The Ground and The Deer

by Joshua Bland

Sicut areola praeparata ad inrigationes aquarum sic anima mea praeparata est ad Te Deus.

This verse comes from the Latin Vulgate. It is, according to its numbering system, Psalm 41:2. Translated into English, it reads: "As the ground is prepared for the irrigation of water, so my soul is prepared for You, God." In our modern translations, this is Psalm 42:1: "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God."

My wife and I have a cat named Buttercup. Sunday morning, as I was getting up, she was making constant, obnoxious noise. Upon inspection, I found the reason for her whining: she was out of water. I picked up her water bowl; she was at my feet meowing with every step I took. As the faucet ran, her cries continued. She found no relief until her water bowl was back in its rightful place filled with fresh, cool water.

Not having water was a source of distress for Buttercup. She thirsted for it. Hers is a more domesticated image, but the message is the same. Without water, the animal withers. Even after getting a drink, eventually the thirst comes back. Water is necessary for life and growth. God is the same for our souls.

We thirst for what only God can give. Jesus said that He would give water and that whoever drank from this supply would never thirst again (John 4:13-14). He spoke not of the literal water which could be drawn from the well; instead, His parable gave an image of the source and hope of life with God, a life that has both present and future implications. In the next verse, the woman to whom He spoke eagerly asked for this water. We have the same opportunity. There is, however, a flip side to this: we can choose not to drink. Our rational minds, to our detriment, can convince us that we will be fine without the water.

This brings us back to Jerome's Latin interpretation. When I read this several weeks ago, it struck me as incredible. You see, when we know we are thirsty, we often choose to go for other things. I am a fan of Dr. Pepper, as well as a variety of hot teas. I choose them, knowing that they may not always be the best drink for me. The imagery which Jerome uses is striking because of its implications: as the farmer prepares the ground to receive water, so our souls must be prepared. The ground can only prepare itself to a certain extent, and it has no control over how much water the rain provides. The farmer takes all things into account and gives the necessary water source and supply for growth.

The amazing thing is that God does just that. Whether you prefer the illustration of the deer to that of the soil, the point is the same. God is the source of growth and hope. Without the water, the deer cannot survive. Without the water, the ground cannot produce.

We need to thirst daily for this water which Christ gives, water which will become "a well of water springing up to eternal life."

Bibliography

Biblia Sacra Vulgata: The Latin Vulgate Bible. Kindle.

New American Standard Bible. La Habra, CA: Lockman Foundation, 1977. Kindle.

No Excuses

by Joshua Bland

We have all made excuses.

I teach high school. Periodically, my students will come to me having had some issues completing their homework assignments. Some favorite examples are: "My computer was not working," "I forgot," "I left it at home," or "You never said that..." (this last despite the fact that everyone else in the class heard me say it). I have even been given the classic "My dog at my homework" on several occasions. One student was wise enough to bring me the demolished shreds of said homework as proof.

While only one student was wise enough to bring evidence, it is quite possible that some of these other excuses were legitimate. The computer may actually have not been working, or perhaps in the busy-ness of the day you actually forgot about the assignment. What is common, regardless of the truth of the excuse or not, is our tendency as humans to make excuses when we find ourselves in trouble.

We use excuses to try and ease up the trouble or burden which we have to carry. This is a learned trait which we can trace all the way back to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3. Making excuses is not strictly an individual phenomenon: we can see it present everywhere from a group of kids on the elementary school playground to the highest levels of government.

With this abundance of excuses, it should not surprise us that we do the same thing with God. We think that we are too ill-equipped or unworthy to answer the call of God. We tell God that He could not use us because of what we have done; that our past is too dirty. We challenge God when He calls us to something hard because we do not like what it will cost us (financially, socially, or in any number of other ways).

A classic example of this can be found in Exodus 3-4. God was calling Moses to be His servant, to go "to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt" (3:10). This was a very specific purpose. If you read through the rest of these chapters, you will find Moses doing the same thing that we so often do: he made excuses based on his insufficiency. Each time, God challenged Moses with a divine response.

Paul in 2 Corinthians 12 writes that he was given a thorn in the flesh. He begged God that it would be taken away from Him. God's response can be found in verse 9: "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness."

Here's the point: those things which we use as our excuses may be the very things which God wants to use for His glory. The call which He places on our lives may seem scary, and often we will not be good enough to fulfill it on our own, and that is fine- He wants to make us good enough. He wants to use our lives as examples through which to demonstrate His own strength.

Our challenge this week is quite simple: NO EXCUSES. Let's have courage to trust God as He leads, not relying on our strength but His.

Bibliography

New American Standard Bible. La Habra, CA: Lockman Foundation, 1977. Kindle.

The Next Steps

by Joshua Bland

Life involves change. While most of the details of life are somewhat inconstant, that particular fact is not. Everything changes: we grow, our families grow, our jobs change, our interests and hobbies change, and we move.

It is amazing to me to think that God is working change in each of our lives. He is the sovereign Lord of all creation, and He knows every detail long before we do. David writes: "O Lord, Thou hast searched me and known me. Thou dost know when I sit down and when I rise up; Thou dost understand my thought from afar. Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down, and art intimately acquainted with all my ways" (Psalm 139:1-3). A few verses later he notes that "Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Thy book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them" (Psalm 139:16).

As I am writing, my wife and I have been discussing what we are going to have for supper. In the big picture, this dilemma seems to me to be quite trivial. Since God knows all of my days before one of them came to be, He knows our present discussion, both its debate and its outcome. He has long known of the passions and opportunities which He has set before us, and is intimate with the details of my life. This becomes even more incredible when I realize that I am not the center of God's attention: the same way He saw the life of David, He sees and knows each one of ours. He knows all of our meal dilemmas, as well as everything else about us.

Recently, the Landing underwent an address change. This has occurred for several reasons. For quite some time, God has been guiding my heart and passion more and more towards educational ministry. This meant balancing time between family, school, and pastoral responsibilities. In recent months, He has affirmed and reaffirmed my calling to teach. After much prayer and consideration, I have resigned from my pastoral duties at Ouachita River Fellowship.

This change brings about much opportunity. For myself, my family, and my scholastic roles/responsibilities, this will open up many doors to serve and grow. However, it also offers a new dynamic to ministry. While I will no longer be a pastor at ORF, I will continue to write here at The Landing along with Thomy and Wade. Though the situation has necessarily changed according to the leading of the Holy Spirit, my commitment to sharing the Gospel and helping the Church grow in faith and ministry has not.

Knowing that God is omniscient, that He sees our every step and so much more, we are faced with an interesting question: will we trust Him as He leads? Will we step out in faith to answer His call in our lives? I can honestly say that I am no perfect example in this, but that I am eager to see how God will work in the days ahead. I pray for each of us that God would give us both discernment to hear His voice and courage to follow wherever He leads.

Bibliography

New American Standard Bible. La Habra, CA: Lockman Foundation, 1977. Kindle.

The Beauty of Uncertainty

by Joshua Bland

A while back I got to have supper with one of my best friends. We met at Waffle House and enjoyed some time visiting, talking about whatever we needed to; no wives or crowds, just two brothers sharing each other's joys and burdens. I have continued thinking about our discussions and have become all the more impressed with something that I had been pondering for several days before: uncertainty is a beautiful thing.

When this thought first crossed my mind a week ago, I thought it to be madness. After all, if we're completely honest, uncertainty is quite possibly one of the most frustrating things in our lives. I cannot even begin to recount all of the times that uncertainty has pushed me to the limits of reason and character. I've done stupid things, said things that I've regretted, and more all because I have been bogged down in uncertainty.

But what if we looked at uncertainty from a different perspective? Instead of it immediately foreshadowing our own doom and destruction, what if we saw uncertainty as an opportunity to marvel at the character, grace, and provision of God?

Think of Abraham: God had provided a son to him in his old age, and some time later asked Abraham to sacrifice that same son (Genesis 22). Or take Joseph: sold by his brothers into slavery (Genesis 37:12-36), later put into prison in Egypt (Genesis 39-40). Another Joseph also comes to mind here: his fiancé becomes pregnant through no fault of his own and then an angel appears and tells him that the child is the son of the Most High (Matthew 1:18-25). For each of these men, uncertainty perhaps caused fear, hesitation, or doubt; with full assurance, in the same situations I know these would be things that would cross my mind. I would imagine that I’m not alone in this.

We could then look to the disciples. They walked for years alongside Jesus, seeing His earthly ministry. They had heard the message, seen the miracles, and distributed food from meager supply to the massive crowds. They had seen Jesus crucified, and with Him their hopes and dreams. Yet even as they hid away for their own safety (John 20:19-20), the plan of God was at work. The uncertainties of man were foreknown completely by God.

I do not wish to deny the power of uncertainty. It can be a daunting, overwhelming entity. However, since God is omnipotent and omniscient, uncertainty has no power over Him. We can trust, even in our moments of greatest struggle, that He has a plan. Through these times, God can lead us to greater faith and reliance on Him, to greater understanding, to greater humility; what beauty is found in the midst of uncertainty. If there is nothing else in the world to give reason, we can praise Him and find hope because “I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2).