Author: Christine Wyrtzen

For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me. Psalm 31:3

I grew up near a small lake and you could see clear to the bottom. I was comfortable there. Waves were gentle and I knew what to expect. But when I was four years old, our family took a summer vacation to the coast of Maine. It was a particularly windy day. The seas were rough and the waves were towering. Being so small, I didn’t go in very far but it didn’t take much to topple a child. The first big wave came in, knocked me off my feet, and I was pulled underwater. I rolled over and over for what seemed like minutes until the wave deposited me up onto the shore. I felt like I nearly drowned and can remember to this day what it felt like to have a mouth full of sand.

Life can feel like that. Out of nowhere, I can be overtaken by unexpected surges of calamity. I feel like someone at the mercy of ocean waves.  I’ve lived enough life to know that hope can be shaken. So can friendships, health, economic security, even ministries. Anything earth-bound can be rocked off its foundation. If I’ve trusted them, believing them to be sound, I am foolish.

My only help is the Rock beneath the surface. He understands the environment and the seas are at His command. I plant my feet on the Rock of Ages ~ even on good days. Securing this posture while the sun is shining puts me in a position for the scary moments when I cry out, “Abba, Daddy!” 

The world says that maturity is self-sufficiency.  God says that maturity is childlikeness.  The cynicism and fear that comes with age tempt us to move away from dependence on anyone.  We even crave independence from God but this puts us in peril. We must intentionally cultivate childlike faith, the kind that knows that, while life may be unraveling, God holds the threads. 

No matter what upheaval you’re facing, it’s possible to be tethered to the Rock of Ages.  How strong the cords of Love that hold our feet in place. Nothing can shake them loose from our sure foundation.  

I need nothing, and no one, more than I need You, Lord.  Amen

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

The name “Prince of Peace” is the Hebrew Shar Shalom, which means “the one who removes all peace-disturbing factors and secures the peace.” This sets Him apart from human rulers who secured peace through bloody battles. Jesus secured it through a bloody sacrifice.

The estrangement between God and His Creation began in the Garden of Eden.  Adam and Eve wanted more than what God offered. They bought the Serpent’s lie and opened their minds to the world of evil.  It was a world they were not wired to understand.  Evil corrupted them and they began to choose everything that God wouldn’t choose and to think all things God wouldn’t think. Alienation ensued and they were separated from God by a great gulf.  The peace they once enjoyed was swallowed up in shame and enmity. Reconciliation would never happen without a miracle.  

God’s answer?  Send Jesus to restore peace and to make the sinner what he once was ~ holy before God.  His mind could be washed of defilement and he could think and feel like the indwelling Spirit who inhabited him. Jesus went to the cross and prayed for sinners to own their sin, repent of it, so that He could bring them faultless to His Father. They would enjoy complete restoration and perfect peace – which is Shalom.

For each of us who call God our Father, this is our story. The Prince of Peace is no far off figure. He reigns and resides in our hearts. No shadows of estrangement remain.

Oh, Prince of peace, I am Yours and Shalom allows me to breathe in without anxiety. Amen

The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance on you, and give you shalom. Numbers 6:24-26

Shalom is the last word in this priestly blessing. It is written on a fragment of the oldest biblical text in existence. You probably know it well from the many benedictions that have been spoken over you from the pulpit. It is beautiful but perhaps more beautiful than we even know.

The first time this word is used is in a passage talking about death. “You shall go to your fathers in shalom, you will be buried at a good old age.” (Genesis 15:15) God wants us to know that it is possible to die in a state of ‘shalom’. Peace. Everything settled in our hearts even though we leave behind some places of heartache that haven’t yet seen God’s intervention. There is peace because we rest in His power and sovereignty. He also died with many loose ends relationally.

In Isaiah 45:7, God says that He is the one “forming light and creating darkness, causing shalom and creating calamity.” Shalom not only means peace but something that has been completed, something that is made whole. God can stir up storms and bring instant calm.

But the greatest shalom is one fulfilled in the New Testament. It is the peace Jesus made with His Father on our behalf. We were once enemies but now are beloved children. The great fracture in our relationship, brought about by Adam and Eve, was catastrophic and felt throughout the ages. Man does not deal with the alienation he feels deep in his soul. He acts out. Self-condemnation and shame bring futility and mankind acts out without restraint. But Jesus healed the fracture for any who will accept His terms of reconciliation.

Today, if I am in Christ, there is not a trace of the old divide. There is not a shadow of the fracture. A repaired piece of china will still reveal traces of where it broke in two. Not so with the Shalom Jesus offers. Wholeness and healing restore paradise.

If there is a place internally where shalom does not exist, I can seek Your face and You promise to provide it. I will be pro-active and believe Your promises. Amen

He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. I Thessalonians 5:24

We are each called to do something outside our ability to produce. To escape the pressure, we might play it safe, engaging in the areas where we are naturally gifted. We rely on the stats of the spiritual gift tests we’ve taken, but even those can be exercised in the flesh. Though others may admire my natural talents, and though it might appear that I’ve done significant kingdom work from man’s viewpoint, I might have achieved little that is of eternal consequence.

When God sets us apart for kingdom work, we faint at the call. Knowing we’re in over our heads and feeling inadequate, we cry out to God for help. This the birthplace of spiritual greatness.

When someone asks a person to take on a ministry opportunity, they will often say, “Please do it. You’d be so good at it.” But no one should ask another person to sign up for a kingdom endeavor without also suggesting they pray about it first! And no one has any right to agree to a request without a season of prayer! 

Natural giftedness all too often replaces anointing. Jesus said, “He who believes in me, from His innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.” John 7:38 ‘Innermost being’ is the phrase for the womb. Each of us is to birth something for eternity that will produce living water. It should begin with divine conception and then ~ obedience through faith ~ in a faithful God..

Forgive me for the times I’ve engaged in ministry like it was busy work. Amen

No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.  Romans 4:20-21

It’s impossible to believe that God is faithful if distrust plaugues my world view.  Satan knows the power of a negative mindset and, very early, introduces pain and betrayal into our stories.  In response, we close off our hearts, live in fear and never fully trust people again.  The enemy knows what will be next; distrust of God.

Abraham would not allow any distrust to make him waver concerning God’s promises.  What were the areas of distrust he could have wallowed in?  His age and ability to father a child.  Sarah’s old womb.  Ridicule from those around him.  Abram’s name meant ‘father of many’.  He was, at that time, father of none.  God renamed him “Abraham” which meant ‘father of a multitude.’  Is this the promise of a twisted God?  A cynical man could have laughed and refused to own the name.  Instead, Abram announced his new name and probably sustained many jokes. 

Abraham made a choice to believe that God is faithful.  So must I.  The more pain I have suffered in my life, especially as a child, the more difficult it will be to trust His character.  I must push through all the internal objections to the perceived feasibility of God’s faithfulness to His promises! 

Faith begins with a choice to believe the One who is faithful.  It has a chance to grow when the Word penetrates my heart and exposes distrust.  At every fork in the road, one way marked “Disbelief” and the other marked “Belief”, I choose the one that believes God.  Then I feed myself the spiritual food necessary to stay on the hard path one more day.

For all of you whose faith walk is tenuous, Jesus, the faithful One, is praying for you.

Thank you for the stories of faith.  Abraham is my brother in Christ and his choice

For I have said, Mercy shall be built up forever; Your faithfulness you shall establish in the very heavens. Psalm 89:2

God speaks and planets appear out of nowhere. God pushes galaxies around with the tip of His finger. It’s a good thing because without His faithfulness, things would be catastrophic.

For instance, the speed of the Earth’s orbit and the Sun’s gravitational pull are perfectly balanced, preventing the Earth from either flying away or crashing into the Sun. If Earth’s speed were slower, it would fall into the Sun; if it were faster, it would escape the solar system altogether. 

God not only preserves our Earth but is also the creator and caretaker of the entire ‘heaven of heavens’. He resides in the farthest reaches of space and also in the spirits of His children. He speaks stars and galaxies into existence, but also calls to the lost sinner who wanders aimlessly until he answers the call and finds his way home. Power and strength belong to our God but undergirding all that He does, and can do, is His faithful character. Collectively, and individually, we are held securely in our Father’s hand.

I’m not safe because You’re powerful. I’m safe because You’re faithful. Thank you! Amen

Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your judgments like the deepest sea. O LORD, You preserve man and beast.  Psalm 36:6  

Did you know that the concept of our faithful God, El Emunah, is present throughout the Old Testatament? It is showcased powerfully in today’s scripture. The preservation of man until the end is only due to God’s faithfulness to the ones He created and saved for His glory. This is comforting when our lives take an unwelcome turn and our immediate future is uncertain.  God knows the nature of our exiles and deliverances.  The names of those who will shape our future are already pre-chosen. All is on schedule to lead us to glory.  

God has foreknowledge of every detail that constitutes our lives.  He spoke our name long before we existed, called us by name at the moment of our spiritual adoption, and will speak our name again when He welcomes us home.  Not one step (though uncertain as it may seem for us) causes Him to worry about us.  

He is the God who dismantles and the God who rebuilds.  He is the God who wounds and the God who comforts.  He is the God of the faithful and the God of the exiles.  These days, when anger and fear make up our global emotional climate, we trust a Father who whispers, “Don’t be afraid.”  Our life does not begin and end with deliberate, even erratic actions, of influential people.  Our life began with God, long before our first breath, and it will continue – without end – in His presence.

You preserve and sustain with unwavering faithfulness. You are a good, good Father. Amen

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God (ElEmunah), keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. Deuteronomy 7:9

I lived many days where prayers were casual. “Bless our family today and help us love and serve you more!” I even prayed this while driving, filing papers, or eating my morning yogurt. But I learned in my thirties that there are other kinds of prayer. There’s the ‘911’ kind that Jacob prayed before Esau came to meet him with 400 armed men. Don’t we also fall to our knees when we’re fighting for our lives?

The door jam in our house that borders our guest room has been gripped and wet with tears on many, many occasions. Getting up in the night to pray, I have laid my head against it, held on to the frame, and pleaded with God to remember His covenant with our family. Urgency has been the backdrop of these prayers. They are respectful prayers but not necessarily polite, with perfectly crafted language. Desperate prayers spill out of desperation, and they can be incoherent. That’s okay.

It is not arrogant to come humbly before God and remind Him of His promises, to take hold of the hem of His garment and plead for your life. It is often the equivalent of a child saying to his father, “But you said!”  My relationship with Him is one where I may wrestle over my Canaan. I’m usually trying to get to the bottom of my own angst and inaccurate perceptions of His character. But even in the midst of messy emotions, I know that God is a Covenant Maker and does not make promises begrudgingly.

You delight in Your covenant relationship with me. I am in awe. Amen