Girls To Grow

Maybe it’s because the school year is winding down and my daughters have been facing tests and final exams. Or maybe I need more in-person conversations instead of spending so much time at home lately! But I’ve recently been intrigued by questions, especially those found in the Bible.

Two weeks ago I asked how you would answer seven questions that Jesus asked of others when He was here on earth. Today I’m in the Old Testament, looking at questions that people asked of God. And it’s so interesting to me that the questions they asked are the very same ones that you and I likely ask today.

Here are four of them.

Are You really good?

“And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?…Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” ~Genesis 18:23, 25

Here Abraham is pleading with God prior to the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah. He knows his nephew Lot and his family are in the city, and Abraham is asking God to spare it for the sake of the righteous people who live there.

I love what this tells me about Abraham’s relationship with God. He asks the question in verse 25 already knowing the answer. He is totally confident that God will do right and will be faithful to what He promises Abraham.

In a conversation just a few verses earlier, God told Abraham and Sarah that they will finally have the son they have waited many, many years for, the one who will become a great nation. The delay in seeing that promise fulfilled has not – at least as he pleads for Lot’s salvation – dampened Abraham’s faith.

I believe that God is good. Do you? Have you experienced it for yourself? It reminds me of Psalm 34:8. “O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”

Why did this happen?

“And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us?” ~Joshua 7:7

The children of Israel, after a glorious victory at Jericho, have just been defeated by the small city of Ai. We can read ahead a few verses and see why God allowed it to happen. But Joshua doesn’t yet know about the sin in the camp.

Then there’s Gideon. The Lord sends an angel to tell Gideon the Lord is with him. Here’s Gideon’s response.

“And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?” ~Judges 6:13

He, like Joshua, is asking why the current situation is the way it is.

And don’t forget Elijah. God led him to a widow to sustain him through a famine. While he’s staying with her, her only son dies. Elijah goes to God.

“And he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?” ~1 Kings 17:20

In the case of Joshua and Gideon, we find the answer to the “why” in Scripture. It’s because of sin and God’s judgment that these things have happened. In Elijah’s case, we can read what the widow told Elijah after God breathes life back into her son.

“And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.” [verse 24]

Perhaps the “why” here was to increase this widow’s faith in God and confirm to her that Elijah was His prophet.

Is there any one of us who’s never asked God why? I have, and on more than one occasion. Maybe the “why” is eventually revealed to us or perhaps we never understand.

Here’s where I can run back to Proverbs 3:5, which reminds me to trust God with all my heart and not to lean on my own understanding. That’s all I can do when I don’t understand why. Trust God…and believe God is good (which takes us back to our first question above!)

How long?

“How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?” ~Psalm 13:1

Isn’t that one of the overarching questions in our lives, especially when times are hard? How long until this trial is over? How long do I have to suffer? How long until my prodigal child returns to her faith?

We can usually endure something if we just know the end date. If we’re confident that relief will come in two weeks, we can tough it out. It’s the not knowing how long it will drag on that is mentally stressful. (Truly that’s been one of the hardest parts for me of dealing with the coronavirus and its restrictions!)

I can’t give you a verse that answers this question specifically for you. I do know that God promises not to submit us to temptation longer than we’re able to bear it without an escape. [1 Corinthians 10:13]

And I know that difficulties are a part of life, but they do eventually end. The David who could ask “how long” could also see the joy that follows.

“For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favor is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” ~Psalm 30:5

Who am I?

“And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?” ~Exodus 3:11

God appears to Moses in the burning bush and tells him that he’s being sent to deliver the children of Israel from Pharaoh in Egypt. Moses doesn’t think that he’s the person for the task!

God’s answer in the next verse? “Certainly, I will be with thee…” That right there, that’s the only qualification Moses needed for the task, large as it was. And that’s the only one we need to do whatever God’s calling us to do.

Who you and I are is precious to God. He knit us together and knows all our thoughts [Psalm 139:2, 15] We are children of God [John 1:12] and the temple of the Holy Spirit. [1 Corinthians 3:16] He has good plans for us. [Jeremiah 29:11] So let’s live today knowing who we are in Christ!

I’m thankful we serve a God who hears our questions and has given us His Word to direct us as we seek answers!

Related posts:

• What Ruth Teaches Me About Trusting God
• 6 Ways to Find Hope When Times Are Tough
• He’s the Lord of Our Ruined and Empty Places

Were you one of those students who threw up their hand any time the teacher asked a question? I wasn’t. I usually knew the answer, but I didn’t want the attention that came with having my name called out in class!

Questions make us think. Sometimes we’re confident we know the right answer, and other times, we’re unsure how we should respond.

Today I want to look at seven questions Jesus asked different people during His ministry here on earth. I think they’re questions we can learn from as we consider the answers.

1. “And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” ~Matthew 14:31

Here’s the story of Peter walking on the water to Jesus. He starts out well, but then his attention turns from Jesus to the boisterous winds and stormy waves and he begins to sink.

I love that the verse says “immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand.” He was right there to catch Peter. But then the question comes to Peter, why did you doubt?

Why do we doubt? God’s Word is full of His promises, and we know that He is faithful. Yet we’re human. And when the trials come, all too often we, like Peter, take our eyes off Jesus and doubt whether He can really come through for us this time.

How thankful I am that God is always there to reach out His hand to us. May our faith be strengthened as we learn to trust Him more.

2. “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” ~Mark 8:36

The answer to this question is simple. Nothing. We could have every single material possession we want, oodles of money in the bank, recognition, fame, and power. But the second we die, if we don’t have Jesus as our Savior, every bit of that is worthless to us.

Yet is that how we prioritize our lives? I’m preaching to myself here for sure. Do I put more time each day into preparing my soul for Heaven than I do accumulating things here on earth? Certainly we have duties and responsibilities that we have to carry out as part of life. But I know that I need to evaluate my priorities and line them up with eternity in view.

3. “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” ~Matthew 7:3

Why? Because it’s easier to see what he’s doing wrong than it is to be honest with myself and confront my own faults. Let me begin by dealing with my own issues before I confront someone else with theirs.

How we need discernment to recognize our wrongdoings. It’s yet another reason it’s so important to spend time in the Bible. Scripture can be that mirror that reveals our sin and causes us to repent.

4. “And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.” ~Matthew 9:28

Two blind men have been following Jesus and asking Him to have mercy on them. Here Jesus asks if they have faith that He can heal them from their blindness. Obviously they do, because in the following verse He says, “According to your faith be it unto you” and He heals them.

Do we believe that God can do far above what we ask or think? [Ephesians 3:20] What is the state of our faith? I know that way too often mine is weak. Yet nothing is impossible with our God.

Our older daughter is taking final exams for her freshman year of college this week. For months before she went away last fall, I prayed for good roommates for her. God answered above and beyond what I could have hoped! Four girls with no drama over six months of living together – what a blessing!

5. “And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you?” ~Matthew 20:32

Two blind men sitting by the side of the road cry out to Jesus to have mercy on them. Jesus asks, “What do you want?” In the following verse, they answer, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.”

Maybe their need seems very obvious to us. Yet how would we answer that question? What is our most obvious need? Is that where we need Jesus to step in, or is there something deeper, perhaps a spiritual need? The passage ends by saying that Jesus had compassion on them, and healed them. Praise God for His compassion and the power He has to do whatever needs to be accomplished in our lives.

6. “And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?” ~Luke 17:17

This is one of my favorite Bible passages because it reminds me of the importance of gratitude. Jesus has just healed ten lepers, and only one has returned to give thanks. He knows the answer to His question here, as do we. The nine were too excited or too busy celebrating or immediately hurrying home to their families to return and thank their Healer.

Being healed from leprosy is not likely our story. But I feel sure we’ve let answers to prayer and specific blessings in our lives pass by without ever going to God and thanking Him. Let’s make it a continual practice to offer praise and gratitude to God for all He does for us.

7. “So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.” ~John 21:15

We end with a simple one. Do we love Jesus? If so, are we living in a way that demonstrates that we do?

I hope we find ourselves challenged to evaluate our own walk with God as we consider how we would answer these questions!

Related posts:

• The Spiritual Truth I Realized While Riding with a New Driver
• 5 Daily Practices for the Christian Woman
• Do You Have Fair-Weather Faith?

So I’ve been walking in our neighborhood a lot lately. As in a lot.

One morning last week as I was walking and thinking about all that’s going on in our world – the continued uncertainty and fear related to the coronavirus – I noticed a few geese that were floating out in the middle of one of our neighborhood ponds.

It was a beautiful morning, sunny and a little cool. They were just hanging out together, even social distancing, it appeared. And do you know what those geese were concerned about? Not one. single. thing.

They were just in the moment, enjoying the pond, resting. They weren’t worried about finding supper later or what they would do if their pond dried up one day or focused at all on tomorrow.

Admittedly they don’t have responsibilities like we as humans do. But God made them to just be what they are and do whatever their next thing is. And He provides for them. Psalm 145:15-16 says, “The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.“

Watching those geese, I was, of course, reminded of the passage in Matthew about God taking care of the birds. Later on, I looked up part of that passage which is in chapter six, verses 25-26.

“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?”

As I continued to study these and the surrounding verses, I came up with five lessons that I hope will encourage us to trust God no matter what we might be facing.

Have an undivided mind.

Isn’t it interesting how often in this passage we read about “taking thought?”

• Verse 25 “Take no thought…”
• Verse 27 “Which of you by taking thought…”
• Verse 28 “And why take ye thought…”
• Verse 31 “Therefore take no thought…”
• Verse 34 “Take therefore no thought…”

As I studied this phrase, it seems that it has to do with the worry or anxiety that comes from having a divided mind. And this makes perfect sense if you look at the verse that leads off this section of Scripture. Verse 25 starts with “therefore.” So what’s the verse before that say?

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.“

There it is. Is our mind divided between either loving and serving God or working for what the world has to offer? It’s more difficult to worry when my mind is centered on God and the promises He’s made in His Word.

Know that you are valuable to God.

“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” ~Verse 26

You are not forgotten. Who would think birds are particularly worthy of attention? They don’t work, they don’t save up and provide for themselves, but God never fails to take care of them. How much more will He do the same for those He created in His own image?

Remember that God knows what your needs are.

Verse 31-32 says “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” …for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.“

Maybe food or drink or clothing aren’t your particular worries today…or maybe they are. Whatever your need is – spiritual, physical, emotional, financial – God knows all about it.

Prioritize spending time with God on a daily basis.

Have you memorized verse 33 at some point? “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

We want to put God first in our lives, and probably the best way to do that is to put Him first in our day. Not that our time with Him has to be as soon as we wake up, but we want to make sure that it’s a scheduled, defined part of our day.

There have been a few times lately where I’ve not gotten up as early as I normally would, and have decided to wait until later in the day to read my Bible. Friends, it’s hard for me to stop and take the time to do it later in the day – even in “quarantine mode!”

For me, early morning works best – though I know some night owls who choose to do it at night. Either way, making Bible reading and prayer a daily priority will help us keep Christ first in our lives.

Focus on today, not tomorrow.

“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” ~Verse 34

Those geese certainly weren’t floating around honking to each other about whether or not they’d be able to find something to eat tomorrow. At the present moment, they had what they needed, so life was good.

If ever there was a time to practice this principle, it’s now. We don’t know when coronavirus restrictions are going to end and how different “normal” will look when they do. But we can live today to the best of our ability.

In the months to come, when we look back on this period of time, may we see how God used it to grow our faith and our trust in Him!

Related posts:

• Sit with This Truth: God Takes Pleasure in You
• In the Midst of Change, Here’s Who God Is to Me Today
• For the Woman Who Feels Like She’s Never Enough

Easter’s going to have a little different feel to it in 2020.

We haven’t shopped for a new Easter dress or spring shoes. Easter baskets will mostly be filled with whatever I can grab during a weekly grocery store run. [Yes, I still do Easter baskets for my teenage daughters 🙂 ] And we won’t be headed out to our normal Easter service at church on Sunday morning.

With all that’s going on in our world, I want to make sure that the celebration and significance of Easter don’t get lost in the shuffle. I want to be mindful this week to focus my mind on Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.

And what better event is there to focus on when what we all need today is a major dose of hope? It’s easy in our current environment, where most days feel very long and very much the same, to be discouraged or fearful.

As I thought about how hope plays into the Easter story, this passage came to mind.

“Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh…That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” ~Ephesians 2:11-13

It’s interesting to note some parallels between our condition without Christ and the current crisis we’re facing.

We were hopeless.

That’s what everyone single one of us was before Christ came to earth, took our punishment for sin by dying on the cross, and then rose from the dead.

There’s no greater story of redemption and hope. After Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, it looked like this narrative of mankind was headed for a really bad ending. We had no hope of bridging the gap between a holy God and our sinful selves.

Right now, our best hope for living this day-to-day reality that’s so foreign to what we’ve known is to look to God. He alone is the source of true hope.

We were incapable of saving ourselves.

There was nothing you or I could do in our sinful state to save ourselves and get to heaven. God had to initiate salvation. Only He could find a way to reconcile us to Himself and allow us to spend eternity in His presence.

We can’t make COVID-19 and its related problems go away. Hopefully, medical solutions will come soon, but even that will only happen as God gives men and women the ability to figure it out.

God had a plan.

In Genesis 3:14-15, God laid out His plan for our salvation. His Son, Jesus Christ, would be the Savior who would provide a way for man to have forgiveness of sin.

And God has a plan today. Not only does He have a plan for each of us individually through this time, but for our churches and our nations. I couldn’t begin to tell you what it might be, but I trust that He is working in every situation.

It was all in His timing.

Why wait so long between the sin of Adam and Eve in the garden and the coming of the Messiah? I don’t know. But His timing is always perfect. Everything related to Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection was done on His timetable.

Why has the coronavirus afflicted our world in the spring of 2020? I certainly don’t know that either. But we know that it’s all in God’s timing.

There was a purpose to everything He did.

You’ve likely heard sermons about all of the Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled in the life of Jesus. God orchestrated both the writing and the fulfillment of those prophecies. Nothing was accidentally included; they all had a purpose.

I’m reminded that “The Lord is righteous in all His ways and holy in all His works.” [Psalm 145:17] Everything the Lord does is right and good. He has a purpose for what is happening each and every day.

Victory was waiting in the wings.

Things looked fairly dark that morning as Jesus was led away to be crucified. I would guess that little hope was felt among his followers as they watched Him being nailed to a cross. Yet just three short days later, how their outlook would change.

I don’t know exactly what victory will look like in our current situation. Right now, just a return to what was our normal lives and routines sounds good! Maybe it will also be the lessons we’re learning as so much has been put on hold.

By the blood of Jesus Christ, we who were far off are now drawn close to Him. Let’s immerse ourselves this week in the hope that Easter brings. Eternal life in heaven with our Lord. Peace, grace, and comfort here on earth. His presence to guide us. May we ever give thanks for what Jesus accomplished on our behalf that first Easter!

Related posts:

• 7 Truths to Meditate On as We Prepare Our Hearts for Easter
• 5 Simple Easter Bible Verses to Teach Your Children
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There are a lot of things we can live without. In this current pandemic, perhaps that’s being emphasized more than usual! I know that even now I’m still blessed to have every necessity as well as so many of the things I just want to have.

And while the store shelves may be empty of certain items and we can’t run all over town like we’re used to doing, most of us have what we need to keep going physically. Yet in a world where things are admittedly off-kilter, there’s an essential quality we need as we look to the future.

I can’t imagine living without hope.

As Christians, we have hope for eternity, and that’s absolutely necessary. When we trusted Jesus as our Savior, we secured our home in heaven, where we’ll live with Him forever. But we still need hope for today, and tomorrow, and for any time life is hard.

Have you recently asked the same question that Job did? “And where is now my hope?” [17:15]

I went looking for some Bible verses that mentioned hope to discover how we might find it if we’ve lost ours. Here are six ideas.

1. We find hope as we focus on God’s nearness.

“I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.” ~Psalm 16:8-9

Our focus is so important. Are we focused on the circumstances and our current situation – and yes, it could be dire – or are we focused on God? He is always near, always present.

Doesn’t it sound delightful to “rest in hope?” That’s where we can be as concentrate our attention on the truth that God is always with us.

2. We find hope as we trust in God.

“For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.” ~Psalm 33:21-22

Maybe we’ve talked about the importance of trusting God before??? 🙂 We trust His grace when we don’t understand what’s going on. As our trust grows, He grants us peace.

God’s mercy comes to us as we learn to put our hope in Him.

3. We find hope as we wait on God.

“The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.” ~Lamentations 3:25-26

We want any difficult situation to be over with right this minute. But the Lord has a purpose in allowing it to continue.

I love that it says “quietly wait.” I don’t think my waiting is always quiet. Perhaps it’s more like weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth! But the verse says that it’s good for us to both hope and wait for the Lord’s salvation.

4. We find hope as we encourage ourselves in God.

“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.” ~Psalm 42:11

Do you talk to yourself? Here the Psalmist tells himself to find hope in God. He questions his discouraged soul and looks forward with confidence to the future when he knows he will praise God.

5. We find hope as we recall God’s faithfulness.

“For thou art my hope, O Lord God: thou art my trust from my youth. By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother’s bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee.” ~Psalm 71:5-6

How often has God been faithful over the course of our lives? The short answer is that He has always been faithful. It may be a good exercise to actually write down some of the times you recall God’s faithfulness to meet a need, answer a prayer, or provide deliverance.

6. We find hope in the promises of God’s Word.

“I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.” ~Psalm 130:5

You’re not going to find hope on the news or almost any media outlet! But God’s Word is full of it. That’s where we need to spend our time.

As we gird ourselves with hope for today, here’s a verse we can pray for ourselves and for each other.

“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” ~Romans 15:13

Related posts:

• 3 Reasons You Can Have Hope Today
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