Words of Faith

The large clump of hair in my comb this morning reveals that the LORD is going to have a little bit of an accounting challenge today, seeing as He has all those hairs numbered. Maybe it will not be too bad, since it will be simple subtraction. I am confident in His word, however, that as I cleaned the comb and tossed the fuzz ball into the trash, my LORD knew how many were left. That is His level of concern and intimacy with us. If only we were equally so concerned and intimate with Him.

In Psalm 30, we get a clue into what happens when we get to thinking that we have it all together. In verse 6, David says, (paraphrasing) when I felt secure and like I had it all together, I said- I’m in charge, I’m on the top, and nothing can touch me now….I will never be shaken. I am it. We get to feeling like that, too. The LORD is on our side, we’ve got it all together. We are riding high. We will never be shaken. Surely the LORD will bless and be in all OUR decisions and ways. Then the LORD does something we do not figure on. Instead of clearing the mountain away or leveling it before us as we expect, the LORD “makes our mountain stand firm”. He does not move it. He leaves it where it is, blocking our way and causing us grief. His face is hidden and we get dismayed. Come on, LORD, here is an obstacle in our. Let’s move it and get on with our life. Surely You do not want me to suffer this obstacle, we say to the LORD. I’m feeling secure, I’m feeling like I will never be shaken, and along comes a mountain, and the LORD isn’t even moving it!

Notice, however, what happens in verse 8. David calls to the LORD and cries for mercy. So many times in our lives, we get to thinking that we are so secure, we will never be shaken. We may even acknowledge that the LORD is with us and blessing us, but there is still that attitude of I will never be shaken. The LORD then chooses (for our good, by the way) to not move the mountain, but to offer to go over it or through it with Him. We are brought back to the reality that we are frail, we are but dust, and without the LORD’s constant care and help, and without our continual recognition and acceptance of the same, we are nothing.

The LORD delights in turning our wailing into dancing and exchanging our sackcloth for the garment of pure joy itself, (v.11) but only for a broken and contrite heart that is humble before the LORD of the universe and its Creator.

O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever. Ps. 30:12

Remember the look that you got as a little child that told you that whatever you were doing…you had better STOP? I received the look when my hand reached for the cookie jar (just before dinner), or my sister’s ponytail, or when about to contribute to the conversation with friends and acquaintances with a family secret or embarrassing story. We all know “the look”. The look, usually from a parent or older sibling, that says, “stop in your tracks… don’t even think about doing what I know you are thinking about doing”. We have received the look, and we have given the look. Sometimes just the look is enough to deter bad behavior or speech, but sometime it is not. If not, we experience the consequences.

Sometimes the look comes after the offense, and it is more of a sorrow over the known consequences than a deterrent. That is what we find in Luke 22:61. Luke is the only gospel writer that mentions the look- all others simply refer to the rooster crowing as the cue that broke Peter’s heart, the cue that caused him to weep bitterly after denying his Master not once or twice, but 3 times. However, in Luke’s account, we find that Peter had followed Jesus to the court of the High Priest. He stood in the outer courtyard, no doubt in fear (they had all run away when Jesus was arrested) and also perhaps wonderment as to what was actually going to transpire. Jesus had spoken about bringing in the Kingdom of God. He had spoken about defeating evil. He had also spoken about suffering and dying, and when Peter boldly proclaimed that there was no way he would ever let that happen, Jesus had rebuked him sharply.

Peter did not know how everything would turn out, but he did know that he would not leave Jesus alone. Yet, when push came to shove, Peter denied that he even knew Jesus. His boldness disappeared, fear and self- preservation took over, and he denied his Best Friend.

Many times we are just like Peter, boldly confessing our confidence and undying devotion to our Lord. We are committed Christians and would never entertain denying out Savior, who paid so high a price for us. But more often than we care to admit, our faith gets tested, temptations arise, difficult situations occur, friends and acquaintances ridicule and question, and we find ourselves denying Christ and His authority and power in our lives in a myriad of subtle and not so subtle ways.

“And the LORD turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the LORD, how He had told him, Before the cock crows today, you will deny Me three times. And he went outside and wept bitterly.” Luke 22:61-62

When we slip and the LORD gives us the look, we also need to remember the LORD’s words of “Trust Me… I will never leave you…All power is given to Me” and let His look drive us to tears of repentance also, because after repentance comes forgiveness, and after forgiveness comes victorious power. Was the LORD’s look to Peter one of “I told you so”? I don’t think so. I think it was a look of-“Because I know everything, I knew you would do it, but somewhere deep inside I hoped you wouldn’t”. I think it is the same look that Jesus gives us today, saying- you don’t have to give in anymore, you are free and empowered to live totally for and in ME, if you only would! It is one of those looks that melts our hearts and causes us to look again at the person we are, and the person He gave His life for us to become.

I was sitting in the pew. Two little boys were next to me, doing what little boys do in a church service that was growing long. Their duty of taking the offering was over, and they sat somewhat still (every now and then) and colored or played with their action figures, or crayons, or each other. Their dad sat in the pew behind me, and their mom was attempting to occupy a third brother in the nursery, just off the foyer of the church, about 30-35 feet behind the pew. The preacher was preaching, the congregation was paying attention, and the boys were playing quietly.

As I was tuned in to the sermon, but also in a peripheral sort of way to the little ones next to me, the older of the two suddenly jerked to attention in his kneeling position in front of the pew. His hand froze in mid-stroke with the crayon still in his hand, ½ inch above the paper. His eyes widened in a split second, and he whispered to his brother, “Mom’s calling us!” He grabbed the younger boy’s hand and led him back to the nursery.

I had not heard a thing. The only thing that alerted me to this supposed call was the behavior of the youngster and his declaration to his brother that Mom was calling. She must have done so with a pretty quiet call, because no one else in the church looked in their direction, or gave any indication that they had heard the call also.

In that service, where, by the way, the preacher was speaking about God being near, and walking and talking with us, an object lesson was learned. “God has a voice,” the preacher said, “And He speaks to us.” The Lord confirmed three lessons to me that day. Those precious little boys were about their business of the day- quietly behaving in the church service. They were doing their job responsibly and whole-heartedly. However, when the one heard the voice of his mother calling, he immediately stopped, listened and went to her in response. He listened to the voice of his mother and obeyed.

The older boy also took the younger by the hand in his obedience and led him to obedience also. The third thing that the Lord impressed me with is that no one else, including me, who sat right next to him, heard the voice. The little boy did, however. He was tuned in to the voice of his mother. His radar, if you will, was tuned in to her frequency, and he could easily distinguish her voice from all others.

That is how we followers of Christ need to be. We need to know the voice of our Master and be able to distinguish it from all others. This takes time and practice (this little boy had 6 years). Not everyone in the room will hear the voice of God, but if we do, our response needs to be prompt. My little friend immediately jerked to attention and acted upon the call. (Notice he didn’t spend a lot of time thinking it over and wondering if he had really heard his mother’s voice in the commotion of the church service, and I’m sure the preacher’s voice was louder than his mom’s). He answered the call, and we must also. If we have to have a moment like Samuel in the Old Testament did with Eli, that is all right, too. He recognized the voice and obeyed.
If we are older followers of Christ, (not in age necessarily, but in years of experience with the Lord) we have a responsibility of assisting younger Christians in learning to decipher the voice of the Lord and encouraging them to respond promptly also. And sometimes we older Christians just need to grab the younger by the hand and bring them along. We can be in the middle of the work or responsibilities God has given us here; but when we are tuned in to God’s voice and can listen and obey promptly, and gather whomever else He is calling, we can be effective in our commitment to follow Him, even if we are the only one to hear the voice.

The Lord certainly was right in saying that a little child shall lead them.