God,
who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the
fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His
Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He
made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express
image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power,
when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of
the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as
He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
Hebrews 1:1-4.
Isn’t
it amazing that we can serve the living God and at times totally forget
that He is real? This statement sounds ridiculous but I know it
is true.
The Lord spoke through the prophet Isaiah to the
children of Israel about this very matter: “You have forgotten the God
of your salvation…” (Isaiah 17:10-11). Isaiah says it is possible
to forget the God who saves us, the Lord who provides for us. We
can get caught up in the activities of ministry, go through the motions
of ministry, and lose sight of the reality of God.
In this text of Hebrews we see that in these last
days God has revealed Himself to us through His Son. Jesus Christ
is the brightness of His glory, the expressed image of His
person. The person of Jesus Christ is being made tangible through
the person and work of the Holy Spirit.
There are times in ministry that are extremely
difficult. The issues of disease, death, and senseless violence
bring pressures upon our hearts and minds that are hard to bear.
It is not that we doubt the existence of God, but in the midst of so
much sorrow and hardship, we can lose the reality of God.
We can all too easily find ourselves acknowledging
a historical savior, a deity that exists in principle but not on a
practical, personal level—even though He has proven Himself on those
levels! The children of Israel observed God’s power in dramatic
ways again and again during their deliverance from Egypt. His
provision for them, His protection of them, His encouragement through
Moses and Aaron, and their ultimate freedom from Pharaoh were
miraculous evidences of God’s power and presence. The first thing
they forgot when things got hard was the supernatural presence of
God. They forgot, “the Lord will fight for you…His is my strength
and my song” (Exodus 4:14,15:2) and looked for human leadership instead.
As we read these familiar stories in the Bible, we
wonder how could the children of Israel possibly forget God or doubt
the reality of God when He was so obvious?
We are capable of the same spiritual
blindness. There is no greater demonstration of God’s power than
a transformed life. To have our sins purged and our hearts opened to
the Word of God is a miracle we forget. Paul the apostle
proclaimed in his second letter to Timothy, “…for I know whom I have
believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed
to Him until that Day” (2 Timothy 1:12). Paul knows the One he
trusts. God is not just a vague deity. His is someone Paul
personally knows.
Our faith is a personal expression of belief in
the person of Jesus Christ. We are not simply following an
ideology or creed, but the person of Jesus, Himself. It is this
reality that we must hold onto daily in the ministry. God, who in
the past, at various times, in various ways, spoke to the fathers by
they prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, the text
declares. We have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us (1
Corinthians 3:16), and the Word of God ever before us and in us as
well. We are given the greatest resources in all of creation!
It is vitally important that we refresh ourselves
daily with the reality of God; only then can we be effective in our
ministries. Don’t let yourself fall into the trap of the routine
or of just meeting a social need. When we lose the reality of God
our first response is to return to Egypt. When we lose the
reality of God we look for human leadership and soon we find ourselves
in bondage again.
Pray today that your eyes will see the Son and all
that He has done in you and for you. May the Lord become real to
you again and your service inspired by Him.