Think back to the story of Samson. The instructions the Lord gave his parents were for his life. Judges  13:5 says, “…no razor  shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”

Samson had great strength, but he did not follow God in every way. Judges 16:1 says that he went into a harlot. In verse 5 the lords of the Philistines gave the harlot direct instructions.

They said, “…Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him…” You can read the story for yourself.

After Delilah pestered him mercilessly, he gave in and told her the secret to his strength. Verse 17 says, “…No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite from my mother’s womb…”

What lies are you still bound with? What lies are the foundation of a stronghold that keeps you spiritually weak? We usually don’t know because we have been deceived. That is, after all, what a lie is ~ deception.

All lies counterfeit the truth. Truth is absolute. There are no exceptions. I was stopped on the street by a young politician yesterday. He wanted my vote. I have been asking the Lord to raise up young righteous men and women to enter the political scene.

I asked, “Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus?” His reply revealed a lie that he was encased in. His answer was, “I am a (named a religion) and I believe in the Trinity.”

I promptly quoted from John 14:1 saying, “You believe in God, but the ‘Me’ is Jesus.” He put his hand up and said that it was nice meeting me and walked off.

There were two falls recorded in the Bible that I want to look at. We know that satan fell from heaven. Why? He exalted himself through a lie that he made up.

Remember what John 8:44 said about satan. “…does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”

What did the serpent use to entice Eve? He contradicted God’s word. In Genesis 3:1 he cast doubt. Verse 4 says, “Then the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die.” 

Adam and Eve fell because of the unbelief the serpent planted! That is exactly what he does when he shoots out a fiery dart. It is targeted to plant a seed which is a lie. It’s designed to penetrate and remain hidden as it permeates our thought processes.

The more lies we believe, the more strength they gather to build strongholds that will afflict us and weaken our faith. That is another reason that the Lord brings trials. According to 1 Peter 1:7 He uses our trials to prove our faith genuine. The fiery trials reveal the hidden so it can be removed. Mark 4:22 says, “…nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.”

I encourage you to not look for your strongholds. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal them to you as you read God’s word daily. Also it says in Hosea 10:13 that we have eaten the fruit of lies because we trusted in our own way. The moment you start to do something in your own strength, recognize it is because a lie was planted. Ask Him to reveal it. He is very faithful to show us what keeps us bound.

The Bible is full of truth. Until we believe that truth and make it part of our lives, it remains as print on a page. Did you know that part of the training for a new bank teller is to give them real money so they would instantly discern the counterfeit?

Unbelief is a counterfeit to truth. Unbelief is satan’s effective tool to keep folks from accepting Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. 2 Corinthians 4:4 says, “Whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God should shine on them.”

Here is something else that satan does. Ephesians 2:2 says that before salvation we walked, “…according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.”

Unbelief is disobedience to the gospel’s call. Romans 1:5-6 says, “Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ.”

What does the gospel call us to? Ephesians 4:1 says to walk worthy of the calling. 2 Timothy 1:9 says, “”Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.”

Accepting the gospel is not a once in a lifetime act. We are called to live out the gospel every moment in our lives. How do we do that? Romans 8:5 says, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.”

Romans 6 is a blueprint we can build our spiritual life on. At salvation we died to sin. Verse 4 says, “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

James 1:6-8 is part of the gospel’s blueprint. It says that we are not to doubt. Doubt, fear, and unbelief cause us to see our impossibilities through our own eyes pre-salvation. 

What did you believe about yourself before you were saved? For me, I was very independent and fought my own wars with the lies that I had believed. Those lies were my foundational beliefs.

It was not until 1993 that I learned that not all my thoughts were of my own origin. I spent years undoing satan’s strongholds. 2 Corinthians 4:2 was my template. It says, “But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully…”

Renounce means to disown. As the Holy Spirit would bring a hidden lie to the surface, I would acknowledge it and renounce it. Then I would affirm the truth of God’s word that tore down the counterfeit stronghold.

We know that the wicked one throws out fiery darts. Ephesians 6:16 says that our door shield of faith will quench them. However, unbelief will allow them to penetrate. Then satan uses the hidden lies to build an internal stronghold. Then he is able to war against us through our own thought processes. 

That is why we have to keep truth in our heart. Our heart is designed to be a reservoir full of God’s word that we have memorized and meditated on. It is our true warring stronghold. When the enemy lobs a fiery dart lie, the truth within stands up like a sentinel. The Holy Spirit uses what we have hidden to keep us free!

Experiential truth is truth that has become ours. It is part of our thought process that directs us into paths of righteousness. John 8:31 says that inner heart truth is the fruit of a disciple. Verse 32 says that it becomes truth that sets us free and keeps us free.

Moses sent out 12 spies to go into the promised land and bring back a report. 10 spies gave a bad report based on their interpretation of what they saw. Interpretation is our working word in this post.

How are you interpreting the impossibility in your life? When we look through our own perception, our interpretation will be based on what we believe. What did the 10 spies believe? Their words revealed their hearts. They believed that the giants in the land saw them. A true spy is undetected. Numbers 13 basically says that they saw the giants and the giants saw them. Then they put their perceived words into the mouths of the giants. 

First they spoke of the land that God had promised them. Numbers 13:32, “…a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature.” Verse 33 was their interpretation of what they saw. It says, “There we saw the giants…and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” Did the giants see them? No.

Here is the first point that we need to look at. They totally forgot God’s promises because they looked to themselves. Compared to those men of great stature they felt like small grasshoppers. 

When I was in grade school we were taught how to make shadows on the wall. They were far bigger than we were. Our impossibilities are like shadows. They loom over us. Our key in the face of any impossibility is to remember that nothing is impossible for God. We lean on Scripture. We bring it into our mind and keep it there. 

Joshua and Caleb were part of the spy party. Their interpretation was based on the truth of God’s promise to all of the children of Israel. Verse 29 was Caleb’s statement after the 10 spies gave a bad report that disquieted the people. It says, “Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” However the people believed the bad report because its words encased them in fear.

Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” What was the fruit of the 10 spies words? Numbers 14:36-37 says, “Now the men…who returned and made all the congregation complain…these very men who brought the evil report about the land, died by the plague before the Lord.”

A few days ago I mentioned 1 Kings 8:38 and the plague of our heart. Our death words bring a plague to our health. Fear, worry, anxiety, anger, bitterness, and a critical spirit are the evidence of unbelief hidden in our heart.

John 14:1 says, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.” Our belief is to be founded in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. In and of ourselves we are nothing. I keep referring to John 15:5 but it is a foundational truth that grounds us when we face off our impossibilities.

It says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” Nothing means not one thing. We cannot even breathe on our own. Daniel reminded king Belshazzar. Daniel 5:23 says, “…the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.”

How do we glorify the Lord? Facing off our impossibilities, with each and every word and expression of thanksgiving, praise, gratefulness, and rejoicing brings glory to the Lord. As we abide in Him through intimate communion, the byproduct is much fruit that glorifies Him.

Have you ever noticed how noisy impossibilities are? They insistently push into our thoughts as they loom in front of us. The moment they intrude, we can block them through the truth of God’s word and His promises. 

I love to think about Mary after the angel Gabriel spoke to her, about how she would conceive in her womb, and bring for a Son whose name would be Jesus. He followed it with an amazing promise that we can also stand in.

Luke 1:37 says, “For with God nothing will be impossible.” Her immediate response was in verse 38. It is a verse I have written in the front of my Bible. It says, “…Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word…”

Here is a new song called Nothing Is Impossible

You can move the mountains. You can calm the sea. You can split the skies and rescue me. Nothing is impossible, no nothing at all. You created everything before man’s fall. Though it seems impossible to me. I must remember Who You are as my Savior and King.

You rule in my heart through Your word supreme. I just have to believe-trust for You will faithful be. Nothing is too hard for You, no nothing at all. You delight to strengthen me through trials that reveal Yourself to me.

Your character is forged in me. Your anvil strong and true. You bring me through the fiery trials—my faith refined-secured. Your will is accomplished as I yield to Your hand. My thoughts are united with Your purpose and plans. As I walk in the path You choose You establish my heart. I serve You with thanksgiving and praise. You alone are worthy, O my Lord.

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” We cannot look at our impossibility through the eyes of ‘now’ faith. We see it. We have to look to the Lord.

1 Peter 1:8 says, “Whom having not seen you love. Though now do you do see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.” What happened when the children of Israel looked at their Red Sea impossibility? They were overwhelmed and fearful.

When we look through the eyes of our understanding of Who God is at all times, we can stand unshaken in our faith because our faith is founded in His faithfulness.

Here are two great verses to etch into your heart’s walls. 2 Timothy 2:13 says, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” We know from Titus 1:2 that it is impossible for God to lie. 

2 Peter 1:4 says that we become partakers of God’s divine. How? The verse says, “By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises…” When we stand in His word, keeping our eyes on the Lord, the looming impossibility fades into the background. It is still there but it has been silenced.

How do you face off the impossibilities that loom before you? Scripture is full of accounts where God had to intervene or His people would perish. Our part is to stand in faith ~ believing in God. Mark 11:22 says, “…Have faith in God.” We cannot have faith in His past ways of delivering. He will not fit into any box. 

Psalm 78:41 is a warning verse for us. It says, “Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.” One of the ways we ‘tempt’ God is to expect Him to act a certain way. I think back to the children of Israel when they faced the impossibility of the Jordan River. Scripture says that it overflowed its banks. It was impossible to cross.

How did the Lord speak to that issue? Joshua 3:4 says of the ark which would lead them, “…Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.” Every impossibility that we face is uncharted territory. We have never been there before. Only the Lord knows the way so we have to keep Him in our sight at all times.

King Jehoshaphat faced an impossibility. 2 Chronicles 20:1-22 is a great record of God’s marvelous deliverance that was never again repeated in Scripture. In verse 12 Jehoshaphat said, “…we do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You.” Psalm 121:1-2 says, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills–from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

What happened when the children of Israel faced the impossible Red Sea? They were afraid. Why? There was no way to get across, and Pharaoh and his entire army were bearing down on them. Exodus 14:10 says that they, “…lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them…” Verse 13 was Moses’ instruction. He said, “…Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.”

When we face our impossibilities, we must remember that it is not our responsibility to solve them. Our responsibility is to stand still. Verse 14 is our truth as well. It says, “The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” The literal meaning for ‘hold’ is to be quiet. It means that we are not to try and figure out how the Lord is going to do something, nor are we to pursue doing something on our own. Going ahead of God is foolish as well as futile.

We limit the Lord when we try to figure anything out. We also limit Him when we look back to a previous deliverance and expect Him to act in the same way. The Lord always looks for faith because that is what pleases Him, according to Hebrews 11:6. Our Creator has no lack. He can create whatever we need. He will Masterfully orchestrate every minute detail.

Isaiah 43:18 says, “Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old.” Consider means to ponder and think about. We are not to roll them around in our mind. We need to clear the slate and watch to see what the Lord will do. Verse 19 in the Amplified says, “Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive and know it and will you not give heed to it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” The Lord will make a way where there seems to be no way. That is why we need to face off our impossibility with faith in Him and Him alone.

Matthew 11:28 Amplified says, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. (I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.)” What a promise!

Psalm 23:2-3 could easily describe our quiet time in being still before the Lord. It says, “He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”

Many times David was overwhelmed by the circumstances in his life. Think of what it was like for him to flee the city when Absalom attempts to usurp his father’s throne. 

Psalm 61:1-2 was a great expression of his heart as he cried out to the Lord. It says, “Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You. When my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”

Here is a new song:

Song of the Altar

In the midst of adversity when trouble surrounds me. I come into Your presence and I build an altar. I remember how You met me time and time again and I bow in worship.

Nothing can overtake me when I hide in You. Nothing can overwhelm me when I look to You. I set my eyes on You and I gaze into Your face. I bask in the love of Your eyes full of grace.

No one can comfort me like You O Lord. I will make Your presence my abiding place as I hide in You from the tempest of this storm. Yes I’ll hide in You as I bow and worship at Your feet.

I sing this frequently because it helps me remember what to do when I feel overwhelmed. My stance is to look to Him. Here is another part of Psalm 18. I experienced this when I had a hard trial.

Verse 16 says, “He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of deep waters.” Verse 18 says, “They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support.”

How does the Lord support us? He speaks His whispered words to our heart. He knows exactly what we need. We can hear Him above the turmoil of our life circumstances when we become still inside.

I love the words in Psalm 18:1-2 that express his heart in the midst of turmoil as Saul hunted him to kill him. It says, “I will love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

John 14:1 says, “Let not your heart be troubled…” The Greek word for troubled is to stir or agitate. We are not the product of our circumstances, but the way we process them reveals what our heart clings to. If we cling to anyone or anything other than the Lord, then it has become a heart idol that dictates. Ask this question: what rules my heart? What rules our heart takes our focus off the Lord.

Think of a barnacle. What are you not able to let go of? What can’t be pried off your heart? Whatever it is, it keeps you from being able to be still. It pushes into your thought process because it has become a heart idol. In Ezekiel 14:1-7 the Lord clearly defined a heart idol.

King Solomon said it in another way. In 1 Kings 8:38 he said, “…when each one knows the plague of his own heart…” The Hebrew word for plague is disease. Let me spell it dis-ease. What keeps your heart disrupted?

1 Chronicles 28:9 Amplified says, “…For the Lord searches all hearts and minds and understands all the wanderings of the thoughts. If you seek Him (inquiring for and of Him and requiring Him as your first and vital necessity) you will find Him…”

Every thought, even the futile dialogues that circle around without fulfillment, are intimately known by the Lord. Hebrews 4:13 Amplified says, “…all things are open and exposed, naked and defenseless to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do.”

Here is a new song: Place Of Stillness

I come into the place of stillness to find my rest in You. Removing every weight of care I bow in adoration. I set my gaze on You. I behold You beholding me. O the wonder of such love, redeeming love for eternity.

You draw me to Yourself to whisper words of hope. You fill me with Your fullness, until Your glory fills my soul. My heart is Yours. I sing and dance before You. No cares from this earth intrude, in my worship of You Who is worthy.  

Be glorified. Be high and lifted up as I sing the victorious song of faith. Thank You for including me, when You died on Calvary. You forgave my sins, past, present, and future, to bring me to Yourself in intimacy.

Releasing

Everything

Simply

Trusting

Rest, according to Hebrews 4:10, is ceasing from our own labor. Remember Jesus’ words to His disciples? Great words for us also. Matthews 11:28 says, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Resting in His Presence is the greatest reset for our spiritual, physical, and emotional health. Resting is ceasing to figure things out, to do something in our own strength, and also stopping our futile mental dialogues.

Let our rest be like barnacle faith. Let nothing distract or pry us away from our pursuit of intimate communion with the Lord. A great book to read is by A. W. Tozer called Pursuit Of God. It changed my life back in the early 70’s.

Heart idols are flesh servers. We want what we want and woe to the one who gets in our way. Fleshly reactions are ugly. James 3:10 is about our tongue. It says, “Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.”

Here is a key: if you react rather than respond then it is likely because someone or something stirred up your hidden flesh. Our fleshly reactions are a poor testimony of the One who lives within us.

Remember that every word is first a thought. Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”

Colossians 3:12 says, “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering.” Did you notice that kindness and longsuffering is the fruit of the Spirit? This verse is helping us to understand that when we are submitted to the Holy Spirit there will be no fleshly reactions that we regret.

We practice yielding our way by spending time with the Lord in silence. In the stillness, we learn to listen for His whispered words. Job 26:14 says, “Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, and how small a whisper we hear of Him!…”

What did Job recount that caused him to use mere edges of His ways? Verses 7-13 are marvelous verses with such illustrative terminology. I love verse 7. It says, “He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing.” Only the Lord.

Let’s read Isaiah 40:12. It says, “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?”

We often come before the Lord with a full agenda. Yet, if we would take a few moments to be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10) it would quiet our heart through awe.

Here is something that really helped me when I was first learning to be quiet before the Lord. I kept a little note pad. When any kind of thought intruded I would write it down. Done. That way it didn’t keep circling in my mind. 

Here is verse three from a new song: Don’t let the cares of this life choke out My words. Open your heart to hear the beat of My own heart. I desire oneness with you but I won’t compete with that to which you give yourself. I will but wait until you tire of your own pursuits.  And nestle down in My love.

I remember we had blackboards in school. Our teacher would write on them, and then clear the slate with an eraser. That is what we need to do in order to be still before the Lord.

Every artist begins a new creation with a clean canvas. We are created in the image of God who can’t be defined in human terms. When we accept Jesus as our Savior we are new creations.

2 Corinthians 5:16 says that we are not to regard others according to the flesh. Verse 17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Salvation cleared the slate. 2 Peter 1:9 says that we often forget that we were cleansed of our old sins. Micah 7:19 says, “…You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” 

In Isaiah 38:17, Hezekiah said, “…You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, for You have cast my sins behind Your back.” Does that remind you of David’s words in Psalm 40:2-3?

He said, “He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth—praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord.”

The above verses attest to the truth that we have been set free from the slave block of sin. Why then do we have inner conflicts within our hearts, and relational conflicts?

James 4:1 says, “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?” Verse 3 says, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.”

Have you ever considered that you might be working from an already filled canvas? That is what happens when we bring our past into our present. Our past is passed. It is impossible to go back in time. The only way we can do it is through our thoughts.

No wonder it is hard to be still before the Lord. We have waring factors hidden in our heart. The Lord is our King. He wants to be the Ruler over our heart. Yet when something else rules, it pushes Him out of the center.

Exodus 20:3 says, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” True, we don’t have physical idols set up that we bow down to. What about heart idols that usurp His place? What do they look like? We will look into that tomorrow.

Hebrew 10:36 says, “For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.” It is God’s will for us to wait for Him. We disobey when we step out on our own, which is acting independently of God. 

There is a note in my Bible about the Greek word for endurance: it describes the capacity to continue to bear up under difficult circumstances, not with a passive complacency, but with a hopeful fortitude that actively resists weariness and defeat.

Weariness in waiting can happen when we constantly dialogue about what we are waiting for. It causes emotional fatigue. It’s futile. Waiting is a good work that the Lord is accomplishing on our behalf.

Endurance is a grace gift because without His empowerment we would not be able to wait. 2 Samuel 5:24 is one of my waiting verses. I love to think about the whole scene. David was in two circumstances that were identical. Yet as he faced each one he stopped and asked the Lord what to do. The first time the Lord told him to pursue. The second time He told him to wait.

In verse 23 the Lord instructed him, “…circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees.” Verse 24 says, “…when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly…”

What do you think was going through David’s mind and the mind of his army? I can just imagine the scene. Their ears had to be tuned to hear. They had never heard the sound they were listening for. It took absolute quiet, attentiveness, and alertness.

So it is with us. The Lord often speaks in a whisper in the moment. If our mind is occupied with the noise of futile thoughts we will miss what He is directing us to do. Think of His whisper like a paga. He intercepts our thought process to impart His direction in the moment.

Paga is a Hebrew word that means to meet, light upon, join, or encounter. I like to think of it as a butterfly landing on my shoulder. It is like a wisp of a thought. Have you ever been doing something and suddenly someone’s name comes to your mind? That is a paga. The Lord just intercepted your mind to call you to pray for them.

We are called to endure. Whatever He calls us to do, He is right there ready to empower us. We cannot endure through our own strength. Grace is imparted in the moment of our need when our hearts are humble. What a reason to maintain a humble heart because we are always in need. John 15:5 says that apart from Him we can do nothing.