Author: Eddie Davidson

Psalm 103 is a wonderful example of David’s worship. Worship rises from the soul of a person who has experienced God. This psalm is David’s response to blessings that were his as he walked in relationship with God.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; Who forgives all your sins, Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with love and compassion; Who satisfies your desires with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle. Psalm 103:1-5

Oh, the blessing of forgiveness! I am so thankful God forgives! But there are times when, even after I have bowed my head and asked for God’s forgiveness, I feel a lingering discouragement. I hear this voice in my head saying, “God has forgiven you, but…”

One day, as I was reading David’s psalm, I realized these first few verses lay out the progression of forgiveness. David’s own weary, wounded soul found hope in God. As a result, he rejoiced God’s gracious benefits. Allow me to walk you through this progression of forgiveness one word at a time.

First, David said, “God Forgives.” 

How complete is the forgiveness God offers? Think of the worst sin you ever committed. Is there one that still haunts you? Consider that sin in all its ugliness, with all the hurt that it brought into your life and the lives of others. Will God forgive that sin? 

David said, “He forgives all your sins.” That includes that one sin or string of sins for which you bear so much shame. In the Old Testament book of Isaiah, God invites us to experience His forgiveness.

“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool. Isaiah 1:18

David continued his song of thanksgiving for God’s forgiveness by saying:

He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.  As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:10-12

He forgives all our sins! He forgives all of mine and all of yours.

However, forgiveness is not free. When you are forgiven, somebody has to pay. God forgives because the penalty for your sins was paid by Jesus on the cross.

Peter, who watched Jesus die on that cross, wrote these words: “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. 1 Peter: 2:24

That leads us to the next step in the progression of forgiveness.

He not only forgives. He heals!  He heals all your diseases.

The word heal comes from the Hebrew word rapha that means to darn, to stich, to mend together and thus to heal. Is God a healer? Yes! But the greatest healing we need is from soul sickness resulting from sin.

When we sin, God not only forgives, He works to stitch together lives torn and tattered by sin’s consequences. He heals the wounded conscience. He mends broken souls.

All of us have souls damaged by sin. Yet in the progression of forgiveness, He not only forgives, He heals. I am not trying to take away from the fact that he heals physical diseases! But we often overlook the fact that spiritual sickness is far more serious, and the wounds are darker and deeper. Has your life been damaged by sin?  There is good news. He forgives, and he heals! What about when the consequences of my sin complicate my circumstances leaving me feeling trapped and hopeless?

He redeems my life from the pit.

Have you ever been in a pit of your own making? We all have. Our sin often leaves us in the pit. But God never does! Are you in a pit as you read these words? Is it the pit of guilt? Is it the pit of discouragement or despair? Is it some hole of shame or some prison of loneliness?

David knew what it was to be hopelessly trapped in the pit of some predicament resulting from his sin.  He knew what it was to be helpless to climb out of the pit by his own power. But on this day, as he sat down with harp in hand to write this psalm, he was rejoicing in the great blessing of forgiveness! Take heart. God forgives, and He heals! He redeems from the deepest, darkest, most dismal pit! But there is more!

He crowns you with love and compassion.

How could God love you? Have you ever wondered that? This morning I talked with a group of preschoolers sitting at the foot of a cross on our church property. I talked about God’s love. They sang Jesus Loves Me. When you are a child, you rarely question God’s love. But as time goes by, and we see more and more of the depravity of our own hearts, things change. How could God love a sinful person like me? If you are a Christian who wandered away from God into the far country of sin, you might wonder how you could ever return to God.

Jesus tells the story of a son who turned his back on the love of his father and wound up a pauper in a pig pen. He gave up hope of ever being forgiven. But he said, “I will arise and go to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight and am no longer worthy to be called your son.”

Is that the way you feel? Do you sense you are longer worthy to come home to God, and no longer worthy of forgiveness? But the prodigal did go home! He came home with the filth of the far country still clinging to his body. When he did, his father didn’t reject him. He put a ring on his finger, shoes on his feet and a robe on his back. In other words, he crowned him with love and compassion.

The word Hebrew, word translated crown, means to surround with a crown. It isn’t simply a picture of putting a crown on your head, but of wrapping you in it.

God offers you a forgiveness that heals and redeems your circumstances. He surrounds you with a crown of love and compassion.

As David continued to write, he penned these words:

 Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.  For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. Psalm 103:13-14

Like the loving father Jesus told about, God forgives, and he heals! He redeems, and he crowns!

But He also satisfies.

Why do we sin? We sin because we seek to medicate some emptiness. Is it working for you? Has pornography filled your emptiness? Did adultery fill your emptiness? In fact, sin only makes us emptier, and thirstier. Jesus met the woman at the well who was seeking to quench her thirst. She spent a lifetime seeking satisfaction in relationships and never found it. She was incredibly empty. Jesus introduced her to the Living Water only He could provide, offering to soothe the thirst of her soul.

Sin is a dry well. When we visit that well, we always leave thirsty and empty. But when we come to God, He forgives, and He heals! He redeems, and He crowns! He satisfies the deepest thirst of the soul!

Sin not only leaves us empty, it always robs us of something. What did your sin take from you? Did you lose your enthusiasm? Did you lose your innocence?  Did you lose hope?  Did you lose your self-esteem? Did you lose your family? Did you lose your reputation? Did you lose God?

David experienced loss as the result of sin. However, he also experienced God. In his worship, he announced, “He forgives, and He heals! He redeems, and He crowns! He satisfies!

Yet there is more! He also Renews! He renews our youth like the eagle!

The renewal of which David speaks, is the restoration of what sin caused us to lose. God can restore your joy.  In Psalm 23, David said: “He restores my soul.” God promised Jeremiah “If you return then I will restore you.” In Jeremiah, God also promises to restore what His people lost as a result of their sin. In Malachi, God promises to restore the hearts of the fathers to children, resulting in the healing of relationships. Is there something that was spoiled or lost as a result of sin that needs to be renewed or restored?

He forgives, and He heals! He redeems your life from the pit! He crowns  with lovingkindness and compassion! He satisfies! He renews and restores what sin has left a ruin!

I don’t know about you, but it makes me want to sing along with David, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless His holy name!”

Photo by Ben White

Do you know what it is like to be a broken vessel?

Shattered. Disillusioned. Hurting. No one seems to understand. There seems to be nowhere to turn. You can’t go another step. You can’t cry another tear. Physically exhausted. Spiritually defeated. Emotionally devastated. Surrounded by a vast ocean of despair, you sink like a piece of broken pottery.

Can you identify? What happened that left you a broken vessel? Did grief leave your heart in pieces? Has the stress of work and family caused you to come unglued? Do you feel shacked by a combination of circumstances that seem to drag you deeper and deeper?

Maybe you understand the heart of David when he said,  “I am like a broken vessel.” Psalm 31:12b

A Broken Vessel is an Empty Vessel

David’s life was empty. His physical strength was depleted. His emotional and spiritual strength was gone. It was drained away by the trouble and distress that surrounded him. He prayed: Be gracious to me O Lord, for I am in distress. Psalm 31:9

What kind of distress was it? We have no way of knowing. But whatever it was, it had a devastating impact upon David’s life. He lost his hope. He lost his joy. Just as water spills from a broken vessel, his hopes, his dreams, his courage, his faith, even his desire to go on living, all just drained away.

His eyes were weak from sorrow. His soul and body were weak from grief. His life was consumed by anguish. His years were consumed by groaning. His strength had failed him because of an acute awareness of his own sin. Psalm 31:10

Sin often plays a role in our brokenness—and guilt—and shame. It did here with David. Whatever it was, it left David like a broken vessel. A broken vessel is an empty vessel.

A Broken Vessel is an Unwanted Vessel

Nobody uses broken pottery as a center piece in their home. Even a vessel that once sat in a place of honor as a cherished possession, when broken, becomes an unwanted vessel. It is put aside, put out of sight and out of mind. Unfortunately, we have a tendency to treat those broken by life like a piece of broken pottery. That was true with David. No one seemed to understand his plight.  He said, “I am a dread to my friends; those who see me on the street flee from me.” Psalm 31:11b

Jesus always knew when He was dealing with a person shattered by some experience in life. He dealt with them in unusually tender ways. Jesus never tosses a broken vessel aside. In fact, in the midst of our brokenness we have some of the sweetest encounters with the Lord Jesus. He comes to us in our brokenness. He meets us in our brokenness, and He ministers to us in our brokenness as He does in no other season of life.

Can you identify with David? Are you in one of those times in your life when nobody seems to understand—even those who are closest to you? They don’t know how to deal with your brokenness. And because of it, you suffer from the plight of a broken vessel. You feel useless, unwanted, rejected, abandoned.

Jesus Can Identify With Broken Vessels

David felt like a broken vessel. Shattered. Disillusioned. Hurting. He felt like he couldn’t go another step or cry another tear. So with his last milligram of faith, and with his last breath of hope, he sighed, “Into your hand I commit my spirit.” Psalm 31:5

You and David aren’t the only people who have ever gone through a time of brokenness. You aren’t the only one who was ever misunderstood. Jesus also experienced brokenness. Once, when He didn’t feel like He could go another step, or cry another tear, or live another moment, with His last ounce of strength, Jesus took on His lips this word from Psalm 31, and He cried, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

You see, as Jesus hung on that cross, He knew what it was like to feel depleted, drained, discouraged. He knew what it was like to be in distress. So, when from the cross He wanted to express to God His feelings and His faith, He chose this Psalm where David had said, “I am like a broken vessel.”

Jesus understands where you are. He has been there. He has been through what you are going through. He knows the temptations and the discouragement. Turn to Him. Cry out to Him. Say to Him, “Lord, into Your hands I commit my drained and depleted spirit.”

God Can Put Broken Vessels Back Together Again.

If you read this Psalm all the way through, you will discover that it was not written during David’s distress, but after. It is his testimony of how the Lord delivered him. David admits that there were times when he thought God wasn’t around.  As for me, I said in my alarm, “I am cut off from before Your eyes.” Psalm 31:22

When your friends treat you like a piece of broken pottery, you halfway expect God to treat you the same way. In our distress and despair, we can conclude that God doesn’t know, doesn’t see, or maybe even doesn’t care. But listen to what David said: You have seen my affliction; you have known the troubles of my soul. Psalm 31:7

God is not blind to our circumstances. He is not ignorant of our situation. Jesus has an intimate awareness of our troubles. It is not a hearsay knowledge. Neither is it the knowledge of one who stands by and looks on. It is the knowledge of experience. It is the knowledge of one who participates in our anguish and who feels what we feel.

God hurts when you hurt. He is sad when you are sad. When you feel like a piece of broken pottery—your Lord’s heart feels the agony of the cross. So there you are are in your brokenness—empty—lonely— and deeply discouraged. Will it help to cry out to God? Listen to David: Nevertheless, You heard the my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. Psalm 31:22b

Does God hear the desperate pleas of His children in distress? A teardrop on your pillow echoes through the halls o heaven. When your heart breaks—God’s heart bleeds!

When David experienced brokenness, he gathered up the shattered pieces and took them to the only Potter he knew who could mend broken lives. Even Jesus, in His own moment of deepest brokenness, committed the shattered pieces into the hands of the Father.

There you sit like a broken vessel, wondering if Jesus can really put the pieces back together again. With that same deep sigh of surrender, place all the pieces into the hands of Jesus and give Him the opportunity to do what only He can do. “Into your hands I commit my spirit.” Psalm 31:5

Photo by Aimee Vogelsang

In the minds of some, ghosts occupy haunted houses, old cemeteries and any other place that gives you an uncomfortable feeling after dark. However, the only truly haunted place is the human conscience.

The human conscience is haunted by guilt. Guilt is the ghost of sins that are past. It wanders the halls and shadowy places of the human mind and heart. No judge needs to bang his gavel and declare our guilt. No jury of our peers is needed to prove us guilty. Our conscience is both judge and jury. Anytime we appear in the courtroom of conscience, the verdict is always the same—guilty!

Some people live with the daily anguish of an accusing conscience. Far from happy, they spend their days on the run. They invest their time and energies into employment. They occupy their minds with activity. They dread silence, because in silence they hear the gavel fall, and the verdict echoing from the courtroom of conscience—guilty!

Some people live with guilt every day. Some people can’t live with guilt. Judas couldn’t. Haunted by the verdict of his own conscience he hanged himself.

How often does your conscience bother you? God gave us the voice of our conscience. The voice of conscience is a good thing. However, God never meant for guilt to haunt our minds and hearts. Guilt is the ghost of unresolved, unforgiven sin. Guilt results from sin that has been buried—but never forgiven or forgotten.

When David wrote Psalm 32, he was living with the ghost of past sin. He was describing what it was like to live day after day with a guilty conscience.

When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Psalm 32:3-4

The reason for guilt is sin never confessed, never forgiven, and as a result, never forgotten. How many holes have you dug in the recesses of your conscience in an attempt to bury your sin?

Tinninitus is a disease that causes ringing in the ears.  Some people have such a hard time living with the ringing in their ears that wear a device that masks the ringing. Although they mask the ringing so they won’t hear it, their ears are still ringing.

Some of us have found ways to mask the voice of our conscience. Even so, our guilt remains. How do you deal with guilt? Have you buried sin? Have you tried to hide it in the recesses of your conscience from God, from yourself, and from others? Sin unconfessed and unforgiven will continue to haunt the halls of conscience.

Guilt is destructive. Wrestling with feelings of guilt can make a person physically sick. Guilt can cause emotional distress. Masked guilt is unresolved guilt and can be the underlying cause of many emotional problems. Guilt impacts your everyday life.

It can make you hang your head in shame. It can make you eat your way to your grave, or drink your way there. It can affect how you feel about yourself and your perception of how others feel about you. And, like Judas, guilt can lead you to take your own life.

Those are the physical and emotional ramifications of guilt. What does guilt do to our spiritual lives?

Guilt is like a shackle to your spirit. That means it will hold back spiritual progress in your life. It will cause you to stop reading your Bible. It will cause you to stop praying. It will cause you to give up your service to the Lord. It will cause you to quit going to church. It will stifle your witness. It will steal the joy of your salvation.

On the other hand, David wrote: How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven—whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. Psalm 31:1-2

Deceit in your spirit means that there is dishonesty in your spirit. You are not being honest with God or those around you. The Lord’s finger of conviction is pointed at you day and night. Guilt haunts your mind and heart. Instead of allowing the Lord to deal with your sin, you try to deal with it yourself. You try to bury it—to hide it. Burying guilt in your conscience is like taking poison into your body. It will eat you up.

I want to ask you a question. Is there anything in your life you are trying to hide? Do you fear that if it were known, it would change the way people feel about you?  For that reason, you have hidden it from the world–and maybe even from yourself. Maybe you know exactly what David meant when he said; When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. My  vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Psalm 32:3-4

David came to a point where he realized that sin and guilt were taking an irreparable toll on his life. He was dying from the inside out. Are you?

You don’t have to try and mask your guilt. You don’t have to find ways to live with guilt. You don’t have to take the route of people like Judas who can’t live with guilt. God has a remedy for guilt! It is called forgiveness.

Do you ever wish that you could just start life all over? I don’t mean deciding to turn over a new leaf. I mean start all over. Put the past behind you. Freed of all your bills and burdens, you could just start over. Forgiveness gives you a fresh start.

Guilt is to the soul ,what being trapped at the bottom of a pool is to the lungs. It is suffocating. Forgiveness is to the soul what breaking to the surface from the bottom of a pool is to the lungs. It is release. It is refreshment.

Where did David go to find forgiveness of sin and freedom from guilt? David turned to God! David’s burden of guilt became so heavy that he could bear it no longer. He said: I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Psalm 32:5

It is the desire of God’s heart that you live a life free of guilt. God issued the following invitation through the prophet Isaiah.

Come now, let us reason together says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though the are red like crimson, they will be like wool. Isaiah 1:18

God Himself has announced that His forgiveness is available. You might be thinking, “ But you don’t know what I’ve done!” I know this: God wouldn’t offer you what He couldn’t give. I also know that the words of Isaiah reveal that forgiveness is available for the worst of
sins. “Though your sins be as scarlet—they shall be as white as snow.”

Can God take away your sin? Yes! And your guilt!

I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “ I will confess my transgressions to the Lord;” And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Psalm 32:5

There is no clearer statement in all the Bible of how you can be free—not only of sin—but of the haunting guilt of sin. In 1 John 1:9 we read, If we confess our sins He is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

In Hebrews 10:22 we are told that we can have our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience. David knew the flip side of that. He knew what it was like to live with guilt—to bury it in his heart—to walk around and try to do his job eaten up on the inside by the ghost of past sins.

The source of David’s guilt was not his conscience alone. David’s guilt was produced by the conviction of God’s Spirit. He says, day and night Your hand was heavy upon me. Could that also be true in your life?

David came to a point where he realized that sin and guilt were taking an irreparable toll on his life. So he came clean with God. He threw open his heart before the Lord. The days of secrecy were over. You can almost hear the release in his voice when he says: “And You forgave the guilt of my sin.”

There is no sin so dark or deep that God cannot cleanse the spot that tarnishes your soul and remove the guilt that haunts your heart. God has a remedy for guilt. That remedy is called forgiveness. The most powerful healing that will ever come to your life will come when you allow God to forgive the guilt of your sin.

Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the Lord, And He will have compassion on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55:6

All Scripture comes from the NASB^® www.lockman.org

Photo by Darkness

Have you ever been optimistic about something, and then it all turned sour, far more sour that you ever dreamed it could. You stepped out in faith, and the bottom fell out. When it did, your faith was replaced by disappointment and deep despair.

You might be walking in the middle of such an experience right now. If so, I invite you to consider how the apostle Paul dealt with disappointment.  By the time he wrote his second letter to Timothy, he was an old man. He wrote from the damp darkness of a Roman dungeon. He was lonely. Because Paul is one of the great men of the Bible, we imagine him to be immune to the feelings and emotions that ebb and flow inside of us. But Paul was just like us! On the day he wrote this letter, discouragement and disappointment overwhelmed his heart.

How bad was it for Paul? His execution appeared imminent. At a time when he longed to be surrounded with Christian friends, when he needed to draw strength from their prayers and  encouragement, he felt alone—and to a degree, outright abandoned. He invested everything, risking his own life to bring the gospel to these people—and what thanks did he get? While some of his companions were sent out by his own hand, others just flat out left! They left Paul at the mercy of Rome. During his first appearance before the Roman officials, Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:16… “At my first defense, no one supported me, but all deserted me.”

The bottom fell out.  What happens to you emotionally and spiritually when the bottom falls out? All of us pass through times of personal disappointment. I want to show you four ways Paul handled this period of overwhelming disappointment in his life.

First, Paul didn’t allow himself to be bitter toward those who refused to stand with him.

His forgiving spirit is evident in verse 16: He prays, “may it not be counted against them.” 2 Timothy 4:16b  He wanted God to deal mercifully with them. He was betrayed, but he wasn’t bitter. Bitterness compounds disappointment. If people were involved in causing your disappointment, if a friend or family member let you down, try to meet that disappointment with a forgiving spirit.

Paul displayed mercy toward those who let him down. Mercy is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Ask God to place His mercy in your heart so you can deal mercifully with others. Jesus said, “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” Matthew 6:14-15

Like Paul, don’t allow yourself to be bitter toward those who refuse to stand with you.

Second, Paul experienced and acknowledged the Lord’s Presence amidst his disappointment.

¹⁶At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them.  ¹⁷But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me… 2 Timothy 4:16-17

Where is the Lord in the middle of your disappointment? Didn’t He promise never to leave you or forsake you? Didn’t He say, “Lo, I am with you always… even to the end of the world.” Doesn’t that remain true when it seems like it’s the end of the world in your own life?

Paul’s voyage to Rome evidenced a pattern of difficulty and disappointment. Now his experience in Rome was turning out the same way. However, in the midst of every disappointment, Paul bore witness to the comfort of God’s presence. No one else stood with Paul, but the Lord stood with him and strengthened him. Things didn’t turn out like Paul planned, but God’s comforting presence gave him confidence God was still in control.

I don’t know the depth of personal disappointment in your life. However  I know this, the Lord is with you in the face of your disappointment—and His purpose still stands.

Third, Paul didn’t allow disappointment to divert him from God’s purpose.

 Paul’s experience reveals that  God’s purpose prevails in spite of our disappointment. As a matter of fact, if we will trust God, look for God, and walk with God in the middle of our disappointment, we will find that that our disappointment becomes a platform for God’s purpose.

How did God use Paul’s disappointment for His glory? Apparently, it was in God’s purpose that Paul, as a prisoner, give a defense of his faith before the emperor. But that was only a small part of that purpose. Listen to Paul’s statement of God’s purpose: “…so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear.” 2 Timothy 4:17b

 Through this letter from prison, God’s purpose continues to be  accomplished, not only in spite of Paul’s disappointment, but in many ways because of it. Paul elevated God’s purpose as more important than his own disappointment. In fact, during one stint in prison in Rome, Paul wrote to the Philippians: My circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that in my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole governor’s palace guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. Philippians 1:12-14

Are you willing to trust your disappointment to the providence of God? Are you willing to express your faith in the midst of it, to live out your faith in spite of it, and to allow God’s glory to shine from the darkness of it?

Your disappointment can become a platform for pointing others toward Christ.

Finally, Paul’s present disappointment didn’t keep Paul from looking forward to future victory.

His testimony to Timothy is as follows: ¹⁷But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth.  ¹⁸The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 2 Timothy 4:17-18

Paul reflected on his disappointment. He expressed his faith in the midst of it. He allowed God to shine from the darkness of it. He looked for God in spite of it. Are you looking for God in your disappointment? Are you listening to His voice, or is the only voice you hear the voice of your disappointment.

Is disappointment difficult?  Yes it is difficult! Is it discouraging? Yes, it is discouraging! But disappointment is also a place of deliverance! The light of God’s presence is never so great as when it shines in the darkness of your circumstances. In Paul’s disappointment, he also experienced God’s deliverance.  He said, “It didn’t kill me. I didn’t die. The lion opened his mouth and licked his lips, but I was delivered.”

God always has a deliverance for us in our disappointment. But if we focus only on our disappointment, that is all we will ever experience. In the midst of disappointment, we need to look for God. You have a choice in your disappointment. You can put yourself in a position to be bitter, and that bitterness will flavor your whole life.  Or else, you can put yourself in a position to be blessed.  You must stand in that place by faith and not sight. Express your hope in God in spite of your disappointment. Look for God in the midst of it. Allow God to shine from the darkness of it. Choose to rejoice over even the smallest hint of deliverance!

All Scripture comes from the NASB^® www.lockman.org

Photo by Pablo Varela

Hopelessness is a dark place. Hopelessness can overtake you in the middle of one of life’s storms, or in the aftermath. You survey the situation. You look at what you had, and what you lost, and you just give up! You give up, not only because of what happened, but because of what you no longer believe can happen. The situation seems to have no solution—no remedy. It can’t be fixed. It’s not going away. It’s not going to get any better. Somewhere across the days of dealing with your circumstances, you lost your last bit of hope.

Hopelessness invaded the home of a woman in the New Testament.

¹¹ Soon afterwards He went to a city called Nain; and His disciples were going along with Him, accompanied by a large crowd. ¹² Now as He approached the gate of the city, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a sizeable crowd from the city was with her. Luke 7:11-12

This woman was no stranger to hopelessness. Her husband was dead already, now her son had died—her only son. What tragedy invaded your life and robbed you of hope? Was it divorce? Was it a disease? Was it a disaster? Was it death, or something that seems worse than death?

A large crowd joined this grieving mother as she made her way to the cemetery. There are no words that will soothe such sorrow. Imagine the emptiness and the loneliness that compounded her life though surrounded by this well-meaning crowd. Some of you don’t have to imagine. You are living amidst a similar sorrow.

The cemetery was just a short walk from town. Burial usually took place the same day as death in those days. Her son died only hours before. The body was likely prepared for burial in her home. She said her last goodbye to the darling of her heart. There was one last touch, one last kiss, one last look at his face. That is hopelessness—terrible and terminal hopelessness!

How do your circumstances compare with hers? The situation may not be the same, but the hopelessness is just as real and overwhelming.

Jesus Met Her in Her Moment of Hopelessness.

He made the first move. He came to her in her hopelessness. She didn’t ask for His help. He reached out to her. Could Jesus be reaching out to you right now? It was no coincidence that Jesus was passing by at the very moment this funeral procession was leaving town It is also no coincidence that you are reading these words.

Jesus Came to Comfort Her in Her Hopelessness.  

¹³ When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, “Do not weep.”  Luke 7:13

 What kind of statement is this that Jesus made to this heart-broken mother? Had He somehow missed the pall-bearers and the coffin? Had He failed to recognize this as a funeral procession? Jesus was not surprised to meet a woman headed to the cemetery. The Bible says that He “saw” her. I think it means that He saw her before He arrived in her city. He was there for the express purpose of meeting her need. The words “do not weep” were words of comfort spoken to her hopeless heart. He was about to dry her tears and end her heartache.

Could it be that you are reading this for the express purpose of discovering that Jesus knows what you face and what you need?

Jesus Is the Only One Who Can Bring Hope out of Hopelessness.

Imagine what transpired between Jesus and that woman. I picture Jesus with both hands her shoulders, His piercing eyes looking directly into her own. Softly, but firmly, with all the authority of a commanding general, He said, “Stop Weeping.”

Only Jesus can bring hope out of your hopelessness. Leaving the mother, Jesus turned and moved confidently toward the coffin. He extended His hand and laid it on the open wicker basket in which her son was carried. The pall- bearers stopped dead in their tracks! Then Jesus addressed the corpse!

¹⁴ And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” ¹⁵ The dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother. Luke 7:14-15

If Jesus can speak to a corpse do you think that He might also be able to speak to your circumstances? Don’t you know that His mother and His friends had begged him to get up from his bed… to awaken from his sleep? You’ve heard the mournful pleas from family for loved ones who have died. Oh, at the times I’ve seen wives, and children, and parents fall across the body of a loved one and beg them to speak—beg them to live. But never have I seen the dead respond to the voice of the living. Yet this boy responded to the command of the Lord Jesus!

That mother could shriek to the top of her lungs, and her boy would never hear her. She could plead with him from then until now, and he would not twitch a finger. You can’t speak to your own circumstances! You can’t speak to your own hopelessness—but Jesus can! Only Jesus can bring hope out of hopelessness! Jesus gave that boy back to His mother. But He gave her more than that. He gave Her back her hope!

¹⁶ Fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited His people!” ¹⁷ This report concerning Him went out all over Judea and in all the surrounding district. Luke 7:16-17

Perhaps you read these words while living in a setting of hopelessness. If so, you read them by Divine Appointment. Jesus is meeting you where you are and He is speaking to your heart! Perhaps you sense that somehow—in the midst of your own hopelessness—Jesus has the power to give you back your hope.

Maybe hopelessness is not your problem. Instead, you have a heart that as cold and dead to spiritual things as that boy’s corpse. Yet, in this moment, you hear the voice of Jesus speaking to your cold, dead heart, calling you to renewed faith in Him and in the power of His resurrection.

I have no way of knowing who you are or what you face. But the Jesus who met this woman, is reaching out to you in the midst of your circumstances. As you reach out to Him, I pray that He will give you back your hope!

All Scripture comes from the NASB^® www.lockman.org

Photo by whoislimos

I saw a sign that read: “Where God guides—He provides.” Is that true? If it is, why is it you have no money in your pocket? If it is, why are you in need?

In the model prayer, we are told to ask for daily bread. The phrase “daily bread” was a specific reminder of how God provided for His people during forty years of wilderness wandering. He provided for them day by day. That sounds wonderful, but it was hand to mouth. It was one day at a time. There was never an abundance. There was always just enough. They learned to trust God day by day.

The sons of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. Exodus 16: 35

The manna was God’s provision for the moment. Manna was miraculous provision from God, and it was as regular as the sunrise. God provided them with one day’s portion—their daily bread. For forty years, they lived in day to day dependence upon God’s provision. That was how God chose to provide for His people during their wanderings in the wilderness.

Are you able to identify God’s manna in your life? What is His provision of the moment for you? Have you learned to be content with what God provides, even if it is manna and not more? Manna was sustenance, and that was all. After a while, that day to day dependence upon God became monotonous, and the people began to complain. “We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna.” Numbers 11:5-6

What is the method that God has chosen to provide for you? Have you grumbled against God because it is manna and not more? Are you resentful of living in day to day dependence upon Him?

The manna taught them about God and His methods. Why did He give them manna? He gave them bread from day to day because He wanted them to learn to depend on Him as their Provider.

“You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. “He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD. Deuteronomy 8:2-3

The manna was not given to make them dependent on the provision, the manna itself, but on the Provider. The manna was God’s method. What is God’s method of providing for you?

During one of my pastorates, my wife and I concluded we were becoming dependent on the church. They took care of us. They provided for our needs, and we were thankful. But we also feared we were losing sight of the Provider by placing too much focus on the provision of the moment. There is danger in becoming so dependent on some blessing or provision ,that for fear of losing that blessing, we balk at following God’s leadership. Where God guides, He provides! The will of God will never take you where the grace of God can’t keep you, but you must depend on your Provider to choose the method by which He provides. They were to follow God and not the manna.

We are living in changing times. There was a time when a man got a job and kept it for most of his life. That is no longer true. Companies down-size. Long established businesses close. Economies are changing rapidly. Uncertainty abounds! The job God has given you is His provision for the moment. If you lose the job, you haven’t lost the Provider. Cling to the job for the security it provides, and fail to follow the Provider in the way that He leads, and you retain the security your job provides, but you have sacrificed the security God provides as He leads you through the wilderness of life.

While the sons of Israel camped at Gilgal they observed the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month on the desert plains of Jericho. On the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. The manna ceased on the day after they had eaten some of the produce of the land, so that the sons of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate some of the yield of the land of Canaan during that 
year. Joshua 5:10-12

The manna will cease! As God guides, His way of providing will change. And honestly, the manna may cease before God’s next method of provision becomes clear. In my life, the absence of God’s provision of the moment has often prompted me to find and follow His will. If God knows we are too dependent on the provision, He will remove it to make us more dependent on Him. A good example comes from the life of the Prophet Elijah.

The word of the LORD came to him, saying, “Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. “It shall be that you will drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there.” 1 Kings 17:2-4

The ravens and the brook served as God’s method. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening. But after a while, the brook dried up because there was no rain in the land, and the ravens stopped coming. The manna ceased. The provision of the moment was no more. One method ended. But the Provider had another method in store! Was Elijah devastated when the brook dried up? Did he question God? After all, the brook and the ravens provided him his daily bread. He might have been! But neither the brook nor the ravens ever provided for Elijah. God did!

Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” 1 Kings 17:8-9

As Elijah obediently followed His Provider, he found his needs again met by God. As the people of God, we are called to pursue the Provider.

God called Joshua to leave the wilderness, a place he knew for forty years, roads he travelled for forty years, and the provision that had was his security for forty years. His call was a call to pursue the Provider. God’s will for Joshua was no longer the wilderness. It was the land of promise!

Is God leading you down new roads and into new challenges? In order to follow God, you must abandon the security of the familiar and surrender the provision for the moment. Do you think Joshua and the people were afraid to leave the wilderness for fear that the manna would cease? No, but sometimes we are. We often hesitate to walk in the way of God’s will because we don’t see how God will provide in that setting.

God may be calling you to take some courageous step of faith, but you say, “Oh, but I will lose the security of this steady income.” Yes! You probably will. That is what you need to understand up front. God has not called you to depend on His provision, but on Him as your Provider.

There was no manna in the Promised Land because the manna was God’s provision for the moment. He had other methods and other means in the Promised Land. If God leads you in a new direction, don’t be afraid to walk in the way of God’s will, even if you can’t foresee how He will provide for you there. Don’t focus on the provision for the moment. Keep your eyes on God, who Provides! The manna will cease. When it does, know that God has other measures to provide for His own.

All Scripture comes from the NASB^® www.lockman.org

Photo by Lily Lvnatikk

On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was being 
sacrificed, His disciples said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?” And He sent two of His disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him; and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is My guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ And he himself will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; prepare for us there.” The disciples went out and came to the city, and found it just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover. Mark 14:12-16

Sometimes we miss the practical implications of stories in the Bible. This story concerns preparations that were made for our Lord’s last Passover with His disciples. The disciples of Jesus expressed a simple desire to know the Lord’s
will. “Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?” That simple question was the beginning of a journey of obedience for two of our Lord’s disciples.

The Journey of Obedience Begins with a Desire to Know God’s Will

As followers of Jesus, before we can can expect to know the Lord’s will in any setting, we must ask. They were not content to seek a plan of their own. Their question was, “Where do You want us to go?” There was a journey required, and once they arrived there were actions to take. “Where do You want us to go and prepare…?” Their journey and subsequent preparations would lead to an encounter with the Lord Jesus. “Where do You want us to go and prepare for You…?”

The Journey of Obedience Always Leads to an Encounter with the Lord Jesus

When God met Moses at the burning bush, He called him to a journey of obedience leading to an encounter with God for all of God’s people at Mount Horeb. When God sends you, He never sends you away from Himself, but to a place where you will learn more of Him than you know where you are.

The Journey of Obedience is an Individual Responsibility

The same assignment was not given to all the disciples, but to these two. “And He sent two of His disciples and said to them, ‘Go…’” When Jesus was discussing Peter’s future, Peter was concerned about the Lord’s plan for John. But their assignments were different. Their life journeys would be different!. Peter’s life mission, his life journey, would not be the same as John’s. What is God’s assignment for you? Remember, before you can expect to know the Lord’s will in any setting, you must ask.

The Journey of Obedience Requires Specific Guidance

They were given detailed directions based on the Lord’s wisdom and not their own. It was not enough to feel a responsibility and go to a place of their choosing. They asked, “Where do you want us to go?” Even then, specific guidance was needed upon arrival in order to know what to look for.

Do you suppose the Lord is willing to give us specific guidance for our journey of obedience? Without His daily guidance, how will we recognize divine appointments like the one the Lord arranged for these disciples.

On the Journey of Obedience, Timing is Critical

It was only in their going at the Lord’s timing that events would line up to give them perfect guidance. “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water;”

It was a specific man, performing a specific duty, at a specific hour. In order to meet that divine appointment, the timing of their obedience was critical. Not only so, detailed obedience was necessary. They were to do exactly as they were
told. “Follow him.”

The journey of obedience was not the end of their obedience. There was a next thing. That next thing would need to be in complete obedience to the Lord’s direction.

On the Journey of Obedience, There is Always a Next Step of Obedience

Are you seeking God’s guidance for your life? Do you believe He has such detailed guidance for you? You have not because you ask not. They were given guidance because they sought the Lord’s will. They acted upon the guidance they were given, while being alert to the time sensitive nature of their obedience. They gave step by step obedience to the Lord’s direction.

The Journey of Obedience Always Leads to the Center of God’s Will

If they followed obediently, they would come to the right place, and in that place they would find a person with a prepared heart. Most of the closed doors and disappointments of our life arise from failing to seek and follow our Lord’s guidance. As they did, they met this man with a prepared heart, who was sympathetic to the Lord’s work.

On their journey of obedience they found a prepared place. The resources they needed were also provided.

Those Who Make the Journey of Obedience Find All the Resources Needed Are Provided

I have found this to be true in my own life. God always has a plan to provide. Commenting on this story in their book Experiencing God Day by Day, Henry and Richard Blackaby observe, “Don’t wait until you have it all figured out and it makes perfect sense to you. Sometimes God will lead you to do things that you will not fully understand till after you have done them.” In fact, included in the blessngs of obedience, are those remarkable discoveries one makes about God along the way.

Many divine appointments await you on your journey of obedience. What is it the Lord wants you to do? Your journey begins at His feet as you ask Him about His plan for your life.

Photo by Diana Simumpande

My grandfather died in 1987. Since then I’ve helped maintain the yard. No one lives in the house. Everything, for the most part, is just the way my grandfather left it. The house is beginning to decay. His old truck is about rusted down. But the family outhouse is, by far, in the worst shape of all.

As a boy, it was an experience to go into that dark outhouse and be able to peer out at the world. I watched the chickens passing in the yard, the people on the back porch, and yet no one could see you inside the dark outhouse, or so you hoped.

The outhouse stood until 2005, when Hurricane Katrina ravaged South Mississippi and laid the old outhouse on its side. For years, it lay there continuing to decay. As the days passed, I began to have an interest in the old outhouse. Every time I saw it, I would ponder how much the old outhouse and I had in common.

The wood covering the outhouse did not start out as an outhouse. Originally, it had a higher, nobler purpose. It was used in a factory and served its purpose for many years until, riddled with holes, it needed to be replaced. Once laid aside, it was retrieved by my grandfather for a less noble use. It became the family outhouse.

The same thing happens to people. We wake up one morning doing something we thought we’d never do, or in a place we thought we’d never be. God’s original purpose was ruined by some trial or some sin that took its toll on your own soul. Now, like the wood of the old outhouse, your soul is riddled with holes. No longer worthy to serve the purpose for which God created you, you became something less. You are what you are, but you know in your heart you are not what God intended you to be. If so, then like me, you have something in common with that old outhouse.

Every time I passed the outhouse door, I would think of how its only purpose was to hide the entrance to a dark, dirty hole. I knew that because, as a boy, I would sneak into the outhouse with a few matches. While inside, I would light some paper and throw it down into the hole to see what was there. Boys never ponder the possibility of methane explosions. Curiosity killed the cat, and I am sure more than a few boys. From then on, I knew what was in that hole, and I was never quite so comfortable in that outhouse. That hole was dark and dirty and swarmed by creatures that few of us would want inching toward our backside.

Circling the old outhouse while cutting grass, the Lord reminded me of things my that it and my heart shared in common. There were times when my heart was nothing more than a dark, dirty hole. When the Lord shined the Light of His presence into my heart, He exposed things that made me more than a little uncomfortable about who I was.

Perhaps, you would admit that the same thing is true about you. There are things in your heart and life that are displeasing to the Lord. If we could see what God sees, we would discover our hearts darker and dirtier than we dreamed possible.

When Hurricane Katrina came along, and blew the outhouse over, the dark dirty hole was exposed for the world to see. After that terrible storm, the outhouse was nothing more than a pile of rubble.

As I would pass by that outhouse, the Lord reminded me of how people’s lives become just like this old outhouse. God has a purpose for them. They become unfit for that purpose and become something less. At the center of their life is a dark, dirty hole. One day some storm comes into along and turns things upside down, exposing a weak, vulnerable, sin riddled, dark-hearted soul.

Maybe that happened to you. Some storm came into your life and shattered your dreams. As you look at your life, you realize you can no longer serve the purpose God intended.

The more I passed it, the more these things came to mind. I thought about people whose sin-riddled, storm-ravaged lives have been left in shambles. Many feel forgotten and abandoned by God.

That is where this story takes a turn. Because as I began to ponder those things, it seemed  God was giving me an affection for the old outhouse door. I longed to have it to make it my own. I wanted to redeem it. I wanted to take what once served a more noble purpose in a factory—that had come to serve a lesser purpose—and I wanted to take it home and tell its story. So that’s what I did! I brought it to church one Sunday and stood it right in front of the communion table as an illustration of God’s desire to redeem people whose lives were left in ruin by some sin or some storm.

Are you one of those people? God can lift you from the rubble of where you are and redeem you for a new and higher purpose. Everything that is true about that old outhouse is true about you. Nevertheless, God still loves you and wants to make something beautiful out of your life!

I never passed that outhouse rubble that one single verse didn’t come over and over again to my heart. It is with that verse that I won’t to conclude today. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11 NASB)

The Lord, who prompted me to see potential in an old outhouse door, sees potential in you. Though your life is sin-riddled and storm ravaged, perhaps even in shambles, He can raise you up from ruin and redeem you for a wonderful purpose all His own!

Photo by Amy Reed

Who do you call in a crisis? We teach our children from an early age to dial 911. Maybe you have a friend you would call. You might call your pastor or your church. But who do you call when the lines are down and the electricity is out and the roads are impassible? Who do you call when everything and everyone you depend on is out of reach? Who do you call when you are alone in the face of overwhelming difficulty? Consider the following invitation from God.

Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me. (Psalm 50:15 NASB)

Did you know that your day of trouble is a day marked on God’s calendar? God is not surprised by the arrival of trouble into our lives or by its intensity. Jesus said, “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34 NASB)

The God who gives us our daily bread—the God who is our provider in times that appear to be good—will not fail to be our provider in times that are bad. He foresees calamity and has made preparation in our behalf in advance of its arrival.

The day of trouble will make you feel distant from God. Why do You stand afar off, O LORD? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble? (Psalm 10:1 NASB)

Is it true that God hides Himself in a time of trouble? That is the way trouble makes us feel. But our feelings offer no truth about God. He is not distant or distracted. Once, Jesus’ disciples were battling a storm on the sea of Galilee. They were alone. In the early morning darkness, Jesus came walking across the water. Peter saw Him and said, “Lord, if it is you, call me to come to you across the water.” Jesus extended the invitation to Peter, and Peter began to walk on the surface of the water toward Jesus. In the midst of the storm, Peter took his eyes off Jesus and began to sink. But Jesus never took His eyes off Peter, and he didn’t sink. Trouble may convince me to take my eyes off my Lord, but He will never take His eyes off me.

The day of trouble may last for more than one day and will test your faith to the limit. When trouble is right in front of your face, that is one thing. But there are times when trouble is in front of me and behind me, it is on my left and on my right, it is hangs over my head and lies under my feet. David knew what it was to walk in the midst of trouble, and so do I. Is that where you are walking?

Thankfully, I might be walking in the midst of trouble—but I’m still walking. I may be worn out and worried out, yet I have faith that God will bring me out! It was when Elijah ran from Jezebel and was so tried by his trouble that he felt he couldn’t take another step or live another day—that God sent an angel to revive his wearied spirit. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, God will revive me just as He revived men like David and Elijah.

The day of trouble is a day to call upon the Lord. I cry aloud with my voice to the LORD; I make supplication with my voice to the LORD.  pour out my complaint before Him; I declare my trouble before
 Him. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, You knew my path. (Psalm 142:1-3 NASB)

The day of trouble is a day to pray. When you call 911, the rescue squad comes with siren sounding. You can tell God about your trouble. Like the Psalmist, you can pour out your complaint before His throne.

Why turn to God when trouble overwhelms your spirit? Because He knows the road you travel. He knows what you had, He knows what you lost, and He knows what you need!

He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. (Psalm 91:15 NASB)

Where is God when you are in trouble? God promises that if you call Him, He will answer and will be with you in trouble. He will be the fourth man in your fire, your present help in time of trouble, your portion, your deliverer, your shelter from the storm, your refuge and your strength, your shepherd, and the sustainer of your soul!

For He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5b-6 NASB)

For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock. (Psalm 27:5 NASB)

The day of trouble is a day that will bring glory to God. How? I don’t know how, I only know WHO! The God who works all things after the counsel of His will—the God who works all things together good for those who love Him—He is the ONE who will bring Himself Glory in the midst of your trouble.

When we call to God in our trouble, God promises our journey through trouble will bring honor to Him (Psalm 50:15). The word translated honor in that verse is the Hebrew word for glory. When does our trouble bring God glory? It brings Him glory every time we trust our trouble into His hand! It brings Him glory every time we call upon Him in our trouble!

The disciples found a man who was born blind, and they asked Jesus, “Who has sinned this man or his parents that he should be born blind?” And Jesus said, “neither—but that the works of God should be displayed in Him.” In other words, his trouble was an opportunity for God to display His glory.

In the New Testament, a man named Lazarus was sick. He was sick to the point of death. He was so sick he would die. But Jesus saw his trouble from the perspective of Heaven and He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.”

Imagine how Lazarus would have felt as he walked in the mist of his trouble, if
 Jesus had said, “Lazarus, you are going to face a time of terrible trouble like you have never known. You are going to sink so low in that trouble that neither you nor anyone around you will see any hope for the future. But Lazarus, your sisters are going to call upon Me in your day of trouble, and I am going to rescue you. When I rescue you from that pit of a predicament, you will honor me from that day on! From here to eternity, people will be talking about your trouble, and your trouble will never cease to honor Me!”

What if God is doing the same thing with the trouble you face? To you, it may seem like the end of the world. But from Heaven’s perspective, it is an opportunity for you to claim and prove and proclaim the promise of God! Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me. (Psalm 50:15 NASB)

Photo by Kat J

There are people in our world who suffer from a malady. called Gephyrophobia! It means the fear of crossing bridges.  Sometimes the fear is associated with the height of the bridge. At other times, it might be associated with the water spanned by the bridge. With others, it is just the bridge itself that strikes terror into their hearts. When those people approach a bridge, they experience panic attacks or are overcome by feelings of dread. Like all fears and phobias, the fear of bridges is created by the unconscious mind as a protective mechanism. At some point in the person’s past, there was an event linking crossing bridges and emotional trauma. It is not the bridge itself that is the barrier. It is the underlying emotional issue.

I am not making fun of those people. In fact, I am one of them! I know what it is to be afraid. I know what it is to stand at the foot of a bridge and be frozen in my tracks. It first happened to me when I was a small boy. For me, that experience has become a life lesson in how to cross the bridges of fear.

Let me take you back to that little foot-bridge that stood between me and God. It did, because on the other side of that bridge, was the church I attended. I had to cross that bridge to get to the Sunday night service. At that little bridge, I had to make a decision about who was bigger—my God or my fear.

The bridge is still there. Although it looks much less ominous to me now than it did when I was a small boy, I still remember the feeling that I had as I stood there weighing my decision. The bridge was old and rickety. Undergrowth grew all around the edges and draped itself across the wooden handrails. All the creatures that a little boy’s mind could imagine lived under that bridge. Compounding the problem, was that it had to be crossed at night.

Maybe that is a small problem to you, but it was a big problem for a little boy. Although I didn’t know it at the time, I was making a decision that would shape the rest of my life. Standing at the foot of that bridge, I mustered up everything I knew about God. It rested in one verse of Scripture. “What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee.”  Psalm 56:3

There were two things I knew as I stood at the foot of that bridge. I knew fear, and I knew God. I had a decision to make about which was stronger. On that particular night, I chose God. I began repeating my Bible verse over and over. I backed up a few steps—enough to get a running start–and then I bolted across that bridge repeating the verse as fast as I could. I made it across by acknowledging my fear and my trust in God.

Since then, I have learned fear is not only faced by small boys. It is faced by all boys, and all girls, all men and all women. Some fears we outgrow—like my fear of the bridge. But new fears take their place, and sooner or later, those fears have to be faced. During those times, the decision that I made as a small boy has to be made all over again. Which is stronger—my God or my fear?

There are people who have a fear of crossing bridges. But there are bridges of fear in every person’s life. The root of all fear is sin. Fear reflects a lack of trust in God. The first mention of fear in the Bible comes from the third chapter of Genesis. Adam and Eve disobeyed God. God came to the garden and called Adam, but Adam hid himself. He hid himself because he was afraid. He never knew fear until he knew sin. Fear springs from a disconnectedness to God—a distance between us and God. That distance is unnatural. It is something God never intended. Perfect love casts out fear. But where that love relationship is broken, fear abounds.

The next time God speaks to fear is when it surfaces in the life of Abram. He addressed a fundamental fear residing in every person because of sin. It is the fear of following God. Maybe you are standing at the foot of that bridge right now. Listen to what God said to Abram: After these things, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.” Genesis 15:1

Sin leaves us with a fear of the God who loves us. We are afraid to be obedient. We are afraid to follow where He leads. Some people have a phobia about crossing bridges. It sends them into a panic attack. Others have a phobia about following God. When God speaks, many of the same physical reactions result. Fear consumes them and freezes them in their journey.

Back in the early 90’s, I took my wife and girls whitewater rafting for the first time. It was one of our most memorable events as a family. But we almost missed it. Do you know why? I was afraid to drive over the mountains. I wasn’t afraid of the mountains. I was afraid that our vehicle would break down on the way. We had a good car, but I had a fear that it would run hot climbing the mountain, and I almost backed out of the trip. I was tentative all the way. I sat on pins and needles afraid that something would happen to the car. That fear almost us from a tremendous experience on the other side of the mountain.

What does God have on the other side of the mountain for you? How will you know if you don’t follow Him when He speaks to you? You will be frozen in your tracks, and you will miss what God wants to teach you and show you. You have to find a way to deal with your fear of following God.

God invited Abram to walk with Him, and promised, “I will be a shield to you. I will watch over you and take care of you.” God makes that same promise to you today. As you stand at the foot of your bridge of fear, you have a decision to make. Which is stronger—your God or your fear? What time I am afraid I will trust in Thee. Psalm 56:3

There is yet another bridge of fear in my life that I face from time to time. It is the fear of the sudden fear spoken of in Proverbs. Be not afraid of sudden fear or of the desolation of the wicked when it comes. (Proverbs 3:25) Sudden fear is the unexpected phone call in the middle of the night. Sudden fear is that calamity that rolls into your life like an unexpected tsunami. Sudden fear is finding yourself riding in the ambulance on the way to the emergency room. Sudden fear is anything that happens that is absolutely beyond your control.

I have been in some of those places. My heart has been ravaged by sudden fear. I have had the ambulance come to my home and carry away one of my children. I have carried one of them limp and lifeless into the emergency room. I have stood outside the door of another emergency room as the doctors raced to save a daughter’s life. When those things happen, all at once, I am a little boy again, and I find myself standing at the foot of that bridge. My fears, like a flood of great waters, begin to flow over my soul. In those moments, I have to decide which is stronger—my God or my fear. In those moments, I find myself going back to that one verse that serves as a rock to my soul. What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee. Psalm 56:3

Do you know what the Lord said through Isaiah? “When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and through the rivers they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. (Isaiah 43:2-3a)

There is another bridge of fear I have identified in my life. It is the fear of the future. What is going to happen tomorrow? You don’t know. I don’t know. Will it be something bad? It might be? How does a person live from day to day in dread of what the future might hold? I live from day to day by faith in the One who holds the future.

Does that mean I am never afraid? No! In fact, I am often afraid. There are still many bridges of fear in my life. However, I have learned to face those bridges of fear with faith. Sometimes I have to get a running start and say my verse over and over all over again like I did when I was a boy. But I find that if I live my life with faith in God, He will help me to cross my bridges of fear. May God also comfort your heart as He takes you to the other side!

Photo by Jake Melara