Modeling Faith

Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me." (John 11:41-42)

This story has been integrating itself into many issues and circumstances in my life lately. The underlying principles I am seeing more clearly in this passage are vital for me to learn and practice.

I have noticed in this story that the core issue involved here is the belief or lack thereof about whether God cares or not. Mary and Martha were under extreme pressure to revise their opinions about Jesus, to doubt His love for them, to question the motives of His heart and by extension how God was relating to them. Jesus had made it clear that He had come to represent the Father to humanity who had been saturated with lies about God. The way Jesus treated people and talked about religion was so radically different from what anyone else was saying that most people found it difficult to embrace His postive representation of God.

But Mary and Martha had personal history with Jesus and were coming to trust His heart more than many others. They had listened to His teachings, had encountered up close His power to save and had been challenged to rethink their pictures of God after experiencing Jesus up close. They were in intensive training as they were being personally tutored by the best teacher the world has ever known. But now a time of testing had arrived in their training and their trust that Jesus genuinely cared about them was under pressure pushing them beyond their comfort zone.

Their faith was being challenged by the enemies of Jesus along with supernatural evil forces who were pressing the old familiar beliefs and assumptions about God insisting that all these new ideas were far-fetched and unreliable. Darkness and misapprehension of God is the norm in this world and these women were familiar with the pall of this darkness. But Jesus had been bringing glorious light into their hearts and they had thrilled with revelations about God that they had received from Him. But now with everything going wrong and Jesus seeming to be ignoring them, they were under pressure to doubt whether He really cared for them as much as they had been led to believe.

Inferred in many of the statements throughout this story is this question about whether Jesus cared or not. Mary and Martha had placed their implicit trust in Jesus when they had called for Him to come heal their brother. They had continued to cling to hope day after day, but Lazarus had died and even then Jesus seemingly ignored their faith and still did not act in their behalf. Doubts began to press in on their hearts and as the mourning traditions began, infiltrators from the enemies of Jesus mingled with real friends to insinuate and strengthen these doubts. Everything seemed to lead to a conclusion that God wasn't listening, that He didn't really care for them as they had been led to believe.

How did Jesus relate to this testing of faith and the distress of His close friends? How did He treat them when they expressed their anguished feelings from their perceptions of how He was treating them? What was the disposition He displayed in response to their questions reflecting unspoken feelings that He may not have really cared for them as much as they had hoped? What picture of God did Jesus project under these intense and difficult circumstances?

This is again another instance of where the true character of God in contrast to our assumptions about Him is more evident. Instead of scolding them or making them ashamed about their struggle to believe in Him, Jesus only remained largely silent on this issue except to prod Martha to hang on to what she already knew. He did not scold them, condemn them or censure them, but He did speak the truth in love. In addition, what I see in these verses is Jesus modeling before all present what real belief looks like. In the words of Jesus to His Father Jesus demonstrates plainly how He wants them to respond to the circumstances that seem to incriminate God. He addresses directly the unspoken question about whether God cares or not.

Was God listening to their hearts? Did He hear and take note of their anguish and pain and sorrow? Was He sympathetic to their concerns and did He care enough to intervene? All of these issues lay at the core of the internal questions people were grappling with in this event. Everyone was wondering about the motives of Jesus and misinterpreting His actions. How could Jesus get across the most important lesson about what it really means to trust in God and be a true follower and disciple?

Jesus' life was a model of what God intends for all of us to live. But many have mistakenly assumed that the perfect life of Jesus was a model of how to try very hard to eliminate sin from our lives and live piously based on religious assumptions and standards of behavior. But Jesus did not come to this earth to show us how to work harder to be good; Jesus came to this earth to show us how good God is and to expose all of our false assumptions about how He feels about us that keeps us at a distance from Him. Jesus came to reintroduce us to our loving Father that we so deeply distrust because of the myriads of lies we believe about Him. Jesus came to demonstrate in person how much heaven really cares about sinners and to refute the lies of Satan that are so deeply ingrained in us.

How did Jesus use this crisis as a teachable moment in the lives of those willing to listen? I find each phrase in these verses significant in this respect.

First, Jesus raised His eyes. A few verses before it says He came to the tomb where He was surrounded with mourners reinforcing the doubt and unbelief so prevalent that day. Sadness and depression was everywhere, but infecting that sadness in many minds were false assumptions that needed to be refuted. Nearly everyone present was entertaining to one degree or another the idea that God didn't care very much about their situation or Jesus would have intervened sooner. Jesus wanted to set the record straight, so as the official representative of God and the perfect model for how we are to relate to God, Jesus turned His attention away from all the distractions that sought to reinforce the lies by turning His eyes toward the true source of light and love and truth.

After turning away from all the things seeking to distract from the truth about God, Jesus spoke clearly and plainly to the core issue of whether God cared or not. In speaking these words about God listening to Him, Jesus was addressing the issue of how much God cared. Martha and Mary had both expressed their doubts about Him in their first exclamations when they encountered Him. Why didn't you come when we called You? If you really cared about us you would have come long ago.

Others reinforced those doubts when they challenged the comments about Jesus' love in response to His tears. Some viewed His weeping as evidence of love, but others sought to discount His love by reminding everyone that Jesus had failed to heal Lazarus when He could have done so easily and had seemed to do so intentionally – which was actually the case. But His motives were the real issue at stake, not the facts here. Was Jesus' delay an expression of indifference and unconcern for the feelings and needs of His friends, or could He be trusted even when everything seemed to point in the opposite direction? Was God really listening in love and willing to respond or was He distant, uncaring and capricious?

In this context Jesus directly speaks to the issue. With gratitude Jesus publicly thanks God for always listening. He wanted to reinforce the truth that God is not distant and uncaring but is cognizant of every prayer and plea for help. While it seems often to us that He is not paying attention the opposite is actually the case. God is intensely interested in every detail of our lives and longs to do far more for us than we can ever imagine. However, the real issue is not whether God hears and cares about us but the problem lies in our blocking His actions in our lives by our unbelief in that very reality.

In the conflict between good and evil there are certain restraints on both sides. God and Satan both are restrained from doing everything they want to do. Some things require permission from human agents in order to release supernatural powers, either good or evil. Crucially, each human being has the ability to unleash enormous power from outside the natural realm simply by their choices as to which side they will endorse.

Unbelief is an endorsement of the lies of Satan and gives Satan permission to harass, to suppress truth, to bring depression and discouragement and despair. Endorsing the lies of Satan allows him access and permission to bring calamities and harassment into people's lives. Likewise God also needs permission to counteract the schemes and lies of Satan in our lives by open expressions of trust in Him. There are many blessings which fail to materialize in our lives simply because we fail to choose to trust His heart. He is not allowed permission to do what He wants to do as seen in this story because sometimes He cannot find anyone to give Him access through permission to enter our circumstances like Martha gave to Jesus.

Jesus makes it explicitly clear in His prayer to His Father that God always hears. And to reinforce the fact that this was the core issue He wanted to expose, He inferred that this was the motivation in true belief. Jesus was modeling the kind of prayer that He wanted everyone to pray, a prayer of confidence in God's heart, that God always hears our prayers and that He cares no matter what circumstances might infer.

Father, you are helping me to see more clearly the issues at stake in my own current circumstances. Help me to learn the lesson of trust in you even when everything seems to point the opposite direction and my feelings push me away from faith in you. I choose to trust in your heart right now and continue to trust you. I ask you to keep reminding me of my need to express confidence in you, that you always hear my prayers and that you are ready and eager to bless me and come to my aid in times of trouble and good times as well. Thank-you for these lessons from your Word to edify and train my heart in your ways.

Sign Addiction

Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, "What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs." (John 11:47)

I am noticing a number of compelling clues throughout this passage that I want to explore a bit.

Early in this story John speaks of a group identified as Jews.

...and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother. (v. 19)

What is quite interesting is the later reference to this same group of Jews.

Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him. (v. 45)

Did you catch the difference here? The first time it says they came to see both Martha and Mary. The next time it is only Mary that they came to see. I don't think this is just incidental but I don't yet see enough of the implications to know what to make of it yet. But I am confident that there are other clues in the text that connect with this.

Parallel to this are references to the people who make up this group who begin to polarize in their opinions as this story progresses. In reference to these Jews, John begins to note that some of them seem to have a different motive and agenda. These people are mentioned in both verses 37 and 46. And the hidden agenda of these some is flushed out by what they say and do.

But some of them said, "Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?" (v. 37)

But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done. (v. 46)

Immediately the religious leadership convenes a crisis meeting to discuss their concerns about this growing threat to their power and position that is becoming so intimidating for them. But what I find revealing is what they say when they get together. What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs.

Now isn't that interesting! How many times throughout the gospels do we find these very men demanding more signs before they are willing to believe in Jesus and what He is saying about Himself and God. They try to give the impression that if they just had more signs that somehow they could be convinced to switch their opinions about Jesus and embrace what He stands for.

Yet in their own confession to each other in these verses they admit that Jesus is in fact performing many signs, too many signs as far as they are concerned. The core problem is not that there weren't enough signs to convince them but that they did not like the implications of what those signs were proving. Their hearts were not changed at all by the signs except to become more and more hardened against believing in the goodness and grace of God.

Because of this mindset of demanding signs while at the same time resenting and trying to discredit those very signs, these men proved beyond all doubt the ineffectiveness of miracles to be a reliable foundation for the kind of belief that Jesus is seeking to induce in the hearts of sinners. The history of these men whom we find here deciding it is time to eliminate Jesus rather than believe Him is a stark warning to everyone about craving miracles to motivate belief.

There is a place for miracles in the work of God but it is often not the place that we tend to assume. Miracles can often get people's attention and challenge their thinking, but only those who are willing to make positive choices about moving from unbelief to belief aside from dependence on those miracles will be benefited by the effects of those signs.

A dangerous mistake in religion is to think that miracles prove that someone is from God. Simple-minded and intellectual doubters alike often think that if they could just see something spectacular, some stimulating display of supernatural power that it would be sufficient to compel them to move into saving faith in God. The enemy of souls is keenly aware of this penchant in our thinking to depend on our emotions more than careful reasoning and objective analysis based on evidence and Scripture. People addicted to miracles and signs suffer the same effects from addiction as anyone else with more obvious destructive addictions. Addictions inherently are destructive as they cause us to look to other sources away from God for life, value, satisfaction and identity.

Miracles may be from God or they may not be. The miracles that Jesus performed were all assuredly from God yet they did not compel many to actually come into belief in Jesus as the true representative of what God is like. In the case of these religious Jews it ended up doing the very opposite.

But the good news is that not all chose to be effected in this way. This story notes that a number of the many of the Jews who had shown up at this mourning event ended up believing in Him (v. 45). I suspect these were the same ones who had earlier commented on the compassion of Jesus in verse 36 when they saw Him weeping. Even though they had little clue as to why He was weeping they did not have the predisposed antagonism toward Him that the some seemed to cherish in their hearts.

Some time ago when I first began exploring the book of John I remember looking at this issue of belief and signs and how these are so heavily emphasized in John's gospel. I could see that these two things were intimately related and that John was going to invest the entire book seeking to get across the importance of these and how they relate to each other. John wanted to help us 'get it', to not be satisfied with a shallow, counterfeit belief that is addicted to signs and displays of power. What is needed is a heart-based belief that involves true repentance inspired by revelations of the kindness of God.

It is only as I catch a glimpse of the heart of Jesus for me personally and respond by choosing to trust His heart and allowing Him to come in and transform the way I perceive God that signs may have their intended effect. To do any less than this is to set myself up to follow in the example of unbelief as demonstrated by these unbelieving Jews who ended up rejecting and finally killing the very God who had come to save them.

There is much more that can be learned from this that I don't currently have time to explore. But I want this to soak into my own heart and be careful not to slip into the addiction of depending on constant infusions of supernatural intervention as the basis for my belief. I am starting to see the ruinous end result of that following that path in the lives of these pious, religious leaders and I realize that is very easy to do.

I have noticed that religion can often be one of the greatest hindrances to a true spiritual connection with God. But at the same time turning away from religion can lead down a similar road ironically. I am learning that it is only as I focus my attention often, repeatedly and intentionally to the Word of God and seek the guidance of His Spirit to convict and guide and transform me that I can receive the nourishment that is needed to keep my vital connection with God alive.

Father, I don't want to be one of the 'some' that are always finding fault with Your works and words. Criticism is such a subtle and even pious-appearing habit at times and I am well trained in that field. But I want to be set free of this terribly destructive habit and be transformed into a real Christian who reflects the spirit and disposition and character that You demonstrated when You lived out these stories I am reading. Forgive me for turning to other sources so easily every day to seek satisfaction when I know full well that they are only counterfeit gods. Save me from my own internal cravings that invite temptations so easily. Heal my heart and soul and mind and imagination. Revive and reform me and have Your way in my life. I again give myself to You to do whatever it takes to save me and make me fit to be an effective channel of Your grace and love and truth to others.

Facets of Unbelief

Jesus said, "Remove the stone." Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days." (John 11:39)

He said... she said.

He says, but I say...

Nearly every time I open to this passage now these words of Jesus are the first thing that jump out to grab my attention. And every time I read them I feel a conviction that I am still not really grasping enough of their significance and applying it for my own life.

There is far more in here than I am seeing, and I am seeing a lot already. But it is not so much logical explanations or expositions that need to be exposed in this passage as it is heart messages and warnings about intellectualizing truth instead of believing. And God knows that is a real struggle for me.

Jesus said, "Remove the stone."

Jesus says – and keeps saying – to remove whatever obstacles keep blocking Him from doing what seems to me to be nearly impossible. Yet like Martha I keep going back to what is logical, what makes more sense from my frame of reference.

How many times I find myself telling God about my feelings of worthlessness, how much my habits and history inhibit my ability to change, how stuck I feel. Yet He patiently keeps reminding me that my view of reality is not only very limited but is terribly distorted and biased by many factors, not the least of which is my deeply-ingrained selfishness. But I suspect that possibly the biggest obstacle is my unbelief, my lack of confidence to trust that God always knows best and actually loves me no matter how circumstances may make me feel. I feel very uneasy to let go and my wanting to stay in control of my own life causes me to argue with God instead of joyfully rushing to push away the stones guarding the dark places of my heart.

Stones/rocks were symbols of God all throughout the Old Testament. So when Jesus commanded to have the stone pushed aside He was in essence also asking people to push aside their preconceived ideas about God and allow Jesus to introduce them to the real truth about God.

Jesus says,

Let go of your ideas of what I am like and let me show you something radically new, fresh and life-changing about myself.

But I say,

Lord, You don't completely understand my situation. You don't know how bad things really are in my heart. If I take away the defenses that protect others from seeing what's inside me the stench will be overwhelming and others will see how bad I really am and will not like me anymore. I don't think that is a very good idea, Jesus.

Jesus says,

Remove the habits and crutches that provide you with a false illusion of security, that you depend on for your sense of identity is not what I want you to trust. It is necessary for you to let of of your resistance to my entrance before I can introduce a new infusion of life into the dark, rotting, shameful places deep inside of you.

But I say,

Lord, I'm not sure that's such a good idea. How am I supposed to know what You might do if I move this protective stone and make myself so vulnerable? Other people are around here too and I would be terribly humiliated if they also see what is really deep inside that I have been hiding so successfully.

Jesus says,

Remove the stone that is so hardening your heart that God doesn't have permission to intervene in your life. Trust me on this, for it is only in trusting and obeying even when your feelings and fears all pressure you in the opposite direction that you will be able to see and experience the real power and glory of God.

But I say...

Well, just how long do I want to keep playing this dangerous game of hiding my ugliness from God anyway? I said previously that I wanted Him to come and heal me, to fix my situation. But He didn't do it the way I wanted Him to and now I am a bit miffed with Him. O.K. I am really upset with Him if I am willing to admit how I feel deep down inside.

Why wasn't He here when I wanted and needed Him most? Why doesn't He answer my prayers and give me relief from my pain, my shame, my confusion when I ask? Why does He seem to wait so long before He even shows up, and then when He does come He wants to do everything different than what I expect Him to do for me? And why doesn't He just communicate the way I want Him to and come out and explain to me clearly what He plans to do so I won't be kept guessing as to how to plan my life?

Oh, this is resonating all too deeply in my own heart even as I write these things. I find it flowing from my mind so easily that I can't hide the fact that I am really quite in sympathy with Martha more than with the perspective of Jesus. But then, I sense that I first must get totally honest before I can move forward very much. Jesus did not condemn Martha for resorting to logic and trying to reason with Him from her very limited mindset. But neither did He allow her to remain unchallenged in her assumptions or have the last word. Rather He challenged her to let Him be the definer of what is real, what is possible and what is true. He wants to have our trust no matter what.

Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?" (John 11:40)

Practical Belief

So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. (John 11:41)

I have been observing some of the dynamics swirling around in this story. I have noticed the intense darkness of unbelief and even hostility on the part of some of those present that blended together to create a nearly insurmountable wall of obstacles more difficult to overcome than the stone covering the mouth of the cave where Lazarus lay. I have observed the contrast between the view of reality that Jesus maintained with the more familiar views of reality assumed by His disciples, by His close friends and by His enemies. It is this huge disparity between what is truly real and what is assumed to be real that caused the deep heaviness in the heart of Jesus resulting in His public tears.

Jesus was able to find one person that responded with enough belief to cautiously and tentatively agree with God's perceptions of what was going on, at least to a limited degree. While Martha could not yet push her own imagination very far outside of what seemed possible in her thinking, she was willing to openly make a confession of faith and agree with Jesus enough to provide Him with necessary permission to move ahead in this situation. That was sufficient to let Him proceed although I am certain Jesus longed to find more than just one person who might join Martha in her choice to trust. My heart wonders as I read this what must have been going through the mind of Mary during all of this. But according to the account it was only Martha that actually stepped forward to openly trust Jesus even in the face of seeming impossibilities.

I notice too that nearly all of the dialog in this part of the story is with Martha. Mary comes to repeat Martha's anguished reminder that from their perspective Jesus had failed to respond in time to their desperate request for Him to heal their brother. But throughout this very emotional story it was only Martha who maintained open dialog with Jesus. I don't think this point is insignificant.

But today I notice some other things that I feel are vital for me to learn and internalize from this story. How did Jesus effectively face the enormous mass of unbelief that surrounded Him there? What method did He employ, what disposition did He maintain to overcome and address the darkness that was seeking to suffocate the light of hope and truth that He had come to reveal about God?

Just performing a spectacular miracle is not really too effective as was proven repeatedly throughout the life of Jesus. Only recently He had performed a stunning miracle by healing a man blind from birth. But there was more heated debate than belief generated by that miracle and for those determined to resist what Jesus wanted to convey that miracle had only produced more hostility rather than trust. Upon examination of the gospels it becomes clear that miracles are not the answer that many think they could be. A miracle may be a sign of supernatural power but does not change the direction of the heart. And it is the heart that God is most interested in winning, not a mere acknowledgment that He has more power than we have.

When Jesus arrived at the cave surrounded by people filled with various emotions as well as some with deep skepticism about Jesus Himself He asked them to remove the stone that symbolized the many obstacles that still largely remained in their own hearts. But then how did Jesus proceed from that point? What was the most important thing He could do to deal with the pervading spirit that was set in opposition to Him under these circumstances?

What seems surprising at first but shows up repeatedly throughout the whole Bible is what Jesus does next, the very first thing that comes out of His mouth.

Jesus gives thanks to His Father.

Rather than seeking to change people's minds about Him, Jesus openly demonstrates what real belief looks like. But there is more. Jesus does not just sharpen His focus on gratitude and praise to His Father but He reinforces that by explaining in His prayer why He is doing it publicly. It is because everyone needs to be sure to get the point. In the very next verse Jesus in conversation with His Father states for everyone's benefit who is listening that He wants them to pay particular attention to the fact that He is giving thanks and that He has full assurance that God always hears Him even though nothing has changed yet in their circumstances.

I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me. (verse 42)

Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

In the face of overwhelming unbelief blanketing the hearts all in His hearing, Jesus gives thanks in the face of impossibilities. And John recorded this for all those who would struggle to believe for centuries afterwards. Jesus demonstrates explicitly here what it looks like to believe and act out that belief. For the sake of all of us who live in confusion and fear and doubts about God's care and love for us as reflected in the hearts of the people in this story, Jesus Himself makes the ultimate confession of faith in His Father to model to us what real belief/faith looks like from the inside out. I would like to put His expression of faith into my own lingo:

Father, of course I already know You are listening and I personally have no doubt whatsoever that Your caring heart is always intensely interested in everything about my life. There is no question in my heart that You know all about this situation and that You only have good plans for all of us in our pain. But because so many people around me are still questioning whether You really care about them and as a result have deep reservations about trusting Your heart, I am speaking this openly so they can be drawn deeper into the kind of saving trust in You that I enjoy in Your love all the time.

Father, I have been demonstrating a radically different picture of You to these people than what anyone here on earth has assumed You are like. Most find it very hard to reconcile their perceptions of You with how I act and relate to them. Many of them are beginning to appreciate the compassion and kindness and gentleness that I have demonstrated towards them, but they find my example incompatible with how they feel that You relate to them. Because of this many are resisting my statements that You sent me to show them that You feel exactly the same way about them as I have been demonstrating. Some like what they see in me but they find it difficult to bring themselves to believe that God is like me and that You sent me to demonstrate explicitly how You relate to them and how You want them to perceive You.

So Father, in what we are about to do together here to demonstrate even more clearly how great Your love is for all of us – greater than what anyone here has ever dared to imagine – I am publicly thanking You and praising You for who You are and what You are like so people through my words and my demonstration here will be moved to trust You more readily. I want them to learn to praise You in the face of difficulties rather than waiting until things improve to engage in gratitude. Father, I am thanking You now even though externally nothing has changed. In faith we have pushed aside the grave stone, the last physical obstacle that remains in the way of You exhibiting Your love through a glorious exhibition of what You long to do in our lives all the time.

Yes, that is a very long paraphrase of the simple prayer of Jesus in front of Lazarus' tomb. But I see this and more in the compact statement that Jesus made in His words and reflected in the expectant animated glow I am sure could have been seen on His face as He turned His eyes away from the darkness and evidences of death toward the light of heaven and focused on the face of His Father.

Notice that it specifically mentions that Jesus raised His eyes. Again, it is not incidental that these words were included in this narrative. Jesus was modeling how to face difficult situations for each one of us follow His example. He turned His attention away from the problem and lifted His eyes to the One who is far above the limitations of all of our difficulties. Then He deliberately choose to pour out a litany of praise and gratitude to disperse the darkness of unbelief and resistance against the truth about God. He affirmed and reminded everyone listening that God cares, God listens, God is interested. It is vital that we acknowledge these things that so that He may have permission to intervene even more in our lives.

In my persistent search for the true meaning and understanding of the essence of belief that John wanted to convey through his gospel, I am starting to think this may be one of the best places yet that I have come across that make it plain to my own understanding. As I continue to meditate on this story and allow it to increase its impact on my own heart, I see more and more of these vital elements that need to be practiced in my own circumstances if I want to live a life of real faith.

• I need to pay attention to what I allow my eyes and my imagination to feed on and realize how much that impacts my ability to trust the heart of God.
• I need to intentionally engage in much more deliberate gratitude and thanksgiving. I need to cultivate a spirit of praise, to be more expressive in thanksgiving both to God and to others far more than I do.
• I need to take a public stand clearly establishing that I am trusting in God, publicly confessing my intimate relationship with Him without giving in to the intimidation from others who want me to feel ashamed about that.
• And most of all I want to have a heart that ceases to doubt that God's heart is always for me and never against me. I may frequently come under conviction by His Spirit that my actions or thoughts or attitudes are not in harmony with Him. But I need to remember that my malfunctions are not my identity, but that is a lesson very hard for me to embrace even after years of learning otherwise. My true identity and value is only found in perceiving myself through the eyes of the Father who always loves me, listens to me and cares more deeply about me than my mind or heart is even able to grasp.

Father, thank-you again for warming my heart with fresh revelations from Your Word. You are so faithful, and through the example of Your Son that You sent to demonstrate the real truth about You to us, I am seeing again how You want me to relate to You when things seem very dark and unbelief presses in on my heart. I choose to turn my attention and gaze upward, both to avoid the distractions that keep me confused about You and to focus my attention more deliberately on the real truth about who You really are.

Help me to be far more frequent in my expressions of praise for You, to not be intimidated by what others think about me but to confess our intimate relationship openly and make it plain that I am choosing Your truth over the lies about You that swirl all around me. Father, make me a better, clearer channel of the truth about You through the way I treat people, the way I act and speak and communicate in every way. Continue to transform me so that others will be more readily attracted to want to know You because of the joy they will be able to see in my relationship with You.

Father, thank-you for always listening to me even when my feelings don't detect that or reflect that reality. Thank-you for Your faithful love, mercy, kindness and compassion. Fill my life with Your Spirit and make me more reflective of what You are like, for Your reputations sake, Amen.