Mar 28
servantGod Thoughts faith, fear, trust
The other morning I was reading in Joshua and the first chapter is full of promises, encouragements, and the importance of being involved with God’s Word:
“No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:5-9, NKJV)
These five versus are so full, we really need to break it down to fully understand what God was saying to Joshua, and is saying to us now. We know that He is saying this to us, today, because He is the same today, as He was yesterday, and will be tomorrow. God does not change (Mal 3:6a).
First, God is giving us a promise that no one will be able to stand before us, because He will be with us as He was with Moses (and God and Moses were tight; Moses was in God’s Presence all the time, he spoke with God face to face). There is a condition here, however. If God is going to stand with us, as He did with Moses, we have to be like Moses: obedient, willing — no, eager — to spend time in His Presence, seeking Him out, living solely for Him.
Second, He says that He will not leave or forsake us. How true this is! When we feel God’s displeasure or we feel alone, we need to look at ourselves and see who’s fault it is. Did God pull away from us, or did we pull away from Him? Did we allow the world — it’s lusts, temptations, cares, worries — to replace God? Every time I have felt overwhelmed in life it is because I had pulled away from God and decided to do my own thing. God didn’t leave me, I left Him.
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Mar 17
servantStories Canada, divorce, drugs, fear, praise, prison, relationship, self-esteem, suicide
This is a very powerful testimony that truly speaks of how God loves and longs for the broken-hearted and how, if we let Him, He can do amazing and powerful things in our life.
I was raised up in a Christian home with two loving parents and a younger sister. We lived in a large city for seven years and then moved to a small town just outside it. In the first few years I had a hard time trying to fit in. The kids that I went to school with treated me harshly. They would beat me up and make fun of me every day. Growing up, I lived in a constant fear of people. My self esteem was very low. I thought that I was different and no good. All the things my classmates said were becoming true in MY MIND. At age ten I remember being in my bedroom and crying franticly, pulling on my hair and holding a knife to my neck screaming that I wanted to die. My mother came in, and seeing me like this told me that she loved me and that all would be alright. The words and actions done to me affected me physically and emotionally and, later in life I found out, spiritually. Thankfully these kids that were so mean to me before had started to treat me with some kind of respect.
Now my life seemed to be going in a direction I liked. I had friends and I played in sports teams, all was well. I even started to have girls liking me, something that was fairly new to me. I was really enjoying these times until the unimaginable happened. My father had come home late one night and as I was trying to sleep, he came and gave me a kiss. I knew something was wrong so I pretended to sleep. When he went upstairs I heard him telling my mom that it was over and he was leaving her. I remember my mother screaming in utter terror as her whole life was being taken from her. She pleaded for my dad to not leave. But he left. I didn’t know how to take this so I built up a wall to protect myself AGAIN! My family and I now had to move back to the big city so that my mother could find work and make a life for us. My mom went first to welfare and got some help from them. Then she found a job during the day and went to school at night. As I write and remember what my mom did I can only thank God for giving my mom the strength to endure this while still trying to cope with the loss of her love. THANKS MOM!!!
As a kid I didn’t see things like this as I do now. I felt really abandoned and all alone. I thought that I was a man now because I had to fend for myself, since both parents were not able to be there for me when I wanted. As I started to look for friends, I found some not in school, but outside school. The outsiders, the hurt, and broken, just like me. This started my years of crime and drug abuse. With such a low self esteem and no real guidance, I was easily influenced into many of the things I chose to do. By fifteen years old I was already in prison. The first time in jail, I spent thirteen months in custody. Because it was such a long time when I got out I was worse than before. I didn’t know what to do except go back to ”MY BROS”. They welcomed me with opened arms. It was nice to be wanted. Positive or negative, I just wanted to be accepted and these friends did that in their own way. As my drug abuse escalated so did my issues around me.
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Feb 27
servantGod Thoughts faith, fear, trust
The world around us can be a scary thing at times, as we see and hear about situations and circumstances happening all over the globe. Some of it is severe, as in the case of Haiti, and some of it is closer to home (for instance, here at home we’re dealing with a few teenagers we know that are completely out of control, lost, and making all kinds of poor choices that result in even greater problems for everyone). The news, on a daily basis, is covering all kinds of disheartening things happening in our world and communities.
To contrast the “bad news” we see around us, we can always look at the “good news” in the Bible. Many times in the Bible it says to “be strong and of good courage”, a few examples of which include Deut 31:6-7,23 (three times in one chapter, when the Israelites were preparing to enter the Promised Land) and a number of times in Joshua as they were making their way into their inheritance: Josh 1:6,9,18 and Josh 2:11, as well as Josh 10:25. Again a few times in 1 Chronicles: 1Chr 19:13, 22:13, and 28:20. In the Psalms: Ps 27:14, Ps 31:24. We are also told to “fear not”, a few examples of which include Gen 21:17, Isaiah 41:10,13-14, Daniel 10:19, and Joel 2:21.
Fear is one of the worst things we can face. Fear attacks the mind and emotions; it can quickly tear down faith and hope. Fear, if we let it, can prevent us from doing so many things and from succeeding where we can so easily succeed. I believe this is why the Bible says over and over again to “fear not” and to “be of good courage”. If we are steadfast in our beliefs, obedient, and faithful to God and His Word, God will be with us and answer us.
God meets us in our time of need, but only if we are obedient and we take those first steps of opening up to Him and getting close to Him. James tells us:
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:7-8, NKJV)
As an example, not so long ago I was given the poor news that my employment with a company I had been a manager in for eight years would come to an end within a month. No reason was given other than “restructuring” and cost-cutting; the CEO had been relieved of duty and a new CEO was in place that would save the company money. My job was on the chopping block.
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