Tag: god’s mercy

Share Your Story (Psalm 107:1-16)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Psalm 107, by Erin Beardemphl

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
    those he redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
    from the east and from the west,
    from the north and from the south.

Some wandered in desert wastes,
    finding no way to an inhabited town;
hungry and thirsty,
    their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress;
he led them by a straight way,
    until they reached an inhabited town.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wonderful works to humankind.
For he satisfies the thirsty,
    and the hungry he fills with good things.

Some sat in darkness and in gloom,
    prisoners in misery and in irons,
for they had rebelled against the words of God
    and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
Their hearts were bowed down with hard labor;
    they fell down, with no one to help.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he saved them from their distress;
he brought them out of darkness and gloom,
    and broke their bonds apart.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wonderful works to humankind.
For he shatters the doors of bronze
    and cuts in two the bars of iron. (New Revised Standard Version)

Every person of faith has a story, a testimony of God’s redeeming, saving, and loving deliverance from trouble. And each one of those stories is sacred and special; no one story is better or greater than another. There’s no need, therefore, to act like you’re taking a course in comparative storytelling – as if you don’t have nearly the spiritual testimony of someone else.

The fact of the matter is that there is no trouble like your own personal trouble. Although others can relate to elements of each of our stories, no one else knows what your own experience is like. The old black spiritual is right in saying. “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen. Nobody knows but Jesus.”

It’s important to have others empathize with us and help normalize the experience we are going through. It’s necessary to have another validate our emotions and affirm the feelings we’re feeling. And, even after that, there’s nothing quite like a compassionate and caring Being who intimately knows everything about your trouble, how you experience it, and steps-in according to perfect divine timing, to bring uplift, hope, and salvation.

There is such a Being. God. Yahweh. The Lord. Pure Goodness. Redeemer. Savior. And most of all, Lover who is infinite Love with a capital “L.”

Why am I so confident about such a Being as this? Did I take too much methadone? Am I only an old fart who still believes in God? Or perhaps, you think, I’m a weird sort of giddy about God because of the Bible. Well, yes, and no. Scripture – especially the Psalms – just happens to put into words my actual experience and emotions.

But I don’t much care about parsing out whether I’m a deluded metaphysician or a sappy magpie or whatever other label gets affixed to me. It just doesn’t matter – because every epistemic fiber of my lower case being resonates with the upper case Being who bestows steadfast love because that Being’s character is actually made up of Love. It’s as if God is the biggest ultimate Teddy Bear, stuffed with holy love for all creation.

And, what’s more, this God seems to specialize and enjoy paying attention to the least, the lost, and the lowly among us humans. I was once in such a deep, dark, dank, black hole of spiritual nothingness that I knew I could never get out of, that is, on my own. I needed deliverance, or there wouldn’t be any hope whatsoever.

Others have experienced something akin to wandering alone out in a desert spiritual wasteland with no water, no food, no nothing but oppressive heat and loneliness. And others have had the trouble of real flesh and blood people seeking to do them harm, both physically and mentally. Yet others felt like they were bereft of options on a plantation of slavery in which all they could do was work like animals just to survive another day.

What all these persons have in common is that they cried out to the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. And most of them didn’t just do it once; some cried out until they had no voice and were too weak to even speak anymore.

God showed up. God also showed off. Not only was there deliverance, but there was also an upgrade. For me, it was not like Tim 2.0, but Tim 1,000.0 – a filling of divine grace that goes beyond mere words. Because of God’s grace and love in my own life, it has enabled me to tap into that storehouse of mercy and pray with spiritual confidence.

When my dear wife had a spine surgery several years ago and awoke from it unable to move her legs, I prayed. I asked for mercy. I pleaded for grace. And I did it for hours at the foot of her hospital bed. I remember that I stubbornly would not accept the fact that she could not move her lower body.  And I decided to stand there and pray until I got an answer from God.

Eventually, I prayed myself asleep. My wife woke me up sometime in the early morning the next day. She told me to pull back the covers and look at her right big toe…. She could give it an ever-small twitch. We called the nurse, who was so excited that she called everyone she could get a hold of.

With a dozen hospital staff huddled around the hospital bed, my wife proceeded to give that big toe a hearty move. The staff erupted with clapping, and I am not kidding when I say that we had a party with noise and shouts in a hospital room at 4am. Nobody cared we were going nuts. I certainly did not.

My friend, God is still in the business of answering prayer, of showing up and showing off.

Through the hard times, the good times, and the confusing times, the Lord is our constant ballast for all seasons of life, whether good or bad. And I love God for that abiding presence. I can also give testimony that through all of the adverse situations my wife and I have faced, we have learned to stop, be still, and find that all we ever wanted we already have, even when everything changes.

Psalm 107 lets us know that personal testimony expressed to the community is an important aspect of strengthening everyone’s faith. Our stories are important, and they are meant to be shared. The spiritual and emotional health of us all is at stake.

Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love.

We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on very side.

We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us.

We thank you also for the disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.

Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.

Grant us the gift of your Spirit; that we may know you and make you known; and through your Spirit, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.

Selective Memory (Psalm 25:1-10)

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

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, in you I trust;
    do not let me be put to shame;
    do not let my enemies exult over me.
Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame;
    let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
    teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are the God of my salvation;
    for you I wait all day long.

Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love,
    for they have been from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
    according to your steadfast love remember me,
    for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!

Good and upright is the Lord;
    therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
He leads the humble in what is right
    and teaches the humble his way.
All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
    for those who keep his covenant and his decrees. (New Revised Standard Version)

I admit there are things from my past I am neither proud of nor happy about. Yet, I give praise and thanksgiving to the Lord God Almighty because of divine selective memory. 

“I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more.”

God (Jeremiah 31:34, NRSV)

God remembers according to the divine nature and God’s character of merciful grace and steadfast love. I’m glad the Lord doesn’t act based upon the stupid sins of my younger yesteryear. God freely chooses to forgive and has made the means available for us to experience daily cleansing and victory through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Memory is a major theme in the Old Testament. The importance of remembering pops up again and again throughout Holy Scripture. The way in which our minds and hearts remember past events is of great spiritual significance. 

Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. (Deuteronomy 5:15, NRSV)

“And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Jesus (Matthew 28:20b, NRSV)

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David—that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. (2 Timothy 2:8-9, NRSV)

We are not to keep dwelling upon and remembering the former indiscretions of ourselves or others. To continue ruminating on a foolish decision or a poor choice only erodes our ability for resilience and perseverance.

The fact of the matter is that God does not hold those past regrets over our heads, and so, neither are we to do it. Forgiveness isn’t only for others; it’s meant to be directed to ourselves, as well. The ability to forgive enables us to leave the past in the past, without belching it up every day and chewing on it, like a cow with her cud.

Sometimes we are prone to remember the things we ought to forget, and forget those things we really should remember. Before us and in our minds continually is to remember the great works of God, especially in redemption. 

Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal, toward the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13b-14, NRSV)

What we have done or failed to do, and what has happened to us in the past, is not the real problem; the most prescient issue right now is how you and I interpret those past events.

Today we can choose to remember the way God remembers. The health of all our relationships is dependent on this ability. Everyone on planet earth encounters difficult people, challenging relationships, obnoxious neighbors, and hurtful family members. Paying attention to our memory and how we choose to remember can be a significant part of interacting with others. 

I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him. (Ephesians 1:16-17, NRSV)

If we like it that God has shown grace to us, then the least we can do is let that same grace flow from us to others – and to ourselves – we who neither deserve it, nor expect it. 

Let’s give thanks to the Lord, for God is good in forgiving sin and showing infinite mercy. And let’s express our gratitude through selfless words and acts of grace which reflect the nature of God.

Gracious God, you do not hold grudges; you always act according to your own loving character. Even though you could have condemned me, you saved me. Despite the fact that I have fallen short of your glory, you delivered me. I today remember your mighty redemptive deeds accomplished in your Son, my Lord, Jesus Christ, who with you and the Holy Spirit are one God, now and forever. To you, blessed Holy Trinity, I give my abiding praise and thanksgiving. Amen.

A Divine Appointment (2 Kings 8:1-6)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
The prophet Elisha and the Shunammite woman, by Pieter Lastman, 1620

Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had brought back to life: “You and your household must go away and live wherever you can, because the Lord has called for a famine. It is coming to the land and will last seven years.”

So the woman went and did what the man of God asked. She and her household moved away, living in Philistia seven years. When seven years had passed, the woman returned from Philistia. She went to appeal to the king for her house and her farmland. The king was speaking to Gehazi, the man of God’s servant, asking him, “Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done.” So Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had brought the dead to life. At that very moment, the woman whose son he had brought back to life began to appeal to the king for her house and her farmland.

Gehazi said, “Your Majesty, this is the woman herself! And this is her son, the one Elisha brought to life!”

The king questioned the woman, and she told him her story. Then the king appointed an official to help her, saying, “Return everything that belongs to her, as well as everything that the farmland has produced, starting from the day she left the country until right now.” (Common English Bible)

People of faith typically don’t see divine appointments coming at all; they often show up in the middle of hard mundane days.

The prophecies and actions of the prophet Elisha are covered in the book of 2 Kings with a series of ten incredible narratives (chapters 2-9). Each of them are designed to demonstrate the power of God over (and sometimes against) the power of the king.

This was important because the royal decisions and actions of most of the Israelite kings were quite disconnected from God’s law and justice. Most kings did whatever they wanted, sometimes to the point of completely leading the people away from the worship of Yahweh and toward the worship of other gods.

Today’s Old Testament lesson concerns the ninth story in this series of narratives. A widow, whose son Elisha had restored to life in the second narrative (2 Kings 4:8-37) left for the land of the Philistines when there was a severe famine. Although the woman was simply listening to the prophet and doing what he said, squatters took advantage of the situation and took over her house and property while she was away.

In a clear demonstration of what a “divine appointment” looks like in Holy Scripture, Elisha’s servant and the king were talking together about this very woman and the miracle that took place with her son. The prophet had essentially raised her dead child to life. Then, lo and behold, the woman walked into the conversation to appeal the injustice that had happened to her and her family.

Even the worst of kings would discern the right thing to do in such a situation. After questioning the woman, the king ensured that she would get everything restored to her. Through it all, we are meant to see the power and sovereignty of God over the human authority of political kings.

I hope that you, at some point in your life, have experienced a meeting with another person that you can see was unmistakably arranged by God. And a great need you had was met because of this encounter. The Lord blessed you through it in a way that you didn’t see coming at all.

The fact of the matter is that God is sovereign, all-knowing, and all-powerful, along with being infinitely gracious, good, just, right, and loving. Therefore, God sets about to bless both us and other people. And when God determines to do something, nothing and no one in heaven or on earth can stop it.

Wherever you presently are, and whatever it is you are doing now in your life, is really no accident. And if your life situation is awful and far from any sort of idyllic scene of blessing, then please know that this is a circumstance that is ripe for a divine appointment.

For how could we ever know God as the Great Deliverer unless we were between a rock and a hard place with nowhere to turn? How could we ever experience God as the Divine Healer unless we were broken and/or brokenhearted?

How could we ever realize God as Provider unless we were out of resources and down to our last penny? Or God as Helper unless we were desperate and unable to move? Or God as the One who restores unless we had lost everything?

Just as there cannot be resurrection and new life without a crucifixion and an old life, so our lives will inevitably take a trajectory of suffering and hardship before glory and blessing. In order to allow the good to completely fill us, we must be totally emptied of everything else.

Maybe you will never experience something quite as dramatic as the woman did with gaining her son back to life, and her property restored after a terrible famine, but know this: The great Lord and God of all, the Sovereign of the universe, has your back through all that you’re going through on this earth.

I often get asked by patients and parishioners alike, “Where is God?” It feels to them that God is absent, silent, and far from understanding what they’re going through in the midst of their very challenging adversity.

Really, however, it’s actually an easy question for me to answer: Jesus is our Immanuel, God with us. The Spirit of God is right beside you, walking with you, even holding you up at times, through all the crud and crap of this old fallen sinful world of ours. Seeing only one set of footsteps in the sand, it turns out God is the One that carries the weak and weary in their trouble. The Lord is anything but absent.

If God has authority over earthly rulers, then the Lord most certainly has power to handle your life.

O God, why have you abandoned me? Though you have hidden your face from me, still from this dread and empty place, I cry to you, who have promised me that underneath are your everlasting arms. God, you are my help and comfort; you shelter and surround me in love so tender that I may know your presence with me, now and always. 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.