No Divine Grudges

“In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.” (Isa 54:8 AV)

What great news!  God holds no grudges!  This promise is given to Israel.  They are facing many years of captivity among those who hate God.  They disobeyed God for centuries.  They neglected the Sabbath, which was the greatest of errors.  Neglecting the Sabbath and worship, which was naturally a part of it, brought on much worse behavior.  Israel fell into deep sin from immorality to idol worship.  It was so bad that God stated they were worse than the lost nations around them.  Israel was brought to almost nothing.  First, the ten northern tribes went into Assyria as captives.  Then Judah and Benjamin followed to Babylon decades later.  The city of Jerusalem was burned to the ground.  The temple was destroyed and the city walls broken up.  There was nothing left but a small remnant who would care for the land by farming and herding.  But note what God tells Israel.  The wrath He exercised was but for a moment.  Because He redeemed Israel from the world and Egypt, His mercy and kindness would be everlasting!  They will be restored as the Messianic kingdom arrives.  Israel will be, once again, the declaration of God’s holiness to a lost world!  God redeemed them.  He will never forsake them.

The New Testament saint has been redeemed to the Father by the blood of Christ.  We are His, and He is ours.  Correction is a part of life.  We were corrected by our parents.  We were corrected by our teachers.  We were corrected by our employers.  It is part of being a fallible and rebellious soul.  What God promises to do is to always affirm after He has corrected.  When my sons were little, there were many times correction was needed.  Sometimes it was harsh.  Most of the time it was meager and gentle.  In those harsh times, the inclination of my son would be flight.  Being harshly corrected was not something that brought joy.  His first instinct would be to flee my presence and process what had just happened.  But a wise pastor once advised his congregation that the moment after correction is inflicted, hold your child tight.  Comfort him or her.  Love on that child so he or she knows that correction is temporary and never changes his or her standing before Dad.  This is great advice.  I have used it several times.  Correction without affirmation breeds insecurity.  Correction with corresponding affirmation fosters humility and security.  God in no less understanding!

Here is something that will blow a few brain cells.  Compare the adjectives before wrath and kindness.  God’s wrath is little.  His kindness and mercy are everlasting.  Now, consider how we perceive His wrath.  We perceive it as something that is almost impossible to endure.  We experience the wrath of God (a saint can experience this. Just not eternal wrath) and think we will come to our end because of it.  The measure of His anger is more than we can quantify.  Yet God calls His anger little.  That would make sense.  He possesses all of His attributes without limit.  They are without measure.  By meting out His wrath by measure, it is by definition little.  Yet His mercy and kindness are everlasting.  They are in duration, unlimited.  In quantity, they are without measure.  So, if we feel that the correction of God is more than we can bear, just consider His kindness and mercy.  They are infinitely greater than His displeasure!  Hallelujah!

Freedom From the Trap of Fear

“The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.” (Pr 29:25 AV)

The fear of man can be one of two things.  It could be the fear we have towards others, or it could be the fear that is inherent to being human.  Fear is an emotion given by God.  It is meant to keep us safe from rational and manageable threats.  Fear that is irrational or fear of things that cannot be avoided is not permitted.  The answer to both fears is trust in the LORD.  We do not naively think that safety means bliss.  The king wrote this proverb.  There were wars, there were threats to his life, there were administration challenges, and there were enemies within the gate.  As the king reigned, there were plenty of potential threats.  As I age and come to terms with life as a hard challenge, I am beginning to realize the safety that God often provides is more emotional and spiritual than it is physical.  Endurance through tribulation is what we seek.  Not the absence of it.

The LORD has really met with me recently.  Many changes of life.  As a friend and I often joke, getting older is not for the faint of heart!  My wife is sick with cancer.  She has been stable for the last four years.  The expectation was that she would be stable for several more years.  Typically, those with her type of cancer, grade, and metastasis can live decades with this cancer.  So, a change is her cancer was not expected.  Longevity, it seems, is not in the LORD’s plan.  A recent PET scan shows disease progression.  Today is the day we meet with our oncologist.  She has one of the worlds foremost experts in this area.  No wonder the LORD moved us from one state to the next.  He knew she would need the best.  To say that fear was a problem would be a tremendous understatement.  To say that fear gripped my soul would not be an exaggeration.  Fear is before and behind.  It surrounds the mind.  It is everywhere you look.  There is no escape.  Fear of the future is not something we had planned on.

Solomon knew this.  Fear is captivating.  Fear is immobilizing.  Fear is a torment.  We don’t have to live that way.  According to our sage, the answer is not in trying to find an answer.  The answer is not in our own strength.  The answer has been and always will be, trust.  We have the best healthcare in the world.  We are going to a clinic and doctor that specializes in this disease.  Yet, they cannot cure it.  At least not yet.  As we age, our bodies will fail.  There is nothing anyone can do about that.  As good as they are, there is one inevitability that we will all face.  So, the LORD is our only hope.  He is our trust.  We cannot trust Him for immortality in this life.  We cannot trust Him for a trial-free life.  What we can trust Him for is His presence and strength as we navigate the troubles of life.  He is there.  He is always there.  “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” (Pr 3:5-6 AV) Note that Solomon says to trust with all your heart.  You cannot trust with all your heart if you also fear.

Get Your Girdle On

“I [am] the LORD, and [there is] none else, [there is] no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that [there is] none beside me. I [am] the LORD, and [there is] none else.” (Isa 45:5-6 AV)

The word ‘girded’ is the interesting word here.  Think about a girdle.  The same applies here.  For the Old Testament man, a girdle was a functional piece of clothing.  It was not used as an accessory to hide excessive weight.  A girdle was a very wide belt-type sash worn around the midsection to hold weapons, tools, or as a base onto which a coat of armor was attached.  The word ‘girded’ has the idea of encompassing and equipping.  The LORD is speaking of Israel as they wandered the wilderness.  It was in the wilderness that they began to learn who and what God was.  It took only a few months before the law was given.  It took the remainder of that first year to construct and erect the tabernacle.  Even though they had begun the process of worship, they would learn many lessons in their forty years of wilderness wandering.  They may have begun to worship the LORD.  But it took many generations for them to know the LORD.  In the interim, God girded the nation with strength, ability, and protection.  Their knowledge of Him did not dictate His girding of them.

The point of girding is revealed by what follows.  God girded the nation of Israel so that they could learn who and what He was to them.  The rising and setting of the sun is 24/7.  It brings to mind the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.  Regardless of the time of day or the circumstances which they faced, God was there.  He was before and behind.  He was the leader and protector.  God girded them about so that they could learn and grow.  Sometimes, having constraints is a good thing.  A girdle would constrain.  It would constrain movement to the task at hand.  Having farming tools, carpentry tools, or weaponry attached to one’s girdle would place natural limitations on the movements and plans of the equipped.  Depending on the type and size of the girdle, movement itself could be constrained.  I don’t imagine someone girded with his work belt would run a marathon or dance a jig.  Being girded means having a purpose in life.  Being girded means having the ability to accomplish goals.  Being girded keeps us from taking on tasks or pleasures that are not good for us.

There is another thought that I cannot help but express.  A girdle is a garment of security.  Many years ago, I had to wear a back brace.  It wrapped around my midsection.  There were stiff metal plates the back.  The front was made of super-thick material and was attached by Velcro.  The manner in which it was worn was extremely tightly.  This accomplished two things.  It forced me to lift with my legs to protect my back.  But it also kept me from getting a hernia.  The brace took the brunt of stress so my muscle mass didn’t flop out where it didn’t belong.  The brace kept everything where it was supposed to be.  It was a type of bear-hug that gave security, knowing that pain would not follow as I undertook my duties.  God hugs us tightly.  Not to limit pleasures.  Rather, to add security.  God has girded us even when we did not appreciate it.  He girded us even when we didn’t understand His ways completely.  He gives us an infinite bear-hug so that we can feel secure and safe.

Strength From The Omnipotent

“Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, [that] the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? [there is] no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to [them that have] no might he increaseth strength.” (Isa 40:28-29 AV)

The preface to stating the omnipotence of God is important here.  God is everlasting.  He is eternally present and therefore indestructible.  If He exists eternally, there is nothing that can cause His existence to cease.  Next, Isaiah uses the title LORD.  This is the proper name of God.  In Hebrew, it is written Jehovah.  The name means the self-existent one.  He needs nothing to exist.  Put that together with everlasting and we learn that God exists in eternity by His own might.  He has no beginning and will have no end.  He is able to do this because His strength has no limits.  The manifestation of this eternal strength and existence is the entire material creation.  A God who can create more than is humanly possible to understand must surely possess all strength.  Upon these truths we can rest on the promise of strength from the LORD.

Not until you are faced with the battle of a lifetime will you ever realize just how reliant on the strength of the LORD we become.  These trials of faith come several times of an entire lifetime.  At times, we wonder if this is possible.  At times the water is so deep, and the sun has been dimmed that we wonder if God could ever strengthen in the midst of trials.  Some trials remind be of being lost at sea.  Some trials are like floating on a piece of wreckage, and all one can see is water.  The sun overhead, once seen as a comfort, is no as beast that seems to be focused right on you.  Every small sound is a flicker of hope.  Even the seagulls overhead are seen as a moniker of land somewhere nearby.  But you don’t know if you are floating closer or further away.  Hearing a whale or other vocal fish sounds like a boat horn no matter how far the stretch.  But it is not.  There is no fresh water.  There is no food.  It is just you and the open water.  Your soul wonders if you’ll make it out of there.  How will we go on one more day?  There is no strength.  There is no purpose.  There is no plan.  One simply exists from one day to the next.  That is the biggest goal one has.  These times cry out for the strength of our Creator.

Running on empty does not mean strength is unavailable.  Look at the promise above.  When we are ready to faint and have no might, Jehovah can bring us back.  When we cannot go on another moment, the Spirit is able to help us along our path.  When we face the hardest times of life, God is more than capable and willing to bear our burden with us.  It is good to be all tapped out.  In our weakness, He is made strong.  As long as we survive in our own might, God remains distant.  Come to the end of oneself, God becomes very real.  It is unfortunate that life has to be this way, but we tend to draw closer to the Creator the more adversity that we face.  The promise in Isaiah is a real one.  It is a sure one. 

Simply Because You Exist

“Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul [delivered it] from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.” (Isa 38:17 AV)

The words above are from Hezekiah, king of Judah, upon his healing from a fatal diagnosis.  The pit of corruption is death.  For him, anyway.  God granted Hezekiah fifteen more years of life and service.  Two years after his healing, he fathered his firstborn, Manasseh.  It would be the actions of his son who, while reigning as king, led Judah to their deepest idolatry to date.  In a way, his illness was his deliverance.  Had he passed when the LORD struck him, the doom of Judah would not have been from his house.  In our passage, we want to consider something that is far more important this day; that is, God’s love for the human soul.  Note that Hezekiah says it is the love God had for his soul.  Not his body.  Not his life.  Not his family.  His soul.  That is the deepest anyone can love another.  Love to the very being of another is the deepest love possible.  This love for the human soul runs so deep that God offered His Son to be our sacrifice for sin and offered that salvation to all who desire it.

Hezekiah attributed his fatal illness to sin.  We have no indication other than his word that his illness was a consequence of sinful behavior.  The infliction of illness could have been a mercy more than a judgment.  Regardless, we will never know.  What we do know is that because God did something for Hezekiah, he was convinced that God loved his very soul.  This is of great comfort to anyone who might be struggling.  Life brings trials.  Life brings impossible situations.  Life brings illness and death.  These things are common to all people.  What gets us through it is the love of God.  Knowing that in spite of what we might face, we have a God who loves us simply because we exist, and for no greater reason, is the stability we need.  He created us.  We are the work of His hands.  Therefore, He loves us because He made us.  That is a love that cannot be understood and is hard to describe.

It is a testament to the love of God that I am struggling to come up with a comparison.  Every time an anecdotal idea comes to mind, the obvious jumps out.  Most of our relationships are, to some degree, quid pro quo.  That is, we love others, but if they react with vengeance in the opposite manner, love becomes a challenge.  Even those relationships that are deepest, there is still a slight expectation that love will be returned.  To have pure divine love is our hope and goal.  Attaining it means emptying Self of all pretense, expectation, and motive.  To love the unlovable simply because they exist is a God-thing.  It is something that we yearn for.  We seek it in human relationships.  We can get close.  But no love matched divine love.  To know that God loves my soul for no greater reason that my existence and that anything I do or fail to do will not change that love is the security for which every human soul seeks.  Unconditional affirmation and value are what we want.  We can get it from none other than our Creator.  What a comfort to rest in the knowledge of God’s love!  What a treasure!  What a comfort!  What a reason to get up every morning!  What a hope!  What a reason to live for Him more and more each day!

Little Is More Than Enough For Someone Who Has None

“[If] thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength [is] small.  If thou forbear to deliver [them that are] drawn unto death, and [those that are] ready to be slain; If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider [it]? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth [not] he know [it]? and shall [not] he render to [every] man according to his works?” (Pr 24:10-12 AV)

Verse ten is often used on its own.  A mere statement of fact.  However, if we look at it in context, the king might be saying that our strength is perceived to be small, yet there is still some expectation of rendering aid.  The ‘out’ of ignorance is played.  If strength is small, then ignorance could be a way to avoid spending what little strength we have left.  The point is simple.  If we have any ability to assist others, regardless of our sense of ability, we are ethically required to do so.  This is Solomon’s instruction here.

The word ‘forbear’ is significant here.  It means the one who was of small strength had some strength to share, but chose to remain idol as someone with a greater need suffered.  That which is also concerning is that the one with small strength has the ability to deliver.  He can deliver the one drawn unto death or is ready to be slain.  He simply chooses to hold back the little strength he has for his own care.  The troubling thought that follows is that God knows our failure to help those in greater need than ourselves.  Our strength may be small.  But it is God who keeps us.  We will never run on empty. We will never burn all the fumes.  We will never crash and burn.  God keeps us.  If He keeps us, then although we have small strength, that strength is infinitely provided to do His will.  Need an example from scripture?

When the prophet came and needed a meal, the poor widow woman was picking up sticks to fry them with a little bit of oil.  It would be the last meal the two of them would have.  Famine had overtaken the land, and the woman was left destitute by her husband.  Yet, the prophet would not relieve her of her duties of hospitality.  She followed his orders.  She made a little cake for the prophet.  Then the prophet told her to make something for herself and her son.  The barrels should have been empty.  They were not.  There was just enough to make another meal.  They at one that ‘just enough’ for weeks if not months.  The little she had was sufficient to the need.  Had she refused, the LORD might have judged her for her unbelief.

The same is true above.  Solomon challenges his children to use up what they have for the sake of those who need it more.  If charity and compassion are freely given, God provides for the need.  The little strength may remain little, but the little strength is more than enough.  Don’t tire.  Don’t give up.  Don’t stop helping.  There are those in far worse situations who could use the little we have to offer.  The barrel will not run dry.  The cruse will not run empty.  Our God holds our souls.  He knows what we need.  Spend the little you have, and God will increase you more and more.

God Has Your Back

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.” (Ps 23:6 AV)

I like what my wife said when I sent her this verse.  She observed that mercy and goodness follow, and are not out front.  Then she said, goodness and mercy have our six.  They have our backs.  That is a good way of putting that.  There is another observation here.  What lies before us may not seem as though goodness and mercy are a result, but they are.  We may face the hardest waters we have ever faced, and we cannot see God’s goodness and mercy through it.  But when we look back on it, goodness and mercy were there.

I have spent many hours on a motorboat.  I have spent many hours on a few different types and sizes of boats.  I have been on charters for smallmouth bass, lake trout, and other such fish.  If you have ever noticed a boat motoring through the water, you notice the wake that follows.  The speed of the boat determines the size of the wake.  The slower the boat, the smaller the wake.  If you have ever watched others waterski or ride a raft towed behind the boat, you will notice that most of the time, they remain in the wake.  It is the smoothest part of the ride one can get.  What is not necessarily evident is the ride from the driver’s perspective.  I have been on a few of those rides.  Cutting through the water is a jarring experience.  Each little wave hits the boat like a jackhammer.  It doesn’t matter if they are only a few inches high, or more than a foot.  The larger the wave, the harder the hit.  It is surprising what a three-to-four-inch wave will do to your boat ride.  The point is, what lies before us in not indicative of what follows.

David was a shepherd.  He is leading his sheep up the mountain to the summer fields.  Goodness and mercy follow him because there is no wolf or lion waiting to attack.  God has his six.  We cannot handle more than we can handle.  Maybe we can handle three-inch waves.  Maybe a foot.  Regardless of the size of the adversity, there are always calmer waters behind.  Praise the LORD that He has our back.  If He didn’t, we would have adversity from all directions.  And that is something I would rather not face.

Where Are They?

“A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.” (Ps 22:30 AV)

A seed here is a specific generation that awakens to a deeper commitment to God.  This promise points to Israel’s reclamation.  It points to the generation that will enter into the reign of Jesus Christ.  The last a final revival experienced upon mankind is coming at the return of Jesus to His Earth.  Yet we do not have to wait for this to be a micro-realty.  The people of God have experienced revivals all throughout our history.  Israel’s history is littered with times of disobedience, repentance, and refreshing.  It was more of a pattern than it was the exception to the rule.  If that be the case, then the same should be true of the church.  And it is.  Sacred history books tell of times of refreshing.  The same history books tell of equally great apathy.  There are times when a generation falls away from God.  There are times when younger generation sees the apathy, and it stirs them to spiritual awakening.  We exist in such a time as this.

Our news outlets are speaking of an awakening.  They believe we are in the midst of one right now.  I sure hope they are right.  They speak of younger generations showing an interest in spiritual matters and make the leap that this interest transfers to a revival.  A spiritual awakening does precede revival, but it doesn’t always cause it.  The mystic movement of the mid to late 1800s, which lasted for almost 75 years is a good example.  Spiritualism and mysticism were rampant following the Civil war.  However, much of the result was the formation of cultic religions that spoke heresy.  There was a great awakening and spiritual revival under the likes of Finney and Billy Sunday.  In the late 70s to the early 80s, following the Vietnam conflict and the hippy revolution, there was a period when churches exploded in attendance and growth.  Christendom became a counterrevolution to the growing cultural changes that had happened a few decades earlier.  Perhaps we are seeing the same thing today.  Perhaps we are seeing a younger generation respond to satanic forces over-playing their hand with deviant corruption which cannot be stomached.  Perhaps the young men who are starting to return to church know that biblical masculinity is not something that should be shunned.  Maybe we will see young ladies return to the LORD once they realize the emptiness of worldly feminism.  What will true revival look like?  How will we know this is genuine as opposed to the mysticism that spawned the cults of the late 1800s?

True revival makes a priority of repentance and holiness.  True revival is not entertained.  True revival causes the saint to evaluate his or her life against the standards, principles, and laws of the word of God.  True revival produces humility and selflessness.  True revival has a healthy fear of God and will recognize sin as the Bible labels it.  True revival in the pews is not contained therein.  True revival is moved with compassion on a lost world that faces an eternity in a devil’s hellfire.  True revival believes the word of God is perfectly pure and without error.  True revival treats the sacred things of God sacredly.  True revival offers worship that is God-centered and not man-pleasing.  True revival results in holiness as the standard for a nation.  Regardless of personal belief in God, behavior is changed in all.  Not merely in the believers.  We need a generation!  We need a generation that will fall on their knees before they wave their arms in the air.  We need a generation that has boldness to speak the truth even if it means persecution will follow.  We need a generation that is not afraid to love the lost, seeking their conversion, but maintaining a balance wherein righteousness is the commitment of a lifetime.  We need a generation that refuses to be entertained unto spiritual death but sees the doom of a human soul far more important than the latest social media post.  We need a generation that awakens to reality rather than be lulled to sleep by fantasy.  Where is that generation?  It is yours?

Sing In The Fires

“They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the LORD, they shall cry aloud from the sea. Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, [even] the name of the LORD God of Israel in the isles of the sea.” (Isa 24:14-15 AV)

The fires of which Isaiah speaks are the fires of God’s wrath and judgement upon a disobedient people.  It would be rather difficult to lift of the voice and sing for the majesty of the LORD as they are enduring the hardship of severe correction.  But it must be done!  There are other fires that the child of God faces.  There is the fire of temptation.  There is the fire of persecution.  There are the fires of trials of faith.  What about the fires of sin and the consequences of sin?  Life is full of fires.  There are bigger ones.  There are smaller ones.  Being able to sing of the majesty of the LORD when life is unbearable is important.  It is often one key of enduring the fires of life.

Sometimes, the most memorable examples of a soloist singing a hymn or song of praise to the LORD are not someone with an incredible voice.  Sometimes the most memorable singer is not classically trained.  Sometimes the most incredible example of an instrumental might have missed a few notes.  Almost all the time these dear saints have, or are going through, some hot fires.  In fact, recollecting all of those special numbers I have heard down through the years, the only ones I remember are those offered by saints who were enduring some severe circumstances of life.  There was a couple who sang beautifully who were going through some deep financial troubles.  They came from backgrounds that limited how they could serve the LORD, and some self-righteous saints made them feel underappreciated.  Yet, our pastor asked them to sing quite a bit.  The pain of rejection from those to whom they sang came through in their praise to the LORD.  Then there was the young lady who had a physical handicap.  She was extremely godly, but often overlooked.  Then one Sunday, she sang during the offering, and the whole church of thousands of people couldn’t help but weep at the beauty of her offering of praise.  There was a handicapped evangelist who was a cripple on both legs.  He would sit at the piano and sing in a deep baritone voice some of our well-known gospel songs.  It changed the lives of many.

I have to admit, offering a voice of majesty and praise is difficult when things are unbearable.  Our eyes get focused inward instead of upward.  It is hard to praise the LORD when the pain is so deep that it is all that is on our minds.  It is hard to remember to praise the LORD when tomorrow looks bleaker than today.  It is not that we don’t want to.  It is not that we resent the LORD for the trials we face.  Fire is a hard thing to ignore.  Anyone who has been around a campfire knows this.  Anyone who has suffered serious burns knows that the pain inflicted by the fire is lasting and impossible to avoid.  God would not command us to do something for His ego’s sake.  He doesn’t have one.  He commands us to offer songs of majesty and praise while in the midst of fires so that our eyes are off our situation and on the one who can get us through the fires.  By turning our eyes upward and outward instead of inward, we can refocus on someone greater than our fires.  Like the three in the fire with the son of God, they endured because their attention was on the Son of God and not the flames that surrounded them.

Surrounded By God

“The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the LORD [is] good: blessed [is] the man [that] trusteth in him.” (Ps 34:7-8 AV)

This is an amazing statement.  The angel of the LORD is one particular angel as opposed to one of many.  We know this because if it were one of many the word ‘a’ would have been used rather than ‘the’.  This means that all those who are saints of God by Christ Jesus have the same angel who encampeth he or she round about.  We have to be careful here.  God does not promise that we will be trouble-free.  Peter tells us that if Christlikeness is our goal, then persecution is sure to come.  There are consequences for sin.  Disease and death happen to all.  The angel of the LORD does not keep us from trials and temptations.  We are not promised a trouble-free life.  Rather, the promise is for deliverance.  This means the trouble must come.  There can be no deliverance from trouble that is not real.  What struck me is that God has provided His angel, also known as Angel, to encampeth round about the saint as he or she walks through life and will eventually deliver him or her from it all!  The Angel of the LORD is with us through thick and thin.

Jesus is the Angel of the LORD seen in the O.T.  He is present with Israel throughout their wilderness wanderings.  He arrives during times of deep testing.  God never left Israel alone, and He will not leave us either.  Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts.  He has given the third part of the trinity to guide us, teach us, convict us, encourage us, and assist us in praying to the Father.  The promise above is an absolute one born from the lips of someone who lived it.  David spent thirteen years on the run from Saul.  He spent many evenings is the wilderness under the stars and in caves.  He endured close calls, his own tribe turning on him, and those who did follow abandoned him.  David also survived an attempt at insurrection by his own son.  God did not stop these things from coming.  He required that David endure through them.  But He did deliver him!  He survived.  He got through the hardest times of life because the Angel of God never left him!  Never.

We have the same assurance.  There is a common debate as to the reality of guardian angels.  What form they are I refuse to debate.  What I can say is that the Angel of the LORD encampeth me round about.  If we do have guardian angels, they are supplemental to the presence of Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit!  The comforting thing is that no matter where we are in life or what we may face, He has every angle covered.  That is what the phrase ‘encampeth me round about’ means.  It means there is no place where He is not.  Where we are, where we might be, and where we will eventually be includes the presence of the Angel of God!  We will be delivered.  The end is sure.  The goal is certain.  Praise be to the LORD!

Silence is Golden

“Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited [me] in the night; thou hast tried me, [and] shalt find nothing; I am purposed [that] my mouth shall not transgress.” (Ps 17:3 AV)

This was a bit interesting to me this morning.  I couldn’t make the connection between David’s visitation with the LORD and the vow to keep from sinning with his lips.  So, off to the excellent doctors of the scriptures, and they were very helpful.  They reminded me that the vow of non-transgression with the lips was in response to God’s examination of the heart.  In essence, they believe David’s vow was righteousness in his speech is response to God’s examination.  That is all good and well, but this only draws another confused observation.  Why would David sin with his lips if God found nothing?  I can see a negative response to a guilty verdict.  We do this all the time.  We offer excuses or try to justify our actions.  Humility may not be our first response.  But David states that God found nothing.  God visited David in the night.  God proved his heart and found nothing.  As far as God was concerned, David was as right as any person could be.  So, what possible sin could follow a verdict of not guilty?  I see one of two possibilities.  Either he doesn’t wish to respond in pride by taking credit for his blameless condition, or he doesn’t want to presume upon his innocence and relax his standard by slipping with the tongue.  Both are legitimate and both can be a real possibility at the same time.

Much can be said for silence.  Twice this morning the LORD made a point of it.  Solomon had this to say. “Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: [and] he that shutteth his lips [is esteemed] a man of understanding.” (Pr 17:28 AV)  Too much harm can be caused by hasty lips.  Boy, do I know this!  I am from a part of the country that makes faux pas an art form.  The most recent came at the expense of most of the ladies in my church.  I’ve pastored in the south and as anyone who has ever lived or visited there will attest, southern cooking is legendary.  It is flavorful and downright homey.  It might be that they have access to fresh ingredients regardless of where they shop.  Or perhaps the recipes are all that much more delectable.  Anyway, I compared southern cooking to northern cooking, and now that I pastor in the north, I am eating a lot of crow.  Trying to be folksy backfired on me.  A lot could be said for silence.  Saying nothing is always better than saying something if the something said is not what needed to be said.  Silence, as they say, is golden.

David knew his heart.  He knew there was temptation is absolution.  The context of psalm 17 is a prayer regarding his adversaries.  I can see how self-righteousness could be a temptation.  When found not guilty, David might have been tempted to take a liberty with his speech.  If we were absolved and his enemies found guilty, perhaps a bit of freedom from verbal restraint might be in order.  David checked his heart and his lips.  He knew he was in a delicate place.  He knew he could not say anything.  It was wiser to remain speechless that to use his favorable verdict as a means to inflict harm.  Checking his lips was important here.  Walking away without a word is the wiser choice.  Like a plaintiff who found a favorable judgement from the court, just walk away and don’t speak a word to your adversary.  You’ve won.  Let it go.  Walk away and walk with God.

Many Wells

“Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” (Isa 12:3 AV)

These words of encouragement from the LORD through the prophet do not stipulate when the joy is present.  Perhaps joy is already present and encourages us to continue to draw waters of refreshing from the wells of salvation.  Or, it could mean that when we need joy, drawing from the wells of salvation is our source.  Note also that there is more than one well of salvation.  The word is plural.  How can that be?  How can salvation have more than one well?  It is simple.  We are saved from many things.  We tend to think that salvation is only from our sins and a devil’s hell.  But the word of God uses the word to describe various other forms of deliverance.  The O.T. saint or king could be saved from a physical enemy.  The sick can be saved from illness.  Or the discouraged, anxious, or fearful can be delivered from their emotional turmoil.  It is this second point to which I wish to consider.

It is interesting that the various wells of salvation tend to be something that rarely occurs to us.  For instance, it is common for prayer to be offered for those in physical distress and disease for relief or complete healing from it.  Yet the Bible clearly teaches us that we will all pass from this world unto eternity.  There will come a time when there is no healing.  Or, as in the case of Paul, we could be afflicted by a thorn in the flesh, and it is part of God’s plan for us.  The wells of deliverance may not be what we think we need.  They may not be what we would hope for.  The wells of deliverance are wells intended to increase or bring upon us the joy of the LORD.  Therefore, they are plural.  Our struggle is to keep an open mind as God begins to fill our cup.  We can be like little children sometimes.  We want soda pop, but mom gives us ice water.  Little do we know that the sugar in soda only makes us thirstier and the ice water quenches the thirst. 

God does not have bitter wells.  They are cool deep wells meant for our joy.  The wells of salvation may make things a bit more difficult at first.  No doubt Paul had to adjust his life to work around the throne he would now possess.  Yet if we believe the wells of salvation are our source of joy, then joy is the result.  I love ice water.  The cleaner, the better.  There is no better tasting water than natural spring water from an old-fashioned hand pump.  I am not talking about that tap water bottled as spring water.  I am speaking of water from a well dung on a mountainside that feeds only one home.  Clean and fresh!  The perfect glass of refreshing.  Nothing added.  No fortification.  Direct from the hand of God without human influence.  That are God’s wells of salvation.  All God!  From Him!  All we need to do is receive what He has for us and learn to live in joy.

It Will Show

“A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.” (Pr 15:13 AV)

The truth stated is obvious.  Solomon is simply stating that the condition of the heart works itself out in our outward person.  If we have a merry heart, our face will show it.  If, on the other hand, our heart is occupied with sorrow, that too will outwardly manifest itself.  The application is unclear.  We don’t know if Solomon is challenging his children to go about life with a merry heart.  Or if he is merely stating that whatever our disposition of heart, it will reveal itself to all whom we encounter.  It is naïve to think that we can live life with a continual merry heart.  There are great losses along the way.  There are adversaries that drain us of our cheerful disposition.  Some wear their emotions on their sleeves.  The observer doesn’t have to guess what it going on in the heart.  It is as obvious as the nose on one’s face.  Others seem to hide their feelings rather well.  Or worse yet, they bury them deep so they cause little harm.  Or do they?  The point is, we cannot hide what is going on inside.  It works itself out in our disposition.

I don’t know if you are ever tempted to do the following, but I do it all the time.  It started when I was a child.  Our little town had traveling circuses come through from time to time.  The largest ones hit the big city.  However, the smaller ones would stop by our neck of the woods.  They would often set up in county fairgrounds or the parking lot of a large church.  It might be the 4-H grounds, the Legionaries field, the Knights of Columbus Park grounds, or some other venue.  It wasn’t a large circus.  Just a few animals, some performers, and one large tent where the acts would perform.  We didn’t get the lions or the tigers.  We got the poodles.  We didn’t get the one-hundred-foot trapeze.  We got the twelve-foot gymnastic set.  Some acts were local people.  A juggler here.  A magician there.  The clowns were almost always local people whom we would be familiar with.  Hence, the habit I took up.  It was a curiosity for me to try to discover who it was under all that makeup and costume.  If the clown’s identity was undiscernible, that was a treat.  Even more so, I tried to discern if the clown was as happy as his painted face projected.  I tried to see his or her natural lips.  I looked into the eyes to see the person.  I wanted to see the person behind the mask.  It is a habit I carry well into my adult years.  I see the Joker in the old Batman shows or the more modern movies and see the pain behind the smile.

It is easy to think we can pretend to be someone we are not.  But Solomon would beg to differ.  We may think we are hiding our hearts well enough to fool most people.  Like the commercials that advertise antidepressants, there is a placard we hold up with a smile on our faces when inside, we preoccupied with the adversities of life.  Or, the opposite can be true.  Life could be grand.  The wind is in our favor and it seems as much is going right.  The blessings of life abound, and we arrive with a glow about us while others do not understand what the joy is all about.  Our optimism is both infectious, but could be a bit intrepid depending on our audience.  The point is very simple.  The condition of our hearts is seen by others.  How that is to be applied depends on the circumstances.  Empathy for the situation of others is important.  So too is the point Paul makes in the beginning of his letter to the Corinthians.  If we are of a sorrowful spirit, we will unnecessarily make others sorrowful and will never receive the encouragement we need.  The truth is obvious.  The observation plain.  As to how that dictates the demeanor is which we are to portend ourselves, the circumstances dictate the manifestation.

God is Overwhelming

“In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, [is] the LORD of hosts: the whole earth [is] full of his glory.” (Isa 6:1-3 AV)

Isaiah’s response to the vision of the glory of God was to fall on his face and see himself as he is.  A completely unclean thing.  God did not condemn Isaiah.  Isaiah condemned himself.  In comparison to the perfect holiness of Almighty God, man is less than nothing.  I can understand a bit of this.  We need this humility.  We need this self-loathing.  Job said as much when God finally spoke to him.  He saw himself as he truly was.  I imagine when we graduate to glory, we may do the same thing.  When seeing Jesus face to face and the glory of God filling the eternal heavens, it will finally hit us that we tremendously underestimated the glory of God.  When the brightness of His glory is vastly brighter than the heavens He created, it will finally hit us with all the truth that abounds that our God is greater than our minds can comprehend.  When the angels and the elders sing so loud that thunder seems but a whisper, it will overwhelm us that we are in the presence of a God infinitely greater than all of our eternal understanding can take in.  If only a sliver of this truth would affect us in our temporal lives, it would make all the difference.

There are powerful things in our world that intimidate the normal person.  A tornado, hurricane, or typhoon come to mind.  A tsunami is not an interesting weather occurrence.  An earthquake is frightening.  Walking among lions must be terrifying.  Swimming with sharks has to be a bit unnerving.  Jumping from a plane cannot be a comfortable feeling.  Being in a submarine while submerged thousands of feet cannot be an easy experience.  Not too far from where I lived was the world's highest concentration of poisonous cottonmouth snakes.  It was populated with an average of 700 snakes per acre.  Not too many people ventured there.  There are things that give us the whillies.  There are things that are simply too much for most to handle.  There are things that demand our utmost respect.  Those who work in medical imagining need protective clothing so regular exposure to radiation does not get them sick.  There are strict protocols when working with pathogens.  The electrician is sure to cut all power before he installs or makes a repair.  The baker wears protective gloves.  The policeman wears a vest.  And firemen wear fireproof gear.  This shows respect for something that can do great harm.  We use hearing protection against loud noises that can cause damage.  The list goes on and on.  We are conditioned to respect things greater than ourselves.  For our own survival we order choices that acknowledge there are things we cannot control and we need to adapt in order to function.

Of all the things that God has created which can undo man, non is greater than our God.  But what Isaiah saw was not threatening.  The glory of God was not something he saw as a terror to men no matter his condition or response to it.  Rather, what Isaiah responded to was the entire nature of God.  His holiness.  Himself.  Isaiah responded to the person of God because God is infinitely great and holy.  There is no measure to Him.  To say that God is overwhelming is a tremendous understatement.  If only we had the same attitude.  If only we saw God in this way.  If only, but for a brief moment, we could experience the greatness of God.  I wonder how different we would be.  I wonder how different our prayer lives would be.  I wonder how much it would affect our choices.  I wonder how much the glory of God would change the person that we are.  We trifle with Him.  We approach Him in immature arrogance as if He is our parent whom we can manipulate or charge foolishly.  Not so.  Our God is so overwhelmingly holy and great that when we finally meet Him, we will fall flat on our faces completely and wholly undone.

Perfect Bible!

“The words of the LORD [are] pure words: [as] silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” (Ps 12:6-7 AV)

For those who are apt to think preservation of the word of God is not promised, just pass on reading the following entry.  I will not entertain fools.  Those who dispute the above passage teach preservation believe that the ‘them’ are the saved.  They do not attribute the ‘them’ to the immediate context of the ‘words’ in the previous verse.  Again, I do not entertain fools.  Even those who, through carnal thinking, believe that languages not being equal cannot guarantee a perfect translation are again ignored.  To take that position would mean that any dialogue with a non-Hebrew speaking individual cannot be perfectly inspired by the Holy Spirit in Hebrew.  This would mean the words of Pharoah, Abimelech, and even Joseph are not perfectly inspired in the Hebrew.  Even Paul’s words that were spoken in Hebrew, as it appears in Acts chapter 22, cannot be perfectly inspired into Greek, of which we find the book of Acts written.  When one abandons the idea of the perfect inspiration, preservation, and translation of the word of God, one becomes his own authority.  Even more so, the scholar (so called) who would deny the perfect inspiration, preservation, and translation of the word of God is challenging God’s promise to do so.  And therefore borders on blasphemy.

One of the easiest ways to get away with something is to pit two authority figures against each other, and while they are debating, you do as you wish.  We did that with our parents all the time.  Everyone knows that without an absolute standard, disunity, antipathy, disorder, and tyranny ensue.  There must be a perfect authority above mankind in order to keep mankind in order.  There cannot be more than one standard of math.  One plus one is always two.  There cannot be competing standards of gravity.  What goes up must come down.  When it comes to metaphysical truth, the same applies.  There must be an absolute truth that is perfect and without error.  If not, then humanity and the church become the nation of Israel as it appears in the book of Judges.  Every man will do that which is right in his own eyes because there is no king in the land of Israel.

We have an electronic bathroom scale.  It is a problem scale.  Every so often, I have to service it.  I have to clean the dust off the feet.  I have to level it and re-zero it.  A few weeks ago, it switched from pounds and ounces to the metric system without the hard switch being thrown.  I tried a few things.  The numbers were a bit more than half of what it would have been in pounds and ounces.  I loved those numbers much better.  All of a sudden, I lost 75 points.  Amazing what a bit of technology failure can do for your self-esteem.  I was all set to purchase a mechanical scale, but decided to check the batteries.  Sure enough, they were beginning to fail.  Bummer.  I replaced the batteries, and my weight was back up where it had always been.  If we followed the logic of the carnal theologian, either number would be acceptable and as accurate as the other.  My weight becomes a preference and not an absolute.  Our willingness to accept the inerrantly translated and preserved word of God does not change the fact that it is.  This is the folly of the carnal academic.  He or she thinks that what is believed is the truth because it is believed.  I dare them to speed, get a ticket, and argue that in front of a judge.  It doesn’t wash.  God’s word is perfectly inspired, perfectly translated, and perfectly preserved.  Nothing will change that!

Tend To The Foundations

“If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Ps 11:3 AV)

Foundations.  Often overlooked, but the most necessary part of any structure or living being.  Whether it is a building with a stone foundation, or the human body built upon a skeletal structure, everything in existence needs a foundation.  This is so critical that if the foundations are compromised, the entire structure fails.  The adversary knows this.  He knows that if he can destroy any faith in an absolute, then faith as a whole, fails.  This is why biblical inerrancy is so important.  In today’s seminaries, they question that very thing.  Carnal thinking has invaded our schools and our pulpits.  Even those ministries that boast of creation apologetics will not take a stand on biblical inerrancy by committing to a single perfect translation is any language available today.  It is counter-productive to defend the word of God as reliable and accurate if we cannot point to where it is in perfect form.  However, let us consider an application a bit closer to home.  When we go through hard times, the foundations that we have and refuse to compromise are the foundations that keep our faith strong.  There should be a theological line in the sand that no matter how puzzling, frustrating, or trying our lives might be, that line holds fast.

God’s nature comes to mind.  Not just His physical attributes.  Not merely that He is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present, eternal, and transcendent.  These are rarely questioned.  His moral attributes are equally sure.  God is merciful.  God is gracious.  God loves us with an everlasting love.  God is a reasonable God who thinks and plans eternally.  He knows all things possible and actual.  Time does not matter to Him.  He exists both in time and out of time.  Our God is the foundation upon all things are built.  Our faith in that foundation is the only hope we have.  Take that away, and what can the righteous do?

I have had the pleasure of helping young men into the ministry.  My role was more of a support role and not a main influence.  One piece of advice for any graduating preacher is to know his theology.  Whether he earns a seminary degree or is self-taught, theology is where most people fail.  Four decades of service to the King, and I can tell you that if a saint comes to you seeking comfort or counsel, most of the time there is a disconnect in their theology.  The foundation is not finished.  Or they have not maintained the foundation they have.  When hardship comes, it is the foundation of God’s love and providence upon which we lean.  When the challenge of direction in life shows, it is the foundation of God’s omniscience that gleams the brightest.  When we feel abandoned and alone, it is the foundation of God’s omnipresence which comforts us.  When doubt and fear gripe the soul, it is God’s omnipotence that strengthens us.  If sin becomes overwhelming, the foundation of God’s parental love, mercy, and mentoring that meets the need.  The foundation is ours to keep.  The foundation is ours to maintain and guard.  If the foundation is destroyed, then our hope is lost.  Guard them.  Tell the adversary that even if they march an ‘alien’ down main street, Jehovah God is still God and mankind is still His love!

Sharpen the Ax

“If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom [is] profitable to direct.” (Ec 10:10 AV)

What is more dangerous?  A razor-sharp ax or a dull one?  What takes more effort to fell a tree?  A sharp ax or a dull one?  The answer to both is the dull ax.  The Latter is obvious.  The former, not so much.  In both cases, the sharper the ax, the safer and more efficient the tool.  Wisdom is compared to a razor-sharp ax.  The application is obvious.  Wisdom would say to sharpen the ax before a task is started.  The fool would pick up an ax without testing it.  And a fool would continue the task without sharpening the ax once it was discovered dull.  The word ‘direct’ is a perfect word here.  The dull edge does not have a decisive direction.  It flies wherever the tree would force it.  The dull blade would be subject to the resistance of the object upon which it was forced.  A sharp edge, however, would dictate the direction against resisting forces.  The sharp edge sets the direction.  Not the resistance against it.

Having been taught many outdoorsman skills, I can attest to the truth above.  Having to fell trees for my father, a sharp ax was a must.  He taught us how to sharpen and an.  It took time.  We had no grinding stone upon which to turn the ax head.  It all had to be done be hand.  We took sticks and stabbed them into the ground at a thirty-degree angle at the base to each other.  Like an ‘A’ without the cross stroke.  Four or more sticks lined in two rows at the precise angle for the sharpest edge.  We simply lay the ax head against one side or the other we used the sticks as a guide to sharpen the ax to a fifteen-degree edge on both sides.  First, we would start with a course file.  Working our way down, we would end with a fine whetstone.  This took a bit of time.  In our immaturity, we thought we could have easily chopped a tree or two down in the time it took to sharpen an ax.  Every few trees, we would use the whetstone to hone the edge.  Keeping the ax sharp meant more time in the beginning, but less time and effort over the long term.

Have you ever heard the phrase “work smarter, not harder”?  This is the idea here.  The more wisdom we get, the easier life becomes.  It is hard work gaining that wisdom.  There are hard lessons to learn.  I have scars on my body to prove it.  There is the left hand that was crushed in a mixing bowl that has been slightly crippled since.  I have burn marks from pizza ovens.  There are scars from knives and axes to prove the proverb true.   We often complain of the hard times of life.  But some of them are our own doing.  Being foolish comes with scars.  The answer is to whet the blade.  The answer is to learn from our mistakes.  The answer is to go to the word of God, learn it, hide it in the heart, then ask the Holy Spirit to bring it all to remembrance.  A dull ax hurts a bunch.  I know.  A sharp ax will bury itself in the trunk of a tree.

Not Always Straight, But Always Right

“Consider the work of God: for who can make [that] straight, which he hath made crooked?” (Ec 7:13 AV)

When comparing the way of the LORD with the way of man, usually we think of the way of the LORD as straight and the way of man crooked.  This is not without cause.  The word perverse or perverted means to make crooked.  Yet Solomon reveals that it is appropriate to think of the work of God as crooked and that it cannot be straightened.  The discrepancy is in the first case, sin is involved.  In the latter, it is the plan of God for our lives.  Which brings us to our thought.  God’s plan for our lives is not the easiest and straightest of all paths.  There are turns.  There are twists.  We call that change.  As much as we want life to be one straight line without any twists and turns, it is not.  God has a path for us.  It transverses in a generally straight line.  His plan for us is to learn two things.  We need to learn obedience and faith.  This means some crooks in the path are necessary.  Both quick and gentle turns are required.  Sometimes solid obstructions are necessary.  We don’t learn the easy way.  Experience is a hard teacher.

Automatic vacuums and sweepers are becoming common.  My son has one.  It is common to see a small dog riding one.  The technology of these sweepers can see obstructions and change direction.  It does so rather effortlessly and without dramatic fashion.  Prior to today’s technology, it wasn’t always that way.  In earlier objects, it was a blunt force that caused the object to change direction.  Prior to proximity sensors, it was a jolt that reset the direction and speed of the object.  The interaction between the object and the solid obstruction could often be violent.  A jarring encounter would reset something inside the toy or tool, and it would reverse direction, going off in another way.  The problem was that the other way may also involve an obstruction.  If this toy or tool encountered a corner, it took some doing to get free.  Forward, back, turn ten degrees and do it again.  Several impacts later, it was finally out of trouble.  Today’s technology ‘sees’ a possible obstruction and avoids it all together.  Sometimes we are like that old technology.  We bump into the solid sovereign hand of God and have to change course.  It stings a bit.  But we are pointed to a fresh direction.

Life is full of adjustments.  Some major.  Most minor.  These adjustments are part of God’s plan to mature us into Christlikeness.  As much as we want to avoid them, as continue as we are, we would never get to where we are going without the hurdles of life.  God knows what He is doing.  He always does.  Trusting Him stinks sometimes.  It is rarely easy.  Faith is a principal thing.  Without it, we cannot please God.  Therefore, we must embrace the crooked path of life.  We must see it as God intends it.  The crooked path is all part of growing in the nurture and admonition of the LORD.  The crooked path of life makes God more real and far closer than He has ever been before.  Praise the LORD for the crooked path of life.

Wisdom as a Delight

“Then I was by him, [as] one brought up [with him]: and I was daily [his] delight, rejoicing always before him; Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights [were] with the sons of men.” (Pr 8:30-31 AV)

Proverbs chapter eight is wisdom speaking as though it were a person.  The intent, some say, is to draw a comparison of wisdom portrayed as a woman against the strange woman who represents sin.  There are several theological considerations here.  Wisdom, as brought up with the Creator, makes wisdom eternal.  Wisdom as by Him shows that wisdom is the very nature of God.  Wisdom is one of His many attributes.  Divine wisdom was also part of the creation process of almighty God.  What struck me this morning is one word.  Delight.  In particular, if wisdom is the delight of God, how much more should it be for us.

The word ‘delight’ is an interesting word.  Webster’s 1828 dictionary states, “To affect with great pleasure; to please highly; to give or afford high satisfaction or joy; as, a beautiful landscape delights the eye; harmony delights the ear; the good conduct of children, and especially their piety, delights their parents.”  This means wisdom is more than mere exercise of principles.  Wisdom is meant to be delightful.  We often look at wisdom as a duty to begrudge.  Wisdom, so we think, robs us of the pleasures of life.  Yet in another of Solomon’s works, The Book of Ecclesiastes, living for pleasure alone is a vanity.  Hedonism may be attractive and even offer short-term pleasure, but in the end, the cost is always higher than the pleasure received.  Wisdom as a delight suggests that in God’s view, acting in accordance with His holy character is a delight.  Not only is it a delight to God, but the implication is that living in wisdom is a delight to mankind.

Wisdom is often seen as a negative thing.  Or, at best, neutral.  It is seen as something to do or be simply to avoid trouble or to be more right than wrong.  Wisdom is seen as a duty, and neglecting wisdom is something to be avoided.  Mostly because of consequences, wisdom is seen as a duty to make one’s life a bit better than living as a fool.  Solomon shares that wisdom is far more than that.  Wisdom is, or should be, a delight.  It should be a pleasure.  Like my technical drawing class, scoring a perfect score was almost impossible.  The closer I got, the more pleasure it brought.  The same is true with wisdom.  The closer we get to Christlikeness, the more pleasure it should bring.

Of Righteousness and Overcoming

“Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.” (Ps 5:8 AV)

For every saint, there are three common enemies.  There is the world.  The world is all of lost humanity, the systems which they create, and the temptations they offer.  There is the flesh.  The flesh is that part of us that desires to be pleased more than to please God.  Then there is the devil.  He and his minions can make life rather difficult.  They are limited by the permissive will of God.  God allows their influence so that we might learn many lessons we would not otherwise learn.  These three are common to all saints.  But there are other enemies that could perhaps be grouped with one of these three.  This morning, my enemies are discouragement and weakness.  They could be lumped in with the flesh.  Unlike David, our enemies are not always physical.  He fought the Philistines and his other neighbors.  He fought Goliath.  He fought Absalom.  He fought armies and individuals who would compromise the peace of Israel.  We, on the other hand, wrestle with principalities and powers and rulers of darkness.  As I said, discouragement is a great enemy to face!

David’s answer is to live in righteousness.  This may sound odd.  David is a warrior.  What does righteousness have to do with wielding a sword or spear?  What does righteousness have to do with battle strategy?  Isn’t the whole point of warfare to destroy everything in your path?  The same could be said of discouragement, fear, envy, frustration, or any other unhealthy emotion.  What does righteousness have to do with our emotional state?  Everything!  Aside from the obvious, by living in the righteousness of God we live in the strength of the power of God.  We can no more live right by our own strength that we can face the giants of discouragement or anxiety.  By living in the strength of the LORD for one, we also receive the strength of the LORD for all others.  Let’s face it.  Our battles come from many different directions and often many are faced at the same time.  Discipline of the flesh to avoid sin and fighting discouragement often go hand in hand.  Discouragement has a way of evaporating hope so that we see no point in living right before God.  Therefore, being led in the way of righteousness has everything to do with receiving strength against the enemy.

If we see no point in what we are doing, then we will not care how we do it.  That is David’s point here.  All he can do is battle to the best of his ability.  He cannot control who or what is at enmity with him.  His enemies will vary.  They will come from different directions, with various numbers, and for no reason other than he and Israel exist.  He cannot control their feelings about him or his nation.  They are what they are.  What he can control is his dependence on God.  He can control his walk with God by seeking strength through righteousness.  That is our goal.  We cannot predict or battle enemies that we cannot see on the horizon.  Try as we may, we can study and pray, but the enemy will still come.  Weariness in well-doing is a real thing.  We cannot relinquish our well-doing.  We must remain steadfast in doing well.  Righteousness is the key.  By asking the for the LORD’s strength and leading into righteousness, then enemies we cannot see will diminish.  Eventually, they will be defeated.

It All Belongs to Him

“Who hath prevented me, that I should repay [him? whatsoever is] under the whole heaven is mine.” (Job 41:11 AV)

Whatsoever under the whole heaven is everything!  As my deacon replied, “This should be obvious to all.  Too bad that God had to declare it!”  Amen.  But declare it He must.  It is surprising how many created beings believe they belong to no one.  We did nothing to earn our existence.  We did nothing to affect our existence.  We are the product of two people and the hand of the Creator.  We belong to the hand that made us.  Yet, few will acknowledge the existence of a Creator nor submit to Him as such.  It matters not.  Whether we submit or don’t submit, we still belong to the Creator.  It amazes me how much this principle is lost on the rebels.

The city to which I moved a few years ago is popular among dog owners.  It is not uncommon to see a dog walker stroll by the house on average of two an hour.  A simple drive from one place to another will also witness several dozen dog walkers.  Pooches are everywhere!  It is interesting that every dog walker also sees himself or herself as a dog owner.  The dog, no matter how much it is loved, belongs to the master.  It doesn’t matter how cute or ugly, big or small, obedient or wild.  That dog belongs to a person, and that person understands the role of owner.  It is his or her responsibility to care for that dog.  It is to be fed.  It is to be maintained in good health.  It is to be housebroken.  It is to be trained.  This is proper and right for the dog’s sake.  A dog not well cared for and trained is a dog that is uneasy.  The owner is one because the dog is purchased, licensed, and sheltered.  The owner did not create the dog.  He assumed a relationship of authority and submission.  As long as the balance exists between owner and pet, the relationship continues.  But at no time can the dog decide that he is not owned.

We are not dogs by any stretch of the imagination.  We are not property of another.  Rather, we have a much higher status than that of a purchased pet.  We belong to God because He made us.  His relationship to us is that of Creator/creation.  Because man is made in the image of God, we are the extension of His person.  Unlike a dog who may resemble his master but with no point of origin, we are much more to the LORD.  We are the expression of His love and desire to know those who wish to trust Him and worship Him.  We belong to Him.  Not because He bought us from a breeder or other individual.  Rather, we are His because He invested His heart in something He could love while desiring love in return.  We are not our own.  We were bought with the price of the blood of Jesus to reconcile us to our Creator.  If we will not have a relationship with Him, then we cease to pursue the purpose for our existence.  There is no more need of this relationship.  We are His!  The quicker we can accept and internalize this truth, the quicker we can enjoy the life He wishes to grant.

Limited Understanding

“Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.” (Job 38:4 AV)

God’s question to Job goes to the root of man’s quest to fully understand God.  He cannot.  The word ‘understanding’ is important here.  The bible use of the word means to comprehend and combine facts so that one understands the implication or application of the facts one knows.  In short, the LORD is asking Job; and by extension mankind; can we really understand every detail of God’s hand in creation?  Modern man would posit that indeed, mankind is smart enough to understand all the complexities of the natural universe.  The theorems of our brightest sound rather profound and possible.  Yet, now one was present when God created so to say that mankind can know is the height of arrogance.  We can only know that which we can interact with.  We know much biology as manifested by medicine.  But how much to we really know?  If we knew all that was to know, immortality would be the result.  Yet death still reigns.

I am not a patient word-puzzle person.  If the puzzle is not relatively easy, I have no interest.  There is a word-puzzle app on my phone.  There are nine varieties of word puzzles included each day.  Word search is no problem.  The Wordle style puzzle is simple enough.  There are three or four puzzles where knowledge of pop culture like movies or music, is a constant theme.  There is another puzzle that changes the current word to a new one by changing one letter.  The puzzle gives you a crossword style clue.  Whoever writes these puzzles is not from my home country, so many of the clues are useless.  The crossword puzzles seem to be somewhat like this as well.  Google searches become my friend.  I have learned much playing these word puzzles because I have to search to find an answer.  Working these puzzles is quickly becoming a chore rather than a pleasure.  I will cease to occupy myself with things I cannot understand when it becomes more work than joy.

Mankind is miserable because they will not let God be God.  This was Job’s struggle.  He needed an answer to ‘why’.  He wanted to understand the complexities of God before he was willing to be content in his limited ability to understand God.  This is the LORD’s doing.  The answer to Job’s situation was simple and understandable.  But many things are not.  The complexity of what God does, or why and how He does it, are not able to be known by finite man.  God’s point to Job was that Job needed to learn submission, contentment, and even joy in the reality of ignorance.  After all, if the answer to his question did come, would it really change anything?  Getting the answer would not bring his children back.  Getting the answer would not produce instant wealth.  Getting the answer would not miraculously heal his body.  The answer to ‘why’ is a separate consideration.  It is not the cure.  Man is foolish if he thinks he can understand all there is not know of the hand of God.  Absolute arrogance!  Faith is the answer.  Taking God at His word and trusting Him, even though we have scant ability to understand, is the only answer to a troubled heart.