The Goat Is Supposed to be Lost

“But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.”  Leviticus 16:10

As someone who has spent a fair amount of time in the wilderness, I wondered what would ever become of that scapegoat.  Where did it travel?  Did it survive?  Did it find other wild goats?  Was the scapegoat eaten by wild animals?  The instruction was to take the scapegoat to a remote area where no person lived.  He was not merely let loose close to the camp.  The priest would deliberately take this animal to a place where it would be highly unlikely to be found by anyone but God.  Then my mind went to the natural reaction of some.  I imagine some adventurous young men might head out to find the scapegoat.  Not that they could do anything with it once found.  It would be the adventure of finding it that would satisfy.  Any sane person would say that such an adventure was a waste of time.  First, they wouldn’t know where to start looking.  Second, they didn’t know if the goat existed.  Perhaps it was destroyed.  Third, if the goat was still alive, it was not stationary.  As they moved to find it, it would move to evade.  The likelihood of finding the animal was remote at best.  This reminds me of those who cannot let go of the past.  Their past sins, that is.

Have you ever lost something and concluded that it will never be found?  What is fascinating to me is that as I sit here and type, I cannot think of a single valuable thing I have lost and never found.  I can think of several that were lost for a while and then later found.  I lost a pair of glasses in the snow, and when it melted a month later, I found them.  There was my wife’s engagement ring that we found in the cuff of my pants.  Then she lost her wedding ring and engagement ring, and it was found six weeks later.  The latter was replaced before the original was found.  The LORD allowed me to make good on a promise of almost forty years ago and get her a bigger diamond.  The original was very inexpensive and was all we could afford.  It is amazing that bigger and better makes what was lost seem smaller.  What I fail to do is remember anything that was permanently lost, which made my life worse and not better.  I have lost plenty of fishing lures.  I know I have.  But I cannot remember any specific one.  I know I have lost articles of clothing.  Dryers have a way of eating them.  Once lost, it would be futile to try to find them.

So, why would we want to dig up our past when the LORD has covered it in His blood?  We are like those silly and adventurous boys looking for a goat where it should not be found simply for the exercise of looking.  Our motive might be different.  Perhaps we want to experience the sins of the past all over again.  Or, we cannot seem to forgive ourselves.  Therefore, we thrive on arrogant self-abasement.  Maybe fear has us looking where we ought not to look.  Whatever the cause, the foolishness of looking for something that is supposed to be forgotten is harmful at best.  If the goat is gone, let it remain gone.  If the goat was left to wander in the wilderness, we have to trust the LORD that He will keep it away.  It is where no one but God would know.  And He won’t take us there.  If we are digging up the past, we are not confident in the mercy of God. 

Joy In Tomorrow

“And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation.” (Ps 35:9 AV)

I love the future tense of this verse.  I love the certainty of David’s outlook.  He is currently in distress.  He is persecuted by those to whom he shows the utmost kindness.  Even when mistreated, he treats his enemies very well.  Yet they don’t get it.  They continue on.  The more he loves, as Paul says, the less he is loved.  In the midst of his complaint, he makes this statement.  He can because he knows the nature of God.  He knows that regardless of his present situation, his future will always be bright.  He knows no matter what life is presently like, the future looks outstanding!  That is the way to go through life!

The present may stink, but the future does not.  The older I get, the less I can tolerate cold winters.  Yuk!  I was watching a docuseries on a lost expedition to Siberia.  A group of younger college students embarked on a winter trip over a pass in Siberia.  The entire expedition was lost.  All fourteen of the college students perished.  The mystery is how and why.  This expedition exited their tent as though they were in an emergency.  Not one was dressed.  They all had bare feet.  It appeared as though they left in a hurry and something kept them from returning.  The tent was destroyed.  The stove was never assembled and used.  A real mystery.  This docuseries retraced the steps of the expedition in the same time of year.  Albeit, almost 75 years later.  What struck me as I was watching this is the extreme cold and remoteness of this trip.  The weather got down to thirty below zero without a wind chill factor.  They were camping in tents.  The closest village of any sort was a two-hour snowmobile ride away.  There isn’t enough money in the world to get me to do that.  One shot had the host and two guides talking about the possibilities of demise.  They stood in open tundra with the wind gusting around them.  All I could think of was how to get out of there.  What did they have to look forward to?  Two hours away there was heat and more permanent structures.  It was the fact this docuseries was coming to an end and as soon as they got all their shots, they were headed home.

Our lives are not perfect.  Along the way we will have troubles and trials.  There will be times when we think survival is impossible.  There are days when it seems the sun never shines.  There are days we wonder if God even cares.  Those days, although common, are not permanent.  Like the docuseries crew, we have a limited time in a state of trial.  The time we have in glory is eternity.  The seventy years or so of our earthly journey is not even comparable to forever!  This is why David could rejoice in a reality did not have, but eventually will have.  This is why life was more than tolerable.  It was survivable.  This is why David could thrive and not merely survive.  Our eyes are in the wrong place.  As little orphan Annie sang, “Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I love ya, Tomorrow; you’re only a day away”.  There is a home in heaven with my name written on it.  There is one for you, too.  Most of all, the unfiltered presence of God resides there.  The joys of glory cannot be compared.  There is nothing like it.  Joy abounds and troubles cease.  That is why our hope is always in the future.  Not in the present.

God Heals the Broken Heart

“[The righteous] cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The LORD [is] nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” (Ps 34:17-18 AV)

What words of hope are these?  Tremendous!  Beyond tremendous!  We have to be careful to remember that relief may not always be immediate.  Most of the time, it is not.  Most of the time God’s deliverance is future tense.  Most of the time He delivers by bringing us through the trial before the trial ends.  What is interesting to consider is the reality of a broken heart compared to God’s response to it.  One would ask of the LORD’s judgment in allowing a heart to be broken in the first place.  Our beloved Psalmist does not consider this.  It won’t change the reality of it.  His heart is broken regardless, and wondering why God did not prevent it doesn’t change the fact that it is broken.  In the context of our psalm, the heart needed to be broken.  Because the word ‘contrite’ is used, this suggests repentance.  That is what ‘contriteness’ means.  To be contrite means to come the reality that we have sinned and are broken for it.  Therefore, God is near.  But sin isn’t the only cause of a broken heart.  We may not initially understand the necessity for it.  It still comes.  The comfort comes from the truth that God is near and that God will deliver.

Mayoclinic.org states, “Broken heart syndrome is a heart condition that's often brought on by stressful situations and extreme emotions. The condition also can be triggered by a serious physical illness or surgery. Broken heart syndrome is usually temporary. But some people may continue to feel unwell after the heart is healed.  People with broken heart syndrome may have sudden chest pain or think they're having a heart attack. Broken heart syndrome affects just part of the heart. It briefly interrupts the way the heart pumps blood. The rest of the heart continues to work as usual. Sometimes the heart contracts more forcefully.”  I noticed a few things here.  First, broken heart syndrome is temporary.  I also noticed that after the trauma, a feeling of being unwell might continue.  It is also interesting that the broken heart can continue to function normally because most of the muscle is uninterrupted or damaged.  What a perfect picture of the trials of life.  Even Job has something that worked.  He may have lost his family, his purpose, and his health, but he still had his mind, his friends, and his wife.  God did not allow complete loss. 

A broken heart may be broken.  But a broken heart is never destroyed.  With the LORD there is always strength.  It is never as bad as it seems.  It is funny how a broken heart is laser-focused on the broken part.  It fails to see how everything else is healthy.  The break is the largest factor.  That is what we feel.  That is what hurts.  The broken heart screams for relief.  The broken heart simply does not want to feel the break anymore.  But as we read above, it is temporary.  Once David went to the LORD and gained reconciliation, the occupational therapy begins.  No doubt David picked his harp up, plucked a few familiar songs, and perhaps wrote some new ones.  No doubt he went home to be with his family.  Thoughts would still enter that hindered the healing process.  But as I learned after my shoulder surgery, therapy is slow but effective.  God is there.  He is there to heal and deliver.  It takes time. There is no quick fix.  The great Physician has clocked in.  He is there.  He will be there.  All the way through the healing process, God is there.  And you will be ok.

Listen Up

“Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:” (Pr 1:20 AV)

Wisdom is not within.  It is without.  God is the source of all wisdom.  To attempt to make decisions without going to a greater source of ourselves is not going to work.  It struck me this morning that we often turn within to find answers rather than to go to something or someone bigger than Self.  The Spirit also spoke loudly about the crying of wisdom.  Wisdom isn’t a whisper.  Wisdom is a shout.  When Solomon speaks of this comparison, it is somewhere between foolish and silly.  A young man goes down a street and wisdom cries aloud.  On the other corner is a strange woman enticing him to sin.  One against the other.  It is too bad that wisdom has to yell.  One would think that as powerful as wisdom is, it wouldn’t have to shout.  But it does.  What we want to deeply consider is that wisdom is without.  Not within.

I like puzzles.  I have an app on my phone that offers nine different word puzzles.  Most of them I cannot do without help.  One of them is figuring out the top answers to a single question.  Another arranging words according to category.  Still another is finding hidden words.  There are two crossword puzzles.  There are three more puzzles that require unique skills with words.  There is one that is frustrating.  The puzzle starts out with a four-letter word.  Then the answer to the clue requires one letter to be changed.  Then another clue and another single letter is changed.  It is frustrating because most of the clues are cultural.  The clues are about some actor, movie, or non-American reference.  This puzzle is impossible to solve without help.  I have to ask Mr. Google who played what part or the first name of an author of a book I’ve never heard of.  I have to ask my search engine what England would call an item as opposed to America.  There are words in that puzzle that I have never heard of.  Solving these puzzles without help is near to impossible.

Life is far more complicated than a word puzzle.  We would be fools to try to solve all of life’s challenges within the resources of our own mind.  It is a fool's errand.  God has not made us to be an island unto ourselves.  He has provided His word and other people to be that source of wisdom that is screaming for our attention.  We go through life with deaf ears.  And in the process cause undue harm.  Why?  Why don’t we listen to that one source who is yelling with a bullhorn?  Why don’t we stop in our tracks and listen to the voice that is crying without?  Why don’t we let God be God?

Our Part; His Part

“Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.” (Ps 31:24 AV)

Note here our part and His part.  To have courage means to be resolved.  To have courage is possible without the ability to act.  One can have courage as the boat is sinking, meeting the end with hope and joy.  Courage does not necessarily require the means to realize that which we hope.  This is where God comes it.  It is our part to have courage.  It is His part to strengthen.

A familiar scenario plays out from time to time.  There are people, usually lined up and facing a leader.  Then the leader asks for one volunteer.  He has a mission that is high risk and needs someone to take that risk. He instructs the one brave soldier to take one step forward.  Invariably, all but one take one step back.  Reluctantly, he goes off on his mission and is successful.  He comes back a hero.  Never intending to be one, the circumstances demanded resolve.  The leader equipped his ‘forced volunteer’ with sufficient intelligence, ordnance, and a plan that led to victory.  All our poor volunteer needed to do is to not say no.  Everyone else said no.  The volunteer, by standing there and not stepping back didn’t say yes, but he didn’t say no, either.  He may not have had the strength to go into battle, but by standing his ground the leader provided him with the strength for the battle.

God never asks of us anything too difficult for us to endure.  He will never require us to fight a pointless and unwinnable battle.  Search the scriptures.  Not once did God ever ask a saint to do something where he never supplied the means to accomplish it.  We love to quote 1Cor 10:13. What we often miss is the truth of God’s participation in our task.  God will never leave nor forsake us.  Faith is a funny thing.  It is an impossibility sometimes.  Faith is a choice to take God at His word, resulting in ordering our choices and actions in light of His word.  Faith is not mere belief.  Faith is accepting truth as it stands and modifying our thinking and behavior accordingly.  David is stating a truth that is dear to a soldier.  He knows of what he speaks.  No doubt there were times when God told him to order a battle and it seemed unwinnable.  Yet the LORD told him to, and he was resolved to go ahead.  The odds did not seem in his favor.  But that is a God thing.  If we could handle everything in our own strength, what need do we have of God?  If God only gave us that which we could handle in our own strength, there would be no opportunity to trust and glorify God.

What we need to see is our part and God’s part.  It is our part to resolve our commitment.  It is not our part to bring everything needed to the battle in order to win the battle.  That is God’s part.  All He is looking for are those who are willing to trust Him, resolving in their hearts to go into battle and leave the bulk of the fighting to Him.  We place too much on our shoulders and failing in the process.  What we need to do is make our shoulders available no matter what and let God be the one who shoulders the vast majority of provision for assured victory.

Short And Simple Can Be Effective

“Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper.” (Ps 30:10 AV)

Sometimes the simplest, shortest, and most succinct prayers are the best ones of all.  This is not complicated.  The context refers to trouble with the enemies of God.  But it just as well could be any type of need.  Especially those overwhelming needs.  Sometimes we think that praying a long and detailed prayer is more impressive to the LORD.  It is the heart that matters most.  Sure, I teach our people to pray detailed prayers.  Don’t just pray that a loved one might come to Christ.  Rather, pray for specific events that might work to that end.  Don’t pray for healing, pray for the specific needs that would result in a healing.  The reason I teach our people to do that is that it is easier to see the hand of God if you are looking for details rather than an overall direction.  But often, the greatest of God’s miracles is at the end of a very short, concise, and desperate prayer.

I think of Peter as he began to slip into the troubles water.  “Lord, save me,” was all he needed to blurt out.  I think of Moses’ prayer when told to go into battle.  Or Elijah’s prayer in calling down fire from heaven.  Then there is the sinner’s prayer of Luke.  “Lord, be merciful unto me, a sinner.”  Jesus said that he went away justified, and the Pharisee whose prayer was long and self-exalting did not.  There was the prophet’s prayer for rain, Daniel’s prayer in the lion’s den, and David’s prayer as he fled Absalom.  John’s prayer in Revelation chapter one is another.  The list goes on and on.  In fact, if one were to research all the prayers recorded in the bible, the student would be sore pressed to find any prayer longer than a single chapter.  Does that mean that God is against long prayers?  Absolutely not.  Prayer is a conversation with God.  Paul said to pray without ceasing.  Now that is a long prayer.

What strikes me is that David’s words, although few, were effective.  Prayer is not complicated.  It is often misunderstood.  Prayer is simply having a conversation with our Creator God who listens and responds by His Spirit.  Productive prayer, above all else, is transparent prayer.  It is not presumptuous.  It is not evasive.  Prayer is not a duty.  It is not something to be checked off as those it is a task among many.  Prayer is not an event.  It is a way of life.  Imagine if we treated all our relationships that way.  My wife would divorce me.  If I told her she only gets ten minutes a day and all I am going to do is talk to her and she doesn’t get to respond, she would have my head.  I don’t think my marriage would have lasted too long.  God wants our hearts.  He wants our fellowship.  He wants to be our Father, and we, His children.  Prayer does not have to be an official act of the day.  Prayer, whether short or long, simply needs to be all in.  The whole heart.  David got right to the point.  Please be merciful and help.  That was it.  And God heard it.

Lowly Goodness

“A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.” (Pr 29:23 AV)

The first part of this proverb is a bit concerning.  Very truthful.  And a great warning for us all.  Not only is a warning, but it is a good thing.  It is a good thing to be brought low.  Being low is far more peaceful than being full of pride.  Failure is not comfortable.  But failure is necessary.  Failure brings us back to reality.  Failure shows us our limits.  Failure is where we come to the end of ourselves.  Humility that follows is the correction for the sin of pride.  It is a good thing to know we are prone to failure.  It is a good thing to learn what we are not and what we cannot do.  Failure is a good thing.   Being brought to our lowest Self is cleansing.  It is a reboot.  It is truth, raw and unfiltered, that cries out for a merciful God to forgive, reconcile, and regenerate the broken will.  Being brought low is the only way to new heights.

As much as we don’t like to admit it, there were times we were brought to the end of ourselves.  We thought we could handle something, and we could not.  We had dreams of great conquest only to find we could not accomplish those goals as we thought.  There were times we tried to do something physical only to realize we were mortal.  The pain medications were not too far away.  There were times when we thought we knew what we were doing, only to cause more harm than good.  Those times were hard lessons.  They were humbling lessons.  What gives me pause is thinking that we can live above that.  We think that there will come a time when we ‘arrive’.  But that will never be the case.  At least not on this side of glory.  Bruised knees, scars, and less than perfect x-rays all testify to those times we thought we were something that we were not.  Childhood teaches us we are not invincible.  This is a lesson we never truly grasp.  Not even in adulthood.

Being brought low is not comfortable.  But when we are, it is almost liberating.  When we are brought to the end of ourselves, it is there that God becomes very real.  We cannot do what we thought we could do.  We cannot solve what we thought we could solve.  Being brought low means we are completely and totally dependent on a gracious God.  We are in the pit and cannot climb out.  Pride will keep us there.  Pride will try to find a foothold where we can climb out ourselves.  Even if there isn’t one, we will look and hope.  Humility looks at the rim and knows there is no way out but by the grace of God.  Being brought low is a good thing.  It is cleansing.  It is where honesty meets ability.  It is where dependability meets hope.  Being brought low is the best place for the saint to be.  It is not a bad thing.  It is a perfect thing.