Life is a Parade But Don’t Ignore the Blimp

So it was that the ark remained in Kirjath Jearim a long time; it was there twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord. Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” 1 Samuel 9:2-3

The Lord truly spoke to my heart yesterday, essentially saying to me, “I can see into the future and beyond. That thing you are concerned with is done.”

The peace that came over me was magnificent. The particular thing that concerned me was not huge at all (quite trivial in actuality), but His words gave me the assurance that He has already viewed everything that’s going to happen (or not happen) to me in this life. My Father is positioned over me like the Good Year Blimp is above the Rose Bowl Parade. From my venue I only see what is in front of me with limited peripheral vision, but He sees the splendor of what’s to come and knows exactly where the entire procession is going to end up.

Yesterday’s encounter reminded me how easy it is to focus on a task or a problem rather then Jesus. The fact of the matter is that when we lose focus on Christ, the thing we’re focusing on becomes darkness—even if that thing is a God-given ministry or a mission. My assignment is to merely present myself to Him each day as an empty and willing vessel trusting that the real work to be done is His work. I am a hammer that needs to be in the Master’s tool box each morning not because He needs me, but because I need Him. If I’m not there God will use another instrument and as a result I will become dirty and rusty. Daily usage keeps a Christian clean.

This was in a sense Samuel’s message to Israel in the passage above. Their focus was everywhere but on God and as a result they were fearful of things not worthy of fear. The admonition Samuel gave to Israel then is appropriate for us today. Let us not focus on the problem, but on the problem solver; let us not curse the darkness, but turn on the Light.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing. Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is the man who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned. Psalm 34:8-22

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Standing on the Promises

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:1-2

What Promises?

I’m talking about the promises from God as a result of having been justified by our faith in God and the resurrection of His Son. In the precious light of the fabulous news the Apostle Paul reveals to us in Romans chapter four, we have peace with God, access to God, and joy in God.

We are at peace with the Father because we believe what Jesus accomplished on the cross was sufficient appeasement for our sin. By that same faith we have been given access to the Father by the power of His Holy Spirit. And finally, we rejoice because we know by faith our Heavenly hope is a sure guarantee; a done-deal. Fundamentally, the war with God is over—He is not angry, annoyed, or disappointed in us, for having been justified, He sees us in our glorified state.

How Can That Be?

This doctrine is vitally important towards the serenity and sanity of every believer, so pay attention. ‘How can the Lord see us in our glorified state when we have not yet received our glorified bodies? Let’s go back to Genesis and Abraham for that answer.

(As it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed–God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did… Romans 4:17

When the Lord told Abraham these things they had not yet happen, but He makes the statement in a tense that implies the event already was. In other words, Abraham at age 100 has yet to father a child, but God talks about him as if these countless nations already were.

(I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him. That which is has already been, And what is to be has already been… Ecclesiastes 3:14-15a

God has essentially told Abraham, “That which is has already been, and what is to be has already been.” It is an incredible premise and only one that God could accomplish—not only can God see the beginning from the end, He is able to operate in both realms simultaneously. Only God can give a future promise and then proclaim it as if it has already occurred. Think about that the next time you pray for a healing of some kind.

(For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. Romans 8:29-30

God can, in a sense, see the entire parade as if viewing it from the Goodyear blimp. Although the analogy is flawed, it loosely demonstrates how He can see the beginning and the end concurrently and how He is able to forecast with perfect accuracy to the person below what lies ahead. God can say, “You have seen the Underdog balloon,” before we have seen it, because He knows it is only a matter of time before we do. From our limited perspective we can only realize that which is directly in front of us, but by faith we are able to take God at His word. When we do, we are justified, and when we are justified, we are seen by God as glorified. If you believe that by faith, it should bring you much peace, access, and joy!

(Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. Hebrews 11:1-3

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