But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. -Luke‬ ‭6:27-28‬ ‭(NKJV‬‬)

I had a hurting friend tearfully ask me, “what’s the limit to suffering?” And I truthfully told them that, with God working through them, the limit is more than they could endure on their own. I went on to add that if they kept enduring ungodly suffering, they would not last long.

Last week’s post was about being there for those who are hurting, those who hurt others, and the forsaken. We are to live and love as Jesus did, not stay aloof of people and situations others would consider unpleasant or painful.

That being said…

That being said…Jesus did not give to the point of self-destruction until the very end, which was intentional to save us all: the ultimate show of agape (sacrificial) love. While He walked the earth, He dealt with those hostile to Him, as well as ministering to those society rejected…and He did it with boundaries.

In a great article from Pastor John Piper’s “Desiring God” website, four great reminders help us to give as conduits for God, not ourselves:

1. Anchor your worth in God, not in what we’ve sacrificed
2. Draw your energy from God, not your own strength
3. Sacrifice yourself for God, for He is the motivation
4. Set boundaries with God’s help

Read the whole article, “Die to Yourself Without Losing Yourself.”

So yes, we can drive straight to the heart of darkness and endure valleys and storms and injustice…but as conduits for His grace, strength, and mercy. When we do that, He can carry us through anything and to the other side.

God rescues the afflicted by their affliction; He instructs them by their torment. -Job‬ ‭36‬:‭15‬ (HCSB)

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. -John 16:33 (NIV)

“I didn’t sign up for this.”

Ever felt that way?

The truth is, as Christ has told us, that we will have difficulty and troubles in this world. Trials and tribulations are part and parcel of living in a fallen world, and saints are not immune to them.

In fact, I would say that when we face trouble, God is wanting us to be changed through glorifying Him in how we handle the trouble, rather than trying to avoid it. God entrusts His saints to overcome–with His help–and make great strides in His name. And while we’re learning and being refined, others may see us and be drawn to Christ.

The ever-excellent John Piper speaks more about this:

The pearl of greatest price is the glory of Christ.

Thus, Paul stresses that in our sufferings the glory of Christ’s all-sufficient grace is magnified. If we rely on him in our calamity and he sustains our “rejoicing in hope,” then he is shown to be the all-satisfying God of grace and strength that he is.

Read the whole devotional: “The Seminary of Suffering”

I saw this on an inspirational graphic the other day: Instead of asking God to change our situation, let God use the situation to change us.

So, to the fallen world, and all the challenges it presents us as trusted emissaries of God, I say: BRING IT! I have the God of angel armies on my side!

Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. -Colossians 3:10 (NLT)

The change in your heart that occurs when you’ve been saved is stark. You see the world differently. You see people differently. There’s a layer of compassion you never could muster or possess on your own, but He now blankets you with it.

Sometimes you shrug it off when you’re in the midst of severe pain. Just remember that the walk toward Christlikeness is a journey, not an instant thing. You’ll sometimes have to put on your new nature again after having doffed it in moments when you’re less than Christlike. It happens to all of us.

Just be honest with yourself and with God that you stumbled. Confess and repent to give Him your burdens, and you will once again walk unencumbered with the lightest garment you have ever worn: your new nature, bought for you at a heavy price.

Following a crippling betrayal, a fellow agent wrote this poem after Jesus helped heal their heart by showing them how to see through His eyes:

Yesterday/Today

Yesterday, my world was turned upside down
Today, my Savior gave me Hope

Yesterday, I dwelled in darkness and solitude
Today, the Son has given me His Light and Friendship

Yesterday, my soul drowned in tears
Today, my lips sing of His unfailing Love

Yesterday, my heart pumped with anger
Today, it beats with Compassion and Forgiveness

Today, with my Redeemer’s help I will press onward and forget, Yesterday

And with this Christlike view, God could work through the human hurt and heal that agent’s relationship, when nonbelievers would very conveniently lick their own wounds and dismiss the betrayer as irredeemable.

This excerpt from John Piper Ministries speaks to putting on the new man, and the six layers of corruption apart from Christ:

And so after you hear the voice of Christ and are made alive and brought to faith in him and enter into his school to let him teach you how to live, the first thing he says to you is: “change your clothes.” Take off the old person and put on the new person.

Read the whole devotional »

God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them. -John Piper

The Israelites had some seriously tough slogs.

Take the 40 years they trudged around in the desert…day by day, night by night, setting up and taking down camp…with no sign of change in sight…before they reached the Promised Land.

Through it all, God provided for them. He fed them quail and manna. They never lacked for food or water. Their clothes never wore out. Their feet never got sore—for FORTY YEARS!

And yet, they grumbled and whined through it all.

It would be easy for us to judge, but do we not do the same in our day to day lives, when we likely don’t face any of the same conditions they did? And yet, He provides for us every day, blessing us in small and large, and seen and unseen, ways.

Just remember to have faith that He is working quietly and often invisibly through each trial…and it’ll be more apparent to our feeble brains afterward. Feed on His manna—He will never leave you lacking!—and you will always have enough to make it to out of the valley.

This excellent excerpt comes from author Jennifer Kennedy Dean:

During their extended training in the desert, they learned by
experience to trust the hand of God. For example, He fed them with
manna day by day. If God had not sent the day’s manna, they would
have starved in the wilderness. Every morning required confidence in
God’s provision. See how Moses warns them to remember the desert
days when they get into the Promised Land?

Read the rest of “That It May Go Well With You” »

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. -Ephesians 4:31-32 (NIV)

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. -Colossians 3:13 (NIV)

We all face difficult people in our lives. Sometimes, they’re the ones closest to us, and that makes it even harder, because we’re so open and vulnerable to them in trust.

We are flesh. And there are days we’re down, and sometimes just beaten down. People and circumstances will wear and wear on us. We feel so, so wronged. Sometimes, that will even affect how we view ourselves…and this is where the enemy gets to have his fun, and tell you lies about your worth and value. But the truth is, you are fearfully and wonderfully made in His image, and are redeemed! This truth means that you can be victorious in all circumstances, because your identity in Christ never changes!

Though it’s perfectly normal to lick our wounds after dealing with difficult people, it’s important to then pray for them. They know not what they’re doing. For their sake, and for all those who also must come into contact with them, pray for Him to soften their hearts, and open their eyes with perspective and wisdom.

Then, don’t forget to pray for Him to take any resentment or pains or burdens from you as well. Walking victoriously means running the race light, because you have cast your cares on Him…and by doing so, you can focus always on Him. And by doing that, you will experience His peace, even in the face of difficult people.

God forgave us for all our sins: past, present, and future. He’s seen them all, and Jesus’ blood covers them all. So, we are called to forgive others as He has forgiven us.

This excellent John Piper Ministries devotional explains it far better than I can:

So we hold on to anger, and play the story over and over again with the feelings: It shouldn’t have happened; it shouldn’t have happened; it was wrong; it was wrong. How can he be so happy now when I am so miserable? It is so wrong. It is so wrong!

[…]

It means, when you lay down the burden of vengeance, God will pick it up.

This is not a subtle way of getting revenge. This is a way of giving vengeance to the one to whom it belongs.

Read the whole devotional »

Today’s soundtrack

“Losing” by Tenth Avenue North is like our cries to God put in song, when we feel like no one else cares or sees the injustice, and when we need His grace to flow through us so we can forgive.

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. -Mark 11:24 (NIV)

Did you ever wonder if or why prayer matters? I don’t mean to sound flippant or heretical about it. I even thought about this before being born again: If God lives outside of time, and knows and plans everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen, are prayers for outcomes meaningless?

Far from it. Over and over again in the bible, miracles often take place after His children initiate an act of faith. For example, when Jesus put clay on the eyes of the blind man (John 9), that man did not instantly see, but was instructed to wash in the pool of Siloam, and then he could see.

So, we don’t just kick back and let His miracles roll in. We pray and act in faith, trusting He will lay that next step under our feet as we move forward toward answered prayers. Some outcomes He plans require just this from us so we can travel down an intended path.

I do want to qualify that it certainly helps that we pray for outcomes that further glorify God, not just for things that satisfy personal desires. But the more we walk in His Word, the more our desires will be in alignment with His will.

Below is an excerpt from a very enlightening piece from John Piper Ministries, titled “Prayer and Predestination,” written as a dialogue. I hope it inspires you when it seems like your prayers aren’t being answered.

Prayerless: Well, if God ordains and controls everything, then what he plans from of old will come to pass, right?

Prayerful: Yes.

Prayerless: So it’s going to come to pass whether you pray or not, right.

Prayerful: That depends on whether God ordained for it to come to pass in answer to prayer. If God predestined that something happen in answer to prayer, it won’t happen without prayer.

Read the whole dialogue »

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. -Philippians 4:6

We all fail in this regard from time to time. Some maybe more often than that.

But anxiety and worrying are the opposite of faith in the truth that God has a solution on the other side of the issue you’re concerned about…that what you’re focusing on is part of a much larger plan.

So let go of your anxiety by diving deep into His word and His promises. Pray up everything in your heart to Him…the things you celebrate and the things that weigh on you. All of it is part of His plan and future for you.

From John Piper Ministries is an excellent devotional, called “Ammunition against anxiety:”

When I am anxious about decisions I have to make about the future, I battle unbelief with the promise, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you” (Psalm 32:8).

Read the whole devotional »