Look up to see what God is doing

January 13, 2024

Maria Anxiety, Colossians 4, Fear, Genesis 21, Hopelessness, Job 34, Joshua 5, Matthew 26, Numbers 22, Prayer, The Lord's Prayer, Watchman , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. Genesis 21:19 NIV

I’ve been thinking a lot over the past few days about how short-sighted I can be.  At times very inward-focused on troubling circumstances rather than considering God. Surely you and I are the same, each with both personal situations and an orbit of people and persistent problems or crises whose details trouble, frighten or seem to multiply.

Reading about Hagar’s situation when she was abruptly shoved out of the household of the richest man in the neighborhood, I thought about how she would have processed this sudden turn of events. She tumbled from a high-status position as the mother of Abraham’s first-born son, to being an outcast whose son, now a teenager, was going to die of thirst because they had run out of water. Looking horizontally at her circumstances, there was no way out.

But God! He spoke to her, painting a picture of the reality that he had planned, a staggeringly amazing future for Ishmael. Stunned and lightened by such hope-birthing words, she lifted her head to see beyond her immediate problem. That’s when she spotted the thirst-quenching, life-giving well.

Numerous examples of similar corrected vision dot the scriptures.

  • Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD. Numbers 22:31 NIV
  • Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua 5:13 NIV

So, what is it that has you feeling hopeless?  Maybe it’s the state of the world with irreconcilable wars and conflicts, or the politics of your nation that feel futile. Or maybe the rapid decline of morality in our cultures, even in some of our churches. 

For me, I carry concern over my mother-in-law’s physical decline and lack of happy anticipation of her future with Jesus. Friends in my Bible study carry heavy burdens regarding children and grandchildren and I pray for these needs. Yet, from a horizontal vista, in many of these situations, nothing encouraging ‘appears’ to be happening.

Right after I read about Hagar’s upward shift of vision, I picked up a devotional where I read Jesus’ words to his sleepy men at the Gethsemane Garden. He commanded them to ‘Watch and pray’. Immediately, I connected what Jesus counseled with the value of looking up.

Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. Matthew 26:41 NIV

I don’t think Jesus is warning his disciples about the temptation to fall asleep.  Rather because of Satan’s whispered doubts, they and we fall into discouragement, fear and anxiety.  We count the odds instead of counting on God.  But we are to be like watchmen on a castle’s ramparts looking for the help that has been promised.  And we are to pray. That is, to lay before the Savior of the world what we ‘see’ and then tell the truth of what God has done, is doing, can do and has promised to do. We can be like Job whose words in 34:32 go: ‘Show me what I do not see!’.  Then we can add, ‘Father, protect me AGAINST these temptations to doubt and worry.’

So, for the last few days, I’ve been repeating out loud several times a day ‘Watch and Pray’. I don’t want to miss what God is doing.

Apparently, the Spirit of God wants to make sure I get his message loud and clear. For, last night when I was thumbing through a book filled with liturgies for work (Every Moment Holy, Volume III, The Work of the People), I came across a margin reference to  Colossians 4:2, along with the words:

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful, (Berean Standard Bible)

Besides watching, praying and thanking God as he brings about solutions to our burdens, we are also to be alert, keeping a look out for his imminent arrival. It’s a true statement, ‘we are nearer today than we’ve ever been in history’.

So, pick up this short mantra for yourselves, Watch and pray, and fill yourself with real hope.  And pass it along to someone else whose eyes are downcast.

Jesus’ practical advice

January 6, 2024

Maria Anxiety, God's Mercy, God's Promises, God's Provision, Matthew 6, Problems, Promises, Psalm 23, Unbelief, Watchman, Worry , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

“So, don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. Matthew 6:34 NLT

If you were to analyze all that you are anxious about this moment, what percentage would be about today’s events or circumstances? Do you think more of your ‘worry bank’ would be directed and spent on hypothetical future problems?

Up until this morning, I’ve always reacted to Jesus’ reality check about ‘enough trouble today’ with a ‘Thanks a lot, Jesus! Just how is that supposed to make me feel better? ‘

But while meditating on Psalm 23:6, the Spirit triggered my memory and I looked up to see just where Jesus had announced this common-sense advice. Matthew 6:34 follows his command that THIS day we focus foremost on the Kingdom of God and its spread. Forestalling our, ‘but what about ….?,’ he assures us that all today’s needs are being met, right now.

A dear friend of mine currently feels buried by fears of the future regarding new work projects. He feels burdened by all the unknowns. He is also very skilled and practiced at imagining the worst. (I’m not sure who would win that competition, he or I!)  So, scouring Scripture this morning, I searched for fresh encouragement for him. It just so happened that this week’s BSF lesson on John 10 has us re-reading Psalm 23 to find descriptions of Jesus as our good shepherd.

I have always loved the first part of verse 6 (NLT): Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life…My mom often talked about the image of God’s ‘Hound of Heaven’, (title of one of Francis Thompson’s 1890 poem) chasing us, almost glued to us as a shadow.

As I applied this truth to myself and the things I often fearfully imagine, I teased out what God’s kindness, mercies and his faithful loving favor toward us imply. In other words, I saw clearly what I and all of us who know God should do each day. Kind of like wearing an ‘If X, then Y’ pair of glasses.

If God’s ‘tob’ and his ‘chesed’ are chasing me today and every day, then:

  • Maybe I should slow down and enjoy them.
  • Certainly, I should be expecting them, and be on the lookout for each one, like a watchman assigned to a tower.
  • That way, I can thank Jesus at the end of the day, mentioning concrete occasions of when I saw his provision.
  • Furthermore, I’ll always have a fresh crop of examples of God’s love to distribute to thirsty people who are desperate for hope.

So, back to my friend; here’s how I hope to encourage him.  Instead of dreading what he imagines he might have to face in these new job possibilities, I will gently counsel him to stay IN today, trusting Jesus’s promise that he will provide. That statement about ‘enough trouble today’ means today’s rescues and mercies have been planned and already remedied, BUT to meet ONLY today’s needs.

As John Piper points out: the root of all our worry is unbelief in God’s promises.

God won’t supernaturally make us count on him and not worry.  But he gives us plenty of practice to trust his character and throw ourselves on his guaranteed vows.