Better than Compensation

After I injured my knee playing baseball years ago, I was amazed how the body unconsciously adjusts to avoid further pain by compensating.  Without thinking I favoured my other leg and learned how to avoid uncomfortable positions.  By the time I was diagnosed with a torn ACL and and had surgery to replace the ligament, I suffered a significant amount of muscle wastage on the affected quadriceps.  What was once my dominant leg had become less used and weaker due to over-compensation for the injury.   Because the leg hurt I didn't use it as I should even after the surgery, and it took a long time with intentional effort to be restored.  It is natural for us to avoid pain when we can, yet doing so can prevent us from seeking help.

The example of the results of over-compensation to avoid pain are not only seen in the physical bodies of people.  A hidden wound in our hearts and minds can lead us to withdraw from social interactions or to over-compensate with gregarious carelessness.  The person who senses a lack in one area of their lives is spurned on to great achievement or acquiring much in another area.  Like a pendulum in a clock swings from one side to the other, inner hurts pushes people to pursue pleasure to mask or cover them.  Many under the conviction of sin or in the depths of grief have sought to numb the pain with drugs or alcohol.  In many cases there is a real risk of spiraling into ruin unless the source of the hurt is exposed before the LORD for healing and restoration.

Compensation means to give equal value to, and my favouring one leg over the other in walking was  revealed by shrinking muscles to be unequal.  It means I could not risk running, jumping or quick movements to stand or turn.  My knee injury affected the entire way I walked and moved.  Sometimes we might imagine a mental, emotional, or spiritual wound can be contained in one aspect of our lives or way of thinking, but this is untrue.  A broken leg or palpitating heart affects the whole body, and the lives of believers are connected as members of the Body of Christ, the church.  The effects of over-compensation are not always as easy to see in our lives as when I injured my leg, yet the reality is we must bring our hurts, pain and grief to Jesus for Him to heal and restore.

Praise the LORD He is able to identify the source of our troubles and do a restorative, healing work by His grace.  So many of our troubles come from sin and self, our pride that refuses to surrender before God in faith and obedience.  My knee injury was self-inflicted as I was simply running, and there was no one to blame for the ligament that gave way.  It wasn't because I was being malicious or self-destructive:  I was just rounding first base!  It may be satisfying on some level to blame others, our circumstances or growing old for the injuries we have picked up over the years, but this insight gives us no power to be healed or progress in joy, thanksgiving and gratitude for God's goodness and faithfulness to us.  To those who are hurting, to those with hidden pains, conviction of sin or shame, come to the LORD Jesus who loves, heals and gives rest for our souls.

When we have been wronged we may demand compensation by the guilty party, but God's mercy and grace trumps any compensation provided by man.  A financial windfall will not soothe our wounds, nor will an apology right wrongs.  Only God is righteous, just and His grace is sufficient for us.  His divine goodness according to the riches of His grace is our only hope to move forward.  Getting what you are owed or seeing justice done is not as satisfying as God's grace freely given and received by faith in Jesus.  I choose being compassed by God's grace and mercy than compensation any day.

Developing Commitment to Others

Lately I've had some meaningful discussions around the concept of biblical forgiveness.  More than "saying sorry" or "accepting an apology," forgiveness is all about releasing the offender of wrongdoing in obedience to God coupled with a desire to restore relationship with a brother or sister.  Forgiveness involves both parties, for a person must admit they have erred to receive the benefits of it.  I can forgive an offender before he admits he has done wrong, but there must be submission in love to receive that forgiveness in moving forward together.  If we are unwilling to press on in unity with a brother or sister who has admitted doing wrong and asked for forgiveness, it is a fair question to consider whether the forgiveness we are offering is genuine.

The reality is offences even among people in the body of Christ can be allowed to simmer.  Like festering wounds without antiseptic, the spiritual gangrene of unforgiveness and bitterness can begin to consume what was once a healthy limb.  Ephesians 5:15-21 says concerning our need to walk in the light of Christ: "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, ¹⁶ redeeming the time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸ And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ submitting to one another in the fear of God."  Being filled with the Holy Spirit is the way our lives will bear fruit of the Spirit manifested in love, joy, patience and meekness.  Being "Spirit-filled" is not primarily shown by speaking in tongues or interpretation but with a joyful attitude of thanksgiving and submitting to one another in the fear of God.

In his book God in You, pastor David Jeremiah made this useful observation I agree with:

"I have bumped around the evangelical church almost all of my life, and I am ready to go on record with this observation:  most of the difficulties we have in church, if you do a postmortem on them, arise from the fact that people have not developed a real commitment to one another.  Our commitment to each other is so shallow!  We are much more committed to our own interests.  As a result, we're ready to go to war over the most trivial things.  We're ready to die for green carpet or padded pews or the type of music that gets played during communion.

Yes, you and I may disagree about certain things.  But don't we love the same LORD?  Aren't we both committed to the power of the Spirit in our lives?  Don't we have the same goal to reach the world for Christ?  We can disagree about some of the peripheral things, but we had better stay focused on the things that bind us together.  We can't have a submissive attitude if we don't do that." (Jeremiah, David. God in You. Walk Thru the Bible Ministries, 1998. page 183.)

I don't know if there has been an age that has glorified the right of the individual against what God says more than today.  We must be willing to develop commitment to one another--not an agenda or church brand--and this means laying aside differences to embrace people.  It is easier to divide over disagreements rather than submitting to one another because this requires us to humble ourselves and extend grace to others.  God's word stands supreme and says what wisely walking in the power of the Holy Spirit looks like:  redeeming the time, speaking with praise to God, making melody in our hearts to the LORD, giving thanks always for all things to God, and submitting to one another.  People are encouraged to know they are loved, accepted and forgiven even when mistakes are made, and forgiving one another as we have been forgiven by the LORD is a huge part of daily living out our personal decision to follow Christ.  This commitment to our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ is all of grace, and may we learn to humbly extend and receive forgiveness we need to walk in agreement with God.

Enter God's Rest

What treasure is found in the pages of God's word!  For the hungry soul there is satisfaction, for those overwhelmed by troubles there is comfort, for the erring there is correction and for the weary there is rest found by faith in God.  In the C.S. Lewis Chronicles of Narnia books, children visiting their uncle enjoyed exploring his palatial residence.  As if this wasn't interesting or amazing enough, when Lucy ventured into a simple wardrobe she entered another land called Narnia that was filled with talking beasts and adventure.  One sentence, one verse, a single word from God in the scripture is like that:  it opens up a new world of wisdom, light, joy and rest for the one who trusts in the LORD.

Today I was impacted by a detail I had not considered before in Psalm 95:8-11:  "Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, ⁹ when your fathers tested Me; they tried Me, though they saw My work. ¹⁰ For forty years I was grieved with that generation, and said, 'It is a people who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know My ways.' ¹¹ So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.'"  Knowing the historical timeline of the events following the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt is important, for the emphasis is on the 40 years after the children of Israel were barred from entering Canaan for 40 years.  God brought them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and gave them His law on Sinai.  When He brought them to the promised land, they listened to the evil report of 10 spies and not to God, Moses, Joshua or Caleb.  Because they refused to enter into the land, even declaring their intention to return to Egypt, God promised for 40 years they would not enter in and that generation would perish in the wilderness.

Now if I was one of those people for whom the window of opportunity to enter Canaan was permanently closed, I would likely have regretted that decision for the rest of my life.  However, that is not what grieved God.  He did not say, "Oh, if only you had entered Canaan when you had the chance!"  His lament was during that 40 years in the wilderness they tempted God, went astray in their hearts and did not know God--despite the daily miracle of manna and His presence physically manifested before them continually.  Though they had not entered into Canaan, there was rest possible for them wherever God led them by the knowledge of God and hearts surrendered to Him in faith.  But because they did not know God or trust Him, they were denied God's rest just like they were barred from the Promised Land.

Rest is not found in a particular point on the globe, in holidays or retirement, or by sleeping in late.  Real rest is found in knowing and trusting God with all our hearts, joyfully following Him wherever He leads us.  This has tremendous application for Christians today who have been born again by faith in Jesus who can feel surprisingly restless, filled with cares, worries and fears.  Could it be that you or I am included in the number of people in the wilderness who tested God in unbelief, those who did not truly know God or walk in His ways even though they were led by God by a pillar of cloud or fire?  Jesus is the One who promised to give rest for our souls through the Gospel, and it is a rest we do not need to fall short of.  Do not imagine the rest God offers by faith is barred for you because of a decision you made 40 years ago.  If the way to rest is shut for you it is because of the unbelief and rebellion in your hardened heart before God right now, and there remains hope and rest in Him.

The writer of Hebrews made it abundantly clear this stopping short of God's rest by unbelief can describe the experience of many Christians today.  Just because the Hebrews did eventually enter the land promised to their fathers it did not follow they entered God's rest.  Hebrews 4:7-11 says, "...again He designates a certain day, saying in David, "Today," after such a long time, as it has been said: "Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." ⁸ For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. ⁹ There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. ¹⁰ For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. ¹¹ Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience."  Today there also remains a rest for the people of God, a rest made available through faith in Jesus Christ before we enter the eternal state in the presence of God in heaven, through the presence of the Holy Spirit who indwells us.  Instead of believing this rest could be entered into by force (like the Hebrews who later attempted in vain to fight their way in), it is a rest enjoyed by those who have ceased to justify themselves and rely on the work Jesus has done to save, redeem and reconcile us to Himself, our righteousness having been imputed by faith in Him.

It is in this context Hebrews 4:12-13:  "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. ¹³ And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."  It is through the Bible we learn of God and His ways, and God's word also has much to reveal about us too.  We might be fine with blaming our lack of rest today on our circumstances or the fact we made a regrettable decision long ago for we can be more content to play the victim than to admit we have been drowning in unbelief and rebellion against God because of our hard, obstinate hearts all along.  The word of God cuts through all our excuses and blame and goes right to the heart of the matter, that if we are not experiencing the rest God has promised and provided in Himself it is we who are responsible to repent of our sin and submit to Him, and He is gracious and merciful to change us when we yield ourselves to Him today. :)

The Word of His Grace

Last night when our family read the Bible after dinner, we were treated with this passage about the missionary efforts of Paul and Barnabas in Acts 14:1-3:  "Now it happened in Iconium that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed. ² But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren. ³ Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands."  There were a number of interesting revelations of God's wisdom presented here.

The first is how God has given believers the opportunity to make known the Gospel of grace so others will also believe in Jesus as LORD and Saviour.  Empowered by the Holy Spirit, God used Paul and Barnabas to bring many Jews and Greeks in the synagogue to saving faith in Christ.  Whilst their message was gladly received by some, verse 2 says unbelieving Jews wielded influence to "poison" or embitter the minds of people against them.  It is remarkable to me how the poison of bitterness and doubt can so permeate the mind of a person it blinds them to the truth.  How careful ought we ought to be in considering our hearts, for bitterness unchecked by repentance before God leads people to negatively impact others.

The second point is when faced with poisoned, embittered minds "...therefore they stayed there are long time, speaking boldly in the LORD."  There were occasions in the ministry of Paul and Barnabas they shook the dust off their feet and left teaching the Jews or in cities where they were strongly opposed.  But in Iconium they remained a long time.  This illustrates the power of the Gospel to transform hearts and minds by the power of the Holy Spirit.  They did not throw up their hands in frustration and say, "Your minds have been poisoned against us and there's no sense even talking to you any more!" and leave.  They remained among people poisoned by unbelief because they offered them the truth of God's word, the divine antidote for all lies and unbelief.

The final point is the way God's word was described:  "the word of His grace."  Instead of being deterred by poisoned minds, they spoke boldly and demonstrated the grace of God by their persistent witness.  The synagogues every week read the Law of Moses, and Jesus was the One of whom the Law spoke they ought to give heed.  The word Paul and Barnabas spoke was not words alone but confirmed by miraculous signs.  It was not the opposition to the Gospel that motivated them to press on in boldly proclaiming the word of grace but the Saviour they knew, followed and believed.  He came to earth to seek and save sinners like Paul and Barnabas themselves, and it is no secret how viciously Paul (who was previously called Saul) opposed Jesus at one stage.  If God could purify murderous Saul's heart and mind, not one of those poisoned minds was beyond the saving grace of the Gospel.

How gracious is God to be patient with minds poisoned against the Gospel and the word of grace so they too might be redeemed.  When you come in contact with a mind poisoned against the brethren, know that Jesus Christ is the only hope for such a one.  Instead of being a sign to move on, it may in fact be an invitation to stay a long time, speaking boldly in the LORD, knowing God will bear witness to the word of His grace.  What love God has shown us, and may we demonstrate love for God and others by our faithful endurance to walk in the light of the Gospel.