Things to Remember. . .For Us

"For Us"

   Along with His foreknowledge, we must recall our Lord's "for us" in all things.

   "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31).

     Our Heavenly Father works in accordance with our best interests, which means that He works first and foremost to exalt and reveal the Lord Jesus Christ.  We exist for such a glorious purpose, and anything that furthers the honor of Christ ultimately benefits us.  In the present dispensation, this often means challenge as well as blessedness.  How can we possibly represent a Savior who died upon a cross for the blessing of others if God exempts us from our own crosses?  Thus, to fulfill our reason for being, to glorify the Lord Jesus, God's being "for us" requires His determinations and allowances of tribulation as well as triumph.  

    "Unto you it is given it is given in behalf of Christ not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake" (Philippians 1:29).

    Note that the Apostle Paul references suffering not as a burden, but as a gift.  Certainly pain, difficulty, and loss doesn't feel like a Father's devotion to His children's best interests.  Sorrow is real, tears burn our eyes, and God cares about our hurting hearts and bodies.  "Thou, o Lord, art a God full of compassion… Like as a Father pitieth His children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him" (Psalm 86:15; Psalm 103:13).  However, true love meets needs before it bestows fulfilled desires.  Thus, to be "for us" means that our Heavenly Father acts always in a manner that benefits, even if in the moment, His necessary actions involve a firmness of His hand and a lengthened leash of our enemies.

    We can be confident of our Lord's intentions for us.  No shadow passes through His heart and mind regarding the care of His trusting children in Christ.  He is always and forever for us.  Herein we rest our hearts and minds, refusing to allow any shadow of distrusting God's devotion to our best interests.

"I know the thoughts I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you an expected end."

(Jeremiah 29:11) 

Weekly Memory Verse

   I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed.

(Psalm 77:3)

Things to Remember

"Anticipated Lives"

     One of the challenges of relationship with God involves our remembering the difference between His mind and ours.  

    "His understanding is infinite… We see through a glass darkly" (Psalm 147:5; I Corinthians 13:12).

    A primary aspect of the disparity involves our Lord's foreknowledge, as opposed to our complete lack thereof.  "Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world" (Acts 15:18).  We have no frame of reference for such consciousness.  We cannot anticipate tomorrow with complete certainty, nor even the next moment.  God, conversely, sees the past, present, and future as if there are but one moment.  A.W. Tozer wrote, "The flutter of an angel's wing a thousand years hence is as known to God as if it occurred in this moment."  

     Consideration of such wonder perplexes us if we attempt to understand its mechanics.  However, it gloriously strengthens and encourages when we remember that the One to whom we have committed our trust perfectly knows everything that will ever transpire in our lives, both in time and eternity.  Our Heavenly Father will never be taken aback by the challenges we face, regardless of their severity, number, or duration.  He is perfectly prepared to lead us in every contingency, be it the pleasant or the painful.  Never does an "Uhoh!" arise in His mind as things happen in our lives.  Foreknowledge, accompanied by perfect wisdom and power, maintains complete readiness to fulfill and requite our trust in the One whose every act proceeds from infinite knowledge of all things.  

   We live anticipated lives, as it were.  The element of surprise that characterizes our consciousness has no place in the mind of God.  Great comfort and assurance awaits us in such remembrance, particulary in those moments that catch us off guard with unexpected challenge.  The One to whom we have entrusted all is never caught off guard, and in such knowledge, such foreknowledge, we rest our hearts and minds.

"Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!"

(Romans 11:33)

Weekly Memory Verse

   I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed.

(Psalm 77:3)

Things to Remember

"Remembering To Remember"

    A significant aspect of the Christian life involves remembering truths about God and His promised presence and involvement in our lives.  This especially relates to the difficulties encountered along the frequently rocky paths of life in a fallen world, even as the Psalmist declared, "I remembered Thy judgments of old, o Lord, and have comforted myself" (Psalm 119:52).  Indeed, the promises of Scripture are many and assured regarding the believer's capacity to walk in peace regardless of circumstance.  We must believe in our Lord's ability to reveal His calm in the midst of any and every tempest.  

   "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea" (Psalm 46:1-2).

    In this series of messages, we will consider a number of these promises of peace, or, "things to remember."  What has God said to us in His Word about Himself that keeps us in peace when it might seem that we should be overwhelmed?  How do we experience the seeming enigma affirmed by the Apostle Paul, who confessed that we are, "as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing"? (II Corinthians 6:10).  Remembrance has much to do with such peace and joy.  By definition, believers believe - "The just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17).  In order to do so, we must have God's promises hidden in our hearts so that we may bring them forth to settle the frequently turbulent surface of our minds and emotions.  Thus, we must remember to remember.  This week we will consider a number of Scriptural truths that empower us to know the tranquility promised by the prophet to those who recall and affirm the Truths that enable us to transcend…

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee."

(Isaiah 26:3)

Weekly Memory Verse

   I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed.

(Psalm 77:3)