All are welcome!
Month: January 2012
Deep Waters of the Heart
The National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration reports that 95% of the seas remain unexplored and unseen by human eyes. Yet, Psalm 104:24-29 tells us that our God is currently sustaining every creature of the ocean. Psalm 139:1-4 also proclaims that God has searched each one of us and knows us intimately. What does this mean for our own lives? I pray this poem helps us realize:
Deep and murky waters
Yet largely unexplored
Holding strange and diverse creatures
Skimming ocean floors.
No human eye has glimpsed
All your spaces, oh, so broad;
Your expanse while truly finite
Is largely left untrod.
The seas contain such creatures
As small as plankton all adrift,
As large as whales whose tails
Above the waves do lift.
Ocean, you are vast
Containing mystery profound,
An environment so odd to us
Who traverse mainly solid ground.
Yet God is ever-watchful
Down in the depths obscure;
He feeds each curious creature
That swims below, beyond the shore.
Though humans stand mainly unaware
Of sundry species in the seas,
God sustains through each second
Every single one of these.
Numbered and known by their Creator
All swimming creatures are fed
By He who told the very oceans
How far their boundaries could spread.
As life above the sea goes on
And we grasp so little of what’s below,
So life outside our heart goes on
And our depths we do not show.
How glorious a thought, then,
That God, who feeds the creatures of the deep,
Searches out this heart of mine
Though the crags inside be steep.
Even I do not understand
The depths of my own heart;
But God is down where I cannot see
Sustaining every part.
Sea creatures thrive far down below
Without human intervention;
My soul goes on despite confusion
For my life is God’s intention.
Swim on, beautiful creature
In the deep waters of the sea;
For God sees every move you make
And sustains you constantly.
Live on, beautiful child of God
Though you do not understand;
For God sees every part of you
And still holds tightly to your hand.
Does God See my Couch?
Our sitting and rising are often indicative of a change in circumstance and mindset. When we shift our location or position, it is usually with intention. Therefore, these events mark pivotal moments.
My rising from bed in the morning is a key moment. My attitude at that point often sets the tone for the start of my day. Many factors play into the feeling at my daybreak rising: How well did I sleep? What were my thoughts as I drifted off to rest the evening before? How well does my body feel? What events await me? What appointments will I face today? What human interactions await me today? How much work lies ahead?
Similarly, our sitting down in a particular spot marks important thoughts. Many factors play into our feelings as we sit down in our office chair: Why I am employed here? What is the real purpose of my life? Who will affirm my value today? Who will try my patience? Will my paycheck cover my financial needs? How late do I have to work? Am I smart enough to complete this project? Why don’t more people like me? Will I have a job next month?
Or, perhaps you are sitting down on the couch in your family room. It is your time to relax . . . or not to relax. Flowing through your mind as you sit in the comfort of your own home may be considerations such as: Why will my mind not stop racing? Will I be lonely again this evening? Why did I make bad decisions today? Why is my house not as nice as someone else’s home? What do I need to get done this week? What should I do with the next hour? Why do I feel so overwhelmed at the end of each day?
No matter where or when we sit – or where or when we rise – one fact remains . . . the Lord knows all about it. He is not a God removed from His creation. He is ever-present and all-knowing. David confidently proclaimed of the Lord in Psalm 139:2 (NIV), “You know when I sit and when I rise.” What comfort! I face no change in circumstances and no shift in thought alone. My God is with me, taking it all into His consideration. No other person on the face of the earth may understand my heart as I bend my knees to gently sit or plant my feet on the floor to firmly rise, but God – who is both on the face of the earth and above the earth – apprehends my every idea.
God sees every positional transition of my body and every mental activity of my mind. He knows. He knows. He knows. Moreover, God generates an endless number of thoughts toward us to cover every circumstance we face. Not only does He see, our Lord is thinking. He is sending His own heart straight to us. The God who is sovereign over the entire universe is thinking innumerable things about you! David said in Psalm 139:17-18 (NIV), “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.”
I recently learned that Lady Gaga has nearly eighteen million people following her on Twitter. This essentially means that at least eighteen million humans are thinking of her. That astounding fact is nothing compared to God’s thoughts aimed at you! His precious ideas for your life cannot even be counted! To meet every question of your heart is a thought of God. To surpass every movement and occurrence of your life is an answer of God. You need not be famous or talented or rich to have the only One who really counts thinking of you always.
Are you sitting and about to rise? Are you standing and about to sit? God knows. Whatever it is you will ponder or have to face in your change of position, God has a thought of His own to meet it and conquer it. He knows when you sit and when you rise, and His thoughts toward you are innumerable! Rise and sit . . . fully assured.
The End of the World as We Know It
“Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?” – II Peter 3:11 (NIV)
A definite, predetermined, cataclysmic event awaits us. It is not far off, as understood in the context of God’s plan. The world knows it will happen; though people may refer to vague and remote catastrophes such as the earth falling into the expanding sun after a few billion years, or a massive asteroid impact, or dreaded and deadly nuclear war, or a black hole disaster, or any other number of proposed life-ending episodes.
No matter what people propose as the method, something in human nature points to a general feeling of the temporary nature of this world as we currently know it. In their suspicion of final destruction, humans are right. However, the circumstances and the ultimate result are critical.
The infallible Word of God reports to us the glaring and glorious reality: everything of this earth as we know it will be destroyed. Peter is specific, “The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare” (II Peter 3:10, NIV). As straightforward as this message is and as threatening as it sounds, God tells us to look forward to this earth’s end (II Peter 3:12). Why? Because the dissolution of what is imperfect and painful means a rebuilding into what is perfect and delightful. Jesus must clear the old to make room for the perpetually new!
Getting back to the heartbeat of Peter’s theme of introspection here, we listen to him say once again, “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?” Wow. This is one serious, life-altering question. Everything of this earth and heavens is going to be consumed by fire – absolutely everything. What, then, should be my focus? What should my life look like? What should constitute the moments of my days, the thoughts of my mind, and the affections of my heart?
My life would be quite radical in comparison to the average life if I honestly lived by the proposition that this current world system is headed for a colossal undoing. Does the constant redecorating of my house just to keep up with current trends really matter? Does a scratch on my new car bother me more than the sin in my own heart? Is my investment in another vacation or summer home important compared to my investment in the seeking of lost souls in this life? Are hours of television viewing a worthy endeavor compared to the saturation of my mind with the living Word of God? To put it another way, what am I doing? What kind of person am I?
A temptation of the enemy is to get us to live moments in light of the here and now, rather than in light of the immense change just on the horizon. Hebrews 10:37 (NIV) describes it this way, “For in just a very little while, ‘He who is coming will come and will not delay.'” He will come in just a very little while. Though the end of this current world seems so far away, it comes upon us quickly. Our timeless God does not view events as we do. He knows Jesus will be coming back soon. We need to listen to God’s truth and prepare ourselves in light of what He knows – not what our opinion or feeling is. We may not sense the return of the Lord while we brush our teeth in the morning, but the truth remains. Though I do not always feel the reality of the impending eradication of the world, I need to operate according to that truth.
The entire Bible is God’s Word. Everything will be destroyed. Then righteousness will reign in the Person of Jesus Christ. So, what kind of person should I be?
A Warning with an Astonishing Promise
We simply do not have forever to seek and find God. The implication of His straightforward message is clear, “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6, ESV). Obviously, then, there is a time that He may be found; but that time has an end point. Likewise, He remains near in His willingness to receive sorrowful people repenting of sin; but He stays close in this way for only a season. Two future time frames appear on every human horizon: 1) a person’s own death, and 2) God’s full revelation of His final wrath. Since we can escape neither event, we must be prepared for them. The only and glorious provision for safety is seeking God while He is ready to be found. If we need to cry out in repentance, now is the time to call. More important than clean dishes, a televised sports event, completed homework, a dusted dining room, dinner out with friends, a brisk walk, or any other impending task is the responsibility of calling out to our God who – for this moment at least – can still be encountered as One ready to receive us.
And do not be afraid to seek Him now. For this is His promise, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:7, ESV). How beautifully the words ring out that a wicked person – one who is guilty of sin – and an unrighteous person – one who is troubled by his vain pursuit of sinful ways – can both return to the Lord to find compassion! We expect our treachery has no cure, and we fear the reaction we so commonly find in other humans. But, no! When we forsake sin and turn toward God, He covers us with mercy and tender affection. Moreover, He welcomes us back in such a manner that the Bible describes as “abundant pardon.” The Hebrew root of the word pardon is forgiveness backed by the idea of “lightness” or “lifting up.” The burden of guilt is removed, and we are once again raised up by God. We can walk freely with a spiritual and emotional spring in our step, for God has forgiven us.
He pardons us abundantly, not sparingly or with a grudge. The same word used here for “abundantly” is used in Genesis 1:22 to describe the multiplication of sea creatures in the ocean and birds in the sky following God’s initial creation. Can you imagine? Can you picture the innumerable fish in the depths of the sea? The untold amount of microscopic plankton filling the waters? The countless little birds and butterflies in the skies above us? Those realities are to remind us of the amount of forgiveness – enough to cover every sin – which God offers to those who cry out now.
Does the compassion of God to us sinful people seem incomprehensible? It surely may be to us, but this does not negate its reality. When you think it’s too good to be true, you need to read God’s reminder to us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9, ESV). Yes – it is true – I do not understand the depth of His forgiveness. My mind cannot wrap itself around such an offer of hope. Yet, there it is. The reason I don’t quite “get it” is that God’s thoughts and ways are infinitely higher than mine. He is altogether perfect, the Definer of what is. I will trust that what I cannot understand remains real, for the Maker of human reasoning capacity is greater than human reasoning.
Seek Him now; call upon Him while He is near, because the opportunity will not last forever. He will abundantly pardon. It seems too good to be true, but is is not. It is the way of God.