Gaining a Comforter
Prayer 365 // The Economy of Heaven (Day 2)
More from this week:
Today's Scripture:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." - Matthew 5:3-6 NIV
Today's Devotional:
The theme for this week of devotion and prayer is “The Economy of Heaven.” This is a continuation from Sunday’s message titled "The Rhythm of Loss.” You see, as Christians our value is not found in this world, but our value is found in God and His value system is defined by His word. It’s clear to us that the value systems of heaven and the earth are on polar opposites, what works in heaven is often a total contradiction to "what works” or is acceptable in the world. Because we are not of this world but of the Kingdom of Heaven, we must learn to live by "The Economy of Heaven.” So this week we will take a close look at five instances the world identifies as a loss but heaven sees it as a gain.
In Matthew 5:4, "Jesus says Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Yesterday we talked about The Key to Heaven's Riches, today I want to talk to you about Gaining a Comforter.
At this moment writing this, I haven’t lost anyone in my immediate family since I can remember. I consider myself very fortunate to have so many active relationships in my life and for that I’m grateful. To give you an example, I currently have two great grandparents, four grandparents and four parents still living - with my great grandfather being 100 yrs old. I’ve been told several times that I’m relationally rich, again I say I’m very fortunate. The reason I say fortunate is because over the last five years I’ve watched our closest friends and mentors lose one or both of their parents and/or grandparents and I can’t begin to explain the pain their hearts suffered. How their lives were forever altered due to the of loss of a pillar in their lives.
Although I’ve been fortunate to not have lost a family member close in degree of relationship, over the last three years we have lost three members of our congregation. A deacon, a young mother and a young man. If you are a pastor or some sort of a pastoral position, then you will understand when I say that losing them was like losing a member of my own family. I won’t describe each of these losses in detail, but I want to tell you about the young man. His name is Jay.
Jay is the grandson of one of our church mothers, she and her daughter regularly brought him and his brother to worship services and other functions. Jay was quiet, soft spoken and well mannered. He didn’t say much, but when he spoke, there was weight to his words. We looked much alike and our personalities were very similar - I believe he could’ve easily passed as my little brother.
One day I asked Jay to help out with our Media team by manning the camera and he said yes. Immediately he took ownership and he did it with great focus the spirit of excellence. From that moment I began training him to become the lead of our media team.
One day I received a phone call letting me know that Jay had been in an accident. As he was crossing a major street in Tampa, he was struck by a car and suffered a major head injury. Jay was placed under a coma. At that point in my life, I had experienced God has a miracle worker so I prayed for a miracle. I prayed that Jay would recover, that he would regain brain activity and the use of his limbs and we would celebrate the miraculous power of God… that was my prayer. The miracle was the only option in my mind.
When it was clear to me that Jay wouldn’t recover, I questioned God. Why? I wondered was it a lack of faith on my part? I believed Him to be a miracle worker! But what happens when the miracle doesn’t come the way that we expect it to? Does that mean He’s not able? The first thing God showed me was that I must not confuse what He didn’t do as what He cannot do. He’s still good, effective and able. The next thing He showed me that the greatest miracle had already taken place and that was the miracle of Jay’s salvation — he had given his life to christ nearly a year before this accident. The last thing God showed me was that if I only experience Him as a miracle worker, then I have had only a limited experience with Him. That’s not God’s desire and neither should it be ours. It’s his desire that we know and experience Him in every way. Therefore it’s only in the mourning of a loss that I can gain Him as a comforter.
For those of us who have lost in this season or one prior, it’s His desire that we would experience Him as a comforter. However, there's a wall that often separates us from this experience and it’s the need to blame. You see I blamed myself. I blamed my underdeveloped prayer life and I attacked my faith; I needed an explanation for the loss.
Whenever there’s a loss, a natural or earthly response is to issue the blame for that loss... because “somebody has to be responsible!” We see this professional sports every day. Just this past Sunday, the Tampa Bay Bucs were beaten brutally. The following day, sports analysts were placing the blame on Tom Brady, saying he was the reason for their loss. A person who’s all too familiar with such criticism is Michael Jordan. The media would tear into him after a loss or a bad game. But I heard a quote about Michael Jordan that I want to share with you. It says “Michael Jordan never lost. He either won or he learned.” This is a powerful statement and his record and accomplishments show it to be true. But this is not just a truth for MJ, this is especially a truth for believer. We don’t lose. We either win or we learn. A loss is not a loss in the Economy of Heaven. When we lose, we learn who God is in the midst of our loss. Because it’s in loss that we gain a comforter.
What have you learned in the midst of your loss? In what new ways have you experienced God? Perhaps you realize that you’ve been so focused on placing the blame that you’ve overlooked His presence.
Prayer Focus: Don’t be an analyst, don’t look for a blame. Instead, be an economist a person who practices the economy of heaven.
I'm praying for you and with you,
Pastor Enrique Brooks
In Matthew 5:4, "Jesus says Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Yesterday we talked about The Key to Heaven's Riches, today I want to talk to you about Gaining a Comforter.
At this moment writing this, I haven’t lost anyone in my immediate family since I can remember. I consider myself very fortunate to have so many active relationships in my life and for that I’m grateful. To give you an example, I currently have two great grandparents, four grandparents and four parents still living - with my great grandfather being 100 yrs old. I’ve been told several times that I’m relationally rich, again I say I’m very fortunate. The reason I say fortunate is because over the last five years I’ve watched our closest friends and mentors lose one or both of their parents and/or grandparents and I can’t begin to explain the pain their hearts suffered. How their lives were forever altered due to the of loss of a pillar in their lives.
Although I’ve been fortunate to not have lost a family member close in degree of relationship, over the last three years we have lost three members of our congregation. A deacon, a young mother and a young man. If you are a pastor or some sort of a pastoral position, then you will understand when I say that losing them was like losing a member of my own family. I won’t describe each of these losses in detail, but I want to tell you about the young man. His name is Jay.
Jay is the grandson of one of our church mothers, she and her daughter regularly brought him and his brother to worship services and other functions. Jay was quiet, soft spoken and well mannered. He didn’t say much, but when he spoke, there was weight to his words. We looked much alike and our personalities were very similar - I believe he could’ve easily passed as my little brother.
One day I asked Jay to help out with our Media team by manning the camera and he said yes. Immediately he took ownership and he did it with great focus the spirit of excellence. From that moment I began training him to become the lead of our media team.
One day I received a phone call letting me know that Jay had been in an accident. As he was crossing a major street in Tampa, he was struck by a car and suffered a major head injury. Jay was placed under a coma. At that point in my life, I had experienced God has a miracle worker so I prayed for a miracle. I prayed that Jay would recover, that he would regain brain activity and the use of his limbs and we would celebrate the miraculous power of God… that was my prayer. The miracle was the only option in my mind.
When it was clear to me that Jay wouldn’t recover, I questioned God. Why? I wondered was it a lack of faith on my part? I believed Him to be a miracle worker! But what happens when the miracle doesn’t come the way that we expect it to? Does that mean He’s not able? The first thing God showed me was that I must not confuse what He didn’t do as what He cannot do. He’s still good, effective and able. The next thing He showed me that the greatest miracle had already taken place and that was the miracle of Jay’s salvation — he had given his life to christ nearly a year before this accident. The last thing God showed me was that if I only experience Him as a miracle worker, then I have had only a limited experience with Him. That’s not God’s desire and neither should it be ours. It’s his desire that we know and experience Him in every way. Therefore it’s only in the mourning of a loss that I can gain Him as a comforter.
For those of us who have lost in this season or one prior, it’s His desire that we would experience Him as a comforter. However, there's a wall that often separates us from this experience and it’s the need to blame. You see I blamed myself. I blamed my underdeveloped prayer life and I attacked my faith; I needed an explanation for the loss.
Whenever there’s a loss, a natural or earthly response is to issue the blame for that loss... because “somebody has to be responsible!” We see this professional sports every day. Just this past Sunday, the Tampa Bay Bucs were beaten brutally. The following day, sports analysts were placing the blame on Tom Brady, saying he was the reason for their loss. A person who’s all too familiar with such criticism is Michael Jordan. The media would tear into him after a loss or a bad game. But I heard a quote about Michael Jordan that I want to share with you. It says “Michael Jordan never lost. He either won or he learned.” This is a powerful statement and his record and accomplishments show it to be true. But this is not just a truth for MJ, this is especially a truth for believer. We don’t lose. We either win or we learn. A loss is not a loss in the Economy of Heaven. When we lose, we learn who God is in the midst of our loss. Because it’s in loss that we gain a comforter.
What have you learned in the midst of your loss? In what new ways have you experienced God? Perhaps you realize that you’ve been so focused on placing the blame that you’ve overlooked His presence.
Prayer Focus: Don’t be an analyst, don’t look for a blame. Instead, be an economist a person who practices the economy of heaven.
I'm praying for you and with you,
Pastor Enrique Brooks
Did you know that Thryve Church prays together 365 days a year? Join us Monday-Friday at 6:30am & Saturdays at 8am for "Prayer at the Altar" by dialing 339- 207-7471 and then join us Sundays at 11am for Worship Service! Learn More