The Promised Hope

The struggles we go through in life may seem never-ending. The fear of our enemies may threaten to overwhelm us. The difficulties we face may cause us to wonder if change will ever really come.  In such times of personal crisis, where do you find your hope?

The prophet Zechariah spoke to a people who were surrounded by enemies with few natural defenses and even fewer man-made securities to protect them. In the midst of this uncertainty, he assured them of God’ presence and protection. “I will guard my Temple and protect it from invading armies. I am closely watching their movements,” (Zechariah 9:8).  Zechariah then spoke of a time in the future when a righteous King would come.  About 500 years later, that King arrived.  Zechariah prophesied: “Rejoiced greatly, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey – even on a donkey’s colt,” (Zechariah 9:9).  [This prophecy was fulfilled by the coming of Jesus as recorded in Matthew 21:4-11.]  He continued, “I will remove the battle chariots from Israel and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and I will destroy all the weapons used in battle. Your King will bring peace to the nations. His realm will stretch from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth. Because of the covenant I made with you, sealed with blood, I will free your prisoners from death in a waterless dungeon. Come back to the place of safety, all you prisoners for there is yet hope! I promise this very day that I will repay you two mercies for each of your woes!” (Zechariah 9:10-12).

Jesus Christ fulfilled part of this prophecy when he came to earth the first time. He delivered us from death by shedding his blood on the cross as a ransom for our sins. As a righteous and humble King, he purchased our pardon and sealed a covenant in his own blood in order to rescue us from hell (“death in a waterless dungeon”).  When he comes back again, just as he promised, he will bring peace to the earth. As such, we can now find our safety in Christ. He is our refuge and peace in the midst of our difficulties in this life. When he is ultimately crowned the King of kings, he promises to repay those who belong to him with, “two mercies for every woe suffered.” In other words, he offers an exceeding abundance of restoration for the sorrows we endure in this life. No matter how difficult our struggles are, we can give Christ our lives and be assured that we have a secure and lasting hope for the future.

God will make things right

As much can go wrong in our lives related to our peers, children, illness, and finances; sometimes its the leaders in our lives who devastate us. For some people, the suffering and pain they endure comes at the hands of parents, teachers, pastors/priests, bosses, civic leaders, or politicians. Instead of protecting those under their authority, these leaders take advantage of their situation so as to gain personally without concern for the damage they inflict. Most are living out of wounded lives, yet many are simply selfish and destructive.

Such was the condition in Israel about which the prophet Micah spoke. The leaders, the kings, the prophets, the priests, and the wealthy failed to fulfill their responsibility before God — to defend the poor and the helpless in society. Instead these leaders lived for personal gain despite the harm they caused others. They were proud and self-centered and took advantage of the weak. They were hypocritical liars who used religion as a foil for their actions. God was furious and he denounced them…”Listen you leaders of Israel! You are supposed to know right from wrong, but you are the very ones who hate good and love evil,” (Micah 3:1-2). In a graphic picture, God likened the leaders’ behavior to cannibalism as they devoured poor, defenseless people. “You skin my people alive and tear the flesh off their bones. You eat my people’s flesh, cut away their skin, and break their bones. You chop them up like meat for the cooking pot. Then you beg the LORD for help in times of trouble! Do you really expect him to listen? After all the evil you have done, he won’t even look at you!” (Micah 3:2-4). Not only were the civic leaders corrupt, but also the religious leaders failed to denounce these despicable actions. God was livid with them also.  “This is what the LORD says to you false prophets: “You are leading my people astray! You promise peace for those who give you food, but you declare war on anyone who refuses to pay you… your day will come to an end! … And you will admit that your messages were not from God,” (Micah 3:5-7).

But God gives us hope.  He promised that one day a true and good leader would come.  A King would arrive who would bring peace and order to all who submit to him. “He will stand to lead his flock with the LORD’s strength, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. Then his people will live there undisturbed, for he will be highly honored all around the world. And he will be the source of our peace.” (Micah 5:4-5).  This King will come for the broken and needy and he will bring them healing because this King is God himself. “In that coming day,” says the LORD, “I will gather together my people who are lame, who have been exiles, filled with grief. They are weak and far from home, but I will make them strong again… Then I the LORD, will rule from Jerusalem as their king forever,” (Micah 4:6-7).

Perhaps you have suffered innocently at the hands of those in authority over you. Make no mistake; one day God will make things right.  Micah assures us that God will punish those who have harmed and wronged us. As such, we can leave the situation in God’s hands and instead spend our time and energy dealing with our own sins and problems.  The good news is that the good leader, the wonderful King who is God himself, has come in the person of Jesus Christ.  He has come for the broken and needy to restore them and bring them life. He holds the crushed in Spirit close at heart.  As we seek his forgiveness for our own shortcomings and learn to live according to his ways, he assures us of  his peace and blessing.  Trust and seek him to honor his promise.

The Real Jesus

If Jesus had a Facebook page, which picture would he use for his profile?  Would it be gentle Jesus, meek and mild with a baby lamb on his shoulders? Would it be Jesus laughing as the little children bounded into his arms? Would it be Jesus feeding the 5,000?  Would it be the righteously angry Jesus driving the moneychangers out of the temple? Would it be Jesus reclining at the Last Supper with his beloved disciple John resting against him?  I’m guessing, like us, he would change his profile picture from time to time to reflect the status of his life.

Today as we begin the book of Revelation, we see another picture of Jesus.  It’s actually the most detailed, physical description of him in the bible.  It’s a very symbolic picture that’s filled with meaning and designed to reveal him as he is now in his glory.  In this picture, he no longer suffers.  We see none of the lowliness that marked his life on the earth.  And while he is still humble of heart, this picture is of Jesus the strong, majestic, powerful, royal and exalted Lord of all.

The apostle John, while imprisoned on the island of Patmos, received this revelation of Jesus one Sunday while he was worshiping in the Spirit (Rev 1:10-17). John first heard a voice behind him that sounded like a trumpet blaring in power and declaration. As he turned to see who it was that was speaking to him, he saw the “Son of Man.”  This was the title Jesus had always given himself (taken from the prophet Daniel; see Daniel 7:13).  While John clearly saw a man, the man he saw was more than simply human. He was the Son of Man who is also the Son of God. Everything about him symbolized majesty and judgment.  And it is this reality about Jesus; that he is King and Judge, that fills the book of Revelation.  It’s this picture of him, who he is in his eternal glory, that closes out the bible.

As John looked, he saw Jesus dressed in a robe reaching down to  his feet — flowing robes symbolized dignity and honor. Across his chest was a golden sash.  The combination of these two items declares his high priestly duties before God on behalf of people.  His head and hair were white like wool — he is the the Ancient of Days completely pure and wise. His eyes were like blazing fire — he sees and knows all and brings hidden things to light. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace — brass symbolized judgment. His voice was like the sound of rushing waters — power and majesty are his and he speaks creation into being with the song he sings. What a juxtaposition.  Creation birthed through music.

In his right hand were seven stars — he holds the church, its people, and all of creation together and in his care. From his mouth came a sharp, double-edged sword — his word pierces, divides and separates all that it contacts. His face was like the sun shining in its brilliance– Oh the wonder of who he really is! He is the all-glorious God, the Living One, who overcame death and is alive forevermore!

When John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved” saw Jesus in his majesty, “he fell at his feet as though dead,” (1:17). But the Lord touched him and said, “Don’t be afraid!”  John, who knew Jesus as intimately and closely as anyone on earth, was overwhelmed as if dead when he saw Jesus in his majesty.  And yet, Jesus in his kindness, did not want his beloved John to be afraid of him. The message is clear.  There’s so much more to Jesus than just one scene of his life. He is more than a wise teacher. He is more than a great prophet.  He is not one among many religious leaders.  He is God Almighty himself, the King and Judge, before whom everyone of us will stand in jaw-dropping awe and worship one day. And yet, he is kind and wonderful to all who come to him.  He doesn’t want us destroyed and overwhelmed by who he is. He is absolutely for us.

Have you experienced this Jesus?  Do you know him as he really is?

Rumors of God

Have you ever had someone in your life that you first heard about through friends?  They would tell you all about this person and you would feel like you already knew them based on what you had heard.  You make assumptions, even judgments based on the stories recounted to you. You may decide this person is a hero or that they’re someone to avoid at all costs.  You might even warn other people away from this person.   And you’ve heard it all through “reliable” sources; rumors, really.  But you assume what you’ve heard must be the truth.  Later on, however, you have some real life interaction with this person and discover he or she is not at all what you expected.    You may leave pleasantly surprised or deeply disturbed.

Job worshiped and revered God all of his life.  He lived a good life and followed all the teachings about God, honoring God, and serving him.  But a long  season of challenge, affliction and hardship changed him.  Job is spent.  He has argued, wrestled, defended himself, and reconsidered all he knows about God.  Once God reveals himself to Job, however, Job realizes he has just known God by rumor.   Job is both relieved and disturbed by God’s self-revelation.  He is relieved because the long silence of the One he loves is over.  He is disturbed because he learns that he didn’t really know God at all.

The primary rumor by which Job has known God is perpetuated by his three friends.  That rumor is: If you are blameless and without sin, trouble won’t touch you.  Your behavior directly impacts the way your life goes.  If things are going wrong for you, it’s because you’ve done something wrong.  The prescription for this is: Fix it and everything will turn around.  Many of us know intellectually that this isn’t true, yet our hearts insist otherwise.  When bad thing happen, we immediately do an inventory and wonder if certain actions or sins have caused our trouble.  While poor choices do have their consequences, there is no hard and fast rule that says, “If you’re good, nothing will go wrong for you.”  You can change your behavior and the challenge you’re facing may continue anyway. That’s what Job discovered.

But this changed when God revealed himself to Job.  Job dropped his false understanding of God and admitted, “I babbled about things far beyond me, made small talk about wonders way over my head,” (Job 42:3 Msg). Ultimately, God’s self-revelation not only righted Job’s misunderstandings, but also led Job to a place of humility and acceptance. “I admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it all firsthand – from my own eyes and ears! I’m sorry – forgive me. I’ll never do that again, I promise! I’ll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor,” (Job 42: 4-6 Msg).

Do you really know God or do you rely on “hearsay” and “crumbs of rumor” about him?  The good news is that you can know him intimately and personally.  God has revealed himself in a myriad of ways to us.  We can know him as the Holy Spirit reveals God to us in Scripture, through other believers, through creation, through the events of our lives.  We can know him most clearly through his Son Jesus Christ, who is the very image of the invisible God. It’s important when we face trials like those Job faced that we not rely on misinformation or rumors of God. Like Job, we need to sit with God in the pain and questioning until God clearly reveals himself to us.

Who Do You Love the Most?

When I was in elementary school I had many notes passed to me by my fellow students.  These notes sought out crucial relational information. They said things like, “Do you like me? Check the box yes or no.”  “Who are the three cutest girls in the class. List in order below.”  Then there was the most serious kind of note — the love note questionnaire.  It invariably inquired: “Who do you love the most?”  There would either be a list of 3 or 4 names from which to select or there would be a blank line on which you could scribble the name of your choice. The greatest thing in the world was discovering (or being shown by an accomplice) that your name was selected at the top of the list. Likewise, there was nothing more crushing, no matter how much you denied it, than finding yourself rejected.

God asks each of us a variation of the same question. He doesn’t ask it in a juvenile or needy way.  But he does ask:  “Among all the options you have in this world for your affection and allegiance, who or what do you love the most?”

God’s great desire is that each one of us would live in an intimate love relationship with him. He longs that you would select him from the list of all the options that exist. He desires that you would write Jesus’ name on the blank line.  As Rick Warren says in his book What On Earth Am I Here For?, “God made you to love you, and he longs for you to love him back.”  But there are many other “lovers” in this world from which we can choose.  The Living God is only one among many options.  The world itself competes with God for your allegiance and alliance.  The apostle John warns, “Don’t love the world’s ways. don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father,” (1 John 2:15 The Message).

Today I pass a note to you in the form of this blog.  I urge you to make your choice. Choose to love the Lord above all other options.  And then make your selection known by living in such a way that your love for God is easy for everyone to see.

The Case for Mercy

Job has lost everything. His family, finances, and health are all gone. And his friends sure aren’t helping matters. Though they have come to sit with him in his pain and sorrow (a good thing!), their assessment of God and of Job’s suffering are unhelpful.  No one wants to hear platitudes and pet theology in the midst of their pain. Job’s buddy Bildad makes a speech that rankles Job.  In essence, he says that Job’s recently deceased children have gotten what they deserved because, “It’s plain that your children sinned against God — otherwise why would God have punished them?” (Job 8:4 Msg). He goes on, “There’s no way that God will reject a good person and there is no way he’ll help a bad one,” (Job 8:20 NIV). The implication is that Job is getting his comeuppance from God too.  This doesn’t resonate with Job; and it shouldn’t.  He hasn’t done anything wrong.  Not every trial we go through is simply the consequences of our actions.   Bildad’s advice is based on false information. His prescription for Job is to start behaving right again to appease God and then everything will be okay.  Bad advice.

And that’s how Job responds. The questions that most of ask in the midst of pain are similar to the ones Job is pondering: “What have I done wrong?” “Where have I messed up?” “What have I done to deserve this?” “Why is God doing this to me?” “How can I fix this?” When Job realizes he can’t answer any of his own questions, he decides that God must simply be against him. So he begins his complaint and starts to argue his case for justice before God.  He stops short when he realizes that there is no way he can win a debate with the Lord.  “God’s wisdom is so deep, God’s power so immense, who could take him on and come out in one piece?” (Job 9:4 Msg). After all, God is infinite, eternal, all-knowing, and all-powerful.  Who can stop him should he set a course of action in place?  Who can out maneuver or out think him?

Finally Job comes to the conclusion that with God you’ve got to go for mercy over justice. “So how could I ever argue with him, construct a defense that would influence God? Even though I’m innocent I could never prove it; I can only throw myself on the Judge’s mercy.”  I saw the wisdom of this a few years ago when I received a speeding ticket.  I was driving 35 in an unmarked 25 mile an hour zone.  I thought I could argue that I had no way to know the speed limit was 25.  I went to traffic court and watched person after person argue about their moving violations. Some declared the ineptitude of police and of radar detectors. Others cried and manipulated. Still others angrily declared the injustice of traffic laws.  As I prayed about the situation before me, I realized that none of them were asking for mercy and as such the Judge never gave them any. The Lord told me to ask for mercy.  When it was my turn to approach the judge, that’s what I did.  I stated my case and asked for mercy.  And that’s exactly what I received.

Job’s back is against a wall.  He wishes he had never been born rather than to live day after day in extraordinary grief and pain.  He can’t stand his plight.  He defends himself to God and throws himself on God’s mercy, “”How I wish we had an arbitrator to step in and let me get on with life — to break God’s death grip on me, to free me from this terror so I could breathe again, (Job 9:34 Msg). He is asking for a go-between. He is looking for representation. He seeks an advocate.  He points to all of our great need before the justice of God.  We need someone on our side who can speak on our behalf.  And that’s what we have in Jesus: An Advocate who is continually on our side.  When we sin, his blood pays the penalty. When we experience injustice, he declares our innocence and intercedes for us in our need. In our pain, he sits with us and reassures us that he has felt our pain, too.  He walks with us through the dark seasons of life.  No matter what you are suffering or struggling through right now; don’t think you deserve God’s justice.  None of us could stand under God’s justice.  Instead, plead for his mercy.

Don’t Hold Back

Today’s readings contain a distinct message repeated in three different ways. Essentially the message is: “Don’t hold back.”

The Book of Esther is a dramatic story about a nobody from nowhere raised by a simple, godly man named Mordecai. In an extraordinary act, King Xerxes’ chooses Esther to be his queen.   She withholds her identity as a Jew in deference to her uncle Mordecai’s wishes.  With a history of persecution as long as the Jews’, no doubt Mordecai gives his advice to protect her.  In a short span of time, Esther receives extraordinary influence over Persia.  Yet this privilege does not come without cost.  It comes with the high price of responsibility.  She is responsible to her people and to her God. Within five years of her promotion, Esther’s people, the Jews, receive a death sentence.  It is an unfair, unjust ruling that threatens genocide.  And the sentence applies to Esther as well.  Maybe her title will save her, maybe not.  While she may be able to continue hiding her identity for awhile, then again she might be found out.  Her uncle Mordecai challenges her, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).

He’s telling her, “Don’t hold back, Esther!”

In Isaiah 12 we read about the Lord’s day of Salvation.

And you will say in that day, “I thank you, God. You were angry but your anger wasn’t forever. You withdrew your anger and moved in and comforted me. “Yes, indeed—God is my salvation.
I trust, I won’t be afraid. God—yes God!—is my strength and song, best of all, my salvation!”Joyfully you’ll pull up buckets of water from the wells of salvation. And as you do it, you’ll say, “Give thanks to God. Call out his name. Ask him anything! Shout to the nations, tell them what he’s done, spread the news of his great reputation!“Sing praise-songs to God. He’s done it all! Let the whole earth know what he’s done! Raise the roof! Sing your hearts out, O Zion! The Greatest lives among you: The Holy of Israel.”

Because of God’s great salvation, the people rejoice. Sing out! Shout out! Let the world know how great God is! Let your life be an out-loud life of gratitude.  Let go of your fears of what people will think. Make God famous in the world as He rightly deserves! In other words, “Don’t hold back!”

Lastly, in Hebrews 9 we see how God has changed the rules for how to access Him.  We see how much greater Jesus’ sacrifice is then the relentless cycle of animal sacrifices prescribed under the Old Testament. Instead of  earthly sin covering us and a temporary stay of judgment that the blood of animals provided, Jesus provides a heavenly and eternal cleansing that establishes a permanent amnesty for those who come to him. No more shadows and types, the real thing has come! Jesus did this through his sacrifice on the cross. He then entered into heaven to offer his blood to God as payment for sin. Since that time, it’s been a new day with God! There’s a new relationship with Him that’s available.  There’s nothing separating us from him anymore.  It’s possible because of the total sufficiency of what Jesus has done. Nothing can be added to it. Nothing more is needed. He gives us an access to God never before imagined.    In Christ, you’re forgiven and free to worship and love God with all your life. “Don’t hold back!”

Inside-Out Spirituality

Inside-Out Spirituality.  That’s what we hear in today’s reading from Hebrews 8. The writer, quoting a promise God made through the prophet Jeremiah, says: “Heads up! The days are coming when I’ll set up a new plan for dealing with Israel and Judah. I’ll throw out the old plan I set up with their ancestors when I led them by the hand out of Egypt. They didn’t keep their part of the bargain, so I looked away and let it go. This new plan I’m making with Israel isn’t going to be written on paper, isn’t going to be chiseled in stone; this time I’m writing out the plan in them, carving it on the lining of their hearts. I’ll be their God, they’ll be my people. They won’t go to school to learn about me, or buy a book called God in Five Easy Lessons. They’ll all get to know me firsthand, the little and the big, the small and the great. They’ll get to know me by being kindly forgiven, with the slate of their sins forever wiped clean,” (Hebrews 8:10-12 Msg).

God realized that the real problem we humans all have is within us. Basically, we aren’t very godly.  It’s not that God didn’t know this to begin with — he knows everything. It’s not that he was surprised to discover this information because nothing sneaks up on him.  Maybe he just wanted us to realize it ourselves.

Although many of us basically want to do what is good and right, we can’t seem to do it with consistency. Why is being regularly godly so difficult? God knew that godliness was not something that we could pull off from the outside-in on our own.  It couldn’t happen via behavior or effort because our behavior seldom follows our intentions and our efforts tend to the extremes of either half-heartedness or a proud attempt at self-sufficient justification.  So God said something to the effect of: “Enough is enough! No more outside-in spirituality. No more effort. No more working hard to be like me. Instead, I will change everything. I will make spirituality an inside-out deal.  Instead of you working to be like me, I will change you internally so that you can begin to think and respond as I do.”

God’s new deal promise is a promise of Inside-Out Spirituality. He promises that when we place our trust in Jesus as our sufficiency and as our savior, God establishes godliness in the center of our being. It’s not a promise that exists external to our lives, but it’s an internal reality in which we get to live at peace with God as he shapes and molds us to be like him.  He does the work of change; we do the living. He provides the godliness; we cooperate as he teaches us. And because we live in a state of forgiveness with God, we need not be afraid of him when we have been less than godly.  We simply apologize to him and ask him to continue his work of making us to be what he wants of us.

Today, may I encourage you to drop the outside-in efforts and simply receive the good news of grace? God is for you and if you will allow him, he will write on your life the story of his own godliness.  Simply ask and receive from Him. Learn to listen and respond to Jesus and the spiritual life will become an inside out reality.

Isn’t It Time to Grow Up?

In The Last Days Newsletter, Leonard Ravenhill tells about a group of tourists visiting a picturesque village who walked by an old man sitting beside a fence. In a rather patronizing way, one tourist asked, “Were any great men born in this village?”

The old man replied, “Nope, only babies.”

No one is born with an accomplished degree in their faith.  Each of us starts out with a basic belief in Jesus Christ but it is up to us whether or not we will grow from there.  Jesus tells us to be childlike in our disposition. We’re to be humble, obedient and trusting in him.  Yet Paul admonishes us not to be childish in the faith.  We’re to be responsible for our own faith, consistently growing, so that we mature to share with and teach others.

We become mature through a process much like growing up. God gives us tools to use.  The first one is grace.  Author Dallas Willard wrote, “Grace is God acting in our lives to do things we can’t do on our own.  Grace is not opposed to effort; it’s opposed to earning.”  We can’t earn or achieve our way to maturity, but we can be intentional about it.  We can determine to follow the course God sets out for us with all our heart.  We can make choices daily, even hourly, to follow Him.

Paul tells us that the difference between spiritual maturity and immaturity results from one primary factor: our spiritual diet. In Hebrews 5:11-14 he writes, “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

None of us would be amused by a 35 year old man drinking his meals from a milk bottle. That would be a tragedy of epic proportions because it would mean that in some crucial way (mentally, emotionally, or physically) he never developed normally.  Similarly, Paul says that the mature Christian moves on from milk to solid food. “Milk” represents the basic things in God’s word while “solid food” refers to the deeper teachings of the faith and experienced Christian living. Likewise, Paul intimates that a mark of maturity is the willingness to turn around and teach others what we ourselves have learned.  In other words, maturity means being a disciple who pours into other disciples.

This is the job description that Jesus gave us as his followers.  He said, “Go into all the world and make disciples…teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you,” (Matthew 28:19-20). And he gave a beautiful promise: “I will be with you.”  He is going to give us what we need in order to accomplish what he desires.  We simply believe and obey by making ourselves available to him.

What does this look like practically?  A mature believer has a strong diet of personal fellowship with God through studying scripture, praying and walking with Him and other believers.  He or she then takes all they’ve been given and gives it to others.  This could involve teaching at church, working at the homeless shelter, volunteering with children, organizing retreats for spiritual growth, going out on mission overseas, or any of a myriad of other ways God may be asking you to pour His love into others.  He has a different plan for every believer.  What’s His plan for you?  Spend some time asking Him and listening. He’ll show it to you. Isn’t it time to grow up?

Restless

There is a mindset that drives many of our lives that I believe stems from fear and unbelief.  It leads us to try to be in control of our lives even though this control negates our trust in God’s care for us.  We live a kind of practical agnosticism where we trust God for the big things we can’t see like salvation and heaven but we don’t trust him to handle the little things with struggle with daily. It’s as though we’re afraid to trust the kindness of the heart of God and his provision for our lives. He might not make the same decisions we would.  He might like something we don’t.  He may have an idea that is different from our idea.  And so we live our lives at a frantic pace that prevents us from listening for his still, small Voice. We stay busy. We stay active. We stay harried and scattered.  And most of our running around is focused on “good” things.  But is it spiritually healthy? Is it God’s best for our lives? I don’t think so.

In Hebrews 3 and 4, the author speaks about the “rest” of God.  He speaks of 3 basic kinds of rest: (1) the rest of salvation, (2) the rest of victory in the midst of trials, and (3) the future eternal and heavenly rest.  The first rest, the rest of salvation comes in assurance that Christ has done the work necessary to bring us to God for eternity.  Our sins are forgiven; we are safe forever in his arms.  The third rest comes at the end of our days on earth.  The first rest leads to the third. When its all said and done, we will enter the rest where there are no more tears or sorrows; no more struggles, and we’ll be at peace forever.  These two types of rest are easier to grasp because they don’t affect our daily decision making the way the second type of rest does.

The second rest is a way of life that is not supported by our culture and society.  It is a rest that allows us to walk in peace through seemingly impossible situations.  Jesus lived this kind of rest.  It is a rest born out of belief that requires nurture to grow every day.  The bigger the problem, the more belief we need.  Thankfully, belief in and of it self is not something we have to muster up.  It is already given to us with God’s Spirit.  He believes on our behalf.  We simply choose to enter into this belief.

I’ve heard it said about life:  “If you’re not in a storm presently, you are either exiting one or heading into one.”  Isn’t this true?  We all have lived through torrential rainstorms of adversity in our lives.  Some of us seem to travel from one storm to the next. It’s in these times that I am tempted to doubt his goodness.  I wonder what I’ve done to bring about this latest adversity.  I compare my life to another life and find my path weedy and overgrown next to their manicured, paved roadway (this is spiritually hazardous, by the way).  What is their secret?  Their secret is just that.  A secret.  Knowledge about their life I simply don’t have.  My perception of their life is usually quite different from their reality.  If I really knew their life, I would see that their path looks a lot like mine.

The “rest of victory” amidst trials is born out of belief but nurtured in a quiet steady trust that God is good and his words are true.  He has promised to overcome these difficulties in this life if we trust him.  How can we trust him if we can’t slow down long enough to sit with him and listen to him? How can we trust him when we aren’t  listening to his counsel and love for us?  Are we trusting him when we continue to add activity and responsibility that crowds out any chance we have of hearing him?  What would it look like to spend an hour a day; a half hour a day on our spiritual knees talking to him and listening to him?  What would our lives look like if we were to ask him throughout the day to show us our next steps.  And then just to listen and when we hear to obey.  I think our hearts would enter an extraordinary place of rest and I think the world might see a clearer picture of how deeply he loves us.   I think we would receive his love more deeply, with more purpose and it would radically change our lives.  It would affect the lives of everyone around us.  Isn’t this what Jesus did?  He lived in this victorious rest.  And from this reality, He changed the world forevermore.