Running round the dark of night resting fate in hands of sight
With fears of questions silence answered, he’s a-fraid he might be lost
Underneath the stiffened mask his eyes grow weak when Father asks:

Did you thank me for the trees?
Did you thank me for the rain?
Did you thank me for my answers, spoken softly just the same?
Will you thank me for my kingdom, did you thank me for the cross?
Do you trust me now enough to face the cost?
Do you know I’ll always be here when you’re lost?

Drawn beneath the waves of earthly toil and unrest
Life’s unveiling treasure lies in paper food and dress
When once what mattered slips away his hands draw back and Father asks:

Did you thank me for the trees?
Did you thank me for the rain?
Did you thank me for your purpose, though un-earthly just the same?
Will you thank me for my kingdom, did you thank me for the cross?
Do you trust me now enough to face the cost?
Do you know I’ll always be here when you’re lost?

- Josh Rodatus, May 2007

Ever wanted to play a practical joke on a monkey? Find a jar with a mouth just wide enough for his hand to fit through, and put a peanut in it. Then give the jar to the monkey. Oh, we all know what happens. In his frenzy to seize the treat, the monkey reaches into the jar to grasp it. Unfortunately, as long as he clenches the peanut in his fist, he cannot remove his hand from the jar! It won’t fit! The poor monkey is bewildered. He goes about his day with a jar stuck over his hand. He simply sees no way other way to procure the treat.

I am often exactly like that monkey. Things such as winsomeness, friends, respect, and power are mere peanuts in a jar. Try as I might, they simply can’t be taken by force. These things belong to God! None of them can be taken by any human. They can only be given.

Think of the guy with the spiky hair, Nikes, and bulging muscles. He basically lives at the gym. Why? He has completely sold himself to looking attractive for the ladies. But he’ll never be attractive that way. Anyone with a true eye for beauty will find his kind of character disgusting. ALERT!! Monkey is clutching his peanut!!

Think of the woman scrambling for promotions at her job. She wants power. She wants control. Soon she is made a high-level manager in the company. For a little while, she is successful and happy. But very soon she begins to realize that no one wants to listen to her anymore! Her desire for power has made her proud and bossy. And nobody wants to obey a proud bossy person. ALERT!! Monkey is clutching her peanut!!

Attractiveness and power: such things simply can’t be taken. They can only be given by the God who created them. Returning to our poor monkey, it is now evening. The monkey’s eyelids begin to grow heavy; his hand relaxes its grip on the peanut. The jar slips onto the floor. The peanut rolls out and is summarily devoured by a colony of ants. If only our monkey could talk! He might have asked his caretakers for help.

I know that spending my energies to win friends, influence people, merit respect, and acquire power is foolishness. Again and again I have seen these pursuits backfire. When driven by selfishness, they always do! I also believe that the pursuit of God is categorically the most rewarding pursuit known to Man. I believe this with all my heart, and with all my heart do I commend it to you.

Matthew 6:31-33

So then, don’t worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the unconverted  pursue these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But above all pursue His kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (NET)

Yesterday, I was thinking about King David. Like other godly men in the Bible, his life was a miracle from end to end. I decided to flip through 1 & 2 Samuel to reconstruct a piecemeal portrait of this great character. Here is what I discovered:

David was chosen and prepared by God from youth. He had bright eyes, and was a skillful musician. He was also a man of valor and of war. He possessed prudent speech and a good presence.

David was a servant of servants, and disciplined. He was outgoing, and inquisitive. He was naturally diplomatic in his relations. But his speech was frank and uncomplicated.

David took his faith for granted, sometimes slipping into rashness. He was willing to oblige when necessary. In communicating, he liked to use comparisons and metaphors. He was a natural leader, and carried a good name for his actions.

David thought lowly of himself. He oft was openly emotional, and an enthusiastic actor. He took words deeply to heart. He was not defensive, but always committed his case to God. He was unquestionably obedient toward his God.

David was a prolific poet, and prone to moodiness. He liked to tease his enemy cleverly. But he had a sensitive conscience, being “excessively” ethical compared to others. He was uncompromising, and a very persuasive individual. He was abundantly forgiving.

David took questionable liberties for mission’s sake. He sometimes feigned, conformed, and even lied when necessary. In the sight of whomever he served, David seemed as blameless as an angel. He was sensitive, and often affected by people’s opinions of him. But he always strengthened himself in God. He instantly acted on God’s promises against all odds.

David was decisive, albiet prone to impulsiveness. He was wise, just, and possessed a powerful word. He was prone to extremes of behavior, passionate in love and intense in hatred. But he could easily justify his emotional behavior with good reason.

David knew and understood the gravity of God’s greatness in him. As a young shepherd, he was solitary in childhood. But as a young man he was constantly on the move. His childhood occupation primarily built faith, not vocational skills.

David was a great musician, a great warrior, a great poet, and a great king. Yet he was also the servant of servants, and a dear friend to those who knew him. From birth to death, God was the source and end of all his strength.

(Passage references were omitted for brevity.)

I once heard Ravi Zacharias say that only God is able to humble us without humiliating us and to exalt us without flattering us. Daniel in the Bible knew this.

Daniel 10:7-9

 7 And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves.

8 So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength.

9 Then I heard the sound of his words, and as I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in deep sleep with my face to the ground.

When God touches a place, no flesh there is left standing. To be touched by God’s holy finger is the most humbling experience humanly possible. For when God comes into a place, all human strength and glory withers. But for the one whom God loves, this is not humiliating– His touch comes from outside what is fleshly and comprehensible, and comes to quicken the spirit!

Daniel 10:10-12

10 And behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees.

11 And he said to me, O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you. And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling.

12 Then he said to me, Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.

If we are so helpless before a loving God, let us then humble ourselves before Him, and set ourselves to understand Him. He is not flesh, but Spirit, and his word can be understood only by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. If He does, then we will not fear: he who hears God is the one whom God hears. Here is the summary. The one without God thinks he is strong, and yet is dashed to pieces the moment God arrives on the scene. The one who knows God therefore knows he is feeble, and yet has God as his mighty strength and great fighter!

God alone is able to humble us without humiliating us, and to exalt us without flattering us.

There is nothing strange about evil. We know what it looks like. A homeless Zimbabwean with lung cancer is refused medical care and left to die in the gutter. My neighbor’s adorable terrier dashes into the street and gets flattened by an 18-wheeler. A good husband and father loses his job. A girl gets raped. Evil is both inflicted and suffered all the time. From a distance, we aren’t bewildered by it. Why should we be? News broadcasts keep us updated around the clock! We have the “5 o’clock Evil” and the “6 o’clock Evil” and graphic depictions of it pouring over the airwaves all night long. We were once shocked, maybe, as children. But it doesn’t take long to realize and accept that evil is part of life on earth.

Evil is simple, really. It has no secrets. There is nothing strange about it. Until we consider that God has allowed its existence. Realize that God could at any moment wipe evil from the face of the earth, and let only goodness and love abide for eternity. But He hasn’t. He lets evil be.

I typically am not bewildered by evil happening outside myself. But what about when it happens to me? When Josh gets shot in the foot with loneliness, evil suddenly seems crushing!

The Bible plainly states that one of God’s purposes for evil is as punishment for the ungodly. But it has another purpose which is an encouragement. For us Christians who suffer evil, God is giving us an opportunity to experience first-hand the sufferings of our Lord Jesus. God explicity wants me to resemble His one and only Son, Jesus, in every way. Why? Jesus was perfect, and the pinnacle of His perfection is in the way he dealt with evil. After His atonement for sin, one of the legacies Jesus left behind is His perfect response to evil.

Jesus “for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame…” Jesus’ example of suffering gives Christians three parts of a right response to evil:

• We despise it.
• We endure it.
• We look to the joy promised us as Christians.

Peter exhorts these things as well.

1 Peter 4
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

Peter says that fiery trials are meant to test us. When an electrical wire is designed, its insulating sheath must be raised to a high temperature to test its response to heat. If the wire passes the test, its maker will approve it for use. Similarly, fiery trials test our semblence to Christ as God makes us. So it is not strange to suffer as a Christian. Suffering gives us cause for rejoicing, since it bring us into deeper knowledge of Christ! I often find myself wholly uninterested in Jesus’ glory and future coming. Sharing in Christ’s sufferings enables me to rejoice in His glory!

From a distance, we aren’t bewildered by evil. But when evil knock on our own door, we need Jesus to answer. If suddenly all my friends desert me, and my knowledge and reasoning disappear, there is absolutely no reason to think something strange is happening. Evil happens to other people all the time. It’s simple, really. But evil cannot harm me: whether I live or die, I am in God’s hands.

I love the opening lines to the hymn:

Lord, it belongs not to my care
Whether I die or live;
To love and serve Thee is my share,
And this Thy grace must give.

If life be long, I will be glad,
That I may long obey;
If short, then why should I be sad
To soar to endless day?

Bear well.

What have I done
My Lord, my King
Must I live on knowing not your pain
What have I done
Mine eyes deceive
Have I not worshiped you
Neigh thou grace, my God
I unde-serv-ed thee

What have I done
Thy loving hand
Gifts all I see yet not your plan
What have I done
What must I bring
Have I not worshiped you
Neigh thou love, my King
I unde-serv-ed thee

What have I done
Mine hands of yours
How frail and empty Lord they come
What have I done
Thou workest through
Have I not scourg-ed you
Neigh thou wounds, my Lord
I unde-serv-ed thee

- Josh Rodatus, April 2008

Thou sloth, hark!
Tis the clock tower chime?
Tis the stone mason’s hammer?
Tis the fluttering sail blown full wind?

Neigh!
Still more captivating
Are the master’s hands
Shattering silence with one swift flourish
Striking into sense the darkest befuddlement

Oh happy disruption!
Carry me away!
Wrist flick hither
Fingers burning for their destinies

Glacic shards upon ivory hammers
Weight acruing- it affords no tarry
So sing soft, sing quick
Deep cuts by a surface touch

Hark thou sloth!
For as fine wine to parched lips
Is the master’s touch to the frigid soul

(referring to piano)

- Josh Rodatus, July 2008