Finding Joy in the Midst of Trials

Good morning! I hope you had a great weekend.

During our lifetimes, we go through many different seasons. Some seasons are times of blessing and abundance. Other seasons are filled with difficulty, pain and intense challenge. These difficult seasons are the places where our character is forged and refined. Some of these seasons of difficulty seem to continue on with no end in sight, stretching us to our limits.

James 1:2-4 (NASB)

2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,

3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

4 And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

So where does the joy come from in these seasons of trial and testing? The joy comes from the knowledge that you are being built up. The word “endurance” is used to describe that process that is at work during these times. The word endurance gives the picture of continual forward progress in spite of great resistance in the opposite direction.

Consider the endurance of a runner. A runner trains by enduring countless miles of running. Each mile requires a new commitment to run the next mile. With each stride the muscles, the lungs, the circulatory system and the mind face resistance. As the days go by, the runner gains speed and increases distance. The distances that once were difficult to achieve are now commonplace and the runner has set their sight on even greater distances.

The same is true of life. During these times of trial the key components of our faith and character get a workout. Our prayer life deepens, our time in the scriptures increases, our reliance on those around us becomes greater and our willingness to trust God expands into new areas of our lives. The end result is new found strength and resolve. We are able to face new situations with confidence, because we can look behind us and see the “insurmountable” challenges that we have overcome, survived and endured. The endurance born out of trial has now become the foundation of our resolve to keep pressing forward in the face of new adversities.

Today you may find yourself dead center in a season of difficulty. Let your foothold of joy be found in the strength of character that is being built within you. When this season of testing comes to an end you will be much stronger, much faster and much better equipped for the challenges that lie ahead of you.

Until next Monday, may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl

Tunnel Vision

Good morning! I hope you had a great weekend.

During times of intense circumstance one of the natural reactions of the human body is a syndrome known as “tunnel vision.” During an instance of tunnel vision a person becomes focused in on a very narrow field of vision or object. During this time, peripheral vision becomes almost non-existent. Police officers are trained to be aware of tunnel vision during confrontations and emergency driving. A lack of peripheral vision in these circumstances could have deadly consequences.

Tunnel vision occurs in the day to day issues of physical and spiritual lives as well. We tend to get so focused in on the crisis of the moment that we miss the greater picture of what God is doing around us. The latest problem at work, problem relationship or problem at home becomes so all consuming that we miss seeing our life in a complete and total perspective. Choices made rashly during an episode of tunnel vision can become very costly in the days that follow.

So how do we deal with the tunnel vision we find occurring in our lives? The following passage of scripture may give us some guidance:

2 Kings 6:15-17 (NASB)
15 Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”
16 So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Elisha and his servant were encircled by an adversary out to cause them harm. Elisha could see the complete picture, but his servant could not. It was only after Elisha had prayed for the servant’s eyes to be open, that he could see the true circumstance around him. The first step any of us should take when we find that we cannot get our eyes off of a singular point or problem is to pray. Just as Elisha prayed, we need to ask God to open our eyes and let us see clearly and completely what is around us.

The second thing we need to do is force ourselves to look around. Police officers are taught to deal with tunnel vision by simply moving their eyes back and forth. This conscious sweeping of the eyes forces them to look beyond the tunnel, bringing the complete picture back into view. Elisha’s servant also looked around and found new strength in the defending army that had come to rescue him.

Today you may find yourself fixated on a problem, person or situation that is taking away your ability to see the complete picture of what God is doing in your life. Take time today and ask the Lord for open eyes and new sight. Look around you and see what else is going on in the complete picture.
Until next Monday, may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl

Into the Fire

Good morning! I hope you had a great weekend.

There are times in life that we find ourselves captive to our circumstances. We can see the peril ahead of us, but deliverance doesn’t come. Maybe you’ve been there, praying for a way out, but instead you find yourself headed straight towards the thing that is going to ruin your life.

The Biblical account of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego fits this profile:

Daniel 3:19-27 (NASB)
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with wrath, and his facial expression was altered toward Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. He answered by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.
20 And he commanded certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire.
21 Then these men were tied up in their trousers, their coats, their caps and their other clothes, and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire.
22 For this reason, because the king’s command was urgent and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego.
23 But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, fell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.
24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he responded and said to his high officials, “Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “Certainly, O king.”
25 He answered and said, “Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!”
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire.
27 And the satraps, the prefects, the governors and the king’s high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego knew that staying faithful meant they would have to refuse the King Nebuchadnezzar’s command to worship an idol. They also knew the consequence of refusing this command could be death.

Once these three men made their choice to stand firm, they found themselves with no options but to follow the course of that decision. They were bound up and thrown into a blazing furnace…a punishment that surely meant the end of their lives. Something miraculous happened at that furnace. Unlike their captors, they survived the heat of the furnace and once inside were no longer bound, but free to move around. It was also in the midst of these flames that they found their deliverer. He met them at their point of need and brought them through what seemed liked certain destruction. God even went a step further…no singed hair, no charred clothing and not even the smell of smoke.

There are times that God chooses not deliver us before the uncomfortable situations of life, but instead He allows us to enter into the flames of refinement. It is in those flames that we find ourselves set free and accompanied by the very presence of God Himself.

Today you may be wondering why God isn’t removing you from your circumstances. I want to encourage you to begin looking around in those circumstances for the presence of God. Once you see Him, you will experience freedom in the flames and you will come out on the other side without a hint of char or smoke.

Until next Monday, may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl

At the end of belief

Good morning! I hope you had a great weekend.

As we go through life, we at times encounter places where our faith is stretched beyond its limits. These are the crossroads and crisis times where our trust in God’s ability to deliver us seems to be less than sufficient. These are the hours of desperation in which a person gropes for even the dimmest ray of hope to enter the picture.

Scripture gives us a picture of a father who was at this point. Mark chapter 9 describes the account of a boy who was possessed by a demon. The demon rendered the boy unable to speak and would often seek to drown or burn the child. The father of this boy saw a glimmer of hope when he encountered Jesus’ disciples, but he found only disappointment in their ability to deliver his son.

During this frustrating and desperate hour Jesus appears and the boy’s father makes a desperate plea for the sake of the boy. The father calls upon the compassion of Jesus, but at the same time reveals his uncertainty of there being any resolution. Take note of this father’s plea. It is both a heart cry that is transparent and the petition of a man who has not other answers:

Mark 9:23-24 (NASB)
23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can!’ All things are possible to him who believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father cried out and began saying, “I do believe; help my unbelief.”

Today you may find yourself in a place where your faith is being stretched thin. The solutions you have pursued to date have been only dead ends. You would trade the world for a change in circumstance, but you are not sure how much longer you can hold on. If this describes your situation, I encourage you to make this father’s cry your own: “Jesus, I believe you can deliver me, but help me in my unbelief!”

I leave you with one of my favorite promises of scripture:

Psalm 34:17-19
17 The righteous cry and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous; But the LORD delivers him out of them all.

Until next Monday, may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl

Lonely Times

Good morning! I hope you had a tremendous weekend.

Have you ever spent an extended period of time alone? Most of us are surrounded by the touch and input of others. We can hardly imagine a day without the cell phone, television or conversations with others. I have taken a few extended times in silence and solitude, but never more than a few days, and those were of my choosing.

The times of silence and solitude that push you to the limits are the ones you don’t choose. These are the times when your support system falls apart; the times when no one needs your services; the times quite frankly when you are out of sight and therefore also out of mind. It is during these times that we find out what we are truly made of. We discover whether our faith has foundation and stability.

Some of the darkest hours of life come when the resumes go unnoticed, the social invitations stop coming, those who once journeyed with you are no longer present and the circumstances remain unchanging even after continual fervent prayer. It is in these dark hours that voices declare that hope is lost and shout at you to quit, give up or move on.

The Bible reveals that these dark times are not unique to us. Take note of Joseph’s life:

Genesis 40:23 (NASB)
Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

Joseph had been sold out by his brothers, sent to a foreign land as a slave, raised to a place of prominence in his master’s home only to be falsely accused of a crime he didn’t commit. Joseph’s life of favor has now been replaced by a life of confinement and solitude. His only hope was a flimsy promise from the king’s cupbearer that he would remember Joseph once he was set free, a promise that went unfulfilled for another two years.

We don’t know Joseph’s private thoughts during that time, but we can only assume they were filled with doubts, despair and a questioning of God’s love. What Joseph didn’t see was the larger plan. He needed to be in prison to meet the chief cupbearer, who would ultimately bring him before Pharaoh. It was his interaction with Pharaoh that would bring him into a place of prominence making famine provisions that would ultimately save his people. A difficult path indeed, but each step was necessary to bring forth the carefully orchestrated plan of God.

Today you may find yourself in a lonely place; a place that in many ways seems desolate and nearly abandoned. You may be questioning why God has allowed you to be cut off and wondering what heinous sin you’ve committed to deserve such a punishment? This is the place where the foundation of your faith will be tested to its limits as you trust in things which at this moment are unknown and unseen. It is upon this foundation of endurance and faith that God will display the beauty of His workmanship in your life.

If you find yourself in a place of isolation this week, I encourage you to spend a few moments thanking God for seeing the bigger picture. Acknowledge that He sees the things that you don’t and as best you know how articulate your trust in His greater plan.

Until next Monday, may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl

Getting By with a Little Help from My Friends

Good morning! I hope your weekend was tremendous and that you are hitting the ground running.

Over the past several days, my family and I have been in the process of moving from one home to another. Each day last week, I moved a load of boxes from one location to the other. On Thursday I spent the day steam cleaning the carpets in the new house. On Friday, I finished steam cleaning and moved the boxes that were already in the new home from the tiled floors to their respective carpeted locations. Saturday was the major moved of the larger household items, the assembling of beds, hanging of curtains, etc… Sunday was more unpacking and shuffling of furniture.

These things are tiring for even the most energetic person, but for me I face the additional challenge of having an arthritic compression fracture midway down my back. As the day goes by the muscles in my back begin to lock up to the point that I can hardly move or stand up straight. For me to successfully accomplish a major feat such as a household move requires help from my friends.

As I was considering what to write this morning, the following example of scripture was brought to mind:

Exodus 17:11-12 (NASB)
11 So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.
12 But Moses’ hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set.

The Amalekites had come to make war with the people of Israel. Whether the people of Israel were to be victorious rested in Moses’ ability to keep his hand held up with the staff of God in it. Naturally, over time Moses strength began to fade and his arms began to drop from weariness. Unfortunately these drops of the arm led to a surge from the Amalekites. The only way for Israel to be assured a military victory was for Moses’ hand to stay airborne. It was the help of Moses’ friends that made this feat possible. They gave Moses a place on which to sit and each man took hold of an arm and held his hands up high.

For me to successfully accomplish the task at hand this weekend was going to require more than my bad back on lone rusty pickup. I need friends with energy, who were willing to sacrifice their time and vehicles to make this endeavor possible. I needed them to step in to help carry the burdens I could not carry alone. The task was simply too big.

Sadly, too many of us are trying to accomplish the major undertakings of life alone. In our solo efforts, we find that we are running out of steam, determination and hope. The task ahead is simply more than one person can manage in their own strength. It is during these times that we begin to see the value of true friendship. A real friend sees the bigger picture. They realize that their hand holding efforts will ensure a greater victory for all involved.

My friends weren’t just responding to a guy with a bad back who needed a few extra pickup trucks. They were seeing the bigger picture. They know that my home is a place of ministry, a place where people find love, shelter and acceptance. My home is a place where others come to discover God’s greater purpose for their lives. It is a place where God transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Today I want to challenge you with this question: “Who is standing beside you?” I hope that you can readily name the men and/or women who stand on either side of you, holding you up when you just don’t have the strength within you to press on. If you can’t name those people, then I encourage you to seek God’s provision for the Aaron and Hur in your life. Their presence may mean the difference between victory and defeat in your next battle.

Until next Monday, may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl

More than you can handle

Good morning! I hope you have rolled up your sleeves ready to face the challenges of the week.

At different times in our lives we all face challenges that push us well beyond the limits of human capability and understanding. The circumstances that are thrown before us are immeasurable and seem nearly impossible to cope with, much less overcome. These are the times when we feel like giving up. The times when the nights are sleepless and the voices in our head only offer greater anxiety.

In all honesty, these things truly are greater than our ability to cope with them; however, we were never meant to cope with them in our own strength and abilities. Notice the following verses from Proverbs:

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. [6] Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.

Our understanding comes primarily from what we see and hear and by nature offers a very limited scope of understanding. We can only see that which is directly in front of us or that which is behind us. God on the other hand sees eternity. In His economy there is no past, present or future, only what is.

Having an eternal perspective, means that God has already responded to the crisis of today and the calamity of tomorrow. God is not caught off guard or unaware in these times of challenge. Tragedy and calamity do not sneak up on Him. In light of His perspective, you can take comfort in the knowledge that He has already made provision to see you through these times of difficulty. He has released strength, encouragement, support, etc…to help you walk, when you don’t feel like carrying on.

Today I want to leave you with a couple of verses from Psalm 34. This is a chapter of scripture that speaks volumes about difficult times and God’s provision in those times.

Psalm 34:4-7 (NLT)
I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me,
freeing me from all my fears.
[5] Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
[6] I cried out to the Lord in my suffering, and he heard me.
He set me free from all my fears.
[7] For the angel of the Lord guards all who fear him,
and he rescues them.

Psalm 34:17-19 (NLT)
The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.
He rescues them from all their troubles.
[18] The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
he rescues those who are crushed in spirit.

[19] The righteous face many troubles,
but the Lord rescues them from each and every one.

This week you may be at your breaking point, I invite you to put your understanding aside. Ask God to take the burden from your shoulders and to guide your path moment by moment. Over time you will look back and see how each step was guided and that even through this, you have somehow made it to the other side.

Until next Monday, may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl