SEPTEMBER THEME — “SEEING THE CROSS FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE”

Join us in praise and thanksgiving as Belmont Baptist Church celebrates our Year of Jubilee—fifty years of God’s unfailing faithfulness, rejoicing in answered prayers, saved souls, transformed lives, sustaining grace, and the finished work of the cross as we look forward with confidence and declare, “Thank You, Lord, for fifty years—to God be all the glory!”

BEATS FROM YOUR PASTOR’S HEART

I WILL HONOUR HIM

“He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.” — Psalm 91:15

There have been times in my own life when I could not understand what God was doing. I could see the trouble, but I could not yet see the purpose. I could feel the pressure, the disappointment, the waiting, and the questions, but I could not see how any of it could possibly become something useful in the hands of God. Looking back now, I can see that some of the very seasons I wanted God to remove were the seasons He used to shape me the most. Some of the things that hurt me taught me how to pray. Some of the disappointments taught me how to trust Him when I could not trace Him. Some of the waiting taught me patience. Some of the battles gave me a compassion for hurting people that I could never have learned from a book. What felt like an interruption was sometimes preparation. What felt like being forgotten was sometimes God doing His deepest work where nobody else could see it. And what I thought I simply needed to survive, God was already preparing to use as part of my testimony. Psalm 91:15 gives us a beautiful progression of God’s faithfulness. First, He says, “I will be with him in trouble.” Then He promises, “I will deliver him.” Finally, He declares, “I will honour him.” God does not merely promise to help us survive the difficult seasons of life. He can take the very thing that wounded us, humbled us, stretched us, and brought us to the end of ourselves, and use it for His glory. What we thought might destroy us can become part of the testimony God uses to strengthen someone else. God never wastes a surrendered season of suffering.

GOD’S HONOR IS DIFFERENT FROM MAN’S HONOR

When we hear the word honor, we often think about recognition, applause, position, titles, or being noticed by people. But God’s honor is different. Jesus said, “If any man serve me, him will my Father honour.” — John 12:26. Think about that. There are prayers nobody heard, tears nobody saw, temptations nobody knew you resisted, sacrifices nobody recognized, and acts of obedience nobody applauded. Yet Heaven saw every one of them. God does not need a crowd to validate your faithfulness. You never need to advertise what God has already recorded. Trouble often reveals what is truly inside us. It is easy to say, “I trust God,” when life is comfortable, but hardship tests those words. Will I trust Him when I do not understand? Will I worship when I do not feel like worshipping? Will I obey when obedience costs me something? Will I remain faithful when nobody seems to notice? Job declared, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.” — Job 13:15. That kind of faith honors God, and God knows how to honor faith that honors Him. Faith proven in the darkness carries a testimony that faith spoken only in the sunshine can never possess.

GOD USES THE TROUBLE TO PREPARE US

Joseph received a dream from God, but between the dream and its fulfillment came a pit, slavery, false accusation, and prison. There must have been moments when Joseph wondered what God was doing, but God had not forgotten him. At the appointed time, Pharaoh called for Joseph, and in one day he went from prisoner to ruler. Yet the prison was not wasted. The hardship had developed something in Joseph that comfort never could have produced. Sometimes we are asking God to change our circumstances while God is using those circumstances to change us. Before God changes where you are, He may be changing who you are. The same is true of the scars we carry. There are some truths we understand because we have studied them, but there are others we understand because we have survived them. The person who has walked through grief speaks differently to the grieving. The person who has waited speaks differently to someone who is waiting. The person who has experienced God’s provision speaks differently to someone who is afraid. Paul said that God “comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble.” — 2 Corinthians 1:4. Your pain may become someone else’s encouragement, your valley may become someone else’s roadmap, and your testimony may become someone else’s reason not to quit. Sometimes God’s honor is allowing your deepest wound to become a doorway through which His grace reaches another person.

SEEK GOD’S APPROVAL, NOT MAN’S APPLAUSE

There is a danger in wanting to be recognized for what we have endured or accomplished. Jesus repeatedly warned against doing spiritual things merely “to be seen of men.” The goal is never, “Look what I survived,” “Look how faithful I was,” or “Look what God did through me.” The goal must always be, “Look how faithful God was.” John the Baptist expressed the heart of true spiritual maturity when he said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” — John 3:30. If God chooses to use your story, make sure Jesus remains the Hero of it. The greatest honor God can give us is not making our name greater, but allowing our lives to make His name greater. God also sees what people overlook. Maybe you have served faithfully and nobody thanked you. Maybe you have prayed for people who never knew you were praying. Maybe you have quietly given, cared for someone at great personal cost, remained faithful in a difficult marriage, endured hardship in your family, or kept serving in a difficult ministry season. Hebrews 6:10 reminds us, “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love.” People forget, but God does not. People overlook, but God sees. People may never understand what your obedience cost, but God knows. Nothing done for Jesus is ever wasted, unnoticed, or forgotten in Heaven.

Joseph’s life is a powerful picture of this truth. Had someone looked at Joseph while he was sitting in prison, they may have assumed his dream was over. From the outside, nothing seemed to be happening. But God was preparing both Joseph and the moment of his promotion. The prison was not the end of his story; it was preparation for the palace. When the right day came, God opened the door no human being could have opened. In a matter of hours, Joseph went from being forgotten in prison to standing before Pharaoh. The season that looked wasted was actually preparation. You cannot judge what God is doing by the chapter you are presently living.

The greatest honor God gives may not come in this life. One day we will stand before Jesus, and the applause of this world will mean nothing. Titles, positions, possessions, and recognition will all fade in comparison to the words of Christ. What could mean more than hearing Him say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” — Matthew 25:21? After every battle, every tear, every temptation resisted, every sacrifice, every act of obedience, and every season when you kept walking even though you wanted to quit, one “Well done” from Jesus will outweigh a lifetime of being overlooked by people. Psalm 91:15 gives us the whole journey. In the trouble — “I will be with him.” You are not alone. Through the trouble — “I will deliver him.” Your situation is not beyond God’s control. After the trouble — “and honour him.” God can bring something beautiful out of what you have endured. So do not quit in the middle. You may be living somewhere between trouble and deliverance, and you may not yet understand what God is producing. Keep trusting. Keep obeying. Keep serving. Keep walking. Keep your eyes on Jesus. God has not finished writing your story.

WARFARE PRAYER

Father, in the name of Jesus, thank You that You see every part of my journey. You have seen every tear nobody else saw, heard every prayer nobody else heard, and known every battle I have fought. Protect my heart from bitterness when I feel overlooked, and deliver me from needing recognition, applause, appreciation, or validation from people. I reject the enemy’s lie that my faithfulness does not matter. Teach me to live for Your approval alone. Take every wound, disappointment, failure, delay, and difficult season I have surrendered to You, and redeem it for Your glory. If my scars can encourage someone, use them. If my testimony can strengthen someone, use it. If my valley can help someone keep walking, use it. But never allow me to steal the glory that belongs to You. Jesus, increase, and let me decrease. When my journey is complete, there is only one honor I desire—to stand before You and hear, “Well done.” Until then, keep me faithful. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

DAILY CHALLENGE

Do something for Jesus today that nobody else needs to know about. Pray for someone secretly. Encourage someone without seeking credit. Give without recognition. Serve where nobody applauds. Forgive without demanding acknowledgment. Obey something God has been speaking to your heart about. Then remind yourself throughout the day, “I do not have to be seen by people to be seen by God.” Carry the entire promise of Psalm 91:15 with you today: “I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him, and honour him.” The trouble is not the end of your story. God is still writing.

THURSDAY’S PRAYER NEEDS

Britany Smith

Darlene Kelley

Darlene Thaxton

Ginny Ford

Susan Bankston

Kim’s McClain’s Mother

Nancy Brown – Rehab

Rob Davis