Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” -Hebrews 13:5

If we can only grasp these words by faith, we have an all-conquering weapon in our hand. What doubt will not be slain by this two-edged sword? What fear is there which shall not fall smitten with a deadly wound before this arrow from the bow of God’s covenant? Will not the distresses of life and the pangs of death; will not the corruptions within, and the snares without; will not the trials from above, and the temptations from beneath, all seem but light afflictions, when we can hide ourselves beneath the bulwark of “He hath said”? Yes; whether for delight in our quietude, or for strength in our conflict, “He hath said” must be our daily resort. And this may teach us the extreme value of searching the Scriptures. There may be a promise in the Word which would exactly fit your case, but you may not know of it, and therefore you miss its comfort. You are like prisoners in a dungeon, and there may be one key in the bunch which would unlock the door, and you might be free; but if you will not look for it, you may remain a prisoner still, though liberty is so near at hand. There may be a potent medicine in the great pharmacopoeia of Scripture, and you may yet continue sick unless you will examine and search the Scriptures to discover what “He hath said.” Should you not, besides reading the Bible, store your memories richly with the promises of God? You can recollect the sayings of great men; you treasure up the verses of renowned poets; ought you not to be profound in your knowledge of the words of God, so that you may be able to quote them readily when you would solve a difficulty, or overthrow a doubt? Since “He hath said” is the source of all wisdom, and the fountain of all comfort, let it dwell in you richly, as “A well of water, springing up unto everlasting life.” So shall you grow healthy, strong, and happy in the divine life. – C.H. Spurgeon

Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the LORD will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”

This verse comes out of the context of a man who longed to have his own son. He went to great lengths to make it happen. The verse comes out of a promise; a God-given promise that his longings would be quenched.

Many of us feel as if we have been waiting 100 years for that answer to our prayers (That’s how old Abraham was at Isaac’s birth, in Genesis 21:5). We’ve searched our hearts for selfishness, growth areas, sin and any other hindrance to God moving. We may even come to a place that laughs in disbelief when the promise does finally come.

Abraham was given a promise, that he would have a son — and God gave him a son! I tend to either forget God’s promises or be too busy trying to solve the problem myself that I don’t hear them in the first place. But this is a reminder that God sees the longings of our hearts, cares about them, promises to us that He has plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11) and is faithful to follow through.

But sometimes God takes a longer path than we’d prefer. Sometimes He asks us to give up the very thing that we have longed for. In Abraham’s case, the Lord was probing this man’s heart to know which was stronger: Abraham’s love for his son or for his God.

This next question is one of the harder questions anyone can come face to face to. If this is an easy answer, it probably means you’re not being honest, or you’re in a season of plenty. When God holds out one hand with the thing you desire and the other hand inviting your embrace, and asks, “Which do you choose?”, it comes as a moment of truth.

What are you holding onto? What is it that you desire more than anything else? What tempts you to choose it over the Lord?

When I’m in a really healthy place, I can stare at something I enjoy and ask, “Do I love this more than my Christ? More than the presence of His Spirit? More than His Father?” My honest answer reveals my idols and my true allegiance.

One thing to cling to in the midst of navigating the seas of our heart, which has desires that are tossed to and fro like waves in the wind (Ephesians 4:14), is the Lord’s promises.*

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”
—Psalm 84:11

“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? ”
—Romans 8:32

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
—Philippians 4:6–7

“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
—Philippians 4:19

My final thought, and what prompted this post, is this: God gave Abraham a new name. When something changed in Abram, his previous name is no longer fitting (thanks to Jon Peacock for pointing this out). Likewise, when we observe God’s ever-present faithfulness, it is appropriate to call Him by a new name – for His glory and for our remembrance. Yahweh-Yireh. The LORD will provide. Cling to it.

It’s terrifying because the answer is often “Well, no one, really.” Why do we run from and avoid intimacy and vulnerability? As children, we put up defensive walls to protect ourselves from that which scares us or has the potential to harm us. But as adults, we tend to keep those walls up — especially in the Church, as there remains the stigma that “we must keep it together”.

Over the last years, it seems to me that there is an awakening, where people are beginning to acknowledge their limits and humanity, and step into a realistic and humble view of themselves. It’s not prevalent in all circles, but it seems to be growing in acceptance — it’s okay to be known. And we all want to be known and real, right? For most of us, we’ve spent too many years faking it and endured too many surface-level conversations. It’s time for a change.

So what’s the change in your life? If you were asked that question, “Who really knows you?”, what would your answer be?

Don't Go It Alone

Then take a risk and share something personal. A fear. A joy. Don’t be afraid to acknowledge what is really going on. I pray you will be pleasantly surprised on this new journey of knowing and being known.

PS- Those of you who are married may count your spouse as your only necessary confidant, and I encourage you to be authentic and communicate well with him/her, but there is something about rubbing shoulders and sharing with someone who is the same gender as you… guys just understand guys better, and likewise, ladies understand ladies (clearly, men don’t ).

1. Acoustic Contemplations
2. Bury The Hatchet
3. Dont Wake Me
4. Reali-tee
5. Psalm 27 – One Thing I Ask
6. We Are The Blessed
7. December Air
8. Finisher Of Our Faith
9. Wild Laughter

If you prefer to download all at once, click here.

Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero

He referred to Gerald Sittser from the book A Grace Disquised, reflecting on the loss of his mother, wife and young daughter in a horrific car accident like this:

The quickest way to reach the sun and the light of day is not to run west chasing after it, but to head east into the darkness until you finally reach the sunrise.

The idea that it is healthier (I daresay not easier) to confront our troubles, challenges, pain and loss head-on is unnatural, but this quote gives me hope and the fact that I’m not the only one to have experienced this season of the dark night, is oddly comforting.

Travel onward into darkness, my fellow pilgrim, and may the light of dawn meet you soon enough.

The Lord has been very good to us. All my needs are met. There is so much to be thankful for and I am undeserving of the blessings that are all around me.

Yet, I am struggling. Reaching and grasping for contentment and trust in the Lord.

This morning I woke to read an e-mail stating that the home we are attempting to purchase is slipping out of our grasps. The appraisal came back with an acceptable value, but “subject to repairs”. That line, “subject to repairs” is what is keeping the lending bank from giving us the loan; and it is that decision that is making this gorgeous, sunny December day so painful.

Moments after reading this, I opened my Bible and read these words:

You are my King and my God. You command victories for Israel. Only by your power can we push back our enemies; only in your name can we trample our foes. I do not trust in my bow; I do not count on my sword to save me. You are the one who gives us victory over our enemies… O God, we give glory to you all day long and constantly praise your name.” Psalm 44:4-8

This Psalm is heart-wrenching and strangely familiar today. So with nowhere to turn and no answers, I confess my weakness and present this situation with this claimed truth: There will be no victory unless the Lord provides.

“Lord I trust You alone. You are my strength and a mighty mountain which I hide within. You protect me out of the goodness of your heart and not because I am worthy of it in any way. You desire me and I bask in your love. Father of heaven and earth, in utter and complete surrender, I come to Your throne-room asking for You to do what only You can do. Come. Change my heart. Move a mountain. It’s my desire that we would have this house, but Your will be done.”

1. Don’t think with your crotch.
2. Find out where God is actively moving and be there.
3. Never stop learning.

The LORD directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way? -Proverbs 20:24 NLT

My wife and I have been in a season of life where we are asking God regularly, “What are you doing with our lives? Where do you want us to go? Lead us!”

It’s been a long and challenging journey, often feeling alone and bewildered. Some things that God has revealed through this challenging process is our need to maintain an attitude of dependence on Him. We don’t get to know where He is taking us, but if we say we trust Him, then we get the joy of sitting back and not fearing. The fact that we are anxious about it shows that we don’t trust Him or we don’t believe that He is fully good. Sometimes I catch myself thinking that my plans will have a better outcome than His; which really makes me out to be a stubborn teenager all over again, believing that I know more than my parents.

Do you know more than God? Can you rest in the faith that the Creator of the universe has more in store for you than you could ever prepare for yourself with your tiny mind and little hands?

Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. -CS Lewis, Weight of Glory

Regular, even gentle, steady pressure, exerted over time will result in dramatic, powerful and lasting change that could not be accomplished with even extreme force otherwise.

Spiritual Discipline
Through regular times of meditation and prayer, not trying to move mountains or discover some unearthed truth, I have encountered God in ways that are precious and dear to me; ways that no super-stadium worship service or Martin Luther King style speech could. Small, simple times of hiding away with the Lord are one of the many ways to know Him, but a very effective way indeed.

Physical Discipline
I’m no Sylvester Stallone or Tony Horton in the gym, but I have found that regular, short periods of physical exertion produce satisfying results. Two or three easy runs a week and several pushups and sit-ups a night have restored my body to feeling strong and healthy.

Relational Discipline
Life is full of events, meetings and responsibilities to uphold, so I’m well aware of how key relationships
in my life can fall by the wayside as other urgent priorities strip away my time from truly important priorities. A weekly breakfast with my wife draws us back to intimacy and keeps us on the same page. Scheduling one short hang-out time per week with a close friend or relative does something for my soul that nourishes like nothing else can. And when I die (which is eminent, though I’d like to think myself invincible) I won’t be wondering on my death-bed whether my business plans succeeded, but instead whether my siblings, parents, wife and friends know that they are loved.

Mental Discipline
Learning is a joy to me, though I am often condemned by the fact that I have not completed my bachelor’s degree. So scheduling short 45-minute study breaks in my day to learn something new or finish one more class towards my degree is both rewarding and inspiring. With the pressures of work and providing, learning can take the back seat, but if I intend to grow and succeed, I cannot neglect mental discipline. I welcome any who read this to hold me accountable in this area, and will celebrate with you when that degree is completed.

The reason these things are so key in my life is because I am no hero, no great leader and no prodigy. I’m a simple man with blatant weaknesses and areas of necessary growth. So only by regular and small effort can I have any hope of seeing great life-change and success in my life.

In closing, may I urge you to take a step towards increased discipline in one area of your life? Where can you add a gentle but steady goal-oriented pressure in your life? How have you seen this already play out in your story?

Richard Foster quotes Frank Laubach, “Of today’s miracles, the greatest is this: to know that I find Thee best when I work listening.” The idea is that we were meant to engage with God throughout our daily roles, chores, tasks, jobs, etc. Our lives were not intended to be fragmented and compartmentalized. The truth is that the distractions which often keep us from God may just be the exact activities He wants to be known in the most.

Seek God while you work.

This doesn’t mean that there are times when you must pull away from work and activity to practice other disciplines that draw you into His presence, but as a regular practice, begin learning to see, hear and know “the Teacher” in the midst of your life. Live with a “holy expectancy” that God will be found in your moment-by-moment activities. See God in the faces around you, the voice of the phone call you are on and in the words of the e-mails you read. I am not advocating pantheism in any sense, but advising you the both welcome Him and become receptive to Him in each situation.

It is commonly taught in most evangelical churches today that we as a culture worship many things; sports, celebrities, success, family, etc. Foster/Tozer points out that “the essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him.” Let me break that down in a vulnerable sense: my workaholism can stem from a fear of not having enough. That ultimately stems from my un-true belief that God will not provide and thus I must take charge. This “unworthy thought” of God detracts me from worship of Him and leads me towards pain and destruction.

Analyze your life-patterns. Is your behavior reflecting an inadequate view of God?

Foster also points out that Worship causes confession; confession of God’s glorious nature and confession of our inadequate nature. This is good and something that should be done in community, for the edification of the Body of Christ, his Church.

As you head into the rest of your day, where might God be breaking into your presence with His Shekinah?
Are your thoughts of Him right? If not, which areas of your life are being affected by them?
How do you need to respond to God’s glory today? Confessing His greatness or your smallness?