The pain continues but he doesn’t face it alone. It continues but he doesn’t act like it’s his fight to win. Even in the midst of blaming God for his pain, he knows that God is his hope and deliverer. This may not preach well, but there is a deep comfort in it for those who experience deep pain and deep anguish and pray very difficult prayers to God. When we know God could have prevented a horrible thing from happening, but it happened. When we know God can remove a horrible circumstance from our lives, but it continues. Satan’s temptation and our internal anger wants us to abandon God. To blame God and flee our faith. And if we did so, what would we be left with? Who would be left to win the war for us? Who would be our shelter and refuge? If we make that choice, we are then completely and truly alone, with only our feeble fists and beaten down strength to fight off all the evil that Satan and this fallen world bombard us with. The psalms chart out a better path. A path of hope. A path of victory. Even in your darkest hour, even when all hope seems lost, run to God. Cry out to God. Give him all of your emotion. Blame him if you need to, he can handle it. But keep your hope in him. Keep him as your shelter in the storm and refuge in the war. If you die from the bullets, die in his arms. If the storm overwhelms you, be overwhelmed in his arms.
Psalm 12 Devotional – You Are Not Alone
Sometimes I think it can’t get any worse than it is right now. Or that it’s never been this bad. Psalm 12:8 reminds me that it’s been this way for thousands of years. On one hand, that sure is a discouraging thought on its own. But despite humankind’s obsession with and acceptance of evil, hope and encouragement come from knowing God has remained faithful all this time. If the evil of the past hasn’t knocked God out, the evil of the present sure isn’t going to either. God has remained on the throne. God cares about the needy and the oppressed. God will judge the wicked. God is and always has been worthy of our praise, adoration, and obedience.
Ep. 11 (or 73) Interview with Kevin Butcher on shame, suicide, when God doesn’t heal us, suffering, ministry burnout, & the Father’s love
Listen below or subscribe on iTunes or Google Play In episode 11 (73), Noah interviews Kevin Butcher, Noah’s identical twin, give or take 30 years. Noah and Kevin are both 8’s on the Enneagram, ENFP’s, D’s on the DISC, church planters in the inner city, entrepreneurs, authors, and podcasters… look out! (And they both have 3 daughters…that’s just […]
Is suicide an unforgivable sin that sends you to hell?
There are denominations that believe if you die by suicide, God will automatically send you to hell, regardless of anything else you’ve ever believed. Does the Bible back this up? There is only one passage in Scripture where this argument is made from.
BTB Episode 6: Tools + fresh-off-the-press beyondthebattle.net
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Why a Football Addict No Longer Supports Football (And Should You?)
I blog about a lot of controversial things and receive my share of flak for it, but I anticipate today’s article will top them all. Today we are diving deep into the heart of America to shine some light on the one and only: Football. You would be hard pressed to find a bigger fan […]