Tag: god’s presence

A Thunderous Beauty (Psalm 68:24-35)

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

Your solemn processions are seen, O God,
    the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
the singers in front, the musicians last,
    between them young women playing tambourines:
“Bless God in the great congregation,
    the Lord, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!”
There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
    the princes of Judah in a body,
    the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

Summon your might, O God;
    show your strength, O God, as you have done for us before.
Because of your temple at Jerusalem,
    kings bear gifts to you.
Rebuke the wild animals that live among the reeds,
    the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
Trample under foot those who lust after tribute;
    scatter the peoples who delight in war.
Let bronze be brought from Egypt;
    let Cush hasten to stretch out its hands to God.

Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;
    sing praises to the Lord,
O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
    listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
Ascribe power to God,
    whose majesty is over Israel
    and whose power is in the skies.
Awesome is God in his sanctuary,
    the God of Israel;
    he gives power and strength to his people.

Blessed be God! (New Revised Standard Version)

From psalm to psalm, the entire biblical psalter is consistent in praising God. Foremost among the praise is celebrating God’s inherent character, and for how that divine character acts with power and grace in the world.

Since God is an infinitely immense Being, our human language cannot begin to adequately contain or describe such incredible divinity. Yet, words are what the psalms have for trying to communicate the attributes of such an awesome God.

That’s why the use of metaphors is significant. Whenever we can picture something we are familiar with, then imaginatively place God alongside it, it helps give us at least a rudimentary idea and feeling of who God is, what God is all about.

To gain a glimpse of God’s majesty and sovereignty over the universe, the psalmist invites us to see with our spiritual eyes that God riding the sky; and to hear with our spiritual ears the thunderous shout that roars and reverberates throughout the cosmos.

Along with our eyes and ears, we are invited to respond by using our power of words and speech to proclaim God’s power. And, I must say, that power is well beyond our ability to describe.

With all of the powerful forces in this world, they are but a mere puff of breath to the God who reigns supreme over all powers, both in heaven and on earth. God’s power is a thunderous beauty. God’s splendor and strength rise larger than thunderheads.

Having grown up in Midwest America, I’ve seen my share of large thunderheads (massive cumulus clouds which form just before a storm), thunderstorms replete with bright lightning and noise so awesome it shakes the farmhouse, and tornados with such force that they rip the roof off a barn as if it were a Lego building.

God is bigger than thunderstorms and tornadoes – louder than any hurricane; stronger than any cyclone; and brighter than any flash of lightning.

The appropriate response to such a great God is to make music for the One who strides the ancient skies in a heavenly chariot; and yet stoops to listen and care about puny humans.

The reasonable response to such a breathtaking God is to listen to the divine voice thundering in the world, and submit to the sound which seems like it might split the heavens open.

To gain a mere glimpse of God’s strength and power will inevitably result in a response of giving up our all to the Lord of the universe – everything we have, and all that we are.

To know, even a tiny smidgeon, of such a God will bring our own loud shouts of proclaiming God’s goodness, grace, and generosity to anyone who will listen to us.

To glimpse what the psalmist sees will consume us with awe, as we intuitively connect with the glory which is constantly streaming from heaven.

What’s more, God shares divine strength with people. God doesn’t have to do that. The Lord has no obligation to do so. Yet, it happens, despite our fickle praise and inconsistent devotion.

So, let’s give our highest praise to the God of the psalms. Let’s imbibe of God’s thunderous presence among us.

I guarantee that it will make us happier than a gopher in soft dirt; or a butcher’s dog; or a unicorn eating cake on a rainbow.

Eternal Trinity – blessed Father, Son, and Spirit – the awesome God whom I serve: The more I enter you, the more I discover, and the more I discover, the more I seek you. A massive thunderhead is but a small cloud next to you, the Godhead, the incredible Three-in-One.

Through you, almighty Lord, I shall come to know myself and my world. And that knowledge is a mighty love for humanity which spans longer and higher than the universe itself. May the love, unity, harmony, community, goodness, and power which is always present within yourself, mighty God, be present with me, your servant.

For just a molecule of You is enough to power me for eternity. Praise the Lord! Amen.

Dealing with Another’s Evil Intentions (1 Samuel 19:18-24)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
David and Saul, by He Qi

When David had fled and made his escape, he went to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there. 

Word came to Saul: “David is in Naioth at Ramah;” so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came on Saul’s men, and they also prophesied. 

Saul was told about it, and he sent more men, and they prophesied too. Saul sent men a third time, and they also prophesied. Finally, he himself left for Ramah and went to the great cistern at Seku. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?”

“Over in Naioth at Ramah,” they said.

So Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God came even on him, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth. He stripped off his garments, and he too prophesied in Samuel’s presence. He lay naked all that day and all that night. This is why people say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” (New International Version)

King Saul was in the middle of a personal downward spiral of evil. And David was his target. Even though David served Israel and the king with distinction and bravery, his success aroused the jealousy of Saul.

It came to the point that David needed to flee for his life because Saul saw him as a threat and was out to kill him. Instead of trying to go it alone, feeling angry and defeated, David went to the one person he knew was wise, discerning, and could help: Samuel, the priest and prophet of Israel.

David was not looking to kill Saul, as Saul was trying to kill him. He just needed someone to talk to, some empathy and solid help in this very unwanted and awful situation.

As we move through the biblical narratives which tell of Saul and David, we will observe that God is with David and helps him through his travails; but God is not with Saul, who is continually haunted with a bad spirit whenever he descends into the dark path of jealousy, anger, even murder.

It is only human to wonder why people of faith, with good and genuine hearts, must contend with such self-absorbed narcissistic people like Saul. We can only answer it in part: the presence of evil in the world; the place of trials and tribulations in the believer’s life, etc. For the most part, it is a mystery for which we shall not have answers, this side of heaven.

But what we do know is that God is concerned for the godly, for those who seek to do right, have pure hearts, and think of the common good of all the people. And the Lord can deal with evil, while protecting the good, in quite unexpected ways.

We expect prophets to prophesy. We don’t expect anyone else to necessarily do so. Yet, in this story, we see God sending the spirit of prophetic speech not just upon the prophets and the good folk, but upon those who have ill intentions toward the godly ones.

Yes, the Lord sent a spirit upon people who were trying to kill David, and then even upon Saul himself; not to illumine, but to prevent. The power of prophecy in this instance was not a sign of being chosen by God, but a clear sign from God of rejection.

In stripping off his clothes and laying naked in prophetic utterance, Saul was being humbled, abased, and mortified. Decades later, King David would do so willingly as a repentant person. But here, King Saul does so unwillingly, as an unrepentant person who needs to let himself be among the penitent persons. But, alas, Saul did not do so, and was continually moved by other forces other than the Lord.

For the believer who is in the throes of a gaslighting boss, or a narcissistic leader, or a self-centered relative, today’s story is an encouragement: God’s will on this earth shall prevail; and the Lord will take care of those who desire to live a just, right, and good life.

Conflict and trouble must not necessarily result in one’s devastation and discouragement.

Whenever we find ourselves in the crosshairs of an evil person, we do not need to add to the madness with harsh and divisive words.

Instead, we can be sober-minded and good-hearted by handling the adverse situation with gentle words and a wise spirit. We can face the trouble, without wishing it away, by going to a wise person for counsel and help, if need be.

The mark of a truly good person is not whether they have conflict in their life, or not, but by how they handle the trouble when it comes. And as for the troublemakers and chaotic people themselves, the Lord knows how to deal with them.

You may be in an unwanted situation, dealing with a difficult person. Please don’t let that person steal your personal integrity and happiness from you. The one thing you can always control – that nobody can ever take away from you – is your own attitude and ability to respond.

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

You and I really can deal with this. If the hurt was unintentional, then forgive and let it go. If the hurt was intentional, we need not be judge, jury, and/or executioner. That’s God’s job, not ours. Rather, we can choose to forgive and not hold onto bitterness; talk with a wise person to receive wise counsel, and not spread anger and slander; and determine to be joyful and godly, not sullen and irritable.

O Lord God almighty, listen to the prayer of the righteous! Direct the way of your servants in safety under your gracious divine protection, so that through all of the changes of our earthly pilgrimage, we may be guarded by your mighty help and power. Amen.

Seeking God in Hard Times (Psalm 9:9-20)

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

The Lord is a safe place for the oppressed—
    a safe place in difficult times.
Those who know your name trust you
    because you have not abandoned
    any who seek you, Lord.

Sing praises to the Lord, who lives in Zion!
    Proclaim his mighty acts among all people!
Because the one who avenges bloodshed
    remembers those who suffer;
    the Lord hasn’t forgotten their cries for help.

Have mercy on me, Lord!
    Just look how I suffer
    because of those who hate me.
But you are the one who brings me back
    from the very gates of death
        so I can declare all your praises,
        so I can rejoice in your salvation
        in the gates of Daughter Zion.

The nations have fallen
    into the hole they themselves made!
    Their feet are caught
        in the very net they themselves hid!
The Lord is famous for the justice he has done;
    it’s his own doing that the wicked are trapped.

Let the wicked go straight to the grave,
    the same for every nation that forgets God.

Because the poor won’t be forgotten forever,
    the hope of those who suffer won’t be lost for all time.

Get up, Lord! Don’t let people prevail!
    Let the nations be judged before you.
Strike them with fear, Lord.
    Let the nations know they are only human. (Common English Bible)

I firmly believe that there is hopeful comfort in the Lord – that when people go through awful things, God is there to be a safe place for them.

I also believe that, in the end, good triumphs and evil perishes. That’s because I am convinced that the Lord is an equitable judge; God hears the cries of defenseless righteous victims and acts on behalf of the oppressed without prejudice or favoritism.

Yet, that does not mean God’s people will always be inoculated from trouble, hardship, and adversity. What it does mean is that the Lord is with us, and that God loves us.

Everyone goes through difficult times. Some folks endure horrible trauma. And those experiences can dog us and torment us, even long after the event. Even in good times, we might sometimes become anxious or frantic without any real threat in front of us.

We may want to praise God with genuineness and sincerity. However, we might not yet feel vindicated or released. And there still may be some unjust suffering going on. We long to declare the goodness of God, but we also want to do so with a testimony of deliverance and healing.

That is precisely how the psalmist felt. He knows the wicked won’t endure, but he also wants to give praise to the Lord for seeing them sink in the sinister pit they’ve dug for others.

God is a righteous judge. And there are times when the Lord brings judgment upon evil by letting the wicked self-destruct with their own words and behavior. In other words, God at times engages in direct judgment, and other times lets the moral gravity of the earth crush them in their duplicitous crimes.

Whenever circumstances are hard, it’s easy to feel forgotten, as if no one sees or hears our suffering; they don’t realize the depth of our hurt by a wicked person. It’s appropriate, as the psalmist did, to cry out and plead with God to rise up on behalf of the weak and powerless; and to call for an end of the mindless and godless insanity of arrogant people.

It is equally hard to observe others we care about experience oppression. We cry out to the Lord on their behalf, that they will no longer have to endure such injustice. We want our loved ones to thrive and enjoy life and thrive – not to be crushed under an unjust burden from selfish people who only care about themselves.

We boldly ask God to knock them off the evil hill they’ve built for themselves – to blot them out because of their continual oppression of the righteous. The wicked think no one can touch them atop their proud strong perch. They believe they’re above accountability and can get away with anything. That makes us angry!

Whenever we are wronged or treated unfairly – or observe another person or group of people experiencing injustice – it stirs up our anger.

Anger, in and of itself, is neither good nor bad. It just is. It’s what we do with our anger that gets dicey. A lot of human anger gets expressed in unhealthy ways by either passively stuffing it and ignoring it; aggressively lashing out with verbal and/or physical violence; or passive-aggressively doing indirect jabs at the object of our anger.

The psalmist, however, is assertive with his anger. He offered straightforward observations with definite feelings to God. He also affirmed that the Lord is the One who administers justice with fairness and equity.

There are times when only God can bring an evil system, institution, organization, government, nation, group of people, or individual to heel.

When the poor are overlooked or oppressed by the rich, it’s unjust. It creates anger, both human and divine. In their misery and hardship, the needy can flee to God, who is faithful to care for them and treat them with respect and dignity, as people carrying the divine image.

The nations of the earth are not all attentive to the needy. They don’t all serve their citizens and try to do right by them. Unfortunately, many people throughout the world groan under national leadership which is enamored with power and privilege – and forget those who are powerless, unable to lift themselves by their bootstraps.

In the teeth of such a reality, the psalmist petitioned God. He asked, even insisted, that God step in and act as judge and jury. It was an assertive use of anger that went to the source of true help, to the Lord, who possesses both the will and the ability to overturn injustice and establish a right use of power.

Do you know what I want? I want justice—oceans of it. I want fairness—rivers of it. That’s what I want. That’s all I want.

Amos 5:24, MSG

The Lord, thankfully, is a strong fortress for the oppressed and a protective force in times of trouble.

God remembers the prayers of the down-and-out.

Sooner, or later, those who are wicked in their dealings through exploitation of the powerless, will know firsthand that they are puny humans, and that God is immensely big.

God almighty, you have given all peoples one common origin. It is your will they be gathered together as one family in yourself. Fill the hearts of humanity with the fire of your love and with the desire to ensure justice for all.

By sharing the good you give us, may we ensure equity for all our brothers and sisters throughout the world. May there be an end to division, strife and war. May there be a dawning of a truly human society built on love and peace, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

There Is No God? (Psalm 53)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Nietzsche, by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch (1863-1944)

Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”
    They are corrupt; they commit abominable acts;
    there is no one who does good.

God looks down from heaven on humankind
    to see if there are any who are wise,
    who seek after God.

They have all fallen away; they are all alike perverse;
    there is no one who does good,
    no, not one.

Have they no knowledge, those evildoers,
    who eat up my people as they eat bread
    and do not call upon God?

There they shall be in great terror,
    in terror such as has not been.
For God will scatter the bones of the ungodly;
    they will be put to shame, for God has rejected them.

O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!
    When God restores the fortunes of his people,
    Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad. (New Revised Standard Version)

In 1888, the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche published his book, “The Antichrist.” Nietzsche used the phrase, “God is dead,” to express his idea that the Enlightenment, with its thorough rejection of all things subjective and intuitive, and the embrace of everything objective and observable, had eliminated the possibility of God’s existence.

Nietzsche simply named what a modern progressive society had become: We “enlightened” people have drained and divested ourselves of all divine mystery. Nietzsche wrote:

“God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: Who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?”

Friedrich Nietzsche, The Antichrist

This was the nineteenth century equivalent of making the psalmist’s observation that there is a philosophy extant which states, “There is no God.” God is gone; humanity has replaced God with themselves.

Unlike Nietzsche, however, the psalmist takes the perspective of God, not humans. The Lord looks about for someone wise, someone who truly takes notice to see with spiritual eyes, hear with spiritual ears, discern a spiritual touch, smell the aroma of God, and taste that the Lord is good – rather than relying solely on the five basic human senses.

So, where is God? In the grave? No, he has risen, just as he said.

Just because there appears to be a profound absence of good in this world, does not necessarily mean that good is not here – or that God has somehow gone away, and perhaps never existed at all.

Any common fool can make bold proclamations whenever they embrace an epistemology all to themselves.

From God’s perspective, anyone can use their five physical senses. To only use them, and completely ignore other ways of knowing, is well, plain stupidity.

So then, where is God? Not hanging out with fools, drinking cheap dandelion wine, and smoking nasty inexpensive cigars. Rather, the Lord is in the company of the righteous; God is with wise persons who discern the divine presence.

Things are not always as they seem. Violence and oppression in the world does not warrant the interpretation that God is on vacation, doesn’t care, or simply doesn’t exist, at all. We are invited to see beyond or through the world’s crud to a Divine Being who is there, reachable, and very much cares about the state of humanity.

All of our human posturing and preening to appear that we have it all together is nothing more than a poorly produced television reality show to God. So, if the Lord chooses to change the channel, that does not translate that God is not viewing the screen.

Only a fool believes no one is watching.

If we ignore God, perhaps we should not be surprised or upset when divine Skittles from heaven don’t come raining down on us to enjoy.

Instead, we have the opportunity and the privilege of paying attention to the spiritual life.

There are divine resources available if we will but acknowledge, receive, and use them. Though they are abundant and free, we still have to ask for them with the humility that comes from realizing we are not the center of the universe.

Nietzsche is not exactly a person that many Christians would typically acknowledge, let alone refer to, and, for good reason. And yet, Nietzsche understood that when God is removed from societal norms, it leaves us with a nihilist worldview (the belief that nothing has any inherent importance, and that life lacks purpose and meaning).

I believe that Christianity, and/or a focus on the spiritual life, is a powerful and needed antidote to the despair of meaninglessness which is all around us.

If God is truly the ground of moral reality, and gives real shape to human purpose, then we have an effective way to center ourselves. Yet, if God is ignored to the point of being “dead” then there is nothing substantial for humanity to orient their lives around.

Try as we might to create, as Nietzsche did, an Übermensch(superman) in the form of the radically independent and strong person to fill the enormous spiritual void of God’s death, it is merely a façade covering our weakness and our foolishness as creatures.

I suggest we consider the psalmist as a reliable source of knowledge – that God is a force for justice and for good in the world – and that we explore what this means for us in our respective lives, families, communities, as well as in our public discourse and personal philosophy.

Is God gone? No, not really. It’s just that we humans tend to give God the stiff arm.

Almighty God, you called your church to be one, holy, universal and missional people. By your grace you have given us new life in Jesus Christ, and by your Spirit you have called us to proclaim his name throughout the nations. Awaken in us such a love for you and your world that we may boldly proclaim Jesus Christ by word and deed. May all people everywhere come to know you, and Christ’s power to save. Amen.