ABLE TO ENDURE

“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

-1 Corinthians 10:12-13

Oh how I wish I had read this scripture this morning! You see, this morning I stopped into one of the local health food stores to pick up a few essentials for the week. My intention when entering the store was just to pick up those much needed items as quickly as possible and get on with the rest of my day. In a matter of 2-3 minutes I had entered the store and had everything I came for in my basket. Then, as I headed down the snack isle toward the check-out, it happened…the cookies were calling to me! As I contemplated buying a package of cookies, I heard the Holy Spirit reminding me that I really should not be buying them as I would most definitely be sick from it, as I have on many occasions gotten ill from just one cookie in the past. But I did not listen and instead I tuned the Holy Spirit out, I didn’t want to hear what He was telling me right now…I wanted cookies! Long story short, not only did I leave the store with that package of cookies, but I finished 2/3 of that package of cookies while driving home from the store and the other 1/3 as soon as I got in the door! Oh, what shame I felt, not to mention the digestive issues I was having. The funny thing is, I honesty thought I was over this struggle in my life, I thought I had moved on and now stood on solid ground…nothing to worry about anymore. Obviously, I was wrong. I was caught off guard by temptation and I chose not to take the way of escape provided; when I was weak, I did not turn to the Lord but instead turned from Him and ultimately failed, being unable to bear it and endure on my own.

It is so easy to be deceived into believing that we are strong in our flesh; that we are standing on solid ground. But if we are not paying attention, we can easily be overcome by temptation and fall. I am sure many of you are saying, “It was only cookies; it’s not like it was illegal drugs or something.” This is exactly the lie my flesh tried to tell me so that I would not see my sin. The reality is I gave in to temptation; I gave in to the desires of my flesh and chose those desires over the Lord. God wants what is best for us and He also knows that we are going to be tempted in our life. But, He promises that the temptations we face will not be any different than those experienced by others and while we will be tempted, God is faithful and He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to handle as He will provide the way of escape so that we may endure. As I write this, I am reminded of Matthew 26:41, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

We are weak in the flesh and when temptation strikes, and it will strike, we will most definitely fall if we are not prepared. Yet, we can bear it and endure if we look to the Lord for strength. So I encourage you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, not to become complacent, but to keep watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.

COACH'S CALL TO ACTION

• What are the “cookies” in your life, the temptations you often face?
  
• When do you find you are least resistant to temptation?
  
• How will you keep watch and be prepared when temptation strikes again?

Copyright © 2009 Radiant Sun Life Coaching. All rights reserved.

WAITING PATIENTLY ON THE LORD

“Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, ‘See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.’ And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.”

-Genesis 16:1-2

God had given Sarai and Abram the promise of a son. However, when Sarai was unable to bear a child for Abram, she became impatient, she grew tired of waiting for the Lord and decided to “help things along” by giving her maidservant Hagar to her husband. But the son that Hagar conceived with Abram, Ishmael, was not the son God had promised. Sarai had taken matters into her own hands and decided to create her own destiny, her own picture from the single puzzle piece God had revealed to her and Abram. The problem was God’s picture, God’s plan looked much different than Sarai’s when all the pieces had been revealed and put into their proper place. Sarai had allowed her flesh, her impatience to take priority over God’s plan, His perfect will and Abram had heeded the voice of his wife over the voice of the Lord.

Do you ever become impatient waiting for God? I know I do. God often gives me a vision of what He has in store for me, but the vision is incomplete, it is just a single puzzle piece in a 1000 piece puzzle. Yet, when I receive this solitary piece of the puzzle, I find it difficult to sit back and wait…I want to “help things along,” I want to finish the puzzle. So, without knowing what the ultimate picture looks like, I blindly start creating my own picture around that single puzzle piece. The only problem is, no matter how much I convince myself that I am “helping things along,” I find I am only making a mess of things in the end. You see, as God reveals more of His plan for me, one puzzle piece at a time, I find the picture I had created from that single puzzle piece has no place for the new one the Lord has revealed. So I am faced with the decision to scrap the picture I created and wait for what the Lord will reveal or stick to what I have created and be certain to fail as the Lord is not in it. I have wasted so much time, effort, and money creating my own picture only to discover what the Lord has in mind is very different than my interpretation. While God works it all out in the end, how much better would it have been if I had waited patiently on God’s perfect will in His perfect timing from the start?

While waiting patiently on the Lord is never easy, we can rest assured that we will be blessed when every piece of the puzzle is revealed and put into its proper place. God’s plan for our lives is much bigger and more beautiful than anything we could ever imagine on our own and His timing is perfect.

COACH'S CALL TO ACTION

• What are the puzzle pieces the Lord has revealed to you?


• Where in your life have you created your own picture rather than waiting on the Lord?


• What would it look like to scrap that picture and wait on the Lord and His plan for you?

Copyright © 2009 Radiant Sun Life Coaching. All rights reserved.

WHY DO YOU SEEK THE LIVING AMONG THE DEAD?

“Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’” (Luke 24:3-7)

In a few days, many households in the United States will be celebrating Easter. The coming of the “Easter Bunny” with his goodies to share will be anticipated by children almost as much as “Santa Claus”. Children will be hunting for painted eggs and Easter baskets filled with candy. Easter has become an anticipated tradition for Christians and non-Christians alike. But, have you ever wondered what bunnies, painted eggs and candy have to do with the resurrection of Jesus Christ?

The reality is…NOTHING! The traditions surrounding the “Easter holiday” are nothing more than dead religious practices founded in paganism. Yet, we as Christians (myself included) have allowed these traditions, these dead religious practices to overshadow the resurrection of Jesus Christ! Only because of Christ’s crucifixion, death and resurrection do we have life and yet we perpetuate these dead religious practices because we see them as harmless fun traditions. It seems to me, we are seeking the living among the dead…He is not there! Isn’t it time we stopped looking for Christ in dead traditions and instead celebrate, worship and praise Him for who He is…the living Christ, our Savior!

Wishing you a joyous Resurrection Sunday!

COACH'S CALL TO ACTION

• What are the dead traditions and religious practices in your life that detract from the magnificence of Jesus Christ?
  
• When will you lay to rest these dead traditions and religious practices?
  
• When all those distractions have been taken away, what remains?

Copyright © 2009 Radiant Sun Life Coaching. All rights reserved.

WALKING IN THE LIGHT

“Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.’” (John 11:9-10)

Have you ever gone camping? During the daylight you can traverse the rugged terrain of the woods fairly easily since you can see the path and the obstacles in front of you. However, at night without a lantern or flashlight, you trip, stumble and fall finding the way difficult and treacherous. There are stones, vines, branches and holes to trip you up or knock you down and when you cannot see the path before you, your chances of getting to your destination unscathed is unlikely.

As I meditated on John 11:9-10, Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” and John 8:12, “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’” came to mind. We see here that Jesus is the light of the world, the light of life and the word of God is a lamp that lights our path.

If we follow Christ, we walk in the light and can navigate through the treacherous terrain for we can see clearly. However, if we fail to walk in Christ, when we take our eyes off of Him, we walk then in darkness because the light is not in us. The absence of light makes it hard to see, hard to navigate through life’s challenges and struggles. We are flying blind without the light of the Lord.

We all have moments in our lives when we are flying blind, wandering aimlessly in the dark…times when we have lost sight of the Lord. These are dark times. During these times of darkness, what do we do, how do we find the light of the Lord so as not to keep stumbling in the darkness? We find the light of the Lord through the word of God, for the word of God is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Therefore, by reading, hearing and meditating on scripture daily, our path is always lit which makes it easier to follow and not loose sight of the Lord even in the most treacherous of terrain.

Coach's Call to Action

• Where are you stumbling in the darkness right now?
• If you were to pick up the lamp before you, what path is revealed?
• What will you do to keep your paths well lit and follow Jesus? (Today, This Week, This Month)

Copyright © 2008-2009 Radiant Sun Life Coaching. All rights reserved.