Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. (Psalm 27:14) Jesus tells us many times in the bible to “Take Heart”! If we are called to take heart, then we are capable of losing heart. There are countless references about our hearts in scripture because God created our hearts and cares for us. Jesus commands us to, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37) He calls us to “guard your heart above all else because it is the well spring of life,”(Proverbs 4:23) If life flows from our hearts, then if we lose heart or allow our hearts to be consumed or hardened by things other than God, death can be the result. Losing heart can lead to the death of our faith, hopes, relationships, bodies, mind, and soul. Depression, fear, anxiety, pride, anger, resentment, and idolatry can all be a result of losing our heart when we allow anything other than Jesus Christ to be our heart’s desire. The bible gives us truth and insight into our hearts many times:
The Lord calls us to know the truth so we can be free and have life abundantly. Knowing the truth in God’s word and what He says about our hearts can help us understand how to “take heart” when we experience trials, disappointments, failures, loss, grief, and struggles with sin. God promises that when we give our hearts to Him, and accept his free give of salvation through Jesus Christ, we can live with the hope, peace, encouragement, freedom, and love that only He can provide. He ultimately becomes our heart’s desire and our lives are transformed with fruitful and meaningful purpose because we come to know the character of Christ and who we are in Him. We have to intentionally make the choice to “take heart” or “take courage”, “don’t give up”, “keep believing”, “keep fighting the good fight”, and “have faith”. Things that cause us to “lose heart”:
Ways we can TAKE HEART!
Scripture regarding our hearts:
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)
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Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, When trying to comprehend this verse, it is important to understand what each word means. I am replacing key words with dictionary definitions. In other words, the verse is saying “Joyful” is the one who finds “the ability to discern or judge what is true, right or lasting”, and the one who gets “insight or good judgement”, for the “benefit” from her is better than “benefit” from silver and her “advantage” better than gold. In the entire book of Proverbs, there are many truths and principles that impart wisdom to the reader and can be applied in everyday life. For example, many times in my walk with God, I have needed guidance and wisdom! In Proverbs 2:6 It says that “the Lord gives wisdom, from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding”. So I cried out to God for help. In one particular situation I was debating if I should continue dating someone or not, and the Lord revealed to me in scripture the wisdom that I needed to make that decision. “Understanding will guard you, delivering you from the ways of evil, from men of perverted speech, who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness” (Proverbs:11b-13) Although break ups are not easy, God can see the entire picture that we cannot. If God is weighing your heart down to make a decision, it is wise to be obedient, because more than likely he is trying to save you from some trouble, and allow you to walk into the perfect and pleasing path He has for you. In this situation, financial gain was not at stake, but I believe the principle still stands true. What I gained from the wisdom and understanding that God gave me in dating, does profit more than money! It gave me knowledge for what characteristics to look for in a spouse, it gave me wisdom to help my friends and family who are dating. Relationships are hard enough, but apply wisdom and understanding to it, and it can save you a lot of heartache and time wasted. Application questions:
Hebrews 12:1-2 – Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith, for the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Here, we are called to follow Jesus and he gives us some basic instructions. First, we are called to throw off everything that hinders us. Things that hinder can fall into several categories. For me personally, these things can be television, Netflix, or social media. I dialed those considerably and it really improved my devotional times. People we place in our lives can also hinder us. We are called to make disciples but the people we run through life with should be strengthening us and provide accountability. This helps with the second part, throwing off the sin that so easily entangles. I have been in a community group of guys for almost a year now and this has been vital in my battle against sin even though the battle still continues. I’ve got more support now from these guys that God has placed in my life. We gain motivation for perseverance through life’s trials by “fixing our eyes on Jesus”, the ultimate role model. The imagery of running a race is used here to keep running the race, not taking detours or being distracted, because we know that we will receive the ultimate prize (Jesus) when we run the good race and fight the good fight. Scripture says Jesus is the “perfecter” of faith, and he is just that, perfect, and came to earth to display that perfection by enduring the cross for us. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 – For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. This is something I have been meditating on recently because the evil one will tempt me (and all of us) with things that bring temporary satisfaction. These temptations are easy to fall victim to but it takes strength to stand for something greater. Jesus provides ultimate satisfaction that will last forever, and that is what we should fix our eyes on. This also gives hope to people who are in pain or experiencing hardships. All of this will seem “light and momentary” when we experience the glory God has in store for us. John 20:29 – Then Jesus told him (Thomas), “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” If you are discouraged because all of this is unseen, you are not alone, but you can take hope in the fact that Jesus encourages all of us who believe but have not seen. He calls us “blessed” if we have faith in the midst of the unseen. This is why it is important that we focus our vision on Jesus, knowing his character and glory so we can rest assured. Prayer: Lord, I pray that we will all gain a vision of what is to come and that knowing your promises of a perfect future will motivate us to run with perseverance this race that Jesus is leading us on. Also, let us realize that we are blessed for having faith in this future that is unseen, but will be revealed to us in all of its perfect glory, a glory that far outweighs all of our current trials. Music Track: “Look and Live” - Swoope
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. Early on in my Christian walk I had always felt a call towards vocational pastoral ministry yet I also had a desire to be a teacher. I always thought that the call towards vocational pastoral ministry was a higher calling since it is ministry. This came from the thought that there is a secular and sacred divide. John Mark Comer states that “The sacred/secular divide is this idea that some things are sacred or spiritual, and they matter to God. But other things are secular or physical, and at least by implication, they don’t matter to God – at least, not all that much.” Little did I know that this was an error in my thinking and is quite common among Christians.
The notion that our secular work is not important should shift towards the notion that God has given me certain gifts and a position at work for the building of His kingdom and the betterment of human flourishing. In Genesis 2:15, God gave Adam this commandment to work and keep the garden of Eden and Genesis 1:28 where the Lord tells man and woman to be fruitful and multiply, subdue the earth and fill it. This is known as the Cultural Mandate that the Lord has given man. In Genesis 3, sin enters the world and one of the curses is that the ground that man will work will war against him. Notice that we as man received this call to work before Genesis 3 which means that God created and meant for us to work. Work itself is not cursed but the ground that we will work is cursed. So how do we know how the Lord has gifted us and where should we work? That’s a loaded question but you can ask those who are around you, “What do you see me doing?” You can also ask yourself, “What do I want to do?” and “What problem do I want to solve?” We can look at 1 Corinthians 12 and look at how God has given us spiritual gifts and how each person is gifted a certain way and we can see how each gift compliments each other within the church. These are some questions that can help guide you and then GO FOR IT! Ryan Wall from Watermark Community Church created this list of vocations and how they reflect God’s character:
When we understand that there is no sacred/secular divide, we then understand and experience the Lord every day and not just Sunday mornings. We understand that God has given us the Cultural Mandate and specific gifts for the building of His Kingdom and for human flourishing. We can worship the Lord through our work for before the Fall, man was in close relationship with the Lord as the Lord gave the command to work and cultivate the Garden of Eden. “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” –Colossians 3:23-24 |
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