We’re in the middle of a tropical depression.  Tropical Depression #16.  Somehow giving it a title seems to validate what’s going on outside my windows right now.  Rain.  Lots and lots of rain.  While I’m not exactly looking forward to the morning commute, I can’t get the words to an old hymn out of my mind. 

“There shall be showers of blessing, this is the promise of love.  There shall be seasons refreshing, sent from the Savior above.  Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need.  Mercy drops ‘round us are falling, but for the showers we plead”.

There’s another verse to the song that isn’t as well known. 

“There shall be showers of blessing, if we but trust and obey. There shall be seasons refreshing, if we let God have His way.”

Maybe I’ll look at the rain differently this morning.  Maybe instead of being irritated at sloppy roads, wet feet and bad hair, I’ll let it remind me of God’s promises and His blessings and His desire to shower them all over me.

 “I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing.           Ezekiel 34:26

There Shall Be Showers of Blessing,  Daniel Webster Whittle, 1883

Julia Child would be proud.  I don’t just have “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” on my shelf.  I’ve actually cooked from it.   For my first foray into French cooking, I made Coq Au Vin , which is actually 3 recipes in one – something to keep in mind when timing the preparation. 

It took me 6 hours.  But the fact that it actually involved igniting something made it so totally worth it.

My next undertaking was Steak au Poivre .   A peppercorn-encrusted rib-eye gently bathed in a butter and brandy sauce would give any cardiologist pause, but once in your life you have to at least try it. 

They were both amazing, memorable dishes.  Dishes I didn’t scarf down like my quick piece of toast in the morning.  Dishes I didn’t mindlessly pick at in front of the television.  They were dishes worthy of savoring, taking the time to identify the endless list of ingredients that went into them.  Dishes worthy of sinking into and lingering over.  There might even have been some sighing and rolling of the eyes – just like the TV chefs who try to get you to imagine the taste of the masterpiece they just finished over the last commercial break.

I think God would enjoy them, too.  I think He gave us taste buds so that we would understand what it meant to savor His promises.  “My soul shall be satisfied with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips” (Psalm 63:5).  Now, if that doesn’t sound like something from Julia Child, what does?   And I haven’t tried any desserts yet, but as the Psalmist says, “How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth” (Psalm 119:103).

I want to remember to savor God’s words.  I don’t want to rush through my quiet time like my morning toast.  I don’t want to mindlessly pick at scripture, distracted by other things going on around me.  I want to put in the effort, take the time,  and maybe even have some sighing and rolling of the eyes as I realize just how amazing and rich and wonderful those words are.

Oh yes, I want to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). 

Thanks for taste buds, Lord.

I’m in the dark.  The light in my hallway won’t work.  Flip the switch – nothing.  Change the bulb – no difference.  It’s annoying, but at the same time I wonder if there is something more sinister going on.  Something electrical.  Something requiring more than my limited electrical knowledge, which consists solely of the ability to flip switches and plug things in.

I’m in the dark in life, too.  There are some situations where I keep trying to flip the imaginary switches and plug things in so I can see what’s going on and – nothing.   Still dark.   And I’m realizing that my ability to fix things is limited.  I need someone who understands the darkness – and the light. 

Daniel needed the same thing.  He asked God for the light to be turned on in a particular situation where things seemed pretty dark.  And God came through.  Here’s what he had to say afterwards: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever…He reveals the deep and secret things.  He knows what is in the darkness and light dwells with Him”. (Daniel 2:20, 22)

I may need an electrician for my hallway light.  But I know exactly who can make sense out of the things in my life that I can’t figure out on my own.  God may not turn on the light the minute I ask for it, but I know He’ll walk me through the darkness until He’s ready flip the switch. 

There is a God in heaven who reveals secrets.  Daniel 2:28

He uncovers the deep things out of darkness, and brings the shadow of death to light.  Job 12:22

The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.  Psalm 25:14

“Can anyone hide himself in the secret places, so I shall not see him?” says the Lord.  “Do I not fill heaven and earth?”  Jeremiah 23:24.

 

But I will hope continually, and I will praise You yet more and more.

Psalm 71:14

I got out one of my favorite books on prayer the other day.  It’s been a while since it’s been off the shelf, but I knew exactly where to find it when I found myself wondering (once again) about the subject.  It’s titled, “Don’t Just Stand There – Pray Something” by Ronald Dunn. 

Dunn had a way of bringing scriptural truths to light while at the same time making you smile with his wit.  In the chapter titled, “How God Answers Prayer”, he relayed this story:

One Friday afternoon when I was in college, a friend and I decided to drive home for the weekend.  We piled into my ’46 Ford and, both of us being ministerial students, I asked my friend to pray for a safe trip.  I bowed my head, closed my eyes and heard him say, “Dear Lord, we pray that You will protect us and grant us traveling mercies – unless we can glorify Thee better on a hospital bed.”

That was the last time I asked him to pray about anything.  Still, in a crazy kind of way, my friend was right.  Whatever we pray for, it is a given that the glory of God takes precedence.  Sometimes God withholds the lesser in order to give the greater, and it may be that He cannot give me what I ask without compromising His own plan.  So we must pray as Jesus prayed, “Father, if it is Your will, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done”  (Luke 22:24).

What a great reminder.  It’s not about my will and my plans.  It’s about God’s will and God’s plans…and most importantly, His glory.

(from Don’t Just Stand There, Pray Something – the Incredible Power of Intercessory Prayer by Ronald Dunn, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1992)

 

 

“A quiet heart means confidence in God”.

A simple statement and a powerful truth from Elisabeth Elliot.  I recently found an old audio recording of Elisabeth and heard her talk about the significance of the state of our hearts.

If my heart is all frantic and questioning and unsettled, it doesn’t say much for my confidence in God.  It doesn’t say much about my belief in His ability to provide and protect.  It doesn’t say much about my belief in His sovereignty or His promises.

She tells the story of how as a college student in Illinois back in 1948, she penned these words:

Lord, give to me a quiet heart

That does not seek to understand.

But confident steps forward in

The darkness guided by Thy hand.

If you know any of Elisabeth Elliot’s story, you know the incredible loss she faced just a few years later after the violent death of her husband Jim at the hands of Indian tribes in Ecuador.  When she wrote this poem, she had no way of knowing what she was going to be asked to go through.  But did the truth of it change?  No.

Is it really possible be OK with not understanding?  Is it really possible to confidently step forward into the darkness?  When things are crazy and scary and make no sense, can I really keep a quiet heart?  Not if I’m trying to do it on my own.  But with that guiding hand from God and with the peace that only He can give…I can.

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  John 14:27

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:7

 

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

 

And so, the Summer of 2010 is over.  Oh, I know it really doesn’t happen officially until September 21^st, but we all know that Labor Day marks the end of the summer mindset.  I wrote back in June about being at the beginning of the summer and wondering what it would hold.  And here we are in September. 

September! 

I wonder why God created seasons.  While some of us live in parts of the country that aren’t about to break into beautiful Fall colors and exhilarating temperature changes (sigh), we’ll start to see some things change.  (Hopefully!  It was the hottest summer EVER recorded in South Florida.)  God could have created a world where everything was the same all the time.  But He didn’t.  He made seasons.  And I think Thomas Chisholm nailed it when he penned the words to the hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness”.

God gave us seasons so that we could see His faithfulness in all circumstances – in the laid-back vacation minded days of Summer, in the back-to-school and back-to-routine days of Fall, in the bleak and gray days of Winter and in the optimistic new birth days of Spring. We see His faithfulness on hot, sunny, bright days and dark, cloudy, stormy days as well.

And so, with confidence we may indeed join with all nature in manifold witness, to His great faithfulness, mercy and love – in every season of our lives.

 

To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven.  Ecclesiastes 3:1

These all wait for You, That You may give them their food in due season.               Psalm 104:27

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.  Galatians 6:9

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.  2 Corinthians 5:17

 

I’ve been reading through Hebrews 11 (again). It is (of course) all about faith.  It’s about the faith of some monumental Bible characters, but also some rather obscure ones, people who don’t even get mentioned by name.

I wanted to see something different this time through.  I wanted God to show me something I hadn’t seen before.  I wanted an “ah-ha” moment that I could apply to my own life, my own faith journey.  The “ah-ha” moment didn’t come with fireworks or great theological understanding.  It came in one word. 

Unknown.

Faith is about trusting God with an unknown.  Abel didn’t know why God asked for a sacrifice, but by faith, he gave one.  Enoch didn’t know that the result of walking with God would be that he got swept up to heaven without going through the process of death.  Noah didn’t know why he was asked to build an ark, but he obeyed.  Abraham didn’t know where he was going, but when God said, “go”, he did.

Read through the rest of the chapter.  Over and over, people were asked to do things or experience things that they didn’t understand.  They were asked to venture into the unknown with God. 

I have some big unknowns in my life.  Things I would much rather turn into “knowns”.  But there’s something about packing up these unknowns, getting on the path God has for me today and continuing to walk with God that pleases Him.  And there’s something about trusting Him with these unknowns that gives a foundation to the things I’m hoping and praying for.

I don’t get it.  But I don’t have to.  I simply have to trust God with my unknown, and leave Him to make it known in His timing.

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

Imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.  Hebrews 6:12

But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.  Romans 8:25

I shared a story the other day from the book “Heidi”  about one little girl’s amazing faith in God when prayers seem to go unanswered.  Here’s another touching dialogue about trusting God between Heidi and a doctor friend whose daughter has died.  He has come  from Frankfurt to visit Heidi up on her very special mountain… 

“Yes, Heidi,” he responded, “I see how lovely it all is, but tell me — if one brings a sad heart up here, how may it be healed so that it can rejoice in all this beauty?”

“Oh, but,” exclaimed Heidi, “no one is sad up here, only in Frankfurt.”

The doctor smiled and then growing serious again he continued, “But supposing one is not able to leave all the sadness behind at Frankfurt; can you tell me anything that will help then?”

“When you do not know what more to do you must go and tell everything to God,” answered Heidi with decision.

“Ah, that is a good thought of yours, Heidi,” said the doctor. “But if it is God Himself who has sent the trouble, what can we say to Him then?”

Heidi sat pondering for a while; she was sure in her heart that God could help out of every trouble. She thought over her own experiences and then found her answer.

“Then you must wait,” she said, “and keep on saying to yourself: God certainly knows of some happiness for us which He is going to bring out of the trouble, only we must have patience and not run away. And then all at once something happens and we see clearly ourselves that God has had some good thought in His mind all along; but because we cannot see things beforehand, and only know how dreadfully miserable we are, we think it is always going to be so.”

“That is a beautiful faith, child, and be sure you hold it fast,” replied the doctor. Then he sat on a while in silence, looking at the great overshadowing mountains and the green, sunlit valley below before he spoke again, —

“Can you understand, Heidi, that a man may sit here with such a shadow over his eyes that he cannot feel and enjoy the beauty around him, while the heart grows doubly sad knowing how beautiful it could be?  Can you understand that?”

A pain shot through the child’s young happy heart. The shadow over the eyes brought to her remembrance the grandmother, who would never again be able to see the sunlight and the beauty up here. This was Heidi’s great sorrow, which re-awoke each time she thought about the darkness. She did not speak for a few minutes, for her happiness was interrupted by this sudden pang. Then in a grave voice she said, —

“Yes, I can understand it. And I know this, that then one must say one of grandmother’s hymns, which bring the light back a little, and often make it so bright for her that she is quite happy again. Grandmother herself told me this.”

“Which hymns are they, Heidi?” asked the doctor.

“I only know the one about the sun and the beautiful garden, and some of the verses of the long one, which are favorites with her, and she always likes me to read them to her two or three times over,” replied Heidi.

“Well, say the verses to me then, I should like to hear them too,” and the doctor sat up in order to listen better.

Heidi put her hands together and sat collecting her thoughts for a second or two: “Shall I begin at the verse that grandmother says gives her a feeling of hope and confidence?”

The doctor nodded his assent, and Heidi began, —

 

Let not your heart be troubled
Nor fear your soul dismay,
There is a wise Defender
And He will be your stay.
Where you have failed, He conquers,
See, how the foeman flies!
And all your tribulation
Is turned to glad surprise.

If for a while it seemeth
His mercy is withdrawn,
That He no longer careth
For His wandering child forlorn,
Doubt not His great compassion,
His love can never tire,
To those who wait in patience
He gives their heart’s desire.

from the book, “Heidi”   by Johanna Spyri, 1880 

Ah…..the faith of a child.

Do you remember the story of Heidi, the orphan girl who lived with her grandfather at the top of a mountain in the Alps?  Most of us were introduced to her by watching old reruns of the Shirley Temple movie.  But did you know that the original story is filled with some amazing spiritual treasures?  If you want a heart-warming lesson on “unanswered” prayer, read on…

Heidi leaves her mountaintop home to be a companion to Clara, a girl in Frankfurt who is wheel-chair bound. Heidi’s innocence and outlook on life have an effect on everyone, but she eventually becomes so homesick for the mountains that she is sent back to her grandfather. Later, Clara comes to visit, and her health improves so much (because of the mountain air and rich goat’s milk)  that she learns to walk.

As the children lay that night in bed looking out at the stars Heidi said, “I have been thinking all day what a happy thing it is that God does not give us what we ask for, even when we pray and pray and pray, if He knows there is something better for us; have you felt like that?”

“Why do you ask me that to-night all of a sudden?” asked Clara. 

“Because I prayed so hard when I was in Frankfurt that I might go home at once, and because I was not allowed to I thought God had forgotten me. And now you see, if I had come away at first when I wanted to, you would never have come here, and would never have got well.”

Clara had in her turn become thoughtful. “But, Heidi,” she began again, “in that case we ought never to pray for anything, as God always intends something better for us than we know or wish for.”

“You must not think it is like that, Clara,” replied Heidi eagerly. “We must go on praying for everything, for everything, so that God may know we do not forget that it all comes from Him. If we forget God, then He lets us go our own way and we get into trouble; grandmamma told me so. And if He does not give us what we ask for we must not think that He has not heard us and leave off praying, but we must still pray and say, I am sure, dear God, that Thou art keeping something better for me, and I will not be unhappy,  for I know that Thou wilt make everything right in the end.”

 from the book “Heidi”  by Johanna Spyri, 1880

(and with many thanks to my sister, Gayle, who decided that this was the summer to read through this classic book again!)