Unexpected Win

Ezra 1:1

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing.

Pacquaio’s knockout loss to Marquez yesterday came as a shock to everyone. I myself was dumbfounded seeing the still frame from my friend’s laptop. It was tragic. Almost unbelievable. The replay was proof that the People’s Champ was in full control prior the last-second counter-punch. He even knocked him down on the fifth round. But to Manny, this was not unexpected. ‘Hey you know, this is boxing…’ he said to his saddened people in the locker room. Marquez was there to beat him off. That’s what opponents do.

On their seventieth year as exiles in Babylon, Judah saw a new, great empire rising: Persia. They overheard that the ruler, Cyrus, was able to overthrow the mighty Median empire. His stunning reputation even pushed the kings of Babylon, Lydia and Egypt to unite against him. I can imagine the anxiety of the Jews at the thought of a fiercer lord over them. When Babylon was infiltrated, they were ready for the worse news. But the unexpected happened: instead of a heavier yoke, they were proclaimed free to go home! I’m sure they stood there for a while in disbelief. Because that’s not what conquerors do!

The verse above gave us the reason for the unlikely turn of events. No, it wasn’t because Cyrus was overly kind (or foolish), and definitely not because he had any love for the Jews. Truth is, God promised his people deliverance and He will accomplish his will, at the exact time He said He would, and through the exact person He said He would. Proverbs 21:1 notes ‘The king's heart is in the hand of God, He directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.’ That’s the same God who promised us deliverance from our troubles and foes. He can move the heart of anyone, even our enemies, just so we can receive what we have been promised. This shouldn’t surprise us. ‘Hey you know, this is God!’ That’s what He does.

Villain Exposed

2 Chronicles 22:11a,12

But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram, took Joash son of Ahaziah. He remained hidden with them at the temple of God for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.

‘Any story where you have good guys versus bad guys can only be as smart as the intelligence of your baddest guy’ - that’s from Bruce Willis, when asked about the importance of villains in movies. For imagine Starwars without Darth Vader or the old Batman minus the Joker? The craftiness of these villains somehow made our heroes shine brighter and the story more interesting. Without them, there will be no conflict.

And who’s the vilest of them all? Reading through chapters 21 and 22 we can find his seemingly superb schemes to put a stop to God’s plan of salvation.  As early as the time of Israel’s kings, Satan’s been plotting ways to steal, kill, and destroy everything just to prevent the Cross from happening. Here, he implanted insecurity and so much sin in Jehoram’s rule which paved the way to the slaying of the king’s brothers and  sons. Then after the death of next-king Ahaziah, the evil mother proceeded with the murder of the royal princes, that is, her very own grandchildren!  The consecutive, similar tactics, are dead giveaways of the villain’s desperation to put a stain on God’s faithfulness. For imagine if he succeeded in blotting out David’s lineage? It may not hinder the birth of Jesus, for God can opt to get another husband for Mary, but that will put into question His covenant with David.  For His honor and holiness, that, God will not allow.

In most movies, this is the time when we expect our heroes to survive the plots and traps of the villain. Like how Jehoram’s youngest son wasn’t carried off by Arab invaders and how the one year old Joash was kept hidden by his aunt.  But heaven’s heroics aren’t by ‘barely surviving’. God wisely chose these unpromising little ones to highlight how His ‘weakness’ is even stronger than the greatest of His enemy’s strength. He was the One who made this story interesting and Himself, shine bright. He is no challenger in need of proof. But to us needing security, these accounts affirm that God can’t be outsmarted, that His purposes can’t be thwarted, and His promises are trustworthy. Now, that is a true hero!

File Overwrite

2 Chronicles 6:4

Then he said: "Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his hands has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to my father David.”

One full month of VBS daily preps and pressures, plus a 4-day mission exposure trip immediately after, and our family caught the unsurprising sum: pneumonia for Kjaran, flu for me, dry cough for Rilian, and gastro-something for Tris. But don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t because of all the busyness we did. Rather, it was more because we did nothing to prevent it. Forced to stay in bed, unable to speak or move for long, all I did for two days now was to note my lessons learned and submit the report to God. It was humbling and you could imagine my long face. But as always with God, He’s never done until it’s praiseworthy. He sent me back my paper this morning with a perfect score. Not from my handwriting of course. The file was overwritten. He covered it with grace, signing it with His very Name.  

After long years of wandering and waiting, Israel finally saw their nation secured in Solomon’s temple. With God Himself marking it with His Name and favor, they considered it peak in their history. The promise land conquest may have been their victory, but this was the enjoyment of it. The fruit of David’s battles. The peace and prosperity longed for. The sum of it all. But on a personal note, Solomon saw the Temple as a promise kept to his family. With detailed answers to his father’s prayers. Every beam and frame and wall richly provided. Every furnishing according to specifications. And on that day of dedication, seeing the priests, the craftsmen, the officials, and all the people, all who contributed for the rise of the grand Temple, his heart remembered that day David prayed for him. And before his very eyes, God overwhelmed him with answers: the temple finished, every willing, skillful man helped out, and all the people obeyed his every command. Exactly the very words David uttered.

That prayer in 1 Chronicles 28:20-21 was God’s word to me that night when I was so tired and down from VBS preps. It was the promise of hope I carried with me every time I had to collect my guts and stand amidst my competent, efficient, hardworking team. Reading the verse above, how God fulfilled His promise to David, I readily referred back to what He promised Solomon… and ME. And every word, which was hope to me last month, is now an answered prayer.  And so, I’m making this choice that every time I’ll remember April 2012, I’ll not end with ‘…and we got sick after' or '..because I failed somewhere’. Rather, I’ll boast that this month was a job well done. A perfect score. Not for what I did of course. That was already overwritten. This file is tagged Promise Kept, Answered Prayer, and Praise Worthy.  File saved!

As Promised

1 Chronicles 12:22

Day after day men came to help David, until he had a great army, like the army of God.

In our Ladies Bible Study last Wednesday, after viewing Brooklyn Tabernacle’s prayer-themed DVD, we were asked to share an experience where we held on to a Scripture-promise ‘til we saw God faithfully answering it.  One beautiful mother shared about how his only son was in and out of the hospital, almost monthly and for ten years at least, and the only verse she kept reminding God was His’ knitting together a child in a mother’s womb in Psalm 139. That what the doctors can’t seem to puzzle-fit, as Creator, He knew full well. In one of their last sessions, God gave her another verse, this time in Jeremiah: ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.’  It was God’s specific answer that He KNEW her son. She was surprised though, that the second part says he would become a leader. With his son in bed and weak from those sick-years, she said, that’s unimaginable. But she knew better than trust her sights. They’ve never been admitted again for a year now, praise God. As for the second half of the verse, that’s something she said is worth-waiting-and-watching for. 

If David was to look at today’s chapter, and we would ask him the same question we were asked last Wednesday, what would probably first pop in his mind was God’s answer to his Psalm 142 prayer. He would recall how he wrote that song while he was in the cave, a fugitive and alone. Phrases like, ‘my spirit grows faint within me’, ‘no one cares for my life’, ‘my enemies are too strong for me’ really sums up his desperate state. He wasn’t really alone though. But those around him were said to be four hundred men in distress or in debt or discontented. That’s worse for a leader than being alone! But he ended his prayer with faith, that soon, righteous will gather around him because of the Lord’s goodness. And seeing the list of mighty men here in this chapter, (I computed it an estimate of 337,100, some with the description of people under their command), who turned Saul’s kingdom over to him, I’m sure he was more than overwhelmed with praise.  There’s not even a hint of his unpromising four hundred anymore. The timeline from Ziklag to Hebron was around 1 year and four months, plus another seven years and six months before the fulfilment of God’s promise that he will be king of all Israel. Seeing all these men gathered around him claiming God's promise was what he exactly prayed in that cave. Seeing God’s faithfulness in keeping His Word was his new song that day.

Your turn. Ever had that pit-depth, pitiful time where you just had His promise to cling on to? How did He answer your prayers? Were others around you able to witness and share in His goodness because of your loud praise? Today can be that day. Or maybe you’re still amidst your deep waters, breathless and cold. Will His names Redeemer, Refuge and Restorer convince you that He is all that you need? Will His words  ‘I will never leave you’, ‘I care for you’, ‘I will give you rest’ prove His heart is for you? ‘Call to me and I will answer you’, God said in Jeremiah. A lot already had and were filled. I myself have my own share of Psalm 142 and His answer was more than I could ask or imagine. Today can be your turn. And in time, in faith, we will soon gather around you because of the Lord’s goodness. God assures you, He is worth-waiting-and-watching for!