God Brings Us Through

It is lovely how God's word speaks to our hearts in different reasons and ways.  We can be ministered to by our reading of narratives that demonstrate God's faithfulness to guide and strengthen His people on an epic adventure, the lyrics of a Psalm or even a repeated phrase.  As I read Ezekiel 47 this morning, a phrase resonated in my heart of God's goodness.  It was like walking a familiar path, seeing something shiny sticking out of the dirt that prompts you to stop and dig around it to see what it is.  When I examined and turned the phrase over in my mind, I realised it was of incredible value.

Ezekiel 47:1-6 describes a vision of Ezekiel the prophet:  "Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar. ² He brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gateway that faces east; and there was water, running out on the right side. ³ And when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the water came up to my ankles. ⁴ Again he measured one thousand and brought me through the waters; the water came up to my knees. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through; the water came up to my waist. ⁵ Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed. ⁶ He said to me, "Son of man, have you seen this?" Then he brought me and returned me to the bank of the river."

Ezekiel saw a river of water flowing from the presence of God.  As the waters flowed out instead of growing more shallow they grew increasingly deep.  The phrase that grabbed my attention was how Ezekiel said his angelic guide "brought me through the waters."  The waters were ankle deep and Ezekiel was brought through; the waters came to his knees and he was brought through; over one thousand cubits the waters came up to his waist.  When the water became so deep the river could not be crossed without swimming Ezekiel said, "he brought me and returned me to the bank of the river."  It made me consider how God does this for His people, faithfully bringing them through all situations and seasons of life.  Should I see a stream I do not instinctively wade into it, yet when God leads us we can be assured He will bring me through.  While He could part the waters so His people can pass through on dry ground, sometimes He chooses not to.

In my own life I can testify Jesus Christ, the source of the Living Water of the Holy Spirit, has brought me through much water by His grace.  Jesus is faithful to empower and sustain those who trust in Him.  He enables us to stand upright, upholds and guides us with His righteous right hand.  Praise the LORD He has brought us through the ankle-deep water, bringing us through things that on our own we would have quit or turned aside from long ago.  We would have left the river instead of wading onwards and ever deeper, not realising His intention was to bring us through to the point we return to Him.  When things become impossible for us the Holy Spirit prompts us to return to our Saviour as at the beginning, knowing without Jesus we can do nothing.  Because God has brought us through, we can have assurance He will bring us through the waters we are in now whether shallow or deep, refreshing or overwhelming.  Glory to God who brings us through!

Trusting God with Little Things

As human beings, we can be full of inconsistencies.  We can look to God when situations are overwhelming and out of control, yet we can be undone by an accumulation of minor inconveniences.  We trust God to forgive our sins and provide eternal life for us in heaven, but we can worry over finding a parking spot.  Why not trust God with the little things we are involved with as much as the things which obviously are beyond us?

God can use fear, cares and worries to instruct us concerning our persistent lack of faith in God and chronic unbelief.  One example in my own life was during my union apprenticeship.  As I embarked in what I saw as my career path after working other part-time jobs, I prayed God would help me to excel as Daniel did in Babylon University.  My schooling began well but in my second year an experienced foreman made it his aim to stir up trouble for me with the apprenticeship coordinator.  The accusations were so severe the coordinator drove down from Los Angeles to have a face-to-face discussion with me in San Diego.  I was incredulous...and angry.

I was frustrated that a co-worker I trusted would go to such lengths to try to make me miserable, and I was angry with the degree of success he had.  I had heard many times, "The reputation you make as an apprentice you will carry for the next 10 years."  I wanted a good reputation among colleagues and contractors so I would be hired at a local shop and have a chance for advancement.  I felt disillusioned a person I considered a friend would lie about me for who knew what reason.  God used these bad feelings of betrayal to show me I had made my reputation an idol, something I was working for rather than Him.  My fear of a tarnished reputation revealed unbelief in God I did not realise I had, for I had put my trust in my abilities and efforts rather than in His providence, guidance and protection.

I am glad to say the difficult season eventually passed without any negative repercussions on my career or ability to be gainfully employed.  The situation was instrumental in teaching me to rely on and trust God more rather than worrying about "my" reputation.  Jesus made Himself of "no reputation" and took upon Himself the form of a servant, and God exalted Him above all names.  God exposed my selfish reasons for wanting to excel like Daniel (not that it was a bad desire in itself) and used the prospect of a reputation in tatters to teach me it is trusting and pleasing God in humility before Him that matters.  In God's hands, little troubles can lead to massive life lessons.

God's Revelation Is For Us

"The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law."

Deuteronomy 29:29

There are things about God and His ways we cannot know and will remain secret to us no matter how diligent our search, for He is God and we are not.  It is possible to be so curious and desirous to receive new revelations we are distracted from remembering what has already been revealed.  I have found there is infinitely greater wisdom and complexity in the most basic elements of faith and scripture than I initially realised, and thus in the foundations there is precious truth we have yet to unearth.

God gave the children of Israel His laws, not to know them but so they would walk accordingly.  The righteous judgments of God, revealed in the Law of Moses, the people were called to learn, obey and teach their children to do the same.  James wrote in James 1:19-22:  "So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; ²⁰ for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. ²¹ Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. ²² But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."  This exhortation from James reveals those with knowledge can be deceived to think because they know facts they are living in light of them.  Doing what we know is right in God's eyes by faith leads to spiritual growth and maturity facts alone cannot provide.

Our righteous standing with God is not earned by the sin we avoid or the good we do but by faith in Jesus Christ, having been born again through the Gospel.  When it comes to training our children (and at all times), we ought to be swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to wrath.  An easily angered and harsh parent does not produce the righteousness of God.  The call for all believers, whether parents or not, to lay aside all wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word.  We must humbly receive instruction before we can walk uprightly and provide sound instruction by our own example.  I have heard it said with children "more is caught than taught" and we never know how much is caught until we shockingly recognise our bad attitude, tendency to complain or negative reactions to circumstances reflected back to us from our own kids.

Praise the LORD He has provided His word and the Holy Spirit who enables us to glean God's truth and walk therein!  Not only does He instruct and teach us, but God also gives us correction we need along the way.  Knowing what is right does not mean we are doing it, and knowing what is sin does not keep us from it.  It is God and all He has revealed to us that enlightens our path and conscience, and how grateful we ought to be for God's patience, love, swift to hear and is slow to wrath.  When He speaks it is exactly what we need to hear and what we should labour to heed.

Be Strengthened in God

I was reminded today that feelings are real but are not always true indicators of reality.  There is the possibility our feelings can present a skewed perspective because they make us the centre of our story rather than the LORD God who created us and His goodness.

Jacob's response to unexpected news from his sons is an example of this in Genesis 42:36:  "And Jacob their father said to them, "You have bereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin. All these things are against me."  Jacob was overwhelmed when he heard Simeon had been incarcerated in Egypt and the presence of Benjamin (Jacob's youngest son) was required for his release.  He felt personally attacked and overstated the facts he knew to be true, for he put Simeon's imprisonment at the same level of Joseph whom Jacob believed was long dead.  What Jacob didn't realise is that Joseph was alive and he was orchestrating the reunion of their whole family to deliver them from starvation.  Jacob was focused on all that was against him rather than God who was for him, and we can do the same.

David also experienced a situation where all things were against him.  While he sojourned in the land of the Philistines to escape from the hand of king Saul, a band of Amalekites raided Ziklag, burned it with fire and kidnapped all the wives and children of he and his men.  After this shocking discovery David and his men wept until they could weep no more.  The despair of the men turned to anger towards David.  1 Samuel 30:6 says, "Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God."  David was deeply afflicted by the troubling situation:  his wives had been taken captive along with the wives and children of all his men, and he was largely responsible for them residing in Ziklag and going to battle alongside Achish!  But David's great distress prompted him to strengthen himself in the LORD his God.  This trial was painful and troubling, but he chose to focus on the LORD God and sought Him instead of fixing his mind on all the things that were against him.

This is the way bad feelings and distress can do us much good, to prompt us by faith to choose to look the LORD God who is for us rather than all that is against us.  Whether our enemies are real or imagined, knowing nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus gives enduring hope and strength to endure.  This is infinitely better than the power of positive thinking that depends on us and is limited by our own strength.  It is good we know we are helpless and unable to do anything so we might seek and rely on the LORD to do everything as we submit to His rule and guidance.  Both Jacob and David endured deeply troubling situations and saw the goodness of God in the land of the living.  May all followers of Jesus also look to Him in trouble and testify of His faithfulness, for we have tasted and seen the LORD is good.