When backpacking, I encourage the men to stop every 10 or 15 minutes to look back, seeing the area they had just hiked from a new perspective. The purpose of looking back is to give a view of the area but from the other side. People have hiked down the same trail they hiked earlier but found the scenery different. This has caused some to think they are not on the right trail or ridge, leading to them taking a different route, becoming further disorientated and eventually lost in the mountains.

It is easy plodding along the trail to keep your head down, watching your step and miss what is around you. The expression, you can’t see the forest for the trees would apply. When hiking the trail, you only see what is ahead if you do not stop and look back.

How do you know God is working in your life? It is difficult to distinguish from moment to moment the working of God. This is why we walk by faith and not by sight. We must believe that He is as He promised He would. But how do we know? We want something tangible to grasp.

The easiest way to see the working of God in your life is to look back. Remember what you were and who you are now. As we live committed to the Lord and His will, we see Him working. Sometimes it is very obvious but other times not. Here is where faith comes into the picture. If we look back, we can see how the Lord led us through events in our lives. We can see His hand in the daily situations. We can see how He developed our marriages and families as we walked with Him. It is also easy to see where we went astray when we look back, those times we did not walk with the Lord.

God is working in our lives as we walk by faith and not by sight. He works in us and through us. He brings others into our lives for various reasons and purposes. It is easily seen looking back. Doing this throughout the day, you will see God’s guidance, working, enabling, wisdom, and strength. You will say, “I didn’t know it at the moment but God, you are working.” Take time to look back. It brings God closer to the present. He is working right now, even though you may not see it, you will when you look back.

The walk of the believer can be simplified into this simple question, “Are you walking by means of the Spirit or the flesh?” If asked, many believers would not know if the Holy Spirit is actually working in their lives. One question I often ask is, “When was the last time you were under Holy Spirit conviction of sin and knew it was the Spirit, not someone else making you feel guilty?” For many, this is a difficult question.

The New Testament speaks of the comparison of walking in the Spirit or walking fleshly. When we walk in the Spirit, we walk by faith, in the light, experiencing the life in Christ. When we walk by means of our flesh, we walk by sight, in darkness, experiencing the death of sin. No one can experience both at the same time. You are in one or the other as you live each moment.

This brings us to the necessity of walking by means of the Holy Spirit in order to experience the life we have received from Christ. It is a walk of surrendering control to God, dealing with sin as the Holy Spirit convicts, yielding control to God, and embracing His desire and will for your life.

When we walk with the Lord by means of the Spirit, our life is consumed with glorifying God. An observable sign of how you are walking is distinguishing the purpose for your life at the moment. The Spirit will lead us to glorify Christ. The flesh will lead us to watch out for ourselves. If it is all about you, this indicates you are walking in your flesh to the glory of yourself in some way. The Spirit leads us to experience the walk in Christ, experiencing the abundant life of joy and peace, walking in love, to the glory of God.

To find corrupt politicians they say, “Follow the money trail.” To find Christians walking in the flesh, “follow the glory trail.” Who is getting the glory for your life?

The trees move with the wind, making sounds as the unseen passes through the pine needles and leaves of the trees. Waves of music are carried through the air, soothing, moving with the wind to new notes played by different instruments, the trees becoming the orchestra, each playing their part in the symphony.

As a young boy I remember listening to the orchestra of wind play as I would walk by myself throughout town. The sound became a comfort and yet a pause to my heart. I would listen to the voice of the wind as it played its melody, singing, “Even though you cannot see me, I am here and the song I play is evidence of my being, reaching out to touch you.

In my grade school music class, we were taught a song about the wind. It was from a musical produced in 1951 called “Paint Your Wagon.” The song was “They Call the Wind Mariah.” Somehow the music made the wind seem alive, naming it, speaking about it, and showing its effects.

The wind is used in the Bible many times. It was the mighty rushing wind which signaled the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2. Jesus used the wind as an example of being born of the Spirit in John 3. An interesting observation is that the wind and the Spirit are not seen but evidenced by what they do; the wind as described earlier and the Holy Spirit as being in control and producing fruit in the Christian. Both are unseen but there.

The green hillsides are dotted with trees and brush. Reeds filled with birds singing and flittering about line the waterways. Colorful flowers present themselves in manicured lawns along the streets. The ocean waves are heard as they beat upon the rocks and beaches, creating fine sand. A dog barks for reasons only know to it. Looking to the trees I try to find a bird rustling the branches. The breeze carries the fragrance of the flowers and the smell of the ocean. It is good to be back in South Africa.

Everywhere in this life there are sights, sounds, and smells. Some are more pleasant than others. As I described South Africa, it may have brought similar experiences to your mind. You remembered the flowers in your own garden or the fragrance of your roses. The dog barking may have reminded you of a neighbor’s pesky dog. Seeing the trees may remind you of a drive you took through the redwoods or some other forest highway.

We have opportunities to experience beautiful sights. We can listen to people putting sounds together creating beautiful music. We have fragrances that stimulate special memories.

Our fast paces lives sometimes cause us to miss the beauty. Take time to observe, listen to the sounds, and be aware of the smells. Using our senses will add to the memories of our lives. The Bible says to observe the ant. Jesus said to consider the lilies of the field. There are many verses that tell us to use our senses. We will learn from what we see, smell, and head. We need to use our eyes, ears, and noses for more than a place to put our glasses.

“Take time to smell the roses.”

 

“It is my duty as your husband.” If I said this to Jeneen when I gave her flowers, what kind of a response would I get? She would be hurt because she wants a deeper relationship. She desires that I love her and that my love moves me to bring her flowers. She wants me to be motivated by my deep affection for her. Do I have duties as a husband? Yes. There are expectations and responsibilities for me. But what is my motivation as I fulfill my responsibilities? Is it simply because of duty? No, both Jeneen and I want more from our relationship.

What is our motivation to the duties we have being Christians? Do we accomplish them because it is simply our duty? I can imagine a person reading their Bible because they are supposed to in order to be a good Christian. It is their duty. The same could be said for going to church. “I am here because I am supposed to be. It is my duty to attend and serve.” These things are true but there is much more in our walk with God. He wants more from our relationship.

Can you imagine us telling God that we are praying because it is our duty? Imagine His response to us when that is our motivation. Jesus wants more in our relationship with Him. He wants us to be motivated by love. That is why He said if we “love” Him, we should keep His commandments. There is more to our relationship than duty. We are settling for so little when God has so much.

Pardon me. I need to help Jeneen with a project. It is my duty, you know. But more than that, I love her and love working with her.

How many sermons have been written while mowing the lawn? When I was pastoring my first church, I would gladly mow the lawn. I enjoy making the property look nice. While sitting on the riding lawn mower, I had lots of time to think. During those times, I would meditate on some of the passages I was studying. That time became valuable to me. Things would come together during my thought. Yesterday I was doing some yard work at our home church. The time to meditate was enjoyable.

How many pastors have experienced the same thing? I have talked with several who said they enjoyed mowing the lawn. They have found it a good time to think through passages or a particular subject. It is a time when they can focus without interruption.

Yes, I believe some messages have come from mowing the lawn. Study of the Scriptures must happen before the meditation time. Without the input, there is nothing to meditate upon that would bring forth a sermon.

Do you enjoy mowing the lawn? If you are a pastor, how many times have messages come together while meditating when doing something like yard work? Is it the yard work or the meditation time which is important?

While you ponder these thoughts, I am going to mow the lawn and meditate.

“Why is this happening to me?” “What did I do to deserve this?” These are common questions. Even the disciples upon sawing the blind man, wanted to know the reason he was blind. Was it because of the parents’ sin or was it his sin? Jesus answered that it was neither. There was another purpose for the man’s suffering.

“The problem of reconciling human suffering with the existence of a God who loves, is only insoluble so long as we attach a trivial meaning to the word ‘love’, and look on things as if man were the center of them.”, wrote C. S. Lewis in “The Problem of Pain.” The questions we ask reveal the truth of this statement. “Why is this happening to ‘me’?” “What did ‘I’ do to deserve this?” To begin understanding the reason for pain and suffering, we must look beyond ourselves. There are many reasons for suffering. Here are a few.

1. Yes, we do suffer because of our sin. This is common to us and is why we naturally start questioning here. When we steal something and get caught, we suffer the consequences of our actions. We also suffer as a result of others’ sin. Someone may lie about us or cheat us in a business transaction. A drunk driver could drive into your lane and you suffer the pain and even the loss of life as a result. We do suffer because of sin. Jesus did too when He took our sin upon Himself. Sin hurts and destroys but Jesus brings the forgiveness of sin. Our sin and others’ sin should bring us to the Savior.

2. Another purpose God shows us for suffering is that we might have patience. The trying of our faith teaches patience and to trust the Lord. One purpose of pain could be to focus us on the Lord. We will learn more about Him and our relationship with Him as we go through trials. It will deepen our dependence. Reacting rightly to trials helps us experience a deeper intimacy with the Lord. It will strengthen our faith.

3. God gives comfort because He is the God of all comfort. Another reason we may be going through suffering is that we might experience the comfort that comes from God. Afterward we will be able to comfort others with the comfort God gives us. Knowing God’s comfort enables us to show more sympathy for others as they suffer. We can be a real encouragement to others.

4. Another purpose is that God may be glorified. Jesus answered the disciples about the blind man. He said that the man was born blind so God could be glorified. Sometimes our suffering is simply to bring glory to God. Our reaction and even how God works though it should glorify Him. It is hard to imagine this as being the only purpose but yes, it could be.

There are many reasons for suffering beyond those listed here. Whatever the reason, we must look to the Lord for His enabling grace and comfort. There is purpose. There is a reason. Keep going and trust the Lord. He is working in and through the trials of our lives. We will find the Lord to be our strength and refuge. May He be glorified even in our pain.

We don’t enjoy seeing anyone suffer but we are all touched by it. No one is excluded. Some know pain more than others but we all will hurt during our lifetime.

One day it will all be over. For the Christian, there is hope. The Lord will deal the final blow to death and suffering. Right now, God has another purpose. He is giving mankind opportunity to choose Him or to resist Him. It is a choice which a good God gives us. For those who know the Lord, we know that our bodies will deteriorate with age. Yet inwardly we can be strengthened day by day.

No, we do not like pain and suffering. It helps to know that one day it will be gone. Oh, what a day that will be. Meanwhile, the Lord will do His work in your life and in the lives of others. It may include pain and suffering but it is for a reason and only for a season. There are things we would not know about ourselves or God if we had no pain. We would not know comfort in our lives. We would not understand enabling grace. There are depths of intimacy with the Lord that would never be reached otherwise.

Recently I spoke of several things in this life that I do not like. Maybe I was complaining a bit but there are things I wish were different. How much pain do people have to go through in this life? I don’t enjoy pain or seeing people hurt. There have been events in my life which have caused me great pain. No one likes pain but, suffering is everywhere in this world. There is the expression, “no pain, no gain.” It is true in our walk with the Lord too.

The good thing is that one day there will be no more pain.  Our sufferings work for us an eternal weight of glory.