Monday morning, and I think this is going to be a good week. I just have a feeling… And it closes out with Christi’s birthday on Friday, and our annual weekend in Glen Rose, which was moved from our anniversary in October to Christi’s birthday in November. Why did we move it, you ask? Well, it had to do with a certain baseball team and some playoff games that we decided to go to.
So let’s get this week started off right. Well, it already started off right, so let’s continue it…
Psalm 129:1-4
1 A Song of Ascents. Many times they have distressed me from my youth, let Israel now say;
2 they have distressed me from my youth many times, yet they have not prevailed over me.
3 The plowers plowed on my back; they made their furrows long.
4 Jehovah is righteous; He cuts the cords of the wicked.
“We desperately need to grapple with a theology of suffering. Many Christians are surprised and even shocked when they’re called upon to experience any degree of pain.” I couldn’t agree more. There’s an entire segment of Christianity that believes that God always wants you to be healthy and wealthy and never suffer any inconveniences at all. I tend to call that “Name It/Claim It” theology. But that could not be further from Biblical truth. The truth of Scripture is that God does call upon us to suffer, and, in fact, pretty much promises that we will! If Jesus, the Son of God suffered, why would we not?
The psalmist, in this “Song of Ascents,” is lamenting the suffering that has been brought on Israel. But he also celebrates the fact that the Lord does not allow the suffering to go on indefinitely. The picture is staggering…Israel is depicted as lying face down in the dirt with plowers plowing on her back! What kind of pain does that conjure in your imagination?
But notice that he doesn’t dwell on that for long. “He praises the righteous Lord who has delivered his people.” Suffering is part of being human, and it is definitely part of being a believer in Jesus Christ. But God is faithful and justice will ultimately prevail. I’m reminded of several Psalms, but one of my favorites is Psalm 34:17: “The righteous cry, and Jehovah hears; and He saves them out of all their distresses.” God will hear our cries, and he will deliver us. But he will most definitely NOT prevent us from suffering.
(From A Musician Looks At the Psalms, by Don Wyrtzen)
This quote, from Tabletalk Magazine’s reading for this day, continues to support the above topic. “Notably, Psalm 23 promises divine protection, not an easy life. God gives us a table in the midst of our enemies. He does not eradicate our foes all at once (v. 5). But He does work to give us rest and refreshment, even when these enemies are at the door.
“Many well-intentioned people promise that coming to Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the sheep, will solve all of life’s problems. While one day this will be true, we will face the enemies of the world, the flesh, and the Devil before Christ returns to consummate His kingdom. We should not grow angry with God in times of suffering, then, for He has not promised us an easy life, though He has pledged to sustain us in our difficulties (Isa. 43:1-3).” That reference says, “But now so says Jehovah who formed you, O Jacob; and He who made you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk in the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame kindle on you. For I am Jehovah your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I gave Egypt for your atonement; Ethiopia and Seba instead of you.”
In the words of Joe South, “I beg your pardon; I never promised you a rose garden.” Heh.
LOVE
Lord Jesus,
Give me to love you, to embrace you, though I once took lust and sin in my arms.
You did love me before I loved you, an enemy, a sinner, a loathsome worm.
You did own me when I disclaimed myself;
You did love me as a son, and weep over me as over Jerusalem.
Love brought you from heaven to earth, from earth to the cross, from the cross to the grace.
Love caused you to be weary, hungry, tempted, scorned, scourged, buffeted, spat upon, crucified, and pierced.
Love led you to boy your head in death.
My salvation is the point where perfect created love and the most perfect uncreated love meet together;
for you welcome me, not like Joseph and his brothers, loving and sorrowing, but loving and rejoicing.
This love is not intermittent, cold, changeable; it does not cease or abate for all my enmity.
Holiness is a spark from your love kindled to a flame in my heart by your Spirit, and so it ever turns to the place from which it comes.
Let me see your love everywhere, not only in the cross, but in the fellowship of believers and in the world around me.
When I feel the warmth of the sun may I praise you who are the Sun of righteousness with healing power.
When I feel the tender rain may I think of the gospel showers that water my soul.
When I walk by the river side may I praise you for that stream that makes the eternal city glad, and washes white my robes that I may have the right to the tree of life.
Your infinite love is a mystery of mysteries, and my eternal rest lies in the eternal enjoyment of it.
(From The Valley of Vision)
Father, I thank you that you have not chosen to keep us from suffering, but have promised to deliver us out of it. If our Savior was not above suffering, then neither should we be. If I am chosen to suffer, I will consider it an honor, just as the apostles in Acts did, to be considered worthy to suffer in the name of Jesus Christ. I do not seek suffering. That, in my opinion, would indicate a mental sickness of some kind. However, I welcome everything that comes from your hand, whether it be good and glorious, or “bad.” I put bad in quotes, because our perspective of what is bad is clouded by our sinful flesh. You promise us, Lord, that everything that comes from you will be for our good. And that includes any kind of suffering or pain that you might bring our way.
Lord, I pray that I might see you in everything that I encounter today. Let my work day be filled with thoughts of you, and praises of you.
It is predetermined that, at some point, we must suffer for the name of Christ that is stamped on us. Let us bear it willingly, and give thanks to God when he ultimately delivers us from all suffering.
Grace and peace, friends.
Spaces of Beauty, Grace, Prayer, and Mercy 