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Let me live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings! Psalms 61:4
It was one of the worst rainstorms I had ever driven through. It soon became impossible to see the lines on the interstate as I crept along at 30 MPH. Soon I came to an overpass and thought I would take shelter there, but there was no room as other cars had done the same. I continued on for three more overpasses before I found a spot to take shelter and wait for the storm to let up. Underneath that overpass I was able to rest my body and soul as the storm raged around me.
We aren’t sure what situation David found himself in when he wrote Psalm 61, but we can tell he was in anguish and, perhaps, great danger. The Hebrew word for the phrase ‘Let me dwell’ infers a place where we can step out of the turmoil of the world to find shelter and safety, a sanctuary, if you will, where the enemy can’t reach us.
Physically speaking, we may not be able to step away from the storms in life. We will get thrown under the bus by those who have higher expectations than we can deliver. We’ll be maligned by those who want to bind us with ropes of legalism. We’ll move on in life without being appreciated.
Relationships will dissappoint. Finances will fail. Our bodies will grow old and frail, But Jesus offers us a shelter we can take with us through every storm we face. We can feel safe beneath the protection of his wings.
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
I recently went through some pretty significant health issues that I’m still in the process of recovering from. I’m so thankful for the medical personnel that tended to me and continue to tend to me through this ordeal.
One of the things I find humorous is how calm and almost nonchalant my surgeon was about the surgery. In a calm manner he told us what he would do, what the expectations were, what the risks were and what I could expect in the future. All this was said in a calm, factual manner, yet in our minds it was huge! Why? Because this was something totally out of our control and would be life-changing.
When I read the above verse my first inclination would be to say to the Apostle Paul, “What do you mean this present struggle is small? My life is in the balance here!” But we look in the temporal, Paul was looking with an eternal perspective.
Whether we live to be 100 or die young, our earthly lives are a blip on the screen, a tiny dot on the horizon. Yet the glory we receive on the other end when we see Jesus will make all the social unrest, the political divisions and the unanswered prayers seem insignificant.
An eternal perspective, based on our faith in Jesus, allows us to have peace and security in a troubled world because the best is yet to come and far exceeds anything we can imagine.
Focus on the eternal.
Value all the experiences you go through in life.
Rest in his promise of the glory we have ahead of us in eternity with Him!
I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. John 13:15 (NLT)
“And Jesus had compassion…”
Those words spring up throughout the ministry of Jesus while he was on earth. He had compassion on the woman caught red-handed in bed with a man she wasn’t married to.
He had compassion on the parent whose child had just died or was very sick.
He had compassion on the rich young ruler who, tried as he might, just couldn’t do what was necessary to receive the gift of eternal life. He just couldn’t let go.
He had compassion on the traitor who sold out to the enemy and, as a result, was a social outcast.
He had compassion on the person so steeped in religion that he couldn’t comprehend the simple steps it took to receive eternal life.
He had compassion on those who were his closest friends and yet were more concerned about their own status than they were their brother.
He had compassion on the guard that beat him nearly to death and then pounded huge spikes into his already pain-filled flesh.
“He had compassion….”
Why did Jesus have compassion on so many people that rejected him, either openly, or unintentionally? What drove him so such lengths to give his very life for the very people who thought they took it from him?
Jesus had compassion because he knew the Father and knew that the Father was, in his very essence, compassion. That is what drove Jesus to reach out to the weak, the frail, the sick and the rebellious. And that’s what drives Jesus to reach out to you. Not a single deserved the touch of Jesus compassion. Not a single person can repay him for what he did. Neither can you.
Jesus says to us, “Follow my example”, and when he does so he is asking…commanding us rather, to show compassion in the same way that he did.
Our reaction to those around us is a reflection of our view of God. If we see a god of revenge we will seek justice rather than mercy. If we see a god of anger we will respond to those who have hurt us in anger. If we see an unforgiving god we will refuse to forgive those who have hurt us. But if we see a God of compassion, we will respond to those around us as Jesus did.
PRAYER: Father, once again I am humbled as I approach your throne today. I confess that it is easy to show compassion to those I don’t know, or those who are like me and who are kind to me. It’s hard to show compassion to the ‘bad people’ around me, yet that is what you would do. Fill me today with the power from your Spirit to show compassion to those who need it the most. Thank you for the example you gave us in Jesus. In his name I pray, Amen.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27
At every funeral there are two, maybe three groups of people. The similarity of all these groups is sadness, with the most tears usually reserved for those who are closest to the one in the casket. Generally speaking you won’t notice a difference in any of the people on the outside. It’s what is on the inside that counts.
The defining characteristic of each person in the group, as well as the person in the casket isn’t about the things we can see with our senses. The defining characteristic for all of them is what is in the heart.
For those who are Christ-followers, those who have made a personal commitment to follow Him, those who have asked Him to forgive them of their sins, the grief is immense. But if the person who belonged to the body inside the casket is a Christ-follower as well, then they know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, as sure as they see the trees in the cemetery, that one day they will be reunited.
There’s a second group of people. Death scares them. Might also say it scares the hell out of them, but it doesn’t. Death, according to the human mind-set is the end. They see no hope beyond the grave, no healing beyond the casket, no life outside this world.
In order to appease their fear they’ve made up all sorts of stories to soothe themselves. Stories like, ‘there’s no hell, a loving God would never send someone to hell’; or ’There is no god. What we see is what we get. Death is the end all of end alls. (no wonder these people feel hopeless); or there is the ‘There are other ways to heaven besides Jesus. I know some good people who are (name your own religion). All sorts of stories. All sorts of excuses and explanations. Yet nothing that fills the void.
The third group of people is much like the second, yet they may struggle with the biggest problem of all, the problem of doubt. Some of these people have gone to church all their lives. They’ve been baptized and confirmed and gone to Bible College. They teach Sunday school and give generously to charities. Some are pastors or church leaders doing marvelous things to help others. Yet deep inside there’s the constant, nagging question of ‘what if?’
Funerals aren’t about the dead. They are a reality check for the living. They are more intense because in them we see the pain we ourselves suffer. The feelings are more intense at a funeral, but on a much lesser scale we feel the same pain when a relationship fails, we see ourselves getting older and our dreams for life growing fainter, we see friends leave us and the things we once held dear fade away with changing society.
Jesus didn’t come to give us comfort and protection from earthly pain; He came to give us peace in the midst of it. The peace the world gives will one day pass away. What lives on will be our faith in Christ, our hope in eternity with Him and those we love, and love. The love of God that nothing can separate us from. Nothing.
If you were sitting at the funeral of a dearly loved Christ-follower today, which group would you be in? Would you weep and cry because you miss this dear friend, but know you will be reunited someday? Would you wonder (or hope) that someday you will see them again? Will you suffer the anguish of your soul because you have no hope?
It’s easy to be in group one. Jesus longs to forgive you of your past and side by side with you along this journey we call life. He’s waiting for you now.
PRAYER: Dear God. I’ve heard about You. I confess I don’t know if I believe in You or not. But death scares me. Not knowing what lies beyond the grave haunts me, but my past haunts me more. I have nothing to offer you. I have no excuse. I only ask that you forgive me of my sin in the name of Jesus. Fill my life with the peace that you promised me so that whether I live or die I know my place is with you for eternity. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
(In honor of my Uncle Al (1928-2010) a man of faith, integrity, love for his family, generosity and a love for his Savior. Someday I will see you again.)
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 