More Than a Meal

I was blessed to recall the occasion when Queen Esther appeared before King Ahasuerus unannounced at the risk of her own life.  According to the Law of the Medes and Persians, to appear before the king without being first summoned meant the death penalty - unless he extended the royal sceptre.  After three days of prayer and fasting, Esther came before the king and she found favour in his sight.  I wonder if he was surprised what her request was:  that he and Haman (a chief adviser) would come to a banquet of wine.  Really?  Would a sensible person really risk her life over a private banquet?

If you have read the book of Esther, you know there was much more at stake than the king attending a dinner party.  Esther was desperate to save her people, and God raised her up for such a time to use her position of influence and access with the king to plead for deliverance.  Ultimately the scheme and the wicked adversary Haman were exposed and overthrown.  The brave and courageous deeds of Esther will not be forgotten, and I imagine her husband loved and appreciated her more than ever.

It is remarkable how Esther humbled herself, putting her life in her own hands for the sake of her people so they could be saved.  It is far more remarkable what Jesus Christ has done in becoming flesh and dwelling among us, walking throughout Judea and calling disciples to Himself.  He did not only risk His life, but He laid down His life willingly on Calvary's cross so Jews and Gentiles could be saved for eternity and receive everlasting life.  He is the one who is patient and loving to stand at the door of the hearts of lukewarm Christians and bid them open unto to Him so He can come in a dine.  Wouldn't it be something to host Jesus Christ at your dinner table?  How much more intimate to have the presence of God within us, speaking words of wisdom, grace and truth!

Jesus cried out that if any is thirsty, they should come to Him and drink of the Living Water He supplies.  He does not do so to quench our temporary thirst, but so we will be satisfied and sustained by faith in Him alone.  Esther had a bigger scope in appearing before Ahasuerus than sharing a drink together, and Jesus has a far greater purpose in supplying His broken body and shed blood than fleeting feelings of happiness:  He desires to be our life everyday and forever!  Let us put to death wickedness and throw aside the weights which easily weigh us down, and then we can walk unhindered in our pursuit of our Saviour.  How great it is to have Jesus as Saviour and King, the lover of our souls!

Holding God's Hand

I saw a disheartening sight the other day.  A grown man was holding hands with a little girl, walking her to school.  Now what's wrong with that, you might ask?  What should have been an endearing and sweet scene was reversed by the man's other hand holding a phone.  As they walked in the bright sunshine under shady gum trees, he was transfixed on his screen while the little girl in a school uniform stared blankly and silently ahead.  The sad image has remained with me.

All manner of thoughts went through my head.  I wondered if the little girl saw the phone as an intruder on a friendly chat she could have with her dad.  Though quite young, I also wondered if the child was resigned to the phone's presence in the hand of her guardian and escort.  Maybe she saw it as a grown-up thing and was looking forward to having a phone too.  "Talk to your little one!" I thought to myself.  They were holding hands but distant, and that fleeting vision has weighed heavy ever since.

I then began to think about my own life and how persistent the impulse can be to immerse yourself in a digital wonderland of information, amusement, and areas of personal interest instead of interacting with real, present people.  Am I present when I walk with my wife, sons, and friends?  Do my devices have a grip on my life which rob me of opportunities to love others?  And even more important, are screens and devices a wedge between me and God?  It would be easy to reverse the picture as an illustration of us and God:  people are like the little girl focused on a screen whilst our Father holds our hand and accompanies us wherever we go.  He does not force Himself on us, and He waits most patiently.  Are we pleased to hold His hand for security and say "Bye!" with a quick smile as we head off on our day, or are we willing to leave the phone alone and see what He wants to talk about?

The wonderful thing is even when we rush off into life, when we are ready to seek the LORD He will be right near because He has been seeking us.  This shouldn't affect us by taking advantage of His love, grace, and patience, but we should value Him above all others.  I love the old hymn which paints the picture of God who walks and talks with me and tells me I am His own.  This is the intimacy God desires to cultivate with us, and in response we ought to rejoice in such a privilege.  May our eyes be fixed on Him and our hearts filled with awe and reverence for Him.  That God would hold our hand and draw us near to Himself!  What joy and rest we have in Him!

Our Sovereign God

Recognising God's sovereignty is a source of peace in the midst of trouble.  When things are difficult we can feel under attack, and we can wonder what the source of our struggles are.  Is it a spiritual attack?  Does Satan or demons have me in their sights?  Am I experiencing the consequences of sin, or am I simply wrestling with my own negative feelings and thoughts?

When Israel was laid waste by armies from Assyria and Babylon, Jeremiah did not credit physical or spiritual foes with their destruction:  he laid the responsibility for their defeat squarely upon God.  He did not blame God as an evildoer as some do, but Jeremiah recognised their plight as a result of the chastening of a holy, righteous God.  Nebuchadnezzar was a mighty king, but God called him His servant.  It was shocking to the Jews God would utilise a Gentile king to do His will, but God remains sovereign over all.  His ways are higher and good, infinitely better than ours.

Crediting God with the destruction of Israel did not move Jeremiah to hate or forsake God, but drove him to seek God with tears.  See what Jeremiah said in Lamentations 2:1-5, and this is a small portion of his lament:  "How the Lord has covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in His anger! He cast down from heaven to the earth the beauty of Israel, and did not remember His footstool in the day of His anger. ² The Lord has swallowed up and has not pitied all the dwelling places of Jacob. He has thrown down in His wrath the strongholds of the daughter of Judah; He has brought them down to the ground; He has profaned the kingdom and its princes. ³ He has cut off in fierce anger every horn of Israel; He has drawn back His right hand from before the enemy. He has blazed against Jacob like a flaming fire devouring all around. ⁴ Standing like an enemy, He has bent His bow; with His right hand, like an adversary, He has slain all who were pleasing to His eye; on the tent of the daughter of Zion, He has poured out His fury like fire. ⁵ The Lord was like an enemy. He has swallowed up Israel, He has swallowed up all her palaces; He has destroyed her strongholds, and has increased mourning and lamentation in the daughter of Judah."

God did exactly as He warned His people through His Word and prophets, but they would not hear.  What is remarkable is why God did this to His own people whom He loved:  He did not chasten them to destroy them, but so they might be restored.  How far they had drifted from God through their idolatry and brought upon themselves this great fall and demise!  In forsaking the LORD they abandoned all hope, but in humble repentance they would without doubt flourish again.  God would bring back His inheritance into the land with rejoicing, and He would plant them where He had established His name.  Jeremiah wisely did not credit the devil or the armies of enemies as the cause of their pains but the God who reigns over heaven and earth, the Judge before every knee will bow.  It is in surrender to God where peace, hope, and salvation begin.

People who have problems with God need to realise they have problems only He can fix; they have wounds only God can heal; they have folly only God can redeem.  Proverbs 3:11-12 says, "My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor detest His correction; ¹² for whom the LORD loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights."  God's means of chastening often involve pain, and our response shows if we truly trust Him and value His active love as we ought.

With All Your Heart

Before I head off to buy groceries at the shops, I typically jot down a list of things to purchase.  Just because I write an item on the list, however, does not mean I always remember to buy it!  There are few things more frustrating than taking time to prepare and not following through by carefully checking off the list - and forgetting the ingredient which was a main reason why I headed to the shops in the first place!

The Bible is infinitely more important and useful than a checklist I write, yet in the Bible there is great divine wisdom we should be reminded of often.  One of my favourites is Proverbs 3:5-6:  "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."  I find this verse useful because it is very practical.  It is a command to trust God and not lean on my limited understanding.  It establishes the conditions upon which God will direct and guide me into all truth, when I trust and acknowledge Him in all my ways.  If I trust God halfheartedly I give place to the sin of unbelief, and should I acknowledge God in only some of my ways I will wander from His will.

Now here's the rub:  the Bible says no man can know perfectly his own heart because it is naturally wicked and deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9).  It is true those who receive the Gospel through faith are given a new heart, but we remain in a body of flesh prone to corruption and deception.  Even Paul, a man greatly led and empowered by the Spirit, did not have the flesh totally whipped into complete submission (Romans 7:24).  I am therefore incapable in the strength of my flesh to fulfil this most basic command.  To trust in the LORD with all my heart I need God's wisdom, strength, chastening, and grace.  I need the presence of the Holy Spirit within me who guides me into all truth.  I must acknowledge my inability to do what God commands to assume a humble posture and be willing to be led to address my unbelief, repent, and trust God instead.

I am very glad for the practical steps we can take to put off the works of the flesh, avoid temptation, and to put on the new man equipped with the armour of God.  But I cannot tick these things off a list and feel better about myself:  constant reliance upon God and acknowledgement of our need for Him is paramount to walk in obedience and faithfulness.  Introspection has merit but pitfalls as well, potentially making ourselves or our efforts the focus rather than God and His grace towards us.  Let us trust in the LORD with all our heart and in every way possible.  God does not just make up the difference we lack or only aid in areas of our hearts hidden from our sight, but by His grace will enable us to obey in this matter.