Showing posts with label Encouragement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Encouragement. Show all posts
Sunday, August 24, 2025
Encouragement Coexisting With Discouragement
Paul refers to how opposites often coexist, such as joy and sorrow existing together (2 Corinthians 6:10, 7:4). If you do something good, and it gets a bad response or less of a good response than it should, that's discouraging. But there's a sense in which that poor response should be encouraging, if it reflects how much the work you've done is needed. When there's a widespread problem, you typically won't see a major change for the better as a result of the work of one person. Usually, any improvement that occurs as a result of one person's work, especially in the short term, will be of a lesser nature. It's important to judge your work (and the work of others) objectively. If you've done something that should get a particular type of positive response, that's a different issue than whether it will get that response. If there's a problem you're addressing, how surprised should you be if the people perpetuating the problem (e.g., through their apathy) don't respond well when you try to solve that problem? If your work passes the test of being objectively valuable, the poor response to that work should remind you of the fact that your work is needed and perhaps even needed more than you previously realized. That should encourage us, though I'm not denying that the situation is simultaneously discouraging in other ways. It's a mixed situation. The point I'm making here is that we shouldn't think of it as solely discouraging.
Thursday, May 16, 2024
Looking Beyond Initial Reactions
"We are, indeed, desirous, as we ought to be, that our ministry may prove salutary to the world…If, to punish, partly the ingratitude, and partly the stubbornness of those to whom we desire to do good, success must prove desperate, and all things go to worse, I will say what it befits a Christian man to say, and what all who are true to this holy profession will subscribe:—We will die, but in death even be conquerors, not only because through it we shall have a sure passage to a better life, but because we know that our blood will be as seed to propagate the Divine truth which men now despise." (John Calvin)
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
What A Layman Can Accomplish: T.S. Mooney
I first heard about T.S. Mooney several years ago from Alistair Begg. What's stood out most to me about Mooney is how he died, a topic I wrote about earlier this year. Something else about him that stands out in my mind is how much he accomplished relative to his low status in the church and society.
I recently read a book about Mooney, written shortly after his death by several men who knew him. The book is titled Mission Completed (T.S.M. Books, 1986). Here are some excerpts, and be sure to read my post linked above about Mooney's death as well:
I recently read a book about Mooney, written shortly after his death by several men who knew him. The book is titled Mission Completed (T.S.M. Books, 1986). Here are some excerpts, and be sure to read my post linked above about Mooney's death as well:
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Reflections on the Church in Great Britain
D.A. Carson writes about what he perceives to be the state of Christianity in the UK.
Similarly I found Carson's article "Observations of a Friend" (1995) insightful.
Although it's been a couple of years since I read it, if I recall, Carson and Woodbridge also had a bit to say on the same topic in their book Letters Along the Way (1993).
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Encouragement For Apologists
What's below is a portion of an email I recently sent regarding encouragement for apologists. I'm posting it here in case it would be helpful to other people. Though I was addressing individuals who do apologetic work, my comments are applicable to those doing other work as well:
Friday, October 22, 2010
Make An Effort To Encourage
People often set aside time for studying the Bible, praying, and doing other work associated with living the Christian life. Do you set aside time to encourage people? We live in a highly apathetic, trivialized, and secularized society. There isn't much appreciation for the work done by those who serve in the local church or who are involved in evangelism, prayer, or other such work elsewhere. If a hundred people benefit from the work a Christian does, often only one or two of them, or none at all, will express any appreciation. Often, people who work in Christian ministry hear more from those who disapprove of their work than they hear from those who approve of it. You should regularly make an effort to encourage people who have benefited you in some manner. That's also true of non-Christians who have helped you, but it should especially be true of other Christians. Regularly set aside time to encourage people. You'll probably do it far more often if you think of it as something you should regularly set aside time to do.
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Happy Dependence Day!
Tomorrow is the 4th of July, our nation's celebration of its declaration and victory of independence from the British. Stinkin' redcoats! Just kidding. (I'm actually an Anglophile. For Queen and Empire! Okay, maybe not that much of an Anglophile...)
However, I just wanted to briefly suggest that as Christians we should think of the day (perhaps as we think of all our days, so that we'd gain a heart of wisdom) as our Dependence Day. Our dependence upon the Lord God -- the one, true, and living God, who revealed himself to us in the Holy Scriptures and ultimately in His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ himself.
We're dependent upon God for everything. From life itself, for every breath we breathe. For who we are as individuals, our personalities and the circumstances we were born into. For which families we were born into as well. For the time and place in which we were born. For our climate -- physical and moral. For our culture and background. For our friends and neighbors. For our physical needs like food, clothing, and shelter. For our jobs. For our communities. For the wonderful (and, yes, not-so-wonderful) people we've met in our lives. For our gifts and talents and opportunities. For the church, who is Christ's Bride and witness of himself in this fallen world. For our pastors and teachers who strive to hold out the Word of God to us, day by day. For our society, insomuch as the truths of God and Christians have been its salt and light -- and for not being as depraved as it could be by God's grace. For our government and laws and leaders. For the soldiers who serve in our military and protect our nation. For the relative peace and security of our society, which allows for the gospel to advance. And for so much more.
In all things we are dependent upon the Lord God.
Of course, at any time, these blessings could be taken away. We could lose our jobs. Our friends or loved ones could leave us. We ourselves could die at any moment. Our community or state or nation could suffer a major catastrophe. And that is why we are to be always humble and thankful for the blessings we do have as believers, and to continue to pray to the Lord that he would do what best glorifies himself and is for our good as his people.
Let us pray that no matter what, even if it means our liberties and freedoms and rights are taken away from us as Christians, even if it means all our goods and kindreds are taken away from us, we would nevertheless continue to live lives which honor and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. (Although I'm not at all suggesting we shouldn't fight to maintain these freedoms and rights.) How so? By always seeking intimate communion with our precious Lord and Savior in his Word and in prayer so that we would know him all the more, know his love for us, and thus by his grace working in us to love him with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind, and our neighbors. By seeking God and his kingdom first and foremost in our lives, that his kingdom would expand in our hearts and the hearts of others. By preaching the gospel with our lives and our lips. By humbly and joyfully doing good to our neighbors, from wherever they might come, and whoever they might be, even if they are our enemies (I'm speaking on an individual, personal, relational level here). And by trusting and seeking to continue trusting, by repenting and seeking to continue repenting, by knowing and seeking to continue knowing, by loving and seeking to continue loving our thrice holy God, our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, and others.
In all things we trust in God from whom all blessings flow. In all things we thank and praise him -- not just for the blessings he has given to our nation but also for its difficulties and trials which we pray would turn hearts and lives in repentance and faith towards him. In all things we trust and know God is sovereign, and that he is so very good to us as his people, infinitely far more than we deserve. In all things we humbly trust and thank him, and ask that he might glorify himself in and through us, as he best sees fit, for we are ever dependent upon him.
Happy Dependence Day!
P.S. And let's hope we're not invaded by hostile space aliens. In case we are, though, I've updated my Blogger profile to meet the challenge.
However, I just wanted to briefly suggest that as Christians we should think of the day (perhaps as we think of all our days, so that we'd gain a heart of wisdom) as our Dependence Day. Our dependence upon the Lord God -- the one, true, and living God, who revealed himself to us in the Holy Scriptures and ultimately in His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ himself.
We're dependent upon God for everything. From life itself, for every breath we breathe. For who we are as individuals, our personalities and the circumstances we were born into. For which families we were born into as well. For the time and place in which we were born. For our climate -- physical and moral. For our culture and background. For our friends and neighbors. For our physical needs like food, clothing, and shelter. For our jobs. For our communities. For the wonderful (and, yes, not-so-wonderful) people we've met in our lives. For our gifts and talents and opportunities. For the church, who is Christ's Bride and witness of himself in this fallen world. For our pastors and teachers who strive to hold out the Word of God to us, day by day. For our society, insomuch as the truths of God and Christians have been its salt and light -- and for not being as depraved as it could be by God's grace. For our government and laws and leaders. For the soldiers who serve in our military and protect our nation. For the relative peace and security of our society, which allows for the gospel to advance. And for so much more.
In all things we are dependent upon the Lord God.
Of course, at any time, these blessings could be taken away. We could lose our jobs. Our friends or loved ones could leave us. We ourselves could die at any moment. Our community or state or nation could suffer a major catastrophe. And that is why we are to be always humble and thankful for the blessings we do have as believers, and to continue to pray to the Lord that he would do what best glorifies himself and is for our good as his people.
Let us pray that no matter what, even if it means our liberties and freedoms and rights are taken away from us as Christians, even if it means all our goods and kindreds are taken away from us, we would nevertheless continue to live lives which honor and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. (Although I'm not at all suggesting we shouldn't fight to maintain these freedoms and rights.) How so? By always seeking intimate communion with our precious Lord and Savior in his Word and in prayer so that we would know him all the more, know his love for us, and thus by his grace working in us to love him with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind, and our neighbors. By seeking God and his kingdom first and foremost in our lives, that his kingdom would expand in our hearts and the hearts of others. By preaching the gospel with our lives and our lips. By humbly and joyfully doing good to our neighbors, from wherever they might come, and whoever they might be, even if they are our enemies (I'm speaking on an individual, personal, relational level here). And by trusting and seeking to continue trusting, by repenting and seeking to continue repenting, by knowing and seeking to continue knowing, by loving and seeking to continue loving our thrice holy God, our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, and others.
In all things we trust in God from whom all blessings flow. In all things we thank and praise him -- not just for the blessings he has given to our nation but also for its difficulties and trials which we pray would turn hearts and lives in repentance and faith towards him. In all things we trust and know God is sovereign, and that he is so very good to us as his people, infinitely far more than we deserve. In all things we humbly trust and thank him, and ask that he might glorify himself in and through us, as he best sees fit, for we are ever dependent upon him.
Happy Dependence Day!
P.S. And let's hope we're not invaded by hostile space aliens. In case we are, though, I've updated my Blogger profile to meet the challenge.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Feelings, nothing more than feelings
I have a friend who has recently been struggling over his feelings and emotions (among other things) through a difficulty. By God's grace, Steve has graciously ministered to him with sweet words of comfort, encouragement, and strength. So, with their permission, and after some editing on my part mainly to preserve as much anonymity as possible, several portions of Steve's half of the dialogue are posted below. I trust Steve's words will minister to others as they've ministered to my friend.
For many of us, what makes life pleasant or even bearable is the combination of certain people and places. We need certain people in certain places to survive emotionally. One without the other isn't enough.
Haven't heard from you for a while. It's possible that you're having second thoughts about your situation. Even if [there's failure], that doesn't mean you made a mistake. Although she isn't ordinarily ranked with Plato, Aristotle, or Descartes among the great all-time philosophers, Lucille Ball had a sage piece of advice: "I'd rather regret the things that I have done than the things that I have not."
It didn't change your situation, but to some extent it changed you, and that, in turn, makes it easier for you to change your situation. You can put that experience to good use in the future.
Remember the adage: I'd rather regret the things I did than the things I didn't.
Although you're entitled to your feelings, you need to be careful not to dwell on your feelings.
On the other hand, your feelings are justified, and there's no automatic expiration date on how you feel. You're naturally going to be reflecting on your experience for some time to come.
Be patient with yourself.
BTW, don't feel that you have to act like a plaster saint about your emotions. There's a kind of Hallmark card piety that's promoted in a lot of fluffy Christian books and sermons.
But if you read the Psalms or Jeremiah or 2 Corinthians, you see raw emotions on full display. And a full range of emotions. Not just faith, hope, and love. So you're in good company.
You feel lonely because you're alone, away from friends (except for a couple) and family, living among strangers, in a strange part of the world, with a disagreeable climate.
That part of how you feel is due to external circumstances. That will dissipate as soon as you move back home. We can sometimes change our feelings by changing our circumstances.
That sadness won't go away so easily, but moving back home will help.
At present you're in no position to gauge your future or your feelings. You're too close to the situation right now.
At the moment you basically have two sets of emotions. One set is from living away from home. Away from your family and friends.
The other set of emotions has to do with the [difficulty]. You're coming right off of that experience.
The first set of emotions is driven directly by your immediate circumstances. The confluence of these feelings with sort themselves out as soon as you move back.
So that part of the problem will solve itself. That will still leave you with the other set of emotions. But, right now, you don't know which is which. They blend in to each other.
As long as you're a stranger in a strange land, you're in no position to judge your feelings or evaluate your future. Wait till you get back, settle back into your old rhythm, before you even attempt to take stock of your situation.
Put another way, wait till you move back, till you've been there for two or three months. That will automatically shrink your sadness down to more manageable levels. You will have far less to cope with.
It's easier to climb a mountain in summer than in winter. It's an effort to climb a mountain at any time. But it's more of an effort if you have to contend with all the snow and ice. Wait for the right season.
There's nothing inherently sinful about being "selfish" in the sense of preparing for your own future or attending to your own natural, emotional needs.
You're being way too apologetic. You've done nothing wrong. Naturally your mind is still on this situation. That's not going to evaporate overnight. Go easy on yourself, not hard on yourself.
Life in a fallen world has a tragic quality. There are genuine losses.
I wouldn't worry about your other emotions right now. They're perfectly natural and understandable at this point. Give them time to fade a bit.
Moreover, we don't forget important things that happen to us (well, nursing home patients may be an exception!).
As long as you don't go on a shooting rampage, don't browbeat yourself about how you feel at the moment. :-)
Or, if you do go on a shooting rampage, make sure it's a video game!
Hope you're feeling somewhat better now that you're back home. You have a lot of fresh, painful memories to process, so the feelings won't fade overnight, but moving back to familiar surroundings, with family and friends, ought to help the healing process.
However, we're not necessarily the same person after some experiences. And it's unfair to compare ourselves to an earlier, pristine version of ourselves.
I wouldn't worry about your [bad feelings] if I were you.
Put it this way: it's enough to have these feelings; it compounds the problem if you also feel guilty about your feelings, because that piles one set of feelings on top of another. You're adding the feelings of guilt to your [bad feelings]. So, pretty soon, it's feelings about feelings about feelings, like a receding, mirror-image glaring over your shoulder.
So I think you should stop blaming yourself for your feelings. These are perfectly natural, normal feelings.
It's enough to feel [bad]. Don't blame yourself by feeling bad about your bad feelings!
One set of bad feelings is quite enough, don't you agree? :-)
It's a good thing that we have a capacity to form emotional attachments. But the flipside of this capacity is that we suffer accordingly when that attachment is betrayed or unreciprocated.
That, of itself, is not a bad thing. That's the inevitable result of forming emotional attachments.
It's only a bad thing when people cling to these feelings and feed them rather than allowing them to be reabsorbed.
2. In my experience, for what it's worth, there's a difference between giving thanks and feeling thankful.
I find that when I give thanks, even though I'm not in the mood, thankful feelings tend to be the result of giving thanks.
3. Finally, and this is more of a priority, don't focus on whether you feel spiritual. Whether you have holy emotions.
Instead, focus on what makes you feel good by taking pleasure in the natural blessings of life. What is it that normally makes you happy? It is walking along the beach? Having a meal with your family? Watching a movie with an old friend?
Natural goods are also godly goods. They come from God's hand. The innate sanctity of God's creation.
4. Apropos (3), we don't have direct control over how we feel. But we have some indirect control. We know, from experience, the things that make us feel better. So try to spend your spare time in places, or with people, doing what normally gives you pleasure.
That won't make the dark moods disappear, but it will give them some sunny competition. And that's a way of beginning the process of recovery. Shafts of light leading out of the forest.
For many of us, what makes life pleasant or even bearable is the combination of certain people and places. We need certain people in certain places to survive emotionally. One without the other isn't enough.
Haven't heard from you for a while. It's possible that you're having second thoughts about your situation. Even if [there's failure], that doesn't mean you made a mistake. Although she isn't ordinarily ranked with Plato, Aristotle, or Descartes among the great all-time philosophers, Lucille Ball had a sage piece of advice: "I'd rather regret the things that I have done than the things that I have not."
It didn't change your situation, but to some extent it changed you, and that, in turn, makes it easier for you to change your situation. You can put that experience to good use in the future.
Remember the adage: I'd rather regret the things I did than the things I didn't.
Although you're entitled to your feelings, you need to be careful not to dwell on your feelings.
On the other hand, your feelings are justified, and there's no automatic expiration date on how you feel. You're naturally going to be reflecting on your experience for some time to come.
Be patient with yourself.
BTW, don't feel that you have to act like a plaster saint about your emotions. There's a kind of Hallmark card piety that's promoted in a lot of fluffy Christian books and sermons.
But if you read the Psalms or Jeremiah or 2 Corinthians, you see raw emotions on full display. And a full range of emotions. Not just faith, hope, and love. So you're in good company.
You feel lonely because you're alone, away from friends (except for a couple) and family, living among strangers, in a strange part of the world, with a disagreeable climate.
That part of how you feel is due to external circumstances. That will dissipate as soon as you move back home. We can sometimes change our feelings by changing our circumstances.
That sadness won't go away so easily, but moving back home will help.
At present you're in no position to gauge your future or your feelings. You're too close to the situation right now.
At the moment you basically have two sets of emotions. One set is from living away from home. Away from your family and friends.
The other set of emotions has to do with the [difficulty]. You're coming right off of that experience.
The first set of emotions is driven directly by your immediate circumstances. The confluence of these feelings with sort themselves out as soon as you move back.
So that part of the problem will solve itself. That will still leave you with the other set of emotions. But, right now, you don't know which is which. They blend in to each other.
As long as you're a stranger in a strange land, you're in no position to judge your feelings or evaluate your future. Wait till you get back, settle back into your old rhythm, before you even attempt to take stock of your situation.
Put another way, wait till you move back, till you've been there for two or three months. That will automatically shrink your sadness down to more manageable levels. You will have far less to cope with.
It's easier to climb a mountain in summer than in winter. It's an effort to climb a mountain at any time. But it's more of an effort if you have to contend with all the snow and ice. Wait for the right season.
There's nothing inherently sinful about being "selfish" in the sense of preparing for your own future or attending to your own natural, emotional needs.
You're being way too apologetic. You've done nothing wrong. Naturally your mind is still on this situation. That's not going to evaporate overnight. Go easy on yourself, not hard on yourself.
Life in a fallen world has a tragic quality. There are genuine losses.
I wouldn't worry about your other emotions right now. They're perfectly natural and understandable at this point. Give them time to fade a bit.
Moreover, we don't forget important things that happen to us (well, nursing home patients may be an exception!).
As long as you don't go on a shooting rampage, don't browbeat yourself about how you feel at the moment. :-)
Or, if you do go on a shooting rampage, make sure it's a video game!
Hope you're feeling somewhat better now that you're back home. You have a lot of fresh, painful memories to process, so the feelings won't fade overnight, but moving back to familiar surroundings, with family and friends, ought to help the healing process.
However, we're not necessarily the same person after some experiences. And it's unfair to compare ourselves to an earlier, pristine version of ourselves.
I wouldn't worry about your [bad feelings] if I were you.
Put it this way: it's enough to have these feelings; it compounds the problem if you also feel guilty about your feelings, because that piles one set of feelings on top of another. You're adding the feelings of guilt to your [bad feelings]. So, pretty soon, it's feelings about feelings about feelings, like a receding, mirror-image glaring over your shoulder.
So I think you should stop blaming yourself for your feelings. These are perfectly natural, normal feelings.
It's enough to feel [bad]. Don't blame yourself by feeling bad about your bad feelings!
One set of bad feelings is quite enough, don't you agree? :-)
It's a good thing that we have a capacity to form emotional attachments. But the flipside of this capacity is that we suffer accordingly when that attachment is betrayed or unreciprocated.
That, of itself, is not a bad thing. That's the inevitable result of forming emotional attachments.
It's only a bad thing when people cling to these feelings and feed them rather than allowing them to be reabsorbed.
2. In my experience, for what it's worth, there's a difference between giving thanks and feeling thankful.
I find that when I give thanks, even though I'm not in the mood, thankful feelings tend to be the result of giving thanks.
3. Finally, and this is more of a priority, don't focus on whether you feel spiritual. Whether you have holy emotions.
Instead, focus on what makes you feel good by taking pleasure in the natural blessings of life. What is it that normally makes you happy? It is walking along the beach? Having a meal with your family? Watching a movie with an old friend?
Natural goods are also godly goods. They come from God's hand. The innate sanctity of God's creation.
4. Apropos (3), we don't have direct control over how we feel. But we have some indirect control. We know, from experience, the things that make us feel better. So try to spend your spare time in places, or with people, doing what normally gives you pleasure.
That won't make the dark moods disappear, but it will give them some sunny competition. And that's a way of beginning the process of recovery. Shafts of light leading out of the forest.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Sweet will be the flower
Please forgive me for my feeble words on the topic of trusting God in the midst of suffering and trials in the believer's life. What little suffering I've been through in life has been so light in comparison to many believers that I wondered if I ought even broach the topic in such inexperience and likely naivety. Nevertheless, I'll try, and if God would so bless it, I hope the following might at least be of some encouragement to believers facing difficulties and trials, whether small or great. And if anything I've said is amiss, please feel free to correct me. I wouldn't want my brethren to have false ideas -- and especially not during a difficulty or trial. Thanks.
In the midst of our trials, God is trustworthy. The bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower.
As Christians, we can trust the Lord because of who he is and what he has done for us. Who is he? What is the character of our God? God is sovereign and has control over the most minute details of our lives. God is wise and knows what's best for us. And God is so good and loves us so much as his children. Thus, because God is sovereign, wise, and good, we can trust him.
What has he done for us? We can consider what he has done for us in our own lives. We can consider what he has done in the lives of those we know. We can consider what he has done for other Christians around the world we don't personally know but have read about. We can consider what he has done for the saints in the past as we read their biographies. We can consider what he has done for the saints in the Old and New Testaments, which are recorded for our edification.
But most of all, we can consider the most wonderful thing he has ever done and could ever do for us when we survey the wondrous cross of Jesus Christ, when we consider how the Father gave up his only Son in order to save sinners. God loved us so much that he was willing to allow his dear and precious only Son Jesus Christ to die so that we would be saved. When we consider this, when we give serious thought to this, how can we not trust such a God? After all, "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" (Rom. 8:32). What more could God have done to demonstrate his love for us than to give up his only Son to die for our sins? Is there anything more we can think of that God could've done to demonstrate his love to us? If God was willing to give up his Son Jesus Christ to show us he loves us, if God was willing to sacrifice his very Son whom he loves with a love which we will never be able to fully know, then of course he is willing to do anything else for us which he deems for our good, because "anything else" he does for us would be less than giving up his Son. We can trust God.
Of course, this is not to say that we deserve anything from the Lord. Even if nothing else "good" were ever given to us again in this life, we have Christ, and he is more than enough. We were sinners, without hope and without God in this world. But God spent his holy wrath on his Son Jesus Christ so that he would not have to spend it on us. We are saved from eternal death and condemnation because Christ stood in our place and died for us. As my pastor rightly says, anything short of hell is infinitely more grace than any of us deserve. Thank God for his grace toward us sinners in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior!
Moreover, not only can we trust God, but we must trust God if we desire to glorify him in all things. If we do not think we have enough "faith" to trust God's word and do not trust it, rather than simply trusting God's word, we are not somehow being humble but we are being the direct opposite: we are being proud. If we do not trust God's word, then we do not trust God himself who spoke those words to us. And if we do not trust God himself, then we do not honor him as the faithful and true God as he has revealed himself in his word. And if we do not honor him as such, then we make God to be less than God. Thus we impugn God as God by our unbelief. We must trust God and his word if we seek to honor and glorify him in all things.
We must not ultimately trust other people because people are like grass, and the best of men and women are but lovely flowers growing in the grass. They might have much wisdom and knowledge, much strength and beauty, and much else we could rightly admire and respect. But even the best fail us. In the end, the grass withers, and the flower falls. Only the Lord our God is eternal and only the word of the Lord remains forever (cf. 1 Peter 1:24-25).
We must not trust our ever changing circumstances, but we must trust our precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who never changes, who abides forever, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and who will never leave us nor forsake us. For he who promised is faithful (cf. Hebrews).
We must not trust our subjective feelings which constantly change, but we must trust the objective reality that is God's revealed word. We must not trust our feelings which can pass from happiness to sadness or from peace to anger or from gratitude to complaint from one moment to the next, but we must trust God's word which never passes away. We must not trust our feelings because they can change at the smallest whim, perhaps due to what we ate for breakfast or someone looking at us the wrong way, but we must trust God's word because the Lord has spoken it and it is firm. After all, God is not a man that he should lie. Nor does he ever change his mind. Rather, God has spoken, and he will accomplish what he said he would do (cf. Num. 23:19).
Thus, when our feelings about a particular circumstance(s) or person(s) or whatever else seek to overwhelm us, rather than listening to our feelings and giving in to them, we must talk back to them, as David did throughout the Psalms, such as when he argued with his soul: "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God." Rather than listening to himself and his feelings (which caused him to be "cast down" and "in turmoil within"), David talked back to them, and told himself to "hope in God," to trust the Lord, because the Lord alone is faithful and true.
On a more practical level, then, the first question we must ask ourselves when we read the truth and promises in the Bible is not, "How do I feel about God's truth and promise?" but "Do I trust God's truth and promise?" Once we first trust God's word, then we put God's word in its rightful place of preeminence in our lives, and we likewise put our feelings in their place after the word of God. Our feelings will often and later follow. But we must first trust God's word, no matter how we feel, because it is the truth.
Again, our feelings do not reflect reality but rather what God tells us in his word reflects reality.
Therefore: choose to trust God and choose to trust his word.
Now, if I recall, it was Martin Luther who once said music was God's greatest gift to people after the Scriptures (or something along those lines). So, by way of further encouragement, I want to mention how I love the hymn "God Moves in a Mysterious Way" by William Cowper. His words stir my heart to trust in God through the difficulties of life, through its many pains and sorrows, through its achingly real, palpable heartbreaks and sufferings.
What's even better, Sovereign Grace Music has done a beautiful rendition of Cowper's hymn. I would commend it to my dear brothers and sisters in Christ. You can listen to a sample of the song here.
And here are the complete lyrics:
May the grace of our Lord God in Christ Jesus be with you, dear brothers and sisters.
In the midst of our trials, God is trustworthy. The bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower.
As Christians, we can trust the Lord because of who he is and what he has done for us. Who is he? What is the character of our God? God is sovereign and has control over the most minute details of our lives. God is wise and knows what's best for us. And God is so good and loves us so much as his children. Thus, because God is sovereign, wise, and good, we can trust him.
What has he done for us? We can consider what he has done for us in our own lives. We can consider what he has done in the lives of those we know. We can consider what he has done for other Christians around the world we don't personally know but have read about. We can consider what he has done for the saints in the past as we read their biographies. We can consider what he has done for the saints in the Old and New Testaments, which are recorded for our edification.
But most of all, we can consider the most wonderful thing he has ever done and could ever do for us when we survey the wondrous cross of Jesus Christ, when we consider how the Father gave up his only Son in order to save sinners. God loved us so much that he was willing to allow his dear and precious only Son Jesus Christ to die so that we would be saved. When we consider this, when we give serious thought to this, how can we not trust such a God? After all, "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" (Rom. 8:32). What more could God have done to demonstrate his love for us than to give up his only Son to die for our sins? Is there anything more we can think of that God could've done to demonstrate his love to us? If God was willing to give up his Son Jesus Christ to show us he loves us, if God was willing to sacrifice his very Son whom he loves with a love which we will never be able to fully know, then of course he is willing to do anything else for us which he deems for our good, because "anything else" he does for us would be less than giving up his Son. We can trust God.
Of course, this is not to say that we deserve anything from the Lord. Even if nothing else "good" were ever given to us again in this life, we have Christ, and he is more than enough. We were sinners, without hope and without God in this world. But God spent his holy wrath on his Son Jesus Christ so that he would not have to spend it on us. We are saved from eternal death and condemnation because Christ stood in our place and died for us. As my pastor rightly says, anything short of hell is infinitely more grace than any of us deserve. Thank God for his grace toward us sinners in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior!
Moreover, not only can we trust God, but we must trust God if we desire to glorify him in all things. If we do not think we have enough "faith" to trust God's word and do not trust it, rather than simply trusting God's word, we are not somehow being humble but we are being the direct opposite: we are being proud. If we do not trust God's word, then we do not trust God himself who spoke those words to us. And if we do not trust God himself, then we do not honor him as the faithful and true God as he has revealed himself in his word. And if we do not honor him as such, then we make God to be less than God. Thus we impugn God as God by our unbelief. We must trust God and his word if we seek to honor and glorify him in all things.
We must not ultimately trust other people because people are like grass, and the best of men and women are but lovely flowers growing in the grass. They might have much wisdom and knowledge, much strength and beauty, and much else we could rightly admire and respect. But even the best fail us. In the end, the grass withers, and the flower falls. Only the Lord our God is eternal and only the word of the Lord remains forever (cf. 1 Peter 1:24-25).
We must not trust our ever changing circumstances, but we must trust our precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who never changes, who abides forever, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and who will never leave us nor forsake us. For he who promised is faithful (cf. Hebrews).
We must not trust our subjective feelings which constantly change, but we must trust the objective reality that is God's revealed word. We must not trust our feelings which can pass from happiness to sadness or from peace to anger or from gratitude to complaint from one moment to the next, but we must trust God's word which never passes away. We must not trust our feelings because they can change at the smallest whim, perhaps due to what we ate for breakfast or someone looking at us the wrong way, but we must trust God's word because the Lord has spoken it and it is firm. After all, God is not a man that he should lie. Nor does he ever change his mind. Rather, God has spoken, and he will accomplish what he said he would do (cf. Num. 23:19).
Thus, when our feelings about a particular circumstance(s) or person(s) or whatever else seek to overwhelm us, rather than listening to our feelings and giving in to them, we must talk back to them, as David did throughout the Psalms, such as when he argued with his soul: "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God." Rather than listening to himself and his feelings (which caused him to be "cast down" and "in turmoil within"), David talked back to them, and told himself to "hope in God," to trust the Lord, because the Lord alone is faithful and true.
On a more practical level, then, the first question we must ask ourselves when we read the truth and promises in the Bible is not, "How do I feel about God's truth and promise?" but "Do I trust God's truth and promise?" Once we first trust God's word, then we put God's word in its rightful place of preeminence in our lives, and we likewise put our feelings in their place after the word of God. Our feelings will often and later follow. But we must first trust God's word, no matter how we feel, because it is the truth.
Again, our feelings do not reflect reality but rather what God tells us in his word reflects reality.
Therefore: choose to trust God and choose to trust his word.
Now, if I recall, it was Martin Luther who once said music was God's greatest gift to people after the Scriptures (or something along those lines). So, by way of further encouragement, I want to mention how I love the hymn "God Moves in a Mysterious Way" by William Cowper. His words stir my heart to trust in God through the difficulties of life, through its many pains and sorrows, through its achingly real, palpable heartbreaks and sufferings.
What's even better, Sovereign Grace Music has done a beautiful rendition of Cowper's hymn. I would commend it to my dear brothers and sisters in Christ. You can listen to a sample of the song here.
And here are the complete lyrics:
God Moves
Verse 1
God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm
Deep in His dark and hidden mines
With never-failing skill
He fashions all His bright designs
And works His sovereign will
Chorus I
So God we trust in You
O God we trust in You
Verse 2
O fearful saints new courage take
The clouds that you now dread
Are big with mercy and will break
In blessings on your head
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense
But trust Him for His grace
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face
Chorus II
So God we trust in You
O God we trust in You
When tears are great
And comforts few
We hope in mercies ever new
We trust in You
Verse 3
God’s purposes will ripen fast
Unfolding every hour
The bud may have a bitter taste
But sweet will be the flower
Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain
God is His own interpreter
And He will make it plain
May the grace of our Lord God in Christ Jesus be with you, dear brothers and sisters.
Monday, April 14, 2008
A Funny Thing Happened At the Forum Today...
This evening I dropped by the local Christian bookstore and coffeehouse. I don't go there much - place is a repository of "Jesus junk," but I needed to do some work on my laptop, so I borrowed their connection to the internet.
I had the privilege of overhearing a men's Bible study. Much is to be commended of these men:
1. Three were white, four (or was it five?) were black. It's good to see "Neither Jew nor Greek..." in practice.
2. Following the tradition in many black churches, the leader would call out a reference, and a reader would read it to the group after they had all turned to it. Nice touch, I'll file that away for future use.
3. I caught snippets of their conversation. They are recovering the Gospel. They discussed the way preachers abuse the idea of "Jesus accepts us as we are," and minimize the need for repentance.
4. They danced around it, and I wanted to walk over and instruct them directly but did not, but they wondered about "Free Will," and how this worked with the necessity of man to have a new heart. They quoted from Ezekiel (I will remove your hearts of stone...), and their leader said, "It's God, not us, who gives us a new heart." I didn't quite catch it if he made the right connection to the ordu salutis or not, but I think he's on the right track. There was some oscillation between we have to repent to get a new heart and God has to make us new to repent. So, they aren't clear, but I'm praying they'll figure it out eventually.
5. They talked about wheat and tares and discussed the number of tares in the church today.
So, there is hope for us after all. You just have to open your eyes. I, for one, was encouraged. Pray for this group of men. God is opening their eyes to the Gospel. One remarked, and I've heard this comment before, that it's like unlearning much of what you've been taught as a child. He's right. There's a lot of bad ecclesiastical tradition out there today, but God is working in our midst to correct it.
I had the privilege of overhearing a men's Bible study. Much is to be commended of these men:
1. Three were white, four (or was it five?) were black. It's good to see "Neither Jew nor Greek..." in practice.
2. Following the tradition in many black churches, the leader would call out a reference, and a reader would read it to the group after they had all turned to it. Nice touch, I'll file that away for future use.
3. I caught snippets of their conversation. They are recovering the Gospel. They discussed the way preachers abuse the idea of "Jesus accepts us as we are," and minimize the need for repentance.
4. They danced around it, and I wanted to walk over and instruct them directly but did not, but they wondered about "Free Will," and how this worked with the necessity of man to have a new heart. They quoted from Ezekiel (I will remove your hearts of stone...), and their leader said, "It's God, not us, who gives us a new heart." I didn't quite catch it if he made the right connection to the ordu salutis or not, but I think he's on the right track. There was some oscillation between we have to repent to get a new heart and God has to make us new to repent. So, they aren't clear, but I'm praying they'll figure it out eventually.
5. They talked about wheat and tares and discussed the number of tares in the church today.
So, there is hope for us after all. You just have to open your eyes. I, for one, was encouraged. Pray for this group of men. God is opening their eyes to the Gospel. One remarked, and I've heard this comment before, that it's like unlearning much of what you've been taught as a child. He's right. There's a lot of bad ecclesiastical tradition out there today, but God is working in our midst to correct it.
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