Part 16 (1/2)
Eyes to See, Ears to Hear But rather what we are setting forth is a wisdom of G.o.d once hidden [from the human understanding] and now revealed to us by G.o.d . . . None of the rulers of this age or world perceived and recognized and understood this, for if they had, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory. But, on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that] G.o.d has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed]. Yet to us G.o.d has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit.
-1 CORINTHIANS 2:7-10 One thing used to puzzle me very much about the children of Israel. They saw the miracles Moses performed. They witnessed the ten plagues that destroyed crops, animals, and firstborn sons and yet never touched any of them in the land of Goshen. They stood at the Red Sea and watched the waters part, and later looked back to see the Egyptians drown. They experienced miracle after miracle for forty years.
I used to ask: Why didn't they believe? They personally watched signs and miracles take place, but they remained unbelievers. Except for Joshua and Caleb, every adult who watched G.o.d at work in Egypt died before the waters parted at the River Jordan.
One day as I read this pa.s.sage, the answer became obvious. We don't understand G.o.d through natural eyes or human reasoning. We understand G.o.d only when we're aided by the Holy Spirit. Those Israelites in the wilderness saw miracles, but they never experienced G.o.d. They saw the miracles at work, but they never grasped G.o.d Himself.
That's the message Paul presents to us. He says G.o.d has prepared us-those who believe and obey-and He ”unveiled and revealed” (v. 10) spiritual realities through the Holy Spirit. Another way to say this is that as long as we look only at events and facts but see nothing behind them, we don't have eyes to see and ears to hear.
That's where Satan works best. He tries to keep us blind and deaf so that we don't recognize the Spirit of G.o.d at work. For example, in a wors.h.i.+p service, someone prays for a woman who is in great pain and she's healed. Those with eyes to see and ears to hear, immediately praise the Lord. Those who are still held by the devil's cunning lies say, ”Oh, it was all psychosomatic. There was nothing really wrong with her.”
I learned long ago that it did no good to argue with the spiritually blind and try to convince them to see G.o.d at work. Until the Holy Spirit enlightens them, they can never grasp the power of G.o.d at work in human lives. Only those who have been enlightened by the power of the Holy Spirit can truly grasp spiritual realities. To those who love Him and believe, G.o.d reveals spiritual truths. He a.s.sures those who have understanding that the Holy Spirit is at work. As the Spirit works in us, we gain power over every trick of the devil to blind us again.
G.o.d, enlighten me in every way. Enable me to see You in every area of my life and to rejoice in Your loving a.s.surance and presence. I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
94.
What's the Problem?
All the Israelites grumbled and deplored their situation, accusing Moses and Aaron, to whom the whole congregation said, Would that we had died in Egypt! Or that we had died in this wilderness! Why does the Lord bring us to this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and little ones will be a prey. Is it not better for us to return to Egypt?
-NUMBERS 14:2-3 ”What is your problem?” That's the question I would have liked to ask the Israelites! Their chief occupation seemed to be to grumble. As the verses above tell us, they not only lamented and groaned about their situation, but they also accused Moses of bringing them into the wilderness so they could die. In other scripture pa.s.sages, we read that they complained about the food. G.o.d provided manna for them, and all they had to do was pick it up fresh every morning-but they didn't like the heavenly diet.
In short, it wouldn't have mattered what G.o.d did for them or what Moses and Aaron told them. They were committed to complaining. They had formed the grumbling habit. And much of it is a habit! If you grumble about one thing, it's not long before there is something else to complain about.
When two moaners come together, the situation gets worse. What about the million or more people who came out of Egypt? Once the disease of disgruntlement struck, it became like a virus and infected them all. They were negative about everything. When the slightest problem arose, they were ready to return to Egypt. They preferred bondage as slaves rather than pressing on into the Promised Land.
One time Moses sent twelve spies into the land, and they came back and reported what wonderful, fertile land they had seen. (Read the story in Numbers 13 and 14.) The complainers joined with ten of the spies (again, all but Joshua and Caleb). ”Yes, it's a great place,” they agreed. But grumblers never stop with positive statements. They added, ”But the people who dwell there are strong . . . and we were in our own sight as gra.s.shoppers” (13:28, 33).
Had they forgotten all the miracles G.o.d had done for them? Yes, they had. That's where Satan trips up many people. They whine-and often it's about a small thing. They find fault with something. If they don't realize what they're doing by allowing such thinking to continue, they don't need to ask, ”What is the problem?” What they need to learn to say is, ”I don't have a problem; I am the problem.”
That was exactly the situation in Moses' day. The enemy in Canaan wasn't any worse, bigger, or more powerful than what the people constantly faced. But what if their problems really were more serious? If G.o.d could destroy the Egyptians at the Red Sea, why wouldn't He give them another miracle? They were His people, and He loved them.
They themselves were the problem, and they never accepted that fact. Forty years of wandering, and they never got the message. How dense could they be? I've wondered many times. Of course, it's easy to say that-because I wasn't there and I can see the situation with hindsight. It's harder to examine our own lives and see why we gripe and moan.
”But my situation is different,” people often say to me.
That's true, but the spirit in which you operate is the same as those in ancient Israel. You're so caught up in grumbling, complaining, and seeing what's wrong that you have no energy or time to appreciate what's good.
”What is good about your life?” I once challenged a woman who complained about almost everything.
She stared at me and realized I was serious. ”Well, I have a good husband. I have two children whom I love, and they love me.”
I smiled and said, ”Go on.”
She caught on, and her face lost its down-at-the-mouth look. Although she didn't say it in those words, she admitted, ”I guess I don't have a problem. I've been the problem.”
Exactly!
Spirit of G.o.d, please forgive me for seeing others or my surroundings or the situation I'm in as the problem. I've been unhappy because I haven't faced that I am my biggest hindrance to deliverance and victory. Forgive me and set me free, I pray in the name of the Savior. Amen.
95.
Bad Input Produces Bad Results Now there was no water for the congregation, and they a.s.sembled together against Moses and Aaron. And the people contended with Moses, and said, Would that we had died when our brethren died [in the plague] before the Lord! And why have you brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, we and our livestock?
-NUMBERS 20:2-4 After I wrote out the verses above, I paused and read them three times. I find it difficult to believe what those people said: ”Would that we had died when our brethren died [in the plague] before the Lord!” How could they have said such a terrible thing? Were they actually saying that they would rather suffer, be in torment, and die in slavery than to live freely and with G.o.d?
G.o.d's Word doesn't lie, so we must accept that those are the things they said. This pa.s.sage tells me how bad their situation had become. They hadn't changed, and they wouldn't change. They wanted everything to work out for them-that is, to work out in the way they wanted it to-but they were willing to do nothing but gripe and groan.
It's the old idea that people do bad things and expect good results. They grumble at G.o.d and expect divine blessings. How can that be? How can they be so confused and twisted in their thinking? But then, I know people like that today.
Rose married an alcoholic named John, and when he got into his drunken rages, he beat her. She left, took their children, and divorced him. Two years later, Rose married again. She married John again-oh, not that John. The second husband's name was Ralph. He was a drunkard, and she repeated the same sad and abusive story. Her third John was named Ken. Although their names were different, it was as if she had married the same man (the same kind of man) three times.
When I met Rose, she grumbled and asked, ”Are there any good men out there?” Of course, she later admitted that she had never attended any Christian gatherings, so she had never met a good Christian man. She only met men at parties, and she had always been attracted to man that liked to party.
My point is that it's easy to condemn the Israelites because the Bible lays out their story so clearly. Paul wrote about the wilderness wanderings and urged his readers not to ”. . . discontentedly complain as some of them did-and were put out of the way entirely by the destroyer (death). Now these things befell them by way of a figure [as an example and warning to us]; they were written to admonish and fit us for right action by good instruction, we in whose days the ages have reached their climax (their consummation and concluding period)” (1 Corinthians 10:10-11).
Those stories were written to ”admonish and fit us for right action by good instruction,” Paul wrote. As long as you continue to act as the Israelites did in their grumbling, you'll get the same results. As long as you live like Rose, you'll have the same disastrous effect. Although I gave the example of Rose, such repet.i.tive situations abound in any area of life. Perhaps you're someone who has your paycheck spent before you cash it. Do you dishonor G.o.d by your bad eating habits? Regardless of your situation, as long as you continue with bad inputs, you will end up with bad outcomes.
When you're tired of getting the same negative results-when you're tired of Satan buffeting you and tormenting you-then you're ready to make changes. Those people in the wilderness died outside the Promised Land because they never learned. You have an advantage: You know about them, and you also know that the Holy Spirit wants to change you.
You can change. You can begin by asking G.o.d to help you think positive thoughts, because positive thinking produces positive att.i.tudes. Once your att.i.tude changes, your life changes. It's not easy, but it is simple.
Loving Holy Spirit, please help me to think healthy, positive, and G.o.dly thoughts. Enable me to produce a good att.i.tude that will please You and lead me into a full and lasting victory. I ask this through Jesus Christ. Amen.
96.
Responsibility?
What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He came to the first and said, Son, go and work today in the vineyard. And he answered, I will not; but afterward he changed his mind and went. Then the man came to the second and said the same [thing]. And he replied, I will [go], sir; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of the father? They replied, The first one. Jesus said to them, Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the harlots will get into the kingdom of heaven before you.
-MATTHEW 21:28-31 The story is simple. A father asks his two sons to work in his vineyard. One said no, but later changed his mind and went to work; the other said yes, but never did go into the vineyard. Jesus asked his listeners, ”Which one did the will of the father?” The answer is obvious.