VIDEO The Secret Vocabulary Of The Heart – Wait for the Vision

Though it tarries, wait for it… —Habakkuk 2:3

Patience is not the same as indifference; patience conveys the idea of someone who is tremendously strong and able to withstand all assaults. Having the vision of God is the source of patience because it gives us God’s true and proper inspiration. Moses endured, not because of his devotion to his principles of what was right, nor because of his sense of duty to God, but because he had a vision of God. “…he endured as seeing Him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27). A person who has the vision of God is not devoted to a cause or to any particular issue— he is devoted to God Himself. You always know when the vision is of God because of the inspiration that comes with it. Things come to you with greatness and add vitality to your life because everything is energized by God. He may give you a time spiritually, with no word from Himself at all, just as His Son experienced during His time of temptation in the wilderness. When God does that, simply endure, and the power to endure will be there because you see God.

“Though it tarries, wait for it….” The proof that we have the vision is that we are reaching out for more than we have already grasped. It is a bad thing to be satisfied spiritually. The psalmist said, “What shall I render to the Lord…? I will take up the cup of salvation…” (Psalm 116:12-13). We are apt to look for satisfaction within ourselves and say, “Now I’ve got it! Now I am completely sanctified. Now I can endure.” Instantly we are on the road to ruin. Our reach must exceed our grasp. Paul said, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on…” (Philippians 3:12). If we have only what we have experienced, we have nothing. But if we have the inspiration of the vision of God, we have more than we can experience. Beware of the danger of spiritual relaxation.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

There is nothing, naturally speaking, that makes us lose heart quicker than decay—the decay of bodily beauty, of natural life, of friendship, of associations, all these things make a man lose heart; but Paul says when we are trusting in Jesus Christ these things do not find us discouraged, light comes through them.
The Place of Help

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“The Secret Vocabulary Of The Heart” | March 14, 2021

Join First Dallas at 9:15​ & 11am CT for worship and our guest speaker, Eric Metaxas with a special message, “The Secret Vocabulary Of The Heart.”

What Can’t Be Seen

Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

Historians say the Atomic Age began on July 16, 1945, when the first nuclear weapon was detonated in a remote desert of New Mexico. But Greek philosopher Democritus (c. 460–370 bc) was exploring the existence and power of the atom long before the invention of anything that could even see these tiny building blocks of the universe. Democritus comprehended more than he could see and atomic theory was the result.

The Scriptures tell us that the essence of faith is embracing what can’t be seen. Hebrews 11:1 affirms, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” This assurance isn’t the result of wishful or positive thinking. It’s confidence in the God we can’t see but whose existence is the truest reality in the universe. His reality is displayed in His creative works (Psalm 19:1) and made visible by revealing His invisible character and ways in His Son, Jesus, who came to show the Father’s love to us (John 1:18).

This is the God in whom “we live and move and have our being,” as the apostle Paul put it (Acts 17:28). As such, “we live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). Yet we don’t walk alone. The unseen God walks with us every step of the way.

By:  Bill Crowder

Reflect & Pray

In a world where seeing is believing, in what ways do you struggle to live by faith in God? What has strengthened your faith, and in what areas do you need to rest in Him more fully?

Father, sometimes it’s a struggle to believe what I can’t see. Nevertheless, You’ve promised Your faithful love and that You’ll never leave me or forsake me. Help me to rest in that promise

Sunday Reflection: Safety in God’s Goodness

To get the most out of this devotion, set aside time to read the Scripture referenced throughout.

In C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Susan asks Mr. Beaver if Aslan—the lion representing Jesus—is safe. He answers, “Safe? … Who said anything about safe? ’Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” Through allegory, Lewis implies that while God isn’t “safe” in the way we often think of the word, we can always rely on His goodness.

This is apparent throughout Scripture. In Genesis alone, we see Noah enduring a boat ride on deadly floodwaters, Isaac nearly sacrificed by his father Abraham, and Joseph sold, falsely accused, and imprisoned (Gen. 7:17; Gen. 22:12; Gen. 37:28-36; Gen. 39:1-20). And all this happened when people were faithful to God—not as punishment or consequences of going astray. But we know how these stories end: God came through for His children.

God won’t give us the things we want whenever we want them—so sometimes we’ll feel exposed and vulnerable. And we might not hear from Him when we pray. But we can rest assured that our Father’s love and goodness are always with us.

Think about it
• If you’ve been praying for a need, what has God been saying, and how will it affect your decisions? Or, if you haven’t heard from Him yet, what might He be saying through His silence?

Son of the Living God

“And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16)

This ringing affirmation of faith came from Peter as spokesman but undoubtedly was shared by all the disciples, since Jesus had asked the question “Whom say ye that I am?” of them all. Actually, they had probably all been disciples of John the Baptist, who had directed them to Jesus, and so had heard John’s testimony concerning Christ’s identity. John had said that Jesus was indeed “the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father” (John 1:18).

Yet, as they had been following Him, they had heard Him speak of Himself far more often as “the Son of man.” Over 30 times in the gospel of Matthew alone He identified Himself as Son of man, not once as the Son of God. Nevertheless, He accepted Peter’s statement as absolutely true, saying that the Father had so revealed it.

In fact, it is essential that one must believe it to be saved. Jesus did say: “But he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18).

Yet, He seems to want us to know Him especially as the Son of man, perhaps so that we will never forget that He, though God, is also man just like us. And as man, He was “in all points [tested] like as we are, yet without sin” so He can “be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,” and we now can “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16).

John was enabled to see Christ once again long after His return to heaven. Although He was now in His resurrection body, John still saw Him as “one like unto the Son of man” (Revelation 1:13). Although He is indeed the Son of the living God, He is also our “man in the glory”! HMM

Faith and Care

Matthew 6:30

FOUR times in Matthew our Lord uses the expression “O ye of little faith,” and each time the application is to a different problem. The first occurrence of the phrase is in Matthew 6:30: “Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?”

This is part of the well-known passage from the Sermon on the Mount dealing with our daily anxieties. Nowhere is faith more needed nowadays. Many Christians seem to think of worry as a “white sin,” as though God had made an exception in that case and we were allowed to fret and grieve, with no provision being made for our relief. People think they simply must worry, but God’s Word is explicit that we are to be anxious about nothing (Phil. 4:6), casting all our care upon God (1 Pet. 5:7)—letting not our hearts be troubled (John 14:1). Why did Jesus say “Let not your heart be troubled” if we cannot help it?

So our Lord tells us: “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink” (v. 25). Of course, we know that “thought” here means anxious thought and not the forethought and planning that are necessary for any business. It is not work, but worry, that kills—the feverish tension and uneasiness that soon wear down mind and body. The man who lives in the will of God need never worry about food, clothes, and the vexations of daily experience. It does no good, it is positively forbidden in the Word, and God has promised to supply all the believer’s needs (Phil. 4:19).

The Lord Jesus speaks in this passage of the birds and the lilies as illustrations of God’s care. Here cynics have objected that the sparrow falls just the same. But the idea is that no matter what happens, we are in God’s care. The mistake is in limiting His care to temporal welfare—but God does not guarantee to save us from trouble and danger. His care goes beyond that: come what will, our lives are hid with Christ, and no matter what happens to our health or our money, we ourselves—our spirits—are safe in Him.

The heart of the whole matter is found in verse 33: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” We make “all these things” our chief concern but Christ makes them merely incidental. These things should be marginal and God central in our lives, but we put them on the main track and God is switched to the sidetrack, to be called upon only in trouble.

“Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Each day has enough troubles of its own. But we insist upon borrowing from tomorrow and crossing the bridge before we reach it. No Christian should worry. His sole business is to know the will of God and do it. Whatever his occupation may be, it is only to pay expenses while he is about his real business. But we reverse the whole matter and make our trade the main business with God’s will an outside affair that is considered now and then, if at all. Consequently, when trouble and vexation come we fret and worry.

Our “little faith” shows up daily in this matter of care. The believer who has gained through faith the conquest of care has found life here, even in this troublesome world, a blessed experience. Truly, the peace of God will garrison the hearts and minds of those who are careful for nothing but thankful for everything.

Before You Can Say “Yes”

God, save me by Your name … For strangers rise up against me … They have no regard for God.—Psalm 54:1, 3

The more disillusioned we are with the world, the more motivated we will be to pursue the Christian way. If we are not willing to face the reality that we live in a fallen world, that the latest invention is not going to bring us Utopia, that possessions fail to give any lasting happiness, then we are not going to move along the rugged road of faith with a steady tread.

My favorite word to summarize the message of this, the first of the Songs of Ascents, is renunciation. The psalmist seems to have made a decision to move away from the lies he has heard, and we too must make a similar decision. We must renounce lies such as that human beings are basically good, we are not responsible for the way we are, we can find happiness independently of God. The truth of God does not begin to dawn upon us until we realize that what we have assumed was the truth—that we are the masters of our fate—is in fact a lie. It is painful to admit that we have been taken in by the world’s lies, but until we accept that we have and confess it, we are not ready to move on into all that God has for us.

If the psalmist were writing today, he might have worded his prayer like this: “Save me, O Lord, from the lies of those who think they know the answer to life but don’t.” We must discover that before we can say “yes” to God we must first learn to say “no” to the world.

Prayer

Father, I would make the prayer of the psalmist my prayer also. Rescue me from those who would represent the world to me in terms that are not entirely true. I turn from the untrue to the True. Help me dear Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Further Study

Lk 21:29-36; Rm 12:1-2; Col 3:2

How does Paul admonish the Romans?

What did he encourage the Colossians to do?

How to Study the Bible

Psalm 119:18

Read and study the Bible as two young lovers read and study each other’s letters. As soon as the mail brings a letter from his sweetheart, the young man grabs it and without waiting to see if there is not another letter for him, runs off to a corner and reads and laughs and rejoices over it and almost devours it. If he is a particularly demonstrative lover (may the Lord make us demonstrative lovers of our Lord Jesus Christ) he will probably kiss it and carry it next to his heart till the next one comes.

He meditates on it day and night, and reads it over again and then again. He carries it to town with him, and on the street car appears very quiet and thoughtful, until at once a twinkle comes into his eye, out comes the letter and choice portions are read over again. He delights in that letter. Read in Acts 17:11 KJV what the disciples in Berea did: “They received the Word with all readiness of mind.” A frank and noble mind is open to the truth, and wants it more than gold or pleasure or fame or power.

“They searched the Scriptures daily” (Acts 17:11 KJV). Precious things are deeply hidden. Pebbles and stones and autumn leaves abound everywhere, but gold and silver and precious stones are hidden deep in the bowels and rocky ribs of the earth; shells cover the seashore, but pearls are hidden in its depths. And so with truth. Some truth may live on the surface of the Bible, but those that will altogether satisfy us and make us wise unto salvation are found only after diligent search, even as for hidden treasure. “Search the Scriptures,” (John 5:39 KJV) said Jesus.

“They searched the Scriptures daily.” Daily, not spasmodically by fits and starts, but daily, habitually. They dug into the Word of God.

Read and study the Word not to get a mass of knowledge in the head, but a flame of love in the heart. Read it to find fuel for affection, food for reflection, direction for judgment, guidance for conscience. Read it not that you may know, but that you may do.

Finally, do not be discouraged if progress in the knowledge of the Word seems slow at first. It is like learning to play an instrument or master a trade. Keep at it, keep at it, keep at it!

Happy shall we be, if, like David, we can say, “Your Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11 KJV).

Samuel Logan Brengle, Heart Talks on Holiness