Month: August 2019

“Who wants to stop at McDonalds?”

 

Whenever we went on long car rides, my dad would throw this question out when the golden arches popped into view. Of course my brothers and I were bored and hungry – “I do! Me!“ we’d chorus. Then he’d drive past the turn without slowing and say, “Oh! Too late!”  I can’t think of one single time that he turned in, and yet I remember responding eagerly for years.

 

Recently I was reminded of the unfulfilled hope of those car trips. This time what I was longing for was something far better, far bigger, than a burger and fries.  The target was just ahead, but the closer it got, the harder I had to work to trust that God wasn’t going to say, “Oh! Too late!” and drive on by. Who knew that childhood disappointment would leave such a lasting mark?

 

It’s the enemy who warns against relying on God’s goodness.  “Be careful,” he whispers. “Don’t lean too hard on your hope. It might give way.” He wants us to believe God’s goodness isn’t really good. There’s a fly in the ointment, a catch in the deal, it’s too good to be true.

 

But God isn’t like my dad, teasing us with the promise of goodness He never intended to fulfill. He doesn’t give us false hope or toy with us, and “He does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow” (Lamentations 3:33).  Instead He asks us to trust Him, to entrust ourselves and our hopes to His goodness. His word is something we can count on. His promises are a sure and firm foundation.

 

There is no one like the God of Israel. He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies in majestic splendor.  The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you. Deuteronomy 33:26-27

 

What God says He will do is exactly what He is doing. Faith asks us to wait for Him to deliver the joy at just the right time in His “only God could do this” way. Anyone can turn into McDonald’s; only God can deliver manna from heaven.

 

God uses the wait to reveal things.  We see ourselves more clearly, and we come to know God more fully.  We experience His faithfulness and we’re convinced He is Faithful and True.  He provides for us and we know He is the Provider. We grieve and we learn He is the Comforter.  He responds to our prayers and we understand He cares for us.

 

Make no mistake – joy is coming.  The promise is backed by the steadfast strength of the Almighty God’s loving-kindness.  It will not give way and He will not fail. You can depend on it.

 

He gives grace and glory. No good thing will He withhold from those who do what is right. O Lord almighty, happy are those who trust in you. Psalm 84:11-12

 

So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.  Deuteronomy 31:6

 

We’ve had a lot of conversations in my house recently about endurance and opposition, obstacles and hope. We’re developing grit, that thing that enables us to say to our opponent, “you may have knocked me down, but you can’t keep me there.”

 

Being strong and courageous sounds great. Not being afraid or panicking sounds great, too.  But how do we do it? When life knocks us down 99 times, how do we get back on our feet 100?  The key is in the second part of the verse – the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you.

 

God will be with you. He will not fail you. He will not give up on you. He won’t get frustrated and quit. He won’t leave you hanging. He’s not walking out on you.  He’s sticking to you all the way to the end of the race, and then He’s escorting you into His garden, His Eden, where things are the way they should be. Where we can rest because there is all the time we need. Where there are no deadlines because nothing there is dead.

 

He won’t leave us and nothing can separate us from Him. Nothing can come between us and Him. Nothing can snatch us from His hand. Nothing can cut us off from His presence. He blasted away the stone that was keeping us in the grave and He called, Come out of there and LIVE! Live life fully, richly, completely, abundantly. We know this is what He intends because He says it Himself – “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10).

 

This is the manner, the way, the type of love that God loves us with – He sent His only Son for the express purpose of ensuring that we wouldn’t perish when life knocks us down, but that we would live (John 3:16).

 

When we consider all that, courage is a lot easier.

 

If we have nothing to fear from God, what can any man or any opponent possibly do to us?  God Himself is on our side, fighting on our behalf, and has promised not to condemn us, but to love us forever. Nothing and no one is stronger than God, and nothing will stop God from fulfilling His plans.  What are those plans? He tells us in Jeremiah 29:11 – “[My plans for you are] plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

When we’re knocked flat on our face, God says, “I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).  He reaches out His hand to pull us up again.  It’s the same hand that raised Christ from the dead, that defeated our enemy death, that broke sin’s curse of fear.

 

This is our God. So be strong and courageous. Be strong and very courageous. Don’t be afraid and don’t panic. Because God is with you wherever you may go.

 

Do not gloat over me, my enemies! For though I fall, I will rise again.  Micah 7:8