What We Worship We Draw Near To

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Pete

Had lunch with a buddy yesterday . . . he wore his Denver Broncos gear . . . punk! Talk about drawing some attention! A guy who was leaving the restaurant and opened the door for us, the one wearing a Seahawks jersey, spit out in disbelief, “Broncos!?!” . . . the girl who seated us, wearing her Seahawks t-shirt, did a double take when she saw my buddy’s jacket. And then, I thought our waiter was ready to pay for our food himself as he went on about how he’s been a die hard Raiders fan his whole life and thinks Seahawks fans are fair weather fans . . .so go Broncos! Brother!

That sparked a conversation between my buddy and I as we waited for our lunch. Something like . . . how, for many people, the game has given way to becoming a god. The players are revered . . . the 12th man flag has become a banner under which people find their identify . . . the logo has become a coat of arms to which men and women pledge allegiance. And the stadiums . . . well they are the temples. My buddy mentioned the lengths to which some will go, and the price they will pay, in order to travel across the country to be there this weekend, because “I need to be with my team.” Brother, again!

Don’t get me wrong. I am more than intrigued by the big game this weekend. There will be a gathering at our home Sunday afternoon to enter into the madness a bit. I think it would be great if the home town team should win the game. But, it is just a game.

So, why am I going on about this? Reading in the Psalms this morning, I reminded that I shouldn’t be surprised by some of the over-the-top behaviors of some fans because what we worship we draw near to.

O LORD, I love the habitation of Your house
      and the place where Your glory dwells.         (Psalm 26:8 ESV)

David loved going to the temple. The place where the LORD’s glory dwelt was the place He wanted to draw near to. God’s presence should draw God’s people. Where He is found in the midst, is where we should want to be found as part of the gathering. We draw near to that which we worship. The “main event” on Sunday isn’t the “big game.”

There’s a much bigger deal happening this Sunday than the Super Bowl. Should the Lord not come before then, the people of God will be assembling under the banner of God, to know the presence of God, through their worship of God. The holy temple formed by living stones “being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Eph. 2:22) will come together . . . and the sacrifice of the fruit of our lips, praise, will ascend as a sweet smelling aroma to heaven’s throne room . . . the word of God will be proclaimed and the Spirit of God will lead us into truth . . . and the glory of God will descend. No price of admission to be paid . . . our entrance secured through the blood of the Lamb. Ours is but to come . . . ours is to draw near. O’ how I love the habitation of Your house, Your living house, the place where Your glory dwells, O’ Lord.

I’m all for watching the game . . . but it’s just a game . . . and it’s gods are no gods.

So pumped by the anticipation of drawing near again to the glory . . . of gathering with the redeemed . . . for our God is God alone.

Doesn’t really matter what logo we bear on our clothes . . . but that the people of God would bear the stamp of His kingdom on our lives . . . and that we would love the habitation of His house . . . and pursue the place . . . no, that we would pursue the people where His glory dwells. That what we worship would be known by what we draw near to.

Amen?

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An Open Heart

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Pete

She was a seller of purple and she was a worshiper of God. You get the sense she was a respected business person. You know that she was a seeker of the kingdom . . . though, she likely knew nothing of what that meant. For all she had, a thriving business, a good reputation, a functioning religion, what she didn’t have was new life. She didn’t even know she needed new life. She had not heard the gospel . . . was likely unaware of her need for repentance . . . probably had never been able to put her finger on her underlying problem, sin. And, if she had recognized the problem before, she certainly had no idea what to do about it. Enter Paul, and the Word of God preached. Enter the Spirit of God, and the Word of God understood.

One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized . . .    (Acts 16:14-15a ESV)

I’m reminded this morning that our salvation is fully, and wholly, the gracious work of a loving God. Not only did Jesus pay the price for sin . . . but, through His Spirit, He also pursues the sinner. And, more than just provide the gospel to a lost world, He also opens hearts to receive and believe that it truly is good news.

The word for “open” here has the idea of something being “opened thoroughly” . . . drawn asunder . . . divided. The Lord, through the active agency of the Holy Spirit, splayed the heart of Lydia that she might understand and heed the message of the gospel. Whatever the barriers may have been . . . pride due to her success . . . self-sufficiency because of her income . . . spiritual lethargy because she had the “spiritual part” of her life covered . . . or, just a contentment with where she was in life because she didn’t know that anything better existed . . . whatever those barriers, whatever those doors, the Spirit of God demolished them . . . the living Christ kicked them down . . . and her heart, through the grace of God, was opened to heed the gospel proclaimed by Paul.

God, through the Spirit, is the active agent in bringing believers to faith in Christ. The Lord Jesus, through the Spirit, is the pursuer of lost sheep, the seeker of lost souls, furrowing hard ground that seeds might be sown which put down deep roots and bear much fruit unto eternal life. The Spirit, one with the Father, sent by the Son, is He who makes the Word of God living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword . . . opening wide the heart to receive the good news of sins forgiven.

O’ may the wonder of God’s initial act of grace, the opening of our hearts to believe, never cease to amaze us. May we never get so far along in this pilgrim journey to somehow take credit for having entered into it. May we often offer awe-filled worship to the One who opened our hearts to pay attention to His Word . . . who opened our eyes that we might see and believe.

An open heart. It was the initial act of grace . . . it is the continuing evidence of grace.

All glory to God for an open heart . . .

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The Brothers

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Pete

In a sense, I didn’t need to be reminded this morning in my daily readings, that the church is a family. That’s been the topic of our Equipping Hour (formerly our Adult Sunday School class) for the past few weeks. We’ve been talking about family matters and considering why family matters. But that believers are called to be the family of God and that, as such, they are to regard themselves as a family, hit home afresh this morning as I read Acts 15 and observed two words used repeatedly.

Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings.” . . . And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words. And after they had spent some time, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them. . . . And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” . . . but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.   (Acts 15:22-23, 32-33, 36, 40 ESV)

There was debate amongst the early church. Given that, initially, the gospel had gone to the house of Israel and that the first believers were Jewish, when God, through Peter, showed that the good news was for all people, even Gentiles, it created a bit of stir. Those outside the law given through Moses were receiving and believing the message concerning the Messiah . . . they were, by faith, acknowledging Christ as Savior and Lord . . . they were being saved . . . they were receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit . . . they were in.

But they weren’t circumcised “according to the custom of Moses” . . . so how “in” where they really? Thus, the council meeting at Jerusalem. Thus, the determination by the apostles, through the discernment given by the Holy Spirit, that requiring the yoke of the law to be placed on the neck of the Gentiles, which the Jews themselves were unable to bear, was not part of the salvation deal. Thus the affirmation that salvation is through the grace of the Lord Jesus alone (15:11) . . . end of story.

And so, “the brothers,” those of Jewish background, wrote a letter to “the brothers,” Gentiles, formerly referred to as “the dogs” (Matt 15:26-27). And so, leading men of the church in Jerusalem went and “encouraged and strengthened the brothers” in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. And so, the brothers who were formerly “alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise” (Eph. 2:12), sent off in peace the brothers with whom they had now been reconciled into one family through the cross of Christ. And so Paul determined to visit the Gentile brothers and were commended by the Jewish brothers to the task and “to the grace of the Lord.”

Jew and Gentile . . . one in Christ. Circumcision and non-circumcision united as children of God.

The church is a brotherhood. More than congregants, we are a family. More than members on a roll, we are brothers and sisters on a journey.

Thank God for the brothers . . . and the sisters.

To Him be glory in the church . . .

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For the Sake of Another

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Pete

Fact is, he didn’t deserve it. The honor given him in his death seems disproportionate to the manner in which he had conducted most of his life. The funeral was over the top. But as I noodle it, I realize that it was over the top for the sake of another.

So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s household. Only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left in the land of Goshen. And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen. It was a very great company.   (Genesis 50:7-9 ESV)

Jacob had made his boys promise him that they would not bury him in the land of Egypt. Instead they were to bury him in the family burial plot, the cave bought by Abraham where Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Leah were buried. Interesting that Jacob doesn’t allude to it the land God had promised to him . . . but maybe I’m being too tough on Jacob. While it was still the land of promise and not yet the land possessed, that’s where Jacob wanted to be laid to rest.

But I was struck by the big deal that was made over his transport back to the land and his burial. I get it if Joseph and his brothers and their families escorted the body back to Canaan. I’d understand them mourning over the death of their father. But check out the entourage that accompanied them. All the servants of Pharaoh . . . the elders of Pharaoh’s house . . . the elders over the land of Egypt . . . chariots . . . horsemen . . . Moses records that it was “a very great company.”

Imagine the most elaborate state funeral you may have seen on the television . . . JFK’s or Princess Di’s funeral comes to mind. I don’t think any of them compared to the pomp and ceremony afforded Jacob. Imagine the entourage of chariots and horses escorting the elite of the Egyptian government who themselves had determined to escort the body of Jacob. Consider the sheer number of people joined together to form a processional that would march for days in honor of a man most of them didn’t even know.

And had they known him, would they have gone to such great lengths? A schemer who extorted his brother’s birthright and conned him out of the firstborn’s blessing. Careless on his wedding night allowing his father-in-law to “slip one under the covers” . . . literally. Ending up as little more than a manipulated and hired-out stud for his two wives and their two handmaids. Though he fathered 13 children, he doesn’t seem to have been a very consistent father to his children . . . favoring the second youngest, he caused ugly division and dissension within his house. Not to be too hard on Jacob . . . you know, one finger pointing at him, three fingers pointing back at me . . . but on the surface, he didn’t deserve the honor given him at his death.

But as I noodle on it, I think that’s the point. Though his sons may have returned to Canaan to bury Jacob out of obligation to their father, the courts of Pharaoh joined in the funeral procession because of another, Joseph. Because of who Joseph was . . . because of all that Joseph had done for Egypt . . . for him, they would go over the top in mourning and burying Jacob. The great company that would escort Jacob was there for the sake of another.

Isn’t that the gospel? Honor given those who don’t deserve it for the sake of another? Isn’t that our hope? That we will be welcomed into the very presence of God . . . that the rejoicing in heaven which occurred on the day we first believed (Luke 15:7), will culminate in a great wedding feast of celebration hosted by the Lamb Himself . . . not because of who we are or what we’ve done . . . but for the sake of another . . . the greater Joseph . . . Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Thank God for over the top grace shown to those who don’t deserve it. All for the sake of another . . .

Amen?

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The Open Door

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Pete

Some have said that rather than it being called “The Acts of the Apostles” that the book in our Bible which follows John’s gospel would be better referred to as “The Acts of the Holy Spirit.” True enough. While Dr. Luke’s record captures how Jesus’ original band of believers were used to proclaim the kingdom “in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts. 1:8), that the message was received and believed . . . that the church grew . . . is so clearly the work of a God determined to redeem a people to Himself. Though it was the “acts of the apostles” that took the gospel out, it was the “acts of the Holy Spirit” that brought believers into the fold. Reminded of that this morning as I was reading in Acts 14.

. . . they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.   (Acts 14:26-27 ESV)

The “they” in these verses are Paul and Barnabas. Back from their first set of “gospel meetings,” they have much to report. Stories of the gospel preached . . . the gospel opposed . . . and, most importantly, the gospel believed. And while “they” had done a lot, Paul and Barnabas acknowledge the work was really God’s . . . that He had opened the door.

God had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. The acts of the apostles were but the mechanics for the working of the Holy Spirit. God, through the active agency of the Third Person of the Trinity, opened the way for many to be added to their number . . . He swung wide the door that those who believed might enter. He had opened a door of faith.

By God’s grace, the mouths of the apostles were opened. By God’s grace, the hearts of those dead in trespasses and sins were opened. And by the power of God’s Spirit many, by faith, entered the open door to salvation.

No credit to be taken by the preacher . . . no boasting to be made by the believer. For God opens the door. Because of His great love . . . compelled by His great mercy . . . through the abundance of His great grace, God opens the way and beckons all to enter it by faith.

Though the apostles “act” . . . though the people hear . . . it is the Spirit who works . . . bringing unbelievers to belief that they might enter the kingdom of heaven.

O praise God, all you who have entered, for the open door!

To Him be all glory . . .

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An Invitation to Awe

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Pete

From the opening words of the song you can’t help but be drawn in. It says it’s a psalm of David. But after reading just the first verse you know it’s the Savior’s song . . . that it’s autobiographical . . . and, that it’s unbelievable!

My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?

Those are the opening words of Psalm 22. They are also Jesus’ words . . .those He cried out with a loud voice as He hung on Calvary’s cruel cross (Matt. 27:46) . . . forever identifying Psalm 22 as His psalm . . . a prophetic, Messianic psalm . . . forever linking His experiences with the lyrics written by the shepherd / sovereign / songwriter, David.

What insight it provides to the Savior’s suffering. Made a to feel like a worm (v.6) . . . aware of the mocking and derision that was cast upon Him (vv. 7-8). His life being absolutely drained from His body . . . His bones stretched out of their joints by His own weight on the cross . . . His heart like wax as it suffers congestive failure drowning in His own fluids. His strength gone . . . His mouth dry as desert ground . . . knowing He is about to die (vv.14-18). His hands and feet pierced, He looks down and can count all His bones as they seek to break out of His flesh . . . and, as He looks up, He sees His Gentile executioners, the dogs, as they stare at Him . . . and gloat over Him . . . and gamble for His clothes (vv.16-18).

Oh, what did my Savior endure that my sin might, once for all, be atoned for? What did my Savior go through that I might know His righteousness? How poor was the Son of Man made that, through His poverty, I might be made rich? Hallelujah! What a Savior!

But here’s what really grabbed me this morning . . .

Yet You are He who took me from the womb; You made me trust You at my mother’s breasts. On You was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb You have been my God.   (Psalm 22:9-10 ESV)

What mind-bending insight into the workings of the Triune God. Though Father, Son, and Spirit are perfectly one, the humiliation of Christ put Him in a position of absolute dependence upon the Father. If the first part of Psalm 22 give us insight into the mind of Christ as He hung on the cross, then did Jesus reflect upon His lowly birth as He waited for that moment when He would enter death? How aware was He of His self-imposed frailty . . . as One taken from the womb . . . as One dependent upon His mother’s breast for life sustaining nourishment . . . as One, though He was God, taught to trust in God? Behold the Man! . . fully, perfectly, man!

The depths of the descent made by the King of Creation in order to enter into His creation is beyond understanding. The absolute human dependence which God the Son had upon God the Father through God the Spirit is a mystery.

And . . . it is a beckoning to wonder and worship. It is an invitation to awe.

You who fear the LORD, praise Him!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify Him,
and stand in awe of Him, all you offspring of Israel!   (Psalm 22:23 ESV)

What a song! What a Savior! Amen?

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Never Saw It Coming

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Pete

Though there’s no way he saw it coming, I’m thinking that nothing surprised Jacob anymore. You sense that, in some ways, he’s a shell of the man he was when he was scamming birthrights and stealing blessings. Not just because he’s a lot older now, but because he’s been through the ringer. Uncle Laban, and ending up with 2 wives along with 2 pseudo-wives, started the chaos that would be his life. “Family life” was anything but quiet . . . twelve boys have a way of dusting things up. Then Joseph, the apple of Jacob’s eye, was no more. That seems to have been the final blow which took the last of the wind out of Jacob’s sails. Then the famine . . . and the emptiness in his heart as he saw the boys leave for a return trip to Egypt with Benjamin in hand as a ransom for Simeon. What else could happen? He’d seen it all, now. Not quite.

I’m continuing to read in Genesis this morning. The sons of Jacob have been reunited with Joseph, the brother they sold into slavery, the brother who now rules over Egypt and holds their future in his hand. As instructed by Joseph, they have returned to their father, informed him that Joseph is alive, and that the plan is to move to Egypt in order to wait out the famine. And that’s what I don’t think Jacob ever imagined . . . that he’d be moving to Egypt.

So Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here am I.” Then He said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes.”    (Genesis 46:1-4)

And while Jacob doesn’t deserve it . . . while he’s been anything but a model for the steady walk of a believer . . . though he has been, in fact, often faithless . . . His God remains faithful. Jacob embarks on his “Joseph Reunion Tour” . . . he leaves the land of promise and heads down to Egypt. And, as he heads into the unknown, he pauses to acknowledge His God with sacrifices at Beersheba. And there God, as He has done before, reveals Himself to Jacob. In Jacob’s frailty . . . in his failure . . . in his fear of what’s ahead . . . God appears and affirms the promise.

Do not be afraid, God says, for “I will.” I will go down with you to Egypt. I will bring you up again into the land when Joseph buries you. And, while your family is in Egypt, as I have promised to your fathers, I will make you into a great nation.

I will . . . I will . . . I will. Such are the promises of God. Such is the faithfulness of God. Such is the grace of God.

Another reminder that, despite the dysfunction of Jacob’s family, God had determined to birth a nation through him . . . and a Savior out of that nation. That, despite the apparent out-of-control circumstances that had been Jacob’s life, He who had promised to bless Abraham and, through his seed, bless all nations, would finish the work He had begun. That, although there’s no way Jacob saw it coming, God had in His providential care allowed Jacob’s boys to treacherously sell their brother into slavery so that their brother might go before them into Egypt in order to preserve the family line and fulfill the promises of God.

Another reminder that God is faithful . . . even in those things we never saw coming.

True statement? I’m thinkin’ . . .

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The Discipline Becomes A Dynamic

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Pete

The youth group in our church, referred to as “24/7”, have undertaken a challenge. Together, they have committed themselves to working their way through a reading plan that will take them through the Bible in a year. Between their youth meetings, social media, and discipleship groups, they are going to try and hold themselves accountable for keepin’ on through the reading plan. If . . . when . . . they miss readings, they’re just going to pick up where the plan is and keep going. Love it!

There’s something to be said for developing the discipline of reading the Scriptures in a thoughtful, planned, and regular basis. Though some might argue that the outcome would be nothing more than reading the Bible out of habit, as the wise old mom of a friend once told him, “At least you’ll be establishing a GOOD habit!”

But there’s something that happens when you mix a “good habit” with a great God and an active Holy Spirit. The discipline becomes a dynamic.

The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul;
    the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
   the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;    (Psalm 19:7-8 ESV)

Check it out! Reviving the soul . . . making wise the simple . . . rejoicing the heart . . . enlightening the eyes. All from reading the Bible.

Talk about the “living and active” word of God (Heb. 4:12)! Talk about inspired words of God which are “sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and marrow!” Talk about the mind of Christ illuminated through the Spirit of God “discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart!” Talk about the discipline of reading the Bible becoming a life changing dynamic!

Paul says we are transformed by the renewing of our mind (Rom. 12:2). Eyes are enlightened and simple are made wise by engaging with the living word of God. There comes a point when “forcing yourself” to gut it out through the reading plan, instead becomes a hunger and thirst . . . when you want and need to enter into the fellowship with God that only comes from interacting with His word. There’s a longing to know the soul being revived . . . and the heart lifted up in rejoicing.

What a great discipline . . . to engage with the Word over the year. What an unbelievable dynamic . . . to have the Word engage you over the year.

More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.    (Psalm 19:10 ESV)

Keep on 24/7! Form the good habit . . . gut out the discipline of reading the Word. And then, encounter the dynamic . . . the reviving, rejoicing, enlightening dynamic.

By God’s grace . . . for God’s glory . . .

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Built on the Rock

Posted on January 17, 2014 by Pete

Joseph had a story (Genesis 39-41). From pit to prominence in Potiphar’s house . . . from prison to power over all of Egypt. All because the Lord was with him. Peter had a story (Acts 10). A fisherman who became a fisher of men, led of God to bring the message of salvation to the Gentiles that God might also grant them a repentance that leads to life. And David had a story (Psalm 18) . . . boy, did he have a story. On the run from his enemies, David was rescued by the mighty hand of God. The one who was relentlessly dogged by a jealous king was eventually delivered by a faithful God. And David would sing . . .

I love You, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
    my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
    my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.   (Psalm 18:1-2 ESV)

The LORD is my rock . . . And as I reflect on these three morning readings, it’s the promise in my fourth reading that ties it all together for me.

Everyone then who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.   — Jesus   (Matthew 7:24-25 ESV)

The sermon on the mount presents a high bar . . . in my business talk, it sets some truly “stretch goals.” And yet Jesus says that those who hear His words and do them will be like one whose house is built on the rock. It’s not that we earn favor because of performance. It’s not a quid pro quo, not that we if we do the sermon on the mount then God blesses us. If it were, then I’m done . . . game,set, match . . . I lose.

But for those who receive the ways of the kingdom . . . who submit to the King of the kingdom . . . who, as much as lies within them and by the power of the Spirit and the overflowing grace of God, seek first the kingdom . . . who desire to obey and be holy, even as He is holy . . . to those who hear the word and pursue the way, they will know the reality of a house built on the Rock . . .

It’s not to say that you won’t be unjustly accused and thrown into prison, like Joseph. It doesn’t mean that you’ll be misunderstood by your peers, as was Peter. It doesn’t mean you’ll never know times of desperation and apparent defeat, as did David. What it does mean, is that the foundation holds. That the Rock will be our fortress and our refuge. That the Rock will be our shield and our stronghold. And that, in His time, the Rock will be our Deliverer and the Horn of our Salvation.

O’ to be that wise man who builds his house on the rock . . . who hears the Word of God and sets his face to pursue the things of God. Won’t eliminate the rains . . . won’t necessarily hold back the floods . . . can expect that there will be times when the winds will still beat on the house . . . but, by His abundant grace and unmatchable power, the house will not fall. It has been built on the Rock . . .

And so, we “Rock dwellers” will also declare, “I love you, O LORD, my strength!”

The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock,
    and exalted be the God of my salvation . . .    (Psalm 18:46 ESV)

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His Face

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Pete

Really, there’s a sense in which you could argue that life for David was harder than it should have been. As a young man, he had been chosen of God to rule over Israel . . . he knew that. And beyond that, above and beyond his own anointing to be king, was God’s eternal determination that his would be an kingly line forever . . . that from him would eventually rise the King of Kings and the reign to end all other reigns. But ascending to the throne, and keeping the throne, was no “gimme” for David. Though he possessed the promise, the path was anything but easy. Though he had found favor with God, his enemies, before and after ascending to the throne, were many. More than once he found himself in desperate straits crying out to God for deliverance and refuge. As favored as David was, you could make the argument it was harder than we think it should have been.

But such are God’s sovereign purposes. Such is the way to growing in dependent humility on the only One who is sufficient to meet all our needs. Such is the reality of those called of God. True of David then . . . true of believers today . . . true, even of the Savior. Before Christ’s glory, there was the groaning . . . before resurrection, there was death . . . before the crown, there was the cross. Sometimes, it’s just hard.

I’m reminded of this as I read Psalm 17 this morning. A prayer of David. The cry of one needing rescue from his enemies. The plea of one seeking protection in the shadow of the Almighty’s wings. And what particularly stirs me this morning is David’s conclusion to his prayer of need.

As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness;
              when I awake, I shall be satisfied with Your likeness.
.                                                                       (Psalm 17:15 ESV)

Though it was hard . . . though his enemies seemed to prosper . . . David looked beyond the “here and now” and anticipated the “there and then.”

To meditate on that day when He would behold the face of God. To think on that future reality of awaking to His likeness. It placed David’s harder-than-it-should-be circumstance within the greater context of that which lay before him.

One day, faith will give way to sight. One day, those called of God will behold the God who called them. One day, His face will satisfy every need ever felt . . . His presence will heal every wound ever incurred . . . His glory fill to overflowing every emptiness every known. To quote a favorite song of mine, “It’s gonna be worth it!”

Jesus endured the cross, despising its shame, for the joy set before Him (Heb. 12:2). Paul pressed on, and kept running the race, for the prize set before him (Php. 3:14). David would keep on keepin’ on . . . he would continue to seek refuge in the One who regarded David as the apple of His eye . . . he would stand firmly on the foundation of the One he trusted to be his Rock . . . continually walking in the promise . . . all for the Face that, one day, he would behold.

Might be harder than we think it should be. But one day we will behold His Face. And it’s gonna be worth it all!

Amen?

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