Get In the Wheelbarrow

Over the last eleven years I have been on a journey.  Most of the time I really didn’t know where I was going, but I was on a journey to discover.  Discover what you might ask?  Well, I guess a journey to discover if I really believed what I believed–at least believed what I said I believed. 

I’ve realized in the last eleven years that I believed a lot of things, but I really didn’t know why I believed them.  I believed them because that was what my parents believed.  I believed them because that is what my friends believed.  I believed a lot of things, but I wasn’t really sure why I believed them.

One day I thought about the Bible.  If you were to have asked me I would have told you I thought the Bible was one hundred percent true and accurate, completely without fault.  I would have said I believed everything in the Bible without question.   Or did I?

My journey as I’ve mentioned was to find out what I believed and why?  I realized that I couldn’t just believe what I believe because of my church’s teaching, or my upbringing, or what those around me thought.  I had to believe what I believe. 

In this journey I made the decision that if I really believed the Bible was true, then I had to believe every part of it without exception.  I couldn’t explain part of it away if I didn’t like what it said.  I couldn’t ignore parts of it that didn’t agree with my theology.  I couldn’t discount parts of it because I didn’t experience what it said in my life.  I couldn’t ignore it because of what I saw in other’s lives.  I also realized I couldn’t twist the meaning of the Word of God to fit what I thought it was saying.  If I truly believed God’s Word, I had to truly believe it.

Believing.  What does that mean?  There’s a story of a man who walked the tightrope across the Niagara Falls pushing a wheel barrow.  He completed one trip and was encouraged to go a second time.  One in the crowd yelled, “We believe in you.”  The performer called back, “Do you really believe I can do it?”  “Yes” the man in the crowd responded.  “Good,” responded the performer, “then get in the wheelbarrow.”

Do I really believe the Bible is true, or just parts of it?  I realized if I questioned any part of it, then it cast a shadow on everything.  If I questioned if God still does this or that today, then how I count on any of it being true?

In my journey I came to the place of decision.  Do I get in the wheelbarrow or not?

For me, I made the decision.  I got in the wheelbarrow.  I began to test the word of God and take it for what it said.  If the Bible said God would heal me, then God will heal me.  Anything less would be a lie, and God cannot lie.  If it said God would supply all my need, then He had to do it, or His book would be a lie–and God CANNOT Lie.  If it says God will judge sin, then whether I like it or not, God is faithful to do just as He says.

For a Believer to be a Believer, we must settle in our hearts that God’s Word is true.  You cannot be a true Believer if you question creation, or healing, the Virgin birth, or Noah’s flood.  To deny theses truths brings the entire Bible into question.

We must settle the fact that God’s Word is God’s Word in our heart!  As a Believer I had to make the decision that I will believe God’s Word is totally true, no matter what.  Even if I (1) don’t fully understand it, or (2) don’t particularly like it, or (3) have not experienced it in my life or in the lives of others, I must be settled on the fact that God’s Word is truth.

That may seem like a radical position for some, but after eleven years of searching it has been quite rewarding.  It gives a freedom and peace in my life that I have never experienced before.  I realize that I can stand on the Word of God in every area of my life.  It is not my responsibility to make things happen–it is my responsibility to get in the wheelbarrow.

I’ve come to realize that God’s Word is more real than the events I experience in life.  When trials come, and they do come, God’s Word brings success in every area. 

Maybe you’re on the very same journey.  Maybe you wonder if this “God stuff” is real.  I can assure you from my journey that it is, but you need to search for yourself.  Take God’s Word at face value.  Read it as truth–every word.  Stand on what it says as a promise to you personally.  Hold onto it and embrace it and it will never let you down. 

Settle it in your mind and heart.  Enjoy the journey and watch what God will do.

Listen…Don’t Talk…

James 1:19 says that everyone should be quick to listen and slow to speak.  In my life I found that the opposite is usually the case.  Everyone is ready to tell what they think, but not so quick to listen to what someone else is saying.  People are more interested in themselves and what they think and say rather than listening to someone else.

I saw a statistic years ago (I don’t recall where) that stated 85 percent of communication is listening and only 15 percent is speaking.  Poor communicators are actually poor listeners. 

Most people don’t realize that listening is an active skill, not something passive.  People will say they are listening to music, but in all probability they are simply hearing the music.  A true listener is listening to the tone quality of the instruments, instrumentation, chord structure, the variations in volume, the balance between the instruments, the pitch and intonation of the instruments and vocalists, and so much more.  Most people just hear the music and pick out a few words or phrases.  Often people will tell you they like a certain song but they can’t give any reason for their choice.  I guess what I am saying can be summed up from the words of almost every American Bandstand comment in history, “It’s got a good beat and you can dance to it.”

Listening is so much more than just hearing.  Listening is an active effort to put the person speaking as the highest priority in your life at that moment.  How often do we ignore those who should be the closest to us?  How often do we fail to stop what we are doing so we can truly listen to our children?  Do we give our undivided attention to our spouses so we can fully hear what they are really saying? 

If we want our relationships to be stronger, we have to focus on our listening skills.  We have to choose to focus on what those around us are saying and be more concerned with hearing them than with our speaking.   So often we think we have to have an answer for everything right away, but actually it is better to give pause, think and respond appropriately.  This greatly helps prevent hoof-in-mouth disease. 

The Bible gives a lot of good direction for relationships and communication with others if we will only put it into practice, but this passage is not only to be applied to listening to others, it is to be applied to our hearing God either through His written Word or through the still small voice of Holy Spirit.  I believe most Christians don’t hear God’s voice because they don’t take the time to listen.  Our world is a fast paced, get-it-now world, and the art of listening to man and is lost in our lifestyle.

I believe God speaks to us all the time but we don’t hear Him because we are not listening.  John 10 is the “Good Shepherd” chapter, and in that chapter Jesus tells us His sheep (Christ followers) will hear Him and know His voice.  This is a promise to all who believe, that we can hear Jesus speaking to us, but we have to listen.  We have to tune out the world and even tune out our own thoughts and begin to listen to what God would speak to us.  He’s speaking if we will listen.

Psalm 37:23 states that the “steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.”  I believe this teaches that God orders the steps for everyone of His children, whether we listen and follow in those steps or not.  I have plans for my children–sometimes they listen and sometimes they don’t.  It is the same way with us as Christians.  God has a plan for our lives but He allows us to choose to follow the plan, or not.  I am confident that if we begin to hear His voice more clearly, with less distractions, and then respond obediently, we will have far fewer problems in our lives. 

Psalm 119:105 states “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”  Putting this with the verse in Psalm 37 I believe we can see God directs good steps for all of His children, and if we will take the time to listen to (read, meditate upon)  God’s Word, it will light the path so we can see the steps clearly and make fewer mistakes.

How important it is to listen and not just hear.  James also writes, “Be doers and not hearers only.”  Don’t just hear the Words, but do them.  Don’t just hear but listen.  We may say that we expect our children to listen to us.  That means more than just hearing us.  We expect them to hear what we say and then act upon it. 

May we act upon the Word God teaches in both our personal relationships with our fellow man, but even more importantly in our personal relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

When Faith Fails

We know that God never fails us, but have you ever failed in your faith toward God?  I have, and in my struggle to see restoration God gave me insight into the story of a man who failed in his faith–the Apostle Peter. 

Peter was a rock.  He was confident and outspoken.  When confronted with the issue that Jesus was about to die, Peter affirmed that he would stay by His side–even if that required prison or death.  Unfortunately Peter didn’t live up to that promise, but rather his faith failed him as Jesus has predicted.

Luke 22 tells the story of Jesus telling Peter that he would deny the Messiah three times.  He informed Peter that Satan had desired to sift him.  He then goes on to tell Peter that He had prayed for him, and when he returned to his faith he was to strengthen his brethren.

I believe we all go through times where our faith fails.  Certainly I hope these times get fewer and farther between as we mature in Christ, but I believe there are times when the enemy, Satan, seeks to sift each of us as wheat.  I believe there are times when he makes special provision to sift and stir and attack our faith without measure.  This was just such a time for Peter.  He was singled out as a target for all of hell’s fury.  The intent was to completely destroy the Apostle of God.

As we read the story of Peter’s failure we can see his fall from grace into a period of depression.  From my own experiences I can imagine how he must have felt.  I’m sure that Satan reminded him of Jesus’ own words “But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven (Matthew 10:33).  This is exactly what Peter had done.  I can imagine the sifting that was taking place, the thoughts of failure, wasted time, all the failed promises, the failed hopes–all of this running over and over through his mind. The sifting is underway, taking Peter down lower and lower with each passing thought.

As we continue the story in John 21 we can see the despair in Peter’s life.  He has given up hope and decides to return to his former life’s work–fishing.  I can imagine that he says to himself, “What’s the use?  I might as well give up and go back to something I know how to do.”   And then when things couldn’t get any worse, Peter fishes all night and catches nothing.  “What a waste of time!  I don’t even know how to fish anymore.  I’ve wasted three years of my life.”

Ever been there?  Ever been so discouraged that you just want to give up?  I have, and I know I’m not alone.  Scripture gives many examples of Godly men and women who came to this place in their lives. 

All of this is comforting to know that when we fail in our faith and become discouraged and downcast, we are not alone.  But what is more comforting is that Jesus is still there waiting for us.  John 21 continues to tell that  as Peter neared the shore, Jesus was waiting for him on the shore and called out to see if the fishermen had caught anything.  When they answered with a negative Jesus replied, “Cast your net on the other side.”  What a coincidence.  That is exactly how Jesus called Peter at the beginning of his ministry.

When Peter realizes the man on the shore is Jesus he does what every depressed, discouraged, downcast soul should do.  He ran to the Savior forsaking everyone and everything behind him.  He left the great catch of fish, the financial security, the business was no longer his priority.  The priority was once again to sit at the Master’s feet and receive restoration.  And what is even more encouraging to me is the loving way Jesus restores and recommissioned Peter to his call.

Satan desired Peter, to sift him as wheat.  Satan does not know the future, but he can tell when the hand of God is on a person’s life.  Satan’s plan was to destroy the man God had chosen to preach the first message to the church in Acts 2.  Through the Holy Spirit’s use of the Apostle Peter the church grew quickly with 3,000 coming to faith in Christ on the first day alone.  No wonder Satan wanted to sift Peter.  No wonder he wanted to get so discouraged that he would give up and quit.

When you come to the place in life where you are being sifted and you consider giving up, don’t.  Remember, there is a reason that Satan wants to sift you like wheat–He sees the potential of the promise of God in your life–even when you can’t.  Instead of giving up and feeling sorry for yourself, do as David did when he was at the point of giving up (1 Sam 30:6); strengthen yourself in the Lord, and remember all his benefits.  Turn to the Word of God and meditate on the promises.  Lift up the sacrifice of Praise for the spirit of heaviness.  Build your faith by spending time in God’s Word.  Do like Peter, jump out of the boat and run for Jesus with all your might.  Sit at his feet and watch how quickly He will restore you.

Still Standing!

Ephesians 6:10-14a (KJV)
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  Therefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day and, having done all, to stand.  Stand therefore…

When everything in life is falling apart, and nothing seems to make sense, stand (trust in the Lord) and keep standing.  No matter how hard things may be, stand and keep standing.  It isn’t easy, but it God’s best for us.  Stand and keep standing.

In recent months my world has been rocked unlike ever before.  In times of meditation, prayer and Bible reading I simply hear the still small voice say, “Stand.”  As any child does with the Father, I continue to ask questiosn.  What do I do?  “Stand” is the reply.  Where do I go?  “Stand” is the reply.  When will this be over?  “Stand” again follows as the response.

When we stand we rely on God’s power to overcome every struggle in our lives.  The difficulty for most of us is that this is too simple.  We want to take matters into our own hands and work it out NOW.  But if we can experience the fruit of self-control in our lives we will see God do great things in and through our life. 

No matter what the trial of your life is right now, follow God’s Word and remain always Standing…Still Standing.