Being Strong in the LORD

Being born again through faith in Jesus Christ brings about a new perspective and identity.  We discover the reality of who Jesus is and many blessings afforded us by revelation in the Bible.  God's Word says it like it is, whether we feel like it or not.  We learn how God created us, loves us, and made a way for salvation through Jesus.  The Bible speaks of God's faithfulness and all He has accomplished, and in addition provides commands and directives which by His grace we can obey.

A familiar example is presented in Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus.  Ephesians 6:10-13 reads, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armour  of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."  As children of God through faith in Jesus Christ we are recipients of the Holy Spirit.  It is through Him we weak vessels are made strong.  It is in our weakness God's strength is perfected, wielded through humility, surrender, and obedience to Him.  Believers are told to put on the whole armour of God because we face a spiritual adversary.  It is God who enables us to stand fast.

Using the analogy of the armour of Roman soldiers, Paul described the spiritual armour God has provided through the Holy Spirit.  He spoke of the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the preparation of the Gospel, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit (which is the Word of God).  I have heard people say in teaching this passage that if we do not know each part of the armour, how can we put them on?  Answer:  the same way love is the fulfilment of the Law.  I do not need to know all the 10 Commandments by heart to observe them, for if I love God and others as I ought I will keep them.  I believe it is good to know each piece of armour God has provided by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.  We make a mistake, however, to think that by the virtue of our efforts we can put them on.  If we are filled with the Spirit and walking in obedience to God's Word, we will be strong in the LORD and stand fast.

In no way do I want to trample the discipline many employ to "pray on" each part of the armour of God at the start of the day.  It is a good reminder of the reality of spiritual opposition we will face and the protection God has provided for us as His enlisted soldiers.  At the same time I believe when we are filled with and yielded to the Holy Spirit of God we have our "armour on."  There is nowhere in scripture we are ever told to remove our armour, and therefore no daily necessity to put it on (when you have kept it on).  Inspection of armour and weapons is important in every conflict, though.  We can know for certain when we are not walking in the Spirit (or in other words - facing a spiritual battle without spiritual armour) because we will be given over to fear, lies, deceit, worries, and cares.  The fiery darts will hit their mark and we find we are over-sensitive, quick-tempered, easily tempted, and resentful.  We can know our armour is in place when we have real reasons to be vengeful but are gracious and kind.  We once would have justified being angry but instead discover comfort in prayer, and we could easily be preoccupied but experience the joy and peace of God.

The multi-faceted armour of God and soldier picture is only one of the many ways a Christian relates to God.  We are not just soldiers but sheep of His pasture, ambassadors of His kingdom, fellow oxen sharing the yoke of Christ, and God's dear children.  Believers are compared to individual parts of a body whose head is Christ, and the church is compared to a chaste bride being prepared for the Bridegroom.  When we are filled with the Spirit and rely upon Jesus, walking in obedience to the scripture, we will be equipped for every good work.  This includes being strong in the LORD and in the power of His might.  Praise the LORD for His goodness and strength provided for us all!

Found What You're Looking For?

The band U2 had a popular song in my high school days which repeated, "But I still haven't found what I'm looking for."  After climbing mountains, scaling walls, speaking the tongues of angels, and holding the hand of the devil, the desire for satisfaction remained insatiable.  There was still something Bono was looking for but not able to find.  Perhaps he didn't know exactly what he was looking for!  God made a promise to His people who sought Him in Deuteronomy 4:29 after they turned to the LORD wherever they had been scattered:  "But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul."  Again God promised in Jeremiah 29:12-13, "Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."

A lot of times the things we are seeking are not God and likely have much more to do with us than Him.  A divided heart is a troubling thing because it renders us incapable of seeking the LORD and finding Him.  God can and will be found by His grace, and if we have not found Him we cannot rightly place the blame on God who became human flesh, dwelt among us, died for us, and rose from the grave.  There He is if you will have Him.  Whether man judges Jesus worthy of worship is a very small thing indeed, for over what other man has the voice of the God boomed from heaven, "This is my only begotten Son in whom I am well-pleased?"  God is pleased to rejoice over and reveal Himself to all who trust in the LORD Jesus Christ.

After we place our faith in Jesus and endeavour to follow Him faithfully, undoubtedly we will face cares, sorrows, and troubles in this life.  David, a man God judged to be a man after His own heart, wrote in Psalm 27:13-14:  "I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. ¹⁴ Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the LORD!"  David would have fainted and lost heart had he not believed he would see the goodness of God in the land of the living - especially when things went wrong.  It was faith in God and His goodness which provided David courage and strength to persevere in the face of danger and betrayal.  He urged his readers to wait on the LORD and take heart.  God has been incredibly patient with us though our history is one of repeated failure:  shouldn't we be content and joyfully expectant to place our faith in the LORD and wait on Him who is only good?

The singer in the U2 song looked all over and never found what he was looking for, and when we stop looking to Jesus Christ we will start waiting on the wrong things.  If our hopes are pinned on our circumstances changing we might never receive the encouragement we long for.  If we look to others for strength and hope for the future we should not be surprised when discouragement, disillusionment, and frustration become our wretched companions.  But if we will look to the LORD, believing His goodness will be apparent and His grace sufficient, we will discover strength and encouragement everywhere.  When you are cast down or depressed, what are you looking for?  Waiting on the LORD turns our hearts toward Him again and puts our feet back on the solid ground of hope which is never disappointed.  Praise the LORD for the goodness He has shown to us and the encouragement He provides along the way through others.  How I rejoice to know and proclaim the goodness of our God who will be found when we seek Him with our whole hearts.

The Peril of Self-Trust

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."

Proverbs 3:5-6

The tendency for me to trust self is something God has been bringing to my attention lately.  Trusting our own judgments and feelings is as natural to man as breathing - something our bodies do without even having to think about it.  Before the moment of decision we must determine to trust God and have our ways submitted to His will.  God has promised to direct the paths of those who trust Him, but if we do not admit and deal with our sinful habit to lean on our own understanding we will choose wrong.  A.W. Tozer gives good insight in his book The Crucified Life:

Sometimes a trial comes along, and we run to the Bible, pull out a quote and say, "According to this Scripture right here, we got it."  We have certain confidence in ourselves.  We think we know exactly what is going on.  The problem is that we do not know what is happening, and so God will deal with our self-trust.

God certainly knows our feelings.  He knows we are so proud of the way we rightly divide the word of truth and that we can disjoint a text like a butcher getting a chicken ready for the barbecue.  With words are carefully laid out and knowing just where to put your finger on this or just where to put your finger on that, you are too smart for God to bless you.  You know too much.  You can identify everything, but the dear heavenly Father knows you do not really know much at all.  He lets things happen to you until you recognise that you do not know what is happening.  Your friends do not know what is going on either.  And when you go to somebody you feel you can trust, that person will not be able to help you either.  That is actually good news.

It truly would be terrible if we had some holy Saint Francis to whom we all could go to find out where we were, what was happening to us and what life is all about.  God loves us too much for that.  He is trying to teach us to trust Him, not people - to lean on Him, not on people...As a Christian, you know some of the means God uses to teach His people.  As a Christian, you love God, but you are sick of all the nonsense in the world.  Your heart is crying after God just as the doe yearns for the water brooks.  Your heart and flesh cry out for the living God.  Yet in spite of all this, you still trust yourself.  You testify that you love your Bible and that your time of prayer is precious, but still your tendency is to trust yourself. (Tozer, A. W., and James L. Snyder. The Essential Tozer Collection. Bethany House, 2017. The Crucified Life, pages 108-109.)

Knowledge of God and His Word are gifts from God, but let us not lean on our own understanding.  Truth does not change over time, but there remains much truth packed away even in the most familiar verses we do not grasp or practice.  How we need to rely upon God to teach and direct us!  Let us trust the LORD, and when we obey the leading of the Holy Spirit we will begin to mature into the disciples Jesus saved us to be.

Broken - Then Revival

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart-- these, O God, You will not despise."

Psalm 51:17

If you were described as having "fallen to pieces" or that you experienced a "complete breakdown," would it paint you in a positive or negative light?  We hate to be seen without makeup and are embarrassed to be seen as weak.  When our emotional or physical capacity overflows and we collapse in a heap, it does not present the independent, tough, and resilient persona this world values.  If a team leader was "breaking down" regularly under the pressure of business we would suggest that person should take a break.  This passage written by David in response to his sin reveals a very different picture, how a broken spirit and contrite heart are acceptable in God's sight and not to be ashamed of.

Think of the many sacrifices which people in scripture delighted to offer God.  They brought Him gold, silver, precious stones, money, expensive fabrics, first-fruits of flocks, herds, and produce.  Their generosity was likened to that of a king, and the children of Israel when preparing for the construction of the tabernacle were told to stop giving because too much had already been received.  In the end it wasn't about what was given or how much which God took notice of but the condition of the hearts of sinners who approached Him.  All the gold and gems in the world are no substitute for a shattered soul over guilt of sin and a heart which has been broken into pieces and repents in sorrow.

When this verse was spoken last night during prayer at church, I went to the back of my Bible where under various headings I have listed relevant verses.  The importance of humility before God struck me as I turned to Psalm 138:6-7:  "Though the LORD is on high, yet He regards the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar.⁷ Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me."  Then I looked up Isaiah 57:15 to read God's voice blasting like a trumpet:  "For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."  These verses made clear the necessary connection between humility, brokenness, revival, and abiding in the presence of the Almighty God.

We prefer to have leaders who appear strong and impervious to pressure, but God is not taken in by this outward display:  He looks at the heart.  He brings about circumstances to break us, not to ruin us because pride and arrogance have ruined us already.  When we fall to pieces before Him in repentance and humility that is when the Holy Spirit fire falls.  We do not earn the privilege but when we submit in faith to the will of God in our brokenness He hears, heals, and revives.  Many people look upon the power of God with desire, but it is the contrite heart which is granted the capacity to wield it with the fear of God and trembling.  How precious humility before God is!  And beyond great is our God and worthy to be praised for putting on human flesh and saying as the cross loomed before Him to the Father, "Not my will, but Yours be done."  Before His body was broken on Calvary the sacrifice of His broken heart already had been offered and accepted.

See the risen LORD Jesus!  If we will be revived and raised to newness of life, there must be breaking.  We tend to fight this rather than surrender to it.  This is not the good fight, brothers and sisters, to build a fortress around our hearts to hide how broken we actually are.  When heaviness grips our hearts and a contrite tear spills from our eye a great battle has been won.  Let us fall to pieces before our LORD so He might heal and restore us.  I am not aware of any therapeutic value of crying alone, and what can our tears change?  But when a broken heart cries out to God, He will hear and answer according to His perfect will.  The sacrifice of a broken heart and contrite spirit is an offering everyone can bring.  It is not the rich but the poor in spirit who are granted the kingdom of heaven.