Pray Now: 10 Prayers for the Church of Ukraine

Pray these prayers right now, fast and pray, cry out to God on their behalf. 

"Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." -Hebrews 13:3

10. Father, in the name of Jesus, we pray that you would supernaturally provide for the body of Christ in Ukraine. Protect their churches from bomb blasts, protect the people from bullets, feed and cloth those who are going without, lead the body of Christ in Ukraine to treasure-troves of food, water, shelter, and safety in this crisis. Amen.

9. Father, we pray that the Ukrainian church would shine very, very brightly in this dark time for the country. We pray the Ukrainian church would be living witnesses to the power of Christ right now. We pray that the lost in Ukraine would look in awe at the faith of the Ukrainian church right now and be absolutely amazed. Then they would turn and ask, and receive Christ as their saviors as well, by the hundreds and thousands, in Jesus name, amen.

8. Lord, we pray for the children of the Ukraine as they face great danger, and as their parents worry for them. We pray God you would preserve their innocence through this, that you would keep them save in bomb shelters and subways, that they would see hope in their parents eyes, and find hope in Christ Jesus during this chaos, that they might learn to sing, 'Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so,' in Jesus name, amen.

7. God we loose your angels in the authority of Jesus Christ to fight across the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, and Donetsk, and the smaller settlements, that these angelic forces would strike down demons and principalities and powers of the air in the name of Jesus God rise up and defeat the enemy forces across Ukraine, we cancel their schemes, and stomp upon the evil one in Jesus name, declaring victory, binding every demon across Ukraine, cutting off their schemes and coming into agreement with the perfect will of God, in Jesus name, amen. 

6. Lord, we pray for the ukrainian soldiers and volunteers fighting for their nation we pray God you would supernaturally protect them, provide provision and safety and skill in combat and in care for one another, and we also pray for russian soldiers who belong to you, and those who are called by you, that you would protect them from death, and lead them toward your heart, toward safety, and healthy, and salvation, in Jesus name, amen.

5. Father, we pray for the hospital workers, emergency crews, police officers, firefighters, EMS workers, red cross, salvation army, and other charitable groups that are most needed now, God, we pray for divine encounters with people who are injured or hurting, people who are afraid, or separated from loved ones, that you would use your service workers, with hearts filled with compassion, to be that vital hand of help in the darkest of moments in people's lives, in Jesus Christ name, amen.

4. Father, we pray for the president of the Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, thank you God for his zeal and boldness in defending his nation and standing for his people. God we pray you would give him great wisdom and strength and knowledge and zeal. Please protect him and his family. Please give him everything he needs to stand boldly in this moment, and may he know Christ as his savior. Lord we also pray for Vladimir Putin, that you would soften his heart, and change his path, that you would make him like nebuchadnezzar, to be called to repentance, to give glory to the God of heaven, God may you transform Putin, and make him a Christ follower in the name of Jesus, amen. 

3. Lord we pray that the church of Ukraine would have great faith right now in their time of need. Please protect them as they hide, as they flee, as they stand, as they serve the hurting God, may they be the hands and feet of Jesus in this time of the country's sorrow, in Jesus name, amen.

2. God we pray for the thousands upon thousands of people who are becoming refugees because of this crisis. Lord we pray you would lead them to safety in various countries where they find friends, safety, and fellow members of the body of Christ who will help them rebuild their lives and find new hope in the renewal of Christ Jesus, in Jesus name, amen.

1. Lord God Almighty, we praise you in the storm God. We praise you because you are at work even in the darkest of times. Lord, have mercy on your body of Christ in Ukraine, truly God, as they suffer, as they seek refuge, as they go without, we as the body of Christ elsewhere, suffer as though we are with them in the subways and bunkers and hideouts. God, we suffer with them, and we cry out for your mercy upon them. May we hear of miracles in the Ukraine, may we hear of healings in the Ukraine, may we hear of revival in the Ukraine, may we hear of your divine hand powerfully upon the Ukrainian body of Christ and the lost and hurting in that nation now, and forever more in Jesus Christ name, we enforce this in the heavenly realms, in Jesus authority and name, amen! 

Hebrew Word Study: Chalam' To Dream

Did you know that you’ll spend about 1/3 of your life sleeping? Yes, we all spend massive amounts of time, in the night usually, passed out, face smashed against a pillow, unconscious.

And eventually when we reach REM sleep, we begin to experience dreams. Some of us will remember many of our dreams, some of us often forget most of our dreams. But it’s clear that the mind stays active while we sleep. We process things emotionally, thoughts in our minds play out in dreams, and we even can experience intimacy with God, while we sleep. We begin to have spiritual dreams.

And that today is our Hebrew word, called “Chalam” which is pronounced khaw-lam.' This Hebrew word means “to dream.” It can mean three different things in regard to dreams. It can mean an ordinary dream. It can mean a prophetic dream which is a dream from God. And it can also mean a false dream, a dream from Satan.

What’s interesting is that Chalam can also mean “to be healthy.” Or to be “restored to health.” That tells us a lot about dreams right there, doesn’t it? They can be ordinary. They can be from God or from the enemy. And it also tells us that dreaming is restorative to our body and soul.

Our scripture today from the book of Job makes reference to the concept of dreaming.

Job 33:15-16 NIV says “In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds, 16 he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings.”

In the King James, “15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;16 Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction,”

Chaim Bentorah writes, “Looking further at this word for “dream” I find that the chet represents bonding and binding with God, the lamed represents instruction from heaven, and the mem represents the hidden mysteries of God. It is in our dreams that we bind ourselves to God as He reveals His hidden mysteries to us” (Bentorah, p. 127).

Now of course we know that the vast majority of our dreams are not from God. They are simply dreams that reflect our thoughts and actions during the day. Many of us I’m have had stress dreams, where we’re hiding from a tornado, or falling off a cliff, or dreams where we see old places where we used to live or visit, I often see my grandma check’s living room, my grandma Steckbauer’s kitchen, my aunt colleen’s old house, the house I grew up in with my parents. Most of these dreams are simply reflections on memories, or things we’re thinking about during the day. You might say the mind is processing those things.

Now, you can also have something called a demonic dream. This is a dream planted by demons. I’ll share that this has been a week where almost every night that I’m having nightmares, many of them demonic dreams. These can happen if we’re opening ourselves up to demonic attack, so you have to ask yourself, are you watching movies or reading books about vampires or zombies or witch craft or spells or other occult imagery, that may be opening you up to demonic attack? That is an important question. Also certain drugs and chemicals can open us up to demonic attack. Certain medications may produce a high that opens us up to demonic influence. Do you occult symbols in your home, like a ying-yang, or a Ouija board, or shirts or clothing with skull and crossbones on them?

But in any case, even if you aren’t opening yourself up to those things, sometimes the enemy can plant dreams anyway. You’ll usually notice while your dreaming that you feel an oppressiveness. And something will feel unusually dark in the dream. I will tend to see zombies attacking me, or I will find myself in a dark room, and afraid for no apparent reason, or I’ll feel something very scary near me and I’ll be afraid, just last night I dream I was in my old bed room and it was very dark and I couldn’t find anyone, and then I was trying to close my door and something was opening it and trying to get in. Demons can also create dreams where they appear as a handsome man or a beautiful woman, and you engage sexually with them, then they morph into a monster or creature. Scary stuff. So if you’re under demonic oppression in your dreams, pray, and if you can realize that you’re dreaming, you can stop in the dream, pray, and God will wake you up.

But perhaps you’ve had a dream from God. Have you? If you ever do, you’ll know it was from God. It will be different from a normal dream. You’ll feel something is special about it. I encourage you to immediately write it down if you do. Otherwise you may eventually forget it. So do write it down. Reflect on it. Pray on it. And God will reveal the meaning to you.

One of the events of the Bible that really hit me hard was Jacob’s dream from God. Do you remember it? Here it is from Genesis.

Genesis 28:10-15 says, “10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it[c] stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.[d] 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

I’ll share one dream I had from God. It was while I was working with a youth group in Elgin every week, and I was teaching them apologetics, it was so much fun, got their imaginations going, wondering about who God was and what heaven was like. It was really a great time.

But one time I fell asleep. And I saw myself in a church and everyone in the church was waiting, in dark, and many in the church were children, seated on the chairs waiting. And I sat down and look down to the right, and it was an infinite church down to the left, and I looked right, and it was infinite chairs and chairs to infinity. And then I looked up and it was a giant star filled sky. And I realized at that moment that each of us were like the stars, we were the fulfillment of the word given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he would make their descendants as numerous as the stars. And we were all waiting for the second coming of Jesus. Amazing.

A dream from God can also be a warning. I remember when I was about 18, 19, I was becoming a troublemaker. I was smoking pot and cigarettes and drinking a lot with my friends. And I had this dream one night that I was in my car, in the dark, and a light popped on in the window, and I was so afraid because it meant something terrible in my dream.

Then, I think it was about a year later. I was with a friend of mine, and we had parked at the edge of the water at this park, at about 11 at night. And we were smoking pot in my car and looking at the stars and the water. And as I was taking a hit from the marijuana pipe a light popped on in my window. It was a police officer, and he had seen our car from across the lake, and gone over and we were both put in handcuffs, and I would later end in jail for 30 days because of that. The dream was a warning.

So in conclusion today, pay attention to your dreams. Invite God to speak in your dreams. Protect yourself from demonic influence in dreams. And realize through your dreams God is rejuvenating you, as you “Chalam.”

Key Source for the Article: Hebrew Word Study by Chaim Bentorah

7 Aspects of How Reality will Function in the New City of God

What will heaven be like? That is the great question. My mind is there much of the time. And what about hell? What would hell be like? These are fascinating questions to me. They are practical rather than mystical or far away. They are directly real to me. And I hope it's real to you. It's the truth about everything. So I think it's wise to consider it.

Let's consider heaven. What will it be like?

1. You will Still be You - Permanent mature Adult Age - no Law of Death

Did you know your bodies have an infinite ability to renew themselves? Isn’t that interesting? Every cell in your body is programmed to replace itself before it dies off, that’s why skin cells flake off and are replaced by new ones. But of course we know that we do grow old and die. That is the current reality, we are under something called the “law of death.” In fact all of creation is subject to the law of death, animals, plants, all of life.

But in heaven the law of death is cancelled. So your body will permanently renew itself, you’ll look at you do or did around age 22-30, I believe. Right when your body is fully grown, that will be your permanent appearance.

You will still be you. Your personality will be in tact. Your soul will be the same. You will have a physical body, but it’s a new one. No pain.

2. Enhanced Senses - Enrapturing Beauty

So we’ll be there, but what about the environment around us? Well, first of all it’s important to understand that paradise is not floating on clouds in the sky. Those are artistic depictions of paradise. But the way the Bible talks about paradise is very physical. But enhanced, almost like what Eden might’ve been like. I can’t really describe it. But I’ll share a quotation from the book “Amazing Visions” Booth wrote:

“I am constrained to say no human eye ever beheld such beauty, no earthly ear ever heard such music, no human heart ever experienced such ecstasy as it was my privilege to see and hear and feel during the first hours I spent in the celestial country. Above me was the loveliest of blue skies. Around me was an atmosphere so balmy that it made my whole physical frame vibrate with pleasure. By the bank of roses, on which I found myself reposing, there flowed the clearest and purest of rivers, which seemed to dance with delight to the murmurings of its own waters. The trees that grew on its banks were covered with the greenest foliage and laden with most delicious fruit, sweet to my taste beyond all earthly sweetness. By lifting my hand I could pluck and eat the fruit to my heart’s delight. In every direction, above and around, the air was not only laden with the richest of odors yielded by the loveliest of flowers but also rendered vocal with sweetest sounds and filled with fairest forms. Floating about me were beautiful beings I felt by instinct were angels and archangels, seraph and seraphim, cherub and cherubim, together with the blood-washed and perfected saints who had come from the world below, sometimes far away and sometimes drawing nearer. The blue sky appeared at times to be full of white-winged, happy, worshiping, joyous beings, while the whole country—apparently of limitless extent—seemed to be filled with a blissful ecstasy that could only be realized by being experienced.”

That sounds pretty great doesn’t it? That’s where I want to be.

Of the city of God, Revelation 21:11-14 says, “11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”

3. Fellowship, Companionship, Perfect Societal Structure, and Group Worship

So we see ourselves, as ourselves, and the direct environment around us, beautiful beyond imagining. Next we look at the sociology of heaven. What is the civilization in paradise like? Because it is a city, with millions upon millions of people. If I had to guess probably about 1 billion or more at least. Massive population, for perspective, the population of the USA is about 350 million.

In paradise, new heavens, new Earth, city of God, there is one leader, King Jesus Christ. You also have the elders who surround the throne of God. I’m assuming there will be different sections of the city. But there will be peace between all people. Some will be closer to God, others further away, but everyone will be perfectly content with their reward.

It will be a perfect system. No violence, no death, no crime, no poverty. Why? Because everyone in the city will be pure. Which leads into our next point.

4. No more Sin of any Kind - All is Perfect, Holy, Pure, all is Right

No more sin. Revelation 21:27 “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” No sin can enter the city of God.

The time of sorrow, which is now, will be over.

Revelation 21:4 says, “4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

The curse will be over. We’re under the curse, the fall, right now. But that will be over in paradise. It says in Revelation 22:3-5 “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.”

Everything will be perfect, holy, pure, and good. This is the whole goal of the salvation in Christ, to wash away the penalty for our sin, and through sanctification to make us fit for heaven, to make us ready for heaven, where there will be no more crime, no more lying, no more resentment or anger, or tiredness or mental health issues, or suicidal thoughts or sexual immorality. All that is done for. But you can see why someone who refuses Jesus can’t go there, they would bring their sin with them, and destroy heaven by bringing sin into it.

5. God's Full Presence - Permanent uninterrupted Joy - Infinitely Renewing levels of Happiness

This is probably my single favorite part of heaven, God’s full presence, 24/7. We get hints of God’s presence here in worship times, prayer and fasting times, and so on. But in this life we see what the Bible calls “through a mirror, darkly.” We don’t see the fullness of God. In fact for us on Earth we can’t see God’s face and live. But in paradise we will live before God’s full presence.

What does this mean? Constant awe and joy and peace as we enjoy the love of God. It will pour into us day and night like sunshine. You ever go outside on a bright sunny day and just bask in the constant sunlight. It lasts for hours and hours, and it’s wonderful. We feel warm all over, we smile, and it’s a constant.

Similarly in heaven, we’ll bask in the permanent presence of God. What that will be like exactly… hard to say. Obviously it will feel wonderful.

And of heaven is constantly renewing levels of happiness. As we all know God is infinite. And in the same way, the sorrows of hell are infinite. Everyday for people in hell, will be a new level of pain, sorrow, regret, and misery. It will keep getting worse and worse into eternity. It has no end.

But in the same way in paradise, happiness and joy have no end. They are always new. Always different and special. Just as we walk along the bank of a river on a sunny day, it gives us a sort of joy, differently we climb a steep hill, in a breeze, a different kind of joy, listening to a beautiful song, a different kind of joy and satisfaction, hugging a friend, kissing a lover, all different kinds of happiness and joy, that constantly are new each day, into infinity, infinite levels of happiness, that just seem to keep getting better year by year, through all of time, forever. Isn’t that wonderful? And for those in hell, how terrible indeed.

6. City Layout, Garden of Eden, Tree of Life, Mansions, Throne room of God

Revelation 21:22-23 says, “I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp”

The city itself is the temple of God. The city dimensions indicate that, but we’ll get there in a second. In general, what is the layout of the city? There are various foundations and structures, and gates, and so on. But let’s speculate.

I’m speculating here, but I’m assuming there will be city streets, parks, public structures, worship centers, prayer centers, administrative structures, libraries, trails to walk, areas to fly, video centers to view recordings of past events, the throne room of God at the center of the city, and of course the mansions of the saints, the houses prepared by Jesus for each of the saints coming into paradise. I’m sure we’ll gather at peoples houses and have meals, and fellowship times, praise times, music, entertainment, and Jesus I’m sure will join us himself at these events at people’s mansions.

Revelation 22:1-2 says, “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”

At the center of the city, we have the throne of God, from the thrown is a waterfall, and a river that leads to the tree of life, where it bears fruit for us to eat.

Revelation 21: 11-21, “It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. 17 The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick. 18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.”

Massive, cube-shaped city. Astonishing isn’t it? But quite real.

7. Continued Quests, Adventures, and New Levels of Understanding

Lastly, the adventure continues. It doesn’t end in heaven, it’s just beginning! No one knows what God has prepared for those who love Him. No mind can conceive of it. No heart can understand it. But it is truly something very special. It’s not a boring end, but a whole new beginning, and off we launch into an infinite future.

Revelation 22:4-5,12-13 says, “They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

12 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

They will reign continuously, forever and ever. The I am who I am says so. The originator of everything. Think about that. God is the “I am” of eternity. Nothing else would exist without the fact he infinitely exists. Try understanding that. No one can. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says no one can truly understand from beginning to end all God has done. Why? Because there is no beginning to it and no end to it. I can’t understand it. Not at all. I don’t even understand why God exists or where God came from, why, because God didn’t come from anywhere, he’s always been, which is fundamentally beyond my ability to comprehend. I can’t understand infinity. No one can. Only God can.

So, in conclusion, the adventure begins there in the New City of God. And so it will continue, but what it will be like, is not something I can describe or comprehend. But I will ask God for hints about that, and God delights in revealing his secrets and mysteries to those who seek Him (Amos 3:7, proverb 25:2, Daniel 2:28). So… my indication to you today is, Ask God about heaven, and eternity, and paradise, and see what unique little mystery he reveals to you. Then come tell me, because I want to know more about it!

Hebrew Word Study: See Ra'ah

“And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” 3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”

5 Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” 8 So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.”

Jezebel is absolutely horrified by the fact that this great prophet, Elijah, defeated her false prophets, in his greatest victory for the kingdom of Israel. Elijah had been so bold in facing down all the evil in his time. But when Elijah “saw” that Jezebel was threatening his life, he ran.

And that brings us to our Hebrew word for today, “Ra’ah” which means “to see.” But there is a dual meaning here, because this Hebrew word can also mean to tremble, or to be afraid.

Elijah saw the situation with Jezebel threatening his life. And for him, this meant that he perceived something spiritually, and something physically. He perceived that his life was physically in danger. But he also seemed to perceive something spiritually. The meaning of Ra’ah is dual in that the seeing can mean worldly seeing and/or spiritually seeing. So Elijah runs for his life, but, he runs toward a spiritually defense position. He runs to mount Horeb, the mountain of God.

And that is my first point for you today. If you’re on the edge, if you’re struggling and you don’t know what to do, sometimes it’s OK to simply retreat into hiding for a while. Just make sure you retreat to the right place. Take it to God directly. Elijah ran to meet with God. To the mountain of God, mount Horeb, which was in Judah.

Are you someone who lets fear control your life? For most people of the world, they will by fear. Fear, anxiety, anxious rushing about from one thing to another, and we saw that fear on full display, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fear took over, and rouse so high, it formed a hysteria that some still seem to be caught up in. Will they ever leave it? Or will they be hysterically afraid for the rest of their lives?

That’s the second point today: We can’t let fear control our lives. We simply can’t. But as Christians we will face fear. It’s a reality of this fallen sinful world. But we can’t let fear control who we are. We can’t let it define us.

We can keep fear under the control of God, by fearing God first. If we fear God, and tremble before God, we don’t have to be afraid of any person, or any situation. Yes, we will feel fear from time to time, but we don’t have to be controlled by it. Jesus Christ has broken the power of fear over us.

Elijah was afraid, but he fled toward God, not away from Him. And when He met with God, he was so disappointed in himself, in his own fear, that led him to flee from Jezebel, that he said to God, “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”

1st Kings 19:4 “He himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”

I have said this in my life many, many times to God. Take my life Lord. I’m no better than my ancestors. Usually it’s after I’ve stumbled into some temporary temptation, or if I outright stumble into sin, like we sometimes do as Christians, because our flesh is weak, I find myself, I think rightly saying to God, I’m no better than my ancestors. I’m no better than the people of this messed up world who do so much evil.

But that’s where God’s grace comes in. His scandalous grace. It isn’t the end at that moment, even though it may feel that way, God knows my weakness. And he invites me to turn again to Him, to run to His mountain, which is Him, in Jesus Christ, and to find forgiveness afresh and anew. And despite the fact that it seems true to me, that I’m no better than my ancestors, and I deserve to die, never-the-less God says I’m changing you into the likeness of my Son. You are still like them in your flesh, but in my Spirit you are alive and new and different.

But as we fall at God’s feet in despair, like Elijah did, we can do something very special, which is my next point to you today: Give it all over to God.

Lord I am not enough. I can’t do it alone. I give over all of myself to you, with all my flaws.

Elijah made it to Horeb, after 40 days of journeying, it says in verse 9:

9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

How similar we are to the people of Israel as they journeyed through the wilderness with Moses. Just as we turn to enter our promised land, we run for our lives in fear, despite all we’ve seen, we’re terrified and we flee.

What am I doing here? You might ask yourself. Why did I run? Why am I hiding in this cave?

It’s through these baffling experiences of life, of fear, of trauma, of death, of doubt, of sin, of weakness, that as we wrestle with these baffling, shocking realities of life on Earth, we eventually encounter God, as we seek Him through the struggle.

If you are in that dark trial, fleeing, struggling, make sure you seek God in the struggle. And in the abrasiveness, the cold, the oily mess, you may yet find yourself in a cave, and yet a light appears, and the God of the universe asks you, “What are you doing here?”

And after God posed that question to Elijah, God revealed himself in one of the most mysterious scriptures of the Bible, where we see a storm, an earthquake, a heavy wind, and then a soft, small voice. God’s glory comes, and we’re amazed, and transformed by God.

And the journey continues. My final point today: God will transform you through the mess, after you’ve sought him diligently. And then, the journey continues.

The spiritual life is like two dogs, one dog is named fear, the other dog is named faith. They are fighting. One will keep you, one will kill you. Which dog will win? The one that you feed. Feed the faith dog, in prayer, Bible reading, seeking God, church, and so on, feed the fear dog with television, social media, news, drugs, etc. Which will you feed? In the critical moment, seek God, and you will be transformed.