by Donya Dunlap | Aug 16, 2016 | Bible Study, The Spiritual Life
If you are familiar with the story of Moses sending twelve spies into Canaan, you may be thinking I mistyped the title. I didn’t. We are all the twelve spies of Canaan. Not the ten that were afraid or the two that got it right. All twelve.
The Mission
The instructions were simple. Moses pulled one representative from each tribe to make up the team. These were all top-notch guys. If there were an Olympic sport for spying, this team would win gold.
Moses trusted them to evaluate the situation in Canaan and return with information on the people, the cities, and the lay of the land (Numbers 13:17-20). At the end of the 40 days, the team returned with mixed reviews.
The Obstacle
All twelve of the men raved over the quality of the land and its wealth. They had no dispute over the abundance of food or the beauty of the landscape. But when it came to the people of the land, two men saw cities ripe for the taking and ten men saw giants. Really big ones. With big scary muscles to squish them with—translated loosely from the Hebrew.
The Reality
Somedays I feel like linking arms with Joshua and Caleb and charging ahead, guns blazing. On those days, God is big, my hair looks great, and nothing can stop me.
But then there are days when giants happen. Big smelly, hairy giants like literary agents, publishing contracts, and marketing experts. On those days I look at my to-do list, I look in the mirror, and I tell God it can’t be done. Maybe if I had an army to help draft amazing query letters and edit my drafts, and a social media guru or two…maybe then I could do it. But just little me against all those giants? I feel like a squeaky grasshopper in comparison, just like the Israelites felt in comparison to their lanky counterparts.
We all want to be courageous and full of faith. We admire the Joshua’s and Caleb’s in our circles, reading books about how to be more like them. But at the end of the day, we go back to the wilderness.
The Wilderness
There are times when we are the ten spies who choose the wilderness. And there are times when we are the two who have to endure the wilderness because of someone else’s choices. We don’t always have an option as to where we sleep for forty years, but we do have a choice in how we use our daylight hours.
The ten and everyone who agreed with them continued to doubt God and complain about their circumstances until they all died. Joshua and Caleb never did. They stayed faithful, humble, and engaged. When God said it was time to go forward, they were ready, strong, and prepared for a fight.
If your circumstances are looking dry and dusty, don’t argue with God about it. Seek His face. Open your heart to personal change. You may not be able to improve your neighborhood, but you can always improve yourself. Lift whatever spiritual weights necessary to prepare yourself for the battles ahead.
If your time is now and you find yourself paralyzed by giants, move! It’s okay to be afraid. Fear does not disqualify you from service. Choosing to reject God’s promise over your evaluation of the circumstances does.
God can use you afraid. Remember, the battle is the Lord’s. We simply have the privilege of tagging along for the show.
The Mountain
You’re not going to wake up most days feeling like Joshua and Caleb. You’re going to feel like your bones ache and you ate too much pizza the night before. Feelings are valid, but they are not valid excuses for staying in the wilderness. Feelings adjust as you do just as faith grows as it is exercised.
You don’t have to conquer the whole land before you today. Pick your mountain, make your plan, move forward. The land before you is rich with God’s blessings and presence. He will give you the courage and resources as you walk with Him.
Are you standing outside your Promised Land in fear? Share your circumstances below. We all need encouragement from time to time. Allow others to come alongside you as you pick your mountain and prepare to move ahead.
by Donya Dunlap | Aug 9, 2016 | The Spiritual Life, Write Hard Things
I can’t sing. For a person whose life finds its center in music, this is a big deal.
It started in February. After learning that my mom had cancer, I found myself unable to sing a few of the songs at church without crying. Then during chorale rehearsals, I cried every time we practiced Ashoken Farewell. As my mother worsened, my music selections dwindled. Soon I no longer reached for the radio or sat in a song service that could be avoided.
I thought, in time, my song would return to me. But even now, more than three months past mom’s funeral, I find myself standing silent while others are worshipping, tears streaming down my face.
Worshipping in dust and ashes
In these last months, I’ve come to understand what Job felt when he said,
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. – Job 1:21
Job was devastated by the loss of his children. These words did not come from his lips flippantly. In his lowest moment, face pressed to the ground, tears turning the dust to mud, Job worshipped. He didn’t lift his hands. He didn’t sing a song. He simply surrendered all he had and all he was to the God who held Him in His hands.
My dear friend, when grief presses you to the dust, worship there! … Remember the exhortation of the Psalmist David, “Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:8). When you are bowed down beneath a heavy burden of sorrow, worship and adore God there. In full surrender to His divine will, say with Job, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15). This kind of worship subdues the will, arouses the affections, stirs the whole mind, and presents you to God in solemn consecration. This worship sweetens sorrow and takes away its sting.
– Charles Spurgeon, Beside Still Waters
Worshipping from the inside out
Worship is both outward action and inward response. Body, soul, and spirit united in surrender and adoration to God for who He is. Worshipping at church on Sunday can look very different from a tear stained pillow at night, but God sees the heart. He knows when our spirits rebel against His will for our lives and when we humbly submit to it.
I believe someday I will sing again. But until I do, I will silently affirm my belief in God’s goodness and my trust in His plan.
Do I understand? No. Thankfully, understanding is not a prerequisite for worship. If that were so, no one could bow before the One that is infinitely beyond all we can imagine. All He asks for are hearts bowed in love and humility.
When You don’t move the mountains I’m needing You to move,
When You don’t part the waters I wish I could walk through,
When You don’t give the answers as I cry out to You,
I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You.
-Lauren Daigle
I don’t have all the answers. I don’t have a voice with which to praise. But I believe that God is at work for my good and His glory…and that is a sacrifice well pleasing to the Father.
Join the conversation! I welcome your questions and comments below.
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by Donya Dunlap | Aug 5, 2016 | Bible Study, How Great is Our God
Isaiah 45 is a prophetic message from God to Cyrus, founder of the Persian Empire, written some 200 years before his birth. Centuries before the events would transpire, the Maestro of heaven planned to use an idolater, the ruler of a pagan nation, to free Israel from captivity.
I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.
Isaiah 45:2-3 KJV
Israel’s Dark History
The years Israel spent in captivity were trying for God’s people. They were forced to leave their homeland and serve wicked kings whose only concerns were power and fulfilling their passions. The stories of Esther, Nehemiah, Daniel and others reveal that one wrong move by a Hebrew could find him in prison, tossed into a pit of lions, hanging from gallows, or thrown in a fiery furnace. Yet through it all, God had a plan.
God told Cyrus that He would give him “treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places” to prove that He was in control. Cyrus might have been king of Persia, but in truth, he was nothing more than one instrument in the vast orchestra under God’s command. Later in the passage God says that He plans to use Cyrus, even though Cyrus was not a believer, for the good of His people to bring glory to His name.
Look Up
It can be easy to look at the wickedness around us and feel discouraged. Like Israel in their captivity, we too are in a foreign place. Heaven is our home. Our souls long for the New Jerusalem just as God’s people longed for the old. It looked hopeless, their chances at returning home. Thankfully, our God can use unbelievers to do His bidding just as easily as He can use His children.
If you are in a dark place right now remember, both the prisoner and the prince are in the hand of God. Our lives are fluid. God brings about trials both to keep us dependent on Him and to keep us humble. Regardless of our current situation, God’s ultimate plan is always for our good and His glory. We can rest in this truth.
When Darkness Comes
A.W. Tozer said,
It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply.
Over and over again, the Bible tells us of the deep struggles men and women have had to endure before God could use them in a mighty way. Our history books tell us the same. Abraham Lincoln. George Washington. Winston Churchill. Eleanor Roosevelt. These and many more have had to go through deep waters of pain and struggle in order to become great inspirations for others to follow. We will not be exceptions to God’s plan.
If are to be greatly used by God, we must be molded into useful instruments. This can be a painful process. But during these times of transformation, He will provide for us glimmers of hope. These “treasures of darkness” are God’s gifts to let us know He is with us and He is in control. He didn’t forget His people Israel, and He won’t forget us.
It’s been three months since my mother passed away. These months have been full of sadness and instability. But they have also been times of renewed friendships, answered prayer, and unexpected blessings. God has not forsaken me in my trial. He has given me treasures to cling to—lights in the darkness. He won’t forsake you either.
Your Current Reality
As I stated in my last post, “joy is a treasure hunt.” Take a step back from your circumstances for a moment. Look at your situation as if you were above and can see all the pieces like God can. You won’t be able to see the final destination, but you can find the treasures. What blessings have you overlooked that you should thank God for? What gifts has He provided? Look carefully.
I encourage you to read the rest of Isaiah 45:1-7. It’s a wonderful passage full of truths I could never cover in a single post. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
In the month of October, there will be short Bible Study posts similar to the one above on the first 31 chapters of Psalms. To receive email reminders of these and other new posts, please subscribe. As a thank you, you will receive a free ebook, The Wonder Woman’s Manifesto.
Resource: Cyrus – All the Men of the Bible © 1988 Zondervan. All Rights Reserved
by Donya Dunlap | Aug 2, 2016 | The Spiritual Life
This weekend I read a book that got me all tied up in knots. It is an inspirational memoir by a popular author that is my age and single, or she was at the time the book was released. We both graduated high school in 1997. I had a great job right after graduating college. She found her dream job not long after. We both have a desire to be a blessing to single women. We both are bloggers and authors. But it is here that our similarities cease.
Even though our paths are vastly different and our destinations likewise, I chose to focus on her current success compared to my stuckness. It’s a word. Trust me. I quickly became upset and decided to throw a colossal pity party, complete with tears and tissues and a few bemoaning texts to a friend. It wasn’t pretty.
The next morning I dragged my puffy eyes out of bed and began my day with morning pages. Of course the bruises to my heart and ego still felt fresh so this is what I poured onto my three designated pages of brain dumping. I realized quickly how foolish I was being. I realized that I didn’t want her life or her blessings, so why should I be jealous of her success?
Everyone is on a different journey.
Comparing my path to someone else’s path is like comparing the Golden Gate Bridge to a Boeing 757. They both help people get to their final destinations, but they look and operate in completely different ways. Expecting a bridge to look like a plane is foolishness, just like expecting my life to look like anyone else’s life is also foolishness.
Comparison is also a fast way to breed discontent and ungratefulness. I look at my dead ends and detours and feel discouraged because I am comparing them to her successes. I see her starting point and her current location and ignore all she endured in the middle. Loss of career. Bad relationships. Mental breakdown. Physical abuse. She had detours too. Detours I wouldn’t want, just like I am sure she wouldn’t want to travel mine.
Everyone has different goals and rewards.
If I were to hold up my dreams to this author’s vision board, they would look vastly different. Well, aside from both coveting the New York Times Bestseller List, but what author doesn’t want that? When she was mapping out her journey she had planned sight seeing stops like New York City, meeting Oprah, getting married. I want to live in Italy for at least 3-6 months, meet Christine Caine, and adopt a little girl.
If I met Oprah, that wouldn’t be as exciting to me as it was for her. Her blessings are handcrafted to fit her heart’s desires perfectly just like mine are. Spending one second coveting her life is an affront to the Creator who made us both uniquely beautiful.
Joy is a treasure hunt.
If I spend my time comparing myself to others and looking for their blessings, I will miss those special gifts God has hidden for me all throughout my day. If I am to enjoy my trip, I need to make it a treasure hunt. I need to walk eyes wide open, looking for God’s good hand around every corner.
Even in our dead ends and detours, God has treasures for us to find. Nuggets of wisdom. Jewels of friendship. Difficult experiences can turn into precious memories, just like diamonds in the rough.
Choose today to find the treasures meant only for you. Put the maps and the measuring sticks away. Find your joy.
Have you found yourself on an unexpected detour in life that ended up being a wonderful blessing in disguise? Share your experience in the comments below.
And if you haven’t yet, subscribe to receive notifications in your email anytime a new post goes live. As a thank you, you will receive my free ebook, The Wonder Woman’s Manifesto.
by Donya Dunlap | Jul 29, 2016 | Book Reviews, Making a Difference
Of all the Christian living books I’ve read, and I’ve read a lot of them, Love Does by Bob Goff is the most lighthearted, entertaining, and refreshing. It is a weaving of humorous life stories with spiritual principles he’s learned along the way. He makes you think, but in a way that inspires you to change rather than condemn you for the way you are.
What It’s Not
At first I was a little taken aback by the lack of Christianese. A person who has never seen a Bible or stepped foot in a church could read Love Does and understand every word. I realized quickly that this strips the religion out of the subject, and that is a wonderful thing when you are talking about being like Jesus.
The lack of religiosity also supports his premise that love is an action, not a feeling or an idea. If we love someone, we will do everything we can to make them happy and ensure their well being. Just reading all about a person does not put us in relationship with that person. We must interact with them and serve them.
What It Is
But what does that mean when we talk about loving Jesus? According to Bob, don’t just read and memorize Scripture—you do what it says. When it says to love your neighbor, you actually leave your house and go to where they are. You listen to them, interact with them, and help them however you can. When a stranger you just met wants to propose to his girlfriend on your porch, you provide the dinner music. If children are unjustly imprisoned in Uganda, and you’re a lawyer like Bob, you use your gifts to set them free. When God blesses you with material gifts, you use your excess to give to the poor. If your friend is dying, you make sure they have one last memory-making caper before they go.
The whole point of Love Does is DOING whatever you need to do to be Jesus to that person in that moment. Love doesn’t wait. It doesn’t write up a pro’s and con’s sheet. Love does what is in its power to do.
Of course, Bob says it much better than I can. He’s a pretty funny guy. And his life backs up his words. Pick up a copy of Love Does and discover for yourself “a secretly incredible life in an ordinary world.”
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