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The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. 2 Peter 3:9 (NLT)
“I can’t wait!”
“Are we there yet?”
“Can we open our presents now?”
“When can I have it? I want it right now!”
How many times have we heard someone say the phrases stated above or similar ones? Young children tend to be the worst at this. They can’t see 60 seconds beyond where they are at any given moment. An hour can seem like eternity, a year? Well, it’s best not to go there. As we get older we tend to be be a little more aware of time frames, but there is that little kid in all of us that ‘can’t wait’ for some exciting, anticipated event.
The patient parent understands the excitement children have, but wisdom has taught them that sometimes waiting and time serve a higher purpose. “We could get to grandma’s house a little faster, but going at high rates of speed may cause great bodily injury…or death” For the eight-year-old who ‘can’t wait to drive a car’ we realize the wisdom of waiting a few years for the legs to reach the foot controls and somewhat better judgment to refine itself.
Patience benefits the person in need of grace, not the person being patient. That’s why our heavenly Father is patient with us as his beloved children. He knows that it will take awhile to break old habits and learn new ones. He knows the pull of worldly things will sometimes be overpowering to us. He knows that on those occasions when he asks us “What’d you do that for?”, we are telling the truth. We really don’t know why we made that stupid decision to have an affair, to visit the porn site, to get drunk again, or whatever else you are struggling with.
Our Father also knows the wisdom in letting us make a few mistakes along the way in order to build character and learn how to be stronger against sin. Could he have instantly changed you when you accepted Christ as Lord and Savior so that you could be perfect? Perhaps, but then you’d not understand the struggles others have. Could he have airlifted you to heaven the moment you said “I do” when he asked you if you’ll accept his forgiveness? You bet, but then others wouldn’t be able to hear your story.
A proud parent looks at the little infant in their arms and can’t wait to watch them grow up. Your Father in heaven is the same way. He is so excited to see how you will turn out. He is passionately looking forward to the day he can spend every moment with you. But for now, he’s patient. He looks at you and says “I can’t wait!” But he will because he wants to make sure you are the best you can be and that takes time.
PRAYER: Father God, I’m so tired of struggling with life. I’m tired of being sick. I’m tired of being poor. I’m tired of making the same mistakes over and over again. Thank you for being patient with me. Thank you for your grace that grants me the forgiveness I need as I grow older with you. In Jesus name, Amen.
Continue to have faith and do what you know is right. Some people have rejected this, and their faith has been shipwrecked. 1 Timothy 1:19 (NCV)
“Well, I know we shouldn’t have sex until we are married, but…”
“Sure, I push the speed limit a little, but I’m a careful driver. Never had an accident, so I…”
“I probably should forgive her, but how many times do I have to do it? I mean, she never even asks forgiveness. She deserves everything she gets.”
“Sure, I pad the expense account a bit. But the wages they pay me and the amount of extra time I end up giving this place isn’t exactly fair either.”
“At least I don’t have any big sins. Little sins here and there won’t matter, will they?”
I live near one of the most beautiful river valleys in the entire world…well, at least in my world. I like nothing more than to take my family or a few friends up the river in our boat. We take the trip slowly and enjoy the scenery. If we’re lucky we see dear, bald eagles, bear and a variety of other wild life. Nothing beats a quiet cruise on the river.
For all of its beauty, however, there is something ominous about the trip. Something that every boater must be aware of or else trouble can come quickly. That danger is dead-heads. Dead-heads are the tips of logs from trees that have fallen into the river over the years, or from logs from logging days long ago.
Dead heads are dangerous because they seem to appear out of nowhere and can render a boat helpless in seconds if one is not careful. They seem worse in spring so your first couple trips call for extra caution. Carelessness and lack of attention to details in the water are disasters in the waiting.
Our lives are much like a river trip. They require attention to detail. That’s why the Apostle Paul warns his young pastor/friend Timothy to continue to do what is right. Letting yourself grow careless in your spiritual walk is like driving the boat at full throttle without concern for what might be lurking just below the surface. The result? Spiritual shipwreck. Suddenly you find yourself floating aimlessly with no control over your life.
So maybe that’s where you are finding yourself on the voyage. Quiet calm waters are a thing of the past. Safe harbor is nothing more than a dream. You feel like you are taking on water at a rapid rate and sinking is inevitable. So, now what?
That’s the good news. A life that’s shipwrecked doesn’t have to stay that way forever. God is pretty good at building boats. Look what he had Noah construct. It doesn’t matter how many poor choices you’ve made. Each of the holes in that hull can be patched through the forgiveness Jesus has to offer. Grace says that no matter how badly shipwrecked you find yourself, there is always hope for a new voyage because of Jesus.
PRAYER: Jesus, you say you see me wherever I am. You say you will be my strength. You say all my sins can be forgiven through you. I’ve tried to navigate these waters on my own for far too long. It’s time for a change. I’ve run aground. I’m powerless to continue. I claim the forgiveness I can have in you and from this day forward will allow you to help me navigate the dangers of life. In your name, Amen.
This will happen on the day when the Lord Jesus comes to receive glory because of his holy people. And all the people who have believed will be amazed at Jesus. You will be in that group, because you believed what we told you. 2 Thessalonians 1:10 (NCV)
What does Jesus look like? Many artists have tried to give us a glimpse of what he may have looked like to satisfy our curiosity. In the pictures I grew up with he looked like some frail little Scandinavian guy with feminine hands knocking gently on a huge door or kneeling by a rock. He was surrounded by a halo and looked ‘other worldly’. Later, some tried to portray a more ‘Jewish looking’ Jesus with more masculine features.
The prophet Isaiah brought a message of repentance to a stubborn people. He thought he knew God. He thought he knew himself. But when he saw God for who he truly was (Isaiah 6) he fell to his knees and cried ‘Woe is me!’ God was so much more than he could have imagined and this view of God caused him to see himself for what he really was. I think when we finally get to see Jesus it will be a similar effect. When we see him as he is our first response will be a gasp because we will see how magnificent he truly is.
Those of us who are Christ-followers will see him differently than others. We will see our coming king dressed in regal robes that signify power. We’ll see him as a high priest. That has a different meaning for us today than it did in Jesus day. The priest, in some ways, held more ‘awe’ than the king. It was the priest that showed us all the way to the Creator God.
I’m looking forward to seeing Jesus in all his majesty, but it won’t be the robes that draw me to him, it will be his eyes. You can tell a lot by looking at someone straight in the eyes. When I see Jesus on that day I think that rather than showing power and majesty his eyes will show love and compassion…and grace.
When I see those eyes I’ll know for certain that all my hopes have been satisfied. Those sins I confessed really are gone. The emotional pain of yesterday will melt into the joy and peace of eternity. The physical stress of wondering how I’ll get through this next project, or make the money last another week will become insignificant. The inner longing I’ve had to know…to REALLY KNOW I’m okay will disappear. I’ll know for certain that I am loved by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
I have questions of course. And so do you. All those things you and I have said flippantly about “When I get to heaven I’m going to ask Jesus why he did this or allowed that”. But in reality, those things will seem so insignificant that I’m quite sure I’ll completely forget about all those questions for at least a million or two years.
Remember the story of the woman who anointed Jesus with oil? She forgot about her social standing. The cost of the oil was insignificant. The reaction of the crowd didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she was with Jesus. I’ll be there with her.
I can’t wait until Jesus comes.
PRAYER: Jesus, son of the living God, King of Kings, Lord of Lord, friend of the downcast and lifter of those who have fallen. Great healer, provider and passionate lover. I am so thankful that you love me. I’m so grateful for the forgiveness you’ve given me and the life I have here on earth. But with all you have given me, my greatest joy will be when I can look into your eyes and be amazed. Come quickly Lord Jesus. Amen.
Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!” Wait for the LORD, and he will avenge you. Proverbs 20:22
The toughest prisons are the prisons with no visible walls. Prisons of our souls that rob us of our freedom to love, our freedom to trust, our ability to live free of fear. In a ‘real prison’ the walls are built thick and strong by someone else for the express purpose of keeping you inside and protecting others from you.
The prison of the soul is built with your own hands. Brick by brick. Hurt by hurt. Failure by failure. Misunderstanding by misunderstanding. In your own mind, whether it’s a conscious thought or not, the prison walls of the soul are built to keep others out and to protect you from any more hurt. You’ve contracted with the master builder of walls, vengeance to make sure no one ever hurts you again.
One of the key ingredients to wall building is the desire to get even. We want to make sure that the perpetrators of our wound ‘pay for what they did’. We want to see justice served and are willing to do whatever is necessary to ensure that happens.
The problem is, when we try to settle the score with someone else we usually just imprison ourselves in bitterness, anger and fear. ‘If I don’t trust, you won’t fail me; If I don’t love you, you won’t hurt me again; If I don’t forgive you, you will never forget what you did to me.’
Your heavenly Father has a better way. His is the way of freedom; of hope; of love. His way offers you the healing you need from the emotional, spiritual and physical scars that weigh you down every day. His is the way of love, forgiveness and trust. Not trust in others, trust in His ability to take care of the situation in his time and in his own way.
When you forgive someone you aren’t saying what they did is okay, you are saying you trust God enough to let him take care of the situation. Think about that for a moment. Who better to deal with the enemies of your soul than the creator God of the universe? Trusting God to handle each situation in your life not only frees you from the prison of your soul, it protects you from the enemy that seeks to destroy you.
Who better to defeat your enemy than the creator God of the universe who loves you so much he was willing to give his very own son so that you could live free. It’s time to tear down the prison walls of your soul. It’s time to live in the freedom of forgiveness and trust. Not trust in mankind, but trust in an almighty God who wants desperately to free you from your hurt.
PRAYER: Father God, I’m angry today. I’m looking out at a world of hurt and fear from walls I’ve built to protect me. I sought freedom and gained incarceration. I thought pain-free living, but live in anguish and worry. I can’t tear these walls down on my own. I need your help. Empower me with your Spirit to be able to hand all this ugly stuff over to you. Help me to forgive for my sake and trust you to take care of the rest. In Jesus name, Amen.
Those who believe in the Son have eternal life, but those who do not obey the Son will never have life. God’s anger stays on them.” John 3:36 (NCV)
“Ah, this is living.”
What would it take for you to say this? No bills? Lounging on the beach in Hawaii with no schedule, no responsibility and no sign of it coming to an end? Perhaps having a perfect spouse, three children in Medical School and a clean bill of health for you?
When we think of living, our first thoughts often turn to personal comfort and a bright prospectus for tomorrow. We all know people or have heard of people who have worked their entire lives preparing for retirement only to have something devastating happen to them just before or after they retire.
During the great depression hundreds of people jumped from buildings and bridges when the realized they’d ‘lost everything’. The real tragedy was in the lives of the women whose husbands didn’t come home or the children whose Daddies would never tuck them in again. Little boys were without their favorite person to play catch or shoot hoops. Little girls would never have ‘daddy’ to walk them down the aisle.
Jesus says (my paraphrase), “If you put your relationship with me in first place you will not only have the strength to make it through the battles of life here on earth, you will find that true living comes after you die! If on the other hand you put the things of earth (money, toys & pleasure) in first place, you will never experience life as I intended for you.”
Pursue the important things of life. The most important things in your life won’t show up in your checkbook, your garage or your family room. The will be etched on the very tablet of your heart. It doesn’t matter how much you’ve failed. It’s not important what you think you’ve lost here on earth. The important things like your faith in Christ and the power of his Spirit in your life are things no one can take from you.
Keeping your focus on what Christ has done for you makes all the other things less important. With Him as your guide, no matter what you are going through, you will be able to say that because of Jesus love, grace and forgiveness, “This is living!”
PRAYER: Jesus I confess to you that too much of my life is spent trying to make things work here on earth. I’ve neglected the important things like family, and most importantly my relationship with you. Empower me with your Spirit to build on the important things. I know in my heart that true living comes after I die. In your name, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 