“Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.”

— Psalm 20:7

Let’s say you’ve come up against the toughest trial of your life, an obstacle many others have failed to overcome. (Maybe you’re facing it today.) What’s your first response? Do you forge ahead, or do you fall to your knees?

Israel faced an obstacle too big for its own might to overcome; his name was Goliath. All of the armies of Israel had self-confidence until they faced this giant. Then where did their selfconfidence go? It failed them. But one young man, David, completely lacked self-confidence. He had another kind of confidence—confidence in the living God. David said to Goliath, “I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts . . . whom thou hast defiled.” When everyone else cowered in fear, David, the boy whose confidence was in God, went forth to victory.

We all need confidence. But the question at hand is: “Confidence in whom?” If we rely on our own power, we lean upon a weak reed indeed. When we have confidence in ourselves, two things invariably follow: (1) If we succeed, we become prideful, and (2) if we fail, we are cast into despair and depression.

We live in a day when hundreds of books and seminars preach self-confidence. But these messages fly in the face of God’s Word, which declares, “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength” (Jeremiah 17:5). Self-confidence is a snare and an illusion.

How much better to trust the One who made you than to trust in yourself. Confidence in God delivers us from pride by giving us gratitude to God for victory in our lives. It delivers us from despair because we know that whatever comes to pass, God will work it together for our good. Those who trust in God go through life with a certain tranquility that allows them to pass over the rough spots of life virtually undisturbed. We need to trust in God not only for our eternal salvation but also for the everyday affairs of our lives. When we would fail ourselves, God will never disappoint us.

Are you facing a Goliath in your life today? Like David, place your confidence in God, and wait for your victory through Him.

“Jesus never fails.”
Christian Song

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

— Proverbs 3:5–6

We can go through this world in one of two ways: remembering God, focused on eternity, and trusting Him with all our hearts or forgetting God and leaning on our own understanding to make it through this life.

Which camp are you in?

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart . . . and He shall direct your paths.” God makes this great promise to us, a covenant that offers great blessings to those who will heed it daily. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart.” It’s a primary lesson of Christianity, a seemingly simple essential of our faith. Yet we seem to find it so difficult to learn. We learn to trust in God just a little bit and think we’ve made great progress in the spiritual realm. But then we face situations that reveal vast areas of our hearts that we’ve never entrusted to God.

In these times, we may believe we’ve given our trust to God and wonder why He hasn’t responded. But really, we lean on our own understanding and strength to work it out. We attempt to achieve our will through praying certain ways and doing good deeds. But it isn’t until we’ve exhausted our resources and truly trusted God, laying our burdens at His feet, that He provides a way. “Acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

Who are you trusting to carve out your life paths—you or the Lord? God says, “Trust me.” How can you do that today?

“… They who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true …”
“Like A River Glorious” (Hymn)

“Now therefore, give me this mountain . . . It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.”

— Joshua 14:12

Suppose, as you looked for a job, you came across this ad in the classifieds: “Heroes wanted. No cowards need apply.” Would you apply for that job? Are you a hero?

Most of us have never even considered this matter, but we should, because we desperately need heroes in the army of God. Over and over in Scripture, we read of valiant, mighty men and women, and we’re encouraged to follow their examples. The Bible exhorts us to endure hardship as good soldiers of Christ. It admonishes, “Fear not,” “Be not afraid,” “Be of good courage,” “Fear not the face of men.” Such courage is the mark of a hero.

Why do we need so much courage? Because Jesus has commissioned us as His soldiers to witness for Him. We have the privilege of serving as Christ’s ambassadors to this dying world, sharing the Good News of what Jesus can do for people.

Yet tragically, many people who profess to be Christians have gone AWOL (Absent Without Leave) in this regard. The battle for lost souls rages on, but many of us hide in our own secure corners of the world, leaving the lost vulnerable to the enemy.

This should not be true of the soldiers in Christ’s army. After all, our leader, Christ, is the greatest hero Who ever lived. Not only did He single-handedly take on all the hosts of mankind, an apostate Jewry, a hostile heathenism, and His own friends who forsook Him, but He also took on the forces of death, Hell, Satan, and the demons, overcoming them one and all. And as God’s soldiers, we have Christ’s death-defeating power on our side. We need not fear as we share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As we face the fray, Jesus Christ heats the heart and fuses the shifting sands into rock, making heroes out of cowards. Christ stands ready to do that for each of us.

Will you allow Christ to grant you His courage today? If you do, be a faithful soldier, using that courage to share Christ’s good news with someone who desperately needs to hear it.

“… Brethren, we are treading where our Captain trod …”
Onward Christian Soldiers (Hymn)

“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”

— Jeremiah 33:3

“Call to Me …” God says in Scripture, yet so many of us are slow to respond to that invitation. Why do we pray so meagerly? I believe it’s because unbelief whispers in our ears, “Your prayers won’t work. God won’t hear them. Others may come and receive all sorts of bounty from God, but not the likes of you, not the one who has so often broken His commandments. God doesn’t even want to hear from your lips.” Do thoughts of unworthiness creep into your mind, building a wall between you and God? Yet against these whispers of Satan, God’s Word speaks to us, “Call to Me …” God reaches out to us, inviting us to reach out to Him.

Yet doubts still discourage us from praying. Inside our heads we hear, “Prayer will do no good because God will not answer. I’ve tried before, and I haven’t received answers.” Have you ever felt that way? Then read the second part of Jeremiah 33:3, an assurance that stills such doubts: “I will answer you.” God has promised to respond to our prayers.

When we call on God, we can feel confident that He has made us worthy of approaching Him and that He has promised to answer us. We should also keep in mind all the other principles that the Bible teaches concerning prayer. For example, to maintain an open prayer line to God we must confess our sins and ask for forgiveness, while forgiving those who have sinned against us. Another principle is that we must call upon God in faith, believing He will do that which we ask of Him. The Scripture says that whatsoever you shall ask, believe that God will give it, and you shall have it. We should also call upon God with great perseverance and ask according to His will. Finally, we should pray with gratitude, thanking God for all He has already done.

How’s your prayer life these days? Are any of the concerns I mentioned earlier stopping you from fully enjoying your connection to God? I invite you to call to God and remember His promise to answer you. Do these things, and wait for God to show you “great and mighty things”!

“More things are wrought by prayer
than this world dreams of.”
Alfred Lord Tennyson

“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”

— Proverbs 4:23

Have you had a heart exam recently? I don’t mean the kind in which a doctor listens to the physical health of your heart through a stethoscope. I mean an examination in which the Holy Spirit determines the spiritual state of your heart.

The Bible always addresses sources of things, and as shown in Proverbs 4:23, Scripture recognizes that people are more frequently moved by their emotions than by their intellect. Our emotions influence our intellect more than our intellect affects our emotions. We do base our faith on rational thought, but faith is not without emotion or passion. Indeed, the very heart of our faith is the Passion of Jesus Christ.

Why do we need to understand the relationship between the heart and the head? Because Jesus said that out of the heart proceeds all manner of evil: adultery, murder, theft, and so on. Out of the heart “springs the issues of life.” Therefore, we need to watch our hearts very carefully.

What kinds of “heart disease” do we need to watch for? The heart can become inflamed by passion and lust, so we need to watch its “temperature” and not allow such things to start. Unfortunately, the temperature of the heart often reaches high degrees quickly, and if left unchecked, all sorts of immorality can break forth. The Bible clearly communicates that Christians must check evil at the very first impulse. No one can imprison us for our thoughts, but our unchecked thoughts may very well land us in Hell because evil thoughts testify to an evil heart.

The Scripture says that we need to bring every thought into captivity to Christ. To do that we need to set a guard, a watchman, over our hearts in the same way the Bible tells us that we should place a guard at the door of our lips to watch what we say.

Do you have a guard over your heart? If you don’t, invite the Holy Spirit to take that post today, examining your heart regularly to keep you in tiptop spiritual condition.

“Private victories precede public victories.”
Stephen Covey

“But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”

— Matthew 24:13

Do you have stick-to-itiveness? When you come up against an obstacle, do you push through to the end? Persistent effort pays off. Paul tells us in Galatians 6:9, “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

What makes people decide to quit? Sometimes people quit because they feel their efforts have brought little or no success. Once, a man determined to find gold, spent time and money digging a mine shaft. But after digging down one mile, he gave up and sold the mine. The person who bought the mine dug down only three more feet and struck gold. People also quit because of setbacks in their health, finances, or other arenas of their lives. Criticism by others, especially the criticism of a spouse, parent, or friend has caused many people to give up. The ingratitude of those they have tried to help has discouraged others.

But we can’t let lack of success, devastating setbacks, criticism, or ingratitude hinder us from pursuing worthwhile goals. The first time Benjamin Disraeli spoke before the English House of Commons, the members laughed at him. But instead of throwing in the towel, Disraeli vowed that one day those people would listen to him. He went on to become a great orator and the first Jewish prime minister of England. William Carey, a missionary to India, faced devastation, but he never gave up even though a fire burned his house and, with it, many years of Bible translation work. Instead of quitting, he reworked his translations, and when finished he believed his second translations were better than the first.

We can persevere, even when times get tough. But we can’t do it alone. Isaiah 40:31 says, “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” As we wait on God, He gives us the strength to endure.

Are you about to lose heart? If you want to quit a work the Lord has given you to do, ask God to strengthen you so that you may continue. As He gives you strength, take hold of your goal and never let go.

“A lot of impulsive mistakes are made by people who
simply aren’t willing to stay bored a little longer.”
Frank Clark

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

— John 15:5

When you were a child, did you look forward to growing up? Perhaps your mother or father marked your physical growth on a wall, charting your progress toward adulthood.

Just as we anticipated physical growth when we were children, we need to pursue spiritual growth daily. Repeatedly the Scriptures speak of spiritual growth. A psalmist declares that when we meditate on God’s Word, we become “like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season” (Psalm 1:3). Jesus explains how we must be like branches grafted into the vine, growing to produce fruit. We are told to grow into the fullness of the stature of Jesus Christ. God has most definitely designed us to grow spiritually.

How can we tell if we’re growing according to God’s plan? One of the signs will be the fruit of graciousness, becoming like the all-gracious God, having an unselfish love and concern for others’ needs. Another sign is joy. As we grow in grace, we’ll rejoice in everything life hands us, good or bad. Conversely, if we grumble and complain about everything, continually sad and dejected and depressed, we’re clearly not growing in grace. Those negative attitudes reflect our spiritual immaturity. Consider the great admonition of the Bible: “Rejoice in all things.” We can fulfill that command only when we’ve grown in grace.

How can we pursue spiritual growth? Think of Olympic weight lifters, who need just the right food and exercise to build strength. In a similar way, we as Christians grow by taking in the spiritual food of God’s Word, prayer, and our consistent devotional lives, then by exercising ourselves in the faithful performance of Christian duties such as works of mercy and evangelism. As we engage in these spiritual disciplines, we grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Where are you along the “wall” of spiritual growth? I encourage you to chart your progress today. Then set your sights on a higher mark, and commit to at least one spiritual discipline that can get you there.

“All growth that is not towards God is growing to decay.”
George Macdonald

“… Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel …”

— Luke 2:34

Whoever you are, you cannot avoid Jesus Christ, either in this life or the next. He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings. He is the One “with whom we have to do.” I once heard about a secular talk-show host who flippantly remarked, “Jesus means absolutely nothing to my life.” How wrong she is, for one day, like all of us, she will stand before Him in judgment.

The Bible teaches us that we can experience Jesus Christ as either a steppingstone that raises us to new heights or a stumbling block over which we trip and fall. Christ is as salt— permeating, penetrating, and seasoning all with which He comes in contact. You cannot avoid His influence. You cannot avoid the working of Christ any more than you can avoid the working of fire—stand before the fire, and it shall warm and comfort you; thrust your hand into it, and it will burn you.

An Eastern fable tells of a magic mirror that remained clear when the pure-hearted looked into it. But when the glance of a vile, unholy person fell upon it, the mirror clouded over instantly. Thus, the owner of that mirror could immediately tell the character of his visitors as they glanced into it. In the same way, Christ reveals our true natures to others, to God, and—if we pay attention—even to ourselves. Notice the reactions to Christ when He first came into this world: Mary and Joseph loved Him; the innkeeper was too busy for Him; the shepherds worshiped Him; Herod hated Him; both Anna and Simeon in the Temple praised God for Him. And so, Jesus Christ reveals our true character when we come into contact with Him.

What do you discover about yourself as you look into His face?

“Whoever you are, the Gospel must be
to you a savour of life or of death.”
Charles Spurgeon