God Has Come to Help!

One of my all time favorite accounts of Jesus’ life is when he traveled to a town called Nain. You can read about it in Luke 7:11-16. Just outside of town Jesus encountered a funeral procession. Luke gives us some details that help us understand how dire the circumstances were that surrounded this particular death.

The person who died was the only son of a widow. Those words tell us a lot. As a widow, she not only lost the companionship of her husband. She also lost the source of provision and security when her husband died. She was fortunate to have son. At the death of her husband the son would have become responsible for providing and caring for his mother but now he has died too.

This woman not only was grieving the loss of the two most intimate relationships in her life but she was mourning the loss of provision and security. She officially had no one to turn to. But here comes Jesus.

I love verse 13 of Luke 7. It says, “When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her…..” If you read the verses or know the story you know that he reached up and touched the coffin and said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” And you know the rest of the story.

That part of the story is exciting. I can only imagine the joy in her heart as she sees her son rise from the dead.

My favorite part of the story is found in the final sentence of verse 16. It says, “God has come to help his people.”

What a great statement! God has come to help his people. What do you need God’s help with today? Have you ask him for help? He’s here to help you! He’s here to change your mourning into dancing; tears into laughter; and death into life!

God has come to help!

Always in Pursuit!

The Laments of Our Lives, Part II

In addition to the 65 or 66 laments in the Psalms you will find 35 or 36 imprecatory Psalms.

I’ve labeled imprecatory Psalms as laments on steroids.

The meaning of the word imprecatory is: to call down evil or curses. Usually it is used in reference to another human that hurt us or disappointed us greatly.

Imprecatory Psalms express great anger and or a desire for revenge on someone who has hurt us or “done us dirty.” Once again some biblical scholars choose to ignore these god-breathed words and deny the existence of such severe emotions in the life of a believer. But we have to do better than just ignore these things. We have to learn how to deal with them because these emotions are real and many of us experience them from time to time.

I’ve heard stories of folks using the imprecatory Psalms as models for prayers. But they weren’t given as a model for prayer. They were given as a model for what to do when our thoughts are invaded by these emotions on steroids.

Here are a few Imprecatory Psalms for you to take a look at: 35, 69, 83, 109, 137 and 140.

My favorite imprecatory is found in Psalms 58:7, 8. It says, “Break the teeth of these fierce lions, O God. May they disappear like water draining away; may they be crushed like weeds on a path. May they be like snails that dissolve into slime; may they be like a baby born dead that never sees the light.”

Dr. Walter Brueggeman says that we have three choices to make when it comes to these emotions. First, we can act them out. But our recent history has shown the chaos that happens when this choice is made. You don’t have to go further than Newtown, Connecticut; Columbine High School or the movie theater in Aurora, Colorado.

Secondly, we could deny them. Another way to describe this choice is that we would “stuff” our emotions. This works for awhile but everyone has a limit as to how much can be stuffed. When we reach that limit there is a blow out coming. Unfortunately when there is a blow-out, the ones who suffer are those closest to us such as our spouse, our kids or our co-workers. We’ve all heard stories about the consequences of stuffing our emotions.

The third and most appropriate choice is to hand them off to God as the Psalmists did. I know it’s not easy but when you realize that we are to be salt, light, and live with hope so that none should perish, we have to do whatever it takes to ensure that we are able to be all those things that God has chosen for us to be.

I’m not sure who the Psalmist had in mind when he ask God to break their teeth or for God to make them like a snail that dissolved into slime but I know that God is able to help take those emotions and replace them with joy, hope and peace.

We can’t allow our emotions to control us so the choice is that we take our emotions to God; hand them off to Him; and live our lives as salt and light filled with hope so that none perish.

Always in Pursuit!

The Laments of our Lives, Part I

Recently I had the privilege of speaking to a great group of folks on the subject of our emotions and what the Bible has to say about them.

We spent time in the book of Psalms which contains “pictures” of every emotion known to man. We discovered references to joy (Psalms 16:11; 33:3) and peace (Psalms 4:8; 29:11). We found pictures of feeling secure knowing that God was our “fortress” and “strong right arm.” We also discovered that we had hope since God has taken our feet out of sinking sand and placed them on a firm foundation. We rejoice over these pictures. But there are other emotions pictured in the 150 Psalms.

Included in this list of “other emotions” are those of fear, confusion and doubt. The Psalms that give us these pictures are called “laments.” A lament is something that expresses grief or sorrow. All of the laments, except one, end up victorious. They end up proclaiming that no matter how I might feel, God is on the throne; He is my God; and the one I can put my hope in and never experience disappointment. Of the 150 Psalms, 65 or 66 of the Psalms are known as Laments? I suppose you could ignore them, as some choose to do, but then you are ignoring 1/3 of what the Holy Spirit breathed into the heart of the Psalmists. These words were intended to be words of instruction, rebuke, correction and training for us.

As I spent time reading through many of the laments, I discovered they were placed there by the breath of God for the purpose of showing me how to handle those emotions when they come along rather than allow them to handle me.

Have you ever experienced any of these emotions? What do you do with them? Do you give them room in your life or do you bring them to God; express them and then turn to Him and allow Him to bring victory about over those circumstances. Two of my favorite laments are Psalms 3 and 22.

While David was fleeing from his son Absalom he wrote what we know of as Psalm 3. Note the first four verses: Lord, How many are my foes! How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.” How many rise up against me! BUT you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain.”

Perhaps the most well-known lament is Psalm 22. It was what Christ quoted from the cross. Note the first five verses with me: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.” YET you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises. In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.”

Notice the expressed grief and sorrow but also notice the use of the word “BUT” in Psalm 3 and the word “YET” in Psalm 22. Things may get bad for us but there is always a “BUT” and a “YET” available to us. We don’t have to give in to our emotions and allow them to control us but we can give them to God and move forward in the things He has for us and know that there is victory coming our way.

Always in Pursuit!

It's Never a Good Time to Give Up! Part VI

Never a Good Time to Give Up!

Part VI

I have purposely kept these posts shorter so they would have a little more impact and you could easily remember the nugget for that day. Let’s review since that helps most of us learn.

First, we learned that tough times do not mean God has forgotten us. He has not. He’s with you just like he was on your very best day.

Second, we learned that in tough times it’s still important to do the right thing. There is NEVER a right time to not do the right thing just like there is never a good time to give up!

Third, we learned that while it may seem like tough times are going to last forever, they won’t. There is a limit to what God will allow to come your way. At some point, just like a good parent, he will stand up and say, “That’s enough.”

Fourth, we were reminded that tough times do not change the way God thinks about us. He loves us just as much during tough times as he does during the good times.

So, finally we come to the conclusion of these promises and it’s all wrapped up in verse 11. We have a future even though we don’t feel like we are going to survive. Our future is not one that we are just going to squeak by in but it is one that we are going to prosper in and one where nothing is going to harm us and one that we can look forward to with great confidence. As a matter of fact there may be some days when the hope of your prosperous future is the only thing that will help you get through.

Remember what I said in a previous post, the light at the end of the tunnel is not a train, it’s God shining the light of His favor upon you and sooner than later, that light is going to shine on you and me!

Until then though, remember, “It’s Never a Good Time to Give Up!”

Always in Pursuit!

PS. Watch for two new posts yet this week on laments and imprecatory Psalms.

Never a Good Time to Give Up! Part V

Never a Good Time to Give Up!

Part V

Not only do tough times have a definite end but tough times don’t cause God to change His mind about us.

I have noticed that some of our friends have a tendency to be a bit scarce when tough times come our way. Ever notice that? Sometimes it's just a matter of them not knowing what to say. I understand that, a little. But let me draw another analogy from Job. The best thing his three friends did was to sit quietly with Job for seven days. Job did not need a sermon, he did not need anyone to try and explain things, he just needed someone to sit with him in the ashes. Ever been there? There are times when words don’t work. That scares some of us. We want to “fix things.” Or at least we want to explain why things happen the way they do. In reality, we should just sit there. Sometimes tough times simply defy explanation.

Many years ago, Gayle D. Erwin told me, “There is nothing you can do to make God love you more. And there is nothing you can do to make God love you less.” He just won’t change His mind about you. He’s crazy about you! He sings over you! And He never turns His back on you. He promised. You can take that to the bank or as Uncle Si might say, "that’s a fact, Jack!"

Remember, It’s Never a Good Time to Give Up!

Always in Pursuit!

Never a Good Time to Give Up! Part IV

Never a Good Time to Give Up!

Part IV

Chapter 29 of Jeremiah a light at the end of the tunnel; and that light is not a train. It’s God. It’s God with a promise of a great future; with the promise of prosperity; and with the promise that we will not be harmed. But there might be circumstances that will cause us to doubt that from time to time. Ever been there? I have. One friend of mine told me that I wouldn’t be the first person God would forget or that God would fail. And this was part of the message Jeremiah was trying to communicate with the exiles and now to us. We need to pay attention because if you haven’t noticed, times are tough and the chances of them getting tougher are pretty good.

So Jeremiah wrote this letter in a letter as a source of encouragement. He concluded the letter with the great promise found in verse 29 but he included five other things we need to pay attention to in his letter.

The first nugget is that God has not forgotten us. The second nugget is that it’s important to not stop doing what we are supposed to do. Because it’s never too late to do the right thing.

Now the third nugget in this letter is: tough times don’t last forever, there will be an end.

Just as God limited the exile of Judah to 70 years, our tough times have a God-established limit. It’s like God says to all the evil around us, “This far and no further.” Just as God put limits on Satan and his attack of Job, there are limits around you and me. God has not forgotten us; we need to keep on doing the right thing; and we need to keep in mind that this too has an end.

It’s Never a Good Time to Give Up!

Always in Pursuit!

Never a Good Time to Give Up! Part III

Never a Good Time to Give Up!
Part III

As we continue to read through Jeremiah’s letter of encouragement to those going into exile, we find the second truth that we need to apply to our life. And that is: It’s important to not stop doing what we are supposed to be doing.

The first thing we find in verse 4 is that God has not forgotten us. So the natural sequence would be, since God has not forgotten us, we need to make sure we do the right things with our lives. And giving up is not the right thing to do.

Note what the prophet wrote in verse 5: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. {6} Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

Please allow me to paraphrase this: Make the best of your circumstances. Live your life. I haven’t forgotten you and I won’t forget to bless your righteous living!”

Paul wrote to us in Galatians 6: 9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

It’s never too late to do the right thing and it’s never a good time to give up!

Always in Pursuit!