True rest ... Isaiah 11:1-5

Isaiah 11:1-5

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
    from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
² The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and of might,
    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
³ and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
    or decide by what he hears with his ears;
⁴ but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
    with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
    with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
⁵ Righteousness will be his belt
    and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

In eternity those who belong to Jesus will “see Him as He is” (1 Jn 4:3) and we will worship. For now, we have Him revealed in His word, revealed there by His Spirit. But we are meant to dwell on Him and all He is just as much.

So, read these verses from Isaiah 11. They were given to God’s people to comfort and encourage them just as the Assyrians were about to rampage through the land. The destruction of the Assyrian nation was promised, but in the meantime where is their hope to come from? - from seeing the Lamb of God.

So, in our difficult days, see the One who is wisdom, see the One who is almighty. See the One who is justice and righteousness. See His mercy and everlasting kindness. Remember His faithfulness. And know the comfort of His return and coming judgement.

And, like Him, we then need not be those who ‘judge by what we see with our eyes’ or ‘hear with our ears’ … we need not be blown about by the impact of the here and now. Rather, we can rest on Him, trust in all He is, find rest in His sovereign rule and great love.

The Right Desire - Job 17:11-12

Job is suffering. His suffering has been terrible and long. There is nothing to take it away. He even desires that he had never been born because of the weight of the suffering.

As he reflects it seems, indeed, that ‘my days have passed, my plans are shattered’. As we read we know that there is more to come, more blessing in store for Job, but from where he is there is nothing left.

But as he reflects he says ‘Yet the desires of my heart turn night into day’. What desires? He has lost everything and has just said that ‘his days have passed’. So, what desires make such a difference?

Well, in the previous chapter (though part of the same discourse as this verse) he remembers that he has an intercessor before the Father, and that intercessor is his friend. He knows and loves the Lord Jesus - this is his stronghold, hope and anchor. Job has already long before declared ‘The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord’. The desire that turns night to day is simply this … our love for the Lord that God himself has put into the heart of those who trust in Him.

And this is the key - my love for Him mustn’t be stolen by love for other things that will fail. That’s idolatry - to love another instead of love for Him. Wonderfully, love for God is both a fruit of the Spirit and a spiritual gift. We only need, in His strength’ to ‘guard our heart for it is the wellspring of life’ so that we ‘love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength’ … Him the first and foremost love, the One we will never lose, the One who we trust and who holds us, the One who turns our night into day.

Forgetful hearts? - Ps 106:12-13

Ps 106:12-13

Then they believed his promises
    and sang his praise.

But they soon forgot what he had done
    and did not wait for his plan to unfold

So struck by these verses from Ps 106. The Psalmist is remembering God’s goodness to Israel in rescuing His people at the Red Sea even though they had doubted His goodness and protection. When they saw His deliverance “Then they believed His promises and sang His praise”.

But the next verse reminds us that, even though they had seen His mighty power at work so recently, “they soon forgot what He had done”.

That alone is not only such an indictment of them, but reflects our own hearts so much. Does not the God who “so loved that He sent His only begotten son” also love us in the times of difficulty, also care for us in sadness, also walk with us in hardship? Of course He does … eternally!

But the final part was the one that really hit home to me: “and did not wait for His plan to unfold.” Like them, I see the momentary and fail to wait, often in difficulty, sadness or hurt, for all the Lord is doing. He is faithful. He is working out all His purposes which will be to His glory. He is doing far more than I can possibly imagine. And all His promises in Jesus are ‘Yes and Amen’; Not one word of all His promises to us will fail. In my impatience my heart can fail, but ‘looking into Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith’ we need not fear or waver.

Yes, I need to learn to “wait for His plan to unfold.”

Freedom to do ... what? - Gal 5:13

 

The glorious outworking of the Gospel is this: we are free! Free from condemnation - Jesus has borne our sin; Free from accusation - Jesus has paid the full penalty; Free from alienation - Jesus has brought us close, adopted into God’s family; free from slavery - we are no longer under the ‘ruler of the air’ but have been redeemed and set free from his authority; and free from the law (the context of this verse) because our righteousness is found in Christ and not our deeds (which are never good enough anyway).

But the wonderful call of the gospel is that, having been freed from all this, we have a wonderful saviour and friend under who we can willingly submit ourselves - His ‘bondslaves’, Jesus our Saviour and Lord. Love for Him constrains me both from sin and towards my Saviour; A new heart, in which He writes His law, directs me; Power from Him by His Spirit equips me with all I need. Freed from condemnation, freed to glad and joyful obedience.

In Him we are ‘free indeed’!

Knowing and experiencing all this, therefore, we don’t ‘indulge’ the freedom He gives to live according to the old desires. His way is life and peace and, knowing His deep, wide, long love for us, it should be our natural response to live in His love, delighted to follow Him, privileged to serve Him, honoured as part of His family to serve one another. It’s what our loving Father longs for us. It is our very best.

Who not to please - Gal 3:10

For a Pastor the tension between loving God’s people and becoming one who seeks to please them is difficult.

We love them and so want their best. But what God’s people want may not be what is their best. Leading them to put themselves under God’s word, as His servants, Pastors cannot do what pleases, but only what God says is best. And it is by this that we truly love them.

In doing so we will be hugely misunderstood, maligned and maybe even hated. But love leads in God’s pathway, not our own. It’s a hard calling, but so worth it when the fruit of God’s work in the lives of His people is seen.

But there is also a further tension. As a Pastor seeks to stand upon God’s word and not be a people pleaser, it is easy to become harsh, demanding and impatient. Just as parents easily lose patience with a child who refuses to walk safely on a footpath and instead walks constantly on the kerb, so we can be impatient and unwise in our desire to lead in God’s way. It is easy to use ‘I’m not being a people pleaser’ to excuse loving action taken in an unloving way.

This is why Pastors need to be prayerfully dependent on God, daily led by His Spirit and reliant upon His power. Who is able to do such a task? Only by God’s grace, wisdom and strength and the prayerful support of God’s people.