Expecting Much but Finding Little (Broken Hallelujah Pt. 2)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

For Part 1 on “A Foundation of Rejoicing and Regret”, click here.

The Israelites returned to the ruins of Jerusalem in 538 BC. As soon as they reached their homeland, the LORD commanded them to rebuild Jerusalem and His temple. They took the command to rebuild the city to heart, resurrecting their homes and businesses as soon as they arrived. But they put the command to restore the LORD’s temple on hold. Haggai the prophet said, “‘The people are saying, “The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.”’ Then the Lord sent this message through the prophet Haggai: ‘Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins’” (Haggai 1:2-4 NLT)?

Expecting Much

The Israelites priorities were clear: their own health and well-being. They furnished fine homes for themselves and planted much seed for themselves hoping to achieve success for themselves. But here was the fruit of their labor: “‘You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it… You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why’” (Haggai 1:6,9a NLT)?

God not only didn’t assist their hard work, He actively opposed it. He worked to minimize their profit and increase their losses. Why indeed would a good God trouble His people as they strived to secure security and prosperity?

Finding Little

The rest of Haggai 1:9 says that the LORD blew away the reward for their labor “‘because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.’” There are two reasons the LORD opposed the Israelites’ efforts: priority and provision.

Jesus Himself said, “‘Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you’” (Matthew 6:33 ESV).  An honest inventory of our time, money, and energy would force many of us to admit that God is not number one on our lists. He may receive one day of our week and—in good months—one-tenth of our paycheck, but He is the moon to our world of self rather than the Sun we revolve around.

The reason why God often finds Himself second-best is because of worry. Our cratering economy pushes us to labor from the crack of dawn to midnight. Our strained marriages send us into a death spiral of heated arguments and cold shoulders. We need financial peace, relational peace, and bodily peace, so we strive to lay hold of these things before we find spiritual peace.

Jesus, right before speaking about priorities in Matthew 6:33 said, “‘Don’t worry about these things, saying, “What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?” These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs’” (Matthew 6:31-32 NLT).

Our God knows what we need better than we do, and chief among our list of necessities is not food, water, or shelter but our heavenly Father.

Finding Much

Once the Israelites finally prioritized building the LORD’s house over their own, the LORD told them, “‘“Does anyone remember this house—this Temple—in its former splendor? How, in comparison, does it look to you now? It must seem like nothing at all!”… The future glory of this Temple will be greater than its past glory, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. And in this place I will bring peace’” (Haggai 2:3,9 NLT).

If we align our priorities with the Father’s, He’ll fill us with spiritual peace and restore the other areas of our lives. But we must have the faith to reorient ourselves from our worries to His temple.

“‘Think about this eighteenth day of December, the day when the foundation of the Lord’s Temple was laid. Think carefully. I am giving you a promise now while the seed is still in the barn. You have not yet harvested your grain, and your grapevines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olive trees have not yet produced their crops. But from this day onward I will bless you.’”

(Haggai 2:18-19 NLT)

A Foundation of Rejoicing and Regret (Broken Hallelujah Pt. 1)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

The Babylonians exiled the Israelites for seventy years (Jeremiah 29:10). When they returned to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by a devastated temple and a ravaged city. A grand legacy built over the course of centuries had been reduced to rubble. As they sat among the ashes, the LORD commanded the Israelites to rebuild.

Two years after the Israelites’ return, they began restoring the temple, the symbol of the LORD’s presence among them and the pride of their country. The book of Ezra says, “With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord: ‘He is good; His love toward Israel endures forever.’ And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise.” (Ezra 3:11-13a NIV).

Thanksgiving

As we enter into the month of November, we have much to give thanks for. With every new election comes renewed hope of a fresh start. 2021 is fast approaching with the promise of vaccines that will heal our land and restore our economy. And the holiday season promises a welcome reprieve from the monotony of the past six months.

Weeping

But just as the older priests remembered the former glory of Solomon’s temple, so we too remember all that’s been lost. We remember the joys of community, collective celebration, and above all the precious lives that were snuffed out by this pandemic. So as we clothe ourselves with a garment of praise, we also shoulder a boulder of grief.

Conclusion

These two truths must remain in tension, joy for what’s to come and pain over what’s been lost. Many of us have a tendency to drift to one extreme or the other. Some are drinking themselves to despair on memories of yesteryear. Others are whitewashing this year with platitudes and denial. But Apostle Paul said to “be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15 NLT). As we near the end of 2020 and turn over a new leaf with 2021, we must learn to embrace the bittersweet. We must belt out laughter from our bellies with tears of grief streaming down our faces. We must cherish the joy without neglecting the sorrow. For only from that razor-thin vantage point will we have the eyes to rebuild properly.

“I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.”

(Lamentations 3:19-23 NIV)

Food for Thought (40 Years of Muttering with Moses Pt. 6)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

For Part 1 on “Hope or Hopelessness”, click here; Part 2, “Between an Army and a Watery Grave”, click here; Part 3, “Bitter Sweet”, click here; Part 4, “Worth the Wait”, click here. Lastly, for Part 5, “Spies and Lies”, click here.

The long days of the Israelites’ divinely-ordained road trip ate at them. After weeks of consuming manna for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the people complained to Moses, “‘If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna’” (Numbers 11:4b-6)!

The Food They Used to Eat

Egypt clearly had its perks: homes to live in, luxuries to enjoy, and delicious food to munch on. But by maximizing the good, the Israelites neglected the horrific aspects of Egypt. Egypt had been the source of their suffering, oppression, and decades of slavery.

For all of us sequestered away in lockdown, we’ve lost access to some key joys of life. We miss hangout nights with our pals, glorious getaways to faraway locals, and coffee breaks with colleagues. But as we lament our current circumstances, we may be making the same mistake as the Israelites. When God plucked us out of Egypt and placed us in the wilderness, He may have rescued us from the bad influences we used to surround ourselves with or the expensive trips we financed with credit cards and Hail Mary prayers or the gossip we inhaled as we sipped our cappuccinos.

The Food They Were Eating

More than neglecting the bad God rescued the Israelites out of, the Israelites neglected the good the LORD provided for them in the wilderness. Manna was bread from heaven, a consistent source of sustenance in the middle of a barren wasteland. The LORD fed the Israelites faithfully day by day for the forty years they were unable to feed themselves (Exodus 16:35).

We also may be sniffing our noses at our God-given bread from heaven. We’re lucky to be able to spend our isolation alone together, with sophisticated communication technology to bring our far-flung loved ones one click away. We’re fortunate to have an advanced infrastructure that allows our children to receive a modicum of education from the safety of our homes. And we’re blessed that almost half of America was able to transition to working virtually at such short notice.

The Food They Would Eat

Lastly, the Israelites forgot where they were going. The Promised Land was a country flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8, 3:17, 13:5…), a land of “wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates and olive oil” (Deuteronomy 8:8). It was a bread basket even deeper than Egypt (Deuteronomy 11:10-12).

The LORD God gives good gifts, and He adds no sorrow with them (Proverbs 10:22). Even though He may have taken us away from the luxuries of Egypt and is leading us through the waterless desert, He will deliver us into a better country. In this new homeland, we’ll be free to live and eat without the shackles of our past slavery.

“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten– the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm — My great army that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will My people be shamed.”
(Joel 2:25-26 NIV)

Spies and Lies (40 Years of Muttering with Moses Pt. 5)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

For Part 1 on “Hope or Hopelessness”, click here. For Part 2, “Between an Army and a Watery Grave”, click here. Part 3, “Bitter Sweet”, click here. Part 4, “Worth the Wait”, click here.

At last, after years of sulking through the burning desert, eating heavenly trail mix (a.k.a. “manna”) and whining about their problems, the Israelites finally reached the Promised Land. It was a glorious land flowing with milk and honey, vineyards and orchards, and precious metals and fine wine (Deuteronomy 8:7-9). But it was also inhabited.

The Israelites sent out twelve spies to investigate the Promised Land, and it was worse than they had feared: the people of the land were powerful, and the cities well-fortified.

The Ten Spies’ Response

Seeing the great challenge that lay before them, ten of the twelve spies spun the story out of proportion. They lied to the people, “‘The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers’” (Numbers 13:22-23a NLT)! Now why would they do that?

When we are tasked with a difficult undertaking such as going to college, kicking a bad habit, or winning a woman’s heart, convincing ourselves failure is inevitable can be far easier than chasing after success.

The People’s Response

When the Israelites were told this tall tale, they flipped out. “All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, ‘If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword’” (Numbers 14:2-3a)?

Some of us share this same tendency. We trust God when times are good but doubt Him when times get tough. We suspect He is like the sun: Present with clear skies but vanishing with the rain.

The Two Spies’ Response

The report of those ten spies drove the Israelites to hysteria. They were ready to turn tail and run all the way back to Egypt (Numbers 14:3-4)! But there was a brave remnant that did not share their terror. Joshua and Caleb, two of the twelve spies, rose up and said, “‘If the Lord is pleased with us, He will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them’” (Numbers 14:8-9 NIV).

Joshua and Caleb understood something about God the others did not: God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). The same God that sustained their forefathers, blasted open Pharaoh’s palace doors, and protected them in the blazing desert would topple giants before them. He would bring them into the Promised Land because He promised He would. God always keeps His promises (Hebrews 6:17-18).

God’s Response

Hearing the Israelites’ muttering, God asked Moses, “‘How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them’” (Numbers 14:11 NLT)?

It shouldn’t take long for us to remember the amazing miracles God has done in our own lives: the illnesses He’s healed, the blessings He’s given, the hearts He’s changed, including our own. We mustn’t give in to lies about the challenges that lay before us or doubts about the God who walks along side us. If we take Him at His word, we will enter the Promised Land.

“He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it.”

(1 Thessalonians 5:24 ESV)

Worth the Wait (40 Years of Muttering with Moses Pt. 4)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

For Part 1, “Hope or Hopelessness”, click here. For Part 2, “Between an Army and a Watery Grave”, click here. For Part 3, “Bitter Sweet”, click here.

Three months after leaving Egypt, the bone-weary Israelites finally reached Mount Sinai. Before this mountain, the Israelites saw the LORD descend in a dark cloud with raging fire and crashing lightning. Moses walked into this fearsome maelstrom and emerged forty days later with the ten commandments, written by the finger of God. But forty days is a long time.

“When the people saw that Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, ‘Come, make gods for us who will go before us because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt–we don’t know what has happened to him’” (Exodus 32:1 CSB)!

Challenge of Waiting

Anyone you ask from the age of six to sixty will affirm that waiting is hard. While in school, we pine the semester away waiting for summer. Then, when summer arrives, we languish the summer away waiting for the school year to start again. While single, we wait for our special match to arrive. When they do, we wait for our precious baby to arrive. When it does, we wait for our children to have children of their own. We will always be waiting for something, yet, in spite of so much familiarity with the experience, we often struggle to spend that time well.

Lying in Waiting

Once the Israelites noticed how long Moses was taking to return, they regressed to their old ways. They swan-dived right back into the sinful practices they’d followed in Egypt.

Similarly, in the midst of this pandemic, some of us may be locked in a death struggle with the resurrected zombies of past addictions. We may find ourselves helpless to defeat former sin cycles like explosive outbursts of anger or a perpetual spirit of indolence.

Wasting Waiting

After turning back to their old habits, the Israelites “sat down to eat and drink, and got up to party” (Exodus 32:6b CSB). Seasons of waiting are often wasted. Because we don’t understand the purpose behind the wait, we often squander it through mindless distraction, desperate for an easy way to pass the time.

Waiting Well

But the word says, “The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him” (Lamentations 3:25 CSB). Waiting for the LORD and seeking His face are supposed to be joint at the hip. While we wait, we should lift up fervent prayers and faithfully mine His word, so that when He does move, we are ready.

Conclusion

Let us not make the same mistake as the Israelites and squander this golden season. If we turn our hearts to God as we wait, He will open His heart to us in due time. God is always worth waiting for.

“Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.”

(Matthew 7:7 CSB)

Bitter Sweet (40 Years of Muttering with Moses Pt. 3)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

For article 1 on “Hope or Hopelessness”, click here. For article 2 on “Between an Army and a Watery Grave”, click here.

With Pharaoh vanquished by tons of roaring water and the Red Sea behind them, the Israelites danced! They sang praises to the LORD and heralded Him as their hero (Exodus 14:31-15:21). This newfound faith lasted about three days.

They hadn’t brought much water along for their journey out of Egypt. Parched and cranky, they finally reached a river in the land of Marah. But to their dismay, the water was bitter. The Israelites’ frustration frothed over, and “the people grumbled against Moses, saying, ‘What are we to drink’” (Exodus 15:24 NIV)?

Frequency of Droughts

Just as droughts are common in areas prone to flooding, spiritual droughts are similarly common after spiritual floods. After God led the Israelites into the Promised Land, idolatry plunged the nation into centuries of foreign oppression. Following the consolidation of the Israelite empire under King David and King Solomon, their children immediately fractured it. And once the Israelites were restored to their homeland in the 6th century BC, the LORD didn’t speak to His people again prophetically for hundreds of years. Drought following flood is not an anomaly in the way God operates. Some might even say it’s the norm.

Reason for Droughts

This truth may rub some people the wrong way. The prosperity “gospel” teaches us we are supposed to go from “glory to glory”. With riches upon riches and success after success, we’re supposed to be living the #blessed life now.

But speaking on the Israelites’ forty years of wilderness wandering, Moses said, “‘Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey His commands’” (Deuteronomy 8:2 NLT).

In this passage, Moses highlights two purposes for our seasons of drought: Humbling and testing. The greatest danger we face in this world is not disease, physical deprivation or politicians; it’s sin. The pride lodging in our own chests is our chief liability, constructing a fortified wall between us and the Father (Proverbs 16:5). A prideful person cannot rely on God, and pride is nourished by self-sufficiency. It’s only from the wellspring of need that we discover our dependency on our Creator.

Secondly, character develops fastest in drought-ridden soil. Apostle Paul, an unparalleled expert on suffering (2 Corinthians 11:23-28), said we can “rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character” (Romans 5:3-4b ESV). Righteousness is not formed foremost in the soft embrace of health and wealth but in the cauldron of suffering and destitution. The wilderness is where mighty oaks of faith grow.

Conclusion

After the Israelites cried out to Moses, he called on the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log to throw into the bitter waters. Once he chucked it in, the bitter waters became sweet (Exodus 15:25). Similarly, the LORD will transform our bitter circumstances into the sweet fruit of righteousness if we allow Him to instruct us through this season.

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”

(James 1:2-4 NLT)

Between an Army and a Watery Grave (40 Years of Muttering with Moses Pt. 2)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

For Part 1 on “Hope or Hopelessness”, click here.

After years of slavery, months of miracles, and a tragic night of death (Exodus 12:29), the Israelites were finally freed. Pharaoh drove the Israelites out of his land.  The LORD then navigated them into a box with the desert beside them and the Red Sea in front of them. Then He roused Pharaoh to pursue the runaways with the most fearsome technology of his day: the battle chariot.

With an unpassable liquid wall before them and an awesome army behind them, the Israelites cried to Moses, “‘Didn’t we tell you this would happen while we were still in Egypt? We said, “Leave us alone! Let us be slaves to the Egyptians. It’s better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness”’” (Exodus 14:12 NLT)!

Some of us feel similarly boxed in today: We moved for a job that vanished when the economy cratered, another baby is on the way when we don’t know how we’ll keep feeding our first. Our strength and sanity have reached their snapping points. Many of us may be where are we now in spite of being faithful to God or because we felt like we were acting in accord with His will. But now we’ve come to our own Red Sea with the enemy closing in on us by the minute, and we wonder if those surging waves will become our watery grave.

How We Got Here

Famous gospel singer Marvin Sapp once said, “The only reason why you’re in that position now is because God has ordered your steps.” Here Sapp emphasizes the sovereignty of God. We are not caught between a rock and a hard place because God fell asleep at the wheel. We’re here because He deliberately drove us here.

Why We Are Here

The question then becomes, “Why are we here?” God told the Israelites, “‘Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again…When my glory is displayed through them, all Egypt will see my glory and know that I am the Lord’” (Exodus, 14:13,18 NIV).

The LORD is glorious and awesome in power, working miracles and wonders for His people. But when life maintains its ho-hum rhythm of ease and predictability, these truths tend to escape our grasp. Sometimes the only spark that can rekindle this flame is difficulty.

Where We Go From Here

The LORD then told Moses, “‘Tell the people of Israel to go forward’” (Exodus 14:15 ESV). Keep in mind, God gave the Israelites this command before He parted the Red Sea. As they trudged ever closer to those murky waters, many must have foreseen a sodden, bloody end for themselves. But as we all know, the LORD led the Israelites through the Red Sea, and the LORD defeated the Egyptian army. The only part the Israelites had to play was not turning aside or turning back. They had to keep on moving forward.

Conclusion

After six months of isolation, most of us are not where we’d like to be: socially, emotionally, and financially. As we wait for the LORD to part our Red Sea and slay our enemy, we can lambast Him for bringing us here. Or we can trust that He will successfully lead us to the other side.

“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”

(Isaiah 41:10 NLT)

Hope or Hopelessness (40 Years of Muttering with Moses Pt. 1)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

The Israelites suffered under the heavy hand of the Egyptians for 400 toilsome years. But through a miraculous series of events, the LORD raised up Moses to deliver them. (Exodus 2:1-10). He commissioned Moses from the midst of a blazing bush, equipped him with miraculous powers, and supplied him with his older brother to speak on his behalf (Exodus 3-4). Together, they stormed into Pharaoh’s palace and uttered these famous words for the first time, “Let my people go! Let them hold a feast for me in the wilderness” (Exodus 5:1).

But Pharaoh said, “I won’t let them go. Why are you making these people rest from their burdens? They’re obviously idle. That’s why they want to hold a party in the wilderness.” So he commanded their taskmasters to stop giving the Israelites straw to make bricks (Exodus 5:4-9).

The overburdened Israelites grumbled at Moses, and he, in turn, grumbled at God, “‘Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued Your people at all’” (Exodus 5:22-23 NIV).

God Promises

God said, “‘I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob…I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners’” (Exodus 6:2-4 NIV). God began by reminding the people of the promise He’d made them.

 Hundreds of years earlier, He’d told their ancestor Abraham, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be slaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions’” (Genesis 15:13-14 NIV).

Even before their slavery, God knew the hard times His people would face. And He had already prepared a rescue plan for them. The LORD never makes a promise He cannot keep.

God Listens

Secondly, God said, “‘You can be sure that I have heard the groans of the people of Israel, who are now slaves to the Egyptians. And I am well aware of My covenant with them’” (Exodus 6:5 NLT).

Sometimes prayer can feel like futile shouting into the empty void, but be assured: God hears you. King David once asked, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there” (Psalm 139:7-8 NIV). From the depths of Marianas Trench to the tip of Mount Everest, God’s presence fills all in all. He is watching over us, listening to us, and knows what we are going through.

God Provides

Lastly, the LORD said, “‘I will take you as My own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession.’” (Exodus 6:7-8 NIV). God always desires to take us from where we are to a better place: from hunger to fullness (John 6:35), from striving to peace (Matthew 11:29), from slavery to liberty (Isaiah 61:1). By providing us the hope of heaven, God has cemented a positive trend to our existence. We know that things are going to get better soon.

Conclusion

The Israelites responded to the LORD’s heartfelt speech by refusing to listen to Him anymore. “They had become too discouraged by the brutality of their slavery” (Exodus 6:9 NLT).

The LORD has a message of hope for each of us. He keeps His promises, cares about our situation, and desires to deliver us to the Promised Land. We must cling on to these truths as our lifeline in these battering times, lest we also succumb to hopelessness.

“Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again—my Savior and my God!”

(Psalm 43:5 NLT)

A Miracle Too Late (Jesus and His People Pt. 2)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

For Part 1 on “A Different Jesus”, click here.

The world is thrashing in the grip of a mighty pandemic, crumbling under the weight of a reeling economy, and stretching to its snapping point because of geopolitical tensions. The evidence of God has vanished for many, and the question has surfaced, “If He even showed up now, would it be too late?”

A family thousands of years ago asked the same question. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were some of Jesus’ closest friends. But when Lazarus fell deathly ill, Jesus didn’t arrive until His good friend was thoroughly dead.

The Accusation

When Jesus finally waltzed into town, several days too late, both Mary and Martha told Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21,32 NIV). They implied that if He had only set out a little earlier, tried a little harder, maybe cared a little more, their brother would have still been alive.

These kinds of accusations are not unique to this family. The Bible is filled with accounts of suffering men and women wondering where God was. Job, the most righteous man in the Eastern Hemisphere while he was alive, cried out to God, “‘Why do You hide your face and consider me your enemy’” (Job 13:24 NIV)? The prophet Jeremiah, in the middle of a life-leeching drought, questioned God, “Are you also confused? Is our champion helpless to save us” (Jeremiah 14:9 NLT)?  King David, from a pit of great despair screamed, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me” (Psalm 22:1 NIV)?

The Answer

Jesus responded to this veiled allegation, “‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in Me will never die. Do you believe this'” (John 11:26 NIV)? In essence, Jesus told Martha that He was still the answer—life—to her problem—death.

The Christian walk, just like most great undertakings, starts off easy but gets considerably harder over time. When we are first raised to new life by accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, many of us will “taste and see that the Lord is good”. Mini-miracles will color our weeks and neon bursts of joy will liven our hearts.

But then the weight of our demanding boss will return, our wayward children will continue rebelling, or an emergency will rock us to our core. Many who’ve attended Sunday School know that Jesus is always The Answer even before the question is asked, but after tragedies like these strike, we must answer whether we truly believe this.

The Command

Moved by compassion at the sight of the sisters’ tears, Jesus asked them where they’d lain Lazarus’ corpse. Once He arrived there, He commanded them to move aside the stone sealing the entrance to Lazarus’ tomb. Martha said, “But Lord, there is already a stench because he has been dead four days” (John 11:39 CSB). Why would Martha even mention this? She believed there was a high likelihood that when they rolled the stone away, Lazarus would still be dead.

Miracles are rarely free. They require risk and cost: sending out that application, taking out that loan, putting one’s reputation and credibility on the line, or inhaling the sickening aroma of defeat if God doesn’t come through. This was the tension that Martha was struggling with. But Jesus told her, “‘Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God’” (John 11:40 ESV)? If we never embrace the risk, we will never see the reward. Only those who take that terrifying leap will see God do only what God can do.

Conclusion

Mary and Martha’s friends took a step of faith and rolled away the stone. When they did, Jesus cried out, “‘Lazarus, come out.’” (John 11:43). Then the mummified man emerged from the tomb and returned to the land of the living!

 Jesus had been too late to heal the sick Lazarus, but He hadn’t been too late to raise the dead one. Similarly, just because our day by day situation seems to be going from bad to worse doesn’t mean it’s become too challenging for God. It just means the miracle will be all the more glorious.

“Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.”

(Isaiah 59:1 NIV)

A Different Jesus (Jesus and His People Pt. 1)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

Relationships are like vases, beautiful and fragile. We meet that special someone, we get to know them, and we fall in love with who we believe they are. When our illusion of that person is shattered by reality, our relationship will likely fall apart. We find ourselves saying, “They aren’t who I thought they were.”

Background

John the Baptist had this very same experience with Jesus. From the womb, he was Jesus’ greatest cheerleader (Luke 1:41). He dedicated his career to promoting Jesus and preparing the way for Him.

However, during the course of his ministry as a prophet, John the Baptist denounced king Herod for marrying his brother’s wife. The tyrant imprisoned him for his impudence. From a dank, rat-infested dungeon, John heard stories of his cousin’s miracles: raising the dead to life, curing the sick, healing the demon-possessed, helping everyone except His own flesh and blood.

In John’s despair, his faith wavered, and he sent his disciples to ask Him, “‘Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else’” (Luke 7:20 NLT)?

Jesus replied, “‘Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.’ And he added, ‘God blesses those who do not fall away because of me’” (Luke 7:22-23 NLT).

Shortly thereafter, John the Baptist was beheaded.

Expectation

We all relate to God differently. Some love Jesus as their blessed savior or honor Him as their incomparable example or cherish Him as their best friend. These distinct views are par and parcel to our beautiful diversity. However, we run the risk of embracing an unbalanced view of God. We can love Jesus as our big brother but dismiss Him as our lord. We can accept Him as our helper but reject Him as our master. When we make this mistake, we set ourselves up for disappointment just as John the Baptist did.

A few chapters earlier in Luke, Jesus read this prophecy from the Old Testament: “‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for He has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free” (Luke 4:18 NLT). And Jesus said He was the fulfillment of this prophecy.

This very passage must have been on both of their minds during this exchange. Jesus’ statement in Luke 7:22 is very similar to it, yet He leaves out the parts about “releasing captives” and “setting free the oppressed”. Did Jesus forget about these verses? Are God’s promises only true when we don’t need them, or do they apply to everyone except us?

I know I’ve been tempted to believe this. God promised, “I’ll never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5 ESV), yet I’ve never felt more alone in my life than during this quarantine. Apostle Paul said, “My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NASB). But where are “His riches” for the needy millions who’ve been wrecked by this economic recession?

Reality

John the Baptist’s error lay in two assumptions he made: God’s timing and God’s focus. John assumed that if Jesus was setting others free now, now must be the time for his freedom as well. But God’s timetable rarely aligns with ours. Apostle Peter said, “We must not forget that a day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day” (2 Peter 3:8 NLT). Yet we forget this all the time!

Secondly, we often limit God’s promises to the physical realm. God, of course, cares about our physical body and our physical circumstances, but we aren’t purely physical beings. We’ve been endowed with a spirit that has a health of its own. Not only do our bodies need liberation from physical struggles (imprisonment, isolation, poverty), our souls also need saving.

Even though Jesus did not “set the captives free” the way John the Baptist had expected Him to, He was faithful to keep His promise. When He died on the cross a few years later, Jesus freed us all from slavery to death and richly supplied us with eternal life.

Conclusion

Disappointment with God is a normal part of the Christian walk. Reality will shatter our expectations about Him and shake our faith. When it does, we must decide whether to “fall away” or turn to a different Jesus–the real Jesus–and believe in Him again.

“At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, ‘Are you also going to leave?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.’”

(John 6:66-69 NLT)