Tag Wisdom

Letting God Pick Our Battles II

Todd R Leave a comment
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The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through him who strengthens me,” yet he also wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 that “to keep me from becoming conceited,” a “thorn was given me in the flesh.”  He writes: “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.  But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

The nature of Paul’s “thorn” has been disputed for centuries, but Galatians 4:13 suggests it was a physical problem, a “bodily ailment” rather than a moral shortcoming.  So, the lesson of the “thorn” is not that God prevented Paul from overcoming some specific sin to keep him humble – He wants Paul (and us) to be satisfied with nothing less than righteousness.

However, one lesson of the “thorn” is that Paul didn’t mean by “I can do all things” that he could do whatever he wanted and succeed.  Instead, the “thorn” is an example of a battle Paul would not win, because this “thorn” had a purpose in bringing Paul closer to God’s grace and power.  In God’s wisdom, Paul was better off with this ailment than without it.

Yesterday’s post said “Picking your battles, rather than trying to fight and win every fight that comes your way, is a good piece of advice.  However, who should pick which battles to fight?”  In the case of the “thorn”, God picked a battle for Paul not to fight, telling him instead to focus on growing in faith.  The thorn had a purpose in Paul’s striving toward righteousness, which was more important than any physical ailment.  Had Paul continued to insist to God that the thorn should be removed, he would still have the thorn, but he would also not grow in his relationship with his Lord.

Sometimes there are battles He wants us to fight in His strength for His glory, and sometimes there are battles He tells us not to fight so we can focus on His grace and power while in this life, in light of His promises to heal our physical ailments in Paradise.

Today’s post closes the same way as yesterdays: “Sometimes life is hard on purpose, so that God alone may be glorified in victory, and also so that we may grow in our faith in His strength.  When we let Him pick our battles, we learn that His righteousness is the only thing that will satisfy us.  Nothing less will do.”

Letting God Pick Our Battles

Todd R Leave a comment
Image by Richard Mcall from Pixabay

Picking your battles, rather than trying to fight and win every fight that comes your way, is a good piece of advice.  However, who should pick which battles to fight?  The Old Testament book of Judges is a record of the consequences of Israel’s failure to completely conquer the promised land, a battle God gave them to fight and win.  Judges also shows more generally what happens when anyone picks the wrong battles to fight: they end up with less than what God intended for them.

For example, Judges 1:19 tells us: “And the LORD was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron.”

This verse, especially the second part, is written from a human perspective.  God did not tell Israel to conquer all of the promised land, except for the plains.  God is not afraid of chariots.  He told them to conquer all of it, but Israel thought that chariots couldn’t be defeated, so they decided not to fight in the plain.  By using their own judgement and preferring to fight in hills or forests where chariots were less effective, they failed to fully receive what God had promised them.

An application to us is that our inheritance is Christ’s righteousness, and Jesus tells us “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”[1]  Jesus is telling us that righteousness is like food and drink.  We can never have enough because no matter how much we eat and drink, our hunger and thirst soon return.  We are all in different places, at different levels of knowledge and maturity, but in Christ we are all on the same path and have an appetite only He can satisfy.

To be satisfied, we cannot settle for what we have already accomplished, the hill country we have already taken.  To be satisfied, we must fight the chariots in the plains if that is what God wants us to do, so that we learn to rely on His strength.  To be satisfied, we move from only fighting battles we choose based on our own wisdom and ability to choosing the battles we will win in His strength.

Sometimes life is hard on purpose, so that God alone may be glorified in victory, and also so that we may grow in our faith in His strength.  When we let Him pick our battles, we learn that His righteousness is the only thing that will satisfy us.  Nothing less will do.

[1] Matthew 5:6

The Value of Work: A Quint of Quotes

Todd R 1 Comment

Dear fellow travelers,

Here is another “Quint of Quotes” from my collection on the theme of work:

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill

Photo by Taya Kucherova on Unsplash

“God is more concerned about His workers than He is about their work, for if the workers are what they ought to be, the work will be what it ought to be.” – Warren Wiersbe

“The Christian shoemaker does his duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship” – Martin Luther

“A holy life will produce the deepest impression. Lighthouses blow no horns; they only shine.” – D. L. Moody

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.  You are serving the Lord Christ.” – Colossians 3:23-24

Manning the Watchtower

Todd R 1 Comment

 “I will take my stand at my watchpost
            and station myself on the tower,
and look out to see what he will say to me,
            and what I will answer concerning my complaint.” – Habakkuk 2:1

Photo by Casey Olsen on Unsplash

People like to look for patterns and predictability in the world, and even in God’s behavior.  But in Habakkuk’s case, he saw a situation that didn’t make sense to him, that God would use Babylon to brutally punish His people in Judah.  God knew it wouldn’t make sense to Habakkuk, saying “I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.”[1]

Habakkuk would have gone into a private corner to sulk, but instead he brought it to God and was willing to be patient and wait to see how He would answer.

Is there something that doesn’t make sense right now in your life?  In my experience, there almost always is.  Therefore, be as vigilant and patient as Habakkuk.  Take your place in watchful hope on the watchtower and see what God will do.

[1] Habakkuk 1:5b

The Queen of Sheba’s Example

Todd R 3 Comments

King Solomon, son of Israel’s greatest king David, was also a famous and renowned king.  God asked Solomon what he wanted, and Solomon asked for wisdom to rule the people. In addition, the Lord also gave him “riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days.”[1]  His rule was likely the high point of Israel’s kingdom in terms of wealth.  Surely Solomon was bound to draw the attention of other nations and their rulers.

One such ruler is the Queen of Sheba, and we learn about her visit to Solomon in 1 Kings 10.  Sheba was apparently “Sabea,” far away from Jerusalem in southwestern Arabia.  Visiting Solomon was a long and difficult trip for her, especially since she brought many people and gifts along.  Why did she bother?  She came because of reports she had heard of Solomon’s wealth, but also of his wisdom.  1 Kings 10:1 says “she came to test him with hard questions” to see if he was as wise as the reports said.  Solomon answered all of her questions, and she responded that “Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard.”[2]

Like the Queen of Sheba, we also hear reports of a King of Israel who surpasses all in wisdom: God Himself.  But like the Queen, do we put as much effort into learning about this King?  She traveled for days, maybe weeks, in order to meet Solomon in person.  Do we set aside enough time to really get to know our King?  Do we engage Him in tough conversations about our lives, testing Him with the hard questions we have?  Or do we keep Him at a distance because we’re not sure how He is relevant for our lives?

Solomon’s father, King David, wrote in Psalm 34:8 –

“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
            Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”

David’s words don’t tell us to sit back and passively learn about God; they tell us to “taste” of God to see that He is “good.”  God does not shower us with blessing upon blessing trying to convince us that He is good while we selfishly go about our lives.   We must learn that He is good by trusting Him and learning to walk with Him.  We turn to Him by learning that repentance is a good thing.  That He is a God worthy of our attention.

When the Queen of Sheba became convinced that Solomon was a good and wise king, in 1 Kings 10:9 she proclaimed:

“Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD loved Israel forever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness.”

Think of how much more blessed we are to have a King who is infinitely wiser and greater than Solomon!  Learning more of Solomon caused the Queen to burst forth in praise for God, who loved Israel enough to give them a king that will “execute justice and righteousness.”  God still loves His people and has given them a King, our Lord Jesus, who will “execute justice and righteousness” perfectly and for eternity. James 4:8 tells us to “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” 

Even if it requires taking a long, difficult trip, like the Queen of Sheba’s.  He is worth the effort.

[1] 1 Kings 3:13
[2] 1 Kings 10:7