Our Strength and Portion Forever

Like the churning sea is never at rest, our hearts can be troubled under a calm exterior.  We may not even realise the depths of our pains until we are brought to a breaking point brought on by stress, grief, rejection, physical discomfort or a myriad of other things.  The constant cares of this life can lull us into a sort of stupor that pain intensely felt--like the paddles of a defibrillator pressed to our chest--snaps us back to the reality we need God more than anything because He is truly our life.  In our happy moments when all seemed right in the world we imagined we were drawing near to God, but in reality we only basked in His goodness or how we felt at the time.  Those soul-crushing moments we experience can reveal this reality to us, how we have neglected to seek the LORD with our whole hearts and trust Him.

At times I have felt so low I have desired to be done with living because I caught a glimpse of my own wretchedness and inability to do a thing to help myself or others.  For a brief moment due to a selfish, despondent perspective, it is likely all of us have also been presented a hideous world without God, a life where He does not exist or is stripped of power.  It is a hopeless existence where happiness, prosperity and fruitfulness depends wholly upon our efforts, and we are acutely aware of our abysmal track record of complete failure and incompetence.  In the depths of feelings of desolation and hopelessness God's word brings God back into focus again and quickens us to seek Him desperately for restoration.  Our painful feelings are redeemed as we draw near to God with renewed faith, revived by the shock of our foolish, beastly selfishness and self-pity.

Asaph, a worship leader in the temple in Jerusalem, also had this experience personally.  In Psalm 73 Asaph's focus was drawn to consider those who did not seek or know God and how they seemed to prosper.  He wondered if his allegiance to God and sacrifices to serve Him were worth it when it seemed to pay no immediate dividends.  He felt "plagued all day long" and "chastened every morning" (verse 14).  Asaph came to realise God is infinitely more trustworthy than his feelings, and repented of his doubts and unbelief brought on by troubles.  He declared in Psalm 73:22-24, "I was so foolish and ignorant; I was like a beast before You. ²³ Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. ²⁴ You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory."  Isn't this wonderful?  Asaph felt alone but he was not alone, for God was with him, guided him by the hand with His counsel and would afterward receive him to glory.

When we feel cast down and depressed by troubling news and circumstances, how good it is to draw near to the LORD in a way we did not in our comfort and prosperity!  Being cast down and wallowing in our sorrows as those without the hope of Jesus, the Gospel and a glorious future with our LORD reveals the folly of our selfishness and unbelief.  We can feel lost in the dark when the Light of the World Jesus Christ stands ready to save and deliver.  What Asaph said next is very instructive in Psalm 73:25-26:  "Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. ²⁶ My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."  Should our desires be fixed on what is not we ignore the God who was, is and will ever be.  Our pains are often the realisation what we love and desire is not God alone and an indication of our failure to seek Him.

Instead of feeling everything is against us in troubles, let us remember God is for us, is with us, and will guide us.  The Strength of my heart and my Portion forever will afterward receive me to glory, and how blessed we are to seek His face and have fellowship with Him today.  Christian, we have a God who is sovereign over the heavens, the earth and our hearts.  The God of heaven and earth loves us without fail, and praise Him for His faithfulness. :)

God's Glorious Righteousness

"I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. ⁵ And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was."

John 17:4-5

When Thomas asked Jesus to show them God the Father Jesus responded, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." (John 14:9)  Jesus previously revealed to all in John 10:30, "I and my Father are One."  Jesus was sent by God as a revelation of Himself in human form, the Christ who walked with men who beheld His glory.  The only begotten Son of God Jesus was tasked to seek and save the lost and lay down His life to redeem sinners, and as the hour on Calvary approached the LORD sought the Father in prayer.

I find intriguing the ways Jesus addressed God the Father in the prayer found in John 17, during which He called "Father" many times.  In John 17:11 He called Him "Holy Father," a title that should be reserved for the almighty God alone.  He used another adjective in John 17:25:  "O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me."  God is distinctly holy and righteous, sacred and upright without flaw.  There is absolutely nothing or no one like Him, perfect without change.  The redemption of sinful mankind would not be possible unless God was righteous and could justly impute it to the undeserving.  No man is righteous except Jesus Christ, no not one.

David spoke of God's righteousness many times in his songs as seen in Psalm 71:15-16:  "My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness and Your salvation all the day, for I do not know their limits. ¹⁶  I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only."  Righteousness is a quality and characteristic of God we are aware of but may not appreciate as much as we should.  We ought to marvel over God's righteousness more than the most brilliant sunrise; we should proclaim the righteousness of God more than topics of personal interest.  God's righteousness is glorious, not because we benefit from it, but because He is awesome.

God doesn't just claim or believe to be right:  He is righteous and will ever be righteous without fail.  A glorious sunrise or sunset retains its brilliance for a minute or two, but God is righteous now and forever.  This is the righteousness God has imputed to believers in Jesus by faith in Him (Phil. 3:9).  Have you ever considered how glorious God's righteousness is revealed in His Son?

Resist by Grace

How good and fitting it is to magnify and extol God who extends grace to us!  By God's grace we live and have our being, and by His grace we stand.  Even when trials, troubles and temptations arise, by faith we are divinely enables to draw near to God.

After assuring believers that God gives grace to the humble James 4:7 reads, "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."  Our submission to God provides strength and wisdom to resist the devil who is a murderer, thief and liar from the beginning.  God told Adam the day he ate of the fruit of the forbidden tree he would die, and Satan worked to achieve just that.  He enticed Eve by lies and appealed to the beauty of the fruit and how it could benefit her.  Adam and Eve lacked the capacity to resist Satan because they had not fully surrendered themselves in faith to God and His word.

Satan tried a similar tactic with Jesus after the Holy Spirit led Him to the wilderness.  Jesus was able to resist the temptation to turn stones into bread after he was hungry, not having eaten for 40 days.  Jesus exposed the folly of Satan's lies with the unchanging truth of scripture.  When Satan was unable to sway Jesus from the way of righteousness, he departed from him.  Like thieves who are looking for easy targets who are isolated from others to help them, the devil looks for people who are self-confident and are not humble before the LORD.  For us sinners James 4:8 explains what this looks like:  "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded."  It is drawing near to God in faith that prepares us to resist temptation to sin, doubt and not to be troubled.  We do well to avoid the pitfall in our resistance the Hebrews stumbled into, that of resisting the Holy Spirit.

1 Peter 5:6-11 shows how faith in Jesus Christ who has overcome Satan, sin and death is critical for us to resist evil:  "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, ⁷ casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. ⁸ Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. ⁹ Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. ¹⁰ But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. ¹¹ To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen."  When we are tempted to sin, it is an invitation for us to open the cage of a roaring lion who looks to devour us.  Satan walks about chain-free at the moment, seeking an opportunity to pounce.  But the God of all grace, Who is greater than all and has called us to eternal glory, looks to perfect, establish, strengthen and settle us in faith in Jesus today.

As we submit to God and humbly seek Jesus Christ, we resist the devil steadfast in the faith.  We all suffer many things in this life and it can seem all is against us.  But we rest assured that our gracious God is for us and has overcome every adversary.  The suffering, tests and  troubles He allows by His grace are working to perfect and sanctify us having been justified through the Gospel.  Let us extol and exalt the God who will exalt us in due time according to the riches of His grace.

The Offering of Praise

"I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving. ³¹ This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bull, which has horns and hooves. ³² The humble shall see this and be glad; and you who seek God, your hearts shall live."

Psalm 69:30-32

In the Law of Moses God made provisions for people who did not possess great wealth to offer sacrifices acceptable to the LORD.  After the period of 40 days passed after Mary gave birth to Jesus, Joseph and Mary went to the temple in Jerusalem and brought two turtle doves or pigeons for Mary's atonement and cleansing (Luke 2:22-24).  Leviticus 12:8 says these birds were acceptable if a lamb was too costly to afford.  God did not heap guilt upon those who could not afford a lamb, nor was it a gauge of spirituality and priorities.  By faith in Him through obedience God was well pleased.

If Joseph and Mary could not afford a lamb, it is evident an ox would be out of the question.  There were people who never had the money to have an ox of their own and thus never had the means to offer one as a sacrifice to the LORD.  David realised God did not value the sacrifices of people due to the monetary value of the offering, but received gladly the praises and thankful adoration of His people.  Giving a more expensive gift did not make a person more acceptable before God.  Instead of feeling guilty he could not afford to offer a lamb or an ox, the humble soul could rejoice in the acceptance of his praise and person by the holy, gracious God of Israel.

Luke 21:1-4 provides insight into God's economy as Jesus watched people in the Temple:  "And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, ² and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. ³ So He said, "Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; ⁴ for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had."  Isn't this amazing?  The woman put very little monetary value into the treasury, yet was credited with giving more than anyone else.  She had little yet she gave, and she did so from a heart that relied upon God.  It is likely the rich men who put in much were honoured and revered by men for their sacrifice, yet God singled out the woman as giving the greatest gift.

It may be people would not be willing to part with a penny to hear you sing a song, but God is pleased when we praise and thank Him with our voices.  You need not be a Grammy winning artist or to have dulcet tones of a professionally trained singer to sing songs worthy to present a song before the KING OF KINGS.  God looks upon our hearts redeemed and saved by His grace, and accepts those who seek Him gladly.  Give thanks to the LORD, you His people, for He is pleased to be sought by you today.