“All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”  Matthew 5:37

Are you afraid of saying no? I am!

What a gift that Scripture doesn’t condemn the word no. Rather, the Bible highlights the importance of keeping your word, whether it’s a yes or a no.

Every no is a yes to something else, and vice versa. 

Imagine if Jesus was as uncomfortable with saying no as so many of us are.

What if, instead of saying “get behind me, Satan!” to Peter, He said “you’re right, Peter. I’ll stop all this talk of being killed because it’s too dark and too uncomfortable.” What if instead of taking a rest from time to time Jesus wore his human body down with non-stop healings, miracles, and other ministries, preventing himself from going from town to town?

It wasn’t by saying yes to every opportunity, to every person in power, or to spare other’s feelings that Christ saved the world.

It wasn’t by saying yes to every opportunity, to every person in power, or to spare other’s feelings that Christ saved the world. @BethanyMcIlrath
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In order for Jesus to do much of what He came to do, He had to say no. He had to say it firmly, assuredly, and without going back on His word. When Pharisees and others told Him what not to do, Jesus said no. When His own brothers urged Him to attend a festival and reveal Himself, He said “no,” citing God’s timing.

Perhaps most important about Jesus’ yes was that His response was to God first.

Every no Jesus spoke was to preserve the yes He gave to the Lord.

I suspect many of us say yes before we ask the Lord or consider what He has asked of us. We justify it, trying to explain away our yes  as selflessness, responsibility, or making the most out of every opportunity. Maybe we even justify our yes  in the name of the Lord, and fear saying no to others as if every no is a selfish offense to God.

But His Word challenges the notion:

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ” Galatians 1:10

If you also go through your day feeling like yes is always the best answer, think about who you are saying yes to. Is it the Lord?

Does your “no” protect your “yes, Lord?”

{A version of this was previously published here}

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God also says He is our stronghold.

“THE LORD IS GOOD, A STRONGHOLD IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE,

AND HE KNOWS THOSE WHO TAKE REFUGE IN HIM.” –NAHUM 1:7

A stronghold is a type of refuge, and it’s designed for times of war. When we retreat to our stronghold, we go to this one true God:

He Is Battle-Ready

In David’s war days, He and His enemies had strongholds. These fortresses were the places they would all run to when the battle became thick. There, weapons and rations were stashed. Strongholds are battle-ready. When enemies attack, regardless of how ruthlessly, a stronghold is a safe place to go and persist through the battle.

Our stronghold, our God, is just as battle-ready. And He is the victory.

Strongholds are battle-ready. When enemies attack, regardless of how ruthlessly, a stronghold is a safe place to go and persist through the battle. @BethanyMcIlrath
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He Has the Provisions for a Seige

Holding out in a fortress during battle does not work out so well if the stronghold is empty. We need provisions as we wait out the siege. Sustenance, nourishment, company…hope.

The Lord provides all that we need- even when we’re persevering through a ruthless attack. Even when we’re waiting out hardship.

He Is Our Defense

More than just a place, a stronghold is a strategy: a defense. Strong and made with solid material like rock, fortresses are designed to keep trouble out. The strongholds we read about in the Bible, especially those that guarded David, were no exception.

Our stronghold is big enough and strong enough to be a living shield. Though at times oppressed and attacked, those who take refuge in the stronghold of God will be delivered.

God is our Strong-hold: the strong One holding us in times of trouble and battle.
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“HE IS MY LOVING GOD AND MY FORTRESS, MY STRONGHOLD AND MY DELIVERER, MY SHIELD, IN WHOM I TAKE REFUGE, WHO SUBDUES PEOPLES UNDER ME.” –PSALM 144:2

{This post was originally published here}

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It is after a major accident that we are glad to be alive, or post-loss that we are grateful for those who truly love us. It seems that we need disruptions to remind us that life isn’t actually in our control and that there is something more important “out there”.

Yet the faster we get over things, the sooner we tend to forget lessons learned.

Reminders seem fleeting and unable to impact us in a way that changes something in our hearts when our hands and hearts feel full.

This, the Bible suggests, is why opportunities for endurance can be a blessing. Troubles and suffering that endure teach us, rather than remind us, to rely on our Lord and to look on our lives in light of Him.

Because of what we learn through hardship, we are to glory in our sufferings.

“And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” -Romans 5:3-5

If God chooses to, He can heal the sick, prevent accidents, and delay the time of death. There are certainly times that He has. We often find that this is what we pray for. Or, if not such extreme miracles, we pray that recovery is speedy or that joy come quickly.

Why do we feel it’s best to hurry grief, hardship, and uncomfortable emotions?

Surely no one needs to desire or wish for trouble, but when it comes, as it did for Jesus, we are to trust in God’s will. As someone (I’m sorry I can’t recall who) pointed out- there isn’t a single emotion Christ didn’t feel and yet there wasn’t a single moment Christ wasn’t honoring God. Yet we think we should get to avoid hard things and uncomfortable feelings because they could lead to sin?

God produces much in our hearts in our times of enduring.

Consider what Psalm 105:19 says about God’s work in the suffering of Joseph (who was sold into slavery and thrown into jail for no sin of his own!):

In Psalm 73, we are given an example of one who begins to slip from righteousness because He focuses on how wicked people seem to have no trouble at all. The writer begins to look around and grow envious of how happy others’ earthly lives seem to be. Meanwhile, his own Godly life is one of affliction. He comes to this conclusion in verses 20-28:

and my spirit embittered,

I was senseless and ignorant;

I was a brute beast before you.

Yet I am always with you;

you hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will take me into glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever.

Those who are far from you will perish;

you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

But as for me, it is good to be near God.

I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;

Sometimes life is a lot to endure when we look around and see how other’s lives seem to go. Particularly when we’re struggling. But…

Enduring, when rooted in the perseverance of the Lord, can be a blessing.
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The “end goal” of our lives as Christians is that we are near to our God. Happiness is not the goal. Prosperity is not the goal. These might be a means to our end goal, but we must realize that suffering can also be a means to grow closer to Him.

It is good for us to be near our God. He is our desire and our glory. If it is in suffering that we spend our days seeking Him, learning from Him, and relying on Him, then we can count our having to endure as a blessing.

In light of our Savior, our hope is secure. He is faithful. His love is unfailing. Time and time again, He has proved Himself merciful. Our suffering does not change the Lord, but the Lord can certainly draw our hearts, shaping them as His, through our suffering.

{A version of this post was originally published here.}

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The thought in your head that you are not good enough, no matter how hard you’ve tried. A lie, on repeat, that you can’t ever measure up or be worthy of love. Guilt that won’t subside.

The boss that never respects your time or how much has already been put on your plate on a tight deadline. A person who continues to abuse, even when ties have been cut.

What in your life is ruthless?

Some of these are mine. Some belong to my loved ones. Some are yours. There are others, too.

We all face the ruthless, that which is “without pity or compassion; cruel; merciless,” whose synonyms are “unrelenting, adamant, cruel.”

Isaiah 25:4 describes how it feels:

“the breath of the ruthless
is like a storm driving against a wall
and like the heat of the desert.”

Isn’t that the truth? That which is ruthlessly disrespectful, uncompassionate, and cruel in our lives feels like a tremendous force against us that we can’t flee from. It bears down on us like heat that cannot be escaped, draining us of our energy and our strength.

In Isaiah’s praise to the Lord, He describes how the Lord is our refuge. He goes on to say, in reference to the ruthless:

“You silence the uproar of foreigners;
as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless is stilled.”

With just a moment of time and a compassionate thought in mind, our Lord makes cloud cover turn down the heat. He silences the storm thrashing us against the wall. He stills the ruthless. @BethanyMcIlrath
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After describing how the ruthless flourish, only to pass away and be found no more, the Lord reiterates in Psalm 37:39-40:

“The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;

he is their stronghold in time of trouble.

The Lord helps them and delivers them;

he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,

because they take refuge in him.”

What a refuge we have in Him! We never need to hide or to fight a losing battle alone, feeling like we are doomed to be left as empty heaps of nothingness.

In Christ, we endure.

The Lord is stronger, safer, and more steadfastly unchanging than any ruthless thing we face in this world. @BethanyMcIlrath
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Such sweet relief we find in the shadow of those unmovable, unshakable wings!

Despite the ruthlessness of sin, Christ wins.

{A version of this post originally appeared on First and Second blog}

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“Who’s that?” I ask.

It’s not my business. I don’t especially care. I’m just being nosy (usually because I’m bored.)

My husband’s reply is often, “It’s Jesus.”

I roll my eyes. He smirks. It’s our bit.

But sometimes when we play that little game, I think about how nice it would be to get a text from Jesus.

He doesn’t need to say anything in particular. It’d just be nice to be reminded that Jesus is thinking of me. That’s He’s with me and wants to talk. Anytime. All the time.

What I forget is that…He is.

Jesus may not text us like our friends do, but His text says...
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-He is listening (Psalm 138:3)

-He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7)

-He is paying attention to us (Matthew 6)

-He is with us (Joshua 1:9)

This is the case ALWAYS. All the time. Anytime. 24/7.

Before I text my people, I often wonder if I might be bothering them. Bugging them. Especially if it doesn’t seem like they text me back as much as I text them.

Jesus is never bothered by His people. (Ask the disciples…some of them really tried to test His limits!)

Even when we feel like there is “no reply,” we can trust that……

…because Jesus made a way for us to approach God’s throne of grace freely

…because He choose to dwell among us…

…because He chose to send the Holy Spirit to live in us

…because He paid the highest price to have us with Him for all eternity, knowing all that entails

……..He actually never gets tired of hearing from us, including us, and being with us.

To remind myself of this, I set up “texts” from God. You can, too.

I typed His wonderful name in as an event on my calendar for random times, on random days. My phone now occasionally buzzes like I’m getting a text. My screen flashes a reminder of the One who is graciously near all the time. Just a name. That beautiful, wonderful, highest, most loving name:

….And I’m able to tell my guy when he asks who’s texting: “It’s Jesus!”

Join me?

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They didn’t see his pain.

They didn’t notice his need.

They didn’t care that he was in the house of the Lord.

What they cared about was entrapping their perceived enemy, the one who threatened long-held traditions and the law that elevated them to a pious, powerful place. They wanted to defend what they thought they understood. Their goal was to prove their point.

So what they saw was an opportunity.

“He went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?’” –Matthew 12:9-10

Jesus never mistook a person for an opportunity.

The perfect example of love, Jesus never used a person as a way of self-seeking.
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In His response, He addressed the man, his pain, and his need. He also highlighted the God whose house the man was in. He had mercy on him. Jesus healed the man and redirected the conversation.

Much as they tried to make it about rightness, Jesus redirected them to God’s righteousness.

While they used men to serve their purposes, Jesus served men to fulfill God’s purposes.

Sadly, we tend to be more like the Pharisees.

Too often, we regard people as obstacles like when we:

• Are curt with people for efficiency’s sake
• Place convenience over kindness
• See other people’s challenges as hindrances or provocation to compare ourselves

Other times, we use people as a means to our ends, like when we:

• Expect people to be the means to our happiness
• Enable others so we can avoid confrontation
• Complain to loved ones so we feel better, regardless of how it affects them

Will you join me in asking the Lord’s forgiveness for seeing people as opportunities to be served instead of as opportunities to serve?

I’d like to be more Christ-like in my view of others, how about you?

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Our heroes in the faith were also human, and they needed to recharge too.

Here’s how they did it when they were running on empty:

NOAH

After the flood dried up and everyone exited the ark, Noah sacrificed to the Lord. He built an altar. Then he took some of ALL the clean animals and birds and sacrificed them (presumably the animals had mated on the high seas!)

ABRAHAM

Once Abraham arrived in the land God would give his descendants, he built an altar to God there. After God fulfilled his long-awaited promise to Abraham by giving him Isaac, a son, Abraham was tested at an altar. He surrendered ALL God’s wonderful gift, preparing to sacrifice Isaac. God gave him a ram to sacrifice instead.

JACOB

Remembering God’s revealing at Bethel in a distressing time (AKA his brother trying to kill him after he snuck the birthright away,) Jacob built an altar.

MOSES

Post “Let my people go,” while Moses was leading a stubborn people through the wilderness, he gave God’s law to the people. Part of the law? Building altars. Offering sacrifices. Moses himself spent a lot of time during that trying period personally before God in the holy place, offering himself to God’s service.

When we’re running low on faith-fuel, sacrifice doesn’t seem like what we need to get recharged. But it is.
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Maybe it’s a bit like spring cleaning- everything has to come out of the cabinet before it can be clean, organized, and put back in right order. Perhaps it’s similar to when our cars get an oil change- the system has to be drained of impurities first.

I’m not sure of the exact equation, but it seems in Scripture that God fills us up when we come and empty out before Him.
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As you read, write, pray, and connect through this linkup (and life!) today, I pray you take the time to hand it all over to the Lord.

Somehow, the burden’s always lighter once we’ve laid it on His altar again.

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In most cases, being inflexible, stubborn, or unmoving isn’t favorable.

So often it seems like if we just grip tighter or twist harder, we’ll have the opportunities we long for. We’ll find satisfaction. We’ll gain the missing ingredient and finally put together that idea we think is best for us.

But, if God’s the unmoving lid on a jar we’re fighting to get into, it’s probably not one we want to open.

God doesn’t budge, and that’s great news!

• God will not break his promises
• God’s Word will not pass away
• God’s kingdom is unshakable
• God’s foundation does not fall
• God’s love can’t be lost
• God’s plan is immovable
• God’s judgement is perfect
• God’s mind doesn’t shift
• God cannot be swayed

Instead of being in our way, God’s lack of movement is meant to guide our way.

Sometimes, certainly, what seems “stuck” in our lives is just a matter of God’s timing. Other times, it’s God’s protection or teaching. There are even instances when God doesn’t “fix it” and the impossibility of change becomes apparent- leaving us all the more awed when He makes it possible anyway.

So, if you’re feeling stuck, and it seems like your prayers aren’t moving God, remember:

God’s stubbornness is our stability.

“He will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure.” –Isaiah 33:6

Our Savior isn’t unmoving in pride, but perfection. He isn’t slow, but sovereign. His unwillingness to depart from the way (though his loved ones tried to sway Him) led to our salvation. His unshakeable quality is the reason that death is defeated.

It is to our benefit that God won’t budge.

God Won’t Budge {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP}
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Did you learn to write using the sandwich strategy?

Although I’m sure Saul of Tarsus didn’t know this strategy, he did follow the pattern in the famous passage found in Philippians 3:12-14:

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

In his introduction and conclusion, Paul gives us a thesis. In between, we find supporting points. This particular word-sandwich is meaty substance for faith-living. The wisdom Paul packs into this passage is a substantial feast for us! Especially as we set goals and make resolutions.

For “Wich”

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”

Paul had a clear purpose for all that he did, and he derived that purpose from Christ. In fact, by striving to take hold of the very thing Jesus chose him for, Paul makes it clear that God has chosen you and I for a purpose too.

Jesus took hold of us for a reason, and that should be our reason for being.

The Not Yet

“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.”

We’ve got work to do to God’s glory every day we’re alive. As we set out to accomplish His purposes, we need to know that there’s going to be a “next” and “more” asked of us.

As we achieve many goals, the Goal is going to last until we’re with Jesus and perfected in Him.

The Leaving

“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.”

Have you ever thought about what Paul left behind to follow Jesus? He had been a high-ranking, well-known man. His reputation, his life work, his community, even (in a sense) his religion, had to be left to strain ahead toward Christ.

We should expect that pursuing God’s purposes will involve leaving and losing, not just gaining.

The Pressing

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize.”

Add the previous verse’s “strain” to this verse’s “press on” and the point is clear.

Reaching a goal requires persistence and perseverance.

For “Wich”

“…for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Rounding out the sandwich-style wisdom, we are reminded of what needs to encompass our purposes. All the pressing on, all the leaving behind, all the not-yet of pursuing a goal is for a reason.

Our reason is ultimately Jesus, and our goal-setting is done best with Him as our focus.

May we be full with this wisdom in this season of change-seeking and resolution-keeping!

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I’ve got files and folders physical and digital stretching my future hopes into step-by-step endeavors. If you’ve got a topic to talk about, I’ve got a project you’re contributing to. The most visited destination in my mind is my idea mill. It’s a busy place!

Trouble is, it’s right next door to my idol factory. The one I’ve tried to shut down, condemn, and demolish. Someone keeps sneaking in and borrowing electric from the idea mill anyway.

Pushing Productivity

This became apparent when I recently asked my too-patient husband to spend time studying the Bible about a certain topic with me. He happily agreed. We went out for dates and opened the Word and dug into a topic I’d been wondering about. The man has wisdom and I treasured the time.

That was until the topic reached the end of the line and I had no product to show for it.

When we wrapped up and I had nothing to hold, no shiny piece to present, I didn’t count the time a blessing or the wisdom any gain. The idea of Bible study, pillaged and carried off to the idol factory, had been reshaped. And, as idols do, it demanded more. It failed to satisfy.

When Productivity Pushes Too Far

A few too many conversations later God convicted me in the quiet: let it be as it is.

At the time, I was studying Ezekiel.

In Ezekiel 16, God tells the story of His taking Israel for a bride. He tells of adorning her- how He gave her precious jewels and metals. He invested in her, marked her as His own, and it was all for His (and her!) delight.

But she saw the opulence as opportunity.

She turned in what she had freely received for a profit. What started as a blessing became an idol because she thought it would be better when it became something more.

Ironically, I read the passage twice, put it through processing, and took down notes for something else I’m working to produce.

But God, in His mercy, let it catch up to me again.

Calling It Good: Taking In Without Taking Over

I asked my husband to Bible Study more. With all sincerity and gentleness, he said he didn’t want to frustrate me again. His heart isn’t for generating, but savoring. He’s never been one to have an agenda.

When God gives that man gold, he treasures it.

I tend to look at gold and wonder what I can make if I melt it.

To be fair, there’s a place for both. There was another time in Israel’s history when God blessed people with plenty of gold and also commanded them to melt it and shape it! He makes people producers too.

But there’s only ever one agenda- His glory.

What God wants to build, He will build. When He’s calls it good, it’s good enough already! He doesn’t need my plans to craft more cunningly. He doesn’t need my design to produce more efficiently.

Thank the Lord that no defense arose when my guy explained why he was hesitant to venture into the Word with me. I understood because God- the One reinforcing the eviction notice at the idol factory- had already given me a new idea: taking in without taking over.

For us idea-mills and doers, it’s can be tough not to over-produce.
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Vision can cloud our view of what God has already adorned. What a blessing that there are natural-appreciators to remind us that God is also glorified in receiving well!

Do you try to take over what God gives you simply to take in?

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