Overcomers Instead of Beggars

“…and he told him to urge her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people” Esther 4:8b.

During the time of Esther it was common for the queen to go many months without seeing the king.  There was always a threat that if the queen approached the king without an invitation he had the right to kill her.  Esther’s king was very fickle…her king had a track record of recycling queens…her king allowed the agenda of others to sway him into misusing his power.  There were ever-changing agendas and alliances that never established a stable environment physically, emotionally or politically.  Esther was scared for her life when her uncle demanded that she appear before the king, begging him for mercy and deliverance for her people.

My grandmother was an amazing woman of faith with a testimony that fails to equal any I have yet to see.  She maintained a journal for over 60 years documenting her walk with God.  One day when I was reading a portion from the season of my grandfather’s death, I was stopped in my tracks when I read what she had written during her intense grief.  She wrote, ‘I don’t have to beg for healing but simply wait on it like the earth waits on spring.’  Her confidence in God’s mercy and deliverance was not something she even had to ask for but simply wait for. 

Unlike Esther, we have a King who begs us to enter into His presence…a King who gave us a ‘once and for all’ invitation to appear through Jesus Christ…a King who is neither fickle nor swayed by the agenda of man.  Grandmother understood and claimed her position in Christ approaching Him with confidence, assurance and praise within her suffering…our definition of biblical joy.

The more we get to know our King the more we understand that the great pursuit is not our initiation, but our response to God’s relentless pursuit of us.  We don’t have to wring our hands or beg for something we already have in Him.  Through Christ, we are not beggars but overcomers.  Let us approach our King in complete confidence and receive what He has already promised is ours.

Praise to the King who never changes, never abandons and never leaves us alone in our suffering.

Paying Homage

“In those days while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate…Sometime later King Ahasuerus promoted Haman … the Agagite, exalting him and setting his position above that of all … As a result, all…who were at the king’s gate were bowing and paying homage … However, Mordecai did not bow, nor did he pay him homage” Esther 2:21-3:2.

Back in Esther’s time, the act of bowing was much more than a greeting or an act of respect.  Bowing was an intentional act of worship, and to pay homage was to esteem oneself as being subservient or subordinate to something or someone who lorded over them.  Haman was an evil source put in place by King Ahasuerus, and Mordecai recognizing this evil faced him daily and refused to give Haman any respect or power over his life.

We too have a king of darkness on this earth who exalts temptation before us, putting in position what he knows will catch our eye and tempt our heart.  He knows what to place at the gate that we may bow to and honor in our lives.  For me, the time was when my daughter was living on the streets and my emotions were out of control.  I sat at the gate of malls, shops and stores and bowed down to what Satan had set into position.   He met me daily convincing me that I would feel so much better if I just bought this and bought that.  I began to esteem and depend upon the feelings I would gain after a purchase.  It seemed that daily he passed through that gate as I complied through my worship of spending and giving into the temptation.

Faithfully, God intervened and revealed what was really happening in my heart.  Unlike Mordecai, I had joined the rest of the kingdom and given in to the worship of idols.  Once I realized that my Haman was Satan-appointed, God gave me ways to fight back and they are still in place today.  The awareness of the spiritual wars that battle in the heavenly realm is critical in fighting our temptations on earth.  For every blessing God brings us, Satan brings his spin on things.  He cannot steal our salvation but he can erode our faith through lies, hardships and adversity.  We must keep our eyes and wholehearted devotion on the only Gate that matters.

‘I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.  He will come in and go out, and find pasture’ John 10:9.

This Land is Your Land, This Land is Mine...

“Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite… But Naboth replied, ‘The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers’” 1 Kings 21:1, 3.

When King Ahab approached the vineyard owner with an offer of buying the vineyard from him, Naboth refused.  The basis for his refusal was given as obedience to God who had instructed him not to sell.  The king went back to the palace, ‘sullen, angry and sulking’ according to the Bible.  He felt that he had the right to this property when really it belonged to someone else.  His right of entitlement put into place the strangest set of circumstances.  Upon, seeing his bad mood, his wife Jezebel stated, ‘Is this how you act as king over Israel?  Get up and eat!  Cheer up.  I’ll get you the vineyard…’ 1 Kings 21:7.  She sets up a scenario of entrapment enlisting others to spread rumors about the property owner.   At her hand and with her plan, the owner was stoned to death.  The story goes on that eventually God punished her by taking her life on the very land that she manipulated circumstances in their favor.

Although the property owner was stoned to death, we cannot lose perspective of how he lived his life.  He was given the vineyard as an inheritance from his father, but viewed it completely different.  He had every right to sell what was given to him but he understood that the Lord owned everything.  He had a heart towards God and realized that He was giver and taker of everything he possessed on earth.  He allowed God the freedom to do whatever He wished with whatever he owned.  In sharp contrast was the greedy couple who felt entitled to anything they wanted due to their position in the land.  They got what they wanted but then had to pay the consequences for their manipulation of circumstances. 

God may allow our manipulation of details to bring us what we want but we will eventually pay the price of disobedience.  When we approach life with complete trust in God and His provisions we will see everything as His and nothing as ours.  We will realize that while we may be entrusted with certain things God has the final say over its place in our life.

Feasting on Emotional Leftovers

“When Haman saw that Mordecai was not bowing or paying homage to him, he was filled with rage” Esther 3:5.

I just love beginning new Bible Studies with all of its richness, history and application.  I always pray before I choose another Bible Study since I know that God has certain spiritual lessons He wishes to share with me.  More times than not, He will lead me into the same study for a second time.  The study of the Book of Esther is a time such as this.  I went through this study during my sister’s illness and remembered enjoying it, but at best it was a story of a courageous woman.  Today as I begin the study again I am blown away that I failed to see one of the overriding themes of this story – a heart of bitterness that carried a deadly grudge.  Haman, the king’s highest ranked official at the time, was responsible for putting into place the edict to destroy God’s people…all because of his bitterness towards an earlier generation who murdered his family.  It was something that was in the past, but was propelling his heart into judgment and entitlement in the present.   Haman was being led by bitterness over something that was no longer active.

I use the word ‘active’ because it has a very special meaning in my heart.  There was a time when I held much bitterness over the way a family member had treated me and others in my family.  It was a tough time for us all and very poor decisions were made by some which wounded my heart and left me with lots of anger.  One day, as determined by God, the season ended rather abruptly and life resumed to normal for me with one exception…my heart was feasting on emotional leftovers…bitterness and judgmental thoughts and words.  One day Bruce finally looked at me and stated, ‘Brenda, it is no longer active!’  These words gave me the freedom I had been looking for in my forgiveness for this person.  Don’t get me wrong.  Working through these emotions and judgmental views of this person was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.   But God will always require the tough work when there is unforgiveness in our heart.  If we are still spouting off the things that are no longer active we have handed over a stronghold to Satan.   The words of Jesus resonate in my heart this morning in considering the heart of hardness that I once possessed for this person.  ‘You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good?  For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks…But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.  For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned’ Matthew 12:34-37.

One day I will have to answer for the season when my heart was hard and my words were condemning.  It didn't matter whether my feelings were justified or not.  Our forgiveness is not based on justification, it is based on our obedience to God.  Strongholds are areas where daily work must be completed for they are the areas where Satan has the most control over our lives.  God has shown me over and over again, there is no room for bitterness regardless of what was done.  Bitterness in any form builds a barrier between our heart and the heart of God.  It is God’s job to judge and our duty to love.

What is no longer active in your life that you are feeding on its emotional leftovers?

Moments of Joy

“Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude” Colossians 4:2 (Message).

C. S. Lewis warns, ‘We have a tendency to reject the good that God offers us because, at that moment, we expected some other good.’  The year was 2000 and what should have been my daughter’s high school graduation was not to be.  I had dreaded this day for a year knowing that as her childhood friends would be reaching for their diploma she would be reaching for her next drug of choice.  Her friends would be packing for college at the end of the summer while she would be packing her body full of heroin.  As I arose that morning I decided to sit on the deck during the hours when the graduation ceremony would be happening.  I took a chair out there and put on some comforting music as I waited for the clock to strike.  At 1:00, when I expected the skies to grow black, the music to turn sour and my heart to shatter, I noticed how beautiful the day was.  The sun was high in the sky…the temperature was perfect and pleasant…birds singing back and forth ... glistening sun rays on the lake.  Time was suspended and I had been given a gift.  The gift was a perfect moment transcending my pain, a spiritual view of God’s handiwork over a depleted and fearful heart.

God gave me His best in those moments and the gratitude in my heart rose above my present suffering.  Did His best in those moments change the circumstances in my life?  No.  Did my gratitude for those spiritual things in those moments change the fact that my heart would continue to break for the following 5 years?  Certainly not!  But this was the point both C.S. Lewis and Paul were making.  By staying alert to God’s blessings in the moment it is tough to not feel the joy God delights in giving us. 

The problem is that we are looking towards future things we are waiting for God to do in our lives instead of claiming the good things in the moment.  ‘Loving a moment doesn’t remove the pain, but it does make room for joy.  Living in the moment helps us recognize that God can be found in this moment, whether it contains joy or sorrow.’ Choose Joy, Kay Warren.

‘…make the most of every opportunity…’ Eph. 5:16.

Words from the Crossbeam

“Therefore…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles…Let us fix our eyes on Jesus…who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and  sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” Hebrews 12:1-2. 

Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details in our lives, the quiet confidence that everything is going to be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in all things.   With this newly discovered definition so many verses now ring true when studying Scripture.  Jesus’ earthly walk was set in place before His precious head lay in the manger.  By the time Jesus had to face the cross, He had a settled assurance that His Father was in control of the cross…a quiet confidence that He would be reunited with God … a determined choice to praise Him from the crossbeams.  He hung between two other crosses, one bearing sarcasm and cynicism, ‘Aren’t you the Christ?  Save yourself and us!’ Luke 23:39, the other bearing choice and hope ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom’ Luke 23:42.

We all are situated between sarcasm and certainty when facing challenging circumstances.  We have the choice to approach our difficult seasons with negativity instead of faith and hope in the future.  It is up to us as to how we respond in our suffering.  Do we look to our companion of sarcasm and discouragement or do with participate with Christ in praising God from the crossbeams?

We have all been given a race to run with parallel lanes that offer pain and joy.  They run side by side all the way to heaven.  There is a balance in running this race, with one foot in pain and the other foot in joy.  We cannot allow the negativity and fear of our heart to hinder our race and entangle our joy.  We can celebrate and share in the fellowship of Christ with the knowledge that at the end of the race we, too, will surround the throne of God.

Life in Death

“This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24.

It has been an emotional couple months for my daughter, Kristen. For almost two years, she has been a single parent, a part-time college student, a sponsor in AA to several women and worked part time. She has taken hit after hit emotionally over the past year which culminated in the sale of her home last month. Last Tuesday night, as she carried her last box out of her home she walked room by room reliving the past 6 years of her life. She looked into the living area that held the Christmas tree for the visits from Santa Clause. She walked by the area where the kitchen table held family dinners and birthday cakes with burning candles to be blown out. She stared into the bedroom that held the ‘until death do us part’ dream. She moved through her children’s bedrooms, room by room remembering shared bedtime prayers, and times she comforted them from a bad dream or thunderstorm. As she closed the door for the last time on that life, she sat in the driveway and tearfully mourned a dream that had died.

But thanks to God’s promises, where we see death, He sees life. Where we see hopelessness, God shows faithfulness. I spent the night in her new home last night and couldn’t believe the sense of peace and hope I felt. She agrees that there has been a resurrection of hope and liberation in her heart…a cleansing of burdens and sorrow within those walls. As she opens the door to her new life, the life that the LORD has made, He has covered her with blessings and God-prints in every area of her life. His God-prints are putting action to His promise, ‘My daughter, this is the life that I am making for you. A life where dreams are going to come true and joy will replace any sorrow you have experienced. I want you to find joy in this day for I have specifically put in place daily blessings to claim our new dreams.'

No matter how grim today looks for you…no matter how much sadness or hopelessness you may be feeling…THIS IS THE DAY that your Father has made specifically for you in His perfect design. You can have total assurance, complete confidence and eternal gratefulness for all He is doing. Find joy in this day that our Father has made uniquely for you. 'Find the bless in the mess.' Choose Joy - When Happiness Isn't Enough.

“‘…for the old order of things has passed away.’ He who IS seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’”

Leaning Pisas

“Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults – unless, of course, you want the same treatment.  Don’t condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang.  Be easy on people; you’ll find life a lot easier” Luke 6:37 (MSG).

The leaning Tower of Pisa is famous because it leans. Although it was designed to be perfectly vertical, it started to lean during construction.   Piazza dei Miracoli of Pisa is the most amazing collection of Romanesque architecture in Italy.  The leaning Tower of Pisa is the piazza's crowning glory among the landscape of this region.  Over the years measures have been taken to strengthen the foundation of this tower.  At one point, they considered efforts to relocate the tower by removing stone by stone.

Each of us was designed to be perfectly vertical, but soon after creation sin caused the lean of mankind towards the flesh.  Every one of us is flawed and bent towards sin as our lives are constructed on earth.  We look to each other’s imperfections and judge, criticize and condemn instead of accepting the beauty of the person.  Flaw by flaw we pick apart others attempting to reconstruct and rebuild according to our standards. 

God has taken measures to strengthen our foundation through Christ.  He knew the lean would eventually become so compromised that mankind would eventually topple.  He sent the perfect Architect into this world to create a final anchor in the foundation.  Through the sacrifice of Christ, every one of us is realigned in perfect vertical standing with God. 

May we accept others for who they are in Christ instead of pointing out what we see through the flesh.

When Joy Does Not Smile

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11.

This morning as I consider the study of joy it is critical for me to remember my new understanding of this gift from the Holy Spirit.  Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of every detail in my life.  Joy is the quiet confidence that everything is going to be alright.  Joy is the intentional choice to praise God apart from what life produces.  Joy is not happiness!  Happiness is an earthly by-product of a happening while joy is an inward conviction of our faith. 

We have seasons in life when joy does not smile but simply resides in the heart and waits on God to be faithful in His promises.  When we face these times, joy looks to God instead of looking for a quick fix.  Joy searches the wonderful past works of God for assurance for the future.  Joy believes God for what He says in His word.  Joy memorizes the convictions of its faith…God is reliable…God is incomparable…God is loving…God’s will is perfect.  Joy speaks out when resolution keeps quiet.  Joy and pain can co-exist when our joy is anchored in the only One source – God.

God speaks to our hearts through this passage above.  He says ‘My son, I haven’t forgotten about you.’ He declares, ‘My daughter, I am going to prosper you through this difficult season.’  He assures us, ‘Precious children, what may look like harmful circumstances are being worked towards my perfect will to bring you the best future that you deserve.’

When we allow our faith to see our challenges through God’s value system we can wear joy as our spiritual eye glasses.  ‘Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.’ 2 Co. 4:16-18. 

Joy sees intense seasons as achieving…producing…preparing…renewing. Joy knows with complete confidence that although tears flow and the body is tired these seasons are temporary. Even as the eyes of joy may cry, it looks towards the eternal with complete certainty in God.

Cradling Others

“Finally, all of you should be of one mind.  Sympathize with each other.  Love each other as brothers and sisters.  Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude” 1 Peter 3:8 (NLT).

Day before yesterday I went into a shop that displayed various works of pottery from many local potters.  I was in search for a few unique coffee mugs, and hadn’t been able to find any that matched what was in my mind.  As I went from display to display I carefully lifted each piece and cautiously cradled it in my hands.  I ended up purchasing two uniquely different pieces.

This morning as I was reading Choose Joy I thought of those pieces of pottery.  We are all so uniquely created and have each been through certain fires in life molding us into who we are today.  We are each valuable in our own right to the Potter whom created us…designed us… cradled His hands around us before our birth.  When others come to us with their own brokenness we must cradle their needs in our hands with the gentleness we have been shown by God.  We cannot be careless with their feelings and cast them aside with ‘I’ll pray for you’ or ‘I’m so sorry.’  We have been given an example of a life who went beyond simple words.  His name was Jesus and His heart was pliable to the pain of others.  “When Jesus saw her, his heart broke.  He said to her, ‘Don’t cry’” Luke 7:13.  Jesus saw this woman…really saw her…grieved with her and reached out to her.  This was a stranger whose path He crossed on His way to another location. 

We all have experienced the need for someone to listen to our hearts and validate our feelings.  Validate doesn’t mean to agree or adopt, but rather to simply echo the other person’s feelings and acknowledge their pain.  We have all had broken hearts that we opened for others only for them to mishandle and carelessly hold. 

‘So let’s be listeners for each other.  Let’s hold each other’s hearts in our hands for just a few moments and validate each other’s significance.  Let’s comfort each other with the comfort God has given to us’ (2 Cor. 1:4-8).   ‘What a gift we give to each other when we receive into our hands and our hearts somebody else’s feelings.’ Choose Joy. 

I ask myself this morning, 'Do I cradle the hearts of others as tenderly as I cradled the pottery?'... a question worthy of all of us.

Perfection's Plight

“He has set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end” Ecc 3:11.

While watching Charles Stanley, he described our lives as a marching parade with God up on the twelfth floor watching it from beginning to end.  I couldn’t help but to consider that image in further detail.  Each float in a parade is meticulously designed to display the owner’s vision of perfection.  It is decorated to represent an image aligned with the designer’s view in his mind.  While each person takes pride in what they have created, I am sure that they would be able to point out the flaws in the float noticed only by them.  While man watches for the perfection of the image, God watches the direction of the journey.

Perfectionism is one of the most enslaving manners in which to live.  We all have certain areas of perfection in which we strive, along with areas in which we fail.  We were born for a perfect world…perfect bodies…perfect relationships.  But in Genesis 2, perfection died through sin and it will take until Rev. 21 for perfection to be restored. 

When we pursue perfection in any area of our life we are going to fail.  When our eyes are on the details, the prize will always change.  We perfect one area of our life while another area runs off into the weeds, as my husband states.  The antidote for perfectionism is acceptance that we can only attain it through Christ.  In Him, we are perfected through His sacrifice and promised perfection in eternity.

In Choose Joy, the author states it beautifully:  ‘It is not wrong to long for perfection; it’s just wrong to expect it on earth.’ 

Fixed Gazes

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:2.

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to go up in a helicopter over Charleston and the surrounding beaches.  My husband made a list of certain locations he wanted to photograph all over the area.  At first, I was excited and wide-eyed as I saw groups of dolphins in the ocean from above, circled around lighthouses, and was able to hover around the beautiful steeples of Charleston.  Then, my excitement was replaced with extreme waves of nausea and my head began spinning.  What began as a calm and beautiful ride turned into 45 minutes of pushing through severe nausea.  Our pilot and friend instructed me to keep my eyes open, focusing straight ahead, and to not look down.  He explained that as long as I chose one spot on the horizon my mind would be able to stabilize which would settle my nausea.  I followed his advice and pushed through the waves of nausea.  They offered to land and cut the trip short but I was determined to get through it.  I was so thankful that I did as the last spot we went to were three beautiful plantations …. stunning and breathtaking.

In reflecting over yesterday’s events, I thought of our passage from Hebrews.  In traveling through life, we will certainly have times of calm rides and times of turbulence.   There will situations that arise which make us sick to our stomach but we are stuck in them…times when we are hovering in our circumstances longer than we wish…times when the phone rings and the information makes our head spin.   We are tempted to gaze at the problem instead of the One who can solve it.  Our Savior is our stabilizer, the One who levels out any problems and sustains us through our difficult times.  He is the horizon where we should steady our gaze.  My Bible Study states ‘God longs for us to gaze at him in trust with a steady, fixed look and only glance briefly at our problems’ Choose Joy.  Many of us glance briefly at God and gaze at our problems.

We must be people who look for our Horizon in every circumstance, allowing him to both steady and sustain us through the dizzying situations of life.  Worry and a lack of trust in God kill any potential joy intended to be ours in Christ.

Level your eyes on Him, allow God to settle in you, and enjoy the beautiful plantations of life.

Renamed and Reclaimed

“‘I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” Jeremiah 29:11.

When my daughter Caroline was young she wanted a Maltese but I knew we were not going to spend the amount of money that those dogs cost.  I searched the paper and found a woman who had advertised that she had a three year old Maltese for sale, only $100.00.  The rest were puppies that cost $400.  I went to her house and upon entering fell in love with these beautiful white haired vivacious puppies.  When I asked her to point out ours she glanced over to the corner of the room.  There was this little dirty shivering dog who wouldn’t make eye contact with me…Gerdie was her name and shame looked to be her game.  The woman explained that she was a rescue dog from a previous abusive owner.  Bending down, I lifted her little face towards mine, held and caressed her broken body, and her gentle spirit won me over.  Caroline was ecstatic and loved her at first sight, renaming her Annie.  Caroline came down the steps the following morning shuffling in her sleeping bag with Annie in her arms.  Both of their heads were covered with unruly and out of control white hair, both sets of eyes carrying a gentle spirit.  Every day after that they were inseparable and there was no doubt that Annie belonged to a new master …renamed and reclaimed.

When we finally meet the eyes of a new Master, He tenderly cares for us and faithfully loves us no matter what our past held.  He takes His gentle hand and lifts our face to Him.  He renames us as one of His children, and brings us into His family.  We are reclaimed where we have previously been ignored and rejected.  The more time we spend with our new Master the more we begin to take on His character, His attributes and desires.  We become like Annie as we once and for all open our hearts to the only One who will be tender with His touch and eternal with His love.

Rejoice this morning that you are renamed and reclaimed!

A Mouth Full of Candy

“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether in plenty or in want.  I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” Phil 4:11-13.

About a month ago, my grandson and I were traveling to Virginia for a mini-vacation.  We were making great time when traffic came to a screaming halt, forcing us to remain in that town for the night.  In an effort to entertain him, we went into Wal-Mart and he chose a video game for his DS.  In addition, I allowed him to choose various treats such as candy, snacks, etc…  We checked into a nice hotel and within moments we were at the pool and hot tub relaxing.  With his hair soaking wet, his new DS game on the table and his mouth stuffed with candy he asked… ‘What’s next Emmy?’ ‘What about tomorrow?’  I was tired and frustrated at his lack of being satisfied in the moment.

How many times is our life full of candy but we look to God and say ‘What’s next?’ ‘What about tomorrow, next week, next year?’ ‘What will you do for me today?’  Paul learned the secret to joy and contentment, and it had nothing to do with this world.  His joy and satisfaction came from his relationship with Jesus Christ…not what he had in the bank or what his comfort was at the time.  He was well aware that true joy came as a gift from the Holy Spirit. 

Attaching joy to future events, relationships or expectations will produce certain outcomes.  We will miss out or minimize any present joy we could have experienced.  We will miss God’s message to us in the present situation.  We can’t be fully engaged in our present life if our heart is in the future.  Most importantly, when looking to the future for joy, we fail to appreciate the blessings of the day from God. 

True joy will be realized when we recognize that while we have been delayed from our destination we still have candy in our mouth and dripping wet with blessings!

Digging Into Rock

“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.

‘In Israel at that time, springs provided the most dependable, refreshing, cool, clear water available.  Cisterns, by contrast, were large pits dug into rocks that were used to collect rainwater’ Choose Joy, p. 79.  One of the characteristics of a cistern was the possibility of cracks developing when seasons failed to produce rain.  God’s statement was due to the fact that the nation of Israel had rejected Him and turned to false gods.

For many years, I dug my own cisterns in looking for joy and fulfillment.   In marriage, I laid the responsibility of my happiness at Bruce’s feet.  In motherhood, I assigned my sense of worth to the actions of my children.  In family and friendship, I tied my expectations to their responses …if only they will or would have…all broken cisterns.  The relationships with which God has blessed us were not put here to complete us or fulfill some need in us…they were placed in our lives to bless us and help us grow.  God also never intended for us to dig into ourselves for security, power and strength.  In considering cisterns, I find it interesting that while cisterns are man-dug caves, springs are God-created resources.  Anyone or anything to which we tie our joy or contentment will dry up when the rain falls.  Nothing short of God, the Living Waters, will be enough for whatever we need.

Even last night I was guilty of turning to broken cisterns in an attempt to gain something…I didn’t even know what I was thirsty for…so how could my cistern quench what was unclear to even me.  If we are to experience lasting joy, it cannot be tied to anything but God.

Hold Onto the Good

“Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus…Hold onto the good…May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through” 1 Thess 5:16-23.

Have you ever met someone who seemed to exude joy no matter what that person was experiencing?  More than likely someone just came to mind, and most likely this person has a strong walk with God.  With the challenging circumstances of this world, joy is not something that we can manufacture.  We are given several thoughts on the way to find joy as Paul suggested. 

Joy is the ‘settled assurance that God is in control of every detail in our lives, the quiet confidence that ultimately all will be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in all things.’  Choose Joy – Kay Warren.  Paul knew that the only way to receive joy was to pray continually and to give thanks constantly.  Our instruction to ‘hold onto the good’ means to intentionally replace the lies our feelings tell us with the truths that God has already taught us.  We are to hold onto the spiritual progress we have made, not allowing our thoughts to derail our faith.  ‘What we think determines how we act, and how we act determines how we feel’ p. 72.  As our passage states, it is God’s will for us to attain joy which can only happen through our faith. 

Consider the words in our definition…settled assurance – once and for all acceptance …quiet confidence - a calm and peaceful belief…determined choice – intentional praise when our emotions say otherwise.  Two precious women have certainly come to mind when thinking of our definition.  Their daily lives revolve around the challenges associated with cancer.  When I look at these women I do not see illness…I do not see suffering…I do not see fear and emotional weakness.  I see beauty…strength…gratitude…peace.  It certainly sounds like our definition of joy as these women 'hold onto the good.'

Indeed, joy begins in the mind so what we feed our mind will determine how we respond to trails in our lives.  

Pulling the Ripcord

“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides.  You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.  So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely.  Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.” James 1:2-4 (Message)

The word parachute comes from the French prefix paracete, originally from the Greek, meaning to protect against.   Chute, the French word for fall placed with paracete forms a word meaning “that which protects against a fall.” A parachute rigger is a person who is trained to maintain, pack and repair parachutes, applying their understanding of fabrics, webbing, sewing, packing, and other aspects.  The work accomplished before the ripcord is pulled determines the failure or success of the fall.

The same is with our faith according to the work we invest.  There are certain elements of our faith that we claim to possess but really cannot be proven until life goes wrong.  ‘James says that in tough times our faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors…No matter what you say you believe, or what others think you believe, there’s no hiding or pretending when the bottom falls out…An untested faith is an unreliable faith.’ Choose Joy, Kay Warren. 

None of us would grab an untested parachute when contemplating a jump.  We would want confidence that when the ripcord was pulled the parachute would successfully perform.  We want to know that when needed, the chute will open displaying the beautiful colors of the silk, and that our landing will be soft.  In regard to our faith, we must study the Word, be trained in the truths, pack our life full of confidence in God.  We need to be people who prepare for the fall…faith-ready Christians when life nudges us out of the plane.  We gain more confidence with each fall, perfecting our faith through each experience.  We can stand at the door of the flight securely grasping our ripcord of faith.  Our confidence during the fall is the knowledge and complete belief in God providing a secure and safe landing.  I can just picture the spiritual skies peppered with thousands of deployed parachutes displaying the gorgeous colors of faith. 

When life nudges, pull that ripcord!

The Joyful Side of Jesus

“Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.  ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’”  Matthew 14:31.

When my children were toddlers there were times when they wanted so badly to attempt something new but were fearful, such as jumping off the side of the pool into the water.  As a mother, I knew that I would catch them but as the small child they doubted.  It was new for them…scary…unchartered waters.  I would plead for them to look at me instead of looking at the distance between us.  After coaxing and convincing, our eyes would finally meet, followed by the leap, and falling into my arms…both of us laughing, rejoicing and sharing in that moment.  ‘See, I told you that you could do it!  I don’t know why you didn’t think you could!  Look at what you did!  We had that moment of shared joy and accomplishment.

Kay Warren, author of Choose Joy, encourages me to see Jesus in a different way.  Instead of seeing Him the way most art depicts Him…somber… suffering… burdensome…she entreats me to see Him for the way He was.  ‘The Son of Man came, enjoying life’ Luke 7:34 (PH).   I have always thought the above exchange between Peter and Jesus was more about Peter’s lack of faith being highlighted.  This morning, however, I believe it was similar to what I experienced with my own children when they were young.  It brought me such joy and laughter when they attempted something beyond their confidence.  I delighted in their sense of accomplishment, scooping them up, hugging and kissing them.  My encouragement after the jump was to convince them of their abilities and share in their new confidence. 

This is the essence of Jesus Christ…joyful, encouraging, catching us, lifting us up in celebration when we attempt to jump as a result of our faith.  We allow Him to catch us when we lose our breath from the jump.  We rest in His arms as He carries us back over to the side with a new found confidence.  We have shared in joyful intimacy and confident accomplishment.  Sure, there will be more jumps to take, more leaps of faith and more water in our face with the plunge.  But, He lovingly and delightfully looks into our eyes as He holds us close and says, ‘And you didn’t think you could do it!’ 

And then we laugh because we don’t even know why we doubted.

One Small Bush

“A champion named Goliath…came out of the Philistine camp.  He was over nine feet tall…Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks… ‘Why do you come out and line up for battle?’… and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified” 1 Samuel 17:4, 8, 11.

When I was a little girl we moved into a new home where each of us was fortunate enough to have our own room.  The blessings of my new found privacy were interrupted one night when I awoke and became terrified.  The light of the moon and the shape of the trees were casting scary shadows that wrapped from the ceiling to the floor.  As my heart pounded, my legs became paralyzed with fear as I lay wide-eyed in my bed.  I could not move and certainly wasn’t going to approach the huge shadow.   My security returned when daylight revealed that the shadow had no substance and my fear was all in vain.

Scripture states that ‘all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.’  They had all bought into the fear and were paralyzed by this taunting image.  It took a small boy with a sling and a stone to defeat the nine foot giant.  It wasn’t just any stone…it was the cornerstone that held up his entire life…his faith in God.  ‘So this is what the Sovereign LORD says:  See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed’ Isaiah 28:16-17.

What nine foot Goliath is casting its intimidating shadow over your life?  What fears and threats in your circumstances taunt you convincing you they are bigger than your ability to bear?  When will the sunrise come and reveal the real size of the issue instead of an exaggerated image?  Stones of fear seem to be boomerangs that always return to us.  We must select stones of faith instead of fear so that when the darkness casts the ugly lies we sling truths.  One stone…‘God will not forsake me’…another stone…‘The Lord fights for me.’  By replacing our stones of fear with God’s stones of truth we see the image for what it really is…the light of the moon shining against one small bush.

By the Hand

“After a long time the master of those servants returned… ‘See, I have gained…’ ‘See, I have gained…’ ‘I knew you were a hard man…’” Matthew 25:19-24.

A few months ago I went over to my daughter’s home to visit with her and my grandchildren.   When I arrived the front door was locked so I knocked on the door to let her know I was there.  Suddenly, I heard the footsteps of my granddaughter rushing to the door to let her Emmy in…my little Kherington, or Kherbear as we lovingly refer to her.  The door was barely ajar when she grabbed my hand and excitedly rushed me to her upstairs bedroom.  As I was trying to regain my breath she opened her door and said, ‘Look, Emmy!  See….I made my bed up all by myself!’  She was so pleased that what she had accomplished would please me. 

So were the two responses of the stewards who had doubled the worth with what their master had entrusted to them.   Much like Kherbear, they grabbed his hand and couldn’t wait to show him how they had grown what he had given them.  The third steward greeted his master with ego, pride and accusations.  His attitude held no joy, sense of accomplishment or respect for the master who had given him the same opportunities…to use what he was given and grow the worth of the master’s estate.

Our Master has given each of us certain gifts and talents to not only use in the secular world but in the kingdom of God.  To one is given a beautiful voice…to another is given the gift of speech.  He assigns some to teach Sunday School while others He calls to financially support ministries.  He gives the gift of writing to him and He enables her with the gift of nursing.  We have all been given something that furthers the kingdom of God.  Will we use our spiritual gifts with joy and embrace the responsibility with the attitude of Kherington?  Will we complete things for God and then bury it in a hole?  We will receive the things of God with a me-first focus like the third steward or will we grab His hand and joyfully run to show Him?

God delights in us delighting in Him.  I believe that whatever the master had given the first two stewards, they would have been happy because their joy was in pleasing God, not themselves.