Don's Devotionals: Learning to love God

Hebrews 11:1  Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Tasting fruit and a packet of seeds! 

Over the years we have heard many marvelous testimonies.  What a blessing it is to hear how God is working in other Christians’ lives.  Many times God will use these testimonies to inspire and motivate us to pursue things He has for us – to draw closer to Him.  Years ago we heard a valuable illustration that helped us understand the important role that growth plays in our own faith.

When we hear testimonies of Christians who are walking in faith in a powerful and challenging way, think of it as though they are allowing us to sample their ‘fruit’ – the ‘fruit’ of their lives.  Think of being in a group listening, and instead of words, the speaker is walking among us handing out tomatoes or plums or peaches – (whichever one sounds good to you).  As s/he speaks, we are biting into the fruit – savoring the sweetness and richness.

The same lesson applies to reading about the saints who have gone before us.  At times we are moved to tears when reading of the marvelous things they did or the difficulties they faithfully endured.  ‘Tasting’ those precious experiences are intended to draw us closer to God.  The more we taste, the more we want.  But we must remember, we are ‘tasting’ the ‘fruit’ of their faith walk with Jesus.  When we leave the meeting, or lay down the book we are reading, we do not walk away with a basket of our own fruit.  We walk away with a priceless packet of seeds – to grow our own; to make it ours!

The testimonies we hear or read about are intended to produce faith within us but that process takes time and obedience.  We need to recognize that trying to walk in someone else’s faith can be like trying to do a downhill slalom on skis when we’ve only been on the beginner slopes.  Typically such attempts lead to needless crashes.  Allow these times to push us into the Lord; expressing our desire to grow and walk in such faith.   He will lead us on His path through the ‘School of the Spirit’ to get us there.

Psalm 34:19  The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;

What if…?  Have you ever noticed how these two words have a tendency to lead us down a trail that leads to a place we really don’t want to go to?  We get there by ignoring God’s big “Do Not Enter” warnings!  What if I lose my job?  What if finances don’t come through?  What if something bad happens?  What if I make a mistake?  What if I fail?  What if things don’t work out?

Such thoughts when unchecked, will lead to behavior that is inconsistent with our faith.  Troubles or difficulties in our lives are all opportunities to respond in faith.  When we become preoccupied with ’what if’, small issues that might be real can become ‘giants in the land’ that cause us to want to back away in fear rather than walk in faith.  To use The Wizard of Oz as an example, even legitimate concerns responded to wrongly can begin as a little old man behind the curtain that become like the ogre on the screen that intimidates us.

Troubles and difficulties are a fact of life.  The key becomes who or what dominates our view of such things.  Do we focus on the troubles?  Or do we view them as reminders to look to our Lord who delivers us from them?  Typically, He doesn’t simply take them away, but he enables us to be delivered from them by overcoming them.  Even in those times when the troubles seem to overcome us (think about Joseph in Egypt) we have the opportunity to respond in faith and find our joy and security in Him.

God wants us to experience the joy of experiencing His presence with us, sustaining us as we contend with the troubles of life.  We’re never alone.  This is reality not just theology.  All of the difficulties or troubles we have are opportunities to walk faithfully with Him and glorify Him in how we respond.

It might be stormy around us but He provides peaceful hearts to those who look to Him.  Think of having a friend or co-worker come up and ask, “How can you be so calm with everything going on?”  What an opportunity to talk about the reality of Jesus, evident in your life!

Psalm 33:4  For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.

Have you ever been forgotten?  Or have you forgotten someone else?  How about forgetting an important event?  It happens to all of us.  Hopefully, if and when it does occur, it is something you can later laugh about.  One of those “Remember when….” stories.

One of the most memorable times when something significant was forgotten involving me happened when I was a boy.  It was Christmas morning and there were lots of presents around the tree.  Everyone was opening gift after gift – except me.  It seemed that they all had someone else’s name on them.  Finally my mother looked over at me and asked, “Donnie – where are all your gifts?”  To which I wailed. “I don’t have any!”

Mom and Dad were stunned.  Then they remembered that all my gifts were in a separate closet.  Great was my relief when they went and got arm loads of gifts – all with my name.  They had simply forgotten them the night before after we had gone to bed.

We deal with expectations all the time – particularly those involving the Lord.  We pray for people and situations.  We hope to see God respond in an affirmative way.  We repeatedly find ourselves in situations where we have the opportunity to trust Him.  We want to see God move in our lives.  We might have callings on our lives that we want to see Him fulfill.  Fulfilled longings are wonderful; unfulfilled hopes can be most trying.

Think of the waiting that individuals in the Bible had to do, i.e., Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses – all in the plan of God.  Think of the unexpected turns their life experiences took but God was with them through it all.  The great news for us is that God doesn’t forget – EVER!  He is always faithful.  In fact, it is impossible for Him to be unfaithful.

He gives us lives filled with opportunities to turn to Him.  We commit our ways to Him – allowing Him to mold our expectations.  But being who we are, it is likely that we will meet disappointments.  It might seem that we have been forgotten or set aside.  In those times – and some of us are struggling with this very thing – we must seek Him.  Choose to embrace and declare the truth that the Lord is faithful in all He does and trust the journey and the outcome to Him.

James 1:2, 3  Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

One of my favorite characters in C. S. Lewis’ Narnia Tales is Reepicheep, the talking mouse.  He is gallant, fearless and a warrior.  If a mouse could be a knight, then Reepicheep would be one.  Nothing was too challenging.  No obstacle too great.  When daunting circumstances were before him, he always considered it a great adventure.  He loved Aslan, the great lion and would fight anyone in Aslan’s behalf.

The thing that I have appreciated most about Reepicheep is the fact that no challenge was too great.  Nothing intimidated him.  No matter how difficult or frightening a situation was, he considered it an adventure.  The greater the risk – the greater the adventure.  I have followed his example and consider life’s challenges to be adventures.

The point is not to make light of serious challenges, but to view them from a perspective of overcoming faith.  When the Lord allows challenging things to come into our lives, it is redemptive to step forward into the adventure rather than step back in fear.  This doesn’t apply just to big things, but to little things in our everyday lives.

Suppose you have an opportunity to share your faith with someone.  One response is to hold back out of fear and uncertainty.  The other is to view it as an adventure and to move forward; committing the results to the Lord.  This dynamic occurs repeatedly in our jobs, ministry opportunities, relationships, so very many areas of our lives.  Do we move forward and seize the opportunity or hold back?

Several years ago, I read one of the most moving quotes I have ever seen.  It is by Teddy Roosevelt and never fails to stir me:

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena…  who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.“

“Citizenship in a Republic,”
Speech at the Sorbonne,Paris,April 23, 1910

May our focus be upon the joy we have in Jesus Christ – no matter what manner of trials we face, remembering the opportunity they give us.  Our lives are about Him!

Proverbs 2:6  For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Years ago I was an assistant pastor and was going through an exceedingly difficult and painful situation with some members of the high school youth group and their families.  In addition, there was also an amazing mini-revival going on with other high school students at the same time and I was in the middle of it all.

I was loved by some and hated by others.  I had never experienced anything like it in my few years of ministry.  The pain and stress of the situation was compounded by the fact that I just didn’t understand why such negative things were happening – and they were happening!  Fortunately, the senior pastor was very supportive of me.

This situation went on for months with no end in sight.  Early one morning I was walking around the sanctuary, carrying the names of all the young people, and crying out to God for help.  I finally knelt down, weeping as I cried to the Lord, because I just didn’t understand what was going on.  At that time, the Lord spoke to me – not audibly – but unquestionably!  He simply spoke the name of a book and the chapter number in the Bible, one I hadn’t read yet.

I immediately opened to the chapter and read it.  I was stunned – it explained everything! – specifically!! – down to the details of painful things that had been done to me!!!  It gave me understanding of what was going on and the ‘why’!  It explained why He had brought us there and what we were to accomplish.  Importantly, it also expressed His expectations of me to respond to it all in a godly manner.

It was not information and understanding that I could use against anyone.  It was meant to help me.  We still had to walk through the painful circumstances, but the Lord had given us understanding and encouragement.  It was like the Lord put outriggers on BOTH sides of our canoe as we were going through turbulent white water to keep us upright and stable through the worst of it.

The fact that He had intervened and answered my cry was and is beyond priceless.  An incredible peace settled within Donna and me because we now understood what was going on, but more importantly, God had spoken to us.  This was a supernatural intervention of God into my life that would be part of the bedrock of my faith for the rest of my life!

We were at that church for another 15 months before leaving for grad school.  Before we left and in the months following, every one of those ‘problem’ high school students apologized to me for what they had done and the pain they had caused us.  To this day my Bible has a highlighted copy of that Bible chapter that the Lord spoke to me taped inside the back page.  It’s like in the Old Testament when the Lord told Israel to erect a memorial to remind them of the wonder God had performed.  It is an ever present reminder that God always hears our cries and is our source for wisdom, knowledge and understanding.

Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

This week we’ve talked about ‘Why?’ and ‘Why not?’; skunk factors, saltiness and excellence.  All of these have addressed particulars of our lives.  As Christians we all want to ‘get it right’.  This involves dealing with all aspects of life.  But at the heart of it all is a pearl of great price – who we are in Him and who He is for us.

We are God’s chosen people, but it’s a whole lot more than that.  We are dearly loved!  He swept us off our feet.  When we thought we were unlovable and lost.  He found us and made us His own.  When we were lonely and feeling rejected.  He said, “I want you!”  Do we understand that we are talking about the God of the Universe!  The maker of stars and heavens and planets!  He knows our names.  He cares for us!

I think of little Samuel, as a child in the temple being awakened by the Lord calling his name (1 Samuel 3).  The final time it says, “The Lord came and stood there calling as at the others times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!”  Try to grasp the thought of the Lord standing by you and calling your name!  I remember a chorus on this theme that has always been dear to me, “I heard the Lord call my name, listen close you’ll hear the same.”

Our Lord and Savior didn’t just set us apart like choosing members of a team.  He made us His.  He made us new.  He radically changed us so that we could be like Him. He desires that we show forth His love by developing and showing forth the qualities that He has expressed to us – the ones identified in today’s verse: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Can you think of finer attributes than these?

Yes it’s important to know what not to do and what to avoid – but the thrill of our hearts can be –and must be – becoming like Him.  We can never repay Him for what He has done for us, but we can bring Him pleasure!  He enables us to live out these very qualities that express His love and that will draw others to Him.  He wants to use us to extend His family!

Galatians 5:1 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Have you noticed that everything that is considered ‘excellence’ requires effort and work?  Music, sports, writing, college, cooking, careers, parenting, marriage, gardening, etc… it makes no difference.  Excellence doesn’t happen by accident.  Each area of endeavor has its own requirements of things to be learned and mastered.  They all have standards that identify what excellence is.

Donna, my wonderful sweetheart, makes a bread pudding to die for.  The recipe came from a master chef in New Orleans that we got at a sales conference many years ago.  There are 10 different ingredients in it including pecans, raisins and coconut – and a marvelous sauce to go with it.  The recipe has nuances, such as the nature of the bread used, that are critical to the outcome.  It is warm and moist – not dry or mushy – and the flavors are amazing.  It doesn’t happen by accident.

Excellent, Christian lives don’t happen by accident either.  We need to understand what constitutes such a life, what must be done to develop it and cultivate the desire for it to happen.  The Holy Spirit is central to all of this.  We must listen and respond to what He shows us.  A major arena of our lives in which He will continually work with us on deals with the desires of the flesh.  These are identified in many places but let’s look at those identified in Galatians 5:19-21 (New Living Translation)

¹⁹ When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

These are all ‘skunk factor’ land (see Sunday Dec 14, 2025 Devotional) – and will undermine and overcome our efforts to live a Christian life.  Their impact is far worse than just making us ‘smell’ bad.  They will radically affect who we are.  These are things to run from – just as you would from an approaching skunk with his tail raised.  They are the antithesis of walking in the Spirit.

To be continued…