VIDEO God’s Deepest Work

Concerning this [thorn] I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 2 Corinthians 12:8

One of the most profound insights the apostle Paul had may have been the result of some people who were making life difficult for him. There were false apostles at Corinth who sought to discredit Paul’s ministry. Some scholars believe these were the “thorn in the flesh” Paul asked God to remove from him (2 Corinthians 12:7-8). He was in danger of pride over the divine revelations he had received (12:1-7). The “false apostles” (11:13-15) attacking him may have been God’s method to keep Paul humble.

Whether Paul’s thorn was people or circumstances, the situation caused Paul to realize that in his weakness Christ was his sufficiency (12:9-10). And who doesn’t need to gain that insight and be reminded of it over and over? The truth is, God often does His deepest work in us through the people and circumstances in our life. Instead of resisting or rebelling against people and problems, we might want to pray, “Lord, show me what I can learn and how I can grow in You.”

View life providentially. Let God use every person and problem to continue conforming you to the image of Christ (Romans 8:28-29).

God’s grace is sufficient for us anywhere His providence places us. Unknown

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God’s Purpose in Our Pain (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

Look to the Skies

The heavens declare the glory of God. Psalm 19:1

Alex Smalley wants everyone to wake up earlier—or perhaps pause more at day’s end. Why? To gaze at sunrises and sunsets. Those fleeting moments are the most beautiful, awe-inspiring times of the day, according to Smalley, the lead researcher of a British study on awe-inducing weather effects. Even more than blue skies or glittering nightscapes, a stunning sunrise or sunset can improve mood, increase positive emotions, and decrease stress. Smalley says, “When you see something vast and overwhelming or something that produces this feeling of awe, your own problems can feel diminished and so you don’t worry so much about them.”

His findings on wonder echo those of the prophet Jeremiah: “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you” (Jeremiah 32:17).

King David also beheld God’s creation, declaring, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge” (Psalm 19:1-2). As for the sun, “It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth” (v. 6). God’s glorious creation reflects the all-powerful Creator. Why not take time today to look to the skies and marvel in Him!

By:  Patricia Raybon

Reflect & Pray

Where is your favorite place to view a sunrise or sunset? When you behold the heavens, what do you discover about God?

In Your glorious heavens, Father, You show me the wonder of Your power.

Learning to Pause

When anger flares, stop to ask for God’s wisdom. 1 Samuel 25:20-35

How do you respond when someone mistreats you? Are you quick to judge that person, cataloging all the reasons you didn’t deserve to be treated so unfairly? That was David’s initial response when the fair treatment he expected was denied.

David, while still on the run from Saul, sent men from his army to request provisions from Nabal, a rich man in the area. David felt sure Nabal would look favorably on him and meet the needs of his army. Not only would that have been customary, but David had also earned the favor by protecting Nabal’s flocks.  Yet the request, though reasonable, was scornfully rejected. 

When we feel spurned, mistreated, or unappreciated, it can cause us to respond in a way that only makes the situation worse. In David’s case, his anger flared and he set out for revenge. But before he and his 400 warriors could make it to their destination, Nabal’s wife Abigail intercepted them, falling on her face to apologize for her husband’s behavior and to reason with David.

In that moment, David had a choice to make. He could either charge right past her, fueled by his own rage and need for justice, or he could pause (James 1:19). God gave him the wisdom to make the better choice. The next time anger erupts in your heart, will you follow David’s example and stop to listen to wisdom?

Sit Still

“Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.” (Ruth 3:18)

This was the instruction given to Ruth by Naomi in hopes that her kinsman, Boaz, would be willing to perform his family duty and marry Ruth, whose Jewish husband had died in Moab. Ruth’s behavior had been honorable, and she had done what she could to let Boaz know she was willing to be his wife, but now she could do nothing except to sit still and wait.

This lesson needs to be remembered by Christians today. All too often we rush ahead of the Lord, fearful that things won’t work out unless we take matters into our own hands. When the Jews were being invaded by the Assyrian armies and felt they needed an alliance with Pharaoh, God warned: “The Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still….In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength” (Isaiah 30:7-15).

Long before, when the children of Israel were in even more desperate circumstances with the Egyptian armies pursuing them and the Red Sea in front of them, Moses had said: “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD” (Exodus 14:13). Soon, Pharaoh’s chariots were at the bottom of the sea just as, in due time, Boaz did marry Ruth, and 600 years later, the hosts of the Assyrians were slain by the angel of the Lord (Isaiah 37:36).

There is, certainly, a time to work—and work hard—in the service of the Lord. There are spiritual battles to be fought and races to be run. But when we have done the best we know how, according to the Scriptures, and still don’t see the answer, there comes a time when we must simply sit still and wait for the Lord. He would have us “be still, and know that [He is] God” (Psalm 46:10). HMM

How Are We To Understand And Respond To Suffering?

For example:

• A friend’s twelve year old boy dies of cancer.
• An unforeseen change in tax laws suddenly wipes out an established business.

Why do people suffer? Is it the result of sin? Circumstances? Bad luck? Evil forces winning over good?

How much suffering is self-inflicted through our sloth, greed, ignorance, or stupidity?

It seems that a considerable amount of the pain we suffer happens at random. Few would disagree that life, taken at face value, appears to be unfair. (Ecclesiastes 7:15; 8:14)

In my recent reflections on suffering from the Book of Job, five observations emerged:

1. In the struggle between good and evil, God may allow the righteous to suffer without their knowledge of the issues at stake. (Job, chapters 1, 2)

2. Because our lives are expendable for the glory of God, He is the One who determines their quality and duration. (Job 1:9-20; 2:6-10; 42:10-15)

3. Our friends may well misjudge the cause of our suffering by failing to comprehend God’s inexplicable purposes at work behind the scenes. (Job 42:7, 8)

4. How we respond to suffering reveals the quality of our faith. (Job 1:21, 22; 13:15; 23:8-12)

5. This side of eternity, God may choose not to explain the reasons for our suffering. He gave none to Job. (Deuteronomy 29:29; Ecclesiastes 8:17)

HOW THEN ARE WE TO UNDERSTAND AND RESPOND TO SUFFERING?

Certainly Job’s response to the destruction of his family and fortune is worthy of our consideration. Upon learning of his losses, Job

“Fell to the ground in worship and said: ‘Naked I came from my mother‘s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.‘

“In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.” (Job 1:20-22)

“Never man spake like this man.”

John 7:40-53

John 7:43

Sermons do not produce the same effect upon all minds. Even when the Lord himself was the preacher some believed and some believed not, and among those who did believe there were several degrees of faith. May God grant that when we hear the word we may be led to embrace it, and feel its power in our inmost souls. One ground of unbelief in our Lord’s day appears to have been ignorance; his hearers knew that the Messiah would be born at Bethlehem, and supposing that Jesus was a native of Galilee, they could not believe in him. Had they taken the trouble to inquire, this stumbling-block would soon have been taken out of their way, for they would have learned that he was of the house and lineage of David, and was born in Bethlehem, according to the word of prophecy. If we remain in unbelief through wilful ignorance, we shall have no one but ourselves to blame.

John 7:44

Yes, even in the Redeemers congregation there were malicious hearts which remained unsoftened by his message of love, and would have repaid his affectionate zeal by making him their prisoner, if fear had not held them in check.

The Lord’s enemies among the rulers now resolved to seize him and put an end to his teaching, and therefore they sent officers to arrest him; but these returned empty-handed to those who sent them.

John 7:46

They had been spell-bound both by his matter and his manner, and the Pharisees were compelled to hear their own servants sing his praises. If we have ever heard the Lord Jesus speaks in our hearts, we shall fully agree with the verdict of the officers. Speak to us now, O Lord, and we shall rejoice with joy unspeakable.

John 7:47, 48

This is an old and foolish objection. Rulers and eminent men are quite as often wrong as right, and human authority is a very doubtful rule.

John 7:49

This again is another stale form of opposition to the truth. The adversaries represent those who believed in Jesus as an ignorant rabble, a contemptible and cursed crew. We may well be content to share the world’s scorn with the despised saints, for it has always been the lot of the godly to be sneered at.

John 7:50, 51

This was well spoken. Nicodemus may have been timid, but when he saw that his help was needed, he spoke out right well and wisely. What a blow was here aimed at the heart of prejudice! Prejudiced persons would do well to answer the question of Nicodemus.

John 8:1

John 8:1

He had no other resort. Sleep was for all except the Saviour: he went to meditation and to prayer. Blessed Lord, what an example dost thou set us by thus resorting to sacred solitude!

Never mortal spake like him!

More than man he needs must be,

Sure he is the God supreme,

For I feel his power in me.

He hath changed me by his word,

By his charms my soul subdued;

Ever since his voice I heard,

All my nature is renew’d!

Blame Someone Else

And the man said, The woman… gave me of the tree, and I did eat. (Genesis 3:12)

In the earliest day of failure and tragedy in the garden of Eden, Adam came out of hiding, knowing full well his own guilt and shame.

Adam confessed: “We ate from the fruit of the tree that was forbidden—but it was the woman who enticed me!”

When God said to Eve, “What did you do?” she said: “It was the serpent that beguiled me!”

In that brief time our first parents had learned the art of laying the blame on someone else. That is one of the great, betraying evidences of sin—and we have learned it straight from our first parents. We do not accept the guilt of our sin and iniquity. We blame someone else.

If you are not the man you ought to be, you are likely to blame your wife or your ancestors. If you are not the young person you ought to be, you can always blame your parents. If you are not the wife you ought to be, you may blame your husband or perhaps the children.

Sin being what it is, we would rather lay the blame on others. We blame, blame, blame! That is why we are where we are.