When Israel left their slavery in Egypt, life was still a big challenge. They had their freedom, but also their battles. The story of that nation is a picture of Christian salvation. People enslaved by sin are set free from its tyranny — yet we still experience attacks to our faith.
Yesterday I felt bone weary from fighting spiritual battles. I wanted to toss in the towel. I could not see results so it seemed that my prayers were bouncing off the ceiling. Today, God encourages me with a verse about the newly freed people of Israel. They were suddenly assaulted by the Amaleks. Joshua led in defense against these enemies. Moses went to the top of a hill and held up his staff.
But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. (Exodus 17:12)
While Moses’ hands were raised, Israel was winning this battle, but when his hands lowered, Amalek prevailed. As two others came and held up his hands, Israel prevailed and eventually won.
The raising of his hands and staff signified at least two things. Raised hands indicate supplication and intercessory prayer.
Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice! (Psalm 141:2)
The Bible does not say that Joshua’s hands were heavy in fighting, but Moses’s hands were heavy in praying. One commentator suggests that the more spiritual our service, the more apt we are to falter in it. Praying is hard work. I am full of energy in the morning, but after a time of intense prayer I feel exhausted. Jesus described this by saying that even though the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak.
But what about the staff? One writer says that by this time the staff was famous and a strong symbol of God’s saving acts. Another says that by holding the staff of God above his head with both hands, Moses symbolized Israel’s total dependence on the power of God. This would encourage the soldiers as they fought yet another enemy.
The biggest encouragement from this verse is that the two activities were important. It is as important that Joshua fights with the sword as that Moses should wrestle in prayer. Neither would be effective without the other. The battle did not depend on Joshua’s skill, yet it could not be won without him. In the same way, Moses’ prayer was nothing without the practical work of Joshua, yet Joshua totally depended on Moses’ intercession, even though he could not see him or hear him as he did his part.
When I pray, I am not very often the answer to my own prayers. Like Moses, I’m calling out to God, not out there engaged in making things happen. This is okay, but I usually cannot see who is winning either. My arms get tired. I don’t have a staff from God or a vision of an army, only the command to pray.
I’ve been praying more and more for the other warriors, those who are out there like Joshua putting shoe leather to my prayers. When I pray for someone to hear and believe the Gospel, I am also praying for the Christians who know that person. I pray they will be faithful to tell the person on my prayer list the good news that Jesus Christ died for their sin and offers eternal life by grace through faith. I pray these Christian friends will not get discouraged and will hear God, obeying whatever He tells them to do.
But my arms get tired. My spirit feels like plunking down on a rock and giving in to ‘poor me’ because this is hard work. Moses needed help. Sometimes I do too, because some days it seems like the whole world has stopped praying.
John MacArthur says this, “The ebb and flow of battle in correlation with Moses’ uplifted or drooping arms imparted more than psychological encouragement as the soldiers looked up to their leader on the hilltop, and more than Moses’ interceding for them. It demonstrated and acknowledged their having to depend upon God for victory in battle and not upon their own strength and zeal.”
***************
Lord, this is so true. Friends can come along and help, but the battle is Yours. Only by Your grace can the enemies of lies, darkness, evil and sin be defeated. As Moses displays, fatigue may set in, but that will not stop You from giving victory to Your people. Just as the soldiers were encouraged to see Joshua before them in the field of battle and Moses above them upon the top of the hill, I am encouraged that Christ is both. You are my Joshua, the captain of my salvation who fights my battles — and my Moses, who is seated high in the heavens, ever living to intercede for me so my faith does not fail. I am still weary, but also thankful that You are holding up my arms.
Most have read the familiar poem, “Footprints” that describes the discovery of how God carried the author through the rough spots of life. Certainly those times are when we most feel the need to be carried. However, the longer I am a follower of Jesus Christ, the more I realize that being carried is for every day and every situation.
The LORD is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever. (Psalm 28:8–9)
David wrote these words. He was a capable leader and King, yet he knew that God was his source of strength and his hiding place in trouble. He also knew how badly all God’s people need His salvation and shepherding. Without Him, we are like sheep that have gone astray.
David also knew that sometimes a shepherd must also pick up His sheep and carry them to safety. Some are injured and cannot move without help. Some become afraid and in fear cannot get where they need to go. Some sheep seem downright ornery and refuse to go in the right direction. These too need to be picked up and carried.
Sheep haven’t been considered the smartest beast in the farmyard, but recent studies reveal that they are more intelligent than anyone thought. Whatever their IQ, God’s Word uses them as metaphor for His people. Having had some experience with these smelly, silly and easily frightened animals, I didn’t like that comparison, yet, I realize it is valid, and some days the carrying part is very comforting.
As one of God’s sheep, I am feeling my weaknesses and inabilities today. I need God’s strength. I’m not sure of what to do next and need His shepherding. Lost and alone, I need Him to carry me.
*****************
Lord, You know my struggles today. I feel like a sheep out in the wilderness, far from where I want to be and far from Your care and attention. I feel like the “Footsteps” author with one set of prints that tell me You have not forsaken me. You do lift me up. You are my strength and my saving refuge. You bless me as my Shepherd too. Carry me through this barren place to green pastures, but first show me what You want me to learn here. Your Word says You use all things for my good — to make me more like You. I don’t like this sense of being in a wilderness, but will stay here until You carry me out.
My mother had this wonderful way of accepting whatever life dealt her without resentment toward the unpleasant, or gloating over providential bounty. She would say, “Well, we must need it or we wouldn’t be getting it.”
I thought of her as I looked out the window this morning. On a day when tulips should be blooming, we are experiencing a whiteout blizzard. The wind blows snow almost horizontally. Even though most of winter’s huge drifts and snow piles are melted, it seems as if the season is starting all over again. Mom, do we need this? Where is spring?
My question is really asking God, but I know that if I complain about the weather, I am complaining about His sovereign rule. He knows what is best for us, even when it snows in spring or rains in winter. No matter the adversity, He is in charge and He knows what I need.
Spurgeon writes on similar lines. He says that no matter what our lot in life, those who love the Lord are blessed.
Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him. (Isaiah 3:10–11)
Part of His blessing is the ability to be thankful and regardless of the weather, I have much to be thankful for. I am well fed, and even if not, as a believer in Jesus, I can feast on the wonders of who He is and what He has done. He has given me the Bread of life.
I have a closet full of clothes, but even if all were mere rags, I wear the imputed righteousness of Christ, a spiritual robe that covers my sin. He also calls these the garments of praise, and when I praise God, my heart is filled with joy.
We live in a nice home, but better than that, we are ‘in Christ’ where our security is not just for now, but for eternity. Jesus says this of those who abide or live in Him:
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. (John 15:7–11)
This means that He blesses with answered prayer, a fruitful life, the assurance of His love and fullness of joy! How much more could I want?
Relationships and marriage are wonderful, yet the Bible says I am united to Christ in a bond that even death cannot break. My intimacy with Him is like no other friendship. Not only that, He provides for me, guides me, and protects me from anything that would harm me. He also filters life’s events and uses “all things for my good” that I might become more like Him. This is blessing beyond all earthly delights.
It is well with the righteous because of divine authority; He says so. His mouth speaks these comforting assurances in trials and daily circumstances. A snowstorm or worse might tell me life is a disaster, but I praise God for faith. He enables me to believe Him, even when all else seems to contradict Him. The Word says the righteous are blessed at all times. Therefore, even when I cannot see it or feel it, I am blessed.
***************
Oh Father, Your divine authority gives me more confidence than my eyes and feelings and certainly more than the good things in life. What You say is truth that goes beyond my understanding. When life seems perplexing, You are still in control. As I wait on You, I’m always surprised and delighted when You reveal even a small part of Your plan. Whom You bless is blessed indeed because You have proven to me over and over that what You say is always more certain than what I see.
No one ever called anyone a “Lamb of God” before, but John was born into a Jewish heritage that had practiced sacrificial atonement for their sin. He knew about the lambs offered to God in obedience to Him. He knew His requirement for blood as repeated in the New Testament. “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22). John may not have known the details, but he did know that this man who was One who would atone for the sin of the world.
The Old Testament sacrifices are a big turn-off for people today who do not understand what they represented. Killing animals as an offering to God seems like a gruesome pagan ritual, but this was not paganism. The Jewish offerings were a shadow of a greater sacrifice at Calvary that would not need to be repeated. One description says this:
If his (a sinner’s) offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish. He shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the LORD. He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. (Leviticus 1:3–4)
The animal to be offered had to be without blemish. The Bible says that Jesus was like us in every way except He was without sin (Hebrews 4:15). He was brought to Calvary and our sins were laid on Him. Again, this was not a pagan nor a ceremonial ritual. Jesus bore our sin and accepted full punishment for each and every one of them.
Atonement carries various shades of meaning including, “to make amends, pardon, release, appease, forgive, remove the guilt from a wrongdoing, ransom, pay as a gift to allow someone to keep their freedom, pacify, give a gift of tribute which will establish some level of relationship implying reconciliation.”
In the Old Testament sacrificial system, this atonement was limited in time and until the next sin. It also was never intended to be perfect because it did not change the hearts of sinners. Instead, it pointed to a perfect sacrifice ahead, the Lamb of God who would not only atone for sin but take it away. This perfect sacrifice was offered at Calvary two thousand years ago.
***************
Jesus, I need frequent reminders of what You have done. I also need to think more deeply about it than I do. Life gets busy and demands on my time and thoughts rob me of the joy of remembering Your sacrifice on my behalf. This is the fullest expression of love and acceptance that anyone could give — and You gave it to me and for me. I bow my head in humble gratitude that You are my perfect sacrifice. You laid down Your life to take away my sin. You rose again to give new life to me and to all who will receive You, the perfect Lamb of God. Thank You.
Let go and let God is an expression that receives polarized opinions. For many, it is a trite saying that becomes an excuse for disobedience. That is, I can release everything to God; He will do it all and I don’t have to do anything. However, the idea of letting go, if explained, becomes far more than trite. It is the very essence of living for Jesus Christ and in His power.
I didn’t hear from God this morning in Spurgeon’s devotional, so popped open “My Utmost for His Highest” and read these powerful verses about Christian living.
We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:9–11)
Oswald Chambers writes about eternal life. He says that this is the life which Jesus Christ exhibited on a human level while He walked this earth. Then he says: “ . . . it is the same life, not a copy of it, which is manifested in our mortal flesh when we are born of God. Eternal life is not a gift from God, eternal life is the gift of God.”
Genuine Christians are those who have made what Chambers calls a “moral decision” about sin. By grace through faith we become children of God who turn from sin because we have a new source of life. That is, all the power that is Jesus Christ now is in us because we are “in Him” and He lives in us.
The Bible says, “You shall receive the power of the Holy Spirit.” Notice that this is not power from the Holy Spirit. The power is the Holy Spirit, not something which He gives to me. The life that is in Jesus is made mine — once I made that decision to be identified with Him.
The hard part about getting right with God is always that sin issue. No one wants to come to the Light because our lives are full of sin and the Light will expose it. But once we do, the full life of Jesus Christ comes in “that we might be filled with all the fulness of God.”
Chambers points out that this eternal life has nothing to do with time or endlessness as much as it is the quality of life lived by Jesus Christ. He is the only source of it. I, in my weakness and inabilities, can experience this power once I am willing to “let go” of my own.
This is the secret about let go and let God. It is not about sitting back and doing nothing, but about saying no to my own plans, schemes, energies and abilities that “blur the life of Jesus” as Chambers says. I must keep releasing my insistence on these things so that the full life of God will invade and motivate every part of who I am and what I do. It is only by this that I can truly let God have His way in my life. Letting go is about abandoning sin. Letting God is about obedience to Him.
******************
Lord, I need this reminder. I need to be constantly aware that it is in You that I live and move and have my being. All that I do must be done in the power of Your life, not my own. However, this isn’t about a “better power” (even though Your power is far greater than mine) so much as it is about Your glory. If my life and my skills are selfishly and self-centeredly exercised apart from You, I get the pats on the back. No one will see You in me or realize that I am Your child when I refuse to let go. Considering myself dead to sin and alive to You is letting go, but it is also a far cry from sitting back and doing nothing. It remains the greatest challenge of being a Christian.
In years of travel and moving, the dominant prayer requests in all the churches we have attended are the same. Someone is sick or in trouble and the request is for healing or that God will fix the problem. While I cannot be critical of those who ask God for these things, I do wonder if our total comfort is God’ priority.
In the Bible, many Old Testament prayers are for health, safety, and the removal of affliction. Even so, some of them are instructive. Consider this portion from a prayer of King David:
Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins. (Psalm 25:18)
He asks God to look at his troubles, but the emphasis is not to fix them, but to forgive his sins. Are sins and affliction connected? Sometimes. If I sin, I can get myself into all kinds of trouble. David knew this. His infamous sin with Bathsheba brought sorrow into his family for the rest of his life. Yet this is not always true. David was anointed to replace King Saul. Before that happened, he treated Saul with utmost respect even though Saul did his utmost to kill him. David did nothing to deserve this affliction.
In the New Testament, prayer is different. In fact, most that come to mind concern spiritual matters. While Jesus healed sickness, I can think of only a few prayers that focus on illness.
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (James 5:14–16)
Even in this prayer that asks God to heal illness, it is like David’s prayer. The emphasis is on making sure sin is forgiven. James seems to make an association between the two.
People often wonder about connections between affliction, illness and sin. The Bible does say that these negatives came into our world after sin came. That is, pain in childbearing is the result of sin. Thorns, thistles and the pain of hard work are also the result of sin. The sins of others can produce pain in my life. My own sin does it too.
Why then do Christians (who should know these things) more often ask for pain-free lives rather than ask for sin to be forgiven and cleansed? It seems more sensible to strike at the root of our problems than the symptoms. That is, while my own sin may or may not be the reason I suffer, having that cleared away gives me greater insight into the will of God about the suffering. May I not forget that James also wrote these seemingly outlandish words . . .
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)
This passage and others, show that God can use suffering for my good. For one thing, affliction always tests my faith. Will I trust God no matter what? Like Job, will I pass the test of suffering even when it comes without explanation?
If nothing else, affliction is a patience builder. When troubles come and I am trusting God but He is silent, what else can I do but be patient? I can ask Him to remove the trial, but if He does not answer that prayer, self-pity or complaining turn my eyes (and faith) from Him. I become obsessed with my own personal comfort. My spiritual life not only stops growing, it declines rapidly. It is far better to trust God.
David was right. We want to make sure that God is considering our situation, and since He is all-knowing, that seems a silly request. Maybe he said it just to affirm what he already knew. God knew about the trouble; David’s focus was on forgiveness and the clarity that comes with it.
********************
Jesus, when you hung on the cross experiencing a trial far worse than anything I will ever endure, You did it that our sin might be forgiven. Clearly, You prioritized forgiveness of sin over Your own personal comfort.
You also brought another aspect to this by saying, “Forgive them; they know not what they do.” It was my sin, our sin, and the sin of those who drove in the nails that caused You such great pain, yet in all of it, You never asked that Your suffering be lifted. Your focus was not on the pain of affliction, but on the deeper need of our sinful hearts.
When I suffer, give me grace to be like You. Rather than be eager to have You “fix it,” help me to see beyond my struggles to the purpose You have in allowing them.
Faith is about knowing. It has no explanations, or at least none that can be easily explained. When God says something, those who have faith just know it is true. When that still small voice whispers it will be so, faith simply knows it will be so. Faith is not a leap in the dark. Rather, it is the ability to believe that God is and that He rewards those who seek Him.
Paul was on a ship headed for Rome. However, a storm threatened the ship and the men on board. Paul had warned them to stay in Crete, but the sailors decided they would go anyway. This decision plunged them into the midst of grave danger.
In the night, God spoke to Paul. Paul was calm. He spoke calmly to the rest of the people on the ship.
Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on some island. (Acts 27:22–26)
Faith knew that events would unfold as God said, even exactly as He said. Paul knew what God said, believed Him because He is God, and that knowledge plus faith produced comfort and peace in his heart.
Faith is like that. It produces peace in my heart and an ability to be calm and think in a level-headed manner. Whenever I get in a flap about something, God often gives me a nudge from His Word. Sometimes His reminders come to mind as if He is speaking inside my head. He tells me over and over not to worry, that He is still on the throne and that He has not forgotten me. In this, I experience peace, even joy.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4–7)
Joy and peace are the by-products of faith. Faith just knows that God is true and His power is exercised for my good. As these verses say about peace, this knowing seems to surpass all understanding. Whatever is happening that causes the anxiety in the first place has not changed a bit. What changes is my response to it — because God turns my mind from the problem toward His grace, power and love. That makes faith rational. When life seems out of control, it makes perfect sense to trust God who is all powerful, loves me with an everlasting love, and keeps His promises.
*****************
Lord, sometimes You bestow increased faith as a sovereign act of grace when I need it. Sometimes I’ve come to You asking for help as my ability to trust You begins to lag. Either way, You are quick to respond. You remind me who You are and that nothing is too difficult for You. You reaffirm to me that no matter what is giving me stress, it is under Your control. Trusting You brings peace and joy, even the ability to think calmly and rationally. For this I am grateful.
