The faith for desperate days!

The Bible is full of such days!!
Its record is made up of them!
Its songs are inspired by them!
Its prophecy is concerned with them!

And its revelation has come through them.

The desperate days are the stepping-stones in the path of light!
They seem to have been God’s opportunity and man’s school of wisdom.

There is a story of an Old Testament love feast in Psalm 107.
And in every story of deliverance the point of desperation gave God His chance.

The “wit’s end” of desperation was the beginning of the power of God!
Recall the promise of seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sands of the sea, to a couple as good as dead.

Read again the story of the Red Sea and its deliverance, and of Jordan with its ark standing mid-stream.

Study once more the prayers of Asa, Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah, when they were sore pressed and knew not what to do.

Go over the history of Nehemiah, Daniel, Hosea, and Habakkuk.
Stand with awe in the darkness of Gethsemane, and linger by the grave in Joseph’s garden through those terrible days.

Call the witnesses of the early Church, and ask the apostles the story of their desperate days.
Desperation is better than despair!

Faith did not make our desperate days.
Its work is to sustain and solve them.

The only alternative to a desperate faith is despair, and faith holds on and prevails.

There is no more heroic example of desperate faith than that of the three Hebrew children.

The situation was desperate, but they answered bravely, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace; and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up (Dan 3:16-18).

I like that: “but if not !”
I have only space to mention Gethsemane.

Ponder deeply its “Nevertheless.”
” If it is possible…nevertheless!” (Matt 26:39).

Deep darkness had settled upon the soul of our Lord.
Trust meant anguish unto blood and darkness to the descent of hell–

Nevertheless! Nevertheless!!
Now get your hymn book and sing your favourite hymn of desperate faith.
“When obstacles and trials seem like prison walls to be,
I do the little I can do and leave the rest to Thee.
And when there seems no chance, no change, from grief can set me free,
Hope finds its strength in helplessness, and calmly waits for Thee.”

(PR)

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When you encounter suffering –
Here are three reactions you need to have…

First, you are to rejoice!
“But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed” (1 Peter 4:13).

“Consider it pure joy…whenever you face trials of many kinds…” (James 1:2).

Second, you need to review!! Review your life. Read 1 Peter 4:17-18. Am I suffering because of something I have done? If the Holy Spirit convicts you that your suffering is a result of your sin, then you need to repent. God takes us into deep waters, not to drown us but to cleanse us.

Third, you must rely!!!
When you review your life and discover that your suffering is for the cause of Christ, then simply rely on Him.

“Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator” (1 Peter 4:19).

It is not your problem. It is His project! In 1 Peter 4:19 we see the word “commit.” That is a banking term which means to put something with someone else for safe deposit.

He will take care of you; you can bank on it.

(PR)

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“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” (James 1:2-3). 

It’s tough to be enthusiastic about going through tests and trials. But can you get excited about being totally supplied in every way, in want of nothing?

According to the Word of God, if you’ll use your trials to develop patience, you’re going to be in precisely that position!

Patience doesn’t mean what you thought it meant. It does not mean settling sweetly for second best. It does not mean standing meekly by while the devil romps all over you.

Patience is a powerful word! The Greek of it is “to be consistently constant or to be the same way all the time, regardless of what happens.”

To understand how much power is involved in that, you have to realize that it’s one of the most outstanding attributes of God Himself. The Bible says He’s the same yesterday, today and forever.

The person who cannot be changed by anyone or anything is an extremely powerful fellow, wouldn’t you say? Obviously, God has that much power.
You know what? You do too!

By the power of the Holy Spirit working within you, you can be the same every day no matter what happens. If you’ll put your trust in the Word of God and let patience go to work, it won’t matter what happens.

Faith produces patience! Patience produces power!! You won’t ever have to accept anything less than victory again!

(PR)

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What do you do when you cry out to God and there is no answer? Or at least you can’t hear it? What do you do when heaven is silent?

This happened to David! He kept crying out to God, “Do not keep silent, O God of my praise!” (Psalm 109:1).

David was being attacked by the wicked-
-a frequent occurrence in his life. David wanted to see the wicked judged because they were attacking the people of God, the ones from whom God’s Word and His Son would come.

Why is God silent at times? It may be because
– We are not receptive! Or we don’t want to listen.

Evangelist Billy Sunday used to say that a sinner can’t find God for the same reason a criminal can’t find a policeman-
-he’s not looking. Sin makes us turn a deaf ear to God. When Adam and Eve heard the voice of God in the Garden of Eden, they ran and hid. Children often do that when they disobey. We are not ready! He wants to talk to us about something, but we aren’t ready.

Our attention is diverted towards things and thrills! We have to go through refining trials to make us ready to listen. We are rebellious! He is always ready to show us His will!

But He shows His will only to those who really want to do it. Jesus said in John 7:17:”If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine.”

Obedient people always hear the voice of God. We are to be reminded!
-Of the importance of silence, the importance of waiting on Him. Waiting helps remind us of God’s sovereignty!

The silence of the Sovereign is one of the difficult tests of faith.
What should you do when He is silent?

Remember His faithfulness and past blessings.

Rest assured on what He has already promised you.

Relax today and every day trusting Him and wait. You will hear the voice of God again!

“…He will quiet you with his love…’ (Zeph.3:17).

(PR)

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“And there arose a great storm” (Mark 4:37).

Some of the storms of life come suddenly! A great sorrow, a bitter disappointment, a crushing defeat.

Some come slowly!! They appear upon the ragged edges of the horizon no larger than a man’s hand, but, trouble that seems so insignificant spreads until it covers the sky and overwhelms us.

Yet it is in the storm that God equips us for service! When God wants an oak He plants it on the moor where the storms will shake it and the rains will beat down upon it, and it is in the midnight battle with elements that the oak wins its rugged fibre and becomes the king of the forest.

When God wants to make a man He puts him into some storm! The history of manhood is always rough and rugged. No man is made until he has been out into the surge of the storm and found the sublime fulfillment of the prayer: “O God, take me, break me, make me.”

A Frenchman has painted a picture of “The Storm.” There stand orators, philosophers and martyrs –
-all who have achieved pre-eminence in any phase of life!

The remarkable fact about the picture is this: Every man who is pre-eminent for his ability was first pre-eminent for suffering.

In the foreground stands that figure of the man who was denied the promised land, Moses.

Beside him is another, feeling his way-
-blind Homer.

Milton is there, blind and heart-broken.

Now comes the form of one who towers above them all. What is His characteristic? His Face is marred more than any man’s. The beauties of nature come after the storm. The rugged beauty of the mountain is born in a storm! And the heroes of life are the storm-swept and the battle-scarred. You have been in the storms and swept by the blasts.

Have they left you –
– broken, weary, beaten in the valley? Or
– Have they lifted you –
– to the sunlit summits of a richer, deeper, more abiding maturity? The storm is only for a time being!

Just wait for His Words: “Peace, be still!” Soon
– You will see the silence of the storm!

(PR)

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We read in the book of Samuel that the moment that David was crowned at Hebron
– “All the Philistines came up to seek David” (2 Samuel 5:17).

The moment we get anything from the Lord worth contending for –
– then the devil comes to seek us.

When the enemy meets us at the threshold of any great work for God, let us accept it as “a token of salvation,” and claim double blessing, victory, and power.

Power is developed by resistance. The cannon carries twice as far because the exploding power has to find its way through resistance. The way electricity is produced in the powerhouse yonder is by the sharp friction of the revolving wheels.

And so we shall find some day that even Satan has been one of God’s agencies of blessing. Tribulation is the way to triumph! The valley-way opens into the highway.

Tribulation’s imprint is on all great things. Crowns are cast in crucibles! Chains of character that wind about the feet of God are forged in earthly flames. No man is greatest victor till he has trodden the winepress of woe.

With seams of anguish deep in His brow, the “Man of Sorrows” said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation”-
-but after this sob comes the psalm of promise, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Scars are the price of scepters! Bloodmarks stain the steps that lead to thrones. Our crowns will be wrested from the giants we conquer. Grief has always been the lot of greatness.

Tribulation has always marked the trail of the true reformer! It is the story of Paul, Luther, Savonarola, Knox, Wesley…. And all the rest of the mighty army! They came through great tribulation to their place of power. It is an open secret! Every great book has been written with the author’s blood!

“These are they that have come out of great tribulation.”

Who wrote the fadeless dream of “Pilgrim’s Progress”? A prince in royal purple upon a couch of comfort? No! The trailing splendor of that vision gilded the dingy walls of old Bedford jail while John Bunyan, a princely prisoner, a glorious genius, made a faithful transcript of the scene.

“But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24).

(PR)

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“Set me free from my prison” (Psalm 142:7).

The heading given to this psalm by the ancient scribes invites us to think of David, falsely accused, on the run, hiding in a cave (1 Sam. 22:1).
We might also think of Paul in Ephesus (and quite possibly in prison), “under great pressure,” feeling he had received “a sentence of death,” forced to rely on “God who raises the dead” (2 Cor 1:8-11).

Our prisons may be literal, economic or a depressive state of mind in which it seems that everyone is against us and no one cares. If that is what we face or feel, we need to see that the psalmist did not stay in prison. He reached a point where he was able to declare: “You are … my portion” (v 5).

These words recall the tradition that the Levites who served the tabernacle received no share when the land was divided (Num 18:20). Instead God said to them, “I am your portion.” How
does the psalmist move-
– from “prison” to “portion”?

Through this prayer!
If we read the psalm 142 in three sections, vs. 1-3a, 3b-5 and 6,7:
– we will notice that each section begins with a description of the psalmist’s plight and ends with an expression of confidence! This surely is what it means to wrestle in prayer. Pouring out complaint gives way to the realization that God knows my way. The feeling that no one cares gives way to the conviction that God is both refuge and portion. Desperate need is replaced by the expectation of deliverance!

Is there any “prison” from which you need to be released?
– A debt, disease, depression, den of lions, demonic habit or an actual prison?
If so –

Use this psalm 147 as a model for “wrestling” with God in prayer!
May the Lord set you free from that prison! And grant you His glorious freedom and portion!! Any you will be filled with His praises!!!

(PR)

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When the weather is wonderful, temperatures are pleasant, and a gentle breeze blows, people will sing: “This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

But-
When the weather is horrible, temperatures are at the extremes, and perhaps the wind is a gale force, people aren’t as likely to sing.

Yet-
God makes both kinds of days! We need to remember that God is good all the time. His goodness is not dependent on how much we like our current situation! That must have been Jeremiah’s perspective.

At a time when his soul was “downcast” within him-
– he could look beyond the immediate to the eternal! (Lamentation 3:20).

Rather than allowing his circumstances to drag him down-
– he focused his attention on God’s faithfulness and said, “I have hope” (v. 21).

You probably know the next verse: “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (v. 22).

It’s easy to sing the hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” when things are going well!

Yet-
– the verses from which that theme is taken do not come from a time of smooth sailing for the prophet.

Instead, it was a time of extreme difficulty. Jeremiah knew that God is good all the time!  And that even in the worst of times He is faithful.

Even when life looks hopeless-
Remember that looks can be deceiving. Hope in the ever-faithful God.

Ask God today to help you be a person of hope.
Don’t let the immediate cloud your view of the eternal. Hope in the ever-faithful God!

Read Lamentation 3:19-26

(PR)

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Paul exhorted the Christians at Ephesus to “put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11).

Satan usually uses one or more of these three strategies.

Discourage You from Worshipping God!
Discouragement was Satan’s primary strategy against God’s servant Job. But when Satan had hit Job as hard as he possibly could, this servant of the most High God cried out, “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him” (Job 13:15).

I imagine at that moment the heavenly audience gasped in amazement of not only a creature who could endure such pain, but of a God who could command such devotion.

Distract You from Serving God!!
If Satan cannot persuade you to reject God, the next best thing is to distract you so that you ignore God. The adversary’s goal is to create as much distance as possible between you and your Creator. While overt disobedience is one way to create a wedge between God and us, Satan does not always have to resort to such obvious strategies.

Many times he can achieve the same result simply by distracting us from our relationship with God through what a previous generation of Christians called “worldliness,” – a preoccupation with the delights and details of living in this world.

Deceive you into Disobeying God!!!
“Disobey God and your deepest desires will be fulfilled” Satan promised the first woman, just as he promises us today. What the tempter fails to disclose with his offer is that instead of satisfying our cravings, sin only increases those cravings until we are consumed and destroyed by our own desires.

The spiritual battle in which you are engaged is real. This invisible war is the reality behind most of the conflicts you confront every day. But there is no need to panic. God has provided you with every resource you need to overcome your already-defeated adversary. It’s time to wake up!

Put on the full armor of God. Stand firm against the schemes of the devil!

(PR)

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God sometimes leads us into difficult situations-
– for our good and His glory! Keep it in mind as you look of the account of Jesus calming the storm.

He had put His disciples “in harm’s way,” so to speak. Jesus instructed them to go to the other side of the lake. Did He know there was a storm coming? Of course He did. It was a part of the day’s curriculum!

The disciples’ reaction was normal. They despaired. “We’re going to drown!” they cried.

Sometimes the storms of life fill us with despair as well.

It was then that Jesus demonstrated His power. He said, “Quiet! Be still!” (Mark 4:39). He has the power to calm the storms. Because He is the
– Creator, controller and caretaker! He stops the sun! And stills the sea!!

The result was a sense of awe on the part of the disciples. What Jesus had just done helped develop their faith- – as they began to see Him as more than a man. He is the God-man whom the winds and the waves obey.

It is the same for us at times! God deliberately leads us into difficult situations. We may despair, but it is in the storms that He can demonstrate His power. Our faith is strengthened as we see Jesus working in our lives through our difficulties.

Ask God to help you learn the lessons He has for you,
– even the ones taught through difficult situations.

(PR)

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