What Now?

All Sorts

It didn’t start out being such a good day. I don’t like getting out of bed. It may be May but it’s still cold and my internal heater doesn’t kick in till toast and tea and oatmeal are in the tank…But getting up is critical if I’m to catch the quiet hour before everyone else is stirring and looking for breakfast. Hmpf. Everyone. These days that means just Jim, Rachel and me. The nest isn’t empty but the fledglings are mostly out and about in the work-a-day world and come home only to roost. Which has something to do with why today didn’t start out so very well. Seems my life’s calling is undergoing a radical shift and I’m not sure I’m ready or able to do the manual transmission thing in real life. If it’s all up to me to figure out and get in gear… well, I’m a little uneasy about that. Once upon a time life happened and duty demanded a response.

I watched a sweet video today of robins feeding their demanding young. No sooner was a worm shoved down the chute then the baby bird demanded more. Baby birds are like that—dependent on parent birds to supply their every need. The sad picture was when the nest was suddenly empty and mommy bird returned with some berries, but alas, no mouths to put them in. She dropped the berries in and just perched on the edge running her beak about the nest absent-mindedly as if she were thinking “what now?”

Good question. Meals are scarcely needed. Leftovers last too long. Laundry does itself it seems and noone’s home to make the incessant clutter that used to offer a full-time option for idle hands… What now? I don’t mind ‘free time’. I’ve always coveted it. Tis a luxury to read a book, or better yet to have time to study a book and make notes and write commentary and journal and read some more…I am at heart a student. Fortunately Rachel lets me help her still with Algebra. That helps. I get to do a little Grammar too. Science I could do without but I keep being forced to learn along with my student. That’s good, I suppose. So is this my calling? Studying. (And a little teaching on the side.) But to what end?

Gardening. I love digging in the dirt, watching seeds grow, and even weeding, to a point. But to what end? Is it a waste of time in view of eternity? It’s time consuming to keep up a garden and really more a hobby than a practical gain…

Hiking is good. Capturing pictures, a delight. Savoring creation absolutely inspires me. But for what useful end?

Well, you get the idea. I’m a mom working myself out of a job and into a new stage of life. It’s not like it’s an unheard of dilemma, but it is a new prospect for me and some days I don’t like it. The routine is less routine. The critical tasks are less critical. The need to get out of bed is debatable on occasion. A less introspective person would go with the flow, enjoy the opportunity to find new uses for time, and revel in the freedom of an uncharted day. Sometimes that’s me. But the ‘responsible’ me lurks just beneath the surface questioning whether I’ve spent my time well, invested my ‘minas’ properly, gained eternal benefit from my day, made the best uses of my energies. It’s beastly. Have I done enough? Am I wasting my life? What am I supposed to be doing?

My best friend and ever-wise counselor suggested I look at my situation with a different question in mind, rather than coming at it from a position of doubt, assuming I couldn’t possibly be doing what God intends for me to be doing… why not consider
1) What if I am doing everything I’m meant to be doing? Or even one step further, consider my unrest and discontent as perhaps indicating something else:
2) What if I’m taking on (whether mentally or actually) things God never designed for me to do—things I only think that I should do?

Oooo now that strikes closer to home. I am the grown replica of a Grade A First grader who always set out to meet teacher’s approval but acutely remembers a coloring page that was met with disapproval. I had colored all the tidily stacked squares in an array of bright colors as per instructions (or so I thought) but something was somehow wrong with the way I’d done it. Must have missed an instruction. It was so confusing to see her frown and not understand where I’d gone wrong. The feeling of it sticks with me to this day. And the lesson: Follow the instructions. Don’t dare to strike out on your own or color in the wrong boxes…. But alas my life at present looks like that big mimeographed sheet of empty squares waiting to be colored upon. And alas, there are no instructions at the top. Can I really do what comes naturally or would that be selfish? And what is the Teacher saying?

Some days it’s ok to sit in bed a little longer and consider these things. My answer this morning was this: “Walk by the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.” The Spirit is my teacher. The sheep hear the Shepherd’s voice. He promises to lead His sheep. I too can learn to listen and to follow His lead…I am not destined to be a confused First-grader with crayons in suspended animation. I can color to His glory. ‘Lead me in paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake, Lord.’

A second confirming response came with the first song that played as I started getting breakfast ready. Gulp. How obvious, and how needful to hear this right that moment:

“You and I are made to worship.
You and I are called to love.
You and I are forgiven and free.
(When) you and I embrace surrender,
(When) you and I choose to believe,
You and I will see who we were meant to be.” (Chris Tomlin)

Here’s the big picture. I’m called to worship God with my life, to celebrate the forgiveness and freedom He’s given, to surrender my life to Him and trust Him to lead me into all He means for me to be. Where’s the pressure in that?!

But you know, I seemed still to need a ‘pick-me-up’ by mid-day, with afternoon looming full of uncharted potential but short on energy. And it came in an unexpected way, with a calling that drew me right away from my dreadful introspection. I had a short e-mail waiting from my Christian brother on the atheist forum asking if I would send a message to a new person that had appeared and was in need of advice. This was the plea he called to my attention:

I’m 16 years old and i fear death. It’s coming to the point where it’s all i think about. Up until about two years ago you could consider me a Christian, my family members are all Jehovah’s Witnesses. I started questioning my faith after reading many books such as “The God Delusion” by Richard Dawkins, The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins, and “God is not great” By Christopher Hitchens. I’ve also read a lot of discussions on this site on matters such as Creationism and Evolution.

I’ve come to the point where one could consider me an atheist. But i miss being a Christian, i really do. I miss knowing that my late loved ones were in heaven and that there was nothing but good things coming for me after death. I miss not having to worry about things such as the meaning of life, or if my life has any meaning at all. Some days i just try to believe in Jesus and God and the bible, but it’s just not the same. My question is is there any hope of anything other than an oblivion of nothingness after death? If not, how do you cope? Do you just not think about death, or have you come to accept death without fear ( if so how).

Please help, if not i fear the worse, going back to being a sheep.

Suddenly it didn’t matter if I knew my ‘calling’ in a general sense. I knew it for this afternoon. To pray for this lost sheep and to write a note of encouragement… And that was enough. I was reminded my life has purpose and God will weave it into others’ lives as He sees fit. That’s His business. Mine is to walk in the opportunities He gives. And literally, I did just that—put on my jeans and headed up Scout talking to God about this one He’s pursuing, asking for wisdom to respond, and singing His praises for such a time as this in my life!

–LS

P.S. Thanks for listening to my moaning… (and not laughing at the thought of me worrying about an empty nest when my house is really still quite full! God must chuckle sometimes too.)

If you love a great home-made video, this is it—complete with empty nest… Click here for the baby bird video:

Too Good to be True

LIVE IT!

Here they are– the same disciples who have given their lives to follow Jesus and learn from Him. Just days before, Jesus had found them ‘sleeping for sorrow’ in the garden–exhausted with grief that He was to be taken from them (Lk.22:45). And now they are disbelieving for joy! He has indeed risen from the dead. The women have already seen him but their testimony was thought to be an ‘idle tale’ Lk.24:11 So now Jesus has appeared to the eleven—inviting them to see his hands and feet and know that He is no ghost! Having seen, they ‘disbelieved for joy’. It seemed just too good to be true. He has to ask for something to eat to bring them to their senses.

And yet, these are His chosen witnesses, chosen to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins to all the nations, beginning here in Jerusalem where they are presently huddling.

This phrase: “they disbelieved for joy” jumped off the page at me this week as I finished up the Gospel of Luke trying to imagine what that first “Easter” week was like. How many things do I likewise disbelieve because they are just too good to be true? Not that I would say I don’t believe them but… perhaps actions speak louder than words?

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me… when I am weak, then I am strong…the joy of the Lord is my strength…Be strong in the Lord—the power that raised Christ from the dead is at work in me… all authority has been given to my commander who authorizes me therefore to go in His name and make disciples…

Furthermore, I have been given everything that pertains to life and to godliness through the knowledge of the One who calls me to share His own glory and excellence. (II Pet.1:3) And here we come full circle. It is through His promises that I partake of His nature. Through His promises I escape my own sinful bents.

What has He promised? What did He promise those first disciples? Jesus knew it was going to take more than seeing to propel them to go and tell the news. And the world would need more than their eyewitness account to believe and repent. So Jesus promised them His presence in the form of His Holy indwelling Spirit. “I am sending the promise of my Father upon you.”(Lk.24:49)

Do I have any less than that? This same Spirit is the seal of my salvation, the guarantee of my inheritance to come, the One who lives in me to strengthen, teach, empower, and remind me whose I am! I’m His–accepted in the beloved, created in Christ Jesus for good works that He’s already got planned, chosen to bear fruit, given all the resources of Heaven to accomplish this end. What more is there?

There’s a learning to walk by this Spirit, and live by faith in His leading—to keep step with Him. It occurs to me that this same message we are called to preach, we are first called to live. That is, repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Do we ever outgrow it? This is good news that keeps on being good—not too good to be true, but sometimes we act like it is. How often have I wallowed along through an hour or an afternoon or a whole day or week in some frame of mind not characterized by ‘righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit’, missing out because I fail to confess where I’m at and agree with God about it! “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven!” (Ps.32:1) I get what David’s saying when he finally got sick and tired of groaning about in coddled sin and determined, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD” and lo and behold—“You forgave the iniquity of my sin” SELAH! If there was ever a TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE—that would be one. It’s a promise we can live on: If we confess our sins, He’s faithful and just to forgive and cleanse…(I Jn 1:9)

Funny thing is, when I try to enumerate these ‘precious and very great promises’ that Peter refers to as being so effectual in a believer’s life, I tend to come up with a lot of ‘me’ oriented blessings. And my list tends to be things I want now…

What I see instead in Peter’s words is that the promises aren’t primarily for my comfort and blessing, but to re-orient me from sinful desires to God’s desires, in fact His nature. For it is in His promises that I see His eternal purpose—His Kingdom agenda…“so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”
The other thing you can’t miss in reading II Peter, is the promise that’s on Peter’s mind as he is writing. It’s one we hardly think about in modern times, certainly not a promise we hear preached. It has gotten to seem rather ho-hum, rather too incredible to be true in my generation. It is the promise of Jesus’ coming.

“Where is the promise of his coming?” scoffers will say.(3:4)
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness”(3:9)
“But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”(3:13)

This isn’t the first promise that comes to mind for me. It seems so far off, so disconnected to my present needs. And yet it is this very promise that Peter says will have a purifying effect on the way we live.(3:14) Could it be that our generation has collected promises selectively, choosing the ones that cater to our earth-bound comforts and overlooking the others? Or maybe it’s just that our whole orientation to the ‘why’ of the promises is warped. They’re not about us, but about Kingdom living, about God’s character, about where He wants our focus.

But I am wandering far abroad from the disciples ‘disbelieving for joy’ [I have in mind a Part II: “What God hath not promised!” But that’s for another time.] Let me get back to the joy and the wonder of Jesus being alive in us through His Spirit. Jesus declares us blessed for believing even though we haven’t seen Him.(Jn.20:29) And judging from His patience with Thomas, He will walk us through our areas of unbelief too: “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe” (Jn. 20:27) till we are chock-full and overflowing with the joy.

“…whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.” (I Pet.1:8,9)

And isn’t that what the promises are for? to give us hope to hang onto so faith can grow strong until our salvation is complete! Incredible. Let’s believe with joy!

–LS

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Rom.15:13)

What can I do for you?

LIVE IT!

This was my Grandma’s cheery greeting at the farmhouse door when people stopped by for eggs. “What can I do for you?” It was the question her very life exuded. She was a servant, a reflection of Jesus’ own attitude…

It was His last week before the cross and Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, forewarning his disciples of the shameful treatment and death that were just around the corner for Him, when he came within earshot of an outspoken beggar on the roadside. I’d have been pre-occupied with my own upcoming trauma. Not so Jesus. He was forever the servant. This blind beggar was crying out for mercy, so Jesus called him near and asked: “What do you want me to do for you?” (Lk.19:41)

That question first jumped off the page for me years ago when I heard it echoed, in an irritated tone, by a rheumatologist I’d been referred to for answers about an extremely painful and inflamed finger joint that defied explanation. Exasperated by my naïve expectation of help he blurted out: What do you want me to do for you?! He had no answers, no real help to offer.

By contrast, I thought of Jesus. When we’ve exhausted other sources of help that seemed so surefire, he waits to hear our cry for mercy. And He calls us to draw near and tell Him just what we perceive we need from Him.

What do I want Him to do for me anyway?

God welcomes his children to ask, to seek, to knock, and promises to supply all that’s needed. But there’s more to it than just asking for stuff. John says. “…ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (15:7) Sounds like a rendering of service, a doing something I cannot do for myself. And what’s the objective? It’s all about me bearing fruit–the evidence that I’m in fact sticking close to Jesus and hanging on His every word. My fruitfulness makes the Father look good.

And the connectedness to Jesus does something else–it lets me share His JOY so that my own joy quotient is full. “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” This joy is my strength. This is the joy that carried Jesus through “Passion Week”—as He looked ahead to the people He was purchasing for God’s own precious possession. That would be me, and you.

This asking and receiving is nothing like an absent-minded grandpa doting over his cute grandkids to their own eventual spoiling. It’s not about my wishlists or my agenda at all, unless my heart is captured with what delights my Father. Yes, He promises to grant the desires of my heart but only when my heart is full of Him. “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Ps.37:4) That’s the only way such a promise is safe from doing me harm. So what do I want Jesus to do for me? What is it that I most need in order to carry out the business of the Kingdom that’s been entrusted to me?

The blind beggar had clearly in mind what he needed. He was ready with the response: “Lord, let me recover my sight.” (Lk.18:41) And Jesus did for him precisely what he asked, and then some, for he said: “your faith has saved you”, this same ‘saved’ (sozo) is used of Jesus coming ‘to seek and to save the lost’. Was it more than mere physical sight this blind beggar received? Likely. For he immediately set off trotting after Jesus and glorifying God.

That’s what I want to be the product of my prayer life. I want to ask for that which I most need in order to glorify God. Will it be a nicer house, a more beautiful garden, a wiser parenting style? Could be. Or maybe, just maybe, a clearer vision—one that sees exactly as Jesus sees and then extends the offer: “What can I do for you?”

—LS

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” (Jn.16:23,24)

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matt.6:33 NASB)

P.S. Just wanting to commend to you Larry Crabb’s book: The PAPA Prayer (Integrity,2006), a book I read a few years back that has resurfaced this week in light of these Scriptures. It encouraged me to alter my view of prayer as a sort of wishlist session with God and to begin to think more relationally about my prayer life. This is a reminder I need often. —LS

ALMS? ALMS? ALMS for the POOR?

LIVE IT!

My thoughts have been all over the place this week but this image of begging for alms has captured my imagination. Beth Moore did a Bible Study on a woman’s prayer life which included this image of a cup held out to God to fill… and I got to thinking about the poor of Jesus’ day. What did the Good News mean to them? Is there any application to my own life?

Jesus said He came to “proclaim good news to the poor”(Lk.4:18). What good news? And why did He call the poor blessed? What did He offer them? We know He healed the sick, fed the hungry crowds, and even raised the dead. What did He offer the poor? On the one hand He assumed there would always be poor people and He did not hand out money, or create jobs for them. But He clearly saw them as potentially blessed, fortunate, in a good position for all he had to offer…“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”(Lk.6:20)

Now, I know we can sanitize this and customize it to ourselves with the sense that it is the ‘poor in spirit’ that He meant and this is partially true, but I wonder if there’s more to it. I investigated the implications of “poor” [Thanks to BLUELETTERBIBLE ] and found that this use does not refer to merely a pauper or day laborer who scrapes by due to his hard work. It means a beggar, destitute in every way—lacking not only money but significance, powerless to improve his lot, absolutely dependent on the alms of others. It is related to the concept of roving about in cowering wretchedness out of fear.

I have difficulty relating to this physically given my standard of living. Who of us in this culture is so bereft? And why does Jesus single out the poor as His favorites? I’ve been mulling this over, even looking to identify any beggarly elements in my life that have not responded to the Good News of the Kingdom! What is that news? Do we miss the fullness of it because we are not in actual fact destitute physically? What does the beggar have that Jesus commends?

He has an empty cup that he’s desperate to have filled.

He is not self-satisfied or distracted with comforts or oblivious to his state. His outstretched hand demonstrates his need.

He’s not rushing about spending money for ‘what is not bread’ and working his life away for ‘what does not satisfy’. He’s all ears, and all eyes for some passerby that will plink in a coin. In short, he’s dependent on mercy.

God’s economy is so full of paradoxes. The beggar is rewarded with a Kingdom while the rich have no inheritance — He fills the hungry with good things and sends the rich away empty (Lk 1:53) — He gives strength to the weak and humbles the mighty…

He’s always on the look-out for a hungry heart, an alms-cup if you will, to fill and empower. “For 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) And He’s not impressed by our assessment of our condition when our hearts deceive us into thinking we are adequately filled:

“For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” (Rev.3:17)

A poor beggar doesn’t have these delusions. He’s bankrupt and knows it.

It’s possible to be so deluded that I worship what is mere ashes and cannot see the lie in my hand (Is.44:20). Scary. This is the pull of idolatry. No wonder God constantly called his people to remember where their possessions came from. To remember that all they were blessed with was a love gift from the One who was their very source of life. I love that passage in Deuteronomy where Moses goes over these things with the Israelites and reminds them God has set His love upon them and they are His chosen and treasured possession (7:6,7)

This is in fact the good news to the poor and powerless. God invites such to know Him, to share His inheritance, to be filled with His Spirit, to live in His power… The Bible is replete with invitations to come to Him, be filled with Him, delight in Him*…He wants to fill my cup to overflowing—to be as living water to me, eternally springing up. If that is not my experience hadn’t I better have a look in my cup and see what’s in there?

Is it possible that ‘the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things’ (Mk.4:19) have entered in to choke out this life He offers? No wonder Jesus gives so many warnings about riches.

The potential hazard with hanging onto a half-empty cup (which is all you get when you count on the world for alms) is that it invites filling by all the wrong things. Or as Beth Moore puts it: “An unsatisfied soul is a stronghold waiting to happen.” God’s word pictures it this way: “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. Jer.2:13

Still God invites our response to His unwavering love, invites us to fill our hearts only with Him and accept no substitutes.

“Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.” Is.55:2,3

“Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.” Jonah 2:8

He urges us to hold loosely to all other possessions and persons (Lk.14:33) and seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness. All the rest will be added on, and our cup filled in the process.

Maybe we can begin where David recommends: “Pour out your heart before him…” (Ps.62), emptying the cup so He can fill it with the Real Thing—Himself. “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” Jn.7:37,38

God is the ultimate alms giver. These reflections have spurred me on to be sure to get my cup filled in secret with Him so I can leave my post as beggar and follow Him. Not sure what all that will entail practically but I’m pretty sure it has to start with the exchange of my poverty of heart for His love, “…And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” (Eph.3:19)

I want this to be my prayer:
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Ps.90:14

–LS

———————————————————-

The more I see in the Word the more I see how rich I am in Him. I can’t quit without enumerating some of the ALMS freely given us as converted beggars and now sons and daughters of the King!

As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and [yet] possessing all things .II Cor6:10

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. II Cor12:9,10

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me….Phil.4:13

Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? James 2:5

I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. Rev.3:18-19

Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.Lk.12:32-34

He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Rom.8:32

Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. Is.55:2

“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.3:16,17

Finding Joy in Seasons of Sadness

LIVE IT!

Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!

Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! (I Chr.16:10,11)

It is easy to be sad, counter-intuitive to be glad, at least for me. I’ve been thinking lately about reasons for good cheer. There are plenty of evident indicators for sadness, and even if they weren’t so obvious I have this uncanny bent toward brewing them up. If you’ve ever read Owl at Home (by Arnold Lobel) to your kids, you’ll remember the story of ‘Tear-Water Tea’. (At least that’s the one I found most memorable. Hmm, wonder why?). In this story, Owl concocts a salty tea by thinking of all the sad things he can remember…both silly and poignant—pencils too short to use, a book that can’t be finished because a page is missing, mornings nobody saw because everybody was sleeping, songs that won’t be sung because no one remembers the words.. sad things, broken things, lost thing, wasted things. It’s a melancholy little tale but the tears are put to good use with the resultant salty tea. I have this propensity myself even when ‘all is well’.

But then there are the seasons when so many things really seem so very sad. Whether in the world at large—earthquakes, violence, persecution, Hell looming for so many– or the Body nearer home– a baby born sightless, a young father losing a leg, a teenager killed in a car crash, a husband dead from cancer (these things are happening in our Body here). Or even closer to home, family things—a favorite uncle dies suddenly (this week), having just visited his brother (my dad) who is lost in the lonely anguish of Alzheimer’s, a mother tries to hang on to hope…And the details could go on ad infinitum. A mother’s heart is always under some tension or another and can easily be swamped by sadness. And yet…

Speaking of swamped, I had my first sailing outing of the season this week. It was sunny but a bit surly wind-wise. I no longer fear being capsized but being sea-sick is very real on such days! So I headed down below to curl up eyes-closed and meditate on other things. These words came to mind from a passage I’ve tried to memorize—“Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!”. I am authorized, even commanded to rejoice in the process of problems so long as I am seeking the Lord. It is not only in the resolution of conflict, pain, and loss that there is cause for celebration, but in the middle of it. This is so because my Saviour is unchanging, faithful, good, just, all-knowing, all-seeing, and all I need! And if I’m seeking Him, I’m right on course for good cheer.

In fact, if I could see every sad thing from eternity’s side there would be a luster of gold from the strands being woven for God’s glory. If He is over all and through all and in all (Eph.4:6) how could this not be so? On the back-side of each bleak reality in this world shines hope and grounds for joy. And this joy is not just in the here-after! It’s my rightful heritage now.

I’ve been gleaning thoughts on the why’s and wherefore’s of joy this week. Another passage that came to mind on the boat had this to say when I got home to see the whole context:

Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD.
Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
and further along: Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. (Ps.32:10,11; Ps.33:1)

Of course believers too experience sorrow, but we don’t sorrow as those without hope, without understanding, without God in the world! I’ve been reading Ephesians and the contrast there is so clear. We have hope, an inheritance, immeasurable power at our disposal! We are not stuck in futility, pursuing our passions mindlessly, alienated from God and the meaning of life. We are saints—chosen, loved, destined for glory, children of light! In view of this calling we hang on to hope, we are shielded by faith in an evil world and we can go on our way with a melody in our hearts, thankful and celebrating God’s goodness in our conversations. This is pretty radical. No place for tear-soup here. But when there are tears, we can rest assured God sees. David said: “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” (Ps.56:8) And we know that seeds sown with weeping will yield sheaves with shouts of joy! (Ps.126:6)

I was looking in the Gospels at reasons for joy…

There’s the call to rejoice when persecuted for sharing the Gospel, because a great reward is coming (Mt.5:12)
There’s Jesus’ admonition to the disciples to rejoice that that their names are written in heaven, not merely that demons submit to them! (Lk.10:20)
But the passage that particularly caught my eye was in Luke 15: “…there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance…” This is the sort of thing that makes God rejoice!

And of course, the story that illustrates this is the Prodigal Son and his elder brother. We know all about the prodigal and the father’s warm welcome and the big celebration of the prodigal’s homecoming. But it was the other son that caught my eye. The joyless one. Why was he joyless? Why did he fail to share the Father’s joy? He boasted of his own goodness and faulted the Father for not ever having given him a goat for a party with his friends. Had he ever asked?

The Father’s gentle response reminds me of someone I know well who is prone to take so much for granted and forget the awesome truth she lives in: “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.” What more is there? Had the older son realized he was living in his inheritance—it was not all a future thing!? Have I? When Peter says God has given us ‘all things that pertain to life and godliness’ what does that mean? Is that not everything? Of course it’s important to notice that these things are granted “through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence”. (II Pet.1:3-4) The elder son apparently did not know His Father’s heart, did not live in close proximity to Him, had not become ‘partaker of the divine nature’. He had followed the letter of the law, but not understood his father’s heart for him. I’m reminded here of Jesus’ promise to his disciples: “Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” (Jn.16:24) God does not begrudge us joy. He invites us to share His joy, not just in the hereafter, but now, offering all we need for life and godliness.

Remembering what this parable is illustrating takes me back to the condition for joy—‘one sinner who repents’. This brings God more joy than 99 elder sons who try to work their way into His good graces and never ‘cash in’ on all He means to be to them. Wow. Repentance– coming back to the Father, agreeing with Him about everything, refusing to take life in my own hands and ‘do it my way’… herein is JOY! For Him, and for me.

Daughter, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours… Now that’s an inheritance! Sounds like I’m richer than I realize.

So who needs tear tea? And why not call for a party? Can I not live in perpetual repentance and rejoicing, thankful to the One who is always with me providing all I need for life and godliness? It’s a high calling. Is this the kind of living Paul was picturing when he prayed for the Ephesians that God would give them ‘a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him’ so that they would really KNOW ‘what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe!’ (Eph. 1:17-19). I’ve been praying this a lot lately. It’s the stuff of heady joy.

Maybe good cheer, joy and gladness are not so counter-intuitive. Depends on what factors I’m ruminating on… I love this passage in I Peter 1 that concludes: “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.”

And the first part just exudes enthusiasm about the living hope we’ve been born again into—‘to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you…in this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials…’ and even these, Peter makes clear, are part of a priceless refining process that will yield a faith more precious than gold…
So I’m switching teas. Not settling for the salty homebrew. God grant us all eyes to see through the sadness to His reasons for gladness and so to hang on in the hope of our glorious inheritance!

‘He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.’ (Is.25:8,9)

“In this world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” –Jesus Jn.16:33

“And this is the victory that has overcome the world—even our faith.” I Jn.5:4

–LS

P.S. Feel like singing? May I suggest Kim Walker’s upbeat “I Have Found”

I have found a peace that ploughs on through the storm.
I have found a joy that jumps over sadness.
I have found a love that lights up every room.
I have found, I’ve found You!

Chorus:
You are all I want, You are all I need,
Everything my heart could hope for.
We are longing for, the Glory of the Lord,
Cause we know there’s so much more!

…on loving and living the Word of Life!

…on loving and living the Word of Life!

Menu

What Now?

Too Good to be True

What can I do for you?

ALMS? ALMS? ALMS for the POOR?

Finding Joy in Seasons of Sadness