The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength

Most of us quite naturally think that joy comes when we feel strong; when we have done well and when things work out as we think they should. If we are feeling weak, uncertain, ill-prepared, disappointed, guilty or hurt, it hardly seems that joy could be in our hearts at the same time.

But consider a verse in Nehemiah. This verse comes after the people have been listening to Ezra, the priest, read to them from the law of God over several hours. As they hear it, they are weeping, apparently realizing their failures.

Christian, I Hear You

A few days ago an old friend shared with me what he had been reading from Psalm 143. Two days later as I was encouraging another friend, I turned to the words that had been shared with me, and again the power of Scripture was seen. Moved by this result, I decided to spend time every morning for a week focusing on this passage.

Raise the Volume

Sometimes a mind change is made quietly as you contemplate Scripture or as you pray or maybe even as you work or drive your car. You confront your circumstances, take note of your faulty thinking and decide to lock your mind on to God’s thoughts instead.

But sometimes I find that the only way to make a mind change is to be loud and passionate.

This week I went to a place to pray and as I began, I was constantly distracted. I know we have all had that experience. We want to connect with God, but there are all kinds of things going on in our minds. As I paid attention to those distracting thoughts, one thing was clear: It is hard to admit, but they were all about me. They were about how hard something is for me. They were about how unfair some things seemed for me. They were all about how others could not understand me.

Now I suppose I could have quietly said, “Tom this is not good. You need to adjust your thinking.” But these thoughts seemed not only wicked but insistent and determined. It seemed no quiet response would do. Thinking immediately of Jesus’ rebuke of Peter, I blurted out with considerable force:  “Out of my sight, Satan! These are not the thoughts of God but the thoughts of men!”

My explosive response seemed to be just what was needed. The “what about me?” demons ran for the hills. I was freed up to focus on God, his calling and his provision. Some of the things that try to lodge in our minds can only be expelled with force, power and maybe even considerable volume. When this is needed don’t hold back.

Focus Scriptures

Matthew 4:1-11

Matthew 16:23

Conflict

[This "moment" first was published three years ago]

My wife, Sheila, and I recently confronted a mild but persistent pattern of conflict in our marriage. At first we tried to think our way out of the problem, but then we saw it as a call to rely more on God in prayer. The conflict has now led us to come together in prayer more often which means our marriage has grown that much stronger.