Driven Into Sovereign Arms

...to console those who mourn in Zion , to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning. Isaiah 61:3

Kay Arthur was bitterly disappointed when she contracted a heart infection that forced her removal from the mission field. She and her family, serving in Mexico , were forced to return home. "I felt like a failure," she wrote. "Depression set in until I cried, ‘Father, whatever You want.' It would be several years before I'd see how He'd use those formative years of study in Mexico to prepare me to write inductive Bible studies that would eventually reach 52 countries."

"My disappointments aren't over," Kay admits. "Pain and trials are almost constant companions, but never enemies. They drive me into His sovereign arms. There He takes my disappointments and works everything together for good."1

Sometimes we feel our world is falling apart, but the lessons learned through the pain often bring hidden blessings. The Lord promises in Isaiah 61 to exchange our mourning with His oil of joy, and to give a garment of praise to those who are weighed down in spirit. Cast your burdens on the Lord and let Him become the strength of your heart. Let trouble drive you into His sovereign arms.

"The devil sometimes goes too far. He drives us straight into the Lord's arms." (Ruth Bell Graham)

1Kay Arthur, “In Person: My Disappointments, His Appointments,” Moody Magazine, January, 1992, p. 30.

WB "Turning Point" Journal

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Ash Wednesday for a Protestant like Me (Bro. Will Ravilob)

The LORD is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust. [Psalm 103:13-14]

Ash Wednesday, a day recognized by Christians throughout the world as the beginning of Lent, which is season to prepare for a deeper experience of the passion and resurrection of Jesus. Not all Christians acknowledge Ash Wednesday because it is not required in Scripture. For the much of my life, I considered Ash Wednesday and Lent as Roman Catholic traditions that were irrelevant to me. But, in recent years, I, along with many of other Protestants/Evangelicals, have discovered in these traditions an opportunity for growing in our relationship with God.

Ash Wednesday is perhaps best known for the ashes imposed on the foreheads of Christians. As this happens, the person putting the ashes on the head of another usually quotes or paraphrases what God said to Adam after he had eaten the forbidden fruit: “For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return” (Gen. 3:19). Thus, the ashes on our foreheads are a reminder of our mortality. We were created from the very dust to which we will return when we die.

Ash Wednesday services tend to be serious in tone, even somber; reminding of man’s neediness and frailty as human beings, not to mention their mortality. Such an announcement is not an occasion for obvious rejoicing. But the appropriate sobriety of Ash Wednesday should not neglect the overarching grace of God. We were created from dust, yes, by the loving hand of God. And our eventual return to dust does not erase this love.

In Psalm 103, for example, we read: “The LORD is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him” (103:13). The Hebrew verb "racham", translated as “to have compassion” is used twice in this verse to convey God’s care for us. This verb is a version of the Hebrew word "rechem", which means “womb.” In a powerful mixing of metaphors, Psalm 103:13 reveals that God is like a father who cares for his children as a mother cherishes the children of her own womb.

Verse 14 supplies one reason for God’s extraordinary compassion: “For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust.” God cares for us tenderly, not only because this reflects God’s own nature, but also because he sees our weakness, our dustiness, if you will.

Thus, Ash Wednesday is not only a day to remember our dusty mortality, our weakness, neediness, and eventual death. It is also a day to celebrate God’s compassion. Because we are dust, God cares for us like a father with his children. His love for us is like that of a mother for the children of her womb. And this love will be more fully celebrated at the end of Lent, when we come to the Cross.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: What have been your experiences (if any) of Ash Wednesday? Do you ever think of your own mortality? How does this make you feel? How do you respond to the tender compassion of God for you?

PRAYER: Gracious God, on this Ash Wednesday, I remember that I have come from dust, and to dust I will return. As I get older, it’s easier for me to feel this truth. My frame is weak and my days are numbered.

How thankful I am that, as you see my weakness and remember my dustiness, you feel compassion toward me. You do not reject me, but rather reach out to me in love. Ultimately, your care for me in my dusty sinfulness will lead you to bear my sin upon the Cross. Today, I begin to consider more than just how much I need you to be my Savior.

May the next six weeks before Good Friday and Easter be for me a time of reflection and preparation. Whether I call this time “Lent” or not doesn’t matter. What does matter is that I use this season of the year to draw near to you, to recommit myself to you, and to ready my heart to receive the Good News that is coming, your Second Coming.

All praise be to you, compassionate, gracious, loving God. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

WB “The High Calling” Journal