“Drive through the storm.”

That’s what my Dad always told us.  He spent much of his time in his car traveling to and from ministry opportunities.  So when he gave us driving advice, we listened.

He taught us that when you’re in your car and in a storm, just keep driving.  He told us that if we stopped, the storm might just hang out over us.  If we kept going, eventually we’d drive out of it.

I had to put that into practice last night.  I drove right into a storm on the way home from Bible study.  A bad one – the kind that makes you turn off the radio so you can concentrate on staying on the road.  A white-knuckles on the steering wheel kind of storm.  Thunder, lightning, and walls of water coming across the highway.

All I wanted to do was get home.  So I did what Dad taught me to do. I kept on driving.

Dad’s driving advice is good for life, too.

There are going to be storms.  Sometimes they’re bad ones.  Sometimes all we want to do is pull off the road and give up. Or turn around. But what we need to do is drive through them. Eventually, the storm will pass.

I know that if Dad knew about the storms in my life and in the lives of people I care about, he’d tell us to keep driving.  He’d tell us that God is with us in the storms and that He will bring us through them and that we’ll be better off on the other side of them for having been brave enough to drive on.

So I’ll grip that steering wheel, turn off the distractions and keep going in spite of what is going on around me.

Drive through the storms, my friend.  There’s clear sky up ahead.

We went through fire and through water; but You brought us out to rich fulfillment. Psalm 66:12

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.  Isaiah 43:2

You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day.    Psalm 91:5

But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them. 2 Timothy 3:14    

You’ve probably seen them in a gift store or catalog – those red rectangles with the white lettering and a picture of a crown that say, “Keep Calm and Carry On”.

It’s really from a phrase the British government used to inspire the courage of its citizens during World War 2, but somehow it has taken off in popularity over the last year or two.  And it’s popping up on mugs and posters and tote bags.  It really is catchy and memorable.

I got thinking about courage and carrying on the other day in a moment when my resolve wasn’t at its strongest.  So I started to go to the famous “faith chapter” of Hebrews 11 for encouragement.  But God nudged me to look at chapter 10 first.  And I found a catchy and memorable phrase of my own.

“Hold fast and don’t lower your sails”.

How would that be on a mug or a poster?  Verse 23 (one of my absolute favorites) says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful”.  And then later on, verse 38 says, “Now the just shall live by faith, but if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him”.  The Greek word for “draws back” means to withdraw, be timid, shrink down, LOWER THE SAILS.

If you lower your sails, your ship isn’t going anywhere.

And maybe like those British citizens during the time of war, I need a new phrase to inspire my courage –  the courage to hang on when circumstances are confusing, when answers are delayed, when the fight is hard.  It may not ever end up in a catalog or on a tee-shirt.  But I like it.

Be courageous. Live by faith.  Don’t waver.  Don’t be timid or shrink down.

And by all means, hold fast and don’t lower your sails.

You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.  Deuteronomy 13:4

Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.  Revelation 3:11

So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God”.  Mark 11:22

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

Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!  Psalm 27:14

So, were you ready on September 18^th?  You didn’t know?  It was national “Get Ready Day”.

I didn’t have it on my calendar either.  But the American Public Health Association identified that as a day to draw attention to our need to be ready for at least 31 types of disaster.  They had a list ranging from volcano eruptions, tsunamis, disease carrying mosquitoes, power outages and wildfires, to home disasters, work emergencies, nuclear and radiation exposure, mental health emergencies and landslides.

I’m exhausted just thinking about everything I need to do.  🙂

I’m all for preparation.  I live in an area prone to hurricanes, so I know all about making sure I have the candles and the water and the emergency food in case a storm turns in our direction.

But there are things in life that are more difficult to prepare for.

Are we ever really ready to get a phone call at 4:00 in the morning?  You know the ones – the phone calls that bring bad news?  Are we ever really ready for those situations that catch us off guard and leave us blindsided and confused?

There are no checklists for times like those, no storage closets for the things we’ll need to get us through.  And yet, while we can’t really stockpile calm and peace and clear thinking, we can know where to reach for them when the time comes.

God has an unlimited supply of everything we’ll need.  Being “ready” for the seeming disasters in our lives means knowing that nothing happens outside of His control or behind His back, and believing that He is ready and willing to give us whatever it takes to get us through.

I might not always be completely ready for the unexpected, but I’ll be ready to trust the one who has it all under control.

Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.  Psalm 46:2

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

Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.   Psalm 50:15

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:19

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.           Psalm 23:4

He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.  Psalm 112:7

It’s funny sometimes how a song you haven’t heard in years will suddenly pop into your head…and your heart.

I was having one of those “Why, Lord?” moments yesterday during my quiet time, wondering what was happening (or not happening) in my life.  And God brought the words to this song to my mind.  I went in search of the CD and as soon as I started playing it, I knew God was trying to tell me something.

His faithfulness exceeds Beyond What I Can See…

My God is faithful
For not one promise He has made
Has gone unfulfilled
According to His will
And He is able
For by His grace He supplies
My every need
His faithfulness exceeds
Beyond what I can see

And God is worthy
If not another blessing came
I’d still give Him praise
The balance of my days
And He’s forgiving
Though I’ve caused Him much pain
Still He calls me friend
His love and grace exceed
Beyond what I can see

God is holy
And He delivered me from sin
To be the same
And to Him I remain
Forever thankful
For though I’d broken His commands
He still set me free
His love for me exceeds
Beyond what I can see

Chorus:
Beyond what I can see
Beyond what I can see
Though the road’s not clear
I will not fear
The way He’s leading me
So, until the morning light
When my faith ends in sight
I’ll rest assured
In whom I have believed
And follow on beyond what I can see.

recorded by Larnelle Harris

For we walk by faith, not by sight.  2 Corinthians 5:7

We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  Hebrews 11:1

I think it should have been pretty obvious.

Two blind men sitting by the side of a road.  Jesus comes by with a huge crowd following close behind. The blind men are making a commotion with their cries for mercy. The crowd tries to get  them to be quiet and that makes them cry out even more.

The stage is set. Here’s the omnipotent miracle worker and two sightless men and a worked-up crowd.  But Jesus doesn’t do the obvious.  He stops and asks them a question instead.

“What do you want Me to do for you?”  

Really?  Couldn’t He  have figured it out?  They’re blind!  I wonder if they thought He was kidding.  But they didn’t skip a beat.  They answered quickly, “Lord, we want our eyes to be opened”.

Sometimes you just need to be specific.

So, if I was sitting by the side of the road and Jesus came by and asked me exactly what I wanted Him to do for me, what would I say?    Would I stumble over my words?  Would I stutter and avert my eyes and say something acceptable and generic like, “Well, Lord, whatever You want”?

Would Jesus take my lowered chin in His hand, lift it up, look me in the eyes and say, “Really, Sharon, what do you want me to do for you?”

Of course He knows our need. Of course He knows what will happen next.  But sometimes He wants to hear it from us, in our words, from our hearts. Jesus wants us to ask.

Don’t just cry out.  Don’t be shy.

Be specific.

What do you want me to do for you?  Matthew 20:32

Until now you have asked nothing in My name.  Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.  John 16:24

Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble.  You will prepare their heart.  You will cause Your ear to hear.  Psalm 10:17

Then you will call upon Me, and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.   Jeremiah 29:12

(adapted from a post originally published in 2010)

I’m glad it’s Sunday. Because sometimes you just need a brand new week.

This past one would never get on my “Best Weeks of All Time” list. What was the name of that children’s book? Oh yes, it was “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”. Insert “week” instead of “day”, and there you have it.

Oh, I’ll survive. It wasn’t anything that was all that dire in the scheme of things. And someday I’ll look back and think it how silly it was to get all twisted up by it. But I sure am glad God came up with Sundays. The first day of the week. Another chance to start over.

And I will get that chance to start over because of one particular “first day of the week” a few centuries ago that followed a very bad one.

“Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb”. John 20:1

Amen!

No discouragement or disappointment or “no good very bad week” can have power over me because of that first day of that week. The empty tomb doesn’t mean we won’t have difficult weeks. But it does mean that we won’t go through them alone. And it does mean that we can keep them in the right perspective.

Sometimes you just need a brand new week. And I’m thankful for the reminder of the “first day of the week” that changed everything.

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10

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

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5

What if the answer to your prayer was going to come the seventh time you asked God, but you gave up on the sixth?

I’ve been reading about Elijah lately.  I’m not sure how I wound up in 1 Kings, but I’ve been amazed at his story.  Or maybe I should say his stories.  Over and over, he was in really bad situations.  And over and over God did some really incredible things.

But the story I kept coming back to this week was the one about his prayer for rain.  God had told him that there wouldn’t be any rain for 3 years. The land would be in a severe drought.  So when that time was up, one would think that the skies would simply open up and God would make it pour.  But it wasn’t that simple.

Elijah knew it was going to rain, and even put his faith in the matter into words.  He said to Ahab, “The rain is on its way.  I can hear it!”.   So Elijah goes up on a mountain and starts to pray for the rain that has been promised.  He tells his servant to go look for the clouds that should be coming in from the sea.

Nothing.

No rain. No clouds.  Nothing.  But didn’t God promise the rain?  Aren’t the three years up?  Elijah goes through this routine six times.  Six!  The servant probably got tired of looking.  But fortunately, Elijah didn’t get tired of praying.  On the seventh attempt, the servant sees a tiny little cloud the size of a man’s hand.  And then the sky got black and it started to pour.

Just like God promised.

Sometimes God promises things to us that in His wisdom He delays in providing.  Sometimes God wants us to put our faith into words, and then put our faith to work.  Sometimes it takes seven times of praying the same thing.  Sometimes it takes more than that.  But it doesn’t change the promise.

I’m going to keep praying.  Because it just may be that the next time I do, God is going to open up the skies and there will not only be the sound of rain, but it’s going to pour all over me.

Just like God promised.

(The story of Elijah and the rain is in 1 Kings 18:41-46)

Men ought always to pray and not to lose heart.  Luke 18:1

“I won’t let you go until You bless me.”  Genesis 32:26

Shall not God avenge His own elect, who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?  Luke 18:7

For you have need of patience, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.  Hebrews 10:36-37

The Olympic Trials.

Like much of the rest of the world, my evenings over the past two weeks have been spent watching the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Of course I’ve been participating from the comfort of my couch, but that’s a whole other issue.

Beside the actual competitions and events, we’ve all been gripped by the behind-the-scenes stories of perseverance and struggle and tenacity. And those stories provide so many illustrations about life. But for some reason, a single word made me stop and think.

Trials.

I kept hearing about the “gymnastics trials”and the “swimming trials” and the “diving trials”, referencing, of course, the preliminary competitions that got the athletes to where they are today. In London. At THE OLYMPICS.

And I realized that the athletes have an understanding about trials that we don’t. They understand that doing well in the preliminary trials moves them closer to the big prize. They look forward to the trials because that’s where their strength and their ability is proven.

They train for those trials.

Sometimes we can feel like we are in Olympic-sized trials. But how much differently would the outcome be if we viewed them like the athletes? What if we viewed them as necessary to prove the strength and ability we are given from God? What if, instead of dreading them and whining about them and doing everything we could to avoid them, we embraced them? What if we trained for them?

What if we saw our trials as the things that move us closer to the prize?

I’ll never be standing on an Olympic platform with a medal around my neck. But there will be a crown. So I’m going to do all I can to win in these trials.

 

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12 NIV)

I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. (Philippians 3:14 NLT)

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work in you, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:2-4)

As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. (James 5:11)

Two different options. Fight, or stand still.

Sometimes you have to fight for what you believe is right. And sometimes you have to stand still and see what God is going to do with a situation. But is one better than the other?

When you must make a choice, how do you know which is the best way to respond?

The young shepherd David faced down the giant Goliath, hit his mark and saved the day. But on the other hand, the Spirit of the Lord once told Jehosaphat , “You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you.” (2 Chronicles 20:17)

Sometimes either scenario could seem good. Sometimes we’re faced with situations where we could come out with swords drawn and banners held high knowing we’re in God’s will and accomplish something amazing that brings God glory and honor and praise. And sometimes we could just as easily take a deep breath, stand back, and let God do His thing. In His way and timing.

Seems God has different ways to deal with different situations. It’s not up to us. It’s up to Him.

And the only way we’ll know which way He wants us to go is to stand still and listen first. It’s always better to choose the stand still option when you don’t know what to do. If God says, “Choose 5 small stones and wind ‘er up”, then we’re in the right position for battle. And if He says, “Stay right where you are and watch Me work”, then it’s easier to just keep doing what we’re already doing.

I wish there was an easy test, a checklist for knowing what to do. But since there isn’t, we must rely on that still, small voice of the Holy Spirit, the One who will tell us what to do, the One who will direct our thoughts and our actions and our hearts.

If we listen first.

Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. Exodus 14:13

Fight the good fight of faith. 1 Timothy 6:12

Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. Psalm 25:4

Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You. Psalm 143:8

We really do learn this quite young, don’t we?  This desire to be in control.

My 18 month old nephew Noah has learned it.  All he wants is the remote control to the TV.  He’s realized that there’s something about pushing the buttons, something about the feel of control in his hands.  And if you try to take it away from him, he lets you know he’s not happy.

Not so different from us.

We love to try to control our lives, but unlike the random button-pushing of a toddler, we stay to linger on the scenes and situations we like and quickly try to click away from the ones we don’t.  If something doesn’t meet our expectations, we want to move on as quickly as possible to something else more enjoyable.  Click.

Sometimes we just need to give up the remote.

It may be that God wants us to stay in the story we’re in at the moment because He knows how that story will end and if we “click” away too soon, we’ll miss out on something really great.  But it may also be that we’re trying to stay in a story that seems good to us, but God knows better.  Much better.

I need to hand over control, and leave the channel changing to Him.

Submit yourselves, then, to God.  James 4:7

Let Him do to me as seems good to Him. 2 Samuel 15:26

Now do not be stiff-necked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the LORD;      2 Chronicles 30:8