Sacred Whispers Devotional 1

As you read today's devotional, play "YOU ARE MY STRENGTH" from the Sacred Whispers Playlist.

Spiritual

PAUSE IN HIS PRESENCE

By Monica Harris

….Selah

Psalm 3:2, 4, 8

When the Women’s Ministry team and I were deciding upon a name for our conference, I remembered that my devotional one morning was from Psalm 3, which finds David fleeing from his son Absalom. Verse 4 says, “I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and He heard me out of His holy hill.  Selah”.   That word, ‘Selah’, seemed to just leap off of the page as it resonated in my heart.  Some commentators believe the word Selah comes from an archaic Semitic root that means “to pause” or “to reflect”.   Other commentators have identified the word as a musical instruction reflecting the need to pause in the chorus of singing during Levitical worship.  ‘Selah’ appears 71 times in the book of Psalms and 74 times in the Bible.  With Selah appearing that many times in one book, it made perfect sense that “Pause in His Presence” would be the perfect name for our conference.

During this year’s fast, I sense that God is calling on each of us to pause and reflect on His goodness. Pastor previously mentioned in an earlier devotional post that I enjoy sitting outside and just watching the different birds that grace the trees in our backyard.  I am in awe of the beautiful colors of the birds and how their small feet or claws perch upon the thin branches and remain there for long periods of time.  As I sit and watch them, I imagine that they are pausing and reflecting.  I know this may sound strange, but have you ever wondered what birds think about as they inquisitively look from side to side?  I have often wondered if they are simply marveling at all the beauty their eyes are beholding. During this time of reflection, they engage in a unique way of communicating through their harmonious chirps, a language only they can understand and appreciate.

Those small birds are uniquely and perfectly made by a flawlessly artistic Designer - our God. But we, as human beings, even though we too are uniquely made, are far from perfect. And often, when we are afforded those quiet moments to ‘pause’ and ‘reflect’, we so often spend those times focusing on the countless imperfections that we all share.  We spend so much precious time dwelling on the imperfections of our lives that we tragically miss what the birds see every day – the extraordinary beauty that is all around us.  Because whether we realize it or not, our lives hold so much beauty, even in our imperfections.  He made you beautiful – imperfections and all!

I came across this short story a little while ago, and I have always kept its message close to my heart.  It’s a wonderful little tale of how God uses even our many imperfections to marvelously create beautiful things.

A water-bearer in India had two large pots; both hung on the ends of a pole, which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to his house, the cracked pot always arrived half full.

The poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection and was miserable that it could only accomplish just half of what it had been designed to do. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, the cracked pot spoke to the water-bearer one day by the stream, “I am ashamed of myself,” he said, “and I want to apologize to you. I have been able to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house. Because of my flaws, you must do all this work, and at the end of the day, you don’t get full value from your efforts”.  But then the water-bearer said to the pot, “What? Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path but not on the other pot’s side?” “Do you know why that is?” he asked.   “That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I planted flower seeds on your side of the path. And every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve been watering them the whole way.  For two years, I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table for my family at dinner time. Without you being just the way you are, there would never have been this beauty to grace the house.”

God reminds me of this short story whenever I start to look at my flaws and imperfections and wonder how He could ever get glory out of me.  God also reminds me that He made me for His glory, just the way I am.  Dear friend, God also made you just the way you are – all for His glory.

So the next time you get an opportunity to ‘pause’ and ‘reflect’, don’t waste such a precious moment dwelling on the imperfections of your life.  Instead, take that time to thank God for those imperfections, and ask Him to make something beautiful out of them.  For every crack that He doesn’t mend, and for every scar that He chooses not to erase, ask Him to use it as a testimony that waters the gardens of others.  Selah – Pause in His Presence and think about that.

PRAYER:

Father, thank You for creating me just the way I am. Help me not allow my flaws to distract me from what You have called me to do and who You have called me to be. As I inhale your grace, and exhale your mercy, help me to be the best me I can be. I can do all things through You, Lord, who gives me strength. In Jesus Name. Amen.

DAILY SPIRITUAL EXERCISE

Find a quiet room, a quiet seat, or a quiet space where you and God can be alone.  Pause and sit with Him and thank Him for all of the beautiful things He has graced Your life with.  Then thank Him for the little cracks and scars as well.  Ask Him that as He heals them, that He would use them for His glory.

Practical

A Wonderful Change

By Melanie Reed

“Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old”

Isaiah 43: 18 –

All this upcoming week, our Practical devotional focus will be about “Habits”.  We will be talking in our devotions each day about ‘starting new habits and breaking old ones’.  Many times, we may start a habit without recognizing it as a habit because it is something we do automatically without thinking twice about it.  Our brain switches to autopilot and we are actively engaged in some routine activity without ever remembering when it started or how it began.  I think of the many times we all have driven home from a long day at work, and after a monotonous, uneventful drive, we pull into my driveway, not remembering many of the details of the trip.  This is the way many habits are formed.  We do the same thing enough times, and now it’s been reduced to an automatic reflex. Some of those habits may be considered as good, and others may be not-so-good.

However, that’s not the case with all of our habits.  There are a few of them that we have to put forth an effort to establish.  It has been said that it takes 21 days to form a habit. This may be true for some people, but it’s probably not a rule for all.  For some people, some of their habits may only take a few days to form, and for others, it may take a lifetime.

Habits are formed for several reasons, and along the way we may have tweaked it by adding or taking something away from them.  Nevertheless, regardless of what our habits are, or when they started, there are some that are unhealthy for us and need to be broken.  There are also new habits that we need to begin in order to get us to a place where God wants us to be, or for us to accomplish certain good goals that we have set in our lives.  Every person should have a ‘good habits’ list that we keep – either mentally or actually on paper.  This is a list of things that we know we must do in order for our lives to fully honor God, and for us to accomplish the purposes that we believe He has called us to. 

These habits are not simply about our health, or our nutrition, or even diet and exercise.  They may include those things, but they could also be our personal thought-life and inner disciplines.  For some of us, it might involve reading a book once a month, or reading through the Bible in a year.  For others, it may be a financial savings habit, or some personal study habits for a particular course we are needing to pass. There are many types of habits that we all need to form, or at least reinforce in our lives.  There are other habits that we all need to break and erase from our lives.  Either way, neither of these will be done without great effort on our part.  So I would love to offer some help. Here is a step-by-step recommendation on how to break an old habit, and start a new one:

Activity: Out With The Old and In With The New

Step 1:  Identify an old habit that needs to be broken (i.e., it’s not making you your best self, it’s hindering your progress, it serves no purpose, etc.).

Step 2:  Recognize a good new habit that you can start, that will help you reach your goal or one that will have a positive impact on your life.

Step 3:  Set realistic goals in terms of timeframe and ability to practice that habit.

Step 4:  Make a commitment to yourself to stick to your new habit.

Step 5:  Keep a journal or some type of log to monitor how you are doing during this new habit-forming process.

Step 6: Make adjustments to your new habit only when necessary.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, grant me the wisdom to recognize the habits in my life that I need to change, and the strength to make those changes.  Point in the right direction for help and resources, mentorship and guidance to tackle the habits that have held me hostage, and stolen from me the ability to be all that you have destined for me to be.  Lord, let the new me begin to emerge.  In Jesus Name, Amen.

PRACTICAL ACTION TODAY

Practice asking, and thanking God daily for the wisdom to know when old habits need to be broken and new habits need to be started.  We should also be mindful that when God delivers us from something or gives us an opportunity to do and be better, then we must have every personal determination to never revisit the old, or look back and dwell on the past.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Download Fasting Guide

Listen To Sacred Whispers Playlist

As you read today's devotional, play "AMAZING" from the Sacred Whispers Playlist.

Spiritual

BREATH OF LIFE

By Matthew Pryor

(Content Taken From The Body Tithe Devotional, Spiritual Encouragement for Your Journey)

Most of us are familiar with John 14:6, where Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” In other words, no one can have eternal life with the Father, except through His son, Jesus. However, have you ever stopped to consider that God is life itself? Not so much that He created life, though He did. Not that because of Him we have lives to live, though we do. It’s much more than that. God himself is life by His very nature. Then, out of that same nature, He gives us life.

Can you think of anyone who both gives life and is life? An animator brings motions to a static drawing but is not life itself. A mechanic builds an engine that powers cars, boats, and planes, but is not life itself. A gardener tends to barren land from which plants grow, but is not life itself. A more fitting analogy might be the elements. The ocean gives us water and is water itself. The sky gives us air and is air itself. The sun gives light and is light itself. The source of the attribute and the attribute itself are one and the same.

However, on their own, even the elements would be lifeless were it not for God. Without His touch, the ocean would be motionless, the sky an empty void, the sun merely a ball of gas. This is all established in the beginning: “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being”(Genesis 2:7).  The first part of the verse says, “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground.” At this point, God has created man. Also at this point, man has no life. He... just... is. Like a balloon without the helium, the man has no purpose or function.

Later in verse 7, God says “and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Man went from a thing to a being with merely a breath from God. God is not just the giver of life. God is life.

Exercise is a privilege, not a sacrifice. If you’re sore from yesterday’s workout, it’s probably hard to see it that way. After all, it’s easy to take for granted the amazing intricacies of our bodies. At any given time, without a moment’s thought, your body is doing thousands of things simultaneously. Cells are reproducing, axons and dendrites are working in sync, and the heart is pumping. Food is digesting, pupils are dilating and constricting, and the pituitary gland is regulating hormones. Kidneys are filtering blood, muscles contracting and expanding, ears processing sound waves, and on and on and on. None of this requires any thought from you. It all originates from the Breath of Life. By His breath, your cells are held together. By His breath, your synapses are firing. By His breath, your lungs are filling. By His breath, your heart is beating.

As the steward of the body God has entrusted to you, look for ways to bring Him glory. Don’t just praise Him with your body, but praise Him for it. Worship Him for the life He gave you and for the life He breathed into you. Then take joy in the honor to be included in His plan.

PRAYER

God, thank You. Your design is perfect. Will You forgive me for being a poor steward of the life You have given me? Please allow the Holy Spirit in me to bring glory to You with the body You have entrusted to me. Amen.

DAILY SPIRITUAL EXERCISE

Take moments every morning to stop and think about your body, your health, and your overall life.  Begin to thank God for the breath of life that you have been given.  Choose one specific thing that you will do differently for that day to increase your health and to bring glory to God.

Practical

THE PRINCIPLES

By Cathy Morenzie

(Content Taken From Healthy by Design: Weight Loss, God’s Way: The Proven 21-Day Weight Loss Devotional Bible Study)

God has given us immutable laws and principles to govern our lives. These principles apply to every person, every situation, and every circumstance. Even if you do not practice them per se, you will still experience the consequences if you go against them. Use these principles in your weight-releasing journey and other areas of your life to experience the victory, freedom, and peace that God has already given you. God wants to transform our lives little by little. Weight releasing is a process!

There’s nothing inspiring or motivating about the thought of slow and steady — especially when it comes to weight loss. Though it may have taken us years to gain weight, we want to lose it fast. However, to be successful, we must understand that losing weight is a process. It will not happen overnight, and we must gird ourselves to understand that the process will take time. 2 Corinthians 3:18 teaches us that God’s glory comes in levels or stages when we partner with the Lord’s Spirit.

Though there are many instantaneous miracles that happen in the Bible, you should understand that the qualities that God needs to develop in you to make your weight loss permanent will not happen miraculously. They need to be rehearsed and become ingrained in your subconscious mind. As frustrating as it may seem, it will take some time. But know that God has given you the capacity to be patient in the process once you submit the process to Him.

Understand that, though the process may seem slow, the Word tells us that God is not slow in fulfilling His promises (2 Peter 3:9). God will work in tandem with your obedience, so get ready to receive what He has for you right away! God wants us to partner with the Holy Spirit to live a victorious life. (John 14:15-25) In this scripture, Jesus tells his disciples that God will send the Holy Spirit who will live with us and be with us always. He will guide us and be our advocate and helper. If you’ve tried to release weight on your own then you know that it can be a frustrating process, often with more failures than successes.

Now imagine letting go of all the anxiety and frustration, no longer living by letting the number on the scale determine the type of mood you will be in. Imagine the confidence and peace you will feel at a social function. God’s rich promises can all be yours when you allow the Holy Spirit to partner with you in this and every other stronghold in your life. God has provided us with choices, and He wants us to choose the best way. (Deuteronomy 30:19)

Action/Consequences: From Adam and Eve to Revelation, God gives us the choice between right and wrong, blessings and curses. God created us with free will and would never impose His will on us. He lets us decide the choices we will make in life. Through our choices, we learn wisdom and understanding. Though it’s not always obvious, many of the choices we make will bring blessings or curses. Choosing to sleep in, have an extra slice of cake, or skip another workout are not curses in and of themselves, but they will weaken your discipline muscle which will eventually lead to poor health.

Conversely, and fortunately, taking the time to eat a proper breakfast, minimizing your intake of coffee, processed foods, and sugar, and exercising regularly will not miraculously bring blessings to your life, but will help you feel better. All these things will increase your energy and your mood, and help you manage your weight, and build your self-esteem, which will have many long-term blessings. It may seem daunting right now, but rest assured that God will teach you how to make good choices that will richly bless your life. God wants to use our good health to glorify Him and to be an example to others. (See 1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

God dwells in our physical bodies and calls it His temple. A temple is a sacred place of beauty and majesty. God took great pride and joy in creating us, and He also wants us to treat our bodies as the sacred temples He designed them to be. We’ve all looked at other people and wondered how they could be Christians when they sin, or openly disobey his Will.  Although God Himself is not judging or condemning you, you probably know within yourself that you’re not being as effective as you want to be because your weight is getting in the way. You know that you would have more confidence, energy, stamina, and effective witnessing when you are living at the level of health that God created you to live in.

PRAYER

Lord, I am praying that you will grant me the ability to honor the principles that you have set up for our bodies and our spirits to work.  You have built our body wonderfully, and I will seek to honor you with the choices that I make, and the life that I live.  Teach me to glorify you with my health.

PRACTICAL ACTION TODAY 

Pray about an accountability partner who wants the best for you and is willing to hold you accountable for lifestyle changes that you are desiring to make.  Then, actively share with them your goals and heart’s desire to honor God with your body.  Finally, make a commitment together to change specific lifestyle habits so that you will become a healthier person.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Download Fasting Guide

Listen To Sacred Whispers Playlist

As you read today's devotional, play "GRAVES INTO GARDENS from the Sacred Whispers Playlist.

Spiritual

KEEP ON KEEPING ON

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

Galatians 6:9 (ESV)

One of the benefits of our January fast is the powerful external motivation that we get to benefit from. Many Christians all over the world choose to begin their new year with a month of fasting. It seems that everywhere you look, people are focusing on committing to spend time with God every day, taking care of their physical bodies through nutrition and or exercise, making goals, and overall setting their lives in order. This year’s “New Life Fast” has been so powerful because the teaching, devotions, and overall focus have combined all of these things together for us. I come to work each day here at New Life, and not once this month has someone brought a cake to work. So, this fast is definitely working!

It’s funny to me how we all know that these things are good for our physical and spiritual health, and we really want to do them consistently throughout our year, but inevitably, at least for me, every year, once the fast is over, I find myself slipping back into my old way of living. For me, it’s the busyness of life. I struggle with the competing priorities of work, life, ministry, and family. Self-care rarely even makes the list! Do I get up early and spend an hour with the Lord reading the word or do I take that same hour for worship and intercession? Then, what about exercise? How do I put in at least 45 mins, but still read, study, worship, pray and get to work on time? Should I get up even earlier? If I do, then what about sleeping well? Maybe I should go to bed earlier, but what about time to check in with my family and others who need ministry?

It can seem like a never-ending cycle of juggling priorities that leads to frustration, especially when we know we have been called to ALL of it, even after the fast is over. In order to be different in 2022, let’s start with asking God to take our goals for spiritual growth, honoring our bodies, loving our families and others, and ask Him for a sustainable plan.  

Asheritah Ciuciu, of One Thing Alone Ministries, offers advice that can fit almost any goal that we want to remain in our lives after this fast. Planning is the key because a goal without a plan is just wishful thinking.

The 3 P’s

1. Pick Your Goal

For example, if it is consistent Bible reading, consider what your Bible habit goal is and why that's important to you. Many of us begin Bible reading plans out of guilt or obligation, but those feelings aren’t enough to keep us going when we face obstacles. What is your spiritual growth goal for the next six weeks, and why is it important to you? What is your nutrition or fitness goal, why is that important to you?

2. Pick Your Time

For many of us, morning time is best, but be realistic about your season of life and your schedule, and then pick a time you can actually commit to keeping. Perhaps lunchtime or evening works best for you, or maybe early mornings fit the rhythm of your day better. 

Whatever is the best time for you to spend time with God, pick that time and make it a reoccurring priority.

3. Pick Your Place

For Bible reading, find a space that’s well-lit and quiet for your daily devotions. Eliminate distractions by letting others know it’s your devotion time, turn off notifications on your phone, and go ahead and take the dog out now to get that out of the way! 

Keep your Bible, notebook, and anything else you need in a basket, so you’ll have everything handy.

For Exercise: Decide ahead of time what you will do and get it prepared in advance. For instance, if you will go to the gym eliminate distractions by packing a gym bag ahead of time and put your keys and shoes by the door. Some people even sleep in workout clothes!

For Healthy Eating: Consider new recipes or foods that seem appealing and create a menu and shopping list for the week before going to the store. Be sure to plan for healthy options, including take-out or frozen foods, for when unexpected things come up that prevent you from cooking or so you can enjoy time out with others and still keep your priorities.

Once you’ve decided on ‘The Three P’s’ above, you’re ready to begin your new God-prioritized habits that can be sustained throughout the year. Jesus doesn’t promise to take away our busyness or to magically make our burdens disappear, but He promises to give wisdom and divine enablement to accomplish all that he has called us to.

PRAYER:

God, meet each of us where we are and lead us into success for sustaining the things we are prioritizing for this fast. God, for many of us this is challenging. Please help us to cultivate a mindset of health and wellness in our spirit, soul, and body. Help us rely on You and Your divine enablement when it gets difficult so that we can truly live the abundant life that You promised. 

PRACTICAL ACTION TODAY 

Choose your 3 P’s and put them into practice today. 

Resist the temptation to offer excuses for why you can’t begin doing these today. You and the time you spend with God are vitally important. 

Therefore, make every effort to not put this off. Do it now, and watch how quickly and abundantly you will reap the fruit of your decision.

Practical

MAKING YOU A PRIORITY

“You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little … Because of my house, which remains in ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house.”

Haggai 1:9 (NIV)

“Well-ordered self-love is right and natural.”

Thomas Aquinas

What do you think is the No. 1 reason people give for not exercising? If you said ‘time’, you’re 100 percent correct. And it may also be your No. 1 reason for not exercising and taking care of yourself as you should. 

Upon closer inspection, you’ll see that the problem isn’t really an issue of time (or lack of it), but rather an issue of values—what’s truly important to you? You see, we give our time and attention to what we deem important to us. We say we want to lose weight, but more often than not this goal gets bumped to the bottom of our ‘to-do’ list. So, the real question becomes, “How important is losing weight to you?” Even though most of us would say it’s very important, we’re so stuck in our current routine that it’s impossible to see how we could possibly fit anything else into the day. 

In his book, The Purpose Driven Life, best-selling author Rick Warren teaches us that we have just enough time to do what God’s called us to do, and if we can’t get it all done it means we’re trying to do more than God intended. Are there things in your life that take up too much of your time and don’t leave you time to do the things you really want? Then it’s time to take stock of what you really want and begin to reshape your schedule to make it a priority. When God is first in your life, He will help you to order your priorities and help you see that you need to be healthy in body, soul, and spirit in order to fulfill His calling on your life. 

In the book of Haggai, we learn an important lesson about prioritizing our time. God had given the Jews an assignment to finish the temple when they returned from captivity. Like most of us, they got busy, forgot their priorities, and grew apathetic to things that were once important to them. Through Haggai, God challenged them to action: “‘You expected much, but it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?’” declares the Lord Almighty. “‘Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.’” (Haggai 1:9) Has God been calling you to rebuild His temple, which is your body? 

PRAYER

Father, I thank You that when I put You first, You teach me how to prioritize. My steps are ordered by You. I do first things first. I seek Your kingdom above all else, and in doing so You teach me how to make the most of my day. In all I do, I worship You. My time is in Your hands and You have blessed it and given me good success. 

May my body truly become Your temple. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Additional Study 

1. Like the people of Judah, our problem is also with misguided priorities. Take some time and reflect on where God fits into your priorities. Is He first? 

2. There are consequences to not giving God first place in your lives. In the book of Haggai, we learn that the Jews’ work was not productive and they were unfulfilled with their material possessions. What are some of the consequences you’re experiencing with not putting God first? 

“You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”(Haggai 1:6) 

3. How will making God a priority help you to make yourself more of a priority? 

PRACTICAL ACTION TODAY 

Make yourself a priority this week by saying ‘no’ to many other things that are vying for your time. Your challenge today is to say ‘no’ to any competing priority that conflicts with caring for your body and making your personal health your main priority. Practice the art of saying ‘no’ this week to anything outside of work and family that comes before your health, and share your experience with an accountability partner. 

Above Content taken from:

Morenzie, Cathy. Healthy by Design: Weight Loss, God's Way: The Proven 21-Day Weight Loss Devotional Bible Study - Lose Weight for Life, Deepen Your Faith, End Overwhelm & Doubt [Christian Weight Loss Workbook) (pp. 99-102). Guiding Light Publishing. 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Download Fasting Guide

Listen To Sacred Whispers Playlist

As you read today's devotional, play "YOUR SPIRIT" from the Sacred Whispers Playlist.

Spiritual

SITTING BY THE FURNACE

By Marlin D. Harris

“He will sit as a refiner, and purifier of silver…”

Malachi 3:3

Sometimes I like to just sit with a good book. I mean, to really become present with the writer and to become one with the story. 

Great literature is like that, you can’t truly appreciate it if your mind is racing and your thoughts are concentrated in other places. No, you actually have to ‘sit’ with great literature, and allow the story that it tells to wash over you. I recently had the rare privilege to do just that when I read Elie Wiesel’s seminal commentary on the Jewish Holocaust, a thinly veiled memoir novel entitled, Night. 

Elie Wiesel is a Romanian Jew, who spent an unforgettable part of his childhood in the Nazi concentration camps of Auschwitz and Buchenwald, Germany in the early 1940s. There in Auschwitz, he witnessed the gruesome death of his parents and his younger sister, as well as countless other men, women, and children. At the end of the fourth section of Wiesel’s book, he describes in vivid detail, the scene of a young bagpipe player being hung from the gallows. The bagpipe player was only a child. Even though thousands were killed in the gas chambers or in the human ovens of Buchenwald, the execution of this innocent child seemed to infinitely propel the cruelty of the concentration camps to levels unimaginable. Here Wiesel recounts a moment when the question is uttered by someone in the crowd looking on in disbelief as this young boy is strangled by the rope and fighting for his life: “Where is God”? “Tell me, where is He”?!. Wiesel’s character in the memoir offers this sobering thought as his response: “And I heard a voice within me answer him: “Where is God? God is here! — Here He is, hanging with him on the gallows…” In all of the evil around him, Wiesel could still see God with this young man in his suffering.

A scene like that is enough to rock your faith to its core. It forces you to look at the cruelty of evil and to find a way to quiet the raging voice in your soul that is crying out, like the man in the crowd that day, “Where is God in all of this”.

As I sat with that book, I started drifting and staring into the bay of windows facing my chair. I couldn’t help but ask, “Lord, where were you?”. Part of me was afraid to admit that I had the same question as the man in the crowd, and part of me was afraid to deny it as well. But God knew my question before I ever asked it, and He reassured me that He was Big enough to face my questions, if I was humble enough to hear His answers. The answer God gave me that day was strange. He took me to His Word (where He has placed all of His answers). My mind raced to Malachi 3:3 – “He will sit as a refiner, and purifier of silver”. At first glance I sat there, more confused than I was when I first started the conversation. But then the Spirit spoke to my heart, in a way that only He could, and said, “I was there with him that day, sitting beside the refiner’s fire.”

I kept thinking about the job of a Refiner. It is his duty to sit in the most extreme heat beside the oven that melts the precious silver and keep his watchful eye on the flame until the fire has accomplished its purpose. This is not needed for worthless ore, but the more priceless the metal, the more care must be given to the fire. The refiner must subject the metal to extreme temperatures in order to burn away the dross, and bring out the luster and glory of the silver. If the heat is too low, then the silver will be tainted, and if the heat is too high then the silver will be ruined, it must be just the right temperature, in order to yield the purest metal possible. The silver that adorns the palace of the king, is only crafted into a royal vessel after it has been subjected to this kind of heat. 

But rest assured, a good refiner never leaves the furnace. The metal never burns alone. He ‘sits’ by the fire, watching the heat purify the silver of its dross. 

He checks over and over to see if the process has achieved its goal. Then, only when the refiner is able to look at the silver and see his face reflected in the liquid metal, will he know that the process is complete, and then he extinguishes the flame. That day, like every other day, God was like the refiner of silver. He sat by the furnace, managing the purifying flames.

Now I can’t explain why I was overcome with such emotion, but I could hardly control my tears as I read those words. I realized that is where God was when ships left the West African docks loaded with enslaved people headed for the Americas; He was with them in the boats, sitting by the furnace managing the flames. That’s where He was when countless numbers of Rwandan’s were massacred in the Rwandan genocide; He was with them, sitting by the furnace, managing the flames. That’s where He was when you lost the loved one you held so dear; He was sitting there by their bedside managing the flames. That’s where He was when the car slid on the ice, and the resultant accident nearly took a precious life; He was sitting in the car, holding the hand of its fearful driver, managing the flames. He has never left the refiner's fire. He has never allowed the fire to burn without a purpose in mind. He has never let death, or pain or tragedy fall, without a pure vessel of silver being produced on the other end. 

We must know that there is no sickness, no pain, no disease, and no heartache where God is not sitting near and keeping watch. He sits so that the fire will never be more than is necessary. 

Like the refiner of silver looks for his reflection in the precious metal, so our Lord is looking at our lives watching for the reflection of His character and faith in our hearts. He knows that the only way to get the purest character out of our lives is to allow the furnace to be heated. It is in the fire that our pride is humbled, and our hearts are softened to the truth of His Word. It is in the fire that we see our brother as ourselves, and we learn to let petty grievances go. It is in the fire that our priorities are straightened and our hearts become focused on the things that truly matter. We learn the value of real love in the fire, and the dross of self-centeredness and indifference is burned away. This fire is called a “refiner’s fire” for a reason. It is meant to refine us and make us vessels worthy of the Master’s use. This fire makes it so that God “who has begun a good work in us will continue to perform it until the day that Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6).

My heart aches for those who are currently in the fire, but it aches even more for those who have never been touched by its flames. They are still living in the naivety of their sinfulness, and in the ignorance of their own moral immaturity. They are blind to the truth, and have been left to their own devices. Oh, how I wish they could have a moment in the furnace, and allow it to soften their hardened heart and turn their eyes toward the Refiner.

So, there I sat; in my chair looking out of the windows and pondering over the words I had just read. I saw this young boy hanging from the gallows, and as Jeremiah the prophet declares that God took up a weeping and wailing (Jeremiah 9:10), I saw the tears of God weeping as he died. And in an instant – immediately – my mind went to Calvary! There was a different execution that day. A different One was being hung from the wooden gallows. He was the spotless, sinless, beautiful Son of God. Jesus hung on that cross and died for the sins of millions who would later reject Him, abuse Him, curs Him and deny Him. But He died anyway. That was the depth of His love, and the heat of His furnace. Many have asked throughout the ages, “Where was God that day?” 

Well, God was the same place He was when that young lad perished in the gallows. God was sitting beside the refiner’s fire, managing the flames of His only Son. Had He stopped the execution of His Son, you and I would be hopelessly lost in our sins, and separated from Him eternally. He had to allow that furnace to be heated seven times hotter, as it were, in order for me and you to be redeemed. In the wisdom of God’s redemptive plan, the fire was not allowed to be too severe. On the third day, the flames were cooled, the heat subsided and the Son of God arose from the dead. This good news is called “the Gospel”! This is the anchor that keeps the ship of our life in the harbor. If God can bring this ‘good news’ out of great tragedy, then how much good can He bring out of the furnace of our lives.

Beloved, trust Him today. 

He is a skilled refiner. He is making precious silver out of you. He is sitting with you in the fire, waiting until He can see His face shining back at Him in your heart.

PRAYER

Loving Father, remind us daily that You are sitting with us by the furnace of our life, managing the fire. 

May You see Your character reflected in our hearts. We humbly submit to the refining process until Your Will is made clear. In Jesus Name, Amen.

DAILY SPIRITUAL EXERCISE

Find a good, Christ-honoring book, curl up in your favorite chair and look for God in its story. The best Book to do this with is the Word of God.

Practical

A DEVOTION FOR GOOD HEALTH

by Grace Fox

Content taken from Posted in Devotions for Good Health,

“They [our bodies] were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies.”

1 Corinthians 6:13 (NLT)

Your body and well-being remains in God's hands.

Wrong thinking about my physical health landed me in dire straits. For too long, I allowed my schedule to override my body’s need for exercise. I don’t have time to take a walk now, I reasoned as I worked at my computer desk. I’ll walk later. But later never came. At the same time, I justified eating chocolate bars—big ones.

“My brain’s tired from thinking so hard, so I’ll give it a little boost”, I thought. One bite led to another and then another. Before long, I’d eaten the entire bar. Oh well, that’s no big deal. I’ll walk off the calories later. But later never came.

Wrong thinking said I could eat whatever I wanted whenever I wished and exercise was only for athletes. The ever-increasing number on my bathroom scale, chronic pain, and the loss of mobility for three months convinced me to make a change. I learned the hard way. But I learned a new way of thinking that transformed my life and restored my health.

Correct thinking about our physical health comes from understanding that we don’t own our bodies. God does. He bought them with Jesus’s bloodshed on the cross (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). Now we are Jesus’s temple, His dwelling place, and we’re responsible to be wise stewards of its care.

Since Jesus willingly paid for our bodies with His life, they must be worth a lot. Let’s value them with proper nutrition and exercise. Don’t learn the hard way as I did.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, may I treat my body like the precious gift that it is. My health is in Your hands. May I cooperate with You in bringing my body and soul to a place of health and strength. 

In Jesus Name, Amen.

PRACTICAL ACTION TODAY 

Faith Step: Identify one wrong thought about your physical health and ponder its influence on your behavior. Now identify one step you can take to improve your health beginning today.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Download Fasting Guide

Listen To Sacred Whispers Playlist

As you read today's devotional, play "SHALL NOT WANT" from the Sacred Whispers Playlist.

Spiritual

“WOW”

By Marlin D. Harris

“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained… O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!”

Psalm 8:3, 9

Helicopter pilot, Ray Asgar, flew over Gilcrest, Texas, and took a photo of a single little yellow house belonging to Warren and Pam Adams. What is remarkable about this house is that it is the only house left standing after Hurricane Ike completely demolished nearly every home and business in this small, once-thriving community. Ike blew through Gilcrest, and in the fury of its wake, it leveled every raised structure that stood in its path. 

Complete buildings were torn to pieces and now scattered across a half-mile stretch of land. Nothing escaped the stormy blast of Ike’s ferocious winds. The Post Office in Gilcrest was gone, the local grocery store was gone, small eateries and restaurants were gone, dozens of houses were reduced to unrecognizable debris, and even every house of worship was completely destroyed, but – almost in defiance of the storm – this little yellow house was still standing amid the rubble, all by itself!

When Warren and Pam Adams returned to their town, they were spellbound by the wreckage. They said all they could do as they stood in front of their little house, miraculously standing alone, was to say, “Wow”. What other word could they say? No word could express their disbelief and utter amazement at that moment better than ‘Wow’.

‘Wow’ is sometimes the only appropriate response that the mind can conjure up when it has just witnessed the impossible, or seen the magnificent, or experienced – what Webster’s Dictionary calls – the ‘sublime’; something that inspires awe and wonder. Who among us can pass by a majestic snowcapped mountain range, or look at the mesmerizing beauty of a cascading waterfall, or peer up in the sky on a dark summer’s night and see an innumerable host of twinkling stars, each one competing to outshine the other, and not literally have our breath taken away in awe and wonder? 

There are some things so wonderful, so beautiful and so awe-inspiring that the only response our hearts can give when our eyes behold them is – “wow”.

How tremendously sad it is when we lose our sense of wonder; when nothing sparks that childlike feeling of awe. Somewhere along the way, we as a human race lost our ability to be amazed. I actually think that it’s a dismal combination of many of the disheartening realities of life. Disappointments assail us daily; we are heartbroken by a love that we thought would last forever; the dream that we spent a significant portion of our life waiting for, never arrived; or that one success that we thought would deliver for us the ultimate satisfaction has unceremoniously let us down; and just like that, our ability to be amazed is gone. Nothing is left except a cold, doubtful, cynical shell waiting for something wonderful to come along and give it life. I believe that this loss of wonder is at the very root of depression, which makes it so easy for some to lose hope.

The majestic things in life that leave us awe-struck is God’s way of broadcasting His presence without even having to say a word. It’s God’s way of spotlighting His power and showing forth His handiwork. In the courtroom of our individual consciences, God has called an infinite number of witnesses to stand and testify of His greatness and His power. Day and night take the witness stand and testify that they are products of the power of God. One has been commissioned to give light in the darkness, and the other has been commissioned to make it so that all of nature can quietly sleep. Both day and night operate at the wish and command of our Great God. The wind testifies that it is an extension of the breath of God, and the rain testifies that it has been commanded to refresh the earth at the wish and whims of God.  

All of this is from the genius and masterful hand of God. What more could be said of the colorful radiance of the flowers that bloom in the field, or the masterful creatures that swim in the depths of the sea, or the graceful birds that fly effortlessly in the heights of the sky? Like the psalmist, when we consider these things, we should break forth into singing, O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth! This is the scripture's way of saying, “Wow.”

But you don’t have to go swimming in the depths of the ocean to be wowed by God, nor do you have to roam the open fields or climb a high mountain to be wowed. 

You merely need to look within your own heart, and deep within your own soul. There – yes, there – is where the real ‘wow’ resides. Just like that little yellow house in Gilcrest, Texas, you are still standing. You have endured the agony of a hundred heartbreaks, and yet you are still standing. You have endured evening sorrows and midnight tears, and yet you are still standing. You have been disappointed by tomorrows that never came, and yesterdays that never seem to leave, but yet you are still standing. You have walked along some lonely roads and carried some heavy loads, yet you are still standing. The weights that you carried didn’t destroy you, and the giants that you faced were not enough to make you quit. The sins of your youth didn’t destroy your future, and the grace that you were extended was more than you ever imagined. Beloved, the very fact that you survived should be enough to make you place your hand over your mouth, and in amazement, breathe out – “wow”.

So, how did we miss it? How did we miss the magnificent thing that God was doing in us? How did we not see that it was His hand softly guiding us through every challenging season of our life? How did we not recognize that it was his strength that carried us when we were too weak to continue walking? I don’t know how, but I know we missed it. I know this because we all have spent more time complaining about life than we have thanking God for it. Many of us rarely take the time to adequately say thank you. We never stopped long enough to embrace with joy the Hand that has been holding us up. We have never rested fully in His never-ending love or reclined completely in His all-consuming mercy. Simply put, we are the last house standing in a sea of wreckage and debris all around us, and somehow we failed to say, “wow”.

In essence, this is what praise is! Praise is the soul expressing saying ‘wow’ when it considers the mighty works of God. 

This is what Psalm 139:14 means when it says, ‘wonderful are Your works, and that my soul knows right well’. 

Here the psalmist is saying, “Wow”. 

In 1 Kings 19:13, when Elijah went up to Mount Horeb and heard the still small voice, the Biblical record tells us that he came out of his cave and wrapped his face in his mantle and stood up to hear what God would say. That’s Elijah saying, “Wow”. In Job 1:20,21, when Job lost everything that he physically owned, including the death of his children and the loss of his health, the Bible says that he fell down to the ground, worshipped and said, “the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” This was Job’s way of simply saying, “Wow”. There is passage after passage of great men and women in the scriptures, who never lost their ability to be awed by God. In times of great victory, and in times of great defeat, they were always able to say, ‘Wow’.

How about you and I? Can we look back over our lives and see the hand of God in every detail and in every circumstance? Have you taken the time to truly study your own life? You would be amazed if you did. There would be no room for complaining, or arguing with God about what you feel hasn’t been fair in your life. When you truly stop to think about all that God has done in your life, and most importantly in your heart, how can you say anything else but “Wow”.

PRAYER

Gracious God, may we forever be struck with awe and wonder at the mighty works You have done in our lives. When you forgave us of our sins, You did the impossible, and You saved us from the unthinkable. You have kept us, blessed us, redeemed us, and delivered us. When we think about it, all we can say as we stand before You is – “Wow”. In Your Awesome Name, we pray. Amen.

DAILY SPIRITUAL EXERCISE

Take a few days to sit down and write out all of the many blessings in your life. Start from your childhood, and go up through high school, college, your first job, your family, and every season of your life. When you think of difficult or hard days, only think of them in light of the fact that God brought you through them. Write it all down. Stop and think about each one. And at the end of this exercise, you will find yourself saying, “Wow”.

Practical

CARING FOR OUR BODIES

By Dale Fletcher

(Content Taken From the Faith and Health Connection Website)

We are marvelously designed by God. He made us in a way that all our body systems work together in unimaginable and intricate ways. Our soul, spirit, mind, and body are all connected and work together perfectly according to His design. Because we are designed by God, when we live according to His principles as outlined in the Bible, our life will be more full and we are more likely to experience a life of peace, joy, and hope. This will create an environment that favors good health.

We each have a body given to us by God. Isn’t it our responsibility to take care of it? That’s what Paul tells us to do in Romans 12:1 when he writes – “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.” New Living Translation

Caring for our physical body certainly makes sense because each of us would want to be as healthy as possible but it’s also a commandment by God. Our physical health is affected by our emotional health and our emotional health is affected by our spiritual health.

Paul tells us to give our body to God and that it(our body) should be a form of sacrifice to Him. In fact, I believe Paul is telling us that caring for our bodies is a form of worship. Caring for our bodies is a way to demonstrate to God that we love Him. If you believe that God sent His only son Jesus to die for our sins, isn’t it only reasonable that we should care for the physical body that He gave us?

It is by our body that we function. It’s comprised of organs and cells which consist of protein carbohydrates and fats. Our body contains our nervous system with nerves and the brain. It’s through our bodies that we connect to the physical world with our five senses.  Psalm 139:14 says that “you are fearfully and wonderfully made.” 

Caring for our body means taking care of our physical health. Being physically active, eating well, getting adequate sleep and rest, being free from addictions, and managing our stress are a few key aspects of attending to our physical health. The beautiful thing is that the Bible spells out so many guidelines on how we are to go about doing this.

If you are a believer you have an extra incentive to care for your body. Once you accept Jesus as your savior the Holy Spirit takes up residence in your physical body. God actually lives in you. If you love God, and He lives in you in the form of the Holy Spirit, doesn’t it make sense to care for our body in the best way possible? I believe it does and I must admit sometimes I am too relaxed at some of my health-related behaviors, especially my eating behaviors. Coffee with its caffeine and sugar added, candy bars, and I could name many other items that are not healthy to be putting into my body where God lives. The wonderful thing is that God is a God of grace and forgiveness. In my case, he knows that I am slowly surrendering that area of my life to Him and asking for His help in changing that part of my behavior.

If you’re not taking really good care of the body God has given you, He can help you change that. If you make a decision… a conscious choice to change and ask God to help you, then He will. He will honor your intentions. If you’re not a Christian and you are struggling with an aspect of your behavior that affects your health, then God wants to be a part of helping you do that. You can make a choice to ask Jesus to come into your heart – and He will help transform the areas of your life that you ask Him to. It’s a matter of believing, asking, and surrendering.

Our physical bodies really do belong to God, and He wants us to take great care of them! So, with God’s help, we will make healthy choices.

PRAYER

Dear God, help me to realize that my body is meant to honor You. You have made it wonderfully, and all Your works are great. Help me to care for it, and nourish it with the good, healthy things that You have provided. I offer it up to You every day as a sacrifice of worship unto Your name. In Jesus Name, Amen.

PRACTICAL ACTION TODAY

In addition to your normal exercise regimen this week, add what I call ‘accidental exercise’. This is when you intentionally park your car at the furthest parking space available so that you can add extra steps to your day. Or when you choose to take the stairs instead of the elevator at your office or apartment complex. Or when you make it a point to walk to the local eatery for lunch instead of driving there, or riding with coworkers. All of these and things like them, make for great ‘accidental exercise’. Be attentive to when these little opportunities to move your body exist and make it a point to do it every day this week.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Download Fasting Guide

Listen To Sacred Whispers Playlist