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Several years ago I was a general manager for a retail establishment. One of our stores had a manager who made a bad decision and destroyed the morale of the employees and split the store so the team was at odds with each other. The district manager invited several of us to apply and share our vision of how to rebuild the team and restore peace. My vision and plan won the job for me. As I was transitioning out of my previous store, their issues began to keep me busy unnecessarily. I called the assistant manager, who was running it temporarily, about the issues. In our conversation they let me know they had been a candidate for the job and they had a completing vision. I let them know they needed to choose between my vision and theirs, and if they chose theirs, they needed to move on. We had worked together before and were friends, but I couldn’t have another vision fighting against mine. They chose to leave.

In the story of Jonah, it starts off with God visiting him presenting a vision of what He wanted him to do. He wanted Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh to proclaim judgement against it unless they repented. Verse 3 says, “But Jonah ran away to Tarshish to escape from the presence of the Lord [and his duty as His prophet]” (AMP). Jonah had a competing vision for his life and ran away from the path of obedience. You know the story of how God sent a storm and the men through Jonah overboard where he was swallowed by a great fish. In the darkness, he cried out to God. In chapter 2 verse 9 he repented and said he would do what he had vowed. In that moment, he agreed to be obedient to God’s vision for his life. The fish vomited him onto the shore and he went to the city where they changed their ways.

In Philippians 2, Paul writes that we should have the same attitude and mind that Jesus had when it comes to God’s vision and plan for our lives. Verse 8 says, “He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death— his death on the cross” (GNT). God’s vision and path for your life aren’t the easiest to follow. Your flesh will be at war with it because your flesh has a competing vision. Only you can decide which you will obey. You may be running away from God’s plan up to this point. The good news is that God gives us chance after chance to return to the path of obedience. We must daily take up our cross, crucify our desires and competing visions to it and be obedient to God’s plan no matter what it is. Like Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, we must pray, “Not my will, but yours be done.” That is how we stay on the path of obedience.

Photo by Lisa Fotios on Unsplash.

When I was in high school, I read the book “Tortured For His Faith” by Haralan Popov. He was a prominent pastor in Bulgaria in the late 1940’s. Stalin had taken over his homeland and had him and several other pastors arrested. They were accused of being spies. He was tortured mercilessly for days and had brainwashing techniques used on him until he confessed to being a spy. He spent the next 13 years in prison and concentration camps being beaten and tortured for his faith. As I read his remarkable autobiography, my own faith was strengthened and challenged. How he handled himself and shared his faith in prison, while under duress, stirred up my faith and trust in God.

In Luke 22, Jesus was with the disciples eating the Passover meal before He would be arrested and tortured. In verse 31, He looked at Peter and said, “Peter, my dear friend, listen to what I’m about to tell you. Satan has obtained permission to come and sift you all like wheat and test your faith” (TPT). He knew Peter was about to deny him and go through a difficult time. As the leader of the disciples, Peter would want to return to his old life, but Jesus knew He would restore Peter and his faith. Jesus told him that after his faith was restored and returned to make it his life mission to strengthen the others. What Peter went through became a testimony that encouraged other believers throughout the known world that encouraged the faith in others. Even the story of his imprisonment and death encourages and strengthens us today to live out our faith.

In Philippians 1:14 Paul said, “And what I’m going through has actually caused many believers to become even more courageous in the Lord and to be bold and passionate to preach the Word of God, all because of my chains.” Paul didn’t let what he was going through hurt his trust in God. Instead, the trials he suffered caused other believers to become more courageous in their faith. I don’t know what you’re going through right now. Chances are that it’s not being tortured for your faith. That doesn’t minimize your suffering or your pain though. However, Jesus is interceding on your behalf right now and his prayer is that when you come through, your testimony will strengthen the faith of others. People see how you handle yourself in your most difficult moments and God uses that to grow faith in others. There is good that can come from even the darkest times of our lives. God will always work everything together for good for those who love Him. Use your testimony to strengthen and encourage others in their faith.

Photo by Mehmet Bozgedik on Unsplash

Growing up on the Gulf Coast, you’re taught what to do in case of tornados or hurricanes. When they’re approaching, the news will tell everyone to find shelter. The shelter you choose matters. Is it strong enough to withstand high winds? Is it high enough that it won’t flood? Does it have interior rooms with no windows? When a storm is bearing down on you, your safety depends on where you shelter. No matter what though, there are always those who choose to run into the storm rather than to shelter. The news will show people at the beach trying to surf in the waves or who want to wait as long as they possibly can before the full force of the storm arrives. Most people evacuate and look for shelter though.

Where do you go when the storms of life come? I’ve tried to weather them without help and have lost everything. I’ve also learned to find my shelter in God who is unmovable. When you have an emergency in the US, you dial 9-1-1 to get help. When you’re facing one of life’s storms, I recommend Psalm 91:1. It says, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will remain secure and rest in the shadow of the Almighty [whose power no enemy can withstand]” (AMP). God offers us shelter from our storms. Merriam Webster defines shelter as something that covers or affords protection. That’s what God offers us, but we must choose to run to Him in those times.

He also says we can rest in His shadow. Have you ever been in someone’s shadow literally? In order to do that, you have to be pretty close to them. God is inviting us to not just run to Him when we need protection. He’s asking us to draw near to Him and to dwell, or live, in the shelter He provides. Does that mean you won’t face storms or feel their effects? No, but it does mean you will have protection that won’t fail when you need it most. God will be your 9-1-1, but He desires for each one of us to live in His presence and to talk with Him daily. He’s not just our emergency relief. He’s our daily bread if we will choose to draw close to Him. When we do that, we can proclaim, “He is my refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust [with great confidence, and on whom I rely]!” (Psalm 91:2)

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Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

There are a few books that I’ve read that have truly impacted the trajectory of my life. After reading one of them, I decided I wanted to meet the author. He was speaking at a writer’s conference, so I bought a ticket, booked a plane, got a hotel room and went to meet him. Just as his meet and greet was to begin, he got a call that took up his whole time. I was determined, so a year or so later, I flew to the city where his church is so I could attempt again. I did finally meet him. By then I had read his book a couple of times and did life group studies with it to help change their lives too. Another person from that group and I went to another conference. There we heard a speaker who gave out his book for free to the audience. I was reading it on a flight and it impacted me to the point of tears. I searched for him, found his email and sent him a message. Five minutes later, he responded.

Books are amazing and have the power to help us. The Bible is the greatest book of them all. However, it is not greater than it’s author. In John 5, Jesus was confronted by some Jewish elders who had spent a lifetime studying the Scriptures, yet they failed to know its author. They didn’t recognize Jesus as His son either and plotted to kill Him. Jesus began telling them about the author and how He knew Him. In verse 39, Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!” (NLT). God’s Word is infallible and will last forever, but it is Jesus who gives eternal life. He is the One to whom they point and is the fulfillment of them.

Paul, who was also a Jewish leader, studied the Scriptures endlessly. In Philippians 3 he shared how much he studied them and how strictly he adhered to them, but failed to know the author. He said that he counted all that other stuff as valuable until he met Jesus. Then in verse 8 he wrote, “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.” We can spend a lifetime studying Scripture and miss the point that the author wants to meet us and know us. Jesus doesn’t just change our life, He gives us life because He is life. We should study the Bible and let it change how we live, but it’s pointless unless you get to know the Author of Life.

Photo by TEP RO on Pexels.

In the early 2000’s I became a NASCAR fan. I had watched several races with some friends and fell in love with the strategies involved in winning a race. After watching several races, my friend told me I needed to pick a driver and a team. I decided I like the number 16 Roush-Fenway Ford driven by Greg Biffle. A while later we got tickets to a race weekend and enjoyed the spectacle that was put on. They said Biffle was going to sign autographs on race day, but you had to get there early to get tickets. Traffic prevented that. I watched him sign autographs with several others who didn’t get tickets. I then positioned myself behind the trailer he was signing in. When he came out, I was the only one back there. He signed my hat, got in his golf cart and drove away. None of those other spectators got his autograph because they stayed out front.

1 Samuel 3:1-3 says, “The word of the LORD was rare and precious in those days; visions [that is, new revelations of divine truth] were not widespread.Yet it happened at that time, as Eli was lying down in his own place…and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was” (AMP). I love this story because it points out a truth we so often miss. Eli stayed in his own place and Samuel was staying in the sanctuary. Samuel knew where the presence of God was at the time, and he positioned himself to hear from Him. When God spoke to Samuel, it took Eli a while to understand what was going on because he had been more concerned about his own comfort than hearing from God. He was waiting for God to come to him instead of positioning himself close to God.

James 4:8 tell us, “Come close to God, and God will come close to you” (NLT). There are many times when I wonder where God is and why I haven’t heard from Him. I think we all go through that. Instead of questioning where God is, I’ve learned to question where I am. Have I positioned myself to hear from Him? Am I doing things that draw me closer to Him or am I just sitting around waiting on Him? If it’s been a while since you’ve heard from God, look at where you’ve positioned yourself. Are you in a quiet place in silence waiting on Him? Are you spending time digesting Scripture? God has promised to draw close to us after we draw close to Him. Think back to the things you were doing when you felt His presence most. Are you doing those things still? If so, have they become routine? God’s desire is to meet with us and to speak with us. We must be willing to get in a position and place to hear from Him though.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.