His Eye is on the Sparrow

As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me. Psalm 40:17

What is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him? Psalm 8:4

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. Luke 12:6-7

These verses came to my mind one evening while I was on a walk. It is when I do some of my best thinking, and the Lord is so kind to give me those times. There are no distractions (besides those of my own mind), and I am in the midst of God’s beautiful creation. I mean, who wouldn’t want to go on a walk with this as a backdrop?!

These days people, out of concern, often ask me, “How are you doing?” And I honestly don’t know how to answer them. None of the usual replies seem sufficient. For the most part I am doing okay (which is how I wind up responding). The Lord has been gracious to give me the strength needed for each day and has given me His indescribable peace. He is very kind to give me the morning time to spend with Him to prepare for the day ahead. And, let me tell you, I need this time alone with Him. Spending time with Jesus is the only reason why I am doing as well as I am in the middle of all of this horror. But it’s not like I don’t have my days (like yesterday) where I am tired and weary and hurting and overwhelmed and, well, just plain broken.

I have a lot on my shoulders and, most of the time, I don’t feel the weight of it all, which I guess is another one of God’s many graces. Every day presents a new challenge and trial, and I wear many hats to do the things that need to get done. Usually the response of others to what I am going through helps me see a glimpse of the magnitude, but I suppose I won’t really realize the full weight until after it’s lifted. At least that is how it was in South Asia. The burden of living in a different culture, learning a new language, and being surrounded by spiritual darkness weighed heavily on my shoulders, but I didn’t realize it while I was living in the midst of it. It wasn’t until after I returned to the States that I sensed that a burden had lifted, and I felt “lighter.”

A lot has happened these past few years, especially this year – much of it unpleasant – that the Lord has used to grow and change me. I am not the same as I used to be even back when I graduated from seminary in 2010. The bitter circumstances have left their wounds, but, most significantly, the Lord has used them to strengthen my faith, clarify my priorities, deepen my trust in Jesus, grow me in the knowledge of God’s Word, and refine me. And He did this all through brokenness. I am learning that that is His master tool. Only when we are broken and humble before Him can His glory and greatness shine through. Brokenness is where He does some of His greatest work. And, trust me, my independent-self needed some breaking and refining. I used to consider myself a pretty compassionate person, but the Lord has worked some tenderness into my heart through all this that wasn’t there before. It doesn’t take much to make my eyes well up with tears anymore. Seeing anyone who is in some kind of emotional pain or who is grieving sends a piercing pain through my heart. I mean, I can barely watch anything even remotely sad on TV now without tearing up. MASH, The Waltons, Up (yep, even a cartoon), and The Lord of the Rings, have all done their part in making the tears fall. This is not like me, at least the old me, but I guess it is now. The Lord tells us to be tenderhearted (Ephesians 4:32; 1 Peter 3:8; cf. Colossians 12:3), which doesn’t come naturally so the Spirit works it into our hearts through the circumstances God brings to help us obey this command.

As usual, the Lord meets me where I am. He wounds, but He also heals (Hosea 6:1). He has brought a few songs into my life this week to remind me that nothing is wasted. Every ounce of everything He has allowed into my life is preparing for me a glory I cannot even conceive of with my mind (1 Corinthians 2:9). It will be better than I can imagine (Ephesians 3:20). The weight that I referred to, both the big and small, is doing something unseen and majestic. It is preparing for me a particular weight of glory beyond all comparison that will make all of these trials, all of this suffering, “light and momentary” (2 Corinthians 2:16-18; cf. John Piper’s sermon on this text). Indeed, I am poor and needy, but my Lord takes thought for me and His thought is to do me good both now and forever.

What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9

Good People Don’t Go to Heaven

Good people don’t go to heaven. This truth has been bouncing around in my head for several weeks now. I realize it is a scandalous statement that goes against everything we believe as humans, especially humans living in the American culture, but, according to the Word of God, it is true. I cannot tell you the number of people who have told me in recent weeks that they are “good people” or that someone they know is a “good person” when talking to them about their status with God. And, by human and societal standards, I suppose they are good. In fact, I used to believe the very same thing about myself before Jesus saved me and showed me otherwise. God’s Word, however, tells us something very different:

As it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.” Romans 3:10-11 (cf. Psalm 14:1-3; 53:1-3)

No one is good except God alone. Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19

Whether doctor, factory worker, homemaker, strip-club dancer, or whatever, each one thinks, “I’m a good person.” And, sure, compared to somebody else, we might be “good,” but not compared to God. He is perfect. He is the definition of good. These two men say it well:

“The terrible condition of man’s heart will never be recognized by people who assess it only in relation to other people…our depravity is a condition in relation to God primarily, and only secondarily in relation to man. This is the great awakening that needs to happen for people to see the extent of their sin and the greatness of the Savior.” John Piper, “Whatever is Not from Faith is Sin – Really?”

We should not be surprised that the secular world confuses sinners and sociopaths, prison and hell. Christians, however, must understand the differences. One need not be a monster, by human definition, to go to hell. The sinfulness of “normal” humanity is quite enough for that. But there are monsters among us, and Ariel Castro’s crimes and his lack of moral understanding put him in that category as well.” Dr. Mohler’s blog post, “'‘I Am Not a Monster’ – Ariel Castro as Sinner and Sociopath”

God is the essence of perfection and so is His standard. He requires perfection. You don’t have to be a sociopath to be deserving of hell. You need only to be a sinner, and we all qualify for that. So where does that leave us? I haven’t met anyone who says they are perfect. Usually they say, “Well, I’m not perfect…” But that’s the standard and absolutely no one meets it. No one. We all offend God in more ways that we could ever realize and He requires those who offend Him to be punished. So what do we do? What can we do? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. Isaiah 64:6

All of our righteous deeds, our good deeds – the ones we depend on to outweigh our bad deeds and make us right with God – these deeds are like dirty, soiled rags to God. They are worthless and they earn us nothing in His sight; nothing, that is, but death.

For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23

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

BUT. Did you notice the “but” in that last verse? We cannot do anything to make ourselves good, to make ourselves right with God, to save ourselves from His anger and fury. But God can. As Pastor Bryan said last week, “A good God came to be good for us.” He so loved the world that He gave His Son Jesus Christ to die for us, to take our punishment, so that whoever believes in Jesus will have eternal life (John 3:16). They are set free and declared not guilty. The perfect record of Jesus Christ, who obeyed God completely and loved others perfectly, becomes ours, and He becomes our sin and takes our punishment (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is how we become “good” in God’s sight. C.S. Lewis calls it “the great exchange.” You can spend your whole live serving others, but you won’t pay off the debt you owe to God. You can go to church every week, but that still won’t cut it. You can give all your money to the poor, but that won’t work either. You can be a very moral person, but it gets you nowhere. God sets the standard, and His standard is perfection. And He sets the terms, and the term is that we turn from our sins and believe in His Son Jesus Christ who loved us and gave His life for us so that we may live (Ephesians 5:2). There is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved (Acts 4:12). He is the only way. This is good news! This is a good God. This is how you can be good in God’s eyes. Repent and believe and be saved.

Enclosed by the Everlasting Arms

The eternal God is your dwelling place,
and underneath are the everlasting arms. Deuteronomy 33:27a

It’s hard to put into words these past few weeks. The days have been long and tiring and filled with one trial after another, but the Lord has so strengthened me by His grace and given me His unexplainable peace and joy. Sometimes I almost feel guilty that I am not doing worse than I am considering the circumstances, but that’s the power of God’s sustaining grace. It is nothing in me, not at all. I would have collapsed under the weight of my life if not for Jesus Christ. And the primary way that the Lord Jesus has been sustaining me and my family is through His people, through the Church. We have been lovingly bombarded with emails, phone calls, text messages, meals (compliments of Meadow Heights Church), money, and even flowers (sent by my sweet coworkers in the President’s Office). Most importantly, though, and most powerfully, God has used the innumerous prayers of His people to carry us through these difficult days.

Another way that God has sustained us that is just as important and just as powerful is His Word. I am always amazed at how His Word always comes at just the right time. Sermons, devotionals, daily Bible reading, Scripture passages given to us by others – all of these things are exactly what my family and I have needed to hear and, often, the same Scripture verses are interwoven throughout all these various means. The Word of God has indescribable and mysterious power to speak directly to our specific circumstances and bring the kind of inner healing and comfort nothing and no one else can.

I have been trying to take each day one at a time and deal with each situation as it comes, but sometimes I see the magnitude of my current life circumstances and I am overwhelmed. Last week everything seemed to happen at once: I had a gallbladder attack and had to have surgery to remove it; while I was in the hospital, my mom took my dad to another hospital because he had been throwing up for three days; two of our three cars are having problems…even the cat has been limping. I am not one that thinks there is a demon behind every bush, but it really seems like our family is under attack from the enemy. But what he means for evil, God designs for good, and it is ultimately God who has allowed these circumstances into our lives for His good purposes, which are yet to be revealed and which I don't even pretend to understand.

Our circumstances darkened this week. My dad was scheduled to have surgery to remove a partial blockage and his gallbladder, but when the surgeon cut him open, he saw that he has many partial blockages and that the cancer has pretty much taken over his abdomen and intestinal system. He wound up not doing anything as planned, but instead inserted a tube in his stomach to use as a kind of pressure/overflow valve to help prevent vomiting. Then came the dreaded word: Hospice. They are calling in hospice next week.

I am so thankful that the Lord has settled in my mind the truths of His sovereignty and goodness in the difficult years leading up to this. I know for a fact that God is sovereign and good and those weighty truths have been a source of comfort and stability in the midst of this storm. But hard days do lie ahead. I mean, how do you prepare for someone leaving you for good, someone that has been a part of your whole life, when even now just walking into his bedroom makes me burst into tears…

It’s the unknown, I guess, that is the most scary. Kind of like with my recent surgery. I was not afraid of the actual surgery, but it was the pain I would experience afterward that made me a little apprehensive. It would be a pain I had not experienced before. It’s the same with this. I am not as afraid of the actual death of my dad, as much as of the pain that will follow with the empty shirts and the broken-down cars and when I need advice…How do you prepare for that?! The same way we prepare for anything: giving thanks, praying always, and trusting the Lord; taking each day one at a time, remembering that His mercies are new every morning, and that His grace is sufficient for anything and everything that comes.

But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:21-26

Where to Set Your Heart and Mind

As I have been reading the Bible and my daily devotional, I have noticed a reoccurring phrase: “set your heart/mind on…” (or its antithesis: set not your heart/mind on…). This has grabbed my attention every time because it is so easy to set my heart/mind on other things besides on where it needs to be, which is on Christ Jesus Himself. This is the verse that first grabbed my attention regarding this:

Put no trust in extortion;
set no vain hopes on robbery;
if riches increase, set not your heart on them. Psalm 62:10 ESV

Riches may increase, but we are not to set our hearts on them. We should be thankful for them and praise God for them, but we should not let them be our heart’s desire or let them consume us. But I think riches can be replaced with any other thing that we are tempted to set our hearts on. Money is not the only thing to trip us up. When things like material goods, positive/improving circumstances, relationships, respect/fame/honor, dating prospects, time off/vacations, children, ministry opportunities increase, we should not set our hearts on them.

But that’s no easy task. Our hearts are easily distracted and very prone to wander. Just in the past few days I have been battling this; this time in the form of medical help. My sister and I took my dad to his chemo treatment on Tuesday. He has been in unrelenting pain these past few weeks, so he told his doctor this when he saw him before the treatment. The doctor prescribed him a 12-hour pain medication to manage the pain with his other pain pills. We were pretty excited about this, but then the next day came when my dad took his first pill. He threw up the rest of the day (because it’s a 12-hour, time-released pill). My dad was (and still is) in complete misery and we were all very disappointed and discouraged. But the Lord brought the verse above to my mind, gently reminding me not to set my hope on medicine or doctors or anything else.  
So what does it even mean to set your heart or mind on something? Well, according to the always-handy Internet, this is the definition of these phrases:

“set your heart on” – to desire or greatly long for
“set your mind on” – to focus all your attention or pour all your energy into

So basically to set your mind/heart on something is to give it your full attention and affection and to make it the object of your desire. There is only one who deserves such devotion and His name is Jesus Christ. He is to be the focal point of our lives. We are to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:3). So it is no wonder that Scripture tells us what and what not to focus our heart and mind on.

And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. Luke 12:29-31 NIV

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Colossians 3:2-4 ESV

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. Romans 8:5 ESV

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Matthew 16:21-23

Brothers, join in imitating me [the Apostle Paul], and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. Philippians 3:17-19

So set your mind and heart on the unseen, on heaven, on eternal things, which basically means we have to trust the Lord and take what He says in His Word as true over whatever we can see and hear and feel and sense. We have to remember that God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts aren’t our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8), and trust that He is working all things to the good for us that are His (Romans 8:28). But who is sufficient for these things? God is. He gives us the strength and the faith and the desire to set on mind and heart on Him. Like Romans 8:5 says above, those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps us in this. He directs us and prompts us and rebukes us to keep us focused on the Lord Jesus, and we work with Him by filling our mind with Scripture and following His lead, instead of filling our hearts and minds with the influences of the world. And, not only that, but God promises to guard our hearts and minds in Jesus Christ as we place our focus and trust Him (Philippians 4:7). Where we set our hearts and minds is crucial. It is a matter of life and death, as each verse above demonstrates. The stakes are high and God is jealous to have all of your affection and attention. But He doesn't leave us on our own. He equips us and empowers us. He gives us all the resources we need to live the life He has called us to live. He even gives us Himself. So let's give Him all of us.

Trust is the Pathway

It’s a warm, muggy evening in Southern Missouri tonight, but it’s still nice. There’s a gentle breeze and the birds are softly filling the air with their songs. I so enjoy being in the country and forget how much I do so until after I return from living in the city. I am currently sitting on the tailgate of my dad’s truck, writing this blog.

My sister and I returned to Fredericktown last Saturday to tend to our parents. I had been praying what to do regarding them, and the Lord clearly opened up the opportunity for me to take a 4-week long medical leave from work. I don’t know what is beyond these four weeks, but I do know without a doubt that this is where God wants me right now and am praying that the Lord will use this time at home to make the future more clear.

The pace of life is so much different here and so is the focus. Instead of a full-time job and outside (of the home) ministries, my days are filled with trips to town,* cooking, and cleaning. I forget how much I enjoy cooking and taking care of the home. It’s not that I don’t do those things in Louisville, but I can’t do them as frequently or spend as much time on them with the other commitments that demand so much of my attention. I definitely have a lot more freedom here to use my time as I please, but I also have to be careful not to waste it. I am trying to – and I think I’m starting to – get into a new daily rhythm. Prayer and time in the Word is essential, and I need to make more time for both. The problem is that I’ve been so tired that I keep falling asleep when I’m spending time with the Lord. Some of this is from my lack of sleep last week and some of it is from emotional fatigue and weariness.

It’s not easy being here, though. My dad is in a lot of (constant) pain and is not doing well, and it is hard to watch him suffer so much. This is just another reason why Bible reading and prayer is so important. I do not have the strength for this. The Lord has been very gracious to sustain me the way He has been and to help me take each day as it comes. It is true that His mercies are new every morning and that His grace is sufficient for our daily needs. There are many people praying for both me and my family and I know that God is sustaining us through those prayers. That’s the only way to explain the peace I have felt in the midst of such hard circumstances.

The Lord is very kind in the way that He prepares His people for times such as these. It is no secret (if you’ve been reading my blog) that these past three years have been very difficult. I believe that the Lord has allowed every hard circumstance, every disappointment, every piece of bad news, and even silence from Himself in order to prepare me for these things that I now face. During those times, the Lord taught me to feed on His Word, taught me to trust His character over present circumstances, and taught me to depend on Him. I am not saying I have arrived in any of these areas, but I have grown in them tremendously.
In all the lessons, there seems to be on current theme: trust the Lord. And that makes sense right? We see this throughout the biblical narrative. Every time someone fails to trust the Lord, they sin (Adam & Eve, Israel, etc.) and wreck havoc in their lives and the lives of others. The Lord continually beckons us to trust Him. He is the only Good in all creation and He is sovereign over everyone and everything. As I read through Dr. Moore’s book, Tempted and Tried, he continually points to that truth. Jesus Christ trusted His Father perfectly, which is why He could not be tempted by Satan (Matthew 4:1-11). He trusted that He would provide for Him, so He refused to turn the stones into bread…even though He hadn’t eaten in 40 days. He trusted the Father would protect Him and exalt Him, so He refused to test God by jumping from the top of the temple. He trusted that God would give Him the nations (as He promised in Psalm 2), so He refused to bow down to Satan who offered Him the nations. But His trust in the Father included the cross. It included heartache and betrayal and abandonment and torture and false accusations and being misunderstood and being mocked and being murdered. The will of the Father for Him was not easy, but it was good (ultimately) and perfect and Jesus received everything He was promised. God was faithful to provide for Him, to protect and exalt Him, and to give Him the nations. And God is faithful to us as well. All of God’s promises to us find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). When we give our lives to the Lord Jesus, His resurrection, His life, and His reigning are also ours. But so is His suffering and death. We follow a crucified Savior and His obedient life and death are ours. And the life of sacrificial living and obedience come before the glory and honor. So while we wait for our hope and glory from heaven to be revealed, we must trust the Father’s good purposes for us. For He promises that He has a future for us that is good and not evil (Jeremiah 29:11) and that He has plans for us that are better than we could ever imagine (Ephesians 3:20). But Trust is the Pathway. Like a child with his daddy, we are to trust our heavenly Daddy. He will guide us. He will provide for us. He will protect us. He is with us. He promises and He never breaks any of His promises (Hebrews 6:18).

Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.” Isaiah 12:2

*For you city folk, I live outside of town and have to travel into town/city limits to go to the store, gas station, church, etc.

The Lord is Good to All

In the last post, I mentioned how the Lord has been teaching me about His goodness. It has been a very long and hard lesson, but one that has come to be very sweet. I think it’s really impossible to try to explain the goodness of the Lord or to even recount what He has been teaching me in this regard, but I would like to share even just a morsel of this deep truth that He has been showing me.

You are good and do good;
teach me your statutes. Psalm 119:68

The Lord confronted me last year with my disbelief in His goodness. I would not have actually admitted that I did not trust the Lord’s goodness, but my troubled thoughts and attitude revealed otherwise. It all started with a thought, a question, a doubt about the goodness of God (from the enemy no doubt). Instead of dismissing the lie immediately, however, I pondered it. I did not obey the Scripture about taking thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5), and, as a result, allowed the thought to take root. The Lord, however, was quick to bring His Word. When I went to church that weekend, the sermon title was, “God is Good and Does Good,” from the psalm above. I was like, “Of course that is the message this weekend.” Then I started doing a study with a friend through Nancy Leigh DeMoss’s book, Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free, and the first lie she addressed in the book was, “God is not really good. If He were, He would…” Do you see the kindness (and goodness) of the Lord in this? He seen my struggle and sent His Truth speedily to meet me. I would like to say that that was the end of doubting His goodness, but it was only the beginning. Since that time, I have been tempted over and over to believe that the Lord is not good – or, at least,  that He is not good to me. And since that time, the Lord has continually convicted me, pursued me, and taken me deeper and deeper into the truth of His goodness.

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 32:41

The Lord’s goodness is a fundamental truth. It is important to believe that the Lord is both sovereign and good, and losing sight of one or the other makes for some pretty dark nights of the soul. Admittedly, there have been several times when I had considered walking away from everything, thinking that I just could not do this anymore. But you know what? The Lord never lets go of His own  (2 Timothy 2:13). Furthermore, where else would I go? Jesus Christ alone has the words of Life and Truth (John 6:68; 14:6). I have seen and experienced that there is no person or thing or belief system that satisfies and sustains and transforms and renews like He does. He is life (Colossians 3:4). So, recently, the Lord has brought to my attention that I should not even allow questioning His goodness to be an option (which sounds like a no brainer). Up until now that is exactly what I have been doing, but, instead, Jesus calls me to trust Him. And that’s exactly what it all comes down to, doesn’t it? Trust the Lord. Trust His Word. What He says is true, no matter how things look on the outside. And Scripture is clear that God alone is good. He not only does good (Psalm 119:68); He not only gives good (James 1:17), but He IS good.

And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. Mark 10:18

Goodness is intricate to God’s nature. [By the way, Jesus is not saying that He Himself is not good. He is pointing out that only God is innately good, so for Jesus to be called good means that He is equal with God, which, of course, He is.] The problem is that we define goodness based on our own ideologies and limited perspective. We want to know why tragic things happen and why our desires are not met. Why questions are not bad in and of themselves, but the truth is we don’t always get to know why. Answers are a privilege, not a right. So when answers don’t come, we are quick to blame God and question His character.

God is absolute righteousness, love, goodness, and justice. Most errors related to this issue [ascribing evil to God] occur because of our human tendency to impose an external standard–a human construction of goodness–upon God. But good does not so much define God as God defines good. – Dr. Mohler’s blog post, “The Goodness of God and the Reality of Evil”

I love that: good does not define God, but God defines good. Reading this was like an ah-ha moment for me. God is good and therefore He defines it, and He reveals what goodness is through His perfect and inerrant Word. Over and over again, the Bible says that, “The Lord is good, for His steadfast love endures forever” (Psalm 100:5; 106:1; 2 Chronicle 5:13; Ezra 3:11; Jeremiah 33:11, etc.). Scripture proclaims this truth over and over because we need to hear it over and over.

Oh, how abundant is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you
and worked for those who take refuge in you,
in the sight of the children of mankind!
In the cover of your presence you hide them. Psalm 31:19

The Lord brought this verse to my mind this week as I was pondering His goodness. I love the three ways the psalmist describes the goodness of Christ in this verse. First, he says that God’s goodness is abundant. It is not limited; it is infinite like God is. Furthermore, it is stored up for God’s people (notice the qualifier). This shows His intention to do His people good. Even when life is difficult, God has goodness stored up for us, which may or may not be poured out in this lifetime, but it will most definitely be revealed in full when Christ returns. Finally, God works out this goodness for His people (again, notice the qualifier – this promise is not for all people). This reminds me of Romans 8:28 where the Apostle Paul says that God works all things (both good and bad) together for good for those who love God and are chosen in Christ. So God is working out His goodness in the lives of those who have trusted in Christ. And His goodness is most gloriously displayed in the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God worked His goodness in the midst of gruesome and unspeakable events as Jesus Christ, the only perfect man to walk this earth, was betrayed, mistreated, beaten, mocked, falsely accused, misunderstood, slaughtered, and resurrected so that God could offer salvation to sinful human, among whom there is no one good, not even one (Romans 3:12). So God made His Son Jesus Christ (who is perfectly good and righteous) to be sin, so that in Christ we (who are unrighteousness and in whom no goodness is found) might become the righteousness of God. Indeed, Psalm 145:9 rings true: “The Lord is good to all, and His mercy is over all that He has made.”

Breaking Habits

Over the past few weeks, the Lord has been helping me slim-line my priorities and weed out distractions. Mainly this has been in regards to how I spend my time and the influences I allow into my life. I am already pretty strict about what movies and other media influences I consume, but He has been calling me to an even higher standard in this regard. I don’t mean this is a legalistic way, but in a way that frees me more to serve God and focus on Him. The Bible tells us that not all things are beneficial for us and that we are to fling away all distractions as we try to run the race that Christ has marked out for us (1 Corinthians 10:23). I have a very vivid imagination and images stick with me, so it is important for me to filter what I watch and listen to and read. For example, I watched Shudder Island with a friend and couldn’t shake some of the images for a week. Some things that may not bother others, will hinder me, but, in general, I think it’s important that we do not take in things that might grieve the Holy Spirit. It’s also important that we do not spend too much time gorging ourselves on the world’s entertainment – both for the sake our of walk with Christ and for the fact that time is short, so let’s not waste it.

This all began with Lent. After debating with myself, I decided to give up sugar. It’s not because I’m a junk-food junkie, but eating sweets had become a HABIT. Partly motivated by wanting to be healthier and partly because I wanted to give up something for the Lord for Lent, I denied myself chocolate and frozen yogurt and every other savory treat. And after a few weeks, I no longer wanted these things. Even when Easter came, I didn’t feel like I had to have dessert (though I did). The desire for something sweet was put back in its rightful place. It was no longer a habit or a must have or a craving, but simply an occasional treat. Now, by the Lord’s grace, I only have dessert when it is something I really like, not just to have it.

In nearly the same time period, I recognized another habit: Facebook. I wasn’t on there for long periods of time, but I did get in the HABIT of checking it daily. So even though I spent maybe a max of 30 minutes on it, it was distracting. So I took a break. I disabled my account for three weeks. And you know what’s pitiful? Immediately after I disabled my account, I was a little sad. Geez. That’s exactly why I needed to take a break.

Even though these things are rather small, they were distractions. And the discipline the Lord helped me learn in these areas has spilled over into other areas of my life, so that my time and energy can flow more fully and freely into what matters – Jesus and people. Prayer and Bible reading and ministry and fellowship have taken on a new and sweeter importance. The emails can wait and so can eating for that matter – only one thing is necessary and that will not be taken away from me (Luke 10:42). :)

All this is a small reflection of the biblical principle that sometimes God withholds the good we think we need so that He can give us the greater good that we truly need: Himself. A lot of time I lose sight of this truth, but the Bible is clear that the Lord has nothing but good intentions toward His own.

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly. Psalm 84:11

I am currently reading Dr. Moore’s book, Tempted and Tried, about the temptations of Christ. In talking about the first temptation, when the devil tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread to satisfy His hunger, Dr. Moore pointed out that one of the lies undergirding this temptation was that God was withholding something good, which was Jesus’ basic need and desire for food. Jesus wouldn’t buy this. He knew that His heavenly Father was all He needed and He would wait for Him to provide. This lie isn’t a new one. It is the same one that the devil sold Eve. He told her that God didn’t want her to eat of the forbidden fruit because He didn’t want her to become like Him. In essence, He was withholding good from her. So she bought the lie, ate the fruit, along with Adam, and plunged humanity into its present chaos. The truth is that God knows our needs better than we do, gives us what we need, and never withholds good from those who are in Christ. The Lord has been teaching me a lot about His goodness and His disposition to do His children good, but more on that in the next post.