The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me …
… to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, festive oil instead of mourning, and splendid clothes instead of despair. And they will be called righteous trees, planted by the Lord to glorify him. Isaiah 61:1, 3 (CSB)
Mason removes some of my favorite aspects of the passage to focus on the oil of gladness. The CSB has “festive oil” instead. But the Spirit-anointed Jesus, Messiah, pours out this oil upon His people. They wear ashes of mourning, the spirit of mourning/sadness and despair.
This is a picture of life without Christ, who is our life. We mourn, we despair.
We can be misled into thinking that life is over but Jesus comes with the Spirit to pour the oil of gladness on our dray, cracked and empty souls.
He has overcome the world. We are seated with Him in victory (Eph. 2) and therefore share in the joy of victory, though for us the battle rages on. By faith we received that cooling, soothing joy.
A further description of our state is brokenhearted (Is. 61). We were, and can still be in the overlap of the Ages, bruised reeds and smouldering wicks (Is. 42). He comes with medicinal oil to restore us, heal us, revive us.
Perhaps today you need that healing oil to address your broken heart, your bruises or fainting spirit. Ask Jesus to fill you anew with the Spirit to heal you and bring you joy.
11 “I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. John 15 (CSB)
Jesus didn’t stop there: “Ask and you will receive and your joy will be complete.” (Jn. 16:24) Jesus gives us the gospel so His joy will be in us- the full measure of it. Not some shadow, echo, sliver, crumb or meager portion.
He invites us to ask for joy, and will grant the full measure of it. We have not because we ask not. We have not because we ask for selfish reasons- not for the glory of God (James 4).
The glory of God in the gospel of Jesus is the source and teleos of our joy.
Joy is like yeast- working its way through our being until it transforms the whole. Mason tells of margarine in the 1950’s when you broke the dye bubble to transform the white margarine into yellow (yuck!).
I must ask for joy, for the glory of God in the gospel. It will come like new morning mercies- joy for the day- gracious joy for the day. He will work it, expand it until it explodes in my soul- being complete.
“Something new had come into me, a new trust, a new ability to relax and to go with the flow of each day’s events.” Mason
It gets back to control. When we try to control life (and joy) we find only frustration. Our kids won’t do what we think they should do. Technology won’t do what we think it should when we think it should do it. Our spouse makes some decision we disagree with and think will harm us long term (I’m hoping my decision to go with solar doesn’t bite us). Or one we made bites us (I remember those first months after adopting the first time, thinking we’d ruined our “perfect” little lives it was so hard).
We don’t control life. Relax, trust that God is working things for our good even if it all looks bad. It isn’t our kingdom that matters, but His. Focus on your kingdom and there will be unhappiness- lots of it.
4 There is a river— its streams delight the city of God, the holy dwelling place of the Most High. Psalm 46 (CSB)
Odd, Ed Welch discussed Psalm 46 as one for the anxious and fearful in the meditation I read today.
In Isaiah 6-62 I read how the saints have “everlasting joy” (61:7). The Lord rejoices over and delights in us like a groom His bride (62:4-5). He changes our names similar to Exodus 19:1-6 (yesterday’s sermon).
That He takes delight in people who have been abused and addicted is astounding. He sees Christ who purifies us- not how others degraded us, or how we’ve degraded ourselves.
Mason writes of wading in this river of gladness. Ezekiel waded in deeply and found it impossible to cross (Ez. 47). Mason advocates contemplative prayer, simply being in God’s gracious presence until He fill us. He struggled with passivity but joy came to him.
“Each individual must discover the way of relying less on human understanding (Rev. 3:5) and more and more on the pure inspiration of the Spirit.” Mason
I’m still trying to grasp his meaning. As an intellectual, he probably wants to be less dependent on his intellect. It sounds more mystical. While God is not limited to my limited reason … I am uncomfortable with seeking an inspiration of the Spirit apart from the Word. Word and Spirit. He speaks to us by the Word.
Perhaps it is less about not listening to the Word than our overly rational study that can be academic and not hear what the Spirit is saying in the Word because we are too busy dissecting it.
I am looking forward to a day of silence and solitude Thursday, especially with an interview that afternoon. I am weary of the battle. Disgruntled members. No new regular attendees. Though out of town people love our worship services, I don’t get the disconnect with locals. Even people new to the area.
Bring on the joy. I need some joy! Refresh my weary soul.
2 Let Israel celebrate its Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King. 3 Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and lyre. 4 For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation. Psalm 149 (CSB)
Mason left out verse 3 for some reason. Joy can be expressed with dancing and making music. I recall moments early in my life of faith dancing like David did (not some weird liturgical dance but spontaneous joy expressed).
Anyway ….
It is hard to believe He delights in us. This is one of my struggles, if I’m honest. We rarely have people delight in us. We are so used to rejection, we find this hard to believe. It is a matter of faith, o little faith.
Yet we are His treasured possession, that which He values, treasures, is thrilled by. This takes faith! That is part of the faith we lack- to believe what He says about us with regard to Him.
This is the battle in our hearts. Not delighting in ourselves we can’t figure out how He, who knows us better than we ourselves, can actually delight in us.
We see our faults, failings & foolishness. We are all to aware of our bodily realities like halitosis and BO. How can He delight in us?
Jesus.
We can’t see the glorious robes of Jesus placed upon us and figure He can’t either. He sees us positionally and who we will be personally (through sanctification and glorification that hasn’t happened yet). We are stuck on who we are NOW, not who we will be when He shares His glory with us.
“Delighting in the Lord is fun; we should be having a ball.” Mason
Maybe you need to get someplace you can dance like David did.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. Psalm 16 (CSB)
The Psalmist (it could be written by or about David) speaks of his inheritance, the boundary lines of it, with contentment: pleasant places, beautiful.
Mason expands this to the boundary lines of who I am, and therefore who I am not. If I am not content with who God made me life will be unpleasant, ugly.
I shouldn’t curse myself for what I am not: an entrepreneur, basketball player, rock star … God didn’t make me one of them. Living in the limitations He gave me should be freeing- a source of joy. Too much misery comes from trying to be what one is not.
Many are miserable in work, not because of the lousy boss or working conditions, but because they are doing something they weren’t designed to do.
This is true in the Christian life. I am a Presbyterian- and find joy there. I am not a Charismatic, or Episcopal in doctrine and practice. I’d make a miserable Charismatic (I remember being prayed over repeatedly and nothing happened) or Episcopal.
The variety of ministries are astounding: the poor, homeless, pro-life, trafficking, Bible distribution, evangelism etc. I find joy in the role God gave me in His Body, not in comparing myself to what He’s called and gifted others to do. I can’t be a medical missionary, and shouldn’t punish myself because I’m not. Nor force others to be what they aren’t. “Hey, I know you are a great SS teacher, but you should be mopping the floors.” Or vice versa.
“To be fruitful to my true self, I must continually resist not just sin but many forms of virtue that may not be appropriate for me right now, many legitimate expressions of Christianity that aren’t legitimate for me, many good deeds that aren’t mine to do.” Mason
Fit matters. Those boundary lines matter.
Be and do what God has made you to be and do; and rejoice. Don’t curse because of what He didn’t make you to be and do. Embrace those boundary lines.
We are now one third through considering joy. Perhaps this is better called rediscovering joy or the journey to joy. For you, like me, this has been like most journeys: highs and lows, grumbling at delays and dumb drivers, rejoicing at beauty out the window or conversation with a friend.
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; though not seeing him now, you believe in him, and you rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, … 1 Peter 1 (CSB)
Mason refers to the message of Great Joy in Luke 1, which has its roots in Isaiah 51 and the one who brings good news. 1 Peter 1:6 speaks of their trials and affliction yet their joy is a present joy. Joy is an “identifying mark” of the true gospel.
When we aren’t hearing or believing the gospel we don’t have this joy. We can settle for a joyless gospel rather than “sing of His goodness” (Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed).
“Each day we need to be renewed by receiving the good news of the gospel all over again.” Mason
Sibbes devotion (4/10) for this morning speaks of delighting in the glorious truths of this gospel. In believing we make it our own.
“Why settle for a religion that doesn’t lift your heart and set you to singing? Look for the gospel that has your own name stamped on it in pure gold.” Sibbes
Am I reminding myself of the gospel? Am I choosing to believe it each day? I’ve not been doing a “good job” of that lately. I’ve been focused on the trials and afflictions.
Repeatedly in Isaiah 51-52 joy fills Jerusalem because He has come.
From my reading this morning (2 Cor. 6):
16 And what agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, as God said:
“I will dwell and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
In Revelation 1, John sees Jesus walking among the churches (lamp stands). He is our God and we are His people. He dwells among us, filling this temple of living stones. Why should we not have joy?!
11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them shout for joy forever. Psalm 5 (CSB)
I didn’t want to read today (when I wrote this months ago). One of the place I find joy has been taken from me. At this crossroads I find myself filled with sorrow. Oh, I see a silver-lining.
But I hear that voice: “See, you don’t measure up. You’re not good enough. You ruin it for everyone else.” I think there is no joy for me.
I feel like Charlie Brown who foolishly trusted Lucy, again. I feel like such a fool to believe I could have this sliver of joy and restoration.
I am separating out the organizational realities from the personal ones. But it is quite confusing… It is an about face. “Come here, come here” (door slams in face) like some episode of Fawlty Towers. Just call me Basil.
“Resignation is a form of commitment.” I’m not resigned but drowning in waves of disappointment. What is the choice to make here?
“You cannot control joy, but you can give joy permission to control you.”
Should I be thankful for another disappointment?
I ended up redeeming the time to work on my book. That was the silver-lining.
3 But the righteous are glad; they rejoice before God and celebrate with joy. Psalm 68 (CSB)
by Phillippe de Champaigne
A lack of faith is the main obstacle to joy. Faith that joy exists and God wants us to experience it. Yet He commands it (Phil. 4).
“Grant what You command!” Augustine
Mason discovered his sadness was a way to get back at God. It defended him from the love of God. This kept him from thanksgiving and forgiveness, and therefore joy.
I am overwhelmed by the futility and vanity. It leads me to despair, and without hope for change, for accomplishing goals, one tries not. Hence the lack of faith- faith that God is STILL working in the futility and failure. Faith that He wants to give me joy- because He loves me!
“The lavish abundance of God’s kingdom isn’t obvious to the naked eye; it can only be enjoyed by those who believe, with a faith intense enough to lead to action.” Mason
I must believe that “the kingdom of God” is a matter of “righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Rom. 14:17)
“He answers (prayer) not always according to our wills, but always according to our good.” Richard Sibbes, A Heavenly Conference quoted in devotional day 7/20
My family of origin didn’t really do grief. We just moved on.
When I was in college my mother’s mother passed away from cancer. Though I was only about 45 minutes away, they told me not to go to the funeral. Her death was just “there”. It had no semblance of reality to me. She just “disappeared”. Grief was soon consumed by a lawsuit with an uncle I’d never talk to ever again.
Years later when my father’s mother passed away I was told they were not having a service so they could remember her as she had been, not the shell of a human she’d become in her 90’s. Another grandparent just disappeared.
I’m not talking about the 5 stages of grief. I mean actually grieving.
In seminary I worked at a rescue mission. One of the cooks was a guy named Sam. He was short, stocky and had a big laugh. I liked Sam. On the afternoon of Easter Sunday someone came to me and said that Sam wasn’t waking up. I ran, seemingly in slow motion, to discover he was dead. The next day someone asked me about three things I’d miss about Sam. That was my introduction to grieving better.
I recently came across Facing Grief: Counsel for Mournersby John Flavel (it was originally entitled A Token for Mourners). I thought this might be a great opportunity to learn more about the process of grieving. I thought this might be a good book to hand people who were grieving. That was my desire going into the book.
John Flavel was a Puritan and well-acquainted with grief. He parents were imprisoned for their faith (his father a pastor), and then purposely shipped to a prison with an outbreak of the plague. They were essentially murdered by the government. As a pastor, Flavel would lose his position of pastor in the Great Ejection of 1662. He also grieved the loss of his first wife as she gave birth. The child also died. He would bury his 2nd and 3rd wives as well as a teen-aged son. He was familiar with grief.
A Token for Mourners was written shortly after his second wife died.
Christian Stoicism?
He writes as a Puritan: very methodical. He also refers to numerous Scriptures. Flavel knew his Bible! What is somewhat surprising to me was the numerous quotes and references to Seneca, the Stoic philosopher. This has contributed to the perception that Flavel advocates a form of Stoicism with regards to grief. Some of his content could be taken that way. Much of the book is about reasons to avoid “excessive sorrow”. There is little to nothing about proper sorrow. This greatly adds to the perception of advocating Stoicism.
On a more popular level we tend to think of the Stoic as unmoved. This perception is not quite right. Stoicism is concerned with “human flourishing” (a very contemporary concern). There are four virtues that further human flourishing: prudence, temperance, courage and justice. The second could be translated moderation. On this count, Flavel advocates for a form of Stoicism, at least with regard to grief.
The Book
“Desire not to be delivered from your sorrows one moment before God’s time.” from the Epistle Dedicatory
Alluding to Psalm 119 (which he will quote later, repeatedly) he notes that it is good for us to be afflicted. God afflicts us for our good. It is part of the process of our sanctification. But afflictions reveal the worst in us, most of the time. We often have sinful reactions to afflictions. Our response can often be excessive; in this case excessive sorrow.
13 When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said, “Don’t weep.” Luke 7
This passage forms the basis of his counsel to those who have lost children, or other dear relations, to death. This passage is found as Jesus comes upon a grieving widow who lost her only son near the town of Nain. The counsel Jesus provided was in light of the fact he would resuscitate the young man (he restored him to life, but he would die again). Her wailing moved Jesus to have compassion on her. Let’s not read a tone of rebuke into His words which are explicitly said in compassion.
She wailed for her grief was great. She’d already lost her husband. This son was to provide for her (life was very different then) and now she would be destitute. Flavel notes that mourning an only son was one of the most bitter loses (Jer. 6:26; Zech. 12:10).
Flavel notes Jesus’ words “are not an absolute prohibition of tears and sorrow” but that “he only prohibits the excesses and extravagances of our sorrows for the dead”. The second chapter seeks to distinguish between moderate and excessive sorrow.
“… we must keep due bounds and moderation in our sorrows and not be too deeply concerned for these dying, short-lived things. … Weep you may, but wail you must not.“
We have a child who used to wail at anything and everything. It was the end of the world as he knew it. Not everything can be the end of the world. Eventually this child became our most even-keeled kid. He has matured though it didn’t seem like it would ever happen.
It boils down to this for Flavel: weep, don’t wail. The issue is intensity and duration. Deep sorrow prolonged is excessive. It should be lessening in intensity and occurrence with the passage of time. You don’t cry every day like the day they died.
We should feel the Lord’s hand upon us in affliction. Give people time to weep (not 10 minutes) when loved ones die. He distinguishes between complaining to God and complaining at God. We bring our sorrows to God, but we don’t complain against God as though He did us wrong in this affliction. Admit it hurts. Don’t accuse. This is a helpful distinction for people.
“Griefs are eased by groans and heart-pressures relieved by utterance.”
We may plead with God for the removal of an affliction. We can pour out our heart to a friend, but should realize it won’t resolve the issue for us. He brings up David’s grief at his son’s illness in 2 Samuel. When the boy died David didn’t freak out, but moved toward acceptance. In a sense this seems to be Flavel’s ideal.
“Oppressed nature desires ease, and even our renewed nature desires freedom from those clogs and temptations, which hinder us in duty, or expose us to snares.“
When sorrow is excessive, “our tears for our lost enjoyments so blind our eyes that we cannot see that many other mercies which yet remain”. We are ignorant, ungrateful and provoke the Lord. We become self-absorbed in excessive sorrow. Excessive sorrow moves us slowly further from God, but moderate sorrow leads us closer to God. So, where is your sorrow leading you with respect to God?
Excessive sorrow plays with us like a lion until it finally destroys us. In these way, excessive sorrow is a useful tool in the hand of Satan. He wants to keep the wound open and oozing so we are of no benefit to anyone else. Such a person is fixed on the affliction. They are stuck in the moment that passed so long before.
I will confess it is easy to get stuck as a pastor. Our lives are about others and there is often not time to grieve for yourself. You help others grieve, but struggle to go back to grieve. We compartmentalize but that compartment can become over-stuffed and grief overflows at the most inopportune moments. It leaks out rather than dissipates.
He counsels ungodly mourners to repent instead of raging against God. This affliction is a warning and a mercy if one takes advantage of it.
He then seeks to comfort godly mourners with 20 different things to consider in the midst of their mourning. Prior to that is the encouragement to enter their prayer closets and pour out their hearts to God. This is the most important aspect of godly sorrow: bringing it to God. Lay it upon Him. Empty your heart. We have the example of the Psalms. Here the Lord is near and binding our broken hearts.
The 20 considerations cover the realities of God’s character, the nature of His providence and the larger context of our lives. One aspect is that we know not the future. This loved one may have experienced great affliction or caused us great distress had they lived. We are to cling to God’s covenant promises. Of course, we don’t weep like those who have no hope. We look forward to the resurrection to comfort us as we mourn.
While there is much good counsel here, there is something decidedly missing: the life of Jesus as a Man of Sorrows. How He suffered can bring us comfort. Jesus knows what it is to lose an earthly parent, experience betrayal and abandonment, be falsely accused and more. He comes to us as One who knows the pain and loss.
The book then shifts to answers to the pleas of those with immoderate or excessive grief. He is logical. He returns to some familiar ground at times. Each of the 12 pleas he mentions has multiple responses.
He ends with 7 rules to restrain excessive sorrow. Here again we see statements that reflect Stoicism. There are hints of the gospel here but not a clear gospel uncovered and applied for our sorrows. This is what keeps it closer to Stoicism than a robust Christian perspective. Sure, there is plenty of Scripture. However, I would have expected a focus on 2 Corinthians 1 “the God of all comfort” and 1 Peter 2 “Jesus’ example in suffering”.
As a result I found the book helpful to a degree but not nearly as helpful as I’d hoped. It was not as Christ and Gospel-focused as I’d hoped. I experienced some disappointment reading the book.
17 Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the flocks disappear from the pen and there are no herds in the stalls, 18 yet I will celebrate in the Lord; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! Habakkuk 3 (CSB)
Despite the ruin we can choose to rejoice in Christ. Joy is a series of choices. Difficulty puts us at a crossroads, not a dead end. Our wounds are healed with small choices. “While suffering is inevitable, misery is optional.”
“Misery is an addiction.” [name redacted] is there. She seems to find and wallow in misery. It can be that way (instead of finding and wallowing in mercy!). Too often I choose to go to “the unhappiness bar” in difficulty. I could choose joy, not aggravation. The crossroads.
We do have power to choose. Be we fall into old ruts. It isn’t easy to change my choices, but I must.
As a family, as a husband and father, we have been in the times when the fig leaves didn’t bud, the olive crop failed and the locusts seemed to devour what little there was. The Lord did replace what was destroyed in our lives. Our house, and family, doubled. In these hard times, I need to remember He has done this, and He hasn’t changed. The struggle of today will not last forever. We can rejoice because His ways are “faithful and loving” (Ps. 25)
22 Let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices and announce his works with shouts of joy. Psalm 107 (CSB)
Gratitude is the attitude, thanksgiving the act. We need to look for reasons to be grateful, not to further our worries and fears.
Philippians 4 ties anxiety to praying with thanksgiving: gratitude for prior care addresses fear regarding the future. That He has provided for our needs in the past (not necessarily our wants) should provide confidence in future provision for needs.
The quickest roads to joy are thanksgiving and forgiveness. Gather joy by giving thanks- inviting joy in by giving thanks for God’s acts of kindness to you.
Yes, there are many reasons in this life/world to be sad, angry, fearful. But beauty and goodness still abound. Let them in for “joy glorifies God.”
Naomi was so busy finding reasons to be bitter that she missed God’s many blessings to her through Ruth. Call me “Mara” for the Lord has dealt bitterly with me.
Yes, her husband and sons were dead. She had no resources and was in Moab.
But God provided a faithful, industrious daughter-in-law in Ruth. The famine in Judah had ended and they could return. Boaz was able to protect and provide for them at harvest, eventually becoming their kinsman-redeemer. Eventually there would be a son to inherit the lands of her husband. Finally her heart changed. She was Mara no more, but Naomi again.
This seemingly unimportant event changes the fortunes of Israel as well. Ruth the Moabitess was an ancestor of King David, and King Jesus. Joy broke through.
3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants and my blessing on your offspring. Isaiah 44 (CSB)
Today (4/4) Sibbes also discussed the Spirit (and 7/14 as well). The more of Christ we known the more of the Spirit we have and the more of Christ we will know. An ascending spiral.
My soul has been like thirsty land in need of the Living Water. I long for your Spirit to be poured out on my descendants, my offspring. Oh, the glories of Your covenant blessings.
When we arrived in NY for vacation, the rivers and streams were quite low. This was a thirsty land in need of much water. Since we’ve been here it has rained just about every day. Some of the storms have been intense, to say the least. Rivers are near flood stage. There have been mudslides and roads and bridges washed out. The land is not thirsty anymore.
Send Your Spirit upon us in the same way. Send the Spirit to the church that we may “know and believe You and understand He is God.” (Is. 43:12)
“The Spirit brings the presence of Christ today so I can trust Him with my tomorrows. I am not alone to face those tomorrows that seem so daunting.” Ed Welch
15 There are shouts of joy and victory in the tents of the righteous: “The Lord’s right hand performs valiantly! Psalm 118 (CSB)
This verse sounds better in the NIV. “Mighty things!” “Shouts … resound”.
Mason speaks of the connection between struggle and joy from this victory Psalm. There was a struggle and then victory and joy. Joy is deeper and stronger when there have been obstacles, opposition. There is more joy from a close, last minute victory than a blow out. I want the blow out (for my blood pressure)- but my joy has been deeper and louder with the walk-off homer, last second TD etc. The threat to joy enhances the joy!
“Without resistance joy loses its edge and grows complacent. God knows perfect happiness in Himself but we know happiness only by contrast with unhappiness.” Mason
The Enemy arises to steal/destroy/kill or joy. It draws fire.
The Spirit comes to restore joy => as we trust and hope (Rom. 15). As we believe God will win, that He loves us and upholds us.
This battle is about defeating and overcoming our fear. “Fear not, for I am with you… for I have redeemed you … for I uphold you in My righteous right hand.”
Life isn’t meant to be easy (but I want it to be!) because He’s turning us into “strong and fearless children of God”, “full of love.” And joy in Him.
“I am too easily consumed by the future- something I can control yet seems to control me through worry. It steals my joy from present grace and opportunity.” Ed Welch
This morning (July 13) Sibbes spoke of the constancy of God’s love. Our salvation is rooted in His firmness, not ours. His unchanging love. His unchanging election unto salvation. His unchanging imputation of Christ’s righteousness. It’s not rooted in our fickle wills, wavering love and flagging obedience.
“We are ready to run into new debts every day, but whom he justifies he will glorify. … God embraces us in the arms of his everlasting love, not that we embraced him first.” Richard Sibbes
10 Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41 (CSB)
God is present- so I don’t need to be afraid. He calms us with His presence.
We are not at a loss, overcome, despairing because He is present AND our God. He is for us, not against us. Because He is our God He will strengthen and help us. He does not abandon us to the things that intimidate us.
We are in His hand. It is works righteousness. It is powerful- the right hand. He gives us priority due to His commitment to us.
I am at a loss financially. We aren’t keeping up thanks to a number of factors including the rising costs of teens who begin to drive and some health issues. It can scare me at times. I need His presence to calm my fears.
I need His help. Some of that is knowing what not to spend money on. Some of that is finding new sources of revenue that fit within my calling. Some of that is entrusting myself to Him. No matter what befalls us.
Fear like that can kill joy. After my phone call about medical expenses I felt like the days of the Transition. I don’t know how we made it. I’m not sure how we made it financially in those days. I’m not sure how we’ll make it now. But we made it then. We will make it now. Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief! And help me find joy in your comforting presence.
12 Fight the good fight of the faith. 1 Timothy 6 (CSB)
Last night (Tuesday) we went to see Toby Mac as a family though Ash and I traveled separately due to practice. Finding parking was a bear, and we had a long walk.
But I don’t know what was bothering me. Why did I resist diving into the joy of the concert. I withheld myself instead of just allowing the songs to be a balm to my heart. Eventually You overcame my resistance- but how much more joy if I hadn’t resisted.
As I read Isaiah this morning I longed for the congregation to “take root downward and bear fruit upward” (Is. 37:31). We, too, feel like a remnant. Let us say, “it was for (our) welfare that (we) had great bitterness” but you have cast (our) sins behind your back” (Is. 38:17). May that mercy be evident as we grow deeper and bear fruit. We have failed You in many ways, but Your grace triumphs, it greater than all that sin.
Spiritual warfare isn’t just necessary, it is good. Not an eternal good, but good. The Lord is a man of war (Ex. 15), who trains my hands for battle (2 Sam. 2). The battle is hard but we must not shrink back.
Strengthen our weakened knees (Heb. 12) and Move because it’s not over yet (Toby). We must love battle because we fight for King Jesus and His righteous cause. The Lord is my banner (Ex. 17).
The war is ugly! Monday a transgender woman shot up a PCA elementary school in Nashville. She killed 3 kids (9 & 8 years old) including the pastor’s daughter, and 3 employees (headmaster, janitor and substitute). She decided she was judge, jury and executioner for “transphobia”- as though some people’s disagreement justifies the killing of children. It was her hatred of You and Your people. She was stirred up by Satan to wage war on the righteous.
Yes, this was what was bothering me. This is not just a thorn and thistle. This is a sword stroke. I grieve for them. I grieve for the dimensions this battle can take. We are not fighting with earthly weapons, but they are.
The world focuses on guns. Not the people pulling the triggers and their motives. Guns. Not her hate. Not her mental health. Guns. Not her spiritual condition and utter rebellion against the Holy One. Not her bitterness from when she attended that school years ago. It is seemingly their fault God doesn’t accept the choice to be what she wants instead of what God made her- a man. People’s rage at God leads them to strike His sheep.
20 However, don’t rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10 (CSB)
The joy is not in the outcome of a battle but in salvation itself. It is not in the success of ministry but in salvation itself. It is not in overcoming a sin but in salvation itself. It is not in the accomplishment of a goal but in salvation itself.
That joy is the strength we need to engage the enemy, serve in the church, fight sin and temptation, seek our goals.
Jesus had to engage and triumph in our place. Rejoice- Jesus wins! But the enemy seeks to steal our joy- and with it our fight.
“If we shrink from struggles, we abdicate a part of our humanity.” Mason
The pain is real- and part of the battles we face. Thorns and thistles, swords and arrows, hurt! But that is part of this pilgrimage- war. Like Israel in the wilderness we will have to fight our way to the Promised Land.
“… to fight under Christ’s banner against sin, the world and the devil, and to continue Christ’s faithful soldier and servant unto my life’s end.” The Book of Common Prayer
The movie Glory
I wish I had read this the previous week preparing for my sermon on Exodus 17:8-16 called The Lord is My Banner. But life has been hectic. Out Sunday night to Thursday night. This week out Saturday night to Friday night.
Then toss in the latest edition of Occupy Steve’s Armpit (I can get boils), another thorn and thistle!
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. Romans 8 (CSB)
17 For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. 2 Corinthians 4 (CSB)
Our present sufferings are light and momentary troubles. Glory is coming and that should shape us- not the troubles.
Spectrum News
Glory is like the clouds on the horizon indicating a storm is on the way. We can long for the storm to break the heat and humidity, like this week. Glory is coming to provide relief.
Focusing on our troubles makes them grow heavier. We stay stuck. We become victims.
“Suffering is universal. but victimhood is optional.” Dr. Edith Eger
Happy people aren’t trapped by their pain. Oh, they have pain but aren’t trapped by it. “Happiness … denotes a certain efficiency of processing life’s problems.” We should not sit in our problems and pain, but work to resolve them or keep moving if you can’t. You can’t stop the rain but you don’t have to stand there either.
As I read Flavel’s book FacingGrief, I see that I have gotten inefficient in processing pain lately. Too much pain? But I’ve let myself get stuck. I’ve wanted to reconcile relationships, and that is important. But you don’t need to get stuck until you do. Moving on felt too much like “who cares” to me. Or who needs them anyway!?
There never seems time to process big events like those. At least convenient times (not the middle of the night when I should be sleeping). There are sermons to prepare, studies to lead, people to see, parenting to do and trying to be a husband. The hours are eaten up and there is little energy and mental capacity remaining.
Happiness empowers us to face problems, and over-coming, we feel happier.
“The victim, faced with a problem, trembles and wishes the problem would go away.” Mason
The happier one is, the shorter the bounce-back period. Momentary issues remain just that, momentary, not day (or weeks) ruining.
Sibbes spoke of storing up comfort (March 23) before trouble hits- learning the promises in the present for future use. Happiness doesn’t just happen. It is won tomorrow by storing up and believing God’s promises today.
29 He who has the bride is the groom. But the groom’s friend, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the groom’s voice. So this joy of mine is complete. John 3 (CSB)
Who, or what, we listen to matters! To have joy we must listen to the joyful voice of Jesus, the Groom.
The voice of Satan promises joy, bit is miserable. It focuses on the miseries of the world, or the blessings of others to produce envy.
The voice of the Lord not only is powerful, but joyful since He is the ever-blessed God. No one and no thing can destroy His joy. Yet Jesus’ joy is fuller when we rejoice greatly.
I think of Narnia, and the sweet song of creation. He is the only one who can give us happiness: listen and do what He says.
I thought of these very things last night while watching an old Jet Li movie. Who’d think such a movie would have any truth in it.
A man had been raised as a dog, so to speak, by a criminal. He was the gangster’s attack dog and was treated as one, including a collar. After an accident he thinks himself free and is taken in by a blind piano tuner and his stepdaughter. He learns a new way of life and simply joy.
Torn between 2 voices
The gangster discovers where he is and wants his “dog” back. In the climatic scene the young man is torn between his two lives, and how the old threatens the new- literally. The gangster keeps calling him to his old life. “You’re just a dog, a killer. Kill me!” Lies, lies, lies. Drowning the truth of rediscovered dignity, and his past. Would he kill the man who abused and killed his mother then raised him like an animal?
The piano tuner bashed the gangster over the head. “Shut up!”
As Amy Grant sang, “You gotta know who to, who not to, listen to.”
Gracious woman, but don’t listen to her on everything.
Silence the voice of fear, doubt, negativity etc that has been nourished in you and by you. It is time to listen to the voice of God: “You are My child, I have adopted you! You are accepted, loved and cherished! I have filled this world with joy, embrace it!”
47 Because you didn’t serve the Lord your God with joy and a cheerful heart, even though you had an abundance of everything, 48 you will serve your enemies that the Lord will send against you, in famine, thirst, nakedness, and a lack of everything. He will place an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you. Deuteronomy 28 (CSB)
“Joy enlarges the soul, but inordinate grief shrinks it.” Richard Sibbes
Mason notes that God cares about adverbs; not simply serving but joyfully and cheerfully (“gladly” in the NIV). Their disobedience brought misery and oppression. They served their enemies instead. They will lack the good things God provides: food, drink, clothes. Disobedience destroys joy.
The blessing/curse principle remains: Gal. 6. We reap what we sow. When we walk in His ways, we please Him (doing what is right in His eyes, not ours) and experience joy. We experience His pleasure in us.
The body, when fearful or anxious, can be very loud, and that makes dealing with anxiety even harder. … Your soul believes there is a threat. Your body mobilizes in response.” Ed Welch
I was listening to Rogan and author Mark Greaney talk about anxiety triggering our fight or flight response. We may need to burn off these chemicals by working out regularly. Interesting how it ties into Welch’s comments.
Anxiety keeps us from obedience. We begin to serve it and will lack many good things- or their enjoyment. Anxiety keeps us from joyful service.
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Matthew 3 (CSB)
Blessing has to do with the benefits of the covenant. But many translations use “happy”.
The beatitudes are full of paradoxes. Joy is in mourning, spiritual poverty and the like. True joy isn’t the avoidance of the negative experiences and emotions we have. It isn’t denial. It is part of the full range of emotions in life.
“Happiness comes not to those who deny their weakness but to those who authentically inhabit the apparent paradox of the human condition.” Mason
For instance: “Peacemakers are happy because they aren’t afraid of anger; if they were, they couldn’t be effective at making peace.” Neither do they succumb to anger, following it to the “joyful” destruction of the offenders.
Not the guy. He was balding. But same sentiment.
Yesterday I tried to get around a slower truck before the lane ended. He suddenly sped up to challenge me. What should I do? Aside from the fact it was not my vehicle, it was wiser to ease up and let him have the position. It was caused by his refusal to be behind me. He needed to be ahead of me. I made a motion to my wife. Then we saw the guy explode: his hand shaking by the rear view mirror as he gave me the finger. Not content with that, he switched hands to angrily thrust his arm out the window to make sure I knew how angry he was at the moment. Because I wanted to get past him. I was laughing at how stupid it all was.
We then caught up to a slower vehicle. It went back to 2 lanes at the next light but would go back to one. He pulled into the right lane to get past the other care. Needed to be in the lead. His speed, not anyone else’s. His. And full of anger.
I am afraid of anger (getting back to the last quote): mine and other’s. It can be so destructive. Oh, it can be corrective but only in the hands of the wise.
“Happiness does not exist in isolation, but rather is the fruit of certain other godly qualities …” It is not to be sought for itself, but as part of being godly.
I’d been working on that contentment thing. Accepting my lot in life. Then, out of nowhere, someone reached out to me about a position. Was the Father opening a door closer to family? (The answer would be ‘no’, just to end any suspense by concerned people).
Cavman Considers 