Is God's presence enough?

23 A Psalm of David. 

1  The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 

2  He makes me lie down in green pastures. 

He leads me beside still waters. 

3  He restores my soul. 

He leads me in paths of righteousness 

for his name’s sake. 

4  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 

I will fear no evil, 

for you are with me; 

your rod and your staff, 

they comfort me. 

5  You prepare a table before me 

in the presence of my enemies; 

you anoint my head with oil; 

my cup overflows. 

6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me 

all the days of my life, 

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord 

forever. 

This psalm has been very relevant for me personally over the past year. As a family we have been journeying through a great tragedy and when it first happened God gave me a picture. The picture was of me in a dark place. It was dark grey, a place where you couldn’t really see what was going on around you or where you were going, but I saw someone there, a distant figure and I knew it was Jesus. The picture reminded me of this psalm as the place in my mind looked to me like a dark valley. Many times over the past 12 months I have had this image and been reassured of God’s presence during the darkest times. 

I had suddenly found myself walking ‘through the valley of the shadow of death’, unsure of how I had got there and no idea how to get out. Yet in the midst of it God kindly showed me that He was present. He had not left me alone, and as long as I kept looking to Him, He would guide me through. I often recalled this picture and would say to God, “Thank you for being with me, I don’t yet feel your comfort, but I know it will come because you are with me”. This is a promise of this psalm and was the assurance God gave me as I had to endure this season. God did not say it was all going be ok, that it would soon be over, or that there was an escape from this turmoil, but His promise was of His presence and that was enough. Is God’s presence sufficient for you? No matter what storms, trials, adventures, triumphs or celebrations you are going through, are you assured of God's presence? This psalm shows how God is alongside you no matter what season of life you are in; a time of rest, one of provision, healing, suffering, death, direction, temptation, abundance or celebration. No matter your situation, God's 'goodness and mercy' are present. They will always be present because He is with you if you choose to live your life with Him.

Being someone that follows God doesn’t mean that your life life is easy. Read this psalm again if you need proof of that! God doesn't promise that He will sort out all of your problems and the issues of life, but He does assure you of His constant presence and His grace and mercy. Sometimes you will have to walk through valleys that you never expected, and at times you are bathing in the sunshine in fields that you never knew could hold such blessing. You experience both because life has twists and turns. You will make mistakes, you live around people that don’t always get it right and there is an enemy. So be prepared for valleys and darkness to come as well as fields, feasts and green pastures. You are not immune to experiencing trouble if you dedicate your life to following God. Yet you do have a mighty, powerful, loving Father that has always got your back. He will always be there with you in whatever you are experiencing. Sometimes you’ll get hurt, sometimes you’ll know relief, sometimes you’ll know comfort, rest and joy, but always you can know His presence.

If you contemplate the truth of God's never-ending presence and support in your life, then your hope, peace, comfort and confidence in every circumstance will grow. No matter what highs or lows you experience, whether you are in the depths of fear and pain or enjoying abundance and provision, God is there with you. He is always looking out over you, leading you, and helping you. His everlasting love is with you and as you learn to apply that truth, hope, peace and comfort will grow in your life.

The power of gifts and community

This week, I have been struck by the way Daniel sees himself in the second chapter of Daniel, particularly in just this one verse;

To you, O God of my fathers, 

I give thanks and praise, 

for you have given me wisdom and might, 

and have now made known to me what we asked of you, 

for you have made known to us the king’s matter.” 

Daniel 2:23.

This verse is the end of Daniel’s recorded prayer after Nebuchadnezzar’s dream had been revealed to Daniel and his friends. 

Daniel recognises the gifts God has given him, ‘you have given me wisdom and might’.  Remember, Daniel is still a young man in this part of the book, possibly late teens yet he already knows who he is - a man of understanding and strength. Isn’t that pretty powerful?! 

Daniel is secure and unafraid to admit that his characteristics have been passed down from His God - like we inherit things from biological parents - we also inherit gifts from our Father in heaven. Daniel recognises that and is grateful for it. He admits and accepts that he has been given wisdom and might from God, as, a few verses before, Daniel has mentioned that all wisdom and strength are God’s. So, now he acknowledges that God has imparted some of that wisdom and might to himself. He is not ashamed of it, he accepts that this is how God has gifted him. He doesn’t feel proud of himself for his understanding and strength, as if he acquired them himself through study and hardwork, but he gives all credit to God. Eventhough Daniel, in reality, has been studying for 3 years (as a captive of the Babylonians). Yet he realises this knowledge he has is not from dedicated effort or appropriate learning from books or others, it is an insight, an understanding, a wisdom that only God can provide.

We see here how God has imparted part of His own character - his wisdom and might to Daniel. What part of Himself has God imparted to you? 

Each of us are made in the image of God as it tells us this in Genesis .Therefore we all, like Daniel, have inherited some of God’s character due to being made in His image - isn't that incredible?! What we see here with Daniel as well, is that he doesn't play down the fact that he is gifted in certain areas, but instead he acknowledges and accepts them, then uses them. God gives us gifts not to amuse ourselves or to just lay dormant, but they are an impartation to you to use that you may demonstrate to the world some of God's character! 

Daniel accepts and acknowledges  that he is graced with wisdom and might. He is not embarrassed by it, but he sees how he has something others don’t, and he gives God the credit - this is the right way to appreciate the way God has made you. By using his God-given abilities, Daniel saves lives and reveals who God is to the current king - that’s pretty epic! 

What could you achieve if you start to accept and acknowledge the character that God has imparted to you?

Another thing I notice from this verse is that Daniel takes no credit for the revelation he has received, do you notice that? He says, ‘for you have made known to us the king’s matter.’ Do you notice that little word, ‘us’? Daniel very graciously admits that the revelation is due to his friends as well as himself praying. He recognises the group effort, and that the revelation, the breakthrough belongs to them all, not just to him. 

Daniel has not prayed alone or been in this situation alone, he and his friends are immersed in it together. Therefore the recognition belongs to them all. As they have prayed together, so they share the joy together. Daniel knows his value as part of this faith community, and he honours the fact that this success is theirs too.

When you pray about significant matters, do you pray in community? 

Who are those that you can invite to pray with you? 

When you pray with others, do you also share the victory and celebrate the breakthrough together?

Daniel accepts, values and reaches out to the friends of faith in his life, make sure that you have people in your life that you can do the same with - this is what it is to be the family of God. It is not easy to trust people with the innermost hurts and difficult situations, i know, i am one that finds it hard to share, but we can see time and again throughout the Bible where prayer in community brings change. In Daniel alone, we see how Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, the firm faith-filled friends; interpreted dreams, helped rule a nation, escaped death and saved lives! Through walking faithfully with God, acknowledging their opportunities and gifts, and by working together. 

If you want to see things change, if you want to grow in your faith, then spend some time figuring out what your gifts are - ask God, ask others, they will help you. Accept and acknowledge how God has made you, and get others of faith with you through thick and thin and see what God can do. With these four lads - captives, young, vulnerable, faithful and faith-filled, God was able to influence kings, and demonstrate that He is, "God of gods and Lord of lords"! (v17)

I wonder what you and I could do if we gathered together, prayed, celebrated and accepted our God-given gifts... 

Days of Remembrance

Do you have special days of remembrance?

The Jews, in Esther, created a new day of remembrance. They decide to set aside the day, every year, to recall the wondrous deliverance that God had brought about for them. A day to celebrate, give gifts and remember the poor. A day to remember that they had been delivered from death and given a new opportunity for life.

The Jews deliberately made an effort from this time forth to celebrate their deliverance from annihilation. Mordecai and Esther even established this holiday through a written letter of encouragement to all the Jews officially dedicating this day as one of celebration known as Purim. This day is an annual recollection, it is still a celebrated feast today. The nation has upheld it’s identity and continues to mark the day of deliverance.
This isn’t the Jews only day of remembrance either, they also have Passover, Hannukah and Yom Kippur to name a few, they have other important times of celebration too. The Jews are very good at celebrating. They are good at remembering, setting aside time to recall major triumphs in faith. They purposefully put dates in their diary to recall the times they have seen God at work in their lives. Do you?

Do you set aside any time in your year when you celebrate what God has done in your life? An annual commemoration? No wonder the Jews are fervent in their faith when they make time to rejoice in the breakthroughs of times past and can relate this to their own lives. They take time out of their busy lives to celebrate, not just what God has done for them personally, but they look wider and further to see what God has always been up to. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. By looking back and commemorating what God has done before brings confidence in what God is doing now and will do in the future.

Do you celebrate? Do you have significant highlights in your life, your town, your church, your nation that you should be commemorating?
How can you set aside time to recollect God’s hand in your life and the life of the church?

As a family, we have a couple of specific days that we celebrate. We set aside time to recall the days when our children became part of our family. We always make a point of doing something different and make sure we; share memories, reflect on how things have changed, discuss the highlights, the adventures, funny things that have happened and even how we ourselves have changed. I love hearing our kids stories and their memories. They are so precious. It helps me know our children better, what they value. It is an important opportunity for us all to talk to each other and acknowledge what we have and how far we have come. It does something to build relationship, and it puts extra joy in our hearts, it raises our hopes and expectations and helps us to see the work God has been doing. As a parent, it does my heart good to all get together and celebrate, as a child don’t you think it raises their hopes? Think about how God feels when we set aside to celebrate Him. As an imperfect parent I value the memories of my children, the strengths and aspirations they share, how much more so would God value the time we choose to spend commemorating Him and all the work He has been up to? Then imagine the faith it will build in yourself.

I think the Jewish customs of celebration, of marking key events in their history is important. It causes them to remember, to realign their vision, to reassess their values and regard the greatness of God, not just in theory, but in reality. How would your faith, your life change if you too set important dates of remembrance in your calendar?

 We all have stories, we all have adventures of faith, we all have breakthroughs. How can you commemorate the successes of your life?

Day of Death

A good name is better than precious ointment, 
and the day of death than the day of birth. 
*2* It is better to go to the house of mourning 
than to go to the house of feasting, 
for this is the end of all mankind, 
and the living will lay it to heart. 
Ecclesiastes 7:1-2

It seems odd, doesn’t it, that Solomon considers the day of death better than the day of life? Death better than birth?

These verses can seem a bit hard to read as we don’t like to think of death, particularly in the sense that Solomon mentions - that mourning is preferable to celebration, but death is a reality that is coming us all. It is more certain than most things in our lives. It’s more certain than many things in life like; marriage, kids, job, holidays or even if we are going to eat today. Most of these things we take for granted, we expect them to happen to us and we can spend a lot of time preparing for them.
So, considering the verses above - Are you spending as much time (or any) preparing for the one event that is most certain of all - your dying day?

I am not trying to be morbid here, or to imply that we should have detailed funeral plans laid out, but lets consider the fact that we are going to die for a few moments - are you ready for it?

I realise some people will think this a morbid topic to ponder on, but I think it’s an essential one to recognise. One day our Earthly life will end, and our life after will begin.
If you are a christian it’s not bad news as you expect to live beyond your Earthly death. If you believe and trust in God and Jesus, Jesus himself said that he’s preparing a place for you (John 14:3). This fact should fill us with hope. It should be something that we are looking forward to - Jesus is getting ready for us - that’s kind of exciting!

Yet the reality is that at the point of death we then enter into the unknown - that’s the bit that scares me. We do not know exactly what happens at that point, but I, like Solomon I guess, link the day of death to the day of birth. I imagine our dying day to be like when we are born. As a baby, we are alive in our mother’s womb, then the day comes when our womb days die and we are born into another reality - it’s scary and different. Could death be like that?

Our earthly days are those of preparation for being born into a new reality that we couldn’t of previously conceived. It is not that we cease to exist, but that we are birthed into a new realm, an eternal one. Just as our days in the womb were relatively few in number compared to our life on Earth, so our life on Earth is relatively short compared to our eternal life. Therefore, shouldn’t we be preparing for this eternity more than we are settling and making comfortable our lives on Earth?

It is great to prepare for life, to make plans and organise things, it is good to celebrate too, but are you prepared for what happens after all these things end? Are you prepared for the time when celebrations end and the life that is mourned is your own?
I do not mean that we should have all our funeral plans wrapped up and ready, but  what I do mean is; Are you living your life in such a way that you are ready for the end of it? Do you know what’s coming next and live in light of that?

None of us know when our last day will be, and we don’t like to think about it, it’s a kind of taboo. Yet, this event is certain. The day of death is coming, and it shouldn’t be a day to fear.

Solomon is encouraging us through these verses to not get caught up in the events of this Earth unless you are taking them into consideration of the wider eternal plan. We can get mixed up in  many distractions, that if we consider them on an eternal perspective probably will not have much significance. What is your focus and aim of your life on Earth? Do these objectives have an eternal perspective?

This is why Solomon is saying that the day of mourning is better than the day of celebration because it causes us to pause in our lives and consider. He has observed humanity throughout his life of wisdom and made some conclusions. He sees that when a baby is born, we celebrate, we congratulate, people are generally happy, it is fun and joyous to have new life in the world and we focus on this event and the opportunities it brings. On the day of death, the people present mourn, feel sadness, maybe regret and acknowledgement that there may be unfinished business. These people are considering death, and have an opportunity to recognise their own mortality. They may consider the meaning and purpose of their own life. They could contemplate how they wish to be remembered and what is going to happen when they die. We face some of life’s big questions when we think about a life ending. These kind of questions are not usually faced on a daily basis, and rarely come up in times of celebration. The day of mourning can bring long-term life-changing considerations. Whereas the celebrations of birth bring a temporary joy. This is why Solomon values the days of mourning more. Not because he’s morbid or likes a good cry, but because the meaning of your life can be challenged, and that can effect the rest of your life.

Have you considered your life in this light? Have you ever thought about the big questions of life - where is your life going and even more importantly where are you going after this life?

There are two choices on how you live your life now and hereafter - with God or without God. How you live your life now, here on Earth, will determine where your life after death will be. Are you going to be with God or not?
The day is coming. For those who believe in God and trust in Jesus, it’s not a terrifying day (or shouldn’t be). We have assurances that Jesus has gone ahead and prepared our place - has he prepared yours?