Just maybe ANSWERS are not what we NEED...

I think everyone would agree that we are living in trying times in our country. This post was hard to write and took me all day yesterday, but through prayer and seeking the Lord, this is what I know He wanted me to share with you. This is not a political post, yet we live in a time that seems to want to divide people based on a “side.” To me it is not about that, it is about where our heart rests in uncertain times.

In distressful and trying times it is in our very nature to want answers.  And, it is in our nature during these times, (maybe more so now in this social media world live in) to want to voice our opinions and try to give answers.

But just maybe answers are not what we NEED right now?

Maybe what we need right now is to look to God and acknowledge that even though we don’t understand things, we trust Him with all our heart.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

You probably already know that this is one of my favorite verses in all of the Bible. I share it a lot. But it’s because it empties us of ourselves! We can let go and give total control to the One who DOES KNOW all the answers. I don’t know about you, but that gives me great relief! I do believe those verses encourage us to look to God and His Word for discernment. I also believe we should look to history (Biblical and up to present day history) to see what we can learn that may help us and then I believe we should bring ALL OF IT to God in PRAYER for Him to show us what to do. (To make our paths straight)

When we look to the Bible and history to discern the times we are living in, that IS good.  God calls us to do just that. There are many Bible verses that speak about asking God for wisdom, discernment and understanding for the times we live in.  Why?

- To be ready to share His wisdom

- To not let history repeat itself

- To be prepared for what is to come

- To abound in love more and more

- To be filled with the fruit of the Spirit

Luke 12:56 admonishes us to do just that.  “You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”

Philippians 1:9-11 says this: “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,  filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

These verses admonish us to discern our present days, approve was is GOOD in the eyes of the Lord and be filled with the Holy Spirit, so that others will see Christ and glorify God.

So how do we do that? When most of our lives are spent doing other things… not really discerning and thinking of God’s love for us or others?

Well, I believe God uses people and circumstances to wake us up, to rebuke us… yes REBUKE us, and to change our direction.

Let me touch on rebuking for a second... because it is not a bad thing if done in the right spirit. Know that when someone rebukes you it is because they love you enough to want to see change in your life for good.  Think of a parent/child relationship.  When God rebukes us (or uses someone in our lives to rebuke us) it is because He loves us and He desires change in us.  He wants to redirect us back to His will. He has done this throughout the Bible and throughout history, but I’m going to share the story from Haggai 1 as an example.

The Israelites were supposed to be rebuilding the Temple at this time.  But they let it go.  The excitement and joy they had after they were freed from captivity waned.  Because of opposition and time, they chose not to rebuild the temple and they became complacent.  They started to live for themselves instead of for God.  They lived for their own interests  instead of as the chosen people of God, giving God the glory for all that He had done in their lives. And so after some time, in God’s love for them, He sent Haggai the prophet to them…

“To Consider Their Ways…”

“Thus says the LORD of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD.”  Then the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet,  “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?  Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways.” Haggai 1:2-5

God was calling them to “Consider their ways,” and maybe we should do the same… because maybe we are doing the same things they were doing?

- They got into habits that lead them further and further away from God’s Will.

- They lost their “first love” and became complacent.

- They forgot what God did for them (their history of captivity and freedom) and justified their ways (building houses for themselves with the wood that was meant for the Temple of God)

- They became comfortable and didn’t want to rise up and do what God was calling them to do… maybe because it was HARD and they didn’t want to be uncomfortable?

- The lost their respect for God and His authority and in turn they lost respect for others.

- They were not being the Church.  They were not being a light to the world around them… sharing the HOPE of God to the world around them. Sharing what God did for them!

How were their decisions working out for them?  Well you can read on to see… not so good.

So let’s look at their history.  The people of Israel were in captivity for many years.  All their freedoms were taken away.  Horrible things happened.  And they prayed and prayed for God to save them.  And He did…. in AMAZING ways. Miracles happened many times over.  It was all meant to change them, bring them back to their first love, make them a mighty nation under God.   

But they got complacent and forgot all what God had done.  Boy we can be so quick to forget, just like they did.  So fast to rely on ourselves and not think of God or others.  So forgetful of what God had done in our lives and what He is calling us to do.  Or maybe it just becomes easier and easier to not listen to Gods Truths and obey His Word.  It’s why I always encourage you to share what God has done in your life. We need to share our testimonies so the world will see what a wonderful God we serve!

So they forgot and they strayed from Him.

But God… (and I love this part because I believe He is doing this for YOU and I too!)

He sends Haggai in to remind them and correct them and admonish them to get back on the right path.  And then in verse 13 it says: “Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord’s message: “I am with you, declared the Lord.”

And guess what… they got back up, did the HARD THINGS and built the Temple! And God was with them in it.

We need to wake up, get up and be the Church friends! The church is not a building by the way… it is those who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. 

So what is the church called to do?  

Be the “salt and light of the world.”

What does that entail?

Let’s listen to Jesus talking about this in Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Every Christian is called to be an influence on the world around them, to the glory of God.  Wow, did you hear that? THAT is our calling, our biggest purpose in life!

But how do we do this in this upside down world we live in? What does “Salt & Light” really mean?

What does salt do?  Salt enhances flavor, and it also is used to be a preservative. So to “be salt” to the world means to share the truth and power of God’s saving grace with others. Enhance someone’s life with the GOOD NEWS of the gospel! But we are also called to speak the truth about the evil that has/is corrupting this world and that’s a bit harder, right?  Because we like our safe houses and we want to keep our lives comfortable and we don’t like others to come back at us.  But by the guidance of the Holy Spirit we get to show them the hope and unconditional love they can have in a relationships with Jesus Christ! That is exciting!

What does light do?  Well, light in the Bible is a symbol of the goodness of God.  His holiness, His goodness, His knowledge, wisdom, and grace.  So to “be a light” in this world is to be a witness to others and share all of this with them!  To be a light in the darkness and share the truths of God’s Word, even when it goes against the world.  To shine a light on Jesus and point others to Him.  To speak God’s truths IN LOVE, to a world that needs to hear it.  That is our calling.

And as I am learning, and making mistakes too… we can’t be the salt and light of this world if we are not rooted in Christ.  If we don’t have God’s truths written on our hearts.  We may not want to hear this, but if we don’t speak up for His truths in an evil world, then our salt is loosing it’s saltiness and our light is being hidden under a table.  It’s really the heart of it. It’s why the Lord put on my heart this word ROOTED and I am going in-depth into this word and writing a Bible Study on it this year to share with you.

We are called to be the church.  It is time.  2020 woke us up to just how much we all need Jesus in our lives.  It shocked us awake to realize how we thought we were in control, but that was just a silly game we played with ourselves.  It also woke us up to how far we and this world has strayed from placing God at the center of our lives.

I’m not going to tell you this is going to be easy. We will get it wrong, we will do and say things we shouldn’t. The world will find every reason to mock us or “cancel” us. And YES, it will be uncomfortable to speak Gods truths from His Word to a world that doesn’t want to hear it and most likely doesn’t even believe it.  But kindness, respect and GRACE have to be RENEWED in our lives first!   It needs to start with us. We need the Fruit of the Spirit to guide our lives, otherwise how is the world going to know what it looks like? (Galatians 5:22-23)

When we can’t even have dialogue between people of faith, and have respect for each other at the basic level, it’s a problem that needs fixing before it gets out of hand. We need a Haggai to come and tell us to “Consider our ways.” We need to look into our hearts and minds and ask God to change us and take from us the things that are hindering us from being the Salt & Light to this world! We already know the world is censoring free speech in shocking ways and it’s not that far off to see this world repeating history in the most horrible of ways. So PLEASE don’t buy into this “cancel culture” thing.  We can’t live like the world and just “cancel” someone if we don’t like (or agree) with what someone else says. Do we realize how very dangerous that mentality is? Where is the grace of God in that?

This is all so hard for me to say, but I can’t sit in my home and not share my heart when I see all of this happening before my eyes. I needed to wake up to all of this too, so I’m speaking from my own opened eyes. And I will always try to speak truth in love and share the hope of Jesus. Because He IS the only hope we have!

So here’s a little bit more “truth in love”… and John 10 says it best. I’d encourage everyone to read this chapter today, but John 10:10 gets to the heart of it all: “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” I said it before and will say it again.  We do not fight against flesh and blood… (aka we are not fighting against each other friends).  There is an enemy whose name IS evil and he seeks to steal, kill and destroy.  And let me add that he is working overtime because He knows his time is coming to an end and he is accusing the brethren day and night. (Revelations 12:10)

But don’t miss the GOOD NEWS: Jesus came so that we may have LIFE and life abundantly!

- A life that puts God #1 in our lives.  

- A life that starts with obedience to Him

- A life that when we take a step out in faith and obey, God is WITH US.

- A life that is equipped to accomplish God’s will in our lives!

- A life that allows us to enjoy the blessings that come from walking with Jesus.

The Lord brought Haggai to the Israelites.  To wake them up, to show them the error of their ways, to set them on the right path and to help them see the truth.  

This should give us HOPE. God doesn’t just show us our problems and then leave.  He supplies all our needs AND brings the remedy!  He equips us to do what He wants us to do. He always has and always will.

Let's continue to pray for God’s truth to be revealed. For the evil in this world to be thwarted and for God to show mercy on our country. Let’s choose to love and pray for those we disagree with.  Let’s continue to pray for His love and power to fill our lives and help us to do His will in this world while we have time left. Let’s show Christ in our life through our words and actions.

So just maybe answers are NOT the answer.

Maybe sitting at the feet of Jesus, making Him the priority in our lives and finding peace in His presence IS.  

Maybe as followers of Jesus, the fruit of the Spirit in our lives will shine that light in this dark world and it will encourage others to find their HOPE in Jesus too.

I love you all.

P.S. Here’s a simple way to begin:

Spend time in God’s Word. Start each day out with a Psalm. Start with Psalm 1 tomorrow and continue through. 
Listen to worship music in your car and in your home.
Start each day and end each day in prayer.
Let your heart and mind be focused on the right things.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Philippians 4:8

I know it will bless you.