The Kingdom of God is such an upside down place, so contrary to the “norm” that we are taught in Western culture. Ads on TV tell us to do things because “we’re worth it.” Subtle or not so subtle messages tell us to think of ourselves first, to take care of #1. We can get pills that will make us thinner, able to avoid having children, able to have sex. Quick fixes to avoid pain and problems abound.
But God says to persevere in the midst of trials. He calls us to embrace the trials, problems, pain. We’re called to praise Him in all things. We aren’t to look for the quick fixes but to go for the long haul. And so I’ve been pondering the study of Hebrews that we’re doing on Sundays:
And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. (Hebrews 12:1-2, TNIV)
The race I’m in was marked for me. It’s my race, and I’m to persevere in it while keeping my eyes on Jesus.
Having completed a 9 month study of systematic theology, I discovered that I fall kind of in-between the Calvinist and Arminian camps. I see the truth of both in Scripture, and so often I have to simply concede that both are true and trust God. For instance, He is in control and yet He gives us free will. I don’t quite understand how that works. I just know it does.
Last week I mentioned a song we sang at church. I searched high and low, but I cannot find who sings it. I believe it must be an oldie. However, this morning, I arrived at the verses in Scripture that the song was taken from. If you’ve walked with the Lord for any time at all, the verses will be familiar to you:
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31, TNIV)
Isn’t that beautiful. My Father never grows weary. I do, but He never does. And He will renew my strength (while I’m persevering in the race). I can soar on wings of eagles.
Speaking of words to a song and of trials and of persevering and of thanking God in the midst of whatever (good times or bad), we’ve sang Blessed Be Your Name for the past two Sundays. That song so perfectly fits everything I’ve said above. I have it on the Newsboys’ album, Devotion, but there are probably other artists who perform it too:
blessed be Your name
in the land that is plentiful
where your streams of abundance flow
blessed be Your name
and blessed be Your name
when I’m found in the desert place
though I walk through the wilderness
blessed be Your name
every blessing You pour out
I’ll turn back to praise
when the darkness closes in, Lord
still I will say
blessed be the name of the Lord
blessed be Your name
blessed be the name of the Lord
blessed be Your glorious name
and blessed be Your name
when the sun’s shining down on me
when the world’s ‘all as it should be’
blessed be Your name
and blessed be Your name
on the road marked with suffering
though there’s pain in the offering
blessed be Your name
You give and take away
You give and take away
my heart will choose to say
Lord blessed be Your name
I will bless Your name, Lord
Plentiful land or wilderness, I will bless the name of the Lord. Amen.
In the grip of His grace,
Robin
Above, you wrote: “But God says to persevere in the midst of trials. He calls us to embrace the trials, problems, pain. We’re called to praise Him in all things. We aren’t to look for the quick fixes but to go for the long haul.”
I have been thinking a lot about the message of “favor” being preached so prevalently today. I wonder what you think about it, Robin, since you have studied so many versions of the Word? My spirit agrees with the thought that God gives us promises to use as the sword against the enemy (and our singing his praise in the midst of the trial is one thing he works miraculously through), and I believe he came to give us life more abundantly. But sometimes this teaching about favor seems off to me too, and i don’t want to get outside God’s truth. How do you personally reconcile the two thoughts — embracing trials and praying God’s deliverance? I grew up in a church that strongly teaches pain and suffering are to be endured – almost to martyrdom, as some sort of penance, even as a way of offering a prayer up for others (i.e. if I have brain cancer I should just suffer and offer it up for someone else’s salvation). Now that I more fully understand what Jesus did for us, I don’t go along with that. I’ve learned to pray God’s word into my life and others. But some of the teaching on “favor” seems to go overboard the other way. Just wondering about your thoughts on that…
I’m not entirely sure where you were going with this post, so forgive me for sounding ignorant, but… are you saying I should get rid of my birth control pills and the pills that help my husband to make it possible for us to have sex (he has a blood disease), or what are you saying?
Julie, I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with modern medicine or birth control, et al. I’m saying when troubles come our way we can’t rely on quick fixes to carry us through. What carries us through is our faith in Christ, keeping our eyes on Him. A headache can usually be handled by taking an aspirin. Nothing wrong with that. But if we expect to take care of every “headache” in our lives with something that should work in 30 minutes, we are in for disappointment. I am saying we must know how to praise God when blessings are flowing all around us, and we must know how to praise God and keep running the race when we find ourselves in the wilderness with no sign of God’s blessings anywhere in sight. Hope that clarifies.
Robin
Pam, I’m going to mull your question and talk about it in a regular post. Stay tuned.
Robin
I also love the song, “Blessed Be Your Name”. It was written by a British worship leader named Matt Redman. He also wrote “The Heart of Worship” and “Let My Words Be Few”.
Robin, re: the Wings of Eagles song . . . Phil Driscoll sang a version of this on one of his older (more than ten years ago) albums. It’s a beautiful song and the others on the album are good too.
“Blessed Be Your Name” is on a great CD, “Revival in Belfast II.” And I love those verses in Isaiah.