Giants In Your Mind

1. Voice of God

In our daily interactions with people, we will meet some who are nice and some who are mean to us. Due to our fallen human nature, we tend to replay in our minds the nasty incidents and hurtful words we encounter in our relationships. We become distracted by the voices of  these unpleasant people. Instead of dwelling on these negative voices and letting other people define who we are, what is the voice of God (spoken through Bible verses) within us saying about us?

2. God will strengthen you within

Does God think you are dumb? Definitely not because He says you are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). Did He make you like the people you know? Of course not. He has wired you differently because He is a God of variety (1 Corinthians 12:4-6). For instance, He may have made you to be more quiet and introverted. Being so, you may, in front of certain significant people (whom you think don’t like you), prefer to be quiet rather than expose yourself to criticisms from them.

As such, you become overly conscious of people’s opinion of you. Such self consciousness will not go away just because you will it to be so. Instead, when you turn to God and ask Him to help you, God will go through these encounters with you, both the pleasant and the unpleasant.  Through such encounters, God will strengthen your inner fibres such that the sting from the unfair comments become less painful even though they are still there.

3. Battle of the mind

It’s a battle of the mind; just like Jesus’ battle with satan in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). You remember what happened when Peter took his eyes off Jesus in the storm?  He sank (Matthew 14:24-33).  Tell God, ” Father, I can’t do this battle on my own. I need your help. When I hear words that condemn me, I remember that in Jesus, there is no condemnation (Romans 8;1). Nothing can separate me from your love for me (Romans 8:35-39). You will fulfil your purpose for me (Psalm 138:8). I will trust you even if the storm is still there. I surrender my situation into your hand as I am not in control but you are. And you will direct it for your glory, not mine. For your desired outcomes, not mine. Even if I don’t get what I want, I still have you”. Pray like this to God. Press on and you will have godly success.

4. You have godly success when God is with you

Godly success in God’s eyes is not the removal of pain but the presence of God in your pain. Joseph was successful because God was with him even though he was  sold as a slave (Genesis 39:23). David was successful because God was with him (1 Samuel 18:14) when he faced his giant (1 Samuel 17:45-47). Nehemiah was successful because God was with him even as he met with opposition when he built the wall.

5. Giants first defeated in the mind and then in the flesh

Trust God and persevere even when the situation is severe. It is a journey God will take with you even as you face the giants in your mind. Just remember – the giants were defeated first in the mind before they were defeated in the flesh (Exodus 14:13-14). God is with you. His name is Immanuel.

Because He Stumbled

1. Bring God into your problems

When you are facing difficulties in your life, you tend to be more preoccupied with your problems and leave God out of your situation. Your challenges are real and they are visible. But God is invisible and it’s so easy to leave Him out. The irony is that it is God who can solve your problems. Yet the one who can solve your problem is the one being left out while you try to solve the problem yourself.

2. Focus on God, not your problems

God has always been there for you but sometimes your challenges are so real in your mind that you take your focus off Him. Remember Peter walking on water in the midst of the storm ? (Matthew 14:22-32)  He was doing fine as he focused on Jesus. The minute he took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the storm around him, he lost heart and sank. But Jesus was always there with him. His one cry to Jesus was all it took to bring the power of heaven to bear on his situation.

3. Weakness turned into strength

Peter made many mistakes when he was following  Jesus. Yet he grew to become a strong and dependable leader of the early church. How did bumbling Peter become Peter the rock? Because he stumbled. The Bible says, ” We all stumble” (James 3:2). Our weaknesses become occasions for God’s grace to infuse us with resurrection strength – that’s why Paul can declare, “when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:10).

4. Keep talking to God

When you focus on God and saturate your mind with His truths as found in the Bible, you will see His perspective of your situation. Don’t just stop there. Bring Him into your problem by asking Him to intervene.

Talk to Him in your heart all the time about what you are facing. If you are about to take steps to resolve your problem,say to God, ” Father, help me as I deal with this issue”. That is the sort of cry that brings God’s full resources into your task. On other occasions when the pressure is off, just say ” Father, thank you for these moments of peace.” As for the person who is causing you the problem, tell God, “Father, help me to love this difficult person. Hurting people hurt people. Please heal what is hurting this person and bless him/her”. Keep talking to God (1 Thess. 5:17) and you will sense His presence more and more.

5. Setbacks can be stepping stones

God allows you to make mistakes. Therefore, use the mistakes to grow in the Lord. As you overcome one problem, another may arise. Your stresses will come back in different forms as you grow in the Lord. But with God on your side, you can only go forward even if it seems you are not progressing. Your setbacks are God’s stepping-stones for spiritual growth.

6. Get up and start again

Focus on His Words. Replace your doubts with Biblical truths. Stay close to your heavenly Father who loves you more than you can ever imagine. He will never fail you or forsake you. His one advice to you whenever you fall – get up and start again (Jeremiah 8:4). Will you get up and move on with God’s help?

Inner Conversations

1. Inner doubts

When you want something so badly, not being able to get it can hurt. For example, you may want a job promotion and to get it, your company requires you to pass an examination. As you prepare for the exams, you have doubts that tell you that you may not make the passing mark. Furthermore, if you have nasty colleagues that look down on your capabilities, you begin to doubt yourself even more.

Such inner doubts which I call inner conversations can make you wonder whether your God cares about what’s happening in your life. You need a clear direction from the Lord but don’t seem to be getting any. Although you have been taught that God directs a Christian in his life (Isaiah 30:21), yet you don’t hear His inner voice guiding you. What you hear instead are the doubting voices that pulls you down instead of lifting you up.

2. Dark night of the soul

Sometimes, God’s guidance is as clear as daylight but there will be times when He is so distant that you wonder if He cares about what is happening in your life. The saints of the past call such a situation ” the dark night of the soul”. Has God abandoned you when you don’t feel His presence? Is He even there when you are enveloped in darkness? The Bible says that your God is not only a God of light but He is also a God in your thick darkness (Exodus 20:21).After you pass through the dark times, you will be able to say like King Hezekiah, ” Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish “(Isaiah 38:17)

 

3. Talk to yourself

When you have inner conversations that pull you down, follow the example of the psalmist who talks to himself and  brings God into his situation (Psalms 42:11). Like the psalmist,you counter the inner doubts with  Biblical truths which remind you of who you are in Christ. If you are the Christian who wants to be promoted and has to take an examination, you remind yourself that God has equipped you with abundant intelligence to get to where you are – you are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalms 139:14).  In addition, you are a child of the God who promised to be with you always till the end of time (Matthew 28:20). God also said that He has a plan for your life which will give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). Such inner conversations give you strength when you bring God’s truths to bear upon your situation.

4. You can’t lose

With God on your side, you can’t lose. You might get bruised along the way but He goes through your trials with you. Jesus was insulted, rejected , opposed, shamed etc even as He was following God’s will – what more us? Jesus knows what you are undergoing. Pour out your hurts to Him and tell Him you will let Him have His way in your life. Then trust Him to fulfil His purpose for your life (Psalm 138:8)

5. God determines your future

No event in your life (exams included) can ever determine your future. But your God of the future does. Rest in His love for you. Just do your best while trusting God to do the rest. He will surprise you!

Free To Choose But Choose To Be Free

1. Exercise your choice wisely

A Christian once asked me a pertinent question, ” Did God make a mistake when He created Adam and Eve who then chose wrongly and brought sin into the world?”. I answered that we are created as human beings who can love . If I am to love, I must be able to choose. If I can’t choose, then I am a robot and thus not human. Given this power to choose, I need to exercise it wisely with regard to God, others and myself so that my free choice will not result in bondage to me. As such, let us learn this truth – “You are free to choose, therefore choose to be free”.

 

2. From free choice to no choice

For Adam and Eve, they were created with the power to choose. God made all the trees in the entire world good for food and pleasing to the eye so that they could enjoy the eating process (Genesis 2:9). Out of the countless trees He made, God told Adam and Eve that they were not allowed to eat from one tree only – the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Therefore they were not lacking in food or eye pleasing food. Nearby was the tree of life which was also pleasing to the eye and good for food. Yet they chose to disobey God and eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and contaminated the rest of us with sin. By exercising their free choice, they ended up having no choice but to sin .

3. Eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil

Some Christians may feel that if they were Adam and Eve, they would have chosen to eat from the tree of life instead of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. However, I still see many  Christians choosing to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. When a Christian continues to dwell on his past hurts and remains bitter towards another person for the wrong they did, such Christians are eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – they continue to be intimately involved (know) with such bitter thoughts (evil). They are eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil without even knowing it. They have free choice but they have not chosen to be free by being bound to their past hurts.

 

4. Eating from the tree of life

Instead, they should eat from the tree of life by forgiving those who hurt them (Colossians 3:13). You can’t have life if you hang on to death (bitterness). Jesus has come to give you life and life more abundantly (John 10:10). Don’t be like Adam and Eve. Choose to listen to what God says. Choose to follow God’s way. When you let God have His way and let God have His say, you have chosen to eat from the tree of life. As you do so, you have freedom of choice and you have chosen to be free from your hurtful past.

Which tree do you still want to eat from?

Living With A Tension In My Faith

1.Predestination

There are some issues in our Bible which have verses that appear to contradict one another. Both types of verses are true in themselves. Yet their truths do not seem to agree with each other. Predestination is an example of such an issue.

The word “Predestination” carries the meaning of “determine beforehand,” “ordain,” “to decide upon ahead of time.” So, predestination is God determining certain things to occur ahead of time. The most common objection to the doctrine of predestination is that it is unfair. Why would God choose certain individuals and not others? Predestination also implies that when God chooses some people for salvation, they have no choice but to accept Jesus as Saviour. Yet, we are told from Scriptures that people have to choose salvation. Both views found in the Bible seem to contradict each other.

2. A finite being

As a Christian, I can live with this tension because both views are true. I believe that God is sovereign and have free choice. I also believe that we have free choice. Both statements are true and can be backed up by Biblical verses and experiences. Since I am a finite being trying to understand an infinite being, I will always have my limitations. It is like a pet dog trying to understand its master. Although the dog knows its master loves him and he also loves his master , it is still an animal and of a different level of life. It can never fully understand all that its master thinks and does.

3. A relationship and not a religion

Similarly, I acknowledge that as a finite being, I will never fully understand an infinite being like my Master God. But I can have a loving relationship with Him in spite of my gaps in understanding. It is not a religion with doctrines which I seek to understand but it is a relationship I have with a God who loves me. Does it mean I don’t seek to understand how God thinks? Of course not. That’s why I study the Bible. But when I study the Bible and find contradictory verses, I can accept them both because my relationship with God is based on His love for me and not on me sorting out with my finite mind things which are infinite (Job 42:3)

4. What is the main doubt?

I will now explain how I deal with an issue like predestination. I begin by first trying to understand the main doubt underlying such a question. The main doubt behind predestination is that God does not give people any choice and has predestined them to His desired outcomes. Having studied the Bible, I don’t agree with this underlying thinking. Instead, I discovered that while God in His grace and sovereignty chooses some to be saved, He never predestined anyone to go to hell. The Bible says that God wants all to be saved (2Peter 3:9). And whoever chooses to believe in Jesus will be saved (Acts 16:31). Even though in His sovereignty God knows who will accept His offer of salvation, people still have the right to choose whether to accept Jesus or not.

5. Can God be moved to change His mind?

Another doubt behind predestination is that since God predestines, He can’t be moved by our prayers. Again, I don’t see this happening in Scriptures. God can be moved by our prayers. In the story from 2 Kings 20:1-11, we read that the Lord told Hezekiah that he would die from an illness ( predestined?). However, Hezekiah prayed to the Lord and appealed for healing. God heard his prayer and granted Hezekiah another 15 years of life.

This story shows that although the Bible says that God is not a man that He would change His mind, yet God would listen to a sincere prayer and be moved to change His mind. It shows that our prayers can move God which also shows that when we choose to be saved, God will hear us and give us salvation. The Bible records that when a person decides to cry out to the Lord for salvation, the answer from God is always “YES”.

6. I don’t need to be satisfied

I have tried to explain my simple understanding of the issue of predestination from a layman’s perspective. Will you be satisfied with my answer? I don’t expect you to be fully satisfied with my answer, or for that matter any other answer. I have read numerous explanations regarding this issue of predestination. They never fully satisfy me but that again does not bother me.

7. Transcend ; not understand

Over the years I have in my relationship with God, I have come to humbly accept that there will be issues I don’t fully understand. After I have tried to reason out the issues and sometimes reached a dead end, I find that when I have faith in the goodness of God in my life (Psalm 119:68), I transcend the dead end of my doubts and rise above them to believe that on this side of eternity there will be no clarity until we see God face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12).

As I gaze into His face, I will finally know that in His love for me, He has fulfilled His destiny for me (predestined) – which is – He chose me before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) even as He knew that I would one day choose Him. This is the tension in my faith which I live by. Such is the mystery of my heavenly Father who knows me and loves me before He made Adam and Eve.