Ronnie Floyd

Archive for the 'Bible Studies for Life' Category

December 16th, 2014

Facing Discouragement? We Need Protection in God’s Encouragement

Discouragement is one of the enemy’s most effective tools against the people of God. How many small group leaders begin with great dreams of seeing spiritual growth in their group members only to become discouraged and quit? How many pastors assume leadership in a new church only to run afoul of a power structure, become discouraged, and lose heart?

How many men and women enter the world of business with big goals and high expectations but end up experiencing discouragement? How many people enter marriage in love with one another and soon become discouraged with each other and marriage itself?

Let God Encourage You

Writers in the Psalms knew discouragement well. They also knew God was faithful to provide encouragement. Consider Psalm 42:1-2, 6 as it says, “As a deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You, God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I come and appear before God? I am deeply depressed; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar” Have you ever been that hungry for God while feeling detached from Him? You are in good company! Chase after God when you face discouragement.

God Gives You Hope

But the psalmist didn’t stop there. He expressed great hope in God’s encouragement. “The Lord will send His faithful love by day; His song will be with me in the night–a prayer to the God of my life” (Psalm 42:8). Then he asks and answers his own questions: “Why am I so depressed? Why this turmoil within me? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God” (Psalm 43:5).^{1, 2}

Philip Nation writes, “We can learn to be thankful even for the difficulties of life because even those difficulties remind us of God’s presence.”³ Even the best known of Psalms, the 23rd, reminds us of God’s presence in the valley of the shadow of death.

Ways God Encourages Us

Encouragement from God can come in many forms. Sometimes it is a timely verse of Scripture during our quiet time. Sometimes it is the overwhelming sense of His presence while we are in prayer. At other times it is a word from a friend spoken at the right time. At yet other times it is a refreshing spirit of worship. God is not bound in His ability to encourage us, nor stingy in His willingness to do so.

When Discouragement Overwhelmed Me

There have been several times when discouragement has overwhelmed me. I could account several times through the years when I believed with a deep conviction that God wanted us to do something in our church. Yet, it did not happen. Discouragement overwhelmed me.

There have been times when laypeople or various members of our staff team have left our fellowship. It has been especially discouraging when it was not done in the highest manner biblically and spiritually. In some of those moments, discouragement overwhelmed me.

There have also been moments when I thought God was going to do something with me. Yet, it was not His plan. Discouragement overwhelmed me. These have been the moments I have rebounded from the quickest because I have a consuming theological belief in the sovereignty of God for my life.

God is Always Faithful, Abounding in Grace

Through each of these personal moments of discouragement, God has always been faithful to me. He has lifted up my life with an encouragement and confidence in Him that far surpasses any level of encouragement.

I leave you with this confidence today because of God’s faithfulness and grace in my life:

“Suffering, failure, loneliness, sorrow, discouragement, and death will be part of your journey, but the Kingdom of God will conquer all these horrors. No evil can resist grace forever.”⁴

And all of God’s people said…. Amen!

Yours for the Great Commission,

Ronnie W. Floyd

Senior Pastor, Cross Church

General Editor, Bible Studies for Life

President, Southern Baptist Convention

References

¹– All scripture, Holman Christian Standard Version.
²– “Depressed” in this context refers to discouragement, not deep or clinical depression. Clinical depression has roots not yet fully known. I believe God can work through the medical community in cases like these.
³– Bible Studies for Life, Storm Shelter, Philip Nation
⁴-Brennan Manning, http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/b/brennanman531767.html

Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.

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December 9th, 2014

The Promise of Christmas

Bible Studies for Life

Christmas is an amazing time of year. It’s one of the few remaining holidays when almost everyone’s attention is drawn to Jesus. People who rarely think about God or the things of God hear about wise men, shepherd, angels, and “the baby Jesus.”

Those of us who know Christ and are familiar with the gospel are reminded of the incarnation, the humbling of Christ to become human, and His birth to the virgin Mary. We are reminded that the humble birth of the king of the universe was a road leading to death and resurrection.

Mary and Joseph’s Path Toward the Future

We are reminded of Mary’s apparent betrayal of Joseph and the angelic intervention to stop the divorce. Philip Nation, writing in Bible Studies for Life, notes the uniqueness of life’s twists and turns we all face. “Like Joseph, our journey on God’s path will have many twists and turns…[but] He’s never caught unaware. In fact, He is orchestrating everything that happens in your life so that it will ultimately bring Him glory and illustrate His adventurous plan for you.”¹

Joseph’s plan changed several times. He planned to marry Mary. He planned to divorce Mary. But, with God’s guidance, he took Mary to be his wife and became the earthly dad of the Son of God.

After Jesus was born, the regional monarch, King Herod, sought to have Him killed. Joseph again had to change plans, taking his small family to Egypt to evade a slaughter. Upon returning, Joseph changed plans again, settling in Nazareth in Galilee instead of Judea.² Perhaps Joseph didn’t even know this decision would lead to a fulfillment of prophecy.

Following Jesus is Not Easy

Following Jesus is not always a straight path, though we often wish it were. Sometimes left, sometimes right, sometimes up, other times down, it sometimes seems only a very few steps are in the same direction!

Among the many stories of Christmas, Joseph’s experience may resonate with many of us. God’s plans are not always laid out for us from beginning to end. We cannot always see miles and miles down road. He knows, but we may not. What we learn from Joseph is the need to allow God to change our plans whenever He desires.

Scripture says, “A man’s steps are established by the Lord, and He takes pleasure in His way.”³ It takes faith to follow the steps God has established when those steps lead us into unexpected places.

Yet, God is Always Faithful

But, God is faithful to meet us in the places He leads us. The purpose for twists and turns in the road is not for God to lose us, but for us to trust Him. God’s plans always work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.⁴ Our faith and obedience glorifies God as He works in and through us.

Christmas is a reminder that the plans of God may not always make sense at first glance. But, in time as He works all things according to the purposes of His will, we are drawn ever closer to the experiences of God’s grace.