Dangers to Faith

 Dangers to your faith. I was struck with this phrase in my daily devotional. Hindrances, hang-ups, but 

dangers? Are they what I think they might be? After all, satan is subtle, deceptive:

         

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring

lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand strong against him and be strong in 

your faith.”  I Peter 5:8-9 NLT

When I was in high school, I went out to my car at the end of the day to head home. I turned the key just like every other day, only this time it would not start. When I called my dad, he decided to send out a wrecker. This totally embarrassed and annoyed me. I was just out of gas! But the back story is key. You see, this was not the first time this had happened. My dad had been dealing with me about watching my gauges, making time for routine maintenance, and paying attention to warning signs that would indicate a problem. It was best to be preventive than be neglectful and cause major issues, or to find myself stranded somewhere (there were no cell phones in those days!). He continued to remind me that vehicles need three things to run efficiently…gas, oil, and other fluids, and it was my responsibility to make sure my car had those three things. I was simply ignoring that responsibility and all the signs. So now? I was dealing with the consequences…it turned out to be much more serious than just being out of gas. Does anyone know what a cracked engine block is? Well I do unfortunately, and I learned at a young age. It was a costly repair and one that left me without my car for about a week. And something simple like noticing my oil light, could have prevented this.  Did it place me in any immediate danger? No. This time I was just inconvenienced. But failed brake lines could have. Again, simple things looked at carefully during routine maintenance checks could prevent dangerous situations…if I would be aware of the dangers, pay attention to the warning signals, and take the time for regular maintenance checks.  

Our spiritual lives can often feel that way…like we’re coasting along, no problems, believing everything is fine.  We mindlessly travel this faith journey, not sensing any immediate spiritual dangers. We are not looking for them. But neglect and just plain ignorance can be dangerous, especially when our “great enemy” is lurking about just waiting for an opportunity to pounce. We’re easily lulled into passivity and lassitude. Or perhaps a tiny temptation presents itself when we’re most vulnerable. 

It is our responsibility to “be on guard’. We have to be aware of the dangers to our faith and do what is necessary to provide satan no open door to our hearts. 

I don’t know what dangers to your faith there might be, or where you may be tempted to be lax in your faith journey. I just know the Scripture admonishes us to be alert, watchful, vigilant, to see our faith strengthened and steadfast. We are to be continually “growing in grace and the knowledge of our Savior” (2 Peter 3:18). Are you growing? Do you know more of Jesus today than yesterday? A year ago? What hardships or challenges may have sidelined you, or brought you up short of His grace and peace and joy? What has dulled your senses to the glories of Christ? 

Don’t be ignorant of the dangers to your faith. Don’t disregard the warning signs. It may be as simple as a subtle shift in thinking, an annoyance, a distraction, an unresolved offense. It may be physical pain or even a tragedy that shakes the very foundations of all we believe. It happens when we least expect it, catching us off guard. Just be aware. Stay in the Word. Stay connected with your church and community of believers. Stay sensitive to the Spirit’s quiet promptings. Stay in worship mode - prayer, gratitude, giving, worship and praise music, service to others. 

Don’t find yourself stranded along your faith journey.

How "R" You?

Some days I just want the day to end. I want to go to bed, wake up and just get a new day started. Have you been there? Are you there now?

I’m in a season of caregiving for my mother-in-law, and some days are just hard. It’s a constant struggle to keep her comfortable, be patient and compassionate; not take the cutting remarks personally; to not be able to do anything right; handle the negativity, the lack of joy. She struggles with Jesus not taking her home, but instead letting her linger in her condition. I get it. That’s hard too. I don’t know what I will be like when my homegoing draws close, but I know what I want it to be like. So I commit daily to being Jesus to her, sometimes moment by moment. Do I fail? Yes, sometimes miserably…thus the desire to just see the day end and be able to start over!! I’m learning lessons again, being stretched in my faith again, being pressed to prayer again in ways that only this wonderful time could bring my way. 

What season are you in? Life has a way of throwing rocks at us, beating us down. Some would call it being dealt a terrible hand, or perhaps fate. No, even when life happens, God is still in charge. He is still so very good. Some things are easier to deal with than others, no doubt. But we all have those things that discourage, disappoint, defeat, demean, disillusion, even make us doubt the God that made us, that saved us, that walks with us. Oh those devilish “D” words!!  

When the heat is on and the emotions are raw, it’s tough to remember the God who loves us beyond what we can understand and that He has not abandoned us to ourselves or our situations. I sat down this week, completely deflated (another D word!) and tried to get myself together. I was dull with trying to push back against how things were making me feel. I picked up my journal and leafed back through the last year or so.  God had been so very good. His timing was perfect at every turn. I walked through some of the tough decisions and challenges, making a point to read the Scripture and prayers I had recorded. I came away with some “R’s” to replace those “D’s”.

REST!  How “R” you? You may need to rest. One of my sons recently shared a conversation he was having with his daughter about a relationship issue. He encouraged her to “do the right thing, then rest in Truth.”  What sound admonishment. It’s one thing to know God’s Truth.  It’s quite another to rest in it, letting it guide our thoughts and behaviors, letting it control our concerns with outcomes. Resting in Truth is freeing. It brings all the promises of God to our disposal. But we have to know Truth and appropriate Truth for it to work its wonder in our lives and daily ups and downs. And biblical, authoritative Truth is relative to every situation. 

REACH!  How “R” you? You may need to reach. Hurtful people, painful times, are just the times to practice in an even more intentional and determined way the kindness of Christ. Once pummeled, it’s challenging to respond and react with grace, kindness, humility, goodness. But we have to keep reaching out, even to those that don’t appreciate it, don’t want it, don’t respect it, are oblivious to it. And we do that because the love of Christ compels us to, it honors Him. It ministers grace and peace and joy to our own hearts. It makes a difference. If not in the other person, in us. 

REFOCUS! How “R” you? You may need to refocus. Satan loves to distract. There it is, another D word!  Become quickly acquainted with Satan’s ways and wiles, seducing our attention away from the sacred, away from the Savior’s sweet grace and the awareness of His presence with us. When the doubts surface…and they will…do not believe the lies. You are loved. You are enough. You are His beloved child. You are forgiven. You are able. He makes all this possible. One distraction leads to another and before we know it we are far removed from the joy, the peace, the wisdom, the strength, the grace we need and enjoy, because the distractions have crowded out time in His Word, time being quiet in His presence, soaking in His nearness and love. Often even good things can distract, keeping us busy, leaving us wondering what happened. Where is the joy?  Where is the peace of mind and grateful heart? Where is the determination to do the right thing? Where is the strength to stay the course? It can evaporate in the distractions. Refocus your heart and mind on the person of Jesus. Go back to the priority of praise and prayer and time in the Word. This will get you through. 

REJOICE!  How “R” you? You may need to break out in praise! Rejoicing is easier when things are going well, when what we normally view as “blessings” are flowing. It’s in our nature to smile and laugh and be joyful in the absence of obstacles, challenges, problems, difficulties, pain, heartbreak, loss. And we don’t often think of those things as blessings. This is when we have to step back and separate how we feel from what we know to be true!! We may not be able to change what is happening at any given moment, and we don’t have to deny or dismiss how we feel. But we have to choose to be joyful, to praise God always. To lift our hearts and hands to Him in grateful, genuine praise. Not because we’ve been spared life’s blows, but in spite of them. Hard times, waiting times, happy times, alone times, all.the.times.!!  Rejoicing always changes our perspective and lifts us above the oppressive clouds and enables us to see the Son again!  

REVISIT!  How “R” you? When is the last time you took a moment to revisit God at work in the details of your life?  Go back often to the times and places you saw the faithfulness of God. Revisit the miraculous moments, the lessons learned, the victories, the dark times. It will serve to strengthen your resolve to trust Him more. It will give you reason to rejoice again. You will see Him strong and faithful on your behalf and be reminded that He does not change. I keep a journal and I do this often. In dark times, these journals take me back. All the raw emotion, the sharp pain, the wondering and waiting. But I also see where the Lord has brought me from and it gives me a fresh perspective on where I am now. By His great grace, I am and will be ok because He is great and good. He has been faithful in the past. He will be faithful always. 

How “R” you, really? I pray you can rest, reach, refocus, rejoice, and revisit God’s greatness and goodness, especially if you’re in a rough spot. You may find some additional “R’s” of your own to encourage your heart. I hope you are good. 

But when we’re not, Jesus still is. 

There Was Jesus

The darkness quickly settled over me again, like it sometimes will.  My whole life. It’s been there. Hiding. Waiting. Waiting for my most vulnerable moments. Moments I should be stronger. More Christlike. More patient. More forgiving. Less angry. Less hurt. More, and less…of everything. 

But Jesus. Sweet Jesus.  He knows.  He always knows, and meets me where I am.  When I’m too tired. Too frail.  Too weary.  When it’s all too much. When I just want to be done. When I just want it all to go away. 

But then…it has never been about me holding onto Him. Reaching, begging, crying, straining to get a grip…no, it has only and always been about Him holding me. It’s about Him cradling me, His child, with great grace. With unfailing love and mercies that truly are new every morning like His Word says, and I know why. Because—-I.need.them. Every.day.  

This time was no different. You would think by now I could ward it off, see it coming. Prepare myself, prevent it somehow. Do something. 

But no, most times I just can’t. Sometimes before I can call out in prayer, or go to the Word, or take a deep breath, there it is again. Enveloping me in it’s hideous blackness. Causing me to hate myself. My failure. My frailty. My lack of faith. Descending on me, ruthless to seal the defeat with hardness. Wanting me to just say it. There’s no hope. 

What I know?  That He relentlessly comes to me with gentle nudges to listen, to obey, and to wait as He ministers to me. Gentle nudges to turn the worship music up—LOUD. Gentle whispers to grab my Bible, and even if I can’t read it, to hold it—tightly, closely. Gentle stirrings to just wait, weep, and let His love caress me. To let His song sing over me, drawing my heart’s gaze upward. To let the groanings of my soul make their way heavenward until I am resting. Quietly just resting. Resting in Grace. Being held. Being healed. 

As He sings over me I know I will sing again, maybe even today. I will find the circumstances under my feet as I lift my heart and hands to Him. The current moment of darkness does not define me. Does not control me. Will not gain the upper hand because…

I belong to Him. His love for me is almost unbelievable. But I DO believe. And He comes to me and proves His love and faithfulness all over again. I am able to pick up the Word and read it’s comforting message. An empowering message. A message of love and untold compassion for one He died for, one He lives through by His Sweet Spirit. For one He holds and carries and forgives and embraces. 

There will be other dark seasons. I know. I have lived a thousand of them. But because I belong to Him, I am not alone in the darkness. I may struggle to breathe. I may struggle to pray. I may struggle to open myself again to love and to give. But I will. Not because I’m able to somehow get a grip. No, it’s about Jesus’ grip on me. 

The darkness has no hold on me. 

Because of Jesus. 

“He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom; He snapped their chains. Let them praise the Lord for His great love and for the wonderful things He has done for them.” 

Psalms 107:14-15