Avoiding Disappointment

When we go to a repair shop and then find out that they don’t have the tools or knowledge to fix our item, we are frustrated and disappointed. How much more disappointing it is to find out that we have a terminal health condition that cannot be healed.

In Jeremiah 32:17, Jeremiah prays, “Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.” Jeremiah knew, and we should also know, that nothing is too hard for God to do. This knowledge gives us peace and confidence when we pray, making our requests known to God.

Message of Peace

Negotiating peace between two parties who are enemies with each other is rather difficult. Terms of a peace agreement may seem reasonable to most people but be rejected by one or both parties. It is amazing how often peace is rejected, even at the risk severe ongoing harm to those who reject peace.

II Corinthians 5:18 says, “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” Whether we want to recognize this truth or not, we are born into a state of disagreement and rebellion against God. God has chosen to bring peace between us and Him through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. Once we receive this reconciliation, we become ambassadors of His peace to others in need of His peace.

Real Celebration

When my granddaughter was young, she would often shout, “This is cause for celebration!” I loved the joyous attitude. Sometimes we are so busy and burdened that we miss frequent causes for celebration that enter our lives. And sometimes we abuse a celebration in indulgence and blind repetition of traditions. A real celebration leads us to remember great things and engage in an appropriate response to the authors of these great things.

I Corinthians 5:7-8 says, “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” Passover is the Jewish celebration of remembrance and worship for salvation that God provided His people and pointing the way to Jesus as Savior. As all celebrations can degenerate over time into ritual and/or indulgence, we are reminded to celebrate salvation in sincerity and truth, worshipping the God who saves.

Higher Perspective

The perspective that we choose to take regarding our problems determines the actions that we will take thereafter. Let’s assume that a ferocious animal has approached us in the forest. Facing that animal at ground level is frightening, to say the least. If we climb a tree and become out of reach for the animal, our fears lessen a bit. If we are rescued by a helicopter, our fears are significantly diminished as we look down on the animal.

I Samuel 17:45-46 says, “Then David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand.'” Goliath relied on his own size and strength to fight the battle. David knew that the battle belonged to the LORD. When our problems seem great, we should trust in God’s perspective of the problem and His size and strength to fight the battle. We often need to take the higher perspective of God’s view of our difficulties. Trusting Him to fight our battles removes the fears.

What a Moment!

What historical moments have you observed in your lifetime? I am 76 years old, so I have observed many. I recall the Kennedy/Nixon debates, Cuban missile crisis, John and Bobby Kennedy’s assassinations, moon landing, many no-hitters and World Series, many wars, a pandemic, gas crisis, and much more. But none of these major world events, or others before my time, compare to one event that only God could orchestrate.

John 1:14 says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The most amazing event of human history occurred when the eternal, omnipotent, omnipresent, infinitely holy Son of God took on a human nature and lived among humanity , as one who was both God and man at the same time, in one person. As such, Jesus revealed God’s glory to humankind in grace and truth.