God In Heaven.

O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, “If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.” And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy—behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. – 2 Chronicles 20:6-12 ESV

Where do you turn when everything looks bleak and desperate? What is your natural reaction when difficulty shows up in your life? For Jehoshaphat, at least on this occasion, it was to turn to God. Jehoshaphat was the king of Judah and he was a reformer king. In other words, he had gone out of his way to bring the people of Israel back to God. He had personally traveled throughout the land of Judah, carrying a message of repentance and reform to the common people. He had commissioned the judges telling them, “ judge not for man but for the Lord. He is with you in giving judgment” (2 Chronicles 19:6 ESV). He had appointed Levites, priests and the heads of families to act as judges for the people as well, telling them, “Thus you shall do in the fear of the Lord, in faithfulness, and with your whole heart” (2 Chronicles 19:9 ESV). And yet, despite all of Jehoshaphat's reforms, we read that “the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle” (2 Chronicles 20:1 ESV). He had been faithful and done what was right and now he found himself surrounded by his enemies. This is the kind of circumstance that would cause most of us to ask, “Why?” We would want to know why God was doing this to us. We would demand to know what we had done to deserve this fate after all we had done for Him. We would see the circumstances before us as unfair and undeserved. But instead of complaining, questioning, or second-guessing God, Jehoshaphat turned to Him for help. “Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord” (2 Chronicles 20:3-4 ESV).

Jehoshaphat's name means “The Lord will rule (judge)” and it seems that he actually believed that statement. He took His problem to the God in heaven. He appealed to the Lord God, the ruler and judge over all creation. As far as Jehoshaphat was concerned, God was not just the Lord over Judah, He was the king of the entire universe. “You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you” (2 Chronicles 20:6 ESV). God had given them the land in which they lived. He had done so in keeping with His promise to Abraham. It was their land by God-given right. And now that they found themselves surrounded by their enemies, they were going to need God's help. Jehoshaphat appealed to God, reminding Him of the prayer Solomon had prayed when he had dedicated the temple in Jerusalem – “If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save” (2 Chronicles 20:9 ESV). That time had come. Disaster was at the door. The enemy was at the gate. So the people were crying out to God, counting on the fact that He would hear and save.

Verse 12 records two important admissions made by Jehoshaphat. He said, “we are powerless” and “we do not know what to do”. He admitted their weakness and confessed that they were clueless as to what to do. Too often, these two things are the hardest for us to admit as believers. We tend to try to solve all our problems in our own strength and according to our own wisdom. We come up with our own solutions and attempt to power our way through our problems in our own strength. But Jehoshaphat and the people owned up to their inadequacies. Far too often we find it difficult to say, “I can’t” and “I don't know”. We see weakness and not knowing what to do as faults. Yet the apostle Paul said, “So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NLT). And Paul was able to say this because God had told him, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT). Not knowing what to do and lacking the strength to do anything are assets, not liabilities, for the believer in Christ. When we are weak, God is strong. When we don't know what to do, God offers His infinite wisdom. He is never at a loss as to what to do and never lacks the power to see that it is done. But we must turn to Him. We must lean on Him. We must desire to see His power work through us and for us. We must learn to see difficulties as opportunities to see God's power displayed and to learn His direction for our lives. When we can't, He can. When we don't know what to do, He always does. He is the God in heaven.

Things Are Not As They Seem.

1 Kings 11-12, 2 Corinthians 4

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. – 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 ESV

Chapters 11 and 12 of 1 Kings mark a dramatic turning point in the life of Solomon. His troubles don't begin here, but things take a marked turn for the worse in these passages. All along the way, we have been given a glimpse into Solomon's ongoing struggle with unfaithfulness. He loved God, but he also loved fame, prosperity, power and pleasure. In fact, Solomon himself records his mindset at this time in the book of Ecclesiastes.

4 I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. 7 I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned large herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who had lived in Jerusalem before me. 8 I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire!

9 So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. 10 Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. 11 But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere. – Ecclesiastes 2:4-11 NLT

Solomon had it all. But he was dissatisfied. And one of his many “loves” ended up turning him away from God. Chapter 11 opens up with the foreboding words, “Now King Solomon loved many foreign women…” (1 Kings 11:1 ESV). What an understatement! Solomon had more than 1,000 wives and concubines. His “love” could be better classified as an obsession. And as a result of his addiction to the opposite sex, Solomon would allow his heart to be turned away from God. He would end up constructing idols and places of worship for his many wives to worship their various false gods. All in disobedience to God's commands. His many earthly “loves” would cause his love for God to grow cold, “…for his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God” (1 Kings 11:4 ESV).

What does this passage reveal about God?

What Solomon did was evil in God's eyes, and God would not tolerate it, so He split Solomon's kingdom. God would allow Solomon's son, Rehoboam, to keep the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, but the other ten tribes would break away to form the nation of Israel, under the leadership of Jeroboam. Everything that happened as a result of Solomon's unfaithfulness was “brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word” (1 Kings 12:15 ESV). God had warned Solomon what would happen if he failed to live in obedience to His commands. He had made it perfectly clear what the consequences of unfaithfulness would be. And yet, God did not fully destroy Solomon or his kingdom. Why? Because God had made a promise to David that one of his descendants would reign from his throne forever. God was going to raise up a future king from the tribe of Judah and so He was going to preserve and protect David's tribe at all costs. In all the bleakness surrounding this story, there is a glimmer of hope and light because of the faithfulness of God. He was not done yet. God had told Jeroboam, “Behold, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and will give you ten tribes (but he shall have one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel)” (1 Kings 11:31-32 ESV). In spite of the sins of Solomon, the unfaithfulness and subsequent sins of Jeroboam, God was still in full control of the situation. He was still working His divine plan of redemption, setting the stage for a future time when the one true king would establish His kingdom.

What does this passage reveal about man?

The events recorded in these two chapters of 1 Kings are filled with less-than-flattering portrayals of mankind. We don't come across too well. Solomon had an obvious sexual addiction. He was driven by his own physical appetites and allowed his lusts to control his actions. Rehoboam, his son, rejected the wise counsel of his elders, and chose to listen to the foolish advice of his peers. Jeroboam, literally handed a kingdom by God, quickly revealed his true heart, by setting up his own gods, his own sacred cities, and his own priesthood. He led the ten tribes of Israel into spiritual apostasy right from the start. Over and over again, we see the sinful disposition of man on display. Solomon, the wise, proves to be a fool. Rehoboam, the undeserving heir, reveals that wisdom is not an inherited trait. Jeroboam, the undeserving recipient of a kingdom, shows just how quickly gratefulness can turn to unfaithfulness. But we must remember that these men were simply “vessels of clay,” weak, fragile, ordinary men who, when left to their own devices, quickly revealed just how worthless and sinful they really were. But their unfaithfulness is juxtaposed with God's unwavering faithfulness. Their infidelity is contrasted with God's unfailing love. Without God, all of these men were helpless and hopeless. They were weak and powerless to battle their own sinful dispositions and inclinations. Driven by their own self-centered desires and motivated by their sinful passions, each of them paints a vivid picture of man's moral bankruptcy.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

But God was far from done. While He would end up punishing Solomon for his sins and split the once-powerful kingdom in two, God was still going to fulfill every promise He had ever made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David. The amazing thing is that God uses “jars of clay” like us to accomplish His will. Paul knew this reality well. He reminded the Corinthians believers, “We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves” (2 Corinthians 4:7 NLT). Paul knew that he was no better than anyone else. His life was a product of God's incredible mercy and grace. He knew that, left to his own devices, he was fully capable of the same sins as Solomon, Rehoboam, or Jeroboam. But because of what Christ had done in his life, Paul knew that his human weakness was like a canvas on which God was painting a beautiful image revealing His own glory and power. Paul's life was anything but easy. “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10 NLT). Yes, he was weak. Yes, his circumstances were less-than-ideal. But he understood that God was at work, revealing His power through Paul's own human weakness. Which is why he could respond, “So we do not lose heart” (2 Corinthians 4:16 ESV). Paul knew that his current circumstances were merely a precursor to a future glory that God was going to reveal at some future date. Rather than dwell on the visible, physical realities of his circumstances, Paul chose to focus on the unseen, as yet unfulfilled, promises of God. Solomon, Rehoboam and Jeroboam had no idea what God was doing behind the scenes. Their focus was on “the things that are seen” which “are transient” (2 Corinthians 4:18 ESV). When we love sight of the eternal, we find ourselves focusing all our attention on the temporal. Like Solomon, we can find ourselves seeking all our hope and fulfillment in the things of this world. “Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere” (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 NLT). We are vessels of clay – weak, helpless, fragile, and without value – apart from the redemptive work of Christ in our lives. But it is through our inherent weakness that God has chosen to reveal His surpassing power and glory. It is through our struggles and trials that God wants to prove Himself faithful and strong. Things may appear desperately bad, but things are not always as they seem.

Father, You are always at work. You are always faithful. You are always strong. Help me focus on the reality of Your presence and power, the undeniable fact of my own weakness, and the unwavering promise of Your love for me as proven through the death of Your own Son on my behalf. Thank You that things are never quite they appear to be. May I learn to see You in the circumstances of my life. I want to see Your power through my weakness. Amen

The Power of God.

Exodus 15-16, Mark 5

Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power, your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy. – Exodus 15:5 ESV

I know of no one who believes in God who would not also say that they believe in the power of God. We sing songs about God's power. We can recall stories from the Bible, like those in Exodus, that tell of His great power. But there are far too few of us who can speak of His power from personal experience. Either because we have not seen it, or because we have simply taken it for granted. The power of God is not to be some academic or theological concept, but a practical and personal reality in the life of every believer. We have read over and over again in the book of Exodus that simple phrase, "that you may know." God wants us to know that He is God. He wants us to know of His power from personal, first-hand experience. Witnessing God's power at work in their lives was what helped the people of Israel believe. His evident power was proof of His ever-presence.

What does this passage reveal about God?

For the people of Israel, God's power was almost always on display in their lives. They had seen Him do incredible miracles in the land of Egypt. They had watched Him defeat the armies of Pharaoh and part the waters of the Red Sea. They even composed a song about it, singing, "Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them" (Exodus 15:11-12 ESV). They had seen these things with their own eyes. They had personally experienced the presence and power of God. His deliverance had been up-close and personal in nature. And God would continue to reveal His power to them long after the events at the Red Sea were just a memory. As they made their way to the Promised Land, God would reveal His power repeatedly and in a variety of practical ways. At Marah, He turned bitter water into sweet water. When they arrived at in wilderness of Sin and began to complain about the lack of food, God provided them with quail and manna to eat. Moses told the people, "in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord" (Exodus 16:7 ESV). While normally this would have referred to God's presence as revealed in the pillar of fire by night and the pillar of cloud by day, in this case I think Moses was telling the people that they were going to see God's glory in the form of God's powerful provision. The manna was going to be a manifestation of God's glory. His provision would be evidence of His power and proof of his glory and greatness.

Over in the book of Mark, we read about the power of God as revealed through the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He casts the demons out of a man, with just a word from His mouth. A woman who had suffered from the same physical malady for 12 long years, receives healing simply by touching the hem of His robe. And Jesus shows His power over even death by raising a 12-year old girl from the dead. These events were meant to provide the disciples with proof of His divinity. They were designed to give the disciples confidence in who Jesus was and evidence of His having God-ordained role as their Messiah. As it had been with the people of Israel in the wilderness, the power revealed in the miracles of Jesus had an objective: "Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God" (Exodus 16:12 ESV).

What does this passage reveal about man?

God tends to reveal His power in the midst of man's problems. The Israelites had an uncrossable sea behind them and an unbeatable foe in front of them. But God showed up and revealed His power on behalf of them. The waters at Marah were bitter and undrinkable, but God showed up and turned the bitter sweet. When the food began to run out and the people began to give up, God showed up in the form of bread in the morning and meat in the evening. And the typical response of the people after each of these manifestations of God's power was not awe and wonder, but grumbling and complaint. Rather than gratitude and a growing sense of faith in the power of God, they disobeyed His commands and found plenty of reasons to gripe about the next inconvenience they encountered. The manna should have been a daily reminder of God's power and presence. It should have been more than enough proof of the goodness and glory of God. But rather than experience God's power and trust Him, they tended to focus on their problems and doubt.

When Jesus healed the demon-possessed man and restored him to his right mind, the people reacted with fear rather than faith. The kind of power Jesus revealed scared them to death and they asked Him to leave. Yet the woman who suffered from the long-standing illness was willing to place her faith in Jesus' power to heal based only on rumors and second-hand stories. Jesus said her faith restored her to health. Her belief in His power made her well. When word came to Jesus that the little girl had died, He told her father, "Do not fear, only believe" (Mark 5:36 ESV). This man had not seen Jesus raise anyone from the dead. He had no reason to believe that his little girl's life could be restored. In the midst of his greatest moment of tragedy, God was going to reveal His power through His Son. His problem was going to provide an opportunity to see God's power on display.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

God wants to reveal His power through my problems. He wants me to know that He is Lord – not just intellectually, but experientially. God wants to reveal His power in my daily life by meeting practical needs and solving real problems. God graciously reveals His power in practical ways so that we might believe in Him. He offers us daily proof of His presence, but we either ignore it or refuse to believe it. And far too often, even after we see God's hand at work in our life, we end up grumbling and grousing at the next setback or difficulty that shows up. Rather than sing of His greatness and goodness as revealed in the practical proof of His power, we whine and moan about our lot in life. May I learn to recognize God's power in my life more readily and sing His praises more fervently. "Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?" (Exodus 15:11 ESV).

Father, You have shown Your power in my life in so many ways over the years, but I still tend to doubt You far more often than I trust You. And I show that doubt in the form of ingratitude and grumbling. Forgive me and help me see Your power more readily and express my gratitude more quickly. You are great and You are good. Amen.