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Tough Day, God’s Promises

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 25, 2018
Yesterday was a tough day for Barbara, with lots of fear, self-condemnation, and speaking words of wounding to herself. It was distressing to see her regress into passivity and confusion after a couple of good days in the week.
 
For me, this is an opportunity to let go of my desires, hold on to the fact that God has a plan here, and to rise above my disappointment, distress and negative feelings. It is an opportunity to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving and to choose to live the truth that Knowing Jesus is Enough for Joy. Faith flowers in the soil of difficulty.
 
Our Great Shepherd promises to make us lay down in green pastures. Our present pasture looks brown to us, like this picture, but in spite of how it appears, He is going to use it to nurture, deepen and mature us.
 
Please do pray for wisdom for us in how to cooperate with God in what He is doing. Ask that Barbara will reject passivity and words of wounding and to actively speak words of healing to herself instead. Thank you.
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What is Humility?

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 24, 2018
 
Humility is a word we mention a lot, but it seldom gets defined. One viable definition is this: “Agreeing with God.” In fact, this is what the Greek word translated “confess” means. And the word translated “virtue” in 2 Peter 1:5 also has the idea of agreeing with God.
Pride is the opposite–thinking that we know what is right, choosing to define good and evil ourselves. This is what Adam did in eating the forbidden fruit: he thought he knew better.
Humility is abandoning that self-centered thinking to embrace God’s opinion about everything. In fact, that is what it means to fear God: caring very deeply what He thinks, standing in awe of His wisdom, knowledge and power so much that we obey Him whether we feel like it or not, fearing the consequences of disobeying Him.
The one time Moses failed in his humility was when he reacted as he wanted: instead of speaking to the rock to get water, in anger he struck it, thereby stealing honor from God.
Most of us would like to be humble, but If we are honest, we only selectively agree with what God has to say. The rest of the time we elevate our intellect and emotions above His Word. For instance, how often have I gone ahead and said something negative even after the Spirit has warned me not to! I decide that giving a zinger to someone is more important than obeying God–and thereby steal honor from Him.
There is a point of humility where every single person misses the mark: what we think of ourselves. A finer focus of the definition of humility is this: “seeing ourselves as God sees us, both in our depravity and in our holiness.” Like the tree in this picture, we were born crooked, growing along the ground (our depravity); but then when we came came to Christ, he straightened us out and we can grow straight up (the holiness He gives us).
Those of us who are proud or self-sufficient or self-absorbed, tend to focus on what a good person we are, missing the truth that we have an old nature where we are worthy only of condemnation, rejection, punishment and death.
On the other hand, many of us are dissatisfied with our performance, looks, possessions and position. We focus on our lacks, our failures and negatives, envying those who have more. We are down on ourselves, disappointed in ourselves and talk frequently about what we “should do,” because, in our opinion, we never do enough. We don’t pray enough, read the Word enough, witness enough.
But how does God look at us? He acknowledges the fact that by nature we are depraved, evil and worthy only of condemnation. But He then focuses fully on the fact that we, as born-again believers, are created in His image, chosen before the foundation of the world, fully forgiven, completely cleansed, and joyfully adopted into His family, into His Kingdom, and into His plan.
He loves us richly, deeply, unconditionally and eternally. He delights in us, rejoices in us, sings over us and cherishes us. If we are humble, we will agree with God about both our old nature depravity and our holiness in Him. Then we will focus primarily on how He forgives us, accepts us and loves us–and do the same to ourselves!
When we begin to understand how much we are loved, there will be a transformation in us, as we “know this love that surpasses knowledge so that [we] may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:19). And part of this fullness is viewing ourselves as He does. That is being humble!
So let us repent of our dissatisfaction with ourselves, repent of our focus on performance, possessions and looks, and instead, as a result of Christ’s sacrifice, forgive, accept and love ourselves as God loves us. The resulting fullness of God will lead to a life of greater obedience (loving our neighbor as we love ourselves), holiness, humility and honor for God.
 
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Psalm 35:1-4

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 23, 2018
As we face problems in life, attacks by Satan through people and circumstances, failures and disappointments, we can come to you, Lord Jesus, and ask for your help, knowing that you will assist and protect us. As David wrote in the Psalms:
 
Psalm 35:1 “Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me.”
 
[Whether those attacking us be ISIS, the neighbor next door, the IRS or the devil himself, they are all too strong for us to personally defeat; we desperately need your help, Lord. And, like David, our first move is to come to you in prayer.]
 
Psalm 35:2,3 “Take up shield and buckler; arise and come to my aid. Brandish spear and javelin against those who pursue me.”
 
[When David wrote this, he stood in physical danger; we, more often, are in spiritual danger, being attacked with temptations, problems and difficulties which push us to act without faith. But more and more there will be actual attacks on those who follow you, Lord, as laws, government agencies and groups seek to still our voices and try to force us to conform to their worldview.]
 
Say to my soul, ‘I am your salvation.'”
 
[I need this reminder daily, for it is easy to forget, in the jumble and rush of events, that you only are my salvation, Lord Jesus. You are the mighty One, who delivered me from the kingdom of darkness, from the oppression of the devil, from the deceit and destruction of this world. And you fight for us now, for we are your beloved children: you protect us from true harm, you stand with us in our troubles, you carry us through our difficulties. Praise be to you.]
 
Psalm 35:4 “May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay.”
 
[On a human level there are those who seek the lives of Christians–Jihadists for sure, and others. May they be disgraced in their wrong thinking and evil intent. May they fail, be exposed, be dismayed and chastened that they may see the error of their ways and repent.]
 
Praise be to you, the God of Power, the Lord of glory, the King of victory, for keeping us safe, preventing Satan’s triumph and evil people’s victories. Instead, in the midst of suffering and difficulty, we are safe in you, Lord: empowered, protected, sheltered and helped. We praise you for your love demonstrated, your power displayed and your goodness proven. To you be glory and honor today. Amen.
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Wonder!

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 22, 2018
Praise be to you, Lord, O Wise and Wonderful God, my heavenly Father, my resurrected Brother, my indwelling Spirit. You have given me a new day, fresh from your hand, ready to be used for good. I praise you for the wonderful privilege of waking up to find you there, waiting for me, ready to carry me through all that you have planned.
 
I praise you, Lord, for your love, your wisdom, your power and your goodness, for including me in your plans, for giving each of your children an important part in all you are doing.
 
It is you who have made me yours–against all logic, all reason, all expectation, you called me out to be your son. You desired to have me in your family and you have reserved for me a place of honor and responsibility in your Kingdom. Why? Not for any reason found in me, but because you are the Lord of love, the God of grace, the Father of forgiveness.
 
You are also the God of Justice and Righteousness, meaning you must judge and punish sin–which is wonderful, because if you weren’t and didn’t, there would be no hope for a solution to evil. Along with being the just Judge, in your merciful majesty you have provided the way for all human beings to avoid judgment by taking that punishment on yourself.
 
Praise be to you, Lord Jesus, for your willingness to enter the land of darkness and death, to shine your light of love on those who hate you. Thank you that you were willing to be rejected, abused, beaten, crucified and defeated in the eyes of men. You did this so that every person may have the possibility of being forgiven, of being snatched from the jaws of the dragon and transformed into a child of light and love and laughter.
 
The wonder of it grows as you give me a greater grasp of where I was: under your wrath, in the kingdom of darkness, on the path to destruction, in the host of the condemned, filled with evil, and controlled by rebellion. There was no reason for you to choose me, save me, adopt me, love me.
 
But you yourself are the reason you have done the marvelous, brought about the magnificent and provided a majestic salvation for all your human enemies. You are way beyond amazing!
 
We must stand in awe of your strong love, your infinite grace, your deep patience, your rich goodness, your mighty mercy.
You are the One who should fill our vision, absorb our attention and attract our thoughts. Forgive us for being distracted by the tinsel of this world, the worthless fascinations of our hearts and the destructive temptations of our environment.
 
These all fade into the background when we turn our attention to your beautiful character, your infinite power, your unending love, your eternal goodness, your limitless grace. As we see these more and more, we are brought to our knees in worship, surrender and praise Then before you we rise up to live in the light of your presence, looking only to you, Lord Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.
 
Fill us so full of your Spirit that He may overflow into the lives of all we meet today. Help us to daily run the race you have set before us with the endurance and patience you offer, that we may be a light of truth and comfort to all around us, opening the way for them to believe, to follow, to trust you, to know you in all your beauty and goodness, that there may be more worshipers in eternity.
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Words of Wounding, Words of Healing

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 21, 2018
In a recent conversation with my brother, Sam, he talked about Proverbs 18:21: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue….” Proverbs 15:4 expands on this truth: “A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.”
As I thought on these verses, the Spirit brought to mind how often Barbara, in her depression, speaks “words of death,” and “words of crushing” to herself: “There is no hope for me. I will never get well. I am useless. I can’t do anything right. I can’t remember anything. I’m ugly.”
These are all lies which crush her spirit. We’ve been working a long time with the concept of recognizing these lies, which rise out of her childhood and her negative feelings, and replacing them with truth. But she was not making much progress with it.
Now with these verses from Proverbs, new terms came to my mind: we can speak words of healing, or we can speak words of wounding and hurt. These terms seem to resonate with Barbara more powerfully, and she seems to be applying them.
This concept is true for all of us, as we can easily wound ourselves with negative, condemning statements. These may have some truth in them, but are usually broad, generalized pronouncements that are more lie than truth. “I can’t do anything right!” “I’m such a loser.” “I’m no good!” “No matter what I do, I can’t win.” “I’m such a fool.”
Or, we can speak words of healing, which are more specific, biblical and true. “I feel like a fool, but you don’t love me because I’m perfect, Lord, you love me because you are love itself! As you have forgiven, embraced and loved me, so I choose to forgive, accept and embrace myself. Guide me now in making wise decisions.”
“I feel hopeless, but you, Lord, are the God of hope who has a plan and you are carrying us forward whether I can sense it or not.”
“I feel ugly; but even if that were fully true, I am your child, chosen, accepted, adopted, embraced and dearly loved. And in your love I am made beautiful.”
Then along with speaking words of healing, we can take positive steps to correct what triggered such words of wounding. If I feel ugly, I can get dressed up. If I feel everything is a mess, I can straighten some things up. If I feel useless, I can choose a constructive project and work on it. If I feel abandoned, I can reach out to others who are lonely.
So I encourage you to speak words of healing, words of pure truth to yourself, to stop wounding yourself (which is joining Satan in his work as Accuser of the Brethren!), and to experience the healing touch of the God who offers us abundant love, life and light.
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Rising Above

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 20, 2018
While living in Germany in 2011, most of my ministry was done over the internet. At one point we lost our subscription and had to wait weeks to be reconnected. I tried another route, using an “internet stick” that connected through cell phone signals, and with great expectation went through the process of buying and setting it up, only to have it be so slow as to be useless. The following is what I wrote as I processed this disappointment by lifting my soul to God–letting go, holding on and rising above.
 
Thank you, Lord, for the disappointment with the internet stick yesterday-after spending 1.5 hours in the Vodafone shop, to come home and have it be so slow was a shock. Thank you for this new adventure you have laid before me.
 
Here is a case of setting my heart on something, on a solution, and then having it fail. Thank you for this, Lord, another chance to praise you by faith, to look away from my solutions to yours, to rest in you in the midst of difficulties–and just a minor, simple inconveniences, really.
 
One factor is that I fear missing out on something like an important, time-sensitive email,  by not having connection to the internet. But that is fear, not faith. I can trust you to get me on when it is needed, Lord, to give me wisdom and direction, protection and help.
 
Thank you for another chance to give you glory and honor through trust rather than lapse into complaining and self-pity. And I do choose to praise, to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving for what I don’t like, so that you may have more glory and honor, Lord.
 
Thank you again, Lord, for the opportunity to deny self, to reject the input of my feelings, to get up the shield of faith and quench those fiery darts of self-pity, discouragement, negative thinking and complaining.
 
You, Lord God, are the King of glory whom we can trust to bring about what is good and best and wise. So I praise you for your gracious kindness which you have stored up for us today. “…as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’ ” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
 
I praise you, Lord Jesus, my Great Shepherd, that you have purposes for this disappointment. At the very least it is taking my eyes off of the small, temporary and unimportant aspects of life and shifting them to the eternal and powerful truths you want me to live in.
 
I thank you that you are directing me away from continually looking at things on line rather than spending my time on better things. Thank you for this discipline which will lead to greater freedom.
 
To know you is all I need; forgive me for trying to draw my happiness, my security, my sense of control from such temporary, unimportant things in life. My purpose is to live for you, to be obedient to your Word and Spirit, to dwell in your Word rather than in my feelings and to praise you for your grace and goodness, Lord.
 
Today may I live for you with all my heart, being filled with your Spirit and doing what is right, honoring to you. Help me to praise you in all things, to reject complaining and negativeness and instead to rejoice in the great privilege of knowing you, Lord. Amen.
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In The Flow

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 20, 2018
 
In continuing our thoughts from yesterday, when we wake up in the morning and find ourselves there with God, we are not only in His hand, we are also in the stream of events that He is orchestrating around us and in us.
 
Each event is designed to carry us forward in the tasks and purpose He has for us. In one sense, We are moved on whether we know it or not: “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps” (Pro. 16:9).
 
In another sense, we are given opportunities every day to replay the Garden of Eden story: we can do our own selfish thing or join God in His great plan. For instance, we can complain and gripe, or join Him through praise and thanksgiving; we can do our own petty things, or, in obedience and self-denial, standing in awe of Him, surrender to His higher and greater purposes.
 
To live in these truths allows us to see more of the wonders God has poured into our lives: meaning, purpose, protection, challenge, adventure, security, significance, honor, goodness and guidance–to name a few.
 
Each day is a new opportunity to join our Heavenly Shepherd as He leads us forth into the pasture of the day, to know that we are moving upward and forward in the perfect plan, in the race that He has laid out for us, filled with purpose and potential for providing Him glory, for defeating the enemy with praise, for seeing others swept into the Kingdom.
 
The negative feelings which will arise from our flesh–feelings of uselessness and purposelessness, of alienation and fear, of self-condemnation and shame–are an affront to this reality. In Him, in the proven Truth of His Word, we can turn from these feelings to Truth and live in the light of His presence, His purpose, His plan that is for our good and His glory.
 
Praise be to you, Lord God, for your mighty, unswerving, unstoppable, wise and wonderful plans, into which you have brought us. Praise you that we are in the great stream of your history, where you are moving things to a righteous conclusion and carrying us with you. Give us discernment so we can wholeheartedly join you in what you are doing.
 
Praise you that our trust can be in you, rather than our own feeble wisdom and inadequate strength, rather than in the government or the weather or money or power. In faith we praise you now for what you are going to do today, this week, and in the rest of our lives.
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It Will Happen!

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 18, 2018
One of the wonderful aspects of the truth we looked at yesterday–that God has a plan for good, laid out for history and for us–is that God is absolutely faithful: He plans, and then unwaveringly, inexorably and powerfully keeps on course.
 
This is obvious in the dozens of prophecies given in the Old Testament which are exactly fulfilled in the New Testament, many of them thousands of years after being given. God promises and He brings it to pass, period.
 
The rebellion and evil of Satan, of men, or of me cannot derail His purposes. He has the infinite ability to weave our evil actions into the overall outcome of the good that He desires. As Joseph said to his brothers near the end of his life: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Gen 50:20)
 
This is also seen in Daniel’s life, where every attack on him resulted in more glory for God and more influence for Daniel. “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand” (Pro. 19:21).
 
This was especially encouraging to me as I watched Barbara spiral down into depression and helplessness. God has a plan here and I can trust Him, join Him in it, knowing that in the larger picture, He will use it for our good.
 
God’s faithfulness assures us that He will bring the right outcomes at the right time. His plans are so certain that they can be expressed as finished before they come to pass, calling Jesus, “…the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world” Rev 13:8b. The certainty that Jesus would die for us was so solid, so set in stone that God was able to express it as being done before history even began.
 
You, the living God, the Triune Lord, are all we need, for you are the faithful Creator and Ruler of all. To you be glory today as I join you in your plans, listening to your Spirit, living in your power according to your Word, being a being of praise. May you be exalted in my life today. Amen.
 
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Living in His Plans

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 17, 2018
 
Lord, I praise you that I did not wake up alone this morning, for you were there, waiting for me, ready with the elements of this day, carefully arranged, wisely laid out, lovingly prepared. Truly, “My times are in your hands…” (Ps. 31:15).
 
As human beings, we live in the river of history where events propel us through the day, the week, the year and beyond. The vast majority of these events are outside of our control, swirling in and out of our lives without our desire, beyond our power: wars, floods, famines, storms, political changes, economic shifts, accidents, illnesses and deaths.
 
These come and go in seemingly meaningless, random patterns, empowering some, snuffing out the lives of others, bringing and taking prosperity, uniting and separating families and strangers.
 
Even on a personal level I have only a certain amount of decision-making control, mostly in how to spend the time, money and energy given me.
 
In the limited scope of my life, this seems to be quite a bit of power, but outside events can easily disrupt this control: an accident, sickness, loss of income, a fire, a storm, a fight ending a relationship-any one of these can come to me easily without my wanting or being able to prevent it.
 
To think of how powerless I am is disturbing: human beings do not like weakness, randomness and insecurity. However, when we become a child of God, born again into His family, there is a great shift in this scene.
 
While the situation remains the same, one significant truth is added that alters everything drastically: all those events and things that are out of my control are fully and securely in the hands of our loving and powerful Heavenly Father.
 
He who breathed the stars into existence, who hung the earth on nothing, who set it in exactly the right orbit around the sun, who spun it at the needed speed on a perfectly tilted axis, who formed the mountains and valleys, who spoke the animals into life–He is the One who holds our lives, our future in His hands.
 
He is not only in control, He has a specific, detailed plan, one that will not fail: “…the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” And no one can frustrate Him in it: “The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples” (Psalm 33:11,10). No matter how hard we may try, we cannot circumvent what God has prepared: “There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD” (Pro. 21:30).
 
And what our Father has prepared for us is good: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'” (Jer. 29:11). He may lead us through many difficulties, as the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness, but these are for our good, our maturity, our equipping, our bringing more glory to God.
 
So, Lord God, I willingly submit myself to your plan for today, whatever it may be, painful or pleasant, difficult or delightful, and commit myself to honoring you by offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving for whatever will come.
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And Entry From My Worship Journal

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 16, 2018
An entry from my worship journal two years ago
 
This morning I slept until 7:45! I’d have liked to get up much earlier, as I usually do, but I praise you, Lord, for this. You know what is best, and I praise you for what you have allowed.
 
You are the God of glory, the Lord of Love, the King of kindness, the Ruler of righteousness and the Shepherd of strength.
 
To you we belong, as well as our time, energy, abilities, possessions and relationships. To you also belong trust, surrender, dependence, obedience and love. To you belong worship, praise, honor, fear, awe and glory. And to you belong wisdom, power, grace, goodness and holiness. All of these you share with us whole-heartedly, abundantly, richly, graciously.
 
Praise be to you, Lord Jesus, for your sweet shepherding of us through the valley of the shadow of death, through the disappointments, hurts and difficulties of life, through loss, failure, pain and suffering, through conviction, repentance, forgiveness and restoration. You are wise and good in knowing what we need.
 
I thank you for the “limbo” we are in now with Barbara’s illness and the disorientation she is suffering. I praise you, Father, that you have things planned out: how long we must wait, the help you will give and the circumstances we will go through.
 
I praise you, the Sovereign God, who allows us the privilege of choice in our sphere of responsibility, and that you then weave together our choices, both good and bad, and those of others around us, to bring about the great conclusions you desire.
 
Praise be to you for the guidance you will give today, the protection you will provide and the strength you will grant. Help me to make decisions in partnership with you, bringing about what you desire for today.
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