Category Archives: Safety

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Listen (Part 3) – Reassurance

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But he who listens to me shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil. Proverbs 1:33

Reassurance is the act of removing doubts and fears.  Most people like reassurances.  It comes in many forms.  At times it’s the emotional reassurance of having a close relative or friend who walks with us in difficult times.  It may be a legal document that spells out our rights or claims to anyone who needs to know.  Another example is a simple receipt that we hang on to as proof of sale.  All of these and many more offer some form of comfort that allow us to live, work, own, or exchange without fear of being harmed or cheated.  However, when it comes to true reassurance, we look to our Sovereign Lord who is the ultimate authority in all matters of faith and life.

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Let Go

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Let Go: When I don't understand why, I trust Him because...God is enough.

Cease striving and know that I am God.  Psalm 46:10a

Despite my chronic illness, I would be considered by many to still be high functioning and unless one knows me, they would be unlikely to recognize my limitations.  I have learned over time that when I yield to the needs of my body for rest and watch what I eat, I can function somewhat normally; that said I still struggle.   It’s a challenge not to worry about the cost of my illness both financially and as a source of stress to myself, my family and close friends.  I also struggle to maintain some sense of control; if I can’t fix my illness than I try to fix other things that don’t matter in the larger scale as they provide some sense of reassurance that things are ok.  I also struggle with my self-image.  Physically I want to appear normal yet not so normal that people think I’m a hypochondriac.  It’s a common struggle for those of us with invisible illnesses.  Further, I want to be relevant and useful, but feel that is regularly not the case.  The verse above is displayed in our den right beside our TV.  I’ve put it there for two reasons.  First it is the primary focal point of the room and my focal point needs to be God’s sovereignty over all things.  Second, it sits next to the TV as a reminder that God is the final authority on whatever the world offers as truth.  Part of that truth is that I need to let go and trust God. 

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Looking to Heaven

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Sunrise over the ocean with Philippians 3:20 superimposed

But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.2 Peter 3:13

At the top of the back wall of our church’s sanctuary is a small window.  For me, one of the joys of singing in our choir was looking through that window to the sky and imagining that we were singing straight to the throne of God.   It always encouraged my soul and gave new energy to my singing.  Sadly, the addition of a balcony required blinds on that window.  That imagery is now but a fond memory.  Often it seems that the daily events of our lives and the concerns that we bear are like that blind and prevent us from contemplating and looking forward to heaven.  However, it is helpful to pause every now and then to evaluate our focus.  In that light, consider the following.

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Trouble, Anguish and Understanding Pt. 2

Trouble Without

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WE CAN BE CERTAIN THAT GOD WILL GIVE US THE STRENGTH AND RESOURCES WE NEED TO LIVE THROUGH ANY SITUATION IN LIFE THAT HE ORDAINS. THE WILL OF GOD WILL NEVER TAKE US WHERE THE GRACE OF GOD CANNOT SUSTAIN US. BILLY GRAHAM

“Trouble and anguish have come upon me, yet Your commandments are my delight. Your testimonies are righteous forever; give me understanding that I may live.” Psalm 119:143-144

Trouble…it seems like a simple enough word to understand.   However, when looking at definitions from secular sources, those provided were vague and had more to do with how trouble affects our comfort level or convenience rather than anything significant.  In contrast, “Vine’s Bible Dictionary” states it clearly as:  tribulation or affliction.  Trouble comes in many forms.  At times it is the result of a personal attack while at other times it is and “random”/general attack that we’re caught in.  It may be an external threat or an internal one such as mental or physical illness.  The point is that, as those living in a fallen world, we are going to experience trouble throughout our lives from the trivial to the monumental.  We will enjoy a more peaceful existence if we learn to view it as God does and trust that He is ever faithful to care for us.  One of the mental hurdles for us is that from our perspective, God’s care for us appears to be inconsistent.

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Control seems preferable to what we typically think of as its opposite–chaos. But I want to suggest that the opposite of control is not chaos. It is trust, and trust is far preferable to control. We want to control because we fear the outcome of letting God be in control. We fear we won’t be taken care of, won’t have what we need, or will be taken advantage of. But trying to be in control is futile, because in reality there is very little that we can control.

Dave Samples
www.goodreads.com
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The Hope of Christmas

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Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.  Proverbs 13:12

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.  Proverbs 13:12

Have you ever felt hopeless?  As the passage above says, hopelessness makes the heart sick and the world becomes a very dark place.  When I first became ill, that was very true in my life.  The pain I was enduring was relentless and creating a sense of fear and dread in our family.  The anxiety and uncertainty that it produced were intolerable.  If that wasn’t enough, I couldn’t reconcile God’s love with my illness.  I certainly didn’t see how any part of it could be working to my good, or to God’s glory.  Further, the Christians in my life at the time focused on my physical wellbeing, but never asked about my soul and did not attempt to present God’s spiritual truths that might apply.  As a result, I greatly desired my death.  Honestly, I desired it more for my wife and children than for myself.  As much as I wanted the pain and frustration to stop, I was most concerned about the damage that my illness and my inability to handle it were doing to them.  Daily I begged God to end my life.  In short, I was hopeless and my hopelessness was creating an adverse atmosphere in our home.  Thankfully it did not end there.  Eventually I learned to manage my illness somewhat, we became part of a church body that sought God’s will in all things and surrounded us with those who encouraged us in our faith, and the passage of time gave me the confidence that I could make peace with my circumstances.  However, the greatest change came when the word of God and the impact of Christians seeking to encourage me on a spiritual level invaded my illness and helped me to see that God had purpose in my pain and that it truly would work for my good and, more importantly, for the glory of God.  While I still struggle with the frustrations that come with living in a fallen world, it is the contrast between those dark days and the change that came with truth of scripture and the promises of God that keeps me going, points me to God and gives me hope.  One of the things that we celebrate as a part of the Christmas season is the hope that we have…hope in our God, hope in the salvation the Christ provides, and the hope of eternity.

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Misdirection

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Let your eyes look directly ahead and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.  Watch the path of your feet and all your ways will be established.  Do not turn to the right nor to the left; turn your foot from evil.  Proverbs 4:25-27

I’ve been on the road the last couple of days.  While I basically know my route, I haven’t driven it enough nor have I driven the area my mother-in-law lives in often enough to navigate without a bit of effort.  Heading home, I needed to take route 95 south to the toll road.  The last time I left, I went north to toward the beach instead of south toward our home.  This time I had a series of wrong turns that cost me some time and took me into the heart of Boston which is not a particularly easy drive.  Even though I knew where to go, in the moment that I should have turned, I only saw half of the signage that reported the northern part of the route and chose not to turn as I didn’t want to repeat my last mistake.  I wasn’t terribly worried as the next road would take me to route 1 south which was the reverse of how I had come on the trip north.  What I didn’t know was that getting from route 1 south to 95 south was not as easy as going north.  Consequently, I missed another opportunity to take the correct path.  I had another chance to get back on track, but because I was totally ignorant of the path, the signage and the lane changes, I missed it as well despite using GPS.  Finally, by following the instructions that GPS was providing and being able to see on the map what I was to do, I got back on track.  I lost about 45 minutes in time, but I was finally where I needed to be.  As I reflected on my errors, I couldn’t help but see the parallel in our spiritual lives.

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