When we understand our identity in Christ, we see God's goodness and grace showered upon us. Over the next while, we are going to dive into what our identity is. Today, we will begin with what it means to be "In Christ."
You will find this expression mainly in Paul's letters since it is his favourite term for Christians. In Ephesians 1:1, Paul addresses the letter, "To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus." Paul would use this phrase 26 other times in this letter and 164 times combined in all his letters. Understanding this expression is such a game-changer to the way we view ourselves. So, what does this phrase indicate? A few things: Positionally we have been set apart and given a new standing. "To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours" (1 Corinthians 1:2; cf. 1 Corinthians 1:30; Philippians 1:1; 4:21; Col. 1:2). The word "sanctified" means to be "set-apart." We've been set apart from the penalty of death and domain of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of Jesus (Col. 1:13-14). Furthermore, we have been raised with Christ and seated with him "in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:6). Because we are in Christ, we are both residents of heaven and earth. We are covered with an alien righteousness. "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Galatians 3:27) "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith" (Philippians 3:9) We enjoy Jesus' perfect position before the Father. Since we are clothed in Christ and stand in him, we enjoy his perfect position before God the Father in heaven. We are seen as if we have lived his perfect life and therefore are recipients of His immeasurable love (Romans 8:31-39). We have escaped His condemnation which is upon all who are outside of Jesus (John 3:36). "And are justified (i.e. declared legally innocent of all wrongdoing] by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24). "Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved from him from the wrath of God" (Romans 5:9). "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). Our actions are not the grounds of our acceptance, justification and forgiveness; instead, this was achieved through Jesus' life of perfect obedience and sacrifice. It is because we are found "In Christ" that God accepts, justifies and forgives us. God the Father views us through the lens of His Son - the greatest object of His love. We've moved from death to life and have become a new creation. We come into this world as a descendent of Adam, and in Adam, all we experience is death because of our sin. This all changes the moment we are set apart and placed in Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:22). "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death. We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:3-4; cf. 1 Cor. 15:22; Col. 2:12) "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17) What is life? It is to know God and His Son. Jesus said, "And this is eternal life – to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent" (John 17:3). In Jesus, we are made alive and given new desires, attitudes and character. No longer are we insensitive towards sin, but we wage war against it so that we may reflect the one whom we are in (Php. 3:12-16; Col. 3:1-17). In fact, we are instruted to "walk in him" (Col. 2:6-7) How we live our life here on earth is directly parallel to how we view Jesus and also ourselves because of what Jesus has accomplished (Col. 3:1-7). Why should I live a righteous life? Why should I forgive? Why should I be compassionate? Why should I be patient and show grace? Because these things not only reflect who Jesus is, but also how he responded to us! Study to know who Jesus is, and what He has done, and you will grow to reflect Him. We share in what is Jesus' Since we are in Jesus, we get to enjoy what is his. The author of Hebrews writes, "For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end" (cf. Eph. 1:13). What exactly do we get to enjoy? Here are some things:
As you can see, there is a lot packed into these two little words – "In Christ." Hopefully, this little blog post will spur you on to study this topic in more detail, for this indeed is a source of joy and hope.
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Burnout. That's a scary word for those of us who are familiar with it. For me, it was something I saw firsthand when I was a teenager. I hadn't realized it at the time, but my Dad had been running on empty for a while. And then, it happened - burnout.
Many of the memories that I have of my Dad were of him working behind his desk writing messages and Bible Studies. He dedicated himself to serving God as a pastor to his flock, and he was motivated to teach them the great truths of the Bible. He would spend hours crafting his messages and studies so that others could understand what God has revealed to them through His Word. I respect my Dad for his dedication, and it is something I try to imitate in my own life. God created us to work (Genesis 2). As a pastor, we are instructed to diligently work to handle His Word rightly (2 Tim. 2:15). And that takes a great measure of time and effort in our study. As I reflect on how my Dad pastored, it seemed that a lot of the work fell on his shoulders. I'm not sure what the reason was for this. Perhaps it was that it was difficult to find volunteers? Or maybe it was because my Dad felt obligated to do the tasks? Whatever the case, he often carried the majority of the workload. But when I think about it, my Dad had always been someone who carried a heavy workload. Years before his burnout, he had gone to school full-time, worked at a gas station full-time, and spent time with his growing family. It was a heavy burden to carry. After he graduated, he continued to have a heavy workload. A church's workload, combined with the parental responsibilities of raising a growing family, is no small burden. Add to that the financial worries of providing for your family, and it increases even more. That's the weight that my Dad carried throughout his time as a pastor in his early years. I'm sure you can relate to this in some degree. Many parents carry the workload of their employment plus the responsibilities of raising and providing for their family. You know the weight that this is to carry. It's not easy. But is there a way that this can be alleviated? Often the hard way is the only way some of us learn. And for some strange reason, that's especially true of the Hanson clan. My Dad would learn the difficult way how to handle this weight. Before my Dad reached his breaking point, he experienced the loss of his sister Linda. Though there was an age gap between them, they were pretty close. She was one of his encouragers and supporters. They would spend time together chatting, sometimes for hours. My Dad watched his sister fade away as she fought her battle with cancer. He would come as often as possible to see her in the hospital until one day; she was gone. This was a dark day for my Dad. One that he didn't often talk about. My Dad's solution for dealing with grief seemed to be to bottle it up and not show others how he felt. So add this emotional weight to his other stresses, and it seems like a lot to endure. And it was. He was at his breaking point. What would you have done at this moment? Would you have pressed on or stopped to regroup? My Dad went on to serve another church. He continued on the path that he was familiar with until that path led him to complete physical, emotional and mental exhaustion. That's my Dad's story. And as a youth, it was scary to see this. Under the stress and pressures of life, my Dad went from working behind his desk to bedridden for months. He had lost his strength, and his health deteriorated until he lost half of his body weight. The burden was too much to carry, and he wasn't able to continue on that path. Something had to give. My Dad learned some fundamental lessons as he was lying on his bed, one of which being the importance of rest. As I grew up, he would often say that two hours were taken for every hour he put in extra. He would then warn us to take time to rest. The older I get, the more I realize how similar I am to my Dad. I also have a strong desire to work, and I need to make sure that I rest. Rest is just as important as work. And there are times when we need to stop to refresh our mind, body and soul. God emphasizes the importance of rest in the creation account. God is infinite in power. Meaning he can create the universe in a single day if he had determined to do so. And had he done that, the effort he expended would not have left him exhausted. Yet we read that God works six days to create the universe and rests on the seventh. What he was doing was showing us a pattern to follow. And to further highlight this, he blessed the seventh day and set it apart from the others. God doesn't simply want us to work, He wants us to rest as well. Being overworked doesn't do us any favors. It brings us to our breaking point. As I continue to reflect on what happened to my Dad, I have learned a few more lessons so that I can avoid burnout.
Burnout is a difficult thing to see people go through. It was difficult for me as a youth to see my Dad go through it. But there is a way to avoid it, and that is why I share these things with you. I hope they help you deal with the stresses, pressures and burdens of life. Life is interesting. When I started to write about learning to rest, I had no idea that I would soon experience fatigue. Currently, I am working through what health professionals would call emotional exhaustion, which is a "state of feeling emotionally worn-out and drained as a result of accumulated stress from your personal or work lives, or a combination of both."
(https://www.healthline.com/health/emotional-exhaustion) On February 14th, I received some news that would shake my world. My Dad, who had been diagnosed with three aneurisms about two years ago, was admitted to the hospital. Some tests were done that day, and it was determined that the aneurism on his Aortic artery was leaking. Surgery was suggested, but he refused to go under the knife because the risk was too high. There was nothing that could be done now except to make his last days on earth comfortable. That evening my mom contacted me through a video call. My mom is a strong woman, but on that evening, the news shook her. She had received the call from the hospital that Dad only a short time left. As she told me the report, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. So many thoughts and emotions ran through me. Some of which were quite confusing. I don't often cry, but tears rolled down my cheeks that day. As my wife held me, all I could think was, "He's leaving. I need to see him!". My brain was now working on overdrive. "What do I do?" There were a couple of obstacles in my path. I hadn't gone grocery shopping for two weeks, there was no food in the fridge, and if I left, my family wouldn't have what they needed. It was also late, and there was a 10-hour drive between where I was and where my Dad was. I remember thinking, "Would my Dad pass away before I could get there?" That evening, my wife and I worked busily to prepare to head out early the next morning. Adrenaline was rushing through my body, my mind was cloudy, and my heart was full of grief. Thankfully, that evening I was able to talk with my Dad through a video call. With tears in my eyes, I reminded him that I loved him. I said my goodbyes, thinking that maybe I wouldn't have another opportunity to do so. As I crawled into bed, my heart was breaking. I remember thinking, "My dad won't get the opportunity to hold my daughter." I hadn't been able to get to Alberta before all this because of work and government restrictions imposed on us in Manitoba. With a hurting heart, I struggled to get some sleep. We left in the morning, and I drove as quickly as possible to get to my Dad. I was praying the whole way, "God, keep my Dad alive. Let me see him so I can say goodbye in person". I have heard from others that I wasn't the only one praying that day. By God's grace, we arrived at the hospital 13 hours later, and as a family, we saw my Dad. He was able to see Thea in person for the very first time. When I got there, it was surprising. My Dad wasn't in much pain, and he was cracking off jokes to the nurses and us. God was gracious. He gave him more time than we expected — a week. We filled the week with multiple visits and had many good discussions. At times he looked and acted like he was okay, and I would have to wrestle with the fact that he couldn't just get out of bed and go home. Death is unpredictable. In the hospital, he went from having days to weeks and then back to hours. It messes with the emotions. On the night he passed away, my brother and I experienced one of the most challenging things in our lives. We witnessed the sheer panic of my Dad struggling to breathe. As we held him, the doctor came in. All I could think was "hold Dad", but Andrew had the fortitude to engage with the doctors. Later that evening, Dad passed away. It's interesting, but as our family looked at my Dad, we knew he wasn't there. His body was just a shell. He had gone home to be with Jesus. Where now, he is truly alive. There were many discussions after my Dad's passing. It was a challenging time. And during this time, I noticed something. I was tired. At first, I thought it was physical. With all the trips to the hospital and staying the night at the hospital the day before my Dad died, I figured it was just overexertion and lack of sleep. After getting sleep, the fatigue was still there. The emotional exertion and weight of this whole situation caused my fatigue. I would call it a numbness. I've been working through this, and what I have found to be helpful are a few things:
In these times, we do not want to lean on personal experience, but instead we want to learn from God how we should deal with emotional fatigue. And God, through His Word, gives us at least two examples. One example shows what He does, and the other shows what we can do. In 1 Kings 19, after the showdown at Mount Carmel, Elijah runs from Ahab. Ahab has made a promise to kill Elijah, and he is terrified. The emotional pressures of being a target of hatred weigh heavily on Elijah. This burden is too much to carry, and he prays that God would take his life. He then lays down and sleeps. How does God respond?
In 1 Samuel 30, we see another example of dealing with emotional fatigue. This time we see it from how people respond to others when they are going through such times. And it gives us a couple of practical aids to working through emotional exhaustion. In this chapter, the Philistines had captured the wives and children of all of David's men. They were so overwhelmed with grief that they "wept until they had no more strength to weep" (v. 4). What does David do?
After being instructed to pursue the captors, the men follow him. After a while, two hundred of them "were too exhausted to cross the valley" (v. 10). They had experienced emotional shock and sorrow, followed by physical exertion in pursuit of their enemy. They finally wore out. What does David do? He allows for the two hundred men to stay back to rest and watch over the supplies. As a soldier, David knows the importance of rest. You can't march against an enemy if your mind isn't in the battle. You need to rest and regroup. As someone who knew God's ways, he also knew the importance of rest. It was David who said, "The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me besides quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake". (Psalm 23:1-3) Notice how God brings us through life and allows for us to rest in green pastures, and leads us beside peaceful waters, so that he may refresh our soul. There are times in our life that we simply need to rest. And David knew this, both as a shepherd and a soldier. What happens when you get tired? When my daughter is tired, she gets cranky. Even the slightest things will cause emotional outbursts. I’ll be honest with you; my daughter reminds me of myself. When I get tired, I’m not as patient as I should be, and therefore, things trigger frustration quicker. Fatigue amplifies frustrations, which in turn causes us to act out in ways we often regret. Now, there are different types of fatigue, but there is one ultimate solution. Listen: "Then Jesus said, 'Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.' (Matthew 11:28-29) The solution to our fatigue is rest. The fatigue in focus here is spiritual, but I believe these words can still apply to other forms. I want us to explore over the next couple of weeks what it means to rest in Jesus. We are making a slight diversion from the topic we have been looking at the past few weeks; yet, we are still in line with it to some degree. In the book of Judges, Gideon calls God - Yahweh Shalom - which means the Lord is Peace (Judges 6:24). Rest and peace are often tied together, and hopefully, we will see that for ourselves over the next couple of weeks. Let’s talk about physical fatigue. Those times when we have exerted ourselves, and we feel physically worn-out. We’ve all been there. And we know that in these times, we don’t react logically. One example is Esau. “Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, ‘Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Genesis 25:29-30) Esau has come back from hunting in the field, physically worn out and hungry. He smells a delicious meal made by Jacob that is within reach and asks for some. It seems innocent, but what comes next in the story isn’t. Jacob barters for his brother’s birthright. He would give his brother a bowl of stew for his brother’s rightful blessing. Fatigue clouds our judgement and makes it hard for us to think clearly. Making decisions is never a wise course of action during these times, yet, Esau makes a quick decision and trades his birthright for instant relief from hunger. Physical fatigue doesn’t just impact our judgement; it causes us to be snarky and snappy. Our filter of grace and kindness seems to disintegrate. And we know it’s time for bed. Now, we may know what we need, but here’s the thing, like my daughter, we sometimes choose to fight against it. We push through our tiredness by consuming caffeinated beverages. I know because I’m guilty of this. So, why does this happen? Probably a whole number of reasons.
Many of these seem like good reasons. And perhaps we have a mixture of them. There’s another big reason we choose to push ourselves instead of rest, and that is, we often validate our worth by our work. Maybe, like me, you can relate to this. To this, Jesus says, “Come to me, and I will give you rest”. Part of that rest is understanding that our worth doesn’t stem from our performance but Christ’s. The Getty’s put it this way in their song “My Worth Is Not In What I Own”: “My worth is not in skill or name In win or lose, in pride or shame But in the blood of Christ that flowed At the cross” Let’s think about this for a moment. Whose acclaim are we seeking when we try to validate our worth by our work? We are seeking the praise of men, not God. And that is no way to live, especially when we consider God already esteems us in the most significant way because we are in His beloved Son. We try to push ourselves also because we believe that our world cannot go on without us. And so we try to do all the things. Maybe you can connect more to this one. But here’s the thing. The world was revolving before we were born, and it will continue to go on long after we are dead. Why? Because we aren’t the ones holding it together. Jesus is! Listen: “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17) We can either choose to push ourselves thinking that the world cannot operate without us; or rest in knowing that Jesus is in control. We can either choose to push ourselves to validate our worth; or rest in Jesus’ worth. Which one will it be?
Next week we will look at emotional and mental fatigue. So stay tuned! What do you do when you are overwhelmed or hurt? I’ve been thinking about this lately as I reflect on my relationship with my daughter. When she is scared or overwhelmed, she will look for Daddy or Mommy. When she bumps her head, she cries and then looks for us. But she doesn’t merely look; she crawls to us, looks up with her big blue eyes, and reaches out for us to pick her up. She wants to be held and feel safe. My daughter reminds me of how I should be with my Heavenly Father. When I am overwhelmed, I tend to stress over it, complain about it, and wallow in it. How about you? Like my daughter, what I should be doing in these moments, is looking to my Heavenly Father and reaching out to Him. Listen to these words: “The name of the LORD is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe” (Proverbs 18:10, NLT) We’ve been looking at some of the names of the Lord. Hopefully, you are discovering that these names point to more than a name. It reveals his character and work. For Christians, God’s character and work is a strong fortress. A refuge in times of trouble. Why does my daughter look for me when she is overwhelmed? Because she knows me and understands that I care for her. She trusts me. Do you know your Heavenly Father? Have you come to the point where you realize that he cares for you? Do you trust him? Trace the story of Israel, and you will learn that this takes time. God showed that He cared for them by delivering them from Egypt. Yet, when they reach the blockade of the Red Sea on one side and a pursuing army on the other, they cry out, “Did you bring us here just to kill us!” God then shows his love by splitting the Red Sea into two, causing them to cross over on dry land. He then defeats the pursuing army by closing the sea upon them. They are grateful, yet, as they journey through the wilderness, with no water for three days, they cry out again, “Did you bring us here just to kill us!” God then shows his love again, this time by providing clean drinking water in the wilderness. They are grateful, yet as they continue on their journey, they get hungry and cry out again, “Did you bring us here just to kill us!” God again shows his love, this time, by providing manna from heaven. God meets their needs each time, yet they have difficulty understanding that God cares for them. Notice that each time they complain, it is because of a different need. God provided us with an escape from Egypt, but surely He can’t split a sea in two?! God provided us with a passage through the sea, but surely He can’t make contaminated water drinkable?! God provided us with water in the desert, but surely He can’t provide food for us?! Yet, at each point in the story, God shows He is capable of meeting the need. Our season in life has brought many new challenges. Can God meet the needs that come with these challenges? You bet! Listen to these words: “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20, NLT) My daughter has come to trust me; have I come to trust my Heavenly Father? Because she trusts me, she comes to me when she is overwhelmed so that I may pick her up. I’m reminded of the name of God - Yahweh Nissi - The Lord is my banner. It’s an intriguing name. We discover the name first in Exodus 17, where the Amalekites made an unprovoked attack on Israel in the wilderness. Israel was no match against these well-trained soldiers. Yet, they were not alone. God was with them and would fight for them. And He would demonstrate this in a pretty strange way. Moses would be on a mountain, and Israel would fight beneath it. When his staff was above his head, the battle would be in favour of Israel. When he lowered his staff, the fight would turn in favour of the Amalekites. You might be wondering, “What’s so special about Moses’ staff?” Nothing per se. The staff was a piece of wood, but what this stick represented made it a source of power. It symbolized the hand of God. God would use it as a visible demonstration for His people numerous times in the book of Exodus. Moses’ position of raising his hands is a demonstration of prayer. What’s the picture then? Moses is relying on the power and strength of God to win the battle. And Israel is led by God into victory. After this event, we read: “Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-Nissi (which means “the LORD is my banner”)." (Exodus 17:15, NLT) We discover this name again in the book of Psalms. And there we see its significance. “But you have raised a banner for those who fear you – a rallying point in the face of attack” (Psalm 60:4, NLT) What does it mean for God to be our banner? It means He is our rallying point. The one who we run to in times of difficulty. We run to Him because He is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble.
Just as my daughter turns to me when she is overwhelmed or hurting, I need to turn to my Heavenly Father. And as my daughter comes crawling so that I may pick her up, I need to go to my Heavenly Father so that he may deliver me. He is to be my rally point. Now, does my daughter always come crawling to me? No. Sometimes she stays where she is and flails around. Does she still want to be held? Yes, but for some reason, she stays in the same place. It is during those moments that I come to her and pick her up. And so it is the same with my Heavenly Father. When you are overwhelmed or hurting, go to God. And you will discover that He is the refuge and strength that you need in times of trouble. Do your children always know the good that you are doing for them? My daughter is at a stage in her development where she loves to explore and discover. But that can sometimes be a dangerous thing. There are things she shouldn’t touch or put in her mouth. Sometimes when we take these things away, she screams. She doesn’t understand that we are taking these things away for her good. She reminds me of my tendencies regarding my relationship with my heavenly Father. God doesn’t merely give; sometimes, he takes away. Job reminds us of that truth. “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The LORD gave me what I had, and the LORD has taken it away. Praise the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21, NLT) When He takes things away, it is not because He is unloving; instead, it’s the complete opposite. It is because He cares for us that He deprives us of certain things. We might be okay with the fact of God taking away something that would harm us. After all, this is what we do for our children. We cover the electrical sockets, put locks on doors, block off rooms or dangers with baby gates, take away small things they could choke on, even rip out garbage from their hands, all in attempts to protect them. But here’s the question we need to ask, “What does God believe is harmful to us?” You see, we often have a different outlook than our heavenly Father does. My daughter and I have different perspectives. If she could choose whether to cover the sockets or put locks on doors, she wouldn’t choose it. She doesn’t see the danger in them. We do, and that’s why we take them away. Like my daughter, I sometimes don’t recognize the harm in things that my heavenly father takes away from me. So, back to the question, “what does God believe is harmful to us?” I encourage you to grapple with that question as you study your bible this week. Right now, I want to present two things that may help us understand the situation we are facing today. First, God has determined that pursuits that draw us away from Him are harmful. “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them…” (Exodus 20:3-5) A god or graven image is anything that takes God’s rightful preeminent place in our life. These gods can be physical or invisible. Money, luxuries, employment, education, politics, sports, popularity, beauty, health, positions of influence, and even family can become gods in our life. To pursue these things above God, spending our time, attention, and resources is to worship them. The list above may be full of good things. The question we need to ask, though, is this, “What is life all about?” I think John Piper puts it quite plainly, “The chief purpose of man is to glorify God by enjoying him forever”. These pursuits that draw us away from Him robs us of that pleasure. Therefore, God sometimes takes away these things so that we may once again pursue Him and find the most profound joy imaginable in Him. Second, God has determined that complacency is harmful. He says these words to the church of Laodicea. “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16) The church here was complacent in their faith. Complacency is the attitude of being satisfied with oneself or one’s achievements and possessions. The danger of complacency is that we stop pursuing God. Why do we need to seek him if we think we have all that we need? So, how does God confront this? He begins to remove those things in our life that foster this attitude so that we may continue to seek after Him. God doesn’t take things away to deprive us of life but to lead us into an abundance of it. Listen to this promise that Jesus made: “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10) The problem is that we equate life with stuff and privileges. But stuff doesn’t meet our most pressing concerns. Let’s be honest with ourselves. We struggle with anxiety, depression, loneliness, guilt, weakness, discouragement, emptiness. The person with even the most toys finds that these things don’t meet these needs. The life that God leads us into is one where we experience peace, joy, companionship, forgiveness, strength, and true satisfaction. And sometimes, God must take things away so that we may enjoy this life. In Psalm 23, David calls God - Yahweh Ra'ah - the Lord is my Shepherd. A shepherd leads his sheep into good pastures. He removes certain things that could cause his sheep to get sick or die. Yet, he always makes sure that his sheep have what they truly need. And that is the way God leads us. Now there are two ways we could respond. We could be like my daughter and complain, or we could thank God and trust that He is doing what is best for us. How you respond shows who you believe God to be. With the continuation of the regulations placed on our province, times continue to be challenging. Some have lost their jobs, some are on the verge of losing their jobs and business, and many are worried about providing for themselves and their families. And there are other needs as well. Is there hope? Is there anyone who can provide for our needs when we are unable to? Today I want to share with you a story that addresses this question. Remember Abraham and Sarah? They were given a promise that they would have a son. Many years after the events of what we looked at last week, Sarah bears a child. It occurred 25 years after the promise was made. And it happened at a time in her life when she was long past being able to have children. God is the one who opened the womb and provided. One of the many blessings that God gives is children. When Thea came into the world, it was one of the best days of my life. She arrived into my world healthy, whole and full of energy. Aimee and I called her Theadora because of the meaning behind the name. It is the female equivalent of Theodore which means “Gift of God”. She is our gift from God, and though parenting can be challenging, and there are times we want to pull out our hair, we remember the blessing she is. I can imagine then to some degree what Sarah and Abraham must have experienced. They are filled with joy and now they get to see their son grow up. It’s incredible to see Thea grow. She is growing far quicker than I could imagine. She’s at a stage now that she is standing, furniture walking and trying to scale the baby gates. I love her spunk, determination and giggles. I can only imagine what I will see as she continues to grow. Abraham and Sarah see their son Isaac grow up from a baby, to a toddler, to a young child, to a teenager. And then God calls Abraham to do something that for us seems outrageous. "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you". (Genesis 22:2) If you skip to the end of the story, you will discover that God didn't intend for Abraham to carry through the whole way. He is against human sacrifice. Something greater is taking place. But we will get to that shortly. Was Abraham privy to this? No. So, could you imagine what Abraham must have experienced at this moment? His heart must have sank. Yet, Abraham obeys God. He wakes up early, prepares the wood, saddles the donkey and brings Isaac and two others to go to Moriah. They travel for three days. That must have been the longest three days of Abraham’s life. But notice his faith. "Then Abraham said to his young men, 'Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.'" (Genesis 22:5) Abraham is convinced that somehow God would provide and make a way for both of them to return. And they head out. Along the way, Isaac realizes that they have the wood and fire but they don't have a sacrifice. Notice again Abraham's faith. "Abraham said, 'God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.'" (Genesis 22:8) Abraham is convinced that God would provide. And he continues on the way. On the mountain he builds an altar, lays down the wood, and places Isaac on the altar. Isaac doesn't fight and try to flee. I imagine at this point Abraham is wondering whether God would provide. As Abraham plunges the knife towards his son, God calls to him to stop, for he has provided a substitute. A ram caught in the thicket by his horns. Abraham takes the provision and Isaac is spared. And Abraham calls the name of that place.. . “The Lord will provide” (Genesis 22:14) The question we started with was, “Is there someone who can provide for our need even when we are unable to?” The answer is yes. God can and does provide. He is Yahweh Jireh - the God who provides. When we think of the word “provision” we often think “the action of providing or supplying something”. However, if you look of the etymology of the word you will discover that it carries the meaning of “providing beforehand” or “the action of arranging in advance”. It’s not simply that God provides, but he arranges in advance what we need. In this case, a substitute sacrifice. How is he able to do this? Simply put, he sees our need before we need it. And he gives us what we need when we need it. So trust God and wait for His timing. Here's the thing though. It is one thing to know that he can meet our needs, its another thing to know that he cares enough to meet our need. Does he truly care? Yes. "Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you" (1 Peter 5:7) How can I know that he truly cares about me? I mentioned earlier that there is something greater happening in this story. It's not merely a testing but a foreshadowing. On this same mountain, God would meet our greatest need - salvation. And he did that by providing the lamb that takes away our sin - Jesus. As the ram takes Isaac's place, Jesus takes our place. He dies for us. There is no greater love than this. So, does God care? Yes, and the cross proves it. Since he met our greatest need, we know he will meet our lesser needs. But we sometimes wonder what needs he would meet. Is it the more significant things? What about minor needs? Hear these words... "And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19) For those who have responded in faith to Jesus, God has taken it upon himself to preserve and provide for us. And He has at his disposal all that we need to get through this current crisis. So, turn to him in faith and cast all your concerns upon him, for he cares for you. When I'm mistreated, does God see me? When I'm hurting, does God see me? When I'm going through a difficult year, does God see me? Have you ever asked those questions? If you have, I have good news for you...God does in fact see you. In the bible, there is a story about two women - Sarah and Hagar. Sarah was Abraham's wife. Sarah and Abraham were given a promise that they would have a son. Ten years pass by, and that child hadn't come. Now, think about that for a moment. Infertility is a devastating thing. It's painful when month after month you are reminded that you aren't able to have a child or be a parent. I know this, because I have travelled this path. My daughter Thea came after a couple years of trying purposefully to have a child. Each month we would have hope and each month that hope would be dashed...and then the cycle would continue roughly another 24 times. It was a difficult road to travel, and it was short compared to how long other couples wait. I couldn't imagine waiting ten years. Sarah wonders if she heard right. She is beyond the years of bearing children. Maybe what God meant was they would be given a son. In now enters the second woman. Hagar, Sarah's servant. Sarah gives Hagar to Abraham and Hagar becomes pregnant. This makes things worse. Jealousy creeps into Sarah's heart. I've experienced this too. While my wife and I were trying and praying that God would give us a child, we would hear of others around us having babies. One lady, who we thought was incapable of having children due to medical reasons, became pregnant. It stung! I remember wondering, "God are you aware of us? Do you see what we are going through? Do you see how we are struggling?" Sarah is not just jealous, she is bitter. And she takes it out on Hagar. Hagar isn't entirely innocent, she in some way shows contempt towards Sarah. The result is that there was heated friction between these two women. And Sarah turns up the heat, treating Hagar harshly. And what does Hagar do? She runs. This doesn’t seem like a reasonable thing to do. There are many dangers that she could have faced. There would have been wild animals that could have attacked her. There would have been men who could have taken advantage of her. There would have been a beating hot sun and rugged terrain to endure. And she was pregnant at this time! She could have lost the baby. But she wants to escape the mistreatment, the hurt, the difficulty. She wants to put space between her and Sarah. But by doing so she runs from one hardship to another. She must have been thinking, "Does anyone see me? Does anyone care about what I am going through?" It is in that context we read these words: "The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the sping on the way to Shur" (Genesis 16:7) God sees her and finds her. He is concerned about Hagar and tells her to go back to Sarah (a very challenging thing to do) and encourages her that she will be blessed. After the dialogue between the angel of the LORD and Hagar we read: "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 16:13) The Hebrew name she calls God is - El Roi - which is translated "The God who sees". God is not blind to what happens in our life. At no point does God ever think, "Wow, I didn't know that. I was unaware you were going through that in your life". He sees everything! There is a verse in Proverbs that reassures us of this. "The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good”. (Proverbs 15:3) Notice three things in this verse:
God sees all things in all places at all times. Depending upon your relationship with God, that could either be very reassuring or very scary. As for me, I am comforted by these words. Especially when I bring to minds these words: “The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him..." (2 Chronicles 16:9, NLT) So back to the question we started with. Does anyone see what we are going through? You bet! God see's us. And for those who are committed to Him, His eyes are always watching us so that he may strengthen and keep us. And that is something that gives us hope.
Hope grows as we remember who is with us. This year has been challenging, but because of God I have had the strength, wisdom, peace and joy that I needed to face each day. I have had an assurance that I have someone greater than me to deal with the matters that 2020 threw at me. It's not just the fact that He is in control that brought peace, its the fact that he sees, hears, knows, and engages in my life. This Sunday I shared a message from Exodus 3 about Moses and the burning bush. There God appears to Moses and what he says reveals who He is. "Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey..." (Exodus 3:7-8) He is not a cosmic force which is isolated from us, or who can't feel what we are going through. Though he transcends the universe, he also enters into it and relates with others. He sees, he hears, he knows and he comes down to act. That's reassuring isn't it. He sees all we have gone through this year. He hears all our our cries of exhaustion, frustration and pleas for help. He knows the full situation of what we are experiencing. That's a wonderful thought. The creator of the universe knows what we are going through. But what is even greater, is that He enters into our life to help us and to lead us out of the situation we are facing. In Exodus 3 God knows Israel's situation and determines to send Moses to rescue them. Moses questions whether he has what it takes to do the job and asks, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” And God's response is, "I will be with you". It doesn't matter who I am, and whether I can face this new year. I know that on my own I'll feel overwhelmed and discouraged. What matters is not, "Who am I?" but "Who is with me?" Moses would ask a similar question when he asks for God's name. In ancient times a name usually reflected the persons character. By asking for God's name, he is asking, "Who are you?" And what does God say? “I am who I am.” (Exodus 3:14) That sounds like a pretty cryptic name, doesn't it. What does it mean? Here's what I have discovered.
That's who God is. So, let me ask a question. Is He with you? If you have turned to Jesus in faith and received his gift of salvation, then God IS with you. And as Paul writes in Romans 8:31 - "If God is for us, who can stand against us?"
Over the next couple months, I want us to focus on the one who is with us - God. And we will do that by exploring some of his names. Have you ever had to download something and it took forever? Have you waited in line at a fast-food chain for over a few minutes? Have you ordered something online and the parcel took longer than expected to arrive? Waiting…we don’t like it. We are used to a world where things are quick, fast, instant. If we want approval we will send out texts to a multiple of people so that we can hear quickly from at least one person. If we want a quick meal we go through a drive thru or throw a meal in the microwave. If we want to shed a few pounds we find a slim-fast diet. If we want a parcel to arrive quickly we spend the extra money to get Amazon Prime delivery. You get the picture…we like things quick. This same mentality creeps into all aspects of life. But sometimes we need to wait. There is a person in the Christmas story that reminds me of this truth. His name is Simeon. We read about him in the gospel of Luke. There we read: “Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon Him” (Luke 2:25) He was waiting. For what? The consolation of Israel. That’s a title for Jesus. To console someone is to bring comfort and strength to a person, especially someone who is disheartened. How long was he waiting? I would imagine from an early age. As a nation, Israel had been waiting for a long long time for the promised one who would strengthen and rescue them. One of my favorite Christmas carols focuses on this longing. O come, O come Emmanuel And ransom captive Israel That mourns in lonely exile here Until the son of God appear Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanual Shall come to you, O Israel. Now Simeon wasn’t simply waiting for Jesus, he was waiting for a promise to be fulfilled. We go on to read about this promise:
“And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:26). That’s a wonderful promise. He would see Jesus. But when was this promise made? It doesn’t say. How long did he have to wait? It doesn’t say. He could have been waiting for years. Could you imagine being in his position? Waiting can often feel like an eternity. Waiting is also difficult when you see things coming closer and closer. Like a child at Christmas. The hardest day for me was Christmas Eve. I couldn’t sleep. I wanted Christmas to be now. There are events that were happening as Simeon was waiting. The angels had appeared to the shepherds. And the shepherds had been spreading the news of the baby that was born. This news no doubt reached Simeon. Can you imagine the excitement? But he wouldn’t see this baby for another forty days. Waiting…ugh. But the day arrived. “And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, ‘Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel’.” (Luke 2:27-32) Waiting can often be difficult. As Christians we are waiting. Like Simeon we are waiting for the arrival of Jesus. We are expecting his return, and that will be a glorious day. And just as the promise was fulfilled and Simeon saw Jesus, the promise of his return is just as sure. What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for things to go back to normal? That may never happen. Then what? There is something far grander to wait for…and that is Jesus’ return. You see, on that day, all the injustices will be dealt with...all the miseries will come to an end…and there would be peace and joy all over the whole earth. But for now, we wait. Yet waiting doesn’t mean inactivity. As we wait, we serve others. We share of God’s greatness and goodness to a world that needs to see it. And sometimes, as we wait for his return, we also wait for his timing for things to happen in our life. And in this waiting, there is much blessing and growth. But that is another story for another time. |
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