Devotional: Embracing God’s Kingdom

Over the last 5 years I discovered that I love writing devotionals. In my hiatus from writing here I got a job on the pastoral team of a church in Hong Kong looking after prayer. This meant that January, our fasting month, was always a full on time for me even though everyone else slowed down. There would always be prayer rooms to envision and make, materials on how to fast to create, and daily devotionals to prepare amongst other things. The whole process of preparing devotionals: choosing scripture that linked to the sermon series we were following that would encourage deeper reflection in our people, writing overviews for each day, encouraging the team to write, writing some myself, and finally editing all the material that was created, though time consuming and hard work, grew to be one of the highlights of my job. 

And so, I shall be doing what I love and writing devotionals to put up here every Saturday.

The first one almost feels like a cheat as it’s one I wrote two years ago as part of our fasting devotional series. But as I read it, it feels like a fitting reminder for the now we find ourselves in at this time of pandemic and uncertainty.

Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.

The Beatitudes

He said:

3 ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 ‘Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

– Matthew 5:1-12

Seeing Our Struggles in the Light of The Kingdom
 
There is a famous verse in Isaiah 54 “Sing, O barren one...” It can be seen as a call to 'sing' even when we find ourselves in 'barren' seasons and the Bible speaks of a God who is faithful to His word even when circumstances seem to declare the opposite. These are important and powerful things, but in all of this, we need to make sure that we don’t get so caught up in a hopeful expectation that God will move and change our situation that we oversimplify our understanding of the way the Kingdom of God works. This passage is the opening of the Sermon on the Mount, which is one of the first collections of Jesus’ teaching that we have recorded. In this collection of teaching, Jesus reveals what the Kingdom of God is like. And it is very different from what people expected. 

Through the teachings of Jesus, we see that the Kingdom of God has very different standards of success than the world around us. God places a special value on things this world looks down upon. In this passage, we are told that we are blessed or happy if we are poor in spirit, meek, merciful, a peacemaker, and pure in heart. These are all qualities that are often seen as weak, rather than ones we would be proud to have. We are also told we are blessed or happy when we mourn, when we hunger and thirst for righteousness, and when we are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. To me, this list sounds like a list of situations where I might feel barren or in lack, nor even hopeless. Yet, God calls us to sing in these situations not just because we have hope that things will change but also because God promises to encounter us with His love and presence in unique ways. Not to sing as a denial of our feelings or struggles but to sing in the middle of these feelings. To declare His Kingdom even when our reality does not seem to reflect it.

I remember a few years ago when I found everything I thought I could trust in or rely on seemed to be taken away from me. It was an incredibly challenging season and for a while I found myself just being angry with God. But God challenged me to worship even in the midst of it – to literally sing even though I felt barren. And so, I found myself at my keyboard worshipping. It was one of the toughest things I’ve done and most of the time I was worshipping through tears, barely able to get words out, but God met me there. He reminded me of who He is, how He saw me, the joy that seeing me worship despite and through the pain brought Him, and the promises He had over my life. The situation didn’t change for a long time. I still cried a lot. But I met God in a powerful way through it all and that was hugely significant for my next season.

So, yes, let’s hang onto the promises of God. But let’s also look for how He is moving even in the things we are finding challenging. Even before anything changes. Let’s ask God to help us see our 'barren' situations from His perspective. Can we call ourselves blessed or happy even in the tough situations?

Reflection

Are you finding it hard to 'sing', worship, or believe that God is good? Do you feel pressured to have faith and believe even though life is difficult right now? Are there any situations in your life that you think need to change before God can move or speak to you? Bring them to God and ask Him what He wants to do in you in this season. Ask Him to join you in all the emotions you are feeling. Ask Him to help you be open to seeing His goodness even whilst things are the same.

Prayer

God, sometimes it’s hard to understand how things work in Your Kingdom. Sometimes it’s hard to see past what I want and how I want things to change. I choose today to embrace all that You have for me. Help me to have the courage to walk through the challenging seasons, particularly these times of uncertainty and loss, in a way that is open to Your goodness and love. In the places where I feel like You can’t work and move, help me to see what You are doing in, through, and around me.

I choose to trust You.

In Jesus’ name.
Amen.