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So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. 2 Corinthians 4:18
It seems like every day we’re met with more and more troubles. Racial tension. Conspiracy theories. Political unrest. Natural disasters. Pandemics. Climate change. Inflation.
When you start to look around, it can really be pretty depressing. It’s no wonder fear and worry and anger and frustration and hatred seem to be rampant.
The apostle Paul encourages us to place our gaze on the things that last forever. All of the struggles we see now will someday go away. But there are some things that we can’t see that will last forever.
The love of God is new every morning. The forgiveness of our sins. The promise of eternal life. A peace the passes all understanding. The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives as believers in Jesus. What are some other things that will last forever?
Focusing on the things that will last forever makes it easier to endure the things we struggle with that surround us. The things we see are temporary, but the promises of God are eternal.
For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him! Isaiah 64:4
Unrealized dreams. Unfinished work. Unmet expectations. Disappointing results. You’ve been there. We all have. Those times when, hard as we try, life doesn’t work out as planned.
Our efforts, or the efforts of others we put our trust in, turn out to be an epic fail. It’s easy to get caught up in the negative.
The voices of criticism and mockery tend to remind us of ways in which we fall short. Have you ever noticed that the harshest voices tend to come from your own mind? I do. I’m my own worst critic.
Maybe it’s time to step back and remind ourselves of what’s really important and who is really holding this all together.
Isaiah reminds us that while our human efforts may fail, the works of our God last forever. He’s never late. He’s never overwhelmed or surprised.
When we’re learn to wait on him, we’ll see his power unfold in front of us.
Ask for his leading. Wait for his timing. Act in his power.
Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Philippians 2:6
You walk into your bosses office one day. He tells you he has an amazing opportunity for you. It’s something he knows you will love! It doesn’t involve a raise in pay. It doesn’t come with more status or stature. In fact, some would call it a demotion. But he promises you a retirement plan out of this world. Would you take the job?
That’s what Jesus did for you. He had a corner office. He had all eternity in front of Him. He was Lord of the universe. There was nothing He could not have.
But He gave it all up for you. Most would consider what He did a demotion. Going from living as a king to being a despised pauper. But not Jesus!
Jesus didn’t take the demotion because he wanted to feel the rejection of his creation. Jesus do not step down because he look forward to being ridiculed. Jesus did what he did for you. He did it for live. A live he knows could not be returned at the level He gave it.
He knew the only way for you to experience forgiveness was by his sacrifice. He know the only way for you to see how much he loved you was for him to live among us. He knew the only way that he could experience eternity with you was to die for you.
Jesus also knew another thing. Between his birth, and offering you eternal life, was the cross. The painful, shameful, despised cross. But he did it for you.
He did it because he loves you. He did it because he knew you would fail. He did it because he knew you could not do what needed to be done on your own. What an amazing Savior!
This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it.” Isaiah 30:15
“Get some rest”, the doctor told me, “The best thing you can do for your healing is to get good rest.“
Resting is much easier said than done. It’s difficult to rest when everyone around you is busy doing things. Especially those things that you used to do. Even though you know the best thing you can do is to rest, your mind tells you the worst thing you can do is rest. It’s a horrible dichotomy.
Maybe you’ve seen that too. Resting isn’t the same as sleeping. Sometimes you wake up in the morning and you don’t feel rested. Oh, you slept, but you didn’t rest. Even if you’re sleeping, your mind wouldn’t quit. It seemed like you were constantly reminded of the bills that weren’t getting paid, the relationships that were strained, the guilt and shame you feel for your past or the workplace struggles you need to address in the morning.
Resting is essential for healing. Your body needs time to regroup. Your body needs time to do what it is created to do naturally. To heal.
What’s true in the physical realm, is true in our spiritual/emotional lives as well. God speaks through Isaiah to tell us that our strength does not come from our activity. Our healing doesn’t come from the work that we do. Our healing and strength comes from quietness and confidence.
The psalmist writes, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Our confidence doesn’t come from anything we can do. Our confidence comes from knowing that God has everything in control.
True rest leads to healing, healing comes when we have confidence in the promises that God has given us. Promises of forgiveness. Promises of safety. Promises of grace.
Do you need some rest today? Not just physical rest, but spiritual or emotional rest? Ask the Holy Spirit now, to help you to have confidence in the strength God gives you. He is the source of all healing and all rest.
“The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe.” Proverbs 18:10
I read a story awhile back about a couple who were hiking in the mountains. As they were walking through a beautiful mountain meadow a storm suddenly erupted.
The thunder was so loud it seemed to shake the mountain. Lighting crashed around them. In the midst of an unexpected storm they were vulnerable, scared, and helpless.
Then the rain and hail came. There was no place to run to. No place to take shelter. Then one of them noticed in the distance, a cave. More like a indentation in the rocks. But it offered them shelter in the storm. They ran to the spot and waited out the storm in the safety of the rock.
The Bible tells us that God is our shelter in the midst of a storm. When the enemies of worry, doubt, broken, relationships, or consequences from bad decisions attack us, He is the shelter that we can run to.
Three things I notice about this verse. First of all the shelter doesn’t take us out of the storm, it simply gives us protection during the storms.
The second thing is that we as believers in Jesus need to run to the shelter. We are not automatically protected unless we run to the shelter.
The third thing I notice, is that there is no particular place to run to. We don’t run to a place, we run to a name.
You can carry a name with you everywhere. It’s a shelter you have with you during every storm, you encounter.
Run to the shelter of the name of the Lord. He won’t take you out of the storm, but he will carry you through it.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 