“The more terrible the storm, the more necessary the anchor.”
William S. Plumer
Redeeming God
Who redeems your life from the pit.
Psalm 103:4
The pit. Been there? There are simply times in our lives when we find ourselves in a rut. It may be an emotional pit of feeling down or blue. It may be in a money pit where you find yourself in a hole which keeps draining more and more of your finances. The job pit may seem like you are tirelessly working without enough recognition or pay. Maybe you are even in a spiritual pit – a lull where you feel alone. Take heart my friend. God is a redeeming God and He is able to redeem your life from the pit.
He can bring new life into worn out frustrations. Isaiah reminds us that He makes a way through the sea and a path through the mighty waters. When life seems to be at rock bottom, He is able to lift us up. Look up my friend, whether you are in a pit of your own making or one you didn’t choose. Look up and seek Him. He is the God who redeems your life from the pit.
Are You A Good Listener?
“Listen with your eyes as well as your ears.” ― Graham Speechley.
Born in New York City in 1912, Ben Feldman is considered to be one of the most outstanding salespeople in history. At one point, he held the world record for the most life insurance product sold by a salesman in a career. Born to immigrant parents Isaac and Bertha Feldman, Ben was one of nine children. When his family moved to Ohio, his first sales job was in his family’s wholesale poultry business.
As an adult, he started his career in life insurance sales. When asked to share his insights at speaking engagements, he often refused due to stage-fright. After a while, he agreed to speak to audiences, but only if he was interviewed from behind a curtain so he couldn’t view the audience. Despite his fear of speaking on stage, he seemed to have a gift in talking with people one on one and helping them understand the value of life insurance.
He often said that salespeople must learn to listen with three ears.
We should listen to…
…What they say.
…What they don’t say.
…What they would like to say, but don’t quite know how to say it.
What made Ben Feldman such an outstanding salesman? In large part, it was his ability to listen beyond what was being said, so that he could truly understand his client and explain his product in a way in which they could comprehend its value.
What an important lesson for us in our personal life as well as in our work environment – every person we encounter desires to be understood. Whether we are communicating with family, friends or people in our work place, let’s take a lesson from this great salesman and deliberately listen with three ears. Of course we should listen attentively to other peoples words, but also listen to what they don’t say by observing expressions and body language. Finally, listen to what they want to say, but just don’t know how to say it by asking good questions and trying to understand their perspective.
With whom will you apply this principle today?
Prayer Must Not be Our Chance Work
Prayer must not be our chance work, but our daily business, our habit and vocation. As artists give themselves to their models, and poets to their classical pursuits, so must we addict ourselves to prayer. Spurgeon
In his book entitled Prayer, Timothy Keller describes a conversation he had with his wife during a particularly challenging time in their lives. His wife Kathy urged him to pray with her every night and she used the following illustration to convince Him:
Imagine you were diagnosed with such a lethal condition that the doctor told you that you would die within hours unless you took a particular medicine – a pill every night before going to sleep. Imagine that you were told that you could never miss or you would die. Would you forget? Would you not get around to it for some nights? No – it would be so crucial that you wouldn’t forget, you would never miss. Well, if we don’t pray together to God, we’re not going to make it because of all we are facing. I’m certainly not. We have to pray, we can’t let it just slip our minds.*
Kathy recognized her desperate need to go to the Father for everything in her life. Last week I read through the book of Daniel and was inspired by his courage and faith, but more than that, I was moved by his commitment to prayer. Think about it, Daniel prayed even when the public policy was against him, and he could be thrown in the lion’s den.
If Daniel took life-risking measures to pray three times a day, then why am I not willing to get up a little earlier and spend time with the Father. Great work happens on our knees. God gives us insight on our knees. We grow more in love with Him, on our knees. We find comfort and peace on our knees. May we be determined not to make prayer a chance thing in our lives, but an essential part of each day.
Here’s one of Daniel’s prayers of praise after God:
Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
wisdom and power are his.
He changes times and seasons;
he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.
He reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what lies in darkness,
and light dwells with him.
I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors:
You have given me wisdom and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
you have made known to us the dream of the king.
Daniel 2:20-23
Why wouldn’t we want to pray to a God like that?
* Tim Keller: Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God
Completely Understood
Have you ever felt misunderstood? Perhaps you have found yourself saying to a close friend, “You just don’t understand what I am going through?” Or maybe someone has made assumptions about your actions or your words or your motives. Could it be that you are experiencing loneliness and that no one else could possibly “get you?”
Feeling misunderstood is a hard place to be, and honestly no one can know exactly what is going on in your heart…except the Lord. I find it very reassuring that the Bible tells us that God is the God who sees. He is the One who searches our hearts. Jesus Himself was misunderstood.
The good news is that God meets us where we are. He sees our pain, He knows our hearts better than we know them. This same God who met Hagar when she was crying in the wilderness, and Elisha when he was depressed in the cave, and Jonah under the plant, and Jeremiah in the pit, and David on the run – this same God meets us where we are at.
He sees. He cares. He understands.
In our darkest hours, we can call to Him. When life seems unfair, we can cry to Him. When no one seems to get us, we can go to Him. God’s invitation is clear, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”
The deepest need of our heart is to be understood and fully loved, but no human can fulfil that void. To be sure, God brings people into our lives to counsel and encourage, but only God completely understands us and loves us with an unfailing love. He is not far – He is near. May you find hope, comfort and strength in Him today.
He Provides
“God himself will provide the lamb
for the burnt offering, my son.”
Genesis 22:8
It was a tense moment. In the book of Genesis, we read the story of Isaac and Abraham headed up the mountain to present a burnt offering to God, but there was no lamb. God was testing Abraham’s heart to see if he would be willing to offer even his only son. Abraham prophetically stated a truth that would be fulfilled several thousand years later in Christ, as God provided the Lamb who died on our behalf.
The angel of the Lord stopped Abraham from offering Isaac. The Bible then tells us, Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. God provided a lamb that day on the mountain, and God has provided a lamb for all who will believe. Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
As we celebrate Easter this month, may our hearts be drawn to the great sacrifice God made for us in sending His only Son to offer His life on our behalf. But the story doesn’t stop at the cross! In three days, He rose from the grave demonstrating victory over sin and death! What joy and victory for those who place their faith in Him!
Photo by Danny Lines on Unsplash
Positive Woman Connection 