Colin S. Smith's Blog, page 18

Are You Praying? Effectively?

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit (James 5:17-18).

We learn about Elijah’s prayer in two places in the Bible: 1 Kings 18 and James 5:17-18, where God gives us further light on the story. Putting these two scriptures together, I have made seven observations. All of them begin with the letter “P.” I’ve put these into a sentence that I hope might be useful to you: Position yourself in private to pray what God has promised with precision, passion and persistence. 

Seven P’s of Effective Prayer

1. Private

Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:42).

Think about what had happened: Elijah had called down fire from heaven. The people were shouting “The Lord, He is God.” Elijah was the man of the moment. The crowd would have cheered him like a sports celebrity, if he had stayed with them. But Elijah pulls away from the crowd, and goes to the top of Mount Carmel to pray.

You find the same pattern in the ministry of Jesus. He has just performed a great miracle, healing the mother-in-law of Simon Peter. The whole town hears about it, and crowds gather. They brought all the sick and all the oppressed to Him. Mark says the whole city was at the door (Mark 1:33). Jesus healed many.  But early the next morning, we read that Jesus departed and went to a lonely place where He prayed (1:35). Christ withdraws from the crowd and gives Himself to prayer. That is what Elijah did, too.

Praying with other people is important, but there is a kind of praying that you can only do on your own. Lovers like to be alone together, and God who is the great lover of your soul wants time alone with you. Jesus said, “When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret” (Matt. 6:6). Do you do this?

A.W. Pink points out: “shutting the door” means more than being alone, “it also signifies the calming of our spirit, the quieting of our feverish flesh, the gathering of all our wandering thoughts, that we may be in a fit frame to draw near and address the Holy One.” [1]

This is important for all Christians and especially for Christian leaders. The public work of proclamation must be followed by the private work of intercession.

2. Position 

[Elijah] bowed himself down to the earth and put his face between his knees (1 Kings 18:42).

God always speaks with intent and with precision, and the Holy Spirit has preserved this vivid description of Elijah’s posture when he prayed. Picture him kneeling, with his head all the way down to the ground. The mighty prophet looks like a little ball before the Lord.

Again, this makes me think about our Lord Jesus. We are told that in the Garden of Gethsemane, “He fell on his face and prayed” (Matt. 26:39). Most likely, He draped Himself over a large stone.

Different postures are appropriate for different situations in prayer. You can pray while you walk, and you can pray while you are driving, though it is good to keep your eyes open if you do! The Bible does not mandate a position for prayer, but it often records the posture people adopted in prayer, which must mean that this has some significance.

Elijah’s body language is significant: It speaks of his total dependence on God and his intense seriousness before God. People had been dying in the drought. It had gone on for three and a half years. This prayer matters. Elijah kneels on the ground and puts his face between his knees.

In the church I served in London, it was the pattern for our leaders to gather on Sunday mornings, and for the best part of an hour we would kneel and pray for God’s blessing on the ministry and on the congregation. It’s become a pattern for our church board here to end its meetings with all the board members on their knees, seeking the blessing of God.

I find that if I am to engage in prayer seriously, I need to make some time to get down on my knees and pour out my heart to God. It’s like saying “Lord, here I am again. I’m serious. I feel the weight of who you are. I feel the weight of what I bring to you.”

3. Promised

The word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying… “I will send rain upon the earth” (1 Kings 18:1).

When Elijah prayed for rain, he prayed with confidence because he was asking for something that God had already promised. Faith is a believing response to the word of God. The prayer that flows from faith has the same character.

God has given you an open invitation to ask anything of Him. But the freedom to ask anything does not come with a commitment from God to give all that we ask. Prayer is never a means of manipulating God into something He did not plan to do. That would be the worst kind of idolatry.

It is a great mistake to imagine that if we can muster enough faith, we can somehow strong-arm God into getting what we ask. Many of us will know someone who was told at one time that, if only they had more faith, they would be healed. To say that is cruelty of the worst sort, adding insult to injury for a person who suffers.

Elijah prayed for what God had said He would do, so cultivate the practice of praying what God has promised. Here’s how you can do that: Use the Bible as fuel for your prayers. Pray with an open Bible, and as you read the Bible, turn what God says to you back to Him in prayer.

Recently, I was reading Daniel 12:3: “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” God wants His people to be wise, and turning a person to righteousness is a work with never-ending value. There’s fuel in that to pray for people in different situations today. Tomorrow there will be something fresh in the scripture that will provide fuel for your prayers. Engines run better when there is fuel in the tank.

Put some fuel in the tank before you start the engine of prayer.

4. Pray

Then he prayed again, and the heavens gave rain (James 5:18).

Why should we ask God for something He has already said He will do? If God has already promised, why pray? The answer is that God decides not only what will happen, but also how it will come to pass. God determines ends, but He also determines means. The what is His promise, the how is our prayer. So, God’s promises tell us what we should ask for.

A.W. Pink says that God’s promises are “the mold in which our petitions should be cast.” [2]

What God has willed in His promise will be done through your prayer. That gives huge significance to our lives and our ministries, and especially to our prayers. We are God’s fellow-workers (2 Cor. 6:1).

5. Precision

He prayed fervently that it might not rain… He prayed again, and heavens gave rain (James 5:17-18).

Elijah was very clear in what he asked for. Jesus asked a man, “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mk. 10:51). What would you say if Jesus were to ask you that question? You might have a request for someone you love, but if He pressed you and said, “What do you want me to do for you,” what would you say? That’s a great question to talk about in your family, your small group, or with your friends. And it is much more difficult to answer well than you might first imagine.

Elijah knew what he wanted, and he was looking for the answer. Some folks find journaling helpful in being clear about what they ask, and in looking for the answer. However you do this, it’s important to be clear in your asking. Almighty God has invited you to ask, so ask!

6. Passion

Elijah prayed fervently (James 5:17).

Literally, that reads: “In prayer he prayed.” This is a Hebrew way of speaking. When Jesus told the disciples that He “eagerly desired” to eat the Passover with them, the words He used were literally, “With desire, I have desired, to eat the Passover with you” (Luke 22:15). Here you have the same form. There was life and energy in Elijah’s praying.

It is easy, even for the best Christians, to fall into a spiritual drowsiness in which we pray with little faith, little energy, and little desire. There is no power in that kind of prayer. Elijah’s prayer was different. He prayed fervently. What he asked for mattered to him. He brought it before God with life and vigor—in prayer he prayed!

7. Persistence

And at the seventh time, he said, “Behold, a little cloud the size of a man’s hand is rising from the sea” (1 Kings 18:44).

Elijah prayed for what God had promised. He prayed with precision and with passion, but the answer did not come straight away. He sent his servant to look toward the sea for a sign of rain. The servant came back saying, “There is nothing” (18:43). So, Elijah says, “Go again.”

Get the picture: The prophet is praying. The servant is running—still nothing. Elijah says to the servant, “Go again!” More praying, more watching—still nothing.

When you get to the fifth or sixth time, you get tired of praying and you get tired of looking. You may have prayed the sixth time or the sixtieth time or the six hundredth time. Jesus told his disciples that they should always pray and not give up (Luke 18:1).

Elijah did not give up. When his servant looked the seventh time, he saw a little cloud and “in a little while, the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain” (1 Kings 18:45).

Position yourself in private to pray what God has promised with precision, passion, and persistence. This kind of praying avails much! Lives were changed through Elijah’s prayer. Families will be changed, the church will be changed, and you will be changed through your praying, too.

Andrew Bonar wrote this encouragement to a friend:

O brother, pray. In spite of Satan, pray;
Spend hours in prayer. Rather neglect friends than not pray.
Rather fast, and lose breakfast, dinner, tea and supper-and sleep, too-than not pray.
And we must not talk about prayer-we must pray in earnest. [3]

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1. A.W. Pink, Elijah (Banner of Truth, 1963), 182.2. Ibid., 184.3. Andrew Bonar, Diary and Letters, 7th edition (Hodder & Stoughton, 1894), 129.Photo: UnsplashThis article is adapted from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “Prayer 101”, from his series, The Surprising Influence of a Godly Life .

When You Want More than Manna, Remember This

“Can we please just get something to eat?” the young woman begged her boyfriend again. He was trying to get her to take a romantic walk with him down the orchard lane. He hadn’t expected her to be so irritable right before he popped the big question! Thankfully, though she was “hangry”, my mom’s grumbling didn’t stop her from saying “Yes!” to my dad’s marriage proposal.

“Hangry” is a slang term used when one is angry because of their hunger. Clearly, an empty stomach affects one’s mood! Just one hangry person can be a lot to handle, but imagine leading a whole nation that is grumbling because of their hunger. This was the reality for Moses as he led the Israelites through the wilderness. However, the Lord didn’t let them starve. God always gives his people what they need, when they need it.

Strength for Today

And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not” (Ex. 16:4).

The Lord heard his people’s grumbling and promised to provide what they lacked. The reason for this was so that they would know he was the Lord and learn to depend on him alone. Exodus 16:21 tells us what happened after the people received the bread: “Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.”

God gave enough strength for only one day.

Some people gathered little and some much, but God had determined what was the right amount for each individual’s need (Ex. 16:18). Yet some weren’t satisfied with this daily provision and became greedy. When they tried to stash away the manna for tomorrow’s use, it became like that splotchy, green bread molding in the back of your refrigerator (Ex. 16:21).

God wanted the Israelites to rely on him alone for daily strength. He didn’t want them to forget about his provision and assume they could survive without him. The Lord knows us personally and understands our individual struggles with temptation.

I, too, have sometimes wondered if God’s provision is enough. Choosing my major seems impossible without knowing the big picture of my life after college. God hasn’t shown me my future career or how I’ll use what I’m learning in my classes. But, he has given me “manna”—just enough strength and guidance to make the decisions of today. I don’t actually need to know the whole story of my future because I trust the One who is writing it. When I confess my pride, God forgives and frees me to trust him. Like the writer of the classic hymn, “Great is Thy Faithfulness”, I have “strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.” [1]

Don’t Worry. Pray!

When we think of the future, it’s easy to worry about what we’ll eat and wear, but our heavenly father knows our needs (Matt. 6:31-32). In light of this, Jesus instructs us:

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble (Matt. 6:34).

How can we avoid worrying about tomorrow? We can pray. Jesus taught his disciples to pray using these words: “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matt. 6:11). When we ask God for “daily bread”, it can mean more than yeast and flour. It can also refer to the needs we have in our relationships with other people. “Daily bread” could be God-given strength to not retaliate at a coworker. It might mean strength to forgive the friend who constantly disappoints you or to love those who have wronged you most. God’s faithful provision of today’s “manna” builds our trust that he will also provide the strength we’ll need tomorrow.

In Matthew 4:4, Jesus tells us the true source of this strength:

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Corrie ten Boom is an example of one who courageously relied on God’s word for daily strength. During World War II, Corrie and her family hid many Jews in a secret room in their home, which led to their imprisonment at a Nazi concentration camp. Corrie and her sister valued scripture so much that they risked their lives by sneaking a Bible into the camp. In God’s word, they found strength to endure each brutal day. They chose to rely on God’s promises rather than to worry about the unknowns of their future, even when their lives were on the line. Corrie wisely said,

Worrying is carrying tomorrow’s load with today’s strength—carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.

More than Manna

Worry reveals the weakness of our sinful, human nature and the painful weight of this broken world. We want more than “manna.” We long to be forever satisfied.

Jesus told his followers:

The bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world… I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes me in me shall never thirst.

When God provided manna for the people of Israel, he was feeding their temporary, physical needs as a picture of what he can do to meet our eternal, spiritual needs. The hunger of our hearts can’t be filled with bread. This is why we need a Savior. Jesus came down from heaven to save us from our sin so that he might be our hope for eternal life.

Jesus is the “bread of life”, and lasting fullness comes only through him. So, let’s stop trusting ourselves. Instead, let’s keep praying for “daily bread”—for our strength to come from God alone. He is enough manna for today. Praise God for giving us a Savior who rescues us from all our grumbling. No matter how physically hungry we get, in Christ our souls will be forever full.

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1. Thomas O. Chisholm, “Great is Thy Faithfulness”, 1923, public domain.2. Corrie ten Boom, Clippings from My Notebook (Thomas Nelson, Inc, 1982), 31.Photo: Unsplash

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leadership Matters. How are You Influencing Others?

The Lord is my shepherd…  (Ps. 23:1).

I cannot hear these words, as a Christian living this side of the cross, without hearing Jesus say, “I am the good shepherd. I give my life for the sheep. I know my sheep by name. I call them. They are mine.”

I want to draw your attention to just three words about this Shepherd, who is the Lord, and His relationship to the Christian.

He leads me… (Ps. 23:2-3).

Where does he lead me? Psalm 23:4-5 tell me that He leads me where he has already gone: He leads me in paths of righteousness, and He has fulfilled all righteousness. He leads me beside still waters. That is in the place of refreshment and joy that is already His. Even when I walk through the valley of death, I am safe because He is walking with me, and death is a place where He has already gone. Because He has passed through death in victory, He is able to lead me through it. Beyond that, He will lead me into glory where He is already seated at the right hand of the Father.

Meditating on these words has led me to this definition: Leaders are people who set out on a journey and take others with them. Christ has done this through His incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension.

You may be thinking, “I’m not a leader. I don’t lead anything. I’m the kind of person who prefers to stay in the background.” Remember that God has placed you at the center of a circle of influence.

Here are three considerations to help you assess your own influence.

Consider Your Sphere of Influence 

Who could you take with you?

Think about your friends—God has placed them next to you. You have influence on your friends; the only question is what kind of influence that will be. Your influence will depend on where you are heading and the pace at which you are moving. God has placed you at the center of a circle of influence with your friends.

Think about your family—your children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, and generations not yet born. Here is a word of encouragement to every parent and grandparent in the vigorous pursuit of a godly life. Jonathan and Sarah Edwards were godly parents who set the course of their lives to honor Christ, and gave careful attention to raising their children. One writer, who studied the line of their descendants, found that they included: one U.S. vice president, three U.S. senators, three governors, three mayors, thirteen college presidents, thirty judges, sixty-five professors, eighty holders of public office holders, one hundred lawyers, and a dean of a law school. [1] The influence of one godly mother, the influence of one godly father has massive potential for good over generations. God has placed you at the center of a circle of influence in your family.

Think about your work—God has placed customers, or employees, or students, or colleagues in your sphere of influence. Some of these folks are not Christians, and you may be the nearest they ever get to the light of Jesus Christ. Does it matter that your life shines? Of course, it does. God has placed you at the center of a circle of influence in your workplace.

Think about your church—God has joined us together in the body of Christ. Some of us are full of joy; some are quite hard to please. Some of us are full of faith; some are full of doubts. What will your influence be? What will be the result of your conversations? Your influence matters. God has placed you at the center of a circle of influence in your church.

Consider Your Present Position

Here are seven questions for evaluating your journey. Where has there been progress? Where have you lost ground?

I’m sure there are other questions that could be added, but I urge you to start with these and to use them as a grid for examining your own life, so that you can ask the question, “Where am I in this Christian life?”

Am I praying with faith?Am I serving with zeal?Am I believing with confidence?Am I confessing with humility?Am I worshipping with joy?Am I giving with gladness?Am I reaching out with love?

As I have asked these questions of myself, I gave myself a mixed report. I found that there are areas of growth and there are areas of decline. And God is using these questions to bring to my attention what needs to be addressed. I commend them to you.

Consider Who You Are Following 

The first mark of a godly leader is that he or she is first a faithful follower of Jesus Christ. Leadership begins by learning to follow. Can you say today, “Jesus Christ leads me?”

Only Jesus knows where He will lead you. Only Jesus knows what He has in store for you. You can be sure of this: There will be gifts of grace mixed in with shattered dreams, intense pressures and great sacrifices.

In a world of convenience, there are many people who are not interested in that kind of journey. They are looking for a god who will give them a comfortable life. Following Jesus will lead you to a cross, but it will not end there. Following Christ will lead you to glory.

He suffered as an example, so that we might follow in His footsteps. You may say, “That’s not possible! He forgave people who wounded Him. He reached out to serve people while in unbearable pain. He trusted God when He could not even feel His presence. How can I possibly do that?

You can do this by His Spirit living in you. You can’t do this on your own. It is not in you to live like this. Left to yourself, you will settle into a Christianized comfort zone, and the people around you will do the same, because that will be your influence.

There’s only one way to live this life: Christ awakens the desire for this life in you, He gives this life to you, and He walks this path with you. That’s my prayer for you today.

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1. A.E. Winship, The Project Gutenberg eBook of Jukes-Edwards, (April 14, 2005), http://archive.org/stream/jukesedwards15623gut/15623.txt.Photo: UnsplashThis article is adapted from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “Your Influence is Greater Than You Think”, from his series, The Surprising Influence of a Godly Life .

Hospitality in a Socially-Distanced (and Lonely) World

The Bible instructs us to be hospitable—to lovingly welcome strangers—which is exactly the opposite of how we are to act in a pandemic! I’m writing this from lockdown 3.0 in the UK, and we must stay at home unless legally permitted to leave. We are not allowed into each other’s homes and must stay 2 meters away from other people at all times. Does this mean we can legitimately put off God’s command to practice hospitality (Rom. 12:13)?

As always with Biblical commands, it is important to dig deeper to understand the principle behind the requirement. Then, we can seek how to express that principle in whatever circumstances we find ourselves.

The apostle Paul exhorts us to practice hospitality, but he doesn’t just call us to it; he shows us what it looks like by his own actions. Nowhere do we see this more clearly than in the opening chapters of 1 Thessalonians, where he writes:

But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory (1 Thess. 2:7-12).

Share the Gospel and Your Life

Church is not an educational institution but a family. God is our Father; we become children of God through the death of his son in our place. And so, when Paul describes relationships in the church, he uses family language: he acts towards them in tender love like a nursing mother; he encourages, comforts, and urges them like a father.

The primary reason we are to show hospitality is because we are a family, and that’s what families do. Families share real life with one another, the ups and downs, the sorrows as well as the joys. Family life is badly broken for most of us in this troubled world. But here, Paul gives us a beautiful picture of a devoted, nursing mother and a caring, present father who intentionally trains his children. What can we learn from this God-given illustration?

I’ve found this idea of acting like family towards my church really helpful. Families care practically for one another: cue the nursing mother. Families love enough to speak hard truths: enter the encouraging, comforting, urging father. Families can see through each other’s eyes, knowing when a news headline will evoke anxiety or when an anniversary will trigger grief. Even in a pandemic there’s loads we can do to share both the gospel and life in a familial way. Sending brownies and a card to the sick, ordering Christian children’s books for families, taking meals to healthcare workers and praying for them on the doorstep, arranging walks with those who are lonely and using that time to talk about what the Lord is teaching us, writing messages to the elderly, finding time for chats with neighbours, remembering birthdays.

The Church is Watching

As a result of the missionaries’ actions, the Thessalonians didn’t just hear the gospel; they experienced its authenticity. Paul says,

For you remember… you are witnesses [to]…our conduct…” (v. 9-10).

The church saw the way the gospel shaped their leaders’ behaviour.

Recently, I read Pastor Colin Smith’s encouraging account of his family’s commitment to hospitality when they first came from England to their new church in the United States. He writes, “We decided to get to know as many of the people as we could. So, we invited all the members of the church to our home. There were about 800 people, and it took a year of Sunday evenings to do it.”  Praise God for leaders who model God’s love by sharing the gospel and opening their homes and hearts to us—even when it takes enormous time, effort, and sacrifice.

Yet, it’s not enough for the church leadership to be committed to sharing life. Sharing life is not a one-way street. There needs to be a willingness amongst the whole church to share life—to receive care as well as to give it. As proud, independent beings, this is often hard to do.

Sharing life means sacrificing your time, your energy, being willing to go out of your way. But it reaps huge rewards as the depth of relationship increases almost exponentially when you take a step closer to other people, seeing what they love, what their lives are centred around, and who they are when no one is looking.

This is why church online must be only a temporary measure. We must live amongst our church family so that we can remember, witness, and know what it looks like to live out the gospel in practice—through hospitality and sharing our lives.

Good News for Loneliness

Never before has our world been such a lonely place. People are isolated and crying out for those who will share with them not just the hope of the gospel, but also their own lives—drawing others in to find the source of this loving welcome. The gospel of Jesus Christ on display in the lives of believers is such good news for a world in lonely isolation.

How do we show hospitality in a pandemic? By finding creative ways to safely share the gospel and our lives. Our Saviour didn’t confine the gospel to teaching in a lecture theatre; he walked with individuals. Our Saviour wasn’t limited by not having a home in which to invite people into; he was often found eating with people from all walks of life—tax collectors, sinners, sharing his life with any and all. Our Saviour shared his life to the point of shedding his blood, holding nothing back, opening his heart and life to us so that he could welcome us eternally into his Father’s house. Let’s imitate our Lord Jesus, sacrificially sharing our lives with others, whatever our circumstances.

 

Photo: Unsplash

 

 

 

Trust the God Who Provides (Not the Means He Uses)

Elijah is in Cherith, a remote place where God hides him, leads him, and feeds him. Here is this man who trusts and obeys God, and God is providing for him. There is a brook, and Elijah is able to drink from it. And when he does, he must have said, “Thank you Lord! Every day you provide for me through this brook.” Look what happens next:

After a while, the brook dried up because there was no rain in the land… (1 Kings 17:7).

God used the brook to sustain Elijah, and now the means God had used to provide for His servant dried up. Perhaps you are in exactly this position today. God has provided a stream of income for you through a certain form of work. The work you have done, the business you have pursued, has been your brook. But now the brook is drying up. What was working before, isn’t working now. It becomes obvious that you have to move on.

Others are not there yet, but you can see that there is less water in the brook of God’s provision for you than there used to be. You wonder what the future is going to hold for you, and you say, “What happens if this brook dries up altogether?”

Elijah must have expected this. He told the king there would be no rain, and if there’s no rain, the brook will eventually dry up. The dry brook is evidence that God keeps His promise. The same hand that held back the rain would soon pour out His provision through the oil and the flour.

Know When It’s Time to Move On 

The Word of the Lord came to him: “Arise and go to Zarephath which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you” (1 Kings 17:8).

God has more than one way of supplying what you need. When one means of supply dries up, God will provide another. What we learn here is to trust the God who provides, not His means of supply.

If you have had a stable and steady job for 5, 10, or 20 years, it’s easy to get the idea that the job that is what provides for you. No, God provides for you. He may do that through the job and if that stream dries up, He will provide for you in another way.

You may say—God has provided a small group for me, a dear friend for me, a healthy church for me, a wonderful ministry for me. These are the means of God’s supply. The way God supplies will change. The brook will dry up. Change will come in your life.

When that happens, God will call you to leave Cherith and go to Zarephath, where He will provide for you in another way. Don’t get fixated on the means of His supply. Trust the Lord who provides, because He never changes. If you cling to how God has blessed you in the past, you may miss how He will bless you in the future. Clinging to Cherith when God calls you to Zarephath is the surest way to miss God’s blessing.

God says to Elijah, “The brook that was such a blessing to you in the past is not what I have for you now. I’m drying it up.” But there is blessing and ministry for you in a place where you’d least expect it—Zarephath!

Walk in Faith and Obedience 

So [Elijah] arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold a widow was there gathering sticks (1 Kings 17:10).

Obedience was the pattern of Elijah’s life. When he arrived in Zarephath there was a woman in desperate poverty, gathering sticks on the dump outside the city. Elijah asks her for a drink, and as the woman turns to go and get the water, Elijah says, “And bring me some bread” (17:11).

The woman says, “As the Lord your God lives” (17:12). She knows who the Lord is, but she is not yet a believer. At this point in the story, the Lord is Elijah’s God, not hers. “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flowers in a jar and a little oil in a jug” (17:12). There she was at the dump outside the city gathering sticks to make a fire. On this fire she planned to bake some bread, with the full expectation that this would be her last meal.

Then we have these astonishing words:

Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son (1 Kings 17:13).

Elijah was a prophet. That means he spoke the word of God. What the prophet says, God says. So, the word of the Lord comes to this woman through Elijah, calling her to make a great sacrifice.

Notice God also gives her a great promise: “For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth’” (17:14). Someone might say, “Well, this sounds a bit like the health and wealth gospel to me.” Not a bit of it. God never promised wealth to the woman. The promise was not “Make me a cake and I’ll give you a bread factory.” The promise was “Bake me a cake, and the jar of flour will not be empty. The jug of oil will not run dry.”

God will provide what you need when you need it—not an overflowing jar and an overflowing jug. You can trust Him as you walk with Him in faith and obedience.

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Photo: UnsplashThis article is adapted from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “Why God Requires Sacrifice”, from his series, The Surprising Influence of a Godly Life .

 

How to Bring Light to Your Workplace

In every place where I’ve worked, it has been difficult for me to distinguish Christian colleagues from non-Christian coworkers. I’ve seen both types of people make wrong choices in order to get ahead. I’ve watched both imitate a leader’s poor example, justifying their behavior as the means to an end.

However, Christian believers are called to be different from those who do not know Christ; we are not to be “conformed to this world” (Rom. 12:2). So, we cannot leave our relationships with Jesus Christ at the workplace door, hiding our faith as if it is reserved only for Sundays. The secular workplace desperately needs light, and Jesus calls us to shine in ways that bring him glory, every day that we go to work.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven (Matt. 5:14-16).

In this passage, Jesus calls us to “let [our] light shine before others” (Matt. 5:16). But what does it actually look like for a Christian to “give light to all” (v. 15) in the workplace? What kind of “good works” can we do in our jobs so that our colleagues see and “give glory to [our] Father who is in heaven” (v. 16)?

The book of Matthew records not only the events of Jesus’ life but also provides insight into his character. Jesus’ character is perfect in every way, but it is his beautiful humility that helps us to answer this question: How can I be a light at my job? Reflecting Christ’s humble example brings light to our workplaces and gives glory to our Father. Here are three ways we can practice humility at work.

Humble Use of Power

It may appear that certain leaders hold a lot of power in their jobs. But earthly leaders only have as much power as God allows them, according to his purposes. The Lord Jesus possesses all of the power in the entire universe, and he knows what it’s like to be tempted to use it for the wrong purposes. The devil “took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me’” (Matt. 4:8-9).

Of course, Satan was lying when he implied the kingdoms of the world were his to give away, and he was attempting to distract Jesus from his redemptive mission. In his perfect humility, Jesus didn’t give in to the temptation to use his power for worldly gain. Instead, he remained focused on bowing before his Father, for kingdom gain.

When we follow Jesus’ humble example, we bow before God as our power source, remembering that our skills and leadership in the workplace are only possible by God’s gift of grace. This humble posture helps us to make decisions that promote the well-being of others, rather than our own self-interest. Imitating Jesus’ humility helps us to avoid self-exaltation and to treat our colleagues as God’s creation, made in his image and highly valuable to him. Humility at work means that we willingly place ourselves under the authority of those above us, not seeking to circumvent their rules or plans. We can be humble when, by God’s grace, we worship him and work according to his mission for our lives.

Humble Obedience to the Father

Not only did Jesus perfectly execute the power given to him by God, but he served his Father in absolute obedience. There is no greater example than Jesus’ agonized prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, when he fell on face, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matt. 26:39). In order to completely obey God’s will, Jesus humbled himself even to death.

Jesus’ example reminds us to “work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,” (Col. 3:23). Remembering this motivates us to stand up for what is right, no matter the professional risk. God may call us to obey him by making high-impact choices (such as refusing a request to alter documents) that garner a lot of negative attention and may even cost us our jobs. Or, obedience to God at work may take a quieter form, such as a daily commitment to refrain from office gossip. Regardless of our type of work and the opportunities it presents, we can obey God by devoting ourselves to excellence, even when our efforts go unsupervised or unacknowledged. Humility at work means that we obey God by pursuing the ethics and effort that will honor him.

Humble Service to Others

Jesus left his throne and came to earth “not to be served but to serve” (Mk. 10:45). One way he exemplified this was by washing the feet of his disciples, saying “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you” (Jn. 13:14-15). This is an astounding example of humility!

Imitating Jesus’ “good works” of humble service requires us to count our colleagues’ needs as more important than our own (Phil 2:3). It is so much easier to be selfish in the workplace. But when we speak up for those who have no voice, help those who can’t repay in favor or influence, or extend an act of kindness to someone who has been unkind, we are humbly serving others as Jesus did. Jesus’ example of humility may lead us to serve others in ways that are uncomfortable and seem “beneath our pay grade.” Yet, imitating Christ in this way may be just the “good work” that points others to praise and glorify God.

Your Humble Calling on Monday

Believer, you are called to live out your faith beyond the church walls on Sunday. God has placed you exactly where he wants you to be, Monday through Friday—at that specific job and in that particular role. The world of work is dark and desperately needs the light of Jesus. Christ-like humility is the way to shine that light. In Christ, you have everything you need to humbly use the skills he has given you, as you obey God and serve others. May we be the light so that the world may see Christ.

Your Work Matters More Than You Think

And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly, and when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water (1 Kings 18:3-4).

God puts his people in some surprising places. The testimony of Obadiah can encourage Christians who have been called to serve God in dark places for His purposes.

Called to Unlikely Places

Obadiah is a godly man, and God has put him in the palace, next to Ahab. Imagine the darkness of this palace with its evil king and its wicked queen. King Ahab didn’t fear the Lord or walk in His ways. But God placed someone next to him who did.

Perhaps you can relate to Obadiah, who loved the Lord but lived and worked in a place that must have torn him apart. Maybe you are serving a company where many things make you deeply uncomfortable. You say to yourself, “I am a Christian. Should I even be here? How long can I go on working for these people?”

Maybe you face intense pressures in your career. You ask yourself, “Should I even be doing this?” And you wonder, “Is it possible to be a Christian and pursue a secular calling in this world that is increasingly hostile to our faith? Can I stay or should I go?”

Then you think, “Maybe I can get a job in ministry. Maybe I could become a pastor or a missionary or work for a nice Christian organization. Then I wouldn’t have to deal with these pressures.” The darker the world becomes, the greater the pressure on Christians to withdraw.

Don’t shy away from positions of influence because they are difficult. God calls His people to be lights in very dark places.

Called for Surprising Purposes

I Kings 18 tells us that there were at least a hundred men who had been called to preach the Word of God (v. 4), but there was only one man standing at the right hand of Ahab. The best that Obadiah can do for God is not to abandon his job and become the 101st preacher, but to persevere in his high-pressure position. Take him out of the palace, and so much is lost.

Obadiah couldn’t possibly have hidden the prophets apart from information gleaned by working in the palace. Think about the risk involved in that! Jezebel is killing prophets, and her husband’s chief of staff is hiding them in caves. Think about the cost! Obadiah supplied food to a hundred missionaries out of his own pocket!

The prophet Elijah could never have done what Obadiah did. Though the two men are brothers in the faith, they have very different callings. Elijah works from the “outside”—standing apart from and speaking into national life—and God has given him a platform to do that (1 Kings 18). But Obadiah has a ministry of influence from the “inside.” He stays in the palace, and he has to be very careful about what he says. Everything in his life is about staying faithful in a situation that often must have felt as if it was tearing him apart. Here are three insights we can gain from his testimony:

a. Expect to be troubled.

In any career, you will find yourself torn, because you are in the world but not of it. Jesus says, “In this world you will have trouble” (Jn. 16:33). This world is not your home, so you are serving where you do not belong in a system that will pass away. That will always cause tension.

When you feel pressure to withdraw from your profession because it’s a dark place, please remember—God calls Obadiah’s as well as Elijah’s. He puts his light in some dark places because that’s where it’s needed most. The steadfastness of Obadiah is a great means of preserving the witness of God, and it’s a warning against Christian withdrawal from the world.

b. Expect to be misunderstood.

It is fascinating to me that some writers take a very negative view of Obadiah. F. B. Meyer, a wonderful Christian writer from whom I have benefitted, sees Elijah as the hero, Ahab as the villain, and Obadiah as the compromiser—and what use is a compromiser? But Scripture tells us that Obadiah “feared the Lord greatly,” that he took a great risk to save the lives of a hundred prophets, and that he played an important role in bringing Ahab to Elijah (1 Kings 18).

Some Christians have it in for anyone who is given a trusted position at a high level, whether it be in the world of business, politics, and increasingly in the church. When other Christians don’t understand your work, remember you’re not accountable to them. You’re accountable to God.

c. Trust God to keep you.

How could Obadiah survive in the spiritually stifling world of Ahab’s palace? God can keep you wherever he has placed you. Spurgeon says, “Grace can live where you would never expect it to survive for one hour.” [1]

That’s true in a secular university and in the world of business and politics. God protected the soul of this faithful man who served in the cesspool that was Ahab’s palace. He can do the same for you.

Called to Goodness 

Elijah was a “change the world” person. His mission was to call the whole nation to repentance. His strategy was one of open confrontation on Mount Carmel. God was in that, and God used him in a remarkable way. But God has more than one kind of servant.

What’s fascinating is that Elijah ended his life in great disappointment that God had not done more. Carmel did not lead to the revival he longed to see. But read on in the story of 1 Kings and here is what you will find: In the end, Ahab (who did more evil than all who were before him) repented! It’s one of the biggest surprises in the Bible.

We’re not told if Obadiah lived to see Ahab’s repentance. But at the end of the day, Elijah ended up achieving less than he’d hoped, and Obadiah ended up achieving more than he’d expected.

Dale Ralph Davis has this comment that speaks to all of us who, like Elijah, want to do something great for God:

You want to see the community changed…You want to see the church built…You want to see the nation transformed…You want to see the world reached… How helpful then that Elijah is not God’s only faithful servant. Faithfulness is not so dull that it only comes in one flavor. Moreover, your own pride requires the correction this story can give: You are not called to great works but to good works, not to flamboyant ministry but to faithful ministry, not to be a dashing, but only to be a devoted servant. [2]

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1. C. H. Spurgeon, “Obadiah”, sermon, October 19, 1884.
2. Dale Ralph Davis, 1 Kings: The Wisdom and the Folly (Fearn: Christian Focus, 2008), 233.
Photo: Unsplash
This article is adapted from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “Your Work Matters More Than You Think”, from his series, The Surprising Influence of a Godly Life .

 

The Greatest Need in the World

In the first paragraph of his classic book, Preaching & Preachers D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes:

“The most urgent need in the Christian Church today is true preaching; and as it is the greatest and the most urgent need in the Church, it is obviously the greatest need of the world also.” [1]

Is Lloyd-Jones right? Of all the needs in the church and in the world today, is faithful preaching actually the greatest?

Yes. And here’s why:

What is humanity’s deepest need?

Humanity’s greatest need is sight. We are all born blind. Not physically, but spiritually. In 2 Corinthians 4:4, Paul makes a sweeping statement about our natural human condition. He writes:

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Think about what he’s saying. The god of this world (note the small “g”) has blinded the minds of unbelievers. Satan’s greatest victory on planet earth is the blindness he has brought into the lives of every fallen human since Adam and Eve. What are we incapable of seeing? The light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. From birth, the eyes of our minds and hearts cannot see the truth and the goodness and the beauty of Jesus Christ, the Lord of all creation and the Savior of sinners. And if we remain unable to see him and believe in him, we will go to hell. No one comes to the Father, except through Jesus (Jn. 14:6). “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Therefore, avoiding an eternity of wrath, and enjoying an eternity of glory, depends on the ability to see the truth about Jesus. And since everyone is naturally blind to this reality, what greater need could there possibly be than to see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ?

The illuminating power of true preaching

Lloyd-Jones was wise to modify the word “preaching” with the word “true.” There is plenty of false preaching that will not do any church or any person any good. Preaching that proclaims a “gospel” reducing the blessing of Jesus to health, wealth, and prosperity in this life is false, and worthless. Preaching that proclaims a “gospel” calling men and women to work their way into a right relationship with God is false, and worthless. Preaching that proclaims a “gospel” promising the favor of God to all people of all religious persuasions regardless of their faith in Christ is false, and worthless.

But true preaching of the true gospel cures satanic blindness and imparts spiritual sight. Again, in 2 Corinthians 4 Paul writes, “What we proclaim [preach!] is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:5-6). When the true gospel is preached, in the same way that God said, “let there be light” at the beginning of creation, he opens the blind eyes of men and women to show them the light of the glory of Christ. Paul experienced this first hand, and the entirety of his ministry was focused on the kind of work that allows others to experience this miracle of grace, as well. “Him [Jesus] we proclaim [preach],” Paul writes to the Colossians, “warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (Col. 1:28).

In God’s grace, and by his power, true preaching opens blind eyes to the glory of Jesus and matures believers until the day we stand in his presence. There is no greater need on planet Earth than this.

You know this

Preacher, you know these things. You’re giving your life to proclaim the glories of Jesus because you know that his gospel is the power of God “for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16). And yet, as the years pass and perhaps you don’t see as many blind eyes opened as you desire, it can be tempting to divert from the course. Resist this. Resist the pull toward novelty for novelty’s sake. Resist the pull to tweak your teaching that it might better align with the contemporary mood. Resist the pull to water the message down. Don’t lose heart. Renounce underhanded ways. Refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word (2 Cor. 4:1-2). Preach the gospel, and leave the results in God’s sovereign hands.

Christian, you know these things. You see the glory of Jesus because someone preached the gospel to you. Pray for your pastor, asking God to keep him faithful to this task. Pray for his preaching, asking God to use it to open the eyes of many more and to mature you in your own faith. And proclaim Christ yourself, whenever the opportunity comes, that more people might see what you see.

The day is coming when every eye will see Jesus (Rev. 1:7). For those who see him in this life, that day will be full of joy, leading into an eternity of glory. For those who do not see him in this life, that day will be full of sorrow, leading to an eternity of shame. Seeing the glory of Christ now, and responding in faith, is the most urgent and important matter we face. And that is why preaching the glory of Christ, and calling people to faith, is the most urgent and important and greatest need of the world.

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Photo: Unsplash
1. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching & Preachers (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011), 17.

Where to Find Courage to Do Whatever God Asks

Leaders are people who set out on a journey and take others with them.

The Bible tells us of two leaders who moved in very different directions. Ahab took a journey of rebellion against God, and thousands of people went with him. Elijah chose a different path—a journey of obedience to God, and he found it lonely. If you’re a Christian today, you’re probably experiencing this in some way, shape, or form.

Ahab and Elijah were both leaders of vast influence. They led people in different directions, and their lives had extraordinarily different outcomes.

A Warning to Heed

Ahab reigned over Israel for twenty-two years—an entire generation. He brought political stability (and with it came economic prosperity), but evil went from bad to worse under his leadership. Ahab’s story tells of the progress of evil in a person’s life, and in a society. It begins with disobeying the command of God. It continues by subverting the worship of God—if this god does not suit us, we will reshape the god in our own image. It intensifies in provoking the anger of God, and it ends up with men and women ignoring the warnings of God.

It’s clear that our beloved nation is on this same path today. We define our own morality and choose our own gods. God says “I Am who I Am,” but instead of bowing before Him and believing God is who He says He is, we redefine God, and we act as if God is who we say He is.

What does God do when a culture is charging down the broad road? He raises up men and women who walk on the narrow path. And that is what God did in Elijah.

An Example to Follow

God brings out His brightest light in the hardest place at the darkest time. If you find yourself in a hard place at a dark time, do not be surprised at this. This is the way God works.

One writer says:

“To see Elijah appear like this, unexpected and unheralded, reminds us that we need not despair when we see great movements of evil achieving spectacular success on this earth. We can be sure that God, in unexpected places, has already secretly prepared his counter movement. Therefore, the situation is never hopeless where God is concerned. At the height of the triumph of evil, God is there, ready with His man and His movement and His plans to ensure that His own cause will never fail.” [1]

Try to imagine the scene in 1 Kings 17. Somehow Elijah gets into the presence of the king and says to Ahab:

As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word (1 Kings 17:1).

Where did Elijah find the kind of courage to tell the truth? Where can we find this kind of courage?

1. Stand in the presence of God. 

Picture the palace as Elijah walks up to Ahab.  The driver of Ahab’s chariot stands before him ready to move at his word. The waiter stands before Ahab, ready to serve food or drink at the movement of his finger. All around the room, the king’s servants stand before him, ready at any moment to respond to his direction.

1 Kings 17:1 tells us that Elijah says, “I stand before the Lord.” This means to come to the place where you are ready, available, and responsive to whatever He commands you to do. In the darkness, we need men and women who are standing before the Lord. Is that you?

2. Believe the Word of God.

What could Elijah do—just one man surrounded by a tide of evil, more flagrant than in any previous generation? He could believe the Word of God. And as he searched the Scriptures, he would have found this promise:

Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is giving you… (Deut. 11:16-17).

If God’s people turned aside and worshipped other gods, He said there would be no rain. So, Elijah began to pray, “O, God, what you warned about is everywhere. Nobody cares about your Word. They think your Word is only words. They think it is only sociology, only psychology. Do what you said.”

3. Pray for the will of God.

Elijah… prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth (James 5:17).

If there’s no rain for three years, then cattle and people die, and famine ruins the economy. Elijah prayed fervently that God would wreck the economy of his own beloved nation! What kind of prayer is that?

Even though Elijah himself would personally share in the suffering, he prayed that it would happen. Why? Elijah cared more about God’s glory than his own comfort. He cared more about peoples’ eternal destiny than their physical well-being. Elijah knew that it is better to endure any suffering in this world, and turn to God, than to enjoy any comfort in this world, and to live without Him.

4. Speak in the name of God. 

Standing before the Lord gave Elijah courage to stand before the king. His engagement with the Word, and his submission to God’s will, enabled Elijah to speak the truth to Ahab: “The Lord the God of Israel lives!”

Ahab had never thought about that. He had thought of religion as a branch of sociology to be manipulated for the benefit of politics, an expression of human spirituality, a force in the community that could be used for good social purposes. He had never seriously considered that there was a God who really is. Suddenly, perhaps for the first time, the thought enters Ahab’s mind: What if there really is a God? What if the Lord, the God of Israel lives?

A Better Example than Elijah 

Reading about Elijah standing before the Lord, interceding for the people of God, and speaking His Word, makes me think about Jesus, who says:

The gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. So enter by the narrow gate (Matt. 7:13-144).

To all who are ready to walk the narrow way of faith and obedience to God, there’s good news today: Jesus stands before the Father for us. He is the Word of God to us. He opens the seals to enact the will of God for us.

Jesus speaks a better word than Elijah did. Elijah spoke a word of judgment so that people would seek mercy, but Jesus speaks a word of mercy to people who deserve judgment. That’s the gospel!

Thank God we are not called to go out and somehow pray for judgment on the world, but in Christ’s name we are to call people to repentance and we are to offer grace to people in this world.

Where are you today?

We live and work with thousands who are on the broad road with Ahab, choosing their own morality, shaping their own god, provoking the Lord to anger and ignoring His warnings. I invite you to step out from the crowd and offer yourself to God today. Place yourself under His authority; tell Him you’re ready to do whatever He asks of you. Ask Him to make you a person who really believes His Word, and to help you seek His will, even when it’s going to be costly for you. Ask Him to give you courage—to speak in His name and be light in this dark world where you’ve been placed.

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Photo: Unsplash
1. Ronald Wallace, Elijah and Elisha (Hodder & Stoughton, 1999), 11.
This sermon is an adaptation of Pastor Colin’s sermon, “Courage When You Need It”, from his series, The Surprising Influence of a Godly Life .

How Not to Be Afraid of the Dark

As 2020 winds to a close, we can all use a little encouragement, and perhaps, a little courage. It has been a hard year, wrought with disappointments, rife with plans shifting underfoot, fear of sickness, job loss, isolation, loneliness, chaos, and confusion. For many, this year has been what C.S. Lewis describes as “looking into the mouth of a railway tunnel—a tunnel either so long or so twisty that you cannot see the light at the far end.” [1]

While it’s not wrong for Christians to feel scared of or disheartened by darkness, I have discovered that I have been, at times, ill-prepared for the troubles of 2020. I have scrambled around and not always found a flashlight immediately at hand. While there are no quick fixes or easy remedies, the Bible does shine light on how we may proceed. The book of Joshua opens in a time not unlike our present circumstances—a time of loss for Joshua and the people of God. Moses has died, but God’s people must proceed in obedience to possess the land that God is giving them (Josh. 1:1-4).

We meet God’s man, Joshua, in a lonely and challenging place. He is called to lead God’s people to face giants in the promised land, and to do so with strength and courage. Within the span of just three verses, the Lord calls Joshua three times to be “strong and courageous” (Josh. 1:6-9), echoing Joshua’s earlier commissioning by Moses (Deut. 31:6-8, 23).

Where do we find strength and courage today? All we need to do is look within and believe in ourselves, so say the sages of our day. But when we find ourselves facing genuine giants, this advice comes up short. God does not ask Joshua to find in himself the strength to obey God’s commands and take possession of the land. Rather, God instructs him to look to the Lord.

God’s Presence

The source of Joshua’s strength and courage lies in the knowledge that God is with him. Joshua 1:5, says, “Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.” The truth is that the Lord is always with us as believers, but we often forget that he is there.

When a small child cries out in the middle of the night after a bad dream, Mom or Dad is likely close at hand, in the very next room. But it is only when Mom or Dad enters the child’s room that the child can calm down and drift back to sleep. We are often like that child when we face hard circumstances. We become scared and assume we are all alone. We act as if the Lord is far away. Is it not a great comfort when we remember that he is always with us and will never leave us? God’s presence is able to steel our resolve in troubled times, just as it encouraged Joshua.

God’s Promises

The task that lies ahead for Joshua and God’s people is daunting but not foolhardy. The land God had promised to give is extensive and currently inhabited by people that are undefeatable but for the promises of God. God promises to Joshua that “[e]very place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses” (Josh. 1:3).

As believers, to advance the work of Christ in a world that rejects him can feel like an impossible command. We can feel weak and powerless in the face of our own giants: our battle with sin and temptation, the brokenness of our world, the hostility of unbelieving people, and the powers and principalities in the spiritual realm.

In hard times, we can claim God’s promises and obey him with the confidence of Galatians 5:16: If we “walk by the Spirit, [we] will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” May we say to the Lord, “Your word promises that if we ‘resist the devil…he will flee’ and if we ‘draw near to [you], [you] will draw near to [us]’ (James 4:7-8).” Scripture is teeming with the promises of God, and they can give us courage to rightly respond to each day’s trials.

God’s Precepts

While God’s plans and promises are sure, he chooses human beings to carry out his work in this world, entrusting them with his wisdom and law. God tells Joshua to be “careful to do according to the law that Moses…commanded… Do not turn from [God’s precepts] to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go” (Josh. 1:7).

Joshua’s strength and courage come from knowing the word of God and following its precepts. This does not guarantee an easy life for Joshua or God’s people, but they could count on experiencing the prosperity that God had promised—that they would take possession of the land flowing with milk and honey.

When we face discouragement and trouble on every side, it’s easy to shrink back, take short cuts, and cower in fear. But if we, like Joshua, meditate on God’s Word, we will know the way of wisdom and confidently walk in it (Josh. 1:8). The Lord tells us there will be much trouble in this life. But he also promises that our obedience to his word can produce joy and peace, even in darkness.

A Better Joshua

Though Joshua obediently crossed the Jordan, confronted giants, and took possession of the land, there is a better example for us to follow. Our Lord Jesus Christ was called to leave heaven and die on a cross. He did this to make us his own possession. No one has ever exhibited greater strength and courage than Jesus Christ. He knew the suffering, rejection, and type of death he would face (Lk. 9:22), and yet he courageously chose to lay down his life on our behalf.

In Hebrews 12:2, we see that Jesus exhibited this type of courage because his eyes were fixed—not on the suffering he must endure—but on the joy set before him. He looked beyond the cross. May we, too, look beyond the hardships of our present circumstances and behold Jesus in his majesty and might, knowing that one day we will enter into his rest forever.

In C.S. Lewis’ beloved novel, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, it is when young Lucy finds herself in utter darkness that she hears Aslan whisper, “Courage, dear heart” and finds his voice to be “a delicious smell breathed in her face.” As this dark year 2020 draws to an end, may we know God’s ever-present voice through his word, giving our hearts courage from his promises and precepts.

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1. C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (New York: Harper Collins, 1952), 135.
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