“It’s just not fair!” If you are a parent, I’m sure you have heard this phrase coming from the beloved mouth of your little ones at one point or another. But before you agree wholeheartedly with a resounding “AMEN!” consider for yourself that you have probably uttered those words once or twice yourself...as have I.
In Psalm 73, Asaph was feeling a similar frustration. He says that his “feet had almost stumbled. My steps had nearly slipped for I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked,” (2,3). He said they “are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like other men,” (v. 5).
And that’s just the beginning. He went on to talk about how the unrighteous were “always at ease” and “increase in riches...Their eyes bulge with abundance. They have more than heart could wish, (v.7).” “Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been plagued, and chastened every morning,” (v. 13).
Looks like Asaph, like many of us, was indeed having difficulty with the idea that life isn’t always fair...that good doesn’t always conquer evil...at least in this realm of eternity.
Thankfully, the Psalm doesn’t end there. If it did, we might get the idea that being righteous in an unrighteous world just doesn’t pay. Instead, rather than complaining and getting stuck in his discouragement, Asaph takes this issue to God. “When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me - UNTIL I went in to the sanctuary of God, Then I understood their end,” (17).
In the verses before Asaph’s “quiet time,” he had been envious and almost bitter about the prosperity of the wicked. However, after coming to understand their ultimate fate, Asaph’s heart was humbled and broken for them - and thankful for his relationship with the Lord - “ I was so foolish and ignorant; I was like a beast before You. Nevertheless I am continually with you; You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And there Is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
God reminded Asaph that not only would good eventually prevail, and evil receive its just reward, but that in the midst of it all, He was there...holding his hand...giving him strength to endure...guiding him in every step he took.
Maybe you find yourself in a similar boat today. Maybe your tired of living the righteous life at work. Maybe your tired of living the righteous life at home. Whatever the case, I’m sure it feels like it would be so much easier just to yell at someone - just once - or choose to lie about something - just once. After all, the results would make life seem a little fairer, and you’d feel a lot better about someone else getting what they deserved. I can promise you, that wouldn’t be the case at all. Giving in to the flesh will only serve to cause you to lose the ground you’ve gained in your witness, as well as break your sweet fellowship with the Lord. Besides, it might even lead the unrighteous, further into unrighteousness after seeing you fall.
So, I encourage you. Don’t lose heart in the midst of the battle. God IS just and fair. Good will ultimately prevail...and who knows. Maybe He might just choose to use your righteousness in the midst of an unrighteous situation, to turn the wicked from their ultimate fate.
Open our eyes, Lord, to see further down the road than just where we are today. Help us see You working in our lives...drawing us closer...using pressure to create beautiful examples of Yourself in us for others to follow. Thank You for being good and just. I praise You, Jesus. Praise You.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place
They were stuck. The Israelites knew it. Moses knew it. The Egyptians knew it.
“And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness’” (Ex. 14:10-12).
The Israelites were stuck between a rock and a hard place, but there was nothing proverbial about their danger. The Egyptians were chasing after them to annihilate them, and the Red Sea in front of them was in effect, pinning them down until the enemy got there.
They were stuck…and in the midst of their fear, they complained against Moses and God. “How could he lead us out here in the desert just to die? Why did we follow Moses after all? We had it better back in Egypt! What have you done to us, Moses? Where is our God?!” (paraphrased).
You know, I don’t think Moses knew what God was going to do either. I think he probably fought the same questions and fear threatening to take over his mind, as well. AND I think it was just as big a surprise to him as it was to everyone else, when the sea opened up and granted a way of deliverance for God’s people and a way of destruction for the Egyptians
The difference was in the way Moses chose to respond to their situation. He didn’t allow the fear and questions to overshadow his faith. Instead, he made a choice to respond in faith: “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today” Ex. 14:13a.
Moses was in just as much danger, if not more so, than the other Israelites. If he were captured by the Egyptians, he would probably be cruelly tortured before his death. After all, in the minds of the Pharaoh, things were going pretty well until Moses showed up on the scene. Moses had turned his world upside down and in his mind, killed his son in the process. So, if any Israelite had something to fear, it was Moses. And yet his response was anything other than fearful. Instead, his response was one of faith. Moses had spoken with God. He knew God would deliver them. He just didn’t know how. He trusted that God would not allow them to be taken back to Egypt or slaughtered in the desert, for God had proved to him over and over again that He was worthy of trust. God would lead the people to the Promised Land, and this was just one more obstacle to be overcome before they could get there.
I would love to say that my visits between the rocks and the hard places have always proven me to be faithful and trustworthy to God. I would like to say that I would never have responded the way the Israelites did…doubting their path…their leader…their plan…I would like to say that, but I can’t. All too often, I respond the same way they did. I find myself overcome with fear at what is threatening to consume me and in panic over what is ahead of me, blocking my path.
So, today, I’m thinking that before I get in the midst of that situation again – between a rock and a hard place – I will go ahead and make the decision to trust God when those hard times do come. I’ll choose to believe that He alone can deliver, and desires to do so. I’ll choose to remember than He is able and that He will never leave me nor forsake me. And then I will watch and with pancake-sized eyeballs and my mouth dropped open to see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for me. Won’t you join me?!
Dear Jesus, I don’t want to wait to choose faith. I choose to believe today in Your awesome plan for my life. I choose to believe that whatever rocks and hard places come my way, they are not for my destruction, but for Your glory. Help me remain faithful, Lord, as You are faithful to me. I praise You, Jesus. Praise You.
“And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness’” (Ex. 14:10-12).
The Israelites were stuck between a rock and a hard place, but there was nothing proverbial about their danger. The Egyptians were chasing after them to annihilate them, and the Red Sea in front of them was in effect, pinning them down until the enemy got there.
They were stuck…and in the midst of their fear, they complained against Moses and God. “How could he lead us out here in the desert just to die? Why did we follow Moses after all? We had it better back in Egypt! What have you done to us, Moses? Where is our God?!” (paraphrased).
You know, I don’t think Moses knew what God was going to do either. I think he probably fought the same questions and fear threatening to take over his mind, as well. AND I think it was just as big a surprise to him as it was to everyone else, when the sea opened up and granted a way of deliverance for God’s people and a way of destruction for the Egyptians
The difference was in the way Moses chose to respond to their situation. He didn’t allow the fear and questions to overshadow his faith. Instead, he made a choice to respond in faith: “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today” Ex. 14:13a.
Moses was in just as much danger, if not more so, than the other Israelites. If he were captured by the Egyptians, he would probably be cruelly tortured before his death. After all, in the minds of the Pharaoh, things were going pretty well until Moses showed up on the scene. Moses had turned his world upside down and in his mind, killed his son in the process. So, if any Israelite had something to fear, it was Moses. And yet his response was anything other than fearful. Instead, his response was one of faith. Moses had spoken with God. He knew God would deliver them. He just didn’t know how. He trusted that God would not allow them to be taken back to Egypt or slaughtered in the desert, for God had proved to him over and over again that He was worthy of trust. God would lead the people to the Promised Land, and this was just one more obstacle to be overcome before they could get there.
I would love to say that my visits between the rocks and the hard places have always proven me to be faithful and trustworthy to God. I would like to say that I would never have responded the way the Israelites did…doubting their path…their leader…their plan…I would like to say that, but I can’t. All too often, I respond the same way they did. I find myself overcome with fear at what is threatening to consume me and in panic over what is ahead of me, blocking my path.
So, today, I’m thinking that before I get in the midst of that situation again – between a rock and a hard place – I will go ahead and make the decision to trust God when those hard times do come. I’ll choose to believe that He alone can deliver, and desires to do so. I’ll choose to remember than He is able and that He will never leave me nor forsake me. And then I will watch and with pancake-sized eyeballs and my mouth dropped open to see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for me. Won’t you join me?!
Dear Jesus, I don’t want to wait to choose faith. I choose to believe today in Your awesome plan for my life. I choose to believe that whatever rocks and hard places come my way, they are not for my destruction, but for Your glory. Help me remain faithful, Lord, as You are faithful to me. I praise You, Jesus. Praise You.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
The Treasure of Marriage
This time of year always reminds me of the wonderful day I met my husband. It was at a 4th of July picnic in Rome, GA - a looooonnnggg time ago - almost 20 years now. That time frame doesn’t seem possible, but as most of you will attest, time flies when you’re having fun.
Steve jokingly always says that I “saw him and had to have him.” Of course, there was quite a bit more to it than that, and one day I’ll have to write it all down for you. It’s an amazing story, full of God’s intricate timing and unexpected surprises.
God gave us each other that day...and has blessed us abundantly through this gift of marriage. Sometimes though, I lose sight of that. I lose sight of what a GIFT I have in my husband, and I take God’s gift for granted.
For example, the other day I just plain woke up on the wrong side of the bed. (I know none of you ever do that!) Things continued to get on my nerves until by the end of the day, I was simply “not nice” to my husband. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t yelling at him or throwing things. I just wasn’t being very nice. Period.
The next morning, I got up early and went to spend some time with the Lord. Still a little grumpy from the night before, I plopped down in my chair and pulled out my Bible. I just opened it. I didn’t try to find a verse. I didn’t get out my devotional book. I just opened my Bible and began to read.
Oh how thankful I am for God’s gentle rebukes. He doesn’t cram judgement down my throat - unless I really need it! Instead, He gently shows me things in His Word and lets the Spirit do His work.
I began reading that morning in Malachi 2. The first part of the passage immediately got my attention. “And now, O priests, this commandment is for you. If you will not hear, and if you will not take it to heart, to give glory to My name,” says the Lord of hosts, “I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, because you do not take it to heart.”
Pretty powerful stuff, huh? So, I read on, fully expecting to read more of the dreadful things Judah had done against God, and His judgement upon them. Then, I reached verse 11: “Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem, for Judah has profaned the Lord’s holy institution which He loves: He has married the daughter of a foreign god.”
My eyeballs stopped dead in their tracks. I read part of the verse again...the Lord’s holy institution which He loves...the Lord’s holy institution which He loves...the Lord’s holy institution which He loves. I, in no way, had committed the sin that Judah had. After all, Steve was a Believer. I HAD however, taken the gift which is holy...which God loves...for granted. I had, in essence, turned my nose up at my marriage and at my God who had given that gift it to me.
It would sort of be like you giving someone you love, something very valuable and precious. They received your gift, gladly, but then put it down to be trampled on the ground, instead of holding it close to their body and protecting it.
Think I’m taking this analogy too far? After all, it wasn’t like I screamed at him or took His favorite coffee cup and smashed it against the wall. I just let him know that I wasn’t happy with him...in a smart-elec, kinda way.
No, I don’t think that analogy is a stretch by any means. God said marriage is His HOLY INSTITUTION WHICH HE LOVES. Anytime I neglect a gift that God has given me - whatever it is - I have wronged Him, no matter how small the neglect may seem.
So, what’s the point? The point is...you and I need to take our marriages seriously. We need to protect them from little grumblings and bad attitudes. We must give our husband/wife precedence over how we feel at the moment, and if he/she has done something to aggravate us, we must make it right with God and then with them. We should never just go to bed grumpy and by doing so take the beautiful gift that God has given us in marriage, for granted. We must cherish it as God does and treat it as His holy institution which He loves.
Jesus, we really do want to honor You with our lives...with our marriages. We want to bring You glory, by showing others the reality of Your love, through the gift You have called marriage. We are a picture of Your covenant love towards those who believe. May that picture be an accurate representation of You. Forgive us when we falter in that and teach us to how to hold Your gift as a precious and prized possession. We love You, Jesus. Teach us we pray.
Steve jokingly always says that I “saw him and had to have him.” Of course, there was quite a bit more to it than that, and one day I’ll have to write it all down for you. It’s an amazing story, full of God’s intricate timing and unexpected surprises.
God gave us each other that day...and has blessed us abundantly through this gift of marriage. Sometimes though, I lose sight of that. I lose sight of what a GIFT I have in my husband, and I take God’s gift for granted.
For example, the other day I just plain woke up on the wrong side of the bed. (I know none of you ever do that!) Things continued to get on my nerves until by the end of the day, I was simply “not nice” to my husband. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t yelling at him or throwing things. I just wasn’t being very nice. Period.
The next morning, I got up early and went to spend some time with the Lord. Still a little grumpy from the night before, I plopped down in my chair and pulled out my Bible. I just opened it. I didn’t try to find a verse. I didn’t get out my devotional book. I just opened my Bible and began to read.
Oh how thankful I am for God’s gentle rebukes. He doesn’t cram judgement down my throat - unless I really need it! Instead, He gently shows me things in His Word and lets the Spirit do His work.
I began reading that morning in Malachi 2. The first part of the passage immediately got my attention. “And now, O priests, this commandment is for you. If you will not hear, and if you will not take it to heart, to give glory to My name,” says the Lord of hosts, “I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, because you do not take it to heart.”
Pretty powerful stuff, huh? So, I read on, fully expecting to read more of the dreadful things Judah had done against God, and His judgement upon them. Then, I reached verse 11: “Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem, for Judah has profaned the Lord’s holy institution which He loves: He has married the daughter of a foreign god.”
My eyeballs stopped dead in their tracks. I read part of the verse again...the Lord’s holy institution which He loves...the Lord’s holy institution which He loves...the Lord’s holy institution which He loves. I, in no way, had committed the sin that Judah had. After all, Steve was a Believer. I HAD however, taken the gift which is holy...which God loves...for granted. I had, in essence, turned my nose up at my marriage and at my God who had given that gift it to me.
It would sort of be like you giving someone you love, something very valuable and precious. They received your gift, gladly, but then put it down to be trampled on the ground, instead of holding it close to their body and protecting it.
Think I’m taking this analogy too far? After all, it wasn’t like I screamed at him or took His favorite coffee cup and smashed it against the wall. I just let him know that I wasn’t happy with him...in a smart-elec, kinda way.
No, I don’t think that analogy is a stretch by any means. God said marriage is His HOLY INSTITUTION WHICH HE LOVES. Anytime I neglect a gift that God has given me - whatever it is - I have wronged Him, no matter how small the neglect may seem.
So, what’s the point? The point is...you and I need to take our marriages seriously. We need to protect them from little grumblings and bad attitudes. We must give our husband/wife precedence over how we feel at the moment, and if he/she has done something to aggravate us, we must make it right with God and then with them. We should never just go to bed grumpy and by doing so take the beautiful gift that God has given us in marriage, for granted. We must cherish it as God does and treat it as His holy institution which He loves.
Jesus, we really do want to honor You with our lives...with our marriages. We want to bring You glory, by showing others the reality of Your love, through the gift You have called marriage. We are a picture of Your covenant love towards those who believe. May that picture be an accurate representation of You. Forgive us when we falter in that and teach us to how to hold Your gift as a precious and prized possession. We love You, Jesus. Teach us we pray.
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