Jump Start # 1154

Psalms 147:10-11 “He does not delight in the strength of the horse; he does not take pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord favors those who fear Him, those who wait for His lovingkindness.”

Several years ago Shania Twain had a song, “That don’t impress me much.” This passage reminds us that God isn’t impressed much, especially with the things that impresses us. This reinforces the concept that God is not like us. We are impressed with things that doesn’t move God at all.

Our passage lists two illustrations:

• The strength of a horse. The horse was used to pull things. One strong horse could pull a log. It would take a dozen men to do that. In my area, I think about those thundering thoroughbreds at the Kentucky Derby. Years ago, I got to see Secretariat up close. Beautiful, strong, and still the record holder. Impressive, to me. Not to God. He doesn’t take delight in the strength of the horse. We refer to the power of an engine in “horse power.” The greater the horse power, the more impressed we are. Car salesmen will proudly tell a customer how much horsepower is in the car they are looking at. Impressive. Not to God. The strength of a horse doesn’t move God.

• The legs of a man. This refers to speed. How fast a man can run. I had a visit yesterday with a young man who is a colligate hurdler. He is great. He is turning pro and his goal is the Olympics. Tall, lean and all legs. I’ve seen him race. He can fly. God doesn’t take pleasure in the legs of a man. Speed doesn’t impress God.

The power of several horses is nothing to God. The God who opened the earth. The God who made the sun stand still for Joshua. The God who sent the Egyptians running when hail fell from the sky. The God who destroyed Sodom with fire and brimstone. A team of horses is nothing to God. And speed, we think a guy running is amazing, it’s nothing to God. In 2 Kings 20, God sent Isaiah to tell King Hezekiah that he was going to die. Isaiah had not even left the palace when God had heard and seen the tears of the king and ordered Isaiah to turn around and go back to the king. Talk about lightning fast. The prayer was heard in Heaven and the message return in a matter of a few minutes. No internet is that fast. Nothing can touch that speed. The legs of a man are nothing to God.

What catches God’s eye is faith. It always has. It caught the eye of Jesus. He noticed when it was missing and He saw it when it was there. The faith of four friends who stopped at nothing to lower a crippled friend through the roof before Jesus. The faith that led a synagogue official to overcome fear and prejudices and bow before Jesus and beg for Him to come and help his daughter.

God favors those who fear Him. God is impressed with those who love Him, respect Him, honor Him and trust Him. God notices those who are not afraid to bow their heads in a restaurant and thank Him. God recognizes the person who opens up a Bible in the public eye to read a few pages. God is aware of the person who stands up for truth and will not sit back as others blaspheme the holy name of the Lord. God sees that. God is impressed with that.

The passage also states that God favors those who wait for His lovingkindness. In Lamentations, we are told that God’s lovingkindness is new every day. Blessings, answers to prayer, help from Heaven—God’s people are looking and waiting for them. They have prayed and now they eagerly wait. They wait knowing the Lord. They wait trusting God. God is good to His people. They know that. Throughout Psalms there is a plea to help God’s people who were oppressed and haunted by the wicked. They awaited the Lord.

Impressive. We are impressed by the size of houses, the look of a sports car, the who’s who in film and sports. We tell others of famous people we see at the airport. The Hollywood scene is something that many people follow. The walk of stars, the hall of fame, naming buildings and streets after famous people is impressive, to us. We notice those things. Yet, those things do not move the needle in God’s heart. So many of those things are vain, unimpressive to God and have nothing to do with faith, trust and the Lord. A common farmer, who simply lives his life working in the field, never doing much more than farming, never traveling anywhere exotic, but who is a true believer and worshipper of God is more impressive to Heaven than the line up of any all-star game. I have a collection of autographed baseballs in my office. All major leaguers. Many are in baseball’s hall of fame. Impressive. Expensive. Cool to show to others. Nothing to God. How fast you throw a baseball doesn’t impress God. How many touchdowns you scored, nothing to God. How many sales you had last year, nothing to God. How fast your 401 is growing, nothing to God. How big your house is, nothing to God. The name on your clothes or watch, nothing to God.

Do we see this? We can be so moved by things that do not matter. We can be amazed at things that doesn’t impress Heaven in the least. However, the things God sees, we often count for nothing. The high schooler who is brave enough to defend creation in his biology class. A college student who challenges the taunting professor who can’t stand God. A young mother who turns the TV off and sings “Jesus loves me,” over and over to her little baby. A businessman who refuses to shade the truth and adjust numbers to appease his boss. A man who refuses to lie to cover up for a co-worker. A couple who ends the day thanking the Lord for the blessings and gift of the day. These things do not make the news. They do not move Wall Street. They are mocked by a godless society who is drunk on fame and fortune. But Heaven knows.

Remember what Jesus showed us in Luke 15? “There is more joy in Heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” Heaven noticed. Heaven saw that tender heart coming back home to God. Heaven saw that person who realized that he was wrong and wanted to be right. Heaven saw that faith growing and making the courageous decision to walk back into the church building after being gone for years. Heaven sees that husband dropping all this excuses and with tears coming down his cheek, apologizing to his wife for hurting her. Heaven sees that troubled heart, with bowed head, and folded hands, begging God for help. That’s impressive to Heaven.

This is hard for us. We like to be noticed. It’s great to get your name recognized. What is most important, is getting the attention of God. He’s looking for that honest and good heart. He’s looking for the contrite heart. It’s not the size of the crowd, but the size of the heart that God counts.

Faith matters. Faith is noticed, especially by Heaven.

Roger