Tim Hetzner – Daily Devotions

The Breaking Process – Part 1/3

“The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.” (Psalm 51:17)

Brokenness is the process by which God strips us of pride and self-sufficiency so that the character of Christ can shine through. Brokenness does not necessarily mean experiencing some tragedy. Many people suffer tragedy without drawing closer to God. The issue in brokenness is not so much your circumstances but your response.

What’s God trying to teach you? Brokenness is when God strips you of self-sufficiency to the extent that you have no strength left to fix yourself. When He blocks every exit you try to take and you come to see that He alone is the answer, you make a life-changing discovery. What’s that? When God is all you have, God is all you need! The truth is that God’s power is reserved for those who have given up trying to do it in their own strength or accomplish it for their own ends.

Note the words ‘the sacrifice you desire’. Sacrifice means something has to die on an altar. So, if you want to experience a new level of God’s grace and power in your life, you must be willing to die to self-interest, ego, and independence. For a plant to rise from the soil, the seed must be broken. For a baby chick to experience life, the shell must be broken. For a thoroughbred horse to win, it must be ‘broken in’ and harnessed. After a breaking encounter with Christ on the Damascus road, Paul prayed, ‘Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?’ (Acts 9:6). Are you in the breaking process today? Here are your options: 1) resist, 2) run, or 3) respond and say, ‘Yes, Lord.’

Prayer

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Never Stop Learning and Growing – Part 2/2

“For wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.” (Proverbs 8:11)

To keep learning and growing, you must recognize these:

1) Successful people view learning differently than unsuccessful people. Joshua learned from Moses. Timothy learned from Paul. Who have you chosen to learn from? Author Sydney J. Harris wrote: ‘A winner knows how much he still has to learn, even when he is considered an expert by others. A loser wants to be considered an expert by others before he has learned enough to know how little he knows.’ It’s all a matter of attitude. It’s truly remarkable how much a person has to learn before he or she realizes how little they know.

2) Nothing is interesting if you’re not interested. In Quality Is Free, Philip B. Crosby writes: ‘There is a theory of human behavior that says people subconsciously retard their own intellectual growth. They come to rely on clichés and habits. Once they reach the age of…personal comfort with the world, they stop learning and their mind runs on idle for the rest of their days. They may progress organizationally, they may be ambitious and eager, and they may even work night and day. But they learn no more.’

The Bible says, ‘Jesus increased in wisdom and stature’ (Luke 2:52). He didn’t just grow physically; He grew spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. It’s a tragedy when you let yourself get into a rut and never climb out; you miss out on the best that God has to offer. By contrast, teachable people are completely engaged in life. They are enthusiastic about things. They’re interested in discovering, discussing, applying, and increasing. So, never stop learning and growing!

Prayer

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Never Stop Learning and Growing – Part 1/2

“I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness.” (Ecclesiastes 2:13)

The most important skill you can acquire is learning to learn. Gifted people can sometimes act like they know it all, which makes it hard for them to keep growing. Teachability isn’t so much about competence and mental capacity as it is about attitude; it’s an innate hunger to grow. It’s a willingness to learn, unlearn, and relearn. The famous football coach John Wooden said, ‘It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.’ Only as you remain teachable will you keep growing and continue to make an impact on the world around you. Lifelong learning is an ongoing daily pursuit.

The Roman scholar Cato the Elder started studying Greek at eighty years old. When asked why he was tackling such a difficult task at his age, he replied, ‘It’s the earliest age I have left.’ Unlike Cato, many of us regard learning as an event instead of a lifelong process. It’s estimated that only one-third of adults read an entire book after leaving school. Why? Because they view education as a period in life, not a way of life. Science confirms that while your physical body may atrophy, your mind retains much of its capacity for continued growth. Every stage of life presents lessons to be learned. You can choose to be teachable and keep on learning, or you can close your mind and stop growing.

Try this simple experiment for a week: ask others for their advice…deliberately withhold the advice you would normally give…and at the end of each day write down what you have learned by being attentive. You will be amazed!

Prayer

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Tackle Your Giant Head-On

“So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.” (1 Samuel 17:50)

Chuck Swindoll says: ‘Every day Goliath paraded along the slopes of the Valley of Elah issuing threats…The only response from the Israeli troops was the sound of knees knocking and teeth chattering! The giant’s strategy of fear and intimidation worked…until David introduced him to the Lord of Hosts, and “with a sling and a stone…struck the Philistine and killed him” (v. 50). To this day, two timeless truths remain.

One: You won’t win the battle by employing the Enemy’s technique. When you fight with the world’s weapons, you become like the world. The Bible says, “There was no sword in David’s hand” (v. 50); his most powerful weapon – the thing that made him unique and gave him the victory – was his inner shield of faith. It kept him free from fear, cleared his vision…and gave him composure amidst chaos.

Two: Slaying giants takes skill and discipline. Wielding the sling and stone of the Spirit is much more delicate than swinging the club of the flesh. Paul says, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities…powers…rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).

Note: wrestling isn’t a team sport. Goliath said, “Choose one man to come down…and fight me!” (1 Samuel 17:8). For the duration of the battle, you’re the Enemy’s sole target. If you’re facing your own personal giant, be like David; turn him over to God, load up your sling…and let God win the victory for you.

Prayer

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Being Friends with God

“The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.” (Exodus 33:11)

When you talk to a close friend, you’re relaxed, trusting, unguarded, and open. There is no need to watch your p’s and q’s; you can express how you feel without fearing you will be judged or rejected. That’s how Moses and God talked to each other – like two friends, trusting and transparent. They said what they felt and thought straightforwardly, not in churchy language or religious jargon.

The Israelites had made a golden calf to worship, and God was angry enough to disown them and choose a new people. Moses had a crisis on his hands, and he engaged with God in a serious discussion over the outcome. In essence, what he told God was, ‘You see it one way, Lord. I see it another – and your perspective is making me very uncomfortable!’ Sounds like a candid exchange between friends. Moses wasn’t being disrespectful; he was being upfront and honest with God. They knew each other well enough to speak “face to face, as one speaks to a friend.”

Do you pray like that? No posturing – just saying heart-to-heart what you want to say to your friend, God? That’s the kind of relationship God had with Moses, and it’s the kind He wants you to have with Him too! Religious clichés and ‘the usual’ request lists miss the opportunity to connect deeply and personally with God. Instead, open up with Him. Get down to the nitty-gritty. Tell Him where you’re coming from, what you really feel, think, and desire; then listen to His perspective. In other words, be a friend with God!

Prayer

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Let Us Work Together

“For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.” (1 Corinthians 3:9)

The Bible says we must love, honor, and work together. So, why don’t we do it? Ego! We like to think we can do everything ourselves – but that’s not reality! There are no supermen or superwomen. So, the question isn’t whether or not you can do everything on your own; it’s how soon are you going to realize you can’t? Philanthropist Andrew Carnegie declared, ‘It marks a big step in your development when you come to realize that other people can help you do a better job than you could do alone.’

After training His disciples for ministry, Jesus sent them out in twos; there were no solo acts! Why? For many reasons: to prevent one another from straying off the path, to hold each other accountable, to encourage one another when the going got tough, to offset a weakness with a corresponding strength. We each have ‘blind spots’ and we need someone with 20/20 vision in those areas to help us see things the right way.

As recorded in Exodus 17, when Moses held up his hands (symbolizing reaching for God’s help), Israel’s armies prevailed against the Amalekites. But when Moses got tired and lowered his hands, the battle went against Israel. What was the solution? ‘When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone…put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up – one on one side, one on the other – so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army’ (Exodus 17:12-13).

A couple of questions to think about: Who is holding up your hands? Whose hands are you holding up?

Prayer

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The Right Attitude

“For he is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost. ‘Eat and drink,’ he says to you, but his heart is not with you.” (Proverbs 23:7)

What separates the best from the rest? Have you ever given that some thought? What separates a gold medalist from a silver medalist in the Olympics? What separates a successful entrepreneur from someone who does not make it? What makes it possible for one person to learn and flourish after making a mistake while someone else just gives up? It’s attitude!

The Bible says, ‘For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.’ Your attitude can be your greatest asset or your greatest liability. It makes you or breaks you. It lifts you up or drags you down. The right attitude may not let you do everything, but it will help you to do anything better than you would when your attitude is wrong. The happiest people in life do not undoubtedly have the best of everything; they simply try to make the best of everything. They’re like a person in a remote village who daily goes to the well for water and says, ‘Every time I come to this well, I come away with my bucket full,’ instead of saying, ‘I can’t believe I have to keep coming back to this well every day to fill up my bucket!’

Your attitude has a profound influence on your approach to life. Ask a doctor if a patient’s attitude can affect recovery time when he or she is healing after an illness. Ask a teacher if a student’s attitude has an impact before they take a test. Jesus said, ‘According to your faith be it unto you’ (Matthew 9:29). Like a magnet, faith draws on the strength which God offers.

Prayer

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Moving From Failure to Success – Part 4/4

“Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, ‘The LORD has done great things for them.’” (Psalm 126:2)

To move from failure to success, you must do these:

1) Learn to laugh at yourself. No matter what you lose or how often you lose, never lose your sense of humor. When you take your mistakes too seriously, everything becomes a life-or-death issue. The psalmist wrote:

You may not be able to laugh about your mistakes, but you can learn to laugh in them! Note the phrase, “when the LORD brought back.” God can bring you back! Tim Masters says, “Failure is the productive part of success. It provides the road you don’t have to travel again, the mountain you don’t have to climb again, and the valley you don’t have to cross again.” When we’re making mistakes, they may not feel like “the kiss of Jesus,” which was Mother Teresa’s phrase for failures that drive us to God. But if we maintain the right attitude, they can lead us to do what we should be doing.

2) Learn from your mistakes. Successful restaurateur Wolfgang Puck said, “I have learned more from the one restaurant that didn’t work than from all the ones that were successes.” Isn’t that usually the way it is? You don’t lose—you learn!

Prayer

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Moving From Failure to Success – Part 3/4

“Many are saying of me, ‘God will not deliver him.’” (Psalm 3:2)

A Christian leader writes: “Oliver Goldsmith was born the son of a poor preacher in Ireland in the 1700s. Growing up, he wasn’t a great student. In fact, his schoolmaster labeled him a ‘stupid blockhead.’ He did manage to earn a [university] degree, but he finished at the bottom of his class. He was unsure of what he wanted to do. At first, he tried to become a preacher, but it didn’t suit him… Next, he tried law but failed at it. He then settled on medicine, but he was an indifferent doctor—not passionate about his profession.

“He was able to hold several posts only temporarily. Goldsmith lived in poverty, was often ill, and once even had to pawn his clothes to buy food. It looked like he would never find his way. But then he discovered an interest and aptitude for writing and translating. At first, he worked as a Fleet Street reviewer and writer. But then he began to write works that came out of his own interests. He secured his reputation as a novelist with The Vicar of Wakefield, a poet with The Deserted Village, and a playwright with She Stoops to Conquer.”

Goldsmith’s story sounds a lot like the psalmist David’s—and maybe yours too:

You may be down today, but God will lift you up if you turn to Him for guidance and cooperate with His plan for your life.

Prayer

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Moving From Failure to Success – Part 2/4

“You have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth.” (Proverbs 6:2)

A noted psychiatrist remarked that two of the saddest words in human vocabulary are ‘if only’. He believes people who get trapped by their failures spend their lives saying, ‘If only I had tried harder…if only I had been kinder to my kids…if only I had been more truthful…if only…’ The way to change that mindset is to change your vocabulary by substituting the words ‘next time’. ‘Next time I will try harder…next time I will be kinder to my kids…next time I will be more truthful.’

The Bible says, ‘You are snared by the words of your mouth.’ And a snare is a trap. Have you ever seen an animal caught in a trap, struggling to be free? Your words can do that. And they don’t just affect you, they affect others. Maybe you think we’re making too big a deal out of this. If you do – read on:

‘A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit’ (Proverbs 15:4).

‘Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit’ (Proverbs 18:21).

Jesus said, ‘Whoever says to this mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says’ (Mark 11:23).

What do these Scriptures have in common? They confirm that our words breathe life (or death) into everything! So instead of defeatist talk, speak victory over your situation. Instead of speaking failure, start speaking success. When you do, God will honor the fruit of your lips.

Prayer

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