Have you ever had a moment, Pastor, when you are reading a passage, perhaps during your daily Bible reading time, and you know for certain you have read that exact passage dozens of times before, but for some reason, this time, you notice things with such a fresh look that it is almost as if you have never read it before? I had one of those moments last week when reading Psalm 16, and I am so thankful to the Lord.

Psalm 16, a Psalm of David, begins with an acknowledgment of the Lord’s goodness. In fact, most of the Psalm is just that—a praise hymn to God, proclaiming Him to be our mighty refuge, our strong counselor, and our firm foundation. Perhaps it is because the Psalm sounds familiar—it reads like so many of David’s Psalms—that I have never spent a long time studying or meditating upon it. Last week, however, verse 11 caught my attention and gripped my soul. It reads:

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

You make known to me the path of life:
As I read it, I caught myself nodding at that line, agreeing to its truthfulness. Back to basics—God is good, and He leads me in the way everlasting. This is a wonderful truth that is universally held and celebrated by all Christians. Despite its beauty, it was not the line that caught my attention!

In your presence there is fullness of joy:
That’s the one, right there, almost as if David wrote that one line in all caps, so I could not just race through it. It was as though this segment was speaking audibly to me, ensuring I could miss it. It was as if God said, “Mark, pay attention to this line. This is the reason you are in Psalm 16 today. This is what you must understand.” I could not then, and I cannot now, get over the weighty truth expressed in that verse. Here is one way to say it: “If I am in God’s presence, then I must be filled with His joy.” Here is another way to say it: “If I am not filled with His joy, then I must not be in God’s presence.” Wow! Even now, that truth hits me like a ton of bricks.

For nearly my entire ministry, I have proclaimed that one of the greatest transformations I experienced upon becoming a Christian is the realization of genuine peace and joy. It is true—in my 22 years as a follower of Jesus Christ, I have enjoyed a peace that truly does surpass all understanding and a joy in my heart that holds firm, even when the circumstances around me swirl well out of my control.

Even so, I must also be honest about this—while 2020 has not taken my joy, it has been tempered. I have been more aggravated and less patient, more frustrated and less encouraged, than in any other time in my Christian walk. I experienced small bouts of mild depression, something I have not ever had to deal with in my life, even in the days before I knew Jesus.

While my joy never completely left me, would I say that I remained in the “fullness of joy” during this pandemic? Honestly, no. But what is the fullness of joy? The Greek word for fullness is “pleroma”, meaning filled up with or complete. Joy is “chara”, meaning gladness or inner delight. Put together then, I am to be filled up with an inner gladness that is complete in its scope. And if I am not? Well, that is where God’s presence comes in.

The Scriptures clearly teach that there is no where a believer can go that is outside of God’s presence (see Psalm 139). God is omnipresent, of course; but He also takes up residence in the soul of the Christian (see Romans 8 and Ephesians 1). In that sense, I am never out of God’s presence. The possibility remains, however, that there can be times when I am unable to sense that presence. This is never God’s fault, of course. That disconnection from the felt presence of God occurs when I am too invested in the things of this world, or too undisciplined to spend time in God’s Word, or too selfish to love people in a way that exalts Jesus. When I lie or lust or cheat or steal, I have blocked myself from the blessings of God’s presence. When I harbor resentment or discontentment, I do the same. And when I worry about the virus or the election or any other thing that is almost completely out of my hands, I cannot enjoy the blessing of all blessings that is a result of being in God’s presence- the fullness of His joy.

God really spoke to me this week from that one simple line of Scripture. Not only did He speak to me about my own frequent lack of the fullness of joy, but He also called me to challenge others about theirs. As an under-shepherd, I must tend to His flock, and part of that tending is to help them find their joy in the Lord. The occasions for this type of ministry and counseling have been many over the last twelve months; I suspect that will continue. When we are more aware of our tendencies to stray from His beautiful presence, we are more likely to re-enter it. When we do that, we are more likely to rest in the fullness of His joy, which is promised to us and which is a real witness to the unbelieving world around us.

As I said, I am thankful for those moments when God takes a single verse, or just a few words from a single verse, and exposes our weakness through it. I am also thankful that after exposing that weakness, He is faithful to restore me and to lift me back up through His strength. I want to be in His presence so I can enjoy the fullness of His joy- don’t you?

In my preaching and teaching, I probably quote Isaiah 55:8-9 as much as any other passage of Scripture:

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

What a comforting truth–God is not like us! He does not worry, does not get unjustly angry, does not ever act selfishly. He does not mess up, give up, or act up. And though we do not always understand what He does, we know that He has reasons for doing those things we struggle to understand. He never does anything without a purpose, but He does not always reveal those purposes to us; and, even if He did, we would likely struggle to fathom them.

We know that all bad things, harmful things, and evil things are the result of sin and the resulting brokenness of this fallen world. Even so, we do not know the specific reasons why God allows the Coronavirus (or any other disease), natural disasters, or freak accidents—at least not definitively or entirely. To say, “Well, God is doing this,” or, “God is doing that,” is a dangerous exercise in futility because the best we can do is speculate about what God might be doing at this exact time in the exact way He does it. Even so, there are some biblical principles that are true and can be applied to any scenario at any time. So, while we do not have a complete answer, we can rest in the truths of God’s character.

1. We know that God is in control of all things and that His will is always done.

The Bible states, “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him” (Psalm 115:3) and, “Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps” (Psalm 136:5). In talking about molding the hearts of man in Romans 9, God says He will show mercy to whomever He wills and will harden the heart of whomever He wills. He then asks who are we, as the creation, to question what He, the Creator, does? Some people struggle to understand how God’s will is always done when seeing the state of the world, but those two things are not at odds with one another. In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis explains, “Anyone who has ever been in authority knows how a thing can be in accordance with your will in one way and not in another.” He then gives example of a mother who tells her children that they must clean their rooms every night (her will), only to find each morning that they have failed to do so (against her will). Though she would rather the children be neat and tidy, she chooses to allow them to do as they please, anyway. In this instance, the mother’s will is ultimately done (her will that the children choose freely for themselves) even though at the same time the children act against her will (that they keep their rooms clean).

2. We know God is always good.

The Bible states, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights…” (James 1:17) and, “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11). Furthermore, all of God’s purposes are for good—consider Paul’s exhortation to the Romans, “…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). In other words, what God sovereignly allows is always good, or always works for good, according to His purposes. This is a reason for great hope for those who love Him and have been called and chosen for His glory.

3. We look back at Isaiah 55:8-9 and conclude that God does all things as part of His will and according to His goodness.

God is sovereign and always good, and because His ways and thoughts are above ours, we can conclude that He does things all the time or allows things all the time that are beyond us to understand, but are still part of His will and in accordance with His goodness. Might He be allowing some of His children to get sick to cause them to trust Him more deeply? He might be. At the same time, might He be judging some who arrogantly rebel against Him in sinful disobedience? Again, He might be. Might He be giving the church an open door for evangelism during a national crisis? Of course, He might be. Do we KNOW He is doing each of these things? No, but we do know that whatever He is doing is for a perfect purpose, and we can trust Him as He does it. Perhaps the most important question we can ask ourselves is, “do we trust Him, even when we don’t understand Him?” I do not mean, do we trust Him to always change the circumstances to our favor, but do we trust Him to be perfectly good, even when our circumstances stay the same? If we do, then we can have peace, joy, and contentment regardless of what is unfolding around us. If we do not trust Him, our lives will be characterized by bitterness, confusion, and uncertainty.

My prayer for all of us today comes from Paul’s letter to the Romans:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:13)

My Pastor’s Gospel transformation story makes me laugh.

I asked KJ Washington, Lead Pastor at New Valley Church (Waynesboro, VA), his story of how the Gospel transformed him. I’m paraphrasing here, but he essentially told me he was in high school sharing the Gospel with someone else when the proverbial light bulb went off for him. I’ve never heard a testimony like that, but it reminds me of a saying that’s been around the church for a while.

“Preach the Gospel to yourself every day.”

If there was ever a time the Church needed to heed that advice, it is now. And, if we are honest, 2020 has been a difficult year, with no shortage of bad news. Maybe now, more than ever, it is important to remind ourselves that we have Good News:

There is a Triune God who has always existed and created all things good. He made humankind the crown jewel of all His creation. He enacted a rescue plan when humankind chose to rebel. And, at just the right time, He sent His Son into the world.

Jesus Christ, the second Adam, lived perfectly in our place. Jesus, the spotless lamb of God, died in our place. Three days later, He rose from the dead and left the tomb empty. He made a promise to reconcile all things to Himself; and because of His work, we will dwell eternally with Him in the new Heaven and Earth.

In 2020, a year of bad news, THIS is the Good News we need.

Because of social distancing regulations, I’m simply not around as many Christians as I would be in a normal week. Some means of grace I have cherished in the past – something like hanging out with a friend – are not as easy to access now. But I’m not self-isolated from the Gospel. I’ll share the following as a description, not a prescription. You may find a way that looks completely different for you. I’m just sharing what it looks like for me.

Our SPCA rescue pup, Cleo, is usually ready for her morning walk around 6:45 a.m. Her idea is to make it a squirrel hunt. My idea is to make is to make it a prayer walk, and it usually ends up being some hybrid of the two.

At the beginning of the walk, I’ll preach and proclaim the Gospel to myself, or I will play a song that does this for me. Below are five songs that help me start off the right way:

· Love Music by Timothy Brindle

· The Humility of Christ by Timothy Brindle

· The Daily Gospel by Timothy Brindle

· Liberation by Timothy Brindle

· It was Love by Ambassador

I’m really good at paraphrasing things incorrectly. One of the reformers was asked why he always preached the Gospel to His people, and his response was, “we leak.” It’s true. It is so easy to fill our buckets with the worries of the world that the Good News—the beautiful Gospel—leaks out. We can actively combat that, however, by reminding ourselves of these truths each day.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
Psalm 139:23-24, ESV

Wow, what a wonderful, challenging, helpful passage of Scripture the Lord has given at the end of one our favorite Psalms! Most of us are familiar with the middle portion of Psalm 139, the part that speaks of how the Lord God “formed my inward parts” and “knitted me together in my mother’s womb” (v. 13) and how God knew every one of our days even before we were born. These verses are often used to support the argument against abortion, as they should be. But there is more to Psalm 139 that what we typically remember.

David begins with the statement, “O Lord, you have searched me and known me!” (v. 1), so when he ends the Psalm imploring the Lord to search and know him, he is not suggesting that God needs to find him or learn about him- God already knows all there is to know! Rather David is inviting the Lord to dig into his inner being and reveal to him any desire or thought that fails to honor Him. He is “giving permission” to God (as if God needs permission!) to wreck him, to rock him, to expose any area in his life that needs addressing. What a painful but much-needed prayer!

It is difficult to read this Psalm without considering the sins of David’s life, mainly his affair with Bathsheba and the sinful acts connected to it, but also the prideful census he took near the end of his life that cost 70,000 men their lives. David might have been a man after God’s own heart, but he was far from perfect. Even so, David understood that if he had any chance of living a life marked by obedience to God and purity of heart, it would depend upon God reminding him constantly of who both He was and who David was. That is exactly what God does when He searches us and knows us—He reveals more of Himself and His holiness and shows us in no uncertain terms the areas in our lives that are still greatly in need of transformation.

When God searched David’s heart and mind, what do you think He found? Lust? Hatred? Deceit? Pride? I think He did. I also think that David’s willingness to have God expose Him and show him the error of his ways kept him from an even spottier resume. We already know the things David was capable of—can you imagine what kinds of acts he might have committed had the Lord not loved him enough to continually bring to light the darkest areas of his life?
What about us? Do we give the God of the Universe permission to pull out our most wicked deeds and desires so that He might chip away at them and bring them under His authority—that we might sin against Him less often? It seems like Psalm 139:23-24 is a great prayer to offer the Lord each time we sit down to study His Word. It is good to implore God to expose us, to bring to our minds the areas we are in most desperate need of repentance.

Hebrews 4:12 reminds us that one purpose of the written Word of God is to discern our thoughts; another is to discern the intentions of our heart. The author of Hebrews must have read Psalm 139 (or been given Hebrews by the same Holy Spirit that gave David Psalm 139!) Clearly, God wants us to understand and apply it. If God did not reveal to us the blind spots in our daily walk with Him, we would remain unable to detect them ourselves and would walk only in the flesh, never pleasing the Spirit. Let us give thanksgiving to God that He doesn’t leave us to crawl around in the darkness of our ignorance, but lovingly shines His light into our hearts and minds so that we might know the grievous errors and sins that creep into our lives. Isn’t He a gracious God?

Sunday night, our church finished a very timely study of 1 Peter. Please allow me to share with you five things Peter teaches us in the five chapters of this letter that was written to a group of persecuted Christians dispersed throughout Asia.

Your salvation is God’s work; therefore, it is secure.
“According to his (Christ’s) great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3-5)

You were granted salvation solely because God wanted you to be saved, and that salvation is kept for you by God’s power- it can never be lost! This truth should comfort and encourage you when faced with an uncertain future- no matter what happens, nothing can take away that wonderful gift of salvation, and that gift is the most important thing about you.

Your identity is in Christ; therefore, it is certain.
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10)

You might not always feel like you are the things listed in 1 Peter 2:9, but if God says it, then it must be true! In fact, if God says it, then it is certain. He didn’t save you and then abandon you; He saved you and then transformed you into a wonderful, new creation that has great purpose. He chose you to be His special child, at odds with the world, but accepted by God-wow! He assigned you position as both a priest and a king or queen- amazing! He cleaned you up and set you aside to do His work- awesome! He has adopted you and considers you just as much a chosen child of God as He considers those born into Abraham’s lineage- can you believe it??? Yes, you have received mercy from God, along with a new identity- get used to it!

Your call to suffer is God’s will; therefore, it is blessed.
“But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.” (1 Peter 3:14-17)

A study of the New Testament shows that suffering is one of the clear marks of the Christian. Yes, if you take seriously your call to follow Christ, it will cost you. While it might not always make sense to us that it could be God’s will for us to suffer, we trust in His goodness and know that He is doing something for our good and His glory, even when He allows us to suffer. And suffering for the name of Christ comes with its perks; it results in the blessings of God. Can you think of any kind of blessing that a man could offer that would be better than the blessings that God is able to give? I can’t. Those blessings don’t always come now, and they don’t always look like you thought they would (or should), but they are immeasurably precious. They are to be treasured above all else. When you consider how marvelous God’s blessings are, you can rejoice even in the sufferings.

Your passions are not the same; therefore, they please God.
“Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.” (1 Peter 4:1-2)

You used to live for yourself because you used to be selfish. The passions and desires of your old sin nature craved the things of this world that Jesus died for and put you at odds with your Creator. Now that you’ve been transformed, though, you crave different things. You now want to do what God wants you do. Not only that, but you are now empowered to do what He wants, something that wasn’t true of you before you were born again. You might still sin at times, but you no longer live for sin- it no longer rules you. Instead, God rules you as your Lord and helps you to live for Him.

Your future is with Christ; therefore, it is glorious.

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 5:10-11)

It has already been established that your life in this world will be hard at times. This life isn’t everything though; in fact, it is a rather insignificant thing when weighted against an eternity with Christ. He has called you to be with Him forever, and forever with Him will be glorious. You will no longer be broken, because He will make you whole. Your faith will no longer waver, because by Him your faith will be made sight. You will no longer be weak, because He will make you strong. You will no longer stand on shaky ground, because He will plant your feet on His firm foundation. Yes, this life can be troubled and tiresome, but, thank God, your eternal future with Christ is glorious indeed.