Sonya Triggs-Wharton

Endurance

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. ~ Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)

I get so tired sometimes. I don’t know about you, but it often seems that the more you do for God, the more He requires that you do.

I understand that the race we run is not a sprint, but a marathon. The scripture above admonishes us run the race that God has specifically laid out for us. My race is not your race. And your race is not my race. But God designs a race with specific benchmarks and goals for each of us to accomplish. For you, it might be to win a political election, or stand up against evildoers at work or stop a protest or a riot. Or to raise a family or be a provider or to go back to school.

For me, it is to preach, teach and deliver the gospel the best way I know how.

He has a different race for each of us. And each of us is given specific talents to do the exact things He has called us to do. Each challenge we face strengthens us to face the next challenge. Before David killed Goliath, he had killed lions and bears who had threatened his sheep (1 Samuel 17:36). God didn’t just call him to kill Goliath out of the blue – He prepared David by sharpening his skill by facing lesser threats. Both a lion and a bear were serious threats, just not on the same level as Goliath. And it was because David first faced those other challenges, that he was able to confidently and victoriously face Goliath.

David did not in fact simply rely on his ability to kill with a sling. He relied instead on his faith in God.

And that is what we must all do.

Rather than considering the task before us and how difficult it will be to ‘finish’ our race, we should instead consider the faithfulness of God. He has equipped us and is training us to accomplish the things He would like us to complete. If He wants you to be a speaker, He gives you opportunities to speak. But you’d have to start with small crowds or small groups before you’re ready to speak in front of a huge auditorium. If He wanted you to be a singer, He would allow you to sing to small groups. You’d probably sing with your school choir or an a capella group before you were ready to sing on stage at Carnegie Hall. And if you're meant to be a teacher, you will probably start off modestly, teaching a small group before moving on to more sophisticated work.

Whatever God wants you to do, you can be sure He is training you in its completion.

He will never ask you to do something for which you are unprepared. Whatever you are doing today – right now – is preparing you to finish your ‘race.’ There is a reason and a purpose behind all our ‘training’ even if we don’t see it for ourselves. And ultimately, He offers Himself – through the work of Jesus Christ – to strengthen us through the process.

So, in the end, you can rely both on your training and your faith in God. And be sure that He will be there to strengthen you where you are weak. When you hit that mile when you no longer feel like you can endure, He will be by your side to strengthen and protect you. When you regain your senses and your training kicks in, you will realize the path that has led you to where you currently are. And understand that has all been worth it – the training, the time, the faith in God – and that you do indeed have what it takes to run your ‘race’ until the end.

Trust in God.

And you too will endure.

Total Obedience

And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: ~ Ruth 1:16

If you’ve never read the book of Ruth, I highly recommend that you do so. As a mater of fact, I'll give you a moment to read it right now.

It is a beautiful story about the widow Naomi who has two widowed daughters-in-law (both Naomi’s sons had died) and the journey she made to return to her Jewish homeland. When Naomi asked her first daughter-in-law (Orpah) to depart from her so that she could go find another husband, Orpah did just that – she kissed her mother-in-law goodbye and departed from her. When Naomi said this same thing to her second daughter-in-law (Ruth), Ruth said the words in the scripture above. She told Naomi she would go where Naomi went, that her people would be her people and that Naomi’s God would be her God.

Isn’t that just beautiful? Wouldn’t you love to inspire that kind of love and loyalty in your family? I don’t mean to give the ending away if you haven’t read it, but Ruth prospered greatly by following Naomi to her homeland. She was seen to be the loving and loyal daughter-in-law that she was, which accorded her great respect and she ended up marrying a wonderful, kind and wise man who was related to Naomi. It is a beautiful story that illustrates the rewards available by showing loyalty and love to a loved one.

And – guess what? God wants you to show that same type of love and loyalty to Him. I like to think this story is the best embodiment of the total faith and obedience that God wishes us to show to Him. Why else would it be included in scripture? In and of itself, it is a rather insignificant story (of course, a major ‘plot point’ is that Ruth and her husband Boaz end up being the forefathers of the line that included David and our Savior Jesus). Beyond the bloodline scenario, there is no real reason to include it in scripture as it tells a very local story in a very specific time period pertaining to one very specific family.

But the story tells us so much more! It tells us how it feels to be lost and to rely on someone else to guide and lead you. It tells us how blind faith and total obedience (Naomi gave Ruth many ‘strange’ instructions once they arrived, which Ruth followed ‘to a T’). It tells us how we might be rewarded if we turn that same obedient attitude towards God and how well He takes care of us.

Ruth is not just the story of one young widow who marries well into a wealthy family, but a story of how any one lost soul can become part of the ‘family’ of God and find the richness of His glory. God’s family is epitomized by the understanding, acceptance and kindness Boaz displays towards Ruth and the kinship bonds that Boaz is honoring through his family member Naomi. Much like God extends His kinship bonds to us through the work of His Son Jesus Christ.

God is not only showing us how rewarding this ‘family’ life is, but how we must trust Him even in the face of uncertainty or in making difficult choices. Many blessings cannot be seen (or anticipated) beyond the limits of our knowledge. What we know is often limited and cannot show the full range of God’s blessings or His rich providence for us. Therefore we must trust Him beyond what our sight can see and beyond where mere knowledge can take us.

For that, we must have a ‘Ruth’ kind of faith and demonstrate total obedience to God. And it is that kind of faith that God blesses most richly as we move in obedience to Him.

God Will Give You What You Need

Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. ~ Psalm 37:4

            Will God give you everything you want when you want it? As a follower of God, I think I can safely say ‘no’ to this question. God speaks in many places in the Bible about meeting our needs (He won’t let you or your family go hungry (Psalm 37:25) and He will provide food and clothing for you (Matthew 6:33) and occasionally about meeting our wants.) He promises us that if we ask, we shall receive (and that they will be good gifts!) in Matthew 7:7-11. And in this scripture above, He promises to give us the desires of our hearts.

            So what does that mean? A Bentley? House on the hill? Peace? Love? Infatuation?

            It could mean all of the above and more. But we already know one important thing about God – He is not as concerned about money the way that human beings are (to put it lightly). In the same chapter that He tells us He will provide for our food and clothing, He also tells us to store up our treasures in heaven rather than on earth where it will rot and focus instead on the things of God rather than natural things.

            The whole earth belongs to God, after all. If he wanted to give us a million dollars tomorrow, He most definitely could. But – for most of us – He does not simply ‘give’ us money. Or things. Or material goods. He blesses us to be able to work and prosper and acquire things for ourselves, but His direct method of giving usually does not include a million dollar check in the mail. But He could if He wanted to.

            So we have to ask ourselves – why is it this way? Why doesn’t God reward us directly in material things? After all, just because money does not motivate God, it certainly appears to motivate us! Who wouldn’t want to drive a new car or live in a mansion or be able to purchase anything we wanted (big house on the beach, anyone)? So why doesn’t God give us the nearest desires of our heart when it comes to material things?

            Might I suggest to you then that the desires of our hearts that He is referring to are not material at all? But that He wants to bless you with peace, love, happiness and the like? That He wants to bless you with a strong and close relationship with God? That He is hoping for your happiness and fulfillment and wants to see you filled with joyful passions?

            Yes, many of our favorite characters in the Bible had money – Abraham, Job and King David certainly were not slouches in the money department. And King Solomon’s wealth outshone them all. But obviously (from reading these passages) God’s true intent was not to build their finances, but to build their relationships with Him. Through blessing them, God blessed a number of other people who were impacted by them. As they grew spiritually, those around them grew spiritually and for those who had the most wealth, they were expected to use it for the benefit of others. With great power comes great responsibility and we see that time and again in the Bible.

            But God’s true intent is to fulfill the desires of your heart concerning a relationship with Him. He wants to be the first desire of your heart – and then add all other things on the foundation of that relationship.

            So the next time you ask God to fulfill the desires of your heart – remember that you are doing just that as you spend time with Him, learning about Him and dwelling in His presence. Remember that God’s true intent is the relationship that the two of you have – not the material things and not the wealth, but Him. That is God’s true desire of His own heart and He hopes that you will share it too!

Learning to Say 'No'

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. ~ Proverbs 3:5-6

            One of the most important lessons I’ve learned as an adult is how to say ‘no.’ Not the making excuses to hide your real reasons ‘no’ or covering up what you really want to say ‘no.’ But just ‘no,’ I can’t do that. ‘No,’ I’m not available. ‘No,’ I don’t have time. The ‘no,’ but maybe next time (if there really is a next time). And ‘no,’ I’m just not into that (baseball games, anyone?).

            It’s okay to say no. ‘No’ establishes the boundaries of who you are and how you plan to spend your time. ‘No’ lets your friends and family know what you’re really about without making excuses. ‘No’ allows you to have better relationships because people really know what you’re about (of course the ‘no’ thing doesn’t always apply to spouses!).

            And you know what saying ‘no’ also allows you to do?

            To follow the will of God.

            It’s so obvious that it almost goes without saying that you can’t say ‘yes’ to God without saying ‘no’ to someone or something else. And that’s okay. Let me repeat – it’s perfectly okay to say no and be direct and honest about your reasons for doing so.

            ‘No’ is a complete sentence which doesn’t require any other words (however you can add a few if you’d still like to remain friends or on good terms with that person). ‘No’ means simply that – that you are unable or unwilling to do what is asked of you. For good reason. For your own personal reasons. And those reasons are good enough. There is never a time when you have to explain yourself to anybody. No means no. And that should be enough.

            And ‘no’ allows you to fulfill the will of God. If He tells you to move across the country, you may have to say ‘no’ to your current job perhaps or ‘no’ to a closer school or ‘no’ to seeing your family on a daily basis.

            If He tells you to engage more in ministry on the weekends, it may mean ‘no’ to more brunch dates and having fewer opportunities to interact with your friends. And it might mean ‘no’ to staying up late or hanging out or even ‘no’ to friends who no longer support you in light of your new ministry.

            Saying ‘yes’ to God ultimately means saying ‘no’ to whoever or whatever stands in your way. And saying ‘no’ to your own inner demons. And saying ‘no’ to your own irresponsible side.

            Saying ‘yes’ to God means saying ‘no’ when it’s not convenient, ‘no’ when you’d rather say yes and ‘no’ when it’s hard for you to stand firm.

            But it’s all for a good reason. And ultimately life itself is meaningless without the power of God and being obedient to His will.

            So think of it less as saying ‘no’ and more of saying ‘yes’….to God.

            And your life will be better for you.

            I promise.