Month: January 2019

“One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.” Psalm 62:11, 12

            God’s power. Do you think about that very often? Whenever we have extreme weather, such as a strong storm, or temperatures that are very hot or very cold, I’m reminded that what we experience is just a small taste of God’s power. Maybe you’ve experienced a storm such as a tornado or hurricane. As mighty as that storm was, it was nothing compared to the strength and power of our God. We’ve all seen evidence on the news, if not in person, of strong storms that have caused terrible destruction. But that’s nothing compared to God. His power is so much greater that He could not only cause destruction if He so chose, but He has the power to create. With a word, He spoke creation into being. He didn’t even break a sweat. He spoke, and there we were. All the universe, all the plants, all the animals and people. That’s power! Compared to that kind of power, a strong storm seems more like a little child having a temper tantrum.

            This verse goes on to say that He is loving. Once again, I see this in extreme weather. The forecast for this week calls for very cold temperatures. I’m not looking forward to it but think of how cold it could get if God removed His hand of protection. Think of how bad that storm could have been if God wasn’t holding it back. If He can create with a word, think of the destruction He could cause with a word! But instead of destruction, He gives us protection because of His unfailing devotion and kindness. That’s true whether the storm we’re weathering is in the atmosphere or in our hearts.

            I love to be reminded that I serve a God of great power. After all, what good what it do to serve a wimpy god? We’re sometimes guilty of trying to create a god in our own image. When I realize that I’m doing that, I have to ask myself why? Why would I want a god who is no stronger than I? I want the true God, the God who rules over heaven and earth, the God with the strength and power to carry out His promises. I also want a God of love, a God who cares about us and is working all things to our good. Mostly, I’m so thankful that He’s both. If he were only powerful, I’d be shaking in my boots. But if He only had a powerless love, He’d be more like a cosmic teddy bear – nice to snuggle with but not really good for much else. But He’s both. So as temperatures drop this week, thank God that He has power over all creation including the weather, and also thank Him that we can warm ourselves in His loving embrace.

“Your beauty should . . . be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”  1 Peter 3:3-4

            Are you beautiful? I can imagine an entire array of answers. There are the “spiritual” answers, like saying that I’m beautiful because of God in me, or to deny any beauty because that would be prideful. Then there are the honest answers, which might be something like, “I’m not too bad,” but are probably more like, “not as beautiful as so-and-so, or as I used to be.” Or maybe your answer is, “You’re kidding, right? Have you actually seen this face and this body I’m stuck with?!” Unfortunately, that’s not an unusual response because of the pressures put on us by society to conform to an unrealistic ideal of outward beauty. As a result, some Christians feel we should ignore the entire subject of personal beauty.

You notice that in these verses, God doesn’t tell us to ignore beauty, or to not think about it. Rather, He describes what true beauty is. He redefines it for us so we can get our priorities in the right place. Verse three tells us what beauty isn’t by listing all the things the world would use to describe beauty. Then God turns the definition on its head by saying that true beauty is all inside. The hidden, unseen part of us that doesn’t show in any photograph. But long after all photos have faded into nothingness, our true beauty will remain. It will never fade. Our spirit will still be just as gentle and quiet as ever. If we treat others with kindness and gentleness, that will always exist. If we allow the peace of Christ to permeate our hearts, we will never lose that.

I’m struck by the fact that this is of great worth. Other definitions of that word would be valuable, expensive, costly. That makes me stop and think. What does it cost to cultivate a gentle and quiet spirit? It means we can’t indulge our prideful flesh. We are to submit to one another in love. We don’t allow ourselves to be the center of our universe. God is the center and He tells us to serve others in His name. It means we can’t allow our thoughts to charge ahead of God. We need to be quiet and listen for Him. It means, in short, we need to die to self. I know that in the end, I gain far more than I lose in this deal, but I don’t always remember that in the moment. Instead, I want the sweet satisfaction of revenge, or the luxury of self-indulgence, forgetting that revenge always backfires and self-indulgence is always empty. If I choose to give up those momentary “pleasures,” I will gain the true beauty of God’s gentle and quiet spirit, which will last for all eternity.

“Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep.”  Psalm 36:5-6

            I’m sure when many of us read these words, we also hear the music of the popular praise song entitled, “Your Love, O Lord.” The group Third Day may have written the music but the words come straight from God’s word. So let’s take a look at how it was written. First of all, David wrote it in such a way that love and faithfulness are connected, almost like two sides of the same coin. That makes perfect sense. What kind of love would it be if the giver wasn’t also faithful? We can always count on God’s love because of His faithfulness. And we can count on His faithfulness because of His love. The Hebrew word for love, hesed, has the idea of faithfulness built into the very definition of the word. This love and this faithfulness are both so great that we can’t see the end of them. Just as we can’t see to the end of the universe, God’s love and His faithfulness are beyond anything we can comprehend. They have no end.

            David follows up this pair of words with another pair of words: righteousness and justice. Like the first pair, these two are also connected. In fact, we can find both pairs connected several other places in scripture, so God obviously intends for them to go together. Let’s look at the definitions before we see the connection. Righteousness means living according to God’s standards. If we do that, we’ll always be in the right. Since God is always perfectly righteous, we know we can trust His standards to be perfectly right. We often think of justice as getting what we deserve. If you steal money, it would make sense that you would have to return the amount you stole. That’s justice according to the world. But do we always know what is deserved? For example, I would think differently about someone who stole for kicks and someone who stole because their child was starving. Because of God’s righteousness, He is the only One capable of making those judgement calls perfectly every time. In fact, when it says that His justice is like the “great deep,” that includes a sense of darkness and secrecy. In other words, God is the only One who knows the intentions of the heart, the deep, dark secrets that make His justice the only one we can count on to be perfectly fair.

            Does this mean we should never make a judgement call? I think God wants us to try to abstain from judging others as much as possible. However, sometimes we need to do just that. Have you ever served on a jury? That’s a perfect example of a time when we have to judge someone whether we want to or not. Or maybe you’re in a position of hiring and firing individuals. Or parenting. Or mediating between arguing friends or family members. What do we do in those instances? First, remember His incredible love and faithfulness available to us at all times. Keep in mind that He loves that individual just as much as He loves you or me. Then remember that we’re not God. Since He’s the only one capable of making a righteous judgement every time, we need to lean heavily on His wisdom. He may be telling us to make a decision that seems illogical. That’s okay! Sometime God is not logical. But He’s always loving, faithful, righteous and just!

“In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.”  Psalm 5:3

            Don’t you dislike waiting? I sure do! Why does it seem as if I always hit the red lights when I’m running late? Or no matter which checkout line I choose, it will be the slowest? I’m sure those things aren’t true, but it sure seems that way! But that kind of waiting pales in comparison to some waiting that is asked of us. When we’re waiting for the relationship to improve, or the prodigal to return. Maybe we’re waiting for God to make a way out of a very difficult situation. Or perhaps we’re waiting for some answers to our difficult questions. Whatever we’re waiting for, that kind of waiting is never easy. When I was once in a waiting period I ran across this verse and was immediately struck by a few things.

            First was the realization that God does hear us. Sometimes in the waiting, we think maybe God hasn’t heard our many pleas regarding this situation. Or maybe He doesn’t grasp how serious it is. Well, that word that is translated “hear” includes a sense of understanding. He doesn’t just hear us as if we’re some annoying background noise. He understands. The second aspect to strike me is that He wants us to bring our requests to Him. It may seem as if your request can never happen, or that God will never agree to it. That’s okay. Bring it to Him anyway. In fact, did you notice that “requests” is plural? Bring them all to Him. And bring them every morning. That’s not because God might forget by the next day. It’s because it’s still on our hearts and minds and God wants to hear all that is concerning us.

            The final thing that struck me, and struck me hard, is that after bringing our requests to God, we are to wait in expectation. We don’t give Him our requests, and then continue to worry about them. Nor do we bring them with a defeatist attitude. Too often, when I ask something of God, I’ve already decided that He’s not going to grant my request. That’s sure not how David prayed, is it? When he prayed, he was on the lookout for God’s answer. It’s like he was standing on the highest hill, excitedly waiting for that first glimpse of God’s answer to come over the horizon. Don’t get me wrong. He wasn’t just lounging around the campfire waiting for God to act. Psalm 5 goes on to talk about things to do while waiting: continue praying, go to church and worship communally, be glad and sing for joy. But even as you do those things, keep an eye peeled for the amazing way God is going to give you the answer you’re waiting for.