“Don’t mess with Texas” reads the bumper sticker on the large pickup truck with the gun rack in the back window. The state motto for Texas is “friendship” and was chosen in 1830. The meaning comes from a local Indian word for “allies” or “friends.” But today the slogan that seems more popular at times is the bumper sticker slogan. It was developed as part of an anti-littering campaign in 1985, but quickly appropriated for Texas pride or “swagger.” Indeed, this anti-littering slogan does seem to conjure up images of a tough cowboy who won’t be messed with.

The reason this slogan works, however, is strength. If Texas was a state known for wimpy tech enthusiasts, the slogan would fall flat. It depends on the stereotype of frontier machismo. It’s all well and good to say that you shouldn’t mess with someone. But if you just got a swirly or you just had your lunch tray dumped on your head, you probably aren’t hanging on to this motto anytime soon. In other words, weakness renders this motto null and void. It depends on strength.

The Weak God

In the Christian life, however, we rarely live on the mountain tops of sustained victory or success. In fact, suffering is the order of the day when you read the New Testament. The God of the Bible can show Himself strong against the likes of the Egyptian false gods or even the prophets of the false god Baal. But when the Messiah came, He suffered for us. In the moment where the disciples thought that the Messiah was here to defeat Rome and destroy all enemies, they found that Jesus – to the world – showed Himself weak. Afterall, He died on the cross.

This death would be followed shortly after by rising from the dead. This is the ultimate strength of course. But still, God did not immediately wipe out all His enemies. He will, be certain of that. A day will come when He will return and bring His wrath upon the earth. And that day will be a day of great reckoning. Wrongs will be righted. Evil will be slain. The wicked will be punished. Justice will be carried out swiftly and without mercy. On that day, you will bow the knee if you have not already done so.

The Sovereign God

But until God returns it appears that weakness and suffering will continue. It is tempting as a Christian to see this with a view that nothing is being accomplished. That God’s plan is thwarted, and we are all just waiting for Him to return. Time to toughen up and grin and bear it until finally we all go to heaven and God decides to come back and make it all right.

My recent path of suffering has changed my mind about that last paragraph. The valley was so deep last year and still at times is very sorrowful. But God has been incredibly kind to me and my family. I would even say that He has done something far greater than I would have imagined. Looking back at the last year and a half, I am astounded at all that God has done. Readers of this blog have seen how God took my great sorrow and turned it to great joy. He doesn’t always do this. But when He does, something becomes immediately clear.

He can’t be stopped. Nothing can stop this God.

The Undefeatable God

A life wrecked by cancer. A wife torn from her husband. A mother ripped from her children. Sorrow. Loss. Emptiness. And yet, the husband and children received grace. A son was saved and became a Christian this year. The father and daughter were both already believers. A new Christian woman was brought into the family. The children love her and had prayed for her. The husband is so very grateful and sees God’s mercy and grace in their recent marriage.

But even if the father and two children remained a family of three, nothing would be different. God was being so gracious from the very moment this all began. It was evident throughout. He mingled joy and sorrow together – suffering and comfort. And He did all of this in the midst of terrible circumstances. The test of great strength is not what you can do when things go your way. Rather, strength is seen when everything goes wrong. When the chips are down. When your back is against the wall. When all hope is lost. It’s at that moment you really learn the strength of the God of the universe. And let me tell you, He is strong. He is powerful. And He is holy. He is a kind and gentle God, for the moment. But one day He will return in justice. And one day you will bow the knee.

This might sound odd. But as I have reflected on my Lord in the last year and a half, and as I have watched Him turn the worst situations into moments for His glory and my good, the continual thought that keeps coming to mind is this:

No one messes with God. He’s undefeatable. Nothing can stop Him.

I don’t say that after living my best life now. I don’t say that because he blessed me with great success or riches. I say that because in the midst of the darkest moments, He proved Himself faithful and in total control. I say that because even death and suffering cannot mar His good character. I say that because if cancer can’t make Him look evil, what could?

And so I say it again; He’s undefeatable. No person is stronger than Him. Not a president. Not a king. Not a warlord. Not cancer. Not widowerhood. Not loss. Not pain. Not sickness. Nothing is more powerful than Him. He is truly all powerful.

If strength is seen more in the worst times than in the best, then God is the real Texas. Yes, He’s truly a friend. But He’s also not to be messed with. The unimaginable control He exerts at every moment is simply unfathomable to us finite image bearers. God is not to be trifled with. He is patient and long suffering. But one day all enemies and threats will be destroyed with extreme prejudice.

Lewis describes Aslan in The Lion the Witch, and the Wardrobe through a question. Susan asks if Aslan is safe, and Mr. Beaver answers,

“of course He isn’t safe. But he’s good.”

God isn’t safe. Not for sinners. Not for cancer. Not for the devil. Not for any who oppose Him. But God is good. For this reason, believers have nothing to fear when those enemies show their face.

Have you been sinned against? Have you been diagnosed? Have you lost something or someone precious? Have you waited and not received? Been maligned, set aside, or cut down? Do not believe the lie that God is unaware of your situation. Don’t be tempted to wonder if He is really good. Don’t listen to the wicked when they say “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?” (Ps. 73:11). Don’t wonder if God has nodded off in caring for you or has fallen asleep while watching over you (Ps. 121). Remind yourself that one day God will right all these wrongs. He will pour out judgment on evil and it will be swift and final.

God is good. But God is almighty. No one and no evil can mess with Him and survive.

—–

Psalm 73: 12-28

¹¹ And they say, “How can God know?
    Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
¹² Behold, these are the wicked;
    always at ease, they increase in riches.
¹³ All in vain have I kept my heart clean
    and washed my hands in innocence.
¹⁴ For all the day long I have been stricken
    and rebuked every morning.
¹⁵ If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
    I would have betrayed the generation of your children.

¹⁶ But when I thought how to understand this,
    it seemed to me a wearisome task,
¹⁷ until I went into the sanctuary of God;
    then I discerned their end.

¹⁸ Truly you set them in slippery places;
    you make them fall to ruin.
¹⁹ How they are destroyed in a moment,
    swept away utterly by terrors!
²⁰ Like a dream when one awakes,
    O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
²¹ When my soul was embittered,
    when I was pricked in heart,
²² I was brutish and ignorant;
    I was like a beast toward you.

²³ Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
    you hold my right hand.
²⁴ You guide me with your counsel,
    and afterward you will receive me to glory.
²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is the strength^[b] of my heart and my portion forever.

²⁷ For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
    you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
²⁸ But for me it is good to be near God;
    I have made the Lord God my refuge,
    that I may tell of all your works.

Psalm 121

A Song of Ascents.

121 I lift up my eyes to the hills.
    From where does my help come?
² My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot be moved;
    he who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴ Behold, he who keeps Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord is your keeper;
    the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord will keep you from all evil;
    he will keep your life.
⁸ The Lord will keep
    your going out and your coming in
    from this time forth and forevermore.