"Know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one thing of them has failed." Joshua 23:14b AMP
The old adage, "can't see the forest for all of these darn trees", comes to mind when I think of this verse in context with what I am facing in the trials and struggles of the life to which I have been called. Not just as a father, not just a husband, not just as a man, but even as a minister. The costs, when I sit down and list them upon paper, have been high, questionable, and dear. Not just to live the calling as a minister (I am still 'only' a Chaplain), but also to be the example to my two dear children as what a father should be (not having the good, clear example of my own on which to emulate), and struggling to be a man as God designed me to be. I come against so many walls in pursuit of the Kingdom goals, I wonder if I am in pursuit of them after all……..
And then a friend comes alongside, a mentor mentors, and a God speaks through the voices of those He has created and embraced as His own children. And I remember what Joshua told the nation of Israel as they looked at the daunting task of claiming physically a land given to them by God. A daunting task, a scary task, but a task that they were called to, purposed for, and enabled to obtain. God had told them so, and Joshua reminded them that God delivered. Always. On His schedule, but always on time.
In the chaos of the storm, unable to see beyond the battlements of the fortress in which I'm hunkered down in, I can't see God's work or His promise of faithfulness in response to mine. I can't plot the course to that sunny beach upon which I'll be able to rest from the struggles of the day and gain some peace. I can't predict a day where things won't be so weighty upon my mind and heart. I have forgotten that there will be a day when my heart doesn't break anymore.
I have raged against the storm, AND the God to which it is ultimately responsive to. I have argued against the struggle, against the brick walls, against the opinion that this poor boy with no theological or seminary training can ever grace the stage of a church as pastor, as teacher, and as a beloved son. I have cast myself unmercifully against the brick and mortar by which I also seek protection from the elements.
And as I collapse upon the ground in utter exhaustion, battered and bruised from the inflicted doubt, I hear the voice again. That voice that called me back in February of 2004 home (renewal of faith), and October of the same year to ministry. A voice I've heard several times in my life since, always at the times when I am not listening for it……………the voice of my Father……
"Beloved son, I will be your strength. I will be your rest. Why do you cower behind the wall? There is work to be done, will you go?"
The voice that promises much for those who would listen……………….
And the history to back up the faith that the God behind it will deliver upon them……..
Tuesday, February 12
Monday, February 11
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?
"For it is not an enemy who reproaches and taunts me--then I might bear it; nor is it one who has hated me who insolently vaunts himself against me--then I might hide from him. But it was you, a man my equal, my companion and my familiar friend. We had sweet fellowship together and used to walk to the house of God in company." Psalm 55:12-14 AMP
"On the night He was betrayed……"
A phrase that continues to echo in my heart as the storm rages full fury against my tattered and ripped meager fortress, heard above the roar of the mighty wind that beats against all that I hold dear. Christ was betrayed by a friend, a disciple whom He loved and respected. He knew Judas would betray him, yet He treated him as if the knowledge was hidden from His eyes. Until it came time for the final sacrifice to be advanced to the Cross, a sight that Judas never saw.
On the night He was betrayed……
Christ didn't hide or cower behind closed doors frightened and afraid. No, He gave us the communion to remind us of what would be done to redeem us. He spent the night in the garden, anguished and sorrowed to the point where blood dripped from his sweating brow and yet, when the time came for Judas to commit the sin against God's Son, he simply asked, "What is this, Judas? That you would betray the Son of Man with a kiss?" No condemnation, no angry outburst or calling of his disciples to His side. He even admonished Peter for the slicing off of the guard's ear, and healed an unbeliever who had came to take Him to His purpose. All of His disciples, even the one who openly declared death the only thing to hold him from His side, ran into the night and left Christ alone to be beaten, accused, and shamed.
On the night he was betrayed……..
He invoked such humility and such grace that anyone who knew Him and realized who He was surely stood numbed and heartbroken as they watched the events unfold… especially John, the Beloved, who would ultimately face the enduring trials of being the last eyewitness voice to what happened during the three years Christ walked in ministry upon the land. How shocked, stunned, and utterly depressed must all of those who had followed this giant amongst the sheep, to see Him battered, bruised, and betrayed to the most heinous death the Romans knew, crucifixion.
And we can experience that level of betrayal in the body of Christ's church as we watch those who profess to be of the family espouse views and opinions that Christ doesn't support upon the Word. There is nothing that causes greater distress than to be betrayed by a loved one or someone within the close circle of your friends.
But as Matthew Henry said, "The true Christian must expect trials from professed friends [or loved ones], from those with whom he has been united; this will be very painful; but by looking unto Jesus we shall be enabled to bear it. Christ was betrayed by a companion, a disciple, an apostle, who resembled Ahithophel in his crimes and doom. Both were speedily overtaken by Divine vengeance."
As this verse expresses a prophecy about Christ's betrayal, it also contains our warning of betrayals of our own. But we cannot shut off from the light and harshness of the world and its demons, rather face it with the grace that Christ had as He walked down the streets of Jerusalem carrying a wooden cross that He was to be nailed too.
We can look in the face of our betrayers and utter the words that Christ spoke as He hung in utter pain upon a cross not of His making,
"Forgive them for they know not what they do."
"On the night He was betrayed……"
A phrase that continues to echo in my heart as the storm rages full fury against my tattered and ripped meager fortress, heard above the roar of the mighty wind that beats against all that I hold dear. Christ was betrayed by a friend, a disciple whom He loved and respected. He knew Judas would betray him, yet He treated him as if the knowledge was hidden from His eyes. Until it came time for the final sacrifice to be advanced to the Cross, a sight that Judas never saw.
On the night He was betrayed……
Christ didn't hide or cower behind closed doors frightened and afraid. No, He gave us the communion to remind us of what would be done to redeem us. He spent the night in the garden, anguished and sorrowed to the point where blood dripped from his sweating brow and yet, when the time came for Judas to commit the sin against God's Son, he simply asked, "What is this, Judas? That you would betray the Son of Man with a kiss?" No condemnation, no angry outburst or calling of his disciples to His side. He even admonished Peter for the slicing off of the guard's ear, and healed an unbeliever who had came to take Him to His purpose. All of His disciples, even the one who openly declared death the only thing to hold him from His side, ran into the night and left Christ alone to be beaten, accused, and shamed.
On the night he was betrayed……..
He invoked such humility and such grace that anyone who knew Him and realized who He was surely stood numbed and heartbroken as they watched the events unfold… especially John, the Beloved, who would ultimately face the enduring trials of being the last eyewitness voice to what happened during the three years Christ walked in ministry upon the land. How shocked, stunned, and utterly depressed must all of those who had followed this giant amongst the sheep, to see Him battered, bruised, and betrayed to the most heinous death the Romans knew, crucifixion.
And we can experience that level of betrayal in the body of Christ's church as we watch those who profess to be of the family espouse views and opinions that Christ doesn't support upon the Word. There is nothing that causes greater distress than to be betrayed by a loved one or someone within the close circle of your friends.
But as Matthew Henry said, "The true Christian must expect trials from professed friends [or loved ones], from those with whom he has been united; this will be very painful; but by looking unto Jesus we shall be enabled to bear it. Christ was betrayed by a companion, a disciple, an apostle, who resembled Ahithophel in his crimes and doom. Both were speedily overtaken by Divine vengeance."
As this verse expresses a prophecy about Christ's betrayal, it also contains our warning of betrayals of our own. But we cannot shut off from the light and harshness of the world and its demons, rather face it with the grace that Christ had as He walked down the streets of Jerusalem carrying a wooden cross that He was to be nailed too.
We can look in the face of our betrayers and utter the words that Christ spoke as He hung in utter pain upon a cross not of His making,
"Forgive them for they know not what they do."
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