"Determined To Be Pleased"

(Thanks to Jane, Darcy, and Frances for this one)


"I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong" (II Corinthians 12:10).

Concerning infirmities, reproaches, necessities, persecution, and distresses, we must initially "take pleasure." Because at the outset of our trials, it surely won't be felt.


Defined in the original Greek of the New Testament as thought, deliberation, and determination, "take pleasure" involves the choice of faith whereby we perceive difficulty in a manner completely contrary to our natural inclinations. I am reminded of Frances frequently quoting the perspective of a character in the novel "Pride and Prejudice": "He was determined to be pleased." This is a primary hallmark of walking the Spirit, that "for Christ's sake" we choose to perceive both the pleasurable and the difficult in accordance with the truth that God "worketh all things for good" in the lives of His trusting children (Romans 8:28).


This is both counterintuitive and counteremotional to our flesh. We do not naturally think or feel "pleasure" when life brings pain and loss. Nor in this life will we ever immediately respond to suffering in such terms. Our first reaction will always be the aversion to difficulty that bears no resemblance whatsoever to pleasure. The pleasure of which Paul writes must therefore be taken if we are to walk in the obedience of faith. Our fleshly response awakens us and calls us to trust in God and His Word, thereby putting to death the natural inclinations that lead to grumbling and complaint rather than peace and praise. We "determine to be pleased" by believing the Bible's teaching that the glory of the Lord Jesus is the most important thing in our lives, and that difficulty grants opportunity to exalt Him. As Paul commanded, we take pleasure "for Christ's sake," making the possibility of honoring our Lord more important than our personal comfort.


Authentic Christian living is not for the half-hearted. Great and conscious determination must be made by the enabling of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The decision to "take pleasure" in things that trouble us does not come easily, nor will it happen if we do not walk in close communion with our Lord. The Bible's call to "live by faith" beckons the human heart to the greatest challenge, adventure, and opportunity imaginable, providing every day with the fulfilling quest to journey ever more deeply into the heart of God by trusting Him and believing His Word (Romans 1:17). We are alive in the truest sense only when the faith of determining to be pleased invigorates and actualizes this, the very reason for our existence.


"To live is Christ."
(Philippians 1:21)

Serenity - Of the Gator?

Frances and I often see alligators when we kayak, especially when we paddle the rivers of our area.


We feel no fear when encountering these powerful and fearsome looking creatures. Gator attacks on kayakers are very rare. Kayaks present too large a profile in the water to appear as prey (wishful thinking on our part, some may say :) ). Perhaps more to the point, alligators move in the water with a deliberate and graceful motion that always brings one word to my mind: serene. They never seem hurried, and nothing ruffles their undisturbed serenity. They seem, well, they seem peaceful.


Those who have never encountered alligators upclose and personal may question such a perspective. I assure you this is true, however, and I am reminded of the Scriptural truth that God's peace is often best known in circumstances and conditions where it is least expected. Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah affirmed the safekeeping and purpose of God when threatened with the fiery furnace. David declared God to be "a very present help in trouble." Paul and Silas "prayed and sang praises to God" after having the skin scourged from their backs and their freedom taken. The Apostle John wrote the book of Revelation while exiled to the lonely island of Patmos. And the Lord Jesus Christ Himself slept while the ship in which He journeyed rocked in the waves and winds of a violent storm (Daniel 1:6; Psalm 46:1; Acts 16:25; Revelation 1:9; Matthew 8:24).


The peace of God is said to "pass all understanding" (Philippians 4:7). By definition, this is only possible if the tranquility of God is known and experienced in unlikely circumstances, conditions, and situations. Our Lord's peace is such that we can know it in anything and everything as we submit ourselves to Him in faith. Surely we will feel the rocking of the waves and the wind, and our human emotions and sensations may be violently tossed. Deep within our hearts, however, the assurance that all is well unexplainably moors us in God's safe harbor as we trust Him. We must grow in our confidence of so great a miracle, revealed in ways only anticipated by those who expect the revelation of His peace in the most unlikely venues. As in the beautiful serenity of an alligator quietly making way in the waters wherein he reveals the peace of his Creator.


"O LORD, how manifold are Thy works! In wisdom hast Thou made them all: the earth is full of Thy riches. So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom Thou hast made to play therein."
(Psalm 104:24-26)

"How Near?" - Addendum

Although the point was addressed in our consideration that the person and work of Lord Jesus Christ is our access to God, I think it would be wise before concluding to return to the issue of how sin affects our approach.


If we honestly and humbly determine to come to God through the person and work of the Lord Jesus, we can always be sure of being received. As we have considered, we approach the throne of grace in the best of times only as we come by our great Intercessor, and in the worst of times by the same. Access is eternally the gift of God's grace in Christ, of whom the Apostle Paul declared, "There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (I Timothy 2:5).


If there is Biblically-defined sin in our lives, and if we have ignored or refused the conviction of the Holy Spirit, we can expect our Heavenly Father to bring the matter to our attention as we commune with Him. In this regard, a good prayer to often offer is the Psalmist's "Cleanse Thou me from secret faults," and "Search me and know my heart; try me and know my thoughts, see if there be any wicked way in me" (Psalm 19:12; 139:23-24). This is especially true concerning our relationships with people.


"Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift" (Matthew 5:23-24).


If we have wronged another person, our Heavenly Father commands that we seek restoration and make restitution, if possible. In our relationships with people, He hates loose ends and untied strings, as it were. Sin against people is always the fruit of unbelief and disobedience concerning God, and returning to Him therefore always involves the attempt to reconcile with people. The process begins with our Lord because He is the one who sends us from the altar to our brother's doorstep. He is also the one who empowers such humility and contrition by the light of His Word and the enabling of His Spirit. We therefore come to Him first, and are received through Christ in order to bringing cleansing to our relationship with God, and if the offended brother responds, to our relationship with him.


There may be times when no offensive acts or words have been directed toward our brother, but the Holy Spirit convicts us that our thoughts and attitudes have not reflected the character of the Lord Jesus. Our brother therefore has nothing against us in any conscious way, and we may not need to approach him directly. Between ourselves and God, however, there is an issue. Trusting Him for forgiveness and cleansing as we honestly acknowledge our sin restores us to unclouded communion with our Heavenly Father, making the benefits of our free access through Christ far more enjoyed and sanctifying.


Born again believers need never fear that we cannot approach God. Nor should we fear what will happen when we come to Him through the person and merits of the Lord Jesus. We will be received in love and the gift of being "accepted in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:6). If correction is necessary, including humble contrition toward a brother we have offended, our bests interests are always in the heart of the God who is eternally "for us" (Romans 8:31). "He delighteth in mercy," that is, our Heavenly Father loves to forgive, cleanse, and restore fellowship between us and Himself, and us with others. Such glory began when we believed and received the freest gift ever given, the gift of living relationship with God in Christ. It continues as we grow in availing ourselves of such freely given favor, and as it becomes more and more actualized and expressed in our relationship with both God and people.


"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
(Matthew 22:37-39)