Week Thirty-Five - Persevere

I keenly remember the drudgery of young motherhood. The constant scheduling of feeds and naps, the demands of expectations I put on myself, the constant laundry, housework, and meals. I thought it would never end. I remember being so very tired and even disillusioned as I tried to raise my little brood of five and do ministry. 

Thankfully, my grandmothers and friends would occasionally take the kids and give me a reprieve! But nothing changed the drudgery of keeping up with young children, except when I remembered my love for them and the blessedness of having a family.

Childrearing was only for a season, and I survived! You will, too! But drudgery isn't reserved only for the young mother. Life has a way of settling into ruts, and we get bored, disillusioned, and chained to our schedules until beauty seems to be squeezed out.

James 1:24 is the verse we will consider today in light of this idea of drudgery. It reads, "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."

Elizabeth Elliot tells of a visit to Dohnavar Fellowship India. "There, day after day, year in and year out, Indian women (most of them single) care for little children, handicapped children, infirm adults, old folks. They don't go anywhere. They have none of our usual forms of amusement and diversion. They work with extremely primitive equipment - there is no running water, for example, no stoves but wood-burning ones, and no washing machines. In one of the buildings, I saw this text: 'There they dwelt with the King for His work.' That's the secret. They do it for Him. They ask for and receive His grace to do it. I saw the joy in their lovely faces."

Why do we do what we do? If we do it for ourselves, it will become drudgery. If we do it only for the benefit of others, we will burn out with the sacrifice. But if we do it for Christ, we serve a higher purpose and have a richer resource.

In James, the phrase, "Let patience have her perfect work," points us to that purpose and source. There is an outcome, reward, measure of growth, and blessing to all we experience. 

So, how can I help myself rise above the drudgery of today and see the better purpose and source of life?

Let's look a bit more at James 1:24: "Count it all joy." Count your blessings. Look for the good things in your situation—even the tiny ones. You can live a long time on tiny blessings! They add up, and eventually, your perseverance and faith will reward you with greater patience and maturity.

"Let patience have her perfect work." You aren't going through what you're going through for nothing. Those little ones will grow up, and if you have done your part, they will be happy and productive, bringing you great joy and pride. You aren't working your job or doing your ministry for nothing. God will give the increase in every area of life when we persevere. Someone else said, "The glory of tomorrow is rooted in the drudgery of today."  So don't give up yet!

"Perfect and entire, wanting nothing." I love that phrase. You can't be mature, whole, and fulfilled at the beginning of any project. Those things are reserved for the ending. So, remaining steadfast and perseverant is the only way to reach this position. It's a great place to be when you can look back and see all God accomplished through your consistency and what you considered years of drudgery.

This is how we stay motivated - looking for the benefit ahead. I call it futurizing!

We do it for the King! We do it patiently and persistently, with the purpose of His glory, until we become "perfect, entire, wanting nothing" - or not lacking - in any grace!

Week Thirty-Four - How Was Your Sunday?

How was your Sunday? Did you go to church? Did you sing as unto the Lord? Did you have sweet fellowship with the family of God? Did the Word preached permeate your spirit? Or did you go expecting the music to lift you, others to listen to you, and the preacher to get it over with?

What a real challenge the minister faces each service. Folks come with burdens and resentments, and sometimes only out of duty. Others are out there singing their hearts out with the joy of the Lord written across their faces. How is he to meet the needs of such a variety?

S. Martin, speaking of the minister, wrote, "You expect the minister to confess, give thanks, and pray for you, and you do not so much join with him as listen to him. This ought not to be, for you yourselves are a priesthood. We are God's ministers, but we are not God's priests. Our great high priest is Jesus Christ, but as you are priests unto God, we want your sacrifice. Our desire is that you should pray with me, and give thanks with me, and confess with me. Allowing me to lead you, but not allowing my prayers to be substituted for your own - thoroughly congregational."

Thoroughly congregational. That means we all participate in the service, not just watching or listening but joining in as a part of the family. This joining in, this joying in, shows on your face. By the way, to be congregational necessitates attendance - you can't be congregational online!

S. Martin says, "There is something in the effect of the human face which is not to be despised in worship. It awakens sympathy, and there is something pleasant in the idea of making others glad by one's countenance. Assist each other in the House of Prayer by the help of your countenance. Gladness, we say, will throw light into your countenance and will give a brilliant tone to all your utterances."

So here's your challenge for this coming Sunday. Show up! Show up with joy and anticipation on your face. Come expecting God to meet with you and expecting yourself to open your heart and voice to Him in praise through song and conversations. Don't just watch church take place; be a part of it. Be congregational!

Week Thirty-Three - God Is For Me

Psalm 56 is precious. Written when David fled to Gath to escape Saul, the psalm is full of phrases revealing David's precarious situation and solid expectation in God. Before discussing the phrase God is for me, let's read a few of these little verses.

You might already know verse 3, "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee." I taught that one to my children when they struggled to sleep, afraid of the dark. It is a verse we all need to memorize because fear comes too easily.

Verse 8 is comforting as well. "Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?" God is so attentive, even to our tears. Nothing escapes His attention.

One more verse, verse 13: "For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?" Our souls have been delivered from death by salvation and are protected by His Spirit as we walk in sanctification upon this earth. God watches and guides our every step.

Verse 9 is our focus for today. It reads, "When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me."

Spurgeon took the "for me" phrase and ran with it, saying, "He was for me before the worlds were made; He was for me, or He would not have given His well-beloved Son; He was for me when He struck the Only-begotten, and laid the full weight of His wrath upon Him. He was for me, though He was against Him; He was for me, when we were ruined in the fall. He loved me notwithstanding all; He was for me, when I was a rebel against Him, and with a high hand was bidding Him defiance. He was for me, or He wouldn't have brought me humbly to seek His face. He has been for me in many struggles; I have been summoned to encounter hosts of dangers; I have been assailed by temptations from without and within; how could I have remained unharmed to this hour if He had not been for me?

He is for me with all the infinity of His being; with all the omnipotence of His love; with all the infallibility of His wisdom; arrayed in all His divine attributes. He is for me - eternally and immutable for me; for me when those blue skies in the distance shall be rolled up like a worn out vesture; for me throughout eternity. And because He is for me, the voice of prayer will always ensure His help. This is no uncertain hope, but a well-grounded assurance - this I know!"

Oh, friend, do you have this assurance? God is for you in more ways than you can imagine. If you can grasp this truth, you can agree with David and Paul when he writes in Romans 8:31, "If God be for us, who can be against us?"

Week Thirty-Two - I'm Slipping

I found some notes the other day about Peter during Jesus' crucifixion. Peter slipped. He failed big time. We'd all agree, but some previous steps made him vulnerable when it came to the crunch.

The first indicator of trouble ahead is in Luke 22:33. Peter uses a dangerous pronoun, I. "I am ready to go with thee, both into prison and to death." Jesus knew they were boastful words. His next statement is that Peter will deny Him. In Matthew 26:33, Peter is recorded as saying, "Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I not be offended." 

That dangerous I attitude is the first sign of a falling away from God. When we get into I-mode, we don't listen, think we are stronger, and believe ourselves better than others. That is pride. The book of Proverbs tells us pride goes before destruction. It also says pride will bring us low (Prov 29:23). So that first step is a dangerous one.

The second indicator is neglecting prayer. Remember the night in Gethsemane when Jesus took His closest men with Him as He agonized in prayer? What did they do? They slept. A lack of prayer is another sign of pride. It says I can do everything without talking to God or seeking His advice. But without prayer, Peter reacted wrongly and hurt others. He lost discernment. 

Without prayer, we fight the wrong enemy, use the wrong weapons, and have the wrong attitudes. Compare Peter's response as he roused from sleep and cut off the servant's ear to Jesus' response after a time of close communion with His Father: "Put up thy sword into the sheath:" Jesus said, "the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I drink it?" (John 18:11). Prayer keeps us prepared and submissive.

The third indicator is following at a distance. As Jesus was arrested and brought to the high priest's house, Peter followed afar off (Luke 22:54), Which shows his spiritual location. No longer was he close, but now he felt the distance and maintained his distance. 

The fourth indicator is hanging around with the wrong crowd. Where does Peter find himself? No longer with his fellow disciples but around the fire with the world. The world is ready to turn him over as an equal traitor like Jesus. And what is Peter's reaction? He denies his Lord, just as Jesus predicted, three times.

Why talk about Peter's steps away from the Lord? Why tell such a sad tale? Because we need to learn from Peter's indicators. We, too, can fall away. And when we do, these same four steps will mark our falling away. 

Pride, the I-mode, begins taking over our words, thoughts, and actions. We might not initially see it, but if we trace our words, we will hear the I-word becoming a major part of our conversation and inner justification. Our prayer life will diminish. A trickle of prayer will seem too much of a burden. Our pride feeds the idea that prayer is a waste of time, and soon, we find ourselves at a distance. We may notice something is wrong, but pride keeps us from turning around. We feel more comfortable at a distance, and before long, we look at the companions around us and realize we are in a desperate place. Too weak to take a stand, we warm our hands with the world and deny we are Christians. We are backslidden.

But let's not leave it there because Jesus didn't leave Peter there. In Luke 22:60-61 we read, "And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately while he yet spake, the cock crew. And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly."

That tender, precious gaze from the Saviour brings Peter back to reality. He knows he is in the wrong place. He sees where his decisions have taken him; the result is repentance, a broken acknowledgment of wrong. The last chapter of John records how Jesus came to Peter and restored him to fellowship and ministry, but this one significant moment was the spur that turned him around.

Friend, are you close to Jesus or far away? Do you think prayer is a waste of time? Is your conversation punctuated with too many I's? Is pride and self-serving your mode of life? Are you hanging around with a crowd that draws you away from close communion with the Lord? 

My prayer today is that one look at your Saviour will draw you back. He is willing and able to forgive and restore no matter how far you have slipped. He is the God who seeks, and He is seeking you today.