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And Handwringing Is Not a Strategy

OK, tell me if this rings a bell. You’ve gathered with the flock—whether at Sunday morning church service or your weeknight small group—and someone begins bemoaning studies about declining church attendance, the rise of “nones” (people with no specific religious identity), or some other shock journalism about Christianity in America. We shake our heads and feel bad about it, and ultimately disburse, somehow content to feel good about having felt bad. Of course, we don’t like to hear bad news, especially regarding the “good news,” but disappointing information is not an endpoint; if anything, it is a launch point into action. And handwringing is not a strategy.

When the 12 spies sent out by Moses returned from the promised land with sensationalist reports of powerful opposition and fortified cities, only two—Joshua and Caleb—renounced retreat and advocated advance: “Do not be afraid of the people of the land . . . The Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”1 When the entire Israelite army froze in fear of one Philistine warrior, Goliath, David alone “ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.”2 “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty,”3 announced the young shepherd to the arrogant adonis. What did all three—Joshua, Caleb, and David—share in common? To them, bad news was no reason for paralysis or retreat, but a stirring call to “the obedience that comes from faith.”4

Then what do we learn from these and other stalwarts, these trusting and reliable ones? To what action must we aspire?

When ministry leads you to your persecutors, like Ananias go anyway.5
Bullied when sharing the gospel, like Peter and John speak anyway.6
Before the fiercest of opposition, like Stephen stand anyway.7
Amid the most discouraging news, like a city on a hill shine anyway.8
Before your enemies who hate you, as Jesus exhorted us love anyway.9
Though we cannot see our God, in faith believe anyway.10
Though uncertain where God will lead us, like Abraham obey anyway.11

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.—Isaiah 41:10 ESV

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.—Ephesians 6:13 ESV

Father, You are stronger and wiser than any opposition or threats that can rise up against me. Strengthen me to trust and obey You, even amid opposition, for “You are my hope; Lord God, You are my confidence.”12 In Christ I pray. Amen.

1 Numbers 14:9 NIV
2 1 Samuel 17:48 NIV
3 1 Samuel 17:45 NIV
4 Romans 1:5 NIV
5 Acts 9:10-19
6 Acts 4:18-20
7 Acts 7:1-60
8 Matthew 5:14
9 Matthew 5:43-45
10 Hebrews 11:3
11 Hebrews 11:8
12 Psalm 71:5 NASB

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A Different Kind of Clutter

My wife, Peggy, gave me a wonderful present two months ago. It had been on my mind for a while, so when she asked what I wanted for Christmas, I was ready. “I’d like to go through the house together, room by room, and throw away the stuff we no longer want or will never use again,” I said. We are not packrats by any means, and our house is kept tidy. But when a family lives in the same space for 25 years and goes through several life stages in the process, stuff accumulates. In part, yesterday’s desire has become today’s clutter, so we have begun to toss it aside. And. It. Feels. So. Good.

To believers in Corinth, Paul exposed a different kind of clutter— so called “good works” originating from our own will and pursued in our own power. “No one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ,” he wrote, “Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.”1 Through metaphor and contrast, the nurturing apostle exposed a dichotomy of deeds: the throw-away kind (wood, hay, and straw) originating from our own flesh; and the firmly established type (gold, silver, and precious stones) grounded in obedience to the Spirit’s call. This is not to suggest our eternal salvation is based on the origin of our works, for Jesus himself is the unassailable foundation of all who trust in Him. Paul continues: “If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives [i.e., gold, silver, and precious stones], he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up [i.e., wood, hay, and straw], he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”2 What authority! And such grace!

We are “[God’s] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus” for a certain kind of works— the “good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”3 Long before we were even conceived, God prepared meaningful tasks for us to do. Jesus said to His disciples, “You are my friends if you do what I command,”4 and “I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.”5 These are the works of the “gold, silver, and precious stones” variety, those of deepest meaning and lasting impact. So, watch for them and listen; ready yourself in prayer and the Word to be used for eternal purposes. For when we walk in obedience and faith . . . It. Feels. So. Good.

I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”—Isaiah 6:8 ESV

Yes, Lord, today send me. Amen.

1 1 Corinthians 3:11-13 ESV
2 1 Corinthians 3:14-15 ESV
3 Ephesians 2:10 ESV
4 John 15:14 NIV
5 John 15:16 NIV

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Better Prayer

In a recent post—”Act. Trust. Rest.”—I shared this confession: “For far too long—and too much still— my conversations with God have involved more angst than seemingly they should.” Certainly, I am not alone in this regard, for believers often struggle with prayer in one way or another. So, today, let’s expose a few prayer perceptions and see what the Bible speaks to each.

Sometimes we pray as though God were fickle, waiting to hear just the right words in just the right sequence while we suffer in our need. But listen to the plain petition of Bartimaeus, shouting above the crowd: “Son of David, have mercy on me!”1 When Jesus asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” the blind man replied simply, “I want to see.”2 There was no “right formula” here, just an honest and trusting exchange. What a great model of prayer for us.

Sometimes we anxiously intercede for others, as though trying to convince God to care about them as much as we do, or to step up and match our level of compassion for them in their crisis. But God loves people far more than we do; Paul writes, “the love of Christ . . . is too great to understand fully.”3 Not only does God love suffering people more than we do, the love we have for them actually “comes from God.”4 We pray better when we pray in this understanding.

I had coffee recently with a young man who had been taught that, as an act of faith, we as God’s children must demand our desires from Him. Over the decades I’d heard others profess this theology, but such a prayer attitude actually exposes a shortage of trust in God’s wisdom and His fatherly love toward His children. So, I asked my friend, “When you are married and have a family of your own, what will you do when your four-year-old comes to you and demands you buy him the bicycle that is rightfully his as your son?” My friend laughed in concession; he got it.

Do you tend to suggest to God what He might want to do in certain situations and how He may want to go about it? Once when Samaritans didn’t welcome Jesus into their village, His disciples James and John asked Him, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?”5 Putting it mildly, this wasn’t what Jesus had in mind. Likewise, over time, I have found that God’s surprises outshine my suggestions.

Pray honestly. Pray joyfully. Just pray.

Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.”6 Guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus.7 Amen.

1 Mark 10:48 NIV
2 Mark 10:51 NIV
3 Ephesians 3:19 NLT
4 1 John 4:7 NLT
5 Luke 9:55 NIV
6 Psalm 139:4 ESV
7 Philippians 4:7