Strive For Peace
“Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root of bitterness’ springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled…” Hebrews 12:14-15
What if today is the day you humble yourself and obey the Lord by “striving for peace” with that person you have grown bitter towards.
-What if today is the day you pray for your enemy?
-What if today is the day you find a way to “offer a cup of cold water” to that one who hurt you?
-What if today is the day you make that phone call and ask for forgiveness for your sinful actions that contributed to the strife?
-What if today is the day that you forgive them as you have been forgiven in Christ?
-What if today is the day that you finally – by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit – sever that root of bitterness? And by being obedient to the instruction in these verses tonight you can lay your head on your pillow in peace, experiencing something you have not experienced in a long time.
Why?
Following the tragedy in Texas I had multiple people understandably asking the question, “Why?”
“Why would God allow?”
“Why would God not stop this?”
“Why would God not save?”
We have all contemplated these questions at various points in our lives – divorce, abuse, death of a loved one, disability, financial disaster, war, and yes natural disasters like the flooding in Texas.
This morning I was reading in Ecclesiastes and came to 8:17 and thought I would share it with you: “…then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out.”
Here we are reminded that “under the sun” or here on the earth from our perspective, no matter how hard we try we cannot understand the plans and workings of God.
My answer to the “Why” questions is most often “I do not know.”
While we may not know why God does what He does we can know who God is. The Bible does not always tell us why God acts and works in certain ways, but the Bible does tell us who God is.
He is holy. He is righteous (meaning all He does is right). He is all-powerful. He is all-knowing. He is all-wise.
And He is compassionate. He is patient. He is gracious. He is merciful. He is kind. He is good.
Some contemplate human tragedy and conclude that God must be cruel. What they fail to see is that the greatest human tragedy was the crucifixion of Jesus. There on the cross Jesus (the completely innocent) pays the price for sinners (the completely guilty). The greatest injustice in human history is the crucifixion of Jesus and if we ask the question “Why?” we get our answer in John 3:16 where we read, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only (begotten) Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
We might not understand why God does what He does, but we can understand and know His loving and compassionate nature. Spurgeon said it best, “God is too good to be unkind and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.”
Danger of Discouragement
In Joshua 1:9 we read this word from Yahweh to Joshua, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Moses was dead, giants and other unknown enemies awaited them across the Jordan river. From a human perspective there was much to fear, much to be discouraged about. Yet Yahweh instructs Joshua to not be discouraged, but rather to “be strong and courageous”. Yahweh reminds Joshua of His abiding presence.
I was recently reading in Paul Tripps book on Suffering and was greatly encouraged by the warning he offers regarding our times of discouragement.
Left unchecked, discouragement will become your eyes and ears, determining what you see and hear and how you see and hear it. Unchecked, it will become the master of your emotions and the ruler of your choices and actions. Unchecked, discouragement will rob you of your hope and motivation. It will steal your reason for doing good things. It will rob you of your ability to trust. It will make you closed, self-protective, and easily overwhelmed. Discouragement will sap you of your strength and courage. It will cause you to see negative where nothing is negative and miss the positive that is right in front of you. If given room, discouragement will tell you lies that have the power to destroy your life. Discouragement is natural for someone who is suffering, but it makes a very, very bad master.
If you find yourself in a moment or season of discouragement remember to “be strong and courageous”, remember that the LORD is with you. Look to Him. Lean on Him. Discouragement destroys but Yahweh delivers.
Suffering & Doubt – Chapter 6
When we find ourselves in seasons of suffering there are two primary perspectives we can have.
Before we consider the two perspectives, let’s define perspective. In this context perspective describes the way you view your suffering. You might think of it as the lens through which you choose to view your suffering.
One perspective is to view God, His character, and His promises through the lens of your suffering. This is our sinful and default position, because when suffering enters our life it presents itself as bigger than God. This dangerous and distorted view puts suffering in the position of power. This perspective allows suffering to define God, His character, and His promises – ultimately creating an idolatrous and false god.
The second perspective is to view your suffering through the lens of God, His character, and His promises. This is the way of the Spirit. This is the way of truth. This is the perspective that allows us to see our suffering for what it is. Suffering does not have free reign in our lives. Suffering is controlled and purposeful. Our good God who loves us is using the suffering of this broken world to accomplish His good ends.
Maintaining the right perspective is not easy. We know this from our own experiences of suffering, but we also know this from the record of Scripture. Many in the storyline of the Bible struggled to maintain the right perspective on suffering. Many of the Psalms begin from the wrong perspective, but line by line coarse correct until the Psalmist once again has a faithful and true perspective on God and our suffering.
The prophets bemoan their suffering, questioning Yahweh’s goodness, love, and sense of justice. One of my favorite examples is Habakkuk:
O LORD, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?
Or cry to you “Violence!”
and you will not save?
Why do you make me see iniquity,
and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
So the law is paralyzed,
and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
so justice goes forth perverted.Habakkuk 1:2-4
The prophets often ask “Why are the bad guys winning and the good guys losing?” “Why are we – your children – suffering?”
In chapter 6 of his book, Suffering, Paul Tripp addresses our doubts and how Satan’s modus operandi is to get us to question God’s character.
The Enemy is seeking to make us doubt the goodness, love, presence, and power of God. he knows that if we begin to question God’s character and power, we will quit going to God and seeking his help. (Tripp, Suffering, 94)
Christians we must fight for the right perspective. We must fight to view our suffering through the lens of God, His character, and His promises. To conclude the chapter Tripp provides a few practical ways we can combat our tendencies and maintain a right perspective.
- Fight the Devils Lies
- Count Your Blessings
- Daily Confess Your Struggle to Believe
- Get Busy Being Who You are in Christ – focus on the spiritual disciplines and discipleship work we are called to.
- Encourage Other Doubters
- Let Doubt Drive You to Jesus
Suffering – Chapter Four
In chapter four of “Suffering” Paul Tripp addresses the issue of fear. In our seasons of suffering fear grows large as God grows smaller.
When fear rules your heart, you don’t see or think about life accurately. You function with distorted vision that causes you to make wrong conclusions and bad decisions. And because fear distorts your vision, you trouble your own trouble. In counseling I have warned people over and over again that things were not as bad as they could be and that they could make them worse by responding to their trouble in the wrong way. So you have to fight to see life with the eyes of faith and not through the lens of fear.
We cannot allow fear to be the lens through which we view life and make decisions. In seasons of suffering we must pray along with the disciples, “Lord, increase our faith!” When I was in the emergency room, they wanted to try and re-locate the bones in my feet so they gave me a cocktail of drugs that seemed to release from reality. I could hear voices. I could feel the doctors pulling on my leg. At times my eyes would slightly open and I could see blobs moving about the room. I remember distinctly hearing the word “surgery”. I have to admit in that moment I was afraid.
Throughout the Bible there is an often repeated phrase: “The Lord was with him”. For instance in Joseph’s distress “the Lord was with him.” In that moment of disassociation in the ER the Lord was with me. The Holy Spirit began to flood my mind with Scripture and truth. Whether I was speaking out-loud or in my head (the nurses and doctors only know) I began to quote Scripture.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not lean to your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5)
“He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.” (Psalm 91:4-6)
When our fears begin to distort our faith, we need a greater fear, a fear that is the beginning of all wisdom – the Fear of the Lord. We must let God’s word – His truth – shape the way we are viewing life’s circumstances.