Healing Rays of Righteousness

Taming The Wilderness

Read Mark 1:9-13

Because of unexpected and difficult circumstances or events that come into our life, we sometimes find ourselves in a scary wilderness of physical, emotional, and spiritual testings, where wild animals threaten to separate us from a trusting relationship with our Father God.

Jesus’ wilderness experience immediately followed his baptism with water and the powerful affirmation from heaven of who he was: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”  I believe this must have been a very reassuring moment of encouragement for Jesus as he begins his ministry.

But then Mark says that “At once the Spirit sent him out (compelled Jesus to go) into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with wild animals, and angels attended (took care of) him.”

No one chooses to journey into difficult and troubling wilderness experiences.  Not even Jesus.  However, wilderness experiences are a part of being human in a world of evil.  Many different and unfortunate events may cause us much pain and suffering.  During these difficult times of uncertainty we may struggle with inner feelings of being forsaken and unloved.  Many would describe these times as being very desolate, lonely, agonizing, and scary.

The wild beasts of anxieties and fear crouch in the brush nearby, ready to pounce and strangle us emotionally and physically.  The wild creatures of various temptations slither around waiting for the opportunity to strike with their deadly poisons.  And the vultures of doubt and despair circle overhead, waiting to devour whatever hope we are still clinging to.

I think I can say with certainty that all difficult wilderness experiences have their wild animals.  They threaten us.  They challenge our Christian faith, our moral and spiritual values, and our belief and trust in a loving, caring Father God.

The good news is that our loving, caring Father God is present with us and strengthens us to confront and overcome the threats these wild animals of the wilderness throw at us.

Mark says, “He (Jesus) was with the wild animals.”  And then he says “and angels attended him.”  Both the Hebrew and Greek words translated as “angel” mean “messenger.”  And so these angels are God’s messengers of hope, providing encouragement and strength when he needed it most.

And so he is with us.  We are not alone in the wilderness.  God’s angels are there providing the strength and reassurance we need to remain confident of God’s ever-loving care and provision for us, and journey through the wilderness experience with increased faith and trust in him.

The apostle Paul wrote our of his own wilderness experience, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but now destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).

The writer of Hebrews teaches us that Jesus Christ is our great High Priest – a high priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses and who in every respect has be tested as we are, yet without sin.  He then says, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16).

Jesus understands the wilderness and its wild beasts.  Jesus understands our loneliness and despair, because Jesus has already been there and in every way stressed and tested even as we are.  And he is with us in our wilderness journey, promising never to leave us nor forsake us.

Thanks be to God!

Fully Known and Dearly Loved

Read Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18

In concluding my blog last week, I stated that many persons struggle with low self-esteem and worthlessness, largely because they never heard nor experienced God’s dignifying affirmation through the human beings that work, play, and worship with them.  I should have also said that most, if not all, of us do experience feelings of low self-esteem at certain times in our lives.

That’s why I recommend reading Psalm 139 frequently and listening closely to God speaking your name and telling you why and how he loves and cares for you every moment of every day.

This psalm is a prayer in which the psalmist, David, is astounded by how thoroughly and intimately the Lord knows him.  God’s presence with him at all times and in every circumstance is more than he can comprehend – but it gives him a grand sense of self-worth, inner security and comfort.

In this prayer, David declares the following dignity-filled truths about God’s relationship with us.

God knows me (v.1-4).  Yes, God is like a doctor giving us a physical exam; a psychiatrist exploring our inner selves; or an intimate friend who probes us until we reveal all.  As a result, God knows us thoroughly and completely – even our deepest and most secret thoughts and desires, both the good and bad.

He knows what we think about people.  He knows our motives as we engage in conversation with others. He knows the path we take through the day, each pause, and each detour.  When trouble comes, God knows!   When life is joyous and delightful, God knows!   There is nothing we do, say, or think that is hidden from God.

Although we might at times feel that God’s knowledge and involvement in our lives is a little too invasive, too uncomfortable, David finds it to be a joyous comfort and encouragement particularly during the difficult times in his life.

God surrounds me (v.5-6).  God not only knows our whereabouts and thoughts, He also protects us from harm.  Wherever we go, God is there surrounding us with protection, and abundantly providing for our needs.  Like a human father, God goes before us preparing our way and behind us guiding and encouraging us onward in our life journey.  He is always present in our personal moments with fatherly care and concern.

It is so mind-boggling for me to think that God would know me as He does, that God would be as involved in the specifics of my daily living as He is, that I say with David, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand.” (v.6). 

God created me (v.13-16).  David acknowledges that the God who knows him so intimately is also the God who wonderfully created and fashioned him in his mother’s womb and now lovingly cares for him.  He knows us the way a painter knows his picture, or a sculptor knows his statue.  He remembers each little detail of his work in shaping us into the special person we are – a unique image of himself.

This amazing truth really comforts and encourages me; because it affirms and reassures me we are not an accident of nature or evolution.  We are not a mistake in God’s great scheme of things.  There is a holy, grandiose reason and purpose created into each one us. Our life, our soul, our human self is filled with the very breath of Almighty God.  With David we say, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

God thinks about me (v.17-18).  Not only does God think about us as he is forming us in our mother’s womb, he also is thinking about us as we are being shaped and fashioned beyond the womb. Moment by moment, day after day, we are in his thoughts as he watches over us.  David says that his thoughts of us outnumber the sand itself – impossible to count.

As amazing as it is – as unlikely or even as impossible as it might seem – imagine this; you and me are known by and in relationship with the Holy, Almighty God, high and lifted up, who is completely beyond our understanding, our thinking – and yet comes down to care, provide and lead us individually as his treasured, unique, and special creation – his own beloved child.

David concludes is prayer of praise with, “When I awake, I am still with you.”   David takes comfort in being able to rely on God’s safekeeping – falling asleep in the presence of God and waking up in the presence of God.  And so can we.

In her book of meditations on the Psalms, “I’m Lonely, Lord – HOW LONG?” Marva J. Dawn concludes her meditation on this psalm with these words.  “Truly this picture of ourselves, marvelously designed, made with his tender care, should fill us with dignity and self-worth.  We don’t have to win God’s approval; we had it even before we were born.  We don’t have to prove our worth; he wove it together.  We don’t have to impress him with our goodness; he just wants to show us his.” (p.156).

 I wholeheartedly agree.  I leave you with this question to ponder, “What do you think God was thinking on the day you were created?  What beautiful and attractive things, what grand and perfect things, was God thinking and planning for you while He was putting you together in your mother’s womb – and what is he thinking about you even now as he continues to shape you by the experiences of the past week and year?

Created With Dignity

Read Jeremiah 1:4-8

 “Dignity” is defined as “inherent nobility and worth; the state or quality of being worthy of respect” in our dictionaries, but seems to have been far removed from our daily thought and practice.  When it comes to the practice of affirming and protecting the dignity of others, it seems our society has largely lost its heart and way.  We find it so easy and, sadly, popular to “trash” those we don’t like or with whom we disagree.  Political conversations have deteriorated into such sickening trash talking about opponents that any possibility of learning truthful facts about a person or situation is almost non-existent.  Unfortunately, this childish, prejudiced, and disrespectful name-calling has become the normal character of our American culture in both secular and religious arenas.

For that reason, I urgently invite us all to hear again God’s word to Jeremiah and reclaim the dignity with which God created and gave birth to each and every one of us.

God was about to send Jeremiah as a prophet into a culture that had lost all reverence for human life.  They were corrupting themselves with the most flagrant disregard for human dignity.  In calling Jeremiah to this unglamorous and frightening lifework as prophet to his own people, he said, “I formed you in the womb.” 

With our small and limited understandings we imagine our conception as only a biological event between our parents.  Yet God’s words to Jeremiah should cause us to rethink the deeper truths surrounding the origins and purposes of our birth into this world.

In pondering these words, we learn that you and I are created and formed with a divine glory which is infinitely more than just being biological children of humankind. The Psalmist acknowledges this glory when he praises God, saying “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Ps. 139:13-14)

But listen carefully as you reread God’s words to Jeremiah.  Our conception and birth is not our real beginning of existence, nor will our death be the end.  God said, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.”

Wow!  What a mind-boggling, heart-stirring thought for us to ponder.  Think about it.  Before the day and moment of our conception, God knew us.  God dignified us by thinking and calling us into existence.  God names you and me in his mind and dignifies each of us with a special purpose and plan.  It’s hard to imagine that even before our mothers lovingly cradled us in their arms, God wrapped his greater arms around us and whispered his uniquely designed purpose and plan into each of our soon-to-be created selves.

Again the Psalmist acknowledges this glorious truth in his praise to God, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.  How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!” (Ps. 139:16-17)

Such awesome truth lifts our eyes to a loving God and brings healing to our discouraged and downcast spirits. This is good news indeed, but there is more.  If this is true and believe it is, then there follows another, possibly more difficult truth, which is equally important to accept and live out in our relationship with others.

The true reality is that what God did in bringing me and you into existence, he does for every other human being in our world.  It is important that we let this truth continually permeate the deepest recesses of our minds and hearts in all or our relationships and conversations.  For if we don’t, it becomes easy to not accept and dignify their God-given personhood.

In my years of ministry as pastor and chaplain, I’ve encountered many individuals who do not live up to the dignity God instilled in them at their birth.  And neither do they live up to God’s purpose, plan, and potential for them.  And I have also ministered to many who struggle with a low self-esteem and worthlessness, largely because they never heard nor experienced God’s dignifying affirmation through the human beings that work, play, and worship with them.  Do you hear me?

I sincerely believe we can change our churches, communities, and world by resolving to be more earnest in our efforts to dignify the personhood of all others in our conversations and actions regardless of their race, religion, politics, or nationality, even as our creator God does.