February 5, 2019

Praying for Rest On All Sides

2019 has begun in a whirlwind of activity. As we dive into the second month of our New Year’s revelations and resolutions, one of mine is for the Lord to give me rest on all sides, in every aspect of my life. Tall order? I agree. I pray that huge prayer for you as well.

Lysa TerKeurst says “the truth is that we’re probably in the middle of some sort of spiritual or physical battle, or we just came out of one, or we are about to go into one. You might say that’s not very positive. Friend, I am POSITIVE that is the case.”

Is rest on all sides even a remote possibility in the midst of so much activity? I see so much scriptural backing to it. Here are four examples from:

  1. Joshua 21:44
  2. 2 Samuel 7:1
  3. 1 Kings 5:4
  4. 2 Chronicles 20:30

In all four examples, it seems a battle had just been fought with enemies and won.

In the book of Joshua, after the Lord led Joshua and the Israelites into the land of Canaan, there was so much more land to possess. The disagreement had been over land. Land was then given to all twelve tribes of Israel.

“Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.” –Joshua 21:43-45.

In 2 Samuel, the Lord made a covenant with David.

“Now when the king live in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, the king said to Nathan the prophet, ‘See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells ‘in a tent.’ And Nathan said to the king, ‘Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.” –2 Samuel 7:1

Merely four chapters later, David rested perhaps TOO much and committed adultery with Bathsheba. In 2 Samuel 11, “In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful…”

David was supposed to be out in battle, “the time when kings go out to battle.” He sinned with so much idle time. Sometimes too much rest is a detriment and possibly a downfall to us. David repented, though. David was a man after God’s own heart.

When King David passed away, he had passed along instructions and wisdom to Solomon for building the temple. David had been in a battle with Saul and his enemies, and God protected him. Now Solomon has rest.

“Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram always loved David. And Solomon sent word to Hiram, ‘You know that David my father could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor misfortune…” –1 Kings 5:4

In the last example, In the lineage of kings of Judah and Israel, many were selfish and were not God-honoring. King Jehoshaphat was a refreshing, Spirit-filled King. He reigned in Judah and strengthened himself against Israel.

During battle, King Jehoshaphat prayed one of my favorite prayers in the Bible, one I say almost daily as a breath prayer.

“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” –2 Chronicles 20:12

Then the Lord delivered a victory in Jerusalem.

“They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. And the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.” –2 Chronicles 20:28-30

Now we have seen four different vignettes of rest on all sides, four different battles. What lessons can we learn from these five examples as we pray for rest on all sides, all aspects of our life?

  1. Pray for God’s favor and protection
  2. Be teachable and not stubborn– Surrender your will
  3. Be humble, not prideful
  4. Be nimble to change plans as the Holy Spirit leads
  5. Pray for your enemies but be prepared for battle

Friend, these five steps are not easy. You are a leader. you can do it, friend.

Each takes surrender and guidance by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Rest on all sides is possible. May it be so in each of us. May it be so.

May we nestle, not wrestle with God.

Respond:

  1. Which of these five steps can you work on?
  2. Nestle, don’t wrestle with God.
January 8, 2019

New Year’s Resolution Revolt and Revelation

Happy New Year, friend!

As I take down my Christmas decorations and cozy up to the fire on this brisk January day, I admit to you I don’t have my list down of New Year’s resolutions.

Each year I feel the pressure of forming New Year’s Resolutions. Why are resolutions so hard to keep?

According to research published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, 36 percent of resolution-makers give up by the end of January. Ouch. Let’s revolt. How can this year be different?

Instead of forming resolutions, I want to form life revelations. What’s the difference?

A revelation comes from God. A resolution comes straight from us. No wonder my resolutions often fail because they come from my flesh, not necessarily from listening to God.

Webster’s defines revelation as “a :  an act of revealing or communicating divine truth b :  something that is revealed by God to humans.”

Let’s start a revolution for the new year.

The minor prophet Habakkuk was in tuned to listening to God. How can we relate Habakkuk with our New Year’s revelations today.   Our resolutions turn to revelations.

In Habakkuk 1 he cried out to God. I love his authenticity, his raw emotion with the Lord.

“’How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen?…Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong?’”

The Lord listens and answers Habakkuk with a wonderful response.

“Look at the nations and watch—and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.”

Habakkuk continues to complain and ends it with a declaration:

“I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint. “ Habakkuk 2:1

‘Then the Lord replied: ‘Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. Habakkuk 2:2

 That’s one of my favorite leadership verses in the Bible.

The main revelation revolution lessons we can learn from Habakkuk are to:

1)Humble ourselves, pray and cry out to God. Even it seemed like complaining, Habakkuk was totally real when he told God exactly how he felt and asked God questions. God has big shoulders and can handle our big problems, our dreams, our desires. God listens and answers in His way, in His timing.

2) Strategize and write your revelation and plans on paper. Make them succinct enough that you (or anyone else) can understand them. I would encourage you to post them in your home so that you can refer to them often.

3) Be patient, work, and wait as God continues to work in your life on you and making your revelations come to fruition. God’s timing is perfect. He is never too early and never too late.

May Habakkuk’s story inspire us to start a revolution of New Year’s Revelations.

Happy, Shiny New 2019, friend. The best is yet to come.

Reflect:

What revelation is God revealing to you?

December 18, 2018

God Loves Making Extraordinary From The Ordinary

The Bible is full of ordinary people like me. God loves to make extraordinary out of the ordinary–how refreshing.

Two amazing ordinary leaders I had never really noticed are only mentioned in the Gospel of Luke 2 story of Jesus’ birth–Simeon and Anna.

Only days after the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple for His purification. Enter a “nobody” named Simeon…

“Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

‘Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.’  Luke 2:25-32

Go Simeon! What a courageous, anointed man! The passage goes on to say that Mary and Joseph marveled at what Simeon said about Jesus. These verses are the only time Simeon is mentioned. What an impact he made on God’s Kingdom.

Then another “ordinary” named Anna enters the Luke 2 stage:

“There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” –Luke 2: 36-38. 

Wow, Anna! What an amazing example. What a leader. What a somebody.

It’s exciting to look at a few common traits, I believe, between the nobodys God transforms into somebodys–the shepherds, Simeon, Anna, and so many others in the Bible. All these “nobodys” wholeheartedly display that they are:

  1. Available to be used by God
  2. Attuned to the Holy Spirit
  3. Agile–Age is not an excuse
  4. Humble

Each one of these traits is a high calling. I pray to embody more of each. It’s a journey. I’m no expert. Here is what I believe to be true about each trait:

  1. Available to be used by God: God wants our availability, not our abilities. Like Simeon and Anna, they were in the temple waiting on baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Even the shepherds “hurried off” and found Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus in the manger. They were flexible and available. May we be ready for God’s service, saying, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:10).
  2. Attuned to the Holy Spirit: Simeon was “righteous and devout.” Three times in slightly more than a verse the Bible mentions how the “Holy Spirit was upon him.” How do we get more attuned with the Holy Spirit? The short answer is to pray and fast, like Anna did; to spend time in God’s Word “listening” to God speak and answer us; worship regularly in a Christ-centered church; and to live a life of integrity. It seems like a tall order. That’s what grace is all about, at least in my life. 🙂
  3. Agile–Age is not an excuse: Whether you are five years old or “very old” like Anna, we can be used by God. Simeon was also older because the passage said the Holy Spirit said he wouldn’t die before seeing the Lord’s Christ. Nowhere in the Bible does it talk about spiritual retirement. Whatever your age, whatever God calls you to do, He will equip you. No excuses.
  4. Humble–Each effective person in the Bible and in today’s world who is the most effective leader embodies humility. Simeon prayed “now dismiss your servant in peace” (Luke 2:29b). Anna “gave thanks to God and spoke to all about the child” (Luke 2:38). They decreased as God increased (John 3:30).  Please, Lord, I pray daily to decrease as You increase.

May we be encouraged that God can use each of us for His service. As the old Christian song says, “I’m just a nobody trying to tell everybody about the Somebody who can save anybody.”  Merry Christmas, friend.

Reflect:

–Name other “ordinary nobody’s” in the Bible and/or your life who God has transformed into “extraordinary somebody’s” for His glory. Please comment.

Renew:

–“…I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” –Ephesians 4:1-2.

Recharge:

–Which of the four common traits will you focus on this month? You are a somebody.

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