There when you need it most

Sometimes there are seasons we don't expect.
And sometimes reasons too deep for us to comprehend.
And God redeems it all.
His purposes are not dependent on my understanding
          or my approval.
And even the mysteries to me
     are no surprise to Him a bit.
And God redeems it all.

I read a Psalm this morning
that will always stand to me
as a reminder of God's faithfulness.

I was eighteen.  All my friends had left for college, conquering exciting new frontiers. I was still at home, our family struggling with an unemployed father who had big dreams of starting his own business and no money to do it... and certainly no money for me to go to college.  This was not quite what I had pictured, but it was reality.

When faced with incredible struggles, my grandmother never wasted time on asking "why me?"  She poured her energy into "ok, well, what can we do about it?"  She was one of the most creative people I have ever known.  She could turn an empty cupboard into a feast, literally and figuratively.

Instead of traveling to the small college that accepted me, I found myself on a different road, commuting through a wilderness of sorts, 45 minutes each way to take classes twice a week at the community college. That was financed by living at home, working part time at a factory the other three days of the work week, and yet another job ushering at the symphony and theater all weekend.

And on those long commutes to school and work in a car without a radio, one ordinary day, I began to memorize Psalm 100.  And those words began to seep into my heart and change it.  God's Word never returns void.  It didn't just give me something to do or to distract me from total boredom, God used it to strengthen me and keep me from despair.  I could not change my circumstances that year, but God changed how I saw my situation and redeemed it.

Psalm 100 was part of my reading this morning.  And I found those joyful words still engraved in my heart and mind, a pathway rubbed deep from many times traversing it.

God's Word emerges from the very ground and embraces with a strong hug, no matter what wilderness where you may find yourself.

Make a joyful noise to the LORD,
              all the lands!
Serve the LORD with gladness!
Come into His presence with singing!
Know that the LORD is God!
It is He that made us,
    and not we ourselves;
we are His people,
    and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
    and His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him,
                bless His name!
For the LORD is good;
His steadfast love endures for ever,
and His faithfulness
            to all generations.

                        Psalm 100



           

Stories all around us

Everyone has a story.
Everyone.

A sweet friend shared a powerful message with me this week, that which happened in her church after the Easter sermon, that which happens because of the Resurrection.  These are people she worships with every Sunday, ordinary people with extraordinary stories of redemption. Click this link, and see what God does best.

He changes lives.

The world says we are stuck.
But God proves differently.

I am crucified with Christ;
it is no longer I who live,
but Christ who lives in me,
and the life I now live in the flesh,
I live by faith in the Son of God
who loved me
     and gave Himself for me.

                  Galatians 2.20

Surely God calls us all to that

Do not withhold good
    from those to whom it is due,
when it is in your power to do it.

                       Proverbs 3.27

God places people on our path
and surrounds us daily
with opportunity to do good,
quickened in us
    only by the grace of God.

Nothing little is ever done,
every kind word and deed
just another stitch reinforcing
                   His redeeming
   and manifesting His love.

Surely God calls us all to that.

Things don't just happen

Our young grandchildren are very much aware that things don't just happen.  Someone makes supper, someone built their swing set, someone did the work. They are young.  But that much they know.  "And you?"  I ask them.  "Who made you so special?"  "Why, God, of course," they both replied.

In the world,
we notice patterns,
designs,
repetition,
and purpose,
because that is how God creates.
God has reasons for it,
   so complex
that man cannot replicate,
control,
imitate,
and not even improve.
And the things that man makes
use what God has already provided.
The theory of evolution
            is strictly utilitarian.
There is no explanation for benevolence,
compassion,
beauty,
     or awe.
When God created, He did not say,
             "This is useful."
He said,
              "It is good."


Ascribe to the LORD
        the glory due His name.

                        Psalm 96.8


 

Ramp speed

On my long travels this week, the roads were particularly occupied by large trucks.  As these huge vehicles exit the highway, there is a long lane to slow down their speed in order to safely and purposefully reach their destination.  They cannot just speed through, no matter their mindset or mood.

In family or work situations when, not if, tensions arise, it is also wise to de-accelerate.  When one of our grandchildren gets caught up in emotional turmoil, her other grandmother has taught her to count 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.  It gives this little girl the margin to put on her internal brakes, think about what she is doing, and what would be a better way to approach the situation. Our granddaughter now has a valuable tool in her toolbox that she can use for the rest of her life.

De-accelerating provides an incredible sense of freedom.  Think and pray it through first to a very different outcome.

Show me, O LORD, Your way in this.


Then they cried to the LORD
               in their trouble,
and He delivered them
        from their distress;
He made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea
                       were hushed.
Then they were glad
             because they had quiet,
and He brought them
      to their desired haven.

                   Psalm 107. 28-30