When You’re Under Attack, Just Rest

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. - Psalm 23:5 (NIV)

Our civilization is losing its civility. The world is getting ruder! One of the things that’s causing that is the Internet, because it allows people to hide behind the screen and say things online that they would never have the courage to say to others face to face.

All those people are doing is revealing the smallness of their hearts. Great people make people feel great, but small people belittle people. People who belittle others have a little knot for a heart, and they make fun of others because they think it will make them feel better.

How do you handle rude people? You don’t. You let God handle them. You let God be your defender.

King David was a pro at this. He knew what it meant to be attacked emotionally, verbally, and physically. As a young man, he was anointed by Samuel to be the next king of Israel, but he spent two years running from his predecessor, who wanted to kill him. He hid in caves while being criticized constantly behind his back. Yet David never said a bad word against the king. He never retaliated, because God was preparing him to be the king after his own heart.

David says in Psalm 23:5, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows” (NIV). David was recognizing God’s goodness to him. God would anoint his head with oil, which says to the world, “This is my guy! Back off! This is going to be the next leader.” David’s cup overflowed, which meant God kept blessing him and blessing him, even when others attacked him.

Does it sound like David was stressed out? No! He didn’t have to use up all his energy defending himself because he trusted God to be his defender.

It takes a lot of faith and humility to rest and trust God when you’re under attack, when you’re misunderstood, when rumors are spreading about you and people are saying things about you online. When that happens, everything in you wants to rise up and do something about it.

But you are most like Christ when you remain silent under attack. Jesus was constantly attacked, yet he never retaliated, even on his way to the cross. He remained silent before his accusers because he had entrusted himself to the care of the Father.

“So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you” (1 Peter 4:19).

© Rick Warren

Meditations

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. - Joshua 1:9

Do you meditate? Actually, the better question is: how do you meditate? Everyone does it. I’m not talking about sitting cross-legged as you connect with Mother Earth. No, by meditation, I mean this: what captures your mind, controls your thoughts, and dominates the desires of your heart?

I wish I could take the religious high road and answer, “God is the focus of my meditation!” But for many of us, outside of intentional moments of public worship or private devotion, God doesn’t occupy our meditation as frequently as he ought.

In a fallen world, many other things kidnap our meditation. Like these:

• the disloyalty of a close friend
• constant harassment from a co-worker or boss
• the discouraging state of our finances
• disappointment with our local church
• the dysfunction of our extended family
• the daily struggles of marriage and parenting
• our frenetic and demanding schedule
• an unexpected illness or chronic pain

I’m sure multiple, if not all, of those hardships have come knocking at your door at some point in your life. For many readers, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were experiencing most of those currently. Such is life in a fallen world! So how are we supposed to respond?

One of the themes in Scripture is this: biblical faith never requires us to deny reality in any way. Abraham, for example, considered the harsh biological facts of his situation but he did not weaken his faith (see Romans 4:19).

On the other hand, there’s a crucial difference between facing harsh realities and allowing those realities to dominate the meditation of your heart. Joshua, for example, was facing the most daunting of tasks, but was counseled by God to focus on God, not the task (see Joshua 1:9).

Here’s what biblical faith does in the midst of hardship: it considers the reality of life in a fallen world while choosing to make the Lord its meditation. The more you meditate on your problems, the bigger and more insurmountable they seem to be. But meditating on God in the midst of your trouble reminds you that He is infinitely greater than any problem you could ever experience!

When you consider the facts of your life, but meditate on the power, wisdom, and love of your Father, your responses are shaped by his glorious character, and not by your difficult circumstances.

© Paul David Tripp

The Joy in Surrender

Behold, I am a servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word. - Luke 1:38 ESV

What do you think of when you hear the word surrender? For me it’s “Come out with your hands up!” Maybe you picture waving a white flag.

But the biggest battle we face is not a military one. The real war goes on inside people where it comes to giving up our will in favor of God’s will. If there’s anything that we can learn from the woman God chose to be Jesus’ mother, it’s certainly in this matter of surrender.

You know the familiar scene from Luke 1:26–38. An angel appeared to Mary and announced God’s incredible plan to her. I think the best verse in that whole passage is Luke 1:38 because it summarizes what God is teaching us through Mary’s life. Her first and only response to the angel was one of surrender. “And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am a servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.’” That’s a phenomenal thing. It shows a life of complete and utter submission to God.

Mary surrendered to God’s will even though it was difficult. How tempting it could have been for her to focus on the hard thing God was asking her to do. All the false accusations and misunderstandings were just the beginning of the hardship she’d face. But she said, “Let it be done to me according to your word.” Mary, do you understand this? You’re going to have some really dark days. Your heart will break as you watch your Son suffer and die. “Behold, I am a servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.”

Mary surrendered to God’s will even though she didn’t understand. Mary was not 100% sure in that first moment. She had questions and wrestlings. I’m sure she had to pray it through. Scripture says that she kept pondering these things in her heart. What was said to me? What does it mean? What is going to happen?

Mary surrendered to God’s will without knowing all the details. That is my issue right there. If you had been Mary, wouldn’t you have wanted someone to fill in the big picture? Like, “When is He going to know that He is God’s Son?” “How is Joseph going to handle this?” “Is He going to be God’s Son right off the bat?” “What about miracles?” “What’s my role in this going to be?” “Where is all this headed?” I could think of a thousand questions, but here’s the thing: God wouldn’t have told her anyway because she couldn’t have handled it. God doesn’t work like that. God doesn’t say, “Here is everything you’re going to go through for the rest of your life.” God loves us. He would never reveal all of that to us—it would be too hard to take. If you have been saying, “I’m going to surrender to God when I have all of the information,” give it up to God and get in partnership with Him now.

Mary surrendered to God’s will by faith. It always comes back to trusting God and believing that He has your best interest at heart. Like we say around our church, “Faith is believing the Word of God and acting upon it, no matter how I feel, because God promises a good result.” That’s what Mary did. First, she believed she was who God said she was—highly favored. Mary basically said, “God, I believe You are extending grace to me.” Second, she believed that God would keep His word. She surrendered to God’s will by faith.

What is God asking you to surrender to Him? Maybe you’re faced with that first moment of surrender when you recognize your sinfulness and your need for forgiveness. Have you bowed your knee to Jesus Christ as Lord and embraced Him by faith? Or maybe you’ve come to realize that life consists of many repeated surrenders to God. Maybe you’ve been struggling with Him. Lord, how did I get myself in this spot? Is this where You want me? Let me encourage you to invite the Lord to be specific with you as you wrestle with these questions in prayer.

This life lasts but a moment. God has placed you in your circumstance, and perhaps it’s a very difficult one. This is your opportunity to display the power of life lived in God. Take hold of it. Seize it like Mary did and say from your heart, “Behold, I am a servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.”

There is such joy in that surrender. How much heartache, turmoil, and difficulty have come into your life as a result of refusing to embrace what God has allowed? God is a good and loving God and He wants to get glory through your life.

And all of that flows from this matter of surrender. Wave the white flag!

© James MacDonald

Your Best for God’s Glory

The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. - Genesis 39:2

When it looked as though life was over for Joseph, in many ways it was just beginning. His brothers had sold him to slave traders, and as it turned out, those slave traders sold him to a very important person named Potiphar, who was the captain of the guard in Egypt. Potiphar was basically the head of the military police and part of the royal body guard. It was sort of like being the head of the Secret Service of that day. Also, as the chief of the executioners, Potiphar was responsible for the execution of all criminals. He was not a man to mess with.

Potiphar became the owner of Joseph and put him to work, and the Bible tells us that the Lord was with Joseph (see Genesis 39:2). God blessed Joseph because of his hard work, faithfulness, honesty, and integrity, and success followed him like a shadow.

It was almost as though Joseph had a Midas touch. He kept his priorities straight, and whatever Joseph did, he did so well that Potiphar eventually put him in charge of everything. Even Potiphar, who was clearly a nonbeliever, recognized that the Lord was with Joseph.

Joseph’s life serves as a reminder that Christians should be the hardest workers and do the best work. Colossians 3:23–24 tells us, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” Whatever you do, do it as though you were doing it for Christ Himself—not for the paycheck, not for the boss, and not even for the promotion.

Here is what I believe: if you will do your best work for God’s glory, He will bless you.

© Greg Laurie

Lifting the Weight of Our Burdens

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." - Matthew 11:28

In the 1986 movie The Mission, a guilt-ridden slave trader named Mendoza struggles to climb a treacherous mountain while carrying an overloaded pack of armor and weapons. It is a task of his own making: He purposely selected this cumbersome burden as penance for the violent sins in his past.

At the peak of a mountain and the height of his frustration, Mendoza balances precariously at an impassable ridge, his awkward bag preventing him from moving another inch. As he pulls with every ounce of his strength, a young native boy suddenly comes toward him and draws a large knife. Mendoza fears for his life, but the youth has something else in mind. He cuts the heavy pack from Mendoza’s back and lets it fall into the deep ravine.

Unable to communicate with each other, the two men embrace as Mendoza’s tears reveal his deep feelings of gratefulness and relief.

Though sin mars the life of each of us, God has not called us to carry the weight of guilt on our backs. Neither does He require us to atone for our own wrongdoings. Instead, God sent His only Son Jesus to bear the sin of the entire world. The Savior’s blood was shed to relieve us of the debt we each owed to God (John 3:16; Romans 4:25).

What burden are you carrying right now? Psalm 55:22 says to cast it on the Lord. Will you allow Jesus to “cut the ties” and receive you into His outstretched arms?

© Charles Stanley

Only God Can Provide

Since he did not spare even his own Son for us but gave him up for us all, won’t he also surely give us everything else? - Romans 8:32 TLB

The major cause of stress in your life is worry. You worry because you wonder if you will have what you need when you need it. But anytime you expect other people to meet your needs instead of God, you’re going to be frustrated and disappointed, because nobody can meet all your needs. Only God can meet all your needs.

If you want a cure for stress, you need to learn to look to God to meet your needs.

Some people find their security in their job, and when they lose their job, they lose their peace of mind. Others put their security in their marriage. Then their spouse dies or they go through a divorce, and they ask, “Who am I? What is my identity?”

Or maybe you put your security in your money. There are a lot of ways to lose your money.

I recommend that you never put your security in anything that can be taken away from you. You can lose your job, your health, your reputation, your spouse, and your mind. But you cannot lose your relationship to Christ.

When you put your security in that promise, you can trust God to meet all your needs. Romans 8:32 says, “Since he did not spare even his own Son for us but gave him up for us all, won’t he also surely give us everything else?” (TLB)

If God loved you enough to send Jesus Christ to die on the cross, don’t you think he loves you enough to take care of every other need in your life? Yes! Of course he does.

Every time you start to get stressed out, you need to pause and say, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1 ESV). God’s going to provide. He’s going to take care of you. Instead of stressing out, you need to look to him to meet all your needs.

© Rick Warren

Dare to be a Darius

He is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and rescues, he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth. - Daniel 6:26-27

I don’t need to write this, because you know it’s true, but I’ll write it again as a reminder: many things in your life are out of your control.

We live in a world filled with injustice, oppression, corruption, disaster, disease, and various other kinds of trouble. Many of us have experienced loss, tragedy, and suffering because of the condition of our fallen world.

As I’ve traveled around the global church, I’ve found that all this trouble has gotten Christians everywhere discouraged. Much of our emotional energy is sapped by worry. Many of us are motivated by fear. We frequently lose sleep because we wish we had power we’ll never have.

I understand why - life in a fallen world is hard. We experience things every day that were never meant to happen when God designed his perfect created order. But I also have come to understand this: when we assess the trouble in our lives, many of us forget to calculate the existence, character, and plan of God.

We take into account the size of the difficulty, and we take into account the effect it has on our lives, but we struggle to take into account God. We simply forget that he is present, ruling, and loving, and we simply need to remember more.

That’s why I love Daniel 6:26-27. In it, King Darius delivers one of the most compelling statements on the power of God: “He is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and rescues, he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth.” (ESV)

You ought to memorize that verse today and take Darius’ words to heart, so in moments of trouble, you won’t give way to thinking that your life is out of control. Yes, it’s out of your control, but God’s reign and rule can never be destroyed.

Over all the trouble that confounds and dismays us is a God of glorious wisdom, power, and grace who rules every moment of every situation. You won’t always see his hand, but he’s working. You won’t always feel his presence, but he’s there.

So look up and remember that above your life is a throne, and it’s occupied by a God of unimaginable majesty and power, ruling and controlling this universe for his glory and your good.

© Paul David Tripp

Brokenness

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. - Psalm 51:17 ESV

Before a horse can be useful to its owner, it has to be broken. An unbroken stallion is proud and strong. It will paw and snort and let no one ride it. But then a bit goes in its mouth, a saddle goes on its back, and someone climbs up and hangs on. The stallion immediately starts to buck, because it doesn’t want to be broken—but eventually it stops fighting and surrenders to the will of its master.

Sometimes we have that same stubborn, rebellious, self-sufficient spirit within us, and God often breaks those attitudes because they keep us from experiencing true intimacy with Him.

Have you ever been broken? Brokenness is empty-handedness before God. It makes no demands. It is falling into the embrace of your loving Father and finding Him to be enough. It says not only “God, I need You,” but “God, You are all I need.”

What are some of the things God breaks? Here are some of the big ones:

Stubbornness. “I am going to do this my way.” If you are one of God’s children, that attitude is on its way out. You can fight with Him for a long time if you want, but your stubbornness will eventually be broken.

Pride. “I know better; I am better.” God hates pride in the hearts of His children. He hates it in my heart; He hates it in yours. People who have been greatly used by God have come to grips with the need to dispense with all pride and to humble themselves.

Willfulness. “You can’t make me! You can’t tell me! I’ll do what I want, when I want.” That’s willfulness, and it is also on its way out. God will use whatever He has to use to remove it from your heart and life.

Independence. “I can make it without You.” Nothing will inhibit your intimacy with the Father like an attitude of self-sufficiency. Recognize your weakness and rely on His strength.

God will use broken health, careers, dreams, relationships, promises, and hearts to rid our lives of the things that hinder intimacy with Him. Some say a loving God wouldn’t allow pain, but God’s love is not a pampering love; it’s a perfecting love. God is producing something in us—the likeness of His Son—and He is going to do whatever it takes to make that happen. You might want to get off the program, but any other path will lead you to a place you don’t want to be.

You will never experience true intimacy with God until you are able to come before Him in genuine humility, utterly desperate for Him. You need to be broken.

© James MacDonald

Meant for Good

But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. - Genesis 50:20

Aren’t you glad the word oops is not in God’s vocabulary? God is sovereign, which simply means that God is in control. He doesn’t make mistakes. He does what He wants when He wants with whom He wants in any way He wants.

That could be a little frightening if we didn’t know that God is also good. The things that He allows into our lives are for our benefit and for the benefit of others.

Joseph understood that. And one cannot read the story of Joseph without thinking of Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” All things work together—not just the so-called good things. Joseph summed that up in his way when he told his brothers who had betrayed him, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive” (Genesis 50:20).

As you get a little bit older, some of the things you thought were good may end up being bad, and some of the things you thought were bad may end up being good. And then, sometimes good things are just good things and bad things are bad things.

God helps us sort it all out. And with the passing of time, you look at things a little more objectively and a little bit differently. There are things that God allows in life that don’t make sense. But I believe that ultimately in my life, all things will work together for good. That may not be fully realized until I get to heaven. But until then, I am willing to live by that promise.

© Greg Laurie

Do You Want to Change?

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! - Romans 7:24-25a ESV

Do you want to change?

Maybe you’re tired of cycles of defeat and empty self-help programs.
Maybe you’re enslaved to a habit and feel the pain of falling flat on your face after you vowed (and really meant) you would never do that again.
Maybe your marriage is in trouble.
Maybe there is a sin that keeps coming back to haunt you.
Maybe you’re deeply wounding those you love and want to stop.
Maybe you realize your life is turning out far differently than you’d hoped, and you want to change direction before it’s too late.

So do you want to change?

Take heart—change is possible; in fact, it’s God’s plan for our lives.

Change begins with admitting, “I am the problem.” Once and for all, let’s accept that our problems are not due to other people, our parents, or our past. While we may bear very real wounds and scars from our past, before we can change, we must take full responsibility for who we’re becoming. Like the Apostle Paul, we must admit, “Wretched man that I am”! (Romans 7:24) The word wretched means distressed or miserable, exhausted from hard labor. Paul felt so spent from trying to change himself that he came to the point of desperation where he admitted, in effect, “God, I want to be different. I won’t shield myself from the darkness in my heart anymore. I want to become the person You want me to be. So I’m going to face up to who I really am.” We can’t change without recognizing our own wretchedness. Change begins with the genuine, humble, contrite admission, “I’m the problem.”

Only God can change our hearts. After Paul’s long description of his sinfulness and his inability to change himself, he simply says, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord”! (Romans 7:24–25) At this point, some readers feel frustrated with Paul. Paul, can’t you say more? I’m with you, I see my desperate condition, I’m so ready for the answer, and that’s all you give me?

It’s so simple that we almost miss it. The answer is Jesus Christ. He wants to change our hearts. In our desperation, we need to come to Him and ask Him to do what only He can do.

Does God still change people? Oh yes—and He wants to change you.

© James MacDonald