The path for your victory

In Chapter 6 of Waiting on God, Charles Stanley offers these words of support when we are especially disheartened during times of delay:

“As you submit to the Father during this difficult time, He provides for you, makes you all you need to be, bends other people’s hearts toward you, and sets the path for your victory.”

At this point, Dr. Stanley notes that we question why God doesn’t change our circumstances, allowing us to suffer and wait.  After all, we know that God is with us in our darkness and is all-powerful, but things seem to be at a stalemate.  Here we need to remember this second point as difficult times persist:  The Lord has an important purpose for the seasons of adversity you face (author’s emphasis).

Especially when we see a glimmer of hope, a way out of our land between, postponement of that hope can make a normal person question everything.  Disappointments can plunge our soul into despair.  Dr. Stanley notes that these are times when we decide whether we truly believe in the Lord or whether He’s simply an idea we cling to.

Dr. Stanley offers five reasons why the Lord allows us to experience dark times.  The first is presented today.

1.  To firmly mature and establish your trust in Him when there is no visible evidence of His activity.  As our faith progresses from little to maturing to perfect, we become confident that the Lord already has accomplished what He has promised.  The wonderful blessing we’ve eagerly anticipated will be even more meaningful because we’ve clung to Him through every trial and setback.

Today’s question: What has strengthened your trust in God during your time of adversity?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: the new Short Meditation, “My Lifesong”

The path for your victory

The darkest of times

“The Lord is near the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”- Psalm 34:18

“For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”- 1 Samuel 16:6

As Charles Stanley continues Chapter 6 of Waiting on God, he notes that when we go through extended times of waiting, we often feel “alone and utterly rejected.”  That is why it is crucial for us to remember this encouragement from Dr. Stanley as our adversity persists:

“You can be courageous because the Lord is with you in the darkest of times and will see you through this.”

Perhaps a particular failing or a seemingly insurmountable event from our past makes us think the Father couldn’t possibly love or bless us.  Scripture, however, testifies that the Father is closest to us when we feel most unworthy and defeated.

Whether we sense God’s presence or not, we must be intentional in affirming the truth that God know exactly what we are facing during our time of darkness and is walking alongside us in that darkness.  The Lord is with us, He hasn’t deserted us, and He never will forsake us.  What matter is not who or what we know, how intelligent or strong we are, or how much we’ve achieved in life.  Rather, we are powered by the Spirit of the living God in us and His active influence in our life.

Today’s question: What has enabled you to experience God’s presence in the darkest of times?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “The path for your victory”

 

The darkest of times

Courage and determination

In Chapter 6 (“Staying on Track: When the View Becomes Dark”) of Waiting on God, Charles Stanley states that it certainly is true that our wait can continue to be absolutely disheartening, especially when events don’t go our way or our burdens increase.  To our finite vision, it may appear as if the Lord never will come through for us.

When our emotions leave us raw and fragile, the smallest criticism or words of unbelief from another person may leave us reeling with hopelessness because those words confirm our worst fears rather than being a support to us.  We feel it is futile to go on and that there is little or no reason to try.  We are plunged into the darkness of despair because our problems and pressures persist.

This brings us to Dr. Stanley’s fourth and final requirement of waiting on the Lord, courage.  Dr. Stanley defines courage:

“Courage is a quality that enables us to endure suffering, danger, opposition, and the challenges of life steadfastly, fearlessly, and with confidence in God’s provision and protection.  It is this attitude of courage that is stretched and refined in these painful times.”

Joseph faced his dark time in Egypt with courage and determination, even though conditions increasingly worsened for thirteen years before God raised him up to be a great leader.  He stayed on track with God’s purposes and took hold of the truth that God would take care of him.

Today’s question: What Bible verses have bolstered your courage following your vocation loss?  Please share.

Coming Monday: the new Short Meditation, “My Lifesong”

Courage and determination

Faith, patience, and obedience

“It is resting in the Lord, in His will, His promise, His faithfulness, and His love, that makes patience easy.”- Andrew Murray

Charles Stanley concludes Chapter 5 of Waiting on God with a reminder that it is crucial we test our motives when it comes to God’s promises and while we wait for Him to answer our prayers.  The Father will not compete with any longing that replaces Him.

When we wait of God, He always will show us His grace, goodness, love, and mercy, as Dr. Stanley explains:

” . .  . delight yourself in the Lord, make His the priority of your life, wait for Him, cling to His promises, and trust Him to give you the desires of your heart. . . . He wants to fulfill them in a manner that reveals the awesome way He loves and provides for you.”

As we wait for the fulfillment of God’s promises, Dr. Stanley notes we have three responsibilities.  We must exhibit faith, patience, and obedience.

1.  Faith.  Dr. Stanley defines faith as “the confident conviction God will do as He’s promised.”  Our faith and trust in God will grow when we believe even though every earthly indication is fighting against that faith.

2. Patience.  One of the New Testament Greek words for patience is hupomone, meaning “steadfastness, constancy, and perseverance.”  It is the picture of a Christian who remains on the course Christ has set, despite all obstacles and trials.

3.  Obedience.  Whether we understand God’s direction to us or not, we must allow Him to guide us to our destination step-by-step.

Today’s question: What Bible verses have strengthened and sustained your faith, patience, and obedience?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Courage and determination”

 

Faith, patience, and obedience

Walking in obedience

Today Charles Stanley concludes his presentation of seven questions designed to give us the criteria for confidently taking hold of a promise from God.

3.  Does the fulfillment of this promise glorify Him?  God’s fulfilled promises are part of our testimony.  In this way God makes Himself known to those around us.  Our request must benefit others, honor God and fit His character, and encourage others to seek Him.

4.  Is this promise consistent with His will for your life?  If we’re walking in the center of God’s path for us, generally His assurances will support what He is calling us to accomplish.  God’s purposes for us will take precedence over our expectations of His timing and methods.  When we obey God, He assumes full responsibility for our needs.

5.  Are you walking in obedience to Him?  Willfully choosing to go outside God’s will and meet our needs on our own means we intentionally deny His power and wisdom to help us.  God won’t contribute to our disobedience.  Dr. Stanley states:

“God’s promises are meant to bolster our trust in Him, not undermine it.  He will not sanction disobedience.”

6.  Is the fulfillment of this promise in your life encouraging to others?  We’ve been able to persevere because we see how God worked through the lives of the biblical saints.  We need to be that encouragement to others.

7.  Does the Holy Spirit witness with your spirit that God is pleased?  When the Holy Spirit confirms for us that this promise is for us deep within our soul, we’ll sense profound confidence and calm in our heart.  Although we’ll still face doubts and fears, the Father will restore tranquility to our heart by reminding us of His faithfulness.

Today’s question: Which of Dr. Stanley’s seven questions resonate most with you?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Faith, patience, and obedience”

Walking in obedience

Conditional promises

As Charles Stanley continues Chapter 5 of Waiting on God, he expands his discussion of God’s general promises, subdividing them into unconditional and conditional promises.  An unconditional promise is a guarantee from the Father that has no exceptions or qualifications.  For example, as believers we are guaranteed a home in heaven.  On the other hand, a conditional promise is subject to specific requirements.  God’s assurance to forgive our sins is dependent on our confession of those sins.

Dr. Stanley notes that the majority of promises in the Bible are conditional.  There is a responsibility attached to the assurance that must be observed.  It is crucial, then, for us to ascertain whether God’s promises are limited or general, conditional or unconditional to help us understand whether specific verses are intended for us and if we’re able to meet the associated requirements.

We actively must anchor ourselves to God by claiming His Word and obeying Him.  Dr. Stanley provides seven questions to give us the criteria for confidently taking hold of a promise from God.  The first two questions are discussed today.

1.  Does this promise meet a particular need or desire the Lord wants to fulfill?  Dr. Stanley encourages us to review the promised necessities the Lord enumerates in Scripture, ask the Father for guidance, search the Scriptures, and carefully consider if the promise is one the Lord delights to fulfill.

2.  Does the context of Scripture allow it?  We need to consider to whom the promise originally  was directed and determine whether a wider application is appropriate as well as if requirements accompany the promise’s fulfillment.

Today’s question:  How have you determined the appropriateness of a specific promise to your situation?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Walking in obedience”

Conditional promises

General and limited promises

In Chapter 5 of Waiting on God, Charles Stanley next discusses how we can be sure a particular promise is for us, and how, once we identify a verse in the Bible that is meaningful for us, we can appropriate it and claim it for our own.  Dr. Stanley provides two guidelines.

1.  We must understand that not every promise of Scripture is intended for us.  Dr. Stanley categorizes God’s biblical assurances as general and limited promises.

General promises are available for any Christian who wants to claim them.  For example, in Luke 11:9-10 Jesus says: “Ask and it will be given you, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seek finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”  This is a promise we can appropriate with confidence because Jesus said we could do so.

Limited promises, Dr. Stanley states, “are given to a specific person, group, or nation, usually during an identifiable time, for a distinctive purpose that God desires to carry out.”  This can apply to us if the Lord announces to us what He will do in our life, as opposed to our finding this promise and appropriating it of our own volition.

2.  It is absolutely essential to learn how to listen to the Father and discern when His Spirit is speaking to you.  We must know with certainty that our imagination isn’t just interpreting our circumstances in a way that caters to our desires, but that the Spirit of God is revealing a biblical principle we can live by and telling us His plans for our life.

Today’s question: Who or what has been most helpful in enabling you to develop discernment?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Conditional promises”

General and limited promises