. . . He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. (Psalm 23:3)
On a flight from Toronto to Edmonton, we
were delighted by a family with thirteen children. The youngsters were lap-size
to late teens, well-behaved and a pleasure to see. I complimented the parents
as we landed. Building obedience and serenity in a family that size takes
patience and skill and much wisdom.
This morning I’m remembering them and how
God demonstrates His grace and wisdom whenever His children follow His lead. We
are not always serene and obedient though. For me, realizing He knows best
still requires His grace plus some personal experience.
The psalmist figured it out. He knew that
God was wise and that following Him was a testimony to His goodness . . .
I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my
cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my
feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song
of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. (Psalm 40:1–3)
He added that doing the will of God was
his pleasure, “I delight to do your will,
O my God; your law is within my heart.” (Psalm 40:8)
Jumping to the New Testament, a rich
young man came to Jesus wanting to know how to have eternal life. Instead of enlightening
him with the Gospel message, Jesus said things that were designed to show him
what was keeping him from trusting the Lord. It became obvious that this man trusted
his own riches. At that, Jesus said, “How
difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it
is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person
to enter the kingdom of God.” (Luke 18:24–25)
A year ago I asked the Lord to bring me
to a place of absolute surrender to His will. I didn’t want anything to come between
and thwart my obedience to Him. The past year has been a battle as God showed
me the things in my life that were doing just that. I read a quote this week
from Martin Luther that said if you want to get closer to God, you need to read
the Word and meditate and then fight with all your heart a host of temptations
and trials. It works, but it is not easy nor what I expected.
Perhaps all Christians have this idea
that following Christ will result in new songs of praise and constant delight.
This happens, and I am thankful, but this is not all that happens. In the life
of Christ, absolute surrender led Him to Gethsemane and then to the cross.
And when he came to the place, he said to
them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And he withdrew from them
about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are
willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be
done.” And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And
being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great
drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:40–44)
The garden was a small window into what
was going to happen next. In following the lead of His Father, He sweat blood,
but also shed blood, giving His life so that we who believe would have eternal
life. He was willing to do whatever God asked, no matter the cost or the results.
Jesus entered into suffering and endured
the shame of it “for the joy set before Him”
and I understand that. However, I am not able to see ahead like Jesus could,
and any endurance God calls for must be based on total trust and believing His
promises. One of those says, “For whoever
would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will
save it.” (Luke 9:24)
Eventually, obeying God will be seen as a
wise thing, for God is a wise God. Nevertheless, absolute surrender is not entirely
delightful as I hoped. There is a battle to fight and a cost to count, ending
only when life ends and I see Jesus face-to-face.
No comments:
Post a Comment