Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

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Genesis 50:20 – The Proper Understanding of Evil

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EvilGenesis 50:20 (ESV) As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

Life in a fallen world requires a response to pain and suffering. Bad news is all around us. Whether it is directly or indirectly perceived, evil cannot be ignored.

The most difficult evil of all is when people who are supposed to love and care for us fail in this responsibility or are cruel or abusive.

In this verse, Joseph reminds us that God is in control even we are victims of those who actively perpetrate evil.

Knowledge that God is in control does not make the evil any more palatable but it does help us grasp that it is not permanent and we will be able to move beyond it. This knowledge provides a context and a means for getting through the difficulty.

I see that God has used the most difficult people and events in my life to teach me dependence upon himself. I have also begun to learn a little of patience when my situation is beyond my ability to control.

God is My Fortress

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Psalm 59:16b (ESV)

For you have been to me a fortress
and a refuge in the day of my distress.

Matthew 10:28 (ESV)

28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

In reading Psalm 59 this morning, I notice that David twice describes God as his fortress.  A fortress is a place of protection. In a physical sense I visualize impenetrable walls and a defensible location when I think of a fortress. When under attack, I want my body protected.

Fortress

Is David merely using symbolism in this description? Perhaps not.

The verse that came to me as I considered this was Matthew 10:28. There Jesus reminds me that God is the only one that has authority over my true self, my soul. Governments and thugs (sometimes two different groups, sometimes not) can kill my body but my soul is protected by God.

Perhaps David, the man after God’s own heart, had this in mind when describing God as his fortress. Saul, who was pursuing David at the time, could kill David’s body, but David’s soul was protected by his relationship with God.

Ask, Seek and Knock

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KnockLuke 11:9–10 (ESV)

9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

In response to these verses I can only echo the prayer “I believe; help my unbelief!” Mark 9:24 (ESV)

Because of my struggle to fully appropriate these promises, my prayers are often whiny and insipid when they should be bold and passionate.

I suppose the answer to this has something to do with deepening my relationship with God so that I am increasingly aware of God’s desires for me and my world. With this knowledge, I can pray more boldly.

My biggest struggle is praying for things which I am not sure God wants. For example, the computer on which I am writing this has a screen that often turns everything blue and is old technology, but it still works. Can I pray passionately for God to provide a new one when there are so many other, more basic needs in the world? Am I just being selfish with such a prayer?

I suppose I can pray passionately about the computer with the realization that if it is not something that God wants, he will not provide it.

Perhaps the answer is to let loose the passion in prayer with the expectation that God will direct that passion for his purposes. I can see where it might be better to be passionate about the wrong things in prayer than lukewarm about the right things.

A Matter of Perspective

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Storm at sea

The disciples lacked Jesus’ perspective on the storm that surrounded them. Luke 8:24 tells us:

And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!”

The disciples are frantic. Verse 23 tells us that the boat was filling with water. Several of the disciples grew up fishing on this lake and know the capabilities of boats in such conditions. They are certain that they are going to drown.

In spite of all this, Jesus is sleeping in the boat.

The difference between Jesus and the disciples is perspective. Jesus knows they will not drown and is relaxed in that knowledge. He is in control and does not need to be stressed. He is calm enough to allow his body to rest.

I, limited by space and time, struggle to see God’s perspective. I sometimes think that my circumstances will overwhelm me and eat me alive.

I am learning that I can spend my time complaining to God about my circumstances, or I can accept them as part of God’s plan for me. The difference in perspective effects how I approach God and approach others.

If I am aware of God’s love for me and that there is never a situation where he is not in control, I can then approach life with confidence that God will show me the path for today. He promises to give me my daily bread. God is then my rock and my point of reference.

When I fail to maintain this perspective, I then become a man-pleaser and look to others to gauge how I am doing. I can then be overwhelmed by my problems because I find that neither I, nor the people around me, are capable of calming the storm.

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