by donyadunlap | Jan 4, 2012 | The Spiritual Life
Yesterday morning I saw a church sign that just made me chuckle. “May your troubles be as short as your New Year’s Resolutions.” I know in my own life, my resolutions have been little more than fodder for future regrets. I may have had very good intentions, but somewhere along January 3rd I got off course and my goals became wishful thinking. Last year I was so discouraged by my past failures that I resolved to not make any resolutions. If I don’t try, I can’t fail…right?
As I look at the new year before me, I am filled with excitement, apprehension and a lot of hope. But along with my own dreams of what may come I have had several thoughts that I believe are from the Lord that I would like to share with you over my next several posts. The first is this…
God has a plan for my life.
This, most likely, is not a shocking revelation to you…it certainly isn’t for me…but think about that truth for a moment. God has a plan for my life…for your life. I love to make plans and checklists. I love to imagine great things and hope that someday my dreams will come true. But I wonder…
How short sighted are my dreams in God’s eyes?
Over my Christmas vacation I picked up a book by Randy Alcorn called Dominion. One of the storylines is of a young woman who had recently died, watching her brother struggle through his grief in the Shadowlands, her name for earth. The day that she died her brother shared with her his dream of moving to the country, away from the crime of the city, so that his family could be safe and they could live a life of peace and comfort away from all that was unpleasant about the world around them. After burying his sister due to a drive by shooting, this young man asked God why He was doing this to him. What about his dreams…were they too big for God? God’s response to his broken heart was…no, your dreams were not too big…they were too small. The rest of the story went on to tell how this man moved his family into his sister’s home at the heart of the inner city and how, through the Holy Spirit’s power, he and others in the neighborhood began to fight back against the evil around them to take back their neighborhood from the gangs. Young lives were saved from crime and early death because he decided to trade in his dreams for God’s plan for his life.
I have big dreams, big goals, big resolutions for 2012, but are my dreams God-sized dreams? If I pray only for those things that I desire to happen, will I be short-changing myself? I wonder what might happen if I pray for God’s dreams for my life to come true? What miracles would I witness that are so great that I can’t even imagine them, much less pray for them?
So, my first resolution for 2012 is to pray for God-sized dreams. I am praying that God will do as He promised to do in Psalm 37:4. I am praying that He will give me the desires of my heart, but that He will first place in my heart His desires. I don’t want to get to heaven and realize that my dreams were too small. Do you?
So tell me…what are some of your resolutions for the new year? How do you think God might want to work in you and through you this year? Share your thoughts with me below. I’d love to hear from you!
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare (good) and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
– Jeremiah 29:11
Photo credit: Stuck in Customs / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA
by donyadunlap | Dec 7, 2011 | How Great is Our God, The Spiritual Life
There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours.
All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.
For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.
Teach me your way, O LORD,
that I may walk in your truth;
unite my heart to fear your name.
I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
and I will glorify your name forever.
For great is your steadfast love toward me;
you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
-Psalm 86:8-13
For several months this Psalm has been on my heart and mind. I have wanted to write about this section of the Psalm from the very beginning, but decided to go in the order that David wrote it so as to get a better picture of what he was saying to us. (If you missed Part 1, you may read it by clicking here.) I am glad that I did go in order, because as God would have it, the second part of this Psalm is very appropriate for us to consider during the Christmas season.
I wasn’t planning to write today, but as I was working this afternoon, I was listening to a sermon on anticipating Christmas and I knew I had to make time to share what the Lord was saying to me. It goes along so well with what I believe He has been trying to teach me from Psalm 86.
So many times we put God in a box, wrap Him up all nice and pretty, put a big bow around Him and set Him aside. Once in a while we take Him out and play with Him for a little bit, but then we put Him back and secure the lid again. We fail to see Him for the treasure that He truly is. We fail to allow ourselves to revel in the wonder of His being, the majesty of His power and the awesomeness of His presence. And I am afraid that we do this more at Christmastime than at any other time of the year. We are so busy with parties and presents and baking and decorating that we forget what—Who we are celebrating. Pause in the midst of your busy-ness and consider with me the greatness of our God.
“There is none like You…nor are there any works like Yours.” When was the last time you spoke to God in awestruck reverence like David did here? Consider what sacrifice it was for the One who is greater than all the sum mysteries of the Universe to reduce Himself to be an embryo in the womb of a human, teen age girl. Really stop and think about that for a minute. Consider the most grand and inspiring site that you have ever seen on this earth, or the most breathtaking image of space that you have admired and consider that our God, our Jesus created that. He created everything, including the body of the young woman that was his home for the first nine months of His time in human form.
One day all nations will bow their knees and lift up their voices in praise to our great God, but I ask you…why wait until then? We get so bogged down in the daily that many of us would have to pull ourselves up out of a pit in order to kneel in praise. The muck and mire of our to-do lists, our emotions, our lack of confession…it covers us in guilt and shame and frustration and takes our eyes off of the One who is greater than all other gods, the One whom we were created to worship and glorify, the One we are to praise for His greatness and for His great works. I know I am guilty of this. I have been in a pit of discouragement and frustration over the long list of things I have to do, my inability to do them well, the people in my life that add to the difficulty and the overwhelming feeling I have when I think that there is no end to it all…at least that I can see right now. I think David understood that, but He reminds us to forget about ourselves, get God out of the little box we’ve put Him in and return Him to His rightful place on the throne of Heaven. When we stop to consider Him, the muck of our lives falls away and we are reminded that this dusty road we travel is only for a short while. Very soon we will be face down at the feet of Jesus and none of what we have done on this earth will matter short of that which brought Him glory.
Which brings me to the prayer that has been on my heart these past few months…
Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.
Unite my heart to fear your name. Pull me away from all that tears me up inside. Bind up the wounds that this world has inflicted on my soul. Cleanse me from the filth of my sin. Open my eyes so that I can see that those things that distract me from spending time with you are fleeting and empty. Unite my heart, Lord. Make me whole through the power of your grace and forgiveness. Remove from my life all many things that clamor for my time and attention. Infuse my soul and spirit with your love and draw me close to your side again…so close that I can hear my heart beat in rhythm with your own…for only then can I truly praise you Lord. Only after you have picked up the fragments of my life and glued them together again can I bring you glory and praise your name as you desire. Remind me of your great love for me. Remind me why you came to this earth. Remind me of the true meaning of Christmas. Remind me that you died to save me from the pit that I so often choose to walk back into while navigating this road of my life. Help me to walk in your truth so that you are everything to me. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth. Unite my heart to fear your name.
by donyadunlap | Nov 12, 2011 | The Spiritual Life
Psalm 86:1-7
Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.
Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.
Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.
Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.
Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.
In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.
I love the psalms of David. His words echo through the centuries and touch my heart strings just as I imagine his fingers sweeping across his harp from the hillsides of Judea as a shepherd boy. This particular song, however, is not one from his youth, but is a cry to God as an adult for rescue from a band of wicked men who were seeking his life. This psalm resonates with me, not because I share similar circumstances, but because I share the very same God.
David calls out to God using several of His names, the first being Jehovah, the self-existent One, the eternal God. Sometimes I think we forget who God really is, mainly because we never really take the time to get to know Him as we ought. Each of us have our own opinions of God, but the Scripture reveals to us His true character.
I used to often think of God as an angry Judge, always looking for ways to punish me for messing up. I still struggle with this image in my mind. While it is true that God is a Judge who will punish sin, the Scriptures clearly state that as His child, He has pardoned my sin or declared me not guilty for the crimes against His holiness that I have committed, because of Christ’s payment for my sins on the cross. So as His child, I have the privilege of approaching God in my distress, just as David did in these recorded words from history.
In verse one, David pleads to the Lord to bow down, to pay attention to his cry because he is poor and needy—meaning depressed in mind and circumstances, destitute and in emotional want. David was distraught and in his need he turned to the only One that could provide the help that he needed. David continues his plea in verse two, begging God to protect him, to save his life because he has committed his life to God. The word “servant” means bondslave—one who has committed his entire being to his Master for the entire length of his life. He was not counting down the days until his contract was up—he was fully committed to God until his last breath. Why? Because his Master was his God, Elohiym, the Supreme God above all gods. The One deserving of his complete surrender and the One that David trusted completely as a refuge in times of trouble. All of David’s hope was in his God. He continues to appeal to God in verse three, asking Him to be merciful and gracious to him—meaning to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior. David’s cry was one of humility. He did not demand God’s help as an anointed king, but cried out as a helpless child. Here he calls to God, his Lord, using the name Adoni meaning his ruler, sovereign, master, owner. As king, David ruled his kingdom with power and authority, but his earthly position mattered little before the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe. Yet still he boldly cries out, addressing God by name with passion from deep within his soul. The word “cry” means to call out with the idea of physically accosting someone. Would God have been standing in front of David at that moment, David would have been at His feet, clinging to the hem of His robes, staining them with his tears and pleading loudly for God to intercede for him. David broadens his request, not only to protect him, but to restore joy to his heart once again. David is weary and emotionally spent and with all that he has left within him, he lifts up his heart to his Master and asks Him to show kindness and to make his heart merry in his service as he once was. David knows that he has done wrong, but he also recognizes that God is a good God who is quick to forgive and is abounding in never-ending love to those that call out to Him. David implores the Lord to pour out His merciful love and grace and affirms that he knows God will both hear and answer his prayers.
Do you feel like David did so long ago? Do you feel worn out, beaten down and emotionally spent? Do you feel like everyone is against you and you can’t remember the last time you felt truly happy? Sometimes when life gets us down, we shy away from God. I know that when I’m having a bad day, I don’t feel especially spiritual and I hesitate to turn to God in my need. Even though I know better, I feel like God wouldn’t want to listen to me because I’m not at my spiritual best. I’m not full of hope and rejoicing in the promises of God—I’m tired, worn out and in need of a hug. That’s why I love Psalm 86! It reminds me that I don’t have to clean myself up before I fall at the feet of Jesus, because He is quick to forgive and eager to bow down to me in my need. My God isn’t far away in Heaven refusing to acknowledge my pain because I’m in a valley of discouragement. He is right beside me, wrapping His loving arms around me and holding me while I cry.
I remember times as a young girl, and even as a grown woman, when I would kneel next to my mom in her chair, put my arm around her back, and lay my head on her lap to just be near her. She would gently scratch my back and all my worries seemed to be engulfed in that safe and happy place. Even now, when I am hundreds of miles away from my mom, hearing her voice on the other end of the phone makes everything seem a little better. My Jesus is like that too. Whether or not I am at fault in bringing about my current circumstances, Jesus is always there to make everything right again. Satan whispers to us that we have to do better, or be good enough, or work harder to achieve the presence of God in our lives, but all God wants us to do is to cry out to Him. He wants to extend forgiveness, mercy, grace and kindness to us, no matter how deep of a hole we have gotten ourselves into. He longs to hear our pleas for rescue and He delights in answering our prayers.
If you have God trapped in a box of condemnation and wrath in your mind, I pray that you will find freedom in the words of Psalm 86 tonight. Let loose the chains of Satan’s lies and call out to your Master, who does not enslave you, but gives freedom to all who commit their lives to Him. Cry out to the One who neither faints, nor grows weary, the One who is closer than a brother, the One who has promised to carry you through the trials of this life, protected by His strong arms. Fall at the feet of the Eternal One. Pour out your heart to Him. He longs to listen to every word.
by donyadunlap | Sep 5, 2011 | The Spiritual Life
I have been convicted lately of the need to be consistently memorizing and meditating on God’s Word. After watching John Piper eloquently recite several lengthy passages over the course of fifteen minutes as if he was reading a letter to his audience [watch here], I determined that I would stop what I was doing and respond in obedience to the Lord’s prompting. I pulled out a journal that my parents had given me for Christmas and prayed that the Lord would direct me to the passage I should choose as a starting point. I thought of a verse that I had heard someone discussing yesterday and turned to Isaiah 26 to read it for myself. At the beginning of the chapter, several verses above the verse I was looking for, I had marked two verses with stars. After reading them, I knew this is where I had to begin.
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. -Isaiah 26:3-4
I have been struggling a lot lately with anxiety and trusting God. I have had several moments of prayer when I have asked God to remove the tightness in my chest and sick feeling that seems to attack me at the strangest of moments. I have repeatedly asked the Lord why I seem to be having such a difficult time when in my mind, and I truly believe in my heart as well, I acknowledge that He is in control and that He will bring to pass that which is for my good and for His glory. I have asked the Lord to show me how to trust Him as I ought. I have begged Him to give me the peace that passes all understanding and yet I still struggle almost daily.
When I read these words tonight the same questions came to mind again. This is a promise from God, an absolute truth—but something still felt disconnected in my heart. I decided to pull out my Strong’s Concordance (thank you Mr. Swain!) to dig a little deeper. What I found left me (temporarily) at a loss for words! All I could say was, “Wow.” This is what I discovered:
Keep – to guard, to protect
Perfect – to complete, accomplish
Peace – (shalom) safe ie: well, happy, friendly; also welfare ie: health, prosperity, rest, safety as in “all is well”
Stayed – to lean upon or take hold of, bear up, establish, uphold, lay, lean, lie hard, put, stand fast, sustain
Trust/Trusteth – to hide for refuge, to be confident or sure, be bold, careless, put confidence, hope, make to trust
Forever – duration in the sense of advance or perpetuity, eternity, perpetually, world without end
Lord – the same, the sacred name of God meaning the Lord most vehement
Jehovah – the self-existent or eternal One
Everlasting – time out of mind (past or future), always, ancient, continuance, perpetual
Strength – a cliff, a rock or boulder, a refuge
Do you see what I see? My God, has promised to guard and protect me in complete safety as long as I lean upon and stand fast on Him. Why? Because by doing so it shows that I am hiding and placing my confidence not on myself, but in Him, my Refuge. He then commands that I continue to place my confidence and hope in Him forever. And why should I do this? Because He is the eternal, unchanging, self-existent God who is and has been—since time out of mind, both ancient and future—my rock, my refuge, my immovable object in which I can find shelter and protection, my hiding place.
What I love most about these verses is the word “stayed”. My struggle lately has been with my feelings. I don’t feel at peace. I feel worried, pressured, overwhelmed, responsible for things outside of my control, helpless and trapped in my circumstances. These verses are telling me that my feelings do not equal truth. God’s promises equal truth. “Stayed” implies a continual, conscious choice, a repeated action. I must constantly lean upon, take hold of and stand fast on the promises of God—not in my feelings, but in my mind. I must choose to think on God’s promises and to claim His truth as if what He has said has already come to pass. He WILL keep me protected and safe. He will be my refuge. I may not feel safe hiding behind the boulder of His protection while the storms of life rage around me, but I AM safe. He will not let anything happen to me that is not for my good. That safety may not look like I think it should, but I must surrender my ideas to Him, trusting that His will is best for me. Even if the storms of my life bring me to my death, He will never leave me and in my death is my ultimate release into eternal peace! What an amazing and powerful truth! Why should I be afraid of my circumstances or my future when the Ancient of Days holds me fast in His strength? I don’t have to worry. I can live my life well, happy and friendly. Don’t you love that word choice? I don’t have to send my co-workers running for cover when I feel like my life is out of control. I can smile and be friendly, showing both the Lord and others that my trust is in my Everlasting Strength.
Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you.
-1 Peter 5:7
by donyadunlap | Aug 9, 2011 | How Great is Our God
The picture above is a portion of a photo of the Orion Nebula courtesy of hubblesite.org. It is my favorite image of the hundreds of awe-inspiring photos taken by the Hubble Telescope of the known universe. Its beauty astounds me every time I look at it. The artist in me is fascinated with the swirls of color caused by the gases emanating from the stars, but when I try to comprehend the science of the image, it taxes the limits of my mind. Consider that each glowing dot is really a massive ball of fire many times larger than the size of our planet, and each dot is thousands of light-years away from the next. And to think that the One who created this breath-taking sight, just to glorify Himself, also loves me so much that He listens to each prayer I speak and counts each tear I shed. Unfathomable!
I was introduced to the Hubble site through the messages of Louie Giglio. The two that have most rocked my world are titled “Indescribable” and “How Great Is Our God”. I first heard of Louie and these messages late in the summer of 2010. Since then my life has completely changed. I have a whole new perspective of God and His glory and a more right-sized view of myself as well. If you have not listened to either of these messages, I highly encourage you to click on the links above to watch the messages on YouTube. Each video is over forty minutes, but those eighty plus minutes will change your life—I promise you.
I hope that each time you see a view of the heavens that takes your breath away, you will stop and think of the magnificence of the Creator God that we worship.
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork.
-Psalm 19:1
