The Seed of Hope

You vs. The World

Have there been days when you felt as if the world and everyone in it was against you? Days when you believed that one individual was singlehandedly attempting to tarnish your reputation, or even wreck your life? Days when seemingly everything that you said and done was wrong? Days when a situation seemed hopeless?

Come on, you’ve had at least one of those days, haven’t you? I’ve had more of them that I can recall, and to be honest with you, I don’t know that I want to. I mean, who wants to spend time reflecting on the bad times when it’s a whole lot more fun thinking about the good ones?

Consider David.

Yeah, I’m well aware of the fact that I’ve written about David before, but that’s because David has such a remarkable story…

David was a young boy who was in God’s favor; God loved him. David had been anointed with oil by Samuel, and was filled with the power of the Spirit. David was chosen to live and serve as an armor bearer in the house of Saul, the king of Israel. Yes, this was the same David who would slay Goliath, the Philistines mightiest warrior, with a slingshot and a rock! David would become one of Saul’s greatest commanders, and would lead Saul’s armies to many victories. He would, in fact, eventually become Saul’s son-in-law. David was indeed in God’s favor.

It was just after David’s slaying of Goliath that Saul became extremely jealous of David’s favor with God, of his power, and of his ever-growing popularity among the people. After several failed attempts to place David in a place where he would surely die in battle, Saul decided to murder David with his own hands.

It was during his flight from Saul that David was captured by the Philistines in Gath. Weary from fleeing Saul, and fearful for his life, David cried out to God in Psalm 56, for His mercy and protection.

1 Be merciful to me, O God, for men hotly pursue me; all day long they press on their attack.

5 All day long they twist my words; they are always plotting to harm me. 6They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps, eager to take my life.

9 Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help. By this I will know that God is for me.

11 in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

Still believe that David was in God’s favor? He was, to be sure. God rescued him from the Philistines and protected him from Saul’s obsession to kill him, and used David to serve Him and His people for many years.

So how does David’s plight apply to you today? You probably haven’t slain a goliath recently, it’s doubtful that a jealous king wants to kill you, and odds are that you haven’t been imprisoned for being an Israelite. So what’s the connection?

We face people every day who are jealous of what we have, or of the favor that we may have with God and with other people. These people will slander us, threaten us, and seemingly go to any extremes to ruin our lives. More often than not, their actions aren’t the result of what we do have, but of what they don’t have.

I believe that jealousy is often born of the fear of not have enough of something, like money, material possessions, good looks, and notoriety. In the case of David, and as is frequently the case with hungry-for-God Christians, this jealousy wasn’t only about the favor of God, but God’s love.

“Mom loves YOU more!”

I wonder how many times this statement has been spoken by one sibling to another throughout the annals of history. I’ll unashamedly admit that it was my favorite “war-cry” when I was a child. I was convinced that my Mom loved my younger brother Ronny more than she loved me, and because of that I just knew that he was her favorite! And because of that, I was always ready to take it out on him.

You see, Saul fell into the trap of thinking that God loved David more, thereby making David his favorite. And because of that, Saul wanted to kill David.

So what did David do? He cried out to God. He prayed harder. He pressed-in even closer, knowing that his cover, and indeed his very life, was in God’s hands.

You vs. the world…

When it feels as if it’s you against the world and the enemy is closing in, always seek refuge in the Lord. You already know that you don’t have to have a jealous king trying to take your life to feel like it’s in peril, don’t you? Some days it just feels as if there’s no hope, that God has forgotten all about you and has left you to the wolves.

Pray harder. Press in closer. Take shelter under His wing. He’s our protector, our strength, and our conqueror. Our love for Him, and more importantly, His love for us, will protect us from our accusers, our pursuers, and anything else that comes against us.

Anything.

The measure of a man...

Our society tends to take the measure of a man by what he’s accomplished, the titles that he holds, the size of his paycheck, and the material possessions that he’s accumulated. While there is certainly nothing wrong with any of these things, we have to question if they are, independently or collectively the true measure of a man. Do they really define who he is, what he is, or what he’s done in life?

Another way of measuring a man is the smile on his face and the manner in which he greets people. Genuine smiles, warms hellos, and signs of affection (hugs and handshakes) are more often than not the trademarks of a man who is happy with himself. Still, even this method leaves room for error. Many people wear smiles, offer warm hellos, and greet others with signs of affection as a means of acquiring the things listed in the first category. Then too, many who wear smiles are masking their true feelings, which are anything but happy. I remember this one far too well.

The most accurate yardstick is the one used to see what is in a man’s heart. For obvious reasons, it’s also the most difficult to apply. You see, only the proprietor of a heart and God knows what’s truly in it.

Psalm 49 is very clear in cautioning us about those things which we hold in highest esteem.

Do not be overawed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases; for he will take nothing with him when he dies….16-17 NIV A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish. 29 NIV

THE MESSAGE version of Psalm 49:29 is even blunter in referring to our fate:

We aren’t immortal. We don’t last long. Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die. 

We die, and we don’t take anything with us when we go. Not the titles. Not the money. Not the material possessions. Not a thing. The adage “You can’t take it with you” is based on fact.

So what are we saying here? That it’s a bad thing to have the finer things in life, like money, a nice house, or a fancy car? Of course not! What’s of most importance is having God, first and foremost, in your heart. And even more than that, it’s having His wisdom and understanding in your mind.

Where do we find this understanding?

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and power, the Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord—Isaiah 11:2

True understanding is given to us when we receive the Holy Spirit. We cannot fully understand or comprehend the depth of God’s love for us until we’re filled by the Holy Spirit. We cannot know the love of Jesus and feel the pain of his sacrifice for us until we walk with the Holy Spirit. We can never protect ourselves from the relentless attacks of Satan without the armor of God that is given to us by the Holy Spirit.

We can never fully be what God intended us to be, or discover and live out our true purpose for being here, or “walk the walk” that God intended for us unless we walk with His Spirit in our minds and in our hearts. Only then will we know the true measure of ourselves. 

How will people take a measure of you today? Do you think it would be based on what you have, or the smile on your face, or what’s in your heart?

How do you measure yourself?

A smaller filter...

One morning last week I was reading that particular day’s scripture passages from the One Year Bible. I’ll admit that while I always look forward to my time in God’s Word, there are mornings when I’m not filled with anticipation and great expectations for revelations. This was one of those mornings.

I read through the Old Testament passages, which included David’s plans for the Temple, a prayer that he offered to God, and Solomon becoming king. Ho-hum. Next was a passage from Romans with Paul talking about life, death, law, and freedom. Yeah, yeah. Whatever.

Look, I’m just being truthful. Some mornings I just don’t feel like reading scripture, but I do anyway. Not out of obligation or fear, but because I know that my life is better when I stay in the Word. Period. Again, this was one of those mornings.

Then I read Psalm 15, a Psalm of David.

¹Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? 
    Who may live on your holy hill?

² He whose walk is blameless 
    and who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart
³     and has no slander on his tongue,
who does his neighbor no wrong
    and casts no slur on his fellowman,
⁴ who despises a vile man
    but honors those who fear the Lord,
who keeps his oath 
    even when it hurts,
⁵ who lends his money without usury 
    and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things
    will never be shaken.

As I read through the Psalm I had a bit of an epiphany.

The Ten Commandments, God’s Commandments, are my yardstick for measuring the way I live my life, or more specifically, my walk as a Christian.

Let me add something here. I do my best to follow God’s commands, not out of obligation or fear, but because it’s my choice to do so, just like reading the Bible each morning. I choose to, because my life is better when I do, and because I feel better about myself too.

Look, I love the relationship that I have with God today. I love walking it out with Jesus every day. And I love being filled with the Holy Spirit. If I’m not following the life-suggestions that God laid out for us, my connection, my relationship, my love affair with all three suffers. It’s that simple. I refuse to be separated in my mind and heart from God’s grace and His love because of something that I’ve done. I refuse to go back to where I was just a few years ago.

That wasn’t the epiphany. This was:

As I read I realized that the manner in which I live my life is so much more than the Ten Commandments. It’s means taking a closer look at myself and using an even smaller filter to determine what is acceptable in my life and what is not.

…whose walk is blameless…does what is righteous…speaks truth from his heart…no slander on his tongue…no wrong…no slur…

The Psalm calls for a higher standard indeed. Certainly more than just rolling out of bed in the morning and trying to do “what is right.”

And I realized that my desire to “dwell in your sanctuary and live on your holy hill” has nothing to do with heaven, although that’s where I want to go when my time clock here is punched.

You see, I want be in God’s sanctuary and stand on His holy hill now! And you know what? I don’t have to wait to die to do it! It’s during those special moments when I’m filled with God’s Spirit, and I know that my mind, thoughts, and heart are clean and pure, and I’m seeking Him with an intensity that consumes me that I feel His presence and know that He’s not only with me and all around me, but in me, and I feel His goodness and love, and I could just burst with joy, that I’m in that sanctuary and on that hill.

I’d love to tell you that I feel that every day, but I don’t, or at least not to the degree that I just feebly attempted to describe to you. But when it does happen, it’s what I consider to be my definition of euphoria: heaven on earth.

That’s exactly what happened as I was reading the Psalm. BAM! Out of nowhere. I was overwhelmed by God’s presence, so much so that I had to pause several times to reflect on a sentence that I’d just read. God’s Word came alive and I saw it through a different set of eyes and I saw that while I try to live my life according to the passage, there are those days when I fall short of my ambitions. The realization didn’t dampen my spirits at all, but actually emboldened me to live my life to an even higher standard. You see, it’s my belief that if I make a commitment to be the man that David spoke of in the Psalm, God will help me to be that man. That’s exactly what happened when I committed my life to God several years ago.

A few thoughts on making a commitment to life change, especially as it pertains to your walk with God. I liken it to pushing a steamroller from the top of a hill. Initially it takes a tremendous amount of effort just to get that thing to budge. In fact, there are times when you feel as if you’re not making any progress at all. But you have to stay at it, regardless of how seemingly impossible the task may seem. It’ll happen.

Once you get that huge machine rolling down the hill (and you will) it picks up momentum, and as it does it becomes an unstoppable force, with you in the driver’s seat. Unmovable, unwavering, unshakable faith.

Such revelations…

And to think that I received all of that insight and God’s touch, on a morning when I didn’t even want to open the Bible. Go figure.

One last thought before I close, and it has to do with the last line of the Psalm.

He who does these things will never be shaken.

Think about that one for a moment, would you?

…will never be shaken.