Following God requires us to look in the mirror of God’s Word. That process can be what I call “joyously painful” — painful because we see ourselves as we really are but joyous because there’s great relief when we turn to God and find Him gracious.
Here are some questions to ask in the mirror this week:
- If others imitated my life today, would they be living like Jesus?
Paul knew he was the chief of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15), but he also walked closely enough with Jesus that he could humbly but confidently say, “Imitate me, and imitate Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). Can you say the same?
- If others walked with me non-stop for the next week, would they ask me to teach them to pray like I pray?
Surely the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray because they had heard Him and watched Him pray (Luke 11:1). They wanted to talk with the Father like He did. Would I want to pray like you pray?
- Is the Word of God precious and sweet to me?
That’s the way the psalmist described the Word: “They are more desirable than gold — than an abundance of pure gold; and sweeter than honey, which comes from the honeycomb” (Ps. 19:10). Would you say the same?
- Is God’s will more important to me than my will?
Jesus taught us to pray this way — “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10) — and He then modeled His own teaching in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:42). If God’s will were to mean your death for the sake of the gospel, how would you answer this question?
- Do I give thanks for everything?
Paul told us to live this way (1 Thess. 5:18). He so believed this truth that he himself could boast about his weaknesses and take pleasure in his persecutions, for he found God’s strength in his weakness (2 Cor. 12:9–10). Do your prayers show this much gratitude?
- Do I fight my own battles, or do I let God be my warrior?
David knew his battles were God’s, not his, when he was a shepherd boy (1 Sam. 17:47), but he depended on his own army and strength when he became the king (1 Chron. 21:1–5). Are you more like David the shepherd boy or David the king?
- Am I trying to run from God?
Adam and Eve hid from God in the Garden, and they convinced themselves that He couldn’t find them there (Gen. 3:8). Jonah fled when he didn’t want to follow God’s plan to go to Nineveh (Jon. 1:1–3). Are you doing the same thing?
- Who knows Jesus today because I’ve talked about Him this past week?
Jesus freed a man possessed by a legion of demons, and He told the redeemed man to go tell his friends what He had done. The result: everyone marveled at Jesus (Mark 5:19–20). Who’s marveling today because of your story?
If this look in the mirror is painful, make it joyous by turning back to God right now.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was originally published by chucklawless.com.
Quotes from the-scroll.com
I should give all of my cares and fears and worries and concerns and sins to God. He always takes them. And He gives us rest, respite, peace and salvation in return.
Hannah Muñoz
“Lay it all at His feet”
Growing up has its benefits: more years learning about God, more years cultivating deep, godly friendships, more years finding your place in the world.
Jessica Ingram
“Another year down”
Each chapter of our lives will contain unfairness but if we learn and grow from it, we will come out stronger.
Amy Hacker
“Life’s not fair”
Read from a variety of contributors at the–scroll.com.
Six ‘if only’ statements from Job
By Franklin L. Kirksey
Robertsdale, Ala.
After experiencing traumatic tribulation, Job reviews his life with some “if only” statements. Let’s look at six:
- If only I had a measurement to register the pain.
Job 6:2 reads, “Oh, that my grief were fully weighed, And my calamity laid with it on the scales!”
Job is trying to wrap his mind around his situation.
- If only I had a means to relieve the pain.
Job 6:8 reads, “Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant me the thing that I long for!”
Job 10:18 reads, “Why then have You brought me out of the womb? Oh, that I had perished and no eye had seen me!”
Job felt such anguish that he no longer wanted to continue living in this condition.
- If only I had a memoir to review the pain.
Job 19:23 reads, “Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!”
The book of Job is one of the oldest books of the Bible.
- If only I had a meeting to remedy the pain.
Job 23:3 reads, “Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come to His seat!”
Job had a rich relationship with God, but God was silent for a time.
- If only I had a method to remove the pain.
Job 29:2 “Oh, that I were as in months past, as in the days when God watched over me.”
- If only I had a meaning to reference the pain.
Job 31:35 reads, “Oh, that I had one to hear me! … Oh, that the Almighty would answer.”
Just like Job, real Christians have real questions in dark times when God seems silent.
God is God. Because He is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to.
Elisabeth Elliot
Scripture is a guide for conduct as well as the source of doctrine. Seven times in the book of Revelation we read this phrase: ‘He who has an ear, let him hear’ [2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22, NKJV]. What we read in this book should govern our conduct.
David Jeremiah
“Agents of the Apocalypse: A Riveting Look at the Key Players of the End Times”
“We have a story to tell because God has done great things in our lives and we want to share that. That’s why we write. We want to make a difference,” said Karen Moore, who was presented with the 2023 Joanne Sloan National Award for the Encouragement of Writers. She is an award-winning author of more than 100 books and has encouraged writers for years through articles, blog posts, podcasts and speaking at conferences.
You don’t have to be a terrible person on social media.
Ed Stetzer
Pastor, scholar, editor, podcaster
Chitchat
Think about it: “Whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.” —Luke 12:8–9
@1jjlewis
“How plainly I see that ease and prosperity do not serve the children of God. Covet it not, I beseech you! It does not require a large increase of earthly good to cause the heart to wander from God. None but God Himself is a satisfying portion.”
—Mary Winslow (1774–1854)
@NancyDeMoss
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” —1 John 1:9.
Lord, we know that we have all sinned and fallen short of Your glory. Thank You that You forgive us and always give us another chance.
You always show mercy. You never stop loving us.
Praise Your holy name!
@KathieLGifford
“Read all the time. Read as a matter of principle, as a matter of self-respect. …” —David McCullough
@RayBoomhower
“God is with me in the darkness. He is with me in the pain. He is with me in my uncertainty. He is with me in the waiting. God will work everything in my life for His glory and my best interests.” —Nanci Alcorn
@randyalcorn
