#127a Heartthrob (27feb07)

‘They said to me, “Make us gods who will go before us…..’
Exodus 32:23

One of my favorite stressed relieving postures is to place one of my arms over the back of my head, with the other pulling against the side of the chair. It helps to stretch the rarely used muscles, but is not too pretty a sight, unless one is auditioning for an advertisement for a new brand of deodorant.

Strange as it might seem, as I did the usual posture today, I could really feel the throbbing of my heart on the underside of my shoulder. We have seen how some popular heartthrobs of yonder days did adopt a hand-sweeping posture, as they stood in the admiring gazes of their fenced out fans and soaked in the flashing lights of the press photographers.

I am no heart throb, and have never had any aspirations to be one. But my heart this last one night was aching a little, troubled by issues of the world.

‘Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you.
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’
John 14:27

I know God a little better these past few years. I do know that knowing Him does not mean no troubles. But I know that He walks with me through and through.

So why am I still troubled??

Like the imperfect human, which we all are, when trouble comes a calling, I was looking for them to go away, my way, the way of the world. In John 14:27, God promised to give us peace, His way, not ours.

I was troubled because I was afraid. I wanted to cling on to my understanding. I could not bring myself to clave on to the Lord our God. I could not bring myself to let go and trust Him fully.
Like my pastor shared in the sermon this morning, in not trusting God and His sovereignty, we are calling Him a liar.






‘I have told you now before it happen, so that when it does happen you will believe’
John 14:29

By the grace of God, as I finally willed myself away from the quagmire of my own finite understanding, and start to thrust myself into His presence, by trusting Him, by looking at events from His perspective, I begin to see the light of His ways. God was always there. He has prepared us for what was coming. The present issues might not have gone away, but God has more than ameliorated its present sting, way before it happened.
Live for the present, for the will of God is suffice, yet even when the present is resolved, the weak willed in us start to extrapolate into the fearful future of what ifs?

‘If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given you…..’
John 15:7

Like the heartthrobs of our fantasies, many of us are looking for that perceived ideal. If it is a movie star, we gleamed in their Adonis or Venus liked features, the panacea for our own shortfalls or desires. If it is man of power and status, our heart might not long for them, but we desire to be at the same pinnacle eventually.

‘….that they should always pray and not give up’
Luke 18:1

Even in the Christian faith, many of us are susceptible to this belief that if we prayed persistently hard and long enough, God will grant us our wishes, for He loves us, and if that is not good enough, it will give Him a throbbing headache!!

‘He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then, they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of Egypt.’
Exodus 32:4

It is true that by example, Jesus Christ, the beloved Son of God spend not just time, but places priority, even in times where there were seemingly more compelling reasons not to, on spending time with the Lord our God in prayers.
But Jesus Christ was spending time with the Lord to know His will.

God wants us to keep faith, even at times when in the desert of our grief and pain, where the thirst for instant gratification and relief seem more justifiable than to be mired in being still, and letting Him show us His will.

‘And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will see that they get justice and quickly..’
Luke 18:7

God will and has always remained faithful. He knows our needs. He will and has provided for our needs, in Heaven and on Earth.
But, will we stay faithful, through the lows of our agonies or at the highs of our joy or even in between??

‘However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?’
Luke 18:8

As I reflect upon the frequent foolishness of my fears, how even when one looks objectively in the context of our situation, that we can be so untrusting, even when the Lord our God has more than provided, that truly, when we pray to the Lord our God, it should not be about solving needs our way, but rather what is His will??

‘My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.’
John 17:15-17

‘..So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith.’
Malachi 2:16

As the light of God’s grace shines through the miasma of my own self deception, I am reminded that it is God whom we must always look to, even when it seems so difficult to want to.
For to do otherwise is to open ourselves to our own self-deception and the wiles of the devil.
God knows and has provided for our needs. If we believe in His promise, nothing should be too daunting to cause us to take our eyes and hearts off Him.

When our will is challenged, as it will always be, it is good to remind ourselves always that

‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving……’
Colossians 3:23-24

‘…….you know that you also have a Master in heaven’
Colossians 4:1

‘Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful….’
Colossians 4:2

God Blesses

Eng Hieang