One God, Two Seasons Part 2
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DAY 2
Tuesday July 11, 2023
Our knowledge of God would be superficial if we know Him in one season, but not another. If we know only the goodness of God, but not know His severity, our knowledge is hollow and lacks depth. If we know only the severity of God and not His goodness, our theology is shallow.
Sadly, we all have been taught one version of God or the other. If we have been taught only of the goodness of God, His generosity, mercy, patience, we will be unprepared when we encounter difficult times in our lives.
God’s purpose for us sometimes requires us going through difficult seasons.
Job 1:1-3 (NLT)
1 There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless--a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil.
2 He had seven sons and three daughters.
3 He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, and 500 female donkeys. He also had many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area.
Job 2:10 (NLT)
But Job replied, “You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.
Job did not sin, before or during his trials. His trips showed how limited his knowledge of God was. He was a rich man, before his afflictions. He was a blessed man, who feared God and hated evil. Yet, something was lacking in his life. God blessed Job with His afflictions so He could give Him the true riches.
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The God of Consolation is also the God of Desolation
Isaiah 45:5-7
I am the Lord and there is no other
There is no God besides Me.
I will gird you, Though you have not known Me
6 That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting
That there is none besides Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I form the light and create darkness
I make peace and create calamity
I, the Lord, do all these things.
We want to be happy all the time. If difficult times come, we want to get out of them as quickly as possible.
Just like we need to balance eating with fasting, our theology needs to know both the goodness and the severity of God. God in His wisdom, allows us to see both sides of Himself.
Romans 11:22 (KJV) Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in [his] goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
God is love but He is also a consuming fire.
Isaiah 53:6-12
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on Him the sins of us all.
7 He was oppressed and treated harshly,
Yet He never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter
And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
He did not open His mouth.
8 Unjustly condemned, He was led away.
No one cared that He dies without descendants,
That His life was cut short in midstream.
But He was struck down for the rebellion of My people.
9 He had done no wrong
And had never deceived anyone.
But He was buried like a criminal;
He was put in a rich man’s grave.
10 But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush Him
And cause Him grief.
Yet when His life is made an offering for sin, ‘
He will have many descendants.
He will enjoy a long life ,
The Lord’s good plan will prosper in His hands.
11 When He sees all that is accomplished by His anguish,
He will be satisfied.
And because of His experience,
My righteous Servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous,
For He will bear all their sins.
12 I will give Him the honors of a victorious soldier,
Because He exposed Himself to death.
He was counted among the rebels,
He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.
Jesus had to endure the severity of God, in order for us to enjoy the goodness of God. That is a common pattern in the Divine
economy.
John 16:20-22 (NLT)
20 I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy.
21 It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world.
22 So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy.
Our theology must accommodate, nay, embrace both sides of God if we are to be sound.
Shallow theology produces shallow preaching which produces shallow Christians who have shallow foundations. When the strong winds blow, their houses come crashing down.
Luke 6:47-49 (NLT)
6:47 I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it.
48 It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built.
49 But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”
(Skip)
Knowledge of God cannot be merely academic. It has to be practical, experiential.
Job 42:5
I had only heard about You before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.
Habakkuk 3:1-2 (NLT)
1 This prayer was sung by the prophet Habakkuk:
2 I have heard all about you, LORD. I am filled with awe by your amazing works. In this time of our deep need, help us again as you did in years gone by. And in your anger, remember your mercy.
Gideon
Judges 6:12-13 (NLT)
12 The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the LORD is with you!”
13 “Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The LORD brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the LORD has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.”
(Resume)
Desolation is a message from God.
God uses desolation to restore us to Himself.
“Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” C. S. Lewis
Haggai 1:7-11 (NLT) 7 “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you! 8 Now go up into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild my house. Then I will take pleasure in it and be honored, says the LORD. 9 You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. And when you brought your harvest home, I blew it away. Why? Because my house lies in ruins, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, while all of you are busy building your own fine houses. 10 It’s because of you that the heavens withhold the dew and the earth produces no crops. 11 I have called for a drought on your fields and hills--a drought to wither the grain and grapes and olive trees and all your other crops, a drought to starve you and your livestock and to ruin everything you have worked so hard to get.”
God takes us through seasons of desolation to teach us advanced lessons of practical faith.
The kind of faith you cannot learn in a Seminary.
Deuteronomy 8:2-3 (NLT)
2 Remember how the LORD your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands.
3 Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
Hebrews 5:8-9 (NLT)
8 Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.
9 In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.
Nobody grows into spiritual maturity without undergoing trials and afflictions– seasons of desolation.
A period during which our faith is tested; when our trust is proved by obedience and steadfastness especially in the face of trouble, pain and suffering.
1 Peter 2:19-21 (NLT) 19 For God is pleased with you when you do what you know is right and patiently endure unfair treatment. 20 Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you. 21 For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.
Because milk is for babies.
1 Peter 2:2 (NLT) Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment,
Hebrews 5:13-14 (NLT)
13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right.
14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.
Milk doesn’t require much effort, like solid food.
Faith comes by hearing but faith is tested in the crucible of trials and afflictions, in other words, the seasons of desolation. Hearing and learning the scriptures brings you into an encounter with faith. The proof that you have faith is not your recitation of scriptures but your ability to stand under pressure.
Ecclesiastes 7:3
3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
For sadness has a refining influence on us.
Desolation has hidden benefits which cannot be found during seasons of consolation.
Isaiah 45:3
I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden riches of secret places
That you may know that I the Lord,
Who call you by name,
Am the God of Israel.
The mere thought of Jesus’ leaving represented desolation for His disciples.
John 16:5-7 (NLT)
5 “But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going.
6 Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you.
7 But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you.
Yet, it was only by leaving that He could send the Holy Spirit. It was only by the power of the Holy Spirit could they do the greater works He foretold.
Psalm 119:71
It is good for me that I have been afflicted
That I may learn your statutes.
2 Corinthians 4:16-17
Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day,
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
Need for Discernment.
When you face desolation, don’t give up. Prayerfully discern if the message is restoration or maturation.
If restoration, repent and confess and wait for God’s healing.
2 Chronicles 7:14
If My people who are called by My Name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
If God’s purpose is maturation, do the following.
Trust that God knows what is best for you.
Psalm 23:4
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
2. Ask God for grace and strength to go through the valley of the shadow of death.
Isaiah 40:29-31 (NLT)
29 He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.
30 Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.
31 But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
3. Rejoice. In hope, Even when you don’t feel joyful.
"I was glad when they said unto me let us go into the house of the Lord," is a Psalm of consolation.
But what do you do when you are not glad? You go anyway for You will not leave my soul among the dead, or allow Your holy One to see corruption. in His Presence is fullness of joy, and at your right hand are pleasures forever. Psalm 16:10-11
When your mind is confused and your emotions are weary, that is the time when you lead with the body.
James 1:2-3 (NLT)
2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.
3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.
Keep going even when it is wearisome.
Hebrews 12:2-3
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
The season of desolation is not the time to figure things out. It is the time to keep on being faithful while trusting in God’s faithfulness.
Life is to be lived forwards, but can only be understood backwards.
Soren Kirkegaard.
Philippians 3:12-14 (NLT)
12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.
13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
We often come to understand the significance of our experiences, only long after we have been through them; hardly while we are going through them.
Don't be in a hurry to get out of this season.
James 1:4
4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing
Don’t rush out without receiving your blessings, the hidden treasures of darkness
Hebrews 10:36
You have need of endurance so that after you have done the will of God you may receive the promise.
1 Peter 5:10
But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you.
