Please watch the video introduction to my message here: https://www.youtube.com/embed/1QXnRIAnsCE?feature=oembed
Some Current Sources of Good Information
I am not sure how many of us pay attention to all the crazy things going on. However, not much of the crazy stuff is discussed on the evening news. Only a few online sources will give you a good explanation of current events. HealthRanger.com is one good source and infowars.com (sometimes he gets pretty excited), but his guests are excellent. Then there is Peter McCullough, who very carefully goes against the general medical practices and can because he is the best cardiologist in the United States. Sometimes I see misinformation about him because of his stance, to tell the truth about what the medical field should be doing but is not doing. Then for political/investment news which involves the coming cashless digital system, a great source is the Stansberry Research. She has great speakers and is calm and easy to listen to. Also, recently a friend shared Crossway.org, an online program that had Eric Ortland teaching on “In Explicable Suffering.” Also, Tim Keller, another great pastor, is on YouTube, and I continue to listen to Pastor Bill Johnson from Bethel Church in Redding, Ca. These are my sources for health, political/economy, and faith-based teaching, which along with my Bible studies, help me grow in my faith and write Vida4U.
All I can say is our future is changing as the powers-to-be are pushing us into a cashless point-based digital system which I do believe because God’s Word says it. We know become so technologically advanced that this could happen. Revelation 13:16-18 speaks of this.
“And he causeth all, both small and great, — rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six (or 666).
And there is much more than this, so I would encourage you to do the research. I do not want anyone reading Vida4U to be caught by surprise. Suppose I knew something of enormous importance and didn’t share it or encourage you to do your research. That would be wrong of me.
As I view the future, my greatest concern is to make sure that we are walking strong and growing in our faith. For it is God who is and will always be our Redeemer and our Fortress. However, if our faith is weak or our relationship with Him is lukewarm, we benefit not from Him. His hand is always stretched out, which represents His unconquerable person, but what good does it do us if we, in turn, do not clasp onto Him because we are pursuing worldly ventures or we are crippled by fear? I do not want that for you or me, especially since He is so approachable and loving. Also, concerning troubles, uncertainties, and the ambiguity of life, it’s essential to know that this isn’t God’s “first rodeo.” He has kept many a saint in times of trouble, and His Word is a Treasure of Beautiful verses and promises. Psalms 37, 40 – 42 have verses that I have been meditating on as I write this Vida.
Psalms 40:1-5
I waited patiently (Qawah) for the LORD, and he inclined unto me and heard my cry.
He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, set my feet upon a rock (Christ), and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God many shall see it, and fear and shall trust in the LORD.
Ever since I wrote the last Vida on God’s blessings as seen through trials, I have been in the refiner’s fire. It’s been tough, however, as with Job, David, Jeremiah, or all true believers, and as this verse says, God not for a moment takes His eyes off of us. When I was a young adult, Pastor Chuck Smith, my pastor, spoke on the process of refining gold. He asked the question, when does the Refiner know that the gold has had all the dross burnt away (being that gold is mined, it is not pure, the dross are the other elements mixed with it )? The answer is when the Refiner can see His image in the gold. That is when he knows it’s becoming pure. Can our Refiner see His image in us?
As a son or daughter of the Lord, we should resemble our Dad, just like children in the natural resemble their parents. Therefore by knowing the goal of our Father, we can work alongside Him and not fight the process. At least we know what the Father is seeking to do. He’s not mad at us, or disappointed, or ignoring our prayers; He’s refining us. Will we stay the course? Was this not the wager satan had with God over Job? The Refiner’s fire hurts, and it can hurt a lot(!), but through it, He is making us in His image. All self-interest, greed, base emotions of lust and pride, etc., all this is being burnt away as the fires are steady and hot. King David said it well. This is what our posture needs to be as we are in the Refiner’s fire.
I waited patiently for the LORD, and he inclined unto me and heard my cry.
What does it mean to wait patiently for the Lord? As a society, we do not wait well. It is something we do not like doing. However, the beauty of His nature in us is not created in moments but years. To wait patiently implies faith, hope, and trust. He is seeking an agreement with our soul to trust Him as we go through the process. When you and I accepted Christ, was it not because we were done with ourselves? Each time trial and hardship come, we have the opportunity to renew that agreement. All saints struggle as we are in the refiner’s fire, but instead of seeing the fire, see Christ who is in the fire with us. As He was with Mesach, Shadrach, and Abednego, He is with us. His Holy Spirit abides.
We need to take our focus off ourselves, our pain, and see The Lord who out of obedience placed His broken body on the Cross, and believe John 3:16. “For God so loved the world (us) that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him would not perish but would have Eternal life,” and your pain will become bare able. Through these trials, He is working Eternity into our soul, loosening our white knuckle grip on this life. As that happens, we come into agreement with Him, and His nature grows in us. We become stronger and more confident. He does not stand in the fire with us in vain. It cost Him everything to stand with us. Redemption is a priceless gift. Do we think He’s going to drop the ball though He tarries?
Philippians 1:6
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ (can we believe this?).
Letting the purification process have its way in us takes time; just like rocks in a river are smoothed and beautified by the constant agitation of the water, we are made more amiable and giving. He will finish what He has started. Hannah is a good example. She had a deep pain as she cried out to God. Little did she know that the pain was maturing her to see and feel God’s pain, and hence to pray a prayer bigger than just for herself. The child to be borne (Samuel) was not for herself but for the salvation of a nation. And we must be the same. When something is raw, painful, unexplainable, understand that that is the Refiner’s fire. Hannah’s soul was in turmoil for the lack of not having a child, and our soul can be likewise for the things that concern us. She said, “God, if you give me a son, I will give him back to you.” Not until she reached that maturity and degree of pain did she pray a prayer that she was not at the center of. God was waiting for this prayer, so she conceived and gave birth to Samuel. This is how God worked then, and this is how God works now. The pain purifies our motives from what we want to what God wants.
Hebrews 12:9-11
Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless, afterward, it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised (disciplined) thereby.
To trust is to surrender to His workings. We learn through the process that He can take all things despite how painful and work them to our good ( Romans 8:28). Only He can do this; from my brother’s death to the struggles of raising a family to running a company, all these struggles and so much more have drawn me closer to Him. Hence my confidence, my inner strength, has deepened because of these trials. We learn to want His life and His peace. More of our carnal man is burnt away in the Refiner’s fire through the trials. Therefore “Qawah” is to wait for, hope for, or look for with confidence. The more intimately we know God, the easier it is for us to “Qawah.”
Qawah also has a secondary meaning, to twist or to bind around. This is what happened to Hannah’s soul. Through the waiting and the pain, she saw a greater need than her own. She saw her nation’s need for a Godly High Priest. This “waiting on God” done correctly takes our eyes off ourselves, and it does not mean my life is in “park” until God does something. No, He is waiting for me to respond as a son or daughter to a loving and faithful Father. Seeking His will above my own, this is the purification process. To do that I am digging into His Word, praying in earnest, memorizing verses that speak and strengthen me. In doing such, it becomes easier to take my eyes off my hurt or my situation and believe that God is faithful and capable of handling anything that I commit to Him. I must acknowledge that I am in the best of hands. As this grows in me, I am binding my soul around His and being transformed into His image during the trial. This is His goal for each of us.
Philippians 1:20-21
According to my earnest expectation and hope, in nothing, I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or death.
For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
It does not say for me to live is Arthur, no it says Christ, but how we think, life should be about our tribe or us. As scary and radical as this verse may sound, it is not. Everything with Christ is just the opposite of what our carnal man wants. If we want freedom, we must learn to serve. If we want forgiveness, we must forgive ( forgive and you shall be forgiven Matt. 6: 14-15), etc. In God’s economy, we first must put the labor in before we reap. You can’t reap if you have not sown. Therefore deepening our trust in God by spending sacrificial time with Him in His Word is at the core of our walk. Not just going to church, as good as some pastors are, it’s time with Him, one on one. Without it, the peace, joy, guidance, blessing, etc., that is promised in scripture will not happen or be minimal at best. For it is the Holy Spirit in us that yearns for oneness with Christ and The Father. When we put other activities or people first, it becomes harmful to our relationship. It affects our ability to sense His love for us and demonstrate His love to others. David felt the Lord’s absence when he tried to conceal his sin with Bathsheba.
Psalms 51:10-12
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free (or willing) spirit.
He became bankrupt without the Lord’s Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is what made his life worth living, as is true with us. As we ‘Qawah’ around Him, our soul and will are being weaved around His will, just as a rope is weaved with three strands making it strong. Our waiting by trusting and growing in His promises makes us strong; this is to wait patiently for the Lord. Confidence is the fruit of this relationship. It is seen in the lives of Job, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel, etc., and all saints who have matured in their walk with Christ. It takes time and a willingness to go through the trials. It is much easier to fret, be anxious, worry, for that comes naturally to us, but what are the results? What happened with Abraham and Sarah?
Instead of waiting on God and His promise, they decided to help God. They decided that God must have meant that they were to “conceive” a child through Hagar, Sarah’s handmaid, surely they were too old to have their child. It’s understandable why they did what they did, but we must learn from their mistake. When God makes a promise, it’s done; now, it’s just waiting until the right time. For in the waiting, God is working faith and trust in Him. No matter how dark it seems, the light does appear, and it is absolutely beautiful when it does. We are learning Qawah. If you are not familiar with this part of Abraham and Sarah’s story, it starts in Genesis 16. There is a lot of hurt and broken hearts because of their choices, as it is with us when we lose faith in God. For truly God needs no help, we are the ones that need help from Him.
Therefore to be impatient, in a bad humor, or irritable as we go through these trials, which we are all guilty of, implies a lack of trust or immaturity. This speaks to blindness of God’s character, which implies a lack of intimacy with Him and ultimately blindness to the Cross. If we truly understood The Cross, we would never doubt God and be the most secure, confident, and peaceful people on Earth. That does not mean we would not have problems, but it means that we see Him as so much bigger than our problems. We are impatient because we do not see or understand; we only see our picture. He is refining us into becoming His priest. He always seeks the absolute best for us, which can be very different from what we want. Therefore can we trust Him? Does it not boil down to that?
Here’s a strange question. How many of us drink our coffee before the coffee machine is done brewing? Probably no one. Do we ever fret or worry if the coffee machine will finish brewing the coffee? I don’t think so. We probably don’t even give it a second thought. Therefore if a simple coffee machine is worthy of our trust, how much more should the Creator of our world and life be? I can tell you of events in my life that cry out and say this is in no way in my best interest, yet it was. In time and continued trusting, these painful effects became the best thing that ever happened to me; they changed my heart and brought me into a more intimate walk with God. Like Job experienced and like Hannah, there are so many examples.
God uses pain to humble us and causes us to seek Him more earnestly. Hence making us fit to be His sons and daughters rather than spoiled brats wanting our way, if I could be blunt. This is His main plan for us in this life. It’s not to bless us and make us happy, though that is the outcome for those who submit to the refining process; it is a blessing to Him and others. As with Hannah, she eventually saw the bigger picture, and true with us. Do we not have neighbors, co-workers, and family who need to know Jesus? This needs to be our prayer. That He refines us so that we want Him just for Him, and nothing else; not for what He can do for us and from there bare His heart to a needy world. The fullness of a man or woman exists in being one with God, His Father, Creator, and Friend; that was what it was in the beginning with Adan. Now God has also become our Savior, and through that relationship, we touch our world.
Now let’s talk about Hannah in more detail. Question, how long do you think Hannah waited to have Samuel? I would guess probably at least ten years, as Elkanah, her husband had sons and daughters from Phinehas (1Samuel). Hannah did not understand why God did not answer her prayer in her barrenness. How could He allow her to experience such a depth of pain and shame? Didn’t He care about her, or was it just Phinehas who He cared for? How can a God of love allow so much pain in a righteous woman’s heart? Does she not have the right to bear children as well? After all, she is a woman, created by God to bring forth children. Every time Phinehas got pregnant, it was probably like a dagger in her heart, failing to fulfill her chief role.
Psalms 127:3-5
Lo, children are a heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath — his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
Children are a sign of God’s blessing. What sin or wrongdoing was in Hannah’s life, that God would not bless her. Was it in His Word? These struggles shake us to our core. Is our identity found in bearing children if you’re a woman, or is our identity found in our job and providing for our family if you are a man? Or is our true identity found in simply being God’s son or daughter? What was best for Hannah was short-sighted for God; God had much bigger plans. Hannah wanted a son, her identity as a woman was on the line. However, God wanted a daughter concerned about saving a nation. God was purifying Hannah and waiting for her to take the higher ground.
By seeing what the nation needed, she finally prayed the prayer God was waiting for. Could she be the handmaid of the Lord? Some women may consider this a cruel struggle that God allowed Hannah to go through, but without it, she would have never surrendered her wants. The change of heart would have never occurred if she had been able to have children like Phinehas. She would have been content, no need to go outside her “tribe.” To become willing to sacrifice her “need” and exchange her heart for God’s heart was what God was waiting for. How about us? Is there a prayer that is going unanswered? Could it be we are seeking the answer for ourselves and not for God? That He would be magnified through me even if it means that I do not get what I’m wanting. Can we do that, but God’s concerns before our own?
If we do, I know we will find that doing God’s bidding brings more joy and contentment than getting our way.
Matthew 6:33
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
It is not getting our way that truly satisfies. Our way is enjoyable for a season, but God’s way, His righteousness in us, heal us from the effects of sin, redeems us into a new life, and gives us more peace and joy than any worldly honor or possession. If you do not believe me read the story of the rich young ruler (Luke 16) and then read King David’s testimony.
Psalms 4:7-8
Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.
I will both lay me down in peace and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.
Maybe once her eyes were open, she prayed something like this, “God, it pains me so deeply to not be able to give my husband a baby boy, but it pains me even deeper to see my nation slip away into sin for lack of having a true high priest that loves your ways. If you would but give your handmaid a male child, I will teach him in your ways, and when he is weaned, I will give him back to you.” As mentioned, is there a prayer you are praying that’s not being answered? Consider the real beneficiary of that prayer, and if it’s you first and God second, consider changing your prayer. Ask God to show you His heart in this matter, become a Hannah. Here is her prayer as recorded in scripture.
1 Samuel 1:8-11
Then said Elkanah, her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? And why eatest thou not? And why is thy heart grieved? Am not I better to thee than ten sons?
So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD.
And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.
And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed looks on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget — thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head ( the vow of a Nazarite, Numbers 6).
When Hannah started on this journey, the child was for herself, for her need to feel like a woman, wife, and mother. The culture demanded it, and unfortunately, she was viewed as less than and was often reminded of it by jealous Phinehas. Finally, her pain became so intense, especially with the realization that the priests were corrupt, serving only their wants. I believe the Holy Spirit quickened her and brought to her heart the choice to be part of God’s solution, and she chose rightly.
Father God,
Help us take our eyes off ourselves and put them on You. You have called us by name to come into intimate fellowship with You and from there lift our eyes to be part of Your harvest. Let us become part of Your solution. Refine us so that we represent You well. Help us, Lord.
Amen.
John 4:35
Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
May the Lord Bless you, and may this Vida enlighten and push you forward in your ongoing journey with Christ, our Savior, and Lord.
Arthur
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Arthur Navarrette