According to God's Will

It is easy for us to mix up "wants" and "needs" and prove ourselves presumptuous.  There are things we take for granted on the level of basic human rights like good health and a consistent job.  We say things like, "She really needs healing" or "He needs a better job."  But are those pressing issues needs from God's perspective?  Isn't He able to do exceedingly above what we ask or think?  When we are ill we desperately desire health, yet the LORD is able to leverage something awful like illness to accomplish divine purposes beyond our comprehension.  Who is man to assert what God ought to do, the One who does awesome things without number?

In my own life (and prayer life too) I have observed a tendency to substitute what I see as beneficial changes in circumstances instead of a closer walk with Jesus and increased faith.  Pains, troubles, and uncertainties are often the impetus for us to seek God with greater fervency, and I suggest one purpose God allows these is so we will learn to seek and trust Him in a greater degree when things are well.  How good it is when instead of superficial and temporary fixes we endeavour to draw closer to Jesus.  When someone needs physical healing they really need Jesus; when a man is out of a job He needs Jesus too.  Jesus is a Saviour, Provider, and Redeemer - especially for those who are born again.

When people don't yet trust in Jesus as Saviour, our prayers can be for the salvation of others.  But once they are being saved we need to rely upon Jesus more than ever and cultivate the practice of seeking Him.  Just because I placed my faith in Jesus Christ for salvation or believe the Bible is the Word of God does not mean I am trusting the Holy Spirit for guidance in my present situation.  If we are facing impossible circumstances in our lives and need a miracle, if we are hoping for the miraculous our longing is misplaced:  we need Jesus, the One who does the miraculous.  If we are seeking the blessing alone we are misguided. for it is Jesus who blesses, heals, and restores souls.  The Giver is better than the gifts.

Proverbs 16:25 says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death."  The "good life" we naturally want for ourselves and our children ends in a grave - regardless of the education, relationships, career, money, and achievements gained.  God's ways are higher than our ways, and He is worthy of our trust and adoration.  I am not suggesting we cease praying for others who are struggling or be cavalier concerning trials, but we ought not be presumptuous and assume God wants what we do.  We can see only one way out of trouble, yet the trouble might be the very thing which causes us or others to advance in faith.  If we had our way, we would often short-circuit what God has been working toward all our lives.  Trials and tribulations can be a boon to our faith.  This is the perspective held forth in 1 Peter 4:19:  "Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator."

Imagine it, that suffering could be according to the will of God!  Jesus suffered according to the will of God, didn't He?  Sometimes we suffer as the result of our sin, but Jesus was perfectly righteous and still suffered.  See how God redeemed it!  Can't He also redeem our suffering, o we of little faith?  Isn't our unbelief a great cause of our suffering?  With eyes of faith turned towards our Saviour we can rejoice in suffering, knowing our LORD loves us and suffered for our sakes.

In God's Likeness

"As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness."

Psalm 17:15

David saw with eyes of faith the reality of a future no man could imagine unless God revealed it to him.  This reminds me of what Job declared in Job 19:25-27:  "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; ²⁶ And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, ²⁷ Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!"  David and Job both knew the death of the body was not the end.  Their flesh would be destroyed and see corruption, but they would ultimately be raised immortal and incorruptible.  Such is the enduring future for all those deemed righteous through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Job spoke of seeing God, but what caught my attention is David knew he would be raised in God's likeness.  It is one thing to observe a person with your eyes, but another thing altogether to be likened to them.  David knew satisfaction beyond explanation would be his when he awoke in God's likeness.  I am not aware of a promise to this end in the Law, but David received this revelation from the Holy Spirit even as the apostle John related in 1 John 3:2, "Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is."  Paul also wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52:  "Behold, I tell you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-- ⁵²  in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."  And what a profound change this will be.

We are transformed on the inside when we are born again through faith in Jesus, and we shall be changed physically into the likeness of Christ after we depart this earth.  We will not look like Him, but we will be like Him.  All human beings share the same basic features, and our risen LORD Jesus remains a man.  Upon graduation to eternal glory we will not be made into angels, stars, or disembodied spirits, but our perishable body will be made into an imperishable one likened to Jesus after His resurrection.  We see the future dimly, but the day is coming when we will see our Saviour face to face.  That is something Job and David spoke of, a future assured for all those who are made righteous through faith in Jesus.  If we look forward to a holiday, the big game, or special gatherings with glad anticipation, then it is only proper for us to be excited about our eternal future in the presence of God.  Everything we look forward to on earth passes by quickly and is overshadowed by future plans, but our glorious future will remain in the present forever.

The Sustaining Word

Elijah was a prophet of God who experienced distressing and discouraging times.  After great victory by God's grace against the prophets of Ba'al on Carmel, all gladness was quickly soured by threats from wicked queen Jezebel.  Many preachers and Christians have been incredulous concerning Elijah's response, almost accusing him of forgetting what God had done or minimising the impact of a death threat.  Elijah was certainly a man of God and had the Spirit of God upon him, but he was a man like the rest of us.  At a point the demands and pressures of life can become unbearable.  I have experienced lonely moments like this, when trials immediately deflate us of joy - and my life wasn't even on the line.  A heart at rest in the victory of God can be easily battered and beaten at the whim of disappointing news, and our enemies are not merciful.

The prophet, upon hearing the threats of Jezebel, isolated himself from his servant and went on alone.  He despaired of life, and it felt like dying was better than living.  God in His grace would provide all Elijah needed to continue, both physically and spiritually.  1 Kings 19:5-8 says, "Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, "Arise and eat." ⁶ Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. ⁷ And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, "Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you." ⁸ So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God."

God sent an angel who provided Elijah with bread and water twice to sustain him for the journey which stretched ahead Elijah was not yet aware of.  In the strength of the food God provided Elijah pressed on for forty days and nights until he came to the "mountain of God."  Here is a great picture of the life of faith in Jesus Christ, how He is our Living Bread and He supplies the Living Water we need to persevere through this earthly pilgrimage.  It's hard to keep on going; it's tough when you feel alone.  All the continual effort and caring doesn't seem to accomplish much.  And if we look to ourselves, others, or to our circumstances for hope there is none to be found.  But pains and discouragements have a way of recentring our gaze on the LORD, His Word, and His promises.  If we don't eat or drink spiritually we will waste away and be unable to continue, and this is a reason why many gifted and called servants of God quit.

Yesterday I was treated to the sustaining power of God's Word throughout the day.  Let's just say the day did not go like I thought or hoped it would.  In my morning reading I came upon Psalm 13:5-6:  "But I have trusted in Your mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. ⁶ I will sing to the LORD, because He has dealt bountifully with me."  The Psalmist David wrote this when he was feeling alone and forgotten.  He experienced sorrow daily and felt beaten up by his enemies.  But he came to a place when, without any change of his feelings or circumstances, his perspective shifted to focus on God.  David was reminded of the mercy of God and he had been granted salvation from God.  This caused a change in his mind and heart and he sang praises to God because of the bountiful way God had dealt with him.  Boy, these verses encouraged me all day long when temptation to despair came!  I had salvation going for me, and how bountiful God has been towards me!

How good is the Word of God, and how well it sustains us!  The Word is compared to good seed, and when sown in the heart of a believer it is very fruitful according to its own kind.  Our circumstances are like the sharp blade of the plough which painfully open our hard hearts to receive God's Word.  It does not produce baked loaves of bread which can be eaten straight away:  the grain it produces can be eaten raw, but it must be threshed, prepared, and ground into flour.  Elijah had cakes prepared for him by the angel, and God prepares great bounty for us to feast on.  Who knows what the next forty days holds for us, what God will accomplish in that time, or how He will lead us in pressing on!  All I know is we need the Bread of Life and the Living Water, the Holy Spirit.  Thank God He will sustain us, and His Word is an indispensable supply for all our need so He might lead us to Himself.

Hosanna in the Highest

"Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: "Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' ¹⁰ Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"

Mark 11:9-10

The scene described in Mark 11 took place when Jesus rode in triumph into Jerusalem on a donkey.  People laid down their clothes and palm branches before Him as before royalty, and even the children shouted, "Hosanna!"  Not being a Hebrew speaker, I needed to look up the word for the definition.  The Strong's Concordance explains the meaning like this:  "oh save!; an exclamation of adoration."  Jesus was worthy of such adoration and praise, for He is the Saviour God promised who would save people from their sins.

The Jews which cried out the words of Psalm 118:25-26 were an occupied and oppressed people by Roman rule.  How they longed for the promised Messiah to deliver them from their enemies and restore the kingdom of David to its former glory.  It is fitting Jesus would humbly ride into Jerusalem in fulfilment of scripture in Zechariah 9:9, and not as a Roman general on a chariot pulled by white horses.  The cross of Calvary loomed before our meek Saviour, and He would save not only the Jews but provide salvation for all who repent and believe through His sacrifice.  The people shouted, "Oh save!" and they had no idea how great a salvation Jesus would accomplish through His death and resurrection.  Jesus would do much more than establish an earthly throne which perishes, but by His shed blood would establish an eternal kingdom of which there will be no end.

How glorious is our Saviour, a One also to be greatly adored.  We reserve the word "adorable" to attend the cute and cuddly, but Jesus deserves our adoration and appreciation.  The beauty of Christ transcends anything we can admire with the eyes or desire in our hearts.  His power to save is greater than all the armies of the world; the praise of which He is worthy is greater than all men and the angelic hosts shouting in unison.  We say "Hosanna" to urge God to save and to adore Him at the same time, a wonderful picture of how He is worthy and able to meet our every need.  I need salvation as much now as ever before, and the more I read about Jesus and spend time with Him my love for Him grows too.  No matter how much I love Him, His love for me is infinitely greater and constant.

As fitting as it was for Jesus to be praised when He rode into Jerusalem, so it is right for all to exalt Him today.  Throughout the day "Hosanna" by Carl Tuttle has been singing in my heart:  won't you sing along?

Hosanna, hosanna,

hosanna in the highest

Hosanna, hosanna,

hosanna in the highest

Lord we lift up Your name

With a heart full of praise

Be exalted, oh Lord my God

Hosanna in the highest

Glory, glory,

glory to the King of kings

Glory, glory,

glory to the King of kings

Lord we lift up Your name

With a heart full of praise

Be exalted, oh Lord my God

Glory to the King of kings