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Limited Perspective
From My Blog Archives: The Rock of Gibraltar
Study in Colossians
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September 23, 2008
Dear Friends:julie2
 
We live in a scary world. There is much to fear-- if we keep our eyes trained on our circumstances rather than on the God who is able to save us. Today's Dogwood Digest takes a brief look at fear and the unshakeable faithfulness of God.  
 
The summer Colossians study will remain archived on my blogspot for quite some time! Check out the opportunity at the bottom of this newsletter to work your way through this book with me in twenty-three days!
 
Also note the archive now available which links to past Dogwood Digest editions, located in the left hand margin.
 
Have a great week!
 
Love, Julie
Limited Perspective
 
Before I ever was diagnosed with Panic Disorder, I struggled for years with what I now know is a symptom of that ailment: irrational fear. I was afraid all of the time. There was no doubt in my mind that something terrible was just around the corner. If my husband was twenty minutes late coming home from work, I was already planning his funeral and my life as a widow. It was not unusual for me to wake my husband up in the middle of the night because I thought I smelled smoke or heard a noise. In those early years, Steve did quite a bit of traveling for his job. Not wanting to give my children an inkling that I was afraid, I would have to make myself turn off all of the lights at night as usual when he was gone overnight. Then I would lie in bed, shivering in fear, praying to God for protection.

Fear is a crippling emotion. Rationality flees when we are afraid. We can't think clearly or make good decisions. Fortunately, Scripture has a lot to tell us that will serve to calm our fears. When we learn to see our circumstances in the light of a spiritual perspective, we can put fear in its proper place.

Having a Godly perspective means understanding there is more at work than what we can see with human eyes. In II Kings 6, the prophet Elisha was being hunted down by the powerful king of Aram for his previous influence with Israel's king. The king of Aram sent a great army and surrounded the city of Dothan, where Elisha was staying. Elisha's servant was in a panic the next morning when he awoke and saw the city surrounded with horses and chariots. "O my lord, what shall we do?" the servant gasped.

Elisha knew that the servant did not have a full understanding of the situation. So Elisha prayed, "O Lord, open his eyes so he may see." The Lord did just that. Suddenly the servant was able to see, really see. Aside from the forces of Aram surrounding the city, another great army was there. The army of heavenly hosts waited on the surrounding hills with blazing chariots of fire ready to protect Elisha. Suddenly things didn't look so bad! God protected Elisha and delivered the opposing king and his army into the hands of the Israelites.

I often wonder what is going on in the unseen world that coexists with the material world we see with our eyes. Paul warned the Ephesians: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm." (Ephesians 6: 12) We have a very limited understanding of circumstances, because there is a whole world of forces and action that we cannot see. "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4: 18)

We can trust God with our circumstances. Nothing escapes His notice. There are forces at work beyond our imaginings. And we have His promise, that "neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-9)
 
From My Blog Archives
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
The Rock of Gibraltar
"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal." Isaiah 26:3-4

Standing as a guardian over the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea, the Rock of Gibraltar is a world-famous landmark. Its white limestone cliffs stand in stark contrast to the blue sea and sky around it. Jutting out off the southern coast of Spain, it stands 1,396 feet above sea level. The Greeks called it a "Pillar of Hercules." The Phoenicians believed it marked the end of the known world. Its very name invokes an image of strength and endurance. When people want to describe a friend who demonstrates those characteristics, they call him "The Rock of Gibraltar."

Isaiah used a rock as a metaphor to try to paint a picture of the enduring faithfulness of our God. Like the mammoth cliffs of Gibraltar, God is unmoving and unshakable. In chapter 25, Isaiah had just finished describing the deliverance that God had promised His people. He had prophesied: "On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, and the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces. . . In that day they will say, 'Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and He saved us.'"

The people knew that God had unconditionally promised Abraham many generations earlier that He would take care of His people. Now here God was, centuries later, reminding them He would unfailingly fulfill His promise. When God makes a promise, you can stake your life on it. The Israelites knew this and rejoiced. So they called Him a Rock.

The verse at the top of this blog describes the man who has thrown his lot in with the promises of God. He is in perfect peace. If you translate that Hebrew phrase literally, it reads "Peace, peace." (In Hebrew, word repetition is often used to emphasize something. You probably remember reading "Holy, holy, holy" in Isaiah 6. It is the only word in the Bible repeated three times like that. If we remember nothing else about Him, God wanted us to know this: He is holy.) In Isaiah 26:3, the word for peace, shalom, is a word which carries the idea of completeness. Every part of who we are is in total harmony with the will of God when we have shalom. Now think of this completeness times two: shalom, shalom. And that is what the man has who trusts in the Lord.

There will always be things in our lives that drive us to our knees. God deliberately places them there so that we will not become independent and abandon our relationship with Him. When we need Him, we seek Him. And as the winds of challenge in our life buffet us, we find ourselves clinging to the face of the cliff. Its solid surface reassures us and gives us a place to hide. He is the Rock who will not be moved. And the man who trusts in Him has perfect peace.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ the Solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand.
Devotional Study  in Colossians
Summer may be over, but it is never too late to join me in our study in Colossians! Just click on over to juliecoleman.blogspot.com to begin daily short studies that systematically work through this epistle. If you are just beginning, scroll down to day one and work your way up.
 
Be sure to pass the link on to others who might enjoy this month-long study!