I began studying and preparing in earnest. The Bible and concordance were my constant companions as I spent hours pouring over Scripture passages, cross-referencing, jotting down notes and ideas, meditating, trying to understand the true nature of contentment and how it is attained. I considered myself a fairly content person most of the time, and tried to imagine what it would feel like to be living a wholly discontented life. What were the factors that would contribute to such a state of being? I searched desperately for answers to my questions, eager to uncover gems of truth that I could incorporate into my message and share with women who might be struggling with discontentment. Friends who were aware of my upcoming talk shared helpful resources that further enlightened me. But still, something was missing.

One of the primary truths that the Lord impressed upon my heart was gleaned from Paul’s familiar declaration in Philippians 4:11-13, “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 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. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Even in the midst of apparent need, Paul stated that he wasn’t in need. Far from a contradiction, he was revealing that the secret of contentment is that the sufficiency of Christ transcends any situation and grants contentment and fulfillment in the context of what is perceived as a need.

In the afore-mentioned post, I alluded to the account of Jacob in Genesis 32:24-31 when I said that I would keep wrestling until God sent me away with a blessing. Well, I think that I should have re-read the account before referencing it as an application to my situation, because I forgot a rather critical element of the story. I forgot that when the angel of God didn’t prevail over Jacob within a considerable amount of time, He supernaturally knocked Jacob’s hip out of joint, leaving him with a pronounced limp. In a similar manner for me, after several weeks, apparently God felt like it was time to end the wrestling. So He knocked my hip out of joint and gave me a limp…

As I sat having my quiet time one morning, less than two weeks before the event was to be held, I grew increasingly frustrated. I had pages and pages of notes, ideas, thoughts, Scriptures, etc., but every attempt to develop an outline into which I could incorporate all these elements was fruitless. I was expressing these frustrations in my journal, noting that the event was quickly approaching and that I needed to have an outline, and I needed to have it well in advance so that I could spend adequate time filling in the content and practicing my delivery. After writing words to this effect, I stopped short. As I re-read the freshly penned sentences, one word jumped at me from the page: need. I was telling God what I needed. Essentially, I was discontent because God was not bringing the fulfillment of my desire – the desire to have a carefully planned outline and well organized notes. Instead, the words of Paul reverberated in my mind, “Not that I am speaking of being in need…” And then came the whisper upon my heart, “I am sufficient. I am all that you need. You don’t need your notes; you need Me.”

My heart skipped a beat. Actually, I think it was more like ten beats. I was terrified. Was God really asking me to do what I thought He was? Was God asking me to go into my talk without an outline, without any notes? It was too much. I told God as much. I tried to put the horrible thought out of my mind. So God filled my mind with the image of Moses standing before Him at the burning bush, refusing to go before Pharaoh because he can’t speak well. God reminds Moses that He is the Creator of man’s mouth and will teach him what to say. “That’s nice, Lord,” I thought. “If You appeared to me in a burning bush and told me to carry Your message, I would do it in a heartbeat.” But my communication with God was far from a burning bush scenario. It was just a still, small voice whispering into my heart. How could I be sure that it was from the Lord?

Another day came and went. My heart was unyielding. What if I was mistaken? What if I didn’t use notes and then no words came when I was supposed to talk? It was more than I could bear. There was just no way that I could fill up an hour of time with a cohesive message with no notes from which to plot the course of my message. As I read Psalm 12 before going to bed that night, I was pierced, “Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?” (Psalm 12:1-4) The prideful insistence that my words would be more effective than the Lord’s exposed my lack of godliness and faithfulness. I went to bed duly convicted, but not yet broken.

The next morning, I awoke in turmoil. My heart was conflicted. My desires were obviously not in harmony with God’s desires, and the discontentment I experienced was acute. Finally, I was convinced that I had heard the Lord correctly, so my approach shifted from one of unbelief to an effort to persuade Him to change His mind. It was in vain. Instead, He reminded me of 2 Corinthians 12:8-11 when Paul petitions Him to remove his “thorn in the flesh” – “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” For three days I had questioned God, doubted Him, and pleaded with Him to show me another way. But He said, “My grace is sufficient for you.” And so it was that I walked away from my quiet time that third morning with a limp – a limp that would remind me continually of my utter dependence upon Jesus Christ.

The intervening days were filled with special times of learning from the Lord, enlightening insights, moments of eager anticipation quickly followed by visions of disastrous failure, reminders of promises passed down through the ages, attempts to sneak in the writing of detailed notes to organize my thoughts (which were stopped short by the Lord’s obvious disapproval), e-mail exchanges with friends who exhorted me and offered up manifold prayers on my behalf, and the realization that my desire must be to “wait only upon the Lord” and seek to please Him alone. I became more and more firm in my resolve. There was a peculiar exhilaration in walking by faith, anticipating the great things that God was going to do, and wondering how the evening would play out. At times, I imagined myself opening my mouth and God speaking forth a message of eloquent beauty. At other times, the image of myself staring at a blank podium and then running off in humiliation prevailed. But by and large, my heart was filled with a peace that far transcended my understanding. God would work all things according to the counsel of His own will. Of that I was certain.

At long last, the day arrived. January 23, 2009. A feeling of oppression assaulted me almost as soon as I got up. My quiet time was dry, and I had a hard time focusing and calming my heart. An e-mail from a friend provided important words of truth that I recalled to mind throughout the day. I did my work dutifully, but a feeling of darkness permeated my mind. As I finished getting ready and prepared to head over to the church building, I had an emotional breakdown. I got upset with Mom over something that was my fault and broke into tears. She told me to relax. But I couldn’t. Dad talked with me, asking me questions to try to discern why I was feeling and acting like this. I couldn’t explain it very well, but he did his best to understand and offer words of counsel. I was trying to be the epitome of contentment, but here I was – an emotional wreck. As I tried to get myself under control, I watched the minutes on the clock tick by. I had to leave. But I couldn’t show up with red eyes and tear-streaked mascara running down my face. Another layer of makeup attempted to conceal the emotions that raged within me. I started quoting Scripture out loud and praying for God’s protection from the enemy. I begged God to clothe me with His armor and help me stand against the wiles of the devil. I felt weaker than ever. Just before leaving, the whole family gathered around me, laid hands on me, and prayed for me. I left with Dad and Joey assuring me that they would be praying for me throughout the night.

I walked into the church building and was greeted by a roomful of women and their daughters who were busily putting the finishing touches on the decorations and making sure that everything was ready to go. I conversed casually with various people and greeted other friends as they arrived. As I spoke with the lady who had originally called me about speaking at the event, she expressed amazement that I didn’t even seem nervous. I laughed and said that if only she had seen me thirty minutes before, she would think otherwise. She told me that the whole committee had been praying for me, and that she really sensed that God’s hand was orchestrating this event. Several others expressed their eagerness at having the occasion to hear me speak. I tried to be gracious, but the pressure I felt was immense. God’s grace alone sustained me.

Soon the lights flickered on and off, signaling the commencement of the program for the evening. The room was packed with over 100 women and their daughters. I sat in my assigned seat at a front table, facing a room full of loving hearts and friendly faces. The Lord was present in our midst. His hedge of protection kept the enemy without from wreaking havoc on the events within. God would emerge the victor in this battle. I enjoyed visiting with the girls at my table while we munched on desserts and sipped hot drinks. My spirit was considerably calmer than an hour before, but I still felt on edge. After several short announcements and special music selections, I was introduced and called to the stage. Technical difficulties with the microphone gave me a few additional moments to formulate how I would begin. Eventually, with my Bible in one hand and a microphone in the other, I opened with a short prayer. I shared a relatively brief introduction to the topic of contentment, which was followed by the first act of a skit that was written to portray the image of a discontented heart. As the act concluded, I again made my way onto the stage and looked out over the sea of expectant faces.

Visions of eloquence and clear delivery were short-lived. I fumbled through sentences, repeated myself unnecessarily, and left some thoughts woefully undeveloped. Much sooner than I anticipated, I led into the second act of the skit. This act depicted the beauty of a heart that is waiting only upon the Lord. Following a wonderful performance, I resumed my position behind the black podium and delivered the remainder of the message. It was more of the same, with brief moments of clarity overwhelmed by the primarily disorganized nature of my thoughts. I had not a clue where I was going as I moved from one point to the next. Then suddenly, it was the end and the words of one of my favorite quotes were on my lips, bringing my talk to a close. This quote was the one sure thing the Lord had given me. I knew that it was to be the closing. As soon as the last word escaped my lips, I was back at my seat, utterly spent. The tears again streamed down my face as we were led in several songs of worship and then in a closing prayer.

I wanted to run and hide. The content and delivery of my talk seemed like a disaster. But in my heart I knew that God was pleased. I had believed that He would be sufficient for me. And that belief had led me to act in obedience to what He called me to do. As one after another lady came up to me and expressed in utter sincerity that the Lord had spoken to her heart through the message, I was dumbfounded. My expressions of “Praise the Lord” were never as fraught with meaning as they were that night. I couldn’t see how God could have used my jumbled presentation to touch so many hearts. Again I was compelled to greater faith, for faith is the “evidence of things not seen.” And for perhaps the first time in my life, I understood what it was for me to be nothing and God to be everything.

As I later told Mom, this whole ordeal was the second hardest experience of my life. And it was by far the most humbling. But now, by the grace of God, I can say with Paul that I have learned the secret of contentment. Not by studying it out and coming to an intellectual understanding of what it means. But by going through God’s custom-designed “school of contentment.” I have learned by experience that contentment is recognizing that our sufficiency is found in Christ alone. He is all that we truly need. And when we recognize this, we can endure the loss of anything and everything, because He will never leave us or forsake us. Indeed, though we petition God for what we think we need, we trust Him to give us what He knows we truly need (which may be the lack of the very thing that we think we need) in order to draw our hearts to Himself.

It is with a profound sense of gratitude that I praise God that he still touches His people and leaves them with a limp. For it is after the limp that the blessing comes.

“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” Psalm 119:18

Christmas: God’s Mystery Revealed!

The stage was set ere time began,
A perfect script conceived in heaven;
Events unfolding throughout history,
Revealing the clues of God’s great mystery.

A beautiful garden, man’s perfect location,
Forbidden fruit, a serpent’s deception;
Then entered the stage the curse of sin on all flesh,
But then the promise that one day its head would be crushed.

Time swiftly passed; the years rolled away;
A man named Abram was called to the stage;
Blessing bestowed upon him by God’s undeserved mercy,
All the world would be blessed through the seed of his family.

Then Isaac, then Jacob, assumed his role,
And God said, “Now you shall be called, ‘Israel.’”
“Be fruitful and multiply,” He commanded,
So the blessing from generation to generation was handed.

Sibling rivalry ran in the hearts of twelve brothers;
And Joseph was sold as a slave by the others;
Into Egypt he came; to great power he rose,
Sent by God to preserve the people He chose.

Though great were his deeds and many were saved,
There arose a new king who knew not Joseph’s name.
“Let the burdens be heavier, make them serve us!” he cried;
But the people of Israel only multiplied.

Now off in a corner the plot develops;
A bush, seen by Moses, that a fire envelops;
From the midst, a voice, that proclaims, “I AM”;
Then, “My people cry out and redemption is my plan.”

Ten plagues wrought destruction till Egypt was ravaged,
But Israel escapes, the lamb’s blood their passage –
Applied to the sides and the top of the door,
So the Angel of Death passed over, and God brought them forth.

Miracle of miracles the Red Sea was divided,
The way of salvation supernaturally provided;
Now safe and secure, from the mountain was spoken
A covenant of promise that could never be broken.

God’s treasured possession, redeemed at great cost;
To obey would bring blessing, to rebel – great loss;
With heart, soul, and might, their love was His desire,
And to teach to their children the commands He required.

This the point of their failure, for once they were gone,
their children knew not God, nor the works He had done;
Abandoning faith, to false gods they bowed down,
God’s anger provoked, but His patience wore on.

Again the sands of time descended,
New clues emerged, the mystery extended;
A valiant man emerged on the scene,
David – a shepherd, a warrior, a king.

Forever established his throne would be,
The promise declared to David and his seed;
Again words of blessing if Israel would but obey;
Instead the rebellious bride wandered, gave her heart away.

Time after time in compassion God sent
A host of His messengers, but Israel would not repent;
Masterfully scripted, now the part she must play,
But woe to the villain who has entered the stage!

Babylon the Great in pomp and pride,
The bearer of wrath with her arrogant stride;
Fire and sword ruled the day,
Till she emerged triumphant – carried God’s people away.

In the midst of captivity a remnant remained,
Keeping God’s Word, proclaiming His Name;
His promise rang out, “I’ll come dwell in your midst”;
Be faithful, be watchful, and the truth you’ll not miss.

Then the curtain was closed, the stage grew dim,
But the faithful ones still waited for Him;
A promised deliverer would come, they knew,
But the secret was kept until Act Two.

Splitting the silence, word from above!
Not in royal grandeur, but a whisper of love;
Favored one of God, virgin Mary to conceive and bear
Son of the Most High, the promised deliverer.

A shocking revelation, but wait, what’s this?
The throne of David His father will now be His!
A kingdom set up to endure forever,
Over the house of Jacob He – the eternal Ruler.

Unassuming birth, a small town, fulfillment of prophecy,
Short time later brought to the temple was He,
Where Simeon – devout and filled with the Spirit,
Saw Jesus; at once, the mystery – he knew it!

Into the world the answer had come;
God alone in human flesh could make all people one;
Those who were Gentiles at times in the past
Were welcomed into the promise at last.

Though once far off and dead in sin,
The blood of the Lamb brought redemption again;
Applied to men’s hearts by God’s grace alone,
Faith freely given; not by works of our own.

The inheritance now is ours to claim,
Because by adoption we bear Jesus’ Name;
He purchased for us what could never be earned –
A home in heaven, forever preserved.

Not only in this life, but for all eternity
His chosen people, a royal priesthood are we,
Proclaiming His greatness, now we have light –
marvelous, brilliant, gloriously bright!

For ages and generations the clues have been given;
It’s clear that the answer is no longer hidden;
To the world God has fully made known His mystery,
which is Christ in you – the hope of glory!

©2008 Natalie Wickham

Corresponding Scripture passages:
1. Isaiah 46:9-10
2. Genesis 3:14-15 (4004 B.C.)
3. Genesis 12:1-3 (1921 B.C.)
4. Genesis 35:9-12 (1732 B.C.)
5. Genesis 37-45 (1728 B.C.)
6. Exodus 1:8-12 (1635 B.C.)
7. Exodus 3:1-10 (1491 B.C.)
8. Exodus 11-13 (1491 B.C.)
9. Exodus 14, 19:3-6 (1491 B.C.)
10. Deuteronomy 6:4-7 (1491 B.C.)
11. Judges 2:10-12 (1409 B.C.)
12. 2 Samuel 7 (1048 B.C.)
13. Psalm 81:8-12 (1048-606 B.C.)
14. 2 Chronicles 36 (606 B.C.)
15. 2 Chronicles 36 (606 B.C.)
16. Zechariah 2:10-13 (520 B.C.)
17. 400 years between the Old and New Testaments
18. Luke 1:26-30 (1 B.C.)
19. Luke 1:26-30 (1 B.C.)
20. Luke 2
21. Ephesians 2
22. Ephesians 2
23. 1 Peter 1-2
24. 1 Peter 1-2
25. Colossians 1

Just this week I finished reading a massive, generally excellent book by Paul Johnson titled, A History of the American People. A number of times in the history of our nation, God has tested a new President (or allowed him to be tested); sometimes the President has “passed” and sometimes he has “failed.” Most recently, I think most would agree President Bush “passed” the test in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. (I dread even imagining if Al Gore had been “the leader of the free world” when this happened.)

It could be argued that the test for our next President has already begun, although the feverish, final days leading up to the election have muted its coverage, that being the unprecedented financial collapse and ongoing crisis, which many leaders in our government seem to think they can fix by misspending tax dollars on a scale so great as to be almost incomprehensible.

In my mind there is a direct connection between this latest crisis and 9/11. In Deuteronomy 6 the Lord warns of a phenomenon that could happen in the hearts of His people and has happened many times since throughout history – forgetting God after a season of obedience that ushers in a prosperity which God Himself gives to those who believe in Him and keep His commandments. Just two or three generations after this warning was given, we see in the book of Judges that prosperity gave way to idolatry, and God had to judge His people to get them to return to Him. It could fairly be said, I think, that the World Trade Center symbolically represented the true god of our nation – the accumulation and hoarding of wealth and worshiping the comfort, entertainment, and luxuries which money can provide. And God destroyed our god, using as He sometimes does, enemies more evil and God-less than the ones being judged. Sooner or later, depending on the severity of their judgment, the Israelites would cry out to God for deliverance. But after 9/11, the no-atheists-in-foxholes type pronouncements of a higher power and of the United States being a great nation died down quickly, and there was no national acknowledgment of our idolatry and manifold sins nor of the justice of God’s judgment and there was certainly no call for repentance. So God judged us again, and right in the middle of an election campaign; how rude of Him to interrupt us in this way! One wonders if He may have wanted at least some of those looking for a messiah to recognize that He can create problems beyond any savior’s ability to solve! (As an aside, I suspect Mr. Obama, many more of whose supporters than Mr. McCain’s seem to be worshipers, is keenly aware of his finiteness, but it serves his campaign’s purposes not to let this dirty little secret out – that he can’t fix everything and he knows he can’t – until the election is over.)

Reading through the history of the Israelites (Joshua–Esther), when God brought crises, sometimes the king and the people cried out to Him and He delivered them, sometimes they tried to buy their way out, even selling off items of value from the temple, and this always had a bad outcome. Since God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, I don’t think our effort to buy our way out of this economic mess, which I believe God has brought upon us in judgment, is going to be any more effective for us than it was for the Israelites.

What will be interesting to see, if Mr. Obama wins, will be the reactions of two distinct groups within his camp. (1) Those who are secular to the core and want payback immediately if not sooner for their pet causes – sexual perverts (same-sex “marriage,” homosexuals in military), pro-aborts (FOCA–Freedom Of Choice Act), liberal media (“Fairness” Doctrine), environmentalists (reduce carbon emissions no matter the cost), etc – if he doesn’t come through for them and/or doesn’t remain consistent with their expectations. (2) Those who have been so influenced by his color or mesmerized by his style that they were willing to ignore or compromise on issues of substance. Among these are millions of basically moral black people and, among non-blacks, some gullible Christians and millions of churchgoers and other “good” people who think they’re Christians. If Obama presides in accordance with his historical record of opposing the Biblical position on almost every moral issue, how long will it be before these moral people become disenchanted? And how angry will they get when they realize they have been betrayed, that they have been, as Vladimir Lenin would say, “useful idiots,” discarded now that their usefulness is over? As an example, we need only look back a few years to 2006, though it had been building since 1994, when Christians and conservatives who had been wooed by the Republican party from the beginning of the “Contract with America” and every two years afterward, then promptly ignored after each election, finally decided enough was enough and abandoned the GOP by the millions. My suspicion is that Obama’s “useful idiots” will not be nearly so slow to catch on and far less patient!

One other aspect to elections we have been pleased to discover is that there are alternatives beyond the two the media and the two major parties typically present as the only ones (in logic I think this is called a false dichotomy – thinking you have to choose A or B when there are more options available): voting for candidates from other than the two major parties and/or not voting for anyone for some offices.

Our philosophy is to vote for the person whom we think is the best candidate for an office, regardless of party or elect-ability, unless he/she belongs to a party whose stated position on any moral issue is immoral. (Unfortunately, at this point in history, this means we don’t vote for Democrats.) For this election, for President we voted for Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party (if you’re not familiar with the CP, you might enjoy visiting their website (www.constitutionparty.com) and seeing how closely their platform comports with Biblical and constitutional principles). For most positions in our state or locally, we voted for Republicans, but for some offices we didn’t vote for anyone.

Reading about [names withheld] and knowing their Godly heritages, I wonder if they felt they had to vote for either Mr. McCain or Mr. Obama and, of the two, they preferred Obama. Certainly they would be in good company, as millions of God’s people are voting for Mr. Obama today. But as Christians, if Mr. McCain was not a desirable choice, would it not have been better not to vote for anyone for President or to vote for someone like Chuck Baldwin who, although he won’t get elected, requires no compromise of any of our sacred principles? Food for thought for next time, perhaps!

As I read 1 Chronicles 16 this morning, I was inspired and challenged by the realization that these are the verbs that should characterize the life of the people of God. God is the substance of their thoughts, the topic of their conversations, the memory of their past, the source of their joy, the motivation of their actions. God is the essence of their life.

Have I…
…given God thanks today?
…made known His deeds today?
…sung praise to Him today?
…talked of His wondrous works today?
…gloried in His holy name today?
…sought His strength and face today?
…remembered His marvelous works today?
…filled my mind with His covenant and Word today?
…showed forth His salvation today?
…declared His glory among the heathen today?
…brought an offering to Him today?
…come before Him today?
…worshiped Him in holiness today?
…feared before Him today?

Have I lived like one of God’s people today?

“The human thinks with his mind. He also thinks with words. That’s why poor language use is clear evidence a person cannot think clearly.”

This provided for some interesting discussion in our house, so I thought I would present it here for the consideration of my readers. Any takers? What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with this assertion?

Proverbs 14:8 – “The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit.”

Proverbs 16:20-21 – “He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he. The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.”

Proverbs 22:3 – “A prudent man forseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.”

It may sound ridiculous, but I had been wanting to run stairs semi-regularly just to change up my workout routine a bit. When this guy invited me to do just that with him, I really wanted to take him up on the offer. I had no interest in a relationship with him, but the prospect of running stairs with someone else was appealing! But the Lord impressed on my mind the realization that to take him up on his offer would be the first step in developing a closer relationship with a young man that could potentially lead me into a situation in the future that was not a path I wanted to travel. Prudence required honestly evaluating the decision before me in light of where the path could potentially lead. A quick journey of my imagination led me to quickly see how far this one decision could lead me to stray from the way of the Lord. All these thoughts flitted through my mind as I ended the conversation, resolute in my rejection of his offer.

Many times, we find ourselves stuck in a hard place or experiencing the heartache of a situation gone bad. Far too often I think this is the result of making careless decisions earlier on without weighing the ramifications or imagining the future situations that may result from those decisions. We reason that if something is not expressly forbidden, it is implicitly allowed; and the result is a foolish decision that ultimately leads us down a path of destruction. Here are three steps that I think will help any Christian avoid placing himself or herself in situations that often result in a great deal of unnecessary pain and heartache.

1. Acknowledge your innate sinful disposition and specific areas of weakness. (See I Corinthians 10:12)

2. When faced with a decision, consider carefully where the path will lead based on which choice you make. (In general, people need to think more. Follow beliefs and actions to their logical conclusion and see if where it leads is where you want to go.)

3. Act prudently, even if it means foregoing pleasures or activities that seem harmless.

Here is how this can play out in practicality:

* I know that I am susceptible to be led astray by false teaching; therefore I choose not to enroll in a university course where I will be subject to inordinate amounts of teaching that is not consistent with God’s Word. [this is a guard against unbelief]

* I know that I can easily become emotionally attached to young men; therefore I choose not to spend time alone with a young man outside of a commitment to marriage. [this is a guard against immorality]

* I know that I have a propensity to overeat sweets; therefore I choose not to eat desserts or high-sugar foods. [this is a guard against gluttony]

* I know that I am easily tempted to become discontent in my singleness; therefore I choose not to read romantic novels that incite unrealistic romantic desires in my heart. [this is a guard against discontentment]

* I know that certain styles of music can lead to emotional instability or draw my heart away from God; therefore I choose not to listen to music that has a heavy rock beat or is excessively dissonant. [this is a guard against backsliding]

No doubt there are hundreds of other applications, and prudence will look different for different people. The important thing is that we present ourselves honestly before the Lord and commit to doing (or not doing) whatever it takes to walk in wisdom and righteousness. Jesus Himself said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). That means that every day I will tell myself “no” to things that I want to do, or I will force myself to do things that I don’t want to do. I will find the strength and power to do this by “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

The presence of Jesus Christ within me enables me to say, “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (II Corinthians 4:16-18).

Someday I will dwell forever in a glorious heavenly paradise where there will be beauty and pleasures beyond my wildest imagination. I am living for that day.

“It is one of the terrible marks of the diseased state of Christian life in these days, that there are so many who rest content without the distinct experience of answer to prayer…There may be cases in which the answer is a refusal, because the request is not according to God’s Word, as when Moses asked to enter Canaan. But still, there was an answer: God did not leave His servant in uncertainty as to His will.”

The more we pray and experience answered prayer, the more we will see life’s happenings from God’s perspective. What specific things have you prayed for this week? How has God answered? How can we declare God’s wondrous works to others if we do not live and pray in such a way that we are even aware of how He is working?