Valerie Kulhavy of Casper, Wyoming, took her three young children through the food line at a recent church dinner. As she juggled everyone's plate and drink, she told the kids to be on their best behavior. When they were finally seated, she sighed with relief and told her children they were doing great – that they hadn't had any catastrophes yet. At that, her 3-year-old, Dawn, looked around and said, “Where are they, Mommy? I'll go get them.” (Valerie Kulhavy, Casper, WY, Today's Christian Woman, “Heart to Heart,” www.PreachingToday.com)
That’s the last thing anyone wants, a catastrophe, but life is often full of them, even if you don’t have three young children. So, how do you handle the catastrophes? How do you deal with the disasters in life? How do you manage in times of distress? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Micah 5, Micah 5, where the prophet, Micah, shows people in distress how to find real peace.
Micah 5:1 Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek. (ESV)
Micah is describing a future time of distress for Jerusalem, a time when the Babylonians will lay siege against the city and Israel’s king will be humiliated. In Micah 4:10, Micah warned Judah that they would “go to Babylon.” Here, He tells them to prepare for Babylon’s siege by uselessly mustering their troops. One of the commentators said the sense of the verse is more like, “Now crowd together with fear in a troop, for the enemy sets, or prepares, a siege against us” (Keil & Delitzsch).
On top of that, the enemy will humiliate Israel’s king by striking him on the cheek, which was the height of embarrassment and disgrace in Bible days. When a later prophet, Jeremiah, who lived through the Babylonian siege, described those days, He said, “Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults” (Lamentation 3:30).
Micah warns the people of his day: the Babylonians are coming. They will lay siege to the city of Jerusalem, and they will humiliate your king.
And that’s exactly what happened. Nearly 200 years later, 2 Kings 25 says, “They killed the sons of [king] Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon” (2 Kings 25:7). The Babylonians destroyed the city of Jerusalem and disgraced its king.
The future was bleak for Micah’s audience; and perhaps, the future is bleak for you, as well. You don’t face the Babylonians, but you see bill-collectors on the horizon. You don’t face the Chaldeans, but the prospect of cancer scares you spitless. Or you don’t face an enemy’s siege, but you feel so besieged with problems, you can hardly stand the stress.
How do you find peace in times of distress when the future seems bleak? Well, look at what Micah says to the people of his day. The future looks bleak for Jerusalem…
Micah 5:2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. (ESV)
Don’t put your hope in some politician in the capital city. Put your hope in a Ruler who will come from the insignificant, little town of Bethlehem.
Bethlehem was so small that it was not even mentioned in the official lists of Judah’s towns (Joshua 15; Nehemiah 11). Yet from this tiny, little place would come the greatest Ruler of all time, whose coming is “from ancient days” it says here in verse 2, literally, from “days of immeasurable time” (John A. Martin, BKC). One commentator said, “It’s the strongest assertion of infinite duration of which the Hebrew language is capable” (Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown).
You see, this Ruler is none other than the eternal Son of God, who has no beginning or end. He has existed from all eternity and is the Sovereign Lord of all. John said of Him in the New Testament, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1, 14). That little baby Jesus, born in a manger in Bethlehem, is none other than the Eternal, Sovereign Lord of the universe!
So, if you want to find peace in times of distress, don’t look to the politicians in Washington D.C. or any other capital city. Look to the Eternal Potentate from the little town of Bethlehem.
TRUST JESUS AS YOUR SOVEREIGN.
Put your hope in Christ as your Lord. Let Him rule you to restore you.
Gary Miller, an Old Testament professor in Queensland, Australia, asks his students to imagine a basketball game. It's almost the end of overtime; it's time for one last shot. Who do you want to have the ball? You want the calmest and best player out there.
Or imagine the security of the nation is threatened. Threat levels have gone through the roof, and an attack is imminent. Who do you want to have the nuclear codes? Who do you want making the final call on what to do or not to do? You want someone who is calm under pressure.
Or here's one more example. Imagine you need a crucial surgery to save your life or the life of a loved one. Who do you want behind that scalpel? Who do you want performing the surgery? Of course, you want the best doctor available.
That's how the Gospels present Jesus as he faces the cross. He's under extreme pressure—pressure that we will never even fathom. He's actually sweating drops of blood. And yet at every stage Jesus is calm. He is in control of himself.
But Jesus also leaves every sports star, every politician, every surgeon far behind. It's not just that Jesus is in control of himself; Jesus is in control of the events themselves. It's not just that he's able to handle his own adrenaline; he's able to dictate the result. It's not just he's able to act wisely under pressure; he's able to determine the outcome. Jesus isn't just able to respond skillfully to what he finds; he already knows what he will find and has already mapped out the solution to the deepest human problem of all. Jesus stands out in this because he is in control of the entire sweep of human history, even as he goes through his death. (Gary Millar, Jesus, Betrayed and Crucified, www.PreachingToday.com)
You see, that Baby, born in a manger in Bethlehem, was born to die on a cross for your sins and mine. But even as He faced the cross, He was in control not only of Himself; He was in control of everything.
Now, that’s the One you want handling your life in times of distress and at ALL times! So give Him the ball; let Him make the call; let Him perform the surgery to restore you like He will do for Israel when they finally acknowledge Jesus as their King.
Micah 5:3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel.
The People of Israel will be taken captive and later scattered all over the world. At that time, they will “writhe and groan… like a woman in labor” according to Micah 4:9-10. Then a Son will be born in Bethlehem. A Ruler in Israel will arise, and the nation will be restored. All who were scattered will return.
Now, Micah saw these two events happening one right after the other: The Ruler arising and the ruler restoring Israel right away. However, when Jesus came, Israel rejected Him as their King. So Israel’s restoration awaits the day when Jesus comes again. Then they will “look on Him whom they have pierced” (Zechariah 12:10; John 19:37). They will acknowledge Him as their King, at which time “all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26).
But you don’t have to wait until Jesus comes again to acknowledge Him as YOUR King. You can do it right now and experience the restoration He can bring when you let Him rule in your life.
Daniel McNeely is a pediatric neurosurgeon in Halifax, Nova Scotia, so he’s used to fielding questions from nervous parents and patients. But it was a first for him this last September 30, 2018, when an 8-year-old patient had a specific request. The child was being wheeled to surgery, clutching a stuffed animal, when he said to Dr. McNeely, “My bear is ripped. Please stitch him up.”
The boy’s name is Jackson McKie. He has a cyst on his brain and a chronic condition called hydrocephalus. Dr. McNeely was going to drain the fluid and relieve the pressure on his brain.
McNeely assured the boy he would, and he took the task seriously. After McNeely performed surgery on the boy’s brain, he placed the bear on a table, put on blue gloves and used leftover stitches from the child’s surgery to repair an underarm tear on the bear.
Then in another first, McNeely — who had never tweeted before — went on Twitter to post a photo of the moment that a resident had captured. McNeely wrote, “Patient asks if I can also fix teddy bear just before being put off to sleep... how could I say no?”
Jackson’s father, Rick McKie, said of McNeely, “He’s one of the nicest human beings I’ve ever met.” McKie said his son was thrilled when he woke up to see his stuffed buddy, which he takes with him everywhere he goes, had been stitched up just like him. McKie said that his family deeply appreciates McNeely’s medical care over the years, as well as his human touch. “When we get there we’re terrified to death, but every time we talk to Dr. McNeely we feel better.” (Allison Klein, “Neurosurgeon stitches up stuffed bear at young patient’s request: 'How could I say no?’” Washington Post, 10-4-18; www.PreachingToday.com)
That’s a picture of Jesus. When you put your life in His hands, He restores it by stitching up your brokenness. Please, let Him do it for you. Let Him put your mind at ease. Let Him be your ruler, who will stitch up the broken things in your life. If you want to find real peace in your time of distress, 1st, Trust Jesus as your Sovereign to restore you. Then 2nd…
TRUST JESUS AS YOUR SHEPHERD TO SECURE YOU.
Put your hope in Christ as your provider and guide to safety. Let Him lead you to a place of protection and wellbeing. That’s what He will do for Israel when He comes again.
Micah 5:4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. (ESV)
When Jesus rules in Israel, they will live in security, because His reign will extend to the ends of the earth.
What a stark difference to the other “rulers of the house of Israel” that Micah talks about in chapter three. There, he says they “tear the skin off [God’s] people… eat [their] flesh … and break their bones in pieces” (Micah 3:2-3). They “detest justice, make crooked what is straight, build Zion with blood, and give judgment for a bribe” (Micah 3:9-11).
Those were the rulers in Micah’s day; but when Jesus comes again, He will be completely different. He will shepherd Israel. That is, He will feed and lead them to safety, but you don’t have to wait until then to let Him be your Shepherd.
Please, let Him be your Shepherd today. Trust Him to feed and lead you right now to a place of safety and well-being.
In John 10, Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd,” He said. “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:10-11).
A good shepherd doesn’t run when there is danger. Instead, he risks His life to protect his sheep from the bear or the lion. In the same way, Jesus risked His life to protect us from the wrath of God against our sin. Indeed, He GAVE His life! Jesus DIED on a cross to save us from our sins and then He rose again.
As a result, He says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27-30).
When Jesus is your Shepherd, He puts you in a place of eternal security where you will never perish! In fact, He puts you in His hand, which is in His Father’s hand, so you are doubly protected by Their love and power.
All you need to do is “listen to His voce” and “follow Him.” I.e., trust Him to be YOUR Shepherd. Trust Him enough to follow His lead.
Mark Labberton, president of Fuller Theological Seminary, talks about a time when he had a seemingly unsolvable problem with the IRS. There were several months of correspondence and legal advice. Then the day finally came for him to talk to an IRS agent in person. Mark’s advisors suggested his problem with the IRS would take many months, probably longer, to get settled.
That’s what he expected when he went to the IRS office in Oakland, California, where he waited… and waited… and waited. Eventually he was escorted through a warren of cubicles to meet the agent who would assist him. The agent listened to Mark’s case, took all the relevant paperwork, and excused herself to consult with someone else. Mark waited ten minutes, 15 minutes … 45 minutes, but no one checked in. As far as he could tell, the agent had disappeared…
Then suddenly, the agent was back. She handed him a sheet and said simply, “There, it's all done. It's settled.” Mark assumed she was saying that she had taken the first step. What she meant was that the whole process was settled. She turned the paper over and revealed the nine signatures she had acquired all the way up the IRS ladder so the case was now closed, and closed in his favor.
Mark says, “There, in the midst of a warren of bureaucratic anonymity and powerlessness, I encountered a person who became my advocate, who heard my appeal and who took the initiative to do on my behalf what I could never have done for myself. She met me at a moment of isolation and fear and sent me out with resolution when I had anticipated nothing but delay.” (Mark Labberton, Called, IVP Books, 2014, pp. 10-12; www. PreachingToday.com)
That’s what Jesus will do for you if you let Him. He will meet you at a moment of isolation and fear and send you out with resolution. He will shepherd you through life, doing what you could never do for yourself, securing your future for all eternity.
If you want to find real peace in your time of distress, 1st trust Jesus as your Sovereign to restore you; 2nd, trust Jesus as your Shepherd to secure you; and finally…
TRUST JESUS AS YOUR SAVIOR TO RESCUE YOU.
Put your hope in Christ as your Deliverer, and let Him save you from your worst enemies. That’s what He will do for Israel when He comes again.
Micah 5:5a And He shall be their peace.
He shall be their shalom, their place of well-being, their place of wholeness, security, and salvation.
Micah 5:5b-6 When the Assyrian comes into our land and treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men; they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod at its entrances; and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian when he comes into our land and treads within our border. (ESV)
In Micah’s day, the Assyrians were the dominant power that threatened all the nations around them. They were on a quest to ruthlessly conquer the world, destroying anyone that got in their way. But Micah looked forward to a day when a “ruler in Israel” would save them from the Assyrian, or an enemy like them.
That ruler, as we have already seen, is Jesus; and when He comes, He will destroy all the armies of the world gathered against Israel in the battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:12-16; 19:11-21). Jesus will deliver them not only from the Assyrians, but also from the Iranians, the Russians, and all the nations who gather against them in that day. Revelation 19 says, “He will slay them with the sword that comes from his mouth, and all the birds will be gorged with their flesh” (Revelation 19:21). Jesus will deliver Israel from all their enemies when He comes again.
But He wants to deliver YOU today. He wants to save you from your greatest enemy, your sin, which will destroy your life and send you to hell.
That’s what the angel said to Joseph when Jesus was about to enter this world the first time. He said, “Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21). Jesus came the first time to save you from your sins.
Kevin McKay had been driving a school bus for only a few months when he found himself on gridlocked, dark roads as pockets of fire burned all around him. He had 22 students and two teachers on board from the Ponderosa Elementary School in Paradise, California.
They had been stranded at the school as the Camp Fire in northern California scorched everything in its path. Family members of the other students had already picked up their children, but families of the children on McKay’s bus didn’t make it to the school. McKay discussed evacuating the students with Ponderosa's principal, and two teachers, Abbie Davis and Mary Ludwig, evacuated with them.
When smoke began to fill the bus, McKay took off a shirt. He and the two teachers tore it into pieces and doused them with water. The children held the damp pieces of cloth to their mouths and breathed through them. It would take five harrowing hours on the gridlocked, smoke filled roads for them to reach safety.
Davis said she thought she was going to die several times along the journey. At one point, they prayed, Ludwig said. Hours later, parents and children were reunited. McKay said Davis’ husband hugged him so hard, he “near lifted me off the ground.”
The Camp Fire burned for two weeks and became the deadliest and most destructive fire in California history when firefighters finally contained it after several days of rain late last month (November 25, 2018). It killed at least 85 people, leaving 25 unaccounted for as of last Sunday (December 2, 2018).
McKay, was modest as he described their escape, but Davis and Ludwig said McKay was a true hero. Ludwig told reporters, “We had the bus driver from heaven.” (Paul Vercammen, Eliott C. McLaughlin and Darran Simon, ‘'Bus driver from heaven rescued young children from California wildfire,” CNN, 11-19-18; www. PreachingToday.com)
In Jesus, we have the rescuer from heaven! He came to save you from your sins. Please, get on the “Gospel Bus” and let Him do it for you. Trust Him to bring you safely through the fire.
If you want to find real peace in your time of distress, 1st, trust Jesus as your Sovereign to restore you; 2nd, trust Jesus as your Shepherd to secure you; and 3rd, trust Jesus as your Savior to rescue you. In a word, trust Jesus as your PEACE, your Shalom (in the Hebrew). It’s a word which encompasses all three ideas of restoration, security, and salvation.
Tim Keller offers the following illustration for the Biblical concept of shalom. He says: “If I threw a thousand threads onto the table, they wouldn't be a fabric. They'd just be threads lying on top of each other. Threads become a fabric when each one has been woven over, under, around, and through every other one. The more interdependent they are, the more beautiful they are. The more interwoven they are, the stronger and warmer they are. (Timothy Keller, “The Beauty of Biblical Justice,” byFaith, October, 2010; www.PreachingToday.com)
That’s what Jesus can do with the pieces of your life. He can weave them together to make something beautiful, strong and warm. Please, trust Him with your life and let Him do it for you. Give Jesus your life and trust Him to be your PEACE.
