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During a time of ministry transition, a Christian brother, who sat under my ministry, and who I highly respect, said to me “Pastor Steve, you have been severely tested, and you have passed the test.”
Believe me, the testing part was not news to me. You know better than anybody else when you are being tested. But my friend’s assessment that I had passed the testing time with flying colors blessed my heart. His observation and kind words boosted my spirit, encouraging me to step boldly forward with faith and obedience into God’s next season of ministry for me. Our word for this week is found in Psalm 105:16-24. The Psalmist reminds us of Joseph, who, while he waited for the time when his God-given dream would come true, was tested by God’s Word. (Review Joseph’s faith journey recorded in Genesis 37-50). Verse 19 reads “Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him.” Psalm 105:19 Joseph, the dreamer, was tested repeatedly as he waited for his dream to come pass. Before the time of fulfillment, Joseph went through a thirteen-year period of testing. It is interesting to note that ”the word of the Lord tested him.” What does that mean? Could it be that God Himself tested Joseph? He certainly did. God never tempts His people. But He does test them (James 1:12-15). Knowing what is best for us, God allows us to go through testing times so that we will be found trustworthy of the dream He has given. It is a biblical truth: testing time always precedes the time God has promised to fulfill the vision He gives us. Visionaries and dreamers are tested to see if they really believe in the dream they are dreaming and the vision they are pursuing. So, if you have a dream, expect the Lord to test you, the dreamer. He always tests dreamers and helps them pass the tests so they will see their dreams come true. I am amazed at how many professed Christians balk and squawk at God’s testing them. O poor me, I am going through a time of testing and trial. Something must be wrong. What did I miss? Why is God doing this to me? I do not know if I can make it through this tough time. I even heard a person who I was counseling with say “Testing sucks!” Let me ask this question. Why shouldn’t God test us? As our Father, He has every right to test His children. As a Teacher, He has every right to test us, His students. Tests are good for us because testing tempers us and prepares us to fulfill our purpose. Think about testing for a moment. Our life is full of tests and testing times. We are tested before we can graduate to the next grade in school. We are tested before being granted a driver’s license. We are tested in order to be promoted on the job. People test our patience. Life tests our resolve. Circumstances test our character. Life is one long series of testing times—life tests that we must pass if we are to go forward to success. Every singles person listed in the Hal of Fame of Faith in Hebrews 11 was tested. These precious, courageous saints are remembered because they passed the faith test. Testing time from the Lord is not our foe. If we do a reality check, testing time is our friend when we trust God as Lord of our lives.
Study ahead for God’s tests. Read, mediate on and memorize His Word. Pray for wisdom, discernment and strength. Paul tells us in I Corinthians 11:28 and II Corinthians 13: 5-6 to pass tests. Prepare your heart, spirit and mind for eventual testing times that will surely invade your space! The test we must pass when tested is trusting that God’s Word is true. That is what Joseph did and that is what you and I must do. Faith fails if we fail the test of standing firm on the promises of God no matter what tests our Heavenly Father sends our way. While passing the time for a dream to come true, be sure to pass the tests that come while passing the time. If your faith is being tested at this time, are you failing or passing? “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4 “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed with various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” I Peter 1:6-7 A Word For Your Week: When you are being tested, pass the test. Imagine that you are ready to go forward and fulfill a promise of God to you.
Israel was poised to take the land God had promised them. What an exciting and exhilarating time in God’s chosen people’s history! Deliverance from Egyptian bondage was behind them. Freedom in a land flowing with milk and honey awaited them. As the people readied themselves to cross the Jordan River and conquer Canaan, God spoke through Moses, telling them to take the land “little by little.” “And the Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little: you will not be able to put an end to them quickly, lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you.” Deuteronomy 7:22 Please note “the Lord will clear away the nations before you.” What a confidence boosting word of encouragement! God Himself would clear the way for His people! He would go ahead of them to clear the path to security and prosperity. How would the Lord do it? “Little by little.” Surely, Almighty God could have cleared the land with one fell swoop of His powerful hand. Instead, the land would not be occupied quickly, but slowly, “little by little.” Israel would fight thirty-nine major battles before securing the Promised Land. God was giving His people a heads up in our verse. Taking the Promised Land would be a process of taking the land a step at a time. If they conquered the land too quickly, they would be overwhelmed by the numerous beasts in the land. In other words, taking the land without securing every place their foot stepped on would create security issues for them. The principle here is this: Moving forward to fulfill God’s promises is a “little by little” process. Step by step, not leap by leap, is how we secure God’s plan for our lives. “Little by little” is the right way because it is God’s way. I want to shift gears for a moment and apply “little by little” to the healing and restoration process in the lives of hurting people. Often emotionally wounded people who come for major restoration and rebuilding of their lives expect to be better in a short period of time. It is as if they expect God and me as a pastoral counselor to say “Presto, you are completely healed and ready to begin again.” As humans, we want to leap out of our troubles and leave our heartaches behind. We desire to dump our pain as soon as possible and move on to greener pastures. The problem is: life does not work that way. Natural, physical wounds heal “little by little.” Wounds heal from the inside out. Some of the healing that goes on within a wound is not even seen at first. But healing is taking place if the patient does what the physician instructs them to do. Your and my problem with” little by little” is that we want everything right now. We are impatient people! You and I would love to bypass God’s processes for doing things right in our lives. Quick fixes are desirable but not scriptural. Miracles are real and can manifest instantaneously. God can and does change people and situations on the spot. But most spiritual and emotional healing miracles require a process. That process demands step by step healing and restoration. Restoration principle: Because we lost ground little by little, we must gain ground little by little. Little by little, people get into trouble. So little by little, they can get out of trouble. Robert Schuler has said “Inch by inch anything is a cinch. Yard by yard, everything is hard.” Have you found that to be true in your life? I have. When I try to take life yard by yard, it is hard. Extremely difficult. Mile by mile does not make me smile! But inch by sometimes every painful inch, life really is a cinch. I am learning that “little by little” is God’s way of lovingly watching out for me and my self-sabotaging tendency to be impatient with His process in my life. Healing, restoration and renewal of our lives and relationships is not a leaping process. It is a stepping process. Restoration is a process of regaining lost ground and taking new ground little by little. Some Reasons Why “Little By Little” Will Work
Be encouraged that God promises to heal and restore you. Jeremiah 17:30 declares “For I will restore you to health and heal you of your wounds” says the Lord.” God’s healing and restoration awaits you. It is just a first step away. A first step of surrender of your pain and of personal trust in Him to heal your heart and spirit. Then a second step as God directs. And a third one. Step by gracious step. “Little by little” God will perform a healing miracle in your life. So, what are you waiting for? God’s promises are real. Little by little He will restore and heal. Go ahead. Push through your pain. Take a small step of faith today. Cast your cares upon the Lord. A little baby step towards the Lord will do. Then just relax. Rest in the Lord. He will go ahead of you and clear the obstacles and enemies in your path. God will be faithful to fulfill His promise to you. “Little by little” you and the Lord can accomplish a lot!!! “The steps of a man are established by the Lord, and He delights in the way he takes.” Psalm 37:23 A Word For Your Week: A little step forward is a large step in the right direction. Have you ever been greedy?
The spirit of greed (excessive or reprehensible acquisitiveness, avarice) runs rampant in a worldly, carnal culture that pressures people to want more and have more. Many people drowning in debt got there because of greed. By the way, Christians are not immune to the spirit of greet. Responding to a question about a share of an inheritance, Jesus took the opportunity to warn His followers about greed. Luke 12:13-21 “And Jesus said to them, ‘Beware, and be on guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” Luke 12:15 His two-pronged warning is unmistakably clear. First, beware. To beware means to take note and do not go there. When a yard is posted with a sign, beware of dog, there is a good reason. An angry animal awaits you to make his day when you choose to invade his territory. Beware means stay out of there! Secondly, Jesus said to be on guard. In other words, keep your eyes open wide. Be vigilant, watchful. Watch out for greed at every turn. When greed is lurking around the corner, look and run the other way. The spirit of greed ignites lust, setting our flesh on fire to gratify and satisfy our carnal desires. Guard your heart so greed will not sneak up on you and capture your affection. Jesus taught when tempted to be greedy, do not drop your guard. Simply do not go there. Notice that He warned to watch out for “every form of greed.” Greed manifests itself in numerous ways. We humans can become greedy for possessions, position, power, money, material stuff, influence, recognition and relationships to name just a few forms of greed. The reason Jesus warned about greed is simple: even if we have a lot of stuff, stuff is not what life is about. He illustrated this truth with the story of the foolish farmer (verses 15-21). The folly of the foolish farmer was in what he did and did not do with his abundance. God had blessed him. But greed grabbed him. He built bigger barns for all his abundance, thinking he was secure. But lo and behold, he died. Kicked the bucket. Someone else would enjoy the farmer’s huge barns full of grain! The farmer was a wealthy fool because he was not rich toward God (verse 21). In other words, he did not recognize and reverence the God who had blessed him with abundance. Instead of seeking the Lord and what He would have him do with the bumper crop to bless others, the shortsighted farmer succumbed to greed. He foolishly applauded and rewarded himself for his blessings. The farmer chose to be greedy instead of helping the needy. He ended up losing everything that he tried to keep for himself. Greed is a cruel taskmaster! The lesson you and I need to learn: greedy people end up being needy people! Greed can never meet our need. If we feed greed, we will end up in need. Greed always leads to need. Jesus warns us about greed because He loves us and knows that greed is a problem for all of us. Stop. Take a few moments. Search your heart. Look for pockets of greed lurking in the shadows that may fester into greedy attitudes and foolish behavior. The Lord knows that greed can get a grip on our hearts, filling our heads with desires and behavior that will bankrupt our lives. Greed makes people arrogant and ugly. Greed turns folks into self-absorbed, self-seeking, self-pleasing, narcissistic consumers instead of being God pleasing, people-centered contributors to society. God will always meet our needs, but never through greed. Paul wrote “And My God will supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 Satan, the chief thief, gets a kick out of stealing God’s blessings from us by getting us tangled up in greed. A spirit of greed is a counterfeit to God’s provision according to the promises of His Word. Bottom line: financial security is found in God, not greed. Selfishness is never a solid foundation for financial stability and prosperity. Greed based economies will collapse in time. As our world wrestles with greed and ultimately loses, let us Christians heed the Lord’s word to beware and be on guard against every form of greed. In 2023, stay away from greed. Instead, plant some good seed. Then watch God meet your need! “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and riches.” Luke 16:13 “For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and righteousness; and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:30-31 A Word For Your Week. God, not greed, will meet your need. Have you found yourself thinking about a problem over and over again with no solution in sight? No matter how many times you roll the situation over in your mind you come up with zeros.
Our current culture is plagued with overthinking. A prescription for anxiety, worry, panic, fear and even depression is to overthink. Over analysis (overthinking) often produces paralysis of action. Our mind gets stuck on a subject which creates inability to take action about what we are overthinking. Thinking about something over, over, and over again can leave you and me stuck emotionally, unable to do anything constructive about our circumstances. Spinning our mental hard-drive leaves us confused, complicating our situation. Overthinking reminds me of a Merry-Go-Round. One of my fond, happy boyhood memories was riding on the carousel at Natatorium Amusement Park in Spokane, Washington. My kids and grandkids, when younger, enjoyed the Merry-Go -Round at Woodland Hills Mall here in Tulsa. There is something special, almost magical, about colorfully painted horses, shiny reflective mirrors, and of course, the music as excited riders went up and down on the back of their favorite stallion. Merry-Go-Rounds go round and round. I am brilliant huh? Carousels are fun. Round and round the colorful, majestic horses go…to nowhere. Overthinking is like a mental carousel. Round, and round, and round our thoughts and emotions go. Then we get off the carousel at the same place we got on. The overthinking Merry-Go-Round is not fun! Overthinkers complicate what is simple. Make what is easy difficult. Worry about things that do not need worried about. Try to figure everything out. Turn solutions into problems. Wear themselves out trying to figure things out. Frustrate people who try not to overthink. Overthinking can lead to stinking thinking! Overthinking is wearisome thinking that may result in tired decisions, even stupid, regrettable ones. How many of us have been there and done that? I see that hand. Observation: The two most common times for overthinking are nighttime and early morning. Nighttime. Difficult to go to sleep when the hard-drive is active. Morning: begin the day on the wrong foot. Rest and peace elude morning overthinkers! So, what are overthinkers to do? I have a few simple suggestions, but please do not overthink them! Solutions For Overthinking If you are a Christian, you have the mind of Christ. “For who knows the mind of the Lord that he should instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ” I Corinthians 2:16. Blows me away! You and I are not God. But we can think the way God wants us to think. His Word in the Bible reveals His thoughts and how we should think. Certainly, the Lord does not overthink anything. He thinks and it is! When tempted to overthink, do not. Wait. Wait without worrying. Do not push the panic button. Trust the Lord, who you love and serve, to show you the solution to your situation. Look to the Lord for His guidance. Pray. Seek with confident faith His answer to your problem. He knows what you do not know. He sees what you do not see. He will do what you cannot do. I think the Almighty may chuckle at us (certainly me!) when we overthink about stuff He already has a solution for! Seek the sound advice of a trusted, mature Christian friend. The Holy Spirit gives discernment and wisdom to others when we are stuck in the rut of overthinking. “Iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17). You and I are not very “sharp” when overthinking! Read and meditate on the Word of God. The Apostle Paul could have over-thought in prison. Instead, he wrote for us “Finally my brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is respectful, whatever is lovely, if here is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, LET YOUR MIND DWELL ON THESE THINGS.” Philippians 4:11 Think God’s thoughts in the Bible. He wrote down His mind toward us and how we should live to glorify Him. Almighty God does not overthink. He thought. He spoke. He created. He redeemed. The Holy One made His holy word simple. Uncomplicated. A child does not overthink the fact that Jesus loves them! Paul’s thinker was thinking the right thoughts! He was victorious in prison because he rejoiced in the Lord despite his adverse circumstances. Thinking according to God’s Word and trusting in the Lord will dismantle in a hurry the maze of overthinking for you and me too! Set your “thinker” on keep it simple mode. Stop complicating the issue you are thinking about by endlessly reviewing it. Take God’s Word at face value. Believe what it means. Trust what it says. Stop trying to figure faith out by thinking about it ad nauseum. Walk by faith, not by sight or overthinking! When tempted to overthink, resist the temptation. Trust in the Lord. Take Him at His Word. I have a feeling our Heavenly Father has everything figured out! “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and do not lean on your own understanding (trying to figure things out on your own with your thinker!); acknowledge Him in all of your ways, and He will direct your steps.” Proverbs 3:5-6 A Word For Your Week: Trust God. Do not overthink with your thinker. What comes to your mind when you hear the currently popular phrase “I am all in”?
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