I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord. Psalm 40:1-3
In 1995 I had a grand mal seizure and was put on seizure medication without a thorough investigation of the circumstances. We would learn later that I did not need it. Problematically, if you take seizure medication and don’t need it, it can cause seizures. Consequently, for the next nine years I endured petit mals or absence seizures. The first one occurred after my wife and I returned home from a dance. While we were talking with our children, Marie noticed that my expression changed to a vacant stare. In order to avoid alarming our children she moved close to me, took my hand, lead me to our bedroom and had me sit down. In a few moments I returned to normal function. Through experimentation and discussion, we learned that while I could not initiate movement or speech, I could be led by others and I could nod faintly in response to yes or no questions. However, for the most part I was immobilized and temporarily stuck in a very confining world. As I think about those seizures, I’m reminded of times when I’ve been stuck in life. Usually, I’m immobilized by one of three things: fear, fatigue or indecision. Can you relate?
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power.”Isaiah 40:28-29
Tasks that I wanted to complete yesterday, or at least start in a substantial way, got transferred to today as I just couldn’t function anymore. Acknowledging my weakness, I went to bed in an attempt to get rested and start early today. That didn’t happen either as my body demanded more rest than I had allotted time for. Needless to say, I have felt that I was behind and thoroughly depleted all day. Strength is one of those things that we take for granted when we have it, but causes great frustration when it’s lacking. However it’s not just physical strength…sometimes we need the strength meet a need or change a habit or maybe we need the spiritual strength to live the life to which God has called us. Whether we are trying to live a life that honors our Lord, overcome a challenge in our life, or just get through the day, strength is often a pivotal factor that determines how successful we are.
“If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence. If I should say, ‘My foot has slipped,’ Your lovingkindness, O Lord, will hold me up. When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul.”Psalm 94:17-19
I was preparing to go to yet another funeral this morning and was looking for peace within my own heart. In this case, it was not a close friend, but rather the husband of someone I admire and have great affection for. His widow is a dear soul and a godly woman who has been so kind to me that I ache for her. We also have various connections with some of her children through church and business dealings. In fact, her son is one of the morticians that helped with both of my parents’ funerals. In short they are a family that I have great respect for as they regularly exhibit both kindness and integrity. With that on my mind as I spent time with God this morning, He brought Psalm 94 to me…or more specifically, verse 19 and reminded me that this is one of those times to trust Him to be all that we need. While the context of the psalm speaks to “evil doers”, the basic message still applies to all of our circumstances. Consider each verse carefully.
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”Romans 15:13
Christmastime in our culture can be a tough time of year. As Christians, we struggle with those who miss the whole point of the celebration because they do not believe in Christ. Beyond that, there can be many hurdles to our joy shining through in this season. The holiday schedule can get hectic which often leads to stress. For those of us with illness, we often have enough trouble managing our heath without the additional burden of the social obligations that can exacerbate our symptoms in various ways. For some, it will be the first Christmas without a loved one…or a few. Others may have learned that this may be the last Christmas that they celebrate with a loved one as disease advances. The opportunities for Satan to jump in and help us lose our joy are varied and endless, but if we are truly going to celebrate and maintain our joy, we need to intentionally focus on why we are celebrating…the incarnation of Christ. This declaration of love bestowed upon us that brings us both joy and hope now and for eternity is the single source of our reason to celebrate. We celebrate because He came, He rules and He is righteous.
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.Ephesians 1:18-19
As I sit down to write, I am anticipating cataract surgery for my right eye in the morning. Lord willing, by the time this is posted I will have had successful surgery and will be healing. I went through this process a few months ago with my left eye. It healed well and my vision in that eye is much better. I hope to have the same result this time. While I look forward to the outcome, I do not look forward to the process. As surgeries go, this isn’t too bad. However, the annoyance of the intended injury that will need to heal, the irritation during the healing process and the restrictions to my lifestyle are slightly frustrating. While experience is somewhat painful and tiring, the benefit of visual clarity will certainly worth the inconvenience. As I look back over my life, I find that the same is true with my soul.
Continue Reading »
Questions, doubts, and struggles are not the antithesis of faith. The opposite of faith is a decision to not trust God. The man who cried out to Jesus, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief’ did not demonstrate faith with zero doubts but a willful decision to trust in God even in the midst of questions and doubts.
John Burke No Perfect People Allowed
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), 57
“God, like a father, doesn’t just give advice. He gives himself. He becomes the husband to the grieving widow (Isaiah 54:5). He becomes the comforter to the barren woman (Isaiah 54:1). He becomes the father of the orphaned (Psalm 10:14). He becomes the bridegroom to the single person (Isaiah 62:5). He is the healer to the sick (Exodus 15:26). He is the wonderful counselor to the confused and depressed (Isaiah 9:6). This is what you do when someone you love is in anguish; you respond to the plea of their heart by giving them your heart. If”
Joni Eareckson Tada When God Weeps: Why Our Sufferings Matter to the Almighty
(Zondervan, 1997)
The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; the world and all it contains, You have founded them.Psalm 89:11
I spent most of the last two days driving. It’s not something I do easily, but God was gracious in providing the needed strength and endurance. Knowing that I would be traveling and my time would be limited, I was considering what I would write about this week. As I drove, the song “I am Yours” started playing. It echoed the quote from Charles Spurgeon that I shared earlier in the week and is shown at the top of this post. The common theme was not lost on me. Given the calamity due to hurricanes, earth quakes, threats of war, prayer requests, etc., it seemed appropriate to consider the concept that we belong to God and what that means.
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” John 14:27
Life has a way of giving us unexpected events. Some are pleasant, some are trying and some can be terrifying. My wife and I have had a few of them lately and we had another one of those yesterday. Rather than the writing and the housekeeping that I intended to do, I spent the day in the Emergency Room with my older daughter who was in pain. The most obvious possibility of appendicitis was ruled out, so more tests which all came back negative. After roughly six hours, we left not knowing the origin of the pain. We knew several things that it wasn’t, but had no plan of action to relieve the symptoms or better, cure the problem. While the time spent yesterday was wearing, I can honestly say that I was not anxious. I was concerned as any good father would be, but I was not anxious. To some extent, I have learned not to let the “what if” scenarios rule my mind. However, and more importantly, I have learned that God is in control and He will see me through every situation as He always has. I have learned the truth and have matured enough in my faith to understand that I need to battle fear with trust in my Savior. While I haven’t perfected the skill, I am gaining strength and ability in that endeavor. John 14:27 gives a concise argument for putting our fears to rest.
“Peace I leave you.” It’s a gift with no strings attached. All we have to do is trust in our Savior and give our heart to Him. It’s always available when we need it and inexhaustible. Part of our sanctification process is learning to trust it and apply it as necessary, but it is always there for us. We can’t earn it, we don’t get extra, we don’t store it up, we just go to the source when we need it and apply it to the need at hand.
“My peace I give to you.” As I said, we know the source…it is God…God the Father, Christ and the Holy Spirit working on our behalf to give us peace through the Son. 1 Corinthians 8:6 and Romans 11:33-36 remind us that everything in existence is from God, sustained by God and belongs to God. Psalm 86 adds to the picture. Verse seven reminds that when we call on Him “in the day of trouble” He will answer. Further verse 10 says: “For You are great and do wondrous deeds; You alone are God.” God cares for us, He is able, everything in heaven and earth is available to Him and He will provide the peace that He promises. He is in complete control of every situation in our lives.
“Not as the world gives do I give to you.” I fear that too often, this is the primary stumbling block to true peace within our souls. Instead of looking to what our savior offers, we look to what the world offers. God has given us many pleasant things on this earth that seem to provide a sense of tranquility. We have beautiful scenery and beautiful weather that can calm our souls. Most of us in the first world don’t have to be concerned with having food, clothing or shelter. Consequently we feel secure as all of these things provide some amount of tranquility and a sense of control. However, they can be removed in an instant. The stories of Job and Joseph are two great examples of how trials can come out of nowhere. Landscapes change with natural disasters, jobs end abruptly, the pleasure of food only lasts until we are hungry again, accidents as well as illness take loved ones from us and immediately our sense of peace and tranquility vanishes and we must readily admit that we are not self-sufficient as God is. Yet our faithful God is always at hand offering peace that is inexplicable in those trying moments (Philippians 4:7). It is peace that we not only enjoy when life is going well, but peace that stays with us in those stressful and terrifying moments of life. In short, the world offers a temporary and conditional peace while God offers us peace that is constant and unconditionally offered. It is peace that we can count on in every circumstance of our lives.
“Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” This is the choice. We can allow ourselves to look at the problem worrying, fretting and concerned with the lack of control or we can look to the peace that Christ offers knowing that our God is in control, loves us and is working for our good in all circumstances allowing His peace to provide divine calm in the midst of trials. It is a form of self-control that grows with maturity. At first it can be difficult, but the more we trust God and look for His hand at work in every situation, we more readily rely on Him for the peace and strength to be content in every circumstance of life. At the end of the matter, not only are we more at rest, but we also recognize God’s greatness and turn our thankfulness into worship to glorify our God as David did in Psalm 86.
As I left the hospital yesterday I was concerned for my daughter’s wellbeing. The scary “what ifs” kept trying to creep into my mind and take control. Yet God was at work before the situation arose. The previous night I had started exploring topics write about this week. I had settled on peace and had a few scriptures in my mind. Consequently, when fear tried to creep in, God had already set up the defenses and I was able to remain calm and peaceful remembering to choose His peace over worry. This morning I received a call from my daughter. She had seen her physician and the source of pain was a tear in an abdominal muscle. It will heal in time. There is no need for surgery and no lurking disease and certainly no need for fear as God is in control just as He always is. He was in control just as He has been with broken ankles, major illness, the care and death of parents, and job losses, etc. God has been in control of every event of our lives and His peace has been available as well, but it has been up to us to His consolation.
When we accept God’s gracious gift, we have the ability to patiently endure our circumstances and receive His consoling encouragement for our souls. Whatever you are facing today, turn to Christ and accept His peace. It is a gift, it is certain, it is lasting and it is lovingly offered.
May the lovingkindness of the Lord to lift you up and His consolations delight your soul driving out your anxious thoughts.
