Father, Exalt Thyself!

“Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth; That thy beloved may be delivered: save [with] thy right hand, and answer me.” (Ps 108:5-6 AV)

We have this misunderstanding that Satan is motivated by winning.  This is not true.  The devil is fully aware of his future.  He knows he cannot defeat God.  He tried that once and failed.  So, as we observe the forces of Satan aligning themselves against the things that God loves, it isn’t to win a score.  There is only one reason why Satan does what he does.  It is precisely because he knows he has already lost.  His name is Destroyer.  He has no interest in winning a war he cannot win.  But he is motivated by destroying all that he can in order to hurt the Creator in some way.  The world, however, is not that bright.  The world actually thinks it can win.  Their arena is the here and now.  Their field of play is the world.  They erroneously believe they can kick God off the planet and have it all to themselves.  This has been the case since Cain and Abel.  Those who hate God wish to defeat those who love God.  Thus, we see the request above.  Not until the LORD defends and delivers His beloved once and for all will the enemies of God realize they have lost.  It will happen.  It is merely a matter of time.

The cause for deliverance is important.  The writer is not seeking deliverance to ease the trouble.  Rather, he seeks it so that God is exalted.  Trouble from the hands of those who hate God may be severe at times.  But it is the least we could do for the One who gave His life for us.  We may want an end to the persecution, but we owe all that we are to Jesus our Savior.  We can do no less.  Therefore, seeking deliverance should be for a higher cause.  That cause is the glory of God.  As long as the world and devil perceive they are winning a war, then God is demeaned and insulted.  I am sure He does not feel threatened.  If they only understood who it is that they are attacking, and what He can do, perhaps they would see just how foolish it all is.  I have to admit.  It gets tiresome sometimes.  It is like a slow drip.  Annoying and draining.  We know the end from the beginning.  We know how this all ends.  We have a home in heaven, and the God-haters can never take that away.  They can live wicked lives, but that is not the case where the saints will dwell forever!  Not a chance.  Scream as they may, there is no abomination in heaven!  It is all outlawed!  Only purity and holiness.

So, how do we pray?  Do we pray as weary souls who want an end to all this filth?  Do we pray that we can live a peaceful and holy life free from the influence and attacks of those who hate God?  How do we pray?  I think our author gives us a clue.  It is not our deliverance from adversity that we seek.  Although we will welcome it with rejoicing and praise for our wonderful God.  Rather, we should be offended for God at the way His enemies treat Him.  Until we are more concerned with the glory of God than we are for our own comfort, our prayers will go unanswered.  It is time to pray.  Time to pray that God would be exalted.  It is time to pray that God would deliver His beloved to show to the devil and the world that they lost and He won!  Time for the conqueror to come and take what He created and is rightfully His!  It is time that we pray that the throne of Jesus Christ be lifted up above all His enemies and that all must come and bow the knee!  It is time to pray for the exaltation of the Creator above His creation once and for all!

Deliverance Guaranteed

“[Thou], which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.” (Ps 71:20 AV)

God’s deliverance does not mean the absence of all troubles.  If it did, there would be no need for deliverance.  David is summarizing his life.  He remembers the good and the bad.  When it comes to the bad, the king thinks of God’s deliverance.  He does not dwell on the baggage that troubles can produce.  David is also relying on the faithfulness of God to bring him out of all troubles that are yet to come.  The verse above suggests David is facing troubles and that because God has delivered him before, He will deliver him again.  Because this is the second to last of David’s psalms in what is called the book of psalms, he could very well be referring to his illness and impending death. (There are more Davidic psalms that appear after psalm 72.  But psalms.1-72 are all David’s.  That is why the ‘book of David’s psalms’ ends at 72) Because David uses ‘hast’ which is past tense and ‘shalt’ which is future tense, he is in the middle of times of troubles anticipating more ahead.  The point is simple.  If we are children of God by faith, then our Father will never abandon us.  No matter what troubles come; and they will come; God will be there.

It is unrealistic and immature to think that life can be trouble-free.  Those who pursue such a life will be disappointed.  Those who think it possible will never grow up.  Troubles are part of life.  Even if mankind had never sinned, faith would still need to be learned and grown.  For faith to grow, there must be risk.  Risk is a form of trouble.  So, to think that life can be free from all anxiety is naïve at best.  Foolish at worst.  Note also that David uses the words ‘great’ and ‘sore’.  Troubles are not meant to be easy.  They are not meant to be infrequent.  The problem with being human is that we are human.  We do not learn lessons all that easy.  Discipline and obedience are not in our nature.  Faith is not natural.  These things come by the hardness of life.  Faith and obedience, however, are the only means to a blessed life.  Have you ever met someone who was steeped in rebellion or doubt who was completely happy?

Today, Psalm 107 was in my daily reading schedule.  I was going to write regarding the last verse of this psalm.  It reads, “Whoso [is] wise, and will observe these [things], even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.” (Ps 107:43 AV)  I had written of it before and it is a theme that has repeated itself several times over the last few months.  Observation is what determines the effectiveness of God’s lovingkindness and not the presence of it.  The presence of it is constant and unending.  If God’s love is ineffective, it is only because we do not see it.  What gives bones to this truth is the context in which it is found.  The psalm rehearses Israel’s history of doubt and disobedience answered by God’s mercy and provision.  Even when they did not live to please God, He never gave up on them.  He repeatedly delivered them even if their situation was self-inflicted.  That is the God who saved us and loved us.  Yes, troubles came and will come.  They will be many and sore.  But out of them all will the LORD deliver those who love and trust Him.

Ruled Spirit

“[He that is] slow to anger [is] better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.” (Pr 16:32 AV)

Anger isn’t the only emotion that can get out of control.  Any emotion to which we are prone can get away from us.  In our proverb, it is anger.  Anger is an effective motivator to accomplish a task.  The problem with unabated anger is the damage is leaves in its wake.  Anger is monocular.  It hones in on one and only one goal.  What it cannot see are all the peripheral effects of being so singularly focused.  Having shared all that, that which we want to consider is the ruling of the spirit.  What is that?  How is it accomplished?  What does it look like?  Are feelings permitted, and to what degree?

To rule here means to have dominion over.  It means to cause to rule.  The spirit is that which gives animation.  It is our outward manifestation of who and what we are on the inside wherein it pertains to personality and emotional expression.  It is that part of us that expressed life of the soul and body.  To rule the spirit is to control how we express or manifest what we think, feel, or desire on the inside.  Now pay attention here.  The degree of what we are on the inside will force itself to the surface.  In other words, Solomon is not saying we can feel as deeply as we wish on the inside as long as it does not show on the outside.  That is not good.  Those feelings on the inside will work themselves out in one form or another.  This is why people who bottle up their emotions suffer physical consequences later on.  The problem isn’t self-control.  The problem is Self.  Thinking, feeling, and desiring are all expressions of who we are.  People become dependent on outlets for their emotions, thinking, or desires that are less harmful, but it doesn’t address the root problem.  The root problem is permitting the thinking, feeling, or desires to begin with.  Self is not disciplined.  It is simply refocused.

So, what is the answer?  God!  Not just the person of God, but the promises from God.  Peter writes, “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that [pertain] unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:” (2Pe 1:3 AV) Either we believe this or we don’t.  Our belief doesn’t change this.  All that we need is given of the Father.  What we must think is found in His word.  Anything above the authority of the word of God only leads to harm.  God has given us all the answers to our out-of-control emotional expression.  The comfort and contentment we seek are found in His word.  All the desires God permits are found in the scriptures.  Prayer, faith, and an intimate walk with God through the ministry of the Holy Spirit will meet all our needs and help discipline the spirit.  Ruling the spirit is one of the most important things we can learn.  Just because we can feel, think, or want doesn’t mean it is good for us.  Just because we feel, think, or want doesn’t mean we are helplessly victimized by them.  No!  Ruling the spirit is the key.

Divine Intervention is a Matter of Perception

“And he answered, Fear not: for they that [be] with us [are] more than they that [be] with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain [was] full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” (2Ki 6:16-17 AV)

Syria had come against Israel, and because the blessed Seer warned her king, the nation could evade a war she could not win.  The king of Syria believed a spy was among them, but it came to his attention that the man of God was the voice in the ear of the king of Israel.  It was discovered where Elisha was abiding.  The king of Syria sent forces to completely surround the city.  His intent was to destroy it with Elisha also being among the dead.  At the time, Elisha was training a young prophet.  That young prophet was understandable gravely concerned for their situation.  Elisha took his young student out of the gate of the city and prayed that God would open his eyes to the reality of the battle that lay ahead.  Now note that the young men’s eyes were opened, and as they were, the angelic forces arrived.  Rather, the forces of God were already present and staged for the battle.  Experience and faith gave Elisha the spiritual eye to see the reality of the situation.  It took prayer for the younger man to see it.  What this shows us is that divine intervention is not a logistical problem.  It is a perception problem.  God is there.  God is here.  God is everywhere to work on behalf of those who love and trust Him.  We simply need to see it.

A common theme in stories of the thriller sort is a cat burglar who must evade several layers of security to catch the prize.  Or, the adventurer and treasure seeker must solve a labyrinth of traps designed to protect the valuable artifact.  One such scenario is the laser beam security feature.  Many beams shoot across the room and picked up by sensors on the opposite side.  They come from all directions and at all sorts of angles.  The character must stretch and bend to avoid breaking a beam.  If even one beam is broken, then he or she is trapped and apprehended.  The problem is, the beams cannot be seen.  That is where a can of fogger comes in.  A light mist or fog is blown over the room, and all the beams can be seen.  It is not until an agent is added that assists the character in seeing what he or she cannot naturally see.

Our outside agent is experience, the word of God, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  We cannot see what God is doing without the eyes of faith.  For the young man to see, all it took was the prayer of a man with great faith.  Elisha had seen God to great things.  Things beyond belief.  He has seen God bring a young man dead for hours, if not days, back to life.  If God can reanimate a corpse, surely he could rescue them from an invading army.  Our faith may determine what God will do.  There is enough biblical evidence to make that point.  There were times when the lack of faith hindered what God was prepared to do.  But that is the key, isn’t it?  God is not less of a God because we do not believe.  God is not any less present because we have limited perception.  Those angelic chariots were on the hill surrounding the enemy, regardless of the young prophet’s perception to see them.  God is always there.  He is willing to act on behalf of those who trust in Him!

A Choice To Think On God Sweetly

“My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.” (Ps 104:34 AV)

God will be one of two things to us.  Either He will be a executing judge or a loving Father.  Either He will find us guilty and condemn us to a devil’s hell to be tormented day and night forever and ever.  Or, He will be a Father who loves and pities us.  Either He will sit upon His throne and execute final judgment.  Or, He will be involved with us, bringing us unto Christlikeness.  But He cannot be both at the same time.  Our view of God may be tainted, but that doesn’t change who He is to us.  We may think that God disapproves of us to the point that He is willing to disown us.  But He cannot.  We may think He has forgotten us like those who perish, but He has not.  We may feel as though God is far from us, but if we are His children, we are only a prayer away.  The writer is thinking upon who and what God is to him.   He makes a choice.  He chooses to think fondly and gratefully upon the person and nature of God.  It is a choice he makes.  He chooses to think on the truth rather than on his perception.

Life is not easy.  No one had a perfect father.  Some had better than others.  But no one had a perfect one.  Some had no father present.  Some had a father who was always there.  Some had a father who was never loving and affirming.  Others had fathers who were their greatest fans.  Some had fathers who abused them.  Others had fathers who would go to the ends of the world to protect and provide for them.  Some had fathers who didn’t care how their children ended up.  Some had fathers who invested the time and wisdom to mentor their children into responsible and healthy adults.  Some had fathers who never wanted anything to do with God.  Others had fathers who loved the LORD with their whole hearts.  No two families are alike.  No two fathers are alike.  Earthly fathers vary.  They are of different quality and quantity.  They change over time.  Some for the better.  Some for the worse.  Our earthly fathers may disappoint us.  They may even leave a few scars behind.  It is no wonder that some carry baggage throughout their lives from the ruin left in the wake of a hateful or absent father.  To remember them with sweetness of memory is impossible.  But our God is not that person!

Our God is always the same.  Depending on who and what we are will determine our relationship with Him and our perception of Him.  But He can never change.  We may not understand why He does certain things or why He has allowed other things.  But that does not change who and what He is.  Maybe we don’t understand why our prayers were answered contrary to our wishes or why our hopes and dreams didn’t turn out.  But that doesn’t change who and what God is.  Maybe we wonder how close or distant He seems.  But that doesn’t change who and what God is.  Maybe our lives are not where we thought they would be, or that somehow, the LORD did not figure it the same way we did.  But that doesn’t change who and what God is.  God may not always be what we want Him to be.  God may allow things that hurt rather than heal. But that doesn’t change who and what God is.  How we choose to think upon Him is a matter of faith.  Either we remember God for what He says He is and see manifestations of what He says He is, or we choose to trust our own perception and reasoning.  Either way, that doesn’t change who and what God is.  The Psalmist chooses to sweetly think of God.  He chooses to be grateful rather than anything else.  He makes a promise to his own heart that as he lay down to sleep, he will recollect all the good that has come from God and all the bad from which He delivered him.  How we choose to think on God goes a long way in how we experience life.

Divine Consideration

“Like as a father pitieth [his] children, [so] the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we [are] dust.” (Ps 103:13-14 AV)

Every parent has done this.  We have forgotten how fragile our children can be.  Whether we were rough-housing and an injury ensued, or we said an unkind thing that our child took very personally, we forget just how human we are.  God does not.  And the reality that He is who He is yet does not forget the nature of our existence is a miracle in and of itself.  It is verse fourteen that truly speaks to the heart this morning.  When we consider just how big God is and how inconsequential we are, it should strike us with awe that our Creator knows and remembers just how small and frail we are.  Just imagine a God who is so large that all the created universe cannot contain Him.  That is what Solomon tells us.  Not imagine how small we must be in comparison.  Much like a scientist who would look at a single-celled organism, we are infinitesimally small in comparison to the LORD.  Yet, He takes pity on us.

A humbling thought is how much our Creator regards us and treats us with respect.  He does not need to do this.  He is God.  All honor and respect go to Him.  As Creator, He can do as He wishes with what He creates.  When it comes to sentient beings like mankind, he regards our low estate.  He sees us exactly as we are and treats us with love and respect.  That is mind-blowing.  A delicate touch is necessary for certain tasks.  The artist who works with Japanese rice paper needs to be delicate.  A craftsman working with centuries-old ceramic as repairs are made works slowly and patiently.  The zookeeper who is tasked with managing a rare and delicate butterfly will do all he or she can to create an environment where the creature can thrive.  A baker making a souffle will watch it carefully.  He or she does not allow for any vibration lest the souffle fall.  A house of cards goes up patiently and slowly.  There is respect for that which is weaker and more fragile.

We can take great comfort in that the God of all things sees us as the delicate and fragile beings that we are.  He knows exactly what we are made of and what we can tolerate.  The promise of pity, however, only applies to those who love Him and obey Him.  He withholds more than we can handle because we fall upon our faces toward One who is infinitely greater.  When we show the respect due our Creator, then He remembers our frame and takes pity.  What a great God we serve and love!

Sin and the Sin of Unbelief

“And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou [art] a man of God, [and] that the word of the LORD in thy mouth [is] truth.” (1Ki 17:24 AV)

Many speculate that unbelief was the sin of the widow that she believed caused the near-death experience of her son.  That might be close.  While during a time of divinely sent drought and famine, the LORD sent Elijah to a widow woman.  This widow had only enough meal and oil left in her house to feed her and her son.  She was gathering sticks to make this food when Elijah commanded her to fix him a cake from what she had first.  He promised that while she did, her meal and oil would miraculously perpetually sustain.  She obeyed, and the LORD provided.  The Bible is silent on how long Elijah was with the widow before her son fell ill.  The scriptures use the term ‘many days’.  Suffice it to say, the miracle of perpetual supply could not be discarded.  Yet it is said she had a heart of unbelief.  This is supported by her profession of faith above.  There was something she was missing even though she lived in the present reality of a miracle.  I can understand this.

There are those saints who believe that when it comes to God’s grace, there are limits based on past sin.  I have ministered to many who refuse to believe God’s grace is infinite.  They hang on to some sin of the past that limits their belief in God’s mercy.  They believe God is gracious enough to save them.  They may even believe God is merciful enough to do some things.  Yet they hang on to their guilt as would rather assume God’s grace is limited rather than hope in an eternally gracious God.  More times that one would think, I have sat in my office with someone who was so despondent that they didn’t think God would answer.  The were in a perpetual state of self-destruction that refused to call out for mercy because they truly thought there was none left.  All one has to do is to read the book of Judges to understand just how merciful God is.  We have all been there.  We have messed up to a point that we think God will never forgive.  We begin to think we have worn out the red carpet of mercy and grace.  We think that God did some miracles in the past, but the mistakes of the present are simply too much for God’s grace to overcome.

When we look at the widow, we see someone who was hanging onto guilt over sin.  She did not believe Elijah could raise her son.  Or, better yet, she believed he could, but probably wouldn’t.  Why else would she call for him?  If she truly believed God’s grace had run out and all she could hope for His a never-ending supply, then why call the prophet of God?  Obviously, she did what she knew was the only thing to do.  She called for the man of God, knowing that he could resurrect her son.  As to whether God would do it or not, that was a completely different story.  We are not advocating that we act in presumption toward the grace of God.  Not one little bit.  If we are presumptuous, then there is no grace to be had.  On the other hand, if we are truly desperate and acknowledge our faults, God will manifest His grace and mercy toward His children.  He can do no other.