Category Archives: Essential 100

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If You Could Ask God For Anything

Essential 100—Read:
I Kings 2:1-3:28

“At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” Solomon answered, “Give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” ~I Kings 3:5 & 9

If you could ask God for anything, what would that be? Riches? Fame? Power? Those would certainly be temptations, at least they would for me.  But there is something far better than wealth, celebrity and position, and in fact, without it, those are at best, short-lived, perhaps even squandered, and at worst, misused to our detriment.

I am talking about wisdom, of course. Wisdom is the ability to discern good from bad, the discipline to choose right from wrong, and the habit of putting truth into practice in every day life, in matters great and small. And wisdom at its most noble, at its greatest impact, at its most enduring, comes from God.

Solomon could have asked God for anything else—wealth, power and fame—but he asked for the wisdom to lead the people over whom God has placed him. Now presumably, since God asked, he would have given Solomon those things. But Solomon asked for wisdom instead, and the Lord was pleased with his request. (I Samuel 3:11)

Greater than all the good things we might want from this world, the best is something not of this world: To please God.  For when we sincerely desire that which pleases him, God happily blesses us with his abundance as well:

So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both riches and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.”  (I Samuel 3:11-14)

Solomon could have asked for anything, he chose wisdom. Good choice! That’s a good pattern for us to follow.  Ask for the things that please God, he may just give you the things that please you.

“Aim at heaven and you’ll get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.” ~C.S. Lewis

Reflect and Apply: What are you asking for in prayer?  Make sure you’re sincerely asking for the things that please him. He has said that when we “delight in him, he will give us our heart’s desires.” (Psalm 37:4)

 

 

 

 

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Sexual Failure and Spiritual Restoration

Essential 100—Read:
Samuel 11:1-12:25

“The prophet Nathan said to King David, ‘The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.” ~II Samuel 12:13-14

Where do you go to get your integrity back after you’ve failed? How do you find the way forward after the personal devastation and the public humiliation of a financial, professional, relational or especially after a moral failure of the sexual kind? What can you do to get your heart restored?

I’ll bet David asked those questions after his confession to Nathan, “Where do I go to restore my integrity?  What do I do to regain my reputation? How can I get my life back on track with God when I’ve sinned so badly?” God had forgiven David; now David just needed to find a way forward.

The good news from David’s story is that failure doesn’t have to define your future nor does it have to be the fatal blow to God’s plans for you. Sin doesn’t have be the final word in your story; an insurmountable barrier to moving on to a satisfying, successful and even a deeply spiritual life. David discovered that as enormous as his sin was, it was wildly outdone by God’s grace. That is not to minimize his sin: he was an adulterer and a murderer—and there would be excruciatingly painful consequences throughout the rest of his life. Yet David’s sin—and your sin for that matter—will always be miniscule compared to God’s salvation from it. In David’s story, we have been left with a roadmap for recovery, and we can note four essential elements about the way forward to restoration:

The first thing you will see is that the road to a restored heart begins with honesty.  In II Samuel 12:13, David says to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” There is no explanation, no excuse, no blaming Bathsheba for her seductive exhibitionism, no promise to never do it again. David just simply and sincerely confessed his sin, even when there’s no indication yet that God will have him back, or even allow him to live. Honest confession is what releases Divine compassion and repentance always precedes restoration.

The second thing you will see is the road to recovery is paved with healing grace. Verse 13 continues, “Nathan replied, ‘The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.’” Now the Mosaic Law said David had to die.  It required death by stoning for adultery—even for a guilty king. Countless adulterers throughout Israel’s history have already died for adultery. So God has to suspend his own law just for David. Sounds unfair and inconsistent of God, doesn’t it? But what we’re getting here is a sneak peak at what God’s grace is all about. Now you will notice in the next verse that the son born to David and Bathsheba out of their adulterous affair will have to die. Sadly, the son pays the price for their sin. Sound familiar? God’s Son paid the price for our sin so we wouldn’t have to. He died so we could live! That’s grace: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. That grace is absolutely fundamental to the restored heart.

The third thing you will see is that the journey to recovery is fueled by humility. II Samuel 12:16 shows David humbling himself before God: “David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground.” He humbled himself and prayed for a crop failure, putting his hope in God’s mercy because he knew that was his only chance. If you have repented of your sin, it is quite appropriate to pray for a crop failure as well. Why? God in his mercy just may restrain his discipline. That is his character, so why not tap into it? Micah 7:18 says, “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgressions of the remnant? You do not stay angry forever, but delight to show mercy.”

The fourth thing you will see is that the road to recovery requires staying the course. David determined to get on with life when I’m sure he felt like giving up.  When he felt unworthy to go on, he instead just began to grit out a long obedience in the same direction.

As you skim over the last few verses of II Samuel 12, here is what you will see: Verse 20 says, “Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.”  Verse 24 says, “Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba [over the death of their baby], and he slept with her. She gave birth to [another] son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved him…” Verses 29-30 say, “David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and attacked and captured it. He took the crown from the head of their king—its weight was a talent of gold [75lbs.], and it was set with precious stones—and it was placed on David’s head.”

It’s no accident that these details are connected to this story of David’s restoration. It’s showing that David is getting on with life, he’s doing what husbands do, he’s doing what kings do. David is just getting back to practical faithfulness in the daily ordinariness of life. That is where recovery happens!

Then something very cool happens at this point of the story:  II Samuel 12:25 says that Nathan, the man who had announced God’s judgment on David for his sin, now comes and delivers a message of God’s love. That message comes in the form of a name that God has for the second child born to David and Bathsheba—Jedidiah, which means, “loved by God.” God is showing David that he isn’t finished with him yet. David’s failure has not been the final word on his life. God is revealing plans to prosper David and not to harm him; to give him a hope and a future.

Now restoration doesn’t mean there won’t be scars. The record suggests that David was never again as effective a king as he once was. Yet he kept moving forward, and though David may not have become a greater king, but he became a deeper man. And that was a far more important thing.

“Wherever there is a pulverized and penitent heart, there grace also is, and wherever there is a voluntary confession not gained by pressure, there love covereth a multitude of sins.”  ~ Menno Simons

Reflect and Apply: Some Christians tend to make sexual immorality the unforgivable sin, but it is not. For sure, sexual sin has dire consequences, and that’s what makes it so destructive. Let us remember, as Francis Schaeffer pointed out, “The Bible does not minimize sexual sin, but neither does it make it different from any other sin.” What I treasure so much about our merciful God, as John Newton wrote, is that he is a “gracious Master who knows how to overrule even our mistakes to His glory and our own advantage.”

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The Difference Between Success And Failure

Essential 100—Read: II Samuel 5:1-7:29

“And he became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him…And David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel. ” ~II Samuel 5:10 & 12

After some twenty years since he was first annointed by the prophet Samuel to be Israel’s king, David is finally sitting firmly on the throne with the entire nation united under his leadership. And the nation is about to enter its golden era. Interestingly, and quite instructively, if you were to compare this chapter to the ascension of Saul as King over Israel in I Samuel, you would notice quite a different approach these two kings took—and with drastically different outcomes.  Here are several significant contrasts between David and Saul:

First, David covenanted before the Lord to be a shepherd of his people.  II Samuel 5:3 says, “When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a compact with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they annointed David king over Israel.”

This stands in stark contrast to Saul, who often gave in to the pressures of the people, and at times, was led by them rather than the Lord. I Samuel 15:24 points out, “Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the LORD’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them.”

Second, David inquired of the Lord for direction. II Samuel 5:19 says, “so David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?”  On the other hand, Saul would sometimes go his own way first then ask the Lord what he thought after the fact, as is painfully pictured in I Samuel 13 and 15.

Third, David obeyed God’s direction. II Samuel 5: 25 tells us, “So David did as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.” Saul’s leadership, on the other hand, was unfortunately characterized by disobedience: “You acted foolishly,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.” (I Samuel 13:13)

Fourth, David gave God credit for his victories: “So David went to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, “As waters break out, the Lord has broken out against my enemies before me.” So that place was called Baal Perazim.” (II Samuel 5:20)  Sadly, Saul was addicted to his own glory: “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor.” (I Samuel 15:12)

Not only were the leadership styles of these two kings diametrically different, so were the results of their respective reigns. David became greater because God was with him but Saul’s kingdom was taken away because God had left him. Both men started out their careers with a promise from God that he would be with them and bless their efforts. But one ended in success with the other ending in failure.

What was the difference? David approached his role as king with an attitude that was deeply humble, a heart that was fully responsive, and a will that was entirely submitted to God’s purposes.  Saul, well he was sitting on his own throne, if you know what I mean. That was the difference between success and failure—and what a difference that was.

“Humility is the guardian of virtue.”  ~Bernard of Clairvaux

Reflect and Apply: How are you doing in those vital areas: Humility of the spirit, responsiveness of the heart and submissiveness of the will?  Maybe it’s time for a spiritual check up in those areas.

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The Power Of Playing Second Fiddle

Essential 100—Read:
I Samuel 23:7-24:22

“And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. ‘Don’t be afraid,’ he said. ‘My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.’” ~I Samuel 23:16-17

Though Jonathan was King Saul’s son and heir to the throne, he stripped himself of every symbol of royalty to show favor and friendship to one who was his rival—David. Instead of jealousy, which would have been natural, he gave David strength. Instead of protecting his own interests, Jonathan promoted David’s welfare. Instead of siding with his father, he defended David, even risking his own life. Instead of minimizing the damage his father was trying to inflict upon David, Jonathan openly and honestly admitted the king’s wrong.  Instead of abandoning David, Jonathan became a source of encouragement.

David’s was at the point of breaking. I’m sure he thought about giving up.  If he had, he would have ceased to be Jonathan’s rival, and Jonathan knew that.  Yet Jonathan went to David and strengthened him in the Lord anyway.  Jonathan was content to be second fiddle if he could help advance David to first chair. Was that because Jonathon viewed himself as unworthy or somehow lesser than David? Was there some self-loathing at play here?  Not at all; Jonathan is simply responding to what he saw God doing in David’s life.

How rare does a friend put himself or herself in the background for the sake of another’s God-ordained advancement. Jonathan’s relationship with David was truly an altruistic friendship.  It was not based on what he could get from his friend, but what he could give.  That is truly a sacrificial friendship—and it is what God values, expects and blesses.

Which leads to a very important, and challenging application: Normally at this point we would think about how we might acquire a Jonathan-type friend in our lives. Perhaps the more important thing would be to ask ourselves how we could be a Jonathan-like friend to someone in our relational sphere.

The truth is, if you want to have the kind of friendship Jonathan offered David, you need to be that kind of friend. The best vitamin for that kind of loyal, life-giving friendship:  B-1! Each of us desires someone like Jonathan in our lives—and it’s appropriate to pray that way. But more than that, each of us should pray that God will make us a Jonathan to some David.

“Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies.”  ~Aristotle

Reflect and Apply: Someone has said that Jonathan’s friendship bracketed and contained Saul’s evil, and his friendship entered David’s soul in a way Saul’s hatred never did. That’s the power of a Jonathan-like friendship.  To whom can you offer that level of friendship?  Why not start today?

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If Past Performance Is Any Indicator…

Essential 100—Read:
I Samuel 16:1-18:16

“The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” ~I Samuel 17:37

Do you ever wonder where David got his courage to fight Goliath? Was he just a naturally brave warrior, experienced in battle, confident in his hand-to-hand technique and just spoiling for a fight with an oversized blowhard, or was there something else?

There was something else! David, though he was just a young man, had walked with God in an unusually intimate way.  Prior to facing the Philistine giant, David had spent countless hours in the quiet and solitude of the wilderness watching over his father’s sheep.  Hour after monotonous hour of herding sheep, passing the time by plinking Coke bottles with his slingshot—well, maybe he had other targets—writing songs of worship and talking to God, were interspersed with moments of sheer danger when wild animals would attack the flock. In those heart-pounding moments, the only thing standing between the vicious animals and the decimation of his father’s livelihood was David—and God!

David’s time as a shepherd turned out to be a critical period of preparation for what was to come, because it was then that David had come to experience the continual presence and faithfulness of God. In those moments of distress and danger, the strong help of the Almighty had never failed; time and again, God stood by David, helped him, saved him, and the young shepherd had come to know in the depth of his being that the One who walked with him was a covenantly faithful God.

So why was David so courageous when he stood before Goliath? He was simply drawing upon the reservoir of God-confidence that had piled up in his heart. He just knew that he knew that the same God who delivered him from every past danger would deliver him from this present and present one. God’s past performance was a surefire indicator of what was about to happen. How could it be any other way?

So, have you got a Goliath in your life?  I’ll bet you do—a big, hairy, intimidating problem breathing down you neck! You see, Goliath is still around, though he comes in a variety of forms: an impossible financial situation, a nasty boss or a threatening co-worker, a rebellious child and or belligerent spouse, a physical problem or a helpless sick loved one. All of us face Goliaths, and the natural thing to do is what the Israelites did: shrink back in depression, cower in fear and run from the battle.

But that would be to live way beneath the level of confidence, joy and victory that God has willed for his people.  So learn a lesson from David—Goliath may still be around, but so is God.  He hasn’t changed. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. And he is still a covenantly faithful God—he can’t help himself.

Has he helped you in the past? Has he provided for you? Healed you? Protected and delivered you? Has he brought you this far? Why would he not do today, and tomorrow, what he has done in the past?

He will! So put your confidence in him. Get your eye off Goliath and on to God, because the One who delivered you from the paw of the lion and the bear will deliver you from that nasty old Philistine. It’s just what God does!

“He whose head is in heaven need not fear to put his feet into the grave.” ~Matthew Henry

Reflect and Apply: What is your current Goliath? Spend a moment reflecting how God has taken care of your past giants.  Then…go find five smooth stones!

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Heart Transplant

Essential 100—Read:
I Samuel 8:1-10:27

“As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. When they arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he joined in their prophesying.” ~I Samuel 10:9-10

That’s exactly what I need—a change of heart. It is not something I can produce on my own; at least not in a way that fundamentally changes who I am, how I perceive the world, how I behave, or how I respond to God. Don’t get me wrong; I have an important part to play if my heart is ever going to get changed. I have to be willing, I need to surrender, and I must daily yield to the Great Heart Surgeon.

The kind of heart-change I that need can only come from God. That’s what happened to Saul.  God had great plans for Saul, and Saul was totally unaware, unsuited (at least in his own mind) and unprepared for what God had in mind—to be the very first king of God’s chosen people, Israel. So when the prophet Samuel revealed God’s plan to Saul, this handsome, young Benjamite demurred.

Yet there was something special about Saul that God saw—a pliable heart, a humble spirit, an innate leadership quality that, with some mentoring, seasoning and Spirit-filling, could rally the Israelites. There was also in Saul a willingness to accept God’s plan, even if Saul’s first inclination was to shy away from such a lofty call. So the moment Samuel’s revelation was finished, God’s Spirit took away Saul’s heart and replaced it with one that was equal to the task of leading a leaderless people in a time of national crisis. Of course, I am not talking about a literal heart transplant, but there was certainly a spiritual heart transplant that day.

That’s exactly what I need—and want. How about you? We may not be called to lead a nation during a time of crisis, but we have been called to carry out God’s plan in a sphere of influence over which he has given us stewardship. He has called us to beat back the kingdom of darkness and proclaim freedom to those held captive to sin, to heal the sick, to cast out demons, to deliver the addicted, to love the unlovely, to restore the broken, to bring back fractured families from the brink—well, you get the picture. That’s a pretty tall order isn’t it?  Now you get a sense of what Saul must have felt at that moment!

So how exactly are you going to do all of that when you can barely manage your own life? Well, managing your own life plus capturing your sphere of influence for the Lord can and will happen when you invite the Great Heart Surgeon to take away your weak heart and transplant it with one that is equal to the task that he has placed before you.

I get the feeling you have your doubts about what I am suggesting. Well, join the club. But if God can do it for Saul, can’t he do it for you, too?  Why not go to him right now and ask him for a heart transplant!

“Our prayers are really His prayers; He speaks to himself through us.”  ~C.S. Lewis

Reflect and Apply: Perhaps you are thinking that praying for a Saul-like heart transplant is a real stretch.  But let me encourage you with this thought: It was God who led you to read this devotional piece today, and he did so for a purpose. He wants to do in you what he did for Saul. So go ahead and ask for a new heart—you’re only asking for what God already desires for you!

 

 

 

 

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Blessed Barrenness

Essential 100—Read:
I Samuel 1:1-3:21

“In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD….‘[do] not forget your servant but give her a son…’” ~I Samuel 1:10-11

Nobody really understands the pain of desiring children but not being able to have any like the barren. Hannah was a childless woman in a culture where children meant everything—a woman’s worth and desirability to her husband, her bragging rights at family gatherings, the admiration of the other women at the market, her husband’s ammunition for one-upping the other guys hanging out at the city gates, as well as a whole host of other cultural notches on the proverbial belt that came with having kids.

There was one other benefit to having children that had an even more significant meaning to married couples in Israel: perpetual life.  You see, through posterity, the family DNA, the family name, the family’s unending future would be carried forth in perpetuity.

In light of all that, Hannah’s grief over having no children is more than most of us could ever begin to understand—unless, of course, you have suffered the disappointment of barrenness yourself. Even her husband, Elkanah, didn’t get it:

“Why are you crying, Hannah?” Elkanah would ask. “Why aren’t you eating? Why be downhearted just because you have no children? You have me—isn’t that better than having ten sons?” (I Samuel 1:8, NLT)

Either he was a complete dolt or an insensitive brute—or perhaps both. But Elkannah wasn’t alone in this matter: Even Hannah’s pastor wouldn’t have placed in a Mr. Sensitive contest. He accused her of being drunk as she silently poured out her heart to the Lord:

“Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking. ‘Must you come here drunk?’ he demanded. ‘Throw away your wine!’” (I Samuel 1:13-14, NLT)

Hannah was alone in her grief, and even worse, she had no hope that things would be any different in the future; she was destined to a life of barrenness. So what’s a misunderstood, hopeless, devastated, childless woman to do?  Here’s what Hannah did: She worshiped.

You will notice in the story that Hannah went before the Lord year after year—she persisted. She poured out her heart, time and time again—she trusted. She faithfully presented herself in sacrificial worship before the Lord not only with her husband, but also with his other wife, a mean-spirited rival named Penninah (I Samuel 1:7)—she pressed into God.

As difficult as her situation was, Hannah worshiped the One who had her life, including all its details, big and small, in his good hands.  And finally, in timing understood only by God, he granted her request and Hannah bore Samuel, who grew up to be the greatest of Israel’s prophets.

Hannah worshiped! That’s what you and I must learn to do, too, until worship becomes our first and best response to not only the delightful, but to the devastating things in life. If you are a childless woman whose pain and disappointment is understood only by God—worship him. He is your only hope and the One who knows his plans for your life—plans that are always good, even when you don’t particularly like them. And if you are suffering other kinds of barrenness—in your relationships, your finances, your career, your ministry or whatever—offer him your worship.  He knows your way, and he knows his plans for you. (Jeremiah 29:11)

As tough as it may be to offer your worship to the Lord when things aren’t going your way, it’s the best and only thing that will set your heart right.

“To be grateful for an unanswered prayer, to give thanks in a state of interior desolation, to trust in the love of God in the face of the marvels, cruel circumstances, obscenities, and commonplaces of life is to whisper a doxology in darkness.” ~ Brennan Manning

Reflect and Apply: Reflect on Manning’s statement.  If we dare, offer a prayer of gratitude, in sincerity and by faith, for whatever unanswered prayer is on your prayer list.