Baptist City Blog

Acquainted But Not Overcome with Grief

Isaiah 53:3

"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not."

What an example Jesus is on how to carry sorrow and grief! When the verse above says that Jesus was "...a man of sorrows,..." it was not saying that He was One Who portrayed sadness, but rather it is teaching that He had sorrow all around Him. You never read in the Scriptures where Jesus was One Who walked around with a poochy lip complaining about His troubles. No, the opposite could be said about the Saviour in that He was One Who lifted the spirit of others.

Moreover, the verse above shows us that Jesus was "...acquainted with grief:..." This phrase means that Jesus was familiar with deep sorrow. You can only imagine the sorrow that Jesus carried as He carried the weight of eternity on His shoulders. Imagine waking up every morning knowing that one day you would be crucified. Imagine waking up every morning knowing that one day you would be beaten with a scourge. Imagine shaking hands with the centurions who would one day nail you to the cross. Imagine facing the Pharisees and chief priests on a daily basis knowing that one day they would crucify you out of hatred. Imagine waking every morning knowing that if you failed to go through with the crucifixion that the whole world would go to Hell. Jesus knew all of this, and yet He did not let the weight of that sorrow defeat Him or His spirit.

When you think of the sorrow with which Jesus carried, you would wonder how He could carry it without it destroying His spirit. Verse 4 shows us how Jesus overcame His sorrow when it says, "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows:..." Notice, Jesus carried the griefs and sorrows of others instead of focusing on His own grief. Jesus laid His sorrows aside for the sake of helping others with their problems. That is how He made it through the weight of His burdens. That is how Jesus was able to keep His own sorrows from overcoming Him. Yes, Jesus was acquainted with grief every day of His life, but He did not let it overcome Him.

Christian, the only way your grief will not overcome you is to live your life helping others by carrying their grief. I am not saying that your grief is not greater than others, but what I am saying is that the only way to keep your grief from overcoming you is to help others carry their grief and sorrows. You must daily lay your grief and sorrows down and pick up the grief and sorrows of others. The happiest people in the world are not people who have no heartache, but the happiest people in the world are those who have learned to lay their grief and sorrows aside to help carry the grief and sorrow of others.

You may wonder how you can lay your grief and sorrow aside so that you can carry the grief and sorrow of others. Psalm 55:22 shows us how when it says, "Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." Notice, you are to let the LORD carry your burden of grief. God can carry your burdens better than you can. So, what you do every morning is you go to God and tell Him about your burdens and leave them there. Then, you go and carry the burdens of others. This is how you keep the burden of your grief and sorrow from overcoming you. Let God worry about your problems. You simply need to go and help others with theirs. You will find if you do this that this is the only way you can bear your griefs and sorrows in a positive manner.

The Process Towards Forgiveness

Psalm 32:5

"I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah."

Forgiveness is an important part of living a happy life. God said in Psalm 31:1, "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." When a person is forgiven, they have the burden of sin or wrong lifted off them. That is why it is wrong for someone not to forgive others. When you won't forgive others, you are literally forcing them to carry the burden of their sin or wrong.

Forgiveness is an act performed by the offended. If I have done wrong, I can only seek forgiveness. The actual act of forgiveness is done by the one whom I may have wronged. However, there are some things that I can do to help towards the process of forgiveness. The verse above shows us the steps a person should take to acquire forgiveness.

First, they must acknowledge their sin. The Psalmist said, "I acknowledged my sin unto thee,..." Notice, he recognized that he did wrong and who he wronged. If you want someone to forgive you, then you must acknowledge that you have wronged them. It is unfair for you to expect them to forgive you when you won't acknowledge that you have done wrong.

What is acknowledgement? It is accepting responsibility for what you have done. It is not blaming others for what you did. It is taking the whole blame for what happened. Even if someone else was involved, if you want forgiveness then you must be willing to accept all the blame for what happened. As long as you continue to point your fingers at others for why you did something, then you are prolonging the chance for them to forgive you.

Second, they must be open about what they did. The Psalmist said, "...mine iniquity have I not hid." There are times when people acknowledge that they have done wrong, but they don't completely come clean with everything that they did. If you want someone's forgiveness, then you need to come completely clean. Being deceitful and hiding what you have done will not lead others to forgive you. Deceit was part of your wrong. So, until you remove deceit and become open about what you did, you will find that the process of forgiveness will be stalled.

Third, they must confess what they did. The Psalmist continued by saying, "...I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD:..." Not only do you need to come clean with others, but you need to come clean with the LORD. The LORD is the only one Who can place in the heart of the offended the ability to forgive you. You must go to God and tell Him what you have done. No, it is not asking God to forgive you, it is telling God what you have done. Until you come clean with God and man, you cannot obtain forgiveness.

Finally, forgiveness is given when these steps are followed. The Psalmist finished by saying, "...and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah."When you follow these steps, you will find that others are more willing to forgive. Yes, they should be willing to forgive whether or not these steps are followed, but you can make forgiveness easier if you will follow these steps.

If you are the one who has been wronged, then you need to be sure that you forgive. When someone has followed these steps, it is your obligation to forgive. No matter how deep the hurt is, forgiveness will help release you from the pain of their wrong.

Surviving Tough Times

Isaiah 33:15-16

"He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure."

Tough times come and go, but tough people who survive those times are hard to find. The reason they are hard to find is because tough times cause many to quit. The difference between those who survive the tough times and those who don't is determined by several actions. The verses above show us what actions it takes to survive tough times.

First, living right helps you to survive the tough times. Tough times are not an excuse to stop living right, but they are the times when we need to be sure that what we're doing is right. Righteous living is not just for the times when everything is going well, but is for the tough times as well. You will find that it is easier to survive tough times if you will do what is right all the time.

Second, speaking the truth will help you survive tough times. Telling lies will always make tough times tougher. This is why you need to be a person who tells the truth all the time. When you speak the truth at all times, then you don't have to wonder what you said so that you can cover your tracks. If you will speak the truth at all times, then you will lighten the load that you must carry so that your focus can be upon the tough times.

Third, earning right will help you survive tough times. Learning how to gain in life is very important. Everyone should work for what they get. We should not try to get gain through handouts, but we should strive to get gain by working hard. When you work for what you get, then you will learn to make it through tough times. Those who live by handouts will never make it through tough times.

Fourth, gaining possession in a right way will help you survive tough times. You will notice above that God talks about taking bribes. Christian, if you can't get a possession the right way, then you don't need it. Many people try to cut corners to get their possessions and it always comes back to bite them. Be sure that you don't gain possessions in an illegal manner.

Fifth, listening right will help you survive tough times. Be careful that you don't listen to conversations that would not be glorifying to the LORD. Don't allow gossip to enter your ears. Run from it! It will hurt you in the tough times. Be sure to listen to the right music. The right music can lift your spirit while you are going through tough times. If you listen to the wrong things you can destroy your spirit. Don't let what you listen to make your times tougher because it destroys your spirit. Only listen to what God would want you to listen.

Last, treating people right will help you survive tough times. I have learned in life that you need to treat people right when things are going well so that they will be there for you when you go through tough times. Be careful about being short and mean to people. Always remember that you might need their presence somewhere down the road to encourage you. If you treat people right, then you will find they will help you when going through tough times.

You will have tough times in life. These six things that God shows us in these verses will be your "defence" when you face tough times. Live by these things every day, for you never know when your tough time will come.

Glorifying God in the Fires

Isaiah 24:15

"Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, even the name of the LORD God of Israel in the isles of the sea."

God commands us in 1 Corinthians 10:31, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." In other words, no matter what we face in life we are to be sure to glorify God. Does that mean we are to glorify God in the fires of life? According to the verse above, whenever we face the different fires of life we are to glorify God. What does it mean to glorify the LORD? It means that we are to magnify and honor God. In other words, to glorify the LORD in the fires would mean that we are to be sure that He is magnified because of the fire. In the Scriptures there are three fires that I find where we are to glorify the LORD.

First, we are to glorify the LORD in the fire of persecution. I am reminded of the three Hebrew children who faced Nebuchadnezzar's fiery furnace. When they were threatened to go through the fire they did not flinch in their stand, but they were willing to face the fire of persecution for the LORD's sake. When they were thrown into the fiery furnace, Nebuchadnezzar saw that there was a fourth "like the Son of God." The three Hebrew children certainly glorified the LORD in the fire of persecution.

Christian whenever you face the fires of persecution, be sure that the LORD is glorified. The best way to glorify God in these fires is to be sure not to compromise what you believe. Persecution will come to the Christian who stands for truth. When you stand for truth on the job and in society, there will be those who hate you and will try to do everything in their power to be sure to get rid of you. It is in these times that you must be sure that the LORD is magnified in your life so that He gets the glory.

Second, we are to glorify the LORD in the fire of refining. Throughout the Scriptures you find that God talks about gold coming from the refiner's fire. God often compares the refiner's fire to the Christian. God says that one of the reasons He sends us through the fire is so that we can come forth as gold. When God decides to send you through the refiner's fire, you need to be sure to glorify the LORD. No, the fire is never pleasant, but God is trying to make something better out of you.

Third, we are to glorify the LORD when we go through the fire that tries our faith. In 1 Peter 1:7, God talks about trying our faith with fire. In other words, there will be times when the LORD will test your faith in the fire so that it can grow. Your faith will never grow without being tried in the fire. You can want to be a better Christian, but you will never become one without the fire.

The key to glorifying the LORD in these three fires is found in the last part of the verse above when God says, "...glorify ye the LORD in the fires,..." You will notice that we cannot glorify the LORD outside of the fire, but we glorify Him in the fire. If you run from every hardship of life, then you will fail to bring glory to the LORD. Christian, though you may not enjoy the fires that God sends you through, you must endure those fires, for it is while you are in them that the LORD receives the glory. The LORD received the glory while the three Hebrew children were in the fiery furnace. If they had avoided the fire, then God would have never received the glory. Don't run or avoid the fires that God sends you through, for it is while you go through them that the LORD receives the glory He deserves. No, we don't have to enjoy the fires, but we can thank the LORD that He counts us worthy of receiving glory through our lives.

Peace is Not So Peaceful

Isaiah 11:6

"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them."

One of the main desires of the world is world peace. One of the mantras of the politician is to bring peace. Preachers desire that there is peace among each other. Pastors desire to have peace in their church. Parents desire to have peace in the home. The desire for peace is certainly a great desire; however, peace is not an object that you just give away. Peace is the byproduct of following certain actions.

In the verse above, we see the epitome of peace. Imagine the wolf and the lamb living together in peace. Imagine the leopard and the young goat lying down with each other. Imagine a lion and a young calf playing together. To top it all off, imagine a child leading all of these animals. That is what God said will happen one day. However, you will find in verses 4-5, that peace is not obtained in a peaceful way. In order to have peace, there are some things that must be present for peace to be discovered.

First, justice must be present to have peace. God teaches that if you want peace then you must be fair in your judgment. You can't let the poor be punished more, or less, because of their condition. Everyone must be treated fairly. It does not matter what the place is, if people are not treated in a fair manner, then you will not have peace. A nation that gives to the poor and takes from the rich will not obtain peace. A home where one child is treated differently than another will not have peace. A church where one class of people are treated differently than another class will not have peace. Justice must be present to have peace.

Second, punishment must be present to have peace. This sounds strange, but God said the "rod" must be used. The "rod" is a symbol of punishment. So, to have peace people must be punished for doing wrong. If people never get punished when they do wrong, then peace will not be present. Though administering punishment is never easy, if you want peace then you must punish the wrong doer.

Third, rebuke must be present if you want peace. God says that we must "reprove" fairly to have peace. This is simply rebuking someone when they do wrong. This is actually a step before punishment. If a parent never rebukes their child, then that child will bring unrest to the home. Reproving someone is rebuking them and instructing them in the rebuke. In other words, it is telling people why they are wrong. If someone never knows why they do wrong, then they will do wrong again.

Fourth, wickedness must be removed. This is not popular, but this is why capital punishment must be administered to those who kill people. This may seem inhumane to some, but this is what brings peace. If wickedness is not removed, then it will only breed more wickedness. You cannot allow wickedness in a society and have peace.

Fifth, righteousness must be present. Right living always brings peace. Yes, you must tell people not to do things, but you must also tell people what they must do. Righteousness is doing right acts. You can say that you don't do certain things, but what do you do that is right? Righteousness is more than removing the vices of sin. It is doing acts of right to others. Peace will not be present until people get busy doing right acts.

Last, it takes God's Word to have peace. Throughout these verses you see God's Word is present. That means if God's Word is present, then He is present. A home, church, society or nation can only have peace when they make God's Word a part of their daily lives. Peace is a wonderful thing to desire, but you will never obtain peace without God's Word.