Surrounded by Suffering

 I love God's calling on my life to be a pastor. The role of pastor is varied. I love the study of scripture. I often times cannot choose whether I enjoy the study more or the delivery of the message. Both thrill my soul. I also enjoy leading. To prayerfully seek God's vision for the future and rally the flock to follow God's guidance thrills me. I enjoy both reading and writing. I find equal satisfaction in each. I also enjoy sharing the good news with people who do not know Jesus. Discipling people is another passionate pleasure. 

Serving as a shepherd has always been important to me. Many pastors are exceptional preachers but poor pastors. Shepherding the flock is a priority. That includes personal visits, hospital visits, words of encouragement, funerals, weddings, listening, and counseling. You cannot take that role seriously without being surrounded by people who suffer. 

In recent days, I have prayed for someone who lost their job, ministered to one who fell and broke a bone, visited and prayed for one who suffered a stroke, and listened to and prayed for families who are attacked by enemy forces. There are those who suffer through dysfunctional families. Others face financial hardships. Some battle medical issues that cannot be diagnosed or clearly resolved. Some still grieve the loss of loved ones. Others face insurmountable mountains. Many must maneuver through mental health issues. The pains endured by the flock are intense. Somedays it seems the only news I get is bad news. 

It comes with the territory. All of the ministry does not happen on the stage. Most of the ministry does not happen under the spotlight. The suffering many times do so secretly in the shadows. Some of my most effective ministry takes place in the secrecy of the prayer closet interceding for people. 

Jesus was surrounded by suffering people when He walked the dusty paths of this planet. He slowly strolled through the crowds looking for divine appointments with lepers, blinded people, the lame, those diseased, the demon possessed, and those struggling in sin. He made time to help such people. He tenderly touched them, attentively listened, and affectionately spoke words of comfort and love. We live in world filled with suffering people. We are the mouth, hands, feet, and heart of Jesus to those struggling around us. 

For many years I have taken both comfort and challenge from [Matt 9:35-36]. Jesus saw the people as sheep without a shepherd. They were weary and worn out. He did not just see the suffering. He saw the solution to their suffering. They needed a Savior. He became their shepherd. 

Jesus has been a faithful shepherd to many of us. He has guided us to safer pastures. He keeps watch over us. He nurtures us when we are wounded. He protects us from the evil one. He loves us. He truly is our great Shepherd. He knows us by name. He speaks to us, and we know His voice. [John 10:27] He does not cast us aside in our sufferings. He does not abandon us for the healthier sheep. He is both Savior and Shepherd for suffering sheep. Nobody loves like Jesus. Nobody care about people who are suffering like Jesus. May we take comfort in those truths. 

Sometimes He Whispers - Sometimes He Shouts

 Sometimes God whispers when He speaks. Just like He did with Elijah when he hid in a cave on Mount Horeb. It was there that Elijah heard the still small voice of God. The Christian Standard translation of I Kings 19:12 is a soft whisper. 

In our noisy world, that soft whisper of God can get drowned out. It seems we live in a world addicted to noise. Televison. Cell phones. Air pods. Constant chatter. Sirens. Traffic. It is 3:07 in the morning as I write this, and I just heard a vehicle driving by on the highway near our home. And just now another one going in the opposite direction. 

All this noise distracts us from the soft whispers of God. Those God encounters where He reveals Himself, His purposes, and assignments for us. Those are sacred moments. I live for them. Sitting still before God is an adventurous thrill waiting to see what God does next or what He speaks next. To be still before Him, to eliminate all the noise has to be an intentional choice on our part. We must choose to forsake the company of people to keep company with God. 

Whether it be reading the scriptures or listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit, God has things to say to His people if we will take the time to listen. We must learn to discipline ourselves to be constantly attuned to Him. Morning, day, and night constantly aware of His desire to meet with us and to communicate through communion. 

On the other hand, there are times when God shouts. When He speaks like thunder in such obvious ways it is impossible to miss. He did this on the Mount of Transfiguration shouting, "This is My beloved Son. I take delight in Him. Listen to Him." [Matt 17:5]. The next verse reports when the disciples heard God's shout they fell facedown and were terrified. 

There are times when God shouts. For me that has always happened through reading His word. When God really wants to get my attention, certain verses will start showing up over and over again at random times and in various ways. I recall a time when God shouted [Heb 11:8]. I could not get away from that verse. I was stunned when I preached a youth camp, and that verse was the theme verse. All week I saw that verse printed on t-shirts. His shout was hard to miss. 

Another time He shouted to me [Matt 16:24] and [Luke 9:23]. The message to follow seemed to show up everywhere. In scripture. In books I read. On the church marquee. Even on the radio at the barbershop with Chris Tomlin's single, "I Will Follow." The message to follow Jesus reverberated through my mind. I could not miss it. 

Whether God chooses to softly whisper or to shout, we should listen. We never know when and how He will show up with a timely message for us. Messages of comfort. Messages of rebuke. Messages of His calling with His assignments. Prophetic words. Messages of His enduring love. And for the masses, the message of salvation. 

When I woke up, I really had no intention of writing anything. Then the soft whisper of, "Sometimes I whisper and sometimes I shout," came to me. Maybe this will help someone. Perhaps today God will whisper and shout a fresh word to you that will make a world of difference. Keep listening. Posture yourself to hear from Him. I assure you He has something to say. 

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

 I received a phone call and a text last night that set me off. Don't get me wrong. They were not malicious in nature or even directed toward me. Those messages came from people in the flock being attacked by other followers of Jesus. Both instances those on the attack had to go out of their way to intentionally harm people I care about. This is not the first time. In one family, it has been going on for two years. In the other family, they have been viciously slandered, harassed, and dogged for four months. 

Those messages made my blood boil. I have had enough. Maybe you do not understand. I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!! I knew there was only one thing to do to fight back. Not to go confront the ungodly. Not to rally people against the offenders. It is time to go to war. War on my knees to put an end to this cyclical cyclone of criticism. 

I am reminded of the truth of Ephesians 6:12 that our battle is not against flesh and blood. It is easy to make people our target of scorn and scathing rebukes. The truth is a spiritual war is waging all around us. Demons deceive, manipulate and wreak destruction. We are told that the thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy in John 10:10. He is doing a fantastic job of it. 

The church offers very little resistance. As a shepherd, one of my responsibilities is to protect the sheep. The best way I can do that is through fervent intercession for them. If the enemy wants to attack the people, I love then I will go on the attack in return. I'll fight even harder for this flock pleading and trusting God to thwart the wicked schemes of the Devil. 

I am not in retreat mode. I am in full on assault mode. I trust God to throw a monkey wrench in all the Devil's plans to hurt the people I love. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! I know the enemy will come after me. He has been doing it for years. The Edwards are no strangers to spiritual warfare. Our adversary has attacked in every conceivable way to make us lose heart, to get us to quit, and stop advancing the kingdom of God. I am not going to retreat. I refuse to sit back in holy huddles safe and secure from the battle. I am running to the battle with sword drawn ready to fight. 

There comes a time when you have to take a stand. When you have to draw a line and defend those you love. I am there on multiple fronts. It will require more time alone in the secret place. More faith. More resolve to win this fight. Enough is enough. 

Take the Stairs

 Many years ago I made a competition to myself. When visiting hospitals with parking garages, I would take the stairs. I like to challenge myself with silly things like this. When I arrived at the parking garage today, I knew from the beginning I would not be parking on one of the bottom levels. Each level was jammed packed. 

I circled one level after another before finally locating a parking space. When I approached the elevators and stairs, I saw I was on level eight. I knew that would be a little challenge after my visit. After the visit, I made my way back to the parking garage walking right past the elevators. I did not even entertain using them. 

I put my head down and trudged up one step after another. I did not even notice what floor I was on until level three. That is when the legs started burning and I started getting a little winded. Three down and only five more to go. Levels four and five brought further burning in the quadriceps and more shortness of breath. At level four the thought crossed my mind that I was half way there. Then a second thought surfaced why I was even doing that. Normal people just take the elevator. 

To me, it is a way to not give in to old age and a sedentary lifestyle. I try to push myself to uncomfortable levels physically while I still can. Over the years I have challenged myself to crazy ideas. When I was 12, I entered a 30 mile bike race. It was not easy, but loved every mile of it. In high school, I challenged myself with certain weightlifting goals. I even skipped lunch to get in additional workouts. In the summers, I worked out in the hottest part of the days. 

You would think I would outgrow that in adulthood. I didn't. I challenged myself to ride a bike from Paradise, TX to Hurst, TX one Mother's Day. That was a 50 mile trek. Brenda and our sons drove to Hurst to meet her family and I told them I would meet them riding my bike over. That turned into a more daunting task that I first considered. For starters, I really did not take into account the heavy traffic I would ride in. I ran out of water with several miles to go. It took me three hours, but eventually I arrived. I showered and fell asleep on the floor. I wisely rode back home with my family. 

In 2008 I got the wild brained idea to ride 100 miles to raise money for a mission project. I rode for months to train. When the day arrived, I saddled up and started peddling around 7:00 a.m. Except for bathroom breaks and lunch I pedaled for nine hours. I asked myself repeatedly in the midst of that ride why I committed to such a thing. Six hours into the ride the battery on my iPod died. I rode three hours with nothing but my thoughts. My thoughts were increasingly on quitting rather than finishing several times. With God's physical and mental strength, He enabled me to finish. 

Brenda bought me a Fitbit to keep track of how may steps I took and how many miles I walked. I walked over 20 miles in one day just for the challenge of it. I may have worn my knee out in the process of all that walking. 

I downloaded a fitness app that put me in competition with people around the world. Again I competed with fierce determination onetime ranking all the way up to number seven in the world. To do that I had to exercise about four hours a day. Eventually my Fitbit broke because I guess I sweated too much. 

This morning I did the same work out I challenged our athletes to do yesterday in weightlifting at school. Challenge accepted. It was not easy, especially the ab exercises. Challenge accepted. 

Back to the stairs. Level six was not so difficult. I paused a moment and thought about taking an extended rest. I thought I only had two flights to go. I pounded the pavement up to level seven and again thought about resting. Just one more flight and I would be done. Slowly I stepped up eighteen more times to reach the landing of the eighth floor. There was no celebration. I was too winded and my legs were too tired for that. 

Our lives have built in comforts. Remote controls. Remote starting to warm up or cool down our cars before we even get into them. We have cruise control and now even hands free driving. We are increasingly becoming a softer generation. Instead of cutting our own firewood we pay somebody else to do it. People pay to have their lawns mowed. My sons and I once had a thriving business mowing other people's yards when those sons were younger. People do not cook from scratch as much as they buy boxed meals. Instead of reading we prefer someone else to do our research for us, including preachers. 

I think it is good to challenge ourselves. To make ourselves uncomfortable. To toughen ourselves a bit. I don't know how people would fare if we had to live like Pioneers lived. In the great winter freeze of a few years ago, we were without any power for several days. It got down into the upper forties temperature wise in the home, even with a burning fire in the fireplace. I made up my mind during that time not to complain. To tough it out like many people have to do on a daily basis around the world. Those were uncomfortable days for sure. 

Hard times make for tougher people. Easy times make softer people. That is why I choose to take the stairs. To make it tougher in this modern convenience driven age. In the big scheme, a few flights of stairs is not a big deal. While God allows me the ability to still do so, I will keep choosing the stairs. 

I hope you will find ways to challenge yourself. To go without eating to pray and fast. To get up a little earlier to pray or workout. To stay up a little later to read. To let the cold water flow over in the shower just a bit to be uncomfortable. To get outside in the weather and choose to go through a day without complaining about how cold or hot it is outside. And if you are able, maybe just maybe from time to time choose to take the stairs if you are able. 

800:1

 There are some things in life that defy the law of averages. While people may take some risks, typically they are calculated risks. We prefer the odds to be in our favor. 800:1 odds do not fall into that category. Those are exactly the odds that Josheb faced. 

Josheb was one of the mighty men of David. He had a nickname "Abino of Eznite." The name literally means voluptuous, delightful and dainty. Not exactly characteristics I would use to describe a warrior. 

We have all heard the phrase not to judge a book by its cover. We still do it all the time. I am glad God does not do that. I would label Josheb as a pretty boy. Behind that pretty appearance was a fierce and courageous warrior. God chose to work powerfully through Him. Just like He did through Moses, Joshua, David, and Paul the apostle. God looks beyond the cover of the outside. He sees the heart and sees those who trust Him. 

Josheb took a stand when nobody stood with him against 800 enemy forces. Faith coursed through his veins. Courage consumed him. He did not think of the impossibility of the odds and what he could not do. Instead, he thought of the possible things God could do through him. We have the luxury of hindsight to see how it turned out for Josheb. On that day, he had no guarantees. He still attacked when most would have whimpered and run away. He stood alone when the safer bet was to retreat and live to fight another day. 

Josheb stood and fought with a spear. God worked through him and he killed 800 men at one time with a spear. Read it for yourself in [II Sam 23:8]. 800:1 is impossible. Impossible for us. Possible with God. 

I can't help but think the ripple effects of David's faith impacted Josheb. David killed Goliath. That one act made David a legend. The women sang that King Saul slew thousands, but David slew ten thousand. Everywhere David went his reputation as a giant slayer proceeded him. I imagine that the faith David had rippled down to other people. Especially Josheb. 

Josheb's faith ripples down to us today. How did he have the courage to face 800 enemies alone? He was not alone. God was with Him. God plus one always equals more than 800. It all started with one simple act of obedience. Kill the first soldier. Big dreams can hinge on simple single acts of obedience. You never know what one simple act in response to God's call will lead. You never know what one divinely orchestrated conversation  doors will open. 

What is that next act of obedience for you? What is it for me? We take one faith step and then the next, and the next, and the next, and so forth. You kill 800 enemy soldiers one at a time and one after another. The whole story is impossible. Nobody has the physical stamina to kill 800 others in hand to hand combat at one time with a spear. Nobody can do that, but on the other hand, anybody can do that who is surrendered to God and God works through. 

I want to be a Josheb. Courageously facing 800:1 odds and watching God do miracles. I want to live a life where the ripples of my faith inspire countless others to trust God and follow His calling no matter how impossible it seems. Even if I have to stand alone. I hope you want the same thing as well. May God be glorified by our simple acts of obedience and the corresponding ripples that go to the ends of the earth. 

Failing Forward

 Israel disobeyed God and failed royally. The mission was simple. Go defeat the small town of Ai. Fresh off their victory over the much larger city of Jericho where God gave them victory, Israel was confident God would help them again. 

Only this time they had sin in the camp. Achan took things from the city God had banned not to be taken. He took a mantle, some silver and gold burying them under his tent. He thought it was hidden. Nothing is hidden from the eyes of God. God saw and was angry. So angry He refused to help Israel when they went to attack Ai. 36 Israeli soldiers died that day. It was an epic failure and Joshua did not understand. Not until God revealed the sin. Achan was dealt with along with his family. The nation repented. 

For the second time God called them go attack the city. He even gave them counsel how to do it. I wonder if the fear of failure replayed in their minds? God told Joshua not to fear nor be dismayed. [Joshua 8:1-3]

 Have you ever been fearful of repeating a past mistake. Of failing again? I certainly have. God often makes us face our fears. Face the very thing where we failed. Many remain stuck spinning their wheels right where they did not meet expectations. The place where they did not achieve success. It is understandable for people to be gun shy. Why put yourself through the humiliation, defeat, and pain of epic failures again. It is easier to let failures define us. As a man thinks in his heart so he is. [Prov 23:7] If you see yourself as a failure you most likely will think and behave like a failure.

All of us fail from time to time. None of us is perfect. Just because we fail does not mean we are a failure. We can fail forward when we learn valuable lessons from defeat. Israel did. When they attacked Ai the second time they did pay special attention to what was under the ban. They also followed the instructions God gave them completely. 

Failing forward requires faith to obey again. To face the same formidable obstacle that defeated us once before. God saw the victory before the army did. It was one step of faith followed by another. We cannot remain frozen by our fears. Faith trumps our fears. 

In the end, God gave Ai to Israel. The king and and all the people. It was one more step of progress in possessing the land God promised them. They learned from their failure and failed forward. I want to be like that. To learn from past mistakes and defeats. To refuse to retreat in fear. To possess what God calls you to claim you have to go forward. Even after a failure. 

Failing forward requires some grit, determination, and raw resolve to not give up until the goal is accomplished. Inventors like the Wright brothers and Thomas Edison learned to fail forward. So did Abraham Lincoln. Pastor and author Mark Batterson failed in his first attempt to plant a church.  You could understand if he felt a little reservation about packing a U-haul truck and trying to plant another in Washington, D.C. They met in a movie theater. It was tough sledding. In the first months they had 19 people. 20 years later they have thousands. He failed forward. I hope we will do the same thing.