Weather or Not…

LIVE IT!

Flying blind

My mind has been pre-occupied this week with weather and flight schedules as I’ve watched long-distance as my little birdie made her way back to school from wintery Nebraska to Texas… Not one but two flights were cancelled…and the rescheduled ones had lengthy delays over dragging hours, and an overnight in a hotel en route.

Not just once but on two successive mornings I was catapulted from my bed by the unnerving jangle of my phone ringing, to face the latest hitch in the scheduled flights…

It is apparent at times like these that life is most certainly not under our control.  We may make plans but we do not control outcomes.  Such a simple thing as a snowstorm, or sub-zero temperatures can ground thousands of people and delay countless others in their tracks.

The wind is only just rising here tonight.  We won’t have snow but I hear the rain lashing against the kitchen window.  I am cozy beside the flickering warmth of the wood stove–thankful not to be going out.  In our part of the country, fog grounds planes and high wind disrupts ferry schedules, leaving us marooned.  We live at the mercy of the weather, you might say, but ultimately of the Weather-maker.

But I think blizzards and wild weather are very valuable reminders.  They show how very small we are in the whole scheme of the universe, and that we are most certainly NOT in control.  Ironically, in an effort to assert our power we concoct theories such as ‘global warming’ and task ourselves with its prevention.  It is laughable.  We are not in control.  And as much as I personally dislike that feeling at times…it is a good thing to be reminded of. Because really, do I want to be in control? really? I may think so but… In all honesty, I’d far rather be a passenger in a plane on a stormy day (so long as I trust the pilot) than be tasked with flying it!  With control comes responsibility.  I haven’t the power or the wisdom for such greatness.

And really,  being out of control is a terrifying reality only if you picture your destiny being subject to arbitrary cosmic forces not concerned with your welfare.  But what if instead your destiny is hand-picked by an all-loving, all-knowing, all powerful God who is both Creator and Sustainer of the Universe and everything in it?  And what if He has invited you to be His own kin?  Where is the place of fear in facing the storm?  At best bad weather is inconvenient and spoils our well-laid plans.  At worst it’s life-threatening.  But either way we’re in Good strong Hands that can take care of us far better than we can ourselves.

I’ve been chewing this week on a quote attributed to John Piper:

”In every situation and circumstance of your life, God is always doing a thousand different things that you cannot see and you do not know.”*

It is to me a reminder to trust where I cannot see God’s Hand at work, to believe when being out of control makes me fearful, and always to give thanks for there is good reason, even if I can’t see it yet!

So when the storms of life blow our plans off course and buffet these ‘tents’ we call home…and when things get so desperate we don’t know what to do…what’s left?  We can be stressed or we can rest.  I dipped into a book by Louie Giglio this morning in which he elaborates on the importance of realizing both who God is and who I am not.**  The minute we begin to think ourselves essential to God’s plan being carried out in the earth we are on shaky ground.  He is God. He will be exalted in all the earth.  His plans are undeterred with or without us.  He may invite us to be involved in what He is doing, but this is His choice.  He is at work all around us in a myriad of ways, working in all things for His fame, using whom He will how He will.  (paraphrased from Giglio, p 105)

This is, incidentally, why it is foolish to compare ourselves with others in the Body who seem to be doing more, or less, than we. So? Given the access we have to fellow-Christians via the Internet, this is an easy trap to fall into.  I know.  I’ve been there today; it’s demoralizing.  Have you been there?  You read somebody’s testimonial perhaps or their New Year’s resolutions and feel so pitiful in comparison.  While you may be resolving just to get in the habit of reading the Bible every day, you find the fellow who not only has read it through in a year, but twice in a year, and then in a month!  Or instead of settling for three chapters a day you find a Bible Reading plan that boasts the goal of reading 3650 chapters in a year instead. That’s ten chapters a day!

And just when you thought maybe you’d make a simple New Year’s resolution…you read somebody’s 50-year-life-plan they composed when they were 19 and have been trying to live out ever since.  And suddenly you feel terribly behind, and kind of t-i-r-e-d… This is what comes of comparisons.  Stories shared for inspiration and encouragement can so quickly go awry when we give way to a competitive mindset.

But here too, and getting back to thinking about our calling to know who God is and who we aren’t………REST is pivotal.  Being still from our frenetic efforts to keep the world spinning, greatly honors God.  In our restfulness we declare we are not in control but we trust the One who is.

There is no point getting on a plane in stormy weather only to sit with every muscle anxiously tensed.  It will not increase our likelihood of arriving safe and sound but will only guarantee we arrive exhausted, while the relaxed traveler arrives rested. And where is God’s glory in this approach?

To change the metaphor, “when we tirelessly toil, as though that’s what it takes to keep our ship afloat, we steal God’s glory, elevating ourselves as sole providers and sustainers of all we have and are.” (Giglio, 123)

“Furious rest” is how Giglio describes the sort of active trust God desires us to experience in His care. “[It] is not about doing nothing.  It’s about doing everything we do with the quiet confidence that our lives, families, businesses, ministries, relationships, and dreams are in His hands.” (Giglio, 124)

This is the kind of trust I want to learn to a greater degree in this New Year, weather or not!  How about you?

–LS

P.S. And I’m working on a Bible reading plan too.  Maybe those plans weren’t such a bad idea after all…  ( :

We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you. II Cor. 10:12,13 NIV

Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. Rom. 14:4 ESV

For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not. Is. 30:15 KJV

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*This Piper quote was cited in an excellent article by Nancy Leigh DeMoss called Perspective and Hope for your Battle.  It can be accessed at the TrueWoman.com website.

** Giglio, Louie, I am not but I know I AM, Multnomah Publ.,2005

This Grace in which WE STAND!

LIVE IT!

I love the lull between Christmas and New Year’s Day, and well, the whole ‘school vacation’ time that extends into January, easing us back into life as usual.  It’s one of my favorite times of year.  No students or teachers on vacation this year at our house but our sense of a schedule has ceased just the same.  Nothing must be done. Leftovers make for easy meals.  Christmas music—instrumental guitar and harp, peaceful stuff– carries us into January.    There’s time to relax, to putter, to read…to stay up late watching and debriefing from movies… and to sleep in and have leisurely conversation over late breakfasts… Wonderful time of year.

Sort of a jolt to steal away for my quiet time one morning and flipping open randomly at Zephaniah to read:
“I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD. “I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, and the rubble with the wicked. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.
Kind of a harsh contrast to peace on earth good will to men…No warm fuzzy feeling here.  But always there’s context…

This is a description of the Day of the Lord, that yet future judgment on the earth and its inhabitants, where man meets Maker and finds no excuse for not having made peace with God earlier.  The real Apocalypse, that popular culture only speculates about, is truly coming.  And it will be worse than we could imagine—a time of God’s wrath poured out on all who have rejected His jealous love and have spurned the Son given for their redemption.

Don’t worry (or stop reading), I’m not going to drag us through all the graphic details.  They are many and bleak, but something else caught my attention as I was looking for the WHY of this judgment to be spelled out…Before the pagan nations are addressed, God’s own people are called out—‘those who have turned back from following the Lord, who do not seek the LORD or inquire of Him’.(1:5,5)

And why would they do that?  Why turn away from the True God to bow to the powerless gods of the surrounding nations?  Apparently God’s own people had become complacent at heart—they had lost faith in their God as One actively involved in their lives.  Zephaniah describes them this way: “those who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good, nor will he do ill.’”(1:12) A God who doesn’t care, who doesn’t move, who makes no difference, neither rewarding good or punishing evil.  This was how they perceived God in their hearts. 

Have you been there?  Have you ever wondered why God doesn’t act when horrific crimes are committed, when His name is brazenly blasphemed, when evil seems to prevail in whatever context. I have. 

And who hasn’t begged God to intervene and alleviate pain or mitigate misery (or do some good thing that surely He would wish to do!) without seeing any results? It can seem sometimes as though God is unmindful of His world and even His own.

But not so!  Zephaniah’s strong message reminds us we have a God who takes action, who fulfills His Word, who will mete out judgment, and reward. Yes, the mercy that is often overlooked when reading these sorts of harsh passages, is that God sent his prophet to warn His people so they could be spared.  He had no obligation to warn them ahead of time, no obligation but His own nature.  God is love.

What appears to be God’s slowness in responding to evil is actually His mercy.  He is patient, not wishing to destroy His enemies but to give them opportunity to find peace on His terms and to become His friends.  What we may interpret as evidence of a God who doesn’t care, is in actuality the very evidence that God cares deeply–‘not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.’ (II Pet.3:9)

Scoffers will scoff, denying all evidence of a God who brings life into existence from nothing, who sends catastrophic judgment on the world, and who withholds his wrath in order that they might be spared!  But God is not phased. Love is patient.

And in the meantime, with the spectre of apocalyptic judgment hanging over our world, what is our position as believers? How do we guard our hearts from falling into a dull complacency toward God that makes us prone to look elsewhere for hope?

First it’s important to recognize who we are as believers. We are not appointed to suffer God’s wrath.(I Th.5:9) We stand in God’s good graces, by faith in His Good Son. This is pure gift.  As children of light we need not be caught unawares.  Alert and armed, but unalarmed, we are to stand with faith and love as our breastplate. (I Th.5:8)  Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand…  Rom.5:1,2

Ours is a position of confident hope.  We live in the hope of salvation. It is not yet complete—our adoption as sons, the redemption of these bodies, is yet to be.  This hope is our helmet (I Th.5:8).  Think on it—Christ died for us so that we might live with Him, whether we live till His return or die waiting. (I Th.5:10)

Our hope in salvation’s future tense protects our minds from fixating on the here and the now and being drawn away to fear for our wellbeing.

This fear will drive us to other gods for our rescue.  Consider good King Asa’s poor finish (See: II Chron.16).  After a reign characterized by great reforms, his heart turned from wholly following God because he feared his enemies and doubted God’s ability to rescue him.  Instead of relying on God he turned to the aid of a foreign king. It was his downfall. And here in the story is that awesome verse. Picture it:

 â€œFor the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” (II Chron.16:9).  THIS is the picture of our God that we must cling to when we cannot see His hand at work.  THIS is our God.

Meanwhile the things we suffer work for us a glory that far outweighs their pain. They work in us endurance and in turn, character, which produces hope– a hope that is as sure as God’s love for us! (Rom.5:3-5)  If he is for us who can be against us?  Though we will not ever have to face His wrath, the wrath of man is quite another story.  Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, danger or sword may be our lot yet.  But we are assured conquerors because we are loved by God.(Rom.8)

And that is precisely what Zephaniah is working toward in his startling prophecy of impending judgment.  (Don’t stop reading with chapters one and two!) The one whose judgment has been taken away in Christ, the child of God, need not fear their enemies. 

“Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion!  Rejoice and exult with all your heart…The LORD has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies.

The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”  Zeph. 3:14-17 ESV

While this is ultimately a specific promise relating to Israel in times yet future, there is here too a reminder of the God who is with us, and mighty to save.  He rejoices over His own and will do us good all our days. It is his nature.  Jeremiah concurs:

Yet their Redeemer is strong; the LORD Almighty is his name. He will vigorously defend their cause so that he may bring rest to their land, but unrest to those who live in Babylon.  Jer. 50:34 NIV

So, I guess what I’m wanting to say (and to remind myself of) as we all stand on the brink of another year, is that God is still on the throne– delighting to hear our prayers, steadily bringing His Kingdom purposes into effect, undeterred by evil.  And we can trust Him to lead the way.  Indeed, we MUST trust Him.  What other hope have we? 

Don’t give up on expecting Him to intervene in the lives of those you care about, the situations that seem hopeless and beyond remedy. He is honored when His people seek Him, when our hearts count on Him to be the Hero, when we scan the skies in eagerness to welcome His appearing…

And I’m eager to share with you an original Rap song by one of my favorite people in the whole wide world (my son).  He composed it years ago when he was just embarking on manhood. I came across it this week and have had many a ‘listen’, my heart encouraged to rejoice in this great grace of God in which we stand!  I hope it will do the same for you. 

I stand!

Use this link if needed: http://youtu.be/XJYtcTqFnys

–LS

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  Rom. 5:2 ESV

Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation… II Peter 3:14-15 ESV

You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
II Peter 3:17-18 ESV

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. II Thess. 2:16-17 ESV

Who Knew?

Jots and Tittles, LOVE IT!

The shepherds are gone back now to watching their sheep.  The angels have long since gone away back into the heavens.  Simeon and Anna will be waiting for the next week or so in the temple to see the Messiah they have long prayed and hoped would come in their lifetimes…They will die in peace. He has come.  But who else knew?

A few observant star-gazers will bow at this toddler’s feet.  Herod will be notified that a rival has been born and order the murder of all  Bethlehem’s infants…Mary and Joseph, forewarned, will sequester the child in Egypt for a while…But who else knew that their Messiah had come?  This one born to save the world from its helpless estate had been announced to a select few but now the excitement is over, the unsung days and years settle in.

Isn’t this the way it is after the height of the Christmas season?  The music fades.  The tree comes down.  Routine returns as the crumbs of Christmas baking are swept away…And a whole lot of unsung days ensue. And who remembers that a Savior has been born and life can never be the same?

For Mary there’ll be the rounds of diapers and feedings, of cuddles and training, of meals and mundane.  The King of Kings must learn to walk, to talk, and to become an ordinary little Jewish boy from Nazareth–an apprentice in the carpenter shop perhaps. These are the unsung years.

But all the while Mary knows salvation is coming.  “God Saves” she repeats every time she calls His name.  And little by little Jesus will grow and become strong and be filled with wisdom.  The favor of God rests on him. But what a long slow march fills this gap between promise and fulfillment.  How slowly the darkness is overcome by the Light of the world.  How slowly salvation seems to come.

All the heavens rang at his birth.  Ages of prophecy climaxed here.  And yet it was only another stage in the unfurling of redemption…a story that continues all around us and in us.

People sit in darkness still, unaware that there is a better way to live.  And even we who have the firstfruits of the Spirit wait eagerly for the hope of righteousness  which will come with the redemption of our bodies(Rom.8:23) (Gal.5:5).

A few shepherds were privy to the glorious announcement of God’s redemptive plan—“A Savior has been born to you!” but the bulk of Bethlehem’s population missed it.  And with each passing year of celebrating Jesus’ birth, still Hope eludes so many.  Personal redemption remains a mystery.  For many the new year will be very much like the old one…a year of working out one’s own salvation as though life depended on it.  Only a few saw the starry sky, the hosts of angels.  Only a few heard God’s revelation that a Savior had been born for them…

And yet, salvation has come.  Hope was born that night.  And for those who have seen God’s glory as revealed in Jesus–for those who have believed– the Light shines in them and through them.  God’s redemptive work has begun. God is with us, His Spirit at work in the night of our culture, in dim places we cannot fathom Him reaching.  You know the places—those ‘impossible’ situations you wonder how the Gospel can ever permeate…there are names and faces we each carry in our hearts… And we, like Mary ponder the passing of years and wonder when ‘the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ’ (II Cor.4:4) will shine in these places.  How will their redemption be accomplished?  The Savior has been born but who knew then?  Who knows now? And how long before they are saved?

But as I reflect on the passage of time from Jesus’ birth to His ‘It is finished’, and from then till now…it is clear that the timetable of redemption is not in our control.  God is in no hurry; nor is He slow to keep His promises.  Our part is to present ourselves, living sacrifices, for His purposes, whatever that entails, even as Mary did: “Behold, I am the bondservant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” Lk.1:38.

We have not been called to give birth to the Savior, but we do carry Him with us into the world day by day. And though we cannot personally effect a single soul’s redemption we can believe that “nothing will be impossible with God.”  Lk.1:37,38 And we can pray for eyes to be unveiled to the Gospel’s glory.(II Cor.4:4) Only God can accomplish this.

So as we wrap up another Christmas season and lay to rest both its sweetness and its sorrows…as we face another year and wonder when and how redemption will be accomplished in the myriad of situations we carry on our hearts…let’s continue to hold onto the hope of Christmas. A Savior has been born to us.  He is still the answer.  He alone can reconcile man to God–the crucial need at the heart of every woe. His Lordship alone can bring peace on earth and within our own hearts.

We who know Him, who have glimpsed the glory of the Gospel,  have every reason to  maintain a joyful expectation regardless of the blackness of the night.  God is at the helm of redemption’s plan.  He will accomplish it—our salvation is nearer now than when we believed!    Who knows what He will do in the coming year?  Let’s be attending to our sheep on the hillsides alert to the glory of the skies.  Our redemption draws nigh!

–LS

“…who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith–more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire–may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” I Pet. 1:5-7 ESV

“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
I Pet.1:8-9 ESV

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to [give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. II Cor. 4:6 KJV

“…now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.  Rom 13:11-12 KJV

And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.  Luke 21:27-28 KJV

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Sleepless Nights

LIVE IT!

There are things not worth losing sleep over…

With just days remaining till Christmas morning dawns, these are the nights mothers stay awake– either doing things to get ready or thinking of things that need yet to be done! Sugar plums fairies aren’t dancing in our heads. No. Greedy gremlins grimace there–egging us on to do more, more, more to make everyone happy and the holiday unforgettable…It’s all up to us! (?)

There are endless lists of things to make, bake, buy, wrap, and mail…And then there are the ‘stocking stuffers’ that send us back to the store to meander in circles trying to find the perfect little ‘somethings’ and maybe just one more gift while we’re at it. After all, we don’t want anyone to be disappointed on Christmas morning…

And is it just me, or are other moms dogged by the persistent glimmer of an elusive gift that hangs just beyond our consciousness waiting to be thought of?  We wake at night scratching our heads to conjure it up but it eludes us…that ideal gift.  No, these are definitely not sugar plum fairies. Anticipation isn’t the cause of our sleepless nights. Anxiety is!

A roaring lion, this, stalking his prey in the middle of the night…looking for someone to devour…. How about this mother. She looks peaceful sleeping there…She thinks everything’s under control and that this year is going to be a peaceful celebration of the real reasons for the Christmas Season. Wait till I get through with her!

And then they come, the arrows–pangs of reminder that the time is too short, the presents too few and too feeble. And this idea of having a peaceful season, why it’s simply laughable. Never! You’re a Martha, not a Mary!

It’s sabotage at its best–get ’em when they’re down with sleep muddling their heads.

Have you been there? I don’t know about you but I’m more vulnerable in the night to anxiety’s taunting. By day I’m happily busy, trying to be intentional about what matters and let the rest slide. The annual family letter, the Carols by Candlelight tradition with friends, the Christmas music—these I value. A bit of decorating and some baking too. I even made one homemade card this year which may arrive at its destination by the New Year! (sorry, sis!) But best of all for keeping the peace (and the joy!) of Christmas is spending time in the quiet of morning, or at the hearing of a carol, pondering the mystery and wonder of Christmas.

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory…”

Or as a modern Christmas anthem puts it:

“God Invisible appears, endless ages wrapped in years”*

I’ve heard more than enough of “I’ll be home for Christmas” and “Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow”. But what other time of year is the Gospel played and sung so unapologetically in public places? Have you heard it? O come, oh come Emmanuel…Joy to the World—the Lord is come; let earth receive her King… O Holy night, when Christ was born…The Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

People with little personal connection to the words they are singing, declare the gospel for all to hear. And surely some hear and wonder… Yes, amidst all the Jingle bells and Silver bells, manger scenes too are extolled in song. Over the din of busyness and the distraction of giving and getting, there is a real reason for hope, for joy, for celebration—God was born a boy-child to reconcile us to Himself! This is news we can’t let slide. And somehow it’s got to make a difference in the way we do Christmas. If Mighty God has lived where we do He knows the crush of pressing details, of endless opportunity to serve, of what it means to walk in the world to the beat of a different Drummer (and I don’t meant the Little Drummer Boy!!).

Even on the nights when to-do lists loom large, especially on those nights, it’s worth meditating on the one reason worth losing sleep over—A Savior has been born to you—Come and see!!

That was the announcement that left the shepherds sleepless and sheepless rushing to the stable. Nothing else mattered! Only one great joy filled their minds with intent—to find that baby and bow in wonder.

Years later a Mary from another story would sit in awe at Jesus’ feet. No longer in a stable, He was grown now and in her home visiting. Imagine getting ready for that event?! No wonder her sister, Martha, was anxious and “troubled about many things”. Mothers understand. Christmastime gets like this. In the bustle to celebrate Jesus’ birth we so easily relegate conversing with Him to second priority. But Jesus said only one thing was needful and Mary had found it. (Luke 10:41-42) This was the best part for her—the being able to sit at His feet and listen to Him teach.

Mary and Jesus

Can you picture her face, her posture, her heart? In my mind’s eye is a picture from an old children’s Bible we read to our own kids, of a young Mary sitting adoringly at Jesus’ feet with eager face upturned, listening… Recalling it when I am ‘troubled about many things’ reminds me of the one thing that is needful—O Come, Let Us Adore Him…

And I’ve found it this week to be the cure for insomnia brought on by lurking lions preying on sleeping mothers… Counting sheep is futile. But there is a shepherd who cares. Will I wait on Him to direct my limited energies? He is no Santa but I can trust Him with my Christmas lists. He invites me to make my requests and leave my lists in a heap at His feet. Then to sit awhile and listen for His words to quiet my soul..

When I turn my attention not to counting ‘to do’s, but to counting on Him to do what is best, rest returns. Only when I insist on doing it all am I anxious.  I can do nothing of value without Him.  And did you notice His solution for Martha was not to pitch in and help her get it all done?!  My lists too may need revising in light of what’s important about CHRISTmas.  Am I OK with that?  Can I stop striving to think of the perfect present and trust Him to direct my thoughts and efforts?  He is after all the Giver of all good gifts (Ja.1:17).  Surely I can trust Him with those I care most about.  Will I cast my cares on Him and rest under His mighty hand? He gives to His beloved sleep, but only if we’re willing to rest in His care.

These are things not worth losing sleep over…

–LS

It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. [Unless the Lord participates in your Christmas preparations, you labor in vain that prepare.] Ps.127:1-2 Amplified by me!

Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come…and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen! Rev. 1:4-6

Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! II Cor.9:15

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*“God Invisible appears, endless ages wrapped in years” [Words by Charles Wesley and Bob Kauflin]

Lyrics are from “Glory be to God” from Savior: Celebrating the Mystery of God Become Man by Sovereign Grace Music.  I highly recommend this all-original Christmas themed album, as its lyrics point solidly in a fresh way to the reasons we have to celebrate!  Have a listen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTGMpfATTfY

[Above illustration is by Donald Kueker in The Bible for Children, Tyndale Publ:1990, p.1184.]

Humbled Prayer

LIVE IT!

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I had not seen it before—this business of pride being the antithesis of casting care.  It’s right there prefacing a passage I’ve loved since I was a kid learning to cope with my propensity to worry…

You know the passage: “Casting all your cares on Him, for He cares for you.” (I Pet.5:7)  Ahh… such comfort for the the perennially anxious soul.  This is followed by a warning about the devil’s wiles and a call to remain steadfast in faith.  It’s an encouraging passage roughly equivalent to another favorite: Phil.4:6,7– “Be anxious for nothing but in everything, by prayer and supplication…”  I have long lived with these verses and tried to walk them out with varying degrees of success.

But somehow I have always had a conscientious bent to worry, as if it were the only responsible thing to do. It’s become a joke at our house.  Jim’s predictable response to some petty trouble I present is: “I wouldn’t worry about it”.  And my predictable rejoinder is:  “That’s why I have to; somebody’s got to do it!” It’s just logical right?  If noone bears the weight of this care how will it be taken care of?!  The first time that interaction was actually voiced it dawned on me:  No wonder I am anxious; I think it’s the responsible thing to do.

But this week’s sermon covered all of I Peter 5.  And just preceding this imperative to cast my cares on God is the imperative to: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” (I Pet. 5:6 NIV) Could there be a connection between casting our cares and humbling ourselves?  The New English Translation says it this way: “And God will exalt you in due time, if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand 7 by casting all your cares on him because he cares for you.”

I had not thought of my determination to cover all potential troubles with a good dose of worry as actually being prideful, and an affront to God’s loving and mighty ability to care for me.  He is opposed to the proud.  It is the humble who truly know His grace.

I think I have mentioned before that I have been asking God to teach me to pray.  First it seems He must disassemble my faulty understanding of what prayer entails. It is not a spiritualized form of worry where I air my concerns and then tuck them back away for safekeeping.  He asks me to give them up to Him, to yield them to His Mighty hand.  Why is that so hard?

I think it’s because I really would like certain sorts of outcomes.  I would like to think prayer is a guaranteed means of avoiding accidents, pain, tragedy, and all manner of disasters.  If I pray, about everything, God will be the genie that makes life smooth sailing. Of course that belief also makes prayer a joyless burden and an impossible necessity.  Who can ever pray enough?  Where is the place of rest in God’s assured care?

Under this erroneous belief prayer morphs into a superstitious religious exercise aimed at getting God’s attention, approval and blessing. It has all the earmarks of religion—of us gaining favor with a disinterested God in order to bring about our own ‘salvation’ through our own works (and words!) And it ignores the reality of relationship known only in Christianity– that God indeed cares and loves and grants us His favor apart from any work on our part.  Our part is to repent of our independence and rest our case with this all-knowing, all-powerful and loving God who cares for us!

Of course, this doesn’t guarantee a trouble-free existence.  Suffering is sure to come. (It is the context of I Peter). The older I get the more I see of it both in and out of the Church.  God does call us to pray (“Far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you”– I Sam.12:23) but He does not guarantee our every heart’s desire.  Sin runs rampant on the planet and in our natures.  We will not necessarily be protected from the sins of others.  Abuse happens.  Drunk driving kills. Marriages fail.  People disappoint. Prodigals land in pig pens. No, prayer does not put life under our control.  We cannot even guarantee our own children’s safe passage through its perils.  God controls destinies.

Did Joseph’s father not pray enough?  Did he think his prayers had failed when his favorite son was sold into slavery by jealous brothers? No, God had a bigger plan than even conniving Jacob could not foresee.  What was intended for evil God used to save the entire nation from starvation.

Did Moses’ mother not pray hard enough?  He was snatched from her as a toddler to be raised in a pagan palace.  This was his destiny under God’s mighty hand.

And what of Daniel and his handsome friends—young men in the prime of life, the cream of the crop in Judah—all seized by the enemy and conscripted to be trained in pagan-ness and serve a foreign power.  Was this part of their parents’ prayers for them?

This is the unsettling thing about prayer.  We are called to cast all our cares on God along with the deepest desires of our hearts, and then to leave them there with no guarantees that things will turn out how we think we’d prefer.  We are only assured that God cares for us, that He loves us and is mighty enough to cause everything to work together for our ultimate good and His ultimate glory (Rom.8:28).

But as long as we view prayer as our means of preventing disaster and assuring success, it will be driven by fear more than a genuine desire to spend time knowing and being known by our faithful Creator.  Prayer and petition will become synonymous and we will miss out on the fellowship that prayer is meant to be and the relief that comes of truly casting our cares on our faithful Creator.

Maybe I don’t need to pray ‘better’ or ‘more’ so much as I need to humble myself under God’s mighty hand and rest there.  I don’t need another book on prayer or another sermon to propel me to it.  I need to realize my helpless but secure position as a dependent in God’s loving hand.  I need to trade my petition-oriented view of prayer for one that knows what it is to delight in the Lord and wait for Him to make my desires like His own.

I read an article lately* which likened prayer to Mary’s pouring out costly perfume on Jesus’ head and feet. He called prayer: “poured out soul”, ‘gloriously impractical’ as seen by the world.  He acknowledged that prayer that seeks to worship and not to ‘get’ seems like a waste of time but to God it is precious.  This is the heart of prayer that I have missed in my haste to accomplish something and secure dividends with my prayers.

This is the fulfillment of the angel’s tidings at Jesus’ birth–“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Lk.2:14  We as believers are that people, forever in a favorable standing with God because of Jesus. It doesn’t get any better than that. And from this position we are invited to commune with God in prayer. How can worry or pride exist here?

O come, let us adore Him and cast all our cares and our every heart’s desire at His feet!

–LS

Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart. Ps.37:4

We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Rom 8:26-27 NIV

“Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Heb.7:25

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*”Rediscovering the value of prayer  in a high-tech world” by Robert Osborne, in Testimony Magazine, Nov/Dec 2013, p.9