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God’s Method

Published by S.M. Wibberley on January 28, 2019
A Meditation on God’s Method
 
“He [God] is a shield to all those WHO TAKE REFUGE in him” (Ps 18:30) This verse is a clear statement of God’s desired way with us: partnership.
 
You, Lord, prepare all and then wait for us to respond. In this process, you alert us, call us to cooperation, show us multiple times what your will is, and then you wait.
 
When we obey and join you in what you are doing, you act again, taking us a step further. As the verse above proclaims, when we take refuge in you, you shield us. It is not automatic, you require cooperation and wait for our response. This principle is all through Scripture.
 
You provided salvation; we must believe:
“…to all WHO RECEIVED him [Jesus], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12
 
You give the Holy Spirit; we must surrender and ask to be filled: “BE FILLED with the Spirit.” Ephesians 5:18
 
You call us to stay in fellowship with you; we must decide to do so: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man REMAINS IN ME and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
 
You give direction in your Word; we must read and obey it:
“…the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but DOING IT—he will be blessed in what he does.” James 1:25
 
You give input on what to embrace or avoid; we must pay attention and follow your lead. “The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes…. By them is your servant warned; in KEEPING THEM there is great reward.” Psalm 19:9b,11
 
You provided spiritual armor for us; we must put it on and use it: “PUT ON the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Ephesians 6:11
 
You call us to trust you and glorify you in the midst of difficulty; we must obey: “He WHO SACRIFICES thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.” Psalm 50:23
 
You show us needs around us; we must pray about them and give help. “…always KEEP ON PRAYING for all the saints.” Eph 6:18b “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but DOES NOTHING about his physical needs, what good is it?” James 2:15,16
 
Your Spirit convicts us of sin; we must listen and repent,
“IF WE CONFESS our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
 
As we join you in your call to partnership obedience, we grow, you are glorified, the gospel goes out, good is done, creation moves forward to its redemption and history towards its conclusion.
 
Praise you that you choose to share with us a partial understanding of your great plan, so that we can join you in seeing the world reached, believers matured and you glorified. Show me today where I am not joining you so I can repent and partner with obedience.
Leiza cooperating with Barbara
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The Summer of 1980

Published by S.M. Wibberley on January 28, 2019
 
 
That summer of 1980 we pressed on with language study and we also moved. One of the “old timers” who had been denied a new work permit was leaving and was selling all of his furniture. We bought it all and moved right into his apartment—the easiest move we ever made!
 
This apartment was further up the hill, its location ensuring that we’d have better air quality. There was also a nice walled-in yard where the kids could ride their tricycles and play, and the neighbors were already used to foreigners.
 
I took two year old Nat with me to the new apartment to do some preparation before we moved in with our meager belongings. After fixing some outlets, I went to check on Nat and found him with a box full of medicine bottles the previous tenants had left. Nat had a bottle of pills in his hand with the cap off; the bottle was half empty. Had he swallowed some of them? How many? Were they dangerous? What should I do? I had no idea!
I scooped him up, along with the bottle, and ran to a nearby pharmacy. “No, these are not particularly dangerous,” said the druggist, “that is, he won’t die from them. Should you take him to a doctor? No, I don’t think that’s necessary.”
Relieved, I took him home and told Barbara about it. She was not so convinced that doing nothing was a good idea, especially when Nat began to act a bit tipsy. It was late on Saturday afternoon, so we decided to take him to a nearby hospital that served American servicemen.
When we got there, we were taken right in. The doctor looked at the bottle and said, “Yes, we should get this out of his stomach. I’ll give him something to make him throw up. That should take care of it.”
After Nat had taken the medicine, we sat in the waiting room with a bucket. Nat acted more and more like a drunk, staggering from side to side, laughing happily. As time went on he couldn’t stand any more, so he lay on the floor, his laughter increasing with his inability to walk.
The doctor was dealing with someone who had taken a drug overdose, so it was a while before he came back. “No results? OK, we will have to pump his stomach. I’ll take him.” Nat laughed some more as the doctor picked him up and carried him away.
When they brought him back half an hour later, he was no longer laughing; he was very subdued. “He’ll be ok now,” said the doctor. And he was.
 
In fact he was much better. He had had diarrhea for the last three months, fortunately beginning shortly after he was potty trained, but nothing we’d tried had helped. We’d prayed, been to the doctor and kept him on a special diet, but the diarrhea just kept coming.
However, after having his stomach pumped, the diarrhea immediately disappeared. Maybe it was all the medicine he had swallowed, or the cleansing aspect of having his stomach pumped. At any rate, God answered our prayers, using a distressing situation to bless us. Another God sighting.
Shortly after moving into our new apartment, we got a further illustration of the determination in our older son’s character. He was now six years old, so we often sent him to buy things at the little store on our street.
Late one afternoon we sent him out to buy bread for supper at the little store right down our quiet street. When he didn’t come back in a reasonable length of time, I went to look for him.
The storekeeper said that our boy had come, but since there was no bread, he had left. I went outside and looked up and down the street, but no boy. I had no idea now of where to look for him. Maybe in his determination to fulfill his duty he had gone to look for bread elsewhere, but my further search at other stores was fruitless.
By the time I got home, he’d had been gone an hour and it was getting dark. We prayed and talked about what to do. Shortly after the doorbell rang. When I opened it, there was the daughter of the janitor of our first apartment, and she had our son by the hand!
He had gone down the hill from one corner grocery to the next, but all were out of bread. By the time the girl found him, he was about a mile from home and had crossed a very busy street at least once. He had been given an assignment and he was going to follow through no matter what! We were thankful for God’s protection and for providing someone he knew to bring him home—a very clear God sighting! How would we have ever found him otherwise?
Picture: Us with little Nat
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Psalm 22:4-5

Published by S.M. Wibberley on January 26, 2019
Psalm 22:4 “In you our fathers put their trust;”
 
[Throughout the history of Israel with Abraham, Moses, Job, Joseph, David and Daniel, in the midst of their trials, challenges and suffering, you were the One they could trust in. They turned to you and were saved in and through their difficulties.]
 
“they trusted and you delivered them.”
 
[This describes what you desire: a partnership with your children. You prepare thing, then we are to trust, and then you act. Without our joining you in trust, we hamper your giving us answers. As it says in Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace, AS YOU TRUST in him so that your lives may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Without that trust, joy and peace and hope won’t flow.]
 
Psalm 22:5 “They cried to you and were saved;”
 
[Trust is demonstrated by crying out to you first, not seeking answers elsewhere. If we trust in ourselves, or others, or circumstances, or luck, or culture (as Abraham did in producing a son by his own cleverness instead of waiting for God’s timing), God sits back and waits, allowing us to suffer the consequences of our poor decisions so that we might come to ourselves and turn to Him in trust (as Abraham did when God called him to sacrifice Isaac).]
 
“in you they trusted and were not disappointed.”
 
[You, the faithful One, always come through in the right way and at the right time, which is often very different from how and when we would like you to do it.
 
As it says in Psalm 46:5, “God is in her [Jerusalem then, but He is in us now], she will not fall, He will save her at break of day.” We would like help to arrive before it gets dark instead of having to wait through the whole cold, long, dark night—but you act at the right time and we can praise you while we wait.]
 
You, O Triune God, are our unfailing Rock, our unassailable Fortress, our undefeatable Deliverer. When the darkness closes in, when pain and sickness come, when disappointment dominates and failure flows, you are there, making sure we have enough grace, that we can move through in faith, giving you great glory in trust.
 
Praise you for these opportunities you give to fulfill the purpose for which we were created: giving you honor. And the most frequent and best way to do this is through giving praise and thanks before we get any answers, rejoicing in our weakness and your greatness, in our difficulties and your power.
 
As you said to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Then Paul responded with, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weakness SO THAT the power of Christ may rest on me.” He embraced his weakness, realizing it was partnering with you, and that it would open the way for your power to flow into his life.
 
I praise you now, Lord Jesus, for all you are doing in the unresolved things before us, with my wife’s depression, with the uncertainty of how to proceed. I praise you for your perfect timing, help, protection, deliverance and guidance that will come. I see none of this now, but know that you will provide at just the right time. Praise be to you forever and ever for who you are, for all you are doing and will do.
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Psalm 22:1b-3

Published by S.M. Wibberley on January 25, 2019
Psalm 22:1b “Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?’
 
[This is how David felt: he received no immediate answer to his prayer, had no sense of presence, no visible support, no help, no guidance. For David this was a feeling, but not true. For Jesus on the cross this was reality: You, Father, had turned your back on him, you were far from Him. You did not save Him from this suffering, because the Three of you had a greater plan.
 
So it is with us, as with my wife Barbara in her depression, you send us through suffering because you have a bigger, wider plan than our being comfortable, a plan which will accomplish much more and in a better way than what we desire. You gave us the pattern for this in the life of Job, who, suffering seemingly senseless loss, was actually playing a huge role in the cosmic battle and in bringing future comfort to millions across the millennia.
 
Psalm 22:2 “O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.”
 
[There are times when our prayers seem to go no further than the ceiling. These times are the of testing our faith, a call to rest in the certainty of your goodness when there is no sign of it.
 
Jesus did this on the cross and in His descent into death. Becoming sin for us, He was far from you, but in the midst of His separation He also trusted you fully, following through with your plan.
 
Glory be to you for your great wisdom and your persistence in carrying out your perfect plans. Help us to walk in faith, embracing those times of your silence, trusting you to act when the time is right.]]
 
Psalm 22:3 “Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;”
 
[David here reminds himself–and you–of who you are, the Perfect Presider, the Supreme Shepherd, the Righteous Ruler, the Glorious Guide, the Ever-faithful Father. The first thing we should do when we feel far from you, is to remember who you are, our great and good God.]
 
“you are the praise of Israel,” and of us!
 
[As we look over history and see how you faithfully protected, provided for and guided the Israelites through the centuries, it is so clear that you, in your unwavering love and care, are worthy of the praise of Israel.
 
And you are worthy of our praise for your power and presence in our lives, for your goodness and grace, your faithfulness and fatherhood, your holiness and help, your greatness and glory.
 
In the light of this, we must praise you, O Lord God, for your complete knowledge, your deep wisdom, your mighty work, your powerful faithfulness, your persistent love and your unending goodness.
 
Today, whether I sense it or not, I can know that I am with you, that you love me, that you will guide me in the way I should go. I therefore surrender to you and praise you now for what you will do. May you be honored in my life this day as the Holy One, enthroned on high.]
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Psalm 22:1

Published by S.M. Wibberley on January 24, 2019
 
Psalm 22
 
[Praise be to you, O Triune God, for your rich and revealing Word. Here we have another prophetic, Messianic Psalm, written 1000 years before your coming into the world, foretelling your suffering both on our behalf and for your glory. Praise you for your wisdom in preparing the way in such a manner that your revelation in this Psalm helped both those before Christ and inspires wonder in us who came after.]
 
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
 
[David was feeling far from you, abandoned and alone, and cried out in anguish. But this is much more a “pre-echo” of the actual abandonment by you, Heavenly Father, of the God-man Jesus as He became sin for us while hanging on the cross.
 
You, Father, had to turn away, breaking the relationship of the Trinity–that perfect, eternal intimacy which was without strife, without conflict, and in perfect harmony, commitment, love and unity–and all was torn asunder. All three of you, Father, Son and Spirit, suffered great pain in this ripping of the relationship.
 
It was brutally broken by the burden of iniquity, as you, Lord Jesus, took upon yourself all the sins of everyone who ever lived or will live, and as you, Heavenly Father, turned away from such sin, leaving Jesus utterly alone. Your shared reason for doing this, was that we would not be left alone, that all people might have the possibility of entering a rich and intimate relationship with the Trinity.
 
In offering your enemies such a never-ending connection with you, Lord God, the possibility of abandonment of us from your side became impossible, while the possibility of rest, stability and safety became rock-solidly certain for those who believe–for you are faithful to the end.
 

In you is all that our hearts long for—belonging, worth, competence, purpose, hope and a future with you–and we can only have it because you, O Triune God, were willing to suffer the pain of separation to bring salvation.

I praise you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for your great, deep, powerful Love that led you to embrace and endure such anguish for the undeserving. You are a gloriously wonderful God, full of love and wisdom, grace and goodness, selflessness and tender mercy. To surrender to you is such a powerful privilege, embracing the truth that. when we are weak, then we are strong. Rule in us today, Lord, and use us for your glory.
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Psalm 21

Published by S.M. Wibberley on January 23, 2019
 
Psalm 21:8 “Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies; your right hand will seize your foes.”
 
[You, Lord God, did just that in the resurrection of Christ, defeating the devil, death and destruction. And you will continue to act in righteous justice against those who oppose you, every one of them: Satan and his forces of demons, and all human beings who join him in rebellion against your Word, your Truth and your Character.]
 
Psalm 21:9 “At the time of your appearing you will make them like a fiery furnace. In his wrath the LORD will swallow them up, and his fire will consume them.”
 
[You will appear again, Lord Jesus–this is a certainty–and deal with those who oppose you in your righteous wrath, having given every one of your human enemies the chance to believe, to respond to the light they have received (Rom. 1:19-20). Your judgment will be just. And only those who have accepted your gracious offer of salvation, whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life will escape this judgment (Rev.20:15).]
 
Psalm 21:10-12, “You will destroy their descendants from the earth, their posterity from mankind. Though they plot evil against you and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed; for you will make them turn their backs when you aim at them with drawn bow.”
 
[You will triumph, overcome all evil and win, Lord, destroying all that is against truth, goodness and you. “There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord” (Prov. 21:30). “The Lord foils the plans of the nations and thwarts the purposes of the people, but the plans of the Lord stand firm forever and the purposes of his heart through all generations” (Ps 33:10-11).]
 
Psalm 21:13 “Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength;”
[You are strong, you are powerful, you are undefeatable, you will win over all your enemies. For this you deserve to be lifted up on high, exalted, ,honored and praised. We can be confident in your victories, past, present and future; we can rest in them and rejoice.]
 
“we will sing and praise your might.”
 
[We respond to these great truths with worship of you for your mighty, majestic, multifaceted power which will overcome all evil, sweeping it all into the lake of fire and sealing it forever. Then you will create the new Heaven and Earth, which will be the perfect paradise you intended, with no sin, rebellion or evil to mar it.
 
Your righteous wrath will right the wrongs that ravished creation. You will bring goodness and grace to every atom and every galaxy. We praise you that you have included us, your children in this plan. Help us to live in this majestic hope. To you be glory forever and ever. Amen!]
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Psalm 21:6-7

Published by S.M. Wibberley on January 22, 2019
Psalm 21:6 “Surely you have granted him eternal blessings”
 
[You granted David the blessing of being an ancestor of Jesus and along with that, eternal life. You granted Jesus the blessing of the Resurrection and now He lives forever to intercede for those who believe in Him. And You grant us a rich, everlasting relationship with Him, from which flow further blessings into our lives: grace, goodness, power, protection and wisdom, to name a few—all a foretaste of what we will have in eternity.]
 
“and made him glad with the joy of your presence.”
 
[To exult in your powerful and pure presence, Lord God, is to have joy! You, Heavenly Father, restored David’s relationship with you after his adultery. And in the Resurrection, you restored the fabric of the Trinity, which was torn when you turned away from Jesus as He became sin for us on the cross.
 
Now in the God-head there is no end to your joyful, pristine relationships–the Father, Son and Holy Spirit’s rich unity–and your joy of being in the presence of each other.
 
And you also brought us into your presence, into your family, into your embrace when you made us your children, giving us gladness. Jesus after his discourse in John 15 said, “ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” This is His desire for us.]
 
Psalm 21:7 “For the king trusts in the LORD;”
 
[When David trusted in you, he was led on in paths of righteousness. Jesus trusted you in his time on earth. As a man He was totally vulnerable, absolutely weak, helpless in his humanness. But He was willing to be weak because He knew and trusted your pure, positive, perfect character which proved true again in the Resurrection where He obeyed the Father and submitted to the cross and death. And so can we trust Him!]
 
“through the unfailing love of the Most High he will not be shaken.”
 
[Your love Heavenly Father, did not fail, did not leave Jesus in the grave, but brought about the great victory over death, decay and the devil. And that “unfailingness” continues on in our lives, as you, the Most High, the Final Authority, the Almighty One, persist in your perfect love to protect us so we will never be shaken as we rest on the rock-solid reality of your rich and reliable character.
 
Praise be to you Lord God, Triune King, Gracious Shepherd, Mighty Warrior. Tender Father. To you be honor and glory and praise as I submit to and trust in your goodness today and on into eternity forever. Amen.]
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Psalm 21:3-5

Published by S.M. Wibberley on January 21, 2019
Psalm 21:3 “You welcomed him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.”
 
[You crowned David as king, after his long wait of living as an outlaw. And you crowned Jesus as Savior, after His 30 year wait, and His 3 years of intense work and immense suffering. And you crown us as children of the King every day with love and compassion (Ps 104:4),continually pouring out abundant, good and gracious blessings on us.]
 
Psalm 21:4 “He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—length of days, forever and ever.”
 
[In his death, you granted Jesus resurrection; He rose to eternal life and passes it on to all who believe in Him, David included. We, as your children, have eternity before us–length of days forever and ever–and can rejoice now in the certainty of it.]
 
Psalm 21:5 “Through the victories you gave, his glory is great;”
 
[David was given many victories, beginning with Goliath and spanning his whole reign. Jesus, in His incarnation was strengthened by your power and had one long string of victories: no sin, no failure, no defeats, only obedience and triumph in every temptation. Even the greatest possible defeat, death, led to the greatest possible victory—the resurrection destroying the power of death, the devil and destruction.
 
What great glory Jesus earned in His many victories, and He passes on this possibility of being victors on to us, calling us to be more than conquerors with Him in His power (Rom. 8:37). He also wants to share His glory with us, as we triumph with Him through our faith (1 Pet 1:7).]
 
“you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.”
 
[David ruled in the golden age of Israel. Jesus now reigns in the church age from His throne on high as the mighty and majestic Ruler of creation and all beyond. You, Heavenly Father, have raised Him up above all principalities and powers, above all might and majesty, above all names and titles. You have seated Him, the eternal Victor, at your right hand to reign forever and ever.
 
Evil can now be eliminated and a new and sinless start can be had through our physical death, into the new Heaven and Earth. There the splendor and supremacy of Jesus will be endlessly on display and we will be forever with Him in His wonderful, wide and wise eternal love. Like the flower below, there is much beauty yet to be opened.]
 
Praise be to you, Heavenly Father, for revealing these things by the pen of David, by the triumph of Christ and by bringing us into your bountiful and beautiful Kingdom. Help us to live daily in this unseen reality, rejoicing in you, in your love for us and in the certainly of what you will bring.
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More History

Published by S.M. Wibberley on January 21, 2019
The Summer of 1980 came and with it an increase in the fighting on the streets. Every night we heard several bombs explode, often followed by the firing of machine guns. Then the dogs would bark. We had trouble getting enough sleep.
 
There was still nothing in the newspapers to tell us what was happening, but there were often soldiers in full battle dress with loaded rifles on street corners. The situation was clearly becoming more and more dangerous.
 
One time when I went to my language tutor Tom’s house for a language lesson, there was a bullet hole through his front door, through the kitchen door and out the door beyond that.
“It was from a firefight soldiers had with terrorists,” he said. “We lay on the floor and the bullets went over our heads, so we were safe.”
 
Another time when I came to visit, Tom was so shaken that we couldn’t do our lesson. He had been at a tea house that morning when someone drove by and opened fire on the place with a machine gun. A number of people had been killed.
 
This was not an isolated incident; another acquaintance of ours told how his little grocery store was machine-gunned while he ducked behind the counter for protection.
 
An American soldier in our city was killed when he tried to start his booby-trapped car. I started looking under my car for bombs each time I got in. Things were going from bad to worse.
During that summer Nat woke up every morning with the call to prayer, which came before 5 am, so I was up with him. It did help me get some more time in with the Lord, and I tried to look at it as an opportunity. However, the combination of lack of sleep from all the bombs, the ongoing adjustment to culture, the surrounding violence and the pressures of language study made us more weary by the day.
 
I saw how tired I was when one night Barbara asked me to fill the diaper-laden washing machine with water. This wringer washer came with the apartment and was much better than having none, but had its interesting points.
 
We had to put water in it with a hose, and to complete a load required running all the clothes through the wringer twice, once after washing and again after rinsing. I would tape my local language word lists on the wall and work on them while running the many diapers through the wringer.
 
That evening I put the water hose into the washer, turned it on and watched carefully until it reached the proper level. Then I went to bed and fell asleep immediately.
 
After a while Barbara nudged me. “Hmph?” I mumbled groggily. “Do you hear water running?” she asked.
 
“I’ll go check,” I said. I swung my feet out of bed and stepped into an inch of water! Then it hit me that I’d brought the water level in the washing machine to the right point, but failed to shut the faucet off! Now this whole end of our apartment was flooded and the rug in the bedroom was soaked.
 
We leaped out of bed and began to clean things up. I wanted to hang the soaking wet rug over the railing on our balcony, but fortunately Barbara first looked over the edge and saw the glow of our landlord’s cigarette as he sat in the dark on his balcony below us. We spread the rug out elsewhere to dry.
 
The next day Barbara found Nat lying on his stomach on the balcony, trying to swim in a puddle that was left from our night’s adventures.
One scary and seemingly significant event occurred while we lived in that apartment. While we were studying, we heard a yelp from the boys’ room and ran to find Josh lying flat on his back with a safety pin in each hand. He had stuck the pins into the 220 outlet to see what would happen.
 
Providentially God protected him; he didn’t even get any burns. But from then on Josh was actively interested in and amazingly competent with electronic devices. We wondered if maybe the shock had crystalized the chips in his blood stream!
 
Picture of little Nat with Barbara in the background
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Third Aspect of Humility

Published by S.M. Wibberley on January 19, 2019
More on humility.
 
Third, humility is being teachable.
 
This is related to the second aspect, thinking we know better than God. When we experience God’s chastening, be it through the Word convicting us, through some event, or someone confronting/rebuking us, our response shows our humility or lack of it.
 
As it says in Proverbs 9:8-10, “Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you. Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning. The fear of the LORD [obeying Him rather than man or self] is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
 
A humble response was demonstrated to me by a fellow worker in one place I served. He made a decision which had a negative effect on several of us. I strode into his office and told him that this was wrong and why. His response was, “Thank you so much for telling me this; I will consider it.” That humble, teachable attitude took the wind out of my sails, and I went away blessed by this man’s humility.
 
If we react negatively to the challenges of life, we can be sure we lack humility. When we respond with a teachable spirit, we honor God and open the way for growth.
 
God is in the process of refining us through difficulties (are we going to cooperate?) so He can give us more rewards in Heaven: “…for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.(1 Peter 1:6-7).
So let us consciously grow in humility, choosing to think His thoughts, shifting to His worldview. Let us see ourselves in the full-orbed way God does, in both our natural depravity and our supernatural holiness. Let us submit our intellect to His Word and ways. And let us be teachable.
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