The story of the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt reaches the high point of drama as the Israelites are camped by the Red Sea and the army of Pharaoh is approaching. Tension builds. What will the people of God do? Will there be bloodshed before they are dragged back to their slavery in that land? The people were terrified. Moses cried out to the Lord. Then we read that God moved the cloud that had been the symbol of His Presence before them, to the rear of their camp to separate them from the approaching army. Finally, in the night, God opened the waters and "the people of Israel walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on each side!" (Exodus 14:22, NLT) As dawn approached, Pharaoh made his move. His chariots went into the watery chasm as the Israelites had done. Confusion broke out. The wheels of their chariots fell off. "Let’s get out of here—away from these Israelites!" the Egyptians shouted. "The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt!" (Exodus 14:25, NLT) At God's command, Moses stretched out his hand and the waters closed, killing the Egyptian army and ending the threat.
It's a glorious story written to inspire hope and faith. The question that begs an answer for me is- should we expect God to defend us in similar manner? Oh, friend, it is a dangerous one to ask. We want to quickly say, "Yes!" and claim our place at the head of the line of humanity as many Christians do. We want to conclude that God will lead us into triumph, pouring out blessings on us. But is that a right expectation?
The first thing that we need to do is to make the distinction between ourselves as individual Believers and God's Church, the Body of Christ. God will always defend His Bride, the Church. He will see to it that She is protected from the world until Christ returns to finalize the defeat of Evil. In a passage pregnant with promise, we read of God's salvation of His church. And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." (Revelation 7:14-17, NIV)
God will keep us, as individuals, who trust in Him, safe in His embrace, too. But, we may find ourselves experiencing hard times, enduring difficult situations, even becoming martyrs- squarely in the center of God's purposes. "But, Jerry, that doesn't sound like He is defending me!" My point is that His purposes for us may be entirely different than what we think they are or should be. As an illustration of this principle take the experience of Jim Elliott and his missionary friends who were killed on January 8, 1956 while on an outreach to a tribe of native people in the Ecuadorian jungles. Those young men, in the prime of life, thought that their mission was to take the Gospel to that little tribe. I do not think that even one of them thought their calling was to be fulfilled in an awful death on a small river beach in the Amazon! Each wanted to build the Kingdom of God and each did, though not in the way they thought they would. Their martyrdom inspired thousands of young people to take up the call of missions in the second half of the 20th century. The effect of Elliott's life was magnified many times over in his death. Did God defend him? Not from death at the tip of a spear, but He did work His kingdom purposes and most certainly received those brave men to Himself.
This is a hard word, acceptable only if we have a heart full of faith. But it is Biblical, dear friend. The 'faith chapter' (Hebrews 11) opens with this definition: " Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1, NIV) The Spirit leads us in that passage through some wonderful examples of men and women who enjoyed great victories by faith, who others admired and who inspire us to greater faith to this day: Noah, Abraham, Moses, Samson, David, even Rahab!
But the chapter does not end with such glorious stories. It ends with a passage that is not read with as much enthusiasm as the first half. "But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground. All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us." (Hebrews 11:35-40, NLT)
The Psalmist sings, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." (Psalm 23:4, NKJV)
Steady on, Believer. He is our Defender. He is at work to accomplish His will, to build His Kingdom. He assures us that "all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28, NKJV)
Jesus, hold my hand. Teach me to lean on You, to trust You equally when the sun shines brightly overhead and when the way is darkened by storms.
________
No comments:
Post a Comment