Take Rest For Your Soul

“Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful. The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me. Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.” (Ps 116:5-7 AV)

Just because God meets our anxieties and worries with miracles or comforts does not mean we are out of the woods.  One would think that if God helped the psalmist, then his soul would automatically return to t state of rest.  It would be assumed if the LORD dealt bountifully with him, then the writer would be at rest.  Normal logic would say if the LORD tuned the situation of the afflicted, immediately he would have a restful soul.  But the command to his own soul would suggest otherwise. The writer would suggest that even with the LORD’s intervention, there is still some disquietness occurring in his soul.  There is another thought that crossed my mind.  By telling his soul to return to his rest, this suggests that rest is the normal state of his soul.  To return to something thing or somewhere means the place to which one is returning is the normal state in which it resides.  I found this rather intriguing.  Most of all, I find the pattern of the psalmist is to speak to his soul and heart so that he might place them where they belong.  His statement is a challenge for his emotional health to be what it should be.  He is gently rebuking his state of mind and heart so that it can return to where it belongs.  It belongs in rest.

Sometimes we can be so pessimistic that we cannot allow grace to have its perfect work.  We see a blessing, but expect another shoe to drop.  We simply cannot take comfort in what God has done because we are always looking for misfortune right around the corner.  But another way of looking at this is the effect trauma has on the mind and heart.  Many years ago, I was privileged to receive some PTSD counseling training from an Army Chaplain.  He was assigned to a logistical unit in the reserves.  His regular job was as a hospital chaplain.  One of the programs he initiated was an on-call chaplain service made up of local pastors.  It was our job to cover the overnight hours when the full-time chaplain was off duty.  Rev. Waff began the program by training us as he would military chaplains.  We went through several weeks of training before we were allowed to work the floor.  Along the way, there were monthly luncheons that included guest speakers.  These speakers trained us more formally in their area of specialty.  One of those specialties in which Rev Waff handled himself was PTSD counseling training.  Of all the things that I learned as a hospital chaplain, this training had to be on the top.  PTSD counseling has worked well and translated over to other church ministries as well.  The thing about some PTSD sufferers is they will not allow their minds or hearts to get back to normal.  Even when the trauma has ceased and there is no possible way of it ever repeating, they simply will not allow their hearts and souls to be at rest.  These experiences have forever scarred their souls to the point they think recovery is impossible.  This is simply not the case.  For many, if not most cases, life can return to the point that the soul is again at rest.

When we consider the instruction of the writer to his own soul, we might think it silly.  OF course, anyone going through hard times and is released from his trouble would find rest for his soul.  Why would he even have to say such a thing?  Because that is not how we are.  In deep trials of faith, we are often a little shell-shocked.  We can often go through hard times and, knowing these hard times will continue, will not allow ourselves to trust the LORD amid them and let rest reign in our hearts and minds.  There is a need to tell oneself to let it go.  Take comfort in the fact that the current trial is over.  It will not return.  We do not have to wait for the next one.  It will get here in its own sweet time.  In the meantime, let the soul be at rest for God is in the middle of our trouble to comfort us by the work of the Holy Spirit.  He will strengthen us.  He will enable us.  He will lift us by the might of His right hand.  There is nothing to fear for the God of yesterday and today is also the God of tomorrow.  Take rest, dear soul.  God is here and he will bestow the blessings necessary to get through whatever might come.

Hope of Law Is The Light of Life

“Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.” (Isa 51:4 AV)

This promise is to Israel and has millennial implications.  This promise is the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who will cause His law to be supreme on the earth.  When He does, there is light for His people.  There is hope.  There is life.  Law and life go hand-in-hand.  Law ensures liberty.  Law does not infringe upon it. In a lawless world, like ours is, this promise of law is a light or hope for our present generation.  Mankind will incrementally reject Biblical principles as a statement of independence and rebellion against the God who created them.  As they do, we will suffer untold misery.  As we see our world degrading into complete chaos, we can be tempted to lose hope that the world will ever be right again.  But it will.  The hope of law and order is what gives us a reason to live.  The hope of perfection in Christ I the hope that points to a better tomorrow and gives cause for today.  The hope of the presence of almighty God in the person of Jesus Christ is what gives us the grace and hope to proclaim liberty in His law and by His blood.

Middle school is not easy for a timid young man.  If he is not an aggressor, he will suffer many cruel and hurtful antics from the bullies among him.  Such was my experience.  There were several boys in my class whose sole purpose for coming to school was to torture me.  The list of antics would fill a page.  There was the usual like the extortion of my mild money.  Then there was the stealing of homework.  The playground was exceptionally cruel.  There was the snatch and grab of the winter hats.  There was the incessant name-calling and from time to time, a beating or two.  There was even an attempt at a swirly after gym class.  These timid boys often suffer in silence because if they rat out the offenders, it only gets worse.  He is outnumbered.  He often stands alone.  Anyone who comes to his aid is seen as the next target.  Of all the torture I had to endure, the worst was the class time heckling.  It was often under the breath or passed on by notes.  The teacher, busy teaching the lesson or doing work at his or her desk, missed most of it.  But I knew if it went on long enough, he or she was likely to catch, it.  I also knew my teacher would assume the moment of observation was more than likely not the first time.  I knew that if I patiently waited it out, someone in authority would see the injustice and the punishment would be swift and harsh.  This hope of law and order is that which gave me the strength to endure much.  Chaos would not reign.  My hero in the form of a teacher would come to my aid and restore a classroom that was a jungle of injustice.  She would make it right.  She would right the wrong.  She would remove the evil from the classroom and order was restored.  I can still remember that feeling when my teacher removed the worst of the bullies.  There was a load that was immediately lifted.  The sun began to shine again.

The same is true with the hope of Christ’s return.  We don’t have to be discouraged by the direction of the world because time is limited.  There is no need for reactionary initiatives because this is not our fight.  Jesus Christ will return and when He does, the world will forever be changed.  Gone is the wickedness that seems to reign uncontrolled and unchallenged.  Gone are the world leaders who defy the very God who made them and gave them the power they now exercise.  Gone are the rebellious nations that want nothing to do with Christ of His law.  It will all be swept away with the sword of His mouth.  We don’t have to do a thing.  He will do it all.  The light of life is the promise of His law!  Praise be to almighty God!

Share and Share Alike

“When thou comest into thy neighbour’s vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel. When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour’s standing corn.” (De 23:24-25 AV)

 

I’d hate to admit it, but part of me didn’t respond as well to those two verses as a saint should.  Let us draw the picture here.  If someone was passing through your vineyard or field of corn, they could consume as much as they wanted without asking.  The only restriction was they could only take that which they could immediately eat.  They could not take more than that to profit withal.  When we project this to a larger scale, one could imagine a line forming just to sample your goods.  Some writers believe the reference here is to the workers of those fields who consume some of the fruit while working for the husbandman.  That would certainly be the case.  However, many writers believe this would apply to anyone finding themselves in the fields of the farmer.  Anyone could enjoy a snack without asking.  In our culture, we would consider this rude.  But not in the biblical culture of hospitality.  There may be several reasons for this.  First, the husbandman or farmer did not farm for the sole purpose of profit.  This is what we do today.  They farmed so they might provide for the needs of their animals and family.  They may have bartered to attain other necessities, but farming and husbandry were never intended to make the average Hebrew a wealthy individual.  Second, the understanding and custom of hospitality run deep in the Mideastern mind.  Taking care of one another is a law of tradition.  Thirdly, to share meant to find pleasure and purpose in what one was accomplishing.  Like a chef who shares his creation, it is satisfying to hear compliments on the fruit of one’s labor.  Most importantly, the saint understood his part in his increase.  He may have tilled the land and planted the seed, but he did not make it rain or cause the sun to shine.  He did not design the seed to germinate and grow.  All his increase came from the LORD and thus it wasn’t his to horde.  The laws of hospitality demand we share God’s blessings.

I like cooking.  Not baking.  I’m not a chemist.  Rather, I like cooking without a recipe.  I am a creator, not a planner.  One of the things I like to do is cook breakfast.  Most of them are simple.  Sometimes, I might go through the grocery store and formulate a recipe in my head.  I will pick up some meat that would be good breakfast meat.  Then I go through the vegetable section and pick out some goods that would combine well.  Seasoning is crucial.  We have some less popular seasonings to add to my creation.  I might pick up some shredded cheese.  We are trying to reduce bad carbs.  We need to lose weight before it becomes a serious health issue.  So, potatoes must be replaced.  I looked up some top replacement vegetables and settled on radishes.  Believe it or not, they are rather tasty.  I washed them, quartered them than through them in a pan with butter and olive oil.  I fried them up as you would normally fry up homefries.  I added some garlic, peppers, onions, sausage, bacon, and mushrooms.  Frying them all together, I skipped the eggs.  But I think I might add them the next time.  I added some Mediterranean seasonings, piled a load of cheese on top, and placed it all under the broiler.  Viola!  Breakfast!  But who would come walking down the stairs smelling the awesome aroma coming from the kitchen?  My beloved wife.  As she always does, she remarked how wonderful the smells of breakfast pleased her nose.  I worked hard on that meal.  Was I going to share?  Absolutely!  In fact, knowing the recipe pleased her was more gratifying to me than the meal itself.  Why don’t we do the same with everything we have?  Why don’t we share as a means to please someone else?

This is the point of the hospitality laws.  It wasn’t just about meeting a need.  It wasn’t just about sharing our superabundance.  Sharing what we have was a means to show love to someone we barely know.  It is the avenue by which we can share how good God is as a testimony to His grace in provision.  Sharing what we have is something we westerners don’t do as often as we might.  Knowing the LORD giveth and the LORD taketh away, we should seek to be a blessing to any and all who may have a temporary need.  To see someone walking through our fields and helping themselves to a quick snack should please us.  The LORD has allowed us to be a blessing to another.  After all, if we all shared then there wouldn’t be bitterness over what someone else had.  This is not to say the Bible teaches communism.  The need above was temporary.  Not a permanent one.  The landowner was lawfully obligated to provide grapes or corn to someone who ate his fruit habitually.  This was a temporary need that could be filled immediately.  This was charity.  Let us be charitable with those who are famished and especially with the good news of the gospel of Christ.

He Never Forgets

“Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.” (Isa 49:15 AV)

The verse before the above gives a bit of context.  Israel felt abandoned.  They were in captivity because they estranged themselves from Him.  While in captivity, they repented and sought anew the presence of God.  However, being in captivity for almost two generations, they felt God has forgotten them.  This is quite natural.  They would feel abandoned.  There are two truths that they forgot.  The first is the duration of their captivity was prophesied to be 70 years.  Therefore, there would be no need to feel abandoned if that 70 years had not expired.  The second is the covenants made to Abraham and David.  God gave them an unconditional promise.  They would be His people and He would be their God.  These two truths alone should have comforted them that God had not abandoned them and that after 70 years, He would once again visit them.  The promise is reasserted in the imagery of a young mother and her baby.  The idea is simple.  A young mother would never abandon the child whom she bore no matter how he might be behaving.  And even if there is a slight chance she might, God never would abandon His children.  Ever!

I have a niece who made the art of a temper tantrum something any normal parent would consider extreme.  My dear sister put up with scenes of terror from that child.  My niece could curl the paint off the walls.  She had a temper that could boil an iceberg.  The best way to deal with a temper tantrum is to pay it no mind.  If you try to punish the child, it only grows.  The whole point of a temper tantrum is to control the emotions of the authority figure.  Regardless of whether the objective is being met or not, the child feels if the adult is moved to anger, frustration, or even compromise, then the child has won.  The best thing to do is to simply send that child to his or her room and close the door.  They will wear out.  Honestly.  There should be no acknowledgment of the tantrum and isolation is the reward.  Take away the possibility of emotional manipulation, then the motive for the tantrum stops.  To teach the child to overcome the inclination of tantrums, once it has stopped, the adult cannot immediately reconcile.  The child has to come to terms with the fact a tantrum not only is ineffective, but it also estranges the adult from him or her.  Once the tantrum has stopped, more time is needed so the child begins to wonder if the adult has left him or her all alone.  This is to what conclusion Israel arrived.  They wondered if God had abandoned them.  After the chastening was almost complete, they had to come to the place where they wondered if God had given up on them.

The verse above does not apply only to those who are chastened.  Rather, it is to all who feel the LORD may have forgotten about them.  It doesn’t matter whether we have failed God and He has left us to ourselves, He truly has never left.  It doesn’t matter if our trial of faith seems more than we can bear and we wonder if God has forgotten us, He has not.  He is still there.  No matter how much of a bother we are to the LORD (or at least we think we are), the LORD could no more abandon us than a new mother could her child.  New mothers put up with a lot.  Dirty diapers, midnight feedings, crying for attention, etc.  But they go without sleep and love that child like no other.  As much as our mothers loved us, God infinitely loves us more.  No matter how we might feel, God is still there.  He is waiting with open arms to welcome us, comfort us, strengthen us, and feed us.  He has never left even if we have.

Our Profitable Potentate

“Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.” (Isa 48:17 AV)

This phrase jumped out at me this morning.  A profit is any beneficial increase.  Some increases are not beneficial.  Just ask my doctor.  He mentions my muffin top every time I see him.  A flood may be an increase of water, but to the farmer who is reading his fields for planting, that level of increase of water is not beneficial.  What struck me today is the LORD teaches us to profit whether we realize it or not.  If we are a believer, there is always a beneficial increase.  Some of which we are unaware of until later in life when the increase becomes apparent.  Sometimes, the increase is very small and incremental.  Sometimes, the increase is dramatic and large.  No matter the type or amount of profit, the LORD increases.  It is a principle of life.  When it comes to our walk with God, profit is not always evident.  Sometimes we can feel as though we haven’t gone all that far.  It is hard to see growth when we are observing it every moment. But God teaches us to profit.  There is growth even if we cannot perceive it.  It is there.

Agriculture is a big example of the above principle.  When crops are planted, it is hard not to notice growth when the crop breaks ground and shoots to the sky.  Then fertilization occurs.  The blooms fall off.  Then the fruit grows.  While the fruit grows, it is hard to notice a day-by-day increase.  It is late spring, here in Milwaukee.  This means if one has annuals, they are pretty much all up by now.  It is amazing to me to watch these plants grow as fast as they grow.  I have this one type of plant that you couldn’t kill if you tried.  There is a whole line of them.  I wish I knew what they were called.  They are broad-leafed plants that will grow flowering stems for about a month or so.  These stems shoot way up and have small purple flowers.  It reminds me of someone's hair that has a fly-away that is out of control.  Sort of like Alfalfa of Little Rascals fame.  Then the stem whither and you trim them off.  For the next three or four months, they grow at a snail’s pace.  This spring, because of all the rain and cool weather we had, these plants broke ground and got to adult size very quickly.  It was noticeable on an hourly basis.  I take my dog out to the front yard about once an hour or two, and each time I looked at these plants, they had new and significant growth on them.  It was truly amazing to watch.  My lawn was the same way.  In springtime, when there is much rain and cooler temperatures, I might mow two or three times a week.  When the heat of the summer settles in, then perhaps once a week.  Once the fall rolls around, the sun begins to lower in the south, and rain, although more frequent, is only replenishing the ground that had become arid during the summer.  Growth slows.  But growth is always there.

As we age, we may not notice spiritual growth nearly as much as we did in our earlier years.  But it is there.  And, the further we are removed from what we once were, we forget how much the LORD has changed us.  We tend to look back on only a fraction of the work God has done and forget all that He accomplished.  There is always growth.  Even if we struggle with the same sin time and again, that doesn’t mean God has not benefitted us with grace and the ability to overcome it.  If we are striving against it, failure has become less frequent.  It is amazing to think about what we wouldn’t trust the LORD many years ago that today seems like no big deal.  We look at the failures in our Christian life of a few decades ago and are grateful that we no longer find those things a problem.  The point is simple.  God teaches us to profit.  There is always growth.  Whether we can notice it or not, it is always there.  He teaches us to profit and we will.  Life begets life.  Growth demands more growth.  That is the way of creation.  That is the way of our God.  There is profit.  There always will be.

Focus On His Love

“Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.” (Ps 107:43 AV)

The things to which the writer eludes are all the acts of grace the Father bestowed upon Israel.  Especially in the matter of the exodus and the wilderness wanderings.  God took care of Israel.  He met their every need.  He did not allow the enemies of Israel to triumph over them.  He met them in a dramatic way when He gave them the law.  When they taxed the divine patience and mercy, He showed restraint from the prayer of Moses, refusing to dispatch them and start over.  Time and again the LORD showed mercy on Israel.  Now, as they stand in doubt of that mercy, the LORD is telling them to remember all He has done for them and to rest in the lovingkindness of His mercy.  But note there are two conditions for understanding the love of God.  One must be wise.  That means he understands the application of understanding.  He knows what God did, why He did it, and if it applies to him.  The next is to observe them, Which means to keep them in the forefront of his mind.  When we observe something, it is the focus of our attention.  Much is blocked out or prioritized as less important for the sake of observing what captivates our attention.  To understand the love of God, one must be focused on it.  He must keep the love of God in the forefront of his mind and lever let it escape.

Love is a very powerful emotion.  Love gives a sense of worth.  If someone loves us, then we are worth something to the one who loves us.  There is security.  Knowing that we can never lose that love gives us the freedom to love without risk.  I married the love of my life thirty-five years ago this coming October.  I did not have a large imagination or pocketbook, so I planned a honeymoon touring some Canadian cities.  We started in Toronto.  Then off to Montreal and Quebec.  This was actually a retrace of my parent's honeymoon.  We started off in Toronto.  We toured Eaton’s Centre.  Easton’s is a very large shopping mall in the style of the European marketplace.  The stores had inside access only.  The outside of the building was all the same.  No separate advertisements for the different stores and shops within.  Easton’s Centre spans several city blocks.  We spent the better part of an afternoon there and never did see it all.  We also took public transportation out to the Toronto science museum.  I had to apologize for that one.  My dear wife is not a science kind of person.  But it was on that excursion that I understood for the first time that I was married, my wife loved me unconditionally, and this arrangement was permanent.  At least until life changed our relationship.  There was a wave of contentment, security, and affirmation that flooded my soul and heart.  I can take you to the place this happened.  Love radically changed who and what I was.  Since that time, we may have had a few times when that love came into doubt.  Not because of anything she did or failed to do, but rather, personal struggles which I was enduring.  At these times, going back to that memory and consequent memories since then, I began to realize just how much my wife truly loved me.  I had to remember all she put up with to be at my side.  I had to do an inventory and come to the conclusion she could have done so much better, yet chosen me.  After thirty-five years, there is no doubt whatsoever as to my wife’s undying and unconditional love for me.

Life can get so overwhelming that we soon forget just how much God loves us.  The word of God is our first source to reveal just how much He does.  But let us not forget memories.  The psalm in which we find our verse is a recollection of some of what God has done.  It may be only a minor representation of the mercy and love of God, but it is still very helpful.  We may not remember all the little things God has done.  But we can remember the big things.  We can remember our salvation.  We can remember our family.  We can remember all the years of good health even if our health is failing now.  We can remember who the LORD brought us out of deep trouble that was self-inflicted.   We can remember some of the messages that shaped us through the years.  We can remember a lot of what God has done if we chose to.  All we need to do is read our journals, look at pictures, or simply construct a general timeline of life.  All will reveal just how much God loves us.  He loves us today and will love us tomorrow because He loved us yesterday. 

Give God The Benefit of the Doubt

“Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea.” (Ps 106:7 AV)

This is an interesting verse.  It raises the question of what ‘understood not’ means.  Clearly, they saw the plagues and the curses that came with them.  Surely they witnessed the impact these plagues had on Pharaoh and Egypt.  They saw firsthand the suffering that these plagues had on their enemies.  What was it they did not understand?  The ten plagues directly attacked the gods of Egypt.  Each plague corresponded with something the Egyptians worshipped.  Did they not understand this?  Surely they did.  So, what was it they did not understand?  The answer is right in our text.  They did not understand how much of an extension of God’s mercy these ten plagues were.  God did not owe Israel anything.  They were told not to go into Egypt.  Yet, Jacob lacked the faith to see out a famine.  He was worried for his family and just found out his long-lost son, Joseph was the ruler of Egypt.  To him, this was a no-brainer.  However, once the famine was ended, Israel did not need to be there.  They stayed anyway.  For the next four hundred and thirty years, they served the Egyptians in hard bondage.  They made their bed by not trusting God.  Now, they were in deep need of God’s mercy.  The plagues were the means by which God sent His mercy to a stiff-necked people.  They also did not understand the God of the ten plagues was also the God who would take care of time.  They failed to see the significance of the plagues as they pertained to God’s character and ability.  In particular, what the character and nature of God would mean to them personally.

We are like little children.  We see the LORD in the same way a two-year-old sees his parents.  He cannot even begin to understand all his parents do for him or how patient they are despite his total lack of gratitude.  He cannot begin to understand his parents must provide living so that his tummy is full.  There is no way he can comprehend all the repairs and maintenance his father does around the house so that things do not break.  This child cannot understand exactly why he has to go to the doctors and get a checkup and shots.  He cannot fathom the way a car works, that mom puts gas in it, and that he is carried about like a king in a chariot.  Although this child is repeatedly corrected, he does not understand that dad’s displeasure is tempered with his love.  He is not aware that his disobedience often warns far more than he receives.  Not until we are older do we begin to appreciate all that our parents did.  As we age we begin to see the profit their love bestowed upon us.  We see what those spankings had to happen and the fruit that came from them.  We see why our mothers controlled our diet.  We see why dad made us do our chores.  We understand why they harped on us about our grades and made us do our homework.  Those camping trips that we didn’t appreciate as much as we should have at the time, we now look back on fondly and are grateful for the experiences.  We don’t understand a lot as we mature.   It is not that we do not notice.  We do.  We simply do not understand the fullness of what is happening.

Where Israel failed is in giving God the benefit of the doubt.  This is what children do.  We feed them breakfast and by lunch, they have forgotten that dad and mom were responsible to see that Junior did not starve to death.  They throw a fit or get a bit anxious because their tummies are growling and wonder if the pantry is completely empty.  Israel did not understand.  They did not understand the nature and character of God.  They saw the parting of the Red Sea and the destruction of Egypt.  They failed to extrapolate that through this miracle, God was showing them they are safe in His care against all who would threaten them.  They saw and enjoyed the manna from heaven.  What they failed to see is that God would always provide for their needs.  They saw miracles on the battlefield yet failed to understand God had a purpose for them bigger than themselves.  When we fail to understand the nature and character of God, our faith waivers.  It is best to give God the benefit of the doubt even if we do not understand all the lessons God’s miracles are intended to teach.  If Israel would have given God the benefit of the doubt based on the ten plagues and miracles of the wilderness, there would have been so much complaining.

Calm From the Creator

“Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.” (Isa 44:2 AV)

Living by faith is not for the faint of heart.  Yet, for those who desire to walk with God, there is no other choice.  What makes it a bit easier is to always keep in mind the nature and character of God and His relationship to us.  This is the point of the above verse.  God is both our Creator and Father.  God is holy and without fault.  He is a person full of compassion who does all that He does for a purpose.  God did not create for the express purpose of destroying what He has made.  This will be an inevitability because He gave the ability of free will to the beings He created.  They used that free will to rebel.  Therefore, He must destroy.  But that was not his first intention.  His first intention is to form and the cause to live those whom He created.  This is where we pick up this verse.  The prophet tells those whom God formed and to whom He gave a purpose not to fear.  No matter the situation, do not fear because the Creator did not form you to eliminate you.  He formed you to use you and to have sweet fellowship with Him.

As a child, we did a lot of camping.  Some of it was in the dead of winter.  We learned several skills that made winter tent camping safe and in some rare instances, fun.  Our Scout Troop would go camping in February.  That is a cold month of the year.  My father, learned wilderness survival while in the U.S. army.  He learned how to safely set up and survive tent camping in the middle of winter.  There are several steps the camper can take to raise the temperature inside a tent and survive rather comfortably even though the temperature outside is at or below freezing.  Insulation is the key.  The first thing the camper does is to clear away all snow from the tent site.  He then lays down straw or hay several inches thick.  The tent is pitched over the straw or hay.  Then loosely packed snow is piled on top of the tent.  Each day the old and compacted snow is removed and fresh loose snow is piled on.  It is amazing how warm a canvass tent can get when properly insulated.  As stated before, my mother had a come-a-part when here little boys went winter camping with my father.  She begged my father not to take us.  But he knew what he was doing.  He knew we would be just fine.  My father was not about to invest all that time and training to let us unnecessarily suffer or to lose us altogether.  There was no reason to fear the weekend in the snow.  My father did not go through all this to see us expire in a winter wonderland.  He did not spend those years in the army and the expense of safety equipment to have us lose a finger or toe to frostbite.  He did not go through nine months of my mother’s pregnancy and over a decade of raising and training me to see me pass in the depths of Jack Frost.

God does not create disposable people.  Regardless of the Calvinist’s interpretation of Romans chapter nine, God does not create humans so for the sole purpose of destruction.  He desires all souls to know Him.  He is the Creator.  He is the Father.  He loves us with a love that cannot be understood.  The LORD does care about all that we go through.  His heart is moved when we face things we cannot comprehend.  I especially enjoy the phrase “…from the womb…” because this shows me the LORD has a plan and is fully committed to it from the moment of our conception.  The watch care of our Creator started the second we came into existence and will never cease.  There is no need to fear.  Easier said than done.  I know that.  But our loving and caring Father knows our frame and what we will go through even before we go through it.  From eternity He knew what today would bring.  He is much our Father today as He was yesterday and will be tomorrow.  He loves us with an everlasting love and He will always be there no matter what!

Our Gentile Savior

“A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.” (Isa 42:3 AV)

Written to Israel who will survive the tribulation, this promise encourages those who have gone through the wringer that Jesus understands and will not ask them to endure any more trouble.  When He returns, He will be sensitive to those who are hurting because they trusted in His grace.  A bruised reed is a plant that suffered an injury of some kind.  It still has the potential to grow and flourish.  Like our little hydrangea bush outside.  Looking at it this spring, I didn’t think it has a prayer.  The exposed stems were not exhibiting any life.  I didn’t think this little plant was going to bounce back from our winter.  But, I left it alone.  We did not trim off the excess that seemed to have no growth until new growth occurred.  Once life was again the wish of this little plant, then we trimmed off the dead branches.  No sense in hurting that little plant until we knew for sure it was going to grow.  A ‘smoking flax’ is a smoldering candlewick, yet still has heat to reignite.  Like a candle that is at the bottom of its wax, this wick still has life in it.  Jesus is so compassionate that He will not extinguish flame or life if there is still hope that it can be revived.  He will be gentile to those who have lost strength.  He will nurture those who still desire to walk with Him.  He will seek a way of protection for those who are troubled amid His judgment on those who have rejected Him.

Over the years, as both a father and a pastor, I have had to privilege to help people overcome situations in which they feel beat up and empty.  Whether it was sin that caused it, persecution from those who hate God, or trials of faith; how one approaches it is critical.  Most of the time, the one seeking comfort and encouragement does not need to be treated bluntly or harshly.  They are already beaten up.  I have seen parents go absolutely bonkers on their disobedient or discouraged child.  That child at first becomes extremely humbled.  But if done often enough, that child becomes hardened.  When I coached Little League baseball as a pitching coach, I had to deal with one father who was that way.  His little son was actually a very good pitcher.  He was a sidearm pitcher and I was trying to coach him out of that.  Too much torque on that underdeveloped arm could cause permanent damage.  One of the ways which you care for someone who pitches this way is to keep a low pitch count.  It was my job to watch the pitcher for signs of fatigue.  When they begin to lose even the slightest command, it is time to consider pulling them.  On one such outing, this young man pitched three really good innings.  However, in the fourth, he began to falter.  After striking a batter, I went to the mound.  Asking how he felt, he looked over at his father and said that he was fine.  I encouraged him and let him continue.  The next batter walked.  I went out again.  Left him in for one more batter who hit a single.  Then I pulled him.  The father absolutely unloaded on me first.  I ignored him.  I cared more for his ten-year-old son than he did.  Then, dad went to the dugout and absolutely gave it to his son for being weak and unable to pitch a whole game.  What a shmuck!  That kid did really well for three innings.  It wasn’t like we were playing the World Series and we were out of pitchers.  This young man felt horrible that he allowed a run or two and had to be pulled before the game was completed.  He didn’t need his father to beat up on him because he had unrealistic expectations. 

Jesus understands just what it is like to be human.  He knows by intuition and by experience.  Jesus knows our frame!  He knows how much we can take.  He knows our limits.  Individually, He knows what each one of us can endure.  He knows this and considers this.  Isaiah gives us a picture of a compassionate Savior who will not kick us when we are down.  He will not exact the last drop of spiritual life from our souls when we are discouraged or beaten up.  He will nurture that bruised plant back the health.  He will feed the moldering flame more oil and blow upon the wick so that it might burst back to life.  Jesus is not out to destroy us.  He isn’t even out to seek how much of life He can sap out of us.  When we are down, He will regard our low estate and seek to revive His work amid trouble.  What a compassionate LORD, Savior, and friend we have!

Divine First Aid

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” (Isa 41:10 AV)

WHAT A VERSE!  There is little one needs to say.  When we are at the end of our rope, there God is.  When we are taxed to our limit, the LORD is there to hold us up.  When we are ready to fall flat on our faces and are quickly heading that way, our great God sustains us.  When we do not think we can go another step, the LORD seems to be that strength that gets us through another day.  Note hear the two afflictions which the saint suffers.  They are emotional afflictions.  They are not physical ones.  They are related to spiritual afflictions.  Primarily, though, they are emotional.  Fear and dismay are two very real and powerful enemies of the believer.  Fear we understand.  Dismay is the emotion that says there is no hope.  It is the emotion that centers on our circumstances and can see no other truth.  When we are dismayed, we are at the end of ourselves and we cannot see the forest through the trees.  We cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel.  All we can see is what is immediately in front of us and we feel like a hopeless victims.  To be dismayed is to give up all hope of ever being released from such a tragedy.  To be in such a state is the way of life.  We will be afraid.  We will lose hope.  From time to time, this is our affliction.  We are this way because we have forgotten the answer.  God is still our God.  He has not ceased to be.  He is still in control and He is all-sufficient for our needs.  Let us look closely at the promise.  There are three promises here.  The LORD will strengthen, help, and uphold.  Although they are closely related, there are listed in logical order.  One build on the next.  This is what our Father has promised in times of deep distress.

One of the first aid skills we were taught in Boy Scouts was how to care for a broken bone.  Other first aid skills were also taught.  How to stop bleeding, treat for shock, are drain a snake bite was all wilderness survival skills we had to learn.  When it came to setting a broken bone, we were taught how to make a brace to stabilize the bone, wrap it around the appliance used for stabilizing, and create a plan to get the injured out of the woods.  There were several drills we practiced.  Orienting was one of them.  If we were lost, we had to know how to make signal fires, plot a course out, and read a compass to get there.  There were several skills all working together to get the injured out of a jam.  One of those drills was just what I described.  One of the scouts played the injured.  There is a step-by-step method of getting to safety.  The first is to remain calm.  We encouraged the injured that all hope is not lost.  We talked about a plan.  When injured, the first thing we did was to treat for shock.  While the patient is lying still and calming down, we searched for that which we need to make a brace and sling.  Then we treated the broken bone.  All the while talking to the patient, we devised a plan to get that patient to safety.  We used maps and a compass.  If he suffered a broken leg, we would devise a crutch.  If it was more serious, we would build a stretcher.  Then we would work our way out.  We first strengthened the patient.  We encouraged him that all is not lost and that eventually, fortune would turn to the good.  We then helped him by binding his wound so that further injury would not happen.  Then we upheld him by a crutch or stretcher.  Getting him to safety required all three.

God does the same with injured or troubled saints.  His presence and word is our strength.  When we go through hard times, it is usually the first thing to go.  We stop reading the scriptures.  Don’t!  God also provides His people as a source of strength.  Don’t abandon them either.  Then the LORD helps.  Again, the word of God is pivotal.  The advice of others is also a source.   He even throws in a miracle or two just to show Himself strong to the children of men.  But here is the place where we often cannot see it until the trouble is past.  He upholds us by His grace.  Having served the LORD in ministry for almost forty years, I can tell you God gives grace equal to our trial.  I have seen unfortunate tragedy.  I have seen a terminal diagnosis or two.  I have seen failed marriages, children going astray, and even life-altering injuries.  In all cases, I have seen the grace of God equal to each case.  Our Father has a way of lifting us up and keeping us going when we do not think it possible.  He has a way of keeping our feet on the ground and taking one step after another.  I cannot explain it.  It just is that way.  If you are in a situation like this, one step at a time is all you need to do.  Do not worry about what tomorrow will bring.  Let the crutch of God’s grace brace you against further injury and walk out of those woods unto safety.