Grief and Tears

Posted on by korgrocker

“I am worn out from sobbing. All night I flood my bed with weeping, drenching it with my tears. My vision is blurred by grief; my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies.”
Psalm 6:6-7 NLT

David is in a desperate place, sobbing, weeping and grieving. David is irreconcilable, and all because of his enemies. They could have been his physical enemies, both inside and outside of Israel. They could have been the forces of the enemy, the devil, playing havoc with his mind. But whatever they were, they were so real to David that he was spending the night crying when he should have been sleeping. 

David was not in an unique place, because his experience is not uncommon. In the dark hours there are times when a problem we are facing into becomes so pressing, so hopeless, that we plunge into depressive depths and, even if not openly, we weep inside, lying awake as the waves of despair flood over us. And isn’t it strange, that a problem being faced by one person is something minor and insignificant to another. Whatever our stations in life, there is always a problem that could be facing us, one with the potential to reduce us to weeping and sobbing. 

There was a time when the Jews, exiled to Babylon, far away from home, did a lot of weeping. But Jeremiah the prophet had some encouraging Godly words for them, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope”(Jeremiah 29:11). And that is what afflicts so many people – a lack of hope. Many people think that the life they lead is hopeless and futile and they try to dull the pain by turning to some other remedy, like alcohol or drugs. For a time their pain and distress will be alleviated, but it will still be there in the morning. Others become so hopeless and depressed that they finally decide to take their own lives. 

Paul wrote to the Romans the following words, “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). Sadly, so many people will never turn to the “Source of hope” for a solution to their distress. But Paul’s prayer provides such a different picture to the one generated by the weeping David. God is hope and as we trust in Him, the power of the Holy Spirit will provide the solution to our problems.

Dear Heavenly Father. Only You can open doors to people locked in a place of hopelessness, weeping and sobbing. As we face into distressful situations like David, please help us as we turn to You, the Source of hope. Amen.

God is for Us

Posted on by korgrocker

“What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honour at God’s right hand, pleading for us.”
Romans 8:31-34 NLT

Paul reaches a climax in his writing, asking the question “What shall we say…?” It’s not like Paul to be lost for words. As the most prolific writer in the New Testament, his literary skills are without doubt. It is just incredible that he was able to write so much, being so busy with his missionary journeys. Perhaps spells in prison might have helped, giving him time to think. But Paul refers to “wonderful things”. What were they? Previous verses refer to those who put their faith in Jesus being adopted into God’s family, giving us a relationship with God so close that we can call Him “Daddy”. Paul writes about our legacy as heirs of God, with the benefits of a living and loving will available to us. He muses about our future glory and the new bodies that God will provide for us one day. They describe the work of the Holy Spirit within us, even to the extent of “groaning” our prayers on our behalf. And the previous verses set out a scenario that assures us God-lovers that whatever happens in our lives, He will bring a good outcome. Wonderful things indeed, and I can imagine Paul being overwhelmed with a flood of emotions, full of gratitude and worship.

It is obvious to Paul, and it should be to us as well, that with such a loving God on our side, nothing can ever successfully “be against us”. We may be going through a difficult time, with an antagonistic boss, or a controlling partner. Fellow students at school or college may ridicule us. Workmates may shun us. In some parts of the world, civil authorities may incarcerate us, or abuse us. Martyrdom is not a foreign phenomenon for Christians in hostile countries. But because “God is for us”, we can be assured that He will never desert us, because we are His children. Which parent abandons His offspring when in a time of need? Perhaps a premature entry into His arms is to be welcomed when times are hard. But through it all, our tormentors will one day have to stand before God and account for their behaviour. We have read the Book and know how it all ends. We’re on the winning side.

Such an assurance of God’s support and resources provides for us the confidence we need for living. We read in 1 Peter 2:9, ” … you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light”. We have stumbled upon an eternal and far-reaching truth, that provides for us the realisation that we are living in God’s light. We have ended up aligning ourselves to the One who holds the whole of creation together. And we look back to our God-less lives and realise just how dark they were. In fact, if it wasn’t for God’s light spilling off of His people, the blackness of life would have been total. Do we realise that as we pilgrims walk in this world, we are spiritual beacons giving off the light of God? 

We are living in an age where no weapon conjured up by the devil and his minions can ever be successful against us. Yes, discomfort and even death may be on the horizon for some, but through it all, our wonderful Heavenly Father has it covered. He’s on it. We can worship Him with a peaceful confidence of His love and care.

Heavenly Father. You provide light for a dark and desperate world. Please help us to reflect that light into the lives of those around us, those so oppressed by sin and hopelessness. We worship You today. Amen.

Dying for Another

Posted on by korgrocker

“Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”
Romans 5:7-8 NLT

Paul made a statement that is very difficult to accept, if put in the form of a question. Would I be willing to die in the place of another person? Come to that, would you, my reader, be prepared to do such a thing? I think the honest answer has to be “No, of course not”. There are stories of such a selfless act, of course, which was probably why Paul said “most people”. We can read of a man called Max Kolbe, who volunteered to die in the place of another prisoner of war in Auschwitz in 1941. And there are mentions of other selfless acts throughout history. But I think we can all agree that such a course of action is very rare because self-preservation is a built-in part of our psyche as human beings.

But God is not a human being. He is the Creator of the universe. All matter was brought into being by His Word. No words can totally describe who God is, by a long way. But there is one Godly quality that He has that we must consider from our verses today – He loves His human creation. Paul wrote, “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners”. Jesus, early on in His ministry, explained to a Jewish leader called Nicodemus why He, the Son of God, had come to Planet Earth. We read in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. That is the ultimate sacrifice. No human being has come anywhere near such an act. 

We pilgrims must share the Gospel message with those around us, the message about Jesus and how He died for all mankind, not just a select few. And in the process we share how much God loves them. It’s a life-changing experience. It will bring colour into a dull monochrome existence. It will bring a new dawn after a night of helplessness. It will bring hope to the hopeless. God’s love changes everything.

Dear Father. Your love for us is without bounds. We thank You for Your patience with us and Your free gift of salvation through Jesus. Amen.