When I think 'I know best' - Gen 17:15-19

GEN 17:15-19 NIVUK

God also said to Abraham, ‘As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.’   Abraham fell face down; he laughed and said to himself, ‘Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?’ And Abraham said to God, ‘If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!’   Then God said, ‘Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.

In some areas of life I am sure that I know my limitations. For example, I know that I can have a go at fixing minor things in my car, but if the garage tell me that the gear box is failing, I know that it's a job for them, not me. In fact, truth be told, even the minor jobs on the car are better left to the experts!

Isn't it strange, then, that I'm so foolish with how I react to what God says? God shows me clearly in His word what is wrong in my life, and He clearly tells me not only how He has already dealt with it in Jesus, but also how to live for Him in His strength as I go on. Yet, what do I do? I start working on my own way ahead, my own self-improvement programmes, my own ways of sorting things out. The reality is that like Abraham, I'm looking at God's way, telling myself it's impossible, and then telling God how He should do it!

It's really foolish if I stopped to think. Abraham thought that there was no way that Sarah could have a child, yet he had forgotten that it was our Creator who was promising him a child through Sarah. Abraham thought that a man's feeble mind could think through the problem and come up with the best solution, but he forgot that we are so finite and yet God who shows us the way to go is infinite in His wisdom. 

And what trouble Abraham's way has brought to many people through history. The consequences of his lack of trust in God continue to be felt today.

Yet God is so gracious... Even those other nations were used by Him to train His people in the way they should go. Our foolishness and sin never defeats His sovereignty! 

But we need to heed the warning... How I need to learn never to tell God what His way should be. Rather I need to bow my knees before Him, no matter how difficult or impossible His way may seem, and simply say 'Your will be done' and then get up to walk in His way by His strength.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged. - 1 Chronicles 22

I was reading this morning from 1 Chronicles 22.  In this passage David is instructing Solomon in regard to building the Temple.  David has already set aside all the resources needed.  But Solomon has been given the task from God of completing the work.  David encourages him with these words:

11 ‘Now, my son, the Lord be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the Lord your God, as he said you would. 12 May the Lord give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. 13 Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the Lord gave to Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.

I was so struck by a number of things

• He has provided all we need, we just have to get on with the job (v14, [not quoted above])
• Getting on with the job involves simply doing what He has already told us to do, and has said He would enable ("as He said you would", v11)
• Getting on with the job involves keeping our hearts on Him and His way (v12).  But the Lord is the one who grants us the discretion and understanding to do so!
• We've got to "Be strong and courageous."  Above all, and this is clearly emphasised: "Do not be afraid or discouraged."

He had no reason to be afraid of discouraged.  God had provided all that is needed.  God had said it would happen.  God has said that He would even provide the discernment and understanding to keep on walking with Him.

Yet, clearly God knows our hearts.  We're so easily put off by the task, so easily down-heartened, so easily distracted, so easily pulled away in our walk, so easily overwhelmed.  The difficulty of all we face so easily dominates our vision and plagues our minds, and we lose heart.

But God's call is clear - remember that He has called us to this work of His Kingdom,  remember that He provides all we need,  remember that it is His strength than enables us to walk the way,  and so Do not be afraid or discouraged, rather Be strong and courageous in Him!!

I'm reminded of Jonathan, who when the rest of the Israelite army were quaking in fear, realised that the enemy were only 'uncircumcised men' ... they did not have God with them.  And so he said "Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few" (1 Sam 14:6) and set out boldly in God's strength.  He struck down 20, but God routed 100's of thousands.  Yet the task had seemed impossible.  It was, without God.  But by taking Him at His word, throwing off fear and discouragement, and by looking to Him and by His Spirit putting on strength and courage, God brought about tremendous victory and encouraged the remainder of God's people to fight and triumph.

May God help us to again see His plans already laid out for us in our 'works of service already laid out for us to do' (Eph 2:10), to see that He has provided and will provide all we need, and so may we walk out boldly in His service, refuting fear and discouragement, but being strong and courageous in Him.

So, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged."

When righteous men strike - Ps 141:5

Psalm 141:5 NIV

Let a righteous man strike me—that is a kindness; let him rebuke me—that is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it, for my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers.

One of the hardest thing I ever have to do its to go to speak to people to deal with spiritual problems. Now, you might think that this is the 'bread and butter' of being a Pastor. Surely it should be what I'm good at. But its horrendously difficult.

No one likes to have problems pointed out. Even in other areas of life this is the case. I remember labouring hard to lay a new tiled floor only for my son to come in and point out that a tile right at the corner of the room wasn't quite level. He was right, but I was furious. It hit my pride, it frustrated me after all my effort, and it meant that all I had done wasn't as good as my ego told me. Now, of course, he could have been much more gentle with me in breaking the news, but the reality was that I needed to know about the problem then while I could rectify it and not later when the tile was grouted hard in place.

One of the greatest blessings we can have is a faithful brother or sister in Christ who is willing to say the difficult things and point out where we are not walking will with God. Of course, they need to do this in love with great humility of heart over their own lives (think of specks & planks!). But it is a huge help in our walk with God.

Yet, when those rebukes come, no matter how gentle and wise, they can seem to hit hard. It is like the 'righteous man striking me' of this Psalm... It hurts!!

But, when we see the blessing of it, when we understand the privilege of having someone prepared to say those difficult things, when we see that God has brought them to us just like God sent that Godly man Nathan to so wisely rebuke David, then realise the grace of God in the rebuke that hurts.

How we need to have hearts like David that realise the grace of God in the right rebuke of a Godly man or woman, and welcome it as sweet soothing healing oil on our heads.

Our great reward - Is 48:11

Isa48.11.NIV
For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this.
How can I let myself be defamed?
I will not yield my glory to another.

Do you still remember the summer Olympics? I was so impressed by the cyclists. Even the most unsporting of us has ridden a bicycle and knows how tough it can be. Its hard, hard work.

If you heard them interviewed about their training, you will remember hearing about their training regime, the time they put in on the training field in all weather, the huge number of miles cycled each day, the incredible muscle building sprint work that leaves them rolling on the ground in agony, their dedication to their sport, and their commitment to being the best.

We rightly admire them for all their effort.

And after the olympics we have see them proudly display their medals, go on TV shows to talk about their success, and we have held them up in our admiration for all their achievements.

However, the reality was that they were not there for themselves. They were there for their team and country. It should not have been for their own medal gain that they compete, but for their country and the glory of their nation.

In Is 48 God has pointed out again the peoples failure. He tells them that He has sought to refine them, to make them into the people they should be. But he reminds them that the reason that He does this is not first of all their good or glory, though we know that He does delight in His people and rejoice over them (Zeph 3). No, the primary reason is because of His name and His glory. "For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this".

And that is far, far better for us. For why should we welcome His discipline if only for ourselves, even if we keep our eyes on His desire for our best, to transform us to be all He intended us to be (Rom 12:1-3)? We could be satisfied with 'doing alright'. But its not for us alone, and not merely for our lifespan. Its for His glory and His eternal honour! Its so that, beyond our time-frame, in the reaches of eternity, God might say, as he said of Job, 'Have you considered my servant...', and, amazingly, God is glorified in us.

Isn't that a far better purpose and reward?

Prayer from the heart - Isaiah 33:22

Isaiah 33.2 NIV

"Lord, be gracious to us;
we long for you.
Be our strength every morning,
our salvation in time of distress."

I guess that we've all heard the phrase 'you are what you eat'. Its hardly true, but it sounds right. However, a truer phrase might be 'you are what you pray', or perhaps less catchy but more correct: 'you reveal your heart towards God in what you pray'.

This little prayer reveals so clearly the reality of the love for God and trust of God in the heart of it's writer.  In the middle of huge trouble, of the judgement coming upon Israel that God has promised, there is a right cry for God's mercy and grace.  But it doesn't come from a survival instinct, from worry about my own safety or my own security.  There's a much deeper, better motivation.  There's a greater heart cry beneath it.

The heart cry that is the real motivation is simply this:  "we long for you."  Isn't that the heart cry that God longs for in all of us?  Isn't that the heart cry of the redeemed - those who realise the wonder of God's amazing love for them, who understand that all they are, even their next breath, is a gift from Him, whose heart has been won by God, who love Him with all their heart, mind, soul and strength.  This is the heart cry, like Paul's cry "I want to know you", of one who loves Him!

And, when we're taken up with His love, then we realise His protection - how can He turn His back on those who He has brought at such a great price?;  then we understand His care - are we not the sheep of His pasture?;  then we know that, no matter what our eyes see, we are the constant beneficiaries of His goodness.  And so we pray, just like we see in this verse, for Him - 'You be our strength every morning' ... how could we want any other strength?;  'You be our salvation in time of distress' ... how could we run to any other?

You see - our prayers not only show, but come from the true desire of our heart.  If we love Him with the deep love that we should have in the light of our great salvation, then our prayers will always be for Him!  And then He gives us the delight of our heart!!