The gospel gives us freedom to be honest. Honest with ourselves, with others and with God. Psalm 13 describes an anguished David, wresting with his present life experience and the role of God in it. His emotions are being tossed like a dinghy on the waves of a storm. But when his heart finds anchor in the gospel promises of the Lord, he is steadied, sustained and able to face his distress with new hope.

Here is the Psalm:

1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 

2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?  How long will my enemy triumph over me? 

3 Look on me and answer, O Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; 

4 my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall. 

5 But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. 

6 I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me. 

Take-aways for me today are:

1. Sometimes it seems as if God is far off, uncaring and unresponsive (it's okay to admit that's how you feel) - v. 1
2. Emotions are powerful and can overwhelm us to despair - v. 2
3. When emotions weigh down with despair, look up to God for grace in prayer (talk to him out loud, not just in my mind- have a real conversation) - vv. 3-4
4. When emotions weigh down with despair, remember that God's love is "unfailing" (his covenant faithfulness is relentless and unwavering - Romans 8:28) - v. 5a
5. Sometimes we have to fight for faith ("I WILL TRUST!" - I need to learn to say "but") - v. 5a
6. Meditating on the cross of Christ (actively remembering and personalizing the cross) is a source of great hope and is the anchor for my soul (since Jesus experienced this same seeming abandonment for me, I can know that I will never be abandoned - he is the one who slept in death in my place) - v. 5b
7. Singing the gospel has a uniquely powerful way of reviving the heart - v. 6a
8. Since God has been good to me, he will continue to be good (Romans 8:31-32) - I am his beloved son - v. 6b

What do I do when life feels overwhelming and out of control? The first step is to cry out, "Abba, Father." It's what a child does when he can't handle something. And our Father loves for us to come to him in our need.

Let's review:

1. We can't bear the weight of our own stress, problems, and fears..

2. Jesus can.

3. So, cast your anxiety on him (1 Peter 5:7).  The effort is in the casting.

This just in from my Puritan friend, Jeremiah Burroughs (via another friend, Ray Ortlund),

“My brethren, the reason why you have not got contentment in the things of the world is not because you have not got enough of them. That is not the reason. But the reason is because they are not things proportionable to that immortal soul of yours that is capable of God himself.  Many men think that when they are troubled and have not got contentment, it is because they have but a little in the world, and if they had more then they would be content. That is just as if a man were hungry, and to satisfy his craving stomach he should gape and hold open his mouth to take in the wind, and then should think that the reason why he is not satisfied is because he has not got enough of the wind.  No, the reason is because the thing is not suitable to a craving stomach.” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment (Edinburgh, 1964), page 91.  

A recent blog post by Dr. Ed Welch says that fighting sin is tiring. It is hard. Exhausting. And he is right, because any fight is going to drain physical and psychological resources. So, some encouragement. If you are fighting sin (not in light of the law, but in light of the gospel), and have been knocked down for an eight count, be glad. At least you are in the fight! If you were not a child of the living God, you would be a spiritual couch potato, making no effort to put to death the deeds of the flesh. The fact that you care is a sign of the indwelling Holy Spirit in your life, who enables us to cry out, "Abba, Father," in the midst of the battle, convinced that we are not forsaken, but remain as ever, adopted, treasured and beloved sons and daughters with the hope of eternal joy, whether we win or lose—all because Jesus has won the ultimate victory for us already at the cross.

Throughout his book, Gospel, J.D. Greear describes what he calls The Gospel Prayer, a four-part way to tie and tether ourselves daily to the person and work of Jesus.

Here 'tis (with a wee bit of reordering and modification):

1. “In Christ, there is nothing that I can do that would make You love me more perfectly and completely than You do now; and there is nothing that I can do that will cause You to love me less perfectly and completely than You do right now. I am yours. I am safe. You will never let me go."
2. “Your presence and approval are all I need today for present and everlasting joy.” 
3. “Today, I’ll measure Your compassion and forgiveness by the cross and Your power by the resurrection.”
4. “As You have been to me, so I will be to others.” 

What do you think? Helpful? Not helpful? If helpful, how might your life be different if this became a daily prayer?

HT: Andy, the Wizard of Woz

I received this email today from a friend, Dave McCarty, who leads a ministry called Gospel Frienships.  I found his counter-intuitive insights helpful.

"When I'm discouraged by circumstances, I'm always confident of what's best for me and those I love.  [It is when I lean on my] own understanding. My biggest need is not changed circumstances, but a changed heart: fresh conviction of the sin of independence and unbelief in His promise to work all things together for my good, and His glory. Unbelief in the perfectness of His plan for me.   Discouragement is not a picture of humility, but of... pride."

Wow. I had never thought of discouragement as a fruit of selfish pride. I wonder if what I call being discouraged may often be a form of adult whining over my will not being done. Maybe discouragement is another opportunity for fresh repentance and simple, childlike, gospel faith in a all-good, all-loving, all-sovereign and all-wise Father.  

Now, when Dave speaks of being discouraged, he is not saying that there is not a time to be sad or to grieve. Those are normal emotional responses to the brokenness of living in a fallen world. The discouragement he is talking about is the experience of not getting my own way and pouting about it like a spoiled child. It is a type of frustration produced by prideful anger. 

So, I think Dave is right, and especially about this: I am more in need of a changed heart than I am of changed circumstances. Can you relate to that?

When two people have a DTR, they "define the relationship." What about the relationship between the law and the gospel in Christian theology? They seem to be at odds, but actually function in such as way as to make them good friends.

Bob Thune and Will Walker have designed a 9-lesson study called, The Gospel-Centered Life, where they provide a helpful three-point survey of how the law and gospel relate to each other. They lay it out like this:

First, it is through the gospel that we become aware of our disobedience to God's law.

Second, it is through the gospel that we are freed from the curse of the law.

Third, it is through the gospel that God sends his indwelling Holy Spirit into us, transforming our hearts and enabling us to truly love God and others (which is the fulfilment of the law). 

In other words, the law drives us to Jesus for faith/gift-righteousness (justification). Jesus then gives us his Spirit, who produces spiritual fruit in our lives (sanctification). So, the law shows us the problem by revealing our failure and need, while the gospel provides the solution by revealing the cross of Jesus (justification) and promising the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit (unto sanctification). So are the law and gospel at odds? Not at all. They actually are good friends who seem to work together quite well.  

I had a meeting yesterday with a fellow pastor who talked about having a general profile for a "mature and equipped follower of Jesus." Having this basic picture is not used to judge folks, but is used to encourage men and women who enter into a formal discipleship relationship what they can expect to see transformed in their lives as they experience spiritual formation in the context of the gospel. So today I've thought about this and wanted to jot down a few ideas. Here goes (and I'm using "his" so as not to have to write "his/hers," though both are meant).

A mature and equipped follower of Jesus... 

1. Has an acute awareness of his moral inability to live a godly life.
2. Has an acute awareness of God's radical love for him in Jesus — seeks to live all of life in view of the cross
3. Sees his need for God's propitiation of his sin more and more over the years, not less.
4. No longer fears condemnation.
5. Is confident of his justification by grace alone through faith alone.
6. Is confident of his adoption in love, and regards God as his/her "Abba"
7. No longer defines his identity (self-image) by accomplishments or failures, but by being a treasured, chosen, adopted son or daughter of God.
8. Finds his life in an imputed righteousness that is received from God rather than in a self-woven righteousness that is achieved before God.
9. Manifests a genuine humility.
10. Repents quickly, but also deeply and genuinely (not just of the fruit sin, but of the root sin). 
11. Is eager and willing to forgive others.
12. Has an unusual desire to bless (love) others.
13. Loves spending personal time with the Father.
14. Prayer is a first resort rather than a last resort. He turns his worry list into a prayer list.
15. Savors opportunities to express his/her gratitude for God's grace in worship as he boasts in the cross of Jesus.
16. Boasts in his weaknesses.
17. Uses his spiritual gifts for the benefit of others.
18. Is not known to complain or criticize. He commends before he critiques, and always in a way that is seasoned with grace.
19. Loves truth (in the context of grace).
20. Loves grace (in the context of truth).
21. Knows how to share the gospel personally and simply, and actually does so.
22. Desires to grow in his theological knowledge, so as to grow in grace and know Jesus more intimately.
23. Seeks to view all of life through the lens of a biblical world-view.
24. Is more and more astonished by God's grace to him personally.
25. Is generous.
26. Is safe for others to share their weaknesses with.
27. Is mindful of the spiritual conflict being waged in his heart with the flesh and in the world with the devil. 
28. Loves the church, the body of Christ. Supports and whole heartedly participates in the mission.
29. Respects authority.
30. Is empowered by the Holy Spirit to produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control, etc.

What would you add to this profile?