Category: God

Where to Start When Trials Arise

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of  whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1

There is a strategy, a great principle for facing the battles and conflicts of life in the 27th psalm, condensed by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones in the following words:  “Always start with heaven and with God, and then come down to face the problems on earth, as you find them in the light of what you have already seen through God’s light”.

Never start with man, never begin with an earthly perspective. Many failures are the result of starting at the wrong place to find a solution.

Why do we start with God?  The first thing we notice in the first few verses is the psalmist’s overwhelming confidence and assurance, not in himself, but in God.  Let us consider the reasons for this unshakable certainty.

The Lord is his light. Light is the opposite of darkness and despair, and in the light, we see things  clearly. When we are in the midst of trials, we grope in darkness:  we have limited understanding, and we blindly grapple for human solutions. But we can look up to heaven and to God for light and understanding, for the Lord shows us another way, another kind of life, a way out of darkness. For He Himself is the light in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ who proclaimed, “I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12

The light of life.  The radiance that illuminates our pathways as we live our lives on earth. What a tremendous promise and assurance!

The Lord is his salvation.  When we turn to God, He guarantees our welfare, by showing us the way of escape.  Through Christ, God delivers us out of the kingdom of darkness and translates us into the kingdom of light.  It is a glorious transformation: despite the presence of sufferings, we are rescued out of the stronghold of tyrannical darkness, in understanding and in spirit, and we are elevated to a position of peace, strength and safety.

The Lord is the strength of his life.  In spite of the formidable forces of the enemies of our life and our soul , when we look to God and rely upon Him, we have the confidence of a limitless Power behind us, Whose strength and resources are boundless.

As we look to the Lord before anything else, in whatever circumstance we are in, we ultimately acknowledge Him to be our light, our strength and our salvation.  And from this principle flows the wellspring of our confidence and assurance in the face of trials, even at their very worst.  Whom then shall we fear, and of whom shall we be afraid?

1 Reference: Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones Sermon, “Seek My Face”

Setting the Lord Always Before Us

“I have set the Lord always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” Psalm 16:8 KJV

King David revealed one of the great secrets of his life, what kept him going in the midst of great adversities and tragic events: that he set the Lord always before him, being constantly aware of God’s nearness and presence. And we can say that this was also true of the Lord Jesus Christ, who lived a life of constant prayer and communion with the Father.

Let us consider what might be components of this significant guiding principle in life.

The first aspect is a determination, an act of the will, and a definite decision to practice this guideline.  We live busy lives in a world where “life seems to be organized for us”.  It is alarming how the years pass by so swiftly, and we often wonder if we have accomplished what we purposed to do.  We must insist, therefore, to take control of our lives and live it according to what we believe are the right paths, because if we do not, our lives will be governed by the tyranny of external events, the pressures of business, meetings, and day-to-day living, and we ultimately forget the needs of our immortal soul.

The second aspect of this practice is the art of recollection, speaking to ourselves and reminding ourselves of God and our relationship to Him.  Upon waking, we consciously dismiss thoughts of doubts and temptations and deliberately remind ourselves that we are children of God and heirs of eternity. And we meditate upon the implications and outcomes of belonging to God.

These components involve the action of diligently seeking the presence of God, to know that He is not simply a philosophical concept: He is a Person, and we can come before Him, speak and fellowship with Him.

One practical way we can attain this is to spend time reading the Bible, where God reveals Himself to us, and the more we read God’s Word, the more we are made aware of His Presence.  It must not be fitful, but rather a regular and systematic daily reading, to go through the book from Genesis to Revelation year by year. And we need to spend time in prayer, talking and listening to God.

These are the ways we set the Lord before us, and we must do it always, through trials and triumphs, through storms and calm, always.  And like King David, we shall not be moved, whatever befalls,  because the Lord is at our right hand.

Reference: David Martyn Lloyd-Jones Ssermon: Set the Lord Always Before Me

Photograph: Great Bear Lake by LCT

Limiting God

“Yes, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.” Psalm 78:41

Asaph described the actions of the Israelites in Psalm 78 as “limiting the Holy One of Israel”.  What does it mean to “limit God”?   Are there limits to what God can do?

God is limited to His character.  He cannot sin.  He cannot lie.  And God has imposed certain limits on Himself, requiring certain actions from His creation before He will allow Himself to act.1 In this sense, we limit God through our actions, according to the limits He sets for Himself.

How then do we limit God? As we read the epistles, we find certain patterns and norms highlighting what God has made possible for a Christian in this life and in this world. To the extent that we are not living up to these standards, we are limiting God as to what He can do in our lives. And tragically, we limit the world’s perception of the God we profess by our shortcomings in these areas.

The first standard is the assurance of salvation, the confidence that our sins are forgiven.  Do we know God and feel His presence in an intimate and real sense? Are we absolutely certain of His love for us, and that we are joint heirs with Christ?  If there is uncertainty about the marks of this assurance of our salvation, then we are limiting God.

Second, we are meant to be a rejoicing people. Do we rejoice in tribulation, even in the very midst of trials?  Can we proclaim these words, as did the prophet Habakkuk:

”Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”  ?  (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

If we are miserable Christians and are still turning back to the world for our happiness, then we are limiting God and all the glorious possibilities He holds out before us.

Third, we are to delight in God and His commandments.  His commandments are not grievous (I John 5:4), because they are light and life to us, where the alternative is only darkness.  Filled with grumbling and complaining, the Israelites in the wilderness envied other nations and murmured against God and His commands. But God meant for us to enjoy His Word and His laws.  The psalmist declared his love for God’s law, and yet we as Christians are in a superior position than the psalmist because we share in the fullness of Christ. Do we find God’s commandments grievous?  If we consider our Christianity as merely a matter of duty, then we are limiting God.

Fourth, we are to enjoy the peace of God.  The Israelites were unhappy, restless and confused, not allowing God to give them His comfort and peace.  If we are in a true, loving relationship with God, we can know this peace that cannot be disturbed.  Not knowing this peace as a reality is to put a limit to what God has made available to us.

Finally, we are to rest in Him and in His all-sufficiency.  The apostle Paul learned in whatsoever state he was, to be content.  Is this our experience? Do we know Christ to be our all-sufficiency, that we can do all things through Him?  Do we know something about days of heaven upon earth, how it feels to have God in our midst?  If not, then we are limiting His power and His grace to have full reign in our lives.

All of these things are available and made possible for us through Christ. If we have come short of any of these ideals, we need to repent and run back to God the soonest we can:  to open our hearts, believe His promises,  to ask and expect great things from Him, for the enrichment of our souls, and for His glory.

References:
*** 1 Martin G. Collins, Sermon: Limiting the Holy One of Israel Part 1: Examining Ourselves by God’s Standards

*** Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Sermon: Limiting God

*** Photograph: Stairs to the Sea by Queralt  jqmj @Flickr cc

How Faith Overcomes

“ For whoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.” I John 5:4

Faith is the victory that overcomes: what an astounding tautology put forth by the Apostle John! Certainly a lofty concept, but let us consider how our faith in Christ makes overcoming the world a practical and actual possibility.

First, believing that Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God gives us the capacity to rest upon the power and ability of Christ, the One who conquered death and is alive forevermore.

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and are safe” 1 Just as men of old ran to the tower to seek safety from their enemies, in the simplicity of our faith, we run to Christ, use His powerful name, hide in Him in a literal sense for protection, defense, and deliverance. We rely utterly upon Him. This is what is called “the great strategy of faith”, the assurance of the possibility that is open to us, that we can go to Christ directly, immediately, and simply look to Him and rest in Him. And when the battle rages on and we feel that we are at the point of falling, we simply cry “Jesus”, and believe and know that He is at hand to deliver and protect us.  As little children, we do not look at the enemy, but simply rely upon Him.  Victory is in Him, in His power, and not in ourselves.

Second, we use faith in an active sense.  We deliberate upon the Christian gospel and ponder what faith in Christ really means in terms of this fight we face against the world, the flesh and the devil.  We consider Jesus Christ in relation to this battle: that He took upon the likeness of sinful flesh because of the power of Satan, of sin and of evil, that He came because He is the only way by which we could be delivered from these overpowering forces. And in His life, death and resurrection, Christ overcame these powers.

As we see ourselves belonging to Christ, we realize that we share in His victory and everything that belongs to Him. Our whole perspective towards this fight changes: because Christ has overcome the world, and because we are in Him, then we have overcome.  In a practical sense, being in Christ enables us to see that we can literally draw strength and power from Him and from His fullness; we have inexhaustible resources behind us, we have a source of supply that can never fail. There is absolutely no limit to the power of Christ.

And in our human frailty, when we sin and fall back, there is forgiveness in Christ. There is nothing that so enables us to overcome as this deliverance from our sins and failures, the freedom from that overwhelming sense of despair, so we can arise again and continue our journey through life.

Lastly, faith enables us to behold the ultimate glory and perfection that await us.  Our hearts are encouraged though the fight may seem arduous and endless.  Faith makes us realize that Christ, who died for us and sustains us in this world, will one day present us faultless before the presence of God with exceeding joy.

And this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.

*** 1  Proverbs 18:10

***Reference:  Martyn Lloyd Jones, Life In Christ, Crossway Books, Wheaton Illinois, 2002, pp. 604-613.

*** Photo: Elie Tower by Dimitri


To Overcome the World

“ For whosoever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”  I John 5:4-5

The apostle John warns against loving the “world”, succinctly described in his epistle as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

The “world” can be defined as an outlook, a system of thought that is opposed to God:  it strives to separate us from God, persecutes us for loving Him,  and obstructs us from glorifying Him in our lives. It is an overwhelming force that engulfs us as we seek to live a life pleasing to the Father.

How do we overcome the world?

The monastic position advocates withdrawing from the world and emphasizes the use of discipline and willpower as well as observance of rules and regulations.  But a mechanical and physical departure alone ultimately does not offer an escape from the “world” that operates within a person: the pride of self and natural lusts.  And consider that Christ, the One who overcame the world, lived a public life; He did not withdraw from the world, but interacted with people from all walks of life, including sinners and winebibbers.

How then do we arrive at a position of overcoming the world?  Let us consider the biblical view.

First, we overcome the world by being born of God. Whoever is born of God overcomes the world. The Christian has a new disposition, a new outlook, a perception of the world as the Lord Jesus Christ saw it.  We become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4), hence we look at things from God’s vantage point, not from the carnal and sinful point of view of natural man.  There is a hope that anchors us within our inner selves, in spite of us being in the world, placing us in a position to overcome it.

Second, the new birth gives us this faculty which enables us to live a life of faith.  This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. The world is a formidable foe and we are powerless to fight it by our own strength. We need emancipation, to be lifted to another realm, to be given a strength and power beyond ourselves, and greater than the world.  Being born again through Christ introduces us to a higher dimension, with a power available to us to enable us to have victory over the world.

Third, we overcome the world by our relationship to Jesus Christ, to Christ’s work, and what has already been accomplished at the cross.  Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?  Therefore, withdrawal from the world and following ascetic rules is entirely unnecessary and ineffectual because everything we need to be victorious is already found in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Through the new birth, we are able to exercise our faith in Christ, to rest in Him, to receive and draw upon His fullness. And as Christ glorified the Father, so can we, as we live our lives victorious over the world.

** Reference: Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Life in Christ,Crossway, Wheaton, Illinois, 1982, pp. 585-603.

** Photograph:  Body Surfer by Chuck Babbitt