Something Better

When someone suffers a loss of some kind, like a break-up or the loss of a job, it is rather cliché to say, “God has something better for you.”  Yet, when God says He has “something better” for us, it is no empty platitude. The writer of Hebrews tells of persecuted, tortured and martyred saints who died without ever knowing the full impact of their lives because He, the God “who is able to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think” (Eph. 3:20), had “something better” for them (11:40).

Of course the way we define “something better” is all important. For example, after a year of surgery, medical procedures, and invasive treatments, it’s not hard for me to imagine “something better.” A year ago, I was imagining I would be mentoring students at Phoenix Seminary. What could be better than that?  But the Lord showed me that mentoring students is something “I” can do. And that “something better” for me would be something “I” can not do. In God's economy, something better is anything that makes us more dependent on Him, and, ultimately, conforming us to the image of Christ. So then, is not He the “something better” our hearts are yearning for?

Let us Build a New Tower

Resilience is the ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change. It is a gift of God to help us cope with hard things in life. But it can also be an instrument of self-supremacy—the “I can do anything” attitude that was birthed in the Garden of Eden—“you shall be like God.”

From Genesis to Revelation, "Babylon" is used to denote the strength and resiliency of man—its first mention, the Tower of Babel. Ever since, men have built towers to display their strength. After the fall of the World Trade towers on 911, it seemed Americans were brought to their knees and humbled—churches were full of scared people. But within weeks, resilience returned. And national leaders said, “We will build a new tower!” Thus a new Word Trade tower (the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere) will be completed in 2013, reaching a symbolic 1,776 feet—referring to the year America declared its independence.

Isaiah describes Israel’s resilience after tragedy: “The people say in their proud, lofty hearts, ‘The bricks are fallen down, but come, let us hew stones and cut down trees and build for ourselves a tower’” (9:8–10). We American Christians must be especially leery of how the spirit of resilience affects us. We can forget that our trials are meant to make us more dependent on God.  Because Paul understood this, he boasted in his weakness (1 Co. 12:19). But the resilient American spirit hates weakness, and says, “let us build a new tower.”

Out-of-Control is the New Normal

Last month, U.S. employers added only one-third the number of jobs needed, leaving the unemployment rate unchanged at 8.2%. A normal unemployment rate is about 5 or 6%. It's beginning to look like 8.2% is the "new normal."

A downturn in prosperity is a change that is beyond our control. And nobody likes ‘out-of-control’ changes—they unhinge our plans and upset our ordered lives!  But let’s be honest.  Were it not for these divine challenges to our well-constructed lives, we would grow entirely independent of God. 

David said, “Because they have no changes, they fear not God” (Ps. 55:19): an apt description for our nation, so confident of success that fear of God is ridiculed. So to keep us from that, God shakes things up (Heb. 13:26). And our first reaction is usually frustration!  Thus, Isaiah says, "What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, 'Stop, you're doing it wrong'” (45:9).  Since we are living in a time of greater change than any time in human history, I think we will have to get used to these shake-ups. It looks like ‘out-of-our-control’ is the “new normal.”

Dependence Day Again!

Last year on this day, I wrote about the unprecedented tornadoes and hurricanes that were a reminder to us of our creaturely dependence on God. Now, one year later, we are experiencing the worst fires in 100 years in the Southwest, unprecedented heat waves everywhere, a freak windstorm that knocked out power in the Mid-Atlantic states, and the worst floods in the South in 100 years.  What can make men feel more helpless than fire, flood, heat, and wind!

Is it any less obvious today than it was last year, or 100 years ago, or 1,000 years ago, that we are not the architects of our own destiny, as independent people are prone to think.  Will natural, as well as economic and political, chaos make us see how vulnerable we are, cause us to repent of our independence, and bring us to the end of ourselves? A Declaration of Dependence?  The day that happens we will truly be able to celebrate "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

Dependence Day!

All over the world, people are suffering due to natural disasters. This year has already seen some of the worst natural disasters in 100 years, and some have no precedent. And isn't it significant that in our sophisticated age when we can conquer space, we are powerless to do anything about life on planet earth?!

Isn’t it obvious that God is at work? We are an independent people—we even celebrate our independence!—a national hallmark, the American spirit. What will it take for us to confess our helplessness and express our unqualified dependence on Him?

To all who can receive it, God is giving a revelation of our weakness, to bring us to the end of ourselves. Perhaps the day after U.S. Independence Day is good day to be reminded of our dependence. At a time of helplessness, God spoke to Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for [My] power is perfected in [your] weakness." Paul’s response was “Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about [celebrate] my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.” Contrary to the modern independent spirit, Paul was celebrating his dependence.  Perhaps we should have a day called “Dependence Day”  when we all celebrate our weakness and His power.

Why Pray if God is Omniscient?

Do you wonder why Jesus said: "Your Father knows the things you need before you ask Him" (Matthew 6:8), while, at the same time, telling us how to pray? Does it seem a bit contradictory to inform God of our needs if He already knows we need them? A misunderstanding of this can result in a passive and ambivalent prayer life.

Prayer should not be viewed simply as telling God of our needs for the purpose of influencing Him to give us things. Prayer is a conversational alignment, meant to line us up with God's will. You know how it is when you and your friend (or wife, husband, son, daughter) haven't talked for awhile and then after a good conversation you gain understanding and feel closer! It's the same way with prayer.

Moreover, prayer is an expression of dependence, aligning us with our Creator/creature relationship. More than once, Paul simply says “I bow my knees” rather than saying “I prayed.” Unless we come face to face with the fact that we are creatures of need, then we can soon develop a spirit of independence and withdraw ourselves from close contact with Him. When we pray, we are being God-reliant. (Come to think of it, self-reliant people probably don’t pray very much.) If you find yourself feeling a little ambivalent in your prayer life, maybe you need a conversational alignment.

Where is the Weeping?

My Belizean friend wrote to me recently: “I guess that the Good Lord has come to hear the crying of the few, and now He is moving.” I thought about his words 'the crying of the few.' "Yes," I thought, "but how few are crying these days." Immediately the story of Nehemiah came to mind: When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days (1:4a). What caused Nehemiah’s sorrow? Learning that the Jews who had returned to Judah were disgraced by the condition of Jerusalem—its outer walls broken. The same word “broken” is used in Psalm 51:17 for a "broken” heart.

Nehemiah’s heart was broken over the condition of God’s people. And when Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem some months later, not only did he rebuild the broken walls, he ‘restored’ the broken people. The Bible says as he read the Law, the people recognized their sinful condition and wept (Neh. 8:9).

Where is the weeping of God’s people today? Why is my own heart not more broken over the condition of God’s people in our age? Why are we not more grieved over the way this disparages the Lord’s reputation? Perhaps it is time to regard the words of James: Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Then, James immediately provides us with this promise of hope: When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor (James 4:9-10 NLT). But let me end with an even more positive note. After the Jews had wept, confessed, and repented, Nehemiah said: Do not be grieved [anymore], for the joy of the Lord is your strength (Neh. 8:10).