These troubling times. . . .

 

Many folks in North America are in a turmoil over tariffs, new laws, and the way governments are threatening each other. However, Christians need not get in a stew. Sooner or later, either in mercy or in wrath, God will make all men see and confess that “The most High rules.” Nothing happens apart from His will, even the tough stuff.

In the days of Daniel, the king Nebuchadnezzar thought he was invincible and yet God had another plan. This man was “driven from among men, and his dwelling was with the beasts of the field. He was made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time passed over him, until he knew that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” (Daniel 4:17-32) After this time of insanity, this proud king declared:

At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?” (Daniel 4:34–35)

In many cases, national leaders have little knowledge of God. Even these days, I’ve heard it said that while many Christians have biblical understanding that God is ruling, is totally sovereign, yet in practice they live like atheists. This does not always mean they are not really Christians, but that the full realization of this truth has not yet grabbed hold. The flesh still has not realized it is dead (separated from God) or the reality of fleshy action has not been recognized. If that is happening, some Christians run their own lives as if God is there only to forgive sin and take them to heaven.

This can be the result of inadequate teaching, or just a proud heart that does not see their need to diligently study the Word of God. Whatever the reason, God teaches us through trials. When trouble comes, the goal is to realize He can be trusted within the trial. For Nebuchadnezzar, God removed it. For some, the difficulty stays.

Either way, eventually all of us are terminal. What goes unlearned here will not benefit this life or give us the peace of knowing God is in charge. Far better is that “abundant life” Jesus promised to His sheep. We need to be able to say this about those who think they are in charge of things:  

Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. (Isaiah 40:21–25)

He also says this, and these words give me a calm heart:

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” (Psalm 2:1–6)

PRAY: Father, I am so glad that You are on the throne and that the rulers of this world are not greater, stronger, or in charge over You. I can pray and even protest their ideas if You want me to do that, or I can rest in Your care and trust You, learning what You want me to learn from all trials. Nothing happens to the lives of Your people that escapes Your power to use it for our good — which is to transform us into the image of Your Son Jesus.

Trusting in what I cannot see… yet!

The hurricane in south USA brought anxiety to my heart. Not only feeling angst for the many people who lost everything, and for those who lost family members, but also one of our adult children lives close to the places that were destroyed. She didn’t call right away, and although I was praying for her and others in that dire situation, I had no affirmation that she was okay, only trusting God that it was so.

Eventually we communicated. Other things were happening in her life but that unreal storm missed her and her family by a couple hours. She knows people who lost everything, and like me, is devastated by this never-before horrendous event.

Today’s devotional reading is about wanting to know what is going on with evidence — in contrast to trusting God when we do not know what is going on. I have a friend that often says that she needs an affirmation to supplement her faith, and finds it hard to trust God when she does not see something happening in regard to her prayers. I’ve questioned that sort of ‘faith’ yet it happens to me too.

The devotional describes this as human thinking. We tend to require some evidence before believing something God says will happen. Even a good feeling about it helps, but something visual is better, or something like a phone call from a family member who could be in danger. I tend to want a strong feeling that something will be okay, a feeling that seems strong and is supposedly reliable. This translates to wanting an affirmation so I can see before I believe that God is answering my prayers. However, this is not the way of faith.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

Faith is described much like something my mother wrote in the back of her Bible: “God said it, I believe it. That settles it.”

I often cannot see what God is doing, but if He makes a promise or any statement about something, my faith cannot be in seeing it happen, but in the reality that God said it would happen. Consider this well-known verse:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Do I mope about waiting until I die to see if I have eternal life before I can believe it? Obviously if I did that, then my faith was not in what the Word of God says, but in the evidence before my eyes. That would not only be foolish, it would be too late then to believe, and is not a walk of faith in this life either.

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)
… for we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)

The facts are whatever God says. He tells me to believe in Christ and I will live eternally. I cannot base my faith on any affirmation, for the affirmation comes with a caveat — faith comes first, not after it. This applies to now, everyday life, not just after I die.

The sad part is that no matter how many times God affirms that He will take care of something, looking for proof or evidence that He will do it is a mere demonstration that I am not taking Him at His Word, not believing Him at all. Such “faith” is not faith but unbelief, and not only that, “Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23)

PRAY: Jesus, I know that You love me because You say so. Even though the evidence is Calvary, this is not about my feelings or even about what I can see. There are days when I don’t feel loved and it seems nothing is happening to prove it. But Your Word is enough. Today I am tired, and for that problem, You give me this promise:

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:29–31)

And You ask me to move ahead in faith that You will do it rather than sitting here waiting for it to happen before I believe You. I’m aware that You want me to move into this day, faint, weary, even exhausted, but trusting You to give me what I need before I see it happen. Again, a timely truth and another test of faith…

The faith connection to prayer…

Yesterday included brief visits at our church brunch and a longer talk afterward while my hubby led the cleanup crew. These conversations involved prayer requests. Some were stated as such and others came to me as I listened to what friends were saying.

Today’s reading is about prayer and that Jesus tells us that when we “pray according to our faith it will be done to us” (Matthew 9:29) It has taken me many years to grasp the importance of what He is saying.

Faith is about believing what God says. So if I am praying according to my faith, that prayer must be based on what He says. Knowing the Word of God and praying accordingly, becomes the foundation and motivation for prayer, and includes one vital factor — I must believe what He says.

This isn’t about salvation faith, the belief in the gospel that gives me forgiveness and eternal life, but the faith that God is powerful and has a redemption plan for this world. This faith is general in that I believe God can make things happen, but specific in that I can pray specifically as long as my requests fit with what He reveals in His Word to me.

My first example is humorous, at least now. Many years ago our family was camping in a tent and a bear came to our campsite. It was night and the bear was bold. He kept running to our tent door. My hubby could smell its breath. My prayer? All I could think of was the words to an old song, “Lord, You saved Daniel from the lion’s den. For goodness sake do something about that bear.”

He did. Some very inebriated campers came and chased it away. Odd angels but when the shadow of the bear appeared on the side of our tent a few hours later, we were not afraid. God was with us… and I now realize my prayer had scriptural precedence — the story of Daniel.

Last month on the day our family reunion was going to begin, I was driving to the venue, pleased that God had cleared the smoky sky and lowered the temperature from very hot to normal. Much prayer for that as we had wildfires and a long heatwave that threatened our enjoyment of this event. But the wind was about 50 km and grass almost flat in the ditch. Jesus could command the wind, so I asked Him to do it and within a few minutes, it stopped. The weather that weekend was perfect.

I’m beginning to see the connection between faith and answered prayer. It isn’t just faith that God can do it, but faith based on His character and actions as revealed in the Bible. Applying this today, I can pray for the requests from yesterday. One involves a young person straying from her faith and letting weeds grow in her life, weeds that are choking her from being fruitful. Jesus talks about such an environment in the parable of the sower.

As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. (Matthew 13:22)

Jesus exposes her problem. She is being choked or inhibited by worldly cares. The idea of being rich has also captivated her heart, is easy to see in conversations with her. She needs prayer that recognizes and resists these weeds. Jesus likens the heart’s need to be cleared from anything that prevents weeds from growing. Faith in His words helps me know how to pray.

Another request involved family rifts. I also know from the stories of Jacob vs. Esau and Joseph vs. his brothers that God wants family reconciliations, particularly between brothers. Also, the story of the prodigal tells how one came home to a brother who was not happy to see him. This was not God’s will. He wanted both brothers to be more like their father who patiently waited for both to live in love and truth, not in resentment and greed. From the Word of God, my faith tells me how to pray.

PRAY: And Jesus, I go now to pray for these people and for the other things You have put on my heart and on my prayer list. I know Your heart for lost souls and need to pray according to Your heart, not my “I wants” but faith that You will answer according to Your wants and Your plan. Grant me both faith and wisdom as I pray.

Use it or lose it?

 

Someone I know often says that when God speaks anything to her, she needs to have a sign or a confirmation of it. For instance, if she reads that God will give peace to her children (Isaiah 54:13) then she needs to see her children at peace to fully believe it. This answer to prayer becomes her evidence for faith. The problem with this is the Bible’s description of faith:

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

The examples given are about creation and about the faith of OT saints:

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. (Hebrews 11:3–7)

Note in each example God is pleased with the faith of His people which came before His rewards for faith. There is no mention of them believing because they were rewarded. Faith is about trusting what God says, even if we cannot see the answer. Our faith is in God’s promises, even before their fulfillment.

There is a divine order concerning this. Today’s reading puts it this way: first, get your facts; second, put faith in those facts; and finally, acknowledge the feelings that come as a result of believing the facts. This order is always followed in earthly matters; but curiously enough in religious matters a great many people reverse this order. They put feelings first, then faith in those feelings, and come to the facts last, looking on them as the result of their feelings.

Last night was my example. I ‘felt’ that a certain team would win the game we watched and even thought that my strong feeling was from God. However, they lost. My ‘faith’ was not based on facts but feelings. A strong ‘I want’ can affect how I read the Bible too, a far more serious error. If I want God to use me in a particular way because I have a strong desire for that thing to happen does not mean God will do it. I need to pay attention to His will and not base my beliefs on my desires.

Today’s reading describe those who say they could easily believe it if only they have the witness in themselves, as the Bible says we are to have. But when is a person to have that inner witness—before he believes, or after?

Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. (1 John 5:10)

The Bible puts the believing first. Is not this because what God says comes first and is our priority and our fact? His words are true, and they come to us as knowledge, not as a feeling that requires proof by giving us some sort of result that is affirmed by a full or partial answer.

As for that, my ‘feelings’ can be based on something false. Just because my children are at peace does not mean that God has been teaching them. They could be at a time in life when everything is going their way. My hope must be in God to fulfill that promise, not in what I can see!

PRAY: Jesus, enable me to always be alert to the idol of feelings or the need to ‘see’ answers before I will trust what You say to me. You are faithful and true to Your word. Everything else is iffy and even fickle. Besides, You also say, “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it” (Hebrews 2:1) not “pay closer attention to how you feel.”