My Right Hand . . . His Right Hand

Posted on January 14, 2016 by Pete

We know the sixteenth psalm is a messianic psalm. Both Peter and Paul provide Spirit-led divine commentary on portions of the song indicating that, beyond whatever David had intended in writing it, God determined that it should speak of His Son (Acts 2:25, 2:29-31, 13:35-38). The question then becomes, is there any part of this inspired song that I can take for myself? Though it is about Jesus, the perfect man, is there something for me, the imperfect man, for which He is my perfect example, to apply to my walk today?

Not that I would seek to supplant the Lord Jesus as the primary focus of all Scripture and, specifically, the Yes and Amen of this passage. But, to be honest, these days especially I’m listening more than ever for something from God which was written in “former days” for our instruction, “that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4). So while I know it’s about Him, I’m on the lookout for something to encourage me. And I think I found it as I’m led to consider my right hand and His right hand.

I have set the LORD always before me;
because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

(Psalm 16:8 ESV)

You make known to me the path of life;
in Your presence there is fullness of joy;
at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

(Psalm 16:11 ESV)

Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Because at His right hand there are pleasures forevermore, the path of life He has graciously made known to me will lead to fullness of joy.

As discussed last night in our men’s Bible study, mine is to set my mind on “the things of the Spirit” (Rom. 8:5). Mine is to not enter my day with eyes to the ground, but to look up, fixing my thoughts on things above, looking to the throne of heaven (Col. 3:20). “From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Ps. 121:1b-2).

As, by faith, I set Him before me so that He is at my right hand, I will not be moved, overthrown, or dislodged. Afflicted? Maybe. But not crushed. “. . . perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (1Cor. 4:8-9).

Whether I look to the suffering Savior who is able to sympathize with my weakness because He “in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15) . . . or look to the risen, exalted High Priest who is even now in the Father’s presence interceding for His own (Heb. 7:25) . . . or consider the soon to return King of Kings who will one day usher in a new day absent of sin and death’s destruction (Rev. 21:1-4) . . . or wait for the Good Shepherd who is even now preparing a place for His own that we might, one day, be where He is (John 14:1-3) . . . However I set Him before me, through His Spirit, I can know the LORD of heaven and earth at my right hand.  And in that, I will not be shaken.

And then, I need to ask my resident Illuminator to remind me of what is at His right hand. That He would set my eyes on the prize. That He would help me avert my gaze from the ground immediately in front of me and look down the path of life He has so wonderfully and graciously placed my feet upon. So that, in anticipating the joy of being in His presence on that day, I might know His presence even now and the joy that comes with it. That while the pleasures of that place are beyond imagination, even now I am in the palm of His hand and that, in and of itself, brings delights only experienced in the depths of my soul.

He at my right Hand. I at His.

Because of grace. For His glory.

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Who Gets Invited to Dinner?

Posted on January 13, 2016 by Pete

The songwriter opens his lyric with a question. Actually, with two questions. I think I’ve said it here before, but it’s true that good questions can open the door to important insights. Good questions, pursued thoughtfully and truthfully, have a way of clarifying reality. And so, imagining David looking upon the ark as it resides in its home at Jerusalem, his song starts with these questions,

O LORD, who shall sojourn in Your tent?
Who shall dwell on Your holy hill?

(Psalm 15:1 ESV)

God’s tent. The home of the ark. The place where the glory dwells. God’s house.

And where’s it located? Jerusalem, God’s holy hill.

So if that’s the place where God is to be found, if that’s the place where God is to be known, if that’s the place where God is to be communed with, then “who gets invited to dinner?” (MSG)

That’s the nature of the questions being asked. Who may “turn aside from the road” and lodge as a guest in the tent? And having been invited in for a meal, who then might hope to stay permanently, abiding, as a normative experience, where God is known?

He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart.

(Psalm 15:2 ESV)

That’s the short answer. Blameless walk. Does what is right. Truth in his heart. Not about talk, not even just about walk, but about thought as well–that’s what’s considered before someone knows the divine welcome of abiding in the presence of God.

And as I read through the rest of the psalm, while I’m not surprised that a holy, holy, holy God can only permit at His table people who are holy, I also realize afresh the impossibility of anyone meeting and sustaining those entrance requirements in and of themselves.

While I might walk in integrity a lot of the time, I know when my heart has failed me. While I might try to do what’s right, even if I think it’s most of the time, I confess that too often I’m prone to compromise. And then, start rummaging around in my heart, and that kind of seals the deal. If left to my own righteousness, who gets invited to dinner? Not me.

But what if I bear the holiness of Another? What if I am counted blameless, declared righteous, and spiritually re-wired to desire and know truth in my inner being? What if, beyond my account being credited with the perfection of Another, I’m also equipped to walk in a manner worthy of a such a calling? What if I have been enabled to participate in the divine nature through an indwelling Helper who brings with Him heaven-sent power? And what if when I fail–and to be sure I fail–provision has been made for that too?  That if I confess my sin He is faithful and just to forgive my sin through the once for all shedding of blood on my behalf?

So what if I meet the qualifications, because of Another?  What if the song describes me because of the gospel?

Then, who gets to rest in the tent? And who gets to commune at His table on the holy hill? Who gets invited to dinner?

I do!

By God’s grace. For God’s glory.

Let’s eat!

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When No One is Looking

Posted on January 12, 2016 by Pete

It was a one-on-one encounter of the divine kind. It happened at night. It happened when he was alone. And it happened when no one was looking.

I imagine there must have been chaos in the camp as Jacob prepared to meet Esau (Genesis 32:13-21). Esau, the brother whose birthright Jacob had extorted. Esau, the brother whose blessing Jacob had stolen. The brother who, last time Jacob saw him, was so mad he was ready to kill Jacob. This Esau, along with 400 of his closest fighting friends, was on his way to welcome Jacob home . . . or not. Jacob didn’t know what lay ahead. All he knew was that God had said, “Go home,” and that now he had a big crowd coming for dinner and that preparation had to be made. And I imagine it was pandemonium as Jacob tried to get everything ready.

Jacob the schemer is packaging up a multi-tiered offering for his brother. He’s culling out herds of livestock as a peace offering. He’s conscripting his most loyal, trustworthy and brave servants to drive the herds directly towards Esau & Co. He’s arranging and planning a multi-phased parade–wave after wave of gifts to appease the unknown disposition of an unknown brother.

Can anyone say, “Stressful!”

That’s what’s happening in the camp. That’s the activity that has everybody’s attention. But then something happens to Jacob when no one is looking.

And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.

(Genesis 32:24 ESV)

Jacob wrestled with God when no one was looking. And Jacob prevailed (v.28) when no one was looking.

God who knew what was going to happen the next day came down the night before and laid hold of Jacob. A hip was put out joint . . . a blessing was earnestly sought . . . a new name was given. And all this at night. All in the secret. All when no one was looking.

That’s often kind of how my God operates. I was reminded of that in another reading this morning . . .

“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”  ~ Jesus

(Matthew 6:6 ESV)

The Father “who is in secret” rewards those who give to the needy (6:3-4) . . . when no one is looking. The One “who sees in secret” will acknowledge those who sincerely seek Him in fasting (6:16-17) . . . when no one is looking. And your Father, who “knows what you need before you ask Him” (6:8), hears the cries of His people . . . when no one is looking.

He is the God who is often encountered in hidden places. The God who, most times, determines to work in the background . . . chooses to operate under cover . . . opts to interact with His own inwardly. Not that anything is hidden from Him, but that in the secret, when we’re alone, He might make Himself known to us . . . and sometimes even engage us in a bit of a wrestling match.

It’s in the secret, away from the chaos of dealing with whatever we fear may come our way, that we are reminded that our God is present.

Now to Him who knows all things and see all things, to the Father who is in the secret place, to our God who often visits when no one is looking . . .

. . . to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

(Jude 1:25 ESV)

 

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From Sighing to Singing

Posted on January 11, 2016 by Pete

Re-running some thoughts from 2012 . . .

You don’t have to read very far into Psalm 13 before you not only sense the desperation, but also find some connection in which you relate to the despair. Anyone who’s ever gone through an extended time of testing or trial finds themselves, I think, saying, “Been there.”

Four times the psalmist cries out to heaven, “How long?” You’ve forgotten me, Lord . . . how long? You’re hiding Your face from me . . . how long? I’m consumed by sorrow . . . how long? My enemy is winning . . . how long, O Lord, how long!?! Deep sigh! But you keep reading and the sighing turns to singing.

Not exactly sure what’s happening in David’s life as he writes this. Perhaps it’s that season when he’s on the run from King Saul. Crazy King Saul, set on destroying David, relentlessly pursues him. Not only does David not really have the resources to repel the king and his army, but David is also constrained by his loyalty to “God’s anointed” and to the anointed’s God. Even on those occasions when David had opportunity to do Saul in, he refuses to harm the one set on the throne by God. And so, it goes on and on and on . . . day in, day out . . . same trial, new twist and turn . . . a roller-coaster ride . . . a ringer he’s being run through. How long, O Lord, how long?

“Consider me,” David cries, “Answer me . . . Light up my eyes . . . or I’m done . . . and my enemies win.” David just needs to know that God’s got him on heaven’s radar. He wants some indicator that God’s engaged in his situation . . . he needs something to restore his physical strength, something to restore his inner strength.

And so he asks. He lifts his eyes towards God’s throne . . . He looks above while everything is coming apart below . . . and he simply asks. He engages the God of the universe in his struggle on earth. And, in that simple encounter, a mind-blowing dynamic kicks in . . . the sighing turns to singing.

“But I have trusted in Your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because He has dealt bountifully with me.”

(Psalm 13:5-6 ESV)

Though it might be yet a little while before God deals with the Saul thing, in that moment of supplication, the Spirit of God intercedes with the spirit of David and David’s “how long” morphs into “how amazing!” The Spirit shores up David’s soul as He assures him afresh that the faithfulness of God’s steadfast love, which David has known in the past, is the same steadfast love David can trust in for the future. The Comforter reminds David that the salvation David has already known is just a deposit on the salvation that God says is yet to come. That the work begun will be completed. That the call placed on his life, will be fulfilled.

And so amidst his “how long” despair, a pilot light is lit in David’s heart. In the presence of God, his heart starts to rejoice at every recollection of the faithfulness of God known in the past. The Spirit floods David’s mind with every blessing he has received and David is reminded that a bountiful past is a deposit on a beyond imagination future. And the pilot light of remembrance and encouragement becomes a flame of praise and worship. And David finds himself singing to the Lord.

Been there. Others have too. Sighing that turns to singing.

Not because of anything that has immediately changed as a result of prayer’s pleas, but because in that moment of quiet despair . . . in the time of being still, and knowing that He is God . . . just in the privilege of being able to “dump” before God in the holy of holies and ask repeatedly “how long” and plead with Him for some help . . . just in that encounter, God so often responds with an inner calm.

And the still, small voice of the Spirit applies the balm of remembrance and of reassurance. And the promise that God is present, and that God knows, speaks into the soul that the “how long” will not be forever. And in that encounter there is a joy . . . a rejoicing . . . and, yes, sometimes there’s even singing.

I will sing to the LORD!

By His grace . . . for His glory.

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A Bit Standoffish

Posted on January 8, 2016 by Pete

Perhaps part of the wide-felt connection to the Psalms is that sometimes the songwriter often says what we are afraid of saying. That his divinely inspired lyrics often put into words what we find ourselves thinking but not comfortable openly articulating. Such is the case, for me at least, as I read the tenth Psalm this morning.

Why, O LORD, do You stand afar off?
    Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?

(Psalm 10:1 ESV)

Times of trouble. Experiences of distress. Occasions of feeling in dire straits. Why, O LORD, pens the songwriter, why do You seem to conceal Yourself in those times? Why, when I’m thinking I need You the most, do You seem so distant? Where are You, when I need You?!?

And the psalmist looks beyond whatever his particular “time of trouble” and observes that, in general, God’s absence is also perceived when one focuses on the extent of prevailing wickedness that goes seemingly unchecked in the world.

Arrogant people hotly pursuing the poor (v.2). Greedy people wickedly boasting of their gain as they curse and renounce God (v.3). Defiant before heaven, they prey on the helpless of the earth as they mock the Almighty in their heart saying, “God has forgotten, He has hidden His face, He will never see it” (vv. 6-11). In their pride, so many have no desire to even entertain God’s existence, “all his thoughts are, ‘There is no God'” (v. 4).

Where are you LORD? Why do you veil Your eyes at what’s going on in this world? What’s more, where are You when I need You?

The questions resonate. They have a familiar ring to them. I’m pickin’ up what the psalmist is laying down!

But the other connection with the psalms is that they also articulate what we know to be true despite what we may feel.

But You do see, for You note mischief and vexation, that You may take it into Your hands; to You the helpless commits himself; You have been the helper of the fatherless. . . . The LORD is king forever and ever; the nations perish from His land. O LORD, You hear the desire of the afflicted; You will strengthen their heart; You will incline Your ear . . .

(Psalm 10:14, 16-17 ESV)

Though God may seem to have turned a blind eye, He hasn’t. He does see.

Though it may feel like God is content to remain behind a curtain in the wings, His ear is inclined to the drama that plays out on life’s stage. He hears the cry. He is intimately familiar with the circumstance. And He is actively engaged, though often in ways we are unaware of.

He is the King and one day He will reign on earth and bring justice to the fatherless and oppressed “so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more” (v. 18).

Until then, He patiently and graciously woos and waits for men and women, dead in their trespass and sin, to respond to the good news that Jesus is ready, willing, and able to save. And for those who have trusted in Him, He establishes His rule and reign in their hearts. Though  He may seem far off, He reminds us of His abiding presence and strengthens the heart of the afflicted.

While at times He may seem to be a bit standoffish . . . though it may feel like He’s playing hide-and-seek with us . . . His Spirit testifies with our Spirit, sometimes through songs like this song, that we have a faithful High Priest who hears our cry and leads us to “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:15-16).

To Him be all blessing and honor and glory forever and ever!

Amen?

 

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Heart Speak

Posted on January 7, 2016 by Pete

To our way of thinking, Abraham’s approach to finding a wife for his son was, to say the least, unconventional. Isaac is ready to get hitched. But not to anyone on “this side of the Jordan.” Abraham has discerned the perils of Isaac taking a wife “from the daughters of the Canaanites” and has determined that Isaac’s bride needs to be from his own family line.

But he’s also resolved that his son is not to leave the land God has promised them. And so, Abraham sends a trusted servant back to Abraham’s homeland to find a young maiden from Abraham’s family line and convince her, and her family, that she should go with some random stranger to a foreign land to marry a man they’ve never met. Not quite ChristianMingle.com, but it’s a plan.

And what’s grabbed me in reading this account in Genesis 24 is the absence of the supernatural–at least overtly. Though its evident that God’s hands are all over this, and though Abraham tells his servant that the God who promised Abraham to give this land to his offspring will “send His angel before you”, there’s no angel.

Unlike other encounters of the divine kind in Genesis, there’s no apparent visitation from heaven-dwellers. No divine manifestation taking counsel with the servant on a game plan. No taking hold of the servants hand by one of God’s heavenly servants and leading him to just the right place at just the right time. Rather, there’s just a no-name servant trekking to a foreign land to find a women whose identity is unknown so that he can ask her to go back with him to marry a man she’s never seen or met. There’s no angel.

But there’s heart speak.

Abraham’s servant arrives at his destination and prays,

And he said, “O LORD, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham.”

(Genesis 24:12 ESV)

And the servant lays out before the Lord his plan for identifying Isaac’s bride-to-be. And the Genesis account then states,

Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abrahams brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder.

(Genesis 24:15 ESV)

And later in the account, when the servant is telling his story to Rebekah’s family, the servant puts it this way,

“Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her water jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.'”

(Genesis 24:45 ESV)

Speaking in my heart. That’s it. That’s the extent of the supernatural in this account.

Though God is moving mightily . . . imparting divine wisdom to Abraham . . . moving Abraham’s servant to faithful obedience . . . prompting the girl at the well to respond to the servant’s request for water by offering to water his camels as well . . . leading Laban to believe the servant’s story and release his sister to him . . . assuring Rebekah in her heart that not only is it ok to leave her family for some unknown suitor, but that it’s God’s will . . . Though God is moving mightily, no angels, just heart speak.

Talk about the power of prayer. Talk about how speaking in the heart ties a person to the purposes and dynamics of heaven. Talk about God’s attentiveness to what we say to Him in the inner man that prompts Him to act in the outside world even before we’re finished speaking . . . even before we know ourselves what we should ask.

Talk about the supernatural impact of heart speak.

All by God’s grace. All for God’s glory.

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As He Said . . . As He Promised

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Pete

Genesis is foundational. It introduces God, introduces mankind, and explains what happened in the past that so messes with our present. In it we learn that God has always been, that this earth was created, and that man, because of willful rebellion, is fallen from God’s intended state and is beset with sin’s abiding consequences.

But it also introduces God’s plan of redemption. It’s hinted at as early as Genesis 3 where God speaks of the enmity that will exist between the serpent and the woman’s offspring (Gen. 3:15) and foreshadowed in the shedding of the blood of animals so that God could cover man’s shame (3:21).

And the foundation for God’s blueprint of rescue and reconciliation continues to get laid throughout the Genesis narrative through the promises of God. In particular, the promises he makes Abraham.

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your fathers house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

(Genesis 12:1-3 ESV)

A great nation, a great blessing. That was God’s promise to Abraham. And that promise will be repeated and further detailed throughout the Genesis account and the rest of the Old Testament as God reveals to Abraham the location of the land, the innumerable number of his offspring, the far-reaching impact of the blessing. And so, as I’m reading the Genesis story I’m on the lookout for these foundational promises.

But this morning I’m reminded that, ultimately, our hope concerning God’s plan of salvation lies not just in the fact that He is a Promise Maker but, more importantly, in the evidence that He is a Promise Keeper. And that reminder came from the account of the birth of a son to a very, very old and barren woman.

The LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as He had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him.

(Genesis 21:1 ESV)

God promised Abraham that he would father a great nation and that it would start with fathering a son. A son born by his wife, Sarah — despite her barren womb and her advancing age. A son they would name Isaac. A son with whom God would also establish His covenant (Gen. 17:15-21).

And the LORD graciously visited Sarah, AS HE HAD SAID. And the LORD did to Sarah, allowing her to give birth to a son, AS HE HAD PROMISED.

As He said . . . As He Promised . . . so my God does.

Genesis lays the foundation of God not only as the giver of promise and the author of covenant, but also establishes our God as both able and faithful to keep His promises and establish His covenants.

And as those who walk by faith, we rely on the promises of God. Promises that the work He’s begun in us, He will complete (Php. 1:6) . . . promises that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5) . . . promises that Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us that we might one day be with Him (John 14:1-3) . . . promises that He is coming again and God’s plan of redemption will be fully realized with a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 21-22).

These and many more. All great promises. All hope-infusing and faith-sustaining promises. Because they are promises made by the God who is the great keeper of what he has promised.

As He said . . . As He promised . . . so He will do.

All because of over-flowing grace. All for His eternal glory.

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A Holy Hand-off Into Unholy Hands

Posted on January 5, 2016 by Pete

It seems that before Jesus could go public with His ministry, His Father had arranged two meetings in preparation. The first was with John the Baptist in the Jordan (Matt. 3:13-17). In order to “fulfill all righteousness” Jesus, though without sin, identified with all mankind in their need for “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4). And in so doing, when He came up out of the water, the heavens were opened above Him, the Spirit descended upon Him, and His Father declared His love and pleasure concerning Him.

But it’s the second divinely arranged appointment that’s captured my imagination. This morning I’m noodling on the temptation of Jesus as recorded in Matthew 4:1-11). No small undertaking for the Son of Man. Though the account is somewhat understated when it says that after fasting for forty days and forty night Jesus was hungry (4;2), the toll the temptation took on Him in the flesh is evident as at the end of it, “angels came and were ministering to Him” (4:11). So, this was not an insignificant experience for the One who “had to be made like His brothers in every respect, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God” so that, “because He himself has suffered when tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted” (Heb. 2:17:18).

But what’s particularly grabbed me this morning is the manner in which Jesus is “handled.” And what I’m noodling on is the holy hand-off into unholy hands.

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  

(Matthew 4:1 ESV)

Jesus was led by the Spirit. Through inner promptings, by divine urgings, Jesus walks in the Spirit and is led by the Spirit into the wilderness. That’s God’s will for His Son? A desert? That’s the Spirit’s role in resting upon Jesus as Jesus comes out of the waters of obedience? To lead Him into a barren place?

How out of sync is that with popular notions of being in the will of God? That God might, on the way to green pastures and still waters, determine that we should do some desert time is so not in line with our thinking. Instead, we are prone to view any barren spot as a clear indication we have somehow strayed from divine favor. But here Jesus is led by the Spirit into a lonely place.

But more than just being “dropped off” in the desert, there is a hand-off. The holy hands of the Spirit having led Him to the wilderness are then replaced with the unholy hands of the enemy as he takes Him from there.

Then the devil took Him to the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple . . . Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 

(Matthew 4:5, 8 ESV)

I can’t imagine the nature of the supernatural dynamics that enabled the devil to “take” the Son of God. But the thought that Satan could in any way lay his hands upon Jesus in order to transport Him to the holy city, or to a high mountain . . . that the devil could have been given any permission to, in any way, direct the LORD of Heaven . . . the thought is mind-boggling. It just doesn’t seem right.

Would God really lead Jesus by His Spirit into a barren place only then to, in a sense, hand him over to Satan? Apparently so. Has a bit of Job ring to it (Job 1:6-12), doesn’t it?

What does it say about what we might expect as God continues His work of forming His Son in us? Might our desert places be ordained of God so that we might learn to stand as Jesus stood? Might the enemy’s attacks be permitted so that we too could experience the victory of living “by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (4:4) . . . and knowing the resolve to “not put the Lord your God to the test” (4:7) . . . and choosing to “worship the Lord your God and Him only” (4:10). Could be.

What’s more, what does this holy hand-off into unholy hands say about the depths of Jesus’ love for us? That He would subject Himself to the enemies best shot in order to become our merciful and faithful High Priest? And this wouldn’t be the only set of unholy hands that would be permitted to lay hold of Jesus.

Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know–this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 

(Acts 2:22-23 ESV)

Led by the Spirit that He might be tempted by the enemy. Delivered up according to the plan of God that He might be killed at the hands of men.

O what a Savior!

To Him be all glory!

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Found in the Midst of Our Mess

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Pete

To be honest . . . not that I ever seek to be dishonest . . . but, to be honest, I most often associate Hagar with a badly devised and tragically executed “Plan B.” That is, until this morning.

Hagar, female Egyptian servant to Sarai. Sarai, the wife of Abram. Abram, the recipient of God’s unconditional promise that, could Abram number the stars in the heaven, then he’d have some idea of the number of descendants that would come from his offspring (Gen. 15:5-6). But he was Abram, the old, married to Sarai, the barren. So how was God going to give them children? Did I mention Hagar, the “Plan B?”

Thus, though according to the custom of the land but counter to the will of God, Sarai convinces Abram to lay with Hagar as “it may be that I shall obtain children by her” (Gen. 16:2). And a child is conceived. And family dysfunction springs forth like weeds (16:4-6).

The mom to be, Hagar, looks upon the old woman, Sarai, with disdain and treats her with contempt. Sarai blames Abram for Hagar’s contemptuous attitude. Abram washes his hands of the whole mess and tells Sarai to deal with it. And she does. Sarai is so abusive towards Hagar, that Hagar flees and finds herself alone in the wilderness. In the wilderness literally . . . in the wilderness figuratively.

Ill-conceived idea (pun intended). Tragically executed “Plan B.” Lots to be warned about — as in, resist the temptation to take matters into your own hands when God’s promises seem beyond realization. That’s usually where I end up as I noodle on Genesis 16. A strong warning but not much redeeming. But this morning I’m drawn to something else.

And the angel of the LORD said to her, “Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has listened to your affliction. . . . So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen Him who looks after me.” 

(Genesis 16:11, 13 ESV)

Amidst the rubble of a classic example of man’s best efforts falling way short of God’s best way, we see the heart of God . . . and the ears of God . . . and the eyes of God.

“You shall call His name Ishmael.” Yishma-el. Literally “God will hear.” God didn’t stop listening when Sarai and Abram started scheming. God didn’t plug His ears as the Egyptian slave woman taunted her mistress’s barren womb. God wasn’t unresponsive to the pregnant, homeless, helpless maid who found herself in the wilderness as a result of so many people’s bad choices. But God says, “I am the God who hears. Know this about Me. Name your son after Me.”

And this Egyptian slave woman, without so much a standing as to refuse to become a surrogate for her master, encounters the God of the universe, the God of grace, the God of promise, the God who hears, and comes to know Him as El-roi, the God who sees.  Outside the covenant . . . a nobody in the house . . . for all intents and purposes on her own . . . and God speaks to her. The Almighty reveals something of Himself to her.

And heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss.

(Lyric from “How He Loves” by John Mark McMillan)

Beyond the revelation that God hears what happens on earth . . . beyond the realization that God sees those things that we feel are unseen by anybody . . . something else is revealed about God’s love and grace through this encounter.  This “Plan B”, this side story, has been preserved through millennia that we might know that, not only does God hear, not only does God see, but God also bows down, He gets involved, and He makes Himself known. He reaches into the aftermath of our clever plans. And, despite our mess, He can be found in the midst of our mess.

God hears. God sees. God makes Himself known. Might we be comforted and encouraged.

Might He receive all the glory.

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Lifter of My Head

Posted on December 31, 2015 by Pete

It’s a song written when he was in dire straights. A lament penned at the bottom of the cycle. Minor key chords composed from a valley experience. A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.

David is on the lam. He has fled town to escape the fury of his insurgent offspring. David’s rule is in ruin. His family’s a mess. And his life is in danger. Can it get any worse? Yup. Because, at the root of it all there’s plenty of just cause for self-blame.

So many things he could have handled better within his family. He could have responded with a stronger hand after the rape of his daughter by his step-son, Amnon (2Sam. 13:14). But who was he to judge such lustful impulse? Every time he looked at Bathsheba, or remembered Uriah, or visited his newborn sons grave, he knew of his own moral failure (2Sam. 11, 12). Thus, he was paralyzed from dealing with sin in his house as he should have. And so, dealing with the situation was picked up by another son, hot-headed Absalom.

After two years of inaction on his dad’s part, Absalom murders Amnon. More family dysfunction. And David could have handled that better, too. He wavers again in dealing with a son . . . again for years. Sort of judges his son’s sin, but sort of doesn’t. He wants reconciliation with his son but imposes upon him a sort of in-house exile. Torn between dealing with Absalom’s murderous treachery and wanting relationship with him, David fuels the fires of revenge and ambition within his son. And the result is Absalom’s power play for the throne. Now, having suffered great loss, haunted by humiliating shame, and in grave danger, David is on the run.

And out of that experience he writes a song. And from the depths of this valley he looks up, way up, to the Lifter of My Head.

O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God. Selah But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.   (Psalm 3:1-3 ESV)

In the midst of an out-of-control situation, with the voice of self-accusation ringing in his ear, over-whelmed, perhaps, by thoughts of “if I’d only . . . “, David cries out to the LORD (v.4). Confident that, even in current circumstances, God has his back . . . and his front . . . and his sides . . . that God is a all encompassing shield about him. What’s more, David firmly believes that the God who promised him the throne is a faithful God. That even now, the LORD hears from His holy hill and will, in His time and in His way, bring a future glory, though all David can see now is the present shame.

And from where does this confidence come? From knowing the God of heaven and earth as the Lifter of My Head.

Though David needs to be constantly looking over his shoulder, in those times when he stills himself before heaven’s throne, his eyes are directed upward. Though his outer man is bowed over with the weight of oppressive circumstance, his inner man is prompted by the Spirit to raise up his chin and, by faith, gaze into the face of Him who has promised never to leave him, nor forsake him. Though he knows the reality of the weeping which lasts for the night, his soul is lifted up as he knows that “joy comes with the morning” (Ps. 30:5b).

Apart from dire straights, if there were no bottom of the cycle or valley experience, we wouldn’t know the truth, and we couldn’t know the touch, of the God who reaches down to be the Lifter of My Head.

What wondrous love. What amazing grace. To Him be eternal glory.

Amen?

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