​One of my best friends, a godly, Christian prayer partner and confidant for thirty years said the other day “Sometimes life doesn’t make sense.” I agreed wholeheartedly.as I ate my ham and cheese omelet at the restaurant we meet at regularly for breakfast.
 
How many times have you heard yourself or someone else say “I just don’t understand? What is happening just does not make sense.”
 

• The inability to understand some life situations is far from uncommon.

 
We have all taken a lap or two around the block of lack of understanding. Matter of fact, if we are honest, we might agree that we understand a lot less than we think about how life should operate.  
 
If you are anything at all like me, there are times I find it extremely frustrating to not be able to figure out why things happen or why things do not happen. Everything within me silently screams to understand. My subsequent searches for understanding often take me on a winding and potentially perilous path to a sinkhole of quicksand called “I still don’t understand.”
 
As the sticky, suffocating sand surrounds me and threatens to sink my thinking into oblivion, I desperately cast my “I don’t understand” dilemmas at the feet of God.
 
Please God, help me to understand is my heartfelt cry. With eager expectation, I hope to hear a word that will satisfy my desire to figure things out. Sometimes that word comes and sometimes it doesn’t.  
           
So, what is a Christian to do when life doesn’t make sense and they don’t understand?
 
Solomon helps us get a healthy grip on THOSE TIMES when we cannot figure life out. His simple instructions in our scripture for the week will save us a lot of grief when we face situations that do not make sense to us. Following the wisdom writer’s three step faith formula will help us prevail over perplexing times we don’t understand.
 
“Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”  Proverbs 3:5-6
 
First, TRUST IN THE LORD.
 
The exhortation is to trust in the Lord. In other words, put your faith in God. Simply and purposefully stimulate your faith in situations you don’t understand. And trust the Lord “with all your heart.” Not part, but all your heart. With every fiber of your being, let faith rise up within in you.
 
Take your head out of it and put all your heart into it. As much as possible, shut off your mind and turn on your spirit of faith. Look beyond the shortcomings of your human understanding. Lift your whole heart to the One whose heart knows what is best for you.   
 
Second, DO NOT TRUST IN YOURSELF.
 
The next exhortation is a negative one. Do not lean (rely for support or inspiration) on your ability to understand.
 
 Frustration sets in when we look to ourselves to solve things. Solomon says not trusting in ourselves is critical to success in making sense of life. You and I must resist the overwhelmingly irresistible and unbearable urge to figure it out for ourselves.
 
DO NOT DO IT! Isaiah 55:8-9 reveals that our thoughts and ways are not God’s thoughts and ways. I am glad and you are too that Steve Roll is not God!!! His understanding of life is much higher and wiser than ours. So, when we do not understand, we are to lean on God’s wisdom and understanding, not ours or another human being.     
 
Third, SUBMIT YOUR SITUATION TO GOD.
 
Here is where the rubber meets the road. Acknowledge means to recognize. Recognize what? That God is our Creator and the creature is responsible to his Creator. Responsible to do what?  Willfully and joyfully submit our lives to Him.
 
Please note the phrase “in all your ways.” In every way, hand over your lack of understanding to the One who understands. Release your limitations to the limitless God of the universe. Let go of what does not make sense to you. The Lord will help you make sense of it in His way and good time.
 
The result: HE, not we, will make our paths straight! WOW! Just what we need when we do not understand. A straight path. When we look to Him with faith, God will straighten out the crooked and confusing maze that not understanding can create.
 

• When we do not understand, we can walk by faith on a straight path. And God Himself paves the path for us!

 
If death has suddenly claimed a loved one of yours, or you were recently fired from your good job, or you received a negative medical report, or world-events are tearing at your heart, or your dream is turning into a nightmare and you just don’t understand what is going on--put your trust in the One who does.
 

• Faith does not have to understand to believe! Faith cannot always figure things out. But biblical faith always trusts God who knows what life is about. YOU CAN TRUST HIM!
• Life may not make sense to you and me but God makes sense of life for you and me!!!!!

 
How about you my friend? Something perplexing you today? Driving you border line crazy because life does not make sense?
 

• TRUST HIM TO MAKE SENSE OF WHAT MAKES NO SENSE TO YOU.

 
“Trust in the Lord forever, for in God, the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock. “Isaiah 26:3
 
“Trust in the Lord and go good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.” 
Psalm 37:3
 
A Word For Your Week: When you don’t understand, stand firm in faith. Trust God with what you don’t know.  
 

​I hear often from people who come for restoration counseling that they are a “people pleaser.” Upon hearing details of their self-confession, I ask them how is that working out for you?  Their sheepish response is something like this: “Not very well!”
 
All of us desire and need to be accepted by people. God put within us a longing to belong.
           
Love, acceptance and approval from others is a core need of our heart. But when our need for love, acceptance and approval from people is obsessive to the point where we live our life only to please others, we will be disappointed, and ultimately, become emotionally unhealthy.  
           
The Apostle Paul had the right perspective on who we should seek to please.
 
“But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts.” I Thessalonians 2:4
 
Paul certainly respected people and labored as a witness for Jesus in a winsome manner to win those were winnable to Christ (see I Corinthians 9:19-23, I Corinthians 10:33, Romans 15:2). Paul did his best to lovingly persuade men and women to receive the Lord. In doing so, Paul remembered that God (not men) approved of Him and entrusted him with sharing the Good News.
 

• Paul was a caring, bold, persuasive witness for the Lord because he lived his Christian life, not as a people pleaser, but as a God pleaser.

 
Note he said he spoke (preached and taught) to please the One who examines the heart. Paul knew his heart belonged to the Lord and God would hold him accountable for his life and ministry.
 
I am convinced from experience that if you and I live to please people, we will be disappointed. Again and again! If we live our life to please God, you and I will never be disappointed “For the Scripture says, “whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” (Romans 10:11). I love this truth!
 

• If is not possible for God to let us down or disappoint us when our daily desire is to live to please Him

 
Why Being A People Pleaser Won’t Work
 

• People are fickle. One moment they approve of you, the next, not so much.  
• People are struck on themselves and do not care that much about you.
• People cannot be pleased because they keep moving the bar of approval. You can never please people who expect you to please them.
• People do not know your heart and may misjudge your motives.
•  Some people will never be pleased with you because they are not pleased with themselves.
• “People pleasing” sacrifices my identity and sabotages my self-respect.
• “People pleasing” is a certain pathway to disappointment, discouragement and disillusionment with the human race.  I heard a couple of Amens!

 
Why Being a God Pleaser Works
 

• God loves you and is pleased with you because of His Son Jesus Christ.  
• God takes immense pleasure and delight in you as His child.  
• You and I do not have and cannot earn God’s approval because we have it through faith in Jesus...
• God knows our heart like no person can. His judgment is just, right and true.
• Pleasing God is His good, acceptable and perfect will for our lives.
• There is no greater joy than to start your day by committing yourself to please God in thought, word and deed.
• Pleasing God reaps awesome rewards that no man could ever bestow upon us. 

           
People pleaser or God pleaser…which one are you?
 
It took me years in my adult life to conquer the emotional desire/need to please people. Even as a born-again. Spirit-empowered Christian and minister of the Gospel, I wrestled with people pleasing. I wanted people in my ministry to like me. I think I am very likable. Even lovable.
 

• But instead of being who the Lord has made me; I had this thing in me that erroneously felt let I had to prove in some way that I was worthy of people’s love and approval.

 
Guess what?  People I tried to please could not be pleased! The Lord revealed to me to keep my eyes on Him, love people and fulfill the calling on my life. Freedom from people pleasing has been a major growth point in my personal life. I live daily to please God and minister to people who are open to receive God’s Word and live for His pleasure.
 
APPLICATON: Take a time out. Get quiet before God. Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart. Let the Lord point out if you are living to please people or God. Make whatever lifestyle adjustments you need to make to live a life that is pleasing to God.
 
Think about it. Because of God’s great love for you and me, it should be easy (a no brainer if you will!) to live to please Him!  
 
A Word For Your Week: Pleasing God is the pathway to a fruitful, fulfilling, satisfying life.

​What do you do when you have a chronic problem that will not go away? 
You have done everything you know to do to resolve ii.  The issue only gets worse and worse.
I am glad I asked the question many of us have struggled with.  

• I have discovered throughout my life and the lives of many others that God does awesome things for those with amazing faith.

There is a precious woman in the Bible who faced an insurmountable life mountain with amazing faith, resulting in the miracle she needed.
Her incredible story of faith is found in Mark 5:25-34. Read it. Meditate on it. Soak your spirit, if you will, with this inspiring example of bold, amazing faith. Here is a synopsis.
A lady has been hemorrhaging for twelve years. She has consulted multiple medical specialists to no avail. Her bank account does not have money. She has exhausted her insurance, finances and patience pursuing a cure that never comes.

• Her mind is understandably frustrated with unanswered questions, continual disappointment, troubling discouragement, depression and desperation.

Her personal dilemma was complicated by the fact she was a woman in a man’s world. Treated as a second-class citizen. The incessant hemorrhaging made her unclean in public. She was a subject of gossip and ridicule. She was embarrassed, humiliated and ashamed about her condition.

• No matter. She had heard about Jesus and His healing miracles.

She took action. In verses 27-28 we read “After hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. For she thought “If I just touch His garments, I shall get well.”      
Please note that first she thought “If I touch His garments, I will get well.” Her thought led to a touch. She decided to get well by reaching out to the One who made people well.
Verse 29 reports “And immediately the flow of her blood dried up, and she felt in her body she was healed of her affliction.”  Wow! Twelve long years, nothing but bleeding. “Immediately”. Right now. Without delay. The once non-stop bleeding ceased!

• She knew she was healed! Jesus knew too.

Verses 30-32 describe how Jesus sensed someone had touched Him. Healing power had left His body. The Lord asked “Who touched My garments?” The disciples, so human and spiritually dense like you and I would have been, questioned how anyone could know who touched Jesus’ garments in a large crowd. If anyone could, certainly Jesus would!
Jesus looked for the woman. “Fearing and trembling,” the healed woman fell down before Jesus and told Him the whole truth (Verse 33). Her humility, honesty and sincerity touched the Savior’s heart.  
Jesus’ response in verse 34 is off-the-charts amazing.  “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.”

• Her faith made her well. Because she believed, she received healing from Jesus. 

Note Jesus called her “daughter.”  The word “daughter” must have warmed her heart, causing a not-so-special woman in the eyes of others to feel very special in the heart of the Son of God.
Imagine how she felt as she walked away. No more bleeding or pain. No more embarrassment or shame. No more ridicule. No more doctor appointments! I have an idea that this humble, healed, healthy lady rejoiced in the Lord, skipping and dancing all the way home!
If you were this woman, how would you have felt and responded to your miraculous healing?
Four Simple Steps Of Amazing Faith

• Step Out Of The Crowd. Separate yourself from looky-loo’s, skeptics, cynics, doubters and sensation seekers. Never let a crowd keep you from going to Jesus. Never allow doubt to keep you out of His presence.
• Step Through The Crowd. Push through the masses to seek and receive the miracle you need from Jesus. A crowd can hold us back. Crowds are just that: crowds. Crowds won’t produce my or your miracle. Leave the crowd behind to get to the One who stands above crowds.
• Step Forward to Touch Jesus. Touching the Lord is the objective. Nothing less. Faith always moves forward to reach Jesus. The reward of a miracle is more than worth the risk of stepping out in faith.
• Step humbly to receive healing. With a sincere, humble heart, expect to receive that for which you are believing. Jesus wants to heal you as much as you want to be healed.

 

• Principle: Hearing leads to believing, believing leads to acting, acting on faith leads to miracles.
• Bottom line: Miracles happen to those who believe they will. 

Do you need a healing miracle? Are you currently struggling with a long-term spiritual, physical, emotional, mental, relational or financial issue that has exhausted and exasperated you? Have you spent all you have to no avail to find a cure?
Rubber meets the road: Do you have faith like this woman that drove her to boldly push through the crowd to reach Jesus? Why not step out with amazing faith like this dear lady did?
You and I live in a crowded world. Some believe, most do not.  I do not know about you. But my faith in Jesus means everything to me. When facing an insurmountable obstacle, with the Holy Spirit’s help, I chose to step out in faith to trust the Lord. for the “miracle” I need.

• God does the miracles you and I need in His way and timing, for our good and His glory. Amazing faith is the key to amazing miracles.  

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” II Corinthians 5:7
A Word For Your Week: Step out boldly with am

If you were to ask me what one message I would convey to the vast majority of people who have come to me for pastoral advice and counsel over the past three decades, I would say with great gusto “Grow Up!”
 
Ouch! That hurts because so many of us refuse to grow up.
 
Paul tells us in I Corinthians 13: 11 “When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.”  Paul also writes in I Corinthians 14:20 “Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be babes, but in your thinking be mature.”
 
When we were kids, we did what kids do. We acted childish, not grown up. It is perfectly all right and acceptable for children to act like children, because they are kids! Childhood is a very special season in our lives.
           

• But when childhood passes and adulthood takes center stage, we are to grow up and act like grown ups, not children in adult bodies.

 
When Paul became a man, he chose to do away with childish things. He purposely changed his thinking and behavior. No more kid’s stuff for Paul. Maturity was the mark he strove for.  Paul made daily decisions to step out of childhood and walk in adulthood as a believer in Jesus Christ.
 

• So much poor adult behavior is childish behavior.

 
Sadly, some people never do away with childish things, they never mature in their thinking and conduct, and they wonder why they cannot maintain healthy, adult relationships.   
 
I have an idea why. They act like immature children. Juvenile. Some people act like spoiled brats! Sometimes in counseling I feel like I am babysitting! I have to call time outs. Some people throw spiritual tantrums and emotional fits. You know what I would like to do? Send them to their rooms. Ouch again!
 

• Growing up is hard to do but is required if we are to become like Christ and enjoy mature, mutually satisfying relationships with God and people.

 
Think with me for a moment. Do you realize how frustrating it is for a person you love to relate to you on an adult level when you choose to act like a little child? Adult-child does not work when mature relationships require adult-adult. Adults need to grow up and act like grown-ups!
 
Paul gives wise, sensible guidance to the body of Christ concerning conduct toward brothers and sisters in the church.
 
“But speaking the truth in love, we are to GROW UP in all aspects unto Him, who is the head, even Christ...” Ephesians 4:15
 
The context of verse 15 is verses 11-16. “Speaking the truth in love” means calling stuff what it is. If we are to grow up, we must begin by facing the truth. Truth is truth. I believe the rule for healthy relationships is to always take the high road and speak truth with love.
 
Love takes the hard edge off tough stuff. But love does not mean not facing truth and needing to grow up and act maturely. Love doesn’t cover truth. It exposes truth and provides opportunity for change---if we are willing to grow up!     
 
Why is it so hard for us to “grow up” in our Christian life? Here are a few reasons to ponder.
 

• Growing up means I must face my shortcomings and do something about them.
• Growing up means I must be willing to stop making excuses for poor behavior.
• Growing up means that I must admit that I am not perfect.
• Growing up means I might have to admit that I was wrong and you were right.
• Growing up means I, and I alone, must take responsibility for my actions.
• Growing up means I must repent, apologize, seek forgiveness and make restitution when I have wronged others.
• Growing up means I must put away childish behavior and decide to act like an adult.
• Growing up means I must look to Jesus as my standard for maturity and do whatever He tells me to do to be more like Him.
• Growing up means I will have to die to self and live for God and others.
• Growing up means that if I desire to be Christ-like, I must grow up to be like Jesus. 
• Growing up means, bottom line, that I value relationships with God and people so much that I refuse to act like a baby anymore.

 
Imagine what would happen in the church of Jesus Christ, in Christian homes, in the business community, in our world if Christians started GROWING UP and SHOWING UP as mature witnesses for Christ? Wow—revival and restoration to righteousness, holiness, goodness, wholeness, wellness, happiness, prosperity and peace would be the order of the day.
 

• If you need to grow up, start right now. The stakes are too high to continue to act like an immature child. Successful living requires mature, grown up, adult behavior.

 
Choosing not to grow up you will never know how good grown-up living can be. Chose to grow up and you will know how being like Jesus can make life abundant and worth living.
 

• Hey friend, are you growing up and becoming more and more grown up in Christ each day?

 
“Therefore, putting aside all malice and al guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the Word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.”                                                                                        I Peter 2:2
 
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity.”                                           II Peter 3:18
 
A Word For Your Week: If you want to go up, GROW UP!