A Powerful Rest
"One of the most universally recognized pieces of music of all times is Beethoven's 5th Symphony. You know the one: dun dun dun dunnnnn...dun dun dun dunnnnnn. You know the song, but what you may not know is that the song starts with an 8th note of rest. A song that begins with a rest! As strange as that is, it creates a uniquely powerful melody.
The strategic 8th note rest continues through the entire song."
A rest is a highly unusual way to begin a piece of music. But realize that the Christian life also begins with a rest. Before God can make a beautiful symphony of our lives, we must first find complete rest in His Son.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).
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Looking For Loopholes
“Before the start of the Persian gulf war,” reports Shepherd, Kohut and Sweet, “Israel’s Chief Rabbi Mordechi Eliyahu ruled that ultra-Orthodox Jewish men could break Jewish law forbidding men from shaving in case of an Iraqi chemical attack so gas masks could fit properly over their beards. Eliyahu urged bearded men to carry scissors in their pocket in case they needed to shave quickly.” They continued, that “although Jewish law regarding the Sabbath forbids even simple physical activities, such as turning on the radio, the threat of Iraqi missile attacks . . . sent Israel’s chief rabbis scrambling to the Scriptures for a loophole so Orthodox Jews could listen to the news for warnings. The rabbis ruled that leaving the radio on during the Sabbath was permissible— provided it was on low volume."
“If there is a real alarm, you can turn up the volume, explained Religious Affairs Minister Avner Shaki, “but in a nonconventional manner, with a stick or with your elbow. Controlling the volume in a different manner still marks the Sabbath as different from the rest of the week.”
This story begs the question, why would God give Israel Sabbath laws that make her vulnerable to the threat of attack? The answer is that these laws were never intended to operate outside the divine protection promised in the Mosaic Covenant (Deuteronomy 28-30). According to this contract, as long as Israel walked in faith and obedience, she need not fear her enemies.
How about you? How are you doing with the faith part of the journey of faith? Do you believe that God will take care of you so long as you obey and trust in HIm? Or, do you, out of fear and uncertainty, search for loopholes?
For example, when Jesus asks you to offer your enemy the "other" cheek, is that what you do? Or, do you look for a loophole that allows you to take matters into your own hands?
Rather than search for loopholes, we would all do better to search our hearts and make sure we are walking by faith.
"But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also" (Matthew 5:39).
Seven Foot Tall and Bulletproof
History is replete with examples of bad people with bad intentions doing bad things to people. But have you ever noticed how often those bad intentions are turned on their proverbial heads, resulting in remarkable good? A quick AI search brings countless cases in point:
John Bunyan’s Imprisonment – Arrested for preaching without a license in 17th-century England, Bunyan spent 12 years in jail. During that time, he wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress, one of the most influential Christian books ever published.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer – A German pastor and theologian, Bonhoeffer was imprisoned and eventually executed for his resistance to the Nazi regime. Yet his writings from prison, especially Letters and Papers from Prison, have inspired generations with their depth and courage.
The Apostle Paul – Much of the New Testament was written while Paul was imprisoned. His letters to early churches—written under duress—have shaped Christian theology and practice for centuries.
Richard Wurmbrand – A Romanian pastor imprisoned for 14 years under a communist regime for his faith. While suffering in solitary confinement and torture, he composed sermons in his mind to stay sane. After his release, he founded The Voice of the Martyrs, a ministry that now supports persecuted Christians worldwide.
Harriet Tubman – Born into slavery, Tubman endured unimaginable hardship. But after escaping, she returned again and again to rescue others via the Underground Railroad. The evil of slavery became the backdrop for her extraordinary courage and legacy of liberation.
In each of these examples, we see men and women stripped of their power, laid wholly vulnerable to the forces bearing against them for their harm.
These stories remind us that while evil may intend to destroy, it often becomes the very soil where resilience, purpose, and grace take root.
So what do these stories all have in common? In each of these cases, we see men and women of God submitting themselves to His higher purposes.
Submitting ourselves to God is important for many reasons, but chief among them is the key role it plays in allowing us to experience God's goodness.
In one classic OT example, we read the story of how Joseph's brothers became jealous of him and sold him into slavery. They perpetrated this crime against Joseph with nothing but bad intentions.
The remarkable part of the story was how Joseph chose to respond to his circumstances. Rather than becoming angry or bitter or playing the victim, Joseph submitted himself to a God Who had nothing but his best interests in mind. Because he submitted himself to God in the midst of his trial, it really didn't matter what his brothers’ intentions were.
By committing Himself to God, Joseph allowed God's good intentions to override the bad intentions of his brothers.
It is important to note that it was only because Joseph responded the way he did that he was able to overcome his circumstances and experience God's good intentions. The same is true for all of us.
As we live out our lives, we will be met by forces that do not have our best interests in mind. And just as Joseph was outnumbered and overpowered by his brothers, so it will be for us. At these times, we will seem to have no choice but to be subject to the forces that have marshaled themselves against us.
But we will have a choice!
Like Joseph, we will still have the option of committing ourselves to God, the choice to endure our circumstances with an attitude of humble submission.
The bottom line is God takes care of whatever we entrust to Him. So long as we yield ourselves to Him, it really doesn't matter what bad intentions come our way. We don't have to outsmart or outmaneuver every bad guy in our world. All we have to do is dedicate ourselves to God, without reservation.
When we have given all that we have and all that we are to God, the bad intentions of others can't possibly prevail against us. We are seven feet tall and bullet proof!
As Joseph explained to his brothers, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people" (Genesis 50:20, NLT).
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).