After a conversation with someone this week, I was thrust into a meditation where I asked myself why I am okay with making mistakes. Why am I okay with getting things wrong? What gives me the confidence to walk through difficult things? As someone who has done so much wrong, gone down so many side paths, believed and relied on so many people, and grown up feeling so odd, so different, and so abnormal to those around me, the fear of man and my need to people-please were almost immeasurable. People’s thoughts and opinions about me weighed heavily, shaping how I saw myself and often how I judged things around me. That was until I met Jesus. This didn't change in an instant, nor did it change in a few short years. I strongly believe there are some things in life we cannot possibly learn without experience and time. I always take comfort in God's wisdom to Israel, when He made it clear to them that the journey He would take them on once they came out of Egypt was not going to be a shortcut, but for their sake it would be the longer route.
“So it happened, when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearer; for God said, “The people might change their minds when they see war [that is, that there will be war], and return to Egypt.” But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea; the sons of Israel went up in battle array (orderly ranks, marching formation) out of the land of Egypt. Exodus 13:17-18 AMP
There are battles in this journey; there are enemies, there is warfare, and God knows the propensity of man's heart: when we see war, we instantly want to turn back to what He has just freed us from. There’s something about playing the long game that gives you steadfastness that you cannot simply learn from a textbook, a teaching, a doctrine, or someone’s wonderful theology. You have to experience it for it to be real to you, and no one can snatch that from you. When you meet God in the midst of a trial in a way only He could reveal Himself, it changes you and becomes an embedded, lived memory of His faithfulness that no one can take from you. When His Word is transferred from black words on a white page into a living experience, all your learned theology goes out the window, and the Word, that is Life, is breathed in you at that moment, and understanding comes and illuminates His nature, and you experience Him in a personal way; you can never be the same. You just can’t.
James would put it like this: “Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4 AMP
I am not speaking of wacky, heretical experiences somehow conjured up in your soul that give you a spiritual encounter unfounded and unproven by the Word of God. No, I am speaking of the very Word of Truth coming alive in you, and of you personally growing deeper in relationship with Jesus, so that your ground becomes steady, your faith becomes less shakeable, and your hope in Jesus, in the midst of trials, becomes more grounded. The fruit of that is that you cling close to Him, press through, and endure the very trials that may once have had you turn back to the very slavery from which you had been set free.
I simply put it like this: Jesus is 100% right, the Holy Spirit is 100% right, and God, the Father, is 100% right. We can be assured of this. If you believe that, then when difficult things come, He is right; when correction from Him comes, He is right. When blessing comes from Him, He is right. When He speaks through someone else, and it challenges you, He is still right. When you walk through deep challenges and He permits it, He is right. When He leads you into deep challenges, He is right. When He doesn’t show up in your timing, He is right. When He doesn’t answer with what you want to hear, He is right. When you know that, no matter the scenario, He is right, you will find peace. You may not understand, but something in you remains at peace, and that, my friends, is something that surpasses my understanding.
It is my experience that trials are our friends. They are certainly not easy; they expose the unsanctified parts of us, but in them, they also have the ability to reveal the nature of Christ.
I want you to read this whole Psalm and see God’s faithfulness. Please don’t rush through it; take time, go over it, let it soak into your heart, and let the Truth of God’s nature be your meditation today. I would love to go line by line through this. It is so saturated with imagery and emotion, and God’s heart is revealed when one of His servants is in need and calls upon Him. David’s trial was not just a single day; he endured years of unrelenting opposition, warfare, and life on the run. This man knew trials, yet he also knew God’s faithfulness.
“I love You [fervently and devotedly], O Lord, my strength.” The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and the One who rescues me; My God, my rock and strength in whom I trust and take refuge; My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower—my stronghold. [Heb 2:13] I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; And I am saved from my enemies. [Rev 5:12] ¶The cords of death surrounded me, And the streams of ungodliness and torrents of destruction terrified me. The cords of Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. In my distress [when I seemed surrounded] I called upon the Lord And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry for help came before Him, into His very ears. ¶Then the earth shook and quaked, The foundations of the mountains trembled; They were shaken because He was indignant and angry. Smoke went up from His nostrils, And fire from His mouth devoured; Coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also and came down; And thick darkness was under His feet. And He rode upon a cherub (storm) and flew; And He sped on the wings of the wind. He made darkness His hiding place (covering); His pavilion (canopy) around Him, The darkness of the waters, the thick clouds of the skies. Out of the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds, Hailstones and coals of fire. The Lord also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire. He sent out His arrows and scattered them; And He sent an abundance of lightning flashes and confused and routed them [in defeat]. Then the stream beds of the waters appeared, And the foundations of the world were laid bare At Your rebuke, O Lord, At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils. ¶He reached from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He rescued me from my strong enemy, And from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, But the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a broad place; He rescued me because He was pleased with me and delighted in me. ¶The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness (moral character, spiritual integrity); According to the cleanness of my hands He has rewarded me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, And have not wickedly departed from my God. For all His ordinances were before me, And I did not put away His statutes from me. I was blameless before Him, And I kept myself free from my sin. Therefore the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness (moral character, spiritual integrity), According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight. ¶With the kind (merciful, faithful, loyal) You show Yourself kind, With the blameless You show Yourself blameless, With the pure You show Yourself pure, And with the crooked You show Yourself astute. For You save an afflicted and humble people, But bring down those [arrogant fools] with haughty eyes. For You cause my lamp to be lighted and to shine; The Lord my God illumines my darkness. For by You I can crush a troop, And by my God I can leap over a wall. ¶As for God, His way is blameless. The word of the Lord is tested [it is perfect, it is faultless]; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. For who is God, but the Lord? Or who is a rock, except our God, The God who encircles me with strength And makes my way blameless? He makes my feet like hinds’ feet [able to stand firmly and tread safely on paths of testing and trouble]; He sets me [securely] upon my high places. He trains my hands for war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, And Your right hand upholds and sustains me; Your gentleness [Your gracious response when I pray] makes me great. You enlarge the path beneath me and make my steps secure, So that my feet will not slip. ¶I pursued my enemies and overtook them; And I did not turn back until they were consumed. I shattered them so that they were not able to rise; They fell [wounded] under my feet. For You have encircled me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me. You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me [in defeat], And I silenced and destroyed those who hated me. They cried for help, but there was no one to save them— Even to the Lord [they cried], but He did not answer them. Then I beat them fine as the dust before the wind; I emptied them out as the dirt of the streets. ¶You have rescued me from the contentions of the people; You have placed me as the head of the nations; A people whom I have not known serve me. As soon as they hear me, they respond and obey me; Foreigners feign obedience to me. Foreigners lose heart, And come trembling out of their strongholds. ¶The Lord lives, blessed be my rock; And may the God of my salvation be exalted, The God who avenges me, And subdues peoples (nations) under me. He rescues me from my enemies; Yes, You lift me up above those who rise up against me; You deliver me from the man of violence. Therefore will I give thanks and praise You, O Lord, among the nations, And sing praises to Your name. [Rom 15:9] He gives great triumphs to His king, And shows steadfast love and mercy to His anointed, To David and his descendants forever. [2 Sam 22:2-51]” Psalms 18:1-50 AMP
This is our God. He is faithful to deliver us in His timing and strengthen us to continue through the battle. He is faithful to restore to us what the enemy takes. He is GOD, and there is no other.
I pray that you are blessed today and strengthened in Him. No matter what you face or how long you’ve been in this battle, may God alone be the One you cry out to. He is the only One who can truly save, protect, avenge, and deliver you. And He delights in those who choose Him as their refuge and hiding place.
Be blessed today.
