May 27, 2016
During my solitude time this past week I was reading from Isaiah chapter 8 where God speaks to Isaiah about the coming judgement against Judah. Because of their wickedness, God is going to send the nation of Assyria to punish them and carry them away into captivity.
God reminds the prophet Isaiah in the midst of all of this not to be overcome by fear but to keep his focus on God. Verse 13 says, “The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread.”
In times of difficulty and struggle, it can be so easy to take our eyes off of God and to be overcome by the fear of man, but God says that He is the One we are to fear.
To fear God means to live in reverential awe and respect of who He is. When our focus is on the power and might of our God, we will no longer be concerned about what is taking place around us. We can trust that God is in complete control.
Further on in Isaiah 8 verse 17 says, “I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob. I will put my trust in Him.”
Isaiah knew that He could put His complete trust in God and had faith that God would use the Assyrians to bring His plan to pass.
Waiting on the Lord means to be attentive to His voice and to be constantly in tune to what He is doing. Just as a waiter at a restaurant has the job of making sure the needs of their customers are met, so we must be looking to see what God requires of us and how we can serve Him.
When I am facing a spiritual battle it is so easy for me to focus on what is going on around me instead of keeping my eyes on the One who is in control of the situation. Instead of waiting on the Lord and being attentive to His voice I allow fear and anxiety to overtake my mind. God used this passage in Isaiah to remind me that my mind must be continually on Him. He is the One that I should fear and stand in awe of. I can wait on Him and rest in the assurance that my trust does not lie in man but in God, who is sovereign over all.
“If the Lord Jehovah makes us wait, let us do so with our whole hearts; for blessed are all they that wait for Him. He is worth waiting for. The waiting itself is beneficial to us: it tries faith, exercises patience, trains submission, and endears the blessing when it comes. The Lord’s people have always been a waiting people”
– Charles Spurgeon
School of Discipleship CA
—School of Discipleship student
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May 20, 2016
“Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands… Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD God disciplines you.”
—Deuteronomy 8:2,5
It has been the cry of my heart for years that God would call me to be a missionary and use me to do something significant for Him. Last year, God closed the door on what I had been counting on doing and longing for. I was upset. I couldn’t accept the reality of it and believed that it would still happen. Then God showed me why I was so upset: I had my own plans that I had given my life to, and when God changed them, not only was I shaken in the moment, but my whole future seemed to shatter.
It didn’t happen just once. God opened a door I counted on being closed. I wrestled within my heart and fought the will of God, until finally I accepted it and followed Him. I can’t explain the peace that filled my whole being each time I surrendered my plans and submitted to God. He waited so patiently for me, just like a loving Father, not letting me have my own way.
Now as I look back, I realize that for the longest time I had fooled myself into thinking that I was submitting to God’s plan. Even if I was submitting in my outward actions, my heart was set on the things I wanted to do. Without knowing it, I put my plans above God. They were good things I was longing for, but when they became more important to me than God, my walk with the Lord was hindered. As I read this verse from Deuteronomy, I see what God was been doing. I thought He was keeping me from something good, but instead all this time, He has been patiently teaching me to follow Him and preparing me for what lies ahead. He’s been testing my heart just as He did to the Israelites, to see if I’m really willing to obey His commands. He’s disciplined me in a gentle and Fatherly way.
My longings aren’t gone. I still hope and pray for God to open the door He closed, yet I know His timing is best – better than any of the plans I have. I hope that when God changes my plans I will be quick to surrender to His ways. I may have learned this lesson once or twice, but I have to continually surrender my plans to God. Every day is a choice.
—School of Discipleship student
School of Discipleship CA
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Apr 17, 2016
I was recently reading the book of Ruth. I found this story very interesting especially since the backdrop it is given is the book of Judges. The final verse in the book of Judges states, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” This phrase no king in Israel was sticking in my mind as I noticed that the first character in Ruth was Elimelech. I have had very basic instruction in Hebrew enough to know that “El” means God and “melech” means king. This piqued my interest God and king. I looked it up and His name means God is king. In Judges we see the natural appearance that there is no king and in Ruth we see the true reality that God is king.
As we continue on in the book of Ruth we see that despite his name Elimelech had no confidence that God was his king. When things got tough he didn’t put his trust in God, but rather sought a solution in a nation that did not know God with disastrous results. I am sure we all know what happened.
However the story does not end there. We are introduced to Ruth, his daughter-in-law. This is where it gets exciting. She was not raised with the God Israel, but she possessed such a great faith in Him. She takes God as her God and will not leave Naomi. As a foreigner in Israel especially as a Moabitess she would be subject to the hatred of the people, but she had the confidence that God would care for them. This attitude of Ruth is what God had intended for His people that they recognise and trust Him as king.
For you and I, what can we glean from this? With the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven and the New Covenant, God is our king . Do I live in the reality that He is king and will care and provide for me, or do I attempt to look for my provision and protection from myself? I have the testimony of Ruth and others throughout Scripture of what God will do if I trust Him and I am without excuse not to.
—School of Discipleship student
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Nov 4, 2015
At some point we have all heard the account from John 4 of Jesus and the woman at the well. I have heard this account so many times that for awhile I actually missed what Jesus was saying when He referred to the gift of God as the “living water.” I was quite humbled at my lack of knowledge for a seemingly elementary concept of Christianity. But when I asked God to please show me what He means when He says the “living water,” His response was almost instantaneous, as if He had been eagerly waiting my whole life to reveal this truth to me.
“What does water do?” came the voice in my heart. Well, let’s see here… Water refreshes, it cleans, it gives life, it sustains life. The world and everything in it cannot stand a chance without water. Of course! How could I have overlooked this for so long?
Jesus was using water to tangibly describe Himself and the gift of salvation in a way that we can understand. What water does for our mortal bodies, Jesus does for our souls!
Jesus refreshes us when we are exhausted. Jesus washes us of our sins and makes us clean. Jesus gives us life and He sustains our life. Without Jesus we are dry and lifeless. Knowing now this tangible way that Jesus is in my life, how could I ever go a day without a drink of Him? And I love what Jesus promises us, “whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:13-14)
I hope you are encouraged in whatever drought you may be facing, that Jesus is the source of your life and refreshment to your soul.
—School of Discipleship Alumni
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Oct 21, 2015
I am so blessed to serve with a Body of Believers who are really like the Church in Acts. We are all here for two purposes: to grow closer to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and to proclaim His name and His glory to those millions who haven’t heard His name.
The reason I write this post is because I have been struggling with headaches consistently everyday for the past… 7 months? And when I walked down the hallway today, someone stopped me to see how I’m doing. When I mentioned the headache, they stopped what they were doing and prayed for me right then and there. This is not an uncommon occurrence, actually it happens all the time. We are a people who pray together constantly, are transparent with one another as the Body should be, we are there to encourage and give of ourselves (out of the strength of God) to help others, we love others even when its hard to do. The staff here at Gospel for Asia are living out what it means to be the Body of Christ. And I am so encouraged by it.
I’m sure there are other places out there that are similar. But I am so blessed to be a part of this family. 🙂
—School of Discipleship Alumni
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During my solitude time this past week I was reading from Isaiah chapter 8 where God speaks to Isaiah about the coming judgement against Judah. Because of their wickedness, God is going to send the nation of Assyria to punish them and carry them away into captivity.
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