And Yet

These are just the beginning of all that he does,
    merely a whisper of his power.
    Who, then, can comprehend the thunder of his power? Job 26:14 (NLT)

This morning I was reminded in a You Version Bible Plan of this line from C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series.

“Of course, He [Aslan] isn’t safe. But he is good.”

That made me really happy. I get excited when I remember that God isn’t safe. And it comforts me to know he is good. And then I realized there were a few other things about God that made me feel excited about who he was yet strangely comforted at the same time.

God, You are stable. Yet not predictable.
You bring security. Yet not always safety.
You are meek and gentle. Yet powerful and fierce.
You offer amazing grace. Yet you let us face our consequences no matter how painful.
You hold firm to your plan. Yet you delay so more can be saved.
You rule the universe with just a word…a nod even. Yet you make yourself small so we can recognize you.
You know the number of hairs on my head. Yet the vastness that surrounds you is mind boggling.
You know everything from the beginning to the end. Yet you want us to come share our day.
You always hear me. Yet you don’t always answer my questions.

Today Lord, I bow here before you unable to comprehend fully who you are but so thankful I get to see but a glimpse. That glimpse sustains me. Amen

Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
    No one can measure his greatness. Psalm 145:3

When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
    the moon and the stars you set in place—
what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
    human beings that you should care for them? Psalm 8:3-4

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:20

Three in One

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14 (NIV)

Lately I’ve been spending time with someone who wants to know Jesus more (via ZOOM, of course). We’ve been talking through questions he has. This past week one of the questions was about the Trinity; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

A lot of us have “grown up” with this concept but have you ever tried to explain it to someone who is just hearing it for the first time? One woman I was sharing this with was raised practicing Hinduism. She grasped the concept of multiple Gods but didn’t quite grasp the “One God” concept right away. Another person was raised in Islam. This concept was really hard for him.

As I was praying, an idea popped into my head. Now, I am not a theologian but this really seemed to help me get my arms around how to explain it.

Imagine you were suddenly standing before God. What would you do? My first inclination would be to drop to my knees or my stomach or crouch into a ball. To get as low as I possibly could in deference to the power that was before me. I would want to pay homage and show that I, in awe, understood who this was.

Imagine now that you were standing before Jesus. What would you do? In my mind I would sit at his feet with my head on his knee and talk to him and share with him as he stroked my hair or I would sit next to him leaning in, sharing my heart and listening for his.

And finally, imagine you were encountering the Holy Spirit. What would be your posture? I imagine myself standing on a mountain with beautiful vistas surrounding me with my arms wide open taking in deep breaths of the beauty that encompassed me.

Before each one the posture is different. Before each one the access is different. But with all of them, there are many things in common. There is a peace in my soul; there is reverence and awe. There is a mind blowing feeling of acceptance and a deep down understanding that this is truth. There is no fear. There is only a love that I cannot truly comprehend but it satisfies my soul.

As I said, I am not a theologian but to me, this is in a non-theologian way to understand the Godhead. You may imagine this differently. What are your thoughts?

A Minute In It - The Servant's Role

A minute in God’s Word will change your life. Take a moment to read the text below and then answer the questions at the bottom of the post.

7 “Suppose one of you has a servant who is plowing or looking after the sheep. When he comes in from the field, do you tell him to hurry along and eat his meal? 8 Of course not! Instead, you say to him, ‘Get my supper ready, then put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may have your meal.’ 9 The servant does not deserve thanks for obeying orders, does he? 10 It is the same with you; when you have done all you have been told to do, say, ‘We are ordinary servants; we have only done our duty.’” Luke 17:7-10 (GNT)

Can you summarize this passage in your own words?

What stood out to you in this passage?

Who are you in the story?

What is your reaction to this story?

What is God trying to tell you?

How are you going to obey?

Bringing My A-Game

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men. Colossians 3:23 (ESV)

I have a couple of “projects” on my plate. I reference them like that because some of it is work related, one of the things is something God put on my heart a long time ago and some of it is ministry related. It feels like some days…okay a lot of days….that I keep working and working at this stuff and it is stuck. Nothing happens to move it forward. Honestly, some days it feels like I am walking backwards!

One day as I was praying I said to God “If this isn’t going to work, if it’s not going to move forward and we are just going to stay stuck here, why am I even working on this?”

And into my brain flashed the Bible text “Whatsoever you do, do it with all your might.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10) That was quickly followed by “Even if you don’t think it is going to be successful.”

I had to ponder that for a minute. In our worldly perception, you don’t work on something if it doesn’t look like you are going to succeed. You keep working until you can see if it is going to be successful or not and if not, you stop. We are taught that everything has to be successful based on what we see happening.

But I think God defines success differently.

As I continued to reflect on this, I started thinking about what happens to us as we continue to put all of our might into something that may or may not work. First, we develop this incredible work ethic. It’s hard to get up every day and work at something you are unsure will pan out. We also begin to fine-tune the processes and learn to be satisfied with the work accomplished today and leave tomorrow in God’s hands. We demonstrate faithfulness in small things. We grow in perseverance, character and hope. All of this refining is happening while we are continuing to do our best when we want to give up.

But there is more. The other thing that changes is the perceptions of those around us. As the people in our world watch us continue to do our very best, they see Jesus reflected in our behaviors. As we don’t take shortcuts to make it easier, as we don’t hurt others to grow our bottom line, as we wait patiently for God to move, those things leave impressions about the God we serve. The changes in us and the perceptions of others are immeasurable.

Do I like feeling stuck? Nope. Do I wish things would break loose and move forward? Yep. But for now God is saying “It’s not time yet.” So for today, I will continue to bring my A-game to this day. I will continue to keep working at the last things God gave me to do. In the end, when it all unfolds, he will be glorified.

Missing Miracles

Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? Luke 7:44 (ESV)

Lately, things feel a little upside down don’t they? There are all these things we are adjusting to that people are calling the new normal. And, given the day the requirements are different. We are all just trying to make it work - figure out how to manage life with the new expectations. Layer on top of that the fact that in trying to respect different people’s comfort levels, it can get very distracting.

I was in this state. I was distracted with how to handle my new normal. I was distracted with handling various work situations and how to still connect for different ministries. I was so distracted that I was hyper focused on the problems I was having and not the miracles that Jesus is doing around me.

Sad. But true.

You see, in the midst of the mess, Jesus is still working. He is still speaking to hearts; he is still working things out; he is still comforting and convicting. He is still talking. PRAISE!

One of the things I miss when I hyper focus is people. During this time when everyone is figuring it out, God is putting people in my path. People to talk to. People to help. People to pray with. I think maybe I am missing the miracles in these moments.

Maybe he is saying to me, like he said to Simon "Elaine, do you see this woman?” Or maybe “Elaine, the man on the other end of the phone, do you hear his heart? Are you listening to him truly or are you missing it because you are looking at the wrong things?”

That’s what happened to Simon. He completely missed what was happening inside her heart because he was only looking at what he saw on the outside. But Jesus didn’t. Jesus never does. He always sees the heart.

I want to be like Jesus. I want the circumstances that swirl around my life to melt into the background so I see the hearts he puts in my life. I want to live his heart no matter what is happening in the mess.

Dear Jesus, I cannot do this alone…..only with the help of the Holy Spirit and daily surrender will I be changed. Please help me. Make a miracle in me. Amen

When I Am Afraid (or Uncomfortable)

When I get really afraid I come to you in trust. Psalm 56:3 (MSG)

The last few days I’ve had this knot in my stomach. You know, the knot that just sits there and if you even think for just a second about why it’s there, it grows so your entire body feels like a spring about ready to snap. That’s where my state of mind has been if I even pause for a second to think.

It’s not COVID that is making me feel this way. It’s another person. I found out that someone I care about has been doing something hurtful to me and others. And, I need to address it. And…I don’t want to.

There are a host of reasons I don’t want to but I assume they are the same reasons we use whenever we don’t want to do something. When we see an injustice and we need to confront it. When we need to establish boundaries in our life. When we have to make a decision to stand up for what is right when it’s really, really messy. When God calls us to do something and we can think of a host of reason why this isn’t going to work.

Being afraid isn’t always about fear for your physical self. Sometimes, it is just the fear of facing the uncomfortable. It is uncomfortable to tell someone what they are doing is harmful. It’s even more uncomfortable when you know (from past conversations) that they are not going to listen and you’ll have to take further action. All of this puts a knot in your stomach the size of Texas. Especially when you care about them.

This is where I’ve been sitting for a few days. And it’s made me drop to my knees. It’s made me plead with God for wisdom, peace and his love in my heart. It’s made me ask him why. Why would you allow this? Why did you put this person in my life? You knew this would happen. Why don’t they care?

As I’ve knelt there with all the questions circling in my head, I have been reminded of a few things.

1. God did know this from the beginning and he has a plan.

2. In all situations if I follow his lead, his name will be glorified. That is the most important thing.

3. I may not see all the reasons for everything now, but one day….maybe on the other side….I will understand. The most important thing right now is to keep walking.

4. I trust Him. I trust that he is walking this with me. I trust that he will breathe wisdom, courage, peace and most importantly his heart into this situation.

I still don’t like it. I wish I didn’t have to do this. But God is in it with me…..he promises….and I believe him.

Faith over Fear

For God has said, “I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.” Let us be bold, then, and say,

“The Lord is my helper,
    I will not be afraid.
What can anyone do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6 (GNT)

Yesterday was a hard COVID day. Someone we love very much was exposed to the virus. We are praying. Someone we love very much has a relative that has the virus and is in critical condition. We are praying. We know lots of people that are not working and are so unsure of what’s next. We are praying. We know people on the front lines working to help those in need. They are overwhelmed and exhausted. We are praying. We know people whose businesses are in real trouble. We are praying.

As I lay in bed this morning, I pondered all this. And slowly, slowly a fear began to grip my heart. There are so many people that need help. So many people that are facing unimaginable things. Lord, where are you? Why don’t you stop this? And as I went down this path, the fear began to grow into a knot in my stomach.

And the thought popped into my head “What do you put your trust in?”

And I remembered. I remembered that I put my trust in a God that will never leave me or forsake me. I remembered where my help comes from. (Psalm 121) I remembered that who I believe in can’t always be seen (Hebrews 11:1). I remembered that God is with us wherever we go. (Joshua 1:9) I remembered that when we walk through the waters, we will not be overcome. (Isaiah 41)

As I remembered, the knot in my stomach and the fear in my heart began to dissipate. I felt a peace. I know who holds the future. I trust him. I trust that he loves us. I will not be afraid.

At least for today….tomorrow I may need to remember again. And that’s OK.

Help Wanted

He said to them, “There is a large harvest, but few workers to gather it in. Pray to the owner of the harvest that he will send out workers to gather in his harvest. Luke 10:2 (GNT)

The other day I was on a ZOOM call with someone sharing Jesus. As we talked, questions were asked and answered, stories shared and Jesus became a little more known. PRAISE! At the end of the conversation, my friend thanked me and said that our conversations were changing his life. This made me really uncomfortable because it wasn’t our conversations, it was the Holy Spirit. I shared that with him.

As I thought back over that moment a few days later, I realized something. If I had not said yes to this “job”, someone else would have. God has openings all over the place waiting for people to fill. And there are people willing to fill them.

This “job” of sharing Jesus can be filled by anyone. The job description would look something like this:

Required:
Love Jesus
Love People
Be willing

Skill set:
Able to pray for direction and whenever you come across something you don’t know (which is always)
Spend time reading the Word. When unsure of where to find a text, able to Google Bible texts to share
Willing to spend time with others (whether in person or via Zoom depending on the circumstances)
Understand your job. Your job is to share. The Holy Spirit’s job is to do everything else.

God has openings everywhere. In every neighborhood, every workplace, every family there are “Help Wanted” signs. When life gets harder, more signs are posted because more people need comfort.

Do you want to hear something really cool? I believe the more inexperienced you are, the more you get to see Jesus move. When we are more dependent on Jesus, the Holy Spirit fills in where we can’t. It is a life altering experience to watch. This is definitely the most exciting “job” I’ve ever had.