None of us have to look too long or hard to find someone or something wanting to zap our energy, enthusiasm, and excitement. How about that crazy neighbor or annoying co-worker, they just always seem to know what buttons to push. Or maybe that nagging ache in your foot, from a broken toe years ago that never healed correctly. It could be that you have bounced from one relationship to another, all of them ended poorly, and you begin to wonder if “Mr. Right” is even out there. Or it seems that every time you take your car to the garage for routine maintenance the mechanic tells you that major service is needed on your engine. Life is a grind and you just cannot seem find what you are looking for.  

It is likely that you either have just faced, or are presently facing, some challenge in your life. Regardless of what it is that zaps your energy, enthusiasm and excitement, it is true that for most of us, we most often try to find our contentment from external circumstances rather than an inner attitude. In a nutshell, we look to the world for contentment rather than drawing it from God. 

A verse in Jeremiah speaks to this very thing. It talks of where we draw our water from. In Jeremiah 2:13 we read these words, “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”

While this verse speaks of where to look for all that we need, it is also a verse that speaks of trust. It asks, “Do you trust God or look to the world to provide for all your needs?”

The next time someone or something threatens to steal your contentment, right then and there you have a choice – you can choose to draw from God’s well of living water or you can choose to draw from those other sources, those broken cisterns that have dirty water and so often run dry. When you find yourself in need of a drink, say, “Jesus, you are my source of living water and right now in this situation I come to You, asking You to fill me up,” allowing Him to quiet your spirit and calm your heart.

(Read John 4:1-26 for an encounter Jesus has with a Samaritan woman at a well.)

Remember, broken cisterns cannot hold water, they eventually run dry, so, today, draw from the spring of living water. Then repeat tomorrow, the next day, and every day after that!

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Are you the type of person who isn’t satisfied with simply knowing information? Instead, you like to dig into the “who, what, where, when and why.” If you are watching the Olympics, are you simply content to enjoy the competition or are you someone also interested in the back stories, say, maybe wondering why Russian athletes are competing as is ROC (Russian Olympic Committee)? If it interests you, the reason is because Russia is currently banned from participating in the Olympic Games due to a doping scandal, thus the Russian athletes not caught up in that scandal are considered “neutrals,” thus the ROC. You might remember that Russian athletes participated as OAR (Olympic Athlete from Russia) at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games.  

Sometimes it is fine to just look above the surface while other times it might be important to dig a little deeper. One area we often try to figure out, and always come up short, is trying to understand the ways of God. God works how God works and it is up to us to be faithful. If we knew all the answers to how and why God works, it wouldn’t really be faith now would it? And even if we knew those answers, we wouldn’t always understand (see Isaiah 55:8-9).

In the Old Testament book of Job, one of Job’s friends, Zophar, asks him this question regarding God’s supreme power, His unfathomable wisdom, and the reasons for His actions – “Do you think you can explain the mystery of God? Do you think you can diagram God Almighty? God is far higher than you can imagine, far deeper than you can comprehend, stretching farther than earth’s horizons, far wider than the endless ocean” (Job 11:7-9, MSG). (Zophar was seemingly under the false impression that he had access to the deep things of God, thereby allowing him to torment his friend for not holding the key to knowing God’s ways.)

At the end of the 11^th Chapter in the Book of Romans we read this doxology – “Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them? For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen” (11:33-36)

Our role, as followers of Jesus, is simple. We are called to be obedient and trust God in all things, even when those things don’t make sense. Proverbs 3:5 tells us, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding…” That verse is the what and v.6 gives us the why – “…in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” 

So today, focus less on trying to figure out the ways of God and more on trusting that His plan, His path, is way better than any plan or path you could ever dream up.

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You have worked long and hard to hone your craft, whatever that craft may be. You have dedicated yourself to becoming the best you can be. Others have helped you, guided you, coached you, advised you, all with the goal to see you “elevate your game.”

Because you’ve become successful, you now find yourself in rarified air, being called the best of the best by those around you, and suddenly there is no room for anything less than perfection. There is no room for being human, or for being average, even for one day. Victory is only seen as conquering the field. There is no room for second place; that would be considered failure. Even in victory, the best of the best are asked to excel all the time, creating a sense of perceived invincibility.

And while victory is certainly attained in accomplishments, it is also seen in simply doing your best, whatever that may be. But, maybe, just maybe, victory is also saying “I can’t” when I can’t. Victory might be listening to your mind and body, tending to your mental health, rather than listening to the sometimes crushing expectations placed upon you.

We are a world that is in perpetual motion. We run full bore from the minute we climb out of bed until the moment we collapse back into bed at night. Then once we climb back into bed at night we roll around and find ourselves not able to sleep; our bodies are exhausted, but our minds are still racing, thinking of a million things. Cell phones are never out of arms reach. Even weekends and vacations are of no help; we take our work and our technology with us wherever we go. And social media, oh my, it consumes, I could argue wastes, huge amounts of time and energy. Stillness is just not in our DNA. I admit, I am guilty of having difficulty slowing down and being still for more than five minutes. Even if my body is at rest, my mind is almost always thinking.

This past weekend I was fortunate to spend a few days with my family, really the first since pre-Covid. It was off the grid and away from the rat race called life. Just what I needed. One morning I got up early and put on my sweatshirt. Yes, it was cool, in the 50s, and quite nice. I sat alone on the porch within fifteen feet of a creek, listening to breeze blow through the leaves and the water trickle over the stones on the creek bed. I made a point to simply sit in the quietness and stillness of the early morning. In those few moments of stillness, not only was I reminded of the beauty around me, I also experienced God’s presence. I allowed myself to simply be still, and in doing so, an overwhelming sense of peace and contentment resided in my soul. In those quiet moments I could say it is well with my soul.

I grabbed my Bible and turned to some of my favorite “be still” verses…

In Psalm 62, the psalmist shows a strong resilience in the Lord, for rest is found in Him – “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. For he alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress: I will not be shaken” (vv.5-6).

Living in a world filled with greed, rampant abuses of power, and suffering, Psalm 37 offers these comforting words – “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the one who carries out evil devices” (v.7).

God himself says this in Psalm 46 – “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (v.10).

And today, and every day thereafter, I encourage you to make Psalm 131 your own. It expresses David’s walk with God, in which he has complete contentment because of a life fully submitted to, and trusting in, God. Here is that Psalm, which is only three verses – “O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.”          

There is an old hymn that begins like this – “When peace, like a river, attends all my way, when sorrows like sea-billows roll, whatever my path, you have taught me to say, ‘It is well, it is well with my soul.’” (Lyrics by Horatio G. Spafford)

So, I ask… Are you purposefully carving out time and space on a daily basis to be quiet and still with God? In doing so, you too will be able to say it is well with my soul.   

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In today’s world we are all looking for safety and security. We install antivirus software on our home computers to keep from being hacked. We have home alarm systems and put padlocks on storage units to keep the contents safe. You probably have a list of twenty or more passwords you use to keep your accounts secure. Hopefully you run an annual credit report to see that your financial information has not been compromised. Most companies have sophisticated privacy and security policies and procedures intended to both safeguard their data and protect against unauthorized access of that data.

None of the safety and security measures I just mentioned are bad things. But they do at times fail us. Maybe your computer gets infected with malware even though you have virus protection. Neither your home and storage unit are completely safe from theft; seasoned burglars know ways around alarm systems and padlocks. You are a victim of identity theft even though you have secure and encrypted passwords. You are very careful and cautious when paying for purchases with plastic cards, but when you pull an annual credit report, you are surprised to find that someone in Brazil has fraudulently opened a credit card in your name. Despite computer network firewalls that monitor and filter incoming and outgoing network traffic, data breaches and ransomware attacks continue to create widespread havoc.     

We all want assurance that what we do and where we go will provide us safety and security. And while you can never be 100% guaranteed regardless of the number of protections in place, you can find total safety and security in life’s troubles when you place your trust in God. (Notice I did not say exemption from life’s troubles, but rather, safety and security in those troubles. See John 16:33.)

Psalm 121 is a wonderful reminder that we have safety and security in God. It is the second of fifteen psalms (120-134) known as The Songs of Ascent. Among Bible scholars there is no real consensus as to what this “ascent” refers to. Among the most common interpretations is either these psalms were sung by worshippers as they ascended from Babylon to Israel three times a year for the festivals or that these fifteen psalms were sung by the priests as they ascended up the semi-circular steps within the Temple.

Here is Psalm 121 in its entirety – I lift up my eyes to the mountain –where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord,the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip – he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you – the Lord is your shade at your right hand;the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm – he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

And with God’s promise of safety and security also comes His peace; Numbers 6:24-26, Psalm 29:11, John 14:27.

The New Living Translation puts Proverbs 3:25-26 like this – “You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked, for the Lord is your security [confidence]. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap.”

God wants to give you the safety and security that is only found in Him through a personal relationship with His Son Jesus Christ. Right now, will you fully surrender your life to Him, either for the first time, or if you have let your relationship wane, will you recommit yourself to Him? If this is a new concept to you, I encourage you to take a few minutes and read a previous post by clicking here.

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We learn at an early age the use of excuses. With excuses we try to convince others that something was not our fault, in an attempt to justify our behavior. Excuses also somehow seem to magically make us feel better for failing to do what we were supposed to do. The dictionary defines excuse as “a plea offered as an explanation of a fault or for release from an obligation or promise with the hope of being forgiven or understood.” Excuses are our defense mechanism.

Not only do we make excuses to others, we sometimes make excuses to God as well. We try to avoid doing certain things He asks of us, laying out a case for why we are not the right person for the job. Today I want to look at a day in the life of Moses in which he tried to make excuses to God; to which God answered each excuse with a promise.   

This story takes place in Exodus 3:1-4:17.

This day for Moses began just as I imagine every day for the previous forty years had begun: tending to his flock of sheep. However, on this particular day God has different plans. God spoke to Moses through a burning bush, revealing His intention to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt and into a land flowing with milk and honey. I’m quite sure that sort of encounter wasn’t on Moses’ agenda as he thought about his day while showering.  

The first 40 years of Moses’ life can be summarized as years of privilege and success while the next 40 years were years of wandering and waiting (read Acts 7:20-33). It is likely that after 40 long years in the desert, Moses was devoid of any self-assertiveness that his (soon to be) divine calling would demand of him.

Reality is we too tend to throw up roadblocks to God’s calling in our lives, with a laundry list of excuses and procrastinations. Let’s look at the five excuses Moses threw at God and how God answered.

First, Moses said that he was not competent enough because he lacked identity (3:11) and God promised to be with Moses (3:12).

Next, Moses argued with God that he was not smart enough because he lacked information (3:13). God promised to give Moses insight (3:14-15).

When neither of those seemed to convince God, Moses turned to the excuse that he lacked respect or credibility with the people, which really was nothing more than him saying he lacked faith (4:1). God answered with a series of signs to strengthen Moses’ faith (4:2-8).

Moses kept going and next he pleaded with God that he was not gifted enough, that he lacked eloquence (4:10). To this excuse God promised to equip and empower Moses (4:11-12).

And finally, when all else failed, Moses used the excuse that really summed up his reluctance – he was unwilling (4:13). We now see God becoming angry (4:14).

The first four excuses seem to only be smokescreens to hide the fact that Moses really did not want to go, and this angered God. He had met every one of Moses’ objectives point by point, yet Moses still objected. Did God abandon his plan and find someone else? No, despite all the push back, God still showed divine patience, promising Moses the assistance of his brother Aaron (4:14-17). Moses did finally acquiesce, and you know the story – he led the Israelites out of bondage, where they spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness.  

Moses spent 40 years thinking he was somebody, 40 years learning that he was really a nobody, then 40 more discovering what God can do with a nobody. So, today I ask you, what is God calling you to do? And more importantly, what is keeping you from being obedient to that call?

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