hope

Blessed Already

“Let God’s promises shine on your problems. When you know Jesus, you are truly blessed.” – Corrie ten Boom

Somebody sneezes and the person next to him says, “Bless you.” What does he mean? I’m not sure, but it seems to mean something like, “I wish you well.” That’s probably just a tiny bit of what Jesus had in mind when he gave a long list (Matthew 5) of the kinds of people on whom God would show his favor, aka bless.

These are the people Jesus says are blessed: those who are poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who want to be good, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those who are persecuted for being righteous. Do you identify with any of those categories? If so, look for God’s blessing all around you. And remember that, while some of the blessings he promises will not be fully seen until eternity, there are some that we can experience in this present moment and they include such things as mercy, comfort, and satisfaction of our deepest spiritual desires.

I take away two very encouraging things from this list:

First, the promise that, no matter what you are going through now, it will be better when God’s Kingdom has fully come.

Second, we can experience God’s blessing and favor right now in the middle of the poverty, hunger, mourning, or persecution.

In short, Jesus promises that, if we are committed to God, at some point all our needs will be met and our desires fulfilled. If we think about that for a while, we will be blessed already!

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” – Numbers 6:24-26

This Present Moment

“Leave the broken, irreversible past in God’s hands, and step out into the invincible future with him.” – Oswald Chambers

I heard someone say, “A truly happy person is someone who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.” Can we live fully in the present moment even it’s not what we planned? Do we spend too much time in the past or the future and miss engaging with the now? What can we do to change that?

The Past

We can all look at our past and find things we don’t like. Things we said. Things we did. Things that happened to us that changed the trajectory of our lives: Hurts, rejection, unresolved relationships.

Wise counselors tell us to acknowledge that these things are painful, but unchangeable. We can’t redo life. We can, though, forgive those who have hurt us. And we can confess our own mistakes and sins and receive God’s forgiveness. When we do that, we will feel that a weight has been taken away and this present life is refreshed.

The Future

When we look ahead, we can fall into worry far too easily, anticipating what could possibly happen that will be hard. And there will be those things. But that’s what the life of faith is all about: Trusting God even when we don’t understand. Trusting him because we know his character is good, kind, loving, powerful, just. The future is full of his promises, his presence, and his protection. Let’s choose to believe that!

The Present

When we let go of the past and trust God for the future, we will be fully alive to today. We can count on it!

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13

Make it a bird.

“Resilience is really about the life of God flowing into us and remaking us, renewing us, transforming us, and transfiguring all of the broken pieces of our lives into something that is whole, something that reflects God.” – Adam Bucko

I learned something important recently when I went to a painting class with my daughters and granddaughter: If you accidentally get a black spot of paint in your blue sky, it’s no problem according to our instructor. Don’t give up. Don’t try to erase it. Don’t despair. Just make it into a bird!

So, I have to ask: Is there a smudge in your life? Something you never saw coming and now have to adjust to? Or something you regret in the recent or far distant past? Or something someone else did to you that you’re having a hard time forgiving? And all you can see is that black spot.

Don’t give up. Don’t try to erase it. Don’t despair. Let the Master Painter incorporate it into his perfect plan. Hand him the brush. He can make it into something that fits into the picture he has been painting all along.

I call that resilience. We don’t give up, but we allow God to remake us, as the quote above says, into something that reflects him. We see the smudge. He sees the bird and the beauty and life it will add to the picture. I imagined what he might be painting for me now, and saw an awesome flock of birds!

The picture improves when we take our smudges, mistakes, accidents, or pain to him and then stand back and watch in amazement at what he will do.

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” – 2 Corinthians 3:18a

Things God Never Says #4

“In many instances I have felt the power of God transforming the fatigue of despair into the buoyancy of hope.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sometimes life is tiring! Especially if we’ve been working overtime or have made too many commitments or are worried about something beyond our control. That’s when we want to say (whether we can actually do it or not): “I think I’ll take a nap and let the world go on without me for a while!”

Aren’t you glad God never says “I think I’ll take a nap”? We are told that the God of the Bible “will neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4b). He’s always awake, always “on duty”, never tired. How is his constant vigilance helpful to us? Lots of ways:

He is always there to protect us and watch over our steps. In fact in the same Psalm cited above, the writer says, “He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.” It comforts us to know the almighty God is caring for us and watching out for us 24/7.

He is always there, too, to hear our prayers. He doesn’t keep office hours. Whenever we want to talk to him, to praise him, to ask for his help, he is there and he is listening. He’s wide awake and ready to answer our call.

And, finally, his alertness reminds us of his amazing strength and that he’s willing to use it for our benefit. He never feels fatigued or weak. He is all power, all the time. And our link to that celestial energy is prayer. Connecting to the power of God will give us strength, too, to do what we must do. With joy. With hope.

“Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.” – 1 Chronicles 16:11

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Adventuring

“. . .if you have not been enchanted by this adventure – your life – what would do for you?” – Mary Oliver

Do you ever just pause and consider the wonder of living? The amazing fact that we are alive, breathing, thinking, seeing, processing, planning, eating, talking, sleeping, and waking? It’s an adventure walking through this life with God. We trust him, we know he has our best interest at heart, and we know that, no matter what, he is with us.

But, someone reading this is saying, “Adventure? But, I have big problems.” Yup. There are problems. As I was taught by a friend many years ago, “Problems are opportunities.” Opportunities to grow, to be courageous, to prove ourselves, to learn, and to know the joy that comes at the end of the struggle.

Attitude plays a big part in living an adventurous life. Every person on this planet has problems, it’s just that some people’s issues are more visible than others. We get to choose how to face life – with joy and anticipation and trust in our all-powerful, all-wise Father or with dissatisfaction and fear, thinking we have to control everything ourselves.

What is it that would make us truly joyful about the life we are living? I believe it is when we walk in lockstep with Jesus, following him and his teaching, believing he is preparing a place for us, and trusting that everything that happens to us has a benefit we cannot see. That’s trust. Faith. Confidence in the One who is in control. As we learn to do this, it becomes easier, and life, even with problems, turns into an adventure!

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,” – 1 Peter 1:8

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Can’t win the battle?

“God helps those who cannot help themselves.” – Charles Spurgeon

Do you feel like you’re trapped in a situation you can’t find your way out of? Or that everything’s going wrong and you can’t seem to stop it? Sometimes we just feel helpless!

The people of Judah felt that way, too, when scouts returned with the terrifying message that a huge army was heading their way and they were about to be attacked. King Jehoshaphat called all the people together and began to pray. He reminded God of their powerlessness against such a great army and then said this: “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you” (2 Chronicles 20:12b).

A prophet was then inspired to tell them to go to the watchtower the next morning and wait. Here’s what they saw: Another army came in and ambushed the army that was about to attack Judah. Instead of moving toward Jerusalem, they fought each other. Many were killed. Others fled. God intervened and the threat was gone. Just like that!

When we’re struggling and getting nowhere, we need to acknowledge our helplessness. Then we redirect our eyes away from the struggle where all we see is darkness and all we feel is fear. If we can turn our eyes to God, hope will replace fear and light will come. God’s strength is always there, but usually we don’t see it in action until we realize we have no hope without him.

So, let’s not sit around worrying. Let’s admit our helplessness to make any lasting change and then plead with him to fight for us and to lead us to the light. Now let’s step back and see what he will do.

“For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” – 2 Corinthians 12:10

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No control!

“Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible.” – Corrie Ten Boom

At times, we have all found ourselves in impossible situations, and life seemed out of control. I hate those times, but they do teach us something about trusting God.

Have you ever thought about the kind of faith Noah and his family must have had while they were in the ark? They were locked in – God himself shut the door. Might that not feel a little claustrophobic? Some of us understand that feeling!

They didn’t know how long they’d be there. Have you ever asked God, “how long?” When will you take care of this problem for me? How long do I have to suffer or wait?

They probably didn’t have a picture window on the world around them – they could see very little and actually had to send out birds to find out if the land had dried up yet. We want to see, to understand, to know,so we pray for God to reveal his plan and what he is doing in the world. But he doesn’t seem to answer.

Worst of all, they couldn’t steer the ark. They just had to float along wherever the floods took them. If they had known what would eventually happen with the Titanic, they might have been afraid of crashing into an underwater mountain peak.

We sometimes feel like we have very little control over what is happening to us. We have no steering wheel, no way to see clearly, no understanding about how God will see us through. In these situations we can do one of two things: We can fight against our situation with worry, anxiety, and useless activity, or we can consciously, intentionally give it to God, and trust he has a plan for our ark.

” . . . to you the helpless commits himself.” – from Psalm 10:14

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A Blessing for You

“However many blessings we expect from God, his infinite liberality will always exceed all our wishes and our thoughts.” – John Calvin

Need a blessing? Accept this prayer, written by a friend of mine, as a gift meant especially for you:

“Abba Father bless all your faithful children and keep them; make your face shine on them and be gracious to them; turn your face toward them and give them your peace.

May each of them always be aware of your presence, Lord, in their lives, leading, guiding and caring for them with your amazing love, grace, and mercy. May they always remember that greater is the one who is in them than the one who is in the world. Remind them that they are more than conquerors, that they are sons and daughters of the most high God, and that before the beginning of time, you, Lord, set in place plans to prosper them and not harm them, to give each of them hope and a future.

Lord, watch over them and their families and keep them from the temptations of the enemy. Lord, continue to challenge them, strengthening their faith and growing the fruit of the Spirit within them to overflowing, enabling each of them to show the love you have for them to all who cross their paths.

Father, fill them with your peace from the tops of their heads, to the ends of their fingers, to the bottom of their feet. May every step they take be filled with your blessing, may every challenge be filled with your mercy, and may every night be filled with your peaceful, restful, regenerating sleep. In the name of our savior Jesus Christ – Amen!”

I hope you can receive these words as promises of God. Now, let us go and bless someone else!

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,” – Ephesians 1:3

*Thank you, Jane Sironen!

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He sees.

 “An intimate encounter with Jesus is the most transforming experience of human existence.” – John Eldridge

Have you ever tried to avoid someone and then found yourself face-to-face with that person in a situation from which you couldn’t escape? It’s happened to all of us!

I think Zaccheaus in 1st-Century Jericho may have found himself in that predicament. The crowds were great and Zacheaus was not a favorite among the people because he collected taxes for the hated Romans. Apparently he had a curiosity about Jesus and wanted to know more, but only from a distance. He climbed the sycamore tree because he wanted to see, but not to be seen.

But, this is Jesus, right? He doesn’t miss anything! Of course he sees this little man in the big tree and is not going to let him get away with hiding. He calls him down from the tree. And, if that’s not scary enough, he then invites himself to Zaccheaus’ house for a meal. Zaccheaus couldn’t hide from Jesus, but he did get to know more about him! And his life was tranformed forever in that one encounter.

We don’t have to hide our struggles. Jesus sees. We don’t have to be embarrassed about our doubts. Jesus sees. He sees our joy, too. When we are kind or generous, he sees. When we are afraid or anxious, he sees. He even sees us when we’re trying to hide.

He invites us to come out of hiding, and he waits for our response. Jesus always sees. And he looks on us with grace, love, and forgiveness.

“You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.” – Psalm 139:2-3

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Do they know they will fly?

“The best we can hope for in this life is a knothole peek at the shining realities ahead. Yet a glimpse is enough. It’s enough to convince our hearts that whatever sufferings and sorrow currently assail us aren’t worthy of comparison to that which waits over the horizon.” ~ Joni Eareckson Tada

We had left our artificial Christmas tree outdoors for the winter – with decorations removed and lights unlit. In the spring when we were putting it away, we realized a bird had built a nest in its plastic branches. Inside were four furry balls, and they were breathing. We carefully put the tree back in its place and watched over the next couple of weeks as the little balls became recognizable as birds. Eventually it began to get crowded in that nest as they wiggled and jostled for space.

The day I took this picture, I wondered if they knew they would soon fly? They were likely getting dissatisfied in this crowded nest wishing they could explore the things they glimpsed from their hideaway. I wanted to tell them it would be OK. They just needed to be patient. They would all be flying all over the sky soon.

Where are you in life? Feeling dissatisfied? Frustrated? Crowded? Held back? Wanting something more or different or better? Sometimes God moves us on to the next stage in our life by making us uncomfortable where we are. The discomfort challenges us look beyond our present situation and wonder what may be next. When we are in that place, we, too, must be patient. God has a plan to help us fly!

But those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

– Isaiah 40:31