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Contentment

Published by S.M. Wibberley on November 12, 2019
This excerpt from EDIFIED is very relevant to me today, as there are a number of large issues facing me, over which I have very little control–but in which I can be content.
“My soul finds rest in God alone.” Psalm 62:1
 
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The Puritan writer Burroughs says that contentment is not what we have when looking back, able to see what God was doing through a difficult time. It is being at peace in the midst of difficulty and suffering without any visible clue as to what our Shepherd is doing, and in that knowledge vacuum, resting in Him.
 
Knowing the character of God is enough. He whose wisdom created the world, made the complex human body and gave man dominion over the earth; He who did not give up when Adam sinned and twisted the whole of creation; He who secured salvation at huge personal cost, and loves us to the end–He is trustable when all else is hidden from our understanding.
 
Knowing You, Lord God, the great Yahweh, holy, glorious, entirely other, hater of sin, lover of the sinner—to know you is enough to give us contentment when everything goes wrong, when we suffer pain, when we are mistreated, when we fail and are, humanly speaking, hopeless.
 
Contentment is knowing the power of your right arm. You, Lord Jesus, spoke and created all that we see, with its incredible variety, beauty and vastness. You hung, spun and run the earth. You ride, guide and hide the winds. You hold, mold and unfold events. You send, bend and end history. Never defeated, never stretched, never inadequate, your power is immeasurable. In you we can trust.
 
Contentment is knowing the patience of your will. You have a plan, you will reveal it at the pace you know to be best. You will not rush, you will not be late, your timing is perfect. When nothing appears to be happening, you are at work on deep levels, persistently, patiently, powerfully bringing to pass events and conditions that will move history to the conclusion you have determined. We can trust you in your timing.
 
Contentment is knowing the greatness of your love. You are Agape Love itself: the commitment to act for the good of others, no matter how they may react. The wonder of your rich, deep, powerful, unending, gracious love is an ever-growing joy as we walk with you, learning of you from your Word, from your works, from your way.
 
As we climb the golden staircase of your grace, care and love, knowing you more and more each day, we can be content in you and in whatever you bring, whatever we suffer, whatever we lose, for you are good.
 
Prayer: “When all is meaningless, when all we do seems foolish, when pain obscures our vision, still our hearts to know your heart of love and grace. Help us then to rest in your contentment. Glory be to you, the Great God of contentment, worthy of all worship and wonder and trust. Amen.”
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House Finishing

Published by S.M. Wibberley on November 10, 2019
Between visits to churches, we plunged into the work of finishing our little house. It is amazing the number of details that need to be taken care of before a house is ready to be lived in.
 
One big “detail” was building the chimney. I got a price from a mason, but it was so far over the costs of the materials that I decided to do it myself. We didn’t have much to spare and every $1000 saved was a huge help!
 
However, I was unable to find a book on how to build your own chimney. Around that time we visited a church in northern New England and after the service I was chatting with a fellow; when I asked him what he did for a living, he said, “I am a mason.”
 
When I told him about my project and of my total ignorance of masonry, he gave me a quick tutorial in chimney-building. He emphasized the wisdom of using round tiles instead of the conventional rectangular ones. The round ones, he said, were much less likely to crack in a chimney fire, because they would all heat up evenly. Here again was God’s provision just when we needed it.
 
So we set to work building the chimney, from the cellar up through the roof, about twenty-five feet in height. Although a mason said he could do it in one day, it took me two weeks, working for a couple of hours each day. When I was finished, I had a lot of respect for masons, hoisting those forty pound cement blocks all day long.
 
Near the end of the summer, our faithful helper/advisor John organized a group from our church to come on a Saturday and finish putting on all the vinyl siding. That was one full day of activity for which we were very thankful! Another church also sent a team on two separate days to help with the finish work. Without such help we would not have gotten it all done.
 
During the building process we saw many times when God’s hand protected us. When Nat and I were hoisting a large beam up to the peak of the roof, it fell from our grasp, cutting into the plywood floor, but completely missing both of us. Another time Nat fell from a high ladder but landed on his feet without any injury at all.
 
When the man from the electric company came to attach the wires from the street to our house, he was pointing out something to me by touching some wires in the main electrical box. When I reached my hand out to touch them also, he slapped my hand away.
 
“Those are live wires with 220 volts in them!” he exclaimed. “I can touch them because I have rubber gloves on and rubber boots. If you had touched them you would have been killed!” That gave me the chills.
 
At one point near the end of the day when we were all tired, I dropped some tools down from the roof. My hammer fell at an angle, bounced and spun down the cellar stairs, just missing my nephew who was on his way up.
 
Then God’s final act of mercy and protection came right as we were finishing the driveway. A friend came with his small pickup truck to help me gather up rocks to fill in the area.
After one trip his pickup got stuck in the loose gravel, so I went behind to push. As he gunned the motor, the spinning rear wheel dug up a rock a little smaller than a football and threw it at high speed right into my leg, hitting me full force on my shin.
 
The combination of the speed and size of the rock should have broken my leg. I looked down and saw that it appeared to be alright: no bones sticking out. I put some weight on it and it did not collapse. There was, however, a big gash and each time my heart beat, a large spurt of blood came out.
 
I hobbled to the porch. Barbara just happened to be looking out the window when this happened, and immediately came with two freshly ironed handkerchiefs. I sat down, and she wrapped one handkerchief around my leg, tying it tightly with the other. That stopped the “fountains of blood.” I rested there for five minutes and then went back to work without any further ill effects.
 
We were just two weeks away from leaving again for the Middle East. If my leg had been broken, it would have made it much more difficult— if not impossible—for us to finish things up. We were so very thankful for God’s intervention, not realizing that this event would bring both trouble and more praise in the near future.
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Psalm 37:32-33

Published by S.M. Wibberley on November 9, 2019
Barbara hopefully will come home today from the hospital; they found a bleeding ulcer in her stomach, caused by her meds. It has stopped bleeding and they will give her a special diet and antiacids to help it fully heal. This should solve the problem. Thank you Lord!
 
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Psalm 37:32 “The wicked lie in wait for the righteous, seeking their very lives;”
 
[This is an unavoidable fact of life here on earth: those who reject your way, Lord, will attack those who follow Jesus. They hate the righteous, they are motivated and guided by Satan who seeks to use them for his destructive and evil purposes.
 
We should not be at all surprised when such attacks come. To expect them is to have a biblical view of things, remembering Jesus’ words, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (John 15:18).] But, like the frost on the board in the picture below, such suffering brings out the inner beauty Christ gives us.
 
Psalm 37:33 “but the LORD will not leave them in their power or let them be condemned when brought to trial.”
 
[You will rescue us, whether it be by some divine intervention, or by giving justice, or by giving grace to endure through, or by taking us to yourself. Praise you for the certainty that you will guide, direct and protect us in all. This is what we experienced in the Middle East, being arrested and put on trial for our faith in 1988. In the end, you led the prosecuting attorney to defend us and to define our freedom of religion widely and officially—all glory to you.]
 
I praise you, Lord, for the security, the rest, the peace, the joy that comes from knowing you, the great and sovereign King, Ruler of time and space and all that is in them. You are the truly good One, the wonderfully wise One, the gloriously gracious One, the infinitely patient One. In you we can trust, in you we can rejoice when all goes sour, for your grace and goodness are enough, lifting us above the evil and hurt of life. Thank you, Lord God, for your care which will come in each succeeding moment.
 
To you be honor and glory in my life today, Lord Jesus, through my listening to your Word, submission to your Spirit, obedience to what I know to be true and praising you in and for all.
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Psalm 37:30-31

Published by S.M. Wibberley on November 8, 2019
Today Barbara is in the hospital where they are trying to resolve her intestinal bleeding (probably from her pain meds) and constant vomiting. Prayers appreciated.
 
Psalm 37:30 “The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just.”
[Lord, this certainly does not describe the “natural me.” Help me to move ever more in this direction, spotting and turning away from the ungodly advice I tend to give myself, abandoning my tendency to gossip, and refusing to sit in the seat of the scornful, not looking down on and criticizing others (Psalm 1:1) but instead thinking on what is true and good and pure and lovely.
Help me to be like Job who properly and positively rebuked those who gave him ungodly advice (I need to rebuke myself, too, when I am thinking ungodly thoughts). Help me to know how to talk to myself as well as to destructive people in a way that will be edifying, speaking wisdom, uttering what is just. May you be glorified in it.]
Psalm 37:31 “The law of his God is in his heart;’
[Here is the key: when your Word is hidden in the heart of a righteous man, constantly bringing insight and rebuke to him, influencing his thoughts, motives, words and actions, then he can speak with Heavenly wisdom. Praise be to you, Lord Jesus, for your great and wonderful work to bring such change in us through Scripture. Help me to cooperate with you in the process by consistently memorizing and meditating on your Word.
Thank you, Lord, for what you give us in your Word: your gracious wisdom, your careful instruction, your good direction. Help me to meditate on them, walk in them, to be alert to the wisdom you offer each moment rather than relying on my own thoughts and desires. Bring to mind the Scripture, the truth, the principles I need to heed.]
“his feet do not slip.”
[When we walk in your path, Lord, our feet will not slide, our ankles will not turn, we will not fall, for you open the way, bring the change necessary, protect us from our natural, sinful pitfalls.
I praise you, Lord, for the great and sweet privilege of walking on your way, of belonging to you, of being given such wonderful gifts. I praise you, Lord God, for the greatest gift of all: being your beloved son, dearly loved, deeply cared for, doted on and delighted in—the opposite of what I deserve.
This is the outpouring of what you are, Lord God: the great Creator, the great Lover of our souls, the great Forgiver, the great Transformer. Praise be to you for all you will do today out of your goodness and righteousness, wisdom and power. May I join you in obedience so that your Name may be lifted up before all the unseen hosts today.
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Feelings or Faith?

Published by S.M. Wibberley on November 7, 2019
“Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me….Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight.” Psalm 43:3a,4
 
Dawn comes and I awake to have my time with God. But there is no freshness, He seems far away. What is wrong? Is it sin? (I confess all the Spirit brings to mind.) Work overload? Tiredness? Probably some of each, but mainly it is my feelings.
 
Emotions are definitely the least reliable part of my being. When I allow them to rule, I end up feeling like this fellow here on the left: out of touch and at the mercy of whatever emotional wind that might blow.
 
To combat these negative feelings, I need to keep an ear open to the Spirit’s conviction and guidance, and to press on with what is right: worshiping, confessing, reading, praying, trusting that God is near as He promised.
 
This is a chance to live by faith, to believe God’s Word when I have no inner confirmation. It’s a chance to be weak, to live by faith, to praise Him for what I don’t like (feeling far away) and to go again to Scripture to remind myself of Truth.
 
Psalm 43:2 expresses my feelings well: “Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” Then verse 3 gives me a good prayer to combat this: “Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me [not my feelings], let them bring me to your holy mountain, the place where you dwell.” God’s Word gives light, and I can affirm by faith that I am with Him who is “my joy and my delight,” and I praise you, “O God, MY God.”
 
The advice in the last verse of Psalm 43 speaks strongly to me, “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.”
 
He is at work and is carrying me along whether I sense it or not! He will work all out, so I can praise Him ahead of time for and in all.
 
All this brings to mind that beloved saying, “Knowing Jesus is enough for joy.” This is a chance for me to live it willfully by faith!
 
Prayer: “Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to believe and trust you when my feelings tell me the opposite. Help me to think Truth, to act on Truth, to praise according to Truth today. Amen.”
 
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Psalm 37:28b-29

Published by S.M. Wibberley on November 7, 2019
Psalm 37:28b “They [his faithful ones] will be protected forever,”
Your commitment to your children is iron clad, rock solid and monumentally strong, something we can rest in more and more as we get to know you more and more. Praise be to you, Lord, for your strength of character, your utter dependability, your never changing, perfect and powerful love.]
 
[You, Lord Jesus, live forever to intercede for those you have purchased with your blood. You live forever, so our protection will go on forever, in this life, through death and on into eternity.]
“but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;”
[Sadly, those who refuse to submit to your Kingship, your Word, your Truth, your offered Salvation and Love, will be cut off forever–they and their children who follow them. How sad this makes your heart, yet you rejoice for each one who does believe and follows you.
Psalm 37:29 “the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.”
[A repetition from verse 27, a bookend to this thought of your great and gracious giving of what is good to your children. Yes, we will inherit your land and we will live in it with you forever: no death, no depression, no end, no evil, no loss, no sadness, no sickness or sin.
You, Lord God, are the only One to be followed, obeyed, worshiped and exalted. You are worthy, you are wonderful, you are wise, the Only True God. I bow before you this morning, I give you glory, exaltation and praise. May you be honored in my life today as I praise you in and for all. Amen.]
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Psalm 37:27-28

Published by S.M. Wibberley on November 5, 2019

Psalm 37:27 “Turn from evil and do good;”

[Clear and simple command. This is part of fearing God, walking in His way, obeying His commands, living in His value system, all of which bringing blessing to our children. Our primary motive in turning from evil and doing good should be loving you, Heavenly Father—we should be lovers first, then servants, with our heartfelt desire to give you glory. Then our secondary motive is to bring what is good to our children: “their [the righteous’] children will be blessed” 37:26.]

“then you will dwell in the land forever.”

[Such obedience to your commands places us squarely in the center of your will, meaning we will dwell with you, live with you, work with you in whatever good place you have chosen for us here, and will end up in the everlasting place of the New Heaven and New Earth.

We can praise and glorify you at each juncture, knowing that you are in control, guiding, directing, protecting, providing each moment. To live in such certainty is a wonder, Lord. We praise you for your faithful, powerful goodness–especially in the midst of difficulties, like the one I’m in now (2017) with my wife again fallen into the deep hole of despair, depression and darkness, an attack of the enemy after recent advances. But, knowing that you are good, powerful and with us, I choose to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving.

Psalm 37:28 “For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones.”

[You, the Holy and Perfect One, love those whom you have justified—Ah, if only all people would come to you and have that forgiveness and cleansing, acceptance and belonging, transformation and joy!

In you, Lord, there is no end to our joy, to our getting to know you, to our growth and the revelation of your glory. Praise you, Lord, for what you are doing, for how you are working, for what you will do.

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Psalm 37:25-26

Published by S.M. Wibberley on November 4, 2019
 
Psalm 37:25 “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.”
[This is certainly true in my life, for now I am old, and can look back and see how you have provided for me over all the years. I remember the Christmas we had no money to celebrate, and shortly before the 25th we got a check in the mail for $70, repaying me for a loan I’d made 3 years before and had forgotten about! It is definitely true, Lord, that you provide what is necessary through all our days.
 
You are our rich, wise, gracious Shepherd, powerful enough to provide all that is needed–and way beyond our needs, as you often do. We can trust you, we can rest in you, both during want and during plenty. Help us, Father, to keep that wonderful, biblical view of life–that we truly have no lack, even though by our own desires and the world’s standards we may seem to.]
 
Psalm 37:26 “They are always generous and lend freely;”
 
[With the view of a Father who provides all, we can and should be generous, freely sharing what we have been given. We need to grow more in this. Help us to know how much to give and where. Praise you that you will lead us so.]
 
“their children will be blessed.”
 
[As we give and live for you, our children will receive more grace and goodness from you; they also will learn to give, learning that you provide what is needed and that we can trust you 100%.
 
I saw this principle at work recently in a sermon by a young teacher; his message had depth, understanding, specific application and a concrete challenge for us to take away. He was a third generation believer, standing on the shoulders of his parents and grandparents, given a definite head start in life, understanding things I only grasped much later.
 
Praise you, Lord for the blessing you give to our children through us as we trust and obey you. May they serve you well to the end; may our grandchildren grow to be men and women of faith, making you the center of their lives, serving you well to the end.
 
Guide us today, Lord in how we should act and live, trusting you, lending freely, following you so that we might bless our children and bring you more and more glory. Amen.]
Pictures (2): we were young and now we are old
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1998

Published by S.M. Wibberley on November 3, 2019
1998
As the work progressed on our little house in CT, the Lord provided lots of great help. At the end of that first week Barbara and Josh arrived, which gave us a boost.
 
More significantly, an experienced retired fellow from our church, John, came multiple times and guided us through a lot of the building process when our own limited experience proved inadequate. Then my brother, Les, and brother-in-law, Chris, came out from Ohio and spent a week of their vacations helping us.
By the end of the three weeks we were pretty beat, but very pleased with all the work that had been accomplished. The complete shell of the house was up and closed in.
 
There was, however, one unhappy note for me. I had ordered the steel roofing and made special mention of when I needed it. But when I called a couple of days before that date to check on it, the man said that I had never actually told them to order it.
 
I was angry. However, the Lord knew what He was doing, and I had to choose to praise him for it even though I didn’t feel like it.
 
When I came back two weekends later to put on the metal roofing, our friend John came to help and under his direction we spent the first six hours making corrections in the rafters.
 
Now I saw the reason for the Lord preventing the roofing from coming when I wanted it. If it had come according to my desire and I had put it on by myself, it would have been done poorly. At that point I had been tired from three intensive weeks of work, plus I wouldn’t have known to make the necessary corrections.
 
God is in control of all that comes into my life and seeks to free me from my own potential errors! I needed to remember that for the next times things didn’t work out according to my plans and desires.
We continued to work on the house on weekends during the winter. Nat brought his Chinese roommate home for Christmas vacation and they both spent hours helping us. In fact, everyone who visited got drafted into doing some work with us.
 
Josh read up on electricity and did all the wiring. He even thought ahead and put in wiring for the internet as well. I did the plumbing with plastic pipes; it was like working with the tinker toy set I’d had as a child and I enjoyed it.
 
At one point we returned from an overseas trip to find that the house had been broken into and all our tools had been stolen: generator, nailing gun, ladders and electric tools–about $2000 worth. There were no firm leads and the police were unable to help us.
 
We had to surrender this, too, to the Lord, praise Him for what He had allowed and move on. Some folks in our church gave us a generous gift to replace some of the tools, for which we were thankful.
 
In order to finance this construction work, I applied for a $20,000 loan. The guy at the bank laughed. “It’s not worth our time to approve such a small loan. Ask for $120,000 and we’ll give it to you!” he said.
 
The Lord, however, gave us another idea. We had received a new credit card offer, which included balance transfers with a 3% interest rate for a year (now you can get 0% offers, but not back then). So we bought all our supplies with one credit card and then transferred the balances to the other. After several transfers the credit card people objected, but when I pointed out that I was only taking them at their word, they relented.
 
During that year we worked at paying off the balance using our own savings, a large money gift from Barbara’s mother and some of our retirement funds. By the end of the year the Lord had made it possible for us to clear the whole $30,000 debt
 
At the end of May in 1999 we made our official exit from the home office as part of our returning to live overseas. We loaded up all our goods in Pennsylvania to take them to Connecticut. I drove the big rental truck, Barbara drove our old Mercury Sable, and the boys had our resurrected van. We left in the evening to avoid the heavy traffic around NYC and arrived safely in Canterbury at 2:30 am.
 
It was ironic that in rural Canterbury where traffic is so light, at this early hour of the morning, I had to wait for three cars to go by before I could turn into the yard of the house where we would be staying!
 
Our plan for the summer was to visit all our supporters before going back overseas while we worked to finish our house. We had to have fully pledged support before we could leave the States. During our time of service at IMI headquarters, all of our churches had continued their support. It often happens that workers returning to work in their home office lose a lot of the support they received when overseas, so we were very thankful for the faithfulness of those that stayed with us.
 
At the same time, the support level needed in the States was higher than it had been when we were in Turkey, so we were $500 “under” each month, causing us to build up a substantial deficit. During the whole time we were in the States we had been praying for God to provide for this lack, praising Him for whatever He would chose to do. We also asked Him to show us what part we should take in this process. Interestingly, He did not lead us to ask people to help us but instead to work on helping others with their financial needs.
 
Later, while we continued visiting our supporters, we ran into an old friend from His Mansion who had married a successful businessman. We had a nice chat, and later they invited us to visit them in NYC. We did not talk at all about money, but shortly after we visited they gave us a large gift that covered the whole of our deficit! And then, when we got back to Turkey, they gave an even larger gift that helped with our outreach work. God provides wonderfully when we wait on Him.
Pictures, top, house after 2 weeks, bottom, middle of 3rd week
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Psalm 37:23

Published by S.M. Wibberley on November 2, 2019
Sorry I missed posting yesterday. Barbara required a lot of care in her first day home from the hospital. She is doing well, able to walk around the house, but still has a lot of pain. Thank you for all those who are praying for her.
 
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Psalm 37:23 “If the LORD delights in a man’s way,”
 
[Lord, it is a wonder that you can delight in our ways when we are so prone to sinful, selfish motives, thoughts, words and actions.
 
Praise you that you view us with the perfect and proper balance of love and forgiveness, chastening and grace. Help me to walk in such a way as to give you delight, to be responsive to your leading, your Word, your conviction, your wisdom. Correct me immediately with your staff as I begin to wander. I praise you now for the direction you will give.]
 
“he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.”
 
[Praise you, Lord, that you are actively, powerfully, wisely at work in my life, smoothing the way, protecting my steps, keeping my spiritual ankles from turning.
 
In spite of this, I stumble at times–but you are there to catch me and keep me from falling. I praise you for your personal, intimate, gracious, constant involvement in my life. You, Lord, are the One I can trust, the One I can rest in, the One I can praise at every happening, whether it is pleasant or painful.
 
You are the Sovereign One: wise, good and firm, always doing what is best, right and gracious. Help me to walk with you today, Lord, to move forward in your protection, in your love, in your preparation. Help me not to run out before you, but to wait for your timing. Help me to walk in a way that is delightful to you, that will bring you glory before the angels, demons and people around me. Thank you that you will answer my prayers.
 
Picture: Barbara fresh home from the hospital, doing crossword puzzles, showing her brain is sharp!
 
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