When depression and distress come, we can trust in the steadfast love of the Lord. His presence is with us. His promises are true. His protection is secure. And His power is sufficient. We can also rejoice in His salvation. In the middle of trials and tribulations we are not called to rejoice about what is not good. But we can always rejoice in God’s salvation in the midst of circumstances, even when they are unwanted.

When was the last time you cried out, “How long?” Was it another hurtful word or action in an important relationship? Did unexpected bills deplete your savings? Were the medical treatments barely tolerable? Were more hurtful words spoken by someone who didn’t like your leadership? Did your boss once again complain about your style of doing things? Did chronic physical pain interrupt your plans? Sadly, in this broken world everyone cries out, “How long?” especially when they are in the midst of distressing circumstances. But for believers, the cry, “How long?” reaches to the heavens. We can know for certain that God hears our cries and that our suffering has an end. One of the places we learn this truth is in Psalm 13. This psalm, composed by David, helps us pray when our hearts are filled with sorrow, so that we can once again sing to the Lord.
Sorrow
David begins his psalm with a cry, “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever” (Ps. 13:1). To feel abandoned by the Lord is deeply distressing. David, who likely prayed often for the Lord’s face to shine upon him and God’s people (Num. 6:25), was experiencing what it was like for God’s face to be hidden from him. In his solitaire state he suffered from sorrow of the soul because he felt the enemy had won and God had forsaken him, “How long must I…have sorrow in my heart all the day” and “my enemy be exalted over me?” (Ps. 13:2). But in the pit of sorrow he prayed that the Lord would remember him, reveal Himself to him, and restore him to good spiritual, mental, and emotional health, “answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes…lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken” (vv. 3-4).
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In the desert we are tempted to believe that God doesn’t care, isn’t present with us, and doesn’t love us….In the land of plenty we’re tempted to believe that we’ve earned all that we have. 

Perhaps we’re most accustomed to thinking that we’re in danger of forgetting God during times of barrenness instead of times of blessing. But the Bible teaches that we’re just as prone to wander from worshiping God when things are going well for us as we are when things aren’t. In Deuteronomy 8 we learn that the wilderness was filled with barrenness, but Canaan would be filled with blessing. The wilderness was a great and terrifying place, but Canaan was a good land. The wilderness was dry and flat, but Canaan was filled with sources of water, valleys and hills. The Lord had to provide food from heaven for His people in the wilderness, but Canaan was filled with luscious fruits and bountiful grains. However, Canaan would prove to be just as tempting a place for Israel to forsake the Lord as the wilderness was.
In the midst of the blessings, God’s people were in danger of forgetting the Giver. With satisfied stomachs, luxurious houses, healthy livestock, and abounding treasure, their hearts would be proud. They would believe they had earned the blessings instead of glorifying the One who had given it to them. They would be prone to forget that the Lord had delivered them from Egypt and brought them through the wilderness. They would boast in their accomplishments, instead of boasting in the Lord their God. Tragically, they would worship and serve other gods, and would perish for their disobedience.
Sadly, because God’s people indulged in idolatry and immorality they experienced the curse of exile. Even so, on every page of the Old Testament the gospel of grace is progressively revealed until Jesus Christ comes as the the second Adam, the true Israel, the final king, the suffering servant and the Savior of the world. Jesus didn’t come to save perfect people, but penitent ones. He obeyed God’s law perfectly on our behalf, so that we now stand before the Father robed in His righteousness. He died a cursed death to satisfy God’s justice, so that we can live for all eternity with Him.
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We are to walk “bearing with one another in love” (Eph. 4:2). The believer is to be “patient and kind,” and one who “rejoices with the truth” and “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:4, 6-7). The believer isn’t to “envy or boast,” or be “arrogant or rude,” or “insist on [our] own way,” or be “irritable or resentful,” or “rejoice at wrongdoing” (vv. 4-6). Within the household of God we will need to overlook many offenses. We will need to believe the best about each other. We will need to keep an eternal perspective.

Christian unity can often seem difficult to achieve. Whether it’s between Christian friends, couples, or churches, there can often seem to be more discord than unity. But the Bible tells us that Christians are united because of our union with Christ. Therefore, believers should strive to display their positional unity in practical ways. Instead of being divided, we should be in fellowship with one another. As we unite around essential truths of the Christian faith, our love is a witness to the watching world that we are God’s people. Ephesians 4:1-6 teaches us the foundation of Christian unity.
After discussing doctrine in the first half of his letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul exhorts believers toward Christian living that is doxological. In light of who we are in Christ, we are “to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Eph. 4:1). Walking worthy of God’s call would be impossible without the Spirit of God, who not only calls God’s people, but also conforms us to the image of Christ.
Paul uses four phrases to describe what it means to live in a way that honors the Lord, and is an important part of the foundation of Christian unity. First, we are to walk “with all humility and gentleness” (Eph. 4:2). These two qualities go together and are perfectly exemplified by Christ. Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt. 11:29). He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death on the cross (Phil. 2:8). Is this how others would describe you? When they leave your presence or are under your leadership, do they find rest for their souls? Do you humble yourself in obedience to the Lord, saying, “Thy will be done,” or do you say, “My will be done?”
Second, we are to walk “with patience” (Eph. 4:2). Think of Paul’s life. He hated the church of Christ; indeed, because he persecuted the church, he persecuted Christ (Acts 9:4). But Christ bore with him patiently.
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The desperate plight of humankind highlights God’s gracious deliverance. The same power that raised Christ from the dead also raises sinners from spiritual death. The richness of God’s mercy flows from His redeeming love.

Our lives are filled with “but God” moments. Perhaps it was an addiction in which we were ensnared, but God delivered us. Maybe it was a place where we almost compromised our purity, but God restrained us. We may have thought a relationship was irreparable, but God restored it. Failures in parenting may have seemed unbearable, but God redeemed those moments and the gospel was magnified. But the greatest “but God” moment for the believer is when God brings us from death and darkness to life and light in Him. We should never cease to be amazed that the same power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead is also at work to raise the spiritually dead. One of the best places to learn about this amazing grace is in Ephesians 2:1-10.
The Depravity of Man
In the first chapter of Ephesians Paul emphasizes God’s immeasurable power toward His people, illustrating his point with the resurrection and exaltation of Christ (1:20-23). Then in Ephesians 2:1-3 he gives another powerful illustration—the resurrection of believers from spiritual death to life. Like the dry bones in Ezekiel’s vision that came to life by God’s power, Paul proclaims God raises His people from spiritual death to life. Before God saved us Paul states that we were happily walking in darkness, willingly following the course of this world, submissively bowing to the devil, readily indulging the passions of our flesh, and under God’s wrath. Since we “were dead in the trespasses and sins” (v. 1) there is nothing we can do to make ourselves alive. Sadly, many people don’t understand this truth and therefore do not have a proper view of God’s holiness and our need for His deliverance.
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James has already told us that it is impossible for humankind to tame the tongue (v. 8). So what do we do? Jesus tells us that it is not first our tongues, but our hearts, that are the real culprit. “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander” (Matt. 15:18-19). So the tongue simply reflects what is already in the heart.

None of us need to be convinced of how difficult it is to tame the tongue. It is likely that you have already failed today. But in the midst of knowing how hard it is to tame the tongue, we need to be reminded of why it’s so difficult and where to go for help. James 3:1-12 points us in the right direction. 
James uses two illustrations to teach that humankind is unable to bridle his tongue. His first illustration is that of a rider on a horse who can put a bit into the horse’s mouth and control its whole body (Jas. 3:3). His second is of a pilot on a ship that can guide the large vessel with a small rudder, turning it where he wants it to go (v. 4). In contrast, a person cannot control his body with his tongue.
To explain why James uses the imagery of fire. Just as a small fire can set a large forest ablaze, so too the small tongue can set the whole body ablaze. In fact, James calls the tongue “a fire, a world of unrighteousness…staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life” (Jas. 3:6). What gives the tongue such destructive power? It is “set on fire by hell” (v. 6). In other words, Satan stands behind the destructive power of the tongue.
James illustrates his point by using the animal world (Jas. 3:7). God commanded Adam and Eve to have dominion over the creatures of the earth (Gen. 1:26-28), and indeed James says that every kind of animal “can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind” (v. 7). However, humans can’t tame the human tongue. “It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (v. 8). For example, the same mouth can bless God and curse people made in His image (vv. 9-10). But this should not be so, and James uses four images to teach us why.
First, fresh water and salt water cannot pour out of the same spring (Jas. 3:11).
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 Jesus “is the mediator of a new covenant” (Heb. 9:15) we no longer need to offer burnt offerings. Christ has, “by means of his own blood” secured “an eternal redemption” (v. 12), and purified “our conscience from dead works to serve the living God (v. 14). Dear believer, if today you lack assurance of God’s grace, look to Christ.

Many believers misunderstand God’s grace, and therefore lack assurance of it. They wonder if they are really saved. They live thinking they are never enough. They wonder if they forget to confess some of their sins if they will be kept from the kingdom of heaven. They may look at mature Christians and think they fall short of what it means to be a believer. But God doesn’t want His children to live this way. He wants His people to rest in His grace. There are many books of the Bible from which we could learn about the grace of God, and perhaps there aren’t too many Christians who would first think of Leviticus. Yet this book, which spans one month of time in Israel’s history, contains commands that repeatedly point us to God’s grace. In particular, it begins with commands concerning the sacrificial system God gave His people. Although we could focus on any one of the different aspects of this sacrificial system, I want to begin where the book itself begins, with the burnt offering (Lev. 1:1-17).
Not everyone in Israel could afford to bring the same kind of burnt offering, but the Lord, in His grace, made allowance for all peoples, whether rich or poor, to approach Him (Lev. 1:3, 10, 14). This did not mean that the rich could bring a lesser animal than they could afford. After all, sacrifice is supposed to be costly. But God, in His mercy, designed things so that all people had a way to come before Him and receive forgiveness of sins.
The animal would be accepted in place of the offerer in order to make atonement for his sins (Lev. 1:4). The burnt offering was a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
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Let Psalms 88-89 encourage you. Remember, when our peace is in jeopardy and pain threatens our joy, the way forward is through prayer and praise. It is Christ, our good Shepherd, who gives us joy and peace in the midst of our pain.     

Have there been times in your life when you wanted to sing of the love of the Lord, but you felt paralyzed by pain, or choked by chaos? This has certainly been the case for me. Thankfully, when my peace is in jeopardy and pain threatens my joy, the psalms point me again to Christ. This is especially the case with Psalms 88 and 89, which teach us that the way through pain is prayer and praise. Ultimately, it is Christ who gives us joy and peace in the midst of our suffering.
Psalm 88
Troubled Soul
The psalmist begins by crying out to the God of his salvation in the midst of suffering (Ps. 88:1-12). His “soul is full of troubles” (v. 3) and he “has no strength” (v. 4). He cries to the Lord, “You have put me in the depths of the pit” (v. 6) and “Your wrath lies heavy upon me” (v. 7). Like the psalmist, but in a far greater way, Jesus’s soul was full of troubles; His Father and His closest companions shunned him. God’s wrath was laid heavy upon Him “so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26). Let us, then, in the midst of our suffering cry out day and night to the God of our salvation.
Tireless Supplication
In the midst of his sincere questions arising from his severe suffering, the psalmist perseveres in prayer (Ps. 88:13-18). Suffering has been his companion since his youth and the duration, along with the severity, has resulted in darkness being his only friend. In fact, the psalm ends on a note of darkness, “You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness” (v. 18). But this darkness serves to reveal the need for light. And when Christ came as the light of the world He fulfilled this need. Seen through the lens of the cross, then, Psalm 88 gives us hope without minimizing the pain and darkness that is the experience of every believer.
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Death brings an end to our lives. Generations come and go. History books are updated. Our trophies end up in the trash. Our diplomas turn to dust. Our publications go out of print. We must not live for things that have no eternal value. Instead, we must put God at the center of our story, and live for Him, “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:21).      

If someone observed your life for a week, for what would they conclude you are living? Would they observe that you oppress others for power? Would they witness you being envious, foolish, a workaholic, or greedy? Would they say you pursue rugged individualism, or isolate yourself to gain power, position or prestige? The Preacher of Ecclesiastes observes these things in the people around him, and brings them to our attention in order to reveal for what we should be living (Ecc. 4:1-16).
When the Preacher saw “the tears of the oppressed” with “no one to comfort them” he concluded that it would be better for them to be dead than alive, and even better to have never been born (Ecc. 4:1-3). In a broken world oppression is a sad but true reality for many people. But the Lord sees the affliction of His people, hears their cry, and knows their sufferings. He demonstrated this when He delivered the oppressed Israelites out of the land of Egypt (Ex. 3:7-10). But He most fully demonstrated this when He sent His Son into the world “to set at liberty those who are oppressed” (Luke 4:18). Ironically, our liberty came at the cost of His oppression. But it was through the cross that God “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them” (Col. 2:15). Thankfully, there is coming a day when oppression will be no more. In the new Jerusalem, “God himself will be with [His people] as their God” and “will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Rev. 21:3-4). In the meantime, we live in the midst of a fallen world where we will witness oppression. Therefore, the church needs to do everything she can to comfort and help the victims in the name of Jesus Christ.
If power drives the oppressor, then envy drives the workaholic (Ecc. 4:4). But gaining in toil and skill motivated by envy of one’s neighbor gets one nowhere in the end. “Bitter jealousy and selfish ambition” is “earthly, unspiritual, demonic” and leads to “disorder and every vile practice” (Jas. 3:14-16).
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It’s a wonderful truth that the Word “became flesh and dwelt among us” in order to reveal God’s glory. But it’s even more amazing that “from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:16). When Israel stood around Mount Sinai, when Moses received the law of God, His glory was so terrifying that they “said to Moses, ‘You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die’” (Ex. 20:19). It remains true that “our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29). But “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17), so that we no longer need to fear approaching God the Father. 

Christmastime often gives believers more opportunities with family and friends to discuss the true wonder of the season. We can tell them that we need not wonder who God is and what He is like. He has condescended to us through both the living Word and the written Word. If we want to know the triune God, we must search the Scriptures and ask the Holy Spirit to show us Christ, who in turn reveals the Father. The gospel of John is a good place to start.
Strikingly, the apostle John tell us that the Word who “was in the beginning with God,” through whom “all things were made,” and who is “the true light,” also “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, the Son of God “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:7). In fulfillment of all that the tent of meeting and tabernacle represented in the Old Testament, most notably God’s presence (see Ex. 25:8; 2 Cor. 6:16; Rev. 21:3), Jesus “dwelt among us” in order to reveal God’s glory. Just as “the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle” in Moses’s day, so too the glory of God the Father filled the Son of God, “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Without grace the truth would be terrifying. We are sinners that stand condemned before God’s holy law. But the gospel of grace testifies that the Son of God “gave the right to become children of God” to those “who believed in his name” (v. 12).
The entirety of the Old Testament Scriptures “bear witness” about Jesus (John 5:39) and there are numerous prophecies that speak about His coming. So important was the arrival of the Word that God sent a witness to prepare His way.
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Out of His lovingkindness, God chose the believers in Thessalonica to be His children, and His grace would undergird their entire Christian lives. They had peace with Him in Christ Jesus. The Lord’s blessing was upon them. He was keeping them steadfast in the faith. His face and grace shone upon them. The Lord’s name and blessing rested upon them, granting them a peace that pervaded every aspect of their lives (see Num. 6:22-27). 

The church is the family of God. Paul beautifully expresses this truth at the end of his letter to the Thessalonians by using the term “brothers” five times (1 Thess. 5:12, 14, 25, 26, 27). Every family has rules, whether spoken or unspoken, or more likely, a combination of both. So it is in God’s family. There is certain conduct that is to flow from those converted by the power of God. God doesn’t save us to leave us alone. He saves us to sanctify us. We are His holy people, set apart for His glory.
Unlike some of Paul’s other letters to churches, the church in Thessalonica received a good report. To be sure, there were problems that needed to be addressed, like idleness, but overall this church received praise. Even so, Paul wants them to increase in doing the good things they are already doing. Therefore, he closes his first letter to them with exhortations regarding how to conduct themselves as the family of God. These exhortations have much to teach our churches today.
Community Standards
Paul first exhorts the believers regarding their relationship with church leaders (1 Thess. 5:12-13). These leaders had received their position by the Lord, labored among the believers, and admonished them in matters of the faith. The church members were to recognize their work and respect them in love. One of the greatest ways they could do this was by being at peace with one another.
The same is true today. The more we dwell in unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ, the less our pastors and elders have to spend time seeking to resolve conflict between us. How are you holding your pastors and elders, as well as other leadership, in honor? Are you a joy for them to lead because you’re respectful and submissive to their leadership? Do you pray regularly for them and encourage them with your words and works?
Second, Paul exhorts the believers regarding their relationship with three specific groups of people (1 Thess. 5:14). Some among them were idle. Instead of leading orderly, disciplined lives, they were depending on others to support them and bringing disgrace upon the gospel. Paul tells the believers to admonish them. Others were fainthearted. Perhaps persecution, or their own personal problems, had deeply discouraged their faith.
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