More Grace. . . .

 

Every morning before reading Scripture and spending time thinking about what God is saying to me, I open a file of lyrics and sing praises to God. I’m not a great singer, but this turns my thoughts to Him and helps ready my heart for whatever comes next.

This morning I was feeling less lively than yesterday and focused more on my fatigue and the small trials behind and ahead of me. God knew. This song was in the queue:

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.
Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.
His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

My thoughts became thankful for the many times these words have been my experience. I also thought of the people I’ve criticized for always ‘doing, doing, doing’ without any seeming Sabbath rest, and felt ashamed. God is able to provide whatever is needed, even strength to do the impossible. I’ve no business being critical of any of His servants who take on a load that seems impossible to me. I’ve also many things that need His grace and enablement.

The reading today again includes this:

For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear. He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen. (Deuteronomy 10:17–21)

God needs nothing, and because I am not God, I need everything, all the time. In serving others, I feel without resources. In day-to-day responsibilities, I feel useless, try to find easier chores, or simply check them off the list undone. Yet God reminds me again and again:

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

PRAY: Rather than spend the day on the sofa, or pretend daily responsibilities do not matter, I need Your resources today. Clear my head of all the junk that plays tag inside it, snap my muscles into attention, and grant me a zeal to tackle what You have put on my plate. Your love has no limits and Your grace has no measure. Enable me to rely on Your infinite riches once again today.

To Live is Christ — receptive to His gifts

Gift-giving is a joyful thing, at least when the gift suits the recipient. Today I’m shopping for two gifts. One is for an infant who cares mostly for being warm, dry, and full. Buying that gift will be easy.

The other is for a young couple who are getting married. I’ve never met the bride-to-be, so this one is more difficult. It helps that they have put their desires on a couple of gift registries. I used to think that was a bit crass, but when I don’t know what to buy, this gives me a wide range of items and prices to choose from. I can’t go wrong.

The verse I’ve been reading is about giving. Jesus says that people with sinful hearts and polluted by selfishness still know how to give good gifts to our children. We are made in the image of God and perhaps this is one area where that image peeks through that ugly smear of sin that all too often hides it.

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! (Matthew 7:11)

Jesus tells me that if I can pick gifts that suit people, how much more will God give good things to those looking for a gift. He isn’t marred by sin and selfishness like I am. His motives are pure, not like mine. I’ve given gifts to impress the giver with my thoughtfulness, or with the money that I spent on them. How crass is that! God isn’t into giving to build His own ego. He is perfect and has no need for that.

It is God’s nature to be generous and benevolent. However, there is more to this verse than first glance. In a parallel passage, the idea of “good things” is given a specific definition:

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! (Luke 11:13)

Humanly speaking, gift-giving is usually about something pleasing, an item offered to another. It is free and suited to the other person’s desires. Divinely speaking, this gift-giving is about a person, not a package. He is freely offered, but not at all like a set of towels or a coffee maker. He is more like a live-in roommate. He moves in with far more than the ability to make my life easier or please me as a possession does. Instead, the Holy Spirit actually rearranges my life and my space.

When He first arrived, He began opening windows, casting light in dark corners, moving priorities, and sweeping out sin. He also gave me new emotions and motivations, like love, joy, peace, patience, and self-control. He is not pushy, at least most of the time, but He is relentless.

Some of His activities are not as pleasant as others. For instance, He convicts me of sin and won’t leave me alone until I repent. He tells me what to do when I have other plans. He bugs me about sin and righteousness. He is a wonderful gift, yet I’m not always as receptive to Him as I should be. Sometimes I shove Him off in a corner so I can do what sin prompts me to do. That is silly, but it happens.

Thankfully, God also helps me see that the things that do not feel good about His gift, such as conviction of sin, are good for me in the long run. This might be a lousy example, but He is like getting a dishwasher when I really wanted a sewing machine. It takes a bit of time and some humility to recognize that having Him in my life frees me up. Instead of being stuck at the sink, I can make lovely things in the sewing room. Instead of being stuck in my sinful selfishness, I can have a fruitful life.

God’s gift of the Holy Spirit comes with the asking. Each time I find myself trapped with less than good things, I can ask God to gift me. He wants good things for me, and the Holy Spirit is at the top of the list.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:31–32)

How often do I need to be told that I’ve no excuse for spiritual poverty? I simply need to ask.

The Greater Gift

A wonderful Jewish prayer goes something like this, “Let me not have need of the gifts of men, whose gifts are few, but their upbraidings manifold; but give me out of Thy large and full hand.”

When in trouble, most people ask help or advice from other people. While God can use others to counsel me, He is teaching me to go to Him first. He is the only one who can guarantee perfect counsel. He is wise and the source of true wisdom. The Bible rightly says,

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (James 1:5)

Today’s devotional reading reminds me that biblical wisdom is not philosophical speculation. It is knowing and putting into practice the absolutes of God’s will. This wisdom  has particular characteristics. Later in his epistle, James describes what wisdom is and what it is not.

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (James 3:13-18)

If I seek counsel and the advice I am given promotes selfishness in me, it is not wise advice. If I ask God for wisdom and remain selfish, filled with envy, am boastful or resist the truth, or am creating a ruckus, then I’ve not received the wisdom that I asked for.

God’s wisdom is not mixed with human greed or selfishness. It never comes up with schemes to put me above others, nor does it encourage any kind of sin in any way. It isn’t agitated or harsh, nor is true wisdom stubborn. In fact, divine wisdom results in right conduct in all of life’s matters.

Asking for wisdom is a command to pray. In its context, asking for wisdom is related to the trials of life. I’ve learned that all uncomfortable and unasked for events and situations are intended to drive me to greater dependency on God. They make me realize that I have no sufficient resources of my own. God is my source and resource. Wisdom comes from Him.

My Mother

My devotional book, God is Enough (edited from writings by Hannah Whitall Smith, Ballantine Books), first compares God with fathers and then with mothers. While this book was written more in line with ideal parenting without saying much about those who abuse their children, I’ve been blessed by the idea of God as my perfect parent.

Today’s reading speaks of how a mother is always ready to feed her hungry child. Many mothers would (and have) starved themselves before they would allow their children to starve. My mother was never pressed to that decision, yet her heart came out at mealtimes. She wouldn’t sit down until she was certain everyone had what they needed.

The author of God is Enough points out that wise mothers do not always give their children the food they ask for, knowing that some foods are not good for children and too much of them could be fatal. Instead, these mothers give their children the most nutritious food they can find. It goes on to say that God, who made mothers who care this much, is the same—He gives us what is best, often when we have not even asked, and not always what we ask for.

Jesus said it this way, “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:11–13).

Although Jesus uses the term ‘father’ this applies also to mothers. The point is, God knows how to give me exactly what I need. My reading says that sometimes what He gives may appear to me like a “serpent” or a “scorpion,” but because God is the giver and He knows me and my needs better than I know myself, I can be sure everything that comes my way is the best thing for me.

When I was a very new Christian, He impressed this truth on my heart. He knew where my path would take me and that I needed to know that “in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son” (Romans 8:28-29). Had He not taught me this up front, I know I would have resisted or blamed many tough events on Him instead of seeing that He was using them to change me.

The thought that touched me this morning is this: a “child does not have to supply or prepare his own food; that is the mother’s responsibility. All the child has to do is eat and live, without care and without cost.” Paul echos the same idea in Philippians 4:19: “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

Whatever I need, God knows it before I do, but also moves heaven and earth to make sure I am supplied! While these words tend toward thoughts of material needs, my mind goes back to the verses from Luke 11. It says that in giving good gifts God gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask. This is the ultimate gift. With the Spirit of God in my life—and my will yielded to His—I am able to know and trust my heavenly Father to be both father and mother to me. He cares about me and will take care of everything concerning me. As my reading says, He is much truer to the ideal of motherhood than even the best earthly mother can be.

I miss my own mother who died nearly six years ago, but I appreciate this reminder. Even though she is not here, I can rest in God’s infinite care and be thankful for every provision.

How full is my jar?

A destitute widow was in financial distress. Her creditor threatened taking her two sons as slaves to cover her bills. She cried out to the prophet, Elisha.

Elisha was a smart man. Instead of giving her money or taking up a collection, he asked her what she had. She said, only a jar of oil. This was no ordinary cooking oil. It was perfumed, an oil used to anoint the body.

I smile as I think how typical of us women to hang on to something like this, even when there is no food or money to pay the rent. The oil may have bought her another meal, but she didn’t sell it. It turns out that this was a good thing.

Elisha told her, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; the pour it into all those vessels and set aside the full ones.”

Elisha left and she did what he told her to do, odd and impossible as it seemed. Then, when all the vessels were full, she told one of her sons to bring her another one. He replied, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. She told Elisha and he instructed her to sell the oil, pay her debt, and she and her sons could live on the rest.

My devotional book says something very profound about this story: “The divine almightiness is content to confine itself to our capacity . . . . Man has not the power to obtain anything more than God has given, but he has the option of taking less.”

In yesterday’s continuing grief, my own griefs come to mind. Hindsight shows me how many times I’ve been satisfied with too little from God. He offers me so much, even all of Himself, yet at times I’ve allowed my own poverty, spiritual and otherwise.

In the front jacket of Desiring God, John Piper says, “We are willing to settle for such pitiful pleasures . . . We have settled for a home, a family, a few friends, a job, a television, a microwave oven, an occasional night out, a yearly vacation, and perhaps a new personal computer. We have accustomed ourselves to such meager, short-lived pleasures that our capacity for joy has shriveled. And so our worship has shriveled. The scenery ad poetry and music of the majesty of God have dried up like a forgotten peach at the back of the refrigerator.”

Piper isn’t talking about financial riches, even though God can supply that too. This is more about the riches of deeply knowing Him. I’m noticing that those riches are not confined to one end of the spectrum, nor to just one segment of our lives. In the past few weeks, I’ve experienced His joy to the point that my face hurt from smiling. Yesterday and this morning He gives me His sorrow, just as deep as the joy.

Enjoyment of the majesty means knowing His heart, knowing what He loves and hates, knowing what gives Him pleasure and knowing what sparks revulsion in Him. It means feeling His range of emotions, experiencing all that He is. This includes being aware of my own poverty so I can know His superior riches, and feeling totally empty so I can know His fullness.

The women, had she known, could have searched the neighborhood for more jars. She could have filled her house, stacked them in the yard and on the roof. She settled for less, and in the economy of God, she did have enough for her needs, but she could of had more.

Knowing God is taking me into a range of emotions I would not otherwise feel. I wonder in what other areas of my life I’ve said that’s enough and left God wanting and waiting to give me more?