Threads from Henry's Web

Tag: trust

  • Worthless – Lamentations 1:15

    Worthless – Lamentations 1:15

    15 The Lord treated with scorn
    all the mighty men within my walls;
    he marshalled rank on rank against me
    to crush my young warriors.
    The Lord trod down, like grapes in the winepress,
    the virgin daughter of Judah.

    The Revised English Bible (Cambridge; New York; Melbourne; Madrid; Cape Town; Singapore; São Paulo; Delhi; Dubai; Tokyo: Cambridge University Press, 1996), La 1:15.

    I’m meditating on these verses, intending to write one meditation per day, though I haven’t been keeping up. It can seem like the elements of just staying alive are “marshalled rank on rank against me.” If it’s not one thing, it’s another!

    Now in the historical context of this book at this verse, this is about the people suffering conquest and exile, and that by cruel conquerors. I want to emphasize that a key reason for this book being in the Bible, in my opinion, is to let people know it’s OK, and even healthy to acknowledge difficulties. Running around pretending things are fine when they aren’t isn’t healthy, and it isn’t productive. You can’t fix what you don’t recognize.

    But in meditating I started to think about the way we talk about troubles in our lives. I’m talking especially about those of us who are in some kind of ministry work. What do we say when obstacles are put in our way?

    Well, I’ve noted quite a variety, depending on who is talking and their attitude at the time.

    • I must be doing something right for the Lord, because the devil’s after me!
    • I must have missed God’s calling or instructions, because I can’t get through these barriers.
    • I need more people to pray for me, because prayer is powerful, so more prayer is more powerful!
    • I must keep my faith face on so nobody knows the trouble I’m seeing. (With apologies to the hymn!)
    • I must be very open and honest about this so other people realize that they’re not alone in having troubles.

    How do you know just how to react?

    How do you know, for example, whether the devil’s after you, or whether you’re encountering hardship because you have lost your way?

    You don’t. But that doesn’t really matter that much, because what you have to do is hold on to the one who does know. You’re probably going to be off the best path very frequently. It’s going to feel like the world is coming at you “rank on rank.”

    What do you do? I can give you all the advice: pray more, listen for the Holy Spirit, use your God-given brain, seek and accept help from others, be willing to correct your program.

    That’s good. I like to attempt those things. But most importantly, as the song says, “Put your hand in the hand of the man who stilled the waters.” He’s the one who can handle the problems that are coming at you rank-on-rank. Panic will get you nowhere. He will.

    (Featured image generated by Adobe Firefly Image 5, from a prompt generated by Google Gemini.)

  • Psalm 119:166 – Hope

    Psalm 119:166 – Hope

    I put my hope in your salvation, LORD,
    and I put your commands into action.

    I’m thinking of this today from a distinctively Christian perspective, and less about historical meaning. I’m looking back at the text through another lens.

    In one of my favorite texts, Paul puts these two concepts together:

    … With fear and trembling work out your own salvation, for it is God who works in you both to will and to do his good pleasure.

    Philippians 2:12-13, my translation with the final word taken from the KJV

    This again brings together these two important concepts: Trusting and Doing. If one’s hope is in God’s salvation, then what’s the doing about? Paul makes it clear here (and I think it’s clear in the Psalm as well) that it all depends on God, and yet there is doing involved.

    The problem for us is mixing the two up, getting our hope from our efforts. For many, there is a fear that if we don’t demand effort, no effort will be made. So we try to make salvation, or many other lesser goals depend entirely on work that is simply not sufficient to support it.

    What would it do to someone’s morale if they are facing an impossible barrier, and are told, “You have to put your hope in your own efforts to get over this barrier”? The result is that hope dies and the person gives up. One human approach is to follow this up by calling the person a loser because they have failed to overcome a barrier that was, in fact, impossible.

    The book of Hebrews, also a favorite of mine, leads up to presenting Christ as the one God perfected on our behalf at the end of chapter 5, and then in 6:1 says, “let us be carried on toward perfection.” (I believe the passive, not middle is the correct translation of the verb here.) The idea being that having through Jesus we are now to be carried on to the kingdom.

    If we get this idea of identity, and of a hope provided by God, then the idea of putting God’s commands into action becomes something different. We are winners with every step, not because we have accomplished the goal, but because we are on the journey, being cared along to perfection.

    Given a couple of quotes recently, you might be aware that I’m reading Deanna Thompson’s commentary on Deuteronomy. I have another quote from that book:

    Moses’ act of remembering and retelling Israelite history, as Israel stands between its future and its past, makes an important theological point about Israelite identity: Israel’s relationship with the God who freed them from slavery is its identity, and after years of dishonoring that memory, it is time to remember, honor, and obey.

    Commenting on Deutereonmy 1

    The Bible is very much about trust and hope, but it is also very much about action. Our problem is often leaving one or the other element out, or getting them in the wrong order. Trust and hope make action possible. Knowing who we are is what frees us for action.

    So, after all, this verse of Psalm 119 is very clear and reminds us of the order. Trust in God and do. In that order.

    What will God free you to do today?

    (Featured image generated by Jetpack AI.)

  • Psalm 119:67 – Afflicted

    Psalm 119:67 – Afflicted

    Before I was afflicted, I went astray,
    but now I keep your word.

    What is your reaction to difficult times? I’m not a terribly optimistic person, and I don’t take to it all that well.

    I’ve noticed that modern Christians have inconsistent responses to trouble. On the one hand, they’ll say that if God is in it, everything will be there. Sometimes they go so far as to say that Christians shouldn’t really have any trouble if they’re “in God’s will.” I always run this view up against the lives of the people listed in Hebrews 11. No, it’s not always easy for God’s people.

    On the other hand, people will say that the person who’s having trouble is being attacked by the devil, usually because that person is doing things that threaten the devil’s kingdom. I always want to ask how they’re sure it’s not because they’re not in God’s will.

    Experience suggests that you will have hard times and good times. That’s how the universe works. I believe in both God’s blessing and in God allowing us to experience difficult times. So there is a third option. Perhaps things are going wrong not because I made the wrong choices, but because others did, and I’m collateral damage.

    Let me suggest a response to affliction, which can be any sort of difficult season in your life. Rather than trying to figure out just what God is doing, perhaps we should simply ask what we, ourselves can do.

    No matter whether you are suffering the normal vicissitudes of life on this crazy planet, or God is trying to teach you something through hardship, or the devil is trying to block you because he doesn’t like what’s you’re doing, the best next move is to do right as best as you can while relying on God.

    And that reliance on God is important. It isn’t an excuse not to act. It is an assurance that when you act, you will accomplish more than you could do on your own. It is also the assurance that even in failure, you’ll be part of God’s family.

    Exodus 2:14-15 tells us that when he realized that the fact he had killed an Egyptian had become known, Moses was afraid. Hebrews 11:27 records that he left Egypt, not afraid of the king’s wrath. That’s the faith view of our actions.

    In what ways do you need to work and trust today?

    (Featured image generated by Jetpack AI.)

  • Fear, Prayer, Trust, and Action

    As I write posts and various notes that speak against fear, I want to make sure some things are clear.

    There are two quotes that have been going through my mind. The first is: “Prayer is not a substitute for anything, and there is no substitute for prayer.” I know I first heard this from a friend and author who was once my pastor, Bob McKibben, but he attributed it to someone else and I can’t locate it.

    The other is from C. S. Lewis:

    Perfect love, we know, casteth out fear. But so do several other things – ignorance, alcohol, passion, presumption, and stupidity. It is very desirable that we should all advance to that perfection of love in which we shall fear no longer; but it is very undesirable, until we have reached that stage, that we should allow any inferior agent to cast out our fear.

    — C.S. Lewis, The World’s Last Night

    I first heard that one from my teacher and undergraduate advisor Alden Thompson, who has it memorized and can trot it out at a moment’s notice.

    I’ve gone into detail elsewhere, but I want to restate a few things.

    Fear shouldn’t control us, but it should get us moving. The fear one feels at the edge of a cliff, for example, needs to be sufficient to keep you from jumping or coming closer than your manual dexterity permits, but not so great as to paralyze you or make you take unwise, uncertain steps.

    Trust is a great thing. It is something that lets us walk with confidence in dangerous times. When our trust is in God, we can have peace, even in very frightening circumstances. But trust, even in God, can be dangerous. In politics I tell people to calm down and trust God. I also ask, even beg them to go vote.

    Prayer is great. One of the greatest things prayer does is change our hearts so that we will take more action, and more effective action to help others. Praying for your enemies is also a means of softening your heart. Be prepared for God to use you in response to your prayers.

    Right now, the question is carrying out actions in response to the pandemic, such as social distancing. This is a decision to be made rationally. You can make it without fear. I’ll simply note that the numbers are convincing to me, but that isn’t a real argument. I’m not an expert. The experts are nearly unanimous that this is a good thing. Your decision should be based on this information.

    Fear of sickness and dying and fear of harming others by carrying infection can get you to the point of taking that action. Prayer and trust in God can help you with your peace as you carry out those actions. Calmness as you trust will make it easier to make each decision. Is this a necessary trip? Is this contact safe and important?

    We’re human, and each of these elements plays a role. Live wisely!