Jesus, our safe Savior, Part 7

Well, what if (yes I’m going to say it) there was no pre-Tribulation rapture? What if Jesus has one Second Coming (like He promised) and we are on the earth until the seventh trumpet? Would the Lord keep us safe while the world undergoes tribulation unequal to anything from all of history (see Matt 24:21)?

In the book of Revelation there are 7 seals, 7 trumpets, and 7 bowls of wrath. The seals are pretty crazy: war, famine, death, sky rolling up like a scroll, stars falling. The trumpets are a bit scarier: water turning to blood, a star called Wormwood turning drinking water bitter, locusts the size of horses stinging people, an army of 200 million fierce warriors.

Somehow it has crept into sermons and minds  that if Christians are on the earth during the tribulation (rather than being raptured out beforehand) that means God is subjecting us to His wrath. To follow this logic would be to say that God subjected the Israelites to His wrath when He sent the plagues to Egypt. But that is forgetting the Goshen principle.

Since there are so many parallels between the book of Revelation and the Exodus story (I’ll write a blog on this soon for those who aren’t familiar), follow me for a moment here. When the plague of turning the waters of the Nile to blood hit, this affected all of Egypt. When the Lord sent the frogs, it affected all of Egypt. When the Lord sent the gnats, it affected all of Egypt. But look at what He says about the fourth plague, the flies:

Exodus 8:²² “‘But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the LORD, am in this land. ²³ I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This sign will occur tomorrow.’”

And once the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt, God provided for them (fresh water to drink, manna and quail), sheltered them (a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night) and fought for them. This isn’t just history, this is a lesson in how God will deal with us (see 1 Cor. 10:11).

Jesus said some strange remarks about this principle from Luke 21:

¹⁶ You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. ¹⁷ Everyone will hate you because of me. ¹⁸ But not a hair of your head will perish.

So the Lord will keep us safe in the midst of tribulation, whether we face a personal tribulation or the one that affects the whole earth. It may not be the protection we expect, but if we stand by the All Consuming Fire we will escape the flames (see Daniel 3).

I’m sure I’ve opened up a can of worms, so feel free to argue or agree…

Jesus, our safe Savior, Part 6 – the Job question

How can we call Jesus our safe Savior when bad things happen to good people? In other words, the Job question — why did God single out Job to satan? This prompted satan to bring an avalanche of calamities on Job just to prove God wrong. And somehow, in light of that story, our feeling of safety in the hand of God teeters on the brink. But why?

Power scares us. Even when we love power, it scares us. We don’t trust people with power. We don’t even trust ourselves with power (and most of us shouldn’t). Since we don’t trust ourselves with power, why would we trust God, Who has infinite power?

An amazing aspect of God’s power is that He gives it away. He gave power to us when He gave Adam the ability to choose, to create and to think and feel apart from Him. This doesn’t negate the Lord’s sovereignty, rather it enhances it.

I think we’ve corrupted the idea of sovereignty into some philosophical ideal. Sovereignty isn’t meticulous control over every detail, but rather the first and last word. Humans write more of the in between words than philosophy leaves room for. In other words, sometimes the Job question can be answered by the sheer fact that humans around us make decisions that effect us negatively. And sometimes we make those decisions ourselves.

But God is still sovereign since He takes the negative circumstances and works them together for good–in amazing ways. If I didn’t have those painful loses, I wouldn’t have the tremendous good He worked together. Does that mean I’m thankful for the loses? Believe me when I tell you, no. I related to Job’s silence all too well (see Job 2:13). But I am thankful for the Lord’s work to bring good out of painful situations.

So in my few years walking with God on this earth, I have learned that Romans 8:28 is the answer to the Job question:

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (NLT)

One other point about this ‘Job question’…

Job trusted God. He trusted the Lord from beginning to end, enough to say:

Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him… (Job 13:15a)

And trusted Him enough to yell at Him and expect to be vindicated:

but I will maintain mine own ways before him. (Job 13:15b – KJV)

Job’s vindication didn’t come in the expected form, but he was vindicated none the less (see Job 42).

The Lord is no less our safe Savior when the righteous get hurt. He promised that in the world we will have trouble. But take heart–He has overcome the world. Redemption is far more beautiful than we realize.

Jesus, our safe Savior, Part 5

How can we reconcile Jesus as our safe Savior with the wildness of God?

One of my favorite passages of the Bible is Exodus 33-34 where Moses asks to see God’s glory. The Lord tells Moses that He will cover Moses with His hand until He has passed, since no one can look on the face of God and live. Talk about the wildness of God! An ant beside the raging sun is a pale comparison. He created a billion stars much brighter and stronger than our own sun.

But then He goes on to declare His Name to Moses:

The Lord, the Lord, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

First, He is the Lord, the I AM. Always present. As in not abandoning us.

Next, He goes on to say that He is gracious. This means that not only does God have the power to give favor to people, but He desires to do so. Psalm 45 describes Jesus as one whose lips have been anointed with grace forever. Every word He says to us is full of grace. He desires to show us favor and lift us up to where He is. How much more favor will we receive from Him when we desire to receive it?

Then the Lord declares Himself as compassionate. Compassion means helping those who need help. Human beings need more help than we realize, and He helps us more than we realize. He causes the sun to shine or the rain to fall on nice people and not so nice people. I’m glad, because I’ve been not so nice more often than I care to tell ya.

I love this next one: slow to anger. I wish I had this reputation. God always controls His temper.

Abounding in love and faithfulness means that His affection for us knows no limits. Not even when we’ve been faithless. Imagine, He takes people who have marred His name and transforms us so we can sit next to Him. On His throne. See Him face to face. Experience Him in all His wildness for eternity in the safest place imaginable.

To say that He is a safe Savior doesn’t mean He’s a tame Lion (to steal a quote from C.S. Lewis, if I may). We can’t control Him. We can’t contain Him. Job 23:13 says, “He stands alone, and who can oppose Him? He does whatever He pleases.” He’s the freest of free agents.

What pleases Him? Ephesians 5:10 tells us to find out, so here’s a condensed version from Song of Songs 4:10: Our love pleases Him. It pleased Him to win our love, even when it took dying on the cross.

He’s an all consuming Fire and the Lord of the Armies. From His throne comes thunder, lightning, noises. He is more dangerous than any natural disaster. But there is no safer place to be than in His arms.

Jesus, our safe Savior, Part 1

Back in 2003, I went through a very painful loss, and during that time I felt as if everything God had promised me died in one moment. I was angry. Mistrustful. I didn’t feel safe with God. In fact, the words out of my mouth mirrored a verse from Jeremiah:

Why is my pain unending
and my wound grievous and incurable?
You are to me like a deceptive brook,
like a spring that fails. (Jer. 15:18)

Eight years later, with numerous heartbreaks in between, I am assured that Jesus is a safe Savior.

My journey with Him has been an adventure, like grade 5 white water rafting. These days the 11th hour He takes me to has me laughing, excited to see what He will do next.

His word confirms that He is a safe Savior. Matthew 11:28 says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” He even goes on, promising to be yoke-fellows with us, exchanging our heavy burdens with His light one.

As He related to David, so He will relate to us, and even moreso. He is our:

Rock, Fortress, Deliverer, Refuge, Shield, Horn of Salvation and Stronghold (see Psalm 18).

He delights in us, and because He delights in us He rescues us (v. 19).

He’ll go so far as to broaden the path beneath our feet so we don’t twist our ankles (v. 36).

Even in the midst of difficult seasons He is safe, for He loves us and has made us more than conquerors (Rom. 8:37). Nothing shall separate us from the love He has for us, not trouble, hardships, persecutions, famine, nakedness, danger, or sword (Rom. 8:35).

Looming danger is often a difficult one for me. I find my trust in the Lord tested when possible dangers lurk, even when logic says the danger will bypass. My heart often says, “Will God bring this trial my way? O, God, not another trial!”

Trials will come, just like temptations will come, but His word says that He saves those He loves. He hasn’t stopped loving just because a trial looms or has come our way.

What way has the Lord shown Himself to you as a safe Savior?