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Come back to the place of safety, all you prisoners who still have hope! I promise this very day that I will repay two blessings for each of your troubles. Zechariah 9:12 (New Living Translation)
The prophet Zechariah ministered to the people of Israel during a very difficult time in the lives of the people of God. They were just returning from years in exile, a consequence of their disobedience to God. It was to rebuild their cities and their lives.
It’s important to remember that the reason for the exile was that the people intentionally and willfully chose to disobey God. They weren’t tricked or deceived. They knew better. But regardless of their knowledge they made a decision to go their own way. Now, their time of discipline was complete and it was time to move on.
The word Zechariah is given for the people is this: “Return to me. Come back to the one place you know you can always return to.” God has the same message for each of us today. You may be suffering now from the consequences of poor choices. Your life may be full or worry, shame, guilt, remorse, fear, anger or a multitude of other factors. It’s possible that the choices you have made will have consequences that will be with you the rest of your life. Even so, God is saying, “Come home. Come to me. You once were imprisoned, trapped in a life of meaninglessness and pain. Come home.”
I have a friend who was involved in a terrible snowmobile accident in which he lost both of his legs. The events leading up to the accident were not good. He never should have been on that snowmobile and riding with the people he was. For the rest of his life he’ll have a reminder of that accident.
The story has a ‘good ending’ of sorts however. As a result of the accident he has found a renewal of his faith and a trust in Jesus such as he’d never had before. He ‘came home’ to his God and Savior Jesus Christ and his life was dramatically changed.
You may be feeling imprisoned by your sins. You may feel shut up under a sense of your guilt and shame. Look to Jesus. He is the only one who can deliver you from your offenses and give you hope regardless of what you have done in the past.
Zechariah gives those of us another promise. He says “I will repay two blessings for each of your troubles!” What an amazing promise of grace. Not only are we forgiven, we can expect to enjoy all fullness of grace and plenty of spiritual and physical blessings. God doesn’t just forgive us when we come home, He blesses us!
No matter where you are in life. Come home to Jesus. Let Him remove the guilt and shame of your past. Trust Him to bless you beyond all you can imagine.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I come before you today realizing that my life is a mess. I’ve made choices I knew were wrong. I’ve accepted you as my Savior but I still struggle with habits, anger, shame and guilt. I know better but still go my own way. Please forgive me for my rebellion. Empower me to live for you today and to experience all the blessings you have for me. Amen.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
Imagine how Jesus’ disciples felt as He told them that He would be leaving them soon. For three years Jesus had been their constant companion. They had learned more about God and healing and power and forgiveness…and life than they had ever known before.
While Jesus had been with them they’d been in situations where they feared for their lives, watched lives changed before their very eyes and even been personally involved in healing others of their illnesses and casting out demons. Even though they didn’t completely understand everything about Jesus, one thing they knew; when they were with Jesus, things were going to work out all right.
Now, He was telling them that He was going away and they wouldn’t see Him for awhile. Jesus had gone off into the mountains on occasion to pray but this was different. This was going to be a longer period of time and even though He said He’d come back, He didn’t say when.
Not only was He leaving, Jesus didn’t paint a very pleasant picture of life after He was gone. We have the advantage of knowing from history what happened in the lives of the disciples but to them it was all a mystery. Their life was going to be one of trouble. They would be attacked, misunderstood and killed because of Him.
In John chapter 16 Jesus leaves the disciples, and us, three promises. First of all, trouble and hardship should never surprise us. Jesus said we would have many problems. He told us that relationships would fail, our health would fail and government would fail. All of those things are based on the human, finite existence and by nature will end.
The second thing Jesus told the disciples is that even though they would no longer see Him physically, they would know His presence because the Father (God) would send His Holy Spirit to indwell us, comfort us, guide us and show us the things of God. There are times when you feel all alone. There will be times when it seems like no one understands you. But Jesus’ promise is the same today as it was the day He sat with His disciples. The struggles of our lives may cloud our sense of His presence. We may feel like no one fully understands the pain we bear, but Jesus does. He is not far from us.
Lastly, Jesus wanted His disciples to know that no matter how bad things get, those who follow Him will eventually see victory. The world will through confusion, pain, hate and anger at us. We will groan in pain and confusion and feel completely abandoned. But someday, those of us who are Christ followers will overcome the pain and adversity of this life. In the end…WE WIN! Until that time when victory is ours, each of us must learn to rely on the strength, comfort and guidance of the Holy Spirit during those darkest times of our lives.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. I want to thank you today for forgiving every one of my sins and failures. I praise you today for removing my guilt and shame even though I’m so undeserving. You told your disciples that we’d see trouble and I’m feeling that right now. I feel abandoned, scared and too weak to go on. Empower me with your Spirit to endure the attacks and trust your presence when you seem absent. In the midst of this struggle I thank you that eventually, because of you, I win! Amen.
For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Hebrews 4:1
Maybe it’s a guy thing, but I have the tendency to hesitate to ask for help. It doesn’t matter how heavy the object is to lift or how hard the task is, if there is any way I can do it on my own I’ll do it! I’ve had plenty of sore backs and pulled muscles to prove it!
The ridiculous part about being driven to do things by ourselves is that it often causes physical pain, frustration and even damage to people and property. Still each of us is inclined to risk our physical and emotional health to do things on our own.
Sometimes we do that because we see the need for help as a sign of weakness. Sometimes we do it ourselves because we have that ‘pride thing’ going on inside us that says: (1) My way is the best way; and (2) No one can do it as well as I can!
What is true for us in the physical realm can also be true in the spiritual realm. In fact the two intersect in some ways. Those of us that are Christ-followers agree that we are sinners and willingly rest on God’s promise of forgiveness and grace for our eternal lives. However, for some reason, if we aren’t careful we think that once we receive this ‘free gift’ of grace we need to work hard to keep it or earn it.
We do this by taking responsibility to make sure our job is right, our kids are healthy and responsible, or homes are fancy and well kept, we have all the right toys and latest gadgets. We even work hard to make sure our ministry or church is stronger, larger and has more technology than the people across the street. Not all of these things are bad unless they become the sole reason for our existence. When they become all we live for then frustration sets in because we can’t possible achieve all we want!
Jesus says, in Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Jesus isn’t necessarily talking about physical rest here. He’s telling all of us who are spiritually tired and emotionally spent that we can come to Him for rest. He wants to comfort us and encourage us when we are struggling to keep afloat.
One of the mysteries of our human existence is that when we are at peace with ourselves on the inside, the things that bring stress on the outside aren’t as powerful. When I allow Jesus to completely control my thoughts, my attitudes and my feelings about people, places and things I have the strength to endure the attacks that are thrown at me.
God’s rest is both present and eternal. His rest gives us freedom to live life to the fullest while we are here on earth. When we rely on God’s power nothing that comes our way brings complete despair. This is true whether the circumstances we face are a result of our own failures or the attacks of others.
God’s rest is also eternal. As Christ-followers we have a hope that reassures us that no matter how bad things are now, someday all the pain and frustrations will be gone. Our physical lives will end, but will usher in an eternal life of peace, happiness and health, all in the presence of God Himself!
PRAYER: Father God. I’m tired. I’m tired physically, emotionally and spiritually. The things that are happening around me have taken away the joy I thought I was supposed to have in you. I confess that I’ve been struggling at my spiritual life all alone and not accepting the help you have promised. Forgive me for trying to do it alone. Empower me by your Holy Spirit to accept your comfort, your power and your help to make it through the daily grind that seems to pull me down. Thank you for your understanding and your rest. Amen.
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16
In the classic story ‘The Wizard of Oz’ Dorothy and her three traveling companions take a trip to see the ‘wonderful Wizard of Oz’. Each of them has a need that no one else has been able to meet. Each of them is scared, discouraged and in a seemingly hopeless situation. Their only hope is the wizard.
Once they get to Oz they find out that the wizard is almost impossible to meet with and, at first, they are turned away. When they are allowed a visit, they are terrified to come into his presence. His throne room is full of flames and terror. His voice is scary and gruff. Once they make their urgent requests known he finally agrees to give them their wishes, but only if they risk their lives doing something that meant certain death.
You know the story. They get the broom from the wicked witch and, upon returning to the wizard, discover that the so-called wizard is really nothing more than a bumbling old man with no special powers except to talk a good line.
While we all realize that ‘The Wizard of Oz’ is nothing more than a fantasy, in our more honest times we have to admit that we view God more like the wizard when we are in our time of need. We view him as unapproachable, fearful, powerful and demanding our very souls. Other times we view him as a bumbling old man that is really only interested in saving his own skin and living a life of prestige and power.
It’s time to get over the ‘Wizard of Oz’ mentality in our Christian lives! As Christ followers the writer to the Hebrews gives us a completely different view of who God is and our position before him. First of all we have the right to enter the Throne of Grace. Throne implies absolute and complete power. But this throne isn’t a throne full of flames, smoke and fear. It’s a throne of grace. Grace doesn’t require anything of us but to accept the free gift of Jesus Christ’s forgiveness. No witches broom to sacrifice. No life-threatening or personality destroying actions to gain admittance. We don’t need to clean ourselves up. We can enter this throne room just as we are: selfish, rebellious, angry, afraid, battered, bruised and addicted. No matter where you are, what you’ve done or how you got to where you are you are qualified to enter the very throne room of the Creator God. AWESOME!
Secondly we enter the throne room with confidence. Why? Because as our Father, God welcomes us as his children. He isn’t a father that is too preoccupied with the game on TV, the yard work, his own status or anything else. His one and only concern is to hear you, comfort you, guide you and forgive you. He isn’t interested in making you something you are not; He’s interested in making you the best you can be!
Lastly, when we come before Him we find mercy and grace. He won’t accuse us. He won’t say ‘I told you so’. He won’t demand you jump through a bunch of hoops. It’s absolutely amazing! He knows our need before we even get to the throne room. He isn’t concerned about who is at fault or how many times you’ve stumbled, strayed or rebelled. He’s only interested in making you the best you can be so you can live a life of freedom from the affects of the pain we all encounter.
Get rid of the “Wizard of Oz” mentality in your life as a Christ-follower. When you pray and read His Word remember that you are coming into a room full of love, forgiveness, understanding and healing. God loves you and wants nothing more than to show you the grace and mercy you need to live life to its fullest.
PRAYER: Holy God. I confess to you that often times I see you more as the fearful or bumbling wizard of Oz. I’m ashamed of what I’ve done, angry at you for not doing what I wanted you to do and doubt your ability to take care of me. I’ve gone off on my own journey to find fulfillment and run aground. Please help me to realize what it means to come into your presence. Help me to come with confidence to You so that I can experience the grace and mercy that is already mine because of my faith in Jesus. In His name I pray, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 