Archive for August, 2023
Dark Clouds Forming
What time is it? It is time to pray.
I have tried to live as a realistic optimist. Looking for the good in all things has been my standard throughout life, I have sought God’s will in all things and I still do. I must concede that it has become increasingly difficult to find the good in current affairs.
Foreboding storm clouds have gathered on all foreign fronts, internal strife floods our streets, and chaos seems to prevail in our legislative halls.
The prophet Isaiah spoke of an ominous era:
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5: 20
Evidences are we are there. Just a few indications are the complexities regarding former President Trump, the China/Taiwan threats, the coalition of Russia/China/Iran, the war in Ukraine, the Tennessee three disruption, the economic uncertainty, our open borders, the lack of leadership locally and nationally, and an undercover government, are but a few of our challenges. All the while this laughed about, winked at, and refusal of admission of pending calamity.
Woe is pronounced by God when such an hour comes.
I found this commentary of such an era based on Isaiah 51: 12:
“How often do we look at the difficulties in life and the people that threaten us with pain and problems, and start to sink into an abyss of fear, a seemingly bottomless pit of terror of the shocking things of which we know that fallen man is capable?
Our home and happiness come under threat, our comfort and character are the target of their fierce arrows, our family and friends, our safety and security, and even our work and witness for the Lord seems to be the only target at which they are aiming their cruel condemnation and fiery darts of contempt and censure – and as a result our peace and contentment is shredded into distress and confusion.
But like the people of Israel, we too are to hearken to the voice of the Lord. We are to look to the Rock of our salvation. We who have trusted in Christ as Savior are to remember the many precious promises He has made towards us, and we are also to recall countless times that God has defended and comforted His people Israel in their distress, knowing that His grace is the same toward His people, the Church, as it was in ancient past.”
What this means is things may not always be alright, but those who follow the Lord are going to be alright. We must not understand that to mean believers will be exempted when difficult times, but that they will experience His grace all the way to the grave, and thereafter share in His eternal glory.
What time is it? It is time to pray and become expressive. His grace is sufficient.
Overheard in an Orchard
“Said the Robin to the Sparrow,
‘I should really like to know
Why these anxious human beings
Rush around and worry so.’
Said the Sparrow to the Robin,
‘Friend, I think that it must be
That they have no Heavenly Father
Such as cares for you and me.’” -Elizabeth Cheney
Imagine Jesus sitting on a boulder with a crowd gathered around. Understanding their plight and anxiety He begins to teach them:
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? (Matthew 6: 25 – 27)
Now look in a mirror. Looking back at you is a person to whom His words apply. Let this phrase resonate in your mind, “…do not worry about your life…”
In essence invest your heart in heaven and the dividends resulting will be quiet enough to provide for you.
A Worth/Roper Survey last year found that among the things that produce anxiety in Americans are the following: making a wrong choice with major investments; having major dental work or surgery; being audited by IRS; speaking in public; being outdoors alone at night; getting fat; being pulled over for speeding; seeing one’s spouse flirt; doing your own taxes; being caught in a lie by a close friend; having a credit card declined in public; and using a computer. Want to add your own list to those?
Jesus’ promises and provisions are stamped on that list “Invalid Worry.”
Sure, some bad things will happen to you like they do to everyone. Having problems and challenges does not make you stand out from others. Everyone does. Everyone.
Unfortunately not everyone has Jesus as their helpful Lord. If you do that makes you stand out. How you respond to your needs enables you to bear witness to the sufficiency of Jesus. This is especially true if you give Him credit for His blessings.
The word “worry” is from the Greek word “merimnao,” which means: “to be anxious about, to worry, be concerned for.” Jesus said don’t do it.
Jesus said, “Do not worry” – this is a present imperative with the negative, a command forbidding worry. It is a command.
It was left to one who had a plethora of needs to tell us what to do about them. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God….” (Philippians 4:6) Do it!
Think about the conversation between the Robin and the Sparrow.
The Value of Worry
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” Matthew 6:25
Jesus said, “Do not worry” – this is a present imperative with the negative, a command forbidding worry. It could not be said more firmly by a more reliable person, so, don’t do it.
The Apostle Paul expressed it this way: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6)
“Be anxious for nothing”- the Greek construction forbids the continuance of an action already habitually going on. The word “nothing” is the Greek word medeis, it literally means: “not even one thing.”
Worry is unbelief! It is a failure to trust God to care for us.
Don’t confuse concern with worry. It is proper to be concerned and work to resolve the concern with faith in the Lord for guidance. This is done with confidence and peace. It shows your opinion of God. To worry or not shows your opinion of God. Don’t try to excuse your worry by falsely calling it concern.
The Psalmist got it right, “And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.” (Psalms 9:10)
“Those who know Your name” means those who know God’s character.
The value of worry is zero, nada, nul, ezer, nunda, rien, nichts, semmi, niente. Any way you say it it’s the same, nothing, you accomplish nothing by worrying.
The better you know God the less you worry. If you habitually worry you need to get to know God better.
There is zero value in worry. It does nothing good for us. An average person’s worry is focused on: 40% – things that will never happen; 30% – things about the past that can’t be changed; 12% – things about criticism by others, mostly untrue; 10% – about health, which gets worse with stress; 8% – about real problems that will be faced.
Now consider, “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” Matthew 6:27
This can be applied two ways. One is dimensional. A cubit is about 18 inches. Who can add such to their height by worrying? The second relates to your life-span. You can’t add years to your life by worrying. However, you can shorten it and along the way cause all sorts of problems.
Frame this and hang it prominently in your memory hall. “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.” (Isaiah 26:3-4)
I Did My Best – Part Two
Ask yourself at the encroaching end of the day, “Did I do my best?” So live as to earn a sterling “Yes.”
Always have God in your heart, set goals and seek challenges; do your best in whatever you do; become a role model for those coming behind you. Your task may be small or great, but your accountability should be constant.
Northwestern University in Evanston, IL once had a volunteer life saving crew which was trained to rescue people in Lake Michigan. A passenger ship, “Lady Elgin”, was wrecked in a storm. A young student at Garrett Biblical Institute saw a woman clinging to a piece of wreckage far out in the breakers. He swam out and brought her back to safety. In the process he saw others. He continued to swim out and bring in others. His name was Spencer W. Edwards. After rescuing 17 he lay exhausted and near delirium on the beach. He kept questioning, “Did I do my best? Did I do my best?” When his brother told him he had rescued 17 he said, “If only I could have saved one more…”
When life nears its end and you straight-line you will have reason to ask, “Did I do my best?” So live that after your life’s last breath you will hear a calming voice say, “Well done good and faithful servant.”
Did you hear the operative word, “Servant.” That is what we are. You may labor on the payroll of a company which is your employer. However, in that role you are God’s servant. Live that in the aftermath of each day you have cause to say, “I did my best.”
You may be a domestic engineer, normally called a housewife, but in that role you are God’s servant. Servants all!
Michael Jordan, basketball’s GOAT, said, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed.” (In case you don’t know the meaning of GOAT, it means “Greatest Of All Time.)
Every person may have more failures than they might like to admit, but don’t quit doing your best.
Show yourself grace and laugh at yourself. Don’t beat yourself up for what you couldn’t do, or didn’t do. Just do the best you can at the time.
In a parable Jesus told of three servants whose master was to be away. He gave each servant a different amount of money. When He returned He asked for an accounting. Each was accountable only for the sum given him. The amounts varied, but the accountability was the same. Don’t be preoccupied with another, just live as to know you did your best.
Whether you invent it, write it, saute it, clean it, crochet it, fly it, govern it, or plant it, do all to the glory of the Lord that you may garner the epithet, “I did my best.”
Did I Do My Best? Part One
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might….” Ecclesiastes 9:10
God does not expect you to be the best at anything. He does expect you to be your best at everything.
When the young Naval Academy graduate Jimmy Carter was leaving an interview with Admiral Rickover the Admiral asked him, “While at the Naval Academy did you do your best?” When I preached his Inaugural Sermon one hour before he took the oath of office as President I reminded him of that. We all need to remind ourselves of that question. Did I do my best?
Consider these questions and ask them of yourself daily.
Did I do my best to please the Lord?
Did I do my best at showing interest in the welfare of others?
Did I do my best to be content and fulfilled?
Did I do my best to show appreciation?
Did I do my best to find solutions to the problems I faced?
Did I do my best to set clear goals and strive to meet them?
Did I do my best to gain the Lord’s “Well done”?
Did I do my best to do unto others as I would have them do unto me?
As you seek answers to those questions remember…
What got you here won’t get you there. Things have changed and that energy has been spent. That being true, what will get you there?
The good thing about beginning these questions with “Did I do my best to…” is that it is almost impossible to blame someone else for my failure. No one can be responsible for “Did I do my best to…” but me!
“…let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.” (Galatians 6:4)
In doing so you will have doubts. Elizabeth Elliot said, “Faith does not eliminate doubts, it just knows where to take them.”
You will encounter hellish obstacles. Sir Winston Churchill said, “If you are going through hell, keep going.” Good council. Expect problems and you won’t be caught off guard.
At the end of the day you will leave footprints. Make sure they will be where they should have been. At the end of the day, remind yourself that you did the best you could, and that is good enough.
Say your prayers, do what you can, and you will have done your best.
At the end of the day just before you slip into unconsciousness your still small voice may ask, “Did you do your best?” May your answer be an emphatic yes. This way you can never feel negative about yourself.
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” II Timothy 2: 15