Experiences

Most of us have had experiences in our lives that if we had known what we now know in hindsight we would not have walked that path. We would have chosen differently. Although Jesus knew the outcome of His assignment, He did not choose differently. He still chose to come and rescue and redeem us. This demonstrates the depth of His love for us – all of us – after all, He died for the world – not just the church (Selah). “And here is how to measure it—the greatest love is shown when a person lays down his life for his friends,” John 15:13 (TLB). Imagine, knowing – being fully aware – that you are going to be falsely accused, betrayed by someone close to you, beaten beyond recognition, sentenced to death, and executed all while doing the will of His Father; and He still chose to come. We ought to allow that to rest on our hearts for a moment.

There was a time that 2 Corinthians 4:17 (“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”) offended me. I could not relate to the things I had endured as light. Another version of that scripture reads, “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” (NLT). I now appreciate and understand more deeply what this scripture is revealing. It is explained further in Hebrews 12:3-5, “For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” Considering that Jesus gave up His life so that we could have life; and considering that nothing we have gone through has cost us our physical lives; yes, they are light afflictions (troubles). Also, Hebrews 12:2 gives us the perspective we must have when we are going through these “small troubles that won’t last very long.” We should be, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” There is a reward at the end – Jesus’ reward was the joy of redeeming humanity back to the Father; our reward that we shall receive is the “exceeding and eternal weight of glory that vastly outweighs them (the troubles) and will last forever.”

As we still consider Jesus and what He freely did for us, we can also embrace James 1:2-4, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” When we are pulled and pushed in various directions, or we find ourselves in trouble; we ought to remember that it is just our faith being tested and out of it we will gain patience, maturity, and wholeness. Another translation reads, “Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace].” (AMP).

There is nothing wasted in God! He takes all our experiences – the good, the bad, the ugly, the painful – and He uses them all for our good. “We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love Him.” Romans 8:28(a) (ERV). When we are in it, we cannot see our way out of it; however, we trust the One who has already gone before us and says it will work out. Another promise that our experiences produce much more than the momentary troubles we face is found in Romans 5:3-5, “And not only so (we not only rejoice in hope of the glory of God), but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” The Easy-to-Read Version (ERV) states, “And we are also happy with the troubles we have. Why are we happy with troubles? Because we know that these troubles make us more patient. And this patience is proof that we are strong. And this proof gives us hope. And this hope will never disappoint us. We know this because God has poured out His love to fill our hearts through the Holy Spirit He gave us.” Regardless of what we go through, God’s love will sustain us and our confidence in Him will not lead to disappointment. Therefore, we should not waste our experiences. We must learn every lesson from every experience so that we can grow, mature, and be all that Jesus died for us to be.

Christ died for us when we were unable to help ourselves. We were living against God, but at just the right time Christ died for us. Very few people will die to save the life of someone else, even if it is for a good person. Someone might be willing to die for an especially good person. But Christ died for us while we were still sinners, and by this God showed how much He loves us. Romans 5:6-8

Experiences

Most of us have had experiences in our lives that, if we had known what we now know in hindsight, we would not have walked that path. We would have chosen differently. However, although Jesus knew the outcome of His assignment on earth, He did not choose differently. He still chose to come and rescue and redeem us. This demonstrates the depth of His love for us – all of us – after all, He died for the world – not just the church (Selah). “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. Imagine, knowing – being fully aware – that you are going to be falsely accused, betrayed by someone close to you, beaten beyond recognition, sentenced to death, and executed all while doing the will of His Father; and He still chose to come. We ought to allow that to rest on our hearts for a moment.

There was a time that 2 Corinthians 4:17 (“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”) offended me. I could not relate to the things I was enduring or had endured as light. Another version of that scripture reads, “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” (NLT). I now appreciate and understand more deeply what this scripture is revealing. It is further explained in Hebrews 12:3-5, “For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” Considering that Jesus gave up His life so that we could have life; and considering that nothing we have gone through has cost us our physical lives; yes, they are light afflictions (troubles). Also, Hebrews 12:2 gives us the perspective we must have when we are going through those “small troubles that won’t last very long.” We should be, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” There is a reward at the end – Jesus’ reward was the joy of redeeming humanity back to the Father; our reward that we shall receive is the “exceeding and eternal weight of glory that vastly outweighs them (the troubles) and will last forever.”

As we still consider Jesus and what He freely did for us, we can also embrace James 1:2-4, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” When we are pulled and pushed in various directions, or we find ourselves in trouble; we ought to remember that it is just our faith being tested and out of it we will gain patience, maturity, and wholeness. Another translation reads, “Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace].” (AMP).

There is nothing wasted in God! He takes all our experiences – the good, the bad, the ugly, the painful – and He uses them all for our good. “We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love Him.” Romans 8:28(a) (ERV). When we are in it, we cannot see our way out of it; however, we trust the One who has already gone before us and says it will work out for our good. Another promise that our experiences produces much more than the momentary troubles we face is found in Romans 5:3-5, “And not only so (we not only rejoice in hope of the glory of God), but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” The Easy-to-Read Version states, “And we are also happy with the troubles we have. Why are we happy with troubles? Because we know that these troubles make us more patient. And this patience is proof that we are strong. And this proof gives us hope. And this hope will never disappoint us. We know this because God has poured out His love to fill our hearts through the Holy Spirit He gave us.” Regardless of what we go through, God’s love will sustain us and our confidence in Him will not lead to disappointment. Therefore, we should not waste our experiences. We must get every lesson from every experience so that we can grow, mature, and be all that Jesus died for us to be.

Christ died for us when we were unable to help ourselves.
We were living against God, but at just the right time Christ died for us.
Very few people will die to save the life of someone else, even if it is for a good person. Someone might be willing to die for an especially good person.
But Christ died for us while we were still sinners,
and by this God showed how much He loves us.
Romans 5:6-8 (ERV)

Questions

Do you have questions for God? Perhaps, like me, growing up you may have been taught that we were not supposed to question God. He was GOD and He did not make mistakes! I do believe that our elders may have perceived questioning as being disrespectful and doubting God’s authority. On the other hand, questioning can also bring clarity. Clarity is defined as, “clearness of thought: clearness in what somebody is thinking. This is what we desire and are seeking from the Lord – a clear understanding of His vision for our lives.

The Bible gives us instances in which clarity was sought from God by means of a question.

Then went King David in, and sat before the Lord, and he said, Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? 2 Samuel 7:18

In this scripture, David asked the Lord, “Who am I?” He asked this question after the Prophet Nathan told him all of God’s promises concerning Israel, his reign as King, and his legacy (see 2 Samuel 7:5-17). After hearing all of the great and precious promises of the Lord, David wanted to know, “Who am I?” Why are you doing this for me and my children? What is it that you see in me?

The Easy-to-Read (ETR) version states:

Then King David went in and sat in front of the Lord. David said, “Lord God, why am I so important to you? Why is my family important? Why have you made me so important?

It is also important to note that David did not ask the Prophet Nathan these questions. The scripture specifically states, he went and, “sat before the Lord.” He asked God.

In Psalm 8:4, David asked God another question:

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him?

David wanted to know why man was so important to God. In order to gain a better understanding of what David was asking God, let’s look at Psalm 8:3-4 in the ETR version:

I look at the heavens you made with your hands. I see the moon and the stars you created. And I wonder, “Why are people so important to you? Why do you even think about them? Why do you care so much about humans? Why do you even notice them?”

Perhaps you have never felt comfortable “questioning” God, but who is better to give us clarity than the one that made us. Psalm 100:3 states, “Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.”

The Lord told Jeremiah, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5. In this scripture, He gave Jeremiah a clear understanding of who he was and what his purpose was.

We can ask God our questions and He will answer us. He is not offended by our questions. He will not scold us for asking Him questions. He welcomes our asking and seeking. Jesus said, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8.

Back to my opening question – Do you have questions for God? Ask Him.

2021 Expectations

I wrote an article in October 2012 titled “Expectations” discussing the expectations we place upon each other in relationships that often lead to unnecessary pressure and disappointment. Here, I would like for us to consider that same concept in regard to the expectations we have for 2021. Traditionally, we begin the year with resolutions and declarations of our expectations. We not only place demands on ourselves, but we also place demands on the year. Of course, all those things sound good and are pleasing to us.

However, many of us usually throw out the resolutions and declarations within the first quarter of the year, because we have placed either unrealistic demands on ourselves or demands we have not fully committed to. For example, losing weight, exercising, a healthier lifestyle, making better choices, reading our Bibles, praying, fasting. . . The list could go on and on, and if we are honest with ourselves, most of the resolutions and declarations come from a place of ego. Selah. We start the new year with a bang, then we start to fizzle out in three months and halfway into the year, we need to be resuscitated. This pattern has been repeated for years. Side note: insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Perhaps, it is time to re-evaluate our expectations for the new year.

If 2020 taught us anything, it should be that we have no control over what the year delivers. We do, however, have control over how we respond. Countless ones stepped up to the challenge of 2020 and discovered strength and ingenuity that they did not know they possessed. Unfortunately, many also felt overwhelmed and hopeless. Regardless of how we responded, we were all ready to leave 2020 behind – some with ready expectations for 2021 and some just grateful to have survived.

Personally, after experiencing a few years of unexpected life events that squashed my new year expectations, I long ago opted out of placing demands on upcoming years. I simplified my expectations to what I knew for certain were going to be true in any given year. They are simple yet powerful. They hold true regardless of what’s happening in the world, in my home, in the office, or in relationships.

First, I expect to see the goodness and mercy of God because He is good and merciful. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting. . . Psalm 100:5. I have experienced and am a witness of His continuous goodness and mercy in my life. He is always good and always merciful, and I do not have to wait for His goodness and mercy to be revealed – they are always there. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. . .” Psalm 23:6.

Lastly, I expect to follow after and obey Him because that is my heart’s longing. I am fully committed to staying on the path He has set before me. I’m committed to doing whatever He wants me to do, how He wants me to do it, wherever He wants me to do it, and when He wants me to do it. “Because the Lord God helps me, I will not be dismayed; therefore, I have set my face like flint to do His will, and I know that I will triumph.” Isaiah 50:7. 

Just as I stated in my 2012 article, when our expectations are not met, we often find ourselves unfulfilled, discouraged, despondent, and sometimes depressed. I also stated that the enemy preys upon our emotions and disappointment can create a wound. The Bible says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick. . .” Proverbs 13:12(a). When we make declarations amiss, we self-inflict ourselves with disappointment and other adverse emotions. This is not to say that we do not speak and believe the Word of God, but it does mean we need to check our motives and ensure our declarations are coming from God and not our ego. This year, whatever the declaration, whatever the expectation, plug in a “nevertheless.” Luke 22:4, “. . . nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”

My prayer for 2021: “God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause His face to shine upon us; Selah.” Psalm 67:1

Believe Again

“So I say to my soul, “Don’t be discouraged. Don’t be disturbed. For I know my God will break through for me.” Then I’ll have plenty of reasons to praise Him all over again. Yes, living before His face is my saving grace!” Psalm 42:11 (TPT)

The theme song for 2020 has been mixed with lyrics of disappointment, frustration and heartache. Many felt as though their faith in God had failed them. Even now with 2021 approaching, some are skeptical about hoping for better in the coming year. The frustration and apprehension are understandable; however, I want to encourage us to believe again; let hope arise again. Dust off our vision boards; pull out those prophetic words that we put on a shelf; wake up our dreams and visions; and stir ourselves to faith. We cannot afford to allow what has happened in the past dictate our future. In order for us to recover and move forward, we must begin to believe again.

This is not to say we stopped being Believers; however, at some point, with all that has been going on in the world and in our personal lives, we stopped expecting our promises and dreams to be fulfilled. We lost hope. Hope is defined as, “A feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.” The Bible states, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12. The Passion translation (TPT) reads, “When hope’s dream seems to drag on and on, the delay can be depressing. But when at last your dream comes true, life’s sweetness will satisfy your soul.” These scriptures let us know that the Lord is very much aware of our disappointments and He understands our weariness. Yet, He instructs us to not give up – not faint. “And He spoke a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” Luke 18:1. The Amplified version (AMP) states, “Now Jesus was telling the disciples a parable to make the point that at all times they ought to pray and not give up and lose heart.” Another scripture says, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:9.

So, how do we begin to recover and move forward? We first have to remember who our God is. He is sovereign (Genesis 15:8, NIV); He is all powerful (Joshua 4:24, NIV); He knows all (1 John 3:20, NIV); He sees all (Proverbs 15:3); He is just (Isaiah 45:21); and He loves us (Jeremiah 31:3). He also is not a liar – “He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind; for He is not a human being, that He should change His mind.” 1 Samuel 15:29 (NIV). He is a man of His Word and He keeps His promises; “For all the promises of God in Him are yes, and in Him Amen.” 2 Corinthians 1:20.

Next, we must take our frustrations, our disappointments and our weariness to the Lord. The old hymn says, “Now let us have a little talk with Jesus. Let us tell Him all about our troubles. He will hear our faintest cry and He will answer by and by.” David said in Psalm 61:2, “From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.” In Psalm 62:8, he said, “Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.” David knew where to go and what to do when he was exhausted and troubled: “And David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.” 1 Samuel 30:6. Jesus also told us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 (NIV). Another scripture says, “Casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].” 1 Peter 5:7 (AMP).

When pouring our hearts out to the Lord, we remind Him of His promises to us; and we remind Him of the dreams He put in our hearts. We remind Him what He said concerning His Word: “So shall my Word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11; “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Words shall not pass away.” Matthew 24:35. We then begin to confess and believe His promises to us. We believe Proverbs 13:12(b) (TPT), But when at last your dream comes true, life’s sweetness will satisfy your soul;” we confess and believe Galatians 6:9 (b), “For in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” We believe 1 Samuel 15:29, God has not changed His mind about us and He has not forgotten about us. We confess Isaiah 55:11, that what He has said, He will accomplish. We allow His Word to dwell in our hearts until hope rises and we believe again!

Teach Me Your Ways

Show me Your ways, Lord, teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long. Psalm 25:4-5

We do not have to be Bible scholars to recognize an “act” or “move” of God. We easily testify about His acts or “blessings” we have received. And if the truth be told, we pray more for Him to bless us than we seek to know Him. Simply put, we spend more time praying for what we want than we spend just wanting to know Him. If that happened in our natural relationships, it would not be tolerated. Nobody desires to be in a relationship where the person only comes around when they want something, and never demonstrates any interest in really getting to know us. This is exactly how we treat God; yet, He continues to give us unlimited access to Himself hoping that we will come and get to know Him.

Many of us think we know God because we are Christians – we have confessed and believed in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. That confession and belief opened the door for us to get to know God. Before Jesus Christ, we did not have access to God. However, after accepting what Christ did on the cross for us, we were placed in right standing with God and provided access to the Father. We can now freely go to Him and get knowledge of Him for ourselves. We can hear about Him through others, but the best way to get acquainted with anyone is to be with that person, and to observe and listen to that person. Getting to know God requires a level of intimacy* – getting close and personal; being vulnerable in His presence – naked and transparent. It also requires a willingness to “hear” Him – not what we want to hear – but hear what He has to say; hear what He has on His heart.  

If we do not know God, then we will not recognize and understand His ways. Psalm 103:7 states, “He (God) made known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel” (emphasis added). Moses knew God; he knew the ways of God; he knew how God did things; he knew why God did things the way He did them. The scripture states, God made His ways known to Moses. If we take a look at the scriptures, we will see that Moses spent a lot of time with God. At one point, he had been in the mountain with God for so long that the children of Israel thought something had happened to him (Exodus 32:1). Even before Moses returned to Egypt, God spoke to Moses about His plans to free Israel. He not only revealed to Moses that He was going to free Israel, but He also informed Moses “how” He was going to do it. He conveyed to Moses the process by which He was going to cause Pharaoh to let His people go (Exodus 4).

The process is very important. We do not get an understanding of the process unless we spend time inquiring of God’s ways and listening to Him. Like the children of Israel, we are content with just seeing His acts – the blessings. However, as the days get more difficult and even more confusing, we will need to know God’s ways to be able to stand. Even now, many are without hope; many have fallen away from the faith, because what we are seeing and experiencing are not blessings. That is the danger in not knowing God’s ways – when things get tough, we will think God has forgotten us; we lose hope. If we take time to get familiar with Him, we would learn that it is not about how it looks or feels. Isaiah 55:8-9 (MSG) state, “‘I don’t think the way you think. The way you work isn’t the way I work.’ God’s Decree. ‘For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think.’” God does not think or operate the way that we do. Our vision and knowledge are limited, but God is omniscient – He knows all and sees all.

When we know God and know His ways, this causes us to be even more confident in Him. When we are familiar with His ways, we will trust Him until we can see His hand; His act; His blessing.  Daniel 11:32(b) states, “. . .but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” Know in this verse refers to an intimate* relationship where we see not only God’s hand, but we also recognize His ways. Standing strong through adversity necessitates knowledge of God’s way. With all of the ills in this country, knowing God’s position is essential for our peace and for direction. Therefore, we lift our voices in prayer and say, “Show us Your ways, Lord, teach us Your paths. Guide us in Your truth and teach us, for You are God our Savior, and our hope is in You all day long.

*For more on intimacy, please see my previous article titled, “Intimacy With God” published August 2016.

A Reminder to Remember

Most of us agree that we are living in unprecedented times, and we are treading in unchartered territory. People are feeling anxious, depressed and uncertain about the future. However, when I reflect on what is happening now, for sanity’s sake, I have to take a look back at what I have already come through. Just as David did, in 1 Samuel 30:6, I encourage myself in the Lord.

And David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.

The Bible says that David encouraged himself, but it did not tell us how he did it. I imagine David also took a look back at what he had already come through. He probably allowed himself to reflect on previous battles fought and victories won. I’m sure he reminisced on how God chose him, a shepherd boy, to be anointed as King of Israel. (1 Samuel 16:1-13). He certainly had to think about how his father sent him to check on his brothers on the battlefield and he ended up defeating the giant Goliath. (1 Samuel 17:17-51). Of course, he could not forget how God preserved his life when King Saul placed a bounty on his life. (1 Samuel 23:14). David had history with God. He had experienced God’s goodness and His protection. So, rather than sink into despair as the other men did, he chose to remember who his God was and what his God had already done for him. We can also make that same choice.

The song says, “When I think of the goodness of Jesus, and all that He has done for me, my soul cries hallelujah. . .” To encourage ourselves, we must first choose to “think” on the Lord’s goodness. We can be like the men that were with David and lament about what we have lost, or throw our hands up in despair because of all the various problems we are facing; however, that would only leave us in despair. On the other hand, we could choose to remind ourselves of God’s goodness and His lovingkindness towards us. “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.” (Psalm 145:8, AMP). If we choose to remind ourselves of battles previously fought and won, we would find ourselves with strength to withstand our present circumstances.

After David had encouraged himself, he went back to God and asked Him what to do next, and God answered Him. “And David enquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? Shall I overtake them? And He answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.” (1 Samuel 30:6). And the scriptures tell us that David pursued his enemy and he indeed recovered all. (1 Samuel 30:18-19). In this pandemic, in this economic recession, in this climate of racial injustice, God still has a recovery plan. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end (future). (Jeremiah 29:11). If you have experienced losses during this time, God has a recovery plan. “And we know that ALL things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28).

Do you have history with God? Have you ever experienced God’s goodness? Has God ever turned any situation around for you? Has He ever given you better than what you lost? Has He ever kept you when you didn’t even think you would make it? Has He ever done anything for you? In the words of Tye Tribbett, “If He did it before, He can do it again.”

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusts in thee. Isaiah 26:3

Humble YOURself

Since this pandemic, we have heard 2 Chronicles 7:14 repeatedly quoted, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” Quite frankly, I have been stuck at the “humble themselves” portion of this scripture. I know the Church, collectively, has been praying and seeking God for the healing of our land. Nevertheless, I believe we need to spend some time on the criteria for the healing of our land. I want to discuss the humbling requirement.

It is interesting how, for the most part, the humbling portion of this scripture is passed over. I fully understand how that can happen. I have read this scripture countless number of times with the intent to just get to the “good part” – “then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” The seriousness, uncertainty and dangers of this present time have given me much pause. I cannot do what I have been doing; I cannot think the way I have been thinking. It is time to submit every motive, every action and every thought for examination. This, I believe, will lead to the pathway of humility.

According to Merriam-Webster, humble is defined as: one of the definitions for humble is: “not proud or haughty; not arrogant.” Of course, we do not think of ourselves as prideful or arrogant, so we quickly give ourselves a pass on humility. However, if we would look deeper at another meaning for humble, we would find there are some things we need to work on (emphases added): “reflecting (thinking deeply or carefully), expressing (conveying – a thought or feeling – in words or by gestures and conduct), or offered (extended or presented) in a spirit (attitude) of deference (respectful submission or yielding to the judgment, opinion, will, etc., of another) or submission (the action or fact of accepting or yielding to a superior force or to the will or authority of another person),” The Bible explains it this way in Philippians 2:3 (emphases added):

Let nothing (no thing) be done through strife (angry or bitter disagreement over fundamental issues) or vainglory (inordinate pride in oneself or one’s achievements); but in lowliness (lack of vanity or self-importance) of mind (the part of a person that enables them to think, feel emotions and be aware of things) let each esteem (respect and admire) other better (of a more excellent or effective type or quality) than themselves (yourself). (KJV)

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit (excessive pride in oneself) [through factional motives, or strife], but with [an attitude of] humility [being neither arrogant nor self-righteous], regard others as more important than yourselves. (AMP)

Be free from pride-filled opinions, for they will only harm your cherished unity. Don’t allow self-promotion to hide in your hearts, but in authentic humility put others first and view others as more important than yourselves. (TPT)

When we look at the definition, along with the descriptive words in these scriptures from the various versions, we can clearly see that we really do not pass the humility test. There is indeed some humbling that is necessary.

In our social media driven society, self-promotion is the norm – showcasing our talents, telling of our goodness – all in an effort to amass a large following to gain access to large platforms. It is difficult to check our motives and hidden agendas when we think we are only grinding and promoting our ministries and businesses. We are working so hard to be great, when the Bible gives us the formula for greatness, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” 1 Peter 5:6. While we are racing to get to the top, Jesus said, “But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.” Matthew 19:30.

The pursuit for greatness is the biggest trap for selfishness, conceit, arrogance and pride – everything becomes about us and what we want to achieve. Considering another person is not on our radar, neither is promoting someone else – unless we stand to gain something. Humility is not demonstrated through an attitude of every man for himself; every church for themselves; and every denomination for themselves; not according to Philippians 2:3.

There is no better time than right now to pause and ask the Holy Spirit to search our hearts, search our motives, and search our actions; and allow Him to show us what is there. We cannot search our own hearts because our own hearts will deceive us. (“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9). When we pray, “If you find anything wrong,” that is false humility from a deceived heart. We should follow David’s example of a sincere prayer – Psalm 139:23, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts.” The Amplified version reads: “Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me; Cross-examine and test me, get a clear picture of what I’m about; See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong— then guide me on the road to eternal life.”

“For God resisteth the proud, and gives grace to the humble.” 1 Peter 5:5(b)

I Have No Man – Women’s Edition

Women have often looked to men to define us, to affirm us, and to lead us. Men told us that women belonged at home raising the children and in the kitchen – even in the Church, we were relegated to the kitchen. Again, in the Church, men told us women couldn’t preach and, instead, appeased us with the title of missionary. As a number of men received spiritual insight, their position changed and they later allowed women to preach. Some men used the demeaning analogy of a jackass to explain their change of heart; “If the Lord can use a jackass to deliver His Word, surely He can use a woman,” (Numbers 22:28-30). Although women were eventually permitted to preach, we were prohibited from occupying the position of pastors and apostles. Once again, as men’s eyes were opened, and as women became more determined to obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29); women also began to take their places in those positions.

I read a quote recently, “Never let someone who didn’t create you, define you.” Thank God for pioneering women who relied on their Creator to define them, tell them what to do, when to do it and how to do it. Thank God for trailblazing women who, in spite of being told what they could not be and what they could not do, dared to be and do anyhow. Thank God for those daughters that burned with a desire to please their Father, and did not allow men’s opinions to intimidate them.

The Father still seeks those daughters that will allow His Word to define them and allow His Spirit to direct them; daughters who will trust what He says about them; daughters who will be bold and who will not allow fear to stop them; daughters like the daughters of Zelophehad. (Numbers 27:1-8). These five sisters dared to challenge the religious system of their day. They dared to ask for what they thought was rightfully theirs. Even though the law was not on their side, they did not allow the law to deter them. The sisters courageously went to Moses and the leaders and pled their case. Because they dared to speak up, they not only received their father’s inheritance but the law also was changed. They had no man to speak for them – their father was dead and they had no brothers – they had to speak for themselves and the Lord honored their request.

The Father equally seeks those daughters who will pursue Him. “But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship Him.” (John 4:23). In Mark 14:1-9, a woman dared to walk into a room filled with men and unashamedly, unapologetically, despite the whispers and the looks, worshipped the One that delivered her from bondage and gave her a new life. The One she was worshipping is the One who defended her against the whispers, and He also spoke a blessing over her that is still being fulfilled today (vs. 9). This woman did not need the approval of the other men. She only needed the approval of one man – “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8). Or, as I like to say, He will give you what you need, when you need it, every time you need it!

Daughters of the Most High God, we must free ourselves from the opinions of others. It is imperative that we follow after God and do all that He places in our hearts to do. He will define, affirm, establish, defend and bless us. He will break down the barriers that stand in our way. We do have a man – the One that died for us (John 15:13); the One that all power in both Heaven and earth has been given to Him (Matthew 28:18); the One that sent us a Helper in this earth to counsel and guide us (John 16:7-14). We have Christ Jesus – the One who has promised to be with us always, until the end of the world (Matthew 28:20). So, let us break open our alabaster boxes and break out of the boxes of others’ opinions.

So that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Hebrews 13:6

Listen

And God’s voice suddenly spoke from the cloud, saying, “This is my dearly loved Son, the constant focus of my delight. Listen to Him!” Matthew 17:5 (TPT)

A significant part of communicating is listening – to pay attention to or take note of what the other party is saying. According to The Skills You Need website, “Listening is key to all effective communication. Without the ability to listen effectively, messages are easily misunderstood.” When we listen, we gain understanding and we get clear instructions. How many times have we been in a conversation with someone and they said, or we said, you are not hearing me. Stephen R. Covey said, “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” In doing so, we do not actually hear or heed what the other person is conveying to us.  

Listening is so important that, in Matthew 17:5, God interrupted Peter’s excitement of seeing Jesus transfigured on the mountain to tell him and the others to listen to His Son. It is interesting that rather than listening to what Jesus, Moses and Elijah were talking about (Matthew 17:3); Peter interrupted the conversation with his big idea to build three tabernacles in honor of them. If we are interrupting the speaker, it is a clear indication that we are not listening. We too do this – the Lord may speak or lay something on our hearts and we get all excited and begin to formulate our own ideas and make our own plans. Never considering or checking to see if He has more to say; never stopping for further instructions; assuming our big idea is what He wants.

In Rick Joyner’s book, The Apostolic Ministry, he says, “The Lord does not want us trying to build on our revelations, not even our revelations of who He is. When revelation comes our first response must not be to build, but to keep listening – there is much more.” Today, Jesus is interrupting our building and saying to us, listen. Listen to His Spirit. Attend to and heed instructions and directions from His Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, the Comforter, and our Helper. (John 16:13-15). He has much to say, but we are too busy building to listen.

In Luke 10:38-42, while Jesus was visiting her home, Martha busied herself being a good hostess. However, Mary, her sister, sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to Him. Martha interrupted Jesus to ask Him to scold her sister for not helping. “The Lord answered her, ‘Martha, my beloved Martha. Why are you upset and troubled, pulled away by all these many distractions? Are they really that important? Mary has discovered the one thing most important by choosing to sit at my feet. She is undistracted, and I won’t take this privilege from her.’” (vs. 41-42, TPT). This is us! This is what we do. We are so busy doing what we think is good and important at the time, that we do not even see that it is distracting us from what is most important – listening to Him.

The Passion Translation says this of Mary, “Mary sat down attentively before the Master, absorbing every revelation He shared,” (vs. 39). She stopped what she was doing and, because the scripture says she was “attentive,” she even stopped thinking about what she could be doing, and listened and received (absorbed) every Word that Jesus was saying. Can we honestly say we have been giving this level of attention to what the Spirit of the Lord is saying, or have we been just grabbing bits and pieces and trying to build with only that? As Rick Joyner said, “there is more.”

Even now, during these unprecedented, unpredictable times in the world, God is releasing Kingdom strategies to those who will take the time to hear Him. It is critical that we set aside our busyness to hear what the Spirit of the Lord has to say. It is also important that we do not direct the narrative with our list of “urgent” matters, but we permit Him to freely dispense His wisdom. We have been talking long enough, now it is time to sit and listen.

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:9