Hear insight from Kelly about prioritizing new year goals and your knowing God. John 11 is where Kelly speaks to the reaction of Jesus, Martha and Mary in light of this wisdom about cultivating our relationship with God over what we do for Him.
This month I wanted to encourage you with how Elizabeth and Mary embraced their God-given roles and found joy leading up to the first Christmas.
Over the next few months I’ll be writing devotionals from the book of Esther in celebration of the release of my latest study, Esther: Daring Faith For Such A Time As This, coming November 1st. There’s so much encouragement in her story. In God’s story.
When You Don’t Know, Do What You Do Know
Esther 4:14b “Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.”
The phrase, “for such a time as this” is a familiar one in the Book of Esther. What we don’t often focus on is that the verse begins with “who knows.” Because we typically want to know, right? We want to know who our child will end up marrying, what will happen with the diagnosis, whether or not we’ll get the job, what school our child belongs in. We love a “thus sayeth the Lord,” when it comes to life’s biggest decisions.
But when Mordecai pleaded with Esther to put her life on the line on behalf of the Jewish people he didn’t have a direct command from the Lord. Mordecai believed that God would work out deliverance, but he didn’t know how. When it comes to significant outcomes in my life, I very much like to know “that” it will happen and “how.” But it’s precisely the latter that God doesn’t usually share with us. Sometimes all He asks us to do is to take the first step of obedience. And then the next.
As I write, I have a stirring in my heart for something I’m not quite sure about. The Lord has asked me to take a practical step of obedience but I don’t know where it’s leading. It it leads where it could, it would be life-changing. But the path could also just as realistically not be life-changing at all. Who knows? But here’s the thing… well, two things: 1. God knows all things and 2. we know a few things.
God knew exactly how He would deliver His people because He knows all things. But Mordecai knew a few things. We can assume he knew of God’s general will for His people, the Jews. We can assume he knew of passages like Deuteronomy 4:31 which says, “For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.” In other words, Mordecai knew that God would keep His covenant with His people even when they had been driven into faraway places. He knew enough to know that God would not fail the Jewish people now. Even though they were seemingly a million miles from the land of promise, and Esther was queen in a pagan Persian palace, and Mordecai had angered a chief rival of the Jews by not bowing down to him, somehow, someway, God would keep His promise to preserve His beloved people. Mordecai wasn’t exactly sure if or how Esther would be used, but He believed God would deliver His people one way or another.
The same is true for us. When we study Scripture, we discover what God has called us to generally: Love others, speak kindly, walk humbly, worship Jesus, take care of the orphan and widow, live generously, trust God and don’t worry, and we could go on and on. Those are the “few” things we know to do. God knows the bigger picture. And He delights in our trusting Him, even when we don’t know the specifics of how He will work out His plan.
Esther and Mordecai had the confidence to courageously step up, not because God told them how things would turn out but because they knew that fighting for the Jewish people was in accordance with His will. What do you know to do that is God’s will? You may not have all the details, but how can you obey now? What practical step can you take?
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (NIV). Many things in life are not good. And bad things don’t always work together for good. However, what we can bank on is that in all things it is God who is working for our good!1
Be obedient to Christ. Make choices according to what God has revealed to you in His Word. Trust Him. Though you can’t know how it’s all going to work out, take heart that it will. In His time, in His way, always for your good.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you. 1 Peter 5:6-7
It’s that time of year again where we swap our vacation schedules for back-to-school supplies and routines. But it’s not all bad. I like the somewhat predictability of a schedule and the chance to start afresh with some new habits. Fall is the perfect time to jump into Bible study. I could give you countless reasons why, but I thought this month I would let the author of Psalm 1 convince you (The Psalm is provided at the end for reference).
To Be Blessed
Immersing ourselves in God’s Word brings blessing. The interesting thing here is that the Psalmist doesn’t use the more common word for blessed, rather he uses one that describes “the good life,” in a sense. In other words, delighting in the Lord’s words is the best way to live. It’s the flourishing, successful, plentiful way of life. It’s the “wise” way, which we’ll get to in a minute.
To Be Rooted and Flourishing
The person who delights in God’s Word, and thinks about it throughout the day, leads a full and prosperous life. I love to be settled. You wouldn’t necessarily know this about me for as much as I travel for work, but I relish the security of home. I love spending my free time with close friends and family. So I’m immediately drawn to this image of a tree planted by flowing streams of water. I love the predictability. I’m drawn to the peaches or apples or pears—or whatever is your favorite—dripping from its branches in the proper season. I appreciate that its leaves don’t wither up. (Which, side note, my fiddle leaf plant in my bedroom just dropped another leaf because I, unlike the flowing streams in verse 3, am terrible about remembering to water.)
Delighting Even More Than Doing
To study the Word of God, to enjoy it, to mull it over is to be like this healthy tree that is constantly supplied by living water. Notice the Psalmist isn’t even talking about doing what’s required in Scripture but delighting in it. Yes, we’re absolutely to obey it but the emphasis here is on enjoying it. Being in a regular Bible study helps us treasure its life-giving words. We then get to test those truths out in real life and our experience leads to further enjoyment of God and His ways.
The Wise Way
To live the “good life” means to avoid walking with people who have no regard for the ways of Christ. It means avoiding the “mocker” (v. 1). This word is specifically used in wisdom literature which tells us that that is what kind of Psalm this is. It’s a Psalm that explains the wise way of living. The smart way. The prosperous way. This means not standing in solidarity with those mock the Lord because before we know it we may end up settling in with them. You can see the progressive pattern of walking, standing, sitting. These “mockers” are not rooted. They’re not secure. They will blow away, or fall to the ground like the leaves on my fiddle leaf. But the Lord watches over the way of the righteous. What a promise. What security.
Choose a Bible study this Fall. Old Testament or New. Get into God’s Word. Plant yourself beside its waters. I’ll leave you with the words of Jerome who wrote in the fourth century, “I beg you, my dearest [sister], to live among these [sacred books], to meditate on them, to know nothing else, to seek nothing else. Does not this seem to you to be a little bit of heaven here on earth?
Psalm 1 (NIV)
1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
4 Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
I love this time of year but not for the normal reasons. Lent, the 46 days leading up to Easter, is not a time of gift-giving or lavish partying. It’s not even a time for chocolate bunnies or Cadbury eggs—these don’t come until Easter morning. And the weather is typically dreary. Chilly and wet as winter tries to hang on in the tug-of-war that spring is eventually sure to win.
Lent is somber.
It’s a season for reflecting on the cross. A season to get better acquainted with the limitations of our humanity. To remember how much we need Jesus in the big things out of our control and in the smaller moments when our patience is simply fraying. It’s a time for pruning, for stripping away. The good news is that these are not ends in themselves. Lent is so that more fruit will eventually come to bear.
Twenty years ago, I sat in the office of a Christian counselor who guided me along the paths of Lent. He explained it was a time to set aside some of our normal pleasures so that something new could grow in its place. It was this “new thing growing” that caught my attention. I needed new. I was stuck. My friendships weren’t healthy, my work success or lack thereof was controlling my emotions, I didn’t know how to cultivate joy. Cutting something fun out of my life seemed a terrible idea rather than an antidote. But I agreed. Reluctantly.
I’ve never looked back.
That year I set aside some things that had held power over me. But I didn’t stop there. My counselor helped me fill that newly created space with intentional practices that focused on my relationship with Jesus. I paused longer to reflect in God’s Word, journaled, took prayer walks, talked to friends about what God was teaching me, showing me. As I did, the roots of my faith pushed deeper into richer soil. It’s dark down there, by the way. I didn’t enjoy every moment underground dealing with my attachments, my neediness, my sin. Some moments were agonizingly lonely. But God was doing a resurrection work the likes of which can only happen underneath the ground. Or behind an immoveable stone.
The other day I was talking to my friend about the cumulative effects of seasons of fasting. Each Lenten year seems to build on the next. She told me that some of the things that used to be so hard for her to lay down she doesn’t even think about anymore. Those time-consumers, those unyielding habits, she no longer has use for them. I get it. What makes this a double-win is practicing Lent not only helps us rid ourselves of the detrimental or unnecessary, but that time is redeemed for what matters. Life-giving practices now grow out of the same soil whose nutrients used to be spent on the frivolous. Lent helps us steward the soil God’s given us.
I’m reading through the back half of Mark as Easter approaches (Mark slows way down after Peter’s confession of Him in chapter 8. From there, it’s a slow walk to the cross). It keeps me intentionally focused on Jesus and His road to the cross and ultimately His resurrection. One of the most meaningful parts to me is when the disciples are arguing about who’s the greatest. We do this today, by the way—we just may not discuss it out loud and in plain daylight. Anyhow, Jesus sat down, which I assume meant He sat His disciples down too. “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all,” He said (Mark 9:35). I don’t think He could have laid it out there any clearer. To be great is to serve. To be high is to be humble. To be first is to put the needs of others ahead of our own. The Lenten season helps us practice this. As we die a little more to our comforts and addictions and obsessions, we make more room for Christ to pour His life through us.
We’re a little less than three weeks to Easter. The brunches, baskets, and bunnies will be there. In the meantime, what new thing needs to grow? Jesus, help us follow you as we walk toward Easter. Prune back what is sucking the nutrients out of us. Strip away what is not of you. Fill us with your Spirit. And on Easter morning, we will celebrate that you have made, and are making, all things new.
