God’s Peace Rules Over Our Storms

PRAY OVER THIS

“Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?’” Mark 4:36-38

 

PONDER THIS

Don’t get the idea that if you’re in the will of God, you’ll not have any storms. The disciples were in the will of God, and they went right into a storm. Jesus knew a storm was brewing. He was the One who could walk on the water. He was the One who could say to the waves, “Peace, be still” (v. 39), and they would listen. The Bible says, He knew all things. He knew there would be a storm, and knowing that, Jesus led them into a storm. There’s a false teaching that says, “If we’re just right with God, we won’t have any problems, and we won’t have any storms in our lives.” There are two things wrong with that. Number one, it’s not true. Number two, it’s not biblical. You’re going to have storms.

Regardless of the storm you face, God is over all. “Even the wind and sea obey Him” (Mark 4:41). In all things, God is in control. If you’re in a storm right now, God is over it, beyond it, through it, above it, and in it. He is the providential God.

What are some storms you have faced in life? How did they affect your relationship with God?

What are some present storms you are facing? What are you learning through them?

PRACTICE THIS

Take some time to praise and worship God for the way He is present in the storms of life.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

When God Sends You Into a Storm…

PRAY OVER THIS

“Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them.”

John 6:16-17

 

PONDER THIS

It is a shallow theology that says if we’re in the will of God, we’re always going to sail smoothly on the sea of life. We’ll have no sickness, no sorrow, no disappointment, and know no separation. There’ll be no death in our families. There’ll be no problems. This is the gospel of cash, Cadillacs, and tranquility, often known as the prosperity gospel. Friend, there’s a Greek word for that and it’s baloney.

We are going to have difficulty. And the first thing you can say when difficulty comes is that God’s providence is over it all. We are governed by His providence. God’s wonderful plan is in effect, no matter what. In today’s passage, Jesus constrained the disciples to go into a storm. They were in this storm because of the providence of God.

What storms are you currently facing?

How might you trust God’s providence regardless of your circumstances?

PRACTICE THIS

List out truths about God that you can trust even as you face the storms of life.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

How to Contemplate Calamity

“The waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of destruction assailed me. . . . This God — his way is perfect.” (2 Samuel 22:5, 31)

After the loss of his ten children owing to a natural disaster (Job 1:19), Job said, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). At the end of the book, the inspired writer confirms Job’s understanding of what happened. He says Job’s brothers and sisters “comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him” (Job 42:11).

This has several crucial implications for us — lessons for us here at the dawn of a new year — as we think about calamities in the world and in our lives — like the massive disaster that occurred December 26, 2004, in the Indian Ocean — one of the deadliest natural disasters on record with 1.7 million people made homeless, half a million injured, and over 230,000 killed.

Lesson #1. Satan is not ultimate; God is.

Satan had a hand in Job’s misery, but not the decisive hand. God gave Satan permission to afflict Job (Job 1:12; 2:6). But Job and the writer of this book treat God as the decisive cause. When Satan afflicts Job with sores, Job says to his wife, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10), and the writer calls these satanic sores “the evil that the Lord had brought upon him” (Job 42:11). So, Satan is real. Satan brings misery. But Satan is not ultimate or decisive. He is on a leash. He goes no farther than God decisively permits.

Lesson #2. Even if Satan caused that tsunami in the Indian Ocean the day after Christmas, 2004, he is not the decisive cause of over 200,000 deaths; God is.

God claims power over tsunamis in Job 38:8 and 11 when he asks Job rhetorically, “Who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb . . . and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?” Psalm 89:8–9 says, “O Lord . . . you rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.” And Jesus himself has the same control today as he once did over the deadly threats of waves: “He . . . rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm” (Luke 8:24). In other words, even if Satan caused the earthquake, God could have stopped the waves. But he didn’t.

Lesson #3. Destructive calamities in this world mingle judgment and mercy.

God’s purposes are not simple. Job was a godly man and his miseries were not God’s punishment (Job 1:1, 8). Their design was purifying, not punishment (Job 42:6). James 5:11 says, “You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.”

But we do not know the spiritual condition of Job’s children who died. Job was certainly concerned about them (Job 1:5). God may have taken their life in judgment. We don’t know.

If that is true, then the same calamity proved in the end to be mercy for Job and judgment on his children. This double purpose is true of all calamities. They mingle judgment and mercy. They are both punishment and purification. Suffering, and even death, can be both judgment and mercy at the same time.

The clearest illustration of this is the death of Jesus. It was both judgment and mercy. It was judgment on Jesus because he bore our sins (not his own), and it was mercy toward us who trust him to bear our punishment (Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24) and be our righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Another example is the curse and miseries that have come on this earth because of the fall of Adam and Eve. Those who never believe in Christ experience it as judgment, but believers experience it as merciful, though painful — a preparation for glory. “The creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope” (Romans 8:20). This is God’s subjection. This is why there are tsunamis. But this subjection to futility is “in hope.”

Lesson #4. The heart that Christ gives to his people feels compassion for those who suffer, no matter what their faith is.

When the Bible says, “Weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15), it does not add, “unless God caused the weeping.” Job’s comforters would have done better to weep with Job than talk so much. That does not change when we discover that Job’s suffering was ultimately from God. No, it is right to weep with those who suffer. Pain is pain, no matter who causes it. We are all sinners. Empathy flows not from the causes of pain, but from the company of pain. And we are all in it together.

Lesson #5. Finally, Christ calls us to show mercy to those who suffer, even if they do not deserve it.

That is the meaning of mercy — undeserved help. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you” (Luke 6:27). This is how Christ treated us (Romans 5:10), dying for us when we were his enemies. By that power, and with that example, we do the same.

John Piper 

The Great King’s Wine

We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

I have never heard anyone say, “The really deep lessons of my life have come through times of ease and comfort.” But I have heard strong saints say, “Every significant advance I have ever made in grasping the depths of God’s love and growing deep with him, has come through suffering.”

This is a sobering biblical truth. For example: “For [Christ’s] sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8). Paraphrase: No pain, no gain. Or:

Now let it all be sacrificed, if it will get me more of Christ.

Here’s another example: “Although he was a son, [Jesus] learned obedience through what he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). The same book said he never sinned (Hebrews 4:15).

So learning obedience does not mean switching from disobedience to obedience. It means growing deeper and deeper with God in the experience of obedience. It means experiencing depths of yieldedness to God that would not have been otherwise attained. This is what came through suffering. No pain, no gain.

Samuel Rutherford said that when he was cast into the cellars of affliction, he remembered that the great King always kept his wine there. Charles Spurgeon said, “They who dive in the sea of affliction bring up rare pearls.”

Do you not love your beloved more when you feel some strange pain that makes you think you have cancer? We are strange creatures indeed. If we have health and peace and time to love, it can become a thin and hasty thing. But if we are dying, love becomes a deep, slow river of inexpressible joy, and we can scarcely endure to give it up.

Therefore brothers and sisters, “Count it all joy . . . when you meet trials of various kinds” (James 1:2).

John Piper 

Is Your Pathway Thorny Today?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Then to Adam He said, ‘Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground for your sake. In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life”... (Genesis 3:17)

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

When God created mankind, He put him in a garden. In the Garden of Eden, there were no thorns. A curse came upon Adam and Eve because they disobeyed God. What does a crown of thorns speak of? The thorn symbolizes the curse upon humanity—on you, on me, on all of us—because of sin.

Jesus wore a crown of thorns because He bore that curse. He took upon Himself our curse and bore it or our sakes. The thorns on His head speak of the hardship, sorrow, and death that came with sin.

Do you have a heartache? Sorrow? Sickness? Can I tell you the thorny pathway we walk is because of sin? The bed of briars we sleep on is because of sin.

When in sorrow and trials you praise and glorify the Lord, saying with Job, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him,” the world will know there’s a quality of life about you that is different. Paul learned that and was able to say, “Your grace is sufficient for me.”

ACTION POINT:

Memorize Isaiah 41:10 today: “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are you facing giants?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.” Mark 11:23

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Did you ever play “king of the mountain” as a child? When you were on high ground, you could shove the others down, even though they were entrenched and determined to overtake you.

In Joshua 14, we read that Caleb faced a city of giants, and yet because he had wholly followed the Lord, he had the strength of the Lord and said, “Give me this mountain” (Joshua 14:11-12).

Where did this man, now in his eighties, get his courage? Where did he get his confidence? He got it from the word of God. Listen to me, faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). It doesn’t come out of the head; it comes out of the heart. The reason Caleb could appropriate the promises of God and those promises became a living, vibrant reality to him is that he had a character committed to the Lord.

All of us face giants every day – giants of doubt, fear, discouragement, financial ruin, sickness, broken relationships. Do you think the giants in the Promised Land took God by surprise? God knew they were there all the time – they were part of His purpose to strengthen His children’s faith.

ACTION POINT:

It’s time you got a bulldog grip on the Word of God and believe what He says to be true.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Why are you still carrying that burden?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.” Psalm 37:5

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Many say they’ve committed their lives to the Lord, but have they really? The psalmist challenges us to commit our way to the Lord.

The word “commit” in this passage has the idea of rolling a burden over to the Lord.

An old hymn written long ago is titled “I Remember When My Burdens Rolled Away.” The first verse says,

“I remember when my burdens rolled away;

I had carried them for years, night and day.

When I sought the blessed Lord,

And I took Him at His word,

Then at once all my burdens rolled away.”

Have a commitment that rolls burdens on the Lord.  He will take care of you.  He will vindicate you.  He will answer you.

ACTION POINT:

Take comfort in Psalm 55:22—“Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” Once again roll your burdens over to the Lord. Surrender everything to Him.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

When trials storm the beaches of your life

BIBLE MEDITATION:

As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried: He is a buckler to all them that trust in Him. 2 Samuel 22:31

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

When bewilderment enshrouds you and despair looms at your door, when trials storm the beaches of your life, you may want to ask God, “Why? Why? Why?”

As a pastor, I've gone to so many funerals, so many hospitals, so many children's wards. I've had strong dads come up to me, their eyes brimming with tears, chin quivering. They take me by the lapel and say, “Pastor, why is this happening to my child? Why? Why?”

Friend, you may never understand why things are happening the way they are in your life, but that’s not your job. You see, it is not necessary for you to know why. That is God’s question. Your response is all that matters. When we can’t feel His hand, we must trust His heart. Our job is to simply trust and obey.

We want to know why? Where is God? Learn this about life. Life is not a problem to be solved, it is a mystery to be lived. That is what the book of Job is telling us. We do not live by explanations, we live by promises. And God never did explain anything to Job. Sometimes it is God's plan that we don't understand. Because when we don't understand and trust Him, that my friend is a greater, greater faith than understanding and trusting him.

ACTION POINT:

Is something happening for which you have no explanation? Yet you long for answers. Ask God to give you peace and grace to trust Him.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

How can you bridge your stress gap?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Stress is nothing new. Noah had it when he was building the ark with no rain in sight. Martha had it when she was preparing a meal for our Lord. Stress is the gap between the demands placed on us and the strength we have in meeting those demands. It is not a sin to be stressed, nor a sin to be weary. It is a sin, though, not to seek a lessening of that stress which tears down the temple of the Holy Spirit, your body. Where is your answer? In waiting upon the Lord — waiting in the midst of demands. When you learn to wait on Him, God steps in to bridge the stress gap with His mighty strength.

ACTION POINT:

Ask God to equip you to be a stress-buster today. Perhaps it will be your boss or your spouse that is stressed out. Rejoice in the opportunity you have to share God’s love.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

7 Reasons Not to Worry, Part 1

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:25–26)

We are going to spend three days on this part of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 6:25–34, Jesus is dealing specifically with anxiety about food and clothing. But, in fact, it relates to all anxiety.

Even in America, with its extensive welfare system, anxiety over finances and housing and food and clothing can be intense. Not to mention Christians who live in situations where much greater poverty threatens life. But Jesus says in verse 30 that our anxiety comes from little faith in our Father’s promise of future grace: “O you of little faith.”

These verses (25–34) contain at least seven promises designed by Jesus to help us fight the good fight against unbelief and be free from anxiety. (Today we look at Promises 1 and 2 — then over the next two days at the rest.)

Promise #1: “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25)

Since your body and your life are vastly more complex and difficult to provide than food and clothing are, and yet God has, in fact, created and provided you with both, then surely he will be able and willing to provide you with food and clothing.

Moreover, no matter what happens, God will raise your body someday and preserve your life and body for his eternal fellowship.

Promise #2: “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:26)

If God is willing and able to feed such insignificant creatures as birds who cannot do anything to bring their food into being — as you can by farming — then he will certainly provide what you need, because you are worth a lot more than birds. You, unlike the birds, have the amazing capacity to glorify God by trusting, obeying, and thanking God.

John Piper 

What problems are over your head?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

For He put all things under His [Jesus’] feet. 1 Corinthians 15:27a

And [the Father] put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church Ephesians 1:22

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

God has given us kingdom authority. Jesus said, “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19).

When problems get over your head, remember they are under His feet.

You need not be discouraged when troubles strike. It is the pathway your Savior has walked before you. It is the way of the cross, and He has won the victory!

• Write down the hardest thing you have to deal with today. 

• Now put that paper on the floor. 

• Look down on it.

Now you have a glimpse of God’s vantage point over the problems in your life.

ACTION POINT:

Remember … “He hath put all things under His feet.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Does God have to use a stick?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55:22

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

I read about a man who had a very fine dog who loved the water. One day the dog was playing in the lake and the man decided to leave. He called the dog, but the dog wouldn’t come. He called him several times; he wouldn’t come. It was a well-trained dog, but he just would not come. The man finally threw a stick out in the water. When the dog saw it, he swam over, got the stick, and came back and laid it at his master’s feet.

It just may be that God has given you a burden because He can’t get your attention. He wants you to come and lay it at your Master’s feet.

ACTION POINT:

Is your heart aching today? Cast your burden at His feet and allow His peace to fill your heart.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

What does God want most for you?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into diverse temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. James 1:2-4

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

What does God want most for you? To experience the fullness of Christ. So what does He want from you? The only way to experience the fullness of Christ is through trials and tribulations. But can you be patient during this process? That’s the key. If you’re like most people, probably not. We become like children who don’t know the difference between “No” and “Not yet.” If you say, “Wait a while,” to them that is, “No.” They want it now. But God is interested in maturing you.

A Danish proverb says, “Give to a pig when it grunts and give to a child when it cries, and you will have a fine pig and a bad child.” Tribulation brings patience, and patience makes us mature.

ACTION POINT:

What are you waiting for? What are you struggling with? Give it to Jesus. Trust in His timing and His provision.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are you carrying or casting?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. Psalm 55:22

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

A man was carrying a heavy load of grain down a country road. Another man in a wagon being pulled by a horse saw the man walking. He said to him, “Mister, you need a ride?” 

The man with the heavy load climbed into the wagon and sat down. After a while the driver looked over. His passenger was still holding onto it. The driver said,“My goodness, sir, set that load down and relax.” 

“Oh, no,” said the rider. “It’s enough to ask you to give me a ride without your carrying this too.”

That’s ridiculous, isn’t it? But some of you have climbed into the wagon with Jesus for salvation, but you’ve never set the load down, have you? You say, “Lord, I can trust You to save me, but I just can’t trust you to carry this load.” How foolish we are!

ACTION POINT:

If you can trust God to save you from hell, don’t you think you can cast your burden upon the Lord right now? The Bible says, “Cast your burden upon the Lord. He will sustain thee” (Psalm 55:22). “Take your burdens to the Lord,” the old song says, “and leave them there.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

God’s Design in Detours

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17)

Have you ever wondered what God is doing while you are looking in the wrong place for something you lost and needed very badly? He knows exactly where it is, and yet he is letting you look in the wrong place.

I once needed a quote for a new edition of my book Desiring God. I knew I had read it in Richard Wurmbrand. I thought it was in his devotional book, Reaching Toward the Heights. I could almost see it on the right hand side of the facing pages. But I couldn’t find it.

But while I was looking, I was riveted on his devotional for November 30. As I read it, I said, “This is why the Lord let me keep looking for my quote in the ‘wrong’ place.” Here was a story that illustrated perfectly that nothing is wasted that we do in the name of Jesus — nothing, not even looking for a quote in the wrong place. Here’s what I read:

In a home for retarded children, Catherine was nurtured twenty years. The child had been [mentally handicapped] from the beginning, and had never spoken a word, but only vegetated. She either gazed quietly at the walls or made distorted movements. To eat, to drink, to sleep, were her whole life. She seemed not to participate at all in what happened around her. A leg had to be amputated. The staff wished Cathy well and hoped that the Lord would soon take her to Himself.

One day the doctor called the director to come quickly. Catherine was dying. When both entered the room, they could not believe their senses. Catherine was singing Christian hymns she had heard and had picked up, just those suitable for death beds. She repeated over and over again the German song, “Where does the soul find its fatherland, its rest?” She sang for half an hour with transfigured face, then she passed away quietly. (Taken from The Best Is Still to Come, Wuppertal: Sonne und Shild)

Is anything that is done in the name of Christ really wasted?

My frustrated, futile search for what I thought I needed was not wasted. Singing to this disabled child was not wasted. And your agonizing, unplanned detour is not a waste — not if you look to the Lord for his unexpected work, and do everything in his name (Colossians 3:17).

John Piper

In the middle of a trial?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

When something bad happens to us, we may respond, “What did I do? I must have done something terrible.” Then we proceed down the trail of morbid introspection or what I call “navel gazing.” We look inside, taking ourselves apart piece by piece, examining and re-examining. Then we put ourselves back together trying to figure out what we did wrong.

It may be you’ve done absolutely nothing wrong, but God is simply testing your faith. If we don’t understand this, we may get discouraged.

Jerry Bridges wrote, “Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.”

ACTION POINT:

The seeds of doubt and discouragement sprout in the soil of ignorance. Claim the promises of 1 Peter 1:3-9 for strength in the midst of your trial.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Found your wings yet?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

How that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded…..  2 Corinthians 8:2

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

A man watched a butterfly trying to emerge from a cocoon. Thinking he would help, the man took his penknife and slit the side of the cocoon, and the butterfly flopped out. It lay there for a while, feebly beating its wings, then collapsed and died.

“How sad,” you say. You’re right—God designed a plan for butterflies. The struggle to break free builds the strength they will need to fly.

God doesn’t want you to live weakly and die feebly. He wants you to grow and mature.

ACTION POINT:

Find the wings in your trial today. 

Strengthen them by the promises in God’s Word.

Venture on new heights of freedom in Christ today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Be honest: When have you grown the most?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? ... hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him.” Psalm 42:5

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Here’s an anchor for your soul in the storms of life: “I am growing by His plan.”

What is God’s plan for you? He wants to enlarge you, not indulge you. God is not so interested in making you happy and healthy as He is in making you holy. And so God will allow troubles to make you more like Christ.

Think about the times when you have grown the most. It is when your friend “Trouble” came along. I have grown the most in my own life in times of deepest despair.

ACTION POINT:

Can you look at the troubles in your life not as adversaries, but as friends? Take a second look and get a godly perspective of it. See how you can become holy through hardship.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

What do you do when all the lights go out?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“But He saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.” John 6:20

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

When storms come into your life, I want you to remember this truth: “I am governed by His providence.”

The storm did not take the wave walker, the Lord Jesus, by surprise. As a matter of fact, the Bible says He’s the one that “commandeth and raiseth stormy seas” (Psalm 107:25).

Perhaps you’re in the eye of a storm right now. It looks like your boat is sinking. Maybe it’s so dark you cannot see your hand before your face. I want you to know there is nothing that comes to you that He does not cause or allow. Whether I can see it, whether I can understand it or not, it is a fact that God has not relinquished His rule upon His universe.

ACTION POINT:

Read Matthew 8:23-27. Does Jesus see the storm in your life? Bow before the One, the only One, who can calm your storm. Trust His ways. He’s in control.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Window of the Heart

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. (Hebrews 12:3)

One of the most remarkable capacities of the human mind is the capacity to direct its own attention to something it chooses. We can pause and say to our minds, “Think about this, and not that.” We can focus our attention on an idea or a picture or a problem or a hope.

It is an amazing power. I doubt that animals have it. They are probably not self-reflective, but rather governed by impulse and instinct.

Have you been neglecting this great weapon in the arsenal of your war against sin? The Bible calls us again and again to use this remarkable gift. Let’s take this gift off the shelf, and dust it off, and put it to use.

For example, Paul says in Romans 8:5–6, “Those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace” (my translation).

This is stunning. What you set your mind on determines whether the issue is life or death.

Many of us have become far too passive in our pursuit of change and wholeness and peace. I have the feeling that in our therapeutic age we have fallen into the passive mindset of simply “talking through our problems” or “dealing with our issues” or “discovering the roots of our brokenness in our family of origin.”

But I see a much more aggressive, non-passive approach to change in the New Testament. Namely, set your mind. “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2).

Our emotions are governed in large measure by what we consider — what we dwell on with our minds. For example, Jesus told us to overcome the emotion of anxiety by what we consider: “Consider the ravens. . . . Consider the lilies” (Luke 12:24, 27).

The mind is the window of the heart. If we let our minds constantly dwell on the dark, the heart will feel dark. But if we open the window of our mind to the light, the heart will feel the light.

Above all, this great capacity of our minds to focus and consider is meant for considering Jesus (Hebrews 12:3). So, let’s do this: “Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”

John Piper