The Voice of Worry

In light of God's goodness, knowledge provision, and care Jesus told His disciples not to worry.  They weren't to worry about clothes, food, or the future.  The God who provides food for each sparrow and clothes flowers with beauty greater than Solomon values and cares for those created in His image.  Worrying is sin because it comes from unbelief in God's goodness and His promises and is often rooted in self.

It occurred to me today that if I were to personify Worry, Complaining and Murmuring are her children.  We all know what it feels like to worry, to experience anxiety from circumstances we find stressful.  Much of our fretting is internal and this inner friction inevitably reveals itself in overt ways:  we speak harshly, sigh frequently, and complain.  Complaining gives worry a voice when we gripe about a situation we are displeased with instead of casting our cares upon God and resting in Him.  We can complain about someone else complaining rather than addressing the issue with the complainer directly.  Fundamentally the issues of worry and complaining are one in the heart against God.

Not convinced?  Think about the conduct of the children of Israel in the wilderness after God brought them out of Egypt.  He provided for all their needs but complained and murmured against Him.  Jesus taught if we have an offense against a person we ought to go to them alone and discuss, but complaining is airing a personal grievance in public.  Many times the Hebrews complained about their situation they are described as "murmuring against" God.  And when people murmured about Moses, he informed them their murmuring was not actually against him but God (Ex. 16:8).  Murmuring suggests holding a grudge, bitterness against God!  Their complaints with God were spoken around their children, to their wives and neighbours--and God heard them all and saw the deception and hypocrisy in their hearts.

Complaining and murmuring is a surefire way to provoke God to anger because it is abiding sin not repented of.  Numbers 11:1 puts this in vivid detail:  "Now when the people complained, it displeased the LORD; for the LORD heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the LORD burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp."  Just because God is gracious to us and is longsuffering and patient does not mean complaining is no less sinful.  Man, this hits close to home for me.  How often I have complained when I ought to have prayed!  Complaining it itself is not wrong, for Asaph wrote in Psalm 77:3:  "I remembered God, and was troubled; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah"  Asaph called out to God in a complaint which led to praise because his response to difficulty was directed by faith in God.

Friend, is your life marked with complaining and murmuring?  Let us bring our cares to God's throne of grace so we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  Worrying, complaining, and murmuring cannot enable us to grow an inch taller or change our situation for the better, but these sins of unbelief ultimately result in judgment.  Instead of giving worry a voice through complaining, may our repentant hearts be moved to praise our awesome God!

God's Inner Circle

I am continually blown away by the breadth and depth of God's Word.  The 66 books written over a span of 1,500 years do more than dovetail with one another but are in perfect harmony concerning God in the most minute detail.  It is a book one can read for decades and daily discover new connections never before understood, personal revelations from the living God who breathed it into existence.  It does far more than provide intrigue or facts but refreshes us with all we need by God's grace.  God sees our needs met by His grace.

The other night I read something I had forgotten about, how God organised the camp of the Hebrews after the exodus from Egypt.  God's visible presence hovered over the tabernacle in the centre of the camp with three tribes to the north, south, east, and west.  See what Numbers 1:52-53 explains concerning those of the tribe of Levi, those chosen to serve the LORD in facilitating worship of God and teaching of His laws:  "The children of Israel shall pitch their tents, everyone by his own camp, everyone by his own standard, according to their armies; ⁵³ but the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the Testimony, that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the children of Israel; and the Levites shall keep charge of the tabernacle of the Testimony."  Instead of receiving an inheritance of land, God was to be their inheritance (Deut. 10:9, Joshua 13:33).

The Levites were responsible before God to be sanctified according to the Law of Moses so they could offer and partake of the sacrifices offered at the tabernacle.  Only purified Levites were permitted to handle the holy things of the tabernacle of meeting.  They were to camp encircling the tabernacle so there would "be no wrath on the congregation of the children of Israel," providing a sanctified buffer which preserved their fellows.  It was not because Levi or his children were the most pious or deserving of Israel's sons but were chosen by God's grace to be servants about His business.

This caused me to consider how followers of Jesus Christ provide a blessing and benefit to others who do not know or believe in God:  interceding in prayer for individuals and nations, serving with the love of Jesus, filled with generosity, extending grace, showing kindness and compassion for one another.  Jesus called His disciples the "salt of the earth," and salt liberally applied to meat enables it to be preserved for a long time in the right conditions.  Whilst we serve our LORD Jesus Christ, chosen and sanctified by grace similar to the Levites, God's presence in us makes a difference to everyone else in the world.  Sometimes we don't appreciate what we have until we lose it; we are prone to take much for granted.  I believe the unbelieving world benefits more from Christians than they could possibly realise--even as God operates in a realm beyond our knowledge or observance.  God doesn't need us but makes a good difference to the world through us.

All throughout the scriptures there is the reoccurring theme of God's grace:  grace to bring life where there was once nothing, grace to reveal Himself to wretched sinners, grace to preserve us from wrath we wholly deserve, and grace to use us to bless and save others.  Ephesians 2:13 reminds us, "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ."  We who were once aliens of the commonwealth of the kingdom of God have been brought into God's inner circle, by grace having been made one with Jesus Christ, even called God's beloved children.  Praise the LORD!

Walking Circumspectly

In his book Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis talked about putting off telling his mother about a toothache.  He waited until he couldn't stand it anymore even though he knew she could relieve his pain because it also meant he would be required to see a dentist!  Like most of us he didn't so much care for the cause to be addressed but the relief of negative symptoms.  Lewis used this analogy to point out we might realise we have a problem with anger and cursing and want to have God deal with it because it is a source of embarrassment but how God also wants to deal with our lust, bitterness, and unforgiveness.  God's intention is to give us the "full treatment" when we would rather half-measures according to our preferences.

God is gracious, merciful, and patient in convicting us of sins.  Our eyes are opened to our sins one by one and we begin to realise how interconnected they are with our unbelieving and selfish hearts.  Through repentance and faith in Christ we are given victory over sins which continue to pester us for seasons throughout our lives.  Sinful thoughts and deeds are so natural to the flesh they can stealthily cohabitate inside us for some time until God's Word or bad feelings tip these squatters off.  This is part of the battle we are responsible to fight, to bring thoughts captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ and see they are bound and arrested.  No one should be more joyful or at rest than a Christian for who God is and all He has done and promised to do--but sin seeks to rob us blind.

Just today I found myself battling anger which welled up quickly and threatened to overthrow self-control.  The LORD helped me to take stock of why I felt angry and stressed:  I felt frustrated by people, feeling stress because I have a lot to do but not much time, and how unexpected expenses keep piling up.  Then I considered, hasn't God promised to provide for all my needs?  Are not my times in God's hands?  Is it hard for God to change the hearts of people--even my own?  It is written in Proverbs 21:1, "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes."  God used feelings of anger to cause me to stop and consider Him, to turn my heart back to Him again rather than focusing on all that seems to go wrong.

Giving vent to anger doesn't change our circumstances or other people:  sowing to the flesh through outbursts of wrath further corrupts us.  God's love, on the other hand, edifies us and others.  Horses wear blinders to force them to look straight ahead, and sin is like blinders fitted on us which focuses on ourselves and the faults of others.  We are to walk circumspectly as children of light giving thanks to God for all things as it is written in Ephesians 5:15-17, "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."  God has taken off our blinders and revealed His will, given us the Holy Spirit without measure, and may we make the most of the time He has given us as we walk circumspectly.

Calamity Redeemed

When things seem to be going well in our lives it is easy to acknowledge the goodness of God.  But in the face of tragedy or calamity doubts about God's goodness suddenly crowd our thoughts.  Reflecting on my own experiences however, when I have praised God in the midst of suffering, the comfort and peace I enjoy triumphs over "good" times when I took God for granted.  Would to God His people would demonstrate the faith of Job when confronted with grave personal tragedies in Job 1:21-22:  "And he said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." ²² In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong."  Trust in the goodness of God in the land of living brought Job to praise God when circumstances knocked him to his knees.

In a series of rhetorical questions Amos posed before Israelites of the northern kingdom, he concluded with a flourish in Amos 3:6, "If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it?"  For whatever reason it is easier for us to believe if life is smooth it is the blessing of God and when things are tough Satan is to blame.  We imagine people who suffer are deserving of punishment for some hidden sin, or those who are "blessed" have "done something right."  But what of the grace of God who causes rain to fall on the just and unjust, Who daily loads us all with blessings and benefits?  Even judgment for sin is a providential gift from the hands of our heavenly Father who loves us.

God is never a passive player in the universe or caught unawares by satanic plots.  Not one calamity occurs without His knowledge and intent to redeem it fully for those who trust in Him.  Joseph provides a good example of man intending things for evil but God using it to save many people alive.  Joseph was sold by his brothers into slavery in a foreign land but God redeemed it.  It was a painful season for Joseph to be betrayed by his own flesh and blood for a pocket of silver, but later Joseph was given the insight to realise it.  He said to his brothers in Genesis 45:5, "But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life."  It was like Joseph needed to remind his brothers over and over to convince them of God's guiding hand in his past, for he said in Genesis 50:19-20:  "Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? ²⁰ But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive."

Now take care believer:  it is one thing for Job to praise God despite his own suffering and Joseph to credit God for sending him to Egypt, but we must not presumptuously speak for God concerning the suffering of others.  Explaining why they might be suffering or how it can be redeemed can be false hope which distracts from the goodness, grace, and mercy of God:  He has done it but remains good.  Are not God's ways higher than ours?  Aren't His means and ways of redemption beyond our vision?  It was not good Job lost all his children to tragedy in a day but God was able to redeem it for good.  It was no way "good" the righteous Son of God was pierced on Calvary's cross, but God redeemed it to save many alive.  Death was never the will of God, but it was God's will Jesus go to the cross to save many alive.  Sometimes God opens our eyes to the why of a calamity, but better to realise Who God is to us, gracious and good, and despite our pain to draw near to Him in faith.  He is the only One who can save.