At your wits' end?

Psalm 107:27-28 (NASB)

They reeled and staggered like a drunken man and were at their wits’ end. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble.  He saved them out of their distresses. 

Have you ever been “at your wits’ end”?  Sure you have.  Typically, raising children at one time or another causes parents to be at their wits’ end.  Dealing with difficult bosses causes enormous stress.  Certain relationships can lead to a point where you cannot take it anymore.  A nagging illness or something causing chronic pain that never disappears can lead you to your wits’ end. An accumulation of “little things” in life can lead to arriving at your wits’ end.  I was just reading about a guy who was at his wits’ end over a neighbor’s barking dog!  Each individual reading this can quickly cite a circumstance or more where you were at your wits’ end.  Indeed, right now you may be at your wits’ end.  What recourses do you have? 

What do people do when they reach their wits’ end?  Well, they act like what the Bible describes as a drunken man.  What’s the imagery of a drunken man?  One who loses control of his physical and mental functions, acts irrational, and simply cannot make wise decisions.  The original Hebrew for “wits end” literally means to have all your wisdom swallowed up!  There is nothing else that you can wisely think of to deal with, handle, solve, or overcome whatever circumstances are causing you to reach this point.

So, there are basically two types of responses people make when they reach their wits’ end.  One response is governed by natural human reactions and tendencies that result in the drunken man imagery.  People have nervous breakdowns, resort to drugs and alcohol, suffer significant depression and perhaps do and say things that are very regrettable later.

The other response is governed by having the Lord in control of your life and who will help you manage and overcome your circumstances.  Like the psalmist writes, people cry out to the Lord in their trouble and He saves them out of their distresses.  The entire 107^th Psalm teaches that the Lord delivers people from despairing circumstances in their lives.  What a huge promise.  Yet why don’t people believe?  It takes unwavering faith to believe what the Bible says is true (Heb 11:1,6) and reasons why people don’t believe all have something to do with a lack of faith (Matt 14:31, Matt 17:20, Mark 6:6, Romans 10:17, II Cor 5:17).

What has caused you to be at your wits’ end in your past and what did you learn from the experience?  What worked and what didn’t work?  Was the Lord involved in helping you?  What might be causing you to be at your wits’ end right now?  If you are reading this then you still have some rationality remaining where you can take appropriate action and avoid what might cause regrets later.  The most rational thing you can read and meditate over Psalm 107 and allow the Spirit of the Lord to give you relief and peace.  He will also answer your prayers in giving you insights (faith) to what you can do (works) to alleviate your troubles.    

“When a man is at his wits' end it is not a cowardly thing to pray, it is the only way he can get in touch with Reality.”—Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, August 28 reading.        

He must increase, but I must decrease

John 3:30 (NASB)

“He must increase, but I must decrease”. 

Most folks know what is the shortest verse in the Bible --Jesus wept. (John 11:35)-- although in the original Greek, a verse with fewer letters is I Thess 5:16—“Rejoice always”.  John 3:30 is not the shortest verses in the Bible, but it might be among the shortest memory verses that can describe the motto of the Christian life. 

It takes a humble person to make this statement and practice it.  John the Baptist, who uttered these words, his last recorded words until right before his beheading when he asked if Jesus was the “Coming One” (Matthew 11:3), was truly a humble man.  He set the example for all of us. 

Every Christian must strive to believe and practice these words of John.  Note the emphasis on the verb “must”.  The Bible scholar, Warren Wiersbe, points out that the word must is used in three significant ways in John 3. There is the “must” of the sinner to be born again (John 3:7), the “must” of the Savior to be lifted up (John 3:14), and the “must” of the servant  (John 3:30).  Jesus must increase in your life as a Christian, there is no other option.  This is an imperative, yet how how many Christian people really take this to heart and practice it day in, day out for the rest of their lives?  Can you honestly declare that you have practiced this?

Jesus must increase in prominence and emphasis in your life.  Your self-centered ego must decrease.  It’s as simple as that.  Yet, how difficult it is to accomplish this goal.  You go to church—Sunday morning or Saturday evening or whenever—to praise and worship the Lord, to fellowship and encourage one another, and to learn more about becoming and being a Christian.  Time in church is also when you “re-charge” your spiritual battery such that whatever self-centered things have been dominating your life recently, you can push them to the back and let Christ come to the front again.  So during and after church attendance, Christ becomes and is first in your life, yet how long does it take after church before your self-centered life returns?  This motto of Jesus’ presence and control increasing in your life must be practiced daily, even hourly.  Yet is it really in your life?

The most practical way to give Jesus increasing prominence in your daily life is to give more time reading His Word, praying to Him, and doing things that you know pleases Him.  Acts of humility please Him.  And what happens when you see Jesus increasing in your life priorities?  Your joy increases.  Read the previous verse—John 3:29—joy results from giving priority to Jesus in your life.  Think about it---a life that humbly puts Christ above self is a life that has no jealousy, envy, comparing yourself to others, and other faults that produce sadness and depression in our lives.  Life without these faults is a life filled with joy.   

John Butler said that “Any person who would serve the Lord properly must embrace this attitude of John 3:30 if the light of their life is to shine at the right places and times”.  What can you do starting right now to embrace and practice the standard of Jesus increasing in prominence in your life while at the same time your own self-motives and self-interests and selfish attitudes decrease?  There are great blessings in store for you if you sincerely pursue this goal.   

True Friends

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NASB)

Two are better than one….for if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion, but woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.

You may or may not be a Petra fan.  Petra is a Christian hard rock band, popular in the 80s and 90s.  I wasn’t a great fan, but had some attraction to them because they were from Fort Wayne, IN.  One of their popular songs was “Two Are Better Than One” and here are the words:

You can call me up in the night, I will pray till you win the fight
We're more than friends, We walk together, Through any weather, We sharpen each other

Chorus
I'll be there when you call, Lift you up when you fall, Two are better than one
You will pray when I'm weak, Help me back on my feet, Two are better than one
Two are better than one

When I start to cross the line, You just seem to read my mind, And then you bust me, Then turn around and trust me, Come to the rescue, I'll do the same for you. Repeat Chorus

I don't want to go solo, It's always better with two, I just want someone to lift me up, To pray and help me get through.  Repeat Chorus

Each person needs another who can do what this verse teaches and the Petra group sings about.  You need someone who you can call in the middle of the night, who will pray with you as long as necessary, who is your friend no matter what.  You need someone who isn’t afraid to be honest with you and tell you when you are going astray.  And you need someone who is there during your darkest hours, your most troubling moments, when you are on the edge of despair, and simply be your unconditional friend. 

To have a friend to lift you up when you are down is serious business.  Note that the Scripture says that it is woe to the one who falls and does not have someone to help him, to lift him up.  If you are someone who thinks that you can face any and all aspects of your life without anyone else’s help, think again.  You are violating the spirit of this verse. 

Just this past week, listening a 60s station, the Beatles song, “With a Little Help From My Friends” was playing and I thought about the fact that as I enter the final years of my life, how important it is and will be to have friends.  As Ringo Starr sang,

“Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends, Mmm I get high with a little help from my friends, Oh, I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends”,

Oh how true these words are.  Josh Groban's song “You Raise Me Up” also relates to these words from Ecclesiastes. 

Who is your companion in life?  To whom are you a companion?  Who raises or lifts you up?  Who can you raise up today?

God's value system

Luke 17:33 (The Message)

”If you grasp and cling to life on your own terms, you’ll lose it, but if you let that life go, you’ll get life on God’s terms.”

 

Haven’t you noticed in your own life that when you are really anxious (worried) about something happening that you don’t want to happen, it does; or vice versa, you worry over something that you dearly want to happen and it doesn’t.  You wanted a child to excel in something and he or she did not.  You really wanted that promotion or new job and you didn’t get it.  You fear getting to a certain age or seeing a loved one move away, but these happen anyway.  There is some principle that is true most of the time (although thankfully not all the time as some dreams do come true) that whatever you wish for the most you don’t get; and whatever you hope does not happen, often it does. 

Jesus is alluding to this principle in this passage.  He’s revealing a truth that when you desperately try to live your live your own way and achieve great things on your own and be as blessed as you could possibly be on your own terms, either these don’t happen or, even if they do, the satisfaction derived from self-effort won’t last.  But if you simply stop striving, stop worrying, stop trying to do everything with your own strength and abilities, apart from God, when you finally admit that you have to stop all this and yield to God, you become free, you have peace, you experience contentment and you are in line with the will of God.  

I believe that most, if not all, pastors, missionaries, and other dedicated full time Christian servants have been influenced and have followed this verse.  Jesus is contrasting the world’s value system against God’s value system.  I have the following list in my files for what defines God’s (or Christian) Value System although I cannot provide where I found this:

                        People above possessions

                        Others above self

                        Eternity above present

                        Righteousness above temporary pleasures

                        Truth above falsehood

                        Fact above feelings

                        His will above my will

                        Forgiveness above revenge

                        Giving above receiving

                        Family above career

                        Character above credentials

                        Commitment above comfort

                        Christ above culture

                         

Most full time Christian workers likely could be making a lot more money and have much nicer things in life if they were working in the secular world.  However, they know the true values of life.  We must continue to pray for them that they do not allow Satan to discourage them and they lose this correct grasp of what is truly God’s purpose for them. 

Unfortunately, too many people who claim to be Christians do not follow God’s Value System.  The church as a whole suffers because the un-churched people do not see Christians acting any different than worldly people act.  You too must evaluate what kind of value system you are leading and what you are clinging to.  As the old saying goes, “let go and let God”.  What can you let go and what can you let God do more of in your life?  What would others say about you using the above list as criteria?        

Willingness to help others without delay

Proverbs. 3:27-28 (GN)

Whenever you possibly can, do good to those who need it. Never tell your neighbors to wait until tomorrow if you can help them now.”

Proverbs 3 might be the best of all 31 Proverbs chapters (by the way, you realize that you can read one Proverb chapter corresponding to the day of the month….do this for a couple of years and you’ll be much, much wiser!).  Proverbs 3 contains at least 17 promises and, according to Joshua 23:14, all His promises come true.  Proverbs 3:5-6 might be the most favorite life verses of any other verses in the entire Bible. 

Proverbs 3:27-28 speaks about two basic principles—don’t delay in doing good and don’t lie.  The book of James is the proverbs of the New Testament and James 2:15-16 elaborates a bit on these two proverbial statements.  James asks, “What use is that?” if you know someone is hurting and asks for your help and you don’t give them what they need. 

Jesus told the story of the man awakened at midnight by a neighbor needing something to serve a visitor.  The awakened person initially responds as any of us probably would……”Go away, we’re asleep, I cannot get up and give you anything”.  Yet, eventually he did get up and helped his neighbor.  Now, indeed, the context of this story is to keep asking and seeking and knocking, but it also shows the ultimate willingness of a person to help someone else in need.  It is interesting that most people don’t readily want to help or get involved when asked initially, but upon further thought (and perhaps reminders of who controls their heart), they affirmatively respond. 

The message from Proverbs 3:28 is very strong----NEVER tell your neighbor to wait for your help if you know that you can help them now.  To fail to help is a lie and is wrong.  One of the best gauges of Christian service and selflessness is the ready willingness to help others immediately when needs arise.  Whenever you respond like this, there is always great reward in the form of personal self-worth and satisfaction that comes from the Lord Himself. 

Pray for the opportunity to help someone else in need and even pray that such a need will come to your attention within a day or two after reading this.