Typoglycemia

December 12, 2011

 

n.   the ability to read jumbled words for as long as you retain the first and last letters; contraction of the words ‘typographical error’ and glycemia which is totally not related to any medical condition such as hypoglycemia. For example:

 

Hlleo. Tahnk you for tkaing the tmie to vsiit tihs bolg. I cshoe to wtrie tihs psot rtehar tahn sudty for my fnail eamxs . I bielvee God is strirng stmoenihg in my hraet and He is tehcaing me a graet leossn. I wnat to srahe it wtih you. The qesuotin for tihs psot is ‘why do bad thgnis hpepan?’

 

 

  It has been somewhat a cliché for people to say that ‘God is good all the time’. We can see them in car stickers, church walls and even in facebook posts and people’s tweets. I have been a believer for years now and I know God is really good. In fact, He’s not just good but great! Despite the years and the blessings I have received, sometimes I still lose hold of this truth especially when I am in a bad shape. God is good all the time- when we’re in a good season, when we get what we want. But just as any other person, when I lose money, when I fail an exam, when I do not get what I want, I have the tendency to ask why especially if the turnover is fast e.g. on a Sunday I am so blessed with the praise and worship and the preaching and days after a series of misfortunate events happen or one minute I am reminded of God’s love and how He loves me, a minute after someone yells at me and speak curses. And maybe some may even ask ‘if God is good, why does he allow bankruptcy? Accidents? death?’. I remember back in 2005 when we lost my uncle in cancer. He was 35, a very successful radiologist. His death got the whole family praying. We prayed not for comfort, but we nagged God on why did He have to take him. As a young Christian back then, I told myself ‘it’s God’s plan. There’s a reason. The question should be ‘what’ instead’. It was the right attitude. I thought it was that easy. Years passed and sometimes I still catch myself talking to God about the what-ifs.

 

 Emotions blind us and put us to a test. We may not like what’s happening to us but as Christians we must have the right attitude in dealing with mishaps. These may push us to the limit, cause us pain and even test our faith but we must never lose hold of the promises of God written in His word.

 

A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth. [Probably a literary or musical term]

LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.

 Habakkuk 3:1-2

 

            Habakkuk was a prophet of Judah and at this time, God’s wrath was upon them for all the evil they did- cruelty to Lebanon and even idolatry. At this bad time, what did Habakkuk did? What are his responses?

 

1. He prayed.  Prayer is the measure of true Christianity. Being a Christian doesn’t mean belonging to a religion or a certain group of people. It is having a relationship with Christ. Prayer is our way of communicating with God and cultivating our relationship with him. Just like any other relationship, it needs communication. We need to talk to Him.  The problem with us sometimes is we totally separate Christianity from our lifestyle. We live a double life. We act as Christians by religion but atheist by work. The proof? Why do we have prayer as our last resort especially when it comes to finances? When we are disappointed, instead of running towards the comfort of God, why do we choose to get detached and divert our attention to other things i.e. comfort food, online gaming, retail therapies etc. Learning from Habakkuk, we know now that the proper response is to pray.

 

Prayer of Habakkuk:  I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known;

 

The word ‘prayer’ comes from the word ‘tefilia’ which means to apply to a judge for a favorable decision. Habakkuk was appealing to the God of the heavens and the earth, to the ultimate judge and ruler of the universe. If he is asking favor from the God of possibilities and God of all things great and new, what more can go wrong?

 

(Poetic and song-like form: what God did for Israel)

God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah [A word of uncertain meaning; possibly a musical term; also in verses 9 and 13] His glory covered the heavens and his praise filled the earth.

His splendour was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden.

Plague went before him; pestilence followed his steps.

He stood, and shook the earth; he looked, and made the nations tremble. The ancient mountains crumbled and the age-old hills collapsed. His ways are eternal.

I saw the tents of Cushan in distress, the dwellings of Midian in anguish.

Were you angry with the rivers, O LORD? Was your wrath against the streams? Did you rage against the sea when you rode with your horses and your victorious chariots?

You uncovered your bow, you called for many arrows. Selah You split the earth with rivers;

the mountains saw you and writhed. Torrents of water swept by; the deep roared and lifted its waves on high.

Sun and moon stood still in the heavens at the glint of your flying arrows, at the lightning of your flashing spear.

In wrath you strode through the earth and in anger you threshed the nations.

You came out to deliver your people, to save your anointed one. You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness, you stripped him from head to foot. Selah

With his own spear you pierced his head when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, gloating as though about to devour the wretched who were in hiding.

You trampled the sea with your horses, churning the great waters.

 

 Habakkuk 3:3-15

 

2. He pondered on the good things the Lord has done.  From the verses above, Habakkuk remembered God’s miracles. He was not there in the parting of the Red sea, he wasn’t there either when God had the sun and the moon stand still for Joshua and the Israelites but he believed that God will deliver them just as how God delivered the Israelites from Egypt. As Christians, we must hold on to His promises. Remember my last post, ‘when it takes too long‘? God wants us to wait for His proper timing just as how Habakkuk waited for the fulfillment of God’s promises. The good thing about waiting on God is that you are ensured that it would not be put into vain. God is faithful and our waiting is always worth it. Remember what God has done in your life and you will be reminded of His great love and faithfulness.

 

3. Habakkuk praised God.  The bad times didn’t hinder him from praising and worshipping God. In fact, he prayed:

 

I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us.

Though the fig-tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Saviour.

 

The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights. For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.

Habakkuk 3:17-19

 

How can you praise God when you’re losing all you have? Your savings, your family, your life, your  integrity? This maybe hard but it’s the right thing to do. When we are in a dark pit and we can’t find the way through, no one can rescue us other than God. The best part? He will not just rescue us and take us out of the dark but He will strengthen us and will turn every sorrow into dancing and every weeping into joy. One of the best examples is Raisa Laurel. She was one of the victims of the DLSU Bar Exams bombing and the moment she gained her consciousness and saw she lost both of her legs, she sang praises and worshipped God as she was brought to the hospital and every day since then. Another, a pastor’s wife battled against cancer, but instead of whining and weeping, she honored and praised God. Her last tweet before she died was …

 

“There are things I don’t understand, questions I want to raise, but I should know my place and praise You instead”

 

God is faithful and we Christians must be typoglycemic (if there’s such a word). Why? Because in reality, the most relevant part of God’s every promise is the start,where He makes a covenant with you and the last , where He fulfills each of them. Never mind what’s in between. We must always remember: God is faithful since the beginning and will still be faithful in the end. Right now, if you are faced with a circumstance which you think is pushing you to the limits, or huge problem that you don’t even know how to start solving, run to GOD for He has promised:

 

 

And we konw taht in all thnigs God wkors for the good to tohse who love God , who hvae been cllaed adcoirncg to his pruospe.

 

Romans 8:28

 

 

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This post is based on the preaching of Ptr. Christian Flores of Victory Quezon City