Dr H Reflections

What is your AQ?

Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. – Hebrews 5:8

2 Peter 1:5-8

 5 Applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,

 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,

 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.

 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

AQ, Adversity Quotient, measures the ability of a person to deal with the adversities of life. Paul Stoltz coined the term in 1997, in his book Adversity Quotient: Turning Obstacles into Opportunities.

AQ is commonly known as the science of resilience. AQ has to do with how we respond to the ebb and flow of life. AQ encompasses our reaction to all types of stress, from mere everyday hassles to the torments of deep disappointment and sorrow.

AQ has proven to be a strong indicator of an individual’s success in life. It is an accurate predictor of one’s attitude, adaptation to changes in the environment, stress management, persistence, determination, wisdom, and character.

Like IQ, AQ can be modified and developed. AQ enhancement programs often result in improvements of 11-23%. Increased AQ often results in increased productivity, capacity, performance, innovation, and morale (PEAK Learning).

These modern scientific “discoveries” were first revealed in the Scriptures. The Father has been in the business of developing His children’s AQ for over 4500 years

The scriptural terminology varies somewhat. The Scriptures speak of proven character, self-control, moral excellence, diligence, integrity, perseverance, endurance, maturity, hope, reverence, and godliness.

REFLECT & PRAY

Our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! – 2 Corinthians 4:17

Father, I am limited in my comprehension of your ways. Enable me to begin to grasp the immensity and perfection of Your eternal perspective and purpose.

INSIGHT

The Father employs intriguing methods to develop AQ. He introduces trials, difficulties, and tests into our lives. He starts small. As we develop and mature and demonstrate character and integrity, the challenges often become more difficult. AQ develops in a fashion similar to muscle. AQ is strengthened through exercise and exertion.

Romans 5:3-4

 3 When we run into problems and trials, we know that they help us develop endurance.

 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope.

James 1:2-4

 2 When troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.

 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Hardship and adversity have a way of wearing us down. That is all part of the process. The difficulties of life may seem overwhelming and ceaseless. We often feel abandoned.

Paul was a man with tremendous AQ. He was determined to remain faithful and overcome every obstacle. Paul was successful. His responses to hardship revealed his character and the depth of his relationship with the Father. He had learned the art and science of surrender rather than resistance to the Father’s will for his life.

Rather than seeking to escape, he learned to depend upon the Father’s power to go through the great challenges that he faced. He developed a unique trait that should be common for all of the Father’s children, going forward on his knees.

Dr. Hudson Taylor, of the China Inland Mission, wrote to Jonathan Goforth, that to be successful in China. “you must go forward on your knees.”

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen” (Elisabeth Kübler-Ross).

Psalms 121:1-3

 1 I look up to the mountains – does my help come from there?

 2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth!

 3 He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber.

Psalms 27:13-14

 13 I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

 14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the LORD.

Our certain confidence in knowing and experiencing the Father’s goodness while we live encourages us to be brave, courageous, and wait expectantly.

The Father we serve is worthy of our loyalty and confidence. Adversity is one of the strategies He employs to mature our faith, conform us to the likeness of His Son, and fulfill His unique plan for each of our lives. Temporary afflictions yield “an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17). When we give Him the freedom to work, His light will illumine us and shine through us in each trial.

When God wants to drill a man and thrill a man and skill a man, when God wants to mold a man to play the noblest part; when He yearns with all His heart to create so great and bold a man that all the world shall be amazed, watch His methods, watch His ways! How He ruthlessly perfects whom He royally elects!

How He hammers him and hurts him, and with mighty blows converts him, into trial shapes of clay which only God understands; while his tortured heart is crying, and he lifts beseeching hands! How he bends but never breaks.

When his good He undertakes; how He uses whom He chooses, and which every purpose fuses him; By every act induces him to try His splendor out – God knows what He’s about (anonymous).

Many of you receive a copy of the Reflection in your email.

Often after it is published, I review it one more time and tweak it.

To read the most up-to-date version, please click on the title.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 12-20-9

• 

Light dispels darkness

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” – John 8:12

Philippians 2:12-15

 12 Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.

 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

 14 Do everything without complaining and arguing,

 15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.

Light and darkness are natural phenomena. They are mutually exclusive. Darkness is the absence of light. Darkness is simply darkness. It never varies. Light can be increased or decreased but the darkness only endures when light is absent. However, with a bit of light, a dark place is no longer dark. The greater the light the less the darkness. In a sense, darkness is defeated by light. But light is never defeated by darkness.

Many people can remember flying commercial passenger jets in the pitch darkness of a cloudless sky at 35,000 feet or so above the earth. Far from large cities, some distance below all is dark if not totally black. This is particularly true over large bodies of water. Now and then tiny specs of light dispel the darkness below.

Our world is filled with darkness, it is a dark place. But the Father has brought light into it through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

As the light, the Lord Jesus Christ dispels the darkness of ignorance and death. Further, He claims that whoever believes in Him will enjoy the light that comes from the Father’s presence and produces life (Constable). The more we spend time with Him, the more His light illuminates our lives and decreases as our personal darkness, our dark night of the soul.

REFLECT & PRAY

The Lord Jesus Christ has come into the world to overcome the darkness of the world.

Father stir up within me the joy and determination to walk in the light. Encourage me to Allow Your Light To Shine In The Darkness.

INSIGHT

As children of the King, we represent the Father in our fallen and decadent world. We are lights in the darkness.

Philippians 2:15 Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.

Modern 21st-century societies are no longer friends with the Father nor His children. Antipathy and conflict exist between the children of the world and the children of the King. The enmity will only get worse. We are on a collision course with the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

John 15:18-23

 18 If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.

 19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.

 20 Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you.

 21 They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me.

 22 They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin.

 23 Anyone who hates me also hates my Father.

Whether we like it or not, there is conflict between the children of the King and the children of the world. Why? Because we are different from the world. Our values and attitudes are incompatible.

The Beatitudes underscore this. They represent an outlook radically at odds with that of the world. The world praises pride, the Lord Jesus Christ embraces humility. The world endorses sin and indulges in it. It encourages others to follow suit. The more the merrier. The rise of the #Me too movement has done much to alleviate this, albeit somewhat selectively.

Matthew 5:3-12

 3 God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

 4 God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

 5 God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.

 6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.

 7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

 8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.

 9 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.

 10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

 11 God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers.

 12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.

The world is at war with the Father. Yet the Father is seeking to reconcile with His enemies. He invites them to become children of the King. We are to live in such a way that our light shines in the darkness. Light will dispel the darkness. The final outcome is already assured.

John 16:33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

We must expect to be persecuted if we are living as the Father wants us to live. But we must be sure that our suffering is not due to our own foolishness or disobedience (Wiersbe). Darkness will not prevail and the light will never be extinguished.

2 Timothy 3:12 Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

Philippians 1:12-14

 12 And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News.

 13 For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ.

 14 And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear.

Darkness is only dark until the light shines and dispels it.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

• 

Money does stupid and wacky things

Hebrews 13:5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”

Psalms 119:35-40

 35 Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found.

 36 Give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money!

 37 Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word.

 38 Reassure me of your promise, made to those who fear you.

 39 Help me abandon my shameful ways; for your regulations are good.

 40 I long to obey your commandments! Renew my life with your goodness.

One of the unexpected side effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic was an accumulation of large sums of money in the bank accounts of those people who kept their jobs and had nothing to spend it on. Apparently, money can be very much like highly energetic people. It prefers to be very active and involved rather than just lay around and gather interest. What would all this money do? “The money has nowhere to go so it’s doing stupid things” (Howard Lindzon). Money learned to do stupid tricks (Erin Griffith).

A buying frenzy erupted. In March 2021, a Tom Brady trading card sold for a record $1.3 million. A piece of digital artwork, by a previously almost unknown artist known as Beeple, sold it Christie’s for $69.3 million after bids started at just $100. Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency, topped $1 trillion in value.

Of course, money learned or did nothing. Money is not alive and sentient. Rather, the people who possess it are the culprits. Bored, sheltered at home people finally burst out. Investment manias of all types, many unheard of, exploded. People’s hearts follow their treasures. But what do these people treasure the most?

Solomon had this worked out 3000 years ago. He provided great insight and wisdom for all to absorb and consider.

Ecclesiastes 5:10-15

 10 Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!

 11 The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth – except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!

 12 People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep.

 13 There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver.

 14 Money is put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one’s children.

 15 We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us.

REFLECT & PRAY

“Money in itself is neither good nor bad, but the love of it may lead to evil. With it, people may selfishly serve their own desires . . .. Money is not itself an evil, but it is a great responsibility. It has power for good and power for evil” (Barclay).

Father, help me to be wise with my priorities. Encourage me to treasure what You treasure. Help me to align my heart so that my greatest treasure is my love for You and Your precious Word.

INSIGHT

Treasuring money, wealth, and material things puts us at odds with the Father. The Lord Jesus Christ laid out an immutable principle. It informs all that we do.

Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

A remnant of children of the King has an obvious heartfelt love for the Word of God. This is the natural byproduct of having a heartfelt love and close intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

When our treasure is not in accord with what the Father wants us to treasure, how do we repurpose our hearts? Where does it all begin?

When a new child of the King asked this question, he was advised to spend time in the Word of God every day and pray that he would fall in love with the Lord Jesus Christ. Remarkably and wonderfully after several months, this began to happen.

Most all of us know what it is like to be in love with another person. Our heart leaps as we think of them. We can hardly wait to be with them. We often get emotional and tear up. Our overflowing joy cannot be contained.

What is it like to be in love, truly in love with the Lord Jesus Christ? Imagine the sheer joy and thrill. And wonder of wonders, every child of the King can fall in love with Him.

Have you ever considered or imagined what it would be like to have a passion and a heartfelt love for the Word of God itself? This is more than a desire for the pure milk or the delight of tasting and consuming it. It is so much more than that. It is the thrill, the sheer pleasure of being in love with the Father’s precious Word.

1 Peter 2:2 Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk . . .. Cry out for this nourishment,

Psalms 119:103 How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey.

Consider honey for a moment. Honey is marvelously manufactured solely by industrious honeybees from raw nectar. Besides its sweetness, it has many remarkable qualities, some of which have only been discovered by modern nutritionists. Honey contains an array of antioxidants and antibacterial and antifungal properties. Honey is healing and soothing. It boosts immunity to destructive elements present in the natural world.

The Word of God far exceeds honey in all of these areas and so much more.

We always have a choice as to what we treasure. But in other terms, we control our priorities. For now, it is best to reconsider our priorities and ask the Father to search our hearts to reveal our hidden sins lurking there. The downside is clearly spelled out.

1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true and with many sorrows.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 11-12-9

An invitation to radiance

They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces will never be ashamed. – Psalms 34:5

Psalms 34:1-8

 1 I will praise the LORD at all times. I will constantly speak his praises.

 2 I will boast only in the LORD; let all who are helpless take heart.

 3 Come, let us tell of the LORD’s greatness; let us exalt his name together.

 4 I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears.

 5 Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.

 6 In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened; he saved me from all my troubles.

 7 For the angel of the LORD is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him.

 8 Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!

Ella Wheeler Wilcox was an American author and poet. Her most enduring work was “Solitude.”

The inspiration for the poem came as she was traveling by train in Wisconsin. There was a young woman dressed in black sitting across the aisle from her crying. Miss Wheeler sat next to her and sought to comfort her. At the journey’s end, her emotions were mixed. She shared in the woman’s sorrow, and yet at the same time, her own face was radiant. She wrote the opening lines of “Solitude”:

Laugh, and the world laughs with you;

Weep, and you weep alone.

Life is about choices. Our life course is set by how we respond to the vicissitudes and trials we face.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox also wrote, The Set of the Sails

One ship drives east, and another west
With the self-same winds that blow;
 ‘Tis the set of the sails
 And not the gales
That decides the way to go.

Like the winds of the sea are the ways of fate,
As they voyage along through life;
 ‘Tis the will of the soul
 That decides its goal,
And not the calm or the strife.

It is easy to get tripped up by the ups and downs of life. Strife and struggle are inevitable. Our response to them determines our attitudes and emotions. In face of the difficulties we face, David invites us to break out radiant praise. He shows the way to calmness, confidence, courage, and conquest of our deepest feelings and fears.

REFLECT & PRAY

Experiencing the Father’s presence produces an excited joy that cannot be contained. David bursts out with exclamations of praise.

Father may I learn and perfect the art of praising and thanking You each day. Remove the dark shadows of shame and fear that haunt me and replace them with radiant joy.

INSIGHT

Psalms 34 is not so much a prayer, but rather an exclamation of joy over the Father’s response to prayer. David has experienced the sheer joy of the presence of the Father. It is palpable. David is radiant. His heart is thrilled and overflowing with joy. Radiant is a word found in Isaiah 60:5, where it describes a parent’s face lighting up at the sight of their children, who had given up for lost (Kidner).

Imagine what it would be like to be with David as he expresses his thoughts verbally. They would be filled with excitement and enthusiasm. He has experienced the inward touch of the divine. He is taking great delight lapping it up he cannot get enough. On the surface, his exclamation seems rather tame, prosaic, colorless, but it is anything but that.

Psalms 34:2 My soul will make its boast in the LORD.

The word Hebrew translated boast is halal. Halal is most often translated as praise, exalt, or boast. But this word is overflowing with excitement, revelry, delight, fun, and festive joy. The English word hallelujah is derived from the Hebrew word halal.

But there is more. It has the sense of madness or making a fool of yourself in a good sense (1 Corinthians 4:10). In the 21st century, it would be equivalent to the thrill of cheering for your home team when they score a touchdown or a goal in an athletic event. His soul is literally jumping up and down. He is basking in the Father (Terrien).

His joy is contagious and he cannot keep it to himself. It is bursting out of him and it must be shared. David invites us to participate with him.  Each of us can enter into the presence of the Father and the joy He provides.

How does David become so buoyant? How does he do it? It all begins with praise and thankfulness for who the Father is, what the Father does, and most importantly what the Father has done for us. He shouts of the Father’s greatness and exults in Him.

Putting it in other terms, David magnifies and blesses the Father. How can a mere mortal bless God?

“The idea behind ‘bless’ is to speak a good word about someone: when God blesses someone, he speaks a good word over that person for his well-being; when a human blesses God, he speaks a good word about God’s kindness and generosity” (ESV notes).

Paul succinctly restates the same concept in one verse. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. – 1 Thessalonians 5:18

“Even if it’s not your practice, pick a day this week and praise God throughout the day. Praise Him when you wake up, praise Him when you eat, praise Him when you leave the house and when you return” (Stanley).

¯\_(ツ)_/¯