Month: August 2025

“The burning sand will become a pool, and the thirsty ground, fountains of water.” Isaiah 35:7 (Common English Bible)

There is, perhaps, no greater disappointment in life than to experience disappointment with God. Missed opportunities, unrealized dreams, and friends who fail us are no small matter. They can be debilitating at times. Yet, most people also recognize that such disappointments are the stuff of life. With a strong network of family and friends, many find that they are able to push through such disappointments. But what are we to do with our disappointment with God? This is the most shattering of disappointments. “No longer is there a wide, comfortable margin between peace and the edge of doom,” writes that great Scottish preacher, James S. Steward.[1] Disillusionment with God is startling, surprising, and overwhelming. In a deep spiritual sense, such disillusionment is taking up residence in the desert.

Isaiah has a word for those desert moments—or days. In dramatic fashion, Isaiah speaks of a grand reversal: “The burning sand will become a pool, and the thirsty ground, fountains of water.” With incredible verve, he takes the most frightening and cynical judgment of the world that says that this life is nothing more than “burning sand” and reverses it. God is not absent, nor will God remain silent. The word from the Lord is that the desert places of life will become an oasis, living water that quenches our fears and dispels the darkness.

What does this mean? In effect, Isaiah acknowledges his common experience with ours that life is full of disappointments, broken dreams, and dashed hopes. More, Isaiah is no stranger to fears that come like a bolt of lightning, unnerving our sense of comfort and security. But he also wants to remind us of history; Israel’s history of a God that is never far off, a God that appears in the midst of struggle and uncertainty with the hand of a shepherd, confidently leading us forward into God’s future for us. In every situation, even when the darkness of the hour seems to have the upper hand, grace reigns.

Understand, of course, that the very struggle with disillusionment dispels any notion that faith is always experienced without struggle. Any spiritual journey occasionally moves through desert places, where the ground is hot and parched. But, Isaiah asks that we steadily move forward, particularly when our steps are labored and weak, for a wonderful discovery lies ahead of us, the same discovery that Isaiah made. Present circumstances that seem like burning sand will, by God’s promises, become a pool of cool water. Additionally, you will find yourself in the company of those who have discovered that they would rather travel the most difficult road with God than any other road without him.

Joy,

[1] Stewart, James S. The Wind of the Spirit, Nashville: Abingdon, 1968, 70.

“I was beaten with rods three times. I was stoned once. I was shipwrecked three times. I spent a day and a night on the open sea. I’ve been on many journeys. I faced dangers from rivers, robbers, my people, and Gentiles. I faced dangers in the city, in the desert, on the sea, and from false brothers and sisters. I faced these dangers with hard work and heavy labor, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, and in the cold without enough clothes.” 2 Corinthians 11:25–27 (Common English Bible)

Sometimes it appears that the Apostle Paul had a hidden charm that both protected him from discouragement and defeat while providing navigation for his ministry. With every possible force at work against him—every possible obstacle to moving forward—Paul was simply unbeatable. His journey seemed impossibly long, and there were lengthy stretches during which he had to endure much hardship and loneliness. What’s more, Paul kept a careful journal of each difficulty encountered, every challenge he faced, and the deprivation he endured. His purpose for recording each was simply to force the question—can anyone survive experiences such as these, one upon another, by their own strength, their own resources?

Paul’s answer is, “No.” Every difficulty, challenge, and deprivation presented an opportunity for Paul to proclaim available strength that was not Paul’s—the strength of the risen and active work of Jesus Christ. Storms are part of the normal climate, and adversity is part of normal life. Paul utterly rejects the false notion that a formula is at work that shields us from the strong winds and turbulence of day-to-day life. Rather, Paul’s desire is to point to his own life and demonstrate a steadying hand that holds us and strengthens us in the storms. Life is full of annoying and costly interruptions and opposing forces that are bent on defeating us. Paul urges that we make the winds of opposition occasions for relying upon God.

That legendary football coach of Notre Dame, Knute Rockne, once summoned his players before a game and said, “The team that won’t be beat, can’t be beat.”[1] Rockne was not here proclaiming the strength of Jesus for his players. He was appealing to the uncommon courage, strength, and persistence that lie within each of us. Many of us engage in the game of life without our best effort, settling for something just below our actual capacity. Tremendous effort to overcome life’s difficulties is rare; people often accept defeat easily, naming what is possible as impossible. These are not the challenges Paul speaks of. Paul lifts his eyes to something higher still, to what is impossible were it not for God’s strength.

Paul continues this discussion beyond the words printed above. He asks, “Does it sound as though I am bragging about all the challenges I have faced?” “I am!” Yet, Paul quickly states that he brags not to showcase his ability. Paul brags to demonstrate the wondrous work of Jesus through him. There are doors that we cannot walk through and storms we cannot endure on our own. That is when we make every difficulty an opportunity to lean into Christ and draw from Christ’s strength. The strength that sustained Paul through every force that sought to stop his ministry is available to every one of us. In our hearts, we may ask, “Can I endure?” Paul gives the answer, “In Jesus, we are unbeatable.”

Joy,

[1] Frank, Madeline. “Persistence Is the Key.” (August 23, 2021).  https://ezine-articles.com/?Persistence-Is-the-Key&cid=10503510, para. 16.

“My brothers and sisters, what good is it if people say that they have faith but do nothing to show it? Claiming to have faith can’t save anyone, can it?” James 2:14 (Common English Bible)

Someone once declared that promised prayer has no power, only practiced prayer. That same observation can be applied to faith; the profession of faith has no power, only practiced faith. Evidence of this unfolded one Sunday morning during my graduate studies. Sitting in a Sunday school class for young adults at the North Avenue Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Georgia, a young man asked permission to address the class. His intention was to make a simple observation and ask the class for help. Then the instructor would proceed to teach the lesson he had prepared for the morning. Yet, the young man’s comment became the lesson for that day.

This man began his comments by sharing that some years earlier he made a profession of faith in Jesus as his personal Lord and was baptized in that church. He was a graduate student, busy with not only the demanding rigor of his studies and also working a part-time job to help sustain him as a student. Then, there was also this girl. He was “madly in love with her” as he put it and that, naturally, required some of his attention and time. In the economy of a twenty-four-hour day, there simply was no time remaining for the regular reading of the Bible and prayer.

Now, this man has found himself in the middle of a weighty life crisis, one that was causing him to unravel. He turned to his faith. It was then he made a comment that has shaped my own understanding of faith, something that has given more texture, depth, and color to my own relationship with Jesus than anything I found in the classroom. “I turned to my faith and found that I had done nothing with my faith and now my faith could do nothing for me.” Then, a long lingering silence draped the room. Wisdom of such depth rarely can be met with words. The instructor then, with a deliberate and careful movement, placed his lesson upon an empty chair and asked, “What can we do for you?”

The only help the student asked for was accountability. “Beginning today, I am no longer neglecting my faith. Hold me accountable. Call me each day and ask what I have read in the Bible and how I am responding. What I need more than anything at this moment is a faith that will sustain me. Hold me accountable. I cannot move forward without God.” Here was a young man who discovered the profound truth that merely professing faith in Jesus lacked power. Vital, life-giving faith that sustains us requires practice. This is precisely what James would have us hear, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you?”

Joy,

“Pray like this: Our Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9a Common English Bible)

Just this week, someone approached me following worship and said that he was still struggling with prayer. It was his comment, “still”, that caught my attention. Months earlier, we shared breakfast. The primary conversation at that time was prayer. Following that breakfast, he proceeded to purchase and read two books on prayer that are available at the church, one that I authored and the second, a collection of daily meditations from eleven pastors who have preached at First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach in the past ten years. Yet, this morning he was “still” struggling with prayer. I asked him to say more. Faith in the power of prayer wasn’t the problem. By his own admission, he has seen the power of prayer at work in others. His difficulty was the “how”. Though each of the two books provided a beautiful daily prayer following thirty-one brief meditations, his struggle was “how” he would pray meaningfully each day.

The church often encourages people to pray—and to pray regularly. But this man’s concern suggests that the church has failed to offer specific guidance on how to pray. George Arthur Buttrick shares a cruel story of a bishop who resolved to practice what he had so often preached: he would speak to God in direct simplicity. He spoke. A Voice, gentle but holy, answered him, “Yes, what is it?” The bishop was found dead on the chancel steps.[i] Powerfully, this story addresses the lack of any real expectation from prayer. This lack of expectation may be a primary reason there is so little prayer today. But a closer attention to this story does offer a powerful “how” to a life of meaningful prayer: speaking to God in direct simplicity. Solemnity, grandeur, and beautiful language are not necessary to the effectiveness of prayer. Prayers must not be judged by their eloquence but by their sincere desire to draw near to God.

To pray, it is only necessary to make the effort of reaching out towards God as a child reaches out towards a parent. This is an effort from the heart. It is an effort that flows from love and expresses itself in feeling and longing for God. As a conversation between two people in love with one another, prayer seeks understanding, seeks guidance, seeks strength. It is not an intellectual exercise, not a conversation that flows from the mind. Nor is prayer a demonstration of poetic gifts of expression, though beautiful prayers can help others find words for inexpressible thoughts and longings. There is a difference between honest, simple, and direct conversation with God during the day and composing beautiful prayers that may be helpful to another. Real, authentic prayer must not be judged by its beauty and eloquence but by its results in strengthening the one who prays. Again, prayer should be like the conversation of a child with a parent.

What is urgently wanted today, by most people, is nothing less than a friendship with God. Prayer is the vital act that develops that friendship. Prayer can turn circumstances around for us, change our attitude, calm our anxieties, and give access to a life of the highest relationship available to us, awaking each morning and uttering, good morning to Jesus, confident that Jesus is there. That is what the man who spoke to me wants. It is a relationship that is indispensable to a deeply satisfying life. How then are we to acquire a positive life of prayer? Ashley Morgan Jackson is quoted on a Facebook posting as suggesting that sometimes the most honest prayers we can pray are the ones that sound like: “This is hard. I am tired. Please help.” It may be that this is the most eloquent prayer that can be uttered because it comes directly from the heart. Or we may simply begin a prayer as Jesus taught, “Our Father who is in heaven.”

Joy,

[i] George Arthur Buttrick, Prayer (New York & Nashville: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, MCMXLII) 253.