Seeing is Rejoicing

“Make us glad according to the days [wherein] thou hast afflicted us, [and] the years [wherein] we have seen evil. Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.” (Ps 90:15-16 AV)

A couple of definitions are in order here.  Affliction is not necessarily affliction God sent because of disobedience.  Affliction and evil are the general descriptions of the days of our pilgrimage.  Moses may be referring directly to their condition in Egypt and is now asking the LORD to do the opposite for the same amount of time as they were enslaved.  But I don’t think so.  They had just come out of a horrible situation.  All they knew was affliction and evil.  Now that they are free, they may not know how to rejoice.  When one is accustomed to a steady diet of unfortunate circumstances, it is hard to rejoice.  No doubt Israel was shell-shocked.  How they came out of Egypt was dramatic to say the least.  They needed to learn how to rejoice because they had not known how for a very long time.  Moses prays for gladness.  But he does not stop there.  He offers an answer.  That answer is eyes that can see the hand of the LORD in past and present events.  He is asking for the LORD to open the eyes of His people so they can see the sunbeams through the storm.

My father loved to take us camping.  Most of the time it was at the family camping grounds.  The camp was 66 acres of hardwoods and fir trees.  It has an acre pond on it.  However, every once in a while, my father would load the family and equipment and head for a state park or distant road trip.  For most of those trips, we were plagued by a day or two of bad weather.  Camping in the rain is not foreign to me.  One of those trips, we went to the Smoky Mountains.  We must have gone over Labor Day or in the early fall.  It was extremely memorable.  The Smoky Mountains are by nature damp.  The clouds rest upon them (hence the name) and the dew rests on everything.  If it is humid out, then nothing really dries completely.  The week we were there, it rained every day.  All day.  It wasn’t temporary downpours.  It was a steady, light rain that never stopped.  My mom had had enough.  Six days of steady rain.  Nothing in our camp was dry.  She packed it all up, demanded that my father take us to the Inn, and we headed back home the next day.  A funny thing happened at the Inn.  We were sitting inside the overlook when the storm finally abated.  We saw the sun break through.  An hour later, we were outside playing in the sunshine.  We were glad to see what little sunshine we were able to enjoy.

Gladness, or as the Hebrew word defines it, joy, is a matter of perception.  This is for what Moses asked.  He asked for eyes that could see God’s hand in all that had transpired, what was happening at the moment, and what is shaping up to be the future.  He knows life is hardship.  He knows there are days of rain and days of sunshine.  Let us be honest.  All one has to do is pay attention to the news, and one can see how evil our days truly are.  We want Jesus to come back now.  If for anything, for the children who are innocent victims of the evil.  They do not deserve to be slaughtered in the womb.  They do not deserve to be killed in their seats.  They do not deserve to be manipulated into mutilation.  We live in days of evil and affliction.  The further mankind strays from God, the more wicked our world gets.  It is hard to rejoice.  Yet, joy is a matter of perception.  That is all that Moses asks for.  Perception.  Let us see the hand of God and not the hand of man.  Let us see the work of God and not the evil works of man.  If not, it will drive us to insanity.

Rejoicing Regardless

“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither [shall] fruit [be] in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and [there shall be] no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” (Hab 3:17-18 AV)

Verse eighteen has been in my devotional work before.  Without looking back, I am sure today will be the same application.  Habakkuk’s vow is that regardless of how dire the situation will become in Judah, he will still rejoice in the LORD his God.  Habakkuk preached to Judah at the eve of their downfall.  He saw a hypothetical.  He saw a land barren of all produce.  He saw the worst-case scenario.  When Judah was carried away, the vines still produced.  The olive will still grow olives although there will be no one there to tend to them.  The flocks will be carried away to Babylon.  The dearth that will come upon Judah will not affect the prophets as dramatically as it will affect the people.  From Isaiah to Jeremiah to Habakkuk, Babylon allowed the prophets of God to continue their ministry.  It made sense.  They would preach submission to Babylon.  They would preach repentance to Judah and Israel.  This could only help Babylon.  Habakkuk could rejoice and joy in the God of his salvation even when things changed for the worse because God was his help and strength.

No one likes change.  Especially if it is dramatic and life-altering.  No one likes to suffer more than they have to suffer.  How we respond tells a lot of what we are made of.  When hardships come, how do we react?  Most of us get discouraged, complain, or even become depressed.  We don’t like what is happening.  Joy is not our initial response.  The reason? We didn’t plan on rejoicing, even though we knew what was coming.  If you look closely at the tense of Habakkuk’s prophecy, it is future tense.  The dearth of which he speaks is in the future.  At the moment, life is tolerable.  Life is survivable.  Looking at the inevitable, Habakkuk decides he will respond in joy when the time comes.  This makes all the difference in the world.  Most of us have to work up to it.  We have to adjust to the situation as it comes.  We have to have a few answers and some plan to navigate through our troubles before we can rejoice.  Not the prophet.  He has already determined he will rejoice as he sees the dark clouds rise.  Joy is a choice.  Not necessary a reaction.

Admittedly, the near-impossible challenge is to covet with God that regardless of circumstances, joy will rule the heart.  That is a hard place to mature into.  Circumstances and experience will teach the saint that God knows what He is doing, and He is always good.  We also learn that regardless of how hopeless it may seem at the moment; God is more than capable of bringing us through it.  We also realize God has a perfect plan in all of it, and the lessons we learn are priceless.  I have to admit, like most, I struggle with this.  We are too apt to react to circumstances as they come rather than determine how we will react before circumstances happen.  Habakkuk shows us the way.  We cannot wait until circumstances to our liking bring joy.  We have to determine to rejoice regardless of what might be happening or what is likely to happen.  This is the only way to live.  Otherwise, we become a ping-pong ball on the table of emotions.

Once a Challenge, Now a Promise

“Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.” (De 13:4 AV)

Moses gave this challenge as a command and calling of God.  One that they failed at miserably.  For the N.T. saint who is saved, kept, and changed by God’s grace, the above verse can be seen as a promise!  Every saint of God fights the battle of sin.  The old man gets in the way, causes us to fail, and brings shame and guilt upon the soul.  We choose to do the wrong thing.  We see faults and imperfections that strive against the Holy Spirit that dwells within.  We can look at the above verse as another condemnation on our failures.  But that will only take us further down the road of missteps.  If we choose to look at it as a promise, then we are on the road to victory.  The child of God can look at that verse as our eternal eventuality.  There will come a day when the verse above defined our every action, thought, or disposition.  Without veering away from perfection unto God, the above verse will be our definition of existence.  Glory to God!

Lest we become lax in our disciplines, it might be helpful to remember that since the above verse is a promise, we can also ascribe it as a challenge and goal.  It is possible, but not probable, to live a perfectly sinless life prior to our glorification.  Battling what we are and were, to become what we ought to be, is a lifelong battle.  Rather than be discouraged at the failures, we can look back at what we used to be and what we are now.  If there is improvement toward Christlikeness, no matter how small, we can rejoice that the LORD did a work in an otherwise hopeless situation.  We cannot make any substantive changes while relying on our own abilities.  To think that we can is going down the road of arrogance and pride.  Conforming to an outward righteousness because we are highly disciplined without relying on the Holy Spirit to do the work makes for a self-righteous person.  If there are any changes, it is because the LORD did it and not us.  Looking at the changes that have come, we can have hope in the promise above.  We will walk after the LORD our God without any faltering or failing.  We will fear Him, and only Him.  With eternity as our existence and in the presence of God, there is nothing else to fear.  We will keep His commandments because the old man that tempted us to break them is destroyed.  We will obey His voice because His voice is the only voice we will hear.  We will serve Him because there is no greater to serve.  And we will cleave to Him forever and ever because He alone meets every possible need.

Don’t let the devil remind you of failures and sins of the past.  Don’t let him discourage you with the reminder that you will probably sin in the future.  Don’t let the adversary repeatedly state the obvious — that some of your troubles are consequences from wrong decisions of the past.  If the LORD has forgiven you, that is all that matters.  When the adversary reminds you of your human nature and the path of poor decisions that lay therein, remind him of the promise above.  We may not have always pleased the LORD.  If the truth be known, perhaps we have disappointed Him more than we have pleased Him.  But we have a promise the adversary will never have.  We have the promise of perfection.  We have the promise of glorification.  We have the promise of eternal Christlikeness.  Not because we earned it.  Not because we deserve it.  Rather, we have the promise of perfect Christlikeness by the grace of God and the blood of Christ.

Renewing Feed

“And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.” (Mic 5:4 AV)

The context is the incarnation of Christ.  The promise is to Bethlehem, that she shall bring forth the Messiah.  Once brought forth, He shall feed in the strength of the LORD.  Obviously, the second half of the verse has yet to be fulfilled.  That is because Israel rejected Jesus Christ the first time.  He could not abide in that generation.  They wanted nothing to do with Him.  They crucified Him.  They expelled Him from their nation.  Israel turned its back on the promises made to it and chose Rome over Jesus Christ.  This will not stop the fulfillment of the promise.  Jesus will return, and the rest of the verse will come to pass.  What we wish to meditate upon is the first half of the verse.  In particular, how the man Jesus could fulfill His calling.  There are two reasons He could do as the Father had commanded.  Jesus fed in the strength of the LORD and in the majesty of His name.  What does that mean, and can we do the same?

The Hebrew word for ‘feed’ is an interesting one.  It means more than mere eating.  It means to graze.  It means to be out to pasture.  I know a thing or two regarding this practice.  When we served the LORD in rural Kentucky, we had the experience of living across the street from a cattleman’s pasture.  He bought and sold cattle.  He would buy calves and raise them to an age for market.  Every so often, a trailer would back up to the pasture and several head of cows would disembark.  They would head for the grass, where they would live for a few months.  This rancher had two fields.  The cattle would rotate between the two.  As they reduced one field to stubble, they would naturally be transferred to the other.  What I noticed was that the pasture was not for eating only.  There was much that went on in the pasture.  Grazing upon grass and hay was only a small part of what they did in those fields.  To graze means more than mere nourishment.  The cattle rested, drank water, dusted themselves, and socialized.  The pasture was not just for eating.  Their rest and rejuvenation, in all its forms, was the purpose for the fields.

When Micah tells us that God the Son will feed in the strength of the LORD and the majesty of His name, he does not limit it to simple nourishment.  It was the strength of the Father and His glorious name by which the Son rested, rejuvenated, and continued on with the work the Father had called Him to do.  This advice is rather profound.  To have strength for our pilgrimage, spending time in the thoughts and meditation of His name while feeding on the word of God and prayer is our fuel to face a hostile world.  Feeding on the majesty of God is resting in it and meditating upon it.  Like cattle who are well fed, they rest in the sun to soak up vitamins and warmth.  They lay.  They do nothing but soak up the goodness of the world all around them.  In the same manner, allowing our minds and hearts to rest in the person of God and His majesty will bring the strength that we need.  The ability to endure sometimes is found in the art of resting and rejuvenating.  Whether active or passive, resting in the source of strength gets us through the rigors of life.

Faith In a Coming Answer

“Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.” (Ps 86:6-7 AV)

The confidence of the writer is an encouragement to us all.  He is confident that when trouble comes, God will hear his cry.  There is no room for doubt here.  There is no wiggle room for any other outcome.  The writer has no other plans.  When his day of trouble comes, he will immediately go to God with the assurance and confidence that God will answer him.  This reminds me of Heb.11:6. “But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Heb 11:6 AV) Going to the LORD without believing in His existence AND His reward is pointless.  Doubting God’s love will get us nowhere.  Note also that the hope of the writer is in the future.  He could have used the word “shalt” or shall.  But by using the word ‘wilt’, it shows more force.  ‘Shall’ leaves open the rare occasion when it might not come to pass. ‘Wilt’ does not.  It will happen.  He will answer.

It is hard to have faith in someone you cannot see, touch, or hear.  In our world of ever-increasing technology, it is a hard thing to trust.  The other day, I had a young man call who claimed to be from a ministry of helps to pastors.  He called to let me know he wanted to get to know me.  Even though I was aware of this ministry and the likelihood the call was a genuine one, I was still very guarded.  I had heard that AI hackers try to get your voice recorded so they can use it to apply for credit.  So, I was very guarded.  Probably too guarded.  The young man wanted to hear my life story.  I simply told him it was too long and complicated.  All I had was his voice.  I didn’t see his face.  I had never met him.  I didn’t know him from the man on the moon.  So, I was a bit guarded and short with him to the point he may have felt uneasy with the phone call.  I was vague and non-committal.  How am I supposed to know whether the phone call was real or not?  This age of technology has made us less trusting and more reclusive.  This is not good for our spiritual life.

Faith in God’s existence is not enough.  We must also believe that He will reward diligent and humble intercession.  We must believe He hears and will engage.  The answer may not be something we want to hear.  But it is necessary that we know an answer is coming.  The psalmist does not promise rainbows and candy.  Rather, he promises that if we walk with God in faith and obedience, He will hear and answer.  That is the best we can hope for.  And I mean that in a good way.  It is the only hope, and it is a perfect hope.  God did not create and save us to ignore us.  No,  He created us to know Him and fellowship with Him.  Why would He ever desire silence?  Next time we pray, perhaps we should pray with the same faith our writer has.  Then perhaps we might see the LORD do something.

Dig Your Well

“[Who] passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools. They go from strength to strength, [every one of them] in Zion appeareth before God.” (Ps 84:6-7 AV)

This is a familiar verse to me and one that is often a reminder.  The overall principle is not lost.  Baca was a valley that ran through Palestine.  It was known as a dry and barren valley containing a few mulberry trees.  At first glance, one would wonder why anyone would travel through this valley on foot.  There are much easier ways to get to the temple.  But for most, it was the most direct route.  Those traveling through the valley would find themselves in need of water.  Both for themselves and also for their cattle.  There were no streams or rivers.  No ponds or lakes.  No sea or shore to which the cattle could retire.  If they needed water, they needed to dig for it.  The word Baca means mourning.  It was the valley Israel took on their pilgrimage to Jerusalem.  In anticipation of confession and atonement, mourning over sin was the normal attitude of the heart for the entire journey.  This valley was also known for thistles and thorns.  An apt example of our life’s journey.  But water is a necessity of life.  Life may bring hardships, but life must go on.  The circumstances of their journey do not relieve them of searching for, and provided the necessity of water.  They were to dig wells in anticipation of God filling them.  That is the meaning of the rain.  The wells were not dug to find water.  They were dug to contain the water God would send.

Note also that the pilgrim went from strength to strength.  That means the pilgrim did not receive all the strength he would need for the entire journey all at once.  He went from one source of strength to the next.  They went from one well to the next.  They went from one source of life and encouragement to the next.  They did not sit still.  They kept moving.  They did not sit down at a well and stay there until it was dry.  There was a plan.  There was a date.  There was a timeline they had to keep.  Each new mile brought unique challenges.  More thorns to clear away.  More holes to dig.  More wells to make.  One might think there would be wells dug all over the place.  After a while, one would think there would be sufficient wells dug and no need to dig more.  The thing is, the water contained therein would be very temporary.  Erosion would fill the holes.  Wild animals would use the holes and contaminate them.  Therefore, they were filled in once they moved.  These wells were unique to the individual pilgrims.  They did not share wells.  Each one had to provide a place and conditions to receive God’s blessing.

As life becomes more of a challenge, it is important to dig some wells.  Life is difficult.  Only those who trust in the LORD can survive and thrive.  Yesterday, my wife and I tried a new breakfast place.  It was terrific.  It is called the Golden Nest.  Milwaukee has these breakfast/brunch restaurants.  They are wonderful.  They are great places to go for good food and no alcohol.  The service was great.  Our waiter was funny.  It was just what we needed.  We were coming from a treatment at the hospital.  Not a particularly uncomfortable treatment.  But every time we go to the hospital, we are reminded of the burden we bear.  So, we try to have a fun date after the appointment.  This makes our trip more about the date and less about the trials of life.  You have to dig a well.  You have to prepare circumstances into which the LORD can bring the rain.  You have to have time away from the hardships of life.  We need some ‘me’ time.  We need a time and circumstance set apart from the immediate trials of life where the LORD can pour our blessings and strength.  Baca was a hard journey.  But the blessings of God’s rain made it survivable.  Don’t rush through one trial after another as if it is a sporting contest.  You need times of blessings.  Don’t forget the dig your well and pray for rain!

Good News Is Sweeter When Bad News Comes First

“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit [them]; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.” (Am 9:13-14 AV)

Verses 11-15 of the last chapter of Amos are encouraging words toward Israel regarding its restoration and coming prosperity.  The ironic thing is that a few verses earlier, Amaziah and the princes of Israel tried to quiet the prophet.  They tried to pressure him to return to Judah, whence he came, and tend his sheep.  They did not like his words of judgment against Israel and Jeroboam II.  Because there was great prosperity under this secular king, they believed their lack of sacred fervor was excusable.  By the mouth of God’s man, that was not so.  If successful, they would have shut down the preaching of the prophet when they needed it most.  They would have quieted him right before the best part came.  They would have unplugged the mic just before they received the encouragement they needed.  Whether we like it or not, we need to hear the hard things before the comforting things come.

So, our journey with cancer has been an enormous learning experience.  We are blessed in that the LORD did not give us something we could not handle.  It is a slow-growing cancer that is manageable.  Some live with this cancer for decades.  Initially, we did not hear the good news.  We just heard the bad things.  Not that our care team wasn’t telling us, but we were shocked and scared.  We didn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.  To us, there was no rainbow.  A few months into our journey, we switched oncologists.  Our first doctor was great.  But she was not a specialist with this rare cancer.  She was replaced by a rather well-known specialist who was a contributing physician to what is now the standard of care for this cancer.  She helped to create the first-line defense medication.  Our first visit, she gave us the worst before she gave us reassurance.  There are four levels of treatment as this disease progresses.  Each one more toxic than the last.  By the time a patient is receiving level four, we are talking months instead of years.  No one likes change.  This kind of change is especially difficult.  Our oncologist lays out the likely future.  We got the bad news first.  However, over the last three years of dealing with this, we have heard many encouraging bits of news.  Treatments for this cancer are growing exponentially.  What was available twenty years ago is a small fraction of what is available today.  The bad news had to come first.  We would have canceled all our appointments and given up.  If we cut off the messenger before she gave the good news, then there would be no hope.

Amos, like most prophets, gives much warning.  They plead with their audience to get right with God.  They name names.  They name sins.  It is not a comfortable experience for preacher or congregant.  But if we do not hear the bad news, we will never hear the good news.  The good news is predicated on the bad news.  The gospel is only relevant to those who realize their sinful nature.  The lost person who accepts Christ must come to the truth that sin offends God.  God is the Creator and has the right to demand holiness from His creation.  We have angered a holy God, and damnation is our reward.  Again, difficult to hear.  The gospel is deliverance from our sin by the blood of Jesus Christ.  The good news of the gospel has no meaning if the bad news of damnation is never mentioned.  So, too, must the child of God accept the terms of God’s ministry?  Yes, there is comfort.  Yes, there is strength.  Yes, there is encouragement.  But we cannot subsist on a constant diet of dessert.  The main entrée is necessary for the dessert to taste sweet.  If they shut down the preaching of Amos, they will never hear of the promise of restoration.  If we shut down the warnings of the preacher, we will never hear of the good news to come.

Sincere Desire?

“Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end [is] it for you? the day of the LORD [is] darkness, and not light.” (Am 5:18 AV)

Do not the people of God look forward to His coming?  If so, what is this all about?  Amos is a cattleman from Judah sent to the northern ten tribes of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II.  That makes him a contemporary of Jonah and Hosea.  Given the context, this statement makes all the sense in the world.  Jeroboam II was the longest reigning king of the northern ten tribes.  During his reign, Israel experienced the greatest financial revival of the history of Israel.  Jeroboam II was not antagonistic toward the LORD nor frustrated His prophets.  He did not support them.  There was no sacred revival.  But the prophets and priests of God have liberty to minister with interference.  The Day of the LORD is His incarnation.  The statement is more of thumbing the nose at the LORD than it is a genuine desire for the coming of the LORD.  Israel figured that since they were prosperous, then the coming of the LORD was much further than was being preached.  This desire was not sincere.  It was a dare.  It was a challenge offered by a rebellious people who were living in prosperity outside of the sacred demands of the law.  In God’s mercy, judgment was delayed for an opportunity toward repentance.  This was the ministry of Amos.  God was coming regardless of how well they had it.

Lack of God’s correction does not indicate that the LORD condones our choices.  More times than not, it is an extension of His grace.  We do this with our children all the time.  They are misbehaving, so we warn them.  They continue until the hammer comes down.  Our delay is seen as lack of commitment to our word.  Imagine a father sitting in his recliner enjoying reading the evening news.  His son is on the floor picking on his little sister.  Dad tells his son to stop, or there will be a spanking.  A minute later, the son picks up where he left off.  Again, terrorizing his sister, he is warned for the second time that if he doesn’t stop, there will come a spanking.  Dad does not get up from his chair, so the boy continues.  When his daughter is brought to tears, Dad can no longer ignore his son’s behavior.  The child is dealt with.  He is surprised.  With a shocked look on his face, he is brought to a room and given corrective incentive.  Why did dad do this?  He didn’t move after several times of verbal warning.  Why now?  I thought he wasn’t serious.  Why am I crying harder than my sister?  This isn’t fair.  He let me get away with it for a time.  Why now?

Israel was going through exactly the same.  They may have been profitable and industrious.  They may have used their prosperity to peacefully raise their families and protect their nation.  What they refused to do is use the blessing of God as the means to follow the LORD in all things.  This reminds me a lot of our nation and churches.  We enjoy the blessing of God earned by our forefathers.  We enjoy a mini revival of sorts in our current days.  But there is no real spiritual awakening in our nation and churches.  How do I know?  There are no large-scale conversions rooted in true repentance and faith.  What is being reported is a cultural revival much like those we see every twenty years or so.  Churches are still shrinking.  Pews are still empty.  The vices that define our nation are still a concern.  Those professing a faith in Christ want nothing to do with sacrificial service or sanctification from the world.  God is not mocked.  He knows the true nature of our condition.  Just like Israel above, our current crop of saints mock the coming of Christ.  They see it as so far off that it is of no concern.  Therefore, sin is not a factor in our current preaching.  It is sad, really.  Do we want the coming of Christ?  Why?  Or, are we simply putting it out of our minds because we think our times are good?

Ignorance is no Defense

“For they know not to do right, saith the LORD, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.” (Am 3:10 AV)

A bit of background would be helpful.  Ashdod and Egypt are mentioned as the subjects of the above verse.  Ashdod was a city on the outskirts of Judah’s territory.  It was a median city between Egypt and Judah.  God gave that city to Judah, but they never subdued it.  Consequently, Ashdod remained in the hands of the Philistines and had close ties with Egypt.  Hence the mention of palaces.  Amos pronounces judgment against the city and Egypt for the ignorance of doing right.  One might wonder if that is just.  Well, there are two types of ignorance.  There is natural ignorance.  We simply have not availed ourselves of truth or the source of truth.  Like a child who may be held to a lower standard of behavior because he lacks the ability to know what is right, this type of ignorance is often encountered with a bit of leniency.  However, there is willful ignorance.  There is ignorance where the source and method of truth are known, but the ignorant avoid it.  They do not make the effort to know.  This is the ignorance spoken of above.  They do not know to do right because they did not want to know how to do right.

Of all the types of people I deal with, this is the most common.  They would rather not know.  By refusing to know, it suggests absolution from consequences.  This is not so.  It is interesting how many of experience and maturity still think this way.  Americans in particular are guilty of this.  In the recent past, my wife and I traveled abroad.  This was a once in a lifetime trip.  We went to a country that drove on the wrong side of the road, did not speak English, and whose culture was completely foreign to us.  It is easy to get into the mode where being American entitles us to live free from the law.  Or at least from law that was not like our own.  It is funny that we think that way.  We had wonderful hosts.  They knew the customs and law.  They kept us out of trouble.  Where it became really evident was navigating through domestic and international flights.  Because of my wife’s condition, we availed ourselves of the handicapped-assistance services.  What a blessing!  These wonderful ladies knew the airport like the back of their hands.  We had very experienced escorts.  If we would have tried what they did on our own, there is no telling how it would have turned out.  We didn’t know the rules.  We didn’t know the law.  But that didn’t alleviate us from adhering to them.  We simply needed to find someone who did know and could guide us through.

Although the above scripture is speaking to the lost, the same principle applies to the child of God.  Even more so!  We know where the truth is.  We know how to access it.  We have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  There really is no excuse for not knowing.  The lost may claim ignorance and get away with it before their fellow man, but the saved cannot do the same before God.  God holds us accountable for what we know.  God also holds us accountable for what we could know but refuse to find out.  Just like being in a foreign field, ignorance is no excuse.  The authority will not let us off just because we are not from there.  The same is true of the LORD.  We are accountable for what we could know.  The Bible is our resource.  The Holy Spirit is our teacher.  The church is our encouragement.  If we are failing, it is because we choose to.  So, break open the pages of the word of God.  Read, study, and apply.  The Holy Spirit is only too ready to reveal great truths for our growth, blessing, and service to the LORD.

A Rare Request

“Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man [whom] thou madest strong for thyself. So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name. Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.” (Ps 80:17-19 AV)

This psalm is Asaph’s prayer for the people and their king.  Three times he uses the phrase, “and we shall be saved.”  The previous two times he uses it, Asaph states that if God turns them, they shall be saved.  He is referring to stirring God’s people to obedience and faith when neither comes naturally.  This last time Asaph ends a verse with these words; the context is David.  Asaph is praying for his king, that God would lead him and make him strong.  Can I admit something to you?  A leader, who is supposed to be strong, rarely asks for prayers to that end.  It makes him look weak.  The preacher will seldom ask for prayer because he is supposed to be the rock that everyone else relies upon.  He is supposed to concern himself with the needs and weaknesses of the flock.  Rarely does he seek intervention for himself.  Because he does not, he may be the one who needs prayer the most, yet receives the least.  Asaph knows that if the people do not pray for their leader, they will all feel the consequences.  Sometimes, the health of the body is contingent on the health of the leader.

I was reminded recently of a Army doctor who suffered post-traumatic stress while still on the field.  It was during a war many years ago where the casualties were particularly gruesome and frequent.  It was modern warfare, where much damage to the human body was the result.  This army doctor, a surgeon, was the best in his unit.  He was particularly successful.  When he operated on a serviceman wounded in battle, they usually made it.  By a wide margin.  It was not out of the ordinary for this surgeon to work non-stop for several days.  He would go without sleep, nourishment, or a break.  It was at one of those longer battles wherein he could not sleep.  As soon a wave of casualties was processed, he would lay down for sleep.  It wouldn’t be but a bit longer before more casualties came in.  He arose and went to the OR.  He did this for 96 hours before there was a lull in the battle.  It wasn’t that they couldn’t do without him for a shift or two.  Being the chief surgeon, he felt compelled to put his own needs last.  The wounded had greater needs than his own.  As a result, his skills began to wane.  It wasn’t until he almost lost a warrior on the table that he finally realized he needed some rest.

Your preacher will not be transparent with you.  He may be with his colleagues, but not with you. Don’t take it personally.  He feels he needs to lead you and give you strength.  What he is reticent about is to ask for prayer for himself.  Note here that Asaph does not wait until David asks for prayer.  He doesn’t wait until it is painfully obvious that he needs serious intervention.  He realizes that as the health of the leader goes, so too does the health of the nation.  Every leader needs those whom he leads to pray for him.  It doesn’t matter if he is a pastor, parent, teacher, or politician.  He needs prayer more than most can understand.  On the outside, he may look like he has it all together.  He has to.  Otherwise, those whom he leads will not feel secure.  But what you see in not necessarily the reality of it all.  The prayer Asaph offers is probably the one that matters the most.  He needs strength.  He needs strength to fight the enemies he faces: the flesh, the world, and the devil.  He needs strength to bear the burdens of others.  He needs strength to see toward to future and plan for it.  He needs strength to deal with the day-to-day challenges.  He needs strength.  Pray for him.  After all, it is in your best interest.

Look to the Past and Hope in the Future

“And I said, This [is] my infirmity: [but I will remember] the years of the right hand of the most High. I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.” (Ps 77:10-11 AV)

The infirmity of which the writer speaks is the tendency to think that God has abandoned him.  Because of adverse circumstances, the writer thinks God’s mercy has run out.  He sees his situation as the cause for the LORD limiting His grace and benevolence.  The cause for this is not mentioned.  The writer does not assume that his sins or faults have caused God’s mercy to run out.  The reason this thinking is called an infirmity is that his thinking is faulty.  God’s mercy has not run out.  God did not abandon him.  His circumstances are not what they seem.  The writer calls it an infirmity because it is a sickness.  The sickness is one of perception.  God’s mercy is everlasting.  His lovingkindness never runs out.  Once the writer realizes his thinking is warped, he chooses to think on what he knows and not on what he perceives.  He knows that in the past, God was faithful and merciful.   His perception of the present is skewed by his limited knowledge and emotional response.  The best thing for him to do in meditate on the God he knows; not on the God he cannot figure out.

Life can be a whirlwind of confusion and fear.  Not to overuse an example, but we are knee deep in the cancer experience.  The type of cancer that we are involved in is treatable.  Most people can live with it for decades.  This means that information is accessible and varied.  There are several groups that specialize in this type of cancer and even more support groups that offer help.  The thing about this cancer is dealing with the many complications that come with it.  This cancer affects different systems of the body.  That means our cancer team is composed of several specialty disciplines that coordinate care.  What this also means is many tests, appointments, medications, etc.  We need a system in place to deal with all the different angles this cancer throws at us.  It gets very overwhelming.  Overnight, one has to coordinate many medications with a schedule of nourishment.  That has to be balanced with a small and more frequent diet, yet specific in what can be tolerated.  Blood sugar is a concern.  And all that is just the tip of the iceberg.  There are several treatments.  One such treatment must be administered within a very short window.  There are scans, tests, and blood work almost every month.  We joke that we are shareholders in our local hospital.  If we are not careful, we can think God has it out for us.  Or at the very least, He has forgotten us.

The author was obviously overwhelmed by unforeseen and unfortunate circumstances.  Whether they were of his own making or not, is undetermined.  If we were to look at the verses above, we would assume they were not of his own making.  Otherwise, he would accept the circumstances and seek forgiveness.  What the author does is the best and only recourse.  As we struggle in the present, hope for the future and look to the past.  The present will take care of itself.  God will do what God will do.  He will show mercy.  He has not run away.  He doesn’t have it out for you.  He is kind.  There will always be questions.  We may never understand why.  But God is not a liar.  He is not a tyrant.  God does not take sick pleasure in making our lives miserable.  He must and does allow for mankind to make choices.  Those choices are seldom good ones.  Amid our fallen nature, God shows mercy.  He truly does.  Look to the past for evidence.  Then place your hope in the future.

The Confidence of the Almighty

“I will go [and] return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.” (Ho 5:15 AV)

Isn’t that the truth?  It is too bad we live this way.  We learn things the hard way.  For Israel, it was no different.  They rejected the word of God and suffered consequences because of it.  From Judges to Malachi, Israel existed in this pattern.  They would walk in obedience and faith for a time.  When times were good, they forgot God and walked their own way.  Jehovah allowed them to suffer the natural consequences of their choices.  He stepped away, so to speak, and waited until Israel had enough of its own self-inflicted troubles.  Then they cried out, and God delivered them.  Again and again, they did this.  Before we think they are an exception to a rule, let us remember we are of the same species.  We are the same human beings as they are and were.  We are no different.  Unfortunately, the LORD must allow or cause uncomfortable circumstances of life before we seek Him early.  The good news is when we seek Him early, He is always found!

The confidence Jehovah states above is both reassuring and inescapable.  My father did not play chess, but he lived his life as if he did.  There was no maneuvering with him.  It didn’t matter if the battle was an intellectual one or a battle of wills.  Dispassionately and with total confidence, my father played the game of the wills.  He played 3-D chess while we were stuck on a traditional board.  My father was ten steps ahead.  He knew where we were going even before we knew where we were going.  In debating our cause, his attitude was, “I am right, you are wrong.  So, what is it you wanted to discuss?”  As a child, that was extremely frustrating.  Today, I kind of chuckle about it.  Those times when we tried to assert our independence apart from his wishes, he may have let us have a bit of liberty, but he always held all the cards.  There were eyes watching all over town.  If my father wasn’t there, he had friends who were.  We couldn’t get away with anything.  If we sought permission for something we knew he wouldn’t grant, the debate wouldn’t last long.  Checkmate!  His confidence in parenting was unmatched.  A master of strategy, he was always in control.  For a child, that might not have been fun.  But it did mean unparalleled security.  He was in control even when we were not.

The LORD is the same way.  And a big part of me is deeply grateful.  It may not have been any fun for Israel to suffer for bad choices, but if they are true to themselves and the LORD, they are grateful for it.  Just last night we watched a show where a father encouraged law enforcement to imprison his son. “It will do him some good”, he said.  It may not be the best times of our lives, but they are necessary.  We may not like the hardships of life.  We may not like the lessons we have to learn.  But what a promise from a loving Father than when those lessons come, we will run right into the arms of the God who loves us with an everlasting love.  I know I write of this often.  Maybe because we need to learn and live it more.  The LORD is maturing us.  He is helping us to grow into the image of His Son.  This comes at a cost.  It doesn’t come naturally.  We need to learn hard lessons that will change the person that we are.  Rather than resent those lessons, we need to be grateful.  We may not have appreciated the spankings our parents gave us at the time of application.  But now that we are all grown up, we are deeply thankful for parents who loved us enough to inflict a bit of hardship to the tenderness of our backside!  Praise God for it all!  And even more so, praise God for His confidence and faithfulness.  Praise God!