of me. Every situation has something to do with what I want or what I need. We forget, like Pharaoh did, that it’s about God.

It’s about what God wants, what God has planned and always, always for his glory.

God says to Pharaoh “I have spared you for a purpose.” Pharaoh toyed with Moses, the people of Israel and God. (I’m not so sure it’s a good thing to toy with God.) God was pretty up front. I could have done away with you but I spared you. I didn’t spare you because you were the best ruler ever to live. I didn’t spare you because you run the largest, most powerful nation. I spared you for my purpose, for my glory.

This text makes me pause. How often do I look at the circumstances around me and focus too narrowly on the outcome? Shouldn’t everything I do be for God’s glory? Do I ask myself enough how what is happening will impact those around me for Jesus? Probably not.

What about you? What circumstance in your life can you handle differently so it points people to Jesus? Are you lining up your life so it is for God’s purpose and God’s glory?

When Will I Know?

God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.” Exodus 3:12 (NLT)

God was telling Moses that he wanted him to go and help free the people of Israel from Egypt. Moses was questioning these instructions (not sure I blame him). And God said to him “You’ll know it was me who sent you when you are finished with the task.”

I don’t know about you but that doesn’t sound comforting to me. Can I get a sign in advance? How do I know this is you and not something I ate last night? But this wasn’t the first or the last time God did this.

So many times in the Bible God told people to do things and they didn’t have a sign. They often didn’t know how it was going to turn out until after the fact. Heck, sometimes they never got to witness the outcome of their willingness to follow God’s directions.

Abraham didn’t know what would happen when he went to sacrifice Isaac.
Elijah didn’t know what would happen after 3 years of drought.
The disciples didn’t know the church they started would grow like it did.
Paul didn’t know that his life of service would result in letters to the church that would encourage it for eternity.

We don’t know. We don’t know why God tells us to do things that sometimes just don’t make sense. We don’t know the ramifications of obedience.

This week, when you hear that still small voice and your first reaction is to think “No way! That’s nuts!” maybe you should pause and ask “Lord, is that you?” Then, when you figure out that it is, obey him. You never know how God is going to show up and oh, the amazing things you will experience when he does!

The Twisting Path

And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. Genesis 45:5 (NIV)

Joe was, well Joe. He had lots of brothers and sisters. They argued just like any normal family. But overall things were good. His mom had died when he was young but he was very close to his father. One day, through circumstances beyond his control, Joe found himself in a foreign city working as a slave for someone else. I can’t imagine the emotions you would go through if you were in that situation.

But Joe, knowing God, did his best to serve the man who owned him. As life would have it, not everyone had the same morals as Joe. The man’s wife was more about her own pleasure and kept trying to get Joe to sleep with her. Joe refused because….well, he knew God and he didn’t want to offend the man of the house. That could result in a bad situation.

Even though Joe did everything right, he ended up in prison because the wife lied. I wonder where his mind went with that? I mean, you do everything right and everything keeps going wrong. But God has his eye on Joe. And Joe, true to his character, continued to do the best he could where he was.

While he was in prison, he helped out some guys who worked for a very important politician. When one of them was released, Joe asked him to remember him. Did he do that? Nope. I wonder if that made Joe bitter? Here he helped this guy and the guy forgot him.

Finally, one day the guy did remember Joe. The very important politician got him out of prison to utilize his unique skills. And Joe did such a great job! He became very, very important. He had lots of money; he controlled everything. The only person who had more power than he did was the politician.

A few years had passed and Joe was working his new job. By now, he had a wife and some children. He still missed his father but God had really blessed him. Suddenly, the men who had caused him to end up in the foreign land showed up. They needed help. Now Joe knew who they were right away. If I were him, I may have thrown them in the same prison I ended up in. What goes around comes around! But not Joe.

You see, Joe knew God. And he realized that all that he went through was for a reason. Because of him, many people’s lives were changed. Many people were better off because of the different path he was forced to walk. Joe knew this was a God thing, not a Joe thing.

As we walk our broken road, our twisted path today, maybe we could be more like Joe. We may not necessarily understand why everything is happening but we can know the God that is in charge and trust in his plan.

A Minute In It - Light Me Up!

A minute in God’s Word will change your life. Take a moment to read the texts below (there are three versions) and then ponder the questions at the bottom of the post.

34 “Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when it is unhealthy, your body is filled with darkness. 35 Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness. 36 If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light.” Luke 11:34-36 (NLT)

34-36 “No one lights a lamp, then hides it in a drawer. It’s put on a lamp stand so those entering the room have light to see where they’re going. Your eye is a lamp, lighting up your whole body. If you live wide-eyed in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. Keep your eyes open, your lamp burning, so you don’t get musty and murky. Keep your life as well-lighted as your best-lighted room.” (MSG)

34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. 35 Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. 36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.” (ESV)

As you read each of the versions, what was the Holy Spirit saying to you?
What stood out in your mind?
How did these texts apply to your life?
What would you take away from these and possibly change in your walk with God?
Is there something you feel you need to do going forward?

Things I Know

And this is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent—Jesus the Messiah. John 17:3 (ISV)

There are some things I know that I wish I didn’t know. The other day I was at a lawyer’s office with a friend and I knew where the bathroom key was. I realized I wish I didn’t know that. I also which I didn’t know

• What it feels like to stand next to an open grave.

• The desperation that comes from standing next to a hospital bed after receiving bad news.

• The shock of being laid off.

• The sadness at having to lay someone off.

• The anxiety when you are not getting paid and there are bills to pay.

• The crush of divorce.

There are lots of other things I wish I didn’t know. I bet there are things you wish you didn’t know too.

But there are things I am glad that I know. I know that

• God has a plan for my life. (Jeremiah 29:11)

• God will never stop working on that plan. (Philippians 1:6)

• That when Jesus died and was resurrected, I was given the greatest gift ever! (John 3:16)

• That I am never alone. (Deuteronomy 31:6)

• With God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)

• And there is a future where there is no tears, no sorrow, no death and no bathroom keys in a lawyer’s office. (Revelation 21:4)

There is one more thing I know that keeps me going. I know Jesus. And I know he loves me. He loves you too. Do you know that?