Tag Doubt

The God Who is Never Inadequate

Todd R 3 Comments

Once upon a time, “Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.”[1]  It seemed like a normal day for a shepherd until he saw a burning bush, but not any burning bush.  This one, though on fire, was not consumed by the fire.  As anyone would, Moses was curious and stopped to look.  Then, “When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’”[2] [emphasis mine]

But just a few verses later, “Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?’”[3]  Moses’ “Here I am” quickly became a “Who am I,” and why?  Because God had spoken to Moses from the bush saying that He had come to deliver the Jews from their affliction as slaves under the Egyptians.  God wanted Moses to be His representative before Pharaoh, but Moses objected not just this one time, but three more times:

“Then Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?’” – Exodus 3:13
“Then Moses answered, ‘But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you.’’” – Exodus 4:1
“But Moses said to the LORD, ‘Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.’” – Exodus 4:10

“What should I say?”  “Who are you?”  “What if they don’t listen?”  “I’m not a good speaker” …These were the objections Moses weighed against the fact staring him in the face that God was there, burning a bush without the fire consuming it.  Moses went from amazement to avoidance incredibly fast, once given a seemingly difficult task.

It’s easy to criticize Moses, but do we also change our view of God, and of ourselves, based on what God asks us to do?  Do we praise God on Sunday morning and in our private times, yet say we’re busy when asked to do something specific for God that might be uncomfortable?

If so, all of us, and Moses, are in plentiful company.  Gideon likewise pushed back on God’s call in Judges 6:15 – “And he said to him, ‘Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.’”[4]

Jeremiah tried to argue with God in Jeremiah 1:6 – “Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.’”[5]

Isaiah, like the others, claimed he was no good for what God asked him to do, and in Isaiah 6:5 “said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!’”

Back to Moses’ case, he was either certain that a God who could make a bush burn without it being consumed could not empower him to speak, or just too scared to do what God had asked.  However, if we rely on God, who is always the I AM, we can do whatever He asks.  But if we focus on who we are, we cannot.  Our “Here I am” will became a “Who am I” when we feel inadequate.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

We can read on and learn that later, God had strengthened the faith of this same Moses, so that when Israel was terrified and cornered against the Red Sea, with Pharaoh’s army approaching, he declared: “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.  The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”[6]  The Moses who was once full of excuses was used by God to deliver a nation.

If God is asking you to do something difficult or uncomfortable today, you know what to do.  We can’t read on to the rest of our story, but He has, and He knows what He is doing.

[1] Exodus 3:1
[2] Exodus 3:4
[3] Exodus 3:11
[4] I wrote about Gideon’s call in Giving Gideon the Benefit of the Doubt
[5] Likewise, in God Equips Those He Calls
[6] Exodus 13:13b-14

The Lord Cares Even for Your Wilderness

Todd R 3 Comments

If you are like me, some days feel very eventful and productive, but other days remind me of the saying: “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”  There are times when we all wonder: Who cares about what I did today?  Did today matter?  Did anyone notice?

When recently reading Psalm 29, verse 8 struck me, which says: “The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.”  Why is this verse here?  Earlier in the Psalm, the voice of the Lord thunders, shatters the tall cedars of Lebanon, and flashes like fire.  Who cares about the wilderness?  It reminded me of the tree falling with nobody around.  Why does it matter?

It matters because the Psalmist (David) wants us to know that God’s power exists even where we can’t see it and in ways we may see as inconsequential.  However, to Him, nothing is inconsequential, and no detail is too small.  Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:30 that “even the hairs of your head are all numbered.”  If a tree falls in the wilderness, God cares about it even if nobody else does.

Psalm 29 closes with “May the LORD give strength to his people!  May the LORD bless his people with peace!”  His strength and peace are available on good days and bad.  On days we feel motivated and days we don’t.  On eventful days and on days we feel we are in the wilderness with nobody to hear.

Today, God will notice you, and will work in ways that you may only know when you look back on them from eternity.  No tree falls without His knowing about it.

May His strength and peace be with you always.

“God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.” – John Piper

God Rules in His Sleep

Todd R 3 Comments

In Mark’s Gospel, he tells a story of Jesus taking a nap, causing His disciples to panic.  Does it ever seem like God is asleep, leaving you feeling adrift amid the world’s circumstances?  When Jesus walked the earth, there were times when God literally was asleep.

The story comes from Mark 4:35-41.

On that day, when evening had come, [Jesus] said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”  And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him.  And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.  But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”  And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.  He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”  And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

At the beginning of the story, Jesus told His disciples they were going to cross the Sea of Galilee, then knowing what was coming, “He who keeps Israel”[1] took a nap.  Had the disciples understood Jesus, His napping should have reassured them that they were safe, since He was not concerned about the storm.  Instead, they thought He didn’t care, which showed that fear of the storm had overcome whatever faith they had.  Jesus said they were going across, but they doubted.

Which brings up a very important question.

When did the wind and the sea obey Jesus?  At the beginning of the story, at the end, or both?  Or at all times?  Before Jesus calmed the storm, was the sea being disobedient to God’s laws and will?

I believe Jesus calmed this storm so that next time He wouldn’t have to.  He was teaching them that He always cares, regardless of what the circumstances seem to say.  He was teaching them that even when it seems like He’s asleep, He is still in control of our circumstances no matter how chaotic they look and feel to us.  During the next storm, He wanted them not to panic, but to trust Him because He showed them no circumstance escapes His notice.  The storm does not control us; He controls the storm.

When Jesus calmed the storm, He did not create a hedge (See Job 1:10) around His disciples, He just demonstrated that it existed all along.  God was not going to let His Son drown before His mission was complete and neither will He let His other children drown before their work is done!

Sometimes when God seems distant and we feel we are sinking, in reality we are being given a divinely designed opportunity to learn to trust that:

The LORD will keep you from all evil;
            he will keep your life.
The LORD will keep
            your going out and your coming in
            from this time forth and forevermore[2]

He knows sometimes we have to learn the hard way, and He knows best.  Even when He is sleeping.

“Let us go across to the other side.”

[1] Psalm 121:4
[2] Psalm 121:7-8

God Equips Those He Calls

Todd R 2 Comments

When Jeremiah was called to serve as a prophet in the Old Testament, God told him he was literally made for it in Jeremiah 1:5 –

“‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
            and before you were born I consecrated you;
            I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’”

However, Jeremiah’s response was not an enthusiastic one.  Jeremiah 1:6-8 records this exchange:

“Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.’  But the LORD said to me,
            ‘Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
            for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
            and whatever I command you, you shall speak.’”

Photo by Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash

Even though God had just said “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,” Jeremiah objects that he was too young and did not have the natural ability required for the job.  Maybe he doubted anyone would listen to him, so God must have the wrong guy.  God doesn’t disagree that Jeremiah was young (he already knew that), but knows that God’s ability is what matters, not Jeremiah’s.  God knew that someday you and I would be reading Jeremiah’s words regardless of his own youth or ability.  God never picks the wrong person for the job.

But if “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,”[1] why does the Scripture tell us that one of its own authors doubted and questioned God Himself?

The answer of course, is “for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”  We should learn not only from Jeremiah’s prophecies to the people of his time, but also from His experience with God.  In hindsight, we think that because Jeremiah is a book of the Bible, of course he was able to do the work God gave him, but in the moment of his call, Jeremiah had no idea.  So, when we think our ability is not enough the job at hand, we should remember Jeremiah’s youth and remember that “God does not call the equipped; He equips the called,” as the saying goes.  Jeremiah learned this from his own experience, and we may learn from it as well because the Bible records it.

Also, God shows us Jeremiah’s flaws to comfort us when we feel inadequate, not only in ability but also in faith.  Even if we know that “God does not call the equipped; He equips the called,” we don’t always act on that knowledge.  Jeremiah doubts not only his call, but there are other examples, including when he questions why he should buy a field the Babylonians were about to seize.[2]  Doubt is not something that only some Christians feel – we are not alone in our weakness.  Even the Bible’s own authors had doubt because they could not see as God sees.

God is patient when we are honest with Him about our doubts, but He is also honest with us when He says we were literally made to serve Him.  No Christian is inadequate for the work God gives them, for in His power He accomplishes what He wants. He has no doubts and is faithful in providing everything we need.

Sometimes God sends us before we think we are ready, so we can learn to put our confidence in the right place like Paul, who wrote: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13

[1] 2 Timothy 3:16
[2] The story is in Jeremiah 32, which I covered in an earlier post, here.

Is Christianity Like Improv Comedy?

Todd R 1 Comment

The TV show Whose Line is it Anyway? is probably the most-widely-known form of improvisational comedy, and one of my favorites.  Four performers act out short scenes based on a set of rules for each scene or game, spontaneously adding their own creativity and (if successful) humor.  For example, in the “Props” game, pictured, the performers were given two “P” shaped props to make jokes about.  The show wouldn’t be any good if they just showed us the props and explained the rules over and over again.  The show is pointless without spontaneous creativity.  But why am I writing about improv on a Christian blog?  Today is the next post in the series on listening for our Master’s voice, and in God’s (and Gideon’s) victory over the Midianites, the Bible leaves a key point unsaid, leaving us to ask: Whose Plan is it Anyway?

Whose Pun is it Anyway?

In Judges 6-7, God delivers Israel from the Midianites using Gideon, who thought God couldn’t use him because “my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”  At times, Gideon doubts God is speaking to him and that He really means what He says, but God patiently answers Gideon’s questions and performs miracles, encouraging Gideon to move forward.

Eventually, Gideon and his 300-man army attacked the enemy army, which was “like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance.”[1]  After Gideon split his army into three groups, this was the plan of attack:

“So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands.  Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, ‘A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!’”[2]

Whose Plan is it Anyway?
This is where improv comes in: the text does not tell us who came up with this wacky attack plan.  Was it God’s idea or was it Gideons?  Why leave it ambiguous?  I think it is because, either way, it is not a decisive factor in the victory.  The attack plan works because of God’s involvement, no matter whose idea it was.  If it was Gideon’s idea, he was only using the abilities his Maker had given Him for the purpose of glorifying Him.  If it was God’s, Gideon was also only using the abilities God gave him and dedicating them to God’s glory.

What’s amazing is that Gideon went from testing God with fleece to carrying out this attack.  God had Gideon convinced it would work, and that it would work because God would make it work.  Victory didn’t come from any advantage Gideon had or created, and all along God was determined to get the glory.  The plan would have failed if God had not put fear into the camp, and let Gideon know about that fear by way of a dream a Midianite soldier had.

Like improv comedy, God’s rules only go so far before the performers need to take over.  God gives us patterns, which are like the rules of an improv skit, not step-by-step instructions in every aspect of our lives.  Adam and Eve were shown a pattern in the Garden of Eden, Moses was given a pattern for the tabernacle on the mountain, and Jesus lived a pattern of how love the Father and our neighbor.  Beyond the patterns and rules there is so much to do and explore.  His will is for His people to make the world like Eden, to worship Him as He should be worshiped, and to love the world the way Jesus loved.

The Little Things
To hear and obey His voice, we must spend time with Him in prayer and study, diligently learning the patterns He has laid out for us, but He does not expect us to stop there. At some point, we must take the guidance we have and move forward with the wisdom and creativity He has endowed us each with.  When we do we will be like the servant who successfully invested his Master’s resources, and in return “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’”[3]

However, if we either do not diligently seek Him, or if we say He has not given us enough, we may find ourselves cast out from the Master’s presence, hearing: “you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.”[4]

In Gideon’s story, we see God’s compassionate understanding toward His people who struggle to hear and obey His voice but keep trying.  We, like Gideon, are not always faithful over the little things such as prayer, study, and regular worship.  But Only He fully knows the depth of our doubts and struggles, and He provides what we need to trust Him and move forward in faith, knowing our doubt is never fully overcome until eternity.

In the story, we also see that we must often act on trust, even when we think we have incomplete information.  Like Gideon, we should be imperfectly persistent, wrestling with God who knows our faith is imperfect.  He can bridge the gap to us in His unlimited grace.

So, where does God’s guiding voice stop, and our God-given creativity begin?  Like a good improv comedy scene, the parts can come together perfectly, glorify God, and encourage His people to come along in faith, as the men of Naphtali, Asher, Manasseh, and Ephraim joined the battle against the Midianites once it was clear God had delivered the victory[5].  When we seek Him and find Him, and in faith move forward to spread His character and creativity in the world, glorifying Him.

God is glorified when His people attempt things that sometimes don’t make sense, then succeed because He provided the way.  It’s always His plan anyway.

Soli Deo Gloria

[1] Judges 7:12
[2] Judges 7:19-20
[3] Matthew 25:21
[4] Matthew 25:27
[5] Judges 7:23-25