Perspective Not Panic

“Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?” Then I thought, “To this I will appeal: the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand. I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God?" 

Psalm 77:7-13

One of the signs of discouragement is a loss of perspective. Things in your headlights look bigger than they actually are and objects in your rearview mirror look better than they were. Perception often does become your reality and when you are seeing life as overwhelming it becomes overwhelming. As life overwhelms you it crushes the hope out of you giving rise to discouragement.

Another sign of discouragement is the use of exaggerations - “Will the Lord reject FOREVER?” – In your calmer moments you know better than that. But pain or problems can cause you to panic and lose your perspective. “Will he NEVER show his favor again?” Seriously, you know better. “Has his unfailing love vanished FOREVER?” Really? Uh, no! I think you get my point.

When you hear yourself or someone else using exaggerations like this, especially in regard to God, you should recognize that as a sign of panic. It is evidence of discouragement and a loss of perspective. If you don’t make an intentional effort to address the panic and regain perspective it will become a downward spiral feeding on itself. Unless it is confronted and dealt with it will descend into depression.

Should you recognize this panic and loss of perspective and you realize you are discouraged but can’t shake it by yourself, call a friend or your pastor. Like Aseph in this Psalm, the best way out of panic is to get perspective back. See how he gets a hold on his distorted view of reality and focuses on God – "Then I thought, “To this I will appeal: the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand. I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God?"

Big problems are put back into perspective when you regain your focus on a BIGGER GOD! His power and His presence will help you get back your perspective. Once you have your perspective back your panic will ceases and you hope will begin to return.

I have had this happen to me. I know about panic – even panic attacks. Losing perspective and plunging into discouragement in no fun. Thankfully, each time I have been able to regain my perspective, remember the goodness of my God and reconnect with Him?

Maybe you have to. Maybe you have lost your perspective and are overcome with panic. Perhaps you are there now. If so, this message is for you. Let me remind you to stop focusing on your big problems and start remembering you have a bigger God!

Devotion Not Emotion

This morning I want to begin an investigation into the causes and the cures of discouragement that are mentioned or implied here in Psalm 77.  I don't think you have to read this Psalm very far to conclude this guy is discouraged and maybe even depressed. Discouragement certainly can lead to depression if it is  not effectively dealt with.

Beginning with this post I will share six things that can lead to discouragement and six things that lead you out of it. To help you grasp these concepts I have put them into short and rhythmic statements.

Here is the first one and it is based on verses 1-7 - “I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me. When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands, and I would not be comforted. I remembered you, God, and I groaned; I meditated, and my spirit grew faint. You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak. I thought about the former days, the years of long ago; I remembered my songs in the night. My heart meditated and my spirit asked: “Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again?"  Psalm 77:1-7

CONCEPT # 1 - DEVOTION NOT EMOTION

Emotions are a very important part of our relationship with God. It feels good to feel good about God. It feel good to feel that God feels good about you! It feels good to connect with God on a spiritual and emotional level.

Emotions are God-given and God ordained. He wired you emotionally so you are able to develop relationships with Him and with other people. Since He wants you to love Him He had to make you able to do that and emotions are how that happens.

But, for all that is good about emotions, they tend to be fragile and fickle easily affected by circumstances or surroundings. So, if you allow your emotions to lead your commitment to Christ, you will be subject to changes when your circumstances suddenly change. It follows then if you are led by emotions you will be more susceptible to discouragement.

That could well be what happened in this Psalm.

To avoid discouragement or to help you get beyond being discouraged, base your relationship to Christ on facts not on feelings - or, devotion over emotion. I am not saying that feelings are not important or powerful, I am just saying they are not a reliable foundation for faith.

In fact, you will find that when you build your faith upon your devotion to God and stand on the facts of God's Word, you will experience better emotions because feelings always follow faith! Make your decision to follow Christ regardless of how you feel and then be true to that decision no matter what your emotional state. That is what I mean by devotion over emotion.

Believe in this concept and live by it and I am sure you will be less prone to discouragement.

June 14, 2018

"Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers"  Psalm 1:1

If you want to be blessed by God you must find a place in God's will. This verse gives some insights on how to do that.

First, be careful who you believe - "Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked ...."

It is hard to get good advice from bad people. You are not likely to get godly advice from and ungodly person. How can you get trustworthy counsel from a person you can't trust?

Before you believe something ask yourself, "What does the Bible say?"

Be careful who you listen to. Ask yourself, "What is their life like?"

What are you filling your mind with? Always ask, "Can God honor this?"

Second, be careful how you behave - "....or stand in the way that sinners take...."

The old saying is, "Birds of a feather flock together." You will be judged by the company you keep.

If you are committed to doing the right thing you will not want to spend time with the wrong people.

Are the people you spend the most time with lifting you up or are they pulling you down? Do they draw you closer to God or do they pull you away?

Sow a thought and you reap and act;

Sow an act, and you reap a habit;

Sow a habit, and you reap a character;

Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.

If the friends you spend the most time with can impact your destiny, what sort of friends should you choose? Are they exhibiting the sort of behavior God can bless? Are they helping or hindering your behavior?

Third, be careful who you have for buddys - "or sit in the company of mockers"

If you want God's blessing, why would you develop close friendships with people who God is not able to bless? Wouldn't you be better off finding friends who share your faith and your values?

The easiest thing in the world is to be negative, and cynical, and sarcastic. It doesn't take a spiritual giant to recognize problems, but it does take a person of faith and conviction to come with ideas to solve it. If you want to have a positive attitude and a positive perspective on life, why would you spend your time around cynical and negative people?

If you want to be blessed and delivered from the struggles with sin in your life, some things need to be done to help you live in God's will, and learn in God's Word, and love in God's way.

Get wise godly counsel so you will believe right. Get grounded in God's Word so you will behave right. Get godly friends who can encourage and edify you in your faith.

Who are you listening to?

What are you learning from?

Who are you hanging around with?

Blessed Is The One...

"Blessed is the one......."    Psalm 1:1a

Some men want success. Some want to impress. Some desire to possess. God wants to bless and He would love to bless you. When He blesses you it satisfies all those other desires. Having God's blessing IS success for a believer. It is evidence that you HAVE impressed Him. And it allows you to possess all that comes with His favor.

Men who want success or who need to impress or who desire to impress are really looking for the same thing - happiness. Each is in pursuit of what he thinks will make him happy.

But the Psalmist assures that the blessing of God is the source of true happiness. The word used here for happiness has several implications and all of them are good - (happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) - are accurate renderings of the word for "blessed".

Are you blessed?

A person who is blessed not only enjoys favor with God and all His benefits, but they also become a blessing to others. Those who live with or work with or worship with or hang out with a blessed person find that they are blessed by being with him.

Do you know someone like that? Is there someone like that in your life?

If so, thank God for them. If so, tell them how much you appreciate them. Learn from them.

Perhaps the bigger question is, "Are you that sort of person?" Do you know God's blessing on your life. Are others blessed because you are around them? Does God's blessing reside in you? Does His peace follow you? Does His presence follow you? Does His power flow through you?

Here's how:

"Blessed is one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,  but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers."  Psalm 1:1-3

Finding success may bless you but not many others. Impressing others will not bless them. Nothing you can possess will do much to bless.

Live for God's blessing. 

Live in God's blessing. 

Live to be a blessing.

June 12, 2018

"Blessed is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly , nor stands in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down where the scornful gather."   Psalm 1:1

Here's a pop quiz: "Would you rather be blessed or cursed?"

I think I know your answer.

Though the answer is obvious, the significance of that answer is not. You are either one or the other. If you are not blessed you are cursed. I say that because I fear there is a tendency to think that there are shades of blessedness. But the fact is if you are not living under God's blessing you are cursed. There are not "kind of blessed" or "sort of blessed" people. His blessing begins with the removal of the curse. Unless you understand that you will not appreciate the importance of being blessed.

The writer of the Psalms spells out clearly what it means to be blessed.

I like the Amplified Version of the Bible to give clarity to the undesrstanding of Biblical texts. Here is how it explains what it means to be blessed: BLESSED =  (HAPPY, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable).

You can plug in those synonyms without it altering the meaning of the verse. HAPPY is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly......."

To be blessed means to be happy! Happy about what? He is happy because of Who he loves - God! He is happy because of how he lives - godly! And He is happy because of what he learns - the Word of God!

Also, you can substitute the word "fortunate" as well! A blessed man is a fortunate man because of what Jesus did for him on the cross! Notice it didn't say "lucky" it said fortunate. Blessing comes as the result of right choices and decisions not from a random confluence of events.

Thirdly, you could replace "blessed" with "prosperous". Usually, a blessed man becomes prosperous because he makes good choices and wise decisions that result in profitable outcomes for a "blessed" man.

You have it within your power to live a  "blessed" Life! The question is, "Will you?" Will you choose to live a bless life? Now that you know three things God blesses and you refuse to do any of those things - you will live under the curse of sin and pride.

Do you love God with ALL your heart?

Do you live according to His Word?

Do you have a desire and a discipline to learn His Word?

Loving, living and learning lead to blessedness! Reject the curse - receive the blessing!

June 11, 2018

"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."  Philppians 1:21-22

The barnyard animals loved their farmer. He had taken good care of them for many years and made their lives very pleasant. He loved them and in their animal way, they loved him.

One day they were discussing how blessed they were to be owned by such a kind and generous man. It was decided they would honor him to show their appreciation. They all readily agreed and began to brainstorm on the best way to communicate their appreciation for him.

Finally they came upon an idea that pleased them all. Since the farmer arose early every morning to do his chores they knew that he loved eating a good hearty breakfast. So, to thank him they thought they would prepare a breakfast in his honor.

"How shall we do it?" one of them asked.

"Well," said the hen, "I will gladly contribute a half dozen of my delicious eggs!"

"Great idea!" said the cow, "I will give milk for him to drink and cream for Him to make butter for his biscuits."

The hog was strangely silent. The hen and the cow looked at him indignantly and the hen challenged, "Hey, hog! I am giving eggs for our farmer's breakfast and the cow is gladly contributing her milk. How about if you donate some ham and bacon!"

This simple silly story about the barnyard animals illustrates the difference between involvement and commitment. The hen and the cow were willing to be involved but the hog would be committed. They would be giving from themselves but he would be giving himself. That is a big difference! That is commitment! Involvement costs you something - but commitment costs you everything!"

Paul in saying, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" is saying, "I am committed not just involved!"

How do we know that he is committed? We know because he is willing to die. He was willing to pay the cost. Paul loved God more than He loved life itself.

What about you? Are you involved or are you committed? 

How do you know? 

How would others know? 

How would God know? 

What price are you willing to pay? 

Do you love God more than you love your own life?

June 10, 2018

"Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him;"  Job 13:15

It is hard to question Job's commitment. In fact, he was so committed that God was boasting on Him to Satan. Wow!

That prompted Satan to put Job's commitment to the test. And, indeed he did!

We know, of course, that Job passed the test with flying colors!

I guess if you want to learn some insights on commitment, Job would be a good one to study.

What does it take to shake your commitment? Are you committed to the death as Job was?

God allowed Satan to take everything from Job except his life. All that God had blessed Job with was stolen from him. In a matter of a few hours it was all gone. Did that shake Job's commitment? No it didn't.

So, apparently Job was not committed to God for his prosperity. And Job was very prosperous!

Is your commitment to God based on how well He has blessed you? Or, are you committed to Him with the hope that He will prosper you? Job wasn't.

Satan was allowed to inflict Job with painful sores and boils. His misery was so severe that his wife urged him to curse God and die. But in the midst of his agony, Job never charged God foolishly. He remained truly committed to God.

Are you committed to God because you need a healing? Is your commitment dependent upon Him relieving you from pain or suffering? Job's wasn't.

Job was committed to the Person of God. He was not serving God out of any selfish agenda. He wanted nothing from God except God's presence. Job knew God was a personal God and wanted to know Him in person. He was not committed to what God could give him. He wasn't committed to what God could do for him. He wasn't looking for miracles. He just wanted an intimate personal relationship with God. And since that pleased God, God filled Job with His presence and gloried in him.

Commitment that honors God is commitment that hopes in God. Commitment that God desires is a commitment that desires Him. Commitment that pleases God is committed to pleasing God. Commitment that satisfies God is a commitment that seeks Him.

Job loved God more than life itself. That is what Job was committed to and it keep him faithful through several years of intense suffering and incredible loss. Job needed God and nothing more. That is what his suffering left him with - God and little else. But he found that was enough!

It is good to stop from time to time and examine you commitment to God. It is dependent on something you want Him to do for you? Are you trying to "work" God to get  what you want from him?

If you are committed to Him for any other reason than loving the Person of God, you will never know the level of intimacy that Job enjoyed with His God.