Category Archives: God’s Sovereignty

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God’s Surprising Tests for You Often Look for One Thing

When the tests come, we can believe what is true or what is false.

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.

God's Surprising Tests for You Often Look for One Thing

(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.

  • You have walked with God, but a family member suddenly gets terribly ill.
  • Your integrity on the job has been stellar, but someone else gets the promotion.
  • You have worked hard on a project, but the doors for its success stay closed.
  • You get an unexpected phone call with news that chills your soul.

In the end, the pop quizzes we experience usually boil down to one thing.

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3 Promises of God to Help Your Fear of Change

Would you be willing to follow God if you knew you couldn't fail?

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.

3 Promises of God to Help Your Fear of Change

(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: 

  • The only change we welcome is the change we expect. Like the seasons. We plan for it and can adjust accordingly.
  • We also like the change we initiate, like a new job or even a dry diaper, because it gets us what we want.

God, however, has a different view. We have a fear of change, but He has a strange commitment to it.

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Caution: We Worship What We Think We Need

Are people taking the place of God in your life?

When you hear the word “idol,” what comes to mind (other than the TV talent show)? We might think of money, materialism, or even the golden calf. But rarely do we think of people.

We Worship What We Think We Need

(Photo courtesy of Unsplash)

We worship what we think we need—whether it’s God, money, or even people. People make us feel good. Like a sunflower in a sunny field, we face the source that keeps us satisfied and meets our needs. But whom we worship, we will also obey.

That’s why worshipping people—or using them to get what we think we need—leaves us enslaved to them.

Years ago Cathy and I were given a gift certificate to the Dallas Hard Rock Café, which used to be, ironically, a place of worship—the McKinney Avenue Church. Inside the café I saw a 50-ft high stained glass rendering of Elvis, seated on a throne. It reminds me of what British pop singer Robbie Williams said to the BBC Radio:

I’ve got the tattoo on my arm: ‘Elvis grant me serenity.’ Before the gig we all get in a huddle and pray to Elvis to look after us while we’re onstage.

Really? Wow.

God offers a better alternative.

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How the Downer Book of Lamentations Offers Us Hope Today

3 bits of good news from the character of God and the promises of God.

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.

How the Downer Book of Lamentations Offers 3 Reasons to Hope

(Photo by Photodune)

Good news seems good usually because of the bad news that came first.

  • The bad news: Because Jerusalem had abandoned the Lord by pursing idols and foreign alliances, God had given over the city to the Babylonians, who disciplined Jerusalem by forcing most of its citizens into exile.
  • The good news: God’s divine discipline always comes as an expression both of His faithfulness and His love.

Amazingly, this downer book of Lamentations offers at least 3 reasons we can have hope in life.

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Living Your Insignificant Life with Your Big God

What to do when nothing important is happening.

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.

Living Your Insignificant Life with Your Big God

(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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The Influence One Person Can Have in Christ [Podcast]

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.

Wayne Stiles Podcast

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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Gloom, Despair, and Agony on Me (Book of Job)

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: