murmurs
I would but cannot rest,
In God’s most holy will;
I know what He appoints is best,
And murmur at it still.
I murmur at it still.
Today I was able to talk to a great friend and catch up a bit. We were both talking about the vast difference between knowing truth and believing truth. Normally when we speak like this we are talking about salvation and the difference between only knowing about Jesus and believing/trusting Jesus. You need both, knowledge and belief. Something has happened over time with believers encouraging each other to believe, not just Jesus for salvation, but for all the promises of God. We need to be reminded to fight the good fight of faith, to continually ask God to help us with our unbelief as we fight against the idols in our hearts.
My friend and I both find ourselves knowing that God is our provider, comforter, friend, leader, etc, but we often fall short in trusting Him. Even when we know and see that "what He appoints is best" we still murmur.
Although realizing this may seem depressing, it is actually liberating. It is like pinpointing a disease in the body and then knowing exactly how to cure it. It is freeing to know that God will help me with my unbelief as I pinpoint my "diseases", with His help, and then trust Him to lift me up.
Do you find yourself worrying about tomorrow? Do you want to have total control of everything? Are you able to breathe deep or are you wheezing in your walk with God? Do you know that He is the Good Shepherd, but want grass in the other fields? Do you murmur to yourself and to others even as God is working for your good? Well, join my friend and I in asking God to help our unbelief. Jesus, make our hearts soft.
I know the Lord is nigh,
And would but cannot pray,
For Satan meets me when I try,
And frights my soul away.
And frights my soul away.
I would but can’t repent,
Though I endeavor oft;
This stony heart can ne’er relent
Till Jesus makes it soft.
Till Jesus make it soft.
Help my unbelief. Help my unbelief.
Help my unbelief.
My help must come from Thee.
I would but cannot love,
Though wooed by love divine;
No arguments have power to move
A soul as base as mine.
A soul so base as mine.
I would but cannot rest,
In God’s most holy will;
I know what He appoints is best,
And murmur at it still.
I murmur at it still.
Help My Unbelief
Taken from the Gadsby Hymnal #278
Words: John Newton, 1725-1807.
Chorus by Clint Wells.
Music: Clint Wells, 2005
© 2006 Red Mountain Music
www.redmountainmusic.com
how to hold it all together
Do you ever feel like it is all falling apart? That you can't catch up? That you are holding your life together like a net holds water? Are you being crushed under the heavy expectations of family, work, chess club, halo night, bunco, book reading, grass cutting, hair cutting, bible study groups, Sunday school, coaching, cleaning out the gutters, cleaning out between your teeth, 24, the office, lost, inauguration day, quiet times, school, daycare, date nights, baby sitters, cooking, eating, losing weight, exercising, vitamins, barley green, sleep, waking up, getting here and there, working cars, gas, tires, brakes, oil, birthdays, anniversaries, mothers day, fathers day, secretaries day, ground hog day, Christmas, bills, debt, tithe, doctor, dentist, taxes,......etc.
Torturous Distractions
Cast "all you care;" personal cares, family cares, cares for the present, and cares for the future, for yourselves, for others, for the church, on God. These are burdensome, and often very sinful, when they arise from unbelief and distrust, when they torture and distract the mind, unfit us for duties, and hinder our delight in the service of God. The remedy is, to cast our care upon God, and leave every event to his wise and gracious disposal. Firm belief that the Divine will and counsels are right, calms the spirit of a man.
Celebrate Grace-Be Full of Faith
Luke 17:5
We are to celebrate grace by being full of faith. I want to have full faith in the promises of God, and all of His promises to me are due to grace. I don't deserve grace, much less the gift of faith. I want to have faith in future grace.
The first book that I ever read by John Piper was Future Grace. This book gave me a better understanding of initial faith in Jesus for salvation and for future faith in all the promises that God makes...they are Yes in Jesus. I really began seeking out to see God's promises to me as His child and desired to trust Him.
The Christian life is not just living knowing you are saved banking on an event to count on, it is living as a saved person. It is obeying God to the point of death, it is desiring God every day over desiring anything or anyone else. The Christian life is even more than that. However, it is not about being a consumer driven people that want to have church "done" in the way that makes them feel happy and cool. The faith filled christian life is not about how many books we read or how faithful we are in attending christian conferences, church, and coffee shops. The christian life is all about having faith in God and living in light of who He is, knowing that this will glorify Him and even satisfy us.
Piper says that some of God's greatest gifts can be His biggest enemies. Our faith in His gifts and His working in our lives, good things, can take the throne, replacing God Himself. Do I strive to know God and make Him known? Do I take care of my soul? Do I attend it and protect it? What things are in my life that are wanting my faith?
We can celebrate grace in the body of Christ by being a body that desires to place our faith in God for who He is and what He says He will do. We should champion those who are striving to trust in God's promises. We should lovingly redirect those who are trusting in methods, trends, stats, and men. God wants us to trust Him. The Holy Spirit desires to remind us of all truth and fill us with more and more faith. God give us faith!
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Matthew 6:30And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
Matthew 8:26Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Matthew 14:21He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”
Mark 4:40
