Streams in the Desert

It is good for me that I have been afflicted (Ps. 119:71).

It is a remarkable circumstance that the most brilliant colors of plants are to be seen on the highest mountains, in spots that are most exposed to the wildest weather. The brightest lichens and mosses, the loveliest gems of wild flowers, abound far up on the bleak, storm-scalped peak.

One of the richest displays of organic coloring I ever beheld was near the summit of Mount Chenebettaz, a hill about 10,000 feet high, immediately above the great St. Bernard Hospice. The whole face of an extensive rock was covered with a most vivid yellow lichen which shone in the sunshine like the golden battlement of an enchanted castle. There, in that lofty region, amid the most frowning desolation, exposed to the fiercest tempest of the sky, this lichen exhibited a glory of color such as it never showed in the sheltered valley.

I have two specimens of the same lichen before me while I write these lines, one from the great St. Bernard, and the other from the wall of a Scottish castle, deeply embossed among sycamore trees; and the difference in point of form and coloring between them is most striking. The specimen nurtured amid the wild storms of the mountain peak is of a lovely primrose hue, and is smooth in texture and complete in outline, while the specimen nurtured amid the soft airs and the delicate showers of the lowland valley is of a dim rusty hue, and is scurfy in texture, and broken in outline.

And is it not so with the Christian who is afflicted, tempest-tossed, and not comforted? Till the storms and vicissitudes of God's providence beat upon him again and again, his character appears marred and clouded; but trials clear away the obscurity, perfect the outlines of his disposition, and give brightness and blessing to his life.

Amidst my list of blessings infinite
Stands this the foremost, that my heart has bled;
For all I bless Thee, most for the severe.
--Hugh Macmillan 

Prayer in Times of Inadequacy..... Dr. Charles Stanley

Prayer in Times of Inadequacy

Dr. Charles Stanley

Nehemiah 2:1-10

After Nehemiah heard about the desperate condition of the Jews who had returned from exile to Jerusalem, his heart was burdened (Neh. 1:3-4). By getting his attention in this way, the Lord could reveal what He wanted Nehemiah to do. Scripture doesn't spell out the man's reaction on realizing that he was to be a part of the solution, but we can imagine a sense of inadequacy probably engulfed him. How could he possibly help? He wasn't even near Jerusalem, and as a servant of the king, he didn't have the freedom to pack up and leave.

But whenever God puts a burden on our hearts, He will open a door to accomplish His will. In this case, the Lord used Nehemiah's sad expression and desperate prayer to prepare a pagan king to send him on his mission.

How do you respond when you sense the Lord is calling you to a task that seems beyond your abilities? Do you list all the reasons you can't possibly do it? God already knows everything about you and the situation. He's not asking your permission to proceed; rather, He is calling you to move forward with faith and obedience. He didn't make an error in choosing you for the task, but you will make a huge mistake if you refuse to do it.

God will equip you for whatever He calls you to do. Because the Holy Spirit dwells within every believer, we have all we need to fulfill the Lord's mission. Instead of letting inadequacy hinder you from obeying, let it drive you to your knees so you can arise with renewed insight and power.

Seeing Beauty Instead of Pain..... LYSA TERKEURST

Seeing Beauty Instead of Pain
LYSA TERKEURST

Lee en español

“The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.” Luke 8:14 (NIV) 

My life hasn’t been a bed of roses.

What an odd statement. It’s supposed to mean that I haven’t lived a life without snags and hurt. However, think of an actual bed of roses. Doesn’t it have both thorns and flowers?

My aunt grew roses for years. She’s the one I lived with for almost a year when I was in middle school and my family was falling apart. I remember her telling me not to run through her rose garden. After all, she had what seemed like hundreds of other acres that unfolded in wide open fields. I could run there.

But I didn’t want to.

I only wanted to run through the rose garden. I wanted to spread my arms wide open and run between the rows, brushing my fingertips across all the velvety blooms. I wanted some of the blooms to burst and shower petals all around. Then I could gather the petals and spread them along my path.

As if I could carve a new place in this world lined with beauty and void of adult words like divorce, rejection and hate … I wanted my world to be soft, pink and lovely. I didn’t want to think about my dad leaving our family. My heart couldn’t process how he not only didn’t live with us anymore, but also he was slowly pulling back from participating in our lives altogether.

So, I took a running start with my arms outstretched, only to be shocked with searing pain within the first few steps.

Thorns. Big, mean, vicious thorns. Thorns that ripped my flesh and opened up the flood of tears I’d been so determined to hold back. Suddenly, I hated that bush. I wanted to chop it down and beat it into the ground. But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t bring myself to destroy something that produced such beauty.

I stood back from the source of my pain and wondered, Should I call it a bush of thorns or a bush of flowers? Really, it could go either way.

Suddenly I wasn’t just staring at a bush. I was staring at my life. My life. Such a bed of roses.

Would I see the hurt, or would I see the beauty?

Luke 8:14 says, “The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.” The seed being referred to here is the Word of God. Isn’t it interesting that people who are choked by life’s circumstances and never mature are referred to as having thorns in the soil of their soul?

Yes, life sometimes hands us thorns, but we have the choice to park our minds on the thorn or on the beauty it can eventually produce in us, if only we’ll cling tightly to God’s Word. How a person thinks is how they will eventually become.

If we dwell on the negative in life, we’ll become negative, and God’s Word will have a hard time taking root in our souls. If, however, we acknowledge the negative but choose instead to look for the good that can come from it, God’s Word will take root in our souls and produce a lush crop of beauty.

It all comes down to choice. That day in my aunt’s garden, I chose to be aware of the thorns but park my mind on the beautiful roses.

And over the years, I have come to the place in my life where I realize I can focus on the hurt my dad’s absence caused or choose to focus on other things in my life. Beautiful things. To focus on beauty isn’t to deny the pain. It’s just refusing to let it steal anything else from me.

It’s been more than 25 years since I’ve seen my dad. That’s hard on a girl’s heart. But where he fell so short, God has filled in many gaps. I don’t have to be the child of a broken parent the rest of my life; I can be a child of God. Loved. Truly loved.

And that is a beautiful truth I can let flourish in my heart.

Dear Lord, it can be really hard to focus on the petals rather than the thorns of life. But I want the soil of my soul to be healthy and ready to receive Your Word. Will You produce beauty in my life despite the thorns that have hurt me? In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Mark 15:17, “They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him.” (NIV)

Ambition...... by Shawn McEvoy

Ambition
by Shawn McEvoy

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands.
1 Thessalonians 4:11

Quaint, right?

Be honest; read today's verse and then try telling your children that such is all they should aspire to; that, essentially, unheralded blue-collar work should be their ambition. Aim high? Sounds more like settling for anonymity.

What could Paul be getting at? Sure there are times we all grow tired of the rat race and perhaps dream about a scenario where we forsake the city and a high-pressure job for a more pastoral setting, crafting furniture and knick-knacks, living in harmony. Is that what this verse is getting at?

Let's look deeper.

The Greek word philotim means to labor, endeavor, strive, study to become. It is used in three places in the New Testament. The first is quoted above, regarding ambition, which sounds not much like what we typically imagine when we think of things to be ambitious about.

Another place the word appears is Romans 15:20, where Paul writes, "And thus I aspired to preach the gospel..."

In 2 Corinthians 5:9 we read, "We have as our ambition... to be pleasing to Him."

Contrast these goals with the first defitinion under "ambition" on Dictionary.com:

1. an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as power, honor, fame, or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment.

I thought so. The more I study, the more I philotim to know God, the more I understand how different the Word and the world really are. Perhaps folks who live in other parts of the globe are less shocked to learn such lessons. For me, born, raised, working, and raising children in these United States, the lesson is always one of dichotomy, paradox, and sadly wondering if I'm handicapped beyond repair from truly following.

One of my bosses is fond of saying that in business, it's crucial to determine early on whether a person you are dealing with is a "make me rich" or a "make me famous" person. Everyone, the story goes, is either one or the other at heart. And truly, according to the world's definition of ambition, that makes sense. We all have something we want that drives us.

Lately I've been wondering a lot at where this has gotten me. Everything I have done, accomplished, purposed, learned, studied (i.e. "philotim-ed") in life has led to... what, exactly? What goal? When I pray that the Lord would make my life useful and provide for me and let me know His will and keep me safe it's all so... what? So I can watch my TV programs every night without acid in my stomach and with an easy feeling in my chest? As opposed to having to really live by faith?

Today I read this quote by the English poet Samuel Johnson: "To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition." Instantly my face fell. I knew that feeling all too well. All my aspirations only lead to the place of comfort, happiness, the path of least resistance. What's wrong with that? It quickly becomes a place that feels too far from God, too self-centered, too out of the loop, too far removed to be making a real difference.

So what then is the ambition of the Christ-follower?

• Lead a quiet life
• Attend to your own business
• Work with your hands
• Preach the gospel
• Be pleasing to Him

In other words, don't stress yourself with fame, or getting and spending, always climbing, making more more more. Don't bother with being a busy-body or a gossip. Be creative; let God work through you. Tell others about Him. And live by faith.

It's so simple, almost too simple. Ambition isn't something far out there, some unabashed worldly success beyond our dreams, though that's where God may take us. It all goes back to the very reason God made man in the first place - to have someone to know Him.

And there's just not anything quaint about that.

Intersecting Faith & Life: The bulleted points above might sound too easy, too simple. And they can be. But when was the last time you made any or all of these your ambition? Pick one and practice it today, perhaps preaching the gospel to someone, perhaps seeking God's pleasure more than your own in any decisions you make.

Spiritual Generosity..... By Greg Laurie

Spiritual Generosity
By Greg Laurie

There is perhaps no clearer evidence of spiritual maturity than financial generosity. Martin Luther said, “There are three conversions necessary: the conversion of the heart, the mind, and the purse.”

This is often the last area we turn over to God. We want to retain complete control. We’re uncomfortable when the topic is even brought up. It may be that our discomfort is an indication that this area is not in its proper order in our lives as Christians.

The Bible addresses the subject quite frequently. It is worth noting that money is such an important topic in the Bible that it is the main subject of nearly half the parables Jesus told. In addition, one in every seven verses in the New Testament deals with the topic.

To give you an idea of how this compares with other themes, the Bible offers about 500 verses on prayer, less than 500 regarding faith, and 2,000 verses about money. God wants this area to be in balance in our lives.

Most churches are supported financially by a relatively small percentage of people who have discovered the joy of giving. I would even venture to say that as a result, these people have also discovered the secret of contentment.

Let's pray now for a spirit of generosity and a heart of contentment:

Heavenly Father, do not let us covet worldly things. Instead, help us to build up treasures in heaven where nothing can wear them away. In Your Name we pray, Amen.

A Prayer for When You Covet Another’s Success..... By: Alisha Headley

A Prayer for When You Covet Another’s Success
By: Alisha Headley

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” - Matthew 9:37-38

Have you ever wondered if there is room for you? Maybe you feel compelled to start something new or pursue a new path, but there are already so many who have proven their success before you that space feels limited. Perhaps you have had a dream tucked in your heart from the time you were young, yet you see someone else doing something similar and it seems to diminish your large dream into a much smaller one.

I can relate. In the past few years, I left my career to pursue what I felt God was calling me to: women’s ministry. I began following other women in ministry, their blogs, reading their books, and their social media platforms. More often times than not, rather than be inspired by their work, the enemy creeped in telling me lies that their ideas are better than mine. That they already were doing the work needed, so there was no more room for me. That opportunities were scarce. That their success is already proven to be far greater than mine. That the work for me is limited.

This is what Jesus reminds us is the first part of today’s scripture: “the harvest is great, but the workers are few…"

Be encouraged by this passage. The harvest is great, not small. Others success doesn’t limit ours. We serve a God that has unlimited, abundant opportunities He has placed before us. To write. To speak. To serve. To create. To dream big. To be and become.

Don’t be entangled any longer in the enemy’s lie that everything is scarce and seeing another person’s success as better than yours. Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.

The truth is: there is an abundant need in the world for YOU. The world is just waiting to hear from you, and God wants you to partner with Him in Kingdom work here on earth. He created your voice for specific people that are in need of your specific work, your gifts, and your calling.

The second part of this passage says to “pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”

Oh friends, how assuring to know that we can pray to the one in charge of endless opportunities. He will make a way for your success and equip you and only you for the specific assignment He has for you.

Dear Lord,

We thank you for the reminder in Scripture that there is plenty of work; that the harvest is plentiful. Thank you for creating us with only our unique voice and purpose. We don’t have to feel left behind by the success of others. Instead, help us to cheer others on.

Thank you for choosing to partner with us to help advance your Kingdom here on earth. Today, I’m asking you to continue to bless the women around me in similar assignments as mine. Change my heart to have one of love and encouragement, rather of doubt and covetousness. Forgive me for believing the lies the enemy has discouraged me with telling me that opportunities are scarce.

Thank you that we can pray to you, the one in charge of the harvest and ask you to send us into the field. Father, keep us focused on you and continue to stir in our heart a passion to make your name known. Please infuse our hearts with the truth that this world needs our exact voice and exact skills you have blessed us with. We love you so much.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.