A Moment of Hope

by David Chadwick

The word "personal" means "relating to or affecting a particular person." We serve a personal God. He relates to us and his desire is to affect us in the deepest possible way, transforming us more and more into the image and likeness of Jesus.

God wants us to know him as personally as King David did and to be able to describe our relationship with him in personal ways.

During a particularly difficult crisis in his life, King David described God as "my glory" (Psalm 3:3). What exactly does that mean?<...

by David Chadwick

In case you haven't picked up on it yet, the eternal God of the universe wants to be your close, personal friend. King David knew this all too well. He didn't just see God as a far-off, cosmic deity. He encountered him as his steadfast love, his shield, and his deliverer.

Like King David, God also wants you to know him as your "King" (Psalm 2:6). Do you know why? Because that is exactly who he is - the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

An earthly king rules faithfully...

by David Chadwick

God is our refuge and strength. He wants to be a very present help to us in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1). He desires to have a close and personal relationship with each one of his children.

King David also describes his relationship with God by calling him "my deliverer" (Psalm 18:2)? We, too, are invited into that kind of personal relationship where we know God the same way.

God wants to protect you and keep you. He wants to give you peace and to deliver you from your enemies. Jesus said...

by David Chadwick

As Christians, we serve a personal God. He is close to us in times of trouble. He is our salvation and our light. In him, we find perfect peace and protection.

God is also our personal stronghold (Psalm 18:2). You can run into his arms to find rest. As your stronghold, he will guard and protect you as any loving Daddy should.

Picture a citadel guarded by strong ramparts. Perhaps a moat surrounding the stronghold, filled with water. That is who our great God is! He is a personal citadel. A...

by David Chadwick

The eternal God of the universe wants to be your close, intimate, and personal friend. As a hiding place, a shield, and a rock, he has been on a rescue mission for all of time to save the world from the curse of sin.

God loves the world (John 3:16) and wants everyone to experience his steadfast love and his loving kindness (Psalm 144:2). The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases (Lamentations 3:22-23).

The Hebrew word for steadfast love is "hesed." It is a love based on covenant commitment, not  a c...

by David Chadwick

In this world, there are really only two religions: either you are saved by grace or you are saved by your good works. Christianity is the only world religion with a personal God who left the splendor of heaven to radically pursue a love relationship with this broken world.

You have a loving Daddy who wants to be your light and salvation. He also wants to be your shield. When you are surrounded by enemies, he wants you to turn to him for protection. King David did this on a regular basis...

by David Chadwick

The eternal God of the universe wants to be your close, personal friend. He wants to be your light. Your salvation. Your hiding place. He desires to have a personal relationship with you.

Did you know that the testimonies you collect because of God's personal and sovereign guidance over your life is your heritage?

King David wrote in Psalm 119:111, "Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart."

Biblically speaking, "heritage" is the legacy passed down from one generation through the next because...

by David Chadwick

The eternal God of the universe wants to be your close, personal friend. He wants you to know him as your portion, your salvation, your light.

He is also your hiding place (Psalm 119:114). God wants you to run into his arms when you are shaken, when tragedy hits, and when hard times become insurmountable.

Think about the children's game "hide and seek." When you play this game, you don't want anyone to find you. God, on the other hand, WANTS you to find him. He wants to seek after you...

by David Chadwick

The eternal God of the universe wants to be your close, personal friend. He is not a distant God. Psalm 34:18 says that God is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

King David knew the Lord in so many personal ways. He knew him as his song, his portion, and his light. And also as his salvation.

Psalm 27:1 says, "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?"

The term "salvation" in Scripture means to be saved from our sins...

by David Chadwick

King David knew God in a personal way. When looking through the book of Psalms, it is so evident that his relationship with the Lord knew God as creator, father, and friend. The eternal God of the universe wants a close and personal relationship with you, too. He longs to be your refuge. Your song. Your portion.

God also wants to be your light. In Psalm 27:1, King David said, "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?" In that moment, David proclaimed his confidence in God as his...

by David Chadwick

King David knew God as his portion. The same God who David worshipped wants to be your portion as well (Psalm 119:57).

A portion is defined as a "specific share of money, property, or estate allocated to an heir or child." Biblically, the term "portion" means "inheritance." It is a promise of security that your loving Daddy will take care of you, protect you, and provide for you forever.

Our inheritance from the Lord is a grace gift, freely given to all of his children. Why? Because he has welcomed us...

by David Chadwick

The Lord wants to be your "song" (Psalm 118:14). Today, we are going to learn why King David referred to God as his personal song!

Throughout Scripture, God's people are commanded to sing. Singing was God's idea. It's a powerful way to declare our love for our Father and express our faith in him.

As we sing, God soothes our soul and we are able to say that we trust Him in all things.

David knew God personally as his song. Most of the psalms were written by David...

by David Chadwick

When King David needed anything, he turned to God: "I love you, O Lord, my strength" (Psalm 18:1). David's dependency on God throughout his life was how he became God's close friend.

The Lord became David's strength. And God wants to become your strength, too.

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls...

by David Chadwick

God is your loving Daddy. He wants to be intimately involved in every area of your life. Like Abraham, we were created to be friends of God (James 2:23). As his friend, God longs for a deeply personal relationship with you.

While very personal, God is also sovereign. He is in control of everything. He is Lord over all. King David was profoundly aware of God's sovereignty when he wrote: "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you" (Psalm 16:2).

David understood that apart from recognizing God as Lord...

by David Chadwick

King David's relationship with the Lord was profoundly personal.

James 1:17 says, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."

David knew this promise full well. Everything good in his life came from the Lord. His life was so entwined with God that when David referred to his "prosperity," it was from a deep awareness that only God was the source of him prospering (Psalm 30:6). Of having more than he could...

by David Chadwick

David found his hope in God alone: "He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken" (Psalm 62:1-2).

When David wrote Psalm 62, he was under attack by his enemies. But instead of giving way to fear, David called upon the Lord–his rock.

King David did not just know God as Lord; he became God's close friend.

In fact, in Psalm 61:1, when David's heart felt overwhelmed and faint, he cried out to God and asked Him to lead him to the rock "th...

by David Chadwick

King David knew God as a close friend, so much so that he referred to him as his "dwelling place." A place of refuge where no evil can exist, and no harm can come near you (Psalm 91:9-10).

A dwelling place is a place of comfort. It's a safe home where we can permanently reside. It's the place we go to take a deep breath and rest. It is where you pull up the drawbridge and know you can be safe and secure.

The Lord is a loving Daddy who...

by David Chadwick

"The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer" (Psalm 18:2).

King David wrote Psalm 18 and sang it to the Lord after God delivered him from his enemies.

And again in Psalm 91:2, David said, "I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'"

The Lord is not just a shelter; he is a fortress. An immoveable source of strength when the arrows are flying.

"My fortress" is a powerful description. Take a moment and consider...

by David Chadwick

God is "my refuge." "I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge...'" (Psalm 91:2).

The eternal God of the universe, the One who created everything, wants to be your personal shelter in the midst of trouble.

He is a loving Daddy who yearns to provide safety for you in every single situation you face. He wants you to abide in him and walk closely with him every day. He wants you to run into his arms when you feel in danger.

King David had this kind...

by David Chadwick

Do you know what makes the Christian faith uniquely different from every other religion in the world? It is the fact that we serve a God who wants to have a personal relationship with us.

God sent Jesus to the world because he loves his children deeply and was on a rescue mission to restore the connection that was lost with sin. He longs for us to have a deep, abiding, personal relationship with him.

As followers of Jesus, our God is ever-present and approachable. He is a loving Daddy...

by David Chadwick

One mid-afternoon, my mother wandered from the house alone with no one knowing where she was. Dad became frantic and panicked. Several hours went by. Finally, a neighbor called to say he'd seen her several blocks away. When we went to get her, she didn't even remember having wandered away.

Soon thereafter, our worst fears were confirmed. Doctors diagnosed her with an advancing, slow-moving form of dementia. Most Alzheimer's patients experience memory loss and eventual death over an eight-to-nine-year life span. Mom's lasted for seventeen long, arduous years. We watched this gracious...

by David Chadwick

"Those are just words," people sometimes say dismissively. They are trying to state how unimportant another person's perspective or opinion is. They are saying words don't really matter. But they are wrong. Dead wrong. Words are important. They were God's idea. He invented words. They come from his heart. They express ideas, feelings, and insights. Try having an intimate, meaningful human relationship without words. It's impossible. Even the hearing-impaired have hand signals—a way to "hear" and express words from and to another.

When God wanted to show his character, "the Word be...

by David Chadwick

In Bible times, for a city to be safe, there needed to be strong walls erected around the city. When an enemy attacked a city, he would first lay siege against the walls. When the Babylonians captured Jerusalem in 586 BC, they completely razed the walls surrounding the holy city. The Jews were taken into captivity for 70 years. Persia eventually overthrew Babylon and became the world's foremost power. Cyrus, the king of Persia, then allowed some Jews to return home to Jerusalem and the surrounding area.

In the Bible, the book of Nehemiah...

by David Chadwick

It was the most difficult time I'd ever experienced in ministry. People who were once my supporters became my critics. And the number of critics seemed to grow every day. Over time, I felt increasingly alone and discouraged. I wasn't exactly sure what I needed to do next.

Sensing my frustration and need for rest, one of the church members arranged for Marilynn and me to escape for a week at the beach. On the first night away, I couldn't sleep. After a couple of hours of fitful attempts at sleep, I...

by David Chadwick

The heart of the matter is a matter of the heart. What wise words these are! Most all we do in life flows from what first happens in the heart.

Solomon echoes this truth with this poignant piece of wisdom: "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life" (Proverbs 4:23). He knew the importance of the heart. He knew that everything in life flows from what's happening within. That's why a person needs to keep and guard the heart with all vigilance.

In our physical...

by David Chadwick

We husbands are often "Captain Oblivious" with our wives. We live disconnected from them. They often have insights that could help us in many different areas. They are often transmitting signals to us. But, like radio waves needing a transmitter for sounds to be heard, we don't have our transmitters turned on. And if they are on, we have our dials set just a few numbers away from their signals. We only hear garbled gurgles and static sounds.

We husbands need to learn from our wives. We need to seek and respect...

by David Chadwick

We accepted the call to our first church in 1980. For our first year in ministry, Marilynn told me she wanted to get our home secure and learn what it's like to be a preacher's wife. Fortunately, the wonderful people of that church never placed any expectations upon her. They simply wanted her to be her!

That's what she did. She was always by my side, as a gracious wife and helper. In those early years, when this church was small, we were everything from the youth leaders to pastoral counselors to Bible...

by David Chadwick

Dudley Do-Right was a cartoon character. Regularly, he bumbled and fumbled his way toward heroic success. Often after he'd delivered the damsel in distress, she would coyly sigh and say to him, "My hero."

Some might suggest that the saved damsel's praise of Dudley's heroism is misogynistic drivel. I don't think so. I think most women yearn for their husbands to be heroes. They want to believe their husbands are willing to sacrificially die for them as Jesus did for the church (Ephesians 5:25).

That's true love—not some syrupy, ever-changing fe...

by David Chadwick

I wish I'd been smarter in this area. If so, I could have avoided a lot of pain. I stupidly ignored this reality. If I could redo one major part of Marilynn's and my marital life together it would be this one. I'd trust her gut more. I'd honor her intuition.

It's happened not once, but on multiple occasions. Marilynn sensed something was wrong. Her spiritual antenna was high. It was receiving strong signals. She sensed something unknown. There was an inward, environmental stimulus without any accompanying reason. It caused extreme tightness...

by David Chadwick

The word honor has become missing in action in the English vocabulary. Oh yes, sadly, we sometimes hear about an "honor killing." Most often, that's when a child rejects a certain faith tradition. The father feels he must kill the child for the sake of honor in his home. There is also "honor among thieves." They still seem to hold the word honor in high esteem. The Boy Scouts still begin their pledge with "On my honor, I will do my duty." Some schools still emphasize an honor code. But in reality, the word...

by Marilynn Chadwick

I'm convinced the tone I set in our home by honoring David inspired our children to honor him and each other. It feels good to get respect. To be honored. But it also feels incredibly good to honor someone else. We find that as we give honor, we get it back.

But giving honor, especially in a world which has largely forgotten this concept, doesn't come easily. It takes practice. I've learned that home is a wonderful laboratory for cultivating honor. My hope is that the culture of honor we create will...

by Marilynn Chadwick

Honor is not a subject you hear much about these days. If anything, we've become much more accustomed to disrespect and dishonor. The urban slang for disrespect, or "dis," made its way into everyday language. Most any child can tell you what it means to "dis" someone. Or worse, to be "dissed."

Honor. Simply put, the word means to treat someone with respect or admiration. It has to do with qualities like honesty, integrity and dignity. The biblical version of honor is much weightier. Even lofty. It speaks to the precious worth...

by Marilynn Chadwick

A young mom once asked me if there was anything I'd do differently if I were just starting out in my marriage. After giving it some thought, I responded that I'd be even more intentional about abiding in Christ. I've come to believe that abiding—developing an ongoing connection with the Lord—is the secret to lasting strength in marriage.

A while back, my husband David made a comment that got me thinking. "I really like it that you're not needy," he said. "I can tell you're not looking to me for your...

by Marilynn Chadwick

Today's world is busy and noisy. How can I lighten my husband's load and his heart? Help him have fun? I've learned that simple habits, like taking a day off together each week, honor David by allowing him to be refreshed.

We were also intentional about family vacations. Doing so allowed us to sustain our many years of raising a family and church ministry. We learned we could then return to the fray strengthened and with renewed enthusiasm.

Peace should be a priority in our homes. A peaceful home refreshes...

by Marilynn Chadwick

A practical way to honor my husband is simply through the home environment I create. Our surroundings, daily routine, and health habits will either help build up my husband or weigh him down in defeat. Scripture instructs wives to be "keepers" of their homes (Titus 2:5 KJV).

The word keeper can be translated as "guard." Not only do I pay attention to the physical surroundings of our home, but I am mindful of what happens here. What kinds of movies do we watch? What are our conversations about? Each family is different and...

by Marilynn Chadwick

I've discovered that honoring my husband in today's culture requires something of a fight. It helps to realize that we have an enemy. Not just of our soul, but also of our marriages. In addition to waging a war with the devil, our battle for a strong marriage is also a battle against our own selfish tendencies.

Honoring our husbands sometimes goes against the grain of our flesh. If we truly want to honor our husbands, we'll find ourselves resisting a world that degrades and disrespects marriage.

I've learned I...

by Marilynn Chadwick

Showing respect is vital to any healthy marriage. But when it comes to honoring our husbands, it helps to understand that no two marriages or men are exactly alike. Words and actions which make David feel honored and respected might go right over the head of your husband.  

I can choose to build up my husband or break him down with the words I speak to and about him. I also encourage David's leadership of our family through my words. For example, the words I speak to our children influence what they t...

by Marilynn Chadwick

Over the years, I've discovered that honoring my husband begins in my mind. What I think about David determines whether my words and actions will honor him. Turns out there's some research to back up this observation. Author and longtime Gallup poll associate Marcus Buckingham surveyed thousands of married couples to discover the traits at the core of good marriages. He found something intriguing. The common thread running through happy marriages was this: In the most successful marriages, each partner rated the other person higher than that person rated him or herself.

...

by Marilynn Chadwick

When we understand honor as a biblical concept, it sheds light on our God-given roles as husband and wife. In college, I was a spiritual skeptic with strong feminist leanings. After I became a follower of Christ, God's Word opened my eyes to his beautiful and somewhat mysterious plan for marriage.

The Bible talks about Eve as Adam's helper. The word "helper," or ezer, means "to support." The word conveys strength and is closely related to the word for rock. I honor David when I'm strong like a rock in my walk...

by Marilynn Chadwick

The word honor calls to mind virtues like integrity and honesty. To honor someone is to treat them with admiration or respect. Over the next four weeks, David and I will explore honor from a biblical point of view. Plus, we will give practical tips on how you can begin to honor your husband or wife and create a culture of honor in your own home.

Several years ago, David's beloved college basketball coach, North Carolina's legendary Dean Smith, passed away. Next to his own father, David says Smith was the most...