God’s promise for Week 5:
"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Phil. 1:6)
This week we will be challenged to let God into areas of our hearts that we have perhaps kept hidden from Him. Let's trust and believe that God is "working within us, His Spirit deeply and gently within us" to heal and to restore and to change.
Day 29
Day 30
Day 31
Day 32
Day 33
Day 34
Day 35
Day 29
He heals us
“The LORD…heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name." (Ps 147: 2-4)
We are all battered and torn to some extent just by living in this fallen world. All of us have hurt others and all of us have been hurt. For some, the pain is so great that it has crippled them, and for others, the wounds are hidden far behind a smiling façade. Today, let’s be challenged to let go of our pain, because, whether we are crippled by it, or spend all our energy trying to hide it, pain can easily consume our lives. God wants to free us from the prison of our pain so that he can use us to bring His healing light to a hurting world. Read again our verse for today. Don’t you love the imagery in it? The same powerful God who hung the stars in the sky, also gave each one of them a name. This Psalm should fill us with such hope! The God we serve is both able to heal us, and is personally interested enough in us to do just that. As powerful as He is, He is also that gentle. He doesn’t only expose our pain, He faithfully heals and restores us. Let’s trust God enough to know that He is both willing and able to heal us from the pain of our pasts. Let’s decide today that we are going to look forward instead of backward, “forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead" (Phil. 3:13). Let’s choose today to believe the words of God when He says, “I am the Lord that heals you" (Exodus 15:25-27), rather than the lies of the devil who wants us to stay crippled by our pain. I know it is tempting to keep our wounds hidden away, but we need to remember what happens when a wound is left untreated—it will eventually poison us.
Prayer:
Lord, help me to trust you enough to give you my pain. Take it and make my life be surrendered to serving Christ for His glory. Amen.
Day 30
He changes our hearts
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." Ezekiel 36:26
The following was written by a person who desired her heart to be changed by God in her relationship with her husband.
The New Testament is filled with the miracles of Jesus. He healed the sick, cast out demons, and even raised the dead. These are the acts that come to mind when the word miracle is mentioned. Today I want to focus on what I think is the greatest miracle of all: that God can change a human heart. Even more miraculous is that He can change mine. Has it ever happened to you that you begin to pray for a difficult situation or an impossible relationship and as time goes on, though the situation remains unchanged, and the people remain seemingly impossible, somehow it just doesn’t seem so difficult anymore? In my life, it seems as though God has answered my prayers by working within my own heart much more often than by changing the external circumstances that I am faced with. It isn’t easy, though, is it? When God shines his light into some dark corner of my heart, it is painful. In the past, I have described this process “having my skin peeled off". God scrapes away at our hearts to remove the filth and the lies and the pride so that we can become more like Jesus. How many of us are trying to serve God but we’ve never let him change our hearts? We say we follow Jesus, but we’re unkind to our spouse. We say we follow Jesus, but we’re dishonest to people. We say we follow Jesus, but our hearts are made of stone. Last year, after my 40 day fast, God immediately took me to my relationship with my husband. God had trusted me with this incredible man and I was just not loving him like I should have been. God showed me that I cared more about myself than I did about him. What followed was painful, but I knew that, like an abscessed tooth that must be pulled, I had to allow God to clean up that area of my life. Even though it was painful, I knew that He was doing it because He loved me too much to leave me the way I was. He chipped away at the stone of my heart until he found what he was looking for: a heart of flesh. Though I still struggle every single day with selfishness, I know that God changed my heart during that time. I want to share with you a poem that I wrote about that time of painful heart change in my life. I hope that it encourages you to trust that God, the powerful Creator, is also the gentle Restorer.
The Restorer
You seek to rebuild me for I am broken like a piece of furniture – once a treasure standing in its place with dignity, overwhelming in its natural beauty. The years pass and the treasure becomes a once-treasure—the years of neglect stripping it of its purity. Plastic flowers adorn its top—their vase scratching the once flawless surface. A coat of yellow paint meant to beautify now hides the natural perfection of the grain. The raw beauty of the wood is forgotten—hidden from sight and lost to memory.
Painful is the sight of the once-treasure and so it is dragged up the narrow stairs into the attic—its home now an unremarkable corner occupied by worms and dust. As the attic door closes, the moist dust begins its acidy decay and the worms make the wood their home. The once-treasure is forsaken--forgotten to all but You.
The years pass slowly for the once-treasure, alone in the dusty dark of the attic. Sight of it brings painful reminders of the yellow paint of neglect and the gaudy flowers of abuse and the plastic vase of transgression that tainted and scarred and bent—and so the attic door is locked and the once-treasure fades—forgotten to all but You.
Hidden for years, yet finally the day comes when a triangle of dust-flecked light invades the dim corner of the once-treasure’s attic home. The eyes that find the once-treasure are not filled with blame, but with recognition—and kindness.
You blow off the thick layer of dust
You run your scarred and calloused Carpenter’s hand along the blistered worm damaged surface—
You bend closer – there beneath the gaudy colors you see a minute patch of true brown – the grain strong and sure. You smile.
You have not forgotten.
You straighten up, and as you roll up your sleeves you whisper:
“I have loved you with an everlasting love. Again I will rebuild you and you shall be rebuilt." (Jer. 31:3-4)
So You set to work—undaunted by the task before You
For You are the Restorer.
The hours pass and then the days and still You chip and scrape until the yellow paint litters the ground at Your feet. You look at the knife that scrapes and the acid that peels and You know that they will leave their scars. Yet You also know that without the burning and stripping, the true wood would be buried forever beneath the years of gaudy yellow paint.
Picking up the sand paper You begin to smooth the surface of the once-treasure. Beneath the gentle persistence of Your hand, the worm holes give up their raggedness and the stubborn paint surrenders.
At last, You straighten Your bent back and say,
“It is finished."
You begin the difficult descent of the narrow attic stairs carrying the once-treasure easily on Your back as though familiar with bearing rough burdens. Your eyes find the space left by the absence of the once-treasure and You carefully replace the treasure-now-restored.
It is true that the original shine is lost and the once flawless surface is pocked with smoothed-out worm holes and scarred with the marks of the scraping knife. Yet this does not bring dismay, for You see that the treasure-now-restored holds a far greater beauty.
For its now-beauty remembers the acrid smell of the yellow paint and the weight of the plastic vase and it will not forget the freedom that came from the touch of the Carpenter’s hand.
As the carpenter turns—His work complete—the treasure-now-restored whispers:
“Thank you—for I have been rebuilt."
Prayer:
Lord, “search me and know my heart…see if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting" (Ps. 139:23-24). Help me to trust you enough to want you to change my heart.
Day 31
He gives us the strength to give up things.
The following was written by a person in a church “growth group” who was challenged by the group’s topic.
My growth group this week challenged me so much. In the course of our study, this question was posed: “How far are you willing to go for God?" As we sat in silence contemplating our answers, I found myself thinking about Abraham. In effect, God asked him this same question when he told him to sacrifice his son. Abraham’s son Isaac was not one child of many, he was his only child. And a promised son for whom Abraham had waited for decades. So what did Abraham do? Did he wait and hope that God would change his mind? Did he argue and bellyache? Did he try to figure out why God would ask this of him? No. He didn’t even hesitate. The Bible says that he got up early the very next morning, loaded his donkey, and with his son and a very heavy heart, set off toward the mountain. I wish the Bible told us what Abraham was thinking on that journey. One member of our group said maybe he was thinking about all the times God had shown Himself faithful over the course of his life. Perhaps this is the key. Abraham looked back, saw proof over and over and over again that God was faithful and so he obeyed. How far are you willing to go? Before we answer this question for ourselves, let’s look back and see if we can find any evidence in our own lives of God’s faithfulness. Then let’s ask ourselves if, based on the evidence of his faithfulness, we think we can trust Him. Then as you face this question in your own life, perhaps you will see that knowing that God is faithful and believing that He will never leave us is what will give us the strength to climb whatever mountain God asks us to.
Prayer:
Lord, help me to trust you no matter what you are telling me to do. Help me to rely on your promises that never fail in those times that I don’t understand.
Day 32
He frees us from fear.
"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. "(Matt 10:37-39)
The following is from a man who has decided that Jesus Christ is always worthy of our following Him.
I must admit that I have often avoided this verse because it just doesn’t jive with my often watered-down version of what it means to be a Christian. I think the question this verse poses is actually very plain: “What are you holding on to? What is more important to you than Me?" I think Jesus often waits a long time for us to answer this question. Sadly, sometimes he waits a lifetime. Once again, I am challenged to let God out of the box I have him in and just believe that His promises are true. I find myself wanting to face the truth of this verse boldly and courageously like Matthew did: “Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him" (Luke 5:27, 28). He didn’t ignore it, he didn’t sit down and write a pro and con list, he “got up, left everything and followed him." So what are you holding on to for dear life? What are you afraid to give up? And why are you so afraid? Perhaps the answer in your life is the same as in mine: Because I am afraid to hurt. Because I love comfort. Because I want what I want. During these forty days God has brought me face to face with all of these ugly truths in my heart. He has shown me these things in order to build my faith. If we choose to believe, by an act of our wills, that God’s promises are true, and that He is who He says He is, then we will no longer be so reluctant to give things up. Has it penetrated your heart that Jesus loved you enough to die for you? I know you know it, but do you feel it in your soul? Is there tension in your heart right now? Do you want to trust Him but the fears just won’t go away? Just say right now, that you choose to believe. Reread the promises for each week and say: “I believe them." Now say it again: “I believe them". And again: “I believe them". I think that it is at this precise moment of choosing to believe that we will feel the power of God rush in like a river let loose, quenching our fears, drowning our doubts and filling our hearts with the calm that is God’s peace. All we need to do today is to say “I choose to obey", and He is immediately there to give us the strength to obey. So I’m going to choose to hear the call of Jesus, rather than avoid it. I’m going to listen as Jesus asks me: “What in your life is more important than Me?" And I will remember his goodness and I will believe His promises and from the bottom of my soul I will answer: Nothing is. Nothing.
Prayer:
Lord, as I choose to believe your promises, help me to realize your peace. Amen.
Day 33
He helps us persevere.
"Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. "(Isa 50:10)
This was contributed by a gentleman who has come to be grateful for how God enables us to persevere.
Life is hard. Don’t we tend to avoid suffering people because we just don’t have anything to offer that will make it any better? Perhaps, during these 40 Days, we can offer to those who are suffering, God’s words that bring life and healing and hope to their brokenness. Though your body is weak and your heart is broken, your spirit can find peace and freedom in God’s promises. Perhaps, though life is long and hard, the assurance of eternity can make it endurable. Perhaps knowing that Jesus suffered can help you get through the day. Perhaps you can find joy in knowing that though death may have come to your loved one, Jesus has defeated death. Perhaps, when the world is dark, you can find comfort in knowing that He has “overcome the world" (John 16:33). God sees your pain and he wants to bring you hope. “Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God" (Isa 50:10). “I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." When your knees are weak and your arms are feeble (Hebrews 12:12), believe that God will help you “stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand" (Eph 6:14).
Prayer:
Lord, help me to believe that, even in the midst of my pain, your promises are forever and they are for me.
Day 34
Today, let the promises and power of God assure you of His faithfulness as you slowly and carefully read the 23rd Psalm.
Psalm 23:1 A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.
Day 35
Ray Pritchard writes the following:
Years ago I knew a Christian counselor who often repeated one key phrase. “You’re only as sick as your secrets.” Then he would add: “If you’ve got a lot of secrets, you’re really sick.”
John 4 tells the story of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well. He caught her attention with the promise of “living water” that would quench the thirst deep within her soul. When finally she asks for that “living water,” Jesus responds by saying, “Go, call your husband and come back” (John 4:16). On one level it appears that Jesus is being insensitive. Why bring up anything about her past? Is Jesus trying to embarrass her? The answer is no. But his instruction to call her husband made her very uncomfortable. She doesn’t want to go into detail so she simply replies, “I have no husband” (v. 17). Now that was true but it wasn’t the whole story. She knew she was hiding the truth but what she doesn’t know is that Jesus knows it too. This woman has had five husbands and the man she is living with currently is not her husband. In a sense this is the ultimate reality check. Does Jesus love this woman? Yes, he does. He knows the truth and still offers her eternal life. Here is the wonder of God’s grace. Only someone who loves you can look at your past without blinking. Real love means knowing the truth about someone else and reaching out to them anyway. Don’t miss the kicker to the story. “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ’He told me everything I ever did’” (v. 39). Once the woman’s secrets were out in the open, she was set free and a revival broke out.
Oh, the blessedness of having nothing to hide. If you are ready to be rid of your secrets, you can be set free.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us not to fear the light of your searching gaze. Thank you for loving us so fiercely that even our secrets cannot turn you away. Give us the courage to bring into the open those hidden things that keep us from you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
