He Hurts Like We Hurt

April 6 2016
Scripture: Isaiah 16:11 (ESV)

He Hurts Like We Hurt

"Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab, and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth"

In the middle of a series of prophecies to the reigning cities of the day, the Lord decrees righteous consequences to each one. He pours out correcting punishments telling the people to weep over their cities. But something here seems a little different about the "Righteous Judge" than the cold unsympathetic attitude one might expect from the "Old Testament God". Here He says He weeps and moans in the inmost parts of His being for these people, and what they have to go through. In verse 9 it says, "I drench you with My tears." It's not that God doesn't care when He disciplines us. In fact, He weeps for His children. He hurts like we hurt. 

When a father must punish his child and he sees the tear-filled eyes look back at him, he cannot help but feel compassion for his child. Does this mean that the father should boycott the consequence that the child needs to learn the lesson? You could, but that is not truly helping the child in the long run, because throughout life there are choices and consequences. If the father let his child do anything consequence-free, it is setting up that child for failure in the real world. 

Yet even when God disciplines us, His children, He feels our pain very deeply. Jesus wept bitterly for Jerusalem, over their unbelief. He didn't shake His fist at them shouting, "You'll get what's coming to you!" No, God cares; He comforts you at the hospital, He mourns with you at the graveside, He hurts at the sight of evil done to you. God cares.

"Lord Jesus, thank You that You truly care about me and the struggles I face everyday. Your comfort is soothing and I know that Your arms are wrapped around me tightest when I hurt the most. Amen."

The Weak, The Called, and The Qualified

April 9th 2016
Scripture 1 Corinthians 1:28-29 (ESV)

The Weak, The Called, & The Qualified

"God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God."

When I was called to serve as a pastor in ministry, I didn't have a lot going for me. I wasn't the most popular charismatic person among my peers. I struggled with some form of social anxiety in front of groups in all situations, except playing my guitar on the worship team at church. In fact, in high school I worked in the kitchen at Pizza Hut, where I was glad I didn't have to deal with people. And trust me, in ministry you have to deal with people a lot! 

All this to say, I didn't seem very qualified for the ministry. When I felt called to be a Youth Pastor, I am pretty sure a few members at my Dad's church scratched their heads, wondering how that would work out. I would have too. I wasn't qualified, or so I thought. The truth of the matter is that I wasn't qualified because of my great skills, but just maybe because of my lack of skills. God, more often then not, chose the weak to work though rather than the strongest or the wisest. As Henry Blackaby said once, "The Lord never calls the qualified, He qualifies the called." This way we humans don't get a fat head. I cannot boast about me, because it's not about me, but God who works through me. He deserves the glory, because He helped me do things I didn't believe I could do. 

So next time I view myself as weak and unqualified, I can claim the promise that "His power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9). When I am weak, He is strong. 

"Lord Jesus, thank You that You take my weakness and turn it into Your strength. Help me to give all the glory back to You, so that I do not boast in myself. Let Your power be made perfect in my weakness. Amen."

Source of Strength

March 19 2016

Scripture: Psalm 46:1 (ESV)

Source of Strength

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

Yesterday morning I tried to write, but the Holy Spirit did not seem to highlight any passage like He usually does. I searched until I had to leave for work, wondering why I could not find my nugget of wisdom I mine for every morning. When I arrived at the Church, the Lead Pastor had our staff go and spend the first twenty-five minutes of our TRC (Training, Requirements, and Communication) meeting in alone time with God. He gave a short devotional hand-out and told us to reflect on it. Psalm 46:1 kept popping out to me because of the word Strength. On my way to work, I was listening to the Christian radio in my car and I heard a newer song called Strong Enough by Matthew West. In the bridge of this song it states, "I don't have to be strong enough," because God is our strength. It all clicked for me when I heard the Family Life Pastor share that Psalm 46:1 stuck out to him as well.

I've been trying in more than my devotional life to operate out of my own strength, like I have to provide all the strength myself. But this verse says,"God is my strength" and I can depend on Him in my troubles like a place of refuge. Therefore next time I am trying to make things happen on my own, I will stop and remember that my strength comes from Him, by reading this prayer posted at my desk.

"Lord Jesus, thank you that I don't have to rely on my own strength to get me through life. I am very wimpy when it comes to the power You have. Help me to return to this truth often so I may be reminded where my strength, my breath, my life, comes from. Let me rely on You alone. Amen."