Lately, I’ve been seeing God’s people get hammered by accidents, health issues, untimely deaths, unexpected job loss, home disasters (slab leaks, air conditioners going out, garage door openers failing, appliances breaking down, etc.) and failures in church leadership.  These are the normal pitfalls of living in a fallen world, but sometimes the frequency of these events signals that something out of the ordinary is going on…most likely spiritual warfare. When it keeps happening to month after month after month, it is easy to become weary and wonder where God is and what he is doing about your losses and hardships.  Some days it feels like the enemy is winning and God has left the building.

I’ve been reading through Psalms again in my quiet times and paying special attention to David’s writings. What I see are psalms that declare the goodness of God and thanksgiving for his protection and provision.  In these psalms. David likens God to his fortress, his deliverer, his rock, his shelter, his shepherd and so forth.  David sings the praises of a God whose grace, love, and power shield him from the onslaught of enemies.  There are also psalms in which Davis is lamenting and calling out for God to act on his behalf. In these verses, David seems weary, fearful, and almost abandoned.  However, inevitably the psalm ends with the hope that God will still come to his rescue and deliver him from the present pit he is in

Much of what we know about God comes from retrospect.  We look back at the times we thought would swallow us and then notice the hand of God moving and setting up a moment of victory or deliverance from our enemies. I think David’s psalms declaring “ten thousand may fall at your side but you will not be touched,” come from examining just how he escaped from the terror that he thought would surely devour him. When he saw no way out, a way would unexpectedly appear.  

We need to do the same. We need to notice God’s hand in our past and how he has brough us out of times of loss and despair and set our feet on solid ground again.  Having walked with God’s people for forty years as a pastor, I can tell you myriads of stories about men and women who believed life would never be worth living again, but then found that the grace of God had delivered them and provided joy and meaning again because they did not give up on the goodness of God.

We don’t learn to trust God in the good times because we don’t need to trust him. Everything is going our way and we feel in control of life.  We learn to trust when life is out of control and we are helpless to deliver ourselves.  Then we are confronted with the choice to continue to worship and serve a God who is allowing bad things to happen or to reject God because he is not protecting us from the pain and losses of life.  Those who hold on, see his hand of deliverance and restoration and learn, as David did, that God is our rock and our fortress…even when we can’t see it. When the hard times come, we don’t give thanks for the hard times but we give thanks in the hard times.  We do so because we know God is working to bring us out of the darkness into his warming light once again.  He has done so before so we can believe he will do so again. 

Let me encourage you to spend time tracing the hand of God in your life and in your past hardships.  Write it down. It will give you faith for his goodness in your future…even in the midst of hardship.  Blessings in Him today.

Most of us are familiar with the account of Daniel in the lions’ den.  We know he wasTossed into the den for not worshiping King Darius. In the morning he was found to be unharmed because God had shut the mouths of the lions during the night.  This, of course, is a story of faith and obedience and God’s care for those who serve him faithfully.  However, there is another element of the story I want to focus on in this blog.

In Daniel 6, we discover that a number of King Darius’ officials were envious of Daniel because he had the king’s favor and was given a very high position in the kingdom.  These officials schemed against Daniel.  They knew they would never be able to find him negligent or guilty of any mishandling of the king’s business, but might be able to accuse him on the basis of his relationship with his God. Appealing to the king’s vanity, these officials encouraged him to make a decree that for the next 30 days, no one could pray to their God or another human other than Darius.  

These officials knew that Daniel would continue to pray to his God and so “catching him the act,” they reported him to Darius and reminded him of the decree he had issued.  The text says, “When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel, and made every effort until sundown to save him” (Dan. 6:14).  

Darius was caught by his own words.  He had declared the edict without thinking through the possible ramifications.  Because he was king, his words had authority and once spoken, could not be revoked.  I assume that his “every effort” was a hasty search of Medo-Persian law to find some legal loophole that would allow Daniel to avoid the death penalty.  He could find none, however, and Daniel was tossed to the hungry carnivores.  

When Daniel survived the night, scripture says, “The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den.  And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him because he had trusted in the Lord. At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den” (Dan. 6:23-24). 

There are numerous lessons in this story, but my focus for the moment is the danger of declaring things we have not thought out when we are people of authority.  Once spoken, these words can become law and will be enforced whether we want them to or not.  Many of us, as we were growing up, may have ventured to talk back to our mothers.  If we did, we probably her tell us to “watch your mouth.”  That is a biblical concept.

In Matthew 12, we are told, “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned” (Mt. 12:36-37).  We tend to discount our words and expect we will never be called to account for the things we say.  We declare that we didn’t mean what we said, we were taken out of context, we were misunderstood, we misspoke, etc. How many of our government officials have “plead the fifth” on words they have spoken as they deny what was even caught on video.

So, if we give little thought to our words and expect no real consequences for our verbal declarations, why is Jesus giving such a stern warning?  It is because, in the heavenly realm, our words as believers carry authority.  When we speak, spiritual beings may well act to enforce what we have declared over our families, our health, our finances, our marriage, our children, our nation, our church, etc.  We can plead we didn’t mean it, but if we didn’t mean it, like Darius, we should not have spoken it.

Our words often bring unintended consequences, but we spoke them just the same and we, as followers of Jesus, have authority. If we have the authority to command demons in an act of deliverance, then our other words can command them as well…even if we “didn’t mean it.” How often do we declare curses over ourselves and others because we have not thought through the ramifications of our words

Proverbs counsels us over and over to measure our words and to be thoughtful about everything we say for “the tongue has the power of life and death.”  The New Testament writers counsel (command) us to speak blessings rather than curses, even over our enemies.  Our words have power and authority. Too often we are like Darius who spoke something without considering the ripples his words would send out.  I know better, but I often become careless with my words and speak negatively over situations and outcomes.  I forget that I am speaking death rather than life and that Jesus warns me to measure every word.

May we pray for wisdom and the Holy Spirit to convict us of our words before they even leave our tongues when we begin to speak carelessly.  Our words have consequences for us, our families, our children, and our nation as we move into the days ahead.   We should submit to the spiritual discipline of measuring our words and always speaking life rather than death over any person of circumstance.  It is also true that so much of what we say is so automatic that we are not even conscious of words we say throughout the day as we “pop off” to others.  If we are wise, we may want to invite the people closest to us to remind us when we have been careless and thoughtless with our words so that we may repent and redirect our own tongues.  

This past Sunday I was teaching our monthly class for those who want to be water baptized at our church. I was covering the spiritual symbolism of baptism but also talking about the pre-requisites to baptism which should include belief and repentance.  Everyone seemed to be fine with the repentance part until I mentioned forgiveness.  There was an audible gasp in the room which seemed to say, “Do I really have to forgive those people before I am baptized?!!!

I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised by the response. After all, Jesus had to speak to the issue of forgiveness on numerous occasions and even Peter asked how many times he had to forgive someone.  I also know from leading years of Free Indeed classes that most believers have forgiveness issues with someone.

At the same time, most of these men and women were familiar with the teachings of Jesus declaring if we don’t forgive those who sin against us, then our heavenly Father will not forgive our sins against him. But knowing that, these believers still found reasons to hold onto their bitterness and anger, as if their circumstance was unique and exempt from Christ’s command.

This is a very serious issue and I believe often rests on the assumption of many wounded people that somehow forgiveness benefits the perpetrator rather than the victim…which flies in the face of justice!  They assume that if they forgive, there will be no real consequences for the person who harmed them. I counseled with a woman years ago who had been severely abused both physically and verbally by her husband.  She had run away in terror, moved to another state, divorced him and then remarried.  She had married a good Christian man but frequently flew into rages at him and sliced and diced him with her tongue. She admitted he did not deserve any of that, but she couldn’t help herself.   

Her second marriage was on the brink of ruin when I started meeting with her. She was clearly taking the rage from her first marriage and dumping in on the new spouse.  Her bitterness from her previous marriage was poisoning her current marriage.  It wasn’t hurting her “ex” at all, but was destroying her and those she was trying to love. Eventually, I asked her when she was going to forgive her first husband.  She quickly and firmly informed me that she didn’t plan to forgive him and hoped he burned in hell for what he had done to her.  Ultimately, I discovered her deep-seated belief that if she ever forgave her “ex,” then God would forgive him and justice would never be served.

We then talked about Paul’s admonition to the church at Rome.  “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:17-21).

Paul knew some things about being persecuted, betrayed, abused, slandered and even stoned. And yet, he counseled forgiveness.  What he knew, however, was forgiveness is much more for the victim than the perpetrator. If the abuser does not repent of the wrongs they did to another person, God will deal with them.  Justice will be done.  You forgiving them does not get the perpetrator off the hook with God, it keeps Satan out of your living room.

Paul also wrote to the church at Ephesus saying, “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold” (Eph. 4:26-27). The idea here is to resolve anger and bitterness quickly.  Forgiveness makes that possible.  Holding on to anger opens a door so that Satan can gain a foothold.  The word “foothold” in the original language means to give someone a territory, a status, or even a sanctuary for worship.  Paul warns us that unresolved anger and unforgiveness brings us into agreement with Satan and gives him a legal right to set up shop in our hearts.

Forgiveness may bless the person being forgiven, but it is primarily about guarding our own hearts, keeping Satan at bay, and not hindering the blessings that God would want to send our way.  It is about letting go of the pain we keep resurrecting in order to maintain our feud with the other person. It is about keeping bitterness from our hearts so that the bitterness does not destroy our other relationships.  Ultimately, it is a huge weapon in spiritual warfare because it prevents the enemy from gaining access to us and poisoning our own hearts which leads to other sin and more pain in our lives.  

If you are holding onto a hurt or a grudge, give it to Jesus.  Let him judge and dispense justice.  Move ahead with your life and close the door on an enemy who rejoices in your misery.

Most of us want to fill significant roles in the Kingdom.  Our Father is a king.  As his children, we naturally should want to excel and be impact players for the Kingdom.  As we contemplate how we might serve and what we might accomplish for our King, most of us want to be appointed and anointed and moved quickly into those roles of significance. Detours discourage us and sometimes put us on a divergent road because we assume the obstacles mean that path is not God’s will for our lives.

I’m rereading Genesis right now and have just finished the chapters pertaining to Joseph. As you recall, Joseph was his father’s favorite and, reading between the lines, was, perhaps,  a prideful and arrogant brat of a young man.  Remember his dreams which he interpreted as prophetic dreams in which his brothers and, eventually, his entire family would bow down to him. The text does not seem to imply that he shared those dreams with a humble spirit.  Eleven brothers did not come to hate him enough to kill him or sell him into slavery just because his father showed favoritism…unless he gloried in that favoritism.I’m not sure how he imagined those dreams would manifest unless he thought his brothers and fathers would simply come to realize his superiority someday and then defer to him in all things.

Sitting in a dry cistern overhearing your brothers plans to kill you and blame it on a wild animal had to be a bucket of cold water poured over his dreams of greatness. Being sold into slavery and taken to Egypt was better than death, but it still had to undercut any ways he had imagined achieving his greatness. 

Even in Egypt, however, God’s favor kept creating upward mobility for him. He became the trusted steward over Potiphar’s estate and felt significant in that role. Perhaps, he could imagine some semblance of greatness in that role, but when life seemed good, he was unjustly accused of trying to force himself on Potiphar’s wife.  His next stop was humiliation and an Egyptian prison. Certainly, it was hard for him to imagine anyone ever bowing down to him in that season of his life.   Egyptian prisons were not upwardly mobile then or now. He seemed to be losing ground on any path to greatness.

But again, God gave him favor.  This time the prison warden saw qualities in him that engendered trust and he was given a significant role in the prison and some level of standing…for a convict. Time passed and two men joined the prison population that had been relatively close to Pharoah…his cup bearer and his baker (the head chef).  Both had stirred the anger of Pharoah and had been imprisoned because of it.  While still in prison, each of these men had a vivid dream.  They shared their dreams with Joseph and wondered if there was anyone who could interpret the dreams.  He said something significant when they asked about interpretation.  Joseph said, “Do not interpretations belong to God?  Tell me your dreams.”

There may have been a time in his youth when he interpreted to his own dreams but through servitude and prison, he no longer trusted his own understanding, but sought  the meaning from God.  He told the cupbearer that he would soon be restored to his position.  The baker was told he would soon be executed.  Both interpretations turned out to be spot on.  Joseph asked the cup bearer to remember him when his position with Pharoah was restored. Of course, the cupbearer forgot all about Joseph.  Joseph again had to be discouraged.  Would he be a forgotten man who would live out his life in a dark prison.  

But then…  Sometime later, Pharoah had a pair of dreams that none of his wise men could interpret.  Hearing the discussions, the cupbearer then remembered Joseph and mentioned him to Pharoah.  He was summoned to stand before the most powerful man in Egypt and was told the dreams.  Again, Joseph was clear with Pharoah that the interpretation of dreams belongs to God, but he was confident God would reveal the meaning.  

God did indeed reveal the meaning…seven years of abundance in Egypt to be followed by seven years of brutal famine. He was so impressed with Joseph and his understanding that he placed him in charge of all governmental response to the coming famine.  He was made second in command only to Pharoah.

After seven years of abundance, the famine began to take its toll, not just in Egypt but in the surrounding nations.  Joseph’s own family was driven to go to Egypt to buy grain.  The same brothers who had sold had him into slavery came before Joseph in order to purchase grain.  They did not recognize him but he knew who they were.  They indeed were bowing down before him.   Eventually he revealed himself to his brothers, put aside any thoughts of revenge, and brought his entire family to Egypt where they would grow and prosper.

Joseph had sensed a significant destiny in his life even when he was young.  But every turn seemed to deny that destiny and move him away from it instead of toward it. God had ordained that he would be great in Egypt, saving a nation and also his family.   However, character had to be shaped in Joseph before he could step into the greatness God had ordained for him.  You can see that pattern throughout scripture. 

We want to rush to the end, serve in that position of significance and believe we can do it based on our talent.  But in the kingdom, character is much more valuable than talent.  When we have a dream or a vision to do something great for God, that may well be a dream God has placed in our hear.  Detours and discouragement are often not God saying “No,” but are 
God’s tools for preparing us for that destiny.  We need to take Joseph’s lead in each of those circumstances. 

n each situation that seemingly was taking Joseph away from his destiny, he chose to be his best, serve with faithfulness, and still strive for excellence. He could have chosen despair and bitterness.  I believe he must have spent hours in prayer, asking God to keep those things from his heart. But when the character required to lead a nation had been formed, Joseph’s ultimate destiny was revealed.  When we yearn for leadership in ministry or business, yearn for a spouse and family, yearn for some success in a career that we want to use to glorify God, we must be patient and faithful…even in the detours.