Editor's Note:. The following article was published on Faithgateway.com on President's Day, February 18, 2018. It provides a me insight into how President Abraham Lincoln's issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation was the result of a covenant that he made with God.  The article and book give some insight into the growth of President Lincoln’s faith in God, and shows us another side of Lincoln that most people never knew existed.

Lincoln’s Battle with Faith in God
by Stephen Mansfield, from Lincoln’s Battle with God

In the fall of 1862 Lincoln was baffled by the odd course of the war and by the reason an all-powerful God did not grant victory to one side or the other. Indeed, why had God allowed the war at all? These questions were the start of a broader understanding of the conflict in Lincoln’s mind. We can see this just surfacing in his “Meditation” from phrases like “God’s purpose is something different from the purpose of either party” and “God wills this contest, and wills that it shall not end yet.”

Lincoln was beginning to conclude that God was about something else. But what was it?

It certainly was beyond mere victory for North or South. Perhaps, he was beginning to believe, God was about removing the scourge of slavery from the land and pouring out judgment on both sides for the nation’s sinful treatment of Africans.

Obviously, he drew his conclusions quickly. He had written his “Meditation on the Divine Will” the first week of September. Two weeks later, when Union troops drove Lee’s army into retreat at Antietam Creek on September 17, Lincoln had already begun a plan to appease what he was just beginning to understand as God’s will for the war. In fact, the victory at Antietam was the signal from God he had been waiting for, the sign that it was time to begin. At a cabinet meeting on the twenty-second, he explained what he was about to do. Salmon Chase, secretary of the Treasury, recorded the moment in his diary.

Gentlemen, I have, as you are aware, thought a great deal about the relation of this war to Slavery; and you all remember that, several weeks ago, I read to you an Order I had prepared on this subject, which, on account of objections made by some of you, was not issued. Ever since then, my mind has been much occupied with this subject, and I have thought all along that the time for acting on it might very probably come. I think the time has come now. I wish it were a better time. I wish that we were in a better condition. The action of the army against the rebels has not been quite what I should have liked. But they have been driven out of Maryland, and Pennsylvania is no longer in danger of invasion. When the rebel army was at Frederick, I determined, as soon as it should be driven out of Maryland, to issue a Proclamation of Emancipation such as I thought most likely to be useful. I said nothing to any one; but I made the promise to myself, and (hesitating a little) — to my Maker. The rebel army is now driven out, and I am going to fulfill that promise.1

According to F. B. Carpenter, the artist commissioned to paint Lincoln deliberating with his cabinet over the proclamation, Chase told him that the president had dropped his voice just at the moment he mentioned his promise to God. Chase asked if he had heard correctly. Lincoln replied, “I made a solemn vow before God, that if General Lee was driven back from Pennsylvania, I would crown the result by the declaration of freedom to the slaves.”2

Gideon Welles was also at this meeting and, like Chase, wrote of it in his diary.

In the course of the discussion on this paper, which was long, earnest, and on the general principle involved, harmonious, he remarked that he had made a vow, a covenant, that if God gave us the victory in the approaching battle he would consider it an indication of Divine will, and that it was his duty to move forward in the cause of emancipation. It might be thought strange, he said, that he had in this way submitted the disposal of matters when the way was not clear to his mind what he should do. God had decided this question in favor of the slaves. He was satisfied it was right, was confirmed and strengthened in his action by the vow and the results.3

It would be easy to make too much of this, but perhaps it is just: historians have long made too little of it. While declaring Lincoln a lifelong religious skeptic, they have ignored dramatic moments such as this one, in which Lincoln’s ever-deepening faith decisively shaped the course of the nation.

It is not going too far to simply say what Lincoln did: that he issued his Emancipation Proclamation — an act he considered one of the crowning achievements of his life — inspired by a covenant he made with God.

That covenant, in turn, was possible only because Lincoln had moved from believing in God as angry father to rejecting God as myth, and then had progressed from thinking of God as the kind of being who cursed a man for his parentage, to accepting God as ruler of the world, and finally to honoring God as a good and covenant-keeping Father of all men. None of this made him arrogant about his decision, though. Two days after that historic cabinet meeting, he told an audience, “I can only trust in God I have made no mistake.”4​

​The Emancipation Proclamation signaled something even more profound in Lincoln’s life. He had come to understand history as orchestrated by God, nations as accountable to Him, and men as the means by which God fulfills His will. In this light, Lincoln no longer thought of the war as a contest between North and South alone. He began to accept that this war was the result of a controversy between God and the United States. Righteousness — right standing with the Ruler of Nations, with God the Father — not just military victory, was the need of the hour. Lincoln told one minister during the war, “God only knows the issue of this business. He has destroyed nations from the map of history for their sins. Nevertheless, my hopes prevail generally above my fears for our Republic. The times are dark, the spirits of ruin are abroad in all their power, and the mercy of God alone can save us.”5 This is why, soon after that, he famously said that his concern was not whether God was on the side of the Union, but rather whether “this nation should be on the Lord’s side.”6 For Lincoln, the Civil War had ceased being just a war: it was an act of judgment by an offended God — an act of judgment on the nation as a whole.

Given what we have seen of Lincoln’s ever-deepening faith, it is not difficult to accept the testimony of Major General Daniel Edgar Sickles, commander of the Third Corps of the Union army, about a conversation he had with the president following the battle of Gettysburg.

Sickles lost his right leg on the second day of that great battle and was immediately moved to Washington to recuperate. At three o’clock on Sunday afternoon, July 5, Sickles was smoking a cigar and battling the pain in his stump at a house on F Street across from Ebbitt House when a member of his staff, Lieutenant Colonel James Rusling, dropped by for a visit. The two had just greeted each other when Abraham Lincoln walked in.

The president tenderly asked about Sickles’s wounds and then questioned the general about the fighting at Gettysburg. When Lincoln was satisfied, Sickles asked his commander in chief how he felt during the three days of fighting in Pennsylvania. Sickles had heard there was great fear in Washington and wondered if Lincoln had experienced it too. The answer was not what Sickles had expected, and we should be grateful that Lieutenant Colonel Rusling was there to write down what followed.

In the pinch of your campaign up there, when everybody seemed panic-stricken, and nobody could tell what was going to happen, oppressed by the gravity of our affairs, I went into my room one day and locked the door and got down on my knees before Almighty God and prayed to Him mightily for victory at Gettysburg. I told Him this was His war and our cause, His cause, but that we couldn’t stand another Fredericksburg or Chancellorsville. And I then and there made a solemn vow to Almighty God that if He would stand by our boys at Gettysburg, I would stand by Him. And He did, and I will. And after that, I don’t know how it was and I can’t explain it, but soon a sweet comfort crept into my soul that things would go all right at Gettysburg, and this is why I had no fears about you.7

Sickles was surprised by Lincoln’s response and wanted to probe further. A battle loomed at Vicksburg, Mississippi, and Sickles decided to see if the president had the same sense of victory about it that he’d had before Gettysburg. The president replied, “I’ve been praying over Vicksburg also and believe our Heavenly Father is going to give us victory there too because we need it in order to bisect the Confederacy and have the Mississippi flow unvexed to the sea.”8

Lincoln knew how he sounded and concluded the interview with a bit of encouraging humor. “General, you will get well.” Sickles objected and waved Lincoln off with a grunt. The president wouldn’t back down: “I’m a prophet today and I say you will get well, and that we will have glorious news from Vicksburg.” With this, Lincoln departed.

Neither man knew that Vicksburg had already fallen to General Grant the day before.9 And Lincoln was right: Sickles got well — and lived until 1914.
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It is in these documented, confirmable deeds that Lincoln’s faith is best revealed. He had become a man who prayed in secret that the God of Battles would grant victory to the beleaguered Union and one who knew the matter was settled when “sweet comfort crept into” his heart. He had become a man who made covenants with God and trusted that divine confirmation of these covenants should signal events even as momentous as the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. He had become a man who instinctively grasped for deeper faith in God during seasons of suffocating grief, as he did in the tortured season following Willie’s death. These deeds speak of the man and they reveal in an unarguable manner how Lincoln’s ever-evolving faith shaped the course of America.
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1. David Donald, Inside Lincoln’s Cabinet: The Civil War Diaries of Salmon P. Chase (New York: Longmans, Green & Co., 1954), 149–50. Emphasis added.
2. Carpenter, Six Months at the White House, 90. Emphasis added.
3. John T. Morse Jr., ed., Diary of Gideon Welles: Secretary of the Navy Under Lincoln and Johnson, 3 vols. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1911), 1:142-43. Emphasis added.
4. Basler, Pratt, and Dunlap, Collected Works, 5:438.
5. Don E. Fehrenbacher and Virginia Fehrenbacher, eds., Recollected Words of Abraham Lincoln, (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1996), 437.
6. Reverend Matthew Simpson, DD, Funeral Address Delivered at the Burial of President Lincoln, at Springfield, Illinois, May 4, 1865 (New York: Carlton & Porter, 1865).
7. Fehrenbacher and Fehrenbacher, Recollected Words, 388.
8. ibid.
9. Though Vicksburg fell on July 4, the day before Lincoln’s interview with General Sickles, the telegram announcing Grant’s victory at Vicksburg did not reach the White House until July 7.

Excerpted with permission from Lincoln’s Battle with God by Stephen Mansfield, copyright Stephen Mansfield.

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Grace is the most important concept in the Bible, Christianity, and the world. It is most clearly expressed in the promises of God revealed in Scripture and embodied in Jesus Christ himself.

There is nothing that we can do or not do to earn God's grace. As a matter of fact the definition of God's grace is His unmerited favor - His goodness toward those who have no claim on, nor reason to expect, divine favor. The principal manifestation of God's grace has been in the form of a gift.

Ephesians 2:8‭-‬9 CEV You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God's gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. It isn't something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about.

God's Grace Takes Many Forms

Common grace

The kindness or favor God give to all mankind, believer or not.

Matthew 5:44-45 (NKJV)44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (Emphasis mine)

Acts 14:16-17 (NKJV)16 who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways.17 Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness."

God also grants grace in delaying judgement on mankind giving them a chance to accept His gift of eternal life.

2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV) The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Saving grace

The provision of salvation through Jesus

Romans 1:5 (HCSB) We have received grace and apostleship through Him to bring about the obedience of faith among all the nations, on behalf of His name,

Romans 3:24 (HCSB) They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Romans 5:2 (HCSB) We have also obtained access through Him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Romans 5:15-17 (HCSB)15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one man’s trespass the many died, how much more have the grace of God and the gift overflowed to the many by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ.16 And the gift is not like the one man’s sin, because from one sin came the judgment, resulting in condemnation, but from many trespasses came the gift, resulting in justification.17 Since by the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Securing Grace

The favor of God by which the Christian's salvation is kept secure in spite of sin.

John 10:27-29 (NKJV)27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.

John 3:16 (NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Philippians 1:6 (NKJV)  being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

Ephesians 2:8 (NKJV) For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

I could go on and on but as you have often heard me say, you didn’t have anything to do with your salvation.   You are saved by the grace of God by and through faith, so there is nothing you can do to “un-save” yourself. Salvation is obtained and maintained by grace alone.

Sanctifying Grace

Sanctifying grace works within the true believer causing them to grow and mature and progress becoming more Christ-like.

Romans 8:28 (NKJV) And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

1 Corinthians 15:10 (NKJV) But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

2 Peter 3:18 (NKJV) but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

Serving Grace

The Spiritual Gifts that believers have been given by the Holy Spirit are serving grace.  In God’s Grace – Part One I wrote that the Greek word translated grace charis (pronounced cars) is the root of the word charisma which is the word Paul used for spiritual gifts.

Ephesians 4:7 (NKJV) But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.

1 Peter 4:10 (NKJV) As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

Sustaining grace

Grace given at special times of need, especially during adversity or suffering.

2 Corinthians 12:9 (NKJV) And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV) Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

James 4:6 (NKJV) But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."

God’s grace is manifested in a variety of ways. Grace seeks us and saves us; grace keeps us secure; grace enables us to serve and to endure the tests and trials of life. Grace will bring about our sanctification in this life and will ultimately bring us to glory. From beginning to end we are the object of divine grace.​​

​A Prayer For Abounding Grace
By: David Mathis

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. – 2 Corinthians 12:8-9

I can flip a switch, but I don’t provide the electricity. When I turn on the overhead light in the morning, I don’t celebrate, “Hey, look what I did! I turned the lights on!” I didn’t provide the power. An electrician wired my house; the power company provided the energy; all I did was flip the switch that released the flow.

It’s similar to turning on a faucet. I didn’t put the plumbing in. I’m not the water company that supplies the water. I simply turn on the faucet and the water flows.

So it is, in a limited sense, for the Christian with the ongoing grace of God. His grace is essential for our spiritual lives, but we don’t control the supply. We can’t make the grace flow, but God has given us circuits to connect and pipes to open expectantly.

Our God is lavish in his grace, often liberally dispensing his favor without even the least bit of cooperation and preparation on our part. But he also has his regular channels. And we can routinely avail ourselves of these revealed paths of blessing, or neglect them to our detriment.

Lay Yourself In The Way Of Allurement

Zacchaeus may have been a wee little man, but he modeled this big reality by positioning himself along the path of grace. He couldn’t force Jesus’s hand, he couldn’t make grace flow, but he could put himself along the path where Grace was coming (Luke 19:1–10). The same was true of blind Bartimaeus (Luke 18:35–43). He couldn’t earn the restoration of his sight, but he could position himself along the route of grace where Jesus might give the gift as he passed that way.

“Think of the Spiritual Disciplines,” says Donald S. Whitney, “as ways we can place ourselves in the path of God’s grace and seek him as Bartimaeus and Zacchaeus placed themselves in Jesus’s path and sought him” (Spiritual Disciplines, 19). Or as Jonathan Edwards puts it, we can “endeavor to promote spiritual appetites by laying yourself in the way of allurement.”

God’s regular channels of grace are his word, his ear, and his people. So often, he showers his people with unexpected favor. But typically the grace that sends our roots deepest, truly grows us up in Christ, and produces lasting spiritual maturity, streams from the ordinary and unspectacular paths of fellowship, prayer, and Bible intake in its many forms.

Lord, Thank You For Your Abundant, Abounding Grace. Thank You That We Don't Have To Earn A Drop Of The Mighty River Of Grace That Flows Freely For Us Today. Thank You For The Unexpected, Unmerited Favor You've Showered On My Life. Help Me Put Myself In The Path Of Your Love And Grace. Help Me Not Neglect The Disciplines I Need To Meet With You Regularly And To Drink From The Water Of Life. Thank You For Your Rich Love. Amen.

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Psalm 49:1-20 (NLT)1 Listen to this, all you people! Pay attention, everyone in the world!2  High and low, rich and poor—listen!3  For my words are wise, and my thoughts are filled with insight.4  I listen carefully to many proverbs and solve riddles with inspiration from a harp.5  Why should I fear when trouble comes, when enemies surround me?6  They trust in their wealth and boast of great riches.7  Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death by paying a ransom to God.8  Redemption does not come so easily, for no one can ever pay enough9  to live forever and never see the grave.10  Those who are wise must finally die, just like the foolish and senseless, leaving all their wealth behind.11  The grave is their eternal home, where they will stay forever. They may name their estates after themselves,12  but their fame will not last. They will die, just like animals.13  This is the fate of fools, though they are remembered as being wise.
Interlude
14  Like sheep, they are led to the grave, where death will be their shepherd. In the morning the godly will rule over them. Their bodies will rot in the grave, far from their grand estates.15  But as for me, God will redeem my life. He will snatch me from the power of the grave.
Interlude
16  So don’t be dismayed when the wicked grow rich and their homes become ever more splendid.17  For when they die, they take nothing with them. Their wealth will not follow them into the grave.18  In this life they consider themselves fortunate and are applauded for their success.19  But they will die like all before them and never again see the light of day.20  People who boast of their wealth don’t understand; they will die, just like animals.
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The Folly Of Earthly Wealth

The psalmist who wrote this psalm, identified as a descendant of Korah, is speaking to everyone, rich and poor alike, hoping to guide those who were troubled about the wealth of the wicked. He wants to resolve the perplexing “riddle” of life concerning the apparent blessing of godless people who care more about money and possessions than about God

Psalm 73:3-11 (NLT)3  For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness.4  They seem to live such painless lives; their bodies are so healthy and strong.5  They don’t have troubles like other people; they’re not plagued with problems like everyone else.6  They wear pride like a jeweled necklace and clothe themselves with cruelty.7  These fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for!8  They scoff and speak only evil; in their pride they seek to crush others.9  They boast against the very heavens, and their words strut throughout the earth.10  And so the people are dismayed and confused, drinking in all their words.11  “What does God know?” they ask. “Does the Most High even know what’s happening?”

Such people often pursue wealth at the expense of others. The psalmist asks himself;

Psalm 49:5 (NLT)5  Why should I fear when trouble comes, when enemies surround me?  

He  realizes that these people are not as blessed as they think. 

The psalmist remarks;

Psalm 49:8-9 (NLT)8  Redemption does not come so easily, for no one can ever pay enough 9  to live forever and never see the grave.

Nobody has enough to buy redemption, in this life, and after it there are no resources. The only way that redemption was purchased was by God Himself.  He paid this costly price in the suffering and death of Jesus Christ to make it possible for all people to have eternal life.

John 3:16 (NLT)16  “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
Even those driven my material things can see that even the wise, and well as the wealthy die, and leave their wealth to others

Ecclesiastes 9:5 (NLT2)5  The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, nor are they remembered.

Ecclesiastes 2:18 21-23 (NLT)18  I came to hate all my hard work here on earth, for I must leave to others everything I have earned. 21  Some people work wisely with knowledge and skill, then must leave the fruit of their efforts to someone who hasn’t worked for it. This, too, is meaningless, a great tragedy.22  So what do people get in this life for all their hard work and anxiety?23  Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night their minds cannot rest. It is all meaningless.
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So those focused on money and possessions seek solace in what they leave behind—in establishing a legacy, leaving an inheritance, naming their estates after themselves—all in a vain attempt to immortalize at least some aspect of themselves.  This pursuit is pointless in the face of the of death.

Psalm 49:14 (NLT)14  Like sheep, they are led to the grave, where death will be their shepherd. In the morning the godly will rule over them. Their bodies will rot in the grave, far from their grand estates.

The psalmist is confident that God will redeem him from the power of the grave and receive him. This does not refer merely to God’s general protection of His people throughout their physical lives—for the focus on living eternally so this is a prophecy  of the resurrection, wherein the righteous will inherit from God

2 Timothy 2:12 (NLT)12  If we endure hardship, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us.  

Proverbs 13:22 (NLT)22  Good people leave an inheritance to their grandchildren, but the sinner’s wealth passes to the godly.

Psalm 49:15 (NLT)15  But as for me, God will redeem my life. He will snatch me from the power of the grave.

The godless, like animals, die without genuine feeling of hope.  The godless have no confident assurance of eternity with God in the same way the psalmist has.   When a rich man dies that’s it.  He can’t take anything of earthly value with him.

Psalm 49:17 (NLT)17  For when they die, they take nothing with them. Their wealth will not follow them into the grave.

No money, no glory, no praise and no honor will go with Him into the grave.

1 Timothy 6:6-10 (NLT)6  Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.7  After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it.8  So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.9  But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.10  For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.  

This psalm is full of irony but should be taken seriously.  All of our money cannot buy our salvation, nor can it or any of our material resources pay for the sins that we have committed. Only the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the costliest of all ransoms, is acceptable as the payment for our sins.
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1 John 2:1-2 (NLT)1  My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.2  He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.

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Editor's Note:  This Valentine's Day prayer was written by Gregory Coles and published February 7, 2017 on Crosswalk.com to see the original article click here.

Dear God,

Help me today to understand what love really means.
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I don’t mind the red and pink, the plentiful chocolates, and construction paper hearts. I don’t mind that the florists are having a lucrative day. I don’t mind whatever romantic comedy will be coming out in theaters, whatever beautiful heroine falls in love with a hunky hero even though they started out as enemies. I don’t mind the corny poetry and sappy love songs and interminable kissing. I think love is allowed to include all of these things.

But I need for love to be so much more.

I need a love that will still be there when the film credits have rolled, when the orchestra music fades away, when the stage makeup has been rubbed off and all our blemishes are in plain sight. I need a love that can handle my ordinariness. I need a love for unflattering bathrobes and bad hair days, a love that satisfies even when all the chocolate runs out.

I need a love that goes on living when the flowers are dead and buried in the compost heap.

I need a love that’s big enough to include all of us. Big enough for the dating and engaged couples, of course, with their giddy daydreams of a future together. But also big enough for the married folks, whether their passion for each other is still blazing brightly or barely more than a smoldering wick. Big enough for the singles toasting their independence, and for the singles wishing someone would come along and make that independence disappear.


For the lonely and widowed and brokenhearted, I need a love that understands, a love that welcomes in hurt and sorrow instead of excluding them. I need a love that knows how to weep.

I’m not against the simple, butterflies-in-the-stomach love that Valentine’s Day celebrates. I don’t need to be a cynic, scoffing at dewy-eyed youngsters as they trade love notes and bouquets. But if I let my view of love be determined by Valentine’s Day, both I and the world around me will miss out on so much as a result. I need a love that is better than flowers and candy, deeper than boy meets girl, stronger than romance. I need enormous, universe-consuming love—the kind of love that is far too big for any one relationship to contain.

The love I need more than anything is Your love.

Without Your love, no other love will ever be sufficient. And with it, every other love becomes richer and truer and more life-giving than it could have been otherwise. We have learned all our best loves from You: the love of faithful friends, of spouses and significant others, of parents and siblings and children. Love that commits. Love that sacrifices. Love that lays down its life.

You authored each of these loves, taught us how to recognize them and long for them and give them away. Our best efforts at Valentine’s Day are just a fraction of the wholeness of love.

So today, I ask that you would refresh my vision of love. Remind me of the love that fashioned me in my mother’s womb and dreamed up beautiful plans for my life. Remind me of the love that wept when humanity fell, the love that still weeps each time I break Your heart. Remind me of the love that sent heaven’s royal Son to inhabit our humble Earth. Remind me of the love that died to carry me home.

Today, let everything I see remind me of Your love.

Give me eyes to see the red and pink, the flowers and chocolates, the blossoming romances, as tiny windows into Your limitless love. Let me see the image of God in the faces of the people around me, in the hopeless romantics at their candlelit dinners and the cynics at home with a pint of cheap ice cream. Let me see You in the construction paper hearts awkwardly delivered on the playground, in the crayon scrawl of “Be My Valentine.” In our imperfect love, let me glimpse Your perfect love.


Fill me with that love until I am saturated. And then keep on pouring, until I’m overflowing and flooding my surroundings, until I can’t help but give Your love away to others.

Give me love for those who are easy to love and for those who are difficult. Give me love for my enemies, a love that confounds feelings and explanations. Make me love You so deeply that it becomes impossible not to love anyone created in Your image.
Let today be a day for love. Real love. Big love. Your love.

In Jesus Name Amen

Just as every snowflake is unique, every person is unique because God created you in  His image. Believe it or not—no one else is just like you. Your physical appearance, your voice and personality traits—your habits, intelligence, personal tastes—all these make you one of a kind. Even your fingerprints distinguish you from every other human being—past, present, or future. You are not the product of some cosmic assembly line; you are unique.

The most important fact of your identity is that God created you in His own image.

Genesis 1:27 CEV So God created humans to be like himself; he made men and women.
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He made you so you could share in His creation, could love and laugh and know Him person to person. You are special indeed!

Psalms 139:13‭-‬14 CEV You are the one who put me together inside my mother's body,  and I praise you because of the wonderful way you created me. Everything you do is marvelous! Of this I have no doubt.

God knew you even before you were born. Then, and now, He has plans just for you, plans conceived in love.

I preached a sermon, “God's Masterpiece” in which I said that the believer is God's greatest masterpiece, and as His masterpiece you have been created twice.

Here’s that first creation

Genesis 1:26‭-‬27 CEV God said, “Now we will make humans, and they will be like us. We will let them rule the fish, the birds, and all other living creatures.”    So God created humans to be like himself; he made men and women.

Here's the second.

2 Corinthians 5:17 CEV Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new.

Ephesians 2:8‭-‬10 CEV You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God's gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. It isn't something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about. God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. This is why he sent Christ to make us what we are.

You "are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. "  That’s why you should focus on pleasing God, not people.  ​

Focus on Pleasing God, Not People
By Rick Warren

“Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:4b NLT, second edition).

God did not make you to be what somebody else wants you to be. God didn’t make you to be what your parents want you to be, what your girlfriend or boyfriend wants you to be, what your spouse wants you to be or your boss or your friends want you to be.

God made you to be you. If you’re going to become all you can be, you have to refuse to be defined by others.

Hebrews 11:24 says, “By faith, Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter” (NIV).

Moses had an identity crisis. He was born a Hebrew slave but raised as Egyptian royalty, the grandson of Pharaoh. When he grew up, he had two choices: He could pretend to be Pharaoh’s grandson for the rest of his life and live a life of luxury and fame and power.

Or he could admit who he really was: a Jew. If he did, his family would kick him out to live with slaves the rest of his life. He would be disgraced and humiliated and live a life of pain and drudgery.

Which would you choose?

Most people today are living lies. They’re trying to be people they’re not. But Moses refused to live a lie because he was a man of integrity. He insisted on being who God made him to be against all kinds of peer pressure.

Here’s my question for you: Who are you letting determine your identity?

Is it your friends and family? Some of you have parents that died years ago, but you’re still trying to live up to their vision for your life. Some of you are hanging on to what some ex-husband or wife said to you, and you’re trying to prove that person wrong. Some of you are trying to keep up with what social media and culture and the competition says you should be.

But the Bible says this: “Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:4b NLT, second edition).

The first resolution you need to make is this: “I resolve that no more will I let other people press me into their mold. I’m going to be what God wants me to be. I’m going to do what God wants me to do, and I’m going to fulfill the plan that God has for my life, not somebody else’s plan for my life.”

Friends, that is real success. Real success in life is being exactly who you were created to be and nothing more.

Lord, I Pray That I Would Stop Trying To Find My Identity In Anything Other Than Being Your Child, A Child Of The King And A Citizen In The Kingdom Of God. Thank You For This Amazing Grace In My Life! Lord, Help Me See The Minute I Start Placing My Identity In Something Else- My Children, My Career, My Marriage, My Gifts And Talents. Help Me In Those Moments To Remember That All Of Those Things—Even Though They Are Good Gifts—Will Never Satisfy Me The Way You Will. Help Me Keep You Before Me In All Things. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

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Editor’s Note:  The following post contains some edited content from “How to Have Joy in Your Golden Years Despite These 10 Life Losses” by  RJ Thesman.

Now that I am well into the AARP years most of my friends are fellow AARPters.  We all had great plans as for our lives after retirement and some of us are actually living out our plans.  For most of us however those plan have been revised. They were revised for many reasons; loss of a job that disrupted our pensions reducing and in some cases eliminating them; the Great Recession from December 2007 to June 2009 when 401k accounts lost most of their value; the loss of a spouse; serious illness of a parent, spouse or yourself; or some other catastrophic event.  Those Golden Years we dreamt about and planned for turned out to be not so golden.

Here’s what the Bible says about those times.

1 Peter 5:7 CEV God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him.

Romans 5:3 NKJV And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;

I Peter 4:12‭-‬13 NKJV Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

James 1:2‭-‬8 NKJV My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he  is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

How to Have Joy in Your Golden Years Despite These 10 Life Losses
By RJ Thesman

People talked about the Golden Years as if they were some magical resort of rest and enjoyment.  It wasn’t supposed to be this way — these years after we earned our AARP card. No cruises to the Italian coast. No easy retirement with plenty of money to do whatever we want. No easy choices for the next decades.  So how do we deal with these not-so-golden years when the abundant life is elusive and everything feels like a loss?
 
John 10:10 NKJV The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

1. Loss of Friends.

Many of us attend frequent memorial services. We’re putting on pounds from the funeral potatoes and singing “It is Well with my Soul” so often, we have it memorized. But the worst part is that our friends are leaving us behind.
Sure, we know they’re in heaven, happy and free. But that doesn’t lessen the loss when we no longer have anyone to help us shop, go to the movies or eat out. We feel alone because we are alone. Grieving is our constant activity.
The loss of friends is deep because we know we don’t have enough time to make another lifetime friend. But we can make some new friends. Think about joining a gym, a yoga class, a Zuma class, volunteer at a school or hospital.
 
2. Loss of Work.

Many of us planned and looked forward to retirement. But the loss of job also means the loss of peers and friends. Our brains — once so active — now feel like mush. As carefully as we may have planned our finances, we are now at the mercy of the government for healthcare. Prices keep rising. Fear surges with each increase.
If the loss of work is pulling you down into a well of remorse, apply for a part-time position. Some companies like to hire senior consultants. There are actually websites for seniors looking for both part and full time jobs.  

3. Loss of Purpose.
 
When we were working, many of us found purpose and significance in what we did every day. Now, that purpose is gone.
We need to find another way to define our significance.
 
Psalms 138:8 ESV The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord , endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.

He created us for good works from the beginning of creation. We can still find divine appointments every day.

You might want to think about volunteering at a hospital, or a library, or a school.  You may think about becoming a mentor or tutor to a young man or woman.
One of my friends volunteers in the NICU section of the hospital. She holds premature babies and helps them survive through life-giving touch. This activity gives her purpose. Some children are alive because she was present.

4. Loss of Health.

​This loss may surprise us because it sidelines us so quickly. Many of our friends live with chronic pain and constant doctor visits. Their medical bills climb as their bodies decline. This loss is part of the aging process and ultimately — all of us suffer from it.

But we can look forward to that day when our weary bodies are left behind, and our spirits soar to heaven.

II Corinthians 5:6‭-‬8 NKJV So we  are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

We can spend the down time praying for our families, surrounding ourselves with good music and reaching out via the internet to others.
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5. Loss of Hope.

​When the losses pile up, we can easily slip into discouragement. But when the gloomies deepen and we find ourselves thinking more about death than life, it’s time to seek help.

Psalms 94:14 ESV For the Lord will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage;

God is the one who satisfies us with his love every morning. When life seems hopeless, we can depend on the faithfulness of his love.

Talk to somebody you may even consider talking with a professional counselor or  therapist. Get out of the house. Go see a funny movie and laugh really loud.

6. Loss of Memory.

The brain ages along with the rest of the body. But we can work to activate new pathways. First, don’t assume memory blips are the worst-case scenario. Talk to your doctor. There are certain physical issues that can cause a brain lapse. Allergies, diabetes, side effects from medicines — all these issues can lead to forgetfulness.
Nutrition helps, especially eliminating processed sugars. The herb rosemary is helpful for memory and so is turmeric. Do simple tasks with your non-dominant hand, such as brushing your teeth or opening doors. A simple change in routine opens new brain pathways. Breathe deeply and stop worrying about your memory.

7. Loss of Faith.

As we age, we may spend more time in reflection than dreaming about the future. We still believe in God, but we also remember the prayers and “why God” questions  that weren’t answered. By this time, we expected God to rescue us and get us out of this mess. But it didn’t happen. The joy of the Lord is supposed to be our strength, but we don’t feel joyful. We feel weak.

“The question is ‘why’ but the answer is ‘Who.’” How has God been faithful to you throughout the years?

Focus instead on certain truths about God:

●     He is love - 1 John 4:8-10 (HCSB)8  The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.9  God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him.10  Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

●     He is faithful - 1 Corinthians 1:9 (HCSB)9  God is faithful; you were called by Him into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.;

2 Timothy 2:13 (HCSB)13  if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.;  

1 John 1:9 (HCSB)9  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

●     He is patient - 2 Peter 3:9 (HCSB)9  The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.

●     He is forgiving - Isaiah 43:25-26 (HCSB)25  “It is I who sweep away your transgressions for My own sake and remember your sins no more.26  Take Me to court; let us argue our case together. State your ⌊case⌋, so that you may be vindicated.;

1 John 1:9 (HCSB)9  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.;

​Ephesians 1:7 (HCSB)7  We have redemption in Him through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace

8. Loss of Dreams.

Your friends keep bragging about their lives, their kids and grandkids, you don’t have any, or they are not doing the things that you hoped for them.  Maybe you’ve lost a spouse through death, or even worse the dreaded “gray divorce” that left you without a home or financial security. Your dreams floated away, replaced sorrow and regret.
Some people do realize their dreams and live out their last years surrounded with love. It’s hard not to covet their seemingly easy lives. We all have segments of Plan A that didn’t work out, so focus on a different direction. Re-identify yourself. Move in a different direction.

9. Loss of Passion.

When we were young, we felt great passion for the future. Maybe we signed up for a lifetime of serving God in ministry. Or we studied hard to earn our degrees and devoted our lives to one job.

Now, we feel dried up and used up. The positive emotions of passion no longer pulse through our hearts. Love for ourselves and others. Excitement about new projects. The fervor to set new goals and the energy to accomplish them. Gone.

Part of the grieving process is the level of acceptance. Sometimes we have to realize this is just the season we’re in. If we can find new passions — great.

10. Piles of Loss.

The most difficult loss is the compounded one. When we wonder if God and Satan are playing another Job-like game. This time, we’re the victims.

When everything piles up and losses accumulate, remember this is only a season. At some point, this mess will end. How we react today is more important than how we find our way out some time in the future.

Younger people are watching us. Family members still depend on us to be the matriarchs and patriarchs of faith. Life on this earth will not become easier with time. The book of Revelation is a constant reminder.
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But we don’t have to let the losses destroy us. We can use some of the tools mentioned in this article and keep our focus upward.
 
When everything seems out of whack, repeat the lovely words of Isaiah 46:4.

Isaiah 46:4 (HCSB) I will be the same until ⌊your⌋ old age, and I will bear ⌊you⌋ up when you turn gray. I have made ⌊you⌋, and I will carry ⌊you⌋; I will bear and save ⌊you⌋.


Our loving God speaks hope to our hearts, “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”
 
Colossians 3:2‭-‬4 ESV Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Racism: prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior.

God makes it clear that no man is superior to another.

Editor’s Note:  The following was written by Jemar Tisby the author of The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism.  This book provides a history of racism in the Church in the United States with the aim of causing the Church to confess, repent, and allow the Holy Spirit construct it as God would have it as it is now and will be in heaven, and on Jesus’ return to rule the New Jerusalem for ever.

Scripture’s Motivation to Seek Racial and Ethnic Unity Right Now
            
“These words are a call to abandon complicit Christianity and move toward courageous Christianity.”
            
History and Scripture teaches us that there can be no reconciliation without repentance. There can be no repentance without confession. And there can be no confession without truth.
            
Although activists have achieved a remarkable amount of racial progress at great cost, racism continues to plague the church. One of the reasons churches can’t shake the shackles of segregation is that few have undertaken the regimen of aggressive treatment the malady requires. It seems like most Christians in America don’t know how bad racism really is, so they don’t respond with the necessary urgency. Even when Christians realize the need for change, they often shrink back from the sacrifices that transformation entails.

The Color of Compromise is about revealing racism. It pulls back the curtain on the ways American Christians have collaborated with racism for centuries. By seeing the roots of racism in this country, may the church be moved to immediate and resolute antiracist action.
            
Why The Color of Compromise May Be Hard to Read
            
Reading The Color of Compromise is like having a sobering conversation with your doctor and hearing that the only way to cure a dangerous disease is by undergoing an uncomfortable surgery and ongoing rehabilitation. Although the truth cuts like a scalpel and may leave a scar, it offers healing and health. The pain is worth the progress.
            
The goal of this book is not guilt. The purpose of tracing Christian complicity with racism is not to show white believers how bad they are. It is simply a fact of American history that white leaders and laity made decisions to maintain the racist status quo. Even though the purpose of this work is not to call out any particular racial group, these words may cause some grief, but grief can be good. In 2 Corinthians 7:10, Paul says, “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret” (ESV). This kind of grief is a natural response to the suffering of others. It indicates empathy with the pain that racism has caused black people. The ability to weep with those who weep is necessary for true healing.
            
Though the work of racial justice is difficult and will never truly end in this life, God has provided a colorful portrait of the goal. In a cosmic case of beginning with the end in mind, God pulls back the curtain of eternity to provide a glimpse of future glory. Revelation 7:9 says, “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.” In that heavenly congregation, we will finally see the culmination of God’s gathering a diverse people unified by faith in Christ. We will not all be white; we will not all be black. We will surround the throne of the Lamb as a redeemed picture of all the ethnic and cultural diversity God created. Our single focus will be worshiping God for eternity in sublime fellowship with each other and our Creator.
            
This picture of perfection has been bequeathed to believers not as a distant reality that we can merely long for. Instead, the revelation of the heavenly congregation provides a blueprint and a motivation to seek unity right now. Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). Christians have been mandated to pray that the racial and ethnic unity of the church would be manifest, even if imperfectly, in the present. Christ himself brought down “the dividing wall of hostility” that separated humanity from one another and from God (Eph. 2:14). Indeed, reconciliation across racial and ethnic lines is not something Christians must achieve but a reality we must receive. On the cross when Christ said, “It is finished,” he meant it (John 19:30). If peace has been achieved between God and human beings, surely we can have greater peace between people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds.
            
The Imperative for Immediate Action
            
Although our eternal peace is secure, a diverse but unified body of Christ will only come through struggle in this life. A survey of the history of racism and the church shows that the story is worse than most imagine. Christianity in America has been tied to the fallacy of white supremacy for hundreds of years. European colonists brought with them ideas of white superiority and paternalism toward darker-skinned people. On this sandy foundation, they erected a society and a version of religion that could only survive through the subjugation of people of color. Minor repairs by the weekend-warrior racial reconcilers won’t fix a flawed foundation. The church needs the Carpenter from Nazareth to deconstruct the house that racism built and remake it into a house for all nations.
            
By surveying the church’s racist past, American Christians may feel the weight of their collective failure to consistently confront racism in the church. This should lead to immediate, fierce action to confess this truth and work for justice. Then, perhaps, Paul’s words to the Corinthians might ring true for today’s church: “As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting” (2 Cor. 7:9 ESV).
            
Progress is possible, but we must learn to discern the difference between complicit Christianity and courageous Christianity. Complicit Christianity forfeits its moral authority by devaluing the image of God in people of color. Like a ship that has a cracked hull and is taking on water, Christianity has run aground on the rocks of racism and threatens to capsize—it has lost its integrity. By contrast, courageous Christianity embraces racial and ethnic diversity. It stands against any person, policy, or practice that would dim the glory of God reflected in the life of human beings from every tribe and tongue. These words are a call to abandon complicit Christianity and move toward courageous Christianity.
            
— Jemar Tisby, adapted from his new book The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism.

Jemar is a Christian, historian, writer, and speaker.   His passion is to glorify God by fostering engagement between African Americans and Reformed theology for the transformation of individuals, families, and communities.

Integrity
B y Stephen Mansfield

A man isn’t healthy if he is sound in one part of his body or life and unsound in another part. He’s only healthy, true, and noble if he is all these things in all that he is. — Stephen Mansfield, Mansfield's Book of Manly Men

Our generation hears the word integrity, and it seems to mean “honest and good.” A man of integrity is a man who won’t steal or lie. We pick this up just from hearing the way the word is commonly used. It takes our understanding a bit further, though, to know the word integrity is related to the word integrate. Both come from the Latin word integras, which means “soundness, wholeness or entire.”

The army of ancient Rome used this word almost daily in its inspection ritual. A commander would walk the line of legionnaires, inspecting each man to confirm that he was fit for duty. As the commander came before one of his men, the soldier would sweep his fist hard into the middle of his chest, just over his heart, and shout “Integras!” The commander first listened for that rich, full quality of a healthy soldier’s voice and then he listened for the clang that well-kept armor would emit when struck. The two sounds—the man’s voice and the condition of his armor—confirmed the integrity of the soldier.

The word indicates soundness through and through. We sometimes hear people say things like, “Cut that boy anywhere and he bleeds Texas.” This is close to the meaning of integrity. A man isn’t healthy if he is sound in one part of his body or life and unsound in another part. He’s only healthy, true, and noble if he is all these things in all that he is.
This broader definition of integrity has always come to my mind when I think of the ancient story of Job. Now most people don’t like the story of Job. It seems too depressing to them. Perhaps it scares them a bit to think of a God who can take away all a man has any moment he chooses. Besides, the book of Job is long, preachy, and filled with angry guys arguing by the hour. It’s not usually on anyone’s list of “Favorite Books of the Bible.”

I’m fascinated by this man Job, though. I’m moved by how he stood his ground and took his dissent just as far as righteousness allowed but no further. Let me tell [you] how I think Job illustrates seven principles all manly men need to know.

1. Job will not be swayed by the opinions of men.He knows what is true. He listens respectfully to his friends. He is polite, yet he won’t contort the truth to please a mere human. I wish I could say this has always been true of me. I hurt when men think ill of me. I find myself trying to win their favor. If I don’t catch myself, I can start serving men for the paycheck of their approval and so find myself far from God and who I really am. No man can serve the opinions of other men and be his own man, a manly man. Job taught me this.

2. Job speaks the truth as he knows it.He understands the power of it. Whatever he has left in this life, he isn’t going to lie. He stands on his integrity. He is willing to die from this experience if he must, but he is never going to say anything about it that isn’t true. By contrast, I have often felt like a liar in a land of liars. The truth has sometimes seemed like an illusion to me, or perhaps like something too expensive to hold on to. Job whispered gently in my ear, “Truth is all you really have. Speak it in integrity. Be a man.”

3. Job never accuses God.We are told this repeatedly in the forty-two chapters of the book:

Job 1:22 NIV In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

We can see Job does not understand what is happening to him. He knows he has done nothing deserving the total destruction of all he holds dear. Yet he also knows God is just. Job might get angry. Job might curse his insulting friends. Job might regret his life in this world. But he never wavers from trust in God’s character:

Job 13:15 NIV Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.

I’ve had some hard times, as most men have, but I’ve had nothing happen to me that approaches Job’s suffering. Yet I cannot say I kept my faith in God as Job did. So Job helped me. The simple phrase, “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him”—a reversal of everything this world lays upon us that it is—tells me what I need to know. God may do what he pleases, even if it means my destruction. Yet still, I keep my hope set on him. I say it again: Job was a man!

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4. Job defends himself.He’s not going to sit silently while lies are told and his character is assailed. He speaks. He gives an argument. He makes a defense. I’ve heard people say if a man defends himself vigorously he must be guilty. It’s as though making a defense is itself a sin. I don’t think so. I think it is the mark of righteousness in a person’s soul. The apostle Paul thought so too. He told the church at Corinth they had obviously repented of their sins since they had an eagerness to clear themselves of wrongdoing.

2 Corinthians 7:10‭-‬11 NIV Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.

There is certainly a type of defensiveness and egotistical refusal to take correction that is ungodly and unproductive. A man needs to know the difference between this cowardly behavior and the righteous desire to declare the truth. Job knew this difference. We should too.

5. Job was quick to admit his wrongs.Though he did not sin in accusing God, Job did have to admit that he “spoke of things I did not understand”

Job 42:3 NIV You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.

This, too, is a sign of manly righteousness. Be teachable. Own your sins. Admit failings. Don’t pretend to be what you are not. God alone is judge, and he already knows. This is a vital part of the truth to integrity. Be genuine, even if you were genuinely wrong and have to admit it to God and man.

6. Job listened to criticism.If what happened to Job had happened to me, the Book of Stephen would have been about three chapters long. I would not have sat around letting fools push their stupidity upon me. And I would never have come to the grand restoration that Job ultimately enjoyed. He seemed to know it is important to listen to your critics. One of the great arts of living is that you hear truth in the mouth of your enemies, that you let your critics be the unpaid guardians of your soul. It takes patience and a whole lot of self-control. Often, though, your critics can actually help you if you’ll search, as a friend once said, for the diamonds of truth in the dunghill of men’s opinions. I’ve learned this now—from Job.
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7. Finally, Job waited.He might have killed himself. He might have cursed God. He might have killed his stunningly ignorant friends. He might have lost all hope. Instead, in agony and while a stench to his friends, he looked to God and waited. I do not know what to do, but my eyes are on you. Men want to act, to fix what’s wrong and broken. Sometimes, though, the better part of manhood is to know what you can’t fix and to wait on the God who can. Waiting is hard. Waiting is a test. Waiting is also a way of saying, “God is God and I am not. He’ll act when he’s ready. Until then, I’m here.” It may be the greatest statement of faith we can make, particularly during times of suffering. It’s hard. That’s why it’s part of being a manly man.

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Psalms 91:1‭-‬16 NKJV He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord , “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall  be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord , who  is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will  be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”
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God’s Powerful Promises

Editor’s Note:  Some content taken from 8 Powerful Promises of God from Psalm 91
By: Debbie McDaniel

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”Psalm 91:1 

The word “dwell” actually means, “to take up permanent residence in.” He reminds us to stay in His presence, for it’s a permanent place of living. His Word says if we do that, we will “rest” in the very "shadow of the Almighty."   Shadows by definition are a place of protection or covering, they provide relief from the direct heat of the sun. If the heat is severe, the shade is the place we run to. It diminishes what we actually feel in the intensity of the heat.

Sometimes, maybe unintentionally, in the busyness or difficulties of living, we might strive to survive on our own.  We forget that what we need most, God's protection and the comfort of His presence, are freely available to those who love Him and walk under His covering.

This entire Psalm is filled with the goodness and power of God. Great reminders that He faithfully works on behalf of those who love Him.  And at the end of it all, God gives 8 reasons of why we do not have to fear.

Psalm 91's Promises from God

• "I will rescue him..." (deliver, cause to escape)
• "I will protect him..." (set him on a high place)
• "I will answer him..." (respond to, speak)
• "I will be with him in trouble..." (in afflictions, in distress)
• "I will deliver him..." (rescue, to bring into safety)"and honor him..." (to make rich, strong, heavy with honor)
• "With long life will I satisfy him..." (to have abundance in the journey)"and show him my salvation." (let him see my deliverance & victory)

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There is great blessing as we seek after God, and choose to walk in His ways. In the midst of great darkness in this world, living in it all without His Truth and freedom, would be like wallowing in the pit. Not much hope to be found there. The truth is, this world has been dark for generations, since sin first entered the earth at the hiss of the enemy's lies.

Yet God's reminders are sure, strong, and true, assuring us that in all that we walk through in this journey, His call is always to rise above.  He reminds us we're not alone. And though He never says that we won't face hard times, He does say He'll be with us in it, rescuing us, and shining His favor over us.