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In heaven the LORD laughs as he sits on his throne, making fun of the nations. Psalm 2:4 (CEV)
I’m always amused at how some animals don’t get the whole ‘pecking order’ thing. One example that comes to mind is a dog I used to have. My Chocolate Lab/Chesapeake Bay Retriever weighed in around 90 pounds. He was a muscular, fast dog, yet docile as they come. He’d rather play fetch than fight.
Next door to our house was an elderly lady with a small toy poodle. This dog probably weighed in a little over a pound. Yet when she was out in the yard she would come over and bark at my dog, run around him, try to pick a fight. It was obvious she was angry and ready to defend her territory to the end…obvious except perhaps to Charlie, my Lab.
One time in particular ‘the rat dog’ saw Charlie sleeping in the shade. She came flying across the yard barking like a banshee. I watched as Charlie opened one eye to look directly into the barking face of a little dog no more than six inches away. He lifted his head for a moment (maybe to focus?), then, seeing who it was put his head down and went back to his nap.
My dog could have put an end to the confrontation in an instant, yet he chose to ignore the aggressor. The poodle continued its barrage of verbal assault until her owner ‘called her off.’ The smaller dog trotted victoriously across the yard, apparently convinced she’d defeated the threat.
Psalm 2 talks about angry nation’s intent on destroying God, or the concept of God. They throw all sorts of ‘attacks’ heavenward. Yet our Father looks on with a smirk on his face. We as Christ-followers get angry at the way our faith is attacked. We worry about how God’s name will be hurt by this, or religion will be destroyed by that. We look at politicians and economic systems as being a threat to our existence.
In the meantime, like my Lab Charlie, God looks down from heaven and shrugs his shoulders. Nothing to worry about. In fact, the scripture implies he is even somewhat amused by man’s attempts to thwart his plan.
Our heavenly Father isn’t worried about terrorism. Our almighty God isn’t fazed by the economic uncertainty and the predicted upcoming collapse of the world economy. He’s not overwhelmed by the complexity of the global political climate. There is nothing in the seen and the unseen world that will detract from the fulfillment of his plan. You can trust him.
PRAYER: Almighty God and heavenly Father. There are many things in this world that worry me right now. My own finances, my relationships, my physical strength to carry on. Help me to remember that nothing that is going on around me worries you. Nothing I’m going through will keep you from fulfilling your plan. Empower me with your Spirit to walk bravely with you. Amen.
Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” John 14:8 (NLT)
The word Father had a completely different connotation to Philip in his day than it does to us today. The term ‘Father’ was much more than a symbol. It conjured up in the minds of every Jew a man that was honored, revered, feared and loved all at once. He was the essence of stability, love, consistency and trust.
Philip was seeking what each of us wants in life. Someone that could be trusted to do what he said he’d do. Someone in whom they saw power and intimacy and leadership and sensitivity. Today, everyone has the same longing deep within them. We all long to have someone in our lives we can count on to be, do and say what they say they will.
My apologies for a moment to the women reading this post. Mothers too have a powerful influence in our lives. But to get the full essence of Philips request we need to realize the immense influence of fathers in the emotional, physical and spiritual development of each of us.
In the same way we need to realize that the ‘father’ that Philip sought is still being sought by many today. While it’s impossible for anyone to fulfill all the qualities of our heavenly Father, it’s imperative that we as fathers strive to work towards that goal.
So, what does our heavenly Father look like? Watch Jesus.
Ask the woman who was guilty of adultery. Remember, she wasn’t accused. She was guilty. Jesus makes no effort to exonerate her. He doesn’t argue her guilt at all. He simply says she was not condemned. What a Compassionate Father!
Question the man who lived his entire life rejecting God. That is, until his dying breath on the cross when he begged Jesus for mercy. Moments later he joined his Savior in Paradise. What a Merciful Father.
Ask the blind man who spend his entire life in physical darkness only to be misunderstood when Jesus gave him sight. What an Understanding Father!
Listen to the father of the seizure ridden boy as he tells the story of how Jesus healed his son and how, that night, he and his wife slept soundly for the first time in years. What a Sensitive Father!
Hear the story the paralytic by the pool recount. He’d given up any hope of healing. His disability started out being physical but grew to the point where it was emotional (I’ll never make it to the pool. I’ll never be healed) and then spiritual (even God has forgotten me). Then Jesus came. What an Encouraging and Healing Father!
Max Lucado states, “Faith begins when you see God on the mountain and you are in the valley and you know that you are too weak to make the climb.”
It’s during those dark times in our lives that we echo the words of Philip. I don’t understand all that’s going on. The future scares me. Just show me the Father and I’ll be okay.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, Daddy, God of all creation. Thank you for being the kind of Father I need for all time. When I feel weak and am unsure I can go on, help me to see Jesus so that I can see you. Amen.
The one thing I ask of the Lord—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple. For he will conceal me there when troubles come; he will hide me in his sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock. Psalm 27:4-5
A sad story…
When I was growing up a family near the town I lived in had a young man in his early 20’s who was mentally handicapped. One night the family’s home started on fire in the middle of the night. The family searched frantically for their child but was forced from their home by smoke and flames. The home was far out in the country and well engulfed in flames by the time the fire department arrived. Even so, a couple firefighters risked their lives by climbing into the window where the young man had slept. They too were eventually forced from the burning building.
Once the fire was out they searched the ruins for the young man. They finally found him wrapped tightly in a blanket UNDER the bed where he slept. Apparently he heard the smoke alarm and became frightened. He wrapped himself in the only security he could find (his blanket) and hid from danger under his bed.
In a sad sort of irony, the very place he sought shelter became the place where this precious young man met death.
That story reminds me of the struggle each of us has on a daily basis. We are afraid. We worry. We are met with threats on one side or another. Sometimes those threats are physical ones from abusive parents, spouses or others. Sometimes those threats are emotional ones. Voices in our heads play the song over and over again. You won’t make it. It’s too much for you. You can’t go on this way. You are a failure, you’ve always been a failure, and you will always be a failure. Stop trying.
Other times the things we fear are of a spiritual or religious nature. Constant reminders of our sin. Continual references to our past. Demands that we try harder, have more faith, trust God more. They all weigh against us to the point where we simply don’t feel we can go another step or face another sunrise.
Then the words of the Psalmist ring clear. “He will conceal me when trouble comes.” Did you see that? Read it again. It doesn’t say he’ll keep us from troubles. He doesn’t promise we will be free of worry or fear. He does promise that the things that scare us, worry us or try to attack us will not be successful if we put our complete trust in Him.
Unlike the young lad in the story, we will be hidden in a safe place while the flames and smoke of life circle around us. That’s what grace is about. That’s what the Father’s love is about. Safety and hope in the midst of trials.
PRAYER: Father, in the midst of my fear and distress I ask that you would remind me that you will keep me safe. Hide me in your arms of mercy and grace. Envelop me in your love and keep me from fear of tomorrow or reminders of the past. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
But we must each wait our turn. Christ was the first to be raised to life, and his people will be raised to life when he returns. 1 Cor. 15:23 (CEV)
You see it all the time on television. A person in the service comes home and surprises a young son or daughter. The return was unexpected. It was a ‘someday in the future’ kind of thing. We see the other end too. We see spouses and children and tears and good-bye’s. We get a glimpse of the anguish when news comes that our loved one isn’t coming home.
What we don’t see, unless we are personally involved, is the in-between times. The times when a child or a spouse needs a hug or when a parent longs for their child to walk through the door. We don’t see the bills that keep coming, the local news that keeps happening, and the doctor visits that bring bad news. The struggles and pain that come from everyday life keep happening. The pain of growing up or growing old continues its relentless course. Pain that should be shared, but now, must be handled alone.
No one, except for those personally involved, really knows the struggle of family when we miss a service-person. We know (or hope) they’ll be back. We aren’t always sure when or how they will have changed, or how life will be different from when they left. But for the Christ-follower we have an idea.
Those who go away to war promise they will return. Sometimes those promises are true, sometimes not. All of us as parents make promises that we have every intention of fulfilling, yet because of life are unable to hold to.
Not so with Jesus. I imagine when the disciples watched Jesus disappear into the clouds they were like the crowds on the tarmac as the plane full of loved ones (not just troops, loved ones) pulls away. They anxiously awaited his return. It didn’t come of course. Not yet anyway. But like a spouse or a child or some other loved one we anxiously await his return.
He’s coming back you know. He said he would. And unlike the promises of those who hope to come back, he will. We don’t know when he will return. We just know he will. Period.
He didn’t promise there wouldn’t be times of loneliness and trials. He didn’t promise we’d be free of heartache. Jesus’ promises mean something because everything he promised so far has come true. Just like he said it would. Parents can’t or don’t always keep their promises for a variety of reasons. Jesus will always keep his!
PRAYER: Jesus. There are so many times I wish I could just see you, hold you, and to look into your eyes when I share my heart. Like a lonely child who misses a parent I look forward to seeing you return. Until then, please help me cope with the fear and pain and loneliness I endure here on earth. I miss you. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 