humility – The Words Of David C. Frampton

Study of Psalm 131 (Part Two)

Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I do not get involved with things too great or too wondrous for me (131:1 CSB).

We continue to examine the attitude of childlike trust set forth in this verse.

When David says that both heart and eyes are not proud or haughty, he is not saying that both the inner and outer man are humble. “Haughty eyes” is an idiom for a proud attitude (Psalm 18:27; Proverbs 6:17; 21:4; Isaiah 10:12), though certainly pride does show itself in the eyes (Isaiah 2:11; 5:15; Psalm 101:5). The way to change from pride to humility is to gain a better, richer acquaintance of the majesty of God and the Lord’s evaluation of our sinfulness. The Psalms have much to say on both topics. Read a psalm the way you would look at beautiful scenery. You would not take a brief glance and move on. You would allow your soul to “drink in” the view. You would want to share it with those you love. You would take photos of it, so that you could remember the view. On the other hand, no normal person likes to look long at ugliness and oppression and suffering. But there are times we must. Allow the Psalms to grip your heart in both directions, and humility will be the outcome the Holy Spirit produces.

I do not get involved with things too great or too wondrous for me. The word for “get involved” (“exercise” in the KJV and “concern” NIV) is the word “walk”. This verb is “the verb most frequently employed to describe the act or process of living” (Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis). David is talking about his habitual way of life. Matters that are too difficult (Deuteronomy 17:8) or too amazing (Proverbs 30:18) for him to comprehend, he allows to be resolved by God.

We need to recognize that life is filled with complex situations. We are tempted to try to explain God’s providence, in order that we can rest. Religious people want to know why such a horrible event has occurred. A childlike trust demands that we stop trying and allow God to “tie up the loose ends”.

The text is not saying to avoid life’s challenges, but to submit one’s view of them to God’s revelation. An important verse is Deuteronomy 29:29. The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law (NIV). We must follow two guiding principles:

Strive to know all that God has revealed in the Scriptures. This requires time and work. It is more than quick “devotional” Bible reading. Racing through the Bible on a reading plan will not allow you to stop and ponder. But to make progress you must do this.
Stay away from demands to know what God has not revealed. This includes both theological issues and the interpretation of life’s events. Who can perfectly say “I know for certain that this is why that happened”? One event may be used by God to accomplish many purposes. Stop with what God says. If the Lord wanted us to know more about some people and events recorded in the Bible, he would have told us.

Our “theological boxes” must be as big as the infinite God, or he will break them apart every time we try to put him and his providence in the box we have carefully constructed. We must learn to say, “I don’t know, but I know God knows what he is doing” (cf. Romans 8:28-30).

Consider chess problems: “White to move and checkmate in 2 moves”. Many strange moves are the “key” to the problem. When the key move is made by White, no matter how Black replies, Black will be checkmated by White’s next move. We must calmly watch God make his “strange moves” that are the key to glorifying his name. He is the great Master of the world. Stand back and watch what grace and judgments he will bring forth through Covid-19.

Grace and peace,
David

Study of Psalm 131 (Part One)

Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I do not get involved with things too great or too wondrous for me (131:1 CSB)

Psalm 131 is a short, little-known song of David. Some dispute that he wrote it (some dispute everything!), but there is nothing to indicate that he was not the author. In fact, what we know of David, the man after God’s heart, agrees well with this writing. Consider his attitude in 2 Samuel 6:20-22. He was very willing to humble himself before the Lord, even if others might despise him. “In general David is the model of the state of mind which the poet expresses here. He did not push himself forward, but suffered himself to be drawn forth out of seclusion. He did not take possession of the throne violently; but after Samuel has anointed him, he willingly and patiently traverses the long, thorny, circuitous way of deep abasement, until he receives from God’s hand that which God’s promise had assured to him. The persecution by Saul lasted about ten years, and his kingship in Hebron, at first only incipient, seven years and a half. He left it entirely to God to remove Saul and Ishbosheth. He let Shimei curse. He left Jerusalem before Absalom. Submission to God’s guidance, resignation to his dispensations, contentment with what was allotted to him, are the distinguishing traits of his noble character.” (Delitzsch)

The psalm is a song about childlike trust and humility before God. A practical use of it would be to teach this godly virtue (like there are songs for children about the fruit of the Spirit). The New Testament Scriptures teach this same attitude in passages like Matthew 18:3; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5. (Also read Lloyd-Jones’ sermon “The Approach to the Gospel” in Old Testament Evangelistic Sermons, pp. 33-43.)

What kind of trust does God expect his people to demonstrate in perplexing situations? Are you in a perplexing situation now? Are you becoming anxious or frustrated?

This psalm outlines easily:

The attitude of childlike trust (131:1)
The action of childlike trust (131:2)
The invitation to childlike trust (131:3)

The psalm begins with the stance we must take before the living God. David says that we must put off an attitude of being “big” enough to handle life on our own. We must not say that we are able to start from ourselves and understand or that we can unravel life’s mysteries. David immediately directs us to a different kind of approach to God, which, when you think on it, shows the true meaning of trusting God. It is to bow before God and say, “You speak, you explain, and I will listen.”

The text, then, deals with a common human attitude. We want to search, to investigate, and to analyze starting from ourselves. But to start that way is not to trust God, but it is to think ourselves capable of understanding life and the world apart from God. The way of faith is to bow before the Lord and say, “Lord, I need your help. I need you to teach me.” Most people are unwilling to so humble themselves before God.

Here is an amazing profession in prayer before the living God! “My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty….” We want to ask, “How can you say that, David?” Is not that statement itself some underhanded way of expressing pride? Cf. Luke 18:11-12.

We must remember that David is writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who both knew David’s heart and wanted him to write this. We know from the Scriptures that David had to struggle with pride as the rest of us do. (Read 2 Samuel 24.) But that is not the point of the psalm. It is presenting the general attitude that trust must have, especially in relation to the mind.
Notice that David is speaking to God — “O LORD” — and not to people. So, he is not trying to exalt himself before people. It is the saint speaking to his God. But how can we make this kind of statement before the Holy and All-knowing God? We can do it only by the Spirit, as he searches and examines our hearts.

Too often, any of us can have a “know-it-all” attitude. We might despise this when we encounter it in others, but we can be blind to our own pride. Lord, help us learn from this psalm! How refreshing it would be to hear a whole congregation of believers singing this psalm from the core of their hearts!

Grace and peace,
David

Developing a Gospel Attitude (Part One)

Luke 9:46-56

An argument started among them about who was the greatest of them. But Jesus, knowing their inner thoughts, took a little child and had him stand next to him. He told them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me welcomes him who sent me. For whoever is least among you—this one is great” (9:46-48 CSB).

In recent posts, we have read of Jesus’s transfiguration, in which something of his divine glory was revealed to Peter, James, and John. Following that picture of his majesty, they went down the mountain to rejoin the other apostles. There they encountered human misery. What a contrast! It remains true at this moment. God is seated in his glorious majesty over all, and we live in the misery of sin, suffering, and death. Do not blame God; we humans have brought and continue to bring this on ourselves by our rebellion against God. If you understand, weep over people without God and without hope in this world.

We come now to a practical test that followed Christ’s instruction. Sadly, what the apostles learned was not changing how they thought and acted. Their attitudes needed to be reworked. In this section (9:46-56), we will consider three hindrances to a gospel attitude and what should we do about them.

The first hindrance is pride (9:46-48).

The apostles exhibited an incredible circumstance of idolatrous zeal. Their behavior was way out of line. Who would think that grown men would act like this? Did you ever collect milk weed pods when you were a kid? It was lots of fun, right? My wife and I have done it with our granddaughter. To watch her joy was a pleasure. Do any of you adults long to do it again without children around? You put away that childish activity and many more. You don’t say to your adult friends, “Let’s go find some milk weed pods, break them open, and watch their seeds scatter!” Followers of Christ should have a holy disinterest in pride. “That was part of our old way of life! We don’t want to do that any longer.”

Christ’s perception of the apostles was correct. He knew their thoughts. He knows our thoughts. The Lord knows when we fail to humble ourselves before God and others. He sees our self-reliance in our abilities; he knows our arrogant opinions, when we refuse to submit to the teaching of God’s word (cf. Psalm 139:1-6).

Jesus provided a searching illustration. Here it was like an object lesson. He didn’t tell a story this time. He welcomed a little child. That child, and every child, has eternal significance. Made in God’s image, he or she will exist somewhere forever. Jesus loves children. Woe to those who do not!

The significance of the child in this example is not in his personal humility but in the child’s relative insignificance to people, especially in the opinion of adult men. Jesus did not tell them to have the child’s attitude but to accept the child’s place. They were focused on who had the best credentials. The boy had no claim to fame in their eyes. He had no proud position. People not absorbed with the child’s greatness. Were those disciples willing to be insignificant?

However, we must not stop with humility. If we do, we are still focused on self. It is possible to read this passage and come out of it as a moralist instead of a Christian. Listen carefully to Jesus’ emphasis (9:48). Do we welcome even children in Jesus’ name? Or do we ignore them?

The important fact is to view the child in relation to Jesus. Would they be content to serve the child for Christ’s sake? Would they welcome him in the name of the Lord? To do so is to extend a welcome to Jesus. But to pass by a child in a quest for greatness is to miss an opportunity to honor the Lord!

Joined with this truth is the relation of Jesus to God the Father, the one who sent Jesus. If you welcome Jesus, you also welcome the living God. Christ is leading them to focus on the significance of the One that they confessed to be the Christ of God.

Whatever temporary lesson the disciples may have learned is obscured by John’s statement in the next verse. But however they benefited, we are wise to ask ourselves, “Do we get the point?”

Ask yourself sometime today, “How much do I really care about children? Do I view them as unimportant, especially compared to how great ‘we adults’ are? How much am I doing to bring children into a saving relationship with Jesus? Do I pray for them? Am I stirred to have compassion on them?”

Grace and peace
David

Bragging or Praying? (Part One)

Luke 18:9-14

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector” (18:9-10 CSB).

I once went on a “mountain climbing adventure” on South Bubble in Acadia Park with one of my sons. That experience does not mean that I qualify as a mountain climber, partly because it wasn’t even high enough to be classified as a mountain. The other reason is that I wasn’t much of a climber, being terribly out of shape. If I had been more in tune with my condition, I would have scheduled a visit with a cardiologist then. But we can’t rewrite our lives, can we? Although I have climbed other true mountains in the east, I am still not a mountain climber, but just a hiker, who sometimes enjoys terrain that is a little bit more challenging.

It is of fundamental importance in true Christianity that a person has a correct idea or evaluation of what they are. Only when a person, by God’s grace, realizes what they are, will they turn to God, acknowledge their deficiencies and insufficiencies, and humbly seek grace. This holds true whether a person needs to be saved or needs to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.

In this parable, Jesus tells a story with one main point. This time, it is not about the need for persistent prayer (Luke 18:1-8) but about true righteousness and how to attain it. God does not acknowledge people as righteous on the basis of what we do or do not do. No one can be right with God that way, because we are all ruined by sin. Everyone who is righteous before God owes all to God’s free grace in Jesus Christ.

Outward religion is not a sign of inward grace (18:10). Both men in this parable were visibly associated with the people of God. They prayed at God’s temple. Membership in a church or attendance at a church does not save or help save in any way. For example, attending a football game does not make you a football player, and even being on a team doesn’t equate with really knowing how to play football, as a lot of coaches will testify! We must beware of self-deception (cf. Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23). True Christians follow Christ, and to follow him requires supernatural power, the power of the Holy Spirit.

Both were outwardly performing an acceptable act of worship (cf. Matthew 6:5-15). Flowery words and cleverly crafted phrases are not a sign of a pure heart. There are many art critics and aficionados that can tell you everything about brush strokes and composition of paintings yet cannot paint! True prayer comes from a heart of faith in God and love for God, not from a “dictionary of religious phrases”.

Consider this typical example of a Pharisee’s prayer. “I thank thee, Jehovah my God, that thou hast assigned my lost with those who sit in the… (house of learning) and Thou hast not set my portion with those who sit in (street) corners, for I rise early and they rise early, but I rise for words of Torah and they rise early for frivolous talk; I labor and they labor, but I labor and receive a reward and they labor and do not receive a reward; I run and they run, but I run to life of the future world and they run to the pit of destruction” (Talmud, Berakoth 28b, quoted by Morris, p. 264).

Both were performing that act in a way that God appointed. These I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples (Isaiah 56:7 ESV).

The contemporary church would call people engaged in such activity “committed Christians” or “spiritual Christians”. But Jesus says, “Wait; we must look deeper.” The question for us is, “Are we willing to look deeper into the subject? Will we approach God in humility and say, Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23-24 ESV)?

Grace and peace, David

Elijah: A Man Like Us (Part Two)

1 Kings 19:1-11a

There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by” (19:9b-11a NIV).

We continue to look at the great contrast in Elijah as recorded 1 Kings 18 and 19. In chapter 18, we read of Elijah standing boldly before hostile false prophets, a wicked king and people that had walked away from the Lord to worship false gods; in chapter 19 he flees from a threat of one woman, Jezebel. What caused this? We can discern four reasons. The first was that he gave way to fear, and the second was physical and spiritual fatigue. He was worn out from the events. Now, let’s think on two other reasons.

Elijah had a false view of himself, an aggravated sense of importance (19:9b-10). He justified himself. “I have been very zealous….” Do we really know ourselves well enough to ever say this? We need the evaluation of the Spirit of God. Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns (Psalm 139:23 CSB). Who can measure up to all that God requires? Luke 17:7-10. For example, remember the rich young man (Mark 10:20).

With a high view of himself, Elijah blamed others. “The Israelites have….” These two actions usually go together. When we think too highly of ourselves, we look down on others. Let us not imagine ourselves better than Elijah. There are various ways we can do this. “If only brother ________ or sister ________ would _________.” “If only the pastor would ___________.” And even pastors say, “If only the people would ________.” And so Elijah exalted himself rather than humbled himself. He assumed that he was the only one left to stand for God. It is easy to fall into the trap of imagining that we are indispensable to God. The Lord corrected Elijah on this point later.

Elijah failed to work out his theology personally and practically (19:11). This was his basic problem. Too often we concentrate on the effects and not the cause. Too many incompetent doctors treat the symptoms instead of the disease. (At this point, we could talk about how to talk with your physician, but that is another subject.) Sadly, Christians do the same thing when they talk with one another or evaluate themselves. For example, we might talk with somebody battling depression or discontentment. A quick answer fails to solve the problem, such as saying, “Get more involved” or “Come (to church) expecting a blessing”. I’ve heard such shallow “cures” offered to people. We need to ask questions and seek Biblical answers. We are too impatient and too lazy. Or think of those struggling with a lack of assurance of salvation. Some want a quick answer, such as “read the verses on assurance and believe them” or “pull out your decision card”. But we should examine ourselves. Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test? (2 Corinthians 13:5 NASB).

This is where God begins to correct Elijah. Sometimes we need to return to square one. Remember how God corrected Job in his trials (Job 38:1ff). We need to remember what we are: “the best of people are but people at their best.” No one is invulnerable, including those who are most in prayer.

It is easy to get four “F’s” on your spiritual report card. Exercise fear instead of faith; overexert your body; become puffed up, and put your theology on the shelf. However, it is better to trust, to take care of our bodies, to see ourselves in the light of God’s word, and to realize that sound teaching produces healthy living. What can you learn from Elijah today?

Grace and peace, David

Psalm 70 (Part One)

Hasten, O God, to save me; come quickly, Lord, to help me (70:1 NIV).

This psalm is very similar to 40:13-17. There are just a few minor alterations. Compare the similarity between Psalms 14 and 53. Both Psalms 40 and 70 are ascribed to David, who probably took the last section of Psalm 40, modified it, and set it forth to God’s people as a brief prayer for help (cf. Mt 13:52). There is a time to repeat truth. In addition, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. To write to you again about this is no trouble for me and is a safeguard for you (Philippians 3:1 CSB). In fact, there are times to highlight a part of former teaching and use it for a particular purpose.

Many evangelicals are accustomed to freestyle prayer, but we must remember that it is not superior to praying a set form of words. When I was young, I was taught that to repeat prayers was wrong, that it was something done only by people that called themselves Christians but weren’t. Many arguments were used for this that aren’t worth repeating. The attitude of the heart and faith is far more important than whether or not we are original. Jesus himself prayed the same words over again, and on at least two occasions gave the words of the Lord’s Prayer.

This psalm is characterized by a sense of urgency (70:1, 5). God knows that though he is eternal, we are bound by constraints of time. Here the Holy Spirit inspires words that plead for a quick answer from the Lord. Here the children urge God the Father to hurry! However, we should balance this by some other thoughts.

We may need to wait humbly before God in order to gain understanding. Consider the experience of Daniel the prophet. In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks. I didn’t eat any rich food, no meat or wine entered my mouth, and I didn’t put any oil on my body until the three weeks were over… “Don’t be afraid, Daniel,” he said to me, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your prayers were heard. I have come because of your prayers. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me after I had been left there with the kings of Persia” (Daniel 10:2-3, 12-13 CSB). Sometimes the laborious wait is God’s route to blessing.
We may need to wait because God has other plans he is working out before he can bring about our desired answer. Think of Jesus delay when he heard that his friend Lazarus was sick. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was (John 11:5-6 ESV). Why did Jesus wait? He knew God’s plan to do a greater miraculous sign for the glory of God—the raising of Lazarus from the dead. God may not be doing something as dramatic in our lives, but we ought to trust his timing. I had someone complain to me a few times (yes, this happened more than once) that God always seemed to answer her prayers at “one minute to midnight”, and she didn’t like his way of doing that. We ought to rejoice whenever God answers! We are often unwise, impatient, even demanding children. Perhaps God simply sees the need to teach us patience and humility.
We may wait expectantly because God can do his work swiftly. Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you… Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended. Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified. The least one shall become a clan, and the smallest one a mighty nation; I am the Lord; in its time I will hasten it (Isaiah 60:1, 20-22 ESV).

David knew that he needed God to be involved in his life, so he asked God to save and to help. His example of faith shows us to abandon self-reliance. Quit trying to be the problem-solver in your life! Believers know that we need the Lord to lift us up and do what we are unable to do. Since the saint is alive to God, he understands that God is able to act in history and to carry out a rescue operation. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16 NIV).

Grace and peace, David

Elijah’s Greatest Challenge (Part Two)

1 Kings 17:17-24

We can know God, trust God fervently, and yet come into situations where our faith in God is incredibly tested. We may even know that God has done miracles in response to our faith in him, but we wonder, “Can God provide the help I need now?” Faced with the death of the widow’s son, Elijah knew that he must trust the living God for a greater miracle. So, Elijah said a powerful prayer. He believed that prayer was more worthwhile than the other actions he could have engaged in. We need to rid ourselves of the saying, “All we can do now is pray.” Stop it. Ideas like that corrupt our minds. Prayer is the best thing we can do.

Elijah prayed instead of argued. We need to follow Christ when we cannot understand the ways of God. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly (1 Peter 2:23 ESV). It’s a good rule not to take offense at the words of a grieving person. Not every saint is able to bow before the Lord as meekly as Job was able to (cf. Job 1:21; 2:10). Love should cover sorrowful, bitter words that occur at a time of grief.
He prayed instead of debated. Some are under the totally misguided notion that all times are opportunities for theological debate. As he was passing by, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:1-2 CSB) Sadly, I have observed this attitude. Don’t dispute in the face of suffering. Show mercy! Humbly, let us remember people need compassion rather than our knowledge. Some think they are being “bold for the Lord” when they are merely being brash for themselves. Christ was compassionate; imitate him.
He prayed instead of complained. Some would complain, “Now I’m in such a mess! She’s blaming all this on me, and I didn’t do anything. Poor me!” Does it really matter what someone thinks about you, when they need your help?
He prayed instead of questioned. “Why did this happen Lord?” It’s very natural to ask, “Why?” But it may be better to invest the greater part of our energies in asking, “What do you want me to do now, Lord?” Or better, “What will You do now, Lord?”

Elijah refused to look at second causes. Then Elijah cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?” (17:20 NLT) Elijah believed that God is in control, even including the hard events of life. We need to have a larger view of the sovereign God in our thoughts and viewpoints. Think on what the Spirit has written in the Word.

[Job] said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing (Job 1:21-22 NIV).
I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things (Isaiah 45:7 NIV).
When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble? When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it? (Amos 3:6 NIV).

The time of trouble and trials is the time to worship the Lord as God over all, and to call upon him as the Ruler of all.

“Whatsoever is good for God’s children they shall have it, for all is theirs to further them to heaven; therefore, if poverty be good, they shall have it; if disgrace be good, they shall have it; if crosses be good, they shall have them; if misery be good, they shall have it; for all is ours, to serve for our greatest good” (Sibbes).

Grace and peace, David

The Difficulty of Faith (Part One)

1 Kings 17:8-16

Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Get up, go to Zarephath that belongs to Sidon and stay there. Look, I have commanded a woman who is a widow to provide for you there” (17:8-9 CSB).

In our last article about Elijah, we left him by a brook which had dried up. That dried up brook was no mistake in Elijah’s life, but a definite part of a sequence in God’s purpose to reveal his glory. When we read the Biblical storyline, it is very easy to get wrapped up in the characters, miraculous events, and moral issues. We must remember that the Bible reveals the story of God’s glory in Jesus Christ through salvation by judgment. We must ask, “What does this tell us about the surpassing value and shining brilliance of our God?” However, it is also true that the Lord continued to prepare his servant. Elijah’s alone time with God was about to move to a slightly larger circle.

Certainly, most of us would rather do without the tests that come in the school of faith. We would rather receive the blessings which faith receives without the actual exercise of faith. We can be like children who want to go to amusement parks, but who dislike the long lines when they get there.

Part of our problem is that we must trust in the true God, whom we cannot fully understand and whom we cannot control. Even Elijah, who had such great faith as to stop the rain and the dew for three years, had to humbly depend upon God. Remember at this point in his life, Elijah was living in the realm of his prayer of faith; that is, there was no rain because he prayed that God wouldn’t send rain. His faith produced a situation that required more faith in God, which in turn provided the Lord with another opportunity to make known his greatness and love. Let us look at three lessons about the difficulty of faith. We will begin with the first in this article.

Faith is difficult because of the obedience that it requires. It requires us to do exactly what the Lord says. We must operate a computer program as it was written to receive the benefits of that program. If we attempt to do things that the application was not designed to do, we frustrate ourselves. “This stupid app!” No, it isn’t stupid; perhaps we’re demonstrating our own ignorance of what it can do or visualizing dreams that it can do what it isn’t designed to do. For Elijah, it put two limits on his actions.

Elijah could not leave the brook until God gave him orders. He had to sit and watch the brook dry up. This had been a daily process.
Elijah had to leave the brook when God ordered. He had to walk away from the place where God had provided for him to go to another. Abraham had to leave Ur to go to the Promised Land. Israel had to leave Egypt for the same reason. The way forward required obedient faith in God’s promises. The Lord is not as interested in our resourcefulness and ingenuity as our obedient faith.

Faith is difficult because it requires us to put our hope in God instead of our wisdom or apparently favorable circumstances. Elijah could not argue with God about where God sent him. Don’t join “The Jonah Debating Society.” Yet it seemed counter to God’s wisdom.

God sent him to the home territory of his enemy, Jezebel. Among other things, this would demonstrate the weakness of her malice. Elijah will learn the meaning of Psalm 23:5: You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies (NIV). Once I received twenty dollars while on a trip from an unlikely person, whom I later found out was causing problems for my parents. They could hardly believe what had happened, but God knew my need.

The Lord sent Elijah to a Gentile land. This could have provided Elijah with reasons to question what God was doing.

Hadn’t Naomi and David both gotten themselves into difficulties by leaving Israel?
Weren’t there Jewish people who could provide for him? cf. Luke 4:25-26.
Could he expect anyone there to care for God’s prophet?

He could not dispute about the apparent contradiction in God’s plan. The whole plan would seem unnatural at his time: a woman taking care of a man; a widow supplying the needs of a preacher. One greater than Elijah was provided for in a similar way (Luke 8:2-3). The prophet would have to swallow his pride. Some people are too arrogant to receive God’s gifts. The whole plan would have seemed unworkable. A widow would usually be among the poor of the land.

Meditate on the following:

When you have confidence in the sovereignty of God, you obey his commands. You find that his grace is sufficient for you. 2 Corinthians 12:9.
It is usually God’s way to use the weak, the lowly, and the despised to do his work. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29. This is for his glory!

Grace and peace, David

Drying Brooks and the Ways of God (Part One)

1 Kings 17:2-7

Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Leave here, turn eastward, and hide at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan” (17:2-3 CSB).

God had set the stage for a dramatic encounter. Elijah the prophet had announced a terrible judgment. There would be no rain or dew on the land until he said so. What great works would God have him do next to testify to the reality of the living God? You and I would probably have had Elijah do a number of awesome miracles, or at least set out upon a preaching tour in order to warn Israel to turn back to the Lord. But that was not the Lord’s method. He wanted his prophet in another place, a place that shows that God’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). But in the strange place to which God sent him, Elijah was able to learn to depend upon the Lord . May we learn that same lesson in the places we are.

The text (17:2-7) is easily studied by a four part outline, which also shows us a valuable sequence in the life of faith. Here we find God’s command, God’s promise, our response, and a test. We will think about the first of these in this article.

God gave Elijah a command (17:2-3). The timing of this command was unusual. We can think that we ought to be busy for the Lord when he wants us to rest, think, and pray. And the reverse can be true also! Remember that the Lord took Philip from a great revival in Samaria to find one man from Africa.

The command came when he was active for God. We usually discover God’s will when we are busy doing his will. Abraham’s servant discovered that God was leading him when he was already doing what he was told (Genesis 24:27). If you are young, as you think about what you should do with your life, begin by obeying what the Lord has already told you to do. Read 1 Thessalonians 4:3; 2 Timothy 2:19-22.

Service for God involves consistent obedience to God. He did the first step properly; would he do the second? Saul was inconsistent in obedience. He attacked the Amalekites as ordered, but did not destroy them (1 Samuel 15:22-23).

God included two purposes in this command.

The Lord taught his prophet. This would try Elijah’s humility and submission to God’s will. Many men are tempted to pride and self-will when they are filled with success. Elijah had to remember that God was the “boss” and that he was the servant. It would also perfect his reliance upon God. How does God teach his people to live by faith? He does not teach it as much in the lecture hall as in the laboratory of life. Elijah was put in a lonely place where he could learn:

That God was able to supply his needs. Elijah was not commanded to plant a garden but to wait for ravens beside a brook. The Lord was teaching him total dependence on God alone.
That God was able to be his friendly companion. Elijah was probably alone with God for at least one year. Elijah had much time to meditate and pray. Think of John Bunyan in prison. He was there for twelve years, while his family suffered terribly! Does that make sense to you? It doesn’t to me. But God did great things through Bunyan because of those years in prison.

As we meditate on this text, we ought to be disturbed. (It’s good when God’s word disturbs you.) The Spirit of the Lord can speak through this text like this, “My child, what if that was you by the brook Kerith? Are you so living for me that you could live by faith beside that brook alone with me? Am I enough for you?” Are you willing to ask yourself those questions?

Learning humility and reliance were important lessons for Elijah to learn. Together they helped prepare him for the contest on the mountain. God usually uses the events of life to teach us to live by faith.

At the same time as the Lord taught Elijah, he judged the people of Israel. The judgment of drought was temporal, but the absence of the prophet was spiritual: It was a loss of spiritual rain (cf. Isaiah 55:10-11). The greatest famine that can come on a nation is a famine for the word of God. Look, the days are coming—this is the declaration of the Lord God—when I will send a famine through the land: not a famine of bread or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. People will stagger from sea to sea and roam from north to east seeking the word of the Lord, but they will not find it (Amos 8:11-12 CSB; cf. Psalm 74:1-9; 2 Corinthians 4:1).

Grace and peace, David

Intended for Good (Part One)

Genesis 50:15-21

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives (Genesis 50:20 NIV).

We come to the climax of our study about God’s providence in the life of Joseph son of Jacob. Through many twists and turns, God planned the events of Joseph’s life for the Lord’s goals in the great story of his glory in Jesus Christ. It is this section that provides God’s viewpoint on all that has happened.

We should approach this with more than a casual interest. It is one thing to say that God intended good in the events of Joseph’s life. It is quite another to make that same affirmation about our own lives. The way to begin is not to hope for or to wait for some crisis in our lives, and then to hope that we will see that God is working for our good. Instead, we must see God involved in our lives today, and every day and night. Wise military commanders prepare their troops for battle before they ever enter into harm’s way. God’s instruction about his story prepares us to serve him in all circumstances of life.

The account begins with the brothers’ misinformed plan (50:15-18). People, especially men, have the tendency to approach problems as “the fixer”. We listen to someone’s difficult situation for a couple minutes, and then spout out solutions to fix the other person or their circumstances. We try this with ourselves constantly by seeking advice from supposed experts or reading self-help books or surfing the internet. This approach is a recipe for disaster, and it could have made things much worse between Joseph and his brothers. Let’s think through their proposed solution.

It arose from uncertainty in their hearts: “what if.” They were trapped in guilt producing fear sequence. Guilt so awakens fear that a person will not feel secure. Cain became ruled by guilt and fear after he murdered his brother (Genesis 4:13-14). Joseph’s brothers lacked insight about Joseph’s character. Godly people are often misunderstood. The Lord Jesus was misunderstood by his family, Paul by the Corinthians, and David by his wife Michal.
It showed a mixture of worldly-wisdom and spiritual wisdom. They hid behind their father’s coat tails. They told a doubtful scenario from our perspective, but it might have happened. Did Jacob know about the sin of the ten against Joseph? Did they mislead Joseph that Jacob did? Would Jacob doubt Joseph’s intentions? The brothers took advantage of the grieving process, when a tender heart would be even more sensitive to an appeal like this. They did ask for forgiveness. Perhaps they should have used a better approach, but they did attempt to correct their problem.
It was presented in an inexact way. We have the advantage of possessing the Scriptures, and so we should do better. They spoke through a messenger instead of personally. Fear, rather than love was controlling their hearts. The brothers appealed to Joseph with a legal attitude: “we are your slaves.” Compare the lost son in the parable (Luke 15). They wouldn’t claim the relationship that was theirs. How do you approach God after you have sinned? Do you attempt to pay your way back into his favor, or do you ask for cleansing because of Christ’s atonement? Christians don’t make light of their sin, but they exalt the preciousness of the blood of Christ. The brothers’ plan to fix their relationship caused Joseph more hurt. While he could be glad about their repentance, their distrust of him after years of kindness would hurt (50:17).

Are you in need of restoring a relationship with someone? Are you tempted to follow worldly wisdom to find a fix to the situation? Make a fresh start by seeking the Lord in prayer. Call upon him in your trouble. He can act in the hearts of all involved (you and the other person or people). Humble yourself in prayer, asking him to act by his powerful grace and love.

Grace and peace, David