God is Trustworthy

Today I was surprised by what the Bible didn't say.  I love how God is not like us, nor does He think as we do.  Our life following Jesus is filled with our need to change and grow in understanding of who God is and what pleases Him.

Psalm 115:9-11 says, "O Israel, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. ¹⁰ O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. ¹¹ You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield."  The psalmists exhorted Israel, God's ministers, and all who fear the LORD to trust in Him.  The recurring phrase following is spoken as a matter of fact:  "He is their help and shield."  I was intrigued at the lack of a connecting word like "because" or "for" instead of a semicolon.  The implication is God is trustworthy.  He helps and shields us whether we trust in Him or not.  Isn't this true for all people?  He is our help and shield, and we ought to trust Him.

How sad it is when our lives before God are driven by what we gain from God.  To reduce prayer or faith to the level of a "deal" or business transaction is awful.  We should not trust God so He will help and shield us - though He does - but because He is worthy of being trusted.  He is not like a man we are obliged to show loyalty towards (though we owe Him our lives), nor do we embark on this relationship based upon what we offer God.  All we have is sin and wretchedness condemned before our holy Maker!  We ought to trust the One who is our help and shield, the God who has made a covenant with sinners signed with His blood.  God has established the terms and He is faithful to honour them.

This covenant is not a crude exchange of goods for services, a contract crafted to protect our interests:  it is all of grace established on what God has done.  We are required to respond to it by repentance and receiving Christ in faith, but He is worthy in Himself without a covenant being offered.  We have been provided salvation when we repent of sin and place our trust in Christ, even though we do not deserve the freedom and privilege to do so.  We were in bondage and dead in sins, senseless as heavy sleepers, blind as stones, and God helped and protected us.  Since He has done all this, isn't He worthy of trust?

Trembling Before God

"Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, ⁸ Who turned the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a fountain of waters."

Psalm 114:7-8

There are many fearsome things on this planet, things like tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, lightning, and volcanoes.  These powerful, earth shaking and changing events are only the edges of His ways (Job 26:14).  There are things people are afraid of for whatever reason, and many suffer from debilitating phobias.  Though there is much on earth which people fear, and the earth fears the Almighty God!  The psalmist bid the earth to tremble before its Maker who does marvellous things.

I don't know physical trembling for people is an everyday occurrence, and trembling due to fear does not have a positive connotation for me.  But if there are things on this earth which make us tremble from nervousness, fear, or excitement, then we should definitely tremble before the God who created them.  Think of it:  if you are afraid of heights, shouldn't you tremble before the God whose presence dwells above them?  If you are afraid to swim in the oceans, shouldn't you fear the God who inhabits the depths and created all living things who dwell therein?

Psalm 114:3-4 says at the presence of God "The sea saw it and fled; Jordan turned back. ⁴  The mountains skipped like rams, the little hills like lambs."  The psalmist personified the sea as one who fled, and the mountains and hills skipping and scattering like rams and lambs.  The creation knows and fears God our Maker, yet man can stand proud and resolute against God.  If this great earth trembles like a leaf before God, only ignorance, conceit or folly can be reasonable answers why men do not tremble also.  The irony is God has given man unique abilities among all He has created to observe, reason, and understand - and so our pride before God is most unreasonable.

Let us remember our great God and His wondrous works, worshipping Him in humility.  He can turn the rock into pools of water and flint into a fountain.  Praise the LORD from these once proud hearts of stone He can cause Living Water to spring forth and provide salvation through Jesus!

Waiting and Working

Waiting is a regular part of life, and something that is often not our first preference.  That may be putting it lightly:  I'm not sure anyone finds waiting wonderful in itself.  We wait out of necessity or because of beneficial end results.  When shopping we survey our options based on which lane will save the most time.  If the lines to pay are very long and the self-serve area is open, we might choose that option to save time.  If waiting wasn't an issue, we wouldn't regret our choice if our lane took the longest.

I have discovered recently I often view waiting as wasting time.  This is a perspective I believe God wants to change in me.  I recognise waiting is inevitable, but sometimes I am annoyed at what appears to be unnecessary delays.  On the golf course I aim to be as efficient as possible, approaching golf as an aerobic exercise rather than a leisurely stroll.  When there are players in front of me who are overly social and have no sense of urgency to clear the green, feelings of impatience begin to mount.  These feelings can spring upon us suddenly:  whilst driving behind a slow moving vehicle, when you have been placed "on hold" on the phone, or when the garage door button needs to be pressed and held for the door to open.

The Bible reveals waiting times are always working times.  God is always working, and in ways which He sovereignly has ordained to take time.  Think about planting seeds or the gestation of a child in the womb.  Without proper time to develop, plants nor people can survive.  It takes time for the sun to rise and set.  Cities are not built overnight, nor can nations form in an instant.  Skills at mathematics or sports are developed over many years and through much training.  We do not question any of these things.  But when we are suffering or struggling, we wonder why comfort and respite seem so far away.  We wonder why God doesn't do something.  But God is doing many excellent things, whether we recognise them or not.

We find perseverance to joyfully endure with unfailing hope when our gaze is fixed on our LORD Jesus Christ, the One who will never leave or forsake us.  God has given us exceedingly great and precious promises we ought always to lay to heart.  The scripture is full of examples of people who waited a long time and were blessed to see the LORD fulfil His Word.  And even when they were not able to see with their eyes the salvation of the LORD, it has been recorded for our benefit that we might believe.  We can gladly entrust our souls to our Maker, for our times are in His hands.  He is not ignorant of our struggles, nor is He easily overwhelmed as we are.  He rules over all and is able to do miraculously, marvellously, and great wonders for the glory of His name and our good.

God does not waste time but He works, and this is for our benefit.  Paul wrote in Romans 8:28-29, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. ²⁹ For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren."  All the circumstances of our lives are able to be utilised and leveraged to conform us into the image of Jesus Christ as members of His eternal family.  Can anything be better than this end result?

God's Chosen Fast

"Hunger strikes" can be employed as non-violent protests to raise awareness of perceived injustice or as a means to achieve a desired purpose.  Youth at our church have participated in World Vision's "40-hour Famine" to raise funds for the hungry or displaced refugees.  Those who deny themselves food or the convenience of furniture or technology for 40 hours receive funds from willing supporters to pass on to people in need.  It is good to bring awareness to the needs of others, but we too can have pressing needs which seem unmet - despite or best efforts or sacrifices.

Based upon Isaiah 58, it seems the children of Israel made fasting and wearing sackcloth a practice as they sought God.  They thrived on seeking after God by observing His ordinances.  But after afflicting themselves - kind of like people on a hunger strike - it didn't seem like God was listening to their prayers.  They weren't receiving the response or reward they felt their sacrifices warranted.  So they ramped up the duration and intensity of their fasts, almost like the prophets of Ba'al who cried out louder the longer their god remained silent.  Then suddenly, above the din of man's misguided expectations and zeal, the God of heaven spoke to His people:

"Is it a fast that I have chosen, a day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? ⁶ "Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? ⁷ Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh? ⁸ Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. ⁹ Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' "If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, ¹⁰ if you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday. ¹¹ The LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail." (Isaiah 58:5-11)

God questioned the people concerning their self-imposed fasts.  They fasted from eating food He had provided them when they would have been better served fasting from their sin.  What were they doing with the food they weren't eating?  What about the clothes they had laid aside to wear scratchy sackcloth?  Were they giving their extra food and clothes to people in need or just hoarding it for themselves?  They put themselves under bondage to fast and afflict themselves to gain God's favour when they should have released the oppressed and broken the heavy yoke of slavery.  God saw everything His people did and said and He saw the motives of their heart.  If they would put as much effort into speaking truth and extending grace to others rather than accusing fingers as they did in their observance of traditions and law, they would be better served - because then they would actually be serving God, not themselves.

See the promises and gracious rewards God gladly offered to those who trust and obey Him, not looking to their own works to justify them before God!  Light would shine in their darkness and healing would come speedily.  Righteousness would go before them and God's glory would be their rear guard.  God would answer their cry - not because of their self-imposed affliction - but because they honoured Him by doing good.  They would be guided, guarded, and satisfied with good things even in difficult and dry times.  God has Living Water for all who repent and trust in Jesus.  He has promises for us by grace which are far greater than the Law could ever supply.  Let us remember the fast God has chosen:  to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo heavy burdens, to release the oppressed, and break every yoke.