Author: Mojo Ministries

Let me begin by asking you this question:  What is the most memorable week of your life?  Now, that is a difficult question to answer.  Most of us can remember a special day, whether it’s a birthday, and anniversary, the day you graduated High School, or College, or Grad School.  Maybe it was the day you graduated from Boot Camp or Basic Training.  We also remember not so good days, like the death of a loved one, or the day you received bad prognosis for a loved one, or even the day your marriage ended.  Most of us remember days, but to remember a week is something completely different.  Now, for the University of Alabama, maybe it was the week leading up to the 2019 College Football National Championship Game, where they thought they were going to be the National Champions – and then they meet the Clemson Tigers.  Just had to go ahead and make that plug.  For most of us, to remember a week would probably be relating to a vacation, the week you hiked the Appalachian Trail, or the week you went to Myrtle Beach Bike Week, or the week you spent in Italy, or Florida, or Gatlinburg.

Passion Week is probably the most memorable and most significant week in the life of the most important and significant person who has ever lived.  It was the week that the entirety of 33 years of Jesus’ life had been marching toward.  All of His life had been looking ahead to this one week.  It began with His entry into Jerusalem, to the praises of the people.  Then it progressed to the arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, to the mock trial before the Religious leaders.  Then it went to Pontius Pilate and then to Herod, and then before the crowds that began shouting “Crucify Him, Crucify Him!”  The same people who were singing His praises are now yelling for Him to be put to death.  This then lead to the death of Jesus on Calvary’s Cross.  After which, he was carried and buried in the Tomb of Joseph of Arimethea.  Folks, the most important week in the life of the most important person that ever lived should rock your world.  Let me share a couple of thoughts with you from Mark’s account of the crucifixion.

Mark 15:33 says, “And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.”  This was between 12 noon and 3 in the afternoon.  Yet the Bible says, “. . . there was darkness over the whole land . . .”  I find it ironic that when Jesus Christ was born, the Glory of the LORD shone round about the shepherds at night while they were tending their sheep.  And here at His death, there was 3 hours of darkness.  I remember just 2 years ago when we experienced the Solar Eclipse, which last for 2 minutes and 47 seconds.  Can you imagine the sun refusing to shine right in the middle of the day for 3 hours?  Somehow I can’t help but to think that when Jesus was born, God was letting us know that He was sending His light into the world and when Jesus died, He was letting us know that His light was now lifted from the world.

There is something else that I see in this account of the crucifixion.  Mark tells us in verse 37 “And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.”  I have been by the bedside of several people as they took their last breathe here on earth.  It was an unmistakable experience.  What I never considered was the fact that darkness had fallen over the whole land.  So, it never occurred to me that the witnesses at the Cross didn’t actually see Jesus die – they heard Him die.  But there was no mistake that He was dead.  He was dead to the point that the Roman Centurion said, “Truly, this was the Son of God.”

Immediately following Jesus’ death, verse 38 says, “And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.”  During the life of Jesus, the Temple was the central place of worship for the Jewish people.  This is where the sacrifices took place.  It was here the people worshipped according to the Law of Moses.  Hebrews 9 tells us that a veil separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies – or the most Holy Place.  So the veil represented that man and his sin was separated from God and His Holiness.  Only once a year the High Priest was authorized to go between the veil into the presence of God on behalf of Israel to make atonement for their sins.  Now, immediately following the death of Christ, God Himself tore the temple veil from top to bottom, giving us all access to the throne of God, Jew and Gentile, male and female, young and old, educated and uneducated, rich and poor.  Through the death of Jesus Christ, you and I have access to the throne of God anytime and anywhere.  So the veil was symbolic of Jesus.  John 14:6, Jesus said, “John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  It is impossible to go to God without going through Jesus.  Hebrews 10:19-22 says, “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”

In Mark 15:39, the Bible says, “And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.”  Now this is amazing.  This Roman Centurion, who had mocked Jesus, who had beaten Jesus, who had plaited a crown of thorn and beat it onto His head, who had nailed Jesus to the Cross, who had plunged a spear into His side, who played games at the feet of Jesus is now at a CROSS Road in his life.  And he said, “Truly this was the Son of God.”  For everyone reading this post, you fit into one of two categories – you have either accepted Jesus as the Son of God or you haven’t.

Lord Jesus, today I pray that if there is someone reading this post that has not acknowledged the fact that you truly are the Son of God, I pray that today will be their day of salvation.  I pray Lord that each person reading this post that God commended His love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Thank You for giving us access to the throne room of God.  It is in the precious name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

Yesterday, I shared a thought from Hebrews chapter 12, verses 1 and 2 concerning the fact that we are to “Look unto Jesus the author . . .” I mentioned that since Jesus is the Author, He is writing the story of our lives, a story with ups and downs, a story with highs and lows, yet, it is a story that He will finish in our lives.  So, in my simple way of thinking – if Jesus is writing a story with my life, if He is penning a letter of my life, then I wonder if I am delivering the message He intended? I wonder if I am delivering a message of faith, hope and love?  Or, am I delivering a message of failure and short comings and disappointments?  I wonder if I am even delivering a letter worth reading?  As the old saying goes, “If being a Christian was a crime, I wonder if there would be enough evidence in the “Letter of My Life” to convict me?

To take it a little further, I wonder if my letter is strong enough to stand on its’ own, or do I need letters of recommendations from others to validate my letter?  Do I need to wear a Cross around my neck for people to know I am a follower of Christ, or does the letter of my life stand on its own?  Do I need to wear a shirt with WWJD, or is my personal testimony strong enough to stand alone?  When people look at me, I wonder what letter they will read?  Is my life bearing the fruit of a letter well written?

II Corinthians 3:3 says, “Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.” (KJV)

The Christian Standard Bible puts it this way, “You show that you are Christ’s letter, delivered by us, not written with ink but with the Spirit of the living God—not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”

Father, help me to live worthy of the letter being written on my heart and help me to deliver that message well.  In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

When you’re reading Hebrews Chapter 12, you have to realize that chapter 11 is connected to it.  When you understand that, then I believe it really puts into perspective the thought the writer was trying to convey.  We know that Hebrews 11 is the Hall of Fame of Faith.  It is about those who have paved the way of faith before, and in chapter 12 verse 1, he begins by saying, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, ² Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

For just a moment of your time, I just want to pull out that statement, “Looking unto Jesus the Author . . .”  And what is He the Author of?  Well, He is the Author of our faith.  The Greek word for Author is archaegos which means “chief, prince, writer, leader, one who takes the lead in anything and thus becomes an example.”  Another definition is “pioneer – someone who paves the way.”  So the writer of Hebrews is talking about Jesus being the chief leader, the trail blazer of our faith.

I am thankful today for Hebrews chapter 11, and for all of those Heroes of the Faith “who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions.  Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens . . .” I am also thankful for the Heroes of faith in my own personal life who have played a significant part in helping me become who I am.  But folks, if it wasn’t for Jesus Christ being the trail blazer of our faith, the leader of our faith, the captain of our faith, we would all be “most miserable.”

According to Jeremiah 1:5, Jesus began writing the story of my life, even before I was born.  “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee . . .” Of course He is speaking specifically here to Jeremiah as He is telling him he would be a prophet to the nations.  But I believe He also is speaking to us, and before we were even born, He began writing the story of our lives.

Every one of our lives tells a different story.  We have all taken different paths on our faith journey.  Some journeys have been on the straight and narrow, while many, if not most (just like the Children of Israel) did not take the most direct route in our lives to get here.  Regardless of how we got on our faith journey, Jesus is the Author.  Since He is the Author of our faith, you can rest assured that no matter how many obstacles you have on your journey – you will never have a roadblock.  He is writing a story in your life: a story with ups and downs, a story with highs and lows, yet, it is a story that He will finish in your life.  So you and I can say, just as Paul said in Philippians 1:6, we are, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”

Have you ever been in a situation where you needed somebody else’s help to get out of the mess you were in?  Not long ago, I was riding my motorcycle on some country roads between Spartanburg and Anderson.  The sun was shining, the birds were singing – what could possibly go wrong?  Well, out in the middle of nowhere, on those beautiful back roads of South Carolina, miles from anything, my gear shifting lever was loose and I couldn’t change the gears.  No problem I thought, I’ll just pull out my tool bag and fix the problem.

Well, that’s where the problem began.  As I went into my bags to get my hand-dandy tool Kit, I realized I had taken them out to clean the bike and forgot to put them back in the bike.  So, after I spent all the time I could trying to adjust the shifting lever by hand, and realizing how futile that was – and after realizing that no matter how long I looked at the gears, they simply were not going to fix themselves.  It was at that point, I realized, no matter how much I tried with my hands, and no matter how long I stared it, if somebody didn’t stop to help me, I was going to have a very long afternoon.

You know what?  We all have those times in our Spiritual lives.  Those times where one minute everything is going great, and out of nowhere, things go very wrong and we realize that we are powerless to do anything about it on our own – we need somebody to help us.

Sadly, too often we turn to everyone around us for help, when we should have turned to Jesus for help.  Too often, it’s not until we are put in a place that we have no control over, a place where we have nowhere else to turn, that we “turn to Jesus and look full in His Wonderful Face,” to get the help that we need.

When the fiery furnace seems to be heated seven times hotter, when that fire seems to be burning longer than usual, and no matter what you do, you realize you are in a situation beyond your control, be thankful that you can look “unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

There are certain aspects of being a Christian that are unexplainable.  One of those is the favor of God.  In reality, the only certainty about the favor of God is where it originates. The favor of God comes at different times, to different people, in different amounts but it is all the favor of God.  One of the most beautiful stories of God’s grace and favor is the book of Ruth.  Enclosed in these four short chapters is a story that has intrigued the minds and hearts of Christians for many years.  I want to center in on three aspects of the favor of God that are found in this awesome book.

First, the favor came because Ruth was in the right field.  She went to glean in the field of Boaz who was a kinsmen of Naomi’s husband, Elimelech.  While Ruth was reaping, Boaz noticed her and asked who she was.  The reapers told him that she was a daughter-in-law of Naomi and she had been working all day in the field.  He then speaks to Ruth and says, “… Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens:” (Ruth 2:8).  Ruth received the favor of God because she was in the right field.  Other people might have cast her away because of her background.  However, Boaz welcomed her into his field.  Many people are starving spiritually.  It just may be that they are not in the right field.  If a church does not preach the truths of God’s Word, if they fail to preach the blood is the only atonement for sin, there will be no favor from God.

Second, favor is not always fair.  The favor of God may cause people to be envious of your circumstance.  Sometimes the people who are closest to you will be upset because God is dropping handfuls your way and they seemingly have nothing.  Ruth did not deserve the handfuls.  When she gathered the barley and beat out the grain, it was about an ephah, or 65 pounds, of barley.  She was receiving freely, what others were working for.  I have heard on numerous occasions that God is just.  However, the Bible does not say that He is fair.  There are those who have been blessed with God gifted abilities.  We may look at them and say, “That isn’t fair. I am trying my best and it seems that everything they do God blesses.”  I have a close friend who can play about any instrument you put in his hand.  Without lessons, he simply picks up the instrument and begins to play.  I look at him and say, “That isn’t fair.” In reality, it isn’t fair  – it’s FAVOR!

Notice Ruth 2:16. The Bible states the handfuls were not “on” purpose, they were handfuls “of” purpose.  It is essential for us to realize that if we pick up the provision without the purpose, we will have missed the reason why God chooses to drop the handfuls in the first place.

Let’s not forget that if we take for granted the blessings of God, the favor will fade. Boaz was letting the handfuls drop so that it would get Ruth into his presence.  If we do not figure out there is a reason behind the blessings of God, the favor will fade away.  He blesses us with talents and abilities to draw us close to Him.  You cannot live on handfuls all your life.  The handfuls are a launching pad to get you into His presence.  When the children of Israel were in the wilderness, God sent handfuls to sustain them in their time of need.  God knew the wilderness was not their final dwelling place.  In today’s society the government has instituted the welfare system to help families who are in need.  They have faced a time of adversity and they need something to sustain them until they get on their feet.  However, it seems some people have decided to make it a permanent way of life.  I feel this was not the initial intent of the government.  It is the same principle with God’s favor.  It is not God’s will for you to live off handouts. When you live off handouts you tend to manipulate to receive more handouts.

Ruth realized that she was gleaning in the fields that God wanted her to own.  God has so much available.  I believe we put handcuffs on God.  We are satisfied with a “fast food” religion instead of a good home cooked meal that will last.  It is imperative that we feed on His word.  It will sustain you in the sad times.  It will deliver you in the dry times.  It will lift you in the lean times.  Blessings are the benefits of serving God.  Even if He never blesses me again, I have made up my mind to serve Him no matter the cost.  I’ll NEVER get over the blood that I’m under.

For the past six months, I have watched my daughter as she has suffered, cried, experienced moments of anger – and moments of great strength.  I’ve have watched her fight through this battle for her life – and I have watched her as she overcame this wicked disease known as cancer.  “To God be the glory, for great things He has done.”

Not only have I watched my daughter, I have also watched our family.  I have watched my wife; I have watched my son; I have watched my grandchildren; and, I have watched my son-in-law – it is for him, that I write this post.

Through the multiple surgeries my daughter has endured, I have watched Joel closely.  For most of the surgeries, he and I were the only one’s allowed to go into the prep room with Jenni.  And it was here that my education began.

On February 27th, during Jenni’s final surgery, as she was given medication that knocked her out quickly, one of Jenni’s doctors came in and began asking a series of questions regarding her current medications, what medications she was allergic too, and they began to set a pain management plan in place.  As I sat there dumb-founded by the fact that I was her father; I had raised her for her entire life, yet, I could not answer one single question.  Joel, on the other hand, calmly, methodically, and accurately managed to tell the doctor exactly what medications she was on (as well as the dosage she was taking), he was able to tell the doctor exactly which medications  she was allergic too – and he was also able to tell them which medications would work for Jenni’s pain – and which one’s would not.

While listening to Joel, all I could think was how blessed my daughter was to have Joel as her life partner.  I also began to think how grateful I was to know that I have given my daughter in marriage to a man who has gone to great lengths to know my daughters specific needs.

As I was strolling through some photos today, I came across this photo of Joel holding their daughter Avery, and I thought to myself about the great care he has taken to hold my daughter just as carefully.  What a joy to know that she is in good hands.  And then I thought about how the love and attention to detail that Joel has shown toward my daughter reminds me of the same in our God: How he knows our every need; how He picks us up when we fall, and how He forgives us when we fail.

Isaiah 41:13, “For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.”

One week ago, we learned that my daughter Jenni (seen above) has been diagnosed with Triple Negative Invasive Ductal Breast Cancer.  One particular morning, while I was grasping with what to say to her, I texted her just to say I love you and am there for her and asked how she was.  Jenni messaged me back and said, “Dad, the hardest part of this is knowing that my kids will have to watch their mommy go through this.”  What I did not say to her was the immediate thought that came to my mind and it was this: “No Jenni, the hardest thing about this is watching your child go through this and know that you are basically sidelined.”  Though I certainly do understand Jenni’s feeling about the kids.

While grappling with what to say to her, I was reminded of an incident that happened many years ago when I was in the Army and Jenni was about 12 years old.  There was a neighborhood bully that was picking on my son Josh.  Josh was around 8 at the time and this bully was Jenni’s age.  I was sitting in the living room enjoying a day off when Jenni came into the living room complaining about this bully being in the yard picking on Josh.  Smartly (and lazily because I didn’t want to get up from my comfy chair) I said to Jenni, “Well, just go out there and punch him in the mouth.” I didn’t really expect her to do what I said, but sure enough, she went straight out the front door, jump off the porch and punched that bully right in the mouth.  A part of me knows that was wrong – but another part of me was super proud of my daughter.

So, in responding to Jenni’s text, I asked her if she remember the incident with the bully many years ago and she laughingly responded, “Yes I do Dad.”  I then responded, “Well Jenni, what ya say we jump off this porch together and punch this bully in the mouth???”

I don’t know if that was the right thing to say, or even the proper thing to say, but what I do know is that my daughter will not have to fight this fight on her own.  There are some crosses I can’t bear for her: I can’t take the surgeries for her; I can’t take the Chemo for her.  But, I can be there beside her.  I can care for her, and I can assure her that her children are in good hands and we will pray as a family without ceasing.  All she needs to do is concentrate on taking care of Jenni and we will concentrate on every thing else.

I know there is a long road ahead for our family to travel, but we, as a family, are trusting that God is going to work all things for Jenni’s good and for His glory.  I am glad that we have the faith to know that through this storm in the life of our family, The LORD will not lose sight of us, and any time He wants to, He can step on the bow of our ship and say, “Peace Be Still.”

Psalms 16:11 says, “In my presence is fullness of joy and at my right hand are pleasures
evermore.”

I believe that God enjoys looking down and seeing His people enjoying the fellowship of one another other.  I believe He loves to see us happy, joyous and having a great time.  I believe He loves making His light to shine upon us.  And I also think God goes to extreme measures just to see us smile.

One of the benefits of being a Christian is that we can have a good time and still lay our heads down at night and get a good night’s sleep with a clear conscience and a clean heart!

Yet, so many Christians live their lives like all they have to look forward to is the
destination.  Don’t get me wrong, we’ve got a wonderful destination ahead of us, but, praise God, we can enjoy the journey getting there!

Let me illustrate this point to you: Now I am psychologically scared from an early age and it all stems from taking family vacations. Our family vacations went something like this:

1. Pick a destination;
2. Get to the destination as quickly as possible;
3. If you’ve been this place before, get there quicker the next time.

My daddy was blessed with an over-sized bladder, I’m sure of it. We’d be getting it to our
destination and we would beg my daddy to pull over so we could use the bathroom. He would always say, “Hold it – it’s good for you.”  Needless to say, there was nothing enjoyable about our trip to the destination.

What I’m trying to tell you Church is that it’s OK to enjoy the trip AMEN. And even when you don’t feel like laughing, and even when things are hard – you can still have that inner peace.  And no matter what happens on the trip, we’ve still got the destination!

I just believe God’s people ought to be happy every once and a while.  Sure we have tough time, and sure we go through some rough patches, but God is still doing every thing He can just to make you smile – so give God a smile today and let Him know you enjoy living in His presence!

Our pastor has been taking us through an expository study of the Book of Exodus.  This past Sunday we were in Exodus chapter 15, verses 1-21.  He continuously sang a song (while shaking a tambourine) that went something like this, “The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.” “The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.”  Several times through this message he shared this.  And, of course, he would have to re-stress again how Miriam and all the ladies grabbed their tambourines and began to chime in “The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.”  I think it is safe to say they were celebrating, they were rejoicing over the fact that God has just handled them their biggest victory to date.

Then my pastor contacted me and ask if I would like to take on the next section of that study, as he remembered a message I shared nearly 20 years ago about the “Bitter Waters of Marah.”  So of course I was immediately shocked that my pastor could remember a message from 20 years ago, and even more shocked that he would think I would remember a message from 20 years ago!  So I immediately began writing down thoughts about Exodus 15:22-27. And here they go:

So, Israel has just crossed the Red Sea, God has handed them their greatest victory,  They are singing, and shouting, and celebrating.  Now God is about to give them a test – a test that they are going to fail miserably.  Exodus 15:22, 23 says, “So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. ²³ And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.“

Marah (which means “bitter”) is three days travel from where they crossed the Red Sea and approximately 36 miles.  I get the sense from reading the first 21 verses that the children of Israel felt they would just sing and dance their way to Canaan.  But, it didn’t turn out that way.  In three short days they went from singing, and shouting and praising God, to hanging their harps in the willows (spiritually speaking).  While they travel three days in the scorching hot Sinai Desert, they have a water crisis.  They get to Marah, hoping to find water, only to realize the water they found was not fit for consumption.  How disappointing that must have been for them.

In verse 24, the Bible says, “And the people murmured against Moses (just like they did when they got to the Red Sea and just like they would do over and over again over the next 40 years while wandering around in the wilderness), saying, What shall we drink?”  Since it was Moses that convinced them to leave Egypt in the first place, naturally it is his fault that they find themselves in this predicament (even though they were following the same “cloud by day and pillar of fire by night” that he was).

They were thirsty; they desperately needed something to drink; they were in a drought.  How disappointing it must have been to travel for three days only to realize that when you finally found some water, you couldn’t drink it?  Reminds me of people that are in spiritual droughts, and desperately need a drink of water.  They go to the House of God hoping to find a cool cup of Living Water, only to find there is none.

Verse 25 says, “And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,”

What did Moses do as the people were murmuring?  He did the same thing he did when they murmured at the Red Sea – he cried out to God on their behalf.  It wasn’t Miriam that was crying out to God, it wasn’t Arron that was crying out to God – only Moses.  You ask why?

• Because Moses knew that God could turn bitterness into sweetness;
• Because Moses knew God could turn their lemons into lemonade;
• Because Moses knew God could turn their defeat into victory;
• Because God can make a temporal evil work for a spiritual good!

Verse 26 says, “And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,”

God makes a statute and an ordinance and says, “If you do what I tell you to do, and don’t do what I tell you not to do, then I will bless you and not plaque you like I did the Egyptians.”  And right here, God proved them, He tested them.  According to Deuteronomy chapter 8, this is a pattern that would repeat itself time and time again over the next 40 years in their wilderness wanderings while God tested them to see what was in their hearts.

Finally, verse 27 says, “And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water (which coincidentally happens to be the number of the tribes of Israel), and threescore and ten (70) palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.”  One of the most interesting things to me is that Elim was just 7 miles down the road from Marah.  Rather than wasting their time murmuring in Marah, they could have made forward progress to Elim.  Yet, in order to get to Elim, they had to go through Marah.  Maybe because you can’t fully appreciate the Elim moments in life without experiencing the Marah moments in life.  Let me finish by sharing 6 observations with you.

1. It’s easy to lose your song.
2. It’s easy to forget where God brought you from.
3. It’s easy to blame everybody else when things don’t go the way you thought they should have gone.
4. It’s easy to forget that the person you may be blaming for your problem, might be the very person who helped lead you out of bondage to begin with.
5. It’s easy to forget that the very person you are murmuring against, may be the only person in the world that is praying for you.
6. It is easy for God to change your circumstances!

If you are reading this, and you are in a spiritual drought, I pray you don’t forget that the God who brought you out before, can do it again.  I pray God will give you a fresh cup of Living Water today.  God bless and keep you!

Now, from the offset, I like to think of myself as a manly man.  I like to think of myself as a true servant of Jesus Christ.  I like to think that I am so obedient to God and that He would never have to beg me to do anything.  So naturally, when I consider this thought “Wrestling or Resting?” my natural instinct is to answer this by saying “I’m Resting praise God!”

Then I read verses like Romans 12:1, and Paul says, “I beseech you therefore brethren . . .” Now, if you believe (as I do) that the Bible is the very breathe of God, and that “ALL SCRIPTURE is given by inspiration of God,” then we have to see this verse in light of the fact that it is God here saying, “I beseech YOU, I beg YOU, I plead with YOU.”  Though I would like the think He’d never have to beg me to do anything, the reality is – He often does have to “beseech me.”

Then we read in the Book of Job where God Himself said to Satan, speaking of Job, “Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?” (Job 1:8)  So, when it comes to the question “Wrestling or Resting” I would think, without a doubt, Job was resting.  Then we read further and get to Job 23, verses 3 and 4, “Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat! ⁴ I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments.”  So I think it is safe to say that Job’s Rest in God didn’t come without some wrestling.

This morning I was reading Psalm 143, and David begins in verse one by saying “LORD, will You hear me? Will to listen to my supplications?  Father be faithful and answer me. . .”  So, I get the sense from reading this verse, David is really wrestling here with God.  And other verses reinforce this by making statements like “our spirits are overwhelmed,” “our hearts are desolate,” “we desperately need to hear from you,” and “we thirst after you – so don’t hide Your face from us.”

Then when you read later in the chapter, you get the sense that David is completely resting in God.  He says “Father we trust You, so deliver us,” “Teach us to do Your will,” “Lead us in righteousness,” “Quicken us LORD and bring us out of trouble – for we are Your servants.”  These sound a lot like resting and depending verses to me.

I remember reading an article once that made this statement, “Resting begins with Wrestling.” Jesus Himself said, “Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28).  So, the best I can come up with is this, “You will never know what it is to rest unless you’ve had to wrestle.”