Joy Comes in the Morning

{Ps 30:5…weeping may last for a night but joy comes in the morning.}


Earlier this week I was in a funk. No matter how much I prayed or read scripture I could not pull myself out and I did not see God or scripture clearly enough to allow Him to pull me out either. There were several days, to be honest a couple of weeks, where life and my walk of faith had to be gutted out like the last few wind sprints after a hot grueling football practice or the last few miles of a marathon.
There are times in this life where everything in you tells you to give up hope, to throw in the towel, and to take the path of least resistance. God never promised His followers that every day of our lives would be filled with comfort and ease. In fact He is very up front that along the way we will have some days of weeping, some days of trials, and we will face both adversaries and adversity.
Many pillows around Paradise have been splashed with silent tears at nights when nobody else was watching, but God did not miss one of them. Many doubts have dominated the minds of both Christians and non-Christians alike during the midnight hour of our circumstances. Anguished souls have nearly suffocated under the domineering and tyrannical burdens that seem heavier in the darkness.
The scriptures do not sugar coat the fact that tough times do come. [Job 1:20-21] [Jn 16:3]. Everybody reading this knows what it is like to go through the night of weeping. I sat by the side of a recent widow who had been married for over six decades as tears streamed down her cheeks while she reminisced about her beloved husband. I have listened to the downcast and disheartened who feel like they can never catch a break. I have watched the grieving of parents who watch their children make bad choice after bad choice. I have listened intently as pastors have talked about the harsh treatment they have received from church members.
You know what. I have also seen the other side of it. I have witnessed the joy in the morning when the doctor’s report came back with good news! I have seen the abounding joy in new parents holding their bundle of joy. I have seen the love and hope given by a doting pet who wants little else out of life but to be loved and enjoyed. I have known the joy that comes when prayers are answered and when impossible situations turn around. I have smiled from ear to ear when God has stepped in and saved the day.
Today was a day of joy for me. It started earlier this morning when after months of looking I finally found my pass port that had been missing. I prayed knowing God knew exactly where it was and I found it in a place I had already looked dozens of times. After that I went to the library where they were having a book sale. This is always a dangerous thing for me because I am helplessly addicted to books. My pulse quickens when I walk into a library or a bookstore. I entered the room where the books were displayed and could not believe my eyes when I read on the sign, “Hardbacks - $1. Paperbacks - $.50.” I knew I had hit the jack pot. Like a kid at Christmas I slowly make my way around the non-fiction tables stacking up my selections and walked away with sixteen books for $13. I felt like I had stolen them and pulled one out to read while I was pumping gas in Brenda’s car.
It was a great day but God had another little surprise for me. I received a phone call from one of the camp directors of a leadership camp I will be teaching at this summer. There will be pastors, youth pastors, and volunteers from all over the state of Texas at this camp. There will be people all show up the weekend before the camp for prayer, organization, and spiritual refreshment. I was asked to preach to this group on the Sunday morning before the camp. This is something I have been asking God for going on over a decade. Today God blessed me with that privilege. Today has been a day of joy.
Let me say once again from personal experience, yes, days and nights of weeping do come. Let me also say that just as sure as the sun comes up after the storm, days of joy come after nights of weeping. Regardless of where you are, please do not doubt that when you trust God, walk with Him, and seek His aid, joy does come in the morning.

40 Days - Day 37 (March 25-May 3)

Day Thirty-Seven
“The Promises of God”


Yet with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God.
Romans 4:20


We are going to take this verse and break it up in two different parts. The second half of the verse we will look at tomorrow. Today our focus is going to be on the promises of God. God is the ultimate promise keeper. 1 Thessalonians 5:24 tells us that God is faithful or dependable and reliable. When He makes a promise to one of His children, you can count on that promise coming true. This was true for those who lived in biblical times as well as true for you and I today.
The one thing that kept Abraham going and kept giving new strength to his faith was the promise God had made to him. That was the thing he kept going back to. That was what kept giving hope against hope and keeping him from becoming weak in faith.
Today’s challenge will be a little shorter than the rest to give you ample opportunity to read and meditate on a few of the many promises God has made to you. I am only going to write out scripture references. It will be up to you to read, and more importantly to pray through these scriptures until the truth sinks into your soul and bones giving you new vigor in praying, living, and serving.
Please do not fall for the temptation to rush through these scriptures. The enemy would rather you do almost anything than to pray and slowly read the truth of God’s Word, especially out loud. Speak it, pray it, embrace it, memorize it, and live it.

Luke 6:38, II Corinthians 9:7, Psalm 37:25, I Timothy 6:17-18, Matthew 6:1-4, Psalm 46:1-3, Psalm 138:7, Psalm 55:22, John 16:33, Psalm 9:9, Isaiah 43:1-3, Psalm 31:24, Philippians 4:12-13, James 1:5-6, Hebrews 12:2-3, Numbers 23:19, Psalm 119:160, Psalm 119:89-90, II Corinthians 1:20, Isaiah 46:11, Isaiah 42:16, Psalm 42:11, Psalm 34:19, Psalm 18:2, Psalm 31:4, James 5:16, Psalm 34:17, Psalm 145:18-19


Steps to Trust and Obey:

1. Did the Lord use any of the above scriptures to speak to you? If so, which ones?
2. What did the Lord do to your faith?
3. What promises will you take away from this day to strengthen your trust in God?

40 Days - Day 36 (March 25-May 3)

Day Thirty-Six
“Maintaining Strong Faith”


Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.
Romans 4:19


There is something combating your hope today. For Abraham it was the fact that he was one hundred years old and that Sarah was ninety and her womb was dead. The facts said that they would never have legitimate heir, but faith said to keep trusting God. This is ludicrous thinking. Nobody reading this would dare think of walking into a rest home facility filled with senior adults and believe that new life would come from one of the residents. That simply does not happen. Abraham was too old and Sarah’s womb was barren.
Abraham was well aware of the complications. In fact, he contemplated his age and the deadness of Sarah’s womb often. He didn’t put his head in the sand and pretend that he was still a young buck and she was still the fair maiden from back in their younger days. Abraham could look in the mirror and contemplate the wrinkles, the loss of vigor and strength, even the loss of desire for his wife while also looking at Sarah and watching her prime child-bearing years come and go with no children. Surely Abraham heard Sarah’s cries at night when she thought he was sleeping and he saw the jealousy that was stirred in her when her servant gave birth to Abraham’s son and she could not compete. Abraham spent many hours contemplating his situation, just like we do.
Abraham did it differently, though; he did so without becoming weak in the faith. No matter what he saw, what he felt as he got up day after day, he did not lose hope and his faith did not become feeble. That is amazing. How did he cling to hope, keep believing, and not grow weak? Hear this, He believed what God had said to Him and promised.
Yesterday you were challenged to keep hoping regardless of the state of your circumstances. Today the challenge is that we contemplate our circumstances but do not become feeble in our faith. In fact, we need to do the opposite. We need to be strengthened in our faith to keep believing with more conviction than we ever have. What has God promised? What do the eyes of your faith see? You might not be able to ignore the facts but you can trump the facts with faith. In this moment God is longing to speak to your heart. He wants to shore up sagging faith. He wants to help us keep going and not falter now. God is not the author of weak faith but He is willing to make provision even now to bolster our belief that God will come through.
Maybe over the past several days this has begun to sound like a broken record. You might be tired of hearing this same message packaged in different ways. Maybe you are tired of trusting and hoping. Maybe you are just about to forget this whole challenge. You have done well. You have nearly completed all of it and for the most part you did so in faith. Today something has changed, though. You are tired. Your obstacles are bigger than ever, and you have lost your confidence. That is exactly why what Abraham did, or what I should say, what God did in Abraham is all the more amazing. He remained strong in his faith for about two and a half decades.
God can do that in you and me if we are courageous enough to linger with Him today and the days that follow. If we are willing to listen to Him and seek Him today, He can and longs to help our faith become strong, mighty, and consistent. Once again we are at a crossroads and what we do next is critical.


Steps to Trust and Obey:

What is the condition of your faith today? What do you need God to do in order to strengthen your trust? Are you willing to linger with Him today to allow Him to minister to you?
If you are suffering from weak faith, where did you lose it? What happened to cause you to lose confidence in Christ to keep His word to you?
Are you willing to forget your obstacles and by God’s help believe Him one more time?
Do you sense Him speaking to you today? What is He saying and what is He asking of you?

Attitude

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning if you know what I mean. I cannot really say why. Nothing unusual happened. The longer the morning drug on the more withdrawn I wanted to be from everyone and the more my attitude began to sour. I started dwelling on minor irritations, problems, frustrations, a mountain of work to do, and the more I dwelled on these things the more my attitude went south. It has been like that most of the morning and I have locked myself in my office trying to isolate myself from people so my wrong attitude did not affect anyone else.
Reading scripture and prayer did not turn my attitude around. As I was researching some material for an upcoming message I stumbled across a chapter about attitude. It dawned on me while reading that I alone am responsible for my attitude. It is not up to Brenda, my boys, my friends, or people in the community to help me have a right attitude. That is my responsibility alone. Each day I have the gift of life and the choice of my attitude to approach life. This morning my honest confession is my whole approach was wrong.
In the chapter I read a prayer that I found amusing because I have been there before. “Dear Lord, So far today, I am doing all right. I have not gossiped, lost my temper, been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or self indulgent. I have not whined, cursed, or eaten any chocolate. However, I am going to get out bed in a few minutes, and I will need a lot more help after that. Amen.”
There a multitude of things that can have both a positive and a negative impact on our attitudes. It is still up to us to choose how we will respond to life. I have to admit that this morning I allowed my mind to dwell on some things I should not have. I began entertaining problems I am facing and instead of glancing at those problems but turning my gaze to the Lord I gazed at my problems and felt not only my attitude but energy begin to sink. This is all so ironic being that I preached on being “glad” in God recently and that regardless of our circumstances we can still have a positive attitude. Practice what you preach Matt!
It would be better if we could go through life and push the “easy button” like on the commercials but the truth is that every hour of every day we have to guard our attitudes. You must watch your attitude when you are in line at Walmart, while driving your car down a crowded freeway and you get cut off, when someone swoops in front of you taking the parking place you have been patiently waiting for, when the wait staff get the food order wrong, when our children or spouse disappoint us, and when there is conflict in the work place. All of these things can affect our attitude. That is not to mention things like not being able to sleep, not feeling well due to chronic pain, and trying to cope with stress. Any one or any combination of those things can make our hearts and our attitudes plummet.
But on the other hand a smile, a letter or email of encouragement, a pat on the back, and a thank you can brighten our day. A simple comment about a job well done can be the wind beneath our wings for a long time.
Here is the good news. When God is our partner in life we can have a good attitude. The Apostle Paul put it like this in [Phil 4:4] “Rejoice in the Lord always and I can I will say rejoice.” We can’t always choose what happens to us in this life but the one thing we have the power to do is to choose how we will respond. Paul wrote that comment while in prison for telling people about Jesus Christ. His attitude could have soured but is exhorting us to rejoice and be glad. I can choose to find something to rejoice in. When mother Theresa was asked what character traits she looked for in the people who came to work with her she looked for people who worked hard and had a joyful attitude. If her fellow nuns could have a joyful attitude amidst poverty, suffering, and constant death what is our excuse? If Paul could still rejoice and have a right attitude in prison it makes my insignificant troubles look foolish and my bad attitude embarrassing.
There is an evangelist named David Ring who lives with Cerebral Palsy. He often says during messages “Don’t whine but shine.” He will go on to recount all the things that he is not supposed to be able to do and how he could feel sorry for himself but he does not. He will end many messages by saying, “My name is David Ring and I have Cerebral Palsy but I shine. What is your excuse?”
You know what? Reading that book earlier and writing this article now (along with some Taco Casa) I can actually feel a change. Earlier everything looked dark and things appeared harder than normal. Though the skies are cloudy outside everything in my office appears brighter, my heart feels more alive, and my outlook on things has a more positive perspective. It is amazing what just a change in attitude can do for us.
Why not start with one little exercise today? Eliminate the following words or phrases from your vocabulary. I can’t! I don’t believe. It is impossible. There is no way. If only. Let our minds dwell on good, wholesome, and positive things. [Phil 4:8] Paul also wrote, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” [Phil 4:13] That means that we can maintain a positive attitude. With God’s help and our steadfast focus we can live our lives with positive attitudes. Eliminate the defeated and negative thinking and let Jesus Christ give you a hope and peace that surpasses all understanding. [Phil 4:6-7] What a better world it would be if we all had good attitudes.

40 Days - Day 35 (March 25-May 3)

Day Thirty-Five
“Hope Against Hope”


In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, ‘So shall your descendants be.’
Romans 4:18


God has spoken over and over again over these past several weeks. Requests have been honed, new desires planted in our souls by the Lord Himself, and we have been challenged not to believe what we see but to believe Who we hear. By now we have a basic understanding about what the word “believe” means.
God spoke a promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3, when He promised that Abraham would be made into a great nation. But as the years passed, Abraham had no heir (no son) but he still had a promise from God. Over the years the Lord continued to give reassurance concerning this promise. A year turned into two, five, seven, ten, fifteen, twenty. Well over two decades came and went and Abraham still did not have the desire of his heart; a son. Yes, he did fail to trust the Lord and he did lean on his understanding by trusting in Sarah’s maidservant and was given a son through her. God was clear to tell Abraham that son was not the heir.
More waiting. More praying. Abraham grew old, Sarah grew old and everything about them physically told them that God had not come through. But in hope against hope, Abraham believed God. His body was old and worn out, well past his sexual prime. Sarah’s body was many years past her child-bearing years, yet still Abraham had to reason to keep hoping or to keep believing except he had a word from God.
For over two decades all he had was a promise from a God. When he should have abandoned hope, when his eyes deceived him, when it seemed that God had forsaken him, he kept praying, kept hoping, and kept believing. Many of us have given up hope a lot sooner than two decades. Some of us may have struggled to maintain trust and hope for two months, much less two decades.
I know the Lord has promised things and called us to a hope that can only be sustained by faith. For many the only legitimate reason you have to hold on to any hope at all is that God has spoken to you and promised you something. Much of what I have been praying for in my own personal life concerns things that God has promised me and spoken to me about, but for a long time I had not had one shred of physical evidence that those things He has spoken and promised would ever come to pass. Some of these promises I have been praying over for years and others for only a few months. In either case the only hope I have is that God has spoken and spoken often.
I know Abraham was not perfect, but you cannot help but admire this man’s confidence in God to come through. In hope against hope he kept asking and kept trusting. Many of you are at this point. You have no reasonable hope that your prayers will be answered, but is God calling you to hope against hope and to keep on believing Him for the impossible? Is God calling you to forget what you see but to believe by faith what you have heard from Him? Once again you are faced with a decision - do you hope against hope and believe or do you believe what you see and forget what God has promised you?


Steps to Trust and Obey:

Write out any promises God has made to you in these days.
List all the reasons you should not maintain hope. Contrast that with another list of all the reasons God is giving you to maintain hope?
What do you see? What do you believe?
What are you going to do now? How will you pray today?

40 Days - Day 34 (March 25-May 3)

Day Thirty-Four
“Ask Me Anything”


Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name I will do it.
John 14:13-14


What are you asking God to do today? What burdens burn in your heart and moves you to pray this day? These two verses are extremely powerful and encouraging for us to keep pressing into the throne room of God and asking for help in our time of need.
At the very heart of prayer is a desire or a fierce craving for something. When these desires collide with our confidence that God not only can bless, that He not only does bless, but that He WILL bless, miracles happen. We must believe that when we ask God for anything in His name, we can be assured that Jesus wants to answer to glorify the Father. Answered prayers exalt the Father. In order for God to be more glorified, there must be answers to the things we ask for.
I hope by this time this should not even have to be said, but remember when praying through verses like this we must make sure we are praying according to the will of God. When we pray according to the will of God, we can ask ANYTHING in His name and be confident that the Lord will answer. He is able to do anything. ANYTHING! That means that what you are praying for and what I am praying for is not only in the realm of possibilities but it is also probable.
E.M. Bounds was a mighty man of prayer. He made it his habit to pray from 4:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. most days. He was a pastor serving in a rather obscure church who just happened to write some books on prayer. They were not widely read during his lifetime but they have been greatly used after his death. Read what he wrote about trust in the Lord: “Trust looks to receive the thing asked for and gets it. Trust is not a belief that God can bless, that He will bless, but that HE does bless, here and now. Trust always operates in the present tense. Hope looks forward to the future. Trust looks to the present. Hope expects. Trust possesses. Trust receives what prayer acquires. So that what prayer needs, at all times, is abiding and abundant trust.”[1]
What does genuine trust do? It receives, possesses, hopes, and expects that God will come through. When we pray in Jesus’ name, or according to His desires, we can confidently expect the blessings to follow. That is the true nature of prayer.
Bounds goes on to expound the thought about believing God for answers to specific desires. “Desire is not merely a simple wish; it is a deep-seated craving; an intense longing for attainment. In the realm of spiritual affairs, it is an important adjunct to prayer. So important is it, that one might say, almost, that desire is an absolute essential of prayer. Desire precedes prayer, accompanies it, is followed by it. Desire goes before prayer, and by it, is created and intensified. Prayer is the oral expression of desire. Desire is silent. Prayer is heard; desire unheard. The deeper the desire, the stronger the prayer.”[2]
Many of us have desires and they remain silent. You might even substitute the word “wish” for the word “desire.” We wish for things. Wishing and desiring, however, are not praying. Praying is taking the trust attached to our desire that lifts our souls to heaven to bring the longing desire of our hearts out into the open in God’s presence. Trust gives us the confident assurance that God will not only hear but come through.
When you and I pray in the name and authority of Jesus, we can expect that God is going to intervene. God will come through. God will move what needs to be moved, add what needs to be added, give what needs to be given, and empower whoever needs to be empowered. Today, do not let your desires or wishes remain silent. Take them to the Lord in prayer and ask Him in faith and the authority of His name to keep His promise in John 14:13-14. God is not glorified by our wishing or desiring. He is glorified by His doing and His answering in response to our faith-filled desires voiced through prayer.
What are you craving, hankering, desiring, longing, and yearning for God to do? Will you take this time to voice those cravings with intense praying, pleading for God to glorify His name through your asking and His answering?


Steps to Trust and Obey:

What are you craving for God to do? Is this in the silent desire state or are you bringing it out into the open by prayer?
Do you really trust God to bless you?
How does answering your desire bring more glory to the Father?
What is the Lord speaking to you today? What is He calling you to do in faith?
[1] E.M. Bounds, A Treasury of Prayer; The Best of E.M. Bounds (compiled by Leonard Ravenhill). Minneapolis, Bethany House Publishers: 1990, p. 132.
[2] Ibid., p. 132.

40 Days - Day 33 (March 25-May 3)

Day Thirty-Three
“Home Stretch”


Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.
Galatians 6:9


I am sure by now these past few weeks have been some of the most exciting and some of the most challenging you have ever been through. You have prayed until you might have nothing left to pray. You may have fought through distractions, attacks from the enemy, and discouragement after discouragement. You may feel emotionally and spiritually drained as you come into the home stretch for the last week of this challenge. You may be tempted to coast to finish line because you have already tasted the victory. I encourage you to keep praying with those who are still fighting and praying for spiritual breakthroughs.
Some of you in the last few days have lost heart. All around you, others have witnessed the powerful hand of God moving in their lives but you have been a bystander. Losing heart means growing weary and weak. You are physically, spiritually, and emotionally exhausted. You have lost all courage to keep up the fight of faith. If you find yourself in this place, I urge you to let today’s scripture fill your heart and your mind. Now is not the time to lose heart.
For more than four weeks you have been praying, trusting, obeying, and persevering. Why give up now? You are in the home stretch and the answers to your prayers may have been delayed but that does not mean that they are not coming. Now is the time to keep believing and to keep asking. Each prayer is like sowing seed and all our faith is the water that nourishes those seeds. God will bring about the harvest if we do not grow weary, give up and quit the challenge.
Please hear me - if you truly want to please God (Hebrews 11:6) we are going to be living by faith and fighting through delays to our answers for the rest of our lives. As I write this it is 9:25 p.m. I have been working on this book for the past six days as much as I could. I am tired, but God keeps calling me back to this task and keeps inspiring me with more things to write. Part of me wonders, what’s the use? There is a part of me that wonders if anyone will ever read this and another part of me that wonders if God is going to use it to meet with His people. All along there has been a sense of urgency.
My family was invited over to some friends’ house tonight to eat dinner. We had some fantastic burgers grilled over a charcoal fire. When we got back to our house I had a choice to make. Part of me was tired. As far as writing goes the day had been frustrating. I faced several distractions and instead of finishing the book as I had hoped, I was only able to write about two day’s worth of materials. My flesh was weary and my faith was waning. I wanted to stay home rather than travel to my office, sit down at my computer, and take up the task again. Yet, there is the calling deep in me to finish this assignment. By faith I have to believe that God wants to do something with this book. I have felt compelled to write. He is pulling me along, giving me strength to press on and stirring things in me.
Even though you are weary, even though you are battling unbelief, even though your eyes have deceived you, I am urging you not to lose heart in doing good through your praying. Do not quit, especially when you are so close to the finish line of this challenge. What if God comes through you for you on day thirty-seven, thirty-nine, or on day forty? How thrilled will you be to get up at the celebration service on the fortieth day to testify about what the Lord has done for you? How many people will be touched, encouraged, and inspired to keep trusting, knowing that you kept the faith until the very end and you saw God intervene?
Nobody inspires me to keep trusting God and not lose heart in my life like a small band of believers in Humboldt, Saskatchewan. This small handful of believers felt the Lord calling them to start a church in that little town of barely 6,000 residents in rural Canada. They have been meeting together for over three years, despite the fact that they have never had a pastor. They have prayed and prayed and begged God to send them a pastor, but no one has answered that call. They had a couple of college students serve there for two and a half months over the summer, but they have never had a permanent pastor. They have invited guest supply preachers for over three years, often with no musicians to accompany the singing. When I think about that group of believers meeting week after week despite frigid subzero temperatures, blustery winds, surrounded by hearts as spiritually cold to the gospel as the weather outside, I am inspired to keep going. They have every reason to quit and give up, but they don’t. They hang in there. They stay the course. They wearily approach the throne of grace over and over again. They keep fighting through the snow and the cold to set up chairs and drag down a crude little pulpit to sing to the Lord and hear a word from Him, though their ache for a pastor is strong.
This small group of believers is the epitome of Galatians 6:9. Oh, how they inspire me to believe more and trust God more in my own life, even if that means waiting a little while. Hear God calling out to us not to give up and that we will reap the answers to all the sowing we have done in prayer if - don’t miss this, if and only if - we do not quit and throw in the towel. Keep praying. Keep fighting. Keep believing, for harvest time is near.

Steps to Trust and Obey:

1. If you feel you are losing heart, what is calling you to feel that way?
2. What good is God calling you to keep doing and keep believing Him for?
3. Continue asking the Lord for the harvest. Obey His promptings.

40 Days - Day 32 (March 25-May 3)

Day Thirty-Two
“Believing: The Pathway to the Glory of God”


Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
John 11:40


If there was ever an” impossible” situation in the Bible, this one has to qualify. We have a sickness that ends in death. We have a dead body in a tomb for four days, which is 96 hours. The heart has stopped beating. The blood has quit flowing. The brain activity has ceased. Muscles and tissues begin decomposing. We have a man who is dead.
On the other hand, we have grieving sisters and friends. Lazarus was much beloved by many people, who are terribly saddened by his death. His sisters love Jesus but do not understand why He did not come to help despite the fact that he knew Lazarus was sick. Jesus had healed many others and Mary and Martha had the faith to believe that if Jesus had been on the scene He would have healed their brother too. But now it is too late. Lazarus has died and he has already been buried.
Both sisters point to the fact that if Jesus had only been there things would have turned out much differently. Jesus’ response to the sisters seems cruel and suspect if you do not know the end of the story - He tells them to believe. Their understanding of belief is that Lazarus will be resurrected on the last day. In the present situation there was no belief ,just the cruel cold facts that Jesus did not make it time, Lazarus died, and he had been buried for four long days.
Once again we are reading another story in the scriptures where sight seemed to communicate one thing, but Jesus calls His followers to ignore what they see and to just believe. The word “believe” means to trust, to have confidence, to have security. That is so hard to do when everything you have experienced in the physical realm tells you to give up, hope is gone, and it is too late. When you watch your dreams die, you emotionally bury them and then you walk away to grieve, but when the Lord tells you to keep on believing, that is very difficult. I am sure that is exactly where some of you are on this forty-day challenge.
You started with belief. You have stayed the course, but somewhere along the way your goal or desire died. You did not want it to, but Jesus did not show up when you thought He should. He did not rescue you and you buried your dream. Now, Jesus is telling you to keep on believing for the glory of His name, but you are emotionally too numb to trust.
What you do and what you believe at this point is very critical. If you leave your desire buried and choose to walk away in unbelief, you will not see the glory of God. If you choose to believe even though it is hard to do, you could be an eyewitness to the power of God in your life like you have never experienced before. I am not saying it will be easy. I am not even saying that your desire or request will be resurrected over night. But ask yourself this question: would you walk away in your grief forever if you knew for certain that God was going to intervene and do an awesome miracle?
What I am about to write is crucial. What is God telling you to do right now? Is He telling you it is over and you need to walk away and leave your desire or your dream in the tomb? Or is He calling you to keep on believing despite what you see, what you hear, and yes even what you smell (before Jesus called Lazarus back to life, Mary feared that after four days in the tomb her brother would smell like death itself.)
Many of you are at that point. D o you roll the stone away from the tomb or do you walk away forever? Many people are watching, and if you roll the stone away from the tomb while they are watching and no miracle takes place you will look like a fool. But if you walk away from the tomb now in doubt, is that the will of the Lord, and will you regret it? Those are questions only you and the Lord can answer. I think it is time to ask Him.


Steps to Trust and Obey:

What is dead and buried in your heart? How has that made you feel? What have you done to cope with your feelings?
What is God telling you to do? Believe and roll the stone away or walk away forever?
What are you going to do?

My Anxious Thoughts

When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul. [Ps 94: 19]


I don’t know what it is about the night and our anxious thoughts multiplying. I have been restless at night for over three weeks now. My anxious thoughts or to put it another way my disquieting thoughts, torment my mind and have been interrupting my sleep. I have found myself waking up periodically throughout the night and immediately praying seeking God to reveal His counsel for me. Some times I drift back to sleep after a few minutes of prayer and at other times I get up and read the scriptures. This is what I did this morning at 3:57 a.m. and this is when I stumbled across this verse.
Many of you who are reading this know exactly what I am going through. You have multitudes of anxious thoughts or disquieting thoughts running through your mind. My thoughts are not anxiety out of fear but rather trying desperately to hear the Lord clearly on a matter and discern His direction. Those are the thoughts that have multiplied within me. You have your own thoughts as well. Anxious thoughts about the future, about job security, family issues, how you will make ends meet at the end of the month and the list could go on. I know many of you have not slept peacefully in a long time.
Not being able to hear God clearly has been a huge frustration to me. It has dominated my thinking and my prayers. I can honestly say at this season of life I want to hear clearly from the Lord more than I want any other thing, yet God has chosen to keep me in the dark for a season. As I have wrestled in prayer over the past few weeks it is comforting to find a nugget of truth from the scriptures that keeps me going. In this time when my anxious thoughts have multiplied within me, instead of panicking and doing something impulsive I have continued to sit before the Lord and plead for His voice to penetrate the deafening silence. I have continued to soak my soul in the scriptures to learn more of Him. You know what I have found? Peace!
Though I cannot tell you I have those answers to the questions that have plagued my heart and mind for these several weeks, God has provided consolation and solace for me. When I am with Him and in His word He gives me great comfort. I still do not have His clear counsel yet but I do have His presence and for now that is more than enough to sustain me. He is refreshing to my soul. I find His consolations a true delight to my spirit. Not only does the Lord provide the peace that I need [Phil 4:6-7] but His consolations produce a security that I cannot find from any other source.
Anxious thoughts run rampant in this society and it is amazing what people turn to in a desperate attempt to find something, anything that can help them cope. Some turn to illicit sex, drugs, alcohol, and fantasies vainly hoping to numb and erase the anxious thoughts. All these things do is to add to anxiety. Cheap thrills and immoral frills never end our anxious thoughts. They are cheap substitutes for the God of peace.
Today I urge you to open the book of Psalms and seek the God of comfort and consolation who alone has the innate ability to calm your mind and give peace to your troubled and tormented soul. As for me, though I still do have the answers I have been franticly searching for, my soul has found tranquility and great delight in the Lord and His Word. I will soon go back to sleep peacefully trusting God to reveal His heart and mind to me when He is ready to reveal it. His counsel to me this morning is to rest in Him and to continue to wait on Him. His counsel will prove timely for you in your situation as well. When we seek Him and soak in the truth of the scriptures our anxious thoughts will no longer multiply but they will begin to be divided and eventually they will be erased.
My boys do not have anxious thoughts. They sleep peacefully in the love and security of our home. They feel safe because of a doting mother’s watchful eye and a protective father who stands ready to defend and rescue. You and I have a Heavenly Father who has our lives firmly in the grip of His hands. He does not need sleep. [Is 40:28] If He is going to be awake all night watching over us then we ought to allow that consolation to help us sleep more peacefully. If we would just take the time to listen to His consolations our hearts and minds could exchange anxiety for tranquility. All of us could use some more of that.

40 Days - Day 31 (March 25-May 3)

Day Thirty-One
“Stand By and See”


But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.” Exodus 14:13-14


There are going to be times when God is going to lead you into trying circumstances. In Exodus 13-14 God led the children of Israel out of Egypt but to a place where they found their backs against the wall. Through His servant Moses, God led His people to a place where they were hemmed in – the shores of the Red Sea - and then Pharaoh changed his mind about giving Israel her freedom and pursued them with a vengeance (Exodus 14:5-9.) This scenario had all the makings of a slaughter.
Israel had no trained military personnel. They had been in captivity for four centuries. They were hemmed in geographically by mountains and the sea and it appeared that God, who was the one who led them to camp in this position, had abandoned His people to die (Exodus 13:17-22, Exodus 14:1-2.) The Egyptian army chased down Israel with six hundred select chariots, horses, and the full might of the army. This was an all out-assault - let there be no question as to the resolve that Pharaoh had to bring the Israelites back into bondage.
When the Israelite people saw the intimidating forces of the Egyptian army, they were very frightened (Exodus 14:10.) There was no escape route. They could not fight their way out. From their perspective, the situation looked absolutely hopeless, but it is in the midst of hopeless situations that God does some of His best work.
The Israelites began to grumble, doubt, and speak words of complaint against God and against Moses. God’s response was to call Moses to more faith. He was called to hold his staff above the Red Sea to divide it, with the assurance that the whole nation would cross on dry ground. God further assured Moses that He would deal with Egypt once and for all. In essence the Lord spoke through Moses, “Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord. The Lord will fight for you.”
Some of you need to hear that today. You are tempted to believe that your enemy is going to win. You see the impossible odds you are up against and furthermore you cannot see any way of escape. You are scared and doubt is defeating your faith. You want to complain but God is telling you to keep silent, to stand by and watch the miracle that He is about to do. God is about to fight on your behalf and in ways you could not have imagined. He is about to step in and flex is mighty muscles to move mightily in your midst. He is about to step in and save the day.
What do you see with your eyes? What is your enemy doing? Now that you have identified that, what do you believe? Jesus said in Mark 9:23 that all things are possible to the one who believes. Your eyes might be telling you that a great army is about to descend on you and defeat you, but God is whispering “Do not believe what you see.” Do not believe what those around you might be saying. God is saying, “Choose to believe Me!”
God did help Israel that historic day. He held the Egyptians back with a pillar of cloud all night long. During this time Moses was called to hold his staff over the Red Sea so God could divide it. As the waters were held back, every single one of the children of Israel walked across dry land to safety on the other side, some of them only able to see the people in front of them and the people behind them. Yet even through the darkness of night the God of Israel was working on their behalf, saving them in a more magnificent fashion than any of them could ever have imagined.
Today we are able to refer to that story and see that God did indeed fight for His children, defeating a powerful, determined enemy. If you find yourself in the same position today, do you complain and murmur or do you pray your heart out and trust God with the outcome? He is not limited by your dead-end circumstances and He is not intimidated by the impossible odds you are up against. Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord as He fights for you.


Steps to Trust and Obey:

What enemy is pursuing you and what stands in the way of your victory?
Are you murmuring and complaining today or praying in faith?
Do you believe that you will see the salvation of the Lord?
What does it mean to you to read that God is fighting for you while you remain silent?
As you pray you have a choice to make. It is the same choice that you have been called to make multiple times over the past few weeks. Will you believe or doubt?

My Chains Are Gone

Unfortunately I know what it is to be imprisoned. Those lonely dark days where you contemplate your guilt and live with remorse are days I am not proud of. I was found guilty and sentenced. If you have never lived in chains count yourself blessed.
For many years I got away with my “secret” life. Nobody knew that the shy quiet kid on the outside was enslaved to sin on the inside. Though from most people’s perspective I might have appeared to be a normal student and teenager the truth was I was chained to my sin and it plagued me night and day. No matter how I decided that I would turn over a new leaf, start fresh, and never meander back to the murky waters of bad choices, rebellious acts, and defiant attitudes, I always did.
I felt chained to my sin. I could not shake myself free from it no matter how hard I tried. Sin is a relentless opponent. Satan is both deceptive and crafty. He makes sin look appealing and desirable. [Gen 3:1-6] This is what happened to Eve and then Adam and sin entered the world and everyone has struggled with it ever since. The list of sins in this world is both long and unnecessary to record. We all know and have seen sin not only in our own lives but in others as well.
Living shackled to sin is a miserable existence. It is a hard road. Satan assures us that we will be more fulfilled after indulging in defiant acts against God. The truth is that sin kills us. We are promised to be satisfied when savoring our sin but Satan’s promises are like being paid with counterfeit money. The reward is without value and hollow. Sin never satisfies permanently. It might be enjoyable for a season but sooner or later we find ourselves imprisoned and like a person incarcerated in the dungeon of our own soul. The same enemy who encourages us to rebel against God is also the first one to cast blame and remind us of our failures producing condemnation and shame. Satan is a two faced liar and back stabber!
How many of you reading this can relate to what I am saying. You feel imprisoned and sin is like a ball and chain shackled to your heart and you cannot get free from it no matter how hard you try? How many of you are drowning in the tears of your remorse and guilt for a lifetime of bad choices?
My chains were broken by a valiant champion. Jesus Christ defeated sin and Satan on the cross and makes that freedom available to all who will ask Him for it. It is only available if you ask Him for it. Read what Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. If therefore the Son shall make you free you shall be free indeed.” [Jn 8:34-36] How we long for freedom.
Jesus alone holds the key to open your imprisoned soul and set you free. He did that for me as a teenager on a balmy October night when I was introduced to Him as my Savior. He does it even now when the serpent of sin raises his venomous head to strike at my heart to poison my soul but Jesus gives me the victory. [I Cor 15:57] And if and when I do blow it, Jesus is there to pardon, bandage my wounds, and remove the stains. [I Jn 1:9] He does more than just forgive; He also offers deliverance from future temptations and empowers us to walk in holiness. [Gal 5:16] [I Cor 10:13]
I will never forget the day Jesus unshackled my heart. To live in freedom and to know His forgiveness is an experience beyond my ability to describe. Song writer and worship leader Chris Tomlin says it better than me. “My chains are gone, I’ve been set free.” That’s what Jesus offers. I will never forget the day my chains clanked to the floor and soul was released, cleansed, and brought to new life. Those chains are gone and now I get to live in spiritual freedom. I also get to tell other people in private prisons of the soul that Jesus is the key set you free as well. May chains fall off every heart in Paradise and souls be set free.

40 Days - Day 30 (March 25-May 3)

Day Thirty
“Trust with all Your Heart”


Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do no lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6


As we have been studying over the past several weeks we have been challenged to learn to trust God in all circumstances. We have learned to trust Him when everything appears to be going according to our wants and we have also learned to trust Him when our eyes tell us that things are not going according to plan. The hard part is learning how to maintain that trust in any and every situation. This is extremely difficult. Our faith can ebb and flow with the tide of our state of affairs.
Today we are challenged to trust God with all our heart. What that means is that we must come to a place where we trust the Lord with all or the whole of our heart. Now, the word “heart” means a lot more than trusting God with our emotions or trusting God when we feel like trusting Him. It means that we trust Him with our minds, our wills, and our inner self. To take this another step forward, we are to trust or be confidently secure that God will be there for us.
Many times in my life when I have needed faith the most it seemed I trusted God the least. My prayer for all of us is that we have learned and are continuing to learn that we can be confidently secure that He will be there when we need Him the most. There might be multiple things in our lives that try to destroy this trust, but God is leading us to become men and women, students and children, who trust the Lord with all our being concerning every situation in our lives.
I just came back to my office after a meeting in which my faith was called into question. This was not done in a malicious way, but my faith was waning on an issue we were meeting about. Now as I sit down to work on this challenge, I see the truth. I was in a meeting discussing a critical issue that concerns our church, and I spoke with some uncertainty about a solution to the question we were addressing. Now in hindsight I can see the doubt that surfaced in my heart and expressed itself through my spoken words. I have had to stop and repent of the doubt I expressed and let faith grab hold of my mind, my heart, and my mouth.
Our trust in God is continually being assaulted. That is why it is so critical that we stay in the scriptures, remind ourselves over and over of the character and the nature of God, as well as hear the testimonies of God’s faithfulness in the lives of others around us. Each of these is a tool to help us bolster our confidence in God’s ability to intervene. This is a life-long battle, and there is never a time when we have simply “arrived.” Different trials and different tests require different levels of faith. Faith can be depleted when we prayerfully gain victory in one area, only to turn around and find another faith challenge in a different area. We pray, trust Bible promises, and in the end we have used up precious faith. If we are not continually being refueled, renewed, reenergized, and revived with fresh faith, it easy to see why we begin to doubt.
In 1 Kings 19, the prophet Elijah had faith to pray down fire on Mount Carmel and then turned right around and began to doubt God when his life was threatened by King Ahab’s wife Jezebel. Even after such a triumphant victory on God’s behalf, Jezebel’s threats drove Elijah to the point of being suicidal. Elijah ran for his life and secluded himself in the desert, where he was reminded once again of God’s power and provision. If we are going to trust the Lord with all our hearts, we had better be devoting all our hearts to seeking Him and growing in our knowledge of Him. It is during these critical times that we are strengthened for the battles ahead.
Imagine a football player showing up to the first game of the season without having participated in one practice, or having spent the summer running, lifting weights, and doing agility work. That player will not be able to operate to the best of his abilities because he will be out of shape. Many Christians run through life out of shape when it comes to trusting the Lord because they have not been involved in spiritual training. On the other hand, when an athlete has spent the time to prepare his body and mind for the competition, it is a beautiful thing to watch that athlete achieve peak performance in the critical moment of testing in the game.
We can learn more from these verses in Proverbs. If we trust the Lord with our whole hearts then we do not have to give into the temptation to lean on our own understanding or to take matters into our own hands. We patiently wait on God to intervene and give clear direction about what we are to do and not to do.
Recently while praying through a burden, I found myself confused. I had several good ideas running through my head but I really did not know the best course to take. Instead of leaning on my own understanding, or to put it another way, instead of leaning on my ability to reason and deduce logically the best solution, I asked the Lord what to do. His direction in response was unexpected and challenging but I know it was from Him. If I had taken matters into my hands I would have fouled things up royally.
I am not saying that living a life of faith is the course of least resistance but I am telling you it is the best way. God knows what is best and He can be trusted with every scenario. God’s direction may be anything but rational, it may not make any sense to your mind, and well-meaning people around you may seek to discourage you from following God’s counsel. But if you acknowledge God or if you seek Him and determine to distinguish the voice and counsel of God above all others, He will prove Himself faithful over and over again. Every single time He will prove Himself faithful. He will make paths straight. That simply means that God will go before you and when you have exercised your confident security in Him above your own abilities and reasoning, He will give you success and a pleasant path. Who wouldn’t want that? Remember it all goes back to trust!









Steps to Trust and Obey:


How would you define trust in God?
What are you facing where you really need confident security in the Lord?
How have you been tempted to take matters into your own hands?
Does God’s counsel to you seem at odds with your own logic or the counsel of others? What are you going to do about that? Which counsel will you listen to and follow? Why?
What is the Lord speaking to you? Is He calling you to take any steps of obedience and if so what are they? How will you respond?

40 Days - Day 29 (March 25-May 3)

Day Twenty-Nine
“Praying with Boldness”


Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:16


The great pastor Charles Haddon Spurgeon once preached a sermon on this passage and made the following comments about the subject of prayer: “True prayer is an approach of the soul by the Spirit of God to the throne of God. It is not the utterance of words, nor is it alone the feeling of desires, but it is the advance of the desires to God, the spiritual approach of our nature towards the Lord our God. True prayer is not a mere mental exercise, nor a vocal performance, but it is deeper far than that – it is a spiritual communion with the Creator of heaven and earth. Prayer is a spiritual business from the beginning to end, and its aim and object end not with man, but reach to God Himself.”[1]
I hope by this time in our journey together that we are all more spiritually minded than when we started and our prayers are more authentic and prayed with more confidence and boldness. Prayer is a spiritual business as Spurgeon said and if we are not becoming more spiritual in our hearts and minds, we are not going to make much progress in the art of praying.
It is my sincere hope that by this time you have seen God work in amazing ways and you have a great list of praises and testimonies. There is always more to believe God for. As you approach the throne of grace today what is your attitude in coming? Are you coming with doubts hounding your soul? Are you coming casually today because you do not want to put forth the effort to meet with God in a spiritual way? Are you coming with confidence or with boldness? We are exhorted to draw near the throne of grace with confidence.
This is not done on our own merit. We are not worthy to come into the throne room of God. Our only pass to the throne of grace is based on the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. We only ever come into the Lord’s presence pleading the blood of Christ. His grace and mercy have given us not only salvation but also entrance into His presence to talk with Him about anything and to obtain help when we need it.
Coming boldly or confidently into His presence means that we come and speak to Him bluntly, outspokenly and frankly. God is not interested in our eloquence; He wants sincerity accompanied by faith. If we need His help we must forthrightly ask for it. I know many of you have been asking. For thirty plus days you have been asking and no help has come. Nothing has changed. You have prayed with faith and you have not lost heart and given up, still nothing has changed for you. You are tired of asking for help and not getting any.
My counsel to you would be to keep coming before the Lord and to keep asking for help. You might even ask Him “Why the delay?” You might not get an answer but that is the kind of frank praying we are encouraged to do. Why not take the time today to spill your heart out to the Lord. There are things you might be frustrated about - talk to Him about it. There are things that seem unfair to you - visit with Him about it.
If you are coming and giving some mental exercises or making great oratory in your speech but not being authentic in your soul, those prayers are not going to accomplish very much. Take the time to talk to Him about the true feelings you have. You may be elated with all that you have experienced over these days and filled with joy. Praise Him! If you are struggling with doubts and confusion, take some time to talk to Him about it. He already knows anyway. If you do this I am confident that even if you do not get what you have been asking for, you will come away with peace of heart and mind and a renewed trust in the Lord.


Steps to Trust and Obey:

What is your attitude in approaching the throne of grace? Do you need to adjust your attitude according to Hebrews 4:16?
Are you timid in your prayers or do you with pray with bold confidence?
What do you need to talk to the Lord about very frankly?
What is He speaking to you and how are you going to respond?
[1] Charles H. Spurgeon, Classic Sermons on Prayer; “The Throne of Grace.” Grand Rapids, Kregel Publishers, 1987, p. 27.

40 Days - Day 28 (March 25-May 3)

Day Twenty-Eight
“The Scent of Water”

“For there is hope for a tree, when it is cut down that it will sprout again and its shoots not fail. Though its roots grow old in the ground and its stump dies in the dry soil, at the scent of water it will flourish and put forth sprigs like a plant.”
Job 14:7-9

Do you have dreams abandoned long ago? Do you have dreams that have died a long and agonizingly painful death? Have you given up on ever seeing such dreams become a reality? If you find yourself in this place I want to encourage you to see with the eyes of faith as you read this passage.
Take a tree and cut it down until there is nothing more than a stump. To the eyes of everyone passing by the stump it may appear dead and lifeless, but let the old roots just get the scent of water and new life can begin again. I have seen this verse come true in my own life. At the very point I thought my ministerial dreams were dead, God brought the scent of water in Paradise and new life has come.
At the scent of water - hope in God - dead dreams can not only come to life but also flourish. You may have given up on your God-implanted dreams. They may be nothing more than a stump with dried-up roots, but the fragrance and odor of water can bring not only hope but life to dead things. That stump can begin to sprout new sprigs of hope and eventually flourish in full bloom. God can do that with the “scent of water,” which could be a scripture, a timely sermon, a moving song, a deep impression by His Spirit, or the reading of a devotional thought.
It is my prayer that this brief submission would be the scent of water for you to believe God for the impossible. Visually you may see no hope, but I challenge to look through the lens of faith. “For we walk by faith and not by sight,” (II Corinthians 5:7.) Let the scent of water excite the roots of your withered faith and believe God for the impossible. “For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37)
Right now there is something stirring deep in your soul. There is a desire, a dream, and request that you are just about to abandon forever, but this verse about the scent of water has brought life and hope again. Is God really finished with that dream yet? Have you grown so frustrated and impatient that you have been willing to give up on something God wills for you to have? Let the scent of water revive your faith today. Let the scent of a fresh word from God stir something deep in you and cling to that hope with all the tenacity you have. Is it time to hunker down and believe more or to walk away knowing God has something else in mind for you? Only He can answer that.
Your circumstances and those around you may be screaming at you to give up and abandon hope. I pray this short message roars like thunder deep in your soul to believe God for the scent of water, the fragrance of hope, the odor of omniscience, and the aroma of almighty power and strength bringing your dreams back to life. DO NOT GIVE UP! EVER! At the scent of water you will flourish and bloom like a plant.




Steps to Trust and Obey:

What has the scent of water resurfaced in your heart?
Are you ready to cut rope and leave or believe with more tenacity?
Spend this time asking God to keep hope afloat in your heart as you continue to seek Him.
Spend some time listening about the things He wants to bring to life because of the scent of water.

40 Days - Day 27 (March 25-May 3)

Day Twenty-Seven
“Hope for the Hopeless”

“Why are you in despair O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence.”
Psalm 42:5

I saw the desperation in a father’s eyes as he walked down an aisle in a small country church far from here near Lake Sam Rayburn. He walked up to me after the sermon I had preached and asked me if I would pray for his young married daughter who was the mother of three. She had cancer, and this loving father was asking me to pray for a miracle for his daughter. Here was a man trying to cling to hope in a hopeless situation.
I knelt by another man’s bedside, holding his hand as he labored to breathe. He was dying and he knew it. He asked me to pray that he would remain strong in his faith until the very end. We took his hopeless chronic condition and went to God pleading for hope - hope to endure in the faith. We rejoiced in the hope of Heaven. This scene repeated itself several more times until this larger-than-life man was taken from us. Even in a hopeless situation, this man never lost hope.
I watched a different man in a worship service recently sinking under the weight of the world seemingly sitting on his shoulders. Though a man’s man in every way, on this day the pressures of life were so burdensome on his soul that he sat in a pew with his head and heart bowed to God in a desperate plea for help. He was crying out for hope. I watched his countenance change by the end of that service as this warrior in the faith received the tender and loving touch of his Heavenly Father and left with hope renewed.
Just yesterday morning I saw another man at the end of his wits kneeling at the front of the church to unload his burdens to the Lord during a worship service, pleading for hope to carry on. In life this man carries a lot of authority but yesterday he was just another child before God needing help and hope.
Everywhere you go people are in need of hope. We can live without a lot of things, but to live without hope is a cruel punishment few can endure. What is causing you to despair and lose hope? You don’t have to look around long to find reasons. There are hopeless situations everywhere. This is problem that dates back to biblical times. The psalmist experienced it well when he wrote Psalm 42:5. He knew the dark dungeon of depression and how it strangles hope in the heart. The writer knew the agony of feeling backed into a corner with no way of escape, and as a result hope oozed from his heart like water out of a bucket with a hole in the bottom.
Even in the middle of feeling hopeless, the psalmist counsels himself as well as the rest of us with, “Hope in God.” The word hope in this verse means to wait patiently on God and to expect God to come and help. That might sound easy as words splashed in black ink on a page, but in real life it is a little more difficult. How do you hope in someone you can’t see, can’t prove exists scientifically, and who seems so far removed from the hopeless situations in our lives? How do you maintain hope in someone who remains silent in times when you need Him most? Many of you have waited on God and it seems you have waited in vain because you expected Him to come through and it appears that He let you down. But appearances can be deceiving.

Suffice it to say that multitudes have thought God had abandoned them in their hour of crisis, only to find in hindsight that God was there providing strength, comfort, support, provision, and yes, hope too. God is the one who grants you the optimism that better days are coming, things are going to turn around, the crisis will pass, and hope is not in vain. God does not fail His children when they are most in need of help and hope. He does not leave us high and dry in our most critical times of need (Psalm 50:15, Psalm 46:10.) In difficult times He is very present and He is our helper. I urge you to take your troubles and roll them on to God’s massive shoulders today, trading your despair for His hope. Let Him turn your perspective from despair and gloom to optimism and expectation. Like the old song says, “Let us have a little talk with Jesus and tell Him all about our troubles and He will answer by and by. Just a little talk with Jesus makes it right.” A little talk with Jesus can restore hope for the hopeless soul.



Steps to Trust and Obey:


1. How are you doing in the hope department? On a scale from 1-10, where would pinpoint your level of hope today?
2. If your hope is waning can you identify what has happened to cause you to feel this way?
3. Where is God in this situation? What is the last thing He has spoken to you? Do you believe Him?
4. Is the Lord speaking to you today? If so, what is He saying and calling to you to do in response to His voice?

40 Days - Day 26 (March 25-May 3)

Day Twenty-Six
“He is Able”


Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works within us.
Ephesians 3:20


Hanging on a wall in my office across from my desk is a small cross-stitched picture with these simple words on it, “He is able.” This morning as I was reading scripture I came across Ephesians 3:20. What really jumps out of that passage is that our God is able. You say, “Able to do what?” and the answer is, whatever you need Him to.
He is able to break through rock-hard hearts that have rejected the grace of Jesus for decades, and melt those hearts before the cross and Lord Jesus. He is able to forgive anyone for any sin committed no matter how vile, cruel, or wicked. He is able to turn impossible situations into paths of possibilities. God is able to birth divinely planted dreams into reality. He is able to meet any financial need and to connect His provision with your lack no matter where you are. He is able to lift any burden that weighs you down and to comfort any broken heart. He is able to turn irreligious people into passionate warriors for Christ. He is able to heal any disease and bring peace and tranquility into any tumultuous and stormy situation.
The question is not if God is able. He is more than able! The real issue is do we trust Him? Do we trust His bountiful promises made in scripture? Do we trust His love for us in the nights of weeping? Do we trust Him when the deadline is approaching fast and the answer has not come? Do we trust Him to really forgive our heinous sins? Do we trust Him when the doctor’s report reveals the grim reality of sickness and disease? Do we trust Him when everything and everyone around us say God has forsaken and abandoned us?
God is trustworthy. He is worthy of my trust and yours no matter what trials we are facing today or will face tomorrow. He is worthy of our confidence and assurance to move mountains, calm our fears, bind our broken hearts, open shut doors, offer direction and insight, and grant peace where peace is unexpected. God keeps His promises - all of them, forever. In Psalm 119:160, David says to God, “The sum of Your word is truth and every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting.” We can count on Him. He is able to come through and keep His word over and over again. He is no fair-weather God who abandons us in our time of need. He is faithful, true, sure, a present help in times of trouble, consistent, and available to help in our time of need.
No matter what you are facing today, I challenge you to be reminded “He is able.” He is able whether you sit in a hospital room, stare across an empty room where a loved one used to sit, look at an empty check book, see a loved one being crushed by unwise decisions, feel a marriage crumbling, or see a society disintegrating right before your eyes. Our God is able. Trust Him today and behold His faithfulness. Consign your confidence to Him and watch Him save the day. Be assured He is able to handle every situation in your life today and all the days to come, while at the same time being able to meet my every need, along with every need of every person from every tribe, kindred, and nation.
There is a little praise chorus I used to sing from time to time that I am reminded of while writing this. “He is able. He is able to accomplish what concerns me today. He is able – more than able to handle anything that comes my way. He is able – more than able – to do much more than I could ever dream. He is able – He is able.”
As I look across my desk to that little picture hanging on my wall, I am reminded of God’s incredible power and I mount this day like a knight riding full speed, charging into battle with confidence. The banner we carry in our hands and our rallying cry shall ever be, “HE IS ABLE.”



Steps to Trust and Obey:

What are your wildest dreams and desires in your heart? Let your imagination and spirit come together to collaborate in praying today.
In what ways is God bigger than what you crave for Him to do? Is it really possible?
Is your God able? Finish this statement in prayer; My God is able to ___________.
Has the Lord given you any specific steps to obey today? How you will you follow through?

Swimming in the Bathtub

When our boys were younger they loved taking baths. They would splash and play until their little fingers were wrinkled. We had many wonderful memories with them in the bath tub. I recall one time hearing more splashing than normal and came around the corner to find Taylor splashing and kicking his feet while lying on his stomach. I started chuckling and asked him what he was doing. He told me that he was swimming. He did not know that swimming in the bathtub is just about impossible. From his little perspective the bath tub seemed more like a swimming pool.
Over the years as I have sought to know God, to get better acquainted with His character, His nature, and more familiar with His voice, I often feel like a child swimming in the bath tub. There are times when I really think I know Him and understand Him but then He does something so bizarre or something so far beyond my comprehension that I am left scratching my head and realize that I really have much more to learn.
Isaiah the prophet records God as saying, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are My ways your ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” [Is 55:8-9] If we are all honest there are many times over the course of a life when we have to tell the Lord, “I don’t understand. I do not get what you are up to. It just doesn’t make sense. I know you are in control but this sure doesn’t seem like it.”
There are thousands of why questions. Though God listens He is not obligated to answer. What He does as He rules this universe is many times beyond our comprehension. We see from a limited perspective. His one message to us over and over again is to trust Him. Just when we think we have God figured out He does something mysterious and leaving us confused and bewildered trying to figure it out. There are some things we will never be able to figure out down here. That’s where trust comes in. I have to trust that God knows what He is doing.
When I look back over my life and watch the way He has worked and led I know that He has proven Himself trustworthy. What Satan meant for evil in my life God has used for good to teach me, shape me, and develop character. At times the path He led me on was very painful and my faith was nearly shipwrecked a time or two. In hindsight I can say along with Isaiah that God has higher ways and higher thoughts than I could have imagined. I don’t know Him like I thought I did and I sure do not have it all figured out.
It really all boils down to this. Do I trust God with my life, my family, and my future? If I do I can gut out the tough times trusting that better times are coming and that God never wastes pain. He often uses pain for His redemptive purposes. The times I have grown the most in my life were the times of great adversity. History is replete with great leaders who came out of great adversity. None of us would choose the painful and adverse path if we really had a choice but we have grown as a result of having gone through them.
I do not understand why some of the best friends in my life have been uprooted to other towns and we have separated by many miles for years. I do not understand why tragedies occur, why babies die, why the just often live in difficulty while the wicked prosper. I do not understand why some hypocritical preachers fraud and deceive people out of millions of dollars while a saint like Mother Teresa lived in poverty and obscurity. I do not understand why lying, selfishly ambitious, greedy, and arrogant people are elected to political office while true servants and people who love God and country are swept out of mind and sight by the media and voters.
I do know this. God can be trusted. He can be trusted when your plans come to a abrupt halt as He changes course on you. I know He can be trusted when you watch those you love die and suffer violently. He can be trusted when the rug gets jerked out from underneath you bringing you and your serene world crashing down. He can be trusted in life’s darkest and harshest moments as well as when we are successful and His abundant blessings surround us.
I laughed when I saw Taylor swimming in the bath tub. The Lord has used that little incident to teach me a great truth. We think we have God figured out. The truth is we are like children swimming around in the safe confines of a bath tub. God is more like an ocean. There are places in Him yet to be discovered and there are things about Him that no man has explored. In our study of the scriptures we are just children splashing around in the bath tub but God is inviting us to trust Him and to dive deep in the ocean of His truth.
I recently read that one of the first things that will happen when the saved get to Heaven is that we will have an “ah hah” moment. When we step into eternity suddenly we will gain God’s perspective and every part of our lives will make sense. We will see His higher ways and understand some of those higher thoughts. Until then, get out of the bath tub, grab the life preserver of a personal relationship with Jesus, the float ring of His word, and trust Him in the ocean.

40 Days - Day 25 (March 25-May 3)

Day Twenty-Five
Building an Ark


While at Super Summer this past summer on the Campus of Mary Hardin Baylor University I heard a message from Hebrews 11:7. “By faith Noah, being divinely warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world and became the heir of righteousness which is according to faith.” There were several things the speaker said that had a profound impact on me. I sat in the back of the auditorium for a long time and then lay prostrate on the floor asking God what ark He has called me to believe Him about, and then asking how to build it.
One of the points that made the deepest impression on me was that every time people saw the ark they saw the reality of Noah’s faith. What can people see around me that is tangible evidence of my faith? What can see around you that exists because of your faith?
I am still wrestling with the implications of those thoughts. I know what my ark is - my ark is the First Baptist Church of Paradise. My ark is four little boys back in Paradise, TX bearing my last name. My ark is a house that we believe God to provide. My ark is a broader and more extensive writing and preaching ministry. My ark is seeing the First Baptist Church of Humboldt, Saskatchewan grow and secure a permanent pastor. I found myself prostrate before the Lord asking how I was to build those arks.
Arks are built with enduring faith. It took Noah well over a century to build the ark. At one point would you and I have been tempted to give on the whole thing? A year. Twenty years. Fifty. One hundred years. Noah labored day in and day out. Most of us can get motivated for a day or two. Most of us can be inspired to tackle huge projects for the Lord but very few have the gutsy grit of enduring faith to stay the course day after day, month after month, year after year, and decade after decade. We get bored and lose interest. We find the labor grueling and our resolve turns to powder. We cast longing glances on the other side of the fence where the grass looks so much greener. We find progress slow and the task too difficult and we start looking for the path of least resistance. Parents do this with their children. Pastors do this with their churches. Presidents do this with their organizations. Peers do this in their witness at school.
Noah fires me up. I want to be an ark builder. I want my life to count for something. His life counted for the salvation of his family. His one hundred and twenty years were given in response to the call of God. What is He calling you to do for His glory? What impossible thing that might take you the rest of your life to build is He calling you to? If you refuse to endure in your faith, in building your ark, what implications will that have on those closest to you?
I found myself asking the Lord what the first steps of obedience are in order for me to build the arks He has called me to build. There have to be steps of obedience. What are they? For me that includes getting God’s vision for the ark. How can I build something I do not have the plans for? God knows what He wants built and He alone can give us His vision to pursue. Do we really want a vision larger than our lives? Do we have the courage to sit before the Lord and ask Him to paint His dream for our lives, no matter how small and insignificant or how large and utterly impossible? Not only that but if God reveals His vision for each of us about what ark He wants us to build, do we have the kind of enduring faith it takes to build arks? That’s what He wants. He doesn’t want us to merely dream dreams for Him. He wants us to pursue those dreams and stay the course until our arks are built and the whole world can see the evidence of our faith and we can point people to the Savior.
God’s ark for me is knee-buckling. Nobody will ever see my faith unless I take a step of obedience. I am going to have to take steps in the direction of God’s dream for my life. Even as I write this I am crying out to God in my spirit to show me what those initial steps are. It is downright intimidating to stand before God’s vision and think that I have been called to that vision. It is a humbling thought to wrap my mind around, that God has chosen me for a grand vision that will take a lifetime to fulfill. But what glory He will get when people see the reality and evidence of my enduring faith, if I will stay the course. It brings great joy to my heart to even think about those possibilities. What a glorious thought - to get to join God in His purposes!
I don’t care how outrageous the size of the ark appears to be that God has called you to build. I urge you to pursue it with fearless and enduring faith. I challenge you to be consumed with God’s call on your life to build an ark. May your lifelong labors prove to be invaluable in providing salvation to your family and friends, and as always may the Lord get all the glory.


Steps to Trust and Obey:

1. What is God calling you to build for Him so the whole world can see and bring Him glory?
2. Have you started building in obedience yet? If not, why not? What are you waiting on to begin?
3. If you feel overwhelmed by the goal, sit before the Lord and allow Him to minister hope to you and the firm conviction to complete the assignment.
4. Is the Lord speaking to you today and adjusting your life in some way? What is He leading you to do in response to your time with Him today?

Locked Doors

[Rev 3:8] “…He is who is holy who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens.”



Earlier this week Brenda dropped me off at my office early one afternoon. As she rounded the corner turning onto Main Street, I reached into my pocket and could not finger my keys to get in the front door. I hurriedly reached in the other pocket and did not discover the keys in that pocket either.
My next reaction was to grab my cell phone and call Brenda before she got too far away. When I pulled it out it was turned off which I thought was odd. I tried to turn the phone on only to discover the battery was dead. I was stranded out on the front porch of our offices with no keys, no phone, and no transportation. I was locked out! Nobody was in the offices either. I wasn’t too concerned because I had a great book in hand and I knew that sooner or later someone would show up. Two men next door thought I had lost my mind when they saw me seated on the front porch on the deck reading. They asked me if I had been in time out.
There have been many times in my life when the Lord seemed to lock a door to me. We often talk about discovering God’s will for our lives in terms of God opening or God shutting a door. As I grew bored reading I began contemplating locked doors. I am grateful for many locked doors in my life that would have most certainly brought me heartache.
There was the locked door on a relationship with a girl I dated for five years. While in college I thought I would marry that girl but God had other plans. That door was locked and I met Brenda and have not looked back. She has been a door God opened in my life that no man could shut. She has been my best friend, my confidant, my closest companion, and the one person I would rather spend time with more than anyone on this earth. We often eat breakfast and lunch together most every day of the week. I just enjoy being with her and her contribution to my life, ministry, and children are incalculable. If you have never gotten to know her you should. She enriches the lives of those who get to know her. I am grateful for a locked door on a five year relationship and God opening a door to a relationship with her which I have enjoyed being her husband for nearly eighteen years. The boys and I often refer to her as the “Queen” or the “First Lady of Paradise.” Right before I sat down to write this I walked through the kitchen where she was busy preparing a meal before our Friday night “family movie night.” I strolled up to her and gave her a hug and a little kiss just to say, “I love you all over again.”
There have also been some locked doors on churches that I thought we would serve. I am mainly thinking of two churches, one in Tyler and one in Odessa. I thought we would go to each of those towns but God intervened and locked the doors. In hindsight I am grateful for His sovereign protection for both of those churches were extremely troubled and I was spared much heartache and trouble by not being the pastor of either one. God often does that you know. He shuts doors to protect us. He locks them up tight to save us from a great deal of pain and misery. God instead opened the door for my family to come to Paradise. What a blessing this community and First Baptist Church have been to my family.
In our foolishness we still try to open doors that God has locked tight. If we ever do pry them open in our own strength, we usually live to regret it. Why can’t we simply trust that when God shuts a door there is a reason for it and what He does and locks He does for our best interest? That is why some relationships end just when people are ready to dive in deep. That is why some job opportunities do not pan out. That is why some deals never materialize. That is why some whims and desires never come to pass.
In the same way that God can lock a door He can also open some doors that seemed to be shut to us. He provides opportunities, orchestrates circumstances, and leads us to the thresholds of prospects we might not have ever sought out in our own wisdom. God is continually locking doors and opening doors. Shutting and unbolting.
Let me conclude with a few questions. What doors is He locking in your life? Are you listening? Are you getting the message that as He closes and locks doors He trying to protect you from pain and misery? On the other hand, what doors is God opening for you? What new opportunities are on the horizon and what doorway of adventure is the Lord calling you to walk through. I am grateful for the locked doors in my life as well as the ones God has opened.
Next time, I will check my pockets before Brenda drives off. I sat on the porch for nearly an hour and a half. The breeze was blowing swiftly and soon I actually drifted off to sleep in perfect peace. Eventually a family from our church came by the office and gave me a ride a home. If each of us could face locked doors and open doors with the same peace I had on that porch as I drifted off to sleep in perfect trust that it will all work out, maybe we could sleep better at night and live with less stress during the day.

40 Days - Day 24 (March 25-May 3)

Day Twenty-Four
“Living to Promote the Glory of God”


Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be taken up and cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted to him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them and they will be granted you.
Mark 11:23-24


I was seated at my desk early this morning seeking the Lord in prayer and was captured by Jesus’ words in Mark 11:23-24. I felt Him tugging and stretching my heart to believe Him for greater things. Soon tears began to trickle down my cheeks as I cried out to the Lord for miracle after miracle, mostly related to expanding His kingdom. I begged and pleaded with God to intervene in the affairs of life and ministry all around me and in missions work.
Soon my heart felt aflame with Jesus’ words that if I would not doubt but believe, I could have the things I had been asking Him. Impossible things. Unattainable things. Impractical things. Unfeasible things. That’s when it really hit me right between the eyes - if I really devote myself to a life of believing prayer I will also be devoting my life to promoting the glory of God. That revelation only served to intensify the flame burning in my heart and my desire to see the Lord do the impossible. I prayed as fervently as I ever have at any time in my life for anything.
One by one I brought both ministry and personal mountains before Him and asked that each one be removed out of the way so that His glory could be promoted further. I want to be one who lives on the cutting edge of faith and who lives daily to promote God’s glory through answered prayer. I know full well what I am yearning for - I am yearning for God to continually push my life and ministry toward risk, attempting the impossible, challenge after challenge, open criticism for presuming upon God, and ridicule mixed with skepticism when the miracles are delayed. I have experienced all of this before on numerous occasions, but when God comes through and I get the privilege of testifying about His faithfulness, it is worth it! Praise God, it is worth the delays, the hours spent in solitude with the Father, and all the skepticism just to watch God come through and bring greater heaps of grandeur on Himself. I live to see that happen!
I love to hear the gasps in the crowd when a miracle is detailed to a listening congregation. I love to watch the stunned faces as people hear about how the Lord turned the impossible into something possible. I am deeply moved when I see faith growing slowly in the hearts of those who were once filled with fear and doubt as they hear what their God has done for someone else, encouraging them to hope again for God’s help in their situation. I live for that; I live for God to be glorified over and over again through miraculous, astounding, extraordinary, and phenomenal acts that defy logic and explanation.
I cannot tell you how many times I have felt alone at this point. I have found solace and comfort through reading biographies of Hudson Taylor, George Mueller, John Hyde, Rees Howells, David Brainerd, and E.M. Bounds. They forged the trails of faith and blazed a path to demonstrate the truth that the miraculous was not just intended for the days of Acts. It has been a lonely pilgrimage but I have sought to bring others along with me. God longs to work in our day as well and I for one intend to live so that His name, His power, His mighty acts, and His glory will be promoted in this generation and in the generations to come.
What mountains are you facing right now? What impossible thing is intimidating you into cowardly unbelief? What mountain stands in the way between you and the dream God planted in your heart? What mountain looms so large over you it is causing you to hesitate and withdraw to safety and comfort? I plead with you to stop retreating and look your mountain square in the eye. In faith I exhort you speak to your mountain to get out of your way in the name of our valiant and strong Lord. Gather those who will believe with you and pray to promote the glory of the Lord.
How long will we live in the shadow lands of complacency and comfort when the fragrance of the miraculous is filling the air? Where are the pastors who will charge ahead on their knees and watch the Lord shove open doors that have been closed too long? Where are the intercessors who will give themselves no rest and the Lord no rest as they plead for the salvation of souls without ceasing? Where are the churches that will bend their ears to Heaven and follow the Lord’s promptings by faith into grandiose kingdom expansion projects regardless of the risk or the cost? Who will shirk fear and personal security and run toward the risk of promoting the glory of God in your corner of this world?
Do we really believe? I asked myself that same question over and over again in my prayer time this morning. I looked at two very large mountains that I have been facing, one of which I have been battling for over eight years. It is the mountain that stands in the way of the publication of my books. Doors had been repeatedly shut and prayers had gone unanswered, but after hammering away at that mountain and by God’s grace, I can now testify that the necessary money to publish Behold the Faithfulness of God was given, the book has been produced, and it is now in circulation. It is the will of God to publish my books and I pledged to give all the sales of my book Behold the Faithfulness of God to our church’s building fund for expansion of our facilities. I have been laboring in prayer over the other mountain for three and half years now - I have been asking God to provide a house for my family, debt-free. It is time to dismiss unbelief and doubt and watch the glory of God shine brilliantly through the miraculous again even though I have been told that believing God for a miracle house for my family without going into debt is impossible. Why is it impossible? Are God’s resources limited? Does He not provide for His own? Is the miracle of a house any more taxing for God than making provision for a house payment? Is God glorified by my going into debt? Would the glory of God be promoted around the world through my family receiving a miracle house? Would others be encouraged to believe God in their situations? Would ministry take place in that house?
Many people live in doubt and unbelief, making excuse after excuse, because we live in a day of miracle famine. I hate the day of miracle famine! God does not get glory in those days. When will we read God’s word like we believe it to be true and stand on His precious promises without wavering and longingly gaze into the Heavens at the throne of grace to obtain miracle help and miracle mercy in our times of need? Unbelief is a plague in most of our churches. May it not be so in FBC Paradise. May we live, pray, serve, labor, worship, and give sacrificially to promote the glory of God. May our example be a catalyst all over this region and this world to promote, advance, exalt, honor, and move the glory God forward in one heart at a time.
Jesus said all things we ask and pray for while believing would be granted to us. I know they will only be granted to us if they are in His will for us, but I am convinced that we have been living like paupers rather than children of the King of Kings. For this slave of Christ, no longer. I asked God this morning that He would graciously allow me to live to promote His glory until my last breath. Even as I write this I am moved to tears for people everywhere to be captivated by the greatness and the power of God to save the lost, to heal the sick, to reclaim the backslidden, to revive the church, to expand His kingdom in nations around the globe, to give birth to miracle provision for those in need, to explode churches in unprecedented growth, to bless the confused with wisdom, and to promote His own glory.
It is neither our praying nor our faith that is the focus; it is the greatness of God that is the focal point. He is mighty to save. He is our Glorious One and greater than we know. Oh, how I plead that you would join me in living the rest of your days from this one to your last to believe and attempt impossible feats in prayer that when answered will promote the glory of God like a tidal wave on unbelieving pastors, churches, and ordinary people like you and me until they too live to promote His glory. I wish I could cut my heart open and let you feel what I feel as I write this, but alas I am left to trust the Sovereign Lord to take the ramblings of this pitiful preacher and sear them into your hearts and minds so deeply you cannot shake them no matter how hard you try.
Great Father, King of all Kings, my Great I Am, I come to You with fearless faith today. I ask you to forgive me for hiding behind the sin of unbelief for far too long. Today my heart is aflame with faith in You. What is impossible to You? Nothing. I lift up all those who will read these words and beg of You to capture their hearts and wills and stir them to greater faith and larger exploits than they have ever believed You for before. I weep for them now. I beg of You to remove doubts and help their unbelief. I ask You to enlarge all our faith to believe You when You say that nothing is impossible with You. I ask you to sear the fragrance of the miraculous into our nostrils until we are nauseated with stench of unbelief and miracle famine but intoxicated with Your power to do anything. I ask You to give us courage to run to the cutting edge and leap in believing prayer, defying the skeptics, experts, and the odds of failure. Lord of the Universe, I plead with You to leave a lifetime of miracles in the wake of our lives and let not only this generation but each generation to follow, take this same adventure journey of living to promote Your glory. We will leave the results of such living up to You. I ask You to annihilate selfish ambition and self-glorification. May You consume us from head to toe until no other passion is left but to live to promote Your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.


Steps to Trust and Obey:

Spend some time asking God to help your unbelief.
Let the powerful words of Jesus sink into your heart and soul.
Ask Him give you new hope that He wants to answer your prayers.
What is the Lord speaking to you and leading you to do in obedience?