When your world is destroyed

God's love never ceases. Aren't you thankful for that promise? And isn't it interesting that such a statement of God's faithfulness and love is in the book of Lamentations, a book that records Jeremiah's great sorrow and mourning for the destruction of Jerusalem?

Even as Jeremiah's world was being destroyed, Jeremiah knew God's love would not fail. He knew God's faithfulness to Israel would never end.

What about you? How has your world been rocked this year, this month, this week? How are you responding? Are you relying on God's faithfulness or are you tempted to give up in despair?

Oswald Chambers writes in My Utmost for His Highest, "God is not concerned about our plans; He doesn’t ask, 'Do you want to go through this loss of a loved one, this difficulty, or this defeat?' No, He allows these things for His own purpose. The things we are going through are either making us sweeter, better, and nobler men and women, or they are making us more critical and fault-finding, and more insistent on our own way. The things that happen either make us evil, or they make us more saintly, depending entirely on our relationship with God and its level of intimacy."

No one likes to have their world rocked, much less destroyed. And it takes a special kind of courage -- the kind only the Holy Spirit can give -- to look up when the world is crashing down. Yet, God's promised faithfulness is real, even when, especially when, we are crawling through those teeth-gritting, mind-numbing circumstances that threaten to destroy us.

What a promise! What a God! What a Savior!

Travel light: Blaming God

“Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara,” she answered, “for the Almighty has made me very bitter.” Ruth 1:20, HCSB

Sometimes life is hard. Naomi knew this. She had been forced to leave her homeland or face starvation. Her husband died soon after moving to their new home; her sons, whose names mean “sickly,” also died after several years of poor health. Now she had two widowed “foreign women,” in addition to herself, for whom she was responsible.

It’s no surprise she felt bitter and angry at God as she returned to Judah. Her difficulties may have been etched in her hair, her face and her stature. “Can this be Naomi?” the women of Judah exclaimed. Trouble had aged her.

“Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara,” Naomi answered, “for the Almighty has made me very bitter.” Rather than put on a happy face and spew spiritual platitudes, Naomi was honest about her struggles. She blamed God.

Yet still, her daughter-in-law Ruth proclaimed, “Your God will be my God.”

Why?

Ruth’s god, the god of the Moabites, was called “Chemosh” whose name means, “to subdue.” He was a god who crushed. By choosing to follow Yahweh, though, Ruth was not necessarily looking for a “quick fix” to her problems. Naomi had been suffering for more than 10 years, but based on Naomi's example, Ruth was willing to abandon the god she had known all her life to follow Yahweh. Through Naomi’s struggle, Ruth saw a personal, authentic faith — a faith that questioned but also one that surrendered. 

Can we be transparent with our struggles and still set an example of faith for others? 

The biblical record seems to offer a resounding YES! In addition to Naomi, consider the stories of Job and John the Baptist. Job spent 39 chapters of a 42-chapter book hurling questions at God in anger and frustration and listening to the pat answers and theologically accepted explanations of his friends. But, when all was said and done, God said to Eliphaz, “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has” (Job 42:7, HCSB).

In prison, John the Baptist expressed doubts about Jesus. He sent a message asking, “Are You the One who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” Jesus told John’s disciples to report to him all that they had seen. Then, to the crowd Jesus said of John, “Among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared.” (See Matthew 11:1-11).

God is not offended by our questions. He welcomes the opportunity to grow our faith when we honestly question Him from a position of surrender. 

“Why?” we may ask in one breath, while whispering in the next, “Your will be done.”  

Of course, God may not answer our “whys” in this lifetime. We may have to wait until heaven to understand the reasons behind some of our challenges. In the meantime, though, be assured of this: God responds with compassion to an honest, questioning heart that is reaching out to Him.

This week’s reading: Judges 8-21, Ruth 1-4, 1 Samuel 1-3
Post #14: Discovering how to live missionally through a chronological reading of God’s Word.

#travellight

Travel light: Freaking out

“When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God carried by the Levitical priests, you must break camp and follow it. But keep a distance of about 1,000 yards between yourselves and the ark. Don’t go near it, so that you can see the way to go, for you haven’t traveled this way before.” 

Joshua 3:3-4, HCSB

When is the last time you found yourself in a new place? Maybe it was a move to a new neighborhood in your city. Maybe it was a move to a new state or even a new country. In a new place we often have to learn the quickest route to the office, the best grocery store and the nearest elementary school. For some, moving to a new place may mean learning how to pay the electric bill, figuring out the resident visa requirements and studying the local language.

But maybe your move wasn’t a physical one. Maybe your move was a lifestyle change: Your youngest child moved off to college. You retired or started a new job. Your spouse died — or walked out. 

Is your new place causing you to freak?

Like spinning in a circle blindfolded, life changes can cause us to feel off-balance and out of control. We may feel confused and disoriented, as if our head might explode. We might be freaking out.

After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, the Israelites prepared to cross the Jordan River and move into God’s Promised Land. They were moving into a new place, fraught with promise but also with uncertainty. As they prepared for the move, Joshua gave them wise advice: Position yourselves so you can see the Ark of the Covenant — the place where God’s presence dwells. Otherwise, you might become disoriented; you haven't traveled this way before.

Like the Israelites, the best way to survive the uncertainty of change is to position ourselves to see God. The path you’re on may be new and unfamiliar to you, but He is with you. He will guide you. 

Travel light, and follow Him.


#travellight



This week's reading: Deuteronomy 24-34, Psalm 91 and Joshua 1-11.
Post #12: Discovering how to live missionally through a chronological reading of God's Word.

Travel light: Isis, Ebola & Earthquakes, OH MY!

“Lord, You have been our refuge in every generation … from eternity to eternity, You are God.” Psalm 90:1-2

isis ebola earthquakes unemployment cancer uncertainty fear death

The struggles of our lives run through our minds like a ticker tape.

first child first step first home young family promotions teenagers graduations weddings grandchildren

Frail humans that we are, we walk a fine line between unspeakable joy and utter despair.

Trusting God. Fearing God. Failing God. Trusting God again.

We aren’t much different from the ancient Israelites, who trusted God to lead them out of slavery in Egypt and experienced His presence and power in incredible ways.  Then when times got hard, they complained about everything — the food, the water, the living conditions. Their faith turned to fear at the first challenge. 

Yes, God grew tired of their whining.  Yes, their cravings destroyed at least some of them. The stories in Numbers 11 are proof of that.

I am no different. I know God gets tired of my whining. I know my cravings threaten to destroy me. I know my faith often turns to fear at the first challenge. I am such a wuss. 

But God never gave up on the Israelites, and He doesn’t give up on me.

Why? Not because of our faithfulness, but because of His faithful love (see Numbers 14:11-19).

The Psalmist says God's faithful love satisfies us. His sacrifice saves us. His mercy supports us. His grace covers us. His Spirit stabilizes us — “in every generation."

“From eternity to eternity, You are God.”

In the schizophrenic chaos of our lives, in moments of unspeakable joy and through every adversity along the way, the promise of a Savior is all we need — One who died to save us, lives as testimony of God's awesome power over sin and death and sent His Spirit to finish the work He started in us for His glory.

All of this happened so that we, in all gratitude and all humility, from generation to generation, may give Him all the glory by making Him known among those who have never heard this good news.

Don't miss this: God saved us so that we can make Him known. We live to make Him known. This is "the work of our hands" (Psalm 90:17, HCSB), the most important work we do, the reason God gives us breath.

So this is my prayer: "Let Your work be seen by Your servants, and Your splendor by their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us; establish the work of our hands —establish the work of our hands!" (Psalm 90:16-17, HCSB). 

This week's reading: Numbers 7-22, Psalm 90

Post #9: Discovering how to live missionally through a chronological reading of God’s Word.

#travellight

Travel Light: Two things to remember when adversity comes

“Job’s wife said to him, ‘Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!’ ‘You speak as a foolish woman speaks,’ Job told her. ‘Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?’ Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said.” 

Job 2:9-10

Early in the journey, almost from the very beginning, we realize that life may not go as we expect. Job’s story is one of Scripture’s oldest. From the very beginning, it raises the questions: How will we respond to adversity? How will we live our faith when those closest to us encourage us to curse God and die? When the worst happens — the death of a child, a serious illness or a significant distraction — how will we respond? Job’s story emphasizes two reactions:

Job did not lose faith in God. “Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?” he asked. Through all his trials, the Bible records, Job did not sin “in what he said.” He did not lose faith in God.

Job questioned himself. “Teach me and I will be silent,” Job 6:24 records. “Help me understand what I did wrong.” While Job didn't lose faith in God, he wasn't so sure he could trust himself. Had he sinned? Were all of the struggles he was experiencing his fault?

When we encounter adversity or failure on the journey to make Jesus known, the temptation is to try to figure out where we messed up. “I moved too quickly.” “I shared Jesus too soon.” “I misunderstood the cultural cues.”

Sometimes our failures and adversities are not necessarily our fault. Remember, Satan wanted to test Job not because of Job’s mistakes, but because of his faithfulness. In the same way, failure and adversity may be Satan's response to our faithfulness to make Jesus known.

Consider this: the gates of hell, described by Jesus in Matthew 16:18, are stationary. They do not move. We rarely experience spiritual opposition when we are doing nothing. However, when we are making Jesus known, spiritual opposition increases as we approach the “gates of hell” and encroach on enemy territory with the Good News of Christ. 

So, as you begin the journey, expect adversity but do not be overcome by it. Remember, the testing of your faith builds the endurance you will need to take the Gospel to the darkest places on the planet. 

Get ready for the workout. 

This week's reading: Job 17-39

Post #2: Discovering how to live missionally through a chronological reading of God’s Word. 

#travellight