Removing the Stinger

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting...But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” 1 Cor. 15:55-57

I read a story this morning about a little boy whose parents had taken him on a picnic. The little boy was severely allergic to bees and one sting could cause his death. As they were enjoying the day, a bee started buzzing around the little boy. His father jumped up and captured the bee in the palm of his hand until the bee had stung him. As he opened his hand which was beginning to swell, he showed his son the stinger. The father lovingly said to his child, ‘It’s okay. Now all he can do is buzz. This is what could have hurt you, but I took the sting away.’ Begin Again, Max Lucado, p. 150.

I used to read this passage with a little less confidence than I do today. I remember during the time my sister Beth was laboring to breathe near the end of her life, it was difficult to read this part of Scripture with resounding confidence. I did feel death won...I was feeling the sting and heartbreak of our reality...my thanks to God was more of a whisper than an exclamation point. But I realized many years later that this passage must be read in a broader view. This passage is the chant of the eternal redeemed. This is the heavenly boasting from the saints who have passed over in spite of sin and death.

With so much focus on our pain when our loved ones transition into heaven we can’t see beyond the grave. But God can see what lies ahead, and He provided a way for you, me and our loved ones to be ushered into the His divine presence. You see, ‘He tailored you for more than a grave, fitted you for a grander destiny than a casket. You are an eternal being equipped with an eternal soul...God sees you as a steward of his essence. You bear the stamp of God’ p.147-148.

Like the little boy’s dad, Christ also bears the stinger in the palm of His hand that left a scar. He took the sting for us so that our story doesn’t end in death. While on earth all sin and sickness can do is buzz around us but it cannot eternally kill us. ‘When Jesus vacated the tomb, he robbed it of its power. Death may touch us, but it cannot have us’ p. 150.

Rock-a-bye Baby

“Therefore... I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.” Hosea 2:14

This past weekend we went to my daughter and son-in-law’s home for Bruce to remove a dead tree in their front yard. My son-in-law had arranged for three of his best friends to come over and help cut the wood up and haul it to the back yard. Their wives and dogs came with them and were hanging out inside with my daughter, granddaughter, and their two dogs. When I walked in the four dogs began barking and jumping on me and the girls began welcoming me. It was quite the chaotic scene as you would imagine which would transpire in any home. My granddaughter Emry was sitting on the floor in the middle of this and was letting her voice be known. She became out of sorts, started screaming, and began crying. I’m not sure if she even knew why she was so unhappy. My daughter, Caroline had a business call and I was going to take Emry to her nursery and spend time with her. I grabbed a warm bottle of milk, her blanket, and headed back to her room closing the door behind me. Suddenly we were alone in a quiet room without the noise and competing circumstances. I began to rock her...feed her...sing to her in her dimly lit bedroom. It was just as much a joy for me to see her calm, peaceful, happy, and content as it was for her to experience it.

That is what God does for us. He sees us in the middle of our earthly chaos, recognizes that we need something for which we are even unaware, and picks us up taking us out of the noise to fellowship with us. He leads us into the still of the quiet if we will simply allow Him to carry us. He speaks to us in the whisper of the calm and tends to our every need. We spend that coveted time alone with Him away from the world and its noise. We forget what was stirring us up and remember that our Father can calm us down. We feel heard, we feel held, we feel comforted, and mostly we feel completely loved.

The next time chaos is swirling around you and you don’t even know what you need, reach up for the Father and allow Him to carry you to a quiet place where only He can comfort you.

A Box of Compassion

“Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me – you did it to me.” Matthew 25:40 The Message

When Bruce and I were sick with Covid last month I could barely get off of the couch. I had wondered what it would be like ...pondered how my body would response...considered which symptoms I would get. I wasn’t consumed with it, rather awaiting its arrival since I felt that everyone would eventually get Covid. As I laid there on the couch, a text popped up on my phone with a picture of a box on my porch overflowing with supplies and food. I couldn’t believe that a dear friend had come so far to bless us...to feed us...to care for us through the provisions...to offer nutrients and strengthen us through liquids. As I unpacked the box one item and a time, I was touched with how personal the items were to my preferences and needs. Her compassion was so dear and her timing was impeccable. This morning as I read a chapter in Begin Again, by Max Lucado her face came to mind and I was so blessed to know that when she dropped off that box of provisions, she dropped off that box to Jesus.

He writes, ‘The sign of the saved is their concern for those in need...And yet in these simple deeds, we serve Jesus. Astounding, this truth: we serve Christ by serving needy people. None of us can help everyone. But all of us can help someone. And when we help them, we serve Jesus’ p. 124.

We might just see Jesus playing an instrument with an empty case on the ground laid open, an invitation to a dollar or some change to be tossed in there. We might see Jesus in a hospital bringing a pill to a patient for pain relief. We might see Jesus in the grocery line counting out her change to see if there is enough to cover her few items. Jesus is everywhere and the opportunities to serve another are innumerable and everywhere we look. So, may we ask the question of ourselves according to Max, ‘O Lord, where did I see you yesterday...and didn’t recognize you? Where will I encounter you today...and fail to identify you? Make me a billboard of your grace, a living advertisement for the riches of your compassion’ p. 124.

You never know...Jesus just might walk up your front steps and drop off a box of compassion! 

Equipped to Run

“Each person is given something to do that shows who God is.” 1 Co 12:7 (The Message)

Years ago, I was asked to speak at a women’s conference in our church. Honestly, I do not enjoy speaking and would prefer sitting behind a screen typing in my pajamas with unbrushed hair. The only reason that I accepted this invitation was that I felt God was behind it. So, with doubt flooding my heart and anxiety reigning in my thoughts I talked through it with Bruce. I raised several concerns regarding the speech but the one concern I most remember was the fact that I was going to take notes with me to help with the speech. I told Bruce that I felt like a failure that I couldn’t memorize the whole thing like our pastor does during his sermons. I will never forget the words Bruce said to me that calmed my anxieties and settled my soul. He said, ‘Brenda, God did not create you to be Talbot. He created you to be Brenda.’ I have used that line for years whenever I am feeling insecure about anything I have been called to do. 

Psalm 139:13 and 15 states that we were ‘knit...together...woven together in the dark of the womb...intricately and skillfully formed...’ We are uniquely designed, uniquely fashioned and uniquely equipped. We cannot spend our lives comparing ourselves to others who are uniquely created in another way. When we are walking in our Spirit-driven calling for which we were specifically equipped, our lives will reflect God and the fruit of our hands will be blessed. Every single person ever created was given a gift from God to use to bring others to Him. Our gift is found in our own lane – not the lane in which others are running.

“So when you begin again...run your own race. Nothing good happens when you compare and compete. God does not judge you according to the talents of others. He judges you according to yours. His yardstick for measuring faithfulness is how faithful you are with your own gifts. You are not responsible for the nature of your gift. But you are responsible for how you use it.” Begin Again, Max Lucado, p. 110

Repeat Offenders

“Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:9

There are few things that exasperate me more than hearing about a criminal who was released only to commit the same heinous crime again. It boggles my mind that a person could experience a season in prison, isolated from his world and estranged from freedom only to return to those same destructive activities upon release. Even with the stakes high and the things they learned in prison they don't put them into practice...the head knowledge never traveled to the heart which could have altered their decisions.

Now before I judge the repeat offender, I need to look no further than my own weaknesses. I was taught that gossip was destructive and yet I find myself sometimes judging someone in my head which falls onto my lips failing to put into practice kindness. God tells us that bitterness and unforgiveness has no place in our hearts and we are to put into practice grace as we have received. And yet, we do not forgive...we secretly harbor bitterness. As parents we didn’t teach our children things just to hear ourselves speak. We taught them rights and wrongs to help them navigate through life and become caring and loving adults with integrity and kindness. We fully expected them to put what they received from us as parents into practice. So does God.

“As you receive [God’s truths] wonders occur...in time, facts in your head will become faith in your heart and create the fruit of the hands. Yes, ‘doing’ matters to God. But ‘doing’ follows receiving. Paul carefully presents the proper order: Learn. Receive. Do.” Begin Again, Max Lucado, p. 105.

Napkin Fall of Faith

“He who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:23

This morning I arose with such a sense of restfulness which rarely happens at my age. I was in such a joyful state looking forward to praising God with my worship music. The first hour was great as I sang and sipped my coffee moving my glider in the dark. After saying my prayers, I went into my den and continued reading Max Lucado’s book, Begin Again. Very quickly I turned into mush at a story he shared about a man on a plane who slipped him a napkin with a message scribbled in ink. The man wrote of a tragic lake accident involving his daughter which immediately led to him and his wife having to make the decision of removing her from life support. Scribbled on this napkin was the mantra of his life: Faith is a choice, come what may.

“Although the decision was painful, we were confident that we were doing the right thing in laying her in the arms of a mighty God. He knew our pain. His best work may not have been restoring Erin to this life but his assistance for Lynne and me to let him have her. He made our daughter better than new. He restored my Erin to his eternal presence. That is his best work! Our faith is getting us through this. Faith is a choice" p. 92.

I began realizing that God’s best work in the lives of our loved ones is sometimes our worst nightmare. God’s promises are faithful indeed but He cannot break His promises to anyone. For God to be faithful to a promise He made to one person might put us on a collision course with suffering. But God also promises to be faithful to all of us through His word...Beautiful promises if we choose faith. He promises that we will never walk alone through any situation. He promises that joy will come in the morning of a new season after many nights of weeping if we will choose faith. He promises that because we are not citizens of this world that we will all become citizens in eternity. You cannot read one page of the Bible without seeing promise after promise that God not only made, but kept. Our faith is our sight to be able to see the faithful manner in which God keeps every promise.

“I want that kind of faith. The faith that turns to God in the darkest hours...and trusts in His promises. The kind of faith that presses an ink pen into an airline napkin and declares, ‘Faith is a choice. And I choose faith’” p. 92.

Let's Make a Deal

“God did this [gave us his promise and his oath] so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.” Hebrews 6:18

When I was a little girl, I loved the show Let’s Make a Deal. I would sit cross-legged as close to the television as I could without being told to scoot back so I would not ruin my eyes. I couldn’t wait to see the big reveal behind each of the doors to see if I had correctly guessed. All three doors were set before the contestant and their responsibility was to choose the door which they felt held the best prize. Sometimes it was a dud while others times it was an amazing blessing to take home. But what was received was always anchored in which door the contestant reached for.

As this childhood show came to mind this morning, it reminded me of this verse. We, too, have choices set before us when the stress rises...the bills are due...the tests reveal the disease...the marriage is strained. God created us fully aware that we would need an anchor for our souls while walking out our journey on earth. ‘Your soul unites you to God. And your soul needs an anchor...Our anchor is set in the very throne of God. It will never break free. The rope will never snap.’ Begin Again, Max Lucado, p.79.

My mind turns back to the gameshow as I consider the different doors that were set before me during a dark time. I set my hope on Door #3 which was a definite DUD...secret spending... falsehoods told to Bruce...unhealthy comforts. But God has been true to His promise that once I flee from other doors and reach for Him, I can rest in the abundance of His power and have hope. Max goes on to ask a very poignant question. ‘Is what I’m hooked to stronger than what I’ll go through? Everyone is anchored to something.’ Anchored to a money account...anchored to power and position...anchored to a credit card...anchored to a hidden bottle of alcohol...Anchored to a secret relationship. These anchors that exist behind these doors are dead-ends and will certainly decay every aspect of our lives.

'People of the new beginning make daily decisions to secure their anchors in the promises of God...They can walk you through horrific tragedies. They can buoy you in the day-to-day difficulties. They are, indeed, the great and precious promises of God' p. 84.