 Often those who don't regularly read the Bible and perhaps many who do regularly read the Bible, assume that much of what's written in it is not applicable to the modern life. After all it was written so long ago, how could it possible add value to my life today? If you've ever asked yourself that question and struggled to apply God's Word to the modern life allow me to suggest the Psalms to you.
The Psalms are an honest record of the emotional and spiritual ups and downs that many of us face each day. Take Psalm 13 for instance, in it David says, "How long, Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long am I to feel anxious in my soul, With grief in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken. But I have trusted in Your faithfulness; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, Because He has looked after me." David's honest questions to God sound familiar to many given the year we've had. In our darkest moments we start to feel as though God is hiding His face. As we watch the news or listen to the experts we feel as though our anxiousness will never end. We come across a positive report that boosts our spirits only to have our hopes dashed as we read another article that seems to contradict the first. What will 2021 look like? Will things go back to normal? These are not modern problems. Yes the names and faces have changed but anxiety, loss and grief are not new. David experienced all of these emotions and more. Here's the part I want to be sure you don't miss. David's response to these age old feelings and struggles: "But I have trusted in Your faithfulness; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, Because He has looked after me." David gives us a powerful example of what a response could be to the anxiety and grief that many are dealing with today. David trusted the Lord's faithfulness. He chose to continue rejoicing in the Lord and giving praise to God because he knew that even in the midst of his anxiety and grief, God had looked after him. What a powerful response and perfect model for us to follow. Push through. Continue to trust. Continue to praise God. Reflect on how God has continued to look after you. Don't allow what's happening around you to cause you to forget what's happened in you. God is with you. Be encouraged and keep moving forward.  That's a phrase we hear every four years, "There's still a path to victory." We hear this phrase countless times on the evening of presidential election nights and in this year's case, the week of election night. "There's still a path to victory." It's often used in the context of the small, seemingly impossible, against all odds chance that a particular candidate could still win the highest office in the land.
This morning I've been finishing up a book by Jim Burns entitled, "Doing Life with your Adult Children" and I came across this phrase, "Our children need to know that no matter what road they travel, there's a path that leads home, and there will always be a welcome mat out for them." As I read that phrase my heart skipped a beat and my mind suddenly became aware of the power of that statement for every man, woman and child on the face of the planet. There is a path to victory for your life. You are not alone. Deuteronomy 20:4 (NASB) says, "For the Lord your God is the One who is going with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you." Choose to walk with Him. 1 John 5:4 (NASB) says, "For whoever has been born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith." You can have victory. John 16:33 (NASB) says, "These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” Do not count yourself out. Count yourself as one of God's chosen ones and believe that what He tells us in His Word can and will come to pass in your life. Regardless of your current state, regardless of how behind you feel like you are in the race of life, regardless of the odds you feel are stacked against you, YOU CAN HAVE VICTORY IN CHRIST JESUS. Be encouraged and keep moving forward.  You've heard the phrase, "Going through the motions" before right? It's when we're present in body but not in spirit. If you're anything like me you've gone through the motions at work, with your kids, with your spouse, with friends, in your daily time with God, with church. It's the thought of, "I know I have to do this but I'm not feeling it at all."
Our reasons for just going through the motions range from tiredness and emotion to being overwhelmed and uncertain of how to proceed. Sometimes we don't have the mental energy to really engage in what we're doing so we just put our heads down and plow through. Sometimes we're uncertain or fearful on how to proceed so we just keep doing what we've always done. Sometimes it feels easier to not even think about what we're doing but to just blindly do it....kind of like auto pilot. This is a dangerous approach to life in lots of areas but perhaps none more so than in our pursuit of Jesus. Thankfully God's Word has something to say on this relevant topic. The prophet Isaiah says it like this in Isaiah 29:13a (NASB), "Then the Lord said, “Because this people approaches Me with their words and honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me..." Allow me to remind you of a few things today: 1. You're not unique. Yes, you are unique in God's eyes, there's no one else on the planet like you, you're special, etc. etc. But you're habit of just going through the motions isn't unique. God is more than aware of our struggle. It's not new. He's been dealing with humanity for thousands of years and He's seen it all before. Sometimes we allow the devil to convince us that what we're dealing with is unique and never been conquered by anyone else on the planet at any point in the history of the world. 2. Because God has seen it in the past, we know that He is more than capable of loving you through it in the present. Notice that I said "through it" and not "in spite of it". God certainly understands those moments of our lives where we're physically exhausted, mentally overwhelmed, emotionally drained, weary and in need of just going through the motions for a few beats but that's not where we were created to live. Our hearts were created to be completely engaged in our relationship with Jesus Christ. Our brains are wired to critically think through our faith and how to walk it out in everyday life. Sometimes we allow ourselves to become convinced that God loves us "in spite of us". God does love us and meets us where we're at and at the same time desires that we increase in intimacy with Him. God is more than capable of seeing you through this dry season. Sometimes the feeling isn't there. Sometimes we're wiped out. We're tired. We're spent spiritually. God gets it. He's seen it before. He's capable. He's got this. He's got you. Push through and refuse to settle for a life of going through motions. Be encouraged and keep moving forward. |
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