Tag: god’s sovereignty

From Where Will Our Help Come? (Psalm 121)

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

I lift up my eyes to the hills—
    from where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;
    he who keeps you will not slumber.
He who keeps Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day
    nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all evil;
    he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep
    your going out and your coming in
    from this time on and forevermore. (New Revised Standard Version)

One of the rituals my family does when leaving on a long road trip is to pray. It’s in those special times of traveling, and anticipating the destination, that we can be especially cognizant of both the blessings and the dangers which may lie ahead.

When the Israelites set out together from places all over Israel to go to Jerusalem and ascend the temple mount for a special festival, they also prayed. Specifically, they prayed many of the psalms and sang them together.

One never knows what lies ahead. We trust the Lord to protect us by being our divine keeper and guardian, to help us and watch out for us. This is why today’s psalm reading is alongside the Old Testament lesson of the Passover. (Exodus 12:14-28)

In Exodus, God was readying the people for deliverance from Egypt. The ancient Israelites were about to leave the land of slavery and travel to the Promised Land. They would be vulnerable to all sorts of dangers and obstacles on their way. The people needed Yahweh’s oversight and protection on their long journey.

Will we arrive safely? Can we get where we need to go without an accident or trouble? Those are questions people ask in any age with any significant trip.

Throughout the psalms of ascent (or the pilgrimage psalms) there are some fundamental convictions about God through them all:

  1. The Lord is a mighty God, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe
  2. The Lord is a caring God, the people’s Helper and Deliverer
  3. The Lord is near, an imminent God who is close to us as our Immanuel
  4. The Lord is an attentive God, always watching and never sleeping on the job in order to guard us
  5. The Lord is far above, a transcendent God who is able watch over everything and always see us

If you think about it, life itself is one long extended pilgrimage from birth to death. Life is an earthly sojourn, continually moving about the earth from one place to the next. Even if we stay put and never move, the world itself is continually spinning on it’s axis and furthermore circling in space around the sun. In other words, no matter what we do, life is always risky.

We need the consistent and continual divine presence to go before us, with us, and after us wherever we are and wherever we go. There is a constant need for God’s watching and caring for us. What’s more, we are invited to move and participate in the Lord’s dealings in this world. The call of every Christian is Christ’s call to “follow me.”

The life of the believer is a call to a life of pilgrimage and discipleship. It is to step out in faith and live life to the full, knowing that God has your back. We need not run for the hills whenever there is trouble; we can look beyond the mountains to the God of heaven who is our divine helper.

At the end of the day, we can lay our head on the pillow to sleep with trust that the non-slumbering God keeps watch over us during the dark night hours. Unlike the gods who need to be stirred from their rest, Yahweh is never absent and always alert to whatever is happening.

In the morning, we can rise with confidence knowing that our going out and coming home again will be watched with vigilance and care from the Lord who is our keeper. Nothing escapes the God who is both far and near, able to see the big picture of our lives, as well as notice every little nuance by being up close and personal.

We exist in a day and age where God is looked upon with askance – as if the universe’s Sovereign has neither the ability nor the will to impact our daily lives and positively govern the world’s affairs. This is not the God of the Psalms – a grand Being who knows the score of everything going on, cares about the intimate details of life, and has the power to bring about a good outcome for humanity.

Even though God may at times be silent, and although the Lord rarely acts quickly, we ultimately know down deep in our soul that we matter and that Yahweh is there. The real issue is whether we will take the time and effort to connect with this incredible benevolent Being and take a walk, that is, a pilgrimage of faith and encounter God.

When all is said and done, from where will our help come? It will ultimately come from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

Eternal God, in whose benevolent realm there is no weapon drawn except the sword of righteousness, and there is no strength known but the strength of love: Mightily spread abroad your gracious and powerful Spirit, so that all people everywhere may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one God and Father of all, to whom belongs dominion and glory, now and forever. Amen.

Hold It Loosely (Exodus 1:1-7)

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

When Jacob went to Egypt, his son Joseph was already there. So Jacob took his eleven other sons and their families. They were: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. Altogether, Jacob had 70 children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who went with him.

After Joseph, his brothers, and everyone else in that generation had died, the people of Israel became so numerous that the whole region of Goshen was full of them. (Contemporary English Version)

Exodus is the second book of the Bible, and the second of five books known as the “Pentateuch” by Christians, and the “Torah” by Jews. The first book, Genesis, ended with the story of Joseph – who was one of the 12 patriarchs. God established a covenant with Abraham, the father of Judaism, and promised him land and descendants – even though he did not have a son. God miraculously gave Abraham and Sarah a biological son, Isaac, who grew up to be the father of Jacob, or Israel, Joseph’s father.

The stories in Genesis surrounding Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph were filled with wonderings of whether God’s promise would ever survive, or not. Yet, it did. Joseph, in the ultimate reversal of fortunes, went from the lowest person in Egypt to it’s highest official. Through Joseph, the brothers and their families ended up relocating to Egypt because of a severe famine.

Present-day land of Goshen, Egypt

As time moved on, Joseph, his brothers, and all that generation died. In contrast to the extended family of Jacob, 70 of them, who initially went to Egypt, the opening of of Exodus relays an exponential growth in numbers of Israelites.

God was faithfully and tirelessly preserving the covenant and the promise for Israel. When the people went to Egypt, God assured them they need not be afraid. The Lord will make them a great nation, will be with them, and shall lead them back out again. (Genesis 46:1-4)

The opening of Exodus not only connects us with events in the latter part of Genesis, but also hearkens back to it’s very beginning, when God spoke to the first human couple. The Lord gave them a five-fold blessing, consisting of commands to 1) be fruitful 2) multiply 3) fill the earth 4) subdue it, and 5) have dominion over it. (Genesis 1:28)

Following the Flood, God blessed Noah, repeating the commands to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth (Genesis 9:1). Later, God spoke to Abraham, promisingto make him fruitful (Genesis 17:5-9). Moving into Exodus, we see a fulfillment of the commands and the promise taking shape, stating that the descendants of Israel were fruitful and multiplying, so that the land was filled with them.

It was this very blessing of progeny, and the fertile increase of descendants, which sets up the entire book of Exodus. The great and growing numbers of Israelites became a source of concern and fear amongst the Egyptians. It wasn’t long before the Jews were seen as another source of slave labor.

Sometimes, we must bear in mind and remember that great blessing also has an underbelly of great blight. Only God and relationships last forever; everything else is temporary, including our earthly blessings.

Therefore, it is wise to hold all things loosely, with open hands, and not with clenched fists that believes possessing things in this moment will be permanent. The following are some things to remember:

Remember who is in control

When things are going well, it may create the illusion that I am in charge of the blessing. But, in reality, it was given to you, and it can be taken away, as well.

The only thing you can control are your thoughts, feelings, emotions, choices, actions and the story you are telling yourself about what happened in the past, is happening now, and will happen tomorrow.

We all have our personal invisible backpacks to carry. That backpack is ours, and nobody else’s. Others have their own burdens to carry, which are individual to them. They aren’t yours to carry. Their stories aren’t yours to tell.

God is the Sovereign of the universe, and controls all things. That is God’s burden to carry. Not yours. Carrying the world on your shoulders isn’t your job. So, hold loosely whatever happens on this earth, whether for good or ill. 

Remember that life is both planning and improvisation

We have an agenda, make our plans, and put things in place. Yet, in the execution of doing it, we have to move with whatever circumstances and conditions arise – with whatever life throws our way – and then adjust our expectations.

Remember it’s both in planning and in improvising. The Israelites laid plans to go to Egypt, went there, and then had to deal with changing conditions once they were there. All planning and no improvising is unrealistic; and all improvisation with no plan is flying by the seat of your pants and living in a dream world which doesn’t exist.

What’s more, it might be your plan, or your group’s plan, but it’s not everybody’s plan. They have the freedom to say, “No thank you.” So, be careful to not marry yourself to a particular outcome. Release the urge to cling or obsess about certain expectations. Hold your plans loosely, and plan to improvise.

Remember to cooperate with God

In reality, there is a divine/human cooperative which exists on the earth. Ideally, we are to work together, me doing my part, and God handling the rest. And the both of us constantly must be in dialogue with each other.

When we align with this truth, and participate with God and integrate this cooperative into daily life, then we begin to relax, breathe, move with confidence, and speak with purpose. Head, heart, and gut are no longer disparate parts within me, but work together in a harmonious sync with the Lord.

If this is a challenge for you, set aside some time and be in nature. Look around you and observe all the life thriving right in front of you. Connecting with what is alive connects us to the universal Love which exists everywhere. And that Love can help us and heal us – if we will but let it.

I can hold things loosely because I know the internal pressure of “getting it right” isn’t mine to carry. I can cooperate with God, relax, do my best, and trust.

Blessings are wonderful and abound everywhere. Yet, adversity, acrimony, and even abuse still lurk about in this old fallen world. So, may you learn to hold all things loosely, and live as you know you can, and ought. Amen.

See the Big Picture (Genesis 41:37-57)

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

The proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find anyone else like this, one in whom is the spirit of God?” So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command; only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you.” And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” 

Removing his signet ring from his hand, Pharaoh put it on Joseph’s hand; he arrayed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in the chariot of his second-in-command, and they cried out in front of him, “Bow the knee!” Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt. 

Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah, and he gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, as his wife. Thus Joseph gained authority over the land of Egypt.

Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt. During the seven plenteous years the earth produced abundantly. He gathered up all the food of the seven years when there was plenty in the land of Egypt and stored up food in the cities; he stored up in every city the food from the fields around it. So Joseph stored up grain in such abundance—like the sand of the sea—that he stopped measuring it; it was beyond measure.

Before the years of famine came, Joseph had two sons, whom Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him. Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.” The second he named Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my misfortunes.”

The seven years of plenty that prevailed in the land of Egypt came to an end, and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in every country, but throughout the land of Egypt there was bread. 

When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; what he says to you, do.” And since the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. 

Moreover, all the world came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine became severe throughout the world. (New Revised Standard Version)

Mosaic of Joseph overseeing the gathering of grain during the seven years of plenty, c.1275 C.E., St. Mark’s Basilica, Venice, Italy

It’s easy to get lost and miss the forest for the trees; we may become too involved in the details of a problem to look at the situation as a whole. Whenever we are in the middle of hard times, it can be difficult to see the big picture of what’s really going on.

Joseph had been in a peck of trouble. He literally found himself deep in trouble by being tossed into a dark hole of a well by his jealous brothers. Then, the same brothers turned around and pulled him up, only to sell him in slavery to a caravan heading for Egypt. (Genesis 37)

While in Egypt, Joseph became the head servant in the household of Potiphar, the captain of the guard for Pharaoh. But again, trouble found Joseph, even though the guy was diligent and squeaky clean in his moral living. Mrs. Potiphar had eyes for Joseph – who did not reciprocate her advances. There’s no wrath quite like a woman’s scorn, and off to jail Joseph went. (Genesis 39)

In prison Joseph waited… and waited. It seemed as though he had been forgotten. And although he had come to be in charge of his fellow inmates because the jail keeper trusted him so much, Joseph was still in the place of bondage. (Genesis 40) So, what would you do if you were in similar circumstances?

Blame others. Bellyache. Bully your way around with a chip on your shoulder. Become bitter about the ways you’ve been shafted and the brunt of injustice. Those are things that many of us might do in the throes of one injustice after another. But not Joseph.

Holy Scripture has no record of Joseph responding with complaint nor discouragement. Joseph seemed to have a sense that there were larger forces at work behind the scenes – that God could be trusted to work out the adverse situations for divine purposes.

So, when Joseph went from the bottom slug in a prison to the top dog in Egypt, the big picture became much more clear. From age 17 to age 30, Joseph labored as the right hand servant in charge of Potiphar’s household, and then as the right hand man to the jail keeper in prison. Now, Joseph becomes the right hand to Pharaoh, the administrator over all of Egypt.

All along, the Lord was getting Joseph ready for something supremely large – life and death sort of stuff. It turns out that, with Joseph in charge, tens of thousands of lives may have been spared because of his insight, foresight, and hindsight.

Joseph had divine insight as an interpreter of dreams – a gift which he acknowledged was given to him by God. He had the foresight and wisdom to take that insight and turn it into a solid administrative plan for saving many lives from a terrible famine. And Joseph continually had the benefit of hindsight in knowing who he was and where he came from – believing that he was part of a specially called family whom the Lord had a divine hand upon.

Every experience, each event, and the myriad mundane tasks which Joseph had to endure for 13 long years were like individual bricks being mortared together into a building which would eventually house enough life-learning to accomplish a life-saving governmental administration which kept food on the table for thousands of people.

Perhaps you and I don’t always get to see what’s going on above us, what is truly being worked out to bring help and justice to the world. Yet, we can rest assure that there is a God in heaven who sees, cares, and is planning salvation for people. And we are part of that large divine plan, if we have the faith to understand there is more going on than our present circumstances and physical eyes can see.

Righteous God and Father of all: Raise up among us people who keep faith alive, hope awakened, and love abundant. Guard our daily vocations and set them apart for your good purposes. Grant us the privilege of seeing our daily work accomplish the saving and blessing of many lives. Renew us in your mercy, sanctify us with your Spirit, and redeem our time so that we may serve you and steward well our lives, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Walk on Water? Why? (Matthew 14:22-33)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Jesus Walks on Water, by Konstantin Alexejewitsch Korowin, 1890 

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (New International Version)

In the New Testament Gospels, we see Jesus for who he is – Son of God and true Sovereign of the universe – seeking to reconcile people to God through his life, miracles, and teaching. In the Gospels we also see Christ’s disciples for who they are – a rag-tag bunch who express both belief and doubt, and experience both faith and failure.

The reality of the Christian life is that it is a sort of three-steps-forward and two-steps-backward kind of experience. The expectation that we will “succeed” and have everything go hunky-dory each time we step out in faith, is far from how things actually work in both the world and in God’s kingdom. Doubt and failure are important experiences for the believer in Jesus.

Without failure, there is no Christian life. Why? Because it means we are still in the boat.

It’s evidence that we never left the safety of established routines and responded to God’s command to step out of our comfort zone, and boldly go where we’ve never gone before.

Our failures may, like Peter, be colossal bellyflops. Yet, Jesus is there – extending grace to Peter and helping him, even in his failure of faith. Failure does not define us; it isn’t our identity. Jesus is Lord over everything, including storms, hardship, and trouble. 

Yes, there are a lot of scary things in life. Learning to ride a bike was scary. Driving for the first time on an icy road was scary. Getting married and having kids was scary. Admitting a fault, mistake, or weakness is scary. Being vulnerable with another person is scary.

It can even be scary to be at church. Why? Because we might fail, and it may crush us.

The fear of failure, however, need not control our lives. Why? Because grace overcomes everything.

We all find ourselves, at times, caught midway between faith and doubt. But to know this situation is to experience grace. If the worst scenario you worry about in your head would actually come to pass, it will still never change the reality that God loves you! And it will not stop Jesus from extending his hand to you in a life-saving grip of grace. 

Fear melts away when we keep our eyes on Jesus. So, we must focus on Christ, instead of fixating on the waves around us. The truth sets us free. Therefore, let’s notice five truths about Jesus that help us overcome the fear of failure and embrace a life of faith.

1. Jesus is a person of prayer

Jesus was deeply dependent on his heavenly Father. His life exhibited the necessities of simple prayer and obedience. If Jesus found the need for solitude and prayer for his life and ministry, how much more to we need it!? 

The Lord had his disciples get into the boat and go out on the lake. Jesus knew they were about to face a storm. The boat ended up getting thrown around by the waves. Even though the disciples were doing God’s will by going out on the lake, they were not spared from adversity.  

Jesus wanted his disciples to experience the storm. Why? Because it is through the storm that we learn faith.  

Faith is developed through experience and adversity. Faith that never endures distress, never grows and matures. Faith must be exercised – and if it isn’t, it atrophies and becomes useless. 

Show me a person with great faith, and I’ll show you a person that has gone through a boatload of adversity and hurt, having allowed Jesus to grace them with healing.

2. Jesus is present with us, and this presence brings an end to fear

Being in the middle of a lake during a storm did not prevent Jesus from being present with the disciples – he just walked on the water to be with them. Even though the disciples had just participated in the miracle of Jesus feeding the five thousand, another miracle was not on their radar – which is why they did not recognize Jesus and were afraid when they saw him.

While afraid, we don’t see Jesus, even when he’s right in front of our faces. Why? Because we don’t expect him to be there and mistake him for a ghost.  

When the disciples cried out in fear, Jesus responded. I used to have a factory job, training workers. When the training was completed, I had the trainees evaluate our time together. The top response I received is that my presence helped them to learn their job – the freedom to fail time and time again without judgment. Having me there to rescue them, when things got too much, built confidence that they could do it on their own.

3. Jesus desires those who follow him to imitate him

Jesus walked on water. Jesus invited Peter to walk on water. Peter was not chided by Jesus for getting out of the boat, but for doubting that he could continue in the miracle that was happening. 

Jesus isn’t merely interested in disciples being able to regurgitate his teaching. Why? Because he wants us to exercise our learning through actual deeds of faith.  

Once the command of Jesus was given to Peter, “Come”, then walking on water became only a matter of trust.

“Christianity has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.”

G.K. Chesterton

We understandably get nervous when a crazy Jesus and an unpredictable Holy Spirit call us to change by getting out of the friendly confines of the boat. Why? After all, we might fail. 

However, it is at those times that we bank on God’s Word and promises. The Apostle James said that if we find ourselves lacking wisdom to deal with the unpredictable and unknowable, we are to ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault and will be given to us. (James 1:5)

Christ Walking on the Sea, by Natali Fedorova

Peter responded to his predicament by crying out to Jesus, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached out and saved Peter from his own doubt and lack of faith. Jesus called Peter a “little-faith.”

Many people have lived too long with the notion that God is some stern angry deity who is constantly displeased with sinful people, and that only through perfection will God ever be happy with us. The truth is that Jesus wants us to imitate him; and, when we fail, he is there to pick us up. 

4. Jesus has the authority to settle the storm when he is ready to do it

Jesus is King. Christ is Sovereign of the world. He will bring the crisis to an end according to his own good pleasure and good timing. Rather than spending all our emotional capital by worrying or conniving to get out of a situation, we can trust God and keep our eyes on Jesus.  Our job is to believe; God’s job is everything else.

5. Jesus’ power led the disciples to acknowledge who he is

Worship happens when we see Jesus as he really is, the Son of God. Flat, dull, boring worship comes from flat, dull, boring Christians who are unable to see the power of Jesus in their lives. We discover the power of God when we are in a situation which requires God’s strength to deliver us. Grasping Jesus as the Son of God is more than a verbal confession of faith; it is being able to trust him, like getting out of a boat in the middle of a lake.

We are to live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us (Galatians 2:20). It doesn’t require much faith to pray that Aunt Mable’s bunions will feel better. It only requires a little faith to give a dollar when you have ten dollars. It takes no faith to discuss the weather and steer clear of hard conversations.

But it does require faith:

  • to pray for a miraculous healing every day without giving up for a little boy who is racked by epilepsy, and trust God to spare his life
  • to write a check for $100 to someone in need when you have exactly $100 in your checking account, and trust God to provide for you own necessities. 
  • to go off the grid of the routine schedule to have a difficult discussion about social justice, and trust God to act on Christ’s teachings. 
  • to live as though the mission of God in this world is the most important thing we could ever do, and trust God to step out and do it.

It would be great if we could pray and act without ever doubting or failing, yet the only way to do that is to never step out of the boat. Instead, live life. Trust God. And see what happens.

Holy God, help us, your people, to embrace the life that is truly life by stepping out of the boat.  May Jesus define our lives instead of letting failure define us. May we accept the grace that is ours in Jesus Christ our Lord, in whose name we are bold to pray. Amen.