Oswald Chambers mused that resting in the Lord didn’t depend on external circumstances but on your relationship to God Himself. He said that fussing always ends in sin…and that is so true! We think that a little worry is a sign of just how wise we are, it is much more an indication of how really wicked we are!

Whether we like to hear it or not, fretting springs from a determination to get our own way. Our Lord was never anxious because He did not purpose to realize His own ideas…He purposed to realize God’s ideas.

Have you been bolstering up that stupid soul of yours with the idea that your circumstances are too much for God? Hmm-could it be that all your fret and worry is because you calculated something without God?

Those are some pretty stiff comments. Boil your blood any? Get you stirred up? Angry with me? Oswald? Good! I hope you are so stirred that you run to the Lord and spend some quiet time at His feet to what all this means and what you are to do. “Be anxious for nothing but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6).

God’s wisdom is so supreme; we do well to abide by it! Endure the fire—it’s producing pure gold! 

This is a rough world, fraught with its unique challenges. Don’t think that we are the only ones, though, who have ever suffered. I ponder the perils of the olden days…full of danger, the early deaths of infants and many family members, hordes of barbarians attacking villages, wild animals roaming the surrounding areas, etc. Many civilizations have had their problems. Deaths, disease, pestilence, war, famine…all are hurtful and all have their root in sin!

Sometimes, people think that God did all this! What ignorance. Man’s disobedience brought in the death that God warned against. Yet learned scientists of the day often speak of their theories as if they were facts, and others speak of God’s facts as if they were theories. Go figure!

Where can we go, then, but to the bosom of the Lord! The world today is so complicated, so intertwined, there will only be confusion or despair without Him. Take these comments or leave them…your choice! But I am so grateful for God’s plan. Do you know God’s plan for your life? Do you know of His utter simplicity and power?

We have been chosen by God the Father, redeemed by God the Son, and sealed by God the Holy Spirit. All it takes is a contrite heart and a humble spirit in a willing soul and God will show you that new and living way in Jesus. Argue and deny all you want, but remember what God said in Psalm 68:6, "only the rebellious dwell in a parched land." Don’t stay out there, friend; just come on over to Jesus. Endure the fire—it’s producing pure gold!

Oh, don’t be so stodgy…a little humor is good for the soul…like the following wisdom from kids:

• When your mom is mad at your dad, don’t let her brush your hair
• If your sister hits you, don’t hit her back…they always catch the second person
• Never ask your three-year-old brother to hold a tomato
• You can’t trust dogs to watch your food
• Don’t wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts

They have such a simple, uncluttered viewpoint of life sometimes. I want that. I can picture Jesus smiling…a lot. I can picture Him running on the shore of the lake, laughing. I can picture Him sitting with His friends around a late night campfire, reflecting on the work of the day. I can picture Him hugging me when I am sad. Can you picture that, too?

Don’t let religion and legalism creep into your heart because it will definitely creep into your relationship with Jesus. Relax with Him and let Him refresh you. Enjoy your life in Him. Smile as much as you pray and watch your joy and love in the Lord increase many times over. Oh, Lord, You are so good! Endure the fire—it’s producing pure gold!

Lots of activities going on in your life? We have many happenings, also, and are blessed at our little church. We minister to many people, many who do not often come to church or support our ministry. We have church services, Sunday School, counseling, prayer groups, fellowship dinners, celebrations of various types, veterans events, etc. Whew, things certainly can keep us on the move!

The most important thing I hope we can gain from all of this is not a flurry of “activity” or a sense of “doing” something, but rather a heightened sense of God on the move and changing the hearts, minds and souls of all those He touches through these undertakings.

It is vitally important that all of our members and attenders and all of those recipients of the “over-the-fence” ministry attain to the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God, to the becoming of a mature person, to the measure of the stature, which belongs to the fullness of Christ. That is the purpose for our existence and the reason for our being. Is it yours?

Be reminded that through all of these wonderful and precious moments we are on a mission: to love, worship and serve God alone; to know and obey God and His word; to advance His directives to our church and our community; and to teach these precepts to others.

We are not repeating some patriotic, seasonal statement, but rather a vision God has given to us and that is, that we are working in all of this together, toward “One nation, under God!” May we continue in vigor to that end. You can do it…just keep a laser focus on Jesus! Endure the fire—it’s producing pure gold!

Satan wants you discouraged. If he can get you to feel all alone, abandoned, numb, without feeling and passion, he knows that most will give up. Do not give up! Press in all the harder.

Isaiah 42:3 tells us that a bruised reed He will not break and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish.

Psalm 118:6 says that the Lord is on our side and we need not fear.

Matthew 14:27 says to be of good cheer because He is with us.

Don’t look to what might happen but rather look to what is. God is and will never leave us nor forsake us no matter what happens. Our country may be attacked again, finances may disappear and world situations may change drastically…but be of good cheer…we have been born and trained for such a time as this. I rejoice and am excited to be alive at this time of life on the planet. We are more than conquerors. Psalm 144 begins with, “Blessed be the Lord my rock, Who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle”. Have no fear and be not discouraged! Endure the fire…it’s producing pure gold!

Does life sometimes seem at a standstill? Same-o, same-o? You sense you are not going forward and, too many times, you find yourself going backward! You cry out to God, “Where are You? Help me, help me!”

Sometimes we cry out to God to do something about our situation. Well, get a revelation, folks—sometimes He won’t! Sometimes it’s you that has to do something first. You may have to forgive someone; you may have to have mercy or show affection and warmth. It might be that you have to start some daily prayer and Bible reading; or have to start going to church. You have to start doing what He has told you to do and stop dragging your feet in getting out of a certain sin. Maybe you have to start tithing and supporting your church and its ministries; or start telling your family and friends about Jesus; or decide not to leave a failing marriage but rather do all you can to make it succeed. The list could go on and on!

Maybe, just maybe, you are not going anywhere spiritually because you are still living in the natural. Be careful you don’t expect God to feed you manna, when He is telling you to make the bread! Remember, the manna ceased in the wilderness and they had to make the bread once they arrived at the promised destination. Make sure you are not standing in a closed bread line when you should be out working in the field! Endure the fire…it’s producing pure gold!

In Psalm 143:6, David cries out, “My soul longs for Thee, as a parched land.” Do you have that attitude towards God? I see some hungering and thirsting for fame, money, unhindered leisure, sensuality, drugs, alcohol, “freedom” from being married, but not so much a hungering and thirsting for God. Peoples’ souls seem to long for “things” instead of “Thee”.

Where are you? Do you ask God to teach you His will, or to revive you? (Psalm 143:10, 11) A drop of rain on a parched land just rolls off—it doesn’t sink in, it does no good. Parched land needs to be well watered to be effective and produce fruit…so it is with us. We need to be continually watered to be effective and fruitful.

The Lord says to be washed with the water of the Word (Ephesians 5:26). Our true water is from the Lord. Go to Him, drink freely from His presence and His Word. Read the Bible daily, meditate on it, delight in Him and you will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and prospers in whatever is done. (Psalm 1). I thank the Lord there is a way out of the dry land! Drink from the water of life…and live! Endure the fire…it’s producing pure gold!