When God Humbles Us

Today’s hunting and gathering for new writers to recommend to you took us to Nicholas McNeill‘s blog, From Gideon to Jesus. (Twitter: @Designed4Impact). I just finished reading four of his devotionals and each was thoughtfully written. We chose this one, which you should read by clicking the header which follows. Then, after the article ends, we have some extra resources for you today.

Have we forgotten?

He humbled you by letting you go hungry; then he gave you manna to eat, which you and your ancestors had not known, so that you might learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

God is the giver of all good things in our lives. We know this because of what we are told in Matthew 7:11. Sadly, many of us enjoy the good gifts that are given without ever acknowledging the giver. If we look around, the vast majority of people only give God credit for the “bad” things to happen in life. This is one of the biggest plagues of our culture when it comes to a proper view of who God is.

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him.

It wouldn’t take long for anyone to realize that Israelite people continually did this during their journey out of Egypt. Not only did they do it after God freed them from Egyptian slavery, He continually did it throughout their lifetime. Time and time again God would do something amazing for them and they would quickly forget. There would be a short time of them giving God thanks and then it would fade into grumbling. We cannot let this be said of us. They saw so many amazing and miraculous things but still shook their fist at God.

There would be a short time of them giving God thanks and then it would fade into grumbling. We cannot let this be said of us.

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Let’s not overlook the fact that “He humbled you…” is a key phrase in this passage. There will be times in life that God will allow circumstances to come into our lives to humble us. The big difference isn’t the circumstance, but instead, it is the reaction of a believer. When “negative” circumstances come into our lives most of our auto-responses would be grumbling, pleading for something different, or just straight up complaining. Maybe there is a better way of responding?

WHAT IF our automatic response is to ask God what He is wanting us to learn from this? I mean, if there is one thing that can cause us all to say WHAT IF it is this pandemic. In my county, we were able to open up for about a month or so, and as a youth leader, it was incredible! We are just starting to get kids coming back, momentum is growing and things are going great! Then boom…. we are put back on time out and can no longer meet inside.

From here, we have two reactions we can take. We can get frustrated and shake our fist at God OR we can pull ourselves back and ask God what manna He wants to provide for us… You see, for me… This concept has completely changed the way I live my life. God is the giver of all good things and He is the sustainer of life. If a “negative” thing comes into our life, we simply must sit back and ask God for clarity…

“Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.” – Charles Spurgeon

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Extra resources for you today:

■ Sometimes we find longer blog posts than we’re able to run here, or the blog isn’t published under a Creative Commons license. The title, Hebrew Roots Mom caught my eye, as did this article, The Feast of Unleavened Bread vs. Passover: What’s the Difference?

■ Fuller Seminary in California recently posted some 2014 lectures given there by N.T. Wright. Each of the lectures and panel discussions is about an hour long. I’d recommend starting with this one on Paul’s Trinitarian Theology. (If you want your end times rapture view shaken up a little, check out the one on the future of the church. All were posted consecutively, so use the link to the channel and scroll back to the last week of November.)

■ Clint Archer has posted a longer piece at The Cripplegate delineating the five claims that Jesus made which would place him as equal with God. Check out Napoleon Syndrome.

God is Exalted When He is Entreated

Take an extra 30 seconds to continue the title I posted above for today’s post. At first I wasn’t sure about this, but once you’re clear where the writer is going it’s a really amazing consideration.

The writer of the blog My Morning Meal, Peter Corak is appearing here for the fourth time and it’s really good fit for our Sunday Worship series. As usual, click the header below to read this at its original source.

Moses Worshiped When Moses Asked

It was over. That holy, sacred, once in a lifetime encounter of the divine kind had ceased. The goodness of God has passed before Moses. The cloud had descended. The name of the LORD had been proclaimed. From the protection of the cleft of the rock the glory of God had appeared, the back of God had been seen. God’s light had shone and then was gone. His voice had declared and then was silent. It was over. And Moses felt He needed to respond . . . Immediately!

And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. And he said, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Your inheritance.”

(Exodus 34:8-9 ESV)

Moses had asked Jehovah to see His glory (33:18) and the Existing One complied. Big ask. Even bigger answer. You’d think that would have been the end of the asking. Nope! Moses continued to petition. Asked for three things: 1) go in our midst; 2) pardon our sin; 3) take us for Your own. In essence, fulfill Your promise.

And here’s what grabbed me about Moses’ continuing supplication. It was worship.

Hearing the voice cease, knowing the LORD was passing on, Moses hastily went facedown lest he lose the favorable opportunity before him. He bowed and he begged. And I think, “Wait a minute. Asking isn’t worshiping. I know the prayer model. ACTS … Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. I’ve been warned about going too quickly to my requests. That I need to work up to it, acknowledge first who God is before I ask Him for what I want. TACO … Thanksgiving, Adoration, Confession, Others.”

Wait just a minute! Moses worshiped when Moses asked? Apparently.

Moses saw the glory of God. He was there. Not quite face to face, but back to face, and that’s pretty close. And before it was over, Moses prostrated himself and pled his case. And it was worship.

I get the warnings about being so consumed with supplication that we forget who we are supplicating before. I’m a proponent of being still and knowing He is God before monopolizing the conversation with all that I desire God do. But this morning I’m also reminded that God is exalted when He is entreated.

Our ask is acknowledging His ability to answer. Our meager prayers offered only because we know His majestic power. Our supplications and desires to the Father, a pronouncement of faith that, through the cross, He has made us His sons and daughters.

And when that ask is for more of His presence so that we might be more His people, it is worship of the highest degree. We who were once in rebellion now pleading for deeper relationship. We who once had gone our own way, now asking that He would show us increasingly His way. We who once thought we could do life on our own, now seizing the opportunity to cry out, “Lord, I need You!” And in that, God is worshiped.

Sometimes we’re gonna go straight to “S” and bypass “ACT”. And when that is done with heads bowed and hearts lifted it is worship.

Worship by the grace of God. Worship for the glory of God.

 

 

 

Psalm 23 Readings

by Ruth Wilkinson

“An hour is coming, and is already here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and Truth.
The Father wants such worshipers.”
~ Jesus

 

To worship “in truth”, we must know who it is we worship.

So who is he?

He is our Sustainer.
The one who provides what we need, who carries us when we’re weak, who comforts us in our dark times.
Who helps us to understand our past, to live well our present and to have faith for our future.

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The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

He makes green pastures,
He makes me lie down in them.

He calms and quiets the waters,
He leads me beside them.

He carves out the right paths
and guides me along them for his name’s sake.

Even when the path goes through the darkest place,

I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord

For ever.

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Heavenly Father,

Thank you that you come alongside us, bringing your comfort for our past, your peace in our present, and not only that – but your hope that we will live this life to the full, and come out the other side alive.

Thank you that you, when the dark road is the right road, you never leave us alone, give us strength to keep on going and not only that – but to stand, to walk, to run toward the gates of hell and, no matter what defenses they throw up against us, no matter what attacks – not only to survive, but to overcome.

Thank you that you battle in this world against sin, hunger, fear, enslavement, loneliness, revenge and not only that – but you choose us to do battle in your name.

To walk in your footsteps, to follow your voice and to be your hands and feet, to be bold, be strong, be courageous and to be yours because as long as we are with you, you are with us.

Thank you.

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We’ve looked at Psalm 23 before:

• May, 2013 — Comfort From The Word
• January, 2011 – Psalm 23 Continues to Comfort
• July, 2008 – Phrase by Phrase Response to Ps. 23 at Thinking Out Loud
• August, 2018 — The Psalms as Narrative

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For Psalm 23 in all English translations at Bible Gateway, click this link to get to verse 1, and then change the very last character in the URL in your browser to move to the multiple translations of verse 2, etc.