Tag: anger

In God’s Care

Psalm 31:15

My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me (NIV).

We are now in the second half of the year 2020. So, here comes a stupid question. Has this year been what you anticipated it would be on New Year’s Day? I don’t think anyone seriously expected a worldwide pandemic and the medical, societal and economic consequences it has spawned. Who ever talked about “social distancing”, “shelter at home”, or the despised phrase “the new normal” prior to 2020? Who ever thought we would be required to wear masks in public places, including banks? I have had to wear a mask into my bank. I would never thought about doing that prior to the pandemic! The bank personnel would have asked me to remove it or to leave. Our times seem to be out of control, and that reality makes us all feel uncomfortable to say the least.

However, my times and your times are not out of control. They are held firmly and directed fully and finally by our Sovereign God. The living God is in absolute control. One of my college history professors used to refer to this verse many times when he prayed to open our classes. That I can recall his prayers nearly fifty years later reveals how much he must have lived by this verse. Reading God’s word and praying it back to him is a commendable practice. My professor modeled that before me in class before I ever heard that concept stated. Our examples ought to influence others (cf. 1 Thessalonians 1:4-8).

My times and your times are not out of control. They might look out of control and feel out of control but they are not. We must learn this truth from this verse. My times are in your hands…. Five years ago this month, it was easy for me to feel that my life was out of control. But when I would start to think that way, God showed up through his people to assure my wife and I that our times were in his hands. We received financial help, a cabin to get away to where we could pray and talk, a day trip to the Statue of Liberty with friends, and when my mom died, two friends cut their vacation short to drive with us to go out to be with my dad and to provide other assistance. Others provided words of comfort and assurance that were just as necessary. God was with us, holding everything in his care, to bring us through the crisis that most of 2015 was for us. My times are in your hands….

It is too easy to look at the world during troubled times with eyes of despair, abandonment, and desolation. The psalmist David lived through fear and anguish for years. He had to run for his life as a cruel tyrant (his own father-in-law) pursued him in order to kill him. People he tried to help turned on him. His own men talked of killing him. Enemies killed faithful people because of him. His life was worse than the proverbial train wreck. But he learned through every situation My times are in your hands…. And then he wrote this psalm so that others could sing the same truth.

These words call us to faith and hope in God, and also to love God. Sadly, we can become proficient in talking about trusting God and waiting expectantly for God to work, while we neglect speaking about loving the Sovereign God when everything seems against us. To say, “My times are in your hands,” is an opportunity to express our love to the God who is in charge of our times. Examine your heart. Are you upset, even angry, that God is guiding the troubled world in its current direction? Do you want to tell him… to demand… that he controls all things according to your pleasure. Let us learn to pray again your will be done (Matthew 6:10 NIV, my emphasis).

My times are in your hands….

Grace and peace,
David

Communication: Talking Like Jesus (Part Two)

IMG_0254Ephesians 4:20-32

When we speak like Jesus, we will be pursuing the proper goal or purpose of building up others.

Gospel-focused communication will be spiritually constructive. This agrees with the purpose of discipleship, that is, of teaching disciples (Matthew 28:20; 1 Corinthians 12:7). God wants us to build up the body of believers. Talking like Jesus in constructive speech is part of your function in the spiritual body of Christ. The head (Christ) is sending out beneficial messages to each of his members, and we are to spread those beneficial messages to other members. This means we seek the improvement of the people of a local assembly (church) by the way we speak and what we speak. No sane contractor would seek to harm the building he was under contract to construct. Yet how many Christians pull others down by gossip, slander, cutting comments, or a simple lack of gentleness or compassion? And how few deliberately intend to help others improve spiritually, which is the point at hand? Building up one another rarely happens in a quick conversation on a Sunday morning. Such words can be constructive, but they are limited by time. Every Christian needs to be in a small group.

Constructive speech aims to build up, especially where the brother or sister in Christ has a need. What are some needs that we all have from time to time?

  • Rebuke (Galatians 2:14; Titus 1:13b)
  • Instruction (Acts 18:26)
  • Encouragement (Acts 11:23)

When we speak like Jesus, we will keep our words within some wise guidelines. The entire life of Jesus shows his use of wise words at all times. Will the way I am about to talk build up this person like Jesus does, or will it provoke sinful attitudes or responses? Here are some examples:

  • Is my communication sexually suggestive? Sex is a normal part of life. God created it! But improper words can arouse desires that should not be. Talk about sexual matters wisely.
  • Is my communication inducing the other person to anger? The point is to use some common sense to avoid words that are pushing the other person’s buttons.
  • Is my communication causing fear or doubts?  Don’t spread despair amid the general gloom! TV newscasters are paid to spread doom and gloom, but wise words lead people to confident expectation (hope) in God.

What benefits does this conversation intend to seek in the heart and life my brother or sister in Christ? Have I thought this through before I speak? Actually what good will it do? To talk about some subjects with some people is an exercise in futility, because they do not what to listen or change. Consider Jesus’ teaching (Matthew 7:6). Can I turn this conversation in a spiritually profitable direction? Some cannot be, or it is not the time nor the place. We must use discernment; this requires skill. To what degree does this conversation display “true righteousness and holiness” (4:24)?  Jesus our Lord used his words to teach about God the Father and to make us think with an eternal perspective. How are your words doing that?

Grace and peace, David