The Lord’s Thoughts

Posted on by korgrocker

“For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice? And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back?”
Romans 11:34-35 NLT

Again Paul dives into his memories and quotes two Old Testament Scriptures, one from Isaiah and one from Job. He was surely well versed and even “steeped” in the Jewish Scriptures, making it all the more remarkable that he was able to embrace the Christian faith. But then he had a life changing encounter with Jesus back on the Damascus Road. 

The first Scripture he quoted from was from Isaiah 40:13, in a section labelled “The Lord Has No Equal” in my Bible translation. Isaiah wrote, “Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale? Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord? Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him? Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice? Does he need instruction about what is good? Did someone teach him what is right or show him the path of justice?” (Isaiah 40:12-14). These questions seem so obvious that it is a wonder that they were asked in the first place. But in Isaiah’s day perhaps the wonder of the world around him caused mankind to question how it all happened. Our specialists in earth sciences today issue the results of their investigations and research, puffed up with their “factual” explanations of how it all happened. But we have to go to the Creator of the Universe for the answers because there is so much that neither we, nor the so-called experts, know anything about.

There is much going on around us that seems inexplicable. The mother who has lost a child to war, or a businessman whose company has collapsed, or a footballer struck down with motor neurone disease. A nation suffers from famine, or earthquakes. And people and national leaders come up with advice of how God should run the world, and how they would do it so much better. They perhaps question if God knows what he is doing. They try and offer advice – “If it was up to me, I would …”.

We pilgrims know that there is a God in Heaven. And we acknowledge that we could never know His thoughts. But Isaiah 40 famously ends with these much-quoted verses, “Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:28-31). 

We pilgrims “trust in the Lord” knowing that there is no other way. And through His Spirit we too can “soar high on wings like eagles”, never needing to fret over our lack of understanding of God’s thoughts and ways. We trust that He is a God of righteousness and justice. We know that He is behind our every breath. And freed from the worry of finding answers to seemingly inexplicable world and societal events, we can perhaps have a glimpse of God’s perspective, as we soar high above all that is going on. We read the news reports and feel God’s pain with the sinful practices of men. We experience our own challenges, with health or finances, with family difficulties – the list seems endless sometimes – but we trust that our loving Heavenly Father is there with us, holding our hands and even carrying us through the pain. Perhaps answers will only come when we see Him in Heaven. With David we acknowledge Psalm 18:30-31, “God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. For who is God except the Lord? Who but our God is a solid rock?” There is no other way.

Dear Father. You have supplied us with spiritual wings to allow us to rise up above circumstances. Please forgive us for the time we spend worrying about what is happening around us and instead please help us to trust in You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Hard Work and Worry

Posted on by korgrocker

“It is useless for you to work so hard
    from early morning until late at night,
anxiously working for food to eat;
    for God gives rest to his loved ones.”
Psalm 127:2 NLT

Another gem from Solomon’s pen. Our capitalistic and materialistic society is based to a large extent on greed, because we are encouraged by our “work ethic” to get better paid jobs, or work longer hours. And by so doing we end up earning more money which we can then spend on more “stuff”. A cynical point of view? Perhaps. But Solomon was pointing out that we sometimes get our priorities wrong, becoming driven by anxiety, just to obtain food to eat. His was a different, poorer, society of course, and food was a basic commodity often in short supply. But we so often, in these modern and enlightened days, hassle along, driven by our own efforts, instead of realigning our priorities to God’s ways. 

Jesus picked up this theme in Matthew 6:25-27, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” On my early morning prayer walk today, just as it was getting light, hundreds of geese flew overhead, silhouetted and just visible against the greyness of an overcast sky. The ragged V’s, the honking and squeaking. A corporate outing of beautiful birds heading for their next feeding grounds. Jesus was right – their Heavenly Father created them to heed His voice about the supply of food. And Jesus brought into His teaching the concept that we have our priorities all wrong. Instead of pursuing the business of our amazing Creator God, enjoying the abundant life that He has provided for us, we worry and hassle after more mundane things, like what we will eat or what we will wear. Jesus said we are “far more valuable” to God than birds so why do we worry? 

God has promised us rest. Hebrews 4 starts, “God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it.” But what is the rest Solomon mentioned, and the writer of the Hebrews epistle alludes to? The rest promised by God to Christians is in two parts – the peace of our relation with God in this life, and eternal life with Him in the life to come. So when we worry we are effectively preferring to trust our own efforts, thereby rejecting God’s offer of rest. 

So we work hard at the tasks God has given us – no place for laziness in His Kingdom – but within the context of experiencing His rest at the same time. Our priorities are clear. And peace descends, flushing away the cares of life.

Yo-Yo

Posted on by korgrocker

“Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens! May Your glory shine over all the earth.
My enemies have set a trap for me. I am weary from distress. They have dug a deep pit in my path, but they themselves have fallen into it.” Psalms‬ ‭57:5-6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Psalm 57 is a “Yo-Yo” set of verses. David’s thoughts, captured in this Psalm, seem to bounce between praise to God and despair about his predicament. He’s on the run again, and Saul nearly catches him this time. You can just imagine him and his men holding their breath as Saul’s soldiers pass by. And we read that Saul was even within reach of David as he “relieved himself” in the same cave in which David was hiding.

In today’s Western society it is difficult to relate to the dangers David faced into, almost on a daily basis, as he tried to keep out of Saul’s way. Most of us do not experience threats to our lives. But we do experience difficulties in which God’s help is just as important as it was in David’s circumstances. As I write, the fallout from Brexit and the pandemic are manifesting themselves in all sorts of societal problems. Security of food and road fuel supplies are under threat. Energy prices have rocketed. We are constantly being told that the NHS cannot cope with the demands being made of it. People are anxious and nervous about the future. Their worlds have been shaken and there seems to be no remedy in sight. So what do we do? We do what David did. Share our worries and concerns with our loving Heavenly Father, and concentrate of praising Him. Verse 5, “Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens! May your glory shine over all the earth” is repeated again in verse 11. Why? Because that was David’s heart. No matter what he was facing into, the important bit was putting God in His rightful place.

So are we anxious today? 1 Peter 5:7 reads, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” Jesus said in John 16:33, “…Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” We have a choice – accept God’s loving care as He “overcomes the world” or worry ourselves into an early grave. Stark language I know but David went on to become Israel’s greatest king. What will we achieve as God’s overcomers?

God’s Shining Face

Posted on by korgrocker

“Make Your face shine upon Your servant; Save me in Your lovingkindness. Psalms‬ ‭31:16‬ ‭AMP‬‬

God’s shining face. What a lovely picture. A face full of illumination, transparent, translucent and attractive. A face looking at me with love, kindness and grace. A God-face on a faceless God. An expression of a God who cares for me and is interested in everything about me.

God’s shining face. Sadly in our mundane, human-bound world, God’s shining face is eclipsed by the worries and cares of life. But it’s still there, as permanent as the sun by day and the moon by night. Always ready and willing to shine on you, and me. Look carefully into the face of our Creator and see the light of his countenance, shining through. As the old song says:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face.
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

God’s shining face. Thank You, God, for shining on me today.