Excerpt: When God's People Run

Full Notes, Click here: When God's People Run


After Jesus was crucified, and rose from the dead, He came back to Peter and the other disciples. When He first appeared to them, they were locked behind closed doors, afraid and in hiding. They feared the same religious authorities that came for Jesus would come for them. Suddenly, He was in their midst and said "Peace be unto you."

He wouldn't speak peace into their hearts if they were not very troubled. They were grieving over His death, over their failure to stand by Him. They had no peace with their own hearts, nor with each other. Peter had denied Him three times, when He was on trial before the Sanhedrin. The others had all forsook Him and fled, in fear. Judas had betrayed Him and hung himself. They were all shaken to the core at what had happened in such a short time. Everything looked bleak, and hopeless. What would they do without Him? They'd left everything to follow Him and now He was gone. Human nature being what it is, there had to be some finger pointing, at least in their hearts, and some hard feelings. They were blaming each other and themselves for failing the Lord. Suddenly, He's there in their midst and they are afraid, thinking He's a ghost come to torment them for their guilty consciences were troubling them.

He said again, as He showed His hands and feet to them, the scars, freshly visible. "Peace be unto you, As My Father has sent Me, even so I send you." He breathes on them, and speaks more things to them. But Thomas, he wasn't there. Eight days later, they had still been unable to convince Thomas they'd seen Jesus. Again, He appears in the room where they are still shut in. They had seen Him. Joh_20:30 tells us Jesus did many other signs in their presence which are not written down in the Book. Still, eight days later, they are still shut in the upper room, in hiding, still laying low. He appears again in their midst, and this time confronts Thomas.
Still, something was not settled in their hearts. They were still troubled and confused. Why else would 7 of the remaining 11 disciples decide to go fishing? Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, James, John and two others, likely one of which was Andrew, Peter's brother. It was as if Peter couldn't take not doing anything anymore. They didn't know what to do with themselves. Without Jesus present to guide them, they had no direction, no cohesion. He was the glue that held them all together and directed their path. They went back to the only thing they knew to do. Joh_21:3 Peter says I'm going fishing. The others follow his lead. They fished all night and caught nothing.
The next morning, Jesus was on the shore, He had prepared them a meal. He called out to them, "Children have you any meat?" No, they didn't. There was nothing to show for their toil and effort. There was nothing to sustain them, nothing to feed them, no provision at all. He just simply calls out and instructs them to cast the net on the right side of the ship and they would find. I wonder what went through their minds? Did they remember that day when He first called them, and told them to launch out into the deep, and they would find fish? And they did..enough that it broke the nets and nearly sunk two boats. Again, when they cast the net at His instruction, they found so many fish they couldn't even bring the net in for it was too heavy.
Then, John, who refers to himself as the disciples Jesus loved, said it's the Lord! It was John who recognized Jesus first. It was John who believed He was risen first at the empty tomb. And Peter, when he understood it was the Lord calling to them, he grabbed his outer garment and wrapped it around him, and jumped into the sea, unable to wait for the ship to get back to shore, though it wasn't far out, and hurried to where Jesus was waiting.
Jesus tells them to come and dine. He already had fish and bread cooking over coals of fire. They have all these fish in the net and they draw the net to shore, and just come to where Jesus is. This was the third time He had appeared to them. You have the one who doubted Him, the one who denied Him, and the others, all of whom had run out on Him when He was being tried on false charges. I can almost see them sitting around the fire, their faces tired, and weary. Their hearts were discouraged, unsure what to do. He knew they were struggling with their guilt and confusion. He had appeared to them twice before since His resurrection, had done many miracles in their presence, but still they are struggling. He is not ranting on them, though He initially did reprove them for their unbelief. (Mar_16:14)

He speaks to Simon, and His Word confronts something in Peter's heart. It was always Peter who had spoken up. In the storm, it was Peter that asked Jesus to bid him come to Him, and Peter walked on the water, too. It was Peter who asked for Jesus to explain the parables He was teaching the people. It was Peter who had received the divine revelation that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. It was also Peter who got rebuked when he told Jesus 'far be it from you' when Jesus said He had to be betrayed and die. It was Peter who asked more questions. It was Peter who swore, 'though all men shall be offended because of You, I will never be!' 'I'm ready to go to jail, even to death for You.' 'I'll die before I would deny You!'. The others agreed they would too, but they didn't. Lord, I'll lay my life down for Your sake! Peter had said. But he had run, instead. Now Jesus' Word I believe pierced His heart for it addressed something I believe Peter thought secretly-that he of all the disciples loved Jesus the most. Peter also had a tendency, like we do, to trust in our own strength and confident ourselves in our ability and zeal to serve the Lord. Peter had failed the Lord miserably. Satan had asked for and been granted permission to sift Peter as wheat. I believe this was allowed by the Lord to deal with Peter's confidence in himself. Human wisdom and strength can never be used to accomplish spiritual and divine work. What is carnal cannot produce spiritual results.

When Jesus had fed them, when they had dined, He looks at Peter.."Lovest thou Me more than these?' The word for love Jesus uses is agapao (G25) This is a sacrificial love. It's a love that puts others first and self last. It's the same word for love used in the Scriptures when Jesus said you must love your enemies, and love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength. It's the same kind of love Jesus commanded us to have for one another. Love one another with a pure heart heart fervently (1Pe_1:22) Peter says, "Yes, Lord, you know I love you". The word for love Peter uses is phileo (G5368) and it means to be fond of someone, having personal attachment or affection for based on sentiment or feelings. This kind of love can be very fickle. It's the normal human selfish love. We love what benefits us, and is convenient. Unlike agape love, this kind of love can turn to hate quickly when wounded.
Jesus says "Feed my lambs." Tend carefully My little ones. Make sure they are fed what they need to grow. I got curious about sheep and lambs as I read this, and so did a little research. For the first weeks of a lambs life, they need only their mother's milk. Gradually, and soon after birth, they begin to nibble on grass, grain, or hay, whatever is available where they are. But they are heavily dependent on the mother's milk at first. Their digestive system must grow and mature, like an infant's, to be able to handle more than milk. You can't feed young or newborn Christians the same hard truths you can more mature Christians. It will choke them as surely as a piece of steak or a hamburger would choke an infant. God help us learn this too, when He saves our children. We can't expect them to be little cross bearers from their conversion. We must let the Lord show us how to nurture them and guide them as lambs. First the Lord fed His disciples, He fed them spiritual truth, and physical food, all the while showing them the way but they were slow to understand. Can you relate? I can...
Again, Jesus looks at Peter. "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me?" When referring to feeding the lambs, the word for feed was bosko (G1006) and it means keep watch over them, provide them pasture that is suitable for lambs. The word for feed concerning the sheep is different in the Greek. It is poimaino (G4165) and it means tend them as a shepherd-feed them, but keep them in line. Nourish them, feed them, and govern them.
Peter's response was the same, "Yes, Lord, You know I love You."

For the third time, Jesus says "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me?" One thing I noticed here, the repeated referral of Simon, son of Jonas. Simon means one who hears. Son of Jonas-in the original Hebrew this was translated as John, not Jonas. John means mercy and grace of the Lord or Jehovah's gift-which mercy and grace most definitely are His gift to us. This time, Jesus uses the same word for love, that Peter used, phileo. Are you really fond of Me? Are you really My friend? It's a less intimate, less sacrificial form of love. Oh, the painful memories that had to be running through Peter's mind. He surely remembered how he boasted he would never deny Him. He was ready to go to jail, or die for Him, more than the others. Lord, they might be offended, but not I. Though all (meaning the others) be offended I won't be! Oh, but I believe he was the most deeply offended of all because he did deny Him three times. Seeing the Son of Almighty God submit to wicked men's hands and abuse offended him. Seeing Jesus stand accused of outrageous lies, falsely accused and yet not try to defend Himself offended Peter. Seeing Him go through such suffering, when Peter knew He who had commanded demons and winds and waves and could stop this at any moment if He chose, but would not, offended Peter. He was offended, like many by the cross, and its working because of a lack of understanding why it must be this way. I believe Jesus used the phileo form of love to remind Peter, that kind of love will fail, Peter as you well know. I believe Peter understood because he was grieved when Jesus asked him the third time, and he said Lord, you know everything. You know me with an absolute knowledge better than I do. You knew I would fail you when I thought I could stand.
Another point I gleaned on these Scriptures, this one from reading a few of the commentaries on this was Peter's leadership among the disciples had been severely damaged in the minds of the others by his denial of the Lord. Jesus was addressing Peter, probing at his heart's deepest feelings and while also reaffirming him as the Shepherd-or leader of the sheep. You feed them, you tend them, you keep them in line, Peter. You care for them as I have cared for you. This was not a private but a public conversation, and all the others, knowing of Peter's failures, heard Jesus tell Peter to shepherd His sheep.

Jesus tells Peter, when you were young, you dressed yourself as you wanted, went where you wanted, and lived the way you wanted. But when you are old, you will reach out your hands and another will dress you with what He wants, and will bind you with His Word, and His love, and He will take you where your flesh will not want to go-you will die to everything you are and My life will be lived out through you. That old boastful, self-reliant nature will die, and you will live dependent on Me. In the end, you will surrender your life rather than deny Me again and they will crucify you physically who will by then have already been spiritually crucified by Me.

Jesus knew Peter would fail Him, He knew they all would run away in fear. Yet in spite of their failures, He did not take back His calling on their lives. No, He continued to visit them, and call them back to Himself. He recommissioned them before He left.
In Luke 24, He reminds them it was written that He would suffer and die and rise again. This, with a message of repentance and remission of sins would be their message they would carry because they were living witnesses of these truths. He told them to go all over the world-not just to Jews, not just where they were comfortable, but to step out of their comfort zone and take His message, His life, all over the world. But before they would be qualified as witnesses of these things, they needed His power to carry the message, to be the message He was. You wait in Jerusalem, until you are endued with power from heaven before you try to carry this message or be my witnesses. You must have the Holy Ghost before you can do this-more than you received when you were born again. You must be filled with Him. He must replace your natural self life with divine life-else you can not partake of My divine nature. He will tell us no different.

If you have failed Him, if you ran when the fire got hot, and made a mess of the testimony He gave you, take hope in these Scriptures. He is no respecter of persons. Sometimes God's people can be struggling so hard so long, dealing with family problems, health problems, financial problems, marriage problems, or problems with their children. It could be a combination of any of these. People get tired, they get weary, and when they love God and have tried their best to serve Him but things don't seem to be getting better, instead they get worse, we can make mistakes and we can run, seeking relief from the fight. It is a constant warfare in these last days to pray and love and serve the Lord. The devil is spewing out a flood of lies against the Bride of Christ, against His own, to deceive them into giving up hope and casting away their confidence. He wants them to forget God said "Don't be weary in well doing, for you will reap if you faint not." He wants them to forget Jesus said "I will never leave you, nor forsake you. No matter how it looks, He won't for He's not a man that He should lie. It's impossible for Him to lie-so we can take comfort in His promises and hold onto them and never let go. Don't surrender His promises to you to the doubt and fear and pain that might be plaguing your life right now. It's in such times we can fall but He said He'd pick us up. Indeed, He has ministered hope to my heart through His Word, through these Scriptures about Peter, for I too have failed, and I too have run. Sometimes when we are sifted hard, that's what happens. We want to run from the very thing (or One) we are being sifted about. It's an attempt by the enemy to cause such an inward agitation to overthrow our faith and confidence in the Lord-whom we should always trust. Take hope-he has to seek permission to do this to us, and the Lord prays for us before it begins, and stands by us through the whole process. He allows this to destroy our confidence in ourselves and our own ability to serve Him. It's a painful, spiritual circumcision of the heart. But remember, it's Him who is doing the cutting and He knows what He is doing. This is not a job He delegates to others. He does it personally and love for us is His motivation in so doing. He knows where human nature will take us so He has to destroy that dependence and confidence in it. This will leave us humbled and dependent on Him. So if you are being sifted, and if you are struggling, remember He knows, He granted permission for this to work in you and I a total, intimate trust and dependence on Him alone. That's a good thing, is it not? Trust His love is true and He will never leave you nor forsake you. He is faithful who is promised.

The Hope of His Calling

2Co 1:8 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:

2Co 1:9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:

2Co 1:10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;

Do not misunderstand God is fully aware of the pressure that is squeezing many of His children mentally right now. There is a pressure unlike any previously known and the intensity is increasing. Many saints are struggling with anguish, burdened down, many are enduring persecution, or some form of tribulation. This will weigh you down, make you feel heavy with despair and cause you to struggle with depression, even. It will truly make you wonder about the purpose of your life, make you feel like your life isn't amounting to much, and seems so fruitless, so pointless, how could God ever be satisfied? Have you caught yourself wondering why, Lord? Of course the enemy will be right there to whisper God is mad at you. He'll throw your failures in your face, constantly seeking to harass and accuse. Why does God allow these things into our lives, those of us who love Him and truly desire to know Him and live for His glory, not for self?

I think Paul tells us in the next two verses. The word for sentence in verse 9 means answer. There is a judicial answer for the problem. There is something in us that has been sentenced to death-and that is self will-it has to die and God will allow things to press and come against us so we will learn that we cannot trust in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but only in God who once we are dead to ourselves, (no longer relying on or looking to please self) is well able to raise us up and make good use of our lives. Just as He rescued us from sin, and darkness, which truly was an awful death, He is well able to deliver us and will deliver those who trust in Him. No matter how it looks right now, no matter how you feel right now, He loves His people, and is working things out for their good and His glory. And He will yet deliver us. Think about what He delivered you from in the beginning. Look at how much your thinking, your desires, your life has been changed since He saved you. He saved us from our sins, but He wants that self will pressed out of us. Why does He want to empty us of self? He has something better to pour in us in its place.

Eph 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

Eph 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

Eph 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

Eph 1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

He can never give this kind of revelation, He can never have this kind of close fellowship with a carnal person. What will happen to a saint of God who gets a divine understanding of the Lord? When He manifests Himself to you, and reveals to you more of who He is then you are knowing Him yourself-you are learning Him. Intimately. As you begin to have this kind of deeper fellowship with Him, your faith is strengthened, your purpose in life is reaffirmed, redefined, and transformed. Now your focus has moved away from self and to HIM. When He begins to manifest His presence in your life, and open His Word to you more, drawing you in deeper, it's a thrilling thing. That aching longing deep in your soul that nothing around you satisfies, begins to find fulfillment in HIM alone as it was meant to do. In the knowledge and presence of this awesome God is fullness of joy. His precious Holy Spirit is working to this end. No matter what is wrong now, or how bad it may look, He wants to minister the cure to His people-His presence, and our divinely given awareness of His presence and who He is. He wants to reveal to us more of Himself. He wants us to understand and consider the hope or expectation of His calling which is an invitation. His calling us is His inviting us to something much better, much greater than what we have. He has such great richness, there is such a majesty about Him, and He has a glorious possession held in store for the saints, (the blameless, the consecrated, those who are HIS). What is that Possession? I believe it is His Beloved Son, the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. Remember, beloved, many are called but few are chosen. If we don't yield to the stripping and pressing process, we won't be chosen. He has to strip away all the chaff of the carnal and worldly thinking, and living. He wants to replace it with spiritual understanding, spiritual thinking and living, and dependence on God, not self or the world. What is the hope of His calling? The expectation of this invitation God has given us? It is in His Son. Our life is in His Son.

Now there is something else we must know as well....He wants us to know the exceeding magnitude of His power-His mighty ability freely extended toward us who have faith in Him, who are committed to Him, and know that HE ALONE is our hope, our security. As long as we try to do it ourselves, then God will allow things to move against that to tear down that reliance on and confidence in self. If He can't fix it, it can't be fixed. If He started it, He will finish it. He that has begun a good work in you will continue to perform that work until it is finished, if you will allow Him to. That requires yielding to His leadership. And He has to give the grace, the understanding, and Holy Ghost power to do this.

This kind of power He has already shown us when Jesus Christ was crucified, put to death, and the power of Almighty God working in Him raised Him from the dead and elevated Him to the throne in heaven. He rules over all, that which was, which is, and which is to come. Hallelujah!

Col 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

Col 1:10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Col 1:11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;

Col 1:12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

I know I was in terrible darkness until He opened the door! You never realize how awful that darkness is until you see the Light. Let us pray this way for one another, beloved. Pray the Lord of glory will open our spiritual eyes and ears and that we may be fully aware of His will for our lives, with a godly wisdom and spiritual understanding. That we no longer be carnal in our thinking or living. That we can mentally put the truth He reveals to us together-the pieces of the puzzle coming together so we can see the BIG picture-we can see beyond ourselves to His greater purpose. That we might live a life worthy of Him, pleasing and fertile-so His life is reproduced in us, no matter what work or labor we do, that we are continually being enlarged by Him in the recognition of Him, intimately knowing Him. That intimate fellowship produces a solid faith in us, which will enable and strengthen us, with His mighty power, that dunamis (G1411) power, that works the miraculous-that which only God can do. This will help us endure, patiently waiting for the completion of all things-when He comes for us. It all depends on Him revealing Himself to us. He can't do that if we don't meet with Him in prayer, if we don't pick up our Bibles and begin to dig in, and make time to get alone with God. We need to be filled with His Holy Spirit, we need to know HIM for ourselves, and we need to be depending on HIM and not ourselves. God help us once again to know how to tarry before Your presence, to be willing to tarry and not leave until we get filled. Help us be willing to put off any thing and every thing but You.

Dan 11:32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

There is a temptation to want to prevent suffering, to give in to the desires of ourselves, and indulge ourselves. We need to realize that voice is an enemy of what God wants to do for and give His people. Don't be corrupted by a smooth voice whispering you don't have to go to the cross. You don't have to deny yourself. He did it for you. But we must pick up ours and carry it and follow His example. In this time we live in there is a heavy sense of impending disaster. People everywhere are struggling, the only difference is some have the Holy Ghost in them, and the Word of God is their foundation. If we are on the Rock, built on His Word, and on His promise, no matter what storm hits, we will not go under. Remember, when Peter stepped out on that raging sea, as long as He kept His eyes focused on the Lord, He did not sink.

Those who continually meditate on Him, His Word, and stay in close contact with the Holy Spirit, acknowledging His presence in themselves, communing with Him, hungering to know Him, He will reveal Himself. What He reveals will strengthen, and edify and build us up. It will always leave us longing for more of Christ and less of self. You can reach a place in God where the voices of this world, the things of this world, the temporary pleasures of this world no longer hold any fascination for you. God can be and wants to become so real to you that these things lose their grip on you. When what you read in His Word is more real to your heart than what you see and hear in this world, you have moved into a heavenly place reserved for those who are dead and dying to self. Why does self have to die? Oh, what an awful thing to say, if you don't understand the recompense and the reward! For the carnal mind is enmity (HOSTILE) against God. That is why it has to die. It will never yield to God. It has to be denied. That nature in us that wants to please only itself regardless of the cost to others, to God, it has to be crucified.

Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

I am learning, this is how the Holy Spirit is working in me. Through His power and His love, He draws me to dig into His Word, to seek a greater understanding of this lovely and all powerful Christ who gave Himself for me, so that I might give myself to Him and for Him, and in knowing HIM, in seeing Him, through eyes of faith, through divine revelation, I hunger for more of Him and less of me. In this way, the Holy Spirit, by revealing Christ to me, more and more, creates the desire to give up self and embrace Christ, to do His will, regardless of the cost, and He is the power and ability of God in me to see this accomplished. Hallelujah.

Now, if God had never allowed me to be pressed, troubled, afflicted, so I would be stripped of confidence in self and human ability, see what I would miss out on? He wants to strip us of filthy rags of self and cover us with His glorious presence, with His glorious truth! Nothing is worth missing out on knowing Him! He is our exceeding great reward and our shield!

See Him, being pressed by a crowd of people, on His way to raise a dead girl, and you see that trembling, fearful, and very ill woman pressing through a crowd, pressing through many voices, much opposition, just to touch the hem of His garment. She's lived like an outcast for 12 long years, lost everything but nothing has brought relief. See her trembling fingers touch the very part of His garment that was put there in remembrance of the law that marked her as unclean. See sin, and sickness touch holiness and be cleansed!! See Him stop and turn and fasten His wondrous eyes on Her, as she tries to slip unnoticed back into the crowd. See her fearful eyes lock with His as He says "Who touched Me?" She knows He's not going anywhere. She's exposed. Her heart is pounding like a frightened rabbit's, but she comes forward, completely exposed and vulnerable. Oh, she got healed, immediately, but there was something else she needed. See Him take away the reproach of 12 long years of living as one unclean, a social outcast. See Him recognize that pain of being ostracized. Hear Him speak to her "Daughter, be of good comfort, your faith has made you whole." What a lovely heart for us He has! See Him as He is and desire Him! Love Him! This is what the Holy Spirit wants to reveal to us! He wants us to know who this wonderful Christ is! Our lives will be revolutionized! We will never be the same. We will no longer be content to live mediocre, barely getting by lives. We will no longer feel like we are barely hanging on when we are holding His unchanging Hand and we KNOW IT! See Him and Love HIM! See His mercy and praise Him! He is so worthy!!!! Glory to GOD!! He will not fail you, neither will He forsake you! The Perfect One who lives in you will make you perfect-complete in HIM. You stand in God's sight, complete in Him, but He wants to make that finished work a reality in you now. It doesn't happen overnight, but each yielding of your will to His is a step toward that perfection. That completion.

He is circumcising our hearts, cutting us off from that tendency to live by self rule. Be encouraged Beloved, the stripping process is very unpleasant and painful, but God knows what He is doing, and doesn't delegate this task to another. No, He is right there, doing this Himself. That is in itself a declaration of His love. He will not entrust such a personal, painful process to one of His angels. He does this Himself-through the power of His Holy Spirit. He will not leave you alone, defenseless and wounded and raw, having been stripped. No, He wants to replace that confidence in self, with the kind of faith and peace that comes from intimacy with Him. Sharing His heart, and learning who He is, how He thinks, and what He thinks. Don't believe the lie of the devil that what you are going through is God's judgment because He is displeased! God knows your heart, He knows if you truly desire Him, and if you hunger and thirst after righteousness! He wants to fill you! He has to empty you first. Nothing must be allowed to remain that would hinder the free flowing river of living water. He wants to pour it in us that it may flow freely out of us to others. He is a hands on God, Beloved. Let this truth comfort you today, and pray this truth be real to your brothers and sisters in Christ. We are all being pressed, being afflicted, and things are growing darker by the day-but if we yield to God, He will trim the chaff off us and we will shine brightly in this dark hour. He wants us to shine so the lost can see and come and be saved. Let us be found willing vessels, submitting to the Refiner's fire, so we can be purified, and shine brightly to the praise of His glory. Knowing Him for yourself will produce a confident faith and peace that is never dependent on circumstances-and never goes unnoticed by the lost. In our tribulation, He is our Rock, our Refuge, an ever present Help in an increasingly dark and evil world.

The Comfort God Wants To Give You

2Co 1:2 Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
2Co 1:3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
2Co 1:4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

You hear the word "grace" a lot in church, and in the Bible. But what does it really mean? Have you ever stopped to think about it and meditate on this amazing word? In the Greek, it comes from a word 'charis' and pronounced khorece. It means God has bestowed certain favors and benefits and gifts upon us just because it is His character, His nature, to love us and want to help us. He knows better than we the flaws, inconsistencies and failures of our lives and our hearts, yet this does not cause Him to withdraw His grace from us. No, just the opposite-He extends it freely. His grace is His kindness, His willingness to offer His good will, and do what it took to offer us entrance into the goodness and blessings He has to share with us-which we did nothing to earn or merit.

Paul is writing to a people who came out of gross sin, were greatly blessed of the Lord, but promptly fell into error and division. This always happens when the Lord is moving and working among His people. The enemy will try to come in and conquer and divide. A house divided cannot stand. So, he is also writing to people he knows have been party to attempts to smear his name and service to the Lord, as well as those who have been led astray again since his last letter and visit. When Titus reports back the people repented and accepted the truth, Paul writes again. He doesn't come with an "I told you so" or harsh criticism. He writes reminding them they are recipients of the grace and peace of God.

Grace and peace. How do you truly have peace? Saying you possess it and truly having it are two different things. This peace by definition means God has no controversy with you. It means you can rest assured in His ability regardless of the situation around you. This kind of peace comes from knowing God yourself and learning who He is and how He works. Now, the Holy Ghost knows the hearts of men and women and He knows how to convict and convince them of sin and when they have erred, and repented, He comes offering peace and grace of God. Blessed-that word means adorable, worthy of praise, is God, the Father of our Lord Jesus. He is the Father of mercy-He has compassion and takes pity on His children. He knows the weakness of their flesh, and that they are but dust. He is the God of all comfort- encouragement, exhortation, urging His people to trust Him, look to Him, and lean heavy on Him for HE alone by His Word and His Spirit is able to hold them up in times like we live in.

In verse 4 the word for comfort is parakaleo-and it is used to describe one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It means to call near, invite or all for one to come closer so they can find the comfort and encouragement they need. He is calling for us to draw near to Him so He can teach and instruct us and that will strengthen and encourage us. This Scripture says He comforts us in all our tribulation. He is our Father, and He knows we are troubled about many things, and He knows what we need. He wants His troubled children to come to Him, not expecting harshness but help. There is such a pressure, and distress many are facing right now. We all have our own afflictions, be they mental, physical, financial or family problems. There is an all out spiritual warfare raging and God's children need to be edified, encouraged, and taught truth, more than ever. We need to have our minds saturated with the Truth and we all need to be praying for the Holy Ghost to fill us. As we are comforted by God through His Spirit and His Word, then we are able to comfort others. The word comfort used here is similar --"paraklesis" and it means to call those close who need help, so they can be encouraged, and strengthened. There is so much anguish and trouble in the lives of so many hurting believers. He knows this and He wants us to remember He alone can comfort and bring us through. Remember He said our faith would be tried by fiery trials, and sometimes we would be in heaviness because of these. But we can look to Him and know He will not let this take us under. No matter what storm is raging, He walks above the storm, and we will make it to the other side if we are obedient and seek Him. He doesn't want us depending on anyone or anything else but HIM and His Word. This is one of the reasons He sent the Holy Ghost to us.

Isa 25:1 O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
Isa 25:2 For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defensed city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built.

The fact that He is OUR God, that He redeemed us and bought us, and saved us is a miracle and something to be so thankful for. We are not putting our trust in Buddha, or Mohammad, or self, or this new age religion that is so prevalent. We are trusting in TRUTH and TRUTH is Person. He is the Lord! He's real, He knows our needs, hurts and desire to please Him. He does not give up on us when we are ready to give up on ourselves. For that we can lift up His name, exalt HIM higher than our problems, or our failures and praise His Holy Name for what He has done-deliver us, time and time and time again, and for what He has not done-which is forsake us. Glory to His Name! Hallelujah!! He has worked so many miracles, He has parted seas and rivers, He has breathed life into dry bones, He has opened blinded eyes, He has raised what is dead and given it new life! His Word has always been faithful and true. He can take the strong hold of the enemy and reduce it to ruin in seconds with a Word of hope and truth.

Isa 25:4 For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

He becomes the defense, the strength to those who are weak, though He always has been their defense, now they are made aware of this. Their back is to the wall, they are in a tight place, but He is there. He's an ever present Help because He knows there is an ever present evil that would swallow them up. He's drawn them close to Himself and sheltered them and they are learning by experience He alone is their hiding place. He's their Rock, a solid, unshakable place they can stand when everything around them is being shaken. He will never be moved. He will never be overthrown or caught by surprise. The enemy can never triumph over this glorious God.
The storm has been fierce and it has taken a toll on the people. That word 'poor' is dal (H1800) and it means dangling, weak or thin-barely able to hang on. They have been buffeted hard, they have fought this warfare and they are weary and in great need of help. He's the strength to those who are in need, destitute in a hard place, in real trouble. When I looked up that word distress (H6862) in verse 4, in the original Hebrew it means: They have an adversary who has afflicted them and brought great anguish into their lives, and much tribulation and sorrow. I was amazed. God is their shelter from the storm-and this is a demonic storm. This the flood of demonic activity that causes confusion, torment, sorrow, temptation, and grief. The enemy is sending forth this flood to try to overthrow their faith and sweep them back into darkness. He said in Isa_59:19 when the enemy comes in like a flood, He will lift up a standard against him. The standard is the flag that goes ahead of the army, and who is the Captain of our salvation, Church? The Lord Jesus Christ!
In the dry, desolate place that has been utterly wasted, a heavy toll has been exacted because of the prince of the power of the air who has laid siege to God's people, is determined to steal their faith in God and His promises. He wants you to throw the Book down and believe the lie out of hell that you have had enough that you don't need it anymore! He wants to snuff out the of Christ within you. The blast of the terrible ones-that word 'blast' is an interesting word. (H7307) Both the New American Standard Exhaustive Concordance and Strong's Hebrew Definitions agree: It's an attack that comes on the wind, a spiritual attack, as a breath of cool air to try to extinguish faith in God, love for God, and zeal for God. The fiery darts are launched as a barrage as the enemy tries to manipulate your thoughts, provoke your temper and cause you to lose your courage and lose heart. He wants you to be despondent, grief stricken, in despair. This is the blast of the oppressor and it is a terrible, strong, and violent sifting within your mind to try to destroy your faith in God and in His promises. He wants to make you believe the Word of God is a lie and there is no hope and he has you backed up against a wall with no where to go.
Remember, he is the liar and the father of all lies. When you are against a wall, God is that very present help and He is there with you. He said He would never leave you or forsake you.

Isa 25:5 Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low.

When Israel was up against a wall, God made a way through the Red Sea and they walked across on dry ground and God had His prophet leading them, and God Himself was their rear guard. He had their back and would not let the Egyptians rush in upon them. No, that fiery cloud was right there, preventing the enemy from following them until it was time-until they were safely across and then God moved to allow the enemy to rush in to their own destruction.

God will bring down the noise of strangers, that strange voice that batters your mind trying to wear you out. Oh what a blessing and encouragement I got as I dug in these words, and examined these Scriptures. The word is H3665 kana, and it means God is going to subdue this uproar and horrible noise of the enemy. The stranger, that profane, foreign stranger-who is the enemy and adversary of our soul, will have to bow his knee in humiliation, vanquished by OUR GOD, and be brought down low in subjection, under the mighty hand of God. He's going to make the enemy give account and answer for what he has done. The Scripture says the branch of the terrible ones will be brought low-(H6030) and it means made to answer or give account. As the heat in a dry place-He, God Almighty is going to dry up this flood. Hallelujah! Be encouraged, church. You really can be strong in the Lord. Has He not commanded us to be strong and of a good courage that we don't have to be afraid or dismayed for He is the Lord OUR GOD and is with us where ever we go! He knows what is coming and He wants you to spend time with Him, in His Word, in prayer, getting fortified, filled up with oil, now, while we can. He is calling us to draw nigh to Him and away from the things that would distract and vex us. He wants us to draw nigh to Him so He can draw nigh to us and comfort us, saints. What an awesome invitation. I pray you come. I encourage you to find a place, at an altar of prayer and be still, knowing you have been invited you will be received, and just understand He is GOD. Think about what that means. HE IS GOD. Nothing escapes His knowledge and He is never without a plan of victory! Hallelujah! Don't listen to the lies of the devil when he tells you that you have failed God that your life hasn't amounted to much. Little is much when God is in it. If he tells you that you are a failure, that means you are succeeding in getting somewhere with God. If you were a failure, he'd be lying to you telling you that you were a great success! He can't tell the truth, so when he tells you that you are a failure, rejoice! He lies!

Don't Despair

Jesus ministered on this earth in human flesh for 3 1/2 years. He had 12 men following Him, listening and learning from what He showed them and told them. At times, He had many more following Him. The word "disciple" means pupil, or student. They saw Him work miracles, they saw Him calm violent storms out on the raging sea. They watched as He reached out and touched the lepers-which was unthinkable to the carnal mind. They saw Him embrace children, whom the religious establishment had no time for. They saw Him deliver people from life long bondage, from sickness of all kinds, and they saw Him speak the name of a dead man and watched him come forth out of the tomb, alive and well. They saw Him treat the people with kindness, and respond to the challenge of the religious with truth that cut so sharply they wanted to kill Him.

They heard Him pray and it so stirred them up, this intimacy they heard when He talked to His Father, they longed for this kind of relationship as well. They wanted to know how to pray that way. They saw Him challenged and baited and provoked again and again, and every single time He responded with wisdom, truth and an unmistakable authority. They watched demon spirits plead for mercy from Him. He commanded the winds and waves, the unclean spirits, and by the power of His Word, things happened. Miracles were wrought. Life was spoken into death. The life of God inside of Him lit up the world for those around to see the truth. His message was one of repentance, purity, compassion for others, loving others and loving God. He taught about mercy and justice, and truth and grace. He taught about forgiveness and kindness and warned against hypocrisy. He taught the people in parables to illustrate spiritual truths. It was soon evident to all who could see the God He taught about and revealed was not the same God the Pharisees spoke of. They totally misrepresented this great God.

In spite of the crowds pressing Him, He still had time to go out of His way to Samaria and wait to meet with a little woman who was looking for something meaningful, who had a longing in her heart for the reality of God in her life. She was considered less than a dog by His own people, but He made a trip special to see her and minister to the cry in her heart for Truth and a whole town came out to hear Him and believed on Him. They saw Him stop a funeral procession and raise a woman's only child from the dead. He ministered to the poor, the needy, the helpless, and never asked anything in return except to give God glory. He never tried to build a reputation, a ministry, or make a name for Himself. His agenda was God's. He prayed, He heard from Heaven, He walked in the Spirit, and by His own admission credited the miracles and works done by Him as done by the power and life of the Spirit of God in Him. They saw Him grant to them power to work miracles as well. He sent them out in pairs and instructed them to carry the message of the kingdom, and heal the sick. They came back rejoicing because the spirits were subject to them and He warned them pride caused Satan to fall from heaven. He gave them authority, and power over the enemy's power, but reminded them that is not where their joy should be. Their names were written in heaven-that is what they were to rejoice over.

They saw Him get angry and drive the covetous, the dishonest, those using the House of God to make a dishonest buck, out. They saw Him cleanse the temple of unclean things and people. They watched Him weep and grieve over the city of Jerusalem and the people.

The disciples saw and learned and heard a lot of things in the 3 1/2 years they were with Him, traveling in the ministry of the kingdom of God. With everything that happened, they could have built a large following, a rich treasury, and a famous ministry, with a great reputation of being able to do what the Pharisees and Scribes could not. The disciples recognized He had power, unmistakable, unimaginable power of God, and wanted Him to put down the Roman rule over them and liberate Israel from their control.

He was never caught unprepared, He never displayed frustration or unbelief. He never wounded someone with a thoughtless word or deed. He was always in control because He was always subject to the Father. He was born dead to this world and to His own self. They traveled in the company of this Man, and He became their security. He became everything to them. Time and time again He pointed all back to the Father, but they were focused on Him. They had Jesus with them, and He supplied all their needs. They had left their careers, jobs, families, to go with Him, to follow Him and He took care of them. They lacked nothing. They were constantly learning, for He was constantly teaching. They had a head knowledge of the Lord and He knew it had to get in their heart.

During our Christian life, we spend time from the beginning learning Him, loving Him, and of coursing falling down and making mistakes, and having to repent and be cleansed. We love the Word, we love the fellowship, we pray, God answers and we are thrilled. But there comes a time, after all these things, the message of the Gospel began to turn ominous to the disciples-not to the crowds. Jesus began to speak of three things that the disciples were unaware of before: He would have to suffer rejection, betrayal, and He would have to suffer death at the hands of wicked men. There was a cross involved in this Christian life, and there would be the Holy Spirit given to take us there.

He is a great and mighty God-and self doesn't want to accept that it has to die, that it has to be denied. This kind of Gospel will often cause those who love Him and are struggling to please Him and live right to fall in to despair. God says "Don't despair, I'm with you. Just trust Me. I'll get you there."

Consider this great God who through the power of His Spirit led wild animals to an ark, subdued their animal nature so the predators did not prey on the other animals or the family of Noah inside that ark for almost an year. Consider how His Spirit moved on a black, empty void out in space and called forth a planet-earth. Consider how this Great GOD lovingly molded a human being out of a pile of dirt. When He blew into Adam's nostrils the breath of life every member of his body began to function correctly. There was no war, no division, everything worked exactly as God intended and made it to. When we have received the Holy Ghost the Lord said He would send-and He did, when we receive Him and are filled with Him then we will function and walk and move and live like we are designed to by the divine nature within us-as overcomers. Jesus set the pattern and He said greater things shall you do because I go to my Father. Greater in quantity, not quality. He is able to do exceeding, abundantly, above all that we can ever ask or think.

The enemy would cause us to despair over our failures, our sins, our weakness. But God says don't look to yourself, look to ME. Look away from yourself, look higher! I'm here! I love you, I made you, and I can perfect you. Don't despair, just trust Me!!! He already knows our failures and weaknesses and HE doesn't despair over them. When He begins to show these to us, it is we who can start to fret and worry and become depressed over ourselves. We look at how Jesus walked and how He lived and ministered to others, never seeking for self, always pointing others to God, and we KNOW to have this life and this type of a heart it has to be God doing this in us for it is not naturally in us to be this way. No, it is the opposite of what we want to do. But praise the Lord, He knows, and HE saw it all along, from the time we first bowed our knees to Him, He knew us. He didn't despair over our failures and weakness, no, He just began to draw us to Himself, His Word, His presence, to prayer, and it's as we see and learn Him that we begin to see ourselves. He loves you, and He will not fail you. He is well able to bring you into this sacrificial life of Christ where yourself is emptied out and His divine life is flowing in and through you to those around you. Then, others will not see you, or me, but they will Jesus in us, our hope, and their hope of glory!