It’s one of those times in life when so many people I know are facing difficult times. Illness, personal and relational struggles, financial challenges and more. Their journeys are hard, and answers and relief seem far away.

I heard this song yesterday.  It’s a good one. It’s a song about resolve in the middle of the storms and the tempests and the trials. And it says it much better than I ever could.

Be encouraged.

May your journey bring a blessing. May you rise on wings of faith.

Jesus draw me ever nearer,

As I labour through the storm.

You have called me to this passage,

And I’ll follow, though I’m worn.

 

Jesus guide me through the tempest;

Keep my spirit staid and sure.

When the midnight meets the morning,

Let me love You even more.

 

Let the treasures of the trial,

Form within me as I go.

And at the end of this long passage,

Let me leave them at Your throne.

 

Chorus:

May this journey bring a blessing,

May I rise on wings of faith;

And at the end of my heart’s testing,

With Your likeness let me wake.

 

“Jesus Draw Me Ever Nearer” 

Music by Keith Getty;  Words by Margaret Becker                                                                                       

Copyright © 2002 Thankyou Music

So I read the end of the story yesterday.

And the great and amazing and makes-me-smile part of reading the end of the story yesterday was that I read it on Easter morning.

Since January, I’ve been reading through the Bible.  I’ve written about it before – the “Through the Bible in 90 Days” reading plan.  And this year, Day 90 for me fell on Easter Sunday.  Maybe it was coincidence.  But I know that God knew that when I got to those last few chapters in Revelation about how the final victory plays out, I’d be reading it on the day we celebrate the victory that happened on the cross.

And it all made sense.  I knew about Revelation, but reading it on Easter made me think of it in a new and fresh way.

Because of Calvary, the end of the story is possible. Reunions with saints who have gone before us. Satan and evil destroyed.  Tears wiped away and suffering gone…forever.  A new heaven and a new earth.  Eternity with God.

Maybe I’ll make it a tradition to read the end of the story on Easter.  And be reminded once again that the grave was not the end.  The cross was not the end.

Easter morning was just the beginning.

Behold I make all things new. (Revelation 21:5)

And there shall be no more curse… (Revelation 22:3)

They shall see His face…(Revelation 22:4)

And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!”.  And let him who thirsts come.  Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.  (Revelation 22:17)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.  Amen.  (Revelation 22:21) 

 

 

 

It was an awful sight.

I drove into my apartment parking lot this afternoon and saw rows of tree trucks.  I’m not sure of the technical name for them, but they’re the trucks with the long arms on them and the people-baskets on the ends.  The people-baskets that hold the workers who cut down the trees.

My trees.

Well, they aren’t actually “my” trees.  But they do grow outside my bedroom windows.  And I love them.  And I don’t want to see them cut down.  Or cut back.

But cutting back was apparently on the tree-truck agenda for today.  The lovely swaying palm tree outside my bedroom window was cut back to a few sad fronds sticking right out the middle of it.  And there was my bedroom window, bare and exposed and in need of some shade.

I know the tree will grow back.  And I know there was a reason why the tree-truck people hacked away so mercilessly at “my tree”.  But it still made me sad.

Sometimes God hacks away (or so it seems) at things in our lives.  Things we’ve grown accustomed to, things we “need”, things we cherish.  And it seems harsh and unnecessary and it leaves us feeling exposed and sad.

But just as the tree-truck people had a reason for trimming my palm trees, God has a reason for allowing some pruning in our lives, too.  Pruning makes a tree healthier.  Pruning cuts away the parts that might not be growing the way they should.  Pruning helps what is left of the tree get stronger.

The palm fronds may be gone, but that tree is still strong.  It was just pruned. And it’s the same way with us.

So bring on those tree-trucks if that’s what I need, Lord.  I trust that whatever you cut away or leave behind is all part of Your plan.  I might wince and wish for a moment that You hadn’t done it, but I know I’m going to be OK.  Actually, better than OK.

Better than I was before.

For there is hope for a tree if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender shoots will not cease.  Job 14:7

Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.  John 15:2

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding  and eternal weight of glory. 2 Corinthians 4:17

 

I’m a planner.

I like to know that I have all my ducks in a row. I like to know all the details about an assignment before I take it on. I like to think of every possible angle, every possible thing that could go wrong, every possible roadblock that might trip me up. I ask a lot of questions.

I want to know I’m doing the right thing before I do it.

But it seems like more often than not, God doesn’t give us all the details about our assignments up front. Seems like He’s more interested in having us step out in faith without the guarantees of how things will turn out.

He did it with Noah. Told him to build an ark. No questions asked. Noah did it. “So Noah did according to all that God commanded him” (Genesis 6:22). He did it with Abraham. Told him to get out of his country and go to a land He would show him. No questions asked. Abraham did it. “So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him” (Genesis 12:4).

Sometimes, God calls us to do things without all the details up front. Sometimes He wants us to take Hebrews 11:1 very literally. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. Sometimes the confirmation that we have done the right thing comes after the obedience.

Because, after all, THAT is what faith is all about.

By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. Hebrews 11:7

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. Hebrews 11:8

That the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:7

(This blog post is a “rerun”,originally posted on 2/24/11 – in case it sounded familiar!)

I got the strangest advertisement in the mail last week.

“Come experience unconditional listening at our Experiential Art and Listening Center”.

What in the world is a “listening center”?  And why would I pay someone $30 for a session of “unconditional listening”?  My search to find out what it was and who would use it wasn’t too successful.  Must be some kind of new concept. 

The ad didn’t say that they offer any kind of advice or counseling.  They just listen.  But how frustrating would that be?  To open my wallet, pour out my soul to a stranger and get nothing but a smile in return? Would I walk out of there feeling any different than when I walked in?

Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.  Micah 7:7

God listens.  To me.  No matter what I have to say, no matter how I say it, no matter where I say it, my God will hear me. 

I don’t have to make an appointment.  I don’t have to pay $30.  I can talk to Him anytime, anywhere and in any situation and know that He is listening.  And He doesn’t just listen. He is busy behind the scenes working all things for my good.  He knows every detail of my life.

So I think I’ll pass on the invitation to have a stranger listen to me.  I’ve got a Friend who will listen, and do so much more.

 

For in You, O LORD, I hope; You will hear, O Lord my God.  Psalm 38:15

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  1 John 5:14

The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. Psalm 34:17

 

I’m not sure why I stopped on the way out my front door this morning at 6:50am. 

I had unlocked the door and pushed it open.  But for some reason I paused for a minute and looked back at into my apartment and I sensed a longing.  A longing to just stay home.

I wonder why I don’t open the front door more often with expectation and excitement over a new day with new opportunities.  Why don’t I enthusiastically embrace what’s on the other side?

Because I too often forget that each day is a blessing.  From God.

Ouch.

I forget to see each day as a gift.  No matter what lies on the other side of the door, God has given me another day to enjoy, work with, be thankful for.

I too often default to wishing it was a weekend, or wishing I was someplace else or wishing that my day didn’t start so early.  But what I should be doing is anticipating what God is going to do today, what opportunities He might bring, what chances I’ll have to see Him at work in my life, what blessings might surprise me.

So this morning, after I paused and looked around, I pushed the door back open and looked at the day differently.  This time, it wasn’t a door to another ho-hum day. 

It was a door to whatever adventures God has planned for me.  And if we expect adventures, something tells me we’ll find them.

Don’t be afraid to open the door.

This is the day the LORD has made;  We will rejoice and be glad in it.           Psalm 118:24

There is a wide-open door for a great work here… (NLT) 1 Corinthians 16:9a

…a  door was opened to me by the Lord… (2 Corinthians 2:12b)

“You’re the most patient person I know”.

I knew it wasn’t true, of course, but that’s what the man at the cell phone store said to me last night.  People notice how you respond to things that aren’t your fault.

Especially technology things that aren’t your fault.

This was my third trip to the store in 5 days.  They had talked me into a new service that sounded very delightful, but in the end it wasn’t so delightful at all. They hadn’t asked me the right questions to start with, and it wasn’t compatible with another service I already had.  And now we had to try to make it right.

So there I was, once again, trying to smile and breathe and not blame the employee who talked me into that new service.  I shouldn’t have had to be there for the 3rd time. It wasn’t my fault.  And it was pouring rain.  And I really just wanted to be at home, especially after a long day at work.

Part of me wanted to react to this “great injustice” (or at least that’s how I perceived it), but I didn’t.   And in the end, this guy noticed.

I thought about the fact that people notice how we respond to other frustrations in life.  Things that aren’t “our fault”.  Maybe things like singleness, or illness, or any number of circumstances that we didn’t bring on ourselves.

I’m definitely not the most patient person I know.  But I can choose how to respond.

Someone might be watching.  Someone who needs to see what it’s like to trust God when things don’t go as planned.

And maybe my response will make a difference.

Be patient with all.  1 Thessalonians 5:14

The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.  Ecclesiastes 7:8

He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.  Proverbs 16:32

 

 

 

“Some of your hurts you have cured,

And the sharpest you still have survived.

But what torments of grief you endured,

From evils that never arrived!”

 

Whether he knew it or not, Ralph Waldo Emerson was telling us about a scriptural principle:

Don’t worry about what “might happen”.

We waste so much time and energy playing the unknown script of tomorrow in our heads.  We think the worst.  We wonder what we’ll do.  We wonder how we’ll get through.

God knew we’d struggle with that.  We’re silly humans.  And that’s why He reminds us over and over again…

Don’t be anxious. (Philippians 4:6)

Don’t worry about your life. (Matthew 6:25)

Cast your cares on Him. (1 Peter 5:7)

God knows all about tomorrow.  Nothing will catch Him by surprise.  And if it can’t catch Him by surprise, there is really nothing for us to worry about.

We need to stop tormenting ourselves with “evils that haven’t arrived”.  If they do, God has prepared us and will provide everything we need to face them.  And if they don’t, we won’t have to lament over the grief we’ve endured, and how much time we wasted giving them more thought than they deserved.

 

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.  Matthew 6:34

Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.  Lamentations 3:22-23

So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”  Hebrews 13:6

This is my 200th blog post.  A milestone.  It’s also one year ago today that my Dad went home to be with the Lord.

A different kind of milestone.

When I realized both of these things would fall on the same day, I wondered if I should mention one and not the other.  And then I realized how perfectly appropriate it was to lay these significant markers side by side.

It’s been three years and 200 posts written about faith and trust and perseverance and hanging on with hope.  And it’s been one year of putting that all into practice in a way I hadn’t imagined I’d need to – at least not yet.

The blog posts have been about the waiting and hoping in this life, but Dad’s “anticipatience” has already been rewarded.  Everything he looked forward to, everything he longed for while he was still with us has been revealed to him in ways he never could have imagined.  Those of us on this side of eternity are still waiting.

And that’s why I’ll keep writing.

Because sometimes it’s good to know we’re not in this alone.  It’s good to share the “lessons learned in the waiting”.  Maybe share a few laughs and tears along the way, too.

God has been good.  And that’s what milestones are for.  To mark those places where we can stop, look over our shoulders and see that God has never left us.  He’s been right there with us on the journey, providing everything we need to keep moving ahead – moving ahead towards the day when our hope will be fulfilled like Dad’s was last January 23rd.

So I’m setting up a few markers today and celebrating these milestones in my own way.

And I’m looking forward to what comes next.

That this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, “What do these stones mean to you?”. Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.  Joshua 4:6-7

That they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments.  Psalm 78:7

Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth. Psalm 105:5

Long before there were conferences and books and magazines and radio programs and all sorts of other things for Christian women, there were some pretty spectacular ladies of faith.

Women like Deborah, Jael and the millstone lady.

Who?

I’ve written before that I’m reading through the Bible again.  There are some stories I’m coming across in the Old Testament that leave me with my mouth hanging open.  And while I’m certainly not any kind of evangelical feminist, the fact that some of these stories involved the adventures and exploits of women makes me smile.

I knew Deborah was a Judge.  But I never recalled hearing the story about how she led the Israelites into battle because Barak, the man in charge, was too scared to go by himself (Judges 4: 1-16).

And when the commander of the enemy army ran for his life, another woman named Jael took him into her tent and let him believe he had refuge there.  Gave him a glass of milk and a warm bed.  But while he was sleeping…well, let’s just say it involved a tent spike and a hammer and a very brave woman. And that was the end of him. After that, she was known as “blessed among housewives” (Judges 4:17-22, 5:24-27).

Then there’s the “millstone lady”.  We don’t know her name, but God used her to stop the evil leader Abimelech.  During a brutal assault on her city, she threw a millstone out the top of a tower and hit him in the head.  Mortally wounded, he asked his armor bearer to finish the job with a spear so nobody would be able to say “a woman” killed him (Judges 9:50-53).

These women were brave and courageous.  And God used them to further His kingdom.

Fortunately, most of us will never be called to lead countries into battles, or crush evil with tent spikes or millstones. But we are still called into situations that need courage and bravery and faith.

When we face those situations with confidence in God’s power and not our own, and when we bravely look difficult circumstances in the eye and resolutely decide that they won’t defeat us, we further God’s kingdom, too.  He is glorified and we are blessed.

Be a woman of faith and courage today. Be brave.  It seems God likes to use ladies like us.

Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6

Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.  1 Corinthians 16:13

Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord.  Psalm 31:24