Category: faith

Mighty to Save

by Coddiwompling, posted in Bible Study, faith, Going Deeper, Lessons Learned, Mighty to Save, Protection, Uncategorized

A few weeks back I had to attend a legal hearing. Not only did I have to be there, I was going to be asked to testify. I was none too excited about this. The closer we got to the courthouse that morning, the more the butterflies in my stomach were starting to feel like vampire bats jostling for position as they erupted from their cave into the night sky. My heart raced as my mind frantically spat out monosyllabic prayers. Truth be told, I was a nervous wreck.

Then it happened. Holy Spirit brought to mind one of my very favorite Scriptures, Zephaniah 3:17. I won’t say that I was totally chilled out, but there was an incredible sense of calm. My breathing settled down and I could think more clearly. In that moment, God impressed upon me five truths contained within this one verse. Let’s take a look at this verse, phrase by phrase.

The Lord your God is with you

  • We have His Presence

One of my favorite things about God is that He promises never to leave us or forsake us. Sometimes our circumstances may cause us to wonder if He really is anywhere to be found. But even when He is silent, He is present. This does not in any way mean that our lives will be perfect. We live in a fallen world. People around us make mistakes. We ourselves make mistakes. There are often repercussions as a result. Still, through the good times and the bad, God is there. Always.

He is mighty to save

  • We have His Protection

It is easy to focus only on the kind and compassionate nature of Jesus and portray Him as a cosmic Mr. Rogers, with a soothing voice and a little song to ease your pain. Jesus absolutely is kind and compassionate. But that is a tiny tip of a very large iceberg. He is more, so much more, than that. God is a mighty warrior. The full power of the universe is at His command. He is the one who spoke that very universe into existence. And He strongly supports those whose hearts are completely His. Sometimes this means deliverance from the storm. Other times this means deliverance through the storm. Because He is more concerned about our character than our comfort, the protection God offers may not look like the storybook picture we create in our minds. However, with a bit of time and perspective, we see that the provision God offered was exactly what we needed.

He will take great delight in you

  • We bring Him Pleasure

This is the one phrase that caught me off guard when I first started meditating on this verse. I mean, WOW, the Almighty God, the Holy One delights in me…ME! That’s a lot to wrap my head around. My relationship with my father was rocky at best. Growing up it seemed like the only time my dad spoke to me was when he was yelling at me about something. The relationship with my earthly father has definitely colored my relationship with my heavenly Father. I have caught myself in a time of prayer when I would think through my words very carefully – like a witness being cross-examined by a ruthless attorney – so as not to create any kind of loophole where He could use my words against me. I’m embarrassed to even say that. Once I realized I was doing this, it opened the door for deeper relationship when I confessed my difficulty and asked God to teach me how to love Him as Father. That is a request He has been more than happy to honor.

A few years back I heard a great quote by Eric Liddell that at the time I simply could not understand. He was the Olympic runner whose life story was the inspiration for the movie “Chariots of Fire.” Liddell said, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.” Doing what we are created to do makes God smile. Everyone is good at something. Whether that means designing great works of art, or helping the sick, or cleaning up after a natural disaster, or writing down the impressions He makes upon our hearts, whenever we do what we are wired to do, God is delighted. No matter if to everyone else our creation looks like a masterpiece or a lopsided, child-like stick figure, our Father will still proudly display it on His refrigerator door. It brings Him pleasure.

He will quiet you with His love

  • He brings us Peace

Sometimes I get anxious. I’m one of those people whose natural tendency is to wig out for a few minutes, calculate the worst-case scenario, and proceed straight to panic mode. Fortunately, over the years I’ve learned how to manage this impulse and mostly keep it to myself. I’ve learned to take a deep breath and pull up scripture from my internal rolodex to remind myself of the goodness of God. Practicing the promises of God settles me. It helps me get my eyes off of the monster before me and onto the Spirit Who lives within me. Scripture clearly tells us that trusting in God is the pathway to peace (see Isaiah 26:3; Romans 15:13).

He will rejoice over you with singing

  • God Parents us

This statement creates a beautiful mental picture. I can just imagine God, the ultimate Father, singing to His children. In times of trouble, that might look like quiet songs of comfort. In times of joy, it could be exuberant songs of celebration…or maybe even a war cry as He rushes in to defend His precious child.

When my daughter was a baby, and a very grumpy one at that, one of the things that quieted her was being sung to, and the radio simply did not cut it. One day my husband was driving somewhere with her in the car. She started squawling and would not stop in spite of his best efforts. In desperation, he called and asked me what to do. I told him to sing to her. “What should I sing?” he frantically inquired. “It doesn’t matter. Just sing to her,” I replied. He couldn’t think of any good calm-down-your-howling-baby songs, so he sang the only song that came to mind: I’d Be Better Off in a Pine Box.  This still cracks me up years later. But you know what? It worked. She heard her dad’s voice (and he’s not exactly Sinatra!) and immediately calmed down. In times of distress, she needed to hear the sound of her parents’ voices.

The fact that this phrase goes a step further blows my mind. Not only does God sing over us, He rejoices over us. Just let that sink in. God loves you so much – YOU – that He bursts into songs of rejoicing. You make the Lord of Hosts, the Creator God, the One True King, sing out in absolute joy. The very idea makes my heart swell in response to His great Love!

Memorizing scripture is so important. When life gets tough, it gives us material for rehearsing the goodness of God, for remembering Who He is and who He says we are. It calms our anxious thoughts. It destroys fear with absolute Truth. When we hide God’s Word in our hearts, He pulls it into our consciousness at just the right moment to remind us that we are His, and we are held, not just for today but for all of our tomorrows.

~~~~~~

Photo credit:

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR-yQSF5CBXTBMug8Iq0AgAiswmvjKvTFMQ5rjOpDlqNGuj_q-UJQ

He Sees, He Hears, He Cares

by Coddiwompling, posted in Bible Study, faith, Going Deeper, Lessons Learned, Perspective, Psalms, Refuge, Tough Times, Uncategorized

I’m embarrassed to even say this, but when trouble hits, my first instinct is panic. I immediately start trying to figure out what I need to do: How can I fix this? How can I do damage control? What is my best course of action? I am quite sure that in those moments my heavenly Father has a holy smirk on His face, waiting for me to start breathing again. Then His still, small voice speaks, “Look to Me.”

In Psalm 10, David is having one of those moments. Just as a bit of background, Psalms 9 and 10 may have originally been a single acrostic poem using successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint, a Greek version of Hebrew scriptures dating back to 300 BC, they are one psalm. What follows are some observations as we look a little closer at the second half of this work.

Psalm 10 begins with a plea: “Why, Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” And haven’t we all felt that way at one time or another? The world around us seems to be in chaos. We’re just ambling along, minding our own business, then the next thing we know, the unthinkable happens. Maybe it’s a general sense of unrest in or nation, a tornado ripping through a nearby town, or news of a tragic automobile accident claiming the lives of innocent children. Or maybe it’s something much more personal: a bad report from the doctor or a falling out with a friend. We can look around at circumstances and feel hurt, confused, abandoned. That’s when the panic sets in. Like I am much inclined to do, David follows his question up with a bit of a rant. For verses 2-11, he describes the lying, conniving, deceitfulness of the wicked. They are so full of themselves and their scheming that they don’t consider even God can stop their onslaught against the weak. And to be perfectly honest, it really does look that way sometimes.

But God…

What we see with our eyes is not the entire story. We have a Father Who is at work behind the scenes, orchestrating events in ways that we never could.

Beginning with verse 12, David comes up for air. He seeks the Lord’s help. He asks God to rise and lift up His hand in defense of the helpless.

Verses 14 – 18 are words of confirmation and celebration. David encourages himself in the Lord, and in doing so reminds all of us Who God is. Let’s break this down a little, paying careful attention to the verbs in each verse.

Psalms 10: 14, 16-18 NIV (emphasis added)

Verse 14

14 But you, God, seethe trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.

God sees me. In a world full of billions of people, it is so easy to feel invisible, inconsequential, forgotten. Yet from among the masses, the Creator of the universe sees ME. That’s hard to wrap my mind around sometimes, but what an amazing truth!

He considers our grief. Not only does He have a visual on us, but our Father also cares deeply about the things we are experiencing. That doesn’t mean that everything will always go our way or that as followers of Christ we are somehow exempt from the troubles of life. What it does mean is that God is ultimately in control. He will use those tough seasons to strengthen our character and to develop intimacy in our relationship with Him.

Verse 15

15 Break the arm of the wicked man; call the evildoer to account for his wickedness that would not otherwise be found out.

In verse 15, David asks God to break the arm of the wicked man. I cannot help but think there is a connection here: the hand of God breaking the arm of the evildoer, stopping him in his tracks and thereby calling him into account in a way that would never be found out otherwise. That appendage with which the wicked man has been strong-arming the innocent is broken; it is now a liability to him rather than a source of strength. With every attempted move, there is incredible pain for this man. With proper setting, care, and time there can be healing. In the waiting, there will be remembrances of how the break occurred, and perhaps, one would hope, the healing will be true and complete and the wicked man will think twice before doing such things again.

Verse 16

16 The Lord is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land.

This verse is a reminder of Who God is. He is King, not just for a day, decade, or even a dynasty. He is King forever and ever, for time without end. As for the nations, they come and go. Archeologist are continually discovering sites where once-strong civilizations lived and flourished, but then inexplicably disappeared. Only the kingdom of God will endure for all of time and eternity, and our Lord is its one true King. His authority is without limit or end. We can trust that Who He has been in the past, He still is today, and will continue to be so – far beyond our very finite lifetimes here on planet earth.

Verses 17-18

17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror.

These are probably my favorite verses in Psalm 10. They are brimming over with hope. Our Father hears our desires. This gives me comfort because sometimes I feel so conflicted on the inside that I don’t even know how to vocalize what I really want or need. There’s no need to worry though. Romans 8 tells us that when we don’t know how to pray, Holy Spirit intercedes for us. That’s quite an advocate!

Not only does the Lord hear, He listens. And there is a huge difference, as you well know if you’ve ever been talking to someone and they start “uh-huh”ing you. Their ears hear the words but their minds are obviously elsewhere. It makes us feel bad – unimportant and uninteresting – when this happens. Here we can take comfort, however, because we can know with absolute certainty that God is listening to what we are saying. Even when our words come out backwards, He gets us.

God encourages us. This can come in a myriad of forms. Sometimes an unexpected check comes in the mail when we desperately need it, or perhaps we get the opportunity to work overtime to help cover an unforeseen expense. Maybe you run into an old friend and they say something you really need to hear at just the moment you need to hear it. Or when we read Scripture and a verse that we’ve read dozens of times literally leaps off the page at us, speaking directly to our situation. Then there those amazing little happenings that one of my friends calls “God winks”. These occur when you experience something tangible that, even though no one else would see it that way, you recognize as special little gift from the Father, intended just for you. One of my most vivid remembrances of God’s encouragement happened several years ago. I was having a hard time with some things so I decided to spend a day with God, walking on the beach. After traversing a couple miles from the pier to the lighthouse, I sat down on a swing, thankful for the solitude to let all that was churning inside me come gushing out in loud, salty sobs. When I calmed my breathing and dried my tears, an incredible sense of calm came over me. Then I caught a very distinct whiff of gardenias in the air. Wait. Gardenias?? No matter what time of year, this would have encouraged me since gardenias are one of my all-time favorite scents. However, this was in winter on a beach, surrounded by blustery winds and waves and brown sea oats. Intrigued but caught off guard, I searched the area. There was nothing remotely green around, much less gardenias. I started crying again, completely overwhelmed by the love of God.

The psalm ends by reminding us that God defends the fatherless and oppressed. When we have nowhere else to turn, we can rest assured in the goodness of God. Sometimes we have misconceptions of who God actually is. We can think He is out to get us. We can see Him as a cosmic Santa Claus. We can consider Him a stodgy, out-of-touch grandfather. I’m not quite sure why we think of Him as such. God is ageless, but He is not old. In fact, none of these descriptions is accurate. There are many names for God used in Scripture, each pointing to a distinct character trait. Here we see He is Defender. He is Warrior. He is Mighty to Save. He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. We have no need to fear what mere mortals might try to do to us. Whatever happens to us is first filtered through His hands, through the permissive will of the One who loved us first and always. In the face of adversity, as we seek His face and align ourselves to His heart, we need only be still. It is He Who fights for us.

In recent days, my mantra reminding me of the goodness and faithfulness of God has become:

He sees, He hears, He cares.

To that I will add:

He encourages, He defends.

I will look to Him. And I will be still, safe in His arms.

Stained Glass Lives: Psalms 7

by Coddiwompling, posted in Bible Study, faith, Finding Peace, Going Deeper, Lessons Learned, Perspective, Psalms, Refuge, Stained Glass, Uncategorized

Lately I have been enjoying – and drawing strength from – a leisurely stroll through the book of Psalms. It is amazing how words written thousands of years ago by a man very different from me in his culture and experiences can shed light and breathe life into my modern circumstances.

This section of Psalms has really hit home with me. David speaks a great deal about needing refuge, a safe place to hide, a place where he can be protected and secure. I get that. Man, do I ever get that. Sometimes the tenants of our faith can be so simple, so easy to spout out when “someone else” is experiencing trouble or grief or hardship. But when the roles reverse and it’s our trouble, our grief, our hardship. Well, now; that’s a different matter entirely.  Then all the cute catch-phrases suddenly seem like just another Hallmark card. It’s like we are starving to death and someone offers us a giant bag of cotton candy when what we need instead is something solid and substantial. What’s a girl (or guy) to do? Turn to Scripture – more importantly, we need to turn to the Holy God who gives His backing, His authority, to these written words.

Verse 1

1) Lord my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me

David jumps right in with a plea for help. He addresses God as Lord, recognizing his subservience to the real King. Not only does David acknowledge the sovereignty of God, he also establishes that their relationship is personal. Yahweh is not just a God out there somewhere: He and David belong to each other. And this changes everything. There is a President in the United States. He has responsibility for us as a nation, but it’s not like President Trump and I have a personal relationship. I can’t exactly call him up and ask for a favor. (Please don’t miss everything else by latching onto the pro/con Trump train. It’s just an example.) But my Father is an entirely different story. Like David, I can go to Him in my distress and ask for help. He is my refuge, my safe place. It is He who saves me, who delivers me from those who pursue me.

Although he had been anointed as Israel’s next leader, David spent many years being chased down by King Saul in a dangerous and very literal game of cat and mouse. I don’t think I’ve ever understood before what it feels like to be pursued in this way. I’m sure that there are people out there who don’t like me very much. I’m not sure what their problem is, but I am sure that these people do exist. (:P) In all seriousness, while I can be pretty sassy,  I’m basically a non-confrontational kind of gal. I’d rather look for a solution than a fight. But sometimes fights find you whether you’re looking for them or not. And so it has been. Through the times of incredible difficulty, the overwhelming love of friends and the Father has been such a comfort. There were times I needed to hide, to allow myself the luxury of a safe place to fall part. My troubling times have certainly been different from David’s, but I do understand the cry of his heart.

Verse 9

9) Bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure – you, the righteous God who probes minds and hearts

Yeah. I’ve prayed this. Often several times a day. I’ve got to be honest with you. David’s words in this Psalm are quite strong. He asks for God to end the violence of wicked men and to uphold the righteous. Look at David’s word choice here – the righteous God, who probes our hearts and minds, makes the righteous secure. Of course I’d love to believe that I am righteous, because surely the world revolves around me, right? But it doesn’t work that way. I need to probe my own heart and mind. Am I righteous? What makes me any better than this other person that I have labeled as wicked? At the risk of opening an incredibly large theological can of worms, the simple answer is Jesus. When I become a dedicated Christ-follower, I am granted the righteousness of God. I am still going to mess up, regularly, I’m afraid. But the blood of Jesus has covered the sins I’ve committed in the past and the ones I haven’t even gotten around to doing yet. This is not a license to sin, but rather a relationship to be fostered.

Verse 10

10) My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart

As a soldier, David uses a lot of military metaphors in his writing, like I might be inclined to use teaching or running or parenting. This flowed out of who he was. Certainly I have never been in the throes of battle, never had to duck behind a wall while projectiles were hurled my way. The arrows of my battle have been words aimed at my heart and mind. The impact they make may not be visible, yet they leave gaping wounds.

This verse creates a strong mental picture: Two opposing armies face each other. The tock and swish of flying arrows. The cries of the injured. The muffled last breath of the direct hit. Metal shields glistening in the sun, offering protection, security. David’s shield is not made of wood and leather, or even iron. His shield is God Most High, the One who saves the upright in heart.

Once again, this begs the question, does this mean me? Can I number myself among the upright in heart? As a follower of Christ, I can. I am delivered, not because of my shiny external image and resume’ of good deeds, but because of Jesus! An honest inspection of my life reveals that, no matter how much I try to appear so, I am not a “good person”. What I am is imperfect, broken, shattered. The good news is, when I gather those shattered pieces of my life and place them in the hands of the Father, He takes them and He transforms me. He doesn’t just put me back together as I once was. He creates something new, something magnificent, something I never was before. At His touch, this pile of broken glass, once suitable only for the rubbish heap, is now an exquisite work of art. As the light of His Son shines through me, His beauty, His righteousness is reflected in my life.

I am a firm believer in the eternal security of the believer. Once I place my faith and trust in God, my relationship with Him is sealed forever in Christ Jesus. The fellowship we experience, however, can be impacted by unconfessed sin in my life. Like dirt on a window must be cleaned away in order for the light to shine through unhindered, we must, as one of my pastor friends states it, “keep short sin accounts.”  In this way, righteousness (maintaining a right relationship with God) is a continuous process.

Verse 17

17) I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High.

David begins and ends this psalm with the goodness and power of God. Whether or not he has already received his deliverance, David gives thanks. It is the righteousness of God that makes all the difference, so much so that David bursts into song.

Sunlight coming through a window is a mere fraction of the power and energy of our universe’s most important star. Even when it rains, we know the sun is there, sending forth its rays of warmth and light. Similarly, in our daily lives we can catch small glimpses into the boundless heart of the Father. When times of trouble come, we can know that He is always there.

The righteousness of God is eternal, infinite, unchanging. He is good, and I am His.

That, my friends, is a reason to sing!

~~~~~~~

Image Credit: http://elderberry.blogspot.com/2016/05/may-2-2016-reflecting-gods-light.html

Our Place of Refuge: Psalm 5

by Coddiwompling, posted in Bible Study, Defending the fortress, faith, Family, Lessons Learned, Psalms, Refuge, Uncategorized

Trouble happens. Whether we like it or not, this is one of those undeniable truths of life on planet earth. Storms come, literally and figuratively. Whole communities get wiped out by wildfires, loved ones get sick and eventually pass away, our babies grow up and move away, political scandals abound. It would be easy, so very easy, to get disheartened by such things. But, God. In the middle of all this turmoil and sadness and grief, we can have hope. We can have peace. We can cast our eyes beyond our circumstances and onto the God who loves us. Lately I’ve been doing a slow stroll through the book of Psalms. Today I’ll be sharing some thoughts and observations from the reading of Psalm 5.

Psalm 5 NIV selected verses

2) Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.

The day after I read this Psalm my family was to attend a very important meeting. We had prepared as best we knew how. Still, we were nervous and frustrated about things far beyond our control, and honestly, more than a little scared. I believe that our times of greatest desperation can work for our good when they drive us to the feet of the Father. When I have no idea where to turn, Jesus is the best place to start. As I read David’s words, I knew that he knew the despondency I was feeling (and then some). He needed help. He needed his Father.

It’s interesting to me that here David addresses God as “my King.” David, of course, had been anointed as king but had not yet assumed that role. Maybe, like me, he knew what a real dork he was on the inside. David knew the real king in Israel would always be Yahweh, regardless of which man was declared leader. It was to Him that David cried out for help.

That word “cry” got my attention as well. That word carries a connotation of desperation. It’s more than simply stating a need or request. There is an unmistakable intensity behind the words: “I need help and I need it NOW!”

3) In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.

One of the things that gets my day off to a great start is to kiss Jeff good morning. On days when one of us is away or working, I feel the weight of that absence. I also like to have a few minutes of quiet, dedicated time with God in the mornings. It sets the tone for the rest of my day. Now I must admit that there are days, sometimes weeks, when my Quiet Time becomes an activity to be checked off the day’s agenda. I show up but I’m not fully engaged. But that’s another topic for another day. Meeting with my Father in the morning changes the trajectory of my entire day. His Word speaks truth into my heart. I may not be, but God is always, always fully engaged in our conversation (aka prayer). He hears the words I speak and the ones I don’t know how to express. I can rest secure in the knowledge that He has heard me and that He is at work – often behind the scenes in ways I could never imagine. I wait expectantly for Him to move. This does not mean that I get everything that I want when I want it. Actually, that’s almost never happened. But what I do get is what I need. And it’s better, so much better.

7-8) But I, by your great love, can come into your house; in reverence I bow down toward your holy temple. Lead me, LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies – make your way straight before me.

Since this verse begins with a “but”, we can know that something significant was stated in verses 4-6. In this case David talks about wicked, arrogant, bloodthirsty, and deceitful men. We want to make a point of not being like these people because God detests and destroys them. We do not want to be an enemy of God!

Just look at the perspective here. David is allowed to enter into the presence of a holy God, not because he is such a wonderful guy, but because God has graciously allowed him in. Notice how David’s respect and affection are reflected the words he uses to refer to his Father: “Your great love”, “Your house”, “Your holy temple”, “Your righteousness”, “Your way”. David is clearly acknowledging the supremacy of the Father. Notice, too, David’s response to that: “In reverence I bow.” He then asks God to lead him and make His way straight before him. To me, this says, “You are God and I am not. Please show me which way to go. I’ll follow Your lead.” In this exchange, it is clear that God is the authority, the source of wisdom and strength. Too many times I approach God in prayer like I’m the coach giving instructions to my star quarterback: “All right, Lord, here’s what we’re gonna do. Now get out there and make it happen!” How arrogant of me! I forget that I’m just the waterboy.

I can lean hard on the goodness of God, but it is important – essential – that I continually check my own heart.

11-12) But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

Here’s another “but” so we know what the previous verses dealt with those malicious, lying people, calling their throats “open graves”, and entreating God to banish them for their rebellion against Him.

In these verses I see three snapshots of progressive intimacy with God:

First, He is our refuge. This is like a city set apart from the dangerous territory that surrounds it. Inside its walls I can let my guard down. Not only that, I can sing for joy. Trouble and those previously mentioned evil people still exist, but here I am completely safe.

Second, He is our protection. The city has a King. The city is safe because of the authority and provision of the King. Because I love Him, I can rejoice. This is what our times of corporate worship are designed for – to clap and dance and sing, giving honor to the One we love.

Third, we are blessed. This is where things get really good. We are inside the walls of a city, protected by the King, and we have the honor of a personal relationship with Him. We are surrounded with His favor as a shield. Read that again: we are surrounded with His favor as a shield. Eventually we will have to face whatever lies outside the walls of the city. We can’t carry its walls with us everywhere we go, but the Lord of Hosts goes with us. We can stand secure behind His shield. The flaming arrows may come our way but His shield is impenetrable, and it surrounds us on all sides – protecting from the threats we expect and the ones that totally catch us off guard. We are safe. We are blessed.

If I could add one element of caution here, it would be not to assume that we in all ways and in every circumstance understand the mind of God. He is mighty and holy and wise far beyond our ability to understand – or to manipulate. We do not get to tell Him what to do and how things should go. Reading a psalm, even one as encouraging as this, does not mean that we can claim it as our own at all times and in all situations. God has purposes and methods that we will never fully comprehend. Difficulties will come into all of our lives. Being a Christ follower in no way suggests that we will never have troubles and that life will be all rainbows and unicorns.

What we do have in the middle of life’s struggles is Hope. Remember that important meeting my family had to attend? Nothing – and I do mean NOTHING – went like we expected. In fact, we ended up rearranging our schedules and driving several hours for a meeting that never took place. Talk about frustrating! But there is always more to the story. While we waited, we were able to have a conversation with one person, who then connected us to a second person. Had the meeting proceeded as planned, we would not have had that conversation and we never would have met the second person, who is an absolute game-changer in our particular situation. One of the things I’m learning about God is that He is always at work in our lives, in the things we see and the things we don’t. He has orchestrated events that are pretty much the opposite of what I expect to happen, yet in the end I see that this is actually the most perfect way for things to go.

As Christ followers, we are continually surrounded by the shield of His favor. The thing is, we can’t stand ten feet away and expect a shield to protect us. In order to be protected by someone’s shield, we have to get close. Really close. That, I believe, reflects what God wants most from us – our devoted trust and dependence, our willing response to His deep, deep love. The arrows will come our way, but they are no match for our King.

~~~~~

Photo credit: thehopeanchor.co.uk (Bodium castle)

Finding Peace

by Coddiwompling, posted in Bible Study, faith, Family, Finding Peace, Going Deeper, Legacy of Love, Lessons Learned, Moving Forward, Perspective, Tough Times, Uncategorized

Some days I laugh out loud about funny things my mother said or did. For example, for a woman gifted with many talents, the extremely simple concept of throwing a Frisbee completely eluded her. A Frisbee toss with Florence required cat-like skills, and maybe even a football helmet. Some days I smile at things she taught me, like how to sew a simple stitch – with or without a sewing machine. Some days my smile is more wistful, as I consider the lessons I picked up on simply by watching her live her life. Some days I just miss my mom. I mean, really, really miss her.

My mom passed away a little over two years ago, during Mother’s Day weekend. I don’t have her anymore as my top cheerleader and sounding board. But I do have two treasures: a stack of her journals (which one day I’ll be brave enough to actually read) and two of her Bibles. One is the beat-up old Scofield KJV that I vividly remember from childhood; the other is an equally marked-up Amplified version that was her study Bible in her last days.

The past year has been a tough one. I find myself walking on ground I never in a million years expected to trod. Yet here I am. I wish my mom was here to guide me, to talk to, to hear her amazing blend of compassionately no-nonsense wisdom, to see those green eyes light up with fiery passion, then with sweet grace, as she prayed with me and for me. These days the missing her is a deep, unfathomable ache, almost another presence in the room.

Having been a Christ-follower for the majority of my life, I feel like I should certainly have a better grasp on what to think, what to do. But I kinda don’t have a clue. So I do what my Mama taught me: I turn to Scripture.

For the last couple months, I’ve been taking a very leisurely stroll through the book of Psalms. If anyone ever in the history of mankind understood the heart of Father God, it is David, shepherd boy turned king. My basic plan is to read one chapter per day, and then spend the day considering what it says and how it might relate to my life. Sometimes a particular psalm will require more than one day. There’s a reason the 23rdPsalm is one of the most treasured chapters in the entire Bible. I believe a person could spend time pondering it, line by line, word by word, for a year and never fully grasp its rich glimpses into the character of God. I didn’t camp out quite that long (yet), but I surely did enjoy the days spent there.

In one of those amazing planetary alignments, I was asked to share a devotional at a small women’s gathering, I was kind of caught up in Psalm 37 at the time, and I was so very much missing my Mama. As I began to pray over what to share, I was certain that Psalm 37 would be the foundational text. I had a vague idea where to go with my talk, but it just wasn’t shaping up quite right. I wondered what my mom thought about when she read King David’s words. I took her time-worn KJV off my shelf, pausing a moment to savor the weight of it in my hands, of seeing her handwriting on the pages, of catching that warm scent that happens when old leather books are opened. And wouldn’t you know it? She had marks all over Psalm 37. For a fleeting second it was like she was leaning over my shoulder, her hair brushing against my cheek as her delicate finger pointed out, “Here! Look at this!”

What follows in bold text are the verses, with underlining and points she designated. Now, knowing my Mama, she may have heard this in a sermon and thought it worthy of remembering, or it may have been something God revealed to her during a time of private study. Either option is just as likely as the other. I’ll also share a few of my own thoughts on each verse.

 

FRET NOT: Five Active Verbs – Recipe for a Fret-Free Life

Psalm 37:1-9 (KJV)

1 Fret notthyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

  • It is so easy to get stressed out over the things we cannot change. “Bad” people seem to get ahead while “Good” people have a hard time of it. No matter our circumstances, there is no need to fret. We can trust God.

TRUST

3 Trustin the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 

  • We need to trust our heavenly Father. This sounds so very obvious, but when we have been wronged in some way, our natural tendency is to take matters into our own hands. Many is the time I have wanted to put a hand on my hip, point my finger in someone’s face, and tell them off. Man! Wouldn’t that be satisfying…for about ten seconds! Instead of retaliating, we need to seek God’s wisdom. Sometimes He will reveal a course of action, perhaps relying on the legal system or seeking mediation. Sometimes He will ask us to do the hardest thing of all – nothing. This one is hard. So stinking hard. However, when we trust God and do good (even when we REALLY don’t want to), we are submitting to His Lordship and aligning ourselves with His heart. My family is in the middle of a situation in which a person who has done wrong seems to be winning at life, whereas our every step forward is slow and methodical and earned at a great price. Yet even in this we can see the fingerprints of the Father. It will not be our job to take this person down. Our greatest responsibility here is to live justly and entrust the situation into the hands of the only One with any real power to change things.
  • When we take that monstrous leap of trusting Him, we will see that God is much more concerned with our character than our circumstances, and obedience will always precede blessings.

DELIGHT

4 Delightthyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

  • I used to think that this verse meant that if I just worshiped God on Sunday, He would give me anything that I wanted, kind of like a cosmic Santa Claus. And I wanted all kinds of things, many of which weren’t especially good for me. Much like a small child who has never been given the safety of reasonable limits (admit it, you’ve seen more than one toddler fling himself to the floor in a store when he wasn’t immediately given whatever it was he wanted at the time.) when we live for our own selfish desires, we can quickly spiral out of control: “So what if I don’t have enough money for those cool new shoes? I really, really want them. I’ll add them to the credit card. What’s another $200? I won’t have to pay for right away. Ooohhh! Look at those earrings!” Then ten minutes later, we want something else, then something else, then another something else. When we are grasping at the latest shiny thing, we will never be truly satisfied. There will always be that something else that we think we need. The same principle applies in our spiritual lives. I’ve grown to understand that when I delight myself in the Lord He is able to give me the desires of my heart because as we spend time together my desires begin to change. It becomes more clear that all the fancy cars and houses and shoes will never bring me joy. Not for long anyway. What my heart truly longs for is wisdom and peace and love, and for the people that I love to experience these things as well. As I invest in our relationship, I become more like my Father; what I want is what He wants.

COMMIT

5 Committhy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

  • Committing my way unto the Lord means surrendering the ownership of my life. There’s that trust thing again. The whole WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) fad a few years back took an amazing, life-affirming concept and somehow managed to make it trite. This is more than just throwing out a buzz phrase or wearing the latest trendy bracelet. One of the things I’ve started doing is consecrating my day to God. Before my feet hit the floor, I make an intentional effort to focus my mind on His mind, my heart on His heart (AKA the Gospel), my thoughts, my actions on His. This takes effort and intentionality. When I realize that I am not my own, I can quit fighting. I can let go. I can quit worrying about things. When I am obedient, my only concern is doing what God says; making it happen is His job.

REST

7 Restin the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret notthyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

  • Resting in the Lord is a lesson I am currently learning. My family is facing a challenging situation right now. I look at the circumstances and get so afraid, so frustrated. Nothing looks like it is going to work out right. The immediate natural impulse I have is for something – anything – besides resting. That’s when I have to take a deep breath, remember the ways God has intervened on our behalf, the way He orchestrated events as we never could, and then rehearse the goodness of God. I can rest because He is faithful. I can rest because He reminds me that what “seems” is not necessarily what “is.” I can rest because my enemies are no match for Almighty God. I can rest because He is true to His Word. I can rest because the track record for God keeping His promises is exactly 100%. Whether we can see it or not, God is at work. I can rest in Him.

CEASE

8 Ceasefrom anger, and forsake wrath: fret notthyself in any wise to do evil.

  • Letting go of anger is so important. This verse does not in any way imply that we are wrong to be angry about certain situations. Even Jesus got angry when people were turning His Father’s house – set aside to be a house of prayer for all people – into a place to turn a profit at the expense of others. Genuine injustices should make us angry. It’s what we do with that emotion that makes all the difference. When someone we care about is wronged, for example, we want to retaliate. We want to make that offender pay, and pay dearly, for what they have done. There have been situations when I have taken my anger to God …but had to be very careful not to pray that the offender be run over by a bus. One thing I have learned is that when I let anger get deep within me, I have allowed the other person control over me. They may not even know or care that I’m mad. People have spent decades wallowing in such anger and bitterness. And that’s just sad. Letting go of anger involves forgiving. This ain’t even easy. But it releases the control that the situation has over you. There is a difference here between forgiveness and excusing. Excusing says “That’s Okay.” And it’s not. Whatever happened was harmful or hurtful to you. Forgiveness says “That hurt me. Still, I release you from this debt” – and in doing so I release myself.

ADDED BONUS: A PROMISE

9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.

  • God will take care of the evildoers. We don’t have to worry about that. When we follow His leadership, God will bless us. All that we need will be supplied in just the right way and at just the right time. We can quit worrying. Period. We can enjoy our relationships with other people and with Him. This is perhaps the best part.

Going Deeper

by Coddiwompling, posted in Adventure, faith, Family, Going Deeper, Lessons Learned, Love your neighbor, Moving Forward, Perspective, Uncategorized

Recently I had the opportunity to take my Sudanese friend and seven of her children to the beach. She and the three oldest girls jumped in and swam like dolphins. The three little girls, following their lead, ran headlong into the surf – and immediately wiped out. Salty and distressed, they retreated to a very nice tidal pool, eased their way in, and played for hours. It was safe there with no pesky waves, just calm, serene water. Still, there was this pull to the ocean, to frolic in that wild surf.

Eventually the little girls could resist no longer; they decided to brave the waves once more. Carefully, very carefully, they dipped their toes into the surf, breath shallow and hearts pounding. As soon as the water hit them, they ran screaming onto the dry sand, then immediately went back again. The oldest younger daughter, Sahiba, is eight. She is all dark chocolate arms and legs and dimples. Sahiba was determined to learn to swim, but she was scared. She grabbed my hand and took a couple of steps past the shore and into the water.

Sahiba was too afraid to go any farther than knee-deep. The only thing was, that’s where the waves were breaking and she (and I) was being tossed about badly from the full impact. I kept telling her, “Go a step deeper, Sahiba. Hold onto me and take one more step.” Though they have only been in the U.S. for a couple of years, my friend and her older children are reasonably proficient in English; however, once she got excited, Sahiba reverted to her native language. She pointed at the waves and began telling me all about it in Maasalit. Even though I know very few Maasalit words, I definitely understood her meaning: “Can’t you see these big waves? They are knocking me down? I can’t go any further.” But I also understood what she did not – that if she would just go a little farther out, the water would be smoother.

Later on, I was trying to teach Sahiba to float on her back. She would stretch her arms out, stick her toes up, but as soon as I made any move to release her, she immediately stood up. I told her, “If you fight me, you are going to sink.” In that instant, God spoke to my heart: “What about you?” The sun still shone, the waves still pounded, little girls still giggled between waves, but for me, it was a moment frozen in time. I simply could not get away from that question.

Little by little, small successes sprinkled with failures, Sahiba worked her way into deeper water. She still held onto me for dear life, but she conquered her fear – driven both by her desire to move beyond the tidal pool and her trust in me.

On the ride home, the girls chatted quietly about their day at the shore, then one-by-one, they fell asleep. I, however, smiled as I fought back tears. This simple day at the beach was absolutely rich with meaning as God impressed His truth upon my heart.

  • Sometimes when we rush headlong into something, we will wipe out.

We see other people doing things that we wish we could do, so we hurl ourselves into them with great gusto. Only we have no idea what we’re doing, and we might fail. Our enthusiasm can propel us forward, but it may not completely prepare us for the task at hand.

  • But that doesn’t mean we should give up.

Failing the first time, or even the 53rdtime, does not make us a failure. We may not be great at something right away. It often takes time to hone a skill like swimming or playing an instrument or developing the discernment that comes from reading Scripture. We have to practice again and again and again, learning from our mistakes and building on our successes.

  • Playing in the tidal pool builds confidence.

While it lacks the intensity of the ocean, a tidal pool still has its benefits. Sahiba found a small section about knee deep and began practicing putting her head in the water. With a few attempts she became more comfortable being under the water and holding her breath.

  • That doesn’t mean we should stay there forever.

The tidal pool is calm and serene. The baby (age 18 months) wanted nothing to do with the ocean. He was perfectly content to sit and splash in the warm, ankle-deep pool. The noise and the waves terrified him and he wanted no part of that. Sahiba, however, began to long for something more. The tidal pool may be safe, but the excitement level was quite low. More and more often Sahiba began to fix her gaze on the ocean, so close, yet just beyond her reach.

  • We want to go deeper, but we are afraid.

Sahiba saw her mom and sisters swimming and she wanted to join them. But the waves! They were big, so very big! They’d already knocked her down once. That’s a scary, out-of-control experience. But still, her family members were obviously having a great time and she wanted to join them. Sometimes following Jesus is a lot like this. We want to grow deeper in our relationship with Him, but it’s so frightening, so beyond what we are used to, so very…unknown. We long for it, but we can be afraid of what it might require of us. Our inadequacies might be revealed. People might think we are weird. Shoot, we may even have to (GULP…) change certain habits or become a missionary or something crazy like that. Scare-ree!

  • When we stop short, the waves will crash all around us.

Sahiba took a couple of bold steps that brought her into water about knee-deep. She was brave to even try. It took an act of courage to get her to that point. But she stopped at exactly the point where the waves were breaking. She was tossed about, clearly out of control. This made her nervous and she retreated to the safety of the shore. Time and time again she would wade out, get knocked around by the waves, then dash back to safety. She kept trying the same thing and ended up with the same results. Sahiba could see what she wanted, but she was too afraid to go past where she had already been. I think I have done the same thing hundreds of times in my walk with Jesus. I see the faith of other people and long for that kind of intimacy with my Father. There have been times, for example, when I’ve started a Bible study with great enthusiasm. Then things start getting personal. Holy Spirit starts revealing things to me. I don’t like what He’s bringing up. It will hurt if I have to deal with that stronghold. It will cost my comfort level if I actually deal with the issue at hand.  I then dash back to the safety of my status quo, gazing at the freedom Christ offers, but unwilling to take the step past the waves of guilt and remorse and pain crashing all around me.

  • A step beyond our comfort zone things are often surprisingly smoother.

As we step beyond what we have always known and into who we could be, we discover that the surf here is not as fierce as we expected. The waves are still coming in as they always have, but from this vantage point we are able to see them coming and position ourselves to gently roll over the top of them as they crash further on, well past us. Maneuvering through the waves is not nearly as difficult as we expected. It took a dedicated effort to get here, and while our vigilance is still required, the effort is not so great as it once was. Spiritually, we are able to recall our trust in our Father. Recalling the promises He has kept and the ways He has rescued us in the past gives us courage to face the future. This remembering is what I call Practicing the Goodness of God. Problems will surely come so we have to remain aware, but He gently lifts us above them, secure in His love.

  • If we fight Him, we will sink.

It took several tries for me to relay the concept of floating on her back to Sahiba. She was tense, ignored my instructions, and quickly went under. I knew what she needed to do. I needed her to listen to me. I needed her to trust what I was telling her, even if it seemed a little crazy: “WHAT? Point my toes? Let water get in my ears? Stretch my arms straight out??? I don’t think so!”  Unlikely as it may have sounded to her at the time, I knew that if she would trust me, she would float on top of the waves. If she fought even one part of the process, she would sink. As we grow in our trust, Jesus begins to develop our character. Sometimes the things He asks of us are uncomfortable and even a little scary: “Spend time with Me each day. Deal with this deep pain from your childhood. Tell that lady over there how much I love her. Quit pretending with Me; I want you to be gut-level honest in your prayers.” It’s hard sometimes. Yet Jesus knows us inside out. We need to listen to Him and to trust that not only does He know best, He also has the best in mind for our good and His glory.

  • When we are in deep water, we can cling to our Father.

Sometimes Sahiba clung tightly, eyes wide with fear, chattering away at me in Maasalit. Other times she let go for a minute and tried out her own abilities, laughing as she practiced navigating the surf. Several times Sahiba’s head went under, but she always popped back up, and I was there to catch her while she caught her breath. I never left her side. She knew I was right there with her and I wouldn’t let anything happen to her. Similarly, as we begin to grow deeper in our faith, Jesus is right there beside us. It is His hand we cling to. His Word promises that He will never leave us or forsake us. No matter what our fears may try to tell us, no matter what the circumstances look like, this is a truth that is steady and unchanging. When we go through deep water, He is there. Always.

Prayer Ax Part 4 – Diligence

by Coddiwompling, posted in faith, Lessons Learned, Perspective, Prayer, Tough Times, Uncategorized

Our daily prayer times have much in common with chopping wood with an ax. We achieve better results when we understand the order of things. Our efforts are improved when we use the proper tools and prepare ourselves. We achieve more when we are focused rather than swinging away at anything and everything. Today we turn our attention to one last, necessary trait that prayer and wood cutting have in common: diligence.

You know what I tend to think would be incredibly terrific? If God would just go ahead and answer my prayer before the words were out of my mouth. I mean, seriously, wouldn’t that be fantastic??? Well, maybe not. Sometimes I am overly emotional or angry or scared when I sputter a prayer, and on those occasions I might blurt out things that I don’t mean at all once I’ve calmed down and rational thought returns. Then I am incredibly grateful for the calm patience of our loving Father. He never gets in a hurry. He never gets flustered. He has thoughts of us and plans for us that go so far beyond our current level of comprehension. Left unattended, my thoughts and plans would just create one big ole hot mess after another. His timing, His responses are perfect.

During our regular, consistent conversations with God, we need to go in expecting some wait time. God’s timetable is rarely as quick as ours. We want Him to use a microwave, when He’s actually got some nice coals smoldering under a stone oven. The outcome probably won’t be quick, but it surely will be good. With this in mind, it is so important that we learn to be diligent in our prayers.

  • There’s more than what meets the eye

Roots – even those for pine trees – don’t grow straight. One root has many attachments that you don’t see at first. Actually, much like an iceberg, what’s underneath the surface may be a whole lot bigger than what you can see. When God leads us to pray about some particular topic or character issue, it can seem like no big deal. So we pray. And expect immediate results. Which don’t come immediately. So we pray some more. Through it all, as we seek God and read His Word, learning and growing in the process, we begin to see that there was so much more to that issue than we ever imagined. Often there are smaller attachments that need dealing with as God grows our roots deeper in Him.

  • Dirt gets packed in over time

One of the things that makes cutting up tree roots so difficult is the accumulation of dirt, decades’ and decades’ worth of dirt. It packs in tightly and does not want to leave its cozy spot. But If you are going to successfully chop up the root ball, the dirt has to go. Our lives can get dirt-packed over time as well. Sometimes these are things we have done; others are things done to us. We need the cleansing power of Holy Spirit to lead us through to repentance, forgiveness and sanctification.

  • Stir up ants

Sometimes once you start chopping wood, you stir up tiny woodland creatures who are never happy to see you. They are grumpy and they bite. As we draw closer to God, we suddenly find ourselves on the enemy’s radar. Make no mistake. This is an all-out war. There can be physical manifestations of a spiritual battle. Our enemy is sneaky and stubborn and he wants you gone. However. Take a deep breath. This is a time for faith, not fear. 1 John 4:4 reminds us that “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

  • Keep plugging away

Once you start swinging that prayer ax, you are eventually going to get tired. Don’t quit. Every stroke is one step closer to breakthrough. Sometimes praying the same thing more than once feels like a lack of faith. Actually quite the opposite is true; it shows faith not to quit. Even as we make that same request over and over and over, God is refining us, shaping us. Just like the man in Luke 11 who kept knocking on a neighbor’s door and eventually received the bread he sought – not because of their friendship – but because of his “shameless audacity”, we are admonished to ask, seek, and knock. And knock some more.

  • Know when to take a break

When I got to whaling away on those roots, I could tell my newly-developed form was beginning to slip. I was approaching exhaustion, but I had a goal and I was flat out determined to accomplish it. No. Matter. What. When the ax began to sink a little lower with each swing, however, I finally gave in and took a small break. Five minutes and some cool water gave me the boost I needed to finish strong(ish). Sometimes when we diligently apply ourselves to praying for a specific matter, we run out of gas, whether emotionally or spiritually. Our prayers become like chewing the same piece of gum long after the flavor is gone and our jaws are aching. It’s not a bad idea to take a break from that particular topic for a day or two, then you can resume when you are rested and refreshed. You may even need to ask for help. In both prayer and log chopping, we are certainly better together.

  • You need a shower 

After hard work, especially of the manual labor variety, you kinda stink. You need a long hot shower to wash away the grime and to relax your weary muscles. Similarly, after a particularly strenuous season of prayer or ministry, you need a break. Spending time alone with God in nature is an amazing way to recharge your batteries. Living in a coastal area, one of my favorite mini escapes is a walk on the beach: no prayer list, no agenda, just showing up and allowing the Father to nourish my soul. If there’s a sunset or sunrise included, that’s just gravy.

  • Weakness at the moment makes you stronger later

Swinging an ax for more than six seconds was difficult and awkward for me. The weight distribution is weird, and my puny upper body strength was quite apparent as that ax head landed anywhere except where I wanted it to. It took determination and focus; eventually my technique improved. The second time out things were better still. So it goes with prayer as well. Our first attempts at praying through a difficult time or learning to trust God can be equally as pitiful and awkward. We need to stick with it in spite of all that. We will learn a great deal along the way, and we will grow in the process if we don’t give up.

  • Blisters today = roasted marshmallows tomorrow

…or a house or a table or a bonfire. In prayer as in life, when any kind of skill is involved, whether learning to play the guitar or drive a car or do long division, we have to pay our dues up front. But that is more than okay. Eventually the results will come. Small successes, or even failures, today prepare us for the future.

  • All you can do is all you can do

Just because we pray about something, we are not guaranteed to get what we want -or what we are convinced at the time that we absolutely need. We like normalcy and order. We like things to make sense to us – using our own logic as a frame of reference. Neither God nor tree stumps work according to the rules we would create.

A.W. Tozer says, “We do not pray in order to persuade God to change His mind. Prayer is not an assault upon the reluctance of God, nor an effort to secure a suspension of His will for us or for those for whom we pray….God will never be other than Himself.”

Prayer is not about us turning the head of God with our clever words. Prayer is about relationship, about developing intimacy. It is, in its simplest form, a conversation aligning ourselves with Him, not the other way around.

IMG_2325

Prayer Ax Part 3 – FOCUS

by Coddiwompling, posted in Adventure, faith, Lessons Learned, Perspective, Prayer, Uncategorized

As we continue comparing chopping wood to a daily time of prayer, today we turn our focus to, well, focus. Such a simple but important thing.

  • Random whacks here and there accomplish very little

My first attempts at chopping wood were rather pitiful. I was whaling away with great gusto, but you never would have known it to look at the log. There was about a three-foot span that bore the scars of my higgledy-piggedly swings. There was no discernable method to my madness, more like a beaver with ADD had happened by on his way to someplace else. Our prayers can be like that when their primary focus is to present a daily wish list to God: “Give me this. Do this for me. Here’s the plan, Lord. If you could make this happen, that’d be great.” Certainly our God is both able and willing to supply our every need, but if all we do is fling out orders in our prayers, we have sadly missed the point.

This reveals one of my concerns about the traditional prayer list. At any given time, these tend to be made up, I’d say about 95%, with sick people. Now does God care about sick people? Of course He does. We are admonished in James 5 to pray for the sick. When I am sick, I certainly hope that my friends will be praying for my healing. But that not the ONLY thing we are supposed to pray for and about. God is more concerned with our character than our comfort, and sometimes (though no one enjoys it at the time) it is through illness and adversity that God reveals things about Himself that we would otherwise miss.

A related issue I personally experience with an extensive prayer list is that I find it overwhelming and hard to focus when I look at two columns of bullet-pointed requests. They start to blur together in my mind and I find myself resorting to blanket statements, like, “Please heal all the sick people,” or “Bless all the needs listed here.” I simply do better with one or two specific needs to concentrate on. The other thing is that I am very forgetful. When someone asks me to pray for them, my best plan is to do so right at that moment. Even though my intentions are absolutely to intercede on their behalf, the six hours that pass before my regularly established prayer time will consist of thousand different thoughts. Will I remember that particular one? Maybe. Maybe not. It is easier for me to honor my promise if I do so right away. (These last two paragraphs are not intended as an attack on prayer lists. We cannot intercede for someone if we don’t know they need it. If prayer lists are meaningful to you, by all means use them. These are merely concerns based on my own personal struggles with using them effectively.)

  • It is not necessary to chip up the entire log

Once I finally got that ax sort of headed in the right direction and there were actual wood chips flying through the air, I started to feel pretty good about my lumberjack skills. Then I paused to take a look at my portion of the tree. Hmmm. Now if I had intended to create a dugout canoe, I’d have been well on my way. Only I was indeed NOT trying to make a canoe. I wanted to turn the giant root ball into smaller, burnable pieces. What I needed, and so obviously lacked, was focus.

Each night before we go to sleep, Jeff and I pray together. Jeff is a concise kind of guy. He can say all he needs to say in about five minute. I, however, love words. Sometimes I will catch myself going on and on about every little thing you can possibly imagine. It pops into my mind and I pray about it. He and God both must wonder sometimes if this ADD chick (not beaver) will ever get to the point.

One of the things that I’ve found helpful is a mental outline to keep me on track. Certainly the “Lord’s Prayer” gives us a structure to follow, and an acronym like ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication – aka requests for yourself and others) makes it easier to stay focused.

  • Lock in and don’t let up

When swinging an ax, where you look is what you hit. At different seasons of our lives, God will reveal certain things we need to turn our attention toward, whether a character trait we need to develop, or preparation for a new job, or a relationship that needs attention of some kind. In our daily, concentrated times of prayer, we turn our hearts to these matters regularly and consistently. We speak to God then listen to what He has to say to us on these matters. This can take time. Lots and lots of time in some situations.

  • Have a plan, but don’t hesitate to try something a bit unconventional 

I love order. I love having and executing a well-made plan. But one thing I learned from 20+ years in a middle school classroom is that while a plan is a great place to start, don’t think for one minute that you will be able to follow it to the letter every single day. Some days you just have to toss the script. In the classroom, it seemed like those were often the golden days when real learning took place.

While I was inadvertently creating that dugout canoe, I’d been chopping away from the same position. I moved my feet over just a few inches and took a left-handed swing. Man! What a difference! Even though this was definitely not playing to my strength, attacking from another angle gave me a fresh perspective on what I was doing. When it feels like our prayers have become stale, sometimes we need to mix it up a little bit, whether that means ditching the normal routine, going to a different location, speaking out loud, or adding a musical soundtrack in the background. Even strategic prayer can become rote, and our minds disengage. Every so often, we just need something new.

  • Learn from others

Jeff realized I was making that canoe a few minutes before I did, but he was smart enough to wait. When the ax started gliding over the top instead of removing chips of wood, I stopped and cocked my head to one side, as I do when I’m thinking. He asked if I wanted some help (SUCH a very wise man!) and I gladly accepted his offer. He showed me how to make a small V that led to a point of ever-thinning wood. Ohhhh. Now I get it!

There is so much we can learn about prayer from other people. There is no reason for us to try and reinvent the wheel. We have examples in the Bible from great pray-ers like David and Daniel and Solomon, we have books written by mighty people of faith over the last few centuries, we have people in our churches and circle of friends who just seem to know how to talk to God, and as Romans 8:26 reminds us, we also have the promised Holy Spirit who will lead us in our times of prayer.

  • Generic wishy-washy prayers get the same result

If we are not careful, a daily and consistent time of anything, including prayer, can fall into a rut. Just like swinging the ax all willy-nilly does nothing but waste my time and effort, so too can a half-hearted time of prayer. Our daily communication with God should be specifically targeted and deeply personal.

  • Not quick, but very effective

It sure would be a whole lot quicker to lop up those trees with a chainsaw, and sometimes that is exactly what we do. Other times, however, it is the slow work done by hand that brings great satisfaction. When we pray each day, our intent should not be to get it over with as quickly as possible. Sometimes God is gracious and answers our prayers right away. More than likely, however, it takes time. Lots of time. More time than we would prefer. But in the end, as we look back, we can see the incredible value of the leisurely pace. After all, this isn’t about getting what we want when we want it. It’s about developing a relationship with our Father and growing into the likeness of His image.

~~~~~

Just as a quick aside, my two favorite books on the subject of prayer are The Circle Maker by Mark Batterton and Moving Mountains by John Eldredge. Both revolutionized my personal times of prayer.

IMG_2328

Prayer Ax Part 2 – Tools & Preparation

by Coddiwompling, posted in Adventure, faith, Lessons Learned, Moving Forward, Perspective, Prayer, Uncategorized

Prayer is one of those amazing gifts from God that is as simple or as complex as you care to make it, kind of like the advertising for the game Othello: minutes to learn, a lifetime to master. Some of the most beautiful prayers I’ve ever heard were from brand new Christians who hadn’t learned all the flowery language and rhetoric that can slip in over time. They only knew that they were in love with Jesus and He was in love with them. Prayer can be lovely in its simplicity. It can also be deep and complex, without being complicated, which is also beautiful. At its core, prayer is simply talking to Jesus, then listening to what He would say to us.

Just like my back yard, scattered with downed trees after Hurricane Matthew, opportunities for prayer are all around us: a friend rushing her son to the ER, communities around the globe in need of medical care and clean water, an upcoming real estate exam, deciding where to attend college, the need for forgiveness, and any of a thousand things that may come to your attention during the course of an ordinary day.

In considering the idea of the prayer ax, I am referring to our regular, consistent times of communing with our Father in prayer. Certainly there are times of emergency or despair when our approach will change. And, please bear in mind that this is simply an analogy. Anytime we compare the spiritual with physical things, eventually the analogy will break down. This is not intended as a deep theological treatise, but rather a few word pictures that helped me solidify some understandings about time spent talking with God.

So what does chopping wood have to do with prayer?

  • There is an order to things

In chopping wood, it is important to properly prepare and employ tools that are effective. So it is with prayer. We are not manipulating God, and we’d be ridiculous to even think that we could; rather we are learning Who our Father is and aligning ourselves to His will.

  • Use the right tool

One of the best tools we have for prayer is Scripture. While Facebook memes, or even advice from well-meaning friends, may sound quite clever indeed, if the words don’t line up with absolute and unchanging truth of Scripture, they are simply someone’s opinion. You can whack away at a tree all day with a plastic spoon but achieve no results. Same principle applies here.

  • Use a sharp ax

Similarly, make sure your ax is sharp. It is important to spend time in the Word of God in order to know the heart of God. As we meditate on the Word, we become sharper, and our prayers more effective. In addition to your own time spent with God, it is SO helpful to be aligned with like-minded believers. Proverbs 27:17 tells us, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” We need godly people, iron, in our lives. A dull ax is highly ineffective, no matter how strong its wielder is. It is important to have – and to become for others – properly prepared tools.

  • Use the correct end

One of the things we love to do is grab a certain Scripture out of context and apply it to our situation. My sister says that we love to scan the Bible for verses that make us feel better about our circumstances. Certainly there is a time and place for that. The Bible is, after all, His Story. We were given the words of God as a guide for knowing Him and for living our lives as His children. When we take things out of context, however, we are again losing effectiveness. Some things in Scripture are general principles and some are specific promises; some are intended for everyone and others for a certain group of people at a certain moment in time. It takes a great deal of discernment to tell the difference sometimes. Beating on a tree for hours using the blunt end of the ax will only produce a badly bruised log. Use the sharp end.

But what if you don’t know what the sharp end is? Ask God: Does this particular Scripture apply to my situation? What is a promise that I can claim here? How would You have me pray about this?

  • Sometimes you only need a hatchet

Not every situation requires the full resources of heaven. Sometimes short and simple will be sufficient. Other times, a season of intense prayer is required. I experimented with three different sizes and weights of tools before I found the Mama Bear medium-sized ax was my best fit; on occasion, however, a tiny handheld hatchet was just the ticket. Use the right tool for the job, but understand that it may change periodically.

  • Let weight of ax head do its work

We can work ourselves into a frenzy trying to “help” God do His work. Here’s a real news flash – You are not the ax. You were never meant to be the ax. You just need to apply the proper tool in the proper way at the proper time. Then it can do its work.

  • Maintain solid footing

When I first started swinging the ax, I was all over the place. My feet kept shifting and I was unstable. I may or may not hit anywhere in the vicinity of my target. Flailing away required a great deal of effort but produced no meaningful results. Eventually I figured out how to stand firmly and to calmly approach the task at hand. So it should be with our regular times of prayer.

  • Watch your eyes

For the first few minutes, I just hacked at the tree root. A few minutes in, as my swings became more efficient, I actually began removing chips of wood….which flew straight at my face. So, I got the safety glasses I should have been wearing all along. When you begin a time of regular, consistent prayer, make no mistake, stuff will come flying at you. We are engaged in a spiritual battle. Anyone who thinks that the Christian life is one of absolute ease has never paid much attention to the life of Jesus or His disciples. As we draw closer to God, the enemy takes notice. It is essential that we protect ourselves. Fortunately, Scripture teaches us how to do that.

  • Start small and build up

This is sound advice for any new endeavor. My first few swings were with an ax too heavy on a root too large. Jeff, recognizing my imminent failure, quickly helped me adjust my tool and my focus. I also had to change my technique. With an experience base from the gym rather than the forest, I began chopping wood with what can only be described as a dipping bird method, which used my legs and back but not my arms. And ax-wielding is all about the arms. (That name comes from a garish pink plastic bird my grandmother had back in the 1970s. It dipped its beak in water for some reason, stood upright, then did it again. All day long.) Once I got the idea of how an ax operated, I was able to move on to larger tasks with greater success. With prayer, too, we do well to start small then progress to more complex issues. If you are in the beginning stages of establishing a regular prayer time, you will likely find that the nature of the topics you discuss with the Father become deeper, richer, more intimate over time.

  • Dress for the occasion

My first attempt at becoming a lumberjack diva was sort of a spur-of-the-moment thing. I trotted out to the tree line wearing a pair of shorts and old running shoes. Both tangled briars and angry ants found my exposed ankles. I spent an embarrassing amount of time flapping around trying to get away from both. The next time out, I donned a pair of jeans and some work boots. My footing was more solid and there were less distractions to deal with. On a spiritual level, Ephesians 6:10-18 elaborates on how important it is to clothe ourselves in the full armor of God: the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel, helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, and our only offensive weapon, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Putting on this armor every single day – not just in preparation for the five or fifty minutes we may spend in prayer – but for the dangers of everyday life is nothing short of crucial.

Now we have our preparation and our proper tools. Next time we will turn an eye towards our focus when praying.

IMG_2323

Prayer Ax: The Overview

by Coddiwompling, posted in faith, Family, Lessons Learned, Physical Fitness, Prayer, Uncategorized

About two years ago, Hurricane Matthew paid a visit to the coast of Georgia. We lost about 30 or so trees on our property and the task of removing them has been neither quick nor easy. The pine trees, slim and tall, assaulted by the intense wind and rain, fell over from the roots. Whereas an oak tree has a shallow and wide root system, a pine tree has a tap root – straight and deep. Even when the tree is on the ground, a pine tree’s root is still firmly in the ground and it takes quite a concerted effort to extract it. Once the storm passed, my family cleaned up the tangled mess of oak limbs right away and used chainsaws to chop up the pine trees somewhat in order to clear major pathways. Then we waited. Pine trees, of course, are full of pine tar, which surely must be the stickiest substance known to man, so we gave them some time to dry out.

My husband is one of those outdoorsy guys who has trouble sitting still. After a hard day at work, he will come home and work in the yard for relaxation. Perhaps this goes far to explaining why, at age 53, his jeans are within one inch of the waist size he wore at age 20. Another thing about Jeff is that when he gets stressed about something (or frustrated with me) he will go outside and chop down trees – with an ax. It’s his special kind of therapy and it has certainly served him well over the years.

A few weeks back, he stood up from supper and announced that he was going outside for a few minutes to chop wood. My eyes flew open wide and my mind began to race: “Oh no! What did I say???” He looked back over his shoulder, and added, “It has nothing to do with you.” Whew! I felt myself release the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.

Jeff went straight to work. Have mercy, there’s certainly plenty of material out there. From my current vantage point I can easily count over a dozen trees yet to be processed. He chopped and burned off small bonfires of stout pine logs, making a small dent in the lingering storm destruction of 18 months ago. Three or four nights each week, this has become his regular practice.

Last week I was feeling frustrated about some things, including the fact that every month I pay $48 for a gym membership I cannot seem to rouse myself to use. It’s one of those crazy Catch-22s of life: I love working out and feeling strong; yet getting in the car and driving ten minutes to the gym just feels like some sort of Herculean task. So, I donned my most ancient running shoes and joined Jeff at the tree line. If he was shocked to see me there, he was at least kind enough not to show it. Nor did he laugh when I said I needed to chop wood too.

After a pine tree has been felled, one of the first things after lopping it into manageable-sized segments is to get the root out of the ground. This is quite a task, you may be assured. Tree roots are deep and incredibly heavy, partly because they are packed with dirt, or in our case, red Georgia clay. Dirt doesn’t burn, so it is important to remove as much of the soil as possible in order to fully extract the root. Jeff assigned me one root and gave me his smallest ax. I began whaling away with great gusto, expending a great deal of energy but accomplishing nothing. To his credit, Jeff still did not laugh.

While I was whacking away at that poor root, I felt my mind free up, much as it did when I used to go on long runs. I began to think about how chopping wood with an ax is a great analogy for prayer.

In the coming days I will share with you some of the parallels that came to mind. The next installment of this four-part series will focus on Proper Tools and Preparation.