trial

Discerning the voice of the Holy Spirit

/ Renee / Leave a comment

As I prayed over the topic the Lord had for me to consider today, and these words came into focus, I admit, I didn’t want to type them. I don’t feel like an expert on this front. I may have said even a year ago that I felt more confident discerning the voice of my Lord, but then I walked through a period of trial that caused me to doubt and question, do I really know the voice of my Lord?

Further, I realized a doubt cloaked in the guise of self preservation and wise discernment came.

Do I trust the voice of my Lord?

As humans, our flesh is bred to believe the lie that when things are going well, it must be because we did something right. Contrarily, we believe that when things are tough, and trials come, that it must mean that God is displeased and that we are being punished. However, walking through a trial isn’t an indication that I hadn’t rightly heard the voice of the Lord and obeyed. I don’t need to look any further than the book of Job to know this to be true. Job 1:1 states, “In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.” The writer of Job establishes, in the opening line of the book, that Job is blameless, upright, feared God, and shunned evil. These characteristics, if my flesh logic is correct, should mean that Job will face no adversity from this point forward. Certainly, God would be pleased with a man like this and therefore, have no cause to punish him. But, Isaiah 55:8-9 tells us of the Lord, “my thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways are it your ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” And so, as we read on in Job, we learn that not only does “good behavior,” not always yield “good results,” but we also gain understanding into exactly where the source of trial, destruction, and death come from.

Job 1: 6-12, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 8 And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” 9 Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? 10 Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” 12 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.”

In this ethereal exchange we gain critical insight into the nature of God and the tactics of the enemy. First, Satan is among those who come to present themselves before the Lord. He has been given authority for a time, but it is not omniscient authority. Satan still has to present Himself before the Lord. 2 Corinthians 4:4 reveals, “The god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” The “god” of this world, refers to Satan. He has been given authority for a time, but not eternally. Jesus says Heaven and earth will pass away, but that His words will never pass away (Matthew 24:35). When this world passes away, so will the reign that Satan has been given. Second, it is the Lord who brings Job to Satan’s attention, “Have you considered my servant Job?” If we reflect back to Isaiah 55:8, we remember that God’s ways are not our ways, His thoughts not our thoughts. We know that God works together all things for the good of those who love Him, and have been called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). We know that God had a purpose for drawing Job to Satan’s attention, and that the purpose was good. However, this does not mean that good things were about to happen to Job even though he was righteous. And yet, God was working those things together for the good of Job, despite his despair and suffering, the goodness of God was not diminished. Neither was Job’s conduct the cause of despair and suffering, which means that despair and suffering is not viewed by God in the same way as it is viewed by us. He has the whole picture, while we just have a small window. Finally, Satan misunderstands a critical element of the believer’s source of hope in that he associates our loyalty and faith to that which he can impact: our physical and temporary state. He falsely believed that by impacting Job’s life in such a negative way that Job’s spirit would reject the Giver of life and all things, in whom Job knew was redemption and recognized this as a greater state than any temporal belonging.

Job 1: 21 reveals the rightful position of the heart in response to suffering and trial.

Job 1: 12-21 states, “The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”

Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
    and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
    may the name of the Lord be praised.”

Understanding God’s will isn’t exactly as mystical as it may at times seem. 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 says, “rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” The will of God is to rejoice always, and pray without ceasing. The will of God is to give thanks in everything. Job was stripped of every blessing, his livelihood, his belongings, his future, his children. In response, he fell to the ground and worshipped.

Job says something else that has always confounded and amazed me. A statement of such assured hope, in the midst of such egregious crises, heartache the likes of which I can only imagine, and gives me such hope. In Job 19:25, Job says, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth.” Job knew that, in the end, the things of this world are temporal but my Redeemer will stand. In that day, the agony and heartache of this world will fade. The tears will dry. The doubt and fear will flee in the face of His glory. Knowing this adjusts and aligns the pathways of the heart necessary to open channels of gratitude that flood my heart with His grace.

Gratitude is easier when things are going well. It’s much harder leaving the clinic with a cancer diagnosis. It’s not as simple while walking through the tender ground of a cemetery with your back to the loved one who isn’t coming home. It’s much harder in these moments.

But, the will of God is to give thanks.

So, how do I know when the voice of the Lord is speaking to me versus my own idealization of circumstances? As well intended as they may be, they still aren’t the perfect and sovereign understanding of a holy God. Discerning the voice of the Holy Spirit begins with walking closely, knowing the Lord, so that when trials come I don’t forget that He is good. Discerning the voice of the Holy Spirit comes with a critical check question: Am I giving thanks in this trial? Bad things don’t mean that God has forsaken us. Bad things mean there is an enemy constantly seeking to undermine God. Reject his attempts to take your eyes off the giver of every good and perfect gift and cling to the hope that is in Jesus Christ.

Today is the day of salvation. If rejoicing during trial seems like a language you don’t speak, the words will come into focus when rejoicing during trial means a heart overflowing with gratitude in response to the sacrificial death of a sinless savior who erased the debt of sin, and imparted righteousness in its place. Receive the joy of salvation today.

God bless.

Beauty from ashes

/ Renee / Leave a comment

The love of God is a mystery. Why He would come to earth, willingly yield His authority, the beauty and perfection of Heaven to empty Himself, and save me, is a mystery. The Bible says that Christ, “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2: 6-7). The Bible also says that He did this when we were in opposition to Him. Paul writes in Romans, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Imagine, laying your life down in the most horrific manner, while your mother, your siblings, your best friends looked on, all for those who, at the foot of the cross, mocked you, despised you, and rejected you.

On the cross, Jesus prayed for their forgiveness, gave His life all the same, redeemed the criminal next to Him by his profession of faith -the single greatest example that works contribute nothing to salvation – the love of God is a mystery. It is incomprehensible. The love of God is too great to leave us as we are. Once we accept Christ, we embark on a journey of being made into Christ’s image of willing and obedient submission to the Father; trusting in the goodness and perfection of His will, the journey we embark on is a daily death to the flesh that at all times is still in opposition to a Holy God.

John MacArthur explained the war with the flesh and the spirit in this way: there is no war if there is no spirit, the dead, un-regenerated flesh can do what it wants, it’s the point the Holy Spirit makes us alive by His indwelling in our heart that the battle begins. But, for this time, we still wear the rotting, corrupt, coat of flesh. The believer will shed that coat when we are reunited with Christ at the point of death, and glorified in Jesus Christ, but for now, the flesh still desires sin, it still desires things of this world, which is why we are commanded to take up our cross, deny our flesh, and follow Him. The mark of salvation is the war waged by the spirit to sanctify the believer, removing all lies the enemy would have us believe, and exchanging the desires of our flesh for righteousness in willing submission, as demonstrated by Christ’s death on the cross. The apostle Paul writes, in 2 Corinthians 10:5, “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,” taking every thought captive, and making it obedient, is only activated by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.

That process is called sanctification. I wanted to lay all that mysterious groundwork out there to give a tangible example through the eyes of our eight year old. She has professed salvation, she recently made a public declaration of the profession of her faith through baptism, and she’s going through a tough trial. Her best friend is moving across the country at the end of this school year.

She’s so little and my mama heart wants to just pluck this pain from her, relieve her of the nights she’s gone to bed crying, and though I’ve laid beside her stroking her hair and reassuring her that it’s all going to be okay, I know that this is part of the call as her parent to train her up. My husband and I have been struggling to know how to comfort her. We’ve offered family games, treats, special trips, anything to see her little face brighten. Recently, he said to me, “this is something that she’s just going to have to work through with the Lord. I don’t think there’s anything we can really do to help.” My heart just cringes at the thought there is something my baby is going through that I can’t help, but he’s right. This is a work of the spirit to sanctify her, and grow her in the likeness of Christ.

Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:7, “so that the tested genuineness of your faith- more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

The genuineness of her faith is being tested. What she believes about who God is and what His word says is being refined and it is our job to train her up in this faith.

Connecting the dots for her heart is where the training is, discerning any lies the enemy might plant there, and planting seeds of truth to combat his attacks is part of what our mission is. The other part is fervent prayer covering her, and petitioning the Lord that she would rightly use truth to combat the lies of the enemy. Through this trial, she will either come out of it more like Christ, submitted to the plan and purpose of God, trusting that He is good and faithful, or she will come away with a view of God as a taker, as someone who doesn’t see her pain, and didn’t fix her problem. Redirecting her focus to the enemy, to the one who is the taker, the destroyer, is part of our work as parents. Satan would deflect blame at all cost to God. It’s our mission to make sure her view of God is rightly placed amidst her suffering.

Jesus said in John 10:10, “the thief {satan} comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” The life Jesus refers to is eternal. He came to give us eternal life. It’s why He submitted to the will of the Father despite egregious suffering, the extent of which most of us today will never know. Redirecting our focus to the enemy in times of trial, understanding that God is good, that His plan of redemption began before the foundations of the earth were laid, and rightly positioning our hearts in obedience to His will even when we’re not sure of the outcome is the refining fire by which our faith is tested and made more like Christ. God loves us too much to leave us as we are, so from the point of salvation He begins refining. He will accomplish that work despite our obedience, our shortcomings, our failures, and He is able to accomplish His purpose through the sinful, faithlessness of man.

The most beautiful picture of this was demonstrated by the healings of Christ’s ministry. When he saw the sick, demons possessed, the hurting, and the lame, He was moved by compassion and healed them, but they had to move forward from that point, and walk in the faith of the One who healed them. There’s an example in the Bible, where Jesus, who was moved by compassion, healed ten lepers. In Luke 17: 11-19, Luke records, “Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” All ten knew who Jesus was. All ten were healed. Only one received salvation. One of the characteristics of God is compassion. His grace extends to the believer and the unbeliever, but what is in our heart is what determines if we are truly well. We don’t become magically perfect at the point of salvation. That glorification will come when we shed our earthly flesh coat and are in the presence of the Lord, but in the meanwhile, we walk with the faith that it is by our faith that we have been made well, eternally well, redeemed before a holy and righteous God by the blood of Jesus Christ.

This is why we do not “grieve as those who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Our hope is eternal despite our temporal circumstances. He makes beauty from ashes, regenerates that which is dead, and puts us on a path of being made into the image of Christ. Today is the day of salvation. If you haven’t accepted Jesus’ death and resurrection, receive Him today.

God bless.