3 Steps in Ministering to Others

We live in a hurting world. We have pain inside us, pain around us, and sin seems to soak everything. Everywhere we turn, others are struggling in their own ways with sin and suffering. For those who are in Christ, we are called as ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20) to incarnate Christ into this world and minister God's grace to hurting people. How do we do this?

You have to do 3 things, sometimes it feels like all at the same time:

1. LISTEN (encourage): The first step is to really seek to understand what they're saying. What are they going through? What's most difficult about this? How are they feeling? Where do they feel God is in the midst of it? How have they responded to their pain so far? What are they struggling with? If you are lost, try asking some of the most basic questions: Who, what, when, where, why, how? As a first and last response, PRAY.

2. GOSPEL (empower): Listening by itself is encouraging, but it isn't empowering. We need to remind our brothers and sisters in Christ of the glorious gospel. You can either ask them "How does the gospel encourage you?" or speak directly to them: Your guilt has been washed away, your shame has been cleansed, you have a new identity now in Christ so this sin doesn't define you. Christ has entered into our world and identifies with suffering, and has faced every temptation as we have, so He knows our pain. We are adopted as sons and daughters into the kingdom and are set on a trajectory of holiness and victory. REMIND them of these truths. Preach the gospel to them. Secondly, try to guide them towards gospel solutions, meaning: options and "end of the story" mindsets that are distinctively shaped by the gospel. Often in our despair we say things like "it's hopeless, I'll never change, etc." But the gospel solution is: Christ has transformed you, you do have hope, by His Spirit you are changing and you WILL change. The gospel gives us hope-filled resources. Pray that God helps them SEE the gospel.

3. FIGHT (equip): Lastly, help them to make it practical. It's not enough just to give them the gospel, you have to show them how to wield it. Give them tools, weapons, resources. Do they need Scripture? Do they need accountability? Do they need help in their repentance? Do they need comfort? Where can they make an effort to remove provision for their flesh? Where can they practically pursue holiness? Help them to do this. Help them brainstorm. Help them PRAY and ask the Spirit for His help in fighting their sin, or peace in the midst of suffering.

Seeking to help others,
The Relentless Fight

PS: For those who know the model of Love, Know, Speak, Do (from Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands) here's the connection: The basic point of Love/Know is to listen and understand the person. The most important part of speaking is the glorious truth of the Gospel. And in this scenario, the Do (call to action) is to fight against our sin.

The Battlefield

You know your fight. But do you know your battlefield?

Your battlefield is the context for the fight, the where and when and how of your temptation and failure. You can know the fight but miss the battlefield, which means you're going to get hit again and again from "out of nowhere". It'll remain a mystery. This blog post aims to dismantle that mystery and give you a tactical map for your temptation, so you can ready up and fight with wisdom.

Think through each of these categories, dissecting and analyzing your sin:

• WHAT? What particular sin are you struggling with? Don't just use a casual cultural term or water it down, rather use a biblical word. "Lookin' at junk on the internet" = sexual immorality. "Just talking too much" = selfishness & pride. "Obsessing over this guy" = lust & idolatry. "Frustration" = anger. Identify the sin for what it really is! Name it and bring it before the throne of God. 
• HOW? How do you get to your sin? Is there a method, an access point, a provision for it? If it's internet porn, what device do you use? If it's cutting, what items do you use? If it's food, is it stuff in your fridge, pantry, or out to eat? 
• WHERE? Where do you usually get tempted? Can you notice any patterns? Is it almost always in your dorm room? Is it at a certain store? Is it at the gym? With your family at home? 
• WHEN? What time of day are you usually tempted? Is there a certain day of the week? Is it usually in the evening after your roommates are all in bed? Is it in the early hours of the morning? Is it on Sunday afternoons? What is it about that time of day that is more challenging, are you tired or discouraged or lonely?
• WHO? Are there certain people that feed into your sin? Maybe a family member or an old friend from your past or a certain roommate? Is there a hot girl that you always hope is near you at the gym so you can check her out? Do you have a friend circle that celebrates sin and entices you to join?
• WHY? What is motivating you to run to this sin? Are you feeling lonely, angry, hungry, tired, discouraged? Are you feeling like you've worked hard and now you deserve to enjoy a break? Do you feel like God has cheated you and this is your way of getting what you NEED? Why are you running after THIS particular sin? What is it offering you? Pleasure? Power? Identity?

Now that you've identified what the battlefield looks like, it's time to respond. Get serious about fighting and defeating your sin. Write it down. Ask a roommate or a friend for help if you don't know the answers. Then create a battle plan based off insights you see from your battlefield. Share that plan with close friends so they can ask you specific questions and hold you accountable. You're not alone in the fight. Maybe you need to make some changes in your schedule and habits to avoid some of the most common pitfalls. Maybe go to bed a little earlier, maybe pray before you go to the gym, maybe get accountability for Sunday afternoons.

Identifying your battlefield is one of the fastest ways to know how to make no provision for the flesh like Romans 13:14 talks about. Basically, what is the supply chain for your sin? Get some insight into how you're failing. From where and when are the enemies coming? From that clump of trees to the west? Then let's set up some fences and artillery, it's stupid not to. Don't you want to be free from this scourge? Then know your battlefield.

Making war,
The Relentless Fight

No God Saves Like Jesus

Please welcome guest author Matthew Bryant! Matthew serves as Coordinator of College Ministry at King Street Church and loves seeing young people grow in Christ. He also serves as a chaplain in the United States Air Force, is married to his wife Lindsay, and is a non-identical triplet. Enjoy his exhortation, and fall more in love with Jesus!

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Saying, "No" to sin does not bring a possible death, it requires death. "For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live" (Rom. 8:13). This verse takes my mind to one of my favorite deliverance stories that is a constant reminder that no one saves like Jesus.

In the third chapter of Daniel, three Hebrew men - who were but boys two chapters earlier - stare down the most powerful earthly king of their time. Nebuchadnezzar was not just a king, but a king over many kings. He ruled the Babylonian Empire with absolute surety. The three Hebrews (Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego) were brought to the king because they refused to bow down and worship the king's gods or the statue that he had set up. The king had given the order that every time music, of any kind, was played that everyone in the kingdom would bow down and worship. It appears that everyone was compliant except for these three men.  Why would people from so many different nations, faiths, and ethnicities be so "compliant"? Because the king also gave the order that those who do not bow down and worship his statue and his gods would be thrown into a fiery furnace. That’s where we pick up in verse 13 of chapter three:

Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought... "to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good.  But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” 

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.  If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” 

Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated... Because the king's order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace. 

Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” (Daniel 3:13-25)

Saying, "No" to the king would not only mean death was possible for the three Hebrew men, saying, "no" required death.  Deliverance, for Shadrack, Meshack, and Abenego, was a guarantee: "our God...is able to...and he will deliver us."  What the great king did not realize is that a rescue mission from an even greater king was already underway.  Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego knew this - One thing was for sure: deliverance was on its way.  Whether it was deliverance out of the flames or through the ashes.  That day they were going to meet their deliverer.

All of us have "great" kings in our lives that claim to have dominance and control over our lives.  These kings promise us that compliance to their ways is not only way easier but also more comfortable and pleasurable than rebellion.  These kings take on many different forms: addiction to pornography, an insatiable fascination with entertainment, preoccupation with working-out to pursue the perfect body, a fixation on being in a romantic relationship, escape into video games,...you name your "king."

Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego's deliverance is testimony to the frailty of our kings and their chains that bind you.  Their deliverance from the flames points us to an even greater deliverance that has already come through the Great Deliverer - Jesus Christ.  When we compare our kings to The King they don’t even come close to matching up.

• Porn may provide minutes of pleasure, but Jesus offers ENDLESS pleasure (Psalm 16:11)
• Movies or TV shows may be fascinating entertainment for the night, but the worship of God will be our ETERNAL fascination (Psalm 84)
• Preoccupation with the gym or fitness centers may provide 80 years of a nice body, but Jesus offers a NEW body that will never break down (1 Cor. 15:50-58)
• Romantic relationships devoid of Christ provide cheap intimacy, but Jesus offers a relationship with God bought with his PRICELESS blood – anything but cheap (1 Cor. 6:20)
• Video games may give the illusion of danger and adventure, but Jesus invites us into a REAL fight equipped with the Sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17) – remember this fight requires your death (Rom. 8:13)

Jesus too, faced a "great" king in Pontius Pilate - representative of Caesar, the ruler over the whole Roman Empire.  Jesus too, chose death over the pleasure, comfort, and riches of this world.  Jesus too, went to His death but did not spare himself suffering - as he spared Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego.  He took the death we deserved, baring the full weight of sin as the wrath of God was poured out on the Son.  Jesus too, just like the three Hebrews rose from the flames, rose from the grave in His Glory defeating sin and death.  Now you tell me what earthly king has dominion over you?! Our KING is greater.  Our KING is more glorious. Our KING is more powerful.  Our KING is the true KING OF KINGS.   "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross." (Col. 1:15-20).  He is KING JESUS.  He was greater than King Nebuchadnezzer, He is greater than our feeble kings and idols.  He invites us to come and die to the flesh that we might live by the Spirit, the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead!

For the sake of your freedom - run to His death and your own! And you too will say, like king Nebuchadnezzar, "there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way." (Dan. 3:29).  No God saves like Jesus.  Amen.  

WHY is God Allowing This?!

Surprisingly, asking the question "Why is God allowing this?" provides great encouragement. It is not a faithless question, though there often is anger and pain mixed with it. It is difficult to ask, and even more difficult to answer. But great fruit comes from answering it.

Maybe you can relate to this: You're TIRED of struggling with this besetting sin. Maybe it's porn, masturbation, cutting, alcohol, anger, an eating disorder, drug use, selfish speech, pride, people pleasing or manipulation, or just some "garden variety" idolatry. Sometimes there are certain struggles that just drag on and on and they exhaust us. You may feel like, "It is killing me, it is stealing my joy, it is what got Christ crucified. Why is God not stopping it? I have prayed, cried, begged him for help. I have fought with EVERYTHING in me, and yet I still fail. WHY!? Does God not care? This sin is an offense against his glory! Does He not have the power to save and redeem? Why is heaven silent?? Why is God ignoring my prayers??"

Christian, this is a deep place of suffering. But it is not a place without God. The Psalms have much to say about this experience, and many psalmists have been in this place of feeling like heaven has closed its doors and God is distant. Psalm 13:1-2 puts it well, "How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?"

"Why is God allowing this struggle?" It's a very hard question to ask and begin to answer. It makes you wrestle with God in a very deep way. As you ask it, questions come up of God's sovereignty, God's goodness, His faithfulness to His promises, whether He is trustworthy at all, whether the Gospel is true, and whether you will trust God's wisdom by faith even when you don't see any reason for why He's doing what He's doing. This is not intro-level wrestling, this is the real meat & potatoes. This is where godly saints are forged.

But if you phrase the question a little differently, you start to turn the flavor. "What good is God bringing out of my struggle?" Ah, then you begin to open your eyes to see ALL the hundreds of ways that God is at work. Though there usually is not ONE single big answer for why God is doing this (He's much bigger than that), we can draw several TRUE answers from Scripture. Here are several for your encouragement:

• God's Glory: This is the MEGA-answer from all of Scripture. The glory of God is THE premiere reason why God does everything He does. But this is not a simple answer, nor is it a sterile and unsatisfying one. The aim for which God does all things is the exultation and display of His majesty and beauty, for the satisfaction of those who find their joy in Him. The prayer of Jesus in John 17 is for us to see His glory. The purpose of our eating, drinking, and everything is God's glory (1 Cor 10:31, Col 3:17, 1 Peter 4:11). The ultimate purpose of the universe is God's glory, and even our sin is subsumed into this epic purpose. Peter says this well in Acts 2:23, linking together God's purposes and man's sin, "This Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death." 
• God loves slow change: God has the power to change us in one instant. He could set us free from our struggles with sins just as easily as a child snaps the head off a dandelion. But often He doesn't. Often God lets us struggle slowly and learn holiness one step at a time. Elyse Fitzpatrick comments, "In our modern, microwave, zap-it-for-ten-seconds culture, we have become extremely impatient. We believe so strongly in our own ability to find quick and easy answers that we get frustrated when things take time. The kind of changes that God desires to make in us will take time - there's no denying that." (Page 151 from Love to Eat Hate to Eat). This steady slow growth often is God's method of helping us to get to know HIM as we struggle and wrestle through this sin and temptation. Slow growth also teaches us PATIENCE and dependence on the Lord for His timing. 
• God specializes in bringing good out of evil: Joseph was betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery, yet in Genesis 50:20 he claims, "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." Although this is speaking of suffering and not sin in particular, the principle stands of God's ability to bring good even out of evil. Our sin against God is certainly evil, yet He has the amazing ability to reverse and redeem even our worst sins somehow for good. LOOK for how He might be doing this. Believe that He can. 
• Greater hatred and violence against our sin: Frequent failures can be greatly frustrating. Use this to your advantage. Get angry against your sin, hate it more and more. Be strengthened in your fight and nurture your passion for holiness. Remind yourself of all the pain and suffering this sin brings, and let that fuel your violence. Remember that you are in a WAR, so put on that wartime mentality. Let it give you greater urgency for growth and strengthening. 
• Empathy for other strugglers: When you fail, you develop compassion for others who fall. Maybe they don't fall in the same way, but you both experience that same rush of guilt and shame and anger. Let that move you TOWARD them in encouragement, gospel-reminders, giving them life and hope, and helping them with practical accountability. Help others with the same help that you yourself need. 
• Protect you from pride: Imagine if there was no failure! Imagine how prideful you would become. You would quickly think that you had no need for the gospel, no need for growth or spiritual discipline. Imagine the arrogance and disdain you could develop for those who are still struggling. They are weak, compared with your strength. And gradually God becomes irrelevant. Thank Him for the humbling that He is providing to you through this long struggle. 
• The presence of a fight shows that God is at work: Be thankful that there even IS a fight. If the Holy Spirit was not in you, there would be NO fight, just your flesh ruling over you and unchallenged love for your sin. 
• To help you fight OTHER sins: John Owen has profound wisdom on this point from his classic The Mortification of Sin in Believers as he chastises us for fighting against ONE sin but allowing others to walk free. He writes, "If you hate sin as sin, every evil way, you would be no less watchful against everything that grieves and disquiets the Spirit of God, than against that which grieves and disquiets your own soul. It is evident that you contend against sin merely because of your own trouble by it. Would your conscience be quiet under it, you would let it alone. Did it not disquiet you, it should not be disquieted by you. Now, can you think that God will set in with such hypocritical endeavors - that even his Spirit will bear witness to the treachery and falsehood of your spirit? Do you think he will ease you of that which perplexes you, that you may be at liberty to that which no less grieves Him? No. God says, 'Here is one, if he could be rid of this lust I should never hear of him more; let him wrestle with this, or he is lost.' Let not any man think to do his own work that will not do God's. God's work consists in universal obedience; to be freed of the present perplexity is their own only." Note the strange mercy of God, "Let him wrestle with this, or he is lost."
• Good Discipline: The Lord often brings suffering and difficulty into our lives for our discipline and instruction. He does this because He is good, and He desires us to share in His holiness. Sometimes the only way for us to grow is for Him to discipline us, so we should thank Him and be grateful that He doesn't just let us go in our sin. Pray for Discipline. John Owen writes again, "How do you know but that God has suffered the lust wherewith you have been perplexed to get strength in you, and power over you, to chasten you for your other negligences and common lukewarmness in walking before him; at least to awaken you to the consideration of your ways, that you may make a thorough work and change in your course of walking with him?"
• Knowing Jesus more: One of the great benefits of struggling with our sin is knowing Jesus more. It will cause us to press into Him more deeply, to trust in Him more urgently, and to cling to His cross more desperately.
• Deeper knowledge and joy in the gospel: Nothing shows you the depth of your brokenness like struggling with ongoing sin. It humbles you, it shows the power of your sin, and CONVINCES you more than anything else that you ARE a sinner. You cannot save yourself, and you NEED a Savior. This is painful but precious fruit. We wish there was another way. We wish that God in His sovereignty would choose differently. But this is the path He has given. You cannot know deep joy in the gospel unless you know the deep guilt of your sin; THEN you will know the depth to which Christ has dropped to bring you up from the muck. 
• Self-Control and Spiritual Strengthening: Struggle can strengthen you. Temptation can be your gym. Let this fight be that which builds your self-control and strengthens your spiritual muscles. Use it to grow in Scripture memory, in faith, in violent repentance. Do not waste this fight! 
• Some other mysterious good reason: If we believe that God's character is good, then even if we don't have a good reason, we know that God is doing this for good. We can trust Him as our loving Father. He has demonstrated His love to us in the Cross, how can we claim He is anything else other than good and merciful and kind? Let us wait for the Lord, and be courageous (Psalm 27:14)

Are you encouraged, Christian? Do you see the good that God could be bringing through your struggle with this besetting sin? He has not abandoned you. He is using even this evil for great good. Be encouraged. So in closing, a few thoughts on application:

• ASK the question for yourself: Why is God allowing this? How is God bringing GOOD out of my EVIL?  MEDITATE on it and write down at least 5 things: Maybe you see softness of heart, deeper gospel knowledge, dependence on him, patience, self-control, spiritual strengthening of the muscle of faith. Choose to SEE the goodness that God is creating, and be encouraged. Which answer in the list above was most encouraging to you?
• Ask the question of others: Hopefully there are people in your life that know you well, maybe a roommate, spouse, close friend, family member, or mentor. Ask them how they have seen God bring good out of your sin struggle. Ask them to remind you of what the Scripture says for our encouragement about why God allows evil to flourish for a time. Beg them to remind you of the gospel and God's good character, lest you forget and give up the fight.

Questioning and trusting,
The Relentless Fight

Pray for Discipline

"For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." - Hebrews 12:11

Have you experienced the discipline of the Lord? If not, you should worry.

God's discipline is His firm fatherly hand, allowing us to experience painful consequences for our sinful actions and choices. He brings suffering, difficulty, frustration, emptiness into our lives in order to sober us up out of our sin-induced stupor. He frustrates our sinful plans, He doesn't allow us to be satisfied with our sinful substitutes, He brings pain as a teacher. CS Lewis has said of pain, "it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world." He shouts into our hard hearts, "Turn around! This is the wrong way!" drawing us to repentance and life.

But why should you worry if you're not experiencing discipline? Because God's fatherly discipline is a key evidence that you are truly born again, and a child of God. If there is no discipline in your life, if there is no restraint that God is bringing against your sin, that's an evidence that God has given you OVER to your sin. Paul speaks of this in Romans 1, about God's passive wrath; basically God allows you to live however you want, careening along the well-worn path to Hell. Hebrews 12:8 says "If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons." You should be VERY scared if you do not see God’s hand of loving fatherly discipline in your life in response to your sin against Him. If you are sinning with no consequence, no fear, no conviction of guilt, then this is a dangerous sign that you are not a son of God. He is allowing you to just wallow in your sin and let it consume you from the inside. That’s scary.

So WHY does God discipline us? What is the purpose and fruit? Hebrews 12:11 says we get a harvest of righteousness and peace.  Hebrews 12:10 says God does this "for our good, that we may share his holiness." Holiness: Being set apart from the corrupted filthy sin-sick world, we become weaned off of our sin, and this is one of the best things in the world! And we desperately need this holiness, as it says a few verses later in Hebrews 12:14, "Strive...for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord." Do you want to see the Lord? Do you want to be in His presence? Do you want to go to heaven when you die? Then you MUST be holy. It is the holy ones that come to heaven (Psalm 24:3-4) and the pure in heart that see God (Matthew 5:8).

Holiness is necessary, and discipline is the means to attain it.

But discipline seems too HARD, it seems as though God hates us, has forgotten us, has abandoned us. Is this true? When Christians experience suffering and hardship, is this God forgetting us? Is He too busy? Far from it! God brings discipline because of His great LOVE for His children. Hebrews 12:5-6 quotes from Proverbs 3:11-12, "My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights." So His discipline comes from LOVE! Jesus Himself says in Revelation 3:19, "Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent." Discipline flows from God's love for us!

So how do we apply this? How does it change our mindset, our prayers, and our lives? Three applications to consider:

1. Reinterpret Discipline: Be grateful, not bitter. Be glad, not sad. See the purpose behind it, don't lament how meaningless your suffering is. Use it to remind yourself of God's character and God's priorities. Holiness is vitally necessary, and He loves you. Be encouraged! 
2. Pray for Discipline:  Ask for God to bring discipline into your life, like a child who DESIRES the boundaries and the discipline because she knows that it reflects the loving heart of her father to protect her. Pray for His discipline, press into it, ask him to grow and stretch you and chastise you for your rebellion and disobedience. Ask Him to help you see your sin, convict you of it, so that you would grow in holiness. It is worth it in the end! The peace that comes from mature righteousness is worth the pain of discipline! Scripture is replete with examples of those who have come to love discipline: 
1. Psalm 141:5, "Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it. Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds." 
2. Ecclesiastes 7:5, "It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools." 
3. Proverbs 9:8, "Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you."
3. Encourage Others: We all get weary in the fight against sin, especially when we're stubborn and God has to increase the heat of discipline to get our attention. That's why the author of Hebrews ends with this encouragement in verse 12, "Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed." Who do you know who is suffering and experiencing God's discipline? Give them the Hebrews 12 perspective. Encourage them. Help them to see God's love and care, His purposes of making them holy. Give them joy! 

Praying for discipline,

The Relentless Fight

Faith in the Haze

Have you ever felt like you were in a spiritual haze? It could be just a season, or maybe it's after a failure. Perhaps for months now you've been sad, depressed, melancholy... joy seems far and God seems farther. Or maybe it's right after a failure: you had drank deeply from the broken cistern of your favorite sin, and even though you've confessed and repented you still feel the familiar darkness and distance from God that lasts for days. Does that describe your experience?

Sometimes Christians go through these seasons, these "dark nights of the soul". We don't feel the same intimacy with God when we approach His Word. We don't feel closeness with friends. It could be a few days of wallowing in the feelings of guilt over your failure, shame over your weakness. It could be months and months of difficulty and dragging discouragement.

So what do you do? How do you get through the haze? How do you respond when the darkness doesn't leave, and Satan is having a field day accusing you after your failure? How do you respond after a failure when you're spiritually groggy and unclear, without that fight in your belly? Or even worse: How do you respond when you're in a spiritual haze in general? Where there seems to be no good reason for the darkness?

Answer: Live by faith in the haze. That's how you make it. Remember the gospel, remember God's character, remember what's true, and BELIEVE it in a deeper way. Latch onto it and CLING to it with everything in you. Fight!

Three practical encouragements for living by faith the haze:

• This haze will pass - Honestly, it will go away. God is faithful, and behind the dark cloud that hides Him, there is a smiling face. He LOVES you, not because of your good behavior, but because of Christ. He doesn't hate you for your sins, and He will not punish you. He has ALREADY punished Christ in your place. So be patient, and wait for the haze to pass. It may take a few days, it may take months, or it may take until you die and enter in the joy of God for all eternity... but it is temporary. Meditate on Psalm 27:14, and wait for the Lord. 
• Believe God's promises, not your feelings - 1 John 1:9 says that if you confess, you are forgiven. But you don't FEEL forgiven!! It feels like a hollow promise. But you must BELIEVE that it is true, regardless of your feelings. Tell your feelings to take a hike. FIGHT. Get violent and LAY HOLD onto the promises of God. Scream them out loud. Believe them with force. The gospel still holds power even if you don't feel it this moment. Micah 7 is a fantastic anthem. 
• Force feed yourself the Word - You may feel distant from God, and like the Bible is just black words on a white page. Nothing. Lifeless. But sober up, Christian, and read that Word all the same. Read it like it's the antidote to the poison in your veins. Don't wait until you get hungry to start eating the Word. Read it, like your life depends on it. 

Trusting in God in the darkness,
The Relentless Fight

PS: John Piper wrote a short book called When The Darkness Will Not Lift. It's free for PDF download, and it's an excellent encouragement.

God is Greater Than Our Heart

Please welcome guest author Melissa Cimbala! Melissa works on staff for DiscipleMakers and has a passion for seeing others grow in their knowledge and love of Jesus Christ. She also loves sunshine, breakfast, and silliness. For anyone who is weary in the fight and feel condemned by your sin, this post is for you. 
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1 John 3:20 “For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.”

Sin runs deep, the cross runs deeper
All people have sinned deeply and rejected God, professing Christians included. That is why we deeply need Jesus; we need a Savior who is bigger than ourselves. We need the cross of Christ with all of its facets and implications for our sin and redemption. One facet in particular stands largely in the face of sin…

You just did it again. Your words oozed with pride and disdain, you looked at porn, you skipped another meal to go to the gym, you went too far and failed to honor him or her physically. You know that it’s wrong, that it is sinful, and yet you keep on doing it. Satan seems to be cheering you on and his victory seems imminent.

Maybe it’s not a repetitive sin weighing you down. Maybe there was one defining moment that you wish you could take back. You can see how broken and evil it is. How much it influences your life and your relationship with God.

You need forgiveness, redemption, healing. You ask God for forgiveness, but you cannot seem to forgive yourself or to believe that God would forgive you either. It seems too big, too wrong, and too persistent. Where is the hope?

The hope is in the cross.

 Jesus’ death on the cross did something amazing. It not only atoned for our sins, but it also threw Satan’s schemes upside down. Satan WANTS you to despair at your sin and the “worse” the sin, the more he is going to guilt you and plague you and try to make you believe that you cannot be forgiven and redeemed.

BUT when Jesus died He covered it all. He “is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” He knows what is in your heart. He is bigger than what is in your heart. And knowing what is in you He still died, He still chose you.

What does this mean for Satan? What does it mean for us? It means that the more deeply you feel your sin; the more deeply you can know that Jesus loves you and died for you. No matter how bad and persistent the sin may be, Jesus already knew about it before He died and He still chose to pay the cost.

This actually reverses Satan’s schemes!! It means that the more and more entrenched in sin that you get, the more and more you begin to see your need for a savior and the more and more you realize how great He is and how much He loves you. The worse your sin seems, the more you should love your Savior, knowing what He has saved you from. Because of the cross, whenever Satan leads you into sin or guilt he actually eventually leads you to greater freedom and grace within the Gospel.

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means!" (Romans 6:1-2). BUT we can use our sin as a launching pad into greater relationship with Christ. Whenever you feel the weight of your actions hanging over you, whenever you fail again at what you promised you would never do… you GET to know Jesus more deeply. Instead of feeling guilty and too far out of forgiveness, recall that Jesus is greater than your heart and that He has not condemned you.

The devil wants you to wallow in guilt? Look at how deep your sin runs, laugh at Satan, and look to the deeper cross. Your deep sin will deepen your love for Jesus.