A View From The Sycamore Tree: Swearing to Noah and to Me

Monday, June 29, 2009

Swearing to Noah and to Me - Isaiah 54 part 2

"For this is like the days of Noah to Me;

When i swore that the waters of Noah

should not flood the earth again,

so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,

nor will I rebuke you.

For the mountains may be removed

and the hills may shake,

but My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,

and My covenant of peace will not be shaken,"

says the LORD who has compassion on you.

(vs 9-10)

I have found a LOT of comfort in the covenant of grace these past couple of months. Barren times can be blind times. It can be hard for us to see that which is true. Thankfully, the reality and the everlasting nature of Christ's covenant with me is not based on my seeing the sign, but on His. God's vision is NEVER blurred. The darkness is as light to Him. He is always better than 20/20!

I thought it was interesting that, in the midst of Isaiah 54's discourse on the humiliation and exaltation of Zion, Noah comes up. Noah has been my good friend in my personal barren land. I've been encouraged and rebuked by his faithfulness to his God in the midst of the darkest of days. I've been reminded of the loneliness and isolation that he and his family faced due to their righteousness. I've been challenged to flee to the ark of Christ for safety in my own storm just as they fled to the ark of gopher wood for safety in theirs. Particularly, I have been granted peace from the words of Genesis 9 and the covenant of the rainbow. The flood has subsided. Noah and the animals have left the ark. One stage of the trial is over. The first thing built in the new world is an altar upon which to worship God. The call to "be fruitful and multiply" has gone out. Then God says:

"Now behold, I Myself do establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you..... And I establish My covenant with you, and all flesh shall never be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth." And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between ME and the earth. And it shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud, and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all felsh that is on the earth."

What has profoundly impacted me these past few months is the realization that the covenant sign of the rainbow isn't so much for us to see as it is for God to see. Sure, it has great benefit for us as a reminder of God's promise, but the text says "When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant." I know that sometimes in my dark days I lose the ability to see things as they are. Great doubts creep in. The covenant water of baptism have dried up - I can't see it. I can't feel it. I can't tell that it was ever there. BUT God can! In the same sense that the rainbow is placed there for God to look upon so has the sign of the covenant been placed on me to be viewed by my covenant keeping God. Even when I can't see that I am marked out, He can! Phillip reminded me recently that from the sky a rainbow is a complete circle, much like a wedding band. Our great Husband has the perfect view to see the sign of His marriage to His people.

I suppose the sweetness of that thought has made the reference to Noah in this chapter even more precious to me. Here are God's people feeling and looking barren, desolate, humiliated, and forsaken. But God reminds them of the steadfastness of His promises. Just as He swore to Noah, so He has sworn to His church. Remember verse 7-8: "For a brief moment i forsook you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In an outburst of anger I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting lovingkindness I will have compassion on you." This promise is just as sure as His promise to Noah!

Our covenanting God goes on to say: "For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but My lovingkindnes will not be removed from you, and My covenant of peace will not be shaken," says the LORD who has compassion on you. Matthew Henry writes, "Mountains have sometimes been shaken by earthquakes and removed, but the promises of God were never broken by the shock of any event. When our friends fail us our God does not, nor does His kingdom depart. Whom God loves, He loves to the end. The covenant is immovable and inviolable, because it is built not on our merit, but on God's mercy, which is from everlasting to everlasting."

Oh Christian, does not your heart rejoice that it is HIS everlasting covenant to you and that is based on HIS merit and mercy? He sees the sign disconsolate one. Trust His vision and not your own!

Trusting,

Lori

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Here We Go!

This is a blog about the goodness and grace of God, even amidst the angst of autism.

So ... how did this whole thing start?

Well, I said I'd never do this but obviously here I am. After being challenged, encouraged, goaded and double dog dared, several years ago I began to blog.

Near the end of 2008, I found myself with renewed passion for God's Word, Kingdom, and people and I was stirred, through nothing other than the simple means of grace, to a hunger and thirsting for righteousness unlike any other time in my 20+ years as a Christian.

During that period, I began typing out the things that were striking me the most in my quiet time each morning. Honestly, I started because I wanted to have a written record that I could pass along to my children one day - lettered Ebenezers reminding them of how much their Mom loves God and His Word.

While doing that I found myself so excited on certain days that I began to email my musings to some of my girl friends, hoping to encourage them even as Christ was encouraging me. Many of those gals challenged me to put these things online in a blog form so others could have access to them. That's how this site started.

Now, to shoot really straight with you, that personal "revival" of mine has pendumatically ebbed and flowed over the course of the days, months and years since 2008. For a prolonged period after that initial renewing surge I actually found myself in an utterly antithetical place. God, in His wisdom, was pleased to grant me a substantial season in the dark dungeon of "doubting castle" - those days were some of the hardest of my life post-Jesus but were providentially ordained days ultimately used for my good and for my God's glory.

"Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come" by nothing but the amazing grace of an amazing God.

I've learned that even in the midst of the darkest of days there's just something about the light of God's Word that is powerful. The Scripture has been an anchor for me in the storm surge of life. Even when my eyes have seemed to be rather veiled and my vision somewhat dimmed, there has still been a re-focusing force that has risen when I have gazed long and hard upon the Word of God. Thus, even as a saint who struggles, I continue to write of my God, my Redeemer, His promises, and His truth.

I'm not always very regular at posting here because there are many more important duties in my life right now than blog uploads - ie. being wife, mom, housekeeper, cook, taxi service, chief bottle washer, and laundry lady - along with that music thing I do as a side gig! But, as time allows I'll be cutting and pasting from Joshua and Elizabeth's future journal gift and sharing some of it with you as well.

Thanks for stopping by!

Who's Doing This?

Lori Sealy is daily amazed at the grace of God in her life. Adopted as an infant and raised in an evangelical church, she rebelled against the things of Christ during high school and considered herself an atheist. Upon entering college, the God who ordains our steps ordained that her path would cross with several students who loved Christ and loved His Word. During that first year of college, she set out to destroy the faith of these young Christians. They set out to pray for her salvation.

Knowing that "faith comes through hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ," six college students daily confronted her sin and challenged her with the truths of God's glorious Word. Their obedience in proclaiming the good news of the gospel of Christ bore fruit in August of 1988 when by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, she was adopted for the second time in her life - this time into the family of God.

Lori is now the wife of Phillip Sealy. They live in Sylva, North Carolina where Phillip has been called to plant a new church for the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA) - Redeemer Church Sylva. The Sealys have two children Joshua (14) and Elizabeth (12). Lori and Joshua both live with autism.

In her spare time (what little there is) Lori masquerades as a part-time songwriter/singer and performs on a limited monthly basis. Lori's newest CD, "The Strife is Over," has recently released. Hard copies of it, along with her last release "Begone Unbelief", are available through CD Baby and Lori's own website. Digital downloads are available through iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon mp3!

Be sure to visit http://www.lorisealy.com/ to learn more!

Why the Sycamore Tree?

Zaccheus, the wee little man, wanted to see Jesus and so he climbed into the sycamore tree in order to get a good look. Lori, the wee little wife and mom, longs to see Jesus as well. I realize that the place where I will catch a true glimpse of Him is in the pages of His Word.

The Bible is my sycamore tree and I find myself longing more and more to climb up into its branches that I might see Christ more clearly. This blog is simply a record of what God is teaching me as I spend time in "the tree" of His glorious Word. If anyone reads it I'll be amazed; if anyone profits from it I'll be humbled; and if anything good is found in it Soli Deo Gloria!