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One of the things I learned in my education classes was the importance of being on the level of students. Especially younger students. By doing something simple like sitting on small chairs with the kids, or sitting on the floor with them or kneeling down to talk to them when serious conversation was needed worked wonders. Physical presence bridged the age/size gap.
I like to think the verse in Proverbs is God’s way of kneeling down to our level to reveal himself to us.
“Ears to hear and eyes to see— both are gifts from the Lord.” Proverbs 20:12
Listening and seeing are the two senses that speak the loudest to us. Many religions offer gods that we seek after but are impossible to relate to. But not Jehovah God. He has shown himself in the beauty and wonder of creation; he has shown his power in the storm and his gentleness in the rose petal; and most importantly he has shown his character and love through his son Jesus.
He promises that he will reveal himself to those who seek him, The more you search for him, through his love letter, the Holy Bible; the more you get to know him through his son, Jesus Christ, the more you will sense his presence.
This promise is especially comforting during those times when life is a mystery and the future is cloudy because we know who is ultimately in control. His peace is most evident in the storm!
It seems like an unfortunate reality, at least from my perspective, but people whose main goal in life is to serve people tend to be scrutinized more deeply and misunderstood more often than others. Those on the front lines are more easy to shoot at!
This seems to be especially true for those in ministry and that can be discouraging, debilitating and destructive. I read an article recently documenting the increasing number of pastors who for mental health and physical health reasons have left the ministry.
A personal friend and fellow minister recently left the ministry for this very reason. He’d had a thriving ministry for years until a few people with thick pocket books and strong opinions began to grumble. As he said to me, “It really only takes a few crabby people to destroy a ministry.” He finally left…heartbroken.
While we may not be able to change the target on our chests as servants to the masses (and I refer to those in and out of ministry), we must remind ourselves that even when our actions are misunderstood by the masses, God knows our heart. I remind myself of this truth every once in awhile.
Father, help my motives be pure and my way straight in spite of those who may seek to do me harm through misrepresentation.
I’ve read these verses a hundred times before I realized what total devastation is being described. The entire economy of the nation Israel was dependent on agriculture. We are blessed today to be diverse in our economy and global in our accessibility of the staples of life. Not so the readers of Habakkuk.
We are a generation of the entitled. We naturally expect that if we are uncomfortable, someone is to blame and someone better fix it. If our marriage is unfulfilling we seek other partners; if our church isn’t entertaining enough, or doesn’t make me feel happy, I’ll go elsewhere; If you talk about sin, or point out my failings you are judgmental and I’m going to unfriend you.
We tend to make the same expectations of God. But the testimony of Habakkuk, Job, David, James, Peter and many others in scripture (including Jesus himself!) sends a message loud and clear to those of us who claim to love God and believe in his sovereignty.
The rest of the world can fall apart around me. My relationships my fail me. My job may not pay enough to meet my needs. I may not like the music at my church. My health my be faltering. I may be ashamed of my _____________ (fill this one in yourself). Yet, although I may not understand; although I may struggle to believe; although I may not see the evidence, YET I put my trust in you O God because I know, ultimately your way is best.
Jesus once said, “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. Matthew 7:13-14
I continue to be amazed at the dichotomies in the Christian life. We are told to follow this itinerant preacher who came on the scene from virtually nowhere, spent a few years here on earth and then was brutally murdered. His 12 closest followers all met the same fate, as did 1,000’s since then.
Who, in their right mind would agree to a proposal to follow a life in which you will have no pillow for your head, you’ll be ridiculed, and live in constant danger of death.
Yet, as the Psalmist writes, His will is where I want to be. If I follow his will completely I will stare adversity in the face. If I follow his teachings I will be labeled intolerant, out of touch with reality, and a whole lot of other social labels.
Still, regardless of all the external realities, He offers a peace and joy that nothing else can measure up to. His way will not be the easiest. His way will not be the most popular. But his way offers me something the world can never give me, nor take away. Peace. So, as Job said, ‘Even though he slay me, yet will I trust him’.
Eeyore, the always negative donkey in the children’s story, “Winnie the Pooh” has an incredible knack for seeing the negative in everything. I remember chuckling at some of his statements while reading to my children. In his world there was nothing good. There was no hope. Expectations always fell short.
We can chuckle at this fictional character’s outlook on life, but reality is, it’s easy for us to do the same. It’s easy to live trapped by our past. I’m grateful for a relatively boring childhood, but many are still grappling with abusive homes, dysfunctional families and sometimes, as a result, mental illness or addictions. It’s been said ‘our past can kill us or make us stronger’, and while there is some truth to that, its easier said than lived.
It’s also easy for us as believers to lose hope when we look around us at the direction society seems destined for. Often our belief in Jesus Christ is construed by society as intolerant, out of touch and irrelevant.
Peter wrote his book to Christ followers in a society that, believe it or not, was more brutal to the things of God that the one we live in. Yet he wrote of great expectations. Not because of his past, but because of his future. Not because of who he was, but because of who Jesus is.
Don’t base your hopes, aspirations and expectations on who you are or what you can do. Don’t allow the actions and accusations of others deter you from expecting great and mighty things in your life. Success by God’s standards comes from a live lived rich in integrity and holiness. Success by societies standards is like flags in the wind, being tossed by every new idea. Jesus gives you stability in an unstable world and hope among the hopeless.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 