He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.” -Job 1:21 (NASB)

The Book of Job, a page turner about a godly man who had everything taken from him, blew this agent away. It showed how the God who gives also takes away. It showed how we can misinterpret and misrepresent Him–even the most well-meaning friends and family. It showed how a man, living so upright, could be stripped of everything…and be human and complain against God.

Among the countless other examples of humanly inescapable, no-win situations:

• Egyptian oppression of the Israelites
• Pharaoh’s armies closing in on the Israelites at the Red Sea
• Daniel in the lion’s den
• Joseph being sold by his own brothers into slavery
• Young David facing Goliath
• Giants in the Promised Land
• The walls of Jericho
• Our Lord and Savior, crucified by His own people

God can turn anything around

The Book of Job ultimately showed the unfailing love of the Almighty Father, who gave to Job double what He had allowed Satan to take from him, once Job humbly repented. God can turn anything around, no matter how seemingly impossible.

No matter what we face…no matter what we lose…He is with us. And it’s when we’re reduced to nothing, and nowhere to turn, and no one to lean on, when we can stop striving and look to Him in obedience and surrender.

When all seems lost, it’s God’s time to shine.

Today’s soundtrack

“Eye of the Storm” by Ryan Stephenson (featuring GabeReal) reminds us to trust in the Lord, no matter what comes and goes in our lives.

Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” -Luke 9:62 (NIV)

Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God. -Corrie ten Boom

It’s hard to let go of the past…the good and the bad. But we can cherish the good memories, glean lessons from the bad ones, and trust God with our future. As I keep reading more and more in His Word, I see over and over how His long view of our lives works out.

God takes all of our experiences, good and bad, and uses every single one of them to build a better, stronger us…and one closer to Him than at any point in the past. Trust and believe…and don’t take my word for it, but His!

The Christian walk is all about moving onward and upward, letting go of all things with your sole–and soul–focus on Christ. Continue to pray, and like Abraham, surrender all to God–including the dreams and promises–and watch Him bless you like never before.

So, say goodbye to yesterday…trust Him with everything…because God’s plans for you are so much greater than you could ever imagine.

Today’s soundtrack

Danny Gokey’s “Tell Your Heart To Beat Again” gently urges us to close the door on yesterday, because we don’t live there any more.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. -Psalm 40:2 (NIV)

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. -1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)

It’s easy to let everyday life in this world weigh us down and wear us down.

It’s easy to take on the burdens of work–or lack of work–and home life and all our other demands on your shoulders. It can be so great that you can hardly breathe or move. It can be so great that it drains your energy and spirit to the point of sluggishness and resignation.

It’s easy to believe the lies about who we are, to believe we’re our mistakes. It’s easy to let the dirt of slander, abuse, and sin cake on us, like layers of mud and dirt.

But beneath all that is the light of God’s love that shines in you…and the lightness of His yoke.

What’s easier than all the things we take on as we lose focus on God is the yoke of Christ. The second we feel the burden of pain and sin, or God’s light we reflect being obscured by dirt and shame, it’s time to get on our knees and surrender all of it to God.

You may think you don’t have time…that you need to keep pressing on…but without refocusing on Him and His priorities for you, you will fail alone. And the enemy may even fool you into thinking God hasn’t been with you!

God made in you a beautiful creation He so loved that He died for you! We get farther and farther away from it as we press on our own mistaken paths in our own strength. I implore you to stop and remember the blessed creation He made in you, and to let Him transport all of your burdens so that you may walk with Him in the light–and with the lightness and peace of His yoke. When we remember how God sees us, every burden and pain falls away to reveal the value and beauty He put in us.

Today’s soundtrack

MercyMe’s “Beautiful” reminds us that we are His beautiful works, made for more than what we’re going through now.

For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. -Matthew 11:30 (NASB)

But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” -Matthew 14:30 (NASB)

When you have so many burdens of your own, you might think that the last thing you need is to try and help others with theirs. How could you possibly take on any more?

It’s true that we need to take care of ourselves before caring for others, because we can do even more to help others when we’re strong. But there are times when we step out and let God carry us when we help others, even when we don’t have the strength ourselves.

I’ve been learning by watching, as well as by doing, that the secret is all about Jesus and His yoke…what it really means to take it on. Right now, there are those who are grieving over loved ones, and one I know who lost another unborn child. We are to lean heavily on God in such tragic times…but at the same time, He calls us to serve others…to minister. How can we do it? The answer: We can’t, but He can.

When we take up the easy yoke and light burden that Jesus promises, we exchange it for the burden we’ve surrendered to Him. If we haven’t really surrendered our burdens to Him, then we’re still taking on far too much ourselves. When we truly surrender all to Him, and take on His yoke of selflessness and sacrificial love, He reveals Himself in His incredible strength and stability He channels through us to serve and uplift others.

I’ve seen this in agents who, despite bearing challenges that would crush anyone whose eyes aren’t fixed on God, tirelessly serve and minister to others. But the second we take our eyes off Him, and look at ourselves and our circumstances, we sink, much like Peter when he took his eyes off Jesus.

So, with our eyes on Jesus, we take on His easy yoke and light burden, because we no longer recognize the weight of our earthly burdens. And by doing that, we are walking with Jesus, to minister to others first. We are trusting that God will carry us through our earthly challenges as we honor and glorify Him through serving others in His name.

Today’s soundtrack

Casting Crowns’ “Love Them Like Jesus” says we don’t have to have all the answers, or even the words, to help others in pain, but to love them like Jesus, and to bring them to Him.

And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. -Luke 14:27 (NIV)

Beware of refusing to go to the funeral of your own independence. -Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

In the times when Jesus lived, crosses were instruments of death, reserved for criminals. Today, crosses commemorate the one where Jesus won His victory over death for us. We also have crosses to bear.

When I think of people talking about someone’s cross they must bear, I visualize them physically carrying…dragging…a heavy cross. And on that cross is where their worldly cares: pride, shame, self-pity, sin, worry, infirmity, and all their flesh baggage, must be nailed. And that kind of crushing load is one that no human can handle. It is so great–too great–that we need God.

Consider what Jesus says:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. -Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)

Today, we wear crosses around our necks, show them on our desks, and stick them on our cars. Let us never forget what cross He bore for us, and when we take up His yoke, surrender our burdens to Him, and walk as He walked, our crosses are suddenly bearable. That is to His glory…when people can look at you and wonder how you can face challenges too great for one human to face, you can tell them it’s not you who makes it possible!

When we die to self, we can look back and realize it was the weight of self, and self-focus, that made life so excruciating. But when we can throw that funeral for ourselves, and live a new life in Christ, our focus is rightly on Him, and He bestows upon us a burden that is light. Thank you, Jesus, for helping us run the race light in this world, and on through to the next.

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)

He who knows how to overcome with God in prayer has Heaven and earth at his disposal. -C. H. Spurgeon

The date of this post is November 24, or 11/24 (at least how it’s notated here in the United States), and that date reminds me of one of my favorite verses, Mark 11:24, at the top of this post. It continues on what is promised in the previous verse:

Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. -Mark 11:23 (NIV)

This agent lives in a part of the world that is a hot zone for hurricanes, which can ravage, kill, and leave wreckage for hundreds of miles, across cities, countries, and lives. With hurricanes, when you’re right in the center of them, you’re in the safest place, while deadly winds blow all around you.

Did you know you can be in the spiritual eye of the storm, even if you’re not in the eye of the physical storm around you? When you do that, you can have calm no matter what’s happening in your life.

I can testify that God has piled more and more on my shoulders…far more than I could ever hope to manage or figure my way out of alone…so that I would have to give it to Him, so He could have the glory. He’s constantly teaching me how to carry His peace with me, a peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7), no matter how bad things get. Part of carrying His peace is to talk to Him constantly throughout the day, to acknowledge Him in all things, and to thank Him always (Philippians 4:6).

We stay in the eye of the storm by keeping our eyes on Him, praising Him, and praying always. And when we do that, there is nothing we can’t overcome through Christ.

Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you. -Isaiah‬ ‭46:4‬ ‭(NKJV)

If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. -‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16:24‬ ‭(NKJV‬‬)

Have you ever prayed and prayed about surrendering all of your life to God–every care and worry–and find there’s always that one thing that you just can’t let go of? It might be a struggle with a person. It might be a specific outcome that you just want to happen, or not to happen.

It’s that one last thing that you’re grasping onto.

It’s times like these where our faith is truly tested. We want certain things to happen sometimes, or for people to do or say certain things, that we feel are for the best. But this is where we have to trust God with the outcome, and the steps that lead to that outcome.

This is where we sit back, let go trying to control the outcome, praise God, and let Him hold us. This is where our Heavenly Father asks us to trust Him with the outcome, just as we sure our own children when we cradle them that all will work out for the best.

Now, it’s our turn to trust. God has shown in scripture over and over how he takes his children, so now it’s time to let him take care of us, too.

Today’s soundtrack

One of my favorite songs, “Just Be Held” by Casting Crowns, asks us to let go and let God take over.

Those who trust in themselves are fools, but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe. -Proverbs 28:26 (NIV)

At the time of this writing, over two years into my new walk with Christ, I still often fall into the trap of reacting to circumstances reflexively in the flesh. My mind still quickly processes all the data it can to figure out a solution to make things better, and sometimes I’m hasty and act to fix things. Or maybe it’s hanging onto something too tightly. And more often than not, things don’t go well as a result.

When I slow down and let the Holy Spirit speak to my heart, I can clearly hear that I need to wait for God’s direction, and to let go of what I’m really trying to do: control the situation. In truth, control is an illusion the world tells us we exert, but God is the One in control!

Do you fall into the same trap in your walk? I can imagine that it’s one of those lifelong battles of the flesh that we get better at with age…assuming we let the Lord work in us, rather than obstinately pushing back with pride, trying to be an immovable object.

No matter what it is…whether it’s a material thing, a situation, or even a gift God has given you…don’t cling too tightly. We can trust in, and know that, God’s plans for us are so good, as His Word promises. So no matter what comes and goes in our lives, we can be assured that His plans for us are good, to prosper us and not to harm us.

Dr. Charles Stanley, of In Touch Ministries, says in his Life Principle 19: Anything you hold too tightly, you will lose.

If anything, I’ve learned that God wants us to be nimble and fluid when it comes to things of this world. What we hold fast to, however, is the unshakable kingdom for which we’re headed. There is no greater security or assurance!

See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. -Hebrews 12:15 (NIV)

Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. -1 John 3:15 (NIV)

I come from a long line of people who know how to harbor grudges. If they could be paid for doing that, they’d all be rich!

I have one relative who literally held a grudge against her own mother for decades, after her mother separated her from her fiancé. Her grudge stood year after year…never visiting or speaking with her mother. Not seeing her mother when she was ill in her final years. Not seeing her mother on her deathbed, or at her funeral service.

That’s serious bitterness…and so poisonous to the soul that it will change you to your core. You give such power away and imprison yourself when you allow anyone else, or any external circumstance, to decide how you feel and how you react to others.

I’m sure there’s a certain amount of pride that would have to be surrendered to let go of resentment, which has probably festered into hatred. But these things are not of God. And as children of God, we most certainly cannot keep such things and the Holy Spirit in our hearts at the same time. We must choose.

Though it can be hard, it is ultimately freeing to choose forgiveness of anyone who you feel has wronged you. The bitterness…and maybe hatred…will only continue to poison and corrupt you, hardening your heart and shutting out God’s works through you.

Let it all go, and thank God for the healing He can now begin in you, and the freedom that comes with surrender.

Today’s sermon

Pastor Bill Gehm of Grace Church in Amarillo, Texas, speaks on bitterness and a brick in a woman’s lung. Check it out.

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey–whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? -Romans 6:16 (NIV)

The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven’t yet come to the end of themselves. We’re still trying to give orders, and interfering with God’s work within us. -A.W. Tozer

Have you ever found yourself running in circles, seeming to hit the same obstacle over and over again?

I know I have. And it’s often because there’s some habit…some part of me, of self, that I haven’t surrendered.

And though we sin, then confess and repent, and are forgiven for our sin, we sometimes get in our own way to where God wants us to go from there. He wants us to move forward and upward to Him, while we decide, in weakness, to take that detour one more time.

Maybe it’s not resisting throwing out that one last jab in a “discussion.” Maybe it’s just one more drink…one more time. Maybe it’s choosing to worry instead of choosing faith in God’s good plans. Maybe it’s passing hasty judgment in our own wisdom. Whatever it is, it’s giving into temptation to fish in God’s sea of forgetfulness.

It is our own choice that we sometimes revisit forgiven sins. When we are aware of doing this, then we are using the very free will God gave us to sin against Him above all others. We are children of the One True King, who have been freed to live to honor Him, rather than recycle sins like those who aren’t His children.

God is patient, loving, and kind. He’ll let us go in circles if we choose, but with each pass, the Holy Spirit gives us that nudge…and sometimes a SHOVE! to get onto the right path, because His plans are good for us, if only we’ll work with Him.