PRAYER instead of the wisdom of this world
A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
No doubt we would all agree that life can often be overwhelming and confusing. When I was in the hospital, I found myself getting overwhelmed by the hospital bed, by the doctors and nurses, by the medications I was taking and by the pain I was experiencing. But I was also overwhelmed by my marriage and the strain that my ill health was putting on my wife. I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of responsibilities that had to be shouldered by my church staff while I was out of commission. And I was overwhelmed by the reality that my health had always been a trial.
Sometimes our problems just overtake us, don’t they? We get overwhelmed by our marriages—or our singleness. We get overwhelmed with trying to make ends meet on very little income; we get tired of unemployment or underemployment. Really, all the pressures, demands, responsibilities and trials of life can just begin to crush or defeat us.
We all have experienced the feeling of being overwhelmed. But when I was in the midst of this feeling at the hospital, God showed me that I had things backward. My perspective was wrong. No, it definitely wasn’t fun to be in the hospital, but I was looking at all the problems of my situation instead of noticing that God was using this very situation for my good. My eyes were opened to the realization that the Lord wanted me to be overwhelmed by Him and not by my circumstances. Through this revelation, my entire perspective and attitude transformed dramatically.
Being overwhelmed by our problems benefits nothing. Furthermore, being bitter, resentful or cynical eventually will bring personal destruction and will poison the relationships we hold dear. The solution lies in asking and allowing God to overwhelm us with His goodness, His grace, His love, His kindness and His care.
I want to encourage you: If you are overwhelmed right now, give it to God so that He can do something new in your heart and perspective.
That’s what happened to me. I quit focusing on the bed, the hospital room and the surgeries, and I started looking at Jesus Christ—specifically through reading and meditating on His Word. As I allowed Him to overwhelm me with His very nature and character, I fell in love with Him all over again. At that point, it didn’t matter that I was in the hospital because I believed that God was in control and that He had a plan for me—that He would bring about a good work through my difficulties.
Let’s face it: We have selective hearing when it comes to God’s Word. When the Lord speaks something to us that we find encouraging and pleasant, we are more than willing to listen. But when God speaks to us about the sin in our lives and calls us to take corrective action, we often resist. When God speaks to us about suffering, we want to plug our ears.
The reality is that it is vital to listen to what God is telling us—no matter what His subject matter may be—and accept it. Most of our problems really center on our unwillingness to listen to God’s Word. How common is it for us to fight with the Lord and disagree with Him regarding His Word—and then wonder why we are experiencing conflict in our lives?
Some of our problems stem from a lack of consulting God’s Word for counsel and wisdom before making a major decision. We carry out bad business decisions, bad economic decisions and bad relational decisions—all because we did not seek the instruction and direction of the Lord first. Then when those decisions go wrong, we are likely to get mad at the Lord! I implore each of us: If God is speaking, listen; if He is instructing, pay attention. And if God tells us no, don’t forsake obedience. Submitting to God’s Word and taking immediate action to do what He says are imperative.
God often communicates difficult words. How do we handle these? Let’s take a cue from the prophet Jeremiah. Known as the “weeping” prophet, Jeremiah had a rough assignment from the Lord. We read that the Lord said to him:
Even if Moses and Samuel stood before Me, My mind would not be favorable toward this people. Cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth. And it shall be, if they say to you, “Where should we go?” then you shall tell them, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.’ And I will appoint over them four forms of destruction,” says the Lord: “the sword to slay, the dogs to drag, the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. I will hand them over to trouble, to all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem” (Jer. 15:1-4).
Let’s imagine for a moment being Jeremiah—a man who is tender and sensitive and has a heart for people. God comes to him and says, in essence, “You know, Jeremiah, I have a ministry for you that no one else can do. I’ve had it with the Southern Kingdom. I’m upset with them and don’t want to hear from them anymore. My judgment is coming down on Judah, and I will not relent. Now, I want you to tell the people that their end is near. I’m doing this because of the wickedness of King Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, for what he did to Jerusalem and to my prophet Isaiah.” That is an unsettling assignment.
A brief word about Manasseh: He was, hands down, the most wicked king that Judah ever had on the throne. He sacrificed his own children in idol worship, he killed the prophet Isaiah by stringing him up between two trees and literally cutting him in half, and he wreaked havoc on the city of Jerusalem.
So, with the insight that Jeremiah was a sensitive and caring man, what can we surmise about how God’s directive word to him made him feel? I’m sure he felt completely overwhelmed. (No doubt we would be, too!) The prophetic message that God asked Jeremiah to deliver to the people was one of suffering and death. How could he not be shaken?
Sometimes we probably feel much the same way Jeremiah did upon being given such an unpleasant assignment. We might lament, “God, why are You doing this? Why is my car breaking down? Why is my marriage a mess? Why are my kids rebelling?” Sometimes life becomes so overwhelming that we become paralyzed with inaction and lack of wisdom. But if the Word of God miraculously comes into a person’s heart, it can transform his or her outlook. For example, Martin Luther happened to read, “The just shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:17), and that not only changed his heart and ministry, but also brought about the Reformation.
Truthfully, Jeremiah had been given a difficult, overwhelming task by God. But then the Word of God grabbed his heart and subsequently changed his perspective, as we read in Jeremiah 15:16: “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.”
God’s wrath against Judah had not changed. God’s assignment for Jeremiah had not changed either. But Jeremiah realized that the Lord God had chosen him and that he was His child. He found joy in God Himself, in spite of the difficulty. God’s Word can bring about the same perspective transformation for us. Let’s examine four aspects of what God’s Word can mean to us, even in the midst of trying and difficult circumstances.
Let’s look once again at Jeremiah 15:16. I can’t count how many times I have heard people say, “Pastor Steve, I just wish God would speak to me personally.” My answer is always the same: “He has! That is what the Bible is. It’s God’s personal message to you—the one whom He has created, chosen and loved.” As His personal message to us, God’s Word should be of utmost priority. Not only is it His personal message to us, but it’s His love note, His instruction manual, His personal conversation and His autobiography as well. Still, we often overlook how critical it is to glean from the Word of God on a daily basis. We get overwhelmed by our circumstances and beg God to speak to us, yet ironically our Bible sits on the coffee table without being opened.
Jeremiah “ate” up God’s Word. He inhaled it, he consumed it, and he allowed it to take control of his life. The result was immense joy and rejoicing. Did Jeremiah’s situation change? No. Did God’s message to the people of Judah change? No. But Jeremiah’s heart changed because he consumed God’s Word and realized that God loved him and had chosen him to do this special, albeit discouraging and distressing, job.
Back to me in my hospital room: Like Jeremiah, I realized that it was possible for me to rejoice in God Himself despite my overwhelming circumstances. When I allowed God’s Word to consume me—to overwhelm me—my perspective shifted, and I was able to see the circumstances I faced not as insurmountable problems, but rather as an opportunity for God to do a great work in my attitude, actions and character.
The understanding that God’s Word is His personal message to us has great transformative potential. The Word of God shows believers what the Lord has done for us, how He is going to sustain and protect us and how He is going to ensure that each of us finishes the race and comes home to Him. The Word of God illuminated Jeremiah’s mind and revolutionized the perspective of his heart.
Do you believe it is possible to go through some really horrendous moments in your life and somehow still have joy? I do. But apart from God, it is impossible. No motivational speech, psychological counseling or other man-made effort will fill a person’s heart with joy in the midst of trying circumstances. We need a word from God. Jeremiah discovered that God’s Word was indeed his joy, stating, “Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart” (Jer. 15:16).
Notice how the psalmist likens the Word of God to something sweet in our mouth: “How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Ps. 119:103). The Word of God is sweet because of what it does. God’s Word encourages us in the storm. It reminds us of His promise that even though this season might be difficult, it will pass. God’s Word tells us how much we are loved and how much worth we have in His sight as His unique creation. God’s Word reminds us of God’s sovereignty over every event, and just as importantly, His Word promises eternal life. Is it any wonder that Jeremiah found joy in God’s Word?
Someone might say to me, “Well, that’s nice, Pastor Steve, but if you knew what I was going through, you would understand why I am not joyful.”
Here is how I would respond: “Let me ask you something. Are you filled with bitterness? Are you consumed by hatred? Are you resistant to God working in your life? If so, I call you to repent. Let God restore you and feed you by His Word. Your situation may not change, but why be miserable? Wouldn’t you rather have God’s peace and joy in the midst of your trial than be upset and bitter?”
Bottom line, we need to get rid of the pride and submit to God. If I gave a man a choice between getting down on his knees in front of his wife and saying he was sorry or jumping out of an airplane at 30,000 feet with no parachute, which would he likely choose? He would probably go the way of the airplane because of pride! Does that seem ridiculous? Absolutely. In the same way, it’s ridiculous to choose to stay upset and despondent in our trials instead of hearing a word from God that would change our hearts.
Jeremiah didn’t resist God. Even though he was overwhelmed and discouraged, he sought out the Word of God and found joy in the midst of his trial. Let’s follow his example.
The declarations of another psalm express the next aspect of God’s Word for us to unpack. The psalmist exults, “May my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the Lord” (Ps. 104:34). In other words, our time with God in His Word should be a time of sweetness—a time for soaking up the Lord’s presence and finding His Word to be sweet and savory to our soul. One of my favorite verses that captures the sweetness of meditating on God’s Word is found in the Song of Solomon: “O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely” (Song of Sol. 2:14). Truly the voice of the Lord is sweet.
The disciples experienced this truth as well. When they were hiding in the Upper Room out of fear after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus appeared and said, “Peace to you” (Luke 24:36). Some time earlier, when the disciples were in the midst of a bad storm, Jesus was sleeping; the disciples woke Him out of fear, and He spoke to the wind and waves: “Peace, be still” (Mark 4:39). Jesus’ voice brought peace to the lives of His followers when He walked on earth. Similarly, for us, meditating on His Word—the way He speaks to us today—brings joy and sweetness.
In spite of the difficulties we face in life, the Word of God can be a delight. The psalms are filled with declarations of this truth: for example, “I delight to do Your will, O my God …” (Ps. 40:8); “I will delight myself in Your statutes …” (Ps. 119:16); and “Your testimonies also are my delight …” (Ps. 119:24).
Most of us know personally that it is difficult to find joy in the midst of trials. While in the hospital, I struggled with a bit of an attitude. Yes, I wanted out of that place and was overwhelmed by the whole experience, but then the Word of the Lord came to me and I was broken; I was humbled and realized God had a purpose for my trial. In that place, His Word became my delight. This made a huge difference in my outlook and my attitude. If you were to ask any of the nurses, they would say they saw a change in my demeanor. I started to cooperate much better, to smile, and to act more pleasantly. Had my situation changed? No. I was still in the hospital with all the needles stuck in me; I was still in pain. Through His Word, however, the Lord showed me His great love and mercy and encouraged my heart. God’s Word had indeed been my delight.
There are a few more things we can learn from our dear prophet, Jeremiah. Let’s revisit Jeremiah 15:16 one more time: “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.” Several truths from this verse instruct and direct us.
First, Jeremiah looked to God’s Word for an answer—and His words “were found.” Do we do this? Do we look for answers in God’s Word when we are overwhelmed? Furthermore, do we study it and meditate on it? Do we truly seek out God’s voice, through His Word, in difficult situations? When we come to the end of ourselves and pursue the Lord, it’s then that He is most likely to do a major work in our lives. In fact, sometimes that is exactly what God is waiting for: for us to come to the end of our rope, so that we surrender completely to Him and allow Him to take absolute control.
Far too often, we try to fix things ourselves and keep control over our problems, which just makes them worse. When we reach a point at which we realize that we don’t have the strength, the answers or the ability to fix the problems, this marks the beginning of our getting out of the way so that God can take over.
I’m not saying we should give up hope and quit. Rather, I’m talking about relinquishing control of the situation and all aspects of our lives to the Lord—turning over the reins to Him instead of trying to fix the broken parts ourselves. Giving up is not an option, because we have a God who can do the impossible. We have a God who can change our hearts and the hearts of those we care about. We have a God who loves us and died for us. He’s not going to leave us dangling over the edge of a cliff. God will either change us or our situations, but either way, He will indeed work in and through us to bring about His good plan.
I remember an incident that took place about 20 years ago, through which God did a transformative work in my heart. I was really into playing racquetball at the time; in fact, I was pretty good and was definitely competitive. In this season, my wife had expressed to me that I was not home very much, and that it would be nice if she and I could spend some time together.
Normally, I played racquetball with other believers, but I had been challenged by some nonbelievers, so I went out that night to play. I can still picture the scene vividly. My partner and I were beating these guys, and I was reveling in it, when all of a sudden, I missed a shot and got so mad that I slammed my racket on the ground. Now here I was, the pastor of a large church, teaching people about the love and character of God, and I slammed my racket on the ground in front of these nonbelievers in a little tantrum.
When it was my turn to serve the ball, it only went about one foot in front of me before hitting the ground. I got even madder. Finally, realization dawned, and I looked down at my racket, which was broken in eight places.
My partner laughed, but the unbelievers questioned me: “Aren’t you a Christian?”
I responded, “Yes, I am.”
They continued to press: “And I thought that you went to Calvary Chapel South Bay? In fact, aren’t you the senior pastor?”
In complete embarrassment and humiliation, I answered, “Yes, I am.”
Then they asked, “Why are you so mad?”
I simply replied, “I have to go.”
Driving home, I realized that my wife must have been praying. When I walked in the house, she asked, “How was your game?” I showed her the racket, and she said, “Good. Did God speak to you?”
I answered, “He did,” and then asked her, “Were you praying?”
She said, “I was praying that God would help me speak to you.” God certainly gave her an open door through His advance work on my heart. He can speak to a heart, and He definitely can change a heart.
Finding God’s Word is just as vital for us as it was for Jeremiah. As we do so, we will begin to think differently—and then act differently. Taking God at His word changes our attitude toward the situations we encounter. The more we dive into God’s Word, the more our actions change; and as we are transformed, people really take notice.
Second, once Jeremiah found God’s Word, he ate it up! He didn’t just sample it; he devoured God’s Word. How many of us “taste” God’s Word but leave it at that? Tasting, I think, looks like opening up our Bible, scanning a paragraph, and then closing it and going about our day’s business. Perhaps we dabble in the Word or play with it, but we don’t commit to it.
I’ve noticed over the years this same lack of commitment—this “tasting” instead of devouring—in the way some guys behave with girls they are dating. A young man might just string a girl along with words of playful fun. Or he might give her a “promise ring” instead of a full engagement ring and a proposal of marriage. Basically, the guy is saying, “Hey, I may want to marry you. I don’t want you to move on or to go out with anyone else, but I am going to look around for the next six months and just make sure you’re the one I really want.” Really? How about a true commitment? How about just making a choice to marry her? Ladies, take note: If the guy strings you along or doesn’t give you an engagement ring, my advice is to seriously think about moving on.
Similarly, we shouldn’t just “taste” God—testing Him out to ascertain if we like what He has to say without making any commitment to Him and His Word. Jeremiah ate up God’s Word. He was committed to the Lord and to the words of God, no matter how difficult his calling as a prophet might have been. Christians must learn to commit—to say in their hearts that there is no turning back from this walk with God. It sounds like this: “God, I’m in this with You all the way to the very end.” When we eat up God’s Word, we will be inspired and challenged to make this type of radical commitment to Him.
Finally, after we make that commitment to God’s Word and “eat it,” we will find that our hearts overflow with joy. Psalm 119:162 says, “I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure.” Indeed, the Word of God brings refreshment and rejoicing. That’s exactly what happened to me in the hospital. Yes, I was overwhelmed. But then God spoke His Word to me, and it completely changed my perspective and my attitude. Nothing can cheer us up and bring rejoicing like God’s Word ministering to our hearts. There is a difference between joy and happiness. Happiness comes to us through temporal things and lasts only momentarily. Joy is a deep and abiding frame of mind—an eternal perspective that flourishes even in the midst of suffering, trials and hardships. That’s why we rejoice over God’s Word: It brings lasting healing to our lives.
Jeremiah 15:17 says, “I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers, nor did I rejoice; I sat alone because of Your hand, for You have filled me with indignation.” In other words, Jeremiah was saying, “I did not get involved with those who don’t believe in You; I did not walk in their counsel; I did not even sit and listen to their garbage. Instead, I sat alone.” Are we willing to sit alone?
Let me pitch out some hard questions for you to consider: As Friday night comes around, are you willing to stay home alone instead of going out to party and get drunk with friends who don’t know Christ? Or say that cute guy at work calls you and asks you out to dinner. Are you willing to stay home alone and honor God instead of going out with an unbeliever?
Jeremiah was willing to stand alone on the Word of God instead of going along with the crowd who ignored the Lord. Are we willing to do the same?
Perhaps this statement describes you: “I’m overwhelmed; I can’t handle life right now.”
I would ask you, “Okay, are you willing to look to God? Are you willing to acknowledge His lordship in your life?”
If your answer is, “I am,” then find God’s Word, truly commit to diving in and devouring His Word—and your heart will be changed. That overwhelming situation will be colored in a different light. God’s perspective will bring clarity and wisdom. And you will find joy and sweetness in the midst of your circumstances because God’s Word has spoken to you and there is no going back.
1. Why do we need to listen to God when He speaks?
2. How can the Word of God give us joy in our difficult situations?
3. When we are overwhelmed with life’s problems, why is it important to look to God’s Word?
4. What does it mean to “eat up” God’s Word?
PRAYER
Lord, forgive me for my lack of commitment to Your Word. I don’t want to just “taste” any longer; I want to commit. I surrender to Your ways. I want to be consumed by Your words, and I yearn for Your law to be my delight. Overwhelm me with Your Word. I need all of Your Scriptures—not just the words that encourage me, but the words that convict and move me as well. I want all that You have for me, including Your full counsel within my life. Do Your mighty work within my heart—through Your Word—so that You can do a mighty work through my life, I pray. Amen.