Help Your Heart

Words of LIFE Weekly Devotional

Help Your Heart

Don Colbert, MD

Reframing your thoughts can have a very real effect on your body, beginning with your heart. The heart, unlike your other major organs, has an extensive communications system with the brain and exerts a unique and far-reaching influence on your emotions and body. The heart is much more than a pump; it also functions as a hormonal gland, a sensory organ, and an information-encoding and -processing center. The heart also contains approximately forty thousand neurons or nerve cells. With every beat, the heart transmits complex patterns of neurological, hormonal, pressure, and electromagnetic information to the brain and throughout the body that play a major part in determining your emotions or how you feel.

Your heartbeat is not monotonously regular, but it varies from moment to moment. Heart rate variability is the measure of the beat-to-beat changes in heart rate as the heart speeds up and slows down in different patterns. These changes are especially influenced by a person's emotions and attitudes. When you experience stress and negative emotions such as anger, frustration, fear, and anxiety, your heart rate variability pattern becomes more erratic and disordered, and it sends chaotic signals to the brain. This causes your system to get "out of sync." The result is excessive stress with toxic emotions, energy drain, and added wear and tear on your mind and body. In contrast, sustained positive emotions such as appreciation, love, joy, and compassion, are associated with highly ordered patterns on the heart rate variability tracing and a significant reduction of stress.

In other words, toxic emotions such as anger, resentment, fear, anxiety, grief, and depression create excessive stress, whereas positive emotions such as gratitude, joy, love, and peace actually relieve stress. This can now be measured by an instrument called "heart rate variability."

The heart has a magnetic field that is approximately five thousand times stronger than the brain and an electrical field that is forty to sixty times stronger than the brain. To illustrate this point, consider this story.

Christian Huygens was a seventeenth-century clockmaker who invented the pendulum clock. One night, while lying in bed admiring his clock collection, he noticed that all his pendulum clocks were swinging in unison with one another. He knew he didn’t set them that way, so he got out of bed and reset all the pendulums so that they were all out of sync with one another. However, after a short period of time all the pendulum clocks were back swinging in unison with one another. He never understood why. Years later it was discovered that the large clock with the strongest rhythm was able to pull all other nearby pendulums in sync with itself. This is called entrainment.

The largest clock pendulum with the strongest rhythm pulls all the nearby pendulums in sync with itself. The heart, by practicing gratitude and thanksgiving, is able, with its powerful magnetic field five thousand times stronger than the brain, to hijack the very thoughts of the brain and bring them into the pendulum motion of gratitude instead of the brain’s programmed emotions of fear, worry, anger, bitterness, grief, depression, and so on. That is why Proverbs 4:23 instructs us to keep our heart with all diligence, for out of it flow the issues of life. If we keep gratitude, peace, joy, and love in our heart, then it is able to control the brain, and gratitude, peace, joy, and love will flow out of our mouths.

Watch Dr. Don Colbert this week and next week on LIFE TODAY. This is an excerpt from The 7 Pillars Of Health by Don Colbert, MD. Copyright ©2007 by Don Colbert, MD. Published by Siloam.

Learning How To Walk In Faith

When I Fall Down

Mary Southerland

Today's Truth
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’ (Psalm 91:1-2, NIV)

Friend to Friend
I had forgotten just how amazing the process of learning to walk really is until our youngest grandchild recently reminded me. Justus was a speed crawler who could scoot along the floor almost as fast as I could walk and seemed content to explore the bottom of tables and chairs, play with doorstops or inspect flecks of lint, food crumbs and the floor at close range. For the first twelve months of his life, that was enough.

However, the day came when he was no longer satisfied to explore his world from the vantage point of his two little hands and knees and began pulling up on various pieces of furniture. Evidently he liked what he saw because he soon grew tired of just being upright and quickly graduated to the "One Step" method of walking.

Throughout the day, Justus repeatedly and carefully pulled himself up on the living room sofa. Next came the toddler shuffle as he tentatively positioned his stout and very determined little thirteen-month-old body between the sofa and loveseat. Pausing to catch his breath and gather his courage, Justus longingly stared at his goal, the armrest of the loveseat. His big brown eyes seemed to measure the size of the step he would have to take in order to reach his final destination and thus, master that long-held toddler tradition of cruising the furniture.

Eventually, he would let go of the sofa cushion, take "a step" and quickly grab hold of the loveseat. Most of the time, this brave little man then looked over his shoulder at whoever happened to be watching, a huge grin lighting up his face and the room. That was the cue for applause. And believe me, we always applauded. Yes, the "One Step" method of walking served Justus well - until he decided that what he wanted was not anywhere near the sofa or loveseat - and a new strategy was required.

I can imagine his little heart beating with excitement and fear as he realized the profound ramifications of his next move. He had to completely let go of that sofa and loveseat and walk where he had never been - into thin air - with no safety net.

And then it happened. Justus let go and took a step ... then another and another! We held our breath as we watched this special little boy actually walk for the very first time in his life. When he wobbled and fell to the floor, our daughter instinctively reached out to catch her precious child. He didn't see her at first, but when he looked up ... there she was. She had been nearby, watching the whole time. Justus looked into her eyes. Danna squealed with joy, grabbed Justus in a fierce hug and twirled him around the room, laughing and yelling, "Good job! You did it! You walked, honey!" My husband and I joined in the celebration, clapping and cheering along with our daughter. Justus decided that his accomplishment must be worthy of praise and he began to clap as well. In fact, he was so excited that he fell to the floor, kicking, laughing and clapping.  It was both hilarious and profound.

Have you ever felt like you have taken the step God wanted you to take only to find yourself dangling in thin air with no safety net in sight? I have. I don't like it. I want to know what is just ahead and see what is around the next corner of life. It frightens me to take risks. I wonder if God will really be there and come through for me the way He says He will in the Bible. Can I really do what God is asking me to do? Will He be pleased by my seemingly insignificant step of faith? And what happens if I fall? Falling is painful and something I try to avoid whenever possible.

I have great news for you, girlfriend! God is near. His eyes are set on you and His heart delights in your very existence as His daughter. If you listen carefully, you just might hear Him applauding that one tiny step of faith you were willing to take as you walked straight through your fear. God is fully aware of where you are and what you need. Heaven is not in a panic. And when you fall, you can rest assured your Father will be there to hold you in His arms of love and strengthen you for every step of your journey.

Let's Pray
Lord Jesus, I want to see and know You as the loving and caring Father that You are. Thank You for Your faithfulness in my life. I praise You for Your unconditional love that gives me hope when life looks hopeless. Thank You for never leaving me to live in my own strength. Today, I celebrate the truth that I am Your child and when I fall, You will be there.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.

Now It's Your Turn
What step of faith do you need to take today? Create an acrostic using the word, trust. For example:

T  tearing down walls of fear and doubt

R  remembering God is able

U  using His strength

S  stepping out in faith

T  trusting Him

Email your acrostic to me or post it on my Facebook page as an encouragement to others.
More from the Girlfriends

Need help finding God’s plan for your life? Check out Mary’s new E-Book Bible Study, It’s Never Too Late to Be Great. And be sure to check out Mary’s NEW weekly Online Bible Study, From a Mess to a Miracle, beginning July 8. Enroll now and have access to all 2013 lessons.

Seeking God?
Click here to find out more about
how to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Girlfriends in God
P.O. Box 725
Matthews, NC 28106
info@girlfriendsingod.com
www.girlfriendsingod.com

Becoming a Person of Mercy

Becoming a Person of Mercy

Bayless Conley

Luke 6:38 tells us,

"Give, and it will be given to you:  good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.  For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

It is not unusual to hear this verse used in connection with giving money to the Lord's work.  And while there is a principle concerning money embedded in this verse, Jesus was not talking about giving an offering when He made this statement.  That was not the subject under discussion.

In order to understand what He was really talking about, you need to read verses 35-37,

"But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.  For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.  Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.  Judge not, and you shall not be judged.  Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven."

Jesus wanted to impress on us this truth:  If you give forgiveness, and you give love, and you give mercy, they come back to you in good measure, pressed down, shaken together. 

He wanted us to understand that by the same measure you and I give these things, it will come back to us.  But if you and I measure out judgment and condemnation, guess what gets measured back to us?

Make a commitment today to become a person of mercy, not seeking anything in return.  Become known as someone who reflects our God of mercy to a broken and needy world. 

Visit the Answers with Bayless Conley website for more ways to Connect with God 

Beth Moore: Lucifer's Entitlement (James Robison / LIFE Today)

Worry Empties Today Of It's Strength

You Really Don’t Have to Worry

Mary Southerland

Today’s Truth
Never worry about anything. But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks (Philippians 4:6, GW).

Friend to Friend
History tells us that some Indian tribes tortured and killed their enemies by staking them to the ground. They then took a wet leather strap and placed it around the neck of their enemy. As the leather strap slowly dried in the blazing desert sun, it would gradually cut off the air supply until their enemy finally choked to death. Worry does the same thing. “Worry” literally means “to be pulled in different directions.” The old English root from which we get our word “worry” means “to strangle.” Worry literally strangles our peace and weakens our faith.

Worry is a control issue.

Worry is wasted energy.

Worry is consuming and unhealthy.

Worry is a joy thief.

Worry is the interest that we pay today on tomorrow’s problems.

Worry is practicing atheism.

Worry makes everything seem bigger than it really is.

When we choose to trust God, we are choosing against worry. In Isaiah 26:3, Isaiah voices a powerful prayer of faith that should be our prayer as well. “You, Lord, give true peace. You give peace to those who depend on you. You give peace to those who trust you.” It is simple. God rewards our trust with His peace.

I saw a bumper sticker that read “Worry is the darkroom in which negatives are developed.”  How true! I can only imagine what it does to the heart of God to see His children caught in the trap of negative attitudes when His plan is a peaceful mind-set. We will never live in freedom and power until we consistently choose against worry and deliberately choose to trust God alone. 

It is possible not to worry. It must be. God never asks us to do anything that He doesn’t empower us to do. The problem is that we like to play God in our lives. Playing God is the root of worry. When we take life into our own hands, worry will always be the result. The apostle Paul certainly had plenty of reasons to worry. He was in jail, facing a trial and an almost certain execution. Paul’s health was failing rapidly and the churches he had spent his whole life building were struggling to survive. Yet, Paul refused to worry and lived a life marked by peace. We can, too.   

Paul gives us the formula for eliminating worry and establishing peace when he writes “in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks.” In this verse, “prayers” are thoughts spoken to God while “requests” are specific needs presented to God. In other words, if it is big enough to concern us, it is big enough to concern God. Then why do we get serious about prayer only as a last resort instead of making prayer our first response? We have forgotten that aside from God’s power, we are helpless and lost. Peace comes while we are on our knees before Him in prayerful dependence. Paul reminds us that we are to pray about everything. Prayer should be a habit instead of a last-ditch effort.

Notice that Paul says if we want to experience peace, we must give thanks while we are praying, the perfect picture of praying in faith. To pray in faith is to believe that God not only can answer or will answer prayer, but that He is answering even as we pray.
The story is told of a small town in west Texas that was experiencing a severe drought. One Sunday morning, a pastor in that town announced there would be a prayer meeting that night and encouraged every member to meet at the church to pray for rain. The pastor challenged them to come in faith, believing that God would hear and answer their prayer. That night, the church was filled with every leader of the church and community. The preacher stood, looked out over the crowd and said “Only one of you has come in faith.” He then pointed to a little girl seated in the front row. She was holding an umbrella. Faith eliminates worry and feeds peace.

Let’s Pray
Father, I come to You today with a sense of helplessness. I am desperate for You, Lord. I need Your strength and power to sustain me because everything seems to be falling apart. I want to be a woman of faith and stand strong when trouble bombards my life but I cannot do it alone. I am afraid and seem to worry about everything. Today, I turn to You and celebrate the truth that You will turn to me and be my refuge.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

Now It’s Your Turn
Look back over your life. When did God take something bad and bring good out of it? Describe that experience. Remember the truth that God is the same yesterday, today and forever and what He did in your past … He can do today and tomorrow. He is faithful – even when we are faithless.

Read and memorize Psalm 59:16. Choose to sing a new song of praise – no matter what happens today. Record this verse on an index card and keep it with you. When fear and doubt come, meet them with this powerful promise from God.

More from the Girlfriends
Need help dealing with worry? Get Mary’s E-Book Bible Study, Getting a Grip on Fear, for practical ways to deal with fear and worry in your life. And be sure to check out Mary’s new weekly Online Bible Study, From a Mess to a Miracle, beginning July 8. Enroll now and have access to all 2013 lessons. And be sure to connect with Mary on Facebook or through email.

Seeking God?
Click here to find out more about
how to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Girlfriends in God
P.O. Box 725
Matthews, NC 28106
info@girlfriendsingod.com
www.girlfriendsingod.com

What is the Adversary's Role in our sufferings?

What Is the Adversary's Role in our sufferings?

Dr. Jack Van  Impe

When affliction, suffering, or trouble strikes, it is not unusual for those afflicted, or for family members and friends, to suggest that the devil is to blame. We want to affix blame, if not on the devil, then on God or maybe on the one who is suffering. Surely there is a cause, a reason for all this.

We've briefly examined events in the lives of Adam and Eve, Job, and the apostle Paul, and we have, in fact, seen that the devil did have his hand in bringing suffering and trouble into their lives. Remember Paul's comment that his thorn in the flesh was the messenger of Satan to buffet him (see 2 Corinthians 12:7)?

One man, a failed-suicide, expressed the belief that the devil was responsible for his giving in to the urge to do away with himself. He said he felt like a pawn in a chess game going on between God and the devil. He felt he was being manipulated by both sides. This man's life was spared when a friend came to him before the overdosed medicine could do its deadly work. God, in His mercy, affected that rescue. There is much in Scripture which teaches that God's sovereign will in the affairs of men and nations will be accomplished. Here are just a few examples:

A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps (Proverbs 16:9).

We . . . being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will (Ephesians 1:11).

The devil is an adversary, and his many schemes to disturb the Christian's peace and bring unhappiness and suffering upon mankind have been with us since the Fall. However, we must recognize the clear teaching of the Bible that God both orders and controls all things. Satan does not always win. We are told in 1 Corinthians 15:26 that, The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Satan won a real victory in his temptation of Adam and Eve. They fell into his trap just as many people still do today in so many different ways. Yet, we Christians must recognize that Isaiah 25:8 is also in the Bible when we are confronted with this final blow of the enemy. It is a strong promise that provides sure footing for those who are trusting in God's sovereignty:
He [the Lord] will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.

Death is an enemy. Suffering and affliction often precede this enemy. This is all a part of the strategic battle plan between Satan and God, but the final victory for the Christian is God's. His solution to the thorns in the flesh and to death is to usher us into His presence in His own good time. And when that moment comes, the prophet Isaiah wrote, And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation (Isaiah 25:9).

Those Unfathomable "Secret Things"

I do not pretend to understand why God didn't stamp out the devil in the Garden of Eden nor why in God's sovereignty some of the choicest saints, it appears, suffer so greatly. I know of a 65-year-old single woman, an "unclaimed blessing;" who worked hard and supported herself all her life. She was never a burden to others. She finally decided to retire and was looking forward to moving into a small new apartment. "It has a balcony so I can raise geraniums and other plants; she told me. Then suddenly, she was struck down with horrible stroke, which left her totally paralyzed on one side from her face down to her feet. Now she suffers alone in a convalescent center, unable to walk, talk well, or care for herself. I do not understand that.

Nor do I understand why the enemy "death" should rob Mary Dorr of the love and presence of her bright and promising young college-age son. His death came shortly after the tragic death of her husband who died while flying his private plane. It was only through the Lord's intervention that Mary's other son, who was with his father when he died, was able to bring that plane safely in for a landing. A year or so after this, Mary went through the death experience again when this second son died in his sleep at home.

When we hear about things like this, we often say, "It just doesn't make sense." From our vantage point, many of these things do not seem to have any rhyme or reason. But I like what Barbara Johnson told Rexella, "These are heartache situations, but God doesn't always promise a quick end to heartache situations:" Then she called attention to Deuteronomy 29:29, The secret things belong unto the Lord our God . . . .

Barbara added, "No, we don't understand these `secret' situations - why God allows a beautiful 20year-old Christian boy to go off the deep end and get involved in a homosexual lifestyle (or some other problem), bringing such sorrow and heartache to his family and to others. But through it all, I can tell you, God has used it to mold and shape us and to bring a depth of trusting Him into our lives unlike anything we ever experienced before. Through sorrow there can come joy and peace. It comes as you relinquish yourself and the `secret situation' causing you such heartache into the hands of God, and then God releases you so that you can reach out in loving care to others who need help . . . .

Barbara and others who have known deep suffering are testimonies to God's grace. I have heard them say they are glad that God has thrown a veil, as it were, across their way so that they haven't known what the immediate future held. We may not know the future, but we can know the One who holds the future in His hands and simply take life a step at a time. We can walk moment-by-moment with the One who controls our steps as well as our stops.

I've heard people say, "When I get to heaven, I'm going to ask the Lord . . . ." Then they will name the event that has brought such heartache to them or to others. But in the next breath I've heard many of those same people admit, "Still, I know that when I get to heaven all that has happened here won't matter there because all the pain, the sorrow, and the tears will be done." And how biblical that is. The Bible assures us that God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away (Revelation 21:4).

The apostle Paul talked of the mortal putting on immortality, and then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). Paul is saying that God continues daily to give us this victory.

Doing Battle With the "Prince of This World"

Satan, as the prince of this world (see John 12:31; Revelation 12:9), has a certain degree of power which he wields, especially against Christians. After all, why should the devil go after people in the world when he already has them in his sway? The Christians are his enemies.
The apostle Paul writes of the battle of the heavenlies and the work of the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2).

Satan's camouflaged attacks come in many forms. We are warned that they will come:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).

But we are also told:

Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world (1 Peter 5:9).

And we are promised:

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you (1 Peter 5:10).

In Hebrews 11 we have what is often referred to as "The Roll Call of Faith." There we have a definition of faith: Now faith is the substance [assurance] of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (v. 1). What does faith do? It gives substance to our hope.

These heroes and heroines of the faith demonstrated their faith in spite of suffering, affliction, pain, problems, and not being able to understand the "Whys?" of their particularly difficult circumstances. We are the recipients of the lessons their faithfulness teaches. After naming many of the Old Testament people, almost breathlessly, it seems, the writer says, And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of. . ." Then he names others (see verse 32) and goes on to say:

Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth (vv. 33-38).

But the writer doesn't stop with that catalog of horrors. He goes on to remind us that these all, having obtained a good report through faith went on to their eternal reward. He speaks of them as being so great a cloud of witnesses and urges that we lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and . . . run with patience the race that is set before us (Hebrews, 12:1).

Still the writer is not finished. We are told how we can do this:

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds (vv. 2, 3).

Satan's planned afflictions are designed specifically to wear us down, to weary us, to exhaust us, to make us lose heart, and to turn against God. All too often we are tempted to murmur, complain, and criticize - and in these ways to give up on the Lord. Oh, how much we need to learn that WE CAN BE OVERCOMERS through the blood of the Lamb (see Revelation 12:11). The wedges Satan attempts to put between us and the Father are real, and they are designed to make us stop loving and trusting God. Satan, you see, is attacking God indirectly through His children. At such times we must shout boldly for any and all to hear, "Thanks be to God who giveth the victory through the Lord Jesus Christ!"


That is the only way to do battle with this enemy of our souls.

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Jack Van Impe Ministries

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United and Set Afire

United and Set Afire

by James Robison

If I was the pastor of a church, I would encourage my people to build a charcoal fire until they were successful. Not with self-lighting charcoal, but the kind you have to soak and light.

One winter a friend of mine went out to build a charcoal fire and couldn't get it lit. I went out and saw that the charcoal was scattered all over the grill, one little layer of charcoal. He was dousing it with the lighter fluid and putting a match to it. It would flare up and burn off, leaving him with dead, black charcoal.

Well, I had done this before and knew his approach wouldn’t work. I raked the chunks of charcoal into a little pile with my hands. Some of the briquettes trickled off and rolled down the side, but I meticulously picked up each one until I had a nice pyramid. As I was doing this, dirtying my hands as I worked so diligently to stack them, it was as though God Himself began chuckling at me.

“What are you doing?" I heard Him ask.

"I'm stacking this charcoal,” I said. “It won't light unless you get it all together where each briquette is touching others. That's what I'm doing, Lord."

"Isn't that something?" He said. "Why don't you preachers learn to do that with my people?"

God said, "My people are scattered all over the earth, accusing and avoiding one other, seldom touching each other, and preachers are running around trying to soak them in the oil of the Holy Spirit. You just soak them and soak them and soak them, then wonder why they don't get on fire."

He said, "My son already prayed for unity: that you may be one as We are one. A new commandment He gave you ‘that you love one another even as We love one another’ and become ‘perfected in unity.’ And by this the world will know you're My disciples – not Baptist, not Pentecostal, not Catholic, or anything else. My disciples, connected to one another and submitted to the Head – the Lord Jesus."

Then God said, "You can soak them in teaching and soak them in the Holy Spirit, but until my people agree to come together, truly seeking to preserve the unity of the spirit into which they were born in Christ in a bond of peace, you need not expect Me to light the fire. Let My people come together with this purpose: seeking Me as they did at Pentecost, and I'll light their fire. That's what I want to see."

I'm committed to that. May we all learn to love each other as Christ loves the church, so we can be a bright light in our dark world.

Adapted from James Robison’s 1984 message on unity, which airs this Monday on LIFE TODAY.

Tis So Sweet To Trust  In Jesus -Steven Curtis Chapman

Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?

God Is Always In Control

Dr. Charles Stanley

Isaiah 45:5-7

I admit that I often don’t understand why bad things happen. Even so, I believe that God has a purpose for everything He does or permits. My faith is rooted in the biblical principle that says the Lord is sovereign (Ps. 22:28). He is in absolute control of this universe, the natural and political climate of this earth, and my life and yours.

When we are in the midst of a trial, it is hard to resist crying out, “God, Why is this happening?” Sometimes we get the answer and sometimes we don’t. What we can be sure of is that nothing happens by accident or coincidence. He has a purpose for even our most painful experiences. Moreover, we have His promise to “cause all things to work together for good to those who love God” (Rom. 8:28).

Seeing in advance how the Lord will work evil or hurt for our benefit is very difficult, if not impossible. My limited human perspective doesn’t allow me to grasp His greater plan. However, I can confirm the truth of this biblical promise because the Father’s good handiwork appears all through my pain, hardship, and loss. I have experienced Him turn mourning into gladness and have seen Him reap bountiful blessings and benefits from my darkest hours.

As believers, we must accept that God won’t always make sense to us. Isaiah teaches that His ways and thoughts are higher than our own (Isa. 55:9). He sees the beautifully completed big picture. We can rely on the fact that God is in control, no matter how wildly off-kilter our world seems to spin.

For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit www.intouch.org.

PITN: Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?

Inquire of the Lord

Bayless Conley

1 Samuel 30:8 tells us what David did next as He sought to deal with the troubles that besieged him.  After grieving and strengthening himself in the Lord, here is what he did,

So David inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I pursue this troop?  Shall I overtake them?"  And He answered him, "Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all."

David inquired of the Lord.

There is a story in the book of Joshua that shows the importance of inquiring of God, of seeking His guidance, no matter how things may seem.

The nation of Israel had entered the Promised Land and they were gaining great victories.  One day a group of Gibeonites showed up.  They had bags full of old moldy bread, their sandals were worn out, their water skins were cracked and old, and their clothing was old and worn.

They told Joshua and the leaders that they had come from a country far, far away.  They went on to tell them they had heard about the great things God was doing through Israel, and they wanted to make sure they would not be attacked.  So they had traveled from afar to make a covenant so that when Israel eventually reached them in the future, they wouldn't attack the Gibeonites.

The Bible says specifically that Joshua and the men did not inquire of the Lord.  Rather, they looked at the people's provisions…the moldy bread, the old sandals, the old water skins…and they made a covenant with them.

It turns out they were the next door neighbors and Israel had been deceived. And it caused huge problems in Israel's future.

I am telling you, things are not always as they appear. It pays to inquire of the Lord when you are going through difficult times. He will lead you.

Visit the Answers with Bayless Conley website for more ways to Connect with God 

Remembering Our Heroes

Remembering Our Heroes

Pastor Adrian Rogers

“And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place.” - Exodus 13:3

Each year, Americans remember those brave-hearted souls who fought and gave their lives so that you and I would have the rights and privileges of living in a free country.

Remembering is important. In fact, God instructs His people on many occasions in the Old Testament to remember from whence they came and to remember His providence.

It is by the mighty hand of God that we are saved, we are protected, and we are free to live in the Land of the Brave. Never take that freedom for granted, my friend. It is a precious commodity for which the world hungers. And it is a powerful charge for you and me to protect.

Do you know of someone in your life who has served in the armed forces of this country? Make a point this week to express to them your gratitude for their service.

For more from Love Worth Finding and Pastor Adrian Rogers, please visit www.lwf.org.

For when I am weak, then am I strong

A MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR. JACK VAN IMPE

Last week we started on a new study dealing with suffering and we dealt with the haunting question "Why?" This week we want to continue and share what our sufferings have in common with Paul, Job, and a host of others.

The Bible is very fair in recounting the stories of those who experienced suffering. These portraits of pain reveal much. We come to better understand that affliction is the common lot of mankind and is something to be expected. If we will allow these accounts to teach us, we will also be better prepared to relate to others facing similar experiences. And, we, ourselves, will be better prepared for what happens in our lives.

Don't ever let anyone tell you that by becoming a Christian and living the Christian life you will be guaranteed immunity from trouble. No one is promised anything like that. We are promised comfort, strength, and help, and we are given hope and God's grace, which is sufficient for our every need.

On the other hand, don't ever let anyone put a guilt trip on you. Don't let them throw accusations at you like Job's comforters did (read the Book of Job in the Old Testament). Oftentimes these people will infer that some sin, some prayerlessness, some lack of faith has brought on your calamity. Don't believe it.

Job as Mentor

Job's experiences can serve as a good teacher. His replies to those who sought to "comfort" him can shed much light on the struggles we have when affliction strikes us.

Job has been described as a good man who feared God and stayed away from evil. That description fits many a godly man, both in this present age and in preceding eras of time.

Job had a large family - seven sons and three daughters - and was immensely wealthy, employing many servants. He was considered the richest cattleman in the area where he lived.

One day Satan, the accuser, approached God, scoffing. He suggested that the only reason Job feared God was because God had always protected him, his home, and his property. In effect, Satan said, "No wonder Job 'worships' You! Take away his wealth and he'll curse You."

Let's look at what happened after that. God allowed the following things to happen:

• The Sabeans - enemies - came.

• They raided and drove away Job's animals (oxen and donkeys).

• They killed all the farmhands except one messenger. Fire fell from heaven.

• It burned all the sheep and the herdsmen except one messenger.

• Three bands of Chaldeans came.

• They drove off all his camels.

• They killed all his servants except one who escaped. Job's sons and daughters were feasting.

• A mighty wind swept in from the desert, engulfing the house.

• The roof fell in on them, and they all died, except one messenger who escaped.

What was the response of Job to all of this? He tore his robe in grief. He shaved his head. Then he fell down on the ground and worshipped God. Is that what you expected would happen? Most people can understand giving way to grief, but the rest? Is worshipping God what generally happens when people are confronted with bad things?

Notice, also, Job's verbal response:

Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21).

The Bible has a comment to make on Job's reaction. We are told that, In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly (v. 22). Oh, how much we can learn from this man when life heaps more upon us than we think we can possibly bear!

However, don't think of Job as some "super saint" who didn't have feelings or anything to say. Let me point out that Job was very human, very much like you and me. He did voice some perplexity, some anguish of heart. He suffered deeply, and in his humanity he did cry and express his feelings. Job did ask some "Whys?" (See Job 13:24.) I think it is safe to say that God who made us, who endowed us with our emotions and feelings, doesn't expect us to remain stoic -unflinching under pain and suffering. We should not consider it weakness or sin when we give way to the throes of emotions that come over us in times of trouble or when we are confronted with death.

Out of all this tragedy and the accusations of his friends, Job was still able to maintain his integrity (see Job 2:3). God vindicated Job, stating that Job had been harmed without cause. But Satan doesn't give up easily. "Touch his body with sickness;" he told God, "and he will curse You to Your face!"

Job's friends looked for reasons why all these things were happening to Job. Isn't that often the case with us? We seek answers. We wonder why. We imply that there must be some "secret sin" or sins. This is not to say that we won't pay the price when we abuse our bodies - whether through drugs, alcohol, smoking,

overindulgence, or immorality. We do pay for such indulgences. It is the old law of sowing and reaping: Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap (Galatians 6:7). But such was not the case with Job.

Job admitted that he had impulsively cried out in desperation over his condition. He was struck with boils from head to foot, an extremely painful condition. He even expressed a death wish, a longing to die. Again, this is for our instruction. Though Job questioned God, he never lost his faith in God. Such patience and perseverance! We hear about the "patience of Job" (see James 5:11), and it truly existed.

Job never gave up on God. He was terrified and admitted it. He had a faint heart, and everything seemed so very, very dark, an impenetrable darkness. He searched, crying and reaching out to God. Yet, his honesty reveals much about the man. Finally Job could say, But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold (Job 23:10). This testimony of faith has been called by some, one of the greatest found anywhere in religious literature.

To those who say that God doesn't deal fairly, is not in control of all things and events, and is not a just God, I point you to the Book of Job. Job showed courageous faith, and God rewarded him for it. But even if God hadn't rewarded him on this side of heaven, you can be certain God's grace would have manifested itself on the other side: Blessed is the man that endureth temptation [testing]: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him (James 1:12). The final tally is never in this life for the one who entrusts himself to the God who made him and sees the end from the beginning.

Through suffering God is giving us opportunity to trust His sovereignty, just as He did Job. In the end, Job said that he knew God could do all things and that no plan of His could be thwarted (see Job 42:2). This is the response which is so becoming to the one who believes in God and has entrusted himself to His grace.

You and I are going to experience hurts in life. There is no question about it. Sometimes we may lose our perspective on things because suffering does strange things to us. Someone has suggested that in our afflictions what we really need is not an explanation from God but a revelation of Him. We get that from the Bible.

Paul Suffered Too

"When I am weak, then am I strong." Does that sound like a contradiction? How is it possible to be weak, yet strong? There are many who find it very difficult to believe that this is possible.

On our weekly television program my wife, Rexella, had the unique privilege of interviewing men and women from nearly every walk of life. Many of these guests have written outstanding books which relate some crisis experiences they have had which would have sent someone of lesser strength into an emotional tailspin from which they might have never recovered. Yet, these people would be the first to tell you that in themselves they are not strong. On the contrary, they know only too well their own utter weakness. And that is just it - they are weak, and yet, they are strong. How can that be?

I think of a very special lady named Barbara Johnson. I was amazed to hear Barbara's story of triumph over despair. Barbara learned how to cope with the crippling of her husband through a tragic accident on a slippery California mountain road and the death of two sons. One was killed in Vietnam and a drunken driver killed the other. Then, as if that weren't enough tragedy for one woman to absorb, she made the horrifying discovery that another son was into the homosexual lifestyle.

Rexella asked Barbara how she coped with the death of her sons. Confidently, Barbara replied, "I found a great measure of satisfaction knowing both boys were Christians, and I knew they are now deposits in heaven. They are with the Lord. As Christians, we can have this kind of victory knowing that our loved ones are rejoicing around the throne of God."

Barbara admitted that it was the experience of finding out that her third son was living the homosexual lifestyle that had caused her more heartache than the actual death of her two other sons. Still, out of the weakness she experienced, the trauma, the inability to bounce right back, and the peculiar pain a mother goes through in a situation like that, Barbara found strength.

The strength came as Barbara realized she was powerless to bring about change in her son's life. With that realization came relinquishment. "You have to relinquish your child - or whatever situation is troubling you - into the hands of God. When you do, you find it releases you and you can reach out in loving care to others that need help. People all around us are fractured and broken. You know, to be restored means to put back in place. The word actually means to pop back in place. So now I am trying to help people like that, to restore those who need restoration."

Barbara says, "God makes gold out of our lives one way or another - in the furnace of pain, in the furnace of suffering."

Initially the very word homosexual made Barbara shudder and produced all kinds of unpleasant physical and emotional reactions. Today she explains, "We're all ex-something in our lives. Sometimes the sin is so big - like a big black wall - that we can't even find the sinner, and it is hard to love the unlovely. But God can remove all the stain of sin. Now I see them through His eyes, and I want to reach out to love and help them."

"When I am weak, then I am strong." It was the apostle Paul who first said that. Paul wrote that in the context of suffering. He explains in his second letter to the Christians at Corinth that there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me . . . (2 Corinthians 12:7). It sounds like the old story of Job all over again, doesn't it?

Paul pleaded with the Lord for relief three different times. How did God respond to those pleas?

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong (vss. 9,10).

Paul's afflictions read like a catalog of horrors. He writes of his jail experiences, hard labor, whippings, stonings, and shipwrecks. He faced grave dangers from mobs in the cities as well as possible death in the deserts, on stormy seas, and from men who claimed to be brothers in Christ who were not. He lived with weariness, pain, and sleepless nights. Often he went hungry and thirsty, shivering with the cold, without enough clothing to keep himself warm (see 2 Corinthians 11:23-27).

Paul's confession of weakness was not an admission that he succumbed to depression or even defeat. Never! Paul accepted his suffering and whatever conditions and circumstances that precipitated it as opportunities for relying on the inexhaustible grace that God does supply.

What can we learn from the apostle's experience? Paul's prayers were not answered. His "thorn in the flesh;" whatever it was, was not removed. Did Paul become bitter about this? No.

God Is Preparing Us

What happens to some people when their prayers are not answered the way they want them answered? Surely you have seen the bitterness that invades their lives like the spreading tentacles of a monstrous spider. Bitterness usually means there is some selfishness in their hearts. It means we want our way, not God's way. Does this mean God doesn't want us well?

God takes no pleasure in seeing His children suffer. But suffering is a reality. God is peopling heaven. In the meantime, He is preparing us for a glorious future with Him. God is equal to the needs of His children in their hours of trial.

Paul counted it a privilege to suffer for Christ. He spoke of suffering as preparation that enabled him confidently and joyfully to become all that God had in mind for him to be. He was able to rejoice when he ran into problems and trials, for he knew they were for his own good - they were helping him develop patience .

. . . we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience [steadfastness], experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us (Romans 5:3-5).

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us (Romans 8:18).

The apostle spoke knowingly of the things of nature, plaints and animals, suffering under the bondage of "sickness and death." There is no perfection here on earth. He speaks of the "groaning" we all do as we await release from pain and suffering. We wait for bodies that will never be sick again and will never die. So all of this is meant to teach us to wait, to hope, and to trust God.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:35, 37-39).

Paul cautioned against criticizing God. He used the analogy of the potter working with a lump of clay. The thing made cannot say to the one who made it, "Why have you made me like this?" Just so, the apostle warned against resisting the will of the Father (see Romans 9:15-24).

Paul was not calling upon Christians merely to "endure" what comes their way. He was challenging them to allow their suffering to work for them here and now as well as for their ultimate good, an eternity spent with the Lord in the heaven He has prepared for those who believe in, love, and trust Him.

Rexella interviewed Michelle Price and her parents. Michelle is a young lady who at the age of eight had a leg amputated because of a malignant tumor. Her parents were very frightened. They feared they would lose their precious daughter.

"I knew that I had to completely let go of Michelle," her mother explained. "If we could just learn to give things to the Lord `palms down' instead of 'palms up,' where we keep taking the situation back. But I had to remind myself that Michelle was a gift from the Lord, and He loved her very dearly - in fact, more than I did. the doctors only gave her a four percent chance of surviving."

Michelle's father explained that he used to try to understand God and all that was happening. "Now it's really great to know that I don't have to understand God - that I can just trust God and believe in Him."

After her surgery, the chemotherapy, and the many long months of recuperation, Michelle said she would awaken each day and think, "This is the day that the Lord hath made. I will rejoice and be glad in it! He is my strength:"

The many people Rexella has interviewed who have gone through some very painful and traumatic experiences all quoted the apostle Paul in one way or another. How glad we can be that Paul persevered, that he trusted himself to God's mercy and grace. He allowed the suffering to be as a servant. He didn't regard his painful experiences as an enemy or as his master.

The Reverend David Biebel is another example of someone who used the suffering he experienced to work for him, not against him. Reverend Biebel and his wife suffered greatly when their small son died. Healing came for them as they reached out to others going through other or similar suffering.

"'We went through many different kinds of emotions," he said. "One of the hardest things was to really face the fact that our son was no longer with us - to truly face the truth. I think we denied that at first.
"In the beginning we found ourselves asking the question that is so common in the face of loss: 'Why?' "
Because he was a pastor, David Biebel was plagued with additional feelings of guilt. "You get conflicting thoughts and feelings. Your mind tells you one thing that God is in control and He loves you, that your loved one is in heaven. But your heart is still broken. You get involved in feeling angry, and you might even become somewhat bitter. I wrestled with these things. I had to get up and preach and teach and represent this God, and often I felt like I was living as a hypocrite."

By confessing his conflicting thoughts and feelings to God, David Biebel was able to surrender back to God what had been given to him and his wife. Someone has likened it to placing our pain on the altar as an act of worship to the glory of God.

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus

We come back to the apostle Paul - to the truths he learned as he accepted his suffering as God's special gift, entrusted to him.

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels [that is, in our weak bodies], that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed, Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh (2 Corinthians 4:6-11).

Paul explained that this is why he never gave up. Though he knew his body was dying daily, his inner strength in the Lord was growing every day. Troubles and sufferings are, after all, quite small, he said, and won't last very long. These are actually short times of distress in comparison to what awaits us in eternity.


Do not look at what you can see right now - the troubles all around you - but keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. Look forward to the joys that await you in heaven. The troubles will soon be over, and the joys to come will last forever (see 2 Corinthians 4:15-18).

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Jack Van Impe Ministries

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