Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils. Why hold them in esteem? Isaiah 2:22
The book of Isaiah is one of my favorites in the Bible, and I love the last half of the book especially, where the prophet employs glorious imagery as God promises to bring his people back to himself. The words from those chapters come easily to me: the Lord has chosen us and not rejected us; the waters will not sweep over us; the Maker is our husband.
But before the prophet was given these promises, the Lord first addressed the human arrogance and sin. As we see in this week’s reading, God named the Israelites’ sin of trusting in themselves. And he revealed the folly in doing so – they “have but a breath in their nostrils.” We may not live as if our lives are fleeting, believing instead that we are invincible as we move from one important activity to another. But if we stand back and consider the sweep of time, we see that our lives here on earth are just a blip.
That might sound depressing. I don’t mean it to be, for as we know from Scripture, the two things to remain are the word of God and his redeemed people who will live with him forever. So while we do have breath, may we trust not in ourselves or others, but in God. We can consciously turn to him for the big questions and the small. What shall I do next? What should our church’s mission be? How can I love my neighbor? As we turn our faces to the Lord, we can see in our mind’s eye him showering us with his wisdom, as if gold dust floating down to us in the sky.
Reflection: “There are no ‘ordinary’ people. You have never talked to a mere mortal… It is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.” CS Lewis, The Weight of Glory
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12
A friend prayed this proverb for me when major life plans were dashed. I had thought the Lord was guiding me to move to another city to work with a Christian organization there. Conveniently, in that city lived a man whom I was sure the Lord had told me I would marry. But in the space of a week, I knew that neither would happen – neither would I work there nor marry that wonderful man.
My friend realized that I had seriously misheard the Lord, but she didn’t pass judgment on me. Rather she ministered to me through this proverb, for she saw that what my heart hoped for – marriage and being involved in an organization I loved – was now not coming true. And if I let my deferred hope fester within, my heart could become sick with sadness and disappointment.
She prayed with me, and helped me to release some of the pain and disbelief to God. I started to understand that I needed to mature in my listening; to test what I was hearing not only against the Bible but with trusted prayer partners.
It’s interesting that Solomon in this proverb simply observes the effects of hope deferred and longing fulfilled. He’s not pointing fingers at causes or behaviors that may have brought about the hope deferred. Sometimes merely stating the situation can bring healing and clarity – as with my friend who saw what was happening in my heart but didn’t tear me down for the mess I’d made.
Through my painful experience, I learned to give the Lord my dreams and plans. I became more rooted in his word and more mature in discerning his voice. And eventually my longings fulfilled became a tree of life.
Prayer: Root us in your word, Lord, that we might drink of your nourishment and feed on your good food.
At the start of a new year, after what was for many a difficult 2016, I thought it appropriate to look at some passages from the Bible on hoping and trusting in God. What has struck me time and time again is just how much God wants us to look to him as our life’s foundation. We might be tempted to trust in other people such as our family or our friends, money, status, work, or ourselves. But the Lord wants us to relinquish the throne and instead look to him for guidance, meaning, sustenance, and life.
As we move from the Old Testament to the New, we see themes emerge. Trusting the triune God can be challenging because he is unseen – yet real. But as we look to him, our faith grows when we see how he answers our prayers. We begin to realize that the foundation of our life is built on the hope of his promise of a life everlasting. But as especially the letters of Paul reveal, a component to hope in our world is suffering. The world is not now as God made it, and thus we will face pain, mistreatment, testing, trials and death. But as we look to God and seek his strength through his indwelling Holy Spirit, he will strengthen our hope and resolve. And even in the midst of suffering, he will give us joy.
A gratitude journal can be a practical way of bringing to mind the mercies of God, which are new every morning. Throughout the day, we could write down one, two, three or more things for which we give thanks. The crunch of the snow under our feet. Tea with a friend. A hot water bottle to warm our toes. The smile of a stranger. As we name these little things, they will over time turn into a big thing, as Ann Voskamp found as she committed to making a list of one thousand reasons she was thankful (see One Thousand Gifts).
As we become mindful of God’s mercy and moving in our lives, we will begin to trust in him even more. The snowball will gather more snow. May we look expectantly to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit to bestow on us his true riches.
And now, over to our first devotional in this series.
Photo: Tito & Eva Marie Balangue, flickr
How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? …But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me. (Psalm 13:1–6)
When we feel that God is silent, we can find it difficult and disheartening to keep the conversation going with him. We might decide it’s easier to curl up under the duvet and ignore him, or lose ourselves in our work, our kids, our volunteering, our leisure pursuits. Or if we’re really hurting, we may turn to addictive behaviour – eating, shopping, gossiping – to mask the pain.
But look what King David does in this psalm. It’s only six verses long, and he spends the first two-thirds saying, basically, “Hey God – are you there? I’m here talking to you and you don’t answer! My enemies are winning and you’re silent!” But he suddenly changes his tone, saying that he’s going to trust in God forever. And not only that, but that he’s even going to rejoice and praise God, for the Lord has been good to him.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t so easily make the jump from asking God where he is to affirming my trust in him. I more readily let my feelings rule my thoughts, and either keep up the whinge-fest or shut down the conversation all together. But here I’m reminded of “stop thoughts.” We can train ourselves to cease our complaining and ask God through his Holy Spirit to change our feelings. We can remind ourselves of a favorite verse; perhaps even a modification of Psalm 13:6: “The Lord has been good to me.” We might still feel rotten, but as we remind ourselves of God’s loving attributes and how he’s created us for himself, we might see our emotions catch up and change. Even as putting a smile on our face can actually make us feel joy, so too can affirming God’s truth help us reorient ourselves emotionally.
Prayer: Father God, I’m sorry when I let emotions get the best of me. Please help me change, that I might reflect your goodness and love.
