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Many elderly have died in the past few months with COVID19.  The ones who are left cried their way through Mother’s Day because the loss was fresh and seemed so senseless.  Two families close to me lost their mothers just this week.  Though they were not COVID19 related, grief is still grief.  My own mother died in 1984 but every mother’s day is bittersweet.

It’s easy for a loved one to get stuck in grief if they rarely talk about their loss. Feelings swim around in their heart in pools of sadness.  Everyone needs to talk with other people who love them enough to ask questions and listen well.  Instead, how many get a  scripture verse followed by a pep talk?  It’s not too late to express our hearts toward those who didn’t have a mother to celebrate yesterday.  We can engage even by acknowledging our struggle to know what to say.  (They like that.)

Think of what happens when funerals are over.  How many will tell a grieving friend how much they loved their mother and miss her?  Instead, they’ll do anything to avoid making their friend cry but that’s such an unfortunate choice because we’ve left them alone in their grief.

Eighteen months after my mother died, I happened to run into one of her friends in the post office.  She saw me and started to cry.  “I miss your mother.  It’s August and this is the time of the year we’d pick blueberries together.”  Did her story make me cry?  Yes, I bawled when I got in the car but I was still comforted.  I said to myself, “Oh, thank goodness, someone else misses her too.”  

Don’t let someone grieve alone today.  Send them a note or call them this week.  Encourage them to tell some stories that give release to their sadness.  They will dig deeply to discover words they didn’t even know were there as we help their grief find a voice.

Lord, I need not fear other’s tears.  Your Spirit, the Spirit of Comfort, is with me. Amen

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Teach Your Child To Meditate On The Scriptures

But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.  Psalm 131:2

When a mother weans her child, she has to deny him what he wants and then comfort him when he realizes he can’t have it.  She weans him because it is necessary for his growth into a new phase of life.  She appears cruel to the child yet he turns to her for consolation.  She loves him so she persists in the training but also weeps at the pain she is causing.

So it is with God.  He weans me off things that are not good for me.  He often withholds healing for a greater good that remains a mystery.  He delays deliverance for reasons I might never know.  The life of faith is not the stuff of Pollyanna.  It is not for the fainthearted.

 So when things don’t feel right, when my heart is churning, when I’m tired of waiting, when my old wounds don’t appear to be any less severe, when I’m sick of myself, when I want what I want, when I dig deeply to try to will my soul to be quiet to no avail, it takes grace beyond what I can manufacture to run to the One who could fix everything that plagues me ~ but doesn’t.  I could be tormented about why He restrains Himself, why He withholds, why I continue to live in the period of the ‘not yet’, but right now ~ I need Him to comfort me.

There are periods in every life where answers aren’t provided.  What can be counted on are everlasting arms.  In this time of great uncertainty, a time when God is comforting instead of fixing, He can be trusted.  Comfort is available.  The song of the One who rocks us as children can still be heard.

Your grace carries me through to glory.  Amen

He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure^{.  Isaiah 33:6}

Do I know God that well? I should.  Wisdom and knowledge are promised to me.  It’s a kind of spiritual osmosis because Wisdom lives inside of me.  And if I’ve spent enough time hanging out with Him, getting to know what He loves and hates, becoming acquainted with what makes him angry or sad, familiarizing myself with what kind of person He blesses and whom He shuns, I should also be able to predict pretty accurately what He thinks about a certain situation. Not only do I have history to lean on, or the Word to refer to, but I have His Holy Spirit inside of me emitting His feelings. The latter is not talked about enough.

Have you ever felt God’s sadness over someone lost? Have you felt His disappointment at the news of a failed marriage? Have you felt His grief, even anger, when a church has grown cold? I believe that I should pray more, “Lord, let me feel what You feel about this.

After a long life with Jesus, there should be a certain amount of predictability. Time and investment affords that.

Every time I discern Your heart and Your thoughts, stability graces my life. Amen

Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the one true God; whoever takes an oath in the land will swear by the one true God. For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes.   Isaiah 65:16

God never meant for me to be passive about my faith.  He has made promises but I must make them mine by walking them out.  There will be times that promises appear to be in threat so I must rise up to fight the fight.  There will be giants in my Canaan.  A life of faith does not mean a life of perpetual resting.  I must expect battles and get engaged. I must know when to fight and when to rest.  Both are critical.

Being an ambassador of God on this earth means ruling on behalf of the kingdom who commissioned me.  Though earth is not my home, I’m sent here to represent my King and bring the laws of His kingdom to earth.  This is a cooperative effort.  As I rule and do my part, God has my back.  As I stand in His promises, He fulfills them.  That’s why Moses was told to raise the rod over the Red Sea.  That’s why Joshua and the Israelites were told to march around the walls of Jericho.  They did their part and God brought the victory.

God gave Abram a blessing.  He promised him land in every direction his eyes can see and offspring greater than the sands of the sea.  But it didn’t come to pass without Abram’s involvement.  He was told to walk the length and breadth of the land – personally staking his claim.

Walking out God’s promises is to be my way of life.  When my children’s future appears to be tenuous, I get on my knees and stake my claim on God’s promises for them.  When the ministry is under spiritual attack, I go to a day of fasting and re-claim the promises surrounding my calling.  When my home is under attack; when anger, anxiety or depression swirl, when equipment begins to malfunction, when sleep is robbed, when people begin to act out without a cause, I do what Abram did.  I walk the lines of my property and sing.  I also take my “I Am” sheet with me (it is offered below as a free download) and read it as I walk. The victory is mine as God engages with my faith walk.

Giants in the land were never there to cause me to faint.  They were there to teach me to live and fight for faith.

Too many obstacles?  I used to just abdicate.  Thank you for teaching me how to fight and for giving victory after victory.  As the stakes get higher, give me the grace to walk with more boldness.  In Jesus name, Amen 

I Am

Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.  Isaiah 40:30

In WWII, Japan surrendered to American forces and yet the news of the surrender took weeks and months to reach isolated Japanese garrisons.  Soldiers continued to fight.  Men continued to die.  Those who were ignorant of Japan’s surrender were caught in the ‘not yet’.

I have often been confused by the promises of God.  He is my healer.  Does that mean that I will never know a sick period?  He is my deliverer.  Does that mean that I will never know a season of oppression?  He is the God who avenges.  Does that mean that He will settle all scores on the heels of wrongdoing?  He is my strength.  Does that mean that I will never languish in seasons of weakness?  He is my shield.  Does that mean that I will never be wounded by fiery arrows?  He is my comfort.  Does that mean that I will never feel alone or forsaken?  I can get tripped up when I’m in a prolonged ‘not yet’ period.

Solomon said it another way in his well-known discourse.  “There is an appointed time for everything.  A time to give birth and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.  A time to kill and a time to heal; a time to tear down and a time to build up.”  Ecclesiastes 3

Without listening to God, I cannot guess which season I am in.  I can easily become an agent that works against God’s purposes.  I’ll try to preserve what God is dismantling.  I’ll try to bring something to a close when it’s ready to be launched into a new fruitfulness. I’ll comfort when I should exhort.  The Christian life is a faith-walk and we live against the backdrop of human need and impaired spiritual vision.

Lord, you strengthen the fiber of my faith in the ‘not yet’.  I ‘know that I know’ that You will fulfill every promise when the time is right. Amen

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.  Isaiah 43:1

 How receptive are you to a generic invitation?  “Hey, a bunch of us are going hiking.  Anyone want to come?”  The invitation is not personal and you might decide that it doesn’t matter all that much if you go.  After all, it was a group invite.

It feels entirely different when you see a letter addressed to you or hear your name being called from down the street. And isn’t it life-altering when you hear your name being whispered tenderly by someone who loves you?

God is a personal God.  He not only died for me, personally, but He called me to Him by speaking my name.  Some believers have heard it audibly; others felt it in their spirit. I have heard God speak my name in a dream, but that is all.

In Bible narratives, when God wanted to make sure someone heard Him, He often spoke their name twice.  He did this to seven different people.

“Abraham, Abraham!”  ~ When Abraham was about to kill Isaac.

“Jacob, Jacob!” ~ When God announced to Jacob that Joseph wasn’t dead.

 “Moses, Moses!” ~ When God spoke to Moses at the burning bush.

“Samuel, Samuel!” ~ When, in Samuel’s childhood, God woke him up at night.

“Martha, Martha!” ~  When Jesus told her she was worried about too many things.

“Simon, Simon!” ~ When Jesus told Peter that Peter would deny him.

“Saul, Saul!” ~ When Jesus spoke to him on the road to Damascus.

And once, when His pain was at its highest threshold, Jesus spoke His Father’s name twice.  “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

Does God still call our name?  Yes.  Through His Spirit.  When I seek God for a word, then feel the weight of a scripture, my name is on God’s lips.  When I sit in a church service and feel like the message is just for me, when I feel my heart burning and bursting within me, my name is on God’s lips.  Jesus said, “My sheep know my voice and they follow me.”  The call and the messages from the Counselor who leads us home are always personal.

You personalize your Word, everyday.  Thank you.  Amen

Yahweh, we have awaited you – for your name and your memorial, with longing of soul. Isaiah 26:8

What does it mean to tell God – ‘We have waited for you – for your name and your memorial’?  It means that we’re waiting to see evidence of the meaning of God’s name.  I look toward Him expectantly because I’m familiar with the many signatures that describe His character and personality. When I wait well, I have assurance that God’s names will be validated, yet again, as He brings His promises to pass.

The circumstances vary.

• I can be waiting for evidence that God sees me – and when that occurs, I’ll know that El Roi has arrived.
• I can be waiting for a display of God’s power – and when I see evidence of His might, I’ll know that Elohim has arrived.
• I can be waiting for provisions – and when they come, I’ll know that Jehovah Jireh has arrived.
• Whether I’m waiting for healing, guidance from a shepherd, or Alpha and Omega to bookend the ages with His judgements, I await a God who is defined by His many names. With so much talk these days about having a ‘brand’, each name is part of God’s collective ‘brand.’

Out of all God’s names, who is it you are waiting for?  Maybe you are hanging on by a thread.  Review the times God revealed Himself by that name to those who have gone before you.  You are bonded to them, to your family of spiritual bloodline.  See how they waited and how God made Himself known.  While He might not have answered as quickly as they might have liked, when He did come shining through, I suspect that the time felt just right.

After Lazarus’ resurrection, I doubt that Mary and Martha believed that Jesus should have come three days sooner.  They knew that they would have missed a miracle – seeing their brother walk out of the grave.  As Jesus’ disciples took off Lazarus’ graveclothes, the women knew that the ‘Resurrection and the Life’ had arrived.

I take my place among those who will make your name famous.  I long for your arrival.  Amen 

‘Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence ‘“ As fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil ‘“ To make your name known to your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at your presence!’  Isaiah 64:1-2

Everything has been on the line for us. The time God’s people need to take critical action is now. If He intends to deliver us, the plan will be accomplished through prayer and fasting. However, we must also be realistic about it.  Prayer is not a magical act to deliver us from trouble. Even with prayer, we may get sick, we may lose our life and the life of a loved one.  Our death, however, does not negate the power of prayer. Prayer equips us to rest in the sovereign will of God.

It is easy to use prayer as a means of expressing our wish list for personal comfort and safety. Whenever stresses press in upon me and those I love, I go to prayer and beg for deliverance. If a trial continues, I shouldn’t erroneously conclude that prayer doesn’t work. I might be tempted to think that that God doesn’t care and this so-called perfect Father fails His children in critical times. Not true.

Prayer mobilizes God to act according to His sovereign plan for my life. Satan is always on the loose, driven to inflict death and destruction. If his war against us is ill-timed, prayer cripples the best of his strategies and renders him impotent, just as it did when the death sentence of the Jews in Susa was lifted. However, I must not be childish in my expectations. I am told that I will also share in the sufferings of Jesus. Most of the prophets and Jesus’ disciples were murdered and I need only read the first chapter of the Fox’s Book of Martyrs to clear up unrealistic expectations. If you and I perish, as Esther believed she might, and as Peter knew he would because of Jesus’ prophetic words over him, we need prayer to give us grace and peace.  But if you and I are to be delivered, we need prayer to bring about the miracle.

My prayer life is characterized by two requests. “Deliver me if that is in your plan, Lord. Or, give me grace in the fire.”

You are not my fairy god-father. No matter what I experience at Your hand, Your plan for me and for Your people, at this time in history, was conceived in love and wisdom. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them. Isaiah 42:16b

Last year, I saw God move time and time again when I was pressed on all sides.  There were decisions that had to be made that would alter the rest of my life.  I needed to end some things that had been in place for nearly thirty years but I couldn’t discern how to move toward closure.  Every course of action I conceived promised only conflict and mis-judgement.  Have you been in this situation?  You know you need to do something but when you picture possible pathways, you know each one will take you to a bad place.  If you play it safe and do nothing, the outcome will be even worse.

Today’s scripture became so real to me.  I realized that the way forward was to admit that I was blind to the path. “Father, I don’t know what I’m doing here.  I don’t see how this is going to turn out well.  I am asking You to fulfill this promise ~ to go ahead of me and alter the path.”  And God did.  He made a way.  He cast light on what was dark.  An idea would present itself on the spot, enabling me to move forward with a difficult discussion. God’s ideas were not only customized for me, they were tailor made for the other people involved too.  They were customized down to the minutest detail.  I will tell you that what I feared rarely came to pass.  God’s ways of escape could never have been discovered on my own as viable options.

God promises to lead the blind but there are different kinds of blindness.  There is physical blindness where the eyes are impaired to see.  There is a mental blindness due to cognitive impairment.  But this promise is for those who know, and acknowledge, spiritual blindness.  I came to understand it at the point of salvation, at the foot of the cross.

What I thought was right, was wrong.  What I considered a treasure was worth nothing.  What I thought I deserved, was misguided.  What was bitter in my mouth, was really sweet.  What was sweet and desirable should have been bitter. Spiritual blindness was an incurable condition without Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit.  There was no physical cure and no human cure.  No amount of education would correct it.  No input from self-help gurus could affect it for the good.  Spiritual blindness needed a spiritual cure.  What became dark when Adam sinned was remedied when the last Adam came as the Light of the world.

Salvation began at the cross when I came as a blind beggar.  Today, I can’t see the Jesus-path without help from the Word and the Spirit who gives light.  For whatever awaits me today (and it doesn’t need to be a desperate situation for my need to be desperate), I come to God with an admission of spiritual blindness.  It is for me, in this posture of poverty, that the promise was written.

Each day, each moment, breath into my darkened understanding so that my steps are in the Light.  Amen