2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
When we come to faith in Christ and repent, we agree to become participants in the Covenant of Grace. That places us in an often difficult position. Our values and goals begin to change toward those of the Savior, because of the Holy Spirit’s influence on us. We are no longer part of the mainstream and don’t want the same things that the majority around us want. As we come closer to Christ, worldly people around us begin to notice and to deride us. Even before Christ’s incarnation, faithful people were forced to endure derision, persecution, and even martyrdom if they held to their beliefs. PS 35 is “A Prayer For Help,” which allows us to see the problems David faced. PS 35: 4, “May those who try to kill me be defeated and disgraced! May those who plot against me be turned back and confused!” (7) “Without any reason they laid a trap for me and dug a deep hole to catch me.” (11) “Evil men testify against me and accuse me of crimes I know nothing about.” (15) “But when I was in trouble, they were all glad and gathered around to make fun of me; strangers beat me and kept striking me.” (19) “Do not let my enemies, those liars, gloat over my defeat. Do not let those who hate me for no reason smirk with delight over my sorrow.” We get another glimpse into David’s suffering for his faith in PS 69: 4, “Those who hate me for no reason are more numerous than the hairs on my head. My enemies tell lies against me; they are strong and want to kill me. They made me give back things I did not steal.”
It wouldn’t be fair or right to present these pleas for help without presenting evidence of David’s profound faith in God. PS 31: 4-5, “Keep me safe from the trap that has been set for me; shelter me from danger. I place myself in Your care. You will save me, Lord; You are a faithful God.” PS 35: 2-3, “Take Your shield and armor and come to my rescue. Life up Your spear and war ax against those who pursue me. Tell me You will save me.” (9-10) “Then I will be glad because of the Lord; I will be happy because He saved me. With all my heart I will say to the Lord, ‘There is no one like You. You protect the weak from the strong, the poor from the oppressor.” (24) “You are righteous, O Lord, so declare me innocent; do not let my enemies gloat over me.” (27-28) “My those who want to see me acquitted shout for joy and say again and again, ‘How great is the Lord! He is pleased with the success of his servant.’ Then, I will proclaim Your righteousness, and I will praise You all day long.”
It may not be enough for us to read about David’s suffering and his faithfulness. It is important to see from where David’s faithfulness came. PS 78: 70-72, “He [God] chose His servant David; He took him from the pastures, where he looked after his flocks, and He made him king of Israel, the shepherd of the people of God. David took care of them with unselfish devotion and led them with skill.” David is clearly a foreshadowing of Christ, the Good Shepherd to come [JN 10: 14-15]. We need to understand why we ourselves should endure whatever suffering we do because of our own faith. We need to understand the motivation we have to put up with whatever challenges to our faith that come our way. Let me repeat a citation from the other day which really illuminates the privilege we have being participants in the Covenant of Grace. JN 15: 16-17, 19, [Christ speaking] “You did not choose Me; I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much fruit, the kind of fruit that endures. And so the Father will give you whatever you ask of Him in My name. This then, is what I command you: love one another…If you belonged to the world, then the world would love you as its own. But I chose you from this world, and you do not belong to it; that is why the world hates you.”
When God, through Christ, chose us to be believers, He equipped us with faith, enough faith to endure whatever trials come our way. We must remember the two parallel truths: God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility to respond to it. God surely does His part in this Covenant of Grace. The question is: Do we do our part? Each of us must examine the our individual lives to answer that question. God has never promised that doing our part would be easy for us. In fact, it often isn’t. However, if we understand the Lord Who loves each of us the complete way that He does, we will know that each challenge to our faith that comes our way is not harder than we can bear [1 COR 10: 13] nor do we face it unequipped to be victorious over the attempts of the adversary to tempt, create pain, put blocks in our path, or do other evil [EPH 6: 10-18]. My spiritual warfare right now comes from rejection of my beliefs and lifestyle by my own family [Pete excluded]. Many of you have even worse challenges. Whatever they are we must remember that the only way Satan can win is if we allow Him to win by demonstrating weakness in our faith or willingness to endure for the sake of our Abba.
PRAYER: O Lord, Your infinite wisdom allowed You to know that in addition to offering Your Son on the cross and giving us the gift of the Holy Spirit, we would need to work through challenges to our faith that come to us from the clash between Your values and the world’s. You instructed us not to conform to the values of the world, but instead, to use Jesus Christ as an ideal model for how we should think and act. You have always known that our faith would need to be tested for us not only to make the changes in our lives necessary to join You in your work, but also to make forward progress in the process of sanctification. You want us to be ready for that Day when You call us to You forever. You gave David the faith he needed to be a good shepherd king for Israel. Your Son was presented to us in His incarnation and the work of the cross, so we could know that we have a Good Shepherd Who knows His sheep and would give His life for them. While You always knew that we would have to suffer for our faith, You also equipped us to be victors over the attempts of the adversary to destroy our faith. When we ask You to give us strength and endurance, You give it to us. In fact, You have promised us that You will give us anything we ask for in the name of Jesus Christ! We stand in humble readiness to fight to the end, courageously enduring in our faith for Your Sake and for that of the Son. We offer You our heartfelt adoration, worship, loyalty, trust, obedience, honor, glory, praise, and thanks for being our Abba Who loves us as no other entity does. In Christ’s name, amen.
The Lord directs me to write more tomorrow about enduring in faith. His love for us is all around us. He is eager to bless each of us abundantly, if we will only seek Him. He wants to take our burdens, encourage us when we are tempted and challenged, and equips us to endure. His direction and even His correction at times are crucial to that victory for which we are called. His love is steadfast and endures forever. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn