Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

II Timothy 2:15, ESV

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure

Philippians 2:12-13, ESV

 

We've all been asked this question, whether it was after cleaning our room when we were little, or going over our homework with our teacher when we were a bit older, or when explaining the work we had done to our boss or client when we were older still: "Is this your best?"

 

Now if someone has asked this question in the first place, it's probably because they have reason to suspect that we have not done our best work. In fact, there are probably few people who ever like to hear this question asked, because they have a sneaky suspicion of what the person asking the question really means - that we have not done a very good job. So the solution to avoiding this question by others, be it for cleaning our rooms, or doing our homework, or working on a job that needs to be done well, is to ask ourselves the question first.

 

Now, think about this: We will all appear in the Judgment to answer this very question. The big difference is that it will not be a parent, teacher, or boss who is asking the question, but God Himself! So, doesn't it behoove us all to answer that question before that time of judgment? How are we doing? Are we working out our salvation, on God's term, with fear and trembling? Are we doing our best to present ourselves to Him as one approved? If not, now would be a good time to fix any shortcomings we have while there is still time to do so.

 

Are you doing your best?

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

John 8:12, NKJV

 

When I was a little boy, my family visited Carlsbad Caverns. The Caverns are essentially a giant series of caves that run deep underground. We had a guide with a powerful lantern to lead us down into the cave, and it was a good thing too, because without their light we would have either fallen into one of the pits that dropped for hundreds of feet, or we would have stumbled around in the darkness, hopelessly lost.

 

I remember when the guide turned out the light. We stood still in a darkness so deep that you could almost feel it. It was scary for a small child to experience such darkness and I was relieved when they turned the light back on. It has been over half of a century since I first went to Carlsbad, but I can remember to this day the helpless feeling of being in total darkness when the lights went out.

 

When you think about it, there are great similarities to the guide with the light and Jesus, for as Jesus himself revealed, He is the light of the world. While there is great darkness within this evil world (We have all experienced that reality of late), isn't it comforting to know that Christians have a Guide whose light can help us see every danger and every pitfall. This blessing is made all the more clear when we observe so many of our fellow men stumbling around in the dark for no other reason than they have refused to follow the Light.

 

That's where we come in, isn't it? For while Jesus is the Light of the world, His followers are to let that light shine so that others may see it that they might glorify God and come to Jesus.

 

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-16, NKJV

 

It's true that so many stumble around in this dark world because of their own decisions, but maybe part of our problems of late have been that we ourselves have forgotten to shine our light in order that men may see and glorify God. I know that we are often shy about letting our light shine because we don't know how that light will be received, but that is not our worry - we are to simply let that light shine. If we will, we might be surprised to see how grateful men are when they come into the light and see how wonderful it is to walk with God and Christ, having escaped the darkness in which they once wandered.

 

 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Philippians 4:6, ESV

 

How many times have we told someone of a great struggle we are going through only to have them tell us, "Don't worry about it"? We know their intentions are good, but to merely tell us not to worry doesn't really do us any good, and sometimes it only gives us the impression that they either think we are foolish for being concerned or that they really don't care what we are going through. Of course, we know better, but that is how we sometimes feel about being told, "Don't worry".

 

One of the things I love the most about God is the simplicity of His plan for us and the simplicity of His solutions to all of our problems. In the inspired passage above He is essentially telling us the same things that our friends will tell us, but with one major difference: He gives us the solution! Notice that He tells us not to be anxious, but He then tells us what to do about these worries - to present them to Him.

 

And He doesn't stop there, He also tells us how to present our requests when we are worried about something: With thanksgiving!

 

Have you ever tried that? I have found that when I am really worried about something that I will often frantically pray to God for help. I will then repeat the prayer over and over as if I don't really believe that He will actually help me... how foolish! It is when I do follow His instructions and present my requests to Him with thanksgiving that things change. I have noticed that when we begin our prayers with true gratitude along the lines of, "Thank you for letting me pray to you", or "Thank you for always helping me in the past",  "Thank you for caring enough for me that you want to help me", or "Thank you for answering my prayers in exactly the right way.", that the level of our confidence goes up and the level of our anxieties goes down.

 

I'm not sure exactly why this is true, but I know that it is. Maybe it's that when we pray with thanksgiving, we are exercising the genuine faith that we need when we approach God. Maybe it's that our gratitude calls to mind that He has never let us down before, not one time, and therefore we can have the confidence that we need to know that He will handle our current situation in just the right way this time. Whatever the reason, we know that He has told us not to be anxious, and to pray with thanksgiving and present our requests to Him and that is enough.

 

It may sound too simple, but it is enough because God has never offered a solution to any problem that does not work. So, the next time you are overcome with worry over some genuinely serious problem, why not try His method out. It always does our heart good to share our problems with someone. Why not let that someone be the One who is truly concerned about our well-being, and who does not want us to suffer from the cares and worries of this life? And, when you do try this method out, don't forget to be thankful. It's the secret to successfully eliminating the anxieties that are so prevalent in this world that we live in. 

A song of ascents. Of Solomon.

Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.

Psalms 127:1, NIV

 

Like you, I have been watching the events of the past two years with some skepticism. We have had bad times of an extreme that haven't been seen during most of our lifetimes and it seems quite convenient that those in positions of power have not only become more powerful during these unsettled times, but have also become quite wealthy. It frustrates us to see things that cause the suffering of the many, yet enriches and empowers the few. And while many of the "bad times" events seem unrelated, they also seem quite pleasantly beneficial to those with a lust for power and money. It seems too convenient to me, but maybe I am just a skeptic at heart and I have to admit that I could be wrong about my suspicions of those who seem to benefit the most from the suffering of others.

 

However, as a student of history, there is one thing that I can say for a certainty: Our nation was not founded by men and women such as we have in power today. Our nation was demonstrably founded by a people who loved God and who loved freedom, and did so in that order. The shocking lack of calls for prayers for our Creator's assistance by our current leaders speaks volumes to me. Has there ever been a time in the history of our nation, whether times of sickness or depression or war, in which our leaders and the masses did not turn to God in prayer?

 

For that matter, when was the last time you heard God's name used in a sincere manner by a politician or a newsperson? Yet in the last two years we have been beset by a deathly illness, a worldwide financial crisis and, sadly, now war. Now I realize that it is quite convenient to blame our leaders for all of this godlessness, but I must point out that we the people are responsible for putting them in positions of power. And, we are responsible to take them out of power, in a righteous way I might add, whenever they become too wicked to rule anymore.

 

I believe the problems that we face are not insurmountable, but they can only be overcome with God's help. Are we asking for that help? Further, have we repented of our own shortcomings in order that we might even have the right to humbly beseech Him for that help? Or have we been trying to do it all on our own through ideas that don't even involve God or, even more often, by not even doing anything other than complaining? You see the truth is, just as in the time that Solomon wrote the psalm above, that unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.

 

It's time to leave these vain works (and wicked leaders from both political parties) behind. It may seem a daunting task(and it is), but it is not impossible. For the eternal truth also stands that there is no plan that can succeed against God. And when I look at it as honestly as I know how, I believe that we have all had a hand in putting in the leaders who have been working against the LORD.

 

One final thought: Our nation is worth saving and, more importantly, our God is worth serving. The only question that remains is do we have the courage and the love to do both?

 

There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD.

Proverbs 21:30