Day 46

The Highs and Lows of Life

Wisdom Psalm 22:1-9
New Testament Mark 1:9-27
Old Testament Exodus 17:11-12,18:14-23

Introduction

As I look back on my almost fifty years as a Christian, there have been times of great spiritual highs – experiences of the Holy Spirit, God’s love, the joy of seeing people encounter Jesus for the first time, amazing answers to prayer and seeing the kingdom of God advancing. On the other hand, there have also been spiritual lows – desert experiences, bereavements, disappointments, failures, temptations, opposition, health issues and exhaustion. In the passages for today we see how spiritual highs and lows are closely connected.

Wisdom

Psalm 22:1-9

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
  Why are you so far from saving me,
  so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
  by night, but I find no rest.

7 All who see me mock me;
   they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
   “let the Lord rescue him. ...”

9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
   you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.

Commentary

Trust that ultimately suffering will end in victory

This psalm forms the background to Jesus’ cry on the cross, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ (v.1a). It is not a coincidence that Jesus quoted this psalm (Matthew 27:46).

Psalm 22 lays out a prophetic background to the cross and resurrection, which we see fulfilled in Jesus. He was ‘scorned by everyone, and despised by the people’ (v.6); mocked and insulted (v.7). They hurled insults at him, shaking their heads (v.7b). ‘He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him’ (v.8a).

This accurately describes the suffering of Jesus (see Matthew 27:31–46) and yet it ends in victory.

The message of the psalm is about the importance of trust at our very low points (Psalm 22:4–5,9). Jesus, at the very lowest point of his life – crucified and God forsaken – trusted in God to deliver him. The apparent defeat of the cross turned out to be the greatest victory of all time.

If you are at a low point, remember that suffering does not have the last word. In Jesus, the resurrection and the victory of God have the last word. Keep trusting him.

Prayer

Lord, thank you so much for the times when I have cried out to you and been saved; trusted in you and not been disappointed. Help me in times of suffering to keep trusting in you.
New Testament

Mark 1:9-27

9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being opened and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’

12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by Satan.

14 After... Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.

16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him.

21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority... 23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out...

25 “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” 26 The impure... came out of him with a shriek.

27 The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.”

Commentary

Grow in authority through the battles and blessings

Pippa and I watched a video of Billy Graham preaching in Los Angeles in 1963. The film is in black and white. He preaches from the Authorised Version of the Bible. But even after over half a century, there is power in the message. What is most striking of all is the authority with which he spoke. This kind of authority is a reflection of the supreme authority of Jesus.

In this passage, we see that God prepared Jesus through the spiritual highs and lows in the blessings and battles he experienced.

Mark is the shortest Gospel. It covers three weeks of Jesus’ actions and twenty minutes of his words. It is the liveliest Gospel; it races from event to event with an air of breathless excitement. It is the urgent announcement of the good news of Jesus Christ.

Mark’s favourite word is ‘immediately’. Jesus knew all about a pressurised life. He experienced both spiritual highs and lows. At his baptism Jesus experienced a great spiritual high. He saw a vision: ‘He saw heaven being torn open’ (v.10b). He experienced the Holy Spirit: ‘The Spirit descending on him like a dove’ (v.10b). He heard God’s voice: ‘A voice came from heaven’ (v.11a). He received an assurance of sonship: ‘You are my Son’ (v.11b). He knew deep down God’s love for him: ‘… whom I love’ (v.11c). He enjoyed God’s pleasure: ‘With you I am well pleased’ (v.11d).

From there he went straight into a spiritual low out in the desert where he was tempted by Satan for forty days (v.12).

Do not be surprised by the spiritual attack that follows great spiritual experiences. We always try to warn people about this. If, for example, on the Alpha Weekend¹, you have been filled with the Holy Spirit, receiving a deep assurance of God’s love for you and knowing that you are a child of God, do not be surprised by the attacks – in the form of doubts and temptations – that often follow.

As I look back on my own life, I can see that, although these times of testing seemed very painful at the time, I now recognise how significant they were in preparing me for what lay ahead.

This is all part of God’s economy – it was ‘the Spirit’ who led Jesus into the desert (v.12) to ‘be tempted by Satan’ (v.13). In some ways, the ‘desert’ times and fierce temptations give an assurance that it really is true. The experience of the Holy Spirit is real but at the same time the spiritual battle and testing may be intense.

Jesus emerged from this period of testing with an extraordinary authority:

  1. Authority to evangelise

Jesus preached the gospel and called people to follow him. Your number one priority is to cultivate a relationship with Jesus.

  1. Authority to lead

When Jesus wanted someone to leave their job and work directly for the kingdom, he went up to them and asked (vv.17,20). The earliest disciples’ lives were changed completely from being centred on fish to being centred on people.

  1. Authority to teach

People were amazed at Jesus’ teaching because ‘he taught them as one who had authority’ (v.22). All the people were so astonished that they asked each other, ‘What is this? A new teaching – and with authority!’ (v.27).

  1. Authority to heal

Jesus heals the man possessed by an evil spirit. He has authority to say to the evil spirit, ‘Come out of him!’ (v.25). People are amazed not only at his teaching, but also at the way in which he ‘gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him’ (v.27).

Whatever you are going through, believe that God is preparing you and giving you an increasing authority for whatever it is that he is calling you to do.

Ask him to fill you again with the Holy Spirit. Know that God looks at you with pleasure. Listen to his voice saying to you, ‘You are my [child], whom I love; with you I am well pleased’ (v.11).

Prayer

Lord, fill me again with your Holy Spirit… Help me to grow in authority in my words and actions.
Old Testament

Exodus 17:11-12,18:14-23

17
11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up – one on one side, one on the other – so that his hands remained steady till sunset.

18
14 When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said...

17 ‘What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out…

19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him... 21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men... and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 ... but let them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”

Commentary

Pray and act to turn the lows into highs

Moses had moments of great spiritual lows. The people ‘quarrelled with Moses’ (17:2); they ‘grumbled’ (v.3); they were ‘almost ready to stone [him]’ (v.4); the ‘Amalekites came and attacked’ them (v.8). Yet God turned the lows into highs. How?

  1. Support and encourage one another

    First, Moses prayed for himself. He ‘cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do…?”[and] the Lord answered’ (vv.4–5). Second, he interceded for Joshua and the people: ‘As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning’ (v.11).

    ‘When Moses’ hands grew tired… Aaron and Hur held up his hands – one on one side and one on the other… So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword… “For hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord”’ (vv.12–13,16).

    This passage reminds us of the power and necessity of intercessory prayer. It also reminds us of the importance of the loving support and encouragement that we can give to one another when we are weary.

  2. Learn how to delegate

    Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, gave Moses some excellent advice (18:19). He pointed out that if he didn’t delegate, he would wear himself out: ‘The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone’ (v.18b). Moses was humble and wise enough to listen to his father-in-law.

    Trying to do everything yourself is ‘not good’ (v.17). It is a bad form of leadership and leads to exhaustion: ‘You’ll burn out’ (v.18, MSG). It also results in the underutilisation of other people’s gifts, time and ability. They are likely to get frustrated and so are you.

    However, delegation in itself will not solve the problem. We need the right leaders. If you delegate to the wrong people, no amount of micromanaging will solve the problems. If you get the right leaders you can trust them, release them and empower them.

    Follow Jethro’s advice. Use, at least, these three criteria when selecting and appointing leaders. First, choose capable people (v.21a). You need people of ability in order to have confidence as you delegate. Second, choose leaders on the basis of their spirituality – those who ‘fear God’ (v.21b). The third criterion was character. You need people who are ‘trustworthy’ (v.21c) – loyal, discreet and reliable.

Moses gave leaders a variety of responsibilities (‘thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens’, v.21c), presumably depending on their ability. He delegated a certain amount of the decision making but not all. The simple decisions were delegated but not the difficult ones (v.26). The result was that Moses was able ‘to stand the strain’ and the people went home ‘satisfied’ (v.23).

Prayer

Lord, help me to make my relationship with you my number one priority and, through the highs and lows of life, to stay close to you.

Pippa adds

Exodus 18:9-19

In Exodus 18, we see what a good father-in-law Jethro was. He rejoices over Moses’ successes and he offers advice where he sees there are problems.

Verse of the Day

Mark 1:17

Jesus said, ‘Come, follow me’.

Thought for the Day

The experience of the Holy Spirit is real but at the same time the spiritual battle and testing may be intense.

reader

App

Download the Bible in One Year app for iOS or Android devices and read along each day.

reader

Email

Sign up now to receive Bible in One Year in your inbox each morning. You’ll get one email each day.

reader

Website

Start reading today’s devotion right here on the BiOY website.

Read now
reader

Book

The Bible in One Year Commentary is available as a book.

References

¹ Alpha is a series of sessions exploring the Christian faith in a relaxed and informal environment. Each talk looks at a different question around faith and is designed to inspire conversation. Alpha typically runs over ten weeks, with a weekend away. For more information or to find an Alpha near you, visit alpha.org

Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.

Scripture marked (MSG) taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel

  • Introduction
  • Wisdom Bible
  • Wisdom Commentary
  • New Testament Bible
  • New Testament Commentary
  • Old Testament Bible
  • Old Testament Commentary
  • Pippa Adds

This website stores data such as cookies to enable necessary site functionality and analytics. Find out more