I Spoke to You in Your Prosperity

Isn’t it interesting that we don’t seem to listen as well in times of ease?

In my own life and in hearing from those around me, I have found this principle truer than I’d like to admit. When things are well, we tend to get comfortable, even stagnant. During those times, the Lord can speak to us, but we often disregard.

We’ve adjusted to comfort. We’ve settled in complacency.

Yet, life has a way of taking some turns we didn’t expect. In a moment’s time, everything can change. A grim diagnosis comes. The marriage is ending. Someone hurts us. Our loved ones are in trouble.

During times like these, the bottom seems to fall out, and nothing around us seems stable enough to catch our footing. Struggle has a way of awakening a hunger to hear what the Lord has to say. Listening sometimes becomes easier in the absence of comfort.

But what if we sought Him in every season?

What if we realize that the same God who walks us through fire is the One who longs to commune with us in times of plenty? What if we see that the One who sits with us in our darkest night is also the One who’ll direct our steps in the light of day? What if we approached His Word as the food to fuel our life every day?

Are we merely reading His Word?

When we approach His Word, are we simply coming to read it, or are we wanting His Word to read us? More head knowledge won’t change us, but a revelation of how it fits into our here and now changes us. It must be ingested. It must become our food. We must somehow get it inside of us.

Living things that aren’t growing are dying.

If we get to a place where we are no longer being challenged, convicted, or changing, we are in danger. Living things have movement within and without. When things change inside of us, things begin to change outside of us. Growth should never end.

Will we practice hearing Jesus in times of prosperity?

The one not disciplined to hear His voice when things are well will struggle to hear when trials come. And come, they will. Life is full of ups and downs, surprises, and unexpected hardship. But we can have this guarantee: we can be led and live by the Voice of our God.

Is Not This What it Means to Know Me?

Is this not what it means to know Jesus?

In Jeremiah 22, God was sending a clear message about what He expected of those in leadership positions (of kings). He begins by giving warning: “Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness…” He goes on to speak of thoughts and inner dialogue that would often be present in the heart of one who isn’t yielded to Truth.

He was exposing wrong attitudes and pride that can set up in a leader’s heart if unguarded and unkept. It’s interesting that while correcting this heart issue within this particular king, God is quick to point out that it wasn’t the king’s own merit that elevated him to the position he currently held. He asks if one becomes a king because of “competing in cedar.”

No. It wasn’t what he’d built with his own hands that had brought him to that place. Someone had gone before him and built a foundation on which he now stood. The same is true for every leader today. Others have paid a price in order for you to be there.

God reminded him of how the king’s father had led with justice and righteousness before him. In painting this picture, he describes the markings of this type of leadership. God said that he “pled the cause of the afflicted and needy.”

“Is not that what it means to know me?,” declares the Lord.

It’s not difficult to recognize one who’s experienced the grace and love of Christ. This knowing transforms. It allows one to give that which has been deposited into his/her own heart. It means one gives, serves, and fights for the one who can give nothing in return. And yet, it’s entirely one’s responsibility to seek and know Him in this way.

The door to this kind of knowing is unlocked through humility.

Will we seek to truly know Him?
Will we lay our hearts bare before Him asking Him to expose motives, pride, and pretense? Will we live out justice and righteousness when it means we must personally sacrifice something?

Leadership must be about others. It’s a responsibility to serve and cover those in which we lead. Without a yielded heart, it becomes a weapon in the hands of a cruel and relentless enemy.

We are all leaders in some capacity. Our lives can be marked by this knowing. This world can be marked by how we lead.

A Dread Champion

Can you picture it?

Suddenly, you become aware that you’re surrounded on all sides by enemy forces. Your stomach begins to turn, and your forehead breaks into a cold sweat. Any peace you felt moments prior melts as you notice that all eyes are on you.

One wrong move, and it could all be over.

Our battles may not be physical in nature, but they can be frightening nonetheless. Life can turn upside-down in a moment, leaving us reeling from shock and trauma. We don’t know what tomorrow holds. We aren’t even sure of our next breath.

In seasons like this, we fear making a wrong move. We can feel that circumstances stand against us on all sides. We feel stuck. We feel slighted. We feel afraid.

As you move along, the eyes follow like hungry wolves waiting to pounce. Adrenaline is now coursing through your veins, as fight or flight mode takes over. And just as you round the corner, something unexpected takes place, leaving you confused and bewildered. As you approached an armed, war-ready enemy, HE STEPS BACK.

Suddenly, you see something in his eyes that you recognize… a feeling you know all too well. Terror. He is afraid. But you are the one outnumbered, so why on earth is he afraid?

As you move one step closer, his eyes seem to drift upward above your head, and as you follow with yours looking slightly behind, you realize you’re not alone.

The one with you is striking terror in those who you thought would kill you.

I don’t know what you’re going through presently, but I know there are things. This life brings pain, disappointment, and suffering we can’t always anticipate or control. We can feel alone and doomed.

The Lord is with you like a dread champion.

Not only are we never alone, the one standing at rear guard strikes terror in the hearts of our enemies. He is awe-inspiring and mighty, a warrior dreaded by many. And He is fully present in the middle of your battle.

You may feel surrounded on all sides, but know this- He is in the midst of it. You are surrounded by HIM. And though at times, it may feel like a death march, rest assured: His goodness and mercy are following you. In every season, you have a dread champion!

He Visits by Night

God visits us by night.

We read this passage from different filters. One looks, and he reads that God causes dark times to try us. Others, who have experienced the visit, know it means something more.

I’ve known trauma well. I’ve understood the depths of despair it can thwart a heart into. The pain seems unending, yet you remember once knowing light.

Nights can be long.

When you walk through a dark season, it doesn’t always pass quickly. Adversity has a way of shaping us. It has a way of growing us. It has a way of finding us. Yet, this process comes with pain.

His visit is by night.

I have found that in the darkest times, His presence is most keenly felt. This visit isn’t to inflict; the word means something precious here. This visit comes to “attend to” and “to deposit.” I don’t know what trial you may be facing, but I know who visits by night.

In the season of darkness, when vision isn’t so clear anymore, God’s presence is perfect. Cling to Him. Let Him navigate this unfamiliar space with you.

It’s “by night” (through this season of darkness) that He will visit. He will attend to you. There will be things He comes to deposit into you. Of this, you can be sure.

The testing of the heart is a byproduct.

Hardship grows us. It exposes what’s hidden, what’s covered over, and what never healed. It humbles us. And if we allow it to, it grows us. Nothing ever has to be wasted.

Your night can become His stage.

His finest work isn’t always done in view of the masses. It’s done in darkness, in silence, and in the wilderness places. If we won’t close off our hearts, He’s sure to visit us there.

Obedience before Provision

Sometimes obedience comes before provision.

In this passage, the Lord tells Jeremiah to “Arise and go down to the potter’s house” and that it would be there, God would announce His words for Jeremiah to deliver. God required that Jeremiah make the first move. And He sometimes requires the same of us today.

I’m prone to wonder why…

I can’t help but wonder why God doesn’t give the words to him in advance. Yet, as quickly as my mind goes there, I think of my own propensities and how that might play out if it were me. I wonder if some of the details would be forgotten by the time I arrived. I wonder how many times I might analyze the message along the way. I wonder how much of the message might change by the time it left my mouth due to overthinking. I also wonder how I might assume responsibility for the result of the words, leaving me crippled with fear along the way. I wonder…

God is so attuned to our needs.

We serve a God who knows exactly how we are designed. He made us that way. He knows our inadequacies, our strengths, and the weaknesses that pull us toward Himself. He doesn’t despise any of it. Instead, He works in us within those needs. And I believe He absolutely delights in it.

He delights in showing up for us.

Just like we delight in showing up for our own children, God wants to show up for us. He loves to see our success. He also loves redeeming our failure. He’s honored to show up in the middle of our struggle if we only ask Him to.

I wonder what you’re waiting for.

Perhaps God is promoting you to take a step of obedience. Perhaps He’s pointed you in a direction promising provision upon arrival. Will you trust Him? Will you make the first move?

He may not be early, but you can trust that He is always right on time.

Finding the Precious in the Worthless

Isn’t this the nature of God?

He is all about extracting the precious from worthless. He can take the worst of situations and turn them into something of value. He takes the vilest of sinners and gives them a new life. He doesn’t waste a hurt or a mistake.

We can do the same.

In this passage, God is telling Jeremiah that if he extracts the precious from the worthless, he will become God’s mouthpiece- His spokesman. God has placed His heart in each of His children, and we can choose to view through that lens. Conversely, we can also choose to view things through our broken state of humanity.

We choose every day.

Every day, we encounter people. We will either approach them as a student or a critic. Critics nitpick and form opinions. They choose to see what’s wrong rather than what’s right. The student knows there’s something to learn from everyone. The student looks for the gold, the lesson, and the precious.

Which will you be?

We all have this choice to make. How will we approach interactions with those around us? If we choose to extract the precious, we will find that life flows from our mouths, giving hope and encouragement to those who need it most. If otherwise, we will speak words that perpetuate pain and hopelessness in the lives of those around us.

God has called us to be His representation on this earth.

No matter your occupation, place of residence, past, or education, if you are in Christ, God has called you to be His representation on this earth. By our word and deed, we paint a picture for those around us of the Father that gave His life for them. Yet, the picture begins in our own hearts.

We give to the extent that we possess.

How we view God, the Father will directly affect what picture we paint of Him. When we work toward wholeness allowing His love to heal our brokenness, we find our value. We find our worth. We discover our purpose. When we rightly see ourselves, we can then, value others in the same manner.

Healing begins with you.

We each have broken places in need of mending. We’ve all experienced failure and shame. Will we extract the precious from those places? Will will allow Jesus access, so He can heal?

If you Return

We get tired. We experience disappointments and setbacks. We get frustrated, and sometimes, we want to quit. The sense of disillusionment pulls like an invisible force, steering our feet away from the path.

Yet, over and over in Scripture, the Lord beckons His people to return to Him. And in doing so, He promises restoration. He promises healing. He promises rest.

Everyone forgets who they are sometimes.

Though we begin in strength and resound, this life can chip away at the strongest chiseled vessel. We lose confidence. We lose vision. And sometimes, we lose ourselves.

Perhaps, the healing didn’t come. Restoration of a relationship didn’t happen. Though you thought you obeyed, success wasn’t found.

Is this where it ends?

This is when we must remember that we are the created, not the Creator. We have a beautiful designer, who has a way of smoothing dents and dings, making the hardest heart pliable, and creating a new tapestry from threads that weren’t a part of the original design. He uses it all. He uses the messes we make along with the moments we’ve championed.

The only thing required is to return to Him, the Creator. We can pick up the broken pieces, gather the splintered dreams, and bring our wounds and scars. We can come back to the place our feet left the path. We can come back to the One who can chart a new course.

You may have forgotten who you are, but there is One who remembers. There is One who knows you better than you know yourself. Let Him remind you. Let Him restore you. Let Him renew you.

Sometimes, We Sit Alone

Sometimes, we will sit alone.

Jeremiah knew what it was like to not agree with popular opinion. He sought after and followed the voice of the Lord. And sometimes, that meant he sat alone. Alone with his beliefs. Alone with his purpose. Alone with his God.

In a culture where each makes his own way and decides what’s right in his own eyes, rest assured, you may experience some solo sitting. However, the One who’s called you never leaves though lonely you may feel.

There will be times of sitting out when others indulge. There will be times of standing while others bend and shift. There may be times of being mocked while others go about their way.

We never walk alone.

Times may come when we must sit something out, but God will always be there helping us walk it out. Sitting is but for a season until movement begins again. Positioning will change, but posture doesn’t have to.

Sitting alone isn’t the worst thing. In those times, we have opportunity to grow. We have opportunity to learn. We have opportunity to rest.

If God is calling you to make some changes in your life, trust Him with the process. If you’re sitting some things out this season, rest assured it’s in preparation of new positioning. No matter the positioning or posture, purpose doesn’t change. That which He’s called you to, He will see you through.

Favor doesn’t always mean favorable.

Mary was favored, yet the promise she carried caused some strife and discomfort. David was favored, yet he was well acquainted with pain. Jonah was called, yet he wound up in the belly of a whale.

Favor doesn’t always beckon stages; it often leads to trenches.

Where do you feel He’s guiding you to this season? Where is He allowing you to sit alone? What can you learn? How can you grow?

Sitting doesn’t have to be sulking.

We don’t have to feel sorry for ourselves when we sit alone. We can love. We can honor. We can serve. Significance may not come from the microphone you hold, but rather, from the towel you take up.

Chasing the Call or the One Calling?

Jeremiah’s calling wasn’t glamorous. It was hard, riddled with rejection, scorned, and dishonored at times. The path God had him on wasn’t that of fame or popularity. It was a path of truth.

One thing Jeremiah knew was that He loved the voice of God. He sought after it. He found joy in God’s precepts. Obeying the words of God was the delight of his heart.

He took them into himself.

This passage tells us that not only did Jeremiah find the words of God, but he ate them. Consequently, these words settled in his heart and became his delight. He knew the voice of God intimately, and it was what fed and sustained him.

Do we seek the voice of God and feed on His words?

We won’t know the fullness of joy in this journey of life until we’ve tasted and been nourished by the voice of God. We won’t ingest and take in life-giving sustenance until we begin uncovering the hidden and beautiful truths of His Word. We won’t truly find ourselves until we unwrap this mystery He’s disclosed to those who’ll venture out in pursuit of Him.

Calling comes in the pursuit.

Jeremiah delighted in God’s words, for in them, he found himself. He found His purpose. He found his calling.

This “calling” mentioned in this passage means to hearken, listen, and obey. Calling is a lifelong pursuit, not a seasonal assignment. Our purpose is greater that which any stint of time could encapsulate.

We don’t chase the call; we chase the One calling.

I’ve seen many a man enamored by a pedestal of their perception of calling. I’ve seen seasons change and positional shifts, where believers lost sight of their purpose. I’ve heard the heartbreak of defeat after vision was slaughtered by voices that spoke out of turn. There’s no position on earth greater than that of being a child of God. There’s no calling on earth greater than that of one who hears, obeys, and follows the voice of the Lord.

We cannot reduce the calling of God into a box of occupation, position, or religion. He will use whomever whenever He chooses, and you can be sure that He chooses those who seek, listen, and follow after His voice. He doesn’t need our platform, popularity, or any public opinion.

He needs only our hearts.

Reassigning the Champion

Imagine for a moment that you’ve been called to give a message. Yet, the words are that of warning, of pending doom and destruction. The words are that of correction not welcomed among those you’ve been sent to tell.

Imagine preparing to, once again be the bearer of bad news. You won’t be liked. You won’t be heard. You won’t be accepted.

This was the life of Jeremiah.

He’d been given a prophetic voice and could see truth in a world of deceit. He knew others were delivering words of security and prosperity that was little more than a pipe dream. Yet, those empty words of promise were accepted. His, though completely true, were scorned.

“Woe to me, my mother, that you have borne me…”

A man of strife and contention, he had become. Having not performed any injustice, he was cursed by men. To Jeremiah, it seemed better that he’d never been born.

Yet, God had called him.

The Lord assured Jeremiah that He would set him free for purposes of good. “Free.” I can’t help but wonder if this would’ve been Jeremiah’s idea of freedom. Yet, they were God’s purposes for good. Perhaps freedom begins with perspective.

The enemy will make supplication.

What I’ve learned about God is that when we walk in the things He’s called us to, the enemy will bow. It may not be immediate. It may not be of his own will. But bow, he will.

There will come a time, dear one, when the things that sought to destroy your calling will be forced tools in your hand. Though once driving your defeat, they’ll be passengers to your purpose. Of this, you can be sure.

Nothing is wasted.

In the hands of an Almighty God, nothing falls to the ground. All of it is used. All of it is redeemed. All of it will serve the one to which He’s beckoned.

What has He called you to that you feel inadequate for? Where did discouragement get you off track?

Will you open back up things you tried to tightly pack away?

That season of destruction and despair… it’s now your servant. Freedom doesn’t mean fleeing from the call; it means deliverance in the midst of the battle. It means reframing the story and reassigning the champion. It means the story isn’t over, and Jesus writes the ending.