Many times in the Bible, God commands His people to set up memorials, establish traditions, and keep records in order to remember the good things He has done for them. A New Testament example is the Last Supper, which Jesus told His disciples to do routinely in order to remember His sacrifice (Luke 22:19, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
Exodus is replete with examples of God setting up reminders for His people, starting with the Passover, when God leads the Israelites out of their bondage in Egypt.
Chapter 16 of Exodus tells how the Israelites grumble against Moses for taking them out of Egypt to starve, and God responds by sending them quail in the evening and manna in the morning (Exodus 16:13-15). God then says to keep some of the manna in a jar and preserve it for generations to come so that the Israelites will remember how God provided for them in the desert (Exodus 16:32-33).
Chapter 17 tells how the Amalekites attack Israel, and God gives Israel victory (Exodus 17:8-16 - it's a good story, could be the subject of a whole new blog post). God tells Moses to write it down so that it will be remembered (verse 14).
Sandwiched in between these two miracles that God performs on Israel's behalf, and these two ways that God attempts to keep the miracles in Israel's memory, is an account of the Israelites complaining again. They have no water and are going to die of thirst. Apparently they don't remember how God sent plagues on Egypt, parted the Red Sea, or gave them bread from heaven, and they think this is the end of the road. They're angry with God and with Moses. Moses asks God what he is to do, and God tells him to strike a rock, and out of it comes water (Exodus 17:1-7).
As I read these stories, I am baffled at how quickly the Israelites forget God's goodness and how easily they are convinced that not following Him would be better (Exodus 16:3). And yet, I do the same.
God gives me clear direction, such as when He led me to go to Honduras for a time. There was so much confirmation and providence. But a couple of weeks in Honduras, and I realized it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I began to wallow in discontentment and question whether I could really stay there. Yet God was faithful, and the entire two-and-a-half years I was there, He provided for my needs, albeit at the last minute to teach me dependence on Him.
God blesses me beyond measure - a wonderful family, a great education, work, a car, a computer, an amazing husband... But then something happens. My job doesn't turn out to be so wonderful. My car dies. I have to wait in line at the grocery store, for goodness' sake. And suddenly my thoughts are focused on what's not right in my life instead of on the One who makes all things work together for good.
So I have a proposal. How about every time a negative thought enters my head, I counter it with a positive one... I'm so bored at work*... Thank God I have a job and more than enough money to live on. How about when I start to worry about what could go wrong, I bring to remembrance the good things God has done...My car is old, and it's making sounds that scare me. What if it needs a really expensive repair? How will I afford it?...Remember that time in Honduras when I didn't know how I'd pay for the next week's groceries? Then God dropped $500 in my lap.
Give it a try. Pay attention to your thoughts, and the next negative thought that comes up, replace it with something positive. Remember God's goodness.
*Note - The boredom at work does not refer to my current job, nor to any of my teaching jobs.
"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4:6-7
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Thursday, January 22, 2015
The process of deliverance
I have been reading the book of Exodus and am struck by how many analogies can be drawn between the Israelites' deliverance from Egypt and our lives as Christians.
To begin with, God has a plan to deliver His people - to rescue us from our afflictions and to bless us with good things (Exodus 3:8, Romans 8).
But that doesn't mean life is easy.
I think that many people, when they think of the Exodus, think of the plagues God sent on the Egyptians and how He led the Israelites into freedom, parting the Red Sea to make their escape possible.
But we don't think so much about how the Israelites lived in slavery for 400 years (Exodus 1:11, Exodus 12:40). Ever since sin entered the world, life has been hard, and God allows His people to experience suffering. The difference between the suffering of God's followers and the suffering of those who don't belong to Him is that we have hope. God promised long before the Israelites became slaves that they would be enslaved and mistreated, but that He would deliver them (Genesis 15:13-14). Similar to when Jesus promised that His followers would have troubles but that in the end, they would overcome (Troubles).
Even when God initiates His plan to save His people, the suffering doesn't end. In fact, it gets worse. The first time Moses goes to Pharaoh to tell him to let God's people go, Pharaoh responds by working the Israelites harder (Exodus 5:6-21). The Israelites react as many of us do when life gets harder - they complain to Moses and blame him for this added misery. We assume that when bad things happen, someone must be to blame. Is God not as good as I thought He was? Is there someone in my life who is at fault? Did my own sin cause this? We fail to realize that when God acts, the Enemy feels threatened and needs to show that he is still powerful. I love the following example of this concept:
"So [in obedience to God's instructions] Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. Pharaoh then summoned the wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs" (Exodus 7:10-12).
I love this passage because it is an image of the truth that no matter how the Enemy tries to compete with God and make us trust more in the evil that is in the world than we trust in God, God's work always trumps the Enemy's. No matter how much goes wrong in your life, God is still more powerful, and His plan to do you good will be the one that triumphs.
" 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' " -Jeremiah 29:11
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." -Romans 8:28
To begin with, God has a plan to deliver His people - to rescue us from our afflictions and to bless us with good things (Exodus 3:8, Romans 8).
But that doesn't mean life is easy.
I think that many people, when they think of the Exodus, think of the plagues God sent on the Egyptians and how He led the Israelites into freedom, parting the Red Sea to make their escape possible.
But we don't think so much about how the Israelites lived in slavery for 400 years (Exodus 1:11, Exodus 12:40). Ever since sin entered the world, life has been hard, and God allows His people to experience suffering. The difference between the suffering of God's followers and the suffering of those who don't belong to Him is that we have hope. God promised long before the Israelites became slaves that they would be enslaved and mistreated, but that He would deliver them (Genesis 15:13-14). Similar to when Jesus promised that His followers would have troubles but that in the end, they would overcome (Troubles).
Even when God initiates His plan to save His people, the suffering doesn't end. In fact, it gets worse. The first time Moses goes to Pharaoh to tell him to let God's people go, Pharaoh responds by working the Israelites harder (Exodus 5:6-21). The Israelites react as many of us do when life gets harder - they complain to Moses and blame him for this added misery. We assume that when bad things happen, someone must be to blame. Is God not as good as I thought He was? Is there someone in my life who is at fault? Did my own sin cause this? We fail to realize that when God acts, the Enemy feels threatened and needs to show that he is still powerful. I love the following example of this concept:
"So [in obedience to God's instructions] Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. Pharaoh then summoned the wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs" (Exodus 7:10-12).
I love this passage because it is an image of the truth that no matter how the Enemy tries to compete with God and make us trust more in the evil that is in the world than we trust in God, God's work always trumps the Enemy's. No matter how much goes wrong in your life, God is still more powerful, and His plan to do you good will be the one that triumphs.
" 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' " -Jeremiah 29:11
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." -Romans 8:28
Sunday, January 11, 2015
He is still good
Since my last post about troubles in this world, my friend's husband lost his battle to cancer. And I kept asking God why. I just couldn't understand why He would take someone so devoted to Him, so useful to Him on Earth, and so dear to his family, home so early. It's hard not to be offended, knowing that God could have healed him yet chose not to.
But lately I've been challenged to meditate on Jesus' attributes and create a mental image of Him. What I see and feel are love and compassion. And when I bring my hurts to Him, I feel that what hurts me, hurts Him, too.
I don't think I'll ever understand why God didn't intervene the way I would've, except that God is not human. His ways are higher than mine, and His perspective is eternal.
I know that the troubles of this world pale in comparison with the glories of eternity. I know that God doesn't wish us any sorrows, but he allows them in our lives in order to shape us. He doesn't plan harm against us, but He is able to work everything together for good.
Just want to share my friend's post declaring her faith in the Comforter as she mourns her husband: https://ourlifeinfourbags.wordpress.com/2015/01/11/dear-keith-33/
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us... And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose... in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loves us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
-Romans 8
But lately I've been challenged to meditate on Jesus' attributes and create a mental image of Him. What I see and feel are love and compassion. And when I bring my hurts to Him, I feel that what hurts me, hurts Him, too.
I don't think I'll ever understand why God didn't intervene the way I would've, except that God is not human. His ways are higher than mine, and His perspective is eternal.
I know that the troubles of this world pale in comparison with the glories of eternity. I know that God doesn't wish us any sorrows, but he allows them in our lives in order to shape us. He doesn't plan harm against us, but He is able to work everything together for good.
Just want to share my friend's post declaring her faith in the Comforter as she mourns her husband: https://ourlifeinfourbags.wordpress.com/2015/01/11/dear-keith-33/
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us... And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose... in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loves us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
-Romans 8
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