Crankcase oil coursed my dad’s veins. He repaired engines for a living. Dad loved machines.
But God gave my dad a mechanical moron, a son who couldn’t differentiate between a differential and a brake disc. Dad tried to teach me. I tried to learn. Honestly, I did. Machines anesthetized me. But books fascinated me. What does a mechanic do with a son who loves books?
He gives him a library card. Buys him a few volumes for Christmas. Places a lamp by his bed so he can read at night. Pays tuition so his son can study college literature in high school. My dad did that. You know what he didn’t do? Never once did he say: “Why can’t you be a mechanic like your dad and granddad?”
Study your children while you can. The greatest gift you can give your child is not your riches, but revealing to them their own!
Allowing our faith to waver closes us off from God’s blessings. He cannot violate His own principle and answer a doubter’s prayer. In contrast, believers who have chosen steady faith can expect the Lord to give them what they ask—or something even better.
Stabilizing unsteady faith requires two actions. First, decide to believe that the Lord is trustworthy. Insecure feelings are tied to our circumstances, but our mind and heart can be tethered to the Lord instead. “I refuse to doubt my God any longer” should become the battle cry for Christians facing difficulty and pain. When the Deceiver whispers discouragement, we can tell him that we know who our God is and that He will do what He promises. Satan cannot argue with steadfast faith.
Second, get into God’s Word and meditate on His promises. When we ponder the Lord’s assurances, we absorb them into our daily life. As our mind and spirit fill with the Father’s thoughts, we begin to think as He does. Anytime we are feeding on Scripture, whether through a sermon, group Bible study, or personal reading, we should write notes and take time to meditate on the passage. Then, whenever harsh circumstances confront us and our faith begins to waver, we can recall God’s promises and stand firm in our decision to trust Him.
Believers who stabilize their faith pray specifically, in accordance with God’s promises. And from the moment the first prayer goes heavenward, we can live in anticipation of how He is going to answer. Faith is a great adventure.
God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. —1 Corinthians 12:18
At her birthday celebration, the honored guest turned the tables by giving everyone at the party a gift. Kriste gave each of us a personal note expressing what we mean to her, along with encouraging words about the person God made us to be. Enclosed with every note was one piece of a jigsaw puzzle as a reminder that each of us is unique and important in God’s plan.
That experience helped me to read 1 Corinthians 12 with new eyes. Paul compared the church—the body of Christ—to a human body. Just as our physical bodies have hands, feet, eyes, and ears, all are part of a unified body. No follower of Christ can claim independence from the body, nor can one part tell another that it is not needed (vv.12-17). “God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased” (v.18).
It’s easy to feel less important than others whose gifts are different and perhaps more visible than ours. The Lord, however, wants us to see ourselves as He does—uniquely created and highly valued by Him.
You are one piece of a picture that is not complete without you. God has gifted you to be an important part of the body of Christ to bring Him honor. —David McCasland
Lord, help me not to compare myself with others
in Your family. May I seek instead to be the person
You’ve made me to be, and help me to use what
You’ve given me to bless others today.
Your life is God’s gift to you; make it your gift to God.
Bible in a year: Lamentations 1-2; Hebrews 10:1-18
Some anniversaries slip past us without recognition, and yet one such recipient is still smiling nonetheless. The very first emoticon, perhaps better known in the realm of online discourse as the smiley face, has been smiling for more than 25 years. Its creator, Carnegie Mellon University professor Scott Fahlman, suggested the symbol in 1982 in an online discussion about the limits of online humor. “I propose the following character sequence for joke markers: ,” he wrote. “Read it sideways.”(1)
The rest is history. Fahlman’s smileys spread from his classroom to other classrooms, from universities to the corporate world, and eventually around the world. The emoticon aided what online communicators were all too aware was ailing. In the world of instantaneous communication, miscommunicating is sometimes more likely than communicating. Humor, sarcasm, and general human warmth can easily be sacrificed in this subculture of speed and technology. Words merely given in brief can be misperceived as terse or loaded. Comments meant to be taken lightly can be missed altogether. Many would argue that the invention of the emoticon has helped, though it certainly has not eradicated every obstacle.
Nonetheless, the quick embrace and subsequent evolution of emoticons suggests at least a subtle awareness that in the breakdown of language something human is in fact lost. High school and college professors readily lament the frequency with which “chat” language is creeping further into term papers. Their greatest concern is that many students don’t even realize there is a difference. While it can be argued that email encourages a certain sloppiness in communicating, text messaging has forged the creation of an entirely new language—a language created with regard first for the technology as opposed to the speakers or the conversation itself.
In a recent publication, Ken Myers of Mars Hill Audio made the observation that words and language both shape and affect our humanity. He then added, “The corollary of this claim is the observation that cultural institutions and habits that corrupt or weaken our use of language are profoundly dehumanizing.”(2) When words are ransacked of meaning and replaced with concepts less distinct, we ourselves become something less distinct. Though technology is far from the only culprit, wherever the offense is committed, consequences are costly. In fact, it is said that one of the first steps to slavery is a loss of language.
In his Narnian conclusion The Last Battle C. S. Lewis illustrates the enslaving force of corrupted words. The ape explains, “[The god] Tash and Aslan [the Lion] are only two names for you know Who. That’s why there can never be any quarrel between them. Get that into your heads you stupid brutes. Tash is Aslan. Aslan is Tash.”(3) Later the ape altogether changes the name to “Tashlan,” and the impressionable crowd abides. In their hearts they still want to believe in the Aslan they thought they knew, but the loss of language is enough to set them to serve the deceptive ape. “When you have killed a word,” writes Lewis in another work, “you have also blotted from the human mind the thing that word originally stood for. Men do not long continue to think what they have forgotten how to say.”(4) Those who allow their language to be corrupted, find their minds following suit. In the loss of words, something human is lost.
In this, there is much to be said about the kind of God who values words, whose most persistent instruction to a faltering people is “remember,” and who gives us both permission and the responsibility to say what we mean. “Good teacher,” asked the young man of Jesus. “Can you tell me the way to eternal life?” But Jesus asked in reply, “Why do you call me good?” In other words, are you saying what you really mean? Are you ready to walk with the burden your own word requires? “For no one is good—except God alone,” he replies.(5) Indeed, are you willing to hear his answer fully knowing who he is?
There is a connectedness between our words and our humanity, between the Word at the beginning and what is real today. Those who stand alert in the world of words, who fight the corruption of language, and who learn to let their “yes” be “yes” and their “no” be “no” shall see something more through the glass darkly. They may in fact see the God who first spoke a word and brought the world into existence.
Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.
(1) Daniel Lovering, “Happy Anniversary, emoticon,” LA Daily News, September 22, 2007.
(2) Mars Hill Audio Journal, Issue 75.
(3) C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle (New York: Macmillan, 1970), 32.
(4) “The Death of Words,” On Stories, Walter Hooper ed. (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982), 107.
My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways.
—Isaiah 55:8 (NIV)
I have discovered that God often seems unreasonable. What He chooses to do does not always make sense to us. It does not always fit into our balance of reason. We have a tendency to want things to make sense, but God wants us to learn to be led by our trust and not by our understanding. We should thank God that His ways are not our ways. My life would have turned out badly if God had given me my way in many situations. It is wise for us to pray, “Your will be done, Lord, not mine.”
I often tell the Lord what I would like to have, but follow it up with, “However, if You know it is not right for me, please don’t give it to me.” His thoughts are above our thoughts. He sees the end from the beginning. All His ways are right and sure. In the natural we can think something makes sense, but it may not be what God wants at all.
“God will surely do this for you, for He always does just what He says, and He is the one who invited you into this wonderful friendship with His Son, even Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9).
You and I do not always prove faithful, but the apostle Paul wants us to know, by way of his letter to the believers in Corinth, that our God will surely do what He has promised; in this case, make us “blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (verse 8).
The apostle wants the Corinthians to know that they can depend upon the faithfulness of God, who had begun a good work among them, and certainly would see them through to the end. He did the inviting; He would do the keeping.
Christians are able to participate with Christ in several ways. First in His trials and sufferings, for we are subjected to temptations and trials similar to His: “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings” (1 Peter 4:13, KJV).
Second, in His feelings and views (Romans 8:9).
Third, in His heirship to the inheritance and glory which awaits Him: “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17, KJV).
Fourth, in His triumph in the resurrection and future glory: “Ye which have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28, KJV).
Are you not glad for that kind of friendship?
Bible Reading: 2 Thessalonians 3:3-5
TODAY’S ACTION POINT: When I look for a faithful friend, my first thought will be of Christ Himself, who truly qualifies as my very best friend
Change will happen, like it or not. Stick around long enough and everything changes. Political policies change. Families change. Seasons change. Look at the trees. The leaves turn color and fall, but the bare branches won’t be the same this winter as last because of the tree’s constant growth. Even rocks transform as they weather. Can you think of anything in this world that doesn’t change?
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!
I Chronicles 16:34
Most people resist change – unfortunate, since it’s inevitable. God, however, is unchanging. He “is the same yesterday today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) His love for you is steadfast. It remains for all times. Be assured there are changes coming in the government. Expect them as the House and Senate work together to create a new tomorrow.
Don’t let fear of change cause anxiety. Hold on to the constant one who will not leave or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6). He was here during creation and will be here in the end. Ask God to allow you to comprehend His never-ending love and share it with others. Then pray for leaders in Congress to be motivated by love of God and country when working on resolutions for America.
How would you fill in the blank: a person is made right with God through. . . what?
A person is made right with God through. . .being good. Pay your taxes. Give sandwiches to the poor. Don’t drink too much or drink at all. Christian conduct– that’s the secret.
Suffering. There’s the answer. No, it’s doctrine. That’s how to be made right with God.
No, no, no. All of the above are tried. All are taught. But none are from God. In fact, that’s the problem. None are from God. Who does the saving, you or Him?
Romans 3:28 says, “A person is made right with God through faith.” Not through good works, suffering, or doctrine. Those may be the result of salvation, but they’re not the cause of it.
Salvation comes through faith in God’s sacrifice. In the gift of His Son. It’s not what you do…it’s what He did.
As Christians, we can waste our lives standing on faith’s shoreline, never venturing beyond ankle-deep water. There we have little need for the Lord.
After all, we are safe on the beach, far from the danger of high waves and storms. But believers who release themselves into deeper waters of obedience need God desperately.
By casting oneself farther offshore, the Christian relinquishes control of his life. No longer can he pretend to determine his own fate, whether in regard to career choices, financial decisions, or church involvement. God is Captain of the boat, whereas the believer is the obedient first mate. Will storms come? Yes. Will the Captain at times make difficult requests? Yes. Will the first mate sometimes feel scared? Yes. But the surrendered believer experiences Christ more intimately than someone on shore can; he receives a boatload of God’s goodness and blessings.
Most churchgoers easily claim, “I’ve yielded my life to Christ.” To actually live out those words, however, is more difficult. We want to cling to a measure of control in case God doesn’t work events to our satisfaction. Too many Christians are content merely to dip their toes into faith because they fear life might not turn out according to their plan. But how much greater their loss will be if life doesn’t turn out according to God’s plan. He can do much more with a surrendered existence than a sheltered one.
The Christian life becomes exciting when we wade into water so deep that our feet no longer touch the bottom. Then we must stand on God’s promises.
Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” —John 8:11
The flashing lights of the police car drew my attention to a motorist who had been pulled over for a traffic violation. As the officer, ticket book in hand, walked back to his car, I could clearly see the embarrassed driver sitting helplessly behind the wheel of her car. With her hands, she attempted to block her face from the view of passersby—hoping to hide her identity. Her actions were a reminder to me of how embarrassing it can be when we are exposed by our choices and their consequences.
When a guilty woman was brought before Jesus and her immorality was exposed, the crowd did more than just watch. They called for her condemnation, but Jesus showed mercy. The only One with the right to judge sin responded to her failure with compassion. After dispatching her accusers, “Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more’” (John 8:11). His compassion reminds us of His forgiving grace, and His command to her points to His great desire that we live in the joy of that grace. Both elements show the depth of Christ’s concern for us when we stumble and fall.
Even in our most embarrassing moments of failure, we can cry out to Him and find that His grace is truly amazing. —Bill Crowder
Amazing grace—how sweet the sound—
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see. —Newton
Jesus alone can supply the grace we need for each trial we face.
Untested faith may be true faith, but it is sure to be small faith, and it is likely to remain little as long as it is without trials. Faith never prospers so well as when all things are against her: Tempests are her trainers, and bolts of lightning are her illuminators.
When a calm reigns on the sea, spread the sails as you will, the ship does not move to its harbor; for on a slumbering ocean the keel sleeps too.
Let the winds rush and howl, and let the waters lift themselves, though the vessel may rock and her deck may be washed with waves and her mast may creak under the pressure of the full and swelling sail, it is then that she makes headway toward her desired haven.
No flowers are as lovely a blue as those that grow at the foot of the frozen glacier; no stars gleam as brightly as those that glisten in the midnight sky; no water tastes as sweet as that which springs up in the desert sand; and no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs in adversity.
Tested faith brings experience. You could not have believed your own weakness if you had not been compelled to pass through the rivers; and you would never have known God’s strength if you had not been supported in the flood.
Faith increases in quality, assurance, and intensity the more it is exercised with tribulation. Faith is precious, and its trial is precious too.
Do not let this, however, discourage those who are young in faith. You will have trials enough without seeking them: The full portion will be measured out to you in due course.
Meanwhile, if you cannot yet claim the result of long experience, thank God for what grace you have; praise Him for that degree of holy confidence you have now attained: Walk according to that rule, and you will still have more and more of the blessing of God, until your faith will remove mountains and conquer impossibilities.
You are not capable of performing the lowest act of the divine life, except as you receive strength from God the Holy Spirit. And surely, my brethren, it is generally in these little things that we find out most of all our weakness. Peter can walk the waves of the sea, but he cannot bear the derision of a little maid. Job can endure the loss of all things, but the upbraiding words of his false friends, though they be but words, and break no bones—make him speak far more bitterly than all the sore boils which were in his very skin. Jonah said he did well to be angry, even unto death, about a gourd. Have you not often heard that mighty men who have outlived hundreds of battles have been slain at last by the most trivial accident? And has it not been so with professed Christians? They stood uprightly in the midst of the greatest trials; they have outlived the most arduous struggles, and yet in an evil hour, trusting to themselves, their foot has slipped under some slight temptation, or because of some small difficulty. John Newton says: “The grace of God is as necessary to create a right temper in Christians on the breaking of a china plate as on the death of an only son.” These little leaks need the most careful stopping. The plague of flies is no more easy to be stayed than that of the destroying angel. In little as well as in great things the just must live by faith. In trifles as well as in nobler exercises the believer should be conscious of his own inability,—should never say of any act, “Now I am strong enough to perform this; I need not go to God in prayer about this; this is so little a thing.”
For meditation: We need to bring everything to God in prayer, not only the things which worry us (Philippians 4:6); the apostle Paul had learned how to face all situations and how to do all things in Christ who strengthened him (Philippians 4:13).
Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.—Proverbs 3:5–6
I usually know what I want, and I like to get it. I’m exactly like most people. When we don’t get what we want, our negative feelings flare up. (And remember those feelings began with thoughts.)
“I drove across town to buy that dress, and you’re out of my size?”
“What do you mean there are no HD-TVs left? You advertised it in the paper.” Most of us are like that—and when we don’t get what we want, we make people around us miserable. It’s not something we learn in school—it may be inborn.
As I wrote the above quotations, I thought of a scene in the grocery store. A young mother was pushing her cart along and stopped at the cereal. Her child—less than two years old—reached out for a box. “Want! Want!”
“No,” the mother said. “We have plenty at home.” She put a different box of cereal in the cart.
“Want! Want!” the child said. Getting no response, she began to kick and scream. To the mother’s credit, she did not give in but pushed the cart to another aisle and distracted her child.
As I watched that behavior, I thought, That’s the way we all are most of the time. We decide what we want, and when we don’t get it, we’re angry.
“Jack and I were both up for the same promotion. I’ve been with the company longer, and my sales figures are stronger,” Donna said. “I deserved it, but he got the job.”
“I had a grade of 98 going into my final essay test,” Angie said. “If I had made another 100, it would have given me a 4.0 average, and I would have become the top student in my graduating class. But I made only 83 on the test, and dropped down to fifth in my class. I deserved a grade of 100, but my teacher doesn’t like me.”
Let’s look at this problem more closely. The individuals mentioned above, who didn’t get what they wanted, made one common statement: “I deserved it, but I didn’t get it.”
Too often, we Christians expect life to be perfect and for everything to go smoothly for us. We expect success, happiness, joy, peace, and everything else. When we’re thwarted, we pout or complain.
Although God does want us to have a good life, there will be times when we must be patient and endure not getting our way. These disappointments test our character and level of spiritual maturity. They actually show whether or not we truly are ready for promotion.
Why do we think we should always be first while others have to endure a lesser position? Why do we think we are entitled to the perfect life? Perhaps sometimes we think more highly of ourselves than we ought to. A humble mind enables us to take a back seat and wait for God to move us to the front. God’s Word says that we inherit the promises through faith and patience. Believing God is good, but can we continue to believe God and trust Him when we don’t feel that life is fair?
Satan plays with our minds. Most of the time, the evil one says negative things to us: “You don’t deserve it; you are worthless; you’re stupid.” Once in a while, however, he tries a different trick: He tells us how hard we work or how much we’re entitled to. If we listen and believe, we may begin to feel cheated or believe that someone has taken advantage of us.
When we don’t get what we want, we fall apart, saying, “I deserved it!” We not only get angry with the boss, the teacher, or anyone else, but we sometimes get angry with God for not giving us what we felt we deserved.
The big mistake was to say we deserved it, because then self-pity creeps in when we don’t get what we want. We can take that attitude, or we can recognize that we have a choice. I can choose to accept life the way it is and make the best out of it, or I can complain because it isn’t perfect.
I think of the story of Jonah—not the whale story—but what happened afterward. He had announced that in forty days, God would destroy the city of Nineveh, but the people repented. Because God listened to their cries, Jonah was angry. “Therefore now, O Lord, I beseech You, take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live” (Jonah 4:3).
Sad, isn’t it? Jonah would rather have been right than to see 120,000 people saved. Our situations aren’t usually that dramatic, but so many people would rather sit and feel sorry for themselves, listen to the whispers of Satan, and miss out with God than to simply trust God in every situation.
The secret of the Christian life is that we commit ourselves fully to God. If we surrender our wills to God, what happens doesn’t make us angry. If God doesn’t give us what we want and ask for, our faith is strong enough to say, “Not my will, but Yours.”
God, help me. I often have strong desires, and when I don’t get what I want, I get upset. Forgive me. Remind me that Jesus didn’t want to die on the cross, but He lived in total submission to Your will. I ask You, through Jesus Christ, to help me live in total submission and be content with what You give me. Amen.
“Love does no wrong to anyone. That’s why it fully satisfies all of God’s requirements. It is the only law you need” (Romans 13:10).
Early in my Christian life, I was troubled over the command to love God so completely, as I mentioned in yesterday’s reading. How could I ever measure up to such a high standard? Then He showed me how to love by faith.
We are to love God. We are to love our neighbors. We are to love our enemies. We are to love our family members. And we are to love ourselves with God’s kind of love, by faith.
Since the greatest commandment is to love God, we are to give Him our first love, never allowing anyone or anything to come before Him. And supernaturally, we are to express the agape kind of love to others – a love no less in its quality and magnitude than that which we express toward God.
In the same way, God loves all His children perfectly. He loves you and me just as much as He loves His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (John 17:23).
The person who has not yet learned to love God and to seek Him above all else and all others is to be pitied. Such a person is only denying himself the blessings that await all who love God with all their heart, soul and mind.
It is natural for us to fulfill the command to love our neighbors as ourselves if we truly love God in the way mentioned above. If we are properly related to God, vertically, we will be properly related to our fellow man, horizontally.
Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 13
TODAY’S ACTION POINT: By faith I will claim God’s love – for Him, for my neighbors, for myself, for my enemies – and as a result do only good, which is a result of supernatural living
D.L. Moody was not well-educated and often spoke with bad grammar. Yet Moody was always passionate about his relationship with God. Many times he was confronted by obstacles that seemed insurmountable. However, Moody knew nothing was too hard for the Lord, and that through prayer anything could be accomplished. A man once said to Moody, “The world has yet to see what God can do through a man wholly committed to Him.” Moody replied, “By the grace of God, I’ll be that man.” As a result, he preached to large crowds throughout America and Europe – and thousands of people invited Jesus Christ into their lives.
Many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
II Corinthians 1:11
The Bible says, “pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) That doesn’t mean constantly repeating routine phrases in order to get something from God. It’s a continuous communication which comes from your heart so you can experience a deeper intimacy with the Creator of the Universe.
Thank your Heavenly Father every day for the gift and privilege of prayer. As you intercede for America’s leaders, pray they will experience the freedom and joy that comes only from a relationship with Him.
Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. —Psalm 40:5
One of my favorite verses about what God says concerning the future is Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Contextually these words were given to the Israelites while they were in captivity in Babylon. They saw no future. They thought they would be captives forever. But God was saying, “No, actually not forever. It will last for seventy years. I warned you. You kept turning to idols. And now you are reaping what you have sown. But one day you will get out of Babylon. You will return to your homeland. So I know the thoughts I think toward you, . . . thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
I love that for so many reasons. For one, notice that God doesn’t say, “I know the thought I once had toward you.” I don’t know about you, but the realization that God Almighty, the Creator of the universe, would have a single thought about me would be more than enough. Just one thought. Just one! I thought about Greg. I am done with him now. I am on to other things. But He did think about me for a moment. And He says, “I know the thoughts that I think toward you”—more than one.
Also, they are thoughts of peace, not of evil. They are good thoughts to give you a future and a hope. The word future in Jeremiah 29:11 also could be translated “an expected end” or “a ground of hope” or “things hoped for.” There will be an outcome.
God’s will for you is far better than your plans for yourself. Will you believe that?
As Christians, we can waste our lives standing on faith’s shoreline, never venturing beyond ankle-deep water. There we have little need for the Lord.
After all, we are safe on the beach, far from the danger of high waves and storms. But believers who release themselves into deeper waters of obedience need God desperately.
By casting oneself farther offshore, the Christian relinquishes control of his life. No longer can he pretend to determine his own fate, whether in regard to career choices, financial decisions, or church involvement. God is Captain of the boat, whereas the believer is the obedient first mate. Will storms come? Yes. Will the Captain at times make difficult requests? Yes. Will the first mate sometimes feel scared? Yes. But the surrendered believer experiences Christ more intimately than someone on shore can; he receives a boatload of God’s goodness and blessings.
Most churchgoers easily claim, “I’ve yielded my life to Christ.” To actually live out those words, however, is more difficult. We want to cling to a measure of control in case God doesn’t work events to our satisfaction. Too many Christians are content merely to dip their toes into faith because they fear life might not turn out according to their plan. But how much greater their loss will be if life doesn’t turn out according to God’s plan. He can do much more with a surrendered existence than a sheltered one.
The Christian life becomes exciting when we wade into water so deep that our feet no longer touch the bottom. Then we must stand on God’s promises.
His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. —Lamentations 3:22-23
Yves Congar was just 10 years old when World War I began and the French town where he lived was invaded by the German army. His mother encouraged him to keep a diary, and what resulted was a lucid description of a military occupation, complete with written narrative and colored sketches. His diary recorded a disaster from a child’s perspective. What he witnessed had such a profound effect on him that he felt called to bring others the hope of Christ.
Centuries earlier the prophet Jeremiah was an eyewitness to the invasion of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. He wrote down his observations in his “diary”—the book of Lamentations. Despite these distressing times, the prophet found hope in the heart of God. He wrote: “Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (3:22-23).
At various times, we may experience or witness disasters that feel like hostile forces entering our lives. But these times of trouble do not last forever. And, like Jeremiah, our most sustaining hope is to reflect upon the faithfulness and provision of our heavenly Father. The Lord’s compassions are new every morning, and His faithfulness is great! —Dennis Fisher
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! —Chisholm
For his fluency with words and unrivaled poetic voice, Isaiah has been called the “Shakespeare of the prophets.” His words are assuredly lyrical; they were also political and prophetic, enduring well beyond his life. Unquestionably, the prophet fulfilled his sense of the call of God with conviction. But as human followers often note of the things God calls us to do and do whole-heartedly, it is God’s voice that reverberates in creative ways unknown even to the one called, at times beyond our own understanding, beyond our own lives.
The 53rd chapter of the book of Isaiah offers the image of a servant who embodies a severe faithfulness despite unjust opposition. “He was oppressed and he was afflicted,” writes Isaiah, “but he did not open his mouth” (53:7a). The prophet describes a sufferer of flint-like submission in the face of extreme violence. “He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth” (v.7b). He describes a servant who is crushed and anguished, stricken, and yet somehow satisfied. “As a result of the anguish of his soul,” writes Isaiah, “he will see it and be satisfied; by his knowledge the righteous one, my servant, will justify the many, and he will bear their iniquities” (v.11). Whether Isaiah had in mind someone who fit the description or merely longed to see God’s words come to fruition, the prophet offers an image of one who changes all the rules.
Isaiah utters words abundantly verified in Jesus Christ. Almost 700 years after Isaiah’s description of the suffering servant, Jesus was carrying sorrows and curing infirmities; he was suffering rejection, hatred, and affliction (v.4). He was despised and brushed aside without regard (v.3). He was taken away by a perversion of justice (v.8). He was assigned a grave with the wicked (v.9). Yet he set his face “like a flint” upon the will of God (Isaiah 50:7, Luke 9:51). He was cut off from the land of the living, so that many would live (Isaiah 53:8b).
Whether you hear it as an exile in ancient Israel, a tax collector in 1st century Jerusalem, or an academic in contemporary Europe, Isaiah’s description of the suffering servant is one that warrants contemplation. Even Isaiah, out of whose mouth the description emerged, was compelled to ask with bewilderment: “Who shall consider it?” Who can imagine a man in such circumstances? Who knows what to do with a servant like this? “Who has considered that he was cut off from the land of the living for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?” (v.8a). So asks the prophet who would not live to see the suffering servant he described. How much more so should we who see the face of the prophecy consider this description of Christ?
Isaiah 53 describes a Christ oppressed and afflicted but silent, even dumb, in the face of his oppressors. Like a sheep submitting to its shearers, he did not object; he didn’t even open his mouth. He was taken from justice and afflicted by people who seemed to hold some real sense of power over him. Yet he did it all willingly and silently, as if he were allowing them the power in the first place. He was a victim of violence though he had committed no violence himself. He was categorized as wicked though a deceitful word was never on his lips. There seems a paradox here like the great paradoxes of the kingdom he described: The last shall be first; the first shall be last. Those who mourn are blessed. All is not as it appears. “But who from his generation will be able to fathom it?” Isaiah seems at once to ask both a rhetorical question and a pessimistic one. Will anyone consider it? Is anyone really catching all of this? Who is really in control here—the silent one or the ones who think they are silencing him?
This metaphor of the submissive sheep is pervasive in Isaiah’s description, immediately hastening images of sacrifice, blood, and atonement. Like a lamb, the sufferer was led to slaughter. In the case of most sacrificial animals, they go unsuspectingly; they follow without much thought. But this is clearly not the case in this metaphor. Isaiah describes a Christ who is led and killed, but he does not go unknowingly. While it may be natural in certain conditions for a man to follow people who end up harming him, it would not be natural for that man to follow silently in the midst of harm. A ewe might not cry with its shearers, but it would certainly bleat if you hit it repeatedly. This lamb went to his death submitting to those who led him, but it was far from unintentional. He followed with a depth of thought we have difficulty considering.
In fact, there is something altogether silencing about the one who remains still and submissive while the ultimate injustice weighs on his shoulders. Isaiah describes a servant who seems immobilized and powerless. It is the unnamed crowd in each verse that seems to be in control. It is they who afflict him, oppress him, and strike him. It is they who lead him to the slaughter and put him in a grave. Yet is it not entirely significant that this nameless crowd, which seems to hold all the power, remains at least structurally inconsequential? There is no real description offered of the oppressors in the entire chapter. “They” did not earn the subject of more than one sentence, perhaps because “they” are not the point. He is.
It is still ours to consider: What if Jesus chose this path for himself? What if he chose to remain silent, to be weak in our nameless hands, to pour himself out even unto death? What if he chose to take on the violence that would bring us peace? Indeed, who shall consider it?
Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.
God-the eternal God-is Himself our support at all times, and especially when we are sinking in deep trouble. There are seasons when the Christian sinks very low in humiliation. Under a deep sense of his great sinfulness, he is humbled before God until he hardly knows how to pray, because he appears, in his own sight, so worthless.
Well, child of God, remember that when you are at your worst and lowest, even then “underneath” you “are the everlasting arms.” Sin may drag you ever so low, but Christ’s great atonement is still under all. You may have descended into the depths, but you cannot have fallen so low as the uttermost; and He saves “to the uttermost.”1
Again, the Christian sometimes sinks very deeply in sore trial from without. Every earthly prop is cut away. What then? Still underneath him are “the everlasting arms.”
He cannot fall so deep in distress and affliction but what the covenant grace of an ever-faithful God will still encircle him. The Christian may be sinking under trouble from within through fierce conflict; but even then he cannot be brought so low as to be beyond the reach of the “everlasting arms”-they are underneath him; and, while he is sustained, all Satan’s efforts to harm him achieve nothing.
This assurance of support is a comfort to any weary but sincere worker in the service of God. It implies a promise of strength for each day, grace for each need, and power for each duty.
And, finally, when death comes, the promise will still hold good. When we stand in the middle of the Jordan, we will be able to say with David, “I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”2
We will descend into the grave, but we shall go no lower, for the eternal arms prevent our further fall. All through life, and at its close, we shall be upheld by the “everlasting arms”-arms that neither flag nor lose their strength, for “the everlasting God . . . does not faint or grow weary.”3
1 Hebrews 7:25 2 Psalm 23:4 3 Isaiah 40:28
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