courage

it’s never who you think – part five

Posted on by Grace Day

Today I’m thinking of another unlikely hero. God called this person into His service in spite of what this person had done in his past. I’m sure no one saw this coming. In fact, when God called him, this person was living in exile because he had committed murder and then fled to a foreign land to escape the consequences of his actions. He had been hiding out, so to speak, for many years. He had married and he worked for his father-in-law as a sheep herder. That is until one day when this happened –

“Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, . . . There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. . . . God called to him from within the bush, ‘Moses! Moses!’ And Moses said, ‘Here I am.’ . . . The Lord said, ‘I have indeed seen the misery of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey . . . So now, go, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring My people the Israelites out of Egypt.’ ” (Exodus 3:1-10)

That’s right. Our unlikely hero is Moses, a murderer living in exile. Moses had run away, but God sought him out after all these years for the very important task of leading the Israelites out of Egypt. God was going to bring His chosen people out of bondage and into freedom. And God was going to use Moses to accomplish His good purposes for His chosen people. However, Moses didn’t think he was the right man for the job.

“But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’ ” (Exodus 3:11)

God’s response? –

“And God said, ‘I will be with you.’ ” (Exodus 3:12)

Moses was filled with fear and self-doubt about this overwhelming assignment from God. God’s solution to Moses’s objections was His Presence going with Moses. Still, Moses continued with his resistance to God’s instructions –

“Moses answered, ‘What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’ ? ‘ ” (Exodus 4:1)

Moses’s objections continued –

“Moses said to the Lord, ‘O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.’ ” (Exodus 4:10)

Eventually Moses ran out of excuses, but he still didn’t want to accept God’s assignment. After all, it wasn’t going to be easy. Who would want to go up against Pharaoh, the most powerful ruler of his time? And so Moses pleaded –

“But Moses said, ‘O Lord, please send someone else to do it.’ ” (Exodus 4:13)

Notice that this is just the opposite of Isaiah’s response to God’s call, which was – “Here am I. Send me!”

How many times have you or I said what Moses said to our Heavenly Father? (find somebody else to do it, it’s too difficult, too scary, too uncertain for me to even attempt it) Perhaps we are not unlike this banished sheep herder turned rescuer and leader of God’s people? Just goes to show, it’s never who you think it will be, right? Moses didn’t want to do what God was asking him to do BUT – Moses did have this promise from God. God told Moses –

“Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as My own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’ ” (Exodus 6:6-8)

Notice all the wonderful, miraculous things God promises to do for His people, the Israelites. God promises to bring them out from under the Egyptians yoke. God says He will free them, He will redeem them, He will take them as His own and He will bring them into the land He promised to their forefathers and God will give that land to them. In this story, God is doing all the heavy lifting. The power and the miracles are God’s alone.

God chose to work through Moses to accomplish His sovereign purposes for His people. The miracles were all God’s. God just used Moses to display His power to Pharaoh. Reminds me of what Jesus taught in John about God’s power in our lives –

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. . . . If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples.” (John 15:5, 7-8)

Moses was the branch. The Lord God was and is the vine. Moses didn’t part the Red Sea. God did. Moses led the Israelites through the desert to their promised land. But it was God who was leading Moses. It was God in the pillar of fire by night and in the pillar of cloud by day, going in front of the Israelites as they traveled in order to guide them on their way.

“By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.” (Exodus 13:21-22)

So Moses obeyed God’s instructions to go to Pharaoh and demand the release of the Israelites who were currently being held in bondage. And the rest is history as they say. And not an easy history. Moses had to face down the powerful Pharaoh many times before the Israelites were released. Later Moses would meet with God on a mountaintop and receive the stone tablets with the ten commandments. Leading God’s people proved a heavy responsibility, but Moses stayed faithful to God’s calling even though it wasn’t easy. (the Israelites often complained against God and even worshiped a golden calf they made while Moses was away meeting with God on the mountaintop)

But Moses faithfully followed God’s instructions, doing all that God asked him to do. Quite a transition from herding sheep to leading (herding) a whole nation of people from bondage into freedom. But God knew all along what He was doing. Maybe shepherding sheep is good preparation for shepherding people? Both require a lot of care and patience and ultimate reliance on God.

I identify with Moses’s reluctance to rise to the challenge and respond to God’s invitation to serve Him in a particular way. Like Moses, I can think of a million reasons why I am not the one for the job. I don’t have the skills, the training, the resources, the position – the list is long. And then there’s fear. Fear will hold me hostage, not allowing me to step outside of my comfort zone. I’m sure Moses was both comfortable and content with his life as a sheep herder. And Pharaoh was one bad dude. Pharaoh had a reputation. BUT – God’s reputation was and is exponentially grander and greater.

Whatever my Heavenly Father asks of me, I can respond in faith with courage and with confidence because God tells me (and you, too) –

“I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are My servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:9-10)

Surprising but true! I (and you) am called. I (and you) am chosen. (didn’t we all long to be picked for the team when we were children?) I don’t need to be afraid. God says He will give me strength. God says He will help me. I believe Him! May I respond to God’s calling more like Isaiah did and less like Moses’s initial response.

After all, it’s never who you think. God is calling you and me today. Hopefully, we won’t be like Jonah and run away in the opposite direction. Let’s be bold enough to accept God’s calling on our lives. After all, we know this to be true –

“Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.’ ” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

sincerely, Grace Day

it’s never who you think – part four

Posted on by Grace Day

Our series continues with another unlikely person showing up big time for God. This true story just confirms once again that it’s never who you think it will be. Those individuals who are overlooked and undervalued by past or current cultures are the very ones chosen by God for His extraordinary, eternal purposes. Such is our mystery person today. A most unlikely candidate for sure due to many things such as living in a pagan culture, being poor, having no power or influence and being engaged in a very disreputable lifestyle – all things that would seemingly disqualify someone in God’s eyes. BUT – that is not the case. That is not true. Remember –

“The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)

Must be why it’s never who you think it will be – God sees things we don’t see. God knows things we don’t know. And our Creator, God, sees and knows each one of us clearly and completely. So while God’s choices of the people He calls into His service may surprise you and me, (it’s never who we think) – it’s always exactly who God knows is the right person for the task and indeed who He has chosen “for such a time as this.”

Today’s unlikely hero is not a hero at all, but a heroine. That’s right – she’s a female, which makes her all the more unlikely because females in Old Testament times had no power or position or ownership in society. Women were overlooked, undervalued and definitely underestimated. Such was the case with our unlikely heroine. Why would I never guess that this particular woman would be chosen by God?

Would it be because she lived among a pagan people in an idol worshipping city? Would it be because she earned her living as a prostitute? Why would I never have predicted that this woman would become a part of the earthly lineage of Jesus? That’s right – this woman is listed in Jesus’s earthly genealogy found in the book of Matthew.

“Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. . . . and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.” (Matthew 1:5-6, 16)

Our unlikely heroine is Rahab, a prostitute living in the city of Jericho before it was destroyed by the Israelite army. Rahab played an instrumental role in Jericho’s demise. First she hid the two Israelite spies who had come into the city to look over the land. Rahab lied to the king of Jericho about the spies rather than give the spies up to be captured and killed. She then helped the two Israelite spies to escape the city and gave them information to help them avoid capture.

“So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. Now she had said to them, ‘Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way.’ ” (Joshua 2:15-16)

Rahab risked everything to help the Israelite spies. If the king found out that she helped the spies and that she lied to him about them, she would be killed. Rahab showed great courage and faith. She knew Jericho was going to be destroyed and she asked the spies to save her life and the lives of all her family members. Rahab had heard about the God who parted the Red Sea and she believed in Him even though no one else around her did. This faith gave Rahab the courage to go against Jericho’s king and to help the two Israelite men. In return, they would rescue Rahab and her family when they returned to conquer the city.

“Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, ‘I know that the Lord has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt . . . for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you.’ ” (Joshua 2:8-12)

Rahab risked her life to help the spies because she believed that their God was “God in heaven above and on the earth below.” Her faith gave her the courage she needed to defy Jericho’s king, and her faith allowed her to trust that the spies would keep their word and rescue her and her family. And indeed, it did happen as promised.

“Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, ‘Go into the prostitute’s house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her.’ So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel. Then they burned the whole city and everything in it . . . But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho – and she lives among the Israelites to this day.” (Joshua 6:22-25)

A pagan prostitute, Rahab, became a woman of faith and of courage because she believed in the God of the Israelites, the God of heaven above and on the earth below. Rahab was rescued from certain destruction and death. She was instead delivered into a new life – a life in which she was chosen to be in the lineage of the coming King, God’s Son, Jesus Christ.

What a miracle! What a transformation! The unlikely heroine of this story is Rahab the prostitute. What courage she showed. What faith she had in order to act against all odds because she believed in the Creator, God, whom she had only heard about at the time when she stepped up to aid the spies even though it meant death for her if she were caught. Just goes to show you – it’s never who you or I think. BUT – like the apostle Paul said –

“Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.’ ” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

it’s never who you think – today it might be you! Be ready to answer God’s call!

sincerely, Grace Day

spectator or participant?

Posted on by Grace Day

Which one are you? I am challenged to consider this question myself as I examine my own life. This quote from Theodore Roosevelt’s speech delivered April 23rd, 1910 in Paris, France sheds some light on the subject –

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

The choice is mine. The choice is yours, too, dear readers. Will I sit on the sidelines of life, safely critiquing those in the arena who are living out their callings with faith and courage, even though they are living those callings out imperfectly? Or will I dare to enter life’s arena myself, knowing it will be hard, knowing I will fail many times, knowing those in the stands will ridicule my efforts – yet believing that I will also get to experience the joy and the hope of rising from each of my many defeats to continue forward toward the purpose for which I have been called?

I choose to be a participant! Painful and exhausting and daunting and discouraging as it has already proven to be, I choose again every day to remain in the arena “fighting the good fight of faith” rather than to escape to the sidelines, becoming merely a spectator. A spectator will never know defeat but a spectator will also never know victory. A spectator will not know pain but a spectator will also not know joy. As a spectator, I will be devoid of all passion, of all purpose and of the pursuit of a greater good, the pursuit of something greater than myself. I choose the arena! Even though it is the more difficult, the more dangerous, the more uncertain choice – I choose to participate rather than to spectate. I choose the arena even though this is an apt description of life in the arena –

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10)

That definitely describes life in the arena. But here’s the advice I follow as a participant rather than a spectator –

” . . . I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. . . . But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14)

And I remember what Jesus told His disciples –

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

That’s so true! Life in the arena of this world is filled with trouble. It is definitely more challenging than life on the sidelines. BUT – as a participant I am never alone. God was with Daniel in the lion’s den. He was there with Daniel’s three friends when they were in the king’s overheated furnace. God was with Jonah in the belly of the big fish. My Heavenly Father is with me as I face and endure the challenges and hardships in the arena of this world every day. His presence gives me the courage I need to stay in the arena and to keep on fighting the good fight. And God’s presence gives me what I need in order to fight in the arena.

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)

” ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” (Zechariah 4:6)

I am not alone in the arena and I have a clear purpose in being there.

“I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” (Jude 1:3)

“But you, man (woman) of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in His own time” (1 Timothy 6:11-15)

to contend for the faith, to fight the good fight of the faith, to pursue righteousness, to keep His commands, to take hold of the eternal life to which I’ve been called – this is life in the arena, active not passive – I desire to continue to be a participant – never a spectator, so that when my days in the arena come to an end, I will be able to say along with the apostle Paul –

“For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:6-8)

Inside the arena the fighting is fierce. Participation is not for the faint of heart. However, you and I have One who is interceding on our behalf, ensuring that we will emerge victorious if we stay the course. We have His promise –

“Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:34-39)

Did you catch that? In the arena of life, you and I are “more than conquerors through Him who loved us” – loved us enough to die in our place on the cross and loves us still with an everlasting love.

that’s all I need to know – I’m more than a conqueror through Jesus – I was created to be a participant, not an idle spectator. So were you, dear readers. Therefore, I will remain in the arena, my face marred by dust and sweat and blood, until He calls me home. How about you?

sincerely, Grace Day