#102 Are You A Spiritual Hitchiker or a Participant?

#101 Finishing Strong: Faithfulness to the End

#90 Trusting God’s Timing: Patience in Delay

#72 Navigating Double: Strengthing Faith in Hard Times

#57 Pursuit of Wisdom

Part One: The Fear of the Lord—The Foundation
of True Wisdom

The first book of the Bible starts with the words “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). From this simple yet profound introduction, we learn that there is one God, and he created all things. Some verses later, we read that “God created man in his own image” (Gen. 1:27). Human beings were created to reflect God himself. Human beings are not divine but were created in the image of God. Since God is the creator and we are creatures made in his image, then, if we want to know ourselves, we must know who God is.

The Bible also teaches that “the Lord by wisdom founded the earth” (Prov. 3:19), “in wisdom you have made them all” (Ps. 104:24), and that all things were made “for its purpose” (Prov. 16:4). “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Gen. 1:31).

Imagine a piece of art, perhaps a painting or a sculpture. An observer can study its colors, textures, and lines, and offer theories about its meaning and purpose. However, their observations are mere speculations or, at best, deductions based on what they can see. Only the artist can say what it is and what purpose they had behind their work. If this is true for a human author who is limited and flawed, how much more can we say about a perfect God who is the author of all things that exist?

To sum this up, then, there is one God who created all things wisely and good for a purpose which he himself determined. Human beings are part of God’s wise and good creation, made in his very own image. Therefore, to know God is necessary in order to know ourselves, our purpose in life, and, consequently, to pursue wisdom.

Entire books have been written on the attributes of God, and our space in this life skill guide is very limited. But I want you to take some time to think about what the Bible teaches about the one true God. God is spirit, transcendent and majestic. He is infinite, self-sufficient, and immutable. Although he is knowable, God is incomprehensible (above what our minds can fully understand). God is omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), and omnipresent (not limited to space or time). He created, sustains, and rules over all things. God is also holy and just. He is perfectly pure, and he justly punishes all evil.

The one true God is glorious beyond imagination! He was not created by us or in our image. He cannot be controlled or domesticated, nor does he need his creatures to exist—he alone has life in himself! Despite our limited understanding, the only proper response we can offer to God’s perfect attributes is a profound sense of “awe”. That is, the one true God is to be feared (respected).

No wonder the Bible affirms that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Prov. 1:7), and “the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10). The fear of God is the proper response of human beings before God and his works. But what does it mean to fear God? Isn’t fear a bad thing?

We aren’t talking fear like what you feel when you think there is a monster under the bed. This fear of the Lord consists in having reverent awe before God. “Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!” (Ps. 33:8). The fear of God leads to obedience, love, and worship. As we read in Deuteronomy 10:12: “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul”? This was God’s plan since he created us in his image—that we fear him and live for his glory.

There is bad news, though. After Adam and Eve ate of the fruit God had forbidden them to eat, we read in Genesis that they hid themselves from God (Gen. 3:8). When Adam was questioned why he hid himself, he said: “I was afraid” (Gen. 3:10). God had given Adam a command, and he disobeyed. God is holy and just, and he had told Adam that the consequence of his disobedience was death (Gen. 2:17). A holy God cannot have any communion with sin. A just God must punish all sin. Once Adam sinned, fear remained the only proper response to God. But now, as a sinner, Adam’s fear was no longer just reverence and awe. Now, Adam (and every human who came after him) must fear God’s judgment and condemnation.

The prophet Isaiah also knew something of fear when he “saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up” (Isa. 6:1). In his vision of God’s glory, Isaiah saw angels who stand humbly before God and worship him. In contrast, Isaiah responded to the sight of God’s glory with terror: “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” (Isa. 6:5). In God’s mercy, Isaiah did not receive what he deserved. In God’s grace, we read “your sin is taken away, and your sin atoned for” (Isa. 6:7).

The Bible teaches that “all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory” (Rom. 3:22), “none is righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10), and “all have turned aside” (Rom. 3:12). After Adam sinned, all human beings were born into the same situation. We all failed to respond appropriately to who God is. In our foolishness, we all failed to fear, obey, love, and worship him. And because he is holy and just, all people stand guilty and are justly condemned before God. Just as Isaiah, we all need God’s mercy and grace.

In conclusion, we all failed to be wise as we were created to be in the reverent fear of God and for his glory. We cannot perfectly respond with awe and obedience to the holy, just, and glorious God who created us in his image. As sinners, the fear of the Lord starts as a fear of judgment and condemnation because all have fallen short of his glory. Nonetheless, this fear continues to be the beginning of wisdom, because once we face the reality of who God is (holy and just) and who we are (sinners), it leads us to the heart of the Christian faith: we need a Savior. We need Jesus Christ, who is the perfect embodiment of wisdom, but also in whom our broken relationship with God is restored. He is the one who took our condemnation upon himself so that we might be reconciled to God and, through him, truly begin to live in the fear of the Lord and be wise.

Reflection Questions:

1. How does having wisdom differ from simply having knowledge?

2. Why is it necessary to know who God is before we can know ourselves?

3. What is the problem we face when we learn that God is holy and we are sinful? What is the solution?

Part Two: Christ—Wisdom Incarnate and Redeemed

What cannot be said of any other human being, the Bible says about Jesus: “In whom are all the riches of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3). The necessary implication is that in the pursuit of wisdom, we must focus our attention on the person of Jesus. It is in this man that wisdom is found. But Jesus is not just the means to achieve wisdom, as if we come to him just to receive something. It is in him that wisdom is found. In other words, he is wisdom. And since Jesus is wisdom, the pursuit of wisdom is intrinsically a pursuit of him as the end goal. So, it is not possible to pursue wisdom without pursuing Jesus himself and to be like him.

But what makes Jesus worthy of such devotion? Before we move forward, we must stop and ask a very important question: Who is Jesus? This was the same question Jesus himself asked his disciples: “Who do you say that I am?” (Matt. 16:15). And Peter famously and rightfully affirmed: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). This affirmation sets Jesus apart from any other human being that has lived on earth.

Jesus is the Son of God. In simple terms, being the Son of God means to be God, i.e., God, the Son. This is clear in Scripture. The Jewish leaders wanted to kill Jesus because “he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God” (John 5:18). Interestingly, John’s gospel starts this way: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Before he became a man, he was eternally God with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

But Peter also confessed that he was the Christ. Christ means Messiah, the anointed one. Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s promises that go all the way back to the Garden of Eden when Adam sinned. When God cursed the serpent, he said: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15). God said that the serpent would be defeated one day by the seed of the woman. The solution for the sin of Adam and Eve was promised by God in the Garden of Eden. This is the reason why the Old Testament is full of genealogies. Most of these genealogies follow the promised seed as history unfolds and God’s plan to save humankind comes to pass. We progressively are told that this seed will be a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah. Fast forward in time, God reveals that the promised seed will be a descendant of King David and Solomon. Later, Isaiah prophesied about the seed with these words: “And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord” (Isa. 11:2-3a).

The promised seed would be a man, just as God intended a man to be when he created mankind—a man whose delight was in the fear of the Lord—a man who would have a Spirit of wisdom and understanding. We read in the gospel of John: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14). It is only in the New Testament that God’s eternal and wise plan of salvation is fully revealed.

Because Jesus is God incarnate, “he is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Heb. 1:3a). “He is the image of the invisible God… for in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Col. 1:15a, 19). He was fully human, “yet, without sin” (Heb. 4:15). This means he lived wisely, in the fear of God, a perfect life of obedience to the Father. His thoughts were pure, his words were true and always appropriate, and his actions were perfect. At his baptism and transfiguration, God the Father said about Jesus: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17; 17:5). No one else but God the Son could be the perfect image of God and please the Father completely.

But Jesus’ perfect life is not enough to remove the condemnation we deserve because of our sin. The penalty for sin is death. By God’s grace, Jesus not only lived a perfect life, but he died and resurrected. In his death, he paid the penalty for sins. The New Testament affirms that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8), “Christ died for our sins” (1Cor. 15:3). Not only did he die for sinners, but he also died in their place, as a representative. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1Pet. 3:18). There was an exchange. Sinners that deserved to be punished are declared just, while Jesus, the only just man who ever lived, was punished in their place. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2Cor. 5:21). In his resurrection, he is able to give life to all those whom he represents, who are united to him by faith. We start from a position of spiritual death— “dead in the trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1). People are fools by nature, and their hearts are corrupted. The fact that Jesus is an example of wisdom is not enough for someone who is spiritually dead. All people need a new spiritual life. Jesus said that “unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Jesus resurrected to give sinners, who are spiritually dead, a new life, a new heart, with a new set of desires and the ability to pursue wisdom.

Now, you can better understand why Jesus is worthy of our full devotion and is the focus and end goal in our pursuit of wisdom. He “became to us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1Cor. 1:30). Once God forgives our sins and gives us a new life, the proper and good fear of God is restored, because now we no longer live in the fear of condemnation. In union with Christ, we are now free to live for the reason we were created— to fear God and live for his glory.

Let me ask you: have you been born again? Have you repented of your sins and put your faith in Christ for your salvation? Jesus is the only one who can save sinners. He alone can make you wise.

In short, the pursuit of wisdom is the pursuit of Jesus Christ himself, as he is the perfect embodiment of wisdom and the one through whom our broken relationship with God is restored. Through his life, death, and resurrection, Christ redeemed us from the fear of condemnation, allowing us to live in a reverent fear of God and begin to reflect God’s image, which means to become like Christ (Rom. 8:29; 1Cor. 15:49), for God’s glory.

Reflection Questions:

1. Why is knowing who Jesus is necessary in order to become wise?

2. How do we go from being rebellious and foolish to redeemed and wise?

3. Have you trusted in Jesus? If not, what is holding you back?

Part Three: Prayer—Pursuing Wisdom in
the Power of the Holy Spirit

We start with prayer because it keeps us humble and reminds us that, although the pursuit of wisdom is a command that requires a continuous and deliberate effort on our part (Prov. 4:7; Eph. 5:15), wisdom is a gift that we cannot achieve on our own. “The Lord gives wisdom” (Prov. 2:6). So, James teaches that “if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” (Jas. 1:5). This promise shows God’s good desire to give wisdom to those who humbly seek it.

Perhaps the most famous example of someone humbly asking God for wisdom is King Solomon, who recognized that “I am but a little child” (1Kgs. 3:7) and asked God for “an understanding mind to govern your people” (1Kgs. 3:9). And God replied to Solomon: “I give you a wise and discerning heart” (1Kgs. 3:12). Later, we read that as Solomon wisely judges, the people “perceived that the wisdom of God was in him” (1Kgs. 3:28). “And God gave Solomon wisdom and understating beyond measure” (1Kgs. 4:29). King Solomon is a clear example that wisdom is a gift that God gives to those who humbly ask. So, we should pray and continually ask God for wisdom.

At the same time, Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3 sets a good pattern for our own prayers. The apostle teaches us to pray to the Father: “I bow my knees before the Father” (Eph. 3:14). The purpose is so that “Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Eph. 3:17). But notice what Paul asks the Father: “that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthen with power through his Spirit in your inner being” (Eph. 3:16). The power that enables Christ to dwell in us through faith is the power of the Holy Spirit in us. God “is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20).

In the culture we live in, we are constantly told to believe in ourselves, that if we look inside ourselves, we have all the resources we need to succeed. But if the pursuit of wisdom was something we could achieve on our own, why would we need to ask God to give it to us? Wisdom is a gift of God, which is given to us by the Holy Spirit, and it comes by means of prayer. We pray to the Father that the Holy Spirit might give us wisdom. In order to be wise, we must be filled with the Spirit that can make us wise.

The perfect example of a wise man filled with the Holy Spirit is our Lord Jesus Christ. The gospels show us the centrality of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ ministry. Let’s use the example of the gospel of Luke. It starts with conception. The angel tells Mary that “the Holy Spirit will come upon you” (Luke 1:35a). The role of the Holy Spirit was not merely that Mary would become pregnant without having sexual relations, but that “the child to be born will be called holy” (Luke 1:35b). What distinguished Jesus from any other man (his holiness), was an act of the Holy Spirit. This holy “child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom” (Luke 2:40). When he was baptized, “the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove” (Luke 2:22). This descent of the Holy Spirit meant that Jesus was God’s anointed but also his empowerment for his ministry. After his baptism, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit… was led by the Spirit in the wilderness” (Luke 4:1), where he would be tempted by the devil. Jesus resisted the devil’s temptations in the desert by the power of the Holy Spirit. After being tempted, we read that “Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee” (Luke 4:14). It is in the synagogue that he reads publicly a scroll of the prophet Isaiah that said, “the Spirit of the Lord is upon me” (Luke 4:18; cf. Isa. 61:), which Jesus confirms to be a prophecy concerning himself (Luke 4:21). Jesus was full of the Spirit of wisdom, which Isaiah had foretold concerning the Messiah (Isa 11:2).

In order to become more and more like Jesus, we must also be filled with the Holy Spirit. If we want to pursue wisdom, we must be like Jesus, who was filled with the Holy Spirit of wisdom. So, when Paul prays for the Ephesian church he asks that “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him” (Eph. 1:17); and for the Colossian church he asks “that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all Spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Col. 1:9).

Similarly, we are exhorted to pray “at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints” (Eph. 6:18). And even in our prayers we have the promise that “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Rom. 8:26). The Spirit we pray the Father might give us to strengthen us, is the same Spirit that actually prays for us. It seems the same principle was in Paul’s mind when he commands the Philippians to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12b–13). We pursue wisdom in the certainty that the God who saved us and gave us a new life will not only command us but also guarantee that we are able to obey what he commands.

Let us pursue wisdom by praying at all times for God to fill us with the Holy Spirit. We pursue wisdom by praying, in the certainty that God will grant us what we desire because we pray according to his will.

Now, we must understand that when we pray for wisdom, we are not asking God to give us direct special revelation. Wisdom is what allows us to apply what we know about God and ourselves.[1] The wise person is not omniscient, nor does wisdom require direct special revelation. In fact, it is because we do not know all things, nor did God reveal to us all things, that we need the ability to apply what we do know with discernment. The wise person knows that “the secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deut. 29:29). Wisdom is not about having access to a special secret knowledge hidden from others, but the ability to apply to our lives what God has revealed to us, which leads us to the next point.

Reflection Questions:

1. Is it normal/natural for you to pray that God would give you wisdom? If so, what kinds of things do you ask God for wisdom for? If not, why not?

2. Why do we need to ask God for wisdom even as we’re told to pursue wisdom?

3. Who gives us wisdom? How?

Part Four: Scripture—The Source and Guide for Wisdom

We have been defining wisdom as the ability that enables someone to apply what they know. Wisdom is more than knowledge, but it cannot be less. In fact, true wisdom presupposes that what we know is true. In order to be wise, we need to be knowledgeable. A good lawyer must know the law of their country and how the judicial system works. In the same way, if the fear of God is the proper response to who God is, then we need to know God in order to respond appropriately. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Prov. 9:10). Only fools despise knowledge.

The question, then, is not whether we need knowledge to pursue wisdom, but how we can know the truth (i.e., how we can have access to an infallible source of knowledge). In order to be wise, we need to fear God. And in order to fear God, we must know him. We already know that God has revealed himself perfectly in the person of his Son, God incarnate, our Lord Jesus Christ. But how can we know about Christ?

You probably already know the answer to this question. The only reliable and infallible source of knowledge is the Word of God. Although we had to deal with more fundamental aspects first, I have been assuming and saying that Scripture is our source and guide in the pursuit of wisdom from the beginning of this life skill guide. As I sought wisdom to write these words, I had the concern to explicitly quote Scripture so that you might be convinced by what God revealed. As the apostle Paul reminded his son in the faith, Timothy, who “from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2Tim. 3:15; cf. Ps. 119:98-100).

The Bible is the only infallible source of knowledge because the Bible is the Word of God. “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2Pet. 1:21). The Bible was written by men, but what they wrote was revelation from God. While they wrote, they “were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” So, “all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2Tim. 3:16-17). Notice first that, although written by men, the Holy Spirit guaranteed that what was written was the words breathed out by God himself. What is usually referred to as inspiration, the biblical term and image is that of expiration. The words of the Bible are the very words of God. Second, because Scripture is God’s Word, it is profitable in order that we might “be complete, equipped for every good work.” Something that is complete does not need anything to be added. The Bible is, therefore, sufficient to equip us for every good work.

Of course, the Bible does not teach us to ride a bike or to change the oil in our car. The Bible is sufficient to make us “wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Tim. 3:15). God’s special revelation in Scripture has a very specific purpose: to make us wise. “The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple” (Ps. 19:7b). As it reveals the truth about God and us, the Bible is both necessary and sufficient to give us the knowledge of the truth in order to lead to salvation, which can only be found by trusting in Christ. This truth is not only valid for our conversion, but also for our growth in the likeness of Christ. As our knowledge of Scripture increases, we learn more about God and ourselves; we also learn to trust Christ more.

To sum this up, the pursuit of wisdom is not seeking special revelation, or mystical experiences, or subjective feelings. It is not a secret knowledge reserved for an elite few. Instead, it is revealed truth, openly declared by God through the prophets and the apostles, perfectly embodied in God’s Son, Jesus Christ, and recorded in Scripture. God’s Word is to be “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105). A truth accessible to all who genuinely seek to understand it. The Holy Spirit, who inspired the Word, is the same Spirit who enables us not only to understand but to make us wise.

So, in the pursuit of wisdom it is crucial that you “do not lean on your own understanding” (Prov. 3:5) and “be not wise in your own eyes” (Prov. 3:7). As a Christian, now that you have come to know Christ, you have a special responsibility to “look carefully, then, how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, (…) do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:15, 17). The will of God, which Paul wants the Ephesians to understand, is God’s revealed will. No wonder Psalm 1 describes a blessed person as someone whose “delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers” (Ps. 1:2–3).

If you are reading this life skill guide, you most likely have a Bible (or several) or at least have access to one. So many of us are tremendously privileged that we can own a copy of God’s Word. Let’s make full use of this gift and read, study, meditate, memorize, and intentionally apply God’s Word to our lives. After all, the Word that can make us wise.

Scripture and prayer fit perfectly together. True wisdom is a gift from God—one we cannot earn on our own. Scripture is the source and guide to make us wise. Prayer is our constant confession that wisdom belongs to God alone and that we are utterly dependent on his grace. It’s the act of humbly asking the Father, in the power of the Holy Spirit, for the wisdom we desperately need. It keeps our hearts rightly oriented, reminding us that every good and perfect gift, including the gift of wisdom, comes from above.

Let us be a people who are so saturated in the Word and so reliant on prayer that our lives become a living testament to the wisdom that comes from God alone.

Reflection Questions:

1. How do the Scriptures function as the source of wisdom?

2. What do your times in God’s Word look like as of recent?

Part Five: The Local Church—The Framework
for Pursuing Wisdom

Every plant requires a specific amount of sunlight for its growth, the right type of soil to serve as its foundation and provide essential nutrients, and the proper amount of water to nourish and sustain it. Without these essential elements, a plant would wither and die. Just as a plant needs a specific environment to grow, a Christian needs the local church. The local church is the proper framework where a Christian grows in knowledge and wisdom (i.e., in the image of Christ).

The Christian identity is communitarian. Once we are united to Christ, we are united to all those whom he represents. The New Testament uses several metaphors to help us understand this. For example.

Membership in a local church is essential in the pursuit of wisdom.[2] When Paul prays for the Ephesians, his desire is that “Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Eph. 3:17) so that they may be able to comprehend the love of Christ “with all the saints” (Eph. 3:18). Christians can only properly comprehend the love of Christ together with other Christians. Just a few verses later, Paul tells them that God gave gifts to the church so that we might be like Christ. God gave pastors to the church “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,” (Eph. 4:12–13). If you want to be wise, you must become more like Christ. You become more like Christ in the context of his body, the church, where we are built up together. A Christian separated from a local church will gasp for spiritual life, much like a fish on dry land.

As members of the local church, we worship God together. Corporate worship is one of the ways we are shaped together in Christ’s likeness. As Paul says to the Ephesians, “look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, (…) be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart” (Eph. 5:15-21). In this text, Paul relates wisdom (walk as wise), being filled with the Holy Spirit, and corporate worship (represented in congregational singing). This should come as no surprise. The proper response to God is to worship him.

It is in the context of corporate worship that the Word is preached. As we established above, Scripture is the only infallible source of true knowledge. Corporate worship is God’s appointed means for his Word to be proclaimed and applied to our lives. By sitting under the faithful exposition of Scripture, we gain the knowledge that is necessary for wisdom. It is through the preaching of the Word that God teaches his people, corrects our false beliefs, and makes us like Christ. As Jesus prayed to the Father: “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17).

It is also in corporate worship that we obey the ordinances. The Lord Jesus instituted two ordinances to be administered by the local church: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. They are means by which the gospel is made visible—we see, taste, and feel the gospel. Of course, the baptismal water, the loaf of bread, and the cup do not have magical properties, but they were given to build us in the faith. In baptism, we see the gospel represented in the immersion of the repentant sinner. Baptism confirms and proclaims that the sinner was united to Christ in his death and resurrection (Col. 2:11–12; cf. Rom. 6:3–4). In the Lord’s Supper, we see the gospel portrayed when a local church, as one body, partakes of the Bread and the Cup (1Cor. 10:16-17). The Lord’s Supper is a memorial meal in which the body of Christ remembers Christ’s body, which he gave in the place of his people, and Christ’s blood, which he shed for the forgiveness of our sins.

Each local church also has pastors or elders. They are Christ’s gift to the church with the purpose that we might become like him. “And he gave… shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-12). They are to be men of exemplary, Christ-like character who are able to lead God’s people by God’s Word. “An overseer must be above reproach… able to teach” (1Tim. 3:2). He must be above reproach because he has to set an example to the church, being able to say like Paul: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (1Cor. 11:1; 1Cor. 4:16; Phil. 3:17). Just as Paul, Timothy is also exhorted to “set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1Tim. 4:12b). Godly pastors exercise their authority for the good of the church. Church members are commanded to “obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls.” (Heb. 13:17a).

But, as important as pastors are in the life of the church, it is clear in the New Testament that all the members are actively involved in the ministry of the local church. First, realize that pastors were given “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12). The body of Christ is built when the work of ministry is accomplished by the saints who were equipped by their pastors.

All the members of a local church should be committed to one another, helping one another to pursue wisdom, to be like Christ. God’s Word exhorts Christians to “love one another” (John 13:34), “serve one another” (Gal. 5:13), “bear one another’s burdens” (Gal. 6:2), “bearing with one another” (Eph. 4:2), “be kind to one another… forgiving one another” (Eph. 4:32), “comfort one another” (1Thess. 4:18), “encourage one another and build one another up” (1Thess. 5:11), “confess your sins to one another and pray for one another” (Jas. 5:16). So, “let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another.” (Heb. 10:24-25).

All these commands mean that not only do we seek to help others to be like Christ, but also that we let others help us to be like Christ. “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice” (Prov. 12:15). “Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.” (Prov. 19:20).

To sum up, the local church is where we pursue wisdom. It is in the context of a local church, as committed members, that we learn, and grow to fear, obey, love, and worship God.

Reflection Questions:

1. Are you a member of a local church? If not, why not?

2. Why is the local church the best context for how we grow in wisdom?

3. What are ways you try to serve the members of your church?

Conclusion: A Living Testimony—The Ongoing
Pursuit of Wisdom

In this life skill guide, we have sought to understand the nature of godly wisdom, moving beyond popular understandings to anchor it firmly in a relationship with God. We began by defining wisdom not as mere knowledge, but as the ability to apply what we know. We saw that the pursuit of wisdom deals with our character, not just decisions. It’s about becoming a wise person, not simply acting wisely. Then, we explored the pursuit of wisdom which starts with (1) the fear of God, (2) the incarnate and redeemed in Christ, (3) pursued in the power of the Holy Spirit, (4) having Scripture as its source and guide, and (5) which grows in the context of the local church.

We started with the foundational principle: the fear of the Lord. True wisdom begins with a reverent awe before God, our Creator. This reverence is the proper response to God and his works, and leads to obedience, love, and worship. However, our sinful nature has turned this good fear into a fear of condemnation, which led us to our need for Christ. Jesus is not just a wise teacher or a good example. He is wisdom incarnate and redeemed. He is the perfect image of God, who lived a perfectly obedient life and died to redeem us from our sin, reconciling us to God. By being united with Christ, our fear of condemnation is replaced by a renewed, loving fear of the Lord, freeing us to live for his glory.

With our relationship to God restored in Christ by the work of the Holy Spirit in us, we are able to pursue wisdom in full dependence on God’s grace through prayer. We learned that wisdom is a gift from God, one we must humbly ask for. As we pray, we are filled with the Spirit of wisdom that rested on Jesus Himself, enabling us to grow in Christ’s likeness. This supernatural gift doesn’t come as a secret revelation but through God’s revealed Word. The Bible is our infallible source of truth, breathed out by God Himself and sufficient to equip us for every good work. It is the “lamp to our feet” that guides us, corrects us, and makes us wise for salvation. The pursuit of wisdom, therefore, is a continual act of growth in the knowledge of God’s Word and reliance on the Holy Spirit to illuminate and apply it to our lives.

Finally, we saw that the pursuit of wisdom must occur in its proper context: the local church. Just as a plant needs the right environment to flourish, Christians need the local church to grow in wisdom. The church is a people, a temple, a body, a family, and a flock where we are equipped and built up together. It is where we worship collectively, sit under the authority of faithful pastors, and practice mutual love and encouragement. The church is the God-given space where we encourage one another to love and good works, guided by the wise counsel of other Christians.

Ultimately, the pursuit of wisdom is a process that will only be completed when we get to heaven and are with Jesus. It is a lifelong journey of becoming more like Jesus, who is the perfect embodiment of wisdom. This is the very purpose for which we were created: to reflect the image of God, for his glory. We are called to be a people who are so saturated with the Word, so reliant on prayer, so devoted to Christ, and so committed to our local church that our lives become a living testimony to the wisdom that comes from God alone.

“Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages, but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith – to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.” (Rom. 16:25–27)

[1] Let me recommend you again Naselli’s life skill guide, where he defines wisdom as “the skill to live prudently and astutely.” Because Naselli focuses on decision-making, his life skill guide complements and gives very practical advice on the practice of wisdom in the decision-making process of our daily lives.

[2] If you are not convinced about the need to be a member of a local church, I highly recommend that you read Jonathan Leeman’s life skill guide, “The Case For Church Membership.”

#56 Rest Without Guilt: Embracing Sabbath in a Busy Life

Part One: What Is Biblical Rest?

“For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.
He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.” — Psalm 62:1-2

“The soul that trusts in Christ shall find rest to itself in Him.” ~ Richard Sibbes

When you hear the word ‘rest,’ what comes to mind? For some, it’s sleeping in, a weekend off work, or time away from the kids. For others, it might be a long vacation or a quiet moment during a busy day with a good book or your favorite show. However, it might surprise you that the biblical concept of rest is much deeper and more complex than just taking a break or relaxing.

Theologians and Christians throughout history have wrestled with this term because rest means different things in Scripture depending on context. The English word rest appears over 300 times in the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible, but it captures several distinct nuances that enrich our understanding.

The multi-faceted meaning of rest in Scripture

Biblical rest includes:

Thus, biblical rest is not a one-dimensional concept but a rich, layered reality that spans the physical, spiritual, and eternal realms.

A working definition of biblical rest

To navigate the richness of rest, let me try my hand at a definition:

The God-given gift of ceasing from our ordinary labor to delight in God’s present blessings while joyfully anticipating our eternal rest secured through Christ.

This definition highlights several vital truths:

Rest as Gift and Command

Biblical rest is a profound and paradoxical concept: it is both an incredibly gracious gift bestowed upon us by God’s infinite mercy and, simultaneously, a sacred, holy command that calls believers to pause and find renewal. Rather than being an optional luxury, rest is an essential and intentional part of God’s divine blueprint for His people, highlighting its importance in spiritual fulfillment and well-being.

Rest as a gift reminds us that it comes from God’s character and covenant faithfulness. He offers rest to the weary (Matthew 11:28). Rest as a command reminds us that it is a moral duty reflecting our trust in God and obedience to His law (Exodus 20:8-11).

This dual nature signifies that rest is attained through both faith, as it is received, and through obedience, as it is actively practiced. In other words, it embodies a balance between trusting and adhering to certain principles or commands to truly experience rest.

Rest and the whole person

We’ve all heard the saying, “You are what you eat,” and largely, the saying is true. What we eat affects our whole person. But what about rest? Does it have the same effect? The Bible reveals that rest is holistic, involving the entire person—body, mind, and soul. The body needs physical rest to restore strength, while the mind requires rest from anxious thoughts and worries. The soul, on the other hand, finds rest in drawing near to God, where it is freed from guilt and striving. When one part is neglected, the others suffer. For example, spiritual unrest can often show up as physical fatigue or mental anxiety, highlighting the interconnectedness of our persons and the need for holistic rest.

But we must learn to understand rest properly and see it as the gift that it truly is because biblical rest is filled with joy, worship, and spiritual refreshment. It is an active delight in God’s goodness, not just inactivity. What this means is that when we stay in for a night, take a day off, or go on vacation, which are all good things, we are only resting in the physical or mental sense. To rest fully, we must not only pursue physical and mental rest but also spiritual rest.

I often find myself restless and uneasy when I focus on my ideas of rest or when influenced by the world’s suggestions about what will truly satisfy my deepest needs. During these times, I am constantly reminded that God’s ways are right, proper, and ultimately best for my well-being and growth. This reminder helps me realign my thoughts and find peace by trusting His plan. Only then do I experience true biblical rest, and I am always grateful for it.

Reflection Questions:

  1. How do you tend to define “rest” in your own life? How does this compare with the biblical definition?
  2. What are some common cultural misunderstandings about rest that you’ve noticed?
  3. Reflect on a time when you experienced true rest—what made it different from ordinary relaxation?

Part Two: The God Who Rests — Rest Rooted in Creation

“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.” — Genesis 2:2

“God did not rest because He was weary, but because He had finished His work; and He would have us keep a sabbath in imitation of Him.” — Thomas Watson

In Part 1, we saw that rest is multi-dimensional and central to God’s design for His people. But the story of rest does not begin with us—it begins with God Himself. After speaking the universe into existence, God rested. This act was more than a pause or break. Since God is almighty and never tires, His rest must mean something more. He rested to declare that His creative work was complete and to establish a pattern for His image-bearers.

Understanding what it means that God rested is foundational because it shapes how we think about our own rhythms of work and rest. If God has spoken through His rest, then we must listen and follow. But why did God rest in the first place?

God’s rest is not exhaustion

It is easy to assume God rested because He was tired, but Scripture makes it clear that is not the case. “Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4). God does not grow weary. His rest was not recovery but completion.

God’s rest declares several truths:

Rest as a model for humanity

Since we are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27), His rest is our pattern. To live in harmony with His design is to embrace a rhythm of labor and renewal. Neglecting rest is not only unwise but a denial of what it means to bear God’s image.

Before sin entered the world, work was good, purposeful, and joyful. But even in paradise, rest was part of the rhythm. If humanity needed rest in Eden, how much more do we need it now that work is toilsome under the curse (Genesis 3:17-19)?

Rest is therefore not escape but participation in God’s design. It allows us to celebrate His goodness, trust His provision, and remember that we are creatures, not the Creator.

Theological significance of rest

After establishing rest in creation, God graciously confirmed it in His law. Like children who ask their parents, “Why?” when given a command, we may also wonder why God insists on rest. While He owes us no explanation, Scripture gives us glimpses into the beauty and wisdom of His design.

Rest as a sign of trust

Rest is a profound act of trust. By resting, we confess that God holds the world together, not us. Our worth and security do not come from endless striving but from His faithful providence. Israel was reminded of this in the wilderness, when manna could not be gathered on the Sabbath because God Himself provided for their needs (Exodus 16:23–30). To rest is to say, with the psalmist, “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep” (Psalm 127:2).

Think about it like this: what if you decided to leave your inbox unopened for a whole day? The emails would still be there, but in that act, you’d be saying, “God, I believe You are in control, not me.” Rest reminds us that peace and provision come from His hand, not our productivity.

Rest as a sign of worship

Rest also functions as a sign of worship. By setting aside time, we declare that our days belong to Him. Rest is not simply recovery—it’s reverence. In worship, we step away from our labor to delight in God’s goodness and give Him glory. “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High” (Psalm 92:1). Fittingly, Psalm 92 is titled “A Song for the Sabbath.”

Have you ever noticed how even your best work leaves you wanting more? Worshipful rest redirects that longing, filling it with God Himself. As Romans 14:8 reminds us, “If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.”

Rest as a sign of redemption

Rest points us to redemption. The Sabbath rest foreshadowed the greater rest found in Christ’s finished work on the cross and His victorious resurrection. Hebrews 4:9–10 teaches, “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.” Each time we rest in obedience to God’s command, we are declaring that Jesus has secured the ultimate rest for our souls—peace with God and hope of eternal life.

Rest and our frailty

Even our frailty preaches this truth. God does not tire, but we quickly wear down without sleep and Sabbath rhythms. Every yawn and every weary sigh is a built-in sermon reminding us that we are not God. Psalm 121:4 tells us, “Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” To resist rest is to live as if we were sovereign; to receive rest is to embrace our dependence on Him.

Neglecting rest carries consequences. It leads to exhaustion, anxiety, and spiritual dryness. In our culture’s idolization of productivity, the temptation is to live as if rest were optional. But Scripture warns us otherwise. When we ignore God’s rhythm, we unravel physically, mentally, and spiritually.

The call to rest is therefore not a suggestion but a necessity. It is God’s loving wisdom for our flourishing.

Reflection Questions:

  1. Why do you think God chose to rest after creation if He never grows tired?
  2. How does understanding rest as rooted in creation change your view of the Sabbath?
  3. How can you practically align your weekly schedule with the rhythm of work and rest God established?

Part Three: The Command to Rest — The Fourth Commandment

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” — Exodus 20:8

“The Sabbath is a most wise appointment of heaven for our spiritual advantage; it is a day wherein God’s people may have communion with Him in a special manner, and be fitting for eternal rest.” — Thomas Boston

If God, who never tires, set a pattern of work and rest, how much more do His creatures require it? God’s rest in creation not only shows His sovereignty but also serves as a model for His people. What starts as a divine example quickly turns into a divine command. At Sinai, the God who rested on the seventh day commands His covenant people to follow suit—not as a burden, but as a blessing that grounds them in His provision and presence.

Rest as gift and command

From creation, God established a rhythm of work and rest. In the law, He gave that rhythm formal expression. The Fourth Commandment charges God’s people to “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Far from being a legalistic burden, it was a gracious provision. God called His people to set apart one day out of seven to cease from ordinary labor, gather for worship, and delight in Him. In doing so, Sabbath rest was not mere recovery—it was reorientation, a reminder that life itself centers on God’s presence and promises.

Grounded in creation and redemption

The Sabbath command shows that rest is not a cultural custom but a divine design. It is rooted in creation itself: “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth… and rested on the seventh day” (Exodus 20:11). It is also tied to redemption: “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out” (Deuteronomy 5:15). These anchors remind us that we rest because God rested and we rest because God redeems.

Imagine a dedicated farmer who works the land tirelessly every single day, without taking a break. Initially, this relentless effort yields a reliable and steady harvest, allowing him to sustain himself and others. However, over time, the relentless strain begins to take its toll. The soil becomes depleted of its nutrients, the crops start to weaken, and the fertile ground loses its vitality. This gradual decline serves as a powerful metaphor for our own souls; just as the land cannot endure continuous labor without rest, we also become exhausted and diminished without intentional periods of Sabbath rest. God, in His wisdom, established a divine rhythm — one that involves stopping and resting — which serves to restore His people. This rhythm of rest is not just a suggestion but a vital part of sustaining life, health, and vitality, reflecting His perfect design for our well-being and spiritual renewal.

The Lord’s Day and the new creation

In the Old Testament, the Sabbath was kept on the seventh day. But after the resurrection of Christ, God’s people began gathering on the first day—the Lord’s Day. This was not an arbitrary change but a gospel celebration. The resurrection marked the dawn of the new creation, and the church recognized Sunday as the fulfillment of Sabbath, not its cancellation. The Puritans called it the “Market Day of the Soul,” a day to come to Christ and be refreshed. To neglect this rhythm is not simply to skip worship; it is to starve the soul of God’s appointed refreshment.

What it means to keep the day holy

To “remember the Sabbath” is more than refraining from physical labor. To make something holy is to set it apart for God. On this day, ordinary tasks give way to extraordinary devotion. It is a day for worship, prayer, Scripture meditation, fellowship, and acts of mercy. Isaiah 58:13–14 says that when we turn away from our own pursuits and call the Sabbath a delight, God Himself becomes our joy.

What if you treated Sunday not as just another weekend day but as a weekly holiday with God Himself? Instead of thinking about what you can’t do, think about what you get to do—lay down your burdens, step out of the rat race, and find rest for your soul in the presence of your Savior.

Obstacles and opportunities

Keeping the day holy is not without challenge. Our culture prizes busyness, technology clamors for attention, and our own hearts resist God’s design. But these challenges make the Sabbath more necessary, not less. To keep the day requires intentionality: planning ahead, prioritizing gathered worship, guarding against distractions, and delighting in works of mercy. When we do, the Sabbath becomes not a burden but a blessing, training our hearts for eternity.

Reflection Questions: 

  1. How do you personally observe the Sabbath or Lord’s Day? What challenges do you face?
  2. In what ways can you deepen your understanding of Sabbath as both a gift and a command?
  3. How might the Lord’s Day become a more joyful and meaningful experience for you and your family?


Part Four: Rest as Trust

“In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” — Isaiah 30:15

“To trust God when we cannot trace Him is the very essence of faith; to rest in Him amid the storm is the triumph of faith.” — Charles Spurgeon

If it is clear that we are commanded to rest, what happens when we don’t feel like resting? Or what about when other pressing matters demand our attention, making it even more difficult to fulfill this command? Trust plays a crucial role here — trusting that taking time to rest is essential, even when it feels inconvenient or less urgent than other tasks.

Resting in God’s sovereignty

If rhythm reminds us that rest belongs in the order of life, trust reminds us that rest belongs in the posture of the heart. Rest is not merely ceasing from labor; it is yielding to God’s sovereignty. It acknowledges that the world does not rest on our shoulders but on His. When we pause, we are not losing control—we are confessing that control was never ours to begin with.

The struggle of self-reliance

Why do we resist rest? Often, it is because we fear that if we stop, everything will unravel. When God promised Israel daily provision, some gathered extra out of unbelief—and it spoiled in their hands (Exodus 16:20). We do the same when we cling anxiously to our work, as if God’s promises are insufficient.

Have you ever stayed awake at night, mind racing with “what ifs”? What if the bills don’t get paid? What if I fail at work? What if I can’t hold everything together? In those moments, our lack of sleep reveals our lack of trust. But Psalm 127:2 reminds us, “He gives to His beloved sleep.” Rest becomes an act of faith, declaring: “Lord, You are awake, so I don’t have to be.”

Rest as active faith

Trust transforms mere rest into a form of worship. For the people of Israel, observing the Sabbath meant abandoning work in fields and caring for flocks for an entire day, fully trusting that God would provide for their needs. This act was not an indication of laziness; rather, it was a powerful demonstration of faith in action. In our modern lives, rest continues to beckon us to place our unfinished tasks and impending deadlines into God’s hands. We choose to rest not because all our work has been completed, but because we recognize that His work is sufficient and complete, and we can rely on him to provide what we need.     

Quietness of soul

Let’s look deeper into the idea that biblical rest is not only physical but spiritual. Isaiah speaks of “quietness and trust”—a settled heart anchored in God’s care. Jesus modeled this on the Sea of Galilee, sleeping in the boat while a storm raged. On this occasion, the disciples panicked, but Jesus rested in His Father’s hand. To rest is to trust and to know that no storm, however fierce, lies outside of God’s control.

Rest as witness

When we truly rest in God, it sends a profound message to the world about a different way to live—a way rooted in trust and divine provision. In a culture that relentlessly glorifies busyness, achievement, and constant activity, our chosen act of rest becomes a powerful testimony, demonstrating that our core identity is not defined by our performance, productivity, or outward success, but rather by our relationship with Christ. A life characterized by trust-filled, restful dependence on God transforms how we navigate daily life and becomes a quiet yet compelling witness that profoundly proclaims: “Our God is enough.” Through our intentional rest, we reflect the sufficiency and suffusing peace of God, offering hope and a tangible reminder that true fulfillment and security come from Him alone.

When rest is difficult, consider whether there’s a deeper issue of not trusting that God is who He says He is. Maybe there’s something at the core of your restlessness that says, I’m unable to fully trust God.

Reflection Questions :

  1. What fears or anxieties tempt you to resist resting in God’s care?
  2. How could practicing rest become a way of deepening your faith?
  3. How might your rhythms of rest serve as a testimony to those who do not yet know Christ?


Part Five: Rest as Delight

“If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth.” — Isaiah 58:13–14

“When God sanctifies a day, He does not mean it for weariness but for refreshment, not for bondage but for blessing.” — Richard Sibbes

Having learned to rest by trusting God, we now discover the joy that flows from such trust. True rest is not merely the absence of labor or worry—it is the presence of delight in God. The Sabbath was never intended as a burden but as a blessing. In Isaiah 58, God invites His people to call the Sabbath a delight, reminding us that rest is a gift meant to stir our affections for Him.

Rest as celebration

Almost everyone I know enjoys a good celebration; even my most introverted friends enjoy it, even if just for a short time. Rest is more than just relief from labor; it is a profound celebration of God’s goodness and grace. Israel’s Sabbaths and festivals were vibrant times, filled with worship, joyful feasting, and fellowship. These rhythms served as powerful reminders of God’s mighty works in creation and redemption, fostering a deep sense of gratitude and awe. Similarly, our rest is designed to reorient our hearts, cultivating gratitude and a deeper connection to God’s grace and sovereignty.

Have you ever been so caught up in busyness that you forgot to enjoy the blessings right in front of you? Maybe you worked so hard to prepare a family meal that you barely tasted it yourself. Rest forces us to slow down and savor—not just the food, but the Giver of every good gift—God himself.

God’s presence as our delight

The essence of Sabbath delight is not merely about resting from work, but about cultivating a profound intimacy with God. To truly rest in Him means to find joy and fulfillment in His presence, recognizing that such communion offers either momentary refreshment or eternal satisfaction. David says as much when he says to God, “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Ps. 16:11).  

When we intentionally step away from the distractions and demands of daily life, we create space to engage deeply with God, tasting a glimpse of the joy and pleasure that will ultimately be ours in eternity.

A good gift now

That’s the beauty of rest in the here and now. The rest presented to us in scripture is a preview of the eternal Sabbath yet to come. Every Lord’s Day worship service, every quiet hour of Scripture and prayer, every shared meal of fellowship with another Christian is a small taste of heaven. We rest not only from work but in joy, experiencing in part what will one day be ours in full.

I love going to the beach. I enjoy fishing, swimming, lounging, and eating. There’s not much I enjoy more than spending time at the beach with my family. But that’s the key. The beach wouldn’t be as enjoyable if I weren’t with the people I love. Their presence turns a place I like into a place I love. Similarly, we experience God’s presence in profound ways when we rest according to His design, and it’s His presence that makes rest a delight.

Reflection Questions:

  1. Do you view rest as a burden to endure or a delight to embrace?
  2. What practices help you experience joy in God’s presence during times of rest?
  3. How can you reframe Sabbath rest as a celebration rather than a restriction?


Part Six: Rest and Vocation

“Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.” — Exodus 20:9-10

“Every creature is God’s servant, and hath his work to do wherein to glorify God; some in one calling, some in another.”— Thomas Manton

We are told to rest but also to work. The joy and delight of resting in God does not remove us from our callings to work; instead, it equips us for them. In this sense, work and rest are not enemies but partners. God gave both as good gifts: six days of labor and one day of Sabbath. Together, they create a rhythm intended to glorify Him and protect our hearts from idolatry.

The dignity of work

From the very beginning, as described in Genesis 1:28, God entrusted humanity with meaningful and purposeful labor. It is important to understand that work itself is not a curse; rather, it is sin that brings about the curse and suffering. Work was before the fall as a gift from God. When we pursue our vocations with integrity, gratitude, and a sincere heart, our work transforms into an act of worship and devotion, whether we are working in the office, managing household responsibilities, or serving in the church—work is worship. However, it is crucial to recognize that without proper rest and sabbath, our work can become distorted, leading to unhealthy patterns such as idolatry, relentless drivenness, or deep despair, all of which can undermine the very purpose and joy that work is meant to bring.

Rest as the companion of vocation

Rest reminds us that our value does not come from our productivity but from God’s love. It keeps us humble, confessing our limits and exalting His sovereignty. Neglecting rest often leads to burnout and abusing rest leads to slothfulness. But rightly received, rest restores us for labor, and labor gives meaning to rest.

We’ve all heard enjoyable music whatever genre you may prefer. But no matter your taste, we can agree that good music needs cadence and melody to be truly enjoyable. What if your life were a song with no pauses? Music without rests quickly turns to from beautiful melody to annoying noise. Similarly, work without rest becomes chaos. Pauses make the melody beautiful and rest makes our work productive.

Work and rest as worship

Both work and rest glorify God when rightly ordered. Work honors Him through diligence, service, and stewardship. Rest honors Him by ceasing from labor in obedience, delighting in His goodness, and anticipating eternal rest. Together they testify to a life lived under God’s lordship.

Trusting God with our labor

Overwork often uncovers a deep-seated unbelief. That is, we tend to live as if every outcome and achievement hinges solely on our efforts and strength. In truth, rest is not merely a pause from activity but a profound act of faith—it publicly declares our trust in God’s sustaining power and His blessing over our endeavors. By choosing to rest, we willingly relinquish the false illusion of self-sufficiency and independence, acknowledging instead that all provision, success, and stability ultimately originate from God. This act of surrender reinforces our reliance on God’s grace and aligns our lives with His divine sovereignty.

I mentioned my love for family time at the beach earlier. What I didn’t say is that after a certain amount of time at the beach, I feel the urge to get back to work. There’s something about that feeling that signals I have rested well and am ready to return to my vocation. While most people take yearly vacations to help us rest and reset so we can get back to work, it’s important to maintain daily, weekly, and monthly rhythms of rest to stay prepared for all that God would have us do in our work.

Reflection Questions:

  1. How does your view of work reflect God’s calling and glory?
  2. In what ways does rest enhance your effectiveness in your vocation?
  3. Where might overwork in your life reveal a lack of trust in God’s provision?

Part Seven: Rhythms of Rest

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” — Psalm 90:12

“The Sabbath is the golden clasp which uniteth the end of one week and the beginning of another, that both our labor and our rest may be sanctified to the Lord.”— Samuel Rutherford

Rest is not accidental; it is intentional. God did not leave us to guess when and how to rest—He gave us rhythms to shape our days, weeks, and seasons. By practicing these rhythms, we not only guard against exhaustion but also cultivate a life that delights in God’s presence and honors His design.

Daily rest: abiding in Christ

Every day offers opportunities to practice small but meaningful rhythms of rest. Morning prayer and Scripture reading remind us that we do not begin the day in our own strength. Brief pauses throughout the day—stepping away from screens, walking in creation, or praying during a lunch break all serve to recalibrate our hearts toward God.

Evenings, too, are invitations to rest. Lying down to sleep is itself an act of trust, for we acknowledge God’s watchful care while we are most vulnerable. Think of how Jesus himself withdrew from the crowds to pray and be renewed (Mark 1:35). Our daily rest mirrors his example.

Families should also participate in daily family worship practices. Whether there are two of you or twelve, a short time of scripture reading accompanied by a brief explanation, song, and prayer is essential for families as they develop healthy rhythms of biblical rest.

Weekly rest: The Lord’s Day

At the heart of God’s rhythm for His people stands the Lord’s Day. From creation to the resurrection of Christ, the weekly pattern of six days of labor and one day of rest is woven into the fabric of life.

Sunday morning worship is not merely a duty but the pinnacle of Christian rest. Gathering with the church reminds us that we are not sustained by our own efforts but by Christ’s finished work. When we sing, pray, and sit under the Word, we are tasting something of the eternal rest that will be ours in heaven when we are with Christ. It is a weekly reminder that our identity is not in what we produce but in whose we are.

Practically, preparing for Sunday can also be an act of rest. Setting aside Saturday evening to quiet the heart, limit distractions, and prepare for worship allows us to enter the Lord’s Day with joy. Families might pray together for the upcoming service, discuss the sermon text, or simply go to bed early—small acts that bear great fruit in worship.

Monthly rest: renewal and reflection

Beyond daily and weekly practices, it is wise to consider monthly rhythms of rest. These may look different for each household, but they often include intentional reflection, extended time in prayer, or special family traditions.

For example, some families take one Saturday a month for a technology fast—turning off devices to enjoy Scripture reading, fellowship, or time in nature. Others may set aside an extended family worship night to sing hymns, pray, and share testimonies of God’s faithfulness. These practices help us slow down and remember the bigger picture of God’s work in our lives.

Think of it as spiritual maintenance. Just as a car runs better with regular oil changes and routine maintenance, so too does the soul flourish when we build intentional pauses for rest and reflection.

Each of these rhythms—daily, weekly, and monthly—serves a larger purpose. They prepare us to return to our vocational callings with renewed strength and perspective. By honoring these patterns, we align our lives with God’s wisdom, resisting the constant pressure of the world to always be busy and always be producing. Instead, we live as those who trust in the God who neither slumbers nor sleeps.

By now, you may feel the weight of restlessness. Even when we try to balance work and rest, we fall short. Our schedules overflow, our hearts grow weary, and our consciences condemn us for never doing enough. All we have looked at so far reminds us that work and rest belong together under God, yet who among us has truly kept that rhythm perfectly? Not me!

This is why the gospel shines so brightly: in Christ, we find the rest our souls have always longed for. What God designed in creation and commanded in the law is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He offers not partial relief but complete and lasting rest.

The nature of gospel rest

The rest Jesus gives is not simply physical refreshment but deep, spiritual peace. It addresses the unrest of guilt by bringing forgiveness. It heals the brokenness of sin by reconciling us to God. It sustains us in trials with joy and perseverance.

Paul reminds us, “Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Rest comes not from finished to-do lists but from Christ’s finished work. Believers rest when they trust that His perfect obedience and sacrificial death are enough for them.

Have you ever had a night where you lay in bed, exhausted, but your mind refused to stop running? Maybe you replayed the mistakes of the day, worried about tomorrow’s tasks, or carried the burden of guilt. Physical rest was available, but proper rest escaped you.

That is a picture of life without Christ. The body may pause, but the soul never rests. Only when we come to Him do we find the relief of laying down every burden—our shame, our striving, our fears—at His feet. His yoke is easy because he has already carried the weight we could not bear.

Union with Christ: the center of rest

At the heart of biblical rest is our union with Christ. In Him, we are adopted into God’s family, sealed with His Spirit, and freed from condemnation. Our worth is no longer tied to performance but anchored in God’s unchanging love.

This perspective fundamentally changes our understanding of both work and rest. We do not rest because we have finally achieved enough or met certain standards; rather, our rest is rooted in the truth that Christ has accomplished everything necessary for our salvation. As His Spirit continually renews us from within, rest does not breed laziness or complacency, but instead fuels us with strength and vitality for living a life dedicated to holiness. Genuine sanctification and spiritual growth emerge from a heart that rests confidently in Christ’s finished work, rather than from anxious efforts to earn God’s favor or achieve righteousness through our own efforts.

Reflection Questions :

  1. What does it mean to you personally to “come to Jesus” for rest?
  2. How does your union with Christ reshape your daily rhythms of work and rest?
  3. How does the promise of Christ’s easy yoke sustain you when life feels heavy?

Part Eight: Eternal Rest

“There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.” — Hebrews 4:9

“Heaven is a place of perfect rest… There the saints shall have rest from sin, a blessed tranquility, and a calm in the conscience; there shall be nothing to disquiet, afflict, or grieve them. The wicked have their labor now, the godly their rest then.” — Thomas Watson

The rest we experience in Christ now is real, but it is not yet complete. Our bodies still grow weary, our minds still wrestle with anxieties, and our souls still fight against sin. But the gospel assures us that a greater rest is coming—a rest without end. What Christ has secured for us will one day be fully realized when we see Him face to face.

The promise of eternal rest

Hebrews 4 points us to a rest that surpasses every earthly Sabbath. Revelation paints glimpses of this eternal Sabbath: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore” (Revelation 21:4). In that place, there will be no more restless nights, no more guilty consciences, no more burdens to carry. Only unbroken fellowship with God, full joy, and lasting peace.

Have you ever taken a vacation that promised rest but left you returning more tired than before? Heaven is the opposite of that. It is perfect rest—no disappointment, no letdown, no need for “another break.” It is the final fulfillment of every longing of the soul.

Heaven: the ultimate Sabbath

This eternal rest is not inactivity or boredom but worship and joy in the presence of God. Revelation tells us the saints will reign with Christ (Revelation 5:10). Our rest will be filled with holy activity—serving, praising, rejoicing—without exhaustion, frustration, or sin. The rhythm of weekly rest here on earth is but a foretaste of the endless Sabbath we will one day enter.

Living in light of eternity

The hope of eternal rest offers us a profound source of strength and comfort in our daily lives. It serves as a steadfast anchor during times of trials and tribulations, providing a sense of stability and reassurance. This hope shapes our perspective on suffering, helping us to endure with patience and faith, knowing that our pain is temporary in the grand scheme of eternity. It also fills our present moments with joy and peace, because we trust in a future where all things are made right. Understanding that the struggles and hardships of this worldly existence are fleeting transforms our approach to life and its challenges. It encourages us to hold loosely to the possessions, ambitions, and concerns of this world, recognizing their temporary nature, and to focus instead on what is eternal—values and truths that will never fade or perish. This perspective not only sustains us through difficult times but also guides us in living with purpose and hope, anchored in the promise of everlasting life.

As Paul reminds us, “This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17). To rest in eternity is to live now with eyes fixed on Christ, trusting that this world is not our final home.

Reflection Questions :

  1. How does the promise of eternal rest sustain you in your present struggles?
  2. In what ways can Sabbath rest now prepare your heart for heaven?
  3. What daily practices help you live with an eternal perspective?


Conclusion: Rest Without Guilt

“Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.” — Psalm 116:7

A Journey through rest

As we close, let us reflect on the journey we’ve walked together. Rest is not an afterthought in God’s design but a central theme woven into creation, redemption, and eternity. God Himself rested after His creative work (Genesis 2:2–3), setting a pattern for all humanity. He commanded His people to honor the Sabbath, reminding them that they were no longer slaves but beloved children delivered by His hand (Deuteronomy 5:12–15). And ultimately, all rest finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who invites the weary to come to Him for peace (Matthew 11:28–30).

We have seen how rest touches every part of life. It shapes our bodies, our minds, our vocations, and our worship. It protects us from idolatry and burnout. It teaches us to trust God instead of clinging to self-sufficiency. And it prepares us for the eternal Sabbath, where we will dwell with Christ forever (Hebrews 4:9–10).

This is the story of rest. But it is not merely doctrine for the mind—it is balm for the soul. God offers rest in the pressures of work, the chaos of family life, the loneliness of grief, the weariness of ministry, and the weight of sin. Rest is His answer for all of it.

True rest is relational. It is not found in schedules or vacations, but in communion with God through Christ. Sin steals rest by separating us from Him; the gospel restores rest by reconciling us to Him.

So what if Christians were known not only for hard work but for holy rest? What if our homes reflected peace, and our churches modeled rhythms of worship that testified Christ is enough? The world is exhausted and restless. What a testimony it would be if the church embodied true biblical rest—rest found in Christ alone.

So, will you work hard to rest well?

#52 Trusting God in Crisis: Faith When Life Falls Apart

Part One: Lament

1. What is lament? 

Lament is not a word with a high usage rate in today’s age. In fact, I would bet that most don’t really have an idea about what lament is. At best, I think people know which emotion lament is most closely associated with—sadness. But lament isn’t simply an emotion; it’s an activity. Lament is giving expression and order to grief and sadness. It vocalizes and organizes emotional distress and pain. Admittedly, that is a somewhat abstract definition of lament. After all, when you’re in a time of deep distress, you rarely feel like ordering or organizing anything, let alone the thing creating the distress.

The kind of ordering we’re talking about here isn’t what you do with your closets or pantry or toolbox when they become unruly—at least not entirely like that. It’s not as though in order to lament, you must categorize every contributing factor and analyze each in order of priority. Instead, lament is order through exit. It happens when you reach into the grief and let it out by speaking—saying out loud what it is and how you feel about it.

Now, what you say can vary greatly based on the severity or kind of grief you’re experiencing. Have you ever suffered a loss or felt a sadness so great that it seemed like all you could do was weep rather than speak? I have. Other times, lament means saying everything that can be said. This is what you do when you journal for pages on end about the sadness you’re experiencing. It’s what you do on a road trip, where it’s just you and the windshield for hours, and yet, those hours don’t seem sufficient to get it all out.

So, lament is order through exit in that it involves releasing grief by vocalizing it. It’s also order through direction. By this, I mean that lament often comes with an expressed desire for how things could be better. “I wish this never happened…” “I wish I could bring him back…” “I wish I were something different…” I think we’ve all made “I wish” statements like these at one time or another. We grieve what is or what is not, and we wish it to be otherwise. No one had to teach us to do that; it comes naturally. We don’t often have to remember to lament; we just do it as trouble presents itself.

2. How is lament helpful? 

One of the most pertinent examples of lament in the Bible comes from the book of Job. If you’ve grown up in church, you’ve likely heard of Job. From the first two chapters of the book of Job, we learn that Job was a wealthy man with a big family. More importantly, Job was upright before God. He trusted God and sought to serve God in everything he did. Surprisingly, it was precisely Job’s character that qualified him to suffer unimaginable loss. At the hand of Satan, God allowed for everything to be taken from Job to prove that Job would refuse to curse God. In the testing, Job lost his property and his possessions. Worse yet, he lost his children in a tragic windstorm that brought a roof down over their heads. Satan was even allowed to strike Job’s body, covering him with painful sores from head to toe. If anyone could say that their life fell apart, it was Job.

What was Job’s response to such staggering loss? He sat silently on the ground for seven days and nights while his friends stared at him, having not one clue as to what they could say to ease his pain (Job 2:13). After a week of silent suffering, Job spoke, and what he said was a chilling lament. His first words were: “Let the day perish on which I was born, and the night that said, ‘A man is conceived’” (Job 3:1). Later in the same soliloquy, Job asks, “Why did I not die at birth, come out from the womb and expire?” (Job 3:11). And again Job asks, “Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul, who long for death, but it comes not. . .” (Job 3:20-21a).

For Job, dying at birth would be better than living a long life because he would have avoided suffering. It’s not that death is better than life generally, but that death is better than Job’s life, which had become utterly intolerable. There is much we could say about God and suffering and Job, but for now, we need to focus on what Job’s lament teaches us about lament in general.

Job’s example helps us see lament as a good first step in responding when life falls apart. Suffering creates disorientation and chaos. No matter how hard we try to wrestle our feelings with our words, sometimes our words fail to sum it all up. And yet, our words help us begin to process, begin to understand, or at least accept what is. In Job’s case, it took a week of silence to get to the place where he could say anything at all, and what he said wasn’t exactly in the realm of rationality. Just read Job 3. He wished all the natural order had protested and prevented his birth! Lament doesn’t always have to be rational because lament isn’t where the process stops, but where it begins. As you grieve your losses and respond to your pains, you don’t want to be perpetually in a state of lament. Rather, you want to eventually accept what has happened, trust the Lord’s providence in it, and help others follow Jesus through what you learn from your own suffering. Lament leads to all these things.

The world offers many alternatives to honest lament. There’s the bottle-it-up approach, which says if you ignore the pain, it will eventually go away. But time doesn’t heal all wounds, and it definitely doesn’t heal all wounds properly. Like failing to set a broken bone can lead to walking with a limp, bottling up pain will cause perpetual problems for you in life and in your walk with the Lord.

Another alternative to lament is the distract-yourself approach, which says if you simply pursue other pleasures or bury yourself at work, then grief will eventually get choked out. There is a long line of brokenness associated with this approach. Grief too often acts as an assailant, ready to attack without warning. To fend grief, you’re too often driven deeper and deeper into your distraction until eventually your distraction turns around and bites back. You can only pursue drugs, sex, gambling, serial shopping, overworking, or any other distraction for so long before you’re pinned between it and your grief. One or the other will win out.

Don’t bottle up your grief. Don’t try to distract yourself until it goes away. Instead, lament.

3. How does God perceive our lament? 

My friends, God invites us to bring our laments to him. Our lament over our own brokenness and the brokenness that surrounds doesn’t intimidate or anger him. Instead, he receives us as a good father does his hurting child. One of the sweetest portions of Jesus’s teaching occurs when he says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). In some sense, lament is wrapped up in his invitation to “come”. Do you have burdens and sorrows that seem too heavy to carry? You should come to Jesus. He will not despair of you or turn you away. Instead, he will give you rest.

Sadly, many Christians are under the impression that God looks down on lament. But the Bible is full of examples of lament. An entire book in the Bible is called Lamentations! Just look at the Psalms—nearly half (65 or so) are committed laments before God.

I think there are two reasons for this: one personal and one corporate. Personally, Christians may feel like trusting in the Lord is somehow incompatible with lament that is proportionate to their pain. “If the Lord is sovereign over every detail of my life (which he is!), then I just need to grit my teeth and believe in his good purposes without getting down about how much it currently hurts!” Yes, God is sovereign. And yes, God knows exactly what he will accomplish by allowing us to suffer.

But his sovereignty over suffering does not leave him cold or impatient with us when we express our sorrows to him.  King David writes in Psalm 103, “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust” (Ps. 103:13-14). God may know what our suffering will mean in the end, but he also knows that we don’t know right now. He knows that we can’t see the whole picture. So, he invites us to lament to him even as we fight for faith. So, don’t feel embarrassed to lament to God. Your sadness over suffering is not a contradiction to your faith.

I think another reason that Christians have forgotten to lament is because churches have forgotten to lament on the Lord’s Day. Many Christian worship services are aimed at unbelievers or are tuned to surface-level Christianity. The result is gatherings that are chipper and upbeat but leave no room for lament. Like churches should pray prayers and sing songs of confession of sin and praise to God, so they should also lament. At my church, we routinely have a prayer of lament followed by a song that emphasizes God as a comforter to his people. Over time, I have learned how to pray prayers of lament by listening and praying alongside those who have led these prayers during our Sunday morning gatherings. If your church has forgotten to lament, your fellow members are likely tempted to forget as well.

Lament is not simply verbal processing, though it is not less than that. Lament is taking our burdens to the God who hears and cares. David laments in Psalm 42: “My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God? . . . Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God” (Ps. 42:3, 5). Lament reminds us that God is our salvation, and he will not fail us.

Reflection Questions: 

  1. Do you find lament difficult? Why or why not?
  2. How can lament help you process your grief before God?
  3. Read Psalm 3, 13, 32, and 44. What stands out to you about these songs of lament?
  4. Have you ever tried an alternative like ignoring or distracting yourself from pain? How has that worked?

Part Two: Learn Who God Is

So, when life feels like it’s falling apart, we should lament. We should also remember who God is. God is sovereign, just, and savior.

When I was a teenager trying to follow Jesus, I struggled to understand how God could be sovereign over a world full of sin and suffering. To be honest, I still struggle with that concept, but not in the same way as I used to. You see, before, I wasn’t aware of how pervasive God’s sovereignty is in the Bible. I think I probably assumed the Bible was as embarrassed by God’s sovereignty as I was. After all, how could we think that God is somehow sovereign over so many terrible things that happen in this world and our lives? Surely, these things are simply the result of sin and have nothing to do with God, right? Well… yes and no.

It’s true that suffering is the result of sin. Paul wrote to the Romans, “Therefore just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—” (Rom. 5:12). So, in one sense we may explain human suffering, which is a precursor to death, as being the result of human action—namely, sin against God.

In another sense, however, we must confess with the Scriptures that God is sovereign over sin and suffering. It would far exceed the boundaries of this guide for me to fully defend that assertion. But let me give you two pieces of evidence that confirm God is in fact sovereign over everything—sin and suffering included. First, there is Jesus’ cross. What is Jesus’s cross in response to? Our sin. Again, Paul makes it clear in Romans 5 that just as sin entered the world through Adam (Gen. 3), so life comes through Christ’s life and death on the cross (Rom. 5:19). And Christ’s death on the cross was not God’s plan B, evoked as an emergency response to Adam’s sin. Rather, Luke writes, “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men” (Acts 2:23). So, before the world was established, God intended to offer his only son, the Lord Jesus, on behalf of sinners, which presupposes sin would enter this world.

Second, God’s Word regularly teaches that God is sovereign over sin and suffering. This is nowhere more apparent than in the book of Job. Famously, after Job lost everything he knew and loved, he blessed God and said, “Naked I came from my mother’s woman and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. . .” (Job 1:21). But wait Job, wasn’t it Satan who caused all your suffering? Well, Job didn’t know of the exchange between God and Satan, which led to his losses. And yet, throughout the book, Job insisted on hearing an explanation not from Satan but from God himself. When God finally answered Job’s request, he happily asserted his sovereignty over all of creation, including death and Satan (see divine speeches in Job 38-41). Job responded to God’s sovereignty of his suffering by saying, “I know you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore, I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know” (Job 42:2-3). Neither Job nor God ran from the reality that Satan was subordinate to God alone. Job’s sufferings and restoration stand as clear evidence that God is sovereign over even the most difficult things in life.

Why does this matter? For one, it matters because God’s sovereignty guarantees victory. Imagine if God was not sovereign over your life when it fell apart. . . who was responsible for your calamity? Who ultimately approved of your trial, and what plan does your trial accord with? My friend, God is good and sovereign and, as Job confessed, no plan of his can be thwarted. You don’t want a god who can be beaten. You don’t want a god who answers to someone else. You want a big, sovereign God who works all things for his purposes.

One of the concerns about monarchy is whether the monarch is good or evil.  You see, absolute power wielded by an evil king is dangerous for all who find themselves under him. God is not a wicked king. In fact, there is no impurity in him. Moses said of God, “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he” (Deut. 32:4). What’s more is that there is no being like him. Only God defines moral goodness because only God is morally perfect. That is, in part, what we mean when we say God is holy. We’re communicating that God is totally alone in moral perfection and, as we learned in the previous section, absolute power. That is why we do not need to fear God’s sovereignty, as though he will ever use his power to do what is not right.

When your life falls apart, you may be tempted to think that God is using his sovereign power to commit evil against you. My friend, God is sovereign and good. He does no evil. Your suffering may be the result of your sin or the sins of others, but it is never the result of God’s sin because God does not sin. When you’re in the trenches and your life is in shambles, you must know that God is good. It is this fact that you may be most likely to doubt or deny, but it is this fact that the Bible teaches over and over again.

I recently had the chance to share the gospel with an agnostic who had previously believed in Jesus but later apostatized because he couldn’t understand how God could allow so much death and bloodshed in the Old Testament. One of the key examples he cited was Noah and the ark. “How could God flood the earth when it was full of innocent people?” my friend asked. I said to him, “Perry, the problem is with that word innocent. There are no innocent people. We, unlike God, are morally compromised. We do not love what we should, and we love what we shouldn’t. The reason it’s such a big deal is that God is infinitely good. He isn’t partly upright; he is eternally upright. And we have offended him. His judgement on humanity is right because he is right and we are wrong.” I wish I could report that Perry was convinced that day, but he wasn’t.

There is a day coming for me, Perry, and you when we will stand before this morally perfect God and give an answer for how we’ve lived our lives. What do you think you’ll say when you face his goodness and know yourself to be everything other than good? To be safe from God’s good judgement over your sin, you must put your trust in Jesus. You see, God poured out his wrath against sin on Jesus for all those who would turn from their sin and trust in him. If you are trusting in Jesus, then you will not face judgement but instead will receive God’s goodness, which is yours in Christ.

Romans 8:28 is routinely printed on coffee cups, pens, and t-shirts. This verse’s popularity is not without good reason. Paul wrote to the Romans, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). All things?! Yes, all things. Including those things which have caused my life to feel like it’s falling apart? Yes, even those things. God has promised heavenly good for everyone who loves him. He has promised to work everything out for the good of those who are called according to his purposes.

My wife and I prayed for children for years, but it seemed as though God wasn’t listening. We were diagnosed with “unexplained infertility”, which means that, as far as a doctor can see, there is no reason why we shouldn’t be able to have kids. And yet, we were childless.

Then, one day, my wife announced to me that we were pregnant. It was as though heaven finally heard and responded to our many requests. We were going to have a family. We praised the Lord from the mountaintops. We told our families. We moved homes so we’d be better prepared for our baby’s arrival.

A handful of weeks later, sitting with my wife’s hand in mine, we were given the terrible news that our baby didn’t make it. Her hand tightened around mine. The air leaked out of the room. The doctor offered his condolences and then stepped out to give us some space. When the door closed behind him, my wife began to wail. Even recalling it for you now is bringing up a deep sadness that I feel over the loss of that little one.

Our lives felt like they had fallen apart. Where was our God, who promised all things would work out for us? We loved him, didn’t we? We were committed to serving him! Was he toying with us all this time? Hearing our prayers and delaying the answer just to build suspense, so that he could give and then take away just a couple of months later? These were the questions we were asking. This was the grief that we were lamenting.

My wife and I now have five children whom we adopted in 2023. They are beautiful, and we are overjoyed to be their mom and dad. As I think back on our infertility and loss, I am made to praise the Lord because, while I didn’t know how he was going to work everything out for our good (and our children’s good!), God did. He wasn’t punting on his promise to us. He was arranging our lives to intersect with our children’s lives. He was putting our family together according to his wisdom, not ours.

If you love God and are called according to his purpose, then you have his personal guarantee that he is working everything out for your good. Now, what “good” means is for him to decide. Here’s what you can bet on, though—God’s goodness to you is not less than eternity with him in his joy. God has promised to work out your life here so that you spend eternity with him there. Your life will fall apart. You will suffer sorrow. But God will use all of it for his glory and your good.

Corrie ten Boom wrote the poem “My Life Is but a Weaving.” I have returned to her words more times than I can say in response to suffering. She writes:

My life is but a weaving

Between my God and me.

I cannot choose the colors

He weaveth steadily.

Oft’ time He weaveth sorrow;

And I in foolish pride

Forget He sees the upper

And I the underside

Not ‘til the loom is silent

And the shuttles cease to fly

Will God unroll the canvas

And reveal the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful

In the weaver’s skillful hand

As the threads of gold and silver

In the pattern He has planned

He knows, He loves, He cares;

Nothing this truth can dim.

He gives the very best to those

Who leave the choice to Him.

Will you leave the choice to your sovereign, good, saving God?

Reflection questions: 

  1. How does knowing God is over your suffering help you endure it?
  2. Does suffering make you doubt God’s goodness? Why?
  3. What comfort do you find in knowing that God promises to work out everything for your good?

Part Three: Lean on God and Others

In January 2025, my parents’ lives fell apart. The culprit? A tree fell on their house. I’m not talking about a little branch or a small sapling, okay? It was a 30,000-pound oak tree. Thankfully, it hit the chimney before smashing through the roof. The contractor said that if it had hit the roof first, it would have split the house and gone straight into the basement. Even still, the damage caused by that tree is currently north of $250,000. My parents have been out of their house for six months and have no idea when the repairs will finally be complete, allowing them to return home. They’ve suffered a lot.

Even in the face of suffering, I have been so encouraged by how they have leaned on the Lord and others for help. This trial in their lives has not deflated them or caused them to doubt God’s goodness. In fact, they’ve leaned into God’s promises to them and allowed others to be Christ’s hands and feet for them.

In this section, I want us to think about how we can lean on God and others for help when our lives feel like they’re falling apart.

1. Rely on God’s Word. 

Jesus’s sermon on the mount is probably the most famous sermon of all time. Jesus concluded that address by drawing a comparison between two houses: one which was built on rock and another which was built on sand. In the case of both homes, “the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew. . .” (Matt. 7:25, 27). The outcomes of both homes, however, were drastically different. The house built on the rock “did not fall” but stood defiantly against the storm. The house built on sand, on the other hand, not only fell but “great was the fall of it” (Matt. 7:27). Which was the house built on the rock? Jesus said this house represents those who “hear these words of mine and do them…” (Matt. 7:24).

So, what about you? What will you build your life on? The options are admittedly endless. You could build on money, fame, power, popularity, skill, family, sex, or a whole host of other things. Or, you could build your house on the rock that is God’s Word. Unapologetically, Jesus says that if you choose the latter, you’re a “foolish man” (or woman) (Matt. 7:26).  Why might that be?

Well, for one, the long list of options I just gave you, and whichever ones I didn’t mention but you’d want to add, have one thing in common—they’re all fleeting. Okay, two things in common—they’re fleeting and they fail to finally satisfy your deepest longings. God’s Word is not subject to either of these criticisms. Isaiah writes, “The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Is. 40:7-8). You see, unlike these alternatives, God’s Word is enduring.

God’s Word is also perfectly satisfying. Jeremiah writes, “let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord” (Jer. 9:24). Your riches or possessions or influence are not worth boasting. They are cheap in comparison to the surpassing value of understanding and knowing God. How might you grow to understand and know God more? By spending time in his Word.

If you’re not accustomed to reading God’s Word, let me recommend that you take at least fifteen minutes every day to read a few chapters. As you read, ask yourself questions about what you’re reading has to do with God, yourself, and the people around you. Ask yourself how what you’re reading applies to your life. If you have questions about what something means, jot those down and then ask your pastor or mentor to help you understand. There is nothing more worthwhile than spending time with God in His Word. When your life falls apart, you will find that if you’ve spent time learning and obeying God’s Word, you’ll be like the rich man whose house is built on the rock.

2. Pray for God’s help. 

I recently led my small group in a study through the book of James. Though I’ve read God’s Word for a long time, I was struck anew by how bold James was in his instruction to us regarding how we ought to pray. He tells us in James 4:2, “You do not have, because you do not ask.” Then in James 5:16, James writes, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”  Translation? Prayer is a really big deal.

When you are in a situation where you feel like your life is falling apart, you should pray. I know that sounds simple, but I’m serious. You need to pray for God’s help. David writes, “In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears” (Ps. 18:6). Your cry will also reach his ears. So when you’re facing distress, call out to God for help. Here are a few things you can ask him for:

3. Lean on God’s people. 

Remember my mom and dad’s situation with the tree falling into their house? One of the most encouraging aspects of that trial has been the way members of their church have truly loved them through it all. They have people offer them homes, food, gift cards, help with cleaning up the property, and money for repairs. More importantly, people have shared Scripture with them and prayed to God on their behalf. On and on, the help has come.

Are you plugged into a church where your fellow members are committed to your spiritual and physical well-being? If not, you need to be. The Christian life wasn’t meant to be lived alone. Don’t believe me? Go read the epistles and ask yourself how you would obey all of God’s commands by yourself? “Live in harmony with one another” (Rom. 12:16). “Encourage one another and build one another up” (1 Thess. 5:11). “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another” (1 Pet. 4:10). The Bible’s teaching on the Christian life simply assumes that you’re living it out with others. You realize how important others truly are to your spiritual well-being when it’s time to suffer.

I remember once suffering because of my own sin. The consequences of my sin were great, and through them I really realized how wrong I had been. In the sadness of that season, I had a seventy-eight-year-old friend named Junior. Junior had been a Christian for a long time when we met, and while he wasn’t much into reading old theology books, he was really committed to showing me the love of Christ. He drew near to me, helped me around my house, sat with me in my sadness, and encouraged me to take my struggles to the Lord in prayer. Junior was an example to me, and in his example, I saw God’s love for me. Everyone needs a Junior. In fact, everyone needs churches full of Juniors who go around looking for ways to encourage one another to keep going.

One way we facilitate this kind of care at my church is through our church covenant. It’s extremely old, but very effective in underscoring for each of us what we’ve committed to one another. We renew this covenant with one another every time we take the Lord’s Supper and before our membership meetings. Here is just a snippet of our covenant:

We will walk together in brotherly love, as becomes the members of a Christian Church, exercise an affectionate care and watchfulness over each other, and faithfully admonish and entreat one another as occasion may require.

We will not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, nor neglect to pray for ourselves and others.

We will endeavor to bring up such as may at any time be under our care, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and by a pure and loving example to seek the salvation of our family and friends.

We will rejoice at each other’s happiness and endeavor with tenderness and sympathy to bear each other’s burdens and sorrows.

Your church may not have a covenant, but you should be characterized by a covenantal commitment to one another. When you’re facing trouble, you need a church full of believers who are absolutely in it for you. So, whether you’re suffering now or are waiting for your next round, lean into God’s people in the context of a healthy church. Often it is through God’s people that we most palpably feel God’s presence and receive his help.

Reflection questions: 

  1. How has your time in God’s Word been lately? Are you struggling to see its relevance? Are you growing in your understanding of who God is and what he expects from you?
  2. How has God’s Word brought you comfort in trials and suffering?
  3. What does time in prayer look like for you? Do you struggle with distractions? If so, talk with your mentor about how you might grow in this spiritual discipline.
  4. What does your current relationship with your church look like? How could you be more intentional about loving those saints?
  5. How have you seen God’s people rally to care for you when you’ve suffered?

Part Four: Love Others with Your Story

I once met a woman named Tina. Tina’s childhood was marked by abuse and abandonment. Her mother was a person with schizophrenia who often had to be institutionalized, leaving Tina and her brothers to fend for themselves. Tina never met her father but did know and love her brother’s father as her own. That is, until he took off when she was ten. Between the ages of ten and eighteen, Tina can recall more than a dozen foster homes waiting for her mom to get out of the hospital. Most tragically, Tina was sexually abused by a sheriff, the sheriff’s son, and her pastor.

Her story turns my stomach and brings tears to my eyes. How could anyone treat a child so horribly? By God’s grace, Tina heard and believed the gospel when she was twelve years old. Even though she suffered so much from that time until she was old enough to leave her hometown, she never stopped trusting in Jesus, believing that he would save her. As an adult, Tina has counseled and cared for countless women with similar backgrounds. I once heard her say, “I am humbled to have been counted worthy to suffer so much so that I could help so many who have suffered similar things.” Wow. That is an amazing testimony of God’s grace.

1. God uses our grief for others’ good. 

I wonder if you’ve thought about how God might want to use your story to help others who have suffered like you have. Your story may not be exactly like Tina’s, but like Tina, God intends to use your story to help others also. I once heard it said by a pastor that God never wastes our pain. I think that’s true in more ways than one. It’s true that God uses our pain for our good by making us more like Jesus through it. It’s also true that he uses our pain to help others grow to be more like Jesus through the pain of their own.

Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Cor. 1:3-4). Did you notice the connection between our being afflicted and yet comforted so that we might be a comfort to the afflicted? What this connection shows us is threefold: 1. That God is the God of comfort. 2. That God brings comfort to the afflicted. 3. That the relationship between God and his people is so close that God can meaningfully deliver comfort to one of his afflicted children by another.

Do you want to be used by God? Then use your own sufferings to help others who are suffering. Use the comfort that God brings you to comfort others. Practically, this could mean giving counsel or encouragement to someone suffering. More often, though, this means sitting with the person whose life has fallen apart, telling them that you love them, and committing to pray for and care for them in whatever way you can.

2. Seek to give God glory for your afflictions. 

This one seems counterintuitive. Giving God glory for blessings? Easy. That makes sense. Giving him glory for suffering? That’s a bit harder to figure out. Enter James. James was writing to a number of suffering Christians about what they should do with their suffering. He said to them, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds” (Jas. 1:2). Count it all joy? Why would trouble propagate joy? James writes, “for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (Jas. 1:3-4). Suffering leads to Christlikeness, and Christlikeness is most to be valued.

I think we can go a little deeper with the relationship between your suffering and Christlikeness. The hallmark of Christ’s ministry to us is his suffering and dying in our stead. Notice how Paul connects Christ’s suffering with his own and how he sees both serving the common interests of God’s people. He writes to the Colossians, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings. . .” Sounds like James, right? “. . . for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christs afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church” (Col. 1:24). The idea of “filling up what is lacking” is not an indication that Christ’s sufferings are insufficient. Rather, Paul understands himself to be a partner with Christ in Christ’s ministry of building up his body. And this ministry, which Christ and Paul have, is uniquely tied to suffering.

This ministry is not just Christ’s and Paul’s. It’s also yours and mine. So often when we suffer, our temptation is to turn inward, focusing on our own distress. To be fair, there is a place for this. After all, I led this guide with a section on lament. And yet, in order to join Christ and Paul’s ministry of suffering for the building up of the body, you have to think beyond yourself for others’ sake. If you’re not accustomed to caring for others amid your own trouble, let me encourage you to start today.

I remember talking to my grandmother one afternoon, just a few days after learning our baby was gone. She compassionately challenged me to consider how Rachel and I might use our suffering for the good of others. She even suggested that we try and bless another couple in our church who were where we wanted to be—anticipating the arrival of their baby. At first, I brushed her off. “Yeah, okay, Grammy. Thanks for that!” Later that week, I met my friend Darren. Darren and his wife, Krystal, had been members of our church for more than a decade and had a large circle of friends. However, since we were new, Darren and Krystal invited my wife and me to dinner. As we passed over the 395 bridge into Virginia on our way to a burger joint in Arlington, Krystal told us that they were expecting their first. Then she told us the due date. My heart sank. She was exactly as far along as Rachel should have been.

For however much I wanted out of the car, I’m sure Rachel wanted out even more. The rest of the evening was okay. They didn’t know about our loss, and we didn’t say anything. When we got back to our apartment, I assumed the evening was a misfire and that we’d find friends elsewhere. However, Darren shortly thereafter reached out to hang out again. I didn’t want to. But I remembered my grandma’s words in the back of my mind and said yes. Over the next six months, we became fast friends with Darren and Krystal. They were generous about including us in their preparation for their son, Sam. Sam is like a nephew to Rachel and me now. I cannot express how much good the Lord did to us through Darren and Krystal, even as we tried to do good to them.

If the Lord has allowed suffering to come into your life, my friend, it guarantees that he has reasons for it that go beyond you. What a blessing that God intends to use you. So, as he does, give him glory. Join Paul and rejoice in your sufferings, which are for the building up of the body. Listen to James and count it all joy when you suffer. It’s not wasted.

Reflection questions: 

  1. What is the relationship between your suffering, Christ’s suffering, and the suffering of other Christians in your life?
  2. Is there anyone you think the Lord is leading you to encourage or come alongside amid their trials?
  3. How can you start giving God glory for how he has allowed you to suffer?
  4. What prayer requests can you share with your mentor/mentee specific to loving others with your story?

Conclusion:

If you live long enough, life will eventually fall apart. It’s going to get tough. You’re going to lose. You’re going to hurt. You’re going to fall down. The good news? God has provided everything you need in Jesus and in his people in order to persevere. So, lament before him. Learn more about God’s character and allow his character to inform your suffering. Lean on God and on his people. And lastly, love others who are suffering similarly.

#46 The Peace of God and How to Find It

Part 1: How to Establish Peace with God

What is peace?

What comes to mind when you hear the word peace? A little peace and quiet? A break from work or the kids? Maybe you envision tranquility: a little Zen music, a massage or contemplation by the beach or a forest stream. Maybe it’s relational peace? No gossip, no fighting, no drama, no tension. Or maybe you think globally? No more holocausts, apartheids, genocides, or threats of nuclear war.

According to Scripture, peace is primarily about the presence of something—or someone. True peace is found in God. Peace comes in the restoration of what sin has broken. Perfect peace is a complete rearrangement, a return to God’s good order and design. It is the absence of what should be absent and the presence of what should be present. Everything in its proper place. Everything made whole.

The Hebrew word for peace is shalom. It occurs 236 times in the Old Testament and it speaks not only of calmness but of completeness.

Job once described his household as being in shalom because nothing was missing. David asked his brothers about their shalom in the middle of battle. When Solomon finished the temple, he brought shalom to it.

To shalom something is to restore it, to make it whole again. When God created the world, He created it whole and complete. But sin shattered that wholeness. There was once harmony, but now hostility. There used to be intimacy with God, but sin created separation and alienation.

After sinning, Adam and Eve hid from God because sin had separated them from him. To Adam and Eve, God promised that the woman would bring forth a seed who would crush the head of the serpent.” Ultimately the seed is none other than Jesus Christ. Isaiah the prophet called Jesus “the Prince of Peace.” In fact, when Jesus was born, the angels erupted with the announcement: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” (Luke 2:14)

How did Jesus bring about this peace? The angels didn’t just pronounce it, Jesus had to procure it. He accomplished this long-prophesied peace through His life, death, and resurrection.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the starting point for every soul that longs for peace. But before we can receive it, we have to recognize why we need it.

Why Do We Need Peace With God? 

Matthew Henry once asked, “What peace can they have who are not at peace with God?” The answer is that there is no peace without God.

Real peace, the kind that quiets guilt, steadies the soul, and gives strength in the midst of suffering, cannot exist apart from reconciliation with God. Why? Because our greatest problem is not emotional or political or psychological—it is relational.

Our restlessness begins with our rebellion. Until we are reconciled with our Creator, no amount of comfort can truly calm our fears.

We may try to mask our unrest with achievement or apathy but as long as sin remains undealt with, the conscience will whisper, “You’re not right and you’re not alright. You’re not safe.” And the truth is that the conscience is telling the truth.

If you want the peace of God, you must first make peace with God. Not peace with yourself.

The Bible teaches that sin has created a chasm between us and God. Romans 5:10 says that before any of us come to Christ we are enemies. Enemies are not passively indifferent. They’re in a perpetual state of active animosity. Before coming to Christ, the Bible calls us rebels, lawbreakers, and insurgents in God’s kingdom.

Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. That means no one slides into this world safe. We all begin estranged from God and in a state of war against him.

War with God is a war no man can win. God is holy. Man is guilty. And no matter how loving God is, He’ll never overlook our rebellion, because He’s also just. That’s why peace with God is impossible from our side. We can’t bribe a holy God with good behavior. We can’t cover our guilt with resolutions and rituals. If peace is going to be established, it must come from God’s initiative. He must move first. And He has. God sent His Son into this world to make peace. What we needed was someone to negotiate and accomplish a peace treaty. That is what Christianity offers; a peace treaty written in Christ’s blood.

This is the foundation of every kind of peace you could ever hope to experience. Until the war with God is over, peace is just a figment of your imagination. You might have moments of quiet, but you won’t find rest. You may numb your guilt, but you can never remove it. Peace begins at the cross, because that’s where the hostility ends.

How Can Rebels Be Made Right With A Holy God?

Romans 5:1 puts it this way: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” God justifies sinners. He declares them righteous through faith in Christ, not because they deserve it, but because of what His Son has done. Jesus stepped into the courtroom, took our place, and received the full verdict. God didn’t overlook the charges or lower his holy standard. He satisfied justice through substitution.

At the cross, Jesus absorbed the wrath we had earned. He bore the curse. He fulfilled the law. He paid the debt in full. When you believe Him, you are united to Him. His death counts for you. His life covers yours. The Judge now declares you “righteous.” And where justification is pronounced, peace begins.

This peace is not a fleeting feeling—it’s an objective reality. It doesn’t waver with your circumstances. It is rooted in the finished work of Christ and secured by the righteous verdict of God Himself. When God declares you righteous that is a legal, spiritual, and eternal verdict. He’s no longer against you, He is for you. Fully. Forever.

Why would God do this? Why move toward those who opposed Him? Romans 5:8 gives the answer: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God didn’t wait for us to clean ourselves up. He didn’t demand change before dishing out grace. He gave grace to produce change. And that’s the heart of gospel of peace. Jesus didn’t just point the way to peace. He walked the road to Calvary and purchased peace.

Once you’ve made peace with God, you’re no longer His enemy. Instead, you’re His child. The war is over. The verdict is in. You are justified. But justification isn’t the end of the story. It’s the beginning of a new kind of life; a life where God not only removes hostility but fills your soul with peace. This is where we move from peace with God to the peace of God. The peace with God is legal, objective, unchanging. It’s grounded in Christ’s work and sealed by His righteousness. The peace of God is personal, protected, and perpetual.

Discussion and Reflection:

  1. What are some of the counterfeit forms of peace you are most tempted to chase?
  2. In what ways has hardship exposed what you really trust in?
  3. Have you made peace with God, or are you still trying to earn His approval?
  4.  How would your day-to-day mindset change if you truly believed God was now your friend?

Part 2: How to Experience the Peace of God

The Peace of God Is Personal

Philippians 4:9, “The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Peace is personal. It’s palpable.

God doesn’t just deliver peace to you like an Amazon delivery man brings you a package. Peace comes from His presence. Peace flows from your relationship with Him. Paul doesn’t simply say, “peace will be with you” like its an abstract, impersonal feeling. No, he tells us how peace is with us: “the God of peace will be with you.”

So we don’t just get relief, we get relationship. We don’t just get a feeling, we get the Father.

For those in the military, especially wives and children, you know this well. When dad is deployed for months or even years, are you content with just a memory of him? Does a photo, a letter, or even a good feeling replace his presence? No! You want your husband or father in the flesh. Why? Because His nearness brings comfort. His voice brings peace.

Awhile ago I came upon a video on YouTube titled, “Sergeant Surprises Son in Taekwondo Lesson.” In this video, you see a dad, back from a year’s deployment, sparring with his son who is blindfolded. And as they exchange blows his dad says, “Keep your hands up Chip.” The boy can’t see his dad but when his dad repeats the instructions, “Keep your hands up Chip” the boy recognizes his voice, immediately takes off his blindfold, sees his dad and rushes him for a hug.

There are times when God feels distant to us but we can be assured that He is always right there with us. His voice is always speaking reassurance to us through His eternal word. He has promised to be with us always and we can be confident that His presence is our peace.

The psalmist said in Psalm 73:28, “But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have set Lord Yahweh as my refuge, That I may recount all Your works.”

Ephesians 2:14 says “He, Himself is our peace” and where He is, peace reigns. This is why Paul says, “The Lord is near” (Philippians 4:5). He is not far off. He draws near to dwell with His people.

This is why peace cannot be sustained apart from walking closely with Christ. The further you drift from Him, the more peace slips through your fingers. Not because He moves away, but because you lose sight of the One who is your refuge. He has promised never to leave you or forsake you and as you abide in Him, you will experience His peace. The peace of God is personal in that it is experienced in the personal presence of Immanuel, God with us.

The Peace of God Is Protected

Not only is God’s peace present and personal, it is also powerfully protected.

Philippians 4:7, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Have you considered what it means that the peace of God surpasses all comprehension? It surpasses understanding, not because it’s irrational, but because it exceeds the limits of what human reason can produce.

When life unravels, this peace doesn’t just feel strong, it is strong. When you lose your job and wonder how in the world you’re going to survive, God is right there to protect your peace.  When you are in the hospital room and you get the diagnosis, God is by your side, protecting your peace. When you are at the graveside and the loss has finally hit you, He is nearer to you than you realize.

God’s peace doesn’t erase hardship, but it upholds you in the middle of it. It doesn’t make you forget your pain, but it helps you process the pain in light of His promises. This peace is not a trick of the mind—it’s the work of the Spirit. So many believers struggle because they expect peace to alleviate all trouble. But the peace of God is often experienced most in the midst of trouble.

The Peace of God Is Perpetual

The peace of God is personal, it is protected and it is perpetual. Once it has taken hold of you, it never lets you go.

Isaiah 54:10 “For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,” Says Yahweh who has compassion on you.”

When you have peace with God, it doesn’t fade with time or fluctuate with your emotions. Peace ages well. It doesn’t wrinkle, fade, or weaken. Peace with God isn’t a one-time experience at conversion or something you used to have. It is a present and permanent reality.

Your justified status means you don’t have to worry about drifting in and out of peace with God because you’re anchored to Him.

Romans 5:10 spells this out: “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

The death of Christ made peace. The life of Christ keeps it.

Jesus said in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

The world’s peace is circumstantial. God’s peace is covenantal. Once He has given it, He doesn’t revoke it. Christ’s resurrection and the presence of His indwelling Spirit is your seal and guarantee. Because the Spirit of God has permanently taken up residence in our hearts we will always have peace.

Christ purchased your peace at great price, you can be sure that He will now preserve it. Not only does he preserve it, He nurtures and cultivates it as you submit to His indwelling Spirit.

Paul tells us in Romans 15:13 that this peace flows from hope and joy through the power of the Holy Spirit: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

You will have ups and downs in life’s circumstances and in your emotional strength, but peace is a fixed promise rooted in God’s character. His peace will never leave you because He will never leave you (Hebrews 13:5). That doesn’t mean your peace will never waver, it just means that when it does, you can remember and reassure yourself of what God has promised.

And that leads us to our next question: how can we grow and strengthen our peace? If justification is the root, then the growing in Christ is the fruit. So let’s look now at how to strengthen our experience of the peace of God, not just in principle, but in practice.

Pray About Everything

If you want to walk in the peace of God, you must learn to bring everything to God in prayer. Not just the big things. Not just the emergencies. Everything! That includes your anxious thoughts, your restless nights, and your wandering mind. The Lord tells us exactly what we’re to do with all our anxious thoughts in Philippians 4:6–7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

So according to Paul, the peace of God doesn’t come by figuring everything out by yourself. It comes by laying everything down. When your anxieties begin to rise in your heart and that little voice in your head begins to rehearse your fears, you need to be reminded that God wants you to come to Him in prayer. Not because He’s unaware of what’s going on, but so you can be reminded of who He is.

Prayer is your weapon of warfare against anxiety. When Martin Luther faced intense spiritual opposition, he would often say, “Come, let us sing a psalm and drive away the devil.”

How often do the songs you sing, remind you of the truth you often forget? There’s just something about good hymns that help us remember who God is and what He’s done. We need good music to preach to our worries. We need tested lyrics to redirect our thoughts when our emotions are all over the map.

God’s promise to you is if you bring your burdens to Him instead of trying to bear them alone and if you choose prayer over panic, you will have peace.  Do you want to better experience God’s peace? Sing more! Seriously, sing more. Make your songs your prayers. Sing and cry out, “Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!”

Is your sin shouting that you are guilty? Sing: “Because the sinless Savior died, My sinful soul is counted free.” Are you tempted to doubt God’s love? Remember your adoption: “My name is graven on His hands, My name is written on His heart. “I know that while in heav’n He stands, No tongue can bid me thence depart;” Does your past accuse you? Rest in this:
“My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought—My sin, not in part but the whole, Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more.”

Praying through good songs will quiet your heart and keep you from stumbling away from peace. So sing and pray without ceasing.

Ponder What Is True 

If prayer helps you see clearly, pondering truth will help you walk correctly. Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is dignified, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, consider these things.”

The battle for peace is often won or lost in the mind. The Spirit uses truth to displace lies. When your mind is renewed with the promises of God’s Word, your soul learns to rest; even when circumstances scream otherwise.

But if you allow your mind to be cluttered with worries, doubts, and the subtle whispers of falsehood, you will struggle to experience peace.

Consider the conversations you have with yourself. Is the most negative person in your life you? Do you hear that inner voice telling you, “You’re a failure,” or “You’re alone,” or “No one deals with what you deal with or feels how you feel”? Lies don’t just hover outside your mind’s door; they want to break in and live there permanently. Satan, the pull of sin, and your own self-doubt will constantly try to convince you that God’s Word can’t be trusted.

This is why the prophet Isaiah says Isaiah 26:3  “The one steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You.” God does more than just guard our hearts; He actively guards our minds. But notice, He doesn’t guard every mind; He guards the one that stays fixed on Him.

That doesn’t happen by accident. You must fight for it. You must deliberately choose what you dwell on. You’ll experience the profound peace of God and it will settle in your soul but only when you silence the lies going on in your head.

Your thoughts lead to emotions and those emotions lead to actions. What you believe in those quiet, unguarded moments will profoundly shape how you respond when chaos hits. If you believe God is distant, you’ll feel abandoned and alone. But if you truly believe He is a sure and steady anchor then your soul will be stabilized. Peace doesn’t grow out of mere positive thinking—it grows out of solid truth.

How can you experience more of the peace of God in your life? Pray about everything and regularly ponder what is true.

Practice What You Know

Philippians 4:9 “The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Peace isn’t just promised to those who believe, but to those who obey. It’s one thing to know the truth—it’s another to live it.

Psalm 119:165 “Those who love Your law have much peace, And nothing causes them to stumble.” The assumption here, is that loving God’s Word results in obeying God’s word. And those who love God’s word and live according to it, experience peace. Not minimal peace, but “much” peace. Abundant peace. Settled and enduring peace.

It is important to note who experiences peace. Not the lawless. But those who love God’s law—not merely following it out of duty, but delighting in it from the heart. Psalm 1:2 “But his delight is in the law of Yahweh, And in His law he meditates day and night.”

To love God’s law is to love God’s voice, to love God’s ways, and to love God’s will. Those who don’t cannot find peace. One of the most profound things my wife has ever said to me is “There is nothing more satisfying than having a clear conscience.” She is absolutely right. Peace flows most freely when the conscience is clear. You simply cannot hold onto hidden sin and expect a steady soul. You cannot genuinely ask for the peace of God while deliberately ignoring the commands of God. Disobedience always disturbs peace, not because God withdraws His love, but because sin clouds your confidence and creates distance in your fellowship with Him.

Sin always over-promises and profoundly under-delivers. It lures you in with the fleeting promise of relief, then leaves you with deep restlessness. It may feel like freedom in the moment, but it slowly chokes your soul. When compromise creeps in, your peace deflates like air in a tire. Obedience, on the other hand, may require something upfront; a surrender, a difficult choice… but it consistently leads to true peace, clarity, and deeper communion with God.

And remember, growing in holiness is not perfection—it’s direction. It’s a heart that actively listens when God speaks, genuinely turns when He convicts, and faithfully comes when He calls.

Obedience declares, “Not my way, Lord, but Yours.” Bowing your will to God’s will won’t earn you peace; but it will actively invite it. Peace isn’t the reward of our performance—it’s the natural fruit of intimate fellowship with God.

So, if you are lacking peace in your life, it might be time to do some inventory. You’re going to lack comfort if you’re coddling sin and refusing correction. The peace of God truly rests on those who actively walk with the God of peace. If you are walking in faith and obedience your soul will find its promised rest.

Questions for Reflection

  1. When anxiety strikes, where do you typically run first – prayer or panic?
  2. What are some truths from God’s Word you need to rehearse more often?
  3. Are there any hidden sins disrupting your peace with God?
  4. What does it mean to say peace is a Person and not just a feeling?
  5. Have you trusted Christ as your peace? If so, how does that shape the way you view hardship?

Part 3: How to Enjoy the God of Peace

In that great martial arts film, Kung Fu Panda there is a scene where Master Shifu is trying to help Po focus and find inner peace. Po plops himself under a cherry blossom tree to mediate and says, “Alright Universe give me some guidance.” Then he repeats the mantra: “Inner peace… inner peace… inner peace…” But his mind begins to wander and his “inner peace” turns into “Dinner, please,” then “dinner with peas” then “snow peas…with a sesame soy glaze!”

I’m guessing we all identify with Po more than we’d like to admit. Our minds often wander while praying or reading the Bible. And if you’re anything like me, and Po… it’s probably wandering off to the next thing you plan to put in your belly. We may start off well intentioned. We silence our heart and pray with sincerity. But soon we’re pulled back into the distractions of life. Schedules, notifications, anxieties, ambitions. Our longing for peace gets hijacked by our appetite for control or comfort.

But here’s the good news: God’s peace isn’t something we generate. It’s something we receive by enjoying Him. Apart from Christ, there is no communion, no closeness, no enjoyment of the God of peace. It is through His blood that peace was made (Col. 1:20), and it is through abiding in Him that we experience the joy and rest of that peace.

It’s with that we now turn our attention to the acronym P.E.A.C.E. to help us more easily remember the relational and experiential joy of walking with the God. This acronym provides us with five ways we can enjoy the God of peace.

P – Pursue Christ’s Presence

Psalm 16:11, “You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” In this passage, David is praying to Yahweh, his covenant keeping God. Throughout the Psalm you can hear David’s intimacy with his God. He’s not speculating; he has absolute confidence in Yahweh. What specifically is he confident about? It says that Yahweh will make known to him the path of life. The verb for “make known” implies revelation, guidance and teaching. God isn’t distant or silent. He personally and particularly shows David the way. It’s not as if God is just pointing and giving directions. Instead, God is leading the way and illumining the path so David can walk uprightly.

The only way you can be sure you’re on the right path is to walk in God’s presence.  When David says “in your presence” it literally reads “before Your face.” This is personal, relational nearness to God. This is not some vague idea of God but an actual dwelling with God—a nearness to God.

I remember one of my college basketball coaches getting on my case one day during a time out because he thought I was being lazy on defense. He got in my face and said, “Peppermint.” I said, “What?” He said, “Peppermint. That’s the kind of gum you’re chewing. I want you to be so close to number 10 that you know what kind of gum he’s chewing. You have to get up in his face. I want his girlfriend in the stands to be jealous of how close you are to him. Get up in his face!!”

I think we’d be much happier Christians if we had more face-to-face contact with God.

Consider Psalm 16:11 again. What is the inevitable result of this “face to face” communion with God? The Psalmist sings, “In your presence there is fullness of joy!” Notice the sense of wholeness that the Psalmist communicates here. The word for “fullness” means abundance, satisfaction, complete contentment; there is no lack. You can be sure that nothing God provides is lacking or incomplete.

If you are chasing happiness in the world, you will find (if you haven’t already!) That it will always run faster than you. But here, the Psalmist shares with us a joy that doesn’t run away from us but to us. God’s presence isn’t like a sprinkling of rain that just passes by, it’s like a spring of living water that never runs dry. It provides deep, soul-stirring satisfaction that endures and overflows.

The Psalmist expresses this abundance like this, Psalm 4:7 “You have put gladness in my heart, more than when their grain and new wine abound.” Jesus offers even more clarity about the source of the joy

and the degree of joy provided in John 15:11, “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.” Our joy is made full, complete, and perfect in His joy. Jesus shares with us His own perfect, supernatural, eternal joy.

This is God’s astounding promise to us: Romans 14:17, “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

Consider the conclusion of Psalm 16:11, “In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”

Psalm 16:11 reminds us that we don’t have our own individual measure of joy as Christians but we have access to the source who supplies and sustains infinite joy.

Moses once said, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here” (Exodus 33:15). Peter later echoed this same sentiment, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Moses and Peter both wanted to be in God’s presence continually. They each understood that their greatest joy was where God is.

To enjoy the God of peace, you must first and foremost desire His presence. The feeling of peace is really not your main aim. Christ’s presence is your main aim. When we prioritize nearness with Christ, we position ourselves to receive His peace, which flows from His very being.

Therefore, we do well to beware of two dangers that want to disrupt our peace: distance and distraction. We see this illustrated for us in the example of Mary and Martha. Martha was do distracted that it distanced her from Christ. The more she was removed from His presence, the more restless she became. She was not at peace. Instead, she was anxious, and her anxiety also led to a rift in her relationship with her sister. She had lost peace internally and externally. Mary, on the other hand, was at perfect peace. She had chosen the better portion—proximity to Christ by sitting at his feet.

All through Scripture we read that there is great reward when we draw near to Christ.

James 4:8 promises, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” We are even told how we are to draw near. Hebrews 10:22 exhorts, “let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Through Christ, we have bold access to draw near to the God of peace.

How are we to draw near to God? With a sincere heart and a sure faith. A daily disciplined Bible diet is certainly a wise practice. But communion with God goes beyond your morning ritual of coffee and a devotional. Don’t be too quick to mark Jesus off your to-do list with your daily devo duty.  Linger long in His presence. Make sure that you are making time for unhurried prayer and silent reflection. The key is quality communion. The enemy knows that the busier you are the less spiritual delight and peace you will enjoy.

We must allow time for our hearts to be captivated by His beauty. To truly enjoy the God of peace, we must lift our eyes and exalt in Christ’s glory.

E – Exalt in Christ’s Glory

We were made to behold glory, and the supreme glory of God is revealed in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6 puts it this way: “For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” John 1:14 also reveals that God’s glory is revealed to us in Christ: “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Let every sermon you hear, every hymn you sing, and every Scripture you ponder be a fresh look at the radiance of Christ. The more clearly we behold the glory of Christ, the more our hearts are quieted in peace. His glory steadies us. His glory lifts our eyes from earthly shadows and reminds us that our joy is rooted in the unchanging beauty of Jesus.

We reflect what we remain focused on. If we keep our eyes on Jesus, His character will be seen in our quiet, steady, confidence – the presence of His peace.

A – Abide in Christ’s Word

You cannot exalt in Christ’s glory without abiding in Christ’s Word. Jesus Himself said, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4). Just as the body cannot thrive without daily bread, the soul is directionless and cannot flourish without daily communion in the Word. Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in me you may have peace” (John 16:33). Jesus words are instruments of peace. His words steady our emotions, anchor our thoughts and shape our desires. In a world where your mind is pulled in a thousand different directions, abiding in Christ’s Word provides clarity, stability, and rest.

Paul makes this connection between the peace of Christ and the word of Christ in Colossians 3:15–16, “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with gratefulness in your hearts to God.”

The peace of Christ rules in the heart when the Word of Christ richly dwells in the mind. Nothing else can effectively remove the noise of the world and fix your attention on the truth that brings peace and freedom like the word of God (John 8:31–32).

Scripture brings a fortifying peace—a resilience that does not stumble even in difficulty. Do you long for the kind of stability that does not waver with the winds of circumstance? Saturate yourself in the Scriptures, not to check a box, but to commune with Christ Himself. Listen to this amazing promise: John 15:7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” To abide is to remain, to dwell, to live in. Jesus doesn’t want us to just window shop, He wants us to take up residence in the word.

The more we are in the word, the more He shapes our worldview. The more we view the world through His eyes, the more He fuels our affections. And what is the result? Our desires and wishes become aligned with His own desires. As He grants those desires we experience His blessings.

Cultivate rhythms of rich, unhurried saturation in Scripture. Read slowly. Meditate deeply. Memorize faithfully. Let the Word dwell in you richly because where His Word is, there His presence is known and His peace is felt.

C – Communion with Christ’s People

The peace of God is not given for private enjoyment alone. God intends for that peace to flourish in fellowship. To enjoy the God of peace more fully, we must walk in communion with the people of peace. The God of peace has not called us to a private peace, but to a shared peace.

One of the great lies of our age is that peace is found in retreating from people. But biblical peace is deeply relational. You cannot fully enjoy the God of peace without walking closely with those who, like you, have been united to Christ through His blood. If you want to be face to face with Christ, you must be face to face with His body – the church.

Let me illustrate it this way. I’m a lifelong Laker fan. You could say it’s in my blood. I was at Laker games while still in my mother’s womb. When I talk about the Lakers, I don’t say “the Lakers,” I say “my Lakers.” I say, “We” have 17 championships. I say, “We,” not the Celtics, have had the greatest teams ever assembled. That’s how deep the identification runs. But I no longer live in Los Angeles. I live in Warrior territory now. So when I see someone walking down the street wearing the Purple and Gold, there’s an instant connection—a fist bump, a nod, maybe even a full conversation rehashing the glory

days of Magic or Kobe. Total strangers feel like long-lost friends because we share the same allegiance. It’s camaraderie based on a shared loyalty.

Now, if that’s true over something as temporary and trivial as my favorite basketball team, how much more should it be true for Christians united to Christ? We’re not just rooting for the same team—we’ve been redeemed by the same Savior, baptized into the same body, and adopted by the same Father. We don’t just share a jersey—we share Christ Himself. We’re bound together not by loyalty to a franchise, but by the blood of the cross. So when you walk into a local church as a Christian, you’re not walking into a crowd of strangers— you’re walking into a family reunion. That older man you barely know is your brother. That younger woman is your sister.

The Cross doesn’t just create vertical peace, it also creates horizontal peace. The New Testament makes it unmistakably clear—Jesus didn’t just reconcile us to God; He reconciled us to one another. Ephesians

2:14, “For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups one and broke down the dividing wall of the partition”.

In the first-century world, few divisions were deeper than the hostility between Jews and Gentiles. But Paul declares something stunning here about Jesus: “He Himself is our peace.” He doesn’t say Jesus brings peace, or He teaches peace, but He’s the very person who embodies and secures peace. He is peace personified. Jesus “made both groups one”. This is supernatural. He creates a new humanity in Himself (Ephesians 2:15). Our unity is not a compromise but a new creation.

Now this side of the cross, Paul can say: Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

If Christ broke down the dividing wall, the church is the evidence that it’s truly gone. The church is not only the recipient of peace, it is the display of peace. Every local church is a visible declaration that Christ’s reconciling work is real.

Consider the following passages:

Ephesians 4:3 “Being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Philippians 2:1 “…being united in spirit, thinking on one purpose.”
Romans 14:19 “So then let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.”

We live in a world of shallow connections. You can now access good sermons, podcasts, and worship music without ever entering a church or engaging in real relationships. But God’s design is not just for you to be informed, but to be transformed in community.

Hebrews 10:24–25 exhorts, “And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” Acts 2:46–47, “And daily devoting themselves with

one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number daily those who were being saved.”

Communion with Christ’s people is not optional—it is essential for enjoying the God of peace. The church is where love, accountability, service, joy, and mutual encouragement take root and grow. Where else on earth does that happen? What else on earth has the power to take enemies and make them family? Apart from the gospel what can bring such perfect unity out of dramatic diversity?

What Christ creates in the church is not just the ability to tolerate one another. He creates a deep, joyful, sacrificial, gospel-rooted peace that unifies. Politics and policies can’t produce that kind of peace. Only the the precious blood of Christ has that power.

E – Entrust Everything to Christ’s Care

As we walk in fellowship with God’s people, we taste the joy and stability that shared peace brings. But even in community, our hearts still wrestle with worry and fear. So if we are to enjoy the God of peace continually, we must learn to entrust everything to Christ’s sovereign hands.

It’s going to be difficult for you to enjoy God if you want to control God. I don’t think anyone would admit to wanting to control God but we all want to control our circumstances. We want to control people and outcomes. We want to control the future. And yet, this level of control is impossible for us. In fact, coming to Christ means to surrending the illusion of control. To enjoy the God of peace, you must cast your cares on Christ, and leave them there.

Jesus is the only source and sovereign sustainer of our peace. He holds the universe in His hands and He holds your future, your fears, your family, your friends, your finances, and whatever else comes to the forefront of your mind. When you embrace trust in this Jesus, peace envelops you. When you stop rehearsing what-ifs and start rejoicing in what is, your soul will be at rest.

It is fascinating to follow the fear of the disciples throughout Jesus’ ministry. Throughout the Gospels, the disciples were often restless due to fear, anxiety, or confusion. Their lack of peace was not because Christ was absent, but because they failed to trust Him. Whether it was fear of storms, lack of food, suffering, persecution, or some other type of uncertainty, their troubled hearts revealed a lack of confidence in Christ. They doubted His power, His provision, His wisdom, His presence, or His plan. In each moment, Jesus gently corrected them; not merely by solving their problem, but by revealing more of Himself. The consistent lesson is this: peace comes not from changed circumstances, but from a growing trust in the character of Christ. To enjoy the God of peace, we must entrust ourselves fully to Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

“Casting” means to throw upon, to hurl something decisively away from oneself. It’s a strong, vivid verb that pictures a conscious act of release. The God of peace urges us to hurl our burdens onto His capable shoulders. Psalm 55:22 “Cast your burden upon Yahweh and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.”

Peter tells us we can cast all our anxieties on Jesus—every care, every worry, every concern, anything that causes you to divide your mind or distract your heart. Anything that keeps you up at night. You don’t have to try to manage your feelings. You can take all your real and raw feelings and cast them on Christ “because He cares for you”.

This is the ground of the command. Why should we cast our anxieties on Him? Because He cares. Not with a casual interest but with watchful, attentive concern “for you”. He doesn’t just care about problems in general, but about you specifically.

You’re not casting your anxiety into the void—you’re giving it to a God who loves you, sees you, knows you, and bears your burdens. There is no detail of your life too small for His loving concern.

Conclusion: God’s Peace Is Real, and You Can Know It

We’ve seen that peace like a river isn’t found in a mindset or a mood, but in a man. In Jesus Christ, we don’t just receive peace we receive the God of peace Himself.

Frances Havergal believed that. She wrote the words to her famous hymn, ‘Like a River Glorious’, not from a place of comfort, but out of a life poured out in service to Christ. Her final days were marked by physical weakness, but her soul was as strong as could be. On her deathbed at just forty-two years old, one of her doctors said to her as he left her room, “Good-bye, I shall not see you again.”

She said, “Then you really think I am going?” He replied, “Yes.”

“Today?”

“Probably.”

“Beautiful,” she said, “too good to be true.”

Soon afterward she looked up smiling and said, “Splendid to be so near the gates of heaven!” She asked her brother to sing some hymns to her, then he said to her, “You have talked and written a great deal about the King, and you will soon see Him in his beauty.”

“It’s splendid!” she replied. “I thought He would have left me here a long while; but He is so good to take me now.”

A little later she whispered, “Come, Lord Jesus, come and fetch me.” And she sang one of her own songs.

Jesus, I will trust Thee,

Trust Thee with my soul:

Guilty, lost, and helpless,

Thou hast made me whole:

There is none in heaven,

Or on earth, like thee;

Thou has died for sinners,

Therefore, Lord for me.

That is the joy of the believer; not merely that we get peace, but that we get Christ. And if you have Him, you have everything. You have a peace that stays through suffering, deepens in dying, and exults in eternity. Let us enjoy, not just what Christ gives, but Christ Himself.

Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest,
Finding as He promised, perfect peace and rest.

#44 A Leader’s True North

Part One: What Good Leadership Is Not

Do you remember when you were in elementary school and had to learn about story arcing? If so, you’ll recall that there are five basic elements to any complete story: exposition (where the scene is set), rising action (where the problem is introduced), climax (where the problem is at its height), falling action (where conflict begins to be resolved) and resolution (where the conflict is brought to a final close). Well, the beginning chapters of Exodus offer something of an exposition for a story involving Israel, Egypt, and a Hebrew-born, Egyptian-raised shepherd by the name of Moses.

Israel, a people from the land of Canaan, had been sojourning in Egypt for four hundred years at the time when our story begins. Throughout much of that time, Israel had found great favor with the Egyptians. In fact, Exodus opens by telling us that “the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly so that the land was filled with them.” Life was pretty good in Egypt for Israel, you may say. But trouble was just around the corner.

A new Egyptian king came onto the scene, and he was not so interested in Israel and Egypt’s friendly past relations (Ex. 2:8). The Pharaoh saw Israel as a threat plain and simple—a threat that could not go unchecked. Pharaoh called for the Israelites to become Egypt’s slaves, where they would be afflicted with “heavy burdens.” To Pharaoh’s great disappointment, however, the more he oppressed Israel, the more they multiplied and spread (Ex. 2:11).

Egypt dreaded Israel as if it were a disease, causing chronic illness under the threat of death. Pharaoh decided more must be done to mitigate for Israel’s increase. So, he devised a plan to have every male Israelite killed at the time of their birth. The midwives, who were to execute Pharoh’s murderous plan, denied him, however, and “the people multiplied and grew very strong” (Ex. 2:20). It seemed nothing Pharoh did to thwart Israel’s increase would work. Israel’s God matched Pharaoh’s every curse with greater blessings.

It is into this conflict that Moses was born. In fact, his person is an intersection between these two peoples. In Exodus 2, we read that Moses was born to a Hebrew woman who, in order to save his life, hid Moses in a bulrush basket tucked in the reeds along the bank of the Nile (Ex. 2:3). There, Moses was discovered by none other than Pharaoh’s own daughter. Pharaoh’s daughter adopted Moses, giving him his name, which means “I drew him out of the water” (Ex. 2:10). So here we have Moses, born a Hebrew yet adopted into the royal family of Egypt. What would become of such a boy? Where would his loyalties ultimately lie?

We don’t have to read much more in order to get an answer to that line of questioning. The writer of Exodus (Moses himself) writes:

One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people.  He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well. – Exodus 2:11-15

In just a few short verses, Moses goes from being Egyptian royalty to being an Egyptian fugitive. To make matters worse, his act of defense on behalf of his people, Israel, was unwanted, and his own scoffed at him, saying, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us?” Things were hardly working out for Moses at this point in his story. Though he belonged to two peoples, he was wanted by neither. Though he wanted to lead, no one was willing to follow him. What went wrong for Moses? Answering that question will help us understand what good leadership is not. It will also help us appreciate the great leader Moses is to become.

1. Good leadership is not the result of worldly wisdom.

Notice the qualifier, “good.” In order for leadership to be “good,” it must depend on godly wisdom, not worldly wisdom. Remember those 57,000 leadership books currently on Amazon? Most of those depend on worldly wisdom. That is, they are full of tips and tricks focused on how to get ahead, how to be first, how to be best. Often, their strategies involve putting others down or using others to one’s own advantage. Worldly wisdom, in this sense, depends on self-promotion and aggrandizement.

Was Moses guilty of operating by worldly wisdom when he killed the Egyptian task master?  He was simply defending his people, after all! Well, for as easy as it may be to sympathize with Moses, his actions do reveal a certain self-appointment to judge and jury on behalf of a people who almost immediately thereafter reject his rule. Moses acted hastily and secretly in accordance with what he thought was right. Rather than ask God for wisdom, Moses acted rashly and struck the man down. Notice, however, that his actions against the taskmaster did little to improve Israel’s condition. In fact, Israel groaned even more because their suffering was great (Ex. 2:23).

What Israel needed and what Moses should have waited for was an answer from God as to what to do next. After all, God was very aware of his people’s predicament. Moses wrote, “And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew” (Ex. 2:24-25).

Can you think of a time when you acted rashly as a leader? Maybe you felt that the situation demanded fast-acting leadership. Of course, sometimes leadership does demand swift decisions. And yet, more often than not, rash decisions are born out of worldly wisdom. What that reveals is that we often aren’t too good at thinking on our feet—we definitely aren’t as good as we think we are. Worse still, we often fail to think God’s thoughts after him when we think rashly. Instead, we rely on worldly wisdom, which is normally more intuitive to us.

As leaders, we need God’s help and wisdom to know what to do next. Whether it be in our companies, our families, or our churches, we should be quick to seek  God’s counsel before we act. One way to do that is to read God’s Word while anticipating that, as we learn more about what God is like, we will understand more what we should be like. Because God is patient, just, and kind, we should strive to be that way for those who are under our leadership. To say it another way, the Bible may not tell us whether we should lead our company to sell this asset or send our children to private school. But by telling us what God is like, the Bible informs each of these decisions along with all the rest we face. We shouldn’t make decisions that deny God’s attributes. Instead, we should strive to make decisions that best display God’s character to those under our authority.

How might Moses have improved his and his people’s situation if he had waited for the Lord’s wisdom? Would he have managed to avoid the whole being a shepherd out in the desert chapter of his life? Possibly. What we can say for sure is that he would not have regretted depending on the Lord’s wisdom regardless of the outcome. We won’t regret waiting either.

2. Good leadership does not come from arrogant ambition.

We’ve already noted that Moses acted according to worldly wisdom when he chose to murder the Egyptian taskmaster who was beating a poor Israelite slave. We now need to think about Moses’s ambition, which was, no doubt, mixed with a certain degree of arrogance. Why do I say that? Well, for one thing, Moses had no idea that he would be appointed by God to lead his people from captivity at the time he killed the taskmaster. The reader of Exodus may have some inkling this would be the case based on how Moses had been rescued in from the Nile by none other than Pharaoh’s own daughter. But as far as Moses knew, he was just lucky to be alive, let alone to have Pharaoh’s wealth at his disposal.

This didn’t stop Moses from reaching for an authority that wasn’t his to take. You see, leadership comes from the north—that is, from God. Before Moses could have the authority to make decisions on behalf of his people—decisions like which of their oppressors to kill—he first had to be called by God.

Notice the difference such a calling makes in the way Israel responds to Moses. When Moses first killed the Egyptian, the people asked him, “who made you prince. . . ?” (Ex. 2:14). But after God called Moses to go to Pharaoh and demand the release of his people, “the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshipped.” (Ex. 4:31).

I remember as a young man (to some, I am still young!), I thought all would be right once I was the one in charge. After all, I could make way better decisions than those in authority over me. Or so I thought. My arrogance has caught up to me more times than I want to admit. I have too often been arrogantly ambitious. Friend, if you aren’t a leader of this or that yet but desire to be one, you should first learn to develop some suspicion of your ambition. Are you just out for authority for your own sake? For the sake of what others will think of you once you have it? Are you getting ahead of God with thoughts of what all you could accomplish if you were in charge? Is your charisma outpacing your character?

If you desire leadership opportunities, one of the best ways to channel your ambition is to focus on growing in character—God-glorifying, others-serving character. Don’t assume you’re the right person for the job. Don’t presume that other people should want to follow you. Instead, ask yourself and others about how you can grow to better resemble what God is like for others’ sake.

If you’re in leadership already but realize you’re too prone to arrogant ambition rather than humble submission to God, this may be a good time to hit the reset button. Repent of your arrogance. Ask the Lord to humble you. Start looking for ways to serve others rather than simply forcing them to serve you. Vet all your ambitions against God’s character. If they’re in alignment, precede. If not, cast those ambitions aside and get better ones—godlier ones.

In the case of Moses and the Egyptian taskmaster, we learn a few lessons on what good leadership isn’t. The rest of this guide will draw on Moses’s many positive examples in order to see what good leadership is and how we can grow in it.

Discussion Questions: 

  1. What areas in your life are you currently serving in some leadership capacity?
  2. Do you desire more leadership opportunities? If so, what are those, and why do you desire them?
  3. Have you struggled in the past with relying on worldly wisdom or being motivated by arrogant ambition? If so, share that example in your mentoring relationship.
  4. How does thinking about God’s character help us make decisions as leaders that best honor him?

Part Two: What Good Leadership Is: Humility

Something strange happens when you get married and then become a parent. Through those stages, you spend less and less time pursuing your immediate desires and more and more time serving the needs and desires of others—namely, your spouse and children. You play less golf and spend more time mowing the lawn. You go from sleeping in to 8 A.M. to changing diapers at 2 A.M. You stop spending money and you start saving it for college, weddings, and inheritance. Parents are leaders, but often leading means humbly serving.

Let’s stress test that for a second, because at first glance it may not seem right. Parenting is about humility? What about all the, “do it because I told you to stuff”? Sure enough, leading as a parent isn’t only about humility, but it’s never about less. Can you imagine a parent telling their six-month-old who needs a diaper change, “I’m sorry. I’m too good, busy, or tired to change you?” That would be ridiculous. Something about being a parent means serving, and serving requires humility.

And it isn’t just parenting that requires humble leadership. No, all leadership is born out of service to others, and service requires humility. If you aren’t humble, you can’t lead. Why is that? Well, for one, it’s because leading is less about what others can do for you and more about what you can do for them—at least it should be. Think about the various leadership positions you or others you know may hold. Parent, manager, mayor, judge, pastor. What do all these require? Service and real service—the kind that honors God—is never without humility. Parents humbly serve their kids. Managers should humbly serve their staff even as their staff serve under their leadership. Elected officials should humbly serve the public. Pastors should humbly serve their members. Good leadership isn’t puffed up. It isn’t about self-advancement. It’s about service.

There is another aspect of humility leaders need to grapple with and grow in—namely, being honest about weakness. Humble leaders don’t just capitalize on their strengths. They admit their weaknesses. They rely on others whose strengths complement their own. Rather than being intimidated by things that others are good at, good leaders empower others to serve in their strengths alongside them. Fear of man and pride leave leaders unable to pass out authority to others on the front end and, on the back end, make giving credit to others nearly impossible.

Godly leadership isn’t like leadership born out of fear of man. It doesn’t put others down to prop itself up. Godly leadership promotes those under it. Godly leadership admits weakness. Godly leaders humbly and joyfully celebrate other people’s strengths.

We see all this in the life of Moses and specifically in the event where God called him to what may seem like an impossible leadership post—leader of Israel, tasked with freeing them from Pharaoh and returning them to the land of Canaan. From Moses’s example, we need to learn what it means to admit weakness, rely on God’s provision, and celebrate others’ strengths.

1. Good leaders admit weakness.

If you were on the run in a foreign land, what would you do? That is precisely the question Moses had to answer when he fled Egypt. His answer? Become a shepherd, of course. Once a royal, now a fugitive, Moses’s only responsibility was to a bunch of smelly, stubborn sheep. To be fair, it wasn’t all bad. Though a sojourner, Moses got himself a wife and had a kid. He was well-liked by his father-in-law, Jethro, whose sheep he kept, and seems to have landed on his feet, all things considered. Moses may as well have kicked back in a lawn chair at day’s end, sighed, and thought to himself, “I could get used to this.”

Not so fast. God had other plans for Moses. One day, while Moses was tending to Jethro’s flock near Mount Horeb, Moses was approached by a most unexpected visitor. The angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a flaming bush, a bush that, though ablaze, remained unconsumed. The Lord said to Moses, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. . . I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their suffering. . . Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt” (Ex. 3:6-10). Wow. Can you imagine hearing these words?

Moses must have been flabbergasted. He must have thought he was going crazy! In fact, that may have been the sentiment behind his follow-up question, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring Israel out of Egypt?” (Ex. 3:11). That is exactly the right question, Moses. Who are you? You’re a murderer. You have no authority. Your reputation in Egypt is, how shall we say, sacked! And, as we will soon learn, you can’t even talk straight! How in the world will you, of all people, lead such a harrowing mission? If you think I’m being mean to the dear lad, just read Exodus 3 and 4. These are the very petitions Moses raised with God in order to prove that he simply wasn’t the man for the job!

You see, Moses was missing the point. God choosing him to lead Israel wasn’t about Moses’s qualifications—it was precisely about his disqualifications. God meant to show his power to Israel, Egypt, and all the world by using this fugitive shepherd who couldn’t speak straight. God would get glory through Moses’s weaknesses. God would rise above them, empower Moses in them, and supplement them with the strengths of others in order to accomplish what seemed impossible at the time—leading Israel to freedom.

What about you? Could you, like Moses, identify what makes you weak? Or does any sign of weakness leave you feeling paralyzed with fear and anxiety? “What if people don’t think I am the best at this?” “How can I do my job if others don’t respect me?” “Leaders can’t be weak.” My friend, weakness is a part of what it means to be human in a fallen world. You are weak in ways that you know and others that you don’t. You should be willing to admit those weaknesses to God, yourself, and others.

If you struggle to admit your own weakness, a good practice is to solicit the perspectives of a few trusted counselors. Maybe your spouse, co-worker, or pastor. Brace yourself, though. When you invite criticism, you’re likely to receive it. But that’s okay. Receiving godly criticism with grace from those who love us is one of the ways we grow. A side benefit of leaders inviting criticism is that it makes it safe for others to be criticized also. My pastor has set an amazing example of this. Every Sunday night, staff and interns gather in his study to review every part of the morning and evening services, including his sermon. Here he is, a pulpit veteran of more than thirty years, taking criticism from a bunch of thirty-year-olds! While I trust he takes this criticism in order to personally grow as a preacher, by doing so, he also makes it possible for the rest of us to do the same. How could I possibly respond to godly criticism with anger when my pastor regularly solicits criticism from me and others?

You see, because weakness means that there are legitimate ways each of us could be criticized. But if you’re unwilling to recognize your own weaknesses, you will never be able to be criticized by others. A leader who can’t be criticized is one who others feel they need to walk on eggshells around. A leader who welcomes criticism, on the other hand, not only grows personally but also makes it safe for others to grow through criticism.

If you’re leading something, like Moses, you need to be willing to admit your weaknesses. But that’s not all. . .

2. Good leaders rely on God’s provision.

The goal of admitting weakness is not simply to broadcast, “Hey, look at me! I am weak!” Rather, the goal of admitting weakness is to receive from God what we need but don’t have in ourselves. After all, doesn’t the Lord say to each of us, “For my power is made perfect in weakness”? (2 Cor. 12:9).

Moses was weak. He knew it, and God knew it. What Moses didn’t know was that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of enslaved Israel, was, is, and always will be all-powerful. When Moses first asked, “Who am I?” God responded with “I will be with you. . .” (Ex. 3:12) Moses was looking for the solution within himself, but the task was simply too great, Egypt was simply too big. What Moses failed to understand at first was who was on his side. God himself. He retorted again, “The people don’t know me! Who should I say sent me?” God responded to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. . . Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you” (Ex. 3:14).

Moses could do what God was calling him to because God is who he is. He is the eternal, perfect, powerful God, and there is no one like him. Pharaoh was no match for Moses’s God. All the horses and chariots of Egypt are as nothing at all before him. God would provide everything Moses needed to complete the task in front of him. But. . . Moses wasn’t yet convinced.

Moses said to the Lord, “No one is going to believe me!” and the Lord responded to Moses by empowering him with miraculous signs in order to give his message credibility. Moses responds again with doubt saying, “I am not a good speaker!” and God responded by saying “Who has made man’s mouth?” (Ex. 4:11). The obvious answer is that God himself has made man’s mouth and God is able to use Moses’s however he sees fit. Remember what God said to the Corinthians? “. . . my power is made perfect in weakness.” Moses was weak, but God’s power working through Moses would win the day.

Moses attempted to deflect once more, and this time God became angry because Moses persisted in doubt. God did not, however, withdraw his election of Moses to be the leader of Israel. Instead, he promised yet more provision. “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. . . you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and his mouth and will teach you both what to do.” (Ex. 4:14-15). What a promise from God for Moses and Aaron! He would be with their mouths and tell them exactly what to do!

In case you’re thinking, “Yeah, okay. That’s good for Moses and Aaron, but how does all this apply to me, having to lead a small software company with ten employees?” Good question. While God’s call to Moses to set Israel free from bondage was more, how shall we say, direct than your call to lead your software company, God promises to provide for you like he did Moses. Why? Well, for one, God is set on being glorified in your life, and part of that means giving you everything you need to obey him. You ask, “How do you know that, Taylor?” Let me give you two ways we can know that God will provide.

First, we know God will provide for us in our various leadership roles because his Word guarantees it. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work” (2 Cor. 9:8). Really? All sufficiency in all things at all times? Yes. God has promised to give you everything you need to honor him and bring him glory as a leader.

But what grounds such a crazy large promise? How can we know that it’s true? That brings me to the second and more objective way you can know God will provide for you. He gave you Jesus. Paul wrote to the Romans, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32). My friends, there is nothing greater or more important that God could do for us than provide a way for us to be forgiven of our sin and reconciled to him. That is precisely what he has done for us in Jesus. Notice how Paul’s logic moves from the greater to the lesser: because God gave Jesus (the greatest gift at the point of our greatest need), we know he will give us everything else.

God sent his only beloved Son to die in your place if you’re trusting in him. How much sense does it make for him to then withhold from you what you need to honor him at work, at home, or at church?  None at all. God has done everything necessary to prove to you that he is absolutely committed to providing for you in every way so that you can honor and glorify him in every way.

So, the next time you are having trouble with the kids or struggling to know what to do with a trouble-making employee, stop and remind yourself that God provides for you. He gives you everything you need to make the right decision. You should, therefore, rely on his provision. What does this look like practically? It looks like spending time with the Lord in his Word, in prayer, and with his people in a local church where you can know others and be known by them. Through these ordinary means, God so often delivers to us his gracious provisions.

Moses relied on the Lord’s provision, and you know what happened? God used Moses to set the people of Israel free from their slavery in Egypt. That same God has promised to use you.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Why is it scary to admit weakness as a leader?
  2. Why can it be hard to identify our own weaknesses even as it seems relatively easy to point out other people’s weaknesses?
  3. How does admitting weakness benefit you and others around you?
  4. Do you struggle with doubting that God really has provided and will provide you with everything you need? If so, why do you think that is?
  5. How can you grow in relying on God for his provision? Spend some time talking to your mentor about your recent times in God’s Word, in prayer, and with his people in your local church.

Part Three: What Good Leadership Is: Vision and Courage

There is hardly a more epic trek in all of Scripture than Exodus 4-14. If you haven’t taken me up on my advice to read about Moses’s life throughout the couple of books of the Bible, at least read these chapters now. Like God said, Moses returned to Egypt and demanded that the people of Israel be allowed to return to Canaan. Also, like God said, Pharaoh refused. Pharaoh didn’t know it at the time, but he was playing the part of a platform. And Egypt? Well, they were the theater. God would use Pharaoh’s defiance to show off his surpassing power. Egypt would rise up against God and his people, and God would swallow them up in the sea.

What part did Moses play in this epic? He was to cast vision for Israel and be first in courage to follow through with all God had said. The first thing Moses and Aaron did when they got back to Egypt was gather Israel’s elders together and tell them all the Lord had spoken to Moses in the burning bush (Ex. 4:28-31). They shared with the people a vision of things which were to come. How did the people respond? They believed.

1. Good leaders have a vision.

Now, you and I both know that you and I aren’t Moses. We aren’t even Aaron. Whatever vision we have for our families, our workplaces, our churches, or any other domain in which we have leadership, it likely doesn’t seem as grand as the one God had given Moses. Now, I would argue that the most important vision which you should have for those under your authority is that they would know and love God and be encouraged to do so because of how you use your authority in their lives. If this is your vision for your family, your staff, your church, or your friends, then your vision resembles Moses’s more than you may realize. His vision was also to bring those whom he led into a closer relationship with the Lord.

Even still, much of your vision as a leader is. . . well, less objective than Moses’s. Unlike Moses’s vision for Israel’s freedom, which came from God, your vision to take your family on vacation or get more office space for your staff is far less secure or guaranteed. You don’t necessarily have God’s endorsement for buying this or doing that. You definitely don’t have his promise that it’ll be successful. Two things remain true: 1. You should vet every vision by God’s Word. Make sure that the principles on which you’re casting vision and making decisions are in accordance with what God has said. Ask yourself, “Does your vision put others down or lift them up?” “Can your vision go forward with integrity?” “If your vision became a reality, are you ready to give God glory for your success?” 2. Vision is necessary if you hope to lead anything well. If you don’t tell people where you’re going and why they should want to go with you, you can’t expect them to follow. So, if you’re leading something, make sure you’re casting vision. Paint a vivid picture of where you want your unit to go. Make sure people know that you have their best interests in mind.

What did Moses do next? They went to war with Egypt. Through a series of battles referred to as plagues, Moses courageously believed God and confronted Pharaoh with God’s promises for Israel. Moses performed miracles by faith, each of which testified to God’s saving commitment to his people.

All this led to a most daunting scene. After finally telling Moses that Israel could go free, Pharaoh changed his mind and led a full-on pursuit of Israel with Egypt’s army. Moses described the event in Exodus as follows:

And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while he the people of Israel were going out defiantly. The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea. . . When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. – Exodus 14:8-10

Israel was pinned between the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s massive army. There appeared to be nowhere to escape. Nowhere to seek refuge. Enslaved to Egypt for 430 years, the people of Israel would now die at the hands of Pharaoh on the shores of the sea. Or so it seemed. . .

Moses was courageous. He knew his God. Unlike when he first encountered God in the burning bush, this time Moses entrusted himself and these people to the Lord. He believed that this scene, as terrifying as it was, would not end in defeat. Springing to action, Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you only have to be silent” (Ex. 14:13-14).

You know how you can mentally recall significant scenes from your life and play them in your mind like a movie? I imagine that every Israelite returned again and again to relive in the recesses of their minds what happened next. We are told:

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. . .  So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. . .  The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. . .  But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea. . . Exodus 24:21-23, 27-29

My grandmother used to say at the climax of an epic story, “Oh, if only I could have been a fly on the wall to have seen that!” Even typing that story out, I feel my heart racing a bit. The story of Moses’s courageous faith and God’s brilliant rescue of Israel and defeat of Egypt is breathtaking.

But to know what it means for us as leaders, we have to go back to that moment when Israel was pinned, and it looked like they would surely be defeated. The people felt dread and despair because, to them, it seemed like death was inevitable. Moses, on the contrary, was full of faith, so he acted courageously. He believed God and God gave him the victory.

2. It’s about Jesus first.

At this point, I feel most pressed to tell you as clearly as I can—you aren’t Moses! The main point of this story is not for you to put yourself in his shoes, or sandals, or whatever he wore, only to imagine that if you just believe enough, then your big plan for your fourth quarter at work will be successful and you’ll make budget. No, this story, more than anything else, tells us something about God and what he has done for us in Christ. Because of our sin, you and I faced the impossible scenario of receiving God’s good wrath in hell for eternity. There was no hope in sight. And then  . . the unthinkable happened. God sent his only Son to take on our sin by dying in our place as a man and perfect sacrifice. If we trust in Jesus, God attributes our sin to him and his righteousness to us, effectively leading us through the sea of our sin and death and delivering us safely to the other side.

So if you don’t exactly draw a leadership lesson from the Red Sea crossing, but you learn to appreciate more what Jesus has done for you, then I am content. If you’ve never trusted in Jesus before, I hope you feel like the Israelites felt trapped between Egypt’s armies and the sea. Your only hope is to trust in Jesus. If you do, you will be led safely to the other side. So, Jesus is by far the most important thing you could walk away from this story understanding.

3. Good leaders are courageous.

Nonetheless, a leadership principle is available to us in this story. . . though admittedly it’s situated significantly far down the ladder of importance. The lesson is this—leadership requires courage. I remember once sailing off the coast of North Carolina by about fifty miles or so. As the sea swallowed the sun, the winds picked up, and the waters got rough. The boat creaked and groaned as though at any moment it would split in two. I am not going to lie, I was scared. Not only was this boat my dream, but my sister was onboard. I thought there was a real possibility we were going to sink.

Thankfully, I had hired a captain to help me sail to our final destination, which was Virginia. His name was John, and he was the definition of an old salt. John was leathered from years of sun and salt. He had seen it all. This wasn’t his first rodeo. I remember asking him, “John, are we in trouble?” “We’re doing just fine. This boat is made for this kind of ride”, he responded. Turns out, John was right. Ten hours later, we put into Beaufort for refuge. The boat and the crew were okay.

I learned some important lessons that night on the ocean. For one thing, I learned by experience how comforting it is to be under a courageous leader. John was courageous and, without him, I don’t know how we would have made it. Second, courage is contagious. When you see your leader displaying courage, you want to do the same and draw confidence from their example.

If you’re leading people today, ask yourself, “Am I displaying courage in my decision making?” If not, you shouldn’t be surprised to find out that your people are nervous about where you’re taking them. Moses was courageous, and his people followed him. I want to be courageous for my family, my friends, my church, and my colleagues. How about you?

Discussion Questions: 

  1. What are examples of leaders you’ve been under who had vision and courage? How were you helped to follow them because of their vision and courage?
  2. Are you ever tempted to use your leadership solely for temporal gains, failing to recognize that with it, God means for you to help others understand him? If so, talk to your mentor about this and pray that the Lord will help you have a bigger vision for the authority he has given you.
  3. What vision do you have for those you lead?
  4. How are you growing in courage to lead others in the direction you think you all should go?

Part Four: What Good Leadership Is: Obedience

When I was a kid, I got in trouble. . . a lot. My mom has sometimes joked that she had to tan my hide daily, irrespective of a known offense, because she was so sure that an offense had been committed. As much as I hate to admit it, she’s probably right. I was always doing something I knew I wasn’t supposed to do.

My sister, on the other hand, well, she is a totally different story. She never got in trouble! My mom would contest that. Fine. She almost never got in trouble! As an eight, nine, and ten-year-old, it seemed like mom and dad simply favored her. But now as an adult, I know that one of the reasons why she didn’t get “it” (if you had loving parents like mine, then you know what “it” is) very often is because she obeyed our parents. She followed their lead. She walked in their ways. She submitted her will to theirs.

1. Good leaders submit to God.

Friends, being a leader may mean that other people have to submit to you. You’re their authority, and they really should do what you say. But have you ever stopped to think that you also are under authority? Even you, business owner, who reports to no one but yourself. . . you are under authority. Who’s? Well, if no one else’s in this world, you’re still under God’s authority. You must answer to him for every decision you make.

What does that mean? It means (and it pains me to write these words) that you should be more like my sister and less like me. You should give yourself to obeying God in all circumstances, even when you don’t want to. His Word is better than your ideas. His way will work out better than yours. As a leader, you need to be marked by your radical commitment to obey God.

Obedience is undoubtedly one of the things that marked Moses. Of course, Moses’s obedience wasn’t perfect. There was the whole striking the rock when God said to speak to it ordeal (Num. 20:10-13). And yet, Moses sincerely desired to lead Israel in the way of their God. Nowhere is this more evidenced than at Sinai, where Moses received from God his Law on behalf of Israel. Now, the breadth of the Sinai code is far greater than we have time to cover in detail here in this guide. Nonetheless, in Exodus 24, before Moses ascended Sinai to meet with the Lord, he “wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. . . Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” (Ex. 24:4-7).

Moses understood that belonging to God meant obeying God. Israel couldn’t be God’s people if they constantly refused to follow in his ways. Multiple wars and exiles later, Israel would have to learn that lesson the hard way. But while under the care of Moses, the need for obedience was kept right under their noses lest they forget it. Israel was to be a people who obeyed God.

My friends, we too are God’s people if we are trusting in Christ. We, too, must then seek to obey God in everything we do. Does the emphasis on obedience come as a surprise to you? Maybe you came to faith in Christ after hearing a preacher say, “There is nothing you can do to make yourself right with God. All that is necessary to be made right with God has been provided by Jesus. Trust in Jesus alone for the forgiveness of sins!” Praise the Lord for that preacher. He is spot on. All that is necessary to be saved is to trust in the finished work of Christ.

And yet, Christ’s finished work and our receiving it by faith do not nullify the need for obedience. Of course, our obedience isn’t the ground of our salvation—the ground is Christ alone. But obedience is the evidence of our salvation. Obedience to God is what signals to the world that we love God and are following him. Isn’t this exactly what Jesus said to his disciples on the night he was taken captive? “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

What’s all this got to do with leadership? It’s got everything to do with it. Regardless of whether your leadership position is formal or informal, with whatever authority you have, you must obey the Lord. And because you’re in leadership, you must understand that whether you obey him or not will have ramifications for those under you.

You know who the best kinds of leaders are to follow? The godly ones. When I was coming up, my friends often wanted to spend the night at my house. You know why? Because I had amazing parents. My dad was funny and would go to great lengths to make sure we all had an adventure of some kind before the sun showed itself on the horizon. My mom, on the other hand, was sweet as cane sugar and would use plenty of that in the many baked goods she’d make for us to eat while we watched movies. My parents were amazing. They still are. But you know the real reason my friends loved coming to my house? Because my parents were godly. They feared the Lord and tried to obey him as best they could. They believed that by serving us, they were obeying him. They were representing God to us, showing us what God was like.

I could keep telling stories of godly leaders I have had the privilege of being under. My Papaw, my high school basketball coach, my Hebrew professor at college, my current bosses. God has blessed me so much with godly leaders who first seek to obey the Lord in all they do.

Are you a leader like that? One way to know is to ask whether those who follow you like being under your leadership. Sure, their sins could get in the way of their appreciating your best efforts to obey the Lord. Even still, it is the case that when leaders obey the Lord, those under their authority benefit whether they know it or not.

God’s Word is full of instruction for how you are to live. If you’re Christian, you have God’s Spirit living within you, helping you to obey all his commands. So, give yourself this day to obeying. Read his Word, attempt to understand what he would have you do, and then go do it. Be honest, generous, loving, just, patient, self-controlled, and kind. Do these things and more in obedience to the Lord and for the good of those under your authority.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you have an example of a godly leader in your life? If so, tell your mentor how you benefit(ed) from being under their care. What kind of characteristics did you learn from them that you want to implement in your own leading of others.
  2. In what ways are you actively trying to obey the Lord in exercising your leadership responsibilities?
  3. How is obedience to the Lord in leadership difficult?
  4. How can you further obey the Lord in executing your various leadership responsibilities?

Conclusion

There is much more we could say about Moses and the part he played in the Bible’s story of redemption. There is also much more we could say about biblical leadership. Nonetheless, it’s my prayer that this guide has helped you and your mentor/mentee develop a fear of the Lord and grow in your desire to use your leadership responsibilities for his glory. I also hope this guide will have encouraged you to understand that doing good to those you lead is a primary reason the Lord has made you a leader in the first place.

#33 Overcoming Anxiety From A Biblical View

Anxiety – A Universal Struggle

Anxiety has various forms. It appears as racing thoughts for some people, while others see it as physical pain—chest pains, insomnia, or tiredness. An individual’s finances, health, relationships, work, or even future uncertainties can trigger anxiety. David, a renowned figure in the Bible, had a form of anxiety that ran deep. Like in many of his psalms, he needed to let out many of his desperate screams.

“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.” — Psalm 94:19

David didn’t ignore or try to escape his anxiety; instead, he focused on God. Having honest conversations with God aided David in alleviating his fears through prayers. His approach reminds us that having anxiety is perfectly fine, and it does not indicate that our faith is weak; instead, anxiety is another opportunity to grow closer to God.

Even deep distress was experienced by Jesus prior to his crucifixion. He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane so intensely that he began sweating blood (Luke 22:44). Even in these terrible moments, Jesus confidently surrendered to the Father’s will, showing us that trust in God is the remedy for our anxiety.

We notice this trend throughout the scripture:

Having anxiety about our problems is okay, but we don’t need to let it control us.

God understands our fears, and He wants us to submit them to Him.

It is not a solution to overlook problems in life; rather, trusting God in those troublesome times is the solution.

The Bible’s Answer to Anxiety

The world tells us that anxiety is something to manage, suppress, or escape from. But God offers something different—something better. Instead of telling us to work harder to overcome our fears, He calls us to rest in His presence.

Philippians 4:6-7: A Call to Pray, Not Worry

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Paul does not say, “Try to worry less.” He says, “Do not be anxious about anything.” This is not a harsh command—it is an invitation to trust God completely. When we replace worry with prayer, God promises to give us a peace that surpasses all understanding.

But notice the key part of this verse: with thanksgiving. Gratitude is a powerful tool against anxiety. Focusing on what our Creator has done for us strengthens our faith in what He will continue to do.

1 Peter 5:7: Casting Our Cares on Him

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

The Greek word used for ‘cast’ is the same one used in the description of how a donkey’s cloak is thrown onto it before Jesus rides it. The action is not placing the cloak gently but rather throwing it. God does not need us to carry our burdens; He expects us to toss them at Him because He loves us.

Isaiah 41:10: God’s Presence in Our Fear

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

One of the most comforting truths in Scripture is that God is always with us. Anxiety often makes us feel alone, but God reminds us that we are never truly alone. His presence is our peace.

Why This Journey Matters

This guide is not just about learning how to “feel better.” It is about transformation. It is about stepping into the life God has called you to live—free from the chains of fear and worry.

Anxiety may not disappear overnight, but as you grow in your trust in God, you will begin to experience His peace in ways you never imagined. You will learn that peace is not the absence of problems but the presence of Christ.

Over the next few sessions, you will explore:

What the Bible says about anxiety and how to apply its truths to your life.

How to shift from fear to faith, learning to trust in God’s sovereignty.

Practical steps for renewing your mind through Scripture and prayer.

How can we walk daily in God’s peace and encourage others to do the same?

This journey is not meant to be taken alone. A mentor—someone who has walked through their own struggles—can provide wisdom, encouragement, and accountability. They can remind you of God’s truth when fear tries to take over.

God does not promise a life without difficulties, but He does promise to be with us through them. He offers His presence, His strength, and His peace.

As you begin this study, take a moment to pray. Ask God to open your heart to His truth. Invite Him into your struggles, and trust that He will guide you step by step.

You are not alone. You are deeply loved. And peace is possible—not because life is perfect, but because God is faithful.

Session 1: Understanding Anxiety Through a Biblical Lens

Key Scripture: Philippians 4:6-7

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Anxiety: A Struggle We All Face

Anxiety is something we all experience at some point in life. It can be a sudden wave of nervousness before a big decision, a restless night filled with worry, or a constant, nagging fear that never seems to go away. It can be triggered by uncertainty, past experiences, or even the pressure of trying to control things that are beyond our ability to manage.

Some people experience anxiety in small moments—before a test, a job interview, or a tough conversation. Others feel it in deeper ways, battling daily fears about the future, financial struggles, health issues, or relationships. Anxiety can feel overwhelming, like a weight pressing down on your chest or a storm raging in your mind that refuses to settle.

Even faithful believers, people who love God deeply, wrestle with anxiety. The Bible does not ignore this reality. It speaks directly to our fears and offers a different way to respond—one that invites us to trust God in the middle of uncertainty.

But what exactly is anxiety from a biblical perspective? Is it just a normal human emotion, or is there something deeper going on?

Defining Anxiety: A Normal Human Experience vs. a Spiritual Struggle

Anxiety, in its simplest form, is a response to fear. It is what happens when we feel uncertain about what is ahead, when we do not feel safe, or when we doubt our ability to handle a situation. From a purely human standpoint, anxiety is a natural part of life. Our bodies and minds were created to recognize danger and react accordingly.

For example, if you were walking through the woods and suddenly saw a bear, your body would immediately respond—your heart would race, adrenaline would surge, and your brain would signal you to run. That kind of fear is useful because it helps protect us from harm.

But anxiety is different. Instead of being a reaction to real danger, anxiety is often a response to what-if scenarios.

What if I fail?

What if something bad happens?

What if I never find a way out of this situation?

Anxiety convinces us that we are in danger, even when we are not. It tells us that we must be in control and that things will fall apart if we do not have all the answers.

The Bible recognizes this struggle, and while it acknowledges that anxiety is a part of life, it also calls us to respond to it differently.

What Does the Bible Say About Anxiety?

God does not dismiss our fears or tell us to simply “stop worrying.” Instead, He provides a way to experience real peace, even in the middle of anxious moments.

“Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.” — Proverbs 12:25

The analogy that comes to mind when I read this verse is of someone suffering from anxiety. It’s as if a heavy weight rests on their back, curbing their ability to breathe. Anxiety can be devastating, weighing down on our hearts and rendering us fatigued and downcast. The second part of the verse states, ‘A kind word cheers it up.’ This brings forth the idea that we do not have to bear the burden of anxiety by ourselves. There are people in our lives whom God has given to uplift us, and He Himself provides words of truth that are deeply comforting.

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” — 1 Peter 5:7

God does not just tell us to stop worrying—He tells us what to do with our worries. He invites us to give them to Him. This is not a one-time event but a daily practice. Every time anxiety arises, we have a choice: will we carry it alone, or will we hand it over to the One who cares for us?

“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” — Matthew 6:27

Jesus asks a powerful question here. Worrying does not fix our problems; it does not bring solutions. It often worsens the situation by depleting our energy and muddling our thoughts. These words of Jesus remind us that, instead of worrying, we should trust in God to supply our needs.

Understanding the Reaction of Anxiety and Self-Doubt

Recognizing the anxious reactions is one step towards overcoming anxiety. Because anxiety is not always apparent, it sometimes reveals itself in the form of excessive thoughts, avoidance behaviors, and perfectionism.

The following are some common forms of anxiety:

Physical symptoms – experiencing a racing heart, tightness in the chest, headaches, and sleeplessness.

Mental patterns include overthinking, anticipating catastrophe, and getting dizzy from “what if” scenarios.

Spiritual struggles – doubting God’s goodness, the distance felt in prayer, or the trust in Him.

This recognition helps transform fear by bringing it to God, where it can be replaced with peace.

When Does Anxiety Become a Spiritual Battle?

Not all anxiety is sinful in nature. It is perfectly human to feel anxious about an important occasion or to care about a family member. However, after a certain point, when anxiety takes over control and decision-making processes and causes a person to question God’s promises, it crosses a line and turns into a case of spiritual conflict.

Nothing would please the enemy more than instilling fear in us and diverting attention away from God’s boundless goodness. He fully comprehends that anxiety serves the purpose of keeping us from embracing the freedom that Christ has to offer.

Regardless of the plight, God has given humanity everything needed to fight back. We are surrounded by a community of believers to rely on in times of trouble. Additionally, his Spirit strengthens us, and His Word comes packed with promises of peace.

Discussion Questions for Mentor and Mentee

In what manner does anxiety manifest itself in your life? Do you tend to be an over-thinker, feel physically tense, or grapple with self-doubt?

Do you often experience any repetitive thoughts that begin with “what if”? What are some examples?

Have you ever experienced anxiety interfering with your relationship with God? How so?

What verse from this session speaks to you the most? Why?

Encouragement for the Week: Bringing Anxiety to God

As we move forward, take time this week to notice when anxiety arises. Instead of letting it take control, pause and turn to God. Meditate on Philippians 4:6-7, and when anxious thoughts come, remind yourself:

“God is in control. I do not have to carry this alone.”

Action Step:

Write down one specific anxiety you are carrying today. Each morning, pray and surrender it to God. End each night by thanking Him for His peace, even if you don’t feel it yet.

God is not asking you to overcome anxiety on your own—He is inviting you to trust Him step by step.

Detecting Anxious Reactions and Self-Doubt in Our Lives

Key Scripture: Philippians 4:6-7

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Recognizing Anxiety in Our Lives

Anxiety has a way of sneaking into our lives without us even realizing it. It can begin as a slight worry—something we brush off as just being “stressed” or “overwhelmed.” But over time, it grows. It starts shaping our thoughts, our actions, and even our faith.

Some people experience anxiety as a constant hum in the background of their minds, always present but never fully acknowledged. Others feel it like a sudden wave crashing over them—unexpected and overpowering. However, it shows up, one thing is certain: anxiety affects us deeply, and if left unchecked, it can distort the way we see ourselves, our circumstances, and even God.

That’s why one of the first steps in overcoming anxiety is learning to detect it. If we don’t recognize how anxiety is influencing us, we won’t be able to take steps toward healing. And thankfully, the Bible gives us a clear path forward.

The Connection Between Anxiety and Self-Doubt

Anxiety and self-doubt are closely connected. When we worry, it often leads to questioning ourselves:

Am I good enough?

What if I fail?

What if I make the wrong decision?

What if people see that I’m not as strong as they think I am?

This pattern of thinking can be dangerous. Self-doubt makes us second-guess our worth, our abilities, and even our faith. It can paralyze us, keeping us from stepping into the things God has called us to do.

But here’s the good news: God has already spoken truth over us. He has already declared our worth, our identity, and our purpose. We don’t have to live in a cycle of doubt and fear.

Philippians 4:6-7 reminds us that we are called to bring our anxieties to God in prayer. When we do, He replaces our worry with peace—peace that doesn’t always make sense but is real and unshakable.

How Anxiety Manifests in Our Lives

Anxiety is not always easy to detect. It doesn’t always show up as obvious worry or fear. Sometimes, it hides in our habits, our thoughts, and even our relationships. Here are a few common ways anxiety may be showing up in your life:

Anxiety isn’t just something we experience in our minds—it can affect our bodies as well. Many people don’t realize that their headaches, muscle tension, or trouble sleeping may, in fact, be tied to stress and worry.

Common physical symptoms of anxiety include:

Rapid heartbeat or shortness of breath

Trouble sleeping or frequent nightmares

Stomach issues or loss of appetite

Fatigue or feeling constantly drained

When anxiety begins to affect our bodies, it is a sign that we are carrying more than we were meant to. God did not create us to live under constant stress. He invites us to bring our burdens to Him and trust that He will sustain us (Psalm 55:22).

Do you ever find yourself replaying conversations in your head, wondering if you said the wrong thing? Or lying awake at night thinking about everything that could go wrong?

This is what anxiety does—it keeps our minds stuck in a loop of “what if” thinking. We try to prepare for every possible outcome, but instead of bringing peace, it only creates more stress.

Jesus spoke directly to this in Matthew 6:34: “Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

This is a powerful reminder that we are not called to carry the weight of the future. God is already there. He already knows what will happen, and He is more than capable of leading us through it.

Instead of obsessing over the unknown, we are invited to trust God for today and let tomorrow rest in His hands.

Sometimes, anxiety doesn’t look like worry—it looks like avoidance.

When we feel overwhelmed, we might push things off, telling ourselves, “I’ll deal with that later.” But deep down, we’re not delaying because we’re busy—we’re delaying because we’re afraid.

Afraid of failing

Afraid of making the wrong choice

Afraid of facing something difficult

This can apply to work, relationships, and even our faith. Maybe you’ve felt God nudging you toward something—serving in a ministry, having a hard conversation, or stepping into a new opportunity—but fear keeps holding you back.

God never intended for fear to keep us from living the life He has called us to. 2 Timothy 1:7 reminds us: “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.”

When we recognize that avoidance is actually fear in disguise, we can begin to face those fears with faith instead of running from them.

Many times, anxiety makes us feel like we have to control everything.

We over-plan and overthink because we’re afraid of something going wrong.

We struggle to trust others because we feel like we have to do everything ourselves.

We hold onto our worries instead of surrendering them to God.

But control is an illusion. The truth is, we were never meant to have control over everything. That is God’s job, not ours.

Isaiah 41:10 reminds us: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

God is not asking us to hold everything together—He is asking us to trust that He is already holding it all together.

Discussion Questions for Mentor and Mentee

When anxiety shows up in your life, how do you typically respond?

Do you see any of these patterns—physical symptoms, overthinking, avoidance, or control—in your own life?

How does self-doubt affect your relationship with God?

What is one step you can take this week to recognize and surrender anxiety to God?

Encouragement for the Week: Replacing Anxiety with Truth

Anxiety is persistent. But so is God’s peace.

This week, take time to notice when anxious thoughts arise. Instead of letting them take control, replace them with truth. Whenever you feel overwhelmed, pause and repeat Philippians 4:6-7, reminding yourself:

“God is in control. I do not have to carry this alone.”

Action Step:

Each morning, write down one anxious thought that comes to mind.

Next to it, write a Bible verse that speaks against that fear.

Pray over it, asking God to help you replace worry with His peace.

Anxiety may not disappear overnight, but as we practice surrendering it to God, we will begin to experience the peace that He has promised.

When Do Anxiety Levels Become Too Difficult to Handle in Your Experience?

Key Scripture: Philippians 4:6-7

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Recognizing When Anxiety Becomes Too Much

Anxiety is the body’s natural human response to stress, judgment, or fear. If precautions are not taken, anxiety becomes much worse and deeper. Turning it into something that affects our minds, hearts, and our faith.

You may have been there before or are there right now.

People often begin experiencing anxiety through little concerns that last for brief moments. As time passes, your initial worries expand and fill up a greater portion of your mind. Suddenly, your heart feels heavy. Every moment of your mind shifts into unending “what if” cycles. Your prayers feel empty. Exhaustion sets in, although you did minimal activity, shun human interaction, and cannot pay attention to anything.

The condition has intensified beyond periodic emotions. Anxiety develops into a burdensome force that takes away your happiness and your serenity, as well as your trust in God.

Do you know the signs that reveal anxiety has grown beyond manageable control? Is there a way to tell that we need support from God through His word and from others in our life? We will understand this concept throughout our session.

Knowing Your Anxiety Is Getting Out of Control

The Word of God says that you should share your troubles and anxiety with Him, but this can get unbearable and difficult to handle. And if you feel like you are alone, don’t worry because you are not. Many people, even firm believers, have been in that place.

Here are a few signs that anxiety may be becoming too challenging to handle on your own:

Prayer becomes harder. Reading the Bible feels like a chore. You start questioning everything and even doubting if God has any control over this or if He can resolve some of your issues. Instead of putting your trust in Him, you become distant and start believing that no one is going to listen.

This is the first and most overwhelming effect anxiety has on us—it creates distance between us, God, and even our loved ones. When we are stuck in this cycle of fear and worry, it can be hard to hear His voice or feel His peace.

But the trust is that God has not moved away from you. You only feel this way because of your mind and the effects of anxiety. But He is still near.

Psalm 34:18 reminds us: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

God will never get frustrated at you for feeling anxious. Nor will He be disappointed in your struggle. Instead, He will invite you to come to Him, even when you don’t feel like it.

A major indicator your anxiety has grown out of control occurs when it disrupts your capacity to live normally.

The symptom of anxiety is social withdrawal. Does it get hard to stay focused on tasks like your work assignments, college projects, or managing your daily duties? Even if you have not done much, anxiety still manages to tire out both your body and mind. It makes you endlessly toss and turn in bed, unable to sleep because of constant thoughts and worries. Worrying too much puts you in a state where you cannot understand what’s going on. Anxiety contributes to losing the path that God has made for us in life.

Jesus tells us in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”

God does not want you to be uncomfortable and constantly stressed and afraid. He only wishes for peace, happiness, and freedom. But when anxiety gets out of control, it is a sign that something needs to change.

When you are not doing anything about it, anxiety grows on stress and fear. It starts out small, which can be overlooked, but it grows very quickly and impacts a big part of your life once it’s out of control.

“What if something bad happens?”

“What if I’m not good enough?”

“What if I never feel better?”

These thoughts can form a prison in your mind and trap you in it forever. Blinding you from the truth of God’s promises

But with the help of the Holy Bible, you can break this cycle. Romans 12:2 tells us: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

We do not have to let our anxious thoughts rule over us. With God’s help, you can refresh and renew your mind, filling it with positivity and, most importantly, the truth of God.

Anxiety is not just an emotional thing; it also affects the physical aspects of you.

These are the physical symptoms of severe anxiety:

Headaches or tension in your muscles

Trouble sleeping or nightmares

Stomach issues or loss of appetite

Rapid heartbeat or shortness of breath

Feeling restless or unable to relax

Our body and mind are one, and because of that, we also experience physical signs.

This is why God’s peace is not just emotional—it’s physical. He promises to bring rest to our entire being. Matthew 11:28 says: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

God does not only heal you spiritually but brings real, deep peace to our minds and bodies as well.

What to Do When You Experience Overwhelming Anxiety

If you recognize any of these signs in you, do not give up because God will not leave you alone. He will be with you at all times to help you.

Do three of these things when your anxiety gets unbearable:

Tell Him what you’re feeling. Don’t hold back. God already knows your heart, and He wants you to bring your worries to Him. Psalm 62:8 says: “Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”

God isn’t expecting you to have it all figured out—He just wants you to come to Him.

Sometimes, we need help from others to walk through our anxiety. Talking to a mentor, a pastor, or a Christian counselor can make a huge difference.

Proverbs 11:14 reminds us: “For lack of guidance, a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisers.”

There is no shame in seeking help. In fact, it’s a sign of wisdom.

When anxiety feels overwhelming, one of the most powerful things you can do is fill your mind with God’s truth.

Here are a few verses to hold onto:

Isaiah 41:10 – “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

2 Timothy 1:7 – “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.”

John 14:27 – “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid.”

Your overwhelming feelings of anxiety do not define your character because God is bigger than your fears, and His peace exceeds your anxiety. God surpasses all your apprehensions, and His serenity overrides your distress. Take a single step to give your worries to God during the upcoming week. Trust that God stays with you throughout this daily experience through any of these spiritual practices: prayer, mentor dialogue, or meditation on His promises.

You are not alone. God protects you as your refuge because He will guide you through all challenges.

Session 2: God’s Sovereignty Over Our Fears

Key Scripture: Matthew 6:25-27

“Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life?”

Who Is in Control?

Anxiety is unpredictable and makes us feel like we are not in control of ourselves. Bills, relationships, sicknesses, and even plans do not go as expected, causing everything to fall apart. This uncertainty of life can take a toll on you, and the weight of this responsibility can wear you down rapidly.

But the truth is that you do not have to be in control at all times because God does that for you.

According to the Bible, God has complete authority over everything because He is sovereign. Everything that takes place in the world is known to Him, and His power extends beyond all limitations. God possesses complete knowledge of everything that will occur despite our apprehension about future events. By trusting in His authority, we can release the concerns that were never meant to burden us.

Although we intellectually understand God’s supreme power, we find it difficult to have faith in Him when anxiety grips us. Experiencing true peace under God’s sovereign rule requires bridging the gap between intellectual understanding and practical trust..

The upcoming discussion will explore this matter.

Fear vs. Trust: A Spiritual Tug-of-War

Anxiety revolves around What-ifs. And you will find yourself asking these questions.

What if I fail?

What if I make the wrong decision?

What if I lose what matters most to me?

Fear thrives in uncertainty. It keeps us focused on the things that don’t matter instead of focusing on the things that matter.

In contrast, trusting God shifts our thinking from “What if?” to “Even if.”

Even if I fail, God’s plan for my life is still good.

Even if I don’t know the future, God does, and He is guiding me.

Even if I face trials, God will strengthen me and never leave me.

The development of genuine trust takes time. Your belief in God’s sovereign power means you will trust God both through simple periods of life and times of uncertainty.

The Story of Peter Walking on Water (Matthew 14:22-33)

One of the best examples of fear vs. trust is found in Matthew 14.

Peter and the other disciples were in a boat when they saw Jesus walking toward them on the water. At first, they were terrified, thinking He was a ghost. But Jesus reassured them, saying, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” (Matthew 14:27).

At that moment, Peter did something remarkable. He called out to Jesus and said, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” (Matthew 14:28). Jesus told him to come, and Peter stepped out of the boat, walking toward Him.

As long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he was walking on water. But as soon as he looked at the wind and the waves, fear took over. He began to sink, crying out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately, Jesus reached out His hand and caught him, saying, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31).

This demonstrates that by keeping our vision on Jesus, we gain the ability to conquer our fears. When we direct our attention towards the storm, we fall into anxiety.

We will experience occasions in our lives when our fear becomes overwhelming, similar to Peter. But Jesus’ arms are open to us at all times. Jesus does not criticize our fear but leads us onto a better path to trust in Him.

Practical Steps to Trusting God’s Sovereignty

If we are going to trust God amid anxiety, we need to take intentional steps to shift our focus from fear to faith. Here are three practical ways to do that:

When anxiety creeps in, our natural response is often to overthink and try to solve everything in our minds. But Philippians 4:6-7 gives us a different strategy:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

We are required to talk about our troubles with God through prayer instead of surrendering ourselves to worry. God already knows about your troubles; thus, praying serves as our chance to recognize our fears and allow Him to bring peace to our hearts.

Application:

During this week, make it a habit to control your anxious thoughts by turning to prayer instead of dwelling on your worries.

Place your thoughts in a journal before offering them to God while asking Him to assume full authority.

Jesus reminds us in Matthew 6:34: “Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

The essence of anxiety stems from repetitive thoughts that have not even occurred. Thus, Christ wants believers to focus on the present life.

Jesus wants you to live one day at a time so that you can experience God’s peace by living life in the present day and not constantly focusing on what’s about to come. Do that and see how your life transforms through peace.

Application:

When you find yourself worrying about the future, ask yourself what you should pray to God for.

When thoughts about the future enter your mind, focus on Matthew 6:34.

One of the best ways to trust God for the future is to remember how He has been faithful in the past.

Psalm 77:11-12 says: “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”

When we look back and see how God has provided, guided, and protected us before, it strengthens our faith to trust Him again.

Application:

Make a record of all times when God displayed faithfulness toward you throughout your life. Store this list in a safe place and use it whenever anxiety attacks you again.

You should relate your story about how God rescued you through previous challenges to someone.

Discussion Questions for Mentor and Mentee

What causes you the most anxiety?

What steps do you take when your emotions are controlled by anxiety?

Has God’s sovereign power ever become present in one of your life’s moments?

From the three simple steps, which practice feels most demanding for you to put into use?

Letting God be your source of trust does not stop you from experiencing fear occasionally. It means you will place it in God’s hand, and He will take care of it for you.

When anxiety levels become high this week, make a conscious pause and engage in prayer.
“Lord, I trust that You are in control. I don’t have to figure everything out because You already have a plan. Help me to trust You more today.”

God’s sovereignty is not just a theological idea—it is a truth that brings deep, lasting peace. Let’s choose to rest in it.

Session 3: Renewing the Mind Through Scripture and Prayer

Key Scripture: Romans 12:2

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will.”

The Battle of the Mind

Anxiety often starts in the mind. A single worry can spiral into overwhelming fear, and before we know it, we are stuck in a cycle of negative thinking. The mind is powerful—what we dwell on shapes how we feel, how we act, and even how we experience God.

That’s why the Bible tells us not to conform to the world’s way of thinking but to renew our minds with His truth. Romans 12:2 makes it clear: true transformation happens when we allow God to change our thoughts.

The world tells us:

“You have to figure everything out on your own.”

“You are not good enough.”

“You will never overcome your anxiety.”

But God’s Word says something different:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5)

“You are fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:14)

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

The more we meditate on God’s truth, the less room anxiety has to control us. But renewing the mind is not a one-time event—it’s a daily practice.

Transforming Anxious Thoughts with God’s Word

When anxiety creeps in, what do we do? Do we let it take over, or do we counter it with truth?

Jesus gave us the perfect example of how to fight back against negative thoughts. In Matthew 4, when Satan tempted Him in the wilderness, Jesus didn’t argue or panic—He responded with Scripture. Each time the enemy spoke lies, Jesus responded with, “It is written.”

This is the key to transforming anxious thoughts: we replace them with what God has already spoken.

Here’s how to do it:

Identify the anxious thought.

“I feel like I’m completely alone in this.”

Find a Bible verse that speaks the truth.

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

Speak that truth out loud.

“God is with me. I am not alone. His presence goes before me.”

Application:

Start a “Truth Over Fear” list: Write down common anxious thoughts and find a Bible verse to counter each one.

When anxiety arises, pause and ask, “What does God’s Word say about this?”

Over time, this practice reprograms our thinking—instead of fear running the show, God’s truth becomes our foundation.

Practical Application: Journaling, Memorizing Verses, Gratitude Practice

Renewing the mind requires action. It’s not enough to just hear the truth—we have to engage with it daily.

Sometimes, our thoughts feel too tangled to process. That’s where journaling comes in. Writing helps us bring our worries into the light and lay them before God.

Try this:

Each morning, write down three things that are making you anxious.

Next to each one, write a prayer of surrender.

Look back at your past entries and see how God has been faithful.

When anxiety strikes, we don’t always have time to look up Bible verses. That’s why memorizing Scripture is so important—it allows us to carry God’s truth with us at all times.

Try this:

Choose one verse per week to memorize. Write it on a notecard and carry it with you.

When anxiety arises, repeat the verse out loud until peace replaces fear.

Anxiety thrives on what’s wrong. Gratitude shifts our focus to what’s right.

Try this:

Every night, write down three things you’re grateful for.

Thank God specifically for each one.

Gratitude doesn’t ignore problems—it just reminds us that God is still at work in the midst of them.

Discussion: How Has Scripture Helped in Moments of Anxiety?

Have you ever experienced a time when a Bible verse helped you overcome fear?

What anxious thoughts do you struggle with the most?

What is one practical way you can renew your mind this week?

Final Encouragement: Anxiety may not disappear overnight, but as we renew our minds daily, we will see transformation. Keep showing up. Keep replacing fear with truth. God’s peace is a process, and He is walking with you every step of the way.

Session 4: Living in Faith and Encouraging Others

Key Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:7

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.”

Walking Daily in God’s Peace

Anxiety often makes us feel powerless. But God has given us His Spirit—a Spirit of power, love, and self-discipline.

Living in faith means choosing peace, even when circumstances don’t change. It’s about walking in trust rather than in fear.

This doesn’t mean anxiety never comes back—it means we don’t have to let it control us anymore.

Sharing Testimonies and Supporting Others

One of the most powerful ways to strengthen our faith is to share our story.

Revelation 12:11 says: “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”

When we testify to what God has done, we not only remind ourselves of His faithfulness—we encourage others who are struggling.

Try this:

Think of one time God helped you through anxiety.

Share that story with a friend or write it in a journal.

Encouraging Others Who Struggle with Anxiety

God never intended for us to walk alone. When we see someone struggling with anxiety, we can be the voice of encouragement they need.

How to support others:

Pray with them. Sometimes, the best thing we can do is stand in the gap for them.

Speak truth over them. Remind them of God’s promises when they forget.

Be present. Sometimes, people don’t need advice—they just need someone to sit with them in their struggle.

Proverbs 12:25 says: “Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.”

Your words have the power to bring life and encouragement to someone battling anxiety.

Discussion: How Can You Help Others Overcome Anxiety Biblically?

Who in your life is struggling with anxiety right now?

What is one way you can encourage them this week?

How does sharing testimonies build faith in both the listener and the one sharing?

Final Encouragement

Anxiety doesn’t have to be the end of your story. God is greater than fear, and He has already given you victory through Christ.

This week, walk in faith. When fear tries to creep in, declare: “God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.”

And as you grow in peace, don’t keep it to yourself—be an encouragement to someone else.

God has brought you this far and will continue to carry you forward. You are not alone, and you are deeply loved.

#32 Dealing with a Fiery Trial

Part I: Every Christian Can Expect Trials

Peter, writing his first letter, warned his readers to “not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you” (1 Pet. 4:12). Evidently, he assumed that some of his readers needed to hear this. Some may have been thinking that once you are saved, life is a bed of roses! It is hard to believe that first century Christians were that naïve given the fact that Roman Emperors were openly persecuting followers of Jesus. Christians would not say, “Caesar is Lord,” which would have acknowledged that he was a god. But perhaps some Christians thought that if you kept your head down and stayed out of the public gaze, life would be trial-free. We are all capable of delusional thinking. Perhaps some early Christians thought that trials are the result of sinful behavior (and, of course, sometimes they are). The remedy, then, is to live a godly life and stay out of trouble. 

Some of the very last words Jesus spoke directly to his disciples consisted of a warning about trouble: “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). But these were spoken to the disciples, the twelve who were in the front lines of the warfare. Perhaps that means “ordinary” Christians can expect a life free of trials.

Wrong!

It is interesting that early in the ministry of the Apostle Paul, following his first missionary journey, he seems to have learned a life lesson: “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). The context of this statement is in a place called Derbe. He had been stoned and left for dead in Lystra. But he had recovered and gone back into the city for the evening, and the next day he went on to Derbe where he “made many disciples” (Acts 14:21). It is to these young disciples that Paul warns of “many tribulations.” Every Christian must prepare for trouble.

In addition to passages that we have already looked at, consider the following:

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds” (James 1:2).

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all” (Ps. 34:19).

“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:12).

Every Christian can expect to encounter trials. But the Bible also tells us that we may experience more than one kind of trial. Peter writes about “various trials” (1 Pet. 1:6, emphasis added). And James gives advice to his brothers whenever they “meet trials of various kinds” (James 1:2, emphasis added). Both apostles use the same Greek word, translated “various.” It would be the word one might use to describe a multi-colored garment. 

Trials come in different shapes and sizes. There are physical trials. Think of cancer, neuropathy, blindness, or just the aches and pains of growing old. There are also psychological trials. Think of agoraphobia, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Then there are spiritual trials, the loss of assurance, for example, or seasons when Satan has you in his cross-hairs (what Paul has in mind when he talks about an “evil day” [Eph. 6:13]).  

Not only should we expect different kinds of trials, the trials we face may vary in degree. Both Stephen and James (John’s brother and one of The Twelve) were killed in the early days of the church (Acts 7:60; 12:2). Others, like Daniel in the lion’s den, will face a similar threat but escape the trial unscathed (Dan. 6:16–23). Some may experience one or two major trials in their lives, and others may endure constant, unrelenting trials. 

God knows what we can endure, and the Bible makes a promise that he knows our breaking point: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13). 

Why Are Trials Necessary?

Why is it necessary that Christians experience trials? There are many answers, and some are known only to the mind of God. Let me suggest seven:

  1. Satan exists. It is difficult to imagine just how cruel and spiteful he is. He hates everything that God does, including those whom God redeems and calls his children. Paul gives us a clear warning in Ephesians 6: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). 
  2. We live in a fallen world. We are not in Eden. Though we are promised heaven when we die, that reality is not yet ours. Evil is all around us and often within us. The world groans because it is not what it is meant to be: “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now” (Rom. 8:22). The trial we experience is the result of living in a world that is out of sorts.
  3. There is evil in the world, but there is also evil within our hearts. As Christians, we live, as theologians sometimes put it, in the tension between the now and the not yet. We are redeemed. We are the children of God. When Paul writes to the Colossian believers, he calls them “saints” (literally, “holy ones,” [Col. 1:2]). But we are not yet in heaven. We have new hearts and new wills and new affections, but we are not yet free from all corruption. Paul expresses the tension this way: “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (Rom. 7:19). Sin no longer governs us, but it has not yet fully disappeared. Because we are still in the not yet, trials come upon us.
  4. The Bible makes it clear that trials produce good fruit. Paul puts it this way: “we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom. 5:3–5). Being forced to deal with a trial produces perseverance or endurance. Those who have been closeted and pampered are unlikely to have the resources to stick at it when things get rough. There is nothing inside them to enable them to keep going. Endurance, Paul says, produces character. He is thinking of the quality of having been tested and survived. God isn’t interested in producing something that will not last. To produce the right result may take many blows. Then Paul adds that the ultimate goal of trials is to produce hope — the hope of glory. James says a similar thing in the opening chapter of his letter: “for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:3–4). 
  5. Trials (should) make us cry out to God in prayer. The reason for trials can be the providence of God to make us feel how much more dependent upon his grace we should be. In our weakness, we are forced to cry out to him. When Paul experienced the thorn in his flesh, his instinct was to ask that it be taken away. But that did not happen. Instead, God allowed it to remain, adding, “[m]y grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). Like Jacob, Paul was forced to limp as he walked the narrow road that leads to eternal life, knowing that with every step, the Lord was beside him.
  6. Some trials are the disciplining hand of God. Sometimes, trials are the result of our sinful behavior. Trials like these are designed to wake us up to the reality of our condition, our need to repent of some sinful behavior and seek the Lord with all our strength. The author of Hebrews suggests that such discipline is evidence that we are God’s adopted children: “If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Heb. 12:8–11).
  7. Paul makes it clear the fiery trial is God’s way of making us more like Jesus. Trials provoke us to godly responses. Not always, of course. We can always be stubborn and react to them with disdain and cynicism. But if we submit to trials, great good may emerge from the darkness. This is what Paul says: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom. 5:1–5).

What is interesting about this passage is that suffering is mentioned immediately following a statement of how we can be justified before God. It seems that he wants us to know that justified Christians, who have been made right with God through faith alone in Christ alone, apart from the works of the law, will suffer in some way. Having stated that a result of justification is a foretaste of the glory of God, he brings us down sharply to the reality that we are still in this world, and we still have a great deal of remaining sin to deal with. 

Endurance. Suffering produces (in the godly who respond with submission to the providence of God) endurance, or stickability. Those who have not faced trials have  spiritual muscles that are flabby and weak. Trials produce the kind of stamina that enables the believer to keep going.

Character. Endurance produces character. That’s true at the most obvious level. People who have been through difficulties often have a spiritual toughness to them. It is the character of having been tested and emerging stronger for it. Something that has been tested and tried demonstrates that it is genuine. A craftsman puts it to the test. He wants it to last. He isn’t interested in producing cheap imitations, but the real thing, something that will endure. God wants to build something — someone — that will last forever.

Hope. Hope of the glory of God. Everything that God does in our lives is a sign that what he has already begun to do in you, he will consummate in glory. If he didn’t intend to reshape you, he would leave you alone. Think of Job 23:10: “When he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.” 

Trials make us more like Jesus. Suffering can destroy. Or it can transform. It only does that when we see that God has a different set of priorities than ours. He is interested in the long term and lasting, not the short term. 

And sometimes, the reason for a particular trial is known only to God. Not all suffering is chastisement. The Bible recognizes “innocent suffering.” We shall speak to this later, but the book of Job provides an example of devastating trials in the life of one of the godliest men that ever lived. Not every providence can be dissected and analyzed. There is a mystery to the hand of God in our lives. Sometimes the answer to the question, “Why?” is simply, “I don’t know.” But even if the answer eludes us, God’s love in Christ is always sure and certain. 

Discussion & Reflection:

  1. Did any of the reasons given above surprise or challenge you? 
  2. Do they shed new light on difficulties you’ve faced?

Part II: Case Studies

To better understand the cause of trials, we will take three examples found in Scripture: Joseph, Job, and Paul. 

Joseph

The story of Joseph’s suffering is recounted in detail in Genesis 37, 39–50. Almost a quarter of the book of Genesis is devoted to him. It begins when Joseph is seventeen. His father Jacob made it clear that he liked Joseph more than his brothers, making for him “a robe of many colors” (Gen. 37:3). And when Joseph’s brothers saw their father’s preference for Joseph, they “hated him and could not speak peacefully to him” (Gen. 37:4). When Joseph begins having dreams in which he rises to greatness above his father and brothers, they become jealous of him.

One day, when the brothers were tending sheep in a distant place, Jacob sent Joseph to inquire after them, but when he arrived, the brothers conspired to kill him. Rather than put him to death, they sell him as a slave to a band of Midianites, and Joseph finds himself in the house of Potiphar, Pharaoh’s “captain of the guard” (Gen. 37:36). 

God’s hand was upon Joseph the entire time: “The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man” (Gen. 39:2). Potiphar made Joseph “overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had” (Gen. 39:4). But trials followed when Joseph refused the sexual advances of Potiphar’s wife and was sent to prison.

Joseph exercises his ability to interpret dreams when the Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker find themselves in the same prison. Later, when the cupbearer is restored to the palace (the baker having been executed), Pharaoh has a dream and asks if anyone can help interpret it. Suddenly, the cupbearer remembers Joseph has this ability, and he is brought into the presence of the Pharaoh. 

Then the story continues to unfold. Joseph finds himself in the favor of the Egyptian Pharaoh and becomes the second most powerful person in Egypt, in charge of the grain supplies during a seven-year long period of plenty and a seven-year long period of famine. 

Jacob, who had been shown Joseph’s blood-stained robe, had believed the brothers’ narrative that the boy was dead. Years later, when Jacob sends his sons to Egypt to buy grain, Joseph eventually reveals himself to them and later to Jacob. In a defining moment, Joseph tells his brothers: “you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Gen. 50:20). 

The narrative never suggests that Joseph’s trials were the result of his own actions. Clearly, Joseph’s brothers are at fault in their jealousy and rage over their father’s favoritism. And Jacob is at fault for showing more favor to Joseph than to his other sons. But Genesis 50:20 suggests something more complex. There is a sense in which Joseph’s brothers are to blame, and there is also another sense in which the cause of Joseph’s trials lies in the hand of God. God overrules, superintends, and orders providence to occur in such a manner that Joseph experiences pain and suffering because of the sinful behavior of his brothers, but God is not the author of the sin that caused Joseph’s pain. God is sovereign and creates the circumstances in which sin is possible, but he is not the one who creates the sin.

This last sentence is difficult to understand. Perhaps we may illustrate it this way: A person may write a novel in which a murder takes place, but he is not the one who committed the murder. Similarly, God rules in such a manner that nothing happens without him willing it to happen, but he is not the one who commits the sin that results in pain. He permits the sin to occur, but he is not the author of it. 

The life of Joseph illustrates the way in which God may permit trials to occur through the sinful actions of others for a reason. And that reason, in Joseph’s case, was to ensure the survival of the line of Jacob and the covenant promises that God had given his grandfather, Abraham. Had Joseph not been tried, the line of Abraham would have ceased, and the promise of redemption forfeited. Joseph is an example of a trial that has a very discernible reason. But these reasons are only discernible after the fact. They were not discernible when Joseph was in prison. As the puritan John Flavel wrote, “The providence of God is like Hebrew words—It can be read only backwards.”

However, sometimes the reason for suffering cannot be explained to our satisfaction. Such is the case with Job.

Job

The prophet Ezekiel mentions Job along with Daniel and Noah as examples of godly men, suggesting that Job was an historical person rather than a mere literary figure. Like the Hebrew patriarchs, Job lived more than 100 years (Job 42:16). The mention of raiding Sabeans and Chaldean tribes suggests that Job lived during the second millennium, perhaps during the time of Abraham or Moses. 

The book of Job begins with a prologue that tells us of Job’s wife (Job 2:9) and ten children (seven sons and three daughters [Job 1:2]). We also learn of his godliness, which is mentioned three times, once by the author (Job 1:1), and twice by God himself (Job 1:8; 2:3): “there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil” (Job 2:3). Acting as a priest to his children, Job fears that birthday celebrations might require a burnt offering for each of his children (Job 1:4–5). 

Two accounts of immense trials are recorded in the first chapter: the first when raiding parties of Sabeans (Job 1:15) and Chaldeans (Job 1:17) robbed him of his livestock (i.e., his wealth) and a “great wind” killed his ten children (Job 1:19). Job’s immediate response is one of faith: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).

In Chapter 2, yet another trial befalls Job when he is struck by a deadly disease described as “loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head” (Job 2:7). When his wife tells him to “[c]urse God and die” (Job 2:9) — a counsel of unbelief and folly — Job again responds with faith: “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10). The author makes it clear that the cause of Job’s trials did not lie in any sin of Job’s: “In all this Job did not sin with his lips” (Job 2:10). 

What Job does not know, and what we are privately told, is that behind these earthly trials lies a cosmic battle between good and evil, God and Satan (Job 1:6–9, 12; 2:1–4, 6–7). Satan wagers that the only reason for Job’s godliness is that he has not endured suffering. Satan tells God that if Job were to be put to the test through trial, Job would lose his faith and “curse you to your face” (Job 1:11; 2:5).

From one point of view, the cause of Job’s suffering is Satan. But the author of the book of Job wants us to see that this, while true, is not the only cause. Difficult as it is to understand, the author wishes us to grasp that the fundamental reason for Job’s suffering lies in the sovereignty of God. On a day when angels give an account of themselves, Satan is also called to account for himself (Job 1:6; 2:1). And it is God, not Satan, who suggests that Job become Satan’s target: “Have you considered my servant Job[?]” (Job 1:8; 2:3). We are not given an explanation as to how God is totally sovereign and not the author of sin, though that moral issue lies over the entire book.

Following an initial response of faith, we are introduced to Job’s three “friends”: Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite (Job 2:11). Before they issue their counsel, Job descends into a pit of despair, wishing that he had never been born — dark words that Jeremiah repeats following his own trial (Job 3:1–26; Jer. 20:7–18). 

Job’s friends have only one counsel: that the root cause of Job’s suffering lies in his own sin, of which he needs to repent. It can be summarized in the opening words of Eliphaz said to be given him by some secret source: 

Can mortal man be in the right before God? 

Can a man be pure before his Maker? 

  Even in his servants he puts no trust, 

and his angels he charges with error; 

  how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, 

whose foundation is in the dust, 

who are crushed like the moth. (Job 4:17–19)

In other words, suffering is the result of God’s punishment for our sins. It is instant retribution for wrongdoing. 

Later in the book, we encounter another friend, Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, who “burned with anger at Job because he justified himself rather than God” (Job 32:2). Commentators differ as to whether Elihu adds anything or merely repeats the instant retribution narrative of Job’s three friends. It does appear that initially, at least, Elihu suggests that Job can learn something about himself through suffering that otherwise he might not know, but it also seems that as he goes on, he falls into the instant retribution explanation.

Three times Job speaks of one who understands his innocence, an “arbiter,” a “witness,” and, famously (though often incorrectly interpreted), a “Redeemer” (Job 9:33; 16:19; 19:25). In each case, Job is not looking for someone to forgive him but someone who will uphold the rightness of his case (as one who is innocent). It is not that Job is sinless; it is rather that sin is not the cause of suffering as his friends (and Elihu) insisted.

Job was not privy to the voice of God in the opening two chapters, and it is only in Chapter 38 that God summons Job to account for himself. Job has been using “words without knowledge” (Job 38:2). Rather than Job ask the questions and God provide the answers, God turns the tables and asks upwards of sixty questions, none of which Job can answer. At a telling moment, God asks: “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it” (Job 40:2). At which point, Job lays his hand over his mouth. However, God is not finished, and more questions follow. At one point, God mentions a land creature, “Behemoth” (Job 40:15), and a sea creature, “Leviathan” (Job 41:1). Commentators differ, but a good case can be made that these are poetic descriptions of an elephant and a crocodile. Why did God create them? The answer is at one level, “I do not know.” And the problem of pain is like that. Why does one suffer and another not? We do not know. But there is another answer, one that Job accedes to: 

I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, 

   but now my eye sees you; 

therefore I despise myself, 

   and repent in dust and ashes. (Job 42:5–6)

It is not important that Job understand the cause of his suffering — it lies in the unfathomable and mysterious purposes of God. It is only necessary that Job trust him as he initially had. 

The book of Job ends with an account of Job’s prayer for his three friends (Job 42:8). Nothing is said of Elihu. We are also told that his brothers and sisters consoled him (Job 42:11), that Job’s wealth was restored (Job 42:12), and that he had ten more children, seven sons and three daughters (Job 42:13), and that he lived to be 140 years old (Job 42:16).

Job is an example of innocent suffering. The reason for Job’s suffering had nothing to do with Job’s sinfulness. We may lay the blame at the feet of Satan, but that does not fully explain the cause. It was God who brought Job to Satan’s attention. Why? We are not told. Neither was Job. He must live by faith that the reason is known only to the mind of God.

Paul

Paul suffered in multiple ways, but he drew specific attention to a trial he labeled as a “thorn…in the flesh” (2 Cor. 12:7). It followed an experience of the “third heaven” (2 Cor. 12:2) or “paradise” (2 Cor. 12:3). Rather than draw attention to himself, he uses the third person, “I know a man” (2 Cor. 12:2). In addition, Paul was in no hurry to speak about it since this experience had taken place “fourteen years ago” (2 Cor. 12:2). Corinthian super-apostles were fond of exalting themselves, but not the Apostle Paul (2 Cor. 11:5). Nor does he tell us what he saw or heard, though it must have been breathtaking. 

What Paul does tell us is that such an experience could easily have become a matter of pride. He could easily have exalted his status over others: “So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited” (2 Cor. 12:7). Privilege may lead to pride. 

As with Job, the cause of the trial, at one level, is Satan. But Satan cannot do anything without divine permission. God is always in control even when bad things happen to his people. Satan has no authority to act outside of God’s providential control. 

But what was the nature of the trial? What was the “thorn”? We are not told. It may have been a spiritual trial whereby one or more of Paul’s besetting sins flared up. Some have conjectured, given Paul’s statement about having written to the Galatians in “large letters,” that it may have been something to do with his eyesight (Gal. 6:11). But we do not know because Paul does not tell us. He wished us to learn lessons that are applicable whatever the nature of the trial. 

One of the lessons that this account teaches us is that trials may be difficult to bear and difficult to accept. Paul’s immediate instinct is to pray that God take it away. Three times (perhaps three seasons), Paul took the matter to the Lord and asked that the trial cease. His immediate response was not acquiescence and submission. Far too much difficulty has been caused by teaching Christians that one should immediately submit to a trial. Some have insisted that the mark of godliness and maturity is to immediately submit to a trial. Even Jesus, in the hour of his trial, asked that the cup of God’s wrath be taken from him, “if it be possible” (Matt. 26:39). True, he went on to say, “nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will,” but it would be a grave mistake to emphasize the latter at the expense of the former. The trial Jesus was about to face was so intense and foreboding that his human instinct was to ask for it to be removed. Nowhere should such an instinct be viewed as cowardice. Nobody, in his right mind, wishes to experience pain and suffering.

Paul experienced the grace of submission only through struggle and prayer. And that will be true for us, too. 

Some prayers are not answered in the way we may desire. Prayers are always answered and sometimes the answer is “no!” That Paul took three seasons of prayer to ask for the trial to be taken away tells us that this may have lasted a considerable amount of time before the apostle heard the Lord say to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). The fact Paul was not told the reason for his trial does not mean that there wasn’t one. There is always a reason for suffering, even if we may not be able to discern it. Providence always has a purpose, and in the end, it is to glorify God. The distribution of pain is not whimsical, nor is it a matter of mere sovereignty, “For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men” (Lam. 3:33, KJV). On an English house in Watergate Street, Chester, there is an inscription dated as 1652, “Providence is my Inheritance.” What I get each day is the providence of God, including the trials. 

Paul was in danger of spiritual pride and got brought low. It is on our knees, abased before God, that we will find strength. God had work for Paul to do. He would go on to plant churches and write a quarter of the New Testament, but fourteen years before any of this would occur, God taught the apostle a painful lesson by sending “a messenger of Satan” to place a thorn in his side. 

Paul learned the grace of God is sufficient in every trial. It is the grace of power in the face of human weakness. It is the power of the one who multiplied loaves and fishes, walked on water, and raised the dead. It is the power of the one that casts out demons. And what are the requirements necessary to experience this powerful grace? Acknowledged weakness and felt need. And once this spiritual strength is experienced, we can, with the apostle, say, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:9–10). 

Discussion & Reflection:

  1. What aspect of Joseph’s, Job’s, and Paul’s story is most instructive for you? 
  2. Are there any other biblical figures — or even people you know — whose suffering you could use as a “case study”?

Part III: How Not to Respond

There are responses to trials that are wrong. Allow me to mention three.

Despair

First is the response of despair. It is the loss of all hope. Circumstances may rob us of all comfort and suggest that there is no way out. Christians may forget God’s promises and wallow in self-pity and despair. Paul told the Corinthians, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair” (2 Cor. 4:8). Psalm 43:5 provides a model on how to address despair: 

Why are you cast down, O my soul, 

    and why are you in turmoil within me? 

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, 

    my salvation and my God.

The Psalms are always realistic about what to expect in life. They never sugar-coat our expectations. Singing them in public worship brings a level-headedness that other songs do not. As one author asked, “What do miserable Christians sing?” Because the fact is, we often find ourselves overwhelmed by life’s fiery trials. And our worship, in private or in public, should reflect that truth. Worship that doesn’t contain the harsh realities of the Psalms will always be superficial and even unrealistic. 

Take, for example, Psalm 6. It is, at one level, a psalm of great despair. Take a moment to read it carefully:

O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, 

nor discipline me in your wrath. 

Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; 

heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. 

My soul also is greatly troubled. 

But you, O Lord—how long? 

Turn, O Lord, deliver my life; 

save me for the sake of your steadfast love. 

For in death there is no remembrance of you; 

in Sheol who will give you praise? 

I am weary with my moaning; 

every night I flood my bed with tears; 

I drench my couch with my weeping. 

My eye wastes away because of grief; 

it grows weak because of all my foes. 

Depart from me, all you workers of evil, 

for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. 

The Lord has heard my plea; 

the Lord accepts my prayer. 

All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled; 

they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.

We cannot expound all of it here, but notice the extent of the Psalmist’s despair: he thinks he is about to enter Sheol, the place of the dead. His eyes are wasting away with grief. Workers of evil (enemies) surround him. As is often the case with the Psalms, the moment of greatest tension occurs in the middle of the psalm: 

I am weary with my moaning; 

every night I flood my bed with tears; 

I drench my couch with my weeping. (Ps. 6:6) 

That’s despair, for sure! But note, too, the way out of despair. He prays, even in his despair: “Be gracious to me…heal me…turn O Lord, deliver my life…save me.” This is the prayer of a man who knows that God has not abandoned him, that whatever the reason for the trial (and we are not told), God is the same God. In the darkness and gloom, Christians must say with the Psalmist: “The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer” (Ps. 6:9).

And what precisely does the psalmist lay hold of in his cries to the Lord? God’s “steadfast love” (Ps. 6:4). This is the Hebrew word, Ḥeseḏ. It occurs almost 250 times in the Old Testament. William Tyndale, the English Reformer who translated the Hebrew Bible into English, chose to translate this Hebrew word as “loving kindness.”  

The loving kindness, or steadfast love, of God is related to his covenant, his promise to his people in which he said, “I will be your God, and you shall be my people” (e.g. Gen. 17:7; Exod. 6:7; Ezek. 34:24; 36:28). There is a covenant bond between the Lord and those who are his that cannot be broken. And even when despair threatens, it is this bond that dispels the despair and brings light and hope. 

Stoicism

Second, the believer should stay clear of Stoicism.

Stoicism has been around from the times of the Greeks and Romans. One infamous Roman Emperor’s writings, Marcus Aurelius, who reigned in the third century AD, are still studied today. But Stoicism goes further back, having its roots in the ancient Agora of Athens by Zeno of Citium around 300 BC. And Paul encountered them at the Areopagus in Athens (Acts 17). 

We need not get into the technicalities of Stoicism, but its basis point is what we euphemistically refer to as the “stiff upper lip” approach to suffering. Its counsel in the face of trial is detachment, even denial. In this sense, evil, pain, and suffering are illusions. By believing that they are real and focusing upon them, they become real. Virtue is what counts; it is the only good. Everything must act toward virtue. The wise person is the one most free from their passions. We have no control over events that occur to us. It is up to us to choose how we respond. We must not let them bother us. We must not be entangled in emotional responses. Nothing should get us down in the dumps. And the last thing we should do is ask why these are happening. Almost every psalm in the canon of Scripture is condemned by the philosophy of Stoicism. 

There is, of course, much more to Stoicism, but in its crass form, it is a denial of the passions that are a part of the human psyche. Stoicism, for example, would condemn Jesus’ tears at hearing of the death of his friend Lazarus, or his mental pain in Gethsemane when he sweated “great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44). True, our emotions must be self-controlled, but they are not to be denied and suppressed altogether. We have the right to ask, as Job did, why suffering comes our way, even if God does not provide the answer. 

Stoicism finds its strength from within. It is a religion of human effort and will-power. Christianity is different. Paul, for example, speaks of finding contentment in every circumstance: 

I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Phil. 4:11–13)

Notice two things about what Paul says in this passage. First, Paul found the ability to be content in the face of trial through much struggle. “I have learned,” he says. He wants us to understand that it did not come easily. Second, the source of his contentment was not something within himself, but in “him [God] who strengthens me.” The ability to be calm in the face of trouble comes from the inner working of the Holy Spirit, reminding us of God’s promises, and assuring us of Christ’s victory over sin and the devil. When Paul says, “I can do all things,” he is not boasting of his control over his feelings and strength of character. His ability to “do all things” is the result of the power of God at work in him. As John MacArthur puts it in his commentary, “Because believers are in Christ (Gal. 2:20), he infuses them with His strength to sustain them.”

Bitterness

A third response that is wrong is bitterness. I have known Christians to harbor bitterness because of events that happened to them in the past. It changed their lives and destroyed their ambitions and dreams. And instead of responding biblically, they allowed “the root of bitterness” to grow in their hearts (Heb. 12:15). Decades later, they are still angry and sore about the events that occurred (or did not occur when they wished they had).

The phrase, “the root of bitterness,” seems to be an allusion to something Moses says when reviewing the covenant between God and Israel: “Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit” (Deut. 29:18). Moses had in mind the poisonous effect of a plant whose roots are bitter and can cause sickness and death. The author of Hebrews, addressing the whole church, warns that such poison is always present, and we are to be vigilant in making sure that we avoid ingesting it.

In rebuking Simon the Sorcerer, Paul said to him, “For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity” (Acts 8:23). This is an extreme case of bitterness, where the poison had been present for some time and had changed this man into a dangerous sorcerer. 

Bitterness, unresolved anger with God for allowing trials to wreck our ambitions, must be starved to the point of death: “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice,” Paul told the Ephesians (Eph. 4:31). Bitterness is distrust in God’s providence. It is to believe the devil’s lie in the Garden of Eden that God’s word cannot be trusted. This is not Christianity. It is idolatry of the worst sort. 

Discussion & Reflection:

  1. Do any of these resonate with you? Have you responded with despair, Stoicism, or bitterness to something in your life?
  2. How do the Psalms help us respond in a more God-honoring and faithful manner?

Part IV: What Should Christians Do When the Fiery Trial Comes?

It is time to address the positive and ask what we should do in the face of the fiery trial. Allow me to offer ten suggestions.

To be forewarned is to be forearmed, they say. But that is not always the case. Unbelief may blind us to the warnings Jesus gives. Self-pity can make us turn in upon ourselves and allow doubt and anger to fester.

Our holiness can only come about as we engage in a war with the world, the flesh, and the devil. And war means pain and suffering. If we pray, as Robert Murray McCheyne once did, saying, “Lord, make me as holy as a pardoned sinner can be made,” then we are asking for trouble! If we are content with our current state of sanctification, then you might not experience trials (though this is likely to overrule that half-hearted response). But if holiness is what we desire, then mortification of sins must be a part of it, and killing sin is always going to be painful. 

It is, of course, right to pray for healing in the face of sickness. Initially, there is the hope that God, in his providence, may heal and restore. But sometimes, it becomes clear that this is not God’s intention. And prayers for strength and grace to endure the trial to the very end will be necessary. It is not always easy to discern at what point that change in the direction of prayer should be made. Each case will be different, and wisdom will need to be sought. 

Jesus makes a very interesting comment about this blind man’s condition. The disciples wanted an answer to the question, “why was he suffering?” And their only recourse was to suggest he or his parents were being punished for some past sin. But Jesus tells them otherwise, adding the reason for his suffering was that “the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:3). Jesus healed the man and thereby demonstrated his lordship over the powers of darkness. The reason for this man’s trial was to display Jesus’ power to the disciples and to us who read the story. 

It is possible that some of our trials are sent to demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit at work in those who are tried, enabling us to go forward in strength and faith and become a witness to the resurrection power of Jesus Christ.

In Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian and Hopeful stray from the path and are caught by Giant Despair who puts them in a deep dungeon in Doubting Castle. Quickly, they sink into despondency and see no way out, until Christian remembers that he has a key in his pocket called Promise. Using the key, Christian and Hopeful were able to unlock the doors of their prison and escape to return to the narrow way.  

Consider the following two promises and read them over and over:

Fear not, for I have redeemed you; 

    I have called you by name, you are mine. 

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; 

    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; 

    when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, 

    and the flame shall not consume you. 

For I am the Lord your God, 

    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. (Isa. 43:1–3)

If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, 

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long; 

we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:31–38) 

Heaven is our home. And, ultimately, the new heavens and new earth will come (Isa. 65:17; 66:22; 2 Pet. 3:13). The fiery trial is temporary. Our new abode in the age to come is forever. In that phase of our existence, there will be no trial of any kind: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4). 

So press on until the New Jerusalem comes into view.  

Discussion & Reflection:

  1. Do any of the above strike you as particularly difficult? 
  2. Which of the above pieces of counsel can you adopt to help you get through a current trial? 

Conclusion

Every Christian can expect to experience various kinds of trials during their pilgrimage to heaven. Christians live in a fallen world, and Satan “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). In addition, Christians are not yet fully sanctified. There is a war within us that the Apostle Paul summarizes this way: “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me” (Rom. 7:19–20). Trials sometimes are the result of our ungodly responses. But sometimes, trials may come through no fault of our own, as Job experienced.

In every trial, we may rest assured that God is in control and that he will always help us overcome the trial and respond with grace and courage, learning through the trial to grow. Trials, by the help of the Holy Spirit, can bring forth the fruit of the Spirit and make us more like Jesus. 

Christians can take heart from the words of Job: “when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold” (Job 23:10b; cf. James 1:12; 1 Pet. 1:7). 

—-

Bio

Derek Thomas is a native of Wales (UK) and has served congregations in Belfast, Northern Ireland; Jackson, Mississippi; and Columbia, South Carolina. He is a Chancellor’s Professor with Reformed Theological Seminary and a Teaching Fellow with Ligonier Ministries. He has been married to his wife, Rosemary, for almost 50 years and has two children and two grandchildren. He has authored more than thirty books.

#31 Abiding in Christ

Part I: In the Womb

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love” (John 15:9).

What does God want from you?

Some say religion. I don’t. I think we can make a better case that Jesus came to destroy religion than to establish one.

Others say it’s not religion; God wants relationship. I believe that is true. I just don’t think it goes far enough.

One time Jesus said,

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. (John 15:5–9)

To “abide” means to live within. Jesus says he wants you to live inside of him, and that he will live inside of you. That sounds like more than a relationship to me.

Let’s say you interviewed a baby inside his mother’s womb and asked, “Do you have a relationship with your mother?”

I’m pretty sure the baby would give you a confused look. Babies in wombs look kind of like aliens, so you might not realize the baby looked confused, but he would.

The baby would say, “Yes, we have a relationship, but it’s much more than that. You may have noticed that I live inside her. You may not get it, but I actually can’t live without her. I am completely dependent on her for everything that keeps me alive. 

“So, yes,” the baby would say, “we do have a relationship, but just calling it a relationship seems to be a colossal understatement.” 

If you were to ask God if what he really wants is a relationship with you, I can imagine him saying, “Call it what you want, but what I’m inviting you into is much more than a relationship. I’m offering to be the womb you exist within, and the blood that flows through your veins. I want to be the umbilical cord that brings you the fluids that sustain you, and I want to be those fluids that sustain you. I want to be the breath that enters your lungs, and I want to be your lungs. What I want is for you to find your life inside of me. My desire is for us to be one.”

Relationships are nice, but they’re off and on, we move in and out of them. We need something deeper with God, something more constant.

We need that because we were made for it. Without it, we have a sense of emptiness.

We also need it because it’s the only way we can live the life we were meant to live. We are meant to be like Jesus, to live holy and fruitful lives. We would be incapable of that on our own, but we have God living inside us (and at the same time, we get to live inside him). God’s abiding in us is what allows us to live like him.

God has offered to abide in us. We need to make sure we’re abiding in him. Jesus didn’t say, “As you abide in me,” he said, “If you abide in me.” We have a choice. And he told us to make the right one: “Abide in my love.”

What would it look like to abide in Jesus?

I think it’s about:

Getting other things out of the way, so I can let God have his way in me.

Pouring my heart out to God and letting God pour his love into me.

Trusting that if I have Jesus and nothing else, I have everything I need.

Giving top priority to God instead of any other things.

Giving up control and giving God control.

But how can we get to that place?

Jesus was actually near a vineyard when he spoke about being the vine. I don’t know if you’ve seen a vineyard up close, but the vine comes up from the ground, the branches grow off the vine, and the grapes grow off the branches. The branch has a life-giving connection with the vine. If it stays connected to the vine, the branch will get the nutrients it needs to bear fruit. If it’s not connected to the vine, the branch can’t do anything. It won’t get nutrients. It won’t bear fruit. The branch will be…dead.

As I mentioned, “abide” means to live in. You abide in your house or apartment. Jesus says in John 15:4, “Abide in me, and I in you.” So, Jesus is saying, “I want you to live inside of me, and I want to live inside of you.” Jesus is telling us that he is the source of life. If we want life, we have to stay connected to him.

So we must prioritize connection with Jesus above everything else. We prioritize spiritual habits or rhythms that connect us to Jesus, that allow us to abide in him.

One way to help us do that is to have a “rule of life.”

I didn’t say we need rules for life. There are “rules” for life. Some are helpful. (“Return borrowed vehicles with the gas tank full.” “Say please and thank you often.” “Leave the toilet seat down” — that seems to be my wife’s favorite.) I’ve heard other rules for life that are…not so helpful. (“If you are being chased by an animal, lay on the ground for five seconds. The five second rule will keep the animal from eating you”—I’m pretty sure that’s not true.)

Those are rules for life, but have you heard of a “rule of life”? Ever since Augustine wrote a well-known “rule of life” for Christians in 397 AD, many followers of Jesus have followed suit. What is a rule of life? It’s not about rules. We get this word “rule” more from “ruler” than from “rule.”

A rule of life is a set of intentional habits or rhythms that help us stay connected to Jesus. These can be spiritual, relational, or vocational practices. These practices help us align our deepest priorities, values, and passions with the way we actually live our lives. Having a “rule” helps us to overcome distractions — to not be so scattered and hurried and reactive and exhausted.

These are habits you are going to prioritize and do repeatedly because you know they’ll help you stay connected to Jesus.

Your rule will probably include practices that help build your relationship with God, like Scripture reading, prayer, giving, and fasting. It may include some practices that nurture your physical life, like sleep or sabbath or exercise. You may have some relational elements that focus on your friendships and family. You should also have some practices attached to your church involvement.

If you know you’re a branch, and that Jesus is the vine — your source of life — you don’t consider these spiritual habits optional. You have to stay connected.

Want to hear something fascinating?

Remember that Jesus said he is the vine, and we are the branches? If you look at a vineyard you’ll see the vine and the branches and you’ll see a trellis. Without a trellis, the branches will grow along the ground wildly. On the ground, they’re more prone to disease and more susceptible to pests that want the fruit. Off the ground and supported by the trellis, the branches will grow healthier and produce more fruit. A trellis also makes for a more beautiful vineyard — instead of growing haphazardly along the ground, the vine and branches grow intertwined and vertically. 

If you want healthy branches and a good crop of fruit, you need a sturdy support structure.

So, what’s fascinating?

The word for “rule” as in “rule of life” comes from the Latin word “regula,” which means trellis. Like a trellis, a rule of life creates a structure of spiritual practices. Instead of feeling chaotic, you live by a spiritual rhythm. You’re less vulnerable, healthier, and will produce more fruit. You’ll live a more beautiful, God-honoring, and people-loving life.

We all need a rule of life. A structure of spiritual practices we prioritize because they keep us connected to Jesus. And we need to stay connected to Jesus because he is the source of life.

So, how? How do we get to the place where we are abiding in Jesus?

We passionately pursue God, which is what we’re going to think about in our next section.

We commit to consistently prioritizing certain spiritual practices that keep us connected to Jesus. We are going to consider three vital ones in sections three through five.

Discussion & Reflection:

  1. God invites us into a “yoked” relationship with him, and to come to him so we can lay down our burdens and rest. What burdens are weighing you down? What would it look like for you to give those burdens to God?
  2. When can you spend a few minutes of prayer time to go to God and hand your burdens to him? Try it.

Part II: God Stalkers

“Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you” (Ps. 73:25).

I want to encourage you to become a stalker.

That may sound odd, because we’ve all heard scary stories of people like John Hinkley Jr., who, because of his obsession, stalked the actress Jodie Foster and then tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan to impress her.

There are other stories that are scary and weird. Cristin Keleher became obsessed with former Beatle George Harrison, broke into his home, and while waiting for him, made herself a frozen pizza.

William Lepeska was so desperate to see tennis star Anna Kournikova that he swam across the Biscayne Bay to get to her house. Unfortunately, he went to the wrong house, where he was then arrested.

There are scary types of stalking, but there’s also a less dangerous variety. I’m thinking of a thirteen-year-old girl who becomes obsessed with a boy at school. She thinks about him all the time. She writes his name all over her notebooks. He may not know she exists, but she’s already got their babies’ names picked out.

She times her entire day — how she gets to her classes, when she goes to the bathroom — so she can see him as many times as possible. This girl is obsessed with this guy, can’t stop thinking about him, has to see him, and feels like she can’t live without him. And so she stalks him.

God Stalker

A lot of people want God in their lives. Most people want God’s blessings. But what we need to want is God himself.

A God stalker is someone who seeks God more than anything, who wants more and more of him, who realizes God is what she needs, so she goes after him. A God stalker is not someone who achieves “super Christian” status. Every Christian should be a God stalker, according to what God tells us. For instance, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord” (Jer. 29:13–14), and “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30).

Every Christian should be a God stalker, and if we’re not, we’re never going to truly abide in Jesus.

Maybe the best example of a God stalker in the Bible is a guy from the Old Testament named David. He’s the one who took on Goliath and later became king. David was a God stalker. He wasn’t perfect. He messed up and sinned just like we do, but he knew God was his greatest treasure, so he’d get up and keep pursuing him.

Check out a love poem David wrote about God.

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

    my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

    beholding your power and glory.

Because your steadfast love is better than life

    my lips will praise you.

So I will bless you as long as I live;

    in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,

    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

when I remember you upon my bed,

    and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

for you have been my help,

    and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

My soul clings to you;

    your right hand upholds me” (Ps. 63:1–8)

See what I mean? 

Christians often talk about having a friendship with God, and it is true that God offers us friendship. But I’ve got lots of friends, and I don’t talk to any of them this way! I’ve never gone up to a friend and said, “Dude, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you. Because you are glorious. In fact, last night when I was in bed thinking of you, I just started to sing…”

This isn’t friendship language; this is stalker language. And it doesn’t end there. David also wrote, 

Answer me quickly, O Lord!
My spirit fails!

Hide not your face from me,
lest I be like those who go down to the pit (Ps. 143:7).

Do you see why I call David a God stalker? And God called David “a man after my heart” (Acts 13:22).

That’s what I want for me, and for you.

Here’s the good news: God isn’t avoiding us. In fact, God promises to be with us all the time (see, for instance, John 14:16–17 and Matt. 28:20.) So we don’t need to go out searching for him — we just need to pay attention. People have called this “practicing the presence of God.” We remember he’s with us, we train our minds on him, and we seek to stay in constant contact. We abide.

How? I love the advice Max Lucado gives in his book Just Like Jesus. He suggests that you first give God your waking thoughts. When you wake in the morning, focus your initial thoughts on him. Then, second, give God your waiting thoughts. Spend some quiet time with God, sharing your heart with him, and listening for his voice. Third, give God your whispering thoughts. Repeatedly offer up brief prayers throughout the day. You might repeat the same short prayer: “God, am I pleasing you?” “Am I in your will, Lord?” “I love and want to follow you, Jesus.” Then last, give God your waning thoughts. Talk to God as you’re falling asleep. Review your day with him. End your day by telling him you love him.

That’s something you can do. You can go after God’s heart. You can be a God stalker. If you are, you’ll abide.

Discussion & Reflection:

  1. Read Matthew 13:44–46. Jesus is saying that if you had to give away everything to have God in your life, it would be the best trade you’d ever make. What have you had to give up to have God in your life? What might you? What would be hardest to give up? Why do you think God is worth giving up everything for?
  2. Generally, we want to pray from our hearts with our own words. But some people find value at times in praying a prayer written by someone else. People have especially done this with the Psalms in the Bible. Today, pray Psalm 63:1–8 and/or Psalm 40, making the words your own and praying them from your heart.

Part III: Lay Your Head

“Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints” (Eph. 6:18).

A Christian is someone who has decided to follow in the ways of Jesus. You choose to live life the way Jesus lived life. So, how did Jesus live life?

When you study his life, it seems there was nothing more important to him than connecting with his heavenly Father. Richard Foster writes, “Nothing is more striking in Jesus’ life than his intimacy with the Father…Like a recurring pattern in a quilt, so prayer threads its way through Jesus’ life.”

As we’ve said, Jesus called it “abiding” or “living in.” Jesus lived his life with such an intimate and constant connection with his Father, it’s like he lived life in him. Jesus abided in his Father, and he invites us to abide in him.

Jesus is inviting us to create a rhythm where we eliminate distractions and enter into silence, so we can focus on God. So we can talk to and listen to him. So we’re doing life with him. It’s not that we stop living the rest of our lives, but we learn to abide. We have a rhythm of praying, of stepping away from distraction to allow us to be nearer to God.

We see this rhythm with Jesus. I’ll show you one example. 

We don’t know much about Jesus’ first thirty years on earth, but then he steps onto the public stage and declares who he is and what he’s come to do.

Then Jesus is baptized. At his baptism, God speaks from heaven, affirming that Jesus is his Son.

And then…Jesus goes off and prays for forty days. 

He goes off into the wilderness, all by himself, and prays for forty days. That’s not typically the way you launch something and gain momentum — by going off by yourself. Especially if you want to start a worldwide movement and you spent the first thirty years living in obscurity. You don’t go back into obscurity for six weeks! But Jesus did. He starts with prayer. He went away to a place of silence so he could feel God’s presence and pray. So he could commune with his Father.

Jesus spent time with his Father to ensure he was mentally, emotionally, and spiritually ready for what he was about to do. There was too much at stake for him to begin without starting on his knees.

Then he comes back, and in the first chapter of Mark, we find a description of his first day of ministry. He teaches people about God. He heals people.

Then he wakes up and…is it back to work? No. He wakes up and “rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed” (Mark 1:35).

To be clear: Jesus went to a place of silence for a month and a half, then comes back, has one day of activity, and then heads straight back to a place of silence — so he could abide, so he could feel God’s presence and pray, so he could commune with his Father. It was intimacy with the Father that generated the intensity of Jesus’ ministry.

We see Jesus do this over and over. It was a rhythm in his life. We could say it was the rhythm of Jesus’ life.

It’s like a car. If you didn’t know anything about cars and saw someone filling one with gas, you might think it was a one-time thing. “Oh, you put gas in it and then it’s good to go.” But if you kept watching you’d realize, “Ohhhh. No. You put gas in. You drive it. You put gas in. You drive it…Without repeatedly filling it back up, it can’t go.” If you watch Jesus’ life, you realize, “Ohhh. He lived a little. He sought silence to feel God’s presence and pray; he filled up. Then he lived a little. Then he sought silence to feel God’s presence and pray, he filled up. Then he lived a little. Sought silence to feel God’s presence and pray, filled up.”

That was his rhythm. And that needs to be the rhythm of his followers.

In fact, we see in the book of Acts that Jesus’ original followers followed his example. Acts 2:42: “And they devoted themselves to…the prayers.” In Acts, the believers prayed — for guidance in making decisions (Acts 1:15–26), for courage to share Jesus with nonbelievers (4:23–31), as a regular part of their daily lives and ministry (2:42–47; 3:1; 6:4), when they were being persecuted (7:55–60), when they needed a miracle (9:36–43), when someone was in trouble (12:1–11), before sending out people for ministry (13:1–3, 16:25ff), for each other (20:36, 21:5), and for God’s blessing (27:35). They prayed, and God released his presence and power in their midst.

Prayer was part of their “rule of life.” They pursued God, and prayer allowed them to live in him.

Prayer Is

Speaker and author Brennan Manning used to tell a story about a woman who asked him to come speak to her father, who was on his deathbed. Manning agreed to come right over.

The daughter let Manning in and told him her father was in his bedroom. When Manning walked in he noticed an empty chair next to the bed. He said, “I see you’re expecting me.” 

The man in the bed said, “No, who are you?” Manning explained that his daughter had invited him to come over and talk to him about God.

The man nodded and said, “I have a question for you.” He explained that he had always believed in God and Jesus, but never knew how to pray. One time he asked a preacher at church, who gave him a book to read. On the first page there were two or three words he didn’t know. He gave up reading after a few pages and continued not to pray.

A few years later he was at work talking to a Christian friend of his named Joe. He mentioned to Joe that he didn’t know how to pray. Joe seemed confused. He said, “Are you kidding? Well, here’s what you do. Take an empty chair, put it next to you. Picture Jesus sitting in that chair and talk to him. Tell him how you feel about him, tell him about your life, tell him about your needs.” 

The man gestured to the empty chair next to his bed and said, “I’ve been doing that for years. Is that wrong?”

“No.” Manning smiled. “That’s great. You just keep doing that.”

The two of them talked a little longer, and then Manning left.

About a week later the man’s daughter called him. She explained, “I just wanted to let you know that my father died yesterday. Thanks again for visiting him; he enjoyed talking to you.”

Manning said, “I hope he died peacefully.”

“Well, it was interesting,” the daughter told him. “I had to go to the store yesterday, so I went into my dad’s bedroom before I left. He was fine. He made a corny joke, and I left. When I came back, he was dead. But here’s the strange part, right before he died, he crawled out of bed, and he died with his head lying on that empty chair.”

Relationships are all about love and are based on communication. If we’re going to have a real relationship with God, if we’re going to abide, it’s going to be about love and based on communication.

Prayer is communicating with God. But it’s more. Prayer is love. God loves us, and his love for us calls for us to respond. Prayer comes not from gritting your teeth and engaging in a “discipline” — prayer comes from falling in love. Prayer is shared intimacy with God. Prayer is resting your head on your loving Father. It’s abiding in Jesus.

On one hand, prayer is as simple as that. You don’t need to read a book with big words; you just need to pull up an empty chair. You don’t need a bunch of seminars; you just need an open heart.

On the other hand, prayer is an unnatural activity in some ways. It’s talking to God, but we’re not used to talking to someone we can’t see. It’s letting God speak to us, but we’re not used to listening to someone we can’t audibly hear. I don’t want to make prayer more complicated than it is, but if you’re new to prayer or struggle with prayer, it can be a bit confusing. So let me share a few thoughts that have helped my prayer life.

Growing in Prayer

Prayer isn’t just a part of our day — it should be the air we breathe. The Bible says, “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17) and “praying at all times” (Eph. 6:18). Prayer is sharing our life with God, sharing our thoughts and our moments with God, so it’s something that we can and should do all the time.

However, we need to take some special time to devote to prayer each day. Why? Because fixing our focus on God will help us to keep our focus on him the rest of the day. And because we’ll go deeper in that special quiet time than we will in the hustle and bustle of the rest of the day. It’s the same as in a marriage. My wife and I might spend a whole day together and kind of talk about a thousand things, but until we stop doing something else and sit down and look at each other, we probably won’t talk about anything of substance.

When should you do that prayer time? Well, it’s the most important part of your day, so you should give it the best time of your day. Are you a morning person? Then spend time with God when you first wake up. Or does your brain not start functioning till after twelve cups of coffee? Then maybe lunch time would be a better choice. Some people prefer to devote the last part of their day focusing on God in prayer.

And you can be creative in that time. Sometimes I think my prayers. Other times I talk out loud. More often I write my prayers in a journal. I’ve also gone on prayer walks. And I’ve been known to put on some worship music and spend some of my time with God singing to him. What’s important is love — that we’re really connecting with God.

Experiment and see what helps you to really connect with God.

And if none of those ways work, you can always just pull up an empty chair.

Discussion & Reflection:

  1. Read Matthew 6:5–13. Jesus gives us a model, or an outline, for prayer, not the exact words we’re to pray. Our words shouldn’t be recited but should come from our hearts. Read through Jesus’ model prayer again. What types of things is he saying we should pray about?
  2. Use Jesus’ model prayer in Matthew 6:7–13 as an outline for your prayers today. Prayerfully read an idea (like “Father, hallowed be your name”) and then take a moment to continue praying that idea in your own words.

Part IV: Fed for a Lifetime

“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food” (Heb. 5:12).

When I had the idea, I didn’t picture a burly Navy SEAL sitting in my lap, but that’s the way it turned out. And you know what they say: “When life gives you a Navy SEAL, feed him like a little baby.”

It seems like there are people in every church who complain, “I’m not getting fed in this church.” I have a friend who replies, “There are only two kinds of people who can’t feed themselves — imbeciles and infants. Which one are you?” Pretty harsh, but he makes a point. Pretty quickly, children learn how to feed themselves food, and Christians should learn how to feed themselves spiritually.

That was the point I was making with the Navy SEAL. I was preaching a sermon and started with a baby in my arms and fed him. Everyone made, “Oh, that’s adorable” faces, and, “That baby is so cute in our pastor’s arms” noises. I gave the baby back to his mother and launched into a message on the importance of reading the Bible every day. I told everyone, “Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.” I ended the message by trying to illustrate how wrong it is for people who are no longer spiritual infants to rely on someone else to feed them. I asked for a volunteer and Mr. Navy SEAL raised his hand. The church I pastored in Virginia Beach had a bunch of SEALs, but it hadn’t occurred to me that one would volunteer. He came up, and I asked him to sit in my lap. I had a jar of baby food, and I asked him if I could feed him. And everyone made, “Oh, that’s disturbing” faces, and, “That muscular man is so awkward in our pastor’s arms” noises.

Is It That Important?

Is it really that important to read the Bible on your own? Yes, it is.

If you go to church weekly, isn’t hearing the sermon enough Bible? No, it isn’t. Not if you want to abide.

It’s critical that we read and study and know and apply the Bible. Why?

It’s critical, but research tells us that one third of Christians never read the Bible, and one third read it only one to three times a week. But it’s people who are in God’s Word at least four times a week who grow. After years of research, that’s the finding of the Center for Bible Engagement. For instance, someone who reads the Bible at least four times a week is:

What Do I Do?

The Bible is a big book. Where do you start, and how do you read it?

I’ve always preferred reading through whole books of the Bible. Some people hunt and peck, but when you go through a book of a Bible, you’re getting the whole context of what you’re reading. You understand who wrote it, whom it was written to, what issues are being addressed.

I also suggest reading the New Testament before the Old. The Old Testament comes first chronologically, but it’s more challenging to understand because it describes a time more distant from us. When we know the New Testament it helps us to understand the Old. And the New Testament is where we meet Jesus, and it’s all about Jesus.

Before I read, I ask God to speak to me through his Word. I want to read the Bible with a humble spirit and get everything I can out of it.

As I read, I ask three questions.

First, Say what? My problem is that I tend to be in a hurry and can read a chapter of the Bible, then have no idea what I just read. But the Bible is too important for me to skim over. So I slow myself down by asking some “Say what?” questions like “What did it say?” “What did I learn about God?” “What did I learn about myself?”

Second, So what? Imagine someone read the same Bible passage you just did, then asked you, “So what? What does this have to do with life today?” What would you answer? What’s the life principle in the passage?

Sometimes this is easy. You read a verse that says, “Do not judge.” What does that mean for today? It means do not judge. Other times it’s not so easy. For instance, there’s a verse in the Bible that says not to eat meat that’s been sacrificed to idols (see Acts 15:20). I don’t think they sell that kind of meat at my grocery store, so can I skip that verse? Actually, no, I can’t. With a look at the context and a little digging, you’d discover that in the early days of Christianity there was a debate between two groups. One thought nothing of buying and eating meat that had been sacrificed to the god of another religion. The other thought doing so was the equivalent of participating in that other religion. The issue was taken to the church leaders, who finally laid down a verdict. They basically said that meat that’s been offered to idols is no different than what they put in a Quarter Pounder with cheese. Why? Because idols aren’t real; they just represent false gods. So, it doesn’t offend God that you eat meat that’s been sacrificed to them. But it does offend some people. By eating that meat, you are causing them to stumble in their spiritual walk. So just don’t eat it. Be willing to give up your freedom to help others (see 1 Cor. 8:4–9). 

So, is there a principle in “Don’t eat meat sacrificed to idols”? Absolutely. And that leads to the last question I ask when I read the Bible.

Third, Now what? This goes beyond the universal lesson to your specific application. How should your life be changed based on what you read? With that verse about not eating meat sacrificed to idols, maybe you feel like it’s okay for you to have a glass of wine with a meal, but you’re having dinner with a friend who’s a recovering alcoholic. This verse would say you don’t have a drink because it might cause him to stumble. Or perhaps you have a revealing bathing suit you like to wear sunbathing in the backyard. But you’re going to a pool party with a bunch of guys. This verse would say you don’t wear the bathing suit so as to avoid drawing too much attention to yourself. The “Now what?” question helps us to apply what we’ve read because obeying God by applying the Bible is the key to loving God (see John 14:15) and being blessed by him (see James 1:25).

If you have a Bible, you can feed yourself, and if you do your life will be changed.

Or…I can call you up on stage and shove a spoon of baby food in your mouth, but trust me, you wouldn’t like that.

Discussion & Reflection:

  1. Read James 1:22–25.
  2. Say what? What does this passage say about not just reading, but applying the Bible to your life
  3. So what? Why do you think applying the Bible is so essential in truly living for God? 
  4. Now what? What could help you to be more consistent in looking for the “Now What?” and applying it to your life?

Part V: Where Your Heart Is

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (Matt. 6:19–21)

Since having kids, my wife and I don’t exchange Christmas presents. I’m just too cheap. But before she gave birth to the fruit of my loins, we used to each have a hundred-dollar budget to spend on each other for Christmas. One year Jen told me she wanted a diamond tennis bracelet. I went to the store and the clerk showed me the diamond tennis bracelet I could get for $100. I stared at it and asked, “Are you sure those are diamonds? It looks more like little pieces of…glitter.”

I bought it and gave it to Jennifer on Christmas morning. She exclaimed, “Just what I wanted, a glitter tennis bracelet!”

A few days later the clasp on it broke. I wasn’t surprised. I took it back in to get fixed. The day before, Jen’s grandma had given each of us a hundred dollars. It was her annual present, and the only money we each had every year to splurge on ourselves. As I waited for the clasp to be fixed, I noticed the $200 tennis bracelets. You could actually see the diamonds!

A few hours later I handed Jen her tennis bracelet. She looked at it and asked, “Wait? Did the glitter grow?”

I smiled, “Actually, I got you a better one.”

She was confused. “Where did you get the money? Wait, you used my grandma’s money, didn’t you? Why? What…what made you do this?”

I told her the truth. “Love made me do it.”

All Kinds of Reasons

I want you to think about giving. Like giving…money…to God, through the church. People don’t like to hear about giving, but God talks about it…a lot. In fact, check out the number of times these important words appear in the Bible:

Believe: 272 times.

Pray: 374 times.

Love: 714 times.

Give: 2,162 times.

And that’s just the word give. Often the word you’ll see in the Bible is tithe. The word tithe means “tenth”; to tithe is to give God the first tenth of whatever you bring in. You’ll also see the word offering. An offering is anything you give to God above ten percent.

We’re to give generously to God, and there are all kinds of reasons to do so. For instance:

It’s God’s money, not ours. We think of it as our money, but God says it’s his. The only reason we have money is because he’s given us the ability to earn it. So really, we’re not giving God some of our money; God lets us keep most of his money, and we give him back a little of it.

God has commanded us to give money back to him. All through the Old Testament he commands people to give him ten percent. In the New Testament he sends his Son Jesus to live and die for us and then commands us to give generously. All along people had great reasons to give generously back to God, but now we have a much greater reason.

God will bless you for giving. If I have a choice of God’s blessings or a portion of my money, I’m taking God’s blessings every day!

Giving increases my faith. It helps me to trust in God more and in me less. It’s scary at first deciding to live off of less than all of your income, but not only does it demonstrate faith, it grows your faith as you see how God provides for you.

Giving helps me face my mortality. It’s so easy to live just for this life and the things of this world, but we’re going to live for eternity. And only that which lasts forever truly matters. When I give, I’m acknowledging that there’s something more important than my temporary life and investing my money into something that will have an impact beyond my years here on earth.

Giving also helps set my priorities. God commanded ancient Israel to give him the first ten percent. Not our leftovers, but the first check we write. When we do that, it helps to clarify that God is most important in our lives.

Giving to God allows me to have an eternal impact with my money. I have lots of choices on how to spend my money. Most of what I spend it on ends up in a toilet or a trash dump. What I give to God through the church goes toward his mission of bringing his lost children home to him and to an eternity in heaven. That is what I want to spend my money on!

The Love Reason

There are all kinds of reasons to give generously back to God, but right now I just want you to focus on one I haven’t mentioned yet: love. Giving expresses my love for God, it helps me experience God’s love for me, and it grows my love for God.

That may sound odd to you, but it’s straight from Jesus.

He says, “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him” (John 14:21). We’ve been commanded to be generous toward God with our money. Those who love Jesus will “accept” and “obey” that command. And because they love God in that way, God’s love will be revealed to them. Those who do it experience God’s love.

Jesus also says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:21). In other words, you put your money into what you care about, and you care about what you put your money into.

Isn’t it true that you put your money into what you care about? In fact, I could know a ton about you by looking at your checkbook and your credit card statement.

And isn’t it also true that when you put money into something you start to care about it more? Like if you have an old clunker car, you don’t care about it. If you pick up your friend who has some food and asks, “Can I eat these fries in your car?” you’d laugh and say, “You can eat spaghetti with a spoon for all I care.” But if you go out and spend some serious money on a new car you would tell your friend, “No, you can’t eat in my car! In fact, I don’t want you to even breathe in my car!” When your money goes to God, you care more and more about him.

The inverse is true too. If we care so much about our money that we won’t give it, then we lose a significant opportunity to connect with God and grow. In fact, it moves us in the opposite direction from God. Jesus says, “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Luke 16:13). The Bible even says that the love of money can pull us away from our faith: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Tim. 6:10).

Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” and I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to paraphrase that, “For where you put your money, that’s where you’ll abide.”

Give generously back to God. Don’t try to figure out the minimum you have to give him; see how much you can give him. You will be so glad you did. Other people might think you’re crazy, but when they look at you funny and ask why, just smile and say, “Love made me do it.”

Discussion & Reflection:

  1. Read 2 Corinthians 9:1–15. What do you learn about giving from this passage? Take some time to create a plan for giving. How much will you give God? What is generous? When and how will you increase your giving?
  2. Money often provides the most competition with God for our worship, and it is often the last thing people will really give to God. Take some time to pray about your finances. Ask God to reveal to you your heart and where it needs to change when it comes to money. Ask him to help you make him a higher priority than money and what you can buy with it.

Conclusion: You’re Invited

You were meant to live above anxiety, with peace and patience and passion, without worry, feeling full, not empty, guided, not confused, purpose-driven, not bored.

If you are not living that life, the issue is that you are not abiding.

Abiding is the solution for your struggles. It’s the life you were meant to live.

Nothing is more important than you living that life and becoming who you were meant to become. That’s what will give you real life in this life and what you will take into eternity.

Jesus is inviting you into something better. He’s inviting you into himself. That is the most astounding invitation ever offered. Say yes. Choose to abide in Jesus today, and then choose it again every day the rest of your life.

Vince Antonucci is the founding pastor of Forefront Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and of Verve Church (vivalaverve.org), in the heart of Sin City, just off the Vegas Strip. Vince is the author of I Became a Christian and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt (2008), Guerrilla Lovers (2010), Renegade (2013) and God For The Rest Of Us (2015) and Restore (2018). He also works as a collaborative writer, helping authors create compelling content that inspires their readers. He loves spending time with his best friends — his wife Jennifer and kids Dawson and Marissa.