Today’s Scripture says the goal is love.  Love is a pretty nice goal.  But let’s face it: It’s hard to live out this goal in our dog-eat-dog culture.  We are surrounded at every turn by those who would rather be self-righteous than kind, superior than sincere, and whose allegiance to any form of conscience died or stayed lost in the Lost and Found.

What do we do with people like that?  At least we know they stand opposed to us.  We love our enemies as Jesus said.

In many respects, it can be more difficult when people close to us believe something only …a little off… from what the Bible says.  It’s because they are friends and the trajectory starts out at a point so close to our own.  It’s just a little off, but the fork in the road is plainly there.  Over time, the two roads diverge and become more distant from one another until we have wandered far from the truth and look back wondering how we got there.

We love our friends and ought to love our enemies.  We should do our best to stay on the road to speaking the truth in love. Overcomers remember that the goal is love…and that wise, careful instruction is worth holding onto.

Death of a Loved One provides the most crystal clear example of Overcoming by getting through something.

One never really gets over the loss of a loved one.  It’s a testament to love that we don’t just snap our fingers and get over the death of a spouse, a parent, a child, a friend, a neighbor, or a coworker.  The closer our relationship with the person is, the harder it may be to get through the pain to the point of peace.  Let Jesus bind up your broken heart.  It’s part of why He came.

He’s too young to be retired, but his boss didn’t think so.  He saw the writing on the wall and knew that the golden parachute is better than no parachute.  Retired sounds much better than being fired, but it feels oddly the same.  He feels ashamed.  He avoids the neighbors and when he’s alone, he fights back tears. A flood of despair washes over him.  People he knows who have retired with no hope and no future have died or gotten dementia.  To him, retirement is a death sentence.

She pines for the day when she had grown-up interaction on a regular basis.  She remembers the bustle of the workplace and while co-workers weren’t always easy to get along with, at least they spoke well enough you could understand them…most of the time.  She looks at the face of her baby and knows this child is a gift from God.  She hates herself for feeling resentful at what it means for her.   All day long with a baby who can’t tell you whether she’s hungry, tired, needs to have a diaper changed, and doesn’t say anything to mom in anything other than a cry.  It’s a thankless payless job called motherhood.  She thought she wanted to be a mother but some days, she just wants to go back to the validation of conversation and a paycheck.  Lots of her friends put their babies in day care and returned to work for that very reason.  She thought she wanted to stay at home, but the transition is really hard.  She’s getting depressed and hates herself for thinking thoughts of such ingratitude and selfishness.

They have been looking for work for a long time.  Little jobs arise here and there, but nothing better than part-time.  Certainly no benefits.  The bills are stacking up.  The rent is due.  They look at each other with tear-stained faces.  The early days of marriage weren’t supposed to be this way.  There were the expected adjustments, but they didn’t think one of them was seeing your spouse with suspicion as to why interviews constantly fall apart and jobs are nowhere to be found. Each of them wants to work, at least that’s what they tell each other.  Why can’t employers see that?  Is it a problem with employers…or the economy…or is it a problem with you?  So they silently analyze each other and wonder if they made an even bigger mistake.

Different as their scenarios are, all of these individuals have something profound in common: They are all suffering and are in need of overcoming employment challenges.  They do not need to remain in a place of lonely despair.  There is hope right around the corner!  Overcoming happens to those who–with sharpened tools of discernment–apply the Ten Commandments for Overcoming Suffering.

Irrespective of scenario, each person can see that suffering isn’t something odd, but rather it is to be expected, particularly for those with a Christian witness.  Brace yourself for the journey.  You can get through the suffering and be better for it.

We witness to others best when we show the world that we do not see ourselves as victims who are feeling sorry for ourselves.  Therefore, your suffering is not happening in a box in a vacuum.  Your suffering is one part of a larger world of possibilities.  You have choices you can make and possibilities that you can prayerfully embrace.  Victims have no choices, but you are not a victim because Jesus was not a victim.  Set your sights on God and know He will direct your steps in a whole world of possibilities.

We learn things at every stage of life: things about ourselves, things about God, and things about others.  This test has come so that you will learn.  In God’s Big Picture, your actions will be visible to others and their actions will be visible to others still.  It’s how witness works.  But it’s also how things work in a world that is both physical and spiritual.  We cannot ignore what happens in the spiritual realm because that’s where the greatest work is done.  I have suffered a few things in my life and it’s what has grown my faith.  (James 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.)

Prayerfully, therefore, we press forward.  It helps to have a trail guide.  Having been down that path, Jesus knows the way through suffering and He’ll take you through if you’ll let Him show you the way.  You can’t see the spiritual realm at all—it’s like the wind.  You see its effects, but not in a predictive kind of way.  Jesus can lead you through.  Step into the Light.  He sees it all.

Tempting as it might be to turn angry on your boss, your child, your spouse, or your friends, co-workers or neighbors, it’s far better to put away anger and resentment.  Shelve comparisons.  It would be a waste of time plotting how to get even with someone who you think ruined your chances.  It’s not helpful to you to envy those whose lives seem so much better than yours.  A better use of time is to pray and read the Bible so that God can give you His weapons for fighting what is largely a spiritual fight.

Did you ever stop to think that depression is spiritual?  It is.

So is discouragement.  They are like poison daggers to the heart.

So we set aside the depression and discouragement.  We trust God.  The spiritual person is lovingly honest in dealings with God, self and others.  Honest with God about the pain we feel, but also honest enough to trust Him.  We patiently wait while God fights the spiritual battle for us.  We stand firm in our faith, not taking matters into our own hands in terms of fighting.  We let go of hurtful words that may have been spoken.  We let go of resentment of others.  We stop hating ourselves for how we’re feeling.  And we definitely do not take opportunities to zap others with nasty little jabs.  Sometimes, we can let people’s comments and actions float past.  The river of trust in God has a strong current and can wash insults far from us.  We aren’t victims of our circumstances.  We can let God deal with the people in our lives and we can focus on ways of being grateful. (Gratitude is a spiritual weapon unleashing the power of God–Jesus gave thanks before performing miracles.)

What miracle are you waiting for?  Maybe gratitude for what you already possess will unleash the miracle you need today.

Most often, the vindication we greatly desire will not happen until the final Judgment.  So we just press on and continue to do good.  This perseverance witnesses in the spiritual realm as well as to our friends and neighbors.  Having become a good witness, we are free to move forward.  It’s a pilgrimage and we press on because we have a God who is faithful.

But, hello?  I don’t have a job,” you shout!

I understand it feels that way–and IS that way in a practical sense because witness doesn’t pay the bills–but right now your job is to persevere.  This parenthesis of time is valuable for learning great spiritual lessons that will endure forever.  Now you’re in the perfect place for God to provide.  Do not lose hope.  God is faithful.

Apply The Kingdom Principles

So, back to our scenarios, for the man who is forced into retiring, there is a world of possibility for bringing his witness into a new workplace, into consulting, or into charity work where people with his great skills and time available can truly make an eternal difference–even for a season while he searches for another paying position.  Praying can help the man to know whether God’s provision will be more income and a lifelong learning of new skills in a different kind of work, or a time to charitably pay his already acquired skills forward to help people praying for more basic needs than another job after retirement.

For the woman who is the new mother, there is a world of possibility for bringing her witness into her baby’s life, her husband’s life, and during this season, growing through interaction with other new mothers.  By praying and studying God’s word, perhaps in a young women’s Bible study, she’ll get companionship and grownup conversation, and they’ll all grow in faith together.  Her baby will be fed from the start with the Word of God and with the Bread of Life and it will fill this short season of motherhood with every blessing and gratitude.  As those of us who are older mothers can testify, babies grow up fast, but mothering never ends, there’s always that bond.  And sure, there’s no validation of a paycheck for now, but one learns frugal living for today and the rewards for eternity will far exceed what can be earned here on earth.

One cannot put a price-tag on the work done in the spiritual realm.  But consider this: Your spiritual earnings will last far beyond the grave.  It has value beyond what we typically give it since our witness is the only thing we can bring with us to heaven.

For the young married couple who faces unemployment, there is a world of possibility for forming the strongest marriage bond through common adversity and opening a wider vista of employment.  Sometimes God moves us for the work He wants to do.  No matter how scary an unknown future may be, don’t let fear lash out as anger or hostility toward each other.  Hold tight.  When God created Adam and Eve, they had freedom of action to eat from every tree in the Garden, but also freedom of self-regulation to keep from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that God commanded against.  In a similar way, you are not restricted victims.  You are free to explore different locations and different job types.  In so many ways, the world is your oyster! Prayerfully submitting your self-imposed limits to God, you will discover that the same freedom once enjoyed by Adam and Eve is still available to us today in Jesus.

It’s been my experience that God is a master of coloring outside the lines I’ve drawn.

Are you having a hard time finding or keeping a job?  Here are some questions to ask:

1. Am I a follower of Jesus Christ?  If not, this is the first To-Do item.  Be reconciled to God first and then you’re in a better position to pray about the rest.  If you don’t know where to start, click the Contact button on the top right and I will consider it my joy to talk with you about Jesus.
2. Have I prayed about what kind of work God wants to do in and through me?
3. Have I placed limits on work to just the physical world or am I also open to the spiritual work God wants to do by changing me?  Maybe He wants me to be an instrument of hope to others through my witness, to bring others along.
4. Have I submitted my hopes about income to His desire to produce something of greater value?
5. Have I asked the Holy Spirit to reveal to me things that might be keeping me from getting and maintaining work?  Perhaps,
   • Wrong attitudes (victimhood, entitlement, superiority, anger, resentment, disrespect for authority, ingratitude, unwilling to be in a community of co-workers unless I’m leading them)
   • Wrong expectations about the value of my skills and experience (do I feel like I deserve this job because I’m special? Or deserve to be paid more because I want to be paid more?  Do I lack skills that I could gain in a different job that I refuse to do because I consider it beneath me?)
   • Wrong priorities (perhaps I want this job for its prestige or its pay even though it will bring on many sorrows and maybe even damage my spiritual life)
   • Wrong motives (I am looking to serve myself and enrich my own portfolio?  I am not concerned about providing value to the company.  I am looking to live the high life.  I have something to prove.  I actually want the job my co-worker has and this is a vehicle for me to get what I want.)
   • Wrong goal (I am looking to enrich myself and pile up material possessions but not looking to become a more godly person)
   • Wrong approach (What does my approach say?  Have I been industriously employed in prayer, in submitting to God, in preparing/sending résumés, in preparing for and attending interviews, and in presenting a godly appearance, filled with Christian virtues, to those interviewing me?)
   • Wrong timing (Have I been patient with the process as I press forward to Overcoming?  Do I want something now that is actually several steps ahead?)

Acknowledge the pain, yes, but not as a victim.  Remain hopeful because God still provides.  We can each grow by learning how to be an Overcomer. 

For the person seeking employment, circumstances are hard to deny, but circumstances are no match for a person God desires to bless.  Here is a verse from Scripture for you to pray each day as you patiently search for work and trust in His faithfulness:

Psalm 139: 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

I haven’t written a gardening post in a while, but it doesn’t mean that I haven’t been gardening this year.  My body’s been in the garden every day, but my mind has been forever elsewhere. 

You see, even while I’m gardening, I’m thinking theology.  Take the other morning, for example.  I went out to edge the beds and realized I needed to sharpen the tools.  Without sharp tools that have a clean edge, the work is much harder.  As one of my bosses used to say, “Work smarter, not harder.”

We need to sharpen our theological tools if we’re going to work smarter, not harder at Overcoming.  Let’s review what we’ve seen in Overcoming thus far and sharpen the tools by which we’ll work through this week’s topics as “case studies.”

Remember that in John 16:33 Jesus told us,

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

We concluded that Overcoming always results in resumption of forward progress and with Christian overcoming, it also grows our faith, exhibits grace, and offers forgiveness.  Overcoming doesn’t always take away the pain of the memory.  It doesn’t necessarily remove the consequence of the hurtful action.  But we can always make peace with the pain to where it won’t torment us anymore.   Overcoming is not exactly the same as “getting over” something.  It’s more like getting through to victory.  It’s a pilgrimage where we’re ever on the path to our destination.  We may crawl and hobble across the finish line some day, but by Overcoming, we’ll cross it.

So let’s make a chart.  I like charts—it’s my Type A nature and logical side to like charts. 

Consider it our sharpened tool box.

Maybe you’re not the kind of person who likes summary charts.  Let’s translate them into the 10 Commandments for Dealing with Suffering God’s Way:

1. Thou Shalt Expect Suffering
2. Thou Shalt Renounce Thy Lifetime Membership in the Pity Party for Perpetual Victims
3. Thou Shalt Understand God’s Big Picture that “It’s All Connected”
4. Thou Shalt Follow Jesus Because Human Vision is Limited, But God’s is Not
5. Thou Shalt Holster Thy Human Weapons
6. Thou Shalt Be Lovingly Honest in All Thy Dealings with God, Self, and Others
7. Thou Shalt Exhibit Patience
8. Thou Shalt Not Take Revenge or Even Zing Others While Waiting
9. Thou Shalt Live Knowing that Not Every Action Requires a Reaction
10. Thou Shalt Persevere in Doing Good, Trusting that It’s Not Over ‘Til the Lamb Opens the Book

Better yet, sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words to the Overcomer.  Besides, you’ve probably already figured it out: I like pictures too.  We’ll use these as we look at “case studies” tomorrow beginning with Overcoming Changes in Employment.

Today we conclude our Scriptural basis for Overcoming in our series on 5 Kingdom Principles in Jesus’ Example for Suffering Christians.  Next week, we will explore how these principles apply to everyday issues.  These Scriptural principles apply in every situation.  You see, Overcoming isn’t passé or old-fashioned.  It is every bit as relevant today as it was when God told Cain,

“Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?  If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”  (Genesis 4:6-7)

Sin still crouches.  It waits to pounce and devour.  It wants us to yield to human ways and secure our desires for a heavenly existence by human effort.  We can master sin (or God wouldn’t have told Cain he needed to master it), but it takes doing that God’s way–Jesus’ way, with the example He set in 1 Peter 2:21-23 which have been our theme verses on Overcoming.

By faith, Christians have a grand heritage—as have God’s people throughout the ages—to be Overcomers.

The words of today’s hymn (written by Richard Mant in 1824) forcefully proclaim this great heritage of victory by Kingdom Power.   You can listen on the cyberhymnal or at this link for those of you who have been wondering when I’m going to include a hymn played on the most beloved music instrument of the traditional church, the instrument created for playing hymns: the organ.

God My King Thy Might Confessing

God, my King, Thy might confessing,
Ever will I bless Thy Name;
Day by day Thy throne addressing,
Still will I Thy praise proclaim.

Honor great our God befitteth;
Who His majesty can reach?
Age to age His works transmitteth,
Age to age His power shall teach.

They shall talk of all Thy glory,
On Thy might and greatness dwell,
Speak of Thy dread acts the story,
And Thy deeds of wonder tell.

Nor shall fail from memory’s treasure
Works by love and mercy wrought;
Works of love surpassing measure,
Works of mercy passing thought.

Full of kindness and compassion,
Slow to anger, vast in love,
God is good to all creation;
All His works His goodness prove.

All Thy works, O Lord, shall bless Thee;
Thee shall all Thy saints adore:
King supreme shall they confess Thee,
And proclaim Thy sovereign power.

We’re concluding our look at 5 Kingdom Principles in Jesus’ Example for Suffering Christians (found in 1 Peter 2:21-23) with the fifth principle: Kingdom Power.

When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. (1 Peter 2: 23)

Human power would have fought back.  Insult for insult.  Prove yourself by returning strike for strike. Plot your revenge. Develop a human plan to save yourself.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,   but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  (1 Corinthians 1:18)

Human ways and human views are unimpressed with the Cross and with its power.  But Kingdom Power is not foolishness at all.  “Fear this!” takes on a whole new meaning.  Jesus was different in His life and He modeled for us an expectation that we, too, will be different.

That’s because Kingdom Power is different.  It takes the long view…the eternally long view.

There’s power enough to vindicate us when we’re wronged.  There’s power enough to make it all right.  It’s the power of life and death.  And Jesus has that power because of what He did on the Cross.

John 5:22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. 24 “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”

Jesus, the Judge, has power enough to judge each of us based upon what we did in our lives.

Revelation 20:. 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

This is the power Scripture says will be exerted in the Judgment.  There will be no saving ourselves.  But Jesus said to the Church at Smyrna what He says to us today,

Revelation 2:10 “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.”

Jesus has Kingdom power enough to grant overcomers the crown of life.

In one masterful moment,

in one supreme act of sacrificial love,

in one climax of redemptive history,

the Alpha and the Omega,

the beginning and the end,

Jesus Christ

who was fully God and fully man,

went to the Cross.

It is there that He died

because

God’s justice

and His love

are eternally

inseparable.

I’m going to jump ahead a bit to talk about the Just War, mainly because of the present danger and horrible decision facing the United States and the world.

Within the past 48 hours, the Pope prayed with the faithful from around the world on a day he set aside for prayer and fasting.  The faithful prayed for a peaceful solution to the situation in Syria.  On the other side of the world, the President of the United States has been making a plea for limited military intervention to keep Assad from further use of chemical weapons against his own people.  President Obama has been interviewed on major news networks and will appear tonight in an address to the nation.

What is the right thing to do in this situation?  Jesus showed us by His example from 1 Peter 2:21-23 that suffering exists in this world, but that Christians entrust ourselves to the One who Judges Justly.  

1 Peter 2: 23 “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”

Tough questions abound.  How does not intervening differ from letting evil go unchecked?  Does entrusting oneself to God mean pacifism is the only way?  Is war ever right?  Is there such a thing as a Just War?

• Just War.  For some there is no such thing.  It’s an oxymoron.
• Just War.  For some hawkish types, it’s the answer to every problem.  What’s our solution?  Just War.
• Just War.  But for those who look at the world with Kingdom vision, it’s not an individual or even a national interest that compels the Just War.  The Just War is a moral instrument of God to preserve life and good and truth over against death and evil and falsehood.

I really appreciate Jean Bethke Elshtain’s perspective that I discovered when I read her obituary and all the tributes to her life and teachings.  She was a Divinity School professor and theological scholar at the University of Chicago and wrote about the Just War. According to the University of Chicago Magazine,  

As Elshtain wrote in that book, although just-war tradition never regards armed conflict as “desirable, or as any kind of social ‘good,’” it nevertheless “acknowledges that it may be better than the alternative.”

Just War Against Terror enumerated the complex criteria to determine whether force is justified and to keep its use within necessary limits: a war must prevent harm to innocents and be openly declared by a legitimate authority. It must be a response to unjust aggression against one’s own people or an innocent third party. It must be the last resort after all other options are exhausted. It must be embarked upon only with a reasonable chance of success and conducted in a fashion that protects noncombatants.

Sad as it is for us to admit, an “innocent third party” is not the same as “civilian.”  The Jews in the Holocaust were an “innocent third party” caught in the cross-hairs of Hitler who sought their extermination.  Many civilian casualties have happened in every war and are a function of a decision to enter into war by the governments representing the civilians.

I am troubled by the Syrian government, military, the Syrian rebels and indeed our own US government parading the dead bodies of children and other civilians all over TV as a means of swaying public opinion.  There is a blurring occurring—a declaration of those non-combatants to be innocent third parties in need of our intervention when, in fact, they are civilian casualties of a civil war.  They are not the same thing.

Death of non-combatants is awful to be sure.  Every death is awful.  But wars kill people  Wars will persist until Jesus returns.

Matthew 24: 3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ, ‘and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains. 9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Wars will happen.  Nation will rise against nation, but sometimes a Just War is necessary.

This photo is from http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/The-Kings-Speech/ and shows the transcript of King George VI’s wartime speech as Great Britain entered into WWII.  Note the principles on which Great Britain entered into war…all the way to reverently commending their cause to God.

Standing firm and entrusting our cause to God is what Jesus modeled for us in 1 Peter 2:23.  We trust God to deal with whatever is facing us.  God will take up our case, defend our cause, minister to our pain, and vindicate us in the end. 

Ultimately a Just War protects and preserves.  Anything else is just war.

Is God a Just God?  As I was looking at a variety of hymns for the topic of entrusting one’s cause to Christ (the final principle in our series on Overcoming), I discovered that many of the hymns on standing firm in the Christian battle– trusting in a Just God–arose out of war protests or are from poems written by Christian pacifists.  I find this quite interesting, especially considering the potentially historic choice facing the United States at present.

In any circumstance and any decision we might face, there are 5 Kingdom Principles for Overcoming Suffering that Jesus showed us by His example from 1 Peter 2:21-23.

1. Kingdom expectations; 1 Peter 2:21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you,
2. Kingdom perspective; leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
3. Kingdom actions; 22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
4. Kingdom time frame; 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate;
5. Kingdom power; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

Let’s finish verse 23 and see that when we have Kingdom expectations, a Kingdom perspective, demonstrate Kingdom actions, adopt a Kingdom time frame, we will embrace Kingdom power and become genuine Overcomers.

The hymn God of Grace and God of Glory was written by the controversial Baptist pastor Harry Emerson Fosdick.  Perhaps I’ll talk about his controversial writings some day with regard to the Christian Fundamentals I hold to, but for now, I won’t let my disagreement with his modernist views detract from what is, frankly, a great hymn.  After all, even a broken clock is right twice a day.

About this hymn, Richard Niell Donovan is cited as saying,

This hymn is a prayer — a prayer for God to bestow power upon the church — and wisdom — and courage “for the facing of this hour.”  The hour that they were facing at that time was the Great Depression — an economic disaster that drained the nation of life and hope.  “For the facing of this hour,” however, is a timeless phrase, because there is never a time when we do not need God’s help “for the facing of this hour.”

“Save us from weak resignation” is an important part of the prayer.  “Save us from weak resignation to the evils we deplore.”  We are always tempted to believe that the evils that we face far outstrip our resources to deal with them — tempted to retreat into a safe place and wait for the storm to blow over — but evil unopposed doesn’t blow over.  It takes the sacrifices of dedicated men and women to build a better world.

“Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, for the facing of this hour.”  That was a good prayer when Fosdick first wrote this hymn in 1930.  It is a good prayer today.

I agree.  Enjoy listening to this version of God of Grace and God of Glory with a septet of horns or on the cyberhymnal.

God of grace and God of glory,
On Thy people pour Thy power.
Crown Thine ancient church’s story,
Bring her bud to glorious flower.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
For the facing of this hour,
For the facing of this hour.

Lo! the hosts of evil ’round us,
Scorn Thy Christ, assail His ways.
From the fears that long have bound us,
Free our hearts to faith and praise.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
For the living of these days,
For the living of these days.

Cure Thy children’s warring madness,
Bend our pride to Thy control.
Shame our wanton selfish gladness,
Rich in things and poor in soul.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
Lest we miss Thy kingdom’s goal,
Lest we miss Thy kingdom’s goal.

Set our feet on lofty places,
Gird our lives that they may be,
Armored with all Christ-like graces,
In the fight to set men free.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
That we fail not man nor Thee,
That we fail not man nor Thee.

Save us from weak resignation,
To the evils we deplore.
Let the search for Thy salvation,
Be our glory evermore.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
Serving Thee Whom we adore,
Serving Thee Whom we adore.

 1 Peter 2:23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate;

This week, we will begin talking about the Kingdom Time Frame as we continue our look at the 5 Kingdom Principles for the Overcomer found in 1 Peter 2:21-23.

From what I can tell, there are no hymns written specifically for this verse.  It’s a shame because there are amazing truths contained here which would be particularly helpful for the culture in which we live.

In an age known for flaming emails of anger, tweets that bite, Facebook status updates that give instant life to something best left silent, verse 23 of our passage whispers a gentle admonition to let it go.  Adopt a Kingdom Time Frame.  Press on in the way Jesus did.

One hymn that expresses this well is I’m Pressing on the Upward Way.  You can listen here on the cyberhymnal  or watch a segment from the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music concert (a medley for strings and piano beginning and ending with I’m Pressing on the Upward Way).

Suite 101 describes the hymn writer Johnson Oatman, Jr. this way:

American hymn writer Johnson Oatman, Jr. was born near Medford, New Jersey, on April 21, 1856. He became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church when he was 19 years of age. Although he never pastored a church, he was licensed to preach and was ordained by his denomination. Early on in life, he was involved in the family’s mercantile business, but when his father died, he entered the insurance business.

In 1892, he was 36 years old, he started writing gospel songs, and, from then until his death in 1922, he wrote about 3,000 gospel hymn texts. Reportedly, he generally averaged 4 to 5 new texts each week, all through his life from this period. Notably, he received no more than a dollar for each of his songs. His texts were always in great demand by the leading gospel musicians of his day, including Charles Gabriel, William James Kirkpatrick and Edwin Excell.

I’m Pressing on the Upward Way (Higher Ground)

I’m pressing on the upward way,
New heights I’m gaining every day;
Still praying as I’m onward bound,
“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

Refrain

Lord, lift me up and let me stand,
By faith, on Heaven’s table land,
A higher plane than I have found;
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
Though some may dwell where those abound,
My prayer, my aim, is higher ground.

Refrain

I want to live above the world,
Though Satan’s darts at me are hurled;
For faith has caught the joyful sound,
The song of saints on higher ground.

Refrain

I want to scale the utmost height
And catch a gleam of glory bright;
But still I’ll pray till Heav’n I’ve found,
“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”