Longsuffering Love

God is infinitely good, and one of the aspects of His character I have appreciated lately is how longsuffering He is.  We labour to avoid suffering however we can, and when we suffer our main objective is to find relief.  If God was not longsuffering, patient, and compassionate He would have wiped us wretched sinners from the globe ages ago.  See how Paul introduces a description of God's love in 1 Corinthians 13:4:  "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up..."  Love suffers long.  The death of Jesus Christ on Calvary was a demonstration of His love:  every insult, physical blow, and slanderous accusation against Him was patiently received.  With every step towards Calvary His longsuffering character was on display.

Having been born again through faith in Jesus Christ, it is God's will this longsuffering love of God would be displayed as we bear our cross daily.  It involves self-sacrifice to walk in love when we are hurting.  I was reminded of this the exhortation to pastor Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:1-2:  "I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: ² preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching."  Those who labour in the Word of God rejoice when we see a hunger in people to feed on God's Word and apply it personally to their lives.  As long as we preach the Word, however, there will be a continual flow of people who do not or will not receive it.  If this were not the case why would rebuke, exhortation, and longsuffering continue to be necessary?  I do not say this as one who has great knowledge or understanding but as one who owns being a weak, flawed, and foolish sinner.  It is only by the grace of God I stand and speak.

Oh, to be longsuffering like Jesus!  As He physically hung on the cross covered with His own blood and the spit of people who rejected Him Jesus said, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do."  The longsuffering love of God continues beyond what is humanly possible to experience.  When God tells us to love one another, follow Him, and daily bear our cross we cannot do this--I cannot do this.  It is not a difficult thing to walk on the narrow road of the fellowship of Christ's suffering with joy:  it is an impossibility only made possible by the life of Jesus Christ living through us because we by faith have been crucified with Him.  To suffer is never man's aspiration, but to be longsuffering is the calling of every believer.  Suffering naturally produces bitterness, but God's love suffers long and is kind without envy, boasting, pride, and keeps no record of wrongs.  How great God's love is!

Not Godforsaken

Places that are inhospitable or bleak are sometimes called "godforsaken," but looks can be deceiving.  No matter how barren the landscape or isolated the place the Bible teaches the presence of the almighty God is available and accessible right there and now.  In the darkest dungeon, in the most frantic emergencies, when no help is coming and no one seems to care, God is there and ready to save.

Remember the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?  They were Jews who were taken captive by the Babylonians and trained to serve King Nebuchadnezzar.  He made an image of gold and commanded when music was played all his subjects would bow down in worship before it.  These three men of faith refused.  They were ultimately thrown into a furnace heated seven times hotter than normal.  In that moment a remarkable miracle occurred:  those who threw them into the fire were consumed by the flames, but only their bonds were burnt off.  They walked free in the midst of the roaring furnace with the Son of God, and when they emerged alive and unharmed from the furnace they did not even smell of smoke.

In Australia we have been reeling from tragedy upon tragedy.  Lives, homes, towns, and countless animals have been lost in the bushfires across the eastern states.  Weeks ago a report reached our shores of a terrible tragedy when White Island erupted in New Zealand and killed many people--including Australians.  Daily there are horrific reports of conflict, tragedy, and great suffering by people all over the globe.  This earth is full of trouble and troubled people looking for someone to blame, looking for answers, trying to make sense of the mayhem.  One thing I know for certain is this world is not godforsaken:  the great I AM has revealed Himself, He has come, and He is here.

Christians look unto Jesus our Saviour who will someday return in glory to judge the world in righteousness.  But in the meantime we are called to walk in love as we follow and serve Him, making disciples of Jesus.  The irony is we can know the abiding presence of Jesus Christ who was forsaken on Calvary when the the sins of the world were laid upon Him.  From the cross He cried out in the darkness, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?" hearkening back to the opening words of Psalm 22 penned by David.  David was not forsaken by God (though it felt like it), but Jesus experienced desolation, cut off from the Father.  Because Jesus was thus afflicted those who trust in Jesus as LORD will never be because atonement has been made.  Just because this world isn't what we wish it was Hebrews 13:5 exhorts us to remember what God has promised: "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

In Christ our Saviour we sinners find all our needs miraculously met because through Him God has supplied all we need for life and godliness.  Our eyes look for hope and help, for answers which evade our sight, but what we see is like a slight-of-hand trick with cups where the hand is faster than the eye.  We who have beheld the glory of God in the person of Jesus Christ can know we are not forsaken, nor the world God loved enough to send His only begotten Son.  God sent Jesus to seek and save the lost, to open the eyes of the blind, to turn hearts back to faith in God so people might be redeemed.  With our renewed minds and faith in Jesus we can see beyond the current circumstances and how we feel to know God is with us and will never leave or forsake us.  It is Jesus Christ who gives the the strength in fiery trials to trust and press on with joy.

Jabez and Prayer

At the moment my family and I are reading through 1 Chronicles, a book heavy with genealogies.  Because the names can be a mouthful and sound foreign to English speakers the temptation might be to skip them.  Even in genealogies there are some delightful insights, like Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10:  "Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, "Because I bore him in pain." ¹⁰ And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, "Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!" So God granted him what he requested."

The Strong's Concordance defines the name "Jabez" as "to grieve, sorrowful."  The birth of Jabez was painful, yet out of pain was borne great blessing because he called on the God of Israel.  He prayed believing and God granted him what he requested.  Jabez is mentioned here because he was more honourable than his brothers, yet his prayer was answered because God is good and gracious.  The prayer uttered by Jabez is not to be viewed as a formula to obtain blessing from God, but all who call on the God of Israel will surely be blessed.  Even those who do not call upon God or acknowledge God's existence have been unknowingly blessed by God without measure.

Jabez called out to God and asked for the blessing of His presence.  Jabez was so named because his mother bore him in pain, but he did not want to be a pain.  Through God's answer to his prayers he was kept from evil and was not defined by his name.  I praise God He answers prayers not to rise above a bad name but to shed our sinful nature by being born again through faith in Jesus.  In a moment the one who repents of sin and trusts in Jesus Christ as Saviour has a new identity and infinite blessing which endures forever.  This is God's will for everyone:  to know, trust, and dwell with Him always.

Many people hope for utopia or enduring peace on earth, but until Jesus Christ in judgment peace will remain a mirage.  Those who receive Christ now are not guaranteed land ownership on earth but a place in heaven where righteousness dwells.  By the grace of God He is not only with us but has made us His dwelling place.  Jesus has redeemed us from the power and penalty of sin, having provided wisdom, guidance, and strength to walk uprightly in a world full of sin.  In this world we will experience pain and suffering, yet one day all things will be made new and our eyes wiped free of every sorrowful tear.  We do not need to wonder if God will answer this prayer, and it is not only the "more honourable" God will hear.  God will answer the humble heart that cries out in faith, "God be merciful to me a sinner!" can be justified right now and for all eternity.

God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.  Praise the LORD, for all blessings come through Him.

Peace be Unto You

God's Word has the miraculous ability to sustain believers in trials.  There is no shortage of unwelcome and troubling news we receive, but a word from God draws our eyes to consider Him.  God knows what we need even before we ask, and He also knows exactly what we need to hear so we can say with the faithful, "I have been greatly helped."

Yesterday in the morning I read through John chapter 20 after Jesus rose from the dead.  Twice in the chapter Jesus addressed disciples who were afraid and did not believe, "Peace be unto you."  What a gracious, compassionate, and merciful thing to say!  They did not earn the right to experience this peace nor were they qualified by their courage.  They had fled from the presence of Jesus during His arrest and Peter denied even knowing Jesus.  Jesus kept the promise made previously in John 14:27 despite their folly:  "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

God's peace is always for us, graciously provided for our benefit.  To experience the peace of God which passes understanding faith in Jesus Christ is required.  Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."  As we lay aside worries and cast our cares upon Jesus because He cares for us the peace of God guards our hearts and minds.  Our feet are shod with the "preparation of the Gospel of peace" though the indwelling Holy Spirit, even as shoes protect bare feet from sharp or hot surfaces.  The Gospel gives us traction to stand.  Jesus has declared "Peace be unto you," and the wise walk in it.

David wrote in Psalm 28:6-7, "Blessed be the LORD, because He has heard the voice of my supplications! ⁷ The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him."  Recalling and receiving the words of Jesus personally when He said, "Peace be unto you" has carried me along throughout the day.  He didn't just say this to anyone but to the fearful, weak, confused, and overwhelmed--to people who followed Jesus who are a lot like me.  If God be for us, who can be against us?