Christ, whose glory fills the skies, Christ, the true and only light, Sun of righteousness, arise, Triumph over the shades of night; Dayspring from on high, be near; Daystar, in my heart appear.
Dark and cheerless is the morn Unaccompanied by thee; Joyless is the day’s return Till thy mercy’s beams I see, Till they inward light impart, Glad my eyes, and warm my heart.
Visit then this soul of mine, Pierce the gloom of sin and grief; Fill me, radiancy divine, Scatter all my unbelief; More and more thyself display, Shining to the perfect day.
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Wesley’s hymn resonates within. Being of a sad and melancholic temperment I find a deep assurance in these words that describe my issues so clearly. But He is my light, He scatters my unbelief and doubt. I will lean heavily on Jesus, as He leads me out of my darkness.
I pray that you would know His mercy and love for your soul. No matter what you’ve done or may do, His heart turns to you.
We live in difficult times, and it is easy to lose your way. I have discovered that Christian believers can be as broken and lost as anyone else. The One who shepherds our souls is working to retrieve us and bring us to safety, looks for us and brings us home. I really like the following passage, especially in Eugene Peterson’s wonderful paraphrase, in the Message.
Luke 15
The Story of the Lost Sheep
1-3By this time a lot of men and women of doubtful reputation were hanging around Jesus, listening intently. The Pharisees and religion scholars were not pleased, not at all pleased. They growled, “He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends.” Their grumbling triggered this story.
4-7“Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it? When found, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders, rejoicing, and when you got home call in your friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Celebrate with me! I’ve found my lost sheep!’ Count on it—there’s more joy in heaven over one sinner’s rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue.’ [The Message]
I suppose that we chose to what we are theologically aligned to. But in this case, there are two distinct poles. The lost, and those who wouldn’t ever dream of being lost. They all see the world in a different way. Are you a ‘lost sheep?’
If we want to, we can grasp the world by the right way. If you can’t come as a sinner, then you will undoubtedly come as a “pharisee,” full of pride and self-righteousness. You must make the decision all by yourself.
“Wait for the Lord’s help. Be strong and brave, and wait for the Lord’s help.”
Psalm 27:14
The Bible describes people’s interaction with God. Almost always they end up waiting for God to fulfill His promises to them. They wait and wait. Often God takes them right to 11:59, and then shows up in some miraculous way. That is just the way it is.
Waiting is quite beneficial to us. Like a slow stream, it takes time for things to settle, we are often turbulent, and waiting helps us calm down. Slowly the stream becomes clear and clean. When our faith is tested; we develop patience and submission. And when the blessing comes to us, we will savor it even more.
‘Waiters’ are actually reflectors on the promises of God yet to be. It’s promised, but not yet. Hebrews 11 is this very powerful statement of people waiting in faith. Read this chapter and look at them waiting. Each one is looking for a promise yet to come. Some wait well, and others, not so much.
Waiting time will never be wasted time.
We should weave that into the fabric of our hearts. Waiting is not like sitting in a room for your to see the doctor. When I sit in a waiting room, I browse through old and tattered copies Newsweek and four year old National Geographics. I study the other people who are also waiting, sometimes like a detective trying to understand the story of their lives up to this point. I look at my watch a lot.
Waiting on God is not supposed to be like this. When the Word speaks to us of waiting, it has a great deal to say about humility. When we wait well, we start softening. God’s waiting room is the place where we spend a large percentage of our lives. But it’s an active spot where we put ourselves in the sovereignty of God. We see ourselves on His timetable, not ours.
“Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it.”
Heb. 11:1
“If the Lord Jehovah makes us wait, let us do so with our whole hearts; for blessed are all they that wait for Him. He is worth waiting for. The waiting itself is beneficial to us: it tries faith, exercises patience, trains submission, and endears the blessing when it comes. The Lord’s people have always been a waiting people.”
‘Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.”
Jeremiah 32:17, ESV
“One should go to sleep as homesick passengers do, saying, “Perhaps in the morning we shall see the shore.”
Henry Ward Beecher
I have never been there, except in a stuttering way on my knees in the Lord’s presence. From there it is like climbing a mountain, and breaking through at the summit. It is an astonishing awareness of home. It is where I belong. He wants me there.
But most of the time, I’m slogging through the peanut-butter of everyday reality. It’s ‘scootch-slide-scootch’ most of the time. But I recall my last trip up, so I hold on to that fragrant memory, and it is a tremendous relief to think about his presence.
I want home. I can’t wait. I hope he’s not disappointed in me, or disturbed by the fact that I have made such little progress. The depression and despondency will slough off its skin like a snake. I will know true freedom. This is a sure thing.
I want home. The presence of Jesus is waiting. All of the knots will be worked out. The dark burdens that nip at my heels will disappear. This change is going to be powerful, and most certainly dramatic, and I want home.
For those of us who believe, we will arrive at a place of profound blessing. We will squint back at our life on earth, and wonder what it was all about. A hundred thousand years from now it will seem like a difficult dream which we really can’t remember upon waking.
We will be moving toward him. There will be a magnetism that will exert its pull on our wandering hearts. He will draw us to himself. Guilt and shame, which has deeply infected us will be eradicated. Sometimes, when people train to run they will wear “training weights,” creating more of a burden that has to be overcome. In that way heaven can be understood, for we have spent well over 50 years training for that place.
We come into all of this like a man who has been lost in the desert. Without water, we stumble into what looks like a watery oasis, and we find a refreshing relief. We have been “saved” from a certain death. When we consider what has happened, and how the superheated desert almost destroyed us, we will marvel, and that quite often. Each one there will have a story of failure and faith, and we will listen and than tell our story as well.
What has to be stated, and restated, is the astonishing presence of Jesus in that place. Not only in our thinking, but in a real concrete way. Heaven is not an an abstract or ethereal thing. It is solid and strong. We don’t imagine heaven, instead we are pounded by it. It is more real than real, with a solidity that we will find most refreshing.
“God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”
James 1:12
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown.”
Revelation 3:11
Hold on guys, keep your crown. Don’t let anyone snatch it from you. Advance into his presence, and let him do his stuff on you. He loves you, far more than you love him. He is pursuing you more than you are pursuing him. Somehow that is quite comforting. I want home!
Broken Believers 