Heart Soul and Might

For the last couple weeks, I’ve been showing my five-year-old Josiah a few basics on the piano. Basically using three fingers starting on middle C… I still think he’s too young for formal lessons, but it’s been fun to see him picking up some things at such a young age.

This morning we had an interaction that reminded me a lot about life.

A few weeks back, I decided to resurrect some Scott Joplin material, so I’ve been practicing “The Maple Leaf Rag” here and there when I have a few moments. I’ve gotten it to where it sounds great, and it’s a lot of fun to play. It’s one of those classics that most people would recognize if they heard it. Not the easiest song, but of course practice delivers results, right?

Well, this morning I sat down with Josiah to have him play his 3-note scale and he did so well that I added fingers 4 and 5 as well, so now he can play a 5-note scale up and back down. He picked it up quick! I asked him to practice three times - and I welled up with excitement as I saw him negotiating his fingers on each key. He did it perfectly the first time! So, I said to him “Ok, two more times, Jo-Jo.” His next comment floored me, and I knew we were moving into a teachable moment.

Sitting on the piano bench, he turned around to me and said, “Now I wanna do some hard stuff, dad.”

I said, “What hard stuff?” and he said “The song you were just playing. Show me what to play, and I’ll play it.”

I got down on my knees and looked him in the eye and said “Josiah, you have to learn the easy stuff first and keep working on it before you can learn to play the hard stuff.” His eyes deflated, and he leaned his head down on the piano keys and said “But Dad, I really want to play the hard stuff.” So we spent the next couple minutes talking about how Daddy needed to work hard for years on the “easy stuff” before he could ever start to play the “hard stuff.” He wasn’t too excited about that prospect in that moment, so he jumped off the piano bench and went back to playing with his rubber crocodile.

It reminded me of life and growing to maturity in Christ… I’ll let you make the connection as it relates to you personally…

Between Two Worlds posted a great poem that I thought I’d pass along. This gives good perspective to life’s challenges…

The Thorn

I stood a mendicant* of God before His royal throne
And begged Him for a priceless gift, which I could call my own.
I took the gift from out His hand, but as I would depart
I cried, “But Lord, this is a thorn and it has pierced my heart.
This is a strange, a hurtful gift that Thou hast given me.
He said, “My child, I give good gifts and give my best to thee.”
I took it home and though at first the cruel thorn hurt sore;
As long years passed I learned at last to love it more and more.
I learned He never gives a thorn without this added Grace.
He takes the thorn to pin aside the veil which hides His face.

“The Thorn,” by Martha Snell Nicholson

* “mendicant”= beggar

HT: Justin Taylor

I read Psalm 52 this morning and was struck by what David says in verse 8:

“But I am like a green olive tree
in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.”

What is this about a green olive tree?

Here’s the context of this psalm: Saul is pursuing David, trying to kill him and David comes to Nob to the home of the priest, Ahimelech. (1 Samuel 21) David’s life is in jeopardy - Saul is jealous of David and has all his men on the hunt. So, David pens this psalm.

The first 7 verses are undoubtedly David’s description of Saul: whose “tongue plots destruction” (v.2), who “loves evil more than good” (v.3), and who “loves all words that devour, O deceitful tongue.” (v.4) In other words, Saul isn’t a very good guy in David’s book - and David predicts that “God will break you down forever…” and “uproot you from the land of the living.”(v.5) Even though David’s life is at stake, he doesn’t see much of a future for Saul’s either.

Then, in verse 8, David pulls out the “green olive tree” analogy. In the face of all this turmoil and uncertainty, what is David getting at?

After reading this, I did a little research on olive trees. Did you know that an olive tree’s life expectancy is around 500 years? In fact, one of the sources I read says that Olive trees “are also tenacious, easily sprouting back even when chopped to the ground.” They are able to grow pretty well even in the face of gross abuse and neglect - although, to bear good fruit, they do require pruning.

I think I’m beginning to see what David is getting at here. Even in the face of such destructive and life-threatening circumstances, David’s faith is resilient. He has a tenacious trust in his God - not based on his circumstances, but based on who God is.

And he sees himself not as merely an olive tree, but as a green one. One that IS being watered and cared for. One that IS able to bear fruit - good fruit. He says - even in these dire circumstances - “I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.” It didn’t look good for David at the time he wrote this psalm - he had a king coming after him with his army. But his trust and his faith apparently didn’t waiver.

Your life may not be in jeopardy due to a persistent predator, but we all get hit with stuff. Stuff that isn’t fair, that doesn’t make sense, that shouldn’t be happening to me…

Be the “green olive tree”. See yourself as the resilient and faithful one with a tenacious trust in your Almighty, powerful and trustworthy God. Be the green olive tree that, even in the face of great trials and even persecutions, is bearing good fruit. Not based in who you are, or how strong you think you might be - but based in who God is. Because, He IS faithful and strong on your behalf.

HT: “Green Olive Tree” poster by John Park

One of our teaching pastors, Jeff Helton, taught a message today from Ruth 2 on the providence and sovereignty of God and it really struck a chord with me. After laying out a brief theology of providence, his main point was that based on this divine providence, we all need to come to the point of being able to say:

“I will cling to the character of God regardless of the circumstances of life.”

To realize that no matter what life throws at us - whether it leads to chaos, confusion, disappointment, disillusionment… God is always at work for the purpose of HIS glory and OUR good. There is nothing that falls outside the scope of His divine sovereignty and providential purpose. Yes, life is hard. Yes, there are unexplainable tragedies and terribly painful experiences. We all see them, and we all experience them. But, God is always at work for the purpose of His glory and our good. Nothing surprises Him. He isn’t sitting on the edge of His seat in heaven waiting to see what will happen on earth, hoping it will somehow glorify Him. No, He is working providentially through all our circumstances, the good and the bad to elevate His glory.

Jeff’s message boiled it down to four ways we can and should respond to God’s providence:

1. It leads us to worship Him.

2. It frees us from bitterness.

3. It empowers us to keep walking.

4. It calls us to make a choice to live by faith.

I can worship a God who is supremely powerful, sovereign and providential. I can’t worship a god who is weak, impotent and limited. God, who has chosen us for Himself, is worthy to be worshipped with ALL of our beings as those undeservedly redeemed and apart from His saving grace, incapable of choosing Him. That’s a God who is worthy of my worship.

It’s the freeing from bitterness that is sometimes the sticking point for me. If my rights have been violated, or I’ve been betrayed or manipulated, my natural inclination leads toward a heart of bitterness. Yet, if we see every circumstance as not only allowed by God, but used by God for our good and His glory, it changes everything. Bitterness and resentment no longer make sense in light of God’s sovereign purposes and plans. I needed to hear this. I’ve walked through some circumstances that, apart from God having a mysterious, divinely providential plan, would lead directly toward bitterness. But, I’m choosing to trust my almighty omniscient and sovereign Savior, who always acts in a manner that will bring ultimate glory to His name.

Even during the hardest times - the times where I wanted to pack it all up and run - God was at work. He always is. And, I can continue to cling to the character of God - a God who is patient, loving, gracious, forgiving, generous, merciful and loving - no matter what circumstances befall me. Yes, we each need to make the decision to keep walking and live by faith. That’s the walk of humility, dependence and trust. A walk that God is calling each of us to. To trust in His providential hand and sovereign grace.
To Him be all the glory!

Every Friday is Fenelon Friday, where we’ll drink from the very deep well of my favorite 17th century French Bishop in the Catholic Church. (Everyone should have a little Fenelon with their coffee in the morning…) Francois de Salignac de La Mothe-Fenelon (born 1651) was a mentor to a number of younger men on the court of Louis XIV. In fact, he was given the responsibility of raising the young man who would proceed Louis XIV to the throne of France (the King’s grandson). Many of Fenelon’s writings are actually letters he wrote to some of these young leaders as they sought to walk the life of faith in the face of opposition and adversity. Fenelon’s teachings were met with resistance within the Catholic Church because they aligned more with Reformation teachings than with Catholic dogma at times, and his hope was that once his student became the King of France, he would be instrumental in the reformation of the Catholic Church and bring a real witness of Jesus Christ to France. Those hopes were dashed in 1712 with the premature death of the King’s grandson. Fenelon died not long after that in 1715 at the age of 63, but his teachings live on and continue to influence 300 years after he lived. He has radically transformed my life.

Die Daily

“Many think that “dying to themselves” is what causes them so much pain. But it is actually part of them that still lives that causes the problem. Death is only painful to you when you resist it. Your imagination exaggerates how bad death will be. Self-love fights with all of its strength to live. Die inwardly as well as outwardly. Let all that is not born of God within you die.

Bear your cross. Do you know what this means? Learn to see yourself as you are, and accept your weakness until it pleases God to heal you. Your goal is to be as patient with yourself as you are with your neighbor. If you die a little bit every day of your life, you won’t have too much to worry about on your final day. Self-love brings great anxiety. No wonder you worry about the future so much. Be patient with yourself and allow your fellow Christians to help you. How completely will these daily deaths destroy the power of your final dying. Then your bodily death will be but a falling asleep. Happy are you who sleep this sleep of peace!”

Francois de Salignac de La Mothe-Fenelon, The Seeking Heart, Christian Books Publishing House, Jacksonville, FL, 1982, p. 13.