“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.” John 14:1(NLT)
Over the last few weeks I have watched
(too) many hours of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearings on the
confirmation of Supreme Court nominee (now Justice) Brett Kavanaugh. The process has been steeped in the leveled
accusations of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford claiming she was sexually-assaulted by
Kavanaugh in high school. Among the
takeaways from all the accusations, counter-accusations, moving and shifting of
alleged facts by assembled lawyers, politicians, judges, FBI secret
investigations, and media pundits, is my severe and growing nausea. What a mess!
Another takeaway is a sense of
hopelessness; how can we move forward after this
drama? The anger rising up with all the
“who’s in control” posturing of Republicans vs. Democrats, men vs. women,
conservative vs. liberal, old vs. young, law vs. anarchy, racial bias, grass
roots movement vs. entrenched establishment (a.k.a. the sewer), and
others (ad nauseum) is too great to contain; angry attitudes spill into
everyday life like the running of the bulls at Pamplona, a stampede that can
only lead to destruction.
In the wider view, all this human drama
and posturing means very little to God.
To God those things we consider monumental and critical to getting
it right in the 21st century are like flies on a water
buffalo’s back; they are as inconsequential as the solemn decision a 4-year-old
makes as he sits in his sandbox and decides the real meaning of life is to
resist potty training forevermore!
Another takeaway, a whole lot closer to
eternal reality, is sadness for the participants, in particular Dr. Ford and
Judge Kavanaugh. The pathos of broken
spirits, shattered family trust, and damaged eternal souls, as the resultant
cost of these sandbox political machinations reminds me of how Job got into the
mess he experienced.
If you recall Job’s story, it was a sunny
day in Uz as Job’s kids were planning to have a party under the outdoor
pavilion. In the space of just a few
hours Job’s servants, livestock, and family were all ripped from Job’s
upper-class life. He had boils raise up
to cover his entire body, and he was left with a harping wife who encouraged
him to commit suicide. To rub salt in
these wounds, a committee from his community showed up to deliver the news that
the town council had voted on the matter and decided it was all Job’s fault; he
must have done something really evil to tick God off that much!
And, like Job’s friends, we can only look
at Dr. Ford and Justice Kavanaugh from the outside, not knowing who did what,
when, why, or to whom! But shall we
judge? Indeed, the whole world votes on
it. And their children and families are
devastated.
To the point: I don’t know if Bret Kavanaugh ought to sit
in one of those nine chairs, or if Christine Blasey Ford is telling the truth;
and neither do you. But we can all sense
the loss in this, no matter if you’re stuck on the right, calling the woman a
liar, or stuck on the left, wanting to bypass a trial and hang the man. Had Kavanaugh not been confirmed and
sworn-in, there would have been another nominee in due time, and the left and
right would still be hurling mud missiles at each other.
What is true for an individual is
sometimes true of a culture. This is one
of those times. May God have mercy on our children if they are to follow our
example.
I would suggest we all find a way to put
the swords down and learn to plow together; that seems the only way to actually
move into fruitful kingdom territory!
Horatio Spafford, the Chicago businessman
whose children drowned in 1873 when the ship they were on sunk, has given us a
hymn that tells us how to turn away from the fear Satan would place in our
pathway when we see circumstances and the actions of other fearful people that
disturb and separate us.
Let’s sing our way through the theology of
how to lay down the swords we’re tempted to pick up and trust the One who makes
it well with our soul.
It Is Well – verse 1
When peace, like a river, attendeth my
way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to
say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
This first stanza reminds us that God’s
promises are true, no matter what the circumstances seem. We are told that God never lies:
Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. Romans 3:4(NLT)
Over and over in Scripture we are taught
to trust in God, to put down whatever swords of force we think we need, and
have an all-encompassing faith in our Lord.
It’s not easy…we’re all control-freaks of a sort…but
what choice do genuine believers have, we who have been commissioned by God to walk
by faith, not sight? 2 Corinthians 5:7(NLT)
So, the first step in getting beyond the
drama is to stop bringing weapons to school, work, or any other place; we need
to be vulnerable as peace demands if we are to bring being well in our souls
as a healing to our land.
It Is Well – verse 2
Though Satan should buffet, though trials
should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless
estate,
And hath shed his own blood for my soul.
The minute we get vulnerable Satan cranks
up his pot-stirring to turn us anxious again.
But, while Satan things the trials he’s throwing in our path are walls
to keep us from God, they are really (as Apostle James suggests in his letter1:2-3)
the spurs that drive us to God in patient, trusting prayer.
And, the reason for this is because we’re
aware of what the blood of Christ has done for us; Christ paid the penalty for our
sin. The Accuser cannot top that.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23(NLT)
Spafford’s hymn tells us we should let
this blest assurance control.
Because we have been created as beings with free will, we are also, in our
faith or our unbelief, decide where the control of our lives will be
placed…with the world, or in God’s hands.
The Apostle Paul makes his case for us to
put all that control in God’s hands:
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:1-2(NLT)
So, to be well in our souls, and bring
healing wherever we are, we drop the weapons, and drop our free will into His
hands, and thirdly we throw all we are into praising God from whom all
blessings flow; we live a life of doxology for being forgiven:
It Is Well – verse 3
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious
thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no
more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul.
My sin nailed to the cross/bear it no
more
We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. Romans 6:6(NLT)
The response of receiving such great
forgiveness is to praise/thank Him from the soul. Simply put, that means no half-hearted
worship; worship becomes the air of our souls. While Elizabeth and I were on
vacation last week, we attended a church in our neighborhood; it was World
Communion Sunday. A preteen girl,
sitting right in front of us, had her iPad out, playing a game through the
whole service while the world celebrated communion. Not a whole lot of praise going on there…but
I would say her parents, sitting right next to her might want to read again
those vows about training up their children in the nurture and admonition of
the Lord.
When our children were young we were
always living from paycheck to paycheck, uncertain, and mostly in debt. Then some dear ones paid off one of the
largest of our creditors; you tell me how we felt about that!!
Now, magnify that feeling of gratitude a
billion times over towards the forgiveness we receive because of the cross.
We lay down the weapons, lay down our
willfulness, lift up our praise, and look to the skies:
It Is Well – verse 4
And, Lord, haste the day when my faith
shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord
shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
It is well -- with my soul
It is well, it is well with my soul.
This is language of the second coming.
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18(NLT)
The presence of Jesus will be our
realization of all His promises, joy, and life…forever!
Satan causes strife, unbelief and fear;
God is not the author of any of that.
So, whether it is political climates, social culture, taxes, barbaric
government policies toward the unborn, blatant atheism of your next door
neighbor or co-worker at your job, knowing it is well with your soul can change
everything if you lay down the weapons and willfulness, lift up praise to the
Father, and keep your eyes on that Eastern sky!
