Streams in the Desert

After a while, the stream dried up because there had been no rain in the land. (1 Kings 17:7)

 

The education of our faith is incomplete if we have not learned that there is a providence of loss, a ministry of failing and of fading things, a gift of emptiness. The material insecurities of life make for its spiritual establishment. The dwindling stream by which Elijah sat and mused is a true picture of the life of each of us. “It came to pass … that the brook dried up”—that is the history of our yesterday, and a prophecy of our morrows.

 

In some way or other we will have to learn the difference between trusting in the gift and trusting in the Giver. The gift may be good for a while, but the Giver is the Eternal Love.

 

Cherith was a difficult problem to Elijah until he got to Zarephath, and then it was all as clear as daylight. God’s hard words are never His last words. The woe and the waste and the tears of life belong to the interlude and not to the finale.

 

Had Elijah been led straight to Zarephath he would have missed something that helped to make him a wiser prophet and a better man. He lived by faith at Cherith. And whensoever in your life and mine some spring of earthly and outward resource has dried up, it has been that we might learn that our hope and help are in God who made Heaven and earth.
—F. B. Meyer

 

Perchance thou, too, hast camped by such sweet waters, 

And quenched with joy thy weary, parched soul’s thirst; 

To find, as time goes on, thy streamlet alters 

From what it was at first.

 

Hearts that have cheered, or soothed, or blest, or strengthened; 

Loves that have lavished so unstintedly;

Joys, treasured joys—have passed, as time hath lengthened, 

Into obscurity.

 

If thus, ah soul, the brook thy heart hath cherished 

Doth fail thee now—no more thy thirst assuage—

If its once glad refreshing streams have perished, 

Let HIM thy heart engage.

 

He will not fail, nor mock, nor disappoint thee; 

His consolations change not with the years; 

With oil of joy He surely will anoint thee, 

And wipe away thy tears.

—J. D. Smith

Praying with Impact ...... Dr. Charles Stanley

Praying with Impact

Dr. Charles Stanley

1 John 5:14-15

Since praying is such a common practice for believers, over time it's easy to fall into habits that result in a lifeless and empty prayer life. Instead of a dynamic conversation with thoughtful requests and active listening for God's response, our prayers can seem more like grocery lists. Because communication with the Lord is such a vital part of the Christian life, we occasionally need to step back and examine how we're doing.

Begin by asking yourself these questions:

How effective are my prayers? Is God answering my petitions, or does it seem as if they never go past the ceiling?

Who am I praying for? Are most of my requests for myself or others?

What am I asking the Lord to do? Have I looked in the Word to see what He wants, or am I trying to get Him to intervene according to my plans and desires?

When do I pray? Is it only during emergencies or when I need something?

If you discovered any selfishness in your answers, you're not alone. Most of us struggle to enter God's presence with our eyes focused on Him instead of our needs. But the only way we'll be able to pray with impact is to fill our minds with Scripture so we can find out what the Lord wants to do.

Your prayer life can become effective and dynamic if you'll approach the Lord with a clean heart (Psalms 66:18), align your requests with His will, and believe He will do what He says (Mark 11:24). Then you'll be able to pray with absolute confidence knowing that He will hear and answer your petitions.

Stop Beating Yourself Up and Take Back Your Joy..... VALORIE BURTON

Stop Beating Yourself Up and Take Back Your Joy
VALORIE BURTON

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10 (NIV)

There is a consistent, heavy sigh I hear when I mention the subject of guilt to women. It is often the sigh of what I call “false guilt”: the feeling of guilt even though you haven’t actually done something wrong.

Many of us spend a lot of emotional energy feeling guilty about our everyday lives. About the real and legitimate choices we have to make in our families and careers in the midst of this pandemic … about taking time for ourselves … about not living up to some societal standard of feminine perfection. All of that leads to false guilt. I’ve worked through my own struggles with guilt and coached many individuals through theirs.

Guilt shows up in many ways. Maybe some of these look familiar to you:

• Beating yourself up for past choices, mistakes or imperfections.
• Feeling as though you can never do enough.
• Paying more than you have to.
• Saying “yes” when the best answer is “no.”
• Letting others guilt-trip you.
• Allowing others to repeatedly overstep boundaries.
• Going along with dysfunctional behavior as though it’s normal.
• Not speaking up when you need and want to.
• Making decisions out of guilt and obligation.
• Feeling indebted indefinitely to someone who did you a favor.

Whether it’s the persistent voice of the enemy reminding you of expectations you haven’t lived up to, the blessings you have that others don’t, or the mistake you still haven’t forgiven yourself for, false guilt can have you playing a broken record of self-sabotaging thoughts:

I am not enough. I am not getting it right. I should be doing something more. Something different. Something better. But I am not, so I am going to feel guilty. I’ll rehash my shortcomings. And worst of all, I will hold my happiness hostage. I’ll dampen it with this broken record of self-criticism.

It’s tiring, and it’s not God’s way for you. It’s the enemy’s plan, according to Jesus: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

God wants you to live in His grace. He wants you to reset your expectations to let go of guilt.

There is no false guilt without expectation. And so there is no faster way to undo your guilty feelings than to adjust your expectations of yourself and make sure they are aligned with God’s expectations of you. Here are some examples of unhealthy expectations:

Vague Expectations. The vague expectation sets you up for guilt because you can’t really measure the results. For example, You should do more. Well, how much is more? And what should you “do” exactly? Without specifics, you never know when you’ve done enough.

Outdated Expectations. Whether the life-change is a new job, a relationship change, a financial change, a health change, a move, or anything else that shifts how your life operates day to day, you’ll set yourself up for guilt if you hold on to old expectations in a new season. So much has changed this year alone. Give yourself some grace.

Others’ Expectations. Sometimes what others want isn’t what you want, isn’t what God wants for you or simply isn’t doable. And yet fear can lead you to take on the burden of others’ expectations as a way to avoid uncomfortable conversations or rejection.

When it comes to expectations, it is soothing to remember these two truths:

• Until you accept and embrace the unique life God created you for, you’ll feel guilty for not living the life you think others expect of you.
• You cannot accept and embrace God’s unique life for you if you don’t truly believe God created you for a purpose — a purpose that may look different from those around you.

God, show me Your expectations of me in this season. And show me the ways in which the enemy plants seeds of doubt that lead me to false guilt. Help me to let go of guilt and embrace Your joy and grace. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Romans 12:2, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (NIV)

Waiting on the Lord..... by Sarah Jennings Phillips

Waiting on the Lord
by Sarah Jennings Phillips

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. - Psalms 27:13-14

I read a book a few years ago for couples discerning marriage called The Exclamation. The author pointed out that God could answer the question “Should I marry him/her” in only three ways: Yes. No. Wait.

I think the toughest of the three is, “Wait.” It’s not just that we live in an impatient society (we do), and it’s not just that we can be selfish, demanding creatures (we can), and it’s not just that we tend to want life on our own terms (we do) -- it’s that waiting requires surrender of one of man’s most precious commodities: time.

Our lives are finite. Each day is precious, each month, each year, because we only have but so many. So when the Infinite God whispers to His limited creatures, “Wait,” our responses often sound something like this:

“You see, you don’t get it, God. Sure, it’s easy for you to wait – you have all of eternity. But I really need some answers. You gave Amy answers, and Chuck answers, and Lori answers, so it’s only right and fair you give me answers. After all, you said ‘whoever seeks shall find’ and stuff, so now I’m seeking, and ‘wait’ just isn’t an acceptable response.”

I think it’s even tougher to wait when we have pain lingering in our pasts. We may wonder, “Why should I trust God? Last time everything ended in disaster.” I speak from experience here. I’ve had to wait on an answer to prayer for a long time now – even for someone of my youthful age. I know how tough it is to receive the umpteenth “not yet” from God. I know what it’s like to look back on painful deferments and feel like life is slipping by.

Yes, waiting isn’t for spiritual wimps, but for those strong of heart. Obeying a “not yet” from God requires true faith. It’s handing over our days and years and months to God, trusting that we won’t regret holding off. It’s believing God’s plan is truly the best plan even when several other enticing options tempt us. It’s deferring what is good for what is best.

And there’s the reward of waiting. Even in the midst of my own unanswered prayers, I still believe God isn’t out to get you or me. He doesn’t ask us to wait to torment us. In His infinitely perfect nature, He sees what we can’t and wants to give us more than we’re currently asking for. All the times I’ve ignored God’s “wait” and taken matters into my own hands, a lot of precious time was wasted. But those that wait on Him will experience joy that far surpasses any temporary pleasure that comes with forging ahead alone.

Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30: 5 (NAS)

Intersecting Faith & Life: Are you waiting for an answer to prayer? My goal this week is to embrace the confidence of the psalmist, knowing I will see the goodness of the Lord if I just wait a while longer. Pray simply and directly about that which you’re waiting for – like a child seeking answers from a parent – and then lay it down for the week.

Further Reading

Lamentations 3:24
Psalms 37:7

A New Way to Walk in the World..... By Scott Patty

A New Way to Walk in the World
By Scott Patty

We need wisdom to walk this way. There are many issues and opportunities in life that require us to think about the best way to glorify God. At times the questions of life have a simple, straightforward answer. Don’t steal, murder, or commit adultery. Do honor your parents, love your neighbor, and tell the truth. At other times, things are not quite so clear. But that doesn’t mean we have no guidance for a way forward that brings glory to God.

First Corinthians 8, 9, and 10 give us wisdom. I encourage you today, or this week, to read all three of these chapters.

From 1 Corinthians 8, consider what builds up the faith of other Christians. Thinking about how to serve the spiritual growth of your fellow church members can help you make good decisions about how to live in the world.

From 1 Corinthians 9, consider what commends the gospel to people in the world. Making decisions about your interactions in the world based on how people need to hear the gospel is a great way to glorify God.

From 1 Corinthians 10, consider what promotes devotion to Christ in your own life. Every day we make big and small decisions that can either harm or enhance our obedience to God.

This is a big chunk of the Bible, written by the apostle Paul almost two thousand years ago. This wisdom still applies to us. My prayer is that as you think on these things, the Lord will give you understanding for how to glorify him as you walk in the world.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

A Prayer for Disappointment .....By Glynnis Whitwer

A Prayer for Disappointment
By Glynnis Whitwer   

“Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, ‘Friends, haven’t you any fish?’ ‘No,’ they answered.” - John 21:4-5 (NIV)

Scripture doesn’t record the disciples’ thoughts, but I can imagine they were a bit annoyed at this piece of advice. After all, they were professional fishermen, doing everything they knew to do. The fish obviously weren’t there!

The disciples were about to learn an important lesson about success and failure. They obeyed Jesus’ directive, shifted the nets to the other side of the boat, and Scripture records: “When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.” ( John 21:6b, NIV)

At that moment they recognized the Lord, and the disciples headed to shore, towing the fish behind. The disciples didn’t just have success, they had great success.

Jesus needed the disciples to see the difference between self-directed effort and Jesus-directed effort. And in order to show them, He let them fail on their own first.

Oh, how I need to learn this lesson myself. I wonder if Jesus has watched me try on my own and held back success while I do. Is He just waiting for me to listen for His voice? To watch for His plan?

Yes, we can do many things on our own, but that doesn’t mean we should. Why would we choose to ignore the greatest source of wisdom and power ever known, in exchange for our paltry efforts in comparison?

When we operate in our power, we see what we can do. When we operate under Jesus’ direction and with the power of the Holy Spirit, we see what God can do.

As I look back on my life, the times I’ve seen God work in the greatest ways are when I admit my natural strength isn’t enough. That’s when His supernatural strength is evident. Viewed from this perspective, it reminds me sometimes failure is an opportunity to see God work miracles.

God is always up to something for my good. And that’s a much better way to look at disappointment.

Lord, thank You for working in my life, even in ways that look like failure. Help me keep my eyes on You and not on my situation. Help me trust You more, especially when I face what looks like a disappointment. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.