When Will Your “Hero Moment” Come?

When do we become who we are meant to be?

If you’re watching a movie with a hero saga, it’s almost always right after the hero’s parents die that they become who they are meant to be. If you’re reading a book, the hero usually becomes “a hero” in your mind when he or she decides to go against the dominant worldview of others, for some larger purpose. Movies and books alike, it is right after our hero’s major life transition that his or her valor is tested. Meanwhile, the rest of us—who haven’t been flung into heroic situations—are just waiting for our moment. We live vicariously through our heroes, hoping that someday, we will be Captain America.

But it doesn’t take government experiments to make heroes.

For us normal folk, the story of Deborah the prophetess provides a great rubric. She shows us how to recognize “our moment” and act in accordance. Deborah wasn’t extraordinary on her own; it was her embrace of God’s work that made her so.

When We Cry Out for Help

We cannot be who we are meant to be without first admitting that we need help.

“The people of Israel cried out to Yahweh for help, for [Siser, the commander of the army of Jabin king of Canaan] had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time” (Judges 4:3–4 ESV, adapted). 

There appears to be nothing extraordinary about Deborah. She has simply arisen to embrace her calling as a judge over God’s people. But Deborah boldly embracing this calling makes her extraordinary; she is a woman in a Patriarchal age, leading God’s people. And it will be her leadership that changes the course of history. But Deborah will not act on her own accord.

It’s Not Us Who are Special; It’s the God We Serve

“Deborah sent and summoned Barak… and said to him, ‘Has not Yahweh, the God of Israel, commanded you, “Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000…. And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand”?’ Barak said to her, ‘If you [Deborah] will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.’ And she said, ‘I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for Yahweh will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman’” (Judges 4:6–9 ESV, adapted).

As Deborah leaves for war, we learn what makes her truly heroic is listening to Yahweh. She knows what God has said and has full confidence in his message. She makes it clear to Barak—and to us—that she is not special; instead, the God she serves is special.

Deborah knows that God intends to rescue his people, so the question is not whether or not she will join him in it; the question is, who will join her?

10,000 Will Rise to Your Side

10,000 men join Barak in his efforts—showing their belief in the words of Deborah (Judges 4:10). But we already know the ending to this story: This battle is not one to be won through the normal act of the sword. Instead, the evil general will be delivered into the hands of a woman, who will win the war.

God will stir up confidence around us, by bringing people alongside us in his work, but that does not mean that they will be the way he wins the battle against evil. Instead, God will act in unexpected ways.

Just Because It’s the End Doesn’t Mean It’s Over

Sisera, the general of Canaan, rises against God’s people with mighty force; he brings his chariots. God’s people are outgunned (Judges 4:13). But Deborah shows her faith. To Barak, Deborah says:

“Up! For this is the day in which Yahweh has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the Lord go out before you?” (Judges 4:14 ESV, adapted).

It may look like the end to everyone around her, but to Deborah this is not the end. Reading ahead in the story, we know the outcome—God’s people are victorious in this battle (Judges 4:16). But Deborah only knows this on the basis of faith. Deborah has certainty because she is certain in what God can do.

Of Friends and Enemies

Following his loss, Sisera the general flees:

“But Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.” (Judges 4:17)

At first, Jael acts accommodating, but she is just playing Sisera (Judges 4:18–19). As soon as the man is asleep—and as Deborah predicted—Jael kills Sisera, with a tent spike (Judges 4:20–21). Up until this moment, the story leads us to believe that Deborah will be the woman who will kill Sisera. But instead, it’s Jael, an unknown character until this moment. God continues to surprise us.

God works in ironic ways; his ways are unexpected and profound. We can count on him to surprise us. We can count on him to require us to act in faith.

Thanks to the leadership of Deborah, the obedience of Barak, and the bravery of Jael, God’s people survived—they were freed from the oppressive, enslaving forces of Canaan (Judges 4:22–24). God comes alongside the oppressed.

When is a Hero’s Moment?

It’s difficult to know when your moment will come, or how it will come exactly. What is certain is that we’re in God’s story now. God expects us to act in faith now and continually—no matter what comes our way. God asks us to see beyond what those around us can see; we must believe in his work in the world, among the hurting and those in pain.

Like Deborah, God has asked us to free those in difficulty and in pain—to be their advocates in faith and action.

None of us just one day become who we are meant to be. It’s a process. Let’s start acting heroic now, by acting in faith. What if this is “our moment”?

What Strength Really Looks Like

What does a strong person look like? 

When I say “strong person,” my imagination creates a picture of someone standing tall and confident. I see him as he holds his head high, his chin pointed toward the sky. He keeps his hands on his hips, ready to conquer. He makes himself larger in the shadow of the vast world. The sky illuminates behind him as the mountains shrink in his presence. Nothing can slow him down, and nothing can stop him. He is a strong person.

When we think of strength, we each—in our own way—summon images like these. We imagine a person with enough willpower to do anything they believe in. We imagine a hero.

We associate strength with power and power is associated with heroic actions.

This makes me feel smaller. It makes me feel like I can never measure up to the strength and dignity of a hero. I will never be that big. I will never be that important. I will never make big changes in the world. I am the person who might make little ripples—coursing love and peace into the lives of the people directly around me. I tell myself that I will never be able to turn my ripples into waves, and that the world will never know I was here.

But I have to stop myself before I get carried away. I don’t know exactly what God’s plan is for my life. I don’t know whether he will or won’t turn my ripples into waves. 

God might call me to only make small ripples and do little things. But if this is what happens, it won’t make me weak. 

It is Not Our Impact that Makes Us Strong

A strong person is made by their ability to let go of themselves, turn their lives over to God, and let him be the guide. A strong person is one who humbles themselves before the throne of God, and admits that they cannot do it on their own. The only thing we can really do on our own is to fall short of the glory of God.

But once we commit our lives to God, he can do anything through us (Philippians 4:13). He can use us to do something big and heroic, like he used Deborah as she led the Israelites. He can also use us to do the little things.

Giving Our Life to Serve God in Little Ways

It’s in the “little things” that we find Priscilla. She isn’t very well known in the Bible, but she displayed true heroism. For Jesus, Priscilla did the small things to make the big things happen. Married to a man named Aquila, Priscilla and her husband traveled with Saint Paul, as he ministered to others. Her support of Paul made his ministry possible. And Paul’s ministry, which must have also felt like Priscilla’s own (as it was), made way for the gospel to reach a large portion of the world.

Aquila and Priscilla are only mentioned six times in the Bible and each mention is brief. They are mentioned as being friends with Paul, and working together before they left to minister with him.

“After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade.” (Acts 18:1–3 ESV).

When Paul mentions Priscilla and Aquila, it’s always with adoration:

“Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well (Romans 16:3–4 ESV).

What makes this mention even more impressive is the fact that Priscilla was a woman—in the first century AD’s patriarchal culture, Priscilla was in ministry each step along the way. Never are the husband and wife mentioned apart from one another. As Aquila and Paul worked to share the truth, Priscilla was there, too. She worked with her husband as a tentmaker before they left, and she worked with him as a disciple after. She lived the life God called her to live, and it became one of ministry and encouragement. In Acts, Luke tells us:

“Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him and explained to him the way of God more accurately” (Acts 18:24–26 ESV).

They took him and explained to him—together, Priscilla and Aquila work for the gospel. Priscilla may not be the most influential disciple, but she was critical to God’s work in the world. In addition, Paul’s gratitude for Priscilla’s gifts, efforts, and fellowship suggests that Priscilla likely empowered many others—as that was a core belief of Paul’s.

Heroic in the Small Things—for Jesus

Priscilla was a strong person. She was a hero. She humbled herself before God and accepted his plans for her life. She loved people and invested in them. It appears that Priscilla never gave up—even to the point of risking her own life for Jesus’ ministry.  

We can all be leaders and empower other people. This isn’t something chosen for a few of God’s elect. It comes with listening to him and means a change in our lives.

God’s call means different things for different people. For Deborah, it meant becoming a judge and leading the Israelites into an important battle. For Priscilla, it meant that she dropped everything to travel with her husband and Paul to proclaim the hope of salvation.

Disciples Work Together

Paul never worked alone, and neither did Jesus. They both had supporters who helped them in their work—and made the ministry their own. Priscilla; Mary Magdalene; Mary, mother of Jesus; Mary of Bethany all contributed to the gospel through what seemed like little deeds. But they each accomplished something much larger as they spread the gospel. It’s as a team that God’s people work.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!” (Ecclesiastes 4:9–10 ESV).

Real Strength

Priscilla’s actions suggest that strength is really about boundless faith, humility, and obedience to God.

Now, when I think of strength I see someone kneeling before the cross, infinitely small in the presence of a God so great. There are tears streaming down the person’s face as they accept an everlasting love. They leave their past behind and look to their future with God as they say, “Here I am, send me” (Isaiah 6:8).

Being a Missionary at Home

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

We all get asked this question over the years. Some people know their answers, but if you’re like me, you’re patiently praying and waiting for God to show you the way.

“I don’t know what I want to be,” we’ll say. “I just don’t know yet.” Whether your eighteen or fifty, you may feel this way.

I’ve struggled with this question my whole life. There is so much I want to do, so many places I want to see, and so many people I want to help. God has given me passions for several different things, such as writing, missions, teaching, and law. I know I can’t do it all, but that doesn’t always stop me from wanting to.

It’s when my desires take over that I have to take a step back and remember that God’s plans are always best. It’s not about what I want to be; rather it’s about who he wants me to be.

I have prayerfully considered my future and how God wants me to use my gifts, but I never seem to get a direct answer. Sometimes, it seems like He’s telling me to go one way, and other times another. I’ve often felt him calling me to be a missionary, but I’ve also felt like He was calling me to be a writer.

How could He call me to be two things?

I struggle with feeling called to two things. And being so makes me ask: What does it even mean to be a missionary? And why can’t I do that and something else?

Being a missionary doesn’t always mean traveling to developing countries. Being a missionary means taking on the mission of spreading the gospel—which is something we are all called to do:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19–20 ESV).

Being a missionary isn’t always about leaving. Sometimes, it means staying right where you are and using the gifts God has given you.

Using Our Talents on the Mission Field—Right Here

The biblical character of Dorcas (also called Tabatha) was able to pursue her God-given gifts while being a missionary at home:

“Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity” (Acts 9:36 ESV).

Dorcas lived in Joppa—a town that was primarily inhabited by Gentiles (non-Jewish people). (Joppa ultimately ended up being a focus of Peter’s ministry.) For Dorcas, Joppa was her mission field. In her philanthropy, she was sharing the gospel by simply loving and serving people. But then something tragic happened:

“In those days [Dorcas] became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, ‘Please come to us without delay.’ So Peter rose and went with them” (Acts 9:37–38 ESV).

Dorcas was a light and a comfort to her community—the people around her didn’t want to lose her. How will Peter handle this? Dorcas is already dead, so we’re expecting the apostle to perform a funeral.

“And when [Peter] arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them” (Acts 9:39 ESV).

Dorcas appears to be a seamstress. Her acts of service and charity to the people was likely that of making them clothes. If this is the case, then it seems that God blessed her with a passion and a skill for sewing, so that she could use it as a type of ministry, as well as an occupation.

Dorcas shows us that God gives us special gifts (and skills) that we can use for his purposes. Our skills can empower others and provide a livelihood for us.

But how will Peter respond to all this?

“But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, ‘Tabitha, arise.’ And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord” (Acts 9:40–42 ESV).

Like Dorcas, Peter had a gift that he used in his ministry. With God, Peter was able to bring Dorcas back to life, and as a result, many people came to believe in the Lord.

We’re All Missionaries

Like Dorcas, God can call us to work at a specific trade, while calling us to be missionaries. We can devote ourselves to the mission of spreading the gospel, while having an occupation. God gave Dorcas the gift of being a good seamstress, but he also called her to serve the people around her with that gift.

God took Peter away from his home to do his work, yet he had Dorcas stay right where she was 

We’re all missionaries in some way or another—we just have to use what we are given. And follow God in the calling he has placed on our lives. As Christians, we all share in the mission of spreading the gospel.

Where Will I Go?

The real question each of us should be asking isn’t what will will we be, but rather, where we will go? “Will God call me far away or call me to stay?”

God gives us all gifts and passions; and he gives us opportunities to use them for his glory and for his mission.

I have no idea where God is going to take me in the future—or what my primary occupation will be. But I will be a missionary with whatever gifts God gives me to use—whether it’s somewhere far away or in my own backyard.

5 Exciting Ways Jesus is with You Always

If Jesus seems distant to you, you are not alone. For many, Jesus is abstract. He is like that piece of modern art you just don’t get and have trouble relating to. But this is not the Jesus in the gospels nor of early church tradition. Jesus is right here, right now—and that idea will renew your life.

1. Jesus is indeed fully human and fully God—that changes everything.

In the moment when God becomes flesh, God is with us in a more profound way than ever before. Jesus took on the form of a person in order to forever bond the spiritual and physical—to bridge the gap sin had created.

“ ‘Behold, the virgin will become pregnant and will give birth to a son, and they will call his name Emmanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.’ ” (Matthew 1:23 LEB)

And this changes everything, right here, right now. If God is with us, then what can stand in opposition (Romans 8:37–39)? God is dwelling among us:

“And the Word became flesh and took up residence among us, and we saw his glory, glory as of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14 LEB)

The word used here for “took up residence” (often translated as “dwelt among us”) has the connotation of “setting up his tent.” Jesus becomes a refugee; right here on earth. Like all the refuges around our planet, Jesus built a tent; his tent was flesh.

So often we profess Jesus as Lord, as God, but we forget his humanness in the process. It was his humanity that allowed for Jesus to be our suffering servant (Isaiah 53:10–12). And it is his humanity that allows for him to directly relate to us (Hebrews 2:10–18).

This is why the early church fathers so adamantly opposed a belief known as Docetism—the idea that Jesus was not a real person but instead only spirit (or God). Yet, today, we often act like Jesus is somehow far away—that he is only spirit. Let’s reclaim him as suffering servant too—as God and human among us.

2. Jesus is seen in the faces of the hurting and oppressed.

Near the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, he proclaims his purposes by quoting the prophet Isaiah:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me… he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send out in freedom those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18–19 LEB)

I see the face of Jesus crying out to me in the faces of my hurting friends—like those I know living in poverty in Bihar, India. He cries out the same cry that he did then: “freedom—physical and spiritual freedom. Work alongside me to bring renewal.” This is profoundly seen when Jesus explains to his disciples that at the end of all things the following will happen:

“Then the righteous will answer [the King, Jesus], saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you as a guest, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ And the king [Jesus] will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, in as much as you did it to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.’ ” (Matthew 25:37–40 LEB)

Jesus tells us, when we serve the hurting, we serve him: We see him. I have held the hands of the hurting Jesus mentions and heard them cry out prayers to God for redemption. I have felt their pain. I have seen Jesus stand alongside them in their anguish, but I have also felt the burden of the great needs of our generation in the process. Jesus is among the hurting and the oppressed. The question is will we also be?

3. Jesus is sitting beside you—and can be in you—through the Holy Spirit.

Jesus sitting beside you, in conversation—it’s a wonderful picture and one that a dear friend tells of often. I long to feel that close to Jesus. To picture him there, talking with me. And this is precisely what Jesus wants. This is the type of relationship he envisions through the Holy Spirit in us. Near the end of his time on earth, Jesus tells his disciples:

“But when he—the Spirit of truth—comes, he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak from himself, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will proclaim to you the things to come. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and will proclaim it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he takes from what is mine and will proclaim it to you.” (John 16:13–15 LEB)

There is a direct connection here between the Holy Spirit’s relationship within the Trinity, and our relationship with Jesus and God the Father. May we embrace the idea of Jesus as friend, sitting beside us through the work of the Holy Spirit among us and in us. It is through the Holy Spirit that renewal is brought to our lives. And it is the Holy Spirit that guides the process of bringing renewal to the world.

4. Jesus is there when we break bread together in his name.

After his resurrection, Jesus shows up on a road, walking with two disciples. At first, they don’t recognize him (Luke 24:20). The disciples tell Jesus of all the events that have occurred with the crucifixion and the subsequent account of his resurrection. But despite Jesus’ words about the necessity of his death, according to “the Prophets,” they still don’t recognize him (Luke 24:25–26). They hear, but do not yet believe. But then this happens:

“When [Jesus] reclined at the table with them, he took the bread and gave thanks, and after breaking it, he gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he became invisible to them. And they said to one another, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was speaking with us on the road, while he was explaining the scriptures to us?’ ” (Luke 24:30–32 LEB)

It is in the meal, and likely in the act of remembering Jesus through the Eucharist, that the disciples see him, as he is. Their hearts may have burned, but this is when their eyes are opened. Hospitality, blessing, a focus on Jesus’ sacrificial act—this is how we see him.

5. Jesus is in the movement to bring the gospel to the unreached.

Jesus, as a person and as our God, is not merely an idea. We must take action. Jesus wants to offer physical healing to our generation—to our earth—and we have the blessing of being able to be part of it. But the poverty of our world runs beyond what can be seen; it is also spiritual.

I have seen with my own eyes the desperate need for the good news of Jesus in unreached places, like Bihar, India. I also know the facts—that only 0.3% of the Church’s resources are allocated to areas where the Church is not. The idea of Jesus among us, in us—right here, right now—is also an urgent cry to stand up, lift up, and take action. To bring the gospel where it is not accessible.

Matthew’s Gospel records that after Jesus’ resurrection, he met his eleven remaining apostles and said to them:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18–20 LEB)

Let us be the generation that brings God with us to every nation, to the end of the earth. Let us live as if Jesus is sitting beside us, right here in it all—because he is. He is right here. What will you do with that?

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John D. Barry is the CEO and Founder of Jesus’ Economy, dedicated to creating jobs and churches in the developing world. Because of John’s belief that business can also transform lives, Jesus’ Economy also provides an online fair trade shop. He is currently leading Jesus’ Economy efforts to Renew Bihar, India—one of the most impoverished places in the world where few have heard the name of Jesus.

A Deeper Look at Healing

“We would like to come and pray for you. Is that something you would like?”

Doug, a friend of ours for twenty years, had been diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer. He was under forty and had never been a smoker, but the diagnosis came nonetheless. We had had some opportunities to discuss spiritual issues and concerns with him—though not in depth—and we knew he had attended church most of his life; still, we weren’t sure if this offer would be outside his comfort zone or not. When Phyllis asked about coming to pray, however, he enthusiastically welcomed the offer.

Our church has a customary practice of praying for healing. If someone is sick, people in the congregation know they can ask the elders to come, just as James 5 recommends. So the two of us had been called on several times to gather with other elders to pray for people with chronic, acute or terminal illnesses.

The situation with Doug was a bit different in that he wasn’t a member of our church. But the church was willing to send us and a few others who volunteered. When we arrived, Doug’s two teenage children and a few friends were there too. Andy explained that praying for healing was not magic. We do not manipulate God and tell him what to do. We aren’t God. He is. Nonetheless, Andy told them, we know that he loves us, cares for us and wants his best for us. So we can come to God confidently with our requests.

He then asked, “What do you sense God doing in your life?” Doug said that despite his shock at the diagnosis and confusion about what to do, God seemed very real, very close in the midst of it all, almost as if he could touch him. Doug also talked about how great his wife, Marie, had been through it all. She was completely focused on his care and well-being, making calls to doctors as needed and seeing to his needs. We were struck by this, especially, because Doug and Marie’s marriage had not always been a close one. They were often distant from and sometimes tense with each other. It seemed that God was already doing healing in their lives.

“I have some oil here,” Andy said then. “It’s just ordinary olive oil. The New Testament letter of James says that when elders pray for the sick, they should anoint with oil. In the Old Testament oil is a sign of health, of joy and of God’s blessing. I’m wondering if you would like us to use just a drop on your forehead to anoint you as we pray.”

With a smile Doug said he thought that would be good. Phyllis invited everyone who wanted to pray aloud to do so, but explained that no one had to. She also noted that short, informal sentence prayers would be good; no long speeches to God were necessary. So we gathered around Doug, who was sitting in his favorite chair. Some put a hand on his shoulder or arm. Others just stood nearby. Andy put a drop of oil on his finger and traced the cross on Doug’s forehead. And we prayed.

We thanked God for what he was already doing in Doug’s life. We thanked God for the many blessings he had given Doug in family and friends and meaningful work. We acknowledged that humanly his situation was very serious, but that God had good things in mind for Doug. We knew we could entrust Doug into God’s care, since he loved Doug far more than any of us could. And, knowing that sickness and illness were not God’s will, we prayed that God would heal. We also acknowledged that we didn’t know why God sometimes broke through barriers to healing and sometimes didn’t. These things were mysterious. But we were confident in both God’s power and desire to heal. We prayed that as Doug and Marie continued to walk this path, that God would continue to be close to them, close enough to touch.

After about fifteen minutes of prayers and tears, we all stood in a circle and prayed the Lord’s Prayer together to conclude. We also hugged and offered some words of comfort to each other. Doug and Marie then invited us all to lunch, which we gladly accepted.

God designed us to be whole people—body, soul and spirit. And God cares about the totality of who we are, not just our spiritual side. He is the one who gave us bodies, after all, and all he made he declared to be good (Genesis 1:31). The health of our bodies matters to him; he knows and cares when we’re sick.

Obviously, sickness can have physical causes that require physical treatment—broken arms, infections, disorders. But lifestyle (what and how much we put into our bodies, the amount of exercise we get, where we live, etc.) can also affect health. So can emotional factors like stress at work or in our relationships.

As James reports, sin can be a factor too (which may be connected to our lifestyle choices and our relationships), as can the Accuser, Satan. For example, when Peter told Cornelius about Jesus he described “how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil” (Acts 10:38).

Notice, though, that James does not explicitly say that sin causes illness. He is very careful in how he puts it in 5:15, “And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.” If the sick person has sinned, says James. So it is entirely possible to be sick and not have an issue of sin to deal with. This suggests that we should be alert to the possibility of a connection, but never presume one. As noted previously, in John 9 Jesus says the man’s blindness was not caused by sin. Likewise Job’s troubles were not caused by his sin either.

James 5:15 raises another question for many people: the question of whether prayer—at least a prayer with strong enough faith—always results in healing. Certainly sin can be a barrier to answered prayer. James has already covered this in 4:2-3: “You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” But, as we looked at earlier, Paul tells in 2 Corinthians 12:7-8 how his thorn in the flesh was not healed—something we certainly can’t attribute to the apostle’s lack of faith.

Some people, related to 5:15, have wrongly taught that we should in faith “act like” we are healed after praying—even if the symptoms remain. This was not the pattern in the New Testament, however. When Jesus healed the paralytic, the man got up and walked (Mark 2:12). When he healed the Gerasene demoniac, the man sat clothed and in his right mind (Mark 5:15). If the symptoms remain, we are not healed. So if the doctor says we still have diabetes, we should take our insulin.

The question of why God doesn’t always heal is an immense one. We say God is Creator and Ruler of the world—and yet, given the evidence in Scripture and in our own experience that everyone (good or bad, Christian or not, full of faith or full of fear) does eventually die, obviously there are times when healing does not take place.

What, then, does James mean when he says that “the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well”? First, he is affirming, as he is throughout 5:13-18, that we should pray; the word pray or some form of it is found in every single verse in this section. Second, he is affirming that God can and does heal. Third, he is affirming that God works in concert with our prayers. Fourth, he makes clear that we do not heal. God is the one who “will raise up” the sick person.

James 5:14, in particular, offers some clarification. In that verse James instructs, “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.” What does it mean to anoint “in the name of the Lord”? This is not a magical incantation we utter to somehow force God’s hand.

At base, to do something “in the name of” another means to act by the authority or will of someone else. Ambassadors act according to the instructions of their country’s leader; they do not have independent authority. So to pray for healing means we must take into account the will of God in the matter.

While we can be confident that God’s will for us is to be whole people—body, soul and spirit—we should not be arrogant in assuming we know what God’s total will is in particular situations. James strongly cautions against just such presumption in the rich (1:10), in teachers (3:1-2), in merchants (4:13-17) and in landowners (5:1-6). Obviously, though, his warning against pride applies to all of us in whatever we do, including when we pray. We humbly seek God’s will, we confidently ask that God’s will be done, but we leave it to God to do his will as he pleases, when he pleases.

Doug has his ups and downs emotionally, physically, spiritually. We continue to call him, visit him and pray for him. In all this we hold to our faith in God’s love, grace and mercy, now and forever.

What’s the main idea in this section?

Why Would God Want to Use Me?

The Man God Started With: Abraham - The Greatest Patriarch

Apart from Jesus Christ, Abraham is probably the most important person in the Bible. Abraham is a giant in Scripture - his stature is far greater than that of Moses, David, or Paul. These latter three were great men, and God used them in great ways, even giving portions of the Scriptures to us through them. But each of them would have agreed without qualification that Abraham was his father in faith.

In the early chapters of Genesis, we read of God's promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations (Genesis 17:4). This was fulfilled physically and spiritually. On the physical side, Abraham became the father of the Jewish people, through whom the Messiah was born; he became the father of the many Arab tribes through his son Ishmael. On the spiritual side, Abraham has become the father of a great host of believers whose numbers are now swelled by Christians of countless tongues and nations.

No one can understand the Old Testament without understanding Abraham, for in many ways the story of redemption begins with God's call to this patriarch. Abraham was the first man chosen by God for a role in the plan of redemption. The story of Abraham contains the first mention in the Bible of God's righteousness imputed to man as the sole means of salvation (Genesis 15:6). Matthew includes the genealogy of Jesus in his Gospel in order to trace the beginnings of salvation back to Abraham (Matthew 1:1). Luke declares that the birth of Jesus occurred in response to God's promise to Abraham (Luke 1:68-73).

Great sections of the New Testament explain the spiritual significance of Abraham. An entire chapter in Romans refers to God's dealings with Abraham to support the doctrine of justification by grace through faith (Romans 4). Two chapters in Galatians refer to the life of Abraham to prove that salvation is apart from works (Romans 3 and Romans 4). One of the longest paragraphs on faith in the Book of Hebrews is devoted to the life of faith lived by this Hebrew patriarch (Hebrews 11:8-19). Faith stands preeminent in the life of Abraham.

No Good in Abraham

It is impossible to understand Abraham's faith without realizing that there was nothing in Abraham that commended him to God. God does not look down from heaven to find a person who has a bit of divine righteousness or a bit of faith and then say, "Oh, isn't it wonderful! I've found somebody with a bit of faith. I think I'll save him." When God looks down from heaven He sees that all men are without faith, and He passes a universal judgment: "They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one" (Romans 3:12). That included Abraham.

This truth is reinforced by another. Abraham came from a family of idol worshipers, and was undoubtedly an idol worshiper himself. This truth is clearly stated in at least three places in the Bible.

In the last chapter of the Book of Joshua, the aging leader delivers a final spiritual charge to the people of Israel. Joshua begins by reminding them of their pagan past.

Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the river [the River Euphrates] of old, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor; and they served other gods. And I took your father, Abraham, from the other side of the river, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac...Now, therefore, fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river, and in Egypt (Joshua 24:2-14).

The passage is a black-and-white statement of the fact that Abraham was chosen by God from the midst of a pagan ancestry and that he and Terah had once worshiped false gods.

The same thing is said by Isaiah: "Hearken to Me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord; look unto the rock from which ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit from which ye are digged. Look unto Abraham, your father, and unto Sarah, who bore you" (Isaiah 5:1-2). The whole thrust of these verses is that there was nothing in the ancestry of the Jewish people that could commend them to God.

The third passage that reveals the truth about Abraham's ancestry is a story from the life of Abraham's grandson, Jacob. Jacob was a schemer - even his name means "supplanter" - and his underhandedness made his brother angry enough to want to kill him. Jacob was forced to flee for his life. Where was he to go? Jacob did what many people do when they are cast adrift by life - he went back to his roots. For Jacob, that was in Mesopotamia, the place from which his grandfather Abraham had come. There Jacob associated himself with his uncle Laban. In time, he married both of Laban's daughters, Leah and Rachel, and came to own a large share of the family's sheep and cattle.

As time passed, bad feelings arose between Jacob and Laban, Jacob decided to return to the land of Canaan, choosing a moment when Laban was away on business. When Laban returned, his nephew, his daughters, and much of the property were gone.

The household gods also were missing. Laban set out in pursuit. When he overtook the band that Jacob was leading, he chided Jacob for this action and accused him of having stolen the idols. A search was made but the idols were not found. Jacob's wife, Rachel, who had stolen them, had hidden them in her camel's saddle. This story in Genesis 31 shows that Abraham's relatives still owned and cherished idols at least three generations after God had called Abraham out of Mesopotamia.

God's Choice

It was Abraham whom God chose to be the father of many nations. But why did God save Abraham? The answer is simply that this was God's will. In Deuteronomy 7, Moses tells why God chose Israel to be the nation through which He gave the law and would one day send the Saviour. We read, "The Lord did not set His love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people. But because the Lord loved you..." (Deuteronomy 7:7-8).

Why did God love them? Because He loved them. Why did He choose them? Because He chose them. This is not human logic; it is divine logic. It is the logic of grace.

This is the way God loved Abraham, and the way God loves us. We are like Abraham. There is nothing in us to commend us to God. And yet God loves us. Just as He sought Abraham, He seeks to draw us into fellowship with Himself.

In the first chapter of the Gospel of John, the apostle tells how Jesus had come to His own people, the Jews, but they had not received Him. And yet some did - both Jews and Gentiles - and John writes that Christ gave to all who believed authority to become the children of God.

As John wrote these words, however, he seemed to know that some would say, "But, you see, God gave them authority to become children of God because they had faith within; it was because they believed." Lest someone retain a false impression, John adds quickly that these "were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:13). John knew that no Christian ever made the first move toward God; he knew that salvation originates in heaven.

This is unpopular teaching, and men and women have always hated it. They hated it when Isaiah reminded them that nothing in their ancestry commended them to God (see Isaiah 51:1-2). They hated it in Christ's day. We are told that from the time Jesus began to teach that "no man can come unto Me, except it were given unto him of My Father...many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him" (John 6:65-66). People hate it when this Gospel is preached in our own 20th century. And yet, in spite of the hatred of men, it is true. No man ever seeks God.

God's Call

Abraham's faith was preceded by God's call. God called him when he was without faith and promised to bless him. As a result of this encounter, Abraham believed God and set out on the journey to Canaan. Actually, the call to Abraham came twice, once when he was in Ur of the Chaldees (Acts 7:2-4), and once, years later, when he was in Haran.

The Bible says: Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee; and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him (Genesis 12:1-4).

Abraham's departure from Ur was the first evidence of his faith in God and in God's promises.

What is faith? Faith is simply belief, and all men have the capacity for it. They demonstrate it every day of their lives. Saving, faith is believing God and acting upon that belief. Abraham had saving faith because he believed God when God revealed Himself, and he acted upon his belief by setting out for Canaan immediately.

There are many mistaken views of faith. One links faith to credulity. This is the view that faith is belief without evidence. But God provides evidence, and He does so overwhelmingly. In Abraham's case the evidence was an appearance of God so striking that it got the patriarch and all his family and possessions moving out of their homeland into a land which they had never seen. In our case, the evidence is the biblical account of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In the way that God called Abraham, God calls all who become His children. God comes to us when we are hopelessly lost in sin and without knowledge of Him (Ephesians 2:1-7). This is a universal fact in the spiritual biography of Christians. God's call comes first. And our response is nothing more than belief in God and in His promises.

Perhaps someone says, "Well, that may be right theoretically, but I just can't believe."

I disagree. You believe men, don't you? Every time you keep an appointment, sign a contract, ride a bus, read the newspaper, or do anything that involves other people, you show faith in some person, sometimes one whom you have not even met.

In the same way, you can believe God. He is more trustworthy. The Bible says, "If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater" (1 John 5:9). What does God ask us to believe? He asks us to believe that we are lost without Him and that He has done everything through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ to save us both for this life and for the life to come.

When Faith Is Weak

Someone may say, "Oh, I am able to believe in the sense that you have been explaining, but my faith is weak. I could become a Christian, but I am afraid that if I do - if I start out with God as Abraham did - I'll falter." Of course you will falter. But salvation depends not on the strength of your faith but on God's overwhelming faithfulness to you.

Abraham faltered. When he was in Ur of the Chaldees, God called Abraham to go to Canaan. Ur was in the Mesopotamian river valley, east of the great Arabian desert. Canaan was west of the desert and bordered the Mediterranean Sea. To obey God's call, Abraham had to leave Ur, travel north along the great Euphrates River, cross the northern end of the Arabian desert, and pass down along the Lebanese highlands, entering Canaan from the north. Abraham began the 1,000-mile journey in the best of faith. And yet, at the end of Genesis 11, we find that Abraham stopped at Haran, a little town in Syria hundreds of miles from Ur but still several hundred miles from Canaan.

Abraham stayed at Haran until his father died. When Abraham started once again for Canaan, he was 75 years old. Was Abraham strong in faith? Not at this point in his life. But God's promises were not withdrawn.

From God's point of view, the years in Haran were wasted. Abraham learned no new lessons there. And that happens to us. Times come when we stop and sit down spiritually. We must not sit too long. We must confess the emptiness of such moments, yield to God's repeated calls, and let Him lead us into all the blessings He originally intended.

The Second Call

God had called Abraham once and he obeyed. Then Abraham disobeyed and stopped at Haran. Years later God came again, calling, "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee; and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing" (Genesis 12:1-2). God called Abraham a second time, and He calls us a second time also. God always persists in His calling.

This truth is found many places in Scripture. It is found in the story of David. God called David to be the political and moral leader of Israel, but David fell into sin. He stayed in Jerusalem instead of participating in a battle. While in Jerusalem he saw Bathsheba, enticed her, and made love to her. When he learned that she had become pregnant, he attempted to cover his sin by having her husband killed. And yet, God did not cast off King David.

Instead He came to him through Nathan to expose his sin and lead him to repentance (2 Samuel 12). God came a second time to David.

When God first called Jonah, He said, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before Me" (Jonah 1:2). Jonah lived in Galilee near Cana, and the way to Nineveh was east. Did Jonah go east? No, Jonah went west! The Bible tells us that Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish, for which he sailed from the Jewish port of Joppa (Jonah 1:3).

At this point in the action, God sent a storm. Jonah ordered himself to be thrown overboard by the sailors. He was swallowed by a great fish and was later vomited out on dry land. He was on the shore, right back where he started from, when God came to him to repeat His original commission, "And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time" (Jonah 3:1). These are the most beautiful words in the entire story: ". . . the Lord came unto Jonah the second time."

So it will be with us. The word of the Lord comes to us once, twice, and, if need be, a hundred or a thousand times. He calls us to follow Him. We are so prone to stop. We have many Harans, Bathshebas, or ships to Tarshish. And yet, God calls again and again.

God's Faithfulness

Where do you stand? It may be that you have never responded to God's call the first time. If God is prodding you to believe, if you feel unhappy as you are, if you are looking for something better in life, if you are questioning the truths of Christianity, this is God's working. You must yield to Him. You must trust Him.

Perhaps you have stopped at some place in your walk with God. Perhaps God has given you a command to do something and you have put it off, a step to take and you have refused. You prefer to be where you are. The fullness of blessing is never going to come to you until you obey God and do what He has set before you. You will never improve on His instructions.

Perhaps you are one to whom the Lord is now coming a second time. Take great joy in that. Respond to Him. And rejoice that you serve a God who will not abandon the work that He has once set out to accomplish (see Philippians 1:6).