When Tempted to Despair

A SONG OF ASCENTS. Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

-ESV Psalm 130

It seems that you need to look no further than the morning headlines to be tempted to despair these days. So, in these unsettling times it’s good to have godly friends to remind of us of simple, yet profound truths and to guide us in God’s Word; especially when hope can seem far away. I was encouraged just last week by a friend when he commented that it is the devil who would have us believe that we are without hope in our circumstances, but that in Christ, hope abounds regardless of circumstance.

The headlines remind us that many things happen every day over which we have little or no control. The economy suffers a slow down. People lose their jobs. Household finances dry up. Children get sick. You get dreaded news from the doctor. The car breaks down. Friends seem too preoccupied to care. Taken together, the list can seem overwhelming at times. And when we find ourselves in those circumstances, we can be tempted to despair.

But for Christians, current circumstances (good or bad) are mere momentary events; blips on the radar in the big scheme of things. Why? Because Christians don’t find their hope and happiness in their health, wealth and possessions. No, Christians find their ultimate hope and happiness in their relationship with the Lord. And it is to Him that they cry for mercy, grace and guidance—especially when circumstances seem overwhelming.

If the headlines or circumstances have tempted you to despair, dwell on the truths of these words from an old Puritan prayer titled The Valley of Vision: “Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine; let me find Thy light in my darkness, Thy life in my death, Thy joy in my sorrow, Thy grace in my sin, Thy riches in my poverty, Thy glory in my valley.”

Christians! Lift your eyes to heaven, behold the stars and call on your heavenly Father. And do not be tempted to despair at the headlines or your circumstances. Jesus is still on the throne.

-Ken Askew

Servant of the living God

“And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth.” ESV Genesis 18:1-2

Would you recognize God if he knocked on your door? Seriously, do you know God well enough that you would have a clue it was Him at the door? Would you instantly recognize him and welcome Him into your home in the same way you would recognize your boss standing on your front porch and welcome him or her in? Or would you pull the blinds, hit the lights, mute the television and ignore the strangers on the porch? Hmmm…

Well it wasn’t a dilemma for Abraham. When God came calling in bodily form (LORD) Abraham recognized Him and his companions immediately. Notice that there were three visitors, and while the bible is not altogether clear on this, a strong case can be made for the three visitors all being of a divine nature; clearly though, Abraham perceived one as God in a human form. But I digress.

At first glimpse of the trio Abraham sprang to his feet, then ran and greeted them with utmost respect and humility; hardly the kind of greeting we might envision a stranger receiving from the patriarch. No, this was a greeting reserved for a dear friend, a king, or boss (lord). Greetings aside, their arrival set the whole farm, from his wife to his servants, abuzz—at Abraham’s command, water was brought for the guests to freshen up, Sarah was set to baking bread and farm hands slaughtered and prepared the hand picked, tender calf for the main course. At the same time others were sent to gather curds and milk to complement the main course. It must have been a feast to behold! I can almost smell it.

Dinner prepared, the wealthy, the mighty Abraham whose descendents would be “as many as the stars of heaven” set the meal before his guests and then “he stood by them under the tree while they ate.” (Gen. 18:8) Did you catch it? He stood by them. He didn’t partake of the meal. He didn’t sit at the head of the table. He didn’t fish for compliments as a gracious host. No, he took on the manner of a servant and stood by them as they ate.

You see, Abraham had the pleasure of knowing and serving the living God. He served Him with his time. He served him with and through his family. He served him with his possessions. He served him through his vocation. Abraham happily served God with all his heart, soul and mind. Abraham knew God personally.

God revealed Himself to Abraham in various ways, but today, He most commonly reveals Himself in scripture. Won’t you spend some time getting to know Him today? God bless.

-Ken Askew

Where’s the Love of God

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” ESV 1 John 4:9

The testimony was eerily familiar to me as I listened to our Turkish visitor last Sunday. Ever so slowly I came to realize that the slides this man was showing me were pictures of three Christian martyrs that I had written about almost two years ago. I had read and recounted the events with a heavy heart. This man had wept at their funeral.

It was mid-April in Malatya, Turkey when three men, ages 32, 36 and 46 passed into eternity at the edge of a blade while at work in a Christian publishing house. Why were these Christians killed? The short answer is summed up by one of the five assailants who claimed: “We did this for our country. They are attacking our religion.” This…in a country where less than 1% of the population professes Christianity.

Many people would be bitter at such a senseless loss of friends, yet our visitor’s faith seems to have been strengthened by the murders. His only request to us was that we pray that God would grant perseverance for the saints in the face of such persecution.

But where is the love of God in all this? Is God’s love absent when we experience tragedy? No, God’s love is still with us even in persecution; even death. John Flavel has described Jesus Christ as “the highest and fullest manifestation of the love of God to sinners, that ever was made from eternity to them.” You see, God has already given the world the greatest expression of His love possible. It doesn’t get any better than Christ and no amount of persecution can snatch that love from those who believe in him.

And God’s love is near to us today. Even in the midst of horror, disbelief, grief and tragedy, God’s love is still alive. God’s love is still magnificent. God’s love is still held out to a wicked generation. Paul reminds us in Romans 5:8 that “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

So, what is a proper response to the love of God manifested in Christ? Flavel writes that “if the greatest love hath been manifested in giving Christ to the world, then it follows, that the greatest evil and wickedness is manifested in despising, slighting, and rejecting Christ.”

Don’t reject Christ. Reach out and embrace God’s love for yourself. Take hold of Christ so that even in death you might live through him.

Finally, those of you who have taken hold of Christ, those of you who have experienced God’s love, pray for perseverance for the saints facing persecution around the globe.

Who will you call on?

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” ESV James 1:5-6

A popular movie several years back popularized the phrase “Who you gonna call?” And as trivial as this example may seem, it exemplifies the point I wish to impart today. When you lack skill and expertise in a certain area, it pays to call on someone who possesses skill in that area.

How many times have you started a project at home and gotten in over your head? I can’t count the times that I’ve given up on plumbing projects and finally called in a professional plumber; ditto for electrical projects. Come to think of it, I’d be better off calling the pros on most of my home projects. The point is that I end up calling on people who I know are skilled in areas where I am not.

Here’s another example. I’ve got a friend who’s in the tree trimming business. He knows his craft well and if I could bear to watch, I know I’d be fascinated at the way those trees come down just where he wants them to fall. His method is of course opposed to my much more dramatic method, which is to get my saw permanently wedged into an almost finished cut and wait for the wind to fell the tree wherever it wishes. When it comes to tree trimming, it pays to go with the pro.

Our passage today doesn’t deal with plumbing, electricity or tree trimming, but wisdom. The passage begins with a somewhat rhetorical question “If any of you lacks wisdom…” I say this is somewhat rhetorical because everyone lacks wisdom when they compare themselves to the all-knowing God of the bible. We all absolutely lack wisdom!

But here’s what’s most striking about the passage. The all-knowing God of the bible stands ready to impart wisdom in generous portions to all who will ask in faith. What exactly does that mean? Well, positively, it means that when I recognize and acknowledge God for who he is, the unfathomable Creator of heaven and earth, and call upon him in that spirit of humility, that he will give me wisdom to bring to bear on whatever I’m facing. Negatively, it means that if I waver between handling things by my own strength and wisdom or the world’s wisdom versus turning it over to God, then I need not expect any generous portions of wisdom from God. Instead, I should expect to be tossed wherever the winds of this world would have me.

Life is too short to be about tossed like waves on a windy ocean. Call on God, if faith, for wisdom in whatever you face today. God bless.