The Lord will fight for you; you
need only to be still.Exodus 14:14
I am not a “still” person. If something feels lacking in me, I do a personal inventory and then come up with a plan to fix it. But I finally realized that my relationship with God needed to be approached differently. I sat on the edge of my bed one day years ago and cried out to God like the unbelieving Israelites: “Where are you? I’ve done a lot of stuff to make you happy but you just aren’t here for me!”
Me, me, me, me. What “I have done for God.” The Israelites were constantly complaining to Moses about having sacrificed leaving their homes in Egypt only to find themselves without food or water. They romanticized their old lives – one which they were prisoners to pharaoh. And in the verse today they found themselves at the edge of the sea with no obvious way to cross. From behind, pharaoh’s men were approaching to kill them all. And the complaining began.
Moses reminds us to be still. To stop fretting and complaining about our situation. To stop whirling our minds around worldly solutions. To stop grasping at fixing things ourselves and working so hard on our sanctification path. Be still.
That day I complained so loudly to the Lord and He spoke even louder back to me. “What have you really done?” He asked me. In my frenzied, “doer” world I thought that I needed to take the bull by the horns and join more Bible studies, volunteer more at church, wear my cross around my neck more often. But what He was telling me was to stop and pray. To stop and just believe. To stop and listen to Him.
The Lord will fight for you and me. We need to stop and listen to what He actually wants us to do. For the Israelites it was to pray and then, in faith, step into the water. For me it was to set aside my “to do” list and dive deep into His Word every day.
The Lord has fought for me. And when I listen, He tells me when to break camp and when to settle in. Make stillness a priority today. Let the world’s problems swirl around the outside while you sit with Him. He’s got this.
But one thing I do: Forgetting
what is behind and straining
toward what is ahead, I press
on toward the goal to win the
prize for which God has called
me heavenward in Christ Jesus.Philippians 3:13-14
A prayer to live without regret
Holy God, it’s been many years since I accepted your gift of salvation, which along with that gift came forgiveness. And yet, so often I am unable to forgive myself. My heart still twinges when I think of the times I lived in sin. And once saved, I look back at the years I realize I wasn’t fully committed to obeying your Word. I’ve wasted enough time, however, not accepting your grace. I am learning how much you love me, LORD. And with that, I’m working to accept that I am a new person because of your son Jesus. The old me can’t take up any more precious time when you are filling up my heart with overwhelming love. I admit I sometimes need stern admonishment from you to keep me on track. But at other times please send me a gentle kiss or unexpected hug to remind to live in today, not the regrets of the past. I ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
I don’t know about you but I’ve done some very non-Christian things in my life. I spent about five years of my younger life seeking inappropriate relationships with men. I thought that if I turned over my precious gift of intimacy that I would find love. We can watch endless movies, read countless novels, and dispense wisdom about how fruitless this path is and yet never seem to apply it to our own lives.
The first time I said a desperate prayer was when, at 19, I thought I was pregnant. I begged God to save me from myself. And He did. I don’t really know why since I know others were not. I bargained with God to do His part and I would stop such reckless behavior. And I did not. I wasn’t a Christian at the time – although I believed in God. So maybe He was giving me a few allowances. I won’t know until the day of my eternity when I can ask Him.
Fast forward a few years and I was a young mother with two kids. I was a Christian by then. And yet I continued, time after time, to disobey God. Boy did that lead to a lot of unnecessary hardship. Of these two situations it’s actually this second that I tend to regret the most. Because I truly knew better. I think of all the wasted hours of tears and painful relationships I could have avoided. I think of the times I could’ve been a better mother and wife and friend had I just surrendered myself completely to God.
If we confess our sins, he
is faithful and just and will
forgive us our sins and purify
us from all unrighteousness.1 John 1:9
I realize that by holding on to my forgiven past it’s like a log tied around one ankle. It hinders me to fully grab onto the joy of today and promises of God. It’s not that we need to forget our past. We can learn a lot from our choices and their consequences. But when we accept Jesus as our savior we must accept that we are now changed in our spirit. Sometimes we just need to remind our heart and mind of that change.
Friend, I don’t know what sinful choices you may have made in your past, but Jesus came so we don’t need to live an entire life of repentance for our past regretful choices. We need to turn those sins over to God only once. And turn our faces toward today.
There’s a lot from my past that I’m still working on fully releasing to God. He has already forgiven me for them. I just need to let go of the string and allow them to float into the heavens. With His gentle reminders of His love for us we can be free.
If you want this too, add the prayer to your daily prayer list and watch and see how God works in your life!
“Turn to me and be saved,
all you ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is no other.
By myself I have sworn,
my mouth has uttered in all integrity
a word that will not be revoked:
Before me every knee will bow;
by me every tongue will swear.
They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone
are deliverance and strength.’”
All who have raged against him
will come to him and be put to shame.
Isaiah 45:22-24
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.
Matthew 2:11
Glory to God the King! I praise you, God, and bow down to you in thankfulness for your covenant with us! Your promise to deliver us, through your son Jesus, is the great gift for all mankind.
It has really hit home to me this year about the idols so many of us rely on for strength and deliverance. We cling to our routines. We put our trust in government officials. We place our joy in dining out, going to the movies, gathering with friends. Our peace rests in financial security. And God comes and reminds us that no idol can bring us any of these. He is God and there is no other.
In a God-like way it’s perfect that we can see a light at the end of this pandemic as vaccines begin rolling out and we celebrate the birth of His son. God is the savior of Babylon – for those who believe. And yet so many, even Christians, fail to truly grab a hold of this truth.
I was talking with my BSGs the other day about the “spirit of Christmas” and how many rely on an outside source to descend upon them for this feeling. My own parents sit alone in their home without any sign of Christmas to be seen. I asked my mother the other day why that was. And her response was, “We just don’t have any Christmas spirit this year.” Now granted, they aren’t Christians either. They are just two of millions across the globe who have chosen not to bow down and accept God as the Almighty. One of the BSGs describes her brother’s family in much the same way. They wait to be lifted by the outside world. They wait to feel joy in the material. They wait to find peace in routine.
It made me realize how, once I accepted Jesus as our deliverer, I no longer need idols to feel “saved.” I no longer need idols to experience the joy of Christmas. My “spirit of Christmas” comes from above and within and I’ve been holding on tightly to that gift.
We are such comfort-seeking souls! I think of a soldier at war during Christmas. Laying in a foxhole or cave in a foreign land. There’s no twinkly lights or Christmas tree laden with gifts. There’s no Christmas ham and glazed carrots. There’s just cold, and the distant sounds of gunfire. And yet, the Christmas spirit still is there – in the small pocket Bible or the verses kept close to his heart.
This Christmas is not unusual in that there is strife in the world. This Christmas is not unusual that many are in dire financial need. This Christmas is the same as it was on that day that Christ was born – He has come to be our deliverer. That’s all the Christmas spirit I need.
“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,
to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.Isaiah 42:6-7
In the United States, during particularly heated political disagreements, you’ll hear a lot about an issue’s “constitutionality.” The United States Constitution is our country’s guardrails. It’s our safety net and our guiding path for laws. To many, it was a divinely created document. The wisdom and foresight our founding fathers had when creating it was nothing short of amazing.
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Preamble, United States Constitution
The precursor to the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, was a bold statement by many of the same people. For some, it was like signing their own death warrant. But the goal of both was not to create a new kingdom where one man would rule the peasants. No, it was to place God firmly as the head and the people to organize and live in His ways. Lest anyone try to convince you different, a visit to the highest court in the United States – the Supreme Court – will show images of Moses and the Ten Commandments in both sculpture and engraving form. Enshrined on the bronze doors of the Chief Justice of the court you will find these same images.
And although the Ten Commandments and the US Constitution have the commonality of “do not” in their directives, so much of what they are purposed to do is about freedom. The Constitution, unlike many world government founding documents, is about limiting what the government can do to its citizens – giving a wide berth to freedom. And the basis is that our freedoms are given by God and God alone.
Likewise, God’s plan and promise for us is about freedom. When we accept Him as our safety net, our guiding path, He removes not just the past sin, but puts us on the path to removing the future desire to sin. He takes the alcoholic and the drug addict and the sexually immoral out of their old ways and leads them to freedom. He opens our eyes to His love and compels us to live in our new selves by loving others as Christ loves us. He removes the fears and anxieties that imprison us by giving us eternal life.
I lived a lot of my life as a “woulda,” “coulda,” shoulda,” person. It was a prison of my own making. And the world was happy to hold the key. I never felt good enough or kind enough or smart enough. I looked out of my prison bars at people that seemed happy and fulfilled. I allowed competitiveness and outrage and hurt and worldly desires take control of my heart, mind and soul. I sat in the darkness of the dungeon.
By all accounts I looked to have a perfect life. A very busy and active life. But I prayed constantly for joy and peace and lightness of spirit. Yes, you got that right – I was a believer and still felt this way. And one day I realized I believed but I didn’t follow. You see, we can believe in all kinds of things but then not pay much attention to them. There are many people in the United States that understand the laws and Constitution but choose not to follow what it says. That leads to tumult and strife. I believed in God but I didn’t believe God. I read the Bible but didn’t put my full faith and trust in its directives and lessons.
Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.John 8:36
The day I decided to grab hold of God’s safety net was the day He smiled at me and said, “Finally.” It set me firmly on His path to removing the old me and old lies and refocusing my sights on what God wants from me. It was freeing. My eyes are truly open and my prison bars have melted away. I have chosen not to dance around the hard lessons of the Bible, His Word. And in doing so I have found my life so much simpler.
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.Romans 8:14-15
We are so good at disobedience — since the beginning of time. And we don’t like people to tell us what to do. And for many, following God is seen as taking away freedoms. It’s true, we aren’t to engage in any number of sinful behaviors. But time and time again society proves that so much of that behavior creates bondage rather than freedom.
When we follow the laws of our communities, we find ourselves in safer and calmer environments. When we follow and believe God, He opens our eyes and unlocks our prison doors. He promises a life of joy, a love greater than we can ever know, and eternal salvation.
As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.
He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
“What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken!Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”
Luke 24:16-26
Depending on how Messianic scholars classify the prophesies in the Old Testament about the coming of Jesus, you will find between 200 and more than 400 statements about the Son of God becoming a man to teach us and be our ultimate sacrifice. Given that information, which was taught throughout the Jewish faith, you have to wonder why anyone at the time of Jesus’ death didn’t understand what was going on. It shouldn’t have been a surprise that He would also be resurrected. Yet disciple after disciple, woman and man, we see either their disbelief or shocking amazement when Jesus stood with them after His death.
But we can’t be too hard on those people of old. I mean we have 1,000s of years of Bible study, the hindsight of the entire New Testament, and more Bible scholars and preachers than we could ever count explaining the connections and the truths of this amazing story. And yet so many of us, even Christians, have a hard time truly accepting that Jesus is with us, even today. He stands in front of us with an open hand almost pleading with us to surrender and follow Him. He stands next to us, holding our hand, as we take scary, daring steps of faith. And He stands watch over us guiding and protecting us. When we fully accept that Jesus is our Lord and Savior, we can feel His constant, amazing presence.
I heard a sermon the other day by Joyce Meyer called, “What is Faith?” In it she encourages those whose families are grown and left the nest, who have lost spouses, who feel as though no one loves them, to grasp on to the knowledge that Jesus is ever-present in our lives. He is with us when we go to the grocery store. He is with us when we sit and watch a sunset. He is with us when we lie down, alone, in our beds.
I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
John 18:22-23
When we read the verses today in Luke 24, we might gloss over the fact that Jesus had already died. What happened on that road to Emmaus could have just as easily been written today. There was nothing special about the two men to which Jesus appeared. They are you and me. We can leave church or a Bible study waxing philosophical about the amazing presence of Jesus “way back when” and completely miss that He is walking right there with us!
I once heard a woman in a Bible study say to the group, “How come God doesn’t talk to us like He did in the Bible?” I found it fascinating that this person has somehow missed the prolific authors who have received urgings and messages from the Holy Spirit. She somehow has ignored all the testimonials she has heard in church from people who have been miraculously saved. She somehow missed my own telling, to that very group, of my Jesus vision.
“Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”
John 4:48
Are you ignoring Jesus’ amazing, constant presence? Has he walked along with you, sat at your dinner table and you didn’t acknowledge it was Him? Are you looking for a burning bush outside your door to speak in a Charlton Heston-esque voice to make decisions for you? I’m not saying that won’t happen but Jesus’ character is a lot more quiet and gentle. He wants you to have the “ah ha moment” like the men in our story today. He leads you, tiny step by step to clearing the mud from your eyes and ears. And if you will only accept the burning bush as “proof” of His presence you will surely miss Him along the path.
“When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.
“What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.
A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”
“You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”So, they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”“From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.[a]”
Mark 9:14-29
My eldest daughter is a doctor of physical therapy. That alone is a miracle. She studied and worked hard throughout her public school years and yet the results were not always reflective of that work. Once she entered college she leaned on the lessons learned from getting help early and how to study. She excelled beyond belief. As a physical therapist she has seen the fruits of her labor – the healing power of her education. She has helped many women in the specialty of lower abdomen and uterine pain. I’m so proud of her. That being said, as my faith journey moves along, I’ve accepted that some healing only comes from prayer.
“Begin to rejoice in the Lord, and your bones will flourish like an herb, and your cheeks will glow with the bloom of health and freshness. Worry, fear, distrust, care—are all poisonous! Joy is balm and healing, and if you will but rejoice, God will give power.”
A.B. Simpson
I like this quote because it reminds me of an amazing healing I saw take place in a friend many years ago. She had fallen and broken her upper arm. For many months she went to doctors’ appointments and had all sorts of imaging. And yet her bone was not naturally re-growing and healing. It became the usual sight to see her in an arm sling that year. She was like a baby bird with a broken wing. Her disappointment after each doctor’s appointment was evident. And yet she kept praying for healing. At the end of that painful year I still recall seeing her at church one day and she was full of joy! Her doctor, on the other hand was so perplexed. At her appointment that week she had another x-ray. And her bone was completely healed. The specialists had no explanation. But she knew the amazing answer. Her prayers were heard.
I love how the father in the Bible verse today has the guts to admit to Jesus’ face that he has doubts. “IF you can do anything” is what he says. And then asks for help in overcoming his unbelief. My friend Betsy once shared a powerful prayer technique with my BSGs. She said if you aren’t ready to believe or take action then ask, in prayer, for help in believing.
How many of us, when faced with illness or injury aren’t really sure God can heal? So many of us tend to rely solely on our surgeons, psychologists, specialists, etc. And we forget to turn to God for healing or even to ask for His guiding hands for those gifted doctors. If you are unsure, pray to resolve your unbelief. When the disciples asked Jesus why they weren’t able to cure the boy in this amazing Bible event he responded by telling them they needed to draw on the power of God through prayer.
The disciples had been careless with their personal spiritual walk and had neglected communing with God through prayer and fasting.
Warren Wiersbe, New Testament Bible Commentary
Notice this is not about praying “enough” or being faithful “enough.” It’s about praying and being faithful and believing. His amazing healing power is available to the faithful. And while we may not always know why or when He chooses to heal someone or not, we need to rest in trust that He has a plan far greater than ours. We must never stop praying and asking for His amazing healing power.
emboldened.net 