Do you smell like smoke?

 

One of my favourite things to do is to sit around a campfire, the sweet aroma of smoke permeating the air around me, leaving its scent on my clothing and in my hair.

I’m one of those people that will actually look for the smoke to sit in. I want to breathe it in. I want the smell of it to linger on my person long after the fire has died down and the hot coals have cooled and turned to ashes.

Our family have been on many camping adventures and the thought of building a campfire and sitting there staring into the flames or leaning back, gazing into the beauty of the milky way while the smoke trails rise in swirling patterns around me, fills me with great pleasure.

A very, very long time ago, during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, in the book of Daniel, we read of a fire that told an impressive story of God’s Almighty power.

The amazing story of three Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who refused to bow to the King’s golden statue, because of their obedience to God, has been told over and over again in Sunday Schools, churches, Youth Groups and the like for centuries.

And one of the most astonishing things about the story, has to do with the smell of smoke.

Let me take you back six years to a time and place where I found myself going through my own fiery trial.

My days were dark, and my nights were even darker. I found myself drowning in a sea of depression and crippling anxiety like I had never experienced before.

For 6 months I fought an internal battle. An unexplained battle with depression, anxiety and panic attacks that literally took my breath away, threatening to take me out completely. They had made themselves at home and nothing I could do seemed to shake it. Everything I tried failed.

And then Jesus came.

Just like in the story of the three Hebrew boys, Jesus stepped in.

As I struggled along, fighting attacks of the devil, fighting within myself, crying out to God, letting my emotions overwhelm me, I began to let the Word of God wash over my soul. I began to read my Bible more. I began to pray like never before. I wrote out countless verses on little note cards and plastered them all over the place. I cried through more worship songs than I can count, I played the piano for our church through tears, eyes closed, the turmoil raging inside of me.

God was trying to bring the impurities in my life to the surface so he could purge them from my life and make me more like him. He wanted to create in me a compassion for others hurting and struggling. He wanted to throw out the critical spirit that I harboured inside and replace it with love.

God was doing a purifying work in my heart. He saw something in me that needed refining. I had to be taken down into the pits of despair in order to rise up in praise, thanking Him for His amazing goodness to me.

In the story of the fiery furnace, we read how that as the boys refused the bow to the golden statue that Nebuchadnezzar had made for the people to worship, he was filled with rage and ordered his men to heat the fire seven times hotter than it was already heated.

And as they bound them and cast them into the fire, the men throwing them in were burned up and perished, and yet, the boys began to walk around in the fire and a fourth man appeared alongside them.

Jesus stepped in.

In their time of dire need, Jesus stepped in. He saw the fire, and he saw their hearts.

And we know the rest of the story. Nebuchadnezzar commanded them to come out of the fire and we see a second miracle happen.

Daniel 3:27 KJV - And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.

Now, to me, it is absolutely astounding, firstly, that they made it out of the fire alive, but secondly, that there was no smell of smoke on them at all!

They had not only stood by the fire, but they had been IN the fire and yet the smell of smoke did not even touch their clothes or bodies.

Can I tell you, that although you may be going through difficult times right now and the fire is hot and the smoke is swirling, when you make it through to the other side, (when and not if) and Jesus steps in and rescues you, it will be one thing to come out alive but it will be quite another thing to come out without even smelling like what you went through.

The fire that everyone thinks will destroy you, and tear down your belief and trust in God, can be the thing that makes your faith grow even stronger.

The trials you go through can be the very instrument God uses to change you from the inside out.

Don’t you think that those Hebrew boys went into that fire one way, but came out another? They came out changed. Their testimony grew to a whole new level. Their faith levelled up!

Those looking on marvelled at the strength of their faith and their confidence in God.

Even grand King Nebuchadnezzar himself was so affected that he commanded his people to become worshippers of this God that these boys claimed as their own.

Daniel 3:29 KJV - Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort.

When I struggled through my dark days, the fire seemingly hotter than I could bear, instead of destroying my faith, like the Devil wanted it to, it solidified it. It strengthened it. It grew it.

My time of not being okay, changed my heart and set me on a path of soul searching and digging into the Word of God regularly, longing to hear from him.  

Somebody, somewhere, is watching you go through your fire. And when they see you come out, not just alive, but not even smelling like what you just went through, not just alive but more alive than you’ve ever been in your life, they are going to want what you have, and they are going to want to know how to get it.

When Jesus sets you free from what enslaves you or grips your soul, somebody loses. That somebody is the Devil.

The enemy does not want you to be free. He knows that you have the potential to do great things for God and his kingdom when you are freed from what holds you down.

If you let him transform your life and you no longer identify by your pain, the enemy loses.

You have to be bold enough to say, “Jesus came into my story, he redeemed me, he pulled me from the fire, and I’m going to keep sharing it because I want other people to be free.”

Let your testimony of God’s goodness be a shining light to all those you come in contact with. Don’t let even the hint of the smell of smoke linger on you.

Come out alive. Come out stronger. Come out with an unshakeable faith. Come out with a powerful confidence in God that can’t be moved. Come out CHANGED!

I am not the same person I was six years ago. I now get excited about my past victories and long to share them with others every chance I get.

You never know what an encouragement you might be to someone in a dark place, longing to know if there is hope and life after pain.

Let me tell you, from someone who has been there and come through and up into the light, there is life after pain and hurt and depression and anxiety.

God has given me new breath in my lungs, a new song in my heart, new promises to hold to, and a thankful spirit that wants to shout his praises for all to hear.

Don’t smell like the smoke of the fires you’ve been through!

Psalm 145:2 KJV - Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t talk Fear. Talk Faith!

 

“David himself never acknowledged how big Goliath was,

 he only ever acknowledged how big his God was”.

 

Did you ever notice that when David faced Goliath, he didn’t talk about how dangerous or how large or how impressive, threatening or scary Goliath was? He only talked about how great his God was.

Now, I know that for some of you who have grown up in the church, this story may be all too familiar and you may find yourself zoning out when you hear a sermon on it or read an article on it, but how about you take a fresh look at it with me?

Let’s look at the story as we find it in 1 Samuel.

1 Samuel 17:4, 7 KJV - And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. ... And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him.

First up, we see that this dude was MASSIVE! Unlike anyone we’ve ever seen or even want to see. I don’t have to tell you how intimidating he must have been to the Israelite soldiers.

Interestingly enough, even King Saul, who was head and shoulders above everyone else (I Samuel 9:2), didn’t even want to go up against Goliath.

As we read a bit further down, we see Goliath issued his challenge.

1 Samuel 17:8 KJV - And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.

1 Samuel 17:9 KJV - If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.

And, not surprisingly, no one accepted.

And then along came David. Just a simple shepherd boy. A servant and messenger of his Father. He was given an errand to run and off he went. An important but lowly job. The job of a servant. Not a soldier.

1 Samuel 17:17-18 KJV - And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren; And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.

David’s brothers, the three oldest sons of Jesse had gone with the army of Saul to fight against the Philistines.

Well, we know the story of how he found his brothers and the army and as he talked with them, Goliath the formidable foe came out again to issue his daring challenge.

1 Samuel 17:23 KJV - And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.

And we read that David heard it. He heard the challenge and then he was left scratching his head as to why no one was accepting the challenge.

1 Samuel 17:26 KJV - And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

I find it interesting that David doesn’t seem to bat an eyelid at the challenge or the size of the giant. Instead, much to his brothers’ chagrin, he, a simple shepherd and errand boy, not a warrior, accepted the challenge.

1 Samuel 17:32 KJV - And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.

Instead of talking fear, instead of voicing the fears that every man in that camp were voicing or at least thinking, he simply talked faith.

1 Samuel 17:37 KJV - David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.

David did something that we all need to take note of. He remembered his past victories. He didn’t look at his present circumstances, he simply looked back at what God had done in the past and decided that if God could do it then, he could do it now!

I’m sure that deep down inside there was some element of fear. There had to have been a natural almost reverential type of fear that stood in awe of the giant’s immense size and strength. But I don’t think that lasted long if it was even there at all. David had seen God come through many times before and that is where he drew his resolve and determination from.

And so, we skip on down, past the scorn of his brothers, past the trying on of ill-fitting armour, past the gathering of the five smooth stones, and on to the giant.

As he drew near to Goliath, we see the enemy pull out an over-used tool called intimidation. An often very effective tool. The kind of tool whose purpose is to ignite fear in the recipient and cause them to give up. But Goliath hadn’t counted on big faith.

1 Samuel 17:42 KJV - And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.

Goliath looked down on David and decided to try to intimidate and mock him, in hopes that it would take the spring out of his step. But to no avail.

Boldly, and with all the power his voice could muster, David made sure Goliath knew exactly where his strength and resolve came from.

He gave a speech, and what a speech it was!

1 Samuel 17:45-47 KJV - Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands.

David was not moved by Goliath’s bad jokes or threats. He stood his ground. He had nothing to lose and nothing to prove when it came to himself. He wasn’t after the reward offered by King Saul, he was only intent on bringing glory to the name of God. The only thing he wanted to prove was God’s awesome power!

David had to choose to drown out the other voices. The voices of the Israelite soldiers as their knees knocked together, the voices of his brothers despising him for what they saw as pride, the voice of King Saul telling him he was only a youth and more importantly, he chose to drown out the voice of defiance on the lips of Goliath.

So, what did he listen to? He listened to the VOICE OF TRUTH!

Time and time again, God had proved himself faithful and all-powerful and the voice of God’s Spirit that dwelt in David spoke louder than all the other voices and it was this voice that he listened to.

That inner voice that told him he was not alone. That inner voice that told him that God would go with him and guide that small, smooth stone right to the head of the giant. That inner voice that shouted, “the battle is the LORD’S”.

But we can’t stop here. We have to read the end of the story.

1 Samuel 17:48, 49, 51 KJV -And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. ... Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.

I just want to point out an interesting fact here that you may have missed. Did you notice that David ‘ran’ to meet the giant? No sneaking up from behind. No timidity. No fear. He RAN!

We need to learn to run to meet our giants. (If you’d like to read more on that subject, see a previous post I wrote on running to the giant - RUN TO THE GIANT.

So, let me wrap this up by circling back to my statement, “Don’t talk fear. Talk faith”

We never once see David mentioning Goliath’s size or status. We only see David boasting of God’s greatness.

Are you guilty of letting circumstances overwhelm you with their size and power? Do you find yourself talking fear? Our thoughts are a powerful thing. They translate into actions.

David’s faith translated into an action. And that action freed the Israelite army and saw them win a great victory against the Philistines on that day.

It also proved to all who the true victor was. It revealed the awesome power of Almighty God. All the earth was aware of the God of Israel.

So how do we even begin to acquire the faith that David had?

I would have to write another few pages to even scratch the surface of answering that question, but here are a couple of thoughts to leave you with.

*We develop our faith in our alone times with God. David spent years alone in the wilderness caring for his sheep, and these alone times gave him opportunities to commune with God, worshipping him, praying to him and remembering and meditating on God’s Words. He spent time with God.

*We develop our faith by being faithful in the little things. David was ready for the enormity of the test with Goliath because he had been faithful in the small things. Even after he was asked to take food to his brothers, he made sure to leave the sheep in the care of another. He obeyed his Father and because he had proved himself faithful, God was able to entrust him with a huge test of faith.

*We develop our faith by looking back to God’s faithfulness in the past. As I mentioned before, the same God who had come through for David in his yesterdays, would come through in his todays and tomorrows. He remembered past victories.

David grew in faith and knew that God would remain faithful to him as he continued to obey and trust, love and serve him.

Prioritize your relationship with God above everything else. Meditate on God’s Word. Feed your faith through the pages of Scripture, obeying and applying it.

Don’t fall in the face of fear. Let faith overcome.

Talk faith. Not fear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Send it Back!

 

For those of you who don’t know, as part of our business, I deliver freight around town to homes and businesses. Sometimes, I receive a parcel in the pallets of freight I sort through, that belongs to someone in another town or state. The parcel has mistakenly been sent to my depo and so it has to be returned to where it came from to be redirected to the right destination.

Every so often, after sending off the parcel, it ends up bouncing back to me, misdirected once again. I have occasionally had parcels return to me 3 times that I keep sending off only to have them return again. 

Very frustrating for the person eagerly awaiting their parcel, I’m sure.

But finally, there comes a point where I see it no more.

Did you know that the Devil likes to send us back the package that Christ has freed us from?

Maybe in the past you suffered from depression or anxiety. Maybe it was substance abuse or repeatedly returning to toxic relationships. But there came a day where you put yourself in full surrender into God’s hands and he miraculously delivered you from the bondage you were under.

And yet, the Devil likes to come knocking at our door.

He likes to return the package you sent off. He asks, “Are you really free? How about I give you a little of that anxiety back? Or can I interest you in this relationship? Or what about a little bit of this substance? You know it’ll make you feel better.”

There is a verse in Galatians 5 I’d like to draw your attention to.

Galatians 5:1 KJV - Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

In the book of Galatians, Paul addressed the believers in Galatia because they were facing a theological crisis of sorts due to false teachers amongst them, promoting legalism and impressing upon others the need to follow the Old Testament rules, laws and ceremonies.

These legalistic Jewish teachers were insisting upon the Mosaic law being kept and emphasized law over faith and grace.

Paul wrote to these believers to highlight the importance of the liberty that is found in Christ and when we come to chapter 5 verse 1 Paul reminds them to stand firm in their freedom, not as a license to sin, but so as to not be held in bondage of the Old law but to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit and able to live in joyous freedom as they followed Christ.

There is a lot more in this book to discuss and I don’t want to take this verse out of context, but I think there is something to be learnt from it in regards to the freedom we have in Christ.  

Jesus came to set the captive free.

Luke 4:18 KJV - The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

If we are a believer, Christ came to set us free from the bondage of sin and when we place our burden on him, he loosens the chains and sets us free.

Not only does he set us free from sin, but he continually helps us get the victory over difficulties we face in our lives.

He offers healing for our brokenness and restoration for our wounded hearts. As we experience freedom in Christ, we discover our true identity in him as a loved, child of God.

When we have been relieved of our burdensome ‘package’, we don’t have to accept it when the Devil comes knocking with his lies. We can remind him of the return policy.

We can stand firm in the freedom Christ has given us and we can send it back! We don’t have to carry that burden around anymore and once we’ve given it to Jesus, we can send it back when the Devil comes along trying to entice us to take it back again.

We need to remind him that we’ve been set free. We won’t accept his junk mail. Because we’ve been changed. We are not the same person we were when the package first arrived at our door. We’ve been made new. We’ve been restored. Set free.

So many times, we struggle with something in our lives and the Lord helps us to get the victory over it and we move forward for a time, excited about our newfound freedom, only to have the Devil whisper his lies in our ears.

I can attest to this in my own life. Many times, anxious thoughts will come to my mind, threatening to overwhelm me and send me spiralling, but I stop and take control of the thought, (2 Corinthians 10:5) remembering where it will take me and reminding myself of God’s power. I cry out to him, and he reaches down and lifts me up and plants my feet on solid footing once again.

When the Devil whispers, this is when we need to stand firm and hold to the truth. We have to claim the promises of God and stand confident in our God-given identity. It takes effort on our part, with God’s help, to stand strong in the place of liberty. It’s all too easy to slip back into slavery again and listen to the Devil’s lies that tell us we will never be free from our burden.

Not only do we need to be careful not to slip into the trap of believing works will save us, but we also need to be watchful that we don’t let sin have free rein when we’ve been given freedom in Christ by his death on the cross and the power, he has to set us free from the things that bind us.

Please don’t misunderstand me when I use the word ‘sin’. I do not believe depression is sin, or many other things that we struggle with. I am generalizing here in order to make a point.

The things that we struggle with, and the things God has helped us overcome will most likely come knocking at our door and we will hear them call our name in times of weakness, weariness or spiritual apathy.

We have to be on our guard continually. The Devil is very cunning, and he knows our weaknesses as he studies human nature.

John 10:10 KJV - The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

God wants us to live an abundant life. And that means us sending the packages back!

Don’t accept the Devil’s lies. Remember where God has brought you from. Remind yourself of past victories. Claim your full identity in Christ and believe in him when he tells you who you are.

You are not who others say you are. You are who Christ says you are!

The Devil might seem to be winning now, but he has been defeated already and his day is coming.

Revelation 20:10 KJV - And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

If you have been set free, then live free.

Don’t allow junk mail in your life’s box. Don’t accept it. Send it back.

Return to sender!

Stamp it with the seal of the blood of Christ and send it back!