Truths To Kling To

From the Facebook page of Lysa TerKeurst:

Right this very minute, in the midst of hard realities and devastating circumstances, there are some things you and I must cling and hold to as if our lives depended on it:

1. God loves us and He will not leave us.

2. This battle isn’t ours. The battle belongs to the Lord. Let Him fight for you. Save your emotional energy and use it to dig into His Word like never before. Our job is to be obedient to God. God’s job is winning this battle.

3. The battle might not be easy or short-lived, but victory will be there for those who trust God.

4. God is good even when the circumstances are darker than you ever imagined. God is good even when people are not. God is good even when things seem stinking hopeless. God is good and can be trusted when you feel suspicious of everyone and everything around you.

5. Lastly, God is good at being God. Don’t try to fix what He hasn’t assigned you to fix. Don’t try to manipulate or control or spend all your emotions trying to figure it out. Let Him be God. Free yourself from this impossible assignment.
Sweet friend, be still. And know. He is God.

I’m praying for you. And I treasure the fact I know you are praying for me.

Wrestling For The Blessing

Here's a powerful question - Will You Wrestle With God? (by Jon Bloom at Desiring God)

What do you really need from God right now? What blessing do you want from him? How badly do you want it?

There are times when God only releases his blessings on us after a season of prolonged and even painful wrestling with him.

The Strangest Wrestling Match in History

In Genesis 32, Jacob is on his way back home to Canaan with his small tribe of wives and children after a 20-year sojourn in Paddan-aram. And he is scared to death, because his estranged brother, Esau, is coming to meet him — with 400 men (Genesis 32:6). This is no welcome party; it’s an army.

So after splitting up his household into two camps to try and avoid complete annihilation, Jacob, understandably suffering insomnia, intends to spend the night alone — no doubt in desperate prayer.

But a strange man who shows up and wrestles Jacob till daybreak rudely interrupts his plans. At some point during this weird contest Jacob realizes that he is wrestling God. And when God decides it’s time to end the match, he dislocates Jacob’s hip and demands to be released. And Jacob, in significant pain, replies, “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (Genesis 32:26).

This response clearly pleases God, who pronounces this blessing on Jacob: “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob [deceiver], but Israel [strives with God], for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed” (Genesis 32:28).

Jacob then limps toward his tense reunion with Esau with a weakened body and a strengthened faith. Having wrestled with God, he knows his prayers regarding Esau will be answered.

Multiple Blessings Came Through the Wrestling

Take note of what God did when he wrestled Jacob. Jacob began the night dreading Esau’s arrival. He was full of fear and desperation. But he ended the night of struggle with God’s blessing and a renewed faith. All of our struggling with God in faith leads to peace.
And isn’t it interesting that God did not simply speak to Jacob in a dream or vision as he had at other times (Genesis 31:13) and reiterate his promise and speak comforting words? This time God addressed Jacob’s fear by requiring him to wrestle all night. This probably felt to Jacob like a badly timed hassle when he just wanted comfort and assurance. But later he realized just how comforting it was. Sometimes when we want God’s comfort, he sends it in unexpected and even unwanted packages.

God even afflicted Jacob with a debilitating injury. This had the effect of making Jacob even more vulnerable to Esau, forcing Jacob’s faith to more fully rest on God and not himself. If necessary, God will cause us to limp to increase our faith.

Lastly, wrestling with God changed Jacob’s identity. He was no longer to be known as one who received his blessing by deception. This time he received God’s blessing by prevailing with God by faith. This struggle turned out to be a profoundly gracious gift of restoration that God gave Jacob, not unlike the gift Jesus gave Peter by letting Peter affirm his love for Jesus as many times as he had denied it (John 21:15–17). Jacob’s tenacious faith pleased God and he rewarded Jacob’s request (Hebrews 11:6). When God calls us to wrestle with him, there’s always more going on than we first understand and God always uses it to transform us for good.

God Is Not Reluctant to Bless You

When God makes us wrestle him for some blessing(s), it is not because God is reluctant to bless us, even if that’s how it first feels. It is because he has more blessings for us in the wrestling than without it.

Remember, God pursued Jacob for this match. God was the initiator. Jacob was stewing in his own anxiety over Esau and his approaching slaughter squad when God showed up. And the wrestling drew Jacob out of his fearful preoccupation and forced him to focus on God.

I doubt at first that Jacob wanted this forced focus or even believed he needed it. It wouldn’t surprise me if at the beginning Jacob had prayed, “God would you get rid of this guy? This is the last thing I need right now.” But what he discovered was that the wrestling was a means of God’s grace, a channel for God’s blessing on him.

The same is true for us.

Do Not Let God Go Until He Blesses You!

So I’ll ask again. What do you really need from God right now? What blessing do you want from him? How badly do you want it?

God will meet you in your anguish, fear, and uncertainty. But he may not meet you in the way you expect or desire. Your greatest ally may show up looking at first like your adversary, inciting you to wrestle with him.

If so, remember Jacob. There are multiple blessings in the wrestling. You may not need soft words of comfort, you may not need to be left alone with your thoughts, you may not need sleep, you may not even need a healthy hip! What you need is God’s blessing!
So when God calls you to wrestle with him in prayer, it is an invitation to receive his blessing. Stay with him and don’t give up. Do not let him go until he blesses you! He loves to bless that kind of tenacious faith and you will come out transformed.

For the Hard Days

From Dave Willis: Four Things To Remember When Life Gets Hard:

...In the grand scheme of things, a stressful morning doesn’t impact life or eternity all that much, but in those longer seasons of joblessness, sickness, financial stress, marriage strain and other ongoing life events, the stress and frustration can seem overwhelming. Here are a few things I’ve learned to remember in those challenging seasons of life that have helped me and I pray they help you as well!

1. Remember that your Character should always be stronger than your Circumstances.

We can’t always control what happens to us, but we can always control how we choose to respond. In those moments when I choose to stop complaining and instead give thanks to God for the good in my life, the parts that seem bad start to seem much less significant. Choose to keep a positive attitude and thankful heart regardless of what you’re going through.

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

2. Remember that your Struggles always lead to Strength.

Every difficulty in your life, whether big or small, is something God will use to produce more strength, faith and perseverance in you if you let Him! All your pain has a purpose.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

3. Remember that God’s timing is always perfect.

God’s plans are almost always different from our plans, but His plans are always perfect! Have the patience to wait on His timing instead of forcing your own.

“For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord; plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

4. Remember that God will never leave your side.

You may feel like you’re going through this struggle all alone, but from the moment you ask Jesus to bring you into God’s family, He will be by your side to the end so never lose hope!

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

I pray that these truths give you the hope and strength to keep going on those days when life is at its worst! 

Daybreak: A Review

My review of Daybreak: A Guide to Overcoming Temptation, by Nathan Ward

Every Christian need a good little book on resisting temptation in their library. Every Christian counselor needs a good little book on wining over temptation to give to the people they are helping. This could be that little book.

I say "little," because there are only 108 pages; It can easily be read in one evening. However, you probably won't want to do that, because you will be thinking and meditating on how the material applies to your own struggles with sin. There is a lot packed into those 108 pages.

The title "Daybreak" comes from a curious "coincidence" in the story of Jacob in Genesis. As Jacob leaves Canaan on what ends up being a decades long exile, he comes to Bethel at sunset (Gen. 28:11), where he sees a vision of a stairway between heaven and earth. When he returns to Canaan, he spends a restless night and wrestles with an angel until sunrise (Gen 32:31). As Jacob surrenders to God, he sees the dawn -a daybreak. Ward says that the sunset and sunrise motif is not a coincidence, but rather a literary structure designed to frame the narrative. Sunset and sunrise are the bookends of Jacob's time of exile. Hidden in the very structure of the story is the message that times of testing and trial are periods of darkness, but once one surrenders to God (symbolized by the injured hip) daylight returns. Jacob won by losing, because his real struggle was with himself. Surrender to God brings the sunrise of victory. That little insight alone was to me worth the time I spent reading this book.

The book more than adequately covers all the basic material: (1) God's call to holiness and new life for believers, (2) the nature of our enemies (Satan and self), (3) haw to prepare before times of temptation, (4) how to resist sin in time of battle, and (5) what to do after the fight, win or lose. Every part is filled with Scripture. Every part is also very practical and applicable.

There are plenty of good books out there on temptation, holiness and spiritual victory. Most are far more exhaustive than this book. This may not be one of the best, but it is a good short work that is worth owning, reading and giving away.
_________________
Full Disclosure: I received the book free from Cross-Focused Reviews in exchange for giving an honest review. See my book review policy.