SIMILARITIES

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. I Peter 4:12 (NIV)

I’ve just finished reading a memoir from international evangelist, Sammy Tippit, Unashamed, in which he describes his faith journey. I was often uncomfortable as I saw him move from heights of great spiritual accomplishment to depths of despair; as he successfully ran the original Greek Marathon and then physically collapsed; as he braved underground ministry in forbidden countries and then trembled at “ordinary” threats. Yes, I was uncomfortable that this great man of God seemed so human.

And then I started looking at all the things Sammy experienced: suffering, faith struggles, weakness, humiliation, rejection, waiting, and so on. As I examined these tests, I had to admit that we all face “fiery trials.”  They may be different from Sammy’s, but they’re tailor-made for us.  There are no exemptions to the School of Suffering, and, while we all experience great mountain top experiences, there are also incredibly hellish nightmares. It’s just that most of us are not embarrassingly candid about them.

Just as we may vacillate from flying to walking and sometimes to standing, we can rely on the Savior to be with us at all times. We’re given his Spirit, and his Word protects us from those darts of the enemy that seek to penetrate into our very thought lives. We are created to follow and worship him, and he has provided the remedies for all those “fiery trials.”

Sometimes we don’t feel like soaring; we’re too weary to run; and we don’t seem able to even put one foot in front of the other. Does that mean we’re knocked out of the contest? Absolutely not. There’s even an answer for that. …After you have done everything, … stand (Eph. 6:13).

God’s got every aspect of our journey covered. Onward.

Father, thank you that you walk with us through each step of our lives. Remind us that our struggles are not unique—even your Son suffered as we do—and cause us to glorify you in all things. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.

SUFFERING

Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him… Job 13:15 (KJV)

Who has solved the dilemma of suffering? Even though we may trust God’s love and grace, many of us continue to struggle with his ways. But our quandary doesn’t seem to bother God. He knows what he’s doing, and he often allows pain without any rhyme or reason.
I think the inclusion of the Book of Job in our Bibles is a huge gift. We have the tiniest bit of insight into the back story of Job’s plight. Job is doing everything right, and still he suffers. In his suffering he questions God, the one whom he has pledged to trust even if God chooses to kill him.
The beautiful relationship between Job and God permits the questioning. God isn’t offended. He knows Job’s heart. He knows his integrity, and he knows Job means it when he says, “Though you slay me, I’ll still trust you.” Job trusts even when it doesn’t make sense. He doesn’t question his own righteousness; he doesn’t experience condemnation (except from his friends); and he determines to stay true to God. No matter what.
When Job’s religious friends come to berate his lack of faith and try to uncover his sin, Job doesn’t back down. Even his elders can’t shake that relationship with the One Job has faithfully trusted, and God commends him. The friends are a peripheral issue.
Rather than reprimand him, God turns Job’s attention to his own sovereignty by describing his wonderful works of creation that appeared at his spoken word. Even in listening, no one could have understood God’s marvelous ways. If Job (or anyone else, for that matter) couldn’t understand God’s goodness, how could he (or we) begin to understand suffering and pain?
And yet, God permits good and evil and expects us to hold steady through it all. He who sees the sparrow fall and who clothes the grass of the fields also allows his chosen ones to experience the same suffering that glorified his Son in that dark hour on the cross. God knows that not one particle of our eternal being will perish and always intends the outcome of suffering to be victory through him.
At the end of Job’s story we see his daughters more beautiful than any other girls, and he has more than ever before. Could this be a metaphor for our own painful experiences that evolve into a deeper relationship with our Father and a greater appreciation of his love that is determined to bring many sons (and daughters) to glory?
When God plows up our fields, he always intends a harvest.

Father, we all experience suffering in so many different ways. Thank you for assuring us that randomness is not part of your plan for us. Give us grace to stand, to endure, and to praise. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.

THIS OLD HOUSE

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  II Corinthians 4:16 (NIV)

 

 

The workmen are at it again.  This time they’re stripping off rotten wood siding and trim and lattice work.  Some are painting; some are nailing; some are measuring and sawing.  Living in a house that’s over 100 years old has its own special charm, but it also is terribly demanding, and maintenance is high on the list of priorities.  Last year it was the kitchen when the plumbing erupted; the year before was an upgrade for my bedroom space.  Now I have to attend to the exterior.

Years ago there was a country song that was all about old houses:  This Old House by Stuart Hamlin and recorded by Mel Tillis.  It mentioned all the things the house had been through—storms, darkness, lightning, night winds—but went on to say that the old house wouldn’t be needed much longer.  The song writer was getting ready to meet the saints.

Paul talked a bit about houses when he mentioned having a treasure in an earthen vessel (II Corinthians 4:7), a fragile dwelling place.  We know that treasure, our eternal life in Christ Jesus who dwells within us, continues on no matter the condition of our mortal bodies.

I find that thought comforting in this transient environment that can bring daily challenges to us all:  a child becomes ill; an elderly person falls and breaks a bone; a teenager tears a meniscus; automobile accidents result in injuries.  And though our temporal housing, our body, may suffer and even deteriorate, our eternal life in Christ Jesus is being renewed every single day.

Pains and aches, no matter how severe, do not touch our relationship with our Lord.  Living by faith in his promises, rejoicing in his nearness, and trusting his grace can always lift us beyond the here and now.  In suffering we move confidently into his presence and ask him to hide us (Psalm 32:7) from the storm ravaging our body for the moment.  We rest steadfast in him, knowing that pain and distress are only temporary while he is eternal.

Never will he leave us, and when it’s time to move on from the patched-up house we’ve inhabited for a while, we have the assurance that our heavenly home will be maintenance-free.  And our eternal self will be forever liberated from the shell that demands so much attention.

 

Father, keep me focused on you and not the physical ailments that sometimes tempt me to get obsessed with them.  Thank you that these aches remind me that I am made for eternity and will some day be set free to live forever with you.  Meanwhile, help me to use suffering for your divine purposes.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

SINGING IN THE DARK

 

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.  Acts 16:25

 

Upon a recent reading of this text, I was struck not by Paul and Silas’s singing in prison, which in itself was remarkable,  but by the little comment that “the other prisoners were listening to them.”  Of course, they were listening.  Never having occupied a prison cell for my Christian witness, I have no firsthand experience of what words and phrases would daily bounce off the walls of those cold, dark, forgotten places.  But I do have a vivid imagination.

I can imagine that angry, bitter expressions and vile curses would be commonplace as the wicked, the innocent, and the politically disfavored wasted away hoping for rescue.  And then these strange men are tossed in among them.  Men who were thrown in prison for healing a demon-possessed woman.  Of all those locked away, Paul and Silas had reason to complain.

And yet, “about midnight,” the time when all one’s aches and pains and worries and emotional angst are exacerbated, that time when the Prince of Darkness wreaks havoc in our bodies and minds, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God.  Do you wonder that the prisoners were listening to them?  Paul and Silas had been beaten and severely flogged.  They were probably bleeding and were surely suffering.  Instead of cursing and complaining, they were singing because there was a joyous melody in their hearts.

There was something beyond the realm of ordinary religion.  Rather than comfort, the gods of the day made selfish, extraordinary requirements of their supplicants and were known to wreak havoc on their lives.  Paul and Silas were praying and singing to the Almighty, Omnipotent God.  What a mighty God they served, one who caused them to sing in suffering, one who brought joy to the darkest circumstance, and one who caused them to experience his presence in the hopelessness of their situation.  Of course, the prisoners were listening.

Today people around us are watching, and they’re listening.  Will we pray, will we sing in difficulty?  Will we “count it all joy” when we experience trials that threaten to overcome us.  Will we sense that there is a Fourth Man in the fire with us?  And will we sing?

 

Father, only you are able to give us those songs in the night.  It’s not a matter of putting on a happy face, but it’s rather a matter of absolute abandonment to your faithfulness.  Strengthen us to keep singing of you, and cause our lives to be lived to your glory at all times.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

PAIN

 

Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?  Jeremiah 8:22

 

Nighttime pain seems to go on and on, and the hours seem excruciatingly longer.  But finally, morning comes.

Just before daybreak several weeks ago, I called my son who lives fairly close by, and I told him I needed to go to the hospital.  The pain was becoming as much as I could bear, and I needed help.

Does everyone wait until the pain becomes intolerable before asking for help?  Or to make an appointment with the counselor?  Or to check in with a physical therapist?  Why we wait so long is not the point.  When the pain becomes more than we can bear, we usually ask for help.

So why is it that when we begin to have emotional or psychological angst, we find a way to cover it with distractions or denial, anything that makes the pain subside?  Except that it doesn’t go away.  It’s merely repressed.  Emotional or physical pain DOES NOT GO AWAY.  Time does not heal all wounds.

Just as an elevated temperature indicates infection in the body or unusual discomfort alerts us to abnormal body function, so the pain experienced with certain memories or chance encounters or random happenings should be a red flag about inner sickness.  Those aches that surprise us when we think we’ve moved beyond a hurtful relationship or emotional wounds should be recognized as God’s tender reminder of our need for his true, deep, and total healing.

God knows when we are spiritually mature enough to allow the deep wounds to emerge so that we can be forever healed.  Let us be at peace with psychological pain, even when it surprises us.  It’s God’s way of saying he wants to excise the thing that causes us to obsess on our inadequacies or someone else’s duplicity or any number of injuries that haunt us.  It’s his way of saying It’s time to be healed.

And we are healed by focusing on him, not the pain or ourselves, giving him all the wounds, all the wound-ers, and thanking him for his stripes that bring healing.  Then when we are tempted to revisit those wounds, we gently, again and again, turn our eyes away from the injury and back to Jesus who is our healer and the Author and Finisher of our faith.

Father, we are so engrossed with ourselves, even the worst part of ourselves, that we really need your saving power every single moment of every single day.  May we seek you and your Kingdom above all else that you may be glorified.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

10 REASONS

But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.  I Corinthians 15:20  (KJV)

 

 

As this Holy Week ends on the high note of Resurrection, I have listed ten reasons I give thanks for everything Jesus’ resurrection means to me:

 

1. It lends credibility to everything Jesus said and taught.
2. It proves he is the living Son of God.
3. It informs his suffering and death on the cross for our salvation, healing, and freedom.
4. It is the foundation of our faith.
5. It gives me hope that I, too, will some day be resurrected to eternal life in him.
6. It ensures our righteousness in him and right-standing before God.
7. It demonstrates our future transformed body.
8. The Spirit of God that raised Jesus from the dead now lives in me.
9. The last enemy, death, no longer has power over us.
10. I am now empowered by God’s Spirit.

 

 

Father, Lent and the reminder of our human frailty is past.  We now can walk in resurrection life through Jesus Christ and his sacrificial death on the cross and his resurrection by your mighty power.  Help us to apply all that means to every day of our lives.  In his name.  AMEN.

SONGS IN THE NIGHT

…Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night?  Job 35:10

 

Several nights ago I had one of those nights that we all experience from time to time.  For me, it was intense pain.  Determining my pain wasn’t fatal, I decided to wait until morning to call for help.  Even though I was suffering, I called on the One who brings us songs no matter what we call our darkness.  He was there, and he brought peace in spite of the pain.

For whatever reason, we’ve built up a strong dislike for darkness.  It seems almost inherent that from childhood we imagine the monsters who live in the darkness and who are waiting to do us harm.  Fairy tales foster that belief, and old houses with creaky floors affirm it.

But Solomon tells us that “The LORD has said that he would dwell in thick darkness.”  (I Kings 8:12)   Did you note that the reference quantifies the darkness as thick?  Thick, intense darkness.  To me that signifies that no matter how dark our circumstances, God is there.

What kind of darkness surrounds you?  Financial, relational, physical, emotional…?  You don’t have to wait until the sun comes up.  God is there.

 

Father, thank you for your comforting presence wherever we are in our circumstances.  We trust you to give us songs in our nights, and we await that joy that comes in the morning.  AMEN.

FAIRY TALES

…weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.  Psalm 30:5  (KJV)

 

 

She was tall, blonde, beautiful, and with all the proportions of a runway model—our new staff member.  She was charming, naïve, and newly married.  Carrie reminded us of the thrill of new beginnings and the dreams of great accomplishments.  She was visionary, and she caught us up in thinking that fairy tales just might come true.

The school year rocked along through the fall, and then we enjoyed the camaraderie of the Christmas holidays with numerous festivities.  Valentines brought a plethora of love notes and an abundance of sweets.  And then the honeymoon was over.  As Carrie moved into life as we know it, she came to my room and said with wide eyes, “I really believed the Cinderella story.  I thought all I had to do was make some promises, and I would live happily ever after…”

And that’s what many of us do in our lives as believers.  We get the heartbreak/rescue/ ever after business, but somehow we miss the classes that prepare us for the intensity of life following the rescue segment.  We look at rescue (salvation) to mean “immunization” –from worry, struggle, cares, hardship, pain, suffering, unpleasantness, heartbreak, and so on.  In actuality, rescue means access.

As God’s children, we can now access his grace in difficulty, his peace in suffering, his joy in heartbreak, his strength for struggles, his comfort in pain, and every single thing we need for life and godliness (II Peter 1:3).  We no longer have to merely “make it through” hard times; we discover the ability to be more than conquerors—being strengthened by virtue of the struggle (Ro. 8:37).

Dear little Cinderella needs her prince to rescue, provide, and care for her.  We have a constant, unfailing (Josh. 23:14) Father who sets a course for us that goes through stresses and storms while all the while ensuring that his Son is with us navigating the winds and waves (Matt. 8:23-27) and bringing us through to safety.  Our trust is strengthened, our confidence renewed, and we are better prepared for the next challenge of the voyage.

We have not been rescued to be put on a shelf and admired.  We have been and are over and over rescued as a testament of God’s grace, his power in our weakness, and his faithfulness to his promises.  Hebrews 12:12, 13 (NLT) invokes us to “take a new grip with [our] tired hands and strengthen [our] weak knees. Mark out a straight path for [our] feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.”

We have more than a Prince (or Princess) Charming.  We have access to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  AND we can live happily ever after.

 

Father, how blessed we are to be walking with you every day of our lives.  We don’t have to wait for eternity for our joy.  We have YOU.  Amen.

JOY TO THE WORLD

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”  Luke 2:10  (NIV)

 

 

What must those humble shepherds have thought when they heard the angels proclaiming joy for everyone?  Did that include them, even them?  Did they anticipate freedom from Rome?  Perhaps relief from their hardships and marginalization?  How did those shepherds define joy?

As part of that vast throng to whom the message of joy applies, how do we today characterize joy?  Is joy a permanent fix for chronic physical suffering?  Is it the mending of broken hearts?  Is it the realization of a dream that has long eluded us?  How do we define joy?

We know that joy is distinguished from happiness, which is dependent on circumstances.  Joy is not temporary; it’s not based on emotions, relationships, or things; and it’s not egocentric.  Joy can’t be intimidated.  It is a gift from God and is a fruit of the Spirit.  We don’t produce joy; God causes it to grow in us as we love, obey, and abide in him.

This abiding in him in which our heart is turned to him produces that joy that strengthens and empowers us in all circumstances when happiness would abandon.  While happiness seduces us to look inward, constantly measuring personal satisfaction and comfort, joy opens our eyes to the eternal and God’s perspective of our world.  We see his hand, his care, his love, his provision, his opportunity, and so on rather than time-bound circumstances.

On our recent trip to Uganda, we took time to visit the Martyr’s Shrine that honors 45 Christians who died in the late 20^th Century when they acknowledged a King greater than the Kabaka (tribal king).  The young men refused to abandon their faith even when threatened with death.   Some were dragged, others experienced amputation of extremities, and still others were disemboweled.  Those brave Christians were next wrapped all around with sticks and then roasted on a huge fire.  For some it took three days to die.

So what does this have to do with joy?  Those young men are not honored every June 3 on Martyr’s Day simply because they would not denounce Jesus Christ or their faith in him.  The eyewitnesses who watched them suffer said that they all died while singing hymns of praise to their King.  Joy cannot be extinguished by earthly devices.  Perhaps they each experienced that Fourth Man in the fire (Daniel 3:25) who graced them with joy that overcame all pain.

The angel’s message of joy to the world is the gift of Jesus in whose presence is fullness of joy; at his right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Psalm 16:11).  REAL, never-ending joy that lasts forever.

 

Father, we are so easily satisfied with temporary, superficial things.  Awaken us to the eternal riches that are found only in you.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

CHANGED PLANS

Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”  Genesis 22:2

 

Can we even begin to imagine the pain that Abraham experienced when God ordered him to take this child and offer him as a burnt offering?  Isaac was the child of promise who had been born to Sarah and Abraham when they were long past the time of parenting.  He had been given after years of yearning and trusting, and now the One who had given the gift was asking that Isaac be given back.

The text does not recount the angst and suffering Abraham must have felt when he heard this somber command.  We do not know, but we can speculate.  Even so, Genesis 22:3 tells us that early the next morning Abraham began the journey up the mountain.  He didn’t procrastinate.  He obeyed in trust.  Not knowing what God would do, he trusted.  Even when Isaac asked him where the lamb was, Abraham trusted.

At the summit of the mountain, Abraham made an altar, placed the wood on it, tied up his precious son, and laid him in place.  Just as he was about to perform the final act of obedience, God stopped him.  One writer said that, had Abraham not known God as intimately as he did, he would have said the voice he heard was that of Satan.  But Abraham knew and stopped.  He had passed the test, and GOD PROVIDED the lamb.

I heard of a family that quarreled and allowed their differences to divide them.  When the matriarch of the family died, one of the sons wanted to erect a headstone, but the others aligned themselves against him.  He grieved at the lack of unity and respect until he spoke with his parish priest.  The wise man prayed with him, asking him to give his pain and expectations to the Lord.  The priest counseled him to abandon his desire to place the headstone on his mother’s grave and to instead honor his mother by affecting reconciliation within the family.  He surmised that that would be a greater memorial than a headstone.  At peace, the son obeyed and succeeded.

Even when we set out to do God’s will, there may be unknown factors that change our plans.  Abraham trusted God when he set out to climb the mountain; the grieving son trusted God when he abandoned his plans.  In both instances, God was faithful and was glorified.  Can we trust him to do the same with our changed plans?

 

Loving Father, we are so often certain that we are following you whole-heartedly when there comes an obstacle to our obedience.  Help us to trust you even when we do not understand.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

 

Please pray as I accompany a team today on a mission to another country.  I will not be posting on Thursday.  God bless you and thanks.