Author: Larry Bennett

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It’s About Perspective

This week I would like to convey something practical, or as my daddy use to say, “some good ole horse sense”. Sometimes as believers we are guilty of spiritualizing every little event that happens in our life, attributing it to the devil or the Lord’s hand. But more often than not, it’s just life – combined with our poor decision making. I am not minimizing the possibility that we may encounter from time to time demonic attacks, nor am I discounting certain seasons of suffering, God’s hand of brokenness.is often at work in our life, but when it’s from God, the events usually involve things in which we have no control.

I have often heard during a counseling session, “Why did God do this to me, placing me in this marriage, this town or this job? I have hated this for so many years?”

God is certainly omnipotent and able to place us in difficult places if He chooses. But if we take a closer look, most of those unpleasant situations are of our own making. The above statement is a prime example of unjustly blaming God for our poor personal decisions.

Statistics have proven that most people who find themselves up against the wall financially are there because of heavy indebtedness and or financial mismanagement. Any hiccup in cash flow puts them in dire straits. We often blame the devil for something we could have changed or prevented. (Are we giving the devil too much credit for decisions we make all on our own?)

God does not micromanage the little details of our lives. Our decisions or our times of indecision, has led us to where we are today. But that is hopeful, because you can make new decisions that will put you in different circumstances. God gives us the ability to make choices. Don’t wait for some supernatural movement – just start by seeing what you can do to change your circumstances.

If it is a job change you need, then take steps to prepare yourself for a change. Start by discovering your natural giftedness, identify your strengths and then search for a job that matches your giftedness and strengths. God has specifically wired us to be fulfilled in our work – but we must discover how He has naturally gifted us.

If debt is a problem then locate someone who can help you develop a plan to get out of debt. (Like Dave Ramsey) You don’t have to be a slave to indebtedness, there is a way out.

If you are burdened with a deteriorating relationship don’t crumple in despair, take proactive steps to rekindle and repair the relationship. If you are suffering from loneliness don’t sit at home all day long, but get out and mingle and think of creative ways to meet new people. If you do your part while asking the Lord to lead you, he will bring special people across your path that you can both enjoy and inspire.

Sometimes we assume that our current situation reflects random, individual, disconnected events. But seldom is that true. Rather, we are where we are because each decision we make is a step in a particular direction. And over time that direction determines our position in our work, our finances, our health, our relationships and our spiritual well-being. If you think God did this to you, then it justifies doing nothing until God changes your situation. And in doing nothing I see people open the door to blaming, resentment, anger, guilt and depression. I think God deserves better from us.

What my point? Life is about perspective. It’s like the story of two shoe salesmen traveling to a foreign country to sell shoes. The first salesman called immediately and said, “Get me on the next plane home. No one here wears shoes.” The second salesman called back and said, “Send me our entire inventory. No one here wears shoes.”

The same mind that thinks thoughts of doom, rejection, and discouragement is the same mind that can be creative, positive, and full of endless ideas, hope and faith. Which way will you use your God-given mind?

Perspective: It’s looking at your circumstances as an opportunity for change and improvement. Seize the moment, change your perspective and take action. Don’t be a victim of your circumstances but let your circumstances be your motivation for positive and productive change. Every cloud has a silver lining, but it takes trust in a sovereign God to lead you, and your diligence to take instinctive steps toward a better quality of life.

“As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7)

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Running The Race

Hebrews 12:1-2

In Hebrews 12 the writer gives a sports analogy to convey the importance of keeping our eyes on Jesus. Reading through this passage reminded me of how contemporary the Scriptures are on today’s issues and problems. Believers everywhere are filled with anxiety, fear, doubt, unforgiveness and a multitude of other spiritual and emotional maladies that keep us from “fixing our eyes on Jesus”. There are several key elements of this passage that we need to heed in order to keep our eyes fixed on the goal.

1. “A great cloud of witnesses” – We are not alone in the race. The Greek word “great” is nephele which indicates an earth encompassing cloud. The context suggests that these witnesses are the heroes of the faith mentioned in chapter 11. We are in this race not only with other believers here on earth, but also the saints of heaven are cheering us on. Even though we may feel alone, we are never alone in the race.

2. “Let us lay aside every weight” – A runner never allows things to weigh them down. Every piece of clothing down to the weight of the shoe plays a vital role in running the race. Sometimes the things that weigh us down are not sinful things but the things that are not best for us. Often good things must be laid down in order for the best to be used in the race.

3. “Let us run with patience the race…” – The word race is the Greek word agon in which we get our English word agony. The emphasis is a long distance race. I remember running my first timed mile in junior high school. Agony would perfectly describe the experience. In the spiritual race the pace is set by God and the goal is not heaven. Heaven is settled by faith in the finished work of Jesus on the Cross. The goal is pleasing God by obedience. Along the way agony appears in the form of trials, disappointments and temptations. This race is not a 100 yard dash but a marathon.

4. “Looking unto Jesus” – This is an intent gaze upon Jesus. It’s keeping our eyes fixed on Him during the race, irrespective of the position of the rest of the runners. The race is not about how fast we finish because the pace is set by our Heavenly Father. Rather the race is based on how faithful we are at keeping our focus on Jesus along the way. Each one of us has a race to run and our focus is not to be on how our brother or sister runs the race. That’s the reason the scripture admonishes us to not compare ourselves with others.

1. If you want to be disappointed look to others
2. If you want to be discouraged focus on yourself.
3. If you want to be delighted focus on Jesus.

Since God knows from the foundation of the world who will become his child, the events that determine our race and our pace may even begin before we become a believer. We see an example of this principle at work in Nee Wheng-hsiu:

Famous missionary Watchmen Nee’s mother, Nee Wheng-hsiu, had plans to go to medical school in the USA. But at the last minute her mother arranged a marriage contract for her. The marriage was everything she feared about an arranged marriage- abuse and marriage to someone she didn’t love. Her sorrow drove her to Christ. After her conversion she approached her 17 year old son Watchman and confessed her sin of being too harsh in her discipline of him. Watchman was taken by surprise. This behavior was not only unusual but it was also uncommon in the Chinese culture. Because of his mother’s transformation Watchman Nee also gave his life to Christ. His impact on China is felt even today throughout China.

Like Nee Wheng-hsiu, our race may contain tragedy, disappointment and even regret, but it is our race, and it is orchestrated by God. Only as we keep our eyes fixed on Christ will we realize the reward of the peace of God in the midst of the race, and the eventual fulfillment of His will and purpose for our life.

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith… Hebrews 12:1-2a (NASB)

Larry

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God is always on time…if we wait on Him

One of the most difficult tasks a believer encounters is waiting on God. Our experience, knowledge and impatience seem to get in the way of waiting on God.  Of course, we are not the only generation that has that problem.King Saul had a similar problem prior to encountering a major battle against the Philistines.  The Israelites were out manned, had inferior weapons and were relatively inexperienced.  They needed God’s instructions on how to do battle against the enemy. Per God’s instructions, Samuel told Saul to wait on him at Gilgal on his arrival before going into battle. Samuel would be there in seven days to make the necessary sacrifices prior to the battle.When the morning of the seventh day came, Samuel had not arrived. Saul panicked, his soldiers began to scatter and Saul didn’t have the Lord’s direction for battle.  Saul could have stood his ground and said, “even if Samuel doesn’t show up until days later, I am going to trust God’s Word and wait until I hear from the Lord.” But he didn’t, he took matters into his own hands.We learn from 1 Samuel 13 that Saul took matters into his own hands, and ordered the on-site priest to make sacrifices without Samuel.   In doing so, he sinned against the Lord and committed a grievous sin.  This failure to wait on God cost him his kingdom.

Samuel did show up on the seventh day, just as he promised. It may have been late in the day, but he arrived on God’s timetable.   Saul’s impatience cost him his throne. Samuel said, “Your kingdom shall not endure…God has sought out for Himself a man after his own heart.”

Saul faced a crisis, a pivotal moment in his life.  His decision to “not wait on God” changed his potential and even altered his destiny.  From that moment on his life was filled with trouble, personal tragedy and eventually suicide.

It’s a time of crisis for us when we are forced to decide whether we will wait on God by faith, or get impatient and take matters into our own hands.

God’s character is the same today as it was in the time of Saul. He’s never too late or too early, He is always on time, regardless of how dire the circumstances may appear.    It doesn’t matter if things seem out of control; we are to walk in total confidence in His ability to deliver us.   It’s a matter of walking and living by FAITH.   

Yes, it’s difficult to learn to wait on God, it’s a lifelong lesson.  We must go through seasons of crying out to God and then experience the pain of waiting on Him to deliver us.  But the rewards and blessings of waiting on God far out weigh the pain of taking things into our own hands.  We must learn to experience the pain of discipline by waiting on God, or we will experience the pain of regret.  In the end the pain of discipline weighs ounces but the pain of regret weights tons.
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings of eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; lean not on unto your own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
He is risen indeed!  Have a blessed Easter
Larry
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Do Not Fear

“Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6)

Syria has been in the news a lot lately with their political unrest and civil war. War is not new to this country; they have been in numerous wars for centuries. The Bible tells of one such battle in 2 Kings 6.

The Lord had been telling Elisha every move of the Syrian army. The Syrian king was enraged and he called his servants in and asked them, “Which one of you has been telling the Israeli army our every move?” One of the servants spoke up and said, “None of us, it is Elisha the prophet who tells the King of Israel what you do in your bedroom.” The Syrian king immediately ordered the troops to surround the town of Dothan with the hopes of capturing Elisha. During the night the Syrian army encircled Dothan.

The next morning Elisha’s servant was up at the crack of dawn. After he cleared the sleepiness from his eyes he looked up and he couldn’t believe his eyes. A host of soldiers were completely surrounding the city. He quickly ran into Elisha’s bedroom and declared, “An army with horses and chariots is circling the city. What shall we do?” Elisha answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them…O Lord open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

What a magnificent story of God’s power and care. Elisha’s servant almost missed the Lord’s provision because his problem appeared to be bigger than God. Are we like this servant? Do we allow our problems to swell to gigantic proportions, forgetting that our God is the God of the chariots of fire?

Have you been whining about your circumstances lately? When you whine you are looking at your problem from the perspective of Elisha’s servant. You may be seeing your problem as a gigantic impasse, rather than an opportunity to see God at work.

Do you know what causes us to think like that? It is a failure to see God in every circumstance of life.
Whether we believe it or not, God is involved in every little detail of our life, even our unanswered prayers. He is at work “conforming” us to His image, 24/7. There are no “unusable” circumstances in our life. God takes every little event and turns it into a character building tool. How do I know that? 2 Corinthians 4:17 states, “For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison”. The Lord uses every event in our life to bring about the necessary “death process” that will allow our eyes to be open, and then behold the deliverance of the Lord. That reminds me of the chorus of an old gospel song:

“I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free.
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.”

Don’t let fear and anxiety rule your life. See your circumstance as God’s way of bringing about the benefits of the cross, which is a death process. A death process is the process whereby everything that is contrary to who you are in Christ is put to death. It is the means that God uses to deal with our self-life. Paul puts it best, “For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal body. “ (See 2 Corinthians 4:7-12)

May the Lord open our eyes to see the chariots of fire that He has prepared just for us!

Larry

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When God is Not Speaking


“And yet it is true that this God who desires to give Himself to you, will often conceal himself from you – from you the very one who seeks Him.” (Guyon)

If you have been a “God Seeker” very long you have experienced the above statement on at least a few occasions.  Why does a God who loves us so intensely seem to close a deaf ear to our prayers, especially in times of great need? There are at least three reasons.

First, God wants us to be on a track of continually pursuing Him.  If you are the typical Christian then you, like me, have a tendency to get spiritually lazy when things are going great.  We may have our daily devotions and shoot up a few prayers during the day, but we lack passion in our pursuit of Him.  We may not say it, but we sometimes live like, “God I am ok now, but I will be sure to get really serious about prayer if I hit a snag I can’t fix. You will be the first one I call on.”
Every committed follower of Jesus is quick to call upon the Lord when things begin to get out of control, and it should be that way.  However, God’s higher desire for us is to pursue Him even when times are good. God created us for fellowship with Him. It is the instinctive nature of a child of God to pursue a deeper and richer fellowship with the Father.  So when we sense those times when God seems to turn a deaf ear to our prayers it is a sign that we need to examine our passion of pursuit.
Secondly, it is a test of our faith.  Do you really believe, even in the absence of a manifest presence? As a faithful follower of Jesus our faith is continually tested in numerous ways.  The deeper your walk the greater the test.  It’s like the old story about the man who was chased by a bear. In his attempt to out-run the bear he ran over a cliff and on the way down latched onto a limb. While hanging there in midair, hundreds of feet from the valley floor he called out to God to help him.  God said do you trust me, the man quickly declared, yes, I believe and fully trust you.  Then God said let go of the limb.
Sometimes trusting God when we don’t see a logical way out is like the above story.  We must trust God and be willing to let go of the limb because of who He is and because of His proven faithfulness in the past. Each time we come to one of those moments and we trust God even though our emotions are all over the place, our faith is increased. How does our faith increase?   Because in the end God gives us what we really needed even though it is not what we prayed for.   Faith must be tested in order to grow and have real value.  Now you know why Paul said, “I thank God for various temptations.”  He knew that faith produces endurance.
Thirdly, during times of dryness we learn something about ourselves.  There is a point in my conference presentation when I ask the audience who is the person that gives you the greatest problem in life? A few may answer the “devil”,  and one time a man said it was his wife, but the overwhelming majority of people answer, “ It’s me”.  During times of spiritual dryness as when we turn toward pursuing God we begin to see ourselves as we really are.  We quickly realize how our whole world is revolving around ourselves. We see our unforgiveness, our quickness to set someone straight, our self-protection and all those things that point to a lack of brokenness.
I vividly remember military boot camp.  The best way to describe it was they took all my rights away. I couldn’t go and come as I pleased. I couldn’t talk unless spoken to and I had to go to bed and get up when they said, even when it meant getting up in the middle of the night marching for hours. I had to march in the rain, crawl through the mud with my rifle under barbed wire with machine gun fire above my head.  It wasn’t fair, why was I treated so badly, and subjected to such dangerous circumstances. I didn’t sign up for this! I just wanted to join the military.  And to top it all off, they wouldn’t let me do things my way.
It wasn’t until the end of boot camp that I realized their overall purpose.  They were breaking down my self-sufficient, undisciplined will. Their goal was to make me a good soldier, one who followed orders without question and was ready for conflict in a moment’s notice. Wow, what a proud moment when our barracks came together as a unit.
In a similar manner, that’s what God is doing in our life. He allows us to experience trouble we can’t escape, people we love that we can’t fix, and failures and disappointments we think we don’t deserve. In addition to all of that there are bouts of loneliness and despair.  All because He wants to break our stubborn self-will, give up on our own self-sufficiency and fully cast ourselves on Him and Him alone.
Life in the Lord’s army is paradoxical   To receive you must first give. To save your life you must give it away to others.  But the rewards are heavenly – rest, joy (inner peace), and daily fellowship with the Creator of the universe.
Next time you feel God has withdrawn from you remember these three things: (1) God is testing your faith: (2) He is showing you your self-sufficiency and: (3) it is His cue for you to readjust your priorities and pursue Him like never before.  Gaze on Him and be transformed.
“For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.” (2 Cor. 4:18)

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The Paradox of the Abandoned Life

 “He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake shall find it.” (Matthew 10:39 NAS)

 I recently read an illustration that was interesting.  It made me think of a simple principle that we sometimes overlook.

“Suppose you made a fresh pot of coffee, took from the cabinet your favorite coffee cup, then turned to pour your coffee and noticed it was full of hot tea? You really didn’t want tea, nor did you especially enjoy drinking tea.  Then you laid a fresh, clean cereal bowl and proceeded to prepare oatmeal.  When it was ready you turned to pour in the oatmeal and to your surprise the bowl was full of corn flakes.  In your frustration and confusion you wonder why these two containers insist on filling themselves with things you don’t like or want.”

I know the above scenario sounds like a bad dream or a Twilight Zone moment, but it’s really a picture of how most of us run our spiritual lives.  We are saved by Grace but live by performance.  The underlying principal of Grace is emptiness. The law was given to not only show us our sin and shortcomings but to also frustrate us in the pursuit of our own righteousness.

Jesus said “I can do nothing of my own self”.  Jesus had to empty himself and recognize that Jesus the human carpenter has nothing in him that could raise the dead, heal the sick or turn the water into wine. He said, “It is the Father dwelling in Me who is doing His work”.  Jesus was the emptiest vessel to ever appear on earth, having “emptied Himself, taking on the form of a servant”. Jesus was filled with the Father and became the full expression of all that the Father wanted to do through Him, even being obedient unto death.

How does that relate us?

Being schooled in legalism, my approach to the Christian life was. “Lord, forgive me for being weak. I will try to do better, I will try harder, I’ll go to church more, pray more, fast more often, and I will never miss visitation again.”

I was a picture of an empty cup trying to fill itself. Sound familiar? We must come to the place Jesus came to –‘I can do nothing of myself’.  We must stop trying to make this body do something.  We cannot produce the fruit of the Spirit. Our self-effort can only produce self-righteousness.

What if we find ourselves in a period of unfruitfulness or failure?  What if we feel we aren’t being used?  We must acknowledge that we are an empty vessel and you can do nothing.  Be still!  Wait on God; don’t be tempted into trying to fill yourself. Paste on the table of your heart, ‘Without Him I can do nothing’.

Waiting on God to move and fill my cup is the most difficult challenge I face.  Those who know me best know that my flesh pattern is a doer, so I am speaking from experience.

Several years ago when I began conducting the Exchanged Life Conferences I thought I needed to market my conference.  I did the mailing list thing, made phone calls to pastors and generally networked conference dates.  My calendar was full but the conference result was empty.  Yes, I did receive a few, ‘that’s great stuff’ and ‘everyone needs to hear this message’, and I even received some very generous and needed love offerings.  But the touch of God was missing.  Then one day I came to the conclusion that I was not going to solicit another conference date.  I emptied my glass and surrendered my rights and expectations of ever doing a conference again.  I said, ‘Lord, if I ever do a conference again, it will have to be your doings. I am tired…without you I can’t do this’. (I am not saying it is wrong to promote a ministry – but for me at that time in my life this is what I needed to do for a personal breakthrough.)

I will admit there were many weeks that I longed to be in a church presenting the truths that changed my life but I was determined to let God fill my cup.  It wasn’t long that calls began to come into the office and once again I was conducting conferences.  But something was different.  Each conference began to contain ‘God moments’.  I sensed God’s touch and anointing and would often weep during the presentation.  Many thought I was just being passionate about what I was teaching, and to a certain extent I was, but the tears were a result of being overwhelmed by God’s presence. God was blessing what he put together.

You see, it is not God who has left or gone away from you. He hasn’t deserted you.  He is just making it clear that emptiness is necessary to your peace and contentment.  He is setting you on the table as an empty cup.  He has a pot of fresh coffee to fill you at His pleasure and good will.  He is saying, ‘Don’t dare try to fill yourself with tea.’

Have you ever felt inadequate, insecure? How about weak and defeated? Often that is the place the Father wants us to be – a sense of nothingness.  When we see our weakness and unfruitfulness, how tempting it is to try to sort it out ourselves.

We must see our self-defeat and failure as a revelation of our emptiness and with this revelation don’t try to change yourself. Rejoice and be glad, you empty vessel. Be glad for this time of affliction, this time of frustration and fruitlessness.  For when you accept yourself as an empty vessel there is a promise waiting, ‘you shall be filled’…I am He that fills you.”

Madame Guyon, in addressing the issue of abandonment, says, ‘Remember, you must never blame man for anything. No matter what happens, it was neither man nor circumstances that brought it. You must accept everything (except, of course, your own sinfulness) as having come from the Lord.’

Therein lays the paradox. The unsurrendered, unabandoned life is directly opposite to His life that is in you.  Be empty that you might be filled.

Larry Bennett