"Unexpected Breezes"

 

    Last night as we had coffee with a good friend in the outdoor seating area of a local establishment, we felt and enjoyed the unexpected breezes of a cool southerly wind.

 

    This is very unusual in our part of the country.  From springtime until late fall, and often even in the winter, winds from the south are almost always warm. As such, we were both surprised and blessed as the air had a different feel to it, and as we realized that cool breezes from any direction will soon be a memory in the humid heat of a subtropical summer.

 

     This dovetailed with a discussion we had in our fellowship yesterday of the surprising nature of God's grace.  One of the meanings of the Biblical word is "unexpected favor," and how often do we experience such blessedness as we walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.  First, we personally receive as a free gift the acceptance and affirmation of a Heavenly Father who gave His beloved Son a cross of rejection and wrath for our sakes.  Then we find His moving within us to motivate and enable us to bestow upon others the same mercy that blesses us.  "Freely ye have received, freely give" (Matthew 10:8).

 

    The latter aspect of bestowal is sometimes more surprising and unexpected than our personal reception of grace.  Every honest believer will acknowledge the tooth and claw nature of our flesh, which "lusteth against the spirit" (Galatians 5:17).  When offended by another, our initial and immediate reaction is not to forgive and bless, but to fight or fly.  There is no innate desire in our humanity for the mercy in which God so delights (Micah 7:18).  "I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing... Thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness" (Romans 7:18; Nehemiah 9:17).

 

    There is, however, desire and even delight, God's delight, for mercy in the innermost depths of born again believers' Christ-inhabited spiritual selves.  "I delight in the law of God after the inward man... it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Romans 7:22; Philippians 2:13).  We may not feel such delight, and everything in our flesh may cry out against it.  Nevertheless, the ready to pardon inclination of God's heart dwells within our spirits.  We must believe and submit ourselves to such truth regardless of how strongly our emotions and thoughts seem to flow in a different direction.  We must account that we are "alive unto God" in our spirit, and that His love for mercy is now our love for mercy (Romans 6:11).  We acknowledge the contrary inclinations of our flesh, and we put such inclinations to death by the faith that affirms the surprising work of grace that not only provided forgiveness and eternal life in Christ, but also a "new man, created in righteousness and true holiness" (Ephesians 4:24).

 

    The winds of the Spirit blow in unexpected ways, especially in matters of grace and mercy.  Let us anticipate their surprise in our personal reception thereof, and in our Christ-enabled capacity to bestow pardon rather than the punitive upon those who offend us.  We will likely be more stunned by the mercy we give than by the mercy we receive as we discover the magnitude of a salvation that increasingly results in the wonder of conformity to the spiritual and moral image of the Lord Jesus...

 

"Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

(II Corinthians 3:18)

The Blessing of the Blessing

In our present existence, plenty is often not a faithful friend of our hearts.

"I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God" (Luke 12:19-21).

Certainly we thank God for His blessings, and enjoy them with gratitude and appreciation. "God... giveth us richly all things to enjoy" (I Timothy 6:17). However, we so easily succumb to the deceiving nature of things, setting our hearts on dust quickly blown away and which never can fulfill. The Bible is replete with warning about such deception, and we ignore our inherent human weakness regarding the matter to our own peril.

It is best that we seek to be "rich toward God." As with our forefather Abraham, God is our "exceeding great reward" (Genesis 15:1). Our hearts were made for Him rather than for possessions and things. We could lose everything we possess, and if He remains, we will have lost nothing. Let me repeat that: we could lose everything we possess, and if He remains, we will have lost nothing. The Lord Jesus Christ is the joy of every joy, that is, "every good gift and every perfect gift" fills and fulfills us because our blessed Savior is the true essence of God's provision in all things.

"My God shall provide all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).

There is no peace like this peace, the peace of knowing, believing and affirming that "by Christ Jesus" supplies "all your need." A Person is our provision, regardless of the innumerable forms and expressions whereby He is freely given to us. Indeed, in this moment, think of something or even someone precious to your heart. Then remember as you give thanks and appreciate the blessing that the heart of the gift, the true Blessing of the blessing, is the crucified, risen and ascended Lord Jesus. He is Himself the gift of God to us in all things - "all your need... by Christ Jesus." Having Him, we have all, and we could lose all without truly losing anything.

"Thou art my portion, o Lord."

(Psalm 119:57)

"The Root of Restoration"

In times of waning faithfulness on our part, the Holy Spirit restores born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ by leading us to remember and affirm the abiding faithfulness of God.


"He abideth faithful" (II Timothy 2:13).

"Consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds" (Hebrews 12:3).


We add insult to injury if we attempt to restore ourselves by fleshly means or determinations. Indeed, our spiritual enemies' primary attack may not be the initial temptation that seemingly fells us, but rather the deceiving enticement to work our way back into God's good graces. Such delusion sets us up for further failure by focusing us on ourselves rather than the writer of Hebrews' clear admonition to "consider Him" as the remedy for times of declension.

"I'll pray more. I'll obey more. I'll keep the Lord more in mind. I'll live more unselfishly devoted to God and others." Surely we will fulfill these attitudes and actions of faithfulness as we experience restoration and cleansing. However, prayerful and deliberative obedience to God and devotion to others are fruits of the Holy Spirit's redeeming work in us. If in our minds such acts of our own faithfulness become the root of restoration rather than its gracious expression, we set ourselves up for further waning of genuine godliness and devotion. "It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing" (John 6:63).

It's a hard truth and often seems counterintuitive, but the spiritual dynamic that began our relationship with God also provides the means that empowers its continuance. "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works" (Ephesians 2:10). Waning faithfulness therefore results from waning remembrance and affirmation of the person and work of the Lord Jesus. The temptations come in a myriad of fleshly forms, but at the heart of all is the attempt to distract us from "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2). God's faithfulness is the issue, both for restoration and for the subsequent life of faithfulness to which He calls us. In this moment, forgiveness, cleansing and renewed love for God and others await only our fresh remembrance and renewed confidence in our Lord's devotion and determination...

"Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."
(Philippians 1:6)