Stale Relationships or Living Faith?

Some time ago, I heard a sermon on Exodus 16 by Pastor Charles Price, about the Israelites and the gift of manna in the wilderness, entitled “Manna: the food that didn't satisfy.”

Price says that the manna given to the Israelites in the wilderness is “the picture of the freshness, of the supply everyday. You see you and I are not invited to live on stale relationships with Jesus Christ; we are intended to live on the basis of a fresh daily supply of life and strength and nourishment.”

This is why daily devotions are so important: We can't “live tomorrow or today on yesterday's supply” (Price).

You won't find a relationship with a friend, family member, or significant other fulfilling if you never communicate with them. The same is true for our relationship with God. Although He is always faithful, we will not feel the true power of our relationship with Him if we do not learn more about Him or communicate with Him through prayer.

“Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning.” 

Lamentation 3:22

“'His mercies are new every morning' . . . . God gives us today what we need today; He gives us tomorrow what we need tomorrow. He doesn't give us today what we need tomorrow.”

We also should not try to run ahead of God and spent time in anxious worry about tomorrow. Jesus warns of this tendency too, saying,

“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.”

(Matthew 6:30-32 ESV)

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

(Matthew 6:34 ESV)

God wants us to keep us in a fresh relationship with with, resting in Him for all that we need. When we stay in this close relationship with Him, we will have the confidence to trust that He will daily fulfill both our physical needs and our spiritual needs.

The song in the video below really expresses this idea: God truly leads us step by step!

The Lord is My Light

"The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

(Psalm 27:1 ESV)

“Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;

when I fall, I shall rise;

when I sit in darkness,

the Lord will be a light to me.” (Micah 7:8)

My God is a Pillar of Fire,

a light to His people, and

darkness to His enemies

as He was at the Red Sea. (Exodus 14:19-20)

“His lamp shines upon my head,

and by his light I walk through darkness” (Job 29:3)

“because the darkness is passing away

and the true light is already shining.” (1John 2:8b)

And He has promised that

my “life will be brighter than the noonday;

its darkness will be like the morning.” (Job 11:17)

Therefore I sing praises to Him in the night: (Ps 42:8)

“For it is you [Lord] who light my lamp;

the Lord my God lightens my darkness.” (Ps 18:28)

“For with [You] is the fountain of life:

in [Your] light shall we see light.” (Ps 36: 9)

"The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light."

Romans 13:12

A God We Can Count On: Confessing Ps 23 "I shall not want"

[Continuing from A God We Can Count On: Confessing Ps 23 "The LORD is my Shepherd"]

"I shall not want." 

Because He is YHWH, we can continue to confess His active compassion (The Knowledge of the Holy, A.W. Tozer 90).

Because the LORD is God and because He IS Who He IS, we do not need to fear being without anything. His Being is enough. In Him we have everything we need.

This is where so many of us fall down in our sin. We don't remember that YHWH is enough.

Or rather, we don't actively trust that He is enough. We may know in our head that we are supposed to trust God for everything, but we don't act as though we do. We try to do it ourselves or we trust in other things--money, reputation, approval, job security, a family member. We basically say, "I trust Him spiritually, but I trust __________ a bit more in 'real life'".

We might even say that we are trusting God to provide for us, but that "God helps those who help themselves." While it is true that we are to steward the resources we have, we must be careful not to treat our actions and our choices as "the end," rather than the means. If we view our choices as helping or hindering God in His plans and provision, we are limiting His omnipotence. The means by which He works His sovereign will do not determine its success. While our mistakes may hinder us in our Christian walk, God  is not confined by them. This is not to say that we should not take our decisions seriously, that we can say "Let go and let God" and just do what we feel like. Our choices still must reflect our new life in Christ.

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? [2] By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? [3] Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? [4] We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

(Romans 6:1-4 ESV)

We can still sin in how and what we choose. We can, however, take comfort in the fact that despite our mistakes, God will do His will. Even when we do not trust Him as we ought, we do not need to worry that we have somehow "messed up" and we will be left "wanting" until we have "fixed" our lack of trust. His provision is only reliant on His character, not ours. Because "the LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want."

Paper Flowers

 I haven't had a chance to go to find myself some yellow mums or some tulips or some other spirit-lifting spring greenery, so I made myself these tissue paper peonies out of desperation the other day. February this year has been a month of what seems like endless grey and I needed some brightness in my life. Yellow flowers, even fake ones, just make my day happier--particularly in the middle of a particularly bleak winter. It feels as though I haven't seen the sun in weeks. We've had snow and rain and drizzle and sleet, and the miasma of cloud above us seems endless. I don't need the heat of summer, but I just need some sun! I feel like I'm wilting here. . . I'm not a mushroom, after all!

My paper flowers are in no way comparable to the real thing. Real flowers have rich colour, satin petals, green leaves, and perfume. They are living things and no fake can compare--that is pretty obvious. But I'm so desperate for flowers, that even a poor semblance of them is acceptable. Even something that I made out of the flimsiest of paper with my scissors and a bit of wire is better than nothing.

While that may be a bit pathetic, I admit,  it is also nothing less than the truth, and that got me thinking.

I know that the sun is somewhere beyond clouds--the fact that I can see without needing a lamp is evidence of that--but knowing it is there and feeling it warm on my face are two very different things.

It is the same thing with other things in our lives. I can know that God has what is best for me planned, but when I can't see beyond the clouds I'm living through now, I don't always feel it. Faith says I can believe it, I can hope in it, can trust that it is true, but sometimes I sing with David, "How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?" (Psalm 13:1 ESV).

The future can seem like one endless grey winter sometimes with only periodic rays of sunshine piercing the gloom. It can make it hard to live with hope. All too often, it seems, we make the mistake of settling for what we can get, the paper flowers of this world. Like children not yet tall enough to see over the wall to the beautiful, sunny garden next door, we grasp at the paper flowers we find on our side, and cry when they aren’t perfumed and crumble away in our hands. Those taller than we are tell us how gorgeous that garden is, but we still live in doubt that it actually exists. If we could only see the other side of the wall, we say, we could make the right choice, we could live in faith, we could be content to wait. But we still clutch at the fakes, only to be disappointed when they don't fulfill us. And that is the problem: paper flowers don't really satisfy for long when what you really want, what you need, is the sun. 

Sometimes I find myself grasping at these paper flowers in a bid to somehow fill the empty spot that can only ever be filled by God. Sometimes it is hard to live without the instant gratification that "things" provide. There are times when I don't run to God like I should, but find other "lovers". In that sense I only too closely resemble Old Testament Israel, particularly as portrayed by Isaiah and Hosea. Thankfully, however, I don't have to rely on myself to bring me back "into true" because I can't do it myself. But just like in Hosea 2:14, God allures me and brings me back and reminds me that I don't have to make paper flowers, that He is the "Sun of Righteousness" and He is always there.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

(Romans 15:13 ESV)

(As I was writing this, the sun peeked through a gap in the cloud cover: I even saw blue sky!! Briefly. Before the sun set and it was gone again.)

A God We Can Count On: Confessing Ps 23 "The LORD is my shepherd"

[1] The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

[2] He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters. 

[3] He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake. 

[4] Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me. 

[5] You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows. 

[6] Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

(Psalm 23 ESV)

Psalm 23 is such a well-known passage. It gets quoted and read time and time again, in books, in movies, in times of illness, in times of trial, at funerals, etc. It has become one of those Bible passages which over-familiarity has made into a cliché.

The thing is, it shouldn't be a cliché. There is a reason that so many Christians have found comfort in these words. There is a reason that so many books and sermons and meditations have been written on and about the Twenty-Third Psalm.

It is a confession of faith in a God we can count on.

"The LORD is my shepherd."  

I was reading through this passage the other day and was struck by the fact that this passage literally says "YHWH is my shepherd";Yahweh is the name,  "I AM WHO I AM", revealed to Moses in Exodus 3:14. There is no other or better place to start in our confession but with Who God says He is. God IS. This is where we have our genesis. This is our foundation. The rest of the psalm is predicated on this first short phrase. Because "I AM WHO I AM" is our Shepherd, we can rest in His unchanging character. He is unchanging--because we are so temporal and whimsical, we cannot seem to remember this for long, but it is God's immutability that is our assurance when we look at His other attributes.

His grace is unchanging.
His faithfulness is unchanging.
His mercy is unchanging.
His holiness is unchanging.
His justice is unchanging.
His love is unchanging.

This list could continue on for pages and still--He is eternal and He does not change.

The littleness that is us cannot comprehend the magnitude of this blessing. But we can rest in the comfort that He is YHWH and He will not change.

[21] But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
[22] The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
[23] they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
[24] “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”

(Lamentations 3:21-24 ESV)

A Still, Small Voice

That look—the one only a parent (or a teacher) can give to an erring child—its message is unmistakable—stop it or face the consequences. The parent doesn't have to say a word—no yelling required—but the child gets the message.

God often works with us in the same way. We can see this with Elijah in 1 Kings 19: 9-18. Elijah is on the run after Jezebel has threatened to kill him. He has gone through the wilderness and has been met and nourished by God for the journey, and finally he comes to a cave where he decides to stop. After Elijah decides to stop running, God comes to him and confronts him with a question. “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Elijah doesn't really answer the question, but instead trots out his excuses: “I've been doing all this good stuff for you, Lord, but those unbelievers are trying to kill me, the only prophet left.”

God doesn’t reply to this, but instead tells Elijah to “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” Elijah obeys and is shown three powerful elements–wind, earthquake, and fire. But the Lord is in none of these. Then he hears “the sound of a low whisper” a small, still voice (NKJV) and this is the Lord.

Despite His power, God doesn't often come with a pounding at the door or a thunderbolt or a whirlwind or something else equally earth-shattering. Often He comes with a gentle tap—the “still small voice” which is just as much God's call as any of the “obvious” calls and/or warnings He may send. The trouble is that the quiet prod at the conscience or the tender oh-so gentle reminder can be so easily pushed away. God's “low whisper” is easy to ignore—especially when our life is going well. It is more easily ignored than the wind, earthquake, and fire. Yet His whispers are no less convicting than these. 

The little voice that speaks in your heart—the one that reminds you of the things you have or haven't done—the things you've been neglecting—that voice is easy to stifle with busyness and other things.

This tendency to let the busyness of life (whether intentionally or not) drown out the still small voice is what part of what Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung outlines in her book Glittering Vices as being a big part of the vice of sloth. She writes that “the apathetic inertia of the lazy person andthe perpetual motion of the busy person [ . . . ] both reveal a heart afflicted by this vice.” Traditionally, the vice of sloth is opposed to diligence; however, DeYoung points out that it is not just about the difference between apathy and work ethic. Instead, she says that busyness and workaholism are “sloth's classic symptoms.” 

Sloth isn't just about not doing things; it IS about not doing what you shouldbe doing.

God comes with a still, small voice. He waits to be gracious to us (Isa30:18) —He does not willingly grieve the children of men (Lam 3:33b). But if He has to be rough with us, He will be. Just look at how he deals with Israel's inconstancy throughout the Old Testament. However, He is merciful and very, very patient. He even repeats Himself to get the message into our thick skulls and stony hearts.

Looking at how God deals with Elijah, we can see that repetition plays a large role. God asks Elijah twice “What are you doing here?” and even though He gets the same self-centred answer from Elijah both times, He still persists, reminding Elijah that He is in control, NOT Jezebel.

God doesn’t leave us alone; He repeats Himself—a lot—because He wants us with HIM.

Sometimes it might be easier to get the earthquake— because we would have a clear sign—but then we wouldn't have to follow God's command, to listen and be obedient.

1 Kings 19: 9-18
9 There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold,the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” 11 And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.

13 And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” 15 And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.17 And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. 18 Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

Wilderness: Part 4 “Running Away”

1 Kings 19:1-18 ESV

1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow. 3 Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers. 5 And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, Arise and eat. 6 And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you. 8 And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.

9 There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah? 10 He said, I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away. 11 And he said, Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord. And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. 13 And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, What are you doing here, Elijah? 14 He said, I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away. 15 And the Lord said to him, Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. 16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. 17 And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. 18 Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him. (italics mine)

Elijah flees, afraid for his life, yet, a day’s journey into the wilderness, he asks God to “take away” his life, claiming, “It is enough.” The phrase is a foreshadowing of Christ’s “It is finished”, but Christ’s work was complete, truly finished, while Elijah’s is “enough” only in his estimation. Yet God takes pity on him, and feeds him, two times telling him to “Arise and eat.” After his journey (40 days and 40 nights, yet another foreshadowing of Christ, this time of his time being tempted in the wilderness), he lodges in a cave. It seems as though he takes up residence there for a time.

God comes to him, and asks “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Elijah whines out that “those unbelievers are trying to kill me, the only prophet left.”

God doesn’t reply to this obvious excuse, but instead tells Elijah to “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” Elijah obeys and is shown three powerful elements–wind, earthquake, and fire. But the Lord is in none of these. Then he hears “the sound of a low whisper” a small, still voice–This is the Lord.

Once again the Lord asks “What are you doing here, Elijah?” And Elijah repeats verbatim his first answer to the question. And again the Lord tells him to “Go,” but this time sends him away–he is sent to “the wilderness of Damascus”–he has a job to do there.

All this time, Elijah has been in the wrong wilderness!!

He ran away, afraid to be killed for his faith, yet asks the Lord to take away his life. Elijah has been hiding in the wilderness. He excuses his actions–they want to kill me–forgetting that his life is not in his own hands, but in God’s Hands. Only God has control over it. And God has the right to command him–whether to life or to death. Elijah has the duty to obey–no questions, no trying to hide from something he can’t control–no excuses. God shows him that even one still, small voice is important–that he cares for that voice–feeding it so that it will not faint and die on the journey–40 days and 40 nights. God doesn’t have it in for Elijah, and Elijah is not left to Jezebel’s whims–God is always in control. But Elijah must reminded of this, even after the great acts he did in God’s name just before this (see preceding chapter).

Sometimes God calls, allures, us into the wilderness to commune with Him–sometimes we run there, trying to escape His plans, and hiding from His purpose for us. We think–I’d rather die by God’s Hands, than by “others”, forgetting that we always die when God decrees it. We can never hide from death because God is in control of both our living and our dying.

Are you in the wilderness because God has allured you there or because you are hiding from His purpose? Ask–Am I being refreshed and thriving here or am I parched and withering?

God “knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.” (Ps. 103:14) He feeds us in the wilderness, even when we are trying to leave Him, trying to run away.

When we run away from God’s will for us, we enter the wrong wilderness, a wilderness where there are no living streams to quench our thirst–we enter a wilderness of our own making, a wilderness away from God. Yet, thanks be, God “never leaves us or forsakes us,” even though we may try to leave Him. He is so merciful, even repeating Himself to get the message into our thick skulls and stony hearts. Looking at the above passage, we can see that repetition plays a large role. God doesn’t leave us alone; He wants us with HIM.

Elijah was fleeing from Jezebel, who desired to kill him. We may be fleeing our own Jezebel–those sinful parts of us that want to kill off the good. However, we can also be fleeing what is right–standing up against our evil nature. We chicken out, running away from the situation, pretending it doesn’t exist and praying for God to “take us now,” so that we don’t have to fight anymore. We don’t like killing ourselves, our old nature–that would be self-sacrifice–something we really don’t like. Our old nature is so attractive, after all. We’d rather run away and avoid the situation, than face it and die. When we run away from the fight, we are running away from God. We don’t, it seems, think He is worth our life. So rather than do the right thing, even though it will cost us something important, we run like cowards, and wonder why God has “left” us alone.

We must pray:

Ps. 139

[1] O LORD, you have searched me and known me!

[2] You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

you discern my thoughts from afar.

[3] You search out my path and my lying down

and are acquainted with all my ways.

[4] Even before a word is on my tongue,

behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.

[5] You hem me in, behind and before,

and lay your hand upon me.

[6] Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

it is high; I cannot attain it.

[7] Where shall I go from your Spirit?

Or where shall I flee from your presence?

[8] If I ascend to heaven, you are there!

If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

[9] If I take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

[10] even there your hand shall lead me,

and your right hand shall hold me.

[11] If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,

and the light about me be night,”

[12] even the darkness is not dark to you;

the night is bright as the day,

for darkness is as light with you.

[13] For you formed my inward parts;

you knitted me together in my mother's womb.

[14] I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works;

my soul knows it very well.

[15] My frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

[16] Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your book were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there was none of them.

[17] How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

[18] If I would count them, they are more than the sand.

I awake, and I am still with you.

[19] Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!

O men of blood, depart from me!

[20] They speak against you with malicious intent;

your enemies take your name in vain.

[21] Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?

And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?

[22] I hate them with complete hatred;

I count them my enemies.

[23] Search me, O God, and know my heart!

Try me and know my thoughts!

[24] And see if there be any grievous way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting!

(Psalm 139 ESV)

Ps. 143:8,10 “Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me to know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul…10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”

Wilderness: Part 3 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her”

Even so would he have allured thee out of the jaws of distress into a broad place, where there is no straitness; and the supply of thy table [would be] full of fatness. Job 36:16 (Darby Translation)

Even so would he have removed thee out of the strait into a broad place, where there is no straitness; and that which should be set on thy table should be full of fatness. Job 36:16 (KJV)

Indeed, God would have allured you out of the mouth of distress into a broad place where there is no situation of perplexity or privation; and that which would be set on your table would be full of fatness.
Job 36:16 (Amplified Bible)

Then indeed, He enticed you from the mouth of distress, Instead of it, a broad place with no constraint;
And that which was set on your table was full of fatness. Job 36:16 (New American Standard)

Indeed, He lured you from the jaws [a] of distress to a spacious and unconfined place. Your table was spread with choice food. ([a]Lit from a mouth of narrowness) Job 36:16 (Holman Christian Standard)

The word in the above Bible verse is translated in various ways: allured, lured, enticed, removed. At first I thought that this was the same word as used in Hosea 2:14 (Therefore, behold, I will allure her….), however, this, I discovered, is not the case. I went looking for different verses using this word and discovered that the word translated “allure” in Hosea 2:14 (pathah) is completely different than that in Job 36:16 and is used in more pejorative contexts, particularly those involving deceit and persuasion. The word “allured/removed/lured/enticed” in Job 36:16 (cuwth) is also used in contexts of persuasion, but it actually is a more literal translation in that it does mean “allure, entice” (it can also be used when someone instigates someone to evil). The definition of the second word (cuwth) does not involve seduction(the first, pathah, does); this word seems to apply to a more forthright type of persuasion, rather than one of deceit/trickery.

It is interesting that it is the deceitful/seductive “allure” that is used in Hosea 2:14. Because Israel is so foolish, God must seduce her into the wilderness, playing on her gullibility and sensuality (she has gone “whoring” after other gods) to get her alone with Him.

This makes sense when viewed in light of a following verse, Hosea 2: 16: And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call me Ishi, and shalt call me no more Baali.

Ishi means in this context (see KJV) “Husband”, while Baali means “My Lord” or “Master” (Baal is also the name of a heathen god). Israel views the Lord as a taskmaster who has laid requirements upon her, while He wants to be her Husband and His laws are only just. Israel (and all man) broke God’s laws in the Garden of Eden, ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and now has to live by laws. If Man had not fallen, we would not have to have laws: we would have lived by God’s will naturally.

Israel’s rightful Husband must seduce his Bride in order to get the chance to regain her affections.

In Job 36:16, God removes Israel from a place of want (“strait” place, “mouth of distress”, “mouth of narrowness”) to a broad place where all her needs are met. Her appetite is sated with fat. (Besides being very desirable in a situation of starvation, fat is also a wonderful vehicle for flavour. God gives His people sustenance and savour in the food He puts before her. In the old temple sacrifices, God always required the fat, the part with the most caloric value.)

God allures Israel from the jaws of distress. Israel doesn’t want to leave, even though she is starving. God has to persuade her, entice her, from a place of want. He lures her to a place where she has plenty to eat. This applies to physical needs as well as spiritual ones.

Wilderness: Part 2 “A Refuge in the Wilderness”

Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.

Hosea 2:14 KJV

Who is that coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved? Song of Solomon 8:5a ESV

And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest. Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah. I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest. Ps. 55:6-8 KJV

The wilderness is not just a place of desolation, but also a place of refuge. God leads us, “allures” us into the wilderness to be alone with us. The wilderness is a place of silence and rest. It is harsh and apparently barren, but it is also a place to be alone in meditation, away from the bustle and noise of everyday life (“the windy storm and tempest” that buffets us). We can listen in the wilderness, like Elijah, for that “still, small voice” which is the voice of God(1 Kings 19:12).

Before Christ began his ministry, directly after his baptism, he spent time in the wilderness, forty days and forty nights. “And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness”(Luke 4:1). Christ was tempted of the devil there, it was a time of testing, as it often is for us as well; however, later Christ went away from the crowds to pray and commune with God. “And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone” (Matt. 14:23). An apparently barren place becomes a fruitful place of prayer.

Being led, allured, into the wilderness does not mean that our spiritual life is put on hold, while we struggle through a desert on our own, beset by the temptation to give up and yield to the seductions of the world. God brings us into the wilderness to “speak comfortably” to us, as an alternate translation(Darby) says, “to speak to [our] heart[s]“. 

The silence allows us to hear Him speak; in the wilderness His voice is not drowned out by the tempests and distractions of the world. By the grace of God, we can find wells of life-giving water in the wilderness, like Hagar(“And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water” Gen. 21:19a).

We must be careful to take advantage of our wilderness times and use them to grow closer to God, rather than away from Him. Prayer is important here and meditation on God’s word. Sometimes, it will seem that God is not listening to us and we will beg like David,“Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were”(Ps. 39:12), and claim like him that God has promised that “He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them” (Ps. 145:19). 

We must not become discouraged, but let God pursue us even as we pursue Him.

Wilderness: Part 1 “And speak to her heart”

“Therefore, behold, I will allure her,and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.

(Hosea 2:14 ESV)

For the LORD comforts Zion; he comforts all her waste places and makes her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song. (Isaiah 51:3 ESV)

In Hosea 2:14, we told that we are brought by God into the wilderness. The wilderness is usually regarded as a bleak place, scarce of water and harsh. But God takes His Bride there, the Bride that had run from Him to other lovers, in order to be alone with her, to woo her back to Him. The last portion of the verse speaks of this. It says “I will…speak comfortably unto her” (KJV) or as another translation puts it, “I will…speak to her heart” (Darby). The Hebrew word translated as “comfortably” in the KJV, actually means “inner man, mind, will, heart”, so the Darby translation really is closer in meaning to the original (as far as I can discover).

The heart is the centre of a person; it is our most vulnerable spot. I am not talking physically, though this is also true, but mentally, spiritually. When God speaks to our heart, He speaks to us, the true “us”, the one that hides behind the things we can do and the life we lead and the ambitions we pursue. He speaks to the real “me”, that core of soul that makes me “me” — and He uses words of love.

My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
Song of Solomon 2:10-13 (KJV)

The word “speak” in Hebrew, Dabar, has many interpretations, declare, speak, command, converse, threaten, warn –some rather chilly, disturbing words– but there are some more meanings, “promise” and, surprisingly, “sing”. In this context (“My beloved spake”), singing would fit the context as well as the poetry. We are crooned to by God, wooed with love poetry. Twice, we are begged to “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.”

God wants to be our loving Husband, but we keep running away. So He takes us into the desert, where we have no luxuries to distract us. He wants all our attention focused on Him. We are to look to Him for everything necessary for life in the desert — food and water. But God is not stingy. He doesn’t starve us.

In Isaiah 51:3, He says that He will comfort us. The wilderness shall become like the garden of the Lord, like Eden.

The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. Isaiah 35:1

He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. Song of Solomon 2:4

A place of barrenness becomes a banqueting house when Love brings us there.

The next verse in Hosea 2 speaks of Israel singing in the desert, which is now become fruitful–literally.

God does not only give His Bride water, but wine (vineyards).

 And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt. (Hosea 2:15 ESV)

A place of trouble, the valley of Achor, where Achan and his family were stoned after he stole goods from the city of Jericho, becomes a door of hope. The place where we stole from God (stole the glory and love that is rightfully His as our true Husband, giving it away to false lovers) becomes the scene of reconciliation and grace. New hope will spring up here, a new life with Christ as our Ishi, our Husband.

The Desires of your Heart

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Ps 37:4

Many people, including myself, have taken this, and other similar scriptures as a promise that God will fulfill us by granting us the things we want. We want so many things, and so often our wants are quite legitimate biblically-speaking: godly children, a Christian spouse, a job where we can work as God intends us, etc. We seem to take such verses as Ps 37:4 as promises from God that if we do what he wants, He’ll give us what we want. However, I was reading through verses on the heart, and when I got to this one, I was suddenly struck by a new reading of this verse—at least, it was suddenly new to me. Thinking back to all the reading I have done, the sermons I heard, etc., it is not really a new concept at all, but I felt it was important to reorient this verse in my own heart, and hope that it will help shed new light in other people’s hearts as well.

Too often we try to use scripture against God. We take verses promising that obedience will be rewarded, and try to use obedience to get what we want. This is obviously a works-oriented approach to Christianity, and one that it is all to easy to slip into. If God demands obedience, and promises to reward our obedience, it becomes very easy for our sinful humanity to begin demanding His reward on our own terms. When we do not seem to get our “deserved” reward for our obedience to God’s will, we get angry or hurt, and begin to believe the same lie that Satan used to tempt Eve: we think that God is holding out on us. We cry, “I’m doing everything He asked (to the best of my ability): why doesn’t He give me what I want?”

Why doesn’t He give me what I want? “What I want” is not important; what God wants is. God does not have an immense tally sheet in heaven where He checks off our obedience against our disobedience and if obedience wins we get rewarded. One sin, no matter how “small,” is enough to send us to Hell. One sin blots out any of the good we may think we can do. Our obedience is not the measuring line by which we are rewarded, because God demands perfect obedience and we, no matter how we try, cannot ever do His will perfectly. Christ’s obedience is the measuring line—and it is Christ’s desires that are fulfilled.

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” This is where the eyes of my heart were suddenly opened. This text is not an equation where “Delighting myself in the Lord” = “Getting what my heart desires.” No, it promises something far better. In this text, God promises to give us the desires of our hearts. He is not promising to give us want we want, but rather promising to give us desires that come from Him. His desires. Not our Wants, the things we think we “need” or the things we lust after, but His desires. “Delighting in the Lord” = Being Gifted with the desires of God. 

Our little Wants become even smaller as we immerse ourselves, delight ourselves, in the Lord. And as our Wants shrink, He gives us holy Desires to take their place. We must not keep a death-grip on our Wants, or try to manipulate God into giving us what we think we need; instead, we must, by the Holy Spirit’s power, surrender our small Wants and pray to be drawn by God and given His desires.

Jesu, joy of man’s desiring,

Holy Wisdom, Love most bright;

Drawn by Thee, our souls, aspiring,

Soar to uncreated light.

Word of God, our flesh that fashion’d,

With the fire of life impassion’d,

Striving still to truth unknown,

Soaring, dying, round Thy throne.

Through the way where hope is guiding,

Hark, what peaceful music rings!

Where the flock, in Thee confiding,

Drink of joy from deathless springs.

Theirs is beauty’s fairest pleasure;

Theirs is wisdom’s holiest treasure.

Thou dost ever lead Thine own

In the love of joys unknown.

Traditional Hymn

Growing in the Kingdom: Part 2 "Pruned"

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.2 Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. (John 15: 1-2, 4-7, 16)

It is clear from these verses that we are called as Christians to bear fruit out of our faith in Christ. Christ assures us that we are chosen by Him and, abiding in Him, we will bear fruit and this fruit will also abide. Only when we live out of Him and His nourishing grace do we blossom and grow.

However, it is also very clear that we are not just left to grow on our own, sending forth a shoot here and a side branch there—those who live in Christ as the Vine are also under the care of the Father the Vinedresser. One of the consequences of bearing fruit out of Christ is that God will work in our lives in such a way that we will be forced to bear more.

We are loved by the Father so much that He wants to make us better and more fruitful members of His Kingdom. We must have faith that this painful pruning is for our good.

The fact that God disciplines his children means he loves us enough to correct us.  . . . Love does not equal unconditional affirmation. Love entails the relentless pursuit of what is for our good. And our good is always growth in godliness.  

(Kevin deYoung, The Hole in our Holiness 73)

This is sanctification as process (deYoung), and it is painful. The Reformers made this clear right at the beginning of the Heidelberg Catechism. Lord's Day 1, where they wrote: 

1 Q. What is your only comfort in life and death? 

A. That I am not my own,
but belong with body and soul,
both in life and in death,
to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ.
He has fully paid for all my sins
with His precious blood,
and has set me free
from all the power of the devil.
He also preserves me in such a way
that without the will of my heavenly Father
not a hair can fall from my head;
indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. 

Therefore, by His Holy Spirit
He also assures me of eternal life
and makes me heartily willing and ready
from now on to live for Him.

"All things must work together for my salvation."  

No matter what happens, what kind of pruning He does in our lives, it is ALWAYS for our good.

[38] And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. [39] I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. [40] I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. [41] I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.

(Jeremiah 32:38-41 ESV)

Despite Israel's sin and continual turning away, God always had their good in mind. 

And so He does ours. 

Much Fruit 

It is the branch that bears the fruit,
That feels the knife,
To prune it for a larger growth,
A fuller life. 

Though every budding twig be lopped,
And every grace
Of swaying tendril, springing leaf,
Be lost a space. 

O thou whose life of joy seems reft,
Of beauty shorn;
Whose aspirations lie in dust,
All bruised and torn,   

Rejoice, tho' each desire, each dream,
Each hope of thine
Shall fall and fade;
it is the hand
Of Love Divine 

That holds the knife, that cuts and breaks
With tenderest touch,
That thou, whose life has borne some fruit
May'st now bear much. 

~ Annie Johnson Flint

Under His Wing

The Choice to Fear or. . .

Unless I have had sometime to think about it and get used to the idea, I don't like change. I've been like this since day one apparently, since my poor mother tells me that when I was about four or five, if she didn't lay out all the possible variables in our itinerary for a day of shopping in advance, I would have a meltdown. What do you mean we have to go to The Bay because Sears didn't have the right shoes? You didn't tell me that! But, but, but --aaaah! I just couldn't handle the change.

Not liking change also means I am a worrier. If I don't know how things are going to play out in a future event or activity, I worry. Not in a "oh dear, life as I know it is ending" kind of style, but I anxiously try to anticipate every possible outcome, attempting to prepare myself for any eventuality.

Evidently, it is a deeply embedded part of my character and part of being a strong introvert. However, I think it is also a bad spiritual habit. This was drawn to my attention in a powerful way by the book I have been reading the last couple weeks. The following quote really struck a chord with me:

Not knowing is hard. . . . The fact of the matter is that we find questions of the future hard to deal with because we find it difficult to trust God. The One that we have said we've put our trust in knows everything about the future because he controls every aspect of it. Our fear of the future exposes the struggle we have to trust him and, in trusting him, to rest in his guidance and care, even though we don't really know what is coming next. Awe of God really is the only way to be free of fear of what is coming next. When my trust in God is greater than my fear of the unknown, I will be able to rest, even though I don't have a clue what will greet me around the corner.
. . .
Because we all tend at points to suffer from God amnesia, because we live in a fallen world, and because we do not write our own stories, being ruled by fear is always a clear and present danger. (Paul Tripp, Dangerous Calling 134-5)

I think that a lot of the time we react to things in our lives in our "default" setting, this state of "God amnesia," rather than choosing to trust in God's providence and sovereignty over our lives. It is a choice to trust Him.

Paul Tripp points out a few pages later, that we too often look "horizontally . . . for what can only be found vertically." He says that we are in "a glory war, a battle for what glory will rule [our] hearts and, in so doing, control [our] choices, words, and behaviors" (139-40).

Every time I default to worrying incessantly or choose to bring my fear of not-knowing and change (again and again) to the God who controls every detail of my existence and the existence of the universe, my choice is part of this glory war. It might not be that I recognize that this is a choice. Habits are habits, after all. Unless I choose to change (oh the irony!) my habits, I will be sabotaging my Christian walk with my choice to operate in my default setting.

I have to consciously choose to trust that God has planned what is best for me. I can't run ahead of Him and try to anticipate what He is doing. If I do not live in the physical and spiritual "now" where He has placed me, I am trying to take over His role as Omniscient God.

I am called to be a follower, not a leader; I am Christ's disciple, not His master. He is the Shepherd; I am His sheep. I need to cultivate a habit of trust in God's unfailing love for His people. 

As Moses said the Israelites before they crossed the Jordan, "It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." (Deuteronomy 31:8 ESV)

Christ said, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.”

(John 14:1-4 ESV)

Christ has gone before me and has prepared a place; God will fulfill His purpose for me (Ps 138:8). I do not need to worry about will come. It is all taken care of.

Waiting like Abraham

 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

(Romans 4:20-21 ESV)

Consider what is said of Abraham in Romans 4. He was chosen by God to receive his covenant promises. He was told that his offspring would be like the sand on the seashore. Yet his wife was a very old woman, way, way beyond childbearing age, and he had not yet given birth to the son who would carry on his line. Romans 4 tells us something very significant about Abraham's heart. Think about it: when you and I are called by God to wait for an extended period as Abraham was, often for us our story of waiting is a chronicle of ever-weakening faith. The longer we have time to think about what we are waiting for, the longer we have time to consider how we have no ability to deliver it; and the longer we have to let ourselves wonder why we have been selected to wait, the more our faith weakens. But not so with Abraham. We're told in this passage that during this time of protracted waiting, his faith actually grew stronger, and the passage tells us why. Rather than meditating on the impossibility of his situation, Abraham meditated on the power and the character of the One who had made the promise. The more Abraham let his heart bask in the glory of God, the more convinced he became that he was in good hands. Rather than a cycle of discouragement and hopelessness, Abraham's story was one of encouragement and hope. Why? Because he meditated on the right thing. [italics mine]

Paul David Tripp, Dangerous Calling: Confronting the Unique 

Challenges of Pastoral Ministry 65-66

"I can't wait" can be a dangerous statement to make too often. Any time we try to anticipate the future, and stop living where we are now, we risk living in discontent. "I can't wait" can too quickly become "I won't wait," and then our rebellious heart is off and away on a power trip that will only end in heartache and disappointment.

We can live in such a way, in such discontent, that it is almost as though we are trying to force God's hand, trying to make Him give us what we are waiting for. We treat that "thing" (marriage, work, children, etc.) as our goal or our reward for good behaviour, and we sulk when we don't get what we want. "I've been waiting forever! Why can't I just have it now?"

We might live in continual anticipation of our fairy tale dreams coming true. We head out to that Bible study or young people's evening "just in case" we might meet "the one," and keep our eyes peeled for him/her, while forgetting the actual purpose of the event.

We might try to find ways to "help" God to fulfill His promises. We force relationships, we take that mediocre job, or we make other choices based on what we want, rather than waiting to see what God will bring us, what He has planned. Abraham made this mistake and experienced the heartache which comes with trying "help" God fulfill His promise: he ended up having to send his first-born son, Ishmael--not the son of promise, but the son of the flesh (Galatians 4:23)--away with Hagar. When we try to "help" God with our "problem," we are not resting in His providence or trusting His sovereignty over our lives. We are basically telling God, "I can do it better," or worse, "You are not enough for me."

Waiting is hard, it's true, but waiting with the wrong attitude is even harder. It means you are not waiting in faith, not waiting with the comfort that hope in God affords. With faith in God's goodness and His unfailing promise, Abraham waited 25 years for Isaac to be born. Despite his slips along the way, Abraham had faith that God would keep His word, and he waited for Him to do so.

We who wait need to reorient our waiting in our hearts--we are not waiting for a job or a spouse or a car or any of the other "things" our heart desires--no, we are waiting for our God and our God is good.

Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.

(Isaiah 30:18 ESV) 

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!

(Psalm 27:13-14 ESV)

[13] For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, [14] saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” [15] And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. [16] For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. [17] So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, [18] so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. [19] We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, [20] where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

(Hebrews 6:13-20 ESV)

Boundary Lines

God will sovereignly direct your steps and put you in the place of service that He wants--however great or small. He'll take care of the opportunities for advancement, and He'll see to it that the things about which we worry so much will turn out well. For now, though, He's more interested in the fact that you faithfully follow Him in the place where he has you. In the future, He'll continue to draw and redraw the boundary lines the way He wants, but He wants you to be faithful in the boundary lines that He has drawn now. We tend to eye up our neighbor's "property"--whether it be tangible possessions or skills, talents, achievements, friends, or looks. The next time you are tempted to eye up your neighbor's property, think of these land surveys. They were "distributed by lot in Shiloh before the Lord at the doorway of the tend of meeting" (Josh. 19:51). Remember that God has drawn your boundary lines. Given your eternal hope--the fact that your hope in Christ transcends this life--you can say that your boundaries are pleasant. [my italics]

Dean R. Ulrich, "Lines in Pleasant Places: Joshua 15-19" 

The Journal of Biblical Counseling 18, no. 3 (spring 2000), 57. 

Be where you are now. Stay in the boundary lines God has set for you. You may be hedged in (Hosea 2:6) or in a broad place (Psalm 18:19), but follow Him.

When God redraws the lines, don't be afraid of the change or to change. Be assured it is something better, even if you cannot see it now.

Psalm 16 

[16:1] Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

[2] I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord;

I have no good apart from you.”

[3] As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,

in whom is all my delight.

[4] The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;

their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out

or take their names on my lips.

[5] The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;

you hold my lot.

[6] The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

[7] I bless the LORD who gives me counsel;

in the night also my heart instructs me.

[8] I have set the LORD always before me;

because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

[9] Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;

my flesh also dwells secure.

[10] For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,

or let your holy one see corruption.

[11] You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

                                                          (ESV)

Still, Waiting: Revelations of Jot and Tittle

I lay in bed, endeavouring to go to sleep, when suddenly I had a revelation:

I must not think of myself self-pityingly as “still waiting” (sigh), but rather must be still, waiting. This is the direct command of God:

Be still, and know that I am God. (Ps. 46:10a)
Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. (Ps. 27:14)

The difference between “still waiting” and “still, waiting” (besides the sigh) is one tiny comma, yet it makes all the difference to the state of my heart. The first action is being still. Instead of running around frantically looking for a husband because “I’m getting older and I’m all alone and all my friends are getting married, etc.” I must place myself in a place of resting on the Lord. To the inaction of being still is added the command, “and know that I am God.” It is not “Be still. Know I am God.” But “Be still, and know that I am God.” The conjunction “and” joins these two things together–they are coupled–stillness is necessary to know God. We must commune with Him in the stillness of our hearts. This means that our hearts must be emptied of the outside world, of our petty idols, “things,” so that we have space to worship.

The first word “still” is in company (not joined) with another word, “waiting”. The words are divided by a comma, they are not a phrase, but two separate words. Waiting in the Lord is not the anxious waiting of an expectant father in the hospital, pacing down the halls, wondering when, if ever, the contractions will be over and his wife wheeled down to the delivery room to birth their child; rather, it is,

“Steadfastness, that is holding on;
patience, that is holding back;
expectancy, that is holding the face up;
obedience, that is holding one’s self in readiness to go or do;
listening, that is holding quiet and still so as to hear.”
(S.D. Gordon from Quiet Talks on Prayer as quoted by Elisabeth Elliot in Passion and Purity)

Steadfastness is perseverance in the face of trial or inaction. Patience is withstanding the temptation to help God along (like Abraham, like Rebecca). Expectancy is hope and confidence that the thing desired will be given and faith that God answers prayer. Obedience is not merely adhering to “Thou shalt not,” but also the willingness to answer “Yes, Lord” to the “Thou shalt”‘s. Listening is silence of the heart under the shadow of God’s wing, and includes being “still”, but it is being still “so as to hear”. We cannot hear God’s still, small voice if we keep banging on pots and pans, trying to get His attention. We must cut out the racket and be still, wait for Him to answer us. But we do not have to do it alone, for the psalmist confesses in the rest of Ps. 27:14, “be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thy heart.” God gives us strength to do His will. But He is also a God who rewards faith in Him, as Jeremiah testifies,

The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. (Lamentations 3:25)

Christ Himself promises that “…all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”(Matt 21:22)

I ask for Christ-centred stillness and silent waiting on His will.