William Cowper, poet and hymn writer, who lived from 1731-1800 in England, apparently suffered from fits of melancholy and frequent attacks of spiritual despair which led to two suicide attempts.

On one of these occasions, during a time of deep despair and a dark night of the soul on a foggy night he set out from his home in London with the intention of jumping into the River Thames to end his life.

He got hopelessly lost in the fog and wandered blind for some time. Eventually, lost and confused, he walked into a home to get out of the fog. And the home he walked into? It was his own.

He sat down and penned the words of the beloved hymn:

God moves in a mysterious way

His wonders to perform;

He plants his footsteps in the sea,

And rides upon the storm.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;

The clouds ye so much dread

Are big with mercy, and shall break

In blessings on your head.

Dear reader, if you are going through a dark night of the soul right now and it feels that God is far away, be assured he is standing in the shadows and as he knows about every sparrow he knows all about you and he cares.

When we commit and trust our life to God every day, “Weeping may endure for the night, but joy will come in the morning”—even if it is eventually!

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, in my despair let me not grow weary in trusting you, but renew my faith and use my present pain to make me a better, stronger person so I can comfort others as they struggle through their journey of despair and pain. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Luke 12:6 (NIV).

I read about a girl who had a raccoon as a pet and was warned that it was about to undergo a glandular change that animal specialists say happens when they are about eighteen months old. This change can make them very dangerous.

Unfortunately, the girl didn’t heed the warning, protesting that her much-loved pet would never do anything to harm her. She was wrong—very wrong. Soon after, her raccoon clawed her so viciously she had to have reconstructive facial surgery.

Unresolved personal conflicts can have a similar effect. Some people can look very calm on the outside, but underneath they have a reservoir of super-charged repressed negative emotions that they never learned how to handle creatively.

At some point something happens. Their stored-up negative emotions are triggered—often by something as simple as somebody making a trivial mistake—and kaboom! They explode. Or they implode and become ill, or may even have a heart attack.

Other people have a secret or pet sin they hang on to telling themselves that it would never harm them. In time, however, it becomes a habit, the root of which they’ve never resolved. And then the habit gets the better of them and becomes an addiction that ends up badly hurting them and their loved ones.

So, whatever “pet raccoons” you and I may be harboring, we need to be aware that they could hurt us real bad if we don’t get them out of our life.

As David said, “There was a time when I wouldn’t admit what a sinner I was. But my dishonesty made me miserable and filled my days with frustration. All day and all night your hand was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water on a sunny day until I finally admitted all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, ‘I will confess them to the Lord.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.”²

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, if there are any ‘pet raccoons’ in my life that I am either harboring or unaware of, please bring these to my attention and help me to see how dangerous they are and, with your help, get them out of my life. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Psalm 32:1-2 (TLB)(NLT).

2. Psalm 32:3-5 (TLB)(NLT).

It is amazing how many email messages I receive from people who can’t understand why God allows certain things to happen—many of which are things that the individuals themselves caused to happen. One lady was convinced that God chose her “terrible husband” as she put it. An unmarried couple couldn’t understand why God allowed them to fall pregnant! Amazing.

The reality is that God isn’t co-dependent. He won’t short-circuit the consequences of our choices and actions, nor will he deliver us from the effects of our destructive behaviors. Neither will God do anything for us that we can and need to do for ourselves.

Ron Clarke from Tasmania wrote, “I know that the expression ‘God helps those who help themselves’ is not biblical but it is not that far removed from God’s Word that says, “Faith without deeds is dead.” I have always admired the statement by Sophocles (496-406 B.C.), considered one of the greatest of all Greek dramatists, that said, “Heaven ne’er helps the man who will not help himself.”

As John Powell put it, “Some people treat God as if he were a giant Bayer’s aspirin. ‘Take God three times a day and you won’t feel any pain!’”

Faith doesn’t work that way. We are all responsible for the choices we make and the actions we take. True, we are saved by faith and not by works/deeds. However, our deeds/actions prove whether or not our faith is valid. Whatever we are capable of doing for ourselves we need to do—and be willing to help those who cannot help themselves.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me always to be responsible and act in a mature manner. And please show me if there are any areas in my life where I am not acting in this way. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. James 2:26 (NIV).

On one occasion we had a speaker at our church who conducted a class for parents to help protect them from becoming infected with “affluenza.” The idea being that we and our kids can get so caught up in the world of materialistic affluence that we miss the real meaning of life.

I believe that one of the main reasons we are so materialistic here in the West is because we are so emotionally repressed. Emotions are God-given. They add beauty and interest to life. When they are repressed and denied, life can be deadly dull and empty.

Furthermore, when we bury emotions, we tend to settle for counterfeit experiences and the feelings they produce. For instance, when the emotion of love is repressed, there is a tendency to substitute lust which can look like love and feel like love—but it isn’t love and a damaging substitute at that—and leaves one more empty, lonely, and unsatisfied.

Also, consider the emotion of wonder—the emotion that puts sparkle into life and moves us deeply when a baby wraps its tiny hand around just one of our fingers and in so doing touches our very heart. When wonder is repressed, we become “characteristically bored with life,” and tend to turn to materialism in a vain attempt to fill the empty void in our heart. And instead of loving people and using things, we end up unhappily loving things and using people.

So if we want to avoid the problem of “affluenza” and the blight of empty materialism and learn to fully live and fully love, it is essential that we get in touch with and connected to all of our God-given emotions.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please deliver me from the blight of materialism which can easily become the driving force in my life. Help me to get in touch with all of my God-given emotions and use them in the manner and ways you designed them to be used so that I will learn to fully live and fully love. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Luke 12:15 (NIV).

“There’s a story about a woman finding herself alone in an elevator with the famous and very handsome Robert Redford. As the elevator moved up the floors, the woman, like many of us might, found herself uncontrollably staring at the movie star. Finally, in her excitement and nervousness, she blurted out: ‘Are you the real Robert Redford?’ To which Redford responded, ‘Only when I’m alone.’

“That story reveals that Robert Redford is not simply another pretty face, but he has grown into a wisdom that must serve him well. For like John the Baptist, he obviously knows who he is not.”²

In my limited experience the closer I have come to some well-known leaders the more disillusioned I have become.

Perhaps one of the best measures of a genuine leader is how he treats us “little” people; that is, how does he treat people who are not a business prospect, a potential donor for his non-profit program, or a person whose name he can drop to impress others.

Yes, it’s good to know who we are but, like John the Baptist, it is better to know who we are not. This principle also applies to people who constantly put themselves down!

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to be realistic about myself knowing both my strengths and my weaknesses—and who I am and who I am not. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. John 1:19-20 (NIV).

2. Rev. Mary Lynn Tobin, Sermon: “Finding Our Voice.” http://dccpres.org/

A man was recently complaining to me about how most men rejected him. In his mind he was convinced that it was entirely their problem. As kindly as I could I tried to get him to see that fundamentally “what we project is what we get back.”

If one or two people reject me that’s par for the course. Not everybody is going to like me. Expecting them to do so is unrealistic.

However, if many people reject me, then I can be reasonably sure that the reason probably lies within me. In reality, “We tend to treat ourselves the way we were treated and then others treat us the way we treat ourselves.” If, for example, I felt rejected as a child, I will tend to continue acting as if I am still being rejected, and imagine in my mind that others are still rejecting me also. While this is understandable it’s self-deception.

Furthermore, as long as we blame others for the reactions we have, we can never overcome our problems. It’s far too easy to want others to change. The reality is that the only person I can ever change is me. And when I change, people’s reaction to me will also change—because what I consistently project I will consistently get back! That’s pretty much a law of life. What we sow is what we reap.

The road to recovery begins with facing the truth and reality of what we are contributing to the problems we have. Only then can we help ourselves and only then can God help us. Denial of reality is the way to self-destruction. As Jesus pointed out, only the truth can set us free.²

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please give me the courage to see anything in me that causes people to react negatively to me in any way. And lead me to the help I need to overcome my problem/s. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Galatians 6:7 (NIV).

2. John 8:32.

God is not into religion. He’s into relationships. That is, his goal for you and me is that we be in healthy relationships both with him and with one another.

God himself is in relationship as the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Being created in the image of God we, too, were created for relationships. Furthermore, Christianity began in relationships when, at the beginning of his earthly ministry, Jesus chose the twelve disciples “that they might be with him.”

As another has said, “To be is to be in relationship” without which we limp along in the shadows of life with an empty hole in our heart. It may not be most desirable, but we can live a fulfilling life without being in a romantic relationship, but we cannot fully live, let alone fully love, unless we have a healthy relationship with at least one other loving person … preferably with more than one. To be in relationship is to be open, vulnerable, and known as we really are, for we can only ever be loved and truly relate to others to the degree that we are known. As long as we hide behind a mask, we can never feel loved nor can we relate because masks can’t relate.

In his book, The Transparent Self, Sydney Jourard said, “Every maladjusted person is someone who has not made himself known to another human being and in consequence he does not know himself. Nor can he be himself. More than that, he struggles actively to avoid becoming known by another human being. He works ceaselessly at it day and night. And it is work!”

True relationship begins with being ruthlessly honest with one’s self and with God—and then with at least one other honest, loving, and trustworthy friend.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to be an authentic person—honest with myself, with you and with at least one other trustworthy friend so that I will learn to be the person you envisioned for me to be and therein discover how to fully live and fully love in loving relationships. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Mark 3:14 (NKJV).

I am a great believer in positive thinking but, as it has been said before, if you’ve been hit by a Mac truck, all the positive thinking in the world won’t take away the pain. Yes, we still need to think positively, but face the truth and think realistically.

I have taught for a number of years in a well-know church where the founding pastor was notorious for his teaching regarding positive thinking. Many of his one-line sayings were highly motivational such as the following: “If you can dream it, you can do it.” “If it’s going to be, it’s up to me.” “The impossible problem is solved when we see that the problem is only a tough decision waiting to be made,” and many more.

While this pastor was definitely considered to be highly successful in his achievements, the sad fact is that in a time of needed change, he didn’t follow his own advice, didn’t make the tough decisions that were needed—and his life dream ultimately collapsed. As famous as he was, at a time of needed transition—perhaps because of his age and/or because of ill health—he simply was not being a positive realist.

This is a tremendous challenge for me personally as the day will come when—because of age and/or ill health—it will also be necessary for me to let go of my ministry and hand it over to someone else. I will find this extremely difficult too. This is why currently we are looking into such plans so hopefully and prayerfully all will be in place when the day comes for me to have to step down. Your prayers that God will lead regarding the future of both our U.S. and Australian offices will be greatly appreciated. Furthermore, if you have any practical advice for the future of ACTS, please share that with us. In the meantime, I trust and pray I can keep running ACTS for a good many years to come, but we want to be prepared for the future.

Under normal circumstances the first step, when an unexpected need or crisis arises, is to face and acknowledge the reality of the situation and be very practical. For instance, if I’ve been hit by a Mac truck, it goes without saying that I need to seek excellent medical help immediately, and then follow the medical advice given, and accept full responsibility for what I need to do to fully recover.

Speaking personally, in all challenging situations I have learned to always pray, not only for God’s guidance, but also for his help so that I will see the truth and reality of the overall situation, and to confront me with the truth of what I may in any way be contributing to the problem. Once I see the truth of the total picture, I can then, and only then, see if there is anything I can and need to do to help resolve the problem.

Although in another context, the words of Jesus, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free,” can equally apply to many of life’s challenges, circumstances, problems and situations. This is because once we see the total truth and reality of the situation at hand we, more often than not, know what we can and need to do. This is very freeing.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, in every critical situation and circumstance in which I find myself, please give me the insight to see the truth and reality, not only of the total situation, but also what I may be contributing in any way to the problem at hand. And please help me to see what I can and need to do, and the courage to do it. So help me God. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Philippians 4:8 (KJV).

Politicians, promoters, and radicals all know that if you keep repeating the “product or line” you are wanting to promote—even when it is blatantly false—if you say it often enough, loud enough, intense enough, and for long enough, not only do you end up believing your own lies, but lots of gullible people believe them too. It becomes a case of: “Don’t confuse me with the facts. My mind is made up!”

The bottom line is that many people see what they want to see, hear what they want to hear, and believe what they want to believe—what is the most convenient for them—and with some fancy “footwork” manufacture a story in a vain attempt to justify their stance. And the more defensive they become when challenged, the more evident it becomes that they are promoting or believing a lie. Shakespeare said it well: “Me thinks he doth protest too much.”

Just think how we’ve been sold a bill of goods on free sex (which is never free), accepting homosexuality as a norm (which is opposed to the norm), gay marriage (an oxymoron if ever there were one), abortion on demand … line upon line, little by little, all of these issues have been accepted by vast numbers because they have been promoted over and over and over ad infinitum.

Let us remember that repetition does not guarantee reality. And the greatest defense we have against lies is to know what the Bible teaches and be grounded therein—and to always be honest with ourselves and with others.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please give me a genuine love for and appreciation of your Word so that it becomes a solid foundation for my life to guard against all the lies that we are being bombarded with daily from advertisers, high-pressure salesmen, politicians, Hollywood, radicals from both the extreme left and extreme right, and all who promote anything that is opposed to your Word. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 1 Peter 3:17-18 (NIV).