by RobertCummins | Oct 1, 2014 | 40. Moving Through Suffering
Psalm 109: 21-26
“For Thy name’s sake” is a key phrase in this passage. God, “for Thy name’s sake“, do this, or do that. The larger part of this psalm though is David asking God, for His name’s sake, to absolutely pulverize those who have slandered him. Wouldn’t it have been a shock for David to have encountered Jesus and heard Him say, “David, instead of Me destroying these people, I would like you to just forgive them; love them, turn the other cheek and then ask how you might serve them. And..by the way, I want you to start praying for these people not against them.”?
David was complimented by God as one who had an exceptional heart toward Him. I’m sure with his God-approved heart, David would eventually have gotten over His desire for revenge and personal vindication. I suspect one of the aspects of David’s heart that God loved and did approve of was his habit of presenting his own heart to God very honestly and very regularly. This is what I hear God applauding about David. He was a man who lived very presumptuously about God’s favor toward Him.
This psalm reveals at least three motivations in David’s heart. 1) David perceived that his own heart was wounded. He was weak and shaken. 2) David wanted relief from the suffering by way of improved circumstances. 3) He wanted to see and he wanted everyone else to see an outcome in his life that reflected well on God Himself. It seems David is not too different than us really.
We do not know what percentage of David’s heart was running on the “thy namesake“- motivational track, where his concern was exclusively for God’s glory; where he say’s, “and let them know that this is Thy hand; Thou Lord hast done it”. Even though David’s heart was mixed like ours in its motivations, God approved and endorsed it.
What percentage of our hearts are fueled by this motivation? Do we understand our hearts well enough to see that they are divided by many different motives, that we do many things which we tell ourselves are being done “for His name’s sake” when they are really being done for “our name’s sake”? Even if we could discern our ego’s vested self interest in singing that “special” or preaching that sermon or appearing in this or that light, can we then just flip a switch and suddenly be jealous only for God’s glory? If it were as easy as just flipping a switch the opportunity to know Him more intimately would be lost because moving through suffering with Him is a place where our union with Him can be realized and cherished.
In another psalm the writer places this petition before God, “Unite my heart to sing Thy praise“. It seems this writer understood his heart’s duplicitous motivation and was crying out for purification and refinement in the deepest part of himself. It is in this space where motivations reside. It is in this place that Jesus either becomes Lord or just a consultant brought in on an as-needed basis. I think the idea of Jesus being just a post-conversion consultant is a tragic and unbiblical idea that will result in tremendous loss to us on that day when we see Him face to face. “Lord, unite my heart to sing Thy praise” is a very sane prayer for a follower of Christ to be praying.
It is unpopular to say this, even among some of my closest friends, but I believe that suffering is one of the things that God uses to refine our heart’s motivations. I believe if we will process suffering in the Lord’s presence, we will not only come to know Him more intimately, but when we ultimately stand before Him, a greater portion of our hearts will be found, there in the light of His glory, to have been united – operating out of that sincere desire to see His name exalted and honored, above our own. Is this line of thinking a part of what it means to you to call Jesus Christ your Lord? Is Jesus our Savior and Lord to us or is He Savior and a consultant ? Or Savior and genie?
Father, help us to cooperate as you unite our hearts. Retrieve them from all the things we have given them over to; our reputations, our success, our ambition, our need for approval, our own comfort and our own glory. Unite our hearts to sing Your praise so that the predominant motivation within us really is all about “Thy name’s sake“. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Sep 30, 2014 | 40. Moving Through Suffering
1 Peter 4:12-19
Have you ever had to endure unpleasant circumstances that were beyond your control? It would sure be unusual if you haven’t. How is it that bad things happen to us when we have angels looking out for us, when Christ Himself is interceding for us and when God Himself, who is all-powerful and all-knowing is all for us? If God is my fortress, how did this stuff get over the mote and into the fortification?
This passage might be helpful in sorting out our answers. How are we as His followers to respond to suffering? What value, if any, is there to suffering? If we will permit Peter to speak to us, he will answer these questions that so many of us have asked or may be asking still;
1) Since Jesus has suffered, arm yourself with the very same purpose. 2) Don’t let suffering catch you off guard as if a test were an unexpected thing. 3) When You suffer according to God’s will, entrust Yourself to Him. 4) Christ shares His suffering with some. If you are privileged to be one of them, stay current in your rejoicing, knowing that exultation awaits you. 5) Trials and suffering are necessary sometimes. They serve as a refining fire for our faith which will prove more precious than gold. Responding well to suffering will result in the eternal benefit of praise and honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
I will once again recommend two classic books by the late Paul Billheimer; Don’t Waste Your Sorrows and Destined for the Throne. These books hammered home a spiritual reality into my belief system. It was that from life’s painful experiences, God could somehow create eternal value and blessing. So, when an event causing suffering came, there was always a hope and anticipation, albeit faint at times, that God was in the midst of the fire with me and that redemption would one day be evident. The presence of that idea has always help encourage perseverance and faith.
I do not look forward to suffering at all. But, if suffering is necessary, for some unknown reason, the last thing I want to do is squander any value that might be embedded in it by grumbling or becoming hard and embittered. I believe the same principle applies in all the various expressions of suffering ranging from inconvenience to catastrophe.
Father, We really don’t need to know why painful experiences come our way as Your followers. Regardless of our poor initial reaction to suffering help us to recover quickly, realizing that we are being raised as sons of God, as brothers and sisters to Jesus Christ and that You are a competent and loving parent who is capable of making use of everything that touches our lives regardless of where it comes from. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Sep 29, 2014 | 40. Moving Through Suffering
Hebrews 2:10-18
Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. (14-15)
When we look at humanity we see so many radically different groups and we wonder if harmony will ever be possible on earth. We see the ancients and the moderns, the communists and the capitalists, the Hindus and the Muslims, the young and the old, the devout and the debauched and a hundred other breakdowns. I wonder though, in light of verse 15, if there may just really be two categories of men, those who are free and those who are slaves. It says that it is the fear of death that the devil uses to subject men to slavery. How does he pull this off?
Fundamentally, the devil is a lying spirit and by propogating his myths, errors and distortions, he earns his title as the father of all lies. His power rests in his capacity to deceive. He works to convince many that God does not exist. For the rest who believe that He does, satan simply works to distort God’s nature and His ways.
What would you say is the greatest lie being told on the the earth in this hour? Wouldn’t it be that particular lie that causes the most suffering to the most people over the longest period of time? Other ways of asking the same question would be, “What lie do you think the Prince of Darkness works the hardest at promoting?” Or, “What deception, if exposed, would do the most damage to the kingdom of darkness?”
I am proposing that Satan’s worst nightmare is that the sons of God who are currently living as slaves will discover God’s provision of life in Christ and begin living as liberated sons and daughters – children of light – fearless citizens and credible representatives of an eternal kingdom. So, in this scenario, Satan’s most strategic lies are the ones holding the body of Christ in check – the ones you and I are currently and unwittingly entertaining in our own hearts.
When we do break into freedom, and we will because he is bringing many sons to glory, light will be released through the Church not just through better Sunday sermons but in the Word that was made flesh in Jesus and is even now being made flesh in Jesus’ many brothers and sisters. This family is right now spread out strategically in the earth, positioned to shine their light into that specific domain of darkness they have been called to expose.
Putting it mildly, slavery within the church is not a popular topic. How can a pastor speak to his congregation who is supposedely (at least in theory) free in Christ and insinuate that lies being entertained in their hearts are perhaps the place Satan, more than any other, is working to cause the most suffering to the most people over the longest period of time? If these lies exist, as I have proposed, what would they look like?
Since they are lies, and deceptive by nature, they are not going to be obvious to us. It is more likely that we, and others especially, will just see the outcome of the lies such as an absence of the fruit of the Spirit which we have simply come to terms with as normal. The evidence of lies shows up also as a shortfall of the power of the Spirit – a vacuum of the supernatural. We even form doctrines explaining this as normal. Promoting a lie until it becomes the expected norm in an individual or a group is how the enemy enslaves men.
Jesus, better than us, understands the temptation to sell out to the devil. He was posed with various lies in His 40 day wilderness exposure to the father of lies. If you recall these temptations all began with, “If you are the son of God, then you will……..”. Many of Satan’s most effective lies attack our identities. We allow these often negative thoughts and feelings about ourselves to take precedence over God’s words and feelings about us. I know from experience that some of this thinking can become so engrained and normal that deep down in our hearts we can entertain questions about our legitimacy, God’s existence and, amazingly, even His goodness. It is surprising how well we, even as Christians, can serve the father of lies. This is why praying Psalm 139: 23-24 may be as good a kingdom expansion strategy as there is.
Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.
Father, since through Your suffering, You have removed the basis of any fear we might have of death, let us give ourselves unreservedly to Your Life. Go after the half-truths and blatant lies the enemy has sold us that have enslaved us. Liberate us into the freedom of the sons of God which we and all creation are longing to see. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Oct 6, 2013 | 40. Moving Through Suffering
Psalm 42
“As the deer pants for the water brooks so my soul pants for Thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God“.
There are precious pearls within this psalm. I pray you can pause long enough to mine them out for yourself. Hint; the best miners are the best question askers. They have more treasures of all types than anyone. Questions are what come from the hearts of thirsting and panting souls. Listen to this soul’s questions: When shall I come and appear before God? Why are you in despair, O my soul and why are you disturbed within me? Why hast Thou forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of my circumstances?
There are different types of questions. Some questions are really just commentary in disguise – concealing the darkness of our doubts, bitterness and unbelief. Other questions are rhetorical – used for posturing and positioning. No answer is expected here because the proud soul already has all the answers it requires. There are also questions that are asked in order to collect the data we need to support our existing hypotheses. These types of questions will not unearth anything of lasting value. Then, there are the questions of those with no hardened pre-formed notions. These questions come from searching hearts. These are usually the hard questions we ask ourselves and God. These are the questions that reveal the hunger and thirst that equip the humble to encounter their God.
I was thinking yesterday that we are both “driven” and we are “drawn”. From behind we are driven by pain and fears that we dare not stop and face. We are totally persuaded that pausing to look those things in the face would be our undoing. We’ve been there and done that. We felt those deep and unwelcome questions gaining on us – those questions that our painful experiences have raised which, we sense, have no answers. This is not a problem though because we can turn up the volume and speed of life so that those questions are drowned out and left behind back there in the periphery of our consciousness. I believe our triune enemy (the world, the flesh and the devil) conspires to see that we remain “driven”.
The writer of this psalm, on the other hand, is on the track of one who is being “drawn”. They have slowed down and from the recesses of their consciousness there are painful questions surfacing which they are taking ownership of by giving voice to them; by writing them down. (The power of journaling rest in becoming a psalmist in our own right – becoming completely transparent before God.) I think this is what is going on when “deep is calling (drawing) unto deep” (vs 7). His Spirit is touching ours. His light is touching our darkness. His truth is touching our lies. This is where, by slowing down, eternity overtakes time and our hearts realize their connection to God. His light overtakes our darkness. This is a place where the world, the flesh and the devil are overthrown and captives are truly set free.
Beware though, when you start applying the breaks or turning down the volume of your life, the truly important (yet painful) things we have buried tend to surface. As this psalmist slows down and records his thoughts, listen to his troubled consciousness (the very thing we work overtime to avoid). More importantly though, listen to the psalmist intenionally embracing truths beyond his feelings and understanding.
My soul thirsts. I cry day and night. When will you bring relief God?
I REMEMBER – I HAVE PRAISED YOU BEFORE. I SHALL PRAISE YOU AGAIN!
Why are you in despair oh my soul?
I REMEMBER – I HAVE HAD EXPERIENCE WITH YOU. I SHALL HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH YOU AGAIN!
Thy breakers and Thy waves have rolled over me.
LORD, YOU WILL COMMAND YOUR LOVINGKINDNESS AND YOUR SONG WILL BE WITH ME IN THE NIGHT!
Why hast Thou forgotten me?
I WILL HOPE IN GOD. I SHALL YET PRAISE HIM. MY COUNTENANCE SHALL BE LIFTED!
This is going to be incomprehensible to some who are just natural songbirds sitting on that perch singing beautifully unhindered by introspection such as this. By all means sing away. You were a born warbler. Your precious song is a gift to us all. Suffering through anguished thoughts was not your lot. On the other hand if your song is really more like “whistling in the dark” try slowing down and catching up with the Lord.
This psalm is priceless. Here are a few of its gems. It demonstrates a man’s complete emotional honesty before God. It highlights the value of questions. It demonstrates that we do not need a priest, a vicar, or any intermediary between us and God. It demonstrates that a troubled heart can be a place of new beginnings. It demonstrates the power of deliberately recalling truth and declaring it to ourselves to combat questions that can become spiritually debilitating. It reveals that our wound, our failure or our restlessness may be transformed into thirst for God, an essential experience if we are to be drawn by God.
We must ask ourselves, “Are we being driven or are we being drawn?
Father, we are children of light. Teach us to live in your light even if when it gets
uncomfortable. Lead us into that place where we truly truly become the free souls you intended us to be – that place where Your sacrifice and suffering have not been squandered upon us. Help us to do our part in overthrowing the kingdom of darkness within us – those places where the world, the flesh and the devil have reigned too long, robbing from us the abundant life that You secured and is ours for the taking. May you succeed Lord in making us that city that is set upon a hill; that when an unbelieving world asks, “Just where is your God?”, You will be seen in the joy of our countenance, the vigor and purpose of our step. Your Life will be expressed through us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Oct 5, 2013 | 40. Moving Through Suffering
Isaiah 61:1-3
Jesus Christ (the anointed One). The word anoint means to cover or smear with oil. This passage begins with “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because He has anointed me to bring good news…“. Jesus claimed these words, spoken by Isaiah 7 centuries prior, as His own when he read them to His synagogue in Nazareth and told them, “today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing“. Jesus was covered with the Holy Spirit for the purpose of delivering a specific word to this earth. It was a wonderful word spoken to a specific group of people; people with these characteristics; afflicted, brokenhearted, captives, prisoners, those who mourn and are languid in spirit.
Why would God direct His word especially to this group? Aren’t these the characteristics of those we think of as “losers”? Our passage causes me to think of James 4:6 – “God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble“. I wonder if God is attracted to this group because they are the only ones who “have ears to hear”; ones who are more inclined to ask questions; ones whose experience has confirmed to them that they are in need? There is little God can say to a proud person. They don’t “have ears to hear”. They don’t have any questions because they have all the answers. The world thinks of these self sufficient types “winners”. But not God.
What was it that caused the gospel of Jesus the anointed One to become a revolution sufficient to turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6) in less than a century? Was it the early church’s facilities; their organizational genius; their ability to raise money; their programs; their vision? I believe primitive Christianity took root and grew because it got planted in the lives of humble people and first revolutionized their hearts. They were infected with a contagious new Life (not a new religion) that spread throughout the known world as these people told their stories one to another. Individuals who were captive to Satan were liberated. Its big news when an afflicted soul is given a new spirit and liberated from their captivity to sin and religion. Those who were mourning were given new hearts of praise. Those who were downcast and brokenhearted became encouraged. Diseased bodies were healed. These people had become what Isaiah referred to as “oaks of righteousness, the plantings of the Lord“. By them God would be glorified.
As a contractor I have always been partial to a passage in Amos where God appeared to this prophet next to a vertical wall holding a plumb line. In case you are unfamiliar with a plumb line, it a true reference point to build from. With the assistance of gravity a dangling weight defines a perfectly vertical reference point. I am inclined to refer to passages like this one in Isaiah or the book of Acts and say, wasn’t this supposed to be the reference point? Every builder knows you must have blue prints and bench marks so that the end product will look as the designer intended.
I suppose that for us, who are filled with His Holy Spirit, who are following Jesus, those to whom He has said, “as the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (Jn 20:21), we too, like our Master, are builders and should have the correct reference points. I have a friend I deeply respect notice that in my writing that I express a kind of disappointment in the local church and its leaders. This friend is pretty discerning. I confess that I have been judgmental in this regard. I am doing my best to repent of this terrible attitude and make restitution where my words have wounded people. Yet, after reconciliation is achieved. I still have a dilemma because I read the book of Acts. I don’t believe that it was included as a teaser. I believe it was included as a reference point for normal Christianity – a plumb line from which to measure.
I am wondering how the thing I am looking at, that we are calling church, turned out looking like it does if the scriptures were the reference point. I am appealing to the Designer for whatever change orders are required so Jesus can present this building – His Body, into which we have each been joined together as living stones, to the Father at the appointed time. In light of these thoughts, for those who are building, especially the overseers and elders, I think we must take a close look at the wall we are building to see if it matches the plumb line. Another way of approaching this would be to ask ourselves, “What criteria do we use to measure the health of our personal and our corporate spirituality?”.
Father, we know that one day You will present Your Bride to Your Father. This is the day that all creation longs for. This is the day for which, we as your children, groan, as in labor, awaiting to experience. May our hearts be humble and teachable in case we find there is some demolition needed there of old and unstable things that only appear acceptable when measured against tradition as opposed to the plumb line of Your word. Sustain our hearts should shaking be necessary. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Oct 4, 2013 | 40. Moving Through Suffering
Hebrews 4:14-16
“In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33 sheds light on our passage)
This was the verse that popped up in my YouVersion Bible app. Without that declaration, “I have conquered the world“, it would be difficult to connect “Taking heart” and “continued difficulties“. So, what does that mean, that Jesus has conquered the world? How much relief am I to expect in my continuing difficulties by virtue of His victory?
Jesus is presented to us in our passage as the great high priest. Why does the author give him status as “great”? The traditional duty of a high priest was to oversee the sacrifices and to offer up the blood of beasts in behalf of Israel’s sins. This inspired author points to Jesus coming down from His high place in heaven and taking on human flesh so that he could experience our frailty and temptation. He was great because in doing this He never once sinned. He was also great because He didn’t just oversee the sacrifices. He became the sacrifice, once for all.
His sinless life qualified Him as a spotless, perfect sacrifice whose death met heaven’s criteria, blood from an unblemished substitute, for the cleansing of mankind’s sin. It was in this sacrifice that He secured a victory for all who would believe in Him. It was at the cross that He conquered the world. This is what made Jesus a great high priest.
So, beyond the obvious gratitude and thanks that is due Him, what other application is there for us, now that we have a fresh reminder of God’s greatness? Two things; the first; Holding fast to our confession. In Romans 10:9-10 Paul ties our profession to our salvation. I don’t believe he was speaking only of the initial profession of faith our traditions require at baptism. I believe Paul was speaking of a life style of profession where our union and our experience with Christ is expressed throughout our lives in the midst of ongoing difficulties.
The second application is; Drawing near to God with with confidence. The early part of Hebrews 4 is discussing the essential nature of rest in a believer’s life. Resting from our works mentality (that thing in us that says approval from God is earned) will keep us from coming confidently before God. Resting in God’s work on the cross enables us to come boldly before His throne so that we may find grace in the difficulties we are told we will encounter in this world.
We live in a great cosmic war with men’s eternal souls as the prize. I can imagine our hearts as a kind of beach head in this earth, like Normandy in WW II, where The Lord of Hosts Himself has entered into a stronghold of enemy opposition. The ground we permit Him to take in our hearts translates into our confession (or the telling of our story). With the formidable weapon of our testimonies we combat Satan who is always saying something to this effect, “Just look around. You and I both know you are outgunned. We both know exactly who is in charge here. The reason that this world appears as a godless place is because it is a godless place. Hasn’t your suffering confirmed to you yet that God is absent or indifferent? Don’t you think that If God was as good and all powerful as He claimed, He would have relieved you of your suffering by now?”
On spiritual warfare. While there are no doubt great spiritual battles being waged in the heavens between intercessors and spiritual principalities, I think every believer is on the front line of the battle being waged on earth; one that may be ongoing right now in the midst of our own individual hearts. We will discover our destinies as conquerers as Satan’s lies are dislodged and rooted our of our belief systems. When we learn to watch over our hearts with all diligence, there will be a dramatic shift in the battle. The greatest warriors are those who have learned to rest.
I picture the end of times concluding with Satan’s last accusatory, condemning and intimidating lies being drowned out by our professions of God’s faithfulness; of His proven greatness in delivering us from and sustaining us through our continuing difficulties.
Father, give counsel to our hearts that we may arrive at Your perspective on the difficulties of our lives. Help us to meet You in the midst of life whatever comes our way. Show us where and how to resist enemy attacks and show us where to rest and entrust our circumstances to you. Amen.
