I am sure you are all familiar with the phrase that “The only things that is certain in this life are death and taxes.” I am writing you this letter on April 15th ... Tax Day ... and ironically enough it is also a day on which I have once again been powerfully reminded of the brevity of our earthly journey and how death awaits each of us just around the corner.
Literally moments ago, I was on the phone speaking long distance and having a final word of prayer with a dear friend and his wife, Dave and Carol Gavette. I had the privilege of meeting Dave over twenty-five years ago on my first trip to Alaska. He is one of a handful of men with whom I have regularly spent a week each year since that time enjoying that beautiful wilderness and what I have come to regard as “God’s Disneyland.”
We affectionately refer to our friend as “Captain Dave.” He has been ill for the past few years, and though with us always in spirit, Dave has not been able to join us the past three summers on our annual trip. He and his wife, Carol, have joined us online for worship at RLBC each Sunday for the past several years. His time is very short. We said our final goodbye and had our last word of prayer this side of Heaven together. Soon he will be face to face with our Savior. My life will not be quite as full, and Glory will become just that much more attractive.
Yes, it is April 15th, the deadline for our taxes to be paid; and it is another day in which we are all twenty-four hours closer to another deadline – our transition into the next life. How grateful to know that, for a child of God, there is an additional certainty beyond death and taxes ... the certainty of abundant eternal life because of the infinite love of our Lord Jesus Christ for each one of His children. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of one of His godly ones (Ps. 116:15).
Life is indeed very short. We want to make each and every day count in light of eternity. That’s why chapter 47 in our good friend Robert J. Morgan’s work, One Hundred Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart, spoke to me so powerfully this day. Morgan shares yet another wonderful verse that each one of us should commit to memory, specifically Romans 12:12 which states: “Rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer” (NASB). In underscoring the importance of treasuring this verse in our hearts, Morgan supplies the following account.
On June 22, 1879, the great Victorian preacher, Charles Spurgeon, preached a sermon on this text in which he said the first two phrases – rejoice in hope and be patient in affliction – are powerful antidotes against poison, but they must be taken with prayer. “Joy and patience are curative essences,” he said, “but they must be dropped into a glass full of supplication, and then they will be wonderfully efficient.” These are the Great Physician's three prescriptions for tough times: rejoice in hope, be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.
Take each phrase in turn, memorize it, meditate on it, consider its implications, then go on to the next.
Rejoice in hope. When we can’t rejoice in circumstances, we can rejoice in the anticipation of what God is going to do with them, in them, through them, despite them, and because of them. On cloudy days the sun still shines as brightly as ever in the center of the solar system; and when we rejoice in hope, we are saying, “Despite current conditions, the Son is shining for me as brightly as ever with healing in His rays.”
Be patient in affliction. Rejoicing in hope enables us to be patient in affliction. Patienceis hope in different clothing. It is the ability to wait calmly as the Lord works everything in conformity with the purpose of His will.
Be persistent in prayer. “Whenever your hope seems to fail you and your joy begins to sink,” said Spurgeon, “the shortest method is to take to your knees. By remembering the promise in prayer, hope will be sustained and then joy is sure to spring from it.” An open Bible and a bowed head create a powerful atmosphere in which God’s will is brought to bear upon the distresses of life. Jesus even recommended we “nag” God with our requests, like a persistent neighbor at a friend’s door or a relentless widow harassing a presiding judge.
Romans 12:12 is a shot in the arm for whatever ails us.
Rejoicing in ...
*Rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given you (Deut. 26:11)
*Rejoice in the presence of the Lord your God (Deut. 27:7)
*Rejoice in the shadow of His wings (Ps. 63:7)
*Rejoice in ... praise (Ps. 106:47)
*Rejoice in the way revealed by His decrees (Ps. 119:14)
*Rejoice in the Holy One of Israel (Is. 29:19)
*Rejoice in His House of Prayer (Is. 56:7)
*Rejoice in the hope of the Glory of God (Rom. 5:2)
*Rejoice in hope (Rom. 12:12)
*Rejoice in the Lord always (Phil. 4:4)“Prayer brings us into that state of grace where tribulation is not only endured, but where there is under it a spirit of rejoicing.” (E.M. Bounds)
Morgan’s account ends there. I am so grateful that the love of our Savior does not. In a short while the earthly life of our friend, Captain Dave, will end, but his richest life will just begin … and it will last forever. Such is the faithful promise and absolute assurance that God gives to all His children.
So, I paid the balance of my taxes today, thanked God for the ability and the privilege of doing so, and have also thanked Him for His gracious salvation in Christ which will allow all of His believing remnant to one day exclaim in unison with the apostle Paul: “O, death where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? … thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Cor. 15:55 and 57 KJV).
Soli Deo Gloria, indeed!