SMALL GOD VERSUS HUGE GOD

She daily prays to her ancestors, especially to the ashes of her mom. The ashes fit conveniently in the small box in the household shrine. Her god is small.

Does the God you serve also fit in a box or is He the One described and celebrated in Nehemiah? It is easy to compact God into a convenient container of our own making.

WORLD HISTORY FROM GOD’S POINT OF VIEW

One of the most beautiful prayers in the Bible is Nehemiah 9. Read the chapter and underline everything you learn about Who God is. Take your time with this. World history is seen from God’s point of view. How many times is the pronoun “you” (in reference to God)? God does not fit into a tiny comfortable box. He is limitless.

Nehemiah chapter seven illustrated that building the exterior walls around the city of Jerusalem was not sufficient to secure the Jews’ future. In further chapters, the number of bodies inhabiting the city does not indicate the number of hearts given to God.

HEARTS DON’T CHANGE WITH A SMALL GOD

Consider a large church building with an excellent security system. It does not guarantee what size God fills parishioners’ hearts. Packing the building with hundreds of people only demonstrates occupancy. Hearts do not change if individuals believe in a small God.

3 EFFECTS OF A SMALL VIEW OF GOD

Read Nehemiah 10:28-39. Notice the three major effects the acknowledgment of God’s size makes on the Jewish people. First, they promise to “not give our daughters in marriage to the peoples around us or to take their daughters for our sons.” In context, the Jews restarted their lives from scratch after exile. Life for the refugees was hard. They longed for economic security. Making family ties with business clans helped families get ahead. Resorting to their own devices, Jewish fathers resorted to arranging marriages with unbelieving families in hopes of establishing prosperity. Regarding the scale of how big the fathers viewed God, their God is tiny and weak. They can’t trust Him to take care of their physical needs, so they resort to their own devices.

Next addressed is the issue of doing business on the Sabbath. Working seven days a week helps pay bills a struggling family’s bills. However, this view of God and the Sabbath demonstrates the belief that He is not to be trusted to take care of financial needs. The Jews neglected the one day of the week in which they are commanded to dedicate to worshipping a Huge God.

Last addressed, where is the money going from all these endeavors? Times are hard. People neglect giving God the first part of their income. They look in the cupboards, see how barren they are, and decide their needs came first. However, faith demonstrated is first giving to God; giving to Him the best, and trusting Him to take care of their needs. This recognizes the immense, vast and colossal God. He is forgiving, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. He hears, He delivers.

WHO CAN EXPLAIN GOD?

“Is there anyone around who can explain God? Anyone smart enough to tell him what to do? Anyone who has done him such a huge favor that God has to ask his advice? Everything comes from him; Everything happens through him; Everything ends up in him. Always glory! Always praise! Yes, yes, yes!” (Romans 11:34-36). What size God do you serve? Is He tiny and convenient or the One True God described in Nehemiah 9?

HOW TO BE UNOFFENDABLE

The longer I live as a believer, the more I realize my Christian life is full of holes. I’m Swiss Cheese, when I should be a block of Cheddar.

WEEK #1

The longer I live as a believer, the more I realize my Christian life is full of holes. I’m Swiss Cheese, when I should be a block of Cheddar. This is especially evident when I am tired. With Bill’s illness I exist continually exhausted. One evidence of this is how easily I become offended.

LIVING LIKE THIS STEALS ENERGY

My emotions run into a sprint when people ignore our situation or say clueless remarks. What about when someone zooms first into the parking space closer to the clinic doors and my husband can barely walk from the car? Yes, I ratchet up the offense meter awfully fast. Living like this steals a lot of energy.

GENUSES AT OBSERVING OTHERS

I asked God for help. That’s when I came across the book “Unoffendable: How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better” by Brant Hansen. Brant writes: “We want to think people are worse than us. It’s one of our favorite pastimes. Go to a mall food court, sit down, and listen to the conversations around you. Compare how often people are telling stories about hurtful, wrong things other people did, versus confessing hurtful, wrong things they, themselves, have done. We’re brilliant at this. Geniuses, really.”

HOMEWORK WEEK #1

Homework for Week #1: Daily, note the negative things you hear people say about one another and the negative things which spew out of your own mouth. Take a notebook and write down ten positive things each day you have notice about that day and confess to God the toxins you contributed to the sound waves around you. Let me know your observations.

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Philippians 4:8)

SPRING IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER

A deep groaning rose from the hearts of hundreds so caught up with living that they had journeyed far from the Word of God.

The grounds around Sunrise Church were packed on sunrise January 1st. An extraordinary outdoor meeting with absolutely no coffee and donuts available and no lawn chairs provided. Men, women, and children old enough to understand the gravity of the situation attended. A miracle was going to take place in the middle of winter.

ALL KNELT AND WORSHIPPED

Old Paster Ezra stood on a platform above the expectant crowd. All cell phones turned off, no chatter heard, the crowd was silent. Ezra praised God. Everyone lifted their hands and thundered, “Amen! Amen!” Then all bowed down on the cold frosty ground and worshiped God. Not a comfortable position in the middle of winter!

HOUR AFTER HOUR THE WORD WAS READ

Rising again, the people stood at attention. Hour after hour Ezra read aloud from his Bible, beginning with the Gospels. He transitioned to Acts, Romans, and the rest of the New Testament. Thirteen men roamed around huge crowd, helping explain the Scriptures. The cold winds howled as hearts began to respond.

BREAKING SPIRITUAL STRONGHOLDS

Hearing the Word began to break spiritual strongholds. “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:12-13) Open heart surgery was performed as the Word of God convicted and penetrated. Tears streamed down the faces of many. A deep groaning rose from the hearts of hundreds so caught up with living that they had journeyed far from the Word of God. Sins acknowledged, relationships healed, and hearts made right. Spirits were renewed. Joy sprang up. They truly heard from God amidst a winter of frozen hearts.

HEARTS DEFROSTED

And thus began the revival of Sunrise Church. Finally, they gave God their full attention and responded with repentance and obedience. Life was never the same for those who rose before dawn that frosty morning. The warmth of Spring defrosted their once wintry hearts. This is a modern-day retelling of the miracle of Nehemiah 8:1-18.

THE PRESCRIPTION

Is your heart cold or lukewarm, at best, toward God? I have a prescription for you. Choose a day, any day, and at the beginning of it turn off all distractions. Make a choice to fast for that day; only take sips of water. Begin with rejoicing on Who God is with your face flat to the ground. Ask Himself to show Himself in His Word. Open His book and read slowly and carefully. Write down what especially grabs your attention and what you need to get right with God.

“WOE IS ME” COMES BEFORE “HERE AM I”

The proclamation “Here am I, send me” in Isaiah never took place before Isaiah declared, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Ask the Holy Spirit to convict, instruct, and propel you to live a life which brings praise to God. This will rock your world, as it did both Sunrise Church and the congregation in Nehemiah 8. Out of your frozen heart can spring the glorious blooms of Spring.

Navigating Life’s Maelstrom: Finding Peace in Turmoil

Afraid of more bloodwork, bad tests, bad news. Afraid we won’t have the strength to endure. I run with a continual sense of exhaustion.

Slowly ponder Romans 8:38-39

Edgar Allan Poe described a gigantic circular vortex that reaches the bottom of the ocean in his short story “A Descent into the Maelström“. This tale this story relates to the Lofoten Maelstrom, as two fishermen are swallowed by the vortex.

A GRINDING STREAM OF LIFE’S TROUBLES

What words would I choose to describe the journey we have been traveling since November 25, 2025? The word “maelstrom” isn’t in the Bible, but it’s used in Christian contexts to describe intense spiritual or emotional turmoil, like a powerful whirlpool, symbolizing confusion, crisis, or being overwhelmed. It represents the “grinding stream” of life’s troubles; a vortex of massive force which threatens to obliterate.

SWIRLING IN THE STREAM

Our entrance into the maelstrom began with Bill’s first admission to the hospital the Tuesday before Thanksgiving 2025. I distinctly recall the first time the doctor said the words “fluid surrounding the heart and lungs; congestive heart failure”. Then our reactions when another specialist said, “kidney failure”, “will probably have to go on emergency dialysis”. As we swirled in the grinding stream, there was Thanksgiving spent in the hospital and Christmas which was not celebrated due a further hospitalization. Then there were the long nights between and after hospital stays when I put my hand on Bill’s chest just to make sure he was still breathing.

Lots of possibilities for fear, especially when one specialist gives a diagnosis and another one contradicts it. So many unknowns in this grinding stream. Since the beginning of this, Bill has lost 1/6th of his body weight and his blood pressure still zooms over the map. Getting food into him is a struggle since his ongoing trouble with swallowing and gagging beginning with the 2nd hospitalization. Every day we battle exhaustion.

BATTLING FEAR

Yes, I daily encounter fear. This past Friday we had an appointment with the cardiologist certain she was going to admit him yet again to the hospital. Afraid of more bloodwork, bad tests, bad news. Afraid we won’t have the strength to endure. I run with a continual sense of exhaustion.

LAYING MY FEARS

Amid the maelstrom, our boat circles the vortex, and that’s when I continue to choose to lay my fears before God. My Father knows us and loves us, even though by far I flunk the superwoman test. Fear continually tugs at the ragged edges of my soul.

CHOOSING TO SUBMIT

In the path of obedience, I choose to submit. I cannot handle any of this without the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. Only He can cast out my fears. And so I go to sleep each night knowing that tomorrow is another day and even in the grinding stream, He promises to be sufficient to keep me on course. We are those two fishermen caught in the current. He has not forgotten us. He is my Love, my Light, my Joy.

Nehemiah’s Prayer: A Powerful Defense Against Spiritual Warfare

When Nehemiah saw the need, he prayed for four months. God planned to use him to set right a 100-year-old problem.

Read: Nehemiah 6

Why do we so frequently hear the phrase “Let’s have a quick word of prayer”? Did you know when Nehemiah saw the need, he prayed for four months? God planned to use him to set right a 100-year-old problem. Nehemiah worked longer in prayer than the time needed to complete the wall around Jerusalem. The enemy loomed on the horizon. Think carefully about choosing the size of your prayer, especially when it is a brutal onslaught. Prayer is your both your largest defense and greatest weapon against the one who wants to destroy you.

SPIRITUAL WHACK-A-MOLE

Nehemiah’s construction project is targeted by major spiritual warfare. The battle to rebuild the wall is not over as it nears completion. Conspiracy after conspiracy arise against Nehemiah. It is spiritual “whack-a-mole”; one problem remedied only for another to pop up elsewhere.

SATAN’S PLAN

Satan’s age-old plan is to defeat Christians. If Satan can discredit them, divide, and discourage them, he can create havoc using the strategies he used during Nehemiah’s time. When you’re hungry, angry, lonely, or tired, be very watchful, because it’s in those seasons that the enemy plays especially dirty.

NEHEMIAH’S DEFENSE

What is Nehemiah’s response to the spiritual and mental attacks from Sanballat and friends? David Guzik observes: “Nehemiah did not mount an elaborate defense, trying to prove Sanballat wrong point by point. He wasn’t going to waste his time. You don’t satisfy men like Sanballat with facts, explanations, and evidence. Nehemiah replied by calmly and straightforwardly telling Sanballat that he was a liar, and by carrying on with the work.” We can choose to carry on and refuse fear.

NO STOPPING NEHEMIAH

More than four times the ungodly trio of Sanballat, Geshem and Geshem plot against Nehemiah. The final gates around Jerusalem are not yet in place. The evil think tank attempt to set up an out-of-town meeting with Nehemiah in order to harm him. Nehemiah replies, “I am engaged in an important work, and I am unable to come down. Why should the work come to a halt when I leave it to come down to you?” Nehemiah chooses not to stop.

Then an evil letter arrives from the hand of Sanballat. An open letter (an op-ed) is to be sent to the King of Persia accusing Nehemiah of leading a revolt against Persia. Without a beat, Nehemiah replies, “We are not engaged in these activities you are describing. All of this is a figment of your imagination.” Nehemiah observes the heart of the enemy, “All of them wantto scare us, supposing, ‘Their hands will grow slack from the work, and it won’t get done.’”

MORTAR THAT REBUILDS STRONG WALLS

Don’t miss how Nehemiah handles opposition. He didn’t drop his tools; he dropped to his knees and prayed “strengthen my hands.” Nehemiah knows he is vulnerable, tired, and must be discerning in who to trust. “The mortar that causes the rebuilt walls to stand is a deep prayer life reflecting dependance and faith in God. Pull out the mortar and the walls would fall.” No prayer = no walls. Nehemiah’s prayer life runs deep.

Yet despite all this horrendous opposition from Satan and his tools, Nehemiah stays on task. “So, the wall was completed…. When all our enemies heard and all the nations who were around us saw this, they were greatly disheartened. They knew that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.

WHERE TO FOCUS

Dear friend, Satan wants to destroy you. He wants to destroy your name and everything about you. He wants to win at spiritual whack-a-mole. David Platt advises: “Keep your focus on God and on the work he has called you to do. Let Him, God alone, be your focus instead of the enemy’s distractions and your encouragement instead of the enemy’s discouragement. Let Him be your joy and hope and peace and life instead of the enemy’s attempts to destroy you in whatever way he can.” Don’t just have a quick word in prayer. Dive into prayer – it is your biggest weapon against the one who wants to destroy you.

Memorize: Ephesians 6:10-20.

Generosity vs Greed: A Spiritual Reflection

We thought Marge was sharing her bounty, but Marge was making a buck.

“Do you like cantaloupes?” asked Marge. With big smiles, we replied, “We love cantaloupes!” Marge promptly produced two and said, “That will be $6.” This interaction was not at her fruit stand, but in shaking hands as our congregation exited the church doors. We thought Marge was sharing her bounty, but Marge was making a buck.

MAKING A BUCK IN HARD TIMES

In Nehemiah 5, there are wealthy people taking advantage their own Jewish brothers during hard times. Many people returned to the Holy Land from exile with little extra money. In the previous chapter, Satan attacked the Jews from the outside, now he attacks within their ranks. Greed runs rampant among God’s people to the point that resentment explodes when making a buck replaces caring for each other.

THE GREAT OUTCRY

“There was a great outcry from the people and their wives against their fellow Jews. ‘We must obtain] grain in order to eat and stay alive…We are putting up our fields, our vineyards, and our houses as collateral in order to obtain grain during the famine…We have borrowed money to pay our taxes to the king on our fields and our vineyards… Some of our daughters have been subjected to slavery, while we are powerless to help, since our fields and vineyards now belong to other people.’” Satan turns brother against brother. Greed eats away at the fabric of the nation.

GREED OFFENDS GOD

While working on rebuilding the city walls the people demonstrated tremendous unity. That collaboration and cooperation has now evaporated. Nehemiah is outraged what brother is doing to brother for the sake of a buck. Greed offends God.

WHAT THEY OWNED WAS NOT THEIR OWN

God always takes offense at an ungenerous heart. Satan has a field day. In the early Christian Church, displaying open generosity was a work of the Holy Spirit. “All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had…There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need. (Acts 4:32-35) Generosity is an attribute of God.

GLORY OF GOD IN THE BACK OF A TRUCK

During summers at GCC one often sees a truck parked outside the church doors after a morning service. In the back of it is the harvest of a farmer’s gardens. He brings bags and encourages people to freely fill them with what they can use in their kitchens. His generous steward’s heart freely displays God’s generosity. The glory of God can be seen in that truck.

RULE FOR GENEROSITY

What is a good rule of thumb for generosity? C.S. Lewis wrote: “I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our giving does not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say it is too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them.”

My bounty isn’t really mine. I am just a steward of it. Marge’s cantaloupes, the money held back by Nehemiah’s countrymen, and the GCC farmer’s produce all belong to God. Joy begins when we demonstrate the glory of God through generous hearts.

Click to read more on generosity.

Past Wounds Shape Our View of God

All wounds affect us.  They cause fear that seeps into our relationships, especially our relationship with God.

Last Summer our family visited Florida, and we stopped at a sea turtle hospital.  I became enthralled with sea turtles as I listened to the staff describe in detail how these huge creatures nest.  At night, a turtle mom laboriously crawls, dragging her heavy clumsy body through the dry sand for long distances to find the perfect nesting spot.   She is sensitive to dangers that threaten her hatchlings when they emerge.  If she senses danger, she may spend the night in a “false crawl”, opting to return to the sea, exhausted, without laying her eggs.  Something as harmless as a beach chair can scare her away from an otherwise perfect nesting spot. It seems silly to us, but she sees her fears as real. They dictate her behavior.

ALL WOUNDS AFFECT US

What fears do I have and how they affect my behavior in my relationship with God?  Living in a fallen world as imperfect people, we are all wounded in human relationships. Some wounds are big and obvious; others are small and get brushed aside easily. All wounds affect us.  They cause fear that seeps into our relationships, especially our relationship with God.

HOW WE PERCEIVE GOD’S LOVE

It is easy to project the imperfect ways we experience love on earth on how we perceive God’s love for us.  In our earthly relationships we may experience apathy, contempt, anger, criticism, neglect, emotional or physical abandonment.  Based on our life experiences, deep down we expect God to react with similar behavior when we relate to Him.  This can make us fearful to approach or spend time with God.  It affects our level of trust and intimacy with Him and dictates our own behavior.

DICTATED BY FEAR

In the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), one servant was afraid of the master’s punishment. He hid his talent and did not put it to work.  The servant’s fear of the master’s reaction to anything other than perfection paralyzed him.  His behavior was dictated by fear.

NOT DICTATED BY FEAR

Thankfully, God’s love for us is vastly different than anything we can experience on earth.  He loves imperfect people perfectly.  We are chosen, cherished and adored children of God.  He yearns to spend time with us, to be intimately involved in a relationship with us, no matter how imperfect we are.  “God is perfect and far more lovingly powerful than even out greatest fears. Fear does not have to dictate our behavior toward God.” (Lou Giglio)

NO FEAR IN LOVE

“There is no fear in love [dread does not exist]. But perfect (complete, full-grown) love drives out fear, because fear involves [the expectation of divine] punishment, so the one who is afraid [of God’s judgment] is not perfected in love [has not grown into a sufficient understanding of God’s love].” (I John 4:18 AMP)

What deep heart fears do you have from past experiences?  How are they affecting your perception of God’s love for you?  In what manner does your heart expect Him to react to you when you come to Him?

We do not have to stay stuck with fear dictating our behavior like the sea turtle. We can grow in our understanding of God’s perfect love for us. Ask Him to help and seek other Christians to be part of your journey closer to God and away from fear.

Prayer: Father, we struggle to wrap our minds around how deeply and perfectly You love us.  Please transform our understanding of the joy you find in a relationship with each of us and of how trustworthy You are.  Heal the wounds we have sustained in earthly relationships.  Lead us closer and closer to You every day as we show up and soak in Your presence. Amen.

Nehemiah 4: Overcoming Adversity through Prayer

We stand tallest and strongest on our knees

Nehemiah 4 records a critical part of the game which can turn on the head of a dime. The completion of the massive project of rebuilding the walls around the city of Jerusalem is close to 50%. Work has progressed at least twenty days and the results are phenomenal. Concurrently, tons of debris are disposed of while walls are going up. Chapter 3 mentions the words “next to” 16 times. This is a massive joint effort from relative strangers working next to each other after returning from years in exile. And just when victory is rising on the horizon, the enemy shows up in full battle gear.

A PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SPIRITUAL ATTACK

Sanballat is Nehemiah’s nemesis. The powerful Persian-appointed governor of Samaria appears loudly on the scene. Sanballat furiously opposes rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls. A strong Jerusalem is a major threat to his powerbase. He pulls every trick in the book, including mockery, threats, and plots to disrupt the Jewish workers.  The enemy launches a powerful psychological and spiritual attack.

WORDS FROM THE PIT OF HELL

Enraged and furious, Sanballat publicly ridicules the Jews. “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they’re doing? Do they think they can build the wall in a single day by just offering a few sacrifices? Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap—and charred ones at that?” Sidekick Tobiah gleefully adds, “That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!”. Words penned from the pit of hell.

WE STAND STRONGEST ON OUR KNEES

How does Nehemiah respond? He immediately runs to God. Nehemiah realizes that this battle is not his; it is God’s. Only God can handle Satan. Charles Stanley notes, “We stand tallest and strongest on our knees.”

God responds by giving the Jews new vigor. “At last the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city, for the people worked with enthusiasm.” End of drama? No! Sanballat and company “all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into confusion.” The enemy loves to frighten and confuse us.

NO HOPE OF ANYTHING GETTING BETTER

Notice the response from the Jewish people this time: “But WE prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves.” Prayer catches on at a crucial moment as a blanket of discouragement settles down on Jerusalem’s exhausted workers. “Then the people of Judah began to complain, ‘The workers are getting tired, and there is so much rubble to be moved. We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves.’.. The Jews who lived near the enemy came and told us again and again, ‘They will come from all directions and attack us!’” Sounds like the hopeless worldview of Winnie the Pooh’s friend Eeyore: “End of the road. Nothing to do. And no hope of things getting better.” Satan prepares for a victory lap.

WHEN VICTORY BLOSSOMS

The workers only see obstacles rather than the goal. This is the moment when God can shine the greatest. Yes, they will never be able to build the wall by themselves. Victory blossoms when we come to an end of ourselves, our own strengths, talents and abilities and admit it to God. Satan doesn’t like to hear when we totally submit to God. God’s angels begin running a victory lap.

REMEMBER WHO GOD IS

Nehemiah looks over the situation, calls together the nobles and the rest of the people and says, “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!” In other words, REMEMBER! REMEMBER WHO GOD IS!!!!!! These are the words that strike fear in the evil one’s heart.

The Jewish people at that point throw their lot totally into the hands of God. Instead of wringing their hands, they “work early and late, from sunrise to sunset. And half the men are always on guard.” Can you imagine the new attitude and words of encouragement coming out of the mouths of God’s people?

The enemy retreats back to the shadows when we intentionally adjust our attitudes. “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious!” “We stand tallest and strongest on our knees.”

How to Support Loved Ones Through Prayer

How am I to respond to all this sorrow? I don’t know what to do except take each situation to Jesus.

Last week was a tough one. My heart felt heavier than normal all week. My daughter still suffered with the pain of a pinched nerve. Multiple friends went through difficult trials including life threatening illnesses and marital crisis. A fellow bereaved mother experienced the death of her newborn granddaughter. How am I to respond to all this sorrow? I don’t know what to do except take each situation to Jesus.

WHAT DOES GOD FIRST ASK OF ME

When others are suffering, I often look for something, anything I can do or say to make it better. It is easy to think of prayer as the last resort, but it is exactly what God first asks of me. I may not be able to directly change loved ones’ present situations, but prayer is something I can do. Prayer is my first priority.

DIFFERENT FORMS OF PRAYER

Repeatedly, I lift each of these people up to the throne of Heaven. Whether I pray at a hospital bed, send a text, or whisper petitions in the early morning quiet or throughout the day. Each time a name comes to mind, I ask for divine intervention and provision. I beg for God’s Holy Spirit to be present and bring comfort.

HELP IN PRAYER

Often, I don’t know exactly how to pray. I’m comforted by, “The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.” (Romans 8:26-27)

GOD’S RESPONSE

How does God respond to my prayers? One friend told me of God’s provision before their need was even known (Matthew 6:8). I experienced friends sharing laughter like good medicine in the middle of intense uncertainty (Proverbs 17:22). And my faith was challenged as another shared her invitation to a deeper grace and greater love of God as she once again walked in the dark crevasse of the Valley of Death’s Shadow (Psalm 23:4).

Prayer doesn’t always bring about immediate visible resolution. My prayers usually do not bring miraculous instant outcomes for my family and friends. They’re still dealing with the realities of their situations. But by praying, I asked Jesus to step into the pain within us. I may not understand how our life experiences weave into the greater plan and purpose of God, but I know the ultimate outcome. He will wipe away all tears! (Rev. 21:3-4)

We are invited to doggedly pray for each situation God brings to mind. Our prayers change hearts and situations, allowing us to participate in the transforming process of surrendering to God’s plan. What is the first and best thing to do first for those we care about? Pray!!!!!

Getting to Know God: The Encounter with I AM

Read: Exodus 3:1-15

After a long hard day of caring for the sheep, he is tired and hungry. In lightened happy version, Moses sees a fire in the distance. A guy sits at a campfire roasting hot dogs and making smores. The stranger invites Moses to share in the feast. They ended a great evening of companionship singing Kumbaya. Moses walks away, thinking of the nice little visit he had with the nice man.

However, the biblical version of this event is not a friendly campfire. In Exodus 3, the fire of the holiness of the God of the Universe is burning and it is hot! Getting to know God can be uncomfortable.

God’s timing is unique. He reveals Himself to an old shepherd who has seen better days. While in his prime, Moses’ future held great promise. Raised in Pharoah’s Court, Moses was privileged, bright, articulate and brash. Impulsive Moses took on the cloak of a revolutionary. By murdering an Egyptian, he rebelled against the oppression of his people, the Israelites. However, none of his people joined the cause. Moses flees for his life. By Exodus 3 he is broken. Why would God want to know him?

If asked the identity of Moses, the Israelites during this time would probably all ask, “Moses??? Moses who?” But God thoroughly knew who Moses had become, the man who matured during all those years while tending stupid sheep. Moses’ pride evaporated a long time ago. When people arrive at the end of themselves, this is when God can finally work. This is the time to get to know God.

Nothing gets past God. His timing is always right. This is not a comfortable, feel-good God. You can understand the terror of Moses when he hears: “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.” Who is this God?

Moses not only wonders, “Who am I?” he asks God, “Who are You?” God answers, “I AM.” Those two words describe the God of eternity. “When used as a stand-alone description, I AM is the ultimate statement of self-sufficiency, self-existence, and immediate presence. God’s existence is not contingent upon anyone else. His plans are not contingent upon any circumstances. He promises that He will be what He will be; that is, He will be the eternally constant God. He stands, ever-present and unchangeable, completely sufficient in Himself to do what He wills to do and to accomplish what He wills to accomplish. (Gotquestions.org)

Is this the God you know and acknowledge every day of your life? Do you wake up with joy knowing that God is eternally present in your day? When you are exhausted, do you choose to still obey and serve the completely sufficient God? God doesn’t care about all your inabilities; God just requires that you offer yourself unreservedly to Him. God wants you to know Him.

Maybe you will not be leading millions of people out of captivity, but regardless of the challenge you can courageously get to know Christ. After all, I Am is the eternally constant God. His plans are much bigger than a comfortable little campfire. Before this God we take off our shoes, lay prone, and offer up our hands in obedience. What a God to know!

God chooses the most unlikely people to get to know Him and to serve in incredible ways. Unlikely? Yes! But not unwilling. Read about: Mary Slessor, a millworker. Christiana Tsai, who said, “My bed is not a prison, but a training school; the Holy Spirit is my mentor, and my visitors are my homework.” Hudson Taylor, the father of modern missions. Get to know the I AM!