Low Humility - Our Best Battle Tactic

"Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."

~1 Peter 5:8 (ESV)

"But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at My Word."

~Isaiah 66:2b (ESV)

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Best Time to Attack

It is often among victory that the enemy most-aggressively seeks to trip us up. When we are already on the ground, the enemy usually must only kick us while we are on the ground in order to reign thoughts of condemnation and defeat upon us. But it is when we are in victory that the enemy has something else to fight past--he must first get us upon the ground again.

Christian, stand in victory, but do not stand tall in self-confidence. This leaves your legs vulnerable to tripping, an opportunity that the enemy will always take to get us far from rejoicing in his enemy--God. March not forth in boldness if your motive is that you are through with the battle. It will never be done on earth!

Low Humility

Instead, stay low in the humble and desperate dependence that is to characterize Christians who have left the life of self absorption behind. March forth in the boldness that naturally comes after gazing upon the power of God to save. It is His strength that will deliver you. Is is His hand that will hold you up from temptation. It is His call that will be loud enough for you to flee sin as strong Christians do.

Mighty God

He is here! He is mighty! As sure as the enemy will not give up on your soul's destruction, much mightier will God not give up on your soul's refining. As the battle against sin and for holiness will never end until your exhale your final breath, so far shall He be with you--from now until you inhale your first eternal breath of Heaven. Then shall you be with Him, Christian, never to sin again, always to joyfully praise Him without interruption.

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Highlighted Song: Stronger by Hillsong

"Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."

~1 John 4:4 (ESV)

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I LOVE BIG songs with a BIG message. And this song is BIG.

Life Commonalities

Trying to kick a bad, sinful habit? Asking "why do I have to go through this" for the thousandth time?

We all have these things in our lives at different times, at the same time, or perhaps seemingly all the time! Struggles with sin and trials of life can become such a constancy and can so consume our minds that soon they seem to be ruler of our lives.

God is Stronger

However, whatever that sin--no matter how unbeatable it seems, whatever that fiery trial--no matter how heated, endlessly ablaze, and rekindling it seems, God is bigger, God is greater, God is stronger.

I, being "one of those people," have been so very encouraged by the song, Stronger, by Hillsong--both in listening and singing it with the congregation of God's church! This song's musical BIGNESS greatly supports the BIGGER message in the song--that God is BIGGEST!

"You broke my shame and sinfuless"--sin is already shattered and completely defeat-able! "You rose again victorious"--It is He Who has done it! "Faithfulness none can deny"--None can honestly deny that He is yet with us and will eventually see He has never left! "There is truth that sets me free"--There is LIFE to live! "You are stronger you are stronger, Sin is broken you have saved me..."

Now TURN IT UP LOUD and enjoy!

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Stronger
by Hillsong

There is love that came for us
Humbled to a sinner's cross
You broke my shame and sinfuless
You rose again victorious

Faithfulness none can deny
Through the storm and through the fire
There is truth that sets me free
Jesus Christ who lives in me

You are stronger you are stronger
Sin is broken you have saved me
It is written Christ is risen
Jesus you are Lord of all

No beginning and no end
You're my hope and my defence
You came to seek and save the lost
You paid it all upon the cross

So let your name be lifted higher
Be lifted higher be lifted higher

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The Ordainer is the Healer

"Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?"

~Job 2:10 (ESV)

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As much as God is the Maker of our humanly-unclimbable mountains, the Creator of the seas that rage around us, and the Ordainer of our trials, He is the Provider of strength to climb, the calmer of the seas, and the Healer of our excruciation.

I WILL LIFT MY EYES
Bebo Norman

God, my God, I cry out
Your beloved needs You now
God, be near calm my fear and take my doubt
Your kindness is what pulls me up
Your love is all that draws me in

I will lift my eyes to the Maker
Of the mountains I can't climb
I will lift my eyes to the Calmer
Of the oceans raging wild
I will lift my eyes to the Healer
Of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You

God, my God, let mercy sing
Her melody over me
And God, right here all I bring
Is all of me
Your kindness is what pulls me up
And Your love is all that draws me in


I will lift my eyes to the Maker
of the mountains I can't climb
I will lift my eyes to the Calmer
of the oceans raging wild
I will lift my eyes to the Healer
of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You

'Cause You are and You were and You will be forever
the Lover I need to save me
'Cause You fashioned the earth and You hold it together, God
so hold me now

I will lift my eyes to the Maker
Of the mountains I can't climb
I will lift my eyes to the Calmer
Of the oceans raging wild
I will lift my eyes to the Healer
Of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You

God, my God, I cry out
Your beloved needs You now

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I Have a Shelter

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling."

~Psalm 46:1-3 (ESV)

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I was particularly blessed by the following song as I commuted to work this morning. We have a God Who will not refuse us in our deepest sin. He will not forsake us in our biggest, most-constant, "never-ending" trial. When the constancy of trying and tests would break us like a brittle branch enduring as long as possible in a fierce winter wind, God's strength will never forsake us! Therefore, brothers and sisters, we shall not break--because He shall not and cannot break His promises.

Enjoy the lyrics of this song, "I Have a Shelter." I have bolded some of the text that I found a blessing today.

I Have a Shelter

I have a shelter in the storm
When troubles pour upon me
Though fears are rising like a flood
My soul can rest securely
O Jesus, I will hide in You
My place of peace and solace
No trial is deeper than Your love
That comforts all my sorrows

I have a shelter in the storm
When all my sins accuse me
Though justice charges me with guilt
Your grace will not refuse me
O Jesus, I will hide in You
Who bore my condemnation
I find my refuge in Your wounds
For there I find salvation

I have a shelter in the storm
When constant winds would break me
For in my weakness, I have learned
Your strength will not forsake me
O Jesus, I will hide in You
The One who bears my burdens
With faithful hands that cannot fail
You’ll bring me home to heaven

© 2008 Integrity’s Hosanna! Music (ASCAP)/Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP) (Admin. By Integrity’s Hosanna! Music) Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)(Admin. By Integrity’s Praise! Music)

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Daily Thought: Has God Indeed Abandoned Me?

"Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God."

~Psalm 42:11 (ESV)

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A Chapter of Turmoil and Hope

Before us lies a glorious statement of the hope we have in Christ amidst any storm, situation, or rut of spiritual starvation. The Psalmist has spent seemingly endless time weeping in turmoil. This chapter is filled with statements of panting (verse 1), a thristy soul (verse 2a), longing to see God (verse 2b), abundant tears (verse 3a), taunting from the unbelieving to question the goodness of God (verses3b and 10), a soul poured out before God (verse 4a), a downcast soul in turmoil (verses 5 and 11), a feeling of having been forgotten (verse 9a), mourning (verse 9b), the presence of those not for him but against him (verse 10).

This is a real, true, and intense desert. Have you not been there? Are you there now? We do not have a God Who cannot relate to our deserts, whatever they might be. Instead, we have a High Priest (Christ) Who "in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). And because of Him, we can follow the Psalmist who, in every passage of trying he wrote, always circles back to the hope we find in Who God is. He will never leave you, and that's His promise (Joshua 1:5). Listen; absorb; find hope in the character and Being of God:

"Deep calls to deep
at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
have gone over me.
By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God."

~Psalm 7-8, 11 (ESV)

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Quote: Sin and Suffering

"Your sufferings are not so great as your sins. Put these two in the balance and see which weighs the heaviest. Where sin lies heavy, sufferings lie light.

A carnal spirit makes more of his sufferings and less of his sins.

The carnal heart cries out, 'take away the suffering,' but a gracious heart cries out, 'take away the iniquity.'

The one saith, 'never anyone suffered as I have done,' but the other saith, 'never one sinned as I have done.'"


~Thomas Watson

Daily Thought: Persevering Through Pain

Varying Trails of Life
There are many trails to endure, enjoy, weather, and persevere through on the Christian journey. Each trail is part of a main road leading to Glory. Never will any of your pain, or your happiness for that matter, be in vain if the direction of your perseverance be toward Him. Never will the end of a heavy trial alas find you in defeat if your strength be drawn from Him. Never will He raise up a child only to let him go.

In this life, there are trails of pain--the pain of broken relationships, of shattered dreams, of cumulative daily troubles, of death and loss, of discipline.

There are trails of rejoicing--the joy of reconciliation, of Godly dreams come true, of resolved troubles, of new life, of undeserved gain, of the fruit of discipline.

Never will he leave you amidst either--or ever. Never will He forsake thee in thy pain. Never will He abandon His servants while they are yet rejoicing. By the promise of His own tongue, He will never, ever forsake thee.

Be comforted.

Amen.

"Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you" (Joshua 1:5)

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Daily Thought: So Distant Now

Does the Father's face seem distant to you now? Does the embrace of His love and warmth that you once experienced and held dear seem as a distant memory? Is your race as a Christian seen through your eyes as nothing but a heap of lost hope?

Fear not, for we have a Savior Who knows our weaknesses and in fact sympathizes with them. Further, He experienced them as we have:

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15).

So passionate is He for His glory that He is not willing to hide His face from you. He will let His mercy shine forth with the light of countless mid-day sun upon you. He will grasp your soul and fill it with truth to shake sin at its root and see it tremble to the ground as you do in awe of Him. Take heart, Christian! Your road it excruciating. But your hope is not in ease of pain, but peace of soul found in free, saving grace.

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Song: The Prodigal

Daily Thought: Christian Ease

No one said being a Christian was supposed to be easy and spoke valid truth. Christ made it clear that it would be hard. In fact, it is the hardest of all lives to live because we must battle the very thing we obey by default - our own wicked desires.

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Treasuring Your Tests

"[G]ive thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
~I Thessalonians 5:18 (ESV - Emphasis Mine)

"In Your name, there is mercy for sin, there is safety within, in You holy name.
In Your name, there is strength to remain, to stand in spite of pain, in Your holy name."
-Vinyard Music: Your Name Is Holy

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For what more can we ask? We have mercy for sin! Our sin, deserving of God's wrath, has been washed away by Christ's blood, His own blood!

How faithful God is to remind us of this! I seem to learn a lot of lessons at bus stops. I have previous stories where God has taught me at bus stops, and He reminded me again today. I got home from school on the bus today only to realize as I arrived at my car that my keys were missing. Not only that, it's my second set of keys lost within the last 1-2 months! I've kept track of them well for years, but now I stand outside my car with no keys. The Lord reminded me of what He's taught me about complaining and helped me to realize, "Haha, yes. The Lord is definitely teaching me patience and to be grateful for tests instead of complaining."

Yet, sin remains and I still complained at times. At one point while waiting in a restaurant for key-help to come, the Lord convicted me. "Do you realize that this adventure of losing your keys is such a privilege, that it is paradise to one in Hell? You are learning from Me. You are truly doing better than you deserve. Your sins have been paid by Me in full!"

Sins paid in full.

Strength to remain.

My little tests are gifts from God's merciful and provident hand! Wow! These things, from big trials to little tests, are granted us to strengthen and mature us in Him. There is no suffering going on here. They, as I Thessalonians 5:18 says that contentment in all circumstances is the Lords will for us, are part of God's plan to love us and see His name lifted high above all things. WHAT A LIFE THIS IS THAT WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN!!

"Lord, thank you for never leaving us alone! Forgive my arrogant assumption that I deserve better when I deserve nothing but Your wrath in the first place. How great You are, Lord! Move me--move us--forth in growth and gratefulness for tests."

Why Suffering?

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds..."
~James 1:2 (ESV)

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Why does the Lord grant suffering to His children? Why do Christians still face the same troubles and even more troubles than non-Christians? James talks about counting it all joy when we face trials of various kinds. How is this possible?

Greeting Your Trials?

Would it seem strange to you that God wills for us to greet trials as our best friend? So much changes when we realize how much the Lord works in us through our various trials and sufferings. In fact, if you observe your own life, would you not say that the times you've grown in the Lord most come as the result of hardship and testing of your faith? Trials reveal some very useful things of which we can take hold to our benefit:

1. Trials Reveal God's Sovereignty

Trials are not times when things are out of God's control. Neither are they times that God is pouring out His wrath on us. God's sovereignty is displayed in the Gospel--His plan could not be stopped to give His life for the forgiveness of man. There the wrath of God was all spent on God's Son, Jesus. So that removes any argument that trials are the punishment that Jesus removed with His own blood (though that is not to say that God does not discipline disobedience. God is not limited in the ways that He can work). God's sovereignty is displayed in His providence--His hand in everything, all the time, and nothing happening outside of His ordained plan for us. In other words, God grants trials to the believer as a growing experience! By His grace, we come out the other end a more sanctified being.

2. Trials Reveal God's Purposes

Being in the midst of a trial can be like having violent storm clouds swirling around our heads; we can't see a thing but the pain! Yes, it can be difficult to see what God's purposes are in the midst of a trial. But do we trust God? Do we take hold of the peace of God that surpasses all understanding that God has a specific, sanctifying, and unerring purpose for this trial? Not to say that it isn't painful. Life includes pain. But the pain isn't the end (meaning the end purpose) of the trial; God's glory and our good is! Going through a series of draining trials this past year, the Lord finally revealed to me what I believe to be a summary of His purpose for the trials. He revealed to me unexpectedly in a still, small voice, "It's to prepare you for more." I was shown that there would be greater suffering than this, and so it was God's mercy to have prepared me for greater suffering through these past trials! Did He tell me that right away? No. It took over a year. During that time I asked and pleaded for relief (which apparently was not the right thing for which to ask), and at times in deep anguish! Oh how I did not understand and still do not fully see. But what He has taught me through it all I would not trade for anything! He has revealed His purpose, and I am thankful. None of my anxiousness or other sins ever helped. His hand was in it all, all the time.

3. Trials Reveal Man's Dependence

In God's sovereignty, He draws us closer to Himself and to a deeper knowledge of our desperate need for Him. Through trials, He removes idols of our hearts that we would not let go of and replaces that desire with an even more passionate desire for more of His sweet presence. He takes a heart of stone and replaces it with a heart of flesh.

"And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God."
~Ezekiel 11:18-20

My pastor said recently that God will answer prayers in one of two ways: He will either answer as you asked, or He will give you more of Himself. The point is that God would remove detestable doubt, pride, idols, and other sin from our lives that He (not the things we want too much) will be our God!

So though we may not understand all that the Lord is doing now, let us believe this passage:

"Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told." ~Habakkuk 1:5

And remember the peace of God that I mentioned earlier? Here's how to take hold of it:

"[D]o not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." ~Philippians 4:6-7

God bless, my friends!
-Franz