Category Devotionals

Perfecting Faith Through Struggle

Todd R Leave a comment

King David wrote many Psalms during the difficult times in his life.  Psalm 18, written “on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul,”[1] is a song David wrote to praise God for His deliverance from difficulties in the past.  David describes the depths of the troubles he faced in verses 4 and 5:

“The cords of death encompassed me;
            the torrents of destruction assailed me;
the cords of Sheol entangled me;
            the snares of death confronted me.”

There were many moments where David faced enemies seeking to kill him, a situation we may never face.  But, like David we all face struggles and, while not literally life-threatening, some of them may feel like what David describes.  Our enemies may be external or internal, physical or spiritual, and Psalm 18 can be applied to them all.  David magnifies the powers that assailed him, which John Calvin wrote, “enhances and magnifies so much the more the glory of his deliverance. As David had been reduced to a condition so desperate that no hope of relief or deliverance from it was apparent, it is certain that he was delivered by the hand of God, and that it was not a thing effected by the power of man.”  David was truly in a desperate situation and sometimes we are too.

So, how can this Psalm help us in our struggles?  I’m going to focus on only a few of the Psalm’s 50 verses, including verses 1 to 3:

“I love you, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
            my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
            my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,
            and I am saved from my enemies.”

Note that these verses come before the ones quoted earlier because before coming to God with his problems, David contemplated who God is and what he has learned about Him from experience.  When we’re struggling, we should also take the time to contemplate the nature of our God so we can get the right perspective.

David uses some military metaphors to tell us about God.  David says God is a rock, a fortress, a shield, a horn, and a stronghold.  These tell us that God:

Photo by Mario La Pergola on Unsplash
  • is a rock, immovable by our enemies and our problems.
  • is a fortress and stronghold, a secure place to flee from our enemies, where they cannot get in.
  • is a shield that protects us from harm.  Our enemies’ weapons can’t pierce God’s protection.
  • is a horn, with all the power we need to defeat our enemies.  A horn was a symbol of might in the Bible.

God is all these things for us too!

In verse 7, David added that when God answered his call for help, “the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry.”  God’s power, His “horn”, is so powerful that even the earth fears it, but we need to learn to trust in it, and it alone.

There is no sure way to learn to trust a fortress or shield, other than to test them in battle.  C.S. Lewis wrote that “God allows us to experience the low points of life in order to teach us lessons that we could learn in no other way.”  When we’re fighting an external battle against an enemy or against painful circumstances.  When we’re fighting an internal battle against temptation, a bad habit, an addiction, or maybe an unattractive character trait, God can teach us about who He is through the pain of those battles, and we can learn to trust Him more.

Although we will not defeat all of our enemies while we live in this world, and we may be frustrated knowing God is powerful enough to win, but we still fail anyway, we know that:

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
            his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
            great is your faithfulness.”[2]

He is faithfully by our side in every struggle, and eager to restore us when we fall, even if it’s every day (or more!).  But most importantly, we know that He is working in all things – even our fiercest battles – to perfect us and that He will not fail.  Even if we are unfaithful at times, He remains faithful always, and it’s His faithfulness that makes the difference.

If you’re fighting something today, remember that God is your rock, fortress, shield, horn, and stronghold, and you can trust Him.

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”  – Philippians 1:6

[1] Psalm 18:0 (title)
[2] Lamentations 3:22-23

Avoiding Beehive Morality

Todd R 1 Comment

Anyone who has watched very young kids play soccer, or especially anyone who has coached youth soccer, knows what I mean by “Beehive Soccer”:  Two lonely and bored goalkeepers stand by their goals at each end of the field, while both teams of players closely swarm around one ball.  Some of the players on each team have an idea which direction to kick the ball, but others just want to kick it.  Often a kicked ball ricochets around inside the swarm, unable to escape the vortex of kids.  The goalkeepers might as well play with some blades of grass, or bugs if they’re lucky.

At Beehive Soccer games, parents on the sideline cheer at any progress at all, and grimace whenever some kid (perhaps theirs) nearly takes a soccer ball to the face.  Coaches yell “spread out!”, then shake their heads, put their hands on their hips, then yell “spread out!” again a moment later.  Coaches must let the parents know they are doing something, and it’s all in good fun – they (the kids) will grow out of it.

Often morality is pursued in the same way.  In Beehive Morality, masses of people crowd around one problem, kicking aimlessly, organized by vague goals, or even just some anger and some hashtags on social media, but doomed to reach a less-than-ideal solution because their activities are not organized.  Maybe they attempt to swarm around multiple goals at the same time.

In Beehive Soccer, young kids have not had time to be coached and learn coordination based on individual positions, nor are many of them mature enough to pay attention to coaching when all of the other kids are playing Beehive Soccer.  It’s no fun being the only kid playing by the rules.  In society, too many behave the same way, thinking the objective is just to show enthusiasm for whatever game is being played that day, but making no real progress.  Many play along and keep “kicking” because it’s no fun being the only person left out of the crowd.

In economics, this is called a Coordination Problem, where multiple people aren’t aligned and cooperating toward a common goal.  Unfortunately, Beehive Morality can cause a Coordination Problem in the church, but in 1 Corinthians 9:24-26, the apostle Paul encourages the church in Corinth (and every church today than can read Paul’s letter) to focus on a goal, and put every effort toward it: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.  Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.”  This “beating the air” reminds me of the Beehive Soccer kids, or Beehive Morality adults – there’s a lot of activity, but not a lot of coordinated work toward a real, helpful, objective.

But what are the objectives for God’s people?  The two most important commandments – the instructions of our Coach – are: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind”, and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”[1]

Elsewhere, Paul has advice as the young Timothy’s “coach,” sharing these words of encouragement in 2 Timothy 2:3-6 – “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.  No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.  An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.  It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.”[2]  The soldier and athlete look forward to victory, and the farmer looks forward to harvest, but until then must work diligently, enduring sacrifice in patience, knowing the reward is worth the temporary problems, even if sometimes it’s no fun not kicking along with the crowd and playing Beehive Soccer.

Remember, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind”, and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Swarming around the ball labelled with the current hot hashtag topic – or many topics – is not the objective.

[1] From Matthew 22:37 and 39
[2] 2 Timothy 2:3-6

Is Christianity Like Improv Comedy?

Todd R 2 Comments

The TV show Whose Line is it Anyway? is probably the most-widely-known form of improvisational comedy, and one of my favorites.  Four performers act out short scenes based on a set of rules for each scene or game, spontaneously adding their own creativity and (if successful) humor.  For example, in the “Props” game, pictured, the performers were given two “P” shaped props to make jokes about.  The show wouldn’t be any good if they just showed us the props and explained the rules over and over again.  The show is pointless without spontaneous creativity.  But why am I writing about improv on a Christian blog?  But why am I writing about improv on a Christian blog?  Because today I’m writing about a Bible study that leaves us to ask: Whose Plan is it Anyway?

Whose Pun is it Anyway?

In Judges 6-7, God delivers Israel from the Midianites using Gideon, who thought God couldn’t use him because “my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”  At times, Gideon doubts God is speaking to him and that He really means what He says, but God patiently answers Gideon’s questions and performs miracles, encouraging Gideon to move forward.

Eventually, Gideon and his 300-man army attacked the enemy army, which was “like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance.”[1]  After Gideon split his army into three groups, this was the plan of attack:

“So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands.  Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, ‘A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!’”[2]

Whose Plan is it Anyway?
This is where improv comes in: the text does not tell us who came up with this wacky attack plan.  Was it God’s idea or was it Gideons?  Why leave it ambiguous?  I think it is because, either way, it is not a decisive factor in the victory.  The attack plan works because of God’s involvement, no matter whose idea it was.  If it was Gideon’s idea, he was only using the abilities his Maker had given Him for the purpose of glorifying Him.  If it was God’s, Gideon was also only using the abilities God gave him and dedicating them to God’s glory.

What’s amazing is that Gideon went from testing God with fleece to carrying out this attack.  God had Gideon convinced it would work, and that it would work because God would make it work.  Victory didn’t come from any advantage Gideon had or created, and all along God was determined to get the glory.  The plan would have failed if God had not put fear into the camp, and had not let Gideon know about that fear by way of a dream a Midianite soldier had.

Like improv comedy, God’s rules only go so far before the performers need to take over.  God gives us patterns, which are like the rules of an improv skit, not step-by-step instructions in every aspect of our lives.  Adam and Eve were shown a pattern in the Garden of Eden, Moses was given a pattern for the tabernacle on the mountain, and Jesus lived a pattern of how to love the Father and our neighbor.  Beyond the patterns and rules there is so much to do and explore.  His will is for His people to make the world like Eden, to worship Him as He should be worshiped, and to love the world the way Jesus loved.

The Little Things
To hear and obey His voice, we must spend time with Him in prayer and study, diligently learning the patterns He has laid out for us, but He does not expect us to stop there. At some point, we must take the guidance we have and move forward with the wisdom and creativity He has endowed us each with.  When we do we will be like the servant who successfully invested his Master’s resources, and in return “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’”[3]

However, if we either do not diligently seek Him, or if we say He has not given us enough instructions, we may find ourselves cast out from the Master’s presence, hearing: “you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.”[4]

In Gideon’s story, we see God’s compassionate understanding toward His people who struggle to hear and obey His voice but keep trying.  We, like Gideon, are not always faithful over the little things such as prayer, study, and regular worship.  But Only He fully knows the depth of our doubts and struggles, and He provides what we need to trust Him and move forward in faith, knowing our doubt is never fully overcome until eternity.

In the story, we also see that we must often act on trust, even when we think we have incomplete information.  Like Gideon, we should be imperfectly persistent, wrestling with God who knows our faith is imperfect.  He can bridge the gap to us in His unlimited grace.

So, where does God’s guiding voice stop, and our God-given creativity begin?  Like a good improv comedy scene, the parts can come together perfectly, glorify God, and encourage His people to come along in faith, as the men of Naphtali, Asher, Manasseh, and Ephraim joined the battle against the Midianites once it was clear God had delivered the victory[5].  When we seek Him and find Him, and in faith move forward to spread His character and creativity in the world, glorifying Him.

God is glorified when His people attempt things that sometimes don’t make sense, then succeed because He provided the way.  It’s always His plan anyway.

Soli Deo Gloria

[1] Judges 7:12
[2] Judges 7:19-20
[3] Matthew 25:21
[4] Matthew 25:27
[5] Judges 7:23-25

Daily Readings for February 9 – 15

Todd R Leave a comment

Fellow travelers:

For those looking for a Bible reading plan, each week in 2026 I will post 2 chapters to read per day as a main reading plan, and for anyone who wants to read the whole Bible in 2026, I’ll post the extra chapters to read that week.  The main readings will include nearly all of the New Testament, plus Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Prophets, and a few other Old Testament books.

Reading 3 chapters a day on weekdays and 4 on weekends almost exactly covers the 1,189 chapters of the Bible, so the “extra” readings will be about 9 chapters per week.  These readings will cover the Pentateuch, the OT histories, a few other OT books, plus Jude and Revelation from the NT.

I hope this encourages others to read and study their Bible more, whatever parts they decide to read.  Follow along (or not) any way you choose!

This week we finish another book (Ecclesiastes), moving on to Mark, and in the Bible-in-a-year plan, we move on to Exodus.  I’m still way behind in Genesis as I wade through Warren Wiersbe’s 3-book commentary on it.

2 chapter a day plan:

Monday, February 9: Psalm 40, Ecclesiastes 12
Tuesday, February 10: Psalm 41, Mark 1
Wednesday, February 11: Psalm 42, Mark 2
Thursday, February 12: Psalm 43, Mark 3
Friday, February 13: Psalm 44, Mark 4
Saturday, February 14: Psalm 45, Mark 5
Sunday, February 15: Psalm 46, Mark 6

Extra chapters for those reading the whole Bible in 2026:
Exodus 1- 10

Words of Life and Death

Todd R 1 Comment

Rummaging in the basement for a book recently, I found a book I wasn’t looking for: Encouragement: The Key to Caring by Dr. Larry Crabb and Dr. Dan Allender.  It was a good find.  The authors define encouragement as “the kind of expression that helps someone want to be a better Christian, even when life is rough.”[1]  This is the kind of expression recommended in Hebrews 10:23-25 – “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.  And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”  (emphasis mine)

However, if we don’t believe our words matter – that they have real power – we might think such encouragement is pointless.  Making a case for the power of our words, the authors cite these Proverbs:

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” – Prov. 18:21
“Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.” – Prov. 12:25
“A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.” – Prov. 15:4
“Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” – Prov. 16:24
“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.” – Prov. 25:11[2]

In these Proverbs, words have the power of life and death.  Power to lift or break a spirit.  They have real power to influence others for good, or for bad.  They can influence our health, bodily and spiritually.  Our words are one of the hardest things for us to control – especially online – and unless we realize their power, we’re too likely to take them lightly.  James wrote that taming our tongues may be our biggest challenge, and if we can tame it, we can tame our whole body.  (James 3:2-3)

Therefore, pray for more encouraging, more powerful words today, and that God would cleanse our hearts, the spring from which our words come[3], so we may praise Him and provide “sweetness to the soul and health to the body” of those around us.

It won’t happen all at once, and all will stumble, but as the saying goes:

Yard by yard, life is hard!
Inch by inch, life’s a cinch!

Photo by Kevin Luke on Unsplash

[1] Crabb, Larry and Dan Allender.  Encouragement: The Key to Caring (1984).  P. 10.
[2] Ibid.  P. 19.  See also Proverbs 25:20 and James 3:5-6.
[3] James 3:11