I've come to a point of personal conviction, that as God's believers, any real reason that we might have for fear in our lives as we travel through this world could be directly connected to the diligence and sincerity given to our obedience and submission to the God who created us for His own purposes. I'm saying this in reference to the level and quantity of threats that we encounter and the number of possible mountains that we may face to climb as we pass through this place. I believe that at times, in spite of what God desires for us, we likely tie His hands with our compromise, disobedience, feigned submission, and general lack of diligence to put Him first above all other people, issues and things - Because no truly good father would reward his children for bad behavior and we should expect nothing different from the only perfect Father, our God. If He did not spare Israel from hardships that brought them back into obedience, why would we think ourselves any different in relationship with the Living God Who Does Not Change?
“Is not Israel still my son, my darling child?” says the LORD. “I often have to punish him, but I still love him. That’s why I long for him and surely will have mercy on him." Jeremiah 31:20 (NLT)
To be clear, my thoughts here are clearly in terms of vertical position and spiritual condition - our response to those things above and the things below, and above everything else, our response to Father God. He knows the truth of the matter without question and there are no "gray areas" before Him. If there are any gray areas to be found they might exist in our own compromises and excuses, but not in His judgment.
"He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” John 14:21 (NKJ)
We live in an interesting time. It's a time of great tension where evil lurks pacing in the murky shadows around us. And we're watching the continued erosion of things that were once held in esteem as sacred and core to our existence in society as they seem to be cast aside by so many in foolish abandon. It's a time that those of us who are older might say of it in spiritual terms that darkness has rolled in like a fog in greater measure than we once knew in our younger years. It's disturbing presence tests and presses against the hope that we hold so dear - aggravating our better desires and creating the tension that tries persistently to instill fear, ... "but God" says repeatedly in scripture "Fear not".
"But God" is a term that we've heard or read it often if we've been exposed to the scriptures and to the gatherings of the faithful to our Creator. And well it is that we should hear it! From the exact moment that the power of His voice blasted into the void and birthed something out of nothing and caused it to erupt into creation, the power to change, to plan perfectly and to execute sovereignly, have been, and are still, fully in God's hands and in the might of His voice. He remains unable to be truly challenged by any being and stands omnipotently powerful against any who would be fool enough to try. So why, if we are obedient and in submission to Him, is it that we would have any cause for fear as His very own children? Why would we have any reason to doubt God's protection, provision or further acts of grace in the face of sin's prominence in the world and the raging of the enemy given that the world's society, nor the enemy determines His reign over creation or have any real power against Him and His passion is for us?
I think one possible answer could sometimes lie in our own diligence toward submission and obedience to what God has commanded and declared. I think we can many times block our own blessings by a lack of true loyalty or faithful execution of obedience to what God rightfully expects from us. We also have the ability to invite God's correction in this life. No truly good father rewards his children for bad behavior and ours is The Perfect Father, so the withholding of blessing, a lack of deliverance, or intervention, at times could become our failure and not God's. In a world rife with deceit and compromise, standards can become clouded and mixed, but there are no gray areas in what the Lord sees. Obedience and rebellion are two of two choices, there is no compromise in His judgment of our performance. And since we draw reward not only in the life after this one, but as we walk through this one as well, it behooves us to continually assess the integrity of our own hearts and what flows from them into plain view. Our motivations are as powerful to define us as the actions that emerge from them and our Father sees them all. Nothing is hidden from Him.
For those who might wish or think that they'd be better off if born in a different time, I'm certain that we were chosen by God to be born for this very time in history. I know without any doubt that our God doesn't make mistakes. He's given each of us gifts and talents to use in accordance with His plans during this specific time. He has a plan and a purpose in His timing and He has a plan for each of us in the timing of His plan. Ours is to believe Him above any others, to love Him above all else, to be faithful, patient, and obedient to Him - continually seeking His will as Christ teaches us. His is to fulfill His promises to us out of His faithful love for us as we allow Him by executing our obedience to what He requires. His promises are the certainty that is our future as those who love and obey God in Christ - as we're faithful to fulfill what is required to allow the fruit of them in our lives. I believe that we were chosen for this very time and are endowed by God with gifts and talents to use for His glory and to sustain each other as we travel the path less chosen through this time together. Regardless of the color of our skin,our politics, or the nation that we were born into, we - those born again, are one family in Christ Jesus. We're grafted by grace into God's family through our acceptance of Christ's grace-filled sacrifice in our place and our acceptance of Him as Lord.
“Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:27-28 (NKJ)
I think of how many times that the Lord says "do not fear/do not be afraid" in the whole of scripture and I consider that as I am faithful, loving in earnest sincerity The True And Living God of all creation, that I am covered, sheltered by Him. And having learned something of God's perspective and having true faith in Him, I recognize that even if this physical body falls by some calamity I've not lost anything - nothing, but will have finally gained the fruit of what I've sought with the deepest inner desire, because I will then enter into His eternal presence and will have taken the most sought after comfort there with my Christ. So death may come at any time as God determines and I will not be disappointed or dismayed, for the hardship of this life will have passed and the fruition of God's promise through Christ will be realized. What fear is there in that?.
"For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” " 1 Corinthians 15:53-55 (NKJ)"He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8 (NKJ)
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good? Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the Lord your God, also the earth with all that is in it." Deuteronomy 10:12-14 (NKJ)
Comments
Post a Comment