Burdens from God — or me worrying?

 

Over the past few weeks I’m realizing the difference between spiritually-motivated Christian living and that which is from the old nature trying to be godly. Oswald Chambers says, “Every element of self-reliance must be slain by the power of God. Complete weakness and dependence will always be the occasion for the Spirit of God to manifest His power.”

What comes in to counter that power from God? The world says I’m to have self-confidence. I’m to be sure of myself and trust my abilities and judgment, moving forward in everything with an assurance that I can do it without any problem. God says:

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

If I don’t conform to the ideas of the world about confidence and instead discern the will of God, what can be expected? Here are some things:

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. (Romans 12:3)

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. (1 Corinthians 12:4–6)

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7–10)

So much for the wisdom of the world. And the above verses also apply to my so-called confidence in my old nature with its sinful ways of thinking. Jesus adds this just to make sure I’m not putting my confidence in me:

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:4–5)

What about the lies of Satan? I once did a Bible study through much of the NT where I read the truth God says, then pondered the lies that counter it. For instance, God says this… but the enemy says this…

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. (John 15:9–10)

God does not love you the way you want to be loved. He sent his son to be scorned and die; is that love? You don’t need to accept that because if you do, you are going to wind up like Jesus and suffer.

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

God wants you healthy, wealthy and wise. Work hard to make money. Let your lack of contentment drive you. That lack is just more evidence that God does not love you or want the best for you. He is busy with other things and not  even with you because he does not care about you.  

There are many ways to illustrate the lies, but only one way of exposing them; read the Word of God and believe it, keeping sin and doubt confessed and trusting the truth of God. Be spiritual disciplined but not trusting me — only Him. He is the Savior; I am not.

PRAY: Jesus, this day I am bombarded with things I could worry about. Family members who are suffering, Christians who are tangled up in worldly and fleshy thinking, unsaved neighbors without interest in you, and more responsibilities that I can handle. Abiding in You seems difficult. Fruit-bearing? Where is it? Yet the weakness I feel indicates there is power lurking. Enable me to keep trusting You, no matter what the world or my flesh nags me about, and enable me to sort lies from truth so I can live in Your power and not worry about anything.

God’s Job Description

 

In science fiction, worlds collide, fall apart and fly off into space. In real life, the universe is not totally predictable, but creation holds together. Even the atoms that make up elements are held together by electromagnetic and nuclear forces. Some might call this the laws of nature, but the Word of God reveals the reality behind these bonds:

He (Jesus) is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. (Hebrews 1:3)

Christ holds together all creation by His almighty power and if He did not, even sci-fi could not describe the chaos. As today’s devotional says, we would go out of existence, our atoms scattering throughout the galaxy.

My very life depends on the constancy of physical laws, laws created and upheld by the power of Jesus Christ, the Word of God. We get a glimpse of the importance of this when earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and the like disrupt what we call normal conditions and have heart-breaking results to human life. Is this God’s was of showing us the importance of verses like this: “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together”? (Colossians 1:17)

Imagine life without the laws of gravity. Those who enter outer space are trained to deal with all things floating about, bouncing off walls and each other. Without their special suits and equipment, they would immediately perish. If this happened here on earth, our food would disintegrate and we would drift into space or be overwhelmed by the instability of seas and rocks and all other things.

Yet the universe is not falling apart or unbalanced. The One who created it sustains it, keeps all movements in control. He is not the God that some think created the world and started it working then sits back with folded arms and watches it (or not). Instead, the universe is orderly, reliable, not erratic and unpredictable. While we don’t always have an explanation for some things, we are assured that Jesus Christ governs the universe.

If we look in faith and with open hearts, we can see His wisdom and power. It delights me to read that “God said” — for God spoke, and it happened. The following words also delight my heart:

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat. (Psalm 19:1–6)

It follows that since God rules the sun and all the universe, I can trust Him with all the issues of my life. His power is sufficient to both start and finish my walk with Him. “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in me will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6, personalized) That holds true for all sinners that He calls to Himself. No one will fly off into unbelief when Jesus Christ is holding on to them.

How amazing that a God who is occupied with such a huge job description also cares about sparrows and about every human life. He knows the number of hairs on our heads and prays for His people continually. Jesus is worthy to receive all honor.

PRAY: Jesus, You are also worthy of my trust, no matter what is going on. All my life You have been faithful, treating me with care and kindness, proving Your power but also Your great love. Eternity with You will be seeing the wonder of You — and enjoying You forever and ever.

PONDER: Job said, “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) Read Job 38–39 and see how the Lord responds to Job’s words by sharing His job description!

 

 

Protected In a place of refuge

I was not born there nor were my parents, but Grandad came from Scotland. We’ve travelled there three times and each time I felt that I belonged there. The people look like my family and have the same sense of humor. The scenery is varied and lovely. And wow, those castles are not only inviting but give a strong sense of protection.

Today, the word to describe God is STRONGHOLD. The dictionary describes this as a place that has been fortified to protect it against attack or a place where a particular cause or belief is strongly defended or upheld. That definition says that being “in Christ” who is the Word of God is being in a stronghold and being filled with the written Word of God is also being in a stronghold.

The OT speaks of strongholds like Edinburgh castle, literal structures where God’s people could hide against their enemies. Jerusalem, also called Zion, was one of them. While David hid in this and other many places, he realized his true protection and said in 2 Samuel 22:2–4:

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.”

In several ways, the psalms declare the same truth. Psalm 9:9 says, “The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.”

Psalm 27:1. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

Psalm 37:39. “The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.”

Psalm 94:21–22. “They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. But the Lord has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge.”

The prophets also recognized the Lord as a refuge for His people:

Isaiah 25:4. “For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat; for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall.”

Jeremiah 16:19. “O Lord, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in the day of trouble, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth and say: “Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit.”

Joel 3:16. “The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But the Lord is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel.”

The NT does not use this word. The closest it comes is comparing two mountains; one is Sinai where the Law was given, the other is Zion representing the new covenant initiated by the blood of Christ:

Hebrews 12:22–24. “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”

In relation to stronghold, fleeing to Jesus for salvation is ‘better’ than any fortress — whether people consider keeping the Law will protect them, or doing their own thing is ‘good enough’ to preserve them from the enemies of sin and death. The NT says that those who trust Christ alone for their salvation are “in Christ” and that makes Him our stronghold and refuge against all foes.

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. Being in Christ and being in the written Word of God are strongholds for me and for all God’s people. Jesus protects us, warns us, helps us in our spiritual battles as well as in the trials of life. The Word of God strongly defends our faith in Him. Christians who neglect to read and study it can be sitting ducks for the enemy were it not for a loving Savior who often protects us — even in our ignorance! However, being in Christ and in His Word turns life into an enlightened adventure, a far better choice than any other place of refuge!