Think about a circumstance in your life you’d change if you could. Are you frustrated? Worried? Angry? To experience the freedom of contentment in the midst of it–whether a hardship or unfulfilled desire–you must accept the situation as having been allowed by God, even if He didn’t cause it.

In these situations, I often pray, “Lord, I choose to accept this as though it’s coming from You. No matter what I see, I’m choosing to look to You.” Then I can rest in His omnipotence and the knowledge that I’m a child of the living God. Instead of feeling like a helpless, hopeless victim of my circumstance, I know I’m cared for and guided by my sovereign Father through whatever may come.

The second crucial decision is total submission. This doesn’t mean approaching God insincerely and saying, “Well, Lord, I just want to thank You for this! It’s all just so sweet, Jesus.” No, it’s not. Be honest and admit, “This is painful and I don’t like it. But I choose to submit to You because You are trustworthy and loving. I’m willing to persevere until You accomplish in me whatever You want. I choose to draw from Your strength for everything I need.” My friend, if you make this decision and follow through, your fears will lose their power.

Either you believe Romans 8:28 or you don’t. And if you do, you can entrust yourself to the Lord, knowing that He has your best interest at heart, will take care of you, and won’t ever leave your side. When you embrace these truths, you’ll have no reason to be anxious.

Above the massive statue of Abraham Lincoln in Washington D.C. is the inscription: “In this Temple, as in the hearts of the people, for whom he saved the Union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.” The seated figure is 19 feet tall, carved from 28 blocks of white marble. To behold the great sculpture is no doubt to catch a glimpse of the nation’s respect for the man and his important place in American history.

 As in many cultures, a statue carved in someone’s image is an honor bestowed upon the one engraved in stone. A portrait painted in someone’s likeness is, indeed, intended to be a distinguishing tribute to the life captured in color. And yet, in ancient near eastern writ is the repeated warning never to do the same with God. In the ancient words of the Hebrew Bible, the one who would hold our highest esteem, has cautioned us against even attempting to make such images. “I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols” (Isaiah 42:8). Whether in finest metal or costly stone, to create a graven image of God would only reduce this God.

 A prayer by C.S. Lewis captures a similar idea in more modern terms, reminding that not all graven images are of stone and gold. The poem is titled “The Apologist’s Evening Prayer” and is for me a potent glimpse at my own thoughtful idols. Writes Lewis:

 Thoughts are but coins. Let me not trust, instead
Of Thee, their thin-worn image of Thy head.
From all my thoughts, even from my thoughts of Thee,
O thou fair Silence, fall, and set me free.
Lord of the narrow gate and the needle’s eye,
Take from me all my trumpery lest I die.

 It is not uncommon to hear Christians speak of things they are perpetually finding themselves surprised by again and again with God. Even as thoughts of God can easily become idols aligned neatly on theological shelves, God mercifully and repeatedly wakes knowing disciples to new understandings. It is forever surprising for me, for instance, to be reminded that Jesus’s famous words, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” were not uttered at angry religious leaders, nor directed at the lost and downtrodden. To me it seems a statement that draws a line in the sand with quickened stroke, separating the faithful from the uninterested, providing infinite comfort to the lost, and infinitely disturbing those who thought themselves found. And certainly, Christ’s words have a way of doing just that. But his potent words that day were spoken not to those who did not know him, but to those who knew him best. And they did not understand.

 I wonder if these men and women understood any further, when only days later Jesus’s very life was poured out before them. “I am the way the truth and the life.” Did they remember these words on his lips? Could their minds have gotten around the thought that his life made the way, that the life of God’s Son poured out for the world is somehow the way to truth and life and meaning? Could they understand all that was packed in those words? Can anyone? 

 We are given minds and imaginations that can freely tread into heavenly matters. The desire to see God seems to be set upon our hearts no matter the culture or creed we are raised with. “Show me your glory,” Moses implored of God. “Show us the Father,” the disciples pled with Jesus. But we cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end anymore than we can fathom God, and for this God seems to remind us of our limitations. We will be shown the Father; we are shown God’s glory; we are continually given glimpses of a self-revealing God. And yet we are warned not to make any of it into an idol lest we miss God in the midst of it. In a letter to a younger colleague, poet and professor Stanley Wiersma advised, “When you are too sure about God and faith, you are sure of something other than God: of dogma, of the church, of a particular interpretation of the Bible. But God cannot be pigeonholed. We must press toward certainty, but be suspicious when it comes too glibly.” 

 I believe that God moves us to those places where we discover again that God is fearfully alive, that the mere hem of God’s robe fills even our holiest moments. We must repeatedly remind ourselves, or be reminded as God reminded Job: “Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths of the grave—what can you know?”(1)

 “Show us the Father” is a hope our hearts were meant to utter even as we hopefully learn to shudder at the request. It is also a longing God has promised will be answered—from cultures and ages past to our own today: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.(2)

 Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

 (1) Job 11:7-8.
(2) Isaiah 40:5.

Morning “And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish.”

John 10:28

 The Christian should never think or speak lightly of unbelief. For a child of

God to mistrust his love, his truth, his faithfulness, must be greatly

displeasing to him. How can we ever grieve him by doubting his upholding grace?

Christian! it is contrary to every promise of God’s precious Word that thou

shouldst ever be forgotten or left to perish. If it could be so, how could he be

true who has said, “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not

have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I never

forget thee.” What were the value of that promise–“The mountains shall depart,

and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee,

 neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath

mercy on thee.” Where were the truth of Christ’s words–“I give unto my sheep

eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out

of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is

able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” Where were the doctrines of grace?

They would be all disproved if one child of God should perish. Where were the

veracity of God, his honour, his power, his grace, his covenant, his oath, if

any of those for whom Christ has died, and who have put their trust in him,

should nevertheless be cast away? Banish those unbelieving fears which so

 dishonour God. Arise, shake thyself from the dust, and put on thy beautiful

garments. Remember it is sinful to doubt his Word wherein he has promised thee

that thou shalt never perish. Let the eternal life within thee express itself in

confident rejoicing.

  “The gospel bears my spirit up:

 A faithful and unchanging God

 Lays the foundation for my hope,

 In oaths, and promises, and blood.”

 

Evening “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the

strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1

 “The Lord is my light and my salvation.” Here is personal interest, “my light,”

“my salvation;” the soul is assured of it, and therefore declares it boldly.

Into the soul at the new birth divine light is poured as the precursor of

salvation; where there is not enough light to reveal our own darkness and to

make us long for the Lord Jesus, there is no evidence of salvation. After

conversion our God is our joy, comfort, guide, teacher, and in every sense our

light: he is light within, light around, light reflected from us, and light to

be revealed to us. Note, it is not said merely that the Lord gives light, but

that he is light; nor that he gives salvation, but that he is salvation; he,

 then, who by faith has laid hold upon God, has all covenant blessings in his

possession. This being made sure as a fact, the argument drawn from it is put in

the form of a question, “Whom shall I fear?” A question which is its own answer.

The powers of darkness are not to be feared, for the Lord, our light, destroys

them; and the damnation of hell is not to be dreaded by us, for the Lord is our

salvation. This is a very different challenge from that of boastful Goliath, for

it rests, not upon the conceited vigour of an arm of flesh, but upon the real

power of the omnipotent I AM. “The Lord is the strength of my life.” Here is a

third glowing epithet, to show that the writer’s hope was

 fastened with a threefold cord which could not be broken. We may well

accumulate terms of praise where the Lord lavishes deeds of grace. Our life

derives all its strength from God; and if he deigns to make us strong, we cannot

be weakened by all the machinations of the adversary. “Of whom shall I be

afraid?” The bold question looks into the future as well as the present. “If God

be for us,” who can be against us, either now or in time to come?

 

 . . Who opens and no one will shut.  Revelation 3:7 

 Jesus is the keeper of the gates of paradise, and before every believing soul He sets an open door, which no man or devil will be able to close. What joy it will be to find that faith in Him is the golden key to the everlasting doors. My soul, do you carry this key close to you, or are you trusting in some dishonest locksmith who will fail you in the end?

Pay attention to a parable of the preacher, and remember it. The great King has made a banquet, and He has proclaimed to all the world that no one will enter except those who bring with them the fairest flower that blooms. The spirits of men advance to the gate by thousands, and each one brings the flower that he esteems the queen of the garden; but in crowds they are driven from the royal presence and do not enter into the festive halls. Some are carrying the poisonous plant of superstition, others the flaunting poppies of empty religion, and some the hemlock of self-righteousness; but these are not precious to the King, and so those carrying them are shut out of the pearly gates.

My soul, have you gathered the rose of Sharon? Do you wear the lily of the valley on your lapel constantly? If so, when you arrive at the gates of heaven you will know its value, for you only have to show this choicest of flowers, and the Porter will open and without a moment’s delay, for to that rose the Porter always opens. You will find your way with the rose of Sharon in your hand up to the throne of God Himself, for heaven itself possesses nothing that excels its radiant beauty, and of all the flowers that bloom in paradise, none of them can rival the lily of the valley. My soul, get Calvary’s blood-red rose into your hand by faith, by love wear it, by communion preserve it, by daily watchfulness make it your all in all, and you will be blessed beyond all bliss, happy beyond a dream. Jesus, be mine forever, my God, my heaven, my all.

Family Reading Plan    Isaiah 47    Revelation 17