Larry Shaffer

Levi, known as Matthew, was a tax collector for the Roman government. He was a Jew working for the oppressive Romans. If that wasn’t bad enough, even more egregious, his job was to take money from his fellow Jews and give a portion to Rome, (and keep the rest for himself). 

After that He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ and he left everything behind, and got up and began to follow Him. 

If you stop and put yourself in Matthew’s place, this story is absolutely stunning. Who gives up everything in what seems to be a moment’s notice? 

Jesus ‘noticed’ Matthew. This is to say that He fixed His gaze and attention upon him. Do you think that Matthew woke up that morning and had any idea that the Lord and God of the universe, the King of kings and the Lord of lords would notice him? And not only notice Him, but the word implies that he intently fixed His attention on Matthew. 

I prefer to avoid notice. In my youth, if I was in a group and the attention was turned toward me, I’d turn bright red and freeze up. Some students prefer to sit in the front row so that they can be sure to absorb all that the teacher has to say. My practice, on the other hand, was to sit in the back row, hoping that the teacher wouldn’t notice or call on me.  

Matthew couldn’t avoid the intense gaze of Jesus. It was his time. Jesus had a plan for Matthew. Approximately 25 year from this day of sitting in the tax booth, minding his own business, Matthew would write one of the four gospel accounts of Jesus that would be placed in the Holy Bible and memorialized as God’s Holy Word. 

 

Ever looked in the mirror and thought, maybe today something will happen that will change my life forever? This day was such a day for Matthew. 

 

The gaze of Jesus 

Imagine being on a crowded street, watching the famous Thanksgiving parade in New York. What if your favorite celebrity was in the parade? As they passed by, what if they stopped in their tracks, and amid thousands of people, this celebrity stopped and focused on you. Forgetting about the parade, they walked over, looked you in the eyes and spoke directly to you. What if? 

We don’t know what has been happening in Matthew’s life leading up to this moment. But something somehow had happened or had been happening to prepare him to go with Jesus; Matthew didn’t push back; no hesitancy, no resistance. Jesus spoke two words and Matthew obeyed;  

 

… Follow Me. And he left everything behind, and got up and began to follow Him. 

 

God notices you! 

Consider the fact that God notices you. In Genesis 16, Sarah’s maid Hagar ran away from her. But God chased after her. The Lord found and told her that He had a plan for her life. He informed her that He was with her and he needed her to return. Hagar was overwhelmed that God noticed her and called her. She said, ‘you are a God who sees…I have seen He who looks after me.’ 

When you want to be reminded of how intimately and carefully God looks after you, read Psalm 139. It is amazing! 

You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you understand my thoughts from afar; you scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways.  

Even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me. 

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You. 

 

Just like Matthew, Jesus has set His gaze and intention upon you. He has called you because He has a plan for your life. Pray and reflect this week upon God’s calling in your life. 

 

Father, it’s amazing to realize that you think of us always and your thoughts toward us are precious. Your thoughts toward us are to give us a future and a hope; plans for welfare and not chaos, to give us a future and a hope. Yes, in this world, we will have tribulation. But our hope in you is sure and with it, we have joy because You have overcome this world. Amen! 

Many years ago, I attended the funeral of a work associate who had died suddenly of a rare disease. The Minister preceding over the service was a former Pastor turned business executive. As he spoke, he made a startling statement that has stuck with me all these years. He said, ‘The death of this special man, a devoted husband and loving father, was not the will of God. God did want this to happen.’ 

This statement was so shocking to me that I don’t remember much else of what he said, but I clearly remember that statement. I believe he went on to ascribe his death to Satan or evil in the world or something like that. Quite frankly, it doesn’t matter what he said. As one who believes the authenticity of the entire 66 books of the Bible and as one who believes in the Sovereignty of the God of the Bible, the theological ramifications of such a belief and statement are horrifying to me. 

 

… according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will. Ephesians 1:11b 

 

The context of this verse is our salvation calling which God works all things after the counsel of His will. This teaches us about the reality of God’s will: 

• It applies to all things. Just like our salvation calling (the context of this verse) is according to His purpose, He works all things according to His will. (See also Romans 8:28). 

• He determines it himself. His will is not influenced by anyone or subject to anything other than His own counsel. His will is His own. He counsels Himself. 

 

If things happen that are not in God’s complete control, then what security do we have in Christ? Why should we pray to God to lead us not into temptation or to protect us? Why should we ask Him to deliver us from evil if He is not in control of all things? If He is not in complete control, then how can He be My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust? (Psalm 91:2).  

R.C. Sproul has said that not one molecule in the world can move without the absolute control of God. 

 

Back to Healing: To heal or not to heal? 

With an understanding that God works all things (Romans 8:28; Ephesians 1:11) after the counsel of His own will, why does He heal some and not all? Let’s consider two biblical stories when God healed and God didn’t heal. 

 

TO HEAL: Hezekiah, 2 Kings 20 

In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet…came to him and said to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, set your house in order, for you shall die and not live. 

Then he (Hezekiah) turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord … and Hezekiah wept bitterly. 

Hezekiah acknowledged that God is always good and always right. He surrendered to His will. But he asked earnestly and wept for God to heal him.  

 

Learning Alert: This is the way to respond to every sickness, pain or tragedy. Acknowledge God’s will to do whatever He wants for His purposes which are far above our understanding…but nevertheless, pray your heart out for healing. Pray earnestly for healing; physical healing, emotional healing and spiritual healing. 

 

Pray! Pray! Pray! Why? Consider what happened to Hezekiah. 

Thus, says the Lord … I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you, (verse 5). 

 

TO NOT HEAL: David, 2 Samuel 12 

Then the Lord struck the child (God did this?) that Uriah’s widow bore to David, that he was very sick. David therefore inquired of God for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground.  

Then it happened on the seventh day that the child died. So, David said to his servants, ‘Is the child dead?’ and they said, ‘he is dead.’ 

So, David arose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, changed his clothes; and he came into the house of the Lord and worshiped … they set food before him and he ate. 

Then his servants said to him … while the child was alive, you fasted and wept; but when the child died, you arose and ate food. He said, ‘while the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, who knows, the Lord may be gracious to me, that the child may live. But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? 

 

Learning Alert: Pray earnestly for healing. Pray! Pray! Pray! But if God doesn’t do what you prayed for, accept His will as perfect and good and worship Him. But always pray. Do not say, ‘Why pray? God will do what He wants to do anyway.’ I don’t totally understand the depth and breadth of God’s work or why He does what He does; but I do know for sure that He calls us to PRAY. Hezekiah prayed earnestly and God changed His plan in order to answer Hezekiah’s prayer. Pray! Pray! Pray! Always and often. 

 

I like the story of Hezekiah much better than the story of David’s baby. But both happened and either scenario could happen to us. But in any case, pray for healing, pray for justice, pray for protection, pray for your loved ones, pray for yourself; pray with great earnestness, always and often. God will respond for your good according to the counsel of His own will. Amen! 

Not only can He heal everyone, He can pretty much do anything. Remember when the angel Gabriel stood before the young teenage Mary, the mother of our Savior? The angel said, for nothing will be impossible with God, Luke 1:37. 

 

In our study of Luke, we read of Jesus doing some impossible things: 

• Peter’s mother-in-law was sick with a fever and the family asked Jesus to help. And standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately got up and waited on them. 4:39 
• There was a man covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus him, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, ‘Lord, if You are willing, you can make me clean.’ And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ And immediately the leprosy left him. 5:12-13 
• One day, He was teaching…and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing…and some men were carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him…seeing their faith, He said, ‘friend, your sins are forgiven you…He said to the paralytic – ‘I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.’ Immediately he got up before them…and went home glorifying God. 

 

He can heal. He is able to heal. But He doesn’t always heal.  

Intellectually, we can understand and accept this reality. If you are a student of the Bible, you can read these passages in Luke 4 & 5 and logically and reasonably conclude; Jesus heals sometimes but He doesn’t heal everyone.  

 

Consider the following: 

• If He healed everyone, it would only be temporary. Eventually, everyone he healed would be sick again and eventually die. If He healed everyone the first time, then He would need to keep coming back to heal in the future. 
• If Jesus had healed everyone all the time and every time a person got sick, then the primary essence of being would’ve been to be a physical healer. His primary purpose was never to be a physical healer. He came to seek and save the lost. His primarily purpose was and is to be a spiritual healer. 

• You might say, ‘why doesn’t Jesus just heal everyone, once and for all’? That way, He wouldn’t have to keep coming back and healing all the time. Just do it once and for all. Well, He will do exactly that for His children once they arrive in heaven. Complete physically healing and a new and glorified body is part of our salvation…but it comes in heaven, not on earth. 

 

The Bible teaches that we are saved spiritually; redeemed, justified and completely forgiven. But we still have a body of flesh with a propensity to sin, to get sick and in all cases, eventually die. Once again, I accept that logically and biblically.  

 

This is all good and logical. But sometimes reality rises up and kicks you right in the face.  

 

What if you have a dearly loved one who is sick right now?  I mean seriously sick. 

To stand by helpless, when a loved one is sick and suffering is one of the emptiest feelings in the world. But if I have a child or grandchild sick and at the point of death, my logic goes right out the window and I plead with God; I weep uncontrollably and I beg God to heal my child. This is what we should do.  

It’s difficult for us to know why Jesus heals some and not others. It’s a mystery, for sure. God doesn’t reveal the full scope of His reasoning but Luke gives us guidance that we should follow.  

In the three recorded healings in Luke 4 and 5 described above, the healings were always preceded with faith-filled words and faith-filled actions. In these three cases, people acted in faith: faith that Jesus could heal. In these three cases, 

• Someone took action by faith 
• Someone asked by faith 

 

The result was immediate healing!  

More on this next time! 

Father, we long for health, wholeness and complete physical healing. Our bodies groan with the pains and weaknesses of our human flesh. Carrying our frail and earthly bodies around reminds us that this earth is not our home. So, even though our inner heart rejoices in the presences of the Holy Spirit within us, our outer bodies remind us that we need You ever hour; to sustain us, to encourage us and to heal us. In all these struggles, remind us that we abide in the shadow of the Almighty. Amen! 

JIm Boice’s Story

Jim Boice, one of the greatest preachers of the last century, now with the Lord, wrote a little story about John Newton. Newton penned Amazing Grace.  

Newton was raised in a Christian home where he was taught verses of the Bible by his mother. However, his mother died when he was only six years old.  He was sent to live with a relative who hated the Bible and mocked Christianity. So, John Newton ran away to sea.  

 

John Newton At Sea

He was wild in those years and was known for being able to swear for two hours without repeating himself. He was forced to enlist in the British navy, but he deserted, was captured, and beaten publicly as a punishment. Eventually Newton got into the merchant marine and went to Africa.  

In his memoirs he wrote that he went to Africa for one reason only, quote: “That I might sin my fill.” 

Newton fell in with a Portuguese slave trader in whose home he was cruelly treated. This man often went away on slaving expeditions, and when he was gone his power passed to his African wife, the chief woman of the harem. She hated all white men and vented her hatred on Newton. For months he was forced to grovel in the dirt, eating his food from the ground like a dog. He was beaten mercilessly if he touched it.  

In time, thin and emaciated, Newton made his way to the sea where he was picked up by a British ship making its way up the coast to England. When the captain of the ship learned that the young man knew something about navigation as a result of being in the British navy, he made him a ship’s mate. But even then Newton fell into trouble.  

One day when the captain was ashore, Newton broke out the ship’s supply of rum and got the crew drunk. He was so drunk himself that when the captain returned and struck him on the head, Newton fell overboard and would have drowned if one of the sailors hadn’t quickly hauled him back on board. 

Near the end of one voyage, as they were approaching Scotland, the ship ran into bad weather and was blown off course. Water poured in and the ship began to sink. The young degenerate was sent down to the hole to pump water.  

The storm lasted for days. Newton was terrified. He was sure the ship would sink and he would drown. In the hole of the ship as he desperately pumped water, the God of all grace, whom he tried to forget but who had never forgotten him, brought to his mind Bible verses he had learned in his home as a child. The way of salvation opened up to him. He was born again, totally transformed. 

Later, when he was again in England, he began to study theology, eventually became a preacher in a little town called Olney and later in London. His story is contained in these words which he penned: Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. 

 

God does not take away life, but plans ways so that the banished one will not be cast out from Him. 2 Samuel 14:14b. 

 

Father, our lives are like dust tossed into the winds of this world. It is impossible for us to pull our lives back into anything meaningful, except by Your mercy and grace. You will go to the ends of the earth to capture every dust particle of our lives, bring it all together and create life out of dust; life abundant! I am forever grateful that Your Amazing grace has saved a wretch like me. Amen! 

I have spoken to many who have shared their conversion story with me. For some, their call from God was unexpected, out of the blue. They weren’t seeking spiritual enlightenment or calling upon God to be saved. They were, in a sense, minding their own business and going along the normal course of their day. 

 

This is what seems to happen to Simon Peter, James and John here in Luke 5. 

I found a verse hidden way back in Isaiah 65:1. These words from Isaiah prophesied this manner of unexpected conversions. God says through Isaiah: 

 

I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. 

I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that was not called by my name. 

 

In my book about amazing women in the bible, I tell the story of Adam’s unexpected conversion. 

 

The Unlikely Happened 

Sometimes the most unlikely people find Jesus. Or—better said—Jesus finds them….  

In 1981, I moved to Port Charlotte, Florida, to work with youth in the community. In my first week, I met an 18-year-old named Adam. He was introduced to me as a brand-new Christian. When I learned that he had no church experience or Christian background whatsoever, I asked him how he became a Christian. He told me a most unusual account of God’s amazing grace.     

Adam and his best friend Frank were the ringleaders of a group of guys who were nothing but trouble. Alcohol, drugs, and rebellion were among their usual activities. They were edging toward gang involvement and considering adding guns to their collection of stolen goods.   

A week before I met Adam, he and his group were smoking pot as they made plans for their evening. All of a sudden, one of them (they can’t recall who it was) said, “What are we doing?”   

The others looked confused.   

“What are we doing with our lives?” the same person asked.  

Partially buzzed, they nevertheless came to a unanimous conclusion: “Let’s stop wasting our lives. Let’s do something with them.”    

 

One of them said, “Let’s go talk to my dad. He’s a Christian, and maybe he can help us.”   

They walked away from their pot and went to find truth and meaning for their lives. The father shared the gospel that evening, and the guys prayed to receive Christ right then.    

 

I met Adam that first week at my new church… Adam began to attend my youth group, and Frank joined him soon after. I mentored and discipled Frank and Adam for the next three years.   

As of this writing, both Frank and Adam have been pastors for nearly 25 years. In their lifetime of service to God, each of them has impacted thousands of people for eternity. .    

 

Sometimes, the most unlikely people find Jesus. Or—better said—Jesus finds them.    

 

The Fishermen Are Caught 

Jesus went fishing in Luke 5. Just like Adam and Frank, Peter, James and John were minding their own business. They were in the business of fishing. But Jesus had different plans for the men. Jesus went fishing Himself and Peter, James and John were caught; hook, line and sinker. 

In the previous chapter, Luke 4, the people were pressing in on Jesus in order to be healed. The theme of the chapter was healing. But Luke added an important statement at the end of the healing service. He wrote in 4:43,  

 

But He (Jesus) said, ‘I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose. 

 

In Luke 19:10, Jesus proclaimed that His reason for coming to earth was to seek and save the lost. Jesus’s purpose on earth could be summed up with the following words:  

• Preach (seek) 

• Die and Rise (to save) 

 

But after Jesus ascends, the preaching needs to continue. Who is going to pick up the mantle of preaching the good news? Jesus begins the process of His plan to continue the preaching after He departs. In Luke 5, Jesus begins preparing others to carry on His ministry after He ascends back to heaven. 

 

The Calling of Peter, James and John 

Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God… 

And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat.  

When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ Simon answered and said, ‘Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.’  

When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break; so, they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink. 

But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, ‘Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man.’ For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.  

And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not fear, from now on you will catch men.’ When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him. 

 

Chew on This 

The manner whereby Jesus calls one to follow Him is varied and unique. How did Jesus call you? 

• Peter realized his sin before Jesus. At what point in your life did you realize that you were sinful before God? 
• When God called you to Jesus, did you have a sense of amazement? 
• Jesus called the men to fishers of men. Have you sensed a call from God to a certain ministry or service? 

 

Father, it is always astonishing how you save! You are a God of salvation. You love to save. Save our loved ones who are not following You. Draw them through your power in the most amazing and wonderful way. In Jesus, Amen! 

Ahhhhh, I love the good life. Give me the love and harmony of my family; a successful and fulfilling vocation; financial independence; leisure time for long vacations; admiration and respect from many; the love and appreciation of many friends. 

When these things come our way, we readily say, ‘God is good.’ 

 

Our God is infinitely Good. 

God is good. Together we affirm this statement. We agree with it. We speak it to others. We stand upon it as an affirmation of our faith. 

Acts of lovingkindness are the expressions of His goodness directed toward us always and continually. He knows what we need far better than we do. 

God is good. Until He isn’t.  

 

Why do bad things happen? 

When bad things happen to us, we become conflicted. When we experience sorrow, we stumble mentally in our attempt to reconcile the bad things happening to us with a God who we previously affirmed as good.  

We believe He’s always good. Good all the time. So, why the bad stuff? 

 

Help me make sense of this? 

Perhaps God doesn’t cause the bad things in our lives. Perhaps it is Satan causing it all. Perhaps it is not God’s will at all that we have any pain or grief. Perhaps it’s the result of a sinful world and/or the influence of Satan. 

If God is absolved in my mind of any responsibility for my pain, then maybe I can reconcile this conflict. If He isn’t responsible for the pain I am experiencing, then I can still believe He’s good. Yea, that’s it. I’m going to believe that God has nothing to do with pain, sorrow, disease, conflicts, difficulties, etc. 

 

Sounds good, but… 

But hold on…. if He isn’t responsible, this presents me with some other problems. 

• If He has no responsibility for causing or allowing my pain and sorrow, then He has no power to fix it. Why then should I pray to Him? 

• If He has no responsibility for our pain then He has no power to prevent it. Why do we pray to Him to protect us? 
• Maybe He didn’t cause my pain, but He allowed it. If He has the power to allow it then what’s the difference between the power to allow and the power to cause? If He can allow it then He can prevent it. 
• Just like we affirm that God is good, we also affirm that He is Sovereign. But if He isn’t responsible for our pain, then He’s not truly Sovereign. He has limits to His Sovereignty. 

 

Our passage for today, Romans 8:28, is very clear. There is no confusion as to what it says. 

 

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. 

 

• The statement of Paul is directed toward Christians; to those who love God and are called by God for God’s purposes. These are the recipients of the promise. 

• The verse uses the word ALL. The subject of the promise is ALL the things that happen in our lives. Not some things, but all things. 
• The descriptive word of the promise is that all the things that happen to us are GOOD.  The meaning of the word is that all things are inherently and intrinsically good. 

 

The passage is clear when we sit and read it in our Bible. But it gets a little muddled in our heads when life hits us with pain and sorrow. 

 

The good, the bad and the ugly 

I’m not sure how you view it all, but I know I fall short of perceiving and believing that everything that God brings or allows in my life is good.  

Here’s what I do — I perceive what God gives me as a mixture of the good and bad. He gives me a mixture of: 

• Sometimes blessings (good) and sometimes difficulties (bad) 
• Healing and pain 
• Joy and sorrow 
• Acceptance by some and rejection by others 
• Pleasure and pain 
• Happiness and grief 

 

I divide what God gives me into two primary buckets: Good and bad. Healing is good. Pain is bad. Happiness and Joy are good. Sorrow and grief are bad.  

I’m sorry to say but that’s the way I perceive it. I divide it and parse it out as good and bad.  

 

There’s no bad with God 

But God calls it all GOOD. He causes and works out all things in my life as good. He works it all out to fulfill His purpose for me; and His purposes are always good. 

The promise of goodness is directed toward us who are called by and for His purposes. 

I divide them into categories. God sees blessings and difficulties, healing and pain, my pleasure and pain and my happiness and grief as GOOD. 

 

How can bad be good? 

Then Paul defines what good is in the next verse following Roman 8:28. Verse 29 defines the purpose of God in working all things out in our lives for His good. 

 

For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son… 

 

His good for us, in all things that happen to us, is that we would be conformed to the image of His son. 

The reality is that God uses all things, whether we feel them as good or bad, to grow us, sanctify us and make us like Jesus. 

 

Father, You are a good God. You are filled with kindness, mercy and grace and you lovingly direct all that You are toward us. You love us and want nothing but good for us; You are wise to know exactly what we need; and You are all powerful to make it all happen, according to your perfect will and purposes. We trust that you are careful to bring into our lives only what we can bear and only what ultimately fashions us after the image of our wonderful Savior. In Jesus we pray, Amen! 

Learning Alert: All these fears are legitimate fears. I do not want to discount any of them. We should be mindful, careful and concerned over these fears. But we should NOT be consumed by them.  

 

As we will see in the life of King Hezekiah, we should bring all these concerns before the Lord, acknowledge His power over all things, and pray for righteousness to prevail. 

 

Contrast 

God often teaches us by using ‘contrast’. 

There once was a king in Judah named Hezekiah. He was known for being faithful to God. Faithful kings were rare in those days. Here’s what was said of Hezekiah in 2 Kings: 

 

He did right in the sight of the Lord…He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel…for he clung to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him…and the Lord was with him; wherever he went he prospered. 18.3-7 

 

As contrast, here’s a description of the people of Judah during the reign of Hezekiah. The prophet at the time of Hezekiah was Isaiah. Here’s what he wrote: 

 

Woe to the rebellious children declares the Lord, who execute a plan, but not mine, and make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, in order to add sin to sin. Isaiah 30:1 

 

The Years of Rebellion 

The nation of Judah was in trouble. After years of rebelling against God, the nation found themselves weak and vulnerable to the threats of opposing nations.  

When threats come our way, some of us surrender to God and seek Him. Others continue down the path of doing their own thing; trying to fix it themselves, making decisions using their own initiative, following their own intuition. This is what the people of Judah did. 

How foolish we can sometimes be. We act as if we captain our own ship. We act as if God doesn’t exist. We do it ‘our way.’ 

 

Hezekiah’s Advisors 

The advisors to King Hezekiah were wise in the ways of military strategy. But they were foolish in the matters of humility and dependence upon God. They recommended plans of human power and strategic alliances with foreign nations.  

Their plans were devised in a war room where they did not welcome the Spirit of God. 

 

Bad Advice 

The advisors brought a letter from the Assyrian king and handed it to king Hezekiah. The letter brought fear and trembling to all who read it. The Assyrians threatened Hezekiah and all of Judah. The letter mocked the God of Israel and ridiculed Hezekiah for trusting in Him.  

Additionally, they added threats by reminding Hezekiah of their conquests and military domination over other nations. 

The Assyrians were fierce, ruthless and impetuous people.  

 

What to Do? 

What did Hezekiah do? He did the opposite of what his advisors told him to do. Rather than seeking an alliance as allies with other pagan nations to stand against Assyria, he went to God.  

 

Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.  

Hezekiah prayed to the Lord saying, …You have made heaven and earth.

Your ear, O Lord and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and listen to all the words of Sennacherib (the Assyrian who threatened Judah), who sent them to reproach the living God… 

Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, Lord, are God.  Isaiah 37:14-20 

 

Here’s what’s happening: 

• The people of Judah were trembling in fear at the threats of a mighty world power; the King of Assyria. They immediately cried ‘surrender.’ They gave up and put their hope in the King of Assyria. Maybe he will be merciful to us, they said. 

• Hezekiah feared as well. But instead of giving up in fear, He went before God. 

 

Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness… Matthew 6:33  

Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him… Proverbs 3:5,6 

 

When fear prompts us to pray and seek God, courage arises. 

God can and will turn our fear into confidence. Our confidence and courage are in Him.  

Courage is fear that has said its prayer. 

 

We are weak, but He is strong. Father, take my fears and worries and fashion them into confidence; confidence in You and You alone. Amen! 

I like reading this verse; When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place… 

I enjoy quiet time in the morning. I lean toward the introvert-side of the social and interpersonal equation. In the morning I always prefer do what Jesus did in this passage: go to a secluded place and be alone. 

Give me my Bible and books. Give me my computer to write the output of my learning and insights. No personal interaction please. Just me, God, my Bible, my books and a computer. Ahhhhh, what bliss! 

 

Weary 

Can you imagine how burned out Jesus must’ve been this morning? The previous afternoon and into the evening, all the people of the surrounding areas were pushing and shoving to see Him; talk to Him; be healed by Him. They brought every kind of physical ailment, illness, pain and oppression. They had a myriad of physical and spiritual issues, big and small.  

On this special day of healing, no insurance card or co-pay was needed for Doctor Jesus to do His magical work.  

 

Laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them. Luke 4:40b 

 

Oh, and one more thing: can you also imagine the various personalities He encountered during that healing service? Some were patient and others were pushy. Some came quietly and others wanted to talk and talk and talk. Some wanted to explain every detail of their ailment; where it originated, how long they’ve had it, what it felt like, what it prevented them from doing, and every matter related to their lives. 

Was there pushing and shoving? I wonder if anyone cut in line? Did someone call them out? Did any arguments break out?

I’m sorry to say, but serving needy people can be seriously annoying. 

 

Dietary Conditions 

Recently, Leigh and I walked into a restaurant in downtown Houston. Right outside the door was a homeless man who asked if we’d buy him a meal. He was about the 5th homeless person we had encountered on our trip to the restaurant.  As is my usual response, (I walk around downtown a lot so this happens to me almost daily), I said no. He looked quite annoyed. 

We ordered our meal and I began to feel convicted. It irritated me that I was feeling convicted. I say no all the time.

What is different this time?

I couldn’t explain it to myself. Why am I allowing this conviction to spoil my dinner? Every homeless person in Houston knows that if they go to the Star of Hope and work their program with a certain level of resolve to turn their lives around, they will always have meals. 

The conviction didn’t subside. I hate it when that happens.  

So, I went outside and told the soured-faced homeless man I would buy him a meal. Without changing his facial expression, he said, ‘I’m a vegetarian. No meat please.’ A little stunned, I said, ‘OK’. As I turned to go into the restaurant, he said, ‘can I get a large Coke too?’ 

Yes, I was a little surprised at the conditions surrounding my offer to buy him dinner. Yes, I bought him a vegetarian meal and a large Coke. He ate a good meal that night with no negative effects of meat. But doesn’t he realize that those large Cokes will kill him? 

 

Fill Me Up 

When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place… ‘I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.’ 

There are two simple lessons that jump off the pages of scripture in this section: 1) get alone with God and allow the Spirit of God to fill you up so that 2) you can go out and do the work God has called you to do. 

 

• Get alone with God, so that you can… 
• Go out into the world and serve 
• Repeat 

 

Do the work of an introvert (get alone with God) and do the work of an extrovert (be with people and serve). One may come easier to you than the other. But both are good. And both are needed to sustain ourselves in the calling of God upon our lives. 

 

• Be alone with God daily 
• Serve others daily; encourage others, bless others. Somehow and in some way, serve others daily 

 

Father, we are often weak. Sometimes it’s hard to find the time to be still before You. We are so busy. Sometimes, it’s hard to focus on the needs of others when we have so many needs ourselves. We are too weak to do these things; but You are strong.  

We don’t bring noble gifts of self-righteousness. We bring You our weaknesses. But by faith, we know that You will show Your power through our weaknesses. May you do so, even today. Help us today to be alone with You and to bless the life of at least one person today. For Your glory, Amen. 

Have you ever read this verse or heard it quoted? Most of you have. It is familiar to most Christian and a phrase often quoted by Christians who are going through difficult times. It is often quoted to bring comfort to someone who is going through a difficult life event.  

The secret things belong to the Lord our God; it can bring comfort to those of faith who are having a hard time making sense of it all. 

 

Difficult life-event? Having a hard time figuring it out? We’ve all been there. 

 

It certainly makes sense to remind ourselves that God’s purposes for us are beyond our  immediate understanding. And it’s good to be reminded that by faith, we should trust that He has a plan. 

This is a handy verse for such a reminder.  

As is often the case, the context of familiar verses usually isn’t considered when quoted. Often, that’s OK. Sometimes, it is fairly straightforward. But there is always more to it than is generally understood by isolating and quoting familiar Bible verses.  

 

What’s the real story behind Deuteronomy 29:29? Here’s the rest of the story… 

Here’s the entire verse: 

 

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law. 

 

Yes, there are many deep and incomprehensive secrets about God that haven’t been revealed to us and that we are unable to grasp. By faith, we are called to trust God in the unknown mysteries that surround us in this world. Often, we feel like we are in a fog. 

Look at the verse again and divide it into two parts. The first part of the verse calls us to know and trust God. But the rest of the verse calls us to take some action.  

What we really know and comprehend about the vastness of God is fairly small. But what we do know is enough. And of the things revealed to us that we can know, we are called to action. 

We should focus on what has been revealed to us and what we do know about God. 

 

The Before 

The preceding context of this verse, Deuteronomy 29:29, reveals that this verse, was written to Israel when they were far from God, having broken their covenant with God and living in disobedience. This is helpful to realize. 

 

The After 

The following verses after 29:29, call the people back to obedience! 

 

Return to the Lord your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today, to you and your sons, then the Lord will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you. Deuteronomy 30:2,3 

 

Israel was going through a period of time in which they were pushing God aside and living in sin and disobedience. Have you been there? Are you there now? 

When we wander and disobey, know that God is at work to restore you. It’s often a secret as to how He does it, (the secret things belong to the Lord your God), but if you are His, He is at work in You. 

• He sometimes draws us back by wooing and whispering words of love and affection.  
• He sometimes brings an ‘angel’ of a person into our lives to speak loving kindness AND truth into our souls. 
• He sometimes takes us through difficulties and trials to draw us back to Him. 
• He sometimes disciplines us. 

 

How God carries out His restorative work in our lives is up to Him. It is varied and it always accomplishes His purposes for His beloved. The secret things belong to the Lord our God… 

 

How should we respond? 

By faith, we’ll trust God with His secret ways. But there is also some action to be taken on our part. Let us do our best to respond to the second part of Deuteronomy 29:29 which says, 

 

but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law. 

 

May we apply ourselves to KNOW thoroughly what has been revealed to us. He has spoken to us and revealed Himself through the Word of God, Genesis to Revelation. May we observe it with hungry and humble hearts. 

This is the joy of both KNOWING His Word and LIVING it out. This is a call to Live Scripture Daily!

Won’t you join me in this life-long venture of joy and blessing? To know Him, to know His Word and to allow God’s Word to change us, little-by-little, precept-by-precept, day-by-day. The natural outcome of this journey is that we’ll love Him more and obey Him more. 

 

Father, what joy and peace there is in knowing You; to know the real You as revealed in Your holy scriptures. There is much we don’t know and don’t understand, but what we have is enough to bring a flowing river of grace, mercy and blessings. As Paul wrote, For from You and through and to You are all things. To You be glory forever! (Romans 11:36). Amen!