Promises to Contextualize Life
Jesus offers some wonderful promises for living in the horizontal. For example, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30 NIV). From Deuteronomy (3:16) to Hebrews (13:5) this awesome promise, “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” spans centuries. As Jesus anticipated leaving the disciples physically, He promised, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever (John 1:16 ESV). In the upper room discourse, just before His trials and crucifixion, He promised, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27). Jesus secured these and many other promises with His resurrection. These are His promises for our time and space continuum, yet they stand in stark contrast with our day-to-day experience.
Life Is Tough, and I Feel Forsaken
I don’t know about your life, but mine certainly has not been a garden of roses. There have been broken bones, auto accidents, severe burns, and open-heart surgery. There have been two miscarriages and a near-miss loss of my wife during a routine surgery. There has been a lousyinvestment on two occasions. There has been the loss of seven siblings, a house fire, and friendship disappointments. Life on this horizontal plane has been littered with frustration, pain, and disappointment.
So, what has happened? Has Jesus forsaken me from time to time? There have been times when His yoke has been chafing. Rest has often been elusive. And life has been very definitely wearisome?
Oh, Its Spiritual Warfare?
No, Jesus has not forsaken me or anyone else. All those promises are operative amid spiritual warfare. Warfare is strewn with wounds, disruptions, disappointments, and even deaths. It is as we fight the good fight that we experience these promises. The Apostle Paul gives witness when he writes, “Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep” (2 Corinthians 11:25 NIV). John the Baptist was beheaded. Peter and John were beaten. History tells us that the Apostle John was boiled in oil, and Peter hung upside down.
Humble Trust, Actuator of Promises
On Tuesday evening, as we ate dinner at Outback, a family was seated to my right. Dad, Mom, and teen daughter with one of those congenital malformations that left her with the mind of probably about a four or five-year-old at best. My heart was heavy for the Dad as I wondered how I would handle that burden. Mom’s back was toward me, and the opposite, so Dad and daughter were in my purview our whole mealtime. I took Dad for about fifty. My initial angst was mellowed as I watched Dad and the girl’s interplay. He was playful, and she responded appropriately. I found myself thinking, this gentleman has found a place of comfort amid disappointment and discomfort. He had accepted reality and chose to adapt and find enjoyment in his impaired daughter.
As believers, this is how we experience the comfort of the Lord. In trust, we accept our role and place within His Divine providence. In so doing, we become aware that He has not left or forsaken us. And, suddenly, His yoke becomes easy, His burden light rather than wearisome, though our circumstances have not changed. We begin to count our blessings rather than moan about our difficulties. We start to realize that we live in a broken world and the only way to process life is through the grid of Scripture.
How Is Trust Actuated?
• Listen to the Word; Don’t listen to yourself
• Choose to believe the Word; Don’t choose to operate by your feelings.
• Act on the Word. (Here are some examples of acting on the Word)
• Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice in the Lord (Phil 4:4)
• Choose your mindset (Phil 4:8)
• In everything, give thanks (I Thes. 5:18
• Pray without ceasing (I Thes. 5:17)
• Do not quench the Spirit (when there is a sense not to, don’t)
• Be discerning and hold fast to what is good (I Thes. 5:21)
• Abstain from evil (I Thes. 5:22)
• Be alert and sober (I Thes 5:6)
Conclusion
He is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one, writes Paul (2 Thes. 3:3). Yet, Paul is beheaded. Has the Lord forsaken him? Has the Lord’s ability to protect him expired? No, his job was done in God’s providence, and the Lord mercifully called him home. Bad things happen to God’s people, but only within His administration. You and I will experience bad things within His divine will. Our job is to trust Him and anticipate His provision for us, whether escape or endurance. I am reminded of Job’s terrible trouble and proclamation, “Though he slay me, yet I will hope (trust) in Him” (Job 13:15).