Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.
--Ps 126:5-6
This morning I read this, and was reminded of this theme which runs all through the Bible concerning the absolutely counterintuitive nature of authentic faith, in which up leads down and down up, in which poverty leads to wealth and wealth to poverty, in which weakness leads to strength and strength may prove, in the end, only to be weakness.
But Moses said to the LORD, "Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue." --Exo. 4:10
And Gideon said to him, "Please Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the weakest in my father's house." --Judg. 6:15
One gives freely, yet grows all the richer;
another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. --Prov. 11:24
Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth." --Jer. 1:6
"For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." --Matt. 16:25
"But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all." --Mark 10:43-44
For when I am weak, then I am strong. --2 Cor. 12:10
. . . were made strong out of weakness . . . --Heb. 11:34
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. --Jam. 4:10
I enjoyed this message - counterintuitive Christianity. It really helped me because I didn't understand how the term "counterintuitive" could apply to Christianity, and when I typed that term into Google, your site came up. This will be the crux for the Sunday message, and your love for the Truth is very noticeable. The scriptures are truly God's Words which challenge us to go against our own understanding, and be converted to divine faith in Him. Such an awesome challenge, to trust Him, no matter what. May the Lord continue to use you, and be your Portion. I love the Lamentations quotation. It's one that describes my homeless son's state of being at the present, and which has been a topic for many of our bible studies. May the Lord prosper you, your beautiful wife and your darling child, in Jesus' name. Amen.
ReplyDeleteI love you but God loves you more,
Prayerfully yours,
Lil