Hearts Guarded by Peace (A reflection on Philippians 4 and Isaiah 31)

Philippians 4:5b—8, 13

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The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

These are very well-known verses. However, it does us good to be reminded of God’s nearness and power on our behalf. These are anxious days, and so many people suffer from various forms of anxiety, some to the point of needing medication and other therapies. However, in this passage, we have a great weapon against the fears, anxieties, and ineffective coping behaviors that we might face. This passage says that we are neither alone nor separated from God by any distance. The Lord is “near” or “at hand,” and that should calm us down. We can talk to him about everything…and remember how much we have to be thankful for. In a post on Col. 4, I talked about thanksgiving/gratitude functioning like a vaccination against, and an antidote for, PTSD. No matter what we face, if we focus on what we can be thankful for, we will come out better than if we just get mad. Today I want to also add that v. 8 contains a positive replacement for all the worries and other concerns that might want to overwhelm us. There are so many wonderful things for us to think about, but they make for poor ratings on a news show. In the end, news media is geared to produce anxiety, and prayerfully practicing the presence of God guards against it.

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The question is, will I turn to the Lord in prayer when faced with a moment of anxiety and fear or will I run somewhere else? Isaiah 30-31 warns Judah about how they should respond to a real threat. Isaiah was dealing with Judah’s desire to run to Egypt for help against the invading Assyrians. 

Though written some 25 centuries ago, the words of Isaiah 31:1-3 are still powerful!

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help
    and rely on horses,
who trust in chariots because they are many
    and in horsemen because they are very strong,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel
    or consult the Lord!
And yet he is wise and brings disaster;
    he does not call back his words,
but will arise against the house of the evildoers
    and against the helpers of those who work iniquity.
The Egyptians are man, and not God,
    and their horses are flesh, and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,
    the helper will stumble, and he who is helped will fall,
    and they will all perish together.

While we have more advanced technology today, the principle is the same. Will we relationally return to the Lord, resting/trusting in him for direction, correction, and protection, or will we try to find a different way? Why would we turn away from the Lord for a merely human solution? Sadly, we, like Judah, are stubborn and unwilling to admit that we need God’s help.

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel,
“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
    in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”
But you were unwilling, (30:15)

Gustave Dore (1832-1883),
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Even so, though we suffer for our stubbornness, God in his love still works on our behalf.

Verse 8 says that when we cast away our idols (false trusts) and return to the Lord,

“And the Assyrian shall fall by a sword, not of man;
    and a sword, not of man, shall devour him…”

We know from history (2 Kings 19:35) that the Assyrian army (185,000 soldiers) was destroyed in a single night.

O Lord God, Holy Father, Son, and Spirit, I cry out to you now and renounce the false trusts that lobby for my heart’s attention. You are near, and that makes all the difference. Let me sense your nearness amid the challenges I face today, and may I see your might at work in marvelous ways. I don’t want to settle for human solutions like horses and Egypt and the false confidence they bring. Please restore an attitude of quietness and trust in my heart that will strengthen me to stand and bear witness to your steadfast love for an anxious generation. Blessed be your name, Jesus, for you are strong to save, even today!

The Big Picture (Part 2) — Learning From Joseph

In my last post, I started talking about Joseph’s experiences as an example of how God uses even the bad things in our lives for his big picture purposes. I know what is so hard for me is that I don’t really have a clue as to how it all works together while I am walking through it. Does that bother you, too? I am learning to trust God more in the moment of trial than ever before, and Joseph’s story helps. From this narrative, I was reminded of and challenged in several areas.

1. God’s plan operates above, under, and around the “right now” instantaneous sensory perception of those of us who are involved in the world. Joseph would have had no idea what God was going to do at the beginning of his story. When Joseph was a slave in Potiphar’s house or in the dungeon, would he have imagined that one day he would not only be released but be placed in charge of the entire country of Egypt, and with all the trappings of his new position and authority? Pharaoh even gave Joseph a new name, "Zaphnath-paaneah."  While scholars are uncertain as to its exact meaning, this name has been interpreted to mean any of the following: "The Savior of the World," "The Supporter of Life," "The Food of the Living," or "The Revealer of Secrets."  All are appropriate to Joseph and ultimately to our Lord Jesus Christ as well. One day, the Lord Jesus Christ will give to those who overcome a new name as well! What should comfort us in the valley of the shadow is the presence of the Lord with us, even as he was with Joseph.
2. We can allow the things that people have done to us to keep us from trusting and loving others the way that God requires, or we can see our own brokenness in their broken actions. We are all broken and need the grace that God offers in Christ. In acknowledging our own susceptibility to treat other people as mere objects to be arranged as we wish, we will be quicker to forgive and show grace when others treat us that way. When we see the sins of others, it should remind us to repent of our own sins all the more fervently. The tears of a broken and repentant heart, when mixed with trust in God’s love, are the certain antidote for the malignant cancers of cynicism, bitterness, and hate.
3. How do we live in the moment when we can’t see God’s big-picture plan? Joseph lived with integrity, distinguishing himself in his work, with patience, and with trust in his God, no matter how grievous the situation. We would do well to learn from Joseph to do the same. Yet Joseph was not the hero in his own story…it was the presence of God that made all the difference in giving success (Genesis 39:3, 21, 23). Jesus still promises us our daily bread through the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is because, though he fully knows us, he does not leave us, that we can respond in love. It is because of such responsive love that we can sing, even in the dungeon, “Though none go with you still I will follow, no turning back! No turning back!”
4. What do we do when the tables are turned and we have both the power and the opportunity for revenge? After testing his brothers to see if they would throw Benjamin “under the bus” like they had done to him, Joseph recognized that God had not only been at work in his own life through the years but in his brothers’ lives as well. Not only did Joseph pass the test of power, but his brothers passed the test of humility. As God used Joseph to test the brothers' hearts, he worked repentance in them.  The testing of their lives produced fear (Gen. 42:28,35) and sorrow (Gen. 42:21), then confession (Gen. 44:16) and repentance (Gen. 42:13-34). Their hearts were changed. They were concerned about their father and his potential grief. They were now willing to stand in place of their brother, even to their own hurt—truly an act of relational repentance from their shameful treatment of Joseph. It was because of this repentance that they were in a position to experience grace, which they heard and received (Gen. 45:5).  It is an old saying, but true that "Those who say, 'We are guilty' could rightly understand the words of precious grace, 'It was not you but God'."[1] Joseph chose to forgive their sins against him and to embrace them again as his family. He yielded to the larger purpose of God. Are we willing to stand before our brothers whom we have treated shamefully, in some way like Joseph was treated, and repent? Are we willing to take the place of dishonor for the benefit of another? I hope so.
5. They really meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. Which purpose will we choose to respond to, to live into, to die for? It is all too easy to blame others for our failures. It is harder for us to accept our own responsibility to live fully for God despite hardship, suffering, and even death. For what are we willing to die? For our own power, desires, and comfort, or for the holy redemptive cause of Christ in the world? In 1980, Salvadoran martyr Bishop Oscar Romero told a reporter, a short time before he was killed, "You can tell the people that if they succeed in killing me, that I forgive and bless those who do it. Hopefully, they will realize they are wasting their time. A bishop will die, but the church of God, which is the people, will never perish."[2]
6. God’s big-picture cycle of reward and retribution is not contained in this life on earth, much less within the current workweek. It has been said that we don’t sow and reap in the same season. It is a theological error that directly associates material wealth, worldly comfort, and ease with personal righteousness or the lack of these things with personal sin and foolishness. Just as it was wrong for Job’s friends to conclude that because he had suffered so terribly, he must be a heinous sinner, it is wrong for the wealthy to think that God will not hold them accountable for looking down on the poor in oppressive contempt. Jesus is coming back. He is not slow…he is just patient and does not desire that any should perish (2 Peter 3). Let us work together with Jesus towards that end as agents of reconciliation! 

Joseph was not only a wonderful and personal type of Christ, but his actions served as a historical type as well.  Arthur W.  Pink, in his book Gleanings in Genesis, lists and describes 101 ways in which Joseph was a type of Christ! While I have not found as many, there is plenty of room for further study on this point. More importantly, I have to ask, do we bear a family resemblance to Joseph and to Jesus? Where do we fit in the big-picture plan of God? He has a place for us. Will we embrace it?

[This post originally appeared on my cultural engagement blog while I was a DMin student.]

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[1] C.H. Mackintosh, Notes on the Book of Genesis, (Loizeaux Brothers, 1880,1959), p.331.

[2] http://www.uscatholic.org/culture/social-justice/2009/02/oscar-romero-bishop-poor#sthash.qv9WtkTj.dpuf

The Upside of Being Downcast (Psalm 42-43)

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation and my God. (Psalm 43:5)

During this season of social distancing and even strict quarantine, there is considerable concern regarding the psychological impact of isolation in addition to the more widespread anxieties of the COVID-19 crisis. Many have lost their jobs; others can no longer visit family for fear of spreading the virus to the more vulnerable among us. 

Photo Credit: Greg Dueker

I work at a Christian University and Seminary, and we are currently teaching remotely and doing our best to reach out and check in with our students regularly. But I miss seeing them in class, out on the campus lawn, or in the cafeteria. Even the library is quieter than normal (if you can imagine that). All this, combined with the hoarder-induced shortages of TP, sanitizer, vegetables, and most carbs (rice, beans, pasta, bread), can produce turmoil in our souls. But will we look down or up for the hope our soul so desperately needs?

In Psalm 42-43 (which are generally thought to make up one psalm), the writer uses a common refrain where he addresses his own soul and directs it to trust in God. This psalm might have been written during David’s exile during the rebellion of Absalom, or later during the Babylonian exile, or as Peter Craigie suggests, “it is equally possible that the background is to be found in sickness, which limited the poet’s  possibility of going to Jerusalem and participating in the worship in the temple.”[1] 

Currently, this hits pretty close to home for most churches in the US.

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We live in just such a time filled with challenging circumstances and difficult directives as the various levels of our government pursue policies put in place to slow the insidious spread of Covid-19. Yet even as the virus captures our attention, nature’s other outbursts are not abated be it tornados, floods, or earthquakes.

Some people are overwhelmed by the darkness they see. Others recognize that darkness is the necessary precursor to the coming of light. If we never experience the dark, how then will we long for the light? Psalm 43:3-4 contains the prayer of the one who was downcast in the darkness. Do these ancient words of prayer resonate with our heart’s cries today?

Send out your light and your truth;
    let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
    and to your dwelling!
Then I will go to the altar of God,
    to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the lyre,
    O God, my God.   (Psalm 43:3-4)

These psalms were written by, or for, the sons of Korah who served as doorkeepers and worship leaders in the Temple of the Lord. Their cry to the Lord was that he would bring them back to the place where they were called to serve. They realized that, for whatever reason, they were no longer in that spot. I would argue that their season of difficulty, whether sourced in an attack of an enemy or their own sin, was being shaped into a gift in the hands of the Lord who loves steadfastly! My pastor used to say, “Don’t despise that which drives you to your knees.” Whatever causes us to lean into the Lord’s love and extend that love to others is ultimately a cause for gratitude.

Photo by Ahna Ziegler on Unsplash

In the history of Israel and the history of the Christian church, there have been great feasts celebrated regularly, but the problem in modern times is that we too often cast off the fasts that precede them. Wisdom and experience teach that we appreciate and celebrate the light better after we have experienced the darkness. We need the longing season of Advent before the celebration of Christmas. We need the confessional season of Lent before the victorious joy of Easter. Even in the progression of the natural seasons, after a long, hot summer, we need the cold and dark of winter before we will enjoy a sunny and warm spring day to its fullest! Isaiah 42:16 declares the Lord’s promised plan for his people on the other side of the darkness…

And I will lead the blind
    in a way that they do not know,
in paths that they have not known    I will guide them.
I will turn the darkness before them into light,    the rough places into level ground.
These are the things I do,    and I do not forsake them. (See also: Isaiah 42:6-7; 9:1-2; Matt. 4:14-16)

But those who will not trust in the Lord will see their idols destroyed (Isaiah 42:17).

As we read through Psalm 42-43, we find that it is chock-full of lessons applicable to our lives as we walk through the current circumstances we face. Despite being ordered to responsibly practice “social distancing,” we can still digitally join our hearts together around the Lord and his word. I hope that we will take time each day to reflect on God’s written word, the Bible, and share his love displayed there with others.

To do just that, allow me to share nine truths that can be found especially in times of hardship and our downcast seasons of darkness…

1. Hardship often reveals our deepest thirst and allows us to admit it (42:1-2). Have we seen enough of the world to know that it doesn’t, and can’t satisfy our deepest longings?
2. Hardship may open us up to criticism from others, those who love “piling on” when someone else is suffering, adding insult to injury (v. 3,10). I am reminded of Jesus’ words to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:44). Times like this will give us opportunities to grow in this regard.
3. Hardship reminds us how much we miss celebrating the goodness of God with our spiritual family (v. 4). Thankfully, we have the technology to reach across the distance and join in spiritual worship and acts of service.
4. Hardship often increases our sense of isolation (v. 4) but the more we think of others, and check in on them (phone, text, email, social media) the less isolated we will be, even when confined to our home.
5. Hardship allows us to do some soul searching and some soul instructing. (42:5, 11; 43:5)
6. Dark times move us out past our powerless pride to put our hope in the Lord (v.5-6). In 2 Cor. 1:8-10, the Apostle Paul described this experience clearly. For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 
7. Amid dark and tumultuous times, we may become more sensitive to the presence of God and his steadfast love (v.7-8). The more distractions are removed, the more quiet we encounter, the more we dwell in his Word, and the less we can lean on our own strength the more we see him at work. Pro tip: Don’t watch more news than you can cover in prayer!
8. In dark and tumultuous times, we can ask God honest questions about where he is in all that we face. We feel he is far away, but what encouragement can we offer our own souls? (v.11) “Put your hope in God!” He is our covenant-keeping Savior!
9. In times of hardship, we can confess our weakness and choose to trust God to deliver us from the oppressor (43:1-3).

Sabbath in Modern Tiberius

One other comment before I close. Even good things need to have fallow seasons of pruning and rest in preparation for new seasons of fruitfulness. It makes me wonder since this current crisis is in effect imposing a sabbath rest on the land. While the imposition of a required sabbatical season is not the cause of this shutdown, perhaps that is how the Lord may use this terrible pandemic for good. If we will hope in him.

We are a nation that refuses to stop whatever it is that we are doing. Yet, being forced to stop, to pause, to trust it will work out, will we continue to be downcast, angry, fearful, and divided, or will our souls be counseled by this psalm to hope in God? Will we trust that we will once again join our voices together to praise Jesus for the salvation he brings to share? I hope so!

How we live and engage those we live with will reveal both our heart and our source of hope… for better or worse!

[This post is also published on my Honest2God Psalms blog. If you are interested in more posts based on the Psalms, feel free to follow the link.]

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[1] Peter C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50, Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 19, (Waco, TX: Word Inc., 1983) 325.