Some people can make us feel good. They attract us. Like a sunflower in a sunny field, we long to face the source that keeps us satisfied and meets our needs.
But we tend to worship what we think we need—whether it’s God, money, or even people. And whom we worship, we will also obey.
That’s why worshipping people—or using them to get what we think we need—can leave us enslaved to them.
God offers a better alternative.
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God’s tests are most often pop quizzes. You don’t see them coming. If you knew you would be running late tomorrow morning, you’d prepare ahead of time. But that’s not a real test.
(Photo: Shiloh, where Hannah trusted God. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)
A real test hits your blindside. It tests the mettle of your theology, and often, it even seems to contradict it.
In the end, the pop quizzes we experience usually boil down to one thing.
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Let me guess. You sit in the same spot in church each week. You drive the same route to work. You eat the same things for breakfast. And you pray the same way at meals. Right? Me too.
(Photo by Photodune)
As creatures of habit, we like the efficiency and security of rituals. But when our routine gets changed by someone or something, we get miffed. Here’s why:
God, however, has a different view. We have a fear of change, but He has a strange commitment to it.
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The book of Lamentations isn’t one we often read. Let’s be honest. It seems like a real downer. Jeremiah’s “lamentations” sting like the swat of a paddle. And yet—amazingly—there’s good news for us.
(Photo by Photodune)
Good news seems good usually because of the bad news that came first.
Amazingly, this downer book of Lamentations offers at least 3 reasons we can have hope in life.
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In moments of honesty, it’s easy to see our lives as, well—insignificant. What we do often seems to matter very, very little. Whether it’s pushing papers or changing diapers, it can seem pretty pointless.
(Photo by Photodune)
We often can fall for the thinking that because what we do seems small, or behind-the-scenes, or insignificant, or unequal with our abilities or qualifications, that what we do matters little.
After all, if we foul up, no big deal. The world still turns. Nobody notices. Few seem to care.
Except God.
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Sometimes it feels like we make no difference at all.
Esther found herself in a place of incredible influence, providentially placed to do what was right in a wrong-headed culture.
Like Esther, we must realize that God has placed us where we are for such a time as this, and we must say and do what is right . . . even if we stand all alone.
Esther 4
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In times of suffering, God reveals Himself to us not by answering our questions and accusations but by affirming His total control.
We don’t have to understand all that goes on behind the scenes in the spiritual and moral realm of God’s plans for us. God calls us instead to trust and obey.
Click to listen to my message from the book of Job:
