Category: Worship as a lifestyle

Sensing God’s timing

Reflections based on John 12:20–36.

‘Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”’ (v23)

Jesus was conscious of God’s preordained timing of events throughout His ministry. This meant He carried out God’s purposes while on earth in a way that sometimes baffled His disciples. For example, instead of travelling immediately to heal the dying Lazarus Jesus ‘stayed where he was two more days’ (John 11:6), knowing that the miracle of raising Lazarus from death would bring the greatest glory to God.

Jesus knew His life on earth would end unnaturally prematurely, and that He would have to suffer the cruellest of deaths in order to be the ultimate sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin and to overthrow the works of the devil.

There are references to Him sensing God’s perfect timings throughout John’s Gospel: ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.’ ‘Now is the time for judgment on this world …’ ‘Jesus knew that the time had come …’  ‘Later, knowing that all was now completed … Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit’ (John 12:23,31; 13:1; 19:28,30).

As He died, Jesus knew that He had completed what He had come to earth to do. We, too, have particular tasks that God has for us to do (see Ephesians 2:10). I wonder whether you have ever experienced a sense of God’s timing in your own life?

Prayer: Lord, I give You my life afresh. Help me to hear and obey what You want me to do each day. Amen.

Learning to ignore the ‘urgent’

Reflections based on Mark 1:29–39; Luke 5:12–16.

‘crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their illnesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.’ (Luke 5:15–16)

I love being busy and so often fill my days to the full. However, over recent years God has been talking to me about being overly tired. I think it can be a challenge, particularly when we can see so much need around us, to choose not to get involved with those things we discern God hasn’t asked us to.

But those urgent needs can be pressing, much as the crowds Jesus faced were. We need to learn from Jesus – even though He was faced with huge needs every day, He still took time out to rest and be alone with His Father in order to be refreshed, renewed and refocused. If we do not do that for ourselves, and instead continually respond to every ‘urgent’ need, we will eventually ‘burn out’. I have certainly experienced this.

It feels all the more poignant to be writing about this today, as it would have been my mum’s 75th birthday. Before she died (just over a month ago) she wrote to each one of us. I had helped her write those letters a couple of years ago, when she seemed close to death. But she had hand-written something extra in mine, something that we had actually spoken about the last time we had visited as a family. She told me she was worried about how I always seemed so tired, and always so busy. She urged me to slow down, to pare back. I was able to express to her that God had been saying the same thing to me, and that I’d actually been learning about the need for better balance for a few years. I’ve started on that journey…but I know I still have lots to learn.

Jesus was clearly able to step back from the urgent demands and in so doing discerned clearly His priorities, which in this case meant moving on to somewhere new, leaving needy people behind. We might find that really difficult to do, so what can we learn from Him?

It seems that Jesus learned the difference between the urgent and the important. One extreme example from his life was when he purposefully delayed going to see His dying friend Lazarus (after receiving an urgent plea from his sisters) to do what was God’s will – raise Lazarus from the dead (John 11).

While we may never have such a dramatic choice to make, we still need God’s wisdom to help us prioritise our time. Too often we take up many hours of our days spending ourselves on what may seem urgent, but they are, in fact, not the most important tasks God has for us.

Reflection: Carve out some time with God today to evaluate what is most important in your life and honestly assess the proportion of time you are devoting to those things. Ask Him to show you any ‘urgent’ demands that are not actually yours to meet. Then ask Him what changes you may need to make to your daily routines. 

Learning from Jesus

Reflections based on Matthew 3:13–4:11.

‘And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”’ (3:17)

We can learn much from Jesus about His use of time. There were three important truths that helped Him as He started His ministry:

1. Jesus knew who He was. Even before He had done anything, God publicly affirmed Him (v17). But straight after that amazing experience, He went into the wilderness and faced huge temptations. The truth of knowing His identity anchored Him, so when the devil tried to drop doubts in His mind to manipulate Him, such as: ‘If you are the Son of God… ’ Jesus didn’t entertain them. Instead, He countered Satan’s words with scripture

2. Jesus knew He was deeply loved and that God was pleased with Him. The verses cited about here publicly stated that, but He also said it Himself at other times (see, for example, John 8:29).

3. Jesus was empowered by the Holy Spirit (we read about the Spirit descending upon Him in verse 16). He also remained in close contact with His Father, only doing what He saw Him doing (John 5:19).

Jesus was purposeful with His use of time, even when He was surrounded by urgent demands. He made sure He took time to rest and offered that same rest to others (Matthew 11:28–30).

We, too, can use our time wisely and fruitfully by learning from Jesus. By reminding ourselves that we are secure in who we are in God, and that we are totally loved by Him, we can resist the lure of people pleasing or comparing ourselves to others and feeling we come up short. And when we learn to ask for the Holy Spirit’s fresh infilling each day, we can rest assured that we are being empowered to face whatever we will with His guidance.

Prayer: Lord help me to learn from You, and be secure in the knowledge that I am deeply loved. Help me to remember to seek a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit each day too. Amen.

Learning to rest

Reflections based on Matthew 11:28–30.

‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’ (v.28)

I don’t know whether you are like me – seemingly always busy, rushing around with a huge ‘to do’ list of tasks both for work but also outside of work (mainly for church). I can get to the end of a day frazzled and exhausted. It seems that our culture celebrates being busy; that somehow it is looked down upon if we leave work at a reasonable time, and plan in plenty of break times in order to be refreshed throughout the day.

But that is not the way that God wants us to live. In fact, He commanded Sabbath rest for our good (see Deuteronomy 5:12–15 – God gave the Israelites permission to take a Sabbath, to rest – which would have taken some getting used to as they were used to a slave taskmaster.

In order to make sure that they rested on the Sabbath, God even provided a double portion of manna for them the day before (see Exodus 16). For many of us, our so-called ‘Sabbath’ day – often the day we join with God’s people in our local church – is actually just as busy (or more so) than other days of the week. Do we believe God can intervene supernaturally to help prepare us and give us the time of rest that we need, just as He did with the manna?

For reflection: Take time to honestly assess whether you take a proper Sabbath or if this is something that hasn’t happened for a while. Perhaps you need to repent before God, and ask Him to help you set aside time to rest in Him each week…

In good company

Happy New Year! I have taken a break over Christmas and New Year from work – if I’d realised we were actually at the last of our reflections on hope I may have squeezed it in before the end of 2019 😉 Never mind – it’s good to start 2020 reminding ourselves of where our hope lies.

Reflections based on Hebrews 11:1–12; 32–40.

‘Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.’ (v.1)

This is the famous passage about faith, but take a look at the first verse – shown above. Hope is an integral part of our faith as Christians. Indeed Romans 4:18 makes this connection between the faith and hope that one of the characters in our passage had: ‘Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”’

As I said in a previous post, John Piper described hope as ‘faith in the future tense’. And what is so notable about all the people commended in this passage, of which we are told there are so many that not all are named, is that they never entered into the fullness of everything they had been promised during their lifetime. We are told they welcomed it from a distance, so they had a glimpse of it but never actually lived in it. Wow – I’m not sure I would have been so faithful (although I can think of some modern-day heroes close to my heart that inspire me by holding firmly on to their faith even when they don’t see what they are hoping for).

Take a look at verses 32–39 again and look at the huge trials those mentioned in Hebrews 11 had to face: battles, torture, ridicule, flogging, chains, prison, persecution. It makes for sobering reading doesn’t it? Those ‘giants’ of faith really did face severe testing and struggles. Often exercising faith means hanging on to the hope of our future glory in the midst of our own struggles. But we can be reassured that, as we do so, our walk with God is maturing.

Aren’t God’s plans incomprehensible and above our own? Just reflect on what the final verses reveal – that those we read about can only be made perfect with us. It is when we are all together with Him that we can fully enter into the glorious hope made possible through our Saviour. What a mind-blowing truth!

For prayer and reflection: Ask God to fire up your hope afresh as you read about these heroes of faith one more time. Allow their example to motivate you to carry on in your own walk of faith this year.

Finding hope through worship

Reflections based on Psalm 57.

Having had a break for half term, we are back to our study on hope. Scholars agree that this psalm was written during the same period as the one we looked at two weeks ago (Psalm 142). But here David seems to be more determined. Yes, he is still in the same situation of men pursuing him for his very life, and also unsure of whether any of his own are set to betray him (see v.4). However, right from the first verse David is declaring that his soul finds refuge in God alone. This sentiment appears numerous times throughout the psalms. For example, Psalm 119:114 says ‘You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.’

Throughout Psalm 57 we see a juxtaposition between the situation that David finds himself in and the truth about who God is. David is declaring who he has faith in, and where his hope lies, while being realistic about what is going on in his life. He also speaks to his soul, telling it to ‘awake’ and goes on to worship God in the final three verses.

This psalm talks to me about the importance of worship even in the midst of trials. I think that is one of the lessons that David learned while in the cave, and I also think it is one that God wants us all to learn through our own personal ‘caves’.

How do we come through difficulties still clinging to the hope we have in Him? By learning to set our hearts and minds to worship Him, even when it may be the last thing we ‘feel’ like doing. From a perspective of worship, our surroundings and circumstances can seem very different. David went on to be the greatest king of Israel and yet he had to learn this lesson – so must we. Believe me, I understand how painful praising through the pain can be, and yet I am totally convinced of how vital it is.

For prayer and reflection: God help me to quickly learn the benefits of worshipping you even when I may not feel like it. You are worthy, whatever I am going through, and I am sorry that I can forget that when I am feeling overwhelmed.

Fighting despair

Reflections based on 1 Samuel 22:1–6; Psalm 142.

Reading in Samuel, we discover that David is running from Saul and takes refuge in a cave. He had already been anointed king by Samuel at this point, but the current king was not ready to give up his throne. It is interesting to see how God allowed David to go through this time of testing. He didn’t simply triumphantly walk onto the throne: God worked on his character through these testing times.

David wrote a few of the psalms while hiding from Saul. In Psalm 142 he is totally overwhelmed and desperate. He believes no one cares about him. And yet, even in the depths of despair, he turns to God. He tells Him how he feels. This might seem shocking – he says to God ‘no-one is concerned for me’ when obviously deep down he knows that God is. But I believe this psalm is important because it shows us that God wants us to be honest with him, in the way that David is here. Notice that he does turn things around though, and it is when he remembers where his hope lies that things change for him. As we see in verse 2 of our Samuel passage, God brings 400 men to him who form the start of his army. While he may feel he is hiding away, God is giving him an opportunity to work on both his own character and the development of leadership skills to run an army.

How do you respond when the heat is turned up in your life? Do you have a tendency to wallow in self-pity? If so, try to articulate that to God rather than keeping it inside and dwelling on it. Then remind yourself that He is the only real source of strength and hope.

I have found that I can have a tendency to get stuck in negative emotions. Learning how to lament, using the psalms as guides, has been an incredibly helpful form of release. I try and articulate all of my emotions through writing them down, and then remember God’s faithfulness to me in the same way.

For prayer and reflection: I am sorry Lord when I hide away from You, too low even to speak. Help me to lift my eyes to You, be honest about how I feel but also remember that You are my hope.

Jesus’ prayer for us

Reflections based on John 17:20–25.

Just before He was betrayed by Judas, Jesus spent some time praying for himself, for his disciples but also for future believers – that’s us! In that prayer, our reading today, He prayed that we would be one ‘so that the world may believe’ (v21). His prayer echoes what the previous devotion discussed – about God’s plan being focused on us, that we would share the hope we have found through the way we live and speak.

The Great Commission, some of Jesus’ final words to His disciples, again encourages us to get out and share the Good News: ‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’ (Matthew 28:19–20)

Peter, in his first letter, encourages us to ‘always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.’ (1 Peter 3:15)

I think we can clearly see that we have a responsibility to share our hope with those around us – through the way we live and the words we speak.

If what you’ve read today fills you with dread and condemnation rather than joy, please don’t allow it to settle on you. I am not a natural evangelist, and also experience feelings of inadequacy. But even if you are struggling with the most difficult of situations, it can be through those testing times that we reveal the faith we have in our God to those closest to us. It is about learning to cling to that hope when all around us looks hopeless – which we will start looking at more closely next time…

For prayer and reflection: Jesus You prayed that we would be one so that the world would believe. Help me to realise that in You I have everything I need – to live in unity with others and to be a good witness.

Active hope

Reflections based on 1 Peter 1:13–24.

Last week we looked at the start of 1 Peter 1. The second half of that chapter continues with an exhortation to set our hope on future grace. This is an active thing; a choice. Indeed John Piper has described hope as being ‘faith in the future tense’ (a phrase we will come back to later in our study) and, just like faith needs to be exercised in order to grow, so too, I believe, does hope. So what should that action look like?

In these verses we are being urged to live holy lives rather than giving in to our earthly nature, and to love one another sincerely. If we are honest, there are times when it is far easier to give in to fear, anger, lust, dishonesty etc. What about the harsh words spoken over you? Maybe by someone in your local church? Or the friend or spouse who does something to really hurt you? Or perhaps you suffer daily through sickness. It is hard to feel hopeful in these times – and hard not to respond with our fleshy natures.

We will be taking a closer look at how we cling to hope in the midst of troubles later, but I think one of the keys is contained within this passage. We constantly have to remind ourselves that we were saved by something that will never perish – the precious blood of Jesus. And our truly, magnificent, all-powerful heavenly Father chose to redeem us in this way and so our hope is also in Him.

Whatever today looks like, our tomorrow is certain and sure – glorious intimacy with Him. Remind yourself today that God’s word is ‘living and enduring’ and never returns to Him empty (Isaiah 55:11). God will always have the last word. Hallelujah!

For prayer and reflection: Meditate on the fact that Jesus was chosen before the creation of the world to be your Saviour. How you can remind yourself of that amazing hope throughout today?

A holy nation

Photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán from Pexels

Reflections based on 1 Peter 2:4–10.

This passage is reminiscent of the way that God referred to the Israelites – how He set them apart to be His people. There is further Old Testament language used here: the holy priesthood and spiritual sacrifices. Isaiah 28 is quoted, reminding us that Jesus is the stone that God’s holy temple is built on. The amazing thing is that we not only get to be God’s holy dwelling place, we are knitted together with others into a much bigger ‘spiritual house’.

We saw last week how the Holy Spirit testifies that we are children of God. Here we are being reminded that the truth is even bigger than that. We gain a sense of perspective through this reading; it isn’t just about you or me as an individual. Yes, we are important and precious to God, but we are part of a ‘chosen people’, a ‘holy nation’ that God has set apart for Himself. As we saw with the Old Testament passages we looked at earlier in this study, a lot of Scripture focuses on corporate holiness. That is why I wanted to include 1 Peter 2; to show that it wasn’t just an Old Testament concept. It is also a good reminder that we are not to focus on ourselves but live in the light of the fact that we are stones being built into the same building as our fellow believers.

In the Old Testament we saw how ‘God’s people had a priesthood, but today God’s people are a priesthood.’* In biblical times especially, it was a privilege to be a priest – today all that we do, both individually but also together, should therefore be for God’s glory. As verse 9 tells us, the responsibility of our shared calling is to reveal ‘the praises of him’ to the world around us.

Prayer: Lord You have called me, and my fellow believers, to be Your holy nation. Help us to live and work in unity, revealing Your glory to those we come into contact with. Amen.

*Warren Wiersbe, Be Hopeful: How to make the best times out of your worst of times (1 Peter) (David C Cook, 2009).
NB This study was first written for Inspiring Women Every Day. It wasn’t until I was uploading this page to my blog that I made the connection that so much of my research for such Bible notes has included books by Warren Wiersbe. I am truly grateful for his life, and the lives of our other dear brothers and sisters who have died recently, including Rachel Held Evans and Jean Vanier. We influence one another just by sharing our lives, and/or putting our ideas and thoughts ‘out there’ for one another to read and think about. The three I mention here were from different Christian traditions, but each brought fresh revelations to me and countless others. We truly are a varied ‘spiritual house’ – but may we be built up into unity with one another.