“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NIV)
Picture, if you will, living at a time when it is illegal to own or even quote an English translation of the Bible. In 1526 in England, those who owned an English copy of the Bible were under the threat of execution by order of the king of England himself. Many Christians today are not aware of the incredible sacrifices that were made for an English translation of the Bible to end up in their hands today.
Knowing what it cost others and how willingly they made those sacrifices is inspiring and motivates me to treasure my Bible more dearly. William Tyndale was one such man who gave up so much out of devotion to God and love for others. Prior to Tyndale translating the New Testament and much of the Old Testament into English, only scholars in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew could read and understand Scripture. Everyone else had to rely on their bishops to tell them what the Bible said.
This is hard for us in the 21st century to wrap our minds around, because today we have the Bible at our fingertips, a mere click or two away. But Scripture foretold times when there would be a famine—”not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord” (Amos 8:11, ESV).
Tyndale had studied Greek and Hebrew and knew the treasure of having a relationship with God based on Holy Scripture. He knew that Scripture was not merely the words of wise men, but the very words of the living God, which could be translated into any language (1 Thessalonians 2:13). His heart burned with a passion for the common people of his day to experience the Word of God in the same way.
At one point, a highly esteemed Latin scholar told Tyndale, “It would be better to be without God’s laws than without the pope’s.”
Tyndale courageously responded, “I defy the pope and all his laws! In fact, if God spares my life, I intend to make it possible for a common farmer, a plowman, to know more of the Scripture than you do!”
He spent the next ten years working tirelessly across Europe, fleeing persecution from one nation to the next, translating the Bible into the language even a plowman could read and understand. Tyndale was eventually betrayed and imprisoned. Although he couldn’t do the translation work in prison, he continued to preach the saving message about the crucified and risen Jesus. In fact, the jailer, the jailer’s daughter, and other members of his household surrendered their lives to the Lord Jesus.
Finally, on October 6, 1536, Tyndale was taken out of his prison, strangled to death, and his body was burned as a warning to all who would participate in his Bible-translating rebellion. Just before dying, William Tyndale prayed aloud, “Lord, open the king of England’s eyes!” That prayer was answered three years later when the king of England decreed that Tyndale’s New Testament be placed in every church in England!
It’s impossible to calculate the value of having God’s Word so readily available today.
When I hear about Tyndale’s devotion and sacrifice that led to me having a Bible in my hands, I am deeply moved and compelled to treasure these words and never take them for granted. I hope you feel the same way. God has spoken. And He intends for us to know Him through His Word.
“In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.” (Psalm 119:14-16, ESV)
I pray that just because the Bible is so accessible in our day, it would not be overlooked as the precious gift that it is.
Have thoughts on this post? I’d love to hear from you!
What we prioritize determines the course of our lives.
There’s a simple law of reality that says, “If you don’t set your priorities, someone else will set them for you.” In fact, more often than not, the world will set your priorities. Busyness will set your priorities for you. Your long list of “To Dos” will set your priorities. But God wants us to begin with Him. He doesn’t want us to try and squeeze Him into our busy schedule; He wants to be involved with every aspect of life.
Jesus gave us a really helpful perspective for setting priorities: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things [the basic necessities of life] will be added to you.”[1] For Jesus, the number one priority in life was the Kingdom of God. He didn’t drift through life passively. He began each day intentionally. “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”[2]
Jesus lived with the Kingdom in mind. He said His food was to do the will of God, His Father.
And that’s where Jesus would have us begin, too.
We tend to say things like, “There aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done.” But actually, there are exactly the right number of hours in a day. God ordained from all eternity that there would be 24 hours in a day. No more, no less. And it falls to each of us to determine how we will use those precious hours.
We say, “My days have been really full lately.” I think I said that to someone recently. But the truth is, every day is filled with something. It could be filled with working nonstop. It could be filled with chasing the next thrill. It could be filled with binging on Netflix with a bowl of popcorn on the easy chair. But every day is filled with something.
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:16, ESV)
Now, in one sense, we have zero control over unexpected events in life. But in another sense, we are the ones that get to set our own priorities. God gives us agency.
“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12, ESV)
These lives are finite. Live in light of eternity. Fill every day with what matters most. Begin with God.
Have thoughts on this post? I’d love to hear from you!
“And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” (John 3:19, ESV)
This last weekend, the 2024 Olympics kicked off with an opening ceremony that has garnered much attention, mostly negative. I hesitated to write anything about it, because honestly, I didn’t really want to draw more attention to it. But since a couple people have brought it up to me, I felt prompted to reflect on how the gospel speaks directly to cultural moments like this.
I don’t need to get into the details of what was portrayed, but it involved a very gross, in-your-face amalgamation of paganism, drag queens, and disturbing mockery of The Last Supper, Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous painting depicting Jesus with His twelve Apostles in their final meal together. The French Bishops’ Conference lamented that the act was a “mockery and derision of Christianity.” Bishop Robert Barron said the scene “mocked a very central moment in Christianity.” Apparently, there was debate about whether the scene was meant to evoke any connection to Christianity, but in the end the producers admitted “that it was in fact inspired by Da Vinci’s famous painting.”[1]
When Jesus walked the earth, He was both loved and hated. On the one hand, people who keenly sensed their spiritual emptiness were drawn to this miracle-working rabbi who proclaimed the kingdom of God’s arrival in and through His ministry. On the other hand, many despised Jesus because He is holy. Simply by being the Righteous One, Jesus exposed the paltry self-righteousness and hypocrisy of others.
“And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.” (John 3:19-20, ESV)
Jesus is the Light of the world (John 8:12). By coming into this world, His power and character exposed the darkness of evil and self-indulgence. So when people love the darkness, they hate Jesus Christ. But in Jesus’s first coming, He didn’t come simply to condemn the world. He came to save all who would trust in Him from condemnation (John 3:17).
“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:18, ESV)
The Bible teaches that it’s not just the world “out there” that has rebelled against God. We have all turned aside and gone our own way (Isaiah 53:6). We have all fallen short of God’s glorious standard (Romans 3:23). We all stand condemned until we look in saving faith on the One who was condemned in our place.
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:36, ESV)
Rather than merely accuse or abandon the human race to its deplorable state of moral degradation, Jesus came in pursuit of us. He loved His own to the very end, willingly laying His life down for us and bearing the penalty we justly deserved. In and through Jesus, God was reconciling the world to Himself. On that cross, Jesus was credited with every sin I ever committed (2 Corinthians 5:21). He hung there, stripped and bleeding, because of the sinful and foolish things I have said and done. Scripture is even willing to say that Jesus was made to “be sin” so that I might “become the righteousness of God” through faith in His perfect atonement.
Jesus came to rescue a world caught in the web of satanic lies that have been around since the Garden of Eden. He came to deliver those who have been enslaved to their own lusts. He came to heal those who have been wounded by the pain of a broken world. This is the gospel followers of Jesus must proclaim to a dying world.
What happened during the opening ceremony is a symptom of a world turned away from the light and toward the darkness. Paul wrote of those who “glory in their shame,” whose “end is destruction” (Philippians 3:19). Our message to this lost and confused world is: Look to Jesus—the real Jesus Christ of the Bible. See His spotless character. Watch Him take little children in His arms. See Him reach out and touch the “untouchable” leper. Look at how He takes notice of the man who has greedily lived for money, and He forgives the immoral woman who weeps at His feet. Look at Him hanging between two thieves, dying a criminal’s death for you. See Him gloriously raised to life!
Jesus was the only true Light in a sin-darkened world.
Don’t despise Jesus for coming in weakness and dying a shameful death outside the gate. Instead, “go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach He endured” (Hebrews 13:13). Fall down and worship Him. Because He’s no longer dead! And one day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. How terrible will be the day of His return for the unrepentant who have mocked Him and derided His authority.
Those who truly love Jesus are willing to bear the scorn heaped on Him. He is the True North for those who have lost their way. And apart from Him our world has no hope and will have to suffer the consequences of moral rebellion.
Have thoughts on this post? I’d love to hear from you!
“In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind” (John 1:4).
Recently, I heard someone use a phrase I often hear: “I’ve always tried to be a good Christian man.” Hearing this statement got me thinking. What do most people mean when they claim to be a “good Christian” or even a “Christian”? Just because a phrase is used all the time doesn’t mean we are all meaning the same thing. In fact, when people don’t clearly explain what they mean by a certain term, that often means there are a lot of hidden assumptions.
For so many people today, they think that being a Christian is about doing all the good, Christian things we’re supposed to be doing. They think that as long as they are listening to Christian music, going to church, occasionally posting a Bible verse on Facebook or X, then they must be a Christian.
For many, “Jesus” is more of an idea than a person. He’s a flannel graph character with a beard and long hair who likes to cuddle lambs. Others consider Jesus their “homeboy” or “co-pilot,” according to their T-Shirt or bumper sticker. It’s as if Jesus is merely this invisible guy that exists for them.
Jefferson Bethke is an author and songwriter who grew up thinking he knew what being a Christian was all about. In his book Jesus is Greater Than Religion, he talks about when he first started attending a Christian university, he tried to fit in with everyone else.
Jefferson writes, “So I decided to copy what ‘being a Christian’ was all about by watching others. I took off my earrings, stopped wearing basketball jerseys, tried my hardest to memorize Hillsong United’s greatest hits, and listened to the Christian radio station. I thought that if I did enough Christian things, it would bring peace to my life. It didn’t work.”
Jefferson eventually realized that though he called himself a Christian, he wasn’t really following Jesus, but an Americanized religious subculture. He came to see that the real Jesus of the Bible is far more powerful and radical than the Sunday School version he’d been taught.
He finally recognized his religious works were nothing but foolish attempts to try to buy God off. He understood now that God is holy, just, and righteous. Furthermore, he was everything God was not. That’s why he needed the cross. On “Skull Rock,” Jesus lovingly gave up His life so that he could have life. Jesus bore the penalty that God’s justice demanded for his sins, and on the third day, He rose in triumph from the grave.
Jefferson came to the foot of the cross and surrendered to the real and living Jesus for the first time.
In view of cultural Christianity, he adds, “In our subculture Jesus would have never been crucified—he’s too nice… The Jesus of the Bible is a radical man with a radical message, changing people’s lives in a radical way. In the Scriptures, Jesus isn’t safe.”
That reminds me of the line from C. S. Lewis’s book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. When Lucy asks if Aslan the lion (who represents Jesus) is safe, Mr. Beaver tells the Pevensie children: “‘Safe?… Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.’”
The real Jesus is not tame and de-clawed. He’s more like a roaring lion in all His glory. He’s not just a “good feeling” to get you through the day. He’s not your “co-pilot.” In Him is life. We exist by Jesus and for Jesus. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end—not just the guy to help you get through the middle.
Listen to this description from Colossians 1:15-17:
“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
In Jesus everything holds together. Every atom in the universe is bound together and ordered by Jesus! He is the Lord over all creation! He is the reason for your existence. Your very life exists by His continuing power. Jesus is not just a religious figure from long ago. He’s not just the most influential person in history. He is the God-man! And you were created for His glory.
So what about you? Have you encountered the real Jesus? Spend some time in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and carefully consider what you find.
Do you know Him as the sovereign King that He is? Have you bowed the knee and entrusted your eternity to Him? Have you taken up your cross, and are you now following Him?
Are you a cultural Christian? Or, are you a committed Christ-follower?
Have thoughts on this post? I’d love to hear from you!
One of the biggest ways our enemy, the devil, will try to sabotage our walk with Jesus is through painting God as uncaring or incapable of helping us during the rough patches of life. And when it comes to “rough patches,” we’ve all had them, right? Those times where we feel like we just got sucker punched by life, and it’s like the wind has been knocked out of our lungs. The fresh joy and peace we were just experiencing in the Lord yesterday seems to have vanished. Our spiritual sails don’t seem to be catching wind anymore.
God knows our tendency is to go from scratching our head in confusion, “Where did that come from?” to “Oh, God, why me?” to “God… do you even care?”
Let me assure you. God cares. These times in life—which we, as followers of Jesus, all face—are intended by God to deepen our faith and, ultimately, our communion with Him. The devil’s intention, however, is to tempt us to doubt God’s goodness, love, and presence with us.
So, what do we do when times of testing come?
1. Stay humble.
Whether we realize it or not, this attitude that says, “God doesn’t care about my situation. Why should I go to Him?” is actually incredibly arrogant. It indicates a lack of faith in His character and an unwillingness to listen to what He might want you to learn. It also plays right into the devil’s hand. The devil, you may remember, fell through the sin of pride, and he would gladly enlist you into the same plan of rebellion if you’re willing to sign on.
In his first letter, the Apostle Peter reminds us that God looks with favor on the humble—not on those who puff themselves up in arrogance:
“So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.” (1 Peter 5:6, NLT)
Notice Peter says “at the right time” God will honor you. In other words, if you’re going through a rough patch in life, it’s not that God has neglected you. It does mean that He has a purpose in your distress and that His goal is to lift you up and honor you when the time is right if you stay humble.
2. Cry out to God from the heart.
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” (1 Peter 5:7, NLT)
Whatever is pressing on your mind—even if it’s some kind of sadness or fear that you can’t quite name—give it over to God. If you find yourself up late at night incapable of getting those worst fears out of your mind, come back to this passage. Be as open and transparent with the Lord as you can. Name the feelings of fear and frustration and anxiety, even if you can’t pinpoint the source. And tell Him how desperately you want to trust Him to handle these anxious thoughts and give you new life and peace in their place.
3. Stand firm against the devil and his schemes.
“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.” (1 Peter 5:8-9a, NLT)
It’s sobering to remember the devil is a “great enemy.” When we’re talking about the devil and what he’s capable of when he comes against a follower of Jesus, we aren’t talking about a chihuahua. We’re talking about a “roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
Last year, my family went to a small game park that had several lions. At one point, one of the male lions let out a thunderous roar. Despite being about 100 yards away, I felt the sound in the pit of my stomach. I’ve seen TheLion King, but a Disney film just can’t convey how loudly they can roar. Were I ever to cross a wild lion in the African savannah, you can bet I would have a healthy fear of what that creature could do to me.
To be clear, Jesus is infinitely more powerful than the devil. And by the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, we have all the resources we need to “stand firm against him.” And yet, he’s still a drooling lion, on the prowl for his next lunch.
So how do we stand firm in the faith and resist our great foe? We wield the very weapon Jesus wielded in His hour of testing in the desert (see Matthew 4:1-11). Get your mind into the Word of God, and those razor-sharp claws start to retract. Remember Daniel? Despite the very real threat of being the main course for the king’s pet lions, Daniel banked everything on God’s power to deliver. So he kept on praying to the God of Heaven when it was illegal. He learned that when your confidence is in God and His promises, hungry lions suddenly lose their appetite.
Be so full of God’s Word that you lose that worldly flavor to which the devil is drawn.
4. Remember you’re not alone in the battle.
You are in a battle, no question about that. We are told to don the armor of God, because our fight is “against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12, NLT). Peter reminds us:
“Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.” (1 Peter 5:9, NLT)
Pick up a copy of the magazine Voice of the Martyrs and spend some time learning about the persecution many of our brothers and sisters are experiencing in other nations. And yet, in the midst of their trials, these suffering Christians often tell of how faithful Jesus has been even though they have lost their church building, their home, and even, at times, family members.
Peter is not speaking from ignorance. He knows what it’s like to be mocked, derided, beaten, flogged, and imprisoned for the Lord Jesus (see Acts 5, 10). And how did Peter respond after being threatened with death and then flogged?
The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus. And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message: “Jesus is the Messiah.” (Acts 5:41-42, NLT)
Is that not incredible? With a blood-soaked back from the flogging they’d just endured, Peter and the other Apostles could only rejoice that “God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus.” Clearly, they had a countercultural perspective on what life is all about. Even if you’re not there yet, don’t you want to be?
5. Seek first the Kingdom of God.
And then what? They kept doing the very thing that earned them a flogging. They went right on telling people the glorious truth: “Jesus is the Messiah you have been waiting for! He is the Savior who died in your place so that you can be forgiven! He is the Lord of life who conquered the grave!” The more you are captivated by the bigness of the Gospel, the more you will be eager to turn whatever pain you’re enduring into gain for the Kingdom of God.
In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. All power to him forever! Amen.” (1 Peter 5:12, NLT)
Let that truth settle in. God Himself will personally restore, support, and strengthen you. If you remember God’s sweet kindness toward you and commit your battle to the Lord, you have nothing to lose and eternal glory to gain. Because “at the right time” He will set you on a firm foundation.
I pray this encourages you. If you have any thoughts or questions about this, I would love to hear from you!
Saddle Mountain, Oregon. Photo Courtesy of Ben McBee
One of the best ways to get to know someone is to go hiking together. I mean, really, what better way to bond than trekking through the Oregon wilderness together? When you go for a hike, you aren’t just taking a quick stroll. You’re on an adventure! You’re crossing brooks, stepping over fallen logs, snapping pictures of stunning sights, gaining elevation.
That last one is important. My wife Whitney recently took our boys for a “hike” with some other moms and kids, but the boys later told me, “That was a walk, not a hike.” The event had been dubbed a “nature hike,” but there was no elevation gained. I must agree with my boys.
The best hikes always have as their final reward a grand vista where you can look out and see the wonders of nature—a lush valley, a snowy mountain range, or the Pacific Ocean glimmering in the sunlight. Throughout the journey, there is time to get to know your fellow travelers and discuss subjects that can’t be explored in brief, ordinary conversations. All the while, you are experiencing the beauty of creation together; shared experiences are nearly always exponentially better than solo experiences (that’s why watching a movie is far better with a friend, despite the fact that all you are doing is sitting and staring at a screen).
The Bible often uses the metaphor of someone “walking with God.” From the very beginning, it is implied that God often walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:8). We are told that the antediluvian[1] Enoch—a guy who avoided death through his own private rapture into Heaven— “walked with God” (Genesis 5:24). “Noah walked with God” (6:9). God called Abraham to “Walk before Me and be blameless” (Genesis 17:1). On numerous occasions, God even tells all the people of Israel, “I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people” (Leviticus 26:12). The idea of walking with someone implies intimacy. It’s not me running ahead of God or me fighting to keep up with God, but me walking with God.
And if you’re walking with God, you’re not running away from Him (like Adam and Eve in the Garden after they sinned), but seeking to be with Him continually. Rather than trying to push thoughts of Him away from your mind, you’re seeking to “practice the presence of God”[2] by regularly reminding yourself that all of life is meant to be lived before His face.
“If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:6-7, ESV)
The blood of Jesus cleanses us and through trusting in that blood, we begin a new journey of walking with Him by the light of His Word and filled with the energy of His Holy Spirit.
I am no Hebrew scholar, but from what I gather, there isn’t exactly a word for “hike,” in contrast to “walk” in ancient Hebrew. One word would basically be used for both. So, while the word “hike” is not in the Bible, when I think about “walking with God,” I like to think about this in terms of hiking. Maybe it’s my personal bias; I love hiking. But a hike suggests a journey, one that will be marked by both challenges and delights. I also like how hiking gives us a picture of an upward goal we are progressing toward. Paul says, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).
A long and arduous journey shared by companions with a common goal serves as the backdrop for many literary classics, including Lord of the Rings and Pilgrim’s Progress. Our walk with God is a lifelong journey, one in which we don’t always know what is ahead, but we are comforted by the fact that our Guide knows about every step along the way. In fact, He’s marked out the trail for us.
Like a challenging hike, our walk with God won’t always be easy. There will be moments of testing, new difficulties to overcome, and times when exhaustion will set in and the temptation to turn back will be very strong. From a distance, it may look like we are wandering in the proverbial forest, lost and confused. Others may question our motives and criticize the path we’ve chosen, maybe even claiming they have found a more “practical” or wider trail with fewer bumps along the way. But if we faithfully follow our Guide and stay on the trail, He will lead us to new vistas of His glory and His grace that we never dreamed possible when we first began the journey.
Our walk with God is not a brief stroll, but it is a shared experience. To use an old-fashioned (but good) word, life is meant to be lived in communion with God: He continually shows us more of His heart even as we open more of ours to Him. When we do wander off the trail, we quickly get tangled in those painful blackberry bushes of sin that tend to leave a mark, reminding us how foolish it was to try to carve a new path on our own. Thankfully, He’s always willing to wash us off when we come back to the Way. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, ESV).
To walk with God is to daily surrender yourself to Him, letting Him teach you how life is meant to be lived. Jesus said that if you want to save your life, you first need to lose it so that it can be truly found in Him (Matthew 16:25). We were made for Him, so life will always be hollow until it is filled by His life. Whereas before God’s purity, goodness, holiness, and love were abstract ideas, as we walk with God, we begin to experience more of God Himself.
The psalmist cries out, “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!” (Psalm 34:8). It’s one thing to believe your friend who tells you of a new dish that is to-die-for delicious, but it’s something else entirely to actually taste it for yourself. Similarly, while sound doctrinal statements about God are vital and give us a necessary map for our journey, they can never replace the intimacy of actually knowing God and experiencing the warmth of His love flooding your soul.
As we are drawn into the life of God, we sometimes pause in our walk and think about how far we’ve come together. We briefly wonder, Where would I be if it weren’t for God? But only briefly. Because our eyes are on the goal ahead. We are traveling together with a destination in mind.
This alone is what can satisfy our hearts—tasting the Lord’s goodness and seeing His glory.
The church father Augustine had this to say:
“So what should we do in sharing the love of God, whose full enjoyment constitutes the happy life? It is God from whom all those who love Him derive both their existence and their love; it is God who frees us from any fear that He can fail to satisfy anyone to whom He becomes known; it is God who wants Himself to be loved, not in order to gain any reward for Himself but to give to those who love Him an eternal reward—namely Himself.”
Have you begun your journey with God? Walk with Him and enjoy the endless fruit of delight in knowing His love for you.
I pray this encourages you. If you have any thoughts or questions about this, I would love to hear from you!
[1] That’s an old school word for “pre-Flood” or “before the biblical Flood.”
[2] Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God.
“For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20, CSB)
Prayer is powerful. I don’t say that to be cliché; I say that because Jesus taught us this. Time and time again, He called us to pray boldly and passionately in His Name.
I also cannot deny the ways my wife Whitney and I have been wowed by God’s grace and perfect timing in answering our prayers in incredibly specific ways. There are too many to count but let me just give a few examples.
Before we met, my wife Whitney prayed for the wisdom to find the right man to marry and that this fellow would arrive at her church’s college group with several others so that she wouldn’t know immediately who that man would be. A short time later, I visited that college group with a handful of others, because I was invited by the pastor who led that group while I was working at Applebee’s. The rest, as they say, is history.
Another time, I was in a Bible study, and one man shared that his very young grandson had a brain tumor the size of a golf ball. For several weeks in a row, we prayed for healing each time we met. One morning, he came to our study with amazing news. The tumor had not only shrunk—it was completely gone. Not a trace of it. In fact, I know of numerous cases where someone plagued with life-threatening cancer has been totally healed. Just yesterday, I heard of another answer to prayer of a dear woman who received the glorious news that the latest scan revealed she is cancer free.
I can think of another time when Whitney and I were raising money for a short-term mission trip to Guatemala, and we were a little short on the green stuff. We prayed passionately and specifically that God would supply the money we needed for the trip in whatever way He saw fit. He came through in various ways to provide us with exactly what we needed. I remember my heart swelling with joy as I thought about how God had so lovingly answered our sincere requests so that we could go on this mission trip together as a young married couple before we had any kids.
These are just the tip of the iceberg. I really could go on and on with examples of how God has provided answers to prayers—often in ways we never saw coming.
As these come to mind, I sometimes wonder why I don’t pray more often or more passionately. It’s not as though God has ignored me in the past. Lately, He’s been really challenging me to lead from deep, heartfelt prayer, as opposed to only praying with passion when something goes wrong. The Lord wants me to admit my shortcomings and acknowledge my great need for His power in every aspect of my life.
Jonathan Edwards said that when we ignore prayer, we “live like atheists or like brute creatures,” and “live as if there were no God.” Why would we ignore our direct line to the One who reigns over all?
If anything is worth doing, it must come by God’s power, not my own strength. Therefore, I need to be drawing power from the Lord in everything I do if I want to have an eternal impact. The Bible reminds us, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16, ESV). Our prayers have “great power” because they are directed to a God who is known for doing what is humanly impossible (Luke 1:37).
I’m reminded of the story of Elijah. He prayed fervently for God to send the rain when Israel was enduring a drought while the wicked King Ahab was on the throne. In 1 Kings 18, we read:
And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again,” seven times. And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man's hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’” (1 Kings 18:42-44, ESV)
Elijah didn’t just pray once, see there was nothing, and then give up. No, the text emphasizes how he prayed fervently seven more times for the rainclouds to show up. He understood that God wants us to pray with passion, expectancy, and repetition. At the very first tiny sign that God had answered his prayers (after all, a hand-sized cloud seems like a bit of a letdown), Elijah confidently sent word to Ahab, “Get in your buggy and go, because the rain is a-comin’!” God answered his prayers in such a way that no one in Israel could chalk up the sudden change in weather to mere happenstance.
Imagine an Israelite saying, “Finally! We’re getting rain after three-and-a-half years. How lucky are we!”
Elijah’s prayers made the difference.
Through this prophet’s prayers, God turned the rain off and then back on 42 months later, raised a widow’s son to life, and shot down fire to engulf a thrice-soaked altar to vindicate Elijah’s claims about Yahweh, not Baal, being the one true God of the world. Clearly, we’re meant to see that Elijah’s prayers were powerful. God can change the weather conditions whenever and however He wants. He’s sovereign over this world. But, as in our lives, He chose to change the circumstances in response to the prayer of one of His faithful followers.
When we read about Elijah’s ministry, we are rightly in awe of how the Lord worked through him. However, before we lionize Elijah as a biblical superhero and assume we could never pray like him or see God work wonders before our eyes, we should consider what James says about this.
“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.” (James 5:17-18, ESV)
James is reminding us that the situation is not so different for us today. At the end of the day, Elijah was just a man; he had a nature like ours. And God Himself hasn’t changed, because He never changes (Malachi 3:6). If Elijah prayed to the same God we pray to today, why should we expect our prayers to be less effective? The whole reason James brings up Elijah as an example is to say, “You too can pray with power.”
So go to the Lord today and pray with passion, boldness, and expectancy like Elijah did. There is no telling what massive changes God will bring about through your prayers. After all, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours.”
I pray this encourages you. If you have any thoughts or questions about this, I would love to hear from you!
Picture the scene. A seasoned fisherman has labored all night, but he and his team have come up empty. Out of the blue, an itinerant rabbi tells this blue-collar worker that he will catch some fish if he lets down his nets one more time. The fisherman, named Simon, doubted this rabbi knows what He is talking about. After all, Simon is the experienced, no-nonsense fisherman. But the man is a rabbi, so it’s probably best to comply out of respect, even if it’s a pointless exercise.
And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” (Luke 5:5, ESV)
Then, the impossible happened. They caught so many fish that the nets began to break. Simon quickly realized his boat simply couldn’t handle this much weight. He called his partners over to help him out. It was the greatest fishing story of Simon’s life.
In that moment, Simon recognized that he was in the presence of pure holiness.
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” (Luke 5:8, ESV)
Self-assurance was replaced by awe. Reluctant compliance was replaced by humble trust. After this, Peter left everything to follow Jesus. How could he turn Jesus down now? And Peter would continue to learn just how much he didn’t know.
“The Word of Our God Endures Forever”
If you study the Bible long enough, you will always have questions. Sometimes a passage just doesn’t seem to make sense. We may even wonder aloud, “Why would God do it that way?” Sometimes our cultural distance from the events in the Bible make it hard for us to grasp what was really going on. At other times, we understand the context well enough, but God’s plan or design for human life just seems weird or confusing—maybe even flawed.
Sometimes, people invoke the ancient cultural situation of the Bible’s human authors when they want to relativize Scripture’s teaching on things like generosity, self-control, and sexual ethics. “That was then,” people often say. “But things are different now. This is the 21st century after all.”
The fallacy of that argument is that when God speaks clearly on a matter, He speaks for all times.
“The entirety of Your word is truth, and all Your righteous judgments endure forever.” (Psalm 119:160, BSB)
Unlike your smartphone, the Bible never needs updates.
“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” (Isaiah 40:8, NIV)[1]
The Bible is the only flawless thing on earth.[2] When God speaks, He doesn’t stutter or fumble for words. God gave Scripture through men for our encouragement and edification.[3] While their historical and cultural situation matters, God is not limited by human cultures to say what He wants to say. Without the Bible, we are spiritually lost, like a submarine without a navigation system.
The French intellectual Voltaire is reputed to have quipped, “One hundred years from my day, there will not be a Bible on earth except one that is looked upon by an antiquarian curiosity-seeker.” The ironic twist of Providence is that Voltaire’s own house in Geneva, Switzerland, later became a storehouse for Bibles by the Evangelical Society of Geneva (pictured above).[4] Those who try to mock the Bible end up making a mockery of themselves.
The Apostle Paul clearly believed the whole Bible was still relevant and authoritative when he wrote:
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV)
He said that to Timothy, even though much of the Scripture available at that time (the Old Testament) was written some 1,400 years earlier and in a different culture.
“Come Let Us Reason Together”
It’s never a good idea to think you know better than God. At the same time, God is not opposed to questions. The psalms and prophets are filled with God’s people asking Him why certain things must be so. God even welcomes our frustrated pleas for understanding and our laments over why the world is in the sordid mess that it is.
“Come let us reason together,” God invites us (Isaiah 1:18). Questions are good; they indicate thoughtfulness and engagement with what God has said. But questions should always be tinged with humility. Those who want to sit in judgment on God’s Word are following the plan of the serpent, who asked, “Did God really say?”[5]
We need to remember that God is infinitely holy and majestic. We are finite human beings with a three-pound brain who have only been around for about two seconds compared to the eternal God. To assume we know better than God is the height of arrogance. We should admit that we know almost nothing next to our all-knowing God.
Whenever I come across a passage that confuses me or seems to paint God in a negative light, I should start with the assumption that I am missing something significant.
For instance, many people might ask, “How could God kill everyone on earth in the Genesis flood? That seems so extreme!” or “How can God command Joshua to utterly destroy those Canaanites?”
But God is holy, and His ways are perfectly just. What people often forget is that, as our Creator, He is in a category all by Himself.
“The Beginning of Knowledge”
As we grow in our understanding of God’s holiness, we begin to see things with a better perspective. When people say, “I would never do it that way!” I would agree and add, “That’s because you and I are not God. He alone is the holy and good Ruler of all.”
As the Lord and King of this world, God has every right to judge sinful people who rebel against Him and blaspheme His Name. The real question the Bible pushes us to ask is not “How can God judge?” but “How can God be so incredibly merciful to those who persist in atrocious deeds against their fellow man and moral rebellion against His perfect will?” Solomon reminds us:
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7, ESV)
Notice what this verse says. We can’t even begin to have a true knowledge of God, ourselves, and the world we inhabit until we develop a right fear of the Lord. Jesus reminded us that while we often fear corrupt men, we should be fearing the incorruptible God who can send people to an eternity in hell.
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28, ESV)
When we lack a healthy fear of God as the all-powerful Judge that He is, we begin to think that we get to put God in the dock and accuse Him of wrong. And those who slander God tend to slander their fellow man who has been made in His image.
The Lord says:
“These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you. Mark this, then, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!” (Psalm 50:21-22, ESV)
When we have a low view of God, we will misinterpret His actions. If we want to honor God and be blessed by Him, we should consider that God blesses those who revere His Word.
“But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.” (Isaiah 66:2, ESV)
Every time we open the Bible, we should ask God for a humble attitude that is ready to learn and an open heart ready to be transformed more and more into His likeness.
Once we recognize where we have arrogantly flouted God’s Word (we all have), we need to come back to Him in humble repentance, falling on our knees as Simon Peter did before the Lord Jesus (Luke 5:8). When we do that, we get to experience His forgiving mercy and grace.
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5, ESV)
I pray this encourages you. If you have any thoughts or questions about any of this, I would love to hear from you!
Sin is always selfish. We may find ways to justify it, rationalize it, and make excuses for it. But in the end, sin is always about serving the self; it puts self in the place of God by determining what is good, right, and true. When we indulge in fleshly cravings, we are foolishly pretending God doesn’t notice or care. In those moments, we are practical atheists.
“[The wicked] says to himself, ‘God will never notice; he covers his face and never sees’” (Psalm 10:11, NIV). The wicked do this because they lack a healthy and godly fear of the Lord. “The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever” (Psalm 19:9).
On the other hand, those who desire to please the Lord have run the numbers and realized that eternity lasts a lot longer than this brief life, and that one day they will have to give an account of how they lived.
The Christian trusts in Jesus for salvation, recognizing it is only God’s grace that can save his soul from destruction. But even the Christian will be called to give an account. This is why the ministry of the Holy Spirit is essential. He convicts us of sin, gives us a hunger for righteousness, and stirs us up with reminders that we were made for God, and we will spend eternity bathed in His awesome and holy presence.
The follower of Jesus should never shrink back at the thought of meeting God face to face. In fact, it is the thought of that Day drawing ever nearer that motivates our life and witness.
“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” (1 John 3:2-3, NIV)
In light of our soon encounter with Jesus Christ—when we peer into His holy and merciful eyes—how ought we to live? What should consume our thoughts? What should we be pursuing each day?
Will we make our lives count?
Sin is always selfish, because it ultimately is not concerned with how it hurts, devalues, and betrays others. This is why watching pornography is so destructive. It lacks all concern for the eternal welfare of those who are flaunting their naked bodies before a camera. It erodes all trust in your real relationships with others, because your view of others is inevitably warped. Pornography objectifies others and treats them as commodities rather than immortal beings who are destined for either Heaven or Hell. Most egregiously, it adopts a mindset that devalues God by ignoring His design for human sexuality and flourishing.
Don’t play games with what you put before your eyes. Jesus said the eye is the lamp of the body, that letting darkness in through the eyes will fill your body with darkness. What passes through your eyes directly affects your mind, heart, and soul.
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16, ESV). If you have been caught in the spiraling trap of sexual sin, pornography, and adultery, your only hope is to come to Jesus Christ. Find new and abundant life in Him, be filled with His Holy Spirit, and as you do that, you will live in a new direction.
What you most need is for the Holy Spirit to take the lead in your life. “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:23, ESV).
We were made to love, not to sin. Whenever we shunt aside God’s Word and what He has called us to, we are acting in the flesh and resisting the work of the Holy Spirit. For a time, there may be the passing pleasure of sin, but in the end, it will gut you, leaving you spiritually empty and emotionally exhausted.
Yielding to the Holy Spirit takes practice. It’s not something tried once and then forgotten. It’s a daily attitude and practice of yielding to His lead, humbly confessing your inability to have victory without His power, and committing to keep in step with the Spirit by God’s grace.
And there is grace enough for you. Don’t imagine for one moment that there is no hope for you. God’s grace is deeper than the ocean, His Spirit more powerful than a whirlwind. None of us gets into Heaven on our own merits. None of us earns a right standing with God by our personal holiness or righteous deeds. We all enter the kingdom of God through humble trust and reliance on the completed work of Jesus Christ, when He was crucified in our place for the sins we committed.
When we put our flesh on the cross with Jesus, we begin to have victory.
“And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24).
Jesus didn’t stay dead. Because He left behind an empty tomb, we can leave behind our old, fleshly passions and desires.
Those who claim God’s grace so that they can go back to sinning freely don’t realize that it is the grace of God which cleanses us from our sin so that we can belong to Jesus Christ. Carefully consider the implication of these words:
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:11-14, ESV)
This is the greatest news imaginable. The follower of Jesus has available to him the infinite power of a God who not only indwells him but is passionately committed to his holiness.
Jesus didn’t die as a quick-fix for your guilt problem so that you can go back to your old lifestyle. He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness so that we can now walk in the power of the Holy Spirit in newness of life. Don’t take this for granted. Don’t treat Jesus’ blood as something cheap.
How do I know I’m walking by the Spirit? Compare your life to the fruit of the Spirit.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23, ESV)
Do you see these traits increasingly showing up in your life? Have others noticed a change in your character and habits? Are you being formed in the image of Christ? Are you hungering for more of this in your life?
When we walk by the Spirit, we live a supernatural life of love. This is the kind of kingdom-oriented life every follower of Jesus is called to live. We are to open our hearts and minds to the Spirit’s leading, expecting Him to move into our innermost thoughts and cleanse us from that which dishonors and defiles.
Make this bold prayer the heartbeat of your life:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:24, NIV)
I pray this encourages you. If you have any thoughts or questions about any of this, I would love to hear from you!
“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11, ESV)
Jesus wants us to experience joy. The Bible is all about finding joy from the true Fountain of Joy. It’s not about faking a smile so that everyone thinks you’re okay. The Bible emphasizes the kind of joy that wells up from deep within, because we have found the reason for our existence.
God did not make us to live as bored and miserable creatures. Every one of us longs to experience a meaningful life. Deep down, we know that we were not made for a dreary, barren existence. We were made for a bigger joy than anything this world can give us. Our hearts are deeper than we know. Only God Himself is big enough to fill them with lasting joy.
C. S. Lewis said, “Joy is the serious business of Heaven.”[1] Where you find joy says everything about you. In fact, I think it’s one of the clearest ways to know if you are a genuine follower of Jesus. Because if you are, then you have the Holy Spirit living inside you, and the Holy Spirit changes everything He touches. He brings warmth and life to what is otherwise cold and dead. He is the Source of true joy. Just like a branch draws sap from the trunk, we receive life-giving joy from the Spirit who dwells inside us.
Just think about this. Does it make sense to have the Fountain of everlasting joy live inside you, yet always be gloomy and miserable? Certainly, Christians get sad, too. But the true Christian still has the wellspring of everlasting joy living within, and that will buoy them when nothing else can.
Running on Empty
Our society today demonstrates that material possessions and economic wealth cannot make us happy. In the United States, we are one of the wealthiest countries in the world—not only today, but in all of history—and yet we are also one of the most anxious and depressed nations in the world. Advertisements today promise us happiness through purchasing a certain product, such as a car, or taking a vacation. And we have bought the lies that leave us empty.
Sociologists tell us that suicidal ideation is at an all-time high today—even higher than during the Great Depression of the 1930s. In the next hour, more than five Americans will take their own life. By the end of the day, that number will reach roughly 130 people. In the course of 2024, an estimated 47,000 people will have committed suicide. These numbers should astonish us, but it’s impossible to calculate the amount of pain caused by even a single suicide.
Many people today pay little attention to the Bible. Frankly, they don’t care what a bunch of Jews wrote two thousand years ago. And yet, this book claims to offer the joy that our world is desperately craving.
“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11, ESV)
The same Holy Spirit that indwelled Jesus and indwelled the Apostles indwells His followers today. The Holy Spirit closes the gap so that everything in our Bibles is relevant to us today, because the deep truths they talked about 2,000 years ago remain true for us today. Jesus is just as relevant.
People were sinners in need of a Savior back then, and people are sinners in need of a Savior today. People were hurting, miserable, and lacking joy back then, and people today are hurting, miserable, and lost.
Why Do People Commit Suicide?
Dr. Matthew Sleeth is a medical doctor who saw countless patients in the emergency room who had attempted to take their own life. Dr. Sleeth is now a follower of Jesus, but for most of his medical career, he was an atheist. During that time, he observed the protective effect of belief in a personal God when it comes to suicide.
In his book Hope Always, Dr. Sleeth notes how suicide doesn’t really fit with the theory of evolution, a theory that teaches all of life owes its existence to the principle of survival of the fittest. In fact, in study after study, it’s been shown that suicide is unknown in the animal kingdom. So, the question is: Why do we commit suicide?
Dr. Sleeth writes:
“…for most of my medical career, I was an atheist. Nonetheless, in the course of seeing some thirty thousand patients, I couldn’t help but notice the positive role faith played in my patients’ ability to cope and recover from both mental and physical illness. In fact, faith seemed to be the crucial factor in most of those who successfully recovered from long-term addictions.”[2]
If we were made for God and joy really is the serious business of Heaven, then it makes sense that a wholesale rejection of God—as we are seeing in our culture today—will lead to tragic increases in anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation.
He adds, “God helps when it comes to suicide. It’s a fact. Yet the current sixty-one-page report published by the CDC on suicide expunges God and faith from the discussion of suicide and depression.”[3]
Jesus alone can give you the joy your soul is craving.
His joy can be in you today, in 2024, because Jesus is alive today. That’s what the story of Easter is all about. He defeated all our enemies—sin, death, and the devil—so that we can be restored to union with Him that we were made for.
In other words, you can’t be united to Jesus by faith and not have joy. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). That doesn’t mean every day is easy and filled with laughter for the follower of Christ. But it does mean that from the bottom of your soul, you can know that friendship with Jesus is the only way to true joy. And it means you can have the confidence that Jesus is greater and more satisfying than anything this world has to offer.
No career will give you this kind of joy. No house or car will give you this joy. No relationship or marriage—no matter how amazing it might be—can possibly give you what Jesus can give you. That’s because He offers a supernatural joy. Again, this was Jesus’ promise for His disciples, and that includes us today:
“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11, ESV)
The Extraordinary Life of Following Jesus
As our friend, Jesus is giving us another motivation to follow Him. The life of discipleship is the context for the above statement. He is saying we’ll know deep joy if we abide (or make our home) in Him. This is not how the world thinks. The world thinks that if we turn from what the Bible calls “sin” and start following Christ, then our life will seem so dull and restrictive. But the truth is the very opposite: Living as Christ’s disciple is liberating and invigorating. I get to walk hand-in-hand with the Creator of the stars! He wants to talk with me from His Word, guide me by His ever-present Spirit, and hear from me. He treasures me more than the birds of the sky or the flowers of the field. And I am His. What could possibly be better than this?
“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.” (Psalm 30:11, ESV)
Living in sin might be pleasurable for a season, but it will actually choke out all sense of joy. In the end, sin is always a joy-killer, not a joy-giver. Because sin always disrupts good and right fellowship with our Lord. And He is the One that can fill us with joy.
I can say I used to think like the world about this. When I was in high school, I simply thought of obeying Jesus as “the right thing to do” and there were even times I resented the fact that, as a Christian, I didn’t get to have all the so-called “fun” that other teenagers were having. And though I wouldn’t have said it, I sometimes even felt a little deprived. But today I see things far better. I recognize how nothing can compete with the joy of knowing Jesus.
It’s not what you’d expect, but there is deep and profound joy in surrendering every part of your life to Christ.
Because when you consciously give yourself to Jesus, you experience more of His love, His goodness. There’s freedom in knowing your sins are forgiven, and you can gladly say, “Not my will, but Your will be done in my life.”
And what’s the alternative? Do you really want to look to yourself to be the one manufacturing all your joy? Do you really want to carry every burden in life on your own shoulders? How much better to let Jesus lift all your burdens and listen to Him. Because His Word has greater wisdom than this world can offer.
The Joy of Your Salvation
For a time, King David thought he could find joy outside of God. He looked for it in the arms of a beautiful woman named Bathsheba. But though he had pleasure for a night, that adultery led to the sin of lying, which led to the sin of murder. And then even more deception. And as his heart hardened into concrete, all the joy was sapped out of him. In Psalm 51, he talks about how he was a tormented soul; his own guilt was crushing him.
It took a prophet of God to confront him, just like the Word of God confronts us today. And then David, broken as he was, poured out his heart to God:
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love.” (Psalm 51:1-2, ESV)
God responded to his repentance by lifting his weight of guilt. And then David could pray:
“Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” (Psalm 51:12, ESV)
Forgiveness was no longer an abstract idea for David. He had experienced it on a level he never knew possible. He was washed completely clean, and then he once again knew the sheer joy of being loved and known and cherished by God. What a gift! He didn’t deserve it. But God is abundantly merciful and loves to extend forgiveness to all who cry out to Him just like David did.
It took a humble surrender on David’s part before he experienced the “joy of salvation.” Such is always the case.
You want to know what can steal your joy? Thinking too highly of yourself (see Romans 12:3). Thinking everyone owes you. That you’re always in the right and that everyone else is in the wrong.
Some of the most miserable people in this world are those who have either forgotten or maybe never known how precious it is to walk in true humility. True humility means having no sense of entitlement, no sense of God owing you, but instead having an overwhelming sense of gratitude that God has given you so many extraordinary gifts you simply don’t deserve. True humility comes from learning to delight in God Himself.
Think often of how gracious God has been to you. God has loved you while knowing everything about you. And He loves you more than anyone else ever could or would.
Abiding in Jesus comes from humbly recognizing just how much we need Him in every part of our lives. It’s admitting that if we are in the driver’s seat of our lives, the car always ends up in the ditch. Life is far better when the true King and Captain of your soul is behind the wheel. Because He can give you fullness of joy.
If you have any questions or thoughts about any of this, I would love to hear from you!
[1] C. S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, 93.
Lamp and Light 