Month: April 2014

1 Samuel 30:6
“And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.”

One of the most dangerous times in life for many people is when grief has stricken someone. In times of grief many bad decisions have been made. In times of grief many relationships have been damaged. In times of grief many dreams have been quenched. If grief is dealt with in a positive manner, then your grief can be turned into victory.

David and his men found themselves in a time of grief. Some of the men who were with David did not deal with their grief in a positive manner. Had it not been for David doing the right thing, these men would have done some things that they most certainly would have regretted later. On the other hand, though David felt the same grief that his men felt, he dealt with it in a positive manner and it truly became the beginning of several victories in David’s life. Let me show you how David dealt with grief in a positive manner.

First, he took time to grieve. His wives were gone, and he saw the grief of his men as many of them lost their wives and children. It says that David and the people with him wept. When grief comes your way, don’t be afraid to cry. Crying during times of grief is like relieving the pressure from the pressure cooker. If you don’t take time to grieve, you can become a walking time bomb that can hurt many people around you. There is nothing wrong with grieving. Jesus grieved when Lazarus was dead, and it is good for you to take time to grieve when going through times of grief.

Second, he didn’t do or say something that he would regret. The men with him thought of stoning him, but instead of lashing out at them and reminding them how he took them in when nobody wanted them, he kept quiet and understood that they were reacting out of grief. Be careful when you are grieving that you don’t add to your grief by doing or saying something foolish. Stay quiet and realize your feelings are raw at the moment.

Third, he took his grief to the LORD. The verse above says that David “encouraged himself in the LORD his God.” Friend, this is the best thing you can do. Only the LORD can help you through your grief. He has been where you are, and He knows exactly how you feel. Crying on the shoulder of man will do nothing for you, but taking your grief to the LORD to receive encouragement will help. Likewise, encouraging yourself in the LORD also means that you allow the Scriptures to help you in your grief. Psalms is a good book to read during your time of grief.

Fourth, David got up and pursued. This is the most important step that you take to get out of your grief. If you wallow in your grief it will never leave; however, if you get up and pursue life, you will find that you can overcome grief. The best pill for grief is to get up and continue to live. Continue to pursue life as if you had no grief. This is God’s way of snapping you out of any self-pity that may keep you down.

Christian, how you handle grief will determine how many people you will be able to help. If David had stayed in the self-pity of grief, he would not have been able to take the throne of Israel. There is a throne that God wants you to sit upon, but you must get up from your grief and pursue life. It is then that God will take that grief and turn it into victory.

Psalm 52:1
“Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually.”

What once seemed to be a promising life had become a life of exile. After the victory over Goliath, David must have thought that brighter days were ahead. He even knew that he was going to be king someday, but that time when he was anointed must have seemed a distant past.

In the writing of the psalm above, David was hiding in the land of Moab. Saul had just killed Ahimelech the priest and his family. Only Abiathar escaped to come and tell David what had happened. David knew that it was only a short time before Saul would find out where he was, and he knew Saul’s intentions were to kill him. It was in these times when the only way David could receive comfort was from the goodness of God.

In times of lies, David rested in the goodness of God. Verse 2 says, “Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.” David had been lied about to the nation of Israel. They were told that David had been disloyal. No matter where he went in Israel, they would report to Saul his whereabouts. The only thing in which David could receive comfort was the goodness of God. Likewise, when people lie about you, the one thing in which you must rest is the goodness of God. No one else may believe you, but you can be assured that the goodness of God knows the truth.

In times of attack, David rested in the goodness of God. David said, “Why boastest thou thyself in mischief…” Saul plotted how to kill David. David was under constant attack and was constantly fleeing to different places. No matter where he went, he found Saul’s attack was present. When you have been lied about, and when the enemy attacks, you must rest in God’s goodness to defend you.

In times of weakness, David rested in the goodness of God. David said he was going up against a “mighty man.” He knew he was no match for Saul. So, the only place where he could find strength was in the goodness of God. He understood that God’s goodness is what would strengthen him in his weakness.

What is God’s goodness? God’s goodness is a belief that God’s integrity and righteousness sees the condition clearly. David knew that God understood the situation he was in and that God would reward Saul for what he was trying to do. David believed God’s goodness would have mercy upon him, deliver him and justify his actions.

Friend, sometimes the only thing you will have to rest in is the goodness of God. Whenever you go through tough times as did David, you must realize that God’s goodness will eventually justify you. When you are lied about, rest in the goodness of God that He will reveal the truth. When under attack, rest in the goodness of God that He will protect you. When you are weaker and have no way to truly overcome the attack of your enemy, rest in the goodness of God that He will give you the strength you need to face your battles. God’s goodness will come through. Until you see God’s goodness come through, do as David did in verse 9 and praise God.

1 Samuel 9:21
“And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?”

My brother and I were recently in a conversation where he told me about a quote from a Louis L’amour book that said, “There are two kinds of people in this world, those who wish, and those who will. The world and its goods will belong to those who will.” We discussed how our society is filled with people who wish they had things but never do anything about it, but that there are a few people who, in spite of background and obstacles, will their way into success.

Saul reminds me of the type of person who had a will to do something with his life. Israel desired for a king, and God told Samuel to go and anoint Saul to be king over Israel. When Samuel came and told Saul that God chose him to be king, Saul said, “Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin?” Saul was acknowledging that his background was not the best, and that he did not grow up in a family with wealth. Yet, God still chose him to be king.

Saul is a great example to all that it doesn’t matter what your background may be, if you have a will to do something with your life, then you can. It doesn’t matter what your family may be like, you can always move past your family background and make something of your life if you have the will to do it. Your background and unfortunate situations in your life can either be an obstacle, or they can be opportunities that you will yourself above.

Friend, wishing that you could do something with your life will get you nowhere. This world is filled with people who wish they had something, and all they do is have their hand out waiting for the next giveaway. People who wish someone would give them an inheritance, or wish the government would come up with another program to make them wealthy will always stay in their miserable condition. Wishing has never moved one person out of their present condition.

The only thing that will cause you to rise above your background and condition is your will. If you have a will to do something with your life, then you can rise above where you are and make something of it. I am not saying that you are going to become wealthy or popular, but what I am saying is that you can make something of your life.

When you look through the Scriptures, you will find that God used people who didn’t wish, but they had a will to do something greater. They picked themselves up by their bootstraps and worked as hard as they could, and God helped them. The same can be said for today. God will help you if you have the will to start working your way up instead of using excuses for why you can’t do anything with your life.

What are you going to do? Are you going to wish you could have a better life, or are you going to have the will to pull yourself out of where you are and do something with it. Yes, it always takes God’s help, but God will not help until you will yourself to take the first step. God helped Job out of his miserable condition after he had the will to get up and take a step towards doing something.

God says in 2 Chronicles 16:9, “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.” I challenge you today to stop wishing and start doing something about your situation. When you start doing something about it is when you will see God step in and show His power through your life.

Judges 20:21
“And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men.”

Defeat should always be one of the hardest pills to swallow. If defeat doesn’t bother you, then that means you are not interested in what you’re doing. Everyone faces defeat in their life, and what they learn from their defeat will determine their future.

The story from the verse above gives us several lessons from defeat that you should apply to your life. The children of Israel went to war against the tribe of Benjamin, and they lost. They had asked God whether to go, and God told them to go, but they still faced defeat. In this story you will find invaluable lessons that will encourage you when you face defeat.

First, defeat does not mean that you are wrong. God told the children of Israel to go to war against Benjamin and they still lost. They were not wrong in going to war even though they suffered defeat. If you suffer defeat in the midst of doing right, you must realize that does not mean that you are wrong. Too often we equate defeat with being wrong, and that can be the furthest from the truth. When you are fighting for truth, it can seem to be an uphill battle. In that battle you will suffer defeat at different times, but that does not mean you are wrong. If you suffer defeat in the battle for truth, you are still right.

Second, defeat doesn’t mean that you should quit. When Israel lost against Benjamin, they immediately went to God and asked Him if they should go up again against Benjamin, and God said to go again. God is teaching us that just because you suffered a defeat doesn’t mean that you should quit. Many Christians don’t have the stomach to continue on for the same cause in which they were just defeated. If you are fighting for truth, then you must realize you cannot quit in the midst of defeat. Quitting in defeat will give the enemy the privilege of saying you were wrong. Don’t give them that privilege! Keep on going though you have suffered a defeat.

Third, defeat does mean that you should continue doing right. These people kept praying, fasting and fighting though they had suffered defeat. Right does not become wrong when you suffer defeat. Right is always right, and you must continue to do right though you have experienced defeat. If you didn’t reach a goal in your ministry, keep doing right. If you didn’t see someone saved out soul winning, keep soul winning. If failed to explain truth properly when teaching or preaching the Word of God, keep teaching and preaching the Word of God. Defeat should only be a setback and not the finish line.

Fourth, defeat does mean that you are one step closer to victory. Israel fought several battles before they eventually experienced victory. Every defeat meant that they were one step closer to victory. If you will keep getting up in your defeat, then you will eventually experience victory. Be like the just man in Proverbs 24:16 who just kept getting up. Don’t let defeat keep you down, for you are that much closer to victory.

Have you experienced a recent defeat? I certainly understand that defeat is not an easy pill to swallow, but you can take these lessons from defeat and let them encourage you to keep going. Don’t let defeat defeat you. Keep going! Victory will come if you will keep getting up and doing right.

Judges 7:3
“Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.”

Whenever God commands you to do something, you will always find that fear will be something that you must overcome. When a person decides to step out by faith, two companions show up: fear and doubt. I’ve often said that fear is being afraid of that which has never happened. What you do with your fear will ultimately determine how much God uses you.

There are two stories in Judges that show me two completely different reactions to fear. The first story is found in the verse above when Gideon comes to the army of Israel and tells those who are afraid to go home. Amazingly, twenty-two thousand men went home. These men were afraid to face the great Midianite army, so instead of facing their fear they went home.

The other story is found in Judges 6:27 when Gideon was fearful of what the people would do if he tore down the images of Baal. The difference in this story is that Gideon did not listen to the voice of fear. He would not allow fear to stop him from doing what he was supposed to do. Though fear somewhat dictated his confidence, it did not stop him from obeying God by faith.

The results of these actions are two very different results. Because Gideon did not listen to fear and stepped out by faith and obeyed God, he not only became the leader of Israel, but he arguably was part of one of the greatest victories of all time. On the other hand, those twenty-two thousand men who went home could never say that they were part of that army who defeated the great Midianite army. Can you imagine the regret these men had as their children knew they could have been a part of that army? These results were all dictated by how these people responded to fear.

When God wants you to do something, what do you do with your fear? When God commands you to witness to someone, do you listen to fear and stay quiet or do you obey God’s voice and witness? When God commands you to give either to the church or to an individual, do you listen to fear and hold back or do you by faith give what God laid on your heart? There are many times throughout the week when God will tell you to do something, but fear will either cause you to withdraw and disobey or your faith will cause you to ignore the voice of fear and step out and obey God. The blessings of God upon your life will all be determined by what you do with fear.

Christian, certainly fear can paint a gruesome picture, but faith will always be rewarded. All you have to do is go back in your mind and remember the times you ignored fear and obeyed God to see the positive results you obtained. I challenge you not to listen to fear. When fear begins to magnify its voice, always look to faith and obey. You will always find that the greatest victories are ahead when fear sounds its voice the loudest. Always ignore the voice of fear and you will find that great victories will follow. No, those victories will not be easy, but they will come.

Judges 2:19
“And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.”

Stubbornness isn’t always a bad thing. I often teach my daughter that stubbornness can be good if you use it in a right manner. We ought to be stubborn concerning truth. We ought to be stubborn and oppose temptation. Stubbornness in itself is not bad if it is used properly.

On the other hand, stubbornness used improperly can be harmful. The children of Israel were very stubborn about doing wrong. God says, “…they ceased not from their own doing, nor from their stubborn way.” God was willing to forgive and help Israel, but their stubbornness kept God from helping them and instead caused Him to judge them. Let me show you some of the harmful stubborn ways that caused God to judge them.

The first stubborn way is found Judges 17:6 when it says, “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” These people determined their own righteousness. They didn’t follow God’s commandments, but they did what they felt was right. When you start justifying your own sin as good, then that is very harmful to your spiritual well-being. Often we try to classify sin. We look at sin and say that one sin is worse than another. Friend, all sin is bad! I’ve yet to find a good sin in the Scriptures. You must be careful about being so stubborn about trying to justify your actions that you look at your sin and don’t see it as wrong.

The second stubborn way is found in Judges 2:4 when it says, “And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.” These people wept when they heard about their sin, but they never changed their ways. You can weep all you want to about how bad your sin is, but God is not as interested in a show as he is in action. I’m all for you being contrite about your sin, but move beyond the weeping and repent from your sin.

The third stubborn way is found in Judges 2:17 when it says, “…they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in…” As soon as the man of God was dead, they quickly went back to doing wrong. Do you only do right in the presence of the preacher? Let me remind you that the preacher is not the one who will judge you, but God is the One Who judges. Don’t be so stubborn about your sin that the only time you do right is when you are in the presence of God’s servants.

The result of these stubborn ways is found in the verse above when it says, “And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more…” Christian, if you don’t correct these stubborn ways, you will find yourself going deeper and deeper into sin. There is no stop to the depravity that your stubbornness will take you if you don’t deal with it. I encourage you to be careful about having the harmful stubborn ways in your life. Instead of giving your sin a pass, deal with them and redirect your stubbornness to fight sin. This is the only way to turn harmful stubborn ways into helpful stubborn ways.

Joshua 8:15
“And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.”

“How could I not see it?” This is one of the most common questions a person asks themselves after sin has conquered them. Sin has a way of blinding us from its affect on our lives, and we often don’t see these affects until it’s too late and we have already experienced its destructing hands.

Israel is a perfect picture of how sin blinds us from its affects. During the battle of Jericho, Achan sinned by taking of the accursed things. Though Achan hid his sin well, its affect caused Israel to lose a battle to a much smaller opponent. It wasn’t until God revealed the sin to Joshua that they were able to correct it. But, in the second battle with Ai, we see what the blinding affects of sin were upon this country, and you will experience the same blinding affects if you don’t promptly deal with your sin.

First, sin takes your judgment away. Israel couldn’t see sin twisting their judgment because they were so focused upon themselves. Sin affected their judgment because they were focused on their own strength. They thought they could conquer Ai without asking for God’s help. Sin has a way of making us self-confident. We become very confident in what we can do. You will often find in your life that you will start planning things and doing things without even asking God for His help. This is one of the blinding affects of sin. All you have to do to see if sin is blinding you is look back and see how often you asked for God’s help before you do anything. If you find yourself going straight into any project without asking for God’s help, then sin has taken your judgment away.

Second, sin takes your strength away. It says in the verse above, “Israel made as if they were beaten before them…” Why did they do this? They did this because previously Ai chased them all the way back to their camp. A smaller opponent had victory over them. When you continually find yourself losing battles that you should have won, you need to stop and see if there is sin in your life. Sin has a way of making you weaker than the weakest. Don’t ever take defeat for granted. Always take the time in defeat to look and see if sin has taken your strength away.

Third, sin takes your time away. Israel could have been fighting other battles, but sin took their time away by making them go back and fight a battle that they should have previously won. When you find that you never have enough time, that is a good indicator that sin could be affecting you. Sin keeps you from completing projects. Don’t allow sin to steal your time. Keep your time productive by keeping away from sin.

Fourth, sin takes your victories away. Israel couldn’t win as long as sin was in the camp. Sin will cause a person not to be as victorious as God wants. When you find yourself constantly losing battles, that is a good time to stop and find out why. Maybe sin has taken your victories away.

How can you avoid this? What should you do to keep sin from blinding you? Daily ask God to reveal sin and its affect on your life. I’m not talking about just repeating these words, but I am talking about truly asking God to show you when sin is in your life. You will find that God will show you sin if you deal with it immediately. Don’t allow sin to have these blinding affects on your life. Keep yourself clean from sin, and you will find these things will not hinder you from victory.