Category: Strength for Today

Job 35:5
“Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou.”

Looking the wrong direction can certainly get you lost. Years ago a friend of mine and I were hiking in the woods when we got disoriented with our location. Instead of staying on the trails and following them back to the right path, we decided to blaze our own trail back to his house only to stay lost for the next two hours. It wasn’t until we decided to get on a trail and follow it that we got back to where we were supposed to be. It all came down to where we were looking.

One of the first things that Elihu did to get Job spiritually back on track was to get him to look the right way. He said, “Look unto the heaven, and see…” Elihu understood that Job was looking more at himself than he was at God. That is why Job fell into self-pity. That is why Job began to think of himself better than he should. He had a wrong perspective because he looked at himself instead of the God Whom he should have kept his eyes upon. When Job finally looked unto the Heavens and saw God he said, “Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:6)

If you are going to help people get their lives back on track, then you must get them to look unto the heavens. The whole reason you and I get ourselves into a mess is because we get our eyes off God and place them on ourselves. Looking unto the heavens helps you in three ways.

First, looking unto the heavens will help you get a proper measurement of righteousness. Verse 2 makes it very clear that Job was measuring righteousness by his deeds and not by God. Many people have a false perception of righteousness because they are measuring it by their conscience or culture. The only way you can truly measure righteousness is by God, for He is righteous. When you start looking unto the heavens, you will see how to live a righteous life.

Second, looking unto the heavens will help you get a proper perspective of yourself. When you see God’s righteousness, then you will see what you really are. You will realize that you don’t really have the power to do what you say you can do. You will realize that you are not as good as you thought you were, and you will easily see how good God really is. When you look unto the heavens, you will realize how small you are and how big God is.

Third, looking unto the heavens will give you a dose or reality. When you get around people who are self-centered, you quickly realize how much they are out of touch. When you look at God and see Him, you quickly realize how much you need Him. Until you do that, you will live in a fantasy world where you think you can do everything yourself. Looking unto the heavens has a way of bringing you back to reality and causes you to see your need of God.

Have you gotten your eyes off the heavens? Do you find yourself at times feeling sorry for yourself or being self-confident in what you can do? Let me encourage you to keep your eyes on God. This is what will keep you humble in the sight of God, and it will ensure that you are seeing yourself and the world the way God wants you to see it.

Job 27:7
“Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous.”

One of the most difficult situations to deal with in life is personal attacks. I have found that when others do wrong they will go to any measure, including personal attacks, to get what they want. I watched a political operative during an election cycle say that anything is on the table as long as they won. When you’re an honest person, it is hard to understand why people will lower themselves to the lowest degree in their personal attacks.

Job found this out when he went through his time of trials. Those who should have been cheering him on, instead launched personal attacks against his character and actions of the past. Job certainly understood that he was not perfect, but the personal attacks by three men were baseless, yet hurtful to Job. Job’s response to these personal attacks are an ideal response when you are personally attacked.

First, Job would not lower himself to talk deceitfully. He said in verse 4, “My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.” Though these men lied about him, he would not lower himself to say deceitful things about them. I’m sure he knew some things about these men that he could have used to destroy them, but he would not use his lips to “speak wickedness.” Just because others personally attack you with lies doesn’t give you a right to lie about them. Returning lies for lies will only hurt the cause of Christ.

Second, Job would not justify their actions. He said in verse 5, “God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.” This may sound a little self-serving, but he was not going to admit to something just for the sake of stopping the personal attacks. If Job had agreed to what they said, then he would have become dishonest. You can’t justify their actions because your integrity is at stake. Job’s name was under attack, and he would not justify their actions because his name was the only thing he had left. The one thing you must always defend is your integrity. Silence will only let your integrity be marred by lies. If you are absolutely right, then defend your integrity. If you’re not right, then you better be careful because it will be discovered.

Third, Job would not stop doing righteous acts. He said in verse 6, “My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go…” Righteousness is performing righteous acts. When you are personally attacked, you must keep doing what you have always done. Don’t stop doing right just because you are attacked. Keep going to the same places. Keep proclaiming the same truth. Keep doing what you have always done. Continuing righteousness is the only way you can overcome the personal attacks.

Personal attacks are certainly one of the most unpleasant things you will ever endure, but behaving right will determine how you come through them. Be careful that you don’t take the personal attacks personally and realize they are only because of sin. These three responses will help you to keep your name and integrity when you are personally attacked.

Job 14:7
“For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.”

My wife has a pretty decent green thumb. She takes care of the flowerbed at our house because if it was up to me the flowers would probably all die. At the end of every fall, I watch her cut back some of the plants in the flowerbed. To be honest with you, every year I think she is going to kill them because she cuts them back so much. Yet, it always amazes me how the next year when springtime comes those flowers that are cut back begin to grow and blossom into pretty flowers. If she had not cut them back, they would not give those pretty blossoms.

This is exactly what the verse above is talking about. Job says, “For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down…” This is talking about the pruning of a tree right before wintertime comes. He continues in the next verse by telling how the roots wax old in the earth and the stock of the tree seems to die. But in verse 9 he says, “Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.” In other words, when the showers of spring begin, “the scent of water”, all of a sudden the tree that seems to be dead begins to show life and buds begin to sprout on that which seemed dead. In these verses there are some valuable lessons we can learn about life.

First, life has seasons. As much as we love the springtime flowers, we must understand that we must go through the dead of winter to get those flowers. Life cannot always be enjoyable. You need the cold winter seasons of life if you want to grow. Without winter, your roots cannot get deeper. Without winter, you cannot grow. Without winter, the bug that would destroy your life cannot be killed. You need winter seasons in life so that you can grow. As much as you may hate the winter seasons of life, you need them if you are going to grow.

Second, God must cut you back at times so that you can grow greater when springtime comes. God has to cut off the old so that you can grow anew. God oftentimes prunes us so that we can grow. If all you do is rely upon the old branches to bring forth new growth, then you will eventually die. The old branches will literally kill the plant if they are not pruned. God at times must cut you back through pruning so that you can continue to flourish in the Christian life.

Third, springtime will come. When you feel that you are going to die as you go through the winter season of your life, always remember that springtime will come. I can certainly understand the horrible feeling of enduring winter, but springtime always comes. You must not give up before the “scent of water” comes.

Christian, just as Job went through a pruning and a winter season in his life, so you must go through the same. Job was a good man, but he became a better man because of the pruning and winter. Don’t give up before you get the “scent of water.” Understand that God must send you through these times so that you can flourish as a Christian. These winter seasons you endure will help your roots to grow deeper which will cause you to flourish more. Springtime has always come, and it will come for you. Don’t give up!

Esther 4:13
“Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house, more than all the Jews.”

Having a false sense of security only hurts one person: you! Esther had false hopes that the problems in her country would not affect her because she was the queen who lived in the palace. Mordecai reminded her that just because she lived in the palace didn’t mean that she would get away with her life. Mordecai understood that eventually it would get out that she was a Jew, and that Haman would do all he could to have her killed as well.

One of the greatest contributors to apathy are false hopes. Jonah had a false hope that he could get away from the call of God on a ship going the opposite direction of his calling, but that hope proved false. Saul thought he could get away with not obeying all of God’s commands because he was king, but that hope proved false. David thought he could get away with adultery by conceiving a plan to have Bathsheba’s husband come home from the battle and sleep with her, but that hope proved false. False hopes have caused many people to avoid God’s will and commit sin that destroyed their lives.

The false hope that your position in a church or society will enable you to commit a sin or avoid God’s will without repercussions is simply a lie. Your position isn’t higher than the commands of God. You may be able to use your position to get away with responsibilities for awhile, but eventually avoidance of responsibilities will catch up to you. Position has never saved someone from responsibilities or sin’s consequences, and it will not save you.

Moreover, the false hope of location does not absolve you from responsibilities and sin’s consequences. You can think that you can get away with doing wrong because you live in another country, but sin has a way of coming back to hurt you. You may think that where you live or came from can keep you from doing God’s will, but you are still responsible to obey God and will be held accountable for your obedience.

Furthermore, denial of responsibilities and committing sin does not change the consequences. You can deny that your sin is not that bad, but you will still have to face the payment for it. You can deny that God really called you into full-time service, but God’s calling is without repentance. You can deny your responsibility to reach the lost for Jesus Christ, but denial doesn’t acquit you from God’s commands. You can deny that you really don’t owe tithes to God, but that doesn’t stop the curse of God upon your finances.

Friend, you can trust in your false hopes, but you will soon find out how empty those false hopes are and how they will leave your vulnerable. The best way to avoid the consequences of trusting in false hopes is to simply do what you are supposed to do all the time. Don’t avoid your responsibilities, fulfill them. Don’t commit sin; flee from it. Don’t fall for Satan’s trap of getting you to put confidence in false hopes. Obedience to what God has commanded you to do is the only hope in which you should put your confidence. Obedience is truly the only hope that gives you the blessings you desire in life.

Nehemiah 2:10
“When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.”

Anytime you do a work for God, you will find that you will acquire enemies. Nehemiah figured that out early on in the project to rebuild the walls. His chief enemy was Sanballat and Tobiah. These men did everything in their power to stop the rebuilding of the walls. When you study this event, you see there were three things that angered them. The three things that angered them are vital to a work going forward. If the work of God is going to go forward, then these three things must be present. Let me show you these three things and their importance to the work of the LORD.

The first thing that angers the enemy are leaders who seek the welfare of the people. It says that Nehemiah “was come…to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.” This angered them because they knew that if a leader didn’t lead with his own agenda that the work of the LORD would go on.

Every work always starts at the top. If God’s work is going to grow, then leaders must seek the welfare of the people. Leaders cannot seek their own agenda, but they must seek God’s agenda. Leaders must not be worried about what people think of them, for if God’s work is going to go forward then the leader must not make themselves the issue. One of the greatest hindrances to God’s work is that too many leaders are in the work to see what they can get out of it instead of seeking the welfare of the people. Leaders must stop using their people to build the work and use the work to build the people if God’s work is going to go forward.

The second thing that angers the enemy is a work where the people are working together. It says that Sanballat “was wroth, and took indignation” when he heard “we builded the wall.” Notice, it wasn’t just Nehemiah building the wall, but the people were building the wall with Nehemiah. One of the greatest reasons the enemy tries to cause division in the God’s work is because they know that great things can be done when God’s people are working together. No great work will be done without people working together. You cannot build a great work when people are sitting on the sidelines watching everyone else do the work, but great works are done when everyone jumps in together and builds the work of the LORD.

The third thing that angers the enemy is when breaches are stopped. When the breaches were being stopped in Nehemiah 4:7, Sanballat and Tobiah became angry. When people start standing in the gaps for others, then the enemy knows God is going to do something. In other words, when people stand in the gap with prayer for others, God is going to do something mighty. Yes, leaders need to seek the welfare of the people and everyone must get involved, but standing in the gap with prayer is the answer that finishes the work of God. You will never see a great work without people making up the breach through prayer.

In which area do you find yourself? Are you a leader? Then be sure to use your position to meet the needs of people. Are you a lay person? Then jump in and help build the work of God. Most of all, make up the breach through prayer for others. These three things are imperative for God’s work to go forward in a great way.

Ezra 5:10
“We asked their names also, to certify thee, that we might write the names of the men that were the chief of them.”

Oftentimes when I am riding up an elevator to my hotel room, I see a certification letter inside the elevator that certifies that the elevator meets the codes required by that state for public elevators. That certification letter is not only to put the customer at ease, but it is to also validate that the business is following the guidelines established by that state. Certainly an elevator can work without the certification letter, but the certification letter validates the workings of the elevator.

Ezra’s work in rebuilding the temple did not go unnoticed. There were the enemies of the Jews who were against anything being rebuilt. Some of these enemies came to Ezra and wanted to know who certified them to rebuild the temple. They wanted their names so that they could record who these people were to the king of Babylon. I love Ezra’s response to this crowd when they asked who certified them. He said, “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was builded these many years ago, which a great king of Israel builded and set up.” Ezra was saying that his certification came from God. He needed no other certification because God’s certification is the highest certification of all.

Christians must always realize that when doing the work of the LORD they carry the highest certification one can receive. Christians do not represent themselves, but they represent the God of Heaven. As God’s representative, you carry His certification letter in the Word of God. You cannot take His certification letter for granted. You must realize that God’s Word is the highest certification letter one can have.

Moreover, your certification letter is not second-rate. Christian, you may not have a degree from an institution of higher learning hanging on your wall, but you carry in your hands the Word of God which is the highest certification letter one can have. When someone asks you who certified you, all you have to do is show them God’s Word. It is God’s Word that certifies the Christian to go “into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15)

Furthermore, don’t be intimidated by those who would belittle your certification. What makes their certification higher than God’s? You have in God’s Word a certification letter that has never failed. Every principle found in the Word of God has always worked. Every promise God gave in His Word has always come through. God’s Word has never failed one time. God’s certification letter is the highest certification one can have, and no Christian should ever feel that what God has called them to do is inferior to anything else.

Christian, let this encourage you to be bold in your walk with God. As you walk throughout the world, be bold in your witness for Christ because your certification letter is valid and is certified with the highest certification: God! You don’t have to be arrogant as a Christian because of your certification, but you also should not be intimidated by anyone. The next time someone asks you who gave you the authority to do what you are doing for Christ, show them God’s Word and tell them that It is your certification letter.

2 Chronicles 34:3
“For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.”

Josiah was one of the youngest kings to rule Israel. In the verse above, he was only sixteen years of age when he began to make major changes in the country. These changes that he made were nothing more than establishing early patterns by which he would rule the kingdom and live his life.

It is highly important for youth to establish early patterns in their life. Your early patterns will dictate to you and everyone else what type of person you are going to be. Whether or not you are doing it purposely, you are establishing patterns. If you don’t purposely establish patterns, then you can be assured that you are establishing wrong patterns. The right patterns in life must be established on purposed. There were three patterns that Josiah established early that would be wise for every youth to establish in their own life.

First, he established a pattern of walking with God. The verse above says, “…while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father…” This action was important to every other pattern because this pattern formed his character. Every youth needs to purposely establish a pattern of walking with God. If you will make it a daily habit in your life, then you will find that God’s mind will help you establish other good patterns. Every day you need to have a time when you seek God through the Scriptures and prayer. This time cannot be optional; it must be a time that you let nothing hinder. If you can establish the pattern of walking with God early in your life, then this will be something that will benefit you the rest of your life.

Second, he established a pattern of standing for right. He purged the land from those things that would keep them from serving God. A young person needs to learn early to take a stand for doing right. One of the reasons many struggle with peer pressure is because they never established the pattern of standing for right during their youth. If you don’t learn to stand up for right as a youth, you will find that you will struggle to stand for right when you’re an adult. Make it clear to everyone when you are a youth that you are going to do right and take a stand even when they won’t do right.

Third, he established a pattern of quickly dealing with sin. He didn’t entertain the false gods and their altars, but he quickly destroyed them. Every youth needs to learn not to allow sin to continue in their life. Giving place to sin will only allow it to hurt you later in life. When you discover sin in your life quickly deal with it. Make it your pattern not to allow sin to continue in your life.

What is the key to all these three patterns? The key is found in verse 27 when God said, “Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God…” The key was his heart. He had a tender heart that wanted to please God. If you will keep your heart tender towards God and make it your sole desire to please Him, then you will find that establishing good patterns early in life will not be difficult. I encourage you to give your heart to God while you’re young so these good patterns can be established.

2 Chronicles 26:16
“But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense.”

King Uzziah struggled with the same thing many people still struggle with today and that is allowing their perceived success destroy them. It says in the verse above, “But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction…” After all the good he did, he didn’t keep his heart in check and it eventually destroyed him. The good that he did was destroyed because he allowed pride to fill his heart. What is it that we can do to keep our heart in check?

First, don’t look at what you have done, but at what God has done. One of the reasons Uzziah’s heart was lifted up was because he perceived that he was the source of his success. You must always remember that any success you have had is because the LORD allowed it. Oftentimes we can become lifted up with pride because of our success when we had nothing to do with it. You must keep your success in perspective. When you stop giving God the credit for the success He has given, then you can rest assured that your success will be short lived.

Second, don’t look at how far you have gone, but look at how far you need to go. I often say that we don’t need to look down the ladder to see how far we’ve climbed, but look up the ladder to see how far we have to go. Uzziah was looking backwards when he should have kept his eyes looking forward. Anytime you stop looking at how far you need to go, you will find that it will cause you to get off course and destroy the momentum and success you’ve had. Looking at what you need to do will help keep you from being filled with pride.

Third, don’t measure your perceived success, but measure your obedience to God’s standard. One of the greatest mistakes people often make is that they live for success. Only one time in the Scriptures does God mention success. Uzziah’s mistake was that he thought he succeeded because he had accomplished some things, but he forgot that God only measures success to how we live according to His standard. Yesterday’s success doesn’t mean you have succeeded today. In fact, the success you presently live in is because of yesterday’s actions. If you are going to enjoy success tomorrow, then you must keep doing today what brought your success. Don’t stop the forward action, but keep doing what you have always done.

Keeping your heart in check will be one of the hardest things to do when you have achieved some success. Don’t let your success ruin your heart. If you will follow these three principles, then you will be able to keep your heart in check. Pride has destroyed many people, and it all starts because we took our eyes off God and placed them upon ourselves and our accomplishments. Keep your eyes on God, and you will have no problem keeping your heart in check.

2 Chronicles 20:35
“And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly:”

One of the greater kings in Isreal’s history was Jehoshaphat. When God described the character of this man in verse 32 He said, “And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and departed not from it, doing that which was right in the sight of the LORD.” This is a very high recommendation from God. There were just a handful of men whom God gave such a glowing recommendation.

However, Jehoshaphat had one glaring character flaw and that was his associations. He seemed to be blinded by the obvious. Here was a man who did right in God’s eyes, but he allowed himself to be associated with men like Ahab and Ahaziah who were very wicked men. What seems to be so obvious to the reader who studies the life of Jehoshaphat seems to be oblivious to this man. How could he not see the obvious of how Ahab worked wickedness? How could he not see the life that Ahaziah lived? Yet, this one character flaw hurt him through his children because his son married the daughter of Ahab.

One thing that continually amazes me is how preachers and Christians are blinded by the obvious. People who seem to be very good people cannot see the obvious of a person’s association or direction, which seems to always come back and destroy them in the end. You can be a very good Christian or parent who is doing right, but if your associations are questionable at best or outright wrong, you will pay for these through your children. It is your responsibility to be sure your associations are right.

The position of a person is not as important as their direction. Don’t get me wrong, position is vitally important. Where a person stands on the King James Bible, separation, soul winning and holy living are important, but a person can be right on these things and still have a different direction. Direction is important! Direction will dictate a person’s position in the future. They may be positionally right at the moment, but if they are directionally wrong then they will eventually be positionally wrong. The direction a person is facing should be one of the parameters you use in determining your associations.

Friend, it is time you start looking at the direction of your associations. Stop looking at the surface and do a little homework to determine the direction of a person or an institution. Find out who they associate with and see if their associations are right. Don’t let your desire for influence or getting along blind you of the obvious directional flaws. A person’s direction is very important.

You will always pay for your associations through your children. If you would not want your children to marry the children of those people or institutions you associate with, then you would be wise to stop associating with them. Your children will marry the children of your associations, and this is why direction is vitally important. Save yourself from future heartache and be sure that you are not blinded by the obvious. Make sure all of your associations are not just positionally right, but they are also directionally right. By allowing direction to determine your associations, you will save yourself from much heartache through your children.