Something Better for Us

Posted on September 18, 2019 by Pete

What they did, they did because of faith. How they performed was the fruit of believing what was promised. How they responded to their life’s circumstance, based on what they reckoned to be true concerning their life’s future. What they lived for, a function of what they longed for.

. . . of whom the world was not worthy . . . (Hebrews 11:38a ESV)

You just have to sit back and pause after reading Hebrews 11. To put aside a few moments and allow your eyes to scan again the page and take note of the who’s who of redemption’s story–the pillars of faith upon which our faith is built. To take note again of the tales of heroism, sacrifice, and endurance. And all but for a promise that they never received. A land they never truly inhabited. A rest they never fully found. A Messiah who was never really, clearly identified, much less actually seen.

However, what they did know, what they had received, was enough for them to look forward to a better city (11:10), desire a better country (11:16), pursue a better reward (11:26), so that they might “rise again to a better life” (11:35). Of whom the world was not worthy.

But these inductees to Faith’s Hall of Fame lived on the other side of the cross. The side of types that pointed to something they couldn’t imagine. Navigating life in the shadows of a sacrifice to end all sacrifices; a way into the holy of holies that would forever rend the barricading curtain; a Priest who would forever mediate a perfect peace with God; and a priesthood, of which they would be part, that would forever congregate, unstained and unashamed, before the throne of God. They lived in the shadow of the cross.

We, however, live in the full glory of the cross. Thus, there is something better for us.

And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

(Hebrews 11:39-40 ESV)

They looked forward to what the types and shadows sought to speak of. We look back on an empty tomb and hear afresh the cry, “It is finished!” They saw the cloud descend upon the tabernacle and wondered at the manner of glory that dwelt under the cherub’s wings. We know of the Son who came down–Immanuel, God with us–and have beheld His glory, making a way for us to boldly enter before God’s glorious throne of grace. They encountered the power in their pilgrimage through the desert. We are indwelt by the Power as we sojourn to our destination. They waited and anticipated the Messiah who was to reign, we remember Jesus who conquered sin and death, ascended on high, and is soon to return with ruling majesty and power.

As inspiring as these OT saints are, God has provided something better for us.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

(Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV)

Look to Jesus! Something better for us.

Let us, anew, rejoice in His amazing grace!

Let us, by faith, continue to live for His all-deserving glory!

Amen?

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An Optical Conviction

Posted on September 17, 2019 by Pete

I’m no Greek scholar. Not even close. But I do know how to use a lexicon and look up a number associated with an English word which points to someone else’s expertise on how to understand it in the original language. And I think I know enough that when a Greek word is used but once in the New Testament, it’s probably a pretty special word. That of all the words that could have been used, the Spirit moves the author to choose one unlike any other. That though it may be translated into English the same way as other words, at its core it’s unique, having a particular quality, and thus carrying a particular weight.

Found one of those words this morning.

By faith [Moses] left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.

(Hebrews 11:27 ESV)

Moses endured. That’s the word, endured.

Whether you understand this as Moses’ first departure from Egypt (based on the chronology of Hebrews 11), or his second (because the first time, it’s argued, he did leave in fear), what’s emphasized here is that Moses endured.

And the original word translated endure, kartereo, is only found here. A one of. Uniquely chosen. After leaving Egypt, Moses remained steadfast, in a particularly steadfast way. He stayed strong, in the strongest sense. He persevered with patience, with the most persevering of patience. Kept right on going (MSG, NLT), with a keeping that was uniquely compelling.

He ran the race. He fought the fight. Woke up every morning ready to give ‘er . . . regardless of yesterday’s reality or the coming day’s uncertainty. Though an easier way may have seemed to be beckoning, though an exit strategy may have started to form, Moses would keep on keepin’ on–and that, because of faith and what he was able to see with the eyes of faith.

. . . seeing Him who is invisible.

Moses saw God by faith. And it wasn’t some self-deceiving, cloudy figment of his imagination, but the God convincing, concrete foundation of divine revelation. Moses, by faith, saw Him who is invisible.

And isn’t that the nature of faith? Not some optical illusion, but an optical conviction.

We walk by something better than sight, we walk by faith (2Cor. 5:7). Setting our minds on things above (Col. 3:2), we the see things which are from above. Anticipating the glory to come, we behold the glory as though it were already here.

We look not to things that are seen, but to those things unseen, and that which is eternal comes into focus (2Cor. 4:18). Even though what we see now we “see in a mirror dimly” (1Cor. 13:12a), our anticipation of one day seeing face to face results in us beholding, even now, Him who is invisible.

Faith giving us an optical conviction. And what we see resulting in an almost unexplainable endurance–so much so that it needs it’s own unique word.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.

Hellen H. Lemmel, 1922

By His grace. For His glory.

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Blessed Assurance

Posted on September 13, 2019 by Pete

Hovering over the first part of Hebrews 11. What a glorious chapter. What a grounding chapter. A soul-stirring reminder that, when all is said and done, we walk by faith and not by sight.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1 ESV)

Not gonna lie, still prefer the good old King James on this one, that faith is the substance of what we hope for. It is the secret sauce which makes the unseen seen, the intangible tangible, the theoretical practical, that which many think is but “pie in the sky” the foundation for life on earth. The CSB says that faith is the reality. Peterson, in The Message, that it is the fundamental fact of existence. Faith is the assurance. The blessed assurance!

For by faith things happen. By faith Enoch was taken up, a testimony for the ages of God’s power over death and the hope of those who walk in a manner that pleases Him (11:5). By faith Sarah received power to conceive a child though way past the age of conceiving. A witness to God’s power over life and His faithfulness to those who trust in His promises (11:11-12).

And by faith things get done. Belief translating into behavior. By faith Abel offered to God an acceptable sacrifice (11:4). By faith Noah constructed an ark (11:7). And, by faith Abraham obeyed and went to live in a place that God would show him–not knowing where he was going (11:8).

Spoken promises resulting in concrete actions. Invisible hope yielding a visible reality. And all because of faith.

That’s just how the people of God roll.

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6 ESV)

Because we believe, we draw near to God and seek Him. Because He exists, He rewards. Faith being the substantive dynamic which brings it all together.

That’s why the gospel is the power of God for salvation–because it is “from faith for faith” and so, those declared righteous in Christ live by faith (Rom. 1:16-17).

God’s faithfulness known through our faith.

And so, faith is what keeps us keepin’ on. Truly the substance of what we anticipate. The blessed assurance of what we hope for.

Because of grace. For His glory.

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Paradise

Posted on September 12, 2019 by Pete

It would have been cruel if not true. The worst thing that could have been spoken if, in fact, it wasn’t the best. Only adding to the suffering, if it had no substance.

And he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And He said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

(Luke 23:42-43 ESV)

They had just met but would end up spending the rest of their earthly lives together. Not much in common, save for their current circumstance, yet they would enter into an eternal relationship. Through the course of a brief conversation–and that as they both hung on a cross–a mere criminal and the magnificent Christ would soon walk together in a beautiful garden experiencing an indescribable communion.

Today you will be with Me in Paradise.

I’ve read those words before . . . many times. Very familiar with the story of the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus. Aware of many of the lessons implied through this brief encounter of the divine kind: that salvation doesn’t require baptism; that saving works can’t factor into a certain eternity as the thief had no opportunity to do anything but demonstrate saving faith; that while the body may sleep after death, the soul doesn’t–for “today” the thief would be aware of walking with the Savior in a land of bliss; that one thief was saved at the eleventh hour so that none may despair, but that only one was saved so that none might presume; and that what makes Paradise paradise is being up close and personal with Jesus.

But this morning those words, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise” hits me like a ton of bricks. A ton of wonder-invoking, awe-infusing, worship-resulting bricks.

Not just because of the grace shown, but also because of the place to be known. Paradise.

Only mentioned three times in the New Testament. The place where Paul was taken up to, also referred to as the third heaven, where he was tutored one-on-one by the risen Savior who had commissioned him, hearing “inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter” (2Cor. 12:2-4). The Eden-like garden which is home to the tree of life, from which those who hold fast to their first love will be given to eat of fruit found only “in the Paradise of God.” And the place, where the thief awoke after death, with Christ. Absent from the body, but present with the Lord (2Cor. 5:6-8).

A last-minute mustard seed of faith sown, “Remember me when You come into your kingdom”, bears the eternal harvest of being forever in the presence of God.

What amazing grace. What unfathomable, unbounded, undeserved grace.

What assurance of faith. That the finished work of the cross is fully sufficient to secure my place in His kingdom.

What unwavering hope. That though death separates us from the places and people of this world, we will always be with the Lord (1Thess. 4:17).

What steadfast love. That He who bought me with His blood, desires to be with Me as His bride.

Paradise. What will it be like? I can only imagine.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Remedy for a Deluded Heart

Posted on September 11, 2019 by Pete

Crazy! That’s what it is. Isaiah doesn’t use the word, but that’s kind of what he’s saying. Crazy!

Give your head a shake, man! The same tree that you cut down and burn for fuel, you also fashion into a god and worship. Half you burn in the fire, and the other half, before it you fall. What you don’t deliver to become ashes you design as an idol, and to it you cry, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”

How does that make any sense at all? How does the inanimate have such rule over a living being fashioned in the image of the living God? Short answer: a deluded heart.

They know not, nor do they discern, for He has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

(Isaiah 44:19-20 ESV)

The sub-heading in my Bible says The Folly of Idolatry. How true.

It makes no sense. But what power the worship of gods that are no gods can have over the hearts and minds of people. How deep is the pit it baits. How firm a grip the trap it lures the undiscerning into. So that its victims essentially try and feed on ashes. Becoming prey beyond the ability to deliver themselves. A deluded heart having led them astray.

What a warning of the insidious allure and entanglement of idols in the lives of men and women. Those things that are pursued to such a degree that they command a person’s allegiance–as evident in their priorities and where their time, talents, and treasures are spent. Things that displace worship, sucking away the love and adoration intended for the only One worthy of our love and adoration. Things that harden the heart, making callous the spirit, deceptively saying, “This is life,” when, in fact, they are no life at all. Things that so consume the heart that, eventually, God gives the heart over to its fake gods (Rom. 1:24, 26, 28). The result? Eyes that are shut and cannot see. A heart that is hard, unable to understand.

A deluded heart. A deceiving heart. A heart that leads astray. Cheating both God and man of worship that is true worship. Offering meaningless counterfeits instead of a cause which is a true cause. Faking death as life and robbing those created for life of the life which is true life, life to the full.

So gripping the man, so enveloping the woman, that they cannot deliver themselves, unable to recognize that they are holding onto a lie.

But what idol worshipers are unable to do for themselves, the God worthy of worship is able to do for them. To bring sight to the blind. To bring clarity to the deceived. To remove the darkness and replace it with light.

And our part? Ours is to return to Him.

I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to Me, for I have redeemed you.

(Isaiah 44:22 ESV)

The remedy for a deluded heart? His redemption.

The way of escape of idolatry’s allure and entrapment? “Return to Me!”

By His grace. For His glory.

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Eagerly Waiting

Posted on September 10, 2019 by Pete

Pull together a group of believers, ask them to brainstorm what marks a Christian, and, I’m guessing, the answers will come flying pretty easily. Born again, forgiven, adopted, disciples, filled with the Spirit. Bought, blessed, and being made like Jesus. Declared righteous, being made righteous. Called holy, becoming holier. People of faith, hope, and love. Graced, gifted, and going to heaven. And the list would continue to build. But I’m wondering how quickly, or how predominantly, would come to mind that we should also be marked by being a people who live in anticipation? And not just waiting complacently for what’s next, but are eagerly waiting.

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him.

(Hebrews 9:27-28 ESV)

Jesus is coming again. He will appear a second time. Showing up on this earthly scene just as undeniably as He did the first time–to forever be a fact of history. Showing up, though, in a far grander, far more widespread manner. Not just being born in a small town in a small country having to rely on the testimony of those who were with Him to bear witness of Him. But coming “in the clouds” with such glory that “every eye will see Him” (Rev. 1:7). Coming so undeniably as Creator and King that every knee will bow before Him, “in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Php. 2:10).

The same Christ, whose first coming we remember frequently, will appear a second time, assuredly. Not to deal with the penalty and power of sin, but to save from the very presence of sin. To take His own home. To present His Bride to her Bridegroom.

And if we really believed what we say we believed, then wouldn’t we be marked as a people who are eagerly waiting?

Eagerly awaiting the “revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Cor. 1:7). Eagerly awaiting the finalization of our adoption as sons and daughters of God, “the redemption of our bodies” (Rom. 8:23-25). Eagerly awaiting “the hope of righteousness” (Gal. 5:5), the physical realization of being justified and declared holy–that is, actually standing in His holy presence. Eagerly awaiting stepping foot in the land of our true citizenship, heaven itself, from where we eagerly await “a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Php. 3:20).

We should be marked as a people who are eagerly waiting. People of expectation. People of anticipation. People who awake each morning, regardless of circumstance of situation, and whisper to ourselves, “Perhaps today!”

Oh, that God would make us such people. That the indwelling Spirit would, today, make tomorrow so real. That we would be so heavenly minded we couldn’t help but be of earthly good.

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure.

(1John 3:2-3 ESV)

We shall behold Him! We shall be like Him!

I can’t wait. How ’bout you?

Eagerly waiting . . . by His grace . . . for His glory.

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A Fish In Water

Posted on September 6, 2019 by Pete

When it’s all you’ve known, you can’t really appreciate how it might be any other way. It’s kind of like trying to explain water to a fish (if you could explain such things to a fish). All they’ve known is water. It’s what they were born into, what they breath, that in which they live. If a fish were able to cognitively process such stuff, you’d still have a pretty hard time explaining to them what it’s like to live on land and breath air. Not many reference points, really. It would be pretty hard for them to get it. Unless of course, you took them out of the water, tossed them onto the beach, and said try living now.

But why, you might ask, is he talking about explaining water to a fish? Did he not get enough sleep last night?

I’ve been reading again in Hebrews 8 this morning and noodling on the wonder of the new covenant.

For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. For He finds fault with them when He says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant . . . For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

(Hebrews 8:7-12 ESV)

The new covenant is the water to this fish seating in this chair. It’s what I was born again into. It’s all I have ever breathed since being brought into life from death. It’s the only way I’ve known to live as a child of God. Hard for me to really understand being “the people of God” any other way. Pretty hard for me to fully imagine what it was like to try and do life under the old covenant and honestly, I’m so used to being in water, that I almost never think about any other way of doing life, and life to the full.

What was it like to live under, “Obey and be blessed. Disobey and pay the price”? Don’t really know. Like I said, I was born again into the water of the new covenant.

I live and breath a reality dictated by an unconditional promised based on a once for all finished work which is sealed and sustained by an ever present Helper.

A Helper who puts God’s law into my mind, and writes His ways on my heart. All the while, reminding me that I have been adopted as His child forever. That God has purposed to be my God. And I, through no merit of my own, will be His people.

Because of His sovereign determination and His thoroughly, saving deliverance, while I may need instruction in fully understanding how to live in water, I don’t really need anyone to say to me, “Know the water’s Provider.” For because of the Spirit of God in me, I know the God who is Father, Son, and Spirit. Deep, deep within, I know Him, because of this water, this better covenant in which I live and breath.

Make sense?

Sure, I know what it is like to live outside of Christ, but that was in a state “alienated from the commonwealth of Israel,” a stranger to any covenant of promise, “having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12). But as long as I have been with God, ever since I’ve no longer been a stranger, it has always been under the new covenant, the better covenant mediated by a better High Priest enacted on better promises (Heb. 8:6). That’s the only way I’ve known life as a child of God.

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:13 ESV)

In Christ Jesus . . . that’s my water. That’s the spiritual ecosystem this fish swims in. One founded on a better promise, one made possible by a better sacrifice, one perpetuated by a better, and more reliable, active agency, the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Oh, what a salvation!

Let us breath deep of the water of His grace.

Let us keep swimming by the indwelling Power He has provided for His glory.

Amen?

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The True Tent

Posted on September 5, 2019 by Pete

Even in its best days, it was but a shadow. When the cloud descended upon it; when the pillar of fire hovered over it; when the wilderness soil beneath it became holy ground, it was still but a copy of something much, much greater.

This morning I’m chewing on three words in my reading in Hebrews 8. I’m noodling on the implications of the true tent.

Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a High Priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a Minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.

(Hebrews 8:1-2 ESV)

If you’re at all familiar with the book of Hebrews you know that its theme is: “Jesus is Better.” He is the better means by which God speaks in these last days (1:1-3). He is better than the angels (1:4). He is greater than Moses (3:3). What’s more, He is the better High Priest (4:14-15). And, He has become the better sacrifice (2:14-15, 7:27).

And if He is the better, than that which He is the better of is better too. A better salvation (2:3-4). A better rest (4:9-10). Part of a better covenant founded on better promises (8:6). Thus, making way for a better access to a better tabernacle, the true tent.

Thought it was conceived of God, commanded of God, and covered by God, for all the glory associated with the tabernacle in the wilderness, the tent was still “set up” by man. Though meticulously constructed according to God’s detailed instructions, it was still, ultimately, fashioned by man, borne by men from place to place, and assembled and disassembled by men. Thus, as good as it was, it wasn’t the better. Instead, it pointed to something better.

Though it was made with the finest materials this world had to offer, it was but an indicator of something that existed made of that which is out of this world. Though it housed the glory of God, the hem of His presence, it was but a foretaste of a better place where men and women would engage the very person of God Himself. Though it was accessible through the mediation of consecrated priests who could enter occasionally, it was just a whisper of the true tent whose High Priest has been set apart since before the foundation of the world, having a permanent place inside the tent. A place at the right hand of God’s majesty. A Mediator whose place is “in the holy places.”

The true tent–the place not set up by man, where the glory dwells perpetually and not just occasionally, where there ever lives a High Priest interceding on our behalf–is heaven. Unimaginable, unfathomable, heaven. The place where, more than just the presence of God is sensed, the very person of God is encountered (Rev. 4 & 5).

And because that’s where our better High Priest has gone, where He, even now, is preparing a place for us (Jn. 14:2), where He has promised to come and take us to be with Himself (Jn. 14:3), we anticipate one day entering also into the true tent. Something more than just the throne of grace we access by faith today (Heb. 4:16) through the active agency of the Spirit–as mind blowing as that thought is. But one day entering the true holy of holies where we will stand before the very throne upon which God is seated. And there, we shall behold Him.

What will that be like? I really don’t know.  I can only try to imagine the unimaginable.

But one day I will. The shadows and foretastes of what I do know today yielding to the realities of being in the true tent in a not so distant tomorrow.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Better Priest. Better Hope. Better Promise.

Posted on September 4, 2019 by Pete

You can’t blame the Hebrews who had doubts from having doubts. It’s understandable that some might be second guessing themselves. After all, it’s not like they were following popular opinion. Not as if they were staying within the theological camp of the prominent religious thought of the day. Not like they were maintaining status quo and weren’t rocking the boat a bit. So you can’t blame them if, when the going got tough, they thought about going back to the old ways.

How radical it was for those early Jewish believers to believe. While we can look back, today, and see how the dots connect between the Old and New Testaments, in their day there was no New Testament. Instead, they were re-wiring the Old. Making new connections. Connections which God Himself calls mysteries, things previously not revealed but brought to light by the Spirit through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.

Case in point, my reading today in Hebrews 7. A better priest. A better hope. A better promise.

Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? . . . not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God. And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, but this One was made a priest with an oath . . . This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.

(Hebrews 7:11-22 ESV)

Never did a priest serve at the altar who was from the tribe of Judah. What’s more, “in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests” (7:13-14). And yet, the claim concerning Jesus was that, not only was He a prophet and a king, but He was a priest as well. Shocking! Unheard of! Some would even say, “Blasphemy.” But not unprecedented.

Enter the order of Melchizedek (Gen. 14:18-20, Ps. 110:4). A priest not of Aaron. No evidence of parents. No trace of a genealogy. Having “neither beginning of days nor end of life” he was the hidden prototype of the Priest to come, the priest above all priests, the Son of God (Heb. 7:3). A priest on the basis of something more than “bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life.” A better priest.

And with that better priest, a better hope. A hope not based on a quid pro quo arrangement–you obey, you live; you sin, you die. A hope not founded in our best efforts, but in the better Priest’s once for all sacrifice. A hope not dependent on our righteousness, but secured through His righteousness–“a High Priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens” (7:26). A righteousness upon which we are declared righteous. His righteousness credited to our account. A better hope providing a better access into God’s holy presence, by which we can draw near to God.

And while the Levitical priesthood passed the baton from generation to generation according to birth, Jesus was commissioned a priest by oath. While the sons of Aaron received the holy garments from their fathers, Jesus became the holy covering for all according to the express purpose, will, and declaration of the Father–God above all. God who is unchanging. God whose word stands forever. God whose “Yes” is “Amen”. Thus, Jesus is the guarantee of a better promise. An unfailing, bet-your-life-on-it promise.

A better Priest. A better hope. A better promise.

Radical. Inconceivable. A mystery now revealed. Received only by faith. Maintained only by faith, through the abiding testimony of the Spirit. Reason for a better form of worship . . .

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

(Romans 12:1 ESV)

By His grace. For His glory.

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My Story

Posted on September 3, 2019 by Pete

Chewing on some verses in Isaiah this morning.

So much I still don’t really understand of the prophet’s writings. So much to navigate. For example, what day is “in that day”? When is that day? What in the prophetic writing was for that time and what is for a future time? Or, even if that day has already happened, is it still yet to happen? Ugh! My head hurts.

But while I might not have all the dots connected, the patterns are pretty clear. God calls, the people refuse. God persistently warns, the people consistently ignore. God declares, “I will deal with your rebellion”, the people, in effect, respond, “Prove it.”

Also running through the prophet’s writings is the amazing, recurring theme of God’s sovereign determination to not only maintain a remnant but to, one day, win back His people. And so, the way of salvation is repeatedly declared to a people who won’t hear. And the promise of gracious intervention surfaces, again and again–the God of grace determined to do what must be done in order to bring people to their senses and back into relationship with Himself.

For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling . . . Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore He exalts Himself to show mercy to you. . . . And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide Himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” . . . Then you will defile your carved idols . . . You will scatter them as unclean things. You will say to them, “Be gone!”

(Isaiah 30:15, 18a, 20-22 ESV)

I read these verses and I think to myself, “Self, this is your story.”

How many times did I hear the way of salvation but was unwilling? Heard about repentance and returning and kept going my own way? Heard about resting in the finished work of Someone else and yet believed I’d make it based on my best efforts? Heard the Good News but responded, “I’ll do it my way”?

But God waits to be gracious. Patiently leverages opportunities to make Himself known–to exalt Himself–so I might be readied to receive the mercy He wants to show me. It’s His kindness that allows me to taste “the bread of adversity” and drink the “water of affliction” that I might be ready to respond when the Teacher lovingly reveals Himself to me. And having ears to hear–and that, by His gracious work alone–I’m able to detect that still, small voice of His Spirit whispering, “This is the way, walk in it.”

Not, “This is the entire plan for your whole life.” Not, “Here is each step, from now to the end, so that you might know what lies ahead.” Instead, “This is the way.” This is the general direction of the way–the way of the kingdom (Matt. 6:33), as revealed in My word. This is what will enable you to walk in the way–not your might, nor your power, but My Spirit (Zech. 4:6). This is the promise that will ensure you finish your sojourn in the way–that the work I’ve begun in you, I will finish (Php. 1:6). This is why, regardless of circumstance, you can believe the promise, and find the rest, that comes from the way–because of the death, burial, and resurrection, of My Son, your Savior (1Cor. 15:1-4, Rom 8:37-39).

And, in having ears to hear, and eyes to see, and a new heart able to receive, the idols that can so enslave me, the idols that continue to woo me, the idols that refuse to let go of me, by His grace and power, are deemed trash. And, to them I determine to say, “Be gone!”

And, in quietness and trust is my strength.

Yeah.  That’s kinda ‘ my story.

By His grace. For His glory.

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