Author: Elisabeth Elliot
Source: A Lamp For My Feet
Scripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 10:4-6
Surrender Every Thought
"Although of course we lead normal human lives, the battle we are fighting is on the spiritual level. The very weapons we use are not those of human warfare but powerful in God's warfare for the destruction of the enemy's strongholds. Our battle is to bring down every deceptive fantasy....We fight to capture every thought until it acknowledges the authority of Christ" (2 Cor 10:4-6 JBP).
As I was praying this morning these words were in my mind. There were other things in my mind as well, things which had certainly not acknowledged the authority of Christ. I had been praying for months: Lord, have mercy on So-and-So. There was evidence that He was answering that prayer, and, far from being thankful for that, I found in my heart Jonah's anger. Why should God be merciful to the people of Nineveh or to this person? They didn't deserve it!
Right then and there the spiritual battle was drawn. Whose side was I on anyway? Everything that was opposed to God and his purposes had to be surrendered. I had been trying to explain to God why my own feelings ought to be considered, why his were all wrong. That, too, had to be captured, made to acknowledge Christ's authority. A surrendered mind is not one which is no longer in operation. It is, rather, a mind freed from rebellion and opposition. To be Christ's captive is to be perfectly free.
Author: Warren Wiersbe
Source: Prayer, Praise and Promises
Scripture Reference: Psalm 69:1-12
The Worst Death
Read Psalm 69:1-12
I was chatting about death with a neighbor once, using it as an opportunity to witness to him. We were discussing what the most difficult way to die would be. I finally said, "Perhaps the most difficult way to die would be to be smothered--to be sinking in quicksand and be smothered."
David had that kind of experience spiritually. "Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me" (vv. 1, 2). It's bad enough to be sinking in quicksand, but David also had the floods coming over him. What did he do? He did what every Christian should do. First, he waited. "My throat is dry; my eyes fail while I wait for my God" (v. 3). "Let not those who wait for You, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed" (v. 6). David knew the situation was in God's control. Yes, he did cry out to God for rescue. Nothing is wrong with that. But he also waited.
Second, he wept. "When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, that became my reproach" (v. 10). Reproach is used again and again in Psalm 69. (This is a messianic psalm that talks about the reproach Jesus endured for us.) Nothing is wrong with weeping. Pain hurts, and some situations can break your heart. David waited and wept, and he knew that God was going to see him through.
Third, he watched. "Let not those who wait for You, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed because of me; let not those who seek You be confounded because of me, O God of Israel" (v. 6). In other words David says, "It's not important what happens to me. But I don't want to create any problems for anybody else." Throughout this psalm David becomes more and more like the Lord. When you find yourself sinking, wait, weep, watch and let God work.
* * * When you find yourself sinking in the quicksand, there is little else you can do but cry to the Lord. Sometimes He allows the "quicksand" experiences to turn you to Him. Wait for God. Acknowledge that He is in control. Give Him the pieces of your broken heart and watch Him work for you. You can depend on His faithfulness.
Author: Woodrow Kroll, Tony Beckett
Source: FaithWalk
Scripture Reference: Job 3-4 Acts 7:44-60
Hemmed In
Job 3-4, Acts 7:44-60
Key Verse: Job 3:23
Among the words a child learns first are no and why--two words that indicate a predisposition to do one's own will and not the will of another. Children learn to say "no" very early. The one-word question comes a little later. The child looks at the parent and asks, "Why?" In essence he is saying, "What you ask does not fit my plans."
Sometimes we ask God the same question, looking toward heaven and saying in our hearts, if not with our lips as well, "Why?" Job did the same thing, although with more than one word. His why questions are spelled out in detail, and in chapter 3 he came as close as he ever would to cursing God. Instead, he asked a series of rhetorical questions.
"Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in?" he asked. (v. 23). Tough question! He felt hemmed in, but no longer by God's protection. Instead, he felt hemmed in by trouble. The way was hidden to him, made no sense to him, and no way out was apparent to him. So he asked, "Why?"
Job never would get his question answered. Instead, God demonstrated His glory to Job and he was so affected by it that he repented, regretting that he asked why in the first place (42:6).
At times we all feel hemmed in and wonder why. In those times we must trust that God is sovereign, faithfully in control.
Trust can be difficult, especially when things don't make sense. But they make sense to God. Ask Him to help you trust even when you want to ask why.
