Category: Knowing God

God Sees Strength In Us Where We See Weakness

Story of Gideon

For seven years the Midianites terrorized the Israelites. Israel would plant their crops and at harvest, Midan would sweep in from the East like locusts and consume the harvest and livestock all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. The once brave Israelites hid like animals in caves and dens in the mountains until the threat passed. Humbled, Israel cried to God for deliverance.

In Ophrah, a frightened farmer named Gideon was hiding in a winepress threshing grain in hopes that his efforts would be undetected. An angel of God greeted him as “a mighty man of valor”, a heroic warrior, and tells him God is with him. Even Gideon is perplexed by the greeting and wonders why he sees no evidence of God’s care, His great works of the past, to punish the Midianites. Instead of recounting the rebellion of Israel that brought oppression, the angel announces the resumption of these great works–under the leadership of Gideon. After countering that he is the least in his father’s house in the weakest clan of Manasseh, the angel answers:

And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” Judges 6:16

Though Gideon ask for assurance of God’s care through signs, he answers God’s call and breaks the Midianite domination over Israel. If you read about the fight in Judges 6 and 7, Gideon assembled and army but it is obvious that Israel won through God’s power.

The Strength in You

Sometimes we are discouraged and even frightened when we see enemies, spiritual and physical, around us. We are quick to discount our place in the world as Gideon did. And, like Gideon, we may even wonder if God has neglected us. When this happens, we are having a focus problem: we are focusing too much on ourselves and too little on God.

God Uses Weakness To Demonstrate His Strength I picked Gideon but there are many Bible characters who were mighty in God’s service despite weaknesses. When Paul asked that a “thorn in the flesh” that afflicted him to be removed, God gave this answer:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

What a powerful answer! Paul’s weakness would demonstrate  God’s power! Even when we do have weakness, our Creator has the ability to recreate us in His image and demonstrate His power in us. The most important lesson we have to learn is it is not about us, it’s all about God.

God Gives Power To Those Who Serve Him Think of the nameless multitudes who have followed God and transformed the world. They took the gospel throughout the known world in the first century, and “turned the world upside down” with the message of Christ’s salvation. When we are tempted to think too much of our selves or to be discouraged because we do not feel we have much to contribute, we must remember that we are to be used in God’s service and He will accomplish His purposes with our without us. Even Paul realized that despite his great work, he was just a worker in God’s field and the increase, success, belonged to God, 1 Corinthians 3:5-7. How much better if we can be part of the plan and be useful in God’s service!

When Paul describes the Christian armor in Ephesians 6, he stresses that the power is not in the weaponry or armor but strength in the Lord and “the power of His might.” The Christian emboldened by God’s power can face any opposition with confidence.  It is not arrogance or conceit but a realization that God can use us, like He used Gideon, despite our weakness because He empowers us with His strength. God never commands us to do anything that He doesn’t also give us the power to complete. Don’t worry about what you have to offer, take comfort in what God can do through you!

Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Big Picture of the Bible

Do you realize that the Bible is one complete story? I regularly attended Bible classes and worship growing up but this fact didn’t truly dawn on me until I was in college. I knew that all the stories related to one another, but the connection from beginning to end didn’t become clear until I was studying the Bible as a complete story. When you see the complete story it helps you understand and appreciate so much of what God has done for us.

My friend, Ken Craig, has written a book called The Big Picture of the Bible that tells the great story of salvation as it is presented through the scriptures. It is a short but powerful book and will probably introduce some things you didn’t realize or connect between the old and new testaments or symbolism that is often overlooked. The book is available from DeWard Publishing.

He has given this presentation in many places in the world. To see the material in three videos, click here. You will learn something and you will be encouraged.

God Gives Me Songs in the Night

In the still of the night loneliness and sorrow can envelop us. But God gives Christians songs in the night when they seek him in their sorrow. The perspective of Psalm 42 is someone in distress. As is often the case in the Psalms, the writer trusted in God’s deliverance though he had to endure suffering at the hands of his enemies.

Though he was in sorrow, he wanted to enjoy pleasant times with the Lord again. He fondly remembered how he led the multitude in praise as they made pilgrimages to God’s house. He eagerly desired God’s company as a deer longs for the water. After a big meal neither food nor drink are appealing. When one is feeling self-satisfied, self-sufficient, and at ease he does not hunger and thirst for God—he does not need the Father. However, when one is suffering, broken down, and weary, he acutely feels the pain for God’s presence and comfort.

The psalmist did not thirst for God’s word but for God Himself. It appears that his enemies had hindered his ability to come to the house of God and worship. Just as a young couple eagerly desires one another’s company and seeks every opportunity to be with one another, so one who truly enjoys fellowship with God will hunger for opportunities to join with Him in prayer, study and worship. Though he was suffering, he could still see the kindness of God in the daytime and sing songs as darkness enveloped him in the night.

Think about this comforting theme: God gives us songs during dark times. The phrase “songs in the night” appears a few times in scriptures and indicates confidence in God in the middle of dark times.

  • Job 35:9-10 – Job’s friend, Elihu, told of the confidence of the oppressed who cry to God and receive songs in the night
  • Psalm 77:1-6 – The psalmist reflected on a time when God answered him though he had to suffer some sleepless nights; yet even in his despair he had songs in the night.
  • Psalm 149:5 encourages saints to sing loudly on their beds

When we are enduring trials or sorrows, we often lie on our beds staring at the ceiling and praying for help and answers. Though despair has driven sleep from us, God is ever near. It is often in the silence and loneliness of the darkness that we realize how much we depend upon God and that in suffering we see Him more clearly. John Michael Talbot said, “I can look back at my darkest periods and realize that these were the times when the Lord was holding me closest. But I couldn’t see his face because my face was in his breast—crying.”

In the darkness of pain and despair we can find a song of love, praise, and comfort from our God. Acts 16:20-25 records how Paul and Silas were severely beaten and cast into the depths of a Phillippian jail. It would be understandable if Paul and Silas moaned about their beating, complained to God, and wallowed in self-pity yet late into the night they were singing praises to God. They were following the example of Jesus who, before spending the night in agonizing prayer and going to the cross, sang a hymn with His apostles, Matthew 26:30.

Before the Civil War, as slaves labored in the field and endured beatings, separated families, poor living conditions, and all of the indignities associated with oppression they sang spiritual songs of praise and deliverance. It is a challenge to sing songs in the night when you are enveloped with despair and feel that your suffering is unfair.

How can we sing songs in the night?
First, we must trust in God’s love and care. God as our shepherd can comfort us even when the suffering is the valley of the shadow of death, Psalm 23:4. We can have confidence in His comforting presence for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” Hebrews 13:5.

We must seek strength from God. Paul urged us to be strong in God’s power, Ephesians 6:10. We must not depend so much on our own strength. This is also when we need to allow others to help us bear our burdens. God is intimately concerned about us, Luke 12:6-7, and will not keep His strength from us if we request it.

We must also realize that there will be times of joy and sorrow. Times of sorrow help us appreciate the good times. The timeless wisdom of Solomon reminds us to enjoy the good days because the dark days will come, Ecclesiastes 7:14. He further reminds us, in Ecclesiastes 11:3-8, that some things are out of our control and some things are within our control. We must do what we can do and leave the rest to the wisdom of God.

God can only give His children songs in the night. Those who have rejected Him or Christians who are rebelling against Him will only have anxiety and worry for they know that God will punish them if they do not repent. To sing songs in the night, one must have peace and true peace can only come through obedience to God.

Do Not Ask The Dead To Help The Living

Dealing with the loss of a close relative or friend is one of the most traumatic things someone can endure. We sense the loss of their physical presence and the ability to talk with them frequently. If they were a source of encouragement and guidance their absence will make us yearn for their leadership. In desperate situations, some people have wasted money on mediums and others who claim to communicate with the dead in order to receive some final message or to maintain contact. I fear that many Christians are practicing this in a more subtle way and are, without realizing it, taking glory from God.

Some eastern religions have a custom of lighting candles and preparing food to appease dead loved ones. They will pray to their loved ones for help in their life. Christians have long answered this with an exhortation that such people pray to God who can truly help them. However, I am witnessing more and more Christians asking dead relatives and friends to intervene in the matters of this world. I have heard Christians attributing the strength they had to overcome a certain obstacle to a departed loved one—not that the loved one was an inspiration to them or something they were taught helped them but that the loved one was actively helping them. They may even pray for them to intervene with God on their behalf.

We must acknowledge that nowhere in Scriptures are we commanded or encouraged to ask dead loved ones to intervene with God on our behalf since Jesus is our intercessor  and He “ever lives to make intercession for us” (Hebrews 7:25). Nor do we find authority to ask them to watch over us daily or during a special time of need. Again, it is Jesus who can sympathize with our weaknesses and is the only at the throne of God’s grace that we can “receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:25).” We should not make requests to departed loved ones, Bible characters, or other faithful brethren that alone should be addressed to the Father through Jesus.

Since this is the case, if we go to our deceased loved one–or anyone who lived on this earth–to ask help in a time of need, we are not only doing it without authority but it is an unintended insult to God who really can assist us. In the Old Testament God considered it an insult! Isaiah 8:19 says, “… should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?”

Those who are deceased have no power at all in this world. In the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Luke 16:19-31, the rich man was concerned about the spiritual welfare of his brothers. However, he could do nothing about them (v.26 says it was impossible for him to return). He could not teach them or lead them to truth. Even Lazarus was not permitted to return to help them. The clear teaching of this passage is that we sever our relationship with the world at death. Ecclesiastes 9:6 says we no longer share in the things of this world. Any person who lived on this earth does not have the power of God upon their death, do not have his divine knowledge, and no matter how much they loved us, God loves us infinitely more!

I do not want to be insensitive and and know firsthand the depth of pain one feels when grieving a loved one, but to say that the dearly departed are working among us reflects an ignorance of God’s word on this subject and takes much deserved glory away from God. We cannot honor our departed loved one by dishonoring God.

Do our departed loved ones become angels when they die? The next article will address this.

Focusing on the Cross During the Lord’s Supper

Every Lord’s Day we are blessed with an opportunity to reflect on the wonderful sacrifice Jesus made for our salvation when we partake of the Lord’s Supper. Though God intended this to be a time of thoughtful meditation, it can sometimes be a frustrating part of worship. Sometimes other people distract us so that, instead of thinking of Jesus’ sacrifice, we are concentrating on them and their activities. Sometimes our minds drift to lunch plans, the sporting events, or other interests. It frustrates us when, as the Lord’s Supper ends, we realize that our mind has been far from the cross of Jesus. We often pray that the Lord will help us to focus on the sacred event because we know that we can be easily distracted. Over the years, this frustration has caused me to seek ways to keep my mind focused on Jesus’ offering for my sins and my obligation to keep the covenant that I made with God through His blood. Here are some things that have helped me.

  • Read the Biblical texts that describe His suffering and death for me. The gospels record the historical events in Matthew 26-27; Mark 14-15; Luke 22-23; and John 18-19. You may find it helpful to read and reread certain sections of each account for a month and meditate on the events that transpired. If you do this for a few months, you will understand the story surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus much better.
  • Read prophetic passages that describe the death of Jesus and the reasons for His sacrifice. These help me better understand the eternal plan for Jesus’ death. Psalm 22 describes the crucifixion from the point of view of the cross. It describes the scene of Calvary from Jesus’ perspective. Though it appeared that God had forsaken Jesus, it is clear from verses 21-24 that the Father did not forsake Him, He did not hide His face from His Son, but He heard His Son’s cry. Isaiah 53 describes the crucifixion from the perspective of one standing below the cross of Jesus and observing the surrounding events. Not only did Isaiah vividly describe the suffering of Jesus and the viciousness of the mob that crucified Him, he also reflected on the effect of Jesus’ sacrifice on our salvation. Isaiah emphasized our sinfulness as the reason for Jesus’ death.
  • Read 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. In this passage, Paul rebuked the Corinthians for abuses in their observance of the Lord’s Supper and gave them instructions for observing the feast in a proper manner. He reminded them of Jesus’ command, the seriousness of the memorial, and a warning that those who partake in an unworthy manner would be condemned.
  • Read one of the many songs that describe the crucifixion of Jesus. So many songs help us picture the sacrifice of Jesus and remind us of our unworthiness to receive such a wonderful gift. You might want to choose a song and meditate on its message through the feast. Often you will find profound applications that you may have missed while singing the song.
  • Write your thoughts on the sacrifice of Jesus and its meaning in your life. If you feel uncomfortable doing this during the supper, perhaps you could write your observances down at home and read and reflect on the thoughts when you observe the communion of our Lord.

These are just a few suggestions to help you maintain a proper focus on this important weekly occasion. Do not let its frequency lead you to complacency or improper observance.