Oh, God, where are you now?

Have you ever wondered where He is in certain situations? How He could possibly be working THIS together for your good? Wondered why you are lonely – the only one left out, forgotten, not fulfilling your dreams?

David did too.

Long before he was king he was lonely.

In fact, it was his loneliness that prepared him to be king.

Why did the Lord take David through all He did – humble beginnings, great adversity, being hounded by a man who hated him? Well, consider David’s predecessor. Saul was a mighty man, a popular man. When it came time to choose a king for Israel, Saul was a perfect candidate. The man was successful, tall, strong, talented….he had it all!

And Saul was never lonely.

And when it came time to make the biggest decisions of his life Saul chose the popular opinion...

…and Saul chose wrong.

David was a man trained by the Lord in solitude, shaped by the Lord in the wilderness, and educated by the Lord in loneliness.

He had no friends to ask opinions of. He had to run to the Lord. When his world fell to pieces he had to cling to God and God alone because there was no one else. When his companions wanted to kill him, he learned where to take refuge.

And when it came time to make his most important decisions, David had a Counselor with perfect wisdom, a Friend to support him, and a God to back him up and he made the right choice.

All because he learned the lessons of loneliness.

When you go through loneliness, think about this. You have the opportunity of a lifetime to seek the Lord in quietness and develop a relationship with Him in this perfect atmosphere where there is nothing or no one else to steal your focus.

Don’t be discouraged by loneliness. Consider how God has always taken His special friends and put them in a place where they could only look at Him.

He thinks you’re special and wants one-on-one time with just you.

I Am Christian

I have made a decision…

My life is hid with Christ. Old things have passed away, all things are new.

I have put my hand to the plow. I will not look back. Sin has no attraction, death has lost its grip, and Hell has no claim on me. I have been bought with a price, purchased for a purpose, commissioned with authority. I have a new identity; I am Christian.

My feet are set on the straight and narrow, my face is turned to heaven, my eyes are focused on my Lord, and my heart impassioned by His cause. I cannot be distracted, dissuaded, deterred, discourage, or daunted because I have a cause. I am Christian.

I am a soldier in the Army of God pledged to protect my comrades, dedicated to advance the Kingdom of the Most High. God is my Commander-In-Chief; souls are my mission; holiness, my armor; Scripture, my weapon; the high praises of God, my war cry; and prayer, my battlefield. My banner is clear; I am Christian.

I will not flirt with temptation, play with sin, or mess with compromise. I am not a fence-rider, a people pleaser, or a yes-man. I don’t go with the flow or run with the in-crowd. I am not everybody else, I am Christian.

The devil can’t mess with me, culture can’t stop me, the world can’t conform me, temptation can’t confuse me, vice can’t deflate me, failure can’t divert me, and all the powers of Hell cannot prevent me. It’s not that I am a survivor; it’s that I am Christian.

I will live my life to the fullest. I will go where God leads me, I will say what He tells me, I will do as He’s shown me. If He asks for everything I own, I will count it a commendable sacrifice. If men mock me, I will consider myself blessed. If I lose my reputation, it will be well worth it. If I die for the cause of Christ, I will deem it the highest honor. Though He slay me still I will praise Him. It is what I do because I Am Christian.

I look forward to daring what only the bravest have done. I walk in the footsteps of giants of the faith. I am surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. I will learn from their examples, I will be inspired by their courage, I will remember their wisdom, I will reap where they have sown. I will live worthy of the title bestowed upon me. As they were Christians so I am Christian.

I do not fight for nothing; I strive for the highest calling. I look to a city whose Builder and Maker is God. I run to win. I live my life so far out that it will be found again in life eternal. At the end of it all, when it comes time to give account for my life, I long to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant” as my Master approves.

This is my life.

I am Christian.

Copyright 2010 Lisa Fox

Soliloquy on the Shepherd

I had someone tell me once that I was simply a blind sheep because I was a Christian. He was confused when I smiled and agreed with him...but allow me to explain...

I read Psalm 23 and I understand that the Lord is my shepherd, my caregiver. Because it is Him, and no one else, that cares for me and because every perfect gift comes out of His hand I can be assured that I will not lack any good thing as long as I remain within His fold.

My shepherd owns a thousand green hills of wonderful pastureland in which I can rest comfortably knowing it is where I belong. I have a place, a home, and a Master. I am well within the set boundaries, so no one may dare take me away from the One who holds my heart.

This shepherd of mine takes the wild streams of everyday life and He breaks into the chaos to design a quiet pool. For a time the world is put on hold and I can drink from the peaceful calm of His Presence and be refreshed.

My mind is renewed with His Words, my heart and emotions are restored by His love, and my will is realigned with His as I sit at His feet. My soul is restored to the way He originally intended it.

He leads me along a straight path, patiently, walking beside me though my walk is slow and stumbling simply because that is Who He is.

Even in the darkest trial when night won't turn to day and my faith is tested to it's limit, still I will not fear because He has never left me nor will He ever. He is my rear guard and my forward motion and nothing can take me from His grasp.
I am comforted in both His guidance and correction because they proclaim to me how much He loves me. I know I am a child of God, because He treats me as only a Father would.

I brought nothing to the table, yet I feast like a king in the presence of my worst enemies. What my enemy sought to harm me with proved to be the downfall of his reign.

I no longer call My shepherd simply "Master" because He has anointed me with the title of Child and Heir. I can ask for nothing more than this. I am content because already I am overflowing with the blessing...and still He adds more.

I awake in the new mercies of my Shepherd every morning, and in every step I observe His goodness surrounding me.
Why would I leave this flock where I have found my very life? I can think of no reason good enough, so here I will dwell, within His House, among His own, basking in the joys of belonging forever and ever.

Discovering the Art of Trust

Tonight I learn to trust.

I am on the brink of a decision…a decision that I cannot make. I have done all I can – all that is humanly possible I believe. Now I just sit and wait to see what tomorrow brings forth and what will await me in the outcome.

Some days it is hard to trust. It is easy to wonder if I have missed something and that is what is causing the delay. Was there some command of Christ’s that I have mislaid? Is there some duty I have failed to perform? Is there a sin I have not dealt with? Am I in the wrong place?

So I turn to my Bible to find the answer. I enter a cocoon of discovery to find what I am lacking.

Trust in the Hebrew means “to flee for protection; to confide in; have hope in; make refuge (Psalm 5:11) to be confident or sure; secure (Psalm 25:2, Psalm 9:10).
In the Greek it is “to expect or confide”.

So I wonder. Is my firm confidence and expectation in the Lord? It is a good question…but I don’t know that I have found the Word of the Lord for today yet. So I continue my search.

My need is for provision so, like normal, I find myself turning to Matthew 6 to read about the Lord’s great and trustworthy provision…and to find out what I am lacking.

Ah, the Lord takes care of the birds. They don’t toil or spin or store in barns for tomorrow – yet the Lord takes care of them day by day. The lilies too. What purpose does a lily serve? Nothing useful, surely, yet a lily does exactly what it was designed to do. A lily is a lily according to the Creator’s design and the Creator is careful to clothe the lily in splendor the same as the raspberry or any other more useful thing. Is a bird lazy to not think about tomorrow and fret if the food for the winter is stored up? No! Of course not! A bird has its job to do (purposeless though it may look compared to my own) and in doing its job it is not neglected by the Lord.

Here am I, setting out to do what I believe the Lord has designed me to do and I am fretting because the barns aren’t yet full for winter. Me! The one who has never gone hungry – the individual who has never lacked any necessity – the one who has seen the Lord move time and again just in the perfect time, the perfect way, and with the perfect results. And I am fretting?!?!
It’s true in verse 30 where it calls my faith so little. That word literally means “lacking confidence”. Not being absolutely confident in the ability and willingness of my Father to take care of me constitutes faithlessness. A faithless person’s destiny is grim indeed and my anxiety places me on the level of one tottering on the brink of hell. Why? Because faithlessness denies the nature, attributes, even the very existence of God!
Ouch! Tis time I spare not a moment in becoming very confident in the character of my God!

After a great deal of time spent in repentant tears and joyful praise I finish reading Matthew 6. I stumble upon this gem of wisdom…

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

Seek – the picture here is quite interesting. It is the image of an assassin seeking revenge on his foe. It is pursuit. It is singular purpose, focus, vision; unflinching determination. It is not resting until it has acquired what it was after.

First – means first in time, first in place, first in order, first in importance. It means at the beginning, chiefly, before anything else, with no hesitation.

Seek first what? Seek the kingdom of God. This includes the rule and reign of the kingdom of God.

What is kingdom rule?
• Righteousness
• Peace
• Joy

Righteousness is justification or right relationship with God due to a correct dealing with sin.
Peace is quietness or a “sense of God’s mercy. Peace regulating, ruling and harmonizing the heart.” (Adam Clarke’s Commentary)
Joy, last but not least, is a cheerfulness or calm delight (not noisy pandemoneous giddiness). But rather “happiness brought into the soul by the Holy Spirit and maintained there by the same influence.” (Clarke)

In other words, I am to pursue above all and before all “righteousness, without mixture of sin; peace, without strife or contention; joy, in the Holy Ghost, spiritual joy, without mixture of misery!” (Clarke)

How releasing! What wondrous things to pursue! And it is so much better than pursuing a paycheck or an answer from an employer.
Not only do I get to pursue the treasures that will bring delight and refreshing to my heart, but there is a promise that as I pursue them all that I need will be added. Mercy, justification, peace, joy AND provision. This sounds to me like a beautiful life!