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.

Making Godly Personal Choices Against Worldly Pressure

"Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives..."When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women,...if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live." But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. (Exodus 1:15-18)

The midwives in this story are true heroes. Here is a situation which is unfortunately too familiar to the Jewish people, where there is a desire of a national leader to exterminate them. In this case, Pharaoh did not want to get rid of the forced labor that he was using (the Hebrew population), but he wanted to minimize their numbers so they would not be a threat.

The midwives needed to make a choice, do they follow the earthly king who had to power to kill them, or do they fear God even more and disobey the direct orders they have been given? While the decision can seem cut and dry, in the moment with such an intimidating presence as the leader of one of the most powerful nations on Earth ordering you to do evil, it is tough to side with the Lord.

To their eternal credit, the two midwives, Shiphrah and Puah defied the Pharaoh and let the males live. They were called to Pharaoh to explain themselves, but instead deceived him by saying that Hebrew women typically give birth even before the midwives get there. Was that a lie? Yes. But a lie to fool a person who is doing evil is not a lie. Other prominent examples of this type of lie would be Germans who helped hide the Jews during the Nazi Holocaust or Underground Railroad participants who aided and hid slaves going North toward freedom.

This kind of usage of deception needs to be used very carefully however, and the usage of "evil" must be that as defined by God and not by man. For example, the deception and fudging of figures of the scientists recently exposed in the "Climategate" scandal could be construed as deception done for the greater good of the Earth (although it was probably done for the greater good of the scientists' funding). Many environmentalists might believe that true evil is our production of carbon dioxide, the gas we emit when we breathe. Irrespective of the argument over whether global warming is true, this instance is not a definition of evil in the eyes of God. In fact, He says, "subdue the Earth" (Gen 1:28), not "save the Earth". So the lies and deception of the scientists in this case are sins.

Ultimately, this passage is really about personal choices that we make. In this situation, the Hebrews were subjugated by Pharaoh and made to do rigorous labor. It seems like they had little personal choices and were trapped in their situations. Scribbles scrawled into rock walls of the time period had desperate pleas written in Hebrew like "Save us El (God)!" carved into them.

But, even though orders were given by Earthly authorities, there is still a personal choice on whether they will be followed. As Christians, we ultimately fear God over anything else. When we refer to Him as "Lord", it is a calculated word which means "My life is God's, for His service alone. Even my own desires and wants must be checked to His authority." There are no half-measures here. We cannot be saved by Christ, and call Him Lord without truly handing over all of ourselves to Him. The standard - the only standard for the Christian is as Paul describes, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."(Gal 2:20)

In that light, there are many agendas in this world, and powerful people who will seek to persuade, influence and even cajole others to do things ranging from unlawful acts to acts lacking in integrity that aren't criminal. They will ask you to mislead others and make it sound harmless by calling it "mere spin". I write these things because it is very real to me and to my profession. I write these things because I know that my heart and my flesh are weak. I know that I am not strong enough to live a life of integrity without the Lord.

Although we may feel trapped and afraid in certain situations, we must remember these two brave midwives. They defied a king who asked them to do evil, and are forever remembered for their faith in the Lord and their allegience to Him alone.

Lord Jesus, You ask us to set ourselves aside and to worship only You. What that means is that You are our Lord in everything and we live our lives for You, knowing that ultimately You are responsible for guiding our lives like a loving Father. We will be all right, things will work out. There are those in the world who are striving to manipulate us for their own gains, and unfortunately they can put very real pressure upon us to forget our core beliefs and values. Lord Jesus, give me the strength to walk in integrity. Let me never choose to do an act that would violate my beliefs, but instead, help me to walk a path of true faith. I know that might mean killing my career, losing friendships, and struggling at times, but I know You will honor my choices accordingly. If the only reward we see is eternal salvation and being with You in Heaven, that is enough. Thank You Lord that You have taught me how to know right from wrong, please empower me with the strength to live it out. I know I am imperfect in that light, but my desire is to get better and better everyday. Please help me in that, In Jesus' name, Amen.

Forgetting What Was Behind

"Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain." (Gen 19:17)

In Genesis, God saw the sinfulness of Sodom and Gomorrah and planned their destruction. The only thing that He desired to do is to get the righteous Lot and his family out of the path of destruction. In this famous story, we know that Lot's wife looked back as they were fleeing and was turned into a pillar of salt.

I really don't judge Lot's wife harshly because she was leaving all that she had and knew. Lot was a rich and prosperous man and they must have lived a charmed life. However, all of that was nothing compared to the urging of the Lord to go.

We rarely know why God will call us to move from this place or that, and it can all seem very confusing and deflating emotionally. However, based on this example, we need to simply trust God and move according to His direction. And as we move, keep focused ahead on the path in front of us instead of dwelling on everything that is in the past.

It is easy to reminisce and glorify the things that have come in the past. Sometimes it can seem so very charming and easy, especially during times of intense trial and stress in our walk with God. However, the path that we are on is chosen by the Lord for our good, and we must not give Satan a foothold upon which to prey upon us and lead us astray. Once we open the door to discontent, Satan will twist that into a desire to seek after an easy way, a way that ultimately leads to eternal hell.

As I am still in the midst of struggle and trial, this is a key verse for me. Obedience to the Lord hasn't been easy and I know that my career has suffered mightily because of it. But, the words of Paul ring true to me when I am tempted to look back and wish that things had been different: "But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ...but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me...forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil 3)

The moment I made a decision for Christ, I laid down my previous life, the world and its aspirations. It is no wonder that as a consequence, I am asked to do something different which would forego worldly gain, status and comfort. But in return, I will move ever closer in my goal to fulfilling the call of Christ on my life - a life that He will ultimately not waste, but will use to further His kingdom.

That is all that I dream. That when I stand before His throne at the end of my days here on earth, I will know that my calling was fulfilled and my duty as a soldier for the Lord was completed in full. All else will simply fade away into obscurity.

Lord Jesus, help me to keep my eyes and thoughts focused ahead on what You have called me to do. Thank You for saving me and my family that we may worship and walk with You always. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

The Folly of Trusting Our Hearts

"He who trusts in his own heart is a fool" (Prov 28:26)

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" (Jer 17:9)

We live in a world that commonly says, "Follow your heart", and the message is constantly pounded into our brains. Consequently, we have a tendency to make snap decisions based on the whims of our emotions rather than on Biblical wisdom or consultation with the Holy Spirit. The result over time becomes a lifetime of destructive choices and haphazard living resulting in the culmination of nothing.

Ultimately, our lives will be judged on one simple question, "Did you believe in Jesus Christ, and accept His gift of salvation by making Him Lord of your life?" There will be many who will say, "Lord, I believed in you...but I was too busy following the whims of my heart to truly make you Lord of my life. I believed, but never altered my lifestyle to conform to your Word." And there is no salvation for such as those because even demons believe in Christ Jesus, but they are damned because they refuse to worship and follow Him.

Why do we live? Is it merely to follow our own lusts and fulfill our wants? Or are we preparing ourselves for an eternal kingdom under the throne of God? What good is all that we gather or even create during our lifetimes, if we end up living the type of life that destroys ourselves for eternity and destroys others in the process?

By the above statements, you might think that I think so highly of myself and believe that my life is righteous, but it is actually the complete opposite. Every day of every moment, I am reminded of how vile and wicked my heart is. No man is above the temptations of this world, and they are a continual pull - of which my heart is easily a willing partner. Many times I fail to check my temptations, but I pray that for life's major decisions and choices, that I do have the wisdom to stop and be measured in my decision making (not that I have never failed in this regard either).

Despite myself, I do know that my heart is for the Lord. The Christian life is not devoid of failures, but rather it is one that strives to be bettered by them while conforming ourselves to be more like Christ. Because we love Him, we want to be like Him. Not that our actions have any saving power, but rather the willingness to change and submit is just an indicator of the fact that our hearts are given to the Lord. He ultimately has done the salvation work on the cross, and His resurrection reflects His power over death.

So what I'm reminded today is that I need to fill myself with God's word and meditate on the scriptures constantly in order to make God's ways the default system within me. Otherwise, I would always be pulled this way or that way by my wicked heart. Every commercial or advertisement would be an easy sell for such a state of mind, and I would ultimately be sold off piece by piece to all the shiny baubles of this world.

Lord Jesus, I know that my heart has been in desperate need of reformation as I have been stagnant and in a state of atrophy in regards to my faith and in the knowledge of Your wisdom. Whatever happens in my life is secondary to living out a life in submission to Your Lordship. Please help me to do that daily, to live in conformity to your wisdom and not by the flighty whims of my heart. By the unchanging power of Your name, AMEN.