Proverbs 13:12. Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life. Every single person reading this has felt disappointment in their lives. Disappointment is no respecter of persons, age, or personality. Children, teens, and adults fall victim to this unique facet of heartache. Maybe you feel disappointed right now. Disappointment means unfulfilled expectation. I can think of so many times in my life when my goals, opportunities, or my future did not happen the way I expected. Disappointment floods a persons heart with grief and many times evokes tears. In The Message, the…
“Rivers of water run down from my eyes, because men do not keep Your law . . . I see the treacherous, and am disgusted, because they do not keep Your word.” (Psalm 119: 136, 158, NKJV). It is difficult to watch intense grief. We have all seen, or personally felt, the aching hurt that comes with loss and brokenness. Raw emotions rise within the person suffering. As we see their anguish, we struggle to find just the right words that we hope will bring comfort. There is another kind of grief that every child of God should feel, and that is grief over sin. God hates sin, yet it seems that His people have learned to coexist and even tolerate it. Sin no longer disturbs us as it should. But sin is an affront to God’s holiness. Psalm 97:10 instructs, “You who love the Lord, hate evil!” According to this verse, there is no gray area in which we can coexist. GRIEVING FOR SIN In Scripture, we see several examples of this deep grief for sin. Our greatest example of such deep agony was as Jesus prayed in the garden the night before His crucifixion. Pouring out His soul in prayer,…
“Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD.” (Genesis 13:12-13, ESV) When someone moves to a new location, there are so many things to consider. How much will suitable housing cost? Is the neighborhood safe? What is the quality of the school district? Is the area convenient for shopping and for commuting to work? Do neighbors maintain their properties? Is there a church nearby that upholds biblical truth? Any move requires serious thought. Your family’s wellbeing is at stake. THE DECISION TO SEPARATE Genesis 13 tells the story of Abraham and Lot. Both men owned sizeable flocks and herds, and the land could no longer support both. With constant bickering between their herdsmen because of the situation, it was time for the two men and their households to separate. Although Abraham was the elder of the family, he graciously allowed Lot, his nephew, to choose the land he desired. Abraham would then move in the opposite direction. Lot quickly noticed the well-watered plains to the east and chose to move toward Sodom.…
“For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.” (Philippians 1:29, NLT) Contrary to what we would like to believe, bad things really do happen to good people sometimes. This becomes evident as we read the Book of Acts and realize the persecution that the early church experienced. Despite the things they faced, even death, they did not waver in their faith or turn back from the Lord. When Paul wrote about the privilege of suffering to the church at Philippi, he did not choose those words lightly.…
Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the LORD, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” (Genesis 16:13, NLT) Hagar really didn’t have much going for her in life. An Egyptian slave in the household of Abraham and Sarah, she was far from her homeland. But her life became even more confusing and difficult when her master’s wife suggested she become a surrogate mother to provide them with an heir. God had promised them a child, but Sarah remained barren. This seemed a good solution, at least to Sarah. What Sarah had earlier thought a good plan soon created sharp discord between the two women. Hagar fled—pregnant, alone, and not knowing who could help her. We can only imagine the panic and uncertainty she must have felt. in the wilderness Then she had a divine experience. It was by a spring in the wilderness that Hagar encountered the angel of the LORD. Calling her by name, He gave Hagar instructions and then a promise. And the angel of the LORD said to her, “Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son.…
“Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.” (Romans 12:12, CSB) When we pray for a need in our life, do we pray once? Twice? Three times? When do we give up? Do we have the persistence to hold on until the answer comes? Is our trust in God strong enough to leave the answer and the timing up to Him? When we’ve cried out to God for the same situation for weeks, months, or what sometimes feels like forever, it’s easy to become discouraged. Yet, a parable of Jesus in Luke 18 teaches us to hold on, to be tenacious, and not to grow weary in our prayers. “Now he told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not give up.” (Luke 18:1, CSB) In this parable a widow came before a judge to get justice in her situation. The judge was cold-hearted and did not fear God or man. Yet, because of the widow’s persistence, he eventually handled her situation so that she would stop coming. In verse 7 Jesus asks: “Will not God grant justice to his elect who cry out to him day and night? Will he delay…