Sheer Madness
June 29
Adrian Rogers' radio message had my attention as I headed out for a day on the road.
His question was..."What is your joy found in?" "If it is your house; what happens when you come home and you have been robbed or worse yet, your house has burned down to a pile of ashes? Your joy must be in the Lord."
Having just dropped my friend off at her house, after a precious day with her at Duke for a radiation treatment, I scurried to my car sensing an impending storm. Moments earlier we had passed fires along the highway, obviously a result from the extreme heat our area had been experiencing. The car thermometer had read 97 degrees most of the day, but as I pulled back onto the highway and the raindrops began to bang against my windshield I did a double take...it now read 73 degrees. The fire fighters had to feel their prayers had been answered by the deluge, but now my prayers and those of other drivers had to be going up as our vision was blinded by the torrents of water coming from the sky. Then the winds began to whip. I actually said, "This is it, isn't it Lord, a tornado is going to take me up!" Twelve miles of this along the highway and then I exited to a side road. The mountain views, which are usually breath taking were not the focus...it was the bolts of lightning hitting on both sides of the road which had my attention. Nearing the last 4 miles of my journey, my phone rang and my husband told me trees were down on the street near our house and I would not be able to get through that way. He rerouted me. Rushing down our private drive I swerved left and right avoiding large limbs and branches in my path. Reaching the top of our property my heart sank as it looked like a war zone. My husband had just drug enough of a beautiful old tree which holds our "Shiloh" sign to the side so our cars could get to the house. We both rushed inside and ran window, to window to see all the damage. When the rains subsided I stepped out on our deck and my heart was crushed. All my plants along our rail had blown off and smashed on the patio below. The ones remaining on the floor of the deck were either decapitated or demolished. Adrian Rogers' message echoed back in my mind. "Is your joy in this property Boo, or is it in Me?"
Our doorbell rang at 7AM. I had over slept and was supposed to walk with a friend. Quickly I dressed and headed out with her leaving my husband and his chain saw making attempts at what will be a massive clean up. She confirmed that there had either been a small tornado or what is called a "wind sheer" last night and proceeded to drive my along the path it had taken which appeared to have begun on our property. Envy set in as I looked at yard after yard with not so much as a leaf in them. I said to my girl friend, "I can't take this any more. We are too old to take care of this place and can't afford to pay the help we need. I really want God to send someone to buy this place." In my mind I was whining..."I want an easier life Lord."
Coming back to the house, I settled down and opened Streams in the Desert.
I am going to type this whole entry up as it may minister to some of you, but it will definitely blow you away as to how God adjusts my attitude. Also, I need to implant the lesson in my heart and typing it will help me! It is lengthy and will buy me a little more time before I begin my stick pick up! :)
June 29 There we saw the giants. (Numbers 13:33)
Yes, the Israeli spies saw giants, but Joshua and Caleb saw God! Those who doubt still say today, "We can't attack...;they are stronger than we are" (v.31). Yet, those who believe say, "We should go up and take possession...for we can certainly do it." (v30).
Giants represent great difficulties, and they stalk us everywhere. They are in our families, our churches, our social life, and even our own hearts. We must overcome them or they will devour us, just as the ancient Israelites, fearing those in Canann, said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw the are of great size" (v.32). We should exhibit faith as did Joshua and Caleb, who said, "Do not be afraid...because we will swallow them up" (Numbers 14:9). n effect, they told the others, "We will be stronger by overcoming them than if there had been no giants to defeat."
In fact, unless we have overcoming faith, we will be swallowed up-consumed by the giants who block our path. "With that same spirit of faith" (2 Corinthians 4:13) that Joshua and Caleb had, let us look to God, and He will take care of the difficulties.
We encounter giants only when we are serving God and following Him. It was when Israel was going forward that the giants appeared, for when they turned back into the wilderness, they found none. Many people believe that the power of God in a person's life should keep him from all trials and conflicts. However, the power of God actually brings conflict and struggles. You would think that Paul, during his great missionary journey to Rome, would have been kept by God's sovereignty from the power of violent storms and of his enemies. Yet just the opposite was true. he endured one long, difficult struggle with the Jews who were persecuting him. He faced fierce winds, poisonous snakes, and all the powers of earth and of hell. And finally, he narrowly escaped drowning, by swimming to shore at Malta after shipwreck nearly sent him to a watery grave.
Does this sound like a God of infinite power? Yes, it is just like Him. And that is why Paul told us that once he took the Lord Jesus Christ as his life in his body, a severe conflict immediately arose. In fact, the conflict never ended. The pressure on Paul was persistent, but from the conflict he always emerged victorious through the strength of Jesus Christ.
Paul described this in quite vivid language: "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body" (2 Corinthians 4:8-10)
What a ceaseless and strenuous struggle he related! It is nearly impossible to express in English the impact of the original language. Paul gives us five different images in succession. In the first, he has us picture enemies completely surrounding and pressuring but not crushing him, because the heavenly "police" have protected him and cleared a path just wide enough for him to escape. The literal meaning is, "We are crowded from all sides, but not defeated."
The second image is that of someone whose way is completely blocked or thwarted by the enemy. Yet, he has persevered, for there is just enough light for him to see the next step. Paul said, "Perplexed, but not in despair," or as one literal translation put it, "Without a road, but not without a side road of escape."
The third picture, "Persecuted, but not abandoned," is one of the enemy in hot pursuit of him while the divine Defender stands nearby. He is pursued, but not left alone.
The fourth is even more vivid and dramatic. The enemy had overtaken him, struck him, and knocked him down. But it is not a fatal blow-he is able to rise again. He has been "struck down, but not destroyed," or literally, "overthrown, but not overcome."
In the fifth and final image, Paul advances the thought still further, giving us a picture that appears to be one of death itself: "We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus." Yet, he does not die, for "the life of Jesus" comes to his aid, and he lives through Christ's life until his lifework is complete.
The reason so many people fail to experience this divine principle is that they expect to receive it all without a struggle. When conflict comes and the battle rages on, they become discouraged and surrender. God has nothing worth having that is easily gained, for there are no cheap goods on the heavenly market. The cost of redemption was everything God had to give, and anything worth having is expensive. Difficult times and places are our schools of faith and character. If we are ever to rise above mere human strength, and experience the power of the life of Christ in our mortal bodies, it will be through the process of conflict that could very well be called the "labor pains" of the new life. It is like the story of Moses, who "saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up" (Exodus 3:2); although Satan's demons tried to extinguish the flame in Moses' life by continually pouring water on his plans, they could not, because God's angels were ever vigilant, pouring oil on the flame to keep it burning brightly.
Dear child of God, you may be suffering, but you cannot fail if you will only dare to believe, stand firm, and refuse to be overcome."
Whew, what a great message! Let's all shout hallelujah and keep on keeping on with Christ!
Adrian Rogers' radio message had my attention as I headed out for a day on the road.
His question was..."What is your joy found in?" "If it is your house; what happens when you come home and you have been robbed or worse yet, your house has burned down to a pile of ashes? Your joy must be in the Lord."
Having just dropped my friend off at her house, after a precious day with her at Duke for a radiation treatment, I scurried to my car sensing an impending storm. Moments earlier we had passed fires along the highway, obviously a result from the extreme heat our area had been experiencing. The car thermometer had read 97 degrees most of the day, but as I pulled back onto the highway and the raindrops began to bang against my windshield I did a double take...it now read 73 degrees. The fire fighters had to feel their prayers had been answered by the deluge, but now my prayers and those of other drivers had to be going up as our vision was blinded by the torrents of water coming from the sky. Then the winds began to whip. I actually said, "This is it, isn't it Lord, a tornado is going to take me up!" Twelve miles of this along the highway and then I exited to a side road. The mountain views, which are usually breath taking were not the focus...it was the bolts of lightning hitting on both sides of the road which had my attention. Nearing the last 4 miles of my journey, my phone rang and my husband told me trees were down on the street near our house and I would not be able to get through that way. He rerouted me. Rushing down our private drive I swerved left and right avoiding large limbs and branches in my path. Reaching the top of our property my heart sank as it looked like a war zone. My husband had just drug enough of a beautiful old tree which holds our "Shiloh" sign to the side so our cars could get to the house. We both rushed inside and ran window, to window to see all the damage. When the rains subsided I stepped out on our deck and my heart was crushed. All my plants along our rail had blown off and smashed on the patio below. The ones remaining on the floor of the deck were either decapitated or demolished. Adrian Rogers' message echoed back in my mind. "Is your joy in this property Boo, or is it in Me?"
Our doorbell rang at 7AM. I had over slept and was supposed to walk with a friend. Quickly I dressed and headed out with her leaving my husband and his chain saw making attempts at what will be a massive clean up. She confirmed that there had either been a small tornado or what is called a "wind sheer" last night and proceeded to drive my along the path it had taken which appeared to have begun on our property. Envy set in as I looked at yard after yard with not so much as a leaf in them. I said to my girl friend, "I can't take this any more. We are too old to take care of this place and can't afford to pay the help we need. I really want God to send someone to buy this place." In my mind I was whining..."I want an easier life Lord."
Coming back to the house, I settled down and opened Streams in the Desert.
I am going to type this whole entry up as it may minister to some of you, but it will definitely blow you away as to how God adjusts my attitude. Also, I need to implant the lesson in my heart and typing it will help me! It is lengthy and will buy me a little more time before I begin my stick pick up! :)
June 29 There we saw the giants. (Numbers 13:33)
Yes, the Israeli spies saw giants, but Joshua and Caleb saw God! Those who doubt still say today, "We can't attack...;they are stronger than we are" (v.31). Yet, those who believe say, "We should go up and take possession...for we can certainly do it." (v30).
Giants represent great difficulties, and they stalk us everywhere. They are in our families, our churches, our social life, and even our own hearts. We must overcome them or they will devour us, just as the ancient Israelites, fearing those in Canann, said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw the are of great size" (v.32). We should exhibit faith as did Joshua and Caleb, who said, "Do not be afraid...because we will swallow them up" (Numbers 14:9). n effect, they told the others, "We will be stronger by overcoming them than if there had been no giants to defeat."
In fact, unless we have overcoming faith, we will be swallowed up-consumed by the giants who block our path. "With that same spirit of faith" (2 Corinthians 4:13) that Joshua and Caleb had, let us look to God, and He will take care of the difficulties.
We encounter giants only when we are serving God and following Him. It was when Israel was going forward that the giants appeared, for when they turned back into the wilderness, they found none. Many people believe that the power of God in a person's life should keep him from all trials and conflicts. However, the power of God actually brings conflict and struggles. You would think that Paul, during his great missionary journey to Rome, would have been kept by God's sovereignty from the power of violent storms and of his enemies. Yet just the opposite was true. he endured one long, difficult struggle with the Jews who were persecuting him. He faced fierce winds, poisonous snakes, and all the powers of earth and of hell. And finally, he narrowly escaped drowning, by swimming to shore at Malta after shipwreck nearly sent him to a watery grave.
Does this sound like a God of infinite power? Yes, it is just like Him. And that is why Paul told us that once he took the Lord Jesus Christ as his life in his body, a severe conflict immediately arose. In fact, the conflict never ended. The pressure on Paul was persistent, but from the conflict he always emerged victorious through the strength of Jesus Christ.
Paul described this in quite vivid language: "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body" (2 Corinthians 4:8-10)
What a ceaseless and strenuous struggle he related! It is nearly impossible to express in English the impact of the original language. Paul gives us five different images in succession. In the first, he has us picture enemies completely surrounding and pressuring but not crushing him, because the heavenly "police" have protected him and cleared a path just wide enough for him to escape. The literal meaning is, "We are crowded from all sides, but not defeated."
The second image is that of someone whose way is completely blocked or thwarted by the enemy. Yet, he has persevered, for there is just enough light for him to see the next step. Paul said, "Perplexed, but not in despair," or as one literal translation put it, "Without a road, but not without a side road of escape."
The third picture, "Persecuted, but not abandoned," is one of the enemy in hot pursuit of him while the divine Defender stands nearby. He is pursued, but not left alone.
The fourth is even more vivid and dramatic. The enemy had overtaken him, struck him, and knocked him down. But it is not a fatal blow-he is able to rise again. He has been "struck down, but not destroyed," or literally, "overthrown, but not overcome."
In the fifth and final image, Paul advances the thought still further, giving us a picture that appears to be one of death itself: "We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus." Yet, he does not die, for "the life of Jesus" comes to his aid, and he lives through Christ's life until his lifework is complete.
The reason so many people fail to experience this divine principle is that they expect to receive it all without a struggle. When conflict comes and the battle rages on, they become discouraged and surrender. God has nothing worth having that is easily gained, for there are no cheap goods on the heavenly market. The cost of redemption was everything God had to give, and anything worth having is expensive. Difficult times and places are our schools of faith and character. If we are ever to rise above mere human strength, and experience the power of the life of Christ in our mortal bodies, it will be through the process of conflict that could very well be called the "labor pains" of the new life. It is like the story of Moses, who "saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up" (Exodus 3:2); although Satan's demons tried to extinguish the flame in Moses' life by continually pouring water on his plans, they could not, because God's angels were ever vigilant, pouring oil on the flame to keep it burning brightly.
Dear child of God, you may be suffering, but you cannot fail if you will only dare to believe, stand firm, and refuse to be overcome."
Whew, what a great message! Let's all shout hallelujah and keep on keeping on with Christ!
