The Spirit in Our Souls

Phillips Brooks didn’t like to wait.

Though today we know him best as the author of the Christmas carol, “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” in the late 1900s, Brooks was a popular clergyman in his episcopal church in Boston. Once describing himself as just “a parish priest and though not much of one,” he drew large crowds to his church, sometimes preaching not from the pulpit but from the chancel steps.

Still, like most of us, sometimes Brooks had to cope with waiting. This was evident when a friend found him anxiously and nervously pacing his office.

“What’s the matter?” the friend asked.

Brooks paused mid-stride. Turning to the visitor, he sighed. “The trouble is that I’m in a hurry, but God isn’t!”

Does this sound familiar? It may be because we frequently must wait on our spiritual journey as we anticipate an answer to a fervent prayer. We may ask for something specific, a dose of encouragement, or guidance. However, it can certainly be frustrating when we don’t get an immediate answer, especially since, as Brooks said, our time schedule is not God’s. In fact, we may even wonder if God has heard us.

If that’s the case, the psalmist reassures us that God has definitely heard our prayer. A divine response will inevitably follow—maybe not immediately, but eventually. And not only with the perfect answer but also at the right time. God will always answer according to His plans and will for us.

When that happens, along with the psalmist, we can experience release and relief as we rely on the Lord’s perfect timing.

Focus on following God as He unfolds the events in your life.

For too many years of my life, I walked around with a boulder-sized chip on my shoulder. Upset. Frustrated. Ready to lash out at anyone who tried to knock it off. Anger became my default. The bad part is I didn’t even know why I was so angry.

My attitude, actions, and words hurt a lot of other people, but the person I hurt most was myself.

One writer says, “Prolonged anger releases toxic chemicals into your body that elevate your blood pressure, create cholesterol, and increase your risk of stroke and heart attack” (from The Word for You Today).

I once heard someone say that holding on to anger is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.

But the greatest source of truth—the Bible—says, “The anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” Instead, it steals our joy. Robs our peace. Alienates us from others. Causes us to dislike ourselves. Breaks down our health. And most importantly, affects our relationship with the Lord.

Being angry is no way to live, especially when we continually blame others instead of taking responsibility for ourselves. I learned that the hard way. I also learned that God not only gives us a choice, He will always help us make the right one when we ask. The choice to act (in love) rather than react (in anger). The choice to forgive. To be kind. To show mercy and grace. To not allow ourselves to become offended.

If you’re angry, make the choice to let it go. It’s not worth the price you have to pay. And remember … you’re mostly hurting yourself. 

“Every time you say ‘God,’ I want to curse,” said Juan.

The two of us sat across from one another in a conference room. And he did profane the Lord’s name. I winced.

“I want to strangle you and throw you out of a window,” he continued.

I looked for some sort of cue that would let me know he was joking. He wasn’t. I could only stare back in fear at his espresso-colored eyes laser-focused on me. But even before this meeting with Juan, I suspected his recent hostility toward me had to do with God.

As a counselor at a crisis hotline, I talked to my callers about God and Jesus for hope and healing. Apparently, Juan despised this. In recent weeks, he bumped into me with an air of disgust. He would also mutter under his breath, audibly enough for me to notice I had mentioned God.  

Jesus warned us that we would share in some of His sufferings. The world will hate us as it hated Him. I don’t think I’ve ever been on the receiving end of more hatred for anything other than for being a born-again, Bible-believing Christian. I’ve been persecuted by more coworkers at other jobs, lost a relationship with a sister, and threatened with death for reading my Bible on a New York subway.

Being despised and rejected is not easy. We naturally want people to like and accept us. When they do, we get up and look forward to going to our jobs. Family functions are more fun. But if they don’t, we need to draw on the power of the Holy Spirit to give us the strength to endure hatred and forgive. We must also have fellowship with and love from other believers going through the same trials. Both will be like shots of B12 to our weary souls.

If people make you want to compromise or keep quiet about your faith so that you won’t suffer persecution, walk in the power of the Holy Spirit and fellowship with other believers. 

Sometimes we don’t know what to say when someone—maybe even someone hostile toward us—asks about our faith in Jesus Christ. Many of us get tongue-tied. We often lament that we aren’t versed in theology or may not know the Scriptures well. Regardless, we do have one profound truth to share. Like the blind man, we can share our encounter with Jesus.

The blind man in this story knew little about Jesus before or even after his encounter with the Savior on that fateful date when Jesus restored his sight. In fact, when the Pharisees questioned him about Jesus and how Jesus had changed him from being blind to seeing, he couldn’t answer.

“I don’t know who this Jesus is. But I do know one thing,” he said with confidence. “I was blind, but now I see!”

In his new-found faith, the once-blind man knew only one truth: because of Jesus’s grace, mercy, and kindness, he was a different person. Jesus had given him a new physical and spiritual lease on life. And that was enough knowledge for him.

When sharing our faith, we need only share what we have experienced—we were once dead in our sins but then met Jesus Christ. He offered us forgiveness of our sins, restoration with God, and eternal life in heaven. We were once one way—blind spiritually—but are now new people.

Remember, your testimony needs only to express your wonderful encounter with Jesus. Then, let the proof be your miraculously changed life. 

Even after walking with the Lord for some time, I still wrestle with sin. During one particular time, I felt I was tested and tempted much more than before—so much so that it sometimes felt overwhelming.

Something I learned during these heightened and elevated levels of spiritual warfare—when it was hard to stand firm—was to keep my eyes on the Lord Jesus and not on what the Enemy was trying to focus me on. It became much easier to resist and stand firm through the testing.

I have fallen short of the glory of the Lord God and can’t do this life alone without my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

When the Enemy attacked Eve, his whole purpose was to get her eyes off the Lord God and her covenant relationship with Him. He even left out “Lord” when he asked Eve, “Did God really say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden?’”

Satan intended to get Eve to look at the one thing she couldn’t have, which was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He wanted her to look at the good part of it without considering the bad part. In this way, she couldn’t have the thing she really wanted, which was found in the Tree of Life and her covenant relationship with the Lord God. This was Satan’s goal the whole time.

Satan’s tactic hasn’t changed since the Garden of Eden, and it was what cost Eve the Tree of Life and her covering with the Lord God.

But we can stand firm against temptation by keeping our eyes on the Lord Jesus. Through keeping our eyes on Him and submitting to His will, we can resist the Devil, and he will flee from us.

When dealing with spiritual warfare, remember the whole point is to keep our eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ and what He is doing, not what the Devil is doing.