Saturday, March 22nd
Dr. Logan Polk
“…God retaineth not his anger for ever because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, and he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” – Micah 7:18-19, KJV
In the olden days of the Prophet Micah, the sages, the kings, the priests, and the people all alike referred to a God Who will come, Who will have compassion, Who will save us, and so on. 700 years later, the God the Hebrews knew would come did come, in the human flesh of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the lowly Shepherd and yet the Prince of Peace. He walked, laughed, ate, drank, taught, healed, forgave, was tormented for our sins, killed for us, was ultimately resurrected from the dead and ascended to the Father above to open the way for us. Much like the Hebrews of Micah’s day, however, who longed for their savior who will come, how many of us today believe Christ has not only come, but that He is present with us right now, in this very moment, even as you are reading this message?
The Saintly Micah prophecied that God would turn again and have compassion on His people, and that compassion came in the form of Incarnate Love, Jesus, the eternal bridegroom of all believers. Yet many Christians today live as though they are still waiting on their Savior to arrive and lift them up from the muck of life. Our prayers seem to fall on deaf ears, as we bang on a cold door long since closed off to us. Christian believers who are told to “be of good cheer; I have overcome the world!” (Jn 16:33) look upon our world and the current state of things and wonder how such a thing can possibly be true. Yet we must remember that Christ promised it, and so it must be. Micah spoke in the future tense, of a God who will come, who will save, and yet Jesus speaks in the present! Not only of a world to come, but right now! I am reminded of a story of a recently departed Saint, the Rev. Merlin Carothers, who heard the voice of Jesus speak to him one day as he was praying due to horrible tooth problems, problems waking up, and many other bodily issues plaguing him daily. “Merlin,” Jesus said, “what is it you want from Me?” Merlin responded, as surely we all would, “I want you to solve all my problems!” Jesus replied “Merlin, I already have!” The Reverend responded with, “Of course you haven’t, I’m still wallowing in misery!” To which Jesus responds “I’ve forgiven you all your sins. I’ve already given you eternal life with Me for all eternity. What more could you want?” To which Merlin could only respond with, “Oh.” Jesus left off with the message, “Merlin, I want your joy! You can start by waking up every morning with a smile!”
In that same way as the Rev. Merlin was reminded that God’s promises are alive and active right now, we too have to be able to find joy in everything, even our pain. God has a plan for everything, and no amount of our free will is ever going to screw up His desires for us so long as we place ourselves in His wonderful hands as clay in a master potter’s grip. We must renew ourselves every day with a smile and praise His Name, no matter how bad things are. When we give praise, even for horrible things in our lives, we will find that we can finally let those bad thoughts go! I used to struggle with horrible depression until I discovered this simple remedy. When we give glory and praise even when things seem at their worst, offering those awful parts of our life up to Jesus, it allows God to work in our lives fully and shape us as He desires. One might wonder how we can simply fully surrender ourselves to God, especially in an age where we are taught to be complete individuals and rely on no one. The simplest way is to remind ourselves of Jesus’ daily presence.
I will leave you with 2 simple prayer rules I was given by a long-departed Saint, Hannah Whitall Smith. She said the two most valuable phrases to recite in remembrance that our Savior is with us, He loves us, and that He is always with us even if we feel we are in Hell itself, are these following: “The Lord is my Shepherd,” and “Jesus saves me now!” Emphasize each word as you say it, reflect on what it really means for God Himself to be our Shepherd, for Jesus to save us daily from all things that besail us so long as we trust in Him! Be of good cheer, for our God not only will save us, He IS saving us now!
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