Tag: faith

Our Hope in Every Season

Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust

Ps 26, 40, 58, 61-62, 64

Mother Teresa spoke of ‘the dark night of the soul.’ You would think that someone who served in such a ministry would be a titan of faith, impervious to doubt. But still, she wrestled with God. 

And, who could blame her? I’m sure that the stresses of her ministry continually bashed against the rock of her faith. 

All of our circumstances have a way of doing that. They are the waves of doubt, of shame, of sin, and of fear. They hit us throughout life in the jeers of our friends in middle school to the first heartbreak that comes with young love to the frustration of parenthood to the inevitable pain that comes with the final breaths our loved ones take.

James says that someone who doubts is like a wave blown and tossed by the wind. The antidote to that doubt is faith. But, what can be said of us then? For who can say that they haven’t wrestled with God? 

As we turn through the pages of scripture, we find that we are in good company. Abraham, Moses, and of course, Jacob wrestled with God in their own way. And, we see David struggling through the pain of his circumstances in the Psalms we read today. 

David cries out to God. He begs him to turn and listen. For someone who had slept on the floors of caves and pretended to be a madman in an enemy’s court, these words are more than just cliché. 

David always goes back to the same statement, ‘In God alone I trust. I will wait patiently for the Lord.’ 

How powerful that statement is. And, oh how hard it is. 

In the seasons of my life, I have prayed. When I woke up, when I lay my head down, and all the footsteps in between were filled with the same cry. And yet, my prayers were unanswered. What could I do? 

In those times – even now – I could make a choice to turn my face from God. But, the question “Oh Lord, who could I turn to? Where could I go from your presence? Who have I but you?” rings out. 

David understood this truth. God is our strong refuge in both the good times and bad. In health and sickness. Riches and poverty. Joy and sorrow. We turn to him in every season, and we wait patiently for him to act. 

And when we do, we understand the truth of Psalm 40:4-8: 

“4 Blessed is the man who makes

    the Lord his trust,

who does not turn to the proud,

    to those who go astray after a lie!

5 You have multiplied, O Lord my God,

    your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;

    none can compare with you!

I will proclaim and tell of them,

    yet they are more than can be told.

6 In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,

    but you have given me an open ear.

Burnt offering and sin offering

    you have not required.

7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come;

    in the scroll of the book it is written of me:

8 I delight to do your will, O my God;

    your law is within my heart.”

-Cayce Fletcher

Cayce blogs at https://amorebeautifullifecollective.com about faith, family, and life. You’ll find encouragement for how to build intentional lives rooted in faith and beauty. Check out the latest post on the human nature of Jesus here. 

Reflection Questions

  1. Have you ever experienced a season of sorrow or silence? What was the outcome?
  2. What does it mean to wait on the Lord? Try to create a sentence-long definition of what that looks like.
  3. How is the perseverance of the saints related to waiting on God? Why is perseverance an important virtue in the Christian life?

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Wrong Place, Wrong Time

2 Samuel 11-12
1 Chronicles 20

And in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel, and they laid waste the children of Ammon and besieged Rabbah, but David stayed at Jerusalem. – 2 Samuel 11:1 (REV)

                  In today’s reading, we see two realities. Both happened, but at different times and represent different things. In 2nd Samuel, we see David, king of Israel. Where do we see David? At home. Sitting on his keister and not doing what a king would normally be doing: overseeing his generals as they go out to battle.

                  David is not where he is supposed to be. He should be meeting with his generals. He should be motivating his armies. He should be praying and fasting and seeking out God’s direction for the safety and prosperity of Israel, but he’s back in Jerusalem. Twiddling his thumbs? Playing his harp? We don’t know what he was doing at all hours of the day when he held up in his palace.  We do, however, know what he was doing on one specific evening.

                  David is out walking on the roof, where he shouldn’t be, and he sees Bathsheba bathing. David does not turn away from seeing the nakedness of this woman whom he is not married to. He stares. He dwells. He obsesses. She’s beautiful. He needs to meet her. To be with her.

                  David ends up having her come into his home, and he has sex with her and gets her pregnant. We may have seen this story happen in the lives of some people we know, but this is high profile. This is a problem. A bunch of people are going to know what has happened, and this is going to be hard to explain to Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, who is out at war, where he is supposed to be: fighting for the armies of the people of Yahweh. While the king is out preying upon the wife of his soldier.

                  David finds himself in a sticky situation, so he sends for Uriah and does his best to get Uriah to go have sex with his wife and cover his… keister. Uriah, however, cannot fathom such a thing while his comrades are off fighting a war. He refuses to even go visit his wife. This poses a major problem. People are going to know that Bathsheba is expecting, and they are going to know that Uriah hasn’t been with her in months, maybe longer. David tries multiple times, but no dice. Uriah is a man of honor and conviction, and that is not going to fly in this situation. David needs an out. David essentially puts out a hit job on Uriah. David cannot control his urges, so a good man dies.

The story unfolds. Uriah is dead. David marries his baby mama, and then the baby dies. Nathan the prophet comes to confront David and gets David worked up with a parable. David wants vengeance for the perpetrator in the story, but then the tables are turned when David is revealed to be the bad guy in the tale. David grieves, David repents, but the baby does not survive. It’s rough.

In 1 Chronicles 20, we see that it is the time when kings go out to war. And David goes out to war. And his armies thrive. He gets an awesome new crown. God blesses the armies of a king who acts in good faith. David is more than capable of doing the right thing, but even a man after God’s own heart can allow himself to fall off the rails.

Here’s the rub: Sometimes we get complacent. Sometimes we get lazy. Sometimes we do things, go places, consume content that we know we shouldn’t, but we’ve allowed ourselves to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and we fall victim to the allure of the temptations of sin around us.

We’ve all allowed ourselves to be in bad situations that we could have avoided. Sometimes we may come out on top, but given enough opportunities to sin in the situations we create, we are bound to fall. We play with fire… and you know the cliché, but it’s true, we get burned.

-JJ Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. Can you recall some times you allowed yourself to be in a place you shouldn’t have been? What was the outcome? How could you have avoided putting yourself in that situation? What did you learn from it?
  2. What do you think of Nathan’s tactics of getting David to see the gravity of the wickedness that he had perpetrated?
  3. What does the story of David and Bathsheba teach us about grace, repentance, and forgiveness?
  4. If David can be forgiven for this travesty, who can you forgive that may have done much less harm in the way that they have wronged you?
  5. How does the contrast of 2 Samuel 11-12 and 1 Chronicles 20 sit with you? Does it give you any insight or change the way you perceive David’s sin?

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Let the Nations be Glad

Psalm 65-67, 69-70

So many of the psalms focus on directly worshipping and declaring the goodness of God, which is good, but this psalm takes that knowledge of God and comes in with a missional view: Let God be known and praised by all the people. All the nations. Not just Israel, his covenant people, but by everyone.

The psalmist recognizes the goodness of God and what he has done for his people. In light of this fact, they want the goodness of God to be experienced by all people and for there to be abounding joy for all.

God provides sustenance for all people, the earth yields its produce. It does so because God designed it that way, so may the nations recognize that Yahweh created life and sustains it through his order.

Verse 4 talks about the nations being judged with equity. Equity here is the Hebrew word mishor, which literally means levelness or uprightness. God will not play favorites with his judgment, he will judge with prejudice, but he will judge fairly and give the same outcomes to the faithful of all tongues and tribes. In the same way, destruction comes from rejecting God, regardless of the background of the individual.

We can look at this through the lens of Jesus, but even without a clear picture, the psalmist saw a future where there was no Jew nor Greek, nor slave nor free, but a world where all could bask in and enjoy the glory of God and worship him in spirit and in truth.

Let the nations be glad.

-JJ Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. Where does your joy come from?
  2. Do you view your role as a believer to be missional? To bring others into a saving relationship with Jesus and his Father?
  3. Do you have trouble with being equitable in your sharing? Can it be difficult to share with people from different backgrounds?
  4. If you find great hope and strength in the gospel, shouldn’t you share it? Why are we worried about “offending people” with the gospel?
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Remember & Trust Yahweh our God

Psalm 20

1 Chronicles 19

2 Samuel 10

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we remember the name of Yahweh our God.  – Psalm 20:7 (REV)

It is very easy to rely on our modern technologies for help. The United States spent around 1 trillion dollars on defense last year, and it is easy to look at that high spending and have some confidence that the US would have an upper hand in any conflicts that it is engaged in, and that soldiers might enjoy a higher level of safety. We can look at medical technologies and pharmaceuticals and have confidence that something out there can diagnose and treat our potential maladies.

Yet despite these great resources, soldiers still die, and people still get sick and do not receive the diagnosis or treatment that they want or need. Confidence can lead to letdowns when placed in earthly things.

In 1 Chronicles 19, we see King David extend kindness to his potential foes, only for it to be repaid with treachery and opposition. When the Ammonites realize that they have put themselves at odds with David, they amass a significant force of chariots to fend off any attacks. They put confidence in the technology of the day to help deliver them from the potential conflict with Israel.

As Psalm 20:7 says, some people put their trust in chariots and horses, but we remember – or put our trust in – Yahweh. David trusted his God to deliver him and his armies from whatever his enemies devised as a means of attack or defense strategy. David recognized God as sovereign and that God is capable of anything. Historically and personally, David knew that God used underdogs and laughably small forces to conquer the enemies of his chosen people.

We do not have promises from God that we will never suffer or experience pain, death, or illness. God does promise us redemption through the blood of his son Jesus. We have a promise of restoration for the earth, which is something that has never been accomplished by human effort, whether governmental or environmental.

-JJ Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. What will you put your trust in?
  2. Who will you put your trust in?
  3. Why is God’s provision so much more powerful than earthly promises?
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Enduring Faithfulness

2 Samuel 7

1 Chronicles 17

When was the last time you made a truly eternal promise? If you’re married, hopefully, you’ve made an eternal promise of love and commitment. I’m sure if you have children, you’ve vowed to love and cherish them always. Even something as seemingly simple as getting a tattoo is a promise to yourself that you’ll carry that image on your body for the rest of your life.

Today’s scripture, 2 Samuel 7, reveals the profound truth of God’s eternal promises. This passage contains the Davidic Covenant, where God promises that David’s house will rule forever. We know this promise will be fully realized when Jesus returns to establish God’s Kingdom on earth. Think about it: God has been keeping this promise for over 3,000 years! Despite Israel’s occasional disappointments and frustrations, God remains steadfast.

While our most sincere promises can falter due to betrayal, anger, misunderstanding, or irreconcilable differences, a promise from God is unwavering. That’s a reason for a true celebration! 

David’s response to this incredible promise is one of humility and awe: “How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.” Today, may we find ways to celebrate God’s faithfulness that has endured all this time and will continue long past us.

-Hope Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. When have you witnessed or experienced God’s enduring faithfulness?
  2. When have you responded to God with humility and awe saying (similar): ““How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you…”?
  3. How are you at keeping your promises? Can your word be trusted?
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God’s Best Way

 2 Samuel 5:11-6:23

1 Chronicles 13-16

2 Samuel 6 is one of those stories in the Bible that never sat well with me in my youth.  Here, we have a scene of a joyful celebration as the ark of the Lord Almighty is brought to its rightful home in Jerusalem.  We’re singing, we’re dancing, we’re having a grand time.  Suddenly, the oxen stumbles, and the ark begins to fall.  Here, we have Uzzah, who reaches out to steady the ark to keep it from falling. See, to me, that seems like a noble thing to do.  After all, we’d hate for the ark to fall to the ground, wouldn’t we? Yet, God strikes him dead for this act.  Come on…the guy was just doing the best he could do!  It always seemed to me that God acted unfairly to someone who seemed like they were trying to do a good thing.

You know, now that I think of it, I tend to have that same attitude toward acts of disobedience in my life. Sure, I know that sometimes I do wrong things, but if my intentions are good, isn’t it ok? I know that God doesn’t want me to lie, but if my lie has a good outcome, wouldn’t God say that’s ok?  I know I’m not supposed to touch the ark, but if I keep it from falling, wouldn’t that be ok? Unfortunately, that’s not the way it works. 

If you’ve been following along with the Bible readings, you’ll remember that in 1 Samuel 15, we learn that to God, “it is more important to obey than to sacrifice.”  God prefers faithful adherence to His commands more than grand gestures performed according to our own understanding. I think God would rather have had Uzzah follow his commands, treating his instructions with respect and reverence than try to do what was right in his own eyes.

And another thing, the disobedience didn’t start with him reaching to steady the ark.  Uzzah wasn’t even supposed to be one of the men transporting the ark as he wasn’t a Kohathite (the Levites specifically instructed by God to be in charge of this task). Not only that, but they weren’t even transporting it the right way. They made a cart for the ark, but God gave specific instructions for how to carry this thing around, and a cart was not part of the deal!  Things could have been so different if only they had done things the way God said.  

What we learn from Uzzah and the mistake that he made is to pursue obedience even when our own understanding leads us a different way. In this life, you will be drawn toward doing things that go against God’s teachings.  Even if it doesn’t make sense, God’s way is always the best.

-Hope Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. How do we avoid getting caught up in doing things our own way instead of God’s way? How do we learn what God’s way is? What are the differences between my way and God’s way?
  2. How does Uzzah show us our need for a Savior? How important is Jesus’s death – and resurrection?
  3. The chronological Bible reading plan has many benefits – but if you are looking for some RESURRECTION inspiration today – here are several past SeekGrowLove devotions to choose from.
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The Same God

Psalms 81, 88, 92-93

1 Chronicles 7-8

Today’s reading takes us across several different life experiences many (if not all) Christians also experience in today’s modern world:

  • Psalm 81 is a reflection of God’s provision for Israel, and a reminder of the good things they could be experiencing if they would only listen to Him.  
  • Psalm 88 is an example of low places so many of us have experienced in our Christian walk.  The writer is calling out to God to save them from suffering, to answer their prayers, and to bring them comfort in a place of loneliness. It is a lamentation and pouring out of a soul that is broken and hurting.  
  • Psalm 92 is a psalm of praise and excitement over the wonderful works of God!  This author is experiencing joy and astonishment over a Heavenly Father, and being sure to sing it loud and proud!
  • Psalm 93 is another praiseful psalm that focuses more on the sovereignty of God and His mighty power, recognizing the strength of God and His position over the entire earth. 

While each of these Psalms hold different perspectives of a human’s viewpoint of God, we can also see how in each of these, God’s unchanging, steadfast, supreme authority remains.  No matter what our current reflection of God is, He has never become anything but God.  Whether we are disobedient, hurting, praising, or fully recognizing His power, God is still, and has always been, the Creator, Yahweh, the One True God.  The God who formed and controls every aspect of the earth, that pulled the Israelites out of Egypt, and held them accountable to His commands, is the SAME GOD that you and I worship today.  

This fact can (and probably should) be both comforting and convicting.  Comforting because there is an amazing God who loves us with an everlasting love that will never change from that! Convicting because there is a powerful God, who has high expectations for believers, that won’t change from that either.  As Christians today, I believe we must consistently balance these feelings of comfort and conviction in order to best live out our days.

-Sarah Johnson

Reflection Questions

  1. Using the four options listed, what would you classify as your current reflection of God in this season?  Are you content to have that reflection?
  2. What verses most stood out to you from the reading?  Why do you think those verses impacted you the most today?
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Yearning for God

Psalms 84-85, 87

1 Chronicles 5

Have you ever yearned for something?  

I recently had a baby boy, who decided, after about 3.5 weeks of false labor contractions and me walking around 4cm dilated for a week, he would grace us with his appearance 2 days after his due date.  For comparison, my firstborn came a week early with only those pesky Braxton Hicks contractions leading up to his debut.  Anyone who has known me over the past 9 months knows that I was fully convinced this second baby was coming early.  It felt like my entire mind was consumed by thinking about going into labor every moment of every day!  I was grouchy, distracted, and mentally exhausted.  My yearning brought me no closer to my baby, and really only made me more distant from everything positive going on around me. 

The sons of Korah write in Psalm 84:2 “My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.” (NIV).  The NET translation phrases it as “with my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God”.  This verse paints a picture of absolute, consuming, desire for closeness with God.  The chapter continues on to describe a blessed happiness that can be found when focused on praising the Almighty, when trusting in the Lord of Hosts! (v. 4, 12).  

Psalm 85 continues this picture of desiring closeness with God, but takes a slightly different perspective.  In Psalm 84, I get this imagery of excitement, anticipation, energized passion for God, whereas Psalm 85 depicts an image of peace, protection, and righteousness in relationship.  There is still a deep longing for a connection, but it’s like comparing the honeymoon, “puppy-love” phase of a new marriage, to a secure, content, lifelong covenant marriage.  

Verse 9 describes this type of relationship through salvation by fearing God.  This “fear” is derived from the Hebrew word “yare”, which means to revere, or be afraid of because of profound respect .  It’s not meant to be a fear that causes us to avoid approaching the throne, but rather a fear that places us in rightful, humble, submission to an awesome God, worthy of being revered, and yearned for.  One that should make us say, “my whole source of joy is in you” (Ps. 87:7). 

Even though babies are one of the greatest gifts, my yearning to deliver my son began to impact my relationship with God (and others!) as I began to prioritize birth over my spiritual relationship with the One who made life.  I wanted to control the timing, and I wanted it to be now!  But, when I started to misplace my priorities, I felt less joy, less excitement, and less peace about the whole situation.  How often does this happen in our lives?  We begin to place closeness to someone or something above our desire for closeness with God… and unsurprisingly, we don’t get the same satisfaction we may have been hoping for.  We can become bitter, resentful, stressed, you name it… anything but joyful.  Yearning with such intenseness for the wrong things in life, even when they are good things, will never lead to a joy-filled life.  BUT, when we keep ourselves yearning intensely for a relationship with God, and when we humble ourselves to Him, we experience true joy, true peace, and true satisfaction, only He can deliver!

(And baby boy arrived healthy and happy, just when God intended him too 🙂)

Sarah (Blanchard) Johnson

Reflection Questions

  1. Evaluate your faith walk right now – would you describe yourself as yearning for a relationship with God?  What other aspects in your life might you be misplacing above your relationship with Him?  
  2. What steps can you take to practice fearing, or revering, God today?
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Lists

These are the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.         -1 Chronicles 2:1-2 (ESV)

1 Chronicles 2

Psalm 16, 19, 21

If you’ve been reading along with me this week, you may have noticed I like lists.  In fact, it’s kind of an obsession of mine.  I have lists for pretty much everything – grocery lists, daily to-do lists, lists for upcoming birthdays and anniversaries, to-do lists of projects (for me and for my husband), packing lists for trips, lists of nursery helpers and teachers at church, so many lists. 

Lists can be great as reminders.  Yesterday and today we have read through the first two chapters in 1 Chronicles.  I know the headings aren’t actually “Biblical”, but they are helpful.  1 Chronicles 1:1-24 is the genealogy from Adam to Abraham.  Verses 28 – 34 is the genealogy from Abraham to Jacob (Israel).  1 Chronicles 2:1-15 is the genealogy of David.  Now, I don’t particularly like to read the genealogies in the Bible, or anywhere, really.  I usually skim through them and pause at the names of characters in the Bible I recognize. 

But God wanted them in the Bible, in His Word, so they must have a purpose.  I know God had special tasks for different tribes.  I know that prophecies that tell of Jesus’ lineage rely on genealogies to prove he was the Messiah.  So, don’t write them off too quickly, even if you don’t read every name. 

A short devotion to make up for the long list of names you just waded through!

Amy Blanchard

Reflection Questions

  1. Consider your own genealogy.  There are people in your lineage who have shaped your life and your faith.  Is there anyone you want to thank?  Or thank God for?
  2. I encourage you to read the Psalms for today as well.  A great prayer for every moment of every day is Psalm 19:14, “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”   In looking back over your day, at what time would you have been happy to say this prayer?  When would you have wanted to hide your words and thoughts (meditation) from God?  Praise God for His forgiveness! 
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A Pattern to Follow for Faith over Fear

Psalm 56, 120, 140-142

Like Psalm 34, which we highlighted yesterday, Psalm 56 for today was also written when the Philistines had seized David in Gath.  And just like yesterday’s psalm, this one starts with David begging God for help.

Then, in verses 3 and 4, David says this, “When I am afraid, I will trust in you.  In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?”

I see a pattern here that David liked to repeat:

  1. He acknowledged his fear, “When I am afraid.”  Fear is a natural reaction when in danger – either real or perceived.
  2. David then made a deliberate decision to trust God.  This is not a normal reaction, it is an intentional decision, flying in the face of the natural fear.
  3. David praised God for delivering him – before he had been delivered.  (In this case, David praised God’s word, but often, he just praised God.)  When David did this, he was stepping out on faith, believing God would answer his prayers.
  4. Finally, in the assurance God would help him, David banished his fear, “I will not be afraid.”.  Notice he chose to not fear what mortal man could do to him.

This reminds me of Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:28, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul.  Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

This is a pattern I have also tried to follow in my own life.  Many times, I have cried out to God, confessing my fear. I have then made a deliberate decision to trust that whatever God has for me is best, whether I know it (or like it) or not.  Then praise God for his promise that all things work together for my good – because I love God. Finally, with God’s help, I let Him lift my burden off my shoulders, whether it is fear, or whatever else it is.

With the fears swirling around now, whether Covid-19, or unemployment, or difficulty finding what you want at the grocery store, or …  You have a choice. You can succumb to fear, or you can follow David’s example.

I challenge you to try this pattern with whatever makes you fearful today.  Then you can say, like David wrote in yesterday’s reading from Psalm 34:8, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” And from today’s reading in 56:11, “In God I trust; I will not be afraid.  What can man do to me?”

–Steve Mattison

(originally posted April 15, 2020 for SeekGrowLove)

Reflection Questions

  1. What have you been afraid about in the past? What has God already successfully brought you through?
  2. When is fear helpful? Do you have a healthy fear of God? Do you fear only God?
  3. What makes you fearful today (besides God)? Would you like to conquer this fear? Write out David’s steps to replace fear with faith and keep them in a place you will see often and practice working through the steps – over and over again.
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