Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)
Pause
The story’s told of a king who called a meeting with his advisors. In the middle of their discussion, he noticed his daughter peering through the ajar door. Without a moment’s hesitation, he opened his arms and she came running. Such is the welcome our heavenly Father extends to us.
We might hesitate to approach him if we believe he doesn’t really care about our concerns or that they’re too trivial for him to take notice. Our pain might seem paltry to someone who deals with global pandemics, wars, and famine, right? Wrong. Nothing’s further from the truth.
God cares deeply about what concerns me and you, and he invites us to come to his throne room anytime day or night. We needn’t fear interrupting him. No matter what our need is, he promises to extend mercy and favor to help us through it.
Go ahead—run to him today. He can hardly wait to hold you.
Ponder
Do you feel free to approach God at any time? If not, why?
Pray
Father, help me picture you with arms open waiting for me to run into them.
“That’s the way it is with our Father in Heaven. When you became a son or a daughter, when you were adopted into His family, He opened up for you through His Son’s death on the cross a way of fellowship and relationship that makes it possible for you to bypass the temple and its animal sacrifices. You don’t have to talk to God through a priest. You can go right into the presence of God Almighty and He will hear you.”
Several years ago, a ruptured Achilles tendon landed me in a knee-high non-weightbearing cast. A few days later, my opposite leg suffered a knee injury. Those injuries combined ruled out crutches and put me in a wheelchair for three months. But that wasn’t all. Insomnia hit me, too.
Several months prior, I’d accepted a speaking invitation for a women’s conference about 12 hours’ drive from home. As the weekend for that event approached, I chose to do my utmost to honor my commitment. I sat at my desk the day before departure and prayed, “God, I haven’t got a clue how I’m going to do this. I need Your help.”
My gaze fell on a piece of scrap paper on my desk. It contained words scrawled in my handwriting: Go in the strength you have. I will be with you. Gideon. Judges 6:14-16.
At the time, I understood those words to mean I was to go in the physical strength I had no matter how limited, and God’s presence would be my sufficiency. I went, and it was.
Yesterday I spent several hours writing Bible study curriculum focused on Gideon’s life. I returned to Judges 6:14-16, and this time I saw these verses through a different lens.
God spoke these words to Gideon when He tasked him with rescuing the Israelites from the Midianites. Gideon argued that his clan was the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh and he was the least in his entire family. How could he possibly rescue the Israelites?
It appears that, like me, Gideon also assumed God was referring to his physical strength. But maybe that’s not what God meant. Could it be that He had other strengths in mind? If so, what might they be? Humility, perhaps. The willingness to do whatever God said even if it meant doing it afraid? A repentant heart? (Judges 6:22-24)
Sometimes God sees strengths in us that we fail to recognize. He gives us an assignment, and what do we do? Focus on our inadequacies, on those qualities we consider weaknesses.
Maybe we need to reframe the way we see ourselves. Perhaps we need to ask the Lord to help us view ourselves as He does. What strengths does He see in us that we fail to recognize? Here are a couple of examples.
God tasks believers with making disciples of Christ. (Matthew 28:18-20) We respond, “Who am I to do that? I ‘m not a preacher or Bible study leader.” But God sees in us an extraordinary ability to listen well—an important skill in building relationships that could eventually lead to conversations over coffee about Jesus and faith journeys.
God might ask us to show His love to a difficult neighbor or family member. We say, “I can’t do that. I don’t have patience for prickly people.” But He sees in us the ability to discern when someone has a practical need and the willingness to meet that need. Perhaps performing an act of service is the key to unlocking that person’s heart.
God saw something in Gideon that Gideon didn’t see in himself. I’m certain the same is true for us.
Think for a few minutes about how this applies to your life. Ask God to show you a strength He sees in you—one you’ve either never noticed or have seen but not considered a strength. Then post that strength in the comment section. Share with us what He shows you, okay?
Last evening, the women in my Zoom Bible study talked briefly about the timing of God’s provision for our needs. Based on personal experience and Biblical accounts, we all came to the same conclusion: He always provides for us. And that provision always comes at just the right time—not a moment too late, and never too soon. He rescues us at the midnight hour.
Perhaps you’re waiting for God to provide for a particular need today. Maybe you’re waiting for Him to answer a prayer. If so, then I pray that today’s post will encourage and inspire you. It’s an excerpt from Finding Hope in Crisis: Devotions for Calm in Chaos.
Always on Time
I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire… Psalm 40:1-2 (NLT)
Pause
I was kindergarten-age when I tried crossing a muddy road. My feet became stuck in the muck, and I yelled for help. I yelled louder upon seeing a concrete truck rumble toward me. A neighbor rushed to my rescue, and, in my opinion, not a moment too soon.
Sometimes I feel like my child-self mired in tough circumstances about to get worse. I cry to God for help, and I cry again—louder—if rescue doesn’t come immediately. Patience and panic don’t dwell in the same heart.
I suspect that the psalmist exercised patience because he understood God’s nature. Having a good grasp on his wisdom, sovereignty, and love enabled him to trust his timing. He knew God would respond not a moment too soon or too late.
Such is our Rescuer God. Wise. Sovereign. Loving. He hears our cries, and he comes at just the right time.
Ponder
Identify one blessing you’ve received while waiting for God to answer your cries for help.
Pray
Lord, I know you will rescue me. Help me wait patiently.
“Have you entrusted everything concerning your case to Jesus? If you have, then the entire matter is sealed and delivered—in His resurrection. The message is this: As surely as Jesus rose on time, your triumph will be on schedule also. Lazarus’s schedule probably seemed a day late to him, too.” –Jack Hayford, Moments with Majesty
Honestly, I sometimes feel like managing my self-talk is a fulltime job. Unless I keep constant vigil, I catch myself speaking untruths that lead to wasted time worrying or building a wall of self-defense. Why go there? My attitudes, perspectives, and even my relationships are so much healthier when I catch the lies and replace them with truth.
Does this sound familiar?
If so, then I pray that today’s post will encourage and inspire you. It’s an excerpt from Finding Hope in Crisis: Devotions for Calm in Chaos available at Barnes and Noble and anywhere Christian books are sold.
Self-Talk
Keep me from lying to myself; give me the privilege of knowing your instructions.
Psalm 119:29 (NLT)
Pause
Have you ever listened to the self-talk that runs through your mind? Losing my mobility for several months while living in a three-storey townhouse meant having to hoist myself backwards up fifteen stairs to my bedroom every night. One night I caught myself saying, “I can’t do this anymore.” That became a defining moment for me.
I’d spoken a lie over myself. If I believed those words, I would lose hope. I’d quit trying to regain my health, and I’d suffer the consequences physically, emotionally, mentally, and even spiritually. From that moment forward, I chose to be more intentional about my self-talk, choosing words that reflected God’s heart for me.
I encourage you to do the same. Become attentive to the words you speak to yourself in your thoughts. Measure them against God’s truth. If you catch yourself saying, “I can’t do this anymore,” readily acknowledge this as a lie. Then speak the truth: “I can do this in God’s strength.”
Ponder
Describe your usual self-talk. Do you unintentionally speak lies, or do you speak truth?
Pray
Father, make me aware of the words I speak in my thoughts and align them with your truth.
“Thoughts are real, physical things that occupy mental real estate. Moment by moment, every day, you are changing the structure of your brain through your thinking. When we hope, it is an activity of the mind that changes the structure of our brain in a positive and normal direction.”
–Dr. Caroline Leaf, Switch On Your Brain: The Key to Peak Happiness, Thinking, and Health
In the past four days, God has reminded me several times that He always keeps His promises. The first reminder came last weekend as I researched Hebrews 6:13-20 for a First 5 assignment.
Hebrews 6:13-15 refers to Abraham believing God’s promise to make him the father of countless descendants. Humanly speaking, this was an impossibility. He and his wife were old, and she was also barren. But impossibilities are possibilities for God, and He fulfilled His promise despite all odds.
Then the passage turns its attention to all believers. It encourages us to trust God to fulfill His promises to us, too. Here’s why.
First, God cannot lie. (Hebrews 6:18) If He says He will do something, He will do it. He can do nothing contrary to truth because He is truth by nature. But there’s another layer to why we can trust Him to keep His word.
God made an oath to keep His promises, and He did so by swearing on His own name. If we were to swear by someone’s name, we’d choose a person with higher authority and more influence than ourselves, and we’d be inviting him to hold us to our word.
God swears by His name because there is no other name higher than His. He is the ultimate authority on earth and in heaven. He stands on His word and will see to it that it comes to pass.
Understanding that God layers His promises with an oath encourages me to trust Him. It encourages me to pray in faith and to kick doubt to the curb.
So, what are some promises that God will bring to pass for those who trust Him?
He will deliver us from fear. “I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.” (Psalm 34:4)
He will never leave us. “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
He will guide us. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
He will forgive us. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
He will give us everything we need to live godly lives. “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.” (1 Peter 1:3)
These are only a sampling of God’s promises to His children. Sometimes we read or recite them without giving serious thought to the serious commitment He puts behind them. We do well to remember that He cannot lie, and that He swears by His own name to stand by His word. We have no reason to doubt and every reason to be live in confident expectation, right?
Which of the five promises above resonates most with you today?
God’s Word tells us to pray. Thankfully, it also gives us insights about what works and what doesn’t.
What Doesn’t Work?
Jesus has just finished telling the disciples about His immediate future: the Romans will mock Him, spit on Him, flog Him with a whip, and kill Him. But three days later He will rise again.
You’d think their beloved Teacher’s words would stop the disciples dead in their sandals, but not so for James and John. Can you see these guys in your minds’ eye? “Pssst—Jesus!” they whisper. “We want You to do us a favor.”
“What is your request?” Jesus asks.
Then comes the bombshell. “When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.”
Jesus responds with these words: “You don’t know what you are asking!…I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left.” (Mark 10:34-40 NLT) He not only refused to grant their request, but He pointed out their flawed thinking about leadership.
The moral of the story? Asking with selfish motives doesn’t work well.
What Works?
A blind beggar calls out to Jesus as He and the disciples pass through Jericho. “Son of David, have mercy on me!” he yells over and over.
Jesus stops and asks, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
“My Rabbi,” the blind man says, “I want to see!”
Jesus responds with favor. “Go, for your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the road.” (Mark 10:46-52)
The moral of this story? Asking with humility, recognizing our needs and Christ’s ability to meet them, works. Jesus may or may not answer with an immediate yes as He did for Bartimaeus, but He recognizes humble faith when He sees it, and He honors it in the way He deems best.
I can recall times when I’ve prayed with wrong motives.
“God, I need You to do me a favor,” I’d say—but not aloud, of course. “I need You to help me win that contest, or land that new book contract, or gain a little more recognition.” Guess what happened? Nothing. Literally. And rightfully so. Jesus doesn’t owe me favors to satisfy my selfish heart. He’s already given me everything I need and topped it with a host of promises He intends to keep.
I can also recall times when I’ve cried to Jesus from a desperate state. Hurt and hopelessness had blinded me. I couldn’t see light at the end of the tunnel. “Jesus—help me see the way,” I cried. “Give me eyes to see this situation as You do!”
Praying in faith made me well. God recognized humility and blessed me for it. (1 Peter 5:6-7)
Asking God for favors from a selfish heart never works. Asking Him for help from a humble heart always works. Lesson learned.
How have you found this to be true in your own life?
The older I get and the more life experience I gather, the more I’m fascinated by the power of the thoughts we habitually entertain. In short, they influence our behaviors, and those behaviors determine our destiny or outcome. Let me give you a personal example of what this looks like.
When Sailor-Man and I first sensed God nudge us to move aboard a sailboat, I thought, Seriously? That’s a massive life transition. Then my thoughts split in two directions like a fork in the road. One said, That’s nuts. You’ll regret it. The other said, If this is truly God nudging, then He’s got our backs. The only response is yes. Trust Him to guide and provide. In my heart, I knew to focus my thoughts on the latter.
As Sailor-Man and I began to move forward, I focused my thoughts on truth about who God is. He’s faithful and good to His children. He doesn’t jerk us around or play with our emotions. He promises to give wisdom and to lead us along the right path. He promises to surround us with His unfailing love and to see to it that our needs are met.
The more I filled my mind with truth and meditated on it, the more assured I became that God would not let us make the wrong decision. A sense of confident anticipation overrode fear.
The outcome?
We said yes and watched in awe as God put every detail in place. That was three years ago. His sovereignty over our lives has been so obvious that we’ve never looked back. We’ve never had regrets. We know we’re here by His design, and we’d do it again in a heartbeat.
Imagine the outcome if I’d focused my thoughts on That’s nuts. You’ll regret it. Without a doubt, I would never have had the courage to make this transition. I would have missed a ton of blessings and a heap of joy that comes from obedience.
My heart breaks for the people who lived in Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth.
When Jesus showed up and began teaching in their synagogue, many were amazed at His wisdom and His power to perform miracles. But then they let their thoughts wander into doubt. They tried to explain the inexplicable, and that didn’t go well. “Then they scoffed, ‘He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.’” (Mark 6:2-3)
The people’s thoughts influenced their behavior: “They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.” (Mark 6:3) Their behavior determined their outcome: “And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.” (Mark 6:5-6)
Sadly, the people in Nazareth missed a ton of blessings and a heap of joy. It all started when they let their thoughts dwell on doubts rather than the truth about who Jesus was.
You and I are living in difficult times.
So many have suffered loss and disappointment. Let’s be alert to the enemy’s tactics in these days, okay? Satan knows that the battle for our souls begins in our minds. That’s where he’ll plant seeds of doubt about God’s sovereignty, wisdom, goodness, and power. Just like he did with Eve, he’ll use these doubts to cause us to question God’s intent toward us.
We’re faced with a choice.
We can either camp our thoughts on lies or we can secure them on truth. Our choice will influence our behaviors and determine our destiny. We’ll either topple to fear and seek to alleviate it through a means that will only make matters worse, or we’ll turn to the Lord and find His strength to help us stand firm amidst the storm winds.
I don’t want to miss what God has in store, and I’m confident you feel the same way.
We’d do well to ask the Holy Spirit to show us whether we’re believing lies about who God is, and if so, to help us identify them. Then let’s invite Him to help us understand what the truth is and to walk it out.
Read the story about how God led us to live on a sailboat.
The devil will do anything to derail our devotion for the Lord. One of his tactics is busyness. If running from one thing to the next to the next eliminates quiet time spent in God’s Word and presence, then we become more vulnerable to temptation, discouragement, and self-deception. Satan knows this, so he wastes no energy trying to get us to buy into busyness as a way of life and proof of our importance. Some personalities are more prone to this than others. Can you see my raised hand? I’ve learned a few things the hard way after spending nearly 30 years in career ministry.
I’ve learned to ask myself a few questions before saying yes to others’ requests for my commitment to their cause:
Saying yes to this request means saying no to something else. To what am I saying no?
Am I tempted to say yes because I’m afraid of missing out on an opportunity that might not come again?
Am I tempted to say yes because I think I’m the only one capable of doing this assignment?
Am I tempted to say yes because I’m afraid to disappoint others by saying no?
Am I tempted to say yes because I want to impress others with my abilities?
Using this grid helps me evaluate my motives. But the most important question of all is this: Is God asking me to do this? If so, then the only appropriate answer is yes. If not, then the answer is no, and I’m learning to say it without feeling guilty.
Even Jesus said no at times.
The morning after He healed Simon’s mother-in-law and many sick and demon-possessed people in her town, He rose early to pray alone. The disciples found him and said, “Everyone is looking for You.”
A weaker personality might have responded, “Okay—let’s go and see what they need.” But not Jesus. “Jesus replied, ‘We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.’” (Mark 1:35-38 NLT)
Jesus didn’t say no to those who wanted to see Him for lack of love. He embodied compassion, after all. (Mark 1:41) He said no because He knew His God-given purpose. He understood God’s plan to redeem mankind and His place in that plan. Other than being One with God, what gave Him such certainty? Scroll back to Mark 1:35—” Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.”
Jesus spent His days serving, teaching, and walking from region to region to serve and teach more. He was a busy man but He made time with His Father a priority. The depth of that relationship gave Him the wisdom He needed to know His purpose and to stay on task.
God has given us gifts of time and talents, and He wants us to steward them wisely.
Even more, He wants us to flourish in relationship with Him. To spend time in His presence. To quiet ourselves so we can hear His voice. To make friendship with Him a greater priority than service for Him.
The practical outworking of such a relationship changes from person to person and season to season, but one truth remains constant: If we’re too busy to acknowledge God’s presence, then we’re too busy. Let’s be alert to the devil’s efforts to derail us using busyness as his weapon of choice. Let’s learn to say no when necessary so we can wisely steward the time and talents God has given us and stay focused on His purpose for our lives.
Question: Do you find it difficult to say no? If so, reread my grid questions. Which one resonates with you most?
Conflict happens for various reasons, but common unmet expectations is a common cause. That is—one party places expectations upon another and responds negatively when the second party fails to perform according to those expectations. Sometimes they’ve been verbalized; other times, not. Sometimes they’re reasonable; other times, not. It’s complicated.
Our human bent leans toward disappointment, frustration, anger, or even withdrawal when our expectations go unmet. We feel slighted or disrespected. Conflict results when we hang onto our grievances and refuse to discuss, evaluate, or adjust those expectations.
Remember the WWJD bracelets and other do-dads that trended once upon a time? The initials reminded us to ask, “What would Jesus do?” before saying or doing something regrettable. If we’re in a testy relationship right now, we’d do well to ask WWJD.
As the time for Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion grew near, He went to the olive grove called Gethsemane to pray. He took Peter, James, and John with Him. He told them what He expected from them: “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Then He went off alone and pleaded with God to remove the cup of suffering from Him. (Matthew 26:36-39)
Jesus returned to the disciples and found them asleep.
He expressed disappointment and verbalized His expectations again: “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing but the body is weak!” (Matthew 26:40-41)
Jesus battled in prayer a second time, and then He returned to the disciples only to find them asleep again. He didn’t bother waking them up. After praying a third time and then finding His friends still asleep, He spoke words worthy of attention: “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Up, let’s be going! Look, my betrayer is here!” (Matthew 26:42-46)
This was one of the darkest moments of Jesus’ life.
He faced crucifixion, and He hoped His best friends would at least pray Him through it. But they couldn’t keep their eyes open. They snoozed while He sweat drops of blood. His expectations were both expressed and reasonable, but His friends let Him down. How did He respond? With grace. He acknowledged their human weaknesses and then focused on matters at hand.
Let’s face it. No matter how reasonable our expectations might be, friends and family will let us down. They might have our best intentions at heart, but they’re human. And the truth is—we do the same thing to others, often without knowing it.
Life is too short and fragile to hang onto disappointments and grievances.
Granted, sometimes an offense cuts to the core and needs to be addressed appropriately by all parties, if possible, to bring understanding, healing, and closure to a situation. But when it comes to petty grievances, let’s not waste time. The world’s filled with hurting people who need Jesus. If He could respond with grace to the friends who failed Him miserably in His deepest moment of need, then surely we—who have the power of the risen Christ within us—can do the same.
“Up, let’s be going!” Let’s take the high road. Let’s follow Christ’s example. And let’s get on with the work at hand—the work of sharing Jesus love with others as He sacrificially shared it with us.
I receive several emails every day from people in crisis. Circumstances vary, of course, and so does severity, but the crises fall into categories: illness—their own or a loved one’s, spousal betrayal, a child’s struggle with addictions, a breakdown in family relationships, job layoffs, losses from a natural disaster, and more. Isolation is a big one nowadays.
Crisis changes life in a nanosecond. It can rob us of routine, ruin our ability to sleep well, and remove our capability to think straight. Sometimes we forget appointments we’ve made, or we can’t recall what day of the week it is.
In the midst of the storm, we can sometimes empathize with the psalmist who describes his soul as downcast and disturbed. His tone changes when he speaks truth to himself: “Put your hope in God for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (Psalm 42:11 NIV).
The psalmist reminds us that the key to calm doesn’t lie solely in our circumstances changing for the better. If it did, then our hopes would be dashed if our circumstances worsened. Calm even in the midst of crisis comes when we place our confidence in our unchanging God. Choosing to trust His wisdom, sovereignty, power, and goodness soothes the soul that is downcast and disturbed.
From personal experience, I’ve discovered a few practical actions I can take, too. Here are five ways I find calm in crisis:
Ask for Help
No one should have to face crisis alone. Ask others to pray for you. If they can lend a hand in practical ways, say so. All too often, we assume that others don’t really care to get involved, or we expect them to know what we need. Let’s guard against making wrong assumptions and, instead, believe the best about others and their desire to help.
Remember the Truth
The human bent tends to focus on what-ifs and fears. Counteract that tendency by focusing on God’s promises instead. Here’s a good one: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3NKJV). Write this on a recipe card and post it where you’ll see it often. Better yet, memorize it so you can recall it even in the night when it’s difficult to sleep.
Engage in Worship
Fill your mind and your home with praise and worship music. Listen—really listen—to the lyrics and the truths they contain. What do they say about who God is and how does that apply to your situation? Let those lyrics wash away doubts and fears.
Take a Walk
Exercise is a good remedy for stress. It increases blood flow, supplies the body with fresh oxygen, and stimulates positive hormones. Coupling it with prayer or listening to worship music refreshes us in every way—mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
Give Thanks
1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” God issues this command because He created us and knows that expressing gratitude releases hormones associated with pleasure and contentment. The darker our circumstances, then, the more vital it is that we give thanks. This doesn’t mean giving thanks for whatever constitutes our crisis. It means we give thanks to God for being with us in the middle of it, for being our source of wisdom and strength, and for promising to use it for our good and His glory.
Sooner or later, everyone experiences a crisis. Some folks find themselves completely unraveled. Others experience calm. Where we place our hope and how we choose to respond makes all the difference.
Here’s an interview I did with Debbie Chavez. She refers to specific devotions in my new book, Finding Hope in Crisis: Devotions for Calm in Chaos and we talked about practical ways to apply the truths they contain. Enjoy!
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