His ways; our ways!

Sometimes, I have these posts prepared a week, or more, in advance. However, this is one of those occasions when my own mind has been reeling with the reports, and pictures, from the land of Israel, during the callous, and indiscriminate, killing and kidnapping spree, on Saturday 7th, by the terrorist organisation Hamas - whose leader, by the way, is reportedly safely in Qatar, while his daughter is receiving treatment in an Israeli hospital -!!! Did someone say "Cowardice, and hypocrisy"?

I have a dear Jewish friend, a retired General Practitioner, who spends approximately half of the year in his home in Glasgow, and the other half in an apartment in Netanya just about 30 km. (less than 20 miles) away from Tel Aviv I am never sure where he is at any particular time, but have e-mailed him expressing my hope that he is safe and well. These events that take place a long way from home, are always made more stark when one has a personal connection with someone who may be involved. Along with most of those who were of an age of discernment at the time, I recall "9/11". However, shocked as I was, the reality didn't come home to me until I discovered that a friend died in one of the Twin Towers! The situation, and the satanic actions, in Israel on "7/10" are real to me because a friend may have been affected [thankfully, he has responded, and is well).

So what can one say about that dreadful, bloodthirsty, and evil attack? There are certainly questions that may be asked. The Children of Israel are, according to the written Word of God, the Chosen people of YHWH. Why did He not intervene in this atrocity? Why did He not stop those demonic terrorists in their bloodlust? Why were small children beheaded and burned alive?

My former minister, spiritual mentor, and personal friend, the late Rev. George B. Duncan, was sometimes heard to say: "If I knew everything about God, I would be God!" That is true. The prophet, Isaiah utters these words of YHWH: "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says YHWH. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." (55:8-9). While Paul writes to the early disciples of Yeshua, in Rome, in similar vein: "O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways! “For who has known the mind of YHWH, or who has been His counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to Him that He might be repaid?”" (11:33-35).

The book of Job, in the First Testament, is an interesting book that provides some insight to the undoubted problem of suffering. Job is described as a man who "... was blameless and upright, one who feared God, and turned away from evil." (1:1). Now there's a man who, surely, deserved the total protection of YHWH! Yet, as we read on, we discover that he becomes a man who suffers greatly - and YHWH permits it!

That is the key word - "permits"! Theologians speak of the two wills of Almighty God - His Sovereign will and His Permissive will. Without going into too much detail, His Sovereign will refers to all that He has ordained; all over which He fully exerts control, including, of course, all things that were, are, and will be. He does all He pleases all the time. English pastor, theologian, and author, Arthur Pink (1886-1952) appropriately says:

“Subject to none, influenced by none, absolutely independent: God does as He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases. None can thwart Him, none can hinder Him. So His own Word expressly declares: “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure” (Isa. 46;10).” (The Attributes of God by Arthur Pink, p. 3).

The Permissive will of God may be seen in the experience of Job. This good man suffered, not for any wrongdoing in himself - although, like each one of us, he was a sinner - but because Father God was showing the satan (the adversary, the root of all evil) that Job's faith was solid and real.

Another useful passage to read is Psalm 3, composed by King David when he fled from his own son, Absalom. In that situation, he faced a kind of betrayal that cuts deeper than any other - the betrayal of a family member. This post is already long enough, but permit me to make just a brief comment on David's words - and encourage you to read Ps.3 for yourself.

The opening verses capture a feeling of despair and desolation. David acknowledges the multitudes that stand against him, who doubt his deliverance through God. Last Saturday’s brutal onslaught was a betrayal of the fundamental principles of humanity. As the demonic terrorists ruthlessly took innocent lives, the nation, much like David, felt overwhelmed, surrounded on all sides by hatred and violence. Just as David’s adversaries doubted his deliverance through God, Israel's enemies question and test the survival and resilience of the Israeli people.

However, the psalm does not remain in this space of despair. It moves from lamentation to a profound expression of faith. David speaks of God as a protective shield. “I lie down and sleep and wake again, for YHWH sustains me.” (v.5). These words not only reflect David’s trust in God amidst his personal crisis but also encapsulate the Israeli spirit. Despite the terror, life goes on. People still sleep, wake, and continue with their daily tasks, relying on the sustenance and protection of HaShem, their protective shield.

In these trying times, Psalm 3 reminds us of the indomitable spirit of the Israeli people and their unwavering faith in the face of adversity. Just as David emerged from his trials with renewed faith and strength, Israel, too, will emerge from this crisis stronger, united, and with an even deeper connection to their people, their faith, and their God.

May those of us who love Israel, and her people, be faithful in upholding them in prayer, and supporting them in whatever way we can.

m

Am Yisrael chai.

When life is tough!

As I continue my readings in the Psalms, during my personal devotions, I arrived, this morning, at Psalm 88. Unlike many psalms that begin with pain and perplexity, but end on a note of triumph, this psalm ends (in my RSV!) with the word "darkness". There is no relief; no improvement; no divine intervention. It could well have been titled "A Psalm for the hopeless"!

However, that very fact makes this an important psalm! As we read through the words of the psalmist, we may remember that not every life has a happy ending - but that that does not mean that the Lord has forsaken us! I think of individuals who, like Heman (the writer of this psalm) spend almost their whole lives in pain of one kind or another (see v.15). I think of my brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus who live in one of those 50+ countries in which to be one of His followers is to invite persecution - some forms of which are beyond my imagination. 

We may also take heart from the fact that this apparently God-forsaken author seems to have been one of the pioneers of the singing guilds that were set up by David, and to which we owe the psalms of  the Sons of Korah - one of the richest veins in the Psalter. Heman may have been under a great burden; he may have been totally despondent; but his life was far from pointless! In the most difficult of situations; in the most depressing of moments; in the most painful of lives; Almighty God can bring about the bearing of much fruit.

There is also a lesson, in this psalm, for those of us who do not suffer in the ways in which others do. We must be careful that we do try to persuade the sufferer that their situation of the result of Father's anger against them! This was the problem that was displayed by some of the 'friends' of another character from the pages of the Tanakh (the "Old" Testament), Job. They were quite convinced that the tragedies that had befallen that godly man were the result of some unconfessed sin. They were wrong!

Heman's inspired words - yes, even words like these are inspired by God the Holy Spirit - remind us that no life need be in vain. Our eternal destiny does not depend on what we are considered to have achieved - or to have failed to achieve! - in this life. It is by the grace of God that I am saved, not due to my works, even the best of which are as a polluted garment (see Is.64:6).

The God-planned life.

In his poem "To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest With the Plough, November, 1785", the Scots Bard, Rabbie Burns makes this statement: "The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley," ("However well we make our plans, be we mice or men, they often go awry,").

This is something to which, I suspect, every one of us can testify! When I look back over my own life, I can see so many situations in which the plans that I so carefully laid, went completely and utterly "bottoms-up"! 

We may read about a man named Job in the Tanakh (the 'Old Testament' of the Christian Bible). His material wealth was such that he is described as "... the greatest of all the people of the east." (Job 1:3). He had a large family; thousands of animals; and many servants. It would certainly appear that all of his plans had worked out rather well! To top it all, we are informed that he "... was blameless and upright, one who feared God, and turned away from evil." (1:1). Yet, as we read the record - and it is well worth reading, to understand the real reason behind his situation - we discover that he lost all that he had, even his own good physical health.  Ultimately, it would seem, even this man's plans had gone awry!

However, read on. Listen to what his friends said; the counsel that they gave him. Even his wife seems to have turned against him (2:9) - but read his response! All hope seemed to be cut off; he was beset by difficulties; there appeared to be no way out. So what is Job's response? It is a heartfelt declaration of faith! "But [God] knows the way that I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold." (23:10).

Yes, everything was frustrating and baffling. It seemed that even the Lord had forsaken him. Humanly speaking, there was no future; no way out; no escape. Then, with the eye of faith, his vision pierced the gloom and rejoiced in the fact that God knows, and already sees, our future. He knows the end from the beginning. From His vantage-point of eternity, He sees all of our time simultaneously! Nothing ever takes Him by surprise. He is the "I AM" (see Ex.3:14); the One Who dwells in an eternal present! What a God! Job could not see one step in front of him - yet he was certain that the Lord was watching over him.

I wonder if you are in that sort of situation as you read this post. I know that my wife and I are currently there. The reason for which we truly believed that we were being called to live in France has gone. What seemed to be the possible alternative is not going as we had expected. What are we to do? What will befall each one of us is not yet revealed. But He knows, and so we turn to Him, saying with Job: "He knows the way." However sorely we may be tried and tested, we know that it will, ultimately, be for our own good, and to His glory for, "... when He has tried [us, we] shall come forth as gold."

Perhaps today will even be the day when we shall hear the sound of the shofar of God, and ascend to meet with the Lord Jesus "... in the air;" (I Thess.4:17), and we shall emerge as that 'gold' to shine, eternally, in His Kingdom! And "... we know that, when He appears we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." (I Jn.3:2). Faith will give way to sight, and doubts and fears will disappear. 

If I was forced to name one single favourite Christian song, it would be the beautiful (and poignant, if one checks the background story!) "When peace, like a river, attendeth my way; when sorrows, like sea billows, roll; whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know, It is well, it is well with my soul". That peace comes from the certain knowledge that "He knows the way". May those words be your own strength, whatever your situation and circumstances. And to Him, be all the praise and the glory. 

He knows the way.

Many will be familiar with the words that will, undoubtedly, be repeated by many as we draw towards the end of another calendar year - those words quoted by King George VI in his 1939 Christmas radio broadcast to the nation and the Commonwealth.   Those words, written by Minnie Louise Haskins, are:

"And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
'Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown!'
And he replied:
'Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.'"

The Old Testament character, Job, would have agreed.  Indeed, he went even further!   In Job 32:10, we read: "But He knows the way that I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold."  Job saw that the way, while safe in the hands of Father God, is not always, or necessarily, easy.  But he found infinite comfort in the assurance that He knows the way!

Too often, we want to know what God is doing to us and, in those moments of darkness, we may cry out: "Why is this happening to me?"  It is then that faith answers: "He knows"!

David, the Psalmist-king of Israel knew all about this.  The opening lines of Psalm 13 are a repetition of the question "How long?"  He saw the forces that were opposed to him.  He was concerned that YHWH had forgotten him.  He was in deep distress, and sorrow.  However, when we look at the end of the psalm we read these words:

"But I have trusted in Thy steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in Thy salvation.  I will sing to YHWH, because He has dealt bountifully with me." (vs.5-6).  David had become convinced that "He knows"!

Are you passing through some deep trial at this time?  Is the coming Christmas and New Year clouded with anxiety; with pain; with darkness; with uncertainty?  Do you not know in which direction to turn?  Then I would encourage you to memorise Job 23:10, and to keep repeating it to yourself until you really believe it.  Whatever the situation, or circumstances, it makes such a difference when we are assured that "He knows"!

Publicity!

Someone once said that there is no such thing as "bad publicity"!  I can only comment that yesterday's publicity re my (former!) Police Chaplaincy led to over 200 hits on this blog - a substantial increase on the previous highest daily record.

I have also had a higher than usual number of comments - thankfully, all supportive - and have had a number of folk contact me through my AllExperts page with, again, supportive comments and/or serious questions.  This is over and above those who were able to contact me via e-mail.  I am genuinely appreciative of each, and all.

Since the whole issue of my position within Strathclyde Police was triggered by the views that I had expressed, on this personal blog, on marriage - and my obvious support for that God-ordained institution - some may wish to check out what I published.  There is a little 'box' at the top left-hand-side of the blog, with the Blogspot logo to the right, and a magnifying glass icon to the right.  Typing 'marriage' into that box, and clicking on the magnifying glass, should bring up everything that I have posted on the subject!

However, while I am so very grateful for all of the support given by so many, it was when I went on to the blog, earlier today, that I wept with emotion.  For many months I have had a 'widget' that provides a 'Verse of the Day'.  As I looked at today's randomly (??!!) chosen words, I could scarcely believe my own eyes!  For the sake of any who reads this after midnight (when the verse will change), it was: “But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed His steps; I have kept to His way without turning aside.” -Job 23:10-11

Now, please don't get me wrong.  I am not for one split second classing anything that I have ever gone through in the same league as that dear Old Testament saint of God.  But what a wonderful word of what I am being bold enough to refer to as "Divine encouragement"!

It was on Wednesday evening, at the mid-week fellowship meeting, and before I was even aware that I was going to be a newsworthy item, that we sung those lovely words, written nearly three centuries ago by Joseph Hart :
How good is the God we adore; Our faithful, unchangeable Friend.  
Whose love is as great as His power; and knows neither measure nor end! 
 'Tis Jesus, the First and the Last; Whose Spirit will guide us safe home.  
We'll praise Him for all that is past, and trust Him for all that's to come!

He is, indeed, a good and faithful God - as my brothers and sisters in the truly persecuted church will gladly affirm.  I commend Him to all who are going through troubled times - and who are willing to confess to their own sinfulness, and accept His wonderful offer of salvation, full and free!

To Him be all of the praise, and all of the glory.