by Michael Gallup
There is this interesting story that comes near the beginning of First Samuel. The Israelites are battling the Philistines (I know, big surprise) and are losing. So the Israelites get the Ark of God and bring it out into battle with them. Yet something funny happens at the this point, the Israelites are completely defeated and lose the Ark. Not only are thousands of the sons of Israel slain, but the very presence of their God, Yahweh, has left them. The news is so shocking that Israel’s chief priest Eli dies at the reception of the news. His daughter-in-law goes into labor at the sound of the shocking report and dies in the process. As she is dying, she names her son Ichabod, which means ‘no glory.’ In her dying words she sums up the desperate condition of her people: “The glory has departed Israel.”
Now we have to take some time to understand the desperate situation Israel finds themselves in this story. Yahweh is the defining attribute of this people, they are keenly aware that without Him they have nothing. They have no protection against their warring neighbors, they have no leader. The only reason they occupy the land that is so precious to them is because the glory, Yahweh, has been with them. And now all that they are has been stripped from them. They no longer have any real hope, any real future. Without Yahweh they are no longer Israel but merely a group of sojourners, former slaves in a foreign land. Their very source of being is gone, the glory had departed.
I think that if we are honest with ourselves there are those times when God feels like a figment of our imaginations. These are times when we parade out our spirituality in hopes that it will have some effect against the various trials of this life and yet not only do we find ourselves defeated, but God Himself seems to have left us all alone. We may not be willing to admit it, but the glory has departed. These can be very trying times. Nothing appears as it once did; we become hopeless in a way that deteriorates our very drive to wake up again. These are times when inevitably something must die.
This is a familiar story. In fact the succession of events in the history of Israel are rather cliché, with God and Israel tottering back and forth between blessings and cursings, between presence and absence. Yet when you isolate an episode like the one found in Samuel, it magnifies the despair behind the absence of God. Yet, we have the privilege of knowing the rest of the story. God returns and all of Israel unpops the cork and throws one heck of a party. And it is no ordinary party, not just another Friday evening, but an explosion of celebration, a once-in-a-lifetime extravaganza. I’m sure years later they will sit around the campfire reliving that night, perhaps growing a bit embarrassed about how undignified they acted. The joy is certainly not unfounded, for God left and they had no reason to expect His return, but here He comes and it is good news indeed.
However, we do not have the luxury of knowing the end of our own stories. We have no way of knowing if the dark night will pass. In the moment of pain, it could seem that all is lost. But we should know better. These stories and even are own are testimonies that although God may seem distant now, He will not always remain so. There is a day coming, when we too will lose our dignity in joyous celebration. The glory may have departed but it is not lost forever and that is good news indeed.
I mentioned earlier the inevitably of death during these times of divine absence. In the moment, death seems to have the ultimate say, the final word. As we acquire scars, it can seem as if our state is deteriorating. But it is in the dying and in the scars that true life and true beauty emerge. Just as the soil cannot produce its yield until it is broken, nor can we truly thrive unless we are pruned. These times when God is absent remind us that He is all we truly need, that He is all we truly hunger for. And that realization kills the things that have seized our attention away from Him. That realization brings death and scars, but by God, it also brings life.
The good news is that today is not the end of our stories, even if today brings death, because death no longer has hold of the final chapter. The joy is that even in the face of the Absence of God, we can rejoice in His ultimate return. The beauty is that we can pull the cover off our wounds and see them for what they are, simply the breaking of our soil so that we may finally blossom.
‘..let us ask further, whether they believe that they are well-pleasing to God when they suffer in body, property, honor, friends, or whatever they have, and believe that God in His mercy appoints their sufferings and difficulties for them, whether they be small or great. This is real strength, to trust in God when to all our senses and reason He appears to be angry; and to have greater confidence in Him that we feel. ..This faith (men) do not know at all, and give up, thinking that God has forsaken them and is become their enemy; they even lay the blame of their ills on men and devils, and have no confidence at all in God. But they who in such suffering trust God and retain a good, firm confidence in Him, and believe that He is pleased with them , these see in their sufferings and afflictions nothing but precious merits and the rarest possessions, the value of which no one can estimate.
Beyond all this is the highest stage of faith, when God punishes the conscience not only with temporal sufferings, but with death, hell, and sin, and refuses grace and mercy, as though it were His will to condemn and to be angry eternally. This few men experience, but David cries out in Ps 6:1 “O Lord rebuke me not in thine anger.” To believe at such times that God, in His mercy, is pleased with us, is the highest work that can be done by and in the creature ..’ Martin Luther A treatise of good works.
Elna!,…at first I thought you were writing this!,…it almost sounds like the accepting of “a dark night of the soul,” (St. John of the Cross),…which makes me think of allowing oneself to be “crucified with Christ:”
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
…and Paul also speaks of “making up in his flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ:”
Colossians 1:24 [ Sacrificial Service for Christ ]
“I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church,” …
There is plenty of traditional (deep) spirituality and thought to describe and reflect these connections, but I think sometimes people fear it becomes too one-sided as a “spiritual goal,” and perhaps mis-used. I think I am one of these, but not completely. I appreciate God’s “mysterious” ways in working with us to develop our spirituality.
Romans 11:33 “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unfathomable (inscrutable, unsearchable) are His judgments (His decisions)! And how untraceable (mysterious, undiscoverable) are His ways (His methods, His paths)!”
I see great benefits in accepting/enduring some “unfair” burdens, without resentment and complaint (perhaps angrily blaming both God and man), but believe this should be guided by the Lord, (which can get “tricky,” to say the least). On the other hand, I can see (have seen) where this idea could also be mis-used in the wrong hands, in an almost cultic fashion.
I would almost even dare to say (since there’s nothing lost in “just saying”), that the ones who are truly willing/able to do this, are the ones who “need” to do it least, whereas the ones who would pridefully and angrily resist the idea and experience, probably could use it the most to their own spiritual profit. (Perhaps EVERYONE in this day and age should at least TRY it, since it is SO unfashionable, even in the Christian world! We never truly know what [surprisingly selfish attitude] may be “lurking” underneath our ever-so-clever polished exterior personalities!)
Self-control does not necessarily come naturally. Neither do true meekness, humility and peace, as they are fruit(s) of the Spirit:
Galatians 5:16-26 [Walking in the Spirit]
16 “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
… (the Fruit of the Spirit) …
22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
We DO need to humble ourselves, unquestionably, before God.
1 Peter 5:6 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,” …
We can trust Him:
Isaiah 42:3 “…A bruised reed He will not break …”
We ARE safe in His hands!
I’ve heard it called “walking in naked faith,” when circumstances and/or our feelings do not support what we are expecting to find or have “in God.” In my own life, believing in God was God’s gift to me in the middle of a bunch of “God-devaluers” — (self-proclaimed atheists, humanists, cynics, practically/”rationally” inclined do-gooders, as well as the blatant scoffers, mockers and outright disobedient) — and I was considered “nuts” by one and all, for turning back to the God, and the church(es), and His advice, that they had turned their own backs on — in their rather self-satisfied to arrogant “self-enlightenment,” that they claimed.
Holding to God was a blessing to me personally and inwardly, I now had Living Water in my well! But outwardly was the test, a veritable desert of rank (and very fashionable) unbelief surrounded me, and in many cases did not fail to attack and demean me. There was no winning with this crowd, by argument, reason, example, or emotional persuasion. There was no help either. “Crazy” believers in an “imaginary wishful-thinking God” deserved no respect, and not even the usual familial life-line supports and encouragements. I was considered “an embarrassment” to the family.
OK. So where do we go from here? Atheistic professions are now out of the question. I didn’t have much choice but to “follow my own nose” — which was heavy into God’s scent, tracking God. The sky was beautiful. Flowers, even dandelions, breathed life and color, celebrating their Creator. But the human aspect breathed hostility, and no one can pretend that that is fun.
Actually it is VERY stressful. I’m the kind of person who would have tried, at least outwardly, to make some adjustments to “people please,” if I could have done so honestly. The only adjustment I could muster — almost honestly — was just to keep my mouth shut, and pretend to be something like their definition of “normal.”
Almost five unpredictable decades have passed since those beginning days of faith. Who’s sorry now? I don’t know, but it’s not me. I collected plenty of wounds and scars (and memories), emotional and some even physical, along the way. Some were directly attributable to human “intervention,” but plenty just came with satan’s determination to use any evil channel he could to thwart God’s “anointed and appointed” in this earth. I believe it was a time of great spiritual warfare — (and it probably still is!). Often, here in the northeast, I thought we could be compared to the Church of Smyrna, as in: Revelation 2: [The Persecuted Church]
8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write,
‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life: 9 “I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
11 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”’
woah!,…I would have thought that that would have been for communist Russia (back in the day), but it was happening (underground) here too! I consider many of those of us who have been together “in God” through thick and thin, to be great survivors “in the faith.” I can testify that we DO have God strongly aligned with our spirits. We are blessed outwardly — our God HAS protected and provided for us — but I don’t think we could have ever predicted the end from the beginning (who can?). I’m not saying that our outer circumstances stand out in any amazingly noticeable way, just that we have survived and are still here, telling the story, and that this has truly been “by the Grace of God” — and we KNOW it!
As Psalm 105:12-15 tells us:
12 “When they were but few in number,
few indeed, and strangers in it,
13 “they wandered from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another.
14 “He allowed no one to oppress them;
for their sake he rebuked kings:
15 ” ‘Do not touch my anointed ones;
do my prophets no harm.’ ”
And Psalm 37:25 “I have been young and now am old, yet have I not seen the [uncompromisingly] righteous forsaken or their seed begging bread.”
We attain some scars for the righteous things we do and are. And some, because God, in His wisdom, may desire to unhinge us from unprofitable (spiritually speaking) things. Sometimes “our personal feelings are hurt.” Sometimes “our pride.” Sometimes we have physical wounds, or “our plans” are interrupted. Very often we’ve been living in a world where “my” is our most important attachment indicator. Well, truth to tell, NOTHING is really “mine,” and EVERYTHING is really God’s. Making this adjustment in our naturally inclined thinking, is just about impossible without some serious (and hopefully gradual) separation pain and anxiety, and “WHO wants THAT??”
“Repent” actually means to think in a new way. We’ve heard about “denial” being a problem in psychological issues. No one WANTS to feel (experience) or admit to wrong-doing and pain, if they can manage to suppress these things below the level of consciousness. But since this is not Truth, we become “slaves” to our own pretending, actually holding on to things that God would like to free us from. Our lives feel/become clouded, less than shiny.
Christ endured ALL our pain(s) on the Cross, absorbed them/took them on Himself — (pretty Big Shoulders, huh?!) — so that we could acknowledge them and let them go, (giving them to Him, Who already knows about them and has them anyway), and finally becoming the “free”/rescued/”saved” person that He has intended and envisioned from the Beginning.
I like the idea of actually taking “the cover off our wounds and see(ing) them for what they are,” the gateway to Resurrection Life. When we can see and accept that “our humanness,” as precious and God-given as it is, is not “on the Throne,” — either in God’s eyes, or our own — we are a lot closer to seeing “Reality” as it is, becoming dis-infatuated/unidentified with our inflated false selves, and closer to Loving and Appreciating the Divine in All its Glory!
thanks!
Thank you for commenting. What a wealth of Biblical and life examples. I enjoy reading your input to these blogs!
oh my!,…the music thing didn’t work for me this morning,…I was just responding to the way the articles themselves hit me,…but I just heard the song for the first time,…& it’s somewhat different,…
1 Peter 1:6-8
6 “[You should] be exceedingly glad on this account, though now for a little while you may be distressed by trials and suffer temptations,
7 “So that [the genuineness] of your faith may be tested, [your faith] which is infinitely more precious than the perishable gold which is tested and purified by fire. [This proving of your faith is intended] to redound to [your] praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) is revealed.
8 “Without having seen Him, you love Him; though you do not [even] now see Him, you believe in Him and exult and thrill with inexpressible and glorious (triumphant, heavenly) joy.”
I think it’s important to realize that “having faith,” “our spiritual walk,” etc., will take effort and “pressing in” to receive and maintain. I have never found that measuring Spiritual Truth by earthly happenings is very accurate, although I appreciate every great day that I’m blessed to have that comes my way!
If Scripture tells us we are in a war, then we cannot expect to succeed through a “passive, even though expectant,” faith/belief. Perhaps the “milk of the Word” eventually is not sufficient to cover all the bases, and we need to be willing to dig in for more levels of Truth.
2 Corinthians 10:3-6
3 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not WAR according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our WARFARE are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing EVERY THOUGHT into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.”
1 Peter 2:11,12
11 “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which WAR against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
Revelation 12:7-9
7 “And WAR broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
Scripture study and searches can bring us much edification and strength:
2 Timothy 2:15 “Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.”
In serving God, we will always have work to do to choose God (‘s Truth) over every other thought and emotion that would lead us away.
Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Remind ourselves that Wisdom pervades the Scriptures, and doesn’t come by the “ways of the world,” or promote them:
Proverbs 4: (excerpted)
1 “Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. …
4 ” … Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.
5 “Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
6 “Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.
7 “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
8 “Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. …
10 “Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many. …
13 “Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.
14 “Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.
15 “Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. …
18 “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
19 “The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.
20 “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
21 “Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
22 “For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
23 “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
24 “Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. …
27 “Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.”
When we cling to our natural earthly situations, even normally enough, we are eventually bound to run into difficulties, because: ” … this world in its present form is passing away. ” (1 Corinthians 7:31)
(Even commonsense should tell us that:) Our earthly idols will fade and eventually “slip through our fingers.”
Romans 8:5-8
5 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
James 4:4-10 (excerpted)
4 ” … Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?
6 …He says:“ God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.” [Humility Cures Worldliness]
7 “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. … 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”
Praying alone AND together is encouraged in the Scriptures:
Ephesians 6:17,18
17 “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 PRAYING ALWAYS with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—”
Hebrews 10:23-25
23 “LET US HOLD FAST the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 NOT FORSAKING THE ASSEMBLING OF OURSELVES together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
And our precious Holy Communion, receiving the Body and Blood of Christ in true faith, is healing and strengthening: (as I’ve said before, we Catholics are very big on this one!)
1 Corinthians 10:14-17
14 “Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
15 “I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say.
16 “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
17 “For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.”
2 Peter 1:2-8
2 “May grace (God’s favor) and peace (which is perfect well-being, all necessary good, all spiritual prosperity, and freedom from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts) be multiplied to you in [the full, personal, precise, and correct] knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
3 “For His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that [are requisite and suited] to life and godliness, through the [full, personal] knowledge of Him Who called us by and to His own glory and excellence (virtue).
4 “By means of these He has bestowed on us His precious and exceedingly great promises, so that through them you may escape [by flight] from the moral decay (rottenness and corruption) that is in the world because of covetousness (lust and greed), and become sharers (partakers) of the divine nature.
5 “For this very reason, adding your diligence [to the divine promises], employ every effort in exercising your faith to develop virtue (excellence, resolution, Christian energy), and in [exercising] virtue [develop] knowledge (intelligence),
6 “And in [exercising] knowledge [develop] self-control, and in [exercising] self-control [develop] steadfastness (patience, endurance), and in [exercising] steadfastness [develop] godliness (piety),
7 “And in [exercising] godliness [develop] brotherly affection, and in [exercising] brotherly affection [develop] Christian love.
8 “For as these qualities are yours and increasingly abound in you, they will keep [you] from being idle or unfruitful unto the [full personal] knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).”
Thank you, Michael,…I’m glad to hear that what I am able to share can be a blessing to some out there!,…when you’re a parent, children don’t usually want to hear “too much,” so a lot of impressions get stored away,…I’m happy to be able to bring some of them out from hiding!
God Bless!! (-:
… & I said “all that,” to say this,…we need to be continually and actively finding ways to pursue and connect with God-energy-info-etc., in order to “fill the vacuum” left by this world’s emptiness/lack of real spiritual substance. It is ALWAYS going to be a problem: ultimately the world is draining, and God is healing/restoring. And we need to be convinced of this in more than just a flimsy-feeling way! It will take a positive conviction that:
Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
One of my favorite verses to illustrate a strong backbone in Faith is:
Job 13:15 “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. …”
I feel as though I’ve “been there” many times, in one way or another.
John 6:67,68
67 “Then Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you also want to go away?’
68 “But Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’ ”
Concerning the value and importance of receiving Holy Communion, as strength for our lives, being “partakers of His Divine Nature” in this way, (mentioned briefly above):
John 6:47-58
47 ” ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.’
52 “The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, ‘How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?’
53 “Then Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.’ ”
A very Great Mystery indeed! A very Great Blessing!
I find the christian walk to be quite lonely, and must say that the internet of all things, has helped me a lot in finding companionship.
) (Ihope that makes sense to you)
I find that many friends and even family only ‘allow’ me into their ‘inner chamber’ when they need my christianity. Whether you are a believer in America, South Africa, Afghanistan, China you walk the same road. You carry your cross, and go up the mountain alone to pray.
But it is so important to open yourself up to give sustenance to other believers, because if we all pray for each other, we don’t need to pray for ourselves
dear Elna,…I think you are saying something very real,…in that, ultimately, we do have a very personal relationship and connection to God, that is each of ours, alone.
I could describe my “quiet times” to someone else — (most of whom, as you say, wouldn’t be all that interested usually!) — but it wouldn’t be possible to “bring them in.” On the other hand, there are beautiful ways to connect & share, and I agree that the i-net is a surprising one, especially for idea-sharing.
“Jesus walked this Lonesome Valley, He had to walk it by Himself, Oh, nobody else could walk it for Him. He had to walk it by Himself.” — old song
Proverbs 3:5 “Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.”
This is very key to understanding an active and positive faith walk/life — (although not necessarily of the “most extreme name-it-and-claim-it” varieties). We have learned to “say about God what He says about Himself in His Word,” rather than to entertain the muddle of arguments, complaints and doubt-filled discussions that have repeated themselves down throughout the centuries, and continue to arise easily and suggestively in the hearts and minds of (us) mere mortals, when we “walk by sight” and “by our feelings,” rather than “by faith” and “by the Word.”
It is certainly “ok” to acknowledge truthfully how I might be feeling about things “at the moment” or “under the circumstances.” But we need to put our subjective points of view and “attitudes” into the fallible and imperfect human category that they belong in, and align ourselves more closely with the Truth of our Savior and Helper, the Lord and His Words and teachings to us:
Hebrews 4:14-16
14 “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, LET US HOLD FAST OUR CONFESSION. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore COME BOLDLY TO THE THRONE OF GRACE, THAT WE MAY OBTAIN MERCY AND FIND GRACE TO HELP IN TIME OF NEED.”
A wonderful Psalm:
Psalm 46: [To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, set to treble voices. A song.] … (just imagine how beautiful!) …
1 “GOD IS our Refuge and Strength [mighty and impenetrable to temptation], a very present and well-proved help in trouble.
2 “Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains be shaken into the midst of the seas,
3 “Though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling and tumult. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
4 “There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.
5 “God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God will help her right early [at the dawn of the morning].
6 “The nations raged, the kingdoms tottered and were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted.
7 “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge (our Fortress and High Tower). Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
8 “Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has wrought desolations and wonders in the earth.
9 “He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow into pieces and snaps the spear in two; He burns the chariots in the fire.
10 “Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth!
11 “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge (our High Tower and Stronghold). Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!”
Another:
Psalm 27: [A Psalm of David.] (excerpted)
1 “The LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid? …
11 “Teach me Your way, O LORD,
And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. …
13 “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the LORD
In the land of the living.
14 “Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!”
Amen! God is Good. (Psalms 73:1, 118:1, 136:1)
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