The past year was such a season in our lives. Unexpected challenges arose in a steady stream, sometimes coming in multiples. As each one neared its end, I found myself believing, hoping, that the season was over, yet there was still more to come. Many important things, including my writing and this blog, were shelved as my energy and attention were focused on what was happening in our lives.

There were difficulties, but there were also numerous blessings. We were reminded again and again that God had his hand upon us, and that we would make it though. I needed several reminders from my wife along the way that our track record of coming through our difficulties with God’s help was one hundred percent. Even so, keeping close to God was challenging at times, and my own relationship with God suffered at some points. I knew that God was the Strong Tower I was meant to run to and be saved, but exhaustion from what felt like perpetually treading water, and my fears about the future, often weakened my spiritual resolve, and my spiritual disciplines occasionally suffered.

Recently, God reminded me of his faithfulness in the past, and I drew strength and resolve from those victories. I realized that my focus was off and I needed to make an adjustment. Just as my annual eye exam often yields a new set of glasses so I can see clearly, I needed the Holy Spirit to assess and adjust my spiritual lens to sharpen that focus as well. I could not sacrifice what was most meaningful and necessary because I was busy, fearful, and tired. In fact, those very realities mean that I needed even greater focus on what mattered most.

Jesus never sugarcoated our reality. In John 16:33, he says it succinctly and clearly, “In this life you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.” These were words I needed to hear and apply to my life. Troubles would be a part of life, but my focus was never meant to be on the difficulties, but on the One who overcame the world, so that I could overcome by obstacles. My focus was meant to be on Christ, and Christ alone.

All this, brings me to today. There are still battles to be fought, fears to subdue, and victories to be won. A season of rest may be on the horizon, or the stream of challenges may still continue. Either way, my focus is on the One who will lead me through. It is time to write and blog again. It is time to laugh and savor life. It is time I am given to be with God, and to become who God is making me to be.

Thank you for your patience as I wandered through my desert. I look forward to our continued conversation here at the cafe. I pray that, if you are going through your own challenging seasons, you will focus on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. Don’t let another day go by, trading your joy for worry, or exchanging your peace for confusion. Give your attention to the One who overcame for your sake, and who makes you to be an overcomer in every circumstance!

The post Keeping Focus appeared first on Thinking Faith Cafe.

Fear is a daunting adversary. It can be debilitating at times, numbing us to the truth and eroding our confidence. One of my favorite books is Frank Herbert’s Dune. In it, the lead character is taught an important truth that he must revisit on his way to fulfill his destiny. The simple, yet profound, truth is, “Fear is a mind-killer.” Fear can kill our ability to think clearly. It can sabotage our vision, and consume our energy. Fear is a potent enemy to our destiny.

The Apostle Paul wrote to his young protégé Timothy, “For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7) Fear does not come from God, it is an attack upon our faith, and our future. That knowledge gives us a tremendous starting point to undermine the grip of fear in our lives.

Not only is God not the source of fear, the promise is that God gives us the tools to stand in victory in the face of our fears. God provides us with a powerful Spirit, his Spirit. We are also given the ability to think and act from a place of love; knowing that we are loved and that we are able to act in love. Our rooted place in God also yields clarity and soundness in the way we think. God is deeply invested in seeing that we are not overcome by fear, but that we overcome fear by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Consider just a few of the other biblical reference to victory over fear:

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” – Psalm 23:4

“The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?” – Psalm 27:1

“The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.” – Psalm 118:6

“Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.” – 1 Chronicles 28:20

“So do not fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10

There are many more references, but the message is clear, God wants us to be free from fear because of our faith in him, and because we know God is with us. God did not bring us to where we are and give us a grand vision for the future only to abandon us. Despite our circumstances, we are in the hand of God.

When I was in undergrad, a group of us would meet on Sunday nights to sing praises to God, to listen to the word of God, and to be in prayer. It was a very difficult season for me, with many fears to face. Two of the choruses we sang profoundly inspired me. I found myself singing them frequently throughout the week. The first was a musical rendering of Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans for good to give to you a future and a hope.” The other was based upon Psalm 121:3, “He will not let you fall. He is never weary and he will not let you fall.”

God has good plans for us and God will not let us fall. Fear is based in the unknown, but we are known and we belong to a known God. Confronting our fears is not easy and it frequently requires us to keep moving forward, even when it feels like we cannot take another step. It is in those moments when we find it hard to breathe and our knees shake that we must encourage ourselves in the Spirit and take hold of the power, love, and sound mind God gives us. Then, when we come through, we will emerge with a testimony, a witness to the love and faithfulness of God.

As we embrace God’s vision for our lives, may we be strong and courageous!

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Darkness never overcomes light. Walk into a dark room, turn on a light, and instantly the darkness is gone. There is no great battle where darkness might actually push back the light. Where light is shining, there is no darkness. In fact, darkness takes its definition from light. It is the absence of light. Light, however, is not the absence of darkness. The relationship between light and darkness is all about the light.

I recently took a nasty fall because I tried to navigate our Worship Center at night, in the dark. I’ve walked there in darkness before and felt confident I could do it again. Unfortunately, I forgot that we rearranged the platform for our children’s Christmas program, and was completely surprised to find myself tripping over it. The first question everyone asked me was, “Why didn’t you turn a light on?” It is a very reasonable question. The act of throwing a switch would have prevented all the bumps, cuts, and bruises that I received. You can be sure I will not try that again.

Notice, though, that nobody said, “Wow, it’s too bad the darkness held back the light and prevented you from seeing the staging obstacle before you fell over it.” That’s because it is clear that the darkness did not prevent the light from illuminating my path. I failed to let the light dispel the darkness. Sound familiar?

John makes it clear that the eternal Word, Jesus Christ, was born into our world to be the Light of the world. Even more importantly, he reminds us that what is true for physical light is also true for spiritual light – the darkness does not overcome it! It is easy in a world full of evil, injustice, and negativity to believe that darkness is winning. We may even be tempted to think it has already won. Fortunately, that is a lie the darkness tells to keep us from seeking the Light and letting him shine through us into every dark corner of the world.

Darkness cannot hide from the light, and it cannot overcome it. Despite its best efforts to deceive us, the truth remains – victory belongs to the light!

As we continue to celebrate the wonder of Christmas, we must not forget the radical truth that Jesus did not come into the world to merely be a nice person with some kind thoughts and words about love. No, Jesus came to seek and save that which is lost, to destroy the works of the devil, and to lead the world into the ever increasing light of his glory!

Christmas is so much more than a sentimental story of a baby. It is a radical declaration that the kingdom of light has come, and it is time for the darkness to flee!

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Do you ever feel like you are facing  obstacles with walls so tall and strong you cannot get past them? In spite of the oft-quoted promise that, “God will never give you more than you can handle,” the truth is that we frequently face things that are greater than we can handle on our own, but not bigger than the God who loves us, and wants to lead us to victory.

Many of us grew up believing that we were supposed to be self-made, and that life was about giving it our all. If things got really bad, we asked God for help, but then went on to do our best to overcome our circumstances. Apparently, God’s help was to make us better at what we were already trying to do.

What if God’s plan in those difficult moments was not to make us a little better or stronger than we were before? What if the bigger agenda was to invite us deeper in our relationship with him and to lean into God more? What if God’s goal was to move us away from our efforts to be independent and instead, allow us to be more dependent on him?

Yesterday’s sermon was based on the story of Joshua, and the victory at Jericho, found in Joshua 6 (listen to the message here http://cortlandumc.net/January_12-_2014.mp3). As I worked through the preparation for the message, I couldn’t help but think of how difficult it must have been to accept God’s plan for victory. Marching around the city with priests and trumpets is not much of a military strategy. Faced with an imposing obstacle, God did not ask Joshua to try harder, nor was the answer in better military planning. God’s divine solution was to march around the city in worship for a week, and then shout for victory on the last day. Unexpected, but as it turns out, quite effective.

In the book of Isaiah, God tells us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.” (55:8) God’s perspective is not our perspective. There is no trembling in heaven as God confers with the angelic host to come up with a response to the problem we are facing. There is no question in the heavenly throne room of who is, and will remain, victorious. God does not lose, and never plays to tie. God is the victor, and shares that victory with us.

Rather than trying harder, or focusing on our weaknesses, we are encouraged to press into the love of God and to trust him for the plans for victory. Instead of focusing on the walls before us, we worship the One who can break down the walls in a moment, and send us on to victory. The triumph at Jericho did not come from weapons, it came from worship. The answer can be found there in our circumstances as well.

This is not a passive response, where we sit back and wait for God to do something. Instead, we actively worship God and we activate our faith. We seek God for wisdom and insight, stretching our faith to meet that divine direction. Then, when it is time, we put feet to our faith, doing what God asks us to do, even if it means seven days of walking around a city.

As we trust in the Lord, leaning not on our own understanding, and as we put our faith into action, we discover that, by the grace of God, we are more than conquerors.

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