2022-03-02
James 5:17 CEV
Elijah got so “down” that he was ready to end it all. And it happened on the heels of his greatest victory. He had just called down fire from heaven on Mount Carmel, when he went from exhilaration to exhaustion. We forget that even when we’re successful and love what we do, it can be physically, mentally, and emotionally draining. So, if you’re a purpose-driven person with no boundaries, pay attention!
(1) Exhaustion made Elijah lose perspective. He had just defeated 850 false prophets (See 1 Kings 18:19), and now he was running from one woman: Jezebel. General George Patton Jr. said, “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” When fatigue walks in, faith walks out! It distorts our thinking and makes us overlook God’s power and His promises. Mental fatigue coupled with physical exhaustion is a deadly combination that invites hopelessness and creates the illusion that we have no options.
(2) Fear made Elijah isolate himself. Leaving his servant in Beersheba, he went into the wilderness and told God, “I am the only one left… now they are trying to kill me” (1 Kings 19:10 NIV). At that moment, Elijah was in the worst possible company – his own! When you feel down, that isn’t the time to isolate yourself. That’s when you need to reach for God and the people who love you and can help you get back up. Even Paul needed help. After writing, “[In] Macedonia, we… found trouble all around us… fighting on the outside and fear on the inside,” he added, “But God, who comforts those who are troubled, comforted us when Titus came” (2 Corinthians 7:5-6 NCV).
So, who do you need to call? Who do you need to reach for? Don’t keep putting it off – do it!
Soul food: Exo 13-15; Luke 12:35-48; Ps 66:13-20; Pro 6:23-25
2022-03-01
Philippians 2:13 CEV
The engine in your car is its power source, and it’s activated when you put the car in gear. Only then do you have the momentum you need to get where you need to go. One of the dangers in seeking to be filled with the Holy Spirit is that you can reduce it to an “experience,” rather than “putting it in gear” to accomplish great things for God.
In the New Testament when someone was filled with the Holy Spirit – things happened. People turned to Christ. Healings took place. On one occasion, they had a book burning in the town square (See Acts 19:19). They didn’t just celebrate in church – they took it to the streets!
In Scripture, the first picture we have of God is of Him in His creative role. He creates us in His image, breathes life into us, then tells us, “Go out and become productive” (See Genesis 1:28).
If you’re praying for someone with all the answers to come along and change your circumstances, it won’t happen. You’re not a helpless bystander. What God has placed inside you will change what’s outside you – provided you put it to work! What’s within you is greater than the trouble you have been through, the situation you’re in, or the obstacles that lie in your path.
When everything around you is saying no and something within you is saying yes, that’s “God… working in you to make you willing and able to obey him.” The “willing” is your part; the “able” is His part. When you get those two things working in sync, your life will change.
Soul food: Exo 10-12; Luke 12:22-34; Ps 66:1-12; Pro 6:20-22
2022-02-28
2 Corinthians 12:15 NLT
Helping people brings great fulfillment. When you spend your day serving others, you can lay your head down at night and sleep soundly. And even if you have spent much of your life chasing selfish gain, it’s not too late to have a change of heart. Even Charles Dickens’ Scrooge discovered you can turn your life around and make a difference for others.
That’s what Alfred Nobel did. He was shocked when he saw his obituary in a newspaper. (His brother had died, and the editor mistakenly named Alfred instead in an uncomplimentary statement, because the explosives his company produced and profited from had killed many people.) So, Nobel vowed to spend the rest of his life promoting peace and acknowledging contributions to humanity. That’s how the Nobel Prizes came into being!
When you get outside of yourself and make a contribution to others, you really begin to live. Unselfishness is its own reward; it’s not dependent on the response of others. This is the principle by which the apostle Paul lived: “I will gladly spend myself and all I have for you, even though it seems that the more I love you, the less you love me” (v. 15 NLT).
When you see a four-year-old, you expect selfishness. But when you see it in a forty-year-old, it’s not very attractive, is it? Of all the qualities you can pursue, unselfishness seems to make the biggest difference toward cultivating other virtues. Yes, it goes against the grain of human nature. But if you can learn to think unselfishly and become a giver, it becomes easier to develop other virtues, such as gratitude, love, respect, patience, and discipline.
Soul food: Exo 7-9; Luke 12:13-21; Ps 61; Pro 6:16-19
2022-02-27
Ephesians 5:16 NAS
The life of John Wesley is a great example of the scriptural principle “making the most of your time.” He averaged three sermons a day for fifty-four years, preaching a total of more than 44,000 times in his life. In doing this he traveled by horseback and carriage more than 200,000 miles – about 5,000 miles a year.
Even for a very productive man, that would seem to be a full-time effort. Still, Wesley found time to write and edit. His published works include a four-volume commentary on the entire Bible, a five-volume work on natural philosophy, a four-volume work on church history, and a dictionary of the English language. He also wrote histories of England and Rome; grammars on the Hebrew, Latin, Greek, French, and English languages; three works on medicine; six volumes of church music; and seven volumes of sermons; and he edited a library of fifty volumes known as the “Christian Library.” Each day he rose at 4 a.m. and didn’t go to bed until 10 p.m., allowing only brief periods for meals. Yet he declared, “I have more hours of private retirement than any man in England.”
Our days are like identical suitcases – all the same size. But some pack more into them than others. These are purpose-driven, goal-oriented people – unlike the man whose tombstone read, “When it came time to die, I discovered I had not lived.” So heed this Scripture: “Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity” (vv. 15-16 NIV).
Soul food: Ruth 1:3-18; John 6:41-69
2022-02-26
Jeremiah 31:18 KJV
The Bible tells us: “Isaac’s servants dug…a well…But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, ‘The water is ours.’ So…they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also….And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called it…Rehoboth, because he said, ‘For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land'” (Genesis 26:19-22 NKJV).
What a great example of practicing forgiveness. During a drought, Isaac dug wells and his enemies moved in and claimed them. It wasn’t fair, but instead of retaliating, he moved on and dug new wells – and God blessed him greatly. The truth is this: God will fill the emptiness in your life when you forgive those who have hurt you.
Let’s face it; as long as we share this planet with other imperfect human beings, they will hurt us. There is no way to avoid it. And when the hurt goes deep, it can be hard to forgive. Does that mean you should go around pretending that nothing is wrong, and denying how you feel? No, the first step toward healing is acknowledging your feelings. And Jesus gives us the second step: “Pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:28 NIV).
When you do that, something unexpected happens. Your heart softens and you start to see the offender through God’s eyes instead of your own raw emotions. “But I don’t want to forgive them!” you say. Then here is step three. Acknowledge your unwillingness to forgive and ask God to make you willing. Pray, “Turn thou me, and I shall be turned.”
Soul food: Exo 4-6; Luke 12:1-12; Ps 58; Pro 6:12-15
2022-02-25
Romans 12:19 NLT
Long after you think you have forgiven someone, you can still be harboring hard feelings. Some indicators that you still have work to do are these: You keep thinking about the person who hurt you and become resentful. You avoid them. You rehearse the incident mentally and in conversation. You take every opportunity to remind them of what they did. Do you know what you’re doing? Justifying an unforgiving attitude!
There are two things God won’t share. (1) The praise that’s due Him. “I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise” (Isaiah 42:8 NLT). (2) The right to “settle the score.” Paul writes: “Never take revenge…The Scriptures say, ‘I will take revenge; I will pay them back,’ says the Lord. Instead, ‘If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.’ Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good” (Romans 12:19-21 NLT).
So forgive, hand the situation over to God, and trust Him to work it out! When “people insulted Christ…he did not insult them in return…He let God…who judges rightly, take care of him” (1 Peter 2:23 NCV). Resentment chains you to the offender, and you end up as a hostage. Dwelling on something your parents or spouse did, or how an associate took credit for your work, or what someone may or may not have said about you, makes you – not them – miserable. You walk around stewing, and they don’t even know you’re upset. Don’t give anyone that kind of control over your life. Forgive – and move on!
Soul food: Exo 1-3; Luke 11:45-54; Ps 53; Pro 6:9-11
