Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. – Philippians 4:6

Crisis often brings a new closeness to God. When fighting for survival, even hard core do-it-yourselfers turn to the One who can do anything. If you’re like me, this closeness often takes the form of prayer requests, asking Him to intervene. Don’t get me wrong, Jesus delighted in bold requests for miraculous intervention. He can identify. We want harsh circumstances removed quickly. In the Garden of Gethsemane, even He asked for a Plan B, that if possible, the salvation of mankind could come by less painful means.

Yet God asks when we petition Him that we also give thanks. Sometimes the last thing we feel like doing is thanking God. Keep in mind the Lord anticipated these moments. In Psalm 50:23 He says, “He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me” (Psalm 50:23). As usual, God never asks or commands us to do anything that is not for our greatest good, and He always gives us grace to enable us to comply. So here are three encouraging reasons to mix thanks with our requests:

1) Thanksgiving transforms our outlook and mood.
When we count our blessings accurately, we move beyond the old saying of seeing the cup half or half empty, we’ll have “eyes to see” that we have MANY full cups! We’ll acknowledge and deeply appreciate the huge list of prayers He’s already answered. We have food & clothing; love from people; and modern luxuries filling our homes. Any one of these luxuries, like a phone, make us the envy of past generations. These are all His gifts and not to be taken for granted.

2) Thanksgiving builds contentment into our character.
Character is what separates an unhappy, spoiled child from a happy, well-adjusted child. One child frets over what he does not have. The other enjoys what he does have. Contentment frees up adult children as well. I admit many times during my battle with Stage IV metastatic melanoma, I was neither thankful nor content. But Christ gave me strength to get back on track, no matter what was happening. Paul said in Philippians 4:11 & 13, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Contentment is an incredible gift!

3) Thanksgiving keeps us alert to unseen blessings.

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving (Colossians 4:2). While we ask for earthly blessings, an attitude of thanksgiving keeps us alert to the many ways the Lord has spiritually provided. We have an amazing bundle of riches from God that come to us free in Christ Jesus. These include love; joy; peace; forgiveness and eternal salvation. The promise of the free gift of eternal salvation is enough motivation to be forever thankful, even if God never gives us another thing in this life! Being attuned to spiritual realities lifts us above our temporary earthly afflictions.

Lord, adjust our focus so we want to give thanks in crisis and out of crisis. Happy Thanksgiving!

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. -Matthew 11:28

Everyone gets weary because of life’s day to day demands. So it’s not surprising we’re overwhelmed by life-threatening crises. So where do we turn? I’m glad Jesus meets us when we slide down to the end of our rope. He asks, “What took you so long? Let go of the rope and grab hold of My hand.” He offers serious relief in Matthew 11:28, and gives two directives which together lead to genuine rest.

1) Come to Him.

Sometimes we allow pain and exhaustion to turn us away from the Lord. We nurse a low-grade anger towards God. “I don’t remember signing up for this.” We’re afraid to question or vent at God, so we drift away, growing increasingly indifferent to Him. It’s never too late to turn back to Him. He always gladly receives us. Throw the weight of your burdens, fears and concerns on Him. Go to Him.

2) Take His yoke upon you.

A yoke is a leather and wood harness fastened to an oxen to pull a plow. When Jesus tells us to take His yoke upon us, He’s speaking of a double yoke. He teams up with us to tackle the day’s work. Older, stronger oxen are often partnered with clumsy, young ox and the older ox does the heavy lifting. He promises to make our lives “easy” and the pulling “light”. We were never designed to pull solo, especially in a crisis. So let Him lighten your load.

Sometimes independence is our greatest enemy. Perhaps we wish to take credit for going it alone. This is probably why He emphasizes meekness and humility in this passage. Meekness is towards man; not seeking to be someone special. Humility is towards God; not wanting to control our own lives, but yielding over to Him, Who knows much more than us. Many of our burdens are self-imposed. So rest in Him. We’re thinking about you!

We have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves. -2 Corinthians 4:7.

At one point during my cancer fight in 2003, I finally acknowledged the battle was too much to bear alone. Believe me, I resisted the admission as long as I could. Early on, my mantra was: “Be strong, you can beat this.” At age 44, I was relatively young and in decent physical shape. I figured I was prepared as anyone. I felt I could master physical pain after years of pushing my body in sports and construction work. I could certainly handle the emotional stress because I was a tough guy from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Steel City of Champions. Plus I had been a pastor for 12 years, teaching others how to handle the most difficult trials. My natural strength held up well until the metastatic melanoma spread beyond the lymph nodes under my arm to several internal organs. Rough chemo treatments, three surgeries in a month, and a steady barrage of Stage IV complications took their toll. My illusions of strength faded to pleas for mercy. Like Peter sinking in the Sea of Galilee, I desperately reached out for help.

The Lord had been waiting all along, ready to lift me from the unstable sea of self-trust.  Now years after recovering, the Lord must still continually remind me of my limitations. Perhaps my greatest deception is I prefer to fancy myself strong. In Ephesians 6:10, Paul seems to prod us past human power, “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.” Fighting cancer and facing so many hurdles in life requires great strength. So why settle for natural strength, when we can tap the limitless supernatural strength of God Almighty, our Stronghold? When we embrace our weakness, we experience His strength. So turn to Him for the all of the strength you need. He is waiting.

Let his left hand be under my head and his right hand embrace me… Who is this coming up from the wilderness Leaning on her beloved? - Song of Songs 8:3 & 5.

I love the fall weather in Dallas. Some plants actually start blooming instead of wilting from the heat. Buds peak out, hoping more water and cooler air will allow them to fully bloom. Recently, while coming out of my own dry season, I feel afraid I will lean on those blessings too hard and they will disappear. Joe is playing basketball again after more than two years of sitting out because of neck and back issues. My son, Jesse, has found a job he loves after seven months of unemployment. My daughter, Amy, is scheduled to graduate from college soon. God has been good through this heat wave, but I didn’t always believe in His goodness, I was often just hoping.

Then I read in The Song of Songs in 8:3 & 5, “Let his left hand be under my head and his right hand embrace me.” And, “Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved?” I see myself learning to walk out of the wilderness, feeling His right hand embracing me (Jesus is at the right hand of the Father – Ephesians 1:20)… and letting His left hand hold my head up to look Him in the eyes (Fixing my eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith – Hebrews 12:2)… as I learn to lean on my beloved for the next steps in my life.

Some days it is easy to see and feel His hold on me. On other hot, dry days, I just have to plain believe He has His hold on me. May this be a day you believe and feel He is embracing you.

Nothing makes Bible doctrines come to life like desperation. While I was fighting cancer, I was reassured by three facts about God that buoyed my spirit and anchored my soul.

1) The Sovereignty of God

Despite pain, oppression, and confusion, it was comforting to know He was in absolute control over my life. Nothing was or can be stronger than Him, or stand in His way. Though man was powerless over the Stage IV metastatic melanoma which ravaged my pancreas, lung, kidney, stomach and lymph system, I knew God could remove every trace of cancer at any time. He would have the last word, because He always has the last word. Jesus expressed The Sovereignty of God this way, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God” – Luke 18:27. Does this begin to lift your spirit?

2) The Goodness of God

God is good all of the time. He proved this forever when He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for me while I was a sinner and enemy (Romans 5:6-8). After becoming a son and heir through Christ, how much more will He cause His goodness to sovereignly flow to me? Paul summarized The Goodness of God in this way, “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” – Romans 8:28. He pours out goodness so we can conquer anything.

3) The Incomprehensibility of God

A big word, but there is much we don’t understand about His ways. Asaph, the Psalmist, described His Incomprehensibility in this way, “Your way was in the sea and Your paths in the mighty waters, and Your footprints may not be known” – Psalm 77:19. As with Israel at the Red Sea, God may carry us to a place that confuses and upsets us. We don’t always see the way through on this side of heaven, and He doesn’t always explain why He allows painful seasons. But we don’t have to trust blindly. We can be so certain of His Sovereignty and Goodness that we don’t need to understand now! We’re just confident He will produce a good outcome. We don’t need to figure everything out! This lifts a heavy burden from us. We can let Him navigate and focus on relaxing!

These truths work together to provide a supernatural peace and stability no matter what happens. So when in pain, don’t turn away from Him, turn to Him!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  - 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

The beauty of God’s comfort is that it is transferable! Stronghold Ministry thrives on spreading the comfort we received during my cancer battle. As a non-profit organization, Stronghold relies on donations to operate. So in this edition of In His Grip, we are asking for a favor from you. Our financial supporters are encouraged when they see how the Lord has used us to encourage people fighting cancer. If you are a cancer patient or a caretaker, and have been touched by Stronghold Ministry, we would love to know how. We are putting together a video montage of short comments and pictures from the people we’ve served. We also want to encourage those who do not know us yet to contact Stronghold Ministry for support. But we need your permission to include your comments or image.

Here is how to help us spread His comfort:

1) Send us a brief note describing the impact Stronghold has had in your life.

One or two sentences is the perfect length. Simply share how Stronghold has lifted you. In today’s world, testimonials of third parties are often used to motivate people to action. If you have already sent us comments, you could grant us permission to use portions of anything you’ve already sent.

2) Send us a picture of you and your family.

To add a more personal touch, we prefer to include your image with your comments. You can send us recent pictures, or pictures from before you were diagnosed. If your pictures are not digital, please mail to: Stronghold Ministry PO Box 38478 Dallas, TX  75238. We’re sorry, we will not be able to mail them back, so please send a copy. Perhaps a tech savvy friend could scan and email them for you.

Send your comments and pictures via email to: jfor@mystronghold.org. Thank you so much! We could really use your help.

Fourth in a series on journeying through life’s desert places.

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, the God who is our salvation. Selah. – Psalm 68:19

No one likes to walk through the desert. We may plead, or even beg God to escort us to the nearest exit. Still our path does not change. Psalm 68 reminds us of a life changing fact. He never deserts us in the desert. If He allows a wilderness journey, we can find Him out ahead of us, leading triumphantly, and generously providing everything we need.

In Psalm 68:19, we’re promised His provision can be found on a daily basis. He “daily bears our burdens.” If you’re fighting cancer, or in some crisis, the nature of your burdens probably changes daily. You know the list all too well: physical pain; financial stress; relational letdowns; negative thoughts. Some days these burdens stack together to form a load too heavy for us to bear … alone. Yet as we turn them over one by one to Him, He never fails to lighten our load. But He only lifts today’s load.

During my desert journeys, I felt overwhelmed when I carried the loads of future days. Jesus said, “Do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34). The Lord is your daily companion in the wilderness. Practice walking with Him every day, and today cast today’s burdens on Him. You’ll get better at it every day. No worries. Really, NO WORRIES!

(Third in a series on journeying through desert places in our lives).

O God, when You went forth before Your people, when You marched through the wilderness, Selah. The earth quaked; the heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God; Sinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel. You shed abroad a plentiful rain, O God; You confirmed Your inheritance when it was parched. -Psalm 68:7-9

The Lord reigns everywhere; deserts are no match for Him! Psalm 68 is David’s reminder that God was faithful to Israel in the wilderness, so He would be faithful to him, and us as well. In Part 1 of this mini-series, we dispelled the fear of going the wrong direction in the desert. Part 2 focused on God’s ability to march us victoriously; we are not overwhelmed in Him; we are stable and assured, even if our physical body or our circumstances are falling apart.

Another common desert fear:

• Will there be sufficient provisions, like water and food?

In other words, what if I don’t have enough resources to handle my wilderness journey? Desert travelers are often loaded down with worries. “What-if” questions tend to focus on resources.

1) Spiritual Resources – “What if I come to the end of my strength – will I be able to cope?”

2) Material Resources – “Will I/we/they have enough money?”

3) Relational “Resources” – “What will happen if my kids grow up without a mother/father?”

Psalm 68:9 reveals that God “confirms His inheritance when it was parched.” No matter how horrible our conditions, His inheritance, or resources will be sufficient. Don’t let pain, stress, or bad news cause you to panic. Simply rest in Him and trust Him for ALL resources you or your loved one(s) need. He is committed to take care of ANY concerns you have. Twice this passage stresses His “Presence” provides a “rain” or even “plentiful rain.” He provides. During my brutal cancer fight with Stage IV metastatic melanoma, there were several times I feared running out of strength, but my anxiety was  unnecessary. When I needed something, He was there. I’m not saying it was easy to cope; it was really hard. But His presence and inheritance made the journey so much more manageable. Many times, He even made my journey pleasant. Drink the rain.

(Second in a series on journeying through life’s desert places).

O God, when You went forth before Your people, when You marched through the wilderness, Selah. The earth quaked; the heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God; Sinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel. You shed abroad a plentiful rain, O God; You confirmed Your inheritance when it was parched. -Psalm 68:7-9

The Lord reigns everywhere, including the desert! Psalm 68 is David’s remembrance that God provides riches for Israel even in the wilderness. Since God was faithful to Israel, He would be faithful to him and us as well!

In Part 1, we dispelled the fear of going the wrong direction in the desert. Especially when the stakes are so high, we want His guidance to be all the more certain. We can rest assured that He is leading. He promises to lead, so no fear (James 1:5-8).

Another common fear in the desert and God’s provision:

• Will the conditions totally overwhelm and overcome me?

In Psalm 68, God “marched through the wilderness.” This march is that of a Victorious King. Paul “saw” this too: “He always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:14). Do you see it? Meditate on these verses. Keep in mind, Paul endured vast stretches of desert places, in the form of cruel persecutions and constant sufferings. He was whipped, beaten, betrayed, stoned and imprisoned. Like Paul, our bodies and emotions may be banged and bruised because of illness or trials. Yet he rose above all of his circumstances. His secret: “I can do all things through Christ, Who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). We are spiritual beings who overcome through His supernatural strengthening of our spirits. “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). Even if your body is weakening, let Him strengthen your inner person. Ask Him to open your eyes to the reality of His victory in the wilderness. God is our Stronghold.

O God, when You went forth before Your people, when You marched through the wilderness, Selah. The earth quaked; the heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God; Sinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel. You shed abroad a plentiful rain, O God; You confirmed Your inheritance when it was parched. -Psalm 68:7-9

Journeying through life’s deserts can be very frightening. Thankfully, the Lord reigns everywhere, including the desert! Psalm 68 is a proclamation that the Lord provides riches in the wilderness, where David found himself in literal and figurative dilemmas. He wrote to comfort himself and his readers: If God was faithful to Israel in the wilderness, He will be faithful to him too. And He will be faithful to us as well!

A common fear in the desert, and God’s provision:

• Will I become lost and disoriented in the desert?

When we are fighting cancer or in some major crisis, we travel high stakes roads. Our decisions seem to make the difference between life and death. So we cry out to God to lead us. We hope we’re making the right decisions. We hope He is guiding. Glory to God that even in the wilderness, He leads. God “goes forth before His people” through the wilderness (Psalm 68:7). In other words, He already is leading us though the harsh conditions! The Hebrew word at the end of verse 7 is “Selah,” which is an inspirational literary device. It means to pause, reflect, wonder and worship. So, Selah!

In the midst of trials, He promises to lead every step and grant us wisdom along the way. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1). Since He is leading, there is no reason to fear any destination! Do not doubt that He is leading you. Don’t let your emotions overrule His word. He is faithful, just trust that He is leading you and don’t fear the desert.

More about God’s desert provisions next time.