Victory through Christ

“Count on My coming. Know that whenever faith brings Me on the scene, everything is changed. Darkness is turned to light. Grief is turned to joy. Sickness to health. Poverty to My sufficient supply. Doubt to faith. Anxiety to trust.” – Frances J. Roberts

I have been really struggling with an issue we are having in our extended family. I got some more unsettling news this week. It seems like the bad blows just keep on coming. It has really gotten me down this week. When I was reading “Come Away My Beloved” by Frances J. Roberts I was reminded of something very important.

1 Corinthians 15:57

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ gives us the victory over the troubles in this life, even if that victory doesn’t come in the form we are hoping for. When things seem to be going wrong, it is easy to be focused on our circumstances and forget we have a God who is sovereign. It is easy to try to do everything we can to handle the situation in our own strength and it is easy to be discouraged.

When we take our eyes off of the situation and put them on the Lord, we have an instant change in our perspective. Our circumstances may be the same, but we realize we have someone on our side fighting for what is best even if it isn’t what we want. When we turn to the Lord, we are reminded to put our faith and trust in Him. In the situation I am dealing with, I had been praying and seeking others to pray about it as well but wasn’t really feeling any peace.

The peace came yesterday when I realized the Lord loves all the people involved even more than I do and I needed to truly surrender the situation completely into His hands. He will lead and guide me on what He wants me to do and He will give me the wisdom I need. The other beautiful reminder came from the quote from Frances J. Roberts. When God shows up, anything can happen! My doubt has turned to faith and my anxiety into trust.

Whatever you are facing to day, remember the Lord will give you victory. His victory may look different than your victory would look, but His presence is unmistakable when we completely surrender. It is easy to doubt and feel anxiety. Surrender you doubt and anxiety to the Lord today and watch Him turn your doubt to faith and your anxiety to trust.

• Photo by Chalwat from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
• Quote from “Come Away my Beloved”, by Frances J. Roberts, Promise Press
• Scripture from http://www.biblegateway.com

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If Only

Here is a poem I wrote about how different things would be if we put our trust in the Lord.

If Only

If only I trusted that I am worthy of love, I wouldn’t let people use and abuse me.

If only I trusted that I was chosen to be a child of God, I wouldn’t dwell so much on the times my earthly father disappointed me or hurt my feelings.

If only I trusted that I am God’s masterpiece, I wouldn’t believe what others have said about my appearance.

If only I trusted that I am holy and dearly loved, I wouldn’t listen to the hurtful comments people have said to me.

If only I believed I was an heir to the King of Kings, I wouldn’t spend so much time and energy trying to acquire material things.

If only I trusted that I belonged to a royal priesthood, I wouldn’t be so worried about fitting in here on earth.

If only I trusted that my sins are forgiven, I wouldn’t spend my time beating myself up over mistakes in the past.

If only I trusted that God had a plan for me and a purpose for my life, I would be willing to step out of my comfort zone and into His.

Spiritual Boot Camp Day 33

It is the middle of the week and the time when we usually feel like skipping a day of boot camp. Hope you are able to persevere through the next three days as we wrap up our study of James.

James 5:12

¹² Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned.

James is reiterating what Jesus said about oaths in Matthew 5:34-37.

^“34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;³⁵ or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. ³⁶ And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. ³⁷ All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”

James was telling the people their word should be enough, they should not need to make oaths. It is not that oaths were forbidden, but they should not be said lightly. There is a seriousness in making an oath because it involves making it in the name of the Lord. Our word should stand for itself and we should not have to make promises, swear or make an oath in order for our word to mean something.

This verse may seem out of place because what came before had to do with patience with  others and what follows has to do with prayer. However, it is very much in line with a theme we have seen over and over again in James – the power of our words. We are pretty careless with our words and they can be very harmful to others. How often do we tell someone we will do something and then not actually do it? Or we don’t do it in the time frame we committed to do it? When we don’t follow through on our word, it becomes less meaningful and we become less trustworthy. 

In today’s world of constant communication and stimulation it is easy to become overwhelmed and become to busy to do what we say we are going to do. How often does that happen to you? Or the opposite, we say we aren’t going to do something any more and yet we do. I want you to think about what your word stands for – is your word trustworthy? Do you do what you say you are going to do and not do what you say you aren’t going to do?

In particular, I want you to think about what your word means in regards to praying for others. Sometimes we are asked to pray for someone else and say we will but then forget. Has that ever happened to you? We need to be people of our word and we need to be trustworthy, especially in the area of prayer. Instead of telling someone you will pray for them, how about simply doing it when they ask rather than waiting until later? Some people are more comfortable praying silently in their own place and time but what if we stepped out in boldness and whenever we were asked to pray for someone we simply did it right then and right there? I think we talk a lot about prayer without actually ever getting around to doing it. Praying for people right when they ask and engaging them in the prayer will encourage them, remind us both of our dependence upon God and help us both grow in our faith. I challenge you to do it the next time someone asks you to pray for them and make it a new habit.

• All Scripture references from http://www.biblegateway.com

Trust in the Lord

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
 in all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make your paths straight.

This is a very familiar verse but today I want to break it down and really look at what it says. It says we are to trust in the Lord. We can trust in the Lord because He his trustworthy. He is 100% trustworthy 100% of the time. The word “trust” in Hebrew means “to attach oneself, trust, confide in, feel safe, be confident, secure. The basic idea signifies firmness or solidity. Denotes a confident expectation.” 1

We can put our trust in the Lord because we can confidently expect that not only does He hear us, but He will act on our behalf. He doesn’t always act or respond when we want or how we want, but He does respond. His response is always in line with His plans for our lives. 

We can’t lean on our own understanding because it is inherently flawed. We make decisions and plans based on our hearts and minds.

Proverbs 17:9

The heart is deceitful above all things
    and beyond cure.
    Who can understand it?

The proverb tells us to first trust the Lord, not to lean on our own understanding and the next statement is “in all your ways acknowledge him”. The word “acknowledge” in Hebrew is the same word as “know”.1 The verse isn’t talking about blind trust, but placing your trust in someone you know; the Lord. The more you know Him, the closer your relationship with Him is, the more you will be able to trust Him. Knowing the Lord is similar to knowing others in your life, you have to spend time with Him in order to get to know Him; time in prayer and in His Word.

The last part of the verse says “he will make your paths straight”. The word “path” in Hebrew is “often used figuratively, describing the way of righteousness”.1 . “Make straight” in the Hebrew “has two main meanings: (a) making something straight or level; (b) ethically, an upright (moral) life. 1

When we place our trust in the Lord, we are not basing decisions and actions on our own limited understanding of a situation, but on His. We trust Him because we know Him intimately and are confident that He will respond and act in our lives. When we place our trust in the Lord He will help us live righteous, upright and moral lives.

Isn’t  that what we all want? And now we know that living the life God created us to live begins with placing our trust in Him. What areas of your life do you need to place your trust in the Lord?

• 1 (Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible NIV, 1996, AMG publishers)