Learning from the Imperfect

One of the things I love about God’s word is that it is filled with real people; real, normal, defective people. Only Christ has the blessing of being perfect. The rest of us are bumbling along like those very large bumble bees that come out in early spring flying rather haphazardly looking for tasty pollen or just looking rather scary when they hover a little too close.

Image by Alex from Pixabay

Today in my devotional reading I was led to read 2 Chronicles 15. If you read 2 Chronicles 14 through 16 you’ll get the whole story of Asa the King of Judah during the time of the two kingdoms: Israel and Judah.

Early in Asa’s reign we see that he was a righteous king doing “what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.” (14:2). Asa removed foreign altars, broke down the pillars, cut down the Asherim and commanded Judah to seek God. The result of these righteous deeds was that his kingdom had rest from war. He and his people enjoyed a time of peace.

Unfortunately, things rarely stay the same. Eventually, Ethiopia rose up against Judah. This was Asa’s response.

“11 Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; let not man prevail against You.””

— 2 Chronicles 14:11 (NASB 1995)

What did God do for him? He whooped the Ethiopians’ butts. (See 14:12-15)

In Chapter 15 we see the Spirit of God come upon a prophet named Azariah. He goes to meet Asa and tells him the following:

“2...Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.
3 For many days Israel was without the true God and without a teaching priest and without law.
4 But in their distress they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him.
5 In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for many disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands.
6 Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress.
7 But you, be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work.”

— 2 Chronicles 15:2-7 (NASB 1995)

There are several things we can learn from this piece of Scripture:

1 - Our relationship with God is dependent on our choices. This does not mean God isn’t completely sovereign, but He has given us a free will. When we choose to make Christ the Lord of our lives He and His father come and dwell with us.

“23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.”

— John 14:23 (NASB 1995)

If we seek him, He will be found.

“29 But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.”

— Deuteronomy 4:29 (NASB 1995)

“10 The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing.”

— Psalm 34:10 (NASB 1995)

“6 Seek the Lord while He may be found;
Call upon Him while He is near.”

— Isaiah 55:6 (NASB 1995)

If we forsake Him, He will forsake us.

Can we lose our salvation? That is a question only God can answer. His word tells us, whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Theologians attempt to answer this question, but my simple response is, don’t walk away from Jesus. I mean, why would you want to? I don’t get it, believe me. I know people who have chosen to walk away. People I love. Does that mean He has forsaken them and they are no longer saved? I don’t know. All I know is I never want to walk away from this amazing God who allows me to call Him Father! It is this simple choice of faith that convinces me He will never leave me or forsake me.

Image by Alexa from Pixabay

2. If we are strong and take courage, our work will be rewarded. Azariah told this to Asa, and I think we can take this as encouragement as well. There are times when I wonder if what I have labored over will make any difference. Will those I love come back to God and the truth of the whole of Scripture? Will the time I spend helping and working be remembered? Does anything I say make any difference in anyone’s life? I’m sure you have felt similarly in your walk with Christ.

However, this verse reminds us that if we continue to be strong, and have courage our work will be rewarded. Another passage I return to again and again is Psalm 126.

“1 When the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter
And our tongue with joyful shouting;
Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us;
We are glad.
4 Restore our captivity, O Lord,
As the streams in the South.
5 Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.
6 He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.”

— Psalm 126:1-6 (NASB 1995)

I love this psalm because it reminds me that those who sew in tears will one day reap with joyful shouting. God knows our tears and I like to believe He has jars of our tears in heaven which we will one day use to anoint His feet when we bow before Him. Read The Gift of Tears from my blog back in 2016.

“8 You have taken account of my wanderings;
Put my tears in Your bottle.
Are they not in Your book?”

— Psalm 56:8 (NASB 1995)

Image by Michal Navrat from Pixabay

The whole point of being rewarded is so that we can give our gifts back to Him. You could say that is what Asa did. He used his position as King of Judah to restore the altar of the Lord: offer sacrifice to the Lord; enter a covenant with the Lord, and make an oath to the Lord. In return, God rewarded Asa with rest on every side.

“8 Now when Asa heard these words and the prophecy which Azariah the son of Oded the prophet spoke, he took courage and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He then restored the altar of the Lord which was in front of the porch of the Lord.
9 He gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who resided with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.
10 So they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign.
11 They sacrificed to the Lord that day 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep from the spoil they had brought.
12 They entered into the covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and soul;
13 and whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman.
14 Moreover, they made an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and with horns.
15 All Judah rejoiced concerning the oath, for they had sworn with their whole heart and had sought Him earnestly, and He let them find Him. So the Lord gave them rest on every side.”

— 2 Chronicles 15:8-15 (NASB 1995)

Image found on Pixabay.

3 - Our imperfection is perfect in God’s eyes. If that sounds like it doesn’t make sense don’t worry, I will try to explain. Let’s look at the last few verses of this chapter.

“16 He also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from the position of queen mother, because she had made a horrid image as an Asherah, and Asa cut down her horrid image, crushed it and burned it at the brook Kidron.
17 But the high places were not removed from Israel; nevertheless Asa’s heart was blameless all his days.
18 He brought into the house of God the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things: silver and gold and utensils.
19 And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.”

— 2 Chronicles 15:16-19 (NASB 1995)

Here we see the imperfection. Asa did good things, but the world around him still held imperfections and unfortunately these imperfections eventually took their toll on Asa. Read 2 Chronicles 16 to hear the end to Asa’s story.

The final point I want to focus on in this post is verse 17. “But the high places were not removed from Israel; nevertheless Asa’s heart was blameless all his days.” Due to this, God kept peace under Asa’s rule, until the 35th year of his reign. What stands out to me in verse 17 is that Asa’s heart was blameless all his days.

Is my heart blameless all my days? If you knew the things I sometimes think, or the feelings I sometimes feel you most certainly would question my blameless status, but here is the thing, in Christ, when I am buried with Him in His death, and raised with Him in His resurrection, I am blameless. Amy is blameless all her days.

Isn’t God amazing? It isn’t about what we do to try to be good people. It was, is, and always will be about what God has done, and is doing, and will do. He is God. He is good. He is the One who put together the plan to redeem a sinful, broken world. He is the One who hung on a splintered tree so that I might have life and have it more abundantly. He is the perfection in all of our imperfection.

A Series of (Un)Fortunate Events - Part 2: The Necessity of Misfortune

Last week I introduced you to A Series of Unfortunate Events, a book series by Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler) that has also been made into a movie with Jim Carey, and a Netflix series with Neil Patrick Harris. The series follows three orphans, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire, who are trying to find out why their parents died in a fire, while at the same time trying to find a guardian who will love and care for them. The inheritance of their future fortune marks them easy prey for villains wanting their money, specifically Count Olaf.

I made the comparison that often we are like the orphaned Baudelaire’s experiencing one tragedy after another. Misfortune is, as the word’s meaning defines, unfortunate. The word fortunate is defined as - “bringing some good thing, not foreseen as certain; receiving some unexpected good.” Misfortune is defined simply as, “an unhappy situation.” When we call someone unfortunate we are saying they are “marked or accompanied by misfortune.” (Definitions from Webster’s Online Dictionary.)

All of us experience misfortune, but we don’t necessarily see everyone as unfortunate, where every day seems to be a struggle and hope is as elusive as an early morning mist. In fact, when a tragedy happens we will often say, “You were very fortunate. It could have been so much worse.” While this is true, it isn’t always the best thing to say.

If you have been following me for a while, you have probably heard me say that struggles and difficulty are not always all bad. We’ve all heard stories or watched a Hallmark movie, where something beautiful has come out of a terrible situation. In my own life I have seen the hand of God extend mercy in situations where the outcome of people’s choices could have been total tragedy.

Last week I discussed the necessity of Jesus’ departure from earth, so the Holy Spirit could come. Without the Helper’s constant guidance and revelation of God’s word we would be lost. Thus the need to recognize, not all tragedies and difficulties are truly unfortunate. With the Holy Spirit’s help we can recognize four key things about our difficulties.

1 - Allowed by God.

Image by José Manuel de Laá from Pixabay

If you believe what the Bible says about God’s characteristics then you must acknowledge His sovereignty. If God is sovereign, all things that come into our lives are sifted through His fingers. We have the book of Job as one for instance of God allowing great difficulty into one man’s life. But, even after all the tragedy, Job knew God was good and sovereign.

“He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked I shall return there.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.””

— Job 1:22 (NASB 1995)

“9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!”
10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”

— Job 2:9-10 (NASB 1995)

I can still remember a sermon I heard a few years ago when we were going through an especially hard time. The preacher made two points:

1 - God is sovereign and God loves you.

2 - When you are going through something hard refer back to point number 1.

It sounds pretty simple, but in reality it is. Our Almighty God is not trying to trick us, or manipulate us. He is completely straight forward. His holiness is pure. His goodness is everlasting. His mercies are new every morning. Most importantly, He loves us. Plain and simple.

2 - For our benefit.

Image by Melk Hagelslag from Pixabay

Most of us want things that are beneficial for us whether healthy food and exercise, a place to get away and rest, peace of mind and loving, nurturing relationships. God wants things that are beneficial for us as well. The difference is that as the author of all creation He has a far better grasp of what we truly need.

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

— Romans 8:28 (NASB 1995)

Notice in the verse it says that God causes ALL things to work together for good. It isn’t only the happy, joyful, peaceful things that work for our good, it includes the mind numbing, tragic and ugly parts of life. How can this be the case? Because it is God who is doing the working for the good. We are hardly capable of getting ourselves out of bed in the morning, how is it we are going to know the deep needs of our own selves? We think we do…happiness, peace, no longing, no fear, no confrontation…but we are unwilling to go to the One who knows us inside out.

3 - Meant for God reliance.

A trapeze artist knows the importance of being in excellent shape physically, and mentally. They know their muscles must be strong and their minds must not be distracted by the difficulties of life. In addition, they are completely reliant on their equipment. A broken wire, or rusty chain must be repaired or replaced. How do they know these things? By being taught by others who went before.

When we encounter unfortunate events it is the perfect opportunity to check our relationship with God. Are we maintaining our connection with Him. Are we keeping short accounts on our sin? Are we spending time in His word? Are we searching for scripture and advice on how to get through our difficulties by His strength and with His grace?

I don’t care what the commercials are telling you…be all you can be. I don’t care what the social media influencers are preaching…you are strong, you got this, you are woman hear you roar…most messages that come from a source outside of God Himself, while encouraging are not going to keep you sane when the bottom falls out of your world.

“5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your body
And refreshment to your bones.”

— Proverbs 3:5-8 (NASB 1995)

“6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,
7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

— 1 Peter 5:6-7 (NASB 1995)

“63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”

— John 6:63 (NASB 1995)

“8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
Than to trust in man.”

— Psalm 118:8 (NASB 1995)

“10 ‘Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’”

— Isaiah 41:10 (NASB 1995)

We are meant to be God dependent, not independent.

4 - Renewal: God’s best outcome.

Image by AC works Co., Ltd. from Pixabay

Coming through a series of unfortunate events is the perfect time for God to build something new in you. As you practice abiding in Him and relying on Him He will begin to weed that garden that He is cultivating in you. It may be that the misfortunes are actually His way of pulling the weeds of pride, self-centeredness and bitterness from your soul. Let Him be about His work for this will have the best outcome. You will come through your difficulties with a deeper, new found faith and knowledge, not only of who you are, but more importantly of who God is.

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

— Romans 12:2 (NASB 1995)

“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.”

— 2 Corinthians 4:16 (NASB 1995)

“He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,”

— Titus 3:5 (NASB 1995)

I want to encourage you to remember, you are not alone in your difficulty. There is a loving, omnipotent God working through your series of (un)fortunate events.

When Darkness Comes - Wrap Up

We have been doing a series on when darkness comes into our lives. Darkness can be anything that you encounter that causes you to struggle, doubt or grow weary. From the very beginning we learned that darkness is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact when we read the creation account at the beginning of Genesis we learn that God created the darkness for our benefit. However, there are times when it seems that darkness has moved in to our lives like some sort of dank, slimy giant who is determined to make his new home with us. It seems that life will never know the light again and that the only thing we will know is that musty smell of wormwood.

Image by Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay

For this final post, I just want to review some of the things we learned over the last few weeks. It is rather apropos that in the midst of doing this series, I was blasted with a health crisis. It has stretched me to my limits. I know there are so many people who have had much more difficult health problems, but it is the incessant illness and the ensuing steps of trying to get things diagnosed, going to doctors, urgent cares and even the emergency room, still to no avail. The waiting; the not knowing; the feeling of hopelessness that things will ever get any better wears a person down.

The very thing that kept me going through all of this, were the lessons I had been learning previously when I was going through more of a mental and emotional crisis. That is what I have shared with you in this series. The verse that has kept coming back to me during the non-stop coughing, long nights of wheezing and not being able to sleep, and the not having answers is this:

“Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.””

— Psalm 27:14 (NASB)

All to often waiting is exactly that, waiting. It has more of a passive feel to it. There are times, where that is exactly what we need to do. However, many of the verses in the Bible that use the word wait, have an active voice. Waiting, involves, anticipation, expectation and even an element of seeking. Waiting is not for wimps! Why do you think the psalmist went on to say, “Be strong and let your heart take courage…”? He knew that waiting requires strength. I will leave that for another lesson. Today, I just want to review what we can take away from the series, When Darkness Comes.

1 - God created the darkness - The very first lesson in this series explored the truth, God created the darkness. While dark and light are no different to Him, He knew that our world and the people He created would need the darkness and its benefits.

2 - Darkness became associated with being bad when Satan challenged God’s authority - Remember, not only did Satan challenge God’s authority, but he was angry. In his anger he attacked God’s creation by tempting Adam and Eve to sin. It was after this event that the darkness became a place to hide and cover sinful deeds.

3 - God is in the darkness - No matter what dark days we are going through, God is over, under, around and within our darkness. The darkness is as light to Him, so there are no worries that He won’t be able to find us. He is right here with us.

4 - Being in the dark does not mean we did something wrong - God is sovereign and it is in this Lordship over all that He determines when and where we walk, and whether that way will be in the light or in the dark.

5 - When we are walking in the dark we need to remind ourselves of who God is - This is the first step in being able to dwell in the dark place. We have to remember who God is. A good way to do this is to write in a journal, but that is not the only way. Writing, singing, reading all help us to get back to the core truths in scripture about who God says he is.

6 - When we are walking in the dark we need to remind ourselves of who we are - We tend to put on false faces when we are going through difficulties. We tend to not want others to see how we really feel, or what we are really thinking. In order to dwell in the dark place, and even flourish in that darkness, we need to be honest about our feelings, and who God’s word tells us we are.

7 - There is a time when we need to reveal our true hearts - In other words, there are times we need to be starkly honest with God. Yes, He already knows what we are thinking and feeling, but we need to acknowledge these things out loud. Being able to vent our true hearts before Him is an important part of being able to survive a dark time.

8 - Growth, in a dark place, is directly related to letting God’s truth meet the raw edges of our ragged emotions - The scriptures are full of people with real emotions. David, Abraham, Moses, Paul and others didn’t just bring us the inspired words of God, but His truth, seasoned with their very own emotions. So much of scripture is meant for helping us deal, temper and work through our intense emotions. Letting His truth touch our emotions allows His Spirit to bring light to all of our dark places.

9 - Thanksgiving is essential to the growth process - There is a reason God said to give thanks at all times and in everything give thanks. Gratitude is the next step in allowing the darkness to empower, rather than overpower us.

10 - Dark places cannot remain dark when God’s piercing happens within our hearts - The process of going through these steps as we walk in darkness has the ultimate outcome of light coming in to the dark place. Truth, while not always pleasant, will always reveal. Obedience to God’s movement in the dark place will always open small windows that will let the light in.

I hope you enjoyed this series on When Darkness Comes and that by sharing my own process of walking in a dark place you will be better able to get through your own times of darkness.

Thanks for following along, on the blog. Have a great weekend.