Pessimism and Boasting

An optimist tends to look on the more favorable side things and expect the most favorable outcome. I’m not an optimist. I tend to see, anticipate, even emphasize undesirable outcomes and look on the negative side of things. I identify with the Old Testament prophets who railed against sinners, including themselves, and focused only on the worst that was happening.

Yet God tells me to be thankful in all things and praise Him. While I easily see His wrath on sin, I also need to remember His love for sinners and His grace in our lives. For me, praise and thanksgiving is often a sacrifice and always an obedience — and obedience is an important benchmark of being a Christian . . .

“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:3) . . . “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.” (1 John 2:3)

Not only does my pessimistic outlook interfere with praising God, but so also does my pride. I like to put myself on a pedestal, but the Bible says to stop doing that. He says things like the following as a command to those who boast in the wrong things . . .

“Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 9:23–24)

Counting the “I” and other personal pronouns in this devotion shows me that my focus (negative or positive) is not in the right place.

Another theme comes through from these verses; saving faith means knowing Christ. This is not merely knowing about Him, but knowing Him personally. This happens by means of faith.

Faith knows and trusts Christ. Faith receives salvation from Christ. Faith does not in any way accomplish salvation; only the work of Jesus Christ does that. Faith simply receives what He has done as my Substitute. Faith also receives His righteousness, receives redemption and the forgiveness of sins He offers. Even though salvation is not earned by faith or by my obedience, believing what God says and does is obedience of a sort. Without faith, I certainly will not do what He says.

True faith is simply knowing Christ and resting in what He has promised. I have to watch out for the pessimist in me — because that attitude so easily “what-ifs” my way into doubt. If I look in the mirror and see failures rather than the grace of God, if I remember the bad stuff instead of the good, then I’m one step away from not trusting God, or there already.

Jesus, forgive my pride and my tendency to focus on my failures and folly instead of on Your blessings. I want to do well, to grow in faith, to be like Jesus, but how often I forget that even if I never made any mistakes, I cannot boast in that or any other thing — only in that I know You and the wonderful things You have done.

What is better than fun?

When serving as a camp counselor for teenage girls, one of them asked me about becoming a Christian. Her concern was, “I will not have any fun.”

Those of us who are Christians know that there is both truth and falsehood in this concern. Being a Christian is not about fun as defined by those who party, drink too much, or lord it over others. For them, there is no fun in following Christ.

On another level, fun may include skiing, playing board games, and engaging in hobbies. Christians can enjoy many activities that are not sinful but fin.

However, there is a level of satisfaction that rises above both those definitions of fun. It is found in these to-do lists . . .

“We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:12–22, italics mine)

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice . . . . do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:4 & 6)

Only those who have Christ in their lives know what it means to “rejoice always,” to communicate with God all the time, and to be thankful in all circumstances. These three are not “fun” like the thrill of riding a roller coaster or driving a fast car, but all three are part of the sustaining undercurrent of life in Christ, an undercurrent that is so nourishing and satisfying that other kinds of ‘fun’ lose much of their appeal.

What can replace joy? There is nothing like the deep sense of knowing God is God and that He loves and accepts me in Christ, that He has given me all I need in Jesus, and because of Him everything that happens in life works together for my good (Romans 8:28-29). One day I will be like Jesus. Today, I can trust Him for every problem and need, every concern and burden. This gives me a joy that fun cannot replace.

Being able to pray without ceasing is not about audible prayer all the time. It is about the attitude of knowing He is with me and wants me to depend on Him for everything. This remarkable privilege goes hand in hand with joy as “the joy of the Lord is my strength” (Nehemiah 8:10) and in His presence is joy forever more (Psalm 16:11).

Think of it; the One who created trillions of stars, everything that lives and moves, and provides all things needed in His creation walks beside me and communicates with me about every detail of my life. In His presence and talking with Him produces a deep confidence that fun cannot match.

Tracking right along with joy and prayer is thanksgiving. The good and wise God of all things cares about me. He gives me all that I need. He even says that I don’t need to worry. These three: joy, telling Him about it, and being thankful add up to an amazing experience: God listens and replaces all my concerns with a peace that cannot be explained. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7) As much fun as ‘fun’ might be, it can never do that.

Every day I consult my to-do list and tackle it with the hope of checking off each item before bedtime. That often makes me feel satisfied, but as I read the to-do list of God, it is easy to see that these three items offer a deeper satisfaction, one that is mine even before starting any of my chores!

Jesus, Your presence with me fills me with delight. Being able to ask You about perplexities and decisions is a total wonder. Thanksgiving wipes away my tendency to want more, to complain (shame on me) yet knowing that all those shortcomings are already forgiven is the most amazing delight and wonder of all. I thank You, thank You, thank You.

Worship with sincere faith

1 Chronicles 16:1–17:27, 2 Timothy 1:3–18, Psalm 84:1–12

Soon after David became king of Israel, he offered a song of thanks containing these words: “Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered . . .” and ending with these: “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” (1 Chronicles 16:10-12, 34)

After the celebration, “all the people departed each to his house, and David went home to bless his household.” (1 Chronicles 16:43)

David impresses me as a man who has his priorities right (at least at this time): God first then family. A little later in the reading, he expressed his desire to build a “house” for God that would replace the tent-tabernacle used at that time as a place of worship. Nathan the prophet gave a go-ahead, but God intervened. One of David’s sons would built the “house” while God said He would build David a house and establish his throne forever.

Again, David expressed his gratitude: “For you, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. Therefore your servant has found courage to pray before you. And now, O Lord, you are God, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever before you, for it is you, O Lord, who have blessed, and it is blessed forever.” (1 Chronicles 17:25–27)

This impresses me too. David wanted to do a great thing for God, but God would not let him. Instead of feeling rejected or sad about it, David blessed God for His decision. I’ve a lot to learn in that area. Recently, God made a decision that affects me negatively. While I can see His wisdom in this, I’m not yet rejoicing over it.

Today’s NT reading speaks of another of God’s decisions, His choice regarding the purpose of life for His people. In these verses, Paul is writing to a young pastor, but there are principles in them that apply to all Christians, including me . . .

“I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.... which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.” (2 Timothy 1:5–9, 12)

Faith needs to be sincere, never faked or hypocritical. I cannot ever pretend to believe or act as if I am trusting God when I’m actually full of doubt or trusting my own resources. This seems obvious, but there are times when I declare I’m trusting God to do something, but try to “help” Him without being directed to do so. That is insincere faith.

Lack of faith is often connected to fear. God gives the faith, but when I let fear into my thoughts and become anxious about things that are out of my control, then I need to remember that God is not the author of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.

Self-control is a bit of a misnomer. It actually means trusting that God is in control, not self. It is produced by the Holy Spirit and gives me the power to keep my hands off. If God promises to do something, then I must trust Him to do His thing without me meddling. This is not the activity of saying “no” when God asks me to take action, but saying “no” when my lack of trust is pushing me to take action.

The reading from Psalms takes me back to David’s desire to build God a house. For David, and for me, the place is not as important as meeting with God and being in His presence. In the OT, that was associated with the tabernacle, and later the temple. Since Christianity was established, most Christians associate God’s presence with a church building, even though we know that we can meet with God anywhere because He is everywhere.

When I read these words, I’m thinking less of a place and more about the event: “My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.... For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!” (Psalm 84:2, 10–12)

The event is about glorying in God’s name, seeking Him, seeking His strength and presence continually, and remembering the wondrous works that He has done, His miracles and judgments. Such worship also ends with thanksgiving that declares the goodness of God and that His steadfast love endures forever!

If you can breathe . . .

Praise means “to speak well of, exalt, honor” using words with music, singing, even dancing.

Thanksgiving is telling God how much we appreciate all that He does for us. If I begin a “thankful” list, there could be no end to it!

Adoration means to bend the knee and look up to God in worship. No words, no asking, just loving Him and being in His presence.

Of course all of these are directed toward God, but at the same time, praise blesses me too. “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night” (Psalm 92:1–2) for He “inhabits the praises of His people” (Psalm 22:3). Sometimes when I praise God, the sense of His nearness is delightfully and totally overwhelming.

I can praise God for the way He made me: “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” (Psalm 139:14)

I can praise God for calling me to be His child, changing my life and blessing me with Jesus Christ: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:3–6)

On that day when I pass from this world into His glory, He will have fully prepared me for an eternal feast in His presence. At that time, I may hear these same words that John heard as he wrote the last book of the Bible:

And from the throne came a voice saying, “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.” Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready. (Revelation 19:5–7)

Today is Palm Sunday, a special day when God’s people remember and celebrate this event in the last week before Jesus died for our sins:

As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” (Luke 19:37–40)

Today, I am excited as I look forward to praising God with His people . . .  

Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! (Psalm 150:1–6)

My voice is far from perfect, and I’m not able to play a trumpet, but I do breathe – and that qualifies me to be in a choir of praise!

The work and focus of prayer

Prayer is my work and my only strength. But prayer is also my greatest battle, and not praying, for whatever reason, is my biggest temptation. 
 

Praying teaches me about God and His will. From His responses, I understand what He desires. Sometimes He says yes and I rejoice. Sometimes He says no, but I have learned to persist. He may show me the reason for withholding the answer. If the request was selfish or not part of His plan, then I can stop asking. 

Sometimes He wants me to patiently persevere for that godly characteristic in His child takes priority over whatever I am asking.

Today’s devotional verse offers some of the most important lessons I’ve learned about prayer.

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. (Colossians 4:2–4)

Steadfast. Keep at it. Don’t give up. I am not trying to persuade God when I pray according to His will, but am fighting a spiritual enemy who does not want me to ask God for anything, especially for light to shine on his lies and darkness so people are released from his grip.

Watchful. Pay attention. God may answer my prayers in ways that I do not expect. If I am not paying attention, I could miss whatever He is doing.

Thankful. Saying thanks acknowledges the Lord as the source of all good things. When I refuse to be thankful, I am complaining that God does not know what He is doing. If I do that, I could be blocking answers to my prayers. He will change my attitude first, before He does what I ask of Him. 

Focused. I used to pray for whatever I thought was not right in the world, particularly in my part of it. Now I understand that most of the prayers in the New Testament are for other Christians, and for our boldness and clarity in declaring the gospel. Everything else is temporal.

Jesus died for our sin, was buried, and rose again the third day. He offers forgiveness of sin and new life to all who believe in Him. Christians need to proclaim this truth. I need to proclaim it. Requests for a better job, a good marriage, health, enough money and so on might gain the ear of God, but those things are for this life only. Sharing the good news of salvation through faith is for eternal life. This needs to be the central focus of my prayers.

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Lord God, as I go to prayer today, may I lift up to You the family of God and our need to have open doors to share the good news — with confidence and boldness, declaring it clearly and with great love and passion for You and the people You came to save.

Peace is a practical thing

Actions follow attitude. This undergirds my idea of how to live the Christian life. Get your heart right and your hands and feet will follow. Along with this, I believe that thinking right will reduce and even eliminate anxiety and stress.

I also notice the order of things in the Bible, verses like “Yield to God, resist the devil” (James 4:7), and know that they are in this order for a reason. No one can resist Satan and fight God at the same time. These two principles came together this morning and taught me that I cannot always put God’s way of doing things in a box.

Today’s verse is Philippians 4:7, a promise of God’s peace. However, I read and studied it in its context.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:6-9)

The devotional guide points out that the promise is for those who pray about their concerns with a thankful attitude. While it does not promise what the answer to our prayers will be, it does say that God will give a special peace, one that “surpasses all understanding.”

I’ve experienced this supernatural peace. The first time it happened at the onset of a family crisis where one of our children was in grave danger. We prayed. Our prayer included an expression of thanks for His care. We were not thinking about this verse, but were surprised at the peace that flooded our hearts — before the answer came and our child was safe. This peace made no sense. According to what was happening, our intellect, analysis, and insight had no reason for it. It was simply a gift from God that guarded our hearts in the hours that followed.

This verse, in context, blows my theory about thinking right produces less stress. God took away the stress because we took our concern to Him with thanksgiving. While this may have been a good start toward thinking right, this incredible peace was not our doing and we knew it. Only God could have produced it.

With that event in mind, I’m noticing the order in this passage. Take my requests to God with thanksgiving > He gives peace > then think right and meditate. This ability to think right flows from having peace. It is not the cause of it but the result!

Christians would love to pray and have every uncomfortable circumstance eliminated from our lives. Instead, God asks us to trust Him in the midst of every situation. This is why Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

He makes this possible by offering us supernatural peace. Having this peace does require prayer with thanksgiving. Being thankful is vital because it is an expression of acceptance and trust. We live in a fallen world filled with problems and stressful events and cannot make things go away. Wishing for heaven or being upset with God for allowing all this nonsense will not bring peace, but trusting Him will.

The nature of this peace is also found in the words will guard. It is a military term that implies my mind is in a battle zone. It needs to be “protected by a military guard” which, in a wartime situation, either prevents hostile invasions or keeps those in a besieged city from escaping. This peace from God protects my mind from external influences that attack it, and keeps me focused on God’s truth rather than running around in circles.

I sit here remembering many other times when I should have been in a dither and God gave peace. It in never a calm from denial or withdrawal, or a pie in the sky escapism, but a strong inner sense of His power and that He is in control, no matter what is going on. Nothing could be more practical.

Artwork: Prince of Peace by Greg Olsen

Prescriptions for Anxiety

One of my in-laws worries and grumbles. One Christmas I made and sent to her a thankful calendar. It is a 30-day with pages like a flip chart. Each day has a suggestion of something to be thankful for, everything from God’s care to the voice of songbirds.

Being thankful helped the in-law. I also keep a personal “gratitude” journal because I know from experience that a lifetime of being negative takes a toll on a person’s health and doesn’t do much for relationships. Besides, worry does little for the concerns and more harm than good.

That is one reason the Bible says not to worry about anything, “but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). The rest of the verse says that God will give me peace, even if He does not take away the problems that are my focus of worry.

The words in this verse are important. For instance, supplication is a special word for an imploring request. Of course anyone who is fearful easily makes those kinds of requests because they want God to avert those worrisome evils.

Another important word is “thanksgiving” which does not come out as easily as the imploring request. When I am fearful and worried, I also tend to be in a state of doubt about God wanting the best for me, or at the least, I am discontent. To approach God in a spirit of thanksgiving instead of worry is unnatural. Even being asked to do this forces me to consider what is going on that I can be thankful about. Thinking about being thankful is the first step to actually doing it.

For starters, I know that God promised not to allow anything into my life that will be too much for me to bear. He has already shown me this is true and His Word affirms it. 

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

I also know His promise to work out everything for my good, not the “feel good” kind of good, but that good of being more like Jesus. 

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Romans 8:28-29)

The process of being made to conform to the image of Christ is not always fun, but there is joy in the results. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 5:10 that the God of all grace called me to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, and after I have suffered a while, He will perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle me.

Because I know that trials are within the sovereign power of God and that He uses them to make me a better person, then in those trials I can “cast all my care upon Him, for He cares for me” (1 Peter 5:7). I can be thankful that in His providence, nothing is wasted. He is perfecting me, and the glory He will receive from accomplishing His will is a good thing. So regardless of the trials, fears, or worries, I still can pray with thanksgiving.