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Is there anyone reading this who is not faced with a perplexity of some sort? Some of you face serious dilemmas. We want to pray, “Lord, please remove the dilemma.” Usually the answer is “No, not right away.” We must face it, pray over it, think about it, wait on the Lord, make a choice. Sometimes it is an excruciating choice…

Paul said he had been “very thoroughly initiated into the human lot with all its ups and downs” (Philippians 4:12, NEB). He was hard-pressed, bewildered, persecuted, and struck down.

God in His mercy did not choose to remove the dilemmas with which he was faced (some of His greatest mercies are His refusals), but chose instead to make Himself known to Paul because of them, in ways which would strengthen his faith and make him a strengthener and an instrument of peace to the rest of us…

Paul goes on to say:

“It is for your sake that all things are ordered, so that, as the abounding grace of God is shared by more and more, the greater may be the chorus of thanksgiving that ascends to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 4:15, NEB).

Maybe Paul’s testimony, which has cheered countless millions, will cheer somebody who still faces a dilemma he has begged the Lord to remove. All of Paul’s were solved, but not all of them in Paul’s way or Paul’s time, Selah.

~Elisabeth Elliot in “Lord, Please Remove the Dilemma,” September 27 Daily Devotional

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One of the most comforting scriptures I know is from Psalm 56 where it says, “[God], you keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.”

I love that image. Not one tear of yours has escaped the attention of your loving God. He has numbered them and collected them.

And what’s more, He’ll wipe away not just all, but every one of your tears. Because each single tear represents some different sorrow, some unique grief you’ve gone through: maybe the death of a loved one, or a divorce you weren’t expecting, or a life-altering illness.

Each grief is different, and the Bible says that God will atone for every solitary tear. Each one has meaning. So when times of weeping come your way, prepare yourself with these assurances from God’s Word. No tear will be wasted.

~Joni Eareckson Tada in “No Tear Wasted 2“

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Another way to befriend your husband is to offer him your appreciation and loyalty so freely that he doesn’t have to ask or wait for it. He needs to hear and feel your approval. Speak well of him to his family and his friends. Praise him in front of his children.

What does your family hear from you about your husband? Is he late for dinner again? You can have one of two responses: “Poor Daddy—he’s working so hard. Let’s stop and pray for him.” Or “Poor me—I can’t believe it’s happening again.”

As you offer him your appreciation, let others be the ones who try to improve him: his boss, his colleagues, his customers, his family. He may be all too aware of his own shortcomings. He needs a wife who accepts him and loves him for who he is, not only for what she’s hoping he’ll become…

Let’s speak well of our husbands. Let’s offer them the loyalty and appreciation of a deep and lasting friendship.

~Jani Ortlund in Fearlessly Feminine

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Taking for granted all the temporal provisions and spiritual blessings that God has so richly bestowed on us, and so failing to continually give Him thanks, is one of our “acceptable” sins. In fact, far too many Christians wouldn’t think of it as sin.

Yet Paul, in his description of a Spirit-filled person, said we are to “[give] thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20). Note the words always and everything. That means our whole lives should be ones of continually giving thanks.

Giving thanks to God for both His temporal and spiritual blessings in our lives is not just a nice thing to do—it is the moral will of God. Failure to give Him the thanks due Him is sin. It may seem like a benign sin to us because it doesn’t harm anyone else. But it is an affront and insult to the One who created us and sustains us every second of our lives.

~Jerry Bridges in Respectable Sins

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Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. -James 4:10

Hit the concordance key on your computer Bible software, type in the word “pride” or “proud,” and watch a zillion verses pop up. All of them detail how the Lord detests haughty eyes, boastful tongues, and hearts bloated by ego. Never was there a character trait more opposite of God. 

In our best moments, we want very much to be like God, to be godly…yet what an invitation to pride! That’s why it always requires humility… 

An old Puritan wrote: “Let me never forget that the heinousness of sin lies not so much in the nature of sin committed, as in the greatness of the person sinned against.”

If we’re looking for humility, we don’t gaze inward to see how greatly we’ve missed the mark. We gaze at the Lord Jesus. We drag ourselves to the cross where our pride is suffocated! “Self” becomes “hid with Christ in God,” and humility is the result. 

Asking the Holy Spirit to roll up His sleeves and deal with pride in your hearts, may involve several things (I speak from experience!). It may include opening yourself to the valid criticism of others, openly confessing your faults, or inviting your spouse or close friend to point out your blind spots. Easy? Never! Rewarding? Always.

~Joni Eareckson Tada in “A Spirit of Humility,” Joni and Friends Daily Devotional, May 27 2012

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Godly character in every area of our lives will show up within the four walls of our homes. We can’t say we love God if we don’t manifest His love to our family members or if we allow bitterness to fester in our hearts toward them.

For the most part, we don’t get to choose our family members, as we do our “friends.” Yet we are called to love and care for those in our families, in spite of their personalities, their idiosyncrasies, or their character flaws. And that’s not always easy!

…Regardless of your family heritage, it’s important to realize that your relatives are not the result of “genetic chance,” but that you have been placed into the family of God’s sovereign choosing for you, and that He wants to use your family—rough edges and all—as a means to sanctify you and conform you into the likeness of His Son.

Embracing that truth will help you cultivate a grateful heart for those who make up your family.

~Nancy Leigh DeMoss in Choosing Gratitude

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As we think of sins of the tongue, let’s begin with the one most people think of first: gossip. Gossip is the spreading of unfavorable information about someone else, even if that information is true. However, gossip is often based on rumor, which makes the sin even worse.

Indulging in gossip seems to feed our sinful ego, especially when the information we’re passing along is negative. It makes us feel self-righteous by comparison.

And then there are those times when we disguise our gossip as, “I want to share this with you for your prayers.” If we know something negative about someone, we should pray about it. But we should not spread around the bad news.

Ephesians 4:29 not only tells us what kinds of speech to put off, it also tells us what to put on. It is only such speech that builds up and gives grace to those who hear it. Therefore, when we are tempted to gossip, we should ask ourselves, Will what I’m about to say tend to tear down or build up the person I’m about to talk about?

~Jerry Bridges in Respectable Sins

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Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:25-26) 

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to say with the psalmist, “God, I am full! I’m stuffed full of blessings and I can’t think of anything else I desire on earth besides you.” Oh, to be that satisfied.

When you become satiated in Christ, it is evidence that contentment has the definite upper hand in your heart. When Jesus says to you, “I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to me will never go hungry,” he is talking about gratification of the soul (John 6:35).

To be satisfied in Christ means being full. Never wanting more. We need not ever be hungry for “Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3). The role of the Word of God is to feed faith’s appetite for Christ. 

Contentment consists not in great wealth, but in having very few wants in this life. A divine arithmetic for contentment is to subtract your earthly wants so that something of greater value can be attained: satisfaction in the Lord.

~Joni Eareckson Tada in “I’m Full,” Joni and Friends Daily Devotional, July 23 2012

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Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 6:6 that “godliness with contentment is great gain.” What do we gain? We gain a sense of calmness, quietude, a certain independence from our circumstances that will guard our hearts from coveting anything more or anything else.

Contentment allows us to abandon our will and cheerfully embrace God’s will. Contentment means that our emotions are not ruled by our environment. We gain peace of mind no matter what our circumstances (Philippians 4:11-13). Personal communion with God is the garden in which godliness with contentment grows because God is so worth having. As it sprouts, we learn more and more how to abandon our own will and embrace our Father’s. And that is great gain.

Contentment opens up for us the experience of Hebrews 13:5: “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”

God’s presence is enough. No more nail biting, no more chafing, no more restless nights. You see, our real need is not more things, but God himself.

~Jani Ortlund in Fearlessly Feminine

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When women—sometimes well-meaning, earnest, truth seeking ones say “Get out of the house and do something creative, find something meaningful, something with more direct access to reality,” it is a dead giveaway that they have missed the deepest definition of creation, of meaning, of reality. And when you start seeing the world as opaque, that is, as an end in itself instead of as transparent, when you ignore the Other World where this one ultimately finds its meaning, of course housekeeping (and any other kind of work if you do it long enough) becomes tedious and empty…

The routines of housework and of mothering may be seen as a kind of death, and it is appropriate that they should be, for they offer the chance, day after day, to lay down one’s life for others. Then they are no longer routines. By being done with love and offered up to God with praise, they are thereby hallowed as the vessels of the tabernacle were hallowed—not because they were different from other vessels in quality or function, but because they were offered to God.

A mother’s part in sustaining the life of her children and making it pleasant and comfortable is no triviality. It calls for self-sacrifice and humility, but it is the route, as was the humiliation of Jesus, to glory.

~Elisabeth Elliot in “On Motherhood and Profanity“

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Remember this: Coals stay hot if they stay close together, but they grow cold if they’re isolated. You know those last coals left in your fire? If you want to keep them burning, you push them together. If you let one of those hot coals get off by itself, pretty soon the fire will go out.

That’s the way it is in the body of Christ when it comes to revival. That’s why you need to stay close to other people who are serious about seeking God.

You need to have among your friends those who are pursuing God with all their hearts. Why? Because you need the encouragement, you need the accountability, you need the prayer, and you need people in your face saying, “Why are you whining? Are you bitter? How’s your time with God been? Are you walking in the Spirit? How can I pray for you? What’s God doing in your heart?”

We need to be asking each other those questions, keeping our hearts close to each other as we seek to stay close to the Lord.

~Nancy Leigh DeMoss in “The Soil“

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Gratitude is the overflow of a humble heart, just as surely as an ungrateful, complaining spirit flows out of a proud heart.

Proud people are wrapped up in themselves. They think much of themselves and little of others. If people or circumstances don’t please or suit them, they are prone to whine or become resentful. [James 4:6-10] reminds us that “God opposes the proud” —the concept is that He stiff-arms them, He keeps them at a distance, He “sets Himself in battle array” against them.

When we choose to “humble ourselves,” as we are exhorted in James 4, God draws near to us and pours His grace into our lives. His Spirit does a cleansing, purifying work in our hearts, gives us victory over the noisy, demanding tyrant of self, and enables us to be thankful people, even in the midst of challenging circumstances.

Humble people are wrapped up in Christ. A humble person thinks much of God and others, and little, if at all, of himself. He recognizes that anything he has is better than he deserves. He does not feel anyone owes him anything. He does not feel entitled to have more, or for life to be easy, or for everyone to love him and treat him well. He is grateful for the least little kindness that is extended to him, knowing it is more than he deserves.

~Nancy Leigh DeMoss in Choosing Gratitude

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Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits–who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. ~Psalm 103:1-5 

After years of quadriplegia, my bones are feeling tired. But whenever I struggle with pain, I pray, “Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” I force all parts of me to bless the Lord, even my lower back when it’s aching—it’s one way of making certain God receives glory during physically agonizing times. 

Physical pain can cloud our convictions about God’s benefits, which is why I must continually stir my soul to remember them. God has pardoned all my sin, rescued, restored, crowned me with his love, and healed all my diseases. Does this mean the pain goes away? Not immediately, but I have the sure promise that just as Jesus rose from the grave with a new body, so I will one day rise with no more pain or heartache. For now, as Paul says in Romans 8, we groan, waiting for the redemption God has promised. 

Nevertheless, our groans can glorify God! Next time your muscles ache, your head throbs, or your feet cramp, force these body parts to join your soul in praising God: “Praise the Lord, O my soul; and even my sore back blesses you. Every part of me blesses your holy name!” You will be stirring your soul to recall God’s benefits. You will be offering a “sacrifice of praise” (Hebrews 13:15). 

~Joni Eareckson Tada in “Praise Him with Every Part,” Joni and Friends Daily Devotional, July 28 2012

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Real love calls us to keep short accounts with our husbands. “It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Cor. 13:5). There is a certain earthiness to marriage that often relaxes the courtesies we naturally use with those outside our home. The daily routines and pressures of life tempt us to be uptight, rude, and withdrawn with each other.

Do you operate on a short fuse? God calls you to rise above your explosive feelings of indignation. Wipe clean the mental list of past hurts you keep harbored in your heart. The fearlessly feminine woman approaches her husband with a graciousness, courtesy, and respect that rises above her mood swings.

Ask God to help you avoid unnecessary quarrels that bring discord to your relationship. Keep short accounts with the man you are going to spend the rest of your life with. Offer up to God your frustration over those incurable character traits you had thought would change over time. Live your marriage by faith—faith in the God who called you to this commitment and who has not abandoned you in it. He will help you honor your marriage with grace and kindness.

~Jani Ortlund in Fearlessly Feminine

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And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

Hebrews 10:24-25 

Today’s verse underscores why there’s such a thing as friendship. It’s what we do in the body of Christ. We are to consider —think creatively about—spurring one another on in our Christian walk. Christian friendships are never idle. Our relationships with our brothers and sisters in the Lord are either moving onward and upward, or we are diminishing each other. 

We are to see our friends in the light of what God intends for them to become. We must not become complacent or disillusioned when friends disappoint us—like anyone, our friends are fallen image-bearers, marred and defaced by the world, the flesh and the devil. But God is in the business of re-creating them. His goal is to restore His image—the image of Christ—in our loved ones.

It is our role to join with God in His glorious work to redeem the people we love, as we encourage them with vision for their growth in Christ (Ephesians 4:15). We can help enhance the “new creation” in them (II Corinthians 5:17). We can push and prod our friends through our prayers (James 5:16). We must never let our passion for our friendships wane because we lose this marvelous sense of purpose. We must constantly consider ways we can spur one another on. 

~Joni Eareckson Tada in “Friendship Has a Purpose,” Joni and Friends Daily Devotional, August 19, 2012

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