"You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them." - Ps. 89:9
We ask God to conform our will to His.
We ask for the crucifixion of our desires.
We beg Him to make us think His thoughts after Him, to cause our hearts to beat with His, to lead us in His footsteps, to make us rejoice in the things that delight Him. And our prayers do not fall on deaf or powerless ears. He answers us and He leads us.
But sometimes, the story gets sticky, fuzzy, confusing.
What if we walk out on the waves in obedience, and then sink? What if we seek His honor and glory, but fail? What if we speak the truth, then lies win? What if we want to serve Him, but lay powerless? What if we're backed in a corner, and there is no way out?
Yes - what if Goliath kills David? What if the fish swallows Jonah and forgets to spit him out? What if the lion eats Daniel?
It is not because God doesn't see, for He sees. It is not because He doesn't hear, for He hears. It is not because He has lost control, because He reigns. It is not because He wars against us, for He is for us.
So, why?
These questions are waves. This moment is when our desires and His begin to converge in a deep, roaring way - when nothing but His best will do, when nothing but our short-sightedness holds us back, and nothing but full surrender stands in the way of abiding hope in the storm.
Listen to Oswald Chambers (My Upmost for His Highest): "Our greatest fear is not that we will be damned, but that somehow Jesus Christ will be defeated. Also, our fear is that the very things our Lord stood for— love, justice, forgiveness, and kindness among men— will not win out in the end and will represent an unattainable goal for us."
Our failure doesn't hurt so much as knowing that God allowed David to be slain. In our blurred vision, we think that lies prevailed and truth failed, that evil won and hope died, that somehow what God promised has not and will not be fulfilled. For a moment we ask: "Is the Truth and Life defeated? Is His Arm not strong enough to rescue?" Then we ignore that question, because we know it's faithless. Yet, do we have faith or do we not? When what our Lord stood for - love, justice, forgiveness, and kindness among men - doesn't win, what do we bank on? Is there hope left?
If we falter in times of trouble, our faith is small. If we take our eyes off the goal in pain, our vision is poor. If we fail to praise Him in the dark, our praise in the light is empty.
"Perseverance is our supreme effort of refusing to believe that our hero is going to be conquered," Chambers wrote. It begins with taking our eyes off of our situation and beholding our God. It isn't based on how we feel in our barren place, it's about Who we trust in the midst of it.
Faith must be stretched and exercised to gain strength. It is a gift of God to begin with, and He alone can sustain it. It is the assurance of things hoped for and the certainty of things not seen.
Faith is banked on the Cross and the Resurrection - what appeared to be the greatest triumph of evil, shattered by the greatest miracle in the world. This same God whom we do not understand, was rejected, accused, misunderstood and slain by the world. But He destroyed the power of the grave, triumphed over their evil and calls us to follow in His train.
Today, our King will not be conquered because He already conquered. We as His servants will not fail, because He already purchased our victory. Any promise that seems empty, will soon be fulfilled. Golgotha is not where the story ends. When we stumble, we will rise. When we're wounded, we will heal. When we die, we will ascend. While the world mourns, we will rejoice.
There are waves in your heart right now. There are questions in your mind. There is a burning passion to see truth prevail and God exalted. But His ways are not ours, His thoughts are not ours, and everything He does is good. He is God and you are not; He even sustains your every breath.
Your job is not to ignore the waves. Your job is not to answer the questions. Your job is not to define victory or accuse God of defeat. Your job is to believe the Gospel, to bank your confidence on the Resurrection, to worship Him, to get in the boat with Him, to put your life and all that you have into His hands and wait. Wait for Him to arise, and say to the wind and waves -
"Peace, be still." - Mark 4:39
For, until you trust Him to take the brokenness and defeat and command even that for His glory, you will be struggling and straying and sinking in puddles of trouble and oceans of despair.
He calls you to follow Jesus. To die in order to live. To be a pilgrim in the world until His grace brings you home. To bear a cross to gain a crown.
Refuse to believe that your Hero is conquered. If you think your story is over, it's not. If you think victory is a long time coming, it's not. The defeat of Satan happened on a hill called Mount Calvary and your victory was secured through an empty tomb.
You have a few short years to give up everything for Him. So, hold nothing back.
We ask God to conform our will to His.
We ask for the crucifixion of our desires.
We beg Him to make us think His thoughts after Him, to cause our hearts to beat with His, to lead us in His footsteps, to make us rejoice in the things that delight Him. And our prayers do not fall on deaf or powerless ears. He answers us and He leads us.
But sometimes, the story gets sticky, fuzzy, confusing.
What if we walk out on the waves in obedience, and then sink? What if we seek His honor and glory, but fail? What if we speak the truth, then lies win? What if we want to serve Him, but lay powerless? What if we're backed in a corner, and there is no way out?
Yes - what if Goliath kills David? What if the fish swallows Jonah and forgets to spit him out? What if the lion eats Daniel?
It is not because God doesn't see, for He sees. It is not because He doesn't hear, for He hears. It is not because He has lost control, because He reigns. It is not because He wars against us, for He is for us.
So, why?
These questions are waves. This moment is when our desires and His begin to converge in a deep, roaring way - when nothing but His best will do, when nothing but our short-sightedness holds us back, and nothing but full surrender stands in the way of abiding hope in the storm.
Listen to Oswald Chambers (My Upmost for His Highest): "Our greatest fear is not that we will be damned, but that somehow Jesus Christ will be defeated. Also, our fear is that the very things our Lord stood for— love, justice, forgiveness, and kindness among men— will not win out in the end and will represent an unattainable goal for us."
Our failure doesn't hurt so much as knowing that God allowed David to be slain. In our blurred vision, we think that lies prevailed and truth failed, that evil won and hope died, that somehow what God promised has not and will not be fulfilled. For a moment we ask: "Is the Truth and Life defeated? Is His Arm not strong enough to rescue?" Then we ignore that question, because we know it's faithless. Yet, do we have faith or do we not? When what our Lord stood for - love, justice, forgiveness, and kindness among men - doesn't win, what do we bank on? Is there hope left?
If we falter in times of trouble, our faith is small. If we take our eyes off the goal in pain, our vision is poor. If we fail to praise Him in the dark, our praise in the light is empty.
"Perseverance is our supreme effort of refusing to believe that our hero is going to be conquered," Chambers wrote. It begins with taking our eyes off of our situation and beholding our God. It isn't based on how we feel in our barren place, it's about Who we trust in the midst of it.
Faith must be stretched and exercised to gain strength. It is a gift of God to begin with, and He alone can sustain it. It is the assurance of things hoped for and the certainty of things not seen.
Faith is banked on the Cross and the Resurrection - what appeared to be the greatest triumph of evil, shattered by the greatest miracle in the world. This same God whom we do not understand, was rejected, accused, misunderstood and slain by the world. But He destroyed the power of the grave, triumphed over their evil and calls us to follow in His train.
Today, our King will not be conquered because He already conquered. We as His servants will not fail, because He already purchased our victory. Any promise that seems empty, will soon be fulfilled. Golgotha is not where the story ends. When we stumble, we will rise. When we're wounded, we will heal. When we die, we will ascend. While the world mourns, we will rejoice.
There are waves in your heart right now. There are questions in your mind. There is a burning passion to see truth prevail and God exalted. But His ways are not ours, His thoughts are not ours, and everything He does is good. He is God and you are not; He even sustains your every breath.
Your job is not to ignore the waves. Your job is not to answer the questions. Your job is not to define victory or accuse God of defeat. Your job is to believe the Gospel, to bank your confidence on the Resurrection, to worship Him, to get in the boat with Him, to put your life and all that you have into His hands and wait. Wait for Him to arise, and say to the wind and waves -
"Peace, be still." - Mark 4:39
For, until you trust Him to take the brokenness and defeat and command even that for His glory, you will be struggling and straying and sinking in puddles of trouble and oceans of despair.
He calls you to follow Jesus. To die in order to live. To be a pilgrim in the world until His grace brings you home. To bear a cross to gain a crown.
Refuse to believe that your Hero is conquered. If you think your story is over, it's not. If you think victory is a long time coming, it's not. The defeat of Satan happened on a hill called Mount Calvary and your victory was secured through an empty tomb.
You have a few short years to give up everything for Him. So, hold nothing back.
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