“You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices.” Leviticus 18:3
God was specifically calling the Israelites out of and away from Egypt. They were not to take “Egypt” with them. For the Israelites, Egypt was both a land of physical bondage as well as spiritual bondage. God was calling them not only out of their physical captivity, but He deeply desired for them to have freedom spiritually. It was His desire to have a relationship with His children. He was calling them into a land of spiritual liberty, a land far from the clutches of Egypt. Or was He? Let’s take a look at the second part of Leviticus 18:3 again. “You must not do as they do in the land of Canaan.” The reality that the Israelites faced in Canaan was no different than Egypt. The level of evil was just as twisted and perverted. If you need proof of this, feel free to continue to read on in chapter 18 of Leviticus or head over to chapter 20. God lays out a very clear list of “don’ts”. Why would God give them such an exhaustive list before they ever set eyes on Canaan? These very things listed happened to be the exact behaviors that were taking place in their beloved promise land and it was God’s desire to forewarn them of these harsh realities so they knew exactly what to do when faced with them. Have you ever found yourself in a situation that you only wish someone had given you a heads up so that you could plan better, but instead found yourself completely blindsided with no idea how to handle it? The Lord wanted His people to be prepared to fight the spiritual battle that lay ahead of them. He didn’t want them to be caught off guard.
While God gave the Israelites plenty of warning about what lay ahead of them they still managed to adopt many of the detestable practices of both Egypt and Canaan. There were times when the Israelites had assimilated so much that they were virtually unrecognizable as God’s chosen people. The Israelites broke God’s heart time and time again. The Lord would plainly lay out His expectations only to find His people worshiping other gods (2 Kings 17:7), rejecting His law (2 Kings 17:15), and imitating the nations around them (2 Kings 17:15). For a more detailed list of the ways the Israelites evoked God to anger read 2 Kings 17:1-17.
Like the Israelites, we too are called to “come out from among them.” (Isaiah 52:11, 2 Corinthians 6:17). We are aliens and strangers in this world (1 Peter 2:11). We are called to be in this world and not of it (John 15:19). We are to be the salt and light of the earth (Matthew 5:13-14). So, here is the question...do we have enough “God” in us that people around us can actually taste and see that the Lord is good? (Psalm 34:8) If the people around us can not taste the goodness of God, or see the light pouring out of us, then something is amiss. The Israelites had looked so much like the nations around them that when those nations looked at God’s chosen, they saw nothing different. They could not taste the salt in their lives. Salt has the ability to make a normal run of the mill fruit or vegetable become savory, making it more desirable. It creates a craving in people to want more. Can people taste the savory flavor of Christ, or are we leaving them tasting nothing different then the rest of the world has offered?
Just as we are called to be the salt, we are also called to be the light (Matthew 5:14). We are not to be hidden (Matthew 5:14). We are to let our light shine before others, that they may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:15). Can people actually look at our lives and physically see that we are one of God’s chosen, or do we blend in with everyone else? There is a Newsboys song entitled “Guilty” and every time I hear that song I find myself asking the question… “Is there enough evidence to convict me of serving God?” Is there enough visible, tangible, hold up in the court of law evidence to convict me beyond a shadow of a doubt that I serve the Lord? Can people physically taste the salt and physically see the light to the point that it could put me in prison? These are tough questions. How about you? Can people physically taste the salt and see the light in your life? Would there be enough evidence to convict you of serving God?
Call to action
I leave us with this today, let’s spend some time praying that the Lord puts His finger on the very things that are dimming our light from people seeing God’s goodness and stealing our salt from people tasting that the Lord is good. What a rejoicing there will be in heaven when those around us come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ (Luke 15:10) all because we made a stand to come out from among them (2 Corinthians 6:17) and be the physical, tangible palatable salt and light of the earth (Matthew 5:13-14).
For similar posts visit: Being Ready and Where is Your Heart?
Father, I thank you that you ordained us to be on this earth for such a time as this, to be the salt and light, for others to see our good deeds so they can glorify you. We pray that you begin to place your finger on the very things that are hindering others from tasting and seeing that you are good. We lay our lives at your feet, to be teachable and pliable so that our loved ones who do not know you will come to the saving knowledge of your son. We pray this in the precious name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Last week we looked at the way the Lord tested different people in scripture. I would like to continue in this same vain and discuss ways in which the Lord tests us personally and how our painful trials can bring eternal joy.
The Mind
"I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.” Jeremiah 17:10
Last week we looked at Abraham, Philip and the Israelite children. In Abraham’s case God tested actions. In Philip’s case He tested his response through words. With the Israelites God tested both their obedience in action as well as their response in love. Now, let’s move to us for a moment. In Jeremiah God is testing our mind, our thoughts. Before we can ever be obedient in action our mind has to first line up with God’s word.
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:15
We must test our thoughts to make sure they line up with God’s word. If they do not we are called to take those particular thoughts captive, to lock them up and throw away the key. We must make our thoughts obedient to Christ, knowing that he will test our minds.
Our Hearts
“On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.” 1 Thessalonians 2:4
1 Thessalonians Paul says, God tests our hearts. Obedience first starts in the mind, then settles in the heart before it turns into action. “For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34) In other words, God will test our hearts to see if what we have stored up inside will come out as a blessing or not.
“For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver.” Psalm 66:10
I love this test, "refined us like silver". Silver is only refined (made pure) one way and that is through the fire. Each time through the fire the impurities float to the top and that layer gets scraped off. Each time through the fire (the testing) we are losing our impurities and keeping the pure heart that God has given us. Our fires are not meant for harm, but for good. They are meant to show us the sin we need to purge so the righteousness can shine.
“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” 1 Peter 4:12-13
Peter reminds first off, that we should not be surprised when we go through the fire and are tested. This is going to happen. It is part of God’s refining in your life. Peter also instructs us to rejoice when those testings come by doing so we are taking part in Christ’s walk to Calvary. We are picking up our cross of the testing just as Christ has picked up the cross of His testing.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4
Like Peter, James also reminds us to consider our trials and testing joy, but James uses a stronger language here. He says, consider it pure joy. James also goes on to tell us why we can have the ability to consider or testings pure joy. Our testings produce perseverance and when we persevere through the entire test we will be made mature and complete, not lacking anything! How exciting is that! To be able to look back on all of the trials and testings in our lifetime and say that we are now mature and complete, not lacking anything. What an amazing perspective.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
Knowing what we have just seen from Paul and James, this is how we can see God working all things together for our good. The trials and testings are not fun, they are not pretty and sometimes we would even say they are not fair, but what are we learning as we are walking? If we look at the chaos of everything happening around us we will inevitably become discouraged. However, if we take our eyes off the chaos and fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), we will be able to say that our faith has been made mature and complete, not lacking a single solitary thing (James 1:2-4)! Now that is pure joy!
Heavenly Father, I thank you that you test us in our hearts and minds so that we can come out refined like pure silver. Help us to remember that in the midst of our trials you are forming us into your likeness, making us mature and complete not lacking anything! Thank you for working all things together for our good, because you love us. We know that our trials, while painful at the moment, will bring pure joy if we allow you to teach and mold us to become more like you. Continue to have your way in our lives and help us to find the joy in the midst of the testing. We pray this in the name of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.
My heart continues to come back to a particular topic that I have shared before, but for some reason I can’t seem to let it go. As we all face a world wide trial, we can all relate to the pain that comes along with walking through tribulation. No one could have possibly predicted that almost every country in the world would be facing the same crisis at the same time, but here we are, wrapped up in a painful trial that is beyond anyone’s comprehension.
Abraham
I was reading in Genesis about Abraham and in chapter 22 and the first verse states:
“Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.”
Genesis 22:1
We all know the story of how God called Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, which is the test being referenced here. However, for some reason the words just seemed to jump off the page and burn deep in my spirit like a fire that could not be extinguished. “God tested Abraham.” Let’s take a look at some other places in scripture where God tests.
Philip
“When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.” John 6:5-6
The Lord targeted Philip to test him and see what he was going to say, how he was going to respond. Would he respond in faith, or would he doubt. The excerpt is taken from the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand. How would you have responded to Jesus, in faith or in doubt? Philip failed this particular test because he responded this way, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” John 6:7 Quite honestly, I would have had the same response. Thank goodness the Lord is patient with us.
Israelites
“Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” Exodus 20:20
Moses is telling the Israelite people that God has come to test them. Moses even goes so far as to give them the reason for the testing. So that the fear of God will be with them and keep them from sinning. I find it interesting how our tests can bring us closer to God, provided that we run to him instead of from him. It is in that closeness that there will come a desire not to sin. My son put it best when he told us that he respects us as parents so much that he desires to do what is right in order to keep our relationship with him in a place of peace and joy. He told us he doesn't desire to do anything that would break that trust he has with us as parents.
Our relationship with God should be so deep and close that we desire to do things that bring our Heavenly Father joy. Anything that brings God joy will always be in the opposite direction of sin. All that to say, if we allow it, the tests will bring closeness to our Heavenly Father and out of that closeness brings a desire not to sin so that His name can be glorified.
“...The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Deuteronomy 13:3b
This verse falls behind Moses telling the Israelites that they should be aware of prophets who speak of following other gods. Moses says that when (not if, but when) this happens, they are to know that it is a test from the Lord to see if they truly love him with all their heart and soul. Oh, how timely this is for us today! Especially in light of the world’s race-car pace brought to a screeching halt due to covid-19. How many idols/other gods can no longer function and operate now that we are isolated to our homes. Let me give you just two examples. The idol of sports, can no longer be played. The idol of the entertainment world, can no longer continue to produce their ungodly movies, TV shows, and music. The Lord is using this time to test us to find out whether we love him with all of our heart and soul. Well, do we? We certainly have the time now to ponder this question and the time to search it out for ourselves. We have the time to make an educated, informed decision as to which side of the fence we are going to live our lives on. I find this time we are in to be fascinating.
Please don’t misunderstand me here, I’m not saying covid-19 is from the Lord. But, can’t God use the foolish things of this world to confound the wise? (1 Corinthians 1:27 KJV) Can't God work all things together for good? (Romans 8:28) There is always going to be the opportunity for joy to shine forth in our pain if we give God that opportunity. We don’t always look at our trials through a kingdom lens, but what if we did? What if we stop to smell the roses in the middle of the city dump? What if we fixed our eyes on Jesus when the wind and the waves were trying their hardest to take us out and the rest of the world with us? (Matthew 14:28-32)
What if?
Oh, Lord, in these uncertain times may our pain be turned into joy because we have taken this time to fix our eyes on you rather than the swirling chaos around us. Thank you for putting our faith to the test, knowing that on the other side of it our faith and love for you will be stronger because we put our trust in you. We pray that through the test you will show us your joy. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray.
“God put the victory in our voices.”
For whatever reason, this phrase kept resounding over and over again in my mind as the heaviness of my eyelids began to squint at the morning sun beaming through my bedroom windows. Like many mornings I woke up with something stirring in my spirit, but this one seemed urgent.
As I began to think about scripture, I was reminded of Joshua’s commissioning to bring down the walls of Jericho with an army of trumpets and voices. Joshua knew the plan for victory was going to be birthed through the power of the obedience of the Israelites and their ability to use their voices. As Joshua was giving the Israelites their battle instructions, he specifically told them not to make a sound until he said to (upon the long blast made on the trumpets - see Joshua 6:5).
“But Joshua had commanded the army, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!” Joshua 6:10
“When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city.” Joshua 6:20
The obedience of the Israelites with their voices brought down an entire city and its “impenetrable” walls. These were not just any walls here. The city was surrounded by two walls. The first wall, began with a retaining wall which stood at the base of an embankment, standing 12-15 feet tall. On top of the retaining wall stood a mud brick wall 6 feet thick and between 20-26 feet high. The second wall stood up the embankment and towered an intimidating 46 feet from ground level. (Facts taken from: answersingenesis.org)
Now, imagine you are an Israelite for just a moment. The city of Jericho stands majestically on a hill high above you, in fact so high you are unable to even evaluate what exactly you are fighting. Just the combined height of the walls alone rises 78-87 feet above your head, this does not include any increase in elevation caused by the embankment in between the two walls. It’s no wonder the Lord told them to be silent for the first six days of marching. This gave them time to pray and meditate upon the magnitude of what God was about to do through their voices.
Can you even imagine the excitement in the air when they saw the first brick shatter? I can hear the voices increase with the drop of each brick as if they believed that the intensity of their voices was literally what was demolishing these monumental walls brick by brick. The atmosphere must have been sheer electrifying! What do you think the talk was like around the dinner table that night? That next day? That next week?
“Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: “The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!” Psalm 118:15
“Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. For the Lord Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth. He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet. He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loved. God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets.” Psalm 47:1-5
A dear missionary friend of mine once told me to “use my voice” when I was struggling with things. She went on to explain that by doing so it would not only build up my own spirit, but I would cause the devil to flee. The reality is, I am not the only one listening to the sound coming out of my own mouth. Our enemy prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). And make no mistake, he is listening! Our voices become our weapons in our times of struggle.
Sometimes we just need to hear ourselves speak victory over our situation. We need to physically say the words out loud so our ears can hear them. Jesus told us over and over again in the gospels to “say” to this mountain go, and it will go! (Matthew 17:20, Matthew 21:21, Mark 11:23) He didn’t say “think” about this mountain going. He specifically used the word “say.” In other words, speak out loud, tell the mountain, yell at it, scream at it, shout at it, use your voice!!!!! We can not fight our battles in silence. God did not give us the sword of the spirit to hold. He gave us the sword of the spirit to swing at the enemy. This only works when the word of God is spoken.
Call to action
Like the Jericho wall, I have mountains in my walk that at times seem impenetrable. I would like to encourage us do a Jericho walk around our mountains. Let’s pick a specific mountain we are struggling with and spend the next six days praying about that specific thing. Then on day seven, let’s be sure to open up our mouths and speak to that mountain, yell at it, shout at it, scream scriptures at it. Use our voice! I am not about to make any promises that our mountains are going to crumble right in front of us, but maybe, just maybe we will see God move through the sound of our voices speaking life, truth and the word of God over our situations. God has put victory in our voices. Let’s use them, stand back, and watch what God does.
Father, help us to speak out the word of truth over our mountains. Help us to use the voices you have given us to usher in the victory you so desperately desire us to walk in. Like the Israelites, give us a steadfastness to walk around our Jericho, use our voice and watch what you will do. We pray that you will open the floodgates of heaven over our situations, even if that simply means that you allow us to see our mountain with your eyes. We pray these things in the precious name of Christ Jesus.
If you know my back story, then you already are well aware that I am a stroke survivor. If not, please feel free to read about it here. I have been going through the Esther study by Beth Moore with a group of missionary ladies here in Liberia and was completely caught off guard when I realized that much like the story of Esther, where the divine timing of God was impeccable, so too God had written my own story to have His divinely inspired timing. This last week of April I celebrate my eight year anniversary at my second chance at life. Mind blowing to me, was the significant shift in year seven and the importance that the number seven has scripturally.
Up until year seven I had not experienced any real solid stretches of relief in my daily head pain. Years one through six were pretty much defined by debilitating and incapacitating pain. I had pretty much settled in my mind that the rest of my life would be dictated by one uncontrollable headache after another. I figured that it was my “thorn” to bear so I may as well get comfortable with my pain. I had undergone countless doctors visits and medications with no significant change. I had grown discouraged with the constant array of prayers for healing since barely even a subtle shift or change had taken place in the first six years.
Our hindsight is often twenty-twenty while our “in the moment sight” can be completely blinded to the spiritual reality unfolding right in front of us. I have since come to realize that the first five years post stroke were merely preparation for year six. While year six set the stage for year seven to usher in God’s perfect timing. Let me explain what this looked like for my family and myself as we walked through these seven years. In years one through five the Lord was preparing our hearts to step through an open door in year six. He had been laying a foundation of which we would be forced to stand upon in the next phase of our walk. In year six, our family made the decision to walk through the door of missionary life. We were simply being obedient to what we had felt in our hearts for many years, but the timing was never right. Year seven was spent on the ground in Liberia and me flying back and forth for treatments. However, the significant change that took place this year was addition to my already extensive medication list. Within just a month after starting this new medication, I started seeing days go by without even a single twinge of pain. The days turned into weeks, and now the weeks have turned into months. It is no coincidence that I have experienced this breakthrough before year seven has come to a close. Let me explain why and how it came to my remembrance during the study of Esther.
In the story of Esther the first edict that was issued by Haman for the annihilation of the Jews on the 13th day of the month of Nisan. As you progress through the story and Esther finally brings her petition to the king, there was a second edict that went out by Mordecai to grant the Jews complete liberty to protect themselves against anyone who would bring them harm. This edict went out on the 23rd day of the month of Sivan. What is intriguing about these two dates on the Jewish calendar was that they fell exactly 70 days apart. The number 70, as well as the number 7, is frequently symbolic of completion and perfection throughout scripture. In the story of Esther, God’s perfect timing and reversal of the Jews’ destiny came 70 days after they thought they were going to be completely annihilated.
As I began looking at my own calendar and realizing that my 7th year was coming to a close, I began to realize what had happened in this year. I experienced months of pain free living! God’s timing is never late. I’m not claiming that I am never going to have another headache the rest of my life, but I do believe my days of daily incapacitating pain are behind me. If there is anything I have learned in my lifetime of serving the Lord it’s this, there are no coincidences in the kingdom, only God’s divine timing. God is directing a kingdom symphony where every note is perfectly timed. What an absolute privilege it is to be a part of the heavenly sound He orchestrates! To God be all the glory!
To read more about my stroke recovery journey please visit : My By Faith Shoes, My Battle Verses, Recovery Road, Prayer
