 Have you ever been Discouraged? I think just about everyone has. Did you know that you don't have to remain in a discouraged state? That may not be something you know. If you need an encouraging word - then read what is below!
In 1 Samuel 17 we read the historical account of David as he met Goliath in battle. Before David faced down this Philistine giant of a man, the Israelites had to listen to him daily berate them as well as the Lord their God. We read that as he came and trash-talked them day after day they became discouraged. Each day they would approach the battle site – and each day they would retreat from it when he would come and demand someone to fight him. By the time that David came to the camp to learn of the condition of his brothers who fought with Israel, it had been 40 days that they experienced this scenario. Needless to say, their discouragement was great. What exactly is discouragement? Well, honestly, the word itself is little more than the word courage with the prefix dis- attached to it. Dis- simply means the lack of something or the opposite of it. They had lost their courage. They no longer had any courage when it came to their circumstances on that battlefield. A massive man – a professional warrior – was asking for a single person to come and fight him. Even the king, Saul, who stood head and shoulders above anyone else in Israel, had his courage leave him at the thought of a man-on-man fight with this guy. But something happened when David walked into the camp. He came to the front lines that day and saw the same thing all the other soldiers saw. He heard the same thing all the other soldiers heard. But there was one thing David did see on that day that all the others had lost sight of in their minds. David still saw God – and – God was bigger than Goliath! We have a principle at work here! If you want to be discouraged – keep looking at your problems. This has a corollary as well – if your problem seems very large – continue mentioning how big it is over and over again. If you do NOT want to be discouraged – keep your eyes, your focus on God. Compared to Goliath David was a runt. I mean no disrespect towards David in saying this. When David came out to fight him without any armor – without a sword or a spear. When he came out with a shepherd’s sling and a bag filled with 5 stones, (1 for Goliath – and four for his ugly brothers if they came too) Goliath was pretty ticked off and considered his very appearance an insult to him. David had fought other giants in his day. He fought a hairy one that took one of his father’s sheep in a very bear-like fashion because, in fact he was a bear. He also faced another monster that took one of his father’s sheep. Some think this thief didn’t walk in the truth – but that was just because he was a lion. (Sorry, couldn’t help myself) Both times David looked to God and saw that through Him he could rescue his father’s sheep. He killed both the lion and the bear and rescued his father’s sheep from them. All this current situation was to David was another one in which his Father’s sheep were in danger because of another bear/lion like predator that was seeking to take them. Just as God helped him with his father’s enemies, the lion and the bear – so God would help him as he fought his heavenly Father’s adversaries as well. Was David experiencing some fear or trepidation when he went to battle? It doesn’t seem like it. But that was because he wasn’t looking at the giant who cast a shadow over him – he was looking at the faithful God who cast an infinite shadow over the tiny giant before him. Where did David get this kind of perspective? David was a Jewish boy. As such he had heard the history of his people as it was read by the priests and repeated by his parents. He knew of a nation of slaves who defeated the mightiest military of their day by looking at God rather than focusing on them. He knew of a leader who did not cower before a mighty walled city named Jericho. That leader focused on the God who told him to march around the city until they were good and tired. Then they were to shout and blow trumpets at the city. Those God-directed actions allowed them to see, not the walls, but the Wall-smasher. Over and over again David had heard of those who didn’t look at their situation, but who looked at their God. Those who did this – were “couraged.” I know that is not an actual word – but I hope it speaks to you. When you look at your circumstances and make much of them – your courage will be taken. You will be discouraged. But when you face obstacles that loom before you and you choose instead to see the infinitely powerful, infinitely mighty, infinitely great, infinitely wise God instead, you will be “couraged.” How do we do this? We do it by daily seeking God’s face. We do it by daily pursuing an appointment in the presence of our God. We do it by seeking first His kingdom and His glory – and He adds to us the things that we need in life. We don’t let tomorrow (or today for that matter) to dominate our field of view. Such, there are things in many of our tomorrows that are HUGE! There are many things in a perceived future moment that seem bigger than what we can handle. There are things that send our emotions into a frenzied panic – making us want to run and hide. But here is a truth you should write down somewhere. “You don’t have to act how you feel.” Too many people today think that they are controlled by how they feel. They think this way so much that their “feels” make them blind to anything else in life. “Don’t confuse me with facts,” they say, “this is how I feel!” To suggest to them that they don’t have to act how they feel is an insult to them – for to them they are their feelings. “To not act how I feel would be to act like a phony,” they say. The truth is that we have the ability to say no to our feelings and choose to act another way. This is not being phony. It is being responsible. When one gives in to the false logic that says one HAS to act according to their feelings – they will find a multitude of things that will discourage them. Their courage will be robbed from them as they tremble at their circumstances and difficulties, hoping that someone, anyone will come along and deliver them from their feelings. We overcome this slavery to feelings by turning to God in our need. With our focus no longer on the problem or the feelings it engenders, we begin looking to God and listening to Him. He tells us to “take courage” for He has overcome the world. The more we look to Him and what He has said and promised, the more we experience encouragement. It is then that we can overcome discouragement. We do it by looking to Him – listening to Him – and responding to Him and what He says. We no longer live by our “feels” but by a responsibility to obey God. We respond to God who tells us our responsibility to do what He says. Thus, we learn that we don’t have to act how we feel – we act according to our responsibility. We act according to what it means to be a responsible child of God. We act according to what it means to be a responsible servant of God. That allows us to be a responsible parent, a responsible child, a responsible employer or employee, and any other role or task that God calls us to be responsible to do. We’re just responsible. So, the next time you face a situation where your feelings try to dominate you and lead you to discouragement, look past your situation to your God. Focus on Him and you will no longer be discouraged. To the contrary – you will be very “couraged.”
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 What is the Word of God? When is it that God speaks to us through His Word? These are important questions for us to answer. There are a couple of views of this that are based on just a slightly different preposition that is used to describe when it is that God speaks to us. But that difference is not slight at all. It is actually the difference between having God speak to us - and us saying when He speaks. Let's take a look at these two very different views.
Sunday I gave a testimony about how God graciously met with me early that morning. He spoke to me through His Word by His Spirit and it was a wonderful thing. But, lest anyone think that His speaking was due to an existential experience I had, I want to make a very important distinction. Each and every day I have my time alone with God, I open the Word of God. As I begin to read I am immediately experiencing the Word of God – every single word that I read IS His Word. The reason I am making a point of this is because of an errant theological view of God’s Word. Let me give an example. When we read the Word you will hear me say, let us listen “to” the Word of God. There are traditions that will phrase that differently. They say, “As we read, let us listen ‘for’ the Word of God.” Our statement represents the understanding that, “All Scripture is inspired by God,” (literally God-breathed). We believe that the words that we read ARE the Word of God. The view that we listen “for” the Word of God as we read implies that it is not until we have some kind of existential experience that God is speaking. (i.e. a feeling, a sense, an experience that God is speaking to us, in some circles the Greek word ‘rhema’ is used to say God is speaking in that moment) The way that this is described in theological circles is that - when we experience it – then what we read ‘becomes’ the Word of God. That is a heretical view of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament. Every word from Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21 IS the Word of God. It is God speaking to us. To say that we need some kind of feeling, insight, or experience for it to be God’s Word is a very dangerous false doctrine. One of the dangers is that we ignore parts of Scripture because they don’t make us feel anything – or that we don’t have some kind of experience as we read it. There are even parts we may react negatively toward as we read them. The “listen FOR the Word of God” doctrine allows us to ignore them – and say that they are not the Word of God for us. Again, this is a very dangerous heresy – and one that I believe will be used with greater frequency to ignore God’s moral standards that don’t fit with contemporary moral views. The Bible becomes a smorgasbord where “we” determine what is right and what is not – what is Scripture and what is not. One thing I want to say here that I hope is helpful is that when I read God’s Word there is not always an emotional response. Also there are times when I read it and it is instructive to me – and I don’t have the “sense” I had this past Sunday morning. Those times are just as important as ones I have that involve strong feelings. They are just as authoritative in speaking to any way I am living my life. When they speak of sin – I am just as guilty of breaking them – and just as hindered in my fellowship with God. Feeling or no feeling – sense or no sensation at all – warm fuzzys or just reading the words on the page – I am still hearing God speak. Let me say something about the Bible. There are certain parts I can almost guarantee will have a greater impression on me than others. There are times in my yearly Bible trek that I am about to hit Leviticus that I almost dread it. Certain parts of 1 Chronicles (the first 10 chapters) will rarely bring about some existential feeling in me. But – I am still hearing God speak – because ALL of His Word is Him speaking. Some folks get excited when they are about to read the prophets – while others may not. I used to start Job almost rolling my eyes at what was going to be a daily dose of listening to his friends say, “Your wicked – that’s why all this bad stuff has happened to you,” only to then hear Job say, “Nuh-uh.” Yet – when reading it I was listening to God speak the whole time. NOTE: by the way throughout the 38 years I’ve been a believer and have read the Bible at least once a year – the Holy Spirit has taken me through every book of the Bible slowly at one time or another to have me understand much more closely what God is revealing of Himself through them. Yes – even through Leviticus, Numbers, and the genealogies in Genesis, Matthew, and Luke – and was thoroughly blessed because of it! Saints, I mean no disrespect toward God’s Word in saying these things. I am only trying to help you grasp and understand that even though we may find some books more interesting than others – they all are God’s Word – and God is speaking when we read them. To hold the view that He is only speaking when we feel or sense something is only going to diminish His Word in our thinking – and eventually lead us to hold a very deficient view of the Scriptures. So the next time you open His Word and begin to read, remind yourself of this fact. It is all God-breathed! It is all profitable to you! It is all Him speaking and revealing Himself! Then read – thankful for the gracious times our emotions are stirred – but also thankful that whether they are or are not – we’ve just experienced God speaking to us and revealing Himself graciously to our understanding.  DISCERNING SPIRITS, PART 2
We have been looking at how to discern spirits so that we can know whether a spirit is from God or not. In the 4th chapter of Job we hear from Eliphaz a visitation that he received from a spirit. Was this a godly encounter or an ungodly one? Can we discern anything from this encounter or not? Let’s take a look and examine this situation. "Now a word was brought to me stealthily, And my ear received a whisper of it. "Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men, Dread came upon me, and trembling, And made all my bones shake. Then a spirit passed by my face; The hair of my flesh bristled up. "It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; A form was before my eyes; There was silence, then I heard a voice: 'Can mankind be just before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? 'He puts no trust even in His servants; And against His angels He charges error. 'How much more those who dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before the moth! 'Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces; Unobserved, they perish forever. 'Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them? They die, yet without wisdom.' Job 4:12-21 (NASB) First of all, before we begin, there are those who say that a person with an experience like this can claim it to be God. This person, as some claim, is not at the mercy of someone who did NOT have the experience. The experience itself, when claimed to be spiritual and from God, is enough and requires no proof on behalf of the one who had it. This view is very dangerous – and actually is NOT supported by what is said in the Scriptures. GOD HIMSELF tells us to test the spirits to see whether they are from God. Therefore a view of this as sufficient in itself is not wise. The first thing we see here in Eliphaz’s testimony is that this was a frightening, if not creepy experience. Whether he was asleep or awake is not something that we are able to discern here. But when being visited by spirits, there is validity to the experience being similar to a dream. Joseph had experiences with holy angels that communicated with him in his dreams. Also there is not sufficient evidence to state whether this was a godly or ungodly experience from Eliphaz’s emotional state during the visitation. This should remind us that how we “feel” about something can be a dangerous measure of whether it is true or not. When we examine the role of feelings in encounters with spirits or angels we learn some very important things that we need to remember to rightly discern these experiences. When you look at the testimony of the Bible on these matters – many who received both godly and ungodly messengers were terrified of them during the visit. Men like Moses, Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel were all very frightened by their visitations from holy angels. They each had a sense of dread in their presence, even though for each of them the messenger was not bringing bad news to them personally. Whether an angel is holy or unholy there is an awesomeness in their appearance that can cause men to fear, even to the point of physical trembling and terror. Eliphaz’s experience is in line with these, even though it is a little more creepy and mysterious than most. One thing that we may be helpful for us to see in these visitations is that in many of the godly ones there is a sense of sinfulness that can be overwhelming to the person in them. Moses hid his face, afraid to look upon God, even in the form of a burning bush. Manoah and his wife (Samson’s parents) had a sense of dread that they were going to die due to the holiness of the angel who visited them. Isaiah was struck with his sinfulness in the presence of God and the holy angels who attended Him. Daniel fell on his face and struggled to breathe because the fear of his sins was so heavy upon him. It was only when the angel of the Lord spoke peace to him that these “holiness” terrors subsided from him. When you think about these particular visits, it seems logical that holy angels bring about a sense of God’s holiness as they appear. That kind of holiness, though only reflected by these beings, should make us feel our sinfulness acutely. So what do we learn from all of these situations concerning our feelings and properly discerning whether a spirit is from God or not? The main thing we learn is that feelings alone – even possible feelings of unworthiness and sinfulness – are not sufficient for this task. We need something more than how we feel about the situation if we are going to determine the difference between a holy or an unholy spirit that manifest’s itself to us. Hopefully we know that when it comes to our feelings – there is a possibility that we are deceived. Therefore we must be extremely careful with them – and go far deeper than just how we feel when dealing with these things. We need to go to what is being said. When we examine what is said – in light of the Scriptures – we will be able to do a far better job of knowing whether a spirit is saying what agrees with what God has revealed about Himself or not. Therefore the wise man or woman measures all things by God’s Word. Feelings can be fallible – and can be misinterpreted. We can be deceived by our feelings as well as misled because of how we respond to them. What is most important is what is written. Just remember this (and we will look far deeper into it). Jesus faced a visitation from the chief of all evil spirits. Even He did not discern this situation through His feelings. Jesus heard what was said – and three times responded by discerning and answering with the Scriptures. We will look at this further next week. Until then – discern through the Word. Hold fast to what God says – and learn to judge all things that come at you by what He says. Last week we began our look at what to do when we just don’t feel like we are forgiven. This week we will start to examine why this may be the case—as well as—how to deal with these feelings in a biblical manner.
The Christian life is lived by faith rather than feelings. We get in trouble when we trust how we feel more than we do what we read in the Word of God. The Bible says, “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” but, I just don’t feel forgiven after I confess my sins. Our problem is that we are placing a higher validity on our feelings than we are placing on what God has said. For some reason, no matter how often we hear it or read it, we think that this verse does not apply to us. We are acting as if our feelings are more trustworthy than God’s promises. If we had hard-core facts, you know scientific stuff before us this might be different. We are being asked to accept something by faith—and that is hard to do. So, because we feel a certain way—that is fact. Some assert that this whole “faith” thing is hard to do. But is it? Is taking something on faith beyond us? The fact is that every day we take hundreds of things on faith. We look at our clocks and accept by faith that the whole concept of time exists. If we did not, we wouldn’t wake up and hurry to get places. We reach over and turn on a light switch accepting by faith that electricity exists—and that the whole field of electrical engineering is accurate in saying that those funny colored wires have little invisible electrons running through them. There is this “light bulb thing”—which can actually harness these invisible little electrons in such a way that light illumines the room. We turn on our TV’s without truly knowing how they work. (I mean, believing that there are invisible waves flowing all over the world through coaxial cables—or even worse flying through the air into a big metal dish-like thing on our rooftops—into our rectangular box on our wall—and that we see moving pictures as a result?) We get into cars and buy the line that tens of thousands of controlled explosions are happening in a block of hollowed out steel which moves our vehicles forward? Have you tested these things? So in reality, we do all these things by faith. It doesn’t matter how you “feel” about these things—they work these ways and do these things. You receive it by faith and go on with life. Can you imagine a life without faith—you would only do what YOU yourself could prove—and nothing more. If you felt like something might not be true—you’d have to abandon doing these things until you had absolute proof of it. That would cripple you physically. The truth is that you live by faith every day in hundreds of ways. Our life of faith is based upon choices—made by faith. You trust the automobile dealer that a car will work when you turn that key in the ignition. You find him trustworthy—turn the key—and by faith (whether you know it or not) thousands of controlled explosions propel you forward. You turn on lights, live by time, and do myriads of things by trusting what others say about them. Forgiveness is trusting what Almighty God has said about what He did through Jesus Christ on the Cross—nothing more and nothing less. So the question is not how you feel—it now is this—Who do you believe? Answer this—and your feelings can change.  What to Do When You Don't Feel Forgiven . . .
Have you ever sinned against God, and afterward struggled to receive His forgiveness and restoration afterward? Let me explain this further for the purpose of this article today. This is a situation where you sin against God. Usually this involves a sin which unfortunately you’ve committed before. That is what makes this so hard. After you sin, you are convicted of it and confess it to God as sin. THEN THE BATTLE BEGINS! The battle is to “feel” forgiven. You struggle with this for several reasons. What I want to do for the next several weeks is to look at this battle from a biblical viewpoint. It is my hope to help us understand that the forgiveness that we long for is not something that is to be felt first. It is something that is “known” because of facts that have been told to us by our God. Based upon these facts we can first KNOW that we are forgiven. The process then works in such a way that our knowing forgiveness will eventually become “feeling forgiven” in the end. But regardless of whether we feel forgiven or not, we must rest on the fact of our forgiveness based on the justice, righteousness, and grace of God that is freely given to us in Jesus Christ. Ours is a “feeling-driven” society. Far too much of what we embrace is based upon how we feel about it. I’ve watched people commit marital suicide based upon how they feel about their spouse. It begins with them not feeling the love any longer. A popular song by the Righteous Brothers puts it in this “not so righteous” way, “You've lost that lovin' feeling, Whoa, that lovin' feeling, “You've lost that lovin' feeling, Now it's gone...gone...gone...wooooooh.” As a result of losing that “lovin’ feeling” distance is justified—a lack of communication is embraced—a lack of loving action begins—and further loss of lovin’ feeling is experienced. The more these emotions are welcomed and considered true—the more distance and foolish behavior becomes normal—the end result is either an affair or divorce. The wild thing is that the same is too often true in our walk with God. Consider this: “You’ve lost that forgiven feeling, Whoa, that forgiven feeling, “You’ve lost that forgiven feeling, Now your gone . . . gone . . . gone . . . wooooooh.” Spiritually, too many have lost that “forgiven” feeling—and in the end they wind up going days, weeks, and some years before they truly return to the Lord. They believe that this “not quite forgiven” feeling justified distance from God—no communication with Him—choices for ungodly actions—and eventually a fully backslidden, out-of-fellowship condition. Ever been there? I know I have in the past. What changes this “feeling-oriented” forgiveness is basing things NOT on my feelings—but on the fact of what God has said. I cannot guarantee that this is an easy thing to do—oh, but how it delivers us from a yo-yo like faith and walk with God. Let’s join together for a few weeks an examine what is means to have a biblically based forgiveness—one that will overrule our emotions and provide stability for our walk with Jesus. Last week I shared some about facing the doldrums of life—when not much is going on spiritually—at least not much that we can see. Building on the whole idea of the doldrums of life—I want to offer additional encouragement this week. As review—the doldrums are a wind pattern that exist around the equator. As the winds reach this area they come under tremendous pressure and instead of blowing from side to side, they blow upwards. This creates stagnant winds or no wind at all. What winds that blow are erratic—and come from numerous directions in just a matter of hours. Sailing is difficult when this happens and requires those who do so to constantly set their bearings. If they do not—the wind can take them completely off course. That is what I want to speak of today—maintaining focus and our course heading spiritually when the winds of God begin to die down for a season. One of the difficult things to do in spiritual doldrums is maintain our course and our focus. It is during these times that we feel as if we are drifting aimlessly. For those who sail in the doldrums, this is very difficult. Little winds rise up from multiple directions and often the inexperienced sailor will catch them and use them. But the experienced sailor knows these winds are very deceptive. They are difficult to use and will take the ship off course. It is better to keep ones heading—check it often—and wait for the right winds to return. Oh, how this is true in the spiritual as well. When things seem spiritually stagnant—that is the time to be very careful about the “winds of doctrine” that want to blow us off course. We can get so spiritually desperate that we decide to catch the wind of a questionable doctrine—just so we feel like we’re moving spiritually again. The problem is that these doctrines that tantalize us with more “feelings” and “emotions” come with serious theological baggage that will have to be unpacked later. It is better to wait out our spiritual doldrums, checking our course heading again and again to make sure that we are not getting off course. The way sailors would do this was to look up at the stars and set their course according to the unerring direction that they would give. This is true of the spiritual as well. We do not need to look outward at others during this time. If we do, we will get off course. We need to look up to the Lord and His Word for His unerring guidance to keep us on track until the winds of His Spirit rise to move us again in His directions. Catching any wind that blows by is dangerous—especially if all we want is movement. We need to look up to the Lord—and check our course chart—His Word. If the direction of the wind is contrary to this information—we need to ignore those “false” winds and wait on the Lord till He graciously grants that the winds of truth rise to move us again. It is an interesting time of year - when graduations are coming to a close - vacations are beginning to gear up - students are leaving for home and for summer Christian programs and mission trips - and the rest of us are getting ready to move into summer. It can be a time when we can lose focus spiritually. The vast majority of us thrive on structure in our lives - and it is times like these when our normal structure in life can break down or begin to change. The reason this affects our spiritual lives is because, if you are like me, part of my structure in living is my quiet time. Even this can be affected with the result that we can experience a kind of spiritual doldrum period at this time of year. Doldrums were the areas in the ocean where there would be little or no wind to power the sails of a ship. It was during those times that a ship had to have its routines - so that it would be ready to continue its journey when the wind would return. One of the most important things to be done in doldrums would be to maintain the proper heading and direction. If the sailors did not do this the ship would drift aimlessly off course during this time. In a similar manner it is important for us to have our spiritual disciplines so that when spiritual doldrums hit, we will be doing things to keep us growing and make us ready to take full advantage of other times when the winds of the Spirit pick up again and create fresh passion in what we do. Having these disicplines in place helps us not to drift aimlessly for weeks at a time and wind up badly off course in our walk with God. In an effort to help us avoid this, I would like to encourage that we do a few things.
First, let me offer a word of exhortation. A lot of us have a tendency to grow in our spiritual lives more out of passion than out of purpose. I am not against passion in spiritual growth, but it is not an effective long-term motivation for spiritual growth in your life. What I mean by this is that passion comes and goes but what lasts is commitment. Whereas we may have several times a year when we have a great passion to have a quiet time and to minister to others - the problem comes when these spiritually passionate moments subside and we are left with what we are committed to in life. You will burn out if all you function by is passion and emotion alone. There has to be commitment or purpose to take over at some point to have balanced spiritual growth. It is a very important thing to make time to write down your purpose in life. Some may groan at this statement - but when the doldrums hit this will be invaluable to you. It is during those times that you can revisit that statement to give you long-term motivation in walking with the Lord. What is even more helpful is to write out what things you should be doing daily to accomplish your ultimate purpose in life. A GPS can show you where you will wind up when you arrive at your destination - but it functions by giving you turn by turn directions to get there. We need this to help us with those "choice by choice" directions to get us to our ultimate goal. When doldrums hit in my life - I am reminded that my goal in life is to, "Love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to glorify Him by how I live in my marriage, family, church, and community." This is true whether I have great passion or not. Then I am reminded of my turn by turn directions to get there. These are building blocks to "love the Lord" and to "glorify Him in all I do." Therefore to accomplish this I have committed to have a daily time alone with God where I talk to Him and read His Word - i.e. maintain a regular quiet time. I have also committed to love and lead my wife and children with daily practical acts of kindness and service. A couple of other building blocks are to make sure Calvary Chapel of Jonesboro is the best loved and taught congregation in our city - and - that I am working to build men as disciples of Jesus Christ. It is these things that keep me on track in the "doldrum times of life." In an effort to help me know exactly what to do - I've broken these down further into smaller things I try to do - so that even when I am "down and out" I still know things I should be doing to accomplish goals and live for God's overall purpose in the life He has given me. Let me give a couple of examples. To mainitain my time with the Lord, I will read my Bible daily - reading 5 chpaters in the Old Testament, a psalm or a proverb, and 1 chapter in the New Testament. Recently, I've also committed to praying through a Psalm each day - to help me not degenerate into a rote list of prayer requests. There are other ways to break down the other commitments in my life. Things I can see and know whether I am doing the right things or not. Therefore when things slow down and I can lose my focus - I know that I can read these things and know how to not just survive doldrums - but even thrive in them. May God give all of us grace to thrive, not only in times of passion, but also in every other period of life as we strive to live "on purpose." For the past several articles we have been looking at what it means to struggle with times when you feel and are “out of season” spiritually. As Paul finishes exhorting young Timothy about the need to be ready whether we are in season or out of season, he offers this charge to him, But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (2 Timothy 4:5, NASB)
It is good for us to know the things we need to be doing regardless of our current emotional state or feelings. These things are powerful sign posts that help us to stay on the road when we would rather pull off and quit—or take an extended vacation from walking with God and fulfilling our ministry in life. Paul lays out for young Timothy some very good sign posts for him. If we will learn from these things and make them a part of our life, we will find ourselves greatly aided in staying focused in those times when we are struggling with being out of season. The first of these sign posts is to be sober in all things. The word sober means to be sober-minded—or watchful in all things. We are to watch God’s Word, watch for God’s Spirit as He leads and teaches us—and watch for the dangers of temptation when we might otherwise be distracted by struggling with our emotions. If we do not watch and pray—we will find ourselves led by our emotions rather than by God’s Spirit. The second sign post is to endure hardship. We are all going to face hardships. This may not be popular among some theological circles—but it is quite popular with Jesus. When these times come we need to endure them. The word “endure” here is pretty awesome. It is the Greek word, kakopatheo—which means to endure evil or difficulty and the emotions that come with it. The second word “patheo” means emotions or passions. God knows that we will face difficult feelings and emotions when these times come—but we must endure them knowing He will give us grace to endure and stand fast. The last two sign posts are to do the work of an evangelist (keep working to lead people to Christ) and to fulfill our ministry. We have to keep keeping on in these things—no matter what we face in out of season times. These sign posts will help us keep going—and to not get turned down a wrong road. May God give both you and I grace to read the sign posts—and follow them—especially when we are “out of season.” I would like to share a recent set of articles entitled, "Living Out of Season." These articles deal with those times when we are having a dry spell spiritually. We all go through these times - times when we just don't quite "feel it" spiritually. There may not be a lot of emotion - or umph spiritually. We are not buried in rebellion or sin in our lives. We just don't quite have that "flying through the ceiling" kind of spiritual emotion. How do we make it through times like these? Hopefully, these articles will be a help to you - as we take a little closer look at a section of Scripture in 2 Timothy chapter 4.
Recently, I’ve been going through a pretty dry spell spiritually. As I was talking to the Lord about this one morning, He brought to my mind a verse out of 2 Timothy chapter 4 where Paul urges young Timothy to be ready both “in season” and “out of season,” to preach the Word. As this verse began to pace back and forth in my understanding—the time spent in meditation began to bless me and encourage me in the Lord. Being “out of season” refers to the plant world where in colder regions trees and other plants go into a type of hibernation during those months. All we see from the outside is that the tree loses its leaves—and it looks barren and sad. That is how I was feeling as I struggled through this spiritually dry time. My emotional state was starting to be too focused on just outward things. That is when the Lord had me take a look into what a tree does when it is dormant. Trees are anything but inactive during their “out of season” times. They shed their leaves so that there will be limited limb damage when they face the cold months. In addition to this, they also begin to beef up on certain chemicals in their cells. This concentration of certain chemicals lowers their water content—which allows the tree to survive the harsh winter temperatures without freezing and being damaged. Another thing that is happening takes place under ground. The root system continues to grow throughout the winter months. This slower growth is vital to the health of the tree the next spring. It allows for the tree to provide for the water needs it will have the following year. These are the things the tree is doing in its time “out of season.” Then the Lord began helping me to see applications for my own life through His example in nature. When we are “out of season” we need to focus on growing deeper in the Lord. Focusing on the outward will probably depress us—so we should change our focus accordingly. Just as the tree drops its leaves to prepare for winter winds and storms, we should prepare our hearts for troubles and difficulties that are part and parcel of the human experience. As the tree concentrates chemicals to protect itself—we too should labor to increase the “concentration” of the Word in our minds and hearts. It will keep us from being “frozen” spiritually and falling into spiritual laziness or inactivity when dry times come. Finally, we should seek to deepen our relationship with the Lord during these times—just as the tree focuses on the root system. Grow deeper in the Word, in discipleship, and in “just being faithful” even when we might not “feel” like it. Hopefully these things will encourage you in your “out of season” moments. |
Biblical ArticlesMost of these articles are taken from the Calvary Courier, a weekly newsletter that is sent to the folks who attend Calvary Chapel Jonesboro. Due to the response to these articles, we've decided to print some of them which proved to be very helpful to God's people at the fellowship. 
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