Category: Things I’m learning

Hebrews 11:8-10  “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed & went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac & Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect & builder is God.”

…In the promised land like a stranger.

After reading these verses I had such a new perspective on Abraham’s life…
I began thinking about how Abraham must’ve felt… can you imagine?
By faith Abraham obeyed the word of God, walked by faith, and went into a land that he had never seen before. When Abraham arrived in the Promised Land, Hebrews says that “he made his home by faith in the promised land like a stranger.“

Did you ever realize that Abraham felt like an outcast, foreigner, and stranger in the land God promised to him? Even though the land was his inheritance and something God promised to give him, it was not yet his… other nations & people occupied the land. Every day must’ve been a test of his faith. He must’ve thought: “I am here: where the Lord has called me, and this is my land, even though it doesn’t look like it now.”

Abraham had to walk by faith — not by sight.
He had to trust God for what he could not see.

Abraham’s life must’ve felt like a constant in-between. Doesn’t walking by faith often feel like that? He was where God wanted him, but he had not yet arrived to where he was going. Abraham understood that the promised land was not his final destination. He was looking forward to heaven & he was willing to follow God anywhere because He was the Reward.

Genesis 15:1 says: “After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your Shield, your exceedingly great Reward.'”

Don’t you love that?!

Many times I’ve viewed the “promised land” as some far-off, dream destination where all my worries and cares will be dissolved because everything will be right & at peace. —  but that wasn’t what the promised land was for Abraham or the Israelites! The promise land was not a care-free, luxurious, comfortable, perfect destination. Nope. On the contrary: while it was a land flowing with milk and honey there were also battles to be fought, land to be conquered, and territory to be won.
But the promised land was the place God had prepared for Abraham and his descendants – it was the place where God’s presence was.

“The Lord your God,
who is going before you,
will fight for you,
as He did for you in Egypt,
before your very eyes.”
-Deuteronomy 1:30

Abraham’s life was lived by faith. He never could’ve imagined what the future would hold for his descendants: that Joseph would go to Egypt, that the Egyptians would enslave the Israelites, that God would raise up Moses to deliver His people, and that God would lead His people BACK to the promised land… Abraham did not know what the future held, but he trusted God one step at a time & surrendered his future to God.

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Sometimes we have expectations of the promised land: we place all our hope in a “dream destination” when God is trying to get our attention and say, “No place will ever be for you what only I can be. Even the place I call you to. If you are looking for fulfillment in a certain destination or achievement you will only live in constant let-down & disappointment. I AM the destination. Follow Me, My voice, & My leading. I AM the only One who will fulfill every longing and desire of your heart.“

Do you feel out of place where you are?
Are you scared of taking a step of faith into the unknown even though you know that God is calling you?
Have you obeyed the call of God to “GO” but now that you’ve arrived & it isn’t what you expected?
Are you struggling with disappointment or let-down?
Have you been ashamed to confess that you still have no idea what you’re doing?
Did you expect everything to suddenly make sense when you obeyed God’s voice; but it doesn’t?

Let me tell you: you’re not alone!! But I pray that you are encouraged, as am I, because I bet Abraham felt like us at times. But I also know that Abraham also understood something that changed everything — his whole heart’s desire was to be where God was. GOD was his Reward. The promise land was not the reward and it was not designed or created to fulfill Abraham — the promise land was where God would increase Abraham’s faith and develop a real, genuine, life-altering relationship with Abraham. THAT is why God called Abraham to the promised land and that is why God is calling us to walk by faith: because what we learn along the journey is of far greater value that any physical destination or possession.

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As I read in Hebrews about Abraham’s faith I am reminded that his walk was not one of perfect submission and immediate obedience: his journey was filled with hasty, self-reliant decisions & he was a man who experienced fear, unbelief & doubt. But in Hebrews 11 there is no record of his failures. Isn’t that such a testimony of God’s amazing mercy & grace?!

I believe that God’s grace on Abraham’s life led him to live a life of worship and awe. His faith was in response to the indescribable grace God had shown him. He was a man God had set His affection upon: not because of anything Abraham had done, but simply because God loved him.

Like Abraham, God is calling each of us to a place He has prepared —  He calls us because that journey leads us into deeper faith and relationship with Him. The destination isn’t the goal. The relationship is. Faith and trust is the goal.

God is calling us to live as sojourners: people just passing through, walking by faith, living in response to our gracious Savior, on a journey to the place HE has prepared. A place where our faith shall be our eyes.

“Behold, I send an Angel before you:
to keep you in the way
& to bring you into the place
which I have prepared.”
-Exodus 23:20

"God has a final destination for Israel, but in between are steps: layers of conflict and battles, but He promises Israel that He will go before them and fight their battles for them. Every step of the way has been set by God, and one step leads to the next. Rarely do we see many steps ahead of us. We need to walk entirely by faith. But like God did for Israel: He prepares us one step at a time... As a Christian, I go forward under the power of the Holy Spirit, who is leading and preparing me for the path chosen for me... We may not know where we are going, but as long as we are following the Lord, we have nothing to fear. As we let go of our past, we can get a firm grip on the future God has for us. As we go along God's path, we will find all the provisions we need to be who God wants us to be so that we can arrive at the place God has prepared for us. By faith, each day we access God's provision for us. We never know what we will need, but God does and has made full provision. God has provided a cloud by day and a fire by night in order to get us to our destination." -A.W. Tozer

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(click here to read part 1)

What am I running from?
I know.
God knows.
And as His child He will not allow me to continue without encountering great difficulty & resistance. — That’s His lovingkindness & grace that never stops pursuing me. 

He will not allow me to hold onto something that is slowly destroying me from the inside out. 

I see myself in Jonah. The story of Jonah —much like mine— is a testimony to the patient, persistent, pursuit of the One who knows everything about me and desires me in spite of me. He knew I would resist, disobey, & run… nevertheless He does not stop in His pursuit. 

In Jonah’s story I am reminded of this time and time again. Even in Jonah’s rebellion God was going before him: preparing obstacles to remind him of His love:

1:4 — “But the Lord sent out a great wind…”
1:17 — “Now the Lord had prepared a great fish…”
4:6 — “And the Lord God prepared a plant…”
4:7 — “as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm…”
4:8 — “God prepared a vehement east wind…“

Perhaps Jonah thought it would be easy to run, hide, & go the opposite way; but Jonah didn’t know that God was going to run after Jonah just as hard as he was trying to run away. Jonah could not outrun God’s hand. Jonah learned that God’s salvation extended even to the bottom of the ocean.

Sometimes the appeal of rebellion is greater than obedience, but just like God extended mercy and grace to the Ninevites, He was also extending mercy & grace to Jonah.

In chapter 2, after Jonah is swallowed by a great fish, he prays: reflecting on his own despair & rejoicing in the deliverance God provided for him. Then, in verse 9, Jonah turns the focus away from himself and says “THOSE:” 

“Those who regard worthless idols
Forsake their own Mercy.” Jonah 2:9

Who is Jonah referring to? As you read the chapter that verse seems somewhat out of place… perhaps he is thinking about the Ninevites: accusing the them of forsaking their chance at receiving mercy because of their idolatry…

This reminds me that when we choose to run from the Lord we must also realize that we are running TOWARDS something else…when you attempt to flee from God’s presence you are also running from all He is: love, joy, peace… When you run from God you are running TOWARDS confusion & emptiness.

What worthless idol do I continue to run to?
What am I holding that is keeping me from clinging tightly to God?
An idol is anything that we chose to worship & serve apart from God.

The NIV version of this verse reads: “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” How often have I chosen to cling to fear or pride and forfeited God’s grace?

Your hands cannot cling to idols
& His hand simultaneously.

To cling to grace you must loose your grip on pride and your desire to call the shots.

I’m a lot like Jonah: I know how it feels to be in rebellion and disobedience, thinking I’m in control and can outrun God. But stories like Jonah’s remind me that it’s a lost cause to hide from God: He’s just too gracious. He’s too kind. He’s altogether holy & unlike me. And yet He patiently insists on making me more like Him. 

That is a grace I’ll never reach the end of.

May we spend our days letting go of worthless idols so that we may be those who embrace the grace God freely gives.

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“You must not turn aside,
for then you would go after futile things
which can not profit or deliver,
because they are futile.” 2 Samuel 2:21

“Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things,
And revive me in Your way.” Psalm 119:37

“You are not hidden
There’s never been a moment you were forgotten
You are not hopeless
Though you have been broken, your innocence stolen

There is no distance
That cannot be covered over & over
You’re not defenseless
I’ll be your Shelter, I’ll be your Armor

I will send out an army to find you
In the middle of the darkest night
It’s true, I will rescue you
I will never stop marching to reach you
In the middle of the hardest fight
It’s true, I will rescue you“

-Lauren Daigle “Rescue”

Jonah: his story covers 1 page in my Bible sandwiched in-between the minor prophets. The short account we have of his life intrigues me sooo much. Jonah was a prophet: which meant he was essentially “God’s mouthpiece.” We don’t know what God had called Jonah to say or do prior to this account, but when God calls him to Nineveh; verse 3 of chapter 1 says that:

“Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.”

Given the fact that he was a prophet I suppose Jonah had a previous track record of being obedient & following God’s call. I would think that Jonah had an outward appearance of a “surrendered life” — but internally Jonah had something in his heart that only he & God knew about.

Perhaps Jonah had set some conditions in his heart: “Lord, I’ll go anywhere You send me. But just don’t call me to Nineveh. Anywhere but there, ok?”

So when God calls Jonah to arise & go to Nineveh—he draws the line and runs. He books it for a ship headed in the opposite direction of Nineveh & goes to the lowest part of the ship to fall asleep.

As he sought rest maybe Jonah reasoned within himself: “Certainly God will call someone else now; He won’t continue to pursue me. I sent Him a clear message, I’m not going there.“

But just as God’s heart was for the people of Nineveh, 
God’s heart was for Jonah.

God was pursuing Jonah to give him both the desire & power to follow and obey His call—but Jonah resisted.

Philippians 2:13 says:
“For God is working in you,
giving you the desire & the power
to do what pleases Him.” (NLT)

Have you experienced the reality and extent of God’s relentless desire to transform your heart? 
Have you been scared of what that change would look like…so you decided to run instead?
Have you believed that you could run from the voice of God?
Have you thought you could block out His words with enough noise?
I have.
In my experience, any time I try to do that the noise is deafening and my heart longs for the quiet stillness of His presence.

I know how it feels to run: the exhaustion & the battle that ensues when you choose to go against what God has spoken. 

God wanted to transform Jonah’s heart: so He called him to Nineveh. Only in Nineveh would Jonah be able to experience God’s heart for grace, mercy, reconciliation & restoration. 

Jonah couldn’t fathom that God would offer repentance & forgiveness to a people so unrighteous & lawless.

Jonah was running—
not only from God’s call;
but from God’s heart.

God was not only concerned about the wickedness and coming judgement for Nineveh, He was also concerned for the heart of His prophet. When God places His affection on you; He desires to remove anything that hinders your relationship with Him.  Even though it will not be comfortable or “feel good” He calls us to hard places and to do hard things because He wants to transform us & those around us — something that will last for eternity.

God is not merely concerned with a message—He is concerned for the heart of the person delivering the message.

In verses 2 & 3 of chapter 4 Jonah reflects on who he knows God to be:

“I know that You are a gracious & merciful God,
slow to anger & abundant in lovingkindness,
One who relents from doing harm.
Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me,
for it is better for me to die than to live!”

God desires us to be made more into His likeness & image.
How?
When we surrender our life to the control of the Holy Spirit the very nature & being of God comes to live inside us to live His life through us.

In Jonah’s life we see the wrestle and struggle that ensues when we fight against that surrender. God desired to remove the bitterness, resentment, anger, pride, prejudice, envy, jealousy, & selfishness that Jonah had been holding onto…

… but Jonah had other plans:
Jonah wanted to run…