Tag: adversity

God Is Bigger (Psalm 46)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

God is our refuge and strength,
    a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
    though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble with its tumult.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;
    God will help it when the morning dawns.
The nations are in an uproar; the kingdoms totter;
    he utters his voice; the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Come, behold the works of the Lord;
    see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
    he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God!
    I am exalted among the nations;
    I am exalted in the earth.”
The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our refuge. (New Revised Standard Version)

Fear is one of those things that we don’t get over simply by telling ourselves to not be afraid. In fact, that approach typically makes us even more fearful – namely, because we focus on the fear itself. But to cope and deal with fear, it requires a focus on something bigger than the fear.

God is bigger than the boogie man.
He’s bigger than Godzilla,
or the monsters on TV.
Oh, God is bigger than the boogie man.
And He’s watching out for you and me.

So, when I’m lying in my bed,
and the furniture starts creeping,
I’ll just laugh and say,
“Hey, cut that out!”
And get back to my sleeping.
‘Cause I know that God’s the biggest,
and He’s watching all the while.
So, when I get scared I’ll think of Him,
and close my eyes and smile.

God is bigger than the boogie man.
He’s bigger than Godzilla,
or the monsters on TV.
Oh, God is bigger than the boogie man.
And He’s watching out for you and me. – VeggieTales

Psalms and songs of trust in God help us focus on divine hugeness instead of human puniness.

Changing Circumstances

Even though people may find themselves in the dire straits of natural disasters, they can have confidence smack in the middle of all the crazy chaos. Whereas those who focus on their fear become ever more anxious and feel as if the world is out of control, the believer isn’t threatened when overwhelming circumstances occur.

We will not fear, because God – who created the world and its vast natural systems – stands above it all and is therefore able to establish order out of chaos. Just as we are certain that the sun will again rise in the morning, so too, we have full confidence that God shall rise over the darkness and bring light and warmth to all that is shadowy and cold.

Shaky Politics

The nations and their governments who rule with injustice and care nothing for religion, breathe-out their threats and posture themselves as supreme leaders. They, too, are chaotic forces. But God is far above them, as well as above the flood and the famine. The leader’s bellicose blustering sounds merely like a chattering chipmunk to God.

And like natural disasters, the uproar of the nations does damage; but national leaders cannot topple God. Instead, God will shake up the unjust nations, like a protein shake in a blender. When delusional leaders encounter the voice of God, they cower in fear – but God’s people don’t. The spiritual person’s foundation will not be shaken, whereas the would-be dictator will find himself without anyone to lead.

A Working God

God is always working, albeit most of the time behind the scenes. God’s dominion extends over everything and everyone. God can obliterate any and all threats because God is everywhere present.

Based on this view of God, all we as people need do is be still and know that the Lord is God. Like Jesus rebuking the waves and the sea, resulting in immediate stillness, so God’s word brings us stillness, calmness, and freedom from fear and anxiety.

God is with us. God is in control. God cares for us. There are a lot of things we don’t know – such as why we have to personally endure the natural disasters and the unnatural dictators – but we can know without a shadow of a doubt that the presence of God surrounds us, and the love of God squeezes us.

With a transcendent Being who commands the angelic hosts of heaven, our source of security comes not from within but from without. The Lord is a trustworthy God who is vigilant in watching over us.

Trusting the Lord

Armies, security systems, and protective coverings all have their needed purpose in human life. Yet, when we look to our ultimate protection – the kind that provides security of both body and soul – it is God’s presence that sustains our highest and greatest needs.

Perhaps you understand the psalm’s message, yet still find it difficult or untenable to place faith in such an ancient writing and an even older God. Maybe you much prefer to trust in something that isn’t so ethereal, something you can engage with your five senses.

It could be that you prefer a strong political leader, more and bigger weapons, higher and thicker walls of protection. You work hard to have as much money as possible to keep you safe from harm. You seek to gain as much influence in the form of earthly power and authority as you can.

The problem is, however, that none of this earthly posturing is going to protect you from what you fear the most. All that work is going to prove unreliable in the end.

God is the only sure defense. Ultimate power belongs to the Lord God almighty, creator of heaven and earth. Deliverance of body and soul does not ultimately come through the strength of the military, the economy, or any human ingenuity or hard work; for the Christian, it comes through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Any inclination to place saving trust in personal resources, human institutions, or world might, will result in sure failure. They cannot remedy our fear, for nothing is able to match the power of God. Indeed, God is bigger than anyone and anything. We need the mighty fortress which is our God.

A mighty Fortress is our God
A Bulwark never failing
Our Helper He amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing

For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe
His craft and power are great
And armed with cruel and hate
On earth is not his equal

Did we in our own strength confide
Our striving would be losing
We’re not the right Man on our side
The Man of God’s own choosing
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He
Lord Sabaoth His Name
From age to age, the same
And He must win the battle

That word above all earthly powers
No, thanks to them, abideth
The Spirit and the gifts are ours
Through Him who with us sideth
Let goods and kindred go
This mortal life also
The body they may kill
God’s truth abideth still
His Kingdom is forever

Amen

What Is Your View of God? (Psalm 86)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
    for I am poor and needy.
Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you;
    save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; be gracious to me, O Lord,
    for to you do I cry all day long.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
    for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
    abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you.
Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
    listen to my cry of supplication.
In the day of my trouble I call on you,
    for you will answer me.

There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
    nor are there any works like yours.
All the nations you have made shall come
    and bow down before you, O Lord,
    and shall glorify your name.
For you are great and do wondrous things;
    you alone are God.
Teach me your way, O Lord,
    that I may walk in your truth;
    give me an undivided heart to revere your name.
I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
    and I will glorify your name forever.
For great is your steadfast love toward me;
    you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

O God, the insolent rise up against me;
    a band of ruffians seeks my life,
    and they do not set you before them.
But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
Turn to me and be gracious to me;
    give your strength to your servant;
    save the child of your maidservant.
Show me a sign of your favor,
    so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame,
    because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me. (New Revised Standard Version)

The biblical psalms are first and foremost a collection of prayers. Spanning the scope of the human condition, and plumbing the depths of human emotion, we find that there are psalms for every sort of situation we may find ourselves in – whether the circumstance is good or bad.

In David’s particular case, he knew what it was like to have evil men hate him and pursue taking his life through no fault of his own. Although I have never faced adversity to such a degree as David did, I do know something about people who, to put it bluntly, just flat-out hate my guts. It feels awful, and it can be terribly draining emotionally and spiritually. Having disrespectful and rude people talk behind your back (and sometimes even to your face) is in direct contrast to who God is.

God is described by David as merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and faithful. Whereas insolent people objectify others and seek their own selfish agendas, God always acts in accord with a basic character of love and grace. 

Based upon the nature of just and benevolent God, we can choose to cry out, just like David did, to show us a sign of God’s favor. We can pray for God to provide us with some tangible communication of divine love in ways we can understand so that we can be helped and receive the kind of comfort we need through our adversity.

Be assured that with such a God, our pleas, cries, and tears will be noticed, affirmed, and answered. We can trust the sovereign Lord of all creation to address the insolence and injustice that exists around us and toward us.

All of this talk about adverse circumstances and unjust people, gets down to our view of God and our theological understanding of the basic Divine nature and purpose. 

For some people, God is up there, somewhere, like some white-bearded old guy who is aloof to what is going on down here – there is neither anything personal nor personable about him, at all. 

For others, God is a force which binds all things together. In this theology, God exists, but you are never quite sure how to connect – it’s like a crapshoot trying to get in touch with him. 

For yet others, God is perpetually perturbed about something; God has a bee in his bonnet, and it is apparently our job to figure out what he is so sullen and upset about all the time so that we can appease him in some way.

However, the psalmist David, sees God in wholly other ways than this. For David, God is personal, knowable, and reachable. David thought about God in ways which transcend either gendered or personality-type categories. 

Note the descriptions David provided: a willingness to forgive; an abiding, consistent, and steadfast presence of divine love; always having the time and desire to listen; possessing the power and ability to provide help and protection; being kind and merciful; not being easily angered; and extending needed comfort and consolation.

Now this is a God you can sink your teeth into – attentive, engaged, and anything but upset all the time. This is the reason why David has confidence to ask for deliverance, direction, and delight. Such a God is like a caring grandmother who seeks to always love and serve, and not a crotchety old curmudgeon who always seems bothered by everyone and everything.

If your theology and your view of God cannot support and bear the weight of life’s hardest circumstances, then you need a different view of God!

I invite you to see the God of David. Theology proper discerns the being, attributes, and works of God as fundamentally faithful and loving. This God has both the ability and the will to meet and satisfy your life’s greatest needs.

Great God of David, you are above all things and beside all things and with all things. You are uniquely positioned and powerful to walk with me through all the situations of my life. Thank you for sending the Son of David to make real your promises to me. Amen.

Embrace the Change, Slowly (Exodus 24:12-18)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Moses receives the law from God on Mount Sinai, by Unknown artist, 1877

The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there; I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.” So Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up onto the mountain of God. To the elders he had said, “Wait here for us, until we come back to you. Look, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to them.”

Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the Israelites. Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights. (New Revised Standard Version)

The Lord graciously entered into a covenant with the ancient Israelites. Following this, Moses was summoned to come up the mountain into God’s presence. There he would receive the tablets of stone with the law and the commandment on it. Yahweh was providing the people with instruction on how to live in the covenant relationship.

The scene was set for the Lord to give an extended revelation to Moses. Moses ascended the mountain, into the cloud, so that the people did not see him. For the next forty days and nights, God’s law and commandments were relayed and taught to Moses.

What did not happen is God tossing some stone tablets containing the law to Moses and then going on God’s merry way. The whole encounter unfolds over an extended period of time. That’s because we are people; we need time to wrap our heads and hearts around new realities. Humans require the gift of slowness to learn and absorb.

Western society, however, does not operate that way. More, faster, and better seems to be our cultural creed. And it’s found everywhere around us. Speed reading. More money. Bigger stuff.

Hogs and chickens are raised on factory farms in large confinement buildings. They never see the light of day. Instead, they are given steroids and growth hormones to grow faster and bigger, so that they can get to the market more quickly and get a better price.

Churches and faith communities in financial trouble look for quick solutions and fast turnarounds by expecting pastors to work more, faster, and better. Sports teams hire and fire coaches with dizzying frequency, believing that if the athletes aren’t faster and better with more wins, then there’s something wrong with them, the coach, or both.

But we have no further than the end of our nose to look for change.

People are in control of very little in this world, and so, a great deal of life is the ability to respond in changing circumstances – both wanted and unwanted. Resilience and flexibility are needed.

Moses receives the Ten Commandments, by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1860

The Lord brought about the end of Egyptian slavery for the Israelites through a series of plagues against Egypt. God miraculously delivered the people from the Egyptian army by parting the Red Sea. And Yahweh graciously entered into covenant with them at the mountain. All of this was a major change of life.

It was the people’s responsibility to respond in faith and obedience to the actions and words of God. The Lord was allowing them the space and the time to come to grips with their new reality – which is one reason why Moses met with God for forty days and nights on the mountain.

The Israelites needed to spend their time adjusting to their new life, and contemplating the giving of the law, which was about to happen. Since we are privy to the end of the story, we know that the people did not do this. They became impatient, and experienced a failure of faith and obedience.

Aaron and Hur were the leaders who needed to step up and guide the people in the special opportunity of preparation for receiving the law. Whatever it is they did, it wasn’t that.

Murmuring, complaining, and arguing are the initial signs of impatience and wanting things to happen faster, even immediately. But faith is not forged this way. Faith is developed through dealing with adversity by looking to God, listening, and obeying. Faith knows that all things can be faced with joy.

My brothers and sisters, whenever you face various trials, consider it all joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance complete its work, so that you may be complete and whole, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4, NRSV)

Waiting, patience, and the stretching of faith is not typically what people sign up for. Whenever there are circumstances which warrant endurance and perseverance, it’s far too easy to become antsy and begin grumbling about the situation.

That’s what happened to the ancient Israelites. They had a stiff price to pay for their impatience and impertinence. Don’t be like them. Instead, decide now for encouragement, in and through, all circumstances.

Watch out, brothers and sisters, so that none of you have an evil, unfaithful heart that abandons the living God. Instead, encourage each other every day, as long as it’s called “today,” so that none of you become insensitive to God because of sin’s deception. We are partners with Christ, but only if we hold on to the confidence we had in the beginning until the end. (Hebrews 3:12-13, CEB)

May almighty God give you grace to persevere with joy, so that the Spirit may complete the work begun in you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Be Careful What You Ask For (Numbers 11:18-23, 31-32)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Now tell the people, ‘Purify yourselves for tomorrow; you will have meat to eat. The Lord has heard you whining and saying that you wished you had some meat and that you were better off in Egypt. Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will have to eat it. You will have to eat it not just for one or two days, or five, or ten, or even twenty days, but for a whole month, until it comes out of your ears, until you are sick of it. This will happen because you have rejected the Lord who is here among you and have complained to him that you should never have left Egypt.’”

Moses said to the Lord, “Here I am leading 600,000 people, and you say that you will give them enough meat for a month? Could enough cattle and sheep be killed to satisfy them? Are all the fish in the sea enough for them?”

“Is there a limit to my power?” the Lord answered. “You will soon see whether what I have said will happen or not!”…

Suddenly the Lord sent a wind that brought quails from the sea, flying three feet above the ground. They settled on the camp and all around it for miles and miles in every direction. So all that day, all night, and all the next day, the people worked catching quails; no one gathered less than fifty bushels. They spread them out to dry all around the camp. (Good News Translation)

I can just imaging the dialogue around the campfire at night with some of the ancient Israelites. Out in the middle of nowhere, delivered from Egyptian slavery, but not yet to the Promised Land, they were feeling the awkward space of being in-between those two places:

“Manna, again!? Geez, are we ever going to get anything else to eat?”

“Doesn’t look like it, does it? Every single day we get up, go out on the desert, collect the manna, eat it all day, go to bed, then get up and do it all over again.”

Do you remember back in Egypt, we had garlic and leeks and stew and meat? Oh, glorious meat! Sometimes I think we were better of there. Dang it, I want meat! Don’t you want meat, too!?”

“Yeah, I’m sick of this manna. Hey, there’s Moses. Get us some meat, Moses! Did you bring us out here to bore us to death with manna!? What are you doing about it? Where are you leading us? Where’s the meat?”…

And on and on it goes, the murmuring about food and conditions in the desert.

When life is topsy-turvy and upside-down, it is so amazingly easy to grumble and complain. The ancient Israelites sometimes didn’t have water to drink. They had a limited diet of manna. They were anxious, nervous, and scared, wondering if things would get better, or not. The people were in a life-and-death sort of situation.

How would you respond?

Complaining, unlike our emotions such as fear, is a volitional response. We choose to grumble. The problem with gripes and complaints is that it sets a person down a dark path. The criticisms and grievances begin easily and are seemingly harmless, that is, at first. They are, however, anything but innocuous or innocent.

The murmuring under the breath did not stop with getting meat to eat. If we look ahead in the story of God’s people in the exodus event, the moaning and complaining quickly returned. The people became so disillusioned with their circumstances that they began longing for the “good old days” back in Egypt when they had plenty to eat and drink, forgetting about their cruel bondage in slavery. (Exodus 16:1-3)

The psychological progression continued with beginning to blame their situation on God, as if the Lord were some mean malevolent deity. From that point, it was inevitable that the people would disobey God and eventually succumb to the idolatry of the golden calf. (Exodus 32:1-8)

Despite the grand celebration of leaving Egypt and experiencing a miraculous deliverance through the Red Sea, the people quickly forgot because of their present mundane circumstance of eating manna every day.

If they were spiritually healthy, they would realize that the mighty God who saved them with incredible acts of power would care for them in a desert. Yet, for many, there was no faith to be found in a new situation they had not faced before.

Failure of faith begins neither with ignorance nor an egregious sin. It begins with grumbling and complaining. And if allowed to run amok, complaints will bear the fruit of discouragement, disobedience, and finally, a disavowal of God.

Sometimes, if you want something bad enough, God will give it to you. And you won’t like it. That’s because the heart has already been attuned to grumbling and murmuring. The heart’s hunger will never be satiated; it’s sick. And it can become so sick that a heart transplant is needed – an altogether new heart. Yet God will even help with that:

And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. (Ezekiel 36:26-27, NLT)

Acceptance means practicing a conscious effort to acknowledge and honor difficult situations and emotions. Fully accepting things as they are, instead of ignoring, avoiding, or wishing the situation were different, can be a critical step in moving through a difficult experience to experiencing more meaning.

Learning to be satisfied and content begins with accepting our current reality and present circumstances. The state of our minds and our hearts will determine whether we will ever be happy or not. When we discover how to synchronize ourselves with the groove of God’s Spirit, then we shall enjoy an abundant life of contentment – no matter the situation.

May we be able to say along with the psalmist:

I will bless the Lord who guides me;
    even at night my heart instructs me.
I know the Lord is always with me.
    I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.

No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice.
    My body rests in safety.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead
    or allow your holy one to rot in the grave.
You will show me the way of life,
    granting me the joy of your presence
    and the pleasures of living with you forever. (Psalm 16:7-11, NLT)