His Thoughts, Our Thoughts

God is so good to us. He is patient and kind when we are stubborn and impulsive. We want what we want when we want it, but He knows what is best. His love for us causes Him to deny us some things that may seem good to us, but He knows better.

For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways,

And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8&9

My question for you today is, do you believe in the truth of these verses? Do you believe that His ways are higher—Not just different, but actually higher? This means that His thoughts are better informed, more wise, and more insightful than ours. Our God knows the past, the future, and every detail of every eventuality of our lives.  How can we even begin to think that we know better than He, what is best for us? How can we question His goodness and mercy when we have all of the Scriptures to inspire our prayers?

Our belief should inform our patience. When things are not going as we would like them to go, we must remember these verses and trust in His superior thoughts and ways. No matter what we think should be happening, we can always be 100% sure that His plan is better. It may even be that His plan is not that much different from ours, but He wants us to wait for His timing in it.

Bottom line: We do not know what God is doing, why He is doing it, or when it will change. We only know God, and we know Him from the Scriptures. We simply cannot allow our circumstances to determine our view of God, or change Him into someone He is not, just so that He fits our ideas better. God is God, and He does what He pleases with what is His. Rather than dwelling on the first part of this statement, wondering and worrying about what God is doing, we should focus on the truth  of the last part of it: We are His. There is no better news we could get than this. We are His, and whatever pleases Him will be the absolute best thing for us. Praise the Lord!

Fear

Fear is a powerful thing. It can make our circumstances seem much worse than they are. Usually, when we experience fear, it has something to do with the future. When pain increases, we fear how far it will go this time, how long it will last, and how it will affect our plans. When we experience a new kind of pain, or pain in a new location, we fear what may be wrong this time.  Has our disease progressed? Have we put too much stress on already-weakened areas and done some kind of damage? What does this mean for the immediate future, and how will it affect our long-term prognosis?

While I am speaking here of physical pain, this is true of all kinds of trials. Most of us have at least one ongoing trial in our lives, whether it is physical, emotional, relational, financial, or some other area. Regardless of the source, any trial can produce fear. 

Fear is an emotional response to a real or perceived threat, so the first thing to consider is which of these two our current threat is— real or perceived/imagined? If it is a real threat, we must take action against it. In the physical realm, increased pain, swelling, and other signs are a pretty good indicator that the threat is real. Other types of trials have their clear indicators as well, and like chronic physical affliction, sufferers of these other kinds of trials usually have a pretty good idea of whether or not a threat is real. For instance, families facing ongoing financial problems who receive a foreclosure letter have a clear, concrete indicator of the threat of losing their home, and they may be fearful of that prospect.

But often, fear wells up in our hearts when it is an emotional response to an imagined threat. When we are weakened by ongoing pain or trials, our imaginations can run wild. Mild pain may be barely noticeable until, for whatever reason, we begin to dwell on it and ruminate about all the scary possibilities. A small twinge in the morning, mixed with a day of Googling, talking to others, complaining, and focusing on it, can become a full-blown panic attack by evening. This can happen regardless of whether the pain actually gets worse or not. Many of you have experienced this, and know that what I’m saying is true. It’s the same for other kinds of trials. A mother who fears her teen will make the same mistakes she did may worry and tremble every time he leaves the house, though she has seen no concrete evidence of rebellion.

These unfounded fears can have a very real consequence in our hearts: They can draw us away from Christ. When we begin to imagine all the bad things that our pain or circumstance may bring about, we have stopped looking to Christ for comfort. It is absolutely impossible to worry and trust at the same time. We are either trusting God, or we are feeding fear.  Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your burden on the LORD, and He will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” When we worry, we are not casting our burden on Him, but keeping it ourselves, and adding to it by the minute. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).” Refuge, strength, help. Worry is none of these things, so why would we turn to it instead of God? “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. (Nahum 1:7).” Does the Lord know you? He does if you take refuge in Him. If you choose worry, He will not join you there.

Our only hope in these troubled moments is to choose to dwell on the promises of God. Psalm 119: 49-50 says,

“Remember the word to Your servant,

Upon which You have caused me to hope.

This is my comfort in my affliction,

For Your word has given me life.

It is indeed God’s Word that give us life, because in that Word are His promises: Promises of comfort, hope, healing, and help. So, when our hearts lean toward fear in response to an imagined threat, we must pull them back upright, so that they can cling tightly to the Truth. It is there, close to His heart, that our hearts will have peace.

Treasure in Broken Hearts

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels,

that the excellence of the power may be of God

and not of us.” –2 Corinthians 4:7

This verse fascinates me. It is just one example of how different God’s ways and thoughts are from mine (Isaiah 55: 8&9). When I think about where I keep my earthly treasure, I think of banks, safes, and fire boxes. Only strong, safe, insured places get to keep my earthly treasures. I would never place my valuables with someone as weak, sinful, and fallible as I am.

But here, Paul is talking about a totally different kind of treasure. He is talking about the Gospel. The sweet truth that our sins are forgiven because Christ has paid our debt is a treasure beyond anything of earthly value. Yet, God chooses to put it into our hearts—our sin-stained, weak, selfish hearts. Why would He do that? Why would he entrust His most precious gift to us?

There are many ways to answer this question, but my favorite is this: Because He loves us. He saved us because He loves us (John 3:16). He did a work in our hearts so that His treasure would be safe, because He loves us. It is He who sustains and carries our frail earthen vessel so that His gospel can shine through the cracks in it (2 Cor. 12:10). God has prepared our hearts to carry His precious salvation. All we have to do is trust Him to keep it safe.

He is not relying on us to carry His heart in ours. He strengthens, directs, and sustains our hearts so that they are the perfect vessel for His love and grace. There is nothing that we must do to ensure that this treasure is safe. He will do it for us. All we have to do is trust Him. Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Forgiveness, Part 3

For the last couple of days, we have been talking about forgiveness. First, we established the importance of forgiveness in general. We discussed the biblical necessity of forgiveness, and shared a little about how important it is for healing. Next, we talked about the sovereignty of God, which we all must understand if we are to forgive those who have harmed us. If you haven’t finished wrestling with those two truths—the importance of forgiveness and the sovereignty of God—then you probably should go back and do some study of your own until you are convinced. Then, come back and read this last post.

How will forgiveness help with our pain or physical affliction? Well, first of all, when we forgive, the anger we feel toward those who have harmed us will melt. We all know the physical manifestations of anger: Neck and shoulder pain from tense muscles; lack of sleep from adrenaline and other hormones that pump into our blood when we are angry; depression that results when our anger is turned inward can cause stomach problems, headaches, and more insomnia. When we don’t get good restorative sleep, pain is always worse. Also, my own experience and that of many others confirms that unforgiveness and anger increase inflammation in the body. My friends who have RA, IBS and other inflammatory and autoimmune diseases have shared with me that when they forgave, their symptoms decreased. The reverse is also true for most.  I’m sure there are many factors in this outcome, but you cannot deny the correlation when you talk with suffering believers.

Forgiving others releases us from the bondage of anger. While we hold them responsible, we cannot put what they did to us out of our mind. Every time we feel the pain, we are reminded of their wrong against us. For me, this is literally every time I take a step. A wise friend suggested to me that I begin to remember a particular scripture when I step into pain:

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  —2 Corinthians 12:9

Instead of thinking about that doctor or therapist, or how sad I am about my pain and disability, I boast in my weakness. I remember that God’s grace is sufficient for me. This means that, regardless of my physical condition, I will always be able to bring glory to God. He will see to it, because His power is made perfect in my weakness. It is He who will orchestrate His glory in my pain. I don’t have to do anything except obey Him in it. Part of that obedience is to forgive those who have harmed me through deliberate action or neglect. When I do that, Christ’s power will rest on me, and I can rest in Him. What a relief! I don't have to harbor bitter feelings or resentment toward anyone, because ultimately, His glory is being worked out in my weakness. Really, it is a privilege to suffer as a believer, because regardless of the cause, my suffering and weakness give Him the opportunity to show His strength to a watching world.

The key is this: I must desire His glory more than my comfort. This is a tough place to get to, and few arrive there and stay until they are taken up to glory. With discipline and practice, though, any believer can get his mind and heart to this place, at least some of the time. It requires a full understanding (or as close as we can get this side of heaven) of the sovereignty of God. When we believe and cling to the fact that God is God and He works everything for his good purposes, the Spirit will help us to let go of anger, bitterness, and despair about our affliction. It is only then that we will be able to glorify Him in our suffering, boasting in our weakness and resting in Him.

Forgiveness, Part Two

Yesterday, I introduced the topic of forgiveness toward those who have done harm to us. I mentioned that forgiveness is important for physical healing, as well as spiritual and emotional healing. When we are suffering physically because someone has harmed us, our healing will be slow and incomplete if we hold on to anger and bitterness at those who are responsible. The mind and the body are interconnected, and when we keep nurturing bitter, angry, or resentful thoughts, we rub salt in our own wounds. I can testify that when I dwell on what that surgeon did wrong, or how that physical therapist didn't care, my pain becomes more pronounced, my sadness more intense, and my heart heavier.

Jesus asks me to bring my heavy heart to Him. His yoke is easy, and His burden is light . The only way I can receive His light yoke is to give Him my heavy one of unforgiveness and anger. But in order to do that, I must be able to trust Him with it. In order to trust Him, I must believe that He is sovereign.

But what does that word mean? Well, it means that Jesus, who is God,  is all-knowing, all-powerful, all-wise. The Bible has much to say about God's control over this world and the things that happen in it. A quick Google search produced several pages of references, but I will include just a few of my favorites here for our consideration:

Psalm 115:3
Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.
This means what it says: God does whatever he pleases. Since He is perfect, good, loving and just, the things that please Him are also perfect, good, loving and just. We can be sure that, no matter what happens to us, His purpose is good.

Job 42:2  
“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted."
Note the author here, and that this statement is toward the end of the book of Job. Job suffered much, and experienced crushing loss. When it was all over, Job was certain of God's sovereignty.

Isaiah 46:9-10  
Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose...’
Here, the Lord calls us to remember the many examples He has provided in His Word of events that prove His sovereignty. For me, this brings to mind the "Hall of Faith" in Hebrews 11. We have many examples of God's faithfulness in ruling well. We need not fear that He will fail us.

Romans 8:28 
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.
Though our circumstances and our pain do not seem good to us, we must believe what the Lord is telling us here. If we have been called by Him, we can be sure that He will work it all together for good. He has a purpose in what He is doing, and that purpose is His glory. When God is glorified, it is always good for us.

Psalm 135:6  
Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.
When we are in rebellion against God's working in our lives, this verse will make us bristle. In our pride, we may be angry that the Lord is pleased to allow harm to come to us. But this is where we must think of Christ. Isaiah 53:10 says that "...it pleased the LORD to bruise Him..". We are so thankful that God was pleased to save us through Christ's suffering. Can we really say that we are unwilling to be bruised or suffer pain for His glory? We will never suffer as He did. Though His physical pain on the cross was unimaginably horrific, it was certainly not worse than the separation from God that He had to endure as He paid the price for our sin--even the sin of rebellion we are nurturing right now in our stubborn refusal to accept suffering as part of His good plan.

Isaiah 45:7 
I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things.
Isaiah 14:24 
The Lord of hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand
He makes light and darkness and everything in between; good times and bad, according to His plan and purpose, He does all things. This is the bottom line. We can cry, lament, resent, hate, and plot revenge all we want; but ultimately, it is God who has brought us where we are today, pain and all. What will we do with this? Will we accept and rejoice in His sovereignty, taking each precious day as it comes and thanking Him for all things? Or will we continue to harbor bitterness and resentment, refusing to submit to something we don't understand? Think on this question, and meditate on these verses. Tomorrow, we will talk about how forgiving those who have hurt us will speed our healing.

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is a very important part of healing. I don't mean just spiritual or emotional healing, but physical healing, too. Some pain sufferers can point a finger at someone who caused their life-changing condition. I am one of those. Without going into detail about who or why, I will confess to you that I have held some anger and unforgiveness against a couple of medical professionals. While I know that God was ultimately sovereign over everything that happened, I still believe that there is some human responsibility, and I have held on to anger against these individuals for years.

I would like to take a few days this week to wrestle with some questions about forgiveness. Why must we forgive those who have harmed us? Is it necessary that they ask for our forgiveness in order for us to let go of bitterness? What are the benefits of forgiving and letting go of anger and resentment?

First, we must forgive because we are forgiven. In Matthew 18, Jesus tells the parable of the unforgiving servant. This man was forgiven a huge debt, yet he refused to forgive the debt of someone who owed him very little. When his master heard about it, he was not pleased. He had forgiven the man so much, and expected him to be compassionate and patient with his debtors. God, having forgiven us all of our sin against Him, expects the same. How can we receive God's love, forgiveness, and mercy, and not offer it to others? We cannot. In fact, if we do not forgive our debtors, we need to search our hearts to see if we have truly received God's forgiveness for the debt we could never pay.

Must our debtors ask our forgiveness before we can give it to them? Well, maybe. In Luke 17:3, Jesus tells the disciples, "If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him.(emphasis mine)." Here, perhaps Christ gives us a reason to hold back our forgiveness. But how does this help us glorify Him, and become more like Him? Look at the whole counsel of Scripture. Do you see grudges, anger and bitterness portrayed as godly things? Are believers encouraged to hold on to hurts, and withhold forgiveness? No. The overarching counsel of Scripture is, love as you have been loved. Therefore, even if my offender does not repent, I am free to forgive him in my heart, and if I want any peace, I must. If one day he does repent, admitting his fault and asking my forgiveness, I will be ready to give it to him.

So, how do we forgive someone who has not repented? This forgiveness must begin with meditation in the heart on how much we have been forgiven. Forgiveness is a heart attitude, and so preparation for it must begin in the heart. A heart that is ruled by the Spirit of the Living God will see things from His point of view. He is the sovereign creator of the universe, and His plan is better than mine. While He is grieved over my pain, the truth is, He could have stopped it. He could have guided that surgeon's hands to perform my procedure correctly. He could have healed my body so that no medical intervention was ever necessary. I will not know His reasons this side of heaven, but I must decide whether I believe that they are good. I must choose do desire His glory over my comfort, and seek His guidance in how to use my pain for that purpose. Only the Holy Spirit can give me this attitude, so I turn to Him, asking for His grace.

Tomorrow, we will talk about the sovereignty issue, and wrestle a bit with the tension between God's sovereignty and the responsibilities of people who harm us. I am no Bible scholar, but I have gleaned a few things in my searching, and I hope that sharing them with you will help me to solidify them in my own heart, and bring some encouragement to you.

Therefore...

The Lord is my strength and my shield; 

My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; 

Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, 

And with my song I will praise Him. 

Psalm 28:7 

I love it when I run across a "therefore" in the Bible. Whenever I see one, I know that I need to look at what came just before it, and figure out how the two are related. Psalm 28:7 is an example. The Psalmist tells us that the Lord is his strength and his shield. He doesn't say the Lord is part of my strength or somewhat protective. He says the Lord IS his strength and his shield. He finds all his strength, all his protection in the Lord. Think of that. When was the last time you acknowledged that ALL of your strength IS God. Not that it is in God, or that you get your strength from Him, but that it IS GOD!? My strength is God. What or who on this earth is stronger than that? This is a reason for praise!

Next he tells us that his heart trusted in Him, and he was helped. Why does my heart so often not trust Him? If He is my strength, and there is none stronger, why would I not trust Him? There is no reason. Have I not been helped? Has He been unfaithful? Even when I have been unfaithful, He never has. This is a reason to trust Him and to believe.

Why is it so hard to praise Him through our pain, even when we know all these things are true? Because we are stubborn, prideful people. If we can't see and agree that our trial is better for us than anything else, we dig our heels in and refuse to submit. Though we have no choice but to outwardly endure the circumstance, we refuse to submit our will and our hearts, and praise Him in it. We offer conditional praise to God: When things are going well, we are quick to shout out, "Praise the Lord!" But when circumstances overwhelm, old pains increase, or new pain springs up, our praises cease, and we are consumed with ourselves and our problems. This will never make us joyful Christians who draw others to Christ.

THEREFORE, my friends, you and I must change. Pride must go, and humble submission must take its place. There is no place in a Psalmist (a role to which God has called all of us) for pride, anger, entitlement, self-pity or bitterness. Is God our strength? Then we are strong! There is no reason for our hearts to do anything other than greatly rejoice, unless we allow our flesh to have the victory. Our God is the lifter of our heads. Today, let Him also be the lifter of our hands, as we sing praises to Him.