SEPTEMBER THEME — “SEEING THE CROSS FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE”
Join us in prayer and celebration as Belmont Baptist Church celebrates our Year of Jubilee, marking fifty years of God’s amazing faithfulness and looking forward with grateful hearts to all He has yet to do. The same God who carried us yesterday is already standing in our tomorrow. As we look toward the cross this September, we are reminded that our confidence has never been in what we could see, understand, accomplish, or control. Our confidence is in the God who loved us enough to give His Son and in the Savior who declared from the cross, “It is finished.”
BEATS FROM YOUR PASTOR’S HEART
TRUSTING GOD’S WORD WHEN YOU CANNOT SEE GOD WORKING
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” — 2 Corinthians 5:7
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN WHAT YOU SEE CONTRADICTS WHAT GOD SAID?
It is easy to talk about faith when everything makes sense. It is much harder when you have prayed and nothing has changed, trusted and the door remained closed, obeyed and life became harder, or believed God while everything you can see seems to contradict everything you thought He was doing. Those moments expose something deep within us: Am I trusting God, or am I trusting the outcome I expected God to give me? There will be times when God allows us to walk through circumstances we cannot explain. We may not understand His timing, His silence, His method, or even the direction He is taking us, but God never asks us to understand everything before trusting Him. The cross itself teaches us this truth. On Friday, the disciples could see a crucified Savior, a sealed tomb, and apparently shattered hopes. What they could not see was that God was accomplishing the greatest work of redemption in human history. What looked like the end was actually the beginning. What looked like defeat was actually victory. What looked like God doing nothing was God accomplishing everything necessary for our salvation. WHAT LOOKED LIKE GOD’S GREATEST DEFEAT WAS ACTUALLY GOD ACCOMPLISHING HIS GREATEST VICTORY. Perhaps God is doing more in what you cannot understand than you could ever imagine from what you can presently see.
FAITH TRUSTS GOD’S CHARACTER WHEN GOD DOES NOT EXPLAIN HIS PLAN
“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” — Hebrews 11:8
Abraham went out “not knowing whither he went.” Joseph spent years between the promise and the palace. Moses stood before a Red Sea that had not yet opened. Each encountered a moment when obedience had to continue without explanation. We often say, “Lord, if You will show me what You are doing, I will trust You.” But faith reverses that statement and says, “Lord, I will trust You even when You do not show me what You are doing.” God does not owe me an explanation before He deserves my obedience. He has already demonstrated His character. He is holy. He is loving. He is wise. He is faithful. He cannot lie, and He cannot cease being God simply because I cannot understand what He is doing. If God explained every turn before we reached it, we would not need faith; we would only need information. There are moments when the greatest act of faith is simply taking the next obedient step while saying, “God, I do not understand what You are doing, but I know who You are. And because I know who You are, I will trust You.” FAITH IS NOT UNDERSTANDING GOD’S PLAN; FAITH IS TRUSTING GOD’S CHARACTER WHEN YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND HIS PLAN.
NEVER LET WHAT YOU SEE BECOME LOUDER THAN WHAT GOD SAID
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” — John 17:17
Circumstances have a voice. Fear has a voice. People have voices. Your emotions have a voice. The doctor’s report speaks. The bank statement speaks. The unanswered prayer speaks. The closed door speaks. But none of them possess the authority of God’s Word. Faith does not pretend the problem is not real. Israel did not stand at the Red Sea pretending Pharaoh was not behind them. David did not look at Goliath and pretend he was not a giant. Martha did not pretend Lazarus was not dead. FAITH DOES NOT DENY REALITY; FAITH REFUSES TO ALLOW REALITY TO BECOME GREATER THAN GOD. What you see tells you what is happening around you, but God’s Word tells you who is sovereign over what is happening around you. When fear says, “There is no way,” faith answers, “But God.” When circumstances say, “It is impossible,” faith remembers, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” When loneliness whispers, “You are alone,” faith remembers, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Your circumstances may be real, but they do not get the final word. THE QUESTION IS NOT WHETHER YOUR PROBLEM IS BIG. THE QUESTION IS WHETHER YOUR PROBLEM HAS BECOME BIGGER IN YOUR MIND THAN YOUR GOD. Turn down the volume of what you see and turn up the truth of what God has said.
GOD MAY BE DOING HIS GREATEST WORK WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE LEAST
“Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.” — John 13:7
One of the hardest parts of walking by faith is that God often does His deepest work beneath the surface. You pray and see nothing. You wait and hear nothing. You look for movement, but nothing appears to be changing. Yet NOTHING VISIBLE DOES NOT MEAN NOTHING IS HAPPENING. God does not have to make His activity visible in order for His hand to be moving. Think again about Calvary. The disciples saw darkness. They saw Jesus suffer. They watched Him die. They watched His body placed in a borrowed tomb. From their perspective, everything appeared to be over. But Heaven saw something entirely different. God was reconciling sinners to Himself. The price of redemption was being paid. Prophecy was being fulfilled. Satan’s ultimate defeat was being secured. Salvation was being purchased. THE DISCIPLES SAW A TOMB; GOD SAW A RESURRECTION COMING. Never interpret God’s silence as God’s absence. Never interpret God’s delay as God’s inactivity. Never interpret what you cannot see as evidence that God has stopped working. He may be arranging circumstances you know nothing about, preparing someone’s heart, closing one door because another must open, protecting you from something you cannot see, or changing you while you are waiting for Him to change your situation. GOD DOES SOME OF HIS GREATEST WORK IN PLACES WHERE HUMAN EYES CANNOT WATCH THE PROCESS.
A farmer places a seed into the ground and covers it with dirt. The next morning he walks outside and sees nothing. The second day he sees nothing. Several days may pass without any visible evidence that anything is happening. Yet underneath the ground, the seed has begun to change. Roots are forming. Life is stirring. Something invisible is happening before anything visible appears. The farmer does not dig the seed up every morning because he cannot see what is happening. He trusts that a process is taking place beneath the surface. Sometimes we do the opposite with God. We surrender something to Him today and dig it back up tomorrow because we cannot see what He is doing. We pray, but then we worry. We surrender, but then we manipulate. We give God the burden and then take it back because His timetable is different from ours. DO NOT DIG UP IN DOUBT WHAT YOU PLANTED IN FAITH. You may see nothing above the ground today, but God may already be working beneath the surface.
WHEN YOU CANNOT TRACE HIS HAND, TRUST HIS HEART
There will be seasons when you cannot trace the hand of God. You will wonder why He allowed something, why He has not changed something, why the answer has not come, or why the road has taken so long. When you cannot trace His hand, go back to what you know about His heart. LOOK AT THE CROSS. The cross forever settles the question of whether God loves you. If God loved you enough to give His only begotten Son for you, then you can trust His heart even when you cannot understand His hand. Perhaps today you are standing at your own “Friday.” Everything looks dark. Nothing makes sense. What you prayed for seems farther away instead of closer. But remember, FRIDAY DID NOT KNOW WHAT SUNDAY WAS ABOUT TO REVEAL. The darkness does not mean God has left the room. The silence does not mean God has stopped working. The waiting does not mean God has forgotten you. WHEN YOU CANNOT TRACE GOD’S HAND, KEEP TRUSTING GOD’S HEART.
WARFARE PRAYER
Father, when I cannot see what You are doing, help me trust what You have said. Forgive me for allowing circumstances, fear, emotions, and the voices around me to become louder than Your Word. In the name of Jesus, I reject every lie of the enemy that tells me You have forgotten me, abandoned me, failed me, or stopped working. I refuse to interpret Your silence as Your absence or Your delay as Your unfaithfulness. Guard my mind when fear demands an explanation. Keep me from taking back what I have already surrendered to You. When I am tempted to walk by what I see, remind me that Your Word is still true, Your character is still faithful, Your throne is still occupied, and Your hand is still working. When I cannot see Your hand, take me back to the cross and remind me of Your heart. Give me courage to keep praying when I see nothing, obeying when I understand nothing, trusting when I feel nothing, and watching for what only You can do. YOUR WORD WILL HAVE THE FINAL WORD IN MY HEART. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
DAILY CHALLENGE — ANSWER WHAT YOU SEE WITH WHAT GOD SAID
Identify the one circumstance speaking loudest to you today. Ask yourself, “What is this circumstance telling me?” Then open God’s Word and ask, “What does God say?” Find one Scripture that speaks directly to your fear, uncertainty, waiting, or situation. Read it several times. Carry it with you throughout the day. Speak it when fear returns, pray it when your emotions begin taking control, and take one obedient step that demonstrates you are trusting what God said more than what you presently see. Before you go to bed tonight, pray: “LORD, I MAY NOT SEE WHAT YOU ARE DOING, BUT I KNOW WHO YOU ARE. I WILL TRUST YOUR WORD WHEN I CANNOT SEE YOUR HAND, AND EVEN WHEN I DO NOT UNDERSTAND YOUR PLAN, I WILL STILL TRUST YOUR HEART.”
THURSDAY’S PRAYER NEEDS
Anna Belle Taylor – Irregular Heartbeat – Jackson’s Special Friend
Britany Smith
Darlene Kelley – Our Cousin _ Recovering from Cancer
Darlene Thaxton
Ginny Ford
Kim McClain’s Mother
Nancy Brown
Rob Davis – cancer