Navigating Tempests

Have you ever been disoriented?  Confused by your current circumstances?  Perhaps it was a diagnosis that knocked your world off center?  Perhaps it was a betrayal by a close friend?  Perhaps getting removed from a job or career in which you found great joy and satisfaction?  What do we do when that happens?

Acts 1:14 (Here at Bible Gateway) may give us some help and direction.

The followers of Jesus had just experienced all their hopes and dreams evaporate with the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus.  Then, three days later, He rose from the grave.  He was with them for a short time and then they watched as he ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father.  Now what?  What would happen next in this crazy journey?  Note well what they did and notice the structural markers:

• These all (emphatic)
• With (Instrumentation points to the means) one (number – indicates unity ) mind
• Were continually (Temporal)
• Devoting themselves to (Locative – in the sense of what they were focused on)
• Prayer (Instrumentation end – the purpose of the unity)

They did not know what was going to happen next or how it was going to be revealed or how it was going to affect them.  So, their response?  Let us pray.

Perhaps we should too.

Starting Again, the Three Cs

This is another restart of this blog.  For the last 18 months plus, the three Cs, cancer, covid, and church have hindered both my desire and ability to write here.  Adding to the frustration, my website was taken down by the company that was hosting it in the process breaking all the links to documents that were referenced in the over 2,000 posts here.  I will sloooooowly fix this as I figure out where to store the docs that will persist.

My last chemo treatment was December 15, 2021.  Since then, I receive Intravenous Immunoglobulin G (IVIG) every 3 weeks until August 23, 2022, when we switched to every six weeks.  The IVIG boosts my immune system which is compromised by the cancer and the chemo.  The IVIG for the most part keeps me from getting infections.  It now takes about a week to get over.  One of the premeds is a steroid which keeps me awake most of the night of the infusion, and then takes me through a steroid crash 2 or 3 days later.

Covid also played a part in challenging my persistence in writing here.  Because of the cancer, which compromised my immune system, I was essentially in house arrest most of 20 and 21 (note those dates – more on that later).  I got five of the covid shots, and covid twice during that 20-21 period.

Lastly, church.  In October of 2022 the Integrating Pastor (what your church probably calls the executive pastor), Jay Rhodes, who is a Chaplain, Lt Col in the US Army reserve, told me he was likely to be deployed in the early part of 2022, and asked me to take his place while he was on deployment.  I shadowed him from then to March 1, 2022, at which time I stepped into his job.  That entailed supervision of all the staff other than the senior pastor and his assistant.  Additionally, I was added to the speaking rotation I’ve spoken 5 times in the last 18 months (you can listen to my messages here if you want).  Jay came back yesterday so that responsibility has ended.

Though I have been silent here, the last three years have been packed, especially the last 18 months.  I was hired to work 25 hours a week but was averaging about 63 until I was called by Jay from Kuwait in August last year and told to keep it to 4 hours a day.  I have met with the pastor in Morocco each week during that time, have had three other Bible studies on Zoom, on Tuesdays I have been praying with the man I worked with in Cameroon for his ministry, and Jenny and I have been in a small group at the church.

A year ago, I was cleared to travel overseas again.  It dawned on me a few months ago that all that has happened with cancer treatment happened when the world was shut down because of covid.  The reality was I couldn’t travel overseas in 20 and most of 21 if I wanted to.  It wasn’t until around May of this year that the travel restrictions and the tests and quarantines were lifted.

The Lord treated my cancer while the world was shut down.

I am scheduled to go back to Morocco in December.  I am working with my friend in Cameroon to go there after that trip.  I need to get back to Togo.  I have an opportunity to serve in a seminary somewhere in eastern Africa and have a possibility to work with pastors in Mongolia.

Our Lord is good.

Growth by Praying for Others

I often ask others how I can be praying for them.  There is also another question I ask; I wrote about that here.  

A few weeks back, I asked a man for whom I have a lot of respect, how I could be praying for him.  He replied that he was anxious.  Later as I pondered his request – I want to be clear he had reason to be anxious – it occurred to me that when we are anxious, it is evidence of, possibly several deficiencies in our understanding and/or our relationship with Him.

We all may have Philippians 4:6 – 7 (here @ BibleGateway) memorized, but that doesn’t mean that we find it easy to live that out.  We still get anxious about “nothing.”  Psalm 139:3 (here @ BibleGateway) reminds us that God has scrutinized our path*.  That word means that He has examined our path beyond how a civil engineer examines the aggregate used to mix the concrete in our roads.  So in a real sense when we are anxious we are not trusting Him.

Nothing comes our way without Him knowing.  Nothing comes our way without intention.  Personally, I need to be continually reminded of that truth.  By asking my friend how I could pray for him, I was reminded and challenged in my own trust of God’s scrutiny of my own life’s path.  

Yet another example of the genius of the Lord’s commands to us.  We are to love one another, and pray for one another in so doing we are exhorted, challenged, and built up not only in our relationships with one another but also in our walk with Him.

*I have written a lot on this Psalm in this blog, there are several posts if you would like to see them type Psalm 139 in the “Search This Blog” tool at the top of the column next to this post.  Then I would suggest sort by date.

Intention in Pain

In Psalm 35 (here @ BibleGateway), David lists all many of the ways, if not all, that his enemies are acting against him.

Verse	Action
1	Contend with David
1	Fight against David
3	Pursue him
4	Seek his life
4	Devise evil against him
7	Hid a net for him
7	Dug a pit for his soul
11	Ask of him thing he did not know
12	Repay him evil for the good he did
15	Rejoice at his stumbling
15	Smiters gathered around him
15	Slandered him without ceasing
16	Gnashed at him with their teeth
19	Hate him without cause
20	Do not speak peace
20	Devise deceit against the innocent
21	Open their mouth wide against him
21	Said Aha our eyes have seen it
26	Rejoice at my distress
26	Magnify themselves over him

There are 20 issues or actions David’s enemies take against him on that list.  In 2 Corinthians 6:1 – 10 (here @ BibleGateway), one of Paul’s long sentences, Paul shares a similar list.  Challenges he faced in serving the Lord.  David is called a man after God’s own heart, 1 Samuel 13:14 (here @ BibleGateway), Acts 13:22 (here @ BibleGateway).  Paul was God’s chosen instrument to the Gentiles Acts 9:12 (here @ BibleGateway).  When God stated that about Paul, He told Ananias He would show Paul how much he must suffer for Him.

If it is the case that Psalm 139:3 (here @ BibleGateway) is true, God knows what we are going through.  If it is the case that Ephesians 2:10 (here @ BibleGateway) is true, God has a specific work that He wants us to do.  If 1 Corinthians 12 (here @ BibleGateway), Romans 12 (here @ BibleGateway), and Ephesians 4:11 – 16 (here @ BibleGateway) are true, God gives gifts intentionally in the body for the purpose of equipping us and building us up in Him.  Additionally, if 2 Timothy 3:16 – 17 (here @ BibleGateway) and John 16:13 (here @ BibleGateway) are true He has given us His Word in order to equip us for every good work and to know Him.

Whatever we are going through, whether it is hard, painful, difficult, joyful, whatever… it is intentional in our lives.  It is purposeful.  It is shaping us into the tool that will bring Him glory.

Lessons – Appendix

Thinking about the last post it was obvious that one lesson was omitted.  It was one of the first lessons to which the Lord led.  It is an extension or corollary to this post I wrote back in February last year.  

I do not remember how, or why I was reading Philemon (here @ BibleGateway) in May; it was not in my reading program in that month.  Regardless I started reading Philemon soon after I found out I was going to start treatment and before my first infusion.

I did not get far.

I was stopped short at the sixth word of Philemon 1.  It reads. “Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus…”  Wait!  Paul is in a Roman prison; chained to a Roman guard; incarcerated under Roman law; yet he describes himself as a prisoner of Christ?  What the fat is that about?

Stunned I stopped to pray and think.  Slowly (emphasis on that word) what was going on began to glacially dawn.  Paul viewed his current “situation” as his assignment from his Lord.  He literally was chained to his “captive” audience.  This is validated in Philippians 1:12 – 13 (here @ BibleGateway), the whole praetorian guard, whole, all, had heard from Paul as well as everyone, again an inclusive, expansive word, had heard as well.  

It was his ministry assignment.  It was the fulfillment of Jesus’ message to Paul in Acts 23:11 (here @ BibleGateway).  Acts 28:16 (here @ BibleGateway) gives the context for Paul’s comment in Philemon 1 (here @ BibleGateway) and Philippians 1:12 – 13 (here @ BibleGateway).

So, I pondered what were the implications for me as I faced the next 20 months being seated for four days every 21 days for multiple hours in the midst of people whom I did not know?  A question formed, “What would it be like to be a cancer patient of Christ Jesus”.

As I considered this.  A plan formed.  I would ask those that were to be taking care of me how I might be praying for them while I was bound to the chemo chair.  I would also ask the doctors.  So at the next appointment I asked, it was when I was getting prepped to get my port.  I asked the nurse who was working on me how I could be praying for her.  As I recall she looked at me as if I was from another planet and had no response.  Ok.  I’ll keep trying.  So, the next nurse, and the next, and the next doctor.  

Some reacted like the first nurse or said they could not think of anything.  But, many more, most in fact, while surprised, were grateful.  I would write the requests down, pray over them, and then ask about them next time I saw the person that gave me the prayer request.  It became known that I was doing that.  Some began to share requests with me without my asking.  It became a way for me to thank and in a real way serve those who were serving me.

The lesson, at least for me, is that when we are in a circumstance where our situation is the focus, it is unexpected that the needs of those who are tasked to help us or serve us are not necessarily considered.  If I understand the way Christ ministered to people, He was always thinking about the needs of those around Him, even as he hung on the cross.  

I hesitated to share this and at the same time I was eager to share it.  I do not want to present as one who has all of this stuff figured out.  There were times when the meds just knocked me out, there were times when I forgot to ask.  Only one of the doctors responded positively, and that changed our relationship for the better. 

I share this as a possible encouragement, as an implication of the reality of God’s sovereign intention in all that he brings into our life.  If He meant what He said in Matthew 6:33 (here @ BibleGateway); I assume He did.  Perhaps regarding all the “circumstances” we find ourselves as Paul did his imprisonment in Rome, may be one way to follow him.  You may ask, “How can I be an engineer of Christ Jesus?”  “How can I be a teacher of Christ Jesus?”  “How can I be a football player of Christ Jesus?” etc.

Traversing Affliction

This morning I was reading in Exodus.  The chapters assigned were 1 – 2.  Actually, that was the reading last week some time.  But, because of chemo and getting the second Covid vaccine, I was not able to think or read after Tuesday morning, so I am doing some catch up.

I was struck, not for the first time, by Exodus 1:10 – 14 (here @ Bible Gateway).  Some context, for a while now, I have been pondering how or why the Lord is using the past five years and specifically the cancer to equip my wife and me for that which He designed us.  Reading Exodus 1:10 – 14 (here @ Bible Gateway), and thinking about God’s knowledge of our path, Psalm 139:3 (here @ Bible Gateway), it occurs to me that what comes into our lives is intentional, purposeful.  To validate that for yourself, consider Ephesians 2:10 (here @ Bible Gateway), Hebrews 12:4 – 10 (here @ Bible Gateway), Romans 5:1 – 11 (here @ Bible Gateway), 2 Corinthians 1:3 – 11 (here @ Bible Gateway).

Back to Exodus…  We know from the rest of the book that Moses is going to lead the nation out of their bondage to Egypt.  That is not a trivial journey.  The nation is going to have to flee the Egyptian army, cross miles of wilderness, essentially living off the land while carrying everything they can including shelters.  Serious backpacking trip under duress. 

Note what happened prior to Moses showing up.  The Egyptians forgot Joseph.  They began to afflict Israel.  They gave them difficult, physically demanding work.  They “compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously”.

Since we see in the Word that the Lord is sovereign, able to control the hearts of kings, Proverbs 21:1 (here @ Bible Gateway); isn’t it reasonable that the Lord used the Egyptian’s fear of Israel and their response to compel them into rigorous labor as preparation for the rigorous journey out of Egypt that was just around the corner for the nation?

So, if we are facing difficult times, perhaps we should be asking the Lord to help us understand it as prep.  We certainly may not, and probably won’t, get an explanation as to the specifics of the reason for the prep.  But, praying or asking in that way will remind us that is the case, it is prep.  

It may be as simple as creating for us a platform from which to encourage and comfort others who are going through similar trials as 2 Corinthians 1:3ff (here @ Bible Gateway) suggests.  It may be to develop our character as Romans 5:1ff (here @ Bible Gateway) and Hebrews 12:4ff (here @ Bible Gateway) declare.  It may be for reasons that we never are able to determine.  It is still prep.

Regardless, whether we understand or not, praying for understanding will remind us not only that He is intentional in what He brings into our lives, but also that we can trust Him through the process.

I do not pretend to suggest that this will make any of the difficulties less difficult.  However, it could more accurately align our focus and faith.

What do you think?

Gifts

We all like getting or giving gifts.  My wife and I have 9 grandchildren with the 10th on the way.  At Christmas, the area around our tree is covered with gifts for them.  It is fun to watch their excitement as they open them.

We read in scripture that God’s gifts are perfect, James 1:17 (here @ Bible Gateway).  In Matthew 7:11 (here @ Bible Gateway) and Luke 11:13 (here @ Bible Gateway) we are reminded that the Father gives good gifts to His children.

In Philippians 4:6 – 7 (here @ Bible Gateway) we are told to not be anxious but rather ask with thanksgiving for what we want.  In Hebrews 12:9 – 10 (here @ Bible Gateway) we see the same parallel that we saw in Matthew and Luke above, what the earthly father does compared and contrasted with what our heavenly Father does.  Our heavenly Father works in our lives to cause us to share His holiness.

In Romans 5:1 – 11 (here @ Bible Gateway) we are challenged to exalt in our tribulations, knowing that navigating those positively impacts our character and dependence on Him.

There are more passages that come to mind chief among them Psalm 139:3 (here @ Bible Gateway) and Psalm 119: 67, 71, 75, 107 (here @ Bible Gateway).

When we put all this together, perhaps a slightly different view of His gifts emerges.  Nothing comes into our lives without His direction and purpose.  He is intentional in developing us for the work He has for us.  So illness, financial challenges, family challenges, all that we encounter, all of life’s experiences He uses to shape us.  

We pray for healing from illness, for easing of the financial or family challenges, do we make those requests with thanksgiving?  I was challenged praying for one who was close to us for healing from cancer.  I was confronted with the challenge of being thankful for the cancer.  Was that really what the Lord was asking?  As I processed that with the individual, they were struggling with the same issue.

Paul penned much of what we read in the New Testament.  He gives help from his own life on this issue in 2 Corinthians 10:7 – 10 (here @ Bible Gateway).  He prayed for relief but came to the realization that the weakness made him dependent on Christ.  He then boasted about his weakness, embracing the power of Christ.

Our family has had lots of “gifts” in the past 4 years.  Personally, I have not consistently thanked the Lord for those struggles.  I have not always exalted in them.  I continue to struggle with what it means and how to live through the power of Christ.  However, I am slowly learning how to be well content with weakness, distress, and difficulties.

Abundant, Overwhelming Grace

On May 12th last year I started chemo for the cancer I have, Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia.  I had no idea how it was going to impact me.  The first infusion was two days, 3 hours on the 12th and 5 hours on the 13th.  

On the evening of the 13th my diaphragm began to spasm.  It was like having hiccups on steroids, which I had both days.  They calmed down by 10 PM but started back up again at 12:30 the morning of the 14th.  They kept me awake until 5 AM.

In my journal the evening of the 14th I recorded a passage that had really encouraged me, 2 Corinthians 12:7 – 10 (here @ Bible Gateway).  I was struck yet again by Paul’s attitude.  He was well content with weakness, with insults, with distress, with persecutions, with difficulties, for it made him dependent on Christ.

As mentioned in my last post part of my Quiet time for the past year or so has been to read and reflect on one of the entries in The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions (VOV).  This is what I read the morning of the 15th.

The voyage is long, the waves high, the storms pitiless, but my helm is held steady, thy word secures safe passage, thy grace wafts me on ward, my haven is guaranteed. (VOV, Voyage, page 202 - 203) 

Those words reminded me of what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:7 – 10 (here @ Bible Gateway).  However, that is not what was the greatest comfort.  I started reading VOV because of a conversation I had with one of the small group leaders in our church.  He mentioned that the men in his group spent some time looking at it and discussing some of the entries.

Out of curiosity, I got a copy and a few weeks later incorporated it into my time with God.  That was months before May 15, 2020.  Yet the timing of this sentence was perfect.  What stunned me, and I should know better by now, was the Lord using an off hand comment by a Christian brother months before, to supply encouragement to me when I was in need.

Psalm 139 (here @ Bible Gateway) tells us that He knows our path in detail, He encloses us behind and before and lays His hand on us.  He knows what I need before I need it and supplies it just in time.

Further, this morning before I started my time with Him, I prayed that He would meet me and in our time together, He would through His Spirit increase my love for Him.  But this morning nothing really stood out in what I read.  As I am writing this, I am overwhelmed with His love and care for me.  He answered the prayer in His own time.

His grace and kindness are overwhelmingly abundant.

Covid-19

Don’t know about you, but it, has taken me a bit of time to get used to being restricted.  I normally spend a fair amount of time in my office at home.  But I am not used to spending all day indoors.  As of last night the governor of our state has strongly urged people like me, older with underlying medical issues, in my case smoldering cancer that suppresses my immune system, to stay in our houses until April 30th!  Ouch.

So, with those realities bearing down on us.  I have yet to use my time, the extra time, I have been “given” well.  I have slept past my normal 0530 or 0620 get up time.  But, I have not done well using the time.

As a result, as I reviewed the last post, I don’t remember what the next point was.  So…

It may be good to review some things all of us already know.

First, in all of this we are experiencing, God is sovereign.  Further, He is love.  God’s nature and character is not affected by what we are experiencing.  As a matter of fact, it is the certainty of His unchanging nature that allows us to navigate times like this well.

In 1 Peter 1:3 – 5 (here @ Bible Gateway), Peter gives us two anchors to navigate difficult trials.  First, we have an inheritance that is certain.  That inheritance is reserved for each of us in heaven.  Second, we have a salvation that protects us which will be revealed in the last time.  Notice that neither the inheritance nor the salvation is revealed now.  They are anchors in eternity to which we tie our hope and focus.

In Romans 5:1 – 11 (here @ Bible Gateway), we are encouraged to exult in three things, the hope of the glory of God, our tribulations, and finally in God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have been reconciled to God.  Consider this carefully, and you will see the parallels to Peter’s exhortation.

James also encourages us.  In James 1:2 – 4 (here @ Bible Gateway) we are encouraged to count times like these as joy.  Because, like in Romans 5, this testing produces endurance or perseverance (it is the same Greek word in both places).  The result of perseverance or endurance is we become perfect and complete.

This is echoed in Hebrews 12:4 – 11 (here @ Bible Gateway).  We go through difficulty for the purpose of sharing in His holiness with the result that we have the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

Consider these passages.  See what the Lord may have for you in this time.

Loss

Have you ever had loss in your life?  Fired from a job?  Betrayed by people you considered your friends?  Had a financial reversal?  A difficult diagnosis?  Had a loved one taken from you?

Consider Psalm 3 (here @ Bible Gateway).  David was betrayed and exiled by his son.  That is loss at a level that is hard to wrap one’s head around.  From being a king placed by God, David is reduced to fleeing for his life.

David though, does not value or hold on to his reputation, his wealth, or his position.  Rather he holds onto the Lord.

When all seems against us, like David, we need to hold on to the Lord, no one, or nothing else.

Control

The Bible continually intrigues me.  For instance, Judges 7:2 (here @ Bible Gateway).  Here the Lord tells Gideon that is army is too big.  The Lord doesn’t want Gideon and the nation to reason that they had won on the strength of the army.  It was God who was going to deliver them.

The Lord then takes the army through a two-phase process that took the army down to 300 from 32,000.  Significant difference.

Now look at 2 Chronicles 20:17 (here @ Bible Gateway).  The Lord instructs Jehoshaphat that he doesn’t need to fight with those who are coming against him.  He tells him to take the army out and stand and see what the Lord does.  He essentially is having the army as an observer.  He then routs the enemy without Jehoshaphat’s army lifting a finger.

He doesn’t need us.

But in some cases, like Gideon, he allows participation.  In others, like Jehoshaphat, the Lord lets him watch.  In both cases the Lord did all the work even though in one case he allowed participation.

This contrast, this reality, raises at least one question for which I have no inkling of an answer.  Why?  Why does the Lord act differently in each of these cases?  On the one hand He allows Gideon minimal participation, on the other He forbids Jehoshaphat to engage.  What were the reasons for the difference?  Was there something about these men that caused the Lord to act differently?  We do not seem to have any data to come to a reasonable answer to any of those questions.

That is frustrating.  Being trained as an engineer and pilot, I have difficulty with uncertainty.

One thing here though is certain.  If we think we are in control of what is going on, if we think we can affect the outcome of a battle, be it spiritual or in a human war, we are mistaken.  Throughout the text of the Old Testament and supported by the descriptions of God’s nature and character in the New Testament, this is His story.  He is firmly in control.

That is the one clear thing.  It is also a bright, unwavering beacon of hope.

Overwhelmed

Have you ever felt overwhelmed, helpless, and useless?  Faced with a circumstance that, regardless of any effort, looked insurmountable?

Read Judges 6:11 – 12 (here @ Bible Gateway).

If you look at the context, the Midianites were treating Israel like their corner grocery store.  They were coming in at harvest and taking everything they saw.  Judges 6:5 (here @ Bible Gateway) compares them to a plague of locusts.

In the midst of this the angel of the lord finds Gideon – now Gideon was hiding in a wine press beating out wheat.  I do not have any experience with growing and harvesting wheat, nor have I ever been involved in the making of wine.  That being said, I am relatively certain that a wine press is not a normal wheat harvesting implement, nor is beating out wheat a regular task in the making of wine.  The text backs this up.  Gideon was hiding what he was doing so the Midianites would not get the wheat.

It is in this context that the angel of the Lord addresses Gideon as a valiant warrior.

He’s hiding in a wine press to beat out wheat so the bad guys won’t get it – hiding, valiant warrior – the math doesn’t seem to work.

Gideon does turn out to be a valiant warrior.  But, he wasn’t at the moment – or perhaps the better way to say that is that he was not functioning as he was designed.  Perhaps the Lord views us through the lens of Ephesians 2:10 (here @ Bible Gateway).  We are made to do His work.  We are His workmanship to accomplish what He wants.  So, He sees us how He made us.

So, when confronted with the overwhelming, perhaps our best course of action is to seek the Lord as Gideon did and tackle the overwhelming in His strength.

No Surprises

As I have studied the Bible for the last 46 years, one thing has come into sharper and sharper focus, God is in control.  We saw that in 1 Peter 1, His foreknowledge is the operating standard which informs all of the instruction Peter gives on suffering.

2017 was a hard year for our family.  We were in the midst of experiencing 5 deaths.  I was reviewing a journal entry I made in July of that year after dealing with some of my Father’s estate.  I was reflecting on Judges 3:1 – 4 (here @ Bible Gateway), take a moment and read those 4 verses.

You will remember that Israel was tasked with removing all the inhabitants of the land the Lord had given them.  Israel did not do so.  There were four groups of people left.  What struck me reading through this was that the text says that the Lord left these nations to test Israel.  Israel didn’t drive them out; the Lord left them.  Ponder that.

Israel was disobedient by not driving those nations out.  God used those nations to test Israel’s obedience and to train them for war.

There are areas in my life where I have been disobedient.  There are areas in which I have failed the Lord.  It is no surprise to Him.  2017 was not a surprise to Him.  He not only knows we fail, knows we have faults, He uses those failures and engages those faults to test, train, and equip us for His purposes.

He is in control.  He is not surprised.

The Source of Perseverance – Part 2

If you have read this blog much you will see that either “chuck” or “unknown” has commented fairly regularly.  Chuck is not unknown to me.  He is one of the more important mentors I have had in my life.  I met him soon after becoming a believer while I was still in pilot training.  You would do well to read and ponder his thoughts…

Last post I suggested that you take a look at the following passages:
Romans 5:3 – 5 (here @ Bible Gateway)
Romans 15:5 – 6 (here @ Bible Gateway)
James 1:2 – 4 (here @ Bible Gateway)
1 Peter 1:6 – 9 (here @ Bible Gateway)

The thrust of these – and before I start down this road, I want to clearly state that it is much easier to understand what the scripture says about this than it is to live it out.  It is impossible, in our own strength to walk through pain, suffering, or persecution; perhaps, in fact, that is the point…

Even a cursory reading of those passages suggests a rather difficult assignment.  We are to exult in our tribulations.  We are to consider all trials to be joy – it would be appropriate to pause a moment to explore the word “consider” more closely.  The lexicons, considered as a whole, describe this as an intentional setting of one’s mind in a chosen direction.  Thus when we are faced with difficulty it is our charge to think differently about that challenge.  We are to embrace it as from the Lord.  Peter reinforces this reminding us and agreeing with James that the difficulty is intentional to perfect our faith.

So there is purpose in what the Lord takes us through, it is to refine our faith.  However, there is another purpose.  Consider, 2 Corinthians 1:3 – 7 (here @ Bible Gateway).  One of the things that we learn through the fire of trials is to trust in the faithfulness and love of God.  That brings us comfort.

That comfort is not for us only, it is to prepare us to more effectively share the comfort of Christ with those who He brings in our path.

There is a lot more here, I am sure that you have seen more or have more questions.  However, that bit is, as I said before, hard to actually live out.

Walking Difficult, Dangerous Paths – Expanded

Yesterday, I shared several passages that have meant a lot to me over the past couple of years.  Today, I am going to depart from the usual practice here and share the passage and then some thoughts about the way that passage impacts me walking a difficult, dangerous path.  This is essentially copied from my journal, as is – I have added to it a bit because in my journal I write in a personal form of shorthand…

Psalm 142:3a (all passages will be NASB95)
When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, You knew my path…
In the midst of all, anything we are experiencing, this path, regardless of how dark it seems you know.  There is nothing that I am encountering that is not known to you.

I wrote Psalm 139:3 under this passage: You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways...
He not only knows my path, He has examined it, scrutinized it, knows every twist, turn, bump, crack, hazard on that path.

Then I referred to Psalm 139:5 without writing it out: You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me...
While on this path, the Lord has surrounded me and has me in His hand.  I cannot be separated from Him however difficult the trial.

The next Psalm also dealt with this – note that when I put a letter after a verse, 8c I am referring to a later portion of the verse.

Psalm 143:8c –…Teach me the way in which I should walk…
I am dependent on the Lord to lead me through whatever I am facing.  I cannot navigate it in either my own strength, or with the knowledge I have now…

Psalm 143:10a –…Teach me to do Your will…
Reinforces the previous thought…

Psalm 143:10c –…Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground...
Again reinforcing my absolute dependence on the Lord to traverse – really anything – but especially difficult times.

And then the kicker – it seems that whenever I am struggling with something, either in prayer or in the Word I am always led back to this…
Psalm 143:11a – For the sake of Your name, O LORD, revive me…
When the Lord delivers, when He leads, it is not for my sake, it is not because of my will, it is for His glory.

We are taught, we are revived, not for our benefit but for the Lord’s glory.

The anchor here for me is that nothing that I encounter in this life, be it cancer, the death of a loved one, financial difficulties – whatever, fill in the blank – comes into my life without the Lord’s knowledge.  Further, He has enclosed me and has His hand on me on that path.

I know that there is a purpose for whatever happens on that path.  He scrutinized it, He is using it in my life to bring me closer to Him and to sharpen and mold me into the man He wants me to be.

Caveat – it is really easy to write all of this down in a journal or here in a blog.  It is also easy to read and agree.  Living it, is another matter.  One has to have come to an understanding of both the Love and Sovereignty of God to navigate this well, even then…it’s very hard.

Walking Difficult, Dangerous Paths

For the past season I have been reading three books essentially in parallel; they are not really happy books, light reading.

• Walking with God through Pain and Suffering, by Timothy Keller 
• How Long, O Lord?: Reflections on Suffering and Evil, by D. A. Carson 
• The Christian Art of Dying: Learning from Jesus, by Allen Verhey 

Like I said, not light reading.  A long term, good friend sent Verhey’s book about two years ago when this season of our life started.  In the midst of what we have been walking through for the past couple of years I picked up Keller’s book.  I have read about 9 of Carson’s works, I deeply appreciate his commitment to good theological method; plus he is quick to get to the point.

The interesting thing about these three books is that they align with what I have seen in the Word about dealing with suffering, difficulty, and evil.

One of the main, if not the main, things that I have found to be critical in dealing with really difficult, hard times, is a good handle on both the sovereignty and love of God.

As I have said before much of the content of this blog comes from my journals.  I review what I wrote there, in this case last summer, and then respond to it here.

Look at Psalm 142:3 (here @ Bible Gateway).  Based on the prefix to the psalm David is running for his life and hiding from Saul.  He states that the Lord knows his path.  In Psalm 139:3 (here @ Bible Gateway), David shares a similar point of view.  The Lord not only knows but scrutinizes, knows in detail, David’s path.

Now look at Psalm 143:8 – 11 (here @ Bible Gateway).  David is asking the Lord to be led through his path.  Look at how he frames the request, the basis from which he approaches the Lord.  David asks to be led, revived for the sake of the Lord’s name.  It wasn’t for the David’s sake he wanted to be revived, it was for the Lord.

Think through these.  I want to share some of the things I have thought about this in the next post.

Trusting Love

Last post I shared that there were two things to which we held fast during the past difficult season.  The first was the certain knowledge that God was sovereign.  That He was in control.  That what was coming into our lives was not coincidence or fiat, but was with purpose.  We may not yet understand that purpose, in fact, we don’t.  However, we are certain of purpose.

The second anchor was knowing that God is Love.  That all He does is consistent with His character and nature and as John declared in 1 John 4:8 (here @ Bible Gateway), “God is love”.

I do not understand yet, how the immediate past journey was a product of His love.  In fact there are many things in our lives which do not seem to align with my perception of what His love for me would produce.  Nevertheless, the Word is clear.  The demonstration of that Love is stark.  He died for me.  He died for those for whom we grieve.  We still may not understand, in fact we don’t.  But as one with whom I have recently become acquainted, Flannery O’Conner, said, “A God you understood would be less than yourself.”

He is not.  Isaiah 55:9 (here @ Bible Gateway) reminds me that His thoughts and ways are not mine.

There were many times that my prayer was reduced to, “I trust You, and I love You.”

Trusting Sovereignty

Read through Psalm 105 (here @ Bible Gateway), Isaiah 45:7 (here @ Bible Gateway), and Isaiah 46:10 (here @ Bible Gateway).  What do you see?

In Psalm 105 (here @ Bible Gateway), I see that the Lord did what He said He would do with Israel’s relationship to Egypt.  He controls, He is sovereign.

In Isaiah 45:7 (here @ Bible Gateway) I see – well a lot.  A lot with which many of us, me included, may struggle.  The Lord causes both well-being and calamity.  Whew.  But he is the one who also forms light and creates darkness.

Then in Isaiah 46:10 (here @ Bible Gateway), I see that His purpose and “good” pleasure is going to be accomplished.

When I consider the last couple of years, which included 5 deaths in our immediate family, it is hard to reconcile those passages with my experience.

That is the challenge is it not?  We tend to evaluate what the Lord does from our perspective.  We grade Him based on how what He does makes us feel.  We seem to think that the only reason that God exists is to make us happy, fulfill our needs, give us a great life.

We put ourselves in the center of the story.  All revolves around us.  That does not seem to be what the Bible says about God.  This is His creation.  We are His people.  Yes, He redeemed us from the devastating impact of sin in our lives.  But that was His choice, not ours.  He did it for His purpose.

There are two things that allowed us to navigate the last couple of years.  This is the first.  God is sovereign.  He is in control.  He has perfect reasons, good reasons for what He does.

The next thing we held onto will be in the next post.

Happy Thanksgiving

Yesterday I got a newsletter from Jim Dobson.  In it he gives a really good overview of the pilgrims’ choices to come to America, their struggles when they got here, and the first Thanksgiving.

Why not read this to your family tomorrow? (click here to get it)

Happy Thanksgiving from Entrusting Truth.

The Peace of Dependence

I reviewed Psalm 71:6 (here @ Bible Gateway); 1 Peter 5:10 (here @ Bible Gateway); and James 4:14 (here @ Bible Gateway) just now.

It occurs to me that regardless of what has happened in our life or what will transpire, there is solace, peace, rest in the knowledge that it is from the Lord who is sovereign, holy, love, and unchanging.

Coupled with Psalm 139:16 (here @ Bible Gateway), I can trust Him, resting in the knowledge that He is in control of my path and my life.