The course of temptation ∙

The course of temptation ∙

Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. – James 1:14

James 1:13-16

 13 Let no one say when he is tempted: “My temptation comes from God.” For God himself is untemptable by evil and tempts no one.

 14 But temptation comes to each one, because he is lured on and seduced by his own desire.

 15 Then, when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is full-grown, it gives birth to death.

 16 Do not be led astray, my dear brothers and sisters.

The history of temptation and sin began in the garden of Eden. Have you ever wondered how the process of temptation works? C. S. Lewis used his imagination and visualized and explained the art and science of temptation. In The Screwtape Letters, chapter 9, Screwtape, an experienced master demon, mentors his apprentice Wormwood. Screwtape’s advice is as follows:

Start with some pleasure – if possible, one of God’s good pleasures – and offer it in a way God has forbidden. Once the person bites, give less of it while enticing him to want more. Provide “an ever-increasing craving for an ever diminishing pleasure” until finally we “get the man’s soul and give him nothing in return.”

A temptation is an opportunity to accomplish a good thing in a wrong way, out of the will of God (Wiersbe). The world is filled with temptation. The Father warned Cain, and the warning applies to us all.

Genesis 4:7 Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.

Here sin is likened to a beast that is hungering and intent upon (TWOT). Sin is seeking to subdue and devour Cain.

Temptation is possible because of our own human weaknesses. All temptations are merely suggestions for satisfying our selfish desires. These desires fall into one of three categories: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life.

1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world – the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life – is not from the Father but is from the world.

Temptation is the desire to place our selfish wants and yearnings before our desire to please the Father. Our uncontrolled desires trap us. Yielding creates an inexorable downward spiral from desire to sin to death.

Each of us is born with a desire for some wrong thing. And, if we deliberately encourage and nourish that desire, it will grow and become stronger and more powerful. Inevitably it will result in sin – and that is the way to death.

REFLECT & PRAY

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,

We will not fear, for God has willed His truth to triumph through us:

The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him.

His rage we can endure, for lo! His doom is sure,

one can little word shall fell him (Luther).

Father temptation is in everyday reality. It is so easy to succumb. Strengthen me to be more alert and aware. Give me wisdom in each circumstance to know how to resist it.

INSIGHT

The Father is pure, good, holy, and above temptation. He is not the source of temptation. Temptation is evil; there is no evil in Him.

Humans have the innate propensity to blame others for their problems. In the story of the Fall, Adam blamed his wife and the Father for giving Eve to him, Eve blamed the serpent, and the serpent did not have a leg to stand on (Lutzer).

James urges us to take personal responsibility for sin and resist it. We are not to fall into the traps meekly and snares the enemy has laid out.

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape so that you may be able to endure it.

It is not the Father’s desire for us to yield to temptation, but He does not spare us the experience of temptation. The Father does not shield us from the vicissitudes and hardships of life. Instead, we must learn to handle and overcome tests and temptations to grow and mature.

How can we escape?

Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.

The Lord Jesus Christ was tempted and overcame it. In the wilderness, He was tempted by the enemy. He successfully resisted him. How did He manage it? The Lord Jesus Christ had internalized the Word of God. He depended completely upon the Father for strength, endurance, and wisdom. With each challenge regarding the desire of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and self-aggrandizement and pride of life, He responded by quoting the Word of God.

The Father has made us a magnificent promise. By observing the conduct of Jesus Christ, we can learn from His example and emulate it. When faced with temptation, we must recognize it for what it is and resist it. Our ability to identify, confront, and overcome temptation will increase as we practice what He has told us to do.

James 4:7 Submit to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

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© Dr. H 2023

Radiant with joy ∙

Radiant with joy ∙

They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces will never be ashamed. – Psalms 34:5

Psalms 34:1-8

 1 I will praise the LORD at all times. I will constantly speak his praises.

 2 I will boast only in the LORD; let all who are helpless take heart.

 3 Come, let us tell of the LORD’s greatness; let us exalt his name together.

 4 I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears.

 5 Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.

 6 In my desperation, I prayed, and the LORD listened; he saved me from all my troubles.

 7 For the angel of the LORD is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him.

 8 Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!

Ella Wheeler Wilcox was an American author and poet. Her most enduring work was “Solitude.”

The poem’s inspiration came as she traveled by train in Wisconsin. A young woman dressed in black sat across the aisle from her, crying. Miss Wheeler sat next to her and sought to comfort her. At the journey’s end, her emotions were mixed. She shared in the woman’s sorrow, yet at the same time, her own face was radiant. She wrote the opening lines of Solitude.

Solitude

Laugh, and the world laughs with you;

Weep, and you weep alone.

Life is about choices. Our life course is set by how we respond to our vicissitudes and trials.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox also wrote, The Set of the Sails.

The Set of the Sails

One ship drives east, and another west

With the self-same winds that blow;

 ‘Tis the set of the sails

 And not the gales

That decides the way to go.

Like the winds of the sea are the ways of fate,

As they voyage along through life;

 ‘Tis the will of the soul

 That decides its goal,

And not the calm or the strife.

Life’s ups and downs can often catch us off guard. Encountering strife and struggle is inevitable. However, our reaction to these challenges shapes our outlook and emotional state. In times of difficulty, David encourages us to express joyful praise. By doing so, David shows the way to serenity, self-assurance, bravery, and triumph over our innermost emotions and forebodings.

REFLECT & PRAY

Experiencing the Father’s presence produces an excited joy that cannot be contained. David bursts out with exclamations of praise.

Father may I learn and perfect the art of praising and thanking You daily. Remove the dark shadows of shame and fear that haunt me and replace them with radiant joy.

INSIGHT

Psalms 34 is not simply a prayer. It is an exclamation of joy over the Father’s response to prayer. David has experienced the sheer joy of the presence of the Father. It is palpable. David is radiant. His heart is thrilled and overflowing with joy. Radiant is also found in Isaiah 60:5, describing a parent’s face lighting up at the sight of their children, who had been given up for lost (Kidner).

Isaiah 60:5 Your eyes will shine, and your heart will thrill with joy.

The Hebrew word translated as shine or radiant is nahar. Nahar literally means to shine brightly. Metaphorically, it depicts joyful pleasure, beaming with light from an effervescent countenance. In the Old Testament, it results from the Father’s light shining on people or people gazing at Him.

This happened to Moses at Mount Sinai when he received the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 34:29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, he wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the LORD.

The Hebrew word translated as thrill with joy or become joyful and glad or tremble and rejoice is pachad. This word depicts the quivering sensation of being startled. The resultant law causes the heart to flutter or beat rapidly. Pachad reflects a range of emotions, such as extreme happiness, joy, and gladness, as well as trembling and trepidation. It conveys various feelings, including intense joy, happiness, and pleasure. There is a mixture of trembling with excitement and rejoicing. Pause momentarily and visualize what happens when startled; your heart flutters and beats rapidly.

Psalms 34:5 Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy.

Visualize being present with David as he expresses his thoughts aloud. His words are brimming with eagerness and zeal and having experienced an inward spiritual connection with the Father. He relishes the experience with great pleasure and is insatiable in his desire to absorb it all. Although his expression may seem subdued and ordinary, it is far from dull and bland. He is bursting at the seams with joy and excitement.

Psalms 34:2 My soul will make its boast in the LORD.

But there is more. Restraints are gone and replaced by a sense of temporary madness. We may make fools of ourselves in a good sense. So Paul exclaims, “We are fools, for Christ’s sake” – 1 Corinthians 4:10. In the 21st century, it would be equivalent to the thrill of cheering for your home team when they score a touchdown at an athletic event. His soul is literally jumping up and down as he basks in the Father’s presence (Terrien).

His joy is contagious, and he cannot keep it to himself. It erupts out of him. It must be shared. David invites us to participate with him. Each of us can enter into the presence of the Father and the joy He offers.

How does David become so buoyant? How does he do it? It all begins with praise and thankfulness for who the Father is, what the Father does, and most importantly, what the Father has done for us. He shouts of the Father’s greatness and exults in Him.

Putting it in other terms, David magnifies and blesses the Father. How can a mere mortal bless God?

“The idea behind ‘bless’ is to speak a good word about someone: when God blesses someone, he speaks a good word over that person for his well-being; when a human blesses God, he speaks a good word about God’s kindness and generosity” (ESV notes).

Paul succinctly restates the same concept in one verse. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. – 1 Thessalonians 5:18

“Even if it’s not your practice, pick a day this week and praise God throughout the day. Praise Him when you wake up, praise Him when you eat, praise Him when you leave the house and when you return” (Stanley).

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© Dr. H 2023

Resurrection life

Resurrection life

Do not be afraid any longer; only believe. – Mark 5:36

Mark 5:22-42

 22 Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet

 35 While he was still speaking, some came from the ruler’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?”

 36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.”

 38 They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.

 39 And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.”

 40 And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was.

 41 Taking her by the hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.”

 42 And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement.

Cardiac arrest strikes almost 600,000 people yearly, killing most of those individuals. About 400,000 occur outside of a hospital, and less than 6 percent survive. Approximately 200,000 occur in hospitals, and 24 percent survive.

Each minute is important! Indeed, the likelihood of survival decreases by 10 percent with every passing minute. The time between cardiac arrest onset and the first chest compression is critical.

Timing is often critical for the success of modern medical emergency care procedures. Not so for the Father, the Lord God omnipotent. He is the Lord and commander of time, life, death, health, and recovery. Time and death are not insurmountable obstacles for the Father. They are no more than already vanquished tiny grains of sand. To the Father, death is but sleep.

One day He will awaken everyone who sleeps (1 Thessalonians 4:17, Revelation 20:11-12).

When the daughter of Jairus was very ill, and death was looming, he sought the best medical intervention possible. He came to the Lord Jesus Christ and asked Him to come and lay hands on her (Mark 5:23). The Lord Jesus Christ responded and accompanied Jairus to make a house call. Seemingly, the timing was critical, and He needed to get there before it was “too late.”

But, on the way, a woman with an incurable disease, in desperate need of medical attention, stealthily and cautiously approached the Lord Jesus Christ. She reached out and touched His garment and was immediately made whole. He stopped in His tracks. He was aware that the power of life had gone out. He searched the faces in the crowd to identify the person of faith who had been healed. The woman came forward, and He comforted her.

He did a bit of spiritual triage. Which is more critical and requires immediate care: a terminal condition with fast-approaching death or a chronic and inconvenient health issue? The Lord Jesus Christ is never controlled or bound by human conjecture or opinion. His ways and thoughts are higher than ours, and He is constantly in touch with the Father, receiving direction and guidance.

How much time elapsed? Mark did not tell us. But now bad news arrived. The word reached them that it was “too late.” The little girl had already died. The Lord Jesus did not flinch. He proceeded on to the home of Jairus.

Jairus must have been heartbroken. Yet the Lord Jesus Christ did not comfort Jairus when the news of his daughter’s death came. He challenged him to faith instead. Regardless of our circumstances, the Father always urges us on to faith and away from fear (Barclay).

REFLECT & PRAY

The Father is in control. He has a plan and also a precise time for completion. We can trust Him to accomplish His perfect will.

Father it is so easy to fall into fear in the face of formidable, demanding obstacles. Challenge me to faith.

INSIGHT

This was not a resuscitation or healing. It was a resurrection from death to life. The little girl’s family and friends would not have mistaken near death for actual death. They had already begun to mourn. But for the Lord Jesus Christ, death, the separation of the soul from the body, is nothing more than sleep.

The crowd was not amused but mockingly laughed when He boldly declared, “The child is not dead but sleeping” (Mark 5:39).

“Unbelief laughs at God’s Word, but faith lays hold of it and experiences the power of God” (Wiersbe).

What happens next is remarkably vivid, beautiful, and poignant. The original words that Jesus spoke in Aramaic are preserved for us. Taking the little girl’s hand in His, Jesus said, “Talitha Koum.”

The Aramaic Talithatranslates as “little girl” or “little lady” or, more literally, little lamb. Talithais a feminine form of the word for “lamb” or “youth.” Koum is an imperative meaning “arise!”

Can you hear the tender but authoritative words as they fall on the little girl’s cold, dull ears? Can you see her eyes flutter and open wide? The first thing she saw was the face of Jesus, the faces of her mother and father, and then the three enraptured apostles (Hughes)!

In difficult, challenging, or even horrific circumstances, we can choose between faith and fear. When we exercise faith, the face of the Lord Jesus Christ is not too far off.

But there is more.

Mark 5:35-36

 35 While He was still speaking, they came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the Teacher anymore?”

 36 But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.”

Jairus’ growing hope was abruptly extinguished. Can you visualize the horror and remorse of that moment? Pause and visualize yourself hearing those words. But they are a mere segue to what happened next. Remarkably, Jairus’ faith is quickly rekindled and elevated by the words of the Lord Jesus Christ: “Don’t be afraid; just believe” (Mark 5:36).

It is critical to recognize the significance of this moment. Jairus initially came to Jesus with a naive and wishful belief that the Lord Jesus Christ could heal his daughter. Jesus challenged Jairus to not just believe in Him for healing but to believe in Him for resurrection. “This was a radical call and a radical development of Jairus’ faith” (Hughes).

It is one thing to pray for your child’s healing from a life-threatening illness, but standing over your child’s lifeless body and praying for an immediate resurrection is entirely different. The Lord Jesus Christ had set the stage for the resurrection of the little girl and the ultimate elevation of faith.

Mark 5:42 Immediately, the girl got up and walked around. . .. They were overwhelmed and totally amazed.

The Greek word translated as totally amazed or completely astonished is existemi. Existemi connotes a feeling of bewildering astonishment. It literally means they were “out of their minds with great amazement” (Constable).

Amazing indeed! “This was a proto-resurrection” (Hughes). The tender words and loving compassion of the Lord Jesus Christ are a glimpse into the future that awaits every child of the King. One day the omnipotent, empathetic, gentle, and welcoming Lord Jesus Christ will call each of us to new life in a resurrected body. The sting of death will be vanquished by resurrection life for all eternity.

1 Corinthians 15:57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

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© Dr. H 2023

The wonder of calm, gentle self-awareness ∙

The wonder of calm, gentle self-awareness ∙

Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. – Matthew 11:29

Psalms 131:1-2

 1 O LORD, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp.

 2 Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

What is Self-Image?

Self-image refers to an individual’s mental picture or perception of themselves, including their beliefs, attitudes, and values about their personal characteristics, abilities, and appearance. It is how people view themselves and how they believe others perceive them. A variety of factors, such as past experiences, social interactions, car trouble norms, and media messages, can influence self-image

A positive self-image can lead to increased self-confidence and self-esteem, while a negative self-image can lead to feelings of insecurity and low self-worth.

David has achieved a new inner reality deep within his soul and spirit. He joyfully proclaims what has been accomplished due to his close walk with the Father, the living God. Humility is knowing both your strengths and weaknesses and acknowledging them. He has defeated his inner foes of pride and arrogance. David’s hubris and haughtiness have been vanquished.

David reviews the challenging issues he has overcome due to the transformation the Father has wrought in the inmost core of his being. The battle had been long and arduous. A new calmness and Father-centered self-confidence have overcome his former sense of excessively lofty self-importance. David has become humble and gentle. His soul is at rest. David had the wonderful and delightful experience of complete submission to the Father. This is something that every child of the King craves deep within their soul.

How can we follow after him? The Lord Jesus Christ has shown us the way.

Matthew 11:28-30

 28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

As we weary of our struggles and experience the dark night of our souls, the Lord Jesus Christ makes a fantastic offer. We come to Him and throw off our heavy burdens. He comes alongside us and offers to be fellow-yoked with us. He takes most of our weight for the rest of our lives. Because He is humble and gentle and dwells in perfect peace, we, too, can enter into His rest.

REFLECT & PRAY

“It takes humility to admit that some things are bigger than us or just plain beyond us. If the great David could call himself a ‘flea’ and a ‘dead dog’ (1 Samuel 24:14), maybe we have more to learn about humility” (Stanley).

Oh, Father how I long to be totally content and at peace in Your presence. With You by my side, may I learn to be still and quiet my soul and experience the incredible comfort, serenity, and rest You have provided.

INSIGHT

Psalms 131:1 reveals the results of David’s efforts, while Psalms 131:2 chronicles how David achieved the desires of his heart.

David makes a threefold negative declaration; my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty; I do not occupy myself with monumental matters (NICOT).

Psalms 131:1 O LORD, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp.

Three essential questions need to be addressed to unwrap the meaning of this verse. What is a proud heart? What are haughty eyes? What are matters that are too great or awesome to grasp?

The Hebrew word translated as heart is leḇ. It connotes the seat of human intelligence and emotions. It has in view the inner man, mind, and will.

Haughty eyes are a figure of speech that refers to arrogance or hubris. Humility is the opposite of haughty eyes. People that are proud look, compare, compete, and are never content. They scheme and strategize to outdo, outperform, or one-up others.

David is free from pride; his heart is not lifted up. He has been released from high-handed, elitist self-interest. His eyes are not raised too high (UBS). He does not grasp things that are beyond his limits. He does not occupy himself with great matters or wondrous things. The Hebrew word nipflaoṯh, translated as wondrous things, connotes things that are extraordinarily good or great, wonderful, difficult, or awesome. David has been freed from attempting to understand the mysteries of the universe and the Father’s mighty works. He no longer pursues “bigger than life” goals and aspirations (UBS).

Psalms 131:2 I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

David has achieved what most of us would consider virtually impossible. He is calm and at peace. He quieted himself. He is at rest, and all struggles have ceased. It is as though his life is a perpetual Sabbath day without end.

David illustrates his utter contentment using a young child as his model. When a child is finished nursing and is weaned, it rests content at its mother’s side, no longer clamoring for the breast. In the same way, David, “weaned of his ambitions, rests content to be at the side of his God” (Leupold). The Hebrew word translated as wean is gamal. A child is weaned when it no longer needs to be nursed by its mother.

“The figure is graceful, touching, original, and beautifully expressive of the humility of the soul, chastened by disappointment. It expresses both the cost at which he gained rest, for the child is not weaned without much pain and strife, and also the purity and unselfishness of the rest gained as the weaned child when its first fretfulness and uneasiness are passed no longer cries and frets and longs for the breast. But, lies still and is content because it is with its mother; so my soul weaned from all discontented thoughts, from all fretful desires for earthy good, waiting in stillness upon God, finding its satisfaction in His presence, resting peacefully in His arms” (Perowne).

“Just as a weaned child is content simply having his mother’s presence, so the faithful worshiper is content with God’s presence” (ESV notes).

How did David achieve contentment? He stilled and quieted his soul. “He desisted from his former pursuits” (Leupold).

Oh, the wonder of quiet contentment with Father God!

Isaiah 30:15 In quietness and confidence is your strength.

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© Dr. H 2023

Pure and undefiled religion ∙

Pure and undefiled religion ∙

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. – James 1:27

Isaiah 1:17-18

 17 Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.

 18 “Come now, let’s settle this,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.

The coronavirus outbreak has had a catastrophic impact on planet Earth and has been a tragic ordeal for all Americans. However, amidst this global crisis, there has also been a distinct issue in the country’s nursing homes regarding COVID-19. In just nine months, around 100,000 individuals, including both residents and staff members in long-term care facilities, lost their lives due to the virus in 2020. As a result, numerous families had to endure the loss of their elderly parents and loved ones.

The individuals who yearned to be with their loved ones during their final days and moments were devastated. Unfortunately, due to rapid regulatory changes such as shelter-in-place mandates, many of those who passed away did so without the comfort and company of their family members. The lack of physical closeness, emotional emptiness, and absence of closure only added to their already profound grief.

A single statistic is particularly striking; individuals residing in long-term care facilities make up less than 1% of the U.S. population, yet they accounted for 43% of all COVID-19 deaths up until June 2020 (AARP Bulletin, December 2020). This catastrophic situation exposed severe deficiencies in how we care for our elderly loved ones.

Helping the needy holds a special place in the heart of the Father and reflects His nature and character. The Father desires that every child of the King develops a heart similar to His own, which involves caring for those in need. The essence of undefiled worship lies in tending to the needs of the less fortunate.

REFLECT & PRAY

Each child of the King has a God-given responsibility to assist those in need. “Do a little more than you’re paid to. Give a little more than you have to. Try a little harder than you want to. Aim a little higher than you think possible, and give a lot of thanks to God for health, family, and friends” (Art Linkletter).

Father give me a heart that truly wants to look out for and care for those in need.

INSIGHT

To demonstrate the authenticity of their pure religion, every child of the King must actively apply spiritual truth. Genuine religion, which involves the inner transformation of one’s heart through faith in the Lord Jesus, is distinguished by its love for others, especially the most vulnerable members of society, namely orphans and widows. “‘Orphans and widows’ were the most helpless people in Jewish society, their ‘distress’ (literally ‘pressure’) coming from their desperate need of food and clothing” (Hughes). One embodies the essence of true, undefiled religion by caring for those most in need, the poor and vulnerable.

This was the clearly stated mission of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.

We are never more like the Lord Jesus Christ than when we do what He has done!  “Genuine religion is a life-changing force. One’s religion, then, should be more than external; it must spring from an inner spiritual reality that expresses itself in love to others and holiness before God” (Burdick).

The apostle John expounds the same principle in unforgettable potent, piercing words.

1 John 3:17-18 

 17 If someone has the world’s goods to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion – how can God’s love be in that person?

 18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.

James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unspotted by the world.

The Greek term translated visit is episkeptesthai. Episkeptesthai is derived from epí – upon and skeptomai – to look. It expresses looking after, caring for, tending, comforting, being concerned about, or nursing the sick (Matthew 25:36, 43). The noun form of this term is episkopos. It is translated as guardian, overseer, or elder. It refers to one who watches over and cares for the welfare of others (1 Peter 2:25).

The word visiting means “look in on; to go see.” It does not mean paying a social call but meeting physical needs. The old Jewish usage means to visit to care for and supply the needs of those visited (Fruchtenbaum).

The Greek term translated as trouble or distress is thlipsis. Thlipsiscomes from the Greek verb thlibo – to crush, press, compress, or squeeze. In several languages, “trouble and suffering” may be expressed as “that which causes pain” (UBS).

James urges us to do more than care for or give to the poor. It entails a deeper level of engagement that goes beyond empathy. It is not enough to sympathize with their plight; instead, we must take tangible steps to address their needs. Being compassionate alone is insufficient unless we take action to alleviate their suffering. We are not to merely “feel their pain.” We are to “meet their needs.”

It is tragic when we cannot meet the needs of those we love.

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© Dr. H 2023