In the Meantime

There is a parallel between the times of the prophet Jeremiah and our own days. The people of his day were living in exile, because of their collective disobedience they were taken to Babylon where they were to remain until God re-established them in the city and land of their inheritance. In the meantime they were to live in the place where God had sent them in anticipation of a future when they would live under the rule and authority of the King of Kings. While we have not been taken into a physical exile, as the people of Israel were, we are living under the authority of an alien ruler whose desires are contrary to the plans of God, and we live in anticipation of the time when Jesus will return and establish his reign.

The times we live in lie between Christ’s ascension into heaven and his return in glory, in the meantime our world is under the rule and authority of Satan, the one who stands in absolute opposition to God and his purposes for humankind. These times are appointed by God and will end when he decides they should. While there are things that we can and should be doing which God requires before the return of his Son, we cannot bring forward the day, it is an appointed time and part of God’s eternal purpose. When the disciples questioned Jesus about his return, he answered that it was not for them to know when and how this would happen but in the meantime there was work for them to do. That work was to be witnesses to the things they had seen and heard, to be heralds of the good news by the power of the Holy Spirit that would indwell them.

We live in anticipation of the return of Jesus Christ; we are living as aliens in a land under the authority of a ruler whose plans, purposes, values and intentions are in direct opposition to our king. This isn’t our land; we are strangers here. It is inevitable then that there will be a clash between our values and those that belong to this world. One of the challenges this poses for us is how to succeed in the world of work, family and community while having different purposes and motivations from those we live among. Is it possible to survive, let alone succeed, in the business world without conforming to the standards and expectations of those around us? The apostle Paul’s answer to this dilemma was to instruct his readers to be transformed by the renewing of their minds; he went on to say that this was the most reasonable form of worship they could offer. The solution to successful Christian living in the midst of alien land is not to enforce a set of rules and regulations but to do those things that will serve to renew our minds. Once our minds have been renewed then there will be no problem in deciding between the various choices with which we are faced. Rather than try to live under a set of prohibitions, most of which we will occasionally fail to keep, we should focus on filling our hearts and minds with those things that will serve to bring our lives into harmony with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Too often Christians put themselves under a tremendous burden of guilt by following self-imposed disciplines, assuming that this is what it means to live a righteous life. God puts the emphasis on the positive rather than the negative, instead of concentrating on what you shouldn’t do focus on those things that will renew your mind. Fill your thoughts with the word of God, communicate regularly with Him in prayer, seek out the fellowship of others whose desire is to grow in Christ, and commit yourself to doing his will in your home, community and place of work. In this way your mind will be renewed and the details of life will look after themselves. 

Prayer born of complaint

The Bible records that as the people of Israel journeyed from Mt Sinai to Edom they were provided with manna to eat. This food was ground and baked and had the taste of sweet cakes. However they became bored with the lack of variety in their diet and began to complain. In fact they started to act as if they were suffering some sort of adversity and on hearing it, God became angry. The fire of God’s anger consumed some of the people and they died, but Moses prayed on behalf of his people and the fire died out. But they continued to complain and even began to weep and moan over their hardship. This caused God to become angry again and because the complaints of the people were directed at him, Moses complained to God that it was not fair, God was being too hard on him. He felt that he wasn’t receiving the favour of God and as it wasn’t his idea to bring them out of Egypt in the first place it was all too much for him to bear, he just couldn’t carry the load by himself. He became so depressed that he asked God to let him die rather than continue in this misery.

God’s reply was to tell Moses to find seventy elders to stand with him and share his load. God did not rebuke Moses for his complaint, but he didn’t allow him to die either. In a sense Moses was justified as the burden of his office was excessive and he did have to endure it alone. God met this need, he provided Moses with the support of others but then he also answered the complaint of the people in such a way that demonstrated his power and holiness. The people complained that they had no meat, so God said that he would give them meat. In fact they would have so much meat that they would become sick of it, they would eat ‘until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before him saying ‘why did we ever leave Egypt?”’ Moses was stunned; he didn’t believe God could do it. He questioned him suggesting that all the fish of the sea or all the herd and flocks on the earth would be insufficient. But rather than rebuke him for lack of faith or trust, God asked Moses ‘Is the Lord’s power limited? Now you will see whether my word will come true for you or not’.

Once Moses had selected the elders, God sent a wind from the sea and on that wind were thousands and thousands of quail. There were so many of these birds that they covered the ground to a depth of about 1 metre on all sides of the camp as far as one days journey in each direction. The people greedily went and gathered as much as they could and started to gorge themselves. But as soon as the flesh of the birds touched their teeth God struck them with a plague and many died.  The place became known as ‘the graves of greediness’.

We can learn from Moses’ exchange with God. While it would seem that Moses spoke out of turn when he complained to God, he cried out from genuine need. He would rather die than fail in his ministry and yet it was too much for him to bear. He poured his heart out to God and God heard him. On the other hand the people had no legitimate ground for complaint and their ungratefulness for the blessings of God on their lives was met with a righteous response from God. He punished them because of their complaining but also because they rebelled against God’s chosen leader. In rejecting Moses, they had rejected God. God gave the people what they desired but it proved to be at great cost to them. If they had gladly received the blessings of God they would have been led securely in to a land flowing with milk and honey, instead many of them perished in the desert.

When we pour out our hearts to God with legitimate concerns, he hears us and meets our need, usually in very practical ways. God’s power is not limited, even when the situation seems beyond our understanding we must simply trust him. On the other hand when we complain without cause, we may receive what we desire, but it will often be at the cost of forfeiting God’s blessings.

Chance Encounters

In three of the great religious traditions of the world the person of Joseph figures prominently. Joseph was one of twelve sons born to the Hebrew patriarch, Jacob. He rose to prominence as the governor of Egypt and by using his own ability and a prophetic gift from God brought about economic and agricultural reform that not only protected Egypt through a long period of famine, but secured safety for his family and their people. His story is told in the writing of the Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions.

Joseph’s life was not however always quite so rosy. He was not popular with his brothers, who thought him spoilt and condescending and knew that their father loved him more than them. He had dreams that seemed to suggest that he was going to rise to a position of prominence and his whole family would need to bow down to him and he told tales on his brothers. It got so bad that he and his brothers could not speak on friendly terms and actively hated each other.

One day when Joseph’s brothers were away working with the sheep, Joseph stayed behind. Jacob decided to send Joseph to his brothers to see how they were doing and report back, so off he went. But when he got to the place they should have been they weren’t there. As he wandered around Joseph encountered a stranger and so he asked him where he might find his brothers, the stranger replied that he thought they had gone off to a place called Dothan, so Joseph went and found them there. From that point on Joseph’s life was changed completely.

The identity of the stranger is not revealed. The Bible doesn’t say where he came from, where he went, what his name was or what he was doing in the fields. All we are told is that he found Joseph and had a short conversation that changed the direction of Joseph’s life. As I reflect on this story I also reflect on those one off conversations which have changed the direction of my life. Sometimes I know the identity of those people, some of them have faded from memory, but there are a number who have said something that has caused me to pause, or reflect or to change.

As a pastor and an educator it is my hope that I will have some of those conversations. Where something I say, even if unknowingly, has changed the course of someone’s life for the better. Joseph endured a lot of pain after his encounter with the stranger and it is likely that he didn’t see the change of direction as immediately beneficial. But it was necessary, not only for his sake for many others, even whole nations. It is possible that those words I sow into the lives of others will not always produce immediate benefit, in fact if acted upon they may even produce pain. But with God’s grace they may produce the right result.

You may look back and recall those whose words that have changed the course of your life. I remember a conversation with a business man in Argentina who changed my thinking about my ministry. I became convinced that I was called to pastor a community, not a congregation. That conviction led me to resign from my church and caused a lot of heartache and suffering – but it was the right call. I also recall a conversation with two young girls, also in Argentina, who asked if they could pray for me – that encounter caused in me a desire to understand the heart of the heavenly father toward children and the broken and changed my life. You may have similar recollections of those great and small who have affected you.

It may also be that you are the one whose words of challenge, encouragement or even direction will alter the course of someone’s life. Seek out those opportunities, use your words wisely – who knows your unwitting counsel may one day change the course of history and the fate of nations!