Today as I consider the Numbers story of Caleb and Joshua, I wonder how often we as Christians back up our faith with courage. In Numbers chapter 13, we are told that spies were sent to the land of Canaan. Among those spies were Caleb and Joshua. After spying on the land for forty days, the spies returned to Moses and the Israelites.
The children of Israel surely were expecting a good report. They had been delivered from the Egyptians and were ready to claim the land promised to them by God. Caleb did indeed give a good report. However, verse 31 says, "But the men who had gone up with him said, 'We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.'" The congregation then wept. After everything they witnessed God do for them, they allowed a few men to convince them they could not fight against the inhabitants of Canaan.
Yet Caleb and Joshua believed in God. They had faith. And they were ready to back up their faith with courage. In Numbers 14:8-9, Caleb and Joshua tell the Israelites, "If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them."
Caleb and Joshua were ready to go, even though the spies who accompanied them were not. And when Caleb and Joshua tried to change the minds of the Israelites, they said Caleb and Joshua should be stoned!
The question I have to ask myself after reading this passage is this: would I have the courage to go where God sends me? If everyone around me was too afraid, would I have the courage to trust God and go alone? That's a question we all need to ask ourselves.
Showing posts with label Fear. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fear. Show all posts
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
God Our Motivator
by Charity Pence
This Week’s Verse: “For the Lord will be your confidence.” Proverbs 3:26a (NIV)
I was talking to a writing buddy of mine earlier this week, and he mentioned he was not feeling very motivated to work on his writing project. He was looking for reinforcement to know he wasn’t wasting his time. And I realized something. We all lack motivation at some point.
Our daily demands keep us running, and it’s difficult to come up with the energy to put forth in something when we’re not seeing any positive results. In Deuteronomy 5:32, God tells the Israelites, “Therefore you shall be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” (NKJ) But maybe you’re tripping on stumbling block after stumbling block. Or perhaps you’re working on a task God has called you to do, and you have an expectation for how it will turn out, but it’s becoming nothing like you imagined it would be.
When we get to this point, we often question ourselves. Is this worth it? Am I doing something wrong? Should I do something else instead? And that’s where Satan gets us. Rather than listening to the devil and his lies, we need to focus on God. “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” Psalm 37: 3-5 (KJV)
The fact is, what God asks us to do is not always easy. And we are human. We get tired, discouraged, scared. But Joshua 1:9 says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (NKJ) And that’s the truth.
Dear Heavenly Father, sometimes I get tired, and I wonder if I’m wasting my time. Forgive me for when I haven’t trusted in You as I should have. Strengthen me; help me to tune out the world so that the only voice I hear is Yours. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Don’t let the devil convince you to quit. Trust God and God alone. He will be your strength and assurance.
Power Verses:
Zechariah 4:6b “‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.” (NKJ) Psalm 121:1, 2 “I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” (NIV)
Romans 5: 3, 4 “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope:” (KJV)
This Week’s Verse: “For the Lord will be your confidence.” Proverbs 3:26a (NIV)
I was talking to a writing buddy of mine earlier this week, and he mentioned he was not feeling very motivated to work on his writing project. He was looking for reinforcement to know he wasn’t wasting his time. And I realized something. We all lack motivation at some point.
Our daily demands keep us running, and it’s difficult to come up with the energy to put forth in something when we’re not seeing any positive results. In Deuteronomy 5:32, God tells the Israelites, “Therefore you shall be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” (NKJ) But maybe you’re tripping on stumbling block after stumbling block. Or perhaps you’re working on a task God has called you to do, and you have an expectation for how it will turn out, but it’s becoming nothing like you imagined it would be.
When we get to this point, we often question ourselves. Is this worth it? Am I doing something wrong? Should I do something else instead? And that’s where Satan gets us. Rather than listening to the devil and his lies, we need to focus on God. “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” Psalm 37: 3-5 (KJV)
The fact is, what God asks us to do is not always easy. And we are human. We get tired, discouraged, scared. But Joshua 1:9 says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (NKJ) And that’s the truth.
Dear Heavenly Father, sometimes I get tired, and I wonder if I’m wasting my time. Forgive me for when I haven’t trusted in You as I should have. Strengthen me; help me to tune out the world so that the only voice I hear is Yours. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Don’t let the devil convince you to quit. Trust God and God alone. He will be your strength and assurance.
Power Verses:
Zechariah 4:6b “‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.” (NKJ) Psalm 121:1, 2 “I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” (NIV)
Romans 5: 3, 4 “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope:” (KJV)
Friday, September 25, 2009
It's Covered
by Kathy Lay
This Week’s Verse: Romans 8:13, “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”(NKJV)
I recently experienced a ceremony in which I died to a part of myself.
In this powerful demonstration of faith and sacrifice, each participant took a piece of bread, held it up to the Lord and named a sin, habit, belief, whatever—a part of her flesh that she wanted to put to death. She then threw the bread into a basket to symbolize giving it to God.
I knew immediately what I wanted to put to death: fear and anxiety. I am continually praying for deliverance of these joy-stealers, but to paraphrase Paul, even though my spirit is willing, my flesh is weak. I still find myself dry-heaving or crying whenever my anxiety kicks into overdrive. I can’t seem to control it. As much as I want to, my physical body betrays my heart and my will. So that was it; I’d made the decision to die to fear and anxiety and I cried them out to God as I threw the bread into the basket.
After each person did this, the leader held up a full basket brimming with aspects of our lives we wanted to put to death. And then she poured juice over the bread to illustrate the sins and ugliness being completely saturated with the blood of Jesus Christ! You should have heard the whooping and hollering and amening when she claimed those sins covered by Jesus! It was freeing and empowering and every face simply glowed with hope and restoration.
As warned in John 10:10, however, the thief came back in to steal my peace and destroy my assurance that Christ had it covered. It wasn’t a full two days after the mountaintop weekend was over before I was back in a pit of restless nervousness and worry about some idiocy at work. I wondered to God how this could be since I claimed dying to this very thing in Jesus’ Name. How was I still struggling with it?
Jesus whispered to my heart, “Kathy, remember? I’ve got it covered. My blood covered it just like the juice sopped all through that bread.”
“But Lord, then why was I a nervous wreck this morning to the point that I couldn’t even eat?”
“You don’t need to know why. You just have to trust that I’ve got it covered.”
See, instead of the physical “won’t-feel-anxious” resolution I was looking for, The Lord showed me a new perspective of what it means for Him to cover the sin. For one thing, He covers it in His way. He may deliver some folks from the sin instantly and completely, never to confront it again! But He also may cover it continually over time. I know that my anxiety was not only covered the instant the cry left my lips, but it will continue to be covered every time I’m confronted by it again.
Whatever we battle, God may continue to use it to some degree to help us become the best conquerors we can be. But He will be with us, covering the battle with His blood on our behalf. We just have to place our complete trust and faith in the fact that He really does have it covered!
Lord, thank you for having it all covered! Thank you for pointing out areas of our lives that keep us from living in the fullness You want for us. And thank you for the privilege of dying to them and turning them over to You. Increase our faith that Jesus’ blood covers them, once and for all.
Application:
Can you identify one particular area of your life that prevents you from living fully in abundance? Give it to God and pray for His governance of it under Jesus’ blood. Promise not to take it back, but rather to live in the faith that it’s already covered.
Power Verses:
Romans 5:9, “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him.”(NIV)
1 Peter 3:18, “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.” (NASB)
Romans 4:7, “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.”(NIV)
This Week’s Verse: Romans 8:13, “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”(NKJV)
I recently experienced a ceremony in which I died to a part of myself.
In this powerful demonstration of faith and sacrifice, each participant took a piece of bread, held it up to the Lord and named a sin, habit, belief, whatever—a part of her flesh that she wanted to put to death. She then threw the bread into a basket to symbolize giving it to God.
I knew immediately what I wanted to put to death: fear and anxiety. I am continually praying for deliverance of these joy-stealers, but to paraphrase Paul, even though my spirit is willing, my flesh is weak. I still find myself dry-heaving or crying whenever my anxiety kicks into overdrive. I can’t seem to control it. As much as I want to, my physical body betrays my heart and my will. So that was it; I’d made the decision to die to fear and anxiety and I cried them out to God as I threw the bread into the basket.
After each person did this, the leader held up a full basket brimming with aspects of our lives we wanted to put to death. And then she poured juice over the bread to illustrate the sins and ugliness being completely saturated with the blood of Jesus Christ! You should have heard the whooping and hollering and amening when she claimed those sins covered by Jesus! It was freeing and empowering and every face simply glowed with hope and restoration.
As warned in John 10:10, however, the thief came back in to steal my peace and destroy my assurance that Christ had it covered. It wasn’t a full two days after the mountaintop weekend was over before I was back in a pit of restless nervousness and worry about some idiocy at work. I wondered to God how this could be since I claimed dying to this very thing in Jesus’ Name. How was I still struggling with it?
Jesus whispered to my heart, “Kathy, remember? I’ve got it covered. My blood covered it just like the juice sopped all through that bread.”
“But Lord, then why was I a nervous wreck this morning to the point that I couldn’t even eat?”
“You don’t need to know why. You just have to trust that I’ve got it covered.”
See, instead of the physical “won’t-feel-anxious” resolution I was looking for, The Lord showed me a new perspective of what it means for Him to cover the sin. For one thing, He covers it in His way. He may deliver some folks from the sin instantly and completely, never to confront it again! But He also may cover it continually over time. I know that my anxiety was not only covered the instant the cry left my lips, but it will continue to be covered every time I’m confronted by it again.
Whatever we battle, God may continue to use it to some degree to help us become the best conquerors we can be. But He will be with us, covering the battle with His blood on our behalf. We just have to place our complete trust and faith in the fact that He really does have it covered!
Lord, thank you for having it all covered! Thank you for pointing out areas of our lives that keep us from living in the fullness You want for us. And thank you for the privilege of dying to them and turning them over to You. Increase our faith that Jesus’ blood covers them, once and for all.
Application:
Can you identify one particular area of your life that prevents you from living fully in abundance? Give it to God and pray for His governance of it under Jesus’ blood. Promise not to take it back, but rather to live in the faith that it’s already covered.
Power Verses:
Romans 5:9, “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him.”(NIV)
1 Peter 3:18, “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.” (NASB)
Romans 4:7, “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.”(NIV)
Friday, October 17, 2008
Leaving Smallville
by Kathy Lay
This Week’s Verse: Isaiah 65:9, “I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah those who will possess my mountains; my chosen people will inherit them, and there will my servants live.”(NIV)
Devotion:
Every time I read Genesis I find myself having a lot of issues with Abraham’s nephew, Lot. During the month of September as FCC read through Genesis, I was convicted that I have issues with him because I’m quite a bit like him. I sometimes put myself first, I want the best portion for myself, and I allow myself to blend into the corruption around me.
(Still, I don’t think I would ever offer up my two daughters to a mob of perverts banging on my door. Oops! There I go again, oozing contempt and judgment onto someone God loved and protected from destruction.)
But another lesson that fell afresh on me as I read about Lot this last time had to do with fear and settling. In Genesis 19:17, the angels are warning Lot and his family to “Run for your lives!...Do not stop anywhere in the valley. And don’t look back! Escape to the mountains, or you will die!”(NLT).
I’m thinking that with the threat of sure destruction looming, I’d listen to the angels’ instructions and high-tail it to those mountains quicker than I could say “Hey, where are my hikin’ boots?” The further away and higher up, the better!
But what does Lot do? He refuses to go to the mountains and asks instead for an easier option. He seems to be afraid of something disastrous there that would result in his death (v. 19). In verse 20 he says, “See, there is a small village nearby. Please let me go there instead; don’t you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved.” (NLT--emphasis mine). Something tells me Lot was thinking small, while God's thoughts were mountain-sized.
The angels grant his request and promise to spare the little village of Zoar if Lot will just hurry up and get there! He does and they do. Whew!
But check out verse 30! “Afterward, Lot left Zoar because he was afraid of the people there, and he went to live in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters.”(NLT). Excuse me, where was that again? Oh yeah, IN THE MOUNTAINS! The place where the angels had originally told Lot to go, but he was too scared to do it! And what drove him there now? Fear of the people of Zoar.
Now before I go off judging again, here’s the same lesson: I’m not so different than Lot. And I suspect many of you aren’t either. When God is pointing us to a mountain saying, “Go up there. It’s where I want you,” how many of us respond with, “Well, something about that mountain looks a little scary, and it’s pretty far away, so how ‘bout I only go half-way?” We settle for something so much smaller, our own little Zoar.
Don’t let fear lull you into settling in Smallville. It looks good and comfortable initially, but it’s not without its own traps and vices, which may very well drive us to the originally planned destination in a much harder, more painful way. Aim higher in the first place. Obey the first time. Climb that big mountain. God will help you get where He wants you, and there you’ll find the life he has planned for you.
Father, how often we act just like Lot! Forgive us for short-sightedness and forgetting that all things are possible with You. Help us to discern the mountains you want us to tackle and grow our faith to rely on Your power to do it. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Application:
List one mountain you know God’s asking you to climb. Where are you at on the journey? Until we become just like Christ (which won’t happen this side of heaven), God is always calling us higher. Are you currently camped out in a little comfort zone, perhaps a Zoar? Resolve to leave it today and head for the next mountain God’s pointing out to you.
Power Verses:
Genesis 19:17, “So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, ‘Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.’”(NKJV)
Jeremiah 46:21, “But when their lives are on the line, they'll run off, cowards every one.
When the going gets tough, they'll take the easy way out.” (MSG)
Psalm 19:7, “The revelation of God is whole and pulls our lives together. The signposts of God are clear and point out the right road. The life-maps of God are right, showing the way to joy. The directions of God are plain and easy on the eyes. God's reputation is twenty-four-carat gold, with a lifetime guarantee. The decisions of God are accurate down to the nth degree.” (MSG)
This Week’s Verse: Isaiah 65:9, “I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah those who will possess my mountains; my chosen people will inherit them, and there will my servants live.”(NIV)
Devotion:
Every time I read Genesis I find myself having a lot of issues with Abraham’s nephew, Lot. During the month of September as FCC read through Genesis, I was convicted that I have issues with him because I’m quite a bit like him. I sometimes put myself first, I want the best portion for myself, and I allow myself to blend into the corruption around me.
(Still, I don’t think I would ever offer up my two daughters to a mob of perverts banging on my door. Oops! There I go again, oozing contempt and judgment onto someone God loved and protected from destruction.)
But another lesson that fell afresh on me as I read about Lot this last time had to do with fear and settling. In Genesis 19:17, the angels are warning Lot and his family to “Run for your lives!...Do not stop anywhere in the valley. And don’t look back! Escape to the mountains, or you will die!”(NLT).
I’m thinking that with the threat of sure destruction looming, I’d listen to the angels’ instructions and high-tail it to those mountains quicker than I could say “Hey, where are my hikin’ boots?” The further away and higher up, the better!
But what does Lot do? He refuses to go to the mountains and asks instead for an easier option. He seems to be afraid of something disastrous there that would result in his death (v. 19). In verse 20 he says, “See, there is a small village nearby. Please let me go there instead; don’t you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved.” (NLT--emphasis mine). Something tells me Lot was thinking small, while God's thoughts were mountain-sized.
The angels grant his request and promise to spare the little village of Zoar if Lot will just hurry up and get there! He does and they do. Whew!
But check out verse 30! “Afterward, Lot left Zoar because he was afraid of the people there, and he went to live in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters.”(NLT). Excuse me, where was that again? Oh yeah, IN THE MOUNTAINS! The place where the angels had originally told Lot to go, but he was too scared to do it! And what drove him there now? Fear of the people of Zoar.
Now before I go off judging again, here’s the same lesson: I’m not so different than Lot. And I suspect many of you aren’t either. When God is pointing us to a mountain saying, “Go up there. It’s where I want you,” how many of us respond with, “Well, something about that mountain looks a little scary, and it’s pretty far away, so how ‘bout I only go half-way?” We settle for something so much smaller, our own little Zoar.
Don’t let fear lull you into settling in Smallville. It looks good and comfortable initially, but it’s not without its own traps and vices, which may very well drive us to the originally planned destination in a much harder, more painful way. Aim higher in the first place. Obey the first time. Climb that big mountain. God will help you get where He wants you, and there you’ll find the life he has planned for you.
Father, how often we act just like Lot! Forgive us for short-sightedness and forgetting that all things are possible with You. Help us to discern the mountains you want us to tackle and grow our faith to rely on Your power to do it. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Application:
List one mountain you know God’s asking you to climb. Where are you at on the journey? Until we become just like Christ (which won’t happen this side of heaven), God is always calling us higher. Are you currently camped out in a little comfort zone, perhaps a Zoar? Resolve to leave it today and head for the next mountain God’s pointing out to you.
Power Verses:
Genesis 19:17, “So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, ‘Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.’”(NKJV)
Jeremiah 46:21, “But when their lives are on the line, they'll run off, cowards every one.
When the going gets tough, they'll take the easy way out.” (MSG)
Psalm 19:7, “The revelation of God is whole and pulls our lives together. The signposts of God are clear and point out the right road. The life-maps of God are right, showing the way to joy. The directions of God are plain and easy on the eyes. God's reputation is twenty-four-carat gold, with a lifetime guarantee. The decisions of God are accurate down to the nth degree.” (MSG)
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