Where Are You Looking?

Come, my children, and listen to me,
    and I will teach you to revere the Lord.

Psalm 34:11 

 

We have this habit of turning our eyes toward ourselves, don't we?  When we are struggling, what do we do? We start wondering why God would let us struggle.  When we have doubts, we wonder if God is punishing us or does He even care.  When we are discouraged and discontented, we wonder why God doesn't just fix everything for us.  When we focus on ourselves, it's as if we have crawled into a dark, dismal, damp, disillusioning cave.

Listen, ANYONE who has told you that being a Christian is about going from one silver lined cloud to another, and that the Christian life is one of ease and struggle free....has LIED to you!  "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all" Psalm 34:19.  When we try to live the Christian life, our enemy will throw all kinds of stumbling blocks in our way. 

 

In Psalm 34, David reminds us where we should be focusing.   

 

To the discouraged, David writes: "Glorify the Lord with me, let us praise His name together" Psalm 34:3.

 

To the distraught, David writes: "I asked the Lord for help and He answered me, and saved me from all my fears" Psalm 34:4.

 

To the distressed, David writes: "O taste and SEE that the Lord is good; how blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him" Psalm 34:8

 

To the overwhelmed, David writes: "You who belong to the Lord, revere Him; for those who revere Him there is no want" Psalm 34:9

 

To those who doubt, David writes: "Even young lions get weak and hungry; but the ones who rely on the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing" Psalm 34:10

 

When we find ourselves in the dark and dismal emotional cave, look up and see that Jesus is right there with His hands ready to life you up.

 

Second Childhood?

About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Matthew 18:1-4

We are competitive, aren't we?  We'll turn anything into a competition.  Who can hold their breath the longest?  Who can jump the highest?  Who can eat the most ghost peppers and keep them down?  We all want to be the best at something.

The Disciples weren't any different.  They wanted to know who would be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.  Somehow, I can picture the smug, over-confident faces of these who asked Jesus who would be the greatest, feeling as if Jesus would pick one of them. And to their surprise (or dismay) Jesus didn't pick any of them; instead He put a child up as an example of who would be the greatest in Heaven.

Why would Jesus do that?  What's so special about a child that they would be the greatest in Heaven?  Think about it!  Children rely on their parents for everything.  Children trust their parents to love them, care for them, teach them, and provide for them.  Hmmm....isn't that how we are supposed to be with God?  Trusting Him for EVERYTHING?

You see, until we come to the point in our lives that we can set aside our own jaded, cynical, self-serving pride, we are not acting like Children of God!  Until we let God do His job and stop trying to do it in His place, we are not acting like Children of God.

We must become like children with God as our parent. THAT is the example Jesus put before the Disciples....and us.  

Stand By Me!

But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength so that I might preach the Good News in its entirety for all the Gentiles to hear. And he rescued me from certain death.

2 Timothy 4:17

Ever had to stand up for what you believed?  Paul did frequently.  Paul liked to argue and debate and was quite good at it.  However, sometimes Paul had to face his challengers without the help of his friends.  This would intimidate most people.  I'll admit I get pretty nervous when I have to face someone or some issue without the support of those I trust.  But that really didn't trouble Paul.  You see, Paul had a secret weapon.  Read today's verse: But the LORD stood with me and gave me strength!

In the face of his challengers and detractors, Paul relied on God to stand with him when no one else would.  And here's the great thing about that situation, we have that same God in our corner when we rely on Him.

Decisions Decisions!

There is a path before each person that seems right,
    but it ends in death.

Proverbs 14:12 

When tough decisions need to be made, what do you do?  Doing nothing and hoping they will work themselves out might SOUND like a good course of action, but the destruction of your reputation, your relationships, your respect....are they worth it?

Some would rather follow the path of the convenient....after all, tough decisions can lead to conflict and conflict is uncomfortable.  But convenience does not solve the problem, does it?

The best way to deal with tough decisions is as follows:

    1.  Understand that God is God and we are NOT!

    2.  Keep God first.

    3.  Keep your primary relationship on Earth second.

    4.  Everyone else comes after!

Think about this, God promised Abraham that he would have ancestors more numerous than the stars and the sands of the seashore.  Yet when he had Isaac. God put Abraham in a position where he had to make the tough choice.  Who did Abraham love more: God or Isaac?

And again, when the Israelites cried out to God because they were in bondage, God sent Moses to lead them to freedom.  The Israelites became disgruntled, worshiped idols, and spent their time complaining.  So God made the hard choice that the disgruntled generation would die before He would allow the Israelites into the promised land.

And finally, God had to make the tough decision to let His only begotten Son die, so we could become His children.

Facing tough decisions? Face them head on!  Rely on God, not your emotions, and you will see that God's way really is the ultimately best decision.