deliverance

Pause IV Day 14 Quiet

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Pause IV, Day 14

I’ve always been captivated by the word “quiet” in the Bible. Being still and silent is not something I do well, or often. When my watch reminds me to breathe for one whole minutes, I feel like it’s an eternity!

Being quiet before the Lord, submitting to the discipline of waiting for Him, takes intentional practice over time. The more we practice, the better our hearts become at willingly waiting and silently being still.

When we are silent, the Lord speaks most clearly.
While we wait, the Lord acts.
As we sit still, God trains our hearts to trust Him, instead of ourselves.

Habakkuk has heard the unequivocal word of the Lord to bring about His justice on His people, Israel. He has reminded himself of the Lord’s sovereignty, His kindness, His righteousness, His deliverance, and protection of His people.

Where Habakkuk has wrestled with tongue and spirit against the Lord,
he now sits quietly waiting.

Tomorrow, a beautiful unveiling of Habakkuk’s changed heart is poetically revealed, but first, quiet.

Hush, be still, wait quietly for what the Lord will do.

Today's Invitation

1) Be a scribe and copy the precious words of Scripture down word for word. Make space in your journal to write down all of Habakkuk 3:16 today. As you copy, lookup a cross reference or two as you come to them (they are the small letters next to certain words in your study Bible or online at www.biblia.com).

2) Take time to wander through these Scripture passages on being quiet before the Lord, letting His Spirit teach you. Copy down 1 or 2 verses onto notecards and place in prominent spots in your home so you can memorize them in the coming days. Share them with a friend and ask her to memorize them with you!
Exodus 14:14, Psalm 46:10, Psalm 37:7, Job 6:24, 1 Peter 3:4, Lamentations 3:26, Zephaniah 3:17, Isaiah 26:3, Mark 1:35, Isaiah 30:15, Habakkuk 2:20

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Habakkuk 3:16

I hear, and my body trembles;
my lips quiver at the sound;
rottenness enters into my bones;
my legs tremble beneath me.
Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble
to come upon people who invade us.

How Does “Pause” Work?
1. Each day, Monday through Friday, for 3 weeks, we will provide you with an invitation to get away with the Savior. Each one is designed for you to engage with the Almighty in a deeper way and perhaps in a new way than you have been recently.

2. Having a journal is a must! You’ll want to take notes as you walk this special Journey of Pause.

3. Each week focuses on one or two passage of Scripture and we walk with you as you study and flesh these out for yourself. As you write your thoughts, read His Word, and pray, questions might come up. That’s Perfect! Ask a trusted fellow believer, a pastor, or send us an email as you work through them!

4. Jumping in at the middle? No problem! Here is the entire Journey Theme.

5. Connect with others on Facebook by visiting our GT Community Group!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Pause IV Week Three!
Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme? Here’s a link to all past studies
in Pause IV!

Hallel Day 13 Love That Frees

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 118:1-16
Exodus 15:1-3
Isaiah 53:10-11
Matthew 26:20-30

Hallel, Day 13

“His faithful love endures forever.” (Psalm 118:1-4)

The truth of these words brought the disciples comfort as they walked to the garden, singing this refrain. It had been a strange and unsettling evening. What began as a joyous celebration commemorating God’s deliverance of His people from slavery had taken a much more serious turn over dinner . . .

Talk of betrayal and suffering,
bread being broken and wine poured out,
all pointing to death . . .

Something in Jesus’ manner was different tonight, and it left them uneasy. The comfort of these familiar words surely heartened them.

“His faithful love endures forever.”
Everything will be all right.

For Jesus, the words were a reminder of why He had come and what He had to do. God’s faithful love endures forever, despite humanity’s sin and rebellion, and He was about to demonstrate the depth of His love once and for all . . . at an incredible cost.

“I called to the Lord in distress;
the Lord answered me and put me in a spacious place.”
(Psalm 118:5)

Freedom!

The disciples longed for freedom from Roman rule and they trusted Jesus was the promised Messiah, the One who would deliver their freedom. Just as God freed the Israelites from Pharaoh’s rule so many years ago, surely He would do the same for them. If God was on their side, they would be victorious. There was no reason to fear.

Freedom . . . 

Jesus needed to focus on the reason why He was going through with this. It was for these dear friends walking alongside Him, and for many others who would believe through their witness.

His death and resurrection would set them free, liberate them from sin and death forever, and cast out fear of God’s judgement by making them righteous. True, eternal freedom for His beloved friends was worth all that lay ahead.

“The Lord is my helper. Therefore, I will look in triumph on those who hate me.” (Psalm 118:7)

Perhaps the disciples’ voices grew louder, more confident, as they pondered these words.

Jesus had spoken of enemies tonight, but they wouldn’t have the final word. Against all odds, the Israelites had triumphed over Pharaoh and his army. God had shown His power, and He could do it again. Surely the Lord was for them.

But did Jesus’ voice grow fainter as He sang, wrestling inwardly with what was to come?

“I know there are many who hate me.
They will do their worst.
Death will look like defeat.

O Father, help Me endure.
I know this is necessary, and I know it will be worth it.
I know death will not have the final victory.
I know this will be a mighty triumph over the powers of hell for eternity . . .
but I also know it will be painful and bloody.
Please give me strength.

And help My brothers, Father.
My death will seem like a crushing defeat to their faith.
Please give them strength to endure.”

“All the nations surrounded me; in the name of the Lord I destroyed them.” (Psalm 118:10)

No matter what comes against us, no matter what enemies surround us,
we can defeat them in God’s power.

“Very soon, I will be surrounded by enemies, whipping and spitting, mocking and jeering, rejoicing in My demise. Already, the true enemies, the spiritual forces of evil and darkness, invade My mind, urging Me not to go through with it, to use My power to break free.

And I could . . . but I will not.

Only through My death will these enemies be truly destroyed, and My children set free. O Father, give me victory over the temptation to quit. Help Me be strong.”

“The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.”  (Psalm 118:14)

As they echoed the Israelites’ song of victory after crossing the Red Sea, praising God for His mighty power, hope rose in the disciples’ hearts. God was with them. Victory was sure . . .

As for Jesus, He looked to the suffering awaiting Him, knowing through His death, He would become their salvation. It was the only way.

Only in death would they, and all who would believe, be set free to embrace eternal life . . .

Great suffering lay ahead; Christ must hold onto hope, and cling to the truth that death would not have the final word:

“I will not die, but I will live and proclaim what the Lord has done.”  (Psalm 118:17)

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Halle Week Three! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Hallel!

Relentless Day 10 The Lord’s Victory

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Judges 7:3-23
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Ephesians 6:10-12

Relentless, Day 10

“I was the lion who forced you to join with Aravis. I was the cat who comforted you among the houses of the dead. I was the lion who drove the jackals from you while you slept. I was the one who gave the horses the new strength of fear for the last mile so that you should reach King Lune in time. I was the lion who you do not remember who pushed the boat in which you lay, a child near death, so that I came to shore where a man sat wakeful at midnight, to receive you.” 

My eyes began to water as I read (and by read, I mean listened to, because I absolutely listened to this in audio-book form) this paragraph Aslan spoke to Shasta, the hero of this story.

That realization that rushes over each new reader of “The Horse and His Boy”, is the same realization that rushed over me just a few months ago, when God gave me a revelation that altered my perspective on the last ten months of my life.

As I’ve been in my own kind of battle for months, I’ve been amazed every time I’ve seen God’s fingerprint show up in an unexpected way, just like the lion for Shasta. I imagined myself climbing this exhausting mountain with God occasionally choosing to reach out and touch me to give me a push along the way. But one day, God showed me the reason I kept seeing His fingerprints around my life isn’t because He was choosing to reach for me here and help me there…

It was because He was holding me.
And when things are held, fingerprints naturally end up everywhere.

I wasn’t being lightly touched.
I was being tightly held.
Ah-Ha Moment! 

Shasta, the presumed-to-be orphan boy, who was journeying from the land of slavery to the land of freedom on the back of a talking-horse, could see, at last, that he wasn’t the most unfortunate boy, with his continual run-ins with lions and life as the son of a cruel fisherman. Shasta’s life was held by Aslan; the great Lion of Love.

There was love amidst every battle. 

Oh, how I’ve seen God’s love amidst my own battles!

Not-so-coincidentally (thanks to God, who always seems to make things like this happen), the writing of this journey coincided with my reading of C. S. Lewis’ third book in the Chronicles of Narnia series. So, it is easy to compare this book and battles fought and won with Gideon, the prophet of old who defeated a 120,000 army with only 300 men.

In Judges chapter six, we read about God calling Gideon, and Gideon testing God… several times. Our ever-patient Father responded to Gideon’s tests each time, displaying how God would indeed deliver Israel by Gideon’s hand.

Gideon felt small.
Inadequate.
The odds were stacked against him.
He could hardly believe that God would use little ol’ him to bring victory to the Israelites.

I’ve felt that way, too.
Small.
Inadequate.
Stupid and weak.
I’ve felt like the odds were completely stacked against me.
I’ve believed that there was no way God could use me to bring glory to His name.

And yet.

God chose to use Gideon…
God chooses to use me.
And you.

So there Gideon was…
Feeling like he was already a lost cause.

The troupes gathered together, 32,000 in number, significantly smaller than the 120,000-member opposing army. Still, God told Gideon he had too many.
If God handed Midian over to Israel, Israel would only praise themselves and their own strength. Victory must obviously belong to the Lord God.

22,000 men left for home when Gideon commanded only the fearless to remain, and his small army dwindled even smaller to 10,000.

Still not small enough for God.
He needed to be sure that it all pointed back to Him. There could be no way anyone could ever assume victory was won by human strength. 10,000 turned to 300.

300 men.

Against 120,000.
Ridiculous odds.

Remember, God had already promised Gideon Israel would win this battle…
But oh how Gideon must have quaked inside. He’d already doubted God calling him into the battle, and now he entered with a 1 to 400 soldier ratio.

Gideon and all 300 of his men were upheld by God.
He used the weakness of their numbers to showcase God’s magnificent strength.

Sisters, God uses us when we are at our weakest.
He will use that season of feeling small and weak to demonstrate how He is our strength, which ultimately brings Him glory because our story….it really points to HIM!

We’ll never be “strong enough”, if we were, we wouldn’t need Jesus to save us,
and that’s the whole point of the Gospel right there!

Jesus + nothing = salvation.
God + a measly army = victory.

He is the lion pushing us towards our calling,
bringing comfort when we are trembling,
strengthening and upholding us to be all He has called us to be.
His mighty strength surrounds us, holds us, and chooses to use our woeful weakness to make His name known!

He is the God who doesn’t look at odds being in our favor,
– because there are no “odds” with Him –
He just always wins.

Ready for more? Dig Deeper!
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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Relentless Week Two! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
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Safe Day 7
For Such A Time As This: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper posts are intended to help us go farther into God’s word than a simple surface reading
and are designed to help us discover new tools in the process.
Curious as to why we Dig Deeper? Here’s Why! 

The Passage

Looking for yesterday’s Journey Post? Check out For Such A Time As This!

Psalm 91 English Standard Version (ESV)

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
    and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his pinions,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
    nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes
    and see the recompense of the wicked.

9 Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—
    the Most High, who is my refuge[b]—
10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
    no plague come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
    lest you strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder;
    the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

14 “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
    I will protect him, because he knows my name.
15 When he calls to me, I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble;
    I will rescue him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”

My Questions

1) What does it mean to dwell in the shelter of the Most High?

2) Who is speaking in this Psalm?

3) What actions must I take according to this Psalm? What promises does God give?

4) What word pictures are used by the Psalmist to describe God?

The Tools

A trip to www.studylight.org is in order here.
We will get super cozy with this site as we study Scripture together!
Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom!
It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse?
Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage?
Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

The Findings for Original Intent

1) With a little investigation we can look up the word “dwells” and it means: to remain, to sit, to abide, to have one’s abode, to be inhabited by. This is a description of God’s place in our life. God desires to abide in us and for us to allow Him to take residence in our heart. We are to be inhabited by God in the power of the Holy Spirit.

2) In this Psalm, the Psalmist is not named; however, we do know that most of the Psalms were sung or chanted as worship songs. This particular one is dealing specifically with the security that the Lord offers when we put our trust in Him.

3) When reading through a Psalm, I like to mark what we as believers are asked to do and what God’s promises are in light of that. In this Psalm, we, the believer, are asked to dwell, make the Lord our refuge, to be on guard, call to the Lord, and hold fast to Him. God promises us that He will deliver us, cover us, be our shield and buckler, protect us from evil, guard us, be with us, answer us, and be our salvation. God is the God of promises! When we trust in Him, He will deliver us for all eternity.

4) There are a lot of analogies used in the Psalms. In this Psalm we see in v. 3 that God will deliver us from snare of the fowler (or trapper). The idea being that God saves us from the snares and traps of this world. In v 4, God will cover us with His pinions (wings). God’s “wings” are a safe place of refuge and coverage. In v. 11, He is the commander of the army, the angel army. This army guards us “in all of our ways.” The security we have in God is made abundantly clear with word pictures that allow us to “see” God’s character.

Some Applications for Our Everyday Lives

1) We are called to dwell in the Lord and allow Him to dwell in us. When we dwell, He abides. The circumstances of our life do not change our position of dwelling. God is at home in our hearts whether we are facing a life or death situation like Esther or dealing with the mundane every day. God calls upon us to make our abode with Him.

2) We see both the Psalmist and God speaking in these sixteen verses. God is faithful and speaks His promises clearly, “When he calls to me, I will answer him;  I will be with him in trouble;  I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” (Psalm 91:15-16) God speaks through His word and through the words of the Psalmist.

3) Several times throughout Scripture there are “If, Then” statements. If you dwell, then I will abide. (v.1) If you love Me, then I will deliver you. (v.13) God is God no matter how foolish we are; however, God does ask us to trust Him, cling to Him, and dwell in Him, the Almighty! He lays out structure for us as His children, not as a list of “must-do’s”, but as a means of opening the door for His fullness to abide in us!

4) God protects us from the snares of this world, God will cover us with His wings, He is the commander of angel armies that fight on our behalf and defend us! “…in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 56:11) Every believer will encounter situations where we decide if we will trust God “for such a time as this”. Do you trust God to protect you from the snare, be your shield and defender, and cover you with His wings? The more we know about God’s character, the more confident we can be in the middle of difficulty. He’s always inviting us to know Him better!

We’d love to hear how God challenged you through today’s Journey Study! Share your thoughts, comments, and questions with the GT Community!
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Want To Try It For Yourself?!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read through it (always more than a verse or two).
3) Write down your questions as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers.
Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes
(click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and
embrace the fullness of God in your everyday!

Share Your Thoughts with the GT Community!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Safe! Don’t miss out on the discussion – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme? See all past studies in Safe!