Running the race #25 As God leads (3Jan09)

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit....'
Galatians 5:25

'But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law....'
Galatians 5:18

Fresh off the press might not be the most apt phrase, but let me start these thoughts by taking a leaf off today's article(New York Times, reprinted in the Straits Times this Saturday) titled "For good self control, trying getting religious about it.' The writer(not a Christian) mentioned that research has shown that people of religious convictions seem to exercise better self-control and lead an overall happier and more balanced life.
I will not dwell further into the postulations made by the writer for to do so would not just open a can of worms, for every point made, there will be possibly a wide variations of differences in views, for the finite man, works from their imperfect understanding.

'I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth.'
Psalm 34:1

Much as the financial markets have been hopeful, the prognosis seem to be quite dire for the next few months, as retrenchments pick up speed, businesses flounder as banks cut credit lifelines and the desperate clear the decks of their businesses in futile attempts to save a floundering ship.
Can many truly be happy? And can the professed believers of our Lord Jesus Christ truly be able to praise the Lord our God even as they are as equally buffeted by the swirling storms? Can we self control our way to happiness?

'The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.'
Psalm 34:17

Like many globally, there is a sense of disorientation pervading one's psyche, as many are no longer in the familiar routine of a day's grind at the office, for work no longer exists. For others, the job might still be there, but there is a sense of a structural discord, as the once beefed up organization undergoes a hollowing out, as many are served or are in the process of receiving their pink slips.
If self-control on my own strength and understanding was the basis of my faith, then joy and peace of heart would be a temporary delusion, that will eventually dissipate with the immense burden of coping in this increasingly very difficult and always sinful world.
Faith is the evidence of things hoped for, the substance of things unseen. Faith for a believer comes from God and not from us or others. God will draw near to us, if we are willing to draw near to Him.
Life on Earth has always been difficult. It is just a question of when, not whether. Wealth. status and all the other accouterments that the world so value are at best temporal, and never comes without the burdensome baggage that leave all bereft of that indescribable peace and joy.

'Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, but righteousness delivereth from death.'
Proverbs 10:2

The seemingly very difficult times that are bearing down upon many of us today, is no different from the difficulties of the better economic times, it is just that the hallucinating and numbing material riches that caused many to ignore the realities of the emptiness in their lustful lives no longer exists and the hard realities of our harsh world, a world that has no place for God, is brought to the forth with greater lucidity.
Confirmation bias was the term used in an article to describe the self-fulfilment of bad news in the press, as it encourage negativism as readers start to only absorb the information that confirms their biasedness and totally ignore any contradictory information.

Are we the 'happy' Christians suffering from the same syndrome?

Christians have often been accused of selectively picking up choice verses of the Bible that support their point of view. If you are one of those who treat the God of Word like a first aid kit, then you are rightly admonished.
It is no unique experience for many of desirous faith, to experience the sceptism of many of lesser faith, who cannot fathom the willingness of the faithful to not subject the Word of God or anything related to the Christian faith to the rigorous testing of the human intellect, but instead to be seemingly foolish to choose to follow as the Spirit of God leads us.

'And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument, for they hear thy words, but they do them not'
Ezekiel 33:32

Letting go and letting God is an experience that is both personal and impossible to explain fully. For faith comes from God, and we the finite men cannot never fully fathom nor explain the ways of our Sovereign God.
But before I get accused of blanketing my audience with motherhood statements, why not pay heed to the Word of God in the above verse, Ezekiel 33:32.
To be a Christian is to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ and the salvation freely given to the repentant believer by His sacrifice on the cross. To believe in our Lord Jesus Christ must mean that you must want to move from believing to following as the Spirit leads. For our faith is a relationship with our Sovereign God, through His Son Jesus Christ. It takes two to tango, though in this case, God leads, we follow.

In a nutshell, are you to remain a listener with a diversity of attitudes from sceptism to indifference but firmly rooted to your flawed intellectual spot or will you be willing to seek to come unto the presence of God and move forth as He leads?

'And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the Lord his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek His God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.'
2 Chronicles 31:20-21

'As the Lord leads' is the thought that the Lord has placed in my heart these past few days. The world might look a lot more uncertain the days ahead, but it is a fact that life has never been certain, irregardless of economic cycles.
The material certainty that our past treasures might have provided us is at best finite in its capabilities, for wealth does not equate peace of heart nor immortality. To continue to mourn over one's dissipated treasures or worse, to continue to be enslaved by the need to recapture or even retain whatever material delusions that held our hearts would be an exercise in futility, for jobs will be fewer, and bubbly growth of wealth is a thing of the past, at least for some time ahead.

'And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die'
Genesis 2:16-17

The grace of God is indeed suffice for the day. And strange as it might seem for the unseeking and the unbelieving, it is a fact that for those of us who despite our imperfections, have truly strived to seek God with all our hearts and soul and mind, it is never a doubt to acknowledge the very real presence and grace of God in our lives.
One can never explain the ways of God, but God knows us, who willingly comes unto His presence and being imperfect, it is never a case of 'God take our willing hands' without some reluctance or resistance on one's part, God understands and He is with us. But are you with Him??

The same writer in the New York Times article(above) also stated that the same studies showed that those who are not religious but go to church for the sake of getting some of these self control will be disappointed, for it does not work that way.
I beg to differ, for the secular man know not the love and power of our God when we come unto His presence, even if the intent was imperfect.

Let me for just this one time, take off my glove of forbearance and instead do challenge all who have issues with the Christian faith to come to the source of their discomfort, ie our Sovereign God and consider doing on a daily basis, the following for this year.
- reading the Bible diligently even if the intention is to tear it apart or even question its validity
- pray every day or rather talk or engage your intellect with God and give Him all your doubts
- praise or rather sing the many hymns even if it is just another jarring song to you
- and see if you are capable of walking what all who believed are asked to do, ie be like Christ in living the fruits of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith. Meekness, temperance...(Galatians 5:22-23)

I believe if you do this diligently, like me, you will know and attest that indeed God leads us all, if we are willing. And that while the days ahead might seem difficult, it matters not, for God is with us.

God Blesses

Eng Hieang
(3Jan2009)