I read these words yesterday and was struck by them. So often we as Christians question and fight the appointment God has for us. So often I question and fight the appointment God has for me... particularly when what I'm seeing with my naked eyes is not lining up with what I expected. And that's what's been happening recently.

The devil prowls and schemes – and know this: he is constantly seeking to take us any and every where, so long as it is NOT in middle of God's will for us! That place may even be a relatively good place (i.e. - not morally bad) – however, know this:  if that place is not God's place for us, then it is not a good place! Let us not be deceived and settle for something "good," but in reality we are walking arm and arm with the devil, and in direct disobedience to God and all the while we are depriving ourselves of the best – for God is always seeking what is best for us for His children – even though it may not appear to be so to us – as we look upon it with fleshly eyes, rather than spiritual eyes.

Rather than fixing our eyes on the invisible God and walking by faith, we begin to walk by human sight, and we fix our eyes on the visible – and, as a result, we begin to sink down, down, down as we consider and entertain those deadly "What ifs". As we begin to conjecture, "Why?" or "Why me?" or "Why can't I?" or "Why didn't God...?" or "Why doesn't God...?" or "What hasn't God...?" – we head straight down the paths of the destroyer, and we rob ourselves of the rest and peace that Christ offers to us through taking up His easy yoke.

David continued to immerse Himself in God though the Scripture and prayer, and in doing so, David expected God to reveal Himself in living and felt ways so as to sustain and uphold his soul, to have his heart and his spiritual sight renewed and refreshed. For example...

And the same applies to us as well! We can't expect to fight the good fight of faith and finish our race without God's means! Many people keep looking for a new technique or a magic program – but instead, what we must do is to go back to the basics: to the Word of God and prayer! As we keep sinking ourselves deeper and deeper into Christ through the Word and prayer, we will flourish. On the other hand, if we're not doing that, we're going to wither! (See Psalm 1 & Jeremiah 17:5-8) In fact, abiding in Christ in such ways is one mark of Christian discipleship. It grieves me to see how many professing Christians continue to go to any and all places but to God! You go to your counselors, to your pill bottles, to your self-help books, to your friends, to your hobbies, to your activities, to your support groups – but when was the last time you went to the living God and pleaded with Him all night like Jacob : "I will not let You go unless You bless me! I have no power here at all – for these are too strong for me! Be my support!" (See also Psalm 18.)

And know this: the Christian life is a fight! There are some unbliblical teachings that tell us we just need to "let go and let God" and poof! it all will magically happen without any effort on our part. Well, there is one way we must let go: we must let go of the despicable, man-centered notion that we can do anything apart from Jesus Christ. And then, as we freely acknowledge we are truly poor and needy, like the man at midnight (Luke 11), we will importunately storm the gates of heaven and plead for God's supplies to come to us through His Holy Spirit, so we might walk in God's will for us. And then, as God strengthens us, we will obey and walk in His will for us (despite our flesh fighting us from within and temptations rising up from without) – and, in so doing, we end up working out our own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who has been working in us to will and to do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13). All glory to God! God does in and through and with us what we cannot do ourselves! Apart from Him we can do nothing! With Christ we can do all things! And just a reminder here: this working on our part doesn't earn us our salvation, but it is evidence of our salvation. God is never opposed to efforts wrought of His Spirit. After all, it is God who commands us to work out what He is working in us!

Sadly, at one time or another, all of us end up in the position of Peter in John 21 – even after God has given us explicit instructions as to His appointment for us (v. 15-19) – and like Peter, we end up questioning our Lord. Why do we do such a thing? We take our eyes off Jesus!

What is that to me if God has given me another appointment? What if Joel were to say, "No! No! I don't want to minister in this place! Send me somewhere else!" Here's God's response to such sinful thoughts:

God have mercy on us when we do such a thing – when we esteem ourselves above our Creator and Redeemer! God grant us grace so we might not harden our hearts and grieve His Holy Spirit. God keep us from becoming Jonahs – from running away from Him and His appointment for us! And when we begin to question and doubt God's appointment in even the smallest way, may He give us grace so we and our prodigal thoughts might be turned ("turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God" ~ Jer. 31:18, KJV), that we might come back to our senses and fervently embrace our God and His particular appointment for us in the way Mary did:

How can we do this? Again, it is impossible with us! – but it is possible through Christ who dwells in us! Our Lord Himself willingly submitted Himself to His Father's appointment for Him to condescend, to become incarnate, to take the form of a servant, and to become obedient to the point of death – even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:4-11). Jesus was consumed by His Father's glory and purposes – and through the new birth, we have been united with Christ, being given the same desires by the Holy Spirit who lives in us, so we might offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God as Christ did. Even though our souls might be troubled, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are empowered to respond to God's appointment just as Christ did:

During this Lenten season, many Christians set aside more time to consider the suffering and the crucifixion of Christ – and yes! Amen to that! But let us not only contemplate Jesus' example, let us not only contemplate His sacrifice rendered in our place to satisfy the wrath of God and justify us and reconcile us to God, but let us go on even further – so we might contemplate God's magnificent power that worked in Jesus so He might finish all the work the Father had given Him, and then let us plead for such sanctifying power to fill us, so God's love might compel us to joyful obedience to His commandment "You follow Me!"

Yes, our souls may be troubled by what we see – and they may often be troubled – and rightly so at many times, for we live in a troubled, fallen world, and Jesus told us we would have tribulation in this world. But let us look away from what's troubling us and look into the Word of God to the character and promises of God, and let us look away to Jesus, and then let us pray without ceasing and plead for God's Pentecostal power to rain down upon us from on high, so we might have the mind and heart of Christ, so we might not worry about what others are doing, but render ourselves wholeheartedly to doing our Father's will as our Lord did, to delight in the appointment God has for each one of us: