Soul Restored

Psalm 23:3 "...He restores my soul."

The whole of chapter 23 is incredible, but that single phrase amazes me in it's beauty and comfort.

Your soul is made up of your mind, your will, and your emotions. It is your soul that the enemy directs his attacks at, for if he can get you to surrender your mind or your will or your emotions to him, the rest will follow easily.

Our mind is under constant attack from Satan is the thought-caster. He is always attempting to captivate our mind and attention with worldly distractions until the treasures of the Kingdom begin to look dry and bland by comparison. Perhaps your mind is confused with the voices of the world or other relationships always calling and pleading for you to turn aside in your pursuit of God. Perhaps the busyness of the day has dulled your thirst for God's presence. Perhaps He has become lower priority because the demands of responsibility have grown too large to handle. Or maybe the depthless glitter of the things the world calls success have blinded you and made you forget, for a time, that the pure in heart will see God.

Our wills are prone to wander to pleasure and indulgence. They are also frail and tend to be driven by the strongest winds or loudest fears. Maybe today you have grown discouraged by our failure, or you have forgotten the promises of God because they have delayed so long. Perhaps doubt has crept in unbidden and you can't find the courage anymore to trust and obey. Have there been a multitude of barriers and trials in your daily journey that tire you so you no longer want to will to follow Christ?

Our emotions are susceptible, too. Other loves pull us to worship a desirable image. Our own hearts lean away toward a desire for relationships that we see in the world. Unforgiveness can grow up like a poisonous weed, choking out godly love, and offenses cause our hearts to harden so we feel no kindly emotion towards others. Breaches of relationships caused by another's wrong attitudes can wound our emotions. And relational turmoil can steal from my time and passion for doing God's will.

In a single day we can face all these attacks and more. They can seem to be strangling the life from us. At times, in the heat of the battle, we can tend to wonder why God allows them.
Allow them, He does, for the same reason a coach allows an athlete to run until he feels he can run no more, to be tested to the limits of endurance, to be strong when every muscles cries out for rest.  It is because God is, in this process, making us strong enough to win.  He has promised that the overcomer will receive a crown, so he teaches us, in our daily journey, to overcome. Sometimes we grow, we learn, and we win the fight. Sometimes we get disheartened and we lose a battle we should have won...so we limp back to the cross, weary, worn, knowing we have great need of mercy.

And then...when we feel as though we are to weak to go on, when we feel the sting of failure, when our view of people, life, our future, has been jaded and damaged, He comes. He lifts us up as a shepherd does His little lamb, and He makes us as good as new.  He receives us back as a soldier from the fight is received home to a father's embrace and to healing.  He hides us in His pavilion (Psalm 91), and He brings back everything that has been lost. He "restores the years that the locust has destroyed," it says in Joel 2:25, and He gives us another chance to fight and to WIN.

Christ is the Lover of your soul. There is not a care that escapes His notice, a tear that He does not gather, a disappointment that He does not sympathize with, or a battle that He does not guard you in.

He brings peace that passes all understanding, and soothes your inflamed mind.  He gives us His Word that pierces like a sword through turmoil and confusion and realigns our priorities.
He restores the will to obey. He reminds us of eternal reward, so we can fight on valiantly. His Holy Spirit "cheers and guides." He gives "strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow."
He heals your heart. He gives hope for restored relationships, and courage to face those yet unrestored. He gives wisdom to those who seek it, and pours out His love in great floods over every relationship. The strength He offers is a bottomless well we can tap. His love is an eternal fountain. His mercy He gives freely to us, so we may lavish it on others just as freely.

He makes it so that we can wake up tomorrow with all the joy, the hope and the expectancy of a little child with a lifetime of bright opportunities ahead. He makes us a new creation once again. Then He sits back and looks at His new creation and says with a smile, "It is good."

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:28-31)

Sun & Shadows

It feels as though spring is coming at last to Idaho. Yes, it’s only the middle of February, but it feels so long since the ground has not been frozen.

It is still cold in the mornings, though, and the frost still hangs around until mid morning some days.  I was watching out my window as the sun was coming up the other day, and noticed something interesting.  Everywhere the sun hit was thawed, but the shadows stayed icy.  In fact, I remember, there is a whole side of our house that stays cold and dark and dead long after the sunlight encourages the little green heads of new vegetation to appear elsewhere.

Abnormal? No, but as I watched, God posed a question to me. Do I have shadows in my heart that block the Lord from being able to bring my WHOLE heart to life?

Hurts from the past, wrong motives, incorrect concepts of God, willfulness, disobedience…these are obstructions that cast an icy shadow on my life.  They are barriers I leave up to keep God out, when He wants to tear them down and resurrect my whole heart into newness of life. It is this type of thing that can keep the light of the Holy Spirit from being “shed abroad” in my heart (Romans 5:5).

Wounds, offenses, deception, and disobedience are all things that are part of the “old man” mentioned in Romans 6:6 that is to be done away with so the new man can live in Christ.  Just like the spring brings a melting away of the old season and a bursting forth of the new, so the work of God in our lives should bring complete metamorphosis.  This metamorphosis cannot occur, though, as long as we cling to the things that thwart the “sun” of God’s love.

We need to tear down the barriers that block parts of our lives from being seen in the light of God’s Word and allow an absolute thawing of our hearts so new life can spring up inside of us.

It is coming on springtime, but in a spiritual sense I believe it is a season of complete transformation.  Let frigid winter pass away with all its deadness and let spring bring you to a new level in Christ – the new creation!

Wisdom & Relationships

Sometimes in the Body of Christ we encounter hard relationships. Relationships in the church are close and rewarding, but sometimes in their closeness they can have rubs and head-butting.The question is: What do we do with people that are hard to get along with?

"Lord, give me wisdom to handle this person." It's a prayer I am well acquainted with.

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him..." (James 1:6, NKJV)

Good promise, and familiar, but read on...

"...But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord..."

(James 1:6-7 NKJV)

Now, why this caution against doubt following a promise of wisdom? Think on this for an answer: Faith is shown by obedience. Whether or not I act on the wisdom given is a measure of my faith. If I am not willing to respond to what the Lord commands me to do in my relationships, I had better not even ask.

That settled, let's get on to the wisdom part.

"Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace."

(James 3:13-18 NKJV)

Here begins our study:

There are two types of wisdom, God's and the world's (i.e. Satan's, if you want it given straight).

Godly wisdom is shown by good conduct in meekness. Meekness is great strength tamed by self-control and reigned into the boundaries of the Holy Spirit. It is well-taught by our great Counselor, the Spirit of Wisdom and well-learned by humble pupils. It often goes against our natural reactions, our idea of justice, or our sense of self-protection. Meekness lets God be the judge.

Worldly wisdom is sensual and demonic. It shows itself in envious practices and selfish motives and comes naturally to the proud and worldly. It is taught by the devil himself to those unwilling to restrain their sinful passions. With this worldly wisdom (reasoning, and self-seeking logic) comes every evil thing.

Now let's get personal...

Heavenly wisdom:

Pure - it is first pure. This must proceed all. Right standing with God will cleanse our motives and pave the way for right relationship with others. I cannot expect to begin restoration with a person unless all is restored and pure in my relationship with God. Impurity will taint all the rest if I let it remain.

Peaceable - does not look for arguments. When arguments do arise it goes to great lengths to quiet them. Peace comes from God and those that are His make peace (notice, the word is "make" not "keep"). Blessed are the peacemakers for their identity will be easily recognized (see Matthew 5).

Gentle - careful words and a tongue restrained. Gentleness will have no double meanings or hidden barbs. It will be evidenced in both demeanor and words - it starts in how we allow ourselves to think of others and shows itself in my expression long before the first word is spoken.

Willing to yield - doesn't have to be right. In fact, this wisdom doesn't even have to always present it's side. Think about "yielding" to some stranger as you walk through a door. You would stop, smile, and bid them pass through first. Yielding is far from passive in this form - it is the first to take proactive actions of humility.

Full of mercy - Mercy is the action in front of a heart of forgiveness. Mercy must begin with deep forgiveness because it must be shown to the undeserving. In fact, mercy is not mercy unless the object is undeserving! If the people around us were always in the right God would never have commanded mercy. Mercy begins with us understanding where we came from, our own sinful nature, and God's great mercy - once we grasp this we can be greatly merciful (Luke 7:47).

Full of good fruits - Ask yourself this: What comes as a result of my actions? Love, joy, peace, etc? The Spirit of Wisdom is another name for the Holy Spirit. If the Fruit of the Spirit are not evidenced in my action then I am not walking in true wisdom. A good measure of this is how my heart and conscience feel as I reflect on my actions later. If I was walking in the Spirit in good conduct I will be filled with love, joy, peace, and so on as I remember. If I am edgy, confused, or ashamed later, it is a sure sign that I did not act in wisdom.

Without partiality - Here is where the rubber hits the road. This is a test of your heart between you and God because no one else can judge your inner motives. Do you make decisions based on this person? That is a simple definition of partiality. Do you think of them in a different light than others? Do you avoid them? Do you shun them? Partiality is a great divider within the Church because by it we begin to identify people as something other than who God placed them to be. We call enemy who God placed as brother. We consider stranger who we should be unified with. Just as favoritism breeds bitterness in families, so partiality brings great wounding and division in the Family of God that cannot be afforded if we are to reach our full potential.

Without hypocrisy - without a pretense of good covering a real evil. This does not mean that if you despise someone you should show it to the world. It DOES mean to be, in your heart of hearts, as pure and kind as you would want the world to think you are! Lay your heart bare before God so He can deal with the envy, the bitterness, and the offense. You wouldn't cover a wound with the wounding object still in it. That would serve only to poison and destroy your own body. Why, in the spiritual, would you clutch a wound and not allow the offense and bitterness to be cleaned out of it? Let God wash your wounds, let it be a clean and final work. Allow the love of God to rinse you out, fill you up, and leave no room for the bitterness to creep back in. If you do you will find that kindness comes easily. There will be none of the stress and strain of trying to be nice while seething with anger inside. Those who are full of the love of God have love spill out of them - like an over-full glass of water - every time they move or speak.

Here is wisdom, if we choose to have the faith enough to obey it. Walking in it will change our lives, and our relationships can - by the power of the promise of God - be restored!

One last thought. I don't have to handle the burden of changing someone else. If I allow the Lord to change and shape my reactions I can walk in wisdom (and wonderful joy and peace), close to God, and showered in His Presence no matter what decisions another person makes. God gives us freedom to use His wisdom even if no one else does.

Count It ALL Joy

James 1:2-4 (NKJV)

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."

If the Lord delivered us immediately from every uncomfortable or distressing circumstance we may be struck by His might and power...for a moment. Soon, though, the memory of would fade like a bad dream, and the memory of deliverance would fade with it. How could we remember? It was merely a fleeting second of need drowned in the cares of life.

When the Lord does NOT instantly deliver us from our trial, but walks with us in love, in comfort, in strength; that is when we are forever changed.

It is then we must lean on God to survive...and it is then we realize that, when in God's care, nothing can touch us.

It is in these sort of trials that we begin to truly understand the meaning in Psalm 91 "I will not be afraid of the terror by night, nor by arrows that fly by day..."

To be fully confident in the ability of God is to be without fear. As we watch the Lord carry us through our sorest trials we gain that full confidence...it is a mere matter of watching Him prove Himself. We can never have a chance to see the full ability of our God at work for us personally without trials. We can never have the ability to walk unscathed through life without these trials to test and strengthen us.

In this great trust and confidence we find that ability to accept any challenge without losing faith. We learn to smile in the middle of pain and sorrow. We gain a mature perspective of life and are able to weather the storms without shifting course.

In fact, the more we trust God, the more we become like Him. When we are fully trusting in the Lord and walking in His Spirit, love blossoms effortlessly and is not crushed by disappointment (because our hope is in God alone and He never disappoints). Joy flows out of us in rivers that are not stopped by circumstance (because God is bigger than my circumstance). Patience...here's the fun part....patient endurance gives birth to greater patient endurance which paves the way for greater acts of God to be worked in us! Gentleness comes naturally because we stop striving to survive. Goodness develops because, of course, we become like what we look at constantly. Faith rises in greater measure because we see the mighty works of God on an hourly basis. Meekness arrives as well, because trials also humble us - they expose the weakness and flaws of the old man so we are motivated to crucify him and live, instead, in Christ. Self-control, too, comes in trials as we learn to bring every emotion and reaction in check and fully possess this soul of ours to bring it under the Lordship of Christ in His ways.

Trials work patience. Patience work godly maturity. Enduring in trials stamps us indelibly with the character of Christ. THAT is both the reason and the means to count trials a joy.