A Sneak Peak at My New Book

I’m excited to tell you about my next book coming out this fall titled, A Holy Fear: Trading Lesser Fears for the Fear of the Lord.

One of the things I love most about writing books is the opportunity it provides for me to dig deep into a topic. To sit with one subject for a while and explore all its layers. To follow the likely questions that the topic lends itself to asking and see just where they lead. And to thumb the pages of Scripture to see all the ways it covers the subject.

The process always changes me. No matter what I think about the topic before I start, I’m always surprised by what I learn along the way. And even after I finish the writing, I continue to learn and grow from what I’ve studied. I am always thankful for the opportunity and love sharing what I’ve learned with others.

So, why did I pick this subject?

I’ve long wanted to learn more about the fear of the Lord. It’s a frequent phrase found throughout the Bible. It’s a command for believers to obey. It’s an inherent and foundational practice to what it means to be a Christian and for our relationship with the Lord. But just what does the fear of the Lord mean? In writing this book, I wanted to unpack the fear of the Lord and provide for myself, and my readers, a richer understanding of this fear.

I understand what fear is, for I have many fears. But what does it look like to fear the Lord? How is it different than the terror I felt when I once lost my son at the San Diego Zoo? Or when we heard my husband might lose his job? Or when a virus crept its way across the globe and flipped all our lives upside down? Why does the Bible teach us to turn from our other fears to the fear of the Lord? What does this fear look like lived out in our life? What are the benefits and fruits and promises for those who fear God? I explore these questions and more in A Holy Fear.

A Holy Fear includes a study guide for individual and group use with passages to study and questions to discuss. And guess what? It’s available for pre-order now.

Here’s what a few readers have said about the book:

“As human beings we all have our fears and are all motivated by our fears. In their own way our fears drive us and direct us. What Christina Fox does so well in this book is address the facts of our fears, diagnose the source of our fears, and prescribe the solution to our fears. As you read her book you will come to see that the cure to our fears is fear, for the problem at the heart of each human being is not that we fear, but what we fear. Or, better said, it's who we fear.” —Tim Challies, blogger, Challies.com

“In our modern vernacular, fear of the Lord sounds anything but good. It doesn't sound life giving. It evokes thoughts of cowering in dismay in the shadow of something terrible. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, so it's gravely important for believers to understand what God does, and does not, mean by the phrase. Christina leads us through Scripture to understand the phrase as God uses it. Christina is an able guide, and the reader will benefit from her thoughtful and thorough look at Scripture on fearing the LORD.” —Wendy Alsup is a mom, math teacher, and author of Companions in Suffering: Comfort for Times of Loss and Loneliness, IVP 2020

”During a trial or challenging moment, we rarely take the time to analyze the fear underneath our anger, frustration, or anxiety. But if we were to place these lesser fears next to a greater fear of the Lord who has promised His presence, then that would be a trajectory changer. A Holy Fear provides that needed biblical perspective. Its pages are filled with a gospel primer to fight our lesser fears and replace them with a fear of the Lord that leads to walking in wisdom.” —Karen Hodge, Coordinator of Women s Ministries for the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) and author of Transformed: Life-taker to Life-giver and Life-giving Leadership

Want to join a launch team to help get the word out about the book and read it before anyone else? Stay tuned for details on how to join! In the coming weeks I will post a link on how to join, what to expect, and how you can help. P.S. There will be fun giveaways!

The Sound of God's Silence

Do you know the sound of silence?

Once upon a time, I played the flute in the school orchestra. I especially enjoyed playing those musical pieces where a portion of the score built up to a crescendo, followed by a moment of silence where all the instruments paused at once. It only lasted a beat or two and then the strings would quietly start again. It was a powerful moment. That silence wasn’t a random absence of sound; it was placed there by the composer as a key part of the music. It was essential to the movement and feel of the piece. The lack of sound was almost a sound in itself.

Sometimes, we hear the sound of silence in our spiritual life. Perhaps we’ve prayed and prayed and still no answer comes. Maybe we’ve been in a long season of waiting and the silence grows increasingly loud as the days wear on. Or maybe we find ourselves in a spiritual wilderness where the fog of doubt and uncertainty is thick. We feel all alone. Abandoned. Forgotten. And the silence makes us think God has turned and simply walked away. We start to think he’s given up on us and begin to wonder if we should too.

Yet, I wonder if we might have the wrong assumption about God’s silence. Perhaps, God’s silence isn’t silence at all. Perhaps what seems like silence is actually an important pause in the score of our life. Because it’s often in the quiet where the real work takes place. We see this truth lived out in the stillness of winter. When there’s no rustling leaves on the trees or acorns dropping to the ground or squirrels scurrying in the brush, life continues on in the quiet of the earth underground. We also know that in the darkness of the womb, a child is knit together. Even before her mother feels the first stirring of life, her heart beats strong. And in the quiet of each night, while all the world sleeps, our bodies and minds continue their labors, drawing breath and circulating blood and firing synapses.

God too is at work, even in the silence. God is at work especially in the silence.

Often, the silence is the work.

I’ve been thinking about this over these many months of our present crisis. Individually and corporately, we’ve faced loss and heartache and uncertainty. We’ve cried out in prayer for God to step in fix the brokenness. Many of us wait for his response. In that waiting, all we hear is the sound of God’s silence.

I can’t help but think of the prophet’s words in Lamentations 3, “The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD” (vv. 25-26). It is good to wait for God. God is good to us who wait. There is good in quietly waiting on the Lord.

There is good in the silence.

Silence forces us to hear things we can’t hear in the usual cacophony of life. It makes us sit alone and notice those things we often avoid or drown out with busyness and other distractions. Our thoughts, feelings, desires, and motivations become our only companions. The silence gives us an opportunity to take an honest look at ourselves. To see what we truly love and trust and hope in. To perhaps realize how fickle our hearts are and how far we’ve wandered from God. To see lies we’ve long believed and lived by. And ultimately, to grasp just how much we need God’s grace poured out in our lives. That we need him and can’t live without him. That he alone is our life.

Then, like the flash of light in the darkest night, God breaks the silence. The Spirit prompts our hearts and reminds us of what is true. And we realize God has been there all along. The fog lifts and we see the trail of his grace that both led us into the silence and remained there beside us.

We all have seasons of waiting in the Christian life. In those seasons, God may be silent. The prophet encourages: “Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him; let him put his mouth in the dust—there may yet be hope…For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love” (Lam. 3:28-29,30-31). The sound of God’s silence will not last forever. It is but a pause used for his good purposes in our lives. When all is quiet, we must remember and rest in his steadfast love. We must wait with expectation, knowing his timing is perfect. He will execute the next note in perfect time with his will and plan.

One day, all the silences of life will find their place in the score of our lives and we’ll hear it played out in its completion. We’ll hear the most beautiful composition ever played, the song God wrote before time began, the song of redemption.

Calvin on the Christian Life

If you could sum up the Christian life in one phrase, what would it be? It seems an impossible task. The entire Christian life in just one phrase? After all, if you’ve ever explored a bookstore and walked down the Christian Living aisle, you know just how many books are written on the subject. Thousands upon thousands. Each of my own books fall under this category. So how could anyone sum it up?

In John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion, he sums up the Christian life in two words: self-denial.

Why self-denial? Calvin reminds us that we are not our own. “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19). Our Savior redeemed us from slavery to sin and made us his own. We are united to Christ. We belong to him and are not our own masters. We now live for him. We are to let his wisdom and will rule our lives, not our own. Calvin writes: “We are God’s: let all the parts of our life accordingly strive toward him as our only lawful goal.”

A Life of Self-Denial

What does this self-denial look like? It’s the opposite of self-love. It is devotion to God. It is a life lived for his honor and fame. Calvin says self-denial is not about seeking the things that are ours, but that which is the Lord’s. We live for his glory. He writes: “For when Scripture bids us leave off self-concern, it not only erases from our minds the yearning to possess, the desire for power, and the favor of men, but it also uproots ambition and all craving for human glory and other more secret plagues.” For those of us who know the burden of the fear of man or who worship the idols of affirmation and success, the call to self-denial frees us from those things. It frees us from wondering what others think of us or for striving for the acceptance and affirmation of others. We already have God’s approval and acceptance. We are freed instead to live for God and his glory, to strive for the things that make him great and give him the honor he is due. This is gospel freedom!

Further, Calvin says this self-denial is seen in soberness (self-control), righteousness, and godliness. Paul describes this in Titus 2:11-14, ”For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” God not only saves us by grace, he also trains us by his grace to put off our sin nature and put on self-control, righteousness, and godliness. We live a life of self-denial as we cast aside our former way of life, denying what comes naturally to us in our sin nature. We are new creations, re-made into the image Christ, the one who bore the cross for us and calls us to take up our own crosses and follow after him (Matt. 16:24).

These efforts at self-denial have an end in sight. In this Titus passage, Paul reminds us of our hope in glory. We live in self-denial as we wait for Christ’s return and eternal life with him. As Paul says elsewhere, we are in the world, not of it. We are pilgrims, traveling in this world as citizens of another country. And when Christ comes to bring us to our true home, we’ll shed our sin once and for all. Don’t you look forward to that day?

Benefits of Self-Denial

In the Institutes, Calvin also writes of the benefits of living a life of self-denial. One benefit is having the right attitude of humility toward others, of counting others above yourself (Phil 2:3). Calvin reminds us that all we have and all that we are come as a gift of God’s grace; we cannot boast in ourselves. We are called to honor one another, do good to one another, and show forbearance to one another.

Calvin says this self-denial necessarily leads to seeking the benefit of our neighbors. The more we deny ourselves, the more we seek to help others. We are open handed and generous with what God has given us. We help others, not because they are inherently good or because they deserve it, but because of the image of God in them, “the image of God…is worthy of your giving yourself and all your possessions.”  

Another blessing of self-denial is that is helps us bear adversity. Calvin says there are many hard things in life that take place: “various diseases repeatedly trouble us: now plague rages; now we are cruelly beset by the calamities of war; now ice and hail…” In the face of such hardship, Calvin says many wish they had not been born, they rail against God, and accuse him of cruelty. But for the godly, for those who know they belong to God, “he alone has duly denied himself who has so totally resigned himself to the Lord that he permits every part of his life to be governed by God’s will.” No matter what happens, we trust in the grace of God, knowing he will meet all our needs, for we are the sheep of his pasture.

I’ve only highlighted a few things from this section of Calvin’s Institutes on self-denial in the Christian life. His work provides great devotional reading and I commend you to it. Above all, Calvin emphasizes the grace of God in Christ for us. The work of self-denial is not an outward work, done in the strength of the flesh, but an overflow of the inner work of a heart transformed by the grace of God. Ultimately, it is the process of shedding our old selves, and putting on the new self. It is conforming to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Note: this post contains an Amazon affiliate link. To learn more, click here.

To Know Thyself

When I was in graduate school, I took several classes in which we studied various psychological tests/inventories. We learned about their history, the philosophy/theory behind them, and their statistical validity. We learned how to use them in practice. We also took many of them. I think the ones most enjoyed by the class were personality and career counseling inventories.

After they were scored, we all gathered around and shared the results with one another. There was a lot of “I knew that about you” and “This explains a lot!” and even some “I’m not so sure I agree with this.” (I felt that way about one of the career counseling inventories I took that suggested I should be a fur coat designer!)

We all have a desire to understand ourselves, and even more, to be understood by our friends, family, and co-workers. This knowledge is useful in the workplace and in relationships with others. Sometimes these tests/inventories help direct us into certain types of jobs or away from other jobs. They can be useful tools to improve group dynamics in the office space. And sometimes, these tools simply give us a vocabulary to explain our preferred way of relating with others.

But as useful as tests/inventories like these might be, the Bible shows us we can’t really know ourselves until we know God first. A striking example of this is found in the life of Isaiah.

Isaiah Learns Who God Is

In the book of Isaiah, the prophet had a vision of heaven. He saw the Lord in all his holiness. “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke” (Isaiah 6:1-4).

Can you imagine? The sights and sounds Isaiah experienced were extraordinary! Astounding. Dumbfounding. Isaiah saw God Almighty seated on his throne as ruler of all things. And he saw himself in contrast to the holiness and magnificence of God. Isaiah responded to this experience with the only thing that made sense. “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” (v.5)

R.C. Sproul commented on this passage in his book, The Holiness of God: “In that single moment, all of his self-esteem was shattered. In a brief second he was exposed, made naked beneath the gaze of the absolute standard of holiness. As long as Isaiah could compare himself to other mortals, he was able to sustain a lofty opinion of his character. The instant he measured himself by the ultimate standard, he was destroyed—morally and spiritually annihilated. He was undone…For the first time in his life Isaiah really understood who God was. At the same instant, for the first time Isaiah really understood who Isaiah was.”

Isaiah was a prophet, and by humanity’s standards, an upright and godly man. He likely had years of training in learning who God is. But it wasn’t until he stood in God’s presence that he finally realized who God is in all his splendor and holiness. As a result, Isaiah saw and understood who he was in comparison.

To Know Ourselves, We Must Know God

We all want to understand who we are. We want to know our purpose in life. We want to know what job we should take and what role we should serve in our homes, communities, and churches. But we can’t know who we are until we know who God is. Like Isaiah, we have to stand before God’s holiness and see ourselves in contrast. As John Calvin wrote in the Institutes, “it is evident that man never attains to a true self-knowledge until he have previously contemplated the face of God, and come down after such contemplation to look into himself.”

First we look at who God is; then we look at ourselves in comparison. 

Like Isaiah, we need to see that God is ruler of all things. He sits high on the throne of the universe, ruling over all mankind and over every living thing. We often live as though we are the kings and queens of our little kingdoms. We live as though we are independent and sufficient within ourselves. But God alone is the creator and sustainer of all he has made. He gives life and breath to all things and sustains that life by his generous provision.

As the heavenly beings in Isaiah’s vision revealed, God is holy. He is thrice holy. He is holy other—set apart from everything else in existence. Nothing and no one can compare to God’s glory and righteousness. This is why, when Isaiah saw God’s glory and holiness, he realized he was unclean and unworthy. Instead of comparing ourselves to God, we are prone to compare ourselves to others. In doing so, we might think we are okay; we’re not as sinful as other people we know. As a result, we don’t grasp the true depths of our sinfulness. It’s only when we understand God’s holiness do we realize no good deed would make us worthy to stand before him. Isaiah was rightly humbled when he saw the true state of his sinful condition. We should be humbled too.

Ready For Service

But that’s not the end of the story. An angel then took a hot coal from the altar and brought it to Isaiah. “With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for” (v.7). We too need our sin atoned for; we need a salvation and pardon from outside ourselves. God provided this through the righteous life and substitutionary death of Christ—the final and perfect sacrifice for sin. By faith in his work for us we are united to him. All he is and has done becomes ours. We are wrapped in his righteousness and made new. We can now come into the presence of God with confidence (Heb. 4:16).

After Isaiah received pardon, the voice of the Lord asked, “Whom shall I send?” (v. 8). Isaiah received his calling and purpose after cleansing from sin. Once he knew God and himself in contrast, once he acknowledged his neediness and helplessness before the King of the universe, and once he was cleansed from sin, only then was he ready to fulfill God’s plan for him.  

True knowledge of self only comes when we know God. While we will likely not encounter God the way Isaiah did, we don’t need to because we have the word of God, the Bible. There we learn who God is in all His splendor, majesty, holiness, and might. There we see that Christ is “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:30). In the pages of Scripture we learn, as Isaiah did, the true state of our sinfulness and helplessness. There we see what Christ did to make us able to stand in God’s presence and live. There we learn who we are as redeemed children of God and what God calls us to do for him in this world.

Want to know who you are? Come before the presence of God and know him first.

For the Heart that is Overwhelmed

This is the time of year I most feel overwhelmed. That back to school, back to sports, back to parent volunteer duties, back to driving everywhere time of year. It comes on like a deluge and I feel as though I am drowning in responsibilities and places I have to be and worries I will forget to pick someone up.

But to add a pandemic on top of it all is a whole other thing.

Your fall may look far different from mine but I would venture to say you feel just as overwhelmed. We all are. Overwhelmed by losses, changes, and the unknowns. Overwhelmed by news reports and disheartening stories. Overwhelmed by what is happening in the world and in our culture. Overwhelmed by worries, fears, and stressors. Just when we think there couldn’t possibly one more bad thing to happen this year, we learn of another event. We try to cope with these emotions by reading and sharing memes that joke about 2020. If we could, we’d push fast forward on this year and skip ahead to the next, hoping for a brighter future on the other side of December 31st.

For some of us, feeling overwhelmed stops us in our tracks. We freeze in place and struggle to make simple decisions. Others of us might get out our to-do lists in an attempt to reign in all that is out of control. Still others may turn to distractions to get their mind on something else for a change. Often, feeling overwhelmed can lead us to look to false saviors for help and hope in the midst of the chaos. To be honest, I know each of these responses well.

And I’m still overwhelmed.

One of the things that weighs me down the most when I am overwhelmed is when I look ahead to the future. Whatever it is that overwhelms me, I simply can’t imagine bearing the load day after day. My resources are slim and I fear running out of time, energy, wisdom, creativity, and strength. I look at the calendar and fear I simply won’t have what it takes to get through the coming month. I look at all the responsibilities stacked up high and worry I can’t complete them. I consider all the things that could go wrong in the days and weeks to come and my worries press down on me even more.

All too often, I live there in the future, focused on what may or may not happen. I worry about not being prepared. I fear running short. I fear not having enough, not being enough, not doing enough. In doing so, I forget that God is greater than anything that may overwhelm me. I forget who he is and what he has done. I forget his extravagant grace in providing what I need most: salvation from sin. I forget he is Jehovah Jireh and all the times he has provided for me in the past. I forget how he has strengthened me in my weakness, sustained me in trials, and carried me in my sorrows.

I also forget that his mercy for me is new each day and his well of grace never runs dry. He is the source and wellspring of all that I need to live for him in this crazy and chaotic world. In fact, he’s already provided everything I need to live a life of godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Yet, rather than trust in God to strengthen and sustain me each day, I’m like the Israelites who collected more manna than they needed, thinking they would store it up for the next day—only to find it rotten and inedible. I live my life on the insufficient fumes of my own resources instead of the grace God generously provides.

The truth is God doesn’t call us to depend upon ourselves; he calls us to trust in him to provide what we need to live for him. He gives us just what we need for each day and promises to be there on the next to provide for us again. And he is not stingy with his grace, for as John wrote “he gives us grace upon grace” (John 1:16). God doesn’t tell us what tomorrow brings; rather, he calls us to follow after him, trusting he will lead and guide us. The Israelites did not know the path through the desert; God led them as a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night. He leads us today by his word and his Spirit at work within us. We may not have a map or know what tomorrow brings, but we are assured God is with us and will give us just what we need.

For all the hearts that are overwhelmed today, we need that gentle reminder that God is far bigger than whatever overwhelms us. He owns all things, keeps all things, and sustains all things. May we live in his grace today.

On Words and the Word of God

Words matter. As a counselor, I know the power of the spoken word, how certain words can break a relationship, while others can heal it. As a writer, I know the importance of selecting the right word to use in a sentence. Sometimes, just one word can be the difference between confusion and clarity.

Words matter in the Bible as well. God created the world through just the power of his word; he merely spoke and light appeared. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is The Word incarnate, God’s word to us made flesh. Unlike the words we write or speak, God’s word is active and alive; it changes and transforms. It is truth which sanctifies.

As we prepare to return to Bible studies with the women in our churches this fall, it is appropriate to look at the significance of words in Scripture, for every word carries weight and meaning. When we study a passage or chapter in the Bible, it is important to make note of the words used, the meanings of those words, and how they are used. It makes a world of difference as we seek to understand, learn, and be transformed by the very word of God.

As you study God's word this semester, consider some of these words:

Names of People and Places: The meanings of names is significant in the Bible. Whenever we come across a name, whether of a person or place, we ought to look up its meaning. Unlike modern times, in the Bible, a person’s name often indicated something about who they were and what they would become (Gen 17:5). Sometimes God instructed prophets to name their children names that spoke to what was happening at that time in Israel or signified what would happen in the future (Hosea 1:6). Often, the names of places tell us something about who God is and what he has done. Further, it's fascinating to look at the names of places in the New Testament because we often find significant events taking place at the same location important events took place in the Old.

Repeated Words: Consider how often a teacher or parent repeats the same instructions to children. Such instructions often sound like a record set on repeat. In the Bible, when a word is repeated, it’s not accidental and certainly not something to tune out. It’s done so to enforce something, to highlight something, to make a point. The author is saying, “Listen up! This is uber-important!”

To read the rest of this post, visit enCourage.