11/25/2017
Do we let the happenings of the world trouble us and destroy the faith and tranquility we have in Jesus Christ? Are we so worried about what is occurring in our day to day lives that we can no longer see or feel the eternal truth, which is that Jesus suffered so we should be redeemed; that we should have peace and rest? If so it is time we started stripping the meaningless outer layers away from our life of faith, and get down to the one thing that truly matters... the Cross.
“But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
Galatians 6:14 ESV
One night an old man and his wife both had an evening in which they couldn’t sleep. He was resting in their bed, and she was trying not to wake him by finding somewhere else in the house to lie down, hoping that eventually she would find sleep. As he was laying in their bed, wide awake, he listened as she moved about. Had they been young they would have gone to bed together, and they would have comforted one another until slumber found them, but as it were they each struggled for sleep separately. The core of their relationship did not come into play... love remained hidden, and the things that troubled them remained the overriding concern.
We live our lives of faith like this; too often we place the cares and concerns of the world in the foremost of our Consciousness, and we lose the peace and tranquility that awaits us in the arms of the Cross. The Apostle Paul was able to strip away the happenings of the world and find the core of his faith. He found the peace and rest that the Redemption of Christ afforded him... even in the most trying of times. Oswald Chambers speaks of this dilemma we face.
“Most of us are not spiritually coherent because we are more concerned about being coherent externally. Paul lived in the basement; the coherent critics live in the upper story of the external statement of things, and the two do not begin to touch each other. Paul’s consistency was down in the fundamentals. The Great basis of his coherence was the agony of God in the Redemption of the world, viz., the Cross of Jesus.” - Oswald Chambers
I listen to Christians wring their hands and bemoan what is happening in the world around them. I hear pastors preach entire sermons about some current event that is troubling them and their congregation. What is being missed is the insignificance of the world as compared with the redemption we each have received. We spend way too much time and effort fretting over something that we profess will go away with the coming of Christ, and which we claim we want to come quickly. We lose the peace and rest that is inherent in our faith as we worry over the things that mean so little. In order to regain our focus on Jesus, and the peace of God, we need to rediscover the heart of our belief. Chambers touches on this boiling down of our faith as he writes...
“Re-state to yourself what you believe, then do away with as much of it as possible, and get back to the bedrock of the Cross of Christ. In external history the cross is an infinitesimal thing; from the Bible point of view it is of more importance than all the empires of the world.” - Oswald Chambers
What empire are we allowing to come between us and the Cross? What is it about this world that is so important that we can’t trust it to God? Which earthly catastrophe do we perceive to be bleeding over into heaven itself? When we allow the world to interrupt our relationship with God, we are presenting ourselves back to the external world that we once left behind.
“Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.”
Romans 6:13 ESV
There is nothing righteous about this world except the children of God that live upon it. When we overly concern ourselves with its goings and comings, we are placing it once more on the throne of our lives. Don’t worry if everything crumbles at your feet, because we already know that is coming... God’s Word has revealed that to us. Place all trust in God, and Jesus Christ.
“He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”
Revelation 22:20 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the peace and rest you have given me. I thank you for the trust I have in your will, and the plan you have for me, this world, and all that is in it. I praise you Holy Father for my redemption through your grace, and your Son Jesus Christ. I shout your praises without ceasing for the joy and reassurance I feel in you. Should this world crumble and fall I will cry out “Come quickly, Lord Jesus” and know that I will find comfort in His arms. Until then Father, I will not worry or lose sight of you in my life, and I will place nothing before you on the throne of my heart. We are yours Gracious Father, and in you we will abide forever.
“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.”
Revelation 22:21 ESV
Rich Forbes