"For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly."
Psalm 84:11
If God is the greatest of all goods then won't he "not withhold" himself from us? Or is this just kind of like a "(in the right time) No good thing does He withhold"?
Also is this the same reason why in some seasons we might ask for God to reveal His will to us and it seems we get no response, or is there something deeper going on there?
Thanks for all this Ross! Im sure Im not the first to say this but when you finish writing all the posts "veiled" 😂 in ur brain you should collect them all into a book. I'd buy it, hahahaha!
Great verse and great question. I think, in some ways, the verse you quoted is the beginning of an answer to your question. The sun *does* hide itself for about 12 hours of every day (and sometimes even for whole days or weeks of bad weather!). But that does not make it any less faithful. Also, a shield has a similar hiding function. A shield hides you behind it. It also can keep you from seeing things that you would otherwise see. But it is for your good. Praying that his will would be revealed is a good thing. But we must pray not merely believing that he will do whatever we say, but trusting that he hears and will do what's best in his way/timing. If we had our choice, we might choose that the sun would always shine and never hide behind the horizon. But that would bring all kinds of unintended consequences that would be worse for us instead of better. However, it is still his will that it would always be day and that night would be banished. He's just going to do it in his way, in his timing, where even the sun is no more, and the Lord himself becomes our light. So we ask and wait, and all things will be given to us in his timing.
I like the question Quad brought up and this answer is very helpful. I get the idea of God hiding as the sun does and in certain times he reveals himself to us. I guess I still struggle to fully grasp some kind of full understanding in this part:
You have mentioned before (correct me if i butcher your words) and I have heard around before that God will reveal different things to different people at different times, when He feels the person is ready. And I guess the "readiness" of the person is fully based on the Lord's judgement. In this, we are all never fully worthy or ready for all God can reveal to us, so at what point does God feel "he is ready to see this" or "this should be revealed now?" I know He reveals at different times and I love how you explain it but I am curious on insight you can offer on when he feels we are "ready" for what he is going to reveal?
Great question! I think it's helpful to think of your question more through the lens of "Mixed Agency" than through the lens of "It's just me and God." Yes, there are parts of Scripture where God specially reveals himself to one person (like the burning bush or the commissioning of Isaiah). But most of the time for most of us, God speaks through the mediation of other people, spiritual authorities, disappointing circumstances, bodily pain and anxiety, nature, intentional silence, song, etc. Even in the case of the burning bush, he is mediated through the bush and, with Isaiah, through the angels. So though I don't disbelieve in God speaking "directly" to people, I think it's healthier to think that he speaks "through" these mediators most of the time. In fact, even if he were to speak directly to you, it would STILL be mediated through your mind and emotions--through you particular psychology, with all its limitations and even sinful limitations. But God delights to do things this way. He is not a modern perfectionist who demands unmediated flawlessness. Even the Scriptures, though God-inspired, are passed down to us through imperfect humans and then translated (imperfectly) by more imperfect humans who even disagree about minor things like certain words and even which manuscripts to trust for certain passages. And God still speaks through Scripture perhaps more powerfully than anywhere! But, even with regard to Scripture, you can see that many people are not ready to hear what the Lord has to say there. It is not as though God is simply waiting until one day when they're perfectly ready. Rather, I think he is tilling the soil, bit by bit. A little more and a little more. God is not merely the one who waits for people to be ready, but the one who makes them ready over time. But we too have agency, both to make ourselves ready by submitting our infertile soil for him to break up, and to help in tilling the soil of other people's hearts.
And thanks for mentioning the book. I do sort of have a book in the works. But in the meantime, these posts are a good way of practicing and sharpening my writing to that end.
I agree that all of your writings would make a great book. I think you posted this before the eclipse, but this writing made me think of how we had to look through a special covering to see it, lest our eyes burn up. And, of course, so many instances in the Bible, where Jesus “covers” his full glory such as asking some that he healed to tell no one, moving away from the crowds, etc. I never thought about this overarching theme of covering and revelation this way that you have explained. Thank you for sharing this revelation with us.
"For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly."
Psalm 84:11
If God is the greatest of all goods then won't he "not withhold" himself from us? Or is this just kind of like a "(in the right time) No good thing does He withhold"?
Also is this the same reason why in some seasons we might ask for God to reveal His will to us and it seems we get no response, or is there something deeper going on there?
Thanks for all this Ross! Im sure Im not the first to say this but when you finish writing all the posts "veiled" 😂 in ur brain you should collect them all into a book. I'd buy it, hahahaha!
Great verse and great question. I think, in some ways, the verse you quoted is the beginning of an answer to your question. The sun *does* hide itself for about 12 hours of every day (and sometimes even for whole days or weeks of bad weather!). But that does not make it any less faithful. Also, a shield has a similar hiding function. A shield hides you behind it. It also can keep you from seeing things that you would otherwise see. But it is for your good. Praying that his will would be revealed is a good thing. But we must pray not merely believing that he will do whatever we say, but trusting that he hears and will do what's best in his way/timing. If we had our choice, we might choose that the sun would always shine and never hide behind the horizon. But that would bring all kinds of unintended consequences that would be worse for us instead of better. However, it is still his will that it would always be day and that night would be banished. He's just going to do it in his way, in his timing, where even the sun is no more, and the Lord himself becomes our light. So we ask and wait, and all things will be given to us in his timing.
I like the question Quad brought up and this answer is very helpful. I get the idea of God hiding as the sun does and in certain times he reveals himself to us. I guess I still struggle to fully grasp some kind of full understanding in this part:
You have mentioned before (correct me if i butcher your words) and I have heard around before that God will reveal different things to different people at different times, when He feels the person is ready. And I guess the "readiness" of the person is fully based on the Lord's judgement. In this, we are all never fully worthy or ready for all God can reveal to us, so at what point does God feel "he is ready to see this" or "this should be revealed now?" I know He reveals at different times and I love how you explain it but I am curious on insight you can offer on when he feels we are "ready" for what he is going to reveal?
Thank you, Ross!
Great question! I think it's helpful to think of your question more through the lens of "Mixed Agency" than through the lens of "It's just me and God." Yes, there are parts of Scripture where God specially reveals himself to one person (like the burning bush or the commissioning of Isaiah). But most of the time for most of us, God speaks through the mediation of other people, spiritual authorities, disappointing circumstances, bodily pain and anxiety, nature, intentional silence, song, etc. Even in the case of the burning bush, he is mediated through the bush and, with Isaiah, through the angels. So though I don't disbelieve in God speaking "directly" to people, I think it's healthier to think that he speaks "through" these mediators most of the time. In fact, even if he were to speak directly to you, it would STILL be mediated through your mind and emotions--through you particular psychology, with all its limitations and even sinful limitations. But God delights to do things this way. He is not a modern perfectionist who demands unmediated flawlessness. Even the Scriptures, though God-inspired, are passed down to us through imperfect humans and then translated (imperfectly) by more imperfect humans who even disagree about minor things like certain words and even which manuscripts to trust for certain passages. And God still speaks through Scripture perhaps more powerfully than anywhere! But, even with regard to Scripture, you can see that many people are not ready to hear what the Lord has to say there. It is not as though God is simply waiting until one day when they're perfectly ready. Rather, I think he is tilling the soil, bit by bit. A little more and a little more. God is not merely the one who waits for people to be ready, but the one who makes them ready over time. But we too have agency, both to make ourselves ready by submitting our infertile soil for him to break up, and to help in tilling the soil of other people's hearts.
And thanks for mentioning the book. I do sort of have a book in the works. But in the meantime, these posts are a good way of practicing and sharpening my writing to that end.
I agree that all of your writings would make a great book. I think you posted this before the eclipse, but this writing made me think of how we had to look through a special covering to see it, lest our eyes burn up. And, of course, so many instances in the Bible, where Jesus “covers” his full glory such as asking some that he healed to tell no one, moving away from the crowds, etc. I never thought about this overarching theme of covering and revelation this way that you have explained. Thank you for sharing this revelation with us.
Yes exactly! Haha eclipse glasses are a great image of that pattern. Thank you for saying that and thanks for reading, John.
I’m coming back to this as per our conversation.