Refining is a firery process–the bellows must blow fiercely. The Apostle Peter assures us that while the trying of our faith may feel grievous (1 Peter 1:6-7) it is necessary and well worth it –if the result is purer faith. Faith, he reminds us, is more precious than gold–the purer the better. If we know and agree that faith is our most precious possession we will be able to endure suffering–even rejoice in it knowing the fires are accomplishing something very good.

How terrible though to go through refining fires to no effect. Israel, in the days of Jeremiah was called “rejected silver.” For after all the heat they were still full of dross. Even though the fires were stoked–still they could were not purified of their corruptions. They’re stubbornness and rebellion were not cured.

The fires of purification are meant to melt and soften our hearts so that the evil in our hearts can be separated and burned off. But stubbornness and rebellion resist this softening process–and if not overcome they will keep us hardened to the purifying works of God.

But we have complete confidence in Christ that the refining fires of God will not be in vain in our lives. The hope that sustains us in the midst of purifying fire is the reality that God has already “caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:3-5). Because we have been born again to an imperishable inheritance, and since we are “by God’s power…being guarded through faith” we have complete confidence and hope that His refining fires will increase our joy, and not cause us to become rejected silver.

Lord thank you for making my heart soft so that your refining fire’s work will accomplish its intended effects in my life. Do not let the fires burn in vain. Make my faith purer, make it more precious to me than gold. Amen.

When the disciples first encountered Jesus after His resurrection, they were startled, frighted, even disbelieving out of joy. They simply did not know what to make of this incredible sight. Jesus assured them that it was indeed Him, that He was real–that He was raised, flesh and bone. He showed them His hands and feet. He ate fish in front of them. They began to believe but were still greatly perplexed.

What changed their demeanor from fear to faith?

It was when Jesus opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. It was when He demonstrated to them that His resurrection was no novel occurrence but rather all the Scriptures, the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms, all pointed to this event. Only when they understood the Scripture were they were settled. The disciples may have been startled by the resurrection, but the Scriptures weren’t. The resurrection was according to plan.

The Word of God should ground all our hopes and expectations. The events of our lives often surprise and startle us. But if we remember what the Word of God says we need not be so disturbed. When the Word informs our view of reality, when we understand its explanation for our lives, its statement of our purpose–it puts us on solid ground. When the Scripture is our foundation the twists and turns of life are not so disturbing. We know that all our days are in His hands and that He works all things according to the purpose of His will.

The death and resurrection of Christ–while perplexing to the disciples, was right in line with all that God had planned. The Scriptures anticipated it and they explain it. If we understand the Scriptures we will be settled in life. If we don’t we will frequently be startled and perplexed.

Lord help me to know your Word, to be informed by your Word, to understand everything that happens in my life through the filter of your Word. May Your Word be the bedrock under my feet, and the foundation that under-girds my life. Thank you for making your Word known to me through Christ. Amen.

In a manufacturing plant, where heavy equipment and powerful machines are in use, you often find a prominent sign on the shop floor tallying the days without injury or accident. I don’t have one of these signs in my home. Accidents do happen there: kids bonk heads, people trip over toys, occasionally there are burns from preparing food. But accidents in the home are typically incidental, and usually not life threatening. But in a machine shop one wrong move, one distraction, or even simply wearing the wrong kinds of clothing can lead to loss of life or limb.

In Ecclesiastes the Preacher sees the inevitability of accidents for workers. Among men who dig pits some will fall in. Those who swing axes will sometimes get hurt. Whenever someone is injured on the job, we should always take heed. After soberly erasing the “days without incident” resetting it to zero, we need to examine the causes and learn from them. We may need to establish new procedures or safety measures to prevent such accidents from happening in the future. Injuries that occur in dangerous environments becomes signs, warnings, wake up calls to the rest.

We live in a dangerous world. We need warnings and signs to keep us safe here. Such are the words of scripture. We can either learn from scripture that dull axes don’t work well and lead to injuries, or we can learn the same thing by taking a dull axe blow to the shin. We can learn to resist temptation and to make no provision for the flesh by reading Romans 13:14, or we can suffer the pain of destruction that comes from sowing to the flesh. We can learn that we need a Savior to purify us from our sins by reading Hebrews (or most anywhere else in the Bible for that matter) or we will find it out on judgment day–albeit on that day it will be too late. The serpent will already have bitten.

Lord, let your Word be the stone that sharpens my dull mind, that instructs my soul with wisdom. Save me from danger. Make me sober to see how easy it can be to slip and fall. Make me alert to the serpents, the temptations, the dangers of sin. Let me learn from your Word and not from my own foolishness. Amen.

Jesus was willing to let the two disciples think that He had other business to attend to, some place down the road, when He acted as if He were going farther. But they pleaded with Him to stay with them. They wanted more of His words. But, in fact, Jesus was eager not only to continue to speak God’s Word to them, but He was eager to be with them, to sit at table with them, and to fellowship with them–to break bread with them.

Jesus is never too busy to meet with us–he doesn’t have more pressing work farther down the road. He always wants to sit with us–to fellowship with us. If it sometimes feels like God is distant, that He has greater things to attend to than to hear our prayers and to meet with us, it’s not so. Jesus is eager to sit and commune with us. And because He has risen and because He has ascended to the right hand of the Father His Spirit is able to meet with us anywhere and all at all times. But sometimes He does stand off–waiting for us to plead with him and urge Him strongly. He wants us to ask Him saying “stay with us.” He wants us to be eager for His word and His fellowship. Sometimes we fail to feel His closeness–we feel like God is far off busy with other matters–not because He has no time for us, but precisely because He wants our devotion. He wants us to hunger after Him.

Lord make me hungry for Your Word, for Your presence, and for Your fellowship. Stay with me! Let my heart burn within for You through Your word. Amen.

Chapter 38 of Isaiah recounts Isaiah’s delivering the Word of the Lord to Hezekiah, telling him that his sickness was going to lead to death. In response Hezekiah prays, weeps and asks the Lord to heal him. In response to his prayer, God does it, and adds fifteen years to his life.

What are we to make of this? Does God change His mind? Did He not consider the possibility that Hezekiah would pray?

Of course not. The Bible is absolutely clear that God knows all things including the thoughts and intension of the heart (Heb. 4:12), the actions of man (Acts 2:23), and even “random” events like the results of a cast lot (Prov. 16:33).

So why did God say that Hezekiah would die? God sent Isaiah for the express purpose that Hezekiah would know that he was going to die. Hezekiah needed to know this so that he wouldn’t die. It was God’s will to heal Hezekiah from the get go–so He sent Isaiah with some bad news. God knew what Hezekiah would do in response–that he pray! And by the means of that prayer God extended his life for another fifteen years. God brought it about by causing Hezekiah’s prayer through the means of the bad news.

It’s important when reading this story to remember the overall plot at this point in the book of Isaiah. The king of Assyria was threating Judah and would eventually take Judah into captivity, but not while Hezekiah lived (Isa. 39:7-8). The life of Hezekiah was tied to the security of Judah. We see this clearly when God says in response to healing Hezekiah “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city.” (Isa. 38:5-6).

God was doing much more than giving Hezekiah an extra decade and a half to live. He was granting a reprieve to Judah, and He was doing this through the means of Hezekiah’s prayer.

I think there are two major things we can learn from this. First, God’s mercy and patience toward His people is amazing. He suffers long with our sins, and constantly is working to bring about our repentance and turn our hearts toward Him. But we also learn that we should always pray. When God informs us about things that will happen–like his impending judgment on the wicked–it is designed to cause us to pray for deliverance. We should never have the attitude, in response to God’s sovereign work, that our prayers are irrelevant. We must pray.

God intended from the start to grant Judah a reprieve. But He did it through Hezekiah’s prayer. Hezekiah had to pray, God granted His mercy in response to his prayer. And He knew that Hezekiah would pray as he did.

God’s sovereignty is greater than we can imagine. He is astoundingly complex in the He weaves His sovereign will in and through our actions our thoughts and our intentions. God didn’t change His mind when Hezekiah prayed. He made Hezekiah the kind of kind that would pray when this news was delivered. God accomplished what He desired through Hezekiah’s prayer.

And then we read this, “Now Isaiah had said, ‘Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover’” (Isa. 38:21). Isn’t that surprising! God was doing big things with nations, He used a prophet to set in motion important events like Hezekiah’s prayer. The effects were huge for Judah in that day. And this story is now a part of Holy Scripture for us to learn from to this day. And after all this weaving of God’s purposes through Isaiah and Hezekiah, they still had to apply some fruit to his flesh so that he would recover.

Doesn’t that seem a bit anti-climactic? God sent Isaiah, God responded to Hezekiah’s prayer, Judah was saved–but don’t forget the figs!

How do you respond to God’s sovereignty in your life? Are you ever tempted not to pray for your neighbor because their salvation is “in God’s hands?” Do we assume God will provide because he says he will, and forget to pray for our daily bread?

And if we pray, do we forget to apply the figs? There are often very simple, basic, and necessary things that we must do, which are part of the means that God has designed to accomplish His purposes. Do we pray for opportunities to share the gospel, and not look for them? (Guilty!) Do we ask for provision but fail to walk diligently? Do we ask for restored health but fail to take our rest? Do we ask for joy and fail to recount the multitude of blessings we live in?

God will do what he says, and he will do it through our prayers–and through the means he appoints. Pray and apply the figs.

But that’s not what I find so sobering and shocking in this Psalm. It’s the rest of the passage that cuts me to the heart. The rebuke directed at his own people was serious, and convicting. But look what he says to those who are not his people (and I must remember that without the glorious grace of adoption this is where I was, and would still stand).

“But to the wicked God says:
‘What right have you to recite my statutes
or take my covenant on your lips?
For you hate discipline,
and you cast my words behind you…’”
Psalm 50:16-17

“What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips?” Wow. God isn’t correcting the wicked; he isn’t graciously pointing out a failure in attitude or orientation. He isn’t patiently examining and adjusting their hearts. No. He casts them out utterly. He is not debating the proper approach toward sacrificing; he’s asking what right they have to even open their mouths. Because the wicked cast God’s words behind them, God refuses to even enter into conversation with them. His stand is simple–repent you wicked ones “lest I tear you apart.”

As one who stood outside the people of God, one who did indeed cast the words of God behind me, I stood with these condemning words on my head. Before God in his mercy plucked me from the edge of destruction I arrogantly took God’s statutes on my lips to degrade them, to heap contempt on them, to despise them. I shouldn’t have even had them on my lips, but I dared not only to take them up but to ridicule them.

So what possible reason then could I have to expect mercy? I wasn’t trying to obey God’s statutes. The people of God may need rebuke for improper practices and need adjustment in their heart’s orientation toward God’s grace, but I wasn’t even in the game. I stood outside uninterested, scoffing, and despising the word of God.

There’s more. As I stood scoffing, disparaging and disrespecting God’s word, even then when I considered the possibility of the existence of a God, of eternal life, and judgment–I did not fear. I arrogantly and presumptuously assumed that God was “one like myself” (Ps. 50:21). I believed that if God existed at all that he would certainly accept me, that he would understand my failures, recognize my goodness and welcome me.

How deceived and dangerously ignorant I was. How horrifying it would have been to be expecting an understanding side-hug from God as he welcomed me into eternal life and instead to hear him roar, “Who are you? and what right did you have to take my words on your lips?” as he sent me into eternal darkness.

There was nothing I did that changed God’s mind toward me, that motivated him to rescue me from such a terrifying fate. It was his mercy alone, undeserved, inconceivable mercy that received my disgust and returned love. By his grace he opened my eyes to the beauty of Christ. How thankful I am for the cross, where in one grand action God bled, atoning for my sins, and demonstrated his glorious love converting my hard heart–turning me away from total destruction and delivering me into the kingdom of his son.

Bless the Lord O my soul. Lord you are merciful, converting enemies into friends–transforming mockers into singers of your praise. Hallelujah!

Peter begins his epistle thanking and praising God for what he has done for us in the past, in the death and resurrection of Christ. Staring from what Christ has done in the past, Peter then looks ahead to the final day in which we will receive our eternal inheritance, an inheritance that is kept and preserved for us by God.

As Peter looks ahead to the subsequent glories of the cross he does not only look to the day of our eternal inheritance, he also addresses how the glories of the cross impact our current daily life. While the past work of the cross is supreme, and our future is wondrously glorious, so also our current life is filled with the glories of the cross.

But Peter is clear that in order to see and enjoy the subsequent glories of the cross in our daily lives we need to have faith. It is by the filter of faith that we can perceive the circumstances of our daily lives as glorious and hopeful. Whether we are experiencing an exciting day, a mundane day, or especially a painful day, we are able, by faith, to appreciate our circumstances as subsequent glories of the cross. Faith sees God’s hand and his Christ exalting purposes in every circumstance of our lives–most notably in trials. Without faith we don’t make these connections. No wonder Peter calls our faith “…more precious than gold.” Each time we make this connection–expressly in the midst of trials–and rejoice in God’s doing, we obtain a measure of the goal of our faith. We see God’s hand as he brings to completion the salvation of our souls.

We long for the final and ultimate entry into our eternal inheritance, but we also rejoice in every victory of our faith, every trial we endure, every sin put to death. This is God’s work: “…by his power we are guarded through faith…” (1 Peter 1:5). And so just as God himself has accomplished all that we need to be saved on the cross of the past, he is also currently working out the subsequent glories of the cross, by upholding our faith day-by-day, delivering to us measure-by-measure the goal of our faith, until the final day.

Thank you Jesus that your death was so great that it continues to afford to me subsequent glories to this very day. Your power and your life uphold my faith and so I have great hope. Help me to walk in the faith that you have given to me, rejoicing in you, rejoicing in the gospel of the cross and longing for the glories yet to come.

I am often guilty of the evil boasting of arrogance that presumptuously declares where I will go and what I will do as though such things were in my control. I’ve been trying to obey the instruction that James gives about not boasting, but instead saying “if the Lord wills” I will do such and such. But I noticed something in my most recent reading of this passage. James doesn’t just tell us to say “if the Lord wills we will do this or that,” he says “if the Lord wills we will live and do this or that.”

When considering my plans I need to always preface my intentions with the reality that where I go and what I do are governed entirely by God’s will. This is right, but insufficient. For not only are my ways directed by his will, but my days are too. I ought not to presume upon one more day of life, or one more minute for that matter. If the Lord wills I will live, and finish this paragraph.

Since the root problem of speaking presumptuously is arrogance, remembering the “if we live” part this exhortation can be especially helpful in combating my pride and producing humility. Acknowledging God’s governance of my ways is right and helpful, remembering that he upholds my very life by his will alone is even more sobering. But it is also comforting. If the Lord wills “we will live…” If I am humble and receive the Lordship of Christ I need not fear death. My days are controlled by Christ. I will not live one day more than those God has ordained, nor will I live one day less. And receiving the Lordship of Christ makes me happy to live or die, for “to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow’r of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand.
In Christ Alone – Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2001 Kingsway Thankyou Music

Thank you Jesus for your power, your strong hand that upholds my life, gives me breath, and sustains me. Help me not to resist your will, to strive, or to arrogantly boast of where I will go or what I will do. Help me to remember that all my days and all my paths are ordained by you. Cause me to rejoice in your control, not resist it or ignore it–for you are good and worthy of praise. Amen.

There are, on God’s palette, many colors and shades from which He chooses when painting the canvas upon which His glory is revealed. They are not all bright rainbow colors. Among His supplies are earthy browns, dark umber hues, grays, and blacks that, when painted by the master, fall perfectly into His bright design.

The story of the death of Lazarus was painted in these darker tones. Yet the entire canvas was sovereignly drawn for the glory of the Son of God. Jesus said that He was glad for this opportunity and acted in His love when He filled His brush full of deep blues and cold black for shadows, mourning and grief.

Lazarus was sick. I’m sick right now with the cold and it’s not pleasant. But to be sick enough that your life is threatened is far more excruciating than having a common cold. Yet, Jesus’ delay allowed this sickness to get really bad, so bad that Lazarus did die from it.

Lazarus’s sister, Martha, who was already prone to worry, must have been an emotional wreck as she watched her brother die. She must have been frantic, hoping that the one they sent to find Jesus would find Him in time, hoping that Jesus would arrive to heal before it was too late.

Between verse three and verse four, there is a span of time from when the sisters sent for Jesus, and when the one they sent found Him to deliver the message. It must have been at least a day since it was at twenty or thirty miles from Bethany to where Jesus was. The messenger must have also been under great stress–traveling as quickly as possible with life and death on the line.

And I wonder what the disciples thought when they heard that Lazarus was sick and that Mary and Martha wanted Jesus to come? I glean from Thomas’s remarks that the disciples thought that a return to Jerusalem would result in the stoning of Jesus–and that they would be targeted too. Jesus’ knew exactly what He was doing in delay. He knew what was in store for the glory of God in the Son. But I wonder if the disciples, who didn’t know Jesus’ plan, felt an uncomfortable mix of sorrow for Lazarus’s suffering but also relief because it seemed like Jesus wasn’t going to go back to Jerusalem?

But He did go back. The long walk to Bethany probably felt like a death march to the disciples.

This is a dreary episode for everyone involved. It was full of pain, anxiety, sorrow, mourning, stress, fear and disappointment. What odd shades to choose when painting a glorious revelation of Jesus–the Resurrection and the Life.

But as any good painter knows, to dramatically display the brightest and most beautiful colors often requires the use of contrasting dark and muted tones. Some of the most glorious uses of color are found on the darkest canvases. And Jesus is the Master of masters when it comes to applying paint to canvas. Every shade is perfect and every stroke in place.

Speaking of paintings, there is an elusive and subjective element to art appreciation. Some people look at a painting and delight in it, while others pass by unaffected. There are many internal impulses that come into play when beholding a work of art. What these impulses are is hard to define.

Similarly, people respond differently to the displays of God’s glory. Some rejoice, fall down and worship. Some pick up stones. The inner condition that produces one response as opposed to the other is not hard to define at all. The element necessary to appreciate the glorious canvases of the Master is faith.

The eyes of faith look upon the story of Lazarus–a man dying from severe sickness, desperate sisters disappointed in their Lord, futile rescue plans thwarted by apparent indifference, and friends that are too fearful to help, and can see God’s skillful hand at work. Ultimately, Jesus does bring light and joy into the frame, but before He fills His brush with pure white and bright yellow, before He pulls it all together in a glorious work, He exhorts His disciples and He exhorts Martha—to have faith. “Did I not say to you, if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

On the finished canvas the glory of it all is plain. Sorrow gives way to rejoicing, mourning gives way to gladness–and we believe. It is fitting that we should rejoice when the final stroke of a masterpiece is applied and a glorious painting is revealed. But it seems to me that Jesus is most glorified when, by faith, trusting in His skill, we accept, in anticipation of the final revelation, that every dark spot is placed in perfect proportion to the glory of God–even before the painting is done. Is this not how Jesus was exhorting His disciples, two days before they saw the power of God? “…I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe…”

Lord, grant me faith that rests in your perfect skill. Grant me faith to overcome pain, stress, sorrow, and fear when they come upon me. When the inexplicable happens, when disappointment arrives, when my plans are frustrated or my intentions foiled–then, O Lord, let me trust in your hand and watch the Master at work, knowing that when all is complete there will be resurrection and life. Amen.

Eric Holter
Chapel Hill, NC

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon bemoans the futility of man’s attempts to “make progress”” during his days under the sun. Whatever “progress” I may attain in my life, for my generation, will eventually be undone. A new discovery or significant contribution will be forgotten over time or replaced by a newer one. That’s not to say that God does not intend for mankind to make progress. Quite the opposite, He has commanded us to progress–to subdue the earth and multiply in it.

Therefore the pursuit of progress is wired into the species. But God has ordained, by virtue of short life, physical boundaries, limited opportunities, and general decay, that my contribution to His overall plan be almost completely obscured.

God governs progress in the world. Individuals cannot see God’s work under the sun. I find comfort in the hidden joys God works into my futile days. He encourages me to seek joy, goodness and contentment in all His benevolent gifts. Enjoying simple pleasures keeps me from striving and being vexed in futile pursuits of progress and striving for meaning. This truth has a counterintuitive effect on my soul because rather than inclining me toward hopelessness in my pursuits, instead it preserves a good and healthy work ethic. I can focus on simply doing good work without trying to figure out how the unique edges that give shape to the tiny puzzle piece of my life fit in with the whole. God knows what He is doing under the sun, but I do not, and will not see it while I toil here.

But Ecclesiastes is limited in scope to my days and my toil under the sun. It starts with the cradle and ends with the grave. There is just enough mention of eternity to keep me sober and conscious that God will bring His righteous judgment to bear on all that I do.

Ecclesiastes is indeed an excellent tonic against my worldly ambitions, arrogance, and presumptuous independence. But the perspective of Ecclesiastes is incomplete with regard to God’s ultimate purposes. There may be nothing new under the sun, but God has brought about something new under heaven. The new covenant in Christ’s blood makes all things new. The mystery of Christ crucified was and is hidden from eyes that merely consider earthly things. The redeemed life has a new shape–it’s no longer a short segment defined by beginning and end points. The redeemed soul has a starting point in the first birth, but due to rebirth in Christ, it has no end point at the grave. No, the shape of new life is a ray, a line with a starting point, inclined upward toward Christ with no end point. It continues toward eternity.

So what of the pursuit of progress, ambition, and striving in the new life? To strive, press, strain and push for progress and attainment under the sun leads primarily to futility and vexation. To strive, press, strain and push forward for progress in faith for growth in heavenly riches, for deeper communion with God is not futile at all–rather I am exhorted to it and enticed by the promise of eternal rewards. Here is where God intends for the ambitious impulse within me to find free expression. Run as to win, fight not without aim, strive Christward and progress in faith! To press hard on the earth from cradle to grave is mostly futile and often vexing. To press hard on the upward trajectory along the unending ray which moves forward toward eternity with no endpoint is right and good and glorifying to God.

Run my soul–but not as though the world depended on it. Run because the soul it intended to run to Christ for the progress of faith, the joy of the soul, and the glory of God. Amen.