Month: January 2020

Have you ever had one of those days?  The one where you tried to do the right thing, and it backfired?  You held the door for someone, only to have one slammed in your face.  You bought a stranger a coffee, and five minutes later spilled yours all over your lap.  You were kind to someone you love, and they were unkind in return. You did things God’s way, and the world laughed.

 

On those days, it’s easy to wonder why I am even doing this anyway?  Why bother doing the right thing?  And I totally get it.  Because there are plenty of examples of selfish people getting everything they want and selfless people getting, well, less.  The world offers quick returns on momentary pleasures, while God’s economy rewards faithfulness. Righteousness is a long-term investment, a slow-growing fruit.  Maybe that’s because it produces things that will last forever.

 

If you’re a believer, you’re in the process of being transformed into the image of God, who is fundamentally right at the very core of His being.  He always does the right thing and cannot possibly do anything other than the right thing. That’s wonderful news for us because it means we can trust God with our lives.  He doesn’t have suspect motives. Instead, He’s promised that He’s continually and actively using every situation, circumstance, and relationship to accomplish what will result in good for us (Romans 8:28).  Yes, all of them. Even the hard ones.

 

Never underestimate what God will do with one righteous person who is committed to Him. Noah was “a righteous man, the only blameless man living on earth” (Genesis 6:9). Because of his close relationship with God, he was spared from the flood.  The ark he built became the vessel that saved his entire family (Genesis 6:18). When Abraham obeyed God’s call to leave his homeland, he brought along “his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth – his livestock and all the people who had joined his household” (Genesis 12:5). He followed God, who led them all to the Promised Land.

 

Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho who threw her lot in with the God of Israel.  Because of her faith, her entire family was saved when Jericho was destroyed (Joshua 6:25).  The Lord shook a Philippian jail to its foundations with an earthquake, and moved the heart of the jailer to belief. He brought Paul and Silas home, where “they shared the word of the Lord with him and all who lived in his household… He and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God” (Acts 16:32,34).

 

These people were acting on faith.  That doesn’t mean they were perfect or free of doubt.  It doesn’t mean the path was easy. But they chose God and believed that what He said was true even when everything they could see seemed to contradict it.  And that faith made a way of salvation, a path to safety, for those they loved.

 

When it comes down to it, there’s really only ever been one truly righteous person and that was Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  And just look what He accomplished – He saved us all.

 

So if you’re weary and worn out and having one of those days, don’t give up.  What you do matters. What you believe matters. Not just for you, but also for those around you.  You are the light, the good, that God continues to send out into the world to rescue those who are perishing in darkness.

There’s this moment recorded in Exodus 17.  The Israelites had escaped from slavery in Egypt, crossed the Red Sea on dry ground, and then the Amalekites showed up.  I kind of imagine them thinking, Great. Just what we needed.  Moses told Joshua to lead the Israelites in battle while he stood nearby with the staff of God in his hands.

 

“As long as Moses held up the staff with his hands, the Israelites had the advantage” (Exodus 17:11).  When I read this, the image of prayer comes immediately to mind. David expressed it perfectly when he wrote, “Listen to my prayer for mercy as I cry out to you for help, as I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary” (Psalm 28:2).

 

In prayer, we bring our burdens to the Lord and acknowledge that they’re too much for us. That we need the intervention of Someone greater than we are, with more resources than we have, with power to do what we cannot.  We’re looking to Him as our Provider, Rescuer, Sustainer instead of trying to get those things by our own means. Prayer keeps us close to God, watching for Him to reveal Himself and His purposes in our desperate situation. He already knows our needs and our concerns; praying about them shows that we’re not only aware of His sovereignty, but also that we’re willing to be subject to it.

 

In the first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul instructed, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  And Isaiah charged, “Take no rest, all you who pray” (Isaiah 62:6). Jesus Himself urged His followers to “keep on asking… keep on looking… keep on knocking” (Luke 11:9-10) – “God will surely give justice to his chosen people who plead with him day and night” (Luke 18:7).  But there are some times when prayer feels like little more than talking to the ceiling, or wrestling with a power we can neither see nor control. It seems like it makes no difference – or God is indifferent – and we get tired of praying. We drop our arms, we cease praying, and our enemy begins to gain the upper hand.

 

This leads me back to Moses.  “Whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites gained the upper hand.  Moses’ arms finally became too tired to hold up the staff any longer. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on.  Then they stood on each side, holding up his hands until sunset. As a result, Joshua and his troops were able to crush the army of Amalek” (Exodus 17:11-13).  When we pray for one another, we’re like Aaron and Hur, holding up the arms of those who have grown weary, helping to usher in the victory.

 

One final thought.  Maybe you have a friend or loved one who is too weak even to pray for themselves.  They’re in a place where they can’t even begin to look up. Then you can be like the friends of the paralyzed man, who lowered him through a hole in the roof so they could get him into the presence of Jesus (Luke 5:17-20).  It was the friends’ faith that led to the man’s healing.  By prayer, we bring others into the presence of God, where they can receive mercy and grace, forgiveness and healing.

 

Strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees.  Say to those who are afraid, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies.  He is coming to save you.” Isaiah 35:3-4