WAITING FOR THE RIGHT MOMENT TO DIE

After this, Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And it was told to Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to you.” Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. Genesis 48:1- 

         How Jacob reacted when Joseph and his sons arrived at his bedside. He was very ill, near death, but their presence gave him an uncanny strength to finish what had been unfinished. He needed to give Joseph the birthright of the family and adopt Joseph’s two sons as his grandchildren. The future inheritance of Israel depended on this moment and Jacob knew it.

         Have you known anyone who was near death and it was predicted they wouldn’t last much longer? Then, they hung on and refused to die. Something was unfinished. There was someone they needed to see; something they needed to say. When that person arrived, they had a moment when they gained their full faculties. Like Jacob, they rose up to have a needed conversation.

         After moving to Georgia, I made a connection with an older saint named Iris. She became a prayer partner and spiritual mother to me. Our bond was as deep as family and because the foundation was spiritual, our connection was like iron. Iris was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer. It took her life in a matter of weeks. I was out of town when she lay on her deathbed in a local hospital. Continue reading “Waiting For The Right Moment To Die” →

WHAT I VALUE MOST

And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were 147 years. And when the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh and promise to deal kindly and truly with me. Do not bury me in Egypt, but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying place.” He answered, “I will do as you have said.” Genesis 47:28-30

   Jacob’s wish to be buried in Canaan surprises me on the one hand. He was living in, what could appear, to be the best part of his life. His whole family was reunited. Joseph was alive and blessed. His sons were older, wiser, and had repented of earlier deeds against their father and against Joseph. They had plenty of food. Their lineage was blessed and multiplying. Why not ask to be buried where you are the happiest?

  When all is said and done, it is interesting what I value most. My mind travels back, as Jacob’s did, to the places where God spoke. Jacob wanted to be buried near ‘Bethels’, where monuments marked the spots of God’s revelation. Time in Egypt, in a period of plenty, did not alter what he cherished. I also remember, with passion, the places where the voice of God changed my life.

  If I value the wrong things, I will be a bitter woman when I lay down to die. I will realize that I invested in things I have to leave behind. And, if I know my Bible, I’ll also realize that they will eventually burn. At the end, I want my family near me. They are eternal. I want to bless them, give them last words they will remember, and hold their hands as we are temporarily separated. There will be one more thing I want in my grip ~ The Bible that went with me through the darkest period of my life. I had to put a new binding on it recently when it fell apart because I could not part with the pages. They are journals of my fears and God’s faithfulness. Yes, at that time, let me touch my people and the Word of God. They are the only two things I take with me into the Kingdom.

  Jacob left the land of plenty to be buried in some obscure barren place. Though it was nothing to look at, for him, it was rich with memories and a priceless location.

Thank you for taking me through hard time to re-align my priorities. Amen

BEING CLOSE TO ONE WHO IS BLESSED

Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and stood him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days of the years of your life?” And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning.” And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. Genesis 47:7-10

         Writers in Jewish history say that when Jacob came to Egypt, the land was immediately blessed and began to heal from famine. So when Pharaoh saw that Jacob looked old, he feared that Jacob might not live much longer and when he died, the blessing would cease. If this was true, it would immediately explain a peasant rising up to bless a sovereign.

         Someone who has spent a lifetime in the presence of God brings God’s presence with them into a room, a land, a home, and an environment. To those who are discerning, the impact is immediately felt. Have you experienced seeing someone come through the door and instantly feeling like everything was going to be all right? I have.

I can name a half dozen people that make me feel that way. But God wants me to focus, not on these ‘others’, but on myself. Am I the kind of person who brings heaven’s blessing and order into a room? Every child of the kingdom is to be sanctified and have this spiritual effect.

         Jesus teaches His disciple to pray ‘Thy kingdom come.’ But He also, by the indwelling of His Spirit, brings His kingdom to anywhere the foot of His disciple treads. Whether or not others feel it is dependent on whether or not the Spirit is quenched in that believer’s life. Maturity is slowly growing into the person of Christ so that who I am and who He is looks more and more the same. When I walk in a room, it should have the same kind of effect as Jesus walking into the room.

         Has God asked you to bless a superior? Would a secretary ask to pray for her boss? Would a nurse ask to bless the physician in charge? Would a parishioner ask to bless a pastor? In God’s order of things, yes. When prompted by the Spirit, this is how the kingdom is ordered.

         Jacob had a moment with Pharaoh. That’s all. In that brief encounter, God’s presence was left with the words of Jacob’s blessing. I don’t know all the places I will visit today nor do I know all the people I will encounter. But I’m going in more aware of the possible impact because I am a container for the Spirit of God.

In this stressed out world, purify me and prepare me to bring the blessing of Your presence to others today. Amen

THE REUNION 

[They] came into Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him. Genesis 46:6

         A movie was made twenty years ago, called JOSEPH, a powerful representation of the entire story. You watched his life unfold from a young boy to the ruler of Egypt. My favorite part of the movie is the reunion between Jacob and Joseph at the very end. The scene is forever etched in my memory and several times a year, I will put in the DVD and watch that three-minute clip again. Let me paint the picture for you.

         Jacob and his entire family are walking in the desert toward Egypt. There are several hundred of them. Jacob is out in front. He is old, slowly plodding along with the help of a cane and a son on each side. His face is determined but the weariness of such a long journey is evident.

         The scene changes and Joseph is leaving the gates of Egypt in a royal entourage. In the chariot with him are his two sons, both under the age of ten. In the other chariot are Pharaoh and a few of his leaders who go to support Joseph. You see them come to the crest of a hill that overlooks the desert floor below.

         The dust settles and as it does, the scene of several hundred nomads in the distance fill his view. Joseph knows who they are. Though a mile away, Joseph cannot wait. He leaves Pharaoh and drives his personal chariot at breakneck speed downward into the valley to meet them. As he nears his father, horses are recklessly pulled to a stop. Joseph jumps out, sees his father a few dozen feet away, and is overcome. He loses all strength and crumbles to his knees. Jacob rushes to him, draws his head into the folds of his tunic, and engages in an embrace that is unforgettable. “My son. Praise be to God. My son!” There is weeping for a long time as everyone else stands at a distance to give father and son this moment.

         Jacob finally looks up to see two young boys in Joseph’s chariot. He understands. “These are your sons. My grandchildren. “Come,” Jacob says. “Come, so I may bless you.” He speaks prophetic words over each boy and kisses the tops of their heads. Joseph dries his father’s tears and tells him that God brought him to Egypt to save their lives. There is joy ahead and a good life in Egypt.

         Now, maybe you have to see the movie to be moved. (I’ve provided a link below so you can purchase it for yourself.) I can never watch this reunion without being moved. And I can never see it without thinking of the reunion that is coming between Jesus and me. I believe it will be like this. Finally, our eyes meet at a distance. Finally, the embrace I’ve been waiting for all my life. What about bowing at His feet in worship? Afterward.

I’ve only caught a nuance of how you feel me. I get a sense of it each time we talk in prayer. But I’ll see the full effect at our reunion.   The pleasure of my company that you describe in Scripture humbles me, Lord. Amen

DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT FROM OUR FATHERS

And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. Genesis 46:2-3

            God fathers each child differently. His path is a solitary one and my journey will never imitate that of my parents. If my parents were iconic in their faith, the expectations for me to follow in their footsteps will be impossible to attain. I am not either parent nor should I try to be.

            Isaac, Jacob’s father, was told by God to avoid Egypt during his time of famine. God made it clear that Egypt was off limits. But God’s plan for Jacob was different. In his famine, Egypt was the place he was to go and settle. Doing something different from his father had to feel frightening at first. Jacob must have been confused as he embarked on a journey so peculiar.

            God stretched me out of my family’s mold sometime in my mid-forties. My views of some peripheral biblical issues differed from that of my father and the legalistic church I was raised in. There were some tense discussions and feelings from his disapproval created a shadow over our relationship.With time, it improved as it became clear to him that God had His hand on my life. Before he died, God moved us on to the same page through some ‘end of life’ experiences and I am so thankful for this move of God’s grace.

            To complicate matters, I married young into a well-known Christian family whose patriarch was a famous evangelist. Things were harmonious throughout the early years of our marriage because both Ron and I held to the family’s views on most every biblical issue. Eventually though, God began to take us on the journey He had planned for us. It meant leaving home and the ministry his father started. Though we still agreed on the tenets of the Gospel, our interpretations of secondary issues of grace didn’t gel. Again, we experienced feelings that we were outsiders and it was painful to no longer fit.

            God’s message to each disciple is clear. We are His children first and members of our earthly family second. Egypt may be denied to our fathers but permissible for us. God is a kind Father who leads deliberately ~ giving His child the courage to take steps away from our ‘family’s way of doing things’. The fallout can make us second-guess our new direction but God gives grace with the call to go where He sends us. His voice is wild and wonderful; his ways are peculiar and solitary. Any price we pay is long compensated by the joy of hearing God say, “Well done!”

My heart begs to be shaped by You, and by no one else. Amen

THE RIGHT KIND OF COMFORT

My eyes long for your promise; I ask, “When will you comfort me?”  Psalm 119:82

One of my favorite paintings is one of a young man entering heaven.  He is weary, barely walking, and Jesus catches him in a welcoming embrace.  The comfort he seeks in embraces and shared tears greets him in person. Continue reading “THE RIGHT KIND OF COMFORT” →

The spirit of their father Jacob revived. And Israel said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.” Genesis 45:27b-28

         It’s amazing how, with Christ, my heart can adapt to a place of contentment. Jacob was thrilled with the news that Joseph was alive, so much so, that he was willing lay all other hurts aside and focus on the joy of seeing his son again. Joseph’s supposed death had only been one of his many griefs. The way he died, the brother’s treachery, these were nearly as crushing as losing his son. At this point in the story however, the joy of being reunited with Joseph eclipsed the pain of all else that took place before.

         Nothing replaces the payoff that comes when I take time to grieve. Like Jacob, my tears are spent and I am open to a new perspective. God’s perspective. I am willing to settle for something different and am empowered by the Spirit to adapt to see life differently.

         A neighbor had to leave her home of 43 years to enter an assisted living facility. She grieved over all the familiar things she would have to leave behind. With time however, she grew to cherish the handpicked things she would take with her to her new home. God gave her the grace to settle in new surroundings and find contentment.

         It is human nature to look at what I lost rather than what I have left. I want what I once had and overlook the treasures still in my hand. God will help me re-align and re-adjust. All grief gives me an opportunity to lift my eyes to what is eternal. I find comfort, and I find joy, as I review the promises of God for the future. Only this perspective can lead me from the throes of unending grief and bitter tears. When I think my hands are empty, God shows me that they are, indeed, full of blessings I couldn’t see before. The child of God is never without riches even in the worst of times.

Change is certain. Security is also certain. Show me what is in my hands. Amen

HOLY IMAGINATION

Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them.  Genesis 2:19

         Most Christians starve their God-given imaginative gifts and believe that sacred dreaming is reckless and might border on witchcraft?  Does it?

         God formed the dust of the ground and made cows, cats, dogs, monkeys, and antelope.  After he completed each, he nudged each one to go to Adam so Adam could name them.  I love how Genesis describes this part of history.  “God brought them to the man to see what he would call them.”  There was a bit of suspense as God saw Adam tap into his creativity. “What shall I call something soft, furry, with a tail?”  God enjoyed seeing Adam use his mind in a creative way.

         I am made in the image of God.  He, the one who imagined the earth before He made it, has infused me with the same desire to dream and create.  How can I know if my imagination is safe to use?  I take Isaiah’s advice.  “Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things.”  Isaiah 40:26  If my imagination is brought captive to prayer and scripture, then it is a gifting like all others.

         I believe one of the reasons our prayer meetings and personal prayer times are so dull is that we fail to use our imagination in prayer.  What happens when we take a scriptural principle and develop how it might look in the desert of human need?  The possibilities are endless.

• I can see God kissing a heart of stone and transforming it into a heart of flesh when I pray Ezekiel 36:26 creatively.
• As I pray from Isaiah 49, I can see God turning my speech into sharp arrows of truth as I ask Him to give me words like Jesus.
• I can see God standing on the waves of my personal storm, saying, “Peace!  Be still!” as I pray from Mark 4:39

         Just as God brought the animals to Adam to name, he brings opportunities my way to engage my mind in ways that more resemble play than work.  Adam wasn’t a child when he thought up all the names yet I picture him having the time of his life as each animal emerged from behind a tree.  He laughed, pointed, exclaimed over God’s playful and creative side, and then conjured up a name.  I know a sense of his joy.  Most days, writing with God in the morning is like playtime.

Because Adam walked with you, his imagination was holy.  Help me use my creative gifts with more confidence.  Amen