Sometimes God wants me to go first…

Where I live, spending time with widows is relatively easy. Not so concerning orphans. For instance, the local children’s hospital has rules about visitors. If a child has no family or no family visits (it happens), I could not visit those children without special vetting and permission. Orphans are protected by laws to keep the public from seeking time with them. This is, of course, protection from predators, but it also keeps me for obeying all of this verse:

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (James 1:27)

Piper points to an OT verse that speaks about caring for those who are unable to care for themselves:

Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. (Isaiah 30:18)

While this is not as specific as James about those to whom God shows mercy, it is clear that He does it to show His glory. I can transfer that to the description in James and rightly assume that caring for needy people exalts the Lord. Piper puts it this way: “One mark of great, self-sufficient poise is the willingness to get down low with the weak.”

That opens the door to far more than two groups of needy people. It even puts me in that category because God gets personal by using “you” to describe those He wants to be gracious toward. He is talking about those who wait for Him. Needy people do that, also people who are humble and realize that God is eager to help. It is not about those who take matters into their own hands. Instead, I am to wait on the Lord. However, the point is that God exalts Himself by showing mercy.

Since mercy is taking pity on and showing compassion to those who do not deserve it, this covers the entire human race. Salvation is a mercy because our sin means sinners should be punished, yet to be merciful is to be like God.

This gets personal. It tells me that if I am not merciful with those who are weak, I’m not being like the Lord. In the Bible, “weak” can describe those who are feeble, sick; morally weak; or those lacking in knowledge or faith. I know several who fall into each of those definitions. The feeble and sick are easiest to be merciful toward, but I get annoyed with those who seem dim about God and dim in their faith. I get  the same reaction in my heart when Christians disobey.

In other words, my ability to be merciful has great flaws. I do better when I remember how much mercy God has shown me, but pride and self-righteousness often jump in instead of treating others  in humility and with His compassion.

Maybe this is why God illustrates with widows and orphans. It is much more likely to feel tender-hearted to them than to others who are weak as a result of their own choosing or because they fail to seek the truths of God that will strengthen them. Yet I’m faced this morning with a similar challenge. Will I be strengthened in my faith and walk with God by being merciful to those whose sins and spiritual neglect usually annoy me? To do this, I must first do this:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

PRAY: Lord, I’m acutely aware of the people who disregard Your principles and choose to do life their way, even when their Bible is open in front of them. I pray that You will change their hearts but You have not done so, indicating that it is my heart that You first wish to change. Piper’s line of being willing to get down low with the weak points to my bad attitude of not being willing to put up with others who are unwittingly feeding their old nature and as a result fail to glorify You. This does not mean that I endorse what they do, but that I should have mercy on them and bless them, releasing them to experience Your grace in their hearts because You have worked forgiveness in mine.

Can everyone choose God? or not?

With God, are there any coincidences? Today’s section for ‘reading through the Bible in a year’ happens to be a prelude to the verses and thoughts expressed by Tozer in his devotional. Both are serious observations and both are a burden on my heart for the world and the attitude of many people toward God, even people who appear ‘religious’ but have no personal relationship with Him and are not yielded to His will. The Lord describes these people through the prophet Isaiah:

And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.” (Isaiah 29:13–14)

For they are a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the Lord; who say to the seers, “Do not see,” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions, leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.” (Isaiah 30:9–11)

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling, and you said, “No! We will flee upon horses”; therefore you shall flee away; and, “We will ride upon swift steeds”; therefore your pursuers shall be swift. (Isaiah 30:15–16)

Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. (Isaiah 30:18)

Instead of a true heart that loves God, many people fake it. On the outside, they appear to be pious but in their hearts they don’t want God to speak truth to them or instruct their lives. They don’t want anyone else to speak to them about the Lord either because they prefer to live by their own ideas and strengths.

God is patient with them like He is with all of us. He longs to show us what He is like, a merciful and just God who blesses all who seek Him and trust Him.

Jeremiah, another OT prophet speaks directly to those hypocrites:

And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, (Joshua 24:15–16)

They were given a choice. These verses indicate that they wanted to serve the Lord yet historically, their commitment was on and off, mostly off. Without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, their desire to live for the Lord constantly wavered.

Tozer speaks of a “spark of God within a person that troubles him or her” and leads people on to salvation. It is a spiritual awareness that cannot save them but prods them toward that choice. Tozer adds that some are nice people, nice neighbors, nice friends yet live without any spark of need for God.

He adds that we are created with the ability to choose. God didn’t want or create robots. I believe that much of that ability to choose was destroyed in the fall of humanity into sin, at least the ability to choose God. Sin says, “I will do it my way” and chooses to serve self. The Spirit of God offers us new life and the freedom of making choices that please God. When that ‘spark’ comes, it presents to us the most important decision of our lives.

Those who constantly say, “I cannot help it; this is just the way I am” sound like they are making a cop-out, but what they say may be true. Without God, the stuff we choose becomes a product of a heart without that spark. I need Jesus living in me to choose the things of God. I used to be a robot but not to Him — only to my old nature, to the world, the flesh and the devil. I couldn’t help it and constantly wavered between the voice of a million desires and the spark of the Holy Spirit. I wanted to do right, but until He gave me new life, it was not possible.

The liar keeps telling me that God does not want the best for me, that He is not interested in my well-being. Every little thing that supports that lie will throw me into selfishness — apart from that wonderful spark that reminds me of what Christ has done and of the promises of God. I do not need to sin. I do not need to make ‘me’ number one. God gives me options and with the choices also gives assurance of His continual presence and care. This does not work if I fake it and become a hypocrite. It does not work if I try to do it without Him. It only works when I yield to Him so that He can change ‘the way I am’ to the way He wants me to be.

^^^^^^^^^

Lord Jesus, Your Word is so precious and so relevant to my needs. You assure me that You will take care of all my needs, be always with me, and keep leading me in Your ways. You also grant deep joy that overcomes all the burdens of life, even when they are not lifted. I cannot fake it. I am helpless without You, but with You I can do all things. You are a wonderful Savior.

God’s Timing

The Bible is filled with historical events where the people of God were told to wait for His direction, to stand still and wait for His salvation, to wait and let Him restore their strength. Most people don’t like to wait. We want what we want — right now. 

The New Testament has fewer instances of the word, yet the idea of waiting on God is repeated. Jesus told His disciples to stay in Jerusalem and “wait for the promise of the Father” meaning the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:4). Christians are to wait also for the redemption of our bodies (Romans 8:25) and of course the return of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:7, 1 Thessalonians 1:10).

Why do we have to wait? Could not God do things immediately and when we think we need them done? Today’s devotional points out that God waits also. He knows exactly the best time to do His work.

Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. (Isaiah 30:18)

Yesterday, my sister rejoiced in God’s timing. Her husband was looking for a particular coin that had been in a certain drawer for years. It was missing. She remembered that the drawers got shuffled when a new floor was installed, so started searching in the other nearby drawers. She found the coin, but she also found some old documents. When sorting them, she realized his passport had expired. Since they are travelling in March, this was a timely find. He was able to apply for a renewal that same day.

We laughed at the way God does things. Had the coin not been on my brother-in-law’s mind, the passport expiry may not have been discovered until prior to boarding, too late for the trip. God waited to make sure this detail of life was noted, not too soon, but also not too late.

He is like that. He made the Israelites wait for their freedom until He convinced Pharaoh to let His people go. They were impatient, but His timing was perfect. He waited until Haman built a scaffold to hang Mordecai before the king found out this Jewish man had saved his life, so gave Haman the noose instead . God also waited until Peter’s execution was eminent before sending an angel to release this disciple from prison. His people might want things “right now” but God’s timing is always perfect.

Ten years ago, the valve in my heart was not an issue. Yesterday the heart clinic discovered that now it is an issue. I wonder about the timing. Could not I have had a “routine echocardiogram” five years ago? Why now, when it has caused irreparable damage? I’ve some ideas about His reasons for this timing, yet who can fully understand the mind of God? He has a plan and is never too early or too late. 

Instead of spending a lot of energy wrestling with “why” I have decided to focus on obedience and His promises. He waits to be gracious to me. He exalts Himself to show mercy to me. He is a God who is just and blesses all who wait for Him. He also says, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). One day I will know why God waited; this day I am content to wait.

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Lord, I am almost always aware when Your people are praying for me. I have this overwhelming sense of peace, a feeling of great contentment. Rationally, it makes little sense. I think that I should be stewing or anxious or distressed, but instead, I feel like a weaned child happily sitting in its mother’s lap. Today is a new day. Because Your timing is perfect, I’m trusting You to guide me in what I do today, knowing Your timing is perfect. By waiting on You, I can use the resources You have given me in such a way that You are glorified. Thank You for being so gracious to me.