Tag: storms

For the Joy Set Before Us

Posted on by Dorci

 

I’d venture to say that at least most, if not all of us who have been followers of Christ for very long have faced a deep, dark, painful trial at some point and wondered if satan was attacking us or God was testing us.

And that brings to mind two people in God’s Word who stand as examples to us. First, the one who will foreshadow the second.

Job was blameless and upright. He feared God and shunned evil.

Sounds like a pretty solid guy to me.

And yet, when satan stood before the LORD, God not only didn’t keep satan from Job, He seems to actually offer up Job to him.

 

“Have you considered my servant, Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”
Job 1:8

Of course satan’s response is like a jealous sibling’s:

 
“Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.  But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
Job 1:9-11

In another story we might read next that a parent would order this evil sibling to keep his hands off his precious son.

But this is no ordinary story, and certainly no ordinary Parent.

Instead, God lets satan loose on all Job had. Still, that wasn’t enough for the enemy of God. He stood before the Lord again, and God offered up Job once more. He gave Job into the devil’s hands with the only guideline being that he had to spare Job’s life.

And of course we know what happened. Satan runs right out and afflicts Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.

So, why Job? A man who carefully and thoughtfully acknowledged God in all his ways by living a righteous life. A man described as perfect, meaning “complete, morally pious, undefiled, coupled together.” Coupled together with whom? Job had joined himself with God and was made complete by abiding in Him.

So, was God testing him, or was satan attacking him?

Well, both.

Satan is always looking for a child of God to attack, to accuse, to grab onto with his grubby little bony fingers and bring him or her down from their secure place of faith in God.

But God knows our hearts. He knew Job’s heart. He knew his faith was as strong and secure as it could be and He could trust his faith to remain strong throughout this attack of the evil one and come out the other side glowing with the light of his God.

By the way, the word for God used in the book of Job is the plural word for God – ‘ĕlôhı̂ym – meaning the Supreme God. It’s the same word used in Genesis as the Creator of the heaven and earth and everything in it. Job didn’t just worship a god, but the God, the one, true God in three persons.

Satan thought he would ruin Job, but God showed His adversary the strength of the faith of one who abides in Him. God showed him the power of his faith when that faith is in the One, True God, and that his faith would even grow in the soil of trials because God’s strength and the Living Water maintains and matures it. 

In the end, God’s will was done, satan sulked away defeated, and God blessed the latter part of Job’s life even more than the first.

Remind you of Someone else?

There is another One we read about much later whose Father also allowed the unthinkable to take place. He allowed the enemy to give up His own Son to be tortured and nailed to a cross.

Our Lord Jesus lived a perfect life. In the end, of course, satan came for Him, and His Father didn’t stop it.

Isaiah 53 prophecies:
“though He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.
Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer…”

The original Hebrew translates it as “Yet it pleased (châphêts: to incline to, to be pleased with, desire) the LORD to bruise Him…”

And satan gave it all he had.

Satan might have thought he had the upper hand, but the Father was always in control, and He used the death of His Son to accomplish the otherwise impossible: to save you and me.

On this side of that dark day, we know our Lord Jesus was meant to suffer and die for our sins. Though the enemy attacked Him, God had a plan and only used His enemy to accomplish it.

And on the third day the dark clouds of mourning parted, the sun shone radiantly upon the earth, the Roman-sealed stone was moved away from the tomb, and Jesus was raised up and walked out victorious and triumphant over sin and death.  

And like Job, Jesus was even more blessed afterward than before.


“For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame,
and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:2

 

For the joy set before Him… With all that lay ahead, all He knew He would suffer, it brought Jesus joy knowing that His sacrifice would forgive our sins and purchase our souls so that whomever would believe on Him would receive His Spirit and, like Him, be raised to new life to live with Him forever in His joy and peace.

There are times in the middle of the trial when stormy clouds cover our world and it seems so much darker than usual that we’re tempted to believe the lies coming from the enemy.

But as we hold onto our God who is Master of our trials, the One who allows only as much and as long as is needed to strengthen our faith and mold us into the image of His Son, we will persevere. No matter what comes, we can say with Christ, “for the joy set before us,” knowing we’ll come out the other side in victory, with increasing faith and hope. We’ll stand forever as a living testimony of the love and omnipotence of our Heavenly Father, and with the eternal joy of having brought Him glory.

As we submit ourselves and our trials to God as Job did, and even as our Lord Jesus did, we too will be blessed immeasurably more in the latter part of our lives, the life after this one, where the treasures of God await us. 

As we meditate on our Lord’s death and celebrate His resurrection, may we remember that He is the One who leads us, who shows us the way, in life, death, and finally, in the resurrection of spirit and body. Praise His Holy Name!


“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.
Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
Philippians 3:10-11

Another Trial?

Posted on by Dorci

Seems I’ve talked to quite a few people lately who are going through especially difficult times. From my own personal perspective and after hearing the stories of my friends, the trials seems to be ramping up lately. My gut feeling is that the Lord’s working extra diligently to purify our hearts, to purge them of long-held sinful attitudes, of relying on anyone or anything else but Him, and to strengthen our faith in Him and Him alone. And of course the enemy is not too happy about that, but he’s going to use those trials, too, to try pulling us in the opposite direction.

Resist. 

I was recently dealing with a new health issue, and while some days I was handling it fine, there were others when it all was getting just too overwhelming.

One trial – okay; two – alrighty then; three – hmmm, what’s going on?; four – Lord, where are you?!  I get it. Believe me, I get it. And of course I pray, of course I turn to God’s Word and wait for Him to speak to my heart through it, but there are also times I turn to a favorite devotional – Streams in the Desert. 

Since there are so many facing some very difficult and painful trials, I wanted to share with you today’s Streams in the Desert devotional. The Lord blessed me as I read it, and helped me see my trials from His perspective, to remember that my trials are for my spiritual growth and for His glory. What could be better than that? 

 

Streams in the Desert – August 29

 

And he went out carrying his own cross (John 19:17).

There is a poem called “The Changed Cross.” It represents a weary one who thought that her cross was surely heavier than those of others whom she saw about her, and she wished that she might choose another instead of her own. She slept, and in her dream she was led to a place where many crosses lay, crosses of different shapes and sizes. There was a little one most beauteous to behold, set in jewels and gold. “Ah, this I can wear with comfort,” she said. So she took it up, but her weak form shook beneath it. The jewels and the gold were beautiful, but they were far too heavy for her.

Next she saw a lovely cross with fair flowers entwined around its sculptured form. Surely that was the one for her. She lifted it, but beneath the flowers were piercing thorns which tore her flesh.

At last, as she went on, she came to a plain cross, without jewels, without carvings, with only a few words of love inscribed upon it. This she took up and it proved the best of all, the easiest to be borne. And as she looked upon it, bathed in the radiance that fell from Heaven, she recognized her own old cross. She had found it again, and it was the best of all and lightest for her.

God knows best what cross we need to bear. We do not know how heavy other people’s crosses are. We envy someone who is rich; his is a golden cross set with jewels, but we do not know how heavy it is. Here is another whose life seems very lovely. She bears a cross twined with flowers. If we could try all the other crosses that we think lighter than our own, we would at last find that not one of them suited us so well as our own.
–Glimpses through Life’s Windows

If thou, impatient, dost let slip thy cross,
Thou wilt not find it in this world again;
Nor in another: here and here alone
Is given thee to suffer for God’s sake.
In other worlds we may more perfectly
Love Him and serve Him, praise Him,
Grow nearer and nearer to Him with delight.
But then we shall not any more
Be called to suffer, which is our appointment here.
Canst thou not suffer, then, one hour or two?
If He should call thee from thy cross today,
Saying: “It is finished-that hard cross of thine
From which thou prayest for deliverance,
“Thinkest thou not some passion of regret
Would overcome thee? Thou would’st say,
“So soon? Let me go back and suffer yet awhile
More patiently. I have not yet praised God.”
Whensoe’er it comes, that summons that we look for,
It will seem soon, too soon. Let us take heed in time
That God may now be glorified in us.
–Ugo Bassi’s Sermon in a Hospital

 

Saturday Song – I Will Carry You

Posted on by Dorci

Much of my life I seemed to walk alone. Or so I thought. Through more difficult days I can count, more trials, more stumbling and reaching out in the darkness for someone to help me up and thinking no one was there, now I see Jesus was.

It was He who led me, He who protected me, He who lifted me up again and again, and He who loved me through it all, and I know He always will. 

I pray you know He’s there for you, too. I pray you know He carried your sins on the cross, even when He knew the sins that would stumble you, and He loved you still.

I pray you know when you’re in need He’ll provide for you; when you fall He’ll pick you up; when you’re empty He’ll fill you; when you’re lost He’ll come after you; when you’re broken He’ll weep with you, and then He’ll heal your heart, as many times as it takes.  

Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and His understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:28-31

 

 

I Will Carry You
by Ellie Holcomb
 
I know you’re tired, I see it in your eyesAll that anxiety that rules your mindI’ll be your shield when you don’t feel likeYou’ve got strength enough to fightI’ll stand by your side
 
I will carry youThrough your darkest nightWhen you’re terrifiedI will carry youWhen the waters riseWhen your hope runs dryI will carry you
 
You are not the sum of your mistakesYou don’t have to hide the parts of you that acheI choose you as you are a million times‘Cause I am not ashamed of youI won’t walk away from you
 
I will carry youThrough your darkest nightWhen you’re terrifiedI will carry youWhen the waters riseWhen your hope runs dryI will carry you
 
Up and over the mountainsValley deep as the oceanWhen you can’t keep goingI will shoulder your burdensUp and over the mountainsValley deep as the oceanWhen you can’t keep goingI will shoulder your burdens
 
I will carry youThrough your darkest nightWhen you’re terrifiedI will carry you (carry you)When the waters riseWhen your hope runs dryI will carry you
 
I will carry you, carry youThrough the darkest night (you)When you’re terrified(I will shoulder your burdens)I will carry you, carry youWhen the waters rise (you)I will carry you

Choices

Posted on by Dorci

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.”
1 John 2:15

In some ways this command seems to be getting easier to follow all the time. Still, there can be a lot to love in this world. Why wouldn’t God want us to love it? 

You might have heard that while in English we use the one word – love – to talk about all kinds of love, there are many Greek words for love –

phileō – a friendship love
philostorgos – a familial love 
‛âgab – a sensual love 
eros – a romantic love
philarguria – a love of money

And that’s not even an exhaustive list. 

The word used for love in the command above is agapaō – to love much, or dearly, to be well pleased, to be contented at or with a thing, to have a preference for, to prize it above other things, to be unwilling to abandon it or do without it. 

It’s the same word Jesus used when asked “‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ Jesus replied: ‘Love (agapaō) the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love (agapaō) your neighbor as yourself.’” 
Matthew 22:36-39

Jesus then goes on to say “‘All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’”
Matthew 22:40

The commandments in the Old Testament were given to show people how they were to love. The first four commandments pertained to their love of God, starting with the command to “have no other gods before me,” and then moved on to how they were to love others – “honor your father and mother, you shall not murder…” and others. 

Christ reiterates, and makes possible in and through us as the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our hearts, what the commandments said – that if we love God first, love for others will flow from that. 

It’s even the same word Jesus used when He said “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…”  
Matthew 5:44

But when we agapaō the world, when our mind is focused on and busy with all the world has to offer (name your worldly passion), if we prefer those things, cling to those things, put those things first in our lives over and above God and above showing love to others, then we’ve gotten it all out of order. 

It will cause us to put off spending time with our Father, growing our relationship with Him by abiding in Him through prayer and the reading of His precious Word. 

And if we don’t remain in His love through abiding, we won’t have the love we need to fulfill the second commandment Jesus gives to love others and all that would entail. 

I have very nearly perfected procrastination. I can find a million things to do before I sit down to read or pray, or do whatever God is calling me to do. And I look back and regret that countless times. 

But I don’t want to just “phileō” God, to love Him as a friend on par with the rest of the world, as Peter confessed in John 21 when Jesus asked him twice if he “agapaō” Him, and both times Peter confessed that he only “phileō” Him.

Then Jesus asked him a third time if he even “phileō” Him, if he even loved Him as a friend. Peter was grieved because he could not yet say that he “agapaō” Him, that he loved Him unconditionally, that he was ready to put Christ above all things, or that he was unwilling to abandon Him for the sake of the world. 

But once Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, he “agapaō” Christ, even being willing to endure persecution in order to tell others the gospel of Jesus Christ, all the way to being crucified upside down. 

I don’t think God doesn’t want us to enjoy the things He’s given us in this world He created, He just wants to remind us to keep it in its place, to remember that He needs to be who we love above all things, that when we have a choice, and we will have choices, our only real choice is Him because without Him we have nothing. 

I pray that whatever God is calling you and me to do, we will not put it off because we’re busy doing other things.  A whole lifetime can pass while we do other things, but in the end only one thing will matter –  how we loved the Lord and lived our lives in Him. 

In His agape,

 

 

Heavenly Father, we confess that we’ve chosen other things before you and we humbly and sincerely ask for your forgiveness. Help us to agapaō you, to walk in your Spirit every minute of the day and night, always putting you first, doing what you call us to do, glorifying you with our lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

 

Saturday Song – Cry Out To Jesus

Posted on by Dorci

 

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:18

 

 

Cry Out To Jesus
by Third Day

To everyone who’s lost someone they love
Long before it was their time
You feel like the days you had were not enough
When you said goodbye

And to all of the people with burdens and pains
Keeping you back from your life
You believe that there’s nothing and there is no one
Who can make it right

There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
And love for the broken heart
And there is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He’ll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus
Cry out to Jesus

For the marriage that’s struggling just to hang on
They’ve lost all of their faith in love
And they’ve done all they can to make it right again, still it’s not enough

For the ones who can’t break the addictions and chains
You try to give up but you come back again
Just remember that you’re not alone in your shame
And your suffering

There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
And love for the broken heart
And there is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He’ll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus

When you’re lonely
And it feels like the whole world is falling on you
You just reach out, you just cry out to Jesus
Cry to Jesus

To the widow who suffers from being alone
Wiping the tears from her eyes
And for the children around the world without a home
Say a prayer tonight

There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
And love for the broken heart
And there is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He’ll meet you wherever you are

There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
And love for the broken heart
And there is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He’ll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus
Cry out to Jesus
Oh, cry out to Jesus
Cry out to Jesus

Scripture Picture – Light of the World

Posted on by Dorci

What God Does Not Promise

Posted on by Dorci

As we journey through life and all its twists and turns, it’s encouraging to be reminded of the promises of God, but it’s also good to remember what God does not promise. 

Jesus sat with His disciples as they ate together for the last time. He’d washed their feet, including Judas’s, showing them how they were treat one another.

Once Judas left them, He began to prepare them for what would come. 

Over and over He tells them He must go away, that He was going back to the Father, but they would see Him again. In the meantime, He would send the Comforter to be with them forever.

Then He began to prepare them for what would lay ahead – the world’s hatred, persecution, even their murders. But again He reminds them that the Spirit of truth will come and guide them.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

There are some who believe, and some who even teach, that after we’re saved our lives will be perfect, that God will keep us from going through any hardships. But that’s not what Jesus taught. 

He did not promise a life with no trouble. 

The word for trouble here is thlipsis, which means afflicted, anguish, burdened, persecution, tribulation.

Now, that we live in a world with trouble might seem obvious, but when we’re in the middle of the affliction, the tribulation, the persecution, the anguish, we can be tempted to wonder where God is. 

Why is He allowing this? Is He angry with me? Does He hear me? Has He forgotten me? And there may even be times we wonder if we were ever saved at all. 

Jesus explicitly said these things because He knew where our minds could be tempted to go when we’re hurting, and He didn’t want us to believe those lies.

We live in a sinful world full of heartache and suffering. He did not promise to take it away, but to be with us in the middle of it. 

If you’ve ever sat with a child who’s in some kind of pain, whether emotional, physical, or spiritual, no matter how young or old they are, you know you hurt at least as much as they do, maybe more. 

You pray for them, you cry with them, you ache for them. 

If we do this with our own children, how much more will our Heavenly Father, who sent His only Son to die for us and sent us His Holy Spirit, who loves us with an everlasting love, do this with us? 

Yes, we will have trouble, but Jesus said

“…take heart! I have overcome the world.”

It’s a done deal. He’s conquered this sin-filled world and all the pain that comes along with it. He already has the victory, and in Him we have it, too. 

He will be with us through all things. And even more, He will strengthen us with courage and hope and even joy as we go through it. He will grow our faith, give us wisdom and a testimony of His grace and mercy, and prepare us for the life to come when we see our Savior face to face. 

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5b

***

Heavenly Father, help us keep our eyes on you, especially when we’re going through the storms of life. We ask for your strength, courage and hope through the power of your Holy Spirit as we walk through our trials with you. Don’t let us believe in the lies of the enemy, but instead walk in faith, believing in your constant love and presence with us and your promise to prepare a home for us and take us to be with you forever. We pray in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. 

 

Photo credit: 21326550 / Storm © Pictureguy66 | Dreamstime.com

The Saturday Song – There Will Be a Day

Posted on by Dorci

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain,
for the former things have passed away.”
Revelation 21:4

 

Heavenly Father, help us walk through the hard things in this life with the hope you’ve given us for the next. In Christ’s name we pray, amen. 

Sunday Praise and a Prayer as We Stand Upon the Rock

Posted on by Dorci

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you. You, Lord, are our Rock, and on you we stand. We declare that as we stand upon You, the Rock of our salvation, we will not be shaken; we will not be moved. You are our Mighty Fortress, our Protector, and we will not fear. 

You are our Strength, our Courage, our sure Hope. No matter what storms rage around us, you are our Peace, and our Light in the darkness. 

You are our Sustenance, our Fountain of living water. 

As we stand upon you and walk in faith, may our lives be a reflection of your great love and grace, and may all we go through magnify and glorify the holy and precious name of Jesus Christ. 

In His name we pray, amen.

* * *

If you would like prayer, please feel free to contact me. 

For His glory, 

Think About These Things

Posted on by Dorci


It is incredibly easy to get focused on what’s going wrong, what went wrong, and what might go wrong in the future. 

Paul had plenty he could have been depressed about when he wrote his letter to the Church in Philippi.

He was writing while imprisoned unjustly and constantly guarded, and had to rely on people outside the prison to supply most of his food and anything else he needed. He lived with a chronic health issue. And he faced the real possibility of execution.

Five times he’d been punished with thirty-nine lashes, three times he was beaten with rods and once was stoned. He was shipwrecked three times, and spent a whole night adrift at sea. He faced danger from rivers, robbers, Jews and Gentiles, wolves in sheep’s clothing, in cities, deserts, and on the seas. He had sleepless nights, had gone without food and water, and had shivered from enduring cold without enough clothing to keep him warm. 

But Paul did not focus on those outward things. 

His focus was on his Savior and his calling, and both of those led him to have a heart for God’s people. Instead of thinking about all that was going wrong or could go wrong, he’s writing a letter to the body of Christ to encourage them. 

He tells them not to worry about him, but reminds them the truth that his imprisonment has only served to advance the gospel inside and outside the prison.

He finds it praiseworthy that his imprisonment has served to strengthen the faith of believers, that they “dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.”

And he speaks of the loveliness of this body of believers in sharing in his suffering by sending him aid. 

Paul’s whole heart, mind, and soul are laser-focused on the Lord, on getting out the gospel for the sake of lost souls, and encouraging his beloved brothers and sisters. 

If we’re abiding in Christ, our circumstances are in the hands of a gracious and merciful and loving Father. And the excellent thing about Him is that He loves to be our strength when we are weak, and He will use those circumstances in ways we might not know about until we see Him face to face. 

Paul never knew he was writing the majority of the New Testament, and that 2000 years later we would be benefitting  from the encouragement he took and wrote about to the churches while he was in prison. 

Yes, there’s a lot going on in our own lives and all around us we could focus on that is untrue, unjust, unrighteous, etc., etc., and etc.

But we can take our thoughts away from those things and focus them on the Lord, the gospel, and our calling. We walk in the Spirit by first thinking in the Spirit, seeing our circumstances through the eyes of Christ, remembering He has a plan, and praise Him for all the ways He’s blessed us, is blessing us, and will bless us. 

God’s given each of us spiritual gifts to use, and circumstances that allow us to use them. 

I think about my own life, and let me tell you, it’s been a doozy. Almost from day 1 to now it’s been an uphill climb. Sometimes I come to some level ground, although even that’s been rocky. And every once in a while I come to an oasis – a true word from the Lord, a lovely friend, or a praiseworthy answer to prayer. 

Yet I remember that it is in the very depths of those difficult circumstances that draw me to Christ, keep me needing Him, abiding in Him, and loving Him more and more. And without all He’s taught me through them, I wouldn’t have had much, if anything, to write about. 

Even if we can think of nothing else, we can focus on the fact that

“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 1 Peter 1:6-7

So. What can we focus on right now, today, that is

True (truth)? 

Noble (worthy of respect)?

Right (just, in character or act)?

Pure (innocent, modest, perfect)?

Lovely (friendly towards)?

Admirable (well spoken of)?

Excellent (praise, virtue)?

Praiseworthy (commendable)?

Hint: The best place to be reminded of all that is true and praiseworthy and everything in between is in the very pages of God’s Word. (Can you imagine Paul’s joy knowing that here we are in 2021 taking courage from his encouragement?)

And one more word of truth lived out by our brother Paul – 

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Cor. 10:5

Heavenly Father, we give you praise for our salvation through Christ and for the continual blessing of the Holy Spirit. When we begin to get our eyes onto things or perspectives that would bring us down, remind us of what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. Help us remember and live worthy of our calling to the praise and glory of Jesus Christ. And thank you for preparing for us a place in heaven, where we will live with you and everything that is good and right and holy forever and ever. In Jesus’ precious name, amen.