Tag: spiritual life

Seen by God (Genesis 16:7-15)

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

The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.

Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”

The angel of the Lord also said to her:

“You are now pregnant
    and you will give birth to a son.
You shall name him Ishmael,
    for the Lord has heard of your misery.
He will be a wild donkey of a man;
    his hand will be against everyone
    and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
    toward all his brothers.”

She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.

So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. (New International Version)

I’m blind as a bat without my glasses. They’re the first thing I put on when waking in the morning, and the last thing I take off before retiring at night. Without them I can’t distinguish anything very well, at all. I cannot see others unless they are inches from my face.

As bad as it would be if I didn’t have my glasses, it would be even worse if you were not seen by anyone. I believe that one of the great tragedies of modern Western civilization is that we can live among so many other people, yet not be seen by so many of them. The loneliness of not being seen is a terrible situation.

Hagar certainly felt that way. Perhaps even worse, she felt that God didn’t see her. It was as if God lost his glasses somewhere. 

Because a slave, Hagar’s body was not her own. Through a bunch of decisions out her control, she became pregnant with Abraham’s son. It was messy and complicated. Dysfunction was all around. A very pregnant Hagar ran away.

Having been abused by her mistress, we can feel Hagar’s despair… but there was someone watching, someone seeing the desperation on the face of a pregnant slave: God. 

The Lord saw everything – all the craziness, all the mistreatment – and stepped-in and acted on behalf of Hagar and her unborn son.

As a result, Hagar began to call God, “The God Who Sees Me.” She never again had to wonder or doubt whether she was seen. 

You might feel today that God doesn’t see your pain, is aloof and distant from your hurt, and is blind to your deep wounds. But God sees… all of it. The Lord may not be working on the same timetable as you and me, but nevertheless, you are seen with divine eyes.

You “see,” there is someone watching who specializes in hard cases. The Lord came alongside Hagar and spoke a promise to her that she could hold onto in her time of trouble. It was a promise way beyond what she could have dreamed of, far above her station in life.

Hagar gave a name to God. “El Roi” means “the God who sees.” At a low point in Hagar’s life when it seemed she was an unseen nobody, God showed up and let her know different.

I’m sure there have been times in your life, just like there have been situations in my life, where you wonder if anybody sees you, including God. You feel that if you stepped off the earth today, nobody would even notice or care.

Conversely, to be seen brings wonder, joy, and awe into life. To know the God who sees you is to be transported into the garden of paradise, enjoying divine presence and fellowship.

You are not alone. The Lord knows your every move. God watches because God loves and adores you. The almighty Lord is not a god who is aloof and distant. The One true God looks upon you and me with the kind of affection that a new parent has standing over the crib of their infant child. It’s a look of care, protection, joy, pride, and compassion.

One of the most fundamental theological statements we could say about God is: The Lord sees each individual person, and the Lord of all creation cares for each one.

Yes, terrible tragedies and gut-wrenching evil exist in this twisted mixed-up world. And God has anger and wrath, and is not okay with all the injustice throughout the earth. Yet, God’s wrath exists because of God’s love. The Lord will do something about it, and will do it in the proper time.

God is working out good purposes and plans. God will judge the living and the dead. The Lord has not forgotten you. God sees you, created in the divine image and likeness, and will act on your behalf.

Blessed are you, Sovereign God of all, to you be praise and glory forever. In your tender compassion the dawn from on high is breaking upon us to dispel the lingering shadows of night. As we look for your coming among us, open our eyes to behold your presence. Strengthen our hands to do your will, so that the world may rejoice and give you praise. Blessed be you, God almighty. Amen.

Impatient (Genesis 16:1-6)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Sarai and Hagar, by Cody F. Miller

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”

Abram agreed to what Sarai said. So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.

When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.”

“Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her. (New International Version)

In a convoluted series of decisions, mostly outside of her control, Hagar became pregnant with Abraham’s son. Although it may seem strange to us today, the practice of building a family line through a surrogate – in this case the slave of the household’s mistress Sarai – was not an unusual way of handling infertility in the ancient world.

Yet, things went awry with that approach. God had promised that a son of Abram’s own flesh and blood would inherit the divine covenant. But it wasn’t happening quickly enough for his wife Sarai. And this impatience led to the worldly approach of trying to gain an heir.

Impatience

Throughout Holy Scripture, patience is a virtue, as well as a spiritual practice to be cultivated. Impatience is the ants-in-your-pants response of wanting something now, without all the fuss and effort of planting and cultivating. The inability to wait is the desire for an instant harvest of righteousness.

The spiritual life of patience, however, like every other virtue, requires progressive growth over a long period of time. That is the only way of attaining any sort of spiritual maturity in this life. To go with shortcuts, or ingenious plans for quickness and efficiency, will not end well.

And it only short circuits the spiritual growth and formation of the believer. Like a farm-factory-raised animal who has been given growth hormones to speed things along, the fallout is the mistreatment of creatures – both animal and human – in shortened lifespans and poor quality of life.

Perhaps the original ancestor of Sarai, Eve, also had a bit of impatience in wanting to gain wisdom, now, from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And maybe the original ancestor of Abram, Adam, was okay with letting Eve follow through with an impatient plan.

It could be that both Adam and Abram just wanted to keep their spouses happy; and so, they let them do whatever the heck they wanted in order to keep the peace. It certainly wouldn’t be the only time this ever happened in history.

A commitment to submitting to the process of developing patience is a must – otherwise, the believer will give up and retreat into half-baked ideas for getting what they want, without all the hard work. We also need to realize that patience itself is a great reward, and worth all the energy it takes to possess it.

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.

James 5:7-8, NIV

What’s more, the effects of impatience are murmuring and complaining to God and others, leading to depression and anxiety. That’s what happened to the ancient Israelites in the desert when it was taking too long to get to the Promised Land:

They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!” (Numbers 21:4-5, NIV)

Worldliness

If we give the attainment of patience it’s due attention, then a lot of ungodly worldliness can be avoided. In Holy Scripture, “the world” is many times used not as a reference to the people of the earth, but as an inordinate interest in, concern with, or devotion to the systems, organizations, and institutions of this world that operate by unjust means.

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17, NIV)

Worldliness, then, is an obstacle to that which is good, right, and just; it is in opposition to and independence from God. In short, worldliness isn’t some sort of sophisticated intelligence, but is a way to get what we want apart from virtue and godliness. But God’s grace can be our teacher to a better way of life:

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Titus 2:11-13, NIV

Conclusion

Patience is one of the hardest lessons in life to learn. Yet, a devotion to becoming skilled in the art of patience, and of forsaking the practice of impatience, can reap both existential and eternal rewards. And it will keep us from going down the path of worldly temptation; and delivered from the machinations of the evil one.

Perhaps with patience, Sarai could have avoided mistreating her servant; and maybe Abram could have stood up and held her accountable. Together, they would eventually embrace faith in it’s fullness and enjoy the blessing of a son from Sarai’s own womb. Yet, today’s Old Testament lesson would always serve as part of their history to learn from. And, thankfully, we can learn from it, as well.

Almighty God, support your people and grant us patience in all our circumstances and miseries.
Lord, when in the midst of trials and temptations, suffering and injustice, give us patience.
When wracked with pain, illness, and lack of sleep, give us patience.
When burdened with afflictions, wonderings, and loneliness, give us patience.
When overcome by fear, and all our spiritual energy is dried up, give us patience.
When distractions grab our attention, bring us back, and grant us patience, O Lord. Amen.

Where Is God in My Suffering? (Psalm 22:23-31)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Crucifixion, by Georges Rouault, 1937

“Praise him, you servants of the Lord!
    Honor him, you descendants of Jacob!
    Worship him, you people of Israel!
He does not neglect the poor or ignore their suffering;
    he does not turn away from them,
    but answers when they call for help.”

In the full assembly I will praise you for what you have done;
    in the presence of those who worship you
    I will offer the sacrifices I promised.
The poor will eat as much as they want;
    those who come to the Lord will praise him.
May they prosper forever!

All nations will remember the Lord.
    From every part of the world they will turn to him;
    all races will worship him.
The Lord is king,
    and he rules the nations.

All proud people will bow down to him;
    all mortals will bow down before him.
Future generations will serve him;
    they will speak of the Lord to the coming generation.
People not yet born will be told:
    “The Lord saved his people.” (Good News Translation)

I find that a great deal of truth and reality in this world is something of a mystery and a paradox. Christianity, especially, is a religion of paradox, in my opinion. For example, God is Three – Father, Son, and Spirit – but God is One. Jesus Christ is fully human and fully divine, at the same time, all the time. And when it comes to the spiritual life, suffering exists, and God is sovereign and in control of all things.

This then, is what prompts many people to question if there is really a God – since so much suffering exists throughout the world. Yet, it’s necessary to maintain the tension that hard circumstances, adversity, and difficulty in the form of awful suffering, and the preeminence of the Lord God almighty, both exist without taking anything away from either of them.

The severity of suffering, nor the supreme majesty of God, need to be watered down in any way in order to try and make sense of our existential situations.

“Suffering” is a word we would like to avoid. Even saying or reading the word might make some folks cringe. Suffering? No thanks. I think I’ll pass on that. Yet, something inside of us instinctively knows we cannot get around it. Everyone suffers in some way. It is endemic to the human condition that at times we will suffer physically, financially, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. 

That’s why I believe there is so much talk within some Christian circles about miracles. It’s more than understandable:

  • a chronic pain sufferer wants relief, so she prays for a miracle of health
  • a small business owner is bleeding financially, and looks to God for an immediate miracle of wealthy clients
  • a beloved senior saint knows she is afflicted with Alzheimer’s, so she prays for the miracle of deliverance, even to be taken home to be with the Lord
  • a young adult finds himself in the throes of depression and has tried everything to cope and get out of it, so he petitions God for a miracle out of the deep black hole
  • a believer in Jesus keeps experiencing a besetting sin and cannot get over it, so she looks to God for the miracle of not struggling any more with it

These scenarios and a thousand other maladies afflict people everywhere. There are a multitude of stories out there. Folks who have experienced a miracle tell of their wonderful deliverance. But what about the rest? Those without the miracle? Do they have a lack of faith? Has God forgotten them?

Oh, my, no! God sees, and God knows. God is acquainted with suffering. Jesus knows it first-hand. Remember that it was Jesus who said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1; Mark 15:34; Matthew 27:46)

Even Jesus cried out in his suffering. But there was no deliverance coming for him.  There was, however, deliverance coming for us.

Sometimes the greatest miracle and deliverance of all is to be freed from the need for a miracle. The reason God doesn’t just offer immediate relief from everyone’s suffering and bring a divine miracle is that the Lord is doing something else: Walking with us through our suffering. God oftentimes has plans and purposes for us that are well beyond our understanding. 

We simply are not privy to everything in God’s mind.

We may not get the miracle we desire. Yet, what we will get without fail, is God’s provision and steadfast love all the way through the suffering.

Where is God in your suffering? Right beside you. Jesus is suffering with you. You are not crying alone; Christ weeps with you.

Let, then, those who suffer, eat and be full. Let them be satisfied with the portion God has given them. And, what’s more, let them offer praise to the God who is squarely beside them in every affliction and each trouble.

God Almighty, you are the One who knows suffering and affliction better than anyone. I admit I don’t often understand what in the world you are doing or not doing in my life and in the lives of those I love. Yet, I admit that I have found in you the comfort, encouragement, and strength to live another day in my trouble. For this, I praise you, in the Name of Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

A Desert Spirituality (Mark 1:9-15)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year B1 Comment

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tested by Satan, and he was with the wild beasts, and the angels waited on him.

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” (New Revised Standard Version)

40 Days of Desert

We are in the season of Lent in the Christian Year. Beginning with Ash Wednesday, Christians take a forty-day journey, leading to Holy Week and Easter. Jesus spent forty days in the desert being tempted by Satan. So, the Church remembers this event with the season of Lent.

This is the season in which many Christians give focus to the temptations we face on a regular basis. We intentionally practice spiritual disciplines, such as fasting, and give up something for six weeks, so that we might become aware of our attachments to other things and how much we rely on them, instead of trusting God.

It was important for Jesus to be in the desert; and it’s necessary for us, as well. Jesus retraced the steps of the ancient Israelites, who wandered in the desert for forty years before entering the Promised Land. The people needed to re-connect with God, after having failed in their faith. Trust had to be strengthened and developed before they could be ready to receive God’s promises.

Jesus accomplished what others did not: He faced down the devil and overcame temptation in the desert. 

The forty days were a necessary preparation for the upcoming three years of ministry that would culminate in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Before any of that could happen, Jesus had to experience the desert.

We, like Jesus, need a desert spirituality. The desert forms us into followers of Jesus by learning to overcome temptation, so that we will not be shaped into followers of Satan. God desires to strengthen our faith, and facing down the temptations of Satan are crucial to our spiritual development.

For Christians, the desert becomes the gymnasium where we are broken down through the stress of temptation, so that we might become spiritually stronger in our faith. Without this kind of spiritual training, we become vulnerable to Satan’s accusations, and easy prey to his temptations.

Christ’s Desert

After the baptism of Jesus, the Spirit flung him into the desert. There was real danger in the desert, wild animals and all. Yet, put in that situation and having come through it, Jesus was able to deal with the crafty pursuits of Satan to distract him from his mission. 

Throughout the Gospel of Mark, after tossing demons out of people, Jesus commanded the unclean spirits not to tell anyone who he was. Part of what was going on, is that Satan wanted to tempt Jesus to gain fame and power through popularity and accolades. But that was not the way of Jesus. He was not going to bring in the kingdom of God through the avenues of careful marketing and brand recognition.

Another practice of Jesus throughout his ministry was to seek places for solitude and prayer. The needs Jesus daily faced were large and vast and never ended. Yet, he resisted working without any rest or guidance in prayer. 

A temptation could have been to please people and never get away to pray. Yet, through solitude and prayer, Jesus connected with his Father; he moved from place to place proclaiming the good news of God’s rule and reign. Jesus did not succumb to the temptation to settle in one place and build a petty kingdom of his own, apart from the Father.

As Jesus walked the countryside telling people of repentance and faith, he often spoke in parables that were designed to foster thought and reflection. Jesus was not duped by the temptation to always be black and white about everything, merely giving the bottom line of his teaching to people. 

Christ did not teach in order to get immediate results, or to let people know which side he was on concerning the issues of the day. Instead, Jesus was about the business of building something permanent that would far outlast his short three years of ministry.

Because of the desert, and through his Father’s affirmation, Jesus lived a unique three years on this earth that has never been equaled before or since.

Our Desert

Years ago, I went on a leadership retreat in the Canadian wilderness. We were so far out in the sticks that we needed special first aid training before leaving, because if someone got severely injured it would be hours before he could receive any medical attention. There was no cell phone service, no towns, no anything except mile after square mile of wilderness. 

We were continually vigilant to not attract bears. The wilderness can be a dangerous place. One day, we were each dropped off on our own personal islands for an entire day, alone. Being face to face with yourself can be hard to deal with, which is what a desert experience does – it exposes the idols of our hearts and the ways in which we are tempted.

A person does not need to be in the Canadian wilderness or in the actual desert to experience the effects of desert life. The Holy Spirit has a way of throwing us into the desert through a change of circumstance, so that we will exercise our spiritual muscles and get in spiritual shape. 

The top three temptations that people face on a daily basis are: 

  1. Worry and anxiety
  2. Procrastination and putting things off
  3. Gossip and other sins of the tongue 

So, how do we face down those temptations and retrace our steps back to the path of God? Here are some lessons I have learned in my own desert experiences:

  1. Know your weaknesses. Know yourself, and the temptations directed at you. The three I just mentioned all come from a tendency toward perfectionism. We worry about the future, of not saying or doing something perfectly. So, we procrastinate for fear of screwing up and not being perfect. And we gossip to others about their faults and weaknesses because it maintains the illusion that our perfectionism is intact, at least as compared to others. Perfectionism is slavery. For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1, NRSV)
  2. Understand the importance of timing. When are you at your weakest, and vulnerable to temptation? What triggers you to sin? Whenever kids act up, we first wonder if they are tired or hungry or have some other need. It’s the same with us. Carrying sleep debt, skipping meals, or eating junk food because we are in a hurry, will set us up for temptation. Elijah faced down four-hundred prophets of Baal, then fell apart when one woman, Jezebel, went after him. He needed food and rest. Discipline yourselves; keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8, NRSV)
  3. Look to God and others. Don’t rely solely on your own willpower; or believe that you can resist temptation all by yourself, all the time. Even Jesus looked both to his Father and his disciples. Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.” And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, yet not what I want but what you want.” Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:36-41, NRSV)
  4. Have a plan. Flying by the seat of your pants will not always work. The clever see danger and hide, but the simple go on and suffer for it. (Proverbs 22:3, NRSV) One of the ways I personally resist temptation is by having a daily plan of worshiping God, praying, and reading Scripture at set times throughout the day. For me, it’s significant to have more than a few minutes of “quiet time” in the morning.
  5. Overcome evil with good. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:21, NRSV) Applying this to the top three temptations people face, that means worriers will love their enemy and pray for those who persecute. For the procrastinator, it means to take intentional steps of faith and risk, being real and vulnerable with others through accountable relationships. For the gossip, they will seek to speak words of encouragement that build others up.
  6. Know that you are never alone. Angels attended Jesus. Even the Son of God was not on his own.  Whatever you are facing is likely not unique to you. Others face it, too. Our brothers and sisters throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of problems when they seek to walk with Christ.

Let the desert shape and strengthen your faith. If the Holy Spirit has thrown you into a dry place, then instead of bucking the situation and complaining about it, learn all you can about resisting temptation so that you can come out the other end a stronger, more faithful follower of Jesus Christ. 

May it be so, to the glory of God.