Lead me to the cross where I can lay my burden down. Lead me to Him who will never let me drown.
Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I. Lead me to the One who bottles the tears I cry.
Lead me to Him who knows all my cares and sorrow. Who holds my future and all of my tomorrows.
There, I find solace in the grip of His embrace. So, lead me where I can rest from this exhausting race.
He’s my source and my shield; my covenant and mercy. Lead me to God, whom I love to the bursting.
When life is overwhelming and I don’t know what to do, Lead me to Your arms, O Lord. Lead me to You.
“From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Psalm 61:2
Father God, we need You. We cannot find the strength or wisdom on our own to properly care for the things and adversities we face. But this we do know, You are our Rock. You are the peace we find in the midst of all that overwhelms us. Take us by the hand and lead us to You – our safe sanctuary, our hiding place, from all these storms that blow our way. In the name of Jesus Christ, AMEN!
“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” 1 Corinthians 6:19
Some weeks can be like a crazy schedule gone wild. The rush from one thing to another can drain us of any free time and we fall behind in our daily upkeep. When that happens and you wake the next morning after all the rushing about, you realize the evidence of your busyness is staring you in the face. What in the world happened here! Do messes multiply at night while we are asleep because we really believe it did not look that bad the night before? It always amazes me how easy it is for things to get disorganized and cluttered when we’re not giving them the attention they deserve.
Disorganization throws me off big time. When I’m trying to concentrate on a task and I lift my head up to look around and am spattered with a mess, my mind keeps going to the mess instead of getting back to the mission. Clutter is its own monster to deal with because when schedules grow out of hand, and stuff gets tossed to the side, the clutter monster gets fed and continues to grow and grow. Then, I wonder, “Where did all of this come from?”
When I first got married many years ago, I used to be a perfectionist. While I’m not as uptight as I used to be about a messy house, I still like cleanliness. A place for everything and everything in its place. Calm. Peaceful. Quiet. Yeah, that’s how I like it! It’s an environment that supports what I want to do in life.
Our spiritual lives operate in much the same way. When we are going off in many directions and not taking care of our home, our “temples,” things become disarrayed. We become less focused on taking care of the “home” business, and in our pursuits, our spiritual house becomes a mess.
Inattentiveness will do that. There are so many things that can capture our attention in our day-to-day activities. We have to be diligent guardsmen of the temple that keeps everything running smoothly. Take a museum for instance. It is probably one of the cleanest and most orderly establishments I have ever visited. The stuff that it holds inside is very valuable and some of it could never be replaced. Because of that, there are guards posted everywhere to ensure that everything is kept that way. When the sign says no photography, the guard will make sure no pictures will be taken. Flash does something to some of the works. You will not eat, drink, touch, or sneeze on any artwork. Our local museum has a line around each item and you better be careful not to cross it, or else.
Being that the Spirit we have in us is of more value than any artwork, irreplaceable and priceless, ought we not to guard it with even more diligence? Shouldn’t we be concerned about any messes or clutter that could disrupt the Spirit’s flow of working within us?
Paul thought so. The concern is that since God’s Spirit resides in you, you have the responsibility to keep the house clean. This body is a rental. It’s not permanent. The last part of our above verse tells us, “And ye are not your own?” We don’t hold the deed: “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s,” (1 Corinthians 6:20). But we are responsible for the upkeep of the property.
What mess of the spirit has us so cluttered and disorganized that we are less attentive to the things of God? When the spiritual house is a mess it’s hard to function and find peace to complete the task that God is leading us to. We need to respect this spiritual house as one does when visiting a museum.
How do we keep it in order? First, start by having a made-up mind to set priorities. Know that above all else your relationship with God has to come first. One way to do that is to find out what has been sidetracking you and make it fall into place. Then, change your focus of thought to allow the Spirit freer access to move. Unclutter your thought life from that which does not profit to something far better. The Bible advises us: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things,” (Philippians 4:8). Using this as a filter will help keep the clutter out and rampant thoughts under control.
In verse 9, Paul goes on to explain if they listen to this advice and follow his example, “the God of peace shall be with you.” That means the house is clean and uncluttered, free for Him to move!
If you feel like you are having a hard time connecting with God or you don’t feel the Spirit moving and leading like you once did, check the environment. If you find a need to pick some things up off of that spiritual floor and get things back in order, then do so. There is nothing more precious or powerful than God being able to work in a “house” unhindered, with no messes or obstacles in the way.
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What we put into our bodies matters. The foods we eat can either help or hinder our health. Sometimes, in our house, we stop at fast food restaurants to eat, but it is not an everyday occurrence. I value what goes into my body. Is every food choice the best choice? No, but I try to make it a point to have the majority of what I eat be of nutritional value; to be something that will build me up and not tear me down.
Our spiritual lives work in the same manner. We are what we eat, spiritually. If all that we ever digest is the negatives of this world then we are robbing our spirit of the vital nutrients that can increase our awareness and spiritual health. The Bible says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God,” (Rom. 10:17). What we assimilate in our being is what will be produced in our spirit and in our lives.
God’s word has everything we need. A daily diet of letting Him speak to us through His word, through His preachers and teachers will enrich our spiritual lives and make us stronger in Him. When adversity and the storms of life arise, His word, which has already been deeply instilled in us pops into action and carries us through to the other side.
We need God’s word every day. We need it to grow. We need it to learn. We need it to increase our faith. We will never be the healthy Christians that we need to be if we leave the word of God out of our daily routines. God’s word will build you up and make you stronger in Him. Many are diligent about their natural health but watch what you eat spiritually. It can make the difference between spiritual health and spiritual sickness.
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“Location, location, location,” that’s the real estate mantra. No matter what a house looks like or the sad condition it may be in it can always be repaired or rebuilt. The location, however, is not so easily changed. Particularly, if there is a certain view that can’t be matched with landscaping caressing the horizon which can’t be found in another location. So, location for some is the deciding factor of whether or not they want to purchase a certain property.
As I was thinking about this and I realized location is really involved in many areas of our lives, not just our actual residence because location is where we center things. It’s where we place and position our stuff. It’s where we are established.
When it comes to our Christian faith, where we are established and what is placed in position in us speaks volumes about where our heart is, and in it, what resides there?
The Bible tells us, “For in him we live, and move, and have our being…” (Acts 17:28). “In Him” is the location of the believer. Our hearts readily admit that God is our source and reason for existence. Every fiber of our being recognizes that because He is, we are. In the innermost parts of us, we see not only our physical lifeline being shored up in Him but our spiritual as well.
As the source of all life, God is also the source of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). He is the reason we believe (Hebrews 11:6). In Him, we are located. In Him, we are found. God is the reason for us, and we, by faith, plant ourselves in that truth. Through Jesus Christ, our eternal lives are secured in Him.
When we get connected with God in such a way, God gets connected to us. He dwells in us (John 14:23; Ephesians 3:17) and He strengthens us by His Spirit in the inner man (Ephesians 3:16).
Plain and simple, when we are found in Him, He can be found in us. It’s all about location. And, in order to have Him here with us, we need to be where He is.
The first step is to make sure you are “in Him.” That you have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. That your eternal life is secured on the foundation of God’s loving sacrifice of His Son.
When you do that, you open the door of your heart to receive Him, to receive His Spirit in you. Acts 2:38 explains it like this, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost,” (see also John 3:5).
God’s Spirit locates Himself in the crevice of your heart and soul and you move and order your life according to His leading and guiding. “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you,” (John 14:26). When we are centered in Him and Him in us, our eternal location shall be established forever and we can live this life with full assurance that we will not be moved from His everlasting promise. On that coming day, as we come into our heavenly home, we can say we are there because we allowed Him in our hearts while we were here. It’s all about location.
If looking at a valley of dead bones isn’t enough, then what follows would have blown my mind! God does some pretty amazing things in the Bible and this by far has to be one of my favorite stories that display His complete sovereignty and grace. It’s one thing to hear of people being brought back from the dead and it’s quite another to see the process unfold in such an extraordinary way, even if it is in a wonderful vision.
Can you imagine experiencing that moment with God, and Him asking what is supposedly a simple but not-so-simple question? “Son of man, can these bones live?” (Ez. 37:3). That question must’ve rolled through his mind, stunning him a bit. Awestruck, his response was as I believe mine would have been, “O Lord God, thou knowest” (Ez. 37:3).
At that point, I believe Ezekiel was probably starting to realize in a whole new way the magnitude of this wonderful God we serve. Looking out over the valley that he was drawn to, and seeing the waste of what was once life and trying to imagine them alive? His response was to appeal to the sovereignty of God – “You know!”
God does know, but perhaps He wants us to know that He knows. Right? It may sound confusing but God puts these questions out there to see where our belief lies. To see if we really see Him as the One who is in control of everything, including those things that appear utterly dead and beyond the hope of restoration.
I don’t know personally how it may have looked, but I can imagine the scene in my head. Going about through that place and seeing nothing but human remains here and there. I would have begun pondering all the “what’s, who’s, why’s and how’s” all this came to pass. What battle took place? Who was involved? Why did it have to come to this? How is it that there were none left to bury the dead? There before him, was a mass of unanswered questions covering a sea of death.
I wonder about that scene with the appearance of bodies upon bodies, stacked and scattered throughout. Lives were gone here and there remained nothing but death and dry bones. Nothing to cheer about, nothing to hope for if it were not for that question that came from the mouth of the Lord: “Can these bones live?”
Death in reverse? Is that what God was asking, he must have wondered? Taking an impossible act of nature and reenacting the process in rewind mode? If the question wasn’t enough, how about the command: “Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.” (Ez. 37:4). Standing reverently but in utter stupefaction, Ezekiel must have known that he was at a point of no return in his ministry. God was drawing him deeper into the process. “I don’t know about this,” may have been what most would be thinking as they did as He commanded.
What would it have been like? At the spoken command, to hear an unsettling sound. A noise permeates the atmosphere. Rattling began to disturb the quiet of the valley. In a place that knew only demise and decay would now be re-identified as something miraculous. The rattle was with purpose. It meant things were moving into their proper place. It meant brokenness was being made whole. It was the start of a brand new life where there was none before. This was incredible to not only witness but to be a part of!
After the re-attachment of limbs and other skeletal remains, the real stuff transpired. It’s one thing for bones to find their host bodies and reattach themselves. It’s quite another to witness those very bones, and the nothingness that was left, begin to take on a new life. Sinews and flesh began to re-cover the bleached, parched surfaces. All the while, Ezekiel just watches. What would you do? Like a train wreck, as horrible as it may seem you can’t tear your eyes away from it. Under it all, organs started to reform and the life supply of veins maneuvered their way throughout, spreading the possibility for more life.
But God was not done, yet. He was genuinely reversing the life process. The bodies were now formed and covered “but there was no breath in them” (Ez. 37:8). Then, God gave him a new command: “Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live” (Ez. 37:9). Ezekiel followed God’s command and said, “So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.” (Ez. 37:10). Before they stood, did they gasp at the feel of air entering their lungs once again? When they stood, did they turn to each other recognizing the “what was” and processing the “what is now?”
To see dead bones live in this fashion would have been awesome and beautiful. Think about it. God showed Ezekiel an impossible situation and did a complete turnaround and restored life where only death resided (compare to Israel’s spiritual restoration found in Ezekiel 37:11-14). It’s as if He had His finger on the hands of some big clock and purposefully began to rotate it backward. Spinning it and spinning it until all the death that once was had to let go and make room for new life to come to the forefront once again. What would it have been like to witness this vision?
Don’t you know? We may have not been bones but what remained of us of what the world stripped away was given a new command in the valley. The valley, our lowest point of life, was shaken and rattled until it stood at the command of God. Our lifelessness was renewed when His Spirit breathed in us freshness untold. Before He had a vision of us, we were surrounded by spiritual death. But then there arose potential out of nothingness. Captured by grace and loved on through His mercy, we received in us His gift of a second chance.
There are a lot of things in that particular vision of the valley that would have left me unsettled but I only had to turn to the One who was commanding the change in me and see the love in His eyes for me. I only had to look and believe as He did that, there is something alive here, there is something that can be raised up for me. We have all been in that valley. Vision or not, many have been to the place of impossibility just to see Him make it possible.
To see those bones rise to new life and live would have been awesome. But to see what He has done in us is far better. I don’t know what it would have been like there but I know what it is like here. The Bible says, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection,” (Romans 6:4-5). Because of Christ, we have received another chance to experience a new life outside of the valley. Just because it appears dead, doesn’t mean it’s so. God can raise up the most impossible of situations.
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“For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer…” Philippians 1:19
There is so much hurt going on in the body of Christ. Saints are going through trials and tribulations like never before. As the days draw to a close, a time when our Lord Jesus Christ will come back to whisk us away to glory, the enemy has been on a vehement rampage against God’s people everywhere.
Paul, when he wrote his letter to the Philippian church, knew something of hardships. He was imprisoned and put in a place of affliction and hurt. So, when he writes of the faith he has, that the saints will help pray for his deliverance, he knew what he was talking about.
There is a wonderful bond in the body of Christ that is like no other. Unity, love, and compassion mean so much to our survival that our very witness to the world depends on it. There has been, over the past few years, an awareness of how we have hurt not only one another but our witness before the world through gossiping and the tearing down of one another.
Jesus Himself said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another,” (John 13:35). Having sincere love toward another means that we would want what’s best for them. Even if it means exalting somebody higher than yourself; putting the petitions of prayer that someone else so desperately needs above your own.
We often hear the encouragement that, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much,” (James 5:16). To avail means that we have a God-given right to have the upper hand, through prayer, against any foe that would dare to rise up against one of God’s anointed ones. How are we using that advantage? Are we selfishly gleaning all the grapes off the vine of blessings for ourselves, or do we have enough Christian courage to let another feast off of your effectual, fervent prayers before you get a taste?
Paul openly admitted on several occasions how much he was dependent upon the prayers of those who had his back in ministry. Despite his supposed super saint/apostleship position, he realized that the sweet aromas of selfless petitions were being put up to God on his behalf. Because of that, he was assured that he would see deliverance.
How much care and emphasis do you really put on the body of Christ when you bow the knee to the Father? How much is that hunger in you to see the salvation of the unsaved of your family and friends being fed? Do you really believe that not only will your prayers move mountains in your life but also in the life of another? You may be their only hope, whether they are born or again or not, to draw near to God and receive deliverance.
Paul puts it best in 1 Corinthians 13:1 where he says, “Though I speak with tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” Are you just making a lot of noise when you pray or are you busting the gates of hell loose because your heart is hurting for another? It was Abraham Lincoln that was quoted as saying, “I am sorry for the man who can’t feel the whip when it is laid on the other man’s back.”
There are some “whips” being laid on others; some burdens that you can help someone else carry if only we would do as the Philippian church did and pray. Not just any prayer, but prayers that will let our brothers and sisters know assurance of seeing deliverance, too.
If you want to see true restoration in your own life, learn to put the needs of others before your own. Job 42:10 states, “The Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends.” We are to be a people who step in that place of praying for others and petitioning heaven on their behalf. It was not until Job prayed for his friends were his losses restored.
Let’s work today in hedging people in under the arc of safety, the covering of prayer, so they will finally see deliverance, too. There may be a hurting soul quietly pleading for someone to, “Please, Pray Me Through to My Deliverance.”
Why, we may wonder, why God does not just remove every obstacle and resistance to our faith? Why in this journey must we fight? Why must we strive against adversity in reaching where we are aiming to be?
Can a faith that is not exercised truly be called faith? For if the road traveled is always smooth and the pathways are always leveled plains, how then will we ever learn to climb? How will we learn to exert our muscles and pull our weight to mount upon the top?
More strength only comes by using more strength. More faith only comes by being forced to use more faith. We can only learn to climb by experience. We can only learn to push ahead by continuing to push ahead. We can only learn to fight by being made to fight.
There are things that God knows His people will only learn by going through them. That’s why Judges 3:2 says, “Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof;”.
When choosing multiple services in life we tend to want to choose those with experience. Take getting a simple hair cut for example. We want those who have had plenty of practice perfecting their skill before attempting to put scissors near our heads which could alter the way we look for good or for bad.
God has many plans and purposes for His people but what we fail to see or have the patience for is the seasoning of the saint, the molding and perfecting that goes on behind the scenes.
I guarantee no one whom you have read about or seen doing great exploits for the Lord, just fell into that role ready to go. There was some teaching. There was some humbling. There was some learning along the way. It may have been behind closed doors and away from the eyes of the public, but God takes the time to make sure His vessels are properly prepared to go forth and hold all the potential and purposes He has for them.
The children of Israel might have been concerned as to why certain enemies were left in the neighboring surroundings. By them, God was testing His people. By them, God was teaching those to war who had never known war before. God was causing faith muscles to be exercised. He was training hearts to not focus on what they see in the enemy but on what they know about their God.
“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:” (1 Peter 4:12). There is no struggle or contention that does not come without a purpose. Though it may not be pleasant it is plentifully seasoning your walk with the Lord. Like the children of Israel, it is teaching your hands to war.
One can never be a good soldier without ever facing contentions. One can never learn to fight unless they have been made to fight. One can never learn to pray in earnest if they never had that petition that would draw them to the knee with fervency. And one could never learn to seek and lean on Him if their heart were never stirred to do so through the challenges faced.
“Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:” (1 Peter 1:6-7). It may not always feel like it, and it may not always feel good, but there is purpose in the hardships we face, especially when it comes to our faith which is found more praiseworthy in the eyes of Christ than gold that will perish.
Sometimes we may not understand everything and we may ask, “Why?” But as we journey, may our eyes never leave Him who promised and is faithful (Hebrews 10:23). Take heart, dear friend. Through it all, at the end of our Christian race, we may look back and see the fruit those hard times produced, and we may see the purpose in the struggles.
“But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10).
“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28).
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Today, like most days here lately, it’s rainy, dreary and of the dismal sort. It’s the kind of cold, wet rain that settles down in your bones which you can’t seem to warm up from. It makes you want to crawl back under the covers and wait for a better day.
But real life is here with a call each and every day that must be answered, compelling us to rise and get going no matter what the weather is outside. Answering that call on a morning such as this, I remember one day when I drove across the highway to take my daughter to her college campus. On the way home I saw something that put a smile on my face. A man was walking in the rain with a bright orange raincoat. He was literally bouncing along with happiness in his steps. His mouth was moving and he appeared to be singing. It was as if he was dictating his day; as if he was telling the rain he was not going to let the dreariness get him down.
Oh, how true does that ring out in life? How many dreary situations have kept us from enjoying the day; from enjoying each and every moment God has given us above ground? Unfortunately, as life goes on we find that every day is not peaches and cream. Times of trouble and hardship can arouse the rainy day blues in anybody.
Psalm 137:4 asks, “How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land?” How many times have we felt it hard to work up the happiness inside when going through difficult times? But Psalm 43:5 declares, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.”
In other words, Sing in the Rain!
I feel like getting on board with the attitude of the guy in the orange raincoat. There you can catch me Singing in the Rain today, too. After all, we still have a reason to praise God no matter what. My hope for this day and every day is in Him.
Word For Life Says... 