Sweet Sleep

“I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.” (Ps 4:8 AV)

I noticed that the statement of David above is both a statement of fact and a vow to himself.  The Holy Spirit also reminded me of another significant truth.  Represented by the word ‘only’, the truth of the matter is, God is the only stable and unchanging force in my life.  People come and go.  Health fails.  Circumstances change.  God always remains the same.  We are anxious and sleep evades us because our dependence relies on unstable things.  Our security rests on shifting sands.  We can continue to fight like a shadow boxer; trying to hit a knockout punch on a target that comes and goes.  Or, we can rest in God who never leaves nor forsakes.  If one wants a biblical example, just look no further than the human author of the words above.  For more than a decade, David ran from one place to another.  He was evading the envy of his father-in-law.  David tried to find stability among his own tribe and people.  That didn’t work out so well.  The only friend he could find was the king of the Philistines.  Yet his lords threw David under the bus.  It got so bad that just before he took the throne, the men who had served him turned their backs on him.  It didn’t stop there.  During his forty years on the throne, there were ups and downs.  It took seven years before the entire nation would accept him.  Those serving under him would often go rogue.  David’s world was a bit chaotic.  This is why he makes the promise above.  He promises himself, based on the truth that God is the only stable influence in his life, that he will lay down in peace of soul and sleep.

Life is changing and unpredictable.  It is like riding a rollercoaster for the first time while blindfolded.  Just when you get used to a new normal, things change.  Some of us enjoy the challenge.  Most of us do not.  Especially when we get older, we want our lives to be more stable and predictable.  We can wish for that all we want.  But it will never be that way.  God does not promise a predictable life of unchanging serenity.  We would never mature.  Without changing circumstances, we would remain the same.  Change forces us to grow.  It forces us to trust the LORD more than we have in the past.  Change forces us to adapt from the person that we are to the person God wants us to be.  David could not remain the person he was and successfully lead God’s people.  He has to accept change as from the hand of God, and because it was, life would change, too.

Sleep comes to those who have learned to lean on the only influence that does not change.  GOD!  God has been and always will be.  He loves us with an everlasting love.  He knows who and what we are.  He knows what we can face.  He knows what we need.  He knows what He must cause or allow.  The key to peace and sleep is how deeply we believe the second part of the verse.  David can say that he will lay down and sleep all he wants.  He can promise it as such to his soul and mind.  But unless he deeply believes that God and God alone makes him dwell in safety, sleep and peace will not come.  If we want those sleepless nights to cease, then we have to surrender to the sovereign hand of God.

Perfect Timing

“And the king’s servants said unto him, Behold, Haman standeth in the court. And the king said, Let him come in.” (Es 6:5 AV)

Timing is everything.  Context tells us just how close Haman came to dying that day and that in His sovereignty, Haman was extended an opportunity of grace to which he was completely unaware.  Prior to this event, two significant events occurred.  First, Haman moved his king against the Jews because Mordechai would not worship Haman.  Haman was given funds and an opportunity to exterminate the Jews.  The second event happened the night prior to this meeting.  Haman’s family convinced him to build gallows upon which Mordechai was to be hanged.  At the same time, God causes Ahasuerus to stay awake all night and have the chronical of the kings read before him by which he discovered Mordechai’s faithfulness in exposing a conspiracy against the king.  Now we pick is up at the above event.  Haman had come to the court to petition the king for Mordechai’s life, and the king was about to honor Mordechai for his heroism.  If Haman petitions the king before the king assigns honor to Mordechai, Haman could have lost his life.  The timing of this was God’s extension of grace to his enemy.  But His enemy never saw it.  Rather, the grace of God is despised, and the enemy of God doubles down in his hatred toward Him.

What I can’t seem to get past is the incredible timing of events and the benefit one man had but never realized.  At the exact time that Haman was conniving the death of his nemesis, the LORD struck Ahasuerus with insomnia.  Of all the things the king could have done, he chose to read the record of the kings.  Then, to have Haman in the court at the exact time that the king was looking for an administrator to honor Mordechai.  And to have Haman lose and the opportunity to petition the king before the king called him is not coincidental.  This was all by the hand of God.  God is never mentioned by name in the book of Esther.  Not once.  But the timing of all the events was so specific and perfect that God cannot be ignored.  Haman will eventually lose his life on the very gallows he built for Mordechai.  Ether, the queen, would see to that.  Before that happened, he has a chance to repent and change the course of his envy.  But he missed it.

Today’s devotion is necessarily about missed opportunities or unseen grace.  Rather, how impressive God’s timing truly is.  The planning and orchestration of God’s plan with men is just, if not more, impressive than the creation of it all.  In six days, God created the spiritual and material universe.  He created spiritual beings and material worlds.  He set it all in place, and by Him it all continues to function.  To me, what is more impressive is the perfect order of events.  In particular, the perfect order of events while using the free will choices of the very beings He created.  He does not force His will on anyone.  We are free to make right or wrong choices.  It is all in His control.  It all works out exactly as He wishes.  This is the wonder of who and what God is.  What does that mean for us?  It means we must learn to trust the plan and timing of God.  He has it all in perfect balance.  Hi way is not obscured to the point of fatal ignorance.  Yes, it takes faith to see it.  But it can and is seen.  We have to learn to trust it.  God’s ways and timing are perfect!  Glory!

HELP

“For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.” (Isa 41:13 AV)

Sometimes we don’t know exactly what to pray for.  So, we pray for help.  This is a great answer to a very genuine need.  I was reminded of this verse upon last night’s prayer time.  Asking for help comes with an understanding, though.  At least it did for me.  We pray for things is all sorts of ways.  Sometimes we pray for an expected end. We want the LORD to do certain things or solve certain problems in certain ways.  At other times, we pray and seek the LORD’s wisdom in how or what to pray for.  There are times when every avenue of prayer is exhausted, but we know we still need to pray.  We extrapolate the consequences of answered prayer and realize that maybe we simply do not know how to pray or for what outcome we seek.  It is at those times when asking for help in whatever form God may offer it is the proper prayer to pray.  That was the case for me last night.

Help can be a fluid thing.  Help offered is contingent on the circumstances one faces.  Those circumstances change.  I cannot begin to tell you how much this verse means to me.  And it was very timely.  We are facing major changes of life.  A lot of unknowns.  Lisa has cancer and complications from her initial surgery.  We are at the point where benefits are a bit too far away, but the ability to provide our own is becoming a challenge.  This is extra concerning because of healthcare costs.  We are not alone.  Millions of people face the same thing.  Life does not get easier as one ages.  It gets far more complicated.  We are approaching the age when options become limited and needs tend to grow.  There are choices that must be made, and the horizon seems impossible.  The race you are running gets ever narrower and there seem to be far less off-ramps.  It is so complicated that answers seem fleeting.  The petitioner doesn’t know exactly how to fix it, so he or she doesn’t know what to ask for.  That, or the challenges seem so daunting that even if the answers come, it is beyond the ability of the seeker to apply them.  This is why a simple four-letter prayer is so effective. H-E-L-P

Sometimes assurance of help promised is more precious than the help that actually comes.  I don’t know exactly what the LORD will do.  According the promise above, there is a commitment on God’s part to care for those whom He loves.  He will help.  Not just because He can.  It is deeper than that.  He promises to help because He desires to and He takes pity on those who trust in Him.  The promise alone is sufficient for the moment.  Since help above is framed as a future act of God, the consolation isn’t in the assistance, but in the promise of it.  All I needed to hear from my parents was the word of promised help.  As I struggled with my homework, all I needed to hear was my father calling from afar the words, “just a minute and I will help you.”  It didn’t immediately solve the math problem I faced.  Rather, it gave me peace and patience.  Often, the promise of help quiets the heart enough to realize the help was always present.  Like the promise of my father’s help and a solution was on the way, cleared the mind of confusion so the answer could be seen all along!  God will help.  He loves to help.  That is His nature.  So, we must rest in the promise of that help because it is on the way.

Praise At All Times

“And both the singers and the porters kept the ward of their God, and the ward of the purification, according to the commandment of David, [and] of Solomon his son. For in the days of David and Asaph of old [there were] chief of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving unto God.” (Ne 12:45-46 AV)

The captivity caused Israel to forget the songs of praise.  In fact, Psalms tells us that while in captivity, their captors required them to sing songs of praise and mirth.  “For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us [required of us] mirth, [saying], Sing us [one] of the songs of Zion.” (Ps 137:3 AV) It was cruel enough that they were forced to reside far away from their home in the service of a pagan king.  Now, they required them to live as though nothing untoward had happened.  Seventy years later, they were back in Canaan.  They rebuilt the wall and repaired the temple.  Still under pagan rule, it was important that they reestablish the songs of praise.  For the next five hundred years, they would be under different Gentile nations or kingdoms.  Because they were center to all the conflicts between these Gentile kingdoms, Israel would know no peace.  Yet, the songs of praise must go on!

One of the fondest memories of ministry happened a few years back.  It was a Sunday morning, and there was a phone call during our morning service.  Usually, we ignore it unless it rings and rings and rings.  I left the pulpit area and answered to phone.  It was a member of our church who was calling for her son.  He was my songleader.  She said something had happened to her husband and her son needed to call back right away.  In the middle of our song service, my friend and fellow laborer called his mom to find out that Dad had collapsed and was taken to the hospital.  My songleader immediately left for the hospital.  We concluded our service as normally as we could, and I immediately left for the hospital.  When I found the family with their patriarch in bed, it was told me that he had a condition that could not be treated and that his departure was at hand.  This family was a musical family and a very spiritual one.  They surrounded the bed as their loved one passed, praying and singing familiar songs of old.  Each sang their part, but the newly departed.  His voice was a record-setting tenor voice.  They sang three-part harmony with the tenor part silent.  It was the most precious moment I believe I have ever witnessed.  Rather than mourn with wailing and weeping, they reacted in praise and joy. A life lived that touched all was worthy of songs of praise for a God who gave it.

It is easy to say, but hard to do.  When we are at our lowest, praise does not come easy from our lips.  When life is a challenge, to say the least, thanksgiving isn’t the first thought that comes to mind.  We do not visit this truth lightly.  Thanksgiving and praise are not natural when we are facing the battle of a lifetime.  Praise and thanksgiving are not the first thoughts when our life seems on a spiral that is out of control.  Or, as in Israel’s case, that do not come easy when there is a constant drip of discouragement around every corner.  Praise and thanksgiving may not change our circumstances, but they will change our perspective.  Besides, God is not worthy of both only when things are going well.  It takes humility, vision, and character for the saint to be thankful and praise the LORD in times of difficulty.  But praise and thankfulness are the key to surviving the hard times and flourishing in the good times.

Deep Worship By Hard Lessons

“And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with [their] faces to the ground.” (Ne 8:6 AV)

What an incredible sight this must have been.  A remnant has returned to restore the Temple and city wall.  On the day these projects were completed, the entire congregation assembled, and the word of God was read.  This lasted an entire day.  Sacrifices were once again offered for the sins of the people.  Feast days were observed anew.  The people were so moved by God’s mercy that they worshipped in the sincerest of all manners.  They bowed their faces to the ground.  They would not so much as look unto heaven whence came their help.  They confessed their sins twice.  Just in case they missed something, they did so a second time.  The beauty of this holiness came at the expense of some hard lessons.  If we are saved and wish to be perfectly Christlike with a sincere and transparent relationship with the LORD, then there are some hard lessons to learn along the way.

This revival came at the expense of failures and consequences.  Israel learned the hard way that faith is difficult, but expected.  They learned the hard way that obedience is required.  Israel went through some deep waters.  They suffered much because of their choices of disobedience and fear.  When they were successful, this also came at a cost.  Trusting God is difficult.  Obedience often comes with persecution.  Whether they were faithful or not, the journey of the saints was a hard road.  Yet, when they were released from their captors and returned to their own land, Israel realized just how merciful and gracious God was.  And, He still is.  They returned to their homes.  They returned to their country.  They returned with relative liberty to worship God as instructed once again.  A heart of gratitude and humility is what made the head bow.

I don’t know about you, but I go to bed each night asking the LORD to help me worship Him as He deserves.  He is my Creator.  I am His lowly creator.  He deserves more than the best that I have.  He deserves more than I can give.  This doesn’t mean the soul should give up trying.  The more this soul strives to love God as He is worthy to be loved, the more it becomes apparent that there is much work to be done.  This work is hard work.  This work means uncomfortable situations.  This work comes as we learn to fear the LORD as we should, yet not to where His love becomes ineffective.  This work requires much confession.  It requires much prayer.  Most of all, this work requires the unabated work of the Holy Spirit.  If we are to love God as He deserves to be loved, then the Holy Spirit cannot be frustrated.  He must be listened to and followed.  Our God is far better to us than we deserve.  The intimacy with God we crave comes at the end of some hard times.  But it is better to go through those times and love God with all our hearts, than to rest at ease in our sin and fears never having known or loved God as was possible!

Someone Has To Stop

“A brother offended [is harder to be won] than a strong city: and [their] contentions [are] like the bars of a castle.” (Pr 18:19 AV)

Solomon’s proverb here is a simple statement of fact.  There is no indication of who or what the offense was.  The offence could have been a legitimate one.  The opposite is just as likely.  The point our wise sage is trying to make is the inevitable complete severance of a relationship due to an ongoing dispute.  If you’ll notice the plural ‘their’ and the suggestion that the contentions are present tense and ongoing, one can see the obvious truth.  The principle is that for a brother to be won, someone must first stop the contention.  Someone has to lay down arms first.  The longer it goes, the harder those bars become.  The longer the offense goes, the more difficult it will be to breach the bars of defense that have been set against any further offense.  For a dispute to end, there must be trust.  Trust requires a bit of vulnerability.  This is impossible if the contentions continue and the bars become more numerous and thicker.

Bars are placed because an injury has occurred.  Somewhere along the way, something was said or done to cause one or both to erect safeguards against any further injury.  We saw this in our ministry to the military.  We served the Navy near Great Lakes RTC.  Our ministry enjoyed a good deal of naval personnel all of whom ran the gamut of rank.  From a lowly seaman who had recently graduated from boot camp all the way up to a Senior commander, we served many different service personnel.  Most of our guests were enlisted.  It was not out of the ordinary for our church would host families who knew each other.  Their sailor was stationed to the same ship as others.  So, when the sailor rotated to sea duty and then to a new shore duty station, it was not uncommon for them to do so with the same families in the same situation.  One would think that common rotation would bode well for long-term relationships.  But that was not the case.  At about the sixth month mark before their next rotation, separation anxiety would settle in.  The families that had rotated together began to be at odds.  The deeper the relationships, the greater the volatility to their contentions.  It was their way of dealing with goodbyes.  As some point, they had to see the greater good of protecting our nation than the establishment of deep relationships.  Until the bigger picture came into view, they were constantly at odds.

There is little we can do if we caused someone else to put up bars.  We cannot force them down.  The more we try to force them down, the more will take their place.  The only thing an offending party can do is to stop offending.  It takes time to remove those bars.  It takes vulnerability to remove those bars.  They cannot be forced down.  It requires the contention to cease.  It takes overtures that build trust.  It takes kindness rather than abrasiveness.  It takes friendship rather than adversity.  Solomon places no blame on only one party.  He encourages both to make efforts to restore.  The first step is to stop.  Then one goes on from there.

Prepared Before Compliance

“For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do [it], and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.” (Ezr 7:10 AV)

This isn’t the first person mentioned who had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD.  Several of Judah’s kings did the exact same thing.  Ezra was a priest.  He was charged with repairing the temple and starting afresh the Jewish sacrificial system.  He was focused on the furniture of the temple and the feasts that were to follow.  Therefore, because of his calling, he would naturally prepare his heart to seek the law of the LORD because his calling depended on it.  Preparing one’s heart to seek the law of the LORD is not the same as responding to it with compliance once the law is revealed.  We tend to do more of the latter than the former.  If we are honest, we wait for instructions to be brought to us before we are motivated to obey.  Seldom to we study the word of God that we might specifically find laws or principles to which to conform.  Seeking the law is not the same as mere compliance.  The latter is important.  It must be done.  But the former is a higher standard to which we are called.

Ezra had the calling and responsibility of the priesthood.  His objective demanded that he prepare his heart to search out and discover the law of God.  He could not accomplish what God sent him to do without a prepared heart toward the law of God.  Paul the Apostle states, “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,” (Eph 4:1 AV) We have a calling as well.  Our calling is to be a sanctified child of God.  We are to conform to the image of Jesus Christ.  We fail miserably.  We still have that old man to contend with.  He is constantly tempting us to sin.  We may not have the exact same calling as Ezra.  Ours is a lifelong one.  Once the temple was rebuilt and the law established anew, Ezra became a manager.  Our calling is a construction project of change that will not cease until our glorification.  There are always areas of correction.  There are always laws and principles that need discovering.  There are always standards that need our compliance.  Preparing our hearts means that instead of being reactive to the word of God, we become more proactive.

We often preach daily devotions and journaling.  I think both are important.  Daily devotions are going to the LORD for that which that which the saint will need for the day.  Or longer.  It can be encouragement.  Often it is instruction and correction.  Our search should not end with a few minutes a day.  When we go to church or sit in a bible study, we should come with a prepared heart, looking for principles or statutes from God which we can apply to our lives.  This idea of a heart that is prepared to seek the LORD is the mind of the saint that is bent toward seeking opportunities to change and comply.  Having a heart that is prepared is starting at the point of need.  The prepared heart knows that it is not in perfect compliance with the law of the LORD even if it doesn’t yet know the specifics of failure.  The prepared heart is looking with a critical mind for all flaws and the law of God that addresses them.  Looking for, rather than responding to, is a mark of maturity.