Johann Quisumbing

Spiritual Lessons for those who Listens by JQuisumbing

A mother of 3, let us call her Bea, really needed to talk to me. We talked for a long while and she relayed to me… well… her current situation. I can’t reveal the actual details, but this I could say. Like most young entrepreneurs, she had invested a lot of money in a venture that promised a hefty return. Unfortunately, Bea regretted her move and fears that that money is not recoverable. She and her family live in a modest home and are totally dependent on what her modest business can bring in, which as I understand, is not doing well. The fear of losing that money strained her already fragile emotional well being; compound this with increasing ‘marital-like’ disputes, well… I think you get the picture. Now, she had prayed to God but found no comfort there. Does that sound familiar?

In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; In the night my hand was stretched out and did not grow weary; My soul refused to be comforted. (Psalm 77:2)

Like all problems left to fester, Bea started to feel that she lost so much hope, she started to entertain ideas to end it all (if you know what I mean). We talked some more and as I suspected, I recognized a similar pattern. Do you recall these verses from my part 2?

“Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?”  (Psalm 77:7-9)

Do you recall that this kind of negative question was used in the Garden of Eden? Well, Bea, who is a young believer, would be a likely target for the ol’ Serpent. And his goal is to get her as separated from God as much as possible. This kind of reminded me of a female character from season 1 of The Chosen. Mary of Magdala, played by the actress Elizabeth Tabish, was almost driven by demons to jump off a cliff. Eventually Jesus saved her and she ended up being a follower. In a later scene in season 3, she made this observation, “But then there are those times when the world expresses its longing to be whole. And suddenly God steps in.”² For Mary, the dove was God stepping in from out of the blue. For Bea, I was the dove that, more or less, guided her away from the brink. I thank the Lord that He had trusted me to be ‘salt and light’³ to her when she really needed it. 

Now, I’m not a businessman, so giving her advice on that is out the window. Nor could I help her financially. I just don’t have any, hahaha, except what I get by grace. Frankly, even if I did, I believe it would not really help her. You see, I perceived that her real problem was not financial, physical or even relational. It was spiritual. So, I shared with her Jesus’ “Come to me” invitation.⁴ Of course, I had to clarify the part of the passage below.

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”⁴ 

Let’s make this quick and easy. 

That’s the yoke above. When Jesus said ‘learn from me’, imagine Him being the oxen on the right and you are the one on the left. He is the wiser while you’re the apprentice. The goal is to plow straight furrows. The purpose of the farmer to pair the younger oxen with the wiser one, is so that the wiser one will keep the younger in-line.  So, if you follow Jesus’ lead, doing things His way, well… read His promise, you will find rest for your souls. The question now is, what things did Bea need to do? In her case, she needed SPIRITUAL FOOD! I mean she needed to really get into her Bible for I surmised that her knowledge of God was sorely incomplete.⁵  This made her too easy of a target by the enemy. Psalm 77 agrees.

What knowledge of God do we all need most so that faith stays strong?

Ps 77 vs11-15

[11] I shall remember the deeds of the LORD; I will certainly remember Your wonders of old. [12] I will meditate on all Your work, And on Your deeds with thanksgiving. [13] Your way, God, is holy; What god is great like our God? [14] You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your strength among the peoples. [15] By Your power You have redeemed Your people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. (Selah)¹

What would Bea get from the verses above especially since she is Filipina and not a direct descendent of Jacob? First truth to remember that whatever you read in the Old Testament or even in the New, that it is all inspired by God for you to KNOW Him whether you are Jew or Gentile.⁶ This is paramount. Again, what deeds of God should Bea meditate about? Since she needed a firm spiritual foundation, I sent her to the beginning, the book of Genesis. 

Based on Psalm 77:11-15, descendents of Israel up to modern day Jews are directed to remember their redemption from 400 years of slavery under Egypt. As a nation, God gave them the Passover Festival which they reenact rituals that would remind them that God sent Moses to redeem them with much show of His power. Interestingly enough, on that same anniversary, we who are followers of Christ remember our own redemption, but I’ll talk about this more below. For now, I want to bring your attention to verse 15; to be more specific, why the name of Joseph was singled out. Joseph was one of Jacob’s 12 sons, after all. So, what did Psalm 77 want the descendents of Joseph to remember? Now if you don’t know the story, here it is in a nutshell.

Joseph had 10 older brothers who were jealous of him to the point that they sold him into slavery. In Egypt, he had an extremely hard time first as a slave boy and then as a chained prisoner for 12 years or so. Talking about someone in turmoil. But then, he miraculously became the Prime Minister of Egypt and because of his divine gift, he had saved that nation from a drastic famine and in consequence, his own family was saved from starvation, as well.⁶  

By the way, what I left out in my nutshell story was that God was with Joseph throughout his entire ordeal. He was chosen for this and all that he went through was part of God’s overall plan for the advent of the Messiah. As the Jews have Passover, we believers of Jesus have our annual Holy Week festivities and our monthly Lord’s Supper to remind us of our own redemption. All of what is written about the deeds of God/Christ were for us collectively. 

However, there are also His deeds in the individual lives to consider. Think about what a wonderful testament that is; to remember God’s deeds in one’s life. This should indicate to each person that He cares for you individually. This is why I teach – continue to know God through His Word and actively seek out His will and His works in one’s life. Then, when turmoil hits, it will be His hand keeping you afloat. That is His promise.

Now, speaking of being afloat, let us look at the rest of Psalm 77. 

Ps 77 vs16-20

[16] The waters saw You, God; The waters saw You, they were in anguish; The ocean depths also trembled.  [17] The clouds poured out water; The skies sounded out; Your arrows flashed here and there. [18] The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightning lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook. [19] Your way was in the sea And Your paths in the mighty waters, And Your footprints were not known. [20] You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

I wish I had the confidence to write poetry or even write lyrics. I mean I don’t have the knack to write so rhythmically that would evoke people’s emotions. But the Psalmist Asaph did. Remember, his targeted audience were the Israelites. He started with the use of the imagery of water. To be more concise, based on verse 20, he wanted the Israelites to remember the miraculous passage through the Red Sea. For me, I still get a kick from the special effects of the parting of the sea in Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 hit movie, The Ten Commandments. When I saw it on the big screen for the very first time, my jaw, filled with popcorn, dropped and I excitedly shouted, ‘Wow!’ That same emotion was what Asaph wanted to evoke. That they and us remember the wonder and awe of God’s power which is by far greater than turmoils in our lives. 

The ending scene of The Chosen for season 3, had that effect on me and everyone I know who watched the show. They used water in their imagery as well; including a raging storm that stirred up unrelenting waves making the chosen disciples struggle on their oars. But this time, God was not in the churning of the sea. He was walking on it! Christ showed His power, the very same power that created all things. As memorable as that was, it was even more important that we remember His promise.

Simon Peter spewed out his tirade at Jesus on the water. He poured out his anger and pain on why Eden and him had to suffer with the loss of their unborn child. Jesus beckoned for him to come to Him; walk to Him on the surface of the churning sea and he shall get rest. Emboldened, Simon Peter climbed out of the boat and walked on water. He would have made it too, but he took his eyes off Jesus and saw only the dangerous waves around him. Gravity took over and splash! 

We have come full circle to how I started ‘Don’t Let Go (part 1)’. For the character of Eden, as she came out from immersing herself in water, she came out at peace with herself, because she heeded what the Psalm instructed. She had reacquainted herself of her Lord’s goodness and grace. She came out with a stronger faith. No longer thinking of herself, she prayed for her husband. By all accounts, Simon Peter’s anger prevented him from trusting in the Lord which ends with him struggling underwater, practically drowning. But Jesus was there to pull him out and held on to him tightly as he sobbed, saying, ‘Don’t let me go!’ It would be good to remember His promise when turmoil hits.. 

“My sheep (believers) listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” ⁷

TO HIM BE ALL THE GLORY

Footnotes: [1] Selah – a musical pause; [2] The Chosen S3-E7 (35.07 minutes);  [3] Matthew 5:13-16; [4] Matthew 11:28-30; [5] 1 Corinthians 15:34; [6] Genesis 37-50; [7] John 10:27-29

<Go to Part 2