Even the Greatest of Us Have Weaknesses

"When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. ² For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling." (1 Cor. 2:1-3)

Sometimes I am surprised at how painfully shy I can be at certain events.  Because I feel nervous about a situation or a meeting, the thought of it can make my stomach turn.

In these moments, I am encouraged by these words of Paul -- that He too was a human being who experienced nervousness even when being one of the most powerful and memorable apostles for Christ.  I forget that as a Christian, I do not live on my own strength and on my own abilities, that I may be proud of my accomplishments and boast to the world my greatness.

No, Paul says, "The foolishness of God is stronger than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength." (1 Cor 1:25)  In that vein, we give over our lives to Christ in full, so that we can do more than what our human strength (or weakness) can accomplish.

Yes, I have moments when my own strength is not strong enough and my own capacity is found wanting.  In those moments, how blessed am I that I can turn to the Lord and ask for more capacity and more strength to do the things that He has called me to do.  In the same way that Paul was called beyond his capacity to be an apostle, so too have I been called to the mission field of business -- and so I must rely and lean upon the Lord for my strength to go with courage even into the situations where I have none.

Lord Jesus, how great are You that I can lean upon You to do more than my human capacity allows.  Strengthen Your servant in those times and lead me with peace into any perceived lions' dens that the world may construct.  I pray that Your Spirit will always shine through in everything that I do. In Your awesome name I pray, AMEN.

Trusting God With The Outcome

“The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1)

Today I’m going to be interviewing for a position that seems like a decent opportunity. I have been prepping and I am feeling discomforted by the whole process. I want to do well for sure, but I don’t know if I am really ready. There isn’t more that I can study or prepare, probably just to do some light review, but what is done is done at this point.

What I started to forget is simple Biblical truth in my nervousness and desire to control the outcome. All this stuff – interviewing, trying to present myself well is all good. People should interview, people should try their best to put their best foot forward. However, God is the ultimate employer. He gives to each exactly what should be given at the proper time.

Whom shall I fear? Do I fear the whims and opinion of man? Do I dwell on what they can do to me? It is to my shame that I realize that I am so often concerned about other men’s opinions that I forget that the Lord is my God. The Lord placed me in certain key positions to have a career in accounting. I cannot say how and why it all happened, but it is the truth. I am what I am today because He saw fit to get me into a Big 4 accounting firm. I know for sure that I didn’t do it all on my own (because I didn’t really deserve it), but He did it. He planned it and opened the door accordingly. Whom shall I fear?

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Prov 9:10-11)

Rest in God’s wisdom and His leading. That is the message for today. I may or may not get this position. That is ok. God is in control and He will bring the right thing at the right time. That much is a certainty. I may have career goals and aspirations, but it is God who has veto power and the plan for my life. If I am to be an accounting manager, He will open that door. If I am to be even a police officer, which would be an odd thing since I have no aspirations to do that, He will open that door. It is God that makes men who they are and what they do.

I had tried to make myself “want” this position and to be motivated by the “want”. I realize that isn’t entirely right. To be driven by want and desire is of Satan. Satan wants us to covet and to seek out our own glories. We will then get wrapped up in the seeking, some made bitter by failure and others made haughty by success. Either way, God is pushed out of the picture.
The Lord instead asks us to simply be, to wait, and to trust. He has a plan and we will strive to do our best where we are at, doing the things we can, but ultimately waiting for HIM to clear our paths.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.” (Prov 3:5-6)

God is the director. God is the leader. God has our lives completely mapped out in a good way. God works for the good for those who love Him and have been called according to His purposes (Rom 8:28). As a Christian, I have been called. God plucked me out of the depths and darkness of my sins where I was stumbling around in hopelessness, and He gave me life and life more abundantly.

There is very little I can do to “screw up”. God will still be at my side and God will accomplish what His plan is in my life. As long as I remain open to His leading wherever He prompts, I know that to be true. That is the ultimate definition of fear of God over man.

My path is set before me and it is fine. I no longer have the “want” for this interview to be successful – I simply will be and trust in whatever result occurs knowing that God is ultimately in control. If this position is where I should be, the proper door will open. If not, it will close. Neither result is good or bad.

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your message through Your word today. I really didn’t expect to hear from You when I started journaling out of my nervousness, but You are always faithful and eager to grant wisdom to those who ask (James 1:5). For whatever reason, You have chosen to bless me and I am in a good place. Perhaps this interview is the next step, and perhaps it is not. What I desire is Your ultimate result. I can’t screw up because it will go as You planned. So my prayer today is to simply ask to help me do my best as well as I am able. Help me to be energetic, lucid, concise and even interesting. However, the ultimate result is in Your hands as it should be. May Your will always be done in my life and may I always rest in You. Thank You Lord. In the name of my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, AMEN.

The Earth Will Remain the Same

"The Lord by wisdom founded the earth..." (Prov 3:19)

"The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein." (Ps 24:1)

"While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease." (Gen 8:22)

There are many movements today regarding environmentalism and "saving the earth". From the onset, I would like to clarify that I do regard some of the these movements to be quite beneficial to our standard of living, and it is undoubtable that we live in a nicer and cleaner place because of some of these initiatives. Compare our cities to other places in the world, and it is great to have cleaner air to breathe and cleaner streets to walk upon.

However, many of these movements also have a tremendous fear of the earth somehow dying or changing. These fears are packaged into theories with great warnings that we have to urgently spend lots of money on research, or put a tremendous tax burden upon ourselves to change our behaviors. In addition, we hamstring our lives by preventing our country to use some of the natural resources that we do have.

Now, again to clarify, the non-Christians of the world can believe whatever they want. They do not believe in God, and they don't subscribe to the Bible as holy. That is understandable. However, what about Christians? What does the Bible say to us?

Above in the referenced passages, we see that the Lord created the earth from His wisdom. He spoke and the earth was created. In fact, we see that the Lord owns the earth - it is not ours, it is not owned by Satan. The earth is the Lord's and all of us who are in it.

After the flood in Genesis, the Lord also promised that the earth would always function normally. There would be no great changes that would disturb the working of the earth. Consequently, we do not need to fear climate changes. Yes, there will be some fluctuations in the patterns of weather, but we do not need to extrapolate those changes to means that in 20 years we will all die and be underwater. The Lord is in control.

Science is great. We have many great conveniences that are born out of scientific work and they seem to increase in wonder on a daily basis. It is the job of scientists to also have theories of how things work - but until they are proven through consistent experimentation, they are simply theories.

As Christians, we often clash with the theories, but I don't believe we clash with scientific facts. What we have in addition to theories is the word of God and the presence of God. Christians have a relationship with God and know that He is real because He interacts and counsels us. We are never alone. However, He is also our Lord and as our Lord, we follow Him unquestionably. Part of that Lordship is to take His word as truth. For if we do not do that, we would be foolish to say that we believe in the God of the Bible, but we discard the truths of the Bible given by the same God.

At the same time, when confronted with a scientific theory versus a Biblical promise, what do we acknowledge? It must be the Biblical promise. God is bigger than anything we can do to the earth. God is bigger than the universe because He created it all. If the Lord assures us that the earth will function normally, we will be fine. Carbon dioxide or comets falling from the sky - neither of them will change God's promise to regulate this planet for life. That is truth for a Christian and we need to rest in Him always.

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your assurances through Your Word. Man's wisdom can create grand theories borne out of our fears, but You have promised that the earth will be regulated as long as it exists. The date and time for the end of the earth is likewise not in our hands, but in Yours because You own the earth. It is no one's decision to end the earth - not world leaders, not our actions here on earth, and certainly not Satan's. You and You alone will choose the date and time for the end. Father God, thank You that You always do what You promise and that we can rest even as the world around us panics. Let us carry Your peace with us at all times. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Staying Single Minded Despite Fear and Uncertainty

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."

(James 1:5-8)

This week, I really feel like there was some spiritual warfare going on between my heart (the flesh) and the Holy Spirit within me. My head knew what was right, but my heart kept pulling my emotions toward fear of the future.

The topic of my angst was centered around my career. For a man, our career becomes an integral part of our identity - and it can threaten our faith because we have the temptation to put our career progress above our relationship with God and family.

Recently, I have had the choice between two jobs. The first was a steady position with a great title and responsibilities, but lousy compensation. Our family would have been eeking out a living, paycheck to paycheck. At the last moment, right before I was going to accept the position, I was offered the chance to work on a long term temp assignment that would wrap in about a year, and offered comp in the range that was comfortable for our needs. But it did not have defined responsibilities.

After some prayer as a family (my wife and I always have to agree in prayer when making a major decision), we felt the temp position was the path God was leading us towards. And so that was the decision we made.

This week, I felt the remorse of the decision and let it stew within me. The situation I'm in is great, but I was fearful. The big thing on my mind is the uncertainty of the future because I don't have defined responsibilities that clearly project growth in my career. What will happen once the contract runs out?

I was eventually prompted by the Holy Spirit to this verse in James above. I knew the choice I made was what was prompted to my wife and I via prayer, but I still let myself fantasize about the path not taken. "What if I had done the other thing? - my career would be so much more defined," I lamented. I was the definition of an unstable man.

As Christians, there are many crossroads that we will come to where we will pray and ask for wisdom. The Lord gives wisdom liberally to all, and in this case, my wife and I agreed independently that God was telling us to take the temp job. When we make that choice to follow God's prompting, we must not be double-minded. We are never promised a perfect path without any warts. Anything in life will have its specific good and bad facets.

Instead, we are to be committed to that which the Lord has told us to do. As long as it lines up with scripture, and we are not sinning against Him (such prompting is to be completely ignored as it doesn't come from God), we need to stay the course until we receive a clear message that the season we are in has ended, and it is time to move on to the next thing God has lined up.

If we are to allow ourselves to be simply driven to and fro by the whims of life, we will not accomplish the work of God. Similarly, if we were to only follow our own desires of the heart, we will never listen to God and we will only accomplish our own narcissistic goals. (Remember: The heart is deceitful above all things - Jer 17:9. We must not trust it!)

Because we have given our lives to God, we must seek to follow the Lord in His path. It won't always be pretty, but it is the place where He desires us to be - and it will lead to the fulfillment of what we have been created for.

Recently I faced a crossroads with two different jobs. God answered my wife and I, giving us His wisdom - and I have chosen to walk His path. That is that. The alternative has faded and is gone. However, the promises, peace and protection of God lie ahead on the way that I am walking now. I don't know why it is better (and sometimes we will never know), but I do know that my path is set before me. As long as I trust in Him, He will make my path straight.

Lord Jesus, forgive me for being double-minded and thank You for leading me to this verse which has calmed my soul. You are Lord of all and are in control over everything, and I don't have to worry or be afraid. Thank You for standing with our family and for always providing us with more than we need. We have not had to take even a dollar of welfare or assistance and yet we have been more than fine. Let us be more and more like You, living wisely - being unmoved, even in the storms. In the name of Jesus Christ, which contains all wisdom - AMEN.

God's Truth Invades My Fear

Me: (wallowing a bit in fear, worried about the future)

God: Do you trust me?

Me: Yes - I trust you with my life, the course of my career, my soul, my family's life, their souls.

God: Just simply walk in the way I have set before you. And all these things shall be added unto you.

Such a simple prompting from God - but it is often that I need to hear these truths from Him to combat the fears that I develop as I interact with the world. The uncertainty can be overwhelming, but God is the same yesterday, today and forever. We as believing Christians who have made Jesus Christ the Lord of our lives can rest in His promises knowing that as long as our faith is set on Him, things will work out for the good.

A Personal Message from God

Today I have been awakened at 4am by the most startling metaphoric image of my life, and I believe that the Lord was speaking to my soul.

I was trying to push through a large pile of rubble, but it was as if I had to struggle through it behind a large wall. The wall itself needed to be used to push through the rubble (imagine a bulldozer, but with me as the machine pushing the big bucket in front), but because there was so much of it in front of me the going through was so tough.

Through this exercise, I realized that I felt a fear in the pit of my stomach. People were laughing at me, pointing and mocking. Everyone was, and I felt awful - nervous, unsettled to the point of a cold sweat - all because the world was mocking me.

Then I realized further that the rubble I was pushing through was the mockers of the world, but I couldn't gain any traction while I remained in this fearful state because I was paralyzed against them. And God showed me that more than anything in this world, greater than even the fear of death, I was living in fear of the world's judgment.

I didn't want to be judged, but instead I was living a life where I was afraid to do anything that would incur the mocking of the world - and they (the world) sat eagerly observing me with cynical affections, ready to attack with their judgment which scared me all the more into further paralysis.

I cannot explain the feeling that I felt: panic, desperation, hopelessness beyond hopelessness. In truth I would rather have died than to have to incur any more of this humiliating mocking.

Then God showed me my soul as being made up of various influences and that I was being led by one source who cared deeply about the judgments of the world around me. He is called Pride of Life. Pride of Life counseled continued restraint and complete inaction because he could not bear any negative thoughts from anyone. He wants to continually be favored by the world around him and in order to do that, he'll do anything - even crawl into his own personal shell to avoid engaging anything opposed to the world's opinion.

Having been recognized and outed, I ousted Pride of Life by praying to the Lord, and the Lord took him away from the soul (by grabbing him with a commando team and shoving him into a helicopter - I have been playing "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare"), but my soul still feared.

However, I began to do my duty to the push the wall through the rubble of life, so a smooth path was created behind it (imagine a bulldozer smoothing a rough road) though the effort it took was enormous and the soul still lived in fear of the mockers that it was pushing through.

God reminded my soul to don the armor of God, and after much struggle to remember what that was, I put on the Helmet of Salvation, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Belt of Truth, the Shoes of Peace, the Shield of Faith, and also the Sword - God's Word. The pains from the mockers lessened considerably with the donning of each item, and my pace in smoothing the rubble in front of me began to increase. It was then that I realized that Jesus Christ pushed with me and I was not alone.

The Lord reminded me that the world is ready to mock and judge me, but in order to walk his path, I must not fall into the trap of the Pride of Life where I seek to avoid offense. Rather, I must be ready to walk through any valley of humiliation as a Christian, for unless I'm ready to do that, no progress will be made because I will be too afraid to do anything for Christ. In fact, the message was even stronger - that I must always be willing to endure any humiliation no matter what that might be - that I must never mind the world's opinion, but instead rely completely on Faith.

For a Christian, Pride is the enemy of Faith because it seeks to kill any movement that isn't completely safe or easy. However, the Christian path isn't an easy one because it is singly reliant on Faith alone despite circumstances. If we let in the Pride of Life to even a small degree, we begin to weak our efforts to follow Christ. At that point, it is an inevitable process where the Pride of Life will increase his influences into our lives, having gained a foothold, and will kill our progress to nil.

So heavy was this burden in my soul that before re-entering sleep, I knew this needed to be recorded so that I will never forget.

Look Up Upon Jesus

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Cor. 4:18 NIV)

"For we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7 KJV)

"God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." (2 Tim 1:7 NKJV)


What is my focus on? Not the focus of my human eyes, but of my mind. On what have I focused my thoughts on? Lately, I have been lamenting the lack of a job during this recession and I have been curled up in fear at times, moaning in prayer to the Lord. Surely, it has not been a pretty sight.

But what I realized is that we could get to that panicked state of mind about anything. In fact, there are numerous mental disorders that may seem strange to the average person, but are really a reflection of paranoia gone wild. (Max Lucado has a terrific chapter on this in his latest book, "Fearless". Thanks Max!)

As Christians, what we focus our thoughts upon is the key to keeping our spirits encouraged and close to God. If we focus on our fears and on the circumstances that we can't control, we lose sight of God and believe that He is distant. We then become paralyzed and overwhelmed, losing our ability to have hope and perspective. As my wife has been finding out lately, we also get testy and hard to be around.

After living in this sandpapery life, my faith has been slowly chipped away and dulled. My focus centered upon my bank account, and not on the Lord. Is it any wonder that I have little vision and sense of where I'm headed?

Focusing on the Lord is like the Three Wise Men being guided by a star in the East to the baby Jesus. He is our GPS, our guidance and we need only to center ourselves on Him at all times. It seems counter-intuitive because if we continually look upwards to God, we might trip. However, that is incorrect - vision, direction and peace will come from God when we seek Him continually. Bad circumstances will happen around us still, but we will recognize them for what they really are - temporary obstacles at best because God will make a way around whatever we face.


Lord Jesus, I am so sorry that my focus has shifted so often to the little fire drills that happen around me. I get so wrapped up in them, that I really fail to keep my eyes on you - and when I do that, fear overwhelms me. Let me behold You instead, and be patient for Your work in Your ultimate timing. Thank You that You are always there with Your unchanging love - yesterday, today, and forever. In the unchanging name of Jesus, Amen.