To wait is not merely to remain impassive. It is to expect–to look for with patience, and also with submission. It is to long for, but not impatiently; to look for, but not to fret at the delay; to watch for, but not restlessly; to feel that if he does not come, we will acquiesce, and yet to refuse to let the mind acquiesce in the feeling that he will not come.”
Andrew B. Davidson, Waiting on God. AB Davidson was an ordained minister in the Free Church of Scotland and Professor of Hebrew and Oriental languages in New College, University of Edinburgh.
As I look around in my small sphere and see the dramatic changes in parenting styles and kids not rebounding from quarantines and lockdowns…and the wider sphere of prices rising and difficulties rising in just living a life…and the even wider spheres of the world where there is war and want and hate…and opposition to the Gospel and many who are dying apart from Christ…I more and more often say “Lord, soon come!” But I must wait. So…this quote-
To wait is not merely to remain impassive. It is to expect–to look for with patience, and also with submission. It is to long for, but not impatiently; to look for, but not to fret at the delay; to watch for, but not restlessly; to feel that if he does not come, we will acquiesce, and yet to refuse to let the mind acquiesce in the feeling that he will not come.”
In Exodus 3:6, Moses was afraid to look at God. Hagar marveled that she had an encounter with God and was still living. (Genesis 16:13). Jacob said the same. (Genesis 32:30). But Beth Moore claims that Jesus tells her all sorts of things, calls her ‘Babe’, speaks so casually to her in all their informal chats, where she and God “had a blast.” No.
EPrata photo
The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom… and since people like Moore, not just celebrity preachers but many lay-people, have no fear, she lacks wisdom. Too many people have lost their fear of God for who He actually is and have lost their notion of how evil evil really is. Even have lost their definition of evil. Too many people think a Hitler-Holocaust level is the only evil. They think evil has to look black and be immediately recognizable. Saran is cleverer than that. He is the most subtle creature in the garden. He sends a smiling and seemingly kindly Joel Osteen to do his evil.
If some of you plume yourselves with the notion that you are righteous, I pray God to pluck those fine feathers off you and make you see yourselves, for if you never see your own nothingness, you will never understand Christ’s all-sufficiency. Unless you are pulled down, Christ will never lift you up.
There is something called The Great Exchange. Sinclair Ferguson explains the positive side of it here as he goes through Romans 1:
Exchange number three is the gracious, unmerited (in fact, demerited) exchange that God provided in Christ. Without compromise of His righteousness revealed in wrath, God righteously justifies sinners through the redemption He provided in Christ’s blood-propitiation for our sins. This Paul states in the rich and tightly-packed words of Romans 3:21–26.
It is only later in the letter that he gives us a different, and in some ways more fundamental, way of looking at this: the Son of God took our nature and came “in the likeness of sinful flesh” (Rom. 8:3) in order to exchange places with Adam, so that His obedience and righteousness might for our sakes be exchanged for Adam’s (and our) disobedience and sin (Rom. 5:12–21).
Exchange number four is that which is offered to sinners in the gospel: righteousness and justification instead of unrighteousness and condemnation. Moreover, this Christ-shaped righteousness was constituted by His entire life of obedience and His wrath-embracing sacrifice on the cross, where He was made a sin offering (He came, says Paul in Rom. 8:3, “on account of sin,” or “to be a sin offering”; NIV).
In short, on the cross, Jesus exchanged His righteousness for our sins, so that when God looks at us He sees Christ’s righteousness, and when He looked at Jesus on the cross, He saw our sins that must be punished. Praise Him who knew no sin for taking upon Himself our sins, so that we may be justified before a Holy God!
There is a negative exchange too.
The sorrows of those who have bartered for another god will be multiplied; I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood, Nor will I take their names upon my lips.Psalm 16:4.
Woe! They have bartered away their life and soul for an evil vapor that will only send them to their position in the Lake of Fire! Gill’s Exposition says of the verse in Psalm 16,
“that hasten after another god”; a false god, an idol, to serve and worship it; for, generally speaking, idolaters are more forward, eager, and hasty to attend a false worship, than the worshippers of the true God are to attend his service: now their sorrows are many, even in their worship, by cutting their bodies with knives and lancets, as the worshippers of Baal did; and by sacrificing their own children, which, notwithstanding their rash and precipitate zeal, could not fail of giving them pain and uneasiness; and, besides temporal punishments inflicted on them for their idolatry by God, and stings of conscience, which must sometimes attend them, the wrath of God lies upon them, and they will have their portion in the lake of fire, and the smoke of their torment will ascend for ever and ever.
Back to Romans, this verse also makes mention of the negative exchange the pagan makes:
Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and crawling creatures. (Romans 1:23).
Faithlife Study Bible explains Romans 1:22, “Claiming to be wise, they became fools A fool is not merely someone who is ignorant or lacks intelligence. The term has moral connotations that include a rejection of God (Psa 14:1; Jer 10:14). By refusing to acknowledge God, people reveal their foolishness.”
Matthew Henry put it concisely:
They ascribed a deity to the most contemptible creatures, and by them represented God. It was the greatest honour God did to man that he made man in the image of God; but it is the greatest dishonour man has done to God that he has made God in the image of man. Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 2195). Hendrickson.
We should be eternally and powerfully grateful for our salvation. The Great Exchange is initiated by God at His timing and choosing. We have no merit in ourselves that sparks his attention, or in any way influences Him. Gratitude and eternal worship of our Holy God is the proper – and only – response.
God doesn’t have to patch. He doesn’t have to regroup. He doesn’t have to do a workaround. He doesn’t have to circle back to this. There is no Plan B. He plans the end from the beginning.
Witness: Joseph. Thrown into the pit, his sale as a slave, the rising up to Potipher’s house, his throwing down again into jail, his appearance before Pharaoh, God giving Pharoah a dream, the famine, the long lost family coming to Joseph…all planned. All moved along in perfect timing God had ordained.
I mean, look at the genealogies. Each person married whom God wanted to marry right up until Joseph and Mary were betrothed. Each pairing throughout all time until the man God wanted to unite with Mary becoming pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Amazing
In turbulent times such as these, when we are unsettled, let us rest on the fact of God’s sovereignty. RC Sproul was amazing in explaining God’s kingly hand over all which happens:
Understand that when we talk about God’s ordaining things, there are different ways God ordains things to come to pass. This doesn’t necessarily mean that God jumps down onto the planet and makes something happen through a direct and immediate personal involvement on His part. But the trick in the statement has to do with the word “ordain.” All that statement means is that God is sovereign over anything that happens. Nothing in this world can happen apart from divine sovereignty.
We distinguish sometimes between God’s efficacious will and His permissive will. You’ve heard those kinds of distinctions, but let me state this in the easiest of all possible terms. If something happens in this world, whether by the power of men, the power of nature, the power of machines, etc., God always has the power and authority to at least prevent it from happening, does He not? And if He does not prevent it from happening, that means at least this much: He has chosen to let it happen.
That doesn’t mean that He applauds it. That doesn’t mean He’s in favor of it insofar as He gives His divine sanction to it. But He does allow it to happen (again, not always in the sense of approving) and, in so allowing, He is making a decision and making that decision sovereignly. He knows in advance what is going to happen, and if He decrees that it shall happen, He is retaining His sovereignty over it.
If things happen in this world outside the sovereignty of God, then that would simply mean God is not sovereign.
There is not one maverick molecule in the universe, Sproul said! All is sustained by Jesus. Nations war. Nations rise. Nations fall. God ordains all that happens, from the big things right down to each lungful of air we breathe and the places our blood course through our bodies, or doesn’t course.
We are fortunate we know Him as a good and gracious God. All that He does is for the good of those who love Him. Times may be scary, prices may be rising, but he will never let us beg bread or remain in fear. His word bathes our soul, cleanses our mind, dissolves the weeds of fear. Rely on God through His word, through His love, and through His promises–
God’s presence brings joy — Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”
God will fill me to overflowing with hope — Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
God will strengthen and help me — Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
In 1988 Bobby McFerrin released his soon-to-be hit song Don’t Worry, Be Happy. I remember the fervor back then around that song. Legitimately, it was a good song. It was the first a cappella song to get to a number one position on the top 40 singles on the Billboard chart. Don’t Worry Be Happy stayed there for 2 weeks, bumping out Guns N Roses’ Sweet Child O’ Mine.
People were also amazed that McFerrin did all the vocals himself. The “instruments” in the a cappella song are all overdubbed voice parts and other mouth sounds made by McFerrin, using no instruments at all; says Wikipedia. Pretty neat.
I was cooking the other day and turned on my Pandora to my Paul Simon channel. McFerrin’s song came on. It’s amazing how being in Christ gives you a totally different perspective. I was 28 years old when Don’t Worry Be Happy came out. I would not come to Christ for another 15 years. And I’ve gone on for almost 20 more years beyond that. I can’t detect how my sanctification is going in the short term, day after day, but looking back over the long term I can see progress.
The song begins this way,
Here’s a little song I wrote You might want to sing it note for note Don’t worry, be happy In every life we have some trouble But when you worry you make it double
This is a truism. Worrying never solved anything. But when you are outside of Christ, worry is your idol. They worry because they have nothing else to hold on to. They do not know the future, they have no context in which to place the worrisome situation. So they worry, they can’t help it. I used to worry greatly. I was a recently divorced young teacher trying to hold on to my house on a skim salary, working three jobs, and wondering if this was all there was to life. I worried.
The song continues,
Ain’t got no place to lay your head Somebody came and took your bed Don’t worry, be happy
If I was outside of Christ I SURE would be worried if I did not have a place to lay my head! It would be THE consuming issue of my day. I can’t NOT worry about it, just because Bobby McFerrin says not to. Making the mortgage each month was a victory. I desperately wanted to keep the place where I lay my head.
McFerrin goes on with another problem or two that is common to people, and offers the same advice, don’t worry and be happy.
It is a good idea to nurture and practice a positive mindset, that is true. Actress and comedian Betty White also practiced a positive mindset, all her long life. She didn’t worry. She was happy.
Then she died.
And went to hell (probably). She is no longer happy.
The mindset that Jesus gives us is an eternal one. Now that I’m on this side of the cross, I understand worry is a sin and joy is our permanent status quo. With that context, life’s daily problems seem small. He provides for us and always will. Knowing that removes the worry. He gave us forgiveness of sins, and offers us daily grace. This gives us joy. It is easier to be joyful when we have a perfect Father to go to in order to cast all our cares upon Him. When we have been freed from the power of sin and someday will dwell outside the existence of sin at all.
I still have the same slim salary and I’m still trying to hang on to the place where I lay my head, but my joy isn’t diminished by my circumstances, because that joy is outside of me, from Christ and being In Christ. I don’t worry (or when I do I take it to Christ) because I have the God of all Universe on His throne as my Father.
Before I was saved I tried to have a positive mindset, and I tried not to worry. It would work for a while. Then a problem would come. I’d solve it. Feeling satisfied with my problem-solving abilities, I’d be happy again with no worries. And another problem would scoot down the highway of life and crash into me. The cycle repeats. Underneath all that is the business of suppressing the truth in unrighteousness, battling my conscience, and performing sins every day, while expending energy to convince myself that I was ‘a good person.’
For the unsaved, it’s a lot.
Life’s ups and downs are blessedly minimized when we gain the eternal perspective of seeing eternity through Jesus. Seeing time in the looooong term reduces those mountainous ups and downs to minimal bumps.
Being in Christ makes all the difference for life now and eternity then. But do we show it? Are we unworried and happy? Do we exhibit the joy of Christ, the peace that passes all understanding?
I pray that I exhibit the peace that passes understanding, the joy that adorns the countenance, the conviction to live a grace-filled life. I don’t always. But it is a goal. We have that ‘don’t worry, be happy’ ability – thanks to the Holy Spirit in us.
John wrote in his Gospel of Jesus that Jesus promised,
If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; remain in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.John 15:7-11.
There is a difference between happiness and joy. Prior to salvation, my happiness faded as fast as smoke from a lit candle when adversity reared its head. Even when adversity remained at bay, my happiness came and went, inexplicably.
Joy though. Joy! That is an internal state, less dependent on circumstances. You can have daily ups and downs but the thread remaining is joy in Christ. He is our foundation, our anchor, or stay. Don’t worry yes, because worry is a sin. But be happy? OK. But better to be joyous.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23).
What is the first of the fruit mentioned? Joy. Barnes Notes says
It is not without design, evidently, that the apostle uses the word “Spirit” here, as denoting that these things do not flow from our own nature. The vices above enumerated are the proper “works” or result of the operations of the human heart; the virtues which he enumerates are produced by a foreign influence – the agency of the Holy Spirit. Hence, Paul does not trace them to our own hearts, even when renewed.
Therein lay the difference. Happiness is external. Joy is internal. It is also eternal. Don’t worry. Be happy- IN CHRIST.
I was reading Acts 27 and the seafaring language was a wonderful reminder of days when I lived on a sailboat. Some days were lazy, drifting along in puffs of wind on a glassy sea. Other days were tempestuous, the sea raging and the boat beating into waves that seemed to grow ever higher. There was one rough overnight passage we made along the coast of New Jersey. When daylight came we saw that the dinghy we’d trailed behind our yacht was missing. The rope had snapped.
It was a disconcerting feeling to be separated from what would need to be our lifeboat if it ever came to that.
Kay Cude poetry. Used with permission. Artist’s statement below.
As I continue to go through them my perspective is reinforced with the fundamental truth: it is necessary that we learn and grow through “issues” and situations we’d rather avoid. They will either drive us deeper into Scripture and prayer, or we will allow them to drive us into despondency, confusion and sorrow. When we experience breath-knocking blows, above all else it is necessary that we “remember” Who our first love is and that He, Christ is our ever-present secure help. He is our All-in-All, our sufficiency, protection, strength and giver of wisdom. We must remember that issues and circumstance have eternal purpose for His beloved redeemed.
The LORD makes us some promises that are fear-inducing. Other promises He makes are awe-inspiring. Some are both at once. They are bookends of man’s folly and God’s glory.
In Joel’s prophetic book, at chapter 3 verse 10, it is written: “Beat your plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, “I am a mighty man.”
Most of us have heard the line that we will beat our swords into plowshares. That verse is located at Isaiah 2:4 – “And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.”
Did you know that there were opposite prophecies concerning the plowshares, the one in Joel and the other in Isaiah? God is great and His Word is great.
“It is, in a great measure, by raising up and endowing great minds that God secures the advance of human affairs, and the accomplishment of His own plans on earth. All minds have their origin in God; and great minds seem to be created by Him as “He creates great oceans, great mountains, great worlds,” as proofs of His own greatness, … by bringing upon the stage from time to time some mind qualified by high original endowment to give a new impulse to human affairs; to lift up the race to a higher level; and to perform, in a single generation, what might have been otherwise the slow work of centuries, or what might not have been done at all.”
We should have a good grasp of American History (that is, if you live in America, if you’re reading this and live elsewhere, the same goes for knowledge of your own country’s history).
British statesman Winston Churchill wrote, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” He should know, he led Britain through WWII, emerging victorious against the Nazi Germans (barely).
In Canada, with its leader’s tyranny now morphed into a dictatorship, it is important to know where we come from, and to honor the battles fought for freedom and liberty. This will help us be able to recognize incipient tyranny when it peeks out in a leader’s speeches or actions. In Canada, the newly minted dictator signaled his love for China’s dictatorship some years ago. He said so, in those words. They elected him anyway.
Again, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
the-end-time.org 