“I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh unto thee.”

We will be safe from traps, from terror in the night, from horrible diseases, and from projectiles. We will be safe when 11,000 people die on either side. This protection doesn’t come from lounging inside of God’s armor plated car with bullet proof glass and oxygen supplies. It comes from being covered by his feathers and under his wings. Feathers aren’t known as tactical weapons. I haven’t heard of any battles being won because of the clever use of feathers. I’ve never seen a war movie that includes the phrase “Don’t worry about bringing more bullets, we need more feathers here!” While feathers must be useful in some situations, I’ve yet to hear about the need to pack feathers along with your greasepaint and ghillie suit before a dangerous mission.

“Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings from the wicked who are out to destroy me, from my mortal enemies who surround me”.  — Psalm 17:8-9 (NIV)

He’s faced with wicked people surrounding him and ready to destroy him, and he asks to stand in a shadow? If I was in his shoes, I wouldn’t be interested in the shadow. If I wrote that Psalm, it would be talking a bit more about being safe from my enemies in a castle with a moat and several very large body guards, not hiding in a shadow. But God’s shadow is the safest place to be. Even though you may be surrounded by mortal enemies ready to destroy you, the shadow of God is safer than any underground bunker or armored car. We aren’t invisible in the shadow; the enemy can see us there. We aren’t immune, but we are protected. To be in the shadow implies a close connection. To stay in the shadow we must walk in step with God, as close to His side as we can get.

Armored cars run out of gas. Castles and moats can be captured. But who can lift a shadow? The shadow is invincible. A shelter of feathers in the face of terror, diseases, and arrows sounds about as practical as a pair of scissors made of glitter. We can’t just recline in the backseat of God’s armored car. In the bad times we need to stay huddled under his wing like a baby bird following its mother. We are active participants. We need to walk to stay under that protection. But in those feathers, in that shadow, there is peace and perfect rest. Even though you can see the enemies all around you, and they can see you, as long as you are in the shadow of the Almighty you are safe. No one can lift His shadow to get to you.

While this rings true in most areas of our lives, eventually there will arise unforeseen circumstances which we have not prepared for. Eventually the weather man will be wrong, and we will be caught in the rain without an umbrella. Eventually the wise saying your mother instilled in you will let you down. Eventually Old Murphy will sneak some variables into your life which will upset your plans and preferences. In these times, are we to simply do the first thing that presents itself as a reasonable option? If it doesn’t work out, we can sheepishly shrug it off as “it seemed like a good idea at the time.” Are we to simply go with the flow? Elect a new president? Go watch a movie? Ask your Facebook friends if they have any ideas? Perhaps there is a better way of handling the unanticipated. Isaiah 46:10 states that God declares the end from the beginning. God is never caught off guard. God is prepared and aware of every circumstance and trial which His people will face—and He already has the solution.

Deuteronomy is a covenant treaty between the King, God, and His subjects, Israel. Israel was called out of slavery (Exodus) to serve God in a far off land. He was the only King they needed, speaking and directing the under-shepherds Moses and Joshua. Helping Moses and Joshua was a system of elders who oversaw various divisions of the people. Yet God, in His perfect foreknowledge, knew Israel would desire a human king to rule over them (Duet 17:14). Although God was actually rejected by this action (I Sam 8:7) He was yet merciful to provide a set of instructions for this future king including humility, a dedication to the law of God, and a refusal to compromise the good of the people for his own gain. This highlights two encouraging points 1) God is so loving that even in rejection, He provides the best for his children. 2) God is prepared for every problem we may face, no matter how devastating. Be reminded, Israel was God’s people. The modern equivalent is Christianity rejecting God in pursuit of a man. But even if this did happen, God would raise up a David, a prophet Nathan, or a Josiah.

Today we face many obstacles which our generation has never faced before. In America, homosexuality, abortion, crime, Islamic activists, economic crisis, political incompetence, even the emerging church present complications and difficulties which I haven’t a clue how to overcome. Personally, I have more academic, work related, financial, and church responsibilities than have I ever had. If something tragic happened in my life, I have no idea how I would handle it. But I do know that for every wilderness there is manna. For every fire, there is a fourth man. For every captive there is liberty in the Spirit. And for every lost soul there is a Savior named Jesus. Do not worry about the circumstances you cannot control; instead ask Him to direct your path, for He has a plan already in place.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”  — Hebrews 11:1-6

The above is an excerpt from what many people call the “faith chapter” of the Bible. It inspires us to read about the exploits of the “heroes of faith”. We have examples laid out for us to see the amazing interplay between God and man as He uses His servants to accomplish a mighty work on the Earth.

When I read this chapter, my heart longs to be there with these giants of faith and experience the power of God for myself. These are true stories of cataclysmic, world-changing, physics-defying supernatural occurrences that directed the course of the human race over the span of recorded history. Those who possessed great faith saw beyond the present and often beyond their own lifetime into the glorious plan of God and acted in accordance with His will to produce mighty works. Can we help but be stirred when we read Hebrews 11?

But we do ourselves a disservice if we look only at the great works that were accomplished by faith. While I imagine that most readers have the desire to see great works, or even a desire to possess great faith, simply recounting the works God has done through others is usually not enough to produce the same faith in us. Too often I am inspired about greatness instead of to it. So how did these “heroes of faith” get great faith?

“For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”  — 2 Timothy 1:12

Paul describes it exactly, and if you were to examine the lives of those mentioned in Hebrews 11 in detail, I believe you would find that every one of them possessed the faith they displayed not because they were inspired to it and not because they had some innate confidence or divine advantage, but because they set aside their life and pursued relationship with God that could eclipse every other element of their lives. As they grew close to God and began to understand His character and methods, faith in His word and actions in their lives grew as a matter of course. Great faith comes from great relationship with God.

Do you want to see spiritual revival in your town? Do you want miracles to happen in your family, workplace, or school? Do you want the divine manifestation of God? All of those great things are byproducts of great relationship. It begins with a prayer. Maybe it’s a prayer of repentance so that you’re no longer at odds with Him. Maybe it’s a prayer of commitment so that God can bring you to another level of relationship. Maybe it’s just a prayer of spending time with God and letting Him talk to you – letting that relationship grow.

Regardless of it starts today, there is only one way to get from where we live – the mundane, the ordinary, the carnal – to the powerful, extraordinary, God-designed, God-inspired, God-directed realms of earth-shaking faith. It is a byproduct of vibrant relationship with the Creator. My prayer is that you will take time today to engage in a deep, heartfelt relationship with Him.

As she rounded the bend and climbed over one more rotting downed tree, she entered the most beautiful of clearings. As she sighed in relief and happiness, she took out the paper held in the bag slung over her shoulder. Then she quickly yet gently took out the paint that had been jostling around. As she put her brush gently to the canvas, a blast of color formed. Instead of dead trees and rocks, a blast of color flowed over that page. The picture that came into full focus that day was a beautiful masterpiece.

Will you let that story speak to your heart right now? Have you felt like you were that young lady traveling through the dark and dismal forest? There was no soul in sight or any color in the world. All you see is everything dark in your life, as though everything is dismal and destroyed. You feel like there is no one there for you. You need to break free.

Jesus is making you into a masterpiece. You need to stop looking at the journey God has you on as something disgusting. You need to see this as a process. I will admit to being a victim of this thinking: so many times I look at my situation from the eyes of someone watching that girl going into the forest. I would ask God why. “Why am I going into something so rough? Why is _ _ _ _ _ (you fill in the blank) going through that? Why can’t you just help them through it? They shouldn’t have to endure that.” My friend, you are sadly mistaken. It’s not the enemy taking them through those woods. Jesus is bringing them through in order to make them into something beautiful. We need to stop questioning our creator. We need to stop questioning the author and the finisher of our paintings.

Whenever I find myself asking these questions, Jesus has to throw me right back down and explain to me all over again that it’s not about me or my will, but it’s about what He wants! Do you really trust Him? I know that sometime I have a hard time trusting him completely. But what it truly comes down to is whether you trust Him fully or you’re just trying to look good for the people watching you disappear into to the woods. Jesus knows what He’s doing. We can confidently rely on and trust in Him. Allow Jesus to finish the painting He’s doing in your life. I guarantee that if you do that you will find out you’re better off than you could ever imagine. Your painting will be beautiful – but only if you trust Him with the paintbrush!

God has a gym, too, and if you decide to be one of the dedicated saints to train there, then whether you realize it or not, the motto of the gym has been applied to you. That motto is “no pain, no gain.” We love to talk about being spiritual giants and being made into the image of Christ, but the reality of it is just like a physical gym setting. If pressure is not applied to you, then you will not grow.

Like a bench press, there could be times in our life when anger, depression, bitterness, or hurt will start to weight on us, sink down to our chest and almost smoother us, and we need to push it back up to God. Then we thought we got rid of it, but here it comes — right back on top of us and into our lives again, smothering us, controlling us, and making us feel worthless and miserable. Just when we feel like it’s over and we can’t do it any more, we push for one more rep. We push it back up and give it back to God. We tell Him, “God, if you don’t take this from me, I can’t go on any more and I’m going to collapse. I just might give in. This time I feel like I’m finally going to throw in the towel.” We often focus on the wrong things from these experiences instead of the real point of it. We may look at the experience instead of what we are actually walking away with: a little more authority, a little more growth, and a little closer relationship with God.

We want to be preachers and prophets, great men and women of God, amazing ministers and evangelists, ministries that set the world on fire and turn it upside down — but that was never the point. Those things are just means to an end. The point to “this thing” and God’s gym (the point of “trials”) is found in Romans 8:28-29. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” What’s the purpose? It’s found in verse 29: “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image”. Spiritual giants, supernatural ministers, and people who bear the image of Christ are not born, they are made.

There are people who have sat on the pews for 40 years and yet they are still spiritual babes in Christ. Then there are others who have embraced God’s process — the trials, the hurts and the pains of life — and allowed God to mold them His way who, in only a few short years have experienced much Spiritual Growth. What we fail to realize in the midst of it is that just like a spotter guiding the heavy weight, God still has His hands on us and is in full control.

There was a time that the enemy was constantly attacking me. My mistakes and my past followed me everywhere. Each step I took felt like I was falling apart. One night I was praying and God showed me that I was in a fog, not able to see anywhere around me or where I was going, while the enemy was attacking everywhere around me. Then God showed me Himself, hovering above all of it, just watching. He showed me that He wasn’t oblivious to my situation, and I knew He could hit the stop button at any point.

Do your trials look a little different knowing that God is in control?

This is where I struggle. At youth camp this year the minister, Bro. Soto, preached about being a thermostat or a thermometer. You see, thermostats set the temperature. But thermometers only read and react to the temperature. Do you determine your attitude, or do your circumstances and emotions? A bad attitude is like a virus which slowly creeps in, spreading as it goes. If it is left unchecked it can wipe out an entire system. A bad attitude will slowly poison a person’s life, till every area is contaminated. Their every perspective will reek of negativity and complaint. Negativity stinks.

But even Jesus had to keep His attitude in check. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus didn’t feel like obeying the will of the Father. But disregarded His feelings and His opinion and said, “Nevertheless not my will, but thine be done.” I believe it is God’s will for us to genuinely be happy. Not merely to think happy thoughts, but to have the joy of the Lord in our life. However, our flesh does not always want to be happy. Then you must choose to count your blessings, choose to be thankful, and choose to praise God until His presence brings joy to your situation. You’ll be glad you did.

When you enter a setting such as the work place or even your home, it is easy to pick up or sense the attitude that has been set by those who are there before you. If your co-workers are discouraged or upset, it is easy to let your attitude slowly begin drifting toward theirs. Maybe at first you merely want to be compassionate and understanding, taking time to listen to their problems and frustrations. But listening to people complain, hour after hour, day after day, can begin to wear on you. It is important to decide at the moment you realize this is happening that you will be a thermostat.

You can decide your attitude; you are not bound by your emotions or your circumstance. Determine to set the atmosphere at your work, home and church. Sometimes you must be the change you want to see. If you are tired of people taking you for granted, then make sure you go out of your way to be thankful for those around you. Create the culture you in which you want to live.

I have been wrestling with my own personal deep seated fear. I didn’t realize it at first. I thought I was a little bit sad, perhaps. Maybe a bit under the weather, just a little bit restless, or so I told my friends. But that wasn’t the problem. I am deeply afraid that what I want to happen in my life – what God has promised me – won’t happen.

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”  — I John 4:18

My fear is a lack of trust, probably the worst (and easiest) thing for me to do. It almost feels good, thinking that I’m not good enough for God to do what He has promised me through His word and through the words of the authorities God has placed in my life. It feels like some kind of perverse modesty or humility, thinking that I am too evil to be used by God.

But that’s incorrect thinking. I’m not big enough or bad enough to interfere with God’s will. That certainly does not mean that I can do anything I like and expect to have the ministry or life that I want. It doesn’t mean that my free will doesn’t matter. It doesn’t mean that I am predestined to greatness or ruin regardless of my actions. It means that God, my Father, knows His kid is going to mess up. He also knows the plans He has for me, plans to prosper me and not to harm me, plans He has had since before He formed me. What I have to do is trust my Father, walk in the path He has laid out, and trust some more.

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.”  — Psalm 91

First, and above all, is just being in God’s presence, allowing myself to be in a place where I have the greatest possibility of being touched by and spoken to by Him. This often comes from being in His house with other believers. In my case, this includes prayer meetings with the young men in our youth group. These times give me a chance to be spoken to by others – which leads to my second point.

The second thing that keeps me on track is the council and insight of my elders and those in authority over me. I can say that I am grateful for all of the people who have spoken into my life. They have been able to help me see the way God has for me when I can’t seem to get there by myself. The ones who have been instrumental in keeping me on track are people like my parents, my pastor, the elders in my church, and even peers who have a heart after God. I’m so thankful that even through the times where I cannot seem to see through the fog of war to the path Jesus has for my life, they have been there to guide me kindly and show me their examples of how to continue soldiering down the path I am on.

If there is any advice I may offer to those who are going through this experience, it is to continue putting yourself in God’s presence and to surround yourself with people who are able to speak what God wants to communicate to you when you can’t seem to find it for yourself.

Modern readers will probably associate the word ‘submission’ with concepts like domination or aggression, but that is part of the cultural drift. We have forgotten the freedom and power of submission. However, there is at least one organization that still uses the “archaic” yet empowering definition: no military unit in the world would survive long without it. Commanders have authority and subordinates can choose either to submit or face punishment. But note this: commands are given for the welfare of the subordinates or their loved ones. A good commander thinks not of dominating his subordinates, but of directing them to accomplish the common objective.

Imagine an admiral who issues an order to his fleet. This order must pass through and be obeyed by many levels of subordinates. Each recipient of the command must apply it to their specific situation, carry out the appropriate actions, and perhaps even relay further instructions to their own subordinates. As long as these actions are consistent with the admiral’s orders, that person is in submission to the admiral. Their actions may bring safety to the entire fleet – so long as those actions are in line with the order. Not only that, any commands they give pursuant to their superior’s order effectively take on the same authority. Before the process is complete, a seaman 2nd class could give instruction with the effective authority of an admiral. That is the power of submission.

When we work under authority, and within the bounds set up by superiors, their word becomes our action – so they are now responsible, too. The bond of their command makes you their agent — the opposite of what we might call a “free agent”. They are implicated in what you do as their representative. Have you ever done something that turned out to be wrong and your boss or parent (who instructed you to do it) went to bat for you? That is the protection and freedom of submission.

So it doesn’t matter that some people do not like the boundaries of submission. It does not matter who labels this concept as “archaic”. It does not matter who ignores their responsibility, either as one who gives orders or one who obeys. Submission remains a vital and indeed a critical concept for our lives today, even more so in a world of post-modern relativism and obedience evasion. Submission gives structure, power, freedom, and protection that we need in order to be effective people of faith.

Speaking from my experience, it seems to be because we’re afraid of the response. “He’s a big, mean-looking guy. He won’t want anything to do with Jesus, and even if he does he’ll just blow off whatever I have to say.” This is a comon mistake. We automatically throw up a wall and refuse to speak what Jesus has planted in our hearts.

Another mistake we make is thinking “Well, I’ll just let Jesus’ light shine through me. Others will see Jesus in me without having to do anything else. I’ll just live a Godly life the way I know how, and everything will fall into place.” Yes, overall this is true, but Jesus did say in Matthew 17:20 “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” He said that if we step out and have faith, then when we speak things will happen. So yes, we can live our lives, but if we keep our mouths closed nothing will ever happen. I believe the same thing applies to school, church, or any other activity that requires us to be around people we can reach.

What happened to Christians with the confidence of Christ behind them? Do we truly believe that nothing is able to hinder God’s revival? I think that part of the reason we haven’t seen everything we are expecting is that we let what people think of us or what people may say silence the words He is so ready to loose from our lips. What will happen when that fire, that energy rises within our young people’s hearts? It will be a world-wide revival this world could only hope to imagine. What would happen if you walked into your workplace and, instead of being silent, you spoke with God’s power behind you? What if you let your confidence in Him blast through your school or work?

We will see all the events God has promised. The thing is, will you be someone who helps bring it about, or will you be just another young person sitting on the sidelines and watching the rest of us catch the fire? Remember what Jesus said: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

This is our job. Today I’m giving you the challenge I received at CT Youth Camp 2011: “Do you have your game face on?” Let’s change this world and stop hiding behind insecurities and excuses. Let’s have God-confidence and turn this world upside down.