Tag: God

Know God, Not Just About Him

Scripture

Psalm 119:52-59 says, “When I think of Your rules from of old, I take comfort, O Lord. Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked, who forsake Your law. Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my sojourning. I remember Your name in the night, O Lord, and keep Your law. This blessing has fallen to me, that I have kept Your precepts. The Lord is my portion; I promise to keep Your words. I entreat Your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to Your promise. When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to Your testimonies.”

The Psalmist is not just watching a child of God from the balcony. He is the child of God. He is the traveler. He is affected. He is comforted. He is not a casual observer.

In his sojourning, the Psalmist is troubled by evil. Life is a “disappointing and unpleasant business” (says J.I. Packer) without the comfort of hope in the Lord. When all seems dark, God’s Word is our refuge and sustainer. God’s Word becomes the song that uplifts the heart and reminds us of Who He is and who we are in Him. We are His children, His saints, His followers. We are different because we know Him personally, not just about Him. We are not “balconeers” looking on, but we are travelers changed by our growing knowledge in Him and before Him.

Indeed, this blessing has fallen to me! What I know about God isn’t paralyzed, it has changed me. I came down from the balcony. I know God. Knowledge of Him has become a matter for my meditation before God. I’m a participant. I’m in the middle of it. I know Him. The Lord is truly my portion. I am transformed and increasingly I want to keep His words. I pray for His favor and grace. I turn toward Him and away from my sinful ways again and again. God is not someone else’s song. He is my song. I turn my feet to His testimonies.

I take comfort! I am a traveler, not a balconeer.

Closeness to God

Scripture

I recently reconnected with my best friend from high school years. We met to attend a funeral together on a rainy day in Virginia Beach. Over the last 43 years of my married life, I have only seen my friend maybe 5 times – one or two times when she came to visit me, one time at her dad’s memorial service, one time when I stopped by her workplace, and then this recent funeral.

What struck me about our catching up was that it seemed that no time had passed. We tried to fill in the high school and college memory blanks for each other, but the substance of “real knowing” was still there after all these cumulative years (50 years since high school days). The humor, the lack of pretense, the ease of conversation, and the familiarity were still intact.

God creates intimacy with us by the way He treats us. We may move into or out of fellowship with Him, but when we return to Him, we find that “real knowing” is still there. Isaiah 42:3 (ESV) says, “A bruised reed He will not break, and a faintly burning wick He will not quench; He will faithfully bring forth justice.” In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus tells us, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Intimacy with God is a completed circle when we move into fellowship, just like reconnecting with an old and true friend. When we know Him and experience the way He treats us in reality and according to His Word, we find real mercy, grace, slowness to anger, steadfast love and faithfulness. There will be smiles of the heart. There won’t be any pretending. There will be non-obstructed communication. There will be intimacy. There will be rest.

God’s Spirit works to bring us into His precious fellowship. The Gospel lets us know that He will treat us better than we deserve, more lovingly that do our earthly friends, more patiently than our repeated failures should allow, and more gently than are our inept attempts at friendship.

Thank you KP for the reminder of what closeness looks like! Smiles of the heart and no pretense.

Photo Credit: Kim Clayton Lance

Never Out of Sight or Mind

Scripture

Do you ever feel invisible? Do you ever wonder why no one is asking you how you are or what you’ve been doing? Do you ever wonder why no one seeks you out to be curious about you and your life?

Psalm 139:7-10 (ESV) says, “Where shall I go from Your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, You are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.”

Loneliness is epidemic in our world full of people. And, social media turns out not to be really social at all. The world works overtime to dehumanize us. Go figure.

Yet, God is there when our self-placed parameters stretch as far as opposites can be, like heaven and Sheol. There is no depth too extensive to be devoid of God’s grip or His power to guide us and hold us securely. The “wings of the morning” hints at the farthest point east where the sun rises. The “uttermost parts of the sea” hints at the Mediterranean Sea far to the west of Israel. As far as east is from west, there is still no hiding from God’s gaze or interest. No hiding from His Sovereign control or love. No hiding from His loving care for His Creation or for His desire to re-humanize us when we are at our loneliest and most invisible points.

We like to think we can escape God’s bubble, but we can’t. We think we are alone and autonomous, but in reality we are still operational in God’s world. Our operations might be rebellious and unbelieving, but we are still hemmed in by God’s permissions and boundary lines. He sees us and He thinks about us. We are never “out of sight, out of mind.”

God sees us, knows our every intention and action, and is so near to us that the minute we call upon Him, there is no lag between our cry and His response. Although He doesn’t respond in sky-writing, He instantly dissolves the spiritual barriers between the east and west of our wandering hearts, as the heaven and Sheol contrast indicates. Even when we hesitate to call upon Him, He stands at the door ready to enter and has been there all along, seeing us and thinking about us.

Job 42:1-5 says, “Then Job replied to the Lord: I know that You can do all things; no plan of Yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of You but now my eyes have seen You.”

As we are never out of God’s sight or out of God’s mind, He is faithful to answer when we call to Him. And then we can honestly say in return that God is never out of our sight. God is never out of our minds. Then, we can be truly human again.

Photo Credit: Ro Seaman

Mathematical Musings: Ups and Downs

Scripture

The mathematician in me has always appreciated the concept of inverse variation: if the value of one quantity increases, the value of the other quantity decreases in the same proportion. For example, at constant temperature, as pressure increases, volume decreases. You might remember this from physics or chemistry class.

2 Corinthians 4:16-17 (ESV) says, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison…” The inverse variation analogy might be a stretch. But, in the life of a believer, we don’t fret about the inverse relationship between the outer and inner selves. We take heart. While the outer physical self decreases in stamina and vigor, by God’s grace our inner self is increasingly renewed and invigorated for glory. We are embodied souls living with a “both” existence of life and death. As we lament the curse of bodily decrease, we also take joy in the grace given in our hearts being enlarged by a beautiful Savior, Jesus Christ.

Another look at mathematical principles includes the concept of direct variation (the opposite of inverse variation) which happens when both values increase at the same time and in relationship to one another. 2 Corinthians 5:11-15 says, “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves (crazy), it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that One has died for all, therefore all have died; and He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him Who for their sake died and was raised.”

As the Corinthians increasingly mocked Paul as being crazy, the unbelieving Corinthian culture increased in darkness and hard-heartedness. Yet, there was a simultaneous increase in right-mindedness – knowing the fear of the Lord and sharing the Gospel with others. Being sober and crazy at the same time, increasingly. Have you ever experienced that dual reality? Paul exemplified sobriety in his passion for ministry, motivation to please Christ, and priority to persuade others of Gospel truth even while accusations of his craziness increased.

Being in your “right mind” is observed when a believer grows in relationship with the Lord to reveal outward evidence of wisdom, fruitfulness and passion. The world may question the faith upon which these evidences are based as insanity. But taking a page from Paul’s playbook, nothing else matters except that the love of Christ controls us increasingly and that we live for Him. What may seem ludicrous to one group will be eternally life-giving to others.

Here are other valuations that increase in concert by God’s perfect design. Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers (and sisters), whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Let these increase directly in relationship to one another.

For the believer, direct variation should be a “both” existence of faith and love. Watch love increase when faith increases. It is direct!

Yes or No Questions

Scripture

I am a retired high school mathematics teacher and a great lover-of-order. I like yes or no questions that have no nuances, no gray areas. Questions that are not really up for discussion. True/false. Right/wrong.

Psalm 77 may look at first like a discussion, but I have walked with the Lord for long enough to know that the Psalm writer Asaph’s invitation is to enter the true/false realm. I am invited to affirm the yeses and nos in my life of faith. Even when God is silent, even when I am greatly troubled and losing sleep, even when waiting on God seems excruciating, I am invited to gaze thoughtfully at God’s work and character…

Let’s start with the “Nos.” Psalm 77:7-9 (NIV) says, “Will the Lord reject forever? (No) Will He never show His favor again? (No) Has His unfailing love vanished forever? (No) Has His promise failed for all time? (No) Has God forgotten to be merciful? (No) Has He in anger withheld His compassion? (No) Maybe rhetorical. Maybe not.

For me these are not timidly spoken “Nos.” They are emphatic “Nos.” These are the “Nos” that lead me to contemplate the “Yeses.” In the remainder of Psalm 77 (v10-20), I remember that God is the Most High Who does miracles and mighty deeds. Amen. Bringing about my salvation was miracle #1! Amen. He is Holy, great, powerful. He has moved mountains in my life, surrounded me with friends, transformed my anxious thoughts, kept me steady in times of turmoil, helped me to see loss as gain, helped me to see His Kingdom spreading on earth, helped me to apply His Word, helped me to help others. Amen.

Because of the “Nos,” He shows me His welcome, His favor, His unfailing love, His kept promises, His mercy, His compassion. Psalm 77:20 says, “You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.” I remember how God faithfully led His people like a flock by Moses and Aaron. He still leads today. He is the Good Shepherd.

2 Corinthians 1:20 says, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through Him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.”

Our Preserver

Scripture

One of the attributes of God is Preserver. He is our Preserver. He lovingly secures our salvation for eternity and maintains His gracious hold on our lives as we love and serve Him and others. Believers are firmly placed in His grip through faith. God safeguards His Word in our lives and He perpetuates our progressive sanctification through His Holy Spirit. We are preserved! We’re in His clutches, defended, conserved, kept, and in a sense frozen solid.

A January snowstorm can bring to mind the good, bad, and ugly of ice and snow. On the one hand, the beauty of new fallen snow in the sunlight is breathtaking. On the other hand, the treachery involved in traveling in the storm or being caught in icy conditions is often underestimated. Finally, there’s the dependence we have on keeping food stored longterm through the means of freezing. Freezing is a means of preserving. Meat is frozen, vegetables are frozen, medications are kept on ice, and the list goes on. And we are acquainted with the panic that happens when thawing happens unannounced by a power outage. We grow very concerned when preservation becomes compromised.

Scripture promises us that God’s preservation of us is without compromise. No power outages threaten us. There is no fear of melting away, no fear of slippage, no fear of being lost. He is our ultimate Preserver. In Him, we can have complete confidence.

God has put important things in place to preserve His children. Deuteronomy 6:24 (NKJV) says, “And the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is this day.” God preserves us through our obedience. Nehemiah 9:6 says, “You alone are the Lord; You have made the heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You.” God preserves us through His Creation, the air we breath, the water we drink, the food we eat, the shelters that cover us. Psalm 16:1 says, “Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust.” God preserves us through our ever-deepening trust in Him, enabled by His Holy Spirit. These truths are encouraging to me at the start of a new year – 2022…

Also, God preserves us through His protection. Psalm 32:7 says, “You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.” Psalm 121:7,8 says, “The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.” Psalm 140:4 says, “Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from violent men, who have purposed to make my steps stumble.” 2 Timothy 4:18 says, “And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!”

As God’s imagebearers, and as we mature in our faith, we begin to reflect God’s preserving characteristics in our own lives – His righteousness, His truthfulness, His fairness, His sincerity. Psalm 25:21 says, “Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for You.” He involves us in His plans to reconcile and restore. Isaiah 49:8a says, “Thus says the Lord: ‘In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you; I will preserve you and give you as a covenant to the people, to restore the earth…’ ”

Most importantly, God gave us His Son to preserve us eternally. In Jesus Christ, we experience the gift of salvation and understand that by losing our lives in submission to Him, that our lives become preserved forever. We are secured. We are protected. We are delivered from slavery to sin. We are reflectors of His grace because we have first experienced it in Him. We are sealed. We are forever part of His Kingdom.

Luke 17:33 says, “Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” A great promise for 2022!