Keep Your Eyes on the Goal

This is the time of year when a lot of people are really into football games. I have to admit I am not much of a sports fan. There are many things I don’t understand about football. One of my brothers patiently tried to explain the game to me many years ago, but I just didn’t “get it.” However, the one thing I do know is that the object of the game is to make a touchdown— to get the ball over the goal line. All of the team is working together to reach that goal.

As I study the Word of God, I find there are many worthy goals that we are instructed to strive for, including avoiding sin, living Christ-like lives, and ministering to the needs of others. If asked what their ultimate goal is, many Christians would respond to reach Heaven. But I have come to believe that the all-important goal of a child of God should be to know Christ—to be in relationship with Him.

Those of us who have accepted Christ into our hearts go by the name Christian which means Christ-like. If we are to live Christ-like lives, if we are to behave in a way that people will know we have been with Him, then we must personally know the One after whom we are named.

The Apostle Paul expressed a desire to know Him and indicated that everything he was or had obtained were unimportant in comparison to the awesome privilege of knowing Christ. This does not refer to head knowledge, but to a personal, intimate relationship with Him.

As we spend time with the Lord in prayer and in His Word, He teaches us about Himself. We discover what pleases Him, as well as what displeases Him. We love Him because He first loved us. And this love causes us to desire to please Him by the way we live. None of us will ever reach perfection while we are on this earth, but we can still pour ourselves into moving toward the goal of knowing Him and pleasing Him.

I believe the deeper our relationship with the Lord—the closer we are to Him—the more our lives will conform to His will and to His plan. As we become more intimate with Christ, the goals I mentioned above—avoiding sin, living Christ-like lives, and ministering to the needs of others—will be easier to reach. And knowing Christ will assure us of a place in Heaven.

Scriptures for Reflection

But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ. And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. (Philippians 3:7-11)

We love him, because he first loved us. (I John 4:19)

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13)

If I Can Only Imagine

God imagines so much more for our lives than we do. I believe we live far beneath what He wants to do in us. If we could just tap into His thoughts, and take His Word for what it says, instead of always qualifying it with our own thoughts, and trying to bring His plans down to the level of our own understanding, how much more we could accomplish for Him. The Word tells us to not lean on our own understanding, that His thoughts and ways are higher than ours, and that our lives are best lived as they are ordered according to His Word.

Sometimes we get stuck in mediocrity when God has so much more for us. We limit the work of God in our lives because of our unbelief. We can believe that He has great plans in store for someone else, because they seem to have it all together; they seem to have all their ducks in a row and to know exactly where they are headed. I have news for you. From what I observe, I believe there are more of us who feel we don’t have it all together, than those who do.

The only way we can be truly “together” and “on the right track” is by getting our thoughts aligned with God’s. His Word tells us that He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. The Amplified Version of the entire verse says, Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]. (Ephesians 3:20)

Now, I can imagine a lot of great things, but this scripture tells me that He can do far beyond anything I can imagine—and it is through the power of God inside of me. I’ve come to the conclusion that my dreams just aren’t big enough. I need to allow Him to form His dreams in me.

But you might say, “If His ways and thoughts are so much higher, then how can I ever think what He wants me to think, and dream the big dreams that He wants me to?” Psalm 25:14 tells us, The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant. If I reverence the Lord, if I put Him first in my life, if I acknowledge Him, rather than leaning on my own understanding, He will reveal the secrets that I need to know.

I want to know the secrets He wants to reveal to me. I want to imagine His dreams for my life. Only then can they ever become reality.

Scriptures for Reflection

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9)

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. (Psalm 37:23)

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. (Ephesians 3:20)

God’s Response to Praise

Our God is worthy of praise! So often we fail to give Him the glory due His Name. When faced with circumstances of life, it is easy to get into a negative mindset.  I believe that when we complain and continually make negative statements, we are in effect praising the wrong person—we are praising our enemy, rather than Almighty God who is so deserving of our praise and adoration.

2 Chronicles 20 contains an account which illustrates what God will do in response to our praise. King Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah were about to be attacked by a massive army. The Bible states in verse three that Jehoshaphat feared. No glossing over of his emotions—He was afraid. Verse three continues with the statement that he set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. It is obvious the king believed that the only way to obtain victory was by seeking the Lord. We can look at his prayer as a model for the way we are to seek God during times of crisis.

The king acknowledged that God is all powerful: You are God; You have all power; no one is able to stand against You (v. 6). He acknowledged that he and his people were weak and could not obtain the victory: We have no strength and we don’t know what to do (v. 12). He then affirmed that they were looking to God for the answer: Our eyes are upon You (v. 12).

How did God respond? Don’t be afraid; don’t be dismayed; the battle is not yours, but God’s (v. 15). In other words, you are looking to the right One; I will help you; you have no need to fear. And He said, Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you (v. 17).

I like the way the people responded. They did not doubt what God said. They did not make statements of fear, wondering if God would really do what He said He would. They bowed and worshipped Him (v. 18). And then they followed God’s instructions. He had told them to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. They did not put their warriors in front to fight the battle. The king put singers in front to praise the Lord!

And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever. (v. 21)

In this verse, the Hebrew for the word translated praise is yadah which means to acknowledge in public. The same word is used in Psalm 138:1, I will praise thee with my whole heart; before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. It has the root meaning of “the extended hand” or “to throw out the hand,” and implies worship with raised hands. The people of Judah publicly acknowledged their dependence, not on their warriors, but on God.

And the result was that the Lord defeated their enemies for them, just as He said He would do:  And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah, and they were smitten (v. 22).

I am convinced that when we acknowledge God for who He is, when we proclaim His power, when we praise and worship Him, He will fight our battles. Let us stop believing that our problems have the power to destroy us. Our problems are small when compared to our mighty God. Let us see them as opportunities for God to move on our behalf! No matter what you are facing, praise the Lord! When we don’t feel like praising Him is probably when we most need to do it. Offer a sacrifice of praise and watch God perform miracles in your life!

Scriptures for Reflection

By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. (Hebrews 13:15)

I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. (Psalm 34:1)

Father, Thank You

Today, I want to give thanks to God for how good He is to me. Sometimes I wonder how people who don’t know Him and don’t trust Him are able to keep on living their lives. I know how scary life can be—and I do know Him. I cannot imagine what it would be like to not have Him as my Helper every day.

Father, I thank You that You have my life in Your able hands. Even when things seem crazy, and life is hard to understand, I know that You have everything under control. You are trustworthy. You have promised to never leave or forsake me.

My life would be meaningless without You. You have taught me to say that no matter what happens in my life, You are worthy to be praised. You have a plan. I know that. Father, I depend on You. Sometimes, even though I am…..older now, I feel inside like a scared little girl, and I need You to comfort me, and You are always there. When I come to a fork in the road and don’t know which way to go, You gently coax me in the right direction. I can look back and see Your hand at work in my life, and I know that You will continue to guide me.

Father, help me to lay aside everything in my life that does not please You, and live the life You have planned for me to live.

I love and worship You. I am so thankful that You, the God who made the universe, are willing to live inside of me. I praise You for Your faithfulness and for Your mercy. I thank You that You love me, even though I am far from perfect. Continue to teach me Your ways, and help me to walk in them.

Scriptures for Reflection

Psalm 124:  If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, now may Israel say; If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us: Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us: Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul: Then the proud waters had gone over our soul. Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped. Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

Praising Our Way to Freedom!

Our God is worthy of our praise—when we feel like praising Him and when we don’t. It is easy to praise Him when we are on the mountaintop, but it is probably more important that we praise Him in the valley—in the midst of difficulty.

In Acts chapter 16, we read the account of Paul and Silas being thrown into the Philippian jail because of the gospel. I can imagine what most of us would do if we were thrown into prison because of our Christian testimony. We would probably whine and complain, “God, why did You allow this to happen to me? I don’t understand. I’m living for you. Don’t You care that I am in this situation because of my stand for You?” What did Paul and Silas do? They prayed and sang praises unto God (v. 25). In the midst of a very bad situation, they chose to lift up the name of Jesus in praise. And verse 25 goes on to say that the prisoners heard them. Paul and Silas were not ashamed for others to hear them give glory to God.

How did God respond to their prayer and praise? Verse 26 says: And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.

You may be bound in a prison of the devil’s making, but in response to your prayer and praise, God will shake the very foundations of your prison! He will open the prison doors and loose the chains that bind you. He has the power to set you free from everything that has you bound—He is waiting for you to pray and praise Him. Most of us are willing to give praise after we receive the victory, but the key is to pray and give thanks to God—to praise Him by faith while we are still in the midst of the problem, knowing that He is going to come through for us.

Another important point that we see in verse 26 is that Paul and Silas were not the only ones set free. The shackles of the other prisoners were also loosed. And in verses 27-33, the jailor and his household received salvation. All of this happened as the result of two men of God making a decision to lift their voices in prayer and praise. I believe this teaches us that because of our acts of worship, God will come on the scene on our behalf and on behalf of other people in our lives, and the miracle working power of God will be manifested.

One of my favorite verses is Psalm 40:3, And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD. Because we are faithful to praise the Lord, others will see and hear our praise, and their lives will be changed by His power!