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Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because 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: 2-4 (NIV)

For all of us, there will come a time in our life when we face a challenge. We may try a number of things to make it go away – think it away, pray it away, speak it away. But some time afterwards, we realise it’s still there.

The Bible tells us that not every trial should be wished away. In fact, James tells us to ‘count it pure joy’ when we face them. Why would he tell us to do that?

One of God’s purposes for us is that we become mature and the Bible tells us in different places that one of the ways God helps us to grow up is through trials and suffering. In James, we’re told that ‘the testing of [our] faith produces perseverance’ and we are encouraged to let it ‘finish its work’ so we may be ‘mature and complete’. In Romans 5: 3-4, we’re told that suffering produces perseverance which produces character which produces hope. Good things can grow in us when we push through and overcome trials.

We also read that ‘Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4: 11-13). Colossians 1: 28 says, ‘He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.’ So, God wants us to grow up in him, and helps us do this in different ways.

The Greek work for ‘mature’ in the James, Ephesians and Colossians passages is telios and it means to be complete, growth, mental and moral character. For all of us as Christians, however long we have been following Christ, we are on a road to maturity, towards being complete and the Bible tells us that going through tests and trials is one way that helps us to develop and become more mature, more like Christ.

So, while our natural selves will want to run away from trials and ask God to make it stop, we may need to pause and ask, is God growing something in me here? Does he want me to persevere so he can build my character? Is the fruit of the Spirit growing more in my life now as a result of this test? What does God want me to learn from this time of trial?

These questions are easy to read but not so easy to answer when we’re going through hard times. While we may know deep down that God is at work, the situation may look and feel very different. We can’t deny the pain or disappointment we feel when something we’re expecting doesn’t happen or when something bad does. The Psalms are full of people crying out to God in disillusionment and despair. ‘I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble,’ David writes in Psalm 142: 1-2. He continues in verse 6, ‘Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me.’

So, we can be raw and real before God. We can also know that we may need to experience discomfort or persevere through painful times, just like Jesus did (Luke 22: 42). In a world where we’re encouraged to just do the things that feel good, it’s countercultural to endure difficult times when you could just opt out. But God is working deep in our hearts to bring us to maturity and he encourages us to hold on and trust that his plans for us are good.

Life is full of joys and challenges, and not every trial will last a for long time. Sometimes God will bring us through something quickly; other times he may ask us to endure. Pray that he will give us the discernment to know how to respond, however long a test may last.

Pause: Think about a trial that you’ve been through in the past. What did you learn from it? Did you change as a result of going through it?

Reflect: Is there an area of your character that you sense God is trying to develop?

Rise: Write out the verses from James 1 or Romans 5 mentioned above and put it in a place where you can be reminded that God is at work inside of you in challenging times.

Italics added.

 

Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.

Mark 4: 18-19 (NIV)

Through the parable of the sower Jesus gives four scenarios of what can happen when we hear his word. For some, it falls on the path and is gone almost immediately as Satan snatches it away. A second group – where the seed falls on rocky places – receive it with joy, but only for a short time before trouble or persecution comes because of the word. It doesn’t stay long enough to take root. A third group, which we will focus on in this blog, hear the word but three things choke it out of their lives and there is no fruit.

Compared with the first two scenarios, it seems like the third group – where the word is sown among thorns – hold onto it for a bit longer and that it takes some sort of root, which is a good thing. However, they allow three things to uproot it from their lives:

• The worries of this life – these people allow their worries to take precedent over God’s word. Maybe they spend more time meditating on their concerns, attributing more opportunities for worry to exert influence over their lives than God. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by tests and challenges but when these become bigger than God in our minds and hearts, we can lose the capacity to hold onto the very word that can set us free.
• The deceitfulness of wealth – some people allow themselves to be tricked by wealth, prioritising this above the word of God. They are so interested in pursuing riches that there is little time for it to take proper root in their lives. This group place much value on worldly wealth, ‘which is so uncertain’ (1 Timothy 6: 17). In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus made it clear that there are different kinds of treasures: ‘Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’ The heart of the people in this group are deceived by wealth rather than captivated by God’s word.
• The desire for other things – some people allow their lusts of other things to crowd God out of their lives. They are willing to make time for these things, but not to give enough time for God’s word to take root.

So, because of the worries of life, deceitfulness of wealth and the lust for other things, this third group allow ‘…stress [to] strangle what they have heard, and nothing comes of it.’ (MSG). There is no fruit.

‘But the seed planted in good earth represents those who hear the Word, embrace it and produce a harvest beyond their wildest dreams.’ Mark 4: 20 (MSG).

The last group produce thirty, sixty, a hundred times what was sown. Why? Because they hear the word and act on it. They don’t allow stress, the pursuit of wealth or other things to take such a priority in their lives that there is no space for God’s word to take root and flourish. They create an environment for it to be planted, blossom and bear fruit. There are different ways that we can do this. It might mean reading a few verses of the Bible each day over and over again and taking some time to reflect on what God might want us to do. It might mean meditating on some verses related to a particular anxiety in our life and thinking about it until God’s word chokes out the worry, rather than the other way round. However we choose to embrace the Bible, it does mean creating time and space in our days to hear/ read it, understand and apply it. The other groups didn’t allow enough time for God’s word to take proper root and so they ended up with no fruit.

With so many things battling for our attention it’s not always easy to prioritise hearing or reading God’s word regularly. It may take multiple attempts to build up a healthy rhythm to incorporate it into our lives but keep trying – it’s worth it. God brings peace, hope and freedom through it, transforming us to look more like him. There is also clearly a connection between what we do with God’s word and our level of fruitfulness. The last group mentioned in this passage took a hold of it and produced ‘a harvest beyond their wildest dreams’. May we do the same.

Pause: Think about a time when you heard or read God’s word and it fell on good soil – you embraced it and put it into action.

Reflect: Are there things in your life that are crowding out God’s word?

Rise: Identify some space in your life where you can spend more time allowing God’s word to take root so you can act on it and be fruitful.

Italics added.

As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When the flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.

Luke 6: 47- 49

As Jesus comes to the end of his sermon on the Mount, he makes it clear that his listeners shouldn’t leave thinking he’d given a grand speech for the sake of it. He talked about loving our enemies, giving and much more. As he shares the story of the two builders, Jesus is emphasising that hearing the sermon on the mount was not a listening exercise – there was more to do.

Those who put God’s word into practice are compared to a man who dug down deep to lay the foundation for his house. Digging down deep implies activity, work and effort. When the storm came, the time invested in this work paid off. The house was not shaken. It withstood the storm because it was well built.

On the other hand, the man who built his house without a foundation lost it all when the storm came. His house ‘collapsed and its destruction was complete’ (v49).

Jesus is clearly making a differentiation between those who hear the word and those who hear and do the word. The Apostle James makes a similar point later in his letter: Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like (James 1: 23-24). It is pointless to look in the mirror if we forget what we look like straightaway and it is unwise to hear God’s word and never respond to it.

Digging down deep to lay a good foundation takes time, and in a spiritual sense we are building a strong foundation every time we act on God’s word. It takes action and effort. For example, God asks us to forgive others as he has forgiven us. Each time we forgive we are hearing the word and putting into practice and, figurately, laying a foundation stone for a strong house. Also, part of laying a good foundation is excavation – this means digging out the soil to create the space to lay the brick. Maybe we need to dig out some unhealthy practices or things in our lives that are actually displacing the good stones and messing up your foundation.

Don’t underestimate what happens to your faith every time you do something that God has asked of you. You are adding to and strengthening the foundation of your faith so that it will not be shaken when the storm comes. It does not mean that we won’t feel the storms. Verse 48 says that the torrent struck the house, but ultimately it could not shake it.

Sometimes we can find it challenging to put God’s word into practice. In Romans 7, Paul describes the battle raging inside him: ‘For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out… but the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing’ (v18-19). Thank God that there is no condemnation for those of us in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1) and that the Holy Spirit is available to help us live out God’s will for our lives. And where we are struggling to put God’s word into practice, let’s try and develop habits that remind us of God’s word and what he wants us to do, and let’s surround ourselves with people who will encourage us in God’s way.

If you identify more with the foolish builder today, it’s not too late. As long as we’re alive, there’s always time to start again when it comes to putting God’s word into practice. Maybe it’s something you heard in a sermon or read during a quiet time. Maybe it’s something God has been asking you to do for a while. Try putting this in practice, knowing that you are building a strong foundation for your faith.

Regardless of how many years we have been a Christian we never stop building. There is always more to learn about God and more to put into practice. We are all a work in progress. As we do more and more of the things God asks of us, we become stronger, mature Christians who can stand the test of time.

A few chapters after this we read that Jesus’ mother and brother came to see him but couldn’t get to him because of the crowd. When told they were there, Jesus said, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice” (Luke 8: 21). Not only are we wise for putting God’s word into practice but Jesus also calls us his family.

Pause: Imagine a plot of land with a huge hole already dug out for the foundation.

Reflect: Is there something you’ve heard recently from God that you can start to put into practice? As you begin to do this, and other things God has asked of you, see yourself adding a brick to your faith foundation and becoming a strong house that can’t be shaken.

Rise: Ask the Holy Spirit to help you obey God’s word and apply what you’ve heard.

 

 

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him,
‘Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith’

Matthew 8: 10 (NIV)

Full text: Matthew 8: 5-13, 23-27

As you read the Gospels, there are many people who are surprised by Jesus’ miracles and teachings. And quite understandably so. Let’s be honest, if someone turned up at the last wedding we attended and turned bottles of water into wine, most of us would be stunned.

So, it’s a break from the norm when Jesus meets a man in Capernaum who actually surprises him. In fact, the Bible says ‘When Jesus heard this (the man’s words), he was amazed.’ (v10).

The man is a centurion (a Roman soldier), whose servant is ‘paralysed, suffering terribly’ (v7). Like many others, he comes to Jesus asking for help, but what makes him stand out is his belief that Jesus can heal his servant just by saying a word. ‘For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go’, and he goes, and that one, ‘Come’, and he comes’ (v9). As he speaks to Jesus, he demonstrates a remarkable understanding of Jesus’ power over not only sickness, but over space. He knew that Jesus had the authority to heal his servant without stepping foot in his home – ‘just say the word, and my servant will be healed’, he says (v8). Jesus was amazed – ‘I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith’ (v10).

The Bible doesn’t say how this man came to have this realization of God’s power – maybe he had heard stories about Jesus’ other miracles or heard his teachings – but he understood the truth about Jesus’ authority and he acted on it. Hopefully, we are all on a journey of discovering Jesus and his coming to earth was to remind humanity of his power and his love. Jesus revealed God when he came, and he wants us to grow in our understanding of who he is: burden- carrier, peace-giver, hope-bestower, so that we can live life in all its fulness (John 10:10). He wants us to know him so that we live free from oppression when Jesus has set us free. He wants us to understand him so that we don’t fall for the enemy’s deception and become paralysed by fear instead of stepping out into the things God has called us to.

The greater understanding of God’s power over our circumstances and the world, the greater we’ll live free from fear and deceit.

As he exercised his faith in Jesus, the centurion had grasped the truth of an aspect of Jesus, that his words indeed do have power. And Jesus’ words have power to do far more than heal, they are sustaining our world and everything in it – ‘the Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word’ (Hebrews 1: 3; Italics added).

Of course, the centurion’s servant was healed.

It’s interesting that Matthew 8 begins with the story of ‘great faith’, but as you read on, you’ll find Jesus saying to a group of others, ‘You of little faith’ (v26). They were on a boat when a storm came and they thought they were going to drown. Jesus spoke to the storm and there was calm. The audience was his disciples, perhaps the people who should have known him the most. Isn’t it interesting that those who had spent the most time with Jesus still hadn’t grasped that he had limitless authority and power in his words. We too can be in situations where we feel like we’re going to drown and forget who we have in our boat.

This stories of the centurion or the disciples aren’t supposed to make us feel inadequate, but they remind us that God wants us to understand who he is and believe him, and the size of our faith doesn’t matter. Jesus says, if we have faith as small as a mustard seed, we can move mountains (Matthew 17:20).

These stories also don’t mean that we’ll get everything we wish for – Jesus pleaded with God not to die on the cross but it was the road he was meant to take. But it does remind us that faith moves the heart of God.

The greater our realization of God’s ultimate authority and love, the greater our dependence on and expectation from him.

The disciples were wracked with fear; the centurion was full of faith. But over time the disciples did extraordinary miracles and preached the gospel to many, full of the Holy Spirit and with their faith in God soaring to new heights. They gained a greater understanding of the power of our God.

Pause: Imagine you are the centurion’s paralysed servant or the disciples in the boat in the storm. What might you feel after Jesus performed his miracles?

Reflect: Is there a situation that seems impossible or overwhelming for you? What word would you like Jesus to speak over that today?

Rise: Ask God to give you the faith to believe that he can change your situation or the grace to go through it.

I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
    out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
    and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
    and put their trust in him.

Psalm 40: 1-3 (NIV)

If you’ve made it to adulthood, you’ll know that life isn’t perfect; that whether you are a Christian or not dark times will come your way. The psalms are a great way for us to pray or even cry our way through those difficult seasons.

David wrote Psalm 40 when he was waiting for something. Different Bible commentators speculate on what he had been waiting for. Perhaps for God’s help after a crisis of sin or after being an outlaw, on the run from King Saul. But whatever it was, he was waiting and here was the man of God in a slimy pit. The same word for pit is used to describe where Joseph was thrown by his brothers in Genesis 37: 24 and the dungeon where Jeremiah was thrown in Jeremiah 38: 6.

We too may find ourselves in a slimy pit, in the mud and the mire. A pit is a dark, lonely place which is difficult to escape and when making any attempts to move you may find yourself slowed down by or simply stuck in the mud. Maybe this is where you find yourself, waiting patiently, like David, for God to do something. In the Hebrew, waiting is repeated twice: in waiting, I waited’. David was in the metaphorical pit for a long time.

Let’s not miss the fact that David was crying out. Don’t be afraid to cry. Depending on your personality, you may never talk about the pain you are feeling, preferring to muddle through until the storm is over. Bottling our emotions up can lead to emotional or even physical problems in the future. Find someone you can trust and talk it out and cry out to the Lord – you can definitely trust him!

David says God he turned to him (v1). Other translations say God looked, he listened, he inclined himself or bent down towards David. The root word is the same as the word used to describe Moses stretching out his rod to part the Red Sea, at God’s command.

God wants us to know that when we are stuck in a pit, he has not forgotten us. In fact, he is turning – even stretching – towards us at our time of greatest need. The great all-powerful God of heaven is hearing your prayers – even though you have been waiting and waiting and waiting; he is turning his ear towards your cry. We’re not told that we won’t encounter any times of despair in life, but we are told that God can and will lift us out of them and pull us out of the mud (v2).

As we read on, we know that God doesn’t just pull David out of the pit, he sets his feet on a rock and gives him a firm place to stand. This is a beautiful picture of a loving God not leaving us to find our own way when we come out of those dark seasons, but planting us firmly on solid ground so our feet won’t slip.

In other places in the Bible, God assures us that he will settle and stabilise us after coming out of a difficult time:

You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance – Psalm 66: 12 (NIV)

In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So, after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation – 1 Peter 5: 10 (NLT)

Whether you call it solid ground, a place of abundance or a firm foundation, you can be assured that God will plant you in a good place after you have waited, and even suffered, awhile.

In addition to this, He will also give you a new song, a testimony of his goodness. Many will see what he has done in your life and trust him for themselves.

So, if you are waiting patiently in what feels like a pit, God has heard you and He will lift you up and out until you are standing in your abundant place.

Pause: Take a moment to consider what’s going on in your life right now – what season of life are you in? Read through Psalm 40: 1-3 again and see if you can find your current season in these verses? Do you feel like you’re in the pit? Or like you are firmly planted on solid ground? Are you singing a new song because of what God is doing in your life? Or, perhaps it’s a mixture of all three.

Reflect: Think about something you are waiting for and speak to God about it again. Read verse 1 again and remember that God is turning towards you right now.

Rise: Make a note of a difficult season that you went through in the past and how God lifted you out of this. Pull this note out in the times when you are feeling impatient and as if God isn’t listening. Encourage someone else who may be a in a pit at this time.

The Lord is my shepherd…
Psalm 23a (NIV)

As we move through this well-known psalm it’s interesting to track what we – as God’s children – are doing, and what God is up to. It’s clear that God is doing the heavy lifting.

You and me – we’re lying down in green pastures (these patches of grass were not always easy for shepherds to find in the desert). We are beside quiet waters – a place of peace and to be revived. We are walking along the right paths. We are walking through the darkest valley – without fear. We are receiving comfort. We are sitting at a table prepared by the Lord. We are being followed by goodness and love.

What a beautiful picture of love. In a handful of verses, God assures us that in him we can find refreshing, calmness, fearlessness and provision and abundance. It feels like a sense of being cushioned in the care of God, whether it’s during times of weariness, darkness or abundance. When God is your shepherd, you will be OK because he has gone ahead of you (he guides me along the rights paths); he is with you now (I will fear no evil for you are with me) and he’s behind you (Surely your goodness and love will follow me). You’re surrounded and cocooned by God.

It’s also encouraging to look at all the things God is doing in this psalm:

• He makes us lie down in green pastures
• He leads us beside quiet waters
• He guides us along the right paths for his name’s sake
• He comforts us in the darkest valleys with his rod and staff
• He prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies
• He anoints our heads with oil
• His goodness and love are following us

God, our Shepherd, is looking after us. As we reflect on his activity, we are assured of a sense of safety, where we can follow God’s leading – whether it’s through the luscious green pastures or the depths of the valleys – and know that we are heading for a place of victory and anointing because the Most High God is with us. He is carving out a path for our feet, giving us rest at the right times and chasing us with good things.

We have a part to play in the arc of our lives and the fulfilment of God’s purpose, but let’s always remember that we are never doing life by ourselves. Our loving Father is right there with us. So, take time to hear his voice calling you to lie down and rest in the quiet; delve into his word to know the right paths to take. Fall into his arms of comfort when the gloom of the valleys feels like it will overwhelm you. Take your rightful place at the table as a son and daughter of God, free of condemnation and the guilt the enemy is trying to press down on you. Receive the anointing oil so you are refreshed and pour some out onto others. Look behind you and see Goodness and Love pursuing you.

Pause: The Lord is my shepherd. Replace ‘my’ with your name and say the sentence out loud. Leave some time to think about what this really means to you.

Reflect: Review the list of points of what God is doing in this psalm – what do you need him to do most for you right now?

Rise: Write a verse or verses from Psalm 23 on a post-it note or card and place it somewhere where you will see it regularly – look at it often to remind yourself how much God loves and cares for you.

All italics added.

It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he causes me to stand on the heights.
Psalm 18: 32-33a (NIV)

If you are struggling, you don’t have to look far to be told that the answer to your problem lies within you; that you alone hold the key to your happiness. While we play a crucial role in determining the direction of our lives, we are never the complete answer to our problems. Any solution that excludes God and relies totally on self is an erroneous one. Real peace, flourishing and joy comes from being in right relationship with God.

One of the most powerful rulers in world history, King David, knew this. As he recounts his victories over his enemies and his escape from King Saul who was trying to kill him, he acknowledges the true source of these wins. He says it is God who arms him with strength and keeps his way secure.

David was able to succeed because he relied on God’s strength – and the same applies to us when we encounter our own challenges. We don’t face our giants alone; we are empowered with strength from the Lord. And he doesn’t get tired or run out of strength, so we can always go to him for more when we are feeling distressed and weary. Isaiah 40:29 says, ‘He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.’

There is a freedom that comes from knowing that we are doing things in God’s strength and not our own. We can release the burden of feeling like everything falls on our shoulders as this is not how God created us to live.

God kept David’s way secure. Another version refers to his way being made ‘perfect’ (KJV). There is a sense of God going ahead of David to make sure the path ahead as safe. Ponder on the fact that God does the same for you, clearing the ground under you (MSG) as you make your way through life.

David said God made his feet the like the feet of a deer. These animals have two large and two small hooves on each foot – they tend to walk on the two larger hooves. Deer’s hooves are covered in keratin which is what our nails are made from – the keratin strengthens the deer’s hooves so they don’t crack as easily as bone would. Apparently, the way deer’s’ feet are made also enable them to move quickly, navigating difficult paths with confidence and to walk quietly when needed. They also use them to defend themselves.

We can also metaphorically have feet like a deer, running and jumping through life, solid and sure-footed, quickly sometimes, quietly at others. There’s a beautiful picture of us moving nimbly and gracefully through life, walking confidently and fearlessly, and avoiding pitfalls. And why are we able to do this? Because God has given us strength and made the road ahead of us safe, despite how things may appear. If he has gone before us, everything will work out for our good.

And we don’t stay on lower ground – we also can move up to stand on the heights. Walking with God isn’t about living in the comfort zone, but overcoming fear and complacency to do things that we may not have expected. This isn’t a picture of someone teetering nervously on the edge, but standing firm on the summit. And we can do this with confidence because we are armed with strength and with the right footwear.

The Apostle Paul reminds us in the New Testament that it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:21a). Jesus says, ‘…apart from me you can do nothing’ (John 15: 5b).

The heart of the message is that we need God; we can’t navigate life successfully and victoriously without him. God arms David with strength; God made his feet like deer’s feet; God made his way secure. God caused him to stand on the heights. And he will do the same for us today if we let him.

Pause: Picture a deer walking with confidence on rough terrain (or find a video of deer doing this online). What thoughts come to mind?

Reflect: Is there a problem that you are trying to solve in your own strength? What would you need to do to involve God in the situation and rely on his strength instead of your own?

Rise: Surrender your solutions to God and ask him to give you the strength you need to overcome and walk with the assurance that he has gone ahead of you in life.

‘Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.’ Galatians 5: 25

Whether subtly or overtly, we are constantly being asked to keep up with something – it could be the latest fashion, Tik Tok trend or gadget. Or we may be trying to keep up with a family member, friend or colleague who has achieved a significant life goal.

None of the above are bad in and of themselves, but it’s important to recognize that our life journey will be different to everyone else’s. Comparing our life with others and using theirs as a measuring stick for ours will only cause us to be mere imitators, perhaps having a life that looks ‘successful’ by society’s standards but lacking real joy and fulfilment as our purpose falls by the wayside. It can be tempting to achieve something or become someone that seems important in the eyes of others, but this may be completely out of alignment with God’s best for us.

Imagine yourself on the journey of life. Perhaps you are crawling through a tricky patch or you’re flying high because things are going well. But who has set the pace for your journey? Who is influencing where you are going? Who are you walking with?

In Galatians 5: 25, Paul encourages us to keep up with someone. ‘Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.’ He has already mentioned living by or being led by the Spirit twice in the preceding verses. For example, ‘… walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh’ (v16). There is a constant battle between our flesh and the Spirit, but the emphasis here is that keeping in step with the Spirit will help us to overcome our inner struggles and external temptations. We can’t fight these by ourselves, by willpower alone. Sometimes, when we are trying to eliminate a bad habit or sin from our lives, we focus all our attention on it. ‘If only I could stop doing that thing’, we say to ourselves. It is important to identify the things we want to change and deny them space and affection in our lives, but we also need to focus on the good habits that God wants us to pursue. We are told here that in walking in the Spirit, we won’t fulfil the desires of the flesh. We can’t be in two places at once, so if we are following the Spirit, we’re automatically not going down the other path.

So, it matters who we walk with – they have the ability to influence us. If keeping in step with the Spirit leads to us overcoming the desires of flesh and overflowing with peace, kindness and self-control, the implication is that whoever we are in step with has the capacity to impact who we are and our destination in life. If we are in step with someone we are, in effect, going somewhere with them.

The psalmist says, ‘Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked (Psalm 1:1). If you read on, there’s a progression of the person who starts out walking with the wicked, then standing with sinners and then sitting with mockers. Sometimes a walk with the wrong crowd can end up with us surrounded and influenced by people leading us on the path to destruction, rather than peace and eternal significance.

This isn’t a call for us to wrongly judge anyone or to lock ourselves away with Christians as none of us are perfect, but perhaps there’s an opportunity for us to consider who we are in step with.

Keeping in step with the Spirit means that we will head down the right paths for our lives, rather than following others down the roads carved out for them, or simply just going down the wrong road. Jesus is a perfect example of keeping in step with the Spirit. It was the Spirit who led him into the wilderness (Luke 4:1) and if we trace his human life through the gospels, we see him moving at just the right pace – ministering to those in need, sitting down for meals in different homes, amongst other things, but then also retreating to be still and spend time with God.

Keeping in step with the Spirit means having a Comforter or Advocate (parakletos, as the Holy Spirit is referred to, in Greek) alongside us as we do life. How amazing that the Holy Spirit doesn’t just point us in the right direction, he goes with us, comforting us in hard times and speaking up for us in our times of challenge or weakness.

So, what can help us keep in step with the Holy Spirit? Some simple suggestions:

• spend time reading or listening to the Bible, asking God to illuminate his word through his Spirit. It may be a verse or a few verses each day, but remember the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth and God does speak to us through the Bible. If you forget to do this or miss some days, try again until you have a regular habit
• spend time talking with God. In prayer, we are in conversation with God, sharing from our hearts but also giving an opportunity for God to speak to us through his Spirit, remembering that whatever the Spirit says to us will match up with his Word and that the Spirit helps us to pray (Romans 8:26-27)
• move with the Spirit and obey God’s voice. He may tell you to do something specific or to avoid something, listen keenly and move with Him. Little by little, you’ll find yourself more in step with the Spirit than anyone else.

Pause: Close your eyes and consider what direction you are heading in

Reflect: Who would you say you are in step with? Who or what has the greatest influence on your life?

Rise: Remember – you can change the direction of your life. Try to do one thing regularly that will help you keep in step with the Holy Spirit

Luke 8: 40 – 56

A man approaches Jesus and falls at his feet – his 12-year-old daughter is dying. He pleads with Jesus to help.

A woman approaches Jesus from behind and touches the edge of his cloak – she has been bleeding persistently for 12 years.

In the midst of this, ‘the crowds almost crushed him’ (v 42). Place yourself at the scene. Jesus is squashed between strangers, his disciples trying to keep close by. Hear the noise of many voices as people clamour to get close to Jesus. Take in the warmth of the air and the heat of the crowd.

In the midst of this, Jesus remains calm and manages to pay full attention to the woman. Her on-going menstrual issue would have marked her out as ‘ceremonially unclean’ according to Old Testament law. Not only should she not even have thought about touching Jesus; she shouldn’t have been anywhere near anyone – not least a mass of people – because she would defile them. But yet here she was reaching out a hand of faith – after spending all her money on doctors – to tug Jesus’ cloak, in the hope that something miraculous would happen. And it did!

In the midst of the chaos, squeeze of the crowds and his disciples dismissing his request to find out who touched him (‘the people are crowding and pressing against you’), Jesus stops and focuses on the woman, recognising her faith and telling her to ‘go in peace’. The chaos didn’t phase him – he took the time to see the woman among the throng of people and ministered healing to her, breaking years of shame, pain and isolation.

As Jesus is speaking the man receives news that his daughter has died and is told ‘not to bother the teacher anymore’. Unphased and focused, Jesus continues to the house where he is met with another chaotic scene. This time, people are ‘wailing and mourning’. Again, Jesus’ efforts to focus on the person who needs him – the little girl – are dismissed, but this time people are laughing at him. Jesus remains calm, takes the girl by the hand and tells her to ‘get up!’ Like the woman, she is miraculously healed.

In the midst of the noise and chaos of your life, Jesus sees you; he is focused on you. He’s there to break the chains that have been holding you back and to bring life to situations that you or others have called ‘dead’.

We are living between two kingdoms and so still experience the sufferings of this world but we also access the privileges of God’s kingdom. We need God’s wisdom to discern the situations we need to go through for a season or a lifetime (perhaps for our learning and character building), and the ones that he wants us to deliver us from now. Sometimes we accept circumstances that God wants to free us from, because we’ve become so used to them. We have become comfortable with the pain because we’ve lived with it for so long and it’s hard for us to imagine life being any different, let alone believing that God can change things for us.

Whatever your status in life – the man was highly esteemed, a synagogue leader; the woman was of a lowly status – Jesus can bring calm to your chaos. It may be something that has suddenly come upon you, like the 12-year-old girl, or you may have been suffering for years, like the woman with the menstrual issues. It doesn’t matter, Jesus can help you drown out the noise and the naysayers and give you his healing and peace.

Pause: Imagine how the woman felt after she was healed and went back to her life.

Reflect: Is there something in your life that you have accepted because it’s easier to live with it rather than believe that God can bring you through it?

Rise: Tug at Jesus’ cloak by bringing this situation to the Lord in prayer.

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
    he delivers them from all their troubles
Psalm 34: 17

Throughout the Bible, we find a God who is attentive to the cries of his children. He is so interested in and full of love for us that he turns his ear to us (Psalm 116:2, NIV). He bends down to listen to us (NLT). What a beautiful picture of the Most High God turning his ear to hear our cry; the Almighty God positioning himself to listen to us in our distress. 

From the time we cry out we catch God’s attention. Sometimes, we don’t get the answer straight away; sometimes we don’t get the answer we want but God always hears us and responds in the way that is best because he has good intentions for us.

Hannah wanted a child. Year after year, she cried out to God. Year after year, she endured the taunts of Peninnah, her husband’s other wife. Here are some of the words used to describe how Hannah was feeling in 1 Samuel 1: deep anguish, misery, deeply troubled, grief.

Have you ever felt like this?

In her distress, Hannah kept calling out to God. 

Then one day, ‘Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son.’

God heard Hannah’s prayer. Not only did she give birth to Samuel, one of the greatest prophets, but to five other children after him!

In another instance, God heard the prayers of Daniel whocried out for mercy for himself and the Israelites. While he was still in prayer he received a message from Gabriel – ‘As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed’ – Daniel 9: 23a. On another occasion, he didn’t get a response straightaway but then he had a vision and was told, ‘“Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.’ – Daniel 10: 12-13.

The message is clear – God heard Daniel’s prayers straightaway.

Similarly, he hears our prayers straightaway. Sometimes our answers come swiftly, at other times they may be delayed but God ears are never closed to our cries. He is always working, even when it looks like nothing is happening.

Zechariah realised this truth as he served in the temple. He was a priest and it was his turn to burn incense that day. Some time before he had prayed for a child, but as the years went on it seems he had lost hope that it would ever happen. He and his wife were now very old. So, here he was getting on with life, fulfilling his duties in the temple.

Then something happened. An angel appeared next to the altar of incense. Zechariah was ‘gripped with fear’. The angel told him not to be afraid and spoke these words: ‘your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John’ (Luke 1: 12-13).

Let’s reflect on those words again:

Your prayer has been heard.

This is the same God we saw in the Old Testament, who heard Hannah’s and Daniel’s prayers and the prayers of many others. Here he is again, with Zechariah, proving that he hears and answers prayers.

And he’s still doing the same today. He hasn’t changed. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13: 8)

These stories are just a tiny snapshot of God’s track record of answering prayers. There are so many others recorded in the Bible, and so many that aren’t. I’m sure you have your own stories of answered prayers.

God hasn’t changed and today he wants to remind you that:

Your prayer has been heard.

Pause: Take some time to ponder what it means for the Most High God to turn his ear to your cry.

Reflect: Read Psalm 116 slowly and more than once. Read it in different Bible versions if you can.

Rise: As you go about your days, remember to call out to God about anything that is bothering you or causing you distress. Allow him to carry the burden for you while you hold onto the truth that your prayer has been heard.