Praise God with Understanding

Over lunch yesterday I shared an engaging conversation about the nature and character of God.  It struck me that no matter how abundant the evidence or plain the facts, at some point faith is required.  God is eternal and infinite in love, wisdom, grace, and goodness.  We humans are finite, locked within time, and our perspective is shockingly limited.  In reaching for better understanding of God and how He operates (who does not share our thoughts, nor are His ways like ours) we cobble together examples which are woefully inadequate using words which cannot do justice to God's reality.  At a funeral or memorial service it is impossible to convey the impact of a single life of a brief span of time:  how can we explain eternity or He who inhabits it?

Because God has graciously revealed Himself through the Word and the person of Jesus Christ we can know Who we worship.  But let us not make the mistake that God is like us any more than a created thing resembles the maker.  He formed Adam from the dust of the ground yet God always has been!  Inventors design and manufacture tools and machines for particular purposes.  A mobile phone looks and behaves nothing like those who designed it, operating on electricity rather than being a living, breathing, thinking person.  A mop bucket, automobile, shoe, or building bear no resemblance to those who engineered or utilise them.  God confronted presumptuous people who assumed He was like them in Psalm 50:19-21:  "You give your mouth to evil, and your tongue frames deceit. ²⁰ You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother's son. ²¹ These things you have done, and I kept silent; you thought that I was altogether like you; but I will rebuke you, and set them in order before your eyes."

It is good to recognise God is someone completely foreign and beyond this world.  This proves difficult when we use familiar allusions like saying "God the Father."  God is a Spirit and does not have a body, but when I think of our heavenly Father and a throne I logically envision something rather based on human anatomy with facial features obscured with white light.  Because God is completely beyond human form, this concrete frame of reference is the best we can do because we live in a concrete, physical world.  This world, relationships, and created living and non-living things can only hint at the order, glory, love, and wisdom of God.  The heavens declare the glory of God but they are not god nor is any created thing worthy of worship.

We cannot comprehend or appreciate the size (big or small) of all God has created, yet by faith we can worship and praise the One God who has created all.  Just like fuel for vehicles and battery power for tools or phones runs out, so our understanding has limitations and an end.  There are things we will never fully understand but we are enabled and called to worship God according to our level of understanding.  It would be silly to allow what we cannot know erode our faith in what and Who we do know.  I do not understand how bones form in the womb of a mother, but I know they can and do.  We are all walking miracles by the grace of God, the One we celebrate and worship with thanksgiving.  As our knowledge of God grows like a baby in the womb, may our praise and gratefulness increase for eternity.  God is nothing like us, but He has loved us enough to become one of us to save, transform, and redeem us forever.

The Redeemer's Voice

Psalm 77 by Asaph is a great example that in our distress it is good to remember who God is and all He has done.  We easily forget to relate God's awesome deeds in times past to our current situation.  Because God is faithful the provision, protection, and help in the past enables us to trust Him in the present.  Perhaps we can't predict how or when God will do His wonders, but He will.

Asaph wrote in Psalm 77:11-15, "I will remember the works of the LORD; surely I will remember Your wonders of old. ¹² I will also meditate on all Your work, and talk of Your deeds. ¹³ Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary; Who is so great a God as our God? ¹⁴ You are the God who does wonders; You have declared Your strength among the peoples. ¹⁵ You have with Your arm redeemed Your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah"  Instead of racking his brain to figure out how he could change his circumstances for the better, Asaph meditated on all the times God delivered His people in the past.  He compared the ways of God to powerless idols and fatally flawed mythological gods, and with the true God there was found no equal or real comparison.  Who is a great redeemer like the God of Israel, a Saviour who does miraculous wonders?

Asaph continued in Psalm 77:16-20:  "The waters saw You, O God; the waters saw You, they were afraid; the depths also trembled. ¹⁷ The clouds poured out water; the skies sent out a sound; Your arrows also flashed about. ¹⁸ The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; the lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook. ¹⁹ Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters, and Your footsteps were not known. ²⁰ You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron."  If you have ever been outside in a powerful lightning storm or rattled by a strong earthquake, these natural events can be harrowing and strike fear into the most courageous hearts.  Before the presence of the Almighty it was the water, wind, lightning, thunder, and earth which trembled with fear.  When a way of escape and deliverance from the pursuing army was impossible God was the Way, leading His redeemed people through the Red Sea.

The last verse provides a surprising shift from the verses previous:  the great God which defeats enemies, delivers from death, and causes the elements to tremble with reverence, is a gentle Good Shepherd towards His chosen people.  The earth rightly trembles before its Creator, the One who reaches down as a loving father who takes the hand of his frightened child and says with a smile, "Don't be afraid!  Here I am, and I won't leave of forsake you."  Isn't it amazing the God whose voice is like thunder speaks in a soft and still voice which calms troubled souls who trust Him?  God continues to deliver, lead, and save His redeemed as He always has.

Rejoicing in the LORD Always

A hit song by Bobby McFerrin in the 80's repeated the phrase, "Don't worry, be happy!"  Perhaps the sentiment could be equated with the Aussie standby "No worries" or Disney's "Hakuna Matata" from the Lion King movie.  It suggests a change of mind and focus, that instead of fretting over circumstances out of our control we simply choose happiness instead.  While we can agree worrying can't change our situation, the pursuit of happy feelings is often futile.  The idea worrying and happiness cannot co-exist to some degree is unfounded, for the happiest people endure worrying times.

I am reminded of an approach different to the McFerrin's lyrics by Paul's words in the book of Philippians.  This letter was written from prison where he had been wrongfully arrested and imprisoned for years and said in Philippians 4:4:  "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!" Rejoicing in the LORD is very different from being "happy."  Happiness often depends on what happens, but regardless of the circumstances of life we always have great cause to rejoice in the LORD.  God is worthy of all honour, glory, and praise, the sovereign KING over all for eternity who loves us!  A fruit of the Spirit is joy, so not only is God worthy of being perpetually celebrated but supplies fullness of joy to our lives.  God works in us to both will and do His good pleasure, and Paul directs us to rejoice in the LORD always.

Jesus modeled and taught His followers that instead of worrying we ought to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all we need will be added to us.  It feels good to be happy when it lasts, but the huge pitfall of seeking happiness is it is self-focused.  Solomon used his great wealth and power to pursue happiness and fulfillment but he ended up empty.  It is ironic narcissistic people who seek happiness tend to be overwhelmingly dissatisfied.  Paul clues all in on a key to overcoming worry in Philippians 4:6-8:  "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. ⁸ Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things."

The one who rejoices in God always is to pray to God instead of worrying.  The focus is to be on God, not the situation or even how bad we feel.  There is one startling omission from what we might expect in verse 8:  there is not one mention of self.  None of us can rise to the standard God has set concerning truth, nobility, or being absolutely just, pure, lovely, good, virtuous, or praiseworthy.  Rejoicing in God, praying to God, thinking about God, that is the place we who naturally worry discover enduring peace and security.

The Power of Christ

We like the promise of a sure thing, don't we?  Unknowns and uncertainties weigh upon our minds and can paralyse us with worry, fear, and frustration.  We like guarantees even when the assurance provided by a seller may not be worth the paper it is written on.  As our experiences stack up over the years there is likely a growing list of occasions we have been cheated, lied to, and taken advantage of.  All this works to make us cynical and skeptical of finding honesty and fairness in the world.  When we walk by sight this jaded perspective can cloud our view of God and undermine faith in Him.

It has been quipped the only things you can count on in life is death and taxes, but in reality there could be much added to the list:  in this world are liars, cheaters, hypocrites, thieves, and unscrupulous, greedy people.  But I am glad to say there is one Being we can count on who alone is greater than all the evil the world can conjure up:  God!  We can count on God's goodness, love, grace, and provision in all circumstances of life.  Claims of a "cure-all" drug or tonic rightly should be met with skepticism, but God has proven He is a Saviour of all who trust in Him.  Christians can have the absolute confidence of a young child in his father's strength because Jesus Christ has conquered sin and death by His death and resurrection.  He has without fail provided forgiveness and eternal life for all who trust in Him.

Some Christians place a great deal of emphasis on the fact Jesus healed all who were brought to Him to assert God's will is all can be immediately healed of their infirmities:  if we continue to suffer from a condition or deformity it is likely because we have not adequately placed faith in God.  Now it is true Jesus healed all brought to Him, and I believe it is God's will to heal.  But I believe Jesus healed all to show there was no malady, illness, or condition beyond His power to heal--not to say in every case He will bring immediate physical healing.  It is evident there are things God allows on earth which were never His will:  sin, disease, and death.  God is not willing any should perish but there are many who do.  God is able to redeem even a most awful thing like the crucifixion of the righteous Son of God to accomplish His good purposes.

God provides a great blessing to us by the unknowns in this life because they drive us to despair or to trust Him more.  Because they failed to drive out the inhabitants of Canaan God allowed them to remain to test His people, to see if they would trust and obey Him or not.  He compared the enemies He allowed to dwell among them as "snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish..." (Joshua 23:13).  God allowed a "messenger of Satan," a spiritual entity to buffet Paul, and he prayed it would depart from him.  It may be a shock to us God would say "No" to Paul three times, but God had His own purposes behind it.  2 Corinthians 12:9-10 relates, "And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰ Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

In everything God allows His grace is sufficient for us.  We prefer to immediately remove what we perceive to be the source of discomfort, to be physically healed, to be delivered from messengers of Satan, but sometimes for His own reasons God lovingly declines.  It was in the season of pain and certainty of difficulty the power of Christ rested upon Paul.  Isn't that a worthy trade in our favour, to be permitted to suffer what we know God could heal or drive away in an instant so we might walk in God's grace, increased faith, and the power of Christ?  Do you see it?  Jesus Christ is the only One we can count on, our only Refuge, the only path to healing, deliverance, and eternal life.  Righteous Job said of God, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him..." (Job 13:15).  Let us boldly come before God's throne room of grace to seek Him and the healing only He can supply, believing He will ultimately do so, leaving the timing of the thing to Him.  In the meantime may we walk in the power of Christ and have all confidence in our great God, the Saviour and lover of our souls.