February 25, 1992
You have heard that old expression: “You can’t get blood out of a stone.” It is true about water too. An ordinary rock can lie on the bottom of a river for thousands of years but if you squeeze it, not a drop of water comes out.
Someone said the church in North America is like that. We sit soaking in spiritual things most of our lives, but when we get squeezed, nothing comes out — just expressions of dissatisfaction that the pressure is making us uncomfortable. Don’t get me wrong — I don’t like pressure either. A little bit might make me more productive but huge problems come along and I’m right there complaining about my lot in life too.
Not like Job. He was a man who believed in God, prayed daily for his family and lived uprightly. For a while, his life seemed too good to be true. Like a rock in a river, he had been soaking up His blessings and may have spent the rest of his life enjoying every one of them but along came some pressures, considerable pressures, and Job was squeezed. What came is a surprise.
Oh, he did complain. In fact, when someone wishes they had “the patience of Job,” I wonder if they ever read his story. I didn’t see much patience the first few times I read it. He was quite vocal about his situation, his discomfort, and his friends who were falsely accusing him. (They thought he must have sinned or he would not be having all those problems.) Yet in spite of all his groaning and moaning, God says we are to “consider the patience of Job.” What on earth could He mean?
When I am impatient, I try to change things or somehow control what is happening. While Job protested, he did not press for change. What he did do, in spite of his grief and protests, was make two or three remarkable statements. These utterances proved that he was NOT like a rock in a river — the blessings of God had sunk in and made him different from the average person, even the average Christian.
In his suffering, Job said: “. . . the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.” In all of his losses, Job did not accuse God of doing wrong or complain that He had no right to take away a blessing.
He also said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” Even though he was hurting, his faith remained strong. Who else could he trust in such difficult circumstances? He had lost his wealth, health and family; why lose faith too?
Another of Job’s responses to the squeeze was: “He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” Job knew that the pressure would (not could, would) make him a better person. He also knew God was not oblivious to his problems, nor was He simply observing and not caring. Even though Job insisted he was not being punished for any particular sin, he knew God was using this pressure to purify his life.
Job also said, “I know my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth, and after my skin is destroyed... in my flesh I shall see God.” Job knew that his friends’ accusations had once been true — he was guilty of sin — but he had a Living Redeemer who had forgiven him and who he would one day see face to face.
Job was no rock in a river but a sponge. He dismissed any notion that God would not or should not allow pressure in his life. God is God. He can do what He deems best. Job also had a unique perspective regarding the purpose of pressure — it was not just reason to cry out with requests for restored comfort. Instead it was an opportunity to pour forth the faith that was in him.
Showing posts with label patience. Show all posts
Showing posts with label patience. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Monday, July 28, 2014
Will God “get you” for that? ................... Parables 149
Remember the TV show “Maude?” The lead character was loud, bossy, domineering and sometimes funny. Whenever someone crossed her, she almost always retorted, “God’s going to get you for that!
In November, someone stole a tropical bird from an Edmonton pet store. Last week the thief telephoned the store to let them know the bird was safely in a box at the door of the pet shop. He returned it because he was afraid “God would get him” for what he had done.
I’m not well acquainted with many thieves, but what I know about criminals indicates most don’t plan on getting caught nor do they consider before the crime just what the penalty might be. Neither does it occur to them (or to very many other people for that matter) what God might do. This thief seems an exception rather than the rule. No wonder his confession made headlines.
Maybe he was a paranoid fanatic who had watched too many episodes of Maude. I would like to think better. Perhaps a faithful parent taught him something about consequences. Maybe a Christian Sunday school teacher explained how unjust people may go through life without getting caught and even enter the grave unpunished, but there is one more check stop after that one. At least this thief paid heed to his conscience.
Some ‘holier-than-thou’ types might suggest if he was so spiritually minded, why did he take the bird in the first place? While he can’t plead “everyone gives in to temptation now and then” before a court of law, the fact of the matter is that everyone does give into temptation at times.
No one can point a finger in utter innocence at anyone else. Perhaps all of us have taken something that didn’t belong to us at one time or another. The difference between this fellow and a “common” thief is that he let the fear of God motivate a turn-around after his sin was committed.
The fear of God is a rare commodity. Atheists, agnostics, and skeptics claim God is dead or never was, or God doesn’t care. A vast majority simply form their opinion through personal experience without checking what He says about Himself in His Word.
When personal experience becomes the Bible, then if bolts of lightning don’t fall from the sky after every sin is committed, “judgment” is dismissed as an imaginary iron fist that religious people hold over poor souls.
Others argue that God is much too loving to punish anyone, and guilt is simply a human quirk that needs to be ignored. But what does God say about His judgment?
First, Romans 9:22 says God may withhold punishment so we will know that His character includes both anger at sin and great patience with sinners. Some think God is a vindictive tyrant without compassion, while others think He is loving and kind, looking the other way when we disobey Him.
Neither are true. This verse asks, “What if God, choosing to show His wrath and make power known, bore with great patience the objects of His wrath. . . what if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the objects of His mercy?”
Because we tend to ‘make God in our own image,’ our view of God is often more like we are than He is. Our common reaction when offended is instant retaliation. Since God does not take immediate vengeance, we tend to think He just isn’t looking, or caring what happens because “if I were God, my reaction would be instant . . . I’d get him for that!”
But the Bible says God is patient, merciful, and long suffering. Simply put, that means He does not deal with us according to what our sins deserve. He has put His wrath on hold, as it were, waiting for responses to His mercy. “God is not slow in keeping His promise, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
When Maude said, “God is going to get your for that,” she got a laugh. When God said it, He hoped to get repentance and faith — so He can forgive whatever ‘it’ is and give the offender eternal life.
In November, someone stole a tropical bird from an Edmonton pet store. Last week the thief telephoned the store to let them know the bird was safely in a box at the door of the pet shop. He returned it because he was afraid “God would get him” for what he had done.
I’m not well acquainted with many thieves, but what I know about criminals indicates most don’t plan on getting caught nor do they consider before the crime just what the penalty might be. Neither does it occur to them (or to very many other people for that matter) what God might do. This thief seems an exception rather than the rule. No wonder his confession made headlines.
Maybe he was a paranoid fanatic who had watched too many episodes of Maude. I would like to think better. Perhaps a faithful parent taught him something about consequences. Maybe a Christian Sunday school teacher explained how unjust people may go through life without getting caught and even enter the grave unpunished, but there is one more check stop after that one. At least this thief paid heed to his conscience.
Some ‘holier-than-thou’ types might suggest if he was so spiritually minded, why did he take the bird in the first place? While he can’t plead “everyone gives in to temptation now and then” before a court of law, the fact of the matter is that everyone does give into temptation at times.
No one can point a finger in utter innocence at anyone else. Perhaps all of us have taken something that didn’t belong to us at one time or another. The difference between this fellow and a “common” thief is that he let the fear of God motivate a turn-around after his sin was committed.
The fear of God is a rare commodity. Atheists, agnostics, and skeptics claim God is dead or never was, or God doesn’t care. A vast majority simply form their opinion through personal experience without checking what He says about Himself in His Word.
When personal experience becomes the Bible, then if bolts of lightning don’t fall from the sky after every sin is committed, “judgment” is dismissed as an imaginary iron fist that religious people hold over poor souls.
Others argue that God is much too loving to punish anyone, and guilt is simply a human quirk that needs to be ignored. But what does God say about His judgment?
First, Romans 9:22 says God may withhold punishment so we will know that His character includes both anger at sin and great patience with sinners. Some think God is a vindictive tyrant without compassion, while others think He is loving and kind, looking the other way when we disobey Him.
Neither are true. This verse asks, “What if God, choosing to show His wrath and make power known, bore with great patience the objects of His wrath. . . what if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the objects of His mercy?”
Because we tend to ‘make God in our own image,’ our view of God is often more like we are than He is. Our common reaction when offended is instant retaliation. Since God does not take immediate vengeance, we tend to think He just isn’t looking, or caring what happens because “if I were God, my reaction would be instant . . . I’d get him for that!”
But the Bible says God is patient, merciful, and long suffering. Simply put, that means He does not deal with us according to what our sins deserve. He has put His wrath on hold, as it were, waiting for responses to His mercy. “God is not slow in keeping His promise, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
When Maude said, “God is going to get your for that,” she got a laugh. When God said it, He hoped to get repentance and faith — so He can forgive whatever ‘it’ is and give the offender eternal life.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Patience ............................... Parables 051
Little children sometimes stamp their feet, pout, and demand, “Give it to me... right now!”
Bigger children are not much different. We moan, “Give me patience, and I need it... right now!”
All sorts of things test our patience: unexpected changes and no changes, delays and head starts, intricate projects and boring projects, traffic snarls and long drives without any traffic, people who move too slow and people who move too fast. We become impatient with little people and big people, with ourselves, and sometimes with God.
Impatience is often related to weakness in some other area of life. The person who frets at the slowness of traffic may be guilty of poor time management. The mom who rages when her children keep interrupting may not have learned to give them proper attention so they don’t feel threatened by her occupation with other things. The intricate, involved project may be left undone, not because of impatience, but just plain laziness.
A dear woman of God related with a knowing chuckle, “Never pray for patience... the Bible says that God gives patience through tribulation, so if you ask for it, you will get nothing but problems...” She was right.
James 1 says, “the testing of your faith (through trials) produces patience,” so in spite of our thinking that trials make us impatient, we need to see them as having an entirely different purpose.
Through the trials of life, we learn to make choices. Behind any choice is some basic theology about ourselves and about God. If I believe that what I want is more important than whatever it is that is preventing me from having it, I will react with impatience. That choice is self-centered because my thinking focused on my own desires and purposes.
If I believe that God uses all things for good in my life, that He personally cares, that He is involved in what happens to me, that He has purpose in the delays and the difficulties, then I will choose patience. It is easier to endure a trial, waiting to see what its outcome will be if I concentrate on who controls it, and that He has a purpose for it.
Sometimes God’s purpose becomes key to a patient response. If we can learn the will of God for our lives, and co-operating with that will, patience is the result.
Patience it takes time, and trials, but as the saying goes, it is a definite virtue, far easier on ourselves, and everyone else, than fighting life, pouting, stamping our feet, and saying “I want it now!”
Bigger children are not much different. We moan, “Give me patience, and I need it... right now!”
All sorts of things test our patience: unexpected changes and no changes, delays and head starts, intricate projects and boring projects, traffic snarls and long drives without any traffic, people who move too slow and people who move too fast. We become impatient with little people and big people, with ourselves, and sometimes with God.
Impatience is often related to weakness in some other area of life. The person who frets at the slowness of traffic may be guilty of poor time management. The mom who rages when her children keep interrupting may not have learned to give them proper attention so they don’t feel threatened by her occupation with other things. The intricate, involved project may be left undone, not because of impatience, but just plain laziness.
A dear woman of God related with a knowing chuckle, “Never pray for patience... the Bible says that God gives patience through tribulation, so if you ask for it, you will get nothing but problems...” She was right.
James 1 says, “the testing of your faith (through trials) produces patience,” so in spite of our thinking that trials make us impatient, we need to see them as having an entirely different purpose.
Through the trials of life, we learn to make choices. Behind any choice is some basic theology about ourselves and about God. If I believe that what I want is more important than whatever it is that is preventing me from having it, I will react with impatience. That choice is self-centered because my thinking focused on my own desires and purposes.
If I believe that God uses all things for good in my life, that He personally cares, that He is involved in what happens to me, that He has purpose in the delays and the difficulties, then I will choose patience. It is easier to endure a trial, waiting to see what its outcome will be if I concentrate on who controls it, and that He has a purpose for it.
Sometimes God’s purpose becomes key to a patient response. If we can learn the will of God for our lives, and co-operating with that will, patience is the result.
Patience it takes time, and trials, but as the saying goes, it is a definite virtue, far easier on ourselves, and everyone else, than fighting life, pouting, stamping our feet, and saying “I want it now!”
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