2021-07-17
Philippians 4:6 TLB
If after praying, our worries are still gripping us and our emotions are still in turmoil, we should try to keep on praying. If our worries are overwhelming us, we might also need to seek help from a counsellor or a doctor, but alongside that, we can pray. When we discipline ourselves to pray persistently and often, we’ll discover the ability to remain calm and quiet. And as we wait before the Lord, we’ll begin to sense His presence and find relief from fear’s grip on our spirit.
We might be tempted to think our prayers were ineffective, or we somehow failed because the anxiety returned – perhaps as soon as we said ‘Amen’. But we shouldn’t feel guilty or feel we’ve failed – instead we should take the feelings of worry as a signal that we need more time with God to review all the details of our problem, tell Him how much it upsets us, and maybe even to admit that we’re afraid He won’t handle it quickly enough.
When we’re constantly worrying about something after telling God about it, we need to check whether we’ve actually kept hold of it rather than handing it completely over to Him. Here’s a prayer to repeat for those times if we’re not sure what to say: ‘Lord, this is Your problem to fix. You take control. If I’m meant to be involved in the solution, let me know what You want me to do. By leaving it with You, I’ll consider it solved.’ At that point we should leave the problem with God – our responsibility is now to wait for His guidance and to act if He prompts us to. He’ll direct us to the next step we should take.
Acts 14-15; Luke 8:1-15; Ps 133; Prov 16:2
2021-07-16
Proverbs 11:13 NIV
Betrayal is worse than gossip. Someone who gossips may not necessarily be wanting or trying to hurt the subject; but a betrayer knowingly shares information in a breach of confidence. They violate the trust someone has placed in them. Judas was in a position to betray Jesus with very little effort because he was familiar with Him, His schedule, and His habits. The Bible says, ‘Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples’ (John 18:2 NIV). Judas used his inside knowledge of Jesus’ tendencies to hurt Him.
If we’ve ever betrayed a confidence, it’s important that we bring our actions to God and confess to Him, even if it happened years ago. We should consider our motives: Why did we do it? What was the reward? Did we gain some advantage over the person we betrayed? Did we want to gain favour from those we shared the secret with? Were we envious or resentful of at the time? Was there an unresolved conflict that led us to do it? We should lay all the circumstances before God and seek forgiveness.
On the other hand, what if someone has betrayed our confidence? If so, we need to think: What valuable lesson did we learn from it? Have we freed the offender in our heart, and no longer want revenge? If not, we’re still bound to them and they’re controlling part of our mind. We need to share our feelings with God, and then leave the situation and the other person in His hands.
Acts 12-13; Luke 7:36-50; Ps 123; Prov 16:1
2021-07-15
2 Chronicles 26:4 NIV
When we’re children, we often look up to lots of people. It could be someone in our family, or maybe a teacher or someone like a youth leader. We want to be like them and we respect them. They set us an example to follow and show us right from wrong. They may even set us an example of how to live close to God and how to follow His ways.
Timothy’s faith was influenced by his mother and grandmother. Paul says: ‘I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also’ (2 Timothy 1:5 NIV). The example of strong faith from Lois and Eunice inspired the faith of Timothy, someone who spread the news of God to others. And back in the Old Testament, Uzziah followed the example set by Amaziah, his father. The Bible says: ‘He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father…had done.’
Even as we get older, we still need good role models in our lives. We need people who can encourage us in our faith. People who can mentor us. And we also need to be good role models to others. We can mentor people younger or less experienced than us. But we can also simply live in a Christ-like way to show others the right way to live. The Bible tells us to ‘let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts’ (Colossians 3:16 NIV). When we live according to this verse, we’ll be a great example to all we meet.
Acts 10-11; Luke 7:24-35; Ps 118:19-29; Prov 15:33
2021-07-14
Luke 5:5 NIV
Lesson five: Stand on the promises of God. In their previous fishing attempt, the disciples were trusting in their own experience and ability. But this time they were trusting in Christ’s promise: ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch’ (v.4 NIV). Jesus didn’t specifically say, ‘Peter, if you go fishing with me, I promise you a big catch.’ He didn’t need to say it because Peter realised that when Christ told him to go fishing, and then got into his boat, and then told him exactly where to put down the net, there was no way it was going to come up empty. Peter trusted God and expected Him to act. He expected Him to keep His promise.
When we get God’s presence in our boats, God’s plan in our heads, and God’s promises in our hearts, we can’t fail. But we might be saying to God, ‘That sounds great, but right now I’m defeated by the problems I’m experiencing. I’m having some hard times, and I’m struggling to trust You.’ If we’re feeling beaten by our circumstances, here’s one thing we can do to help us rebuild our trust in God: read the Bible, find a specific promise from Him, and start claiming it.
When we start expecting God to act, we’ll find that His promise will inject new hope into our situations. Just because we haven’t solved the problem doesn’t mean there’s no answer. With God, success often begins at the point of failure, and it’s after we’ve ‘fished all night and caught nothing’ that He steps in.
So today, be encouraged and don’t give up. Try again, but this time do it with Jesus in your boat, and He’ll make all the difference.
Acts 8-9; Luke 7:11-23; Ps 118:10-18; Prov 15:31-32
2021-07-13
Luke 5:4 NKJV
Lesson four: God’s plan for your life often involves stepping out of your comfort zone. That’s because He wants us to live by faith. Why did Jesus said to Peter, ‘Launch out into the deep’? Because that’s where the big fish are.
Most people live in the shallow waters of life. They’re satisfied to exist on a superficial level. There’s little depth to their lives; they’re content to play around the edge, never going further into deeper water. That’s because we feel safer in shallow water. We think, ‘If I get out into the deep water, there might be some waves. They might disrupt me and make me uncomfortable. So I’ll just stay back here where it’s familiar.’
We can have this same attitude in our walk with God. We trust Him up to a point, but we’re reluctant to step out of our comfort zone and into the unknown with Him. So we’re content to stay in the shallows – and we miss out on so much.
God’s plans for us are good plans, one that will work for our benefit (see Jeremiah 29:11-14) and for the kingdom’s benefit. God says to us, ‘Let Me get into your boat. Let My presence be with you wherever you go – in your work, in your hobbies, in your family, in your relationships, in every area. Let Me direct you. Cooperate with My plan, and I’ll bless you beyond your wildest dreams.’
We might feel uncomfortable or unsure, but God can soothe all our doubts and fears, and show us what amazing things He can do through us when we trust Him.
Acts 6-7; Luke 7:1-10; Ps 118:1-9; Prov 15:27-30
2021-07-12
Luke 5:5 NKJV
Lesson three: Cooperate with God’s plan for your life: ‘He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking’ (vv.4-6 NKJV).
Jesus taught the disciples where to fish, when to fish, and how to fish. And He’ll teach us how to get the best results too. But like Peter, sometimes our own plan has to fail before we become willing to trust God and accept His plan. And if that’s what it takes, God will allow us to fail.
Notice two things: 1) Peter didn’t argue with Jesus, he simply obeyed. As a professional fisherman, he may well have thought, ‘Lord, who are you to tell me how to fish?’ He may even have thought if he didn’t catch anything at night when the fish were usually biting, he surely wasn’t going to catch anything in the middle of the day when the sun was glaring down on the water. But he didn’t argue; he just obeyed. That’s what we must do too.
2) Peter didn’t listen to his feelings. He must have been incredibly tired from working all night and not getting anywhere. But he didn’t ask, ‘What’s the use? Why should I keep on going?’ Instead of being led by his feelings, he trusted in the promise of Christ – and the results were amazing. And when we put our faith and trust in Jesus, He’ll do the same for us.
Acts 3:11-5:42; Luke 6:37-49; Ps 109:16-31; Prov 15:23-26
