testing – Page 18 – Broken Believers

We Have No Control

Lord, I know that a man doesn’t control his own life.
He doesn’t direct his own steps.

Jeremiah 10:23

As we step into what matters, we find this simple verse. Simply put, we have no idea about control. We step out in ignorance, we don’t understand this concept of turning one’s life over to someone else. This grates against everything we profess to understand.

There is no control. He declares Himself to be completely and utterly in charge. At this point, we must back-off and just assume that He is in charge. There has been a determination at the highest of points. We always are available to connect with Him at these levels. We simply come and ask for all mercy that has been stated.

I don’t turn anything off. I most certainly open my heart to all that is available and retrievable. I can’t dwell on anything above and beyond this. When He comes, He generates a dynamic that works its way into our hearts.

The simple fact is that we have been brought to a definite assurance of a divine life. It is freely given. We do nothing to deserve it. We advance with this concept and idea cemented into our hearts. Nothing can be offered, it has already been done so. All we can do is to absorb the kindness that has been offered and then step tentatively forward.

My trust is in His character. He comes to me and it makes perfect sense. I start connecting the dots. And it makes me understand His goodness. His love has been extended to me, and all I can do is turn to Him, and let Him in. There is nothing but His love for me that can affect me in this way.

When You Lose [Faith]

…”calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” Luke 7:19

Here we have John the Baptist locked away in Herod’s prison. We read of his wavering, but that shouldn’t alarm us. There has always been difficulties for those who follow without diluting their love for Jesus. It’s very likely that John had preconceptions about Jesus’ ministry. But that certainly doesn’t mean he was apostate or backslidden. He still believed, as he looked out through the bars.

We walk in a greater light and have surer promises that John did. And in that light we still have our difficult moments. We can falter and shake and doubt. And John only had a 100th of understanding that we have. Often we are amazed by another’s confusion and struggles, it is so clear to us that they are falling short. It is frustrating. Moses once went ballistic, beat his rod on a rock and had some choice words. His anger spilled all over him and made a mess. We read of his provocation, and miss our own faults, sins and weaknesses.

We need to understand the depth of our own depravity. There are those who have proceeded us, who have had their moments of despondency and doubt. We see them, as it were, from a distance and criticize and challenge what we see. Noah’s drunkenness and Lot’s vacillation. The flakiness of Samson, Peter’s denial and Mark’s timidity, and much more.

Today, let us resolve to be gentle with each other. “For we all stumble in many ways”, James 3:2.

Rising from the Valley of Death

Christianity Today interviews Steven Curtis Chapman as he opens up about losing his daughter, their family’s arduous journey, and a new album of songs chronicling the path of pain and hope.

Interview by Mark Moring | posted 11/02/2009

Stevencc It’s been a year and a half since Steven Curtis Chapman lost his youngest daughter, 5-year-old Maria Sue, to a tragic accident at the family’s Tennessee home. Maria’s death rocked her father’s world, causing Steven and his wife, Mary Beth, to question God and their faith, while also clinging to the hope of things to come. The grieving process brought Steven, like King David, to his knees, simultaneously shouting at God while also desperately grasping for hope. Chapman journaled the journey, which he likens to penning his own Psalms—and not surprisingly, many of them turned into songs, and now his first album since Maria’s passing, “Beauty Will Rise.”

Chapman spoke with CT about losing his daughter, the “black hole” of pain and despair, and the glimmers of life they’ve clung to through the last 18 months—including the opening of Maria’s Big House of Hope, a healing home in China for special needs children. The Chapmans had already adopted two Chinese girls before Maria, so returning to China over the summer to open Maria’s Big House was a bittersweet time to both mourn Maria yet again, but to celebrate her life and legacy.

For this interview you will need to go to the CT site at: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/music/interviews/2009/stevencurtischapman-nov09.html

The death as reported by CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/11/12/steven.curtis.chapman/