Dejection

"But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done." - Luke 24:21


Do you ever feel dejected in your life and your walk with Christ?  The disciples sure did feel this way after Jesus had been crucified.  Just imagine, these men believed Jesus of Nazareth to be the Messiah, the One who would redeem Israel, and now they have just seen all of their hope and faith crucified on that cross with Jesus.

In the preceding verses every fact that the disciples stated was correct, but the inferences they drew from them were wrong.  Jesus Christ was sent from God, He did mighty miracles before all of the people, He was delivered to the chief priests and condemned to death, He was crucified on the cross, and He was the One to redeem Israel.  Their last statement is where they missed it.  The nation of Israel and even the disciples were looking for the wrong kind of redemption.  They were looking for a physical redemption from Roman oppression instead of a spiritual redemption from their sins.

If we are not careful, we will fall into the same trap that the disciples did.  Ask yourself this question: "What have I been trusting God to do?"  The disciples were trusting Christ to do something different.  Today, the immediate present, is the third day, and He has not done it, therefore we imagine that we are justified in being dejected and blaming God.  Does this describe where you are spiritually today?

I'm afraid that this is where many of us are when it comes to our prayer life.  Whenever our insistence is on the point that God answers prayer, we are off track.  The purpose and meaning of prayer is that we get a hold of God, not of the answer.  The disciples already had a preconceived idea in their heads of what they thought the answer should be, and when it did not happen that way the became dejected.  If you and I are honest, we are guilty of the exact same thing.

I would like to share with you a quote from Oswald Chambers about dejection:

"We look for visions from heaven, for earthquakes and thunders of God’s power (the fact that we are dejected proves that we do), and we never dream that all the time God is in the commonplace things and people around us. If we will do the duty that lies nearest, we shall see Him. One of the most amazing revelations of God comes when we learn that it is in the commonplace things that the Deity of Jesus Christ is realized."

Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father, help me today not to be dejected and discouraged.  May I not have a preconceived idea of what I think You should do, but help me when I pray to seek You.  Help me Lord to see Your presence in the common things and people around me.  In Jesus name, Amen!

Be Courageous

"Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." - Deuteronomy 31:6


Does life at times seem to be difficult and discouraging?  I'm sure that Joshua was feeling that very way here in Deuteronomy chapter 31.  Moses, their leader, is about to die and it is now time for Joshua to step up to the plate and lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land.  This would require courage and faith on Joshua's part because now he was the one leading instead of just following.

As Christians, we are able to live "courageously" because the ultimate battle was fought and already won at Calvary.  Just like in the Old Testament when the children sent spies into the land to check it out, they did not need to fear, because God had already promised them that He would go before them and give them the victory.  However, most of us in our walk with Christ fall prey to fear just like ten of the twelve spies did.  The answer to our fears is to trust God and His Word.  If He has promised us something, then we have no reason to doubt or fear, we can be bold and courageous.

Before I finish, I would like to mention that the month of January at Fairystone Baptist Church will be "Courageous Month."  We will be having special messages in our Sunday evening services during the month of January.  Then on Saturday January 21 we will be showing the movie Courageous at the church.  I pray that, just like Joshua, the Lord will give us the strength to be courageous.

Prayer For Today:

Lord, may I turn to you for courage and strength as Joshua did.  I know that You are always with me and will never forsake me.  Lord, help me to face the challenges of this day by completely trusting in and depending on You.  In Jesus name, Amen!