We are learning . . . .

Old thoughts and reflections worth remembering!

Written during our wilderness time in Texas

Just thinking about being out here in Texas and not knowing why.  Oh, we thought we had a reason but the sinfullness and duplicity of man put a quick end to that.  So we're out here, away from family and friends, with no idea what God has planned.  But I read too much to be without faith that He is in charge and will indeed work this thing out for our good and His glory.

But I would warn you, when you sense God's leading, take a nap.  Give it a break.  Don't charge forward.  We really ought to have prayed more, gotten more council and really investigated what we were getting into.  Had we done that we might well have chosen to live in our car in Greensboro rather than make the move.

But there is some up sides to this situation.  We have far less, though still too much, junk than we did.  We got to experience the kindness, care and support of family and friends as we prepared to move.  We really know we are loved.  We experience God's providence moment by moment.  We are learning about the sinfulness of our hearts and what He wants us to work on.  We get to miss people which is hard but wonderful.  We get to remember all the blessings of the past and look toward those of the future.  We get to find out new things about each other and our marriage.  We get to trust Him better each day.  We get to be convicted and to repent.  We get to discover new and awesome things about living for Him.

Being here is kind of a left-handed blessing.  The bitter with the sweet.  The good and the bad without the ugly.  Daily we confront small crisis and get to see Him resolve them.  Moment by moment we get to experience His comfort in our anxiety.  Night by night we get to sleep (that's day by day since I work nights.).  We get to enjoy learning to pray more deeply and more wisely.  We get to wait and rest.

Oh, I could complain, and do, but I feel foolish when I look at the sum total of our lives here.

All we thought would be a blessing once we got here went south on us.  It has been and is painful so we're learning to deal with anger and bitterness.  We're also learning to deal with pride, learning to see it from new and different directions.  We are learning to not murmur.  We are learning to trust Him way more than we trust others.  We are learning not to assume, suppose and accept on face value.  We are learning to not settle for anything but His best.  We are learning to pray openly and honestly laying our wants at His feet and holding out for them unless we are shown they are off base.  We are learning that we can not do it on our own.  We are learning that sometimes you just have to push forward.

Oh, I could complain, and do but then I just feel silly and foolish.

We are learning that the best cure for anxiety and worry is serving others.  We are learning that depression does not always win and that you can do more than you think even when the depression is at its worse.  We are learning that panic attacks always fail.  We are learning that we are weak and frail by design. We are learning a lot!

We are learning that you can feel sorry for yourself when appropriate but that it passes as you lean on Him.  We are learning that sadness is not a bad thing as long as it is not over much.  We are learning  that tears are often very appropriate.  We are learning that the disciplines of the faith are crucial.  We are learning that living the life takes practice, consistent practice.  We are learning that orthopraxy is only good with orthodoxy (lol).

We are learning that a little crazy is a good thing.  We are learning to be discriminating in our activities and pleasures.  We are learning that we can be too inundated by the world (this election stuff).  We're learning that what goes in the ear can really mess with the head...not to mention what goes in the eyes.  We are learning that Ruko is a blessing.  We are learning to love radio.

Philippians 4:8 ESV
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Better than, "Yes."

1 John 5:14-15 ESV
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. [15] And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

See, that's the kicker, discerning if my request is according to His will.

A lot of things seem "good" and "fair" and "just" and they well may be but that does not mean, at least in my experience, that they are according to His will.  They may be outside His will or even contrary to His will.  It depends on the circumstances and, well, His will.

Ephesians 5:10 ESV
and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 5:14-15, 17-18 ESV
And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. [15] See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. [17] pray without ceasing, [18] give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

We always pray, "Your will be done." But all too often, for me at least, it's my way of confessing that I am absolutely clueless as to whether or not my request is in His will.

Then there is the kicker:

James 4:3 ESV
You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

There's the.  I assume that many of my personal prayers are not answered in the way I hope because somewhere underneath all the solumn prayer words there lurks some selfish motive that thwarts, not His answer, but my asking.  I ask wrongly.

That's a tough nut to crack!  I can well understand why the Puritains were so determined concerning the need for self-examination.   We really do have to accept that our hearts are deceitful and that we are the ones we deceive most  often.  We can easily fool ourselves into thinking that we are being selfless and submissive in our prayer and that they are according to His will.

Right now I have a very specific prayer request before Him.  I've kept it simple, short and sweet.  I don't believe is it greedy or self-serving but rather fair, good and reasonable.  BUT there is a lurking doubt in the back of my mind because I will benefit from a "Yes  It is a prayer about me, for me.  It is a prayer and also a test.  I have asked for X which is a fair request and consider a "Yes" as an answer to another request/query.  In short I have figured if He grants X then Y is in His will.  Make sense?

But then that old....ask wrongly and don't test God thing comes up in my mind and I doubt not His goodness but the rightness of my prayer.

So I come to:

Philippians 4:5-7 ESV
Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; [6] do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. [7] And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

This does not promise a "Yes," to my prayer.  What it does promise is His peace in His answer which will in turn guard my heart and my mind.  And isn't that better than a "Yes"?

Sharing our troubles

Philippians 4:14 ESV
Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.

How great a blessing it is to have brothers and sisters who are willing to allow one to share one's burdens.  Certainly we all have our own burdens to bear but to take on those of another is truly a good work.

Alone is possibly one of the most tragic feelings a believer can have.  To feel that one cannot share one's burdens is a very sad feeling.  Alone is a tough thing to feel, yet it is all too common among believers.

Yes, we know that He is always with us, but it was not His plan that He be the only one who is there for us.

Galatians 6:2 ESV
Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

We are admonished to bear one another's burdens.  This is not optional.  This is an imperative.  But sadly, it is one that is more often avoided than embraced.

We, Patti and I, are wonderfully blessed by folks who are willing to shoulder our burdens both in prayer and engagement.  They may tire under the load but they never put it down. Even when their own loads are heavy and pressing they open their hearts and arms to ours.  It is a great gift and a great part of God's plan for His people.

God does not tell us to "fix" the burdens of others, although if we can we should, but rather to "bear" them.  The primary way we do this is by being willing to be informed of those burdens.  Unfortunately there is little place or time in the life of the Church for such things to happen.  Also, I think that we are afraid to know the burdens of others because they may impose some strong response on our part, some sacrificial response.

Knowing the burdens of another does carry it's own responsibility.  If nothing else, it carries the obligation to really pray for them and WITH them.  It is not the bullet prayer that is needed but the deep, knowledgeable, sincere and focused prayer.  It means entering their battleground with petitions and supplications on their behalf.  It also requires that we stay informed of their needs by staying engaged.  It is a sad propensity for us to hear of a burden and then avoid it for fear we will be called to actually do something regarding it.

We can testify to the wonderfulness of having brothers and sisters who engage, stay engaged and do what they can to help bear the burden.  Just the knowledge that we are remembered, especially remembered in prayer, is a comfort beyond price.  That someone is carrying us to the throne of grace is indeed a great comfort, blessing and encouragement.

Philemon 1:7 ESV
For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 ESV
To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, [12] so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

What a great and wonderful thing to pray for!  What a blessing to those for whom we pray!  Oh that we all might so lovingly consider our brothers and sisters in Christ!

We all resolve to do good and to do good works for the glory of our heavenly Father so them it is imperative that we pray concerning this for one another?  How much more encouraging can we get than to make the good desires of our family's heart a matter for diligent prayer.  Oh how we would be co-laborers in the best sense if we all undertook  to do such praying but we need to know those things which our brothers and sisters have resolved to be and to do.

Here again, I have to express my concern that in the conservative anti-cultural swing of the pendulum, the church has disallowed any forum for us to be informed by and concerning our brothers and sisters'resolutions.  That intimate connection, for ministry is left to chance.  In our desire to get the world out of the church, we have severed many opportunities for true and glorious fellowship.

The Puritans held what they called "conferences", which we would call small groups.  These conferences were disciplined serious. meetings where the truth was discussed and lives were shared.  At these conferences, not only did they discuss theology and doctrine but the shared what I call "Kindom hopes."  By that I mean the dearly held intimate and individual asperations of those attending.  These were not self-help or therapeutic groups (although they were helpful and therapeutic) but were the venue where true and orderly fellowship took place.

By fellowship, I refer to the strictest definition of the biblical term.  This is not socializing but rather the holding and sharing of our common faith as it relates to our individual lives.  These gatherings are not rodeos where folks would spill their guts, but rather serious interactions concerning the individual needs, asperations and resolutions of the believers.

How else, where else are we to come into contact with the hearts of our brothers and sisters?  Certainly not in the choreographed order of worship.  That would not be appropriate or fitting.  Worship is a part of everthing we do in His name but that special time on the Lord's day is about Him not us.  But we desperately need a venue where we can and may share with one another the glories and struggles of following Him - especially how we can pray for one another as we seek to be about serving Him.

I, and I am sure many of you, desire to pray for our brothers and sisters in an intelligent and informed manner.  I find vague and generic prayers very frustrating.  I desire to pray for my hopes and dreams in the Lord as well as yours.  I know mine, it is yours I long to know.  Otherwise my prayers for you seem crippled by ingnorance and hollow in their vagueness.  We want our prayers to be  intimate and to the point, not general and hollow.  No, there is nothing "WRONG" with generalized and vague prayers but I think we miss the best of prayer when we are so limited.
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Do you suffer the same frustrations as I concerning this matter?  If so, begin now to be more intentional in asking for and receiving requests for prayer.  If someone desires "growth in Christ," ask them in what specific areas.  Ask them what their Kingdom hopes and dreams are.  Ask....ask....ask and then ask.

As far as fellowship for the purpose of informing our prayers for one another, start with one other person.  Pray that the Lord will help you find a kindred spirit in this matter and you two begin to "conference."  If it pleases God to do so, your little one on one can grow into a powerful, deep and meaningful (not mention Christ honoring) opportunity.

But I would warn you.  Though such fellowship can certainly be therapeutic this is not to be a Christian group therapy sesson.  We gather in
 conference to do serious work, to gain the information we  need to pray wisely and well.  Nor is it a social gathering.  It has a specific end in sight and will take resolve to keep it from degenerating into a social gathering.

More 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

MORE....
2 Corinthians 1:3-5 ESV
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, [4] who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. [5] For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

Comfort.  A curious thing.  What we are comforted by in affliction can be as varied as the afflictions themselves.  Though the comforts God provides are "common" like the trials we face, they like our afflictions, are quite intimate and individual.  Certainly, we may all be comforted by all the promises in the Gospel we are also comforted by unique and very personal mercies.

In affliction we need to examine not only the affliction but we need to examine or look for that which brings us comfort.  The danger we face is in comforting the flesh instead of the spirit.  We talk of "comfort" food which my make us feel better but usually does little for our health and certainly does nothing for our spirit.  We need to be very careful to examine what comforts us and we need to begin by asking if indeed it is a comfort from God.

The world, the flesh and the devil will always seek to take advantage of us when we are under affliction.  When we are weak and most prone to lean on our own strength and wisdom that unholy three will do everything they can to lead us into comforts that are really no comfort at all.  They seek to trap us into accepting counterfeit comforts which only serve to make our affliction worse and lead us to feel even further away from the Lord.

God's comforts are not primarily about making us "feel" better but rather they are intended to strengthen our faith and bring peace to our hearts.  God wants us to lean upon Him all the time and especially in times of affliction.  Indeed, the very purpose of many afflictions is to bring us back under His care, leaning on His provision.  His comforts are intended for our growth, our perseverance and not necessarily for us to feel better.  If they are to make us "feel" anything, it is confidence, strength, hope, love, etc.

God's comforts are, well, godly.  They are part and parcel of His holiness and our sanctificaton.

Jesus asks:
Matthew 7:9-11 ESV
Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? [10] Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? [11] If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

This is as applicable to comforts as it is to any other prayer request we may make.  Of course I would ask, which one of you, if his son asks for a serpent will give him one?  In other words, there are times, and I suspect many times, when what we are praying for what we think is a "fish" is in truth a serpent.

James writes:
James 4:3, 7 ESV
You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

Comfort is not always about feeling better.  That is a tough truth but a safe one.  We have to pray hard that our hearts and minds will be open and receptive to the comfort that God would send and not demand what we believe will comfort us.  We need, as I have said, to examine what we believe will comfort us to see if it is godly and according to His will.

Will it draw me closer to Him.  Will it bring honor to His name?  Will it contribute to my growing more like Christ. Is this a godly comfort,

In all affliction James' admonition is paramount:
James 4:7 ESV
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

In affliction our only and best hope is to submit ourselves to God, accepting the affliction as from Him and seeking how we may glorify Him in it.  This will go a long way to enable us to seek, receive and ackowledge the comfort He provides and not seek those comforts which are counterfeits, traps.

What comforts you?  What do you seek in affliction?  Do you cry out to God for the comfort He wants you to have, do you submit yourself to His will?  What comforts you?

Troubled times....powerful prayer.

Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; Fight against those who fight against me. Take hold of buckler and shield And rise up for my help. Draw also the spear and the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me; Say to my soul, "I am your salvation." Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life; Let those be turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me. Let them be like chaff before the wind, With the angel of the LORD driving them on. Let their way be dark and slippery, With the angel of the LORD pursuing them.
(Psa 35:1-6)

David presents us with a sterling example of one type of prayer we should avail ourselves of in these troubled times.  Jesus made it plain that He was sending us out as sheep among wolves and that we should be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.  Easy to say, hard to do.

But if we will regularly pray in the manner we see here I believe our hearts and minds will be encouraged and strengthened.  Such prayers are both wise and innocent and will facilitate and calmness of mind and body when we are in distress - when we must contend with the world, the flesh and the devil. 

Don't think in terms of some extraordinary event or circumstance.  Contention with the world the flesh and the devil is the norm for our lives not the exception.  Sure, it may be that at times the contention seems exceptional BUT we must remember that we are engaged in a war 24-7-365,  When we only "notice" the exceptional times of contention  we allow the enemy to gain just a little more ground on the battlefield.  We must keep the battle we are engaged in before us at all times.  There is no truce, there is no cease-fire, the battle rages even if it does so quietly and just out of sight.

In some corners of the world they are killing us.  In other corners of the work they are marginalizing us.  In still other corners of the world they are vilifying us - dehumanizing us so that we will have little value and our passing will be acceptable.

We must pray, seeking God's intervention.  Yes, there is much we can still do to address these issues that we must contend with.  But our options grow fewer and opportunities more limited.  And so we call upon our God, our defender, to do as He has promised to do and fight this fight as we never could.  We must pray for the destruction of His enemies, our enemies - which means in the end we must pray for His prompt return and His might in the mean while.

Take all such troubles to Him and call upon Him to engage the enemy.  We can only do our little part.  We can only armor up and hold the line.  We can stand and pray and David's prayer here is a good example of how our prayers should be concerning these troubled times.

 

Counting the Costs 101014

Acts of mercy and kindness do not come cheap.  This is even more true with acts of grace.  You and I, as believers are to exrecise mercy, kindness and grace.  But we have to coount the cost.

All too often in a moment (or even longer) of enthusiastic exuberance we commit acts of mercy, kindness and grace just knowling that they will please the Lord.  But equally often, when the bill comes due for those acts we begin   and regret having done them.

It's not that we shouldn't ever act on a gracious, merciful of kind impulse but that we have to be ready to pay the bill when it comes due.

Now  gency is and eemergency and there is not a lot of time to consider and pray when God drops a bomb of need in your proximity.  At those times you just trust Him and go for it.

But, when an act of mercy, kindness or grace will entail a long (and two weeks can be a long long time) commitment or a large outlay of resources we are wise if we really prayerfully count the cost.  Many good deeds are done badly becasue they wwere ill considered, poorly planned of just not thought out.

There is always more to an act of mercy, kindness or grace than we usually consider.  A gift of resources affects all the other resources and needs.  If I give you $20 have I really considered the consequences and how I will react to them when I need that $20 and I don't have it?  Oh don't kid yurself, it will matter.  And that's when resentment and regret can turn a sweet deed into a sour action.

Our acts of mercy, kindness and grace certainly affect those upon whom we bestow them.  But they affect us as well.  Do we consider that?  Do we consider the consequences of our mercy, kindness and grace on our struggling hearts?

All too often I have had to try to help people reconsile over ill considered acts of mercy, kindness or grace.  They extend a helping hand and when they realize that their hand is now empty the flesh really goes to town and regret grows into resentment and relationships are spoiled.

Impuses are rarely inspired - trust me on this one!  You are vetter off to wait and pray over an act of mercy, kindness or grace than you are just doing it.  It will be better done if you consider the consequences and ramifications of those act not just upon the recipient but upon you as well.

Has God given you the means (material, spirituak and emotional) to do the deed and accept the consequences - that is pay the cost?  Or have you just responded to some vague spiritual warm fuzzy feeling.  Or  reacted out of guiilt.  Or worse yet have you responded out of pity.  AND is the response a considereed one.

When Patti and I worked with John and Theresa Nance at Friend's House we often talked about the cost to us materially, spirituall and emotionally.  The demands of the ministry were arduous to say the least.  It was draining and costly.  But we talked about those consequences often and sure we complained at times but we knew what the csts were and we committed to paying them.  Of course we were not on some altruiiststic save the poor homeless guy trip - we were in a war and we knew we were in a war and woundings and loss are the consequences of war - we were willing to be wounded and suffer loss.  So when we complained it was not with regret or resentment but with an awarebess that we were getting just what we asked for - we were paying the costs we had counted.

Please - please - please...before you give, offer or provide count the cost you will be asked to pay and count it to the greatest degree you can.  Speculate, imagine, dream of what the cost may be BEFORE the bill comes due.

God honors deeds of mercy, kindness and grace - but I believe He rarely honors stupid.  And it is just stupid to act rashly and to take ill considered action regardless of the need and the "sense" you have in your heart.

WE need to do good things well and to do so we must plan and pray and cnsider the costs.  If we don;t we do things badly in the long run and that honors no one.

I'm just saying . . . . . .

Michael

Freedom, Contentment, Presence Part 2

Freedom, Contentment, Presence  Part 2
Contnetment

Hebrews 13:5-6 ESV
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." [6] So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"

"And be content with what you have,"

First we get rid of the love of money-stuff and then (only then) can we begin to seek contentment with what we have.

But we do not have to wait for our freedom to be full.  When we cease to covent and act on that coveting we can also begin to reduce the clutter in our lives.  Look around your place - are you really content with all you have or is some of it convicting?

Does some of it make you feel foolish?  Does some of it show you your covetousness?  Does some of it make you, well, ashamed?

Can you answer the question, "Why do I have this and do I need it?"

OK - yes, you work hard and have a "right" to have nice things, to enjoy the fruit of your labor------MAYBE!  Maybe you have some culturally endorsed "right" but do you carry it too far?  Let me ask you this.  If you see a brother or sister in need how well fixed are you to really help them?  How much better could you care for those in need if you were content with less?  "Oh," you say, "I give to this and that cause and ministry and the church!"  Yes - many of you do but who gets the lion's share of the spoils?

1 John 3:17 ESV
But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?

This closing of the heart takes place long before the need is ever seen.  Read Deut. 15 and watch as God's heart breaks for the poor.  Read it slowly and carefully and watch the corruption of covetousness bring God to finally and I believe tearfully conclude that we will always have the poor among us becasue we will NOT obey Him in regards to our money-stuff.

I have learned that covetousness can be a subtle enemy of contenment.  We buy just a little, we keep it simple and we do it often.  Doing it a little and often exposes our covetousness and our lack of contentment - two ends of the same stick.

But I wander.  Are you content with what you have?  No, not do you have enough? - Most of us have too much.  What I am trying to get you to ask is; Does what I have satisfy me, fulfill me or convict me?

What do you have that was bought through a covetous spirit?  What was indeed bought as an idol?  What do you have that was bought so you would feel better about yourself apart from God?  What do you have that you bought to show others how acceptable, successful and good you are?  How can you be "content" with these things still in your possession?  It is little different that Israel in the OT wanting to be like the nations around them so they began to aquire little idols and ended up worshipping alongside the Pagans.

Colossians 3:5 ESV
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

I do not believe we can ever experience the contentment Christ would have us experience unless we work at "killing" the covetousness in our hearts.  So, if you indeed want to be content, covetousness - past - present and future has to be attacked with all our energy and all the help the Holy Spirit can give!

Let me ask something that I ask myself.  How can I be content when I am surrounded by things that are in truth idols?  Must I not cast them down - cast them out?  Must I not cleanse my home of these evil idols to money-stuff?

If that sounds silly, I'll pray for you.  If that sounds legalistic my heart breaks for you.  If there is a twinge of ache in your heart, a glimmer of conviction I thank my God for you and encourage you in casting down and out all the "idols" you have accumulated and surrounded yourself with.

Contentment can not compete with covetousness.  You must choose - and pray.  Contentment comes over time and through effort and is empowered by the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 12:10 ESV
For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Philippians 4:11-13 ESV
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. [12] I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. [13] I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Making the Most Prayer 02 032714

Making the Most
of the means of grace
02

2.  Private prayer

This is not just "private" prayer - it is penetrating prayer.  It is prayer that calls upon God to show us, not just Himself, but our selves as well.  It is prayer that cuts through all the "I want," "I need," "Please give," and gets down to the, "have mercy upon me a sinner."

Most of us know the acronym ACTS
Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication

Now there nothing wrong with this as a reminder of the components of prayer but I think if falls short of the whole of it.  There is no explicit "letter" for seeking God's exposure of our hearts.  It's easy to run through these parts of prayer without ever seeking God's exposure of our true and hidden spiritual needs - the nitty gritty.  There is no depth demanded and I suspect (for I find it true in me) that there is no depth sought.

Prayer is, fundamentlly, a conversation - a two way conversation.  Certainly we ought go to God with the common and even mundane requests that we are aware of but to do this and only this is perhaps a great waste of a great opportunity.

Most of our private prayers could be prayed in public with little alteration.  They are shallow and halt - usually.  Private prayer, as the Puritains saw it, was deep, gut wrenching, no-holds-barred, open your soul and heart and seek to expose the deepest of corruptions kind of prayers.  They were blood-sweating prayers.  They were prayers for holiness and righteousness of life - here now - for Him.

Oh, we may get close to that when we pray the "C" (confession) but God desires so much more of and for us and we must dig deeply into prayer to touch it.  David asked God to "test," or "try" his heart to see if there was any wicked way in him.  That's "any" wicked way not just the easily seen and comfortably remembered evil ways that we are at ease acknowledging.

I think sometimes that we are too comfortble in our redemption and justification.  We wear it more tike a windbeaker than a heavy coat.  What I mean is that we are more than willing to see our easy sins and rejoice in their forgiveness but we are rarey willing go dig deep into the cold and dark recesses of our souls to find what the Puritains called "heart sins" or the sins under the sins that are uder the sins.  We fail to ask to see the utter corruption for which Christ came and suffered.

Private prayer is the time when we need to be digging deep.  We need to be seeking God's exposure of just how badly we need Christ - just how very very much we need Him.  It's the place where we drop the "I'm not so bad," approach to our sin and cry out to see exactly how "bad" we really are.

PS
Are these posts of any benefit to you?  If they are or are not I would like to hear from you. Your input and/or encouragement would be a blessing and mercy.  You can comment on the blog page of, if you want, you can email me at sheepdog.ms@gmail.com.

Bless you for your help!
Michael

Heart Keepers 04 030614

Heart Keepers 04

4.  Imposing strong engagements upon ourselves to walk more carefully with God and avoid the occasions whererby the heart may be induced to sin.

Most of us know where danger lies.  We know, or should know, what tempts us and where we are weak.  Flavel makes the point here that we have to set clear and sound boundaries for ourselves if we indeed want to keep our hearts.

Knowing what "engagements" we need to set is critical and if more subtle than we think.  I can think of no better example that TV as a place where we need to engage ourselves to greater caution.  It is so easy to become numb to the world and its philosophy than TV.

We used to watch a detective show in which there was some romatic tension between a female detective and a writer of mysteries.  All was well until we the two main characters had begun sleeping together in the same house as the writers teenage daughter.

Even though there were no graphic love scenes we became concerned that we had not been concerned about the "fornication" that was implied by the show.  Here we were watching a show where sin was not only taking place but being celebrated as a good thing and we had missed that somehow.

Well, we had to set a boundary.  Why?  Because we had been so enamoured with the show that we were allowing the blatant sin to go unaddressed.  In being fans we were, in the privacy of our own home, somehow endorsing the illicit relationship between the two characters.  Not being sensitive to this, being so slow to be convicted by this concerned us for our hearts and how they had been numbed or even hardened to what we were watching.

Can you see Flavel's point in this?  We can not affort to allow our hearts, or consciences for that matter, to become numb or hardened.  We need sensitive hearts and consciences so we may not be led into heart sins.

OK, it may seem hokey but the question is, "Would I be doing this if Jesus was with me?"  What you would n't do in His physica resence we shouldn't do period.  It may seem sillly but that's a very simple way to impose upon your heart that which will keep your heart.

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Heart Keepers 03

3.  Earnest supplication and instant prayers for purifying and rectifying grace when sin has defiled and disordered the heart.

Two things here are worthy of notice.  The first is "earnest supplication."  When we go to God in prayer we need to go with a full acknowledgement of the curruption that yet abides in our hearts.  Our prayers must reflect the fact that we are still battling self-love and the fear of man and that even our best prayers are susupect.

Especially when under trials or afflictions our prayers can be mercenary to say the least.  We want relief for our pain and struggle so badly that we will often find ourselves bartering with God for His provision.  We are so focused on the immediate need that we can often hinder our own prayers by not praying fully and wholly.

Fully and wholly?  There is so much to pray for, so many needs of the Kingdom and its citizens - so many brothers and sisters in distress.  There is the church to pray for, those whose needs we know to pray for and in our distress and concern for our situation it is easy - all too easy - to just pray for ourselves without regard to the broader picture.

We can also find ourselves praying, "If" prayers.  You know, "God if You will just X I will Y."  This is bartering with God, trying to strike a deal.  This hinders the effectiveness of our prayers by it's assumption that God "barters" His blessings and provision.  This sullies and minimizes our prayers making them shallow and , well, wrong.

Secondly we need to be sensitive to the needs for "instant prayers," or timely prayers.  These are prayers in and of the moment especially when it comes to heart sins.  I know I have gone to God with my needs and failing to recognize the heart sins yet needing to be dealt with I have prayed ill and been sticken because of my shallowness and self-love.

Sin defiles and disorders our hearts to a greater extent than we see, so our prayers must seek His cleansing and ordering of our hearts.  I would suggest that this needs to be the first part of our prayers.  Praying about praying may sound strange but if our hearts are not in the right frame we will pray amiss.

Praying for purifying and rectifying grace may well need to precede any if not all our prayers.  If you have ever (and I assume you have) been under affliction and in pain you know how the corruptions of the heart can twist your thinking and affect your praying.  Taking time to pray about praying is one good way to discover and root out this sins that would hinder and hamper your prayers.

When you find that your heart is not right, when it is struggling with heart sins, there are always the Psalms that you can pray.  The writers of the Psalms experienced the difficuties of life much as we do.  They felt abandonded by God as we do. They felt overwhelmed by affliction as we do.  They felt all was hopeless as we do.  And yet they always return to trusting the Lord even when the motivation is that there is no one else to turn to (which asctually there isn't).   They struggled with the same ehart sins we struggle with and their guidance in our rpayers can be a great blessing and instruction.

Heat sins will always be a struggle for God's people here.  However we can not allow their commonness to go unaddressed.  Keeping the heart is nowhere more critical than in the areqa of prayer.  Prayer is fundamental to our relationship with God and we need for that relationship to be open and whole from our side as it is from His.  Heart sins, an unkept heart, will hinder and disorder our prayers which in turn will hinder and disorder our walk and witness.

Trusting God - Trouble (b)

Matthew 6:34 ESV
"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

In the second part of this versewe're told that each day has its own troouble and that that troublee is sufficient.

Car breakdowns, illness, traffic, bad news, sudden expenses even missed oppotunities are all the types of trouble we experience and we tend to just take them in stride.  But should we?

Is there anything in our lives that is too trivial for God?  Is there anything about our lives that the God who numbers my hairs and my days can be disconnected from?  No, I have to believe that nothing - NO thing - in and about my life is too trivial for God to be concerned with.

Traffic is bad, other drivers are rude and I am running late for an important meeting.  That has a great effect on my attitiude and temper.  Is God not interested in that as much as anything else?  Is He not concerned that I arrive at the meeting calm and composed so I may do my best and honor Him?  Does He not care about my heart and needs?  To assume - even by lack of attention- that God is not interested in the smallest thing in my life makes a mockery of Jesus' claim that He is interested.

How much attention though do we pay to the trivial?  Do we pray about these things?  A timely arrival at a meeting, a good parking place, no car breakdown,   Or deo we just figure their random things that we just have to suffer and deal with?

Brothers and sisters, our very lives are composed of a multitude of the trivial that all fit together to build our lives.  One thing goes wrong and we feel our dau is spoiled.  A bad hair day and we're cast down all day.  One "little" thing does not go according to our plans and we're mortified and depressed.  It should not be this way.

The only things I know that will assist us in livng in the "trouble" we encounter each day is attention to detail in prayer.  We do not waaste God's time or providence by praying for what we consider trivial or silly.  Indeed when we do pray for these things we are confirming in our hearts and minds that our God is the God of the details no matter how trivial they seem to us.  We do not "bother" god when we go to Him with anything.  Indeed we are dmonished to do exactly that.

Need to meed a quota?  Need Power Point to work right?  Need for traffic to no be a problem?  Why not pray about that?  What excuse could we possibly have for not praying about things of this nature.

Each day has trouble.  /each day needs to begin with pray and especially prayer about facing the trouble the day will bring.  And as we encounter these troubles we need to be praying about them asking God to help us see His use for them, His purpose in allowing them into our lives - when they happen!

Paul tells us to "pray always," and this admonition in Matthew is one very important reason why.  We can never pray too much and we can never thing anything in our lives is too trivial to pray about.

Trusting God?  Trusting God for the trivial?  Who else are you going to trust?  

Trusting God is not about trusting Him for BIG things it is trusting Him for EVERYTHING.

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When we read Matthew 5 and 6 we are so blessed by the promises and assurances Jesus gives us.  There is so very much in these chapters that perhaps it is easy to miss some of it.  I've been thinking particularly of:

Matthew 6:34 ESV
"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

I noticed first that "tomorrow will be anxious for itself."  I am comforted that Jesus understands our anxieties.  And I am encouraged that He counsels me to accept that there will be "anxiety" in each day.

And what would I count as "anxieties?"  Well, I would consider that the word translated anxiety means to be troubled with cares so what I am anxious about is what I have both legitimate concern for and illegitimate concern for.

I'm anxious about sin.  The day is full of temptations.  Gossip, lust, lack of trust, making "my" plans, poor stewardship are all potential concerns of mine.  But I can't let their potential comsume my mind.

I do however need to responsible for these temptations.  So in order to not be anxious about sin I need to prepare my mind and heart every morning for the coming day.  My days being pretty much a regular routine, I know when and how I'll be tempted for the most part.  I know where to divert my mind and my eyes.  I know when I need to pray and pretty much what I need to pray for.  But all of that is adressed early in the day before I leave home.

We, I think, are anxious in direct proportion to our lack of knowledge of our hearts and our failure to prepare ourselves for the day's trials and temptations.  I know that if I just rush into a day and fly on auto-pilot I not only miss the opportunity to avoid sin but I miss His blessings that come throughout the day.

Are you anxious about sin?  I think most of us are more anxious after the fact than before it.  But we can and need to get ahead of it by preparing ourselves for what we know is coming.  We must prepare our selves for that battle we fight every minute of every day and we need to prepare in His presense.

Lord, I go forth today in Your name and by Your power.  I enter the battle once more calling upon You to strengthen me and guide me; protect me and preserve me.  Make me more sensitive to temptations Lord.  It's so easy to get caught up in sinful things when I am insensitive to them.  Make my heart sensitive and my mind aware of what may come and what does come in the way of temptation and Lord grant that I might resist and where I fail to resist bring me to repentance  Amen

Trusting God - Or? 021414

Jesus tells  that we will trust either God or Mammon (Money).  And who of us could dispute that truth?  For better or ill we need money to live in this fallen world and we are subject to all the schemes and machinations of our economy devised by men and women for whom Mammon if indeed God.

We do foolish things when it comes to money and we do make mistakes.  We take bad advise and well - we sin.  And so money (for both needs and debt) looms large in our vision and can preoccupy our prayers.

It's all too easy to see Mammon as an answer - and we have to admit sometimes it is.  But how do we pray for that answer - and whom we pray to for that answer is critical.

Fred has been out of work for a year.  He and his wife squeak by on what she earns and the kindness of both friends and strangers.  They worry and fret.  They are embarrassed and convicted.  They have erred and sinned when it comes to money.

How do we encourage them?  How do we direct them to pray.   Fred needs a job - they need money - what do we say, what do we do?

Encouraging them to pray for God's provision is a "Yeah duh."  But they struggle with constantly praying for money.  They feel they are using God like and ATM and they do not want to.  They fear imposing upon friends and ruining relationships.  They are embarrassed and to some extent ashamed.  The "brave faces" they put on often crack and become scowls and frowns of shame.

They wonder why God should make up for their errors and their sins with material blessings.  They struggle with bartering with God about what they will do if He come to their relief.  They struggle becasue their prayers seem inundated with their needs to the exclusion of other more important things.

What to we tell them, what do we do?

Are their prayers for financial relief actually prayers to Mammon?    They sometimes feel they are?  Though God provides for them daily and friends and strangers do what they can to help they still struggle with trust even in the face of provision

They know that God is providing but as we all know, looming future needs can force their way into our hearts and blot out that present gratitude with fear and axiousness.

Are they trusting God "Or" are the trusting someone or something else.  They think of some who could relieve their distress either by helping Fred find work of by directly addressing their debt.  They find themselves trying to figure out how God can fix the problem and they even sometimes feel that God expects  then to fix it  their own.

As Fred's wife says, she struggles, " I know God CAN provide, I struggle with IF He WILL  provide."  This is so very common especially when we look at the circumstances as the consequences of of our sin.  We ask, "Why should I ask God to clean up my mess?"  "Why should I expect or even ask Him to undo the consequences of my sin?"

Prayer can be tough in tough times.  The world condemns, Satan raises our failures and sows doubts and the flesh wants to have a pity party or just give up.

Perhaps - just perhaps the safest prayer we could ever pray - regardless of the situation is, "God have mercy on me, a sinner."

When it comes to tough times and the assaults we suffer in them we  tend to "pray to the hurt" instead of praying as we ought.  It's a fight but a fight worth the effort.

But still the question remains, "Am I trusting God for money or am I asking God for money to trust in."

Trusting God 021214

Trusting God  021214

"What are your cares, but the turmoiling of your thoughts?  Richard Baxter, A Christian Directory

Baxter offers that we may and should control our thoughts when we are in distress, even despair and he wisely and kindly adds that we should,

"Cast away the thoughts, and cares are gone.  You may do this if you will, though it be difficult."

Our thoughts begin in our hearts.  This is the source of all good and evil that we think, feel, say or do.  It is in the heart that despair begins and it begins with our lack of trust in God.  Yes, we all have a lack of trust in God.  We may only see it when we are under some affliction but it is always there.

Many, when things are going well may think or even boast that they are trusting God and I am sure that so some extent they do.  But take away those things that give them comfort and security and the flaw is exposed.  Doubt is a part of our suffereing here and we must accept that there are places where we doubt.

But we need not wait until we are under His correcting hand to begin to address this lack of trust.  We may, through a sincere and diligent examination of our hearts discover this vein of distrust and appreciate the power of it to cause us to stumble.

If you are under some affliction and struggling with your trust in God the only solution is - well - to trust God for your lack of trust.  As the man cried our to Jesus, "Help my unbelief!" we too must be bold about our trust struggle and go to the only source of strength we have.

Scripture abounds with admonitions, promises and prayers for trust in God.  It abounds with demonstrations of His faithfulness and lovingkindness.  Even your life in HIm, if you will but sit and reflect, holds testimony to His faithfulness.

But those pesky fearful thoughts persist.  Not only that, but Satan and the world will encourage and heighten them until they scream so loud they almost drown out everything else.  But we are able to control our thoughts and by the Holy Spirit we are able to strengthen and heal our weak hearts.

Isaiah 26:3 ESV
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

Notice something very important in this verse.  It is not "I" who keep me in peace but God who does it.  But I must fix my mind upon Him.  I must do two thing I think.  First I must really pray.  I use the word "really" becasue in matters of trust we can't be hedging or playing.  We must come honestly and openly to Him with our distrust confessing it and crying our for a greater trust in Him.  Where we do not trust Him, we sin and as with any other sin it must be confessed and repented of - wholy and truthfully.

Second - I must fill my mind and hence my heart with those Words of God that call me and encourage me to trust in Him.  I must take the plain truth of His lovingkindness to heart and hold it there tightly.  I know of no better way than to search out those sciptures that speak to the issue of trust and to read them (in not memorizing them) over and over until they permiate my mind and touch my heart.

Trust, even trust in our God does not come easy but it comes.

A Constant Battle 010914

Do you find yourself dealing with, "If You will .......  I will ......." type prayers or choices?

It is so sy to fall into bargaining with God for His blessing and provision.  And this is especaillly true when we are under any affliction or struggle.

Satan loves to bring to our minds all of our sins and even though they are forgiven in Christ he uses their awfulness to make us think we are condemned - even thoug that is not possible.

So we go to God and try to make a deal.  Or we undertake some duty thinking that if I just do this He will bless me.

This is, above all things, an isnight into the sin that yet clings to our hearts.  It's there and it will continue to affect our thinking and prayer.  But we must pray that the Spirit will expose this to us that we may pray against it.  So we may see it coming and bypass it in our prayers.

Oh if we could only grasp the fullness of His forgiveness.  If we were not so tied to ourselves and could see Him and His love through the self-ness we are plaugued with.

This need to prove that we are either really in need or that we are really worthy of His help drives so many of us to despair and confusion.

Take heart in the fact that in this you are not alone.  Most mature believers will tell you that they still struggle with this.  So you are not alone among believers in your struggle.

But you are not alone beyond that either.  God knows the habits of abiding sin.  He is not shocked when we come to Him this way.  He knows our struggle and appreciated the depth of it.  He knows all of our heart and He would heal it of this struggle.

Acknowledge and confess these "bargain" prayers.  Realize that God can not but give us what is best for us.  Yes, He desires - no, He commands our obedience but that is based on who He is and what He has done.  Gratitude does not nullify grace but embellishes and enlivens it.

OK- enough.  That was on my mind because day I caught myself at it.  Mmmmm figured you might catch yourself at it too.

M

A New Years Prayer 120813

A New Year's Prayer

Psalm 51:10-13 NASB
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. [11] Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. [12] Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit. [13] Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You.

This is my New Year's verse and a wonderful verse it is.

We all find that at times our zeal and enthuziasm wains and our love seems to grow cold.  We all find, at times, that we are are luke-warm.  We grow by undulation and experience highs and lows.

This fact makes this prayer a great blessing in that it not only reminds of our deep and abiding need but cries out to our Father for mercy and provision.  It is a supplication and confession in one.

But there is more.  The last verse is critical.  We often read it as a promise that if God will do what we find in verses 10-12 we will do what is found in verse 13.  But perhaps we read amiss.

As I read this passage it dawned on me that unless I seek what is found in verses 10-12 I will not be able to do what is found in verse 13.  I will be neither motivated nor qualified to teach transgressors (much less anyone else) His ways.  Without His provision I will continue to just float along wating for something to happen instead of being sensitive to and yearning for the opportunity to share the gospel.

This verse is worthy of meditation.  It deserve (as does all scripture) our close attention and prayerful examination.  It also deserves our expectation of being answered in the affirmative.  It is a prayer held in the promise.

I encourage you to join me in seeking what this passage seeks for the purpose of being His means and provision in the lives of the many lost and suffering we connect with every day.  We are here to serve Him as His witnesses - His witnesses not ouu own.

All around us, at work, in our families, in our recreation even in our churches there are transgressors who need to hear His ways, His truth, His good news.  We need to pray this purposeful prayer daily - even many times each day.

We must warn a fallen world and call it to repentance.  We must offer it the hope of eternity and His special providence in Christ.

A critical question and comfort

"Has God weakened your ability to sin, denied you the opportunity, taken away the object of your lust, or diverted your thoughts?  Be sure that you have received mercy in this.  If God had not so dealt with you, you might by now be a terror to yourself, a shame to your family, and under the punishment due to some notorious sin.  You would have incurred additional guilt, perhaps ruined others, or caused some to be eternally ruined by your example.  All this has been prevented by these providences and eternity will witness that this is a special mercy.  These are not accidents.  The merciful hand of God is in them.  And you are less wicked than you would otherwise be."  John Owen

How often do we consider God's providential interference with our flesh?  How often do we, in prayer, thank and praise Him for intruding into our lives so that we can avoid offending Him?

How may times has a lost minute, a traffic light, a phone call, a cable outage, some interruption kept us from sin.

I don't think we consider this very often at all.  But there are no small mercies, no small blessing and this is one that we somehow don't see and certainly we don't give thank for.

Our consciences both spiritual and social may keep us from the "biggies" but it in God's providence none the less.  And when our consciences are diverted, when we are distracted from our service to Him it is His gracious providence that hedges us in, redirects our glance, halts our tongues, stops our train of thought.

When you pray don't forget these mercies, these blessings.  You may not have any specific thing to thank Him for but He knows where He has provided even if you don't.  Praying for those unknown - unseen mercies will bring depth and joy to your prayers.  They will also serve to make your conscience more tender so you will begin to see them and count them wonderful.

Indeed, even when we are unaware, "There but for the grace of God go we."

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John Owen writes:
"God has amazingly various and effective ways of stifling their {{our enemies}} purposes.  He can put a stop to their fury when He pleases (Psa. 76:10).  When they have vented as much of their wrath as shall advance His praise, He can set up a power greater than the combined strength of all sinning creatures to restrain the rest.  Some He will cut off and destroy, some He will terrify, but He will restrain the rage of them all.  He can knock them on the head, break out their teeth or chain up their wrath; and who can oppose Him?"

More good news!  We have a God who has no sense of humor when if comes to those who would injure His servants.  They will all get what they deserve and if they don't them they will have become our dear brothers and sisters with whom we will then share enemies.

Have you seen His hand in this in your life?  I have and hope to see it more and more.

We need to pray that He will indeed, "knock them on the head," for our safety and protection.  There is nothing wrong with this.  I see it as an obligatory part of my prayer life.  Why?  Because it is not my place to knock them on the head regardless of how my flesh encourages it.

Remember, He calls admonished us:
Romans 12:18 ESV
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Trails are blessings - No joke!

James writes:
Jas 1:2-3
(2)  Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
(3)  for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

Is he nutz of what? ;-}}

Not really.  The counting it all joy is easily answered in 1 Peter:

1Pe 1:3-9

(3)  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

(4)  to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

(5)  who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

(6)  In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,

7)  so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

(8)  Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,

(9)  obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Verse 6 is critical.  We have to be grieved by "various" trials.  but the problem is;  "What do you consider a trial?"

For most of us a trial is usually something big.  Cancer, financial crisis, addiction, mental health issues - you know the "biggies."  But we cheat ourselves when we limit our perception of trials to just those things that hit us hard.  Our lives are full of trials - the fact that we miss most of them is a sad reflection of our condition.

If you are a believer every day holds many many trials which we miss and in missing them we fail to experience the sense of victory or defeat we need to experience.  Going to work, dealing with traffic, working among unbelievers are all trials of not only our faith but of our faithfulness as well.  If you have never noticed that, WAKE UP!

Money is a trial.  Getting it, keeping it and using it especially today is a trial.

Kids - raising them well is a trial.

Cars - keeping them up is a trial.

All the demands of our culture that we equate with being OK are trials.

Jesus, as I've said over and over and over made it very very clear that our LIVES here, as His sheep, would be LIVES of trial, temptation and tribulation.  

Why do we refuse to see ALL the trials we face and face them as such?  Maybe we just don't want to bother.  Maybe we're just ignorant.  Maybe we're just, well, numb.

Regardless of why, we need to fight against the numbness, ignorance and bother and realize the fantastic place we have in God's plan, the magnificent thing He has done for us and the great and sure promise He has made us.  Doing this we can count our trials, all of them, as simply part of our work here as His sheep.

I do not think the "little while," in verse 6 means we suffer intermittent trials.  I believe that he is telling us to look to the promise of our full and complete sanctification.  I think he wants us to look at our trials, all of them, through the lense of the promise of eternity with Him.  We need to have a heavenly view, if you will, of all - all - of our trials.  We need to recognize them all and appreciate them all.

Appreciate?  Yes!  That's the "if neccessary," in verse 6.  Trials here are necessary   I would go so far as to say essential to our spiritual health and our hope.  Not only do they produce endurance but they remind us of what we endure for.  Even more importantly they keep us in mind of how we can endure them.  We can only endure them by His grace and provision.  Trials - small and large - all of them - should make us keep our eyes on Jesus, keep our eyes in His word and keep our knees bent in prayer.

Paul writes:

1Co 10:13

(13)  No temptation (this is the same word translated trial in James) has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Trials drive us, or should, to the faithfulness of God - on our knees.  He will not to be tried by that which His faithful provision cannot enable us to face and endure.  And even better, He will provide an escape, a way out of it.  He is faithful.

But Paul nails it when he follows this verse with:

1Co 10:14

(14)  Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

What worries you and diminishes your trust in Him?  What hinders you in your duties to Him?  In short, it is idolatry plain and simple.  But more on that another time.

God bless you in all your trials which are blessings if you will but submit to His sovereignty and trust in His grace.