Tag: Faith to Faith

‘A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.’ Ephesians 6:10-17(NLT)

 “Doubt is a luxury we can’t afford…” -Helen Parr (aka Elastigirl)

I spent the last stretch of my childhood and well into my early adulthood fighting doubts about myself. I doubted my intelligence. I doubted whether or not I was pretty enough or talented enough.  I couldn’t pinpoint it, but somewhere along the way there had been an erosion of my self-esteem. It affected everything I attempted to do.  Deep down inside I felt as though God had given me something good for the world to see, but it wasn’t translating into my everyday life. Through a lot of prayer and study I began to see that there were patterns of thinking that needed to be corrected. This is a very practical thing that any trained psychologist could tell you. But there was another element…I realized I had an enemy who had declared war on my life in order to stop me. I had to learn how to fight.

Did you know that God teaches us how to fight? Psalm 18:34 says, “He trains my hands for battle; He strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow” and Psalm 144:1 also says, “Praise the Lord, who is my rock. He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle.” Although David was referring to an actual physical battle, I believe the same principle applies in the spirit realm. It’s true that some battles are God’s and God’s alone. But there are other battles in which you must, along with God, be engaged and ready to attack. We must put on the whole armor of God! Satan is relentless and uses bullying tactics (negative thoughts and suggestions, the inciting of fear, etc.) to wear us down. Of course, there are various practical reasons why we struggle with doubt or fear. Perhaps we experienced a traumatic event that altered our thinking patterns. Maybe we grew up in a spiritually and/or mentally toxic environment. Those experiences are not to be discounted; however, it should not be overlooked that regardless of Madonna’s assertions, we are not living in a material world! We don’t wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, and so on. In those moments of doubt and vulnerability, I had to learn to go on the offense and begin fighting in the spirit. So, how do you “fight in the spirit” you may ask? Here are a few suggestions that have helped me over the years:

1. Pray! (If you have your prayer language, all the better!)

2. Have your own time of praise and worship! Put on some music if you can (acapella works too) and sing to the Lord! I have my alarm set for my time everyday. 

3. Confess scripture over your life and your day. No need to approach this legalistically, just a few scriptures will do. Also, if God has spoken something specific over your life, confess that too. 

4. Encourage yourself in the Lord. You can say things like “Someone needs what I have” or “what God has given me is beautiful” or whatever would be encouraging to you.

These suggestions will help you along your journey. You may add your own to this list. My prayer for you is that you are strengthened and ready for battle as needed. If you find yourself in a season of despair where fighting is not an option, my prayer is that God would set you upon a rock out of reach of your enemies (Ps. 27:5). I’m a witness that He’s able to do just that.

from Faith to Faith by Jerard & Jovaun

‘I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.’ Ephesians 3:16-19(NLT)

Have you ever loved someone so much until it almost literally hurt? When Jerard and I were first married, people used to tell us all the time “When you have kids, your life will change forever.” And we thought, “Sure, we get it.” We really thought we knew, but actually we had no idea how parenting would rock our world in the best way possible. Years later when our first son was born, we were so enamored with him. Every little expression, grin, coo was exciting to us. I remember just staring at him in amazement as he would nap. A couple years later when we found out our second son was coming, I became afraid that we wouldn’t be able to love him as much as our first. I was so wrong. He stole our hearts right out of our chests and we’ve never been the same since. As they grew older, we would watch them play and get so much joy out of their interaction. They weren’t doing anything special other than being silly, but we enjoyed every minute of it. How beautiful to think that God feels the same way about us. Even when we’re not doing anything particularly special or holy, God delights in us. He loves us deeply, and He wants us not only to know it but to walk confidently in it. BELIEVE THE LOVE THAT GOD HAS FOR YOU.

Of course you don’t necessarily need to be a parent to understand deep love. God has various ways of revealing Himself. I do however thank Him for our experience. Becoming parents has opened our eyes to the depth of God’s love in profound ways. Our children are living, breathing proof of God’s affection toward us. 

Being parents has also taught us to be more compassionate. I remember working in a youth ministry prior to having children, and I was known for being pretty strict. It got back to me that one of the parents said the only reason I acted that way was because I didn’t have kids. I was highly offended. Years later after becoming a parent, I had to admit they were absolutely right. 

Until our children become parents, they may never know just how deeply they are loved by us. They may never realize how many times we go ahead of them to protect them from unforeseen danger, and how other times we go behind them to clean up their messes. They may never understand the sacrifices great and small that have been made on their behalf. Yet as parents, it is our great pleasure to do this. I believe Jesus would say the same about you.

from Faith to Faith by Jerard & Jovaun

‘All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us. We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. ‘ 2 Corinthians 1:3-10(NLT)

Several years ago, Jerard and I were unexpectedly invited to relocate to Texas. We were asked to work on staff at a wonderful church who sought to diversify their congregation. The job offer seemingly came out of nowhere. I was particularly resistant seeing that we had been living in Nashville 14 years at the time, and, though life wasn’t perfect, I had no desire to move. As I began to pray about the situation, God clearly said to me “This move is going to cost you in comfort”. Of course I wasn’t too excited to hear that, and I actually didn’t know what it fully meant, but I accepted it none the less. I asked God to let the offer fall apart if it wasn’t from Him. The more I prayed that prayer, the more things came together.

Sure enough when we got there, several unforeseen things emerged that began to challenge us, not only where we worked, but in various areas of our lives that even affected our children. In this new uncharted territory, we found ourselves in “the great unknown where feet may fail”. Indeed our feet were failing, but we trusted that God had a plan. We had no idea what the plan was, but we knew that if He went through the trouble of uprooting our family, surely it was for good reason.  As time has progressed, our purpose continues to be clarified and we see God’s hand moving in ways we never dreamed. There is no question in our minds that we are stronger than we were prior to the move.

In 2 Corinthians 1, Paul described a time of discomfort and the challenges he faced in the province of Asia. It had gotten so bad that He said, “We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die.” It may sound dramatic but if we’re honest, many of us have felt this way at some point or another. 

Two things happen when we experience trials. The first thing is we learn to fully rely on God (verse 9). During another time of discomfort in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10, Paul asked God to remove a thorn in his flesh and God said no! He told Paul, “My strength is made perfect in your weakness” and insisted that His grace would be enough for him. He had to learn to trust in God’s strength and not his own.

The second thing that happens when we experience trials is that in our discomfort, we gain the ability to comfort others (verse 6). When we suffer, it’s not only about us but it’s about those whom God has placed in our path to comfort and encourage. 

If you find yourself in a difficult season, continue to call on the name of the Lord and keep your eyes fixed on Him. When the oceans in your life are rising, know that the pain you are experiencing serves the extraordinary purpose of strengthening you as well as encouraging others. When it’s all said and done, our Father wants us to be strong, mature, complete, and lacking nothing.

from Faith to Faith by Jerard & Jovaun

‘The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over. Then the Lord gave me this message: “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand. If I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, but then that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned. ‘ Jeremiah 18:1-8(NLT)

In the early years of my walk with God, I thought (at least on a subconscious level, if not overtly) that if I lived perfectly, God would love me and bless me because of my goodness. Although that thinking isn’t totally right, it’s not totally wrong either. I do believe God favors us when we live a life of obedience to Him. After all, the word of God is full of instances in which conditional blessings were a part of God’s covenant with Israel (“If you do as I am commanding you, you will be blessed in the city, field,..” etc.). For whatever reason, we humans need incentive to continue on the path of righteousness, the hope of heaven being the ultimate incentive. However, there was something unhealthy about my “need to achieve” attitude when it came to my relationship with God. 

As you might imagine I was setting up an impossible standard for myself. Each time I made a mistake, large or small, it was a devastating experience. I felt that I failed God and that I was worthless. There was a particular area in my life that bothered me most. I fasted and prayed for many years concerning this area and actually this was quite helpful and kept the issue at bay for long stretches. However, I wanted to be done with it once and for all! It became my “thorn in the flesh”. As a recovering perfectionist and overachiever, I wanted to be able to say I conquered it! But the truth is, Jesus conquered it a long time ago. He already knew that despite our best efforts, there would be times when we would fall short. He knew that we would need to be put back together again. 

When we find ourselves in difficult places as a result of sin or just plain despair, we often hesitate to go to God. We may feel like He won’t receive us or perhaps He can’t or won’t help us.  We may also feel that He has forgiven us too many times and we are unworthy of his grace. I would submit to you that our Father longs to restore us. The Word of God declares in 1 John 1:9 that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

Even if you intentionally walked away from God like the Isrealites did so many times, God is able to change His judgement concerning you if you simply turn away from evil and run to Him. He will help you do this. He is eager for things to be well with us. Of course, this grace doesn’t give us license to live undisciplined lives, but The Potter will always be there just when we need Him.

from Faith to Faith by Jerard & Jovaun

‘For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God.’ Romans 10:4(NLT)

 During His ministry on Earth, Jesus attracted many people from all walks of life. Prostitutes, tax collectors, beggars, and others considered to be on the fringes of society. Children wanted to be near Him. The poor found hope in Him. He spent a great deal of time with large crowds of followers, teaching and healing. To them, His beauty was clearly seen. I wonder if we are able to recognize that same beauty today.

Our church family is currently reading through a Bible series together. In a year’s time, we will have read through the entire Bible. When it came time to read the section of the Bible called the Pentateuch (or the Torah) in which all of the laws and rituals were laid out, I have to be honest… it was pretty rough. Countless rules, regulations, stipulations, specifications, sacred festivals and feasts and the like were expected to be observed in order to walk in covenant with God. To say that many of them were hard to understand (especially given my 21st century, Americanized mindset) is an understatement. Needless to say when we finished the series, I walked away with an appreciation for Jesus’ sacrifice like never before! I had no trouble recognizing the beauty of His name. 

Thankfully, Romans 3:20 puts us at ease with this declaration: “Therefore no one will be justified in God’s sight by works the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin.”  Galatians 5:14 also says, “For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command. Love your neighbor as yourself.” The need to fulfill the requirements of the law spelled out in the Pentateuch are no longer the priority, but rather our relationship with Jesus Christ as well as our relationship with our fellow brothers and sisters. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the law. Now, that’s good news!

What Jesus has done for us is, indeed, a thing of beauty.  “Although the word “beautiful” is an unusual adjective in this context, it is an entirely appropriate description. He willingly sacrificed His life for ours. He laid down His power and left the splendor of His heavenly home so that we could enjoy His presence forever! His sacrifice has freed us from the law of sin and death. And He didn’t stop there. Following His death and resurrection, He sent His Holy Spirit to lead, guide, comfort, direct, to teach, counsel and advocate for us. We have so much available to us in Christ. What a beautiful Savior He is!

from Faith to Faith by Jerard & Jovaun