Rick Warren's Blog, page 668

Who Can You Call for Help?

"By helping each other with your troubles, you truly obey the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2 NCV)

When we go through major disappointments in life, our natural reaction is to pull back and isolate ourselves. We want to handle it ourselves. We want to keep our losses and failures and mistakes and crises a secret. We want to withdraw. This is a terrible idea!

When you go through disappointment or crisis or loss is when you need your friends the most. You need to accept help from others. God doesn't intend for you to handle all the pain and stress in your life by yourself. We were wired for each other. We need each other. We're social beings. The first thing God said in the Garden of Eden is, "It's not good for man to be alone." We're made to be in relationships.

Job 6:14 says, "When desperate people give up on God Almighty, their friends, at least, should stick with them" (MSG).

There will be times in your life when you are in so much pain you will say, "I don't even believe in God right now!" You need to have friends who will come alongside you and say, "That's OK. We'll believe God for you right now."

There will come a time when you'll say, "I don't have any faith right now. I'm full of doubt." That's when you need your friends to step in and say, "That's OK. We will have faith for you. We will trust God for you in this."

"By helping each other with your troubles, you truly obey the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2 NCV). What is the law of Christ? It's this: Love your neighbor as yourself. The Bible commands us to help each other. Every time you help somebody who's going through pain, you are fulfilling the law of Christ.

Trying to handle your trouble yourself will only make you more tired and stressed out. You need to accept the help of others and let your friends carry you through it.

Talk It Over

Who are the people in your life who support you through your loss and disappointment? How do you do the same for them?

How can a small group provide the kind of support you need when you're in trouble?

What can we learn about God through the support of our biblical friendships?

How Can I Overcome Discouragement?

"Then the people of Judah said, 'The work crews are worn out, and there is too much rubble. We can't continue to rebuild the wall.'" (Nehemiah 4:10 GWT)

Discouragement is curable. Whenever I get discouraged, I head straight to Nehemiah. This great leader of ancient Israel understood there were four reasons for discouragement.

First, you get fatigued. You simply get tired as the laborers did in Nehemiah 4:10. We're human beings, and we wear out. You cannot burn the candle at both ends. So if you're discouraged, it may be you don't have to change anything. You just need a vacation! Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is go to bed.

Second, you get frustrated. Nehemiah says there was rubble all around, so much that it was getting in the way of rebuilding the wall. Do you have rubble in your life? Have you noticed that anytime you start doing something new, the trash starts piling up?

If you don't clean it out periodically, it's going to stop your progress. You can't avoid it, so you need to learn to recognize it and dispose of it quickly so you don't lose focus on your original intention.

Third, you think you've failed. Nehemiah's people were unable to finish their task as quickly as originally planned and, as a result, their confidence collapsed. They were thinking, "We were stupid to think we could ever rebuild this wall."

But you know what I do when I don't reach a goal on time? I just set a new goal. I don't give up. Everybody fails. Everybody does foolish things. So the issue is not that you failed; it's how you respond to your failure.

Do you give in to self-pity? Do you start blaming other people? Do you start complaining that it's impossible? Or, do you refocus on God's intentions and start moving again?

Finally, when you give in to fear, you get discouraged. Nehemiah 4 suggests the people most affected by fear are those who hang around negative people. If you're going to control the negative thoughts in your life, you've got to get away from negative people as much as you can.

Maybe you're discouraged because of fear. You're dealing with fears like, "I can't handle this. It's too much responsibility." Maybe it's the fear that you don't deserve it or the fear of criticism. Fear will destroy your life if you let it. But you can choose to resist the discouragement. Say, "God, help me get my eyes off the problem and the circumstance and keep my eyes on you."

Talk It Over

Rubble is the trivial things that waste your time and energy and prevent you from accomplishing what God has called you to do. What is the rubble in your life?

How can you reduce negativity in your life that is keeping you discouraged?

On what abandoned goal do you need to refocus so that you can accomplish something God has called you to do?

Don't Stuff Your Pain, Tell God About It

"Get up, cry out in the night, even as the night begins. Pour out your heart like water in prayer to the Lord." (Lamentations 2:19 NCV)

Think you've had a bad day? The biblical character of Job had a Ph.D. in pain and loss. In the very first chapter of Job, after everything fell apart in his life, Job "stood up, tore his robe in grief, and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground and worshiped" (Job 1:20 GWT).

Job expressed his pain to God. When you have a major loss in your life, the first thing you need to do is tell God exactly how you feel.

This may surprise you, but God can handle your anger and frustration. He can handle your emotions. Why? Because he gave them to you. You were made in the image of God, and he is an emotional God.

When your two-year-old has a temper tantrum and beats on your knees, you can handle that. In the same way, God is bigger than your emotion, and it's OK to tell him exactly how you feel. When you prayed for a promotion, and it didn't happen, when a loved one walks out of your life, when you get the dreaded call saying, "It's cancer," you can tell God, "I'm mad. I'm upset. I'm sick. I'm frustrated. I'm ticked off. I doubt." God can handle your complaints, your questions, your fear, and your grief. God's love for you is bigger than all of your emotions.

My kids know I love them. They know that I've been on this planet longer than they have and that I've had more experience than they have. But my children sometimes question my judgment. Can you believe that?

I'd rather have an honest, gut-level conversation with them than have them stuff their frustration and disappointment inside. God is the same way! He would rather have you wrestle with him in anger than walk away in detached apathy.�

The right response to unexplained tragedy is not "grin and bear it." Lamentations 2:19 says, "Get up, cry out in the night, even as the night begins. Pour out your heart like water in prayer to the Lord" (NCV). When was the last time you cried out in the night? When was the last time you poured out your heart like water to God?

Talk It Over

Who is the first person you usually talk to about your troubles? Why do you trust that person?

What have been the physical and emotional effects of keeping your anger to yourself?

What do you need to wrestle with God about today?

Where Can I Find Uncommon Courage?

"So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded." (Hebrews 10:35 NIV)

In a politically correct country full of attacks on biblical worldview, how do you live with uncommon courage? There are two things you need to do:

1. You need to accept God's Word as your authority. Why? Because it is the only source that will never lie to you. If you're going to be a man or woman of courage, you need to build your life on the rock that never changes, not on popular opinion. Build your life on the understanding that "God said it, I believe it, and that settles it - whether I understand it or not." Hebrews 6:18 says, "God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us" (NLT).

You will build your life on either the world or the Word. I say things all the time that are unpopular. Why? Because I fear displeasing God more than I do your rejection.

If you don't know what you believe, you need to figure it out. Your local church is a great resource and can help you find the material that will help you get deeper in and more familiar with God's Word.

2. You need to spend personal time with Jesus. "The leaders saw that Peter and John were not afraid to speak, and they understood that these men had no special training or education. So they were amazed. Then they realized that Peter and John had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13 NCV). The more time you spend with Jesus, the less you are going to be intimidated by the opinions of others and the more courage you're going to have.

Standing courageously for an unpopular opinion isn't easy, but the rewards of standing courageously for the truth will last forever. Hebrews 10:35 says, "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded" (NIV).

If you want to have an uncommon courage, pray this prayer today:

"God, I want to be a person of courage. I don't want to back down. I don't want other people to control what I say or think. I want to build my life on a biblical worldview. I make these two commitments today: First, I accept your Word as my authority. You say it, I believe it, and that settles it. Second, Lord, I want to spend time with you every day. I want to get to know you personally. I want to be so full of joy and courage that people say, 'That person's been with Jesus.' I ask you to help me to be fearless for the truth. In your name I pray. Amen."

Having the Courage to Stand Up

"Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent." (Acts 18:9b NIV)

As you are forming your worldview and searching Scripture for God's truth on all kinds of matters, it's important to understand God's stance on the three most controversial parts of a Christian worldview today. I mention these three because they are the ones you need the most courage to speak up about. Why? Because not only will most people disagree with you about these topics; they will also passionately argue with you.

It takes an uncommon courage to stand up against that kind of pressure.

There are a lot of parts of the Bible that people don't have a problem with, like "You must help the poor." Nobody disagrees with that. But there are three aspects of a Christian worldview that are hated by the world, and about which most Christians clam up. They are the areas of sanctity:

1. The sanctity of life: God has a purpose for every unborn child. God planned your life before you were born: "You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed" (Psalm 139:16 NLT). We are to speak up for those who can't speak for themselves - the unborn, the 70 million Americans who would be here if they hadn't been aborted. If I claim to be a Christian, then I must believe that every life is sacred.

2. The sanctity of sex: Sex is only for marriage. Sex was God's idea. It isn't dirty or wrong; sex is holy. "Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral" (Hebrews 13:4 NIV). God's instructions never change: Premarital sex is unacceptable to God. Living together without being married is unacceptable to God. Adultery is unacceptable to God. Pornography and the objectification of women are unacceptable to God.

3. The sanctity of marriage: One man and one woman for life. That is God's intended, original design. A lot of people ask, "Well, what about all the polygamy in the Bible?" Not everything the Bible reports the Bible approves. So why do we call it a "holy" Bible? Because it tells the truth, and it is very clear on the issue of marriage: "At the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,'�and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh....' So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate" (Matthew 19:4-6).

There are many issues of life where people of good will can disagree. For example, there's no economic recovery plan in the Bible, and Christians can disagree on that. But if you call yourself a disciple of Christ, you need to line yourself up with what God says about the sanctity of these three things. And you need to have the courage to stand up for them, even and especially when it's not the popular or politically correct thing to do.

Talk It Over

When was the last time you spoke up for Jesus in a conversation about one of these three topics? What keeps you from speaking up more often?

What can you do to better prepare yourself to have effective conversations about these topics?

How do you think a Christian's worldview should affect how he or she looks at political candidates?

How to Live with Uncommon Courage

"Stand up for me against world opinion and I'll stand up for you before my Father in heaven. If you turn tail and run, do you think I'll cover for you?" (Matthew 10:32 MSG)

To live with uncommon courage and stand up for Christ, you have to learn how to clarify your worldview - what you base your beliefs on. You also have to understand the non-Christian worldviews that compete for your devotion every day. Here are the four most popular anti-Christian worldviews:

Materialism: What matters most is money. Materialists measure their success by wealth, but you didn't bring anything into the world, and you won't take anything out of it. You were made for more than things. Luke 12:15 says, "Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions" (NIV). The greatest things in life aren't things.

Hedonism: Whatever feels good is good. For hedonists, pleasure is their god. Their goal in life is to be comfortable and have fun. But happiness is not the goal in life; happiness is a by-product of living out your purpose. Holiness creates happiness. "Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit" (Galatians 6:8 NLT).

Individualism: What I want comes first. America was built on rugged individualism, and today that has evolved into a culture of narcissism. But God didn't create you to live for you. If you want to follow Jesus, you have to put aside your selfish ambition. Romans 2:8 says, "For those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger" (NIV). God opposes self-centeredness because God is love, and love is never selfish.

Socialism: Government should control everything. God is not an anarchist; everything should be done in order. I've spoken at most of the major, secular elite conferences, and I've discovered this: Politics is the religion of people who don't know God. There is nothing wrong with politics, but it shouldn't be your savior. "Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20). I'm to be a responsible citizen, but I do not owe government my life. My greater loyalty is to God and not to government.

What is the result of these worldviews? The crumbling of our culture, crisis in our schools, corruption in our businesses, chaos in our government, carnality in our churches, confusion in our families, and conflicts in our personal lives. Any time we don't go by the owner's manual, we're the ones who get hurt. You see, we don't really break God's laws - they break us.

To counter these prevalent worldviews, God is calling Christians to stand up for his truth "against world opinion." You can only do that when you have a solid foundation in God's Word and the uncommon courage that comes from a relationship with him.

Talk It Over

To which of these worldviews do you relate the most? Why?

In what specific ways has God asked you to stand against world opinion? How have you responded?

What can you do to build a stronger foundation on which to base your Christian worldview?

Why God Sometimes Says 'Not Yet'?

"You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For, 'In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.'" (Hebrews 10:36-37 NIV)

If you're discouraged because of God's delay in answering your prayers, understand the delay is not a denial. Just because the answer or the miracle hasn't come yet doesn't mean God isn't going to answer or that he's forgotten you or that he doesn't care about you. It simply means "not yet"!

Part of becoming spiritually mature is learning the difference between "no" and "not yet," between a denial and a delay. The Bible tells us, "He who is coming will come and will not delay" (Hebrews 10:37 NIV).

God's delay may be a test of your patience. Anybody can be patient once. And, most people can be patient twice. And, a lot of us can be patient three times. So God tests our patience over and over and over.

Why? So he can see how patient you are? No!

He does it so you can see how patient you are - so you'll know what's inside you, and you'll be able to know your level of commitment. God tests you so that you can know he is faithful, even if the answers you seek are delayed.

You may be going through difficult times right now. You may be discouraged because the situation you face seems unmanageable, unreasonable, or unfair.

It may seem unbearable, and inside you're basically saying, "God, I can't take it anymore. I just can't take it anymore!"

But you can.

You can stay with it longer because God is with you. He'll enable you to press on. Remember, you are never a failure until you quit. Resist discouragement, and finish the race God has set before you.

Talk It Over

If you're discouraged, turn it around by remembering God teaches you patience during delay. Ask him to transform your discouragement into patience.

What request did you believe God answered with "no" to which he might actually be answering "not yet"? How will you respond?

What do you think God wants you to do in the delay when he answers "not yet"?

Why is Courage So Uncommon?

"Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent." Acts 18:9b (NIV)

If ever there was a message you need in today's culture, it's this: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent" (Acts 18:9b NIV). In a world full of ideas and beliefs that go against God's Word, God wants you to have an uncommon courage and stand up for what you know is true and right. Everyone else is speaking up and telling you their worldview every day. Why shouldn't you stand up for what you believe?

To stand courageously, you have to know what God says is the truth and what the world believes. This is called a worldview - what you base your beliefs on. Every person uses a different filter through which they see and understand the world. We may all be looking at the same event, but we will see it differently because of our conflicting worldviews.

Your worldview includes how you see God, yourself, others, the past, present, and future, money, time, good and evil. It influences everything in your life. Every time you make a decision, you access the worldview database in your mind and decide that, because you believe this, this is what you're going to do. Your worldview influences every choice you make.

Here's the problem: You are profoundly influenced by the worldviews of others. Every time you have a conversation, a worldview is being communicated. You are influenced by the worldviews of your parents, friends, an advertisement, or a newspaper article. Nothing is fair and balanced, because everyone has a worldview.

It is absolutely crucial, then, that you base your worldview on God's Word, which is the only truth.

In a national survey, 62 percent of Americans claimed they are "deeply spiritual." When asked how that spirituality affects their decision making, 31 percent said they make moral choices based on "what feels right and comfortable," 18 percent on "whatever is best for me," 14 percent on "whatever causes the least conflict with others," and only 16 percent on "what God's Word says."

What does that mean? It means most Christians have a non-Christian worldview. You may be a Christian and headed for Heaven, but you can also have a non-Christian worldview because you've based it on what you've learned from the world and not from the Word.

Why is it important to stand up and speak the truth? Matthew 10:32 says, "Stand up for me against world opinion and I'll stand up for you before my Father in heaven. If you turn tail and run, do you think I'll cover for you?" (MSG)

God is telling you to make a stand for his truth. Taking that kind of stand requires an uncommon courage that is only available through the knowledge and understanding of God's Word.

Talk It Over

What worldview do you think people would say that you have? How do your everyday words and actions reflect that response?

In what ways did your worldview affect decisions you made today?

How well are you growing in biblical knowledge so that you can take a stand for God's truth?

Why Does the Church Need Me?

"All of you together are Christ's body, and each one of you is a part of it." 1 Corinthians 12:27 (NLT)

One reason why you need to be connected to a church family is to fulfill your calling to serve other believers in practical ways. The Bible says, "All of you together are Christ's body, and each one of you is a part of it." 1 Corinthians 12:27 (NLT).

Your service is desperately needed in the Body of Christ - just ask any local church! Each of us has a role to play, and every role is important. There is no small service to God; it all matters.

Likewise, there are no insignificant ministries in the church. Some are visible and some are behind the scenes, but all are valuable. Small or hidden ministries often make the biggest difference.

In my home, the most important light is not the large chandelier in our dining room but the little night-light that keeps me from stubbing my toe when I get up at night. There is no correlation between size and significance. Every ministry matters because we are all dependent on each other to function.

What happens when one part of your body fails to function? You get sick. The rest of your body suffers. Imagine if your liver decided to start living for itself: "I'm tired! I don't want to serve the body anymore! I want a year off just to be fed. I've got to do what's best for me! Let some other part take over."

What would happen? Your body would die. Today thousands of local churches are dying because of Christians who are unwilling to serve. They sit on the sidelines as spectators, and the Body suffers.

God calls you to a service far beyond anything you could ever imagine. He created you for a life of good deeds, which he has already prepared for you to do (Ephesians 2:10). Whenever you serve others in any way, you are actually serving God.

Talk It Over

Think of a time you needed to take a "break" from ministry. Why did you feel this way? How long did it last? What were the effects?

How are you using your gifts to serve in your church? Why are your gifts important to your church?

In what ways can you show appreciation for the ministries - large and small - and ministers in your church?

Convictions Help Us Live Like We Believe

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1 (NRSV)

Dictionaries usually define conviction as a fixed or strong belief. Conviction is really much more than that. Your convictions include your values, commitments, and motivations.

I like the definition of conviction I once heard from the great Bible teacher Howard Hendricks: "A belief is something you will argue about. A conviction is something you will die for!"

Our convictions determine our conduct. They motivate us to take a stand and to act according to our values.�������

When you first become a Christian, you often do things simply because other Christians around you suggest or model them. You may pray, read the Bible, and attend services because you see the examples of others.

This is fine for a new Christian; little children learn the same way. However, as you grow, you must eventually develop your own reasons for doing what you do. Those reasons become convictions.

Biblical convictions are essential for spiritual growth and maturity. What is ironic today is that people often have strong convictions about weak issues (football, fashion, etc.) while having weak convictions about major issues (what is right and what is wrong).

Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (NRSV).

What convictions define your faith?

Talk It Over

Think about your walk with Jesus, and make a list of the convictions you now hold. Are your convictions weak on any major issues?

How have you seen your convictions affect decisions you've made? Is there a time when you made a decision that was not based on your convictions?

On what issues do you need to take a stand based on your convictions?