Strengthened by Remembering

Psalm 77 portrays a troubled man during a sleepless night.  Penned by Asaph, this song is relatable to those who feel overwhelmed, filled with complaints, and without comfort.  After examining his heart the author mused in Psalm 77:7-10:  "Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more? ⁸ Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise failed forevermore? ⁹ Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies? Selah ¹⁰ And I said, "This is my anguish; but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High."  In thinking things over Asaph realised God was not the problem or the cause of his anguish.  His troubled feelings and sleeplessness moved him to seek God and remember the great things God had done.

What a wise principle this teaches us:  considering the goodness and faithfulness of God in the past strengthens our faith in Him today for the future.  Psalm 77:11-12 continues:  "I will remember the works of the LORD; surely I will remember Your wonders of old. ¹² I will also meditate on all Your work, and talk of Your deeds."  Asaph's mind went back to God's deliverance from bondage in Egypt--long before he had been born--and the mighty works He did to save His beloved people.  He considered the parting of the Red Sea with lightning that split the sky and thunder roared overhead and shook the earth.  God made a path through the sea which was unseen and unknown by men, but He led them step by step to safety.  Psalm 77:20 concludes Asaph's song:  "You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron."

Dear troubled heart weighed down with complaints, cares, and without comfort, allow the word of God to minister to your need.  You may not see the path forward and do not know how to progress, but turn your eyes to Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd who leads us to lie down in green pastures, leads us beside still waters, and restores our souls.  Even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we need not fear because God is with us and will never leave or forsake us.  Consider the miraculous wonders God has done for His people in the scripture.  Meditate upon the love demonstrated by God to send His only Son Jesus Christ to die as a sacrifice for sinners and be raised from the dead in eternal glory.  Recall to mind the grace and mercy God has shown you as well, how He has delivered you from destruction, and provided you eternal life by His Gospel.  The God who redeemed your soul has provided for the needs of your body and your household in years gone by will continue to be faithful forever.  

Created Unique

It's amazing how different God makes people in appearance, personality, and preferences.  He has given us all a unique perspective on how we see the world and aspects of life which are important to us.  God has given my wife and I two sons who are quite different from one another yet not as different as Esau and Jacob were.  They were twins but as far from identical as could be:  one was born covered in red hair and the other was smooth skinned.  Esau enjoyed hunting and the great outdoors while Jacob preferred cooking stew and staying home.

When God heard the prayer of Isaac He caused Rebekah to conceive.  Undoubtedly she had expectations of what a "normal" pregnancy would be like, having spoken with many mothers with experience, yet these romantic notions were dashed with pain and discomfort.  Genesis 25:22-23 gives us insight into what was happening out of sight before sonograms:  "But the children struggled together within her; and she said, "If all is well, why am I like this?" So she went to inquire of the LORD. ²³ And the LORD said to her: "Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger."  God caused Rebekah to conceive twins that did not play well with each other!  The struggle in utero would continue throughout their lives and their descendants would comprise two separate nations.

Isn't it remarkable God would create two twin brothers who were different in appearance and attitude and even when in the womb did not get along?  I find it amazing how God can do a similar thing in the Body of Christ, the church.  We, like Rebekah, can have a romantic notion of what unity looks like and how other Christians would be best served to share the same beliefs and views we hold.  We imagine this new life in Christ should be without conflicts, struggles, and pain.  It does not take much engagement in church fellowship to realise how unique people are from one another.  Through the Gospel Jesus unites people of all ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds as members of His church of which He is the Head.  Even as twins with the same genetic input are totally different people, pastors and parishioners alike have unique convictions, areas of emphasis, personal needs, experiences, maturity, and social engagement.

Believer, do you know pastors or fellow believers you see as a bit weird or different because of what interests them, their political leaning, or the stance they take (or don't take) on social issues?  How easy it is to fall into the snare of thinking everyone would be better off being more like us when God has intentionally made people different from one another.  God designed the bone structure, tendons, ligaments, and skin of hands and feet to be different because they serve different purposes--though part of the same body.  Even all feet and hands are not the same size or shape!  One hand can swing a hammer with precision and another is gnarled with arthritis.  Some people cannot buy shoes at a department store because their feet are large, not the same size, or need a custom sole fitted because their legs are different lengths.  The God who created countless stars and calls them by name, the God who created the trillions of cells in our bodies, He saw fit to create people unique in His own image.  Instead of being annoyed or threatened by differences of others, let us celebrate God's wisdom, praise Him for our brothers and sisters, and thank Him for such rich diversity of gifts, calling, and leading.

By faith in Jesus Christ and the filling of the Holy Spirit we are united as one for His glory.  The miracle of conception and human life is amazing, and being spiritually born again into the family of God is even more so.  The differences of Easu and Jacob are nothing compared to our vast separation of sinners from God because He is holy and righteousness.  God said to naturally wicked mankind in Psalm 50:19-23, "You give your mouth to evil, and your tongue frames deceit. ²⁰ You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother's son. ²¹ These things you have done, and I kept silent; you thought that I was altogether like you; but I will rebuke you, and set them in order before your eyes. ²² "Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver: ²³ whoever offers praise glorifies Me; and to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God."  How different man naturally is from God though created in His image, and praise the LORD He redeems, forgives, and accepts all who trust in Him as His own.  God has demonstrated His love towards us while we were His enemies, and may we demonstrate grace and love in showing kindness towards others.

The Secret Place of the Most High

I remember working as a contractor at San Diego State University and seeing radiation symbols on random buildings.  I discovered these office buildings doubled as bomb shelters underground and were stocked with old barrels of supplies should the need arise.  It looked like many of those green military stores had been sitting in dust for decades.  The subterranean bunkers I walked through were dimly lit and cold, but they would be a welcome refuge in a nuclear disaster.  The problem with bomb shelters is making sure you are in them before the bombs start dropping, or otherwise all the careful preparation was in vain.

Blessed is the one who makes God His refuge and finds certain shelter in all seasons.  Psalm 91:1-3 reads, "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. ² I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust." ³ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence."  God will be a shelter for His people when the stars fall like rain and every mountain is moved from its place.  He protects us from the schemes of the devil, the fear of man, and the curse of sin.  In God is a fortress which cannot be overthrown or undermined, a relationship with the almighty God that will endure forever.  God is a Saviour and Deliverer in whom we can trust.

A bird that is caught in a snare cannot free itself to fly to the safety of the nest.  God, however, delivers from the "snare of the fowler."  No bunker can deliver like the God who is our refuge who comes to us in times of trouble, who provides salvation and help through faith in Him.  When Psalm 91 was written airplanes that deliver explosive ordinance were obviously not invented yet, but pestilence was just as perilous.  An illness could strike man and beast suddenly without cure.  Consider the plagues which God brought upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians which caused sores to break out on their bodies, decimated their cattle, and crops were consumed by locusts.  God protected His people in Goshen during times when death and famine seemed inescapable.

The psalmist concludes with God's response to the one who makes God his refuge in Psalm 91:14-16:  "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. ¹⁵ He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. ¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation."  How blessed God's people are!  God promises to deliver and set on high, to hear and answer our prayers, and experience the comfort of His presence.  God provides deliverance, honour, satisfaction and salvation.  These promises do not exclude us from suffering and trials, yet God will sustain us through them.  He offers long life--eternal life--to all who rely upon and love Him.  Let us publicly proclaim the secret place of the Most High available to all by God's grace.

Why Sacrifice?

Animal sacrifice to deities is a foreign practice and concept to many in the west and the world.  My observation of the purpose behind sacrifice outside Judaism is one of appeasement, to ensure rains will come, the sun would rise, fertility, or for good fortune.  Sacrifices were made to obtain something desirable and beneficial like a man offering a bribe to a corrupt official for favours.  While no one can know for certain the motivations of the hearts of men, it is likely among the Jewish nation this was true to a degree:  sacrifices were at times offered to receive atonement from God and prevent falling out of God's favour.

There are many times recorded in the Bible sacrifice followed deliverance and victory as a show of acknowledgement of God's help with thanksgiving and gratitude.  An example of this is after God delivered Noah, his family, and many animals from the great flood and he offered a sacrifice.  Another time was after Joshua and the children of Israel, mightily helped by God, defeated the inhabitants of Ai.  In obedience to the Law of Moses Joshua 8:30-31 states, "Now Joshua built an altar to the LORD God of Israel in Mount Ebal, ³¹ as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: "an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool." And they offered on it burnt offerings to the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings."  To offer burnt and peace offerings to God was a solemn and joyful duty in response to God's goodness and glorious deliverance.

The nature of sacrifice is it always costs the giver.  I wonder:  as children of God are our sacrifices unto the LORD given out of a desire to gain something from God or a response to His goodness?  Is it possible I make "sacrifices" with the hope of future benefits rather than rejoicing for all God has already done for me?  I can say undoubtedly I have and I desire this selfish, short-sighted practice is struck from my life.  To have a relationship with the almighty God who loves us and offered Himself as a sacrifice once for all is the greatest treasure, that He is our inheritance!  As the old hymn goes, "Jesus paid it all!  All to Him I owe.  Sin had left a crimson stain; He washed it white as snow."  In light of who He is and all He has done we offer ourselves as living sacrifices unto Him, our lives a testimony of His love, grace, and forgiveness.