When You're Not Feeling It

At times when I teach through a book of the Bible, I also land on the same book in my daily reading of Scripture.  This is the case as I am reading through the book of Jeremiah.  This faithful man of God is an encouragement and inspiration to Christians today, and I find his outlook strikingly similar to the wrestlings of psalmists.  Jeremiah expressed a full range of sorrowful feelings and grief over the spiritual state of God's people, how he was persecuted for doing good, and struggled to process his troubles in light of God's promises.  Because Jeremiah's expectations were dashed, he struggled to see how he was blessed.

Jeremiah did not charge God with doing wrong, but he was open with God concerning how he felt.  In Jeremiah 15 he acknowledged God knew him perfectly, how he suffered rebuke for speaking the truth of God's word, and that he delighted in God's word.  He rejoiced in God's word as his delight, and did not sit in the seat of the mockers.  David wrote in Psalm 1:1-3:  "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; ² but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. ³ He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper."  What David sang was absolutely true, yet Jeremiah wasn't feeling it.

If God was a healer, why did Jeremiah's pain remain perpetual and his wound incurable (Jer. 15:18)?  Since God is the giver of living water, how could it be Jeremiah felt dry and parched--like a tree that had been uprooted?  In the midst of such overwhelming feelings the wisdom and grace of God is seen, for the LORD is all these things and more for His people.  The troubled feelings and desperate times experienced by Jeremiah were God's means to draw the wavering prophet back to the LORD.  Under Law Jeremiah likely had a legalistic outlook and felt entitled to temporal blessings of peace, prosperity and divine protection when he remained upright but found himself under assault by his own people.  Yet the true prosperity God brings transcends the temporal, for the blessing of God's people is found in God Himself come what may.  When we feel troubled and out of control, we can rest knowing God knows all that has befallen us and is ever faithful to to His promises, covenant and word.

God revealed Jeremiah's feelings had begun to lead him astray from reliance and looking to the LORD in His answer in Jeremiah 15:19-20:  "Therefore thus says the LORD:  “If you return, then I will bring you back; you shall stand before Me; if you take out the precious from the vile, you shall be as My mouth.  Let them return to you, but you must not return to them. 20 And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall; and they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you; for I am with you to save you and deliver you,” says the LORD."  Troubled feelings led Jeremiah to drift from His only hope of deliverance, salvation and healing:  the God of Israel!  God gently exhorted Jeremiah to return to Him, to make a difference between the precious and the vile, and determine not to return to what was vile--unbelief, fear of man, accusations God deceived him or left him alone.  Attacks would come, but God would not allow anyone to prevail against Jeremiah because God was with him to save and deliver him.

Isn't it encouraging God is with those who trust in Him to save and deliver us?  In Isaiah God told the stranger or eunuch among his people not to feel alone or like a "dry tree" when God would give them a place and name better than sons and daughters.  Those who joined themselves to God in faith would be joyful in His house of prayer, they would be accepted by Him, and the LORD would gather the outcasts to Himself (Isaiah 56:3-8).  Knowing we are loved, accepted, protected and blessed by God continually feels amazing, and by faith in our unchanging awesome God we abide in His love.  We may not feel blessed at all times, but we can know we are blessed and bless God as David sang in Psalm 34:1 for He is worthy:  "I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth."  When we seek the LORD He will hear us and deliver us from all our fears--and from troubled feelings too.

Healing for Broken Hearts

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"

Jeremiah 17:9

When it comes to matters of the heart, God is the only true expert.  He answered His own question in following verse:  "I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings." (Jeremiah 17:10)  Not only does God know the thoughts, motives and intent of every person, He is willing and able to do what no one could ever do:  to give to every man according to His own ways.  Christians who have come to Christ in faith and repentance of sin continue to be made more aware of our sinfulness as we grow in spiritual maturity.  We never knew how deep our sinfulness, rebellion and folly went without the divine illumination from God, His word and conviction of the Holy Spirit.

The people of Sydney, the nation of Australia and the whole world watched in horror and disbelief as Jews were targeted by gunmen at Bondi Beach at a gathering to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah.  Many were killed and injured in the despicable and brazen attack upon those in attendance at this joyous Jewish festival.  That anyone would plot to kill innocent people at a festive gathering, to obtain weapons and ammunition, and to methodically slaughter others is unthinkable to most.  But this massacre, like other massacres and murders before it, appears to be carefully thought out and planned by people with wicked hearts who imagined, conspired and implemented their plot to kill.

Witnesses, commentators and politicians have expressed grief, sorrow, and anger at what transpired at Bondi, and the natural reaction when such awful, heartbreaking tragedies occur is to attempt to identify what went wrong.  Some have blamed the lack of education or government inaction against antisemitism; some have said gun laws are weak and need to be strengthened.  Others have pointed to the dangers of Islamic radicalisation or immigration being extended to dangerous people.  What I have not heard anyone talk about is the problem of the heart of killers who premeditatedly and systematically pointed firearms at people to murder them--because we can't imagine the darkness of such hearts that would justify or condone such evil.  Perhaps it is not discussed due to the sinful condition of the hearts of man is not something laws, education, vetting system or government bureaucracy can do anything about.

Because of sin, our hearts are deceitful and wicked.  God who knows the depth of the wickedness within us is able to supply hearts as He said in Ezekiel 36:26, "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh."  Jesus Christ established a new covenant in His own blood, and by faith in Him we receive a new heart and new Spirit.  Those who are in Christ by faith are enabled to do as Ephesians 4:22-24 says:  "...that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, ²³ and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, ²⁴ and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness."  Because God has given me a new heart, my heart breaks for all involved:  the dead and wounded victims and their families, those who were terrorised by the events and even for the wicked gunmen who will be judged by the God of Israel and receive their just compensation.

The God of Israel not only knows what wickedness is in the hearts of men and can give new hearts to those who trust Him, but He is able to heal broken hearts.  Jesus said He came to fulfil this very thing when He read from the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue in Luke 4:18-19:  "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; ¹⁹ to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."  This is entirely consistent with God of whom the psalmist said in Psalm 147:3:  "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."  By His grace God puts a love in our hearts we did not possess before being born again--extended even to those guilty of grievous sin.  Today and every day, may the Light of the World Jesus Christ and His love shine through His people so those in darkness would be drawn to Him, redeemed and healed.

Hearts Turned to God

I read a passage of Scripture recently that reminded me of trips I have taken to Cambodia with a medical team to share the love of Jesus.  It is a land filled with images, pagodas, and many households have a spirit house in the yard with offerings.  God distinguished Himself from all other idols, the works of the hands of man.  God said to His people in Deuteronomy 32:35-38:  "Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; their foot shall slip in due time; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things to come hasten upon them.' ³⁶ "For the LORD will judge His people and have compassion on His servants, when He sees that their power is gone, and there is no one remaining, bond or free. ³⁷ He will say: 'Where are their gods, the rock in which they sought refuge? ³⁸ Who ate the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offering? Let them rise and help you, and be your refuge."

While idols made of wood and stone could not move, speak or do anything, God is the creator who does everything.  He is able to take vengeance and bring calamity upon His enemies; He will judge His people, have compassion on His servants, helps and is a refuge for His people.  False gods, on the other hand, are not able to do any of these things.  God asked, "Who ate the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings?"  This saying struck me.  When people provide an offering of food, money, or wine for their idol, the food is not eaten, the money is not spent and the wine sits without being touched.  The flies, ants, roaches or rats attracted to the food can do far more than the dumb idol that sits there mute and motionless.

In contrast to these idols made by craftsmen, God on many occasions in Scripture received offerings by fire from heaven.  One of the most famous occasions was when Elijah the prophet challenged the prophets of Baal to go to Mount Carmel and prove if Baal or the God of Israel was the true God once and for all.  The rules were simple:  build an altar, cut the wood, place the sacrifice on it, and the deity which received the offering with fire from heaven is the winner.  The people watched with interest as the many priests of Baal cried out to their god and even cut themselves to draw his attention.  This went on for many hours, and nothing happened.  Elijah built the altar according to God's design, prepared the bull for the offering and then directed water to be poured all over the altar, wood and sacrifice.  The water pooled and filled a trench that had been dug around it.

1 Kings 18:36-39 tells us, "And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, "LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. ³⁷ Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again." ³⁸ Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. ³⁹ Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!"  In response to a couple sentences in prayer by faith in God, the LORD consumed the offering with fire from heaven.  This showed beyond a doubt the God of Israel is the LORD, the God who alone is worthy of worship, adoration and trust.

The God who is able to receive sacrifices is also able to take vengeance upon His enemies, help His servants and be our refuge.  The Gospels show that God is also able to provide Himself as a sacrifice for sin, for God came to earth in the Person of Jesus Christ and gave His life as a ransom for many.  Jesus laid down His life and raised it up again--showing He alone has power to forgive sins and grant eternal life to all who trust in Him.  When we have no strength or power, God's people can rest assured of His help and comfort.  Because our LORD is God, let us praise and worship Him with thanksgiving as we offer ourselves as living sacrifices to Him.  May the LORD turn our hearts back to Him again.

Doing Violence to Words

As one who reads, teaches and loves God's word, I appreciate the precision and impact of words to effectively communicate with others.  For a long time I have made it a regular practice to observe the way people use words and the intended meaning behind them.  During my lifetime I have seen words come and go as they fall out of favour.  I have observed the definitions of words morph and change over time.  While I am all for biblical translations in a modern language people can understand, I am also cognisant simplifying words is like adding water to stew.  At some stage words can be so watered down we can hardly recognise the soupy mixture we are swallowing.

God exposed the sins of His people in Zephaniah 3:4:  "Her prophets are insolent, treacherous people; her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law."  The prophets and priests in Jerusalem were guilty of breaking the Law of Moses--doing violence to it by their perverse justifications and oral traditions.  At times I have heard people do violence to God's word by pulling verses out of context, and people also do violence to the English language to advance their own agenda.  Today I read an article that termed corporal punishment as violence that should be outlawed, and this is certainly not an accurate representation of the facts.  While abuse has certainly occurred under the guise of corporal punishment or discipline, the foray into criminal behaviour that injures children should in no way disparage Bible-based disciplinary methods.

In his 1828 Dictionary, Webster defined "violence" in this way (condensed):  "Physical force; strength of action or motion; 2. Moral force; vehemence; 3. Outrage; unjust force; 4. Eagerness; vehemence. 5. Injury; infringement; 6. Injury; hurt; 7. Ravishment; rape."  This description shows violence is far more than physical action or moral force:  it is unjust, vehement, intended to injure, humiliate and subjugate.  Violence does not provide any allowance for the love of others, the fear of God or having constructive purpose aside from inflicting intentional harm.  There are those who sadly have suffered violence at the hands of people closest to them, but to say corporal discipline cannot be administered humbly, consistently, and in an age-appropriate manner is misguided.  Discipline may sting, but it does not mean anyone was injured.  Parents who fear God and know they will be judged by Him are led to have self-control, compassion and mercy in all they say and do as they rear their children.

Proverbs 13:24 says, "He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly."  Parents who discipline their children in a God-honouring way are looking out for the well-being of their children presently with an eye on their future.  It must be love that guides our hands in discipline--never anger, wrath, malice or bitterness.  While the flesh quickly and easily lashes out to assert self, love is longsuffering and moves carefully with the good of others in mind.  Devoid of God's love, discipline at the mercy of easily offended flesh can quickly cross the boundary into sin.  As God's people, let us ensure we never venture towards violence in our relationships with anyone because we are guided by God's love for us.