I AM HIS INSTRUMENT

“Because you belong to me, God speaks to my heart, “I know you intimately. You are my instrument, and I long to make melodious music in your life. I long to play the music of my love through you. Your music is not my music. Your music rises from self, but my music rises from the love of my sacrifice. It is complete, and never fails. It is honest, and never fabricates. It is pure and never clouded with earthy judgment. I make harmony of which you make such discord. My music played in your life sounds hope in the ears of those you have no power to impact for me. 

“Through your life I have the power to reach those you have failed‒ones you have misjudged and ones of whom you have thought less. Your self judges, and because of that you have no power to impact lives. You have placed yourself in the way of what I am able to do through a yielded life. 

“Yield your life to me, and allow me to bring my harmony into your life. It will flow, rich and free, through your life and into lives of others. Don't allow the discordant failures of your life to hold you back. Because you desire all of me now, and because you know me as your Lord, your failures are mine. They are no longer yours. It is my purpose to bear them, and to make all things new.

“'My heart, O God, is steadfast,' my servant, David, proclaimed. 'I will sing and make music' (Psalm 57:7, NIV). Even during the darkest of days, David allowed His music to be my music. You, just like my servant, David, are also my instrument. Through your life, I will make music that speaks to the souls of men and bids them come.”

Persevering from Trial to Greater Faith

 

            Trials in life should inspire spiritual growth. Peter imparts, “These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (I Peter 1:7, NIV). The trying of your faith during hardship should develop the ability to persevere. Christ reveals that we are to be perfect just as our heavenly Father is perfect. Perseverance is meant to spur each believer on toward this goal (Matthew 5:48).

Nothing has happened in your life that isn’t common to someone else. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. God will not test you beyond what you can bear, but will provide a way out” (I Corinthians 10:13, NKJV). Many Christians consider this passage in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians as Christ’s promise to always deliver them from difficult circumstances, and then conveniently forget the next phrase, which infers God will give strength to endure. Sometimes God does deliver us from the most frightful situation. Sometimes He doesn’t. Might God be instructing us that His grace is more than sufficient, and He will provide the strength to stand? Satan attempts to bring out our worst, but God always seeks our best.

            “We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3-4). Suffering creates the ability to persevere. Perseverance reveals the moral fiber in good character. Character promises hope. Hope doesn’t disappoint, but fuels our faith. We rejoice in the fact that we grow in spiritual maturity. Faith is being sure of what I hope for and certain of what I cannot see (Hebrews 11:1). Hope that needs to be seen says, “I kind of believe, but let me just see enough, so that I can really believe.” It is not the kind of hope that just trusts that the unseen will come. It is certainly not the hope that understands how to wait patiently.

Have you ever considered waiting as being equivalent to hoping? “But those who “hope in”(or “wait upon” in the KJV)) the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:31, NIV). Here God is exemplified as one whose wisdom surpasses ours, and who is incapable of failure. He becomes not only the God of power revealed through His creation, but also the God of power given to His creation.

Our natural resources aren’t enough to generate hope, and the ability to wait hopefully. For this to happen you must exchange our strength for His. When you give the Lord your concerns with the assurance that He is in control, hope not only springs from suffering, but also produces a greater faith that waits for what the world considers impossible. Now waiting only makes you stronger. You have grown from suffering to hope, and from hope to greater faith. Perseverance has brought its reward.

Laying Up Treasures

Keith Drury in his book “Unveiled Faces” writes that “simplicity is intentionally paring down our lifestyles toward the essentials to free ourselves from the tyranny of things and focus more on the spiritual life.” When we practice simplicity we are saying “we believe our happiness is not found in the abundance of our possessions, but in the fewness of our wants.”

Sometimes we mistakenly think that materialism might be a problem for only those who have lots of money, but it applies to all of us. No matter how many things we might have, we can covet many things. We can covet not only possessions, but also relationships. Laying up treasures in heaven is all about what we treasure in our heart.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal,” Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount, “but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

In these verses Jesus perfectly describes the difference between treasures on earth and treasures in heaven. Worldly possessions are susceptible to worldly destruction.They do not last. Only what is not tangible lasts. Jim Elliot understood this paradox when he wrote, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” A wise man gives away in order to gain. 

What I am unable to give away is what I treasure most. What I am not able to let go indicates my heart's allegiance. It reveals the focus of my life. Nothing should come before God. As I let go of that which has defined my life, I let Him define who I am. It is simple, and simplicity at its greatest.

Safely Secured

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do” (James 1:5-8).

When you are plagued with trials, you know that you need wisdom. James writes that we should pray and ask God for it. He gives wisdom generously. You may ask why something happens. God wants you to know that you can trust Him, and that you might not need to know the answer. His ways and thoughts are higher than yours. If you trust Him and ask Him for the ability to handle your trial, He will give you spiritual wisdom to deal with it. He will direct you in every trial that you face.

In these verses James not only imparts that you should pray for wisdom, but he tells you that you should pray trusting and believing that God will provide. If you pray for wisdom and feel you don't receive any, it is not because your faith is lacking. Faith that is as small as a mustard seed is great enough to move mountains. James identifies the problem as being double-minded. A double-minded man grabs hold of “but what if”, and his faith depends on circumstance instead of placing what little faith he has in God's faithfulness. A double minded man is also one who sits on the fence and can't quite commit his mustard seed faith in God. His mind has not been brought under the control of Christ. James writes that this man is unstable in all his ways. Why should God grant him wisdom? However, a person who is surrendered to the Lord, and believes in God's faithfulness, doesn't ask “but what if?” He chooses to believe in God's unwavering promise. Instead of being double-minded, He is single-minded in faith. He is focused on God's faithfulness instead of his circumstance. He knows that without God's help, He will fail. When this single-minded person cries for out for wisdom, He receives generously from the Lord.

I don't know about you, but I pray to always be single-minded, and never doubt God to supply His wisdom to handle ever trial in my life. I don't want to be like a ship with no anchor to hold me securely. Are you tired of waves buffeting you and sending your mind in all directions? Bring your thoughts under the control of Christ, and decide to believe in His faithfulness. Fight “what if”, and learn to believe in “so what, I will trust Him”. He will reward you with His wisdom, and your life will be safely secured.

There's a Purpose

“You know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:3-4).

Trials serve a purpose. They teach an important character trait‒perseverance. You can have commitment in your life, but commitment means nothing without the ability to stand strong no matter what comes against you. Perseverance does a work in your life. Persevering during trial shapes and molds you until you become more like Christ. You must not fight against the trial. You cannot change it anyway. Let it build this character trait in your life. When perseverance has finished its work, hopefully you will be spiritually mature, and able to stand against whatever life throws at you.

When have you grown the most? Certainly not during times that are easy and demand nothing of you. You grow when your faith is tested during times of hardship. These times of hardship are times that discipline you and produce a peace that only comes as a result of perseverance. “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11).

Joseph was one who was trained by trial and hardship. Sold into slavery by his brothers, he faced desertion by his family and loss of freedom to live his own life. When his master's devious wife attempted to seduce him, his faith was tested and ultimately strengthened when he refused her advances, and endured her lies. Persevering in prison, his faith still grew stronger. God was with him shaping and molding his character. Joseph was ultimately rescued from his life of slavery and prison, and given the position of second in command in Egypt. When handed the opportunity to take action against his his brothers for selling him into slavery, he had no revenge in his heart. He had learned God's lesson of forgiveness and greater purpose through all he had endured. “You intended to harm me,” he told his brothers, “but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20). Joseph saw a greater purpose in his trial, and realized that God had placed him in his position to provide sustenance for his own people at this time in their history.

Do you persevere and allow the trials of life to mold your character? Molding of your character produces hope. “We also rejoice in our sufferings,” Paul wrote, “because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3–4).

A Joyful Attitude

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2).

James was the brother of Jesus, but never believed in Him as the son of God until after His resurrection. He became a leader in the church in Jerusalem, and eventually become the head of the church there. In these two verses he speaks to the Christians who face persecution because of their beliefs, and he encourages them to “consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds.”

A trial tests strength. For the early Christians and for us, it tests our faith, our honesty, and our spiritual ability to withstand the world's onslaught. You don't know how strong or how weak your faith might be until it is tested by a trial. James declares that our lives are filled with trials. We may be plagued by illness, or a financial crisis. We may face the death of someone close to us, or great loss in other ways. Someone may take advantage of us, and perhaps we may be falsely accused of something we didn't do.

The phrase “whenever you face trials” reveals that trials are just unavoidable. You can’t escape them. The Lord does not insulate us from the trials of life. He allows them to shape us and, hopefully, make us stronger. Trials hit everyone‒believer and non-believer alike. Look at Job. He believed in God, and was a righteous man. God allowed Satan to test Job, and his whole life was a massive trial. Trials can make us bitter or they can make us better. Job would not turn against the Lord no matter what came against him. 

Job's attitude during his horrendous suffering was paramount for his faith in God to flourish. Your attitude in the midst of life's trials is paramount for you to spiritually become the person God intends you can be. You can just endure, or you can consider whatever you face as “pure joy”. That kind of attitude makes the best of whatever happens. It sees positive whenever faced with the negative. It believes no matter what it hears or sees. It believes in the potential that only God sees. That kind of attitude turns what Satan can use to destroy you into what God can use to prosper you. 

“Consider in pure joy,” James writes, “whenever you face trials.” God wants you to spiritually grow and realize that trials can actually produce joy of the purest kind. Perseverance is your reward, and faith is your strength. It is a joy nothing can destroy, and it is a joy that lacks nothing (James 1:4).

Live Faith

There are few people in the world who have not heart about Jesus Christ. Hearing about Him, and knowing Him are as far apart as ice and fire. Just hearing about Him doesn't change a heart. Such a heart remains ice cold. But knowing Him brings the Holy Spirit to melt an ice cold heart, and remake it with His refining fire.

What the world needs is to know Him. We speak about Him, and share Him with others, but are surprised when our words have little impact. If we are not living what we speak, then they are only words about Him. They are not His words living through us.

The world needs to see Him in my life. It doesn't need to hear about His power, but it needs to experience it through me. It doesn't need to hear about His peace, but it needs to see it alive in my life. It needs to see His calm and trust, no matter what the circumstances. It doesn't need to hear about His joy, but it needs to see joy spring up from depths of faith in His faithfulness. It doesn't need to just hear of His love, but it needs to experience His love through me.

If I live my faith, the world will see Him in me. They may accept or reject Him, but they will have experienced His power and love. It is not my place to save. It is my place to live what He has done in my life. If I am His vessel, He will do the work."

"The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:24).

Be Encouraged

Are you discouraged? It’s time to be encouraged! David, the writer of most of the book of Psalms, knew discouragement. “My strength is dried up like a potsherd,” he cried, “and sticks to the roof of my mouth” (Psalm 22:15a). But David also developed a valuable trait. When there was no one to build his strength, David encouraged himself in the Lord. “You hear, O Lord,” he declared, “the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry” (Psalm 10: 17). 

 

David had faith that God would encourage him, and give him the strength he needed for whatever he faced. ^“But you, O Lord, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me” (Psalm 22:19). Do you seek to know that kind of faith?  It is the kind of faith that believes no matter what hardship surrounds you. It is the kind of faith that sustains when fear threatens. It is the kind of faith that trusts in His encouraging promise when all is dire and dark. It is the kind of faith that hears the Lord’s encouraging voice when there is no one else to encourage you.

^“I will declare your name to my brothers,” he promised. “In the congregation I will praise you” (Psalm 22:22). Praising God before others also increased David’s belief in God’s provision. “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name” (Hebrews 13:15). Speaking of God’s faithfulness increases your faith. Praising God no matter what you face is a sacrifice. It is a sacrifice of praise that can only come through faith in His unfailing love. God honors your surrender by encouraging you.

If you feel overwhelmed and face great discouragement today, it is time to focus on His Word and learn of His faithfulness. It is time to take all the energy that you place in worry, and place it in Him. He rewards those who seek Him with their whole heart. You will be encouraged when you look for Him like a drowning man needing rescue. He is there just waiting to encourage your heart, your mind, your spirit, and your life.

The Value of a Friend

What is the value of a friend? C.H. Spurgeon stated, “Friendship is one of the sweetest joys of life. Many might have failed beneath the bitterness of their trial had they not found a friend.” A friend carries the load when you are unable to take one step. 

Luke writes of a man who might have missed his healing without the determination of his friends to literally carry him. Four men bring their paralytic friend to a house where Jesus is, but can’t get through that mass of people. Determined, they climb to the roof of the house by an outside stairway. After removing roof tiles and prying up the mud and wattle, they lower the paralytic’s pallet through the opening. Jesus looks up, and observes the pallet being lowered. What does he see? He sees the faces of four men filled with stark hungering need for their friend’s healing. But He also sees great faith revealed in their faces. Jesus looks at the paralytic and announces, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” To show the Pharisees that He has the power to forgive sin, Jesus tells the man on the mat, “Rise up, and pick up your mat. Go home” (Luke 5:16-24)!

In Proverbs Solomon lists three strong values found in a good friend. He loves at all times (Proverbs 17:17); he is closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24); he never forsakes his friend (27:10). The example of the paralytic in Luke supports Solomon’s observations. He received constant love from his friends. He was closer than a brother, and his friends did not forsake him. They believed in his healing and did what they could to help him. Maybe the paralytic was embarrassed to be the center of attention. Perhaps he asked them not to cut a hole in the roof. Or maybe because he was unable to do anything for himself he was relying upon his friends. What can we deduce about friendship from this example of the four friends’ commitment? No matter what your friend’s belief or lack of belief, you believe in the very best for him. True friendship does whatever is necessary to bring about the promise but does not sacrifice the heart of his friend. 

I once discovered a simple statement that shows the value of a friend. “A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart, and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.”

My Impregnable Defense

“You are not alone. I am with you," He whispers to your troubled mind. "I have all the concerns of your life in my grasp. Don't worry about what is ahead in your life. Don't worry about what tomorrow holds. Today is enough for you. Don't dwell on what has not even happened. I keep your future from you on purpose.Your faith is precious, and it cost me my life. Don't sacrifice my love for you by not trusting in me. Trusting and having faith in me comes by hearing and knowing my Word. It comes through an intimacy with me that creates deep trust in my faithfulness to you. Learn of me. Know me, and your future is safe and secure in me. No weapon that forms against you will succeed. No problem will be too great or horrible for you to handle. You will soar above whatever might come because you have waited on me instead of trying to take matters into your own hand. You have sought me. You have learned of me. You have taken my Word, and it has become your very life. No matter what your future might hold, it is secure in me. I am your impregnable defense, and nothing shall break the faith you have in my plans for my life.”

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11).