I needed that reminder to rejoice in the Lord. Sometimes I get caught up in all the things that are WRONG. Sometimes I struggle with things in our culture or injustices I see around me, and other times the problem is within myself. (That is harder to see, and I need someone else to point it out, like mustard on my cheek. I can’t see it unless I have a “mirror.”)
But finding out what’s wrong is a gift, isn’t it? Have you ever struggled with your health and just wished for a diagnosis? Even if you don’t like what you learn, knowing what’s wrong gives you a handle on things. Once you know what the problem is, you can develop a plan to make things right, and then begin to take action to fix things. Knowledge is the first step, and it’s essential.
We can see the problems all around us. Even if we are blind, we can hear the complaining voices surrounding us, pointing out what’s wrong with this and what’s wrong with that. We understand all too clearly that things are sub-par. We recognize corruption. Our own hearts condemn us, sometimes.
The world is messed up; our lives are messed up. We have sinned against each other, and we have sinned against God. There is nothing we can ever do to make things right, because we have tried, and when we finally understand that, despair can set in.
This is what happened when the people understood the law (Nehemiah 8). But Nehemiah said, “Yes, you have been wrong, and it’s horrible, but don’t stay there! Get busy, and rejoice! Today is a day holy unto the Lord. You have so much to be thankful for, so have a feast and don’t leave anyone out!”
But it’s impossible to rejoice when you are focused on the things that are wrong. And (spoiler alert) there is something wrong just about everywhere you look: the television, the internet, the mirror. There is disease and sorrow everywhere, body and mind. The world mourns because of the sadness and death that sin has brought upon each one of us and even the whole earth! (Romans 8 says the whole world in is the pains of childbirth, waiting to be delivered!) So how can we rejoice?
Nehemiah said, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” His words sound really similar to the words of Isaiah, from over two hundred years earlier: “. . .in the Lord I have righteousness and strength.” Isaiah 45:24
” For there is no other God but me–a just God and a Savior–no, not one! Let all the world look to me for salvation! For I am God; there is no other.” Isaiah 45:21b-22 NLT
We cannot save ourselves, whether we are trying to break an addiction or just trying to do what is right. We cannot save ourselves or make ourselves good, because all goodness comes from God. Our own efforts are futile, like a dirty hand trying to wash the dirt from another dirty hand, and even if we believe we make a short-term gain, we will slip right back again. We need a Savior to make that fundamental change in our hearts, to make us tender and to wake us up to the source of all goodness.
However, while our own efforts cannot save us, our willingness to be saved is essential to our salvation, because God has made it so. He wants us to choose him, and so He draws us toward Himself.
Jesus said, “No man can come to me except the Father which hath send me draw him: And I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:44
I believe that the Lord continues to draw us to Himself as we walk with him. People who have never known the Lord will feel the pull and perhaps not recognize it. They may experience it as a longing for truth, or as a desire for things to be clean and pure, or even just recognize the need to be loved.
Once we know Him, the feeling is similar, but we understand it better. We know His voice because we have heard it before. At that moment, when we hear His call, we can look back up at Him, with tears still streaming down our face at the realization of the mess we have made of things, and He promises to turn our mourning (repentance) into joy!
“To grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.” Isaiah 61:3 ESV
It’s as simple as turning around. The Lord was telling me to stop trying to change the things I have no power to change. I can’t even change myself. I need Him to change my heart. He was telling me to turn my attention away from all the things that are wrong (the world), and all that things that I feel threatened by (fear), and just put my eyes on Him, the One who can change it all in a moment.
So how do I “look to Him?” For me, it begins with remembering Who He is. And when I am really down, that means I have to go to his word, the Bible. (I love the reminders in Job 38 and 39 of how God shows himself through the world he made.) And as I am reminded of the glory of God by reading about Him, as I “taste and see” that the Lord is good, I start remembering all that He has done for us.
It’s a lot. Sometimes I don’t understand how I can keep stepping back from all the goodness I have received from God. It’s like I have a form of spiritual dementia. God has done miracle after miracle in our lives, and in my life, personally. I have several notebooks filled with the details of the ways He has moved in our lives and in other’s lives. There is no doubt about what happened, as I read it over and jog my own memory. How can I get so off track?
The Lord Jesus Christ is a person, He is the God who made the world, and he calls us “friend,” and He also calls us (the Church) his bride. Christianity isn’t a membership; it’s more like a marriage. We are sometimes pursued, and sometimes we pursue. It is love, and the worst thing you can do to a lover is be indifferent.
When I think of it, it’s as simple as looking away. It so easy to get distracted. And the more I look away, or the longer that shiny thing holds my attention, the easier it is to continue looking away. Pretty soon, I have a reluctance to look back. That’s it. Proverbs warns us to “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23 NKJV
The Fullers Four 