In Its Season

Posted on December 27, 2022 by Pete

If you have followed my posts for any length of time, you’ve probably noticed that over the past 4 months I have been as inconsistent in sharing a morning meal as I think I have ever been since I started back in 2008. While I haven’t stopped beginning my day in the Word, it’s often been difficult finding the time to to pause and process the Word.

How come? Available time. And why’s that changed? Amount of sleep. Me and sleep have not always been the best of companions over recent months. Between stuff outside the home setting my mind to racing (and my soul to praying) through the night, and two little boys inside the home requiring through the night visits and early morning starts, it’s been harder these last few months to get the chunk of time I need in the morning for reading, chewing, and sharing. It’s been a harder than usual season.

But this morning I start my reading plan again for next year, and that with renewed hope that I’ll find again the rhythm for my morning meal.

So, I awaken, grab a cup of coffee, open up a new copy of the bible ready to be colored, and I reacquaint myself with the opening words of four old, familiar friends — Genesis, Psalms, Matthew, and Acts — each greeting me with familiar readings. Familiar friends but out of a new version of the Bible. This year, I’ll be opening the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) each morning. Looking forward to a bit of freshness amidst the familiar.

Today, it’s Psalm 1 that’s given me something a little extra to noodle on this morning.

How happy is the one who does not
walk in the advice of the wicked
or stand in the pathway with sinners
or sit in the company of mockers!
Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,
and he meditates on it day and night.
He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams
that bears its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

(Psalm 1:1-3 CSB)

In its season. That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

There’s a promise in this opening song of the Psalter. A promise about what to expect based on who or what you hang out with. Though there may be pleasures to be found from walking with the wicked, standing with the sinner, and breaking bread with mockers, it’s fleeting and short-lived (Heb. 11:25), and actually counter-productive when it comes to lasting happiness. But hanging with God’s word is gonna bring about the blessedness of drinking deep from flowing streams of Spirit-induced living water (Jn. 4:10, 7:38-39). Delighting and meditating in God’s law will result in endurance in the present and in prosperity over the long-haul — bearing fruit in its season.

In its season . . . that’s the “we walk by faith” reminder (2Cor. 5:7). Current seasons may seem anything but energizing and prosperous. But the songwriter reminds me that fruit-bearing is a long game. That victory can be a frustrating, even tortuous concept if we expect to see it every day in every situation.

Instead, we keep going to the Word — reading it, delighting in it, meditating on it — and know the daily happiness of being “like a tree planted beside flowing streams.” We can know daily its sustaining vitality as we experience the ever-present reality of communion with the Father, by the Spirit, through the living Word of His Son. And we remind ourselves that the promise of fruit-bearing and prosperity will one day be fulfilled, in its season.

Praise God for the promise of a season to come. Thank God that in this season His word will continue to produce and to feed deep, strong roots if we faithfully walk in its advice, stand in its pathway, and sit in its company.

By God’s grace. For God’s glory.

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The Spirit Who Remains in our Midst (2017 Rerun)

Posted on December 16, 2022 by Pete

Been sharing a crucible with some brothers and sisters. Heats been turned up. Often when that happens it’s because there’s dross to be dealt with. It can be hard work dealing with dross, the kind of work you ignore or push off for another day. I was encouraged this morning by these musings from 5 years ago.

It’s not a hard ask if the answers are good. Digging deep works fine if you’re pretty sure you’re gonna uncover gold. But going introspective can be risky if you’re not sure you’re gonna like what you find. Or, worse yet, you’re not sure God’s gonna like what you find. So there’s a sense of foreboding as I chew on Haggai’s repeated command this morning.

Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the LORD.

(Haggai 1:5-8 ESV)

The work on rebuilding the temple had stalled. Their focus had shifted. The going had gotten tough and they had got going–each to building their own homes and tending to their own affairs. Their priority had shifted from God’s glory to their own good. The labors were spent on that which provided very little return while the house of the Lord remained in ruins. So five times in Haggai’s short letter he exhorts the people to consider.

Consider. Take a breath and look around. Give careful thought to your ways (NIV). Look at what’s happening (NLT). Take a good hard look (MSG). Set your heart to know your heart.

Hard ask if you’re not sure what to do with the awareness. Or, worse yet, if you know what to do with it but you’re not sure you can.

Wasn’t really sure I wanted to hover over this too long. No doubt it’s a command to obey . . . .but maybe tomorrow.

And then this jumped off the page:

Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.

(Haggai 2:4-5 ESV)

Consider your ways and then be strong, be strong, be strong. Consider your ways and then work it out.

Consider your ways and fear not. For I am with you according to promise, says the Lord. My Spirit stands fast in your midst. I will not cease to hold My ground among you.

That’s how we take the risk of going internal. That’s how we deal with whatever we find when we dig deep. Believing the promise. Trusting in His presence.

Whatever we find is no surprise to the Father. What needs to be done about it has already been accomplished by the Son. And the path forward is empowered by the Spirit who remains in our midst.

The gospel is the power of God for salvation. Salvation past, when our former transgressions were forgiven through the finished work of the cross, and salvation present, as we are increasingly freed from the power of sin through the abiding Spirit within us and the unchanging promise that the work He has begun in us He will finish in us (Php. 1:6).

And the gospel is the power because “in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith'” (Rom. 1:17). The righteousness of God imputed by faith. The righteousness of God imparted by faith. Having been declared righteous in Him, He has determined that we should made righteous through Him. Conformed to the image of Christ by the indwelling Spirit of Christ.

Not that it’s a straight line. Way too many detours and distractions along the way. But along the way He continues to call us to take the risk of considering our ways so that He might continue to remind us of the truth of His promise, and to show us the reality of His presence, as He redeems and redirects our ways.

Be strong. Work, for I am with you. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.

An exhortation of grace. That He alone might receive the glory.

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A Little Bit of Gospel

Posted on December 15, 2022 by Pete

This morning, as I read in Revelation, what caught my eye was a little bit of gospel in the midst of a whole lot of judgment.

“And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with Him are called and chosen and faithful.”

(Revelation 17:12-14 ESV)

Those with Him . . . I take that to refer to saints. My inclination is specifically martyred saints (Rev. 6:9-11, 17:6a).

Called and chosen and faithful . . . oh my! Ain’t that the gospel?

Those who are His He has called to be His. Not of their own seeking did they find their way to God. But due only to His determined leading. Giving eyes to the blind, He reveals Himself. Stirring hearts of stone, He draws people to Himself. Giving ears to hear to those who were once deaf, He calls individuals to respond to Himself.

And those individuals are chosen. Those with Him are not there because of any merit. Not there because they’ve earned it. Not there because they are more righteous than others. But there only because of His sovereign purposes. Children of God “born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” and Him alone (Jn. 1:12).

And the fruit of a gospel which calls and chooses? Those with Him are faithful. The gospel awaking within these sinners saved by grace a holy determination to live into the implications and realities of the gospel. New creations in Christ. New power through the Spirit. New hope according to the promise. New purpose as they heed the call to be holy, for He is holy (1Pet. 1:15-16). Faithful.

Whole lot of judgment going on in these chapters about the end times. And a little bit of gospel — “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” for all times (Rom. 1:16). Amen?

Reminds me afresh of His amazing grace. Prompts me anew to give Him all deserving glory.

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He Has a Song

Posted on December 14, 2022 by Pete

He’s got His own song! Who knew?

He’s the Son of God and the Son of Man. He’s the King of Kings and the Suffering Servant. He’s the Lion of Judah and the Lamb of God. He is the Creator of all things, and He is the One for whom all things were created. And the One who owns everything and is over everything, even has His own song.

And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire —  and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are Your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.”

(Revelation 15:2-4 ESV)

These conquerors before the heavenly throne of God sing a medley. A medley tying two songs together which share one great theme — deliverance.

A song of deliverance from slavery, a song of deliverance from sin. A song of rescue from bondage, a song of rescue from death. The song of Moses, the song of Jesus.

So, this morning I’m chewing on the song of the Lamb.

In part, I’m thinking on when this song is sung. It’s sung as the prelude to the outpouring of the seven bowls of the wrath of God. Funny time to be singing a song, I think. But not when it comes to proclaiming the “great and amazing” deeds of the Lord God the Almighty — even when those deeds are the final dealings with sin and rebellion in the world He created for divine communion and worship. For “just and true” are the ways of our God, even the ways of final judgment.

So, I’m also noodling on why every situation is an appropriate situation to sing the song of the Lamb. For our God alone is holy. And that’s worth singing about 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, for a zillion, zillion years. And the more His righteous acts are revealed — even righteous acts of judgment — the more His people will worship. For just and true are the ways of the God who alone is holy. Strike up the band!

The song of the Lamb. It’s the song of heaven. It’s the song of the kingdom. It’s the song of redemption. It’s my song, the song of the redeemed.

By His grace. For His glory.

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The God Who Allows It

Posted on December 13, 2022 by Pete

A repeated phrase in Revelation 13 grabs my attention this morning. Though I would love for the original language behind it to be unique and special, it isn’t. In fact, it appears it’s more the ESV translators that, for some reason, have translated it in a special way.

It’s actually the word commonly translated as “give” in the NT. And sometimes in Revelation 13, the translators use the word give. But on four occasions they translate it slightly differently so that the nuance is that the giving is actually more of a granting.

And that’s what I’m chewing on this morning. That although evil runs rampant in Revelation 13, nothing happens that isn’t allowed to.

And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. . . Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, . . . Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth, . . . and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.

(Revelation 13:5, 7, 11a, 14-15 ESV)

It was allowed to. Whether talking about the beast, or the other beast, while the dragon is the source of their demonic, supernatural power and influence over the world, whatever they do they were allowed to.

Don’t know that it was the ESV translators’ intent, but what this guy is picking up from what these words are laying down is the reminder that our God is sovereign, and nothing happens on this earth apart from Him allowing it. He permits the first beast to exercise authority over the earth for a time and to make war on the saints and even conquer them for a time. He grants the lower ranking beast to deceive those on earth, even supernaturally bringing to life inanimate objects. Whatever they do, it’s because God lets them. God allows the beasts to be the beasts.

And while we can ponder the why’s and the wherefore’s and the what’s and the how’s of Revelation 13, it is the Who that captures my worship this morning. The God who allows it.

The God who is ever present and ever in control. The God whose purposes are ever being accomplished. The God whose promises will always be fulfilled. The God whose power is the ultimate power which allows all other powers to play out.

There are so many things which are allowed in and around our lives. So many of them which bring sorrow, suffering, and bewilderment. But nothing happens which He has not permitted to happen. No one is acting apart from how He has granted they should act. Nothing that touches this earth that hasn’t passed through His fingers.

So, writes John to those who read the vision given to him:

Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.

(Revelation 13:10b ESV)

Endurance and faith.

Believing God is good. Knowing God is great. Confident that God has allowed it.

Endurance and faith.

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.

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The Right Filter

Posted on December 8, 2022 by Pete

Elihu presents the encore argument.

Jobs other friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite are done talking. Though they came to Job to “show him sympathy and comfort him” (Job 2:11), in trying to make sense of why Job is suffering they have instead speculated on what nature of sin he must have committed that would merit such devastation in his life. But Job doesn’t budge in declaring his righteousness and demanding a day before the throne of the Great Judge in order to plead his case. And so, the friends are frustrated into silence, “they ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes” (32:1).

Cue Elihu. Not sure where he came from, but he’s been listening for awhile. And he’s been getting angry. Angry at Job “because he justified himself rather than God” (32:2). Angry at Job’s three friends because “they had failed to refute him, and yet had condemned him” (32:3 CSB). And so the youngest among the these five men, burning with anger, thinks to provide the answer to the question that no one else has been able to provide.

In essence, Elihu rebukes Job’s friends for condemning Job for sin which Job hasn’t committed. He also rebukes Job for his self-justifying arrogance that because he had no sin God needed to explain Himself. And, most importantly, he reminds his elders about the need for the right filter — that we are to see life’s circumstance in light of who God is rather than see God in light of our circumstance. That hit home today in my reading in Job 34.

“Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding: far be it from God that He should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that He should do wrong. . . Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice.”

(Job 34:10, 12 ESV)

Whatever the situation, whatever the circumstance . . . however you try and factor God into it, God cannot act wickedly, He cannot do wrong, He will not pervert justice. Full stop. That becomes at least part of the filter for processing problems, for discerning dilemmas, for figuring out a fallen world.

Job faltered in this filter and demanded God explain himself and defend His sense of justice. For his friends’ part, though Job was, in fact, blameless, upright, one who feared God, and turned away from evil, his friends had to manufacture a sin narrative in order to convince themselves that God wasn’t “doing wickedness” through what He let befall Job. Both forced an answer to an impossible question — why do the righteous suffer? — because they wavered in their understanding of God.

I’m also reading in Jonah this morning, and filter comes into play there as well. In Jonah’s case, instead of arguing with God, he actually tries to flee God’s presence rather than go to Nineveh because he clearly understands the nature of God and doesn’t want to accept the “unjust” (at least in Job’s mind) implications of God’s character.

And he prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that You are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.”

(Jonah 4:2 ESV)

Subject God to the filter of our understanding, or subject ourselves to the filter of His revelation concerning Himself? See circumstance and judge God, or see God and live out circumstance in light of who He is?

Seems to me that’s what I’m picking up from what’s being laid down this morning — the need for the right filter.

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.

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That They May Be One

Posted on December 6, 2022 by Pete

An impossible standard? Perhaps. But Jesus not only doubles down on it, He triple downs, and even quadruple downs. If repetition is emphasis, then the Spirit is shouting this morning.

“And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, which You have given me, that they may be one, even as We are one. . .

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. The glory that You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one even as We are one, I in them and You in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent me and loved them even as You loved Me.”

(John 17:11, 20-23 ESV)

Christian unity a big deal? I’m thinkin’. So, this is why we are to be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3)? Thinkin’ that too.

What is a done deal — that we are ARE ONE in the Spirit even as Father and Son are one — is also to be a lived into reality. Positional attainment doesn’t preclude practical out-working. So that the world may know that the good news we proclaim, that the Father has sent the Son, really is good news.

Heavy sigh when that which is meant to draw people to Christ is absent, or at best clouded, when contending for the things of Christ. When our concern for the work of the gospel creates a wedge in the gospel. When our desire to do the right thing results in relational destruction and, by extension, a reason for the world not to believe.

Many are the reasons to lament the absence of goodness and the lack of pleasantness when brothers and sisters fail to dwell together in unity (Ps. 133:1). But when lament leads to repent, then the gospel is ready to present.

. . . that they may be one even as We are one, I in them and You in me, that they may become perfectly one . . .

That they may become perfectly one . . .

We are one in Christ. We are becoming one through Christ. We are being perfected into one (YLT). We are being made completely one (CSB). We are maturing in this oneness (MSG).

In the midst of division, we gotta believe that the gospel is still able to work a unifying revision — in fact, reconciliation is what the gospel does best (Eph.2:14-16). At some point we come to our senses, repent of our divisiveness, and place ourselves under the blood of Jesus to restore our cleanliness. Knowing that while we ARE one even as Father and Son are one, we are also becoming perfectly one as we come together as one at the foot of the cross.

Four times Jesus prays the prayer . . . that they may be one. Sounds like shouting to me.

Only by His grace. Because He is worth of the glory.

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A Shelter and A Shepherd (2017 Rerun)

Posted on December 5, 2022 by Pete

It’s been five+ years since my wife went home to be with the Lord. 10 years before that her sister experienced the reality of being absent from the body and present with the Lord. In March of this year, her mother was promoted into glory. And on November 26, her brother “fell asleep” and awoke face to face with Jesus. Don’t know for sure about reunions in heaven, but thinking they just might be a thing. Seeing Jesus is the prize, seeing one another however has got to be part of the joy of a place where there are no more tears.

This morning, as I read in Revelation 7, I hovered over a few verses that cast my minds eye towards the reality of being before the throne. Couldn’t help but think of Sue and Kathy, and mom and Guy. What’s it like right now for them? I can only imagine. And these verses helped fuel the imagination. Here’s some thoughts from 5 years ago.

While there may be debate as to who exactly they are, it seems pretty clear to me where they are. Those “coming out of the great tribulation” might specifically refer to believers martyred after the opening of the fifth seal (Rev. 6:9) or generally speak of all believers who have suffered through trial while on earth. Either way, I think I’m on solid ground when I think that their experience recorded in Revelation 7 is but a glorious “spoiler alert” of heaven for all who, one day, will be absent from the body and present with the Lord.

Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

(Revelation 7:15-17 ESV)

Here’s how William MacDonald summarizes the blessings which are theirs:

Perfect nearness: They are before the throne of God.
Perfect service: They serve Him day and night in His temple.
Perfect fellowship: He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.
Perfect satisfaction: They shall hunger nor thirst anymore.
Perfect security: They will never again be struck by searing sun nor scorching heat.
Perfect guidance: They will be led to springs of living water by the Lamb Himself
Perfect joy: God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

And what grabbed me this morning, as I hovered over this insight as to the current experience of those who have “gone before”, was the Shelter and the Shepherd.

He who sits on the throne will dwell among them, He will shelter them with His presence. Literally, He will tabernacle among them. He will pitch His tent over them. And that tent will be the awe-invoking, face-to-the-ground-compelling, worship-illiciting glory of His presence.

However strong the sense of His presence here on earth has been, when faith gives way to sight, that presence will be tangible . . . unavoidable . . . and altogether delightful. We will bask in the radiance of His emanating glory. Though He never leaves the throne, He will ever cover us. The resplendent rainbow that surrounds the throne (4:3) will be light upon our face. The flashes of lighting, and the rumblings and peals of thunder, that come from the throne (4:5) will be music to our ears – an irresistible invitation to join all those under the shelter to declare the holiness and worthiness of our God.

And if heaven were only about such shelter, that would be more than enough.

But there is also the Shepherd – the Lion of the tribe of Judah who we will behold as a Lamb, “as though it had been slain” (5:6). Our Redeemer in the midst of the throne – the One worthy to “receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (5:12). And He will be our Guide. Not only welcoming us into Divine presence but leading us to springs of living water. The Source of eternal life will be the Shepherd for eternal life.

He will tend His flock. Furnish them with pasture. Supply every need of their eternal souls. Fulfilling His promise that He would give them life and life more abundantly (John 10:10).

Shelter and a Shepherd. The experience of those who have “fallen asleep” in Christ.

Shelter and a Shepherd. The hope of those who remain, known even now, though dimly, by faith through the Spirit who indwells us.

Shelter and a Shepherd. The promise of eternity.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Behold the Lamb

Posted on December 1, 2022 by Pete

I’m chewing on the phrase this morning not because I particularly like dwelling on judgment, but because I’m reminded that our God is a full-dimensional God. That to pick and choose what attributes of God we want to be the attributes of God is really just to create a God after our own liking. But our God is a multi-faceted God and we don’t get to select the facets. He is the perfect, eternal, source — and thus definition — of all that comprises the nature of a living being (save for sin, that one’s on us alone). And honestly, these multi-facets sometimes create a holy dissonance. Case in point? The phrase I’m chewing on: The wrath of the Lamb.

Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

(Revelation 6:15-17 ESV)

The sixth seal has been opened (Rev. 6:12). A cataclysmic, world-wide earthquake occurs creating indescribable meteorological and geological upheaval. And everyone on earth — everyone, from king to slave, from the rich and powerful to the poor and weak — hides as they scramble for cover under the displaced mountains for refuge. Refuge from what? From the holy face of Him who is seated on the throne. And, from the wrath of the Lamb.

The Lamb? Yeah, the Lamb. The Lamb that came in flesh to offer Himself as a once for all sacrifice for the sins of mankind? Yes, Him. The One pictured in Isaiah, the suffering Servant who like a lamb was “led to the slaughter and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth” (Isa. 53:7), that Lamb? Yup. We’re talking the meek and lowly Jesus here, right? Right.

The Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, between the throne and the four living creatures and elders (Rev. 5:6). The Lamb recognized by those in heaven as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Rev. 5:5). The sacrificial Lamb also the sovereign Lion. The Lamb who gave Himself fully, one day requiring all to give an account fully. For those who by faith are the ransomed — those resting as the people of God under the cover provided at Calvary — their plea will be the blood of the Lamb. For those who refused Him, they’ll cry out to be covered by “mountains and rocks” as they try to hide from the wrath of the Lamb.

Behold our God in His fullness. Just as God is love, so He is wrath. Just as His love is holy and perfect, so too His wrath. Hard to wrap your head around, nevertheless true. It’s the stuff that overloads the brain, overwhelms the heart, and compels those who see the Lamb to fall to their knees.

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”

(Revelation 5:11-12 ESV)

Amen.

Behold the Lamb.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Suffering and Sweet Anticipation

Posted on November 30, 2022 by Pete

I read Job 29 and 30 this morning. A stark contrast. A compelling before and after picture.

There’s Job’s recollection of the days when he was in his prime and the “friendship of God” (29:4) was upon his tent, versus his current days, days when God had cast him “into the mire” and he had become but “dust and ashes” (30:19). The before when he knew “the Almighty was yet with me” because his children were still with him (29:5), versus the after when Job’s cries for help went unanswered (30:20) and all he could discern was that God had “turned cruel” to him (30:21). The yesterdays of Job’s wide-spread renown and popularity (29:7-11), versus the todays when both young and old derided him (30:1). Oh, those were the days, my friend, when Job thought that the prosperity he enjoyed then would be his dying prosperity (29:18). Instead, he finds himself with the life sucked out of him and “the days of affliction” binding him (30:16). Heavy sigh.

And that’s where my Job reading ends for today. No happy ending. No clean resolution. No obvious redemption. We’re still chapters away from the epic God reveal that puts Job’s sorrow and suffering into a much, much bigger context. Today’s reading ends and Job’s “fiddle plays nothing but the blues” and his “mouth harp wails laments” (30:31 MSG). Heavy sigh, again.

So, as I chew on it what do I do with it?

First, though Job looked up at an empty sky and wondered if God was even there much less aware, the fact that these chapters were recorded and have been preserved through the millennia reminds me that God does know, that He is intimately aware of our suffering. And not just theoretically aware but, because of the incarnation, He is personally and practically aware.

In the days of His flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to Him who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence. Although He was a son, He learned obedience through what He suffered. And being made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.

(Hebrews 5: 7-9 ESV)

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

(Hebrews 4:15 ESV)

Does Jesus know all about our sorrows? You know He knows!

Does Jesus care? O yes, He cares!

Then, I’m reminded that I’m not done the story yet. That there are more chapters yet to be read. That through Job’s suffering there will more about God to savor. That despite his present darkness there will come the promised light. That through his current season of barrenness there will be unimaginable glory to behold. And that brings me back to Job’s million dollar question at the beginning of the book seasoned with some New Testament perspective.

“Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”

(Job 2:10 ESV)

. . . but [God] disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

(Hebrews 12:10b-11 ESV)

So, while I finish this morning’s reading with Job still in the middle of his continuing suffering, confusion, and despair, I also leave with a sense of sweet anticipation. Reminded that today’s “after” picture will itself one day be but a faint “before” memory.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

(Romans 8:18 ESV)

By His grace. For his glory.

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