Raw, Real and Relatable.

Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father, “A son is born to you,” making him very glad. Let that man be like the cities that the Lord overthrew without pity; let him hear a cry in the morning and an alarm at noon, because he did not kill me in the womb; so my mother would have been my grave, and her womb forever great. Why did I come out from the womb to see toil and sorrow, and spend my days in shame? – Jeremiah 20:15-18 ESV

Jeremiah 20:7-18

Jeremiah wraps up his prayer with a lament, and he is shockingly blunt and openly vulnerable in what he has to say. He doesn't try to sugar coat his feelings or put his words in proper King James English in an attempt to sanitize them for God. He simply says what he is feeling. Sometimes these kinds of open, honest lay-it-all-on-the-line comments in Scripture make us a bit uncomfortable. We feel as if it is somehow wrong or at least disrespectful for anyone to talk like that to God. But it's interesting to note that it was God who determined to include these kinds of diatribes in the Scriptures. We see them repeatedly in the Psalms and in the book of Job. These expressions of grief, anger and sorrow are there to remind us that the life of God's children here on this earth can sometimes be difficult. We are, after all, only human. We are weak and prone to feel the effects of the conflict when we attempt to live life on this planet as God's people. Jeremiah was a chosen instrument of God. He was a faithful servant who was doing exactly what God had called him to do. And his task was difficult. He suffered from feelings of despair, defeat and discouragement. He got lonely. He grew tired of having to be the bearer of bad news all the time. His calls to repentance fell on deaf ears and he never saw anyone respond in a positive way. And it wore on him.

Jeremiah knew he couldn't curse God. That was a capital offense under the Mosaic law. So was cursing your parents. So Jeremiah cursed the messenger who brought the news of his own birth to his father. How low had Jeremiah gotten? Low enough to regret the day he was born. Here was a man who was serving God each and every day of his life and he had reached the point of wishing he had never seen the light of day. Yes, Jeremiah knew God had made him. He knew God had called him. He also knew he had a job to do and he would continue to do it. But that does not mean that he didn't have moments when he felt completely exhausted and defeated in what he had to do. Living in obedience to God's will is not always easy. Like Jeremiah, we live in the midst of a culture that stands opposed to everything for which we stand. We have been called to be salt and light. We sometimes think of salt as a preservative, which it is. But it can also be an irritant. Salt in an open wound can burn and cause great pain. Light exposes darkness. It reveals what is going on in the hidden areas of life. When we live as messengers of God, our words and actions will not always be met with open arms. Our very presence in the culture should cause a certain amount of uncomfortableness and conviction. When we share the good news of salvation available through Jesus Christ, we cannot do so without sharing the bad news regarding sin and the penalty of eternal separation from God. Not everyone wants to hear that message. Not everyone wants to be convicted of their sins.

The apostle Paul told the believers in Galatia, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9 ESV). Why would he have to tell them not to grow weary? Because he knew that they would. It is only natural and normal. Doing good, what God has called us to do, won't always be welcomed by the world. We will be misunderstood, rejected, ridiculed, and even hated. Jesus told His disciples, “you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22 ESV). Throughout the New Testament we read that we are to endure, persevere, fight the good fight, not grow weary, encourage one another, and stand firm in the faith. Why? Because we will be tempted to do just the opposite. We will have days like Jeremiah did. We will experience moments of despair, doubt and defeat. And when they come, we are free to share them with our God because He loves us. He already knows what we are feeling long before we share it. He can handle our complaints. He can understand our weakness. And He can renew our strength. Jeremiah would go on to complete the task assigned to him by God. He would rebound and recover the motivation to keep on keeping on. His faith would waiver and wain at times, but with the help of God, he would persevere. And so will we. Our moments of weariness and weakness should remind us of our need for God. We cannot live this life on our own. It is impossible for any of us to walk in obedience to God without the help of God. Over time, we will learn to say along with Paul, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 ESV).

Spiritual Schizophrenia.

Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers. Cursed be the day on which I was born! The day when my mother bore me, let it not be blessed! – Jeremiah 20:13-14 ESV

Jeremiah 20:7-18

These two verses couldn't be more contradictory and confusing. On the one hand, Jeremiah is singing the praises of God for delivering his life from the hands of his enemies. Then it seems as if he has an immediate and dramatic change of heart and curses the day he was born. The most likely explanation is that these two divergent views represent two separate moments in Jeremiah's life. While they appear to be a single unit, there is actually a gap between verses 13 and 14. What it reveals to us is just how human Jeremiah was. Like us, he could go from delight to despair in a matter of minutes. He could go from praising God at one moment to questioning the very purpose of his existence. The circumstances of life can wreak havoc on the child of God. That's why it is so dangerous to place our hope and trust in the things of this world. Jeremiah was having to learn the difficult, but invaluable lesson of trusting in God. His calling was not an easy one. Fulfilling the role of a prophet of God was not for the feint of heart. His message was not going to be well-received. He was not going to be popular or get invited to a lot of parties. His was going to be a life of loneliness accompanied by constant rejection and apparent failure. The risk Jeremiah would run would be to let his circumstances dictate his view of God.

It is so easy for us to rejoice in God when things go our way or turn out well. Praise comes easy when we find the circumstances of our lives worthy of praise. When we get a promotion, it's easy to rejoice and praise God. When we get good news from the doctor, it's natural to thank God and give Him glory. But if we get looked over for a promotion or receive a less-than-satisfactory report from the doctor, we can find it difficult to muster up the motivation to give God thanks. It is so easy to see God in the midst of blessing. But He becomes far more difficult to comprehend when our circumstances take a turn for the worse. Difficulty can make God seem distant. The presence of trials can make us question the presence of God. But He is there. In the best of times and in the worst of times. God is not a fair-weather friend. He had promised to be with Jeremiah through thick and thin. “I am with you to save you and deliver you” (Jeremiah 15:20 ESV). God had not told Jeremiah that it was going to be easy. In fact, He had told Jeremiah that the people would reject both he and his message. He would face opposition. He would encounter persecution along the way. But God would be there every step of the way.

When difficulty shows up in our lives, it is normal and natural to wonder what is going on. Nobody likes trials in their life. But as children of God we must always remember that our God loves us and cares for us greatly. He has not promised us a trouble-free life. In fact, as children of God, we have been placed smack dab in the middle of a very difficult situation. We have been given an assignment by God to live distinctively and differently all the while being surrounded by spiritual darkness. Paul put it this way: “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:14-15 ESV). It's difficult to be lights in the darkness. It's hard to keep from being overwhelmed by those who hate what we stand for and reject the message we have been told to share. We can easily find ourselves experiencing spiritual schizophrenia, moving from the heights of glory to the depths of despair, in the blink of an eye. All it takes is a setback, a disappointment, a trial or a temporary trouble in our life, and we can go from praise to pessimism in a heart beat.

But when those occasions occur, we must go back to the truth. We must remind ourselves of the nature of our God and the promise of His calling. We belong to Him. He loves us greatly and has promised to never leave us or forsake us. He has given us His Spirit. He has provided us with His Word. He has secured our eternal future through the sacrifice of His Son. The troubles and trials of life are real. They are difficult to understand and endure. But as Paul said, “our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” (2 Corinthians 4:17 NLT). We have to keep an eternal perspective. This life is temporary and all the trials and troubles we face in it are nothing compared with the incredible future God has in store for us. He is even using the difficulties of this life to mold us into the likeness of His Son. Yes, that's hard to see sometimes. It can seem so unfair and far from fun. But God's agenda for our lives involves our holiness, not our happiness. He is in the perfecting business. His desire is to make us increasingly dependent upon Him so He can reveal His power on behalf of us. So no matter what is happening around us or to us, we must always remind ourselves to think about what God is doing in us.

Committed to God.

But the Lord is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten. O Lord of hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause. – Jeremiah 20:11-12 ESV

Jeremiah 20:7-18

Jeremiah was facing some tough opposition. His own people refused to listen to his call to repentance and warning of coming destruction. He had face rejection, ridicule and even physical violence at the hands of those he was attempting to save. And yet, this shouldn't have been surprising to Jeremiah, because God had forewarned him. “‘will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you,’ declares the Lord. ^‘I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless’” (Jeremiah 15:20-21 ESV). And it was to this earlier promise from God that Jeremiah returned. God had said that He would be with Jeremiah to save and deliver him. God had promised to deliver him out of the hand of the ruthless. The Hebrew word for “ruthless” is the same word Jeremiah used to describe God. It can mean “terrible one, mighty, or strong”. The NET Bible translates it as “awe-inspiring warrior” when used of God. Jeremiah's opponents were terrible, violent and ruthless when it came to their treatment of him. But his God was going to put the, pardon the pun, dread of God in them. They would be greatly shamed and would not succeed. While Jeremiah was going through a temporary state of disgrace and dishonor, theirs would be everlasting.

In the midst of all his difficulties, Jeremiah was calling upon the Lord of hosts – literally, Yahweh of Armies. It is a shortened version of the title, Yahweh the God of Armies, which occurs five times in the book of Jeremiah. The abbreviated version occurs 77 times. This reference to God has to do with His sovereignty as King and creator. He not only leads the armies of heaven, but the army of Israel and the armies of the nations of the world, which He uses as He sees fit. It is to the Lord of hosts that Jeremiah appeals. He calls out to the one who rules over all and who knows all. Jeremiah recognizes that God knows his heart and the hearts of his opponents. God can see what is going on and can easily ascertain who is right and who is wrong. Jeremiah simply asks God to do the right thing and save him as He has promised to do.

In spite of all he was going through, Jeremiah has committed himself to God. The Hebrew word Jeremiah used was galah and it can mean “to make naked or lay bare”. Jeremiah had, in essence, exposed himself, making himself vulnerable on behalf of God. He had been so committed to God's call and cause that he had been willing to suffer abuse and rejection. He had put it all on the line for God. Now he was asking God to avenge him, to justify his suffering by validating his message. Jeremiah had been faithful to do what God had called him to do. He wanted God to be faithful and do what He had promised to do. “I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless” (Jeremiah 15:21 ESV).

When we stand for the truth of God, we will face opposition, and not just from the world. Sometimes our own brothers and sisters in Christ will stand against us or misunderstand us. But it is always essential that we make sure the cause for which we stand is God's and not our own. We must never make the mistake of causing dissension and strife among the people of God based on our own opinion or agenda. Jeremiah was committed to God's cause, not his own. He was speaking the words of God, not men. The agenda he followed was God's. It can be so easy for us to replace God's words with our own. We can end up causing disruption in the body of Christ, not because we are speaking truth, but because we are sharing our opinion and promoting our own agenda. The apostle Paul told the believers in Corinth, “When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit's words to explain spiritual truths” (1 Corinthians 2:13 NLT). His words were from God. We must always make sure that what we say is Spirit-inspired, biblically based and God-ordained. The cause to which we commit ourselves must be God's, not our own. Because when we speak God's word, we will always have God's backing. When we commit to His cause, He will commit Himself to our care.

Fire In My Bones.

If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. For I hear many whispering. Terror is on every side! “Denounce him! Let us denounce him!” say all my close friends, watching for my fall. “Perhaps he will be deceived; then we can overcome him and take our revenge on him.” – Jeremiah 20:9-10 ESV

Jeremiah 20:7-18

Jeremiah had given his nemesis, Pashtur, an interesting, if not too flattering, nickname. “The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, ‘The Lord does not call your name Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side’” (Jeremiah 20:3 ESV). But in reality, Jeremiah had become known for having a one-track mind that always seemed to be thinking about nothing but doom and gloom. It had gotten so bad that Jeremiah had contemplated giving up his job as a prophet of God. But every time he tried, he found himself unable to contain the message God had given him. He described it as “a burning fire shut up in my bones”. Even his close friends had threatened to denounce him because of his incessant calls to repentance and warning about pending judgment. They were even anxious to see him proven wrong. Their collective hope was that Jeremiah, while a prophet of God, could just be deceived and his message not be from God at all. After all, there were other prophets claiming to speak for God who were offering up a message that was radically different than that of Jeremiah. But God would have harsh words for those individuals. “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, “It shall be well with you”; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, “No disaster shall come upon you”’” (Jeremiah 23:16-17 ESV).

It doesn't take a genius to understand whose message was more readily received. The false prophets were telling the people exactly what they wanted to hear: All is well. There is nothing to worry about. Everything is going to be fine. God is not angry. Destruction is not coming. Jeremiah is wrong. But God felt otherwise. “I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my council, then they would have proclaimed my words to my people, and they would have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their deeds” (Jeremiah 23:21-22 ESV). These men didn't speak for God. They were simply telling the people what they wanted to hear. As a result, they were popular. Their messages were well received. Centuries later, Paul would warn Timothy about a similar situation in his own day. “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:3 NLT). The fact is, the truth is hard to handle. Sometimes we just don't want to hear it. Sometimes we don't want to tell it. And like Jeremiah, we live in a time when the truth of God is not politically correct or popular. Sin is becoming increasingly acceptable and, in many ways, celebrated. Courts made up of men now determine what is right or wrong, acceptable or unacceptable. Behavior that was once classified as sin is now deemed normal and natural. The Word of God, which speaks clearly and truthfully about such matters, is simply reinterpreted, redefined or simply ignored in order to justify behaviors that God classifies as sin.

And in the midst of all the pressure to conform and compromise, it would be tempting to give in. It would be easy to soften our message in order to find acceptance. After all, nobody likes rejection – even Jeremiah. But he discovered that he had a fire in his bones, a burning in his heart that would not allow him to shut up or give up. Despite the opposition, he had to keep speaking the truth of God to the people of God. God had given him a message and he was obligated to share it, whether anyone wanted to hear it or not. He was also called to live differently than those around him. He couldn't afford to compromise his convictions or cut corners when it came to his commitment to God. And the writer of Hebrews had a similar message to his readers. “Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:1-6 ESV).

The truth of God is not always easy to hear. It isn't always easy to share either. But it is the truth of God that sets men free. The lies of the enemy deceive and delude. The world wants to contradict the Word of God. Even many of our fellow believers would rather listen to the promises of so-called prophets who offer us false hope and faulty messages that contradict the will of God. Hearing what we want to hear may be comforting for a season, but it will always prove dangerous and deadly. The truth of God is what we need to hear. And our prayer should be that God would give us a fire in our bones to speak the truth in love, against all odds and in the face of any and all opposition. Because the Lord is our helper. We have nothing to fear. What can men do to us?

Risky Business.

O Lord, you have deceived me, and I was deceived; you are stronger than I, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me. For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, “Violence and destruction!” For the word of the Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long. – Jeremiah 20:7-8 ESV

Jeremiah 20:7-18

Being a prophet of God was not an easy task. While it was a job that came with a certain amount of power and authority, prophets were far from popular. They didn't get invited to a lot of parties. They could count their number of friends on one hand. Their role as spokesmen for God put them in an awkward place socially. Their God-given responsibility was to warn the people about the coming judgment of God and to call them to repentance – not exactly a popularity-producing message. Prophets tended to be lonely and had to suffer the rejection and ridicule of the very people they were trying to save. They were most often misunderstood and frequently mistreated. And Jeremiah was no exception. “Jeremiah was hated, jeered at, ostracized, continually harassed, and more than once almost killed” (John Bright, A History of Israel, pp. 313, 314). But in spite of all the difficulties they faced, the one thing each of the prophets enjoyed was a close relationship with God. They heard from Him regularly and dialogued with Him freely. The loneliness and isolation of their job produced in them a dependence upon God that few others have ever experienced.

The prayer of Jeremiah above came about after an unfortunate incident that took place between he and Pashtur, a priest and the chief officer over the house of the Lord. Jeremiah had come to the temple to prophesy and had warned the people, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, behold, I am bringing upon this city and upon all its towns all the disaster that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their neck, refusing to hear my words” (Jeremiah 19:15 ESV). It seems that Pashtur didn't like what Jeremiah had to say, so he “beat Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Benjamin Gate of the house of the Lord” (Jeremiah 20:2 ESV). Upon his release the next day, Jeremiah had some less-than-comforting words from God to share with Pashtur. “And you, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. To Babylon you shall go, and there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied falsely” (Jeremiah 20:6 ESV). It was this uncomfortable confrontation that led to Jeremiah's prayer.

He was tired and frustrated. No doubt he was still feeling the effects of the beating he had suffered at the hands of Pashtur. Jeremiah was faithful to his calling, but he was still human. He had feelings. He longed for a normal life. But Jeremiah felt deceived and betrayed by God. For years he had done what God had called him to do. He had faithfully and boldly warned the people, but no one had repented. No one had returned to God. His message had fallen on deaf ears. And Jeremiah felt like a failure. He was nothing more than a laughingstock, a social pariah, and, in his own estimation, a lousy prophet. He sarcastically boiled down the essence of his message to the words, “Violence and destruction!” He was the perpetual bearer of bad news, and he was feeling defeated and more than a bit depressed by it all. But God had warned Jeremiah that his job was not going to easy. On the day God called him, Jeremiah had been told, “And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you” (Jeremiah 1:18-19 ESV). God's word had proved to be true. They had fought against Jeremiah. He had faced all kinds of opposition. But God was also true to His word because He was still with Jeremiah. He had not left or forsaken him. No one, including Pashtur, would be able to prevail against Jeremiah, because God was with him. He would deliver him.

The role of the faithful servant of God is not an easy one. To live your life set apart for His use and to speak His truth in a culture that does not want to hear it, will not result in popularity. Jesus warned us that the world would hate us. Paul warned that the day would come when people would much rather have their ears tickled with falsehood than hear the truth of God. And the sad thing is that this has become a reality within the church today. Those who attempt to speak the truth of God to the people of God will often find their words falling on deaf ears. Their message of repentance will be rejected by many who call themselves chosen by God. And they will find themselves competing with others whose messages are far more palatable. But this is nothing new. Jeremiah faced the same problem. God had already warned the false prophets of Jeremiah's day. “For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:13-14 ESV).

The days in which we live call for God's people to live differently and distinctively. We cannot afford to blend in with the culture around us. We have been called to be salt and light. We have been given a message to share that involves dealing honestly with sin and the need for repentance. We are ambassadors for God. Our task will not be easy. Our message will not always be accepted or appreciated. There will be days we feel like giving up. But we must remain faithful, trusting that God will be with us and that He will deliver us.

When God Is Silent.

I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me. You have turned cruel to me; with the might of your hand you persecute me. You lift me up on the wind; you make me ride on it, and you toss me about in the roar of the storm. For I know that you will bring me to death and to the house appointed for all living. – Job 30:20-23 ESV

Job was in a very difficult place. He was suffering greatly and was struggling to understand the why behind it all. His friends were blaming all his problems on sin. But Job kept defending his own innocence, insisting that he had done nothing wrong. His pain was real. His losses were great. His confusion was intense. So he did what came natural to him – he called out to God. He prayed, sharing his pain and suffering with the only one who could do anything about it. But from Job's perspective, God was silent. Job remembered a time when God had been his friend and things had been so much better. “Oh, that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me, when his lamp shone upon my head, and by his light I walked through darkness, as I was in my prime, when the friendship of God was upon my tent, when the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were all around me” (Job 29:2-5 ESV). Job longed for the good old days. He wished that things were back to the way they used to be. In those days Job was somebody special. He was well-respected and a pillar of the community. He enjoyed the blessings of God and the admiration of men. But now he was a social pariah. He was seen as sinner who had been punished by an angry God. He had lost all his wealth, his health and all of his children. All he had left was a wife who constantly badgered him to curse God and die, and a few very opinionated friends who seemed to think they spoke for God. And all Job really wanted was answers. He desperately needed to know where God was in all his suffering and why He wasn't doing anything about it.

We've all been there at one time or another. Finding ourselves in a difficult circumstance, unable to figure out what has gone wrong, we cried out to God. But the sky was like brass and our prayers proved ineffective. God was silent. And that silence can lead us to jump to some pretty serious conclusions. It did for Job. He determined that God was behind all his suffering. Not only that, God was persecuting and punishing him. And the end result of it all was going to be death. Job can't understand why all this is happening to him. He pleads with God, “Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand, and in his disaster cry for help?” (Job 30:24 ESV). Job reminds God that, in his better days, he was always there to help those in need. So why was God refusing to help him now that he was suffering? He also pleads his case, defending his innocence and declaring his willingness to accept any punishment he deserves. 

“If I have walked with falsehood…”

“if my step has turned aside from the way…”

“If my heart has been enticed toward a woman…“

“If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant…”

“If I have withheld anything that the poor desired…”

“if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing…”

“if I have raised my hand against the fatherless…”

“If I have made gold my trust…”

“If I have rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me…”

“if I have concealed my transgressions as others do…”

Job was willing to accept his punishment – IF he was guilty. But he stuck by his claim of innocence. Which made his suffering all that much harder to understand and endure. He didn't know why he was having to suffer. And God was not giving him an answer. And the difficult thing for us to understand is that God did not owe Job an answer. God is not obligated to explain Himself to us. We may not always understand or even like what is happening to us or around us, but God doesn't owe us an explanation. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV). The ways of God are often a mystery to us. His actions may confuse and even anger us, but we must understand that our God is always loving, righteous, just and good. There is always a method behind His seeming madness. He has a very good and righteous reason behind all that He does and all that He allows. His seeming silence is not indicative of inactivity. God was fully aware of all that was going on in Job's life and He had a plan in place to rectify it and restore Job completely. Job may not have known what the future held, but he should have known that his God was loving, just and good. He is a defender of the weak, a protector of the poor, a friend of the just, and a restorer of the broken and battered.

What Job didn't know was what God had in store for him. The book ends with the statement, “And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before” (Job 42:10 ESV). “And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning” (Job 42:12 ESV). God had heard. God had seen. And God restored the fortunes of Job. His silence was not a sign of indifference. His lack of a response to Job's prayers was not an indication of anger or dissatisfaction. He had had a plan in place the entire time. God had known what He was going to do. And He did it – at just the right time and in just the right way.

First-Hand Knowledge.

I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. “Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?” Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. “Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.” I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you;  therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes. – Job 42:2-6 ESV

Things had not gone well for Job. He had lost everything – his health, his wealth, his children, his pride, and from his perspective, His God. Time and time again Job had cried out to God, but there had been no answer. The only thing he heard was the steady flow of accusations and bad advice from his so-called friends. Job had grown weary and despondent. He had lost all hope. He couldn't understand why all these things had happened to him. He insisted on his innocence, but had to constantly put up with self-righteous condemnations of his friends. The only way their theology could explain Job's predicament was to blame it on sin. From their perspective, Job was simply getting what he deserved.

But God finally broke the silence and the first thing Job heard was a question and then a warning. “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me” (Job 38:2-3 ESV). God then preceded to interrogate Job regarding his right to doubt His integrity or question His actions. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding” (Job 38:4 ESV). For two solid chapters God gives Job a lecture on the incomparable nature of His power, character and status as the Creator of all things. Then God concludes it with yet another question: ““Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it” (Job 40:2 ESV). And all Job can say in response is, “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further” (Job 40:4-5 ESV). Then God goes on for another two chapters, establishing His unquestionable integrity and power. God assured Job that He was in complete control. His might had not diminished. His sovereign power was the same as it was when He created the universe. And God's loving reprimand produced a spirit of confession and repentance in Job. He realized that he had been speaking out of ignorance, talking about things he didn't understand. His questioning of God had been uncalled for and inappropriate. It had been disrespectful at best and rebellious at worst. Even in his pain and sorrow, Job realized he had no right to treat God with disdain or express his displeasure over how God had been treating Him. God's ways were beyond his ability to comprehend.

It is interesting to note that everything God told Job was not new news. For the most part God simply recounted His creative powers and used nature to remind Job of His might and sovereignty. God simply gave Job a refresher course in theology. By the time God was done, Job was been reminded of the stark difference between mortal men and the almighty God of the universe. One of the great benefits of the Bible is that it provides us with wonderful stories of God's power. It reminds us of His divine interactions with mankind and how, over the centuries, God has continued to display His power in unexpected ways. The Bible reminds us that it is risky business to judge God based on circumstances alone. Just when it all looks lost and God is nowhere to be found, we read of Him stepping in and doing incredible things to redeem and rescue His people. Difficulties are never too difficult for God. Tough times never prove too tough for Him. Moments of despair are simply opportunities for God to display His power in our lives.

Job came to a sobering realization that God was in control. He had no legitimate reason or right to question God. And even before God had done a thing to remedy Job's problem, Job repented. He confessed his arrogant, prideful and disrespectful treatment of God. Up to that point, everything Job knew about God had been second-hand information. But now he had heard directly from God. He had first-hand knowledge. God had spoken to him and He had made His point very clear. Rather than judging God based on the circumstances happening around him, Job had learned to judge his circumstances based on what he knew about God. God was sovereign. God was powerful. God was creative. God was in control at all times. Who are we to question His actions? Who are we to doubt His integrity?

The Lord Is Near.

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever. – Psalm 145:18-21 ESV

Psalm 145

The last part of this prayer of David might seem a bit far fetched or to be over-promising just a bit. At least, when it comes to our own lives, it may feel as if what David says has not been our experience. There have been plenty of times in my life when it has seemed as if God was not near when I called on Him. I have also had to very real experience of not having all of my desires fulfilled. So either I have not been calling on Him in truth or I must not fear Him, or perhaps both. Why is it that I don't always feel as if God hears my cry and saves me? Am I the problem? I think it's safe to say that the problem is not with God, So what's going on here? What is David telling us about God?

There is a very real sense in which our experiences with God may leave us feeling as if He doesn't hear or answer. We may believe that our cries for help fall on deaf ears and that our circumstances don't always turn out for the best. But David would have us know that God is always near. He always hears. He always preserves those who love Him. But how God does so may not coincide with our own expectations. We rarely go to God without some well-thought-out idea of what we want Him to do for us. In fact, most of our prayers consist of clear-cut instructions for God, telling Him exactly what it is we want Him to do and when we want Him to do it. If we have a bone to pick with God, it is because He doesn't always answer our prayers the way we desire. But His job is to do His will, not ours. He knows what is best for us. Paul gives us some timeless counsel: “Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done” (Philippians 4:6 NLT). It is perfectly okay to tell God what we need. It is even okay to tell Him what we want. But at that point, we have to let go of our wishes and come to grips with the fact that His will may not be the same as our wish. He may choose to do something different altogether. And if His answer comes back in a different form or on a different schedule, it DOES NOT mean He is not near or that He does not hear.

A big part of this Psalm has to do with praise for God. As believers we tend to put far more emphasis on petition. We are all about what we can get from God, but fail to give as much priority to giving to God what He so richly deserves: Our praise. David even wraps up his prayer with the promise, “My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord”. Regardless of how God answers, David will praise Him. No matter the difference in God's timing compared to David's, he will still praise God. Why? Because God is near. Because God cares. Because God will ultimately do exactly what should be done. Regardless of whether we agree with Him or not. We must always remember that God's schedule is based on an eternal timeline, not a temporal one. We live in the hear-and-now. He exists in timeless eternity. We have a hard time looking past today. He knows the future and has our eternal destiny already worked out in advance. Again, Paul is the one to remind us, “For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” (2 Corinthians 4:17 NLT). If we had our way, we would pray ourselves out of all our troubles. We would ask God to remove all our pain and problems. We would ask for a trial-free existence. And the truth is, that day is coming, but it is reserved for our future. It will come when God has decided to put an end to sin and death once and for all. We have to develop an eternal perspective and keep our eyes focused on what is to come. God will one day remove all pain, sorrow, sin, hatred, and sickness. In the meantime, we must remember that He is near, that He cares, that He rescues, that He preserve and protects, and that He deserves our praise and thanksgiving. So let all flesh bless His name forever and ever.

Our Righteous King.

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. [The Lord is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works.] The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. – Psalm 145:13-17 ESV

Psalm 145

When a king reigns, he does so over everyone in his kingdom. Even over those who reject him as their king. A good king provides protection for all. He is to enforce the laws of the kingdom over all, regardless of their status or economic standing. As a king, David knew these things well. He realized that his role as king, while accompanied by wonderful benefits, also came with formidable responsibilities. He couldn't help but compare his own reign with that of God; and when he did, he realized that God's Kingdom was far greater in scope and size. His responsibilities were far more extensive. David's kingdom was tiny and insignificant in comparison. And yet, God was faithful in all His words and king in all His works. Everyone looked to Him to provide their food and fulfill their desires, whether they acknowledged Him as King or not. David recognized that it was God who opened His hand and satisfied the desires of every living thing. Speaking of His own heavenly Father, Jesus said, “For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45 ESV). God is gracious and merciful to all. His grace is the favor He shows to those who don't deserve it, which would include ALL mankind. His mercy is the incredible patience He shows to those who deserve His wrath. In spite of the fact that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Roman 3:23 ESV), God has shown mercy. He has patiently put up with the sins of men over the centuries and even sacrificed His own Son in order to provide a way for men to be restored to a right relationship with Himself.

The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His works. Unlike human kings, God always does what is right. He always keeps His word. He doesn't lie, deceive, renege on a promise, or act unjustly. We may not always understand His actions, but we can never question His integrity. He is righteous in all His ways. Sometimes is appears otherwise. Based on what we see happening around us, we can easily conclude that God is either indifferent or incapable of doing what needs to be done. It can appear as if the wicked are winning. The psalmist felt that way and cried out, “Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve! O Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?” (Psalm 94:2-3 ESV). Ethan the Ezrahite wrote, “How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire? Remember how short my time is! For what vanity you have created all the children of man!” (Psalm 89:46-47 ESV). There are times when it feels like God is either out of control or out of ear shot. It seems as if He is not listening to our pleas for help or seeing the gravity of our situation. But God is a righteous King. He is in complete control of the circumstances – all the time. Yes, it may appear as if the wicked are prospering and the unrighteous are getting all the breaks, but God knows exactly what He is doing. He is not fooled or duped by the ways of men. He knows men's hearts. He knows that “there is none righteous, no not one” (Romans 3:10 ESV). No one deserves the benefits of rain or crops. No one has earned God's favor through their acts of righteousness. The fact that any of us exist at all is a testimony to the enduring patience of God.

Paul makes a compelling argument concerning God's righteous rule and gracious dealings with mankind. “But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?” (Romans 9:20-24 ESV). Who are we to question God? What right do we have to doubt the actions of the Creator of the universe? The very fact that God allows the wicked to continue to exist is a reminder of His patience and remarkable love. The fact is, God has shown all of us mercy – He has not given us what we so richly deserve – condemnation and eternal separation from Him. Instead, He has graciously allowed some to enjoy the wonders of His grace and the benefits of His Son's sacrificial death on the cross. “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8 NLT).

Our King is a righteous, loving, gracious and merciful King. His ways are always just and right. His actions are unquestionably good and His decision are always proper and appropriate. We may not understand what He is doing. We may not even like what He is doing, but we can rest assured that it is always for the best. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.

Make Him Known.

The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made. All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you! They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. – Psalm 145:8-12 ESV

Psalm 145

How does anyone really get to know God? Of course, the Scriptures tell us that God has revealed Himself in His creation. “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God” (Romans 1:20 NLT). But there is a sense in which creation provides only a limited understanding of God. It reveals His invisible qualities – His power and nature. But there is so much more to God. He is gracious, slow to anger, merciful, and incredibly loving. How are people to come to know those things about God? How will they discover the full essence of His character if all they have to go by is nature itself? God never intended nature to be the end all or final revelation of Himself. His eternal plan was to send His Son as the ultimate expression of Himself. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (Colossians 1:15 ESV). “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known” (John 1:18 NIV). Jesus the Son made God the Father known to mankind. That is why He is called Emmanuel, which means, “God with us”. God came to earth in the form of a helpless baby and dwelt among men. That baby grew to be a man and for three and a half years He made God known to man. He revealed His power. taught about His Kingdom, expressed His love and, ultimately, gave His own life, so that men might be made right with God.

But what about us? What is our role? What part do we play in making God known to men? According to the psalmist, we too play a significant part in making God known. We are to talk about His power, testify to His grace and mercy, give thanks for all His blessings, and praise Him for all the mighty deeds He has done and continues to do in our lives. More than anything else, as those who have benefited from the saving grace made available through Jesus Christ, we are to tell others of the good news of salvation that God has made possible. People can look at nature and see the power and creativity of God, but they should be able to look at us and see the grace, mercy. love and forgiveness of God. They should be able to see what it looks like when a sinner becomes a saint as a result of God's remarkable gift of grace. And when they hear us talk about all that God has done and continues to do for us, they get a glimpse of God that they would otherwise have missed. But in order for them to hear, we must speak up. We must make God known. We have a responsibility to act as God's personal press agents, telling everyone we meet of His glory, grace, mercy, love and forgiveness. We have been commissioned to make disciples. But it is impossible to make disciples if we remain silent. Paul reminds us, “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” (Romans 10:14 ESV).

Jesus came in order to make His Father known. But He didn't stop there. He died in order to make men right with God. His death was an expression of God's love. “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him” (1 John 4:9 NLT). Jesus make known the love of God. And we can do the same thing as we talk about what He has done for us. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are the recipients of that love. We now know God in a way that was impossible before Jesus Christ died. We enjoy an intimate relationship with God that is based on love and forgiveness. We have enjoyed the benefits of His grace. We know God as holy and righteous, but also as loving and kind. He is our God, but also our Father. He loves us. He has adopted us as His sons and daughters. We are His children and heirs. And we should want to make all that known to everyone we meet. We should gladly brag about our God. We should take every opportunity to tell others about the grace of God made available through His Son. But our great testimony isn't always what God has done for us in the past at our salvation. Sometimes our greatest testimony is what God is doing for us right here and now as a result of our new relationship with Him. It is His ongoing activity in our lives that a lost and dying world wants to know about. Yes, we have been saved. But in a real sense we are being saved each and every day as God works in and through our lives, transforming us into the likeness of His Son. When we talk about all that God is doing, and express our gratitude for His daily activity in our lives, we make Him known. We make Him visible. God becomes real to those who would otherwise be unable to see Him.

Word of Mouth.

One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. – Psalm 145:4-7 ESV

Psalm 145

Commend. Declare. Speak. Pour forth. Sing aloud.

Silence may be golden, but it has no place in the life of the believer when it comes to God. We are to be blatantly verbal and vociferous about Him. According to David, the only time we should be silent about God is in order to meditate on the splendor of His majesty and on His wondrous works. But the meditation is simply intended to provide us with food for thought and then words of testimony and praise. When we think about God and His greatness, we will be motivated to turn those thoughts into verbal expressions. God is due our praise and if we are silent, we demonstrate either our ignorance of His greatness or our indifference. It is interesting to note that when Jesus was entering Jerusalem on the back of a donkey's foal, the crowds were cheering wildly, exclaiming “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:38 ESV). When the Pharisees witnessed this scene, they demanded that Jesus silence the crowd. But His response was simply, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out” (Luke 19:40 ESV).

God deserves praise. And as the only members of His creation with the capacity for speech, we are intended to use our voices to verbally acknowledge who He is and all that He has done. We are to commend, declare, speak, pour forth and sing aloud. And of all people, believers should have the most to say about God. There is something normal and natural about talking about that for which we are grateful or by which we have been amazed. When we see a beautiful sunrise, we feel the urge to tell someone. When we take a memorable vacation, we can't help talking about it. When we are proud of our children, no one will be able to stop us from bragging about them. We tend to praise that which we appreciate. We talk about what interests us. We unashamedly testify to others about what we find meaningful in our lives. It could be a delicious meal at a local restaurant, a good book, a movie, a newly discovered musical group, a recent Facebook post, a personal achievement or any of a number of other things. But how often do we declare the greatness of God? How many times do we commend God to others? How frequently do praises concerning God come from our lips and to the ears of those we meet? Are we prone to sing God's praises out loud and outside the context of a Sunday morning worship service?

David so eloquently wrote, “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world” (Psalm 19:1-4 NLT). The heavens declare the glory of God. We can see it in a sunrise or sunset, a cloud formation, a night sky filled with stars or the gentle breeze on a warm summer night. God's creation constantly praises Him. The angels in heaven never cease to offer Him verbal praise and adoration. But as human beings, the pinnacle of His creative energies, far too often we remain silent. Rather than commend God to others, we complain. Instead of declaring the mighty acts He has already done, we demand that He do more. We speak, but do the words that come out of our mouths concern God? Do words of praise, thanksgiving and honor for God pour forth from our lips? Do we sing aloud of His righteousness?

Our silence condemns us. But it has even far greater implications. Our failure to speak up concerning God's glory and greatness puts the next generation at a distinct disadvantage. They run the risk of growing up having never heard of who He is. And it is not that they are living in a verbal void. They are surrounded by voices of all kinds shouting messages of every type imaginable. Their ears are being bombarded by false messages and deceitful words that leave God out or attempt to diminish His significance. So we must speak up. We must commend, declare, speak, pour forth and sing aloud. What the next generation will know about God will only come from what we tell them about God. Paul would have us consider “And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?” (Romans 10:14 NLT). God deserves our praise. The next generation depends upon it.

The words of the chorus, “My Lips Will Praise You” say it all.

My lips will praise You

For You are holy

My voice will ever rise

Before Your throne

My heart will love You

For You are lovely

And You have called me

To become Your own

We have much for which to praise God. There is no reason to remain silent. Our silence indicts us. It reveals an ingratitude or at least an ignorance of His activity in our lives. And it leaves the next generation at a distinct disadvantage. So let us talk loud and often. Let us declare boldly and proudly. Our God is great and greatly to be praised.

Greatly To Be Praised.

I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. – Psalm 145:1-3 ESV

Psalm 145

David loved God. In fact, he talked about Him and to Him constantly. God seemed to be on David's mind a lot. Maybe it was because he knew just how much he needed God. He seemed to have a firm grasp on the reality of his dependence upon God – for everything. God had chosen him while he was just a shepherd boy and transformed him into the king of Israel. God had given David victory over Goliath, the Philistines, Saul and a host of other enemies. God had spared David from the full ramifications of his own sin with Bathsheba and allowed him to continue his reign as king. David had much to be grateful for and he constantly praised God for who He was and for all He had done. David extolled God. He lifted Him up, exalted Him and gave Him the glory and honor due Him. He didn't treat God flippantly or casually. David refused to see God as common place or take Him for granted. In David's estimation, God was great and greatly to be praised. As a matter of fact, God's greatness was unsearchable. In other words, you could never plumb the depths of His greatness. Just when you think you know how great God is, He surprises you. God's greatness isn't limited or exhaustible. He doesn't run out of wonders or miracles to perform – a fact that David had experienced personally, time and time again.

Here was David the king of Israel acknowledging Yahweh as his God and as his King. David would not have used the term “king” lightly. He was a king himself and he knew well the implications of that title. God was sovereign. He was the ruler over everyone and everything, including David himself. God was not just a deity to be worshiped, but a King to be honored and obeyed. God's word was final. His majesty was incomparable. There was no other king who could compare to Him, including David. God was great and He deserved David's praise, and David was more than happy to give it – each and every day of his life.

But what about us? Do we find God great and greatly to be praised? Is He worthy of our adoration, honor and daily praise? Do we think enough of Him or about Him that it results in us telling Him how much we love Him? Sometimes our problem is that we don't give God enough thought. We allow our minds to be occupied with thoughts of anything and everything but God, including ourselves. We can end up praising all kinds of things but God. But David would remind us that God alone is worthy of our praise. He would encourage us to recognize and appropriately respond to the greatness of God. And he would have us see God as not only as a great God, but as our King. Recognition of God's sovereignty and rule over our lives includes submission to His will for our lives. It entails giving up our rights for His righteous rule over every area of our lives. David was king, but he knew that his reign was subject to God's. Any authority he enjoyed was God-ordained and could be removed by God at His discretion. David's greatness was solely due to God's goodness and graciousness. God had made him king. God had blessed his kingship. God had given him victory over his enemies. God had made him powerful. So God was worthy of honor and praise. Our failure to recognize God's greatness can result in a tendency toward self-exaltation. We can begin to believe that we are responsible for our own achievements. We can end up taking credit for who we are and all that we have done. But an awareness of God's greatness keeps us from becoming enamored with our own significance. All that we have and all that we are we owe to Him. He alone gives life and breath. He alone sustains and blesses. He alone does mighty deeds. He alone is worthy to be praised. But the truth is, we only praise that for which we are grateful and that holds our affections. So we praise our health, our homes, our jobs, our material possessions, our family and our own accomplishments – forgetting that we owe it all to God. He is great and greatly to be praised. He is our God and King. Every day we wake up, we should offer Him the praise, honor and gratitude He so richly deserves. And no matter how often we praise Him, we will never run out praiseworthy  things for which to honor Him. Because His greatness is unsearchable.

Job Security.

O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come. – Psalm 71:18-19 ESV

These two simple verses found in Psalm 71 have struck a chord with me. Maybe it's because I turned 60 this year and the mention of old age and gray hairs felt a bit too personal. But I think what really impacted me was the sense of passion the Psalmist felt for God. He had sensed God teaching him from his earliest memories as a young man. And now that he was an older man, he was still proclaiming the wonders of God. There is a sense of continuity in his words. He and God had a relationship that ongoing and always evolving. The psalmist felt a responsibility to tell others about the goodness and greatness of God. He was not content to merely receive God's blessings and enjoy His presence in his life. He had to tell someone. And the older he got, the greater his resolve to proclaim the greatness of God became. The years were increasing his passion rather than diminishing it. Each passing year simply provided more personal testimonies of God's wondrous deeds to share with others.

There is a sense in which our primary job description as God's creation is to tell of His greatness. We are to declare His glory. The Westminster Shorter Catechism puts it this way: “Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” We exist to glorify God and our job is never done because God's glory is inexhaustible. We will never run out of reasons to praise Him. We will never run short of His great deeds to proclaim. Because God never rests. He never takes a day off. He never ceases to perform wonders on behalf of His children. The problem is not that God is silent or still, but that we too often fail to recognize all that He is doing all around us. We can also lose sight of our primary function as His creatures: to glorify Him.

I think the thing about these verses that struck a chord with me was the intentionality and passion they express. Here is a man who recognized the influence of God over his life, but who also recognized his own responsibility to tell others about it. He had a lifelong duty to proclaim all that he knew about God to everyone he met. And he was asking God to keep him at it well into his “golden years”. There is no sense of retirement in his words. He isn't looking to coast into old age. He realized he has a God-given responsibility to proclaim God's might to the generation to come. Each generation of believers has the responsibility to share with those who come after them, to “tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done” (Psalm 78:4 ESV). Old age is no excuse to slow down or give up. To our final dying breath, we should be telling the next generation all that we know about God. And the longer we live, the more we should have to share. As the number of our days remaining decrease, our determination to tell others about God's wonders should increase, so “the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God” (Psalm 78:6-7 ESV).

All of those reminds me of a verse in the early chapters of the book of Judges that sets up the sad story that was to follow. It simply says, “After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the LORD or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel” (Judges 2:10 NLT). One generation had failed to tell the next, and the result was a new generation that had no real knowledge of God. The rest of the book of Judges tells us how that generation abandoned God and served false gods. One generation had failed the next. They hadn't done their job. And the consequences were serious. The book of Judges closes with a sobering message. “In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes” (judges 21:25 NLT). Not only did they have no human king, they failed to recognize God as King. Each man and woman lived with their eyes focused on themselves. They had become their own personal kings reigning over their petty kingdoms of one. All because one generation had failed to do its job. Could the same thing happen in our day? I believe it already is. But it is not too late. Those of us with graying hair and diminishing strength still have an opportunity to make a difference. We may be working less, but our work is far from done. We must tell the next generation about the greatness and goodness of God. We must proclaim His wonders and give testimony to His unfailing faithfulness.

Growing old is no excuse for growing complacent. We have a job to do and God has not given us permission to retire or renege on our responsibility. Increasing years should only increase our sense of urgency. Our time is running out. We must take advantage of every day that God gives us to proclaim His might to another generation, His power to all those to come.

The Rest of the Story.

Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name. – Acts 9:13-14 ESV Ananias was a disciple of Jesus living in the city of Damascus. One particular morning, he received a vision from God, who told him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying,  and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight” (Acts 9:11-12 ESV). Now you would have thought that Ananias, having just received a direct command from God, would have immediately done what he had been told to do. But instead, Ananias expressed his surprise and apprehension at the news he had just heard. God was asking him to go and visit a religious vigilante, someone who had hired himself out to the high priest and rulers on the Jews as a kind of spiritual bounty hunter, rounding up Christians and throwing them in jail. Saul had been at the stoning of Stephen and he was now taking part in an organized persecution of the church. “Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison” (Acts 8:3 ESV). And he was on his way to Damascus. “Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem” (Acts 9:1 ESV).

So when Ananias, a resident of Damascus received word from God that Saul was in their town and that he was to go and heal him from his blindness, he was more than a bit surprised. News of Saul had spread. He had a less-than-angelic reputation and Ananias couldn't figure out why God would command him to assist this man in any way. If he was blind, why not leave him that way? Surely, he deserved it. He was pure evil. He was arresting innocent believers and throwing them in jail. He was working for the enemy. Why should he be helped in any way?

Ananias' simple prayer expressed his consternation and confusion. It all made no sense to him. But a big part of his problem was that he didn't know the whole story. He was completely unaware of what had happened to Saul as he was on his way to Damascus. Ananias didn't know that Saul had also had a divine encounter, but with Jesus Himself. As Saul made his way to Damascus with the intention of arresting believers, the resurrected Jesus appeared to Him. Left physically blind as a result of his meeting with the Savior, Saul had made his way to Damascus as he had been instructed, and had spent three days neither eating or drinking, waiting for further instructions. Ananias knew nothing about any of this. All God had told him was to go to the street called Straight and to heal Saul of blindness. Which led to Ananias' prayer.

So much of the time our prayers are based on scant information. We pray out of ignorance. And that's not necessarily wrong. But we must learn to accept the reality that we don't always have all the facts. Like Ananias, we can end up praying based on little or no information. We jump to conclusions. We conjure up scenarios and consequences. But we don't know what God is doing behind the scenes. Ananias had heard rumors about Saul. He knew him to be an evil man who had done very bad things. So it wasn't hard for Ananias to conclude that any dealings with Saul would be dangerous and to be avoided at all costs. But what Ananias didn't know was what God had in store for Saul. He didn't take into account God's sovereign will. Yes, Saul was powerful and had been backed by the high priest, but God was more powerful. He could handle Saul. In fact, when God heard the prayer of Ananias, He simply responded, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name” (Acts 9:15-16 ESV). He told Ananias to stop praying and to be obedient. Just go! Trust me!

When we pray, we must always take into account what we don't know. We must also never forget what God does know: everything. So often, our prayers are little more than out attempt to tell God what we think He doesn't know. We spend a great deal of time sharing news of which we think He is unaware. We spend a great deal of time trying to inform the all-knowing God. But we might be better off asking God to reveal to us what we don't know. It might serve us better to ask God to open our eyes and help us to see His hand at work in our circumstances. Ananias attempted to bring God up to speed about Saul. But what he didn't realize was that God was well aware of who Saul was and all that he had done. But God also knew what He was going to do with Saul – something neither Saul or Ananias were aware of. They didn't know the rest of the story. But God did. Our prayers must always take into account the fulness of God's plan. He is never at a loss as to what to do. He is never ignorant of the facts. Men like Saul don't scare or surprise Him. The situations we face don't catch Him off guard. Prayer is less an opportunity for us to tell God all that we know than it is a chance to learn from God all that He is doing. We should seek to know the rest of the story.

Sovereign God – Part II

Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed” — for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. – Acts 4:24-30 ESV Peter and John had been arrested by the high priest, Annas, given a stern warning to stop speaking in the name of Jesus, and then released. And upon returning to their fellow disciples, they offered a corporate prayer to the sovereign Lord. They recognized His divine oversight of any and all circumstances. They acknowledged His sovereign plan that had included the arrest, trials and, ultimately, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Even Herod and Pliate had been little more than pawns in the hand of God as He accomplished His will regarding the death of His own Son. So when Peter and John had been threatened by the high priest, they knew that even that was all part of God's plan. Jesus had predicted it. Interestingly enough, they did not ask God to remove the threats or lighten their load. They asked God “to grant your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness”. They didn't ask for a change of circumstances, but for a change of attitude. They asked for boldness in place of fear, peace in place of anxiety, faith in place of doubt. They wanted God to work through their circumstances, not in spite of them. They knew that God was going to continue to do miracles, stretching out His hand to heal, and performing signs and wonders – all through the name of Jesus. Peter and John had healed a lame man, which is what had gotten them in trouble with the high priest to begin with. They knew that they had power at their disposal that would allow them to accomplish the impossible.

When interrogated by the high priest regarding and demanded to explain by whose power they had healed the man who had been lame since birth, Peter had boldly exclaimed, “you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all” (Acts 2:14-16 ESV). They had killed the Author of Life, and yet God had raised Him back to life. And as proof, Jesus had made possible the healing and perfect health of a man who had not taken a single step in his entire life. This was all the sovereign work of God. They had denied Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. They had attempted to destroy Him. But God had bigger plans. He had planned all along that His Son would die. His death at the hands of sinful men would be the key to mankind's redemption. His sacrifice would pay for man's sins and satisfy the righteous demands of a holy God. The penalty for sin was death. The payment required a sinless sacrifice. Only Jesus, the Son of God, met the requirements. Only Jesus could die a death that could propitiate or satisfy God's demands and make possible forgiveness rather than condemnation.

It was this message that Peter, John and the disciples were commissioned to share. They had good news to share with all those who found themselves living in darkness and without hope. And all they asked for from God was the boldness to declare that message in the midst of threats, repeated rejection, increasing animosity and ongoing trials. They knew they were going to need strength. The threats of the high priest were real. The possibility of harm and even death was far from remote. But they knew they had a job to do. They had the answer to the world's problems and the God-given obligation to share it. They had already seen God do great things. They had watched Him perform miracles. They had seen the resurrected Lord. They had experienced the filling of the Holy Spirit. Life for them could no longer be business as usual. The Savior had come. The Kingdom of God had drawn near. The battle for the souls of men had commenced and they viewed themselves as soldiers in the army of the Most High God. What a timely reminder for those of us living in this age. We live surrounded by darkness. The people with whom we associate each and every day are searching for hope and longing for healing, and we carry the Light of the world within us. What we so desperately need is boldness. What we should be praying for is strength to carry out our God-given task to act as salt and light, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with any and all we meet. We will be hated. We will face rejection. Those things should not surprise us, but neither should they deter us. May our daily prayer be, “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.”

Sovereign God.

Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed” — for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. – Acts 4:24-30 ESV

Ever since the miracle of Pentecost, the disciples of Jesus had been boldly sharing the good news of Jesus Christ throughout the city of Jerusalem – much to the consternation of the Scribes and Pharisees. On one particular day, as Peter and John were speaking to the people, “the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead” (Acts 4:1-2 ESV). They had Peter and John arrested and held in custody until the next day. But amazingly, in spite of this episode, more than 5,000 people came to faith in Christ as the result of the preaching of these two men.

The next morning, Peter and John were brought before Annas the high priest and a gathering of Jewish religious leaders, where they were questioned. “By what power or by what name did you do this?” (Acts 4:7 ESV). It seems that the real issue was the miraculous healing that had taken place the day before at the Beautiful Gate. A lame man, begging for alms, had gotten the attention of Peter and John. But rather than giving him money, Peter healed him, in the name of Jesus. This astounded the people and “they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him” (Acts 3:10 ESV). So Annas the high priest wanted to know how they had done it. What as their secret? Peter's Spirit-filled response was, “let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well” (Acts 4:10 ESV). Peter went on to clarify that he was talking about the very same Jesus the Jewish leaders had helped crucify just days earlier. While they had rejected Him as their Messiah, Peter made it clear that “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12 ESV). The religious leaders were at a loss as to what to say or do, so they simply warned Peter and John to speak no more in the name of Jesus. Of course, the disciples refused and were released. Which brings us to this prayer. It was prayed by the gathered disciples when Peter and John returned to them and shared the story of what had happened.

It is important to note that this prayer was prayed as a result of what Peter and John shared that “the chief priests and the elders had said to them” (Acts 4:23 ESV). In other words, when the disciples heard that the priestly authority had threatened them to speak no more in the name of Jesus, they took the matter to God. They had been threatened for doing exactly what Jesus had commanded them to do, so they knew nothing better than to share their circumstances with God. They address God as Sovereign Lord. The Greek word is despotēs and it refers to “an absolute ruler”. In their minds, God was the final authority in their lives, not the high priest, the Sadducees, Scribes or Pharisees. God was the creator of the universe. Everyone and everything was subject to His divine authority. Even David, under the inspiration of the Spirit, had prophesied concerning Jesus, “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?” (Psalm 2:1 ESV). The Jews and the Romans had attempted to eliminate the impact of Jesus by taking His life. But their actions had all been part of God's sovereign plan. Their strategy to kill Jesus and thus destroy His influence over the people had backfired, because it was actually exactly what God had wanted to happen. It had been His will all along. As in the story of Joseph, it was as if Jesus was saying to the religious leaders, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:20 ESV). God's plan had included His Son's death. It had been predetermined and the ultimate expression of God's love for man. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 ESV).

Post-resurrection, having seen the risen Savior and having experienced the coming of the Holy Spirit, the disciples could see with perfect clarity the sovereign plan of God. Even their current circumstances were part of His plan. Jesus had warned them: “you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles” (Matthew 10:18 ESV). It was all part of the plan. The threats of high priests and powerful people were nothing compared to the plans of the Absolute Ruler. On the day when Peter had confessed to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16 ESV), Jesus had said, “on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18 ESV). The church would be built on that confession of Jesus being the Christ, the Son of God, and nothing would be able overcome it. The disciples were living out the reality of that promise. But they were going to have to remind themselves of it each and every day of their lives.

Courage to Pray.

For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, “I will build you a house.” Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever. – 2 Samuel 7:27-29 ESV

2 Samuel 7:18-29

God had promised to build David a house. Not a building made of wood and stone, but a lasting heritage. His promise concerned the future of the Davidic kingdom. One of David's descendants would sit on his throne in Jerusalem and to his kingdom there would be no end. Of course, we know now that this promise to David had far greater ramifications than David could have realized at the time. Hundreds of years later, the angel, Gabriel, would announce to Mary, “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:31-33 ESV). So while the short-term fulfillment of God's promise to David would involve the reign of his son Solomon, God had far greater things in mind. There is a day coming when Jesus, the Son of God and a descendant of David, will sit on His throne in Jerusalem and reign over the world in righteousness and truth. Part of the vision given to John that he recorded in the book of the Revelation tells us, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15 ESV).

Everything that God had promised to David came to pass. We can look back and see that God fulfilled every aspect of His promise to David. And the amazing thing is that God did so in spite of David, in spite of Solomon, and in spite of the people of Israel. God's promise would remain intact even while the kingdom of Israel went through a split and its people suffered two deportations and captivities at the hands of their enemies. God's promise would survive hundreds of years of an empty throne and the subjugation of the people of Israel to outside forces. He would eventually send His Son as the fulfillment of His covenant promise to David. When Jesus began His earthly ministry, He boldly proclaimed, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15 ESV). In a real sense, His kingdom had come. He was the Messiah, the long-awaited descendant of David who came to rule and reign over the people of Israel. But Jesus did not set up His earthly kingdom at that time. Of course, that was what the disciples were anticipating. That was what they were hoping he would do, which is what led them to argue over who was going to get to sit on His right and His left when He established His kingship. But as Jesus told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world” (John 18:36 ESV). At His first advent, Jesus did not come to establish an earthly kingdom. Yes, He came as King of kings and Lord of lords, but His was a heavenly kingdom. He came to rule and reign over the hearts of men. He came to defeat sin and death, not the Romans. He came to set people free from slavery and subjugation to sin, not from the tyranny of Roman rule. But the day is coming when He will fulfill God's promise completely. At His second advent or Second Coming, He will come once again to earth, but at that time He will come to reign. He will come in might and power, and prepared to finish what He began. The book of Revelation describes that scene. “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:11-16 ESV).

Like David, we wait for the final fulfillment of God's promise. And like David, God's promise should give us courage to pray. We should be able to come to Him in boldness, based on His promise to us, and ask that His will be done. Especially at times like we are experiencing as a nation, we should pray that God bring about the final fulfillment of His plan. We should long for and pray for the coming of Christ to take away His Church. We should regularly ask God to bring about the Second Coming of His Son. We should desire what God has promised and planned. He has said it. He will do it. We should pray for it – courageously and expectantly.

You Have Spoken.

And now, O Lord God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken. And your name will be magnified forever, saying, “The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,” and the house of your servant David will be established before you. – 2 Samuel 7:25-26 ESV 2 Samuel 7:18-29

David trusted God. He took Him at His word. He believed that whatever God had promised, He would fulfill. This was a characteristic of God that he had been taught since he was a child. He would have been familiar with Numbers 23:19 where it states, “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” And there is a strong possibility that David was familiar with the words his mentor, Samuel, had uttered to King Saul on the day that God told him that he was taking the kingdom away from him and giving it to another. “And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret” (1 Samuel 15:29 ESV). God had made a promise to David. He had sworn to place a descendant of David on the throne and to establish his throne forever. And David was willing to believe what God had told him. Over in the book of Hebrews, we are told that God keeps His covenants. “God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:17-18 NLT). God had given his promise to Abraham that through one of his descendants, the nations of the earth would be blessed. And Abraham believed God. He trusted Him. He also took God at His Word. And it was that faith in God and His promise that was accounted to Abraham as righteousness. Over in Hebrews chapter 11, there is a list of great men and women of faith from the Old Testament who placed their faith in God. And it tells us “All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it” (Hebrews 11:13 NLT). Abraham never saw all the descendants God had promised. He never once owned an acre of property within the boundaries of Canaan, the land God had promised. It was by faith that Joseph believed the people of Israel would one day leave the land of Egypt, even though he never lived to see that day. Over 400 years later, it was by faith that Moses led the people out of the land of Egypt, not fearing the Pharaoh, but also not knowing exactly where he was leading them. It was by faith the people of Israel marched seven times around the walls of Jericho, not knowing exactly how God's somewhat unconventional battle plan was going to work out. God had spoken and they trusted Him.

It's amazing what happens when we trust God, when we take Him at His word. The problem is that obedience to God's word and acceptance of His promises always requires faith. We don't always know how things are going to work out. When God told Abraham he would be the father of a great nation, Abraham had no way of knowing how that was going to happen. After all, he was old and his wife was barren. When God told David that he would have a descendant who would reign in Jerusalem forever, he had no idea what that meant or how it was going to take place. But he determined to take God at His word. His only response was to ask God to confirm His word. He just asked God to bring it all about – in whatever way He might see fit. No stipulations or requirements. No helpful advice or conditions. He knew that whatever God had in mind would be far better than anything he could dream up. And his ultimate desire was that God would receive glory. “And your name will be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel.’” Is God's glory our greatest desire? Is our faithful acceptance of His word and patient waiting for its fulfillment more important to us than getting our own way? God has promised us peace, joy, contentment, His presence and provision, and not to mention eternal life. But for some of us, that doesn't seem to be good enough. We get frustrated because we don't seem to be enjoying the peace we were expecting. We aren't experiencing joy, at least not according to our definition. We lack contentment. We fail to sense God's presence, and we tend to provide for ourselves, refusing to wait on Him. And if the truth be told, for a lot of us, eternal life is not worth waiting for. So we try to treat this world as if it is all there is. We seek everything here and now, refusing to wait on God's promise of the hereafter. But as the writer of Hebrews tells us, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1 NLT). God has spoken. But are we listening? God has promised, But do we believe Him? He doesn't lie. He never fails to keep His word. He always knows what is best. So when will we learn to trust Him?

Chosen by God.

And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them great and awesome things by driving out before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods? And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O Lord, became their God. – 2 Samuel 7:23-24 ESV

2 Samuel 7:18-29

David knew that he was the recipient of God's grace. He had been hand-picked by God to be the king of Israel. Not because he somehow deserved it or had earned the position, but because God chose him from among all his brothers. The only thing we know about David is what God had Samuel, the prophet, tell King Saul. “But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you” (1 Samuel 13:14 ESV). The apostle Paul adds to what we know about David. “And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will’” (Acts 13:22 ESV). David had a willing and obedient heart, but that is not why God chose him. Like all men, David had a sin nature, which his life's story chronicles all too well. So God did not choose him because he was perfectly obedient and sinless. God did not choose him because he was great or because of his great accomplishments. The truth is, when Samuel went to Jesse's house to look for a replacement for King Saul, Jesse paraded all of his sons before the prophet, but had left David out tending sheep in the fields. He was an afterthought even for his own father. But not for God. And as significant as the idea of having been chosen by God might have been to David, he was even more keenly aware that God had chosen the people of Israel. David saw himself as just a small part of a much bigger picture.

David did not take it lightly that Israel was “the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people”. He had done great and awesome things for them, including having set them free from captivity in Egypt and having helped them conquer the land of Canaan so they could possess it as their own. Out of all the nations on the earth, God had chosen Israel. Centuries earlier, He had hand-picked Abram, an obscure individual who lived in the distant land of Ur. We are not told in Scripture why God chose Abram. It doesn't even indicate that he was a follower of God when he was chosen. It simply tells us that God called him and committed to bless him. “Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed’” (Genesis 12:1-3 ESV). From this one man and his barren wife, Sarah, God would create the nation of Israel. God would fulfill His promise to Abram and create a mighty nation. Then years later, when that nation found itself living in captivity in the land of Egypt, God would rescue and redeem them, setting them free and establishing them as His prized people. He would give them His law and eventually their own land, committing to live among them and be their God. Not because they deserved it. In fact, God told them, “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 7:6-8 ESV).

God had chosen Abram. He had chosen the people of Israel. He had chosen David. Their single claim to fame was the fact that God had set them apart as His own. Their choosing was God's doing. It had been undeserved and unmerited. And David fully comprehended that fact. His only claim to fame was that God had chosen him. His significance lie in the reality that He had been set apart by God for God. God had chosen to be his God. And the apostle Paul reminds us that our relationship with God is based on the same reality. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5 ESV). And he goes on to say, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV). He describes us as God's workmanship. Our beauty and value come from God having chosen us. Our worth is derived from our position as His possession. We belong to Him and that is what gives us worth. Our value as His possession should motivate us to live accordingly. Paul put it this way: “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Ephesians 4:1 ESV).

None Like You.

Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. – 2 Samuel 7:21-22 ESV 2 Samuel 7:18-29

God had transformed David from an obscure shepherd boy into a mighty king over the nation of Israel – God's chosen people. Not only that, God had promised to give David an everlasting dynasty, with one of his descendants occupying the throne in Jerusalem. David could look back over his life and see the hand of God, and now he could contemplate the future with confidence, knowing that God had it all under control. Yes, David was going to have to die to his dream of building a temple for God, but his disappointment was replaced with joy as soon as he understood that God had an even great plan in store. The interesting thing to note is the David, the king of Israel, willingly submitted himself to God, the King of the universe. In fact, David repeatedly refers to himself as God's servant throughout this prayer. Yes, he was king and held the most powerful position in the land. But he humbly submitted himself to God because he recognized that any power, authority, success or significance he enjoyed was due to the sovereign hand of God. He confessed to God, “you have brought about all this greatness”. David could look back over his life and see God intimately involved every step along the way. From his unlikely selection by Samuel to be the next king of Israel to his defeat of the Philistine warrior, Goliath, David saw God's divine fingerprints. He knew that it had been God who had protected him all those years he lived in exile in the wilderness with a bounty on his head issued by King Saul. He knew that it had been God who had arranged his ascent to the throne. God had given him his victories over the enemies of Israel. God had been the one to forgive his sin with Bathsheba and allowed him to continue his reign. Everywhere David looked, he could see the hand of God.

They say hindsight is 20/20. It sometimes takes the passing of time and the opportunity to contemplate where we have been to give us a true perspective on just what has happened. Looking back allows us to view the events of our life more realistically. We are able to see the lessons learned even in the darkest moments. From our present vantage point, we are more apt to understand now what was going on then. In fact, our reflection on the past often leads us to say, “If I had only known then what I know now”. But as believers in Christ, there is far more benefit to reflection on the past than potential life lessons to be learned. Like David, we should be able to look and see God's fingerprints all over every aspect of our lives. We should be able to see how He was leading us and eventually calling us to Himself. We should recognize the moments in which He had protected us or possibly disciplined us. Looking back allows us to better see our own sin and God's gracious acts of salvation all along the way. And the result of our reflection should be the same as that of David. “Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you.”

But not only does looking back allow us to see the handiwork of God in our lives, so does looking forward. David could “see” into the future and rest easy, knowing that God had promised that He would “raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom” (2 Samuel 7:12 ESV). God had told David that He would “establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:13 ESV). And one of the reasons David could trust God's word regarding the future was because he had experienced God's faithfulness in the past. He had learned to trust God. He had no reason to doubt that God would fulfill His promises for the future because God had already proven Himself trustworthy and good for His word.

The greatness of God. Sometimes I think that reality escapes many of us who call ourselves Christians. We have somehow lost our awe for God. Rather than see Him as great, we simply take Him for granted. We fail to look back and see His hand in our lives. Any success we have achieved, we tend to take credit for. Any difficulties we have endured, we fail to see any value in. Some of us simply regret the past. Others of us inordinately revel in it. And either way, we can fail to see God in it. Recognizing God's involvement in our past is essential if we are going to trust His promises for the future. If we don't believe He has been there for us all along the way, we are going to have a hard time believing He will be there for us in the days ahead. One of the greatest lessons we can learn in this life is to recognize and appreciate the greatness of God. He is always great, whether we see it or are willing to acknowledge it. Sometimes, the best way to comprehend His greatness is to come to grips with our own weakness and insignificance. For David, the very thought that God had chosen him, an insignificant shepherd boy, and made him a king, was mind blowing. That God had chosen to protect him all those years he was running from a psycho king with a one-track mind focused on David's annihilation, was almost too much for him to believe. But he did believe and he was grateful. He was awed at God's greatness. And so should we be. Like David, we should be able and willing to exclaim, “Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness” (Psalm 145:3 NLT).