Year: 2020

Superheroes

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
Isaiah 43:2 ESV

“Cookie cutter Bible verses” can be dangerous. Imagine someone pulling this verse out of context and walking into a raging river or a raging fire of their own will and being surprised when their foolishness brings them to harm’s doorstep.

Let’s please not be so eager to use “whatever we read” and “however we read it” as some systematic approach of dictating or demanding how God “must fulfill” His promises.

I do realize how in times of great need or dispair or suffering, that we may need to stand upon the promises of God and cry out to Him for help. But it seems there is a huge chasm between the two, because the first has us demanding God submit to our will and purposes — while the second has us submitting to God’s will and trusting Him for protection.

Is our focus on the part of the verse that says “I will be with you” (speaking of us and God together) — or did we skip over that to the parts that only mention us and the circumstances (“they shall not overwhelm you”, “you shall not be burned”, and “shall not consume you”).

Sadly, how often do we make what should be about Him, into something about ourselves?

God is not in the business of building up superheroes and celebrities so that people revere other people. He is revealing Himself as the Lord and Savior for His glory and honor — because He is worthy.

In this train of thought,  you will see repeatedly in the Bible how “important people” (even the recognizable names of people close to God) are humbled by their own shortcomings. Whether it is wise Solomon’s foolish pursuit of women, or bold Peter’s thrice denial of knowing Christ Jesus — all are not revealed as superheroes — but as flawed people who need a perfect, holy God Savior.

And when we see religious celebrities fall hard and far in very public ways, or those around us in ministry fall by the wayside — we cannot leave cold, hard stony hearts unrevived by the measure of grace and forgiveness meant for the day to say foolishly dangerous things like,  “He cast them out because they aren’t His.” What a horrible precedent to set for ourselves and others — to measure one another by the shortcomings of each other rather than by the power of the life giving blood of Jesus Christ,  the Lamb of God.

Imagine if your validation, your assurance, your proof of God’s love had to be proven to your physical eyes because you didn’t have spiritual eyes to see, or to your physical ears because you didn’t have spiritual ears to hear, or to your physical hands because you had not been spiritually touched by God in those deep, innermost places of your very being. Verse 8 brings this to mind:

Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears!
Isaiah 43:8 ESV

Remember doubting Thomas?

Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
John 20:24‭-‬29 ESV

Do not fret if you have doubted.

Do not fret if you have foolishly demanded from the Word of God that God protect you in the way that He protected Israel and His beloved.  Like an envious child seeing what his brother or sister received,  I have done the same,  beloved. And our God is so merciful and mighty that even in those moments,  He bid me thrust my fingers into His wounds to prove my doubts unfounded. But I was not nearly as overjoyed at my protection afterwards as I was humbled by my doubt. He loves, restores, and greatly uses men and women like Solomon, Peter, Thomas, You and I — not because of our worthiness, but because of His.

Pride would have us fearing things that bring humility and favoring things that bring us honor. Pride would have us seeking to be the unbreakable hero. But pride is the enemy.

Lord, the humble and faithful pass through the waters and the fires with you — to display you, not themselves. Even the righteous man falls for your glory and honor. Help us to praise you and glorify you alone, because you alone are worthy. Amen.

What brings you pride?

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:8‭-‬9 ESV

What is the opposite of boasting?

Boasting is about inflating self — like filling oneself with hot air in order to rise higher like a proverbial hot air balloon. Many who boast the loudest and most often of themselves are actually trying to compensate for a lack of genuine self esteem and maturity by projecting what they think they “should be” in their words about themselves. It is not a pretty picture when we see it for what it is.

And Christ died for us,  and saved us,  not of our own works, SO THAT NO ONE MIGHT BOAST.

You see, we do not deserve praise and honor.

To a prideful man, he will look at all of his hard work and say,  “But I deserve…” when things don’t turn out the way that he expected. Or he will look at the less fortunate and justify in his own mind that he has more because he is not so lazy, even as he grumbles that those with more are somehow all crooks and swindlers. It is hard to consider the sovereignty of Almighty God and that His purpose cannot be thwarted when we believe that it is our own cause and effect that gets us our good rewards and that when we don’t get what we want, it is due to circumstances beyond our control. When we have the mindset that we are the earners of the good gifts that life and others haven’t found a way of cheating us out of — God’s grace and goodness is indeed far away from our comprehension (even though He is truly the source of EVERY GOOD GIFT).

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
James 1:17 ESV

It is easy to forget this, beloved, when the circumstances of life during a pandemic hit us — or when we feel the temptation to boast of ourselves. But the point of Christ revealed is to show us our right standing — humbly praising God alone. Those gifts and talents and abilities we are sometimes proud of in ourselves — God gave them to us, and He could just as easily take them away. So what good does it do to sing praises of ourselves, when He has entrusted us with these treasures and abilities to be used to bring Him glory.

Christ does not bring us pride, He opens our eyes to awe and wonder of God that naturally humbles a man before his maker. The enemy is the one who hangs out pride and lies and hypocrisy and judgement and comparison that gets us into so much trouble. But we can trade the bitter poison of that old enemy for the fresh waters of grace.

What have I “taken credit for” and “boasted of” in myself? I should lay it down, confess it, and walk in a different way, walk in The Way that Jesus had taught us instead.

How often we forget humility and end up in pride. How often we lift up the wrong person in our heart and mind as begging worthy of praise ands honor and glory. Lord, forgive us and mold us to be more like you — you who were willing to be humbled even to the point of death to free us from the trappings of sin and pride and wickedness and death. Amen.

As an online friend, Gabriel Cross, writes in his blog post today:

https://wp.me/pFkTv-83I

“The most powerful prayer is simply A cry to the Father for help.”

“When you’re going through the hustle and bustle of life, don’t forget to ask The Lord to help you specifically, and He will.”

But you, Sovereign Lord,
help me for your name’s sake;
out of the goodness of your love, deliver me. (Psalm 109:21)