Something Better
- Details
- Category: Emotional Wholeness
- Hits: 4690
I Have Something Better for You
Isa 56:3-7 3 Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. 4 For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; 5 Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.
Do you have a condition that will never change, then hear what the Lord says to the eunuch (in the above Scripture). The Lord addresses our unchangeable problems. In Isaiah 56:3-7 He speaks to two groups of people - the eunuch and the stranger. Both had problems that would never change, both saw their lives from a human perspective, and both had a negative view of their lives. But God helped them by redirecting their perceptions to the eternal; He showed them where to place their eyes. He tells them to not define their lives by their problems - which are temporary. He told them to see their lives in light of His eternal blessings; He wanted them to know that those who follow the Lord will inherit a blessing far more valuable than any blessing received in this life; His blessings are filled with joy and they have no end. Let us consider the eunuch.
Behold!
Notice the eunuch's emphasis. He says "behold" which means "look at me”. Look at my life and my condition, look at what has befallen me! The eunuch had unilaterally reached a conclusion about his life and it wasn't positive. He was consumed with the physical. His own thinking kept him from seeing with God's eyes. He saw his condition, he saw that it was permanent, and he saw that he would never father a family. For him his condition was set, it would never change and there were no answers – he was a dry tree and that's all that mattered! But God says, not so fast, allow me to describe your life!
I Am a Dry Tree
This statement spoken by the eunuch was accurate in a human sense, but was incomplete. It left out the eternal nature of God's blessing. Humanly speaking, it was a true statement for he could not father children. But what he did not consider is that any and all earthly blessings are going to pass away, there is an end to our life on earth. God said, I have a blessing for you that will never pass away! But while a statement from our perspective may be true, if we do not see with God's eyes then we do not see the whole truth. The eunuch's opinions were partially true but partial truth will not bring emotional or spiritual wholeness and partial truth will not produce an overcoming faith. If the eunuch is to be whole then he must see the big picture; he must be emotionally impacted by the eternal.
Some Problems are Permanent
God has placed us on planet Earth and one thing is for sure - in this life we are going to experience problems - serious problems. Some problems we experience are going to be like the eunuch's - they are not going away. They may be internal or external and we will be living with them, or in them, for the remainder of our lives. Our challenge is to not allow our problems to define our life. If we see only with our eyes, then our problems will isolate us from the hope found in the eternal blessings of God. The eunuch was filled with a "behold, look at me" kind of thinking and the Lord corrected him. This is not to minimize his problems for they were very real and very painful, but if we want emotional and spiritual wholeness then we have to allow God, by His Word, to change our thinking. We have to give God the last word on everything! He says our hope does not lie in the physical, or in better circumstances, for they will pass away. He says our hope lies in a Person who has purchased for us an infinitely better future that will never pass away!
Revelation Frees the Soul
It is the unchangeable nature of our difficulties that brings one to lasting change; life can be cruel but God uses our pain to open our eyes. We all are in a process of growth and usually the last thing to change is the way we see. God allows us to come to a place of hopelessness, for once in that place, we become willing to listen. And, when we listen to God then He opens our eyes and changes our heart. Prior to change we see only from our thinking. After change, our eyes and ears are opened to His eternal blessings! How many have experienced dramatic and lasting change only after coming to a place that was beyond big (far too painful, far too hopeless, and far too permanent)!
When all routes of escape fail, then it is revelation that opens our eyes. God's revelation said to the eunuch "do not say you're a dry tree for I have something better for you than sons and daughters. I have an everlasting name that will not be cut off!"
How Do You See Your Life?
Notice, the Lord did not change the eunuch's condition but pointed him to the Eternal and told him to speak of himself in a new way. One has to hear God's word in order to change the way they speak of themselves. Real change comes when God changes the way we see (think) and then the way we speak; when we begin to speak in agreement with God, when His promises form our words, and His definitions our reality, then we can live in the "I have something better for you" kind of faith.
Look to the Future
Our lives may never change but Jesus taught us to look to the joy that is set before us. This is the way He lived; He endured the cross, despising the shame, for He looked to the joy that was set before Him. Heb. 12:1-2. He tells us to lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and run with patience the race set before us. We are to rid our lives of everything that hinders our faith - fear, anxiety, depression, discouragement, hopelessness, confusion, sins - to put our eyes on the goal of eternal life, and let nothing keep us from finishing this race.
Our lives are but a vapor and we are here only for a moment and then our life on Earth is over. Reality is this - Eternity has no end and our lives are about where we will spend Eternity. If that question is settled, then whatever our circumstances - whether a eunuch or a stranger - and whatever the cost of our present condition, we have a reason to rejoice!
God bless you,
Jim