“We throw ourselves into the present, precisely because the future is already secured.”
– Gordon D. Fee
Category: Water
Nations Make Their Plans; God Laughs
When you wake up in the middle of the night worried about how to cast a ballot you don’t have in a country you don’t live in you don’t have a problem; you have motivation to change.
There’s being a responsible citizen and there’s being an over-responsible citizen. As I child I felt like I carried responsibility for financial fiascos and relationship problems that were way out of my purview. I became hyper-vigilant – in other words fearful. I have been on a journey to freedom from being motivated by that kind of fear.
This week is a reminder that I have a way to go yet.
I see what’s happening here as people (like me) are desperate to have some sort of control over a situation that appears to be rapidly spiraling out of control. It reminds me of a loud argument between angry grown-ups going on in another room. The outcome of this argument could greatly affect the lives of everyone around them, but the grown-ups are not listening to anyone else. They are only reacting to each other.
It took a while but I have I learned that I am not helpless in situations like this. I can talk to God and know that even if people in positions of authority are not there for me, or even remember that I exist, He notices. He cares. He promises he will never stop loving. He says he will never leave or forsake me. He lets me rest on his lap and put my head on his chest and go to sleep in his arms with calm assurance that He is in charge.
The fear that comes in the night is not from him. He gives songs of joy in the night. He gives peace that is hard to understand because it is not subject to manipulation by people with agendas.
He’s not worried. Nations make their plans. God laughs.
You are wondering: What has provoked the nations to embrace anger and chaos?
Why are the people making plans to pursue their own vacant and empty greatness?
Leaders of nations stand united;
rulers put their heads together,
plotting against the Eternal One and His Anointed King, trying to figure out how they can throw off the gentle reign of God’s love,
step out from under the restrictions of His claims to advance their own schemes.
At first, the Power of heaven laughs at their silliness.
The Eternal mocks their ignorant selfishness.
But His laughter turns to rage, and He rebukes them.
As God displays His righteous anger, they begin to know the meaning of fear. He says,
“I am the One who appointed My king who reigns from Zion, My mount of holiness.
He is the one in charge.”
But blessings await all who trust in Him.
They will find God a gentle refuge. (from Psalm 2: 1-7 The Voice)
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Presence
In the past few years I have heard many worship songs about longing to be in God’s presence. Some of them have become favourites. Early this morning, as I was in that half-in half-out state of sleep, it dawned on me that so much of what God has gone to great effort to communicate is that he longs to be in our presence, with us fully alive and focused on who he is.
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Cease Striving
I kept hearing this song in my sleep the night before last. It came after a dream in which I saw a pack of big black dogs running up behind me. I was frightened by them, but I then I realized they were army-trained rescue dogs.
Those animals which scared me, and caused others in the dream to prepare to defend themselves against the pack, were not against us; they were for us. They were the dogs of war and had been released on our behalf. They were on our side. I was told not to distract them, to be still, stand back and let them get to work. Then the song began to play over and over.
When I awoke and looked at the lyrics of the old hymn I realized “Be Still My Soul” repeats the sentiments found in Psalm 46. “Be still and know that I am God” can also be translated as “Cease striving and know that I am God.” Those words are found embedded in a psalm that is about fear in the midst of war and tumult in the earth.
Be Still, My Soul
Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.
(Author: Catharine Amalia Dorothea von Schlegel, 1752,
Translated by: Jane Borthwick, 1855)
Psalm 46
God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered;
He raised His voice, the earth melted.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.
Come, behold the works of the Lord,
Who has wrought desolations in the earth.
He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariots with fire.
“Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.
(NASB)
God’s answers to our pleas for help don’t always look like what we expect. You can pray and ask God to do something, but you can’t tell him how to do it. An intercessor is called to stand in the gap without standing in the way.
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This Now Place
This Now Place
The fog wraps itself around me
like soft flannel encircling a child who twists to see.
Mystic air muffles the crying crow,
the howling wolf.
Damp cloud strokes my cheek
and covers my brow.
I catch a glimpse of mountainside
floating like a memory of the future in the sky.
Then silence.
Beside secret stream,
as in a dream,
I walk on wood chips,
sainted cedars,
lives laid down
to cradle my steps.
The shoulders of giants hush my footfall.
Between fervent moss clinging to rock
the fountain flows, in unexpected joy
between somewhere and somewhere,
beauty colouring only this place,
this now place,
this here place.
I settle my soul upon Your breast and breathe Your love.
The mountains stand
shoulder to shoulder
like guardian angels around the valley.
Whether I sleep or wake,
whether You hide Yourself
or gently wake me to see Your glory.
I trust You.
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Up All Night
Every evening I turn my troubles over to God – He’s going to be up all night anyway.
-Donald J. Morgan
He holds you firmly in place;
He will not let you fall.
He who keeps you will never take His eyes off you and never drift off to sleep.
(Psalm 121:3 The Voice)
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Wisdom in an Upside-down Kingdom
“But what is liberty without wisdom, and without virtue? It is the greatest of all possible evils; for it is folly, vice, and madness, without tuition or restraint.”
– Edmund Burke
Wisdom is an overlooked but very necessary gift from God.
Wisdom is often the missing element when trying to communicate liberty and love. Wisdom includes knowledge, but knowledge does not necessarily include wisdom. How often do we hear the phrase, “I’m sure he meant well?” whilst cleaning up a human relations fiasco.
There is a difference between wisdom that comes from above and wisdom gained from years of study and experience. Like words of knowledge mentioned in Romans 12, words of wisdom go beyond the natural ability of a person to perceive without the aid of the Holy Spirit. The wisdom that comes from God “is first utterly pure, then peace-loving, gentle, approachable, full of tolerant thoughts and kindly actions, with no breath of favouritism or hint of hypocrisy.” (James 3:17 Phillips)
The gift of wisdom is a spiritual gift, and is closely connected with hearing and understanding God’s perspective. Sometimes Godly wisdom is counter-intuitive because it has a different goal in mind than what we think is in our best interest. While reading about Godly wisdom I was surprised to learn that the greatest hindrance to using this gift is rivalry, jealousy and envy.
“Are there some wise and understanding men among you? Then your lives will be an example of the humility that is born of true wisdom.” (James 3:13)
It reminds me of the time a man with a sword stood before Joshua as he was about to lead his men into battle. Joshua asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
“Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.”
The real question is not whether or not God is on our side. The question is about whether or not we are on His.
Someone told me once that presumptive sin is the unquestioned idea that God is a kind of Santa Claus who exists to serve our desires. Our desires can look quite noble. We want a family we can be proud of. We want our country to be free, peaceful, and prosperous. We want our own church gathering -the one that meets under a particular steeple or gymnasium roof – to be a beacon of light in the community. We want our mission to bear fruit.
Secretly, however, we want our congregation to shine more brightly than others. We want to be able to say we have the greatest growth, the widest influence, the finest music, the biggest outreach, the most political influence, the finest sermons, the most popular programs, the most prosperous, healthy, well-taught, well-behaved attendees and the best thought-out forms of governance with leaders well-schooled in the art of business administration. We want our mission to be blessed in stead of blessing God’s mission. We want our team to win.
Wisdom is understanding how to apply all the other gifts in a way that will be to the benefit of others and will honour God.
The Bible says wisdom is connected to humility, not ambition – and definitely not pride. The fastest way to shut down the operation of wisdom in our midst is to fail to recognize the gifts and callings in others or to encourage them or promote them as being more important than ourselves.
Spiritual growth that screens knowledge through wisdom and love is often counter-intuitive in an upside down Kingdom where the last shall be first and the first shall be last.
James goes on to write in chapter four of the book named after him that the greatest cause – no, the cause – of division and disgruntlements in the church is competitiveness and jealousy.
“But about the feuds and struggles that exist among you—where do you suppose they come from? Can’t you see that they arise from conflicting passions within yourselves? You crave for something and don’t get it, you are jealous and envious of what others have got and you don’t possess it yourselves. Consequently in your exasperated frustration you struggle and fight with one another. You don’t get what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And when you do ask he doesn’t give it to you, for you ask in quite the wrong spirit—you only want to satisfy your own desires.”
Since we were just told in chapter three that rivalry and jealousy shut down the ability to receive wisdom, perhaps what we ought to be praying for is not the things we can spend on our own pleasure, or for things that improve our own reputation or attract admiration. Perhaps the gift we need to be asking for is wisdom and grace we can lavish on others to God’s glory.
God promised He will give wisdom liberally -all we have to do is remain humble and ask with the right motives.
Charis: Subject to Change 