“[W]hen this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 15:54-58
There is nothing we experience that is as terrifying as death. I remember the night I was awakened by what sounded like a freight train. Lightning illuminated the wall of a tornado heading straight for me. My home began popping and groaning as I ran for the basement. From the basement, I heard water pouring into the house and furniture sliding across the floor and wondered, “Lord, is this my last day on earth?” I’d like to say I was not afraid, but that would not be true!
My friend, how we face our life gives us a good indication of how we will face death.
The attitudes of Christ teach us how to face life. Learning them is a journey, a process, a discipline. I’m grateful God is still teaching me! Jesus is teaching us:
Blessed are those who live with the attitude that God’s ways and God’s thoughts are far above their own thoughts and own ways.
And there are few greater stories that better represent this attitude than the lives of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. In Daniel 3:17-18, King Nebuchadnezzar was threatening these three children of God with death in a furnace because they refused to bow to his statue. But because they knew God’s protection and love so well, they chose the furnace. To the threat, they replied boldly:
“O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter….our God whom we serve is ABLE to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do NOT serve your gods, nor will we worship the golden image which you have set up.”
These three strong believers KNEW God well enough to know that He could save them. But they also knew Him well enough to say that even if HE does NOT, we will trust Him and obey Him anyway because we KNOW that HIS plan is better than OUR plan! You see—they had given God permission to run their life HIS way.
Do you see how incredibly powerful this attitude is???
When we give God permission to run our life HIS way, we don’t have to fear any enemy—even death. These three friends had the kind of relationship with God that taught them that whatever path HE chose was better than what they expected or what they could choose for themselves. They were not going to doubt God because they believed in His character and knew He was true to His nature. He had always been true to accomplish His purpose in their lives.
My friend, in the darkest of times, we really only have two options: 1. Trust God and believe His ways are better than our ways; or, 2. Doubt Him, impugn Him, accuse Him, run the other way, and face our terror alone.
There’s nothing in between.
This is why it’s so important to know God‘s character and His nature.
The better we know God for who He is, the less we accuse Him of being what He isn’t.
Knowing God trains us to have healthy reactions in hard times. We know death is not our greatest enemy—doubt is. Trust enables us to pray and ask Him to send His Spirit to help us. In fact, the more we understand who God really is, the more we pray and ask God to help us learn to trust Him. We understand more of our desperate need for Him, and we recognize our desperate and defeating tendencies to run away from God.
If we really desire to have the power to trust God and to believe in Him in such a way to allow Him to control our LIVES, then our constant prayer will be “Lord, help me to know You better and trust You more.” God WILL give us the strength to trust Him IN all areas of our life! He is good like that!
Job, who in one day lost every bit of his immense wealth to marauders and a firestorm–and on the same day, tragically lost every single one of his ten children to a mighty windstorm, is one of the greatest examples of this attitude. As soon as he received the horrifying news, the Bible says:
Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong. Job 1:20-22
Job was saying “sometimes God does things His way and sometimes He doesn’t, but I’m going to trust Him because of who He is.” It’s when we are able to give God every area of our life that we experience Him carrying us through any circumstance. Then, we can experience the earnest expectation Paul talked about in Philippians Chapter One without being overwhelmed by fear. He wrote:
“For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by DEATH. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:19-21
Blessed are those who live with the attitude that God’s ways and God’s thoughts are far above their own thoughts and own ways.
2 Responses
You summed up the majority of trials and fear in my life with these two sentences:
1. Trust God and believe His ways are better than our ways; or, 2. Doubt Him, impugn Him, accuse Him, run the other way, and face our terror alone.
Believe me—you are not alone, brother! Just sharing my own experience in these devotionals…
Have a blessed day!