Recognition

            “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever”

                                                Psalm 107:1

 

We have all been there. Either something amazing and mind-blowing happens, or something tragic occurs and we are so quick to pull God off the backburner and incorporate him in our struggle or praise him for his goodness. We Tweet, post to Facebook, or Instagram a verse or a joyous picture and there is absolutely nothing wrong with these posts…But if we are only recognizing God’s goodness in particular life occurrences, what does this say about our view of God’s faithfulness? What does it say about our motives of being in sync with the Lord? Isn’t this limiting the power and sovereignty of the omniscient Creator of the universe?

 

NEWS FLASH:

 

                        God is good always, whether we recognize it or not.

 

God’s goodness is unconditional. He is good when you get your very first job, when you get promoted, and when you get fired. He is good when you get that college acceptance letter, when a married couple has their first child, and when a loved one passes away.

 

When you choose to realize God’s goodness only in joyous circumstances, you are limiting God’s power to work in trials and adversity and you are choosing only to rejoice in the Lord when things go well. In other words, “things go YOUR way”.

 

The flip side to that is only recognizing God’s power when the storm hits.

 

When we treat God like a dusty first-aid kit that we leave in the medicine cabinet only to treat deep wounds, we aren’t wanting more of God; we’re wanting the side-effects of having an in-tune relationship with him.

 

 To put it like one of my mentors and youth pastors, Stan Rhoden, said:

 

“We don’t want God; we want his stuff”

 

How do we fix this? How can we be aware of the unconditional goodness and faithfulness of God ALL of the time?

 

I believe this problem exposes our lack of thankfulness to the Lord due to complacency. Becoming thankful and rejoicing in all circumstances is the key to seeing God’s goodness all of the time.

 

            “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

 

Pray for the Lord to open your eyes to his workings in your life, big or small. When we do this, we become more aware of God’s working in our life no matter what the consequences. When we begin to see the small things the Lord is doing in our lives, our eyes become more accustomed to recognizing God’s goodness anywhere we look and we become more amazed by his power and his faithfulness to us on a daily basis.

 

God’s goodness is unconditional…

 

It’s just a matter of us recognizing it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Escape

                        “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful and will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

-          1 Corinthians 10:13

 

Praise the Lord that this verse is true!

 

How many times has a sin seemed to overtake you and left your heart wrecked and guilt ridden?

 

            If the answer is, “Too many times!” then listen up.

 

            Let’s talk temptations. The temptations in our life are many and strong. Some come with warning, and some sneak up on us like those school paper deadlines.

 

            A temptation also requires a response. Some of you reading this are saying “Caleb, you don’t understand. I just ignore temptation and it seems to go away.” Well, kudos to you, but the very act of ignoring is a response in itself! And there are many sins out there that are beating people down over and over again because they’re so far deep that ignoring a temptation is beyond question. They have to have a greater response; an escape plan.

 

            How do I deal with temptation?

            What does a “game plan” look like?

            Is there always an escape?

            I am not strong enough to take the escape. What do I do?

 

Dealing with temptation is different for everybody. You have to find out what works for you. Be smart!

 

If you have trouble with your searches on the internet, don’t be alone with a computer.

If you have trouble with your girlfriend or boyfriend, don’t be alone with them either.

If you have trouble with drinking too much, don’t go to that party where you know there will be alcohol.

If you have trouble with gossip, leave the conversation and don’t surround yourself with people who tend to gossip.

 

It is all about finding what triggers your temptations, isolating that variable and then deciding ahead of time how to deal with it in a way that will honor God.

 

It seems pretty simple, but it is extremely hard for some people (me included) in practice.

 

Why is that?

 

If the issue is that you can’t seem to see the way out and don’t believe that God is capable of providing one to you, read the verse again.

 

            “God is faithful”

He is not going to leave you. Ever.

He knows your past, your present and your future and he still loves you.

He is not surprised at the outcome and your response to the temptation and he still loves you.

He created the entire universe and yet he cares for you because you are his child.

 

His power is not limited…he can provide an escape.

 

Most likely, it is not the issue of not seeing the way of escape that plagues Christians; it’s actually taking it.

 

Like I mentioned earlier, a temptation requires a response. You can either fall for it, or you can beat it.

 

Ok, so what if you have tried to take the escape and you still fail?

 

YOU CANNOT DO THIS ALONE.

 

“There is no temptation that has overtaken you that is not common to man”

 

You hear that?

You are not alone in this fight!

 

Galatians 6 is going to call us to “Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2)

 

This is a call to participate in gospel centered accountability with other believers. Find someone, or a group of people that are dealing with the same struggle and struggle together and with Christ.

 

Pray for eyes to see the way out.

Pray for ears to hear the Holy Spirit.

Pray for God to give you the strength, discipline and boldness to act and actually take the way out.

 

Escape.