Spiritual Stinkers

“Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city.  There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited…” Jonah 4:5.

Well you would never know this was one of God’s prophets by his actions.  After he gave the Ninevites God’s message you would have thought he would have returned to his city…his people… his comforts of home.  Instead, he removed himself from the city but to an area that still provided a bird’s eye view.  Jonah made himself a shelter of bitterness and wallowed in its shade.  There he sat and waited…eyes to the sky looking for God’s wrath to come down… ears to the ground to hear the pounding of God’s discipline…nothing!  He squinted towards the horizon looking for any type of discomfort from God against the Ninevites…nothing but calm and peaceful across the landscape.  As his emotions flared up in his soul, he realized his emotional discomfort was matched by his physical discomfort.  What happened next is a testament to the awesome God we serve…grace happened next.  ‘So the LORD God appointed a plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort’ Jonah 4:6.

We have all been spiritual stinkers at different times in our lives.  We carry the message of God on our lips to those we really don’t care for in our hearts.  We sound the part but don’t act the part.  We build our shelters of entitlement and judge what others deserve and watch for God to act upon their lives.  We have a dislike for God’s mercy to those who have not treated us the way we believe we deserve.  Oh, we would never admit this so we camp on the outskirts of our relationships sitting…waiting…watching.  When we see that the person is getting mercy, getting a pass from God we become angry and discontent.  And what we deserve we do not get just like the person we are watching.  We get grace…

It is so easy to judge what others should receive or not receive from God.  Instead of our eyes to our enemies we should have our knees to the ground in humility.  Even when we are at our worst, God is at His best.

 

Oh, Contraire

“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked” Gen 3:7.

Have you ever had a dream that you were in public and realized you were missed some or all of your clothes?  On several occasions I have had that dream which is full of panic and chaos.  There is actually a moment in the dream where this realization occurs and the entire course of the dream is altered.  The dream’s focus becomes about covering up.  Those feelings of panic and realization were experienced by Adam and Eve as their decision to eat from the forbidden fruit ushered in sin, altering the course of humanity.  Up until that point, they didn’t even realize that they were naked…never considered that their flesh was showing.  It took them surrendering to the flesh to expose the weakness of the flesh.

I can’t tell you the number of times that I wasn’t even aware that I was walking in the flesh until I participated with the flesh.  Like Adam and Eve, as long as they walked with God in the garden they experienced freedom and favor.  Once they participated with their flesh, Satan used this to separate mankind from God until eternity.  It is scary to think that our surrender to sin could affect so many others like in the garden.  ‘The inclination of our flesh will always pull in the opposite direction of what the Holy Spirit seeks to help us do’ Jonah - Navigating a Life Interrupted, p. 137. 

While we cannot be perfect in our walk there must be intentional efforts to live a life led by the Spirit of God.  We must dress each morning with the righteousness of God through Christ, displaying the fruit of God’s Spirit which contradicts the fruit of the flesh.    Every time we lean into the flesh we realize our nakedness, but when leaning into the Spirit we realize our potential for righteousness.

‘So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.  For the sinful nature is contrary to the Spirit…They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.’ Gal. 5:16-17.

Get Up and Eat!

“Then David got up from the ground…changed his clothes…went to the house of the LORD and worshipped…His servants asked him, ‘While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat…’ ‘Can I bring him back again?  I will go to him, but he will not return to me.’” 2 Sam. 12:20-23.

Sunday, I bumped into a friend of mine whom I haven’t seen in years.  I heard that her husband had died of cancer last year and was asking her about it.  Her story could have been spoken with the passage above.  She told of their dark journey through cancer, a journey all too familiar to most of us, as the disease seems to touch every family I know.  But what wasn’t familiar was the way she handled her grief.  She was David…She is David.  Her story was much of the same…weeping…praying…fasting… asking God for His will first, then her will.  Once her husband was taken to Heaven she arose from her circumstances, changed her prayers from an earthly healing to a spiritual acceptance, turning to God for His grace, mercy and comfort.  She said her prayers were full of praise.  Her praise was anchored in His faithfulness to heal her heart, and His promise to reunite her with the love of her life.  You see, her prayers along the journey had not been anchored in an outcome, but truly anchored in God’s will.

Her husband’s death does not define her but the love and healing of God marks her.  It is easy to see to whom she places her complete trust and belief.  She immediately ‘got up and ate’ and is feasting on the table of the Lord for grace, comfort and healing.  Her words are full of victory instead of victim, and praise instead of self-pity.  She fully understands that her loved one lives in the spiritual home where she is going.  She even said that some people have criticized her for the attitude she has chosen to live – getting up and eating!

She lives her life for God’s approval instead of man’s opinions.  She walks in healing and permeates grace instead of grief…gratitude for his life instead of bitterness for his death.  She is a wonderful measuring stick who exemplifies a faith for which I desire.  Her getting up and eating attitude is a true testament to her faith with her heart bent towards God.  She has fully embraced the will of God.  The passing of a loved one is heart wrenching but God is a heart healer!  When we are ready to get up and embrace the healing of God’s touch, we will be fed with everything required to hold our hearts until we hold our loved ones again. 

‘We will go to them…’

Paving the Road

“And most of the crowd spread their garments in the road; and others cut branches from the trees, and spread them in the road. And the crowds that went before him, and that followed, cried out, saying, ‘Hosanna [save now!] to the son of David’” Matthew 21:8.

The scene is powerful and my emotions are stirred as I picture the triumphal entry of Jesus.  It is the week leading up to Passover and there are feasts and excitement in the air.  The disciples must have been anxious for these anticipated events…their teacher was getting ready to be King…the King they have awaited for so long…the King to bring peace and order to a hurting people.  They could feel it in the air…the shift in power was rising.  My research shows ‘that spreading garments before a dignitary was a symbol of submission (see 2 Kings 9:13). Palm branches were employed also as token of victory’ (Suetonius, Caligula, 32).  There is no doubt that the people who lined the dusty road that day were ready for this new leader.  They were moved beyond emotion, removing their outerwear, laying it upon the ground showing their submission to the future king, and claiming victory over the old regime.  Their hearts are filled with hope and their adoration was far from misplaced…up ahead they see the new king for the new kingdom…atop that meager colt is their Messiah.  They couldn’t have known the horror of what would unfold the following week.

We have the same hope in a future kingdom that they had back then, but the kingdom has been established for us.  We live in the earthly shadow of an established heavenly kingdom.  We are promised a new city, one with God as the architect (Hebrews 11:10).  We have been shown who the King is and the victory that will be ours if we follow along behind Him.  How do you pave the road that you share with the Savior?  Do you remove the attitudes of the flesh laying it down at His feet?  Do you cut the branches of your own will down, covering your life with His will…the One who has already died for us?  Like these weary followers, we must humble ourselves and follow Him instead of leading the pack looking for the entrance to life.  ‘But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him’ 2 Co. 2:14.

‘And most of the crowd spread their garments…and cut branches…’ 

Dry Bones

“Then he said to me, Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!  This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones:  I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life…’” Ezekiel 37:4-5.

If you are on the other side of this screen and seem as if you are living a hopeless life – a life apart from the fullness of God, you must read the entire chapter of Ezekiel 37.  The vision that God gives Ezekiel is a battlefield of bones strewn across the horizon of those fallen.  A battlefield of bones…empty…scattered…lonely…lifeless bones. 

Is the landscape of your life scattered with these dry bones…bones that represent the death of a dream or the pain of a loss.  Are your circumstances void of life and joy?  Are you lying among the shadows in your darkest valley?  The good news is when we are void and lifeless God changes the wind and blows His spirit into our dead circumstances.  What seems lifeless begins to have a pulse and what we have determined is dead starts to move.  The power of the Lord can breathe life into any set of circumstances and hope into any situation.  We are the people of God who were made to live victoriously in spite of our sufferings, and to prosper in spite of our fears.  God calls to life what we see as dead through the power of His Spirit.  He is not satisfied for a mediocre life but desires life to its fullest through His enabling and sustaining grace.

God has a word for our lifeless situations so we must keep our ears ready for the message and our knees bent to the ground.  Then one precious day…with the wind of the Spirit blowing through our circumstances the dry bones will reconnect and form life again.

Walking With a Limp

“So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD” Jonah 3:3.

I have never considered the appearance of Jonah following his deliverance from the fish.  In researching a report of similar circumstances which reportedly occurred in 1891, I found a description of what Jonah could have looked like after he was rescued.  The author describes the appearance of the swallowed man upon cutting the fish open.  ‘During his sojourn in the whale’s stomach Bartley’s skin, where exposed to the action of the gastric juice, underwent a striking change. His face, neck, and hands were bleached to a deadly whiteness, and took on the appearance of parchment. This man didn’t have a hair on his body’ Creation.com.

It was indeed a miracle that both men were swallowed by a great fish and delivered by a great God.  When Jonah finally obeyed God and went to Nineveh can you imagine his appearance from his ordeal?  Instead of a preacher man standing up there before them, they saw this battered and scarred man telling them to turn away from wickedness.  Did he explain that he turned away from God and the results were standing before them?  Did he possibly stand before them hairless and stark white?  We are much more likely to listen to the testimony of others if they bear the transparency of their sins and adversity.  We seem to assign them more credibility if they have the marks of captivity and deliverance.

In considering the bleaching of the flesh I cannot help but to draw analogies within this great story of truth.  When we fall into our great fish of suffering our flesh is exposed to the action of the Holy Spirit, and we too will undergo a striking change.  Through the sacrifice of Christ we have been bleached to a deadly whiteness that will mark us eternally.  Being swallowed by our adversity is only temporary, but the work of the Holy Spirit can transform us into walking preachers.  We will be marked and recognized by our deliverance.  We will participate with God in bringing others to Him not through our words but by our scars.  Christ bore the ultimate scar for you and for me.

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5.  Christ knew what it was like to suffer and wear the scars so that others could come to God.  We must never underestimate the power of our testimonies and the transparency of our experiences in leading others to their Savior.  It reminds me of a saying I heard a few years ago:

“Never trust a Christian without a limp!”

Mobile Mission Fields

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” Matthew 28:19.

When my grandmother was in the nursing home the final year of her life she never changed the theme of her life – go and make.  As long as I can remember every place she went became her mission field.  She didn’t wait on the sideline for some huge opportunity but took spiritual advantage of her daily walk inviting all into a personal relationship with God.  Even that last year as young CNAs would enter her room she would share the message of Christ with each one.  As those workers came in to mop the floor or change the sheets they walked onto her mission field with opportunity and privilege.  No one was deemed unworthy of this message.  My grandmother understood in her spiritual core that wherever she would go the goal was the same – offer the good news to ‘all nations’ – every one she met. 

‘In the Greek language go is an aorist participle, which means it takes on the mood of the command…It could more accurately be translated going.  In other words, the command to make disciples should be accomplished while believers are going about their business.’ Jonah – Navigating a Life Interrupted p. 105.  The ultimate example of a believer going about His business was when our precious Savior was hanging on the cross.  The criminal on the cross next to Him was hungry for the message.  Jesus, in all the pain and suffering He was going through, still made a disciple of God that day.  My grandmother as she laid there going from clarity to confusion still made daily disciples for God.  ‘Evangelism is not something to do; it is a way to live’ p. 107.  I have always said that Grandmother’s life was her ministry. 

I was thinking about ways I could live today as a ‘go and make’ day.  When going to get my grandson off the bus, I could share a story of Jesus from the Bible.  When going to mail resources on grief to my friend whose son just died from a heroin overdose I could remind her of the unfailing love and sustaining grace of God.  When going to the grocery store, I could pattern patience with others as God has extended patience to me.  Wherever we are going today, we carry the possibilities of a harvest in our mission field.  Many times our lives are lived with an attitude of go and make excuses...go and make compromises... go and make your mark.

Oh Lord, let our days be filled with a 'go and make disciples' life.

Tearing Comic Strips

“Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel. ‘I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and not carried out my instructions.’ ‘Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings...as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD?’” 1 Sam 15:10, 22.

It was a Sunday morning and I was riding home in my dad’s car from church with the family. My sister Becki and I were in the back seat tearing up the comic strips in the newspaper. Daddy told us more than once to quit tearing the paper or we would be in trouble when we got home. We had already begun ripping another strip and only had a tiny tear left to complete the separation of comics. Eyes locked together we very carefully and quietly tore that final piece….Uh oh…it was louder than we anticipated and Daddy was furious informing us of our looming punishment. As soon as we got home we flew into the house, tore open the drawer that housed the tape and went behind closed doors. We lined the comic strips back up, taped them together, delighting in our efforts and presented our offering to Daddy for pardon, missing the point of disobedience completely!

King Saul did the same thing. God had instructed him to leave the plunder alone after attacking the Amalekites and to kill King Agag. Instead, he allowed the king to live and kept the best sheep and cattle of the plunder. Once he got caught he explained that his disobedience was really an attempt to offer God sacrifices. He basically taped up the comic strips and presented them to God for pardon. Well it didn’t work with Daddy and it didn’t work with God!

When God gives us clear instructions we must not deviate from those commands. They have been placed in our lives for protection and guidance as God looks out for our best interest and development. We cannot take matters into our own hands and expect to get away with it. When we can’t understand the reason behind God’s commands and guidance, we have to trust His faithfulness and wisdom apart from our own calculations.

When we are faithful with obedience God will be faithful with blessings - the two walk hand in hand in God's economy.

From His Hands...

“And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you…So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God…Am I in the place of God?  You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done…” Gen. 45:5, 8, 19

I am so thankful this morning that we have a God who masters over evil.  I am comforted by the truth that everything in our lives…the pain of death…the betrayal of friends or family…the suffering of our hearts…must be filtered through the hands of God before it touches us.  If it flows into our life, it flowed out of God’s hands.  Joseph understood this with all of his heart.  He went from being a spoiled brat baiting his brothers in a constant ‘I’m their favorite child’ game to a throwaway family member.  His own brothers sold him to the Ishmaelites to get rid of him once and for all.  Some would say they were justified in their actions and Joseph had it coming.  Others would say that the brothers didn’t administer the care and forgiveness that is warranted within family.  It doesn’t matter who was at fault, at the end of the day Joseph understood the principle that all things came to him through God…both for his good and the good of those around him.  The very words from his lips are words that we should speak daily, ‘Am I in the place of God?’

Sometimes in life we are Joseph who probably deserves the circumstances for which we find ourselves, while other times we find ourselves punishing those we care about out of a selfish sense of entitlement.  The difference will be in our prospective and the attitude of our hearts.  When we sincerely apply the concept that anything God allows to flow into our lives is for the good of the total picture, we begin to see blessings walking alongside pain.  We sense the powerful tug of conviction to forgive teaching us to have a heart like Christ.  We are called to be merciful to those who have betrayed and wounded us to experience the rejection Christ experienced.  How can we learn to forgive if we have never been betrayed?  How can we learn to comfort others if our hearts have never been broken?  How can we extend mercy if we have never experienced shame and been given a second chance?  These are the things that God allows so that we can grow in the character of Christ and extend to others what we have been given.  What we receive we are to extend and what we experience we are to see it as God going before us to accomplish mighty things for Him.

From Defense to Denials

“When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, ‘Lord, should we strike with our swords?’…Then seizing him [Jesus], they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest…Peter followed at a distance…The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter.  Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him:  ‘Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.’  And he went outside and wept bitterly.” Luke 22:49-62

What a scene we have in this passage that would break any heart when considering Peter.  This was a man who emerged as a leader and confidant under Jesus.  He was zealous for Jesus and had been loyal and totally committed to the message of his teacher and friend.  So many walks where they shared fellowship…so many meals where they reclined laughing and joking…so many nights when the others were asleep but they stayed up around the fire reliving the miracles they had just been a part of…discussing the dreams of a future kingdom.  These intimate moments led up to the day in the garden when one of them betrayed Jesus.  Peter was frightened for his friend and mentor…he was incensed by Judas’ betrayal…his emotions exploded and his sword swung cutting the ear off of the servant of the high priest.  After Jesus’ arrest he followed Him into the court and sat there in both support and defense of his spiritual mentor and friend.  They took Jesus out in the courtyard to carry out His fate.  My commentary states that within an hour or two of Peter’s violent attack in defending Jesus he drops back and follows at a distance.  He camped at a distant fire in the courtyard where people began to link him to Jesus.  With Peter’s teacher up ahead, who knows what Jesus heard first.  Did He hear echoes of those who questioned Peter’s alliance with Jesus?  Did He hear Peter’s voice rise in frustration and fear when accused of being a follower?  Or did Jesus simply hear the crow of the rooster which told the whole story?  Whatever made Jesus lock eyes with Peter isn’t really important.  What is important is the conviction and reality of the moment…the heartbreak of a betrayed friend…the reality of being the betrayer.

How do we as believers guard ourselves against defending Jesus one minute and denying Him the next?  What can we do to avoid being frauds camped around the fire of the world?  The closer we follow God the further we move away from the world.  We cannot follow at a distance when things get heated.  We cannot drop back in our spiritual disciplines when they do not align with the world's.  We must follow Jesus apart from our circumstances…apart from our fear. 

We must maintain the fire of the Spirit within us and stoke the spiritual embers around us so that we will never just follow at a distance.

What's In Your Closet?

“Have Aaron your brother brought to you…so they may serve me as priests…Make sacred garments for them...” Ex 26:8.

In the Old Testament a priest was named to go into the Holy of Holies and be the mediator between God and His people.  God told Moses to appoint his brother to this position, along with Aaron’s sons.  God instructed that the people make sacred garments for those who were to serve in the temple.  At that time, God chose and enabled only certain people as priests to hear to speak on His behalf.  Once Christ rose from the dead He sent His spirit into every believer so that all could experience fellowship and guidance from God. 

As my dad’s home going anniversary approaches this weekend it is only fitting that God led me to his favorite Bible verse.  ‘But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.’ 1 Peter 2:9.  He wore his sacred garments well and fully embraced his role as priest serving before God.  He arose when chosen to direct a ministry of bringing unsaved children to Jesus.  He wore the crown of spiritual royalty on earth as it was obvious he served in the court of High Priest.  He relished in the reality of being in the Body of the Holy Christ and declared his loyalty at every turn.  Oh, he wore his sacred garments well and served with the fervor and dedication God calls each of us to serve.  I embrace this weekend with the beautiful imagery that this Saturday marks the day when he walked out of the darkness of this world and into the brilliant light of Heaven…when he exchanged denim for fine linen and cotton for the righteousness of God.

As believers we are all promised the same reality but given the freedom to choose.  Will we exchange our will for His?  Will we stand up and allow God to remove our garment of flesh as He replaces it with His robe of righteousness?  Will we serve ourselves or will we serve the High Priest?  Let us exchange our old clothes for new clothes and follow the One who will lead us to our Father.  ‘But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.  For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing’ 2 Co. 2:14-15.

The Ultimate Search Engine

“My son, keep my words and store up my commands with you…write them on the tablet of your hearts” Proverbs 7:3.  “I will put the law in their minds and write it on their hearts” Jer. 31:33.  “You show that you are a letter from Christ…written not in ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts” 2 Co. 3:3.

In the age of advanced technology, I become overwhelmed sometimes with the multiple means of communication we have in our lives.  I am checking email…checking text messages… checking private messaging on social media…voicemails on my phone and at my home…ugh, the list goes on and on!  This reality is the reason that I laughed so hard the other day when I was with my mother (she is going to kill me but can’t we all relate?).  We were having lunch and talking when she held up her phone stating that someone had sent her a fax.  I busted up laughing at that thought as I could relate to all of the different ways we send and receive information.  The different means of communication seem to bleed together.  The truth of the matter is I am the Google queen when it comes to anything, including Scripture.  I search on a certain word in an attempt to bring up a certain passage.  I have become lazy in my memorization of Scripture since I can just demand my phone to find Scripture.  As Jonah sat in the belly of the fish all he possessed was his memorization of Bible verses.  Instead of a search engine he had the words of God stamped on his mind and in his heart.  He had written the spirituals truths of God deep within his spirit and his prayers echoed the words of former prophets.

People throughout the Bible knew the importance of storing up God’s word in their hearts.  When they had to give expression to their pain or their humble gratitude there was no Google to help them find the words of those who went before them.  They studied and memorized the words of their forefathers, the prophets, and Christ Jesus Himself.  God states throughout His word that if we have a spiritually fertile heart He will plant His word there for future harvest.  Not only does He plant these truths but He placed within us His Spirit to reveal…remind…recall.  The Holy Spirit is the original search engine and the connection never drops on His end.  Through His indwelling we are able to call upon Him to give expression to our pain or our gratitude.  He is the One who provides us with the words to comfort others.  But, without learning God's truths and applying them to our hearts it will be like trying to draw water from a dry well.  We must keep our hearts spiritually fertile and our minds spiritually sharp. 

The Pointing Finger

“The man said, ‘The woman you put here with me – she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.’” Gen 3:12.  “Then I said, ‘O LORD, you have driven me from your presence’” Jonah 2:4.  

Both of these verses are such reminders that even in deep fellowship with God our human nature tends to take over our mouths.  Beginning with the Garden of Eden we find Adam’s underlying motive being to blame God for his disobedience (…the woman you put here).  Then we find Jonah who blatantly and admittedly ran from God in the opposite direction of Jerusalem.  Yet he prays that God has driven him away. 

It is easy to blame God for both our mistakes and responses to our circumstances.  We disobediently make decisions and find ourselves in a situation where we are withholding grace from another.  We find an audience that will validate our attitudes and behavior driving us further from God.  Our wounds and sense of entitlement to our emotions become conversation with others instead of taking it to God.  I have actually caught myself in my prayers reminding God of the transgressions of another.   In reality, I should be lifting them up in my prayers asking for both forgiveness for my unloveliness and blessings for their lives.  God’s law above all others is the law of love.  When we move away from loving another we are driving ourselves from the presence of God.  God is neither responsible for our attitudes or our actions.  Our sinful self is responsible for our responses.

‘When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.”  For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.’ James 1:13-14.  The bottom line is if we find ourselves dragged away by our emotions and attitudes we are the ones who have broken fellowship with God.

Discipline or Deliverance?

“‘Pick me up and throw me into the sea.’  Instead, the men did their best to row back to land.  But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before…Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard…But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah…” Jonah 1:12-13, 17.

The year was 1998 and we had tried everything from family counseling to residential treatment centers in an effort to intervene with our 16 year old daughter’s self-destructive spiral.  It had been 3 long years of rebellion, police visits to our home, trips to the jail and a string of constant runaway attempts.  All she desired was to leave home…to be left alone…to break off from the family.  We did our best to keep her at home but our family life became so disruptive and destructive it became an issue of safety for our other two children.  With a heavy heart and a desire for a fraction of normalcy in our home we did not stop her and even encouraged her.  We learned the hard way that we couldn't change her heart, and sometimes a person must be given over to their desires.  For the following 6 years Kristen lived in the ‘belly of the fish.’  I will never know nor do I care to know what was experienced inside that darkness.   I have complete confidence that whatever she experienced was provided by God in an effort towards reconciliation and restoration.  At 22 she looked up from the belly of that vile fish and prayed to God for deliverance and rescue.  God heard her prayer and saw her sincerity of her heart, fully restoring her life and every relationship within our family.

No matter where you are this morning and what choices you have made God will provide your fish for future preservation.  Your circumstances may seem hopeless but they may be the very thing that God uses to rescue you from your previous life.  I always thought Jonah’s great fish was punishment from running away from God but it is obvious that it was the lifeline that God threw out for a future rescue.  Don’t ever underestimate what miraculous workings God is doing from within the belly of your whale.  As Priscilla Shirer outlines in Jonah – Navigating a Life Interrupted the secret to survival is acknowledging your part, accepting God’s discipline, asking for forgiveness and acting on God’s direction. 

Elephants & Wrestling

“…Jonah…fell into a deep sleep.  The captain went to him and said, ‘How can you sleep?  Get up!’ The sea was getting rougher and rougher… ‘I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.’” Jonah 1:5-12.

On any given day we can find ourselves stepping right into the sandals of many biblical characters.  We have been given these snapshots throughout the Bible to both encourage and convict.  This morning while reading this portion of scripture I couldn’t help but remember a night over ten years ago when I was awakened by the Captain of my life – the Holy Spirit. 

It had been 3 years of secrecy, anxiety, inner chaos and fear which all lived behind big brown eyes and a smile.  I had slowly and secretly mounted thousands of debt, believing that I would eventually be able to get control of it without revealing the situation to my husband.  But thankfully, God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves.  I was awakened with the inability to breathe as if an elephant was sitting on my chest.  All I could sense was the Holy Spirit saying, ‘Get up!  Wake him up and tell him!’ I wrestled with God over this for about an hour and finally lost the battle.  God was relentless in wanting freedom for me.  So with God beside me we woke Bruce up and after many tears and much fear we navigated ‘through this great storm that I had brought upon us.’  When I think of the regret and shame I felt when our eyes met I can only imagine the same of Jonah as he was awakened and stood eye to eye with the innocent.

Whether motivated by sin or motivated by attitude, our actions will affect those whom we love.  The manner in which we live our life doesn’t reside in a vacuum but in an integrated and connected way.  Just as the fallen domino pushes down the next one so do our decisions.  We must be aware that the way we view and respond to things will affect those around us.  The attitudes that we hold deep in our hearts regarding others will spill out onto the lives of innocent people.  So whether we are acting in sin or responding in unhealthy emotions we are creating dangerous waters for those who God has placed around us.  Faithfully, God started immediately working in Bruce’s heart for forgiveness and reconciliation.  He gave me nothing but grace – God and Bruce – now that is love patterned after love.

I am eternally grateful for the night of the elephant, the wrestling match and the defeat.  That night was my 2 Co. 3:17 experience.  ‘Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.’

The Lord's Longing

“Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion.” Isaiah 30:18.

When my youngest daughter Caroline was 18 she received a phone call that her boyfriend of two years had been killed in a motorcycle accident.  They had parted ways but had decided to give it another chance upon his college graduation.  She was off at college when she received the news and I immediately wanted to go and be with her.  She wouldn’t allow me to come up there and assured me she would be alright until the following Thursday when she came home for the funeral.  As the days passed I couldn’t wait to wrap my arms around her and comfort her.  I was completely heartbroken to realize upon her arrival that she didn’t want my comfort but wanted distance.  In some odd way her pain drove her away from the comfort I longed in my heart to give her as her parent.  My heart broke in half and left an intense longing to wrap my arms around her, and pull her close to me never letting her go.  I wanted to immediately give my love for her expression but it took a few weeks before she opened her heart to be comforted.  When she finally allowed her heart permission to face the suffering she melted into my arms and fell apart…the first step in healing. 

Our Father is no different as He craves and yearns to comfort us.  He extends His comfort but the pain is too deep sometimes so we reject the very thing we need to heal.  We plead with Him for healing, yet our heart keeps Him at arm’s length.   I know what it is like to sit on the sidelines watching a child of mine suffer silently…experiencing devastation in isolation.  My heart would break as I watched her heart break.  My tears would fall as I watch her tears fall.  We have a Father whose love is deeper and wider than anything we feel for our own children.  We have a Father whose heart breaks along with ours.  God our Father wants us to run to Him with every heartbreak and dashed dream.  He doesn’t want to sit on the peripheral of our pain but He will.  He won’t force His love and comfort on us but will wait until we turn to Him.  And then when our pain-filled eyes meet His longing eyes the comfort will come rushing in as He stretches out His arms and pulls us close to Him. 

 

When we are ready to come to the Father He will rise and move heaven and earth to restore our life and heal our pain.  He will drench us in His love and garner us with His grace.  'For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.  But you, O LORD, are a compassionate and gracious God...abounding in love and faithfulness...Turn to me...Give me a sign of your goodness...for you, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.' Psalm 86:13-17.

The High Cost of Love

“Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee from your presence?  If I go up…you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there…” Psalm 139:7-8.

When our children were little they always wanted to be in my presence (until the teenage years!).  As a result of this close fellowship, I believe they felt safer and more secure as they experienced the love we gave them.  They could go upstairs and be confident that while we were out of sight we were still in the home.  They could go to a friend’s home and be assured that they would find us upon their return.  They also knew that if they misbehaved they could not get away from the discipline we would give them.  The more they invested in our relationship the more they trusted that love would always be the anchor and motivation.  However, when they would do something wrong it limited the joy and fellowship in our relationship, creating a barrier for the moment.  Although we didn’t leave, the fellowship of our presence was temporarily altered.

The same is with our Father as we have confidence in His presence whether we are experiencing the blessings of the highs or the despair of the lows.  The issue is not whether God is with us but rather how much of God 's presence is being accessed.  Are our circumstances causing us to respond in a way that temporarily limits the presence of God in His fullness?  If we break love with another, then we are fleeing from His presence and going away from His spirit.  He does not leave but we go in the opposite direction of love, limiting His presence in our life.  We judge, we gripe, we gossip etc…

‘The cost of love is high, it cost the giving of yourself, but the more of yourself you give in love the more you will be filled with the presence of God.  Anything in your heart that causes you to withhold love from God or another person also restricts the presence of God in you. If you have any anger against God, that is pride, and you are in great danger. Pride and anger both create a place in your heart for Satan. “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil (Ephesians 4:26 – 27).  If you have any unforgiveness or anger, because you are holding on to an offense, then you are hindering God from filling you. If you are withholding mercy and compassion from anyone then you are withholding love from them.   If you are making judgments against people thinking that they do not deserve your love then you are withholding love from them.’ Seek God Ministries

There is a deep and critical connection between love for others and experiencing the fullness of Christ in our lives.  The more love we extend the more Presence we are promised.  How will we love today?

A Christian's Cargo

“But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, lain down, and fallen sound asleep’ Jonah 1:5.  “Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion” Mark 4:38.

Here we have two exhausted men who both had an intimate relationship with God.  They both were getting ready to face a fierce storm and raging sea with fellow travelers on deck above them.  They both were awakened by the fear and despair of those who were traveling with them.  What was the difference?  One was in the will of God and the other was not.  Jonah was running away from his God-directed assignment while Jesus was walking towards His – the cross.   Their sphere of influence on those vessels couldn’t be different.  The men who traveled with Jonah shook him out of his sleep and said, ‘What should we do to you that the sea may become calm for us?’ Jonah 1:11.  Jonah didn't serve as an ambassador of God.  He was seen as a throwaway...cargo that held no value...no favor.  The men who traveled with Jesus rushed in and awakened Jesus in panic asking ‘Teacher, don’t you care?’ Mark 4:38.  The disciples never questioned the power and ability of Jesus because they knew He had the favor of God.   

In a world full of adversity and suffering, we are surrounded by storm watchers… people who look to us for testimony during tough times.  They are experiencing storms much like our own and are searching for answers and comfort.  They watch our faith and listen to our words to determine the validity of our walk with God.  Will they see our faith as futile tossing it overboard for lack of validity or will they be convinced that we walk with the favor of God before us?

Two men…two storms…two different testimonies.  One called on the power of God and calmed the fierce storm while the other had lost all control of his circumstances.  There will be storms and there will be watchers so how will we respond?  Will our disregard of God create a disregard by others or will our faith serve as magnets to a hurting and frightened world?  God is the ultimate source of power, and when we connect to Him the magnetic field is great and the pull is strong inviting others to experience Him.    

Will our faith be seen as cargo with no value or precious cargo? 

Sought and Seen

“…he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.  He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.” Psalm 40:2-3.

Back in September I rolled my foot and am just now experiencing some days without pain.  It has been amazing how something that seems so minor has produced such a weakness in my foot.  When I walk I must always focus my eyes to the ground to assure myself that my path is free of obstacles.  I try to exercise by walking four times a week which involves me walking through a grassy hilly area to get to the concrete sidewalk.  I am always very tentative and focused on the ground until I find myself securely walking on the pavement.  The importance of my focus is the key to the success of my goal.

The same happens in our walk of faith.  Some seasons in our life will be on firm pavement where we are experiencing the calm…the stable…the secure.  Other times in our life we are crossing over challenging and unstable ground, creating the need to focus squarely on God.  What path is He having us walk?  What obstacle must we be guided around by God?  Will we be careless in our focus or look intently into God’s plan during unstable times?

Our focus on God for each step will produce a heart of humility and true gratitude.  Every day I cross over the unstable ground, I always thank God for His protection for my foot.  My weakness has established a need for Christ in the small things and sincere gratitude for His care over me.  Without that weakness I would miss out on the dependency on my Father.  I would be blind to the daily care and protection He provides.   If I learn to become dependent on His watchful eye for the little obstacles in my life I will build a faith that will give me confidence in the more challenging obstacles.  God is in all the details and desires to be sought and seen in the calm and the rocky times.

My new song is that I am grateful for my weakness for it gives God one more opportunity to be God, my protector and healer.