These last couple of months have been wild. I’ve graduated from university, started a new full-time position, and am once again in another season of major transitions. And yet, coming this fall, even more, is about to change. People are moving away, friends are starting new jobs, and once again the question of what my relationships and community will look like in this next season? Who will I spend my time with? Who will I share my life with? Who will I do spontaneous activities with?

And looking even further forward, what will those relationships look like five years from now? twenty? How many of these current people will I still keep in touch with? Will I still see them? Or will they be too busy with their jobs, relationships, and other responsibilities? And where will I be? Seeing my friends’ kids grow up while I’m still single probably.

And in all these things I’ve found there is much anxiousness and worry. There is so much uncertainty at stake and so little that I have control over. Yet, I’ve been challenged to not see these anxieties as something to fear but as an invitation. An invitation to trust God and to be open to the work that he is doing in my life. It is when we face these fears and anxieties head-on that we are truly able to see the Lord’s hand at work.

For instance, take James 1:2-4 and Romans 5:3-5. These two passages teach us of the refining element that trials have in our faith. It is through hardship that our trust in the Lord flourishes.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

James 1:2-4

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 5:3-5

God uses difficult circumstances to polish and perfect our faith in Him and I believe that our anxieties and worries are no exception to this.

The first oh-so-relevant passage that comes to mind in this invitation is Matthew 6:33-34 where God quite literally invites us to trust Him and cast aside our anxieties by “seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.”

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Matthew 6:33-4

And although these verses are so relevant for the topic at hand, especially in dealing with the future and the uncertainty that comes with that, I’d like to propose that this invitation can be expanded into so much more than what is explicitly written in the few lines above. This invitation to seek Him is not just a one-dimensional call to prayer or read the Bible but to really know Him and to do so deeply. To know His character and His promises. His faithfulness and His graciousness.

We are invited to:

• Recount his past faithfulness: Isaiah 63:7, Psalm 9:1
• Rest in him and be STILL: Matthew 11:28-30, Psalm 46:10
• Seek him: Matthew 6:33
• Grieve and lament: Matthew 5:4, Ecclesiastes 3:4
• Find comfort in him: 2 Corinthians 1:3-7
• See our weakness: 2 Corinthians 12:5-10
• Humble ourselves before him: James 4:10, 1 Peter 5:5-6
• Open our eyes to the bigger picture: Revelation 21, Hebrews 13:14
• And ultimately: know He is the LORD

And while this list is not comprehensive, it gives us an idea of how we can respond to difficult situations, uncertainties, and anxieties. It’s a demonstration of ways we can respond to God’s invitation to know him deeper.

For me, one practice that has been really fruitful in times of uncertainty, especially with regard to community, is recounting the ways that God has provided in the past. Despite so many seasons of transitions and changing relationships, God has always remained faithful in his provision. And in recalling these past circumstances, I’m given confidence that God will continue to provide in this next season. He is the same in every season (Hebrews 13:8) and he remains faithful regardless of the role that I play (2 Timothy 2:13).

As I look back on my four years at university, I’m able to see God’s hand and faithfulness at work in providing community.

1st year: Heading into a completely new environment, God provides me with a completely new community of people I’d never met before. I’m able to find a place where I feel welcomed, cared for, and seen.

2nd year: Despite many of the close friends I had met the year before graduating and moving on, I’m able to make new really close friends that I didn’t even know the year before! Along with that, continuing to build up some of the friendships from the year prior.

3rd year: A difficult year due to COVID, I really struggled with finding community online. A couple more of my friends graduating. But at the same time, I was able to connect with some guys who I hadn’t seen since high school! And while I may not have noticed it as much at the time, I was surrounded by friends who reached out and cared for me despite my absence.

4th year: A year with more uncertainty than ever. With in-person classes starting up again, all my closest/upper year friends now graduated, and the one close friend I had in my year dealing with health complications and not being able to be around as much, I had no idea what was going to happen. Yet, during these last few months, in-person church has gone better than ever and I was able to befriend two girls at school that I had barely known the year prior. Our first hang was a hiking trip just under a year ago and the same group chat we had from that day we still use today. We went Treetop Trekking a week ago. Lol.

However, the last couple of weeks, I’ve been unable to attend church because of my new job.

In a couple of weeks, one of those two girls will be moving away for school while the other is job-hunting and will end up God-knows-where. And for the fourth time in four years, I’m dealing with the uncertainty of what community will look like this following season.

There is anxiety and worry that comes with that—but at the same time, it has been an invitation for me to be reminded of who God is. To recount his past deeds and faithfulness and to know him deeper. He is the God who has provided over and over and over and over. He’s given me every reason to trust that he will do so again. And while I know I won’t always be perfect in that and have moments where I doubt, I also know that he is gracious in my weakness. And in all of these areas, there’s an invitation to truly and fully learn what it means to “know he is the LORD.”

Stay cool,

Jason

Hello everyone!

I was reading Psalm 30 today and recognised verse 11 as one of the lines used in the song ‘Graves into Gardens’ by Elevation Worship. It’s a song I’ve been enjoying lately and had also noticed quite a few Biblical references in the song. Thought it would be fun to do a post looking into some of the Biblical references used and their contexts! This won’t be a comprehensive review but just a few of the lines that are drawn directly from verses. Some of the info from the post are from here and here. Otherwise, it is original content. Additionally, if you’d like to review or look through the lyrics, feel free to click on the first link.

That being said, let’s begin.

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“And you still call me friend”

Graves into Gardens: Verse 2, line 5

This first line is a reference John 15:13-15 where Jesus calls his disciples his friends because he “all that [he has] heard from my Father [he has] made known” to his apostles. However, it is worth noting that the song uses this in the context of God seeing the artist’s ‘failures and flaws’ yet still calling them a friend—a statement on God’s mercy and grace. Although John 15:13-15 does demonstrate God’s mercy and grace through the revelation of Jesus, the meaning behind the title of ‘friend’ clearly differs.

“Cause the God of the mountain is the God of the valley”

Graves Into Gardens: Verse 2, Line 6-7

This line is in reference to 1 Kings 20:28. This passage takes place during King Ahab’s war against Syria. The Syrians claim that the Lord is only a god of the hills but not the valleys and God responds to this by giving the Syrians into Ahab’s hand. It is worth noting that in the context of the Bible, the mountains and valleys are referring to physical locations. In the case of the Syrian claim, they suggest that the Lord is god over only the geographical area of the mountains but not the valleys. God proves this wrong by allowing Ahab to defeat them in the valleys, proving that he is god over all land (and by extension, the world and everything in it). It is a statement regarding God’s ownership over the physical world. In the context of the song, however, with the surrounding context of ‘failures and flaws’ and his ‘mercy and grace’ finding the artist once again, the ‘mountains and valleys’ seem to be referring to metaphorical ones representing the highs and lows of the artist.

“You turn mourning to dancing”

Graves Into Gardens: Bridge, Line 1

This line is in reference to Psalm 30:11. In this Psalm, the Psalmist writes from a position of gratitude, thanking God for restoring him and rescuing him. In this Psalm, there is a constant theme of suffering but for a moment, only to be rescued by the Lord. Although there is weeping, joy comes in the morning (v. 5). Although there is mourning, God turns it into dancing (v. 11). He is a God who hears our cries and heals us (v.2).

“You give beauty for ashes”

Graves Into Gardens: Bridge, Line 2

This line is in reference to Isaiah 61:3. In Isaiah 61, it speaks about “the year of the Lord’s favor” (v. 2) where good news will be brought to the poor, the brokenhearted will be bound up, freedom will be proclaimed for the captives, and the blind will be free from darkness (v. 1). For those who are mourning, they will be given crowns of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a faint spirit (v. 3). We are told of a day where there will be no more broken hearts or mourning. Jesus later tells us that he is the one who is the fulfillment of these things (Luke 4:17-21). He brings good news to the poor (Luke 6:20), binds up the brokenhearted (Matthew 11:28), proclaims freedom for the captives (Galatians 5:1), and frees the blind from the darkness (Luke 18:35-43).

“You turn shame into glory”

Graves Into Gardens: Bridge, Line 3

This line is in reference to Zephaniah 3:19. In Zephaniah 3, God speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem that is to come due to their unrepentant hearts. However, from verses 9 to 20, God speaks of a day that he will restore the remnant of Israel and they will be able to freely worship the Lord once more. It is in those verses we receive the promise that God will change the shame of Israel into praise and renown, demonstrating his mercy and faithfulness to his covenant.

“You turn bones into armies”

Graves Into Gardens: Bridge, Line 10

This line is in reference to Ezekiel 37:1-10. It refers to the vision given to the prophet Ezekiel where God turns a valley of bones into an ‘exceedingly great army’ (v. 10). Using this vision, God demonstrates how he will restore the people of Israel, bringing them out of their graves and back into the land. He also tells Ezekiel that he will put his Spirit in them and that they will live (v. 14). This is later fulfilled (or partially fulfilled) through Jesus’ death on the cross through the raising of the dead and their return to Jerusalem (Matthew 27:52-3)

“You turn seas into highways”

Graves Into Gardens: Bridge, Line 11

This line is in reference to Exodus 14:21-22. It refers to the crossing of the Red Sea during Israel’s escape from Egypt led by Moses. In this Exodus scene, God quite literally turns the sea into a ‘highway’ of sorts, allowing people to cross through it. Through this act, God demonstrates his power and the salvation he brings to his people.

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Okay, that’s all for today.

Stay cool,

Jason

One topic I’ve been wrestling with this season is the question of what it looks like to have joy in the everyday. Or as I like to call it, ‘joy in the mundane.’ What does it earnestly look like to worship and praise God in every circumstance, every situation, and to do so with joy? Two verses come to mind as I initially as I explore this topic:

You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16:11

Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
lest I be full and deny you
and say, “Who is the Lord?”
or lest I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God.

Proverbs 30:8-9

The first one is a reminder that joy should be independent of circumstance. In Psalm 16:11, we are told that “in [His] presence, there is fullness of joy.” In his presence, there is fullness of joy. Here, joy is something that comes from the Lord and knowing him. It is a joy that is filling, meaning that it is a sufficient source of joy. The second passage has me thinking about what joy is supposed to look like in different circumstances. Although it doesn’t directly use the word ‘joy,’ it demonstrates the heart behind it, that there is a desire to celebrate and honor the Lord regardless of one’s circumstance. There are plenty of passages that associate joy with good fortune but take a verse such as James 1:2 for example. It challenges us to consider what joy looks like in times of difficult circumstances. James goes as far as to say that we should “consider it joy” when we do face trials or hardships.

Lately, God has been teaching me what joy has looked like in both of these kinds of circumstances. And as these previous passages have stated, I’ve found joy to be rooted independently from my circumstances but rather in God. It is reminding ourselves of the truth that “and God is good.” Things are going well and God is good. Things aren’t going well and God is good. He is good regardless of our circumstances and that is something worth rejoicing in. But as the verse in Proverbs 30 says, it’s so easy to forget that “and God is good” when our gazes are too fixated on what’s in front of us.

When things are going well, one way I’ve learned to practice joy is by having intentional gratitude for the gifts that God has given me. This meant recording answered prayers, noting down the things I’m thankful for, and taking a lot of photos – all things meant to remind me that God is good that I would attribute to him.

But what about when things aren’t going as well? What does it look like to find joy in seasons where there is dissatisfaction, anxiousness, and a lack of fulfillment? While it doesn’t mean there are no longer things to be thankful for but it can often be hard to pinpoint them. It can be easy to look back at good seasons and ask where God is in this one but as James says, there is joy in suffering as well.

Recently, I talked to a friend in retail who shared about how they’ve been in their current position for almost 10 years now. They didn’t initially plan to do this but couldn’t find anything coming out of school and now have just been here ever since. I thought about how if I was stuck in that sort of position, I’d really struggle to find joy and satisfaction in my own life.

Yet, at the same time, I wondered if this revealed some sort of distrust in my own heart for where God could potentially be leading me. Ultimately, there is the understanding that I have little control over what the future brings. What if God called me to something similar? What if despite a desire for ministry, God was calling me to be in a similar position for the next 10 years? What if he desired to use that in order that I could produce the skills or experiences in order to serve him overseas? But at the same time, it’s just as equally possible that God would have me in such a position for only a season or two before transitioning to do something else. And that he has placed me in such a position because there are some things he needs to set up first. Maybe there’s something I need to learn first or somebody I need to meet first that will be crucial in whatever next step I will be taking.

Another difficult ‘what if’ is the possibility that he has put me in such a role not for myself and my own learning but for others’ sake. What if he’s placed me there not because it wasn’t me who needs to meet somebody but somebody who needed to meet me? And that God decided they required a sort of blessing or light in their lives that I could provide with my unique gifts and talents? Such that for all my forbearance, it would not be about me but God’s heart for others?

For any of these scenarios, I think there’s something to say about being open to whatever plans God has in store for us. Not that it’s wrong to plan for our future or have an idea of what we’d like to do but simply admit that a lot of it is not really in our control. That not only is it up to God but that he has a better view or idea of the situation than we ever could. That what is important is that we are open to whoever he leads and that we’d be willing to trust and submit to him in whatever circumstances he has put us in. Whether or not calls us to stay where we are for 6 months or 10 years, are we ready to answer that calling and live up to it? And if we aren’t? why are we not? Is it because of pride that we think we know better? Is it because of the fear that we won’t get what we want? Does God not know what we need better than we do?

Am I open to the idea that God’s plans are not my plans?

Circling back to the topic of joy regardless of circumstance and the idea that “and God is good,” I’d like to look at some Biblical case studies that truly demonstrate such a mindset. The first one is Habakkuk 3:17-18.

In chapter 1 of the book, Habakkuk makes a complaint to God, asking why the wicked are allowed to prosper and for justice against their enemies. Why are the Chaldeans, in all their evil, allowed to prosper? And why isn’t God holding them accountable? In chapter 2, God tells Habakkuk that in due time, he will make due the punishment allotted to them. Despite not really getting an answer other than “just trust me, bro,” Habakkuk responds with this passage in chapter 3:

Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

Habakkuk 3:17-18

Despite all the uncertainty and only more pain and suffering to come, Habakkuk declares that he will find joy in his savior.

“and God is good”

The second passage I’d like to look at appears in Lamentations. This is a book dedicated to grieving over the destruction of Jerusalem caused by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. We are told of the suffering, hardship, and exile of the Jewish people. Yet at the very center of the book, we get this passage:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”

Lamentations 3:22-24

In the very center of it all, there is an unrelinquished belief that despite all that is occurring, God has and will have mercy.

“and God is good”

Finally, I want to look at the book of Job. In the very first chapter, Job loses both his children and his possessions. He is left with nothing but his health (which is subsequently taken away in the following chapter). Yet, in all of his loss and grief and difficulty, he has this to say:

And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Job 1:21

Despite losing all that he has, Job does not lose faith. He recognises that all he gains and all he loses belongs solely to the Lord. Regardless of what he has, God’s name is to be praised.

“and God is good”

Now the question comes back to us. Do we believe that statement, that “and God is good?” Are we able to demonstrate joy regardless of the circumstances we’ve been placed in? Do we find ourselves exalting God’s name in every season?

In situations of celebration and well-being, do we attribute it to God, praising his name? Or do we have too much and say “who is the Lord?”

In situations of grief and lack, do we continue to worship the Lord and have a heart posture where we can wholeheartedly say “your kingdom come, your will be done” and mean it?

Do I believe that in his presence is fullness of joy?

Stay cool,

Jason

One of my favourite stories in the Bible appears in Genesis 16.

This story occurs right after Genesis 15, where God makes a covenant to Abram that He will give him an heir “of his own flesh and blood” (Gen 15:4) and make his offspring as numerous as the stars in the sky (Gen 15:5).

At this point in the story, Abram is still unsure of how God will supposedly fulfill this promise. His wife, Sarai, suggests that since she is too old to bear any children, maybe God’s desire is to build their family through Sarai’s slave, Hagar (Gen 16:2).

Abraham agrees with Sarai’s idea and conceives a son with Hagar, Ishmael. Sarai, however, becomes jealous of Hagar, resenting her and putting the blame onto Abraham (Gen 16:5). Abraham’s passivity leads him to tell Sarai to “do with her whatever you think is best,” leading Sarai to mistreat Hagar, which results in a pregnant Hagar running away (Gen 16:6).

In the following verses, a couple of important things happen:

• The angel of the Lord approaches Hagar (Gen 16:7)
• The angel of the Lord asks Hagar, “where have you come from, and where are you going” (Gen 16:8)
• The angel of the Lord makes a promise to Hagar to “increase [her] descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count” (Gen 16:10)
• Hagar refers to God as “the God who sees me” or El-Roi (Gen 16:13)

What is so cool about this story is the way that God “sees” and watches over Hagar. In the context of the story, Hagar is a nobody. She is a slave, an Egyptian, and is owed absolutely nothing. Up to this point, God has made her no promises. Yet, God encounters her, reaches out to her, and shows her great compassion.

He asks her “where have you come from, and where are you going?” (Gen 16:8) As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, this question that he asks is not for Him but for her. God already knows the answer to it. Interestingly, while Hagar answers the first part of the question in her response, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai” (Gen 16:8), she does not answer the question of where she is going. I am inclined to believe that she does not have the answer.

How does God respond to that? He gives her a direction to go: “Return to your mistress and submit to her” (Gen 16:9). What kind of response is that? This God must be crazy! Why would He tell me to return back to the mistress who was mistreating me? And to submit to her??? How often is it that God challenges us and tells us to return to the people that have hurt us and to forgive them? It’s so different than what society teaches us to do. We’re told to cancel and cut out those who wrong us and to make sure we give them what they deserve. Yet, God teaches us that Vengeance is [His] and [He] will repay (Deut 32:35). Proverbs has all sorts of warnings against this. We’re told, “do not say, ‘I’ll pay you back for this wrong!’ Wait for the Lord, and he will avenge you” (Proverbs 20:22) and “do not say, ‘I’ll do to them as they have done to me; I’ll pay them back for what they did'” (Proverbs 24:29).

Jesus demonstrates the ultimate example of this, in Paul’s epistle to the Romans, he tells them that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

More often than not, God will see the entire picture but only give us a single step.

The next thing that God does for Hagar is that He makes her a promise. He promises her that he will “increase [her] descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count” (Gen 16:10). What God does here is that he extends a promise to Hagar that he is under no obligation to do so. Although God does promise Abraham that he would give him an heir and descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky (Gen 15:5), it is later made clear that Ishmael is not the heir that was being referred to (Gen 17:16). In doing so, God promises Hagar that her labour and suffering would not be in vain.

In response to God’s mercy, Hagar coins God “El-Roi” or “the God who sees me” (Gen 16:13) He is a God who sees her affliction and pain (Gen 16:11). He is a God who sees the difficulty and hardship that she has endured. He is a God who sees the ways that she has been overlooked, mistreated, and outcast. He is a God who sees those who are broken-hearted and reaches out to them.

The Lord is King for ever and ever;
    the nations will perish from his land.
You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
    you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
    so that mere earthly mortals
    will never again strike terror.

Psalm 10:16-18

There is so much comfort in a God who sees us. There is so much comfort in knowing that even during our deepest struggles or loneliest nights, there is a God who watches over us and cares for us. He sees both the good and bad in me that nobody else sees. He knows of all our brokenness and shortcomings.

You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.

Psalm 139:1-3

Yet, he loves us still. So much so that he would send his son to die so that we could be set free. “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

If you continue reading to Genesis 21, you’ll see that God’s promises are not empty ones either. After the birth of Isaac, Sarai once again tries to cast out the slave woman, declaring that Hagar’s son would never share in the inheritance with her son Isaac (Gen 21:10).

Not only does God once again take care of both Hagar and Ishmael in the Desert (Gen 21:19) but He fulfills his promise to make him into a great nation (Gen 25:12-18). Even further from the truth is Sarah’s claim that Hagar’s son would never share in the inheritance with Isaac because little would she know, through Jesus’ sacrifice, all nations would be allowed to partake in the very inheritance she spoke of (Galatians 3:7-9). He truly is a God who sees.

Thanks for reading! Stay cool,

Jason

One character that I’ve been able to relate to in this past season is Jonah. Like Jonah, I’m often finding myself:

• Always angry
• Always stubborn
• Always trying to run away

Whenever I’m in a season of difficulty or conflict, my initial instinct is to just get away. “If I just leave this situation and go somewhere else, it’ll go away.” Not only is such a belief untrue, but it disallows us the opportunity to see God at work. I can’t speak for everyone on this matter but I know that when I’m trying to run away, it’s because I don’t trust God. I’m supposed to know that God has everything in control and that he is sovereign over all things, but I don’t always believe it.

And so my instinct is to run.

I run because I’m angry and stubborn and if I don’t get to see it my way then I’d rather see nothing at all! But the Bible teaches us that it’s impossible to run away from God:

Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

Psalm 139:7-8

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39

And not only that, the book of Jonah teaches us that it’s impossible to run from his will.

In the book of Jonah, Jonah physically tries to run away from God. He hops on a boat and tries to sail in the opposite direction of where God calls him to (Jonah 1:1-4). Now, you’re probably thinking, “imagine trying to run away from God, lol what a stupid idea.”

But before going on to judge Jonah, I think about all the times I’ve refused to listen to God. All those conflicts I didn’t want to resolve, all those people I didn’t want to forgive, all those sacrifices I didn’t want to make. Lol, the joke’s on me.

So often I’d find myself like Jonah, where I had to perform actions that I knew were in His will that I did not want to do. Even though my actions indicated I “trusted” him, I knew that deep down in my heart I did not.

“Do I really have to make this decision?”

“What if I just don’t do it?”

were thoughts that repeated in my head. Like Jonah, I’d tell God, “what’s the point, it’s going to end up like X anyway!” (Jonah 4:2).

However, it’s also in those times that God’s whispers of “trust me” would ring the loudest. It is in those moments where I’d confront my fears and doubts head-on that God would remind me that the promises he gives aren’t just empty words on a page but a part of the reality that I lived in.

A disagreement or conflict? We serve the God of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18-20)

A broken heart? We serve the God who “heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3)

Trusting in his provision? We serve the God “who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20)

It’s in those times that his message of “my grace is sufficient” (2 Cor 12:9) becomes the most real. One lesson that God has continually been teaching in this season is that he provides:

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 6:33

He provides exactly what we need. The problem is that we’re often unaware of exactly what we need, it’s so easy to be fixated on how we think should God should be providing for us that we’ll fail to appreciate the gifts that he has given to us in front of our very eyes. We’re angry and stubborn and if we can’t see it our way then we rather see nothing at all!

And so we run away. We run away from God, we run away from our circumstances, and we try to get as far away as we can.

But, like Jonah, not only does God not allow us to do that but he brings us right back on track. Now, I’m not quite sure what happened to Jonah at the conclusion of the story—we’re never quite told. But I’m inclined to believe that despite Jonah’s resistance and despite his anger and all the other frustrations he had with God, Him bringing Jonah to Nineveh and teaching him lessons through the people and the plant was exactly what he needed.

We can try to flee from God and we can try to run away from the plans that he has for us, but it’s when decide to remember his promises, trust in him, and stop running that we truly and fully see his sovereignty and hand at work.

Stay cool,

Jason

Hello y’all,

I was going through some draft notes for potential posts that I never got around to (and I’m honestly not quite sure if I’ll ever get to) but didn’t wanna let them go to waste LOL so hoping someone will find these helpful:

Some Thoughts #7

• Jesus as Moses at the transfiguration – 3 people (2 brothers), glowing face, cloud, Jesus as Moses on the mt.
• Matthew 13:15 – as a literal and metaphorical?
• Matthew 13:17 – Hebrews?
• Jesus and the Leper – Elisha and Naaman?
• John 2:10 – Jesus as the wine saved for now

Jesus as the New Israel

I’ve decided to write a bit of a bigger post today (and thus have allowed myself a couple days to figure it out).

Today, I will be writing about the way that Matthew presents Jesus as a ‘New (and improved) Israel.’ If you’d like some additional thoughts on it, I dive specifically into the Baptism portion of this portrayal here. Otherwise, I’ll be providing more of an overarching view through Matthew 2-5.

The majority of the parallels (that I’ve found) happen during the Exodus (the event AND the book). I’m going to go through a couple of them.

• A tyrant that kills all the male infants (Exodus 1:22 and Matthew 2:16)
• An Exodus into Egypt (Genesis 47:27 and Matthew 2:13)
• A return to the promised land (The Exodus and Matthew 2:19-20)
• The crossing of the Jordan (Joshua 3 and Matthew 3)
• The testing in the wilderness (The Wilderness and Matthew 4:11)
• The new law and new Moses

Samuel

• Samuel: a prototype of Christ (mary vs hannah’s prayer, miraculous birth, 1 sam 2:21)
• 1 Sam 8:3 – Samuel’s sons are like Eli’s – repeat problem
• 1 Sam 8:7 – Israel’s ask for a king is a rejection of God, want a king ‘like the other nations ‘ (8:20), cross-ref deut 17:14-20 ALSO Solomon breaking all the king laws i.e. horses/from egypt, many wives, accumulation of wealth
• 1 sam 12:14-15 similar to deut blessing/curses – also paves way for kings who do not follow, also shows king is not ‘special’ but also held accountable
• 1 Sam 12:27 – Lord is pleased to make himself a people
• 1 Sam 14:9-10 – simple yet active prayer, allowing God to answer
• 1 Sam 15:22-23 – obeying God rather than man, obedience > sacrifices, great sins of rebellion and stubbornness
• 1 Sam 16:7 – God does not look at stature but at heart, challenges us to do the same bc even Sam, God’s prophet is confused
• 1 Sam 16:13 – association of HS with anointment (same thing happens with Saul in 1 Sam 10:10 and later with Jesus, possibly a foreshadow of true anointment no longer with oil but HS?)
• 1 Sam 17:45-47 – a battle not physical but spiritual, Lord saves not with spear/sword (foreshadow)
• 1 Sam 17:16 – Philistines are real enemy but also symbolic – shown in the 40 days, challenge of David? Similar to desert for Israelites/Jesus?
• 1 Sam 18 – David learning from Saul how to get rid of people you don’t like
• 1 Sam 29:6 – Achish the Phillistine/Gentile king is more righteous and has more honor and dignity than Saul, the Israelite king

David: A man after God’s own heart

• 1 Sam 24:6 – David’s refusal to kill God’s anointed
• 1 Sam 24:13 – quotes a proverb and shows David’s refusal to respond evil with evil, loving enemies, Proverbs 25:21-22, etc
• 1 Sam 25:33 (the entire story) – a trust in the Lord knowing that he will deliver and thus does not ‘work salvation’ his own hand (and as such, God delivers)
• 1 Sam 26:9-10 – once again, David’s refusal to kill God’s anointed, his trust is in God, is not interested in playing God
• 1 Sam 26:24 – encapsulates the idea of treating people the way we would like God to treat us i.e. Matt 5:12
• 1 Sam 30:8 – David’s inquiring of the Lord in all that he does
• 1 Sam 30:24-25 – David’s love for even the ‘baggage’ of his people, reflects God’s desire to care for alien, orphan, widow. semi-connection with vineyard worker?
• 2 Sam 1:14-16 – Even in Saul’s death, David honors God’s anointed despite being undeserved
• 2 Sam 3-4: David honoring commitment with Abner and even mourning for him, mourning even Ish-bosheth, people who are supposedly his enemies

Obv these are not proofread, etc. LOL so if you have questions or concerns or would like a deeper dive into my thought processes from a year ago (but no guarantee I’d be able to give you an answer), let me know! Thanks for being a part of this.

Might make a real post sometime, we’ll see.

Stay tuned,

Jason

One area that God has been challenging me in recently is learning to trust him. What this has looked like is not trying to control situations (or people), learning to manage disappointment and expectations, and not doing what I want to do. And to be honest, it has been really difficult. It’s so much easier to be angry and upset and frustrated with God when things aren’t going our way. However, Proverbs warns us of this err;

When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the Lord.

Proverbs 19:3

Luckily for us, God has placed an abundance of reminders in his word to trust him. And there’s good reason for it too. Simply put, he knows better than we do. He knows ourselves better than we do, he knows our circumstances better than we do, and he knows his plan better than we do. Some verses that come to mind today:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose

Romans 8:28

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

Proverbs 19:21

For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever. He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.

Psalm 112:6-7

But today, for this post, I wanted to look at the three chapters of John 3, 4, and 5 where Jesus encounters Nicodemus, the woman at the well, and the man at Bethesda respectively. I believe that each of these instances shows a similar and very important lesson: that we are often more short-sighted than we think, and God is not.

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John 3: Nicodemus

In this first story, Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night asking him about who he is. He calls Jesus rabbi and says to Jesus that “no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus responds with a cryptic statement saying that nobody can see the kingdom of God unless one is born again.

Nicodemus, wondering how this could be, asks, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (John 3:4)

For Nicodemus, he has probably been seeking after God his whole life. Not just anyone can be a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews (John 3:1). Jesus, however, says the only way that he’ll be able to find what he is looking for is to be “born again.” Of course, Nicodemus is confused (and who can blame him?) and asks Jesus how that is possible. But in his question, he also makes clear what his concept of being born again is like. He envisions being born again as meaning re-entering his mother’s womb in order to be physically born again. However, the birth that Jesus is talking about is not a physical birth but a spiritual one. The next couple verses (John 3:5-8) explain this. However, what I want to focus on for the purpose of this post is that Nicodemus, like us, is short-sighted. His idea of being born again is limited to only what he has seen and experienced so far and is front of him. He cannot possibly grasp what Jesus means when he says that he needs to be born again.

John 4: The Woman at the Well

In this second story, Jesus encounters a Samaritan woman drawing water at a well. He asks her for a drink of water which prompts her to question why he, a Jew, would be asking a Samaritan for water as “Jews had no dealings with Samaritans (John 4:9). He responds to her saying that if she knew who he was, she’d had asked him for water and he would’ve given her living water.

She reacts to such a statement by saying, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?” (John 4:11)

For the woman at the well, she has been seeking after something. However, whatever she has been looking for, she has been unable to find it despite her many husbands (John 4:17-18). Instead, here she is, drawing water by herself in the heat of the day. When Jesus approaches her and offers her living water, she finds his offer absurd. Not only is he a Jew asking her, a Samaritan, for water, but he then goes on to offer to draw her water without even having his own bucket. But what she fails to realize is that the water that Jesus offers her isn’t just any regular water. The water he is offering her does not come through drawing from a well but from Jesus himself. This woman, like us, is short-sighted. Jesus is offering something much greater than any regular water, but she, being so concerned with how she perceives water is supposed to be drawn, fails to realize this.

John 5: The Man at Bethesda

In this third story, Jesus approaches a man who is lame at a pool in Bethesda. We are told that the man there has been “invalid for thirty-eight years.” Jesus asks him the question “Do you want to be healed?”

The man responds with, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me” (John 5:7).

For the man at Bethesda, he has spent his whole life looking for healing. That’s why he has been at this pool for so long. He believes that the water of the pool is supposed to bring him restoration. This is made clear in his response to Jesus when he says that he has nobody to bring him to the water when it stirs. When Jesus asks him if he would like to be healed, the pool is the only thing he sees. Because of his obsession with this it, he is unable to look beyond the real and better healing that was available right in front of his eyes. This man, like us, is short-sighted. His idea of healing is limited to the pool that he has set his eyes on for so long and he fails to grasp that the healing that he has been looking for all this time lies not in the pool but in Jesus.

We are short-sighted and God is not

What do all three of these stories have in common? They show that we are often more short-sighted than we think. In all three of these stories, Jesus comes up to these individuals and offers them something. For Nicodemus, it’s seeing the Kingdom of God. For, the woman at the well, it’s living water. And for the man at Bethesda, it is healing. However, each one of them is only able to see Jesus’ offer within the lens of the circumstances they are already in. They are so concerned with how Jesus is supposed to accomplish what he says he will through the way they are accustomed to, that they fail to realize that Jesus likes to do things a different way.

And how often do we find ourselves in the shoes of these characters? We ask and beg God for that job, or that promotion, or that relationship but we are so focused on wanting God to accomplish things the way that we are accustomed to, that we fail to realize God likes to do things a different way. We are so short-sighted in our approach that we fail to realize that not only does God have a different method, but that he has a better method. That’s what those first few verses made clear. Romans 8:28, Proverbs 19:21, and Psalm 112:6-7 teach us to trust God not simply “because we should” but because God has a better plan in mind. He knows us better, he knows our circumstances better, and he knows his plans better than we ever could. We have difficulty seeing beyond what’s in front of us. But God doesn’t. He promises not only to take care of us and treat us well but is “able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).

Stay cool,

Jason

Writer’s note: I skipped all my classes today to write this lol

Today’s post will be a reflection on contentment:

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:11-13

Over the last few months, one area that God has been growing my heart in is contentment. Contentment is a funny topic that gets brought up whenever we’re told we can’t have something we want. The things I want, however, seems to make up a pretty long list (in no order of importance):

• I want for there to be no more war between Russia and Ukraine and for justice to be accomplished, that the right people would be brought down and held accountable for their actions
• I want my all small group members to show up every week attentive with a heart to grow and a desire for evangelism and discipleship
• I want my church community to be more tight-knit, for us to push each other closer to God, and for there to be a communal desire to make His name known
• I want to see my family and friends recognise the goodness of God and have their lives transformed, and I wish it were easier both to share with them, and to have them listen
• I want to be married one day to someone who will push me to faithfully and deeply pursue Christ, who can cover my blind spots, and who I can share my life with
• I want to have clarity on where and how I should spend my life serving God and not have to make so many decisions about what my next steps should be profession-wise
• I want to stop facing conflicts and difficult situations, and wish I would never have to see the people I care about being hurt by circumstances beyond my control
• I want to be able to keep in touch with the people that are important to me forever and never have to worry about changing relationships or being alone
• I want to be rich so I don’t have to worry about finances and can spend freely while being able to support and bless others in ways I may not be able to otherwise

This is not a comprehensive list. It’s only a small look into what I want but cannot have (some for now, others maybe never as long as I am on this earth). I have to be honest about this as well: I’m a complainer. I grumble and I groan and there’s always something I’m displeased about. And I think it’s for that very reason contentment has been such an important topic of meditation for me lately. It’s an area that God has been humbling and training me in.

Let’s be real as well: I’m tired of being humbled. So I’ve been taking it into my own hands to grow in contentment. I’ve started practicing fasting (from food), I’ve decided to pursue a season of singleness (intentionally this time), and I’ve gone off most social media (probably for the next while). Here are some lessons that I’ve learned along the way:

1. What contentment DOES NOT mean:

• We are in love with our situation
• We are in a state of complaining and groaning (Phil 2:14)
• We no longer have desires

When I hear others talk about contentment, an impression that I often get is that it must be going swell. Not necessarily that their circumstances are swell but that everything must be swell in their hearts and their emotions. The impression is that they’re simply OK with suffering and hardship and have simply suppressed their desires in a way that they no longer ‘want’ anything. The area that this seems to come up most often is regarding (dating) relationships.

Whenever the topic of contentment has come up in this area, I’ve always imagined it in a way where it meant you no longer desired a relationship. But pairing that with the (annoying and not always helpful) stories of people saying “I met this person when I learned to be content with singleness,” contentment made no sense to me. How does absolving your desires for something help you gain that very thing? And if you have no desire for that thing anymore, why would you even want to be in such a position? As you can see, confusion all around.

I think the first thing that needs to be addressed is that not all desires are bad. God, in all his glory, made the world and said “it was good” (Gen 1:31). There are many good things and many things that are honourable for us to desire. In Proverbs, the very notion of finding a wife is described as a ‘good thing’ (Proverbs 18:22 ESV). Okay, so relationships aren’t bad to desire but what does it mean to be content? In Sam Allberry’s 7 Myths About Singleness, he spends six chapters defending singleness, saying that like marriage, it has both its own challenges and blessings and that we should not take either for granted. In the seventh and final chapter, he shares his own experience with singleness and lays it on us: it’s hard. He shares about the family he can never have, battles with loneliness, and the pain of always being second on everyone else’s priority list. He humbly recognises what he wants yet cannot have, but still wrestles with the pain of it–is that contentment?

Another thing that needs to emphasised is that contentment is NOT being in a state of complaining and grumbling. In the very two chapters prior (Phil 2:14), Paul addresses this–he tells us to “do all things without grumbling or disputing.” There is no way we can be in a state of contentment if we continually and openly express contempt for the situation we’re in while acting ungrateful for the things that God has provided us. It is one thing to be unhappy with the situation we’re in. It is another to allow it to affect our actions and the way that we treat God and others. 

For my final point, it is from the hunger of fasting that I’ve learned the most important item on this list: contentment is NOT having no more desires. When you fast, you face the feeling of hunger. It’s inevitable. Your body needs food for energy and you need it to stay alive. That feeling of hunger comes with a desire to eat food. What does it look like to be content while being hungry? If our definition of contentment is to no longer desire to eat, then that’s impossible! Being hungry and desiring to eat is not something that we have control of, it is the natural response of our bodies that God has created us with. God has given us the desire to eat so that we may stay alive. In this case, contentment is not giving up the desire for food but giving up the “right”, “expectation”, and “privilege” to eat. I think this principle applies to many other scenarios as well. If we bring it back to the topic of relationships, contentment is not giving up the desire to have a relationship but giving up the expectation that you will have one. Now the next question is: what should it look like to want something but be okay with not having it?

2. What contentment DOES mean:

• We set realistic and reasonable expectations
• We trust and worship God regardless of circumstance
• We set our eyes and hearts on the things above

Along with figuring out what contentment does not mean, I think that I’ve come to a better idea of what contentment does mean. And above are the three things that I’ve decided on.

The first thing that contentment requires us to do is to set realistic and reasonable expectations. Now, you might be thinking, “shouldn’t the first step be to trust and worship God regardless of circumstance?” Well, I think they go hand-in-hand, and setting those realistic expectations is what allows us to trust God, and vice-versa. If we are trusting God to fulfill all our wants in the exact way and time that we want them, then we are trusting in a delusion. Not only will that never happen and leave us disappointed, it will make us angry and frustrated at God. There’s two components of this setting expectations. The first component is knowing what God has promised us. This requires us to search his word and know his character. If God has promised something, like making sure our needs are met (Matthew 6:25-34), then it is a realistic expectation we can set. The second component is learning to give up expectations in our day-to-day lives of what God has not promised. Although finding a wife, and wanting no more war, and desiring your loved ones to know God as you do, are good desires, He has made no such promise to fulfill these wants. We can want them and desire them and yearn for them and pray for them, but we must be careful not to expect them in our way and in our time and for our reasons, otherwise we will never be content.

It is by knowing God and his promises that we can worship, trust, and obey him “in every circumstance”, as Paul says. If we are aware of the promises he has made, we can live contently knowing that God has our greater good in mind even if it doesn’t play out in the ways and at the time and for the reasons we want. For example, let us go back to the passage in Matthew 6:25-34. In these verses, God promises that he will always provide for our necessities as long as we seek his kingdom and righteousness first. There are two things we can take away from this passage. The first is that we can set this expectation for ourselves based on God’s promises, and trust him to provide for us without risk of disappointment. The second, then, is that by knowing this, we can worship and obey Him in that trust. Contentment is not a quiet bitterness in not getting what we want, but rather a joyful gratitude in the promises and gifts that God has given us.

Although contentment is not about having no more desires, another way it can be realized is by re-directing our desires. Once again, this comes from knowing God and His promises. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus warns us about where we store our treasures:

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:19-21

There are two things we are to learn from this passage. The first is that our treasures on earth are temporary. Not only do they have an expiry date (Luke 12:13-21) but there are “moths and vermin” who will destroy and thieves who will “break in and steal.” The second is that not only do earthly treasures pass away, there are actually better treasures we can attain. There are treasures in heaven that are resistant to the moths and vermin and thieves in the world. And on top of that,  these treasures are also eternal. They have no expiry date because they are not part of a world that is passing away (1 John 2:17). What that means for us is that we should re-direct and prioritize our hearts and desires to these better treasures. That doesn’t necessarily mean we will have no more desires for earthly things (as discussed in the first section), but rather that we should make a conscious effort to strive for what is better, and use our desires for earthly goods to actually work towards fulfilling our eternal desires (i.e., instead of desiring food for its own sake, we desire food so that it might nourish our bodies so that we can use our bodies to work towards eternal goods, or so that we can have food to share with others and thus display a love that will achieve for us eternal rewards). If you think sliced bread, air conditioning, and Wi-Fi are great, imagine how much greater the creator of all those things is, and his promises of eternal goods that far surpass all of them!

3. Implications for contentment:

• Contentment is an attitude that requires being intentional
• We can want and be content
• We can grieve and be content

Now that I have discussed what contentment means and what contentment does not mean, I can move onto some implications of contentment that were not so obvious to me at first.

The first thing is that contentment is an attitude that requires being intentional. We can’t control all our circumstances, nor our desires, nor our ability to obtain all our desires, but what we can learn to control is our attitude. Contentment is something that requires us to be mindful of whether or not we grumble, whether or not we have realistic expectations, and whether or not we worship God. These are things we must evaluate especially in seasons where God or others are telling us we cannot have something we want. Am I complaining bitterly or am I practicing joyful gratitude in what God has provided? Am I setting realistic expectations based on the promises that God has given me or am I getting ahead of myself? Am I continuing to worship and obey God in all circumstances or am I doing it selectively? These are things in our control.

The second is slightly reiterated from the first section, but I believe it is worth repeating. It is that we can want and still be content. Being content doesn’t mean we will have no more desires. What it does mean is that we are aware that some of those desires may never be realized in the way or time we want them to or think they should be, and we thus have to set expectations accordingly. Think of Paul’s desire to have the “thorn” removed from his side. But Christ, ever faithful, promised a grace that would be sufficient for all the desires Paul might have.

The last thing I want to mention is that we can grieve and be content (you just have to read the Psalms or the account of Job or the lives of the Prophets to see this). If being content means we are still allowed to have wants then it must also mean that we are allowed to grieve over those wants not being fulfilled. We can set realistic expectations for what we think God will fulfill but still be disappointed in the ones he does not fulfill. 

Going back to that list of wants I stated at the beginning of this post, I’m not sure how many of them will ever be fulfilled. Most of them probably won’t ever be, and that doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it. But being sad about them also doesn’t mean I have to grumble. It doesn’t mean I have to be bitter at God. It doesn’t mean God didn’t hold up his end of the bargain. It doesn’t mean I can’t worship and obey him. And it doesn’t mean that I have no desire for better treasures. What it does mean is that while God has given me desires, not all of them will be fulfilled how and when and why I want. That’s the reality, and regardless of it, I’ll be OK because I can trust God has what’s best in mind for me (Romans 8:28).

Stay cool,

Jason

One of the biggest things you’ll notice about Jesus in the Gospels is how much he loves asking questions. He asks all sorts of interesting and thought-provoking questions, using them as teaching devices (Luke 15:10), in challenging the Pharisees (Matthew 22:41-46), asking blind men what he can do for them (Matthew 20:29-34), and even asking a crippled man if he wants to be healed (John 5:6).

However, if Jesus is supposedly God and knows all things, why in the world is he the one asking the questions? Shouldn’t we be the ones asking questions? For example, what is the meaning of life? Why did you create the world? How could you let Trae Young get injured and have the Hawks lose in 6? How could you let me embarrass myself that one time in first-year? Why am I still single? You know, the regular stuff.

If Jesus really knows the answers to all these questions then maybe there’s a possibility that he does not ask all these questions for his sake, but ours. For example, in the situation with the Pharisees, Jesus does not ask questions in order to learn something from them but in order to teach them something. Similarly, in the situations where Jesus asks people if they would like to be healed, he does not do so for his sake but for theirs. Who wouldn’t want to be healed? Maybe someone who is so used to living with it that they’ve become attached and are afraid of change. Maybe someone who has become so accustomed to it that they’ve allowed it to fully define who they are.

However, despite the many interesting questions that Jesus proposes, what I want to take a look at today are some of the interesting questions that God the Father proposes. We marvel at Jesus’ carefully thought-out probing yet we often forget that the Father himself has asked some really great questions as well.

So here are 5 interesting questions that God has asked in the Old Testament and how they might apply to us today. Some ideas and prompts were borrowed from here.

Question 1: Where are you?

This first question is posed by God to Adam after he and Eve eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. In this scene, Adam and Eve are ‘hiding’ from God. In response to this, he asks “where are you?” The idea that God can’t find them in his own garden is a ridiculous concept. Similar to the questions that Jesus proposes, God does not ask this question to learn something himself but rather, he wants Adam to learn something from it.

Framing the question in context, the creator asks the created: what has changed between us? Why do you feel a need to hide? Why are you afraid of being seen by me?

These are questions we can ask ourselves as well. What has changed between us and God? Why are we afraid to be seen by him? Is there something we need to bring to him? Is there something we’re holding back on? Are we, like Adam, “hiding” from God?

Question 2: What have you done?

This next question is posed by God to Eve. It is a continuation of the previous conversation with Adam where Adam blames Eve for his eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Similar to before, the question in itself is absurd. The situation should be quite apparent following Adam’s confession. However, like God’s previous question to Adam, we must recognize that the question is not for God’s sake, but Eve’s.

Within the context of the situation, another way we could understand God’s question: Why have you done this? How could you allow this to happen? Do you realize the consequences of your actions?

Once again, these are questions we can ask ourselves. When we choose to pursue worldly desires or passions, do we recognize the severity of the situation? Do we assess how we got to such a point? Do we realize the consequences of our actions? Or do we, like Eve, put the blame on somebody else?

Question 3: What are you doing here?

This third question is posed to Elijah on Mt. Horeb. After Elijah had gotten rid of all the prophets of Ba’al, he was threatened by Jezebel and ran away out of fear for his life. He would then spend 40 days and 40 nights traveling to Mt. Horeb in order to come face-to-face with God. Upon his arrival, God asks him “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Elijah responds with this statement:

“I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too” (1 Kings 19:10)

Twice God asks him this question and twice Elijah responds with such a statement. It may not have been clear to Elijah but it is made clear to us: Elijah is missing an important lesson in God’s question. When God asks Elijah “what are you doing here,” he’s asking him what he’s so afraid of, he’s asking him where his faith has gone, he’s asking why he no longer believes that God, in spite of everything going on, is in control.

Even though Elijah fails to live up to God’s challenge to introspection, he remains merciful, continuing him on his path and affirming that he is not “the only one left” (1 Kings 19:15-18).

Let us ask ourselves a similar question. “What am I doing here?” How did I get here? Why am I here? Is this where God wants me to be? Do I trust him enough, despite everything that is going on, to follow where he leads?

Question 4: Can these bones live?

This next question is asked by God to Ezekiel. In this scene, God gives Ezekiel a vision of a valley of dry bones. He proceeds to ask Ezekiel, “Son of man, can these bones live?” At first glance, it seems like a sort of strange question. Bones by themselves aren’t really alive in the first place and the ones in Ezekiel’s vision probably seemed even less so. However, Ezekiel responds with “Lord, you alone know.”

God asks Ezekiel an impossible question. Yet, Ezekiel responds with faith. Despite not knowing how to answer God’s question, Ezekiel recognizes that he serves a God that does the impossible, that can bring life, maybe even to bones. So he responds not with a yes or no, but with an awareness knowing that he serves a God who does know.

The question for us in this story is simple: can these bones live? Can God do the impossible? Can he do marvelous works which may we not even be able to comprehend? And if there’s the chance that we might be able to, would we believe it?

Question 5: Is it right for you to be angry?

This last question comes from the book of Jonah. It occurs right after Jonah has preached to the city of Nineveh, leading to them coming to repentance. Jonah is angry because it’s like he said, God was going to spare the people anyway, and if that’s the case, why bother making Jonah come all this way? God should’ve just destroyed them.

God proceeds to grow a large plant which gives Jonah shade, before destroying it the next day. Jonah once again is upset and God once again asks him: is it right for you to be angry? God compares Nineveh to the plant. He notes how strange it is that Jonah cares about a plant he did not even raise yet is angry at God for caring about a city of “a hundred and twenty thousand people.”

Once again, God does not ask this question because he does not know the answer but because he wants Jonah to learn something from it. Jonah is so concerned with his own circumstance and how he feels about the situation and the city of Nineveh that he cares more about a mere plant than over a hundred and twenty thousand people.

Does God have similar questions for us? Are we so concerned with our own circumstances and how we feel that we sometimes forget to look at the larger picture? Are we so concerned about a plant that we forget to have mercy on people? Do we have the right to be angry?

Recently, something I had been struggling with was this unshakeable feeling of emptiness. I had felt a sense of loneliness and dissatisfaction that I couldn’t quite get rid of. I wasn’t exactly sure what had prompted or provoked it either. Some irony ensued. How could I quote the Psalmist’s words “The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing” (Psalm 23:1 NIV) yet feel this way?

The typical Christian response to this is for one to simply “seek God.” However, what does that even mean? How does seeking God supposedly free me from my loneliness? How does it shield me from my hurt? My insecurities? To answer that question, I think it is necessary to look at the example of Jesus whom I’ve dubbed “the image of freedom.”

However, even before going into that, I think it’s worth acknowledging the reality of the situation, that most of us aren’t exactly satisfied with every aspect of our lives. Even for those of us that claim content, there are seasons that come and go where we mutter under our breaths the very words that Jesus spoke of on the cross: “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” or “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).

People will spend their whole lives trying to fill that empty void, not realizing that it is one that cannot be fulfilled by the world but only through God. This is a sentiment echoed by the Bible itself. In fact, there’s a whole book written on this topic! The book of Ecclesiastes speaks from the perspective of “the preacher/teacher,” someone who could relate to this feeling of emptiness and therefore sought to extinguish it by any means. The book recounts the results of his search; he looks high and low, through valleys and hills, from women to riches, wisdom to folly, and greatness to irrelevance. He comes to the conclusion that “everything is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 1:2).

What good is it to accomplish or do anything if all we are destined to is die? (Ecclesiastes 9:3). This is the question posed by the writer. Nevertheless, despite our friend’s pessimistic attitude, he is able to find purpose in one thing: Fearing the Lord (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

Now, recognizing the situation that we are a people who are in lack and desperately in need with a God-sized void that can only be filled by God, we can understand the example that Jesus has set for us.

The question, to begin with, is, “what exactly sets Jesus apart?” My belief is that by investigating this question, we can really come to understand how God is the one that can fill the voids in our hearts. The most outstanding thing to me, aside from Jesus literally being God himself, was Jesus’ intimate relationship with the Father. This is made evident in his many “quiet time” prayers (Luke 5:16, Luke 6:12-13, Matthew 14:23), along with the simple yet intimate act of acknowledging God as “his father” (Luke 2:49, Matthew 16:17, John 8:42). Other verses, such as John 17:21 and John 1:1-18, also touch on this special kind of intimacy that exists between the Son and the Father.

As a result of his relationship with God, we are able to witness a Jesus who struggles with no void in his heart. He does not suffer from want the way that we do and is able to experience true freedom. In that, he fully embraces and embodies Psalm 23:1 – He lacks nothing.

The Gospels support this idea. When we read the stories and teachings of Jesus, we observe a man who is not bound by the beliefs and expectations of this world. He demonstrates freedom from temptation (Matthew 4:1-11), from provision (Matthew 6:25-34), from approval (Matthew 6:1-18), from earthly riches (Matthew 6:19-21), all of which originate from his relationship with God. This is echoed in his teaching not to seek after worldly things but rather to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).

In order for us to obtain this freedom, God asks but only one thing of us: to trust in him and in the one whom he has sent (John 6:29). In essence, God challenges us to have FAITH. That is the core element in which Jesus was granted his freedom. Thus, in a sense, for us to be able to fill that God-shaped void in our heart, the answer really is to “seek God.” Not only that, but to trust him and to listen to his voice despite doubt, despite loneliness, and despite insecurities.

Two final things are worth touching upon before ending this off.

The first is the question of whether we are able to even achieve such a level of intimacy with God that Jesus had. Although it is a fun question to speculate, I think it ultimately does not matter. Whether or not we are able to achieve that specific level of intimacy does not take away from the fact that a level of intimacy with God is life-changing in itself. We witness this not only in our own lives but also in the lives of those before us, our pastors, our spiritual leaders, and whoever else has played a role in our walk. Missionaries and martyrs, who have given up their lives, both in the sense of living a life in discomfort and their literal lives themselves, have found similar freedom in their willingness to give up everything. Jesus’ very own apostles, ranging from Simon Peter all the way to Paul, have had very similar experiences. Whether or not they achieved the level of intimacy that Jesus had with God was insignificant. In all such circumstances, their faith granted them freedom.

The second question is whether or not God always grants the freedoms we ask of him. And the answer is probably no. Aside from our personal experiences of suffering, we see in 2 Corinthians Paul struggling with “a thorn in his flesh” (2 Cor 12:1-10). Although God does not always fulfill our desires in such a way that we are given that “perfect freedom,” he does assure us that “his grace is sufficient” (2 Cor 12:9).

Jesus lived a life so dedicated to the Father and trusted him with absolutely everything that he was willing to lay his very life down for God’s cause. In return, God gave Jesus the ultimate freedom – freedom from even death itself. In that, Jesus truly demonstrates himself as the very image of freedom itself.