Not wise enough to discern what is good or not…

Not once but four times yesterday the Lord gave me opportunity to speak with people that were on my heart and I wanted to talk with them. Two were friends who have been on the church prayer list for months and both of them were there for the first time in a long time. Chatting on the phone or with email is not the same as face-to-face, never mind the matter of hugs.

The other two were a surprise as well, consider a crowd of nearly 500 people. I wanted to introduce a teen to a woman whose son is the same age and considering coming to church next week. This boy would make a newcomer feel welcome and be glad to do so. I could not see him, but the next thing I knew, he was giving me a hug and getting the other boy’s name from his mom.

The last surprise involved a couple with a baby bump. I wanted to celebrate with them, but again, the crowd of people makes finding anyone a challenge. However, as we prepared to leave, they were in front of us and we rejoiced with them in anticipation of their first child.

Today’s devotional points out that God is good, and I should be thankful, not because of good things like those four instances, but because He is good. I am not wise enough to judge whether some things are really, in their essence, joys or sorrows; but knowing that He is good means I can be absolutely certain that everything He provides or permits must be good, including my recent illness. I’ve learned that I can be thankful for the trials. The key is being able to see the events of life with His eyes.

That is not always the way life comes to us. This last few weeks were wrapped in “rough coverings” and seemed worthless, even as if this came from the enemy and I did not want to accept what was happening. However, I would have lost something special. As the devotional writer says, be aware that we should not fight against the most unlikely for it may be a blessing from God that is temporarily disguised. As I learned first hand, submission is the route to victory, and very soon adds thanksgiving. As the chorus says, I can…

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! (Psalm 100:4)

Knowing God and realizing the truth about Him is vital to discerning the value of both “coincidental surprises” and unpleasant disasters. He is in charge and because of that, no matter what is happening, I can praise Him.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! (Psalm 150:6)

And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” (Revelation 5:13)

PRAY: Jesus, of course I prefer the pleasant places, the pleasing surprises. I loved the calls from my adult children this week, their gifts and their thoughtfulness. I love it when my hubby does chores so I can have extra sleep and when my brothers both called the same day. I don’t like the struggle of trying to sleep with a persistent cough, yet am glad to have nights with no coughing at all. But what joy to realize that You use the unpleasant things to bless me also, to teach me that You are not absent but drawing me into a deeper relationship with You and a deeper understanding that love is not coddling me but preparing me for the surprises of how deep and wide is the love You have for this slow-to-learn child. Praise Your name, now and forever.

Keep on keeping on . . .

1 Kings 9; Psalm 90; Ezekiel 39; Ephesians 6

Each day I try to focus on one virtue from a list of character traits. Today, that focus is: CONSIDER ALL MY LIFE and all that is available to me as resources for which I am a steward, unto the praise of HIS glory vs. Piling it up to glorify me. This thought comes from these verses:

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. (1 Corinthians 10:31–33)

I’ve been thinking much of usefulness to God in these days of isolation, many fear-filled friends and personal aging. Full of ideas that cannot be used because of government restrictions, I wonder if my life has a point that I’ve missed. This and all sorts of other negative stuff make threats against my contented faith in God, yet it isn’t a sinful thing to “consider my life” — if I keep the power of God in mind.

God’s providence gave me support in these verses from today’s readings:

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands! (Psalm 90:16–17)

 . . . along with a version of ‘Jesus Loves Me’ for seniors that includes these lines: “Jesus loves me, this I know, though my hair is white as snow, though my sight is growing dim, still He bids me trust in Him . . . When my work on earth is done, and life’s victories have been won, He will take me home above, then I’ll understand His love.”

Ezekiel gets in on this train of thinking by reminding me that God will destroy all threats against His people. He does it for His own name’s sake, just as I am to live for His glory . . .

“And my holy name I will make known in the midst of my people Israel, and I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. (Ezekiel 39:7)

Then the Lord gives me more encouragement from the NT; He tells me to “be strong” in Him and to “put on the whole armor of God” that He has given so I can stand against the schemes of the devil. I’m convinced that the devil’s schemes include putting a stop to my prayer life. Ephesians 6 lists God’s armor then defines the battle this way:

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. (Ephesians 6:16–20)

This battle is not about being young and strong or having other special abilities. It is about recognizing those flaming darts (all lies from the devil) and standing against them in prayer. It is asking God to give words and boldness to His people so that we will tell others about Jesus Christ and what He has done to set us free from the bondage of sin. It is doing what we ought to do as His people and because of His love for us.

APPLY: Paul was in jail when he wrote this encouragement. Most of us are not incarcerated but we are isolated to some degree and restricted. More than ever, Christians need to keep praying. More than ever, I need to keep praying. The time I have left in this world is not nearly as important as being faithful to what God has given me to do with the resources and weapons that came with His gifts of forgiveness and eternal life. No pity parties or concerns about getting old — “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!” (Psalm 150:6)