“You shouldn’t say that! It’s a bad confession!”
My friend was chiding me over mentioning the pain I was in with arthritis in my hips. He encouraged me to never acknowledge the pain was there, to never talk about it.
I started jogging seriously when I was about thirty and I learned to love it. I was never a very fast runner but there was something incredibly relaxing for me to be able to jog for 30 or 40 minutes toward the end of a busy day. Wherever I was in the world, I could usually find enough time and a place to run and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
As I got into my mid-fifties, I started having difficulty with my right leg and hip. At first I thought I had somehow twisted or jarred my leg running on uneven ground. I stopped running for a few days and that didn’t help so I tried to run through the pain—and that didn’t work either. As a last resort (after all, I am a man), I went to the doctor. After examining me and taking some X-ray’s, the doctor looked at me, chuckled (which definitely did not improve my frame of mind), and said, “Dave, it’s called arthritis and a lot of us have it.” And that was it.
I couldn’t keep up the jogging so I switched to riding a bike. I rode for several years until I had to stop that as well because the circular motion of pedaling had become too painful. All during this time I hardly ever spoke of my arthritis. If someone asked me how I was doing, my response was always, “I’m OK!”
My physical condition continued to deteriorate. In 2006 I pretty much quit traveling for ministry as it was just too difficult to put up with the travel and the pain. Some days during this time it was all I could do to get out of bed, as the pain was intense and distracting.
I tried diligently never to complain about the pain, about the discomfort. I was committed to being a good soldier and if I had to finish out my life in pain, then that was what I would do! I was willing to just soldier on! I spent many, many hours talking to the Lord about this and studying Scriptures about healing!
In the summer of 2006 my wife and my longtime friend Bill Prather prevailed on me to go and see another doctor. So in September I went to see an orthopedic surgeon here in Plano. The doctor’s staff put me through the exam, checked my range of motion and did a thorough X-ray workup on me and then the doctor came in. I am not a small man. I am 6’3” and weigh about 185 (in my dreams), truthfully about 240, but next to the doctor I was not so big. The doctor stood about 6’5” and I’m sure weighed at least 280. He sat down across the room and looked at me quietly for a few seconds and then said, “I don’t know how you get around. I have never seen hips as bad as yours. Unless you have surgery soon, within two years or less you will be in a wheelchair!” He was very gentle with me, but very direct as he came out with the clincher, “You are in denial!”
I instantly became angry but I tried not to let the anger show on my face. For the next few minutes Carol and I tried to elicit as much information as we could from the doctor and his staff. We wanted to understand what the options were. But my mind raged, “He said I was in denial!”
As we drove home I tried my best not to let the anger boil over but inside I was seething. “He accused me of being in denial! Me—in denial!”
At home I sat down in my office and looked up to heaven as the anger boiled over: “So this is what I get! After all these years of loving and serving You, I’m going to end up…” and I caught myself in mid-sentence. I suddenly came to grips with the fact that I was in denial and that I was blaming God for my predicament.
Over the next few minutes I had what my southern friends call “a come to Jesus meeting.” I repented of my bad attitude, my denial and my blaming God for my arthritis. Not only did I apologize to the Lord but within a few days, I did the same with my family.
You see, my failure to acknowledge that I had a problem was holding back the answer. First and foremost, denial is lying. Let me make sure we all understand: denial is lying! Denial is saying that what is true and a fact is not the truth and is not a fact. God will not bless a lie. When we have a problem, it is not a “bad confession” to acknowledge the problem and then to affirm that, “I am trusting God for a full and complete resolution.” It is not a bad confession to say, “Yes, I have a need but my God is bigger than any need that I have and I know He is capable of healing that situation!” That is not a bad confession, that is faith!
When asked about your arthritis and the excruciating pain that shows on your face, “How are you? Are you OK?” and you repeatedly flippantly reply, “I’m fine, I’m OK,” fully knowing you are not…that is not a good confession, cause that ain’t faith, baby!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
LIVING IN THE SHADOW
In 1998 Carol and I moved to Manhattan to spend a year overseeing a special project at the request of a ministry we were doing some work for. Our apartment was four blocks south of the World Trade Center, directly “in the shadow” of the Twin Towers. Carol liked to look out over the city at night and more than once she asked me, “What would happen to our apartment if those towers ever came down?” I blithely replied, “But that could never happen; those buildings are engineered to withstand all kinds of weather, earthquakes, and explosions. They will never fall down!”
In ancient times the word shadow had a stronger, more ominous meaning than our current usage does and, in fact, the word exercised a superstitious influence upon people. In some cultures it was thought that if a person’s shadow was trampled upon, they would suffer injury. This superstition grew from the belief that the shadow was a reflection of the soul. In some parts of Asia, everyone attending a funeral would leave before the casket was closed because of the fear that a portion of their shadow might get caught in the casket. Superstition said that if any part of your shadow was trapped in a casket, then sickness and ill health would follow.
We are given a glimpse of the superstitious aspects of the word in Jewish culture in Acts 5:15 where it says “[People] brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.”
Whether or not God used the superstitious thinking of the people as an occasion for miracle healing is hotly debated and is difficult to prove one way or the other from this passage. Personally, I believe that, in this instance, God did a “special” miracle, as He later did through Paul, and many were healed (see Acts 19:11-12).
The word shadow also spoke of the influence or power that a leader or a person carried with him in the society where he lived. To live under the shadow of a ruler/leader meant that you were being covered by all the might, the power, the influence that belonged to the person in authority.
In Psalm 91:1 the Psalmist declares, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”
The last part of this verse is a promise to the person who chooses to make his relationship/communion with God a priority of his or her life. The person who chooses to honor God with all parts of his life, his private life, his personal life, his vocational life…he is the recipient of a powerful promise. I call it “Living in the shadow.” The promise is that we will live within or under the influence of God’s all-sufficient power.
The term used in this verse—“the Almighty”—in the Hebrew is Shaddai. El Shaddai is commonly known as one of the names used throughout the Old Testament to reveal the character of God. Each of the names of God in the O.T. served to express another aspect of His character. El Shaddai indicates the richness and fullness of God’s grace, of His readiness to pour out His mercies on His children, and that He is more ready to give than we are ready to receive.
In Hebrew the word shaddai also means “the breast” when speaking of a nursing mother. It is meant to convey the understanding that the same way that a mother’s milk is completely sufficient for a newborn, El Shaddai’s sufficiency is more than enough for us as we draw on it.
We are not to live or dwell in the shadow of superstitious thinking. We are to fully embrace the understanding that we are a part of the family of God and as such we live under the influence or shadow of Him. We did not deserve to live in this relationship but He took us into His family and made us one of His children. As His children, we live under the protection, the provision, the sufficiency of Him. He is the Shepherd and we are the sheep; we live in His pasture and He takes care of “all our needs.” He is a good and loving shepherd. Charles Spurgeon put it this way: “The Almighty himself is where his shadow is, and hence those who dwell in His secret place are protected by Him. What a shade in the day of noxious heat! What a refuge in the hour of deadly storm! Communion with God is safety.”
Welcome to “living in the shadow.”
In ancient times the word shadow had a stronger, more ominous meaning than our current usage does and, in fact, the word exercised a superstitious influence upon people. In some cultures it was thought that if a person’s shadow was trampled upon, they would suffer injury. This superstition grew from the belief that the shadow was a reflection of the soul. In some parts of Asia, everyone attending a funeral would leave before the casket was closed because of the fear that a portion of their shadow might get caught in the casket. Superstition said that if any part of your shadow was trapped in a casket, then sickness and ill health would follow.
We are given a glimpse of the superstitious aspects of the word in Jewish culture in Acts 5:15 where it says “[People] brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.”
Whether or not God used the superstitious thinking of the people as an occasion for miracle healing is hotly debated and is difficult to prove one way or the other from this passage. Personally, I believe that, in this instance, God did a “special” miracle, as He later did through Paul, and many were healed (see Acts 19:11-12).
The word shadow also spoke of the influence or power that a leader or a person carried with him in the society where he lived. To live under the shadow of a ruler/leader meant that you were being covered by all the might, the power, the influence that belonged to the person in authority.
In Psalm 91:1 the Psalmist declares, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”
The last part of this verse is a promise to the person who chooses to make his relationship/communion with God a priority of his or her life. The person who chooses to honor God with all parts of his life, his private life, his personal life, his vocational life…he is the recipient of a powerful promise. I call it “Living in the shadow.” The promise is that we will live within or under the influence of God’s all-sufficient power.
The term used in this verse—“the Almighty”—in the Hebrew is Shaddai. El Shaddai is commonly known as one of the names used throughout the Old Testament to reveal the character of God. Each of the names of God in the O.T. served to express another aspect of His character. El Shaddai indicates the richness and fullness of God’s grace, of His readiness to pour out His mercies on His children, and that He is more ready to give than we are ready to receive.
In Hebrew the word shaddai also means “the breast” when speaking of a nursing mother. It is meant to convey the understanding that the same way that a mother’s milk is completely sufficient for a newborn, El Shaddai’s sufficiency is more than enough for us as we draw on it.
We are not to live or dwell in the shadow of superstitious thinking. We are to fully embrace the understanding that we are a part of the family of God and as such we live under the influence or shadow of Him. We did not deserve to live in this relationship but He took us into His family and made us one of His children. As His children, we live under the protection, the provision, the sufficiency of Him. He is the Shepherd and we are the sheep; we live in His pasture and He takes care of “all our needs.” He is a good and loving shepherd. Charles Spurgeon put it this way: “The Almighty himself is where his shadow is, and hence those who dwell in His secret place are protected by Him. What a shade in the day of noxious heat! What a refuge in the hour of deadly storm! Communion with God is safety.”
Welcome to “living in the shadow.”
Thursday, April 17, 2008
THE MOST DANGEROUS WOMAN IN AMERICA!
“She’s the most dangerous woman in America!”
The bluntness of my wife’s statement caught me somewhat by surprise. We were driving home from a movie and having a casual conversation about an e-mail we had received earlier in the day. A friend had sent information about the stepped-up activities of New Age “evangelists.” One of the most prominent New Age “propagandists” is a very well-known celebrity who has begun to devote a significant amount of time to spreading “the New Age gospel.”
New Age philosophy is not new. The teachings of the New Age have been around for decades and, in fact, even longer than that. The essence of New Age teaching is that there are many ways to God and you just pick your own and go with it. New Agers typically construct their own spiritual journey usually involving material taken from occultism, neo-paganism and shamanism. If you choose to worship dust mites, that will get you to God; if you wish to be a Buddhist or an atheist, that’s cool, too. The New Agers say there are many prophets and Jesus Christ was just one of many—a good man but really nothing special—that you can do just as well by worshipping Sam Walton.
The momentum of the cults and the New Age movement seems to be accelerating. The new visibility is driven in large measure by celebrities. In our celebrity-hungry culture, when a famous person begins to speak about anything, a segment of the culture gives his/her words undue credibility and hordes of people follow the leading of the “famous person.” There is another level to this acceleration that is even more concerning to me. Because the New Agers often use terminology that is very close to the language of the church, hundreds of thousands of church-going people that should know better but don’t are being led astray. When a celebrity speaks, the naïve swoon and are swept into deception.
“Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness (iniquity) will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:11-12). These verses are a part of the teaching that Jesus does in response to his disciples’ question in 24:3: “When is the end going to happen?”
In verses 10 to 12, Jesus focuses on what will happen in the church during the closing moments of time. Jesus says that “false prophets” will arise. These false prophets will not necessarily be predictors of the future but will come with a message that they have a “new” revelation from God. Jesus said that these “falsies,” as I call them, will bring an enticing message of deception. Deceivers are frauds and their message is a lie. A deceiver tells us that if you embrace this new revelation, it will simplify your getting to God. You don’t have to repent, you don’t have to ask for forgiveness, they say. Instead, they deceptively say that you should just confess, “I am Christ, I am light” and then you will be!
These deceivers will find a ready hearing among those who are a part of the cultural church, a part of the spiritually immature church, a part of the church that carries its Bible but doesn’t read it, that talks about the power of prayer but doesn’t do it, that says they are Christian but live like the world is everything to them. These are the prime candidates to be led astray into deception because they have no foundation in faith.
Jesus said in verse 12, “Because [wickedness] will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” The original word for wickedness means iniquity or lawlessness. In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, the word is used to suggest the idea of “contempt for divine law,” since the Antichrist will deny the existence of God. I believe that the iniquity or lawlessness spoken of in verse 12 will be an unrelenting attack on the work of Christ on the cross. Over and over the attack will say that there are others ways to God and you don’t have to go by way of Christ’s atonement; that Jesus did not die for the sin of mankind; that Christ’s whole life was a failure. New Agers believe and teach that there is no sin, no evil, no devil, and that God is in everyone and everything. The word picture being painted in verse 12 is that the love of many will grow cold because of the nonstop, chilling wind of attack and adversity; the attack will be so strong and unrelenting that whatever little amount of spiritual fire was in casual, carnal Christians will be chilled to nothing.
Jesus does not finish this portion of His teaching on a negative note. In verse 13, He affirms that those that have their heart set on following Him will see the salvation and protection of the Lord. Let us make this our declaration, “My heart is set, it is fixed on following Jesus!”
So who is the most dangerous woman in America, the spokesperson for the New Age? Her name is Oprah Winfrey and for all of 2008, her daily radio broadcast on satellite radio is devoted to propagating the deception of the New Age, as is a regular portion of her daily television program.
The bluntness of my wife’s statement caught me somewhat by surprise. We were driving home from a movie and having a casual conversation about an e-mail we had received earlier in the day. A friend had sent information about the stepped-up activities of New Age “evangelists.” One of the most prominent New Age “propagandists” is a very well-known celebrity who has begun to devote a significant amount of time to spreading “the New Age gospel.”
New Age philosophy is not new. The teachings of the New Age have been around for decades and, in fact, even longer than that. The essence of New Age teaching is that there are many ways to God and you just pick your own and go with it. New Agers typically construct their own spiritual journey usually involving material taken from occultism, neo-paganism and shamanism. If you choose to worship dust mites, that will get you to God; if you wish to be a Buddhist or an atheist, that’s cool, too. The New Agers say there are many prophets and Jesus Christ was just one of many—a good man but really nothing special—that you can do just as well by worshipping Sam Walton.
The momentum of the cults and the New Age movement seems to be accelerating. The new visibility is driven in large measure by celebrities. In our celebrity-hungry culture, when a famous person begins to speak about anything, a segment of the culture gives his/her words undue credibility and hordes of people follow the leading of the “famous person.” There is another level to this acceleration that is even more concerning to me. Because the New Agers often use terminology that is very close to the language of the church, hundreds of thousands of church-going people that should know better but don’t are being led astray. When a celebrity speaks, the naïve swoon and are swept into deception.
“Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness (iniquity) will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:11-12). These verses are a part of the teaching that Jesus does in response to his disciples’ question in 24:3: “When is the end going to happen?”
In verses 10 to 12, Jesus focuses on what will happen in the church during the closing moments of time. Jesus says that “false prophets” will arise. These false prophets will not necessarily be predictors of the future but will come with a message that they have a “new” revelation from God. Jesus said that these “falsies,” as I call them, will bring an enticing message of deception. Deceivers are frauds and their message is a lie. A deceiver tells us that if you embrace this new revelation, it will simplify your getting to God. You don’t have to repent, you don’t have to ask for forgiveness, they say. Instead, they deceptively say that you should just confess, “I am Christ, I am light” and then you will be!
These deceivers will find a ready hearing among those who are a part of the cultural church, a part of the spiritually immature church, a part of the church that carries its Bible but doesn’t read it, that talks about the power of prayer but doesn’t do it, that says they are Christian but live like the world is everything to them. These are the prime candidates to be led astray into deception because they have no foundation in faith.
Jesus said in verse 12, “Because [wickedness] will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” The original word for wickedness means iniquity or lawlessness. In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, the word is used to suggest the idea of “contempt for divine law,” since the Antichrist will deny the existence of God. I believe that the iniquity or lawlessness spoken of in verse 12 will be an unrelenting attack on the work of Christ on the cross. Over and over the attack will say that there are others ways to God and you don’t have to go by way of Christ’s atonement; that Jesus did not die for the sin of mankind; that Christ’s whole life was a failure. New Agers believe and teach that there is no sin, no evil, no devil, and that God is in everyone and everything. The word picture being painted in verse 12 is that the love of many will grow cold because of the nonstop, chilling wind of attack and adversity; the attack will be so strong and unrelenting that whatever little amount of spiritual fire was in casual, carnal Christians will be chilled to nothing.
Jesus does not finish this portion of His teaching on a negative note. In verse 13, He affirms that those that have their heart set on following Him will see the salvation and protection of the Lord. Let us make this our declaration, “My heart is set, it is fixed on following Jesus!”
So who is the most dangerous woman in America, the spokesperson for the New Age? Her name is Oprah Winfrey and for all of 2008, her daily radio broadcast on satellite radio is devoted to propagating the deception of the New Age, as is a regular portion of her daily television program.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
CHILDREN OF THE COVENANT
After nearly 40 years of travelling, much of it in revival/evangelistic meetings, I guess I have heard at least a hundred different sermons about Jonathan and his armor bearer as told in 1 Samuel 14. Pastors, evangelists and teachers have all used this story to excite and encourage the faithful to step out and do exploits for God. Much of the preaching has focused on the results of Jonathan’s rather outrageous approach to a very difficult situation. The story unfolds with Jonathan and his bodyguard killing twenty Philistines and sudden, unexplainable terror striking the rest of the Philistine soldiers; in fact, their fear was so intense that they fled the scene.
Truly exciting, faith-inspiring stuff! The story, however, left me with a nagging and not very intellectual question: “What in the world possessed Jonathan and inspired him to believe that he and his buddy could take on the entire enemy army? Was he filled with faith or did he have a death wish?” On top of everything, Jonathan was being disobedient to his father, Saul, who was encamped several miles away with his men and did not seem to be willing to engage the enemy.
Was Jonathan just a high-spirited boy who had the good fortune of having an adventure turn into a massive display of God’s power? I don’t think that is what is at work here. The picture we are given of Jonathan in other passages shows him as an intensely loyal and deeply spiritual young man. Jonathan was loyal to his family, to his friends and to his God and that is unmistakable. He had no illusions about his dad and he seemed to work to keep Saul from committing far more grievous mistakes than he did.
So when Jonathan said “Come, let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side” (1 Saumel 14:1), what was at work here? Why would Jonathan say and do this?
We are given a clue in verse 6 when Jonathan said to his attendant, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised…”
Jonathan was doing more than throwing a rather tawdry insult at the Philistines. Yes, the word “circumcised” does mean what you think it does but also a little bit more. Jonathan was saying, “These enemy warriors do not live under the truth or the promises that we do. Our God has agreed (covenanted) to fight for us and against them, no matter how many of them there are. God is not restrained in achieving victory just because there are two of us and thousands of them. We are children of the covenant that God established and extended to all generations and He will fight for us! This is our land and they have no business here! We are the circumcised and they are not!”
Wow, all of that is wrapped up in the word uncircumcised? Yes, frankly it is, and for me it helps to explain why this story is here in the Bible and why it is important for me to understand it as more than just an exciting war story.
Jonathan had grasped the meaning of being a child of the covenant, of understanding that his God had entered into an everlasting agreement to be there for His people, that God was committed to blessing, caring for and fighting for His people.
Genesis 17 tells about God establishing the covenant with Abram: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of many nations…. I will make you exceedingly fruitful…. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendents after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God” (Genesis 17:4-8). The physical sign of the everlasting covenant was circumcision.
This is a powerful truth that seemed to elude Saul as he camped miles away from the Philistines and seemed unwilling to fight. God had made the descendants of Abraham a powerful promise but Saul just didn’t get it and was reluctant to step into the fight for what God had promised. Just a short time later the scene would repeat itself in the Valley of Elah when again the Philistines, this time championed by Goliath, would render Saul and the whole army impotent, unwilling to go into the fight. In the Valley of Elah it was David who said, “Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them…” (1 Samuel 17:36). There again, David was rehearsing the terms of the covenantal agreement.
David and Jonathan, children of the covenant! David and Jonathan, forerunners for us who are also children of the covenant, the everlasting covenant that finds its completeness in the New Covenant.
Truly exciting, faith-inspiring stuff! The story, however, left me with a nagging and not very intellectual question: “What in the world possessed Jonathan and inspired him to believe that he and his buddy could take on the entire enemy army? Was he filled with faith or did he have a death wish?” On top of everything, Jonathan was being disobedient to his father, Saul, who was encamped several miles away with his men and did not seem to be willing to engage the enemy.
Was Jonathan just a high-spirited boy who had the good fortune of having an adventure turn into a massive display of God’s power? I don’t think that is what is at work here. The picture we are given of Jonathan in other passages shows him as an intensely loyal and deeply spiritual young man. Jonathan was loyal to his family, to his friends and to his God and that is unmistakable. He had no illusions about his dad and he seemed to work to keep Saul from committing far more grievous mistakes than he did.
So when Jonathan said “Come, let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side” (1 Saumel 14:1), what was at work here? Why would Jonathan say and do this?
We are given a clue in verse 6 when Jonathan said to his attendant, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised…”
Jonathan was doing more than throwing a rather tawdry insult at the Philistines. Yes, the word “circumcised” does mean what you think it does but also a little bit more. Jonathan was saying, “These enemy warriors do not live under the truth or the promises that we do. Our God has agreed (covenanted) to fight for us and against them, no matter how many of them there are. God is not restrained in achieving victory just because there are two of us and thousands of them. We are children of the covenant that God established and extended to all generations and He will fight for us! This is our land and they have no business here! We are the circumcised and they are not!”
Wow, all of that is wrapped up in the word uncircumcised? Yes, frankly it is, and for me it helps to explain why this story is here in the Bible and why it is important for me to understand it as more than just an exciting war story.
Jonathan had grasped the meaning of being a child of the covenant, of understanding that his God had entered into an everlasting agreement to be there for His people, that God was committed to blessing, caring for and fighting for His people.
Genesis 17 tells about God establishing the covenant with Abram: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of many nations…. I will make you exceedingly fruitful…. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendents after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God” (Genesis 17:4-8). The physical sign of the everlasting covenant was circumcision.
This is a powerful truth that seemed to elude Saul as he camped miles away from the Philistines and seemed unwilling to fight. God had made the descendants of Abraham a powerful promise but Saul just didn’t get it and was reluctant to step into the fight for what God had promised. Just a short time later the scene would repeat itself in the Valley of Elah when again the Philistines, this time championed by Goliath, would render Saul and the whole army impotent, unwilling to go into the fight. In the Valley of Elah it was David who said, “Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them…” (1 Samuel 17:36). There again, David was rehearsing the terms of the covenantal agreement.
David and Jonathan, children of the covenant! David and Jonathan, forerunners for us who are also children of the covenant, the everlasting covenant that finds its completeness in the New Covenant.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
THE NIGHT HOURS
It is often in the dark hours of the night, when sleep is a long way off, that I have my most anxious thoughts.
I love the quietness of the night hours; no ringing phones, no unnecessary conversation, no interruptions. It is in the night hours that I do some of my best praying, some of my best thinking…and my most intense worrying.
It has been years since I have slept through an entire night; I just don’t do that anymore. I often go to bed and sleep two or three hours and then I am awake. The worst thing for me is to just lie there and I have learned that I need to do one of a short list of things:
1. Stay in bed and pray. I know this will come as a shock to some, but sometimes I don’t want to pray—I’m not that spiritual! And so…
2. I get up and read until I get sleepy again.
3. A few times I have turned on the TV. Television is bad enough in primetime but in the middle of the night, you might do better to study the weave of your carpet.
In the quietness of the night, anxieties that we keep at bay during the day are free to run rampant in our minds. Perhaps it’s the daytime activities that keep us occupied and away from the minefields of anxiety and worry. Anxieties are often based in reality but can become overblown. In the night hours, our unrestrained minds seem to magnify the potential problem to unrealistic ends.
But it is also in the night hours that I have many of my most intimate encounters with God. The same quiet hours that find me with my guard down with the potential of anxiety overwhelming me are also the moments when I am most open to free-flowing and intensely personal encounters with our Heavenly Father.
It was in the night hours when the young boy Samuel (1 Samuel 3) heard the voice of the Lord, and at first it frightened him. The temple was quiet at night; it was never silent like that in the daytime. When Samuel heard the voice calling his name in the still of the night, at first he thought it was Eli the priest calling him and he quickly ran to him. Eli was a corrupt priest who hadn’t heard God speaking for a long time, so he didn’t make the connection with God and he sent Samuel back to his bed. It happened a second time and Eli’s response was as dull-witted the second time as it had been the first. Again, he sent the boy back to his bed. When it happened the third time, Eli realized that the boy was hearing something and maybe, just maybe, it was the voice of the Lord. Eli told Samuel, “Go back to bed and if you hear the voice again, say this, “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears” (1 Samuel 3:9).
Samuel heard the voice of the Lord say, “Samuel, Samuel!” and this time he did as Eli had told him. “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.” God then spoke a very dramatic word to Samuel about the cleansing of the priesthood in Israel and, specifically, how it would affect Eli and his corrupt family. What Samuel misunderstood as a call from his mentor, and Eli mistook as an interruption in his rest, was actually a call to an encounter with the Lord. It was Samuel’s first encounter with the Lord and the first time God had spoken to anyone in Israel in a long time. Samuel did not have the experience and understanding to initially know the voice of the Lord when he heard it. Eli’s corruption had caused him to lose his sensitivity of spiritual hearing; his disregard of the voice of the Lord in the past had caused him to treat this word of the Lord with little regard.
Could it be that interruption in your sleep is not the result of too much coffee or too much heavy food late in the day or the cares of life pressing in on your needed rest? Could it be that the Lord is reaching to you and nudging you awake with an invitation to come and spend time with Him? Could it be that He has a word for you? Could it be that He is hungry for fellowship with one of His children? Or do we relegate our time with Him to the 15 minutes in the morning or the evening when “we have time for Him”?
I love the night seasons, when all is quiet and I am vulnerable and hear Him speaking!
I love the quietness of the night hours; no ringing phones, no unnecessary conversation, no interruptions. It is in the night hours that I do some of my best praying, some of my best thinking…and my most intense worrying.
It has been years since I have slept through an entire night; I just don’t do that anymore. I often go to bed and sleep two or three hours and then I am awake. The worst thing for me is to just lie there and I have learned that I need to do one of a short list of things:
1. Stay in bed and pray. I know this will come as a shock to some, but sometimes I don’t want to pray—I’m not that spiritual! And so…
2. I get up and read until I get sleepy again.
3. A few times I have turned on the TV. Television is bad enough in primetime but in the middle of the night, you might do better to study the weave of your carpet.
In the quietness of the night, anxieties that we keep at bay during the day are free to run rampant in our minds. Perhaps it’s the daytime activities that keep us occupied and away from the minefields of anxiety and worry. Anxieties are often based in reality but can become overblown. In the night hours, our unrestrained minds seem to magnify the potential problem to unrealistic ends.
But it is also in the night hours that I have many of my most intimate encounters with God. The same quiet hours that find me with my guard down with the potential of anxiety overwhelming me are also the moments when I am most open to free-flowing and intensely personal encounters with our Heavenly Father.
It was in the night hours when the young boy Samuel (1 Samuel 3) heard the voice of the Lord, and at first it frightened him. The temple was quiet at night; it was never silent like that in the daytime. When Samuel heard the voice calling his name in the still of the night, at first he thought it was Eli the priest calling him and he quickly ran to him. Eli was a corrupt priest who hadn’t heard God speaking for a long time, so he didn’t make the connection with God and he sent Samuel back to his bed. It happened a second time and Eli’s response was as dull-witted the second time as it had been the first. Again, he sent the boy back to his bed. When it happened the third time, Eli realized that the boy was hearing something and maybe, just maybe, it was the voice of the Lord. Eli told Samuel, “Go back to bed and if you hear the voice again, say this, “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears” (1 Samuel 3:9).
Samuel heard the voice of the Lord say, “Samuel, Samuel!” and this time he did as Eli had told him. “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.” God then spoke a very dramatic word to Samuel about the cleansing of the priesthood in Israel and, specifically, how it would affect Eli and his corrupt family. What Samuel misunderstood as a call from his mentor, and Eli mistook as an interruption in his rest, was actually a call to an encounter with the Lord. It was Samuel’s first encounter with the Lord and the first time God had spoken to anyone in Israel in a long time. Samuel did not have the experience and understanding to initially know the voice of the Lord when he heard it. Eli’s corruption had caused him to lose his sensitivity of spiritual hearing; his disregard of the voice of the Lord in the past had caused him to treat this word of the Lord with little regard.
Could it be that interruption in your sleep is not the result of too much coffee or too much heavy food late in the day or the cares of life pressing in on your needed rest? Could it be that the Lord is reaching to you and nudging you awake with an invitation to come and spend time with Him? Could it be that He has a word for you? Could it be that He is hungry for fellowship with one of His children? Or do we relegate our time with Him to the 15 minutes in the morning or the evening when “we have time for Him”?
I love the night seasons, when all is quiet and I am vulnerable and hear Him speaking!
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