Daughters of promise

My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.  Psalm 131:1-2

One of my all-time favorite songs is Be Born In Me.  It’s sung by Francesca Basttistelli.  This lyric arrests me.  Did you wrap yourself inside the unexpected – so we would know that love would go that far?    Yes, He sure did.  Because when unexpected events come, my love for God can be stretched.  I wonder if my love will go as far as my fears.

The unexpected can encompass something I fear might come true.  Worried, I keep entrusting my misgivings to God and then I rest because I believe He will take care of i.  But if God doesn’t spare me, will He no longer be a refuge?  Will resting no longer be possible?

It takes effort to disentangle myself from the conflict of my soul and to go home as a ‘weaned child rests against his mother.’  (Psalm 131) Consider it from Eugene Peterson’s, THE MESSAGE. God, I’m not trying to rule the roost, I don’t want to be king of the mountain, I haven’t meddled where I have no business or fantasized grandiose plans. I’ve kept my feet on the ground, I’ve cultivated a quiet heart, like a baby content in its mother’s arms, my soul is a baby who is content.  

God told us throughout scripture that we are in a war and we are not home yet.  Resting lets me catch my breath in God’s arms while the wind blows.  Resting lets me settle my soul in His embrace. Resting lets me collect my thoughts for my next steps.  Resting reminds me that, even in the worst of things, He will have the last word.  Resting helps me remember to cling to the Victor when it appears Satan is winning.  Resting facilitates focus in chaos.   

I rest in the character of God, not in the expectation that He will deliver me from all pain. Peace is found in the security of One all-knowing and wise.  He sees what I cannot, and as it was for Jesus, God’s plan is redemptive even when a plot line appears senseless.  My life is hidden in Christ and is destined for glory no matter how things look on this calendar day.

You are my firm foundation in confusion, my rock of refuge in sinking sand.  Amen

The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. Psalm 19:7

Suppose an intruder came to your house and wanted to vandalize. They emptied every kitchen cabinet and left piles all over the floor. Then they opened flour, sugar, and spices – and just dumped the contents. What chaos. Would you walk away and just leave it all, live life like nothing happened, or would you put everything back in order?  Seems like an elementary question but I’m always surprised by the level of chaos, externally and internally, that has taken a person over and become their way of life.

God introduced confusion as a judgment. The peoples of the earth had come together to build a tower for their own gain.  There was order and unity but for an unholy agenda. To cripple their efforts, God separated them by many languages. If they couldn’t understand one another, they wouldn’t be able to work together.

I find that chaos and chaotic thinking are still signs of evil. One who is in the grip of the evil one devises a logic that weaves webs. No matter how much you try to understand them and their behavior, the more tormented you become. You just can’t ever get to the bottom of the issue. The best thing anyone can do is stop trying to make sense of what is senseless.

I heard someone say that at Babel, God pronounced judgment on evil by using many languages to confuse. At Pentecost, He brought blessing and kingdom advancement by taking many languages and creating order.

Anytime I am swirling in the midst of confusion and think God is the author, I have attributed something to God that is not His. He is simple yet deep, profound, clear, and concise. The kingdom is well-ordered. His statutes are written in pristine legal language.

Help me step above the chaos to the serenity of Your order. Amen

By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. On the willows there we hung up our lyres.  For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”  How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?  Psalm 137:1-4

Not all Psalms were written by David.  This one was written by a Jewish exile living in Babylon.  Having seen his homeland destroyed and having been taken as a captive into the foreign culture of the Babylonian Empire, he struggled to find his voice and get his spiritual bearings. 

His new homeland was corrupt and excessive.  The people of God stuck out like sore thumbs.  They were invited to sing their simple songs of faith to the taunts of the crowd, not unlike the Jews who were made to perform in the camps for the military tyrants who despised them. 

In another year, our song will be rendered just as peculiar against the backdrop of the next presidential election. I’m holding my breath for what will come, but that is a carnal and short-sighted response.  God is encouraging each of us to breathe, to breathe in the oxygen of His Holy Spirit.  Grace will enable us to stand and sing the songs of the exiles. The lyrics will reflect our allegiance to the King of Kings, His kingdom, and its culture of holiness. 

Though we are made to feel like outsiders, and though we bear the brunt of society’s scorn, our voices must not be silenced.  The noise of evil must not prevail over the praises of God’s people. It’s not time to close the piano lid or retire the pen of the poet. Never has the music of faith been more important, and never are songs sweeter than when saints raise their joyful voices with tear-stained faces. 

Let my hope sing. Amen

But you will not go out in haste, nor will you go as fugitives; for the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.  Isaiah 52:12

You know the feeling of being blindsided, don’t you?  It is to be caught unaware, to be provoked from an unexpected position.  Your adrenalin surges and there’s hardly time to collect your thoughts. 

God promises that we need never suffer the mindset of someone who went out in haste.  If you’ve ever left your house in a hurry, you know that you ended up not having what you needed.  Had there been deliberate planning, provisions would have been at your fingertips. Today, you and I are not fugitives on the run, scavenging to get our needs met.  We stop to breathe in the Spirit.  We look toward heaven and ask God to still our wildly beating hearts.  We ask Him to clothe us with the mind of Christ.  We look to His Word to illumine our next steps, to jump off the page with precise application.  If fragile emotionally, financially, and in any other way, Christ is gathering us from behind and keeping us together as His protected bride.  We are on course and are living for such a time as this.  

Oh, it’s possible to turn elsewhere for advice. King Saul, when under pressure, didn’t consult God and turned to a medium for guidance.  It was careless, sinful, and brought about his death. This is the time for each of us to press into the God of the Ages for instruction.  Isaiah also said, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way.  Walk in it.”’ 

Never have I been safer and more loved, Jesus.  Amen

Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.  This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.  Isaiah 25:9

From its very beginning, the land of Moab was cursed.  Moab was born to Lot, and his daughter; incest was the foundation of their history.  As the nation grew stronger, it became increasingly evil.  They practiced sorcery, open adultery, incest, and prostitution.  They even threw any unwanted children into the fire.  When Moab is spoken of metaphorically in scripture, it refers to any place where evil reigns and God is dishonored. 

As a nation, we are residing in Moab.  We are waiting for the Lord’s salvation when He destroys all their fortresses.  While we wait, we have great hope in the promises of a God who preserves his people until the day of deliverance.

‘Living in Moab’ can also describe the personal existence of many of God’s children.  Maybe you are one of them.  Moab may represent your home.  You co-exist with unbelievers who are resistant to the very idea of Christ Jesus. They sin boldly without the slightest wince.

The land of Moab can characterize a nation, a home, a business, and even a church.  Every living entity has a beginning, a righteous or unrighteous inception.  Many try to invoke God’s blessing on their Titanic.  They are painting and redecorating their sinking ship, and prayers for a blessing is an affront to a holy God. 

If you dwell with Moabites and God has not delivered you out of their hand, be joyful in Hope, yet humble.  Pray for their salvation.  One of them could be a ‘Ruth’.  And when there is blatant sin, ask God for the strength to speak the words of Jesus. He modeled ministry against the backdrop of Jewish religiosity and the Roman Empire.      

Don’t let me wimp out and shut down.  As I wait for Your salvation, I want to be Your prophet.  In Jesus’ name, Amen

I depend on God alone; I put my hope in him. He alone protects and saves me; he is my defender, and I shall never be defeated. My salvation and honor depend on God; he is my strong protector; he is my shelter.  Psalm 62:5

In WWII, Japan surrendered to American forces and yet the news of the surrender took weeks and months to reach isolated Japanese garrisons.  Soldiers continued to fight.  Men continued to die.  Those who were ignorant of Japan’s surrender were caught in the ‘not yet’.

I have often been confused by the promises of God.  He is my healer.  Does that mean that I will never know a sick period?  He is my deliverer.  Does that mean that I will never know a season of oppression?  He is the God who avenges.  Does that mean that He will settle all scores on the heels of wrongdoing?  He is my strength.  Does that mean that I will never languish in seasons of weakness?  He is my shield.  Does that mean that I will never be wounded by fiery arrows?  He is my comfort.  Does that mean that I will never feel alone or forsaken?  I can get tripped up when I’m in a prolonged ‘not yet’ period.

Solomon said it another way in his well-known discourse. 

“There is an appointed time for everything.  A time to give birth and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.  A time to kill and a time to heal; a time to tear down and a time to build up.”  Ecclesiastes 3

Without listening to God, I cannot guess which season I am in.  I can easily become an agent that works against God’s purposes.  I’ll try to preserve what God is dismantling.  I’ll try to bring something to a close when it’s ready to be launched into a new fruitfulness. I’ll comfort when I should exhort.  The Christian life is a faith walk and we live against the backdrop of human need and impaired spiritual vision.  

Lord, you strengthen the fiber of my faith in the ‘not yet.’  I ‘know that I know’ that You will fulfill every promise when the time is right. Amen