Sing for Joy

The last week before my mother’s death, my brother, sister-in-law, and I (with visits from her grandchildren) sat by her bed. I would read the Bible to her, especially the Psalms, not certain if she could hear me, but trusting. And, of course, the Lord spoke to me as I read.

During this sobering time, Psalm 63:7 was especially meaningful: “For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.”

The Lord was there with us, and, because He was there, He was sheltering me and I was able to sing for joy.

This is not to say that death is something to celebrate, because it is an enemy.

“The last enemy that will be abolished is death.” (1 Corinthians 15:26)

But in the midst of loss and pain, I was able–I am able–to retreat under His wings … and sing for joy.

I picture being under a deep covered porch, looking out at a fierce storm, and protected from the awful weather.

I am so grateful He showed this to me in the midst of the trial. When you are in the middle of sorrow, He shelters you.

Will you rejoice?

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

What to do

1. Remember His promises:

He is with you.

He will never forsake you.

He will help you.

He will protect you.

2. As vividly as you can, picture being safe, dry, and warm under His wing. This helps translate head knowledge to heart knowledge.
3. Sing! You may croak as I did rather than sing. But sing! Whatever the trial, we have a loving, sovereign Father who is with us and will bring us through.

SING!

“Adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it.”

An NFL analyst-broadcaster-ex-coach recently said this, but that thought is commonly recited as truth.

The phrase is only half right. Adversity does reveal character. But hardship also can build character.

Adversity Reveals Character

Character underlies all you are and all you do. While it is possible to put your “best face” forward, bad times often expose a person’s heart, their true character.

The greater the problem, the more your true nature is revealed. If the person is a bitter, angry person at heart, the harder the test, the more the person will be shown to be bitter and angry. If the person responds to a crisis with resilience, compassion, and hope, you also see the condition of their heart.

For the Christian, adversity reveals the strength of your faith. If a trial comes and you collapse, you discover your belief in and reliance on the Lord must be strengthened.

For the Christian, through adversity, God mercifully shows us our weaknesses, and goads us to growth.

On the other hand, if a trial demonstrates your faith in God, you encourage others, and prove to yourself your faith is genuine. Your strong response to adversity helps you navigate the next hardship.

Adversity Can Build Character

“That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.”

Secular studies show that adversity can build character, but that not everyone grows following a difficulty. One study found that some adversity builds character, but that high levels of adversity may not have a positive effect.

For the Christian, however, adversity builds character. Period.

How do I know?

The Bible says so!

“And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:3–5)

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2–4)

“In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;” (1 Peter 1:6–7)

Adversity is Something God is Doing FOR Us

Trials are a mean to an end (see the above verses for the benefits of trials). God uses trials as a tool to make us into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).

I rejoice that my faith has been proven to me (and to others) through my trials. I lost my job. I had significant trouble with both eyes. How I handled those problems testified to others my faith in God’s love and power. Adversity revealed my faith. But adversity also built my faith. I am able to remember God’s faithfulness during those trials and know, absolutely know, He will be with me in the next one. I know, because of His love, power, and grace, I will come through.

All things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You. (1 Chronicles 29:14)

Everything comes from God

God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—created everything and sustains everything. All things belong to God. Whatever we give to God was His before we had it, and when we gave it to Him, it remained His.

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. (Romans 11:36)

He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things. (Acts 17:25)

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. (James 1:17)

He gave land to the Israelis. (Genesis 13:15, e.g.)

He gives rain and other gifts to produce crops. (Deuteronomy 11:14-15; Psalm 85:12, e.g.)

He gives food. (Psalm 136:25, e.g.)

He gives rest. (Matthew 11:28)

He gives the power to create wealth. (Deuteronomy 8:16-18)

God gave His children Himself

But, most stunning of all, God gave His children, Himself. The Son died for us. The Holy Spirit lives in us.

Jesus Christ is a gift.

Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water. (John 4:10)

We, His children, are justified

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8)

[We are] justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:24)

We, His children, have been given eternal life.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. (John 4:14)

We, His children, have been given His Holy Spirit.

Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38)

We, His children, have been given spiritual gifts.

Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith. (Romans 12:6)

As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. (1 Peter 4:10)

He gives His children only good gifts

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! (Matthew 7:11)

Some gifts to His children are contingent on us

Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. (Psalm 84:11)

We need to go to Him in humility and ask.

Give us this day our daily bread. (Matthew 6:11)

We need to give back what He gives us

Out of all your gifts you shall present every offering due to the Lord, from all the best of them, the sacred part from them. (Numbers 18:29)

We are given all we need

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. (2 Peter 1:3)

I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:4–9)

We need to give Him thanks.

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15)

Praise the Giver

Praise God—Father, Son, Holy Spirit—who is a generous, gracious, giver. He created all things, and in His love and mercy, gives…and gives…and gives. God, thank You for life, and the opportunity to serve You with the gifts You have given me. Thank You for sustaining me now into eternity, and giving me Your power to serve You. Thank You that You have already given me everything I need to live righteously and to handle the hard times that come my way. Please help me learn to rely on You, Your power, and not myself. Father, thank You for the incredible, indescribable gift, of Your Son and Your Holy Spirit. I am overwhelmed with Your awe-inspiring gifts. Please help me give back to You what You have given me.

I’m an introvert, one of those folks who can bump into a just-moved piece of furniture. Perhaps my most famous introvert moment was emerging from my office, still early in the day, after I’d been focused on a project, and walking right by two people without even seeing them. When I walked back with a cup of coffee, there they were! I was stunned. “Were you sitting there when I walked out of my office?” “Yep.” Oh, my.

What was the motive?

What was my motive?

Was I just an arrogant, unfeeling, uncaring person who walked by them without acknowledging them? Or, was I mad at them for some reason? Either was plausible.

Fortunately, they knew me, knew I was an introvert, and knew I was working on a deadline for a big project. On the way back, when I saw them, they shook their heads and chuckled at me.

The Bible sometimes goes behind an action or a statement and tells us the person’s motive.

The Jews were jealous. Acts 5:17; 17:5

The Jews were afraid. Luke 22:2

They wanted to be noticed. Matthew 23:5

Jesus knows everyone’s motives, of course. John 2:24-25

We usually don’t.

When we don’t know the motive

When someone walks by without acknowledging you, what do you think? Or suppose there is a mix up when you’re checking out of a store? Or someone cut you off in traffic? What do you think? What are their motives?

Do you automatically think the worst? He hates me. I must have done something terrible. He is incompetent. I bet she stole my stuff. She is a terrible driver. I wonder if he’s drunk.

Or do you consider other, more benign options? He must be thinking about something else. I wonder if something bad happened to him. She must be having a hard day. I wonder if that driver is trying to get to the hospital.

The first set of thoughts is likely to make you more upset. The second set of options helps you feel compassion.

And you do not know which is correct, if either.

Unless the person is someone you know and it is important for some reason to understand the action, (or you need to report them as a thief or dangerous driver) give them a pass. That’s the action that is healthiest for you, and most consistent with loving your neighbor, or loving your enemy.

You may have to ask

But if you need to know, you have to ask. Don’t make stuff up. Approach them with love, and ask.

I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10)

We are Responsible

Did I do something good? Yes. No, not me.

Did God accomplish it? Yes.

Last week I talked about our decision to walk right in these troubled times (See Dismayed in these Difficult Times?) The Lord, Sovereign God, chose us to be born when we were and to be alive now. He chose us to go through these difficulties.

When I have fearful thoughts of hard times, sometimes it is because I focus on what I might face, what I might have to do, and forget that I can—must—rely on Him.

For nothing will be impossible with God. (Luke 1:37)

We Must Work Hard

Paul made it clear that he worked hard to fulfill the ministry God gave him.

I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10)

In the present, work hard at whatever tasks the Lord gives you. Right now decide that you will work hard in the future. We are responsible for what we do.

And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. (Mark 8:34)

We have decided (if you haven’t thought this through, please do) to follow Him regardless of the apparent cost. We’ve decided to honor Him through persecution, through hard times, through whatever.

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. (1 Corinthians 9:24)

Work as hard as you can, but give God all the glory. Do your very best.

Yet not I, but God

At the same time, don’t fear that you are alone and without help.

As hard as Paul worked, he knew it was the Lord. “Yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”

After he had greeted them, he began to relate one by one the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. (Acts 21:19)

Do not Fear

When I’m dismayed about current events and the evil possibilities ahead, I too often fear, even though I’m commanded not to fear. I think my fear comes from knowing I am responsible and how weak I am. I am so afraid I will fail the Lord.

Paul says when he is weak, then he is strong. Huh?

He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9–10)

I must work hard, and remember that it is God’s power that works in me. I’m not going to face this alone, Christ is with me.

For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me. (Colossians 1:29)

Now do it.

How?

1. Keep your decision top-of-mind. When you see a choice, remember your decision and do the will of God.
2. Work hard. This won’t be easy, so continually work hard.
3. But, thank God, while we have the responsibility to work hard, it is God within us who will make it happen. God acts through us. We are to labor hard and rely on God to accomplish the work.
4. Learn to turn in reliance towards Him. It is His power, not mine, not yours, that produces the result.

Lord!

Lord, please make my choices clear. Please help me see when I have a choice of doing Your will or doing my own. Please help me always choose to follow You. Please help me look past the apparent consequences to Your will, Your pleasure, Your reward.

And help me know how weak I am, and how powerful You are. Remind me that whatever is accomplished through me is because of You, not me.

Help me turn in humility to You, relying on You to accomplish the results You want.

Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant. (2 Corinthians 3:4–6)

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us. (Ephesians 3:20)

Almighty God

Almighty God is sovereign over everything and everybody all the time. He is infinitely knowledgeable, infinitely wise, infinitely powerful. He is totally other than we are.

Isaiah said:

In the year of King Uzziah’s death I [Isaiah] saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.” And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. (Isaiah 6:1–5)

We dare not minimize who He is or what He can do. His holiness is beyond our understanding; His hatred of sin more than we can fathom.

Yet! For those of us who have repented of our sins, believe Jesus Christ is God, the Son of God, and have received Christ as our Lord and Savior, Almighty God is our Father. (See Becoming a Child of God.)

Our Father

We, His children, have been chosen by Him, adopted into His family, and declared righteous. He has sealed us with His Holy Spirit, securing us for eternity when we’ll be holy and blameless before Him. Right now, He is at work in us, making us into the image of His Son. He is always with us, and never forgets us. He is always merciful, always comforting.

We are guaranteed access to Him, privileged to go before Him (Almighty God!) with boldness and confidence. He is our Father, after all.

Praise Our Father

Father, I praise You for choosing to bring me, and many others, into Your family. Because of Your love, You gave me, and all Your children, a special, eternal, love relationship with You. Because of Your love and mercy, You oversee my life, promising to bring good out of whatever happens. I praise You as my Father, infinitely wise and loving toward me. I am so grateful You are always with me, that You promise to never leave me. I cannot understand the magnitude of the awesome privileges You have granted me, but Father, I praise You.

Folklore: You are the window through which you view the world. Your traits, positive and negative, color what you see. If you are hopeful, you tend to look for “silver linings.” If you’re critical, you tend to look for what is wrong. If you habitually lie, you tend to see others are liars. If you are trusting, you tend to see others as trust-worthy.

“Best keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you see the world.” ~ George Bernard Shaw

“The window through which we view the world is obscured by our own reflection.” ~ Mark Greenman

There is truth here. As we grow in Christ, as we mature in the fruits of the Spirit, we see the world differently.

As Christians, our big challenge is to view the world through the Word of God, seeing and interpreting reality through God’s Word.

“And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?”” (Luke 10:25–26)

“Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God?”” (Mark 12:24)

Our task is to continually ask ourselves: “What does God say about that?” “What is written in His Word?”

The better we know the Word of God, the more accurate our interpretation of the world. We’ll increasingly have His wisdom about events and situations.

Rather than trusting in your own heart, choose to believe Him.

What to Do

1. Systematically, regularly, study the Bible. Devotional reading is great, but in-depth study is imperative.
2. Routinely think about the Word, what you’ve read, what you’ve studied, what God means, and how it applies to your life.
3. Continually compare your thoughts to the Word. If there is a conflict, choose to believe the Word of God.