How To Refocus On God When You’re Distracted

 

Introduction

     We will continue our current series on "abiding in Jesus Christ" in the next post. Today I wanted to take time out to address how Christian people can refocus on God when they are distracted. I remember hearing a statistic forty years ago that noted that Americans watched between 3-7 hours of television per day. All of that has changed with the dominance of social media. The organization “addictionhelp.com” conducted a poll on social media use and what it identified as “social media addiction (the entire study is found here Social Media Addiction Statistics 2026 - Usage and Effects. Here is what it noted, 

“Many mental health professionals worry that children and teens are particularly at risk for social media addiction. Such concern is due to the way social media platforms encourage endless scrolling, impulsive behaviors, and the need for instant gratification.” 

It then noted these statistics,

“Young social media users aged 18 to 22 account for a shocking 40% of all Americans addicted to social media. According to research from Common Sense, teens average 7 hours and 22 minutes of screen time per day, and kids 8–12 years old get an average of 4 hours and 44 minutes of screen time per day.”

     I’m not advocating that social media is evil that we must avoid it. Like all previous forms of technology, social media and A.I. are tools. How we wield them and for what end we use them is where prudence is needed. Yet, when it becomes an addiction (i.e. “something I cannot live without or defines how I conduct daily life) or a distraction (i.e. where I lose perspective and neglect what is important), such things can lead to serious emotional and mental issues. That same website noted the following negative effects of such a distraction,

“Out of the 1,141 respondents aged 13 to 17, teens reported that: 70% felt left out or excluded when using social media; 43% have deleted social media posts due to receiving too few likes; 43% felt bad about themselves if no one liked or commented on their posts; 35% reported experiencing cyberbullying. One of the most serious risks social media addiction poses for young people is increased thoughts of self-harm and suicide.”

     We need Psalm 135 as an antidote for our distracted minds and prayer-life. How can we get refocused on God when we’re distracted?

1. Remember the names of God. Psalm 135:1-4, 13-14

      We do not know the author of this Psalm nor the occasion. Nevertheless, its timeliness and timelessness is perfect for our distracted lives. Sometimes what I’ll do is take a sheet of paper or reflect upon the names of God as I begin my prayer time to reel in my scattered thoughts. Notice Psalm 135:1-4,

“Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord; Praise Him, O servants of the Lord, 2 You who stand in the house of the Lord, In the courts of the house of our God! 3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; Sing praises to His name, for it is lovely. 4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His own possession.”

Then notice Psalm 135:13-14, “Your name, O Lord, is everlasting, Your remembrance, O Lord, throughout all generations. 14 For the Lord will judge His people and will have compassion on His servants.” 

One resource I have in my library lists over a thousand names of God in the Bible. Our Lord Jesus Christ alone has over two-hundred names ascribed to Him. Sometimes I like to say some of those names in alphabetical order to get myself refocused. The point is God’s names represent who He is or what He has done. We remember then the names of God. How else can we defeat distraction in our prayer-life and in our thought-life?

2. Review the perfections of God. Psalm 135:5-6

     We begin by focusing on God's names, not let's put before us God's perfections. Notice with me Psalm 135:5-6 “For I know that the Lord is great and that our Lord is above all gods. 6 Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.” 

    When I say “perfections”, I’m speaking about what are called His “attributes”. An attribute is a perfection of God that reveals the kind of God He is. God doesn’t merely “have” certain characteristics. Rather, He is whatever that attribute reveals Him to be. Notice firstly, God’s greatness, especially in how He is above all other “gods”. The Psalmist here is not granting existence or reality to other deities, since God and God alone is God (Isaiah 43:10-11). The Psalmist labors to show that the idols people worship are breathless, sightless, deaf creations of men. 

      Secondly, notice God’s Sovereignty in verse 6. These two headline perfections of His greatness and sovereignty contain other perfections which are just as wonderful as they. 

     To illustrate, sometimes Debi will ask, "are you here?" because my mind is thinking in different directions. We all have “divided attention”. We all, like every other created thing, can never be all nor give all of ourselves to everything. 

      This is why praying to God, who alone is undivided (what theologians call “Divine Simplicity”) is so crucial to “pulling together” our prayer life and thoughts. Just like the names of God, it is helpful to have God’s perfections written down as you pray. Perhaps pray for a little bit and then praise God for one of His perfections. I promise you God’s perfections and names will help bust the distraction. Notice a third way to defeat distraction here in Psalm 135.

3. Recall the works of God. Psalm 135:7-14

     This is the longest section in the Psalm, and rightly so, since God does so much! Psalm 135:7-14 records for us God’s works or providence. The Heidelberg Catechism, question 27, raises this question, 

“What do you understand about the providence of God?”

It gives this answer: “The almighty and everywhere present power of God, whereby as it were by His hand, He still upholds heaven and earth, with all creatures, and so governs them, that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, yes, all things, come not by chance, but by His fatherly hand.”

    We definitely see God’s providence here in Psalm 135:7-14, “He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; who makes lightnings for the rain, who brings forth the wind from His treasuries. 8 He smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast. 9 He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh and all his servants. 10 He smote many nations and slew mighty kings, 11 Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan; 12 And He gave their land as a heritage, a heritage to Israel His people. 13 Your name, O Lord, is everlasting, your remembrance, O Lord, throughout all generations. 14 For the Lord will judge His people and will have compassion on His servants.”

     We see God’s providence at work in His creation, redemption, and our future. God knows what is best. These truths are what we glean from focusing upon the works of God.  

      Sometimes when I cannot readily see His work in my life at present, I’ll focus on His works over the past course of my life. God never changes (Malachi 3:6), which means He will always be at work in my present life and in whatever He has ordained for my future. One of my favorite passages is Psalm 31:15 “My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.” How do we defeat distraction in our prayer-life and thought-life? By remembering His names, reviewing His perfections, and recalling His works. One more method from Psalm 135.

4. Repeat the praises of God. Psalm 135:19-21

     Psalm 135:19-21 “O house of Israel, bless the Lord; O house of Aaron, bless the Lord; 20 O house of Levi, bless the Lord; you who revere the Lord, bless the Lord. 21 Blessed be the Lord from Zion, who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!” 

       That word translated “bless” speaks of “bending the knee in thanksgiving to God”. The force of the Hebrew verbs translated “bless” gives the idea of continuing a process. We could even say there is a certain what we call “antiphonal” quality to this final set of commands.

     Have you ever heard a choir sing a line of a song, with one part repeating the line and the other perhaps joining in with a chorus or some other line that adds and builds momentum? That’s what we mean by “antiphonal”. To make it clearer, Isaiah 6:3 records a worship scene in Heaven involving the Seraphim, a special class of angels, “And one called out to another and said, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” The whole of Israel is told to begin, followed by the priestly leadership of the Aaronic priesthood, then the servants of the temple – the Levites, and then each personal member of the nation. Praise is made personal. 

Closing thoughts:

We focus on God by His name, perfections, works, and repetition of His praises. Let’s use this antidote of Psalm 135 to refocus on God and defeat distraction.

Post #3 Principles For Miraculous Healing - Pray by the will of God when praying for healing (and a word about how I view the miraculous gifts)

Introduction:     

    In our last post we deal with the possibility of miracles in our world here Growing Christian Resources: Post #2 Principles For Miraculous Healing - The place of miracles in a world made by God.. If indeed we can demonstrate the cause of the universe being miraculous or supernatural, then we ought to expect miracles. The same God who created our universe is able to intervene in the course of affairs by His ordinary providence in history, answered prayers, and laws of nature as well. Such a God also does the same by way of extraordinary providences or "miracles". 

    In today's post I want to deal with the first principle for miraculous healing we pull from Luke 5:12-26: "Pray by the will of God when praying for healing". This of course raises a very important question: should we pray “Lord if it be your will, heal so-and-so”? 

    In the last post we saw the one extreme of skepticism, and the need to correct faulty thinking in denying the miraculous altogether. However, in exploring Jesus’ healing ministry, it is important we do “ground-clearing” on another error in our day, namely the teaching that it is always God's will to heal or that it is inappropriate to prayer "Lord, if it be your will". 

    Although some Charismatic groups, so-called 'Third-Wave" teachers, and New Apostolic Reformation authors would advocate such positions, it is recognized that not all will teach it. Nevertheless, some will even go so far to say: "it is always God’s will to heal, and if you don’t get healed, it's due to your lack of faith." 

A word about cessationism - my own personal journey on how I view the miraculous gifts.

    I think it important to grasp a little bit of the wider conversation on the miraculous gifts, and where I stand on the issue. I’m what you call “a cessationist” when it comes to the miraculous gifts. What is cessationism? John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue in their well edited work "A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth - Biblical Doctrine", page 804, define it as follows:

"Cessationism is the view that the sign gifts (e.g., the performing of miracles, gifts of healing, speaking in tongues) and the revelatory gifts (i.e., the reception and proclamation of new revelation from God) passed away when the foundation stage of the church ended." 1

    When I first became a Christian over 40 years ago, I was in the Charismatic movement for many years. When I got trained in Bible College and Seminary, I first heard of cessationism, and then later a mediating position called "open but cautious". 

    For several years after seminary I avowed a form "continuationism" that proposes that most of the miraculous gifts still operate, albeit in a lesser form than those of the Apostolic era of the first century. I do not think this debate ought to ever break fellowship between Christians. For sure, on a practical level, especially in the realm of corporate worship or in regular Bible teaching, we must be sure we interpret experience by Scripture, rather than the reverse.  Furthermore, it seems a consistent yet charitable cessationist view handles better the Biblical data on spiritual gifts as a whole. 

    Dr. Wayne Grudem, an excellent Evangelical theologian in most respects and a continuationist theologian, defines "continuationism" in his 2nd Edition of his "Systematic Theology":

    "a continuationist would say that the miraculous gifts continue today."2

    Overtime I've enjoyed the ministries of men like Dr. John Piper and Wayne Grudem, who are able exponents of this sort of mainstream, evangelical "continuationist" teaching. Dr. Piper's presentations on his continuationist views were instrumental in my younger days when I first held to that position. I have their books and to a large degree trust their handling of Scripture, despite not seeing eye-to-eye on where they land on this subject. 

    I settled into the position I hold to today, cessationism, for a number of reasons.3 I have dear Christian friends who are Pentecostal and Charismatic, and ought not think the need to break fellowship. Nevertheless, on a practical and pastoral level, where one lands on how God works in our world when it comes to healing and miracles is important whether defending the Christian faith against skeptics or praying for those needing healing.   

What cessationism teaches

     Cessationism doesn’t deny God’s power to heal nor activity of healing. I remember for a long time resisting cessationist teaching because I thought they denied God's activity of miracle working today. Despite that caricature, I then learned that cessationists do teach God's healing power as He so chooses in answer to prayer. 4

    Dr. Tom Pennington, who pastors Countryside Baptist Church in Southlake, Texas, was for years associated with Grace Community Church, pastored by the late Dr. John MacArthur.5  Pennington offered the following definition of cessationism, and contrasted it with the overall view I mentioned earlier - "continuationism":

"So what is it that cessationists believe the Spirit has ceased.  Let’s be very clear.  We only believe He has ceased one function and that is He no longer gives believers today the miraculous spiritual gifts, gifts like speaking in tongues, prophecy and healing.

On the other hand, continuationists believe either that the miraculous gifts have continued unabated since Pentecost or other sects would say, no, they have waned through much of the church age but have now been restored."  

    Cessationism seems to best explain why not every single gift, office, and phenomena witnessed in the New Testament is evidenced today. Even among the spectrum of continuationist thought, they will allow some things to carry-on into this present era, while limiting or even claiming other aspects (such as the Apostolic office) have ceased. As John MacArthur said at the Strange Fire Conference, "ultimately, even continuationists are cessationists". 

Verifying why it is best to pray for healing according to God's will

    Let's be clear. God has always used providence and prayer in every age to work healing in accords to His will. In particular eras, God used a second route – miraculous giftings in individuals. As I study Scripture and look at church history, we see God healing whom he wills through providence and prayer, with the former route of miraculous gifts having waned (see Hebrews 2:3-4). In other words, we no longer see a continuation, but rather a cessation of miraculous gifts in and through specific individuals. 

    When I was in the charismatic movement decades ago, I recall preachers discouraging people to pray “if it be your will” as a sign of unbelief. Is this true. In Pentecostal, Charismatic, and NAR (New Apostolic Reformation or Third Wave Charismatic teaching), it is assumed that it is God’s will to heal. To pray "if it be your will to heal me God" is unbelief. Is this true? 

    Notice Luke 5:12-13 “While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, ‘Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.’ 13 And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ And immediately the leprosy left him.”  

    Jesus doesn’t correct the man. The leper’s request is his way of yielding himself under whatever purpose Jesus may have in mind. Why was it appropriate for the leper to say to Jesus “Lord, if you are willing”? Let’s finish out today's post by noting three points.

A. We don’t know God’s unrevealed will. 

    Here is a question: “why do some people get healed immediately and others later on?” I’ve yet to hear the Charismatic movement mention God’s unrevealed will when it comes to the question of healing. Let us be reminded of Isaiah 55:8  “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord.”  Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.”  We have then God’s “revealed will” and then His “unrevealed will”. God’s will and purpose are closely related in Scripture. 

    God's will is His pleasure in bringing about whatever comes to pass (compare Psalm 115:3). Ephesians 1:11“also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.”  Thus, we don’t know God’s unrevealed will, which factors into why sometimes people don't get healed when we pray for them.

B. We know prayer is to follow God’s will.

    Praying according to God’s will in healing follows the pattern taught by Jesus about prayer in general. Matthew 6:9-10 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  We have the Biblical rationale for praying “Lord, if it be your will” when praying for miraculous healing. Let’s go further. We cannot know God’s unrevealed will, we know prayer is to follow God’s will, thirdly…..

C. We don’t know the timing of God’s will. 

    God’s will has decreed when He will heal, as well as whether He has another purpose in mind besides healing. God can immediately heal, but he may also decide to heal later or in some cases heal believers (like my late father) in heaven. 

    Think of it this way. If people were healed immediately, they may not be ready or they may easily stop relying on God. Only God knows ultimate outcomes, even paths which may never come to pass (compare Isaiah 46:10). At times the building of faith and trust in God can enable the person to see God’s glory when the healing comes later. 

    On the flip-side, God can heal immediately and thus get the glory. This mystery-side of healing and God’s will shows we do not know all of God’s purposes. God is aiming to be glorified and He is always good no matter what. 

Final thought

    Contrary to many so-called faith-healers today, it is appropriate to approach the Lord with humility, admitting our ignorance as to His purpose, and pleading His mercies for healing. Our first principle we learn from Jesus about miraculous healing: pray according to the will of God. 

Endnotes:

1. John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue in their well edited work "A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth - Biblical Doctrine",Crossway Publishers, Wheaton Illinois, 2017, page 804

2. Wayne Grudem. An Introduction to Biblical Doctrtine - Systematic Theology - 2nd Edition. Zondervan Academic. Page 1272. Note 23. 

3. Why did I settle into cessationist views on the miraculous gifts? Firstly, I did so because continuationism, seems inconsistent in viewing some of the miraculous gifts as ceased (like Apostles, Prophets) and advocating that other gifts (like prophecy or tongues) as different from their Apostolic Age counterparts. 

    My second reason for holding to cessationism is because, in my view, continuationist exegesis of Scripture feels strained. I just do not see this two-tiered view of the miraculous gifts as "full strength" in the Apostolic period and "lesser strength" advocated at all in Scripture nor strenuously in church history. 

    Then lastly, Charismatic or stronger views of continuationism admit to the discontinuity of the office of Apostle and Prophet, as well as the marked differences between so-called tongues today and claims to the gift of miracles compared to what we read in the New Testament.  

4. There are times I’ve prayed for healing, or where we’ve anointed people with oil, and God saw fit to answer those prayers. My father for instance was anointed four times in his four battles with cancer. In the third instance, the cancer disappeared, whereas in the other anointings with oil, God had other purposes in view. 

    Cessationists do advocate the definite possibility of healing, what they deny though is that such miraculous gifts are operating in individuals today as they once did in the Apostolic era. 

5. Over a decade ago, Dr. Pennington spoke at Grace Community Church's annual Shepherd's Conference, which had as its theme for that year: "Strange Fire". The conference featured a full presentation of cessationist teaching, and exposed the erroneous thinking of current Pentecostal, Charismatic, and Third-Wave movements.

Post #37 The Doctrine of God - Praying through God's Attributes and How Divine Simplicity Grounds The Prayer-life

Introduction:

    In this blog series, we've navigated through the being and attributes of God. I wanted to devote a couple posts to the important truth of Divine simplicity, and its particular application to our prayer life. My hope is these current posts are causing us to seek God at a deeper level. Eventually, we will devote future posts to what I will call "part two" of our study of the doctrine of God or "Theology Proper" - the doctrine of the Trinity. 

    

    For now, I want to take today to show the reader the benefit of praying through God's attributes, what that looks like, and conclude with why the doctrine of Divine simplicity is the basis for our prayer life. 

    It wasn't to long ago that I found myself having one of those days that left me anxious about a whole host of life's areas. As I prayed, I asked God to help me arrive at a point of peace about the situations in question (Philippians 4:6-7). As I continued to pray and wrestle with the thoughts going through my mind, a sudden idea occurred: "why not select an attribute of God and pray about the situations through that attribute?" 

    I don't doubt that at that very moment, the Holy Spirit was illuminating me to an insight in connection with the Scripture (compare 1 Corinthians 2:10-13). So, I sought the Lord at that moment as God that is always loving, always merciful, always opposed to sin, always happy with Himself, unchanging in His love for me, and always loyal in knowing about my circumstance. In praying that way, I dwelled respectively on His love, mercy, holiness, blessedness, immutability, and omniscience. 

    Do you know that the instant I prayed that prayer, an enormous peace came over me! Since that day, I have pondered on what it would be like to base one's prayer-life on the attributes of God. Let me assure the reader that this notion is not novel. Millennia attest to the scores of Christian writers who have expounded at length on using the perfections of God as a means of prayer.  

What are God's attributes?

    An attribute of God is a perfection that is an expression of His essence as God. To take but one example, we read in 1 John 4:8 that "God is love". For God, love is not just an attribute that God possesses as a feature, but rather, love is God's very essence expressing itself perfectly as love. In other words - "God is love", incapable of being less or more in how that expression could ever be expressed from the standpoint of what He is as God. 

    Another example is found in Psalm 99:5, were we read: "holy is He". God doesn't merely "have" holiness", He is Holy". Holiness is a perfection that is an expression of His very essence.  

    As we think about God and His attributes, all of His attributes are rooted in His very essence. No one single attribute is better than the other. All of them, without exception, capture and grant to us all of who God is (as Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and what God is (the One, undivided God). 

    Concerning that last statement of "what God is", we come to find that God is indeed the "undivided God" or what theologians refer to as "Divinely simple". Thus, in the above examples, God is "lovingly-holy" and "holy-loving".

Divine simplicity and the believer's prayer-life

    Divine simplicity means God is not composed of parts, whether we speak of attempting to separate God's attributes from His Divine being or presupposing some cause that brought about God. Put another way, Divine simplicity means every attribute equally grants us God, His eternal perfections, and identity.  When we bring Divine simplicity down to the most practical level of prayer, we refer to how God is never at odds with Himself, and thus undivided when we come to Him in prayer. One writer has noted that due to God not being composed of parts, that means that when I'm falling apart, God can hold me together by virtue of His Divine simplicity.

    Divine simplicity may very well be an attribute which is hardly discussed today, yet, it can help us in gaining confidence in God in prayer. How is it that we can pray to God according to His Divine simplicity?

1. Praying through Divine simplicity affirms we have God’s undivided attention. Romans 11:33-35

    Sometimes Debi, my wife, will ask: "are you here?" because my mind is thinking in different directions. We all have “divided-attention”. We all, like every other created thing, can never be all nor give all of ourselves to everything. God alone can because He is "Divinely-simple”. Wherever you see Biblical phrases like “God is” or “is He” or God acting out an attribute, that points us to God’s divine simplicity. Consider the following passages: 

1. Psalm 99:5 “Holy is He”. 

2. Malachi 3:6 “I the Lord do not change”. 
    
3. James 1:17 “…with whom there is no variation or shifting of shadow.” 

4. 1 John 4:8 “….God is love”.   

    The Apostle Paul in Romans 11:33-36 indicates how God is undivided with respect to His abilities to give attention. Paul references God's Wisdom, Knowledge and ways as undivided and thus - unfading. My favorite passage in all the New Testament hints at God's Divine simplicity, namely Romans 11:36 - "for from Him, and to Him and through Him are all things". 

    Therefore, no matter what I am praying about, I realize that to God, past, present and future are one-big eternal now with respect to His omniscience, and that particular attribute grants me access to all His other attributes which He steadily applies in bringing about His will in my life. God's Divinely simple nature as "the undivided God" means I have His undivided attention. But notice also how this attribute strengthens our faith in prayer...

2. Praying through Divine simplicity affirms we have God’s undivided ability at hand. Romans 11:36 

    No creature is good at everything. Even in our universe, we see varying levels of stars, things wearing out, things changing (see Psalm 102). God’s ability alone never diminishes. His attributes, or perfections, never fade. Such thoughts grant confidence in prayer. How?   Practically, as mentioned above, God won’t ever fall-apart because He has "no parts" as defined by the doctrine of Divine simplicity. In other words, God's essence or "what He is" and existence or "that He is" are not divided and are not separated from His perfections. 

    As Divinely simple, God is incapable of improvement and without need of anything. When it comes to prayer, God is our all sufficiency in prayer because    He needs nothing to make Him better. We on the other hand need God, since without Him and His perfection of omnipotent, I can never have that endless source of strength needed to get through everyday life.

    Again, certain passages imply to us God's Divine simplicity by the way they mention other attributes. For example, God's immutability or His inability to change, as stated in Numbers 23:19 

“God is not a man, that He should     lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?" 

Or again, the prophet Malachi writes in Malachi 3:6 

“For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed."

    One more example in the New Testament, James 1:17 

“For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed."

    Since God's Divine simplicity grants me access to every attribute that He is as God, this means that at any given point, I have all of God's unending ability to bear on the things I pray about in everyday life. Put another way, Divine simplicity teaches that since every attribute equally grants us God, we have perfections and Personal identity involved with us every step of the way.

Closing thoughts

    Today we emphasized praying by way of God's attributes. This led us to focus upon God's Divine simplicity, which refers to God being "undivided", whether in terms of His attributes, being or existence. Such a God grants us all the confidence we need in prayer. As Divinely simple, God grants to us His undivided attention and undivided power by how we have accesses to all that He is and who He is in prayer. 

Post # 36 The Doctrine of God - God's Divine Simplicity and the Christian's prayer-life

Introduction:

    In the last post I introduced the reader to the doctrine of Divine simplicity here http://www.growingchristianresources.com/2024/02/post-35-doctrine-of-god-introduction-to.html. To say God is Divinely simple is to say He has no parts. When we talk of God's attributes, being, and the Persons of the Trinity, its not like we have those three in three seperate piles, awaiting our assembling. 

    God is not some sort of "lego-man" deity, where I have a piece of God here and a piece of God there. Those who believe that the universe is some sort of deity would commit to such an error (known as "pantheism", or the belief that god is everything and everything is god".) The God of the Bible is omnipresent yet transcendent, not confined to our universe and responsible for its existence. 

    These opening observations are vitally important when it comes to prayer. When the Christian prays, how important is it to know we have God's undivided attention? Further, God is personal, not impersonal, as pantheism would lead us to believe. The Apostle John writes in 1 John 5:14-15 what I would argue links the relevance of Divine simplicity to our prayer-life,

"This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him."

    I would argue that Divine simplicity is vital for God to be the prayer-hearing God of the Bible. How so? Five attributes of God come to mind with respect to how I would show the relevance of Divine simplicity to our prayer-life: Divine spirituality, Divine immutability, Divine omniscience, Divine omnipotence, and Divine wisdom. 

    If God's underlying unity of being and attributes is not what the Bible says, then all bets are off when it comes to affirming that God is a God who can equally hear, respond to, and thus include prayer in how He executes His will. Let's trace this out, since the last thing I want for the reader to have is only a theoretical understanding of Divine simplicity, unrelated to prayer. 

Divine simplicity the the spirituality of God in our prayer-life

    Since the doctrine of Divine simplicity asserts that God is without parts, and that everything in God is God, the spirituality of God is a good attribute to start in seeing how Divine simplicity is relevant to prayer. J.P. Boice in his "Abstract of Theology", page 62 notes,

"But when we ascribe spirituality to God, we do not intend to simply assert that He possess a spiritual nature, but that His nature is exclusively spiritual. By this we mean that He has no material organization, that He has neither body nor members (parts) of the body such as we have, neither shape or form, neither passions (the trait that causes change in a being when acted upon by something outside of itself), nor limitations, but only a spiritual nature."

    It was Jesus who gave the clearest summary of this perfection of Divine spirituality in the context of prayer in John 4:24 "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." The Apostle Paul affirms a similar idea about God not being confined to temples, since God is by nature spiritual, thus "in Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:25-28). 

    To know that God is Divinely simple in His spirituality is to assert that this is what God is, and as such, God's whole activity in hearing and answering prayer is not limited by time, space, or circumstance. As Dr. Steven J. Lawson comments in his own work on the attribute of Divine spirituality, God is "infinite, without limitations in regards to any attribute, His being, and thus His character." 

Divine simplicity and Divine immutability for our prayer-life.

    Whenever we talk about Divine simplicity, what we're saying is that God in His being is His attributes. Put another way, whatever attribute I'm talking about, I am talking about the God who is by nature what that attribute conveys.  The attributes of God are whole expressions of the Divine nature, since everything that is in God is God. 

    God's Divine unchangeability or immutability is affirmed in the Bible as not just something that God has, but rather what He is by nature (see Number 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29; Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8). When it comes to anchoring our confidence in prayer, God's immutability entails Divine simplicity, since an unchanging God, by nature, is required for prayer's answers to allign with His unwavering character. 

    One of the clearest examples of how we connect Divine simplicity, Divine immutability, and prayer relate is in James 1:3-17. James 1:5-8 states,

"But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."

    It is later that James writes in James 1:17 "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow."

    Here we see that God is a God without parts, whereby in Him there is no variation, no change, no element of changeability that characterizes everything else that is created and thus not God. We live in a world that is prone to change, variation, and thus is composed of parts. God and God alone can be our Divine reference point whenever we need an anchor for our prayer-life. 

Divine simplicity and Divine omniscience in our prayer-life

    Divine simplicity asserts that God is, by nature, all His attributes, since those perfections are each a whole expression of His Divine being. Omniscience is vitally important to consider when we pray to God. Note David's words in Psalm 139:1-6

"O Lord, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. 3 You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, You know it all. 5 You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it."

    The doctrine of Divine simplicity, as it relates to Divine omniscience, assures me that God's knowledge cannot have any division, weakening, nor improvement, since Divine Simplicity asserts that God was never composed by anything outside of Himself and thus cannot get better or worse. 

    You and I can forget, or demonstrate limits to our knowledge. We are comprised of parts, meaning we have memories, impressions of thoughts, recollections - in other words, different activities of our intellects. For God, He simply "knows". William Ames, a 17th century writer, states in his "Marrow of Divinity", "The attributes of God set forth What God is, and Who he is."

    As for our prayers, God knows what we are going to pray, how He will use our prayers, and the answers He will give - all in one Divine intellectual act. For God - past, present, and future are equally known, seen, and fully apprehended. 

Divine simplicity, Divine omnipotence, and our prayer-life

    So far we've seen how Divine simplicity undergirds God's spirituality, immutability, and omniscience in our prayer-life. But what about God's Divine omnipotence? For God to execute all the other prior perfections, it necessarily follows He would be omnipotent, since infinite power is befitting to His charcter as God. 

    God as a Divinely simple being tells me that the Divine nature cannot be divided, which means that God's power cannot wax and wane as everything else apart from Him does. Prayer in our Christian experience can of course wax and wane. We get tired. Our devotion to God fluctuates. Yet our omnipotent God never waxes and wanes in His power (Isaiah 40:28). 

    An example of what I'm talking about with respect to Divine simplicity, omnipotence, and our prayer-life is in the contrast the psalmist presents between the idols of the nations and the omnipotent God in Psalm 115:3-9,

"But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases. 4 Their idols are silver and gold, The work of man’s hands. 5 They have mouths, but they cannot speak; They have eyes, but they cannot see;6 They have ears, but they cannot hear; They have noses, but they cannot smell; 7 They have hands, but they cannot feel; They have feet, but they cannot walk; They cannot make a sound with their throat.8 Those who make them will become like them, Everyone who trusts in them."

    The deities worshipped by the nations are "complex deities", that is, they are composed, made of parts by the hands of men, and conceived of in the sinful human imagination. God, on the otherhand, doesn't "have" this or that attribute, He just simply "is" His perfections. Furthermore, God is omnipotent, executing His Sovereign purpose "as He pleases". For prayer to work, we need an omnipotent God who is Divinely simple in His essence. 

Divine simplicity, Divine wisdom, and our prayer-life

       God's wisdom is that perfection whereby He guides and executes His intended means and goals according to His good pleasure. Divine wisdom requires the Divine will to be unified, without division. The doctrine of Divine simplicity ensures that God is indeed "God only wise" (1 Timothy 1:17, KJV, NKJV). We read in Proverbs 2:6 

"For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding." 

    The doctrine of Divine simplicity tells us that God does not merely have wisdom to give, rather He is only wise, and thus when He communicates wisdom, nothing is subtracted from Him. James 1:5 reminds us of God's wisdom as it pertains to our prayer-life, 

"But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him." 

    As I've been stating throughout this post, whenever I am focused upon any one of God's attributes, I have all of God in that attribute, since the doctrine of Divine simplicity states God is His attributes. Put more concretely, I literally have God's undivided attention, whether I'm seeking Him as He is as God only wise, God omnipotent, God omniscient, God unchanging, or God that is entire spirituality by nature.

Closing thoughts for today:

    In this post I've attempted to relate the doctrine of Divine simplicity to the Christian's prayerlife. We've done so by observing how Divine simplicity operates in our prayerlife by our interractions wirh God in His spirituality, immutability, omnipotence, omniscience, and wisdom. I'd like to close out with a prayer that seeks God as the Divinely simply God. 

O great God, you are without parts. There is no variation nor shifting of shadow within you. You are eternal, and nothing, anyone, or anything was responsible for why you are God. You are God, and there is no other. You are alone wise, you never forget me nor do you love me for what you would see me do or neglect to perform. You are alone loving, love without beginning, without ending, lovingly sending the Son to die and raise for my sins, choosing me in love, without beginning, only because you love. 

    You alone are holy, too pure to look upon sin and too transcendent to be reached by any creature. You, great God, God without parts, are self-sufficient, nothing in you is missing. 

    You are the one who is, who was, who ever will be. Your Divine Godhead, without division, wholly resides in who you are as Father, Son, and Spirit. To you Father I do come, you are without origin, wholly Divine, without parts as truly God, who chose me, loves me, and is all-compassionate, all-holy, hollowed be your name. 

    To you Father I come through the Son, equal in all respects to you, sharing in the simplicity of nature, begotten from you from eternity. Lord Jesus Christ, you are, by your deity, God without parts, without passions, ever loving me, became man to suffer for my sake, and rise as man, ascending as man, all for my sake. 

    To the Father and through the Son I come by the Spirit, who with the Father and Son is to be worshipped and glorified. Thank you Lord Jesus for having the Father send the Spirit in your name. He who proceeds from the Father through you gives me access to the undivided God. 

    Oh great LORD, you who are without parts, constant in every perfection, I know that through the Son I have your undivided attention. Your mercy is unceasing only because of the merit won for me by the Son dying and rising in His humanity. He in His deity, one with you and the Spirit, is my Mediator, perfect, complete in-and-of Himself. To you God I trust this prayer is heard. Whatever you deem best, may your will be done in my life this day, amen.  

National Day of Prayer May 7, 2020 Devotional - "When God Has You In A Holding Pattern"

Introduction: Recalling a holding-pattern

        I can recall one vacation several years ago in which we had went to visit some family. After saying our goodbyes, we proceeded to drive the ten-minute journey to the major interstate highway that would take us home. As soon as we got onto the on-ramp, we found ourselves in a traffic jam that stretched for miles. For two hours we were in a holding pattern – not moving an inch. Admittedly, we all were getting anxious, wondering what the “hold-up” was. We heard overhead helicopters, saw flashing lights – but nothing more. Gradually we began to move. We would later hear that an armed gunman had aimed shots at another motorist over a road-rage situation. The state troopers had to shut down traffic to address the situation and ensure everyone’s safety. Holding patterns are never enjoyable. Oftentimes, a holding-pattern is never understood due to not having the far- bigger picture.  

        As we approach this National Day of Prayer for 2020, we come upon what is perhaps one the most unique National Day of Prayer in its 69 year history. Never in the history of any National Day of Prayer has there been a worldwide pandemic that has affected people's lives to the scope of COVID-19. As we approach this situation in prayer to God, having a time in which Christians can come together to pray is the most appropriate response we can give. We are all in a holding pattern. I recently heard a well-known pastor remind his listeners to not waste this time of solitude. 

Meet a prophet who was in a holding-pattern        
           
        As we turn our attention to the prophet Habakkuk, we find a prophet who is wrestling and trying to comprehend exactly what is going on in his world. He sees around him a people who have fallen into moral and spiritual decline. I heard a preacher once describe Habakkuk’s situation in this way:

“Habakkuk is like a wrestler grappling with the problem of evil who becomes a watcher, waiting on his God to act. This watcher, by the end of His prophecy, becomes a worshipper who praises God for granting him strength and faith to trust him.” 
      
       I often refer to Habakkuk as the “Job” of the prophets. Much like Job in the Old Testament, Habakkuk did as his name signifies - he “clung”. He clung tightly to God while experiencing internal turmoil from all the circumstances that he saw around him. Chapter 2 of his prophecy finds Habakkuk put into a holding pattern – which I suspect all of us find ourselves today. Listen to what is described in Habakkuk 2:1-4

I will stand on my guard post and station myself on the rampart; and I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, and how I may reply when I am reproved. 2 Then the Lord answered me and said, “Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run. 3 “For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay. 4 “Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith. 

       You can see this in the first three verses. My question to you and me this day is this: what do we do when God places us in a holding pattern? There is no question in my mind that we are in such a circumstance. What we need is a word from God as to how we can not only function from day to day in this current situation, but more importantly, what we will do in the wake of this predicament. I find in this second chapter three marvelous truths that give us handles with which we can grab onto as we exercise faithfulness to God during our holding pattern. 

1. The Power of the Gospel. Habakkuk 2:4.
      
         Let me point to you first the power of the gospel we find this in Habakkuk chapter 2 verse 4 which reads: “Behold as for the proud one his soul is not right within him but the righteous will live by his faith.” The latter part of verse four is found three times in the New Testament. The first reference is in Romans 1:17 where Paul writes: “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith." The second place we find this verse is in Galatians 3:11 “Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “The righteous man shall live by faith.” And then the final time we find Habakkuk 2:4 quoted in the New Testament is in Hebrews 10:38 which reads: "But My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him." 
All three of these New Testament verses underscore our need for the Power of the Gospel.
            Now to understand a little bit further the message of Habakkuk, we need to consider the background of this prophecy. Habakkuk ministered during the time in which the southern Kingdom of Judah and its capitol Jerusalem in moral and spiritual decline. The year was 620 b.c, and the people were 15 years away from being conquered by the Babylonian empire for the purpose of captivity and exile. The only bright spot that shone during this time was a godly king by the name of “Josiah” (you can read about King Josiah’s reign and the background of Habakkuk in 2 Kings chapters 22-23). 

       The reason I point your attention to King Josiah is because he literally embodied what we find here in Habakkuk 2:4, namely, he as a righteous man lived by faith in God.  King Josiah clung to the power of the Gospel. God's grace affected him to trust the LORD as a young lad. As a grown man, leading a nation amidst difficult circumstances, the king would lead his people in a revival and renewal. 

      Josiah’s example provides a picture of what it looks like when we “walk by faith, and not by sight” (see 2 Corinthians 5:7). Moreover, Josiah is in the biological bloodline that would lead to the bringing about of the humanity of Jesus as the incarnated Son of God. Such a life that “lives by faith” is like a neon sign, pointing to Christ. When we find then that when we are in a difficult holding pattern like we are now, we must cling onto the power of the gospel. But let me point your attention to a second truth that helps us to get through holding patterns such as this and that is…..

2. The promise of God's glory. Habakkuk 2:14

       We find these words in Habakkuk chapter 2:14 - which reads: “For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” Now mind you, when Habakkuk was writing these words, God was actually delivering to him what would be a scathing judgment against the Babylonians whom he was going to send to judge the Southern Kingdom of Judah and its city, Jerusalem. It seemed as if the future was nothing but a hopeless and helpless mess. Yet, God gave this promise that the day would come when the entire earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. We come to the New Testament and we find such statements like this in many spots. For example, we read in 1 John 3:1 – 

"See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. (2) Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is."

      And then the Apostle John writes in 1 John 3:3 – “And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure." It is our hope in the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ that sustains us in the here and now as we look forward to his coming in the sweet by and by. When we are going through any valley of shadow and darkness, the only place to which we can look is up (see Psalm 121). Surrounding such a shadowy valley are the mountains over which shines the coming glory of God. It is when such light begins to illuminate the sky that we find our ability to trek through such spiritual valleys, supernaturally enabled by God (see 1 Corinthians 3:16).  So whenever we find ourselves in a holding pattern we look to the power of the gospel and the promise of God's glory but let me point out to you one more truth that we find in Habakkuk 2, and that is….

3. The present awareness of God's activity. Habakkuk 2:20

     In Habakkuk 2:20 we read - "but the Lord is in his holy temple let all the earth be silent before him." There is something about waiting on God and seeing what he is going to do that causes us to collect our thoughts and our faith which may very well had been shattered into a million pieces. We read in Isaiah 40:30-31 –

"Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, (31) Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary."

      There is something about waiting on God and being still that causes us to get refocused on him. There is a wonderful book of written prayers by a group of late sixteenth and seventeenth century Christians called: “The Valley of Vision”. In one of those recorded prayers, we find an excerpt which expresses to God how we can cope through difficulty by gaining awareness of God through silence: 

"I bless thee that the court of conscience proves me to be thine.
I do not need signs and wonders to believe, for thy Word is sure truth.
I have cast my anchor in the port of peace, knowing that present and future
are in nail-pierced hands."

The prayer continues....

"Thou art so good, wise, just holy,
that no mistake is possible to thee.
Thou art fountain and source of all law;
what thou commandest is mine to obey.
I yield to thy sovereignty all that I am and have; do thou with me as thou wilt.
Thou hast given me silence in my heart
in place of murmurings and complaints.
Keep my wishes from growing into willings, my willings from becoming fault-finding with thy providences,
and have mercy on me."

      As Isaiah 26:3 reminds us (as we find it in the KJV) – “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” 

Closing thoughts

      Thus, as we look to the power of the gospel, the promise of his glory as well as increasing our awareness of his presence, we will find strength while we are in our holding pattern.

Five spiritual resources to get you through any crisis or situation

Introduction:

      The other morning I was meditating on spiritual resources which enable the Christian to get through any difficult time. As all of us are experiencing the ripple effects of COVID-19, I'm sure we wonder how we will fare? Furthermore, as we emerge out from underneath this time, and face a whole new way of living life amidst what are bound to be sweeping changes, how can the Christian effectively navigate through such choppy waters? Below I offer five truths that God provides for spiritual and emotional strength through this time and, really any situation we may face in the future.

1. Sovereignty of God.

      What is God's sovereignty? Divine Sovereignty is that perfection in which God has the unlimited right to be God over all He has created. The sovereignty of God is crisply expressed by Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper, where he said in effect that there is not one square inch of all creation where Jesus does not say: "mine". King David wrote in Psalm 103:19 perhaps the clearest words about God's sovereignty anywhere in God's Word, the Bible -

"The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all. 20 Bless the Lord, you His angels, Mighty in strength, who perform His word, Obeying the voice of His word! 21 Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, you who serve Him, doing His will. 22 Bless the Lord, all you works of His, in all places of His dominion;
Bless the Lord, O my soul!"

Some additional passages which affirm God's ultimate right of dominion over the events of our world are Genesis 50:20; Acts 2:23-24; 14:17; Romans 8:28 and Romans 11:36. 

       Why is Sovereignty such a strengthening truth? To know that God is on the throne and that there is nothing random or meaningless means there is a purpose to everything - even when we cannot see it in the short-term. I heard author Charles Swindoll once note in a sermon something to this effect:

"Although I may not be able to comprehend all that is in God's Sovereignty, yet because of His Sovereignty I find great comfort and peace".

       God's exercise of His Sovereignty in our world is called His "Providence", meaning, He directs the course of all things, and uses both good and evil to accomplish His greatest good. Providence, simply put, is where God's "right-to-reign" becomes "the exercise of His reign in the maintaining of our world". Although God is not the author of evil and suffering, His plan included it. He works His will through the secondary agency of human choices and the secondary instrumentality of the laws of nature, history and events. The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 expresses this point of God's providence:

"God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise."

      God chose to create a world that included, in His plans, the Fall of man and the Crucifixion. The inclusion of the crucifixion of Jesus and permission of the Fall of man points us to God's morally sufficient grounds for using both to achieve His most-wise ends. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith in Modern English notes about Divine Providence in matters such as COVID-19 (notice the underlined words) - 

"All things come to pass unchangeably and certainly in relation to the foreknowledge and decree of God, who is the first cause. Thus, nothing happens to anyone by chance or outside of God’s providence. Yet by the same providence God arranges all things to occur according to the nature of second causes, either necessarily, freely, or in response to other causes."

2. The Savior - Jesus Christ

       When Jesus came into our world to live, suffer, die and raise from the dead, He came as the Savior of the world and His church (Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy 2:2; 4:10; 2 Peter 3:9). We read in Acts 4:27-28 a prayer the early Christians expressed that had a strong view of God's Sovereignty and focus on the Savior - Jesus Christ:

"For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur. 29 And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence."

       As the early church was undergoing increased pressure, they found spiritual and emotional resources in the mission and majesty of Jesus Christ. The writer in Hebrews 13:8 reminds us of about Jesus as unchanging, with respect to His Divine nature, whenever we consider our rapidly changing world: 

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever".

One other quote from the inspired Book of Hebrews about the Savior, Jesus Christ, captures His empathy which He experienced as truly man for us in Hebrews 4:15-16 - 

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. - ESV

I love that particular text of scripture, since there is an invitation to come to the Lord Jesus Christ in prayer whenever we're in need of help. The last line of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 article on "God the Son" reminds us:

"He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord."

Other New Testament passages such as Hebrews 12:1-3 direct the Christian to focus on Jesus when facing hardship (also consider 1 Peter 2:21-22; 1 John 2:6). 

3. The Scriptures.

     In addition to God's Sovereignty and the Savior, the third life-sustaining truth for Christians to remember when facing situations such as COVID-19 or other times is the Word of God - i.e. "the Scriptures". The term "scripture" derives from the Latin "scriptura" and means "that which is written". The Bible is God's Divinely written, inspired, inerrant words as originally given to the prophets and apostles. Psalm 119:105 reminds us in these dark times:

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."

Romans 15:4 gives us this life-practical reminder of why we need the Bible in times such as these: 

"For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."

Readers can also turn to the following Biblical passages about the necessity and sufficiency of scripture in difficult times (Psalm 19:7-14; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21).

4. The Spirit of God.

       For the Christian, having God's presence directly active in their life ought to give great comfort in a time such as this, which is why Jesus promised the sending of the Holy Spirit upon His ascension into Heaven (see John 14:16-17; 14:26; 15:26-27; 16:7-11). 

       The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity, meaning, He brings to us the direct presence and power of God as God. Put another way, I sometimes refer to the Holy Spirit as the "Ambassador of the Trinity", since it is He Who makes available to the Christian access to the Lord Jesus Christ and the Heavenly Father (see Romans 8:14-16; Galatians 4:6; Colossians 1:27; Hebrews 4:15-16). The presence of the Holy Spirit in the Christian means that God is literally with every believer, and that there is no chance of having to face any crisis alone apart from God (see 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19-20).

5. Certainty of God's promises.

      I've read over the years that various authors estimate some 8,000 promises from God to the Christian.      What promises can we turn to when facing difficult times? Let me mention a few examples. Whenever you are trying to discern God's will for future employment, your family or your current situation, Proverbs 3:5-6 gives this counsel:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.

       What about knowing how to pray whenever you feel overwhelmed? How can you cope with overwhelming burdens such as bills and health? The Apostle Paul gives us this prescriptive promise in Philippians 4:6-7 - 

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

     Then of course the impulse we all feel to get out of our homes and go "do something". For others, the current "holding-pattern" is nerve-racking, especially whenever one feels the urgency to get back to work or somehow try to transcend a situation in which they have no control. The promise we find in Isaiah 40:30-31 is timely - 

"Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."

Closing thoughts:

      We've considered five truths to get us through any situation: God's Sovereignty; the Savior - Jesus Christ; The Scriptures; The Spirit of God and the certainty of God's promises. I've found in over thirty years of Christian living that these five spiritual resources enable endurance through any and every situation. May the Lord strengthen you dear reader as you look to Him.