Sought In Affliction

In preparing for this week's message at Calvary Chapel Sydney, I came across a quote from Matthew Henry that impacted me:  "Carnal hearts, in time of trouble, see their sickness, but do not see the sin that is the cause of it." (Matthew Henry Concise, pg. 11112)  This insight is easily verified in our own lives, for it is easier for us to describe our negative symptoms to a doctor than to know for certain the cause our malady.  We may have theories about how or when we contacted a virus, but the fact we would even go to a doctor shows our need for help in treatment.

God spoke through Hosea the prophet concerning His people in Hosea 5:13, "When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to King Jareb; yet he cannot cure you, nor heal you of your wound."  Ephraim and Judah were able to see their symptoms, but they did not seek healing in God.  They vainly went to the king of Assyria for help to assuage their symptoms, desperate for peace.  The unstoppable Assyrian war machine was headed their way, and all hope of successfully defending their borders was lost.  The cause of Israel's trouble was not the might of Assyria but they had forsaken the LORD.  God's complaint was His people did not even know Him, as their sins separated them from God.

This passage of scripture caused me to consider:  am I like the Israelites who only sought to relieve their symptoms or do I seek God to be cured?  Physicians do not in themselves have the power to heal anyone but utilise medical training to prescribe medicine, treatment, and procedures to promote the natural healing ability of the body.  The illness of Israel was exhibited by physical symptoms but had a spiritual cause only God could heal.  Israel stooped to attempt to make a peace treaty with their enemies rather than seek the LORD in repentance.  Instead of making deals with the devil, God's people ought to be zealous in repentance before Him (Revelation 3:19).

Whilst all physical illness we endure does not have a spiritual cause (Job's friends were presumptuous to assume he was afflicted as a direct result of his sin), in the case of Israel there was a direct correlation.  Because they had forsaken God they did not seek Him in their trouble, and because they did not know Him they did what was right in their own eyes.  How often have we too sought help in our trouble from what could not cure us!  Praise the LORD He is sufficient for all things, by grace having provided us all things which pertain to life and godliness.  When we cry out to God in repentance, He comes to us in our affliction.  In our struggle may we seek Him, desiring Him over healing or salvation because He is worthy.

Flawed but Loved

I saw an article the other day concerning "hands models" who make their living by posing for advertisements.  One of the photos shown struck me as a microcosm of the phoniness of this world and the things of it:  what is portrayed as reality isn't always the case.

As I considered the picture later, I thought of the message it conveys:  a model with a pretty face doesn't always have the hands to match the flawless ideal, and the model with photogenic hands doesn't have the face the advertiser wants.  The world has set up a facade to worship, an impossible ideal to measure up to.  What is considered beautiful today can be cast off as old or ugly tomorrow.  We chase perfection without hope, for even those who have lovely hands are not judged to have the face to match.  Change our appearance as we might, there always remains in us a flaw beyond our grasp.

This is where Jesus Christ meets us in spite of our imperfections.  He does not seek us out for the beauty of our face and reject our hands:  He loves us wholly out of His goodness and grace.  We are not like the model whose face is acceptable but her hands are not presentable.  We cannot measure up to a standard of physical or spiritual perfection, and we are never called to.  The Law was given to show a man his need for forgiveness and not a means to measure righteousness.  No man by working can attain an acceptable standard of righteousness before God.  But when we place our faith in Jesus Christ who died for us, we are accepted by Him and walk in His love.  God demonstrated His love for us when we were yet sinners through Christ dying on Calvary.

Many people think we can earn God's favour or acceptance by our efforts, but this is impossible.  No one can earn God's love by attempts to measure up, by altering our behaviour or trying to "clean up our act."  There is no act which can fool God, for He and our conscience confirms we are sinners who deserve eternal punishment for our sin.  Having received the Gospel and forgiveness by grace through faith we respond by choosing to live in the righteous way which pleases the God who loves and gave Himself for us.  Our identity should not be found in what we do or how we look but in who God is and our reconciled relationship with Him.  We are flawed, but God looks upon those who trust in Him as flawless.

Proverbs 31:30 says, "Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised."  We praise and compliment people for their looks, but those who fear the LORD shall be praised.  This world and the glory of it is passing away.  I love the observation of C.S. Lewis who said Jesus was able to pass through walls to meet with the disciples who hid behind locked doors because in His resurrected state He was the most real thing.  Locked doors and stone walls are mist and vapour before Him who is eternal and awesome.  Only God is worthy of glory and honour, yet God provides undeserving sinners salvation and eternal life with Him by grace.

Buried in the Bowl

"The lazy man buries his hand in the bowl; it wearies him to bring it back to his mouth."

Proverbs 26:15

When I think of this passage a story comes to mind.  Years ago a co-worker told me about a small dog (Chihuahua mix) he owned that had a voracious appetite.  Having bought a new bag of dog food, on a whim he decided to see how much the dog would actually eat.  He cut the top off the bag and laid it down for the hungry and frantic pup's special "all you can eat" meal.  After leaving for awhile, he returned to see how the dog was doing.  The dog was completely exhausted and full, laying on his side with his head in the bag, seemingly unable to move but humorously drew an occasional morsel into his mouth with his tongue.

The lazy man in Solomon's parable is like a fellow who has a bowl of food in front of him--in his own hand even--but it seems too much work to move his hand from the bowl to his mouth.  The irony is someone had gathered or purchased ingredients, prepared the food beforehand, and yet the sluggard determines feeding himself is just too difficult.  The survival of his body depends upon being adequately fed, yet the labour involved is unreasonable.  The work is already mostly done for him, but he cannot see the benefit of working even when he directly benefits from it.

Believe it or not, there is such a thing as a lazy, slothful person.  Working and eating are privileges from God to be celebrated in moderation.  It is possible we can overwork to be rich and overeat and be full; we can shun both of these things to coddle the lazy flesh with idleness.  There are many things we can be busy with that are not productive, useful, or beneficial to ourselves or others.  Paul called out believers in the church over this in 2 Thessalonians 3:7-13:  "For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; ⁸ nor did we eat anyone's bread free of charge, but worked with labour and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, ⁹ not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us. ¹⁰ For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: if anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. ¹¹ For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. ¹² Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread. ¹³ But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good."

Paul set an example of a good worker, one who contributed with labour day and night.  He worked for his food instead of expecting others to provide it for free.  He laid down the principle if a person would not work, they should not eat.  Understand many of these people who would not work were very busy with prying into the lives of others, gossips, and tale-bearers.  The correct order was to work for their food, but these busybodies went from house to house trading bits of gossip for food.  These days we don't need to leave the lounge to engage in gossip, spreading rumours or slander online.  Paul exhorted and commanded such in Christ's name to find honest work and eat food they worked for.

There is a spiritual parallel to consider as well.  Think of the richness of God's Word which provides sustenance for our souls!  We hold the very words of God in our hand, yet we too can bury our hand in the bowl.  We have Bibles but do not bother reading them, or we read the words and are not intentional to practice it.  This spiritual laziness is more concerning to me than the lazy man whose hand rests idle in the bowl of chips or popcorn (revolting as that would be!).  Christians are called to walk in an orderly and honest manner, not to grow wearing in doing good in obedience to the LORD.  Having tasted and seen how good God is our conduct, words, and work ethic is to reflect the faithfulness of God's goodness to us; our possessions should be handled with generosity with the good of others in mind.  We aren't to talk a good game but to demonstrate it as Paul did, working in quietness and eating his own bread.

God has provided wondrous things for us in His Word, and it shameful when we are too lazy to bother to read or take them to heart.  He has already done all the work to give us all that pertains to life and godliness, so let's not bury our hands in the bowl. :)

Ground to Powder

Last night before bed I read the passage in Revelation when the sixth seal is opened, one of many judgments which are coming upon the earth.  God's wrath with be released upon people who have rejected Jesus Christ as it is written in Revelation 6:15-17:  "And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, ¹⁶ and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! ¹⁷ For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"

When I think of lambs, I picture a soft woolly creature feeding on grass or bouncing around a green meadow--not anything capable of wrath and destruction.  Jesus Christ is the Lamb without blemish referred to here, for He is also the Lion of the tribe of Judah.  The first time Jesus walked the earth (as was supposed) the son of Joseph and Mary He came as a gentle and meek Saviour, and when He returns He shall return as a conquering KING OF KINGS.  He is the same Saviour and LORD on both occasions without contradiction.  When we were children the same dad who protected and brought comfort to us with his strength struck fear into our hearts when angered at our lies or disobedience:  the same is true with Jesus.  He came as the Lamb of God, but having been rejected and scorned the manner of His return will be with wrath.

It is a harrowing situation when men plead for the rocks to fall on them to hide them from the face of God and His great wrath.  Yet there is no hiding from the God who sees all, the One who predicted this very thing.  Jesus made an allusion to the "stone rejected by the builders" which God had chosen and made the chief cornerstone.  The builders in the metaphor were the Jewish religious leaders, and Jesus was the stone they rejected.  Jesus said in Matthew 21:44, "And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."  Those who lament the judgment of God and seek refuge in caves, pits, or under rocks that fall upon them have no hope, for their only hope would be to fall on the stone in repentance, faith, and brokenness rather than having the Stone fall on them.  It is ironic to ask for what can only grind to dust.

Psalm 34:18 says, "The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit."  It is true none can stand before a holy God, for His wrath is poured out on the unrighteous.  Since Jesus Christ is our only hope we are called to run to Him, to joyfully accept His invitation to draw near in faith.  If we reject our only salvation, caves and rocks will provide no protection whatsoever from the wrath which is surely coming.  He is fierce and terrible, and the wise tremble before Him in reverent fear.  His power to save is matched only by His wrath against the ungodly, and our righteousness comes only by grace through faith in Him.  Jesus Christ is a sure foundation, our Rock of Salvation, the stone rejected by builders which God has made the Chief Cornerstone.  In Him is forgiveness and salvation today, but those who reject Him will face the full measure of God's wrath someday.  Better to be broken in contrition than ground to powder!