Category Archives: submission

Undivided loyalty… to whom?

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This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down…. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.

(Jer 29.4&7)

.. the administrators.. tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”..[Daniel] went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened towards Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just has he had done before.

(Dan 6.4,5&10)

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favour when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.

(Eph 6.5-7)

The story of Daniel, the young man taken into exile and put to serve in the administration of the all-conquering Babylonian empire, is a most encouraging one for all who follow Jesus in these ‘in-between’ days. Our Lord will come again, and meantime, we are called to live as those in exile from their homeland, to live in a broken world, whose values are contrary to the kingdom to which we belong. Daniel personifies faithfulness to God, loyalty to the true king, in a foreign land. And Daniel’s faithfulness and loyalty do not take the form of isolation, or rejection of the community to which he has been brought. Neither does he spend his life trying to create rebellion, or undermining the regime which has brought destruction to his land.

Daniel recognises the hand of God in all that is happening – exile itself is the direct result of Israel’s chronic failure to keep the God’s covenant, and Daniel has faith and wisdom to discern the truth that God’s love and faithfulness to his people means that although exiled, they are by no means forgotten or abandoned. And so Daniel does exactly what God commanded the exiles – through Jeremiah the prophet – in committing themselves to seek the good of their new communities. To be loyal and obedient to God, as an exile, meant being the very best citizen of Babylon that he could be, serving with all his strength and integrity… and that without adopting the religion of Babylon, or letting anything else take God’s place as Lord.

Daniel shows us it can be done, that to faithfully follow our Lord as exiles means being fully committed to the welfare of our fellow human beings; putting all our resources to work in their service; being fully present in this broken world, while remaining entirely loyal to God. This calls for trust, that God is at work to fulfill his promises; it calls for discernment to know when to stand for God’s ways in the face of persecution – and then for courage to go on obeying God as Daniel did in continuing to pray when it had been prohibited by the king. May we have wisdom in our own lives to recognise those places where God’s authority in our lives is being undermined or challenged; may we have courage to stand firm in obedience and in loyalty to our God at those times. It is fascinating to see that Daniel and his fellow Israelites – Shadrach, Mesach and Abednego – didn’t go looking for fights, they had wisdom to know what really mattered, and then to stand firm – and how courteous and peaceful is their resistance!

But I also find it very encouraging to see that Daniel lived a fruitful and godly life as an exile, knowing and walking with God, enjoying his favour over long decades of service to pagan rulers. Daniel was able to witness to God down the years, to a succession of rulers, and only in glory will we discover just how many citizens of Babylon came to living faith in the God of Israel because of the testimony and life of his loyal servant. Isn’t that encouraging to us?! May God sustain our faith and keep us loyal to him in our own exile; may we also find that our service of God bears fruit in blessing those around us; and may we also continue faithful in prayer and dependence on the goodness of God from day to day.

Living with brokenness

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… I was given a thorn in my flesh… Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

(2Cor 12.7-10)

… I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

(Phil 4.12&13)

 When I am very weary with hard thought,
And yet the question burns and is not quenched,
My heart grows cool when to remembrance wrought
That thou who know’st the light-born answer sought
Know’st too the dark where the doubt lies entrenched –
Know’st with what seemings I am sore perplexed,
And that with thee I wait, nor needs my soul be vexed.
(George MacDonald: The Diary of an Old Soul, 1905)

Where does it come from, the dangerous and deeply ingrained fallacy which tells us that we are somehow entitled to a life free from pain, disability, mental ill health, relationship stress or breakdown? Any gospel message which tries to convince believers that God intends to make their lives and bodies better in every way on this side of glory, is a lie, and should be robustly challenged. I find the apostle Paul’s experience in this regard extremely encouraging! The great man experienced a very challenging health problem, one which he was convinced God could remove, but instead, God asked Paul to accept this weakness, even to embrace it. And, even as Jesus had done in Gethsemane, Paul said, “not my will, but yours be done”. He models for me what it looks like to come to terms with the particular limitations – of whatever kind – I am called to accept in my life. He accepts, and then chooses to rejoice in the very weakness which he has deplored, because now he sees how God is being glorified through it.

To accept our weaknesses, whatever they are, as God’s appointed calling and then to expect to see him at work through them, is not in any way to deny God’s power to miraculously heal, transform and change any situation. But, it is to come to the proper attitude of submission to a sovereign and almighty God. I am in no position to dictate to God just what is right and best for my life. God is good, all the time and He can deliver his children. When He chooses not to, He is still God and still good, and I am called to trust that he can and will use my weakness, my open wound, for his glory.

I am coming to terms with what I might describe as a faith-wound, a profound weakness which often causes me to stumble and suffer. I have long prayed for deliverance and healing, and what happens is that over and over again, my God strengthens me, and displays his power in my weakness, so that I continue in faith and perseverance, but still wounded.

I want to live with my wounds in humility and acceptance – since God is in NO WAY limited in His work in and through my life by the burdens which He calls me to bear. I am no less equipped for my calling by illness, incapacity, any kind of brokenness, than others who do not share my own particular issues. The glory is all His, because in my weakness, He is strong! If I truly long to exalt God, and to do his will, then I must accept the place and method which he appoints.

Heavenly Father, I praise you because you are good, eternally good, and your love for me is trustworthy. Thank you for helping me to accept the weakness which you call me to bear for your glory. Thank you for all the soul-medicines which you provide to enable me to live with this ailment, and for your faithful keeping of me through pain and turmoil. Thank you that I can offer up my struggles and grief as my sacrifice of praise, and that you use these according to your will and for your glory.

Thank you most of all that I can bear witness that you never leave me alone in my suffering, I am never abandoned to the darkness or imprisoned in silence. In Jesus, I am always in your presence; always gently held; always deeply loved; always completely forgiven. Thank you. Amen

 

 

 

 

Turning and re-turning..

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Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season…

(Ps 1.1-3)

…the word of God came to John.. He went through all the region of the Jordan, announcing a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. This is what is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

‘A voice shouting in the wilderness: get ready a path for the Lord, make the roads straight for him! Every valley shall be filled in, and every mountain and hill shall be flattened, the twisted paths will be straightened out, and the rough roads smoothed off, and all that lives shall see God’s rescue.’

‘You brood of  vipers,’ John used to say to the crowds.. ‘Who told you to escape from God’s coming anger? You’d better prove your repentance by bearing the proper fruit! Don’t start saying to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father”; let me tell you, God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! The axe is already standing by the roots of the tree – so every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.’

(Lk 3.2-9, NT Wright translation, 2001)

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work….

(Col 1.9&10)

The words of John the Baptist to his intrigued audience are brutal – he doesn’t congratulate them for coming, but rather castigates them! His mission is to alert the nation of Israel to its desperate need for change – and not merely a political or social change, but a radical heart-transformation which would see them ready to enter into the kingdom of God. John is warning a people steeped in religious tradition that mere ethnic or nominal ‘belonging’ to the children of Abraham would mean nothing, giving no protection from the judgement which will surely come.

John is not saying anything new, but echoing the prophets who had gone before – telling the people over and over that unless they lived out their faith, embracing their calling to be a light to the nations by letting God’s word transform their lives, then they could not expect the receive the blessings of God’s promises.. lip service counts for nothing; going through the motions of ritual observance is fruitless when the heart is far from God.

It takes little imagination to see how this warning continues to apply to God’s people today… the mere fact of having been baptised is meaningless, unless our lives bear the marks of being submitted to God’s word. Having Christian parents guarantees nothing until the child embraces Christ as Lord for themselves in due time, and bears fruit – in turning away from sin, and turning towards God, a continual reorientation throughout their life. Even scrupulous observance of spiritual habits may cloak a heart and mind which remain wedded to the values of the world – remember the rich young man to whom the call to put Jesus before his wealth proved an impossibility?

What am I prioritising ahead of Jesus? What do I hug to myself jealously, fearful lest God should challenge me to set it aside? If John were to come to me today, what would he point out that is hindering my obedience to Jesus, and holding me back from bearing fruit?

Heavenly Father, I confess again that my heart is deceitful and that I need your Spirit to reveal to me my secret sins, my pride, my complacency.  I confess that personal comfort and social acceptance are precious to me.

I desire to bear fruit which will demonstrate your power at work to transform my life; I desire to honour Jesus and glorify him.

May your power work in me to keep me flexible, keeping me sensitive to sin and eager to turn away from it in repentance. Thank you that your power is at work in me to make me fruitful; help me to persevere and to keep re-turning to you in devotion and thankful dependence. For Jesus’ sake I pray, Amen.

Ordinary people, with an extraordinary God!

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Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent… Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?” Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord?”

(Gen 18.10-14)

The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” “Alas, Sovereign Lord”, I said, “I do not know how to speak, I am too young.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young’. You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid.. for I am with you.”

(Jer 1.4-7)

The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa.. He said “The Lord roars from Zion and thunders from Jerusalem;”

(Am 1.1&2)

In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah.. his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God…. and they were both very old. Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense… Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him.. “Do not be afraid Zechariah, your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you.. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God”

(Lk 1.5-11,13&16)

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled”….. Elizabeth exclaimed.. “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

(Lk 1.38&45)

‘I’m only..’; ‘I couldn’t….’; ‘what use would I be?’ Perhaps you can identify with these phrases, perhaps like me, they spring often to your lips or mind? Today, I stood with others to watch athletes taking part in a 10km race, full of admiration for the strength and stamina on display, and well aware that I can’t do that. I read or hear of people who are incredibly creative, producing works of art, or wonderful crafts, and my own abilities become insignificant by comparison. I am not particularly clever or witty; I am unable to sustain a reasoned argument in theology or anything else; I am illogical and sentimental; I am almost allergic to adrenaline except in a very few circumstances and thus avoid risk at all costs! What use can I be to God?!

How encouraging then to be reminded, in the words of scholar NT Wright, that

“God regularly works through ordinary people, doing what they normally do, who with a mixture of half-faith and devotion are holding themselves ready for whatever God has in mind.” (Luke for Everyone; SPCK, London;2001)

Sarah thought she was too old; Jeremiah thought he was too young; Amos was a shepherd, not a trained theologian or speaker; Zechariah and Elizabeth also felt rather past it for child-rearing; and Mary, the mother-to-be, wasn’t even married! Each one was met by God, met with strength and enabling as they stepped forward into God’s calling on their lives. Each one found that the God who had called all things into being, whose cosmic plans for salvation and transformation reached across the centuries, yet knew their hearts, their fears and doubts, and said ‘Is anything too hard for me?’

In their, and our weakness, God’s strength and wisdom are displayed. In their, and our obedience (however doubting and hesitant), God’s purposes are fulfilled both for us personally and for his greater glory. Our God has not changed; and thus we may expect that as we make ourselves available – just as Mary did (although possibly more in the incredulous spirit of Sarah or Zechariah!) – so our God will glorify himself and bless us as we persevere in dogged, dutiful, devotion.

Heavenly Father, thank you that so many times you have worked through the small people, the insignificant people, unseen by the world because they are just ‘ordinary’. Thank you, that you are the Extraordinary God, whose power is seen so fully when we surrender ourselves to your bidding, and choose to make your will our delight. Thank you for the empowering of your Spirit within, which makes us able and willing to live for you in this way. Let awareness of my own weakness never stand in the way of obedience to your call, but let me say, like Mary, “May your word to me be fulfilled.” For Jesus sake, Amen.

 

 

When I feel so useless..

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Declare what is to be, present it – let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Saviour; there is none but me…

“Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all you who remain of the house of Israel, you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and  carried since your birth. Even to your old age and grey hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. 

I am God, and there is no other; I am God and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please… What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do… I will grant salvation to Zion, my splendour to Israel.

(Is 45.21; 46.3&4,9&10,13)

“When [our plans] are interrupted, his are not. His plans are proceeding exactly as scheduled, moving us always (including those minutes or hours or years which seem most useless, or wasted, or unendurable).” (Elisabeth Elliot; 1926-2015)

The sun is splitting the skies, the birds are singing and there is a tangible excitement as spring dances on the edge of our days, with so much light and colour and the promise of more to come.

And I am unwell; confined to the house; moving stiff and carefully; sleeping badly and feeling as though my world has contracted to a tiny space. What will I do with this challenge? Last week, I wrote that our speech and actions should not be determined by our circumstances… and now I am labouring to prove the strength of the Lord in pursuing patience, gentleness and acceptance of his plan for these days.

Such situations are always a good exercise in recognising how our ego likes to continually add up ‘worth-points’, totting up every activity on some invisible register which somehow makes me significant or valued by God. It is humbling when – as now – there is nothing to add up! Will I accept that for the moment, my Lord asks me to embrace inactivity, weakness and discomfort, and in and through those things, to find ways to praise him? There is so much to be thankful for; will I poison those good things by resenting what God has chosen to withhold? And surely that would show clearly that I value the gifts much more than their giver..

So often in these situations, I go to Elisabeth Elliot’s strong spiritual sense – she never pretended to anyone that being a Christian would be a bed of roses, and her uncompromising words brace me, showing me the truth – that my furious rejection of this season of illness is simply a tantrum of self, and a refusal to trust that God is good, and has a right to do as he pleases with his creation. I am not indispensable, and I am loved, saved and accepted not because of what I do, but because of Jesus’ love and death for me.

I have been brought into relationship with the God of creation, the Almighty and eternal One in order that I might share in his great purposes for the kingdom of Jesus. Do I believe that He will complete what He has begun? If I do, then my own part – anything which I can do is a privilege and not a means of earning my place – is entirely up to God to direct, and certainly not up to me to dictate! Pride and self-importance have no place in this relationship, all comes to me as God’s free and loving gift. The challenging and austere words of William Law show me how I can truly glorify the Lord in the trials of this time.. and also show me how very far I am from that state of highest faith and deepest trust.. may the Lord have mercy and sustain me to glorify him in whatever he may decree should lie ahead.

“Receive every inward and outward trouble, every disappointment, pain, uneasiness, temptation, darkness and desolation, with both thy hands, as a true opportunity and a blessed occasion of dying to self, and entering into a fuller relationship with thy self-denying and suffering saviour.

Look at no inward or outward trouble in any other view, reject every other thought about it: and then every kind of trial and distress will become the blessed day of thy prosperity. That state is best, which exerciseth the highest faith in, and fullest resignation to God.” (William Law; 1686-1761)

A prayer for the new year…

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Then Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. There is no-one holy like the Lord; there is no-one besides you’ there is no Rock like our God.”

(1Sam 2.1&2)

Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them. The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. I open my mouth and pant, longing for your commands.

Turn to me and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love your name. Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me. Redeem me from the oppression of men, that I may obey your precepts.

Make your face shine upon your servant and teach me your decrees. Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed.

(Ps 119.129-136)

“I am the Lord’s servant, ” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.”

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation..”

(Lk 1.38,46,47&50)

I am a child of God. I am a beloved daughter of the King of Kings, and my place in his love, my inheritance, is assured to me. The death and resurrection of Jesus has broken the power which bound me in rebellion against God, and now I am learning what it is to fulfill my calling, my vocation, as one who – in loving and worshipping God – is able to care for the world which He created for us to cherish, and to love people in his name. I am one in the great kingdom of priests, a divine image-bearer to a lost humanity and bearer of good news – the hope which is ours in Christ Jesus. I am slowly becoming fully human, even as Jesus is!

What an amazing and encouraging way to face a new year, with all its unknowns. I have meaning and purpose, I am absolutely secure in the love of God himself, I am fully known and totally accepted. I echo the words of Hannah and Mary, women who trusted God and praised him, not waiting for the fulfilment of their prayers. My soul rejoices in God, my Saviour; there is no Rock like my God!

Almighty God, rock and refuge of your people down the generations, and our deliverer from all that would keep us in exile, far from you and unable to fulfil our calling, I praise you today. I thank you for the revelation of your nature, of the divine purpose to which we are called, and for your great act of salvation by which we are restored and set free to love  and serve you in your creation.

Lord God, I pray with the psalmist for your mercy, that I might receive your direction for my life and not be swayed by the opinions of those who do not know you. I pray that I might be useful to you, in honouring you and serving your people. Grant me an ever greater love for others, that I might be available to them in your name. Grant me your wisdom in speech, in action, in prayer.

Thank you for those divine encounters, when you have used me to bless others in your name, to be light and hope and help. Lord, in your mercy, grant that I may continue to serve you in this way, not shying away but opening my heart to those in need. Let me trust that a passing word, or smile may be enough, and grant me faith to leave them in your hands as I go.

I pray today for those whom I have left behind in 2023 – those encountered in passing, and also those from whose lives I have been withdrawn – by your will and to my sorrow. Lord God, have mercy on us all in our vulnerability, sustain us through loss and change. I pray for those I will meet in 2024, those who will be encountered in passing, and those into whose lives I will be drawn. Lord God, may I be a blessing, never a curse or a barrier to faith and obedient living. 

Father, I confess my lack of love, my disinclination for hard tasks, my fretfulness and so many things that make me hard to live with. Thank you, that in Jesus I am forgiven. I pray that those who suffer by my faults and neglect might, by your grace, be strengthened and healed. May I meet them with humility and love, seeking to give and not to receive.

Loving Lord Jesus, I pray for those who hurt me. May I meet them with love, may I forgive as often as I remember the hurt, and  so obey your command and live as you lived. Let the hurts which others inflict on me only drive me deeper into your love, and make me ever more tender-hearted.

I am your creation, and re-creation. I am your handiwork, to be used for your glory in any way you choose. Let me accept and rejoice in your directing of my ways, even when I find them painful, or tedious, even when they appear to me pointless. Keep me teachable, humble and responsive, and may I find that in the quiet tasks of daily life, you are present and I can live for you there. 

Let me become more and more like Jesus, more fully human, more worshipful and eager to obey your will and to minister your love. Be glorified in me, through my Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

A daily, hourly decision…

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“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven… Anyone who loves their father or mother… their son or daughter, more than me, is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

(Matt 10.32,37&38)

[Jesus]  told them what they could expect for themselves: “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat – I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self.

(Lk 9.23&24, The Message)

Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honour the one who serves me. Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour?’ No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”

(Jn 12.26-28)

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

(Heb 12.2&3)

When the will of God crosses the will of man, somebody has to die.

(Addison Leitch , quoted by Elisabeth Elliott in Passion and Purity, 2nd edition, 2014)

What does it mean to walk in ‘the way of the Cross?’ It is no uncharted road, although for each of us the particular features of the landscape through which we walk might be different. It is a road clearly marked out for us by Jesus, and the only way in which to truly live as one who has crowned Christ as Lord in their heart. It is a path which requires us continually to say – with Jesus – ‘Father, your will be done, not mine. Glorify your name in my life.’

To walk in the way of the Cross is to admit before God that my own desires are tainted and unreliable as a guide, that sin has cut me off from right-thinking and choosing, that I cannot trust myself to see what is good and what is evil. It is to return to the choices in Eden, and instead of stretching out my hand to take what is forbidden, I put my hand into God’s hand and ask his help to accept his definitions of good and evil.

If Christ died to save me, so that I can live in God’s love for ever, then surely I am motivated to surrender to his Lordship in all of my life. It is both a sacrifice of self and a joyful offering of my desires and will to God, as I learn to put His will first and centre.  Unwillingness to surrender will indicate those places in my life where I am denying Christ’s authority, and failing to trust in his love and goodness. Is Christ Lord of my budget? Is He Lord of my affections? Is He more precious to me than ambition or a good reputation and popularity in my community?

As we grow in faith and maturity as believers, God shapes our desires and wills, and we become increasingly like Christ. Many of our decisions and actions are good and just, and we are living gracious, God-honouring lives. But there will always be more to let go, and fresh occasions for surrender. As we keep focussing on Christ and his resolution to submit entirely to God’s will, do God’s work and seek God’s glory, we can be encouraged. It was not easy for our Lord,  so he understands how we struggle and shrink from the pain that God’s will for us may entail.  He also shows us that there is joy in such costly obedience and an eternal reward to be enjoyed. 

Friends, let us pray for grace to discern where self is masquerading as wisdom, prudence and even kindness to others, so that we may follow Christ to the place of surrender and reject our wills where they contradict God. Let us pray for strength to endure, and faith to motivate our daily choices – believing that when God says this is best, he can be trusted…

The Scottish minister, George Matheson, wrote of this paradox of losing one’s life to find it in this classic hymn of dependence and commitment:

Make me a captive, Lord, and then I shall be free.
Force me to render up my sword and I shall conqueror be.
I sink in life’s alarms when by myself I stand;
Imprison me within thine arms, and strong shall be my hand.

My will is not my own till thou hast made it thine;
If it would reach a monarch’s throne, it must its crown resign.
It only stands unbent amid the clashing strife
When on thy bosom it has leant, and found in thee its life.

(George Matheson 1842-1906)

For all the saints…

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Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.

Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding. The father of a righteous child has great joy; he who has a wise child delights in them. May your father and mother be glad; may she who gave you birth rejoice.

(Prov 17.6 & 23.22-25)

For none of us lives for ourselves alone and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

(Rom 14.7&8)

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

Endure hardship as discipline.. God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

(Heb 11.39-12.2 & 12.7,10&11)

Ten years ago this week, my mother died. It will be fifteen years this spring since my father died. Gone, almost as if they had never been. Their house is owned by another, and their belonging largely gone. There are no monuments or trust funds in their names, no awards or philanthropic projects to perpetuate their memory. There are three adult children and four grandchildren – the latter with very patchy memories of the grandparents who died while they were still young.

And yet, I know that because my parents were christians, followers of Jesus, they live. I know that they died in full assurance of their future resurrection, and that one day I will join with them and all the other dear departed saints as we rejoice with the Lamb at the great marriage banquet in glory.

They left family members in whom their genes are perpetuated – traits of character and shared physical attributes. But they also left a legacy of loving service and investment in the kingdom which will only be fully appreciated when the Lord comes to make all things new and to reveal what He is working by his Spirit in and through us.

They left a legacy in our lives, a priceless  model of faithful living. They weren’t perfect, and we saw the struggles from the inside. They faced many challenges, and we saw how at times they were near overwhelmed. BUT we also saw how they lived in dependence on Jesus, the saviour who had won both their hearts in early adulthood, and who remained Lord of their lives through all that followed. They showed us that God’s discipline was worth enduring, and his wisdom worth treasuring more than all that this world can offer us. I was and remain so very proud of my parents, so thankful for their lives and all they taught us. I want to be that kind of parent to my own children, and pray to be a blessing and not a stumbling block to them.

The last gift that both mother and father gave us was the acceptance of God’s timing and manner of dealing with them at the end of their lives. They completely submitted themselves to the Lord, reckoning death as nothing to fear, but something to be preparing for in faith and trust. There was no complaining, no “why me, why now?” And this has left me with a great peace and acceptance in my turn that my Lord knew what he was about – I was not somehow deprived of something I needed by their deaths.

In life, as in facing death, their desire was to glorify their Saviour. It is my prayer that I too might do this, to emulate all those dear saints who have gone before in trust and obedience. My best tribute to my own parents is to follow their example, to live for and die with my Lord. May he give me grace to serve him in this way, for his glory and my blessing. Amen.

On being set aside…

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“The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”

(Job 1.21)

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you… for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

 (Phil 4.9, 11-13)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God… Endure hardship as discipline… God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees!

(Heb 12.1,2,7,10-12)

The missionary Amy Carmichael wrote, ‘in acceptance lieth peace’, and surely this is the key to those seasons in our lives when all our plans are thrown askew by unplanned interruptions, and especially when through illness or accident, we are left by the side of the journey of life to watch and be waited on by others, wondering what our purpose is and fretting over those tasks undone.

The intellect may have assented to the proposition that my health, talents and productivity are all surrendered to God, to do with as suits his divine purpose. But when I am called to live out that surrender with a quiet heart and a cheerful face, the reality can be quite different. How can it be that God wants to suspend my useful activities? How can it help his purposes for me to be unable to labour with the talents he has given? It is extremely tempting to believe that without my particular input, nothing can usefully be achieved, and that somehow, by my inactivity, I am failing God, my neighbours, and his kingdom-building work.

All of these thoughts demonstrate that I haven’t really understood and accepted just what it means to fully surrender all that I am and have to God, to be used as he sees fit. If the Creator and Lord of all wishes to lay me aside for a season – whether long, or short – that is his business, and mine is to accept his decision, to look for his lessons for me in this time, and to expect that he has things for me to learn and do even in this unwelcome inactivity. Some of God’s most productive saints have been those who have embraced his unexpected, apparently limiting, plan for their lives – consider Joni Eareckson Tada, wheelchair bound and crippled for life, who has been enabled to minister to hundreds of thousands of people, sharing the love of Christ through her weakness.

Perhaps I need to learn to be served, to embrace the humility of asking for assistance and graciously waiting until someone is able to give it. Perhaps I need to learn again that I am not the only person who can do my tasks, or that they are not quite so important as I like to pretend they are. My true worth lies not in how significant my labours are, but in my Lord’s love and sacrificial death for me. If I were to be laid aside for the rest of my life from active service, yet I know that his love and delight in me would be undiminished.

Perhaps I need also to learn a deeper sympathy and compassion for those who are truly limited in their activity – the long-term housebound, those with life-limiting conditions. Lord, let me take to heart the frustrations, losses and narrowed opportunities which are mine in these days, so that I might be more sensitive and imaginatively loving to those who are denied so much all their days.

Above all, perhaps I can live more slowly and deliberately, willing to be quiet and still, to truly see the beauty around me, the good things with which I am so well supplied, and to be profoundly thankful as I consider from whom all has come.

May I accept this discipline from my Lord with grace and cheerfulness; trusting that as he has called me to it, so he will give me the strength to bear it with a stout heart and in hope that it will not be wasted. May I look for and learn the lessons he has for me in it, that I may come through stronger in faith, and more able to serve, glorify and love him in the days ahead. As the clouds of heavenly witnesses testify with glad shouts to the faithfulness of the Lord, may I be encouraged to prove for myself by obedient acceptance, that he is indeed worthy to be praised.

Purpose and expectancy

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Caleb son of Jephunneh said to Joshua.. “Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years.. while Israel moved about in the desert. So here I am today, eighty five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”

(Jos 14.6,10-12)

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”

(Ps 92.12-15)

I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as ever Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me..

(Phil 1.20-22)

Do you sometimes struggle to believe that there is still purpose in your life? That sounds rather dramatic, but is perhaps a more common thought than folk like to admit. A change in our circumstances can leave a sense of dislocation, emptiness, and often intense weariness of life, so that we long for our heavenly home as a means of escape. 

And yet Paul, writing from prison was eager and willing to continue in his mortal life, as God willed, anticipating fruitful and purpose-filled days. If I am still here, it is because the Lord has something for me to do, or to bear in such a way that Christ will be exalted – honoured and glorified both by human onlookers, and also the spiritual realm. Job’s continued faith and submission to God under excruciating loss and agony brought great honour in the courts of heaven, and we are assured that all who follow that example of fidelity and trust are welcomed home with the words “Well done, good and faithful servant, come and share your master’s happiness!”.

Whether it is advancing years, physical challenges and limitations, or other devastations which are leaving us feeling useless and worthless, we can learn much from what we read in the bible about purposeful perseverance. 

Caleb is a glorious example of a man who – after 45 years of waiting and what may have seemed pointless persistence – finally came into his inheritance. He claimed a promise from long ago, and not only that, he acted by faith in the God who promised, to enable him to take full and peaceful possession of that inheritance. He didn’t let his age restrict his expectations – he looked to the God who had made the promises and said, “Yes! we can do this!” Caleb encourages me to go on asking God to fulfil his word, not growing bitter over perceived delays, and willing to put my effort where my faith claims to be – in doing the work which is involved as God leads me. 

The psalmist speaks of those who grow into old age like trees rooted in a place of fertility and security. Their nourishment comes from the Lord, faith flowing through them to keep them hope-filled and expectant, bearing fruit in good deeds, praise to God and service of others – praying, encouraging, testifying to God’s power, giving of time, talents and money as they are able. I am blessed to have many examples of such people in my life, and pray that as I grow older, I might grow sweeter, more wholesome, more Christ-centred and therefore more fruitful, even as they are!

I was pondering these things as I toiled up this hill, and thinking what a good example it was of how life can feel like a steep and challenging climb, with little rest in sight. How do we tackle such a challenge in a way that will exalt Christ?

I take small steps – I choose to do the next thing which the Lord has placed in my way, no matter how small it may seem, trusting that I will be led right.

I put my feet on the smoothest spot I can see – I ground all my living in the truths of God’s love and salvation, in his character. This is a solid and safe foundation from which I can live each day and face each challenge.

I don’t look to the top of the mountain! If I look too far ahead, I am overcome by the scale of the challenge, but if I look to each step as it comes, I keep moving on.

Father God, give me grace for each tiny step upwards, give me hope to keep on moving, and may peace in Christ be the solid ground under my feet. May Christ be exalted, Amen