Misplaced Godly Aspirations

One conversation can change your entire perspective! About a week or so ago, I was talking with my pastor about becoming more financially responsible and investing for the future. Instead of giving me a standing ovation, my pastor pointed out to me that people often pursue financial independence without seeking Christ first. So while I may think that I’m being a wise steward of my finances for God’s sake, I may really be doing it out of a sense of insecurity. Perhaps my true motivation is to impress people. As a result, I end up saving money but neglecting to live generously, as is commanded in Scripture. (Psalm 37:26)

This got me thinking… How many “godly” aspirations do I have that are really rooted in insecurity? 

I want to work really hard and succeed in my job because God commands me to (Colossians 3:23-24), but really I’m just scared I’m gonna let God down and disappoint Him. 

I want a good balance of sleep, diet, and exercise to honor God with my temple (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), but really I’m just scared that I’m gonna end up sick one day. 

I want to pursue purity in my thoughts and actions (2 Timothy 2:22), but really I’m just scared of what people will think of me and I’m not trusting that God will sustain me. 

The list goes on and on. But notice who is at the center of each of those scenarios I listed: me. When I aim to please God from a place of insecurity, I’m not seeking Christ first. We know this because Christ says His yoke is easy and His burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30) Anxious godliness is focused on the self. It looks to the self in order to perform and not let God down. This is called Christian moralism – when one seeks to be moral apart from grace and genuine faith. 

Jesus offers us a better way: 

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!” (Luke 12:22–24)

People often use this verse as an encouragement to trust in God for material provision, and rightfully so. But what if it meant more than that? What if God is telling us not to be anxious for anything? 

Don’t be anxious about your obedience to God.

Don’t be anxious about your holiness. 

Don’t be anxious about your sleep.

Don’t be anxious about your diet. 

Don’t be anxious about your work.

Don’t be anxious about your finances.

Don’t be anxious about your time management. 

This is not to say that the examples above are not important. This is not to say that the examples above ought not be taken seriously. However, this is to say that my confidence should not be rooted in how well I’m going to perform at these things. 

My confidence should be rooted in two truths:

1. I am righteous in the eyes of God by faith in Jesus Christ, apart from my works. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

2. It is God who works in me to will and to work for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13)

So while it’s good to aspire to be holy, healthy, and financially responsible, I ought not pursue these things from a position of anxiety or insecurity. My confidence has to be that God already accepts me because I’m in Christ, and not in how well I perform. And further, I can pursue godly aspirations with faith that God Himself will accomplish in me what is good. He will get me where I need to be, even though it may not happen as quickly as I’d like it to. 

So my friend, I encourage you to pursue godliness, but don’t be anxious about it. Just as God provides for the ravens, so will He provide for us grace as we aspire to follow Him! Look to Christ, and not yourself!

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.” (Philippians 3:7-9)

Dirty, Gritty Faith

 

Faith. It’s that one word that pops up over and over again in Scripture. And if I’m being honest, I feel like we’ve gotten to the point where we don’t exactly know what to do with it. We know it’s important. We know Jesus often talked about it. We know the apostles often talked about it. We know that our very salvation hinges on it. (Ephesians 2:8-9) But something’s missing. 

If we read the gospels, we find that Jesus often exhorted people to place faith in God. And He would often rebuke people for their lack of faith in God. But what exactly are you and I supposed to do with that? “Just have faith.” Okay, but how? The response is typically something along the lines of, “Just read your Bible more and your faith will grow.” And then the conversation ends. But do we actually end up growing our faith? 

What I want to submit to you is that faith is a discipline. It’s a discipline that any believer in Christ can partake in and grow in. But it does take conscious work and effort. That’s why I’m calling it “dirty” and “gritty”. I’ll explain in a bit what the discipline looks like practically. But first, it would be helpful to define a few terms.

What is faith? 

One neat thing about Scripture is that it actually gives us a working definition of faith: 

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” ‭‭(Hebrews‬ ‭11‬:‭1)

To oversimplify things: faith is believing in something you can’t see. It’s not a matter of feeling something to be true. It’s a matter of knowing something to be true and then believing it because you know it. For example, I have faith that my father loves me. I can’t exactly prove that scientifically. I can’t peer into his soul and know every thought he’s thinking. But given that he has repeatedly stated that he loves me and has worked to provide and care for me all of my life, I think I’m on safe grounds to believe that he does in fact love me.  

In the Christian life, we need faith for just about everything. We need faith to pray to God. We need faith to serve God. We need faith to love one another. We need faith to get through trials. We need faith in order to do just about anything meaningful as Christians!

Is faith blind?

It’s rather unfortunate that many intelligent people consider faith in God to be something weak people use as a crutch – something to get by in life. As if faith were just a story you force yourself to believe in order to not despair of life itself. And sure, that might describe the faith of some. But is that how the Bible talks about faith? 

“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.” (Hebrews‬ ‭11‬:‭17‬-‭19)‬ ‭

When Abraham was ready to sacrifice Isaac, he wasn’t doing it blindly. He knew that God’s promise would only come to pass if Isaac were alive. So he reasoned within himself that since God was all powerful, then He would be able to raise Isaac from the dead. Abraham’s faith in God was grounded in rationality. 

Biblical faith is never blind. It is grounded in both reason and an understanding of who God is. Even Jesus Himself, when he was rebuking his disciples for their lack of faith, pointed out their failure to use reason. (Mark 8:14-21)

But why is faith so difficult? 

Another sad reality is that discussions about faith leave many in the church discouraged. We know that without faith, it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6) We also see God repeatedly emphasize the importance of it in the gospels. (Matthew 14:31, Mark 11:22-23, Luke 1:20, John 20:31) But it just feels like some of us don’t get it. “Try as I might, I’m just too fearful. I struggle to believe in God and have faith.” Telling people to have more faith can start sounding a little like telling a depressed person to “just be happy”. 

I think the apostles must have felt this way at some point. One time, they asked Jesus for help:

“The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” (‭‭Luke‬ ‭17‬:‭5‬-‭6)

Now Jesus’ response is curious. He doesn’t zap the apostles with a triple dose of Christian confidence and belief! He simply points out that all they need is the tiniest amount of faith – that the tiniest amount of faith is sufficient to move a tree. Jesus seems to be saying, in effect, “You don’t need an extra boost of faith. You just need to use the faith you already have.” 

Our problem is not in our lack of ability to muster up confidence in God. Our problem is that we don’t utilize the faith that God has already given us. 

“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” (‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭3‬)

Every believer has a measure of faith that God has assigned to him or her. If we confess Christ as Lord and Savior, then we all at least have some understanding and knowledge of who God is. The faith is already there. We just need to focus in on it. We just need to take the time to be aware of it. It doesn’t take a crazy amount of confidence. We just need to wake up in the morning and start the day with a simple declaration of, “I believe what God has said and revealed to me to be true.” 

So let’s shift the question. Instead of asking, “How do I increase my faith?”, let’s instead ask, “How do I get better at using my faith?”  

How do I get better at using my faith?

Now this is the point in the article where there isn’t a one-size-fits-all clear answer stated in Scripture. But what I can do is tell you what has helped me personally as far as the discipline of faith. And I’ll do my best to keep it grounded in the Bible. 

What’s helped me most is prayer – easy, specific, and repeatable prayer. 

Easy - The prayer must be short and simple. It cannot be difficult or burdensome. 

Specific - The prayer has to target a specific issue of faith. (ex. finances, relationships, career, health)

Repeatable - The prayer has to be something I can pray every day, once a day. The easiest way to do this is to write the prayer down on a piece of paper or on my phone. That way, I can refer back to it daily. 

And in terms of content, the prayer should consist of two elements: surrender and declaration. 

Surrender 

If we take a look at what Scripture says about unbelief, what we find is that unbelief is connected with hardness of heart. When Jesus rebukes His disciples for their lack of faith, this is what He says:

“Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember?” (‭‭Mark‬ ‭8‬:‭17‬-‭18)

The author of Hebrews makes this connection as well:

“Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” (Hebrews 3:12–13)

If unbelief is linked to hardness of heart, then the antidote to unbelief must be surrender. The first step toward faith begins with laying down our wants and laying down our understanding about what is good for us. Jesus gave us His example:

“And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”” (Matthew 26:39)

For us today, it could look something like:

“Lord, before you: I lay down my desire to buy a house. And I lay down my understanding that buying a house is the best thing for me right now. I open my heart up to whatever it is you would have for me in this season.” 

Declaration

After we have laid down our wants and burdens, the next step is to come into agreement with God. The best means of doing this for me has been when I verbally declare what God has stated to be true. 

“I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91:2)

There is such power in the words we speak! And I’m not advocating for what’s commonly known as the “law-of-attraction” – trying to speak into existence whatever we want. But without a doubt, there is great power when we declare what we know to be true from God’s word! In declaring the word of God, I am exercising my faith. I am setting my heart up to believe in God for that day. 

It could be as simple as:

“Lord, I am believing that you will work out what is best for me. You say that you withhold no good thing from those who walk uprightly. So I will be confident that you will provide whatever I need for my housing situation.”

Application

Now dream with me for a second! What if you were to write down a prayer of surrender and declaration on a sheet of paper? 

“Lord, before you: I lay down my desire to buy a house. And I lay down my understanding that buying a house is the best thing for me right now. I open my heart up to whatever it is you would have for me in this season. I am believing that you will work out what is best for me. You say that you withhold no good thing from those who walk uprightly. So I will be confident that you will provide whatever I need for my housing situation.”

And what if you were to go back to that paper and pray that short prayer every morning? And what if you did this for every issue of life in which you needed to build your faith? Your health? Your relationships? Your dreams? Your anxieties? 

At the end of the day, faith is not a point of arrival. Faith is not a status you reach where you’re at Level 10 Christian Confidence! No. Faith is a daily decision. It’s a daily choice that you and I get to make. It’s dirty, gritty work. It does take discipline. But it isn’t difficult work. I mean… How difficult is it to pray for 20 seconds? All it really takes is just a small amount of time and effort applied daily. But boy is that time and effort worth it!

“And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”” (‭‭Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭45)

The One Thing That Matters in Times of Adversity

“This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches.” (Jeremiah 9:23)

Has it ever dawned on you how reliant we as humans are on our wisdom, strength, and riches? We run into a problem, we figure it out. We generally like to think we’re smart and self-sufficient. And for those of us who know we’re not, at least we can turn to Google or hire someone to help us when the water heater breaks. 

But what happens when we run into a situation that we have no wisdom, might, or money to fix? Dealing with a breakup? Dealing with anxiety? Stuck in an addiction? Stuck in an unwanted job? The list goes on and on, but it just seems there are situations we run into that we have no means of resolving in our own strength. 

This was exactly the situation for Joseph in the Old Testament. Joseph was the youngest of twelve siblings. He was despised by his brothers. He was sold into slavery. He was alienated from his father and everyone he knew and loved. Genesis 38:1 tells us, “Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there.”

Now let’s pause for a moment and consider: Joseph is a slave! No resources whatsoever. He has no money. He has no power. He has no friends. And he certainly has no strategy in terms of escaping Egypt and returning to his family. His life has no clear meaning or purpose. But there’s one factor that is going to shift everything!

“The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master.” (‭‭Genesis‬ ‭39‬:‭2‬)

It’s all in those first five words: “The Lord was with Joseph.” Joseph did not have anything to base his confidence on — other than the fact that God was with him! And that, my friend, was the X factor! As a result of God being with him, Scripture tells us that Joseph became a successful man.

Scripture then goes on to say: “His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had.” (‭‭Genesis‬ ‭39‬:‭3‬-‭4‬)

From slave to overseer! That is the power of God! My friend, if you are caught up in some kind of adversity, you are in good company. We all undergo the trials and sufferings of life. (1 Peter 5:9) But the most important factor in this situation is not the power you have. It’s not your own strength. It’s not your own wisdom. It’s not your own wealth. It’s not your own resources. And it’s not the friends and people around you. The most important factor is that God is with you. And that’s all that matters. Let everything else be taken away but the presence of God!

When God is with us, good things chase us down. (Psalm 23:6) When God is with us, our weakness is turned into strength. (2 Corinthians 12:10) When God is with us, our life heads in the right direction, even when we don’t know what to do! (Proverbs 3:5-6) Our trial may not end as soon as we would like it to, but we can be confident that God will make the end result good! Joseph remained a slave and prisoner for many years before getting released and becoming second in command over all Egypt. But in reflecting upon his life at the end of the story, Joseph had this to say to his brothers who sold him into slavery: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50:20) For us today, the same concept applies. No affliction we go through is ever wasted!

Let’s revisit our opening verse, but add verse 24 for context this time:

"This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD." (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

Wow! Just think how amazing this is! We have the understanding to know God! He’s the one who holds all the wisdom, power, and resources! He is on our side and is going to exercise kindness toward us! We can confidently declare then: “No matter what I go through, God is with me. And that is all that matters.”

The God You Need to Know

Psalm 29

      3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters; 

      the God of glory thunders, 

      the LORD, over many waters. 

      4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; 

      the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. 

      5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; 

      the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.

Reflect with me for a moment on the pure majesty of God. The voice of the Lord is over the waters. Imagine the oceans in all their vastness and depth. And yet the Lord reigns over the oceans! He thunders, reigning in strength over all the earth! His voice is so powerful, it even breaks the cedars of Lebanon! These cedars are huge, majestic trees, growing over 100 feet in height and 8 feet in diameter!

We see the Lord perfect in strength. Yet what is astounding is that the Lord's strength becomes our strength! He loves us so much that He gives us His strength in order to overcome any challenge in life. "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." (Isaiah 40:29)

We see the Lord perfect in wisdom and full of truth. Yet the Lord shares His wisdom freely with us! He gives us the truth we need for all of life's puzzles and questions. "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you." (Psalm 32:8)

We see the Lord perfect in love, never failing to do what is good. Yet the Lord directs His love and goodness toward us! He gave us His very heart in Christ Jesus! He always acts in our favor, carrying us toward that which is good. "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)

My friend, God is the answer to the longing of your heart! He is your safety! He is goodness itself! He knows you, sees you, and wants to speak to you. His love for you is fierce and perfect! God is not going to drop you! He is for you, and will never stop being on your side! Nothing can pluck you out of His hand! He is your unshakable hope! He will work things out for your good! So fear not. Be still and know that He is God!

“I am willing! Be cleansed!”

 

“And a leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”” (Mark 1:40)

Estranged. Avoided. Unseen. Unclean. For the leper, the problem was leprosy. This was a disease of the skin that made one ceremonially unclean under the law of Moses. Lepers could not be touched by anyone, because if they were, the person who touched them would also become unclean. Just think for a minute how difficult the life of the leper would have been. No physical contact with other people! How immeasurable the pain for the heart that longs for love; longs for intimacy, yet does not receive it. And how deep the ache of the soul that longs to be touched, longs to be held, and longs to be known; yet is not known. 

Nowadays, the people around us don’t suffer from leprosy (for the most part). But the same internal problem still plagues many: it’s shame. Shame on account of who they are. Perhaps it’s some physical or mental limitation that’s been with someone from birth. Perhaps it’s the result of something that has happened to them or been spoken over them. Perhaps the shame is merely their own devaluing of themselves. Or perhaps, the shame is a result of their own decisions — of things that they’ve done or continue to do. 

For our neighbors held in shame, there comes a point of despair, where they lose hope. When it’s no longer a matter of wanting what’s good, but simply a matter of wanting to make it through another day alive. Because after so many times of reaching out and expecting things of others, to no avail, what’s the point? What goodness is there for the leper to hope for? 

But then something happens. More specifically, some One happens. A Man comes and teaches multitudes with authority. He speaks with conviction that is unheard of! And this Man accompanies His teachings with incredible miraculous signs! He heals the sick. He casts out demons. And those demons cower in fear before Him, acknowledging Him as the Son of God! 

In hearing the news about this Man, you as the unclean one feel something deep within. A sensation long forgotten: hope! “Could this be the answer I have longed for all my life?” After all, this Man seems like He can do anything! But the more pertinent question is not whether He can heal — but whether He will heal! Will He heal you? Will He want anything to do with you? Or will He reject you, as all the others have before? Why wouldn’t He reject you after all you have done? 

All of these thoughts and doubts might have run through the leper’s mind, but with little to lose, he falls before Jesus and says, “If you will, you can make me clean.” The leper has no money to offer Jesus. He has no good works to boast in or anything that would merit Christ’s goodwill. The only thing the leper is banking on is Jesus’ mercy. 

And what does Jesus do? Whereas many public figures before Him had come about to make a name for themselves, Jesus had a different agenda: people. And he came for people just like this lowly leper. 

“Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.” (Mark 1:41-42)

Instinctively, we are amazed that Jesus miraculously caused leprosy to disappear. But we miss the more miraculous part: Jesus actually touched this man! And He didn’t need to! He could have simply spoken and the miracle would have taken place. But He chose to touch the untouchable! And He wasn’t ashamed to do so. In doing this, He didn’t merely show kindness. He showed that He loved that man dearly. That man was seen by Jesus. That man was wanted by Jesus. It’s one thing to be respected. It’s one thing to be shown kindness. It’s another thing to actually be wanted! When others saw “unclean”, Jesus saw His harvest. And His harvest was for this soul to be reunited to the love of His Father. 

And so my prayer in reflecting upon this passage is that you and I adopt the heart of Christ. My desire is that those wrapped in shame may feel seen by me. That they may feel wanted by me. I don’t want to stay in my comfort zone when there is a need that I can meet. So let’s remember to reach out, check up on people, smile, offer a helping hand, give aid, and be available to those in need. Because people today are still asking the same questions of you and me that leper might have had:

“I know these Christians can love me. I know these Christians can care for me. I know these Christian can be my friends. But will they?”

“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in your power to do it.” (Proverbs 3:27)