A Day to look at HIM!

Numbers 22; Psalms 62–63; Isaiah 11–12; James 5

The words that started my day came from an author praying to see Jesus, not with physical eyes but the eyes of faith and rejoice in that seeing for the rest of the day. As sometimes happens, the passages in today’s devotions echo that cry from my heart. I also want today’s focus to be on the One who I adore, Jesus Christ.

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah (Psalm 62:5–8)

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 63:5–8)

The prophet tells of a future when it will happen. Jesus came and He will come a second time to make all things right:

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. (Isaiah 11:1–5)

In that day, children will be safe with cobras and lions will lie down with lambs . . . “They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:9)

My heart aches for that day when everyone will know Him; when everyone can say:

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day: “Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth. Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.” (Isaiah 12:2–6)

I don’t know what will happen in the days ahead. All I know is that God promised to send a Savior and He did, and that Savior promised to return and all would know Him as He will make the world right, rid of sin and sorrow, and everyone will be able to praise Him and rejoice in their salvation. In the meantime, He says to me:

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. (James 5:7–11)

APPLY: Wait in trust. Don’t complain. Be steadfast and rejoice in the compassion and mercy of Jesus. This is a day to praise Him, my Almighty Lord and Savior!

Patience testers . . .

Yesterday we drove through the countryside, about two hours to our destination. Most of the scenery involved harvest, swaths of grain ready for the combine, or farmers hard at it with large equipment bringing their crops from the fields to trucks then to grain bins. It brought back memories of my childhood, especially when I took lunch or a cool drink out to my father, riding my horse through the stubble and glad to be helpful in a small way.

It also reminded me of the patience of farmers. This has been an unusual year with lots of rain and not enough heat and sunshine to quickly bring the crops ready for harvest. Then parts of our province received an unusual snowstorm, about three feet of it burying the grain and delaying harvest even longer. Some crops were ruined, good only for silage.

Yesterday’s reading hinted at patience; today’s is more direct:

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. (James 5:7–11)

Farmers are an example of patience. They cannot do much about the delays caused by weather. Prophets are another example. They could not do much about the disobedience of the people. I think of my own ‘patience testers’ such as changes in expectations, interruptions, even ‘wait’ as an answer to my prayers. It is not a surprise that this passage soon moves into the topic of prayer . . .

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. (James 5:13–18)

The examples here include sick people who want to be well. For them, God says the priority is first being spiritually well — accomplished by keeping short accounts with God, and with one another. For some, it is easier to confess to God than to one another but that can be an important part of spiritual healing.

Another example is Elijah. He had a sin nature just like mine, but he kept short accounts as a prophet of God and he listened to the Lord. His prayers about rain were not selfish (like praying for sunshine because I have a picnic planned) but God told him to pray this way because He had a reason for this long drought.

The point of this passage is to pray when our patience is tried, which is affirmed in the rest of the Bible. Who else can take me through the tests that try my patience? I can seek God’s power to either change my situation or give me whatever I need to endure it, not with gritted teeth but with grace, trusting God that His timing is perfect. The harvest will come, just as He promises:

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Lord Jesus, seeing the harvest is a totally pleasant experience. It pictures the fulfilment of Your promise that all that I do and hope for that is in Your will is never a waste of time or effort. I might not see the results now, or right away, but You are faithful; You do what You promise to do.

Today’s thankful list . . .

- A good message today about accepting those others usually reject.

- meeting new people at brunch.

- finding a caddy for my sewing supplies.

- an afternoon making stuffing, pumpkin cheesecake, and other goodies.

- fatigue, the good kind from working hard.

- being able to watch sports on television.