Spiritual Sleepy Heads

“The Mighty One, God, the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to where it sets.” Psalm 50:1

Yesterday morning my granddaughter Kherington had spent the night with me since were leaving the next day for our Emmons' family vacation. Her mom told me to wake her up around 7:30 so we would ready when she came and picked us up. I walked into the dark bedroom, flipped the closet light on so her eyes could better adjust and walked over to her side. She was sleeping so well…so peacefully…so beautifully and I gently patted her back and whispered, ‘Get up sleepy head, it’s time to get going for the day.’ As she slowly turned towards me her little eyes tried to adjust to my silhouette. Finally, a smile stretched across her face and she embraced the day.

This morning as I sat in the dark on my screened porch at the beach I felt like I saw the same scene between God and the sun. The skies were dark with little slices of light as the sun tried to adjust to the darkness. It took almost an hour for the sun to fully open its sleepy eyes and embrace the day. Finally the sun stretched its beautiful smile across the sky. I couldn’t help but to draw a spiritual parallel of my life and how I waited so long to awaken. For almost 45 years I was a spiritual sleepyhead, going through life not fully awake. I’m so grateful that in 2006 God patted my back, and continued to whisper, ‘Get up my little daughter, it’s time to fully embrace life with Me.’ Once I had finally adjusted my eyes to the Light I was able to navigate through some dark times without stumbling. He provided the Light I needed, and never did He fail to lovingly and faithfully guide.

I don’t know what darkness you are walking through but the only way to have the Light in which to navigate is by adjusting your eyes to the One who gently whispers to you. He is calling you to awaken, to adjust your eyes on Him and He will walk with you through this season. He will never leave you in whatever you face today…tomorrow…forever.

The day looks like it’s going to be beautiful and the sun is fully awake and smiling upon the earth. In God there is nothing to worry about today. He has commanded nothing but good for the sun and He has commanded much more than that for your life and for mine. Just wake up, sleepy head!

Going For a Walk

"'Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God…’ So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, ‘It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.’” Ge 23:28-30

This story has always captivated me with both its strange details and its precise application to my life. Jacob was all alone and came upon a messenger of God. As the story unfolds a wrestling match ensues and through the night Jacob wrestled with a man who was a manifestation of God. He was blessed after the struggle by the very God with whom he fought.

There have been several intentional times in my life when I knew that I was out of agreement with God. These seasons were when I sometimes avoided Him, times when I negotiated with Him, and times when I delayed obedience towards Him. I certainly tried capturing Him in a self-made box, making my kingdom come…wrestling that my will be done. But in the end God will always prevail and the blessings will be more than we could have every imagined. I read a quote the other day in my Bible Study that reminded me of those times. Blaise Pascal, a renowned 17th century mathematician, inventor and theologian said, ‘God made man in his own image and man returned the compliment.’ We try to manifest a version of God who reflects our wishes...our agenda...our plan. How many times do we go kicking and screaming through a season feeling as if we are being dragged? How many of our kingdoms must fall so His kingdom can come into our lives? We ask for the deep desires of our heart and then despise the path. I can’t tell you how many times some of God’s greatest work in my heart has been a result of some of the most heart-breaking seasons.

I saw this scene yesterday when I was walking and couldn’t help but smile and inconspicuously snap a picture. (Pardon the blur but I was on the down-low.) I felt that little dog’s pain as he was being forced down a road that seemed scary. The little dog kept jockeying for position, but his master kept walking and gently pulling him along. I don’t blame the little guy because his view of what was ahead must have been scarier than what was behind. We are no different in walking with God. There will be times when we share the walk in unity and fellowship. But many times, there are walks with limited vision, limited direction and a faint heart. These are times when we must trust our Master and allow Him to guide us down the path. He knows what is at the end of the road and He will not guide us to dangerous places, but places where we can experience freedom and joy that the world cannot steal. It's so interesting that I had to be dragged to some of His greatest miracles He performed for me. May we all walk today with Him, and allow His kingdom to come and His will to be done.

Canvas of Glory

“And now, finally, GOD answered… from the eye of a violent storm.’ ‘Do you know where Light comes from and where darkness lives, so you can take them by the hand and lead them home when they get lost? You don’t for a minute imagine these marvels of weather just happen, do you? Can you get the attention of the clouds, and commission a shower of rain? Can you take charge and have them report to you for orders?’” Job 38:1, 19-21, 30, 34-35, (The Message)

Last night in bed I was laying there praying for some of my friends who are going through very difficult times. It’s all I can do…it’s all any of us can do. When I started ticking off the multi-faceted challenges of some families I know I became overwhelmed with their suffering and suffering in this world. Suffering brings about such chaos…such disorientation…such hopelessness…such helplessness. So, how precious was the Creator to fill His pitcher from Heaven and pour it down from the skies last night. Picture after picture was on Facebook showing the magnificent catching place of God’s golden glory...our lives. As I lay there, I remembered one of the many sunsets I photographed at Folly Beach last month. God brought to mind a cross in the clouds from Sunday morning that looked like a puzzle in the making…scattered white pieces just waiting for the hand of God to place them in the cross. I slept so well last night, and I awakened to this beautiful collage in my mind. I couldn’t wait to write this devotional to bring hope and healing to someone’s heart this morning. I know that seeing that gorgeous sky last night blessed many. For me it was a reminder that we have more promises than just the rainbow. As beautiful as rainbows are, it takes a storm to see a rainbow. There is so much beauty to be gleaned from creation in the calm times and the stormy times. If only we will take our eyes off our storm and fix our gaze on the supremacy of God.

I know that some of you are in the eye of a violent storm right now, begging God to take your darkness by the hand and lead it away. I know you feel that the light got lost somewhere along the way and you are praying that it will soon be found. If God can command the clouds He can command and arrange the details of your life and lift hope in your heart. If He takes darkness by the hand and leads it away, He can take your hand and guide you through your darkness. Don’t imagine for a minute that God has a perfect placement for each cloud but doesn’t have a perfect plan for you and for me. Through our storms God wants us to get new perspective of His glory. Just as each day brings about different sunrises and sunsets, each season of pain brings about new wisdom and purpose. Taking time to enjoy creation is the path towards order in the chaos and fellowship with the Creator.

"When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and stars which You have ordained. What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?" Psalm 8:3-4. (NKJV)

No Empty Chairs

“If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash each other’s feet. I did this as an example so that you should do as I have done for you” John 13:14-15.

Can you just imagine the scene? Jesus, one-third of the Trinity who formed the universe with his hands, now knelt before sinners washing their dusty feet. He scoots on His knees from disciple to disciple and rinses the dust away. He gently wipes the dirt from the feet of the one He dearly loves. He approaches the one whom He knows His church will be built upon one day and quietly serves. He moves to the next chair ready to cleanse, but this chair occupies the one who in a few hours will be responsible for His suffering, yet He washes…He rinses…He tenderly dries. By the time the eyes of Jesus and Judas met, both motives were clear, one to harm but the other to love…one to gain while the other would lose.

It is easy to kneel before those we love and wash their feet. It doesn’t take a champion Christian to rinse those dusty sandals of strangers through our acts of kindness. But what about when we find ourselves asked to kneel and wash the feet of those who have wounded and betrayed us? How will we respond when our eyes lock with their eyes requiring our grace and mercy?

Scripture makes it clear and offers no caveats…we are to kneel, wash, rinse and dry just like Jesus. There is no hurt or betrayal greater than that kiss in the garden where the sinless met the sinner. Our acts of compassion and kindness are not determined upon who is sitting before us. When we truly align our hearts with God, we understand that in all situations it is Christ who sits in that chair before us. We are told in the Bible that what we do for others we do for Christ, the same being true of what we withhold from others.

When Christ finished washing those 24 dusty feet they were all clean to the same measure, not just 22. This is the example by which we are called to live. I love the remedy that Max Lucado offers, ‘Try shifting your glance away from the one who hurt you, and setting your eyes on the One who saved you…Jesus offers unconditional grace to you; we are to offer unconditional grace; The mercy of Christ preceded our mistakes; our mercy must proceed the mistakes of others.’ Experiencing the Words of Jesus, p. 143.

Perfection in this Christian principle is not expected but progression is. The way Jesus was able to do this was through the power of God. We have that same power to call upon that will heal our heart allowing us to wash well. How will we wash? Will we withhold or will we extend?

Behind the Mask

“‘Oh, Hannah, why are you crying? Why aren’t you eating? And why are you so upset...?’ Then she pulled herself together, slipped away quietly…Crushed in soul, Hannah prayed to God and cried and cried—inconsolably. 1 Sam 1:10, 17

Year after year Hannah had waited for a child and year after year her hope seemed in vain. She only had to look around to see others who were planning birthday parties and folding little shirts after laundering. As her friends were tucking in their toddlers she was tucking in her emotions. From how many family dinners did she abruptly and conspicuously excuse herself? Then one day she couldn’t take it anymore…couldn’t hear one more story regarding what she so desperately wanted. But, what she did with her pain is what we are also called to do in our pain…she ran towards Someone instead of away from some 'thing'. ‘Deep, deep down inside of Hannah, buried under deferred hopes and dashed dreams was a kernel of faith…So, she ran and opened the floodgates, no holds barred, as she wept honestly and profusely before God and asked God boldly…’ Christian Broadcasting Network website, Hope for Hannah – Laura Bagby.

We have all been there when dealing with our grief. Grief exposes itself in many forms in addition to the death of a loved one. Grief is experienced in anything that feels like death in our hearts. Like Hannah, we sit around our table with whom we share with family or friends. Then a song comes on that reminds us of a kinder time…a story is shared that used to bring laughter but now brings heartache …good news is told that highlights our bad news. We feel our stomachs churn and tears fill up our eyes. The food on our fork will never get past the lump in our throat and we abruptly push away from the table and head towards the closest door.

We all have those hidden griefs that are carefully tucked behind our fragile masks. It may be the young woman who like Hannah is desperately wanting to see the positive pregnancy test. It may be the lonely heart that is waiting for the love of their life to appear. I could be here all morning naming the manners of grief that people are experiencing. What is more important than the source of our grief is what we do with it. God has given us 66 books in His life-giving Word where page upon page hearts break and God heals. Beautiful ink that tells stories of people called to purpose, and hearts called to relationship. These are not stories of easy living, but messy and chaotic plot lines that all have one Author in common. He is the Author of their circumstances, and the Healer of their souls. In each story, they run to God and beg for delivery from their suffering. And in each story…God was faithful…God was present…God was their anchor and resolution.

Whether your mask is covering a lonely heart, a broken relationship, or an unfulfilled need we all must seek our comfort in God. God alone can change hearts, send provision, repair marriages and restore lives.

Fringe Benefits

“And behold, a woman who had suffered for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment…for she said to herself, ‘If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.’” Matthew 9:20-21

This morning while studying Job I took a literary field trip to Matthew prompted by the author, Lisa Harper. I have always loved the story of the courageous woman who inched her way through the crowd motivated by her pain. Her desperate goal was to touch the fringe on the garment Jesus was wearing. She fully understood that He had the complete power to heal with very little interaction. ‘If I could only touch His fringe’ she claimed to herself. She had the courage to crawl and the faith to receive…and she was ‘made well.’

Many times, in my life I have felt like that woman who came crawling to the feet of Jesus. Times when my sin was great and other times when my heart was broken. For much of my adult life I was only touching the fringe…that small part of Jesus that didn’t require sacrifice. But when I was 45 the whole Garment of Jesus beckoned me. God knew who He created me to be and it wasn’t that woman crawling in her faith who occasionally touched the fringe. He created all of us to more than that…he created all of us to welcome the complete person of Christ Jesus into our lives and live abundantly in Him. He convinced me that I was not poorly made but perfectly designed for the person He fashioned in His mind.

We cannot become more like Jesus until we reach for more than the fringe. 'Touching the fringe' of Jesus is important because it is the first step that guarantees we too will be eternally made well once we are called home. That first touch secures our salvation but every touch after secures our soul and spirit on earth. The power of Jesus is in the wholeness of Him. Only through reaching for all of Jesus can marriages be healed, health be restored, loved ones be reunited and true love be found.

Searching for Rainbows

“He wraps up the water in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst beneath its weight…He stirs up the sea with His power, And by His understanding He breaks up the storm.” Job 26:8

I’m so grateful that God included the Book of Job to help us better relate to a suffering heart. It was two chapters ago that Job was complaining to God about all the injustices that were going unpunished. He spent a considerable amount of time pointing out bad things that God seemed to overlook. The next time we heard from Job he was reciting the greatness of God. His words that follow the grumbling and rumbling were nothing short of a harmonious symphony written just for God. His journey from woe to worship reminds us that our emotions are a fickle tour guide, one to whom we must not give a license.

One time certainly comes to mind when my prayer went from woe to worship in one kneeling. My father-in-law who had Alzheimer’s was living with us and was in the final stage. I remember one Thursday night I was up in our loft on my knees. I cried so hard my eyes were raw and paths of tears marked my cheeks. I began telling God how the burden was too much, and how our family had done it alone. I began reminding God that we had not withheld anything in our caregiving. I felt frustrated, forlorn and forgotten. It was a time when, unlike the clouds in our verse, I felt as if I was going to ‘burst beneath the weight’ of my circumstances. And just like that, the Lord stirred up my heart and mind, giving me His wisdom on a resource I had not yet discovered for Bud. He brought Hospice to my mind and I could instantly feel the storm losing its power over me. My woe turned into worship as I praised Him for always being faithful for breaking up storms before they break me.

I know that there are some of you reading this today who have more woe in your prayers than worship. I’m confident that the storm that wages against you is frightening and paralyzing. These are the times where your depleted soul can intersect God’s unlimited power that will carry you through the day. He will wrap up your tears and worries and hold them back from breaking you. He is stirring the details of your circumstances and only He understands what will resolve them. He will breathe new life into dead situations and set your life back on its foundation. His greatest miracles that He works in each of our lives are but a fraction of what He has the power to accomplish in our lives. Every season has an ending and every hushed storm has a rainbow.  So, keep your eyes on the rainbow, the beautiful promise that God is in control and He will be faithful to His word.

"I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant...Whenever I form clouds...and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember My covenant between Me and you..." Ge 9:13-15