Patient in trials — for God’s glory!

 
A quote from yesterday sticks with me today. When Jesus told His disciples to pray “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” He revealed a most remarkable thing: His will done here gives us heaven on earth. It gave me a deeper longing to experience the will of God!

I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” (Psalm 40:8)

When Jesus told His disciples that He had food to eat that they did not know about, they were thinking physical food, but Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work." (John 4:34)

Physical food is not only necessary for life but also enjoyable to eat and makes me feel satisfied. Oh, I can overdo it, eat too much, or eat the wrong things, or consume something that makes me feel ill, but generally food is a delightful part of life. (I’m thinking the chicken wings at the Mossleigh restaurant and the Lobster Bisque we had last Thursday, and countless recipes discovered and created in my own kitchen.)

And Jesus said that His food was to do God’s will! How incredible a description for something that a lot of people think of as sacrifice and a duty, even a giving up of enjoyment. This is the difference between “I must” and “I’d love to” — a delight in doing whatever my beloved Lord asks of me, not because of the perks of it, but because it is the heart of God expressed through me, the Hand in this glove, the reason I’m here.

Yesterday was stressful and lovely both. Stressed because my devotions were interrupted at least six times. The phone rang often. Someone dropped in. I needed a file from a government website and it locked me out several times. After three hours of trying, making calls, and waiting, the person online could not help, transferred me to another person, and I went through the process of proving my identity at least three times after their site kept shutting me out — three times in the same three ways for the same person on the other line! It was no fun at all.

But in the middle of the day, there was a lovely prayer time with two friends. Also, God gave me answers to moving issues that seemed to have no answers. An appointment that would add more stress was postponed, and my hubby did the supper dishes. This made the frustrations feel less stressful, but I still wondered what is the will of God in them? One thing comes to mind:

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2–4)

I didn’t meet the stressful stuff with joy and steadfastness. I could excuse this with “I didn’t get enough sleep” or some other reasoning, but that isn’t the honest answer. My failure was more about wanting the day to be easy and my will to be done. God essentially let me know that His will includes interruptions (Jesus had lots of them) and other negatives — such as being misunderstood, no one listening,  the frustration of betrayal, and the weight of bearing the sins of the world, including mine. Yet it was His “food” to do the will of God, and He did it so the “world may know that He loves the Father.” (John 14:31)

PRAY: Jesus, You show me that putting up with the trials of life is not just about me learning steadfast patience. Doing Your will could have a far-reaching effect on those around me, so they can see Your love in action, even have a taste of heaven. Forgive me for my impatience of yesterday and grant me the ability to at least be patient with the stresses of life, or better yet, downright joyful — knowing that You can use this for Your glory.

Being Like Jesus?

 Being filled with God’s Spirit makes all the difference to how I feel about present duties, situations, and the people around me. Again, I consider His list:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22–23)

Compare that to Jesus. His love is demonstrated by the way He was with every task at hand right up to the end when He said, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42) He did not say that He was unwilling to do it, nor complain about how hard it was. His mind was on the will of God and his heart was more concerned about the will of God and the fate of sinners.

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:12–13)

As for joy, Jesus was obviously a joyful person. He rejoiced to find lost sheep, to be with sinners, and to attend events like weddings. Also, He said, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11) His prayers were also joyful:

In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.” (Luke 10:21)

The gospels are filled with evidence of His patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. He could have been demanding, harsh, and treating sinful people as they deserved, but instead, He did not. He was faithful to His calling and like the psalmist, demonstrated these words: “I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” (Psalm 40:8)

Self-interest is never mentioned. He did not dwell on or even reveal what He meant by “not my will” and that is a big motivation for me. While I need to recognize and confess sin whenever I ‘walk in the flesh’ and succumb to temptation, and even when I “rejoice in my weaknesses” — the goal is to glorify God and get back on track. Jesus didn’t sin even though He was tempted in every way like I am. He kept His mind on the will of His Father and revealed the way to conquer Satan’s efforts to sidetrack Him. He is the greatest example of self-control, not self being in charge but self not being an issue.

PRAY: Jesus, Your desire is that I be like You, and as I look at You and what You are like, that so easily is my desire too. I know that some people hated You for Your total goodness. Your life is a rebuke, an exposure of sin, yet sin is a burden You carried so that even those who put You to death could hear You say, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Oh to be like You!

Dead to old, alive to new…

Today’s devotional offers a good illustration of what it means to be dead to my old life and living in the new. When I was a child, I loved to make little rooms in the forest beside our house, ride horses, play with our dogs, and play all day. I did not like housework, especially dusting and was not interested in cooking. But when I became an adult woman, my feelings were reversed and I enjoyed the things I once avoided and could not be bothered with the things I once loved.

In other words, I “took up the cross” to my childish play and no longer wanted to do those things. I became delighted in the pursuits of maturity and left behind the pleasures of childhood. While this is not a perfect illustration (I still love horses and hate dusting), it does illustrate what it means to take up the cross and die to my old life and live the new life.

Some Christians look at the Christian life as a child might view the adult life — thinking it means giving up the things they love and to do the things they hate. They call this “taking up the cross” and actually think God enjoys their grudging service. However, this idea totally misses what Jesus meant when He said:

If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Matthew 16:24)

When God saved me, I entered His family as a babe in Christ. As the Bible says, I needed to grow up through realizing the goodness of God. He is not a mean taskmaster:

Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Peter 2:2–3)

Perhaps the problem with those who think that doing the will of God is “grudging service” that gives up everything they enjoy is that they have not spent enough time in the Word of God (pure spiritual milk) to taste His incredible goodness. Or it could be that they are clinging to the ‘playtime’ of their former life, preferring to stay in control of what they want to do instead of submitting to the good will of God. This submission is a choice — to turn from that worldly way of thinking and allowing God to transform my mind. In that process, I learn that His will is good, more than acceptable, even perfect.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1–2)

As the devotional says, and as He is teaching me, if my affections are set on the will of God, I will love it. If I love it, then how can it seem a great burden? This means saying what David said and what Jesus repeated:

I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” (Psalm 40:8)

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. (John 4:34)

God wants me set on His will and delighting in it. This is possible as my new life in Christ changed my heart. I now recognize that I am dead to anything that is contrary to Jesus. This is my cross — that recognition that I am dead to the world and alive only in Christ. How heavy that cross can be is determined by how mature I am in Christ.

PRAY: Today’s ‘cross’ is being dead to my plans that I can do God’s will in taking care of my husband. His pain is severe and he cannot do small things, like pick up a dropped pencil or reach something at the other end of the sofa. I’m dead to my I-wants on my to-do list and alive to the will of God that urges me to pick up or reach or do whatever is needed for my hubby. Because of You, loving Your will (and loving my husband) makes that cross a great deal lighter!

Remember what God says . . .

An OT story tells how the long-awaited son of Abraham, Isaac the child of promise, blessed his sons. The NT tells: “By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.” (Hebrews 11:20) One would think that God’s promise and their father’s example of faith in that promise and in God would be picked up by his son and these two grandsons, yet they did not trust God without some hard lessons.

I can relate to these men. Yesterday, I picked up the notebook I’m using to record prayer requests. I flipped to the front, thinking I’d check for those that had been answered. To my surprise, this book began with a session of conversations with God — my prayers and His answers, from seven years ago.

As I read them, I wept. I don’t remember writing any of them, never mind remembering what God said in reply. They total dozens of pages with E for my thoughts and G for the responses of the Holy Spirit. After a few pages of being overwhelmingly blessed, I had to stop reading and confess my forgetfulness and that I’d not thought enough about what God was saying to recall one bit of it. No wonder that He repeats truths to me; my mind is like a sieve and so contrary to the thinking of the psalmist:

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11)

I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” (Psalm 40:8)

My excuse is a scattered mind, an issue with attention-deficit, but that is not a valid excuse. MacArthur says that Isaac and Esau were reluctant rather than resolute in their response to God. He gives examples.

For instance, After a famine prompted Isaac to move his family to Gerar (a Philistine city on the border between Palestine and Egypt), he received a vision from the Lord that repeated the covenant promises made to his father, Abraham:

Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, (Genesis 26:3–4)

Instead of receiving this with bold confidence, when he arrived in Gerar . . .

When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he feared to say, “My wife,” thinking, “lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah,” because she was attractive in appearance. (Genesis 26:7)

With difficulty and prodding, the Lord finally brought Isaac into the Promised Land, where He once again repeated the covenant promises to this man: “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.” (Genesis 26:23–24)

Much later, Isaac wanted to bless Esau but discovered this older son had sold his birthright to Jacob. This and other poor choices divided his family. Isaac forfeited God’s blessings and joy by doing his own thing rather than trusting God’s promises. He finally did, but it meant a long time of family havoc.

Ignoring what God tells me is bad enough, but forgetting it is appalling. Even children learn the principles of read, study, memorize, meditate, obedience. To leave out any of these, especially hiding His word in my heart, means repeated trips to the classroom and the sense of wasting much time and effort to learn and relearn.

Yet God is faithful. Despite the reluctance of those OT saints, He kept His promises to them. Even despite my forgetfulness He has faithfully taught me and brought greater resolve to my heart that I might remember and follow through with what He says.

PRAY: Jesus, You alone know my heart and are faithful to give me all that I need to be what You want me to be. Enable me to think more about what You say to me and not be distracted by so many thoughts and ideas that may or may not be helpful in my walk with You. I’m relying on Your faithfulness as mine is not very strong.

PONDER: Keep reading that prayer journal and think about the words that the Lord said to me and that have so much significance, even now. My God is incredibly precious and extremely patient.