A Reminder From Jesus That God Is Good

A Reminder From Jesus That God Is Good

by | Sep 1, 2022 | Cultivate Devotional, Encouragement

Happy First Day of September! I love this month because it’s the back-to-routine month where we settle into the swing of rhythms. Some of my favorite times of the year lay close ahead: turning leaves, football, deep bowls of chili, turkeys on our tables, and eventually the Christmas season… but we won’t get ahead of ourselves. We’ll enjoy the present moment (but did you see how I slipped in the word present?).

As I promised, this monthly devotional will be a fresh slice of whatever is on my heart. So here goes…

Have you ever wondered if God is really good? Our belief about God’s nature has a dramatic effect on our prayer lives. I’ve been reflecting on this and hope you’ll reflect with me. Consider what Jesus says about prayer in Matthew 7:7-8: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” In some ways this is the “how” of prayer, but I’ve recently realized how closely it’s tied to the “who” of prayer. In other words, when Jesus tells us to approach our heavenly Father by asking, seeking, and knocking, He grounds this instruction in the good nature of God. He does this through a short parable:

Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matt. 7:9-11). What is Jesus revealing about our heavenly Father here? That He can be trusted. That He delights to give to His children. Most importantly, that He is good!

Why is Jesus going out of His way to reveal to us that His Father is good? I think for at least two reasons. Perhaps the first is that given our broken world, the hardship, injustices, and trials we face, Jesus knew we would be prone to think that God is precisely not good. The people listening to Him tell this story were under Roman oppression themselves, many struggling to have their basic needs met. Sometimes when we go through pain and darkness God’s goodness isn’t always obvious to us. I wonder what might be causing you to question God’s goodness right now? No matter what you’re going through Jesus says, I promise you, God’s good. Don’t stop trusting Him.

I think the second reason Jesus tells us about God’s good nature is because He knows how much this affects our prayer life. Why would we ask, seek, or knock in pursuit of someone who is not good? I think about the relationship I have with my young nieces and nephews. They ask me for ice cream and movies, seek me out when I’m in the other room, knock on my front door. They pursue me in these ways because they believe I will give to them, be found by them, and open the door for their little personalities. They wouldn’t do this if they didn’t trust me, were afraid of me, or didn’t believe me to be good. And when I have to tell them “no,” or when I correct them, they trust my heart (even if they also complain because we’re pretty human at my house).

Whether you have a pretty fabulous aunt or a mom or dad who gives you good gifts, Jesus says, “how much more” does your heavenly Father delight to give you good things? Something I recently discovered about Matthew is that he refers to God as Father 44 times in his gospel! The personal nature of God is a huge theme for him. Interestingly, it was uncommon in ancient Jewish culture for God to be referred to as our Father (Abba or Daddy). While the idea became more common during Second Temple Judaism, Jesus sheds new light on this truth and reality. He clearly wants us to understand what a good, trustworthy, and personally-involved Father we have (see Matt. 6:5-8 and 7:7-11).

So here’s my encouragement to you: When you can’t make sense of what you or a loved one is going through, when you’ve asked and nothing seems to be happening, when your heart is broken, keep pursuing your Father in prayer because His nature is good. Ask, seek, and knock, not because you’re trying to wrangle something from His hands but because this is your privilege as His child. And when you doubt God’s goodness, tell Him. A good Father will understand.

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Consider the Birds

Consider the Birds

by | Apr 28, 2020 | Bible Study, Christian Growth, Encouragement, Morning Meditation, New Testament, News

I was awake at 3:30 in the morning. My mind racing as it’s been doing non-stop the past few weeks or so. Certain realities of life that have mostly felt concrete, prior to very recently, are suddenly gone or simply up in the air. Where will it all land? We don’t know, is what the professionals keep saying.

As my mind flitted about from one worry and prayer to another the sound of birds relentlessly pecked at the door of my thoughts. Why are the birds chirping at this hour? I moaned while fluffing my pillow for the countless time. Don’t they know it’s the middle of the night!

Scientists call this early morning bird singing the dawn chorus, which is most noticeable in spring when birds are migrating or mating. The name dawn chorus sounds so delightful except when you’re trying to sleep in the middle of a worldwide pandemic. And, yet, maybe this is the point: singing in the middle of a storm, reaping during a time of scarcity, staying on mission. Maybe the birds have something to teach us after all, I mused.

CONSIDER THE BIRDS

Before I could complete the thought I realized it’s not actually the birds but Jesus who has something to teach us through the birds. The comforting lesson found in Matthew 6:25-26 that Jesus delivered over 2,000 years ago about the birds of the sky feels particularly meaningful right now.

“Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?”

Some translations say look at or observe the birds. The Greek word means to look intently. In other words, we’re to reflect on them, really think about how they go about their lives, and then listen to what Jesus is telling us about our own, and about our heavenly Father’s provision. We notice from Jesus’ teaching that the birds don’t sow, reap, or store, which are have to do with our ability to plan.

Yesterday I sowed seed in my backyard garden and I checked the seed packet for the section that says, days to maturity. This tells me when I can reap the lettuce, kale, and spinach I planted. Sadly, my little raised beds don’t produce enough for me to store anything in barns (I’ll let you know when I’ve reached that level), but if I could store, I would. Planting, reaping, and harvesting require reason and foresight.

HOW MUCH MORE ARE YOU WORTH?

Point being, we humans have the faculties to plan, save, invest, freeze the ground beef until we need it in a few weeks. The birds cannot do this! They live day to day, meal to meal, worm to worm (ne’er was there a pleasanter thought). And still they are fed. Still, they are nourished. Still they have enough for their chicks.

How can this be? Jesus wants us to ask ourselves. He quickly answers. Because we have a heavenly Father who feeds them. And that heavenly Father isn’t just the Father of the birds; He is your heavenly Father. And how much more are you worth to Him than the birds? The answer is clear: infinitely more.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”You can have confidence your Father will take care of you.” quote=”You can have confidence your Father will take care of you.”]

During this season where what you sowed might have just disappeared, or what you reaped is no longer enough to be stored into barns, or what you had in your barns was supposed to be for tomorrow but now needs to be for today, you can have confidence your Father will take care of you. This is not pie in the sky theology, but an evident truth seen in the fabric of nature of which God is the Creator.

YOU MAY BE PART OF GOD’S PROVISION

It’s natural to think, well, what about those who are homeless? Those in poverty? Those who go hungry? Part of what Jesus is demonstrating is a general principle that stems from God’s generous care of creation found in Genesis 1­–2. Jesus reminds us of this care by pointing to two everyday examples, birds and flowers.

Generally speaking, the birds of the air have food, and the flowers of the field are beautifully clothed. Through them we see the fundamental goodness of God, His care for creation, and the ways we can witness this in everyday life. Jesus wants us to remember that we’re infinitely more valuable to Him than birds and flowers and that He will provide for us in even more abundant ways.

In addition, if we go back to Matthew 5:13-16, we see that Jesus calls us to be salt and light, and to do “good works” for others, which can also be understood as “tangible deeds of mercy.” And if you go back to Matthew 6:19-24, Jesus teaches radical generosity. We can look to countless parts of Scripture where God clearly calls His people, His church, to meet the needs of the hungry, hurting, and homeless.

While God is generous in His care for us through creation, we as the church are part of His answer in meeting the needs of the world around us. We are part of God’s generous provision for others.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”While God is generous in His care for us through creation, we as the church are part of His answer in meeting the needs of the world around us. We are part of God’s generous provision for others.” quote=”While God is generous in His care for us through creation, we as the church are part of His answer in meeting the needs of the world around us. We are part of God’s generous provision for others.”]

You may be in a time of need where you’re trusting God and His provision. Or you may be in a time of abundance and He’s calling you to give to others. No matter what season you’re in, my prayer is that in the middle of the night, in the middle of unprecedented times, when we hear the birds chirping with purpose and delight, we will remember the words of Jesus and so add our hallelujahs to the dawn chorus.

The post Consider the Birds appeared first on LifeWay Voices.

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The Nearness of God in Uncertain Times

The Nearness of God in Uncertain Times

by | Apr 7, 2020 | Bible Study, Christian Growth, Encouragement, New Testament

If you’re anything like me over the past few weeks you’ve been vacillating between a confident trust in God and waves of panic and fear. For those of us who are Christ followers we want to trust the Lord but we get tripped up on wondering what exactly we can trust Him for—can we count on Him to spare us from looming hardship and make sure everything turns out okay on our terms? We know He’s bigger, greater, higher, stronger, but what does that mean for the very real and ominous threats we’re facing?

I’ve been reflecting on the account of Jesus calming the storm that threatened to overtake His disciples in Matthew 8:23-27. Since I think we can collectively agree we’re in a pretty big storm right now, I think this a timely passage that helps solidify what Jesus has promised us.

THE NEARNESS OF JESUS

“As [Jesus] got into the boat, his disciples followed him. Suddenly, a violent storm arose on the sea …” (vv. 23-24).

Right away we find it’s possible to be a follower of Jesus who follows Him straight into a storm. This is something we don’t talk enough about. The context is also important. Right before this story Matthew tells us of two other “disciples” who wanted to follow Jesus but who either didn’t count the cost of following Him or didn’t count the value. Regardless of their hang-ups, those two were safe on the shore while the true Christ followers were scrambling for their lives in the storm tossed boat.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”My fears get the best of me when I believe that God delivering me from the storm is more valuable than His presence with me in it.” quote=”My fears get the best of me when I believe that God delivering me from the storm is more valuable than His presence with me in it.” theme=”style6″]

But—and this changes absolutely every single detail of the story—the disciples who were in the storm were also the ones who were in the boat with Jesus. My fears get the best of me when I believe that God delivering me from the storm is more valuable than His presence with me in it. We don’t know what today or tomorrow holds, but we can lean into the unshakable reality that He is with us and promises to never leave us. He is able to comfort, speak, guide, and offer peace in tumultuous times.

THE GODNESS OF JESUS

We’ve often used this story to assure others and ourselves that God will calm the storms in our lives. And He certainly can, no question! He’s done it over and over in my life. But I think there’s more to the story here. I appreciate what Dr. Craig Blomberg says, “…the focus of this passage remains squarely Christological—on who Christ is, not on what he will do for us.”1

In Psalm 89:8-10 the psalmist describes Almighty God as the One who is able to rule the raging sea and still the surging waves. The disciples would have known from the Old Testament that the only One who had power over nature was The Lord of Hosts. By rebuking the wind and the waves Jesus was showing His disciples that He is God!

This doesn’t mean that Jesus won’t do mighty things for us during uncertain and troubling times. Of course He will. But what we can absolutely count on during the trials in our lives is that Jesus is God Himself. He alone holds the power over storms, viruses, stock market crashes, and our personal health and finances. It brings me great comfort to remember that just as He brought the wind and waves under His control, so any other storms He rebukes must also obey.

THE HOPE OF JESUS

The other night I read this story out of a children’s Bible to my 9-year-old nephew, Will. He said, “If I was in that storm I would have woken Jesus up and asked Him to read me a bedtime story, because I would know everything was going to be okay since Jesus was there.” And Will’s not wrong. But the question he will wrestle with later in life is, what does it mean for everything to be okay?

My prayer is that he will continue to understand that in Jesus everything will ultimately be okay because of the enduring hope we have in Him. And because of Jesus’ ultimate power over death, sickness, and evil, one day all will be made right and we will dwell with Him forever. In the meantime, He is present in us and through us now to bring redemption here on earth.

We hear this ring of hope in Jesus’ question to His disciples, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” (vs. 26.) I think Jesus was trying to communicate to His followers, though not yet in full, that they were ultimately safe because He had come to conquer the storm of sin through His death and resurrection. He had them once and for all whether He stilled the immediate storm of the moment or not. And He has us both now and forever.

1 Blomberg, C. (1992). Matthew (Vol. 22, p. 150). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.​

The post The Nearness of God in Uncertain Times appeared first on LifeWay Voices.