Daughters of promise

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.  Romans 12:14

‘Bless those who persecute you’ can sound like a hollow command at a time when new levels of brutality have arisen.  But we must have faith in the justice of God.  He does not take persecution lightly.  His nature is not passive, even if longsuffering.  He does not love peace more than He loves truth.  He does not love reconciliation more than He angers over injustice.

Setting this scripture alongside imprecatory passages can be confusing.  Psalm 69:23-24 Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see and make their loins tremble continually. Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them.

Paul loved this Psalm and quoted it several times in Romans.  Jesus also loved it and quoted it twice from the cross.  Putting those who hurt me into God’s hands is to be assured that justice will be served.  Either our enemies will come to the cross and repent (and Jesus will justify them through taking the wrath they should suffer upon Himself), or at the end of the age, God will fully pour His wrath and indignation upon them.  

These Psalms are the practical applications of God’s justice and mercy here on earth.  If I am more bent toward one than the other, I misrepresent the nature and character of God.  If I’m soft on sin and have no righteous anger, then mercy stands alone, and God’s holiness is in question.  If I live angry and cry out for justice, then the radical love Jesus showed on the cross is obscured.  

We are usually more bent toward one than the other.  God must work in us to make us like Him. 

Lord, you know my personal obstacles, and only You can break through my conflicted heart.  Amen

With joy you will draw waters from the well of salvation.  Isaiah 12:3

Jesus, the well of salvation is deep for every child of the kingdom.  Help me move beyond knowledge to experience.  

Where I feed on fear and end up becoming small, lead me to confess it and drink from your well of courage.  You promise me salvation from anxiety.

Where I feed on the torment of past failures, lead me to confess it and drink from your well of forgiveness.  Your mercy is new every morning.

Where I criticize others to feel powerful, lead me to confess it.  You love the one I am maligning.  Even the unregenerate.

Where I feel angry over needs unmet, lead me to confess my entitlement and drink from your well of promises to those who are humble.  You know my need and will bend low to save me. 

Where I feel hopeless over my own sin, lead me out of unbelief.  I drink from Your well of salvation and acknowledge Your power to transform me.

Today, I run to Your well of provision.  Let me drink of it as easily as I sit down to eat three meals a day.  You see my level of thirst today.  Open my capacity to want more, and receive more, so that I can live as one who proves that You are enough.  

My abundant life starts at the well of Your salvation. Amen

Can you name the big thing that overwhelms you; that mountain you bring before God nearly every hour of the day?  I know you wish it weren’t there, that He’d reach out with a sweeping wave of His hand to move it far from you.  I know you are frustrated that He’s not doing that when all power is His to take care of it. You can’t understand how anything related to perfect love could keep Him from rescuing. Maybe you also fear that your tears fail to move the heart of your Father. I’ve been there.

God told His people when they were traveling through the wilderness to Canaan, “Little by little I will drive them out before you.”  His plan for His child is that he would become wise and faith-driven, a child who trusts Him even when He looks guilty. Please know that slaying one giant at a time will build into your life these things, spiritual elements that are necessary for the unshakeable relationship He’s building with you.  Never underestimate what is gained when you walk with Jesus and see progress characterized by baby steps.

May I speak deeply to your discouraged heart? (I wish it could be in person.) God is not stingy, nor is His power limited.  It is His love that restrains His hand from completely delivering you from what seems crushing so that He can do something beautiful in your relationship.  He knows that this mountain makes you tremble, even despair.  But by dealing with your fear and choosing to stand in faith, you are being transformed into someone you will not recognize.  When you can’t see your progress, He can.  You have already changed more than you know. He wants you to know that today. In the meantime, keep trusting Him. Keep talking. Keep being real. Draw close to your High Priest, and don’t move for anything.

“Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.”  Deuteronomy 23:30

For the past several weeks, in my spirit, I’ve been hearing, ‘My children must go deeper in prayer.’  

Spiritual health can largely be determined by the kinds of prayers that are prayed.  Requests can be comprised of ‘fix-it’ prayers.  What about deeper, more important things?  God wants to do beautiful things in my distress, but my focus is all too often on alleviating all suffering instead of sharing in the sufferings of Jesus.  Here are some examples.

If I’m sick, I usually ask God to make me well.  God says, ‘Go deeper.’  The Holy Spirit would ask me if I’m angry that I am sick or am cross with people because they fail to empathize in the ways that I need.  I should pray to learn God’s rhythm of grace in my illness.  This matters more than my healing.  

If I am being mistreated, I usually ask God to make my enemy nicer.  God says, ‘Go deeper.’  The Holy Spirit would ask me to pray for, and love, my enemy.  I should pray to learn the ways of the cross-centered life. This matters more than another’s respect.

If I am feeling shame from painful events, I ask God to take away the pain.  God says, ‘Go deeper.’  The Holy Spirit would ask me how shame has shaped my identity. I should pray to discover the ways Jesus suffered shame and, also, how He bore my shame. This matters more than erasing the past from my mind.  

Nobody likes pain.  We weren’t created for it.  But it is a great teacher.  We won’t be spared from sharing in Jesus’ suffering.  He asked us to take up our cross to follow Him.  Jesus wants to do more than fix what is broken.  He wants to be one with us in suffering. For that, we will have to look behind the things that are wrong to see the opportunities for deeper discipleship.

Behold, I have refined you, but not with silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. Isaiah 48:10

The Lord will give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, but your Teacher will no longer hide Himself—with your own eyes you will see Him. And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind: “This is the way.”   Isaiah 30:20-21

There will be a future date, far beyond the life of Isaiah when Jesus and his disciples will be in a boat in the middle of the sea.  The opposite shore will be nowhere in sight.  It will be dark, and the sea will be churning.  Uncertainty and fear will overtake them.  Jesus will appear and will be walking on top of the water.  Knowing their terror, He will say, “It’s Me. Don’t be afraid.”  Like a child whose parent shows up to take care of everything, fears will eventually dissipate.  Pounding heartbeats will normalize.  Adrenalin will subside.  Awe and unworthiness will wash over them as the power of their Savior is made evident.

Our world is in a new season, a horrific season.  There’s no visible light on our path without the Light of the world. There is no wisdom for the next step without the voice of the Counselor. There is no self-comfort strong enough to make a dent without the presence of the Comforter.  There is no bright horizon without the One who writes a glorious future.   Who can access these resources?  The people who cry out to Jesus for salvation and ultimate deliverance.  No one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be exempt. Israelis and Palestinians, Hamas and Hezbollah.  

Where is Jesus now?  He’s right there, where He’s always been.  He’s never left.  He’s wooing His people while the waves of missiles assault their shores.  “It’s Me.  Don’t be afraid.”  May our prayers ascend for blind eyes to see and deaf ears to hear.   

Let Your voice be heard above the noise.    Amen

John said, ‘I’m not even worthy to be the Messiah’s slave.’  Unworthiness has so many faces, but only one kind is righteous.  John’s statement emanated from worship, not self-loathing. For any of us who have suffered from the toxic kind of unworthiness, we agree that it felt like a holy thing at the time.  Satan made sure of that.  

The enemy is out to destroy joy.  If he can’t keep me from following Jesus, he’ll keep me from the fuel that gives me joy.  God’s love.  He’ll twist scriptures to cause me to believe that I didn’t deserve to be chosen.  Because he is the most cunning accuser, he’ll use my worst sins to seek to prove it.  He’ll replay the hurtful comments of others about my past like a broken record.  All of this leads to self-hatred.  Any of us who have knelt at the feet of Jesus, never feeling like we could raise our heads out of the dirt, missed the joy of looking up and being surprised by Love.

The shame of unworthiness is healed in only one place.  In the arms of Jesus.  If I could see the light in His eyes wash over me today, unworthiness would disappear like a flash. 

Lord, I’m a dancer, not a wallower.  Amen

How does Jesus relate to me? I know I’m a disciple, but what does that mean, exactly?

• He calls me to something for which I’m unqualified. Four fishermen became evangelists and teachers. One was a tax collector. The calling is always God-sized because no skill set can achieve supernatural results.
• He builds the relationship on love and on promises of faithfulness. My relationship with Him began with love and forgiveness, followed by spoken promises that won’t ever be broken. Love is my fuel and His promises are my courage.
• He extends mercy before I sin. Jesus told Peter that he would deny him three times. When Peter was visibly shaken, Jesus told him not to be worried and upset but to believe in God. There was mercy before the sin. He didn’t tell Peter the specifics of how he would deny him, nor did He show him how to avoid it. I am forgiven in the past, in the present, and in the future.
• He forgives without reservation. Jesus forgives no matter how many times I say I’m sorry. I will have times of failure in the relationship. That’s inevitable. But not one sin or mistake will qualify as ‘unforgiveable’.
• He allows testing to reveal my flaws. Jesus was tested in the wilderness. His disciples were tested, too. When the fires are hot, the hidden things of the heart are driven to the surface. Bad theology is exposed. Testing purifies, and though it takes time to see the benefits, Jesus allows it out of love. And He walks with me through it.
• He is always out front ~ showing me the way home. I’m in the yoke with Jesus. He’s right there, a little in front, bearing the weight and responsibility for my needs. I am assured that the path we travel together leads me safely home.

The way may be steep, but it’s beautiful. Amen