Solid and Permanent

I’m blessed to live in a province that’s home to some of the most awe inspiring natural vistas in the world.  The Rocky Mountains.  Spiked grey crags and snow-capped peaks blaze stark and bright against a cloudless blue sky.

I gaze in wonder.  These are my friends.  Their familiar shapes welcome me.  Visit after visit, year after year they don’t disappoint.  They don’t change, they’re always there, ready to amaze and inspire, beckoning me closer to God, the Creator.

I wonder if the psalmist who wrote psalm 121 felt the same way about mountains.  He starts out by saying,

“I look up to the mountains – does my help come from there?  My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!”

I look at the mountains and I can’t help but think of God.  His handy work is everywhere. 

In the brush strokes of wild flowers blooming in a mountain meadow.

In the roar of a cascading waterfall.

In the stillness of an emerald lake

In the majestic permanence of rock

In the whimsical flip of chipmunk's tail

 

In the liquid brown gentleness of an elk’s gaze.

 

I could go on, but I think you get the point.  God is everywhere.  And in the midst of it all, God is with you, watching over you.  Read Psalm 121…

“I look up to the mountains – does my help come from there?  My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!

He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber.  Indeed, He who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.

The Lord Himself watches over you!  The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.  The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night.

The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.  The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.”

Psalm 121 (NLT)

What an awesome thought!  Even more impressive than the mountains is God, Himself; watching over you.  Caring for you in your time of stress, of illness, of financial difficulty - whatever your trouble, God watches over you.

You can sleep soundly, knowing God doesn’t rest.  He’s always there, solid and permanent.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

What are you worried about today?  Trust God to watch over you.

Share your thoughts by clicking on “comments” below.

Knowing God's Presence

“The cloud covered the Tabernacle and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle…The cloud of the Lord hovered over the Tabernacle during the day, and at night fire glowed inside the cloud so the whole family of Israel could see it.  This continued throughout all their journeys.”  Exodus 40:34-38 (NLT)

What would it be like to wake up in the morning, yawn, stretch, scratch, and look out the window to see physical proof of God’s presence hovering over your place of worship?

Or imagine screaming yourself awake from a nightmare and peering blindly into the thick darkness to see a reassuring fire glowing over the church – a constant reminder that God is with you.

Would it make your faith stronger?  Would you trust God more?  Would you worship more?  Would you treat people better?

Or would His presence become common place, instead of sacred…just one more cloud on the landscape?

So often we struggle to “see” God, and we look for reminders of His presence.  We carry symbols with us.  We wear jewelry in the shape of a cross.  We put fish stickers on our bumpers.  We carry small polished rocks engraved with words like “faith” and “hope” and “Jesus”.  We wear bracelets proclaiming , “I am second”.

We yearn for a constant sense of His presence and we do all these things to remind us of Christ’s death and resurrection.  These are signs and symbols of our faith, but none are the physical presence of God. 

Yes, the Israelites were fortunate enough to journey with visual proof of the physical presence of God, and it must have been amazing, awe inspiring, and frightening all at the same time.  But today we don’t need physical proof of God’s presence.

When Jesus gave His life for us, was crucified and rose from the dead, God’s presence came to dwell in us in the form of the Holy Spirit. 

Admittedly there are times when you don’t “feel” the presence of God, but if you’ve trusted Jesus with your life, then you can be certain He is there with you always.

“The eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.  When they saw him, they worshiped him – but some of them doubted!  Jesus came and told His disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.  Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.  And be sure of this:  I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  Matthew 28:16-20 (NLT)

Some of the disciples doubted Jesus’ presence even though He was standing right in front of them.  But He reassured them, promising to always be with them.  We can take reassurance of His presence from this promise, too.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:

Do the times you think God isn’t there outweigh the times you “feel” His presence?  Are you like the doubting disciples, needing reassurance?

Share your thoughts by clicking on “Comments” below.

Where's God - Part 2

Last week in Part 1 of this post I started by asking the question, “Where’s God when life is tough?”  We looked at Jeremiah 24:1-10. 

In these verses God preserves the lives of the people of Judah by sending them into exile in Babylon.  I’m sure this isn’t exactly the vacation God’s people dreamt about.

In an instant their lives completely change.  Their homes are gone, they’ve lost loved ones, and now they’re marched off into exile to a strange foreign land.  The obvious question echoes…”Where’s God?”

There’s good news in response to Judah’s desperate query.

God doesn’t abandon the exiles.  He’s preps Jeremiah, working with him behind the scenes by telling him the plans he has for his people.  And Jeremiah, ever faithful to God’s call, waits for God’s perfect timing and writes a letter of reassurance (essentially a letter from God Himself) to the exiles.

“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem.  ‘Build homes, and plan to stay.  Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce.  Marry and have children.  Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren.  Multiply!  Do not dwindle away!  And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile.  Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.’”  Jeremiah 29:4-7 (NLT)

 

“This is what the Lord says, ‘You will be in Babylon for seventy years.  But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again.  For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord.  ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’  Jeremiah 29:10-11 (NLT)

I imagine a unanimous sigh of relief echoes around Babylon upon receipt of this letter.  The exiles finally know God is still watching over them, even in this unknown, strange land.  Imagine the burden that’s lifted, simply because they know God is in control and looking out for them. 

You can breathe sigh of relief in the midst of your suffering, too.  You probably don’t see it at this moment, but God is in control.  He’s looking out for you and watching over you. 

Whatever God has planned it’s always better than anything we can imagine.  At the right time God will send a “Jeremiah” into your life to give you the “inside scoop”, and to reassure you.  Until that happens, hang onto God’s promise,

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord.  ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”  Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)

Things To Think About

What are you struggling with today?  Where might God be working “behind the scenes” this very moment, even though you can’t see it?

Share your thoughts by clicking on “comments” below.

Where's God - Part 1

Where’s God when your marriage falls apart?

Where’s God in the cancer riddled body lying in the Palliative Care Unit? 

Where’s God in the crumpled metal frame lying by the side of the road while the wail of an ambulance fades into the distance?
Where’s God when life is tough?

You may have asked these, or similar questions.  Right now you might be shaking your fist and screaming at God, demanding an answer to a tough question.

We all face circumstances in life that don’t make sense.  And we wonder, “Where’s God?”

Sometimes we don’t get answers, but sometimes God leaves us clues.

Today and next week I want to share insights from the book of Jeremiah.  I hope by the end of these two posts we’ll have a little more clarity to the anguished question, “Where’s God?”

Jeremiah is a prophet, called by God to preach a message of repentance to the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.  Jeremiah’s message isn’t popular, but he remains faithful to God, persisting in warning the rebellious nations, Israel and Judah, of the dire consequences they’ll face if they don’t stop worshiping other Gods.

 

Like most of us, Israel and Judah are stubborn.  They fail to heed Jeremiah’s warning.  Jerusalem is overthrown.  Eventually the people of both nations are taken into exile.  Things look pretty bleak to the prisoners of war, as their victors herd them towards a life of exile in Babylon.

But God sends this message to Jeremiah…

“After King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon exiled Jehoiachin son of Johoiakim, king of Judah to Babylon along with the officials of Judah and all the craftsmen and artisans, the Lord gave me this vision.  I saw two baskets of figs placed in front of the Lord’s Temple in Jerusalem.  One basket was filled with fresh, ripe figs, while the other was filled with bad figs that were too rotten to eat. 

Then the Lord said to me, ‘What do you see, Jeremiah?’

I replied, ‘Figs, some very good and some very bad, too rotten to eat.’

Then the Lord gave me this message: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says:  The good figs represent the exiles I sent from Judah to the land of the Babylonians.  I will watch over and care for them, and I will bring them back here again.  I will give them hearts that recognize me as the Lord.  They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly.’

‘But the bad figs,’ the Lord said, ‘represent King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, all the people left in Jerusalem, and those who live in Egypt.  I will treat them like bad figs, too rotten to eat.  I will make them an object of horror and a symbol of evil to every nation on earth.  They will be disgraced and mocked, taunted and cursed, wherever I scatter them.  And I will send war, famine, and disease until they have vanished from the land of Israel, which I gave to them and their ancestors.’  “Jeremiah 24:1-10 (NLT)

Jeremiah receives the “inside scoop” from God about the exiles.  Here’s what I believe God is telling Jeremiah…

There are good people living in Judah.  People who have potential to become a great and godly nation once more.  But they’re mixed up with evil and corrupt people.

By sending them into exile God separates these good people from the evil, corrupt ones.  He saves His people from the war and famine that He knows will devastate the land. 

By sending them into exile God preserves their lives. 

Here’s the problem for the exiles…

In the midst of the chaos; homes lost and lives changed overnight, the exiles can’t see or understand God’s greater purpose.  Like us in the midst of turmoil, I imagine they wonder…”Where’s God?  Why has He deserted us?”

Even though they don’t know it and can’t see or understand it at the time, God is still with the exiles.  He continues to protect and watch over them.

Quite often our troubles overwhelm us.  We give in to fear. 

The thing is when we’re in the midst of our troubles, paralyzed by fear and uncertainty, we don’t know the whole picture.  We don’t know what God’s doing behind the scenes.  We don’t have Jeremiah’s “inside scoop”.  

This segment of Jeremiah brings hope for the exiles and it brings hope for us, too.  Even when we don’t see it, God is at work and has a plan for us.

There’s more good news for both the exiles and us a few chapters later in Jeremiah.  Next week we’ll look at some other promises God makes about taking care of his people. 

To read ahead, take a look at Jeremiah chapter 29.  That’s where we’ll be next week.

Trusting Enough To Let Go

Do you have a hard time trusting God with everything in your life?

 

Trusting God to run your life can be a scary endeavor.  Sometimes I wonder if I really want to put my life in His control.

What if He wants me to give up my personal agenda?  What if my plan for my life doesn’t correspond to God’s?

Can you relate to these fears?

I’m in the process of working my way through a study called, “Power Praying” by Pastor David Chotka, the Senior Pastor at Spruce Grove Alliance Church.  I want to share a message Pastor Chotka delivers early on in the study.  Understanding this message will help you in your struggle to turn control over to God.

Think about this scripture…

“Therefore He (Jesus) is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through Him.  He (Jesus) lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.”  Hebrews 7:25 (NLT) (I’ve added the italics)

“…to intercede with God on their behalf…” means that Jesus prays for us.  Picture it, Jesus in front of the throne of God in Heaven constantly praying for you.

Do you think no one’s ever said a prayer for you?  Do you think no one cares enough to even bother?  The truth is Jesus cares and He’s praying for you right now, even as you read this.  Regardless of the absolute worst thing you’ve done in your life, Jesus is praying for you right now!

Pastor Chotka makes this comment,

“Jesus was resurrected into glorious, magnificent authority and power.  Jesus was seeing reality from the perspective of eternity.  There were no barriers to His perfect knowledge.  He could see the start from the finish.”  (Power Praying, David Chotka, Page 32)

What does that mean for you? 

Jesus not only knows how your life started and how you came to be where are you today; He sees the bigger picture.  He knows the stuff we can’t understand.  He knows the struggle you’re facing today and sees ahead to the very best outcome for your situation.

Now consider this…

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.”  Romans 8:28 (NLT)

Let’s put this all together…

1. Jesus knows what’s going on in your life and is praying for you right now. 
2. He’s got “jumbotron vision”.  He’s able to see your situation from all sides, from beginning to end. 
3. Jesus is one with God, His Father.  His prayers are always in line with God’s will for your life. 
4. When we believe in Christ, God takes every situation in our lives, good and bad, and in time, makes something good come out of them.

To summarize…

Jesus is praying God’s will and God’s will is always the very best we could possibly have.  So there’s no reason to be afraid to trust God in every part of our lives.  We can turn our fear of trust over to God.  He’s a safe haven.  We can rest in His presence.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:

What’s your biggest fear about trusting God?  Share your thoughts by clicking on comments below.

Deuteronomy 31:6 - Don't Be Afraid

MEMORY VERSE:

So be strong and courageous!  Do not be afraid and do not panic before them.  For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you.  He will neither fail you nor abandon you.  Deuteronomy 31:6 (NLT)

These are final instructions Moses gives the Israelites as he’s about to die.  He tells them Joshua is taking over as their leader and will help to bring them into the land God has promised them.

The Israelites' track record of trusting God isn’t stellar.  Moses has led them for a long time and knows how they respond in times of stress and uncertainty. 

Even though they’ve witnessed God’s power, seen the proof of His presence as He leads them in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night they still struggle with issues of trust and reliance.

In times of uncertainty or stress they still become discontented and rely on things other than God to try to satisfy them. 

Here are some examples:

• Making the gold calf as a tangible god to worship...Exodus 32

• Demanding meat to eat because they were tired of the mana God provided faithfully...Exodus 16

• Whining about being thirsty and needing water...Exodus 15

In Deuteronomy 31:6 Moses reminds the Israelites when things get a little crazy in the Promised Land they need to look to God for their security, not to the potential distractions around them.

It’s good advice for us today, too.  When your life gets a little crazy and it's filled with stress and anxiety where do you look? 

It’s easy to try to find peace or distraction in the world around us...alcohol or drugs to numb the pain, spending money in excess to boost self-esteem, sexual promiscuity to convince ourselves we're lovable.  We let panic take over and cling to the first thing promising security, even if it’s false security.

We need to listen to this reminder from Moses.  Throughout the Isrealites' journey God proves faithful.  His presence is always there and He provides everything they need. 

When we allow Him into our lives He does the same for us.

So be strong and courageous!  Do not be afraid and do not panic before them.  For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you.  He will neither fail you nor abandon you.

Living In The "In Between"

Do you feel out of synch with life? Not sure which way is up or which way is down? Have an uncomfortable feeling of not quite fitting in? Living in the “in between” stage of transition?

I lived in Calgary for seven years. I quite enjoyed living there, had great friends and a wonderful church community. I loved the beauty of the skyline –sparkling, glowing lights from the downtown area filling the night sky – and the breath taking view of the awe inspiring Rocky Mountains jutting up on the western horizon. Over the years the city became home, its threads woven into the fabric of my life; a part of me.

When I got married in June 2010 I knew I'd be leaving the city to start a new life with my husband in Stony Plain, a community just outside Edmonton three and a half hours away. He and his children lived there and our priority was to remain close to them. As is often the case, logistics interfered with life plans and I didn’t end up moving to Stony Plain until March of this year.

I travel for work and since I’ve moved I’ve experienced an odd sense of displacement. I get to the airport at the end of the week and check the departure monitor for my flight. I wonder why the flight time on the monitor differs from the one on my itinerary and am suddenly struck by the realization I’m automatically looking at Calgary flights instead of Edmonton flights. When I’m driving familiar routes through Saskatchewan I automatically point the car in the direction of Calgary, but quickly realize I need to head north to Edmonton, not west to Calgary.

This week as I drove into Calgary for work I experienced that “out of synch” feeling again. The city felt like home. After seven years of coming back to this city I was programmed to experience the feeling of being home when I got to the city limits. But another part of my brain quickly kicked in telling me this wasn’t home; my home was the house I share with my husband in Stony Plain. It was a strange sense of being pulled in two – the city of Calgary feels like home but I don’t have a home here. Our house in Stony Plain feels like home but the community around it doesn’t.

It’s an “in between” stage in the transition where old habits and feelings are weakening but new habits and connections haven’t been established yet. This odd sense of displacement is experienced in moves, in job changes and in other transitions in life where circumstances have changed but the mind hasn’t quite grasped the reality of the situation yet.

It takes time to adapt to change. I’m pleased that our house now feels like home and I hope one day when I reach the town limits of Stony Plain it too will feel as though I’ve come home.

Are you living in the “in between” stage of transition? Share your thoughts by clicking “comments” below.

Taking Life One Sidewalk Block At A Time

Has your world ever come crashing down around you? Perhaps this is your situation right now. Are you just one more catastrophe away from your breaking point? Are you worried about your aging parents’ health,  your teenager who was caught shoplifting, your adult child with a drug addiction, your spouse who lost his job, your failing marriage or the call from the doctor saying you need more follow up tests with a specialist?

Maybe this doesn’t describe your life exactly, but I know everyone experiences seasons in their lives when nothing seems to go right and stress heaps up like an overflowing dirty laundry hamper. You feel like your life is a boat constantly being smashed on jagged rocks and you have no more energy to keep bailing out the water. Perhaps you even think allowing the boat (your life) to sink might bring sweet, welcome relief. When you try to talk to your friend she casually quotes scripture, trying to be comforting but you stand there feeling as though someone just slapped you across the face with a cold, dead fish while telling you, “Suck it up Buttercup, life’s just like that.”

We’ve all been told to take things “one day at a time”. Perhaps this saying came from Jesus’ teachings in the book of Matthew. In chapter 6 verses 25 to 34, He’s teaching about worry. He ends the teaching in verse 34 by saying, “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Truer words were never spoken! Each day certainly brings us enough to worry about and sometimes even trying to take it day by day can be overwhelming.

I recently started to go for a run in the mornings. I decided rather than hurting myself I’d start out slowly, working my way up to extended periods of running. I time myself, running for four minutes then walking for three. I generally start out fairly strong and four minutes goes by quickly, but as I begin to tire, the three minutes seems to get shorter and the four minutes of running seems to drag on forever. I’ve discovered if I set small goals as I run it help me maintain my motivation. I’ll see a bend in the trail or a bench and decide I won’t check the clock until I reach that point. It’s like a bargain with my body to keep going in spite of being tired. As I near the end of my run I come off the trail and get back onto a sidewalk. It’s at this point – the last two segments of four minutes that I find my legs aching and my chest heaving. Even a small goal seems overwhelming. At that point the only way I can keep going for the four minutes is to tell myself to just run to the next sidewalk block, then the next, then the next and slowly I keep going, the time ticks by and my body becomes a little more conditioned every time I go out and accomplish those small goals – just one more sidewalk block.

There are times we need to take this approach in our lives. Sometimes the thought of getting through the day is simply too much to contemplate, sometimes even an hour seems overwhelming and it’s hard to find God and trust the Psalmist who says, “give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.” (Psalm 55:22) or Peter when he says, “Give all your worries and cares to God for He cares about you.” (1 Peter 5:7) These verses are both true and we do need to lean on God for strength in times of stress.  As you lean on God for strength, break down the situations and set small goals for yourself - just get through the next minute, then the next, then the next. Soon the minutes become hours, hours days and days weeks and with God you find the strength to move through your struggles one minute or hour or day at a time.

What are you struggling with today? What goals are you setting to help in your struggles? How is God strengthening you?

LOST

Do you have times in your life when you feel you’re wandering around in the dark looking for something but you’re not sure what that “something” is? How about the feeling that you’re supposed to be going somewhere but you’re not sure where? Maybe you feel as though each day comes and goes but you accomplish nothing that really matters at the end of the day. Is this the definition of being lost?

I ask these questions because this is how I’ve felt the last week or so. Everything in life is new – new town, new husband, new house, new instant teenagers, new church, new faces, new surroundings...and so it goes. Before I moved I knew who I was, I seemed to have purpose and activities and people to occupy my thoughts and time. Now I’m not sure how this new life fits together. I’m not sure who I am in this new role as wife and step-mother or how it all fits with whom I was before. Even my relationship with God seems to have changed, it’s become harder somehow to find Him. Everything is just a little out of balance. The days go by but suddenly I don’t seem to have purpose.

Just out of curiosity I looked up the definition of lost on www.dictionary.com and here’s a bit of what I found, “having gone astray or missed the way, bewildered as to place, direction, etc.; not used to good purpose, as opportunities, or labour; wasted; destroyed or ruined; distracted; distraught; desperate; hopeless...” Some of these definitions seem to fit. Perhaps I am lost. Others are downright frightening - desperate, hopeless, destroyed or ruined – no I don’t think so!

I think it’s more a temporary loss of focus and purpose that has me feeling disoriented and adrift in the sea of life. I know God has called me here for a reason and in time that reason will be revealed. It’s the waiting and lack of direction that leaves me struggling and wondering if I’m floating aimlessly through life. This lack of master plan and lack of direction is totally a foreign concept to me and I’m left with all these odd, and at the moment, unresolved questions. What does the future hold? Where will we find a church home? When will I be part of a ministry again? Where does God want me to serve? So many questions and so few answers.

What questions are you struggling with today? Does any of this sound familiar? Share your thoughts by clicking on “comments” below.