Sharla, Author at Sharla Fritz - Page 3 of 30
July 5, 2022

How Does God Measure Success?

How does God measure success?

When I examine how our culture measures success, it certainly looks like the world’s success meter rises with every dollar earned, promotion granted, or trophy won, and plummets with each financial loss, professional downfall, or athletic defeat.

But how does God measure success? When we examine the life of Joseph in the Old Testament, we discover how different God’s definition of success is from the world’s definition. Genesis 39:3 tells us this about Joseph, “the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.” When did he experience this success? When he was the favored child of his father Jacob, wearing a beautiful coat that set him apart from his siblings? No, the Bible tells us that God made Joseph successful when he was a slave in Egypt. Working for Potiphar, a captain in Pharaoh’s guard.

Another verse in Genesis tells us something similar about Joseph, “Whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed” (Genesis 39:23). When did this success occur? When he worked for Pharaoh? When he was second-in-command of the land of Egypt? No, Joseph’s success happened while suffering in prison. Working for the prison keeper.

In these unlikely places, God granted Joseph success.

Is This Success?

But I wonder: Did it feel like success to Joseph? Before prison, the work he did for Potiphar made the Egyptian’s home thrive. His master noticed Joseph’s excellent efforts and gave him more and more responsibility, until “he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge” (Genesis 39:6). The jailer, too, noticed Joseph’s excellent management skills and put him in charge of the prisoners. (This in itself is remarkable. Who would put one inmate in charge of others?) Even one of the other prisoners benefited from Joseph’s unique abilities. Joseph’s interpretation of the cupbearer’s dream came true and this servant of Pharaoh was released from jail. Everything Joseph did turned to gold—for someone else.

If someone had said to Joseph, “The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man” (Genesis 39:2), he might have laughed out loud. Scripture tells us Joseph was seventeen years old when his brothers sold him into slavery (Genesis 37:2) and thirty years old when Pharaoh made him second-in-command (Genesis 41:46). Joseph spent thirteen years as a slave and a prisoner. I doubt he would have described himself as successful.

Not only do I find it remarkable that the Bible describes Joseph as successful when he is a slave and a prisoner, but it doesn’t label him a success when he later becomes Pharaoh’s right-hand man and saves the country from starvation. This doesn’t seem to make sense.

Joseph had success when he served as a slave and languished in jail, but not when he became the second-most powerful man in the world? Throughout the account of the famine and Joseph collecting grain and selling it to the people, preventing nationwide starvation, the Bible doesn’t include a phrase like “the Lord caused everything Joseph did to succeed.”

Perhaps Scripture omits the phrase because Joseph’s success is so obvious, there’s no need to point it out. But perhaps the omission of the word success when Joseph clearly obtains it demonstrates how God defines that word.

Success in God’s Eyes

Success in the world looks big—stadiums filled with fans. Success in the world looks impressive—fancy corner offices with diplomas on the walls. Success looks like fame—names on brightly lit marquees.

But success in God’s eyes doesn’t necessarily look big or impressive.

The Hebrew word for “success” in Genesis 39 is salah. It means “to advance, prosper, make progress, succeed, be profitable.”7 The word sometimes portrays worldly success that even evil people can achieve, such as in Psalm 37:7: “Fret not yourself over the one who prospers [salah] in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!” But usually, success in the Old Testament doesn’t happen without the Lord’s help.

The success the Bible talks about is not primarily worldly prosperity but submission to the Lord and living in His presence. In Joseph’s story, God described Joseph as successful when he was a slave and a prisoner. God measures our success based on our dependence on Him.

Success is Doing Your Best Wherever You Find Yourself

One of the lessons we can learn from Joseph’s life is: Do your best in whatever position you find yourself.

When Joseph was a slave, he could have moped and complained to God and done his work half-heartedly, but the Bible doesn’t tell us so. As a slave, he could not have avoided work, but I doubt Potiphar would have put Joseph in charge of his household if Joseph had made only minimal effort.

Whatever work you find yourself doing—balancing the books, teaching rambunctious preschoolers, running a multinational corporation, scrubbing muddy floors—know that God notices your vocation.
You are doing important work even if the world says it’s lowly. Colossians 3:23–24 says,

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

Do your best because you serve a God who is gracious to you.

Although we may view our lives as disappointments, God declares them triumphant when we trust Him to complete the work He has given us—great or small.

This post is adapted from my new book, Measured by Grace: How God Defines Success. If you’ve ever felt like your life is a mess or that it’s too small to make any difference, read how God defines success!

This book studies eight “failures” in the Bible–people who either made a big mess of their lives or simply didn’t look like a success in the eyes of the world. By examining their lives you’ll discover that God redeems our failures and doesn’t measure us by wealth or fame. He measures us by His grace!

You can find out more about this eight-week Bible study book here.

Order on CPH.org
Order on Amazon
Filed Under: Bible Study, Spiritual Growth Tagged With:
June 23, 2022

How to Find Soul Rest in Five Minutes

Do you struggle to find soul rest? I know I do.

Maybe it’s because you find yourself in one of these scenarios!

You drive past a neighbor’s perfectly manicured lawn and groan as you remember your own knee-length grass and unruly hydrangea bushes. Or you see your friend joyfully announce her promotion on Instagram and can’t help but think of your own seemingly dead-end job. You find yourself comparing.

You push yourself harder, yet seem to make little progress. Even with please-the-boss-at-all-costs hours at the job, push-it-to-the-limit workouts at the gym, and can’t-let-anything-slide task lists at home, you feel like you keep falling behind. You find yourself striving.

Toys litter every square foot of the family room. Two of your kids need help with their homework. The spaghetti sauce boils over on the stove. Your husband texts that he’s stuck in traffic. You find yourself stressing out.

Your boss points out a serious flaw on the report you turned in yesterday. The cookies you bake to impress the bake sale coordinators look like black clods of dirt on the baking sheet. You don’t achieve that bigger profit margin you anticipated this month. Impatient words fly out of your mouth in the direction of your children—again. You find yourself feeling like a failure. 

Life is hectic. Unpredictable. Draining. Sometimes even soul-crushing. How can we find soul rest in the middle of our messy lives?

Maybe what we all need is a little more grace—in five-minute portions.

Grace in Bite-Size Portions

As a Bible teacher, I encourage everyone to have time with God in His Word every day. We always benefit from hiding God’s Word in our hearts, and spending time in prayer. But we all go through seasons where we can’t spend the time we want to in the spiritual disciplines.

Perhaps you love spending time in God’s Word, participating in a small group Bible study, and writing in a prayer journal. But right now you barely have time to comb your hair in the morning and grab a piece of toast on your way out the door. Taking care of your soul feels like one more thing you’re failing at.

Or maybe your life does allow you to have a devotional time each day, yet right now it simply seems like another item on your to-do list instead of a life-giving practice. Even though you open your Bible in the morning, you still find yourself drenched in stress during the day.

When we find ourselves overwhelmed with stress and striving, perhaps we can find grace in bite-size chunks.

That’s why I wrote a little ebook that offers five-minute soul rest practices for when you find yourself comparing, striving, stressing out, or generally feeling like a failure. Think of these suggestions as small ways to reconnect with the God who created you, gifted you, and longs to renew your soul.

Here’s a sample of what you will find:

for when you find yourself comparing…

Meditate on Galatians 6:4. Slowly read, “But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.” God encourages us to look at our own work and not compare it to others. Spend five minutes writing down the big and small ways you have obeyed God’s call on your life in the last week in your job and in your home.

for when you find yourself striving…

Let go as you empty out your purse (or wallet). Read Matthew 11:28: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” As you unpack all the things you’ve been physically carrying around, think about what less tangible items have been weighing down your soul. Give each worry and concern to God. Trust Him to take care of them.

for when you find yourself stressing out…

Slow down. Proverbs 19:2 warns against the danger of hurry, “Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.” When we feel stressed, we often operate at the fastest speed possible in order to get everything done. But that can lead to more tension, anxiety, and even mistakes. So for your next task, slow down and for the next few minutes practice being present. If you’re at work, truly pay attention to the person you’re talking with. If you’re chopping vegetables for dinner, notice the colors and textures God created. If you’re folding laundry, thank the Father for providing clothes and the person who wears each item. Staying in the moment can change your perspective and lower your stress.

for when you find yourself feeling like a failure…

Meditate on God’s definition of success. Success in our world looks like big and important. So when we feel small and insignificant, we may feel like a failure. Matthew 20:26-27 says, “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave.” Success in God’s kingdom looks like humility and service.

I encourage you to read through the menu of ideas and mark the ones that sound intriguing. Experiment with one or two each day. Use the practices to allow God to recalibrate your spirit. Find a little more grace—in five-minute portions.

Click the button below to get the FREE ebook and find soul-rest in five-minute portions.

Get 21 Five-Minute Soul-Rest Practices!
Filed Under: Spiritual Disciplines Tagged With:
March 29, 2022

A Clean Heart: 5 Scriptures of Confession for Lent

Lent is a time of confession and forgiveness. Here you’ll find 5 Scripture passages that will guide your time of confession and remind you of God’s unlimited grace.

Whenever I go out to work in my garden in the summer, I come back feeling grubby, grimy, and grungy. My skin feels sticky with the sunscreen I put on before I ventured out. I’m smelly from the necessary insect spray. Sweat has trickled down my back. I’ve got soil under my fingernails, mud in my socks, and, more than likely, a little dirt on my nose from when I tried to bat away a bug. When I come back into the house, I can hardly wait to get into the shower to wash away all the muck so I can once again feel clean. 

When I come into God’s holy presence, I become aware of the mud and grime in my heart. I feel the dirt of an impatient retort to my husband. I sense the stain of neglecting a hurting friend because of my busy schedule. I see the soil of a little white lie I told to get out of a volunteer position I didn’t want. The filth accumulates day after day. How do I get clean?

In one of his most quoted psalms, King David also expressed his awareness of a dirty heart. He cried out to God, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10 ESV). He knew that only God could wash away the stain of sin. And he took the first step in the cleansing process by confessing his transgressions and admitting his misdeeds.

Just like a warm, soapy shower cleanses my body and leaves me feeling refreshed, going to God for a thorough cleansing of my soul leaves me spotless and renewed, clothed in Christ’s righteousness.

During the season of Lent, we can use this traditional time of reflection and contrition to examine our hearts and come to the One who can make them pure again. One way we can approach confession is to use the prayers, commands, and promises of the Bible to guide our confession time. As we meditate on these Scriptures and ask ourselves some probing questions, we may notice dirt hiding in the corners of our hearts. When we come contritely into God’s presence, the Holy Spirit can wash away every trace of grime because of Jesus’ cleansing blood. 

Here are five Scriptures that help us humbly approach God. Set aside time to prayerfully read these passages. Ask the Holy Spirit to point out any obvious grime you might want to overlook. Use the reflection questions to guide your time. Rejoice in the promise that, because of Jesus, God washes the mud from your hearts so you can stand before Him clean and refreshed.

1. Psalm 51

King David wrote this psalm after he made the biggest mistakes of his life. He committed adultery with Bathsheba and arranged for her husband to be killed in battle after discovering that Bathsheba was pregnant (2 Samuel 11). At first, David ignored his sins, but God sent the prophet Nathan to point out the transgressions so that David could confess (2 Samuel 12). 

You might think that sins like these could never be forgiven, that a heart like that could never be cleansed. Yet David knew God as a God of mercy, so he began his prayer with:

Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
    blot out my transgressions.
 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    and cleanse me from my sin!

 For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment. (Psalm 51:1-4 ESV)

David didn’t gloss over his sin or make excuses. He knew he could only come before God for cleansing because of God’s steadfast love and abundant mercy. He knew that God’s miraculous cleansing power could once again make him whiter than snow (v. 7). No matter how dirty our hearts are, God can once again make them clean.

Read the rest of the article at iBelieve.com.

Filed Under: Spiritual Disciplines
March 22, 2022

When The Desires Of My Heart Are Out of Reach

When I’m longing for something, I’m comforted that God knows every want, every wish lodged deep in my soul When the desires of my heart remain out of reach, I pray the words of the psalmist.

Lord, you have heard the desire of the humble; you will strengthen their hearts. You will listen carefully. Psalm 10:17

Thank You, Lord, that You hear my prayers, that You know the longings of my heart. You not only listen to my words–You see the yearnings that I can’t quite put into sentences. You see past formal prayers and fancy phrases and look deeper into my messy heart where godly desires are jumbled together with hungers for things that won’t satisfy. I get them all mixed up and think I want one thing when I’m really craving something else entirely. My heart contains many disordered loves.

Help me to remember that You listen to the humble. I confess that I often come to You, demanding my way. But I want to enter Your presence simply grateful for the fact that I always have Someone who will listen to my anxieties and doubts, my heartaches and fears. Help me to put them all into Your hands. Deep inside my soul, I know that Your way is always better than I can even imagine. Yet, I often get impatient pushing my timeline on You. I become proud, thinking that my plan is an improvement over Yours.

Strengthen my heart to remember Your power and strength, Your wisdom and knowledge. Give me the tenacity I need to wait for Your timing. Grant me the grace to trust You completely. Pour out Your peace on my cluttered soul.

Thank You, Lord, that You listen carefully. My prayers are not like background noise that you casually overhear. You purposely tune Your attention to the frequency of my heart. Like someone who clears his desk and turns off his cellphone to listen to the person who comes into the room, You devote Your attention to me.

Lord, You listen to my pleas, You see the desires of my heart. Some seem just out of reach. I give all my longings and yearning to You, trusting that You will know what is best.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Filed Under: Contentment, Waiting on God
February 15, 2022

To the Woman Who Questions God’s Love

I wrote this article for iBelieve.com. Start reading about what to do when you question God’s love and then head over to iBelieve for the rest of the article.

To the questioner:

You see the giant highway signs that proclaim, “God Loves You!” but doubt those words could apply to you. Or maybe you grew up singing, “Jesus Loves Me, This I Know,” but recent events have made you question the truth of those lyrics. It could be a great sadness has visited your life and now you wonder about everything you’ve ever believed.

First, let me reassure you, dear friend, that you are not alone in your questions. In this broken world we often find ourselves groping through a fog of doubt and confusion. We long for clarity, yet our hearts struggle to grab onto certainty.

But even while your current path seems to lead through clouds of doubt, God walks right beside you. He knows our frail human natures and never leaves us even when we have difficulty believing that. How comforting to know that His love doesn’t depend on our trust. God’s love is not like the Tinkerbelle fairy in Peter Pan who begins to fade away and is only revived by the audience’s faith in her. His affection for us stays true and certain whether we have the strength to believe that or not. God’s love never wavers or diminishes.

Because God knows your doubts and misgivings, He has written you a love letter. Throughout His Word, the Bible, He has left us messages of His affection for you. Picture a World War II wife who longs to see her soldier husband. She misses his daily presence and when months go by without a word from him she begins to wonder if he still loves her. Does he think about her? Or has he found someone else in some far off country? To silence her doubts she pulls out past letters. As she reads and rereads, her doubts begin to melt. The person who wrote those words would never abandon her. In that same way, we can open up God’s love letter to us to quiet our questioning hearts and restore our confidence in the God of love.

To help you find the words that will renew your trust in God’s love, ask yourself why these doubts have come.

Do you feel that a perfect God could never love imperfect you? Of course He could love the woman next door who has her act together. But you? He probably sees the sticky kitchen floor, the argument you had with your husband, and the pounds you’ve put on and look right past you. If that’s how you feel, read Psalm 107:7-8, “Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things” (NIV). God specializes in loving the imperfect. He looks for the thirsty, the hungry, the ones who need Him. God sees our messy homes, our messy lives and still holds out His open arms. You don’t need to clean up your life or put on makeup to cover your flaws before He accepts and adores you.

Do you feel that God could never love you because of what you’ve done?

Keep reading…

Filed Under: God's Relentless Love
February 1, 2022

Declutter Your Soul: 5 Things to Throw Out

At the beginning of the year, we often tackle decluttering projects. But have you considered how to declutter your soul? Check out this article I wrote for iBelieve.com.

My husband often quips, “Any garbage day that my wife hasn’t put me out on the curb, I’m grateful. She loves to throw things out.”

While I would never try to get rid of my husband (he is one of the best things in my life!), I do take pleasure in cleaning my closets and clearing the clutter. Not that it’s always easy. I still struggle with getting rid of sentimental items like the prom dress from high school or practical garments like the sweater that kept me warm through many a cold winter. But once I’ve removed the things I no longer wear, I’m left with space. Space that helps me see the clothes I still own. Space that gives me a visual breather. 

During this time of the year, many of us will set goals and make resolutions. Experts tell us that one of the top New Year’s resolutions is to get organized. So we pull everything out of closets and start to sort through the contents, throwing out what we no longer need in order to make room for what we do use, bringing a bit of order to our chaotic lives. 

The new year is a wonderful time to take stock of our possessions and streamline our storage spaces. But what if we also took some time to pay attention to our hearts and declutter our souls? What do we have a tendency to hold onto that actually harms our relationships with God? What attitudes cram our hearts and crowd out peace and joy?

If you want to declutter your soul, consider throwing out these five things:

1. Sin

As humans, we are no strangers to sin. We all make mistakes. We all disobey God’s holy law. 

I, for one, blurt out hurtful things in the heat of the moment. I rush through life, focused on my own needs and forget to show kindness. I neglect my relationship with God. 

These sins can weigh down our hearts. Even the psalmist David experienced this. He wrote, “When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.” (Psalm 32:3-4 NLT)

David felt the weight of his sin when he neglected to confess them. The heaviness of unconfessed sin filled up the closet of his heart and crowded out the light of God’s grace.

But David knew the answer—clean out the closet! He goes on:

“Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.” (Psalm 32:5 NLT)

Because Jesus took the punishment for all our sins, big and small, we can receive forgiveness. When we confess our wrongdoings, God completely cleans out the closet of our hearts and makes room for His grace.

Soul Decluttering Step: Read Psalm 32. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal sinful actions you’ve done and harmful attitudes residing in your heart. Ask God to completely clean them out of your soul. Rejoice in His forgiveness and grace.

2. Shame

Keep reading…

Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash

Filed Under: Spiritual Growth
January 5, 2022

11 Ways to Flourish in the New Year

What does it mean to flourish? How can we flourish in our daily lives? in our spiritual lives? in our messy lives?

These are the questions that I endeavored to answer during 2021. I chose the word flourish to guide my time with God and give focus to my writing and everyday decisions.

For several years I’ve adopted the practice of choosing one word to provide a focus for the next 365 days. Sometimes my intended focus has fallen flat like so many New Year’s resolutions. I knew I needed to do more than simply choose a word to make it a guiding force for my life, so I became more proactive in studying and implementing my own word. I did things like studying the meaning of the word, reading books on the topic, and finding Scriptures using the chosen word. If you would like to learn more about this process and get a free guide titled, “7 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Word of the Year” read this article.

What Does It Mean To Flourish?

I chose the word flourish because I was in the process of writing a book about how God defines success (a book scheduled to hit the shelves in July 2022!). I thought about choosing the word success but decided on one of its synonyms because I loved the sound of flourish.

Looking up the word in the dictionary, I discovered that flourish means:

As a verb:

  1. to grow luxuriantly
  2. to achieve success, to reach a height of development or influence

As a noun:

  1. a florid bit of speech or writing, an ornamental stroke in writing or printing
  2. a period of thriving, a luxuriant growth or profusion

In Hebrew, one of the words sometimes translated as flourish is raʿănān meaning “to be or grow luxuriant or fresh or green.” Flourishing implies lush, abundant growth.

Putting it all together, to flourish is to experience abundant growth and improvement, to thrive and succeed.

What Does Flourishing Look Like In My Everyday Life?

This is one of the questions I pondered while writing my book about success in God’s eyes. After studying eight people in the Bible who experienced worldly failure but heavenly success, I would boil down all the lessons I learned into one principle:

Flourishing means living in my sacred worth as God’s beloved child. This frees me from a constant search for validation through achievement and making a name for myself. I can flourish when I remember to whom I belong!

When I remember this truth, disappointments still hurt, but don’t hit me as hard if I remember my position as someone God loves dearly. I can work from a position of already being loved and cherished instead of striving to prove myself. For me, this changes everything!

11 More Ways to Flourish

Another way I studied the concept of “flourish” was to memorize Bible verses that either contained the word “flourish” or “success.” Here are some of the lessons I learned from God’s Word.

  1. I flourish when I trust in God’s unfailing love:

But I am like an olive tree
    flourishing in the house of God;
I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever. (Psalm 52:8 NIV)

2. Flourishing isn’t arriving, but growing. It happens when I trust in God’s righteousness instead of my own resources:

Whoever trusts in his riches will fall,
    but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf. (Proverbs 11:28 ESV)

3. I flourish when I spend time with God:

They are planted in the house of the Lord;
    they flourish in the courts of our God. (Psalm 92:13 ESV)

4. Returning to God, repenting of my sins, and dwelling in God’s mercy will make me flourish like the grass–which grows abundantly. These actions will also help me blossom–display God’s beauty–and bring fame–help others notice God, not me:

They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow;
    they shall flourish like the grain;
they shall blossom like the vine;
    their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon. (Hosea 14:7 ESV)

5. God enables me to flourish. He makes it happen:

You heavens above, rain down my righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness flourish with it; I, the Lord, have created it. (Isaiah 45:8 NIV)

6. I flourish because of God’s righteousness:

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
    they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
13 planted in the house of the Lord,
    they will flourish in the courts of our God. (Psalm 92:12-13 NIV)

7. Flourishing is not chasing success in an attempt to surpass others:

Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind. (Ecclesiastes 4:4 NLT)

8. I flourish when I focus on steadfast love and faithfulness–both God’s love and faithfulness toward me and when I act loving and faithful:

Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;
    bind them around your neck;
    write them on the tablet of your heart.
So you will find favor and good success
    in the sight of God and man. (Proverbs 3:3-4 ESV)

9. I flourish when I meditate on God’s Word and obey it:

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. (Joshua 1:8 NIV)

10. I flourish when I receive godly counsel.

Plans go wrong for lack of advice;
    many advisers bring success. (Proverbs 15:22 NLT)

11. I flourish when I sharpen my skills.

If the ax is dull
    and its edge unsharpened,
more strength is needed,
    but skill will bring success. (Ecclesiastes 10:10)

I pray that you will flourish in the year ahead!

Next step: If you want to flourish through choosing one word to guide your year, consider using my free resource, “7 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Word of the Year.” Get it here.

Filed Under: Spiritual Growth Tagged With:
December 21, 2021

When You’re Floored By Bad News

 

TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY

Christmas is a joyous season, but for some it doesn’t feel that way.

I understand. Some of the most painful events in my life happened in the month of December. The two miscarriages I experienced both happened in that month. My father died on December 7 in 2001. It was Christmas Day when we found out that my husband’s father had passed away.

Sometimes the happiness of the season only amplifies your pain.

Maybe this year you didn’t have a lot of good news. In fact, you had more than your fair share of bad news. Perhaps your job disappeared in the sinking economy. Or your doctor gave a diagnosis without much hope. Or you lost a loved one. You are waiting and hoping for some good news.

I bet the shepherds near Bethlehem on that Christmas night felt much the same way. The whole nation of Israel had been groaning under Roman rule. They were tired of seeing foreign soldiers in the streets. They were tired of obeying a ruler who lived far away. Life seemed like a long string of bad news.

So when the angel announced that he had good news for them, he immediately had the shepherds’ attention:

Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11)

The shepherds didn’t waste any time in going to see what all the good news was about. They raced to Bethlehem to see the baby and immediately told others the good news (Luke 2:17). They praised God for all they had seen and heard (Luke 2:20).

As I think about the shepherd’s response I am humbled. 

You see, the good news they received did not immediately change their financial situation. Sharing the good news probably gave them their 15 minutes of fame, but it didn’t get them wealth or power.

Still, they realized that this was the best good news and so they told others and praised God.

I, on the other hand, may not always be exuberant about the good news of the Savior. I’m tempted to continue to focus on the bad news: the doctor’s diagnosis or the generally lousy state of the economy. I forget that the good news of Jesus overcomes any of the rotten news of this world. Yes, things might not improve right away, but God promises a happy ending in heaven for those who trust in the Babe of Bethlehem.

So this Christmas I’m praying that I will be more like the shepherds–rejoicing in the best news ever!

The good news of Jesus overcomes any of the lousy news of this world. Share on X

Jesus Christ is born! We are rescued from sin and death! In Christ we have life and peace! We are welcomed into God’s family. 

Next step: Write a prayer thanking God for the best news ever. And if this year is one of those years with more bad news than good, I would be honored to pray for you. Send me an email or share your prayer requests in the comments below.

THE shepherds

Filed Under: Spiritual Growth Tagged With: , ,
December 14, 2021

When You Feel Ordinary

Luke 1-38

This holy season we are examining the characters of Christmas. Last week we looked at Elizabeth. (Click here to read her story.) This week we will look at Mary.

Mary’s story is so familiar to us. Every Advent season we hear the story of the angel visiting the young girl. We see the picture of Gabriel giving the news to Mary on dozens of Christmas cards every year. The artist usually pictures Mary sitting very serene, looking at the angel. And so it’s easy to assume that it was easy for Mary to accept this special role. That it was effortless for her to say yes to God’s plan for her. After all, she was given the most important task any woman would ever have. She would be honored for all time. Who wouldn’t want that?

But we know the whole story. We have the advantage of looking back at history and seeing how God worked everything out. We know the story has a happy ending. Mary didn’t have that perspective.

Young Mary was betrothed to Joseph–which is a little like our engagement process. But in the eyes of the law, a betrothed woman was legally bound to the man–even if the marriage ceremony hadn’t taken place. And so, if a betrothed woman was found pregnant by another man, she was accused of adultery. And the punishment for adultery was stoning by death.

And even if she was not put to death physically, Mary realized that life as she knew it was going to die. Friends would probably not believe her story of an angelic visit. Not to mention her fiance!

So if I had been in Mary’s shoes I probably would have reacted to the Gabriel’s message with something like, “Sure, I’ll go along with God’s plan if you will just go out into the streets and tell everyone that I, Mary of Nazareth, have been chosen to be the mother of the Savior.”

But what did Mary say?

“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)

Mary was selected for the most special role any woman could have. But think about it—very few people during her lifetime would truly understood her unique calling. Most people would have seen her either as a tramp, someone who violated God’s laws, or as a crazy person, someone claiming to have a virgin birth.

And that’s why it’s so amazing that she responded to Gabriel with the words, “Let it be to me according to your word.” Mary’s humility enabled her to say yes to God.

Unlike Mary, I struggle with acceptance. I struggle with acceptance because I subconsciously put myself on a level with God. I don’t see how my life fits into God’s big plan and, truth be told, my mighty self sits on the throne of my heart more often than Christ does.

Maybe you struggle with acceptance too. Perhaps life is not going as you had planned. And there is no relief in sight.

That’s why we need to remember Mary. She accepted her God-given role. And even though we now see her as special, to most people in her day she probably appeared very ordinary. Mary was able to say yes to God because she understood her small life was a piece of God’s big plan.

You may feel like you are nothing special. But the Bible tells us that each of us has been selected for a unique calling (Ephesians 4:10). Only one woman is mother to your children. Only one woman is the wife of your husband. Only one woman can minister to the needs of your church with your specific God-given gifts. Only one woman can reach into your world with your particular skill set.

When you feel ordinary remember that is not how God sees you. God sees you as special. God sees you as unique. God sees you as a one-of-a-kind person with a one-of-a-kind life. All those tears you wipe away, all those dishes you wash, all those memos you type–all add up to one incredible life when you see them through God’s eyes.

God sees you as unique. God sees you as a one-of-a-kind person with a one-of-a-kind life. Share on X

Sometimes it’s hard to accept the life you have right now. 

But maybe it’s a little easier when you remember that all the little things you do matter in God’s big plan.

God’s plan is more immense than we can imagine, but every little piece of the intricate design matters. You matter.

Next step: Read Mary’s story in Luke 1 (click here to read it online). Imagine yourself as Mary receiving the news from Gabriel. How would you have wanted to respond? Then write out Mary’s response, ““Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” and post it where you can see it often. Repeat this words back to the loving Savior.

mary

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Filed Under: God's Relentless Love, Spiritual Growth Tagged With: ,
December 7, 2021

When You Are Waiting

When you are waiting, time seems to stand still. We wonder what to do and what God is up to.

But when I look in the Bible and see the many stories of waiting, I’m encouraged. We can look at their lives and find clues for our own.

Elizabeth had her own tale of waiting. The story of Christmas rightly centers on the miraculous birth of Jesus, but Elizabeth opens the story with a miraculous birth of her own.

Luke describes Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah as “righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord” (Luke 1:6).  Both of them carefully obeyed God’s laws for worship and daily life. But they had a great sadness—Elizabeth was barren. Plus, Luke tells us that she and Zechariah were both advanced in years. Years ago when I was struggling to get pregnant, people tried to comfort me by saying, “Don’t worry. You’re young. You’ll get pregnant soon.” No one was saying those words to Elizabeth any more. Elizabeth waited and waited and waited and still was not blessed with a child. All hope of ever having a child had long faded. It had now become, humanly speaking, an impossibility.

Then one day, Zechariah is surprised by the visit of the angel Gabriel who tells him that God has heard his prayers and that they will soon have a son!

Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,for he will be great before the Lord. (Luke 1:13-15)

And if that isn’t enough to knock over Zechariah with a feather, Gabriel goes on to tell the old priest that his son will be the one to prepare the people for the Savior!

This story is so encouraging to me! Elizabeth waited and waited for a baby.

We all wait. Wait for news about the new job. Wait for healing. Wait for the restoration of a relationship. And we hate it. Wait is a four-letter-word that we want to avoid.

But when I look at the stories in the Bible I see that God often made His people wait. It seems to me that often He didn’t work out the answer to the problem right away because the delay made the answer that much more miraculous. The birth of Isaac was that much more remarkable because he was born to ninety-year-old Sarah. Joseph’s rise to power in Egypt was even more amazing after spending years in prison. The Israelites possession of the Promised Land was more astounding after being enslaved in Egypt for 400 years, than if Jacob’s descendants had slowly taken over the region.

And now God drew attention to Zechariah and Elizabeth’s baby through a long delay.Because Elizabeth gave birth when she was “well advanced in years,” it seemed obvious that this child was going to be special.

Not only would the baby John be a significant addition to Zechariah and Elizabeth’s family, he would be important to the whole nation of Israel—because He would prepare the people for the coming of the Savior.

God was doing something bigger than answering a prayer for a baby. He was answering the prayer for a Savior. If John was going to prepare hearts for the arrival of the Savior it meant Messiah was coming soon!

So whatever you are waiting for look for God’s hand in it. He may be working out something even bigger than you can imagine!

Next step: What are you waiting for? Write it down on a piece of paper and then write out a prayer asking God to help you be patient as He works out His will. Ask Him to help you see the bigger thing He is working on through the delay.

Which of those four lessons from Psalm 40 will help you most when you are waiting?

If you want more help for your waiting season, check out my eBook: 7 Words Your Soul Needs in a Waiting Season. 

In it, you will discover seven words that can mean wait. Seven words that can give hope and purpose in the middle of delay. Seven words your soul needs in a waiting season.

It’s FREE! Just sign up for my encouraging monthly newsletter and you will receive this devotional eBook with seven lessons on waiting, plus beautiful graphics of my favorite waiting Scriptures that you can print and frame.

elizabeth

Filed Under: Waiting on God Tagged With: ,
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