He also says, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.” To which of the angels did God ever say, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
Hebrews 1:10-14
I can’t speak for anyone else, but I never ever get anything right the first time. That’s one reason that I write these words on my laptop. If you think these words just flow out of me in one smooth flowing stream, you’ve got another thing coming. You’ll never guess what’s the two most used keys on my keyboard?
The Delete Key. For me, I use the keyboard to move the cursor to the point where I need to get rid of something. I don’t highlight a bunch of letters or words and then delete them with one keystroke. Oh no. I’ll just hold down the delete key for a while till they’re all gone.
The Backspace Key. This one is especially frustrating for me. I just finished typing some brilliant thought that sounded so good in my brain. But then I look at it and ask that all too familiar question, “What in the world was I thinking? That makes absolutely no sense at all.”
And then when I’m talking with people, I always get a great thought about 10 seconds after we hang up. It never fails. I hit the End Call button and put the phone down only to have a great thought pop into my brain. I want to call them back to give them the benefit of my wisdom, but they just got off the phone with me and the last thing they want to do is spend even more time with me.
I just got a call from a dear friend that’s going through a really hard time in their life. Their spouse of nearly 50 years has dementia and they seem to be slipping away faster than they were before. And there’s nothing that they can do to stop or even slow it down.
The writer of Hebrews quotes Psalm 102 here for his readers. This poem and hymn was written for someone who’s afflicted. But more than fust feeling the pain of their condition, they’d been there for some time. They’d been under the weight of their situation for some time. And there was no end in sight.
Is this something that you can identify with? Is there a situation that’s been weighing on you for a long time. Something that eats your lunch each and every day? Something that just takes all the energy out of you. Something that hits the delete key on your keyboard of life.
As I read these verses, the writer of Psalm 102 felt exactly the same way. They’d been under it for a long, long time. They’ve grown tired and frustrated at their situation. They’ve done everything right. They’ve done all that they can. And nothing seems to change.
I can’t help but thinking about the woman who’d been suffering from bleeding for twelve years. My fingers ache as I type these words. My heart’s broken for her. Not just because of how long she’d suffered with the disease, but for all the disappointment she’ gone through. She traveled all over the place and saw anyone who claimed that they could help her. Not only did they all fail, but she only got worse. And to top it all off, they took all her money[1].
Can you feel her pain? Can we join in with her suffering and failures and frustration? The early Christians reading these words in the first century certainly could. They’d been persecuted. They’d been thrown out of their places of worship[2]. They were told to leave their homes and cities[3].
So, what’s the answer? How can they go on? How can they live with hope while living in the middle of hopelessness? The answer starts with the title of this chapter. It’s the two words that we can cling onto in the middle of tragedy, disappointment, frustration, sorrow, and pain.
But you. They turn their attention toward God. That’s it. But you oh Lord. God never changes. He’s the same: yesterday, today, and forever[4]. That’s where it all begins. He’s not going to forget you. He made you and you are his[5]. He died and was raised back from the dead for you[6].
The first step is to take our eyes off ourselves and our pity party. Then we have to turn our attention to the one who loves us. Who died for us. Who’s preparing a place for us. The one who’s coming back for us. The one who wants to spend all of eternity with us.
Will we let this truth sink in? The God of all creation wants to be with you. Not someone else. You. That right, just you and me. Not special in the eyes of the world. But average, ordinary people that he made and loved enough to die for. Now that’s good news!
Noodling Questions.
Do you use the delete or backspace key more? Why?
How does frustration change our response to God? Explain.
Why does the God of all creation want to be in a loving relationship with us?
[1] Mark 5:25,26
[2] John 16:2
[3] Acts 18:2
[4] Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8
[5] Psalm 139:1-18
[6] 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Comentários