Tag: trust

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

What if God’s behind it all?

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

A “through the Bible” devotion from Isaiah 45.

Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
    whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
    and to loose the belts of kings (Isaiah 45:1)

For the sake of my servant Jacob,
    and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
    I name you, though you do not know me. (Isaiah 45:4)

I am the Lord, and there is no other,
    besides me there is no God;
    I equip you, though you do not know me…
I form light and create darkness;
    I make well-being and create calamity;
    I am the Lord, who does all these things. (Isaiah 45:5,7)

In these verses, Isaiah writes about a king, Cyrus, who has not even been born yet. Two hundred years from then, the armies of the Medes and Persians, under Cyrus, would defeat Babylon and restore God’s exiled people to their homes. Cyrus doesn’t know God. He knows little if anything about the one true God of Israel. Yet God uses him. God is behind it all. There’s no one else making these things happen.

Could it be that God is behind current events, working out his plans for his people? Absolutely. What if today’s headlines really about what God is doing in the world? Faith opens our eyes to that reality.

God is not limited or deterred by unbelief, rebellion, selfishness, and greed. It’s a good thing that God isn’t dependent on our faithfulness and obedience. He wouldn’t get much done, would he?

I believe we tend to forget about God when we read or hear news. We tend to leave him out of the equation. What if we began with the assumption that God has a hand in whatever was happening? What if we believed he is involved in history, science, economics, government, entertainment, artificial intelligence, and space exploration? What if God’s connected in some way to crime, violence, scams, human trafficking, natural disasters, and pandemics?

Interesting questions, huh? Challenging questions for sure.

Remember, he’s not a God apart from our world. He’s incarnate. He’s a part of our world, fully immersed in every human endeavor.

And there is no other.

Posted in Life

A generous stranger or a suspicious character?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

The big dog and I met another interesting person on our walk yesterday. The Independence Day dawn was quiet as we made our way through the sports complex and headed home.

Just down the road, I saw a young man riding toward us on his bike, holding a couple of fishing rods. I pass guys like him all the time, usually fishing off small bridges over the drainage canals.

As we got closer, he stopped and seemed to be waiting for us. But rather than being impressed by the giant dog, he asked, “Would you like a free fishing pole?” I was impressed by his ability to ride a bike holding not a couple but three rods.

I smiled and replied, “No thank you.” Even if my hands weren’t full of dog leash and a blue bag of poop, I would have declined. I just sold a couple of unused fishing poles in a garage sale since it turns out fishing doesn’t really interest me.

Part of me immediately thought, “He’ll probably ask for money.” Been there; done that. “Here’s something free…how about a few bucks?” I don’t know where he got them. Maybe he was being generous. Maybe he was selling dad’s stuff to get a few bucks. Maybe fishing didn’t interest him, either.

I hate it when I feel suspicious of someone I’ve just met or don’t know, who poses no threat to me. I want to think positively about people, but somewhere I learned not to trust…anyone. I don’t like feeling that way.

And now that I’ve uploaded the above picture, I see he was riding his bike in bare feet. He’s more daring than me!

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Ask for a sign

Posted on by William Douthwaite

A “through the bible” devotion from Isaiah 7.

When Syria and the northern kingdom of Israel stage an invasion of the southern nation of Judah, the prophet Isaiah relays a message from God: “Don’t worry about it.”  

In fact, the Lord says, “Ask a sign of the Lord your God” (Isaiah 7:11). It can be anything. No limits. Just name it Ahaz, and God will put any doubts to rest.

Have you ever wanted a sign from God? Have you ever wished he would give you some kind of tangible indication that you were making the right choice.

I think all of us envy Gideon’s experience with God in Judges 6. He receives two definitive signs from God to affirm that he is the one who will save Israel. The first is a dewy fleece on a bone dry threshing floor in the morning. The second is the opposite, a dry fleece when the rest of the ground is damp with dew. He gets both. He’s the guy.

But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test” (v12).

An offer like that rarely, if ever, comes along. You can ask for something big. Or small. Whatever you need to confirm God’s Word.

Ahaz says, “No thanks.”

It’s not because Ahaz is super faithful and doesn’t need proof of God’s protection. It’s just the opposite. Ahaz doesn’t trust God. He will buy protection from Assyria, a bigger and badder bully than Syria and Israel put together. He doesn’t want a sign because he has chosen to reject God.

If you ask for and get a sign from God, you’re locked in, aren’t you? You’ve painted yourself into a corner. You might not like the answer. Too bad. There is no doubt what God wants you to do.

Plus, you’re off the hook. If something goes wrong, it’s not your fault. It was his idea.

I’ve had conversations with people who wanted my opinion on something. At least that’s what they said. But that’s not what they wanted. They knew what they wanted to do. They wanted approval or permission to escape accountability.

Requesting a sign from God is a dead giveaway that you don’t trust him or his word. It exposes a lack of faith or even rejection of God.

God wasn’t surprised. In fact, he says, “I’m going to give you a sign anyway.” By the time a virgin conceives and gives birth, my plan will be in motion.

This sign would come to complete fulfillment much later, when Jesus was born, God’s plan from before the creation of the world.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Tears in a bottle

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Bobby Donald on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Psalm 56.

David might have written Psalm 56 when he was a prisoner of war. Or he might have been reflecting on his experiences later in life. Either way, I paused when I came across these words:

You have kept count of my tossings;
    put my tears in your bottle.
    Are they not in your book? (Psalm 56:8)

What does it mean to have tears in a bottle? This is actually the only place in scripture where the word bottle is used. My mind wonders, “What is a bottle of tears?”

Here’s what I learned. It expresses remembrance. God knows and cares about me and my tears, as if he kept them in a bottle. He never says, “Get over it.” Instead he says, “I know.” “I get it.” “I understand.”

Most people really don’t care about how I feel. They are concerned about my performance. They care about the bottom line (money). They care about what I can do for them.

God cares about me. He cares about you. He cares about how you feel, about your joys, your grief, your worries, and your dreams. In fact, no one cares about you more than he does.

Your tears are precious to him. He loves to hear you laugh. In response to your worries, he says, “I’ve got this.” When you are so angry you could spit, he reassures you, “Been there. Done that.”

Best promise of all? It’s at the end of the bible: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 21:4). He knows. He cares. He comforts.


Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Understanding Vengeance in Psalm 94

Posted on by William Douthwaite

A “through the bible” devotion from Psalm 94.

O Lord, God of vengeance,
    O God of vengeance, shine forth!
 Rise up, O judge of the earth;
    repay to the proud what they deserve! (Psalm 94:1,2)

He will bring back on them their iniquity
    and wipe them out for their wickedness;
    the Lord our God will wipe them out. (Psalm 94:23)

The imprecatory psalms are one of my guilty pleasures. In those psalms, the writer asks God to give the bad guys, whoever they are, exactly what they deserve. Which is what we all want, right? We want those who have hurt us to pay for their actions.

We don’t like to admit this, though. It doesn’t feel very Christlike. After all, Jesus told us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. I’m pretty sure he didn’t want us to pray that they would be wiped out.

Yet that exactly what the psalmist does. However, maybe this is a good prayer to pray or song to sing. It takes the idea of vengeance out of my hands and leaves it with God, where it belongs.

And here’s a sobering thought. Maybe, just maybe, there’s someone out there who’s praying this about me. Whether I’m aware of it or not, I’ve hurt, neglected, ignored, dismissed, and snubbed someone who would like to see me get a taste of my own medicine. Is there anyone praying that I be wiped out?

I don’t like that side of the psalm, either.

I guess the best thing to do is go ahead and pray this psalm. Get it out of your system. Then be thankful your God is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He understands how you feel. Don’t worry. In the end, he’ll take care of everything, including you.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Right at home, just like the birds

Posted on by William Douthwaite

A “through the bible” devotion from Psalm 84.

Whenever I go to a big box home improvement store, I’m delighted to hear the birds singing and watch them fly around the upper reaches of the store. No one ever tries to get rid of them. I’m sure the rafters are filled with nests, too.

And why not? There is shelter from any kind of weather. There’s always a little bit of seed on the floor, so plenty of food. Bugs on some of the plants if you want them, I suppose. What a great place to live.

It’s not a new idea. There’s nothing new under the son. It sounds like birds lived in Old Testament worship spaces.

Even the sparrow finds a home,
    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
    my King and my God. (Psalm 84:3)

At 45 feet, the ceiling of Solomon’s temple was higher than the stores. The tabernacle stretched up fifteen feet, plenty high for birds to find safe nesting places. I find it fascinating to think that birds were flying around in the uppermost corners of the temple as priests prayed and burned incense. It must not have bothered them, and it made for a good song lyric, too.

Sparrows are a dime a dozen. But there’s a place for them in God’s house. Swallows are restless birds, darting here and there. But they calm down and rest in God’s presence.

Feeling insignificant? Restless? Relax. You matter. There’s a place for you, too.

I love how animals teach us a lot about God!

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Moving from doing to being

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Miguel Bruna on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Psalm 50.

When something goes wrong, the first thing we ask ourselves is, “What do I need to do?”

The AC’s not cooling the house. The car engine is making an unusual noise. A patch of grass in the yard is dead. An electrical outlet in the house isn’t working. There’s always something to fix.

In Psalm 50, God’s not looking for more ritual. He’s concerned about the relationship. He doesn’t need more sacrifices. The people offer up plenty of those. Instead,

Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
    and perform your vows to the Most High,
and call upon me in the day of trouble;
    I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.

Rituals have a way of making us feel like we’ve done enough. Receiving God’s gifts with gratitude, faithfulness, and trust reminds us that’s he’s done enough. Here the psalmist helps us move from “what do you want me to do?” to “who do you want me to be?”

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

The apple of his eye

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Ion Fet on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Psalm 17.

“Keep me as the apple of your eye” (Psalm 17:8).

I’m sure I’ve glossed over that phrase dozens of times. I kind of know what it means, but I really don’t know what it means. Do you know what it means? Let’s find out.

It is actually a reference to the pupil of your eye. It’s small, round, and of great value. Your eyelids reflexively close if anything comes near your eye, protecting the aperture that lets in light. It is valuable, protected, and a treasured part of your body.

So if you’re the apple of God’s eye, you are treasured, valuable, and something that he’ll protect no matter what. This is one of the ways David pleads for God’s surrounding presence and powerful protection. Isn’t that a poetic way of submitting yourself to God’s loving protection in the presence of enemies?

How do we protect those things most valuable to us? We lock them away. We insure them. We keep them close to us. We install cameras and an alarm system. We ask someone to keep an eye on it. We put a chain on it, like a wallet. Or we just don’t let it out of our sight.

So this is like praying, “God, don’t let me out of your sight. Protect me like the most precious part of you.” God sees everything. Nothing escapes his eye. His eyes go way beyond the miracle of sight that we know. So the pupil, or apple, of his eye, is precious beyond measure.

And so are you and I. God treasures us as the apple of his eye, his most valued possession. He never lets us out of his sight. Nothing is getting close to us unless he allows it. He’s our personal bodyguard, security system, and guard dog all in one.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Night school

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Shane on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Psalm 16.

This is my favorite psalm, so I could write lots of devotions on this, but this time I’ll focus on the words, “In the night my heart instructs me” (Psalm 16:7).

I recently read this insight: “Our spiritual life doesn’t go on hold when we sleep.” That makes sense. We breathe and our hearts beat. We move around a lot when while we sleep. Mentally, our brains sort out all the information we’ve taken in, sometimes causing us to dream.

What about our spiritual lives?

Maybe you’ve had this experience. You went to bed with a lot on your mind. You may have tossed and turned with thoughts about what you had to deal with the next day. But in the morning, things didn’t seem so bad. Life seemed manageable. The new day was filled with new possibilities.

Here are some awesome lessons to learn here:

  • Fill you heart with solid truth. Make sure it is infused with God’s Word. If your heart is going to be your instructor, make sure it went to a good school. Before you close your eyes, read God’s promises.
  • Just go to sleep. I believe one of the most faithful things a believer can do is go to sleep at night, trust God to take care of everything, and look forward to a new day in the morning.
  • When you wake up, take inventory of how you feel. Does the day ahead feel overwhelming or manageable? I usually experience the latter. God has indeed been faithful!
  • Did you dream? Write it down! Immediately. If I don’t, I forget it. Will it mean something? Who knows?

God’s up all night taking care of things. I can rest securely in him.