What are we before the Holy God? Who are we truly? Are there
any difference between Christians and non-believers in Christ? Yes, there are
much in many ways. In Christ, we have been redeemed and cleansed by his blood
and made righteous, so we can stand in confidence and boldness before the
throne of grace. A way is open for the believers to access into the holy of
holies in Christ. It does not mean to automatic cruise in following and obeying
God in Christ. It still needs a daily decision through the faith in Christ.
Jesus says so, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny
himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34) What is not different
between Christians and non-believers in Christ? Obviously, they are the same
human beings whom are subjected to all kinds of struggles and frustrations all
the days of their lives. Christians are never immune to troubles and
difficulties in lives. Rather, it is true and real that every believer in
Christ shall go through the tough lives as all others do. Jesus plainly tells
his disciples that they will be persecuted for the cause of Christ just as our
Lord was under persecution. “If you were of the world, the world would love you
as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the
world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:19) God is in heaven where all
things are under his rule and authority. There is also rebellion by the devil
in heaven. He is a liar and the father of lie. He is a murderer and the father
of rebellion. The devil cannot be accepted by God for he is always against the
One who made all things that has been made including the one who rebels. He is
a deceiver and the father of deception. He is a troubler and the father of
trouble. As the devil disguised himself as a shining one in the Garden, so does
he in the midst of human lives throughout the time and space. The saints in the
Old and the New are the targets of the devil in the midst of troubled lives.
The Psalms is reflecting the lives of the saints, especially how much they were
under the severe attack of the devil. Here is one, Psalm One Hundred and Second
Chapter, in which a psalmist is crying out to the Lord God to hear his plea.
“Hear my
prayer, O Lord;
let my cry
come to you!
Do not hide
your face from me
in the day
of my distress!
Incline your
ear to me;
answer me speedily in the day when I call!” (Psalm 102:1-2)
See how much an old saint, probably David, is under his
stress. It is like an orphan cry. There is no exaggeration in his plea and
appeal to the Lord. It is an urgent call for help. This is what we are. We are
in desperate need of help. If anyone is not in need or they say that they not
in need, they are telling a lie. Human beings have never been made to live
without depending on the One who made mankind in his image and in his likeness.
He is God who created all things. Apart from God, man is lost and going
nowhere. Man is made to depend on the One who made him. Life in time and space
is a school time to learn what we are and how to handle lives. In our midst, we
have been made to call for help constantly and desperately for we are
essentially in need of everything. We need air to breathe, water to drink,
bread to eat, relationship to be connected each other, the sun in the day and
the moon at night, and rain for all life. We are in need of A to Z because we
have nothing what it takes. God is everything what it takes. So, we keep on
asking for help, crying and pleading to the Person God who keeps on giving
whatever we ask. That is what we are and who we are from the beginning to
eternity.
For my days
vanish like smoke;
my bones
burn like glowing embers.
My heart is
blighted and withered like grass;
I forget to
eat my food.
In my
distress I groan aloud
and am
reduced to skin and bones.
I am like a
desert owl,
like an owl
among the ruins.
I lie awake;
I have become
like a bird
alone on a roof.
All day long
my enemies taunt me;
those who
rail against me use my name as a curse.
For I eat
ashes as my food
and mingle
my drink with tears
because of
your great wrath,
for you have
taken me up and thrown me aside.
My days are
like the evening shadow;
I wither away like grass.” (Psalm 102:3-11)
Listen to the cry of the psalmist. He is depleted, defeated,
powerless, helpless, pitiful, lonesome, groaning, overpowered, beaten, crushed,
exhausted, hopeless, tired, weary, and drained and withered like grass and
smoke. In fact, that is the experience of all human beings. The Teacher who
wrote his experience in Ecclesiastes expressed the futility of humanity, saying
“Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”
(Ecclesiastes 1:2) One generation comes and goes, leaving all kinds of unsolved
problems behind though they had struggled hard to solve them. Misery and
futility are the marks of humanity all over the places. Every generation has
been trying to make the world better and the life easier. Nevertheless, all
generations have been going through the same struggles and troubles over and
over again. No one is exempt and free from this brutal and cruel tyranny of
burden and anxiety. All my days are like the evening shadow which seems like
there is something but goes away without trace, says the psalmist. Eating,
sleeping, sex, such desires persist, so we sustain but what for? For better
future? But there is no tomorrow. We live today and now. Tomorrow never comes.
Is that it? No, it is not all. There is a God who made all things in purpose
and drive. The sigh and cry of humanity are designed to see what we truly are. To
see and know what we truly are is the first step to enter into the mystery of
God in which we understand the meaning and goal of all sufferings and troubles
in the midst.
“But you,
LORD, sit enthroned forever;
your renown
endures through all generations.
You will
arise and have compassion on Zion,
for it is
time to show favor to her;
the
appointed time has come.
For her
stones are dear to your servants;
her very
dust moves them to pity.
The nations
will fear the name of the LORD,
all the
kings of the earth will revere your glory.
For the LORD
will rebuild Zion
and appear
in his glory.
He will
respond to the prayer of the destitute;
he will not
despise their plea.
Let this be
written for a future generation,
that a
people not yet created may praise the LORD:
‘The LORD
looked down from his sanctuary on high,
from heaven
he viewed the earth,
to hear the
groans of the prisoners
and release
those condemned to death.’
So the name
of the LORD will be declared in Zion
and his
praise in Jerusalem when the peoples and the kingdoms
assemble to worship the LORD.” (Psalm 102:12-22)
There is a God who sits on the throne in his awesomeness and
mightiness and all beauty and glory. He reigns and rules in justice and
righteousness with full of compassion and pity. In him, there is no partiality
and favoritism. All peoples are being treated and loved and cared and judged
equally based on what they do. He is mighty and glorious that nothing can
contain him in our language or understanding. He is what he is that he is. That
is his name. Now he is unseen and invisible in our eyes, but fully seen and
visible in the spirit. He is in heaven and omnipresent in his fullness and
majesty in our midst. He is all power and authority and nothing can compete
with him. His resurrection power was exerted on the third day at the tomb of
Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified and buried, conquering the last enemy of
man, the power of sin and death. “That power is the same as the mighty strength
he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand
in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion,
and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one
to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head
over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who
fills everything in every way.” (Ephesians 1:19-23) No power, authority, and
dominion can prevail the glorious throne of grace. Our Lord Jesus Christ
prevailed the world through his death on a cross, being cursed, condemned and
ashamed in our place.
Our God has power and right to judge all man on the earth.
Nevertheless, he sent his Son Jesus Christ to the fallen world to die for us
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Our God is
infinitely powerful and thousand and one reasons to judge humanity and yet he
sent the Son of Man just as he promised even before the time began. Because our
God is compassionate and merciful. “The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.” (Psalm 103:8) Our Lord Jesus shows full of
compassion on those who are poor and helpless like orphans and widows. “When he
saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and
helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36) Though he is sitting
in the highest heavens, he sees and listens to the groans of the prisoners like
that of this psalmist and all mankind and releases them through the power of
resurrection. He fulfills and satisfies those who are poor and hungry in
spirit, pleading and crying out to him day and night. In the parable of the
persistent widow, Jesus tells how quickly the heavenly Father will listen to
the cry of his children who are in anguish and agony. “And will not God bring
about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he
keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and
quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
(Matthew 18:7-8) Apostle Paul makes the same encouraging words of truth, saying
“Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved
from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were
reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been
reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” (Romans 5:9-10) He is saying
God loved us while we still sinners, the enemies of God. Now, how much more
shall he love us who have been adopted as his beloved children in Christ.
“In the
course of my life he broke my strength;
he cut short
my days. So I said:
‘Do not take
me away, my God, in the midst of my days;
your years
go on through all generations.
In the
beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the
heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish,
but you remain;
they will
all wear out like a garment.
Like
clothing you will change them
and they
will be discarded.
But you
remain the same,
and your years will never end.” (Psalm 102:23-28)
Here the psalmist tells why the Lord God broke his strength,
making him cry like a new born babe. So that he may see who he is and what he
is before the Mighty Holiness of God. In effect, he feels like the evening
shadow and smoke and grass which exists a little while and then disappears. He
sees the need of everything from birth to death and from breathing to sleeping,
especially all protection and shield from the relentless taunting of the crafty
and cunning enemy, the devil himself. How can we not make the showers of cry
and plea to the Lord God who is everything for his children and abound in love
and ready to pour our his blessings for his name’s sake. We are here momentarily
and soon gone like grass. But the One who made all things and sat his throne
will remain forever. Since he made all things in purpose and drive, surely he
shall raise the dead in power and authority. Now is the time to hear the voice
of the Son and be raised from the dead. “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears
my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged
but has crossed over from death to life. Very truly I tell you, a time is coming
and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those
who hear will live.” (John 5:24-25) He is all in all. He is over all and
through all. He is all source of life and strength and power and authority and
dominion. He never changes, always remains the same. His years will never end.
2017.
9. 14.
©
2011-2017 David Lee Ministries – All Rights Reserved.
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