On Saturday, Altha and I drove down to a little town called
San Juan Batista. People go to this otherwise unremarkable town to tour the California
Mission built in 1797. It was a quiet peaceful time away from the
fast-pace of the Bay Area where such restfulness can be hard to find.
After God created the world, the Bible says, He rested.
But not because He was tired. Because He was finished (Heb. 4:10). Therein
lies an important characteristic of God. He doesn’t stop and rest until His work is done. And God's work in us is not finished yet.
Being human, however, we need to stop and rest along the way.
So like a wise father on a road trip with children in the back seat, crying out, “Are we there yet?” He gives us these much-needed “rest stops.” But as we mature, we learn that no “rest stop” can satisfy us until, and unless, we have first come to know Jesus as our permanent resting place, no matter how long we have been on the road. “Let us be diligent to enter that rest” (Heb. 4:11).
A few weeks ago I read this amusing remark/joke: “Ten years ago, Steve Jobs, Bob Hope, and Jonny Cash were all still alive. And now in 2011, we find ourselves without jobs, hope or cash.”
With good intentions, Barak Obama ran for president on a promise of restoring hope. How disappointed he must be at the hopelessness he found. Last week, with the announcement of a 2.4% growth in the 4th quarter economy, hope appeared on the horizon—the stock market soared. But then yesterday, the European debt crisis negotiations started to fall apart; hope began to vanish.
Let’s be honest. Ever since Adam forfeited his dominion to Satan, the world has continued on its path of hopelessness—even to the point of self-destruction (think of the two World Wars last century). Indeed Satan is the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4) and the author or hopelessness and despair. Even Jesus called him the prince of this world (John 12:31, 14:30; 16:11).
Though Jesus has already redeemed fallen mankind from the power of Satan, the earth will not be restored until His 2nd coming. (Rom. 8:19-22) In the mean time, we mustn’t allow the spirit of despair and hopeless to infect us. Jesus said we would have trouble in this world, adding, “But take heart [courage and hope], for I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). And by faith in Jesus’ victory, so will we “because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 5:4-5).
"Don't Stop Believin,” a popular song by the rock band ‘Journey’ (1981), was described by Billboard Magazine as "an anthem for the young who wanted to feel free and unrestricted.” What a great analogy for Christian over-comers—those who refuse to live by the restrictions of the visible realm; choosing to believe in the God without limitations (Mark 10:27). God delights to see His people trust Him in the midst of gigantic problems that no man can solve. At such times, we prove we believe in an almighty God.
When the Israelites heard of the size of the giants of Canaan, they said to themselves, "These giants are too big to handle." God’s response was “Don’t’ be afraid; I will fight for you, just as I did in Egypt?" But they refused to trust God, and ended up in a desert of despair, wilderness wanderers, for the next 40 years.
The writer of Hebrews says they remained in the Wilderness because of unbelief. Certainly, at one point in time, they believed! When did they stop believing the God who had delivered them from Egypt? (When did we?) God is looking for men like Joshua and Caleb, who will believe and proclaim that there is nothing impossible for God. Canaan still waits for those who won't stop believin.
I am sitting here reading a missionary newsletter article about a squatters' community, called West Beach, in the Dominican Republic. West Beach is a desperately poor neighborhood where tiny shacks built of rough concrete blocks, salvaged lumber, and rusty tin sheets are crowded side-by-side along a polluted waterfront. The streets are dirt, or mud when it rains. There is no electricity. Each house is not more than ten feet wide and twenty feet deep with a primitive latrine out back. Prostitution and drug abuse fuel the local economy. Children are sent out to work each day to help poor families survive. Many do not have birth certificates: they are "non persons," deprived of government services.
When the gospel is presented to these distressed people, they are unconstrained in their response! They are starving for meaning in life. Not only do they POSSESS nothing, they have been told they ARE nothing. That God loves them enough to send Jesus to give them eternal life is more than they can imagine. Should it surprise us they are desperate for God’s love?
In America, even the poorest people have hot and cold running water, indoor plumbing, and a color television set. And the average middle class family has at least one secure income, medical insurance, a 3-bedroom house, and two cars in the garage. With the abundance of worldly comfort, it is no wonder America is so spiritually impoverished! Jesus said it was more difficult for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Those who find their self-worth by comfort and prosperity are never desperate for God—“full” of possessions, spiritual appetite is quenched.
If you had nothing in this life, and if you had to live in the squalor of West Beach in the Dominican Republic, would you be more desperate for God than you “currently” are? If your honest answer is ‘yes,’ maybe you need to make a trip to West Beach with me. Evidently they “possess” something we don’t! A spirit of poverty and holy desperation!
