Devotions

Sometimes our aspirations are extremely high. A follower of Jesus should have very high goals, a very high sense of the promises coming true. Often our realities are in a low place, however, where our aspirations seem impossible to achieve. What happens if there’s this huge gap between the two?

Maybe your aspirations are similar to mine. I want to be engaged in a deep relationship with my wife. I want my four kids to be brilliant, loving, following Jesus, being successful in life and loving their neighbors as themselves. I want to wake up every early morning to seek the Lord. These are my high aspirations.

My reality, however, sometimes is “Man, I’ve just disappointed my wife. I just got cranky at my neighbor. I just overate. I just slept until 10:00 a.m. because I pushed the snooze button 100 times.” I believe that most people want a different life than the one they’re living, but they grow discouraged because they never achieve their dreams.

After a long season of hardships, you start to see a breakthrough. You feel hopeful that things will change for the better; then all of a sudden, you’re back in your old patterns. You start seeing some victory, then the victory seems lost. Or perhaps you seem to be overcoming, but then you’re being overwhelmed and dragged under by the current of life. You feel like you’re on this roller-coaster of ups and downs because you’re being disappointed and not ultimately achieving the things that God has for you.

There’s this vast gulf between the dream you’ve hoped for and the reality of where your life is currently. Now when we’re disappointed or discouraged, we could just lower our aspirations. We could stop dreaming or praying for certain things because we’ve been hurt so many times.

We should have high expectations, though, about the things that God has promised us or said to us. If we’ve been wounded in the past and are struggling to pursue God’s calls, remember that we’re continually healing. This is a journey we’re on all of life. We should strive for clarity about what God has called us to; we should examine our expectations and see if they’re self-serving or a thing God is calling us to or placed on our hearts. Where he guides, he provides.

When I meditate on Psalms 71, I immediately think of my wife Chantal. For several decades, I saw Chantal call her mother and father several times every week. She visited them regularly and surrounded them with care, staying with them until their final breath. She has always been a role model for me when it comes to caring for parents in their challenges and end-of-life pain.

I really believe that this is our duty. I would even dare to insist that this is part of our calling as a church. With the fall in birth rates, our government systems are no longer able to respond adequately to the growing needs of the elderly. This is why we have chosen to build a church that is sensitive to the heart of God for our most vulnerable population. We honor them, love them, support them, care for them and ensure that they are involved with us in the work of God. Our lives and families are enriched by their presence and influence.

Did you know that God himself is committed to sustaining and carrying us in our old age? “Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob, all the remnant of the people of Israel, you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born. Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you” (Isaiah 46:3-4, NIV).

I dream of seeing our families in turn embody this heart of compassion towards the elderly. I dream of seeing parents protect their children who then become adults who in turn protect their parents. I dream of seeing people who understand not only the needs of their young children but also those of their own parents.

The biblical declaration “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (see Joshua 24:15) is not limited to just me. It is an inclusive and intergenerational biblical call where together we declare, “I, my children, my parents, my grandparents, we will all serve the Lord!”

This week, show care for an elderly person in your family or circle. As you do so, reflect on specific and intentional commitments you could make to embody the heart and command of God in “Honor your father and mother” (see Exodus 20:12).

^{Claude Houde is the lead pastor of Eglise Nouvelle Vie (New Life Church) in Montreal, Canada. Under his leadership New Life Church has grown from a handful of people to more than 3500 in a part of Canada with few successful Protestant churches.}

I have been meditating for the past few days on Psalms 142 and 143. I was interested in what King David was going through when he said, “When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then you knew my path. In the way in which I walk they have secretly set a snare for me. Look on my right hand and see, for there is no one who acknowledges me; refuge has failed me; no one cares for my soul” (Psalm 142:3-4, NKJV).

David actually cried to the Lord, “Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low… Bring my soul out of prison” (Psalm 142:6-7).

Beloved, these words are written for our sake and our instruction. Here is encouragement for all of God’s people who are overwhelmed by troubles and afflictions. Often I have been accused of being too gloomy and negative. People say that nobody wants to hear bad news, that they turn off any preacher who talks about pain, suffering and troubles.

The truth is that most of us live in a world where life can be absolutely overwhelming at times. Like David, we face a flood of troubles; we are afflicted even in our righteousness. We endure sickness, death of loved ones, times of confusion and not knowing what to do next. We face hellish attacks of Satan against our faith.

It is in our overwhelming times we learn to seek God and learn to cry out in our pain.  David said, “I pour out my complaint before him; I declare before him my trouble” (Psalm 142:2) and “In your faithfulness answer me” (Psalm 143:1).

Even now, are you overwhelmed by circumstances in your life? Echo David’s prayer to God! “Cause me to hear your lovingkindness in the morning, for in you do I trust; cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to you. Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies; in you I take shelter. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness. Revive me, O Lord, for your name’s sake! For your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble” (Psalm 143:8-11).

Be encouraged. God has everything under control. He will meet your need right on time.

The reason I am writing this is to remind you that the battle you are facing is not yours but God’s. If you are a child of his, you can be certain that Satan will “rage against you.”

In 2 Chronicles, a great multitude came against God’s people. King Jehoshaphat and his people set their hearts to fast and seek the Lord. The king cried out to God a prayer that most of us have prayed at times in our spiritual journey. “For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon you” (2 Chronicles 20:12, NKJV). The Spirit of God came down then, and one man spoke to the whole congregation, saying, “Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s” (2 Chronicles 20:15).

Isaiah gave a similar warning to all the forces coming against God’s people. “Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice, and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 37:23).

God said to Satan, “But I know your dwelling place, your going out and your coming in, and your rage against me” (Isaiah 37:28). God told his people Israel, and he tells us today, “The battle is not against you. It is Satan’s rage against me who abides in you.”

You can end your battle quickly by giving up and giving in to your fears and doubts. Satan will not bother those who give up their confidence in the Lord. Yes, the battle is the Lord’s, but we have a part to play. Faith demands that I turn over all my problems – all my critical situations, all my fears, all my anxieties – into the hand of the Lord.  When I have done all I can do and I know my battle is beyond my power, I must submit all into God’s hands.

Our Lord knows the raging of Satan, and we must truly believe he will act. He will bring us through floods and fires and put to chase all spiritual enemies. If you will hold fast to your faith, expect God to come by his Spirit into your situation and bring an end to your battle. The way out is to trust!

A Christian woman approached me recently with a rather emotional expression and asked me if I had heard the latest news report about the upheaval in Pakistan. “Can you believe what is happening?” she asked. “Every day is a bad-news day. Pakistan has nuclear capacity. Terrorists could take over, and some mad Ayatollah could launch us into nuclear war.” Shaking her head, she said, “I am really scared. Things are spinning out of control.”

Right now, people are fearful all over the world. We are seeing the fulfillment of Jesus’ warning, that a day would come when men’s hearts fail for fear as they witness the things coming on the earth.

Now let me give you a clear word from God’s heart, a word of encouragement. In spite of all the frightening news, God still has everything under control.

Here is the Word we believers must stand upon as the storm rages around us, words given to us by Jesus. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27, NKJV). These are troubling times, but in such times the Word of God becomes our strength and hope.

“The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And those who know your name will put their trust in you; for you, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you” (Psalm 9:9-10).

“For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle he shall hide me; he shall set me high upon a rock” (Psalm 27:5).

I believe the most fearful, troubling days are still ahead. I see nothing but growing despair for those who are not daily in God’s Word and praying and talking to the Lord. It is his Word that lifts our spirits and produces faith. Discipline yourself now to open your Bible in the morning and start your day by getting encouraged with his precious promises. Talk to the Lord, even as you prepare for the day. Ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen your faith and hope.