food court theology lesson
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of His understanding (v.28).
READ: Isaiah 40:12-31
So here I am, sitting in a shopping mall food court. My body is tense, my stomach knotted. My to-do list is long and my progress this particular day is disappointing. Unexpected complications have brought delays and I’m fretting over the deadlines ahead: a radio show to plan, an article to write, the myriad details of a national project I’m coordinating.
I unwrap my burger, take a bite, and for a few minutes I am forced to pause. Busy people rush around me, fretting over their own deadlines. And I am struck by humanity’s finitude. We are limited beings—limited in time, energy, ability, and capacity.
And while everything in me wants to write a new to-do list—prioritize it in order of importance, asterisk the urgent tasks, and underline those to be done together—another thought enters my mind:
A thought of One who is infinite (Isaiah 40:25).
A Being who is unlimited.
A Person who effortlessly melds the desire to do and the ability to accomplish.
This God, Isaiah says, can measure the oceans in the hollow of one hand, and collect the dust of the earth in a basket (v.12 NIV). He names the stars of the heavens and directs their paths (v.26); He knows the rulers of the world and controls their influence (v.23). He is enthroned above the universe (v.22), God views the islands as specks of dust, and nations as drops of water in the ocean (v.15).
“To whom will you compare Me?” the Almighty asks (v.25). “The Lord is the everlasting God . . . . He never grows weak or weary” (v.28).
Stress, rush, and strain are never good for one’s health, but on this day they deliver a powerful lesson. The unlimited God is not like me. He accomplishes everything He wishes.I finish my burger, pause once more. And silently worship. —Sheridan Voysey
Considering my limited resources, how will I rely on the unlimited God? During this busy day, how will I worship the infinite One?
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Loading ...I will never leave you
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April 30, 2009
READ: Deuteronomy 31:1-8
I am with you always, even to the end of the age. —Matthew 28:20
One of my earliest memories of hearing good music was when a male quartet rehearsed at our home. I was about 10 years old, and I was especially attentive to my dad, who sang first tenor. One of the quartet’s favorites was titled, “I Am With You.” Even at that tender age, I not only appreciated the music but I “got the message.”
Those words of Jesus to His disciples just before He ascended—“I am with you always”—became precious to me as the quartet sang, “In the sunlight, in the shadow, I am with you where you go.”
One of the first references to God’s unfailing presence was spoken by Moses in Deuteronomy 31:6-8, when he instructed his successor about leading God’s people into the “land of promise.” And Joshua himself heard the same word from the Lord, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you” (Josh. 1:5).
That promise is repeated in the New Testament, where the writer of Hebrews gave this assurance: “He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (13:5).
Wherever you may be today, you are not alone. If you’ve placed your trust in Jesus for your eternal salvation, you can be certain that He will never leave you. — RBC Ministries
First make sure you are with Him, then you can be sure He’ll be with you.
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We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it (v.8).
READ: 2 Corinthians 1:8-11
I was gawking, but I couldn’t help myself. Painted over a century ago, van Gogh’s Sunflowers lit up the museum wall in front of me. I wondered at how such a broken man could create an image brimming with beauty. Vincent suffered from mental disorders, financial difficulty, and other challenges. Yet, he produced almost 900 paintings within 10 years.
Like van Gogh, the apostle Paul endured significant lifelong struggles—but his career for Christ flourished. At one point, he wrote, “We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure” (2 Cor 1:8). In other words, he was pretty sure the end was near, but something kept him going.
What was Paul’s secret? He spelled it out for us when he wrote, “We . . . learned to rely only on God” (v.9). Most of us would be fine with that statement, except for one word: only. A successful life in Christ requires all of God’s wisdom, all of His love, all of His enabling power, all of His protection—not our own.
Relying only on God helps us develop confidence in Him. Paul had a bit of a spiritual swagger, but it was because of his firsthand experience with the Almighty. He announced, “We have placed our confidence in Him, and He will continue to rescue us” (v.10). Paul was free to go on ministering because he was not pinned down by despair or frozen by fear.
My point is this: We can be productive for Christ as we deal with strain and struggles. Jesus was not naive when He said, “I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit” (John 15:16). He knew life on earth was messy. He also knew that trusting in God alone would produce the confidence necessary to go on lighting up the world around us, just as van Gogh’s sunflowers still shine brightly today. —Jennifer Benson Schuldt
How have you allowed struggles to prevent you from bearing fruit for God? How will your life in Jesus look different as you rely only on Him?
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April 29, 2009
READ: Job 1:13-22
Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity? —Job 2:10
Imagine relaxing on a rubber raft along the shore, eyes closed, soaking up the sun and listening to the gentle crash of waves. You don’t have a care in the world—until you open your eyes! Suddenly the shore is alarmingly distant.
We tend to drift like that spiritually. It’s subtle yet shocking when we suddenly realize how far we’ve drifted from God. The point of departure begins when Satan steals our affection for our loving Creator by putting a deceitful twist on our experiences and causing us to suspect God instead of trust Him.
Consider Job and his wife. Both had plenty of reasons to be mad at God. Their children were dead, their fortune lost, and Job’s health destroyed. His wife told him, “Curse God and die!” But Job replied, “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and . . . not accept adversity?” (Job 2:9-10).
There are many attitudes that can set us adrift: believing that we need more than God to be happy; placing meaningful relationships above loyalty to God; thinking God should live up to our expectations; resisting His reproofs; turning a deaf ear when His Word is uncomfortable.
If you’re beginning to drift, remember to stay close to the One who is the sole source of satisfaction. — Joe Stowell
To avoid drifting away from God, stay anchored to the Rock.
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