Day by Day

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"In the Shadow"

Isaiah 49:2 "In the shadow of His hand He hid me."

Sometimes the glare of a sunny summer day is too brilliant for our eyes. Instinctively we move into the shadows, lest we lose the ability to discern the delicate shades of color or to appreciate natural tints.

In the exercise of His infinite wisdom our God reminds us that it is not good for our spiritual vision to remain constantly in the sunlight of prosperity. There we are often blinded to the full measure of life, losing both our understanding of divine mercy and the need to have sympathy for others. God's grace is often best viewed in the shadowed house of mourning, the shadowed life from which the sunlight of earthly joy is gone.

It is God who leads us into the shadow. But it is "the shadow of His hand." There are lessons He teaches us there. The light of His loving and glorious face is clearly seen in the dark chamber. In life's shadows we grow in Him. There are beautiful flowers that bloom in the shade -- flowers that could not grow in the sun. In the shadows of life the Savior reaches us best with the glory of His forgiving love. There He says: "I have redeemed you; you are Mine."

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"The Faithfulness of God"

1 Corinthians 10:13 "God is faithful."

These are tremendous words. They are like bedrock. They are like the thick rocky layers builders look for when they seek to erect a skyscraper.

No one can read the Bible's story of humankind intelligently without realizing that God is faithful. We may not be able to understand how this faithfulness can be. We look back over the long history of humankind, or even over the history of those nations who have called themselves God's people, and see how often they have been faithful only to their own sinful selves. One would think that God would have long since called it all off and turned from them.

But we need not look this far abroad to find examples. We need only look back upon our own lives. We have loved, indeed, and been loyal, so often only to our own selves; yet God has never broken faith with us.

One thing He has allowed: He has allowed His people to know the testing of trials. But there is another thing He has not permitted: that we be tried beyond our power. He is faithful; He lets us know our weaknesses. He tests us, but He does not break us. He tries us, but He does not leave us or forsake us. He leaves us always stronger than we were. Through all these trials God wants to lead us to the cross to give perfect healing.

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"A Divided Mind"

Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other."

Worry fragments the mind. A divided mind keeps a person from doing anything wholeheartedly. It causes inefficiency.

None of us needs to be taught to worry. It comes naturally. But it is helpful to know what causes worry. Worry is often the result of a divided mind. And indecision squanders our energies.

Someone drew a cartoon of a donkey standing between two haystacks. The aroma of the hay tantalized the hungry donkey. He would look toward one haystack and start in that direction; then he would think of the other haystack, look back, and start toward it. The outcome suggested by the cartoon was that the poor donkey, standing between the two fragrant haystacks, starved to death simply because he could never make up his mind.

A divided mind may eventually destroy us. That is why we need to have our mind fixed on the Lord. God fills our minds with serenity because He has made it possible to be at peace with Him, with ourselves, and with others. He has removed the guilt of sin. Through Christ He has provided forgiveness for all our sins. The God of peace helps us to overcome a divided mind.

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"Don't Worry"

Matthew 6:34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself."

It requires only a little reflection to convince ourselves that worry is entirely useless. Worry changes nothing. It cannot solve our problems, correct our mistakes, add to our income, alleviate our pain, improve our health, or prolong our life. On the contrary, worry is harmful. It robs us of our energy and generates fear and frustration, despondency and despair. Besides harming us, it aggravates those who live with us and makes life unpleasant for them.

Above all, worry is sinful because it ignores God's help. It assumes that we are the helpless and hopeless victims of circumstance and that our lives are controlled by blind fate.

Worry is caused by insecurity. As such it should have no place in our lives as Christians. For if our heavenly Father so loved us that He gave His own dear Son to die for our sins, will He not with Him also freely give us the lesser things we need?

Christ's prescription for the cure of worry is to behold the birds of the air, to consider the lilies of the field, and to learn of them how carefree and joyous life can be when we cast all our anxiety on Him who cares for us.

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"Into All Truth"

John 16:13 "When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth."

The work of the Holy Spirit in the world is to lead us into all truth. This is what our Lord said the Comforter would do for all believers. As long as the world lasts, we never have to be uncertain about anything belonging to our salvation. He will lead us into the truth.

Our Savior kept His promise. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow the Holy Spirit speaks to us constantly in the Word of God. When we hear the Word during worship or read it in our devotion time, the Comforter reaches through the words, takes us by the hand, and leads us into all truth.

And this truth will never die. Changing circumstances of life and history cannot touch it. It is proof against every storm. It is sure in the day of life and unbroken in the hour of death. It is the one great, unchanging fact in a world of change and decay.

It is always a dark hour for humanity when they forget the truth of God. That has happened in our time. We who believe have the responsibility to know the truth, to speak it whenever and wherever we can, and to bring it, with everything in our power, to the dark and lonely hearts of all people.

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"Discipline Brings Blessings"

Hebrews 12:11 "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace."

Discipline is not a pleasant word, raising thoughts of discomfort, often of punishment. As God's dear children we cannot miss its meaning. "The Lord disciplines those He loves" (Proverbs 3:12), says the holy writer, pointing even to God's redeeming love in Jesus. Discipline is training. Often it tests our submission to the divine will, tries our patience and piety, even our faith in the Savior, who has promised to sustain us.

We remember how God's servant Job was chastened -- and Saint Paul (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) and the Christians at Smyrna (Revelation 2:8-11). From them we learn that if we do not feel the discomfort of discipline, we can derive no profit from it. If it were not painful at the moment, it could not result in blessings later.

But there is a "later." Discipline is like a tree. It requires time and cultivation to produce the ripened fruit of peace and righteousness. It always contains the fruitful seed of future joys. It is the spring pruning of our vines that, in God's judgment, is needed to make us fruitful. May we wait patiently in discipline for the later blessings! They will surely come.

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"When God Says Nothing"

Psalm 28:1 "Do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if You remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit."

Does it bother you that God never seems to say anything? There is plenty for Him just now to talk about. If only He'd come out and prove by some word that He is there and with that word resolve the things that are so wrong about His world. But God says nothing. Why?

There is a silence on the part of God that condemns us. We cannot pass off lightly what we have done to break His heart. But listen, you can always take whatever it is that you have done and lay it before your God and ask Him for forgiveness. And if you do, God will tell you, "Your sins are all forgiven." If God is silent with you, you can break that silence by asking Him to forgive your sins.

Do not interpret God's silence as a sign that He has ceased to care. Remember He is the One who left His throne in heaven and exchanged it for a bed of straw at Christmas time because He cares; He is the One who let the soldiers mock and beat and crucify him because He cares; He is the One who bore our grief and carried our sorrows because He cares. We mustn't believe He doesn't care. Oh, yes, He cares, even when it seems He says nothing!

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"Jesus Means Peace"

John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart!"

Two artists each produced a painting to depict the idea of peace. One painted a picture of a quiet lake beside a mountain. Not a breeze was stirring. Not a ripple disturbed the quiet waters. All was silent.

The second artist painted a roaring waterfall with a mighty oak hanging over it. On a limb bending over the turbulent waters, nearly in reach of the rising spray, was a tiny bird sitting unperturbed on her nest. In the midst of the mighty roar, surrounded by frightful danger, the bird was secure.

Both artists agreed the second picture depicted a higher conception of peace. It also is an excellent portrayal of the peace found in Jesus.

In this world we are surrounded by manifold dangers and evils that threaten our security and deprive us of joy. We see broken hearts and graves watered with tears. Yet Jesus bestows on us a peace that transcends and overcomes this world. His words of forgiving mercy comfort us, even in the face of death. His peace passes all understanding and will sustain us for all eternity.

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"Our Hiding Place"

Isaiah 32:2 "Each man will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm."

Some who lived in the "dust bowl" of our country years ago remember the relentless wind and the heavens dark with dust; until in helplessness and despair they packed what they could in their cars and fled from their homes.

In the days of Isaiah the prophet, the people lived where the desert was not far off. And so his words were clear: some shelter, some hiding place, some great ledge of rock to give men its quiet shelter when the whistling blasts of sand blew was their only hope.

The winds beat about our lives, too -- the winds of sorrow in deep bereavement; the winds of fear in time of peril; the winds of affliction when we suffer in mind or body. But most of all the blast of sin beats hard to drive us to the death of our souls and the destruction of our hopes.

God through Isaiah encourages His people with a picture of the Messianic kingdom where "each man will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm." In God's kingdom His redeemed will reflect the Messiah, who is the true source of blessing and protection. Isaiah believed in the Messiah to come. Seven hundred years later this man was born, and then He died as the blast of our sins beat upon Him. But He became our perpetual hiding place from the wind. Who was He? Jesus, the Rock of Ages.

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"Knowing Hereafter"

John 13:7 "Jesus replied, 'You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.'"

There is a Hebrew legend that tells of a rabbi journeying on a mule through a wild country. His only companion was a rooster whose shrill crowing at sunrise awoke him to his devotions. He came to a small town at nightfall and sought shelter, but the inhabitants turned him away. Outside the village he found a cave in which to sleep. He lit his lamp before retiring, but a gust of wind blew out the light. During the night a wolf killed his rooster and a lion devoured his mule. Early in the morning he went to the town to see if he could buy some food. To his surprise he found no one alive. A band of robbers during the night had plundered the settlement and killed all the inhabitants.

"Now I understand my troubles," said the rabbi. "If the townspeople had received me, I would now be dead. Had not my rooster and mule been killed, their noise or the light of my lamp would have revealed my hiding place. God has been good to me." In similar manner, the troubles and reverses of life are intended to direct you and me to put full faith and trust in the Savior, whose redemptive work secured our eternal good.

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"Messages From God"

Judges 3:20 "I have a message from God for you."

This is what Ehud, the Benjamite, said to Eglon, king of Moab. Have we had any message from God? We have had not only one, but many. Every Bible in our homes says to us: "I have a message from God for you." The Bible has a message for us on the most important subject of all, the way back to God, which all sinners must travel. It tells us that Jesus said: "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). If we have been careless, the Bible has a word of warning; if we have been troubled, it has a message of comfort; if we have been worried, it tells us what to do with our cares. The Bible has a message from God for us for every condition of life.

God sometimes sends us messages in other ways. He speaks to us through the providential manner in which He orders our lives. Have we been especially prosperous in our affairs, in our business, in our family? Have there been long seasons of joy and gladness? God is speaking to us. Or the messengers may have been draped in black. There may have been losses and reverses, sickness and death. They, too, say to us: "We have a message from God for you." Then, like Samuel of old, let us always say: "Speak, for Your servant is listening" (1 Samuel 3:10)

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"Sympathy"

Hebrews 4:15 "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses."

The word sympathy comes from two Greek words that mean "to share suffering." To sympathize with another person means to understand the pain the other person is feeling and to actually experience the suffering.

Jesus demonstrated sympathy so often while He was here on earth. His compassion was overwhelming when Lazarus died. He so completely shared in the suffering of the sisters Mary and Martha that He wept with them. And those who saw Him said, "See how He loved him!" (John 11:36).

We, too, are loved -- loved so much that Jesus is willing to share in our suffering. No matter what our problems or trials or pains, Jesus understands them. We do not have to experience them alone. What a great comfort!

Having known His sympathy, we also know how important it is to sympathize with others. The pain we have felt equips us to share in the sufferings of others. It is said that the kindest hearts are the ones that have known sorrow. How true! With Jesus as your example -- and as your Redeemer giving you strength -- may you give to others the great and kind gift of sympathy.

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"Hands of Blessing"

Deuteronomy 34:9 "Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him."

Deuteronomy 34:9 "Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him."

"What happened to Your hand?" a little girl asks Jesus in a present-day picture of Christ with children. Her question gives the picture its title. She is looking at the imprint of the nail by which Jesus was fixed to the cross.

The scars in Jesus' hands were marks of His sacrificial act of love. He had given Himself into the death of the cross to be "The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29)

Our Savior had often used these same hands to serve men. He had laid them on men to heal them in their sickness. These same hands had lifted up the daughter of Jairus from her sleep of death. These same hands had been raised in blessing over little children whom Jesus loved.

God's hands of blessing rest on us when we trust Him to forgive us all our sins through the atoning death of Christ.

Moses used his hands to bless Joshua, and God bestowed the blessing in the gift of the spirit of wisdom.

We may use our hands for evil or for good. They may become tools of violence or instruments of charity. They may destroy or they may build. Do our hands bear the marks of service and love as did our Lord's?

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"Waiting for the Lord"

Isaiah 40:31 "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

Isaiah reminds us that "The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom" (Isaiah 40:28).

With His own almighty power He strengthens those who are faint. We often grow weary on our journey through life, both physically and spiritually. We get tired of telling people the good news of our salvation without seeming success. We grow weary when we plead for what we think is the right thing for us along life's path, and apparently there is no answer from God.

But let's look at the Lord's promise in this word of the prophet. When we patiently wait for the Lord, He will renew our strength even as our tired bodies are renewed through a good night's sleep. Just as an eagle flaps its big wings as it mounts high up in the air, so the Lord gives us the strength to rise above our wearisome attitudes and serve Him with renewed love and zeal.

Let us rejoice anew in our redemption in Christ and share this joy with the people around us. Our sufferings cannot compare with the joy of our salvation.

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"Burned Out?"

Romans 8:26 "We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."

In our society people are expected to be achievers. Sometimes the pressure and competition become too great. A person reaches the breaking point and he or she can't function effectively anymore. We call that burnout.

It's happened before. Moses, the patient leader of Israel, had more than he could take. He said, "I am not able to carry this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me."

Even the great apostle Paul became mentally and physically exhausted. He was so worn out that he could not even pray properly. When he reached the point of utter weariness, Paul knew that God would not forsake him. It was at that moment that the Spirit of God stepped in to pray for him.

Have we reached our breaking point? Do we feel like we can't take it anymore? Like we want to run away from our cares and responsibilities? Like we can't see God through our pain? That's when God's Spirit takes over. The Lord does not abandon us. He will say for us the prayers we can't utter ourselves.

That we can believe. That we can hold on to. That precious promise is ours!