Tag Archives: faithfulness

Sunrise at the Beach in Ocean City

Sunrise at the Beach

Last week, we spent a few days at the beach. Of course, we woke up early every day to catch the sunrise. That’s our favorite thing to do! Pretty much every morning we’re at the beach, we are out the door before sunrise so we can see the sun come up over the water. It’s the most amazing thing in the world to watch, especially if you can get there when it’s still dark and get to watch the entire progression.

There’s a spot on the boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey that is the most popular spot to watch the sunrise. It always surprises me how many people gather in that spot each morning to watch the sun come up. Every single day, the sun rises. It’s not an uncommon occurrence. Yet, every day, people gather at that spot and stop whatever it was they were doing. For just a few moments of time, we all stop and stare in silence in the direction of the sun.

That Magical Moment Right before Sunrise

There’s this magical moment right before the sun rises. Everybody gathers around and stares into the horizon, waiting and hoping to be the first to catch a glimpse of the sun as it rises. It’s a moment of breathless anticipation. A stillness fills the air, and everybody waits in silence.

As we watch, the sun crests along the horizon. It begins its rise, magnificent in its ascension. The whole thing only lasts a few minutes; if you’re not paying close attention, you will miss it altogether. Then after the sun has risen, people begin to dissipate. Some people begin pedaling on their bikes once again; others turn to their walking partner and begin a conversation as they walk on the boardwalk once again. Others leave the boardwalk altogether, having accomplished what they came to accomplish.

The Consistency of Sunrise

It always amazes me how the sunrise can be so incredibly different each and every morning. I never grow tired of seeing the sunrise. If I lived by the ocean, I think I would wake up every morning and make my way over to the beach every single morning. Every time I see a sunrise, it reminds me of God’s faithfulness. The sunrise is so consistent; we literally set our clocks by it. So it is with God’s faithfulness; it is something we can count on every single day, no matter the circumstances.

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23

Sunrises are More Uncommon than Sunsets

Andy Andrews, in his book, The Bottom of the Pool, says that sunrises are more uncommon than sunsets. At first that doesn’t really make sense; sunsets and sunrises both take place every single day. It doesn’t make sense until you continue reading and he explains that even though sunrises and sunsets happen daily, most people won’t catch the sunrise. Most people have a better chance of seeing the sunset than the sunrise. That’s because most people are busy in the morning. Either they’re still sleeping, or they’re getting ready for work or for school.

Sunrises are for the few that brave getting up early, so they don’t miss out on the spectacular. That moment right before the sun rises is a special moment that most people miss out on. I think it’s the same way with God working in our lives. Some people just miss out on what God was trying to do in their lives. They’re so busy rushing through life that they never stop and look up and wait and watch and try to figure out what God is doing in their life.

Don’t Forget to Pause and Look Up

Watching the sunrise each morning last week reminded me that I don’t want that to be the story of my life. I don’t want to miss what God is doing in my life and in the lives around me simply because I was too busy to stop and ponder what he was doing.

So this is my reminder to you and to myself. Spend some time in this month of October before we go careening into the holiday season to simply stop and spend time with God. Look up. Spend some extra time reading your Bible and journaling. See what he’s trying to do in your life and in the lives of those around you. Don’t miss out on the beauty that he is creating in your life every single day.

My morning time with my Faithfully Stepping Journal

The fact of the matter is God sees you; he knows what you are going through today. He has you right where he wants you. Don’t miss out on what he has in store.

sunrise and verse — Sunrise at Ocean City, NJ

For More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post Getting Stuck in the Dark and Waiting for Dawn to Break, and a book recommendation is Sandra Stanley’s Devotional, Breathing Room.

God Uses Trials to Develop Iron in our Souls

4 Replies

photo credit: Kalen Emsley

Deserts and Prisons

We can’t always make sense of what God is doing in our lives. Sometimes, though, we can begin to see a pattern in the way God deals with people. In the Bible, God sent people to prisons and deserts. Joseph, John the Baptist, Jeremiah, and Paul all went to prison and Moses, Elijah, and David spent time in the desert. A desert and a prison have the same effect– you are cut off from everything you know, the comforts you are used to, and thrown into an entirely new set of circumstances, totally dependent on God.

It’s in the prisons and deserts of life that we learn an entirely new way of depending on God. It’s the place where God begins to show us more of Himself. It was in the desert that God called Moses from the burning bush to return to Egypt and free the Israelites. God revealed the next stage of Elijah’s ministry to him during his time in the desert. When Jeremiah was imprisoned, God spoke to him and gave him the amazing words we comfort ourselves with still today.

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. Jeremiah 33:3

Job’s Story

We see another example of this in the book of Job. While Job’s story doesn’t take him to a literal prison, his circumstances were similar. God took away everything from Job and left him destitute. Job gets to know God in an entirely new way. Job no longer knew about God, he knew God personally. At the end of his trial, Job had this to say.

I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Job 42:5

Captivity

There’s an interesting verse at the end of the book of Job that captured my attention recently.

And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. Job 42:10

I think it is so interesting that God calls Job’s testing captivity. It gives us a glimpse into the way God deals with us in trials and testings. The word captivity we can understand. It’s the idea of being a prisoner. God allowed Job to be a prisoner during his time of testing. The time of testing came to an end, and God restored Job’s wealth to him and gave him more children.

What brought about the end of Job’s testing? What happened to Job that God said, “Ok, that’s enough. You passed the test.”?

Iron in Our Soul

I’m not completely sure but I think David may give us a glimpse of it in the Psalms. There’s a really interesting verse in Psalm 105 that talks about Joseph’s time of testing.

He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:

Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:

Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him. Psalm 105:17-19

The phrase he was laid in iron literally means “his soul came into iron.” He developed iron in his soul. Joseph was not the same person when God finished testing him. What does it mean to have iron in your soul? It carries the idea of spiritual “toughening up.” God knows that we can’t stay the way we are and hope to serve Him faithfully for a lifetime. Life is just too hard. So He sends us into captivity, times of testing to toughen us up, so we will stay faithful in the long run.

Times of Iron Strengthening

I know in my life personally, Matt and I are not the same people we were when we started our church seven years ago. God has used these years of testing to toughen us up, not to have a hard heart but a tough skin. Matt often says that we need to keep a tender heart but grow a thick skin. The ministry is tough. People can be cruel. God does things we don’t understand. If we want to get through all that, we have to keep a tender heart to the Lord but toughen up a little bit. We can’t let hurtful comments, bad days, and heartbreak keep us from what we know the Lord called us to do.

I don’t know what you are going through, but I know that God allows times in our lives when we are held captive and tested beyond what we think we can manage so that He can put iron in our souls.

A Heart of Iron

Two dear friends of mine are in such a time right now. They both have cancer and are clinging to God during this time. They are totally dependent on God as their worlds have come crashing down. As I pray for them and hurt for them, I am watching the iron process taking place. Somehow they are stronger than they were when they started; they have more faith and grace than what they started with. I am watching as God takes them through this process and is refining them and changing them.

I wonder if that’s what Pharoah saw in Joseph when Joseph stood before him in the palace. He saw a man fresh from prison, but he saw in this young man a heart of iron.

My challenge to you and to myself is to not give up and throw in the towel. God is at work refining us. It’s in this refining process that we get to know Him in an entirely new way. It’s in these difficult times of testing that God is developing iron in our soul so that we can stay faithful for a lifetime.

When You Feel Like God Has Forgotten You

Feeling Alone

Do you ever feel utterly alone? Do you sometimes feel as though God has forgotten you? We know God says He will never leave us, nor forsake us. So why do we feel at times that He is so far away?

Are you facing pressures and frankly feel like God has forgotten you? You are not alone. There are times when I feel like my prayers aren’t being answered. I feel like He isn’t listening to me. Sometimes it’s a feeling that comes and goes; other times, it’s a feeling that won’t go away.

What do you do when God hasn’t answered your prayers, and you feel like He is silent? What happens when you don’t know the next step to take and feel utterly alone?

God Left Hezekiah

A few weeks ago, I read a really interesting verse in II Chronicles during my morning time. I was reading about the life of Hezekiah. Hezekiah was the thirteenth king of Judah. He sought God with all his heart in every aspect of his life, and God prospered him because of it.

And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered. II Chronicles 31:21

Great things happened during Hezekiah’s reign. God defended Hezekiah and his people and blessed them during his reign. But there’s a very interesting verse that appears in II Chronicles 32.

…God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart. II Chronicles 32:31

If you read in II Chronicles, you read all about Hezekiah’s success and blessing from God; and then all of a sudden you stumble upon this verse. What? God left him… God left Hezekiah?

Hezekiah sought God with all his heart. He was a Godly king who did everything right. Yet God left him.

When God is Silent

I realize that this is the Old Testament, and the Holy Spirit hadn’t come to earth to stay yet. So God’s presence came and went in the Old Testament. If we are saved, we now have the Holy Spirit living inside of us. We can’t truly be without God. But consider this for a moment. If God left a Godly king for a time to see what was in his heart, could it be possible that God allows us times when He is silent in our lives? Does He allow us to go through a time where it is “as if” He left us so that He can see what’s in our heart?

I believe it is entirely possible. How do I know this? Because I have been through it a few times in my life. I have encountered a few specific times when God is absolutely silent. I still have my morning time every morning when I pray, read my Bible and journal. There’s no great sin in my life that I’m aware of. I am actively seeking God with all my heart. And yet…He seems so far away. I pray and don’t get any answers. I feel like I am walking in absolute darkness.

Could it be that God uses these times to test what is in our hearts? Will we continue to follow Him even when we can’t see our way clearly? Do we trust Him explicitly even though it doesn’t make sense? Is our faith strong enough to withstand the silence? Will I stay faithful, when all I want to do is run?

What Do You Do When God Seems So Far Away?

I don’t know if you have ever had a time like this in your life? Maybe you are there right now. I am. I am in a place where I need to hear God’s voice and know His peace. Yet right now, He feels so far away. What do you do during this time? How do you get through?

I don’t have all the answers. I haven’t gotten this all worked out yet, but I do know three things that we have to do during times of uncertainty.

1. Wait. Don’t move from where God has you. Don’t make any major decisions during this time. In other words, don’t do anything stupid.

Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. Philippians 4:1

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him… Psalm 37:7

2. Choose Joy. As hard as it is, choose to joy in the circumstance. Choose joy in the midst of the uncertainty.

Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Philippians 4:4

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. James 1:2-4

3. Stay Faithful. God hasn’t forgotten you. Know this: The work God is doing in your life and in mine is for a purpose and for a season. This time of testing and proving won’t last forever. Nobody’s testing and trials in the Bible lasted forever. The testing served its purpose, and then the trial was over. Until we have the answers, our job is to stay faithful.

And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. Psalm 9:10

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Ecclesiastes 3:1

This time of silence will come to an end. God is still there. He hasn’t forgotten you. He is testing you to see what is in your heart. Wait for Him to work, choose to joy in this season, and stay faithful.