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The Christian Religion; A Confident, Holy, Healing Walk With God.
Devotional Thought of the Day:
9 The Lord is not slow to do what he has promised, as some think. Instead, he is patient with you, because he does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins. 10 But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that Day the heavens will disappear with a shrill noise, the heavenly bodies will burn up and be destroyed, and the earth with everything in it will vanish. 11 Since all these things will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people should you be? Your lives should be holy and dedicated to God, 2 Peter 3:9-11 (TEV)
26 Augustine also reminds us that we would understand the word “faith” in the Scriptures to mean confidence in God, assurance that God is gracious to us, and not merely such a knowledge of historical events as the devil also possesses.
378 Don’t be a pessimist. Don’t you realize that everything that happens or can happen is for the best? Optimism will be a necessary consequence of your faith. (2)
As I was going through my devotions this morning, there was a simplicity to the various readings I do. It’s Monday, so a review of the basics seems appropriate.
The definition of faith found in the second quote got my mind moving. Especially that word “confidence.” Augustin is correct of course, and the amateur theologian sees the Latin for faith, “fide”, buried right in the middle. To live life, not just believing in God, but having a relationship so deep, so nurtured by Him, that we trust Him. To have faith means, we have confidence in His working in every part of our life.
That can only come from knowing God’s desire is not to condemn mankind, but to show us love, to cleanse and heal us from brokenness, to set us apart for a relationship with Him. We trust Him do what He has promised! We know His heart and desire is to save us, to have us dwell in His peace. We know His beauty,we know that He loves us, you and I. Put you nickname there, God loves me.
Amazing!
That is why reading scripture is so essential in my life. Not because pastors and holy folk have to do it but to hear more of God’s heart toward us, to grow in our trust of God. To know that He makes all things, even pain and suffering, work for good because we love Him, we trust our God and our Heavenly Father.
That is why St Josemaria (and Luther for that matter) could speak of living confidently, even though he knew physical pain, and suffered in many ways. (his biography is fascinating!) Even though he ministered in the midst of war and famine, in spite of adversity. Luther as well knew these things, as did those who accompanied him. They, like so many who had and have confidence in God’s love for them, endured and even looked at life optimistically while they endured.
They knew the promise of Romans 8 well, that all things would work out as a blessing, that nothing could separate you from God’s love in Christ Jesus. Not because of intellectually understanding anything, but because they knew God, knew His constant and continual presence, knew the comfort and peace of the Holy Spirit, which is unlike anything in the world…..
They had confidence in God. Knew He would fulfil every promise…from saving us from sin to dying on Cross, to rising from the dead to uniting to us in that journey.
That makes an eternity of difference and affects our lives each day.
Trust in Him, have confidence in His love and greet everything in His life, as an incredible blessing!
(1) Tappert, T. G. (Ed.). (1959). The Book of Concord the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. (p. 45). Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press.
(2) Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Locations 960-961). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
“OH NO!” HE CRIED, “I SCREWED UP, AND GOD WILL GET ME FOR THIS!”
Devotional Thought of the Day:
10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” 11 “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” John 8:10-11 (NLT)
168 “It made me laugh to hear you speak of the ‘account’ our Lord will demand of you. No, for you He will not be a judge—in the harsh sense of the word. He will simply be Jesus.” These words, written by a holy bishop, have consoled more than one troubled heart and could very well console yours. (1)
A young man approached me today, concerned about a sin. I won’t go into details, but the bottom line was that he was afraid of being judged for it. He felt that if he died tonight, God was going to use the law and crush him for this sin.
We’ve all been there when some sin we’ve committed, whether this morning or 40 years ago is used to torment us, to single us out to face the wrath of God. The young man isn’t alone, I’ve been there, you possibly have as well. The number of people I have had in my office, or talking over lunch, or texting me at midnight to find out that they haven’t lost their salvation is beyond count.
Yes, there is the other side of the coin as well, those who think they sin isn’t big enough to merit the firing and pain of hell, and those people, who say they believe in Jesus, but dismiss the concept of hell, not because of scripture, but because of how they want to see God.
Both extremes, the idea that a sin won’t send you to hell, and that a sin is unforgivable, and will result in your eternal death, are misplaced.
God is just, and God is merciful. To the lady caught in adultery, His words are full of grace, so revealing the desire of God to restore us as His children, and forgiving our sin, all our sin is part of that restoration. We need to be cleansed of it all; we need to be proclaimed forgiven, that we stand with the adultress, uncondemned.
Knowing this should cause us to run for absolution, to run to him counting on the promise that He will cleanse us of all unrighteousness. To run to those whom He has entrusted to forgive and bind sins and go – this – I need this one forgiven! I need them all forgiven. And to rejoice, to celebrate when you hear once again that He forgives your sins and cleanses you of all unrighteousness!
That is what people need to hear, so they never doubt the love of God, so they don’t have to try and justify or minimize their sin.
Sin is what it is, and there is hope for sinners. Found in the death of Christ, for those sins, in His burial (see Romans 6) and in His glorious resurrection. For the power of that resurrection will raise us as well. Clean, holy, alive in Christ Jesus.
This is why we have hope… because of His love.
AMEN.
Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Locations 520-522). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Who Am I? Who are You?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
36 For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen. Romans 11:36 (NLT)
Your boat—your talents, your hopes, your achievements—is worth nothing whatsoever unless you leave it in Christ’s hands, allowing him the freedom to come aboard. Make sure you don’t turn it into an idol. In your boat by yourself, if you try to do without the Master, you are—supernaturally speaking—making straight for shipwreck. Only if you allow, and seek, his presence and captaincy will you be safe from the storms and setbacks of life. Place everything in God’s hands. Let your thoughts, the brave adventures you have imagined, your lofty human ambitions, your noble loves, pass through the heart of Christ. Otherwise, sooner or later, they will all sink to the bottom together with your selfishness. (1)
It is amazing how much our identity is wrapped up in things. Who we are is wrapped up in what we are able to do far more than we think. Far more than is good.
You don’t believe this, lose your driver’s license on a trip!! You can’t rent a car, you have trouble checking into your hotel ( lucky I am staying with someone), There will be a myriad of things that will become impossible, others that just become difficult.. Take away the mask that we thought was our identity, and we think we lost our identity. We get stressed ad anxious; we try to come up with a million logical options for replacing what was lost.
Not the driver’s license, or the tablet, or the home.
Our identity. Or what we perceive our identity to be.
WE have to remember that our identity is found, not in things, but in Christ. For if we died with Him and have risen in Him, then He is our identity.
St Josemaria understood this, as his early ministry was spent in a war-torn state, where he had to hide his priesthood from those where killing priests, as he left his beloved homeland. The lesson is not one easily learned, but it is one we need to be reminded of daily.
Before I am Pastor, before I am Dt’, before I am Kay’s husband, William’s daddy, before I am a son. Before I am a driver and resident in the state of California.
I am His.
That’s enough to get me through this life.
It will be enough for you as well.
AMEN.
Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). Friends of God (Kindle Locations 540-545). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Something More Important Than Political Issues
Devotional Thought of the Day:
14 To Greeks and non-Greeks alike, to the wise and the ignorant, I am under obligation; 15 that is why I am eager to preach the gospel also to you in Rome. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: for Jew first, and then Greek. 17 For in it is revealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous by faith will live.” Romans 1:14-17 (NAB)
3 I passed on to you what I received, which is of the greatest importance: that Christ died for our sins, as written in the Scriptures; 4 that he was buried and that he was raised to life three days later, as written in the Scriptures; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (TEV)
You are powerful over Your creatures. You can do all things in me. Give me a right mind, give me the wisdom that you promise to all who ask for it. Covert my heart and let me glorify you to the utmost till my last breath and through all eternity. I ask this in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen! Amen! Amen! (1)
There is a civil war going on right now. It is not one where blood has been spilt; it is pretty much a social media war. It is a cyber artillery match as people engage in battle with quick witticisms, with cartoons, with meme’s, with stories. It is brother and brother, sister against sister, and families are being ripped apart. Both sides accuse the other of ignorance, and of wanting to deny their rights. Both sides have been barbaric, as they take sides on a political and legislative action.
Several have tried to get my point of view on it, and a few others have presumed to know where I fall on the issue.
Apparently they haven’t seen my FB “about me” section, where I declare my political views as apathetic. Matter of fact, I would say I am actively and decidedly apathetic. See Psalm 2 for why, but simply put, it isn’t that important.
Here is why I am apathetic. There is something more important at stake, for all involved. Paul talks of it above. Salvation. That Jesus Christ died for sinners, was buried and rose again. We can also add ascended into heaven and intercedes on our behalf at the right hand of the Father.
He died for sinners.
Now before you go pointing your finger over the barricades, and tell me to look at Indiana, or those trying attacking Indiana, realise this.
All people are sinners.
Every person on both sides of the issue is a sinner. Matter of fact, many demonstrate it pretty clearly, as they condemn, judge, mock, and issue hate-filled statements against each other. Both sides of the issue are behaving badly, no, not badly, sinfully.
Repentance is needed. Reconciliation, not just to each other, but primarily to God is needed. For only reconciled to Him can we find what we need to be reconciled to each other. For we need a grace that is strong enough to be merciful, while at the same time identifying and calling for healing where sin has wreaked havoc. Not sin as in a singular incident, or a particular sin. Sin is where we have decided we are God, where we choose what we want, where we give up loving Him and loving each other to get it. It is part of our brokenness, the unnatural natural thing to do as humans.
But we can’t… on our own, fix what is broken.
Jesus can, and indeed, did. That is the message of the gospel. He died so that all of OUR sins can and will be forgiven. So that healing can happen. So that people won’t see each other as the enemy, as the opposition, but instead love each other and urge each other to draw close to God.
So both sides will now probably attack me, saying, you don’t know how evil they are, they have to change before any of this can happen.
My friends, that change can’t happen in them, and it can’t happen to you, until God transforms you, until He takes that heart of stone out of each of us and replaces it with a heart of flesh, and the Holy Spirit resides in us.
So let God lead you to repentance, don’t shy away… don’t wait for the other side to go first. Don’t wait for your anxieties to be settled. Instead come find hope, come find mercy, come find His love.
and learn to dwell in His peace.
Both sides may hate me for this.
(1) From Celtic Daily Prayer, devotion for 4/1 Finian Readings.
The God Who Would Be Involved With You…
Devotional Thought of the Day:
19 I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference. 20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. Revelation 3:19-20 (NLT)
Saint Luke tells us of some fishermen washing and mending their nets by the shores of Lake Genesareth. Jesus comes up to the boats tied up alongside and goes into one of them, which is Simon’s. How naturally the Master comes aboard our own boat! “Just to complicate our lives,” you hear some people complain. You and I know better; we know that our Lord has crossed our paths to complicate our existence with gentleness and love. (1)
I once was told “God wouldn’t be involved with the likes of me.”
Actually, I’ve been told it more than a few times. From people who were incarcerated, from people on the streets, from people with multiple graduate degrees but with a past that wasn’t just broken, it was shattered.
While I understand, heck I know the feeling, whenever I hear that, I cannot help weeping.
Not because of their past. But because they believed something that is a lie. Because in trusting in that lie, they miss out on what we call grace. More simply put, the blessing of knowing that God loves you, that His love means that He will show mercy to you, and knowing the miracle of that mercy, you will know peace.
To those that believe God won’t be involved with you, the lesson of Peter’s boat is a good one. Imagine Jesus getting into your car. Just walking up, opening the door, getting in and saying, “let go for a ride”. Or the passage from Revelation, he knocks at your door, comes in and asks, “where is dinner”” That is what Jesus does throughout all of history.
He get’s involved with people. Involved with them to where there is no protective comfort zone. Deeply involved, for that is where we need Him, even if we don’t like Him that intimately involved in our lives. He comes in, and would make Himself at home with us. Celebrate the good stuff, comfort us as we grieve. He would bring healing to the brokeness of our lives, even to those who are shattered. He would make everything brand new. Not like brand new, He will make us completely brand new.
That’s what Jesus does when He determines to get involved with us. Which is why it doesn’t matter how broken we are, or from what kind of life we have survived. He is here to get involved, and that may be a little uncomfortable at first… but the depth of His Spirit’s involvement is guaranteed to be glorious.
He’s going to get involved because He wants a relationship with you. Once that relationship begins, expect Him to make Himself at Home in your life, and rejoice as you walk together, for you are loved.
AMEN
Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). Friends of God (Kindle Locations 532-535). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
God, Do You Really Want Me to Go Through THIS?!!?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
16 Yet preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about. I am compelled by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn’t preach the Good News! 1 Corinthians 9:16 (NLT)
4 I replied, “But my work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose. Yet I leave it all in the LORD’s hand; I will trust God for my reward.” Isaiah 49:4 (NLT)
902 I didn’t think God would get hold of me the way he did, either. But, let me tell you once again, God doesn’t ask our permission to “complicate” our lives. He just gets in: and that’s that! (1)
As I look at my life, there is a strong temptation to question God’s wisdom, or perhaps His sanity.
Not that doing so is a good practice, please note, I said temptation. And like Jeremiah, and Isaiah, I sometimes struggle with why God would lead me the way he has, and like Isaiah, I wonder if I will ever get to see the results.
I preach about God’s faithfulness, and I know it is true. I have seen it over and over in my life. Yet there are times where the attitudes of Jeremiah and Isaiah aren’t just interesting passages, they are words I think, and say. Lord, really? Couldn’t you find someone who could do this better? Couldn’t you find someone with a stronger faith, who was more patient? Couldn’t preaching about the peace of Christ be more… peaceful?
Those times don’t last for months, but they can flow from one day into another. They never get past Sunday, or the Wednesdays during Advent and Lent where we share in the Eucharist, where we receive the Body and Blood given and shed for us.
I wonder what would happen if every pastor was honest about those times where God “complicates” their lives? How would their congregations react? Would they be supportive? Would they dismiss the pastor? Would they work harder in the harvest fields? Would it strengthen their faith, or weaken it? What about their peers in ministry, how would they see them?
Looking back, after most of those days when I feel like a Jeremiah, or an Isaiah, I find that God has been at work in ways beyond anything I can share here. I can see why being brought low in Spirit is a blessing, why being humbled is part of the cross we bear.
I’ve learned to just let the emotions run for a little while, and then remember the hope we have in Christ Jesus. That He will sustain us, that the peace and sustenance we’ve been given. That is why the Liturgy fo the Lord’s Supper becomes so much a blessing.
As we sing the sanctus, to realize we are singing of His holiness with the whole company of heaven, including Jeremiah and Isaiah. God proved faithful to them, and the promises He made through them, and He will be to us.
As we sing the Agnus Dei, to realize the Body and Blood of Christ is there, so He has been given for us, to take away our sins, to have mercy on us, to grant us peace…..
As we hear a welcome to the table, as we take and eat, and take and drink, we realize again that we dwell in Him, and that He has bound us to Him in the New Covenant.
As we (a Lutheran practice) leave the altar, we sing the song of Simeon, and realize that He is our salvation, that He is our light and life, and the glory of His people.
I can’t stop the days like Jeremiah’s, I can’t diminish the feelings like Isaiah. Not on my own. Yet walking with Christ, there is hope, and there is a peace so blessed, I can take the time to pour out my heartache, to give Him frustrations and my doubts. His peace allows for such blessed times.
I pray this for you as well, that you would realize the peace, and let it strengthen you to do so, whether you are ordained or not, for we all are His priests. We all serve, and He will use us in places beyond anythings we could imagine, or want.
AMEN
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 3193-3195). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Is God Stalking Me?
Is God Stalking Me?
Psalm 139
† IHS †
May we revel in the presence of God our Father, who knows everything about us, and yet is determined to show us His mercy and love.
I could see you… WHAT?
You are walking up to someone, you have never met before. While the person is becoming famous, you aren’t sure why, matter of fact you are cynical about him.
You go to meet him, and as you are walking up to him, and instead of the meeting being all about him, he makes it all about you….
As He does, it becomes very, very personal….
So personal it is eerie…
We don’t know why Nathaniel’s attitude changed so rapidly in the gospel, or what he was thinking underneath the tree… yet…
It was so personal! it was so deep that Nathaniel only had two possible thoughts,
The first was that Jesus was stalking him… how else could he know…
The second was that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the one that Moses and the prophets promised, that Jesus was the son of God.
It is both frightening and yet comforting; to know that God knows each and every one of us that well.
The gospel reading this morning is a great illustration of the psalm, and this sermon about how well God knows each of you….
The depth of God’s knowledge
David’s psalm should frighten us a little
The psalm starts out with an amazing concept, that God has examined each one of us. The word there in Hebrew is rich! It pictures a legal investigation, not just the facts of the case. It is deeper than that, probing not just what we do, by why we do it. God examines our integrity, our heart, our emotions, and knows even those parts of us, that we don’t want to face. The parts of us that keep us awake at night, or cause us to shudder.
He knows those times…
God knows our movements, our thoughts, when we are praising Him and close, and when we try to rebel. God knows what we are going to say, and sing even if those words were going to be cuss words, or words that take His name in vain.
The one that hit me as I was reading it this time, was the phrase, “If I go down to the grave.”, or if I translated it, “if I took my place of rest in death”. The words of despair that King David knew all too well. This isn’t just a statement about location, there are words born of despair.
We can’t escape Him, we can’t get away from Him. Even though there are days we are so confused, so anxious, so in pain that we try to run…
We can’t get away!
He is here…. He is here…
Not to condemn, not to chastise, which we deserve, but as the Psalm says,
“You place your hand of blessing on my head. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!
It’s too glorious for me
You will support me
If God knows everything about me, if He knows everything, then why doesn’t He give up on us?
If He knows us in the midst of our anxieties, in the midst of our doubt, or depression; if he knows us as we are about to sin, and do so, knowing it is sin, why does He continue to seek us out? He continues to be ready to catch us, even seems obsessed with the need to care for us.
God, the creator, the Holy One, the One who determines what is right and wrong.
David, the prophet-king-worship leader described as the man who knew God’s heart, thought the reasoning was beyond him. No wonder I don’t have a clue as to why God loves us.
Seriously, I can’t tell you why God loves us, yet we know He does. We don’t know why He has chosen us to be His people. We don’t know why our salvation and the salvation of our friends, our family, our peoples is His obsession. Why He decided to love us, and pour out His mercy upon us.
We simply know He has.
We see that love in the cross, in the very coming of Christ, and the promises that tell us why He came. To bear the stripes and nails, to satisfy the very wrath we deserve. We see it as well, as God promises time after time, to call us by name,
He places His hand upon our head… and marks us with His blessing.
No wonder some make the sign of the cross, the sign of our baptism, with such meaning…. For it reminds them of the wonderful things God has done to us!
The promise of His presence, of His guidance, of His support!
Even more… and invitation…
The idea of God stalking us, of God being obsessed with us may seem a bit odd. Yet that is what He does. His thoughts are of us, Peter says He desires that all of us come to repentance.
Not all of us at Concordia…. All of us… each one of us. Peter tells us that He desires all will come to repentance…
But salvation is not just God knowing us, it is about us knowing Him. About our being as in love with Him, as He is with us. I love how St Paul puts it:
May you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:17-19 (NLT)
That isn’t what happens in sermons, but it is why we have them. It is what happens in the sacred times, especially the one we are about to share in…
Come my friends, to the table of mercy, and know something too wonderful, to glorious, something we struggle to understand, yet that brings us the greatest of comfort, the greatest of support, the greatest of joy.
God has examined you, and loves you, and calls you His own…. AMEN!
An Introduction to Spiritual Warfare…..
devotional thought of the day;
We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. 5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to really hearing (obeying) Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (adapted from the NLT)
3 Long ago the LORD said to His People “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. Jeremiah 31:3 (adapted from the NLT)
764 Now, when the Cross has become a serious and weighty matter, Jesus will see to it that we are filled with peace. He will become our Simon of Cyrene, to lighten the load for us. Then say to him, trustingly: “Lord, what kind of a Cross is this? A Cross which is no cross. Now I know the trick. It is to abandon myself in you; and from now on, with your help, all my crosses will always be like this.” (1)
I see a lot of talk on line, and indeed, I’ve probably got 50 -75 books on Spiritual Warfare.
Some dismissing it, some exhaustive guides on what to do when you face this, face that. Books on praying for those who are spiritually oppressed, even a couple of odd guides on exorcism. ( Having read them, and knowing about the sons of Sceva… I wonder why those without experience dare write such!)
Ultimately, spiritual warfare is a fight to trust in God. To abandon ourselves, our hearts, our minds, our souls, in Christ. To realize the cross we bear… the anxieties, pains (yes physical/emotional/spiritual) we endure, are endured differently, because we are united to Jesus. That they can’t separate us from Him, that He has promised these things will be a blessing.
When I replaced the word “obeying” with “really hearing” Jesus in the quote above, I do so because that is what the Greek means. Hyper – which translates as…well “hyper”; and the work akou, which simply means to hear. We need to hear Him, we need to hear of His love, of His mercy. We need to understand that He became man, suffered under pilate, was crucified, died and was buried – not for His own personal gain, but to gain us… His people.
That is where spiritual warfare begins, at the baptismal font where we are claimed by Jesus, and joined to His cross. Where we are made His people – as He desires, as He and the Father planned from before the foundation of the world. Where the promises are sealed to us, guaranteed by the gift of the Holy Spirit. (see Titus 3:1-8)
Yeah – there are spiritual battles, there are demons, and Satan, but they cannot steal someone from God. Knowing that our burdens, our battles, the things that cause our anxieties, worries, fears… they were defeated at Jesus death.
All spiritual warfare is, including exorcism (and yes, in some cases that is a necessity) , is a battle to make that known…. that we may find refuge, sanctuary, peace.
We must know our cry, “Lord, have mercy” is heard……
And we must hear, as Jesus heard at baptism, “You are my child, and in you I find great joy”
AMEN
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2751-2754). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Are We So Afraid of Our Darkness?
Devotional Thoughts of the Day:
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night— 12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you. Psalm 139:11-12 (NLT)
“Nobody is wise who does not know the darkness. I appreciate the dark hours of my existence in which my senses are sharpened.” (1)
678 From Saint Paul’s teaching, we know that we have to renew the world in the spirit of Jesus Christ, that we have to place Our Lord at the summit and at the heart of all things. Do you think you are carrying this out in your work, in your professional task?
Some recent events corresponded to my devotional readings this morning.
The thing we have in common is the darkness that affects our lives. In some cases, it may be depression, or loneliness. It could also be grief, and dealing with the threat of death, or death itself. It can also be dealing with the consequences of sin, and falling in times of great temptation.
Each of these times have their own level of darkness, and we encounter them in life. They are there, unavoidable. Yes, even Christians have to deal with the darkness of life, the despair that can creep up and oppress us,
The challenge is not the darkness, but rather in not facing the darkness, It isn’t the pain and anxiety the darkness can cause, but in trying to become comfortable with it, rather than being comforted as we endure it.
In one of my devotions, quoted above in green bold print, there was the comment that we can find our senses sharpened by the darkness. Based on the rest of the reading this doesn’t mean we look to embrace the darkness, but rather that there, acknowledging the darkness, we become more aware of God’s presence, as God comforts us, protects us, gives our hearts and minds peace that is…supernatural, unexplainable, glorious.
THe pslamist knew this as well, for even that darkness cannot stop God, He sees us, hears our cries. The Hly Spirit, the gift of our baptism, the one called the Paraclete, the comforter, comes an supports us, and we become aware of it as well.
The Spirit of God reminds us of all the promises given to us, as we are united with Christ, in His death, in His resurrection, and even while we await for His return. (Check our Colossians 3:1-3 about this – it is amazing!) This is why the promise of baptism is so… incredible.
Darkness and light in our lives fade in their meaning, as we realize the presence of God. His presence, His glory.
If we hide in the darkness, if we ignore its oppression, if we try to make people comfortable with it, by diminishing the pain, diminishing the horror, discounting the anxiety and angst, we are not doing them any good. Trauma sucks, Depression is scary and overwhelming. Loneliness is something beyond which we normally can deal with, even introverts. Grave illness and death cause our souls to shrink and become almost fetal as we fear that which we cannot overcome. And sin destroys.
Unless the glorious healing power of Jesus presence is known. Unless we realize that He is here, caring for us, our wonderful Lord and Savior, who does reign. Who is, as Escriva writes, the heart and summit of all things.
So even in the darkness, He is there… eliminating it.
The words of Hebrews 12 come so clearly to mind>
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Hebrews 12:1-2 (NLT)
and take great joy – here is that verse from Colossians
1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. Colossians 3:1-4 (NLT)
And rejoice, and sing His praises, for as we endure the darkness of our lives, the lives in which He is the Lord, the darkness simply helps us be aware of His work in our lives……
To Him who sits on the throne, be all glory and honor and praise…. AMEN
(1) From Celtic Daily Book, devotional for 1/8 Finian Series
(2) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2501-2504). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
God Shrouded Himself in Darkness? We cried for help! Why does He hide Himself????
Devotional Thought of the Day:
. 7 But in my distress I cried out to the LORD; yes, I cried to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry reached his ears. 8 “Then the earth quaked and trembled. The foundations of the heavens shook; they quaked because of his anger. 9 Smoke poured from his nostrils; fierce flames leaped from his mouth. Glowing coals blazed forth from him. 10 He opened the heavens and came down; dark storm clouds were beneath his feet. 11 Mounted on a mighty angelic being, he flew, soaring on the wings of the wind. 12 He shrouded himself in darkness, veiling his approach with dense rain clouds. 13 A great brightness shone around him, and burning coals blazed forth. 14 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. 15 He shot arrows and scattered his enemies; his lightning flashed, and they were confused. 16 Then at the command of the LORD, at the blast of his breath, the bottom of the sea could be seen, and the foundations of the earth were laid bare. 17 “He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters. 2 Samuel 22:7-17 (NLT)
579 There was a young priest who used to address Jesus with the words of the Apostles: Edissere nobis parabolam, explain the parable to us. He would add: Master, put into our souls the clarity of your teaching, so that it may never be absent from our lives and our works. And so that we can give it to others. You too should say this to Our Lord. (1)
The title of this post comes from the 12th verse of quote from 2 Samuel above, a verse that stands our to me this morning.
It causes great dissonance, a wall of discomfort. Why would God hide himself from us, especially when we need Him? Especially when we’re crying out to Him, overwhelmed by the already dark nature of this world? When we are looking for comfort, when we are looking for His peace, when we need to know He is still in charge, that He is still Lord of Lords, and King of Kings, that His promised presence is reality.
We read he hears our cries, we read our begging for help reaches Him.
And His reaction…. is to hide Himself from us? To block our ability to see Him, to know His presence?
I struggled reading this, this morning…. as it was part of my devotions.
Then I came across St Josemaria’s quote, at the end of my devotions, and I came to that suggested prayer, and thought about it, and prayed that way….. Lord, I need clarity to understand this! Why would you hide Yourself from us?
It wasn’t just to David, the writer of these words. THink it through, the crowds in Jesus day didn’t see Him either. The two disciples on the way to Emmaus, who walked with the risen Lord, didn’t see him either, as they poured out their grief, as they struggled to make sense of the darkness they find themselves surrounded by
why Lord? Why would you let us suffer without the calming effect of your presence? What is the lesson hear I need to understand clearly? How can this lesson be there for me, and show itself in my work>
In David’s psalm, I am beginning to see it, God is not coming gently to our side. He is coming to save His people. Look at the description of His coming, He is arrayed for ull battle, A fierce picture. Terrifying really. But such is His love, he doesn’t come to our with some half strength effort. He comes full strength to deliver us….
I think He hides himself, less in seeing His approach, we would be unable to hear, he hides himself to protect us from a reaction which would show us even more overwhelmed, even more burdened by anxiety and fear. For often, in such times, we could mistake His coming with power to rescue us, with His coming to strike us, to pour out on His wrath……
Think of the cross, we didn’t see that either. There is no way we could have. God came full force into our presence, to deal with all that causes anxiety and fear. We weren’t ready to see God’s wrath poured out, never mind that he bore the punishment, a glorious act, but overwhelming as well. yet no other act is as full of love, is so proving that God won’t forsake us. Even as we are blinding to Him, that doesn’t mean He isn’t working, in us, through us, upon us.
For He is reaching down from Heaven to rescue us…… He has saved us. We are safe, for we dwell in Him
I have been struggling, weary, tired, overwhelmed by the trauma that seems to surround those I care for, trauma of every type. Yet I know there is dawn coming… I know we shall see the glory of God, even if I struggle now….If I am not ready for it at this moment, that’s okay. He knows when the fullness of time will be known. His glory will be seen, even as His suffering was seen, as the wrath of God the Father was poured out….He is here… even now..
I will struggle and wait, trying to be patient…… for He will reveal Himself soon…Whether in all of is glory, or in those moments of communion, as we share in His body and Blood….reminding us that He is present, in and with us.
We can wait… because we know His love…His promises, His word…
May my journey help you in yours, as in those days where God seems distant, we realize His presence is there…
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2156-2159). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
