Dear Ones:
God is a God of clarity. When He instructs Hababbuk to write down a vision, He says, “…make it PLAIN upon the tables, that he may run that breadth it.” (Hab. 2:2)
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 14:8, “…For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?” David writes in Psalm 27:1, “The Lord is my LIGHT and my salvation, who shall I fear?” And finally, James writes in James 1:5 “If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not.” What is the issue here? It is that God is a God of light, of clarity, of certainty. He is not the god of confusion and discord, but of peace. When He gives wisdom, and He does so in answer to faith-filled prayer, it is with clarity, conviction, with His peace. He is the God of peace. Isaiah writes: “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. FOR ye shall go out with joy and be led forth with PEACE.” (Is. 55:11-12)
When God speaks, when He gives wisdom, it may be quietly in His word…but it will be with His peace, and it will be clear.
Why? First of all, He always has a reason, a purpose in His speaking…one that He will accomplish, and this in a certain way. He is at work to accomplish His purposes through us, and this He will do, for “…faithful is He who calls you who also will do it.” (1 Thess. 5:24) Secondly, He speaks peace to our hearts to reassure us, even to confirm to us, His blessed will. He cannot be other than He is, and He is the God of Peace.
Though there is “nothing new under the sun,” (Eccl. 1:9) in our day, we are seeing an increasing confusion, and distortion of the vision of God…who He is, what He is, and what His purposes are with respect to His creation, specifically us. Paul warned us that in the last days, “difficult times would come.” (2 Timothy 3:1) And part of that “difficult” idea is wrapped up in the truth of God being compromised by the ideas, and philosophies of men, who put “man” as the object of worship. As a result, though indeed God was manifest in Christ as a human being, yet we are taking the traits of sinful man, and are adopting them as truth in our concepts of God. Our enemy knows that God will not bless a lie; especially, if it concerns the true knowledge of Himself. Remember that Job’s friends got into real trouble for misrepresenting God. Moses also, when he disobeyed God in striking a rock in his anger, instead of speaking to it as God had commanded, misrepresented the holy character of God. As a result, he was not allowed to go into the promised land.
The true, clear vision of God, is essential for true worship, but also for living the life for which He has created us.
Let me share two stanzas of a hymn, “Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven”, which illustrates this point, and at the same time, gives us wings with which to rise in our worship of God.
“Praise my soul the KING OF HEAVEN…
To His feet thy tribute bring;
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
Evermore His praises sing:
Hallelujah, Hallelujah,
Praise the everlasting KING.
Father-like He tends and spares us,
Well our feeble frame He knows;
In His hands He gently bears us,
Rescues us from all our foes.
Hallelujah, Hallelujah,
Widely yet His mercy flows.”
Listen: Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven (Choir)
May we see this our God today as “The King of Heaven.” And may He also give us grace to clearly see Him in is glory, power and authority, as our FATHER in heaven. What a paradox! The Almighty God has become our Father…who sees in secret, and rewards us openly. And may our worship of Him be in the light and clarity of who He truly is. The vision must be clear, and the trumpet sound crystal clear…for who will “run” and who will “prepare himself for battle,” unless we see Him as He is.
Have a wonderful …crystal vision day…
Love,
Dad