How has life become like this? Can I honestly talk to anyone, can anyone relate or understand? I am on a hopeless journey of life with no prospect for my future. What was once filled with joy, peace, and hope has become a deafening silence of the soul that speaks to my longing. Can you relate to these thoughts or feelings? We all go through moments where we doubt and even despair in our journey. Continue Reading…
Tag Archive - Fear
Hope is truly hope when God’s fingerprints are evidenced: Isaiah 60 and 61
In the battle of allegiance what do you choose: Isaiah 36 and 37
We are in the midst of a great battle of allegiance and devotion. In Isaiah 36 and 37 we are privy to an encounter where the king of Israel is faced with a choice to trust men or trust God. What would you choose? When face with insurmountable opposition what choice do you make? When the world around you screams in a seductively alluring whisper to submit to the ways of the nature of sin do you listen to the sirens song? Of the king of Israel is whispered, “Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you. Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD by saying, ‘The LORD will surely deliver us. This city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’ Do not listen to Hezekiah. For thus says the king of Assyria: Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern, until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. Beware lest Hezekiah mislead you by saying, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’ Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?” Isaiah 36:14-18 Continue Reading…
The unstoppable will of God: Isaiah 21 and 22
Will you acknowledge your Hope? When you find yourself blessed do you attribute that blessing to your own prowess or your luck? Do you remember that God is that one who is at work in your life? Read the story of Isaiah 22 and learn what happens when selfish pride overwhelms man. “Therefore I said: ‘Look away from me; let me weep bitter tears; do not labor to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.’ For the Lord GOD of hosts has a day of tumult and trampling and confusion in the valley of vision, a battering down of walls and a shouting to the mountains.” Isaiah 22:4,
Continue Reading…
Will you find joy or despair in the coming judgement: Psalm 98
A moment of great fear and joy is quickly approaching for all creation, “Let the sea roar and all it contains, the world and those who dwell in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.” Psalm 98:7-9 Will you find the moment of God’s judgement upon the earth a joyous celebration? Will the coming of God to judge mankind fill you with fear and dread? Have you attempted to forget the truth that God is coming soon to judge the world by filling your life with idols? Continue Reading…
Sufficiency of God’s refuge brings hope: Psalm 91
When we claim that God is our refuge what are we actually believing? To say that God is our refuge requires that our faith, hope, and trust in unison acknowledge that we cannot and only God can. Everything great or small that we encounter in life is only possible because of our almighty God. As we face each day we may face painful troubles, wondrous joy or unyielding monotony but no matter the circumstance that we face God is our deliverer. When we face fear God will grant us courage. In the face of uncertainty God will provide peace. And when death seeks to take us God lavishly gives us salvation. There is nothing in life that we can fear when we find that God is our ultimate refuge and strength. “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name. He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With a long life I will satisfy him and let him see My salvation.” Psalm 91:14-16 Continue Reading…
Pressing on with excellence through the doubt and fear: Psalm 90
What lasting purpose exists for us with life so terribly short? Is there any value to our daily tasks that we repetitively complete? When we look at all that we accomplish from day to day, week to week, year to year and culminating in our life we tend to feel infinitely small because we truly make little to no lasting impact. It is only when we focus upon God and His working throughout time that we can see our true purpose. “For all our days have declined in Your fury; we have finished our years like a sigh. As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years, yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; for soon it is gone and we fly away. Who understands the power of Your anger and Your fury, according to the fear that is due to You? Do teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:9-12 Continue Reading…
Fear is overcome by God’s faithfulness: Psalm 56
What is fear? Is fear our response to the unknowns of life when we have no foreknowledge of future outcomes, peoples intentions for us and our own potential? How do we deal with fear in our lives? “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?” Psalm 56:3,4 We are to place our trust in God alone when we feel the swelling tide of fear ebbing towards us. As we place our hope for the future in God’s hands we release the fear and dread that seek to destroy us. Continue Reading…
Transformed upon seeing God: Job 41 and 42
What things do we fear? We fear wild animals that savagely hunt their prey. In the open ocean we fear sharks and other creatures of the deep. Imagine the fierce destructive power of earthquakes, volcanos, tornadoes and hurricanes, we fear these natural disasters that make us completely helpless. We fear financial distress caused from job loss and economic turmoil. We have taken the awe, wonder, and fear we once held of God and and elevated the things of this world to be worthy enough to hold our fear. Continue Reading…
Men, arise and take up the burden of leadership: Nehemiah 3 and 4
As you read through stories in the Bible do you find yourself ignoring the chapters with long lists of names? It can be daunting to sift through all of the people listed that you can barely pronounce. In Ezra chapter 3 we have this exact issue of many names but I encourage you to take time to read through these names looking for details about the wall being rebuilt in Jerusalem. I’ll be honest that I was tempted to generalize the people that were rebuilding the wall but there is much more to be gleaned from the texts than the assumption that the wall was just rebuilt. What were these men thinking as they completed the work? Continue Reading…
In life will you seek forgiveness and humility: 2 Samuel 3 and 4
How often do you feel yourself becoming filled with anger, fear, pride, hate, or discontent? What is the motivation behind your actions when you are like this? Do you label your feelings as righteous to justify your actions? Can we label any action by man as righteous? During the time of conflict between Israel and Judah in 2 Samuel 3 and 4 men make accusations, decisions, and assumptions that illustrate the need for true forgiveness and humility.
Abner is accused by Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul and king of Israel, of sleeping with a concubine of Saul’s in 2 Samuel 3. Did Abner truly sleep with the concubine? Was Ish-bosheth afraid of losing his authority as king making him not trust Abner? Was it so easy for Ish-bosheth to forget that it was Abner who established him as king over Israel after Saul’s death? Why did Abner seek to establish Ish-bosheth as king? What motivated thes men? Why do people so quickly turn upon the ones who truly care for them when their personal security feels threatened? After these accusations were made Abner chooses to no longer support the lineage of Saul as king and he seeks out David to make a covenant to serve him and help establish his rule as king. What motivated Abner to make peace with David? Was it spite of Ish-bosheth or a desire for renown that prompted Abner t? Continue Reading…
