by His design

Anger’s Lessons

When angry, we have choices. We can “put it away” after we’ve told God about it and asked for His help, and thereby avoid “bitterness, wrath, slander, malice, and clamor,” then act on the truth that God has overlooked our mistakes, time and again. He’s given us His Spirit to continue on being “kind, tender-hearted, and forgiving” (Ephesians 4:31-32). We live in grace to give grace.

Let me share the context with you from other, more modern versions of Psalm 4 to put perspective to this command to be angry, yet not sin:  

“O God, you have declared me perfect in your eyes; you have always cared for me in my distress; now hear me when I call again. Have mercy upon me. Hear my prayer…Mark this well:  The Lord has set apart the redeemed for himself. Therefore he will listen to me and answer when I call to him. Stand before the Lord in awe, and do not sin against him. Lie quietly upon your bed in silent meditation. Put your trust in the Lord…Many say that God will never help us. Prove them wrong, O Lord, by letting the light of your face shine down upon us. Yes, the gladness you have given me is far greater than their joys at harvest time as they gaze at their bountiful crops. I will lie down in peace and sleep, for though I am alone, O Lord, you will keep me safe” (Psalm 4:1,3-8 The Living Bible).

And finally, from The Message we get an even more up-to-date interpretation: 

“When I call, give me answers. God, take my side! Once, in a tight place, you gave me room; Now I’m in trouble again: grace me! hear me! Look at this: look who got picked by God! He listens the split second I call to him. Complain if you must, but don’t lash out. Keep your mouth shut, and let your heart do the talking. Build your case before God and wait for his verdict. Why is everyone hungry for more? ‘More, more,’ they say, ‘More, more.’ I have God’s more-than-enough, more joy in one ordinary day than they get in all their shopping sprees. At day’s end I’m ready for sound sleep, for you, God, have put my life back together” (Psalm 4:1, 3-8).

Has God, your God, done this for you? Are you able, though angry, to be grateful that He is there offering an alternative when we “tremble” from anger? Will you try this method of talking to Him and letting Him talk to you “on your bed,” in stillness? I’ve seen the work that this does in my heart and the clarity it gives my mind, so I can take action that comes from love:  God’s love for me and for others. I want eternal results not quick retorts, or worse.

When I Call

Father of mercies and Lord of love, help me to do (want to do) what You say is possible. Let the anger I sometimes feel at the person or the situation not divide. May the accompanying frustration be expressed to You, not as a means to injure. Hold me still when I tremble and tell me Your thoughts again. Heal the hurt and wash the pain away. You accept me and know my heart. Help me trust and have confidence in Your plan for me and for others. Show me the path to forgiveness each time I’m tempted to hold out for my violated rights. When I want to scream back or walk away in rejection, remind me that we have a private place together where you’ll listen and give me Your truth. The other way is far too costly. Because of the cross and the promise it holds out to each one of us, Amen.

In This Twilight Hour

O Great God, who watches o’er us all,

Now help us in this twilight hour.

May we heed Thy Spirit’s gentle call,

Fill our hearts with fervent love and mighty pow’r.

O Great God, whose arm is strong to save,

Now turn our wayward steps to Thee.

Break the bonds of hate that now enslave,

Oh, restore our sight and set our spirits free.

Great God above, reach down in love

To heal the broken soul…

Begin in me for all the world to see,

The miracle of Your love.

Antidote to Anger

I heard a verse mentioned in church, recently, while listening about what it means to love as Jesus loves me. It talked about anger and how to be still. Psalm 4:4 offers this admonition, “Be angry [or stand in awe] and sin not; commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be silent [sorry for the things you say in your heart]. Selah” (The Amplified Bible).

My translation says it this way, “Tremble, and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed and be still” (NASB). That got my attention, because it showed when and how to handle such a powerful emotion, and it gave an alternative: Stillness.

Feel the anger, I hear it say, but don’t react right then. Later, when I’m alone with my thoughts and before my Lord, I can explore my feelings, and the issue they sprang from, then silently hear from the Spirit what I need to know. It’s saying to commune with God and let your heart express its side. That’s a safe place to examine our position.

After I quickly checked that verse during the sermon, I heard the speaker say, “Get small and let God be big.” Our natural inclination is to do the opposite.

Paul, when he’s talking about putting on the “new self” in Ephesians 4, tells us to allow our anger, but not let it get out of control and cause us to act before thinking and considering. We should be honest with ourselves (not always easy when we feel wronged) and then deal with our emotions and the issue soon.

This will also involve being honest with others. Otherwise, we only “give the devil an opportunity” to take advantage of us and the situation. Paul says, “to affirm together with the Lord…and be renewed in the spirit of your mind…for we are members of one another” (4:17, 23, 25b). Our anger is not meant to divide.

How are you doing when this powerful emotion rises up? Are you able to take a breath and acknowledge that the opportunity may not be present yet to resolve anger’s fire? Or, does passion have you in its grip so that words fly from you, along with fists, before you’ve had a chance to think clearly? There are choices with the Lord. He doesn’t expect anger to muzzle us, but it must not dictate our actions. Anger, along with our other emotions, has a work to do.

Anger’s Work

Lord of all my feelings, I give my thoughts to You. In the heat of the battle, within and without, come close. May we become small, so You can grow big. Let meekness and humility present themselves every time we want to strike out, fight back, and call names. Like the Advocate You are, let us see You there. Help us to resolve our issues with You first, and then with others. Retrain our minds and reframe our inclinations to find new ways of living in stillness. Do Your work by Your Spirit, because of Your Son. Amen.

Mystic, Sweet Communion

Jesus, Lover of my soul, let me to Thy bosom fly.

While the nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is high!

Other refuge have I none; hangs my helpless soul on Thee;

Leave, ah, leave me not alone, still support and comfort me!

Thou, O Christ, art all I want, more than all in Thee I find;

Raise the fallen, cheer the faint, heal the sick and lead the blind.

Plenteous grace with Thee is found, grace to cover all my sin;

Let the healing streams abound, make and keep me pure within.

-Charles Wesley

Power for Living and for Later

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself” (Philippians 3:20-21).

Living daily as we do, it’s often hard to keep remembering our real identities are linked to the second promise Christ gave. In the gospels Jesus told the disciples what the future held before He went to the cross. He said He had to go away, back to the Father, but He would send the Helper to them—and to us.

“Truly, truly…you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned to joy” (John 16:20). By the power of Almighty God this became a reality. Yet we merely have a foretaste of the joy that is to come. When Jesus comes again, our joy will be complete.

For now, by the Spirit’s power, we can become disciples, “that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection…being conformed to His death…not that I have already obtained it…but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which I was also laid hold of by Christ Jesus…the upward call of God” (Philippians 3:10-12, 14).

It’s a lot to keep in front of us. It’s also where our present peace and joy lie. If we consistently walk through our days with this realization, though, Jesus’ words will have personal meaning:  “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in truth; Thy word is truth” (John 17:16-17). After this statement Jesus also prays to the Father, “As Thou didst sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world” (v. 18).

Because I know, and am reminded in Scripture, what my destiny is and who I truly am, I don’t take daily occurrences for granted. Lately, I’ve been running across people I wouldn’t normally see in my routine, and I can’t help but think there’s an eternal purpose in this. We greet one another and then I focus on them, listen, ask questions, and am mindful that this time has been appointed for us.

Whether brief or lengthy, after we’re done, I am burdened to pray for that person. All I seem to ask for is that they may “know Him” through their circumstances. Many of them have not expressed a belief in the Lord I belong to. They may be facing a new, unfamiliar season or difficult period, and I want each one, by God’s power to draw them and reveal Himself to them, to know an eternal purpose and have stillness even now.

That’s the gift I would give them, as I’m sent. I’m growing in truth, being conformed, being laid hold of, to show Jesus and His grace to others. How about you? In these uncertain days, often tumultuous days, what are you mindful of? What opportunities move your heart and humble your spirit? Next time you’re reading your Bible, notice how often a passage speaks of power, then ask yourself, “What difference does that make?” Today and tomorrow.      

Promised Power

Father, Keeper of eternity, tell me Your truths and help me to live in them. As you show me Your grace, don’t let me forget to extend that grace to those You love, but who may not yet love You. By Your power, make those who belong to You accept the upward call, daily. When this place doesn’t feel like home, remind us that it’s because we’re still not there yet. May peace and joy be ours because You’ve told us the end from the beginning. May we eagerly await our Savior, as we walk through this life as Your disciples. By Your transforming power, Amen.

By His Love and Power

May the mind of Christ, my Savior,

Live in me from day to day,

By His love and pow’r controlling

All I do and say.

May the word of God dwell richly

In my heart from hour to hour,

So that all may see I triumph

Only through His pow’r…

May His beauty rest upon me

As I seek the lost to win,

And may they forget the channel,

Seeing only Him.

How’s Your Pedigree?

“Beware of the dogs…the evil workers, the false circumcision; for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God…glory in Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh, although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh…if anyone else has a mind to…I far more…” (Philippians 3:2-4)

Bottom line:  How are we qualified to offer anything of value to those around us? And why should we care? Here’s Paul, again, telling us to “rejoice,” (v. 1) but this time with a warning. He admits he’s said this before, but it bears repeating. “It is a safeguard for you.”

Paul was a Pharisee of Pharisees, over qualified, even, to take the message of salvation to the masses. But he had a glaring fault. He was misguided and pride was at work in him, by means of his flesh, spreading its deadly effects. Listen to his resume: “circumcised on the eighth day, an Israelite from the elite tribe of Benjamin, a strict and devout adherent to God’s law, a fiery defender of the purity of my religion, even to the point of persecuting the church…(v. 5-6 MSG)

Yet, Paul now knows how far afield he was when he admits, “I was merely a rule-keeper; and now what qualifications others wave around as something special, along with that everything else I used to take credit for, I call trash!” He says at this time that only knowing Christ and acknowledging His place as Master of his life is what’s important. Compared to that, it’s all “dog dung.” Pretty plain, bottom line stuff.

What we think we have going for us, too, pales in comparison to being able to embrace Jesus and be embraced by Him in return. Paul says, “I didn’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God’s righteousness” (v. 8-9 MSG). Jesus died for me, personally, to free me from performing to impress. Those benefits I’ve been given, those gifts, are only to be submitted to the One who gave them, on the basis of faith.

The beauty of the gospel is that it’s for everyone, regardless of pedigree. It’s the one time anyone can say, “I want that,” and get it. That’s why the message of Easter is universal, not just historical. It’s proof the God of the universe reaches out across time and space to draw us to Himself. It’s also the truth that we, too, can reach out to others offering lasting value to them. No competition, sizing one another up first, but with a heart of compassion giving what we’ve been given.

What’s important to you? How has this world tried to squeeze you into its mold, even if only in your mind? What are you aspiring to, taking credit for? What high privilege is calling you? Are you settling for a petty list of rules, or are you resting in Christ’s embrace? Still and significant.

If Paul, a Pharisee of Pharisees, can be brought to the realization that everything else is just rubbish, there’s hope for us. What’s at the other end of this realization? Resurrection. Putting to death worthless pursuits and accepting the Spirit’s power for what amounts to life.

Though I found the gospel and embraced Christ while very young, I remember distinctly when I was confronted with trying to live in my own strength—as a student in college trying on new ideologies, as a young wife and mother finding my way into new, untested responsibilities, then on to a challenging call in public education. I needed something more. What was required was resurrection. Like Paul, I assessed my natural assets and told my Lord, “It’s not enough; it’s really just rubbish unless I have your power and direction. I’ll trust you for this…and this…and that, too.” Paul’s warning came to my ears as a safeguard, “Beware of what you put confidence in. Watch out who you follow, even if it’s yourself.”

No Rules

Father of all that’s real, dismiss all that’s false in me. Keep pointing the way to life, and reveal the dung heaps along the way. Let my confidence rest in the Spirit’s work, continually counting all things loss for the sake of knowing Your Son, and having righteousness that only comes from Him. No substitutes. Train me to live the life of faith. And when my pride in achievements lures my gaze away from its Source, help me to rejoice in who You are. Thank you for providing a blameless pedigree, measured by Your grace for those who accept Christ’s sacrifice. No rules, just faith and dependence, eternally. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Jesus, Messiah

He became sin
Who knew no sin,
That we might become His Righteousness;
He humbled himself and carried the cross,

Love so amazing,
Love so amazing.

Jesus, Messiah,
Name above all names,
Blessed Redeemer,
Emmanuel.
The rescue for sinners,
The ransom from Heaven,
Jesus, Messiah,
Lord of all.

-Chris Tomlin