Day by Day

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"Two Days Not to Worry"

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" Matthew 6:27
   

Worry is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do, but won't get you anywhere. Sometimes, however, it's hard not to worry when we have problems with health, family, finances, or the like. And many people find themselves bearing not just one worry, but three -- troubles they have had, troubles they have now, and troubles they expect to have.

There are, however, at least two days of the week about which there is no need to worry. One of those days is yesterday. It's gone, and you can't call it back. It was your day, then, with its peril, pain, and mistakes. Now it's God's day of forgiveness because Jesus carried all our sins to Calvary's cross.

Another day about which there is no need to worry is tomorrow. It's beyond our mastery. Tomorrow is God's day, yet to be ours.

There is a terrible weariness in carrying the remorse of yesterday and the fear of what tomorrow might bring. But such worry doesn't have to be ours, because those are God's days. Leave them to Him. He has promised to "hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea" (Micah 7:19).

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"It Might Have Been"

"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14
   

The things that are behind us -- wasted opportunity, wasted talent, wasted time, wasted years -- clearly remind us of the words of John Greenleaf Whittier: "For of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these, 'It might have been.'"

We look back to the days gone by and say: "Oh, if I hadn't done this"; or, "If only I had used the opportunities I had." Or we might say: "I might have lived life on the highest plane, yet I was content to sink into cheap and easy living." Many are settling for the second best in life when they might have had the best.

We cannot call back the years that have passed, but out in front of us, God willing, are other years, still unused, unmarked, unmarred. The important thing is what we are doing with the moment we have now. "It might have been" is gone forever; "it can be" is with us right now. We cannot make of ourselves persons of power, but there is a power in Christ to mold us into what we ought to be. Our sins? They are washed away through Christ's precious blood. The abundant life? It is ours the moment we come to faith in Christ as our Savior.

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"The Secret of Joy and Peace"

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him." Romans 15:13
   

Many people seem to think and sometimes actually feel they have found the secret of joy and peace in faiths and philosophies other than that of New Testament Christianity. That people may receive certain uplifting influences in adhering to false religious beliefs when life treats them well is understood, but these things collapse when people are tested by the deeper sorrows of human experiences.

There can be no real joy or peace such as Paul refers to in any but a Christian heart; for until the sin problem has been solved, there can be no right relation with God; and there is no solution of the individual sin problem apart from Christ. Only in Him is there atonement for sin and reconciliation with God. Only in Him do we have access to the throne and find ourselves "accepted in the Beloved."

How happy we should be that we have such joy and peace that comes from trusting in Jesus, for it will outlive the grave, outlast the years, and outshine the sunset.

We rejoice that God in pure grace has opened our eyes to see, our minds to know, and our hearts to possess that which we never deserve to see or know or possess. And certainly, we are to be prayerfully concerned for those who as yet have not found this "joy and peace" that comes with "trust in Him."

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"When the Cloud Tarried"

"When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the LORD'S order and did not set out." Numbers 9:19
   

Here was a test of obedience. It was easy to break camp when the fleecy folds of the cloud were gathering from off the tabernacle and moving before God's people. Change is usually pleasant, and there is excitement in traveling, in moving on to the scenery of the next stopping place.

But the waiting, that is something else. However uninviting and oppressive this spot, however trying to flesh and blood, however irksome to impatient dispositions, however exposed to danger the Israelites were, there was no option but to remain and wait.

God often keeps us waiting. The psalmist had the same experience: "I waited patiently for the LORD." But it had its reward, for "He turned to me and heard my cry" (Psalm 40:1). What God did for His saints of old He does for those who in all ages have found Him in Jesus, the Savior from sin. All the while there is the painful waiting. We want to move on from discomforts and unpleasantness. But the cloud of the divine presence remains there. God wants us to wait and, while we wait, to remember that He is in the cloud. He is our guide on life's way.

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"Not Now"

"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:9
   

God often says the two little words "Not now." When we remember that, we have caught one of the deep secrets of the Christian life. He has said them to every one of us who has asked Him for something that we wanted very badly, to every soul that has carried the heat and burden of life.

God has His own timetable for us. When we think that the hour for joy has come, He may say, "Not now," and lead us into the valley of the shadow. When we feel that we should see the fulfillment of some cherished plan, He whispers, "Not now," and allows us to experience disappointment and failure.

It is the very heart of the Christian life to know that His ways are always good. They were good when He waited 4,000 years before He sent His only Son to redeem us. They were good on Good Friday and Easter and Pentecost. In His own time He does all things well.

Not now! When we know the meaning of these little words, we can know the joy and peace of the obedient and surrendered heart. We can know that darkness may be our darkness before His dawn. He loves us forever, deeply and tenderly, even when He says, "Not now."

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"Nothing Impossible"

"I am God Almighty; walk before Me and be blameless." Genesis 17:1
   

Our God fulfills every promise He makes. He can do this because He is almighty.

When elderly Abraham and Sarah were promised a son and heir, they found it hard to believe. To them it seemed impossible. Sarah even laughed at the possibility. But the Lord reminded them of His almighty power with the question, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" (Genesis 18:14).

When Mary was told that she was to become the mother of the promised Savior, she asked the angel how this could be. Gabriel explained that the Spirit's power would bring this about. Then he told her that her cousin Elizabeth was also expecting a son in her old age, and he explained, "Nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1:37).

Jesus, God's Son, showed His almighty power by healing the sick, stilling storms, raising the dead, and doing other miracles. He showed that He is a friend who even today can act miraculously in answer to our prayers. Consequently, we keep on hoping even when our situation seems to be hopeless. Despite the most desperate circumstances, we know that with Him all things are possible. Above all, we rejoice that we are kept by the power of God in the true Christian faith to salvation.

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"Jesus, Our Healer"

"Which is easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk?'" Matthew 9:5
   

Our Lord performed a double cure on the paralyzed man: He healed his soul by forgiving his sins and He healed the sickness of his body. For Christ, the one was as easy as the other. In fact, He said He would prove His power to forgive by making the paralyzed man walk again. And He did just that.

Apart from demonstrating His divine power, it is evident that Jesus had genuine concern for the sick man. He was concerned about his real trouble: sin. As the Good Physician He remedied the cause by pronouncing forgiveness. Then in compassion He also took care of the bodily illness by doing a miracle. At other times, too, Jesus showed His total concern for total persons, helping them in their spiritual problems, in their bodily ailments, in their mental and emotional distresses.

Our Savior recognizes our problems, even better than we do. He senses what causes our troubles and how it affects us. He is concerned about us altogether. Even when we cannot understand what He says or does, we can trust that it is for our welfare. This trust is rooted in the love He showed us by redeeming us. We show our confidence in His love by coming to Him in every need and by bringing to Him others who need His healing.

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"God Will Provide"

"My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19
   

The idea that God will provide for all our needs is perhaps one of the hardest concepts to communicate to people. We pride ourselves in being independent and not requiring any support for anyone else. We would rather do without than be indebted to others for their help. We have become so self-sufficient that at times we even exclude God from our list of helpers.

And yet God wants to help us with our problems and needs. He wants us to call on Him and, rightly understood, put Him to the test. Not only that, but He can solve our problems and provide for all our needs. We merely need to ask. He is always eager to hear from us. As our gracious heavenly Father, He is always ready to pour out His blessings on those who come to Him acknowledging their independence on Him.

Saint Paul, writing to the Romans, says: "He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all -- how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32). There is no doubt that He will do this. Those who have put their trust in Him have found Him to be faithful and true in every way.

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"Expect Great Things"

"Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." Luke 19:5
   

So often we find that our God gives us blessings far beyond our expectations. That's the way it was with Zacchaeus, the little man in the sycamore-fig tree. He was a man of questionable reputation and character. But when he heard that Jesus was passing through town, he wanted at least to get a glimpse, and so he climbed the tree to see over the crowds lining the street. Imagine his surprise when Jesus stopped, looked up, and said: "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." Not only did Jesus visit, but salvation came to the house of Zacchaeus that day.

Zacchaeus' problem was that his expectations were far too small. He was willing to settle for just a glimpse of Jesus, while the Lord had far greater things in store for him. It wasn't that Zacchaeus was so deserving but that the Savior was so gracious.

Our Lord still invites us today to seek and expect great things from Him. In His loving heart are the greatest gifts imaginable -- forgiveness, hope, life everlasting, as well as all that we need to support our body and life day by day. And we should seek and expect nothing less than what He promises.

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"Darker the Night, Brighter the Star"

"The Lord disciplines those He loves." Hebrews 12:6
   

Why does God use our blackest hours to come to us with healing in His wings? That is when the great roadblock to redemption gets broken down. Sooner or later we have to face the uncomfortable fact that what keeps redemption from "drawing nigh" is the high opinion we have of ourselves and of our ability to manage on our own.

The sacrifices that God desires are not an impressive array of Christian qualities. The sacrifices of God are a broken and a contrite heart. When something breaks down in the way we handle things, when we have to cry with the speaker in 2 Chronicles 20:12, "we do not know what to do," or join the helpless man in John 5:7: "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred," then we should look up and lift up our heads, for we will find redemption coming over the horizon. The light of God's saving love in Christ has dawned. It is morning in our lives.

That's the thing about the dark: light looks so much better in it. When you feel the earth shake, you can sing, "On Christ, the solid rock, I stand." When you are tempted to give up hope and throw in the towel, reach out and look up and lay hold on Him who is our strength in time of trouble.

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"Enough is Enough"

"Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34
   

We have a way of trying to peer over God's shoulder and then of trying to take things out of His hands by putting them into our own. The trouble with this is that we then try to make ourselves bigger than we are and God smaller than He is. This is not good for us, for it vastly overrates us and our abilities. Nor is it to the glory of God, for it grossly underrates His wisdom and power.

But there is another trouble, too. We may try to take upon ourselves burdens that God never intended to come on us at all. We spend our strength, not just on the carrying of the real load of the present as God permits this present to come upon us; instead we reach out for imaginary loads as well.

We forget something, too: strength to bear comes from bearing. Under the wisdom of God the strength we shall need to bear the burdens of the future come from our experience with the burdens -- and with God's faithfulness -- of the past. God alone sees the end from the beginning; and from that beginning He has made provision for the end. Therefore the apostle Paul tells His Christians to place their problems and their future in the lap of God and to leave them there.

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"Our Burdens"

"Cast your cares on the Lord, and He will sustain you." Psalm 55:22
   

The psalmist is referring to burdens on the heart, not on the back. We all know that mental burdens are worse than physical, and spiritual burdens are worse than both. These words, however, open up a golden opportunity to do something with our burdens.

We should know that burdens are inescapable. They come to high and low, rich and poor, saints and sinners, old and young. We can no more dodge them than we can fly by waving our arms.

Burdens bring temptations. We are tempted to think God is unconcerned. We are tempted to sit in the brew of self-pity. We are tempted to become bitter toward life and people.

David advises us to "cast your cares on the Lord, and He will sustain you." We notice that the first part of this passage is coupled with a promise, namely, "and He will sustain you." This is the key to the understanding of the first part of the sentence. Our Lord promises to sustain us. The burden may still remain, but the weight, the drag, the bitterness, will be gone. So it was in the life of the apostle Paul, who complained of his burden, but the Lord said: "My grace is sufficient for you" (2 Corinthians 12:9).

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"A New Creature"

"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation." 2 Corinthians 5:17
   

God's promise to make a new creation out of a sin-loving person holds for everyone, even though he or she may be the most loathsome sinner. There is not one of us who deserves any such consideration from God. Yet Jesus declares there is hope and promise for everyone of us.

The same Lord who could forgive Aaron for molding an idolatrous golden calf; the same Lord who could forgive David his adultery and murder; the same Lord who could forgive Peter after he cursed and denied Him; the same Lord who says through Paul: "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation" offers the promise of a new life to everyone who believes in Christ as his or her Savior. All the old weaknesses, the old habits, the old sins -- all these can pass out of our lives if we are in Christ.

What does "in Christ" mean? It is the opposite of living outside of Him, against Him. It means to be united with Him in faith. It means to believe in Him who was crucified for us and who freed us from the eternal punishment of our sins. It means to renounce the devil and to be ready to serve Jesus only as our King. And one glorious day, to be in Christ will mean to be in heaven.

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"Oh, Blessed Singular!"

"Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29
   

Have you ever thought of how comforting it is that the Bible frequently uses the word sin in the singular -- sin instead of sins? Some may think it strange that a point should be made of this "accident" of grammar.

But, praise God, we are dealing here with more than an accident and with more than grammar. We are dealing, rather, with a profound theological truth.

While it is true that Christ died for our individual sins (hatred, slander, greed, etc.), it is also true that He took our whole load of sin (our sin in bulk, as it were) and nailed it to His cross. Notice the wording in the text quoted above: Christ "takes away the sin of the world" -- the whole ugly heap of it! That is the significance of the singular.

When our tortured conscience frightens us with the remembrance of a certain sin and we wonder in the stillness of the night, "Can God ever forgive me for that sin?" His precious Gospel answers, "Yes! Christ assumed our entire guilt. He paid our debt in full. He took away the sin of the world -- including mine." Oh, blessed singular!

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"Affliction's Blessings"

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds." James 1:2
   

Is it really possible to count it joy when trials come? Can we be happy about something that makes us unhappy? Usually we cry, "What did I do to deserve this? How long will this trial last?"

To make tribulation "work for us" as Paul said, we'll have to look at it this way: If we lose a dollar and in our search for it find $100, our unhappiness in losing the lesser would be offset by our joy in finding the greater.

The burdens God sends are intended not to get us down but to lift us up, not to make us stumble but to make us soar. Whatever draws us closer to God, however painful or hard to bear at the moment, is a hidden blessing. Trials sweep away the debris that has cluttered life with things that hide God from our eyes. The shore is swept clean by the storm, and we get a new experience of the ocean of God's grace.

The One who led us into the dark valley is our friend. He has gone all the way to the cross to have us as His own. He leads us into the dark valley, not to leave us there but to train us there. When we come out, we will be better for it: closer to God and nearer to heaven.