Questions of God: Why do you say "My way is hidden from the Lord?"

Is. 40:27          Why do you say, O Jacob,
         And speak, O Israel:
         “My way is hidden from the LORD,
         And my just claim is passed over by my God”?
Is. 40:28          Have you not known?
         Have you not heard?
         The everlasting God, the LORD,
         The Creator of the ends of the earth,
         Neither faints nor is weary.
         His understanding is unsearchable.
Is. 40:29          He gives power to the weak,
         And to those who have no might He increases strength.
Is. 40:30          Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
         And the young men shall utterly fall,
Is. 40:31          But those who wait on the LORD
         Shall renew their strength;
         They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
         They shall run and not be weary,
         They shall walk and not faint.

   It seems that a lot of folks I know are really going through a kind of trial right now: trials of divorce, depression, burnout, physical illness, financial stress, and many more. They are real. They are hard. No getting around it. To glibly quote M. Scott Peck, "Life is difficult."

   So what do you say to someone who is having a rough time in life? You see, it is entirely appropriate to say "just cheer up, man. It'll be alright" to someone who didn't get a raise or who had a falling out with his boss. But what about the big stuff? You know what I mean. How do you respond to "my husband just left me and the kids" or, "the Doc says I have cancer?"

   These days we Americans tend to be an extroverted bunch. We don't want to see people sad faced and down. We feel uncomfortable in the face of real pain expressed in public, right in front of us. We want to reach in and make it all better. Those who are spiritual among us like to quote scriptures about counting it all joy when life crushes you like a bug. We're just really unable to just let people be in their pain and be there for them.

   I learned about this when my mom died back when I was in college. She had been ill with pulmonary problems for three years when she finally passed away, on her birthday, amazingly. She was in and out of the hospital for what seemed like forever. I began to dread when someone would say, "Hey Cliff, the phone's for you. It's about your mom." After she died I had this huge emotional wave hit me. All of the times of just being there and being strong for others had taken their toll on me. What happened was a huge release of grief and everything that goes with it. I was worn out personally, spiritually, and emotionally. The grief was so intense for me that it was like a physical pain in my whole body. I cried out to God in a similar way to our question, and God graciously sent friends, and even total strangers, to strengthen and encourage me. If it had not been for those people that were sent my way to listen and just hang out with me, I wouldn't have made it through.

   So one day I was going through a Sound Warehouse (Remember those stores? Places where you went to listen to and buy new music?) and I saw a couple of friends from school. They were fellow musicians and friends. They asked me how I was doing. I remember the moment and it seemed really like an eternity. I had a choice to be real or to just say "OK, fine." I went ahead and said that I was not doing well, and that I was in grief over my mom's passing. They sat and listened for a moment and even thanked me for taking time with them. Now, that wasn't the real point of this for me. The real thing for me was that I admitted what I was going through instead of carrying the thing on my own shoulders. I decided to be real, even if that meant being sad for awhile.

   Now I guess that this was not the best example, but the point is that people who are not extroverted are tortured into feeling shame over it. We are a nation of people who are shallow and not able to show empathy toward anyone beyond the most basic, surface level, unlike my friends in the story. Which explains our lack of creativity as a nation these days. We need introverts. We need their integrity and strength. We need people who can handle a space of silence longer that ten seconds. We need people who ponder the deeper things of life and try to live a life of internal consistency of soul. So I thank God for those of us who are gifted to be introverts. (Thanks for listening. I really needed to get that off my chest.)

   Which gets me, finally, to the next question of God. It goes like this: "Why do you say 'my way is hidden from the Lord, and my just claim is passed over by my God?'" Here is God saying in effect, "Are you so unaware of My love for you and My plans of good for you that you would sit there right in the middle of all that blessing and not realize how much I have done and provided for you?" He retorts, "Have you not known? Have you not heard?" The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable."

   His appeal starts with the question "Have you not known?" This is a knowledge that comes from close fellowship and intimacy, the way close friends or even lovers know one another. This is a knowledge that is mutual, deep familiarity with one another. In one of my favorite movies, Dogma, the main character laments to a friend, that she wished she could just have the faith she had when she was a child, because she just believed. I think many of us have had a similar thought. But in the movie her friend replies that as life goes on your cup of faith gets bigger, and your faith must grow with it, or you end up with an empty cup. Just as children, in the atmosphere of parental love and security, have somewhat of a leg up on faith in the beginning, most of us have the same problem with faith and belief as we mature.

   This also has the familiar ring of one of the questions Jesus asks his friends after they have been with him for about three years. Jesus is talking about his Father and one of the guys pipes up "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us. Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?"(John 14:8-9) It's actually kind of a funny scene, if you think about it. I picture Jesus putting his hand on His forehead, looking down and muttering under His breath, "Oy vey! Three years with these guys and still they don't get me!"

   In the Isaiah text, God is saying the same thing to us all. He is reminding us that He's been there with us a really long time, and hasn't given up on us yet. He's reminding us that He's been with us through all of our hard times, and will stay with us no matter what.

   By the way He asks these questions God seems kind of sure of himself, doesn't he? In fact, that is part of His answer to the struggling people He is speaking with. You see, if you were able to just speak and create things, you would probably be pretty self-confident, too. He points to His place as the Creator as a good reason to not be in despair. This is the kind of knowing God expects most people to have, even those who don't necessarily have a personal relationship with Him. This phrase is from the book of Romans: "because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead" The basic thought here being that if you just take a second or so to look at the creation, you see the clear marks of a Creator, and that those marks are so clear that everyone on the planet is held to account for that knowledge, and in this case this is meant as an encouragement that God is there for all of us when we need Him.

   He also says, "Have you not heard?" Imagine you are hiking in the mountains of New Zealand and you run into Paul McCartney at the turn of a bend in the trail. You walk by on the one side and he goes by, tips his hat to you and say, "Good day." You know by that voice that it really is him. What are the odds of that happening? Pretty low, but you never forget that moment. All of us have a celebrity story of some kind. Well, you see, God is the ultimate celebrity. Just like Madonna or Angelina Jolie or Michael Jackson or Elvis, God is well known. And when you see Him He expects you to know it was Him you saw. So how about you? When you had your celebrity moment with that famous sports figure or musician, did you just go on about your day? No way! You told your family, friends and co-workers all about it. And this is what it's been like with God since the beginning. When people had experiences with God they wrote it down or told somebody about it. That's what most of the Bible is, just people telling about their intense experience with God. So God asks "Have you not heard?" and He is basically saying "Hello! It's Me, God, speaking. You know me, right? Created the universe! Gave you life and breath! I wrote a book. It's a best seller. Heard of it?"

   So, as it is His nature to do, He mentions a few things about Himself that are meant to encourage us. First, He says that He is the Creator, which is an appeal to remember his power.  Then He says that He "neither faints nor is weary." This is where God's power coming into our sphere becomes personal. He is saying that, if we ask, His power is available to us. Then He just plainly says it, just in case there are some people out there who don't quite get it. "He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength." So if you have ever been weak or felt that you had no might left in you, God is willing to lend His strength to get you through whenever you need help.

   The second aspect of His nature God mentions as available to all of us is his knowledge and understanding. "His understanding is unsearchable." God's point here is that even Google, Yahoo!, and Bing combined have nothing on Him. His knowledge, wisdom and understanding are available to those of us who choose to access it through relationship. This would be the big point He is making here. All of what God is in His power and His understanding are freely available to those who seek Him.

   So what about you? Have you ever felt this way or ever mouthed this question before: “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my just claim is passed over by my God”? If so, that would pretty much make you human, normal, and real. What you do next with this question is what is really important. Probably one of the most oft quoted promises of scripture is God's answer. It is on walls, posters, and refrigerators all over the world. I have this in a framed piece of art on my dresser. God says that:
          "Those who wait on Me (the LORD)
         Shall renew their strength;
         They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
         They shall run and not be weary,
         They shall walk and not faint.

  So what do you have to do to get this strength, to fly high like an eagle, run and not wear out, walk and not faint with exhaustion? You have to ask a question.

from: JavaJazzJesus

Questions of God: Shall I Hide From Abraham What I Am Doing? pt.3

Gen. 18:17 And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?

By now you're thinking, are there really that many things you can learn from one question? And the answer to that question is: Duh!

  I'm sure by now you know that when God asks a question, He may be really saying something rather profound in the asking. Information is not what He is after. He is trying to get me, and you, to consider something from His point of view, and He is doing it in a relational way that helps us along in the process. It is a process of growth, and not just teaching to the test.

A smart guy named John Wimber was known to often say "God offends your mind to reveal your heart." I think this is the true essence of God's questions to us. He is showing us our own hearts.

One aspect of this question, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?" is a major test of just Who or What you think of God Himself. Is the God you know, worship, and even love, worthy of that worship and love? Is He able to back it up with some real muscle? Is He in fact the Almighty God that reigns over all of the universe and, more to the point, are you willing to submit to this God once you know how awesome He is, no matter what?

So back to the story; God is asking Abraham what He thinks about what He is about to do, which is...(ta-da! Cue dramatic music here) Judgment! God is about to judge a group of people for desperately wicked deeds and for making that the way of life in the city they were in. Now here's an interesting thought: if God is all-knowing, why did He need to make sure for Himself that they were as evil as He had heard?

OK, put that on pause for a second. Let's look at the dictionary definition for the word "judgment."
-the ability to make considered decisions or come to sensible conclusions.
-an opinion or conclusion.
- a decision of a court or judge.
 -a monetary or other obligation awarded by a court.

So if we consider God as a judge, then, if God were to answer a prayer for healing, for instance, that would be a judgment on behalf of the sick person. Just like a judge awarding a cash settlement on behalf of the victim of a crime, God makes judgments all of the time on behalf of people who seek him. In fact, the most awesome judgment God makes is to answer someone's prayer for salvation. God saving a person is basically God's ultimate judgment on our separation from Him and it is also His best statement about the future of the human race. God in effect says, "Alright, I am not counting your sin against you any more because I take into account what My Son did on your behalf. It is my judgment that you be saved from the consequences that those willful acts would have wreaked in your life."

God also needs to be able to judge in order to really be God. If your God is a God of love only, then your god is something like Santa Claus. He might get a little red in the face at the mention of your darkest secret sin, but he would just say, "Oh well, I'll just look the other way and pretend nothing is really wrong. Let's all have hot chocolate!"

God is not the cosmic cop, or the cosmic killjoy, or the ultimate Santa Claus, but He is able to judge unrighteousness because He is perfectly righteous, and all of His judgments are rooted in perfect love as well as perfect justice. He is the standard of righteousness and His standards are the only ones that count. We know right from wrong because He has revealed it to us in Himself and in His word. And all of this leads somewhere you wouldn't expect; to mercy.

Mercy? Yes, because every time God judges He has in mind a mercy. Here's just one example of this thing in the Bible:
Judgment:
Gen. 19:24-25 Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
Mercy:
Gen. 19:29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt.

[Warning: Extensive Bible Passages Ahead]
In scripture judgment and mercy are linked. Judgment is the door to mercy. In Deuteronomy 7:12 it says “Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers." Do you see the connection here between judgment and mercy? The prophet Habakkuk prayed that the Lord would remember His goodness, that in wrath He would remember mercy.(Hab. 3:22) The prophet Jeremiah, in the book of Lamentations, declared that "Through the LORD’S mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not."(Lam. 3:22) And then in verse 29 of that same chapter he continues, "Though He causes grief, Yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. (Lam. 3:32) The New Testament also confirms this in very strong terms. Paul, the apostle, said "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."

God has a plan to turn situations around from judgment to mercy. Romans 8:28, oft quoted as it is, really does bring light to this concept: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." It is God's purpose to cause even bad things that happen into His redemptive plan. This is how an infamous slave trader can become the famous writer of the song "Amazing Grace." This is how a murdering religious zealot can become the great apostle to the gentiles. And this is how you and I can be changed from a total wreck to a real total success. Don't be afraid of God's judgment, because it is His plan to bring mercy, grace and love.

from: JavaJazzJesus

Questions of God: Shall I Hide From Abraham What I Am Doing? pt.2

Gen. 18:17 And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing…

So, last time we saw how God and Abraham were friends and that God is a real giver when He hangs out with His friends. But there is another real awesome thing to discover in this question, which has to do with a call that God places on the lives of those that know Him.

  You know the story right? God is really on the way to treat Sodom and Gomorrah with the whole fire and brimstone treatment. But interestingly, He comes by to see what Abraham, the friend of God, thinks about this. There has been reports of great evil being done in Sodom and Gomorrah, and as a last chance to make sure, God is going to appear to the town as a man or angel and see for himself whether things are as bad as he's heard. Abraham has a last chance to influence God and His judgment in the wicked city.

  So Abraham speaks up just what anyone would in that situation, saying, "No way are You going to judge the righteous among the wicked!" God's answer is interesting. Maybe you already know the story from this point, because you've seen the movie. Abraham convinces God to spare the city if there are at least ten righteous people in it, starting at fifty and talking God down to ten. Abraham stops at ten, because he figures his nephew Lot and his family and maybe a few friends are well more than ten people. Well, he was wrong, which is sad, but there is something about God that we can learn from this situation that is very interesting. Apparently from this story, we learn that God is willing to let people influence Him in His decisions. Can you imagine that? God, the God, sovereign and all-powerful, is willing to let the opinion of His friends be heard and considered in the outworking of His will in history. In fact, there are several of these situations in the Bible, times when God had a friend that He listened to and even sided with. David the King and Daniel the Prophet had this kind of relationship with God.

  There are even a bunch of people running around on the planet now who have this job of hanging out with God and consulting with Him on occasion. They call them intercessors. Intercessors are people who stand before a great leader on behalf of another leader or an individual. People who pray are also called intercessors when they pray on behalf of others. So that would be you, too, right? You talk to God on behalf of others, don't you? Sure you do. We all do. And He hears you because you and He are friends. And, by the way, that’s a good thing.
from: JavaJazzJesus

Questions of God: Cain, why are you upset?

Anger is part of our nature. It is the right response to threats and injustice. And even according to the Bible there is no sin inherent in it. It is perfectly fine to “be angry, but sin not.” But for the other ninety-nine percent of the time, anger and the results thereof are causing most of the ills and woes of all mankind. 


The first instance recorded in Scripture of someone dealing with anger and it’s many other siblings comes early on in the book of Genesis. Again, this scene in scripture is so iconic in our culture that it is hard to find someone who hasn’t heard something about how “Cain slew Abel.” 


I’ve heard it presented, in good American fashion, as a contest between the two brothers. Who can worship God the best? But is that really what happened? 
Genesis 4:3 says, “In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD.” No contest here. And in fact, it appears that Cain is the one who spontaneously decides to offer an offering to God on his own, without any external suggestion of such. Sounds like pure worship, so far. So can you give Cain the credit that he originally intended to bring an offering in worship to God? Could it be that he really loved God? I believe he really did love God, and that is precisely what makes what he did later so much the worse. 


Cain could have been known as the first worship leader in history, if it weren’t for what happened next. “But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast (Genesis 4:4,5). 


And so we get to the question; “Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it (Genesis 4:6,7).” This is quite a dilemma. Cain has been outshined by his little brother, and misunderstands the meaning of God’s favor towards Abel’s offering. I believe the pain of Cain is misunderstood love. He felt rejected personally when God preferred his brother’s offering over his own. 


I think I can understand Cain and his struggle. It was his idea to bring offerings in the first place. It was his sweat and toil that brought forth the fruits he offered, and so they were a wonderful offering. And that is just the point. They were a wonderful offering, but not the favored offering. Was God rejecting Cain or his offering, or his intention of worship? Not at all. 


Of course, you, being the theologically astute person that you are, know exactly why Abel’s offering had to be preferred, right? All through the early Genesis story there are clues to this. In fact there are many who see the whole gospel in the book of Genesis. The offerings that pointed to the ultimate sacrifice of the Son of God were to be preferred. The law stated that “the life is in the blood” of the animals that were sacrificed, and the blood was to be poured out, used to cleanse and make holy the articles of worship and those who would worship God in the time of the tabernacle and the temples. Abel’s offering was a prophetic symbol and act pointing to Christ, the ultimate sacrifice.  


So we see that Cain was angry, and responded with a downcast look. This is what we call depression, which is defined as anger turned inward. Cain gets one more chance to see what’s going on and to change his intent towards his brother.
God even says, “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?” Cain has a chance to reject rejection and turn to God for help.


I have been in this same situation a thousand times in my life and followed the same path as Cain. I may not have killed anyone, but the bitterness and self- rejection and other poisons I have allowed in my life show me that I need to respond in a new way to the challenges I face. We all have another chance today to respond to our misunderstood love, our mistaken acceptance of rejection, and listen to the voice of the Father. His words are words of love, affirmation, forgiveness, acceptance and restoration. 


But we all know what Cain chose to do. He murdered his brother and started a bloody trend that continues to this day all over the globe. So when God asks the next question, “What have you done?”, Cain callously responds with another question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Cain has become so hard hearted that he can lie directly to God and think nothing of it. God then hears Abel’s blood crying from the ground, pronounces a curse upon Cain, and sends him away. But even in this God is merciful to Cain, because He puts a mark on Cain that keeps others from killing him.


I see a parallel between Cain and the older brother in the story of the prodigal son. Both of them had a great situation that they did not see because of a blindness of heart. Cain had acceptance from God, but was unable to receive because of perceived rejection, and the elder brother had his father’s love and provision but was offended because of his judgment towards his brother. 


So I’ll ask this question: Is there some blessing in your life that you are not able to see because of an offense or judgment toward someone else? May God help us to see these things before we choose the path of Cain.