There, in the thick of the trees with the sounds of evening settling around Him, our Savior knelt, pouring His all out in prayer.
So desperate were His pleas, so anguished was He that His sweat flowed as great drops of blood from His very being.
His example shows the importance of coming to this sacred place. No one is too big or too small to bypass this hallowed meeting.
There is a call for all to come to the garden and pray.
God-assignments have been entrusted to us which cannot be performed unless supported by fervent prayer.
Strength, encouragement, hope, and purpose can be found in this meeting place. Deliverance and healing can be received here. That which seems unclear can receive divine wisdom, instruction, and revelation in our moments of petitioning and supplication.
The garden of prayer awaits and whatever it is your heart is holding, being ready to pour, this is your place, your moment of release. Here, with an open and believing heart, you will find what you need.
“Men ought always to pray, and not to faint” Luke 18:1
Here we go again. At the rear end of my backyard stands a wide, tall, bush-like tree extending forward eleven feet, and who knows how many feet wide along the back fence.
Moving into this house, it was one of the drawing factors because it offered complete privacy from the neighbors behind.
But, when a game of playing with any type of ball or frisbee takes place, that flying object will almost always end up lost in the massiveness of this so-called bush tree. Then, it is up to me to try to climb under, or in, or around this massive monster to retrieve the lost object.
It is not as difficult as it sounds (unless you are afraid of bugs and other critters), except the yard behind me has an over-energetic raspberry patch whose branches have wiggled their way through our massive monster, making navigating it harder due to its thorny reach.
Thorns hurt. If you have ever grabbed a branch filled with thorns, or a rose, you know what I mean. If you have accidentally brushed against one of these protruding antagonists, you can feel my pain of having to try to navigate this area and come out unscathed.
But the truth is, my friend, we will not go through this world unscathed. There are going to be things that hurt us. There is suffering we may encounter or thorny places we may have to navigate as we travel this road called life.
Jesus said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation…” (John 16:33), yet when afflictions come, we forget these words and those of Peter who said, “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).
Why? Because when it hits us personally, it feels different. It hits too close to home, and we want to shut the doors on them, yet these hard times, these thorny places, seem to find you anyway.
Knowing that it is all a part of our existence and living on this earth does not make it easier. But maybe we can learn from others how they navigated their thorny places.
IN THE BEGINNING
Please know, that when God perfectly created this world, our life was intended to be a garden of peace. We were never supposed to have to deal with thorny places. But because of sin, because of the curse, Adam was told, “Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee…” (Genesis 3:17b-18a).
Where there was no sorrow, now sorrow exists. Where there were no thorny places, now they have come forth making what we have to do here harder than God ever intended.
PAUL’S THORN
The Apostle Paul knew personally about thorns.
Paul’s resume is doubtless impressive. In addition to having authored two-thirds of the New Testament – his missionary journeys, works, and miracles allowed him to not only see things but also inthe supernatural workings of the Lord in his life.
Through it all, he could have boasted (Philippians 3:4-6), yet he stated in Philippians 3:8, “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord… and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.”
After rehearsing the measure of suffering he had endured for the ministry (2 Corinthians 11:22-29), he stated, “If I must needs glory, I will glory in the things which concern mine infirmities,” (2 Corinthians 11:30).
Although he experienced “visions and revelations of the Lord” (2 Co. 12:1), some where he was “caught up to the third heaven” (2 Co. 12:2), “into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which is not lawful for a man to utter” (2 Co. 12:4), he knew it would be a foolish thing to boast (2 Co. 12:5,6).
As if to draw a line in the sand, Paul was given “a thorn in the flesh” to prevent any measure of self-exaltation that would cross the lines of humility and usefulness where he stood.
Jesus taught in parables regarding thorns that would encumber and choke one’s progress in the word of God “through cares and riches and pleasures of this life” preventing them from coming to a place of fruitfulness (Luke 8:14).
It would seem as though, for Paul’s spiritual benefit, a thorn was used to keep him in a place of fruitfulness rather than from it.
THE THORNS OF JESUS
Thorns are not easy for anybody to bear with. Through the humiliation and suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ, before His crucifixion, as if to add insult to injury, He was given thorns that would tear into His literal flesh: “And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head,” (Mark 15:17).
His thorns were not to keep Him from being exalted, for God would ensure His name is exalted above every name (Philippians 2:9-11). Anything revolving around the crucifixion and the cross, including the thorns, was to identify with and for the man (humans) He came to save, and to be obedient to the will of God, although being equal with God, Himself (Philippians 2:6-8).
Hebrews confirms that Jesus felt and experienced the fullness of humanity (yet without sin) while maintaining His full deity (Hebrews 4:15). That includes the sufferings that came with it all, and the thorns as well.
When trying to move through the difficulties of life, how do we do it? It is always easier to tell one about what they’re going through and what they should do, but the hows of knowing a way to move through these prickly patches is a whole other story.
Thankfully, the Bible and the lives of how these two thorn-bearers handled the inflictions upon them can help.
LEAN ON GOD’S SPIRITUAL SUPPORT SYSTEM
The same God who has been with you is the same God whose grace sustains you.
From Paul, we learn a lot about this. Although he prayed, as many would, for the thorn to be removed, God’s answer was for His best plan to be carried out in Paul’s life. And to do that, as uncomfortable and burdensome Paul may view it the thorn must remain.
Even though the thorn was to remain, God gave Paul an answer we can all glean comfort from when we are dealing with our own protruding antagonists: “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness…” (2 Corinthians 12:9a)
We will never have all the answers to the ins and outs and the behind-the-scenes going on in our lives. But we have God, the only true living God, who supplies us with sufficient grace through it all.
God gave him the spiritual support he needed to go through these troubles in the form of grace. He didn’t answer the prayer in the way that Paul prayed for it, but he was guaranteed that in all that he was encountering, God had a heavenly supply that would keep him in his most useful state.
So often we pray to be useful for God’s kingdom, and yet, the way it comes out may not be at all like we imagined. But just because we didn’t imagine it this way, doesn’t mean God can’t use it. Because He can, my friend. He can.
God told Paul, “For my strength is made perfect in weakness.” When we think we don’t have much to give. When we compare our journey to this and that and feel like we come up short, we may be in the exact spot where God can manifest His strength the most.
If we think we have all the answers, as long as we can find sufficiency in ourselves and in our own strength, it is easy to lean on that. It is not until we know that without Him, I would fail. Not until we see and rely on God as our all-in-all, can He get the most out of us.
Therefore, Paul’s response was most appropriate: “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong,” 2 Corinthians 12:9b-10).
Paul doesn’t celebrate or take pleasure in pain, rather he settles himself in them because of the useful state it allows him to remain in before God. It’s as if to say regardless of where this leads or what I must endure, I’m choosing to continue in this ministry and leave the outcome to God.
COMMIT IT INTO THE HANDS OF GOD
And for Christ, as He hung on the cross with the crown of thorns upon His head, and saw the angry stares of the people, with their jeering and angry words hurled at Him, He committed the whole process of the cross into the hands of God.
He refused to relieve Himself from it. He refused to back down. He persevered through the pain.
When they entered Gethsemane to arrest Him, He could have escaped. Before they laid one stripe upon His back, He could have called down blindness upon His prosecutors as the angels did at the door of Lot (Genesis 19:10-14). Before one nail inserted itself into the flesh that would die for all humankind, He could have stopped it but that would not have been in the will of God.
So, regardless of the cost, the pain, and the persecution, Jesus committed it all to God’s hand and submitted to His holy will: “Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). That included the whole package deal of the cross, including every single thorn God wanted Him to feel and wear.
And through His submission came our salvation.
When we release it all into God’s hands, we know it is in a place where it won’t fail from His purpose. God can do perfectly in one moment what we struggle and strive for our entire lives to accomplish.
The pain of thorny places may make us feel like our world is spinning out of control. But anything committed into the hands of God will come out the way He orders it, even if it doesn’t look or feel like we think it should.
We all deal with thorns, but it doesn’t mean we are in a place of disfavor. It could very well be that we are in a place of maximum usefulness. Where we see weakness, God may see His strength overcoming it. Where we see thorns, it may be a place where God wants to perform a great work in you.
When traveling through familiar places in our past, we often encounter landmarks, buildings, spaces, people, or things that remind us of certain events or times in our lives.
My mother and I one day traveled down roads and through neighborhoods we had not visited together since I was a kid. As we drove, we pointed out buildings over here and over there that held special memories. We laughed as we remembered, asking each, “Do you remember when…?” when pointing to other spaces.
It was literally our chance to drive down memory lane. Although it took us longer to reach our intended destination, the joy we experienced in traveling through these memories made it more than worthwhile.
In life, I often come upon places, things, persons, or even situations that will spark a memory in my heart, a memory of deliverance. Whatever it is that initiated that spark, the thought of “I remember when…” comes, and I cannot help but stop and thank God for the way He brought me through or stood by my side during that situation.
In the Bible, places were named and marked for various things, including those deliverance moments. In Joshua 4, stones were gathered from the midst of the Jordan by some of the men of Israel, one from each tribe, after the people crossed over on dry ground. The purpose was, “That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever,” (4:6, 7).
Those stones were gathered to remember a moment of God’s deliverance on behalf of His people.
As we encounter things, people, or moments that jar a memory of God’s moving deliverance on our behalf, take a moment to thank God for where He brought you from and what He brought you through, and use that memory to reassure your heart in the faithfulness of our God today. He who has traveled with you in those moments is with you now in these moments of today.
Father God, thank You for all the times of deliverance You have provided in my life. Thank You for all the moments I can reflect and see where Your hand and power have stepped in for my cause and worked on my behalf. There are multiple times when You have kept me from seen and unseen dangers. Thank You for all of those deliverances time and time again. Thank You for Your keeping power, strength, mercy, grace, and help at work for me. Your faithfulness has been so real and I just want to bless Your holy name for continuing to travel with me through this life. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I pray, AMEN.
Text Free Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh on Pexels.com
“And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.” John 20:12
The morning after the high Sabbath had come. Certain women, of whom Mary Magdelene was one, approached the tomb of their beloved Savior, intent on properly honoring Him with the spices they brought for His body.
Upon arrival at the tomb, the object of their desire for coming was not there. The body of Jesus, whom they wanted to pay homage to, was gone.
They felt the earthquake, they saw the angel that sat upon the stone that had been rolled from the door of the tomb, and they heard his words: “And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay,” (Matthew 28:5, 6).
The women were entrusted to share the news with Jesus’ disciples, but one had come back.
Mary, whose encounter with Jesus freed her life of demonic oppression (Mark 16:9), needed to take a deeper look into the tomb, and what she saw may have reminded her of God’s presence and work among His people: “But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain,” (John 20:11, 12).
Not being a high priest, or any priest for that matter, and never seeing it for herself, but hearing stories of what it may have been like, I wonder if she pondered this question in her heart, “Is this what the mercy seat was like?”
The Mercy Seat in the Old Testament
The book of Exodus describes the meticulous instructions and care to follow on the building of everything regarding the Tabernacle as prescribed by God, including the mercy seat: “And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof,” (Exodus 25:17-19).
This is the sacred place of which God said, “And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony…” (Exodus 25:22).
This is the place of atonement, where the high priest would enter with the blood of animals once a year for the sins of the people.
The Mercy Seat in the New Testament
But when Jesus died on the cross, that protocol had been done away with. The old covenant had been replaced by the new: “Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom…” (Matthew 27:50, 51).
The way that only one man could enter once a year (Hebrews 9:6) had now been opened for all who would believe: “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us,” (Hebrews 9:11, 12).
Whether or not what she saw reminded her of that ancient ark, what she saw was the sure sign that the price had been paid once and for all. Not only for her sins but for the sins of the world (John 3:16) if they would only believe: “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us… but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself,” (Hebrews 9:24, 26b).
What Jesus’ Fulfillment Means to Us
Mercy, by definition, is God not giving us what we deserve. We deserved the penalties. We deserved the price that was extracted through His holy sacrifice. When He laid down His life, He did so for us, not Himself.
Now, all hindrances are removed. All excuses, as they say, are nailed to the cross. Believers far and near have no reason, like Mary, to draw near in complete faith: “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;),” (Hebrews 10:19-23).
Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthian church, called God, “The Father of mercies” (2 Corinthians 1:3), and rightly so. Just a glimpse into any of our lives would reveal how much His love and long-suffering nature have held, blessed, kept, provided, and more, despite our undeserving state.
And still today, mercy is available as we are invited not to draw near to the tomb, but to the throne: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need,” (Hebrews 4:16).
Once the way was not as easily accessible, but now we are beckoned to come. And not just come, but “come boldly.” Jesus paid the price for our mercy. The “new and living way” has been opened.
While the old mercy seat is gone, Jesus Christ has more than satisfied the atoning cost of the new covenant, establishing now, that through Him, is where we find the grace and mercy we need.
Friend, come boldly to Jesus Christ if you need mercy.
“And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.” Luke 1:50
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10
For miracles to take place, you don’t need much. With God, the smallest nothing can be of the greatest significance.
Great news indeed, for those who are dwarfed by the circumstances of life or who come in undersized, underrated, or undervalued.
But with God, the undervalued and overlooked nothing has the potential to become so much more.
A mother in 2 Kings 4 found this out for herself. After her husband died, the family was left in a state of financial ruin that would be detrimental unless a solution was found for their money woes.
Creditors were threatening to rob this woman of all she had left, her two sons, to help satisfy the debt she could not pay.
With widowhood already her new normal, and now she was looking at the possibility of losing her children, she ran to the prophet Elisha with her desperate plea for help.
I don’t know what she expected or exactly what type of help she was hoping to get, but when she poured her heartful request before him, I’m sure the answer she received was one she was not expecting.
After questioning her about what was available in her house, he found out the woman had only a lowly pot of oil.
Not much indeed, according to how the natural eye sees it, but when we invite our Heavenly Father’s hand to help our most desperate cases, miracles can happen even with the smallest of starts.
That’s why Jesus taught His disciples about “mustard seed” faith (Matthew 17:20). When they went out to do the work that He sent them to do, even if He was not physically with them, their job was still to keep their composure of belief, which He stated, only needed the smallest, true measure of faith to work.
The biggest acts, with the biggest voices, and the biggest things can’t help but grab our attention. But it’s the underrated lowly pot of oil, it is the unimpressive and least flashy thing that God can use to bring about the greatest change (after all, He did use a little Baby born in a small manger in obscurity to change the trajectory of eternity for those who would believe – but that’s for another time).
The widow who came before Elisha left her house that morning not knowing that what she viewed as nothing and unimportant would be the greatest thing she had on her shelf for a breakthrough.
Elisha’s instructions were for her to borrow as many empty vessels as possible, take them home, shut the door, and watch God work.
The Bible tells us, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). When she received the instructions on how to handle her seemingly insignificant source, what her eyes could not see, she moved forward in faith to fulfill. Which by the way, was the truly greatest thing she had on her spiritual shelf to work with.
As a result, every vessel she borrowed brought her one step closer to her breakthrough. Every time she poured her pot of oil, another filled, giving her more than enough in the end to satisfy all the debts against her and live comfortably off the rest.
Friends, I have written quite a few articles emphasizing the little things (I will link those below). And it is because I want you to believe in what God has placed in you and around you.
It may not impress people, but when we move forward in faith and believe God can do the impossible, He can.
While it seems the loud, boastful, and most flamboyant gets all the attention, faith that is true, even in its smallest measure, gets God’s attention the most (Hebrews 11:6).
“And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” 2 Samuel 5:24, NKJV
Have you ever seen one of those action movies where the characters involved in a grand scheme or plan must synchronize their watches to ensure everyone is moving at the right time?
When a big feat is to take place, it is good to make sure everyone is on the same page and moving at the proper time.
That’s what proper planning does. It views the many angles of the story, not just the present or temporary moments, but all the moments included, and it determines when the best time is to do A, B, or C.
On the opposite end of this spectrum is impulsiveness. It doesn’t always take every matter into account and consider all the possibilities. It tends to move forward hastily, and sometimes prematurely.
Sometimes it is hard to determine the difference between impulsiveness, instincts, and zeal, but there is a difference.
When David finally became king, not just recognized as king in Hebron, but over all Israel (2 Samuel 5:1-3), there were still yet contentions he faced, including their long-time enemy, the Philistines.
If you will remember, David had great success as a youth in slaying their most prominent warrior, Goliath (1 Samuel 17). But during the time between that battle and the one facing the Philistines here in 2 Samuel 5, David experienced many other inner and outer battles along the way.
In that, he grew not only in stature but in ability. Through his fearlessness, faith, and fervor, he became a much-feared warrior and king.
But David didn’t allow his previous accomplishments to cause him to rest on his laurels.
There were still battles to fight and enemies to conquer, so David pursued and engaged – but not without God’s guidance.
He could have chalked up his previous victories as the all-encompassing plan to win all his battles, but he didn’t.
And that’s a good thing because, with each battle he faced God gave him different directions on how to gain a successful ending.
Here in chapter 5, in one battle David was instructed to “go up” (v. 19), and in the other, he was told to “circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines” (Vv. 23, 24, NKJV; emphasis added).
This was going to be the battle of battles with the Philistines. After this event, they would no longer be a threat to Israel. But to get there, David had to wait for the right time.
Back to our opening illustration of synchronization, time is everything. But the caveat to that is, that the way we view time and the way God views time is vastly different (2 Peter 3:8).
Twice in verse 24, you see the word “then,” with God giving specific instructions on when David is to make his move. Any time outside the premise of that “then,” was not his moment to advance.
If David wanted to ensure success, he had to synchronize his move with God’s “then,” with God’s timing.
While zeal, fervor, and experience are great, if it’s out of alignment with God’s moment to progress, it won’t work.
Our God works specifically and in order. And more often than not, His design will not be on our timetable.
As infinite as He is, so are His plans and abilities, and through it all, taking the omniscient view of our lives, He knows when, where, and how something should be done.
But it is when we fight with impatience and frustration, when we can’t see it moving or how it will turn out, we find ourselves in precarious situations or wanting to give up altogether.
We don’t want “then,” we want now!
Instant victory. Instant gratification. And instant applause and promotion.
But when we pause at the “then” moments, we are simultaneously taking that occasion to learn how God is leading and giving Him room to work.
Listen for the sound of God’s moving.
This was David’s experience. Not until he heard the marching in the tops of the mulberry trees was it safe for him to proceed regardless of his personal abilities or how he previously won battles.
My friend, God has a specific plan for you. One drawn up and orchestrated out of His divine love. Do not rush ahead of God. He has an appointed time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1; Habakkuk 2:3).
Learning to wait for your “then” moments requires trust which is why Proverbs famously reminds us to “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5,6).
We will never have the full understanding God does for our lives (Isaiah 55:8,9), but what we can have is our trust and belief that He is perfect, His ways are perfect, and God knows what He is doing.
I don’t know what marching in the tops of mulberry trees audibly sounds like, but I do know what it sounds like in our lives of faith: waiting.
Waiting, patience, and being still when everything says go is hard. But if that going is not marked by God’s stamp of approval, it will all be for nothing.
And if you are longing for me to give you specifics or signs or systems to find out how to know when your “then” moment is, I can’t.
Our Heavenly Father has a perfect timeline for everyone’s life, and He only can tell you when it’s your time to advance.
In the meantime, you may have to do one of the hardest things – continue to wait, continue to have patience, and continue to be still.
In these moments of not going, let them be filled with the activity of seeking God, seeking His face and His perfect will for your life. Let them be filled with drawing ever nearer to His presence and learning to recognize and become more familiar with His moving in your own life.
Then, when you figuratively hear the marching in the tops of the mulberry trees (or by whatever means that you beyond a shadow of a doubt know it’s God’s prompting and leading you), you will know that your time has come, and you can advance forward successfully.
That second “then” assured David that by following God’s way, He was the one going before him. And whatever we are doing, above all else, this is how we should want to win our victories: following God’s ways and Him going with us.
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Jeremiah 29:11
“And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?” Judges 6:14
Gideon heard the message but he felt unqualified. He supposed he was inadequate for what God called him to do, stating that his family was “poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house” Judges 6:15.
Have you ever been there? Questioning your ability to do something beyond your normal scope of operations?
You are not alone. Many struggle daily with feelings of overwhelm, believing that this is just beyond my personal capabilities.
But can I tell you, where we see inability, God sees a victor in the making. Where we see someone who can’t, He sees someone who can. Where we feel we would lose, God sees one who is built to conquer. It is not, nor has it ever been about what we see, think, or can do within ourselves. It’s all about what God can do through us.
Gideon going up against the Midianites (read Judges 6:1-8:21) and winning against his enemies with an unusual victorious battle plan seems just as ludicrous as a skinny teenage boy like David going up against a great warrior like Goliath (both were outmatched and outsized). But, anytime God places a call on someone’s life, He doesn’t measure their ability to do the job by the individual. He doesn’t measure it by some fantastic gift they have in them, or their stature, or anything else one might use to determine the probability of success on the outside. God measures it by what He knows He can do through that life on the inside; that person who will just “go” at His calling.
The victory He had in mind for Gideon was so great that it was going to be as if “one man” (Judges 6:16)took down a whole army. In our walk of faith, we must take our eyes off what we can do and focus more on what God can do through us, answer His call on our lives, and just “go”, “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,” – 1 Timothy 1:9
My friend, you can do this. His holy Word reminds us:
“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” – Jeremiah 1:5
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;” – 1 Peter 2:9
And let us also remember:
“For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” – Romans 11:29
I believe we are a DIY nation. To some extent, that’s not a bad thing. People have learned ways and methods to get things done, while in the process, saving money and finding joy in the pleasure of taking on such projects, learning their way through it to fully execute it.
But some of the things we need to be most mindful of building cannot be found in a box or a creative idea. They must, with careful consideration, be approached with special awareness, carefulness, and love to ensure a proper build.
The Bible says “Every wise woman buildeth her house…” Proverbs 14:1. Rest assured, it is not a physical building we are called to hammer and nail (but if that is your skill set, good on you). But the actual construction of a house caused me to pause and ponder a few things.
One thing I realized is that for any house or building to be strong, there must be a good, strong foundation. Anything built on something less will not stand the test of time (see Matthew 7:24-27; Luke 6:47-49).
There, one must ask themselves what kind of foundation they are laying for their house. Is it laid in truth? Is it poured with love? Is it smoothed out properly and settled in the care you have to hold and support those around you?
In just dealing with the basics of building next, we understand that there are walls needed in the building of a house. Strong walls show that you care and want to protect those in your dwelling. Unbuilt or broken walls give the enemy access to what’s yours. So, as Nehemiah said, “Let us rise up and build” Nehemiah 2:18.
Spiritually, we must stand in the gap as walls protecting what is ours. This will mean laboring in prayer, and sometimes fasting, and staying fortified for ourselves in His Holy Word that you may surround, step in, and cover others in their times of need.
Lastly in a physical building but first spiritually, we have the roof. Every house, no matter the design, needs a roof built on top of it. While this top can act like a covering of protection in much the same way as walls do, when I think of topping this house, I am thinking along the lines of spiritual authority. And of course, that authority comes by way of God the Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Is He the head or the top of your life? Because if He’s not, it would be very hard to build, help, and encourage others toward Him when we have not fully submitted to Him for ourselves.
James tells us, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you,” James 4:7.
James also tells us, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you…” (4:8), and again, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” (4:10).
All these work toward building that roof – acknowledging God’s authority over our lives.
Some areas may be harder than others to relinquish total authority, but in all areas, God must be Lord.
Her relationship with the Lord is key above all else, and in maintaining a healthy spiritual relationship with Him, she can support and oversee the maintenance of her own house.
A wise woman seeks to build a house that will stand because she cares, and in doing so, she takes careful measures to ensure that she builds her house properly.
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“O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.” Psalm 22:3
Psalm 22 is known by all as the Messianic psalm prophesied of and quoted by Jesus Christ as He died and gave up His life for all mankind on that old rugged cross.
In the tragedy that would occur on Calvary, David tucks in this verse describing God dwelling in the place where His people praise Him.
If you are living a life of praising God, then no matter what circumstance you face, you are drawn near in heart and soul to Him, and the peace of His presence is never far from you.
One psalmist once declared, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all” Psalm 34:19, knowing that at the end of his course, victory was on the other side.
But on this side of life, we may still face many challenges and difficulties we are not keen on. For the very word tells of the distress it brings in one’s life. But it is in the midst of these struggles the individual must train themselves where the thoughts of their heart will lie: in the bosom of God’s faithfulness, or in the logic of human thinking.
The first would always be the winning choice regardless of one’s current condition, for in the bosom of God’s faithfulness, these moments of hardships, with the tears and turmoil they may possess, give way and make room to be refreshed in the fire by the God who will step in with you – to have one’s heart lifted with peace above the circumstance because praise has elevated you.
Oh, my friends, praise is powerful! Praise can lift you from the deepest pit and the direst of occasions. Though physically one may not experience the immediate relief they long for, but when our thoughts and intents of heart are transferred from viewing the troubles before us to the faithful God who has always been with us, we are raised by the power of His presence in the midst of the storm.
Naturally, we may be down, but inside we rise to the place where His glory dwells. Inside, we seem to soar into the heavenlies, leaving the cares of this world behind.
“O thou that inhabits the praises of Israel,” will He not also come near to you and me when we sequester ourselves with Him, lean upon His bosom of faithfulness, and just praise.
Tears may mingle there, but let praise be not absent.
Cares may be cast there but let not the Hallelujah’s be silenced.
“I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 34:1
“O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people” Psalm 117:1. You do not have to be Israel’s biological child to praise the LORD. The heart of the saint, His redeemed one, crying out, “Abba, Father” (Galatians 4:6) knows that “praise is comely for the upright” (Psalm 33:1) no matter who they are or where they hail from.
“Give unto the LORD the glory due his name…” Psalm 29:2
“It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High:” Psalm 92:1
We may not be before the ark decorated with cherubim, but we can come before the “Throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in times of need” (Hebrews 4:16) which is decorated with His undeniable glory.
And while there before that place of His presence, let us not just ask from Him, but let us offer to God our genuine, heartfelt praise.
Difficulties, struggles, and hurts – with great compassion for the trials some face, I will never downplay their experience. But according to Job, regardless of our present experience, we can still find a place of praise, for he said, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” Job 1:21.
“Praise ye the Lord. Praise, O ye servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord.
Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore.
From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised.
The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.
Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high,
Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!
He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;
That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.
He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord.” Psalm 113
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