“Faithful are the wounds of a friend.” Proverbs 27:6

A few years back, a friend gave me some sage advice, “Go for it. And if I see you doing something wrong, I’ll let you know.” In other words, he would lovingly rebuke me.

Jesus said, “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” Sounds odd, right? I’ve got two perfectly good ears that take in various sounds all day long. I don’t have the choice not to hear. But I do have the choice whether to listen to or to ignore what my hear.

There have been times when I just couldn’t see that I was getting off the path with my current thinking. But through these Proverbs 27:6 friends, the Lord spoke loud and clear, “Chris, you’re stepping away from Me. Move closer.”

Did their words hurt? They wounded me bad. But, did I need to hear them? Oh yeah! Now, I had the choice to either justify myself and ignore them. Or, go to Jesus. Process their words through His word. And then apply what Jesus was showing me.

We need others to see what we are unable to see. And then, out love, tell us what they see while continuing to walk with us. So, who is your James 5:16 person? Read it for yourself. But notice, it doesn’t say everyone, but one another.

You need at least a few friends who will tell you what you need to hear, not just what you want to hear. Friends who will also pray for you to become more like Jesus, which is part of what the word “healed” means.

Have ears that hear. When you do, greater joy and peace will be found as you move closer to Jesus.

“Peace. Be still.” Jesus

Some of the ways I know I am under stress is when my knee(s) bounce like crazy. My hands rapidly shake. Or, my heart aches.

Lately, my stress responses have been caused by too many things to do with so little time to do them. And yet the Spirit reminded me of this truth, “Be still and know that I am God.”

You’re being still, not the world around you. Checklists still exist. No, still means changing your focus from the life-changing battle to Jesus, the life changer.

This morning during my “Quiet Time” He had me be still, literally. No reading the Word. No praying. No confession. No praising. All the things I normally do. He simply had me sit and be with Him.

Honestly, this felt like I wasted time. Yet, peace in the midst of the battle actually existed by acknowledging His presence. He is always there, but my knees, hands and heart tell the truth. I wasn’t really acknowledging it.

Peace can be experienced in the midst of a life-changing situation by acknowledging His presence while doing what He wants done in the moment with Him. He became my strength to know God in ways my eyes haven’t seen, ears haven’t heard and mind couldn’t conceive (1 Cor. 2:9).

In the midst of your struggle, acknowledge His presence with you! Seek to be with Him while doing what He wants to do with you, today. And experience His strength to make the righteous choice. It’s mystical. But it’s just as real.

Moving forward requires faith to praise the LORD knowing the struggle ends with victory.

With all that is going on in the world at the moment, Christians are thronging towards prophecy. Among other things, it proves the Bible is indeed God’s word.

We must realize, though, the context of an overwhelming amount of prophecy is that suffering precedes solutions. Dark days come before the sunny ones. Isaiah is full of this kind of prophecy.

Solutions do come…after the struggle. The sun does shine bright…after the battle.

Letting the Spirit change our lives in encased in a battle between the flesh (i.e. the old programing stored in our heads) and the Spirit of truth (Gal. 5:17) that transforms our lives (Rom. 12:1).

This battle is real. This battle is hard. It’s like pulling out the weeds in your garden by the roots. Why? You don’t want them to grow back! It’s dirty sweaty work. But you know you’re planting roses that will not only be pleasing to the eyes, but also to the nose due their sweat fragrance.

Praising by faith in the midst of this struggle can put a smile on your face as you already know the outcome. Praising by faith brings peace to your mind as you focus on the end result, not the struggle.

We know it will happen. It’s just a matter of time. Jesus said the truth will set you free from the lies that hold you down. He keeps His word too! Count on it.

If you’re struggling today, stop right now and praise Him for the end result. It will happen. Being straight, peace of mind and a smiling face are much better than the opposite.

If you’re at the aroma of the rose stage, praise Him for being true to His word.   

Take a load off. It’s not yours anyways.

I thought I understood what Jesus meant by a certain truth/word, only to end up in frustration.

In my daily reading, I came across Isaiah 46:4, which states that when I’m old (getting there) and grey (zoomed way past that to white!) the LORD will carry me. I really needed to hear it.

Yet, how does this work itself out in my current struggle? I had no clue, so I did a little study to discover that it was used of oxen carrying a heavy load for their owner.

Cool, Jesus will carry my load. But how does that actually work in my current situation? This weight can trigger all kinds of responses in me, some of which are not healthy at all.

I cried out, “Lord, You said You would carry this load. How come it doesn’t feel that way? In fact, Lord, this load just keeps getting heavier.”

It was a mental heaviness that was simply getting too hard to stand under, let alone walk forward.  “Lord, if You don’t carry me like You said You would, I’m toast. Lord, I don’t understand how You actually do the carrying?”

It seemed like heaven was silent. The mental heaviness was still present. I’m still on my knees. And then He stepped in. He showed me that I was carrying something that He’d already taken care of on the cross. It was a supernatural duh moment.

He said, “Why are you continuing to let that “stuff” bounce around in your head, which results in that heaviness, when I took that “stuff” centuries ago? I’ve got it and you.”

I wept. I gave the load back. The heaviness left. I praised and thanked Him.

The words of truth are truth, though sometimes, it takes us a few extra steps to know how to apply them. Jesus not only gives us the words of truth, but as He lived them Himself, He can show us “how” to live them as well.

“There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” C.S. Lewis

Recently, a wonderful friend of mine said, “In my quiet time with the Lord, I was praying about the rest of my life. I had already been retired for a couple of years when I told the Lord I wanted to finish my life strong with Him. I wanted to live in His presence like I’d never done before.”

He then told me what he heard. “Would you give up all your woodworking and iron sculpting tools? Your knife and jewelry making equipment? Take all those specialty beverages you’ve been storing and give them away, leaving alcohol behind?”

In other words, the Lord was telling him, “Will you leave behind what you can’t take forward, in order to gain something that could never be taken from you?”

Keep in mind, none of the things were sinful. In fact, he felt the Lord’s presence while doing them. I know artists who have done the same by laying down their music careers in order to go to places to reach people for Jesus who would never come to their shows.

Both my friend and these artists wanted the best, becoming more like the Savior they loved. And, the Lord knew that the good things they were doing would hinder their progress in becoming like the best – Himself.  

Have you been struggling with leaving something good behind in order to become more like The Best – Jesus? Ask your Lord for the necessary faith to leave that something behind to become Someone you can’t with them – Himself.