Keep Your Eyes On Your Own Paper
One of my favorites in all of the bible is the psalms. That appreciation was developed and cultivated by my late pastor, Dr. L. F. Chaney who was masterful in his treatment of the text in psalms. When I was only 18, a boy preacher, he told me that the psalms was a reflection of the emotions and stages of life. I have discovered that to be true as I have had occasion to identify with the psalter on more than one of life’s many challenging moments.
This past Sunday I recently completed a preaching series entitled Songs of Hope from Psalms 13, 30,60, and 73. It was a time of reflection and renewal for me. I was reminded that despite the evildoers, God will always be faithful to His people. From the very words of Asaph in verse 1 of Psalms 73, “Truly God has been good to Israel…” and I suppose that it is only fitting that I confess that He has been good to me too.
Many of us are just like Asaph who sees the progress and prosperity of those who are not of the Household of Faith. It can feel as if God has somehow allowed this inequitable distribution of blessings to persist even when the pure in heart cries out for help. Asaph takes us on a journey with him as he starts out worshiping God, deals with worries and wondering where is God, and grows to the place where he no longer wavers on the worship of God. Maybe you’re on that journey today. Are you trying to measure what God is doing in the life of others? If so, keep your eyes on what He’s doing in the midst of your personal test.
Here’s a very important question in light of your current set of circumstances...How do you see God when it appears that He has left you in an unfavorable situation? Is your praise based on Him granting your every wish and desire or will you serve Him just because He is God? Too many people only serve and worship when things are going their way… The true test of your Christian claims and convictions is not whether you are a Christian when all goes well…it’s if you will live out the Christian faith when it seems as if God has forgotten you!
You know it’s getting old to hear people blaming others for where they are in life. If you want to grow, grow up! No one can walk out your faith for you but you! What other people are doing has nothing to do with your personal walk with the Lord. The psalmist has to come to this conclusion on his own…but while he is in the midst of his personal pity party he can’t help but to continue to point out that it looked like they had more than him. Keep your eyes on your own paper!
Watchman Nee tells the story of how he and some of his Christian brothers were out swimming in a nearby lake. He said that most of them were just average swimmers, there was one guy who was an expert swimmer, and one guy who couldn’t swim at all. Well, wouldn’t you know…the guy who couldn’t swim begin to drown, much to their horror? He kept going down and all the average swimmers began to scream for the expert swimmer to come to the drowning guy’s rescue. Watchman Nee said that he looked up and saw that the guy was perched atop a branch watching the whole thing go down. Watchman said “I began to hate that guy because he wouldn’t move to help one who was in need.” But then at the last possible moment the guy jumped in and with a few strong strokes he was there to save the guy from drowning.
What I hope you walk away knowing is that we serve a God that when it looks like life is sinking us…when it looks like life is getting the better of us…when it looks like life has turned on us we have a God who is waiting until we surrender to Him and He will jump into whatever is taking us out and deliver us! If we will pay attention to our own paper, God will reveal to us that He truly has been good to us!