The tragic deal

Trusting God without a deal

First read Judges 11: 30-31, Judges 11: 32-34, Leviticus 5: 4-6.

The dramatic story of Jeftah could come straight out of a suspense novel. Jeftah grew up as the son of a prostitute and was cast out of Gilead by his half-brothers. Later, however, they needed his help when Israel was attacked by the Ammonites. Here Jeftah made a deal with them: if he won the battle against the Ammonites he would become the new leader of Gilead. Full of trust in God, he went into battle. God gave him the victory, there was a reconciliation between Gilead and Jeftah, and Gilead became the leader. This part of the story from the book of Judges has a happy ending; because Jeftah had God on his side, he was able to defeat his enemies.

Just like this story, our lives also continue after a “happy ending”. As we read in the book of Judges, the Israelites were in trouble and had to go into battle again. Impressed by his first experience with God, Jeftah sets out full of trust in him. But when he gets into a dangerous situation, his trust grew weak and Jeftah became afraid. Just as he made a deal with people in the first situation, he decided to make a deal with God the second time and swore an oath to God. Jeftah won the second battle and was obliged to keep this oath.

This is a really compelling story, but how can we apply what Jeftah experienced then to our lives today? Surely we all know a situation when we started out full of trust in God, but then events caused us to be afraid or raised doubts in us. Oftentimes, we tend to safeguard ourselves by other means instead of continuing to trust God. Jeftah eventually based his confidence in his deal-making skills to feel more secure. Sometimes we may try to rely on our own skills and try to take control of the situation, or we may give up and allow ourselves to be distracted by other things. But it is precisely in these moments when it is important to come to God and trust Him, and not stray from His path. It doesn’t matter how the battle plays out in the end, as long as we acknowledge that God is with us and His plan is victorious.

We also mustn’t forget that God is a merciful and loving God. Through the sacrifice of Jesus, we are freed from condemnation and can always come back to God in situations where we are weak. We can then hand him our guilt and wrong decisions, and receive new strength. Even Jeftah, according to the passage in Leviticus, would have had the chance to be cleansed by God of his wrong decision.

Next Step: The next time you are in a situation that stresses or scares you, stop for a few seconds and say a short prayer about what is bothering you, and state out loud that God will give you strength and trust. If you make a mistake, don’t be ashamed to come to God, because he loves you and will respond to you with grace.

Don’t try to bargain with God

First read Daniel 9:16-18, Acts 14:1-3

We could do as Daniel did: come to God and ask Him to forgive our transgressions and help us clear aside the rubble in our lives. This doesn’t have to be about a destroyed city, as it was for Daniel. It can also be the emotional impact of quarrels or other wounds. When we pray, we can trust that God already knows how He will turn the situation that is unsolvable for us to a good end. But our trust is often put to the test because we hope for a quick solution and God’s timetable is different. So we start negotiating, thinking we can convince God to reconsider His timing. 

We forget that God is our provider who is greater than our external circumstances. Or we believe that He only cares about the big picture and that we would have to deal with the pettiness of our everyday concerns ourselves. Some people seem to interpret God’s role as provider in such a way that God only satisfies our basic needs and makes sure that we get two liters of water and a piece of bread every day. But God is so much more generous! He makes sure that we have opportunities in our jobs so that we can prove ourselves and maybe even get a promotion. The Holy Spirit shows us ways to settle disputes, no matter how gridlocked the fronts are. God is not a dealmaker to whom we have to pitch our ideas. He knows what’s best for us and when the right time is. His timing is always perfect, even when we get nervous because the end of a deadline is looming ominously close.

Especially when we encounter opposition, we would like God to intervene and remove obstacles for us. In doing so, we tend to forget that we learn and become stronger through obstacles and difficulties. This is what the apostles experienced, for example, when they had to deal with the fact that the people to whom they preached were incited against them. Certainly not an easy situation, but they trusted in God’s plan instead of trying to strike a supposedly better deal with God. 

Prayer, Get Free and Next Step: Where are you negotiating with God instead of listening to His plans? Ask the Holy Spirit today to show you where you can learn to trust Him even more.

God is not a tyrannical boss, but a loving father

First read 2 Samuel 22:29-33, Psalm 118:7-9 and Hebrews 10:35-36.

With God on our side, nothing is impossible for us. Even when seemingly insurmountable obstacles loom before us, God is our shield. We just have to trust him, then we can be sure that he will bless us. However, this does not mean that he will grant us all our wishes and that we will never encounter opposition. To do God’s will, patience is sometimes necessary. In our impatience, however, we forget that God has a much better overview of our lives than we do, and instead believe that God will be favorable to us only if we do something in return. 

This image of God is shaped by our everyday lives, where we repeatedly experience, both professionally and privately, that something in exchange is expected of us when someone does us a favor. History is full of people who, in moments of fear, have proposed a deal to God that they thought would be attractive to God. 

But God doesn’t want to get the best deal for Himself. He has prepared the best possible deal for us, and His gifts are not attached to conditions. He doesn’t just give us His goodness when we give money to charity or volunteer. He wants us to thrive and be a light for others. No matter how much we have been hurt in our past life, God can heal all wounds, we just need to allow Him to work and trust Him. No amount of money in the world can save us from emotional and physical pain. 

However, because money cannot buy us so many things, it can remind us that God blesses us anew every day. With success in our work, with friends who support us and above all with His unconditional love, which we could never buy or bargain for. We don’t even need to, because he gives it to us just like that. Without a deal. Without anything in return.

Prayer, Get Free and Next Step: In what areas is your image of God shaped by your experiences and wounds? Go to the cross today and surrender those injuries.

A Crash: Starting Point for New Heights

First read Genesis 37:23-27 and Genesis 50:20-23.

Do you know what it’s like when you have big plans and suddenly you’re faced with a complete mess, stunned and wondering how this could have happened? As with the story of Joseph, there are always moments in our lives when, through no fault of our own, we find ourselves in unpleasant, supposedly hopeless situations. 

In such moments, the darkness in our lives is so present that it is difficult for us to see God’s light. We may then see the job we lost or the relationship that broke down rather than remembering how God has blessed us again and again in the past. At such times, we find it hard to believe that God has a good plan for our lives. 

What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, they say. But anyone who has ever failed knows how terrible it feels to have to say goodbye to a lifelong dream. We don’t know what kind of dreams Joseph had, but he probably had other desires than to be sold into slavery by his brothers and innocently thrown into prison. He would have had every reason to be desperate, but he trusted God in what should have been a hopeless situation, and through his story God showed that He can turn any situation, no matter how tricky, to good. For God it was no problem to turn a slave into the second most powerful man in Egypt. Even if He pushes us into situations where we are struggling, it doesn’t mean that He has abandoned us, on the contrary. Most likely, it is in these situations that we will learn things about ourselves and others that we will benefit from later and that will make our lives flourish.

Prayer, Get Free and Next Step: Go into prayer and consider the areas in which you are guided by your view of things and ask God to show you His perspective. 

Our plans are great, God’s plans are greater

First Read: Nehemiah 9:17-19 and Isaiah 55: 7-9

Our plans are not necessarily God’s plans. He has much greater things planned for us than we can imagine, and He will accomplish them in ways so grand and unexpected that in retrospect we can only marvel at how great God is. 

But because our perspective is so much more limited than God’s, we also keep stumbling and doubting that something can happen that seems impossible to us. For example, when siblings fall out and the fronts are so hardened that the parties involved haven’t spoken a word to each other in years, it’s hard for us to still believe in a happy ending. 

Of course, it is frustrating when we feel that a situation has not changed for years. But just because we don’t see change doesn’t mean God isn’t working. We don’t see Him working on people’s hearts, but when a window opens, we should be ready to do our part. In the case of family disputes, weddings or births can be turning points that cause the parties to move toward each other. It is equally possible that God is planning a much greater miracle and will not only ensure that the quarreling parties settle their dispute, but that they will become a blessing to those around them with their history and experience. 

In other areas of life, too, it is clear that God’s perspective is so much larger and more comprehensive than ours. While we may measure professional success by our salary or job title, God looks at what we can accomplish in our job. He provides for us regardless of what’s on our paycheck at the end of the month. But He also wants us to live out our calling, and to do that, we sometimes have to take paths that seem far too difficult. However, if we give God the opportunity to lead us on the path He has prepared for us, He can take us to heights that were unthinkable to us.

Prayer, Get Free and Next Step: In what areas of your life are you dissatisfied or feel like you are treading water? Ask the Holy Spirit today what He has planned for you and thank Him.

Our failure does not change our value

First read: Psalm 130:4, Daniel 9:8-9 and Matthew 26:28.

Success is important in our society. If we cannot meet the expectations placed on us, we quickly feel like failures or have the feeling that we are not worth anything. 

But no matter how much we ourselves or our environment define ourselves by our performance: God doesn’t think that way. He knows that we fail. He knows every one of our failures and still loves us more than anything. Our failure is not a reason for Him to withdraw His love from us. Instead, he gives us abundant gifts. But God also knows that we sometimes struggle and fight and need encouragement. Not only is He always by our side, but He also sends people to lift us up when we are not doing well. For example, David’s best friend Jonathan came to him and encouraged him not to give up, but to trust in God’s help (1 Sam 23:16). 

But God doesn’t just send people to help us in our struggles. He helps us in very different ways. For example, by showing us the solution to our dilemma through the Holy Spirit. Or by helping us to take a different perspective so we can see the possibilities of our situation and not just see the challenges. Our failures also hold opportunities: for example, we can practice strategies to navigate reasonably safely through such situations without taking our eyes off God. 

The most visible sign of how valuable we are in God’s eyes, however, is what He has done for us. By taking the cross and dying for our sins, Jesus has given everything for us. We are spotless in His eyes because we have been cleansed by His sacrifice and blood.

Prayer, Get Free and Next Step: In what area do you feel you are failing and therefore worth less? Ask Jesus to show you how He sees you. 

From high flyer to crash pilot: Elijah

Disappointments

First read: 1 Kings 19

Do you know situations in your life where you are convinced of something, you commit your-self, spend energy and resources and in the end it seems that it has all been in vain?

Elijah, the prophet of God, just had a triumphant success: he had won a contest with 450 priests of Baal and shown the people of Israel the greatness of the true God. The king’s wife, Jezebel, then told him through a messenger that she will have him, Elijah killed. This is not what he had expected. He had probably expected that after this demonstration of his superior-ity, the king and queen would now also embrace the one God of Israel without compromise. But that’s not how it works in this world.

Elijah is disappointed, he is resigned because of his futile efforts. He lapses into fear, doubts himself, he even despairs and flees into the desert, only desiring to be alone and to die.

In today’s terms, that sounds like depression and burn-out.

This can also happen to Christians, it has happened to me and I know other believers who shared the same experience. We sometimes feel disappointment because we have placed our hopes and expectations in people. A crisis reminds us: put your trust in God alone – he will not disappoint you. Jesus also had to endure this experience, although he knew it in advance. Peter denied him and his disciples abandoned him. What did Jesus do? He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane – alone and he put his trust in God alone – his Father.

No one can live by the faith he had yesterday. Your faith must undergo a new test every day. Crises will come, we will make mistakes and we will doubt.

How did God react in Elijah’s case? First he provided for him, then he showed himself to him, in silence and seclusion, and then he gave him a new mission. He gave Elijah a goal again and with it meaning and hope.

Next Step: Pray in silence to your heavenly Father. Also use opportunities for prayer in your church.

Recovery – the way out of the crisis

First read 1 Kings 19 again

Crises and disappointments come from the world we live in. We were born into this world, then chose to accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour and thereby became children of God. Never-theless, we still live in this world and serve God. In doing so, we will make mistakes and experi-ence disappointments, that is inescapable, that is human. All the heroes of the Bible had to experience that.

I am far from being able to show you a universal solution. But we can look at what happened to Elijah. 

Elijah took flight out of fear. That is deeply human, and God does not blame him. Elijah re-treats into the desert, into seclusion. God follows him there; he sends him an angel. God is not indifferent to you – even in your despair. He follows you like the good shepherd follows the lost sheep (Luke 15:4-6). God will provide for you in your need. With what your body needs to live: water and bread. But also what your soul needs to live: an encounter with God himself. Today we no longer have to go to Mount Horeb. Jesus Christ came into the world for that. He became the bread of life for us (John 6:35). And we can meet him everywhere. Especially in his word (Bible) and in silence (seclusion). Conversation with God is also always a good idea – pray in seclusion (Matthew 6:6). 

God transforms what was meant to be a place of refuge into a place of encounter. A place for care (physical and spiritual), for comfort and encouragement.

You can also consciously choose to seek seclusion to meet God. It will not save you from crises, but you can practise how to deal with them.

These deliberate deserts can be, for example, periods of fasting, periods of silence or a tempo-rary retreat into a sheltered space (e.g. a monastery).

Next Step: Plan a time-out and go into seclusion. Let your desert become a meeting place with God, as if you were entering the temple or the tabernacle.

God still uses you

Do you know these thoughts: I failed again, I’ll never be a good Christian, God can’t use me, I’m a failure, God can’t love me, I’m too weak…

All lies! Lies want to and will destroy your life – if you let them.

That is not the plan God has for you. Let’s replace the lies with the truth and love of God:

The Apostle Paul writes in the 2nd letter to the Corinthians: But he said to me, “My grace is suffi-cient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. “ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10, NIV)

In the letter to the Romans, it says: For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:3-39, NIV)

You think you are a sinner? Welcome to the club! This is not a lie, this is the truth, and this is why Jesus, the Son of God came into this world: On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17, NIV).

John writes: If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteous-ness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:8-10, NIV).

Ok, these are just a few out of many Bible passages that I have spelled out for you. They are the path to true understanding of yourself and the truth will set you free (John 8:32, NIV).

No matter how small and unworthy you think you are, God wants to use you. You are part of His plan, that’s why He called you and He will give you what you need to serve Him – don’t wor-ry about that.

Next Step: Replace the lies in your life with God’s truth – read the Bible regularly, share with a group of brothers and/or sisters in the Lord. Confess your sins and receive forgiveness, by your-self and also in the fellowship of your church.