GodLife On Demand

Today on A Bold Steps Minute with Pastor Mark Jobe...God wants us to know that our lives are part of a story He is writing, giving us both a past that helps shape us and a future filled with hope. When we lose sight of where we have come from and where God is leading us, we can lose our sense of identity and purpose, but remembering His presence restores our confidence in who we are and where we belong.

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“Do you take this woman to be a Biblical analogy?” Yes, Song of Songs is about love and marriage, but we’ll look at additional deeper meanings in our study today.

Song of Songs 1:1-2:7

You know a lot of life’s disrupting sounds you can learn to ignore: sirens screaming, telephones ringing, TV blasting, trains rumbling by. It is almost impossible to ignore a baby crying. If there’s a baby in your house and he starts crying, what should you do?

You could just go, “Oh what a nuisance!” No, You could close the door and pretend it isn’t there. You could turn up the music real loud, cover it up. Or you could yell back at him like he’s yelling at you. Obviously, if you do any of those, you are showing your inexperience. That’s not going to do anything. He’s just going to keep crying.

See, behind the cry is a need, and the crying isn’t going to stop until he gets his tummy filled, or the relief that only a burp can give, or until you get him out of his mess shall we say. Of course, we don’t stop crying just because we grow up; we just find grownup ways to cry. Maybe there’s someone crying around you right now. I wonder how you’re responding.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Nuisance or Need.”

Our word for today from the Word of God? It’s in Luke 18. I’m going to begin reading at verse 35. “As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging.” Now, we’re told in other gospels that his name was Bartimaeus. “When he heard the crowd going by he asked what was happening. They told him Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. He called out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.’ Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet. But he shouted all the more, ‘Son of David have mercy on me!’ Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to Him, and he came near and Jesus asked him, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ ‘Oh, Lord, I want to see’ he replied. Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.’ Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus praising God.” Love it.

Now, it’s interesting the two different ways people looked at Bartimaeus in this story. When the people of Jericho saw Bartimaeus, they saw a nuisance. “Will you stop crying? Stop making so much noise! You’re an embarrassment.” When Jesus saw Bartimaeus, He saw a need.

Now, in your life there are probably some obnoxious people. Can you think of one or two? Some mean people; maybe folks who demand a lot of your time and attention. Maybe there’s a complainer around you. You know, in all of our lives, there are people who are for one reason or another folks you’d just like to close the door on maybe. And you will unless you see them through the eyes of Jesus, and there you’ll see the need.

Like a mother who looks past a baby’s annoying cry to find out where it hurts. People are nuisances because they have needs; needs that no one has stopped to meet. I wonder, if like Jesus, you would stop for them? Maybe they need a listener; they need someone who sees the good in them…someone who notices them; someone who affirms that they matter. Maybe they need someone to reach inside and find out what’s really making them bleed; someone who will include them in the group.

See, that crying person, they’re a wounded person. And you can be part of God’s healing in that person’s life. We’re here to do what Jesus would do if He were there in person, and that means when others see a nuisance, you will see a need and you’ll do something about it.

Read: Romans 12:4-8; 1 Timothy 4:12

“Tobias, Gramps just called. He needs you to help him on his computer this afternoon,” Mom called from the kitchen.

Tobias giggled. “Always glad to help Gramps.”

After school Tobias walked to his grandpa’s house. “Thanks for coming over,” Gramps said. “I just get so confused when I’m trying to order anything online, and you always seem to know exactly what you’re doing.” Gramps sighed. “All this computer stuff is just too hard for an old guy like me to learn.”

“No, it’s not, Gramps. I’ll help you!”

Tobias showed Gramps how to order the item he needed. “Thanks for your help,” Gramps said as he clicked the order button. “Are you still free to go fishing this weekend?”

Tobias nodded eagerly. “I can’t wait!”

On Saturday morning, Tobias climbed into the johnboat with Gramps. “I’m going to show you how to use the trolling motor today,” Gramps told him.

“I don’t know, Gramps. Do you think I can do it?”

“Sure you can!” Gramps carefully explained how to start and maneuver the trolling motor, then turned it over to Tobias.

At first Tobias had a little trouble getting the motor started. Then it took a little time to get used to steering it. But by the end of the day, he could steer the boat with no trouble.

“Thanks for sticking it out with me today until I got the hang of it. It was a lot of fun!”

“Next time you can be the captain,” Gramps said as he grabbed the cooler out of the boat. “Now, let’s get these fish cleaned.”

As they cleaned the fish, Gramps said, “You know, you and I helped each other learn something new this week. It reminds me of how Christians are supposed to help each other.”

Tobias looked confused. “How?”

“Everyone who trusts in Jesus is part of His church, which the Bible calls the body of Christ. We’re all different—some people are old like me, some are young like you, but we can all learn from each other and encourage one another in our faith.” Gramps smiled at Tobias. “You’re never too young to help others know more about Jesus.”

Tobias smiled back. “Or too old to learn something new about Him!”

–Lisa Fuller

How about you? Do you ever think you’re too young to help someone older than you? You’re not. We all learn and experience different things in life, which means any of us can use what we’ve learned to help someone else, no matter how old we are. That’s especially true in the body of Christ. Never be afraid to share what you’ve learned in your walk with Jesus. Your words might be just the encouragement someone needs to hear!

Today’s key verse: In Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. Romans 12:5 (NIV)

Today’s key thought: Help others learn about Jesus

Dr. Stanley explains how to identify and counteract the attacks of satan. 

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Most of us know what it is to have a mind worn out from turning an issue over a million times — praying and weighing options, making lists, brainstorming, and still finding only closed doors. Proverbs 3:5-6 is a passage many of us learn early, but its weight tends to land differently in adulthood when the stakes are real. Solomon wrote it as a father to his son, knowing his son would be walking into an unpredictable future. The word “lean” carries particular weight: lean not on your own understanding means do not put even a little of your weight on it — not the way you rest a hand lightly on a surface, but the way you would lean on a stair rail expecting it to hold you. Our own understanding simply will not hold when the path ahead is foggy and the news is hard. What God is asking of us in those moments is not that we know the way. He is asking us to know Him. He rarely reveals the whole path in advance — perhaps because we could not handle even the knowledge of what lies ahead. But He promises to make the path straight. That is what we can lean on fully.

If you could use some words to pray through closed doors, I wrote Praying Through Life's Battles: 90 Days to Strengthen Your Faith for you. You can order it now at battleprayers.com. Until next time, remember, God sees you, hears you, and He knows your needs.

Bible Verse

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
— Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV

Ponder Today

1. Knowing what is coming does not always make it easier to receive. Preparation softens some things, but it cannot remove the weight of sitting through a hard moment and hearing the news made real. God meets us in that exact place.
2. “Lean not on your own understanding” means not even a little. The image is not of lightly resting a hand on something uncertain. It is of not putting any weight on it at all — because our own understanding will not hold us when the path ahead is unclear.
3. God is not asking us to know the way — He is asking us to know Him. When the fog rolls in and the path disappears, the invitation is not to figure it out faster or try harder. It is to deepen our relationship with the One who does know the way and has promised to make it straight.
4. God rarely reveals the whole path in advance — and that may be a mercy. We are often not equipped to handle the full knowledge of what lies ahead. He reveals what we need, when we need it, and that is enough.
5. Our own understanding will not hold us up when the hard moment comes — only God can do that. All the calculations and determinations we make in advance have their limits. Leaning fully on God is not a last resort. It is the only foundation that actually holds.

A Prayer for You Today

Heavenly Father, I have turned this issue over in my mind a million times, and I am tired of trying to figure out what comes next. I confess that I have been leaning on my own understanding, and it is wearing me out. Thank You for not requiring me to figure it all out. You have asked me to trust You with all my heart, and I want to do that today. Even when the news does not surprise me, it still hurts. Thank You that I can grieve the pain of an ending and yet trust You for the road ahead. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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