Posts Tagged ‘ Faith ’
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31 ESV
It feels like Jesus is taking His sweet time returning and our world is growing worse and harder to live in.
But if we trust that His timing is good, and we remember that He has promised He is returning, we will find Him strengthening us through the Holy Spirit.
fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10, ESV
The is no reason to fear what may come or happen. The God of everything wants to help you, lift you up, and comfort you.
Trust His Son, who was lifted up.
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.
Psalm 68:5 NIV
Are you an orphan or widow (or widower? Just have an absentee or abusive father or husband (or mother or wife)?
God loves you and wants to care for you. Lean in to Him.
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
Romans 11:33, ESV
We cannot understand God. Able to see and know everything, He makes decisions that we may never see the origin or full results of, but He is our wise Father.
We can trust Him.
“Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.”
Jeremiah 32:17, NKJV
Why do we struggle to trust God?
If He can create literally everything, and He is able to raise people from the dead, walk on water, and make a few loaves and fish feed thousands, surely He can handle each of our situations in life.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
Isaiah 43:2, ESV
Trust the Lord. He desires to take care of us, watch over us, and rescue us, even miraculously.
“For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”
Isaiah 41:13 ESV
Trust God to work out everything in His time and His way. It may not look how we expect, so have faith that He is helping you. At the very least, ak for strength and wisdom, which He gives willingly and abundantly (James 1:5).
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2, ESV
Do not be confused. Jesus was not happy to die, but He was willing to endure anything for what was on the other side: eternal life with His forgiven adopted brothers and sisters, to the glory of the Father through the Holy Spirit who draws us in guides us to that perfection of faith.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
John 5:24 ESV
When John later said “There is no fear in love” (1 John 4:18), he was reminding us that faith in Christ means we no longer need fear punishment and harsh judgment. Through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus Christ literally saves us.
I promise I am not simply choosing songs that John Piper and others have said they disagree with!
Why do I say that?
Well, in my last Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas I discussed Hillsong’s “What a Beautiful Name”, which included a response to John Piper’s response.
Similarly, today’s song has had a few negative responses, including one I listened to from John Piper about a month and a half ago.
The gist of the negative reactions is this: it sounds too much like David Dunn wants to go back to living like a child, without having to deal with the problems and pressures of adult life. It seems too much like he wants to go back to a simplistic life in which there is not much responsibility and we can fall back on a blind faith.
(Other than living a simple life as a simple man of God, of course!)
In the first verse, I am hearing less “I want to go back to an easy life when I believed just because” and more “I long for a faith as strong as I remember having.”
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.
Revelation 2:4-5a, ESV
When I listen to this, I am hearing a reminder to have faith like a child (Luke 18:17), not to return to living and thinking like a child (1 Corinthians 13:11).
In the second verse, I hear a reminder to not worry about what others have and do, but to simply love them … which sounds a lot like living out one of the greatest commandments!
I am reminded of the Karl Barth quote that he could summarize his work and understanding of theology in the simple lyric “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”
What exactly does this mean?
We can rely on Word of God, the Bible and Jesus, to guide us in all truth and inform our faith. Therefore, David Dunn is reminding himself and us that we need to make sure we are digging deeply into the Bible and seeking Christ through devotional prayer (“Devotional” both in the sense of spending time in study and thought as well as out of a deep love).
And the chorus continues with letting this little light shine.
Obviously, this is the call to live out the faith given by God for His glory!
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 5:14-16, ESV
… This song can be simply understood as a call to fall back on the greatest commandments:
When I was a kid
I was sure
I could run across the ocean
And I was gonna be an astronaut
When it was You and it was me
I had everything I needed
Faith could even move a mountain top
And then I grew up
And then I got older
Then my life got tough
And we grew apart
I wanna go back
To Jesus loves me this I know
For the Bible tells me
For the Bible tells me so
I wanna go back
To this little light
Gonna let it shine
Gonna let it shine
I wanna go back
When I was a kid
I didn’t care to keep up with the Jones’s
I was just happy that they lived next door
When it was You and it was me
I had everything I needed
Your hands were big enough to hold the world
And then I grew up
And then I got older
Then my life got tough
And we grew apart
I wanna go back
To Jesus loves me this I know
For the Bible tells me
For the Bible tells me so
I wanna go back
To this little light
Gonna let it shine
Gonna let it shine
I wanna go back
I wanna go back, back to
Yes, Jesus loves me
a simple man of God 