Thoughts from the Cave

 

“Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.”

—Psalm 57:1 ESV

When we read Psalm 57, we can hear the desperation in King David’s voice. He cries out to God from his hiding place in a cave.

Once again, the murderous King Saul had threatened David’s life. David has fled to the interior of a cave for protection. As we read Scripture, it seems that David did a lot of hiding from danger. He hid constantly from King Saul, who jealously and constantly hunted David down during the seven years after Samuel anointed David to become the next king of Israel. Later in David’s life, his own son, Absalom, hunted David down because Absalom had designs on the throne.

These caves in Canaan, that David knew so well, became his “go-to” spots whenever he felt unsafe and afraid. Yet, we also see, again and again in the Psalms, that David refers to God as his refuge. In Psalm 57, David describes those chasing him as lions, ravenous beasts with teeth like spears and arrows.

David often uses the image of the wings of God covering him like a mother bird does her babies and like the mighty eagle shelters her newborns. In Psalm 91:4, we read:

He [God] will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

In Psalm 57, David reveals that he knew specific hindrances to his feet that might trip him, namely a net and a pit. In this particular moment in our lives, we can relate to that image, too. Because we must shelter in place and maintain social distancing, right now our feet can’t go where we might wish they could take us. David was stuck in a cave, just like we are now stuck in our homes.

In spite of the circumstances, David has confidence in God. And, David illustrates his confidence when he commits himself with the words “I will” four times. He promises that he will:

1. Sing and make music (v. 7)
2. Awaken the dawn. (v. 8)
3. Praise the Lord among the nations. (v. 9)
4. Sing among the peoples. (v.9)

We can act on these same promises. What if we reflected on hymns that we know, and either sing or listen to those that offer us hope and faith during this time? Even though we may not need to arise in the morning as early as we would have if we were going to our places of employment, in the early morning, we can still make it a priority to meet God in His written Word and in prayer.

We may struggle with praising the Lord among the nations. Nevertheless, thousands of people around the world are suffering from COVID-19 and many thousand more must risk their own health by caring for those who are sick. Pray for leaders around the world and scientists working to stop this plague.

Certainly, we can determine that, once we congregate again in our churches, we will sing and praise the God in whom we took refuge. And, maybe we need to correct our previous lax attendance.

Finally, in the two refrains of Psalm 57, found in verses 5 and 11, we read these words:

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.

We know that God sovereignly rules over this wide world and is not surprised by anything about this human suffering in countless countries of the world. Therefore, let us pray that in all places, all over the earth, God’s glory will shine forth and that He will be exalted. His purposes in this COVID-19 pandemic surely are wider than we can imagine.

Though, for now, we use our homes as caves of safety, we can be confident today and always in our God. For He remains our eternal and sure refuge!

 

 

Uncharted

 

“Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before.”

—Joshua 3:4

Joshua had become the new leader of the Israelite nation, overseeing approximately two million people. Although he had served as Moses’ aide for 40 years, Joshua nevertheless faced many new challenges. No longer did he have to maintain the pattern that these people had followed for all these years of traveling. He now received from God the directive to move them from their wanderings in the wilderness into the Promised Land.

Joshua, sensing the hand of Almighty God upon him for this task, listened carefully to God’s instructions, obeyed the preparations given, and trusted God to lead him and his people along the pathway that God Himself had provided.

The first challenge facing this new leader came on the morning that the whole company set out. He arose early and went to the edge of the Jordan where he instructed the entire population to camp for three days. We don’t know what they did during these three days, but we can imagine that the leaders prepared themselves and the people with much prayer and waited for God to reveal His miraculous hand upon them.

Following these three days, the leaders gave all the people the instructions for moving forward. They were told to follow their spiritual leaders, the priests and Levites, who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant, God’s sign that He lived among them. This command was followed with the words, recorded in Joshua 3:4:

“Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before.”

Next, Joshua asked the people to consecrate themselves in preparation for the Lord doing amazing things for them. If we study the story, we know that they crossed the Jordan River on dry ground into the land promised to them—a miraculous phenomenon not unlike the crossing of the Red Sea at the beginning of their journey, now so many years ago.

They had never been this way before, but neither had Joshua their leader. God had astounding reasons for the way that He had led these people. Instead of traveling on the western side of the Jordan, as other travelers would do, God led them to the place of impossibility. Yet, He exposed His purpose in Joshua 4:24:

He [God] did this so that all the people of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.

But, what about today? In these uncharted days for America, our spiritual leaders, like Joshua, have never led their people into a place like this. Nor have we, as a people, ever been here before either. We can decide to criticize and worry over what we should do, or we can do those same things that the Israelites were instructed to do.

Namely, we can spend a time of waiting and praying to God for His direction. In those prayers, we should lift up our spiritual leaders, asking God to direct them toward the specific things they need to do. Secondly, we should follow the suggestions, instructions, and guidance of our leaders. Then, we should move forward in faith, knowing God will lead us in order to accomplish the purpose of showing those around us, and the whole world, our Mighty God, His majesty, and His overwhelming power. He desires that the whole world come to search for Him and fear Him. He has said in Isaiah 45:22-24:

Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, “In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.”

 

 

Stillness in Panic

 

God is our refuge and strength, a tested help in times of trouble. And so we need not fear even if the world blows up and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam; let the mountains tremble! There is a river of joy flowing through the city of our God—the sacred home of the God above all gods. God himself is living in that city; therefore it stands unmoved despite the turmoil everywhere. He will not delay his help. The nations rant and rave in anger—but when God speaks, the earth melts in submission and kingdoms totter into ruin. The Commander of the armies of heaven is here among us. He, the God of Jacob, has come to rescue us. Come, see the glorious things that our God does, how he brings ruin upon the world and causes wars to end throughout the earth, breaking and burning every weapon. “Stand silent! Know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation in the world!” The Commander of the heavenly armies is here among us! He, the God of Jacob, has come to rescue us!

—Psalm 46 TLB1

Hand wringing! Worry! Panic buying! Panic selling that crashes the stock market! Fleeing! All these and many more reactions fill the news in light of the COVID-19 virus.

Though many of us probably will stay healthy throughout this pandemic, we will still suffer the insecurity, the disruption, and the confusion of these days. As Christians, tied to the Rock that is Christ Jesus, we can rest in the assurance that God has this situation well in hand! Nothing surprises Him. In fact, He allows events like this to cause the world to look up, to acknowledge that people do not control things, that despite our great advances in science and technology, He alone still reigns over us as the Sovereign God of the universe.

His word to us in Psalm 46:10 in the KJV tells us:

“Be still and know that I am God.”

This time should bring us to stillness before Him, to peace with the assurance that He ever and always has us in His hands and can take care of us.

Dr. Shirley Mullen, the President of my alma mater, Houghton College, in releasing an announcement of their closures and responses to this pandemic, wrote these words:²

This moment is unprecedented in the history of higher education. In a certain way, it seems appropriate for us that it comes in the midst of the Lenten Season—reminding us once again of our own finitude, our mortality, and our lack of control even over the circumstances of our daily lives. With little warning, the COVID-19 virus has turned our world upside down. Even for those not directly afflicted by the disease, this invisible enemy has threatened to upset our carefully laid plans… it has crushed dreams of overseas travel; it has added new disappointments and disruptions to already stressed schedules. In short, COVID-19 has reminded us that we live in a world full of mystery and unpredictability—and that we are not in charge.

It is my hope and prayer that we will seek—and find—in these unwelcome circumstances opportunities for redemptive creativity and improvisation. May it be that, in the not-too-distant future, we will look back on this season with gratitude for unexpected and yet unseen signs of grace.

Indeed—unseen signs of grace. Let’s all look for them, take opportunities to share Christ’s love with others who may wonder if the world is falling apart, and above all, know that our Heavenly Father, the God of the Hosts of Heaven and Earth always provides His loving care of His world.

______________________

1 Taylor, Kenneth N. The Living Bible. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1971. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

2 Mullen, Shirley. Coming to Terms with COVID-19 Houghton, NY: Houghton College Press, March 13, 2020.

 

 

Dismembered

 

“I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you… This is my body, broken for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

—1 Corinthians 11:18, 24

Ann Voskamp, in her little book of poetic essays, Be the Gift, writes a lot about brokenness, as it has to do with our individual lives and as a people of God collectively. She says:¹

We are all a body, we belong to one another, we are one…We live a horror story of distortion and dismemberment. To be the re-membering people—this is the work of life in a brokenhearted world.

When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper and Paul wrote about it in his letter to the Corinthian church, they spoke about Jesus’ broken body. The whole thrust of Paul’s writing here concerns the church as the broken body of Christ. We all have broken lives pulled apart by sin, selfishness, hurting, and the misunderstanding of each other.

Especially during this Season of Lent, we need to consider deeply the body of Christ with whom we share this sacramental meal. We belong to each other.

I see my sister down the row in church. She is elderly, wearing tattered clothing, but alive in her love for Christ. I see my brothers sitting across the aisle. They are smart-looking in their business suits, but they are also struggling with broken and sinful habits. I see children growing up in a culture ever anxious to pollute their innocent minds and pull their spiritual arms and legs from them in an effort to own them, absorb them, and turn them away from a relationship with God. We come, a dismembered people, to the Lord’s table.

Jesus wants us to see the selfless, tortured mind and body that He gave for us. He wants to remind us that He longs for us to be that kind of broken for our brothers and sisters in Christ. He wants to see us re-joined together—“re-membered,” if you will—healed, complete in Him, and completing each other, as we join hearts, minds, and hands and follow Him.

Ann Voskamp, again:²

Our call is to be compassionate, to be a community, a communion, of broken bread and poured-out wine, to live cruciform, formed like a cross. Our call is to take the form of reaching hands, open ears, listening hearts because our God is with us and we’re called into communion with Him and with each other.

And sometimes, we must simply absorb the pain of living in a body with sinful members, like our very own. We simply need to forgive and bear the burden. Karen Mains refers to a quote she once read:³

Forgiveness is being willing to bear the pain of another’s misdeeds against us.

This seems far easier said than done. But, such a mindset is required if we are to allow the Body of Christ to function with all its members intact. As we struggle to bring the broken pieces together in a healthy whole, may we see the model of oneness in Him that our Lord gave us in the reminder of the Lord’s Supper: whenever we eat it, whenever we drink it!

______________________

1 Voskamp, Ann. Be the Gift. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing Company, 2017. p. 118.

2 Ibid. p. 6.

3 Mains, Karen Burton. The Key to a Loving Heart. Elgin, IL: David C. Cook Publishing Company, 1979. p. 81.

 

 

GPS

 

“You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.”

—Revelation 2:4-5

“Turn around! Go back!” she emphatically commanded.

I was driving in a locale where I had never driven before. I thought I had correctly followed the directions I had been given. But, before I went miles out of my way, frustrating myself, and making myself late for the conference, the voice of the Global Positioning System (GPS) Satellite Navigation System’s voice interrupted my directional plans and set me right back on the right track.

In His great mercy and grace, God has given Christians an automatic navigational voice, too, in the person of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Spirit, living in our presence at all times, speaks to us when we are headed in the wrong direction. It might be easier for us if the Holy Spirit chose to speak using voice commands we could actually hear. But I wonder, would we really listen any more closely? In order to take full advantage of the Spirit’s leading, we must really want to hear His guidance.

Instead of saying “Go back!” the Holy Spirit says the word, “Repent!” which effectively means the same thing. Instead of using an audible voice, the Spirit speaks using Scripture, our time spent in silent prayer, a preacher’s sermon, a sense of a cold heart, and other means to get our attention and urge us to stop, turn around, and go back.

In the Book of Revelation, God sent John to warn seven prominent new churches of their sin, and their need to take drastic action. To four of them, He uses the specific instruction: “Repent!” In the verse quoted at the beginning of this blog post, through John, God tells them to go back to doing the things they did at the beginning, when they were young and passionate about their love for Him—like a giddy teen with his or her first love.

If we don’t obey the “holy GPS warning,” we will easily fall into the bondage of sin and the chains of our enemy, Satan, who wants to devour us, to pull us away from Christ, to blind us, enslave us, and destroy us.

Here’s how Charles H. Spurgeon put it:¹

The Lord Jesus has paid too high a price for our redemption to leave us in the enemy’s hand. The way to freedom is “Return to the Lord thy God.” Where we first found salvation, we shall find it again. At the foot of Christ’s cross confessing sin, we shall find pardon and deliverance. Moreover, the Lord will have us obey His voice according to all that He has commanded us, and we must do this with all our heart, and all our soul, and then our captivity shall end.

God remembers our eager faith, our hearts’ cries to serve Him, our zeal for His people and for His house. He looks for us to return there again. “Go back! Turn around!” and we will find Him waiting!

______________________

1 Spurgeon, Charles H. Faith’s Checkbook. Chicago: Moody Press, 1980. Devotional for May 5th.