Duh, what happened?

 

2 Chronicles 19–20; Zechariah 4; John 7; Revelation 8

Someone once said there are three kinds of people: Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who say, “What happened?”

I’d like to be in the first batch, or at least have a sound knowledge of events like the second group, but the third group sadly seems to be increasing in numbers.

This is not new. King Jehoshaphat reigned 25 years in Judah at the time God’s people were divided into two kingdoms (873–849 BC). This man did good things but also alternated with colossal blunders. He went to the Lord for advice and succeeded but then ignored the Lord and failed — all through his life. He did not learn from his mistakes. Was he like many today who fail to look back and connect cause and effect?

It happened during the time of Christ too. In John 7, the first thing I notice is that Jesus does not make what He is doing known to the world and sometimes not even to His disciples or his family. In other words, I cannot always know ‘what happened’ or why.

After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand. So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” For not even his brothers believed in him. Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” After saying this, he remained in Galilee. But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. (John 7:1–10)

A few verses later, Jesus was criticized by the Jews for “teaching when he had never studied” and Jesus told them how He knew truth from God and how we also can be in that group that accurately know what is going on.

“My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.” (John 7:16–18)

The key to knowing when God is speaking is obedience. Do what I do know is from Him and He will tell me more. This pattern can be thwarted only by seeking my own glory instead of God’s glory.

Jesus also says that they didn’t ‘get it’ because they were judging by appearances rather than by right judgment, by what they observed rather than by the Spirit of God. I can know what God is up to by listening to Him rather than insisting on ‘what looks good to me.’

The Pharisees heard Jesus say that He was “going to him who sent me. You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am going you cannot come.” Again, that threw them plunk into the third category — totally clueless about what He meant, but they were not alone. The people were divided over Him, partly because they didn’t get the facts right. They argued about where He was born and where the Messiah was supposed to be born, not realizing the answers were in their Scriptures. How many of us are like this? Instead of searching out facts, many tend to believe speculations.

Jesus stumped them again when He said: “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” (John 7:38) They didn’t know what was happening because the Holy Spirit had not opened their minds to the meaning of those OT Scriptures.

This blindness to what is going on shows up again as theologians try to interpret Revelation’s descriptions of future events, such as angels blowing trumpets and destruction that follows. My hope is that anyone experiencing these things will be alert and at least know one thing about this description: God is calling people  to repentance and to receive His offer of eternal life through faith in His Son.

APPLY: It would be wonderful to be a person that can make things happen yet I must leave that in God’s hands. Being aware depends on what He reveals but also on my obedience and desire for His glory. I certainly don’t want to be so wrapped up in doing my own thing and making my own assumptions that I am clueless about what is going on. I need to keep asking questions, such as: Is this pandemic just a glimpse of what God’s wrath will be like as described in Revelation 8? And I must trust the Lord to give me whatever answers I need to know.

 

Finding the will of God

At times, Tozer’s words touch deeply. As I determine (and struggle) to do the will of God and think that I want Him to be glorified, I know that my ego jumps in and wants to control things. For instance, as I pray for loved ones, do I want the glory of God? or do I want them to be saved and blessed so the burden of their souls is not keeping me awake at night?

Tozer says, “The most advanced soul may be shocked and chagrined to discover some private area within his life where he had been, unknown to himself, acting as lord and proprietor of that which he thought he had given to God. It is the work of the in-living Spirit to point out these moral discrepancies and correct them. He does not “break” the human will, but He does invade it and bring it gently to a joyous union with the will of God.”

That statement hits home, as if God Himself were saying it to me. In that one example alone, I think I have given the concerns to God but realize that I have not. For one thing, when my prayers are not answered, my faith falters. This suggests that I’m not really trusting the Lord but leaning on what I hope will happen.

These days, the Holy Spirit is teaching me that the glory of the Lord is to be my goal in everything, every thought, every prayer, every action. This is a tall order. Part of the challenge is recognizing and forsaking this ego thing which is characterized by my never-satisfied ‘I want what I want’ motivation.

Another part of it is knowing the will of God in any matter and praying accordingly. Today’s Scripture points out that these are tied together . . .

“So Jesus answered them, ‘My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.’” (John 7:16–18)

Jesus says if I want to know the will of God, then I must seek the glory of God. To do that, I must want the will of God and not my own glory. I can almost see a huge stamp coming down on me that says, HUMILITY, pressing me to realize the vanity of seeking my own glory. It can be brazen or subtle, but either way, it makes me blind to the will of God.

Jesus also uses the words, ‘speaks on his own authority’ which convict me. When I talk or pray that way, then I am seeking my glory. I cannot just mouth the words “Jesus told me . . .” or quote the Bible to people, because I can do that with the desire to impress others. Instead, I’m not to open my mouth unless God tells me to speak — meaning that I am speaking on His authority, saying what He gives me to say and seeking His glory.

Tozer also says that to want the will of God means more than give unprotesting consent to it. I’m to choose God’s will with positive determination. This is life’s highest goal and puts me beyond all those little disappointments that plague me, particularly regarding prayer. I need to trust God that whatever happens is His will and will turn out to be even better than what I thought should happen.

^^^^^^^^

Lord Jesus, Tozer also asks if I can renounce all that is inconsistent with the glory of God and the highest good of others. Can the natural breathing of my heart simply want God’s will to be done? You are showing me that this must be more than mere ambition but a changed inner motivation — one that I know I cannot make happen. As always, I need You to do the work of changing my life and saving me from the sin of wanting my own glory.