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Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Peace

Sleep, Blessed Sleep

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May 6, 2020

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Answer me when I call to you,
O my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
be merciful to me and hear my prayer.

I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O Lord,
make me dwell in safety.
PSALM 4:1,8 (NIV)



Sleep is one of the first areas affected when we face severe trials. It often flees from us like a wildebeest before a lion, like a scrap of paper before a windstorm. Yet God tells us in Psalm 4 that sleep is possible, even in the most difficult of circumstances.


During our three-year ordeal in the wilderness, circumstances continually went from bad to worse. But while events around me seemed ominous, it gave me hope to know that God promises we can enjoy peaceful sleep – not because our circumstances will change during the night, but because “you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety” (v. 8).


I still use the quality of my sleep as a litmus test. If my sleep is troubled, I consider that a sign that I am trying to sustain myself rather than trusting God. The remedy? Return to the wisdom of Psalm 4, ask God to relieve my distress, and trust in the Lord. Then “I will lie down and sleep in peace” (v.8).



You can go to bed without fear;
you will lie down and sleep soundly.
You need not be afraid of sudden disaster
or the destruction that comes upon the wicked,
for the Lord is your security.
He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap.
PROVERBS 3:24-26 (NLT)



On the journey with you,
Jan Dravecky

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Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Trust

In the Desert

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April 6, 2020

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“But I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of Egypt.
You shall acknowledge no God but me,
no Savior except me.
I cared for you in the desert,
in the land of burning heat.
HOSEA 13:4-5 (NIV)



Jan and I have journeyed and experienced many wonderful mountaintops in our lifetime. And we have journeyed through the desolate deserts of life. But it is has been on the journeys through the deserts that we have learned to truly trust God to guide us through – to quench our parched throats along the way. That is why we are able to trust God in the midst of our present desert – our present crisis – the Covid-19 virus.

<br So often God in His Word brings us back to the desert. The desert is part of the landscape of faith and every bit as essential as the mountaintop. On the mountaintop we are overwhelmed by God’s presence. In the desert we are overwhelmed by His absence. Both places should bring us to our knees; the one, in utter awe; the other, in utter dependence.



You will keep in perfect peace
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust in you.
ISAIAH 26:3 (NIV)



On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

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Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Trust

My People

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April 6, 2020

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Y

Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore,
which cannot be measured or counted.
In the place where it was said to them,
‘You are not my people,’
they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’
The people of Judah and the people of Israel
will be reunited,
and they will appoint one leader
and will come up out of the land,
for great will be the day of Jezreel.
HOSEA 1:10-11 (NIV)



I know I’m a man with a great many faults; I know I’ve sinned. I suppose that’s one reason why I have tended at times to doubt whether God really loves me. No, that’s not exactly right. I’ve always believed He could love me; I’ve just doubted whether he did.


It’s one thing to accept truth intellectually; it’s quite another to get it into your heart. I know that God is God, and that He is who He says He is. I know what He’s done for us through the death of His Son on the cross. But I’ve struggled to connect with this affection that God insists He has for me, to understand His unconditional love, and to respond back in love.


It helps me to read portions of Scripture like this (Hosea 1:10-11), where God proclaims His love for Israel despite the nation’s sin. It helps to remember that He loves me too, despite my sin. And He loves you despite yours. He loves us even on our worst days.



But God showed His great love for us
by sending Christ to die for us
while we were still sinners.
ROMANS 5:8 (NLT)

Then Christ will make His home
in your hearts as you trust in Him.
Your roots will grow down into God’s love
and keep you strong.
and may you have the power to understand,
as all God’s people should,
how wide, how long, how high,
and how deep His love is.
EPHESIANS 3:17-18 (NLT)



On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

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Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Hope

Drawing Near

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March 25, 2020

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Now when Daniel learned that
the decree had been published,
he went home to his upstairs room
where the windows opened toward Jerusalem.
Three times a day he got down
on his knees and prayed,
giving thanks to his God,
just as he had done before.
DANIEL 6:10 (NIV)



Daniel knew very well that, as the prophet Isaiah had said, God is our Great Shepherd, who “gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart” (Isaiah 40:11). How His divine heart must leap for joy when we ask for His help and protection! That is no doubt what Daniel was doing when he got down on his knees and three times a day prayed and gave thanks to God (v. 10).


When we feel vulnerable and uncertain, we can always pray for God’s help in:
allowing Him to instruct us
trusting Him to lead us
resisting the temptation to “go it alone”
rejecting the lure of self pity
resting in God’s strength and care rather than our own.

The Bible assures us that we can draw near to God in prayer, even as Daniel did. And He who heard that man of God will certainly hear us as well.



So then, since we have a great High Priest
who has entered heaven,
Jesus the Son of God,
let us hold firmly to what we believe.
This High Priest of ours
understands our weaknesses,
for He faced all of the same testings we do,
yet He did not sin.
So let us come boldly
to the throne of our gracious God.
There we will receive His mercy,
and we will find grace to help us
when we need it most.
HEBREWS 4:14-16 (NLT)



On the journey with you,
Dave & Jan Dravecky

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Endurance for the Journey, Featured

Daniel’s Witness

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March 24, 2020

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But Daniel resolved not to defile himself
with the royal food and wine …

At the end of the time set by the king
to bring them in, the chief official
presented them to Nebuchadnezzar.
The king talked with them and he found none equal
to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah;
so they entered the kings service.
DANIEL 1:8,18-19 (NIV)



Drunk drivers, irresponsible friends, corrupt leaders – all of these can cause innocent people to suffer. The Bible provides numerous examples of righteous men and women who suffered at the hands of others. Daniel, for example, spent his life in captivity (and some scholars believe he was made into a eunuch by his Babylonian captors) and often was threatened with death – even though he is one of the most upright and pious men in the Scriptures.



There is great comfort in knowing that God will use anything – even the wickedness of humankind – to fulfill his purposes. Daniel, even though he suffered greatly, chose to honor God even when he was a captive. His actions eventually led to a position of leadership in the nation of his captivity, a position that enabled him to display God’s power and faithfulness to a watching world. Daniel realized that although others meant to harm him, God used his difficulties to work for good.



And we know that God causes
everything to work together for the good
of those who love God and are called according
to his purpose for them.
ROMANS 8:28 (NLT)



On the journey with you,
Dave & Jan Dravecky

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Endurance for the Journey, Featured

The Tent of This Body

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March 18, 2020

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For while we are in this tent,
we groan and are burdened,
because we do not wish to be unclothed
but to be clothed instead
with our heavenly dwelling,
so that what is mortal
may be swallowed up by life.
2 CORINTHIANS 5:4 (NIV)



Just before he died, the apostle Peter wrote to some friends to remind them of the lessons they had learned under his tutelage. He said, “I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me” (2 Peter 1:13-14).


There is something refreshing about his perspective. Yes, a tent is temporary, but maybe that’s not so bad. If Peter can talk so casually about “putting it aside,” you might suspect that he’s looking forward to some other arrangements. It sounds less like he’s giving up a home than he is trading in a rental. Which according to his friend Paul, was exactly what he was doing. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:1:



Now we know that if the earthly tent
we live in is destroyed,
we have a building from God,
an eternal house in heaven,
not built by human hands.
2 CORINTHIANS 5:1 (NIV)



On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

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Endurance for the Journey, Faith, Featured

The Reality of Our Destination

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March 8, 2020

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Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
In His great mercy He has given us
new birth into a living hope through
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
and into an inheritance
that can never perish, spoil or fade.
This inheritance is kept in heaven for you.
1 PETER 1:3-4 (NIV)



Sometimes we’re tempted to think that life’s hardships have somehow managed to wipe eternity off the map. We imagine that our suffering demonstrates there is no such place as heaven. When thoughts like that begin to bedevil us, we need a dose of minor-league thinking: Every minor leaguer knows that no matter how uncomfortable and long the trip to the next ball field might be … the trip won’t last forever and the diamond will be waiting for him at the end.


The Bible promises us that no matter how difficult our journey may become the length of our journey never alters the reality of our destination. That is what the Apostle Peter meant when he declared that all those who have been given “new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” are also guaranteed “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.” And why is that inheritance secure? Because it is “kept in heaven for you.”



So be truly glad.
There is wonderful joy ahead,
even though you must endure
many trials for a little while.
These trials will show that your faith is genuine.
It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold –
though your faith is far more precious than gold.
1 PETER 1:6-7 (NLT)



On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

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Endurance for the Journey, Faith, Featured

Our Focus

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February 29, 2020

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For we know that if the earthly tent
we live in is destroyed,
we have a building from God,
an eternal house in heaven,
not built by human hands.
Meanwhile we groan,
longing to be clothed instead
with our heavenly dwelling,
2 CORINTHIANS 5:1-2 (NIV)



Our focus must be on the “building” to come, not the “tent” we have now (2 Corinthians 5:1). This is the one message that helped me to get through my ordeal with cancer. In the midst of tremendous fear and doubt and worry, I laid hold of God’s promise of a “heavenly dwelling” (v. 2). I took my disintegrating tent and I camped on the deep certainty God had given me for a new home.


I knew the Spirit lived within me, and I knew the Bible likens the Spirit to “a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (2 Corinthians 1:22). As hard as it was to face the very real possibility of my imminent death, this was a great comfort to me.


Now it is God who makes both us
and you stand firm in Christ.
He anointed us, set
His seal of ownership on us,
and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit.
2 CORINTHIANS 1:21-22 (NIV)



On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

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Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Glimpses of Heaven

The Hope of Eternal Life

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February 19, 2020

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All praise to God,
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It is by His great mercy that we have been born again,
because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead.
Now we live with great expectation,
and we have a priceless inheritance –
an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you,
pure and undefiled,
beyond the reach of change and decay.
1 PETER 1:3-4 (NLT)



Heaven is a very real place. If you are a Christian, it is the place you will go to when you die. And when you face death, when you face the loss of loved ones, you desperately need a rock-solid hope. Jan describes our need for hope: “The thought that this is all there is – we live and we die – was dreadful. When you realize how fragile life is, you search hard for the truth. You have to know what is real. You need a hope beyond this life.”


Heaven provides that hope for us and for many, many others. The reality of heaven doesn’t take away the pain of our suffering or our losses, but it assures us that our pain is temporary. Oh, may we lift our eyes toward heaven, our real home!



If they had longed for the country they came from,
they could have gone back.
But they were looking for a better place,
a heavenly homeland.
That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God,
for He has prepared a city for them.
HEBREWS 11:15-16 (NLT)



On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

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Endurance for the Journey, Featured

Remind Me

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February 12, 2020

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Why, you do not even know
what will happen tomorrow.
What is your life?
You are a mist that appears for
a little while and then vanishes.
JAMES 4:14 (NIV)



It really is true that no one has a guarantee of tomorrow. Everyone on the face of the earth has a prognosis of “terminal” – it’s just a question of when. As others have pointed out, the statistical odds of dying are impressive: 1 to 1. If you’re born, you will die. When our bodies are healthy, we tend to avoid this truth; but sooner or later the truth comes knocking at our doorstep … and it won’t go away without taking us with it. James 4:14 is right: We are “a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”


Yet this isn’t all bad. Often it’s just this that causes us to look for answers and turn to God. And if the uncertainty of life here below leads us to the certainty of life above, we will have found the biggest prize of all. For I’ve read the Book and I know one thing for sure: there are no mists in heaven.



“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
Remind me that my days are numbered –
how fleeting my life is.
You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.
My entire lifetime is just a moment to you;
at best, each of us is but a breath.”
We are merely moving shadows,
and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.
We heap up wealth,
not knowing who will spend it.
And so, Lord, where do I put my hope?
My only hope is in You.
PSALM 39:4-7 (NLT)



On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

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