Praise in the Muddle

You are in a messy muddle with no end in sight.

If you are Christ’s follower, having received Him as your Lord and Savior, praise God in the middle of your muddle.

Here is a starter praise list:

Praise Him for now:

God saved you out of darkness and transferred you to Christ’s kingdom.

He is your loving Sovereign God.

He is with you, keeping His eye on You, guiding and helping.

The Holy Spirit dwells in you.

You are in Christ and Christ in you.

Your trial results in: 

• Endurance so that you may be perfect and complete (James 1:3); 
• Praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:7); 
• Perseverance, proven character, hope (Romans 5:3-4).

God is using your situation for good, making you into the image of Christ. (Romans 8:28-29)

Praise Him for eternity:

You will be in heaven with Him for eternity.

There will be no presence of sin, in you, in others, in heaven.

You will be holy and blameless.

You will receive rewards.

In the middle of your muddle:

You are, right now, beloved of God.

You have, right now, hope for eternity.

Praise Him!

Levels of Endurance

God calls us to endure. And He tells us about the rewards He gives us for endurance.

There are instructions about how to endure. See, for example, How to Get Through It, and Look Beyond.

I just realized today, though, that there are different levels of endurance. We can be better or worse at enduring what God gives us. 

Just like learning to please God, and learning to walk in a manner worthy of our calling, we need to learn how to endure.

There are at least three stages:

Resignation

Sometimes we might just grit our teeth and passively wait it out.

We continue to believe, read the Bible, and pray. But our circumstances are in control.

Pressing On

We may be aware that God is with us in our situation, and look for opportunities He gives us to grow and testify about His loving purposes.

We’re not passive, but “fight the good fight.” We press on.

Joyfully Enduring

There is a third level.

Paul joyfully endured his trials. 

We exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations …  (Romans 5:2–3)

Where are we?

I confess I am generally in the “Pressing On” stage, but too often just resigned. I’ve known the verses about considering trials with joy, but I’ve thought of trials as short term. “Endurance” implies long term and I’d never linked “Joy” to “Endurance.”  

Well, I’m growing.

~~~

Father, thank You for showing me I need to learn to be joyful in endurance. Help me give You thanks in everything. Help me honor You with my thoughts, words, and deeds.

How long? How long?

You may be in a seemingly never-ending hard situation. It may feel like forever already and there may not be any sign of improvement. It may not be possible for you to change it.

If the Lord is leading you to improve your circumstances, work at it. But, you may have to endure.

Remember

            God is with you, helping you, guiding you.

            God promises to use this hard spot to make you more like Christ.

            God is in control of the situation. He is in control of the depth as well as the length.

            God at the proper time will act. It’s Not Forever, Just Until.

When the time is right

 God tells us, over and over, that He acts when the time is right.

The time was right for Christ to come

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6) 

The time was right for our salvation

But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles … (Galatians 1:15–16) 

The time was and will be right for God’s wrath

Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, in due time their foot will slip; for the day of their calamity is near, and the impending things are hastening upon them.  (Deuteronomy 32:35) 

The time is and will be right for God’s reward

Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. (Galatians 6:9) 

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.  (1 Peter 5:6) 

Our times are in His hand

My times are in Your hand… (Psalm 31:15) 

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven.  (Ecclesiastes 3:1) 

Thank God our times are in His hand!

~~~

Father, thank You that You are in control of all things, including this hard situation. Thank You that we are always on Your mind and that when the time is right You will act. Help us remember Your loving sovereignty. Help us hope in Your grace and mercy. As we endure, help us honor You and testify about You to others.

God Knows Best

The US polio epidemic peaked in 1952 and the vaccine began testing in 1954. It was a scary time, with lots of cases and deaths. When my mom told me I would get immunized, I said: “I’d rather have polio!” “No, you wouldn’t,” she said.

I didn’t know much about polio, but I was very clear I did not like that HUGE needle.

Of course, my parents knew best.

The application to us as adults is clear.

Something we don’t like happens or we have to do something we don’t like. “Why me?” “Not fair.” “I don’t understand.” “No!”

But God knows best.

Remember

God knows everything. (See Praise the Omniscient)

God is everywhere. (See Praise the Ever-Present God)

God can do everything. (See Praise the Almighty)

God loves us. (See His Enormous Love)

God has a purpose and plan for us. God will glorify us (believers). We (believers) will be holy and blameless. We will be with Him for eternity. (See God’s Loving Promises)

God’s dealings with us, including things like polio vaccinations, are all for His loving purpose. (See  Praise our (Perfect) Discipliner)

Decide

Decide to believe those truths.

Pray, expecting His perfect peace. (Philippians 4:6-7)

Decide to trust Him. 

And repeat! The harder the situation, the more you may need to go deeper into these steps.

Press on.

Blessings of Pruning

Jesus is the true vine. (See Praise the Vine)

Those who believe in Jesus Christ and have received Him as Lord and Savior are the branches attached to the vine. (John 15:3, 5)

The Father is the cultivator, the vinedresser. (John 15:1)

For us, believers, the Father works in us (Philippians 2:13) and prunes us (John 15:2) so that we bear more fruit. 

Pruning is the process of cutting away parts of branches that reduce fruitfulness. Branches may have multiple growths that take energy and might produce fruit, but diminish the overall productivity of the branch. Areas of the branch are cut off with knives, pruning shears (of various sizes), or saws (hand saws or powered saws).  Ouch!

And that is what the Father does to us. For a loving purpose, He continually (“prune” is a present active indicative tense) cuts off areas that diminish our fruitfulness, which may hurt, but results in blessing. 

Pruning includes the Father cutting off areas of current service which are producing grapes in order to produce more fruit elsewhere.

What precisely is pruned is specific to the believer. What we can know is that:

            God the Father continually cuts off areas in our lives that reduce the fruit we produce.

            God prunes for a loving purpose so that we will bear more fruit. And so that those bearing more fruit will bear much fruit.

            We will be rewarded for the fruit in our lives.

This is a blessing, and we are called to rejoice that the Father is tending us to produce fruit.

~~~

Thank You, Lord Jesus, that You are the vine, providing life, strength, and ability for us to produce fruit. Thank You, Father, that You tend to us, continually cutting away areas in our lives that reduce our ability to produce fruit to You. Help us trust Your loving purpose and rejoice in Your care.

~~~~

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. (John 15:1–5) 

Praise the Vine

Jesus Christ is the vine, the true vine.

I am the true vine.  (John 15:1) 

Jesus Christ is the true vine, a contrast to Yahweh’s vineyard (Israel) which He cared for and from which He expected good grapes. But His vineyard produced only worthless grapes, and therefore He broke it down, promising to restore it “in that day.”

Let me sing now for my well-beloved a song of my beloved concerning His vineyard. My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. He dug it all around, removed its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it and also hewed out a wine vat in it; Then He expected it to produce good grapes, but it produced only worthless ones.  (Isaiah 5:1–2) 

Jesus Christ, the true vine, has life in Himself.

For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself.  (John 5:26) 

Jesus Christ grants eternal life to His believers, the branches attached to the true vine.

The true vine also enables us, believers, to produce fruit. Without Him we can do nothing.

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.  (John 15:5) 

We, the branches, are totally dependent on Him, the vine. And, being connected to the vine, we can expect to bear fruit, and we can know the eternal glories His has for us. 

The true vine is our life, our strength, our productivity. Praise Him.

A county music star told about a time early in her career when she played for an extremely small audience. She and her band played their hearts out, just as they would have for a very large crowd. 

Unbeknownst to them, a record producer was in the audience. And liked what he heard. And signed them.

That was the start of a long and successful career.

We don’t know who is watching or listening, but we should assume someone is (definitely God is!). 

Our words and actions affect others in ways we cannot know.

Press on.

Little Things

The Bible is very clear that “little things” are not so little. 

He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.  (Luke 16:10) 

Rewards

Jesus taught that faithfulness in little things brings reward.

His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”   (Matthew 25:21) 

All of life

The Bible is also clear that faithfulness pertains to all of life. Our lives are not divided into spiritual and secular, all we are and all we do is important to God.

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.  (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Sin 

We are also told that if we know what we are supposed to do and don’t do it, that is sin.

Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.  (James 4:17) 

God honors faithfulness

God honors faithfulness in the little things (and the big things). If we are faithful in the little things, we will be faithful in much. He will reward us with more opportunities to serve Him. Faithfully fulfill whatever He has given us, and there will be rewards and new assignments. 

What are your “little things?”

You need to ask the Lord what are your “little things,” but here are some prompts:

Are you on time for school, work, social events, bill paying?

Do you finish well your chores, homework, housework, employment assignments?

Do you consistently follow your health routines, nutrition, exercise, dental hygiene?

Do you maintain/enhance relationships with, and fulfill responsibilities to family, friends and neighbors?  

Do you keep to your budget?

Do you say “no” to yourself as needed?

Do you consistently pray?

Do you consistently study the Bible?

Etc. Etc. Etc.

When I asked myself these questions, I got a variety of answers:  “Eek,” “No,” “Inconsistently,” “More or less,” “Usually,” “Yes.”

I definitely have opportunity to improve, and I need to, I want to, I am determined to. This blog surprised me with penetrating personal impact. I see failure and even sin where I didn’t before. I want so much to hear my Lord say to me: “Well done.” I am determined to  be faithful in the little things, and faithful as He gives me more.

How about you?

~~~

Lord, thank You for showing me the importance of little things. Thank You for showing me that if I will be faithful in little things, I will be faithful in much. Thank You for showing me that You reward faithfulness. Help me be faithful in all You would have me do.