As human beings, we can withstand great physical and circumstantial difficulties, but when we lose hope even small problems can seem insurmountable. How do we find hope and learn to trust God when we have lost hope and the pressure seems too much to bear?
Also, how should we respond when someone speaks to us in unbiblical ways or threatens us foolishly? What can we learn from Jesus’ responses to Pilate?
And from our Old Testament reading:
Even though God is love, He is also the righteous Judge of the universe. In His mercy, He gives people many opportunities to repent and change, but He does eventually judge evil. Such was the case with Ahab and Jezebel. Ahab died in battle but his wicked wife Jezebel’s death was especially gruesome.
Today’s Readings:
2 Kings 9 & 10
Psalm 72.17-20
Proverbs 18.14-15
John 19.1-22
Finding Hope When the Pressure Seems Too Much
Proverbs 18.14-15:
Who Can Bear a Broken Spirit?
The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit? (v. 14).
As I said, human beings are often able to withstand great physical and circumstantial difficulties. And as believers, who better understand how to respond to those difficulties, all the more so.
But when we lose hope (Prov. 13.12) or are undergoing spiritual pressure, even lesser problems can seem too much to bear.
Spiritual pressure can be the enemy’s attempt to get us to quit when we are walking in obedience or stepping out in faith. He uses various things. Smaller ones like fatigue and distractions, as well as, bigger ones like persecution, especially from friends and family.
That’s one reason why Scripture tells us to encourage one another (1 Thess. 5.11) and why we are not to forsake coming together with other believers, including church attendance and fellowship. Hebrews 10.23-25:
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
Pressure from Other People
Sometimes pressure comes from other people. When it does, it’s important that we respond in Christlike ways:
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
And we can meditate on and follow Jesus’ example:
22 “Who committed no sin,
Nor was deceit found in His mouth”;
23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously (1 Pet. 2.22-23).
No matter what the source of the pressure in our lives, we can trust that our sovereign God is in control. And He won’t allow anything to be more than we can bear or that could force us to sin by getting sinfully angry, giving in to despair, seeking revenge, or responding in some other sinful way.
Instead, we must keep our eyes on Him. We must place our hope in our living Savior who won’t allow anything that He won’t also use for our good and His glory (Rom. 8.28-29; 1 Cor. 10.13; 1 Tim. 1.1).
Verses on Hope
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God (Ps. 42.11 ESV).
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope (Ps. 130.5 ESV).
5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
Whose hope is in the Lord his God,
6 Who made heaven and earth,
The sea and everything that is in them;
Who keeps faith forever (Ps. 146 NASB).
For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope (Rom. 15.4 NASB).
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 (Rom. 15.13 NASB).
16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all (Eph. 1).
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful (Heb. 10.23 NKJV).
You can read more about hope here: “How Do We Live Based on the Hope of Christ in Us?”
Today’s Other Readings:
2 Kings 9 & 10:
Ahab & Jezebel
Ahab was perhaps the most wicked of all the Kings of the Northern Kingdom of Israel largely because of the influence of his evil wife Jezebel. She was so wicked that her name still conjures up the image of an evil woman.
Ahab’s father-in-law was Ethbaal, a priest of the false god Baal. Baal worship included ritualist prostitution and human sacrifice. Jezebel learned well from her father. She brought hundreds of Baal priests to Israel, set up altars to her cruel god, and murdered the prophets of the Lord (1 Ki. 18.4, 13). She stopped at nothing to get what she wanted and was probably the real power behind the throne.
The Righteous Judge of the Universe
As I said in the introduction, though God is love, He is also the righteous Judge of the universe. In His mercy, He gives people many opportunities to repent and change, but He does eventually judge evil as He did with Ahab and Jezebel.
After Jezebel ordered the murder of a man so her sulking husband could use his property as a vegetable garden, God sent Elijah to tell Ahab his evil reign would soon be over (1 Ki. 21.17-24). God’s judgment included judgment on his wife and the end of his posterity.
Here in 2 Kings, Ahab had already been killed in battle and God was about to fulfill the remainder of Elijah’s prophecy through a man named Jehu who would become Israel’s next king.
Chapter 9.4-10:
4 So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead.5 And when he came, behold, the commanders of the army were in council. And he said, “I have a word for you, O commander.” And Jehu said, “To which of us all?” And he said, “To you, O commander.” 6 So he arose and went into the house. And the young man poured the oil on his head, saying to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, I anoint you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel. 7 And you shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, so that I may avenge on Jezebel the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord.
8 For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. 9 And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. 10 And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and none shall bury her.” Then he opened the door and fled (ESV).
The End of Evil, Not a Pretty Picture
After Jehu had assassinated Ahab’s son Joram, he headed for Jezreel to deal with Jezebel:
30 When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. And she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out of the window. 31 And as Jehu entered the gate, she said, “Is it peace, you Zimri, murderer of your master?” 32 And he lifted up his face to the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked out at him. 33 He said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down. And some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses, and they trampled on her.
34 Then he went in and ate and drank. And he said, “See now to this cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king’s daughter.” 35 But when they went to bury her, they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. 36 When they came back and told him, he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite: ‘In the territory of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel, 37 and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field in the territory of Jezreel, so that no one can say, This is Jezebel’” (2 Ki. 10.30-37).
Not a pretty picture but it should remind us all that God’s Word is true and He will always do what He says He’ll do.
Psalm 72.17-20:
A Hymn of Praise
The Psalms are organized into 5 books or divisions. This is the last psalm in Book II and ends with this doxology or hymn of praise:
18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who only does wondrous things!
19 And blessed be His glorious name forever!
And let the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen.
John 19.1-22:
Don’t Answer a Fool According to his Folly
As the events leading up to the crucifixion continue, Jesus is brought before Pilate who mistakenly believes Jesus’ fate rests in his hands. In verses 9-10 he can’t believe Jesus won’t answer his question:
But Jesus gave him no answer. Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?”
Jesus knew who was really in control when He answered:
You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above …” (v. 11).
There is another principle at work here, as well. Proverbs 26.4-5 says:
Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will also be like him. Answer a fool as his folly deserves, that he not be wise in his own eyes (NASB).
We should not respond to a fool by acting or speaking like him. When that happens all you have is two fools talking to each other. But, on the other hand, we are not necessarily to let the other person believe he or she is right, if they are clearly and biblically wrong, as in the case of Pilate.
Responding to Foolish Talk
What might this look like in our lives?
What if, for example, someone is constantly threatening “to find someone who will” because his or her Christian spouse refuses to take part in some unbiblical behavior? A Christian should not retaliate with threats of his or her own. (“Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will also be like him.)
But rather than give in to fear or respond sinfully, he or she might say something like, “Honey, that would make me very sad, but I know God would give me the grace to get through it.” (“Answer a fool as his folly deserves, that he not be wise in his own eyes.”)
While Jesus wasn’t concerned about defending Himself personally, he didn’t allow Pilate to believe he was the one in control.
And in our lives, even if it feels like the whole world is against us, we must not be tempted to believe our fate is in the hands of the wicked. God is in control and He is, sometimes almost imperceptibly, working His plan. Jeremiah 29.11 says:
‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’
Like Jesus, we need to remember and meditate on His sovereignty, grace, and care for those who are His.
Coming Up:
In the coming days, we’ll talk about the importance of godly friends, family feuds, spiritual ditches, and how to tell if our Christianity is just a veneer.
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Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥
Note about this post:
I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years. Some days I make major changes, other days fewer.
A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”
I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.
Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)
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