His Spirit Guides Trust

While I sat one morning, I gazed at a summer rain shower. I did not have faith that the sunshine would emerge from this gloom. If not that day, it could be the next day or the next. I resolved to sit tight, hold the fort, and stand firm. I wished to build a firm personal and community of faith.

Appreciating the blessing of quiet time, I opened my Bible and read this verse: Stand firm, and you will win life. Jesus was telling His followers that times ahead would be more difficult.

Today, believers and even ambivalent folk who focus on freedom of belief can experience persecution. The Enemy can tempt all of us to turn away from our faith and make wrong choices. Instead of giving in to temptations and being imperfect humans, we can keep returning to God and fostering peace. Following Jesus as a true worshipper entails more than worshipping one morning each week and joining in the hymns at church. That is a blessing, but we must continually build our faith.

Many in our communities struggle. We can donate food, clothing, and even good shoes to their causes. Adopting inclusive approaches and guiding younger people in unity needs to be our collective aim.

We are all a part of an overall global faith that includes struggles. Keep uniting in prayer, turning back to God, and fostering each other to build our faith. 

For most of our married life, my wife and I maintained a ministry in our home of rescuing women from the street. Many were homeless or involved in the sex trade. By temporarily bringing them into our house, we showed them the love of Jesus and guided them to new life in Him.

Church friends told us we were crazy. “They will rob you blind,” they said. But we had no fear of that. Our commitment was that everything we had belonged to God. He could take care of His stuff better than we could. If anything came up missing, that was God’s problem, not ours.

There can be no halfway commitment among those claiming to be Jesus’s disciples. Jesus says discipleship is an all-or-nothing relationship. But that startling demand raises some serious questions in a Jesus-follower’s mind.

The “everything” of this requirement includes all the people and things in our lives. We must ask how and when we have given up everything for Jesus and His kingdom. Are we holding anything back? Could He ask for anything, and we would freely and gladly offer it because it already belongs to Him?

If we are Jesus’ disciples, everything in our possession and all our human relationships are His. What freedom there is in owning nothing, in just being a steward of God’s stuff that He has assigned us. That kind of attitude and belief enables radical and joyous benevolence.

Think of what things or relationships you are grasping tightly to that Jesus says you would be better off giving up to Him. Be a disciple.

As an outdoor education camp counselor, one of my favorite activities is stacking rocks with the campers. They love to explore caves, climb rocks, and play hide-and-seek. But after a while, they get bored and are ready for the next activity.

In moments like this, I challenge the campers to collect stones and pebbles and stack them as high as possible. They build these towers so they can remember how much fun they had working together when we pass by the caves later in the day.

Stacked rocks also have significance in the Bible. Samuel built an Ebenezer after the Israelites defeated the Philistines. But why would Samuel use a rock to celebrate this victory? Ebenezers serve as reminders of God’s provision.

In Hebrew, the word Ebenezer means “stone of help.” Therefore, whenever the Israelites saw this rock when they passed between Mizpah and Shem, they were reminded of the Lord’s faithfulness in delivering them from destruction despite their fears.

Whether walking through a difficult circumstance or experiencing fear of the unknown, we can find hope in God’s faithfulness. We can consider how God has provided in past circumstances by delivering us.

Think about what Ebenezers you need to build. Whether it’s writing it on a sticky note, sharing it with a friend, or setting a reminder in your phone, these Ebenezers can point to the true character of God. And just like my campers experience joy in seeing their stacked rocks, you can find hope in the reminder that God is working in every circumstance. 

It was entertaining. Plus, I’d always wondered about this subject. Tell me more. After all, “Inquiring Minds Want to Know.”

The topic? Hypnosis. At the end of a long day, I unwound in front of a fascinating show on the practice. The presenter was a man of science and reason and a masterful practitioner. Okay, you’ve got my attention.

Yet the more I partook of the infotainment, the more I knew I needed to shut it off. It was interesting, but I knew the voice of my Beloved, and He called me higher. 

Irritated at the intrusion on my time, I watched for a few more mesmerizing minutes. But the beckoning continued. Turn it off. You don’t need to know. Reluctantly, I obeyed … at last.

Although I had outwardly complied, my mind continued to fight. But I like knowing. I want to know, I whined. However, as my will wrestled with God’s, I had a sudden flash of clarity. This was nothing less than the ancient struggle in the garden. How had I missed it? I wanted to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil more than I wanted the sweet, simple fruit of the Tree of Life. And my motivation? Eating of that tree so I could be wise. Oh my. That choice certainly didn’t turn out well in Eden. I thanked God for sparing me yet another spin on the painful merry-go-round of my foolish curiosity and pride.

Following my epiphany, I embraced God’s direction, seeing it as a valuable safeguard instead of an annoying constraint. I surrendered to the beckoning to be with my Lord for a while, eating peacefully from the Tree of Life instead of gobbling greedily from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

The next time I feel God’s prompting, even if it’s annoying and precisely what I do not want to hear, I hope I follow a little more quickly. After all, what I really want is life.

Even when we think we know what will bring us life, we’ll be happier in the long run when we defer to God’s judgment on the matter.  

Visitors must hike a narrow, three-quarter-mile footpath that winds between high sandstone cliffs to reach Jordan’s hidden city of Petra. But the stunning vision of the lost city at the end of the trail is worth the effort.

When the donkey that the prophet Balaam rode saw God’s angel ahead, the animal sensibly tried to avoid danger by going off the path into a field. Balaam beat the poor creature to get her back on the road. The angel continued to block the way forward, so the donkey pressed close to one wall, hurting Balaam’s foot. Doing so earned her a second beating. When the beast was still unable to pass to the right or left of the angel, she saw no other alternative. She lay down under her master. Balaam lost his cool. His frustration erupted for the third time, and he struck his poor mount with a staff.  

At some point on our life journey, we all find ourselves at a roadblock—at a loss as to how to proceed. Many of us respond with frustration and even rage. But what if we could see an angel in the road ahead with his sword drawn and hear his warning that our path was a reckless one? We would likely fall on our knees in gratitude.

When was the last time something interfered with your plans, and you confronted an unwelcome detour? Since God’s Word tells us we must walk through this world by faith and not sight, it’s essential to trust that He is in control when we are thwarted.

Instead of giving way to road rage, thank the Father for loving you enough to prevent a serious mistake. Your detour may take longer, but the discovery at the end will be worth it.