Author: Meredith Beatty

Last month I talked about the difference between waiting for and waiting on. I explored Psalm 104 and the posture of those God has created. In this post I want to further explore this kind of posture.

Consider these passages:

“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.” Psalm 130:5-6

“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” Psalm 27:14

“It will be said on that day, ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.'” Isaiah 25:9

“Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31

“But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.” Micah 7:7

“For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” Romans 8:22-25

The first thing to notice in all these passages is the object of our waiting. It’s the Lord. This is why I call waiting a holy posture. The late R.C. Sproul defined holiness this way: “Whatever is holy carries a peculiar character. It has been separated from a common use.” The vessels used in the temple weren’t holy in and of themselves. They became holy as they were consecrated and set apart for use in worshiping the Lord. And just like those vessels, our waiting can transcend the common, it can go beyond the world’s definition. The world despises waiting. It actively seeks to avoid it. (Where do you think Amazon Prime came from? And the FastPass at Disney World?) But if we learn the Bible’s kind of waiting, a consecrated waiting whose object is the Lord, then our waiting is transformed into something completely different. It becomes holy.

What about the posture of those who wait? In Psalm 130, waiting is an eager seeking, like one who has been up all night straining his eyes for the first rosy inklings of sunrise. In Psalm 27, David seems to be preaching to himself in the midst of real physical danger. Instead of focusing on the need for physical strength to face his enemies, he exhorts himself to have the courage and strength of heart to wait on the Lord.

In Isaiah 25, the prophet speaks of a future time. His waiting is filled with a joyful and confident exultation that’s rooted in God’s promise of salvation. Fifteen chapters later he renews the theme. In Isaiah 40, he contrasts the short-lived vigor of youth with the steadfast endurance of those who wait for the Lord. Waiting produces perseverance.

In chapter 7 of Micah, the prophet decries the ungodliness around him and the worthlessness of putting confidence in any man. He then describes his waiting as an abrupt shift in his outlook. He will turn his face to the Lord and wait with dogged determination.

Then in Romans 8 we see a kind of waiting that even as it groans, it brims with eschatological certainty.

Waiting then is an active trust, a promise-fueled hope that looks forward. It’s a consecrated demeanor, a set apart attitude. It’s a sanctified disposition and a God-fearing frame of mind. Those who wait on the Lord lean in and look up, always desiring a better country. (Hebrews 11:13-16)

Waiting is a holy posture.

This kind of waiting, this holy posture that we can cultivate in our own hearts day by day as we meditate on his promises and abide in his grace, will not go unrewarded. In any and every situation we face, waiting for and waiting on the Lord can slowly transform our fear and anxiety into a settled confidence and an expectant hope that God is who he says he is and will continue to be faithful in everything he does.

“Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.” Psalm 34:5

“Those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.” Isaiah 49:23

“Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame…” Psalm 25:3

“I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” 1 Corinthians 1:14-17

The Corinthian church had a problem. They actually had many problems; most churches do. But the first problem Paul addresses is about quarreling. The Corinthians were attaching themselves to certain leaders in the church, thinking that gave them some sort of significance, a kind of worldly cache. They were measuring their worth according to who baptized them. This led to strife and jealousy.

Paul doesn’t care about who baptized who. In verse 16, he admits he doesn’t know exactly who he baptized. He wasn’t counting. The most important evangelist in church history didn’t care to keep a record of who he baptized. That wasn’t his goal. Think about that.

Paul’s goal has nothing to do with numbers of followers or building a spiritual resume. His goal is the proclamation of the message – Jesus Christ and him crucified. (See 1 Corinthians 2:1-5) He takes pains to direct the Corinthians away from the worldly wisdom that’s been influencing them and causing jealousy and strife. In 1 Corinthians 3 he again rebukes them for attaching themselves to the men through whom they believed. Paul says, “So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” The wisdom they have been following, the sophisticated thinking of Corinth, is foolishness to God. Why boast in men when Christ has purchased all things for you?

In 2 Corinthians, Paul continues to struggle against the same problem. The Corinthians still wish to boast in the flesh and the church is in danger from false apostles who seek to denigrate him. He feels compelled to detail his spiritual resume and his sufferings for them in order to counteract the accusations of these false apostles. But in chapter 11 he implores them to bear with this kind of foolish talk.

How often are we dominated by the same worldly wisdom? We attach ourselves to popular teachers, preachers and ministries. We name drop our affiliations and make haste to add our ‘likes’ to whoever is trending. Why do we think attaching ourselves to a mere human means anything! Human beings are fallible. Paul emphasizes the message – Jesus Christ and him crucified. That message is infallible. Those who proclaim it are merely servants.

Self promotion is a dangerous business. But everywhere it is encouraged, especially social media. I feel the pressure myself, even as I seek to encourage and edify in my tiny little corner of the Internet. How do I gain more readers? How can I promote my content? What can that kind of thinking do to a soul?

Attention does not necessarily equal faithfulness. And more troubling, popularity doesn’t make holiness easier. In fact, it probably makes it harder. Holiness is about being set apart for God, living a life that pleases him. But in the drive to gain attention and popularity you can be drawn away from your first love and toward the ever elusive goal of pleasing man.

Obscurity has its temptations as well. If no one is paying attention, you may be tempted to change what you’re doing in order to make a mark. But with popularity or obscurity, the problem is still the same – we’re gauging success by worldly standards. Are we even supposed to measure these things?

Ponder Paul’s words again in 1 Corinthians 1:

“I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”

Paul’s goal wasn’t to impress or to count numbers or to worry about optics. His goal was to preach Christ and him crucified. He left the rest up to God.

We all know what it means to wait for something. If we’re parents, we have a front row seat to our children’s frustration with it. Year after year, we hear the cries of impatience: “How long until my birthday?” and, “I can’t wait until Christmas!” and then, “When can I make my own decisions?”

This isn’t the kind of waiting I’m talking about. This is waiting for. The dictionary defines this kind of waiting. It means to remain inactive until something expected happens. But I want to talk about waiting on. This is not so easily defined, and is a kind of waiting that goes directly against the spirit of the age.

Psalm 104 speaks of this kind of waiting. But first, it lays an important foundation. The psalmist extols the greatness of God as the Creator and Sustainer of all things. Ponder these actions ascribed to God:

He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters…

He makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind…

He set the earth on its foundations…

The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them. You set a boundary that they may not pass….

You water the mountains…

You cause the grass to grow…

The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted…

He made the moon to mark the seasons…

There go the ships, and Leviathan, whom you formed…

After establishing the foundational truth of God as Creator and Sustainer, the psalmist goes on to describe the posture of the things God created and sustains.

These all look to you, to give them their food in due season. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground. Psalm 104:27-30

Do you see the difference between God and his creation? He gives everything. The creation receives. He is the Source. His creation looks to him. He is fullness, we need to be filled.

Psalm 104 reveals the foundational truth that rests beneath what this “waiting on” means. Andrew Murray, in his book Waiting on God, says it like this:

“It is God who gives all: let this faith enter deeply into our hearts. Before we fully understand all that is implied in our waiting upon God, and before we have even been able to cultivate the habit, let the truth enter our souls. Waiting on God, unceasing and entire dependence upon Him, is, in heaven and earth, the only true faith, the one unalterable and all-comprehensive expression for the true relationship to the ever-blessed One in whom we live.”

The spirit of this age is one of independent self-generation. We don’t need anyone or anything. We create our own reality. We define our own existence. We establish our own significance. But anyone who has lived on this earth for more than 2 seconds knows that’s a lie. But it’s the one we keep telling ourselves and believing. The toddler screams, “I can do it myself!” The teenager groans, “Stop telling me what to do!” And the adult preaches to herself, “I am enough!”

For most of 2020 I have been dealing with a foot injury. It has severely restricted my running plans. I thought I had put it behind me, but it flared back up recently. Now I can’t run at all without pain. It’s confusing and frustrating to say the least. Those who know me know I love to run. I have availed myself of almost every method of rehabilitation. What can I do? How can I fix it? I am waiting for healing to occur. But am I waiting on God? Have I forgotten the foundational truths of Psalm 104?

I can’t. I don’t have the ability or the authority to fix this. I am not in control. This has also been the lesson of 2020, if we’ve been wise enough to see it. We are not in control. We can’t fix it. We are helpless.

With all the mess that 2020 brought, and with my foot problem, I need to go back to the foundational truths that never change. I am the creature, he is the Creator. He is the Source. I am dependent on him and must look to him. I need grace to wait for, but more importantly, to wait on. This has been the truth all along, but I constantly forget.

The Bible has four grand themes: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. God creates all things in the beginning. He declares everything good. And those whom he’s created in his image? They are very good. But soon his very good creatures, Adam and Eve, fall into sin. What was perfect and pure became polluted. Now there was fear. Now there was shame and blame. But God pursues and God responds. There are curses and grave consequences but also a glorious, yet veiled, promise.

Genesis 3:15 says this – “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

Bound up in this promise is a great expectation. Eve’s name – which means the mother of all living – is imbued with that expectation and hope. There will be a coming deliverer, a seed of the woman, who will bring a future redemption. But where there’s expectation and hope, there’s also waiting. Genesis 3:15 is the beginning of this waiting for redemption. There were many who looked like potential deliverers but eventually fell short: Noah, Moses, David, Solomon. There were hundreds upon hundreds of years of waiting for the promised deliverer who would bring our redemption.

What we celebrate this week in Christmas is the answer to that waiting: The Incarnation. God kept his promise. He came. He sent his own Son, Immanuel, to redeem his people. He who knew no sin came to be the sin that had stained and wrecked the world, the sin that had condemned us. And he rose, confirming the victory over sin and death.

But still we wait. We aren’t waiting for redemption any longer but a restoration, a coming consummation. The story isn’t over yet. He will come again, to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. Meanwhile, we can learn from those who waited in the past. They can teach us. For our waiting now mirrors their waiting in the past.

So we must learn to wait in this world as we wait for the next. We wait for the mundane like next year’s baseball season to start or for our child to be old enough to drive. We also wait for the more important things like an end to Covid-19 and the restrictions we’ve been living under. But let this worldly waiting prepare you for the eternal. Because this worldly waiting should train us in how to wait for the eternal things, for THE eternal thing. All our waiting here on earth, all our longing is an echo of a greater longing. A longing for an eternal consummation when all will be made right. When Christ will come again.

Lord, teach us to wait.

What will I choose to focus on today? Will I allow my mind to bounce back and forth between the news and social media? I have a choice today, like I do every day, of what I will allow my mind to dwell on. Today, I will dwell on what I know for sure.

What I Do Know For Sure

God is sovereign over nations, over rulers, over all. I will dwell on these words spoken by Nebuchadnezzar, a pagan king whom God humbled:

“At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?'” Daniel 4:34-35

And these words of David:

“The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.” Psalm 103:19

It is foolish to trust in man. I will take these words to heart:

“Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.” Psalm 146:3-4

“The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.” Proverbs 29:25

Life is fleeting and often seems futile. I will remind myself of these sobering truths:

“For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.” Psalm 90:9-10

God’s purposes will stand. I will counsel my heart with this declaration:

“Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.'” Isaiah 46:8-10

Now, if I stopped there I may be left a little depressed. Yes, God has all authority and his purposes will stand. And yes, I am a sinner and my life is but a blip in relation to eternity. So now let’s focus on the rest of the story, and the reasons I can rest.

God’s story is one of redemption. I will recall Zechariah’s prophecy about his son John who would prepare the way of the Savior:

“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Luke 1:76-79

He has redeemed me and transferred me to another kingdom. I will rejoice in this truth:

“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13-14

I have an identity that transcends any earthly kingdom. I will remember who I am, by God’s grace through faith (see Ephesians 2:1-10):

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:9

I am called to reflect this identity to a watching world. Because of this transfer of citizenship, I am called to act accordingly:

“Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” 1 Peter 2:13-17

What will happen in the coming days? I don’t know. But these are the things I do know for sure. This is the truth I need to tether my heart to not just today, but every day.

I was overwhelmed this morning while reviewing one of my favorite passages – Hebrews 6:13-20. Sometimes, not all the time, the Spirit illumines your understanding in a way that stuns you. This morning God used this passage to show me the freedom of his grace. Let me explain what I mean by that – God is not constrained in any way; he is not required to show grace to all; as he told Moses in Exodus 33:19 – “And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.”

So God is utterly free from human constraint. No one and nothing forces his hand. Knowing this, we dare not presume upon his mercy or take his grace for granted. But so often we do. Over the years, I have even noticed myself growing dull to songs like, ‘Amazing Grace’! But as I read and prayed through Hebrews 6:13-20, the Spirit revealed to me the overwhelming superabundance of God’s grace to his people. Follow along as I highlight what the Lord showed me.

“For when God made a promise to Abraham….” Stop. Did God have to promise Abraham anything? Absolutely not. Did Abraham ask God to make a promise to him? Again, the answer is no. Go back to Genesis 12 and look. Abram was minding his own business when God reached down and called him to go to a land he didn’t know. There was no initiation on Abram’s part. The freedom of grace.

“…since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, ‘Surely I will bless you and multiply you.'” Stop. God not only makes a promise to Abraham but then swears by himself and says surely I will bless you and multiply you. The God of the universe swears by himself. Just take some time to think about that. He is making a promise to a sinful man, a man who has done nothing to deserve that promise. This is stunning! Every other so called god demanded sacrifice and service. They were capricious and you couldn’t depend on them. But the God of Abraham is altogether different. He initiates a covenant and swears by himself, promising to bring blessing and multiplication! Super-abounding grace.

“And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation.” So here we have the conclusion of this example of Abraham. Abraham is not the point of the passage, but is a key to understanding the gravity and glory of the passage. The author of Hebrews is trying to help his audience understand how Jesus is superior to what they had under the Old Covenant, and to warn them of apostasy. He is using Abraham to make a larger point about the certainty of God’s promises in the midst of their suffering. So this verse is getting us ready to see the dazzling reality of God’s free grace that pours forth from the certainty of his promise. First, he reminds them of the nature of human oaths, how even fickle human beings make vows and oaths in order to confirm their word. But look at what God does in comparison.

“So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath…” Stop right there. There is so much in that one verse that jumps out at me about God’s character and his free grace. First, look at the words, “God desired.” Have you ever wondered what God desires? This passage answers that question, but I have to break it down word by word because each word carries the weight of grace. God longs for something. This is his heart. And what does he long to do? He longs to show something, but he wants to show it a certain way – there are adverbs here! He wants to show it more convincingly, to make it absolutely clear. God longs for his people to have assurance! And God’s people are called heirs, heirs of the promise. Those who have the faith of Abraham are heirs according to Romans 4:13-16 which makes clear that the promise we’re inheriting rests on grace! And what does he want to make absolutely clear to the heirs of Abraham’s gracious promise? He wants to show them the unchangeable character of his purpose. And to prove that to them, and to us, God guarantees it with an oath. Again, does God have to do this?! Absolutely not. But this is his heart, this is his desire for his people, the heirs of Abraham’s promise. He wants them to be sure, he wants them to have rock solid confidence in who he is and what he’s promised. Maybe we could call that take-it-to-the-bank free grace.

Hang on though, because it gets even better. The verse continues – “…so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.” The author of Hebrews continues to encourage his readers, the ones who were being tempted to abandon the faith, to focus on the character of God and this hope they’ve been given. It is impossible for the God who made this oath to lie. Bank on that. Find refuge in that. God wants to encourage them (and us) to hold fast to the hope set before them. What other god, what other religion is like this? In any other system of religion, it is up to us to work and to strive for approval. There is no promise of encouragement, there is no assurance. But our God is utterly unique in his character and his purposes. He is for his people. He desires his people to have this refuge, to have this confidence in who he is and what he’s promised. Undeserved favor indeed.

Then we have this final glorious crescendo of grace: “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” There may not be a more beautiful image in Scripture than this – our hope as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul. If we hadn’t been convinced already of God’s gracious purposes towards his people, he confirms it again with this image. The meaning is profound. Our souls are adrift and wretchedly sinful, separated from God and deserving of condemnation. The inner place, behind the curtain is a reference to the Old Covenant sacrificial system and the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies was where God dwelt and where sacrifice for sins was made. The way into this Holy of Holies was limited to one man though, the high priest, and only once a year. But what’s special about our hope now? What’s special is our hope is anchored in the person and work of Jesus Christ who has gone into God’s presence on our behalf as our great high priest and won us access to the Father. It is finished. Our sin is forgiven, there is no more condemnation, we are secure and can come boldly to the throne of grace! (See Hebrews 4:14-16) Jesus Christ is grace personified. We didn’t deserve him or ask for him. We were weak, we were sinners, we were God’s enemies, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved…” Ephesians 2:4-5

The beautiful freedom of God’s grace is embodied and demonstrated by our Savior Jesus Christ. I don’t think ‘Amazing Grace’ will be dull the next time I sing it.

I tap my foot impatiently in front of the microwave while I wait the 2 minutes and 22 seconds for my water to heat up. Why 2:22? It’s faster than punching in 2:30 of course! It’s a hack and we all love hacks, those tips and tricks that make our lives more efficient, faster and easier.

Have you noticed how badly people drive nowadays? People’s traffic manners have just degraded, myself excluded of course! People roll through stop signs and take advantage of any driver’s inattention by laying on the horn. If someone’s not going fast enough they get passed in the breakdown lane or the turn lane or even on a double yellow line! People just want to get where they’re going. After all, traffic rules are for student drivers or those slow Sunday grandmas who can barely see above the wheel, right? Just hurry up!

But I’m not excluded from this hurry up mood as evidenced by the microwave example above. I find myself in a hurry up mood way too often, even on the weekends. I can even find taking a shower a necessary inconvenience! As a dear friend told me one time, I just wish I could snap my fingers, and BAM! – I’m showered, dressed and ready for what’s really important.

There’s a style of play in football called the hurry up no huddle offense. This style is employed near the end of the game. The offense doesn’t take time to huddle up and discuss strategy. The quarterback calls the play as quickly as possible and chooses plays that will get his team down the field as quickly as possible in order to score. Maybe the hurry up offense is an analogy for my life. Just hurry up! I’m noticing myself wanting to hurry up in writing this post. Just get it done! Hurry up and publish!

We avoid waiting. We look at screens while waiting in line. We bring a book to pass the time in the doctor’s office. We constantly check the tracking information on a package we’re waiting for.

Have you noticed that faster, easier and more efficient has earned a positive moral judgment? We’ve somehow been convinced that it’s morally good to have things be faster and easier. Slower, harder and more cumbersome is therefore morally bad. How did this happen? Where did these moral judgments come from?

The Bible speaks with completely different language. It calls for us to have a completely opposite perspective. For example, we read this in Habakkuk 2:2-3:

“And the Lord answered me: ‘Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits it’s appointed time; it hastens to the end – it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.'”

Habakkuk had hard questions for God and God graciously answered him. But in answering he also gives a warning. He says the timing may seem slow. Can anyone relate to that?

In 2 Peter 3:9 we read this:

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

He says the Lord is not slow as some count slowness. I think the problem is our perception, not God’s supposed inaction. We don’t understand time and how God works in time. It’s our faulty understanding that’s the issue. God told Habakkuk what to do if the vision seemed slow in being fulfilled: he was to wait.

We are also called to wait. But how do we do that, especially in this hurry-up world of ours? And what is waiting anyway? This is what I want to start exploring. Let me know what you think.

I’ve been thinking a lot about contentment and have been drawn back into the Puritans. Who were the Puritans? They were a group of English Reformed Protestants in the 16th and 17th century who sought to reform the Church of England. John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim’s Progress, was a Puritan, as was William Bradford, the governor of Plymouth colony. If you’ve never read the Puritans you’re really missing out on something special. They are difficult to get used to, but once you get adjusted to their language, you’ll realize what a profound treasure they are. J.I. Packer (1926-2020), who made it part of his life’s work to study the Puritans, was so right when he said they were folk who lived slowly enough to think about God deeply. Jeremiah Burroughs wrote one of the most insightful and challenging books on contentment. He called it The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment. It’s short but densely populated with great Biblical truth. I also just picked up Thomas Watson’s book on the subject called The Art of Divine Contentment.

Burroughs defines contentment as a mystery and an art that every Christian must learn: “Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.”

Many of us desire to be content but we try to get there from the outside in. We apply various salves to our harried souls (food, vacations, relationships, organizational schemes) but soon find ourselves empty again. What makes Burroughs’ and Watson’s writing so penetrating and powerful is their foundation, the basis for their convictions. They both make an essential presupposition – God’s sovereignty. Go back and read Burroughs’ definition and focus on the end. The contented person freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.

But what is God’s sovereignty? Can you define it? Most of us can’t if pressed. Here is Jonathan Edwards, the great American theologian of the 18th century and one who was devoted to Puritan Reformed theology, on the subject:

The sovereignty of God is his absolute, independent right of disposing of all creatures according to his own pleasure.

Imagine the opposite. If you don’t believe that God is in complete control of all things, from the falling of a sparrow (Matthew 10:29) to the rise of nations (Isaiah 40:21-24), how can you possibly be content? There is no sure and steady foundation for life and so you’re constantly tossed to and fro. Contentment requires confidence that there is someone in complete control of outcomes. Contentment doesn’t depend on the predictability of events but on the One who controls those events. And if we love God, we are promised that all those events will work for our good, for our growth in Christlikeness. (Romans 8:28-30) For the God who is sovereign is also good.

One of the deep and abiding convictions in the hearts of the Puritans was God’s sovereignty. That conviction was born out of diligent and careful study of the Scripture, and it was a key ingredient in the soil of their hearts that allowed many graces to grow including contentment. What constitutes the soil of your heart? Of my heart? Is there some tilling and fertilizing that I need to do in order to allow contentment to grow? I commend the Puritans but I also commend the study of God’s sovereignty.

This post is a continuation of one I wrote here. I looked at a passage in 1 Peter 2 and discussed how our Bible reading and study can be unduly influenced by our different perspectives – where we grew up, what our family structure was like, our education level, our gender and many other things.

In this post I want to go back to that passage, add another from Titus, and talk a little about how being an American can influence how we react to and interpret these passages. Here’s the 1 Peter passage again:

“Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” 1 Peter 2:13-17

And here is the passage from Titus:

“Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” Titus 3:1-2

What is your initial reaction to these passages? If you’re a Christian who lives in America you may bristle at these phrases: be submissive, be subject, emperor as supreme, honor the emperor, speak evil of no one. We don’t have emperors; we’re used to speaking our mind on every issue, especially on social media. Politics is a kind of sport in this country. We have fun mocking and scoffing at the stupidity of the other side of the aisle. We’ve also inherited a tradition of freedom that has allowed for widespread dissent, the creation of new political movements, as well as the ability to sign petitions and effect change and protest on the streets. We feel it’s our birthright to call out the government when it’s doing something wrong. Don’t misunderstand – I love our country and our freedoms. God has blessed us immensely and we shouldn’t take it for granted.

It is not my aim in this post to discuss the believer’s relationship with government and when we are called by God to disobey. This is a post about how we look at Scripture. What is influencing our reactions? Do we even acknowledge and examine these reactions? This is what I’m calling people to do. Do you read and study out of your identity as a Christ follower who happens to be an American or do you identify primarily as an American and then as a Christian? Your initial reactions to passages like these can help you answer that question.

It’s interesting to look at how Peter identifies his readers. In the beginning of the letter he calls them exiles who have been dispersed among various geographical areas. Then in chapter 2 verse 9 he calls them a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession. We are God’s people. This is the way we should identify ourselves.

Another crucial thing to keep in mind is that these letters were written to believers during times of oppression and persecution. The believers Peter was writing to were living under the tyrannical and brutal rule of Nero. And Peter is exhorting his fellow brothers and sisters to honor this emperor! That will definitely grind against our American sensibilities. What does that mean? I don’t know specifically, but I do know that it has something to do with realizing that someone else ultimately has authority over Nero. (See Romans 13) And knowing that persecution is ordained by God for the good of his people, his church. In Acts, the stoning of Stephen led to the scattering of the church and its tremendous growth led by Paul – the one who approved of Stephen’s stoning! Peter also makes it clear in his epistle that when we suffer it is according to God’s will. (See 1 Peter 3:17; 4:19)

What does it mean to submit to and honor the rulers and authorities in our context? That will vary according to the situation and will require prayer, great wisdom and humility. But the first step is to humble ourselves under God’s Word, submitting our perspectives to it, letting it moderate and control our biases, not the other way around.

After you read this, I urge you to listen to this sermon by David Platt and this sermon by John Piper. A lot of what I have to share in this post was influenced by the words of these two godly men.

Anxiety can come upon us suddenly and unbidden, like this morning when I woke up at 4:29am with anxious and despairing thoughts about my children. Questions dogged me as I probed into their futures.

I was able to go back to sleep but I didn’t get at the roots of my anxiety until later. It’s what I should’ve done at 4:29am, but who thinks clearly at 4:29am? Did I also mention I’m on vacation? Who wants to battle sin when they’re comfortably ensconced in a mountain cabin? But I guess anxiety never goes on vacation.

I needed to stop (like David Platt suggests) and examine and pull up the roots of my anxiety. I don’t often do that. Often I just try to get through life accepting that there will always be this kind of low level anxiety hovering around. It seems to be the default atmosphere we live in and even more so in our current state of affairs. But anxiety is a sin. We are commanded by Jesus (Matthew 6) and Paul (Philippians 4) to not be anxious.

So if anxiety is a sin then we need to fight against it, not accept it. And in order to fight any sin it’s helpful to get at the root of it. Did you know sin starts in the mind? Sins don’t come out of nowhere. They begin in the mind, create desires in the heart, and eventuate in sinful action.

There could be many roots to my anxiety but the root I needed to get at today and pull up like a noxious weed was the root of unbelief in God’s sovereignty.

Isaiah 46:8-11 (which Piper preached on) was one of the ways I started pulling up that weed. “Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed and I will do it.”

God knows the future, he has a purpose for the future and he will accomplish that purpose, for the world, for me and for my children. I had forgotten. When I woke up at 4:29am I thought I was on the throne. I thought I was God. And I panicked. I let my thoughts go to the future I didn’t know, a future I didn’t really have a plan for, and a future I certainly didn’t have the authority or strength to accomplish. That left my heart vulnerable for despair to creep in, just like a weed.

My husband has been trying to kill off the weeds in our backyard so he can eventually grow some good grass back there. He sprayed the whole backyard with weedkiller and eventually the weeds disappeared. It was fine for a few weeks but he didn’t lay down new topsoil and spread grass seed. And guess what happened? Almost overnight it seemed, weeds sprung up where there were none.

This is what will happen if we forget to renew our minds with the truth. We can pull up the weeds of anxious thoughts by confessing and asking for forgivenesss, but if we’re not diligent and watchful those weeds will come back. We need to lay down the topsoil of the truth of God’s Word and spread the seed of his promises. We need to consistently preach to ourselves and to others the truth that God is God and we are not (Isaiah 46:8-11), that his mercies are new every morning and great is his faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-24), that he knows what we need before we ask him and so we can seek his kingdom and his righteousness knowing he will provide (Matthew 6:8, 25-34), that he will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5-6).

Weeds don’t take a vacation and neither does sin. So let us then encourage one another all the more with these truths, especially in these anxious times.