God Laughs…

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2:1–12)

When world leaders get together for their summit meetings, there may be some who say in their heart, if not aloud, “We don’t need God or any of his people. . . . we can deal with the problems ourselves.” Whether it comes in  words or mere thoughts, this is a joke in the holy mind of God.

Nothing is said about how the psalm writer knew this about God. All I can imagine is that the Holy Spirit filled him and he laughed himself at the plans of those rulers. Since this is not a normal response to their their threats and behavior, the psalmist realized such a response came from the heart of the Lord. He knew from the revelation of God what God is like and his trust was so deep that the threats made by mere men were simply silly.

My husband often insisted that our children should never imagine “what if” about much of anything. As an adult, I can now see how that thought can easily slip from creative ideas to worry about what will happen. We hear the news and speculate. “What if this happens?” And wander into depression as if our fears are certain possibilities. However, the Holy Spirit lives in me. If He can laugh at the worst our enemies can plot, then I ought to laugh too.

The wife of a pastor who suffered a great deal of depression dressed one day in black. He asked her if someone had died. She said, “Yes, God died.” He said that was preposterous. She replied, “Then why do you act all the time as if He did?”

I’ve been what-if-ing for a few days, imagining that God doesn’t care and will not or cannot do anything about a certain issue. I imagined Him laughing at the foolishness of my request, but now am remembering to hear Him laughing at the problem. It is not a matter of ‘what if’ — but of ‘when’ and ‘be patient’ and even laugh with Him.

Jesus, ‘what if’ and “doubt” go hand-in-hand. Forgive me. I may not hear You laughing but I can read Your promises and trust You to take care of all my ‘what ifs’ and imaginations.

 

Living in an ungodly world?

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. (Psalm 1:1–6)

This passage uses the term ‘wicked’ but some think it should be ‘ungodly’ as that fits the idea of those who are lost, not just those who do extremely immoral deeds. This is the OT definition of ungodly:

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)

Those who turn to their own way could be morally evil and what we might call wicked, yet they could be ordinary folks who appear to be ‘nice’ people but are not even interested in God, the Bible, or in the way the Lord wants us to live.

A close relative belongs to a religious group that goes door to door with their version of the gospel. He tells me that he talks to many people who are unaware of the Bible or know anything about it. The above psalm describes these as people who will not stand when judged by God or be acceptable in the congregation of God's redeemed people.

No one aces this test. Everyone experiences self-rule at times, but those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ are not only aware of this way of life, we spend most of our walk in faith trying to overcome it. For some, that old self is totally disgusting. For others, pride, false teaching, desires for prosperity and a life of comfort lure them into a false representation of godliness. 

But God knows the way of the righteous, as well as the hearts of those who think they are ‘good enough’ to stand before Him, or who don’t really care what God thinks, or even if there is a God who cares.

We wonder about the state of the world and the daily stories on the news. They remind me of an often repeated OT verse: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 17:6) Is it also true now that  even with the leaders we have in political and religious realms, most people do what seems right in their own eyes? Knowing the selfishness of my old nature compared to the godliness God desires, this is surely a sad state of affairs. 

Lord, has the time come where You will allow the world to learn the hard way that You are to be feared? We see odd and even terrifying human behavior, but also strange weather patterns and worrisome trends in nearly every realm of life, as if grace and mercy have faded and the judgment of consequences rules. I know that You know what You are doing, yet it is not putting joy in my heart to watch this happen. 

 

Confession changes things…

Then Job answered the Lord and said: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” (Job 42:1–8)

Job is rebuked for not realizing his ignorance of God's power. God reveals what this righteous man needs to know and he repents. The friends are rebuked for speaking error and after Job intercedes for them, they make the necessary sacrifice for their sin. Then the story ends with this:

And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold. And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. He had also seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the first daughter Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch. And in all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job’s daughters. And their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. And after this Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, four generations. And Job died, an old man, and full of days. (Job 42:10–17)

When I feel sorry for myself, I read Job. If I have sinned, God shows me and when I confess, He takes away my ‘stinkin’ thinkin’ ’ and restores sane, joyful thoughts. This is the marvel of obedience and the truth that selfishness makes me miserable.

Lord God, I thank You for Your Word and the power of Your Holy Spirit to reveal truth and forgive foolishness. Thank You for Job and his story. I’m sure everyone can identify with him, perhaps not to the degree of his suffering but certainly to the degree of his perplexity and the pain of being misunderstood by others who mean well but have missed the cause of  their problems. I love You, Lord. 

 

One source of genuine wisdom

And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said: “I am young in years, and you are aged; therefore I was timid and afraid to declare my opinion to you. I said, ‘Let days speak, and many years teach wisdom.’ But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand. It is not the old who are wise, nor the aged who understand what is right. Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me; let me also declare my opinion.’ (Job 32:6–10)

While all of Job’s comforters say true things, most of it is partial and misses what is actually happening to this man. He is a test subject in the spiritual realm and they cannot see what is going on. This does not mean all they say is nonsense, only that their observations and opinions do not apply to Job’s situation.

At the same time, I’m thinking two things. My dad used to say, “There is no fool like an old fool” with several people in our community to prove his point. I also thought of  the wise words from youth. One example: Christmas shopping was a hassle and the store full of rushing shoppers. At the till I complained of all the hurrying and my young daughter said, “But mom, we don’t have to hurry on the inside.”

Kids can be wise. Knowing the Word of God is not just for the mature. However, at that all wisdom comes from God. Besides, the older I get, the more I realize how much I do not know. As for Elihu, he went on:

“Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding: far be it from God that he should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that he should do wrong. For according to the work of a man he will repay him, and according to his ways he will make it befall him. Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice. Who gave him charge over the earth, and who laid on him the whole world? If he should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and his breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust. (Job 34:10–15)

He may not have understood the what and why of Job’s situation, but he did know that God knew, and that God was not being evil or doing the wrong thing. Whatever was happening, the Lord was righteous and had good in mind for this man.

The Almighty—we cannot find him; he is great in power; justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate. Therefore men fear him; he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit.” (Job 37:23–24)

In the last few months, I’ve realized how often I assume - assuming that other people are thinking like I think, or assuming that we are on the same page regarding our interpretations of life events. This is motivating me to listen more, ask questions, seek to understand. Even though Job tried, his friends had their assumptions and his explanations fell on deaf ears. At the same time, this narrative reveals my flaws in thinking I know why others suffer. 

Lord Jesus, sometimes You help me really see what is going on when suffering happens, yet most of the time, I miss it. Help me avoid assuming and giving my opinion when I need to listen more (two ears) and shut up (one mouth).

When God’s people suffer…

“Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal. He will deliver you from six troubles; in seven no evil shall touch you. In famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. You shall be hidden from the lash of the tongue, and shall not fear destruction when it comes. At destruction and famine you shall laugh, and shall not fear the beasts of the earth. For you shall be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you. You shall know that your tent is at peace, and you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing. You shall know also that your offspring shall be many, and your descendants as the grass of the earth. You shall come to your grave in ripe old age, like a sheaf gathered up in its season. Behold, this we have searched out; it is true. Hear, and know it for your good.” (Job 5:17–27)

Job’s friends tried to justify his suffering by telling him that God allowed all his troubles as discipline for wrong-doing, and that those who please Him will live without problems. This is a typical conclusion for many Christians who have never suffered very much. We tend to think that God is blessing us because our good behavior has earned it. Therefore the opposite must be true and we deserve those problems.

It is true that God does bless the lives of those who obey Him, but He also uses trials to make us grow. Trials are not always punishment, as the book of Job reveals in its beginning. Satan said Job would never trust God if God didn’t play nice with Him, therefore God allowed Satan to bring tragedies to this man’s life to prove that faith in Him was more powerful than anything that threatened it.

In other words, some of what we suffer is not chastening or correction. It might be a test, or it might be an attack to win our hearts to the enemy’s lies. In such cases, pretending ‘all is well’ would be a lie. The struggle with those lies reinforced by tragedy upon tragedy is very real. Job didn’t know this was a contest for his affection and trust. All he knew was the pain of his losses and the agony of his body. He refused to be a hypocrite when asked how he was doing by glibly replying “Fine” when his world had fallen apart. He told the truth about his feelings:

Then Job answered and said: “Oh that my vexation were weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances! For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea; therefore my words have been rash. For the arrows of the Almighty are in me; my spirit drinks their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me. (Job 6:1–4)

Yet in his suffering, his heart knew the truth. Even as he struggled with pain and loss, he was still able to say, “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.” (Job 23:10) Eventually God bailed him out. 

I know a tiny bit of that journey. Some days are simply rotten and I want to die. It might be physical pain or a horrid sense of despair without reason. And I say, “God, if this has purpose for my good and Your glory, so be it. If not, You know what to do.” At that, the situation usually goes away, making it a much condensed version of what happened to Job. And the test to see if I will trust God even in a trial is over, even quickly forgotten.

This is the nature of spiritual war. The battles usually happen right after a vital obedience, yet as He promises, God uses even this stuff for my good. 

Jesus, life with You is an adventure. I have days of struggles, surprises, unexpected events, and test after test. You have blessed me with energy for much of it, long naps when needed, and joy even in the messy parts. Abundant life? Sometimes I want ‘ordinary’ or ‘normal’ but realize that is not the promise that goes with walking with You.

 

Remember…

So the Jews accepted what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had written to them. For Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur (that is, cast lots), to crush and to destroy them. But when it came before the king, he gave orders in writing that his evil plan that he had devised against the Jews should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. Therefore they called these days Purim, after the term Pur. Therefore, because of all that was written in this letter, and of what they had faced in this matter, and of what had happened to them, the Jews firmly obligated themselves and their offspring and all who joined them, that without fail they would keep these two days according to what was written and at the time appointed every year, that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, in every clan, province, and city, and that these days of Purim should never fall into disuse among the Jews, nor should the commemoration of these days cease among their descendants. (Esther 9:23–28)

Haman wanted all Jews destroyed, particularly Mordecai who had gained favor with the king. Esther exposed this man’s treachery, and the king came up with plan B and allowed the Jews to defend themselves on the two days they would be attacked. And they did. Haman was hanged and these two days became special and to be celebrated. 

This happened centuries ago yet Jewish people celebrate Purim today as a joyous festival on 14th of Adar (March 2–3, this year). They celebrate the survival of their ancestry with reading the Book of Esther, giving to charity, exchanging food gifts, and eating special food.

The story from the OT is an exciting read. I’m also intrigued that the two days of Purim have not been forgotten. This event shows how God takes care of His people in surprising ways, not only the Jews against the anti-Semitism of those days, but His people from every tribe and culture. 

It also stresses the importance of remembering the way God works in history by not  explicitly mentioning God. He works behind the scenes and in natural events. Some families play “I spy God” to remind them that He is always near, always involved in their  lives and that a major aspect of faith is believing what He says even though we cannot see Him.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. (Hebrews 11:1–3)

The Bible says “Faith comes by hearing” and this also is not necessarily audible. His Spirit speaks to our spirit and when we ‘hear’ God, we know it is Him.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. (John 10:27)

That voice is to be remembered. He tells me to remember the Sabbath, remember His covenants and commandments, remember His power and promises, and how I was a slave to sin but am now His servant, remembering His goodness and that He gives me all I need. My prayer is the same as this psalm:

Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. (Psalm 63:3–8)

 

Two Vital Confessions

Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads. . . . And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God. . . .  
“Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. . . .  And you have kept your promise, for you are righteous. And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea, and performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land. . . .  And you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land, and you cast their pursuers into the depths. . . .  and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right rules and true laws, good statutes and commandments. . . . But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments. They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them. . . .  but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them. . . . 

The prayer goes on, praising God for His care and confessing the many times of blessing as well as, “Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies. Therefore you gave them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer. And in the time of their suffering they cried out to you and you heard them from heaven, and according to your great mercies you gave them saviors who saved them from the hand of their enemies. But after they had rest they did evil again before you, and you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them. Yet when they turned and cried to you, you heard from heaven, and many times you delivered them according to your mercies.”

God warned them many times in many years, “Yet they would not give ear. Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. Nevertheless, in your great mercies you did not make an end of them or forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God. Now, therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love. . . . Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly.” (Nehemiah 9:1–38)

The prayer confesses the goodness of God along with the sins of the people. Why do that? My sins can depress me to the point of feeling abandoned and hopeless. The wonder of God's faithful forgiveness brings balance to the equation. If confess my sin but fail to confess Him, depression and discouragement set in, putting focus on me rather than where it should be.

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3)

Not only a mind at rest, putting my focus on God makes my ears more apt to listen and my heart more ready to obey.

Jesus, this world is filled with distractions. Some of them seem harmless, the chores of each day and and other responsibilities. Yet I notice that if my mind drifts aways, so also do my abilities to obey You. Praising You and thinking of You makes a difference in my ability to thread a needle, put away dishes, follow a recipe. That prayer had it right — confessing all sin and weakness is good, yet confessing Your goodness and power is vital to help me live for You.