“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.” Colossians 3:23
I’m conflicted! It’s been a busy week and, on one hand, I’d like to just take some time today and be lazy. When the alarm went off, I didn’t want to get up. But when saying ‘good morning’ to Jesus, my body moved… then kept on going. Looking outside, I was in reality, searching for a clue. My mind asked, “What’s the weather going to be today?” Dreary outside, I Googled it. Ick! So I planned for nothing.
I CAN plan for nothing because, while I have a vocation, I am also required by God to rest. The days of waking up to get kids going, then on to a job, are long gone… though I still have obligations and choices that come with responsibilities and dreams. Talking with people older than me, I see that life now tends to fall between the ‘wanna’ and the ‘hafta.’ Seeking clarity, I found this verse.
I also sought a definition for work – ‘the exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something.’ Pondering the verse, a conundrum crashed somewhere between the words ‘Whatever’ and ‘Work!’ Having made a living, and been measured by ALL possible means… physical, mental and spiritual, I can appreciate ‘work’ as being necessary to reach goals. But God’s verse started with… ‘Whatever!’
Long ago I was paid for how many ‘pieces’ I welded together over a shift. There was no disputing, since counting the parts for credit was nothing more than a math problem. But HOW does one count ‘IT?’ Especially when ‘IT’ follows ‘WHATEVER!’ IT seems to me that God is not so much interested in a PRODUCT, as He is in the PROCESS. And as far as I know, there’s no tool available to calculate a process! It appears GOD does though!
I’ve always said that God seems not to be as concerned about WHAT I do, as much as He is concerned with HOW I do it! Motives to matter more to Him than results. While writing this today, Katie hollered out, “What’s the weather like out there?” She too was making plans. When I looked out, the gray had turned to sunshine! 20 minutes later, it’s ‘Ick again… and looks like rain! Hmmmm!
What am I going to DO today? Well… I believe God is trying to tell me that WHATEVER it is… I’d better do it FOR HIM with ALL MY HEART! What’s YOUR heart up to?
Katie read it… laughed… then shared it with me. I’m passing it on because… I think it’s important to remember this in a world gone crazy.
Writings from Max Lucado
I have a sketch of Jesus laughing. It hangs on the wall across from my desk.
It’s quite a drawing. His head is back. His mouth is open. His eyes are sparkling. He isn’t just grinning. He isn’t just chuckling. He’s roaring. He hasn’t heard or seen something like that in quite a while. He’s having trouble catching His breath.
It was given to me by an Episcopal priest who carries cigars in his pocket and collects portraits of Jesus smiling. “I give them to anyone who might be inclined to take God too seriously,” he explained as he handed me the gift.
He pegged me well.
I’m not one who easily envisions a smiling God. A weeping God, yes. An angry God, okay. A mighty God, you bet. But a chuckling God? It seems too… too… too unlike what God should do — and be. Which just shows how much I know — or don’t know — about God.
What do I think He was doing when He stretched the neck of the giraffe? An exercise in engineering? What do I think He had in mind when He told the ostrich where to put his head? Spelunking? What do I think He was doing when He designed the mating call of an ape? Or the eight legs of the octopus? And what do I envision on His face when He saw Adam’s first glance at Eve? A yawn?
Hardly.
As my vision improves and I’m able to read without my stained glasses, I’m seeing that
a sense of humor is perhaps the only way God has put up with us for so long.
Is that God with a smile as Moses does a double take at the burning bush that speaks?
Is He smiling again as Jonah lands on the beach, dripping gastric juices and smelling like whale breath?
Is that a twinkle in His eye as He watches the disciples feed thousands with one boy’s lunch?
Do you think His face is deadpan as He speaks about the man with a two-by-four in his eye who points out a speck in a friend’s eye?
Can you honestly imagine a somber Jesus bouncing children on His knee?
No, I think Jesus smiled. I think He smiled a bit at people and a lot with people. I think He was the type of guy that people wanted to be near. I think He was the type of guy who was always invited to the party.
Jesus was happy and wants us to be the same.
Consider, for example, the wedding at Cana. We often talk about this wedding as the place where Jesus turned the water into wine. But why did Jesus go to the wedding in the first place? The answer is found in the second verse of John 2:
Jesus and His followers were also invited to the wedding. — NCV
When the bride and groom were putting the guest list together, Jesus’ name was included. And when Jesus showed up with a half dozen friends, the invitation wasn’t rescinded. Whoever was hosting this party was happy to have Jesus present.
“Be sure to put Jesus’ name on the list,” he might have said. “He really lightens up a party.”
Jesus wasn’t invited because He was a celebrity. He wasn’t one yet. The invitation wasn’t motivated by His miracles. He’d yet to perform any. Why did they invite Him?
I suppose they liked Him. Big deal? I think so. I think it’s significant that common folk in a little town enjoyed being with Jesus. I think it’s noteworthy that the Almighty didn’t act high and mighty. The Holy One wasn’t holier-than-thou. The one who knew it all wasn’t a know-it-all. The one who made the stars didn’t keep His head in them. The one who owns all the stuff on earth never strutted it.
Never. He could have. Oh, how He could have!
He could have been a name-dropper: Did I ever tell you about the time Moses and I went up on the mountain?
He could have been a show-off: Hey, want me to beam you into the twentieth century?
He could have been a smart aleck: I know what you’re thinking. Want me to prove it?
He could have been highbrow and uppity: I’ve got some property on Jupiter…
Jesus could have been all of these, but He wasn’t. His purpose was not to show off but to show up. He went to great pains to be as human as the guy down the street. He didn’t need to study, but He still went to the synagogue. He had no need for income, but He still worked in the workshop. He had known the fellowship of angels and had heard the harps of Heaven, yet He still went to parties thrown by tax collectors. And upon His shoulders rested the challenge of redeeming creation, but He still took time to walk for miles to go to a wedding in Cana.
As a result, people liked Him. Oh, there were those who chafed at His claims. They called Him a blasphemer, but they never called Him a braggart. They accused Him of heresy but never arrogance. He was branded as a radical but never called unapproachable.
There is no hint that He ever used His heavenly status for personal gain. Ever. You don’t get the impression that His neighbors grew sick of His haughtiness and asked, “Well, who do You think made You God?”
His faith made Him likable, not detestable. Jesus was accused of much, but of being a grump, sourpuss, or self-centered jerk? No. People didn’t groan when He appeared. They didn’t duck for cover when He entered the room.
He called them by name.
He listened to their stories. He answered their questions.
He visited their sick relatives and helped their sick friends.
He fished with fishermen and ate lunch with the little guy and spoke words of resounding affirmation. He went to enough parties that He was criticized for hanging out with rowdy people and questionable crowds.
People were drawn to Jesus. He was always on the guest list. Thousands came to hear Him. Hundreds chose to follow Him. They shut down their businesses and walked away from careers to be with Him. His purpose statement read:
I came to give life with joy and abundance. — John 10:10 The Voice
Jesus was happy and wants us to be the same.
When the angels announced the arrival of the Messiah, they proclaimed “good news of a great joy” (Luke 2:10 RSV), not “bad news of a great duty.”
Would people say the same of us? Where did we get the notion that a good Christian is a solemn Christian? Who started the rumor that the sign of a disciple is a long face? How did we create this idea that the truly gifted are the heavyhearted?
May I state an opinion that could raise an eyebrow? May I tell you why I think Jesus went to that wedding in Cana? I think He went to the wedding to — now hold on, hear me out — I think Jesus went to the wedding to have fun.
Think about it. It had been a tough season. This wedding occurred after He had just spent forty days in the desert. No food or water. A standoff with the devil. A week breaking in some greenhorn Galileans. A job change. He had left home. It hadn’t been easy. A break would be welcome. A good meal with some good wine and some good friends… Well, it sounded pretty nice.
So off they went.
His purpose wasn’t to turn the water into wine. That was a favor for His friends.
His purpose wasn’t to show His power. The wedding host didn’t even know what Jesus did.
His purpose wasn’t to preach. There is no record of a sermon.
This leaves only one reason. Fun. Jesus went to the wedding because He liked the people, He liked the food, and, Heaven forbid, He may have even wanted to swirl the bride around the dance floor a time or two. (After all, He’s planning a big wedding Himself. Maybe He wanted the practice?)
Jesus was a likable fellow. And His disciples should be the same. I’m not talking debauchery, drunkenness, and adultery. I’m not endorsing compromise, coarseness, or obscenity. I am simply crusading for the freedom to enjoy a good joke, enliven a dull party, and appreciate a fun evening.
Maybe these thoughts catch you by surprise. They do me. It’s been a while since I pegged Jesus as a party lover. But He was. His foes accused Him of eating too much, drinking too much, and hanging out with the wrong people! I must confess: it’s been a while since I’ve been accused of having too much fun. How about you?
What sort of portrait of Jesus hangs on the walls of your mind? Is He sad, somber, angry? Are His lips pursed? Is He judging you? If so, visualize the laughing Christ on my wall. I’ve needed the reminder more times than I can say. Jesus laughed. He had fun. He was always invited to the party, because people wanted to be near Him. They didn’t fear His judgment. They knew He wouldn’t try to shut things down.
Who could be relied on to be the life of the party more than the one who came to give life with joy and abundance?
Scripture references: John 2:1–11; Matthew 11:19
Excerpted with permission from He Gets Us by Max Lucado, copyright He Gets Us.
“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had.” Romans 15:5
I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. I already knew that an octogenarian is someone living in their 80’s. A quinquagenarianis a person living in their 50’s. So I figured that ‘genarian’ must mean ‘a PERSON!’ The prefix just gives their age. But thinking about my friend, and then later, hearing her over the phone, I was upset at the implication. By definition, anonagenarian is a person living in their 90s!”
I had ‘felt’ God’s ‘nudge,’ just as if it had been a physical point of finger into the side of my head. I had not been thinking about anything related to her… but I felt it. “Give her a call,” God said. Trying to finish reading a page, I felt God press… “NOW!” So I dialed her number. She was distraught, tearfully saying goodbye to her northbound daughter. Barely able to talk, she asked me to call her tomorrow.
After hanging up, a Christian brother and sister, octogenarian friends of mine, popped into my head. So I called them. Leaving a message for ‘Bro,’ he called me back later in the day. We BOTH felt refreshed for catching up, remembering that the coming ‘Heavenly Earth’ will mean NO goodbyes. At church, I was glad to see another friend. He had just entered the mourning process for his dad.
But I’m still upset about the word nonagenarian!Looking up the Latin, I discovered that ‘nona’ means 9. But ‘non’ today more frequently means ‘NON’ or ‘NONE!’ Like NOT a person! That bothered me, which got me busy calling and seeing my friends. Because, ‘I’m nona gonna let MY friends feel left out… because I DO care! Which is EXACTLY what Jesus wants and expects from me!
Are YOU giving encouragement, love, comfort and help with and for other people’s endurance? If you have been THROUGH the receiving end of comfort, can you remember how it felt and become a DOER of God’s Word? Who do YOU know that you can reach out to… today to cheer on or up? Today… I need and want to make a phone call myself!
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7
The lemon tree is GONE! It had been in our yard for about 9 years, and had become almost like one of our kids! It only stood about 4’ tall when we got it. But it had a few blossoms of hope on it when I dug the hole and planted it. We ended up with a handful of lemons on it the following year. For 3 years it had LOTS of lemons. Then a disease hit! I tried every bit of advice but… I cut it down yesterday.
We had enjoyed it SO much when it was doing what it was supposed to do. Truth be told, we gave away more lemons than we used. But that was part of the fun. We had lemons to give, and received the blessing of giving and thanksgiving with those we shared. When lemon production stopped, questions of ‘why no lemons?’ made me feel like a failure. Hope turned into truth and now… it’s gone.
A LOT of emotion came and went with that lemon tree. It had everything inside of it to do exactly what God had intended. But something on the outside got to it and it never recovered. Reading this verse today, so close to the lemon tree’s removal. I started thinking about MY purpose for being here and what kind of expectations, or disappointments I might be putting MY owner through!
If planting me here was just for decoration only, I would have been a waste of God’s time. Because a lot of time, expectation and effort went into me, and pretty I’m not! Rooting and fruiting a strong, productive Faith was meant to produce OVERFLOWING THANKFULNESS IN ME, toward Him! Just for the opportunity to SERVE The Master of the Universe. Mr. Stupid Lemontree reminded me of that!
God doesn’t want me bitter and sour. He prefers I look to Him everyday, in this messed up world, and to go out into it with a more saucy, joyful tang! The world is already a mess. And He wants ME to go out and tell others that THEY weren’t made to be bitter either! Reminding me of my purpose, I can actually feel the JOY and THANKFULNESS toward Him for being a part of His whole ‘Garden Plan!’
So today, I THANK GOD for the opportunity to grow, show and flow His life in… and through me. THANK YOU JESUS! Thank you for fertilizing me with your Word each day and sending me into a sour world to possibly bring joy into it. Let’s do it again today too… cuz I’m feelin’ saucy!!
Are YOU thankful to be His? Do you tell Him often? Do YOU want to be a bright shiny fruit for Jesus? Then think about these verses and grow baby!
“…we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.” 1 Thessalonians 2:4
“But there’s nothing WRONG with them!” That’s what my bride had said to me, after she saw the metal outdoor chairs sitting across the street at a neighbor’s house. They had set the rusty things out for the garbage men to haul them to the dump! But she had seen them. And now they were safe from disposal, in my backyard. Still rusty! But SAFE… KINDA!
“All they need is a little paint,” she said. I laughed and thought, ‘if only that were true!’ Because the TRUTH was, in order for those chairs to be of ANY value, the rust had to be removed BEFORE paint could be applied! To do so I, their new owner, took sandpaper and a wire brush, then applied a lot of pressure to scrape and remove all the rust away from the good metal. If chairs could talk, they WHINED!
There is no doubt about it. No secret either! In order for God to use me, or ANYONE for the matter, there are steps that MUST be completed before I can go on to be worthy for His use. The 1st step?… I need to be acquired! I was born a sinner and destined for the dump of Hell. He saw me and called my name. Step 2? The sanding, grinding and brushing pain of removing what isn’t Godly!
It is only natural that I resist! And WHINE! I complain about my life circumstances and wonder “WHY I am going through what I am going through. Can’t you make it EASIER God? WHY ME?” merges into a minor chord concerto with others, piercing His ears. It’s a wonder He keeps at it! But He does. Because He has a PURPOSE for ME. His plan calls for me to be perfected through suffering, then put to WORK!
The 3rd and last step might be considered the hardest one of all. Because after he Calls and Cleanses me, by the Blood of His own son, the 3rd step is The CHOICE! I have to accept His Commission. To go and reach, teach or preach to other nasty sinners ‘The Gospel’ He has entrusted to ME. I am out to PLEASE HIM! Not others or myself. And THAT will bring even MORE suffering.
Receiving the ‘free gift’ of eternal life is easy. Going on to be a useful tool in the hands of The Master is… not so much! Having been proved and tested, while facing more, I now know that NOTHING brings me more joy and sense of purpose than looking at the Savior and hearing Him say… ‘Well done, faithful one!” One day, He’ll say to me, “Here’s a throne… take a seat!”
Now how about YOU? Are YOU submitting and letting the Master lead you through difficult valley’s of life… and death? Are you passing His test?
Start the Day Happy in God – The Lost Art of Bible Meditation
Article by David Mathis Executive Editor, desiringGod.org (Severely edited by me!)
“I’m just not feeling it today.” How often have you reached for that excuse? Many of us can be quick to cast ourselves as the victim of a sluggish heart.
Making peace with a pokey heart is a very strange phenomenon, even as it now is a widespread assumption and typically goes unquestioned. It may be no big deal if we’re talking about whether you want peanut butter on your breakfast toast. But far more is at stake when this becomes an excuse for neglecting God, whether in his word, prayer, or Christian fellowship.
Specifically, this excuse has served to undermine habits of spiritual health related to beginning each day with the voice of God in Scripture. Some of us are gaunt, frail Christians because we’ve learned, like our world, to cater to the whims of our own fickle hearts rather than direct them and determine to reshape them.
Your Pliable Affections
In what may be his most insightful and deeply spiritual book, Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God(2014), the late Tim Keller introduces us to a side of the great English theologian John Owen (1616–1683) that is especially out of step with modern assumptions. Owen, according to Keller, would not be so quick to grant the excuse, “I’m just not feeling it today.” In fact, he likely would respond forcefully— and many of us might be better for it.
Keller summarizes, “Meditate to the point of delight.” Don’t give in to your heart’s first inclinations. Rather, take hold of them, and direct them. Open the Bible, and turn your attention to the one who is supremely worthy, and keep your nose in the Book, and your mind on Jesus, until your sluggish heart begins to respond like it should. That’s striking counsel for a generation conditioned to “follow your heart.”
Recondition Your Heart
In chapter 10 of Prayer, Keller adds we are to wed God’s word with our prayers through meditation. It’s a perspective on forming and reforming our pliant hearts that is the challenge today.
In general, we are far too easy on our minds and hearts. We grant we can train the body.In fact, you’re always training the body, whether for the better or the worse. Most will agree that you can train the mind— “the mind is a muscle,” so to speak. You can set it on a particular object and learn to keep it there. It will take practice. You can learn, as Keller summarizes Owen, to “meditate to the point of delight.”
Three Stages of Meditation
Some well-meaning Christians set out to read their Bibles, don’t feel much (if anything), then move on swiftly to pray a few quick, shallow petitions, and then embark on their day. Owen would say, with C.S. Lewis, you are far too easily pleased.Owen would have us wrestle like Jacob, with your own sluggish soul, until light dawns. Wrestle. Direct it. Turn it. Grapple with it until it does what it’s supposed to do, feelingmore like it’s supposed to feel, about the wonders and horrors of the Word of God. Say, in effect, to the God of the word, “I will not let you go unless you bless me,” and discipline your heart to receive the joy for which God made it.
Now, a few clarifications are in order to recover this lost art of meditation. Owen distinguished between study, meditation, and prayer. Meditation is the bridge between receiving God’s word (in reading and study) and responding back to him (in prayer). Meditation then, says Owen, is something you can learn. It is distinct from study and prayer, though overlapping with them . It may be parsed into three sequential stages.
1) Fix Your Mind
Begin with Bible intake, through reading, and rereading — the slower the better. Beginners will have more questions and need to navigate how frequently to stop and study or just keep reading and pick up clues as they go. But the main point is that meditation begins with immersion in the words of God.
Unlike Eastern “meditation,” which seeks to empty the mind, biblical meditation requires the filling of the mind with the truth of God’s self-revelation in his Son and Scripture. We don’t just up and meditate. We begin with Bible, fixing our thoughts on God and his Son through the content of His Word.
2) Incline Your Heart
Fixing our thoughts can be difficult enough, but inclining the heartis imponderable for many. Not because it can’t be done, but because we have been socialized to assume it can’t. But Owen counsels us, having fixed our minds on God’s word, to meditate until you begin to feel the word. Preach to yourself untilyou begin to feel more like you ought. Does the word declare God’s majesty? Feel awe. Does it warn sinners? Feel fear. Does it announce good news? Feel joy.
The goal is not to meditate for a particular duration of time, but to meditate until the point of delight, to persist “unto your refreshment.” The apostle Peter speaks of the present, not merely the future when he says, “Though you do not now see [Jesus with your physical eyes], you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory” (1 Peter 1:8). Inexpressible, glorified joy is offered when we fix our minds on the Word of God himself and meditate untilHe smiles on us, and warms our souls.
3) Enjoy Your God
In the final stage, we give vent or space, to the enjoyment (or crying out) begun in the second. We fan the flame of affection for the truth in view. This is the high point of meditation — enjoying God in Christ — which fills our souls with “an answering response.” As Keller comments, we “listen, study, think, reflect, and ponder the Scriptures until there is an answering responsein our hearts and minds” – which leads us to prayer.
So, we want our prayers to be prompted by and tethered to the intake of God’s word. ‘Enjoying God’ can only be produced if we are responding in prayer according to who God is, as revealed in the Scripture”
Not Just Truth but Jesus
Keller ends with Jesus Himself as the chief focus of our meditation. Not only did the God-man delight in the Word of God like the happy man of Psalm 1, but He Himself is “the One to whom all the Scripture points.” As Christians, we learn to meditate both with Him and on Him.
In our reading, rereading and study over Scripture, we persist to know and enjoy, not just truth, but The Truth Himself. For Christians, the final focus of our meditation is personal, discovered in the living person of Jesus Christ.
“The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 1:14
Guess who got a little taste of Heaven last night? Yup! I had seen that the famous band from my young years was going to be in town. I thought fondly of them, remembering that, as a kid, I had learned to play drums while playing along with their music… in my bedroom. Time slipped by, but then I thought, why not! So I called for tickets and I was told that the concert had been sold out.
Suddenly, the ‘I had missed something’ spurned me on. When Katie got home from work I said, “Wanna go have some fun?” My spur of the moment gal said ‘sure!’ I asked her to make a sign and, with a quick change of clothes, we were off. We got there before anyone else. The first person I met happened to be a famous teacher of one of the band members. Got tickets?” I asked. He didn’t
Katie went to have a seat in a corner while I held up my sign… “Looking for 2 tickets!” I tried to play it cool. After all, I was an outcast looking for a break. All the folks around me had pre-planned and HAD their tickets. I was a nobody. But I was a determined Nobody. Suddenly, an envelope was thrust into my chest. “Can’t use ‘em,” he said. “Wife sick.” Grateful, I paid him more than he had.
Now, I didn’t HAVE to pay more. He just wanted what he’d paid. But I was grateful and offered the price for that gratefulness. The tickets? Row 15. Dead center of the stage! Then the band started! I’ve seen a lot of concerts. But this one was the best, BY FAR! EVERYBODY was OLD and knew the words… kinda! We sang, applauded, got drawn in, and were united with our youth AGAIN! WOW!
I STILL can’t believe it! The spot that got touched in me, I hadn’t even realized existed. But there it was. It felt a little like what I think Heaven will be. The past, present and future reunited with every good memory and joy coming together, along with the people that made them joyful! All because the Master of the Universe handed me a ticket. Overjoyed, I pay more with my life. He’s worth it!
How grateful are YOU? Do YOU have a ticket to Heaven?
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8
Five of us had been standing at the corner, holding signs for Jesus. As we started to pack up, 3 heads simultaneously turned, our eyes cautiously drawn to the backpack of the passerby. All 3 held their vigilant gaze until the strange man moved out of the danger zone. I immediately asked the 2 other men staring… “Did you see that?” “Yup!” Was all they could say. Satisfied, we all moved on.
It took a few seconds, for me anyway, to realize that the black cylindrical object was an umbrella! NOT a suppressor at the end of a submachine gun! The 3 of us, who’s heads turned, were familiar with what looked to be a possible danger… but wasn’t. The object was a thing, out of place, that warned of a possible threat. Most folks wouldn’t have noticed. But we were aware… and did.
The Bible clearly commands me to read the Bible. By reading it, I see, hear and know exactly what my Heavenly Father wants me to see and know. Studying, memorizing, meditating and remembering are the tools that give me, and ALL of His followers, the ability to recognize danger with a simple glimpse. In His Word, I find His command. It is full of potential danger signs to warn me of a fact!
I have an enemy. He is quiet, sneaky, calculating and hungry. Most of all, he wants and seeks to destroy me. He has that ability, if I let him get the best of me. He is very good at what he does. But today’s verse doesn’t leave me with a Psalm 23 kind of ease. Where God automatically takes care of all my enemies. Here, God lets me know that I bear some responsibility as well.
God expects me to turn and flee from situations He calls ‘dangerous.’ God wants me to see the potential and fatal results of NOT paying attention to things that can draw me away from Him… and into satan’s paws and teeth! Minds and eyes that don’t see the enemy’s schemes, can and will be turned. What does that bible warn YOU about? What are YOUR weaknesses? Are you vigilant?
“You have taken from me friend and neighbor— darkness is my closest friend.” Psalm 88:18
“I WANT MY BINKIE!” was screamed loudly across the restaurant… with TEARS! Someone in my party said, “that kid is out of control!” And they were right. But somewhere is a rule book for ‘out of control’ situations that says, “Thou shalt not interfere in other people’s problems!” So I tried to control myself while, 1. the kid screamed and 2. everybody LET him!
I was VERY uncomfortable. And it was VERY HARD to keep it to myself. I didn’t know WHY I suddenly wanted a Binkie! Haaaa just kidding. It wasn’t me. But I probably felt the same as the kid, sans Binkie! I was instantly angry that someone allowed someone to disturb my family’s night out. The kid shoulda been taught self control BEFORE going out to eat!
I saw a friend yesterday… again. He didn’t look any better than he did the last time I saw him weeks ago. Having lost his father before Christmas, he is walking through the valley of the shadow of death. I know several in that valley now. Having been there many times, I know that, like a binkie… it sucks. I tried to break the rule and interfere. But it didn’t help.
Some consider Psalm 88 to be the saddest Psalm of all. Reading it, I can see why. It’s just plain HORRIBLE. David is in the pits! So much so that he throws a tantrum right at God, blaming God for killing off those close to him. But another rule book says that, ‘just because someone says something in the Bible, doesn’t make it so!’ BUT!!!
God got David’s blame ANYWAY! And here’s the crazy thing! God didn’t correct David or retaliate! He just let him sizzle! I’d a snuffed Dave out! But not God. He knows the despair of losing His closest someone… to a violent death. That, plus His love, gave David a pass… and time… to get THROUGH the valley. So God switched writers. Look at the next Psalm.
Psalm 89:1 says, “I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.” But it was written by a guy named Ethan. Not David. I find it interesting that the order of praising immediately follows the whining of sorrow. Which makes me wonder if keeping my mouth shut when someone is having a bad day is the right call!
God has proven His love and faithfulness to me. Even in times of suffering and struggle, this psalmist calls God’s people to bless the Lord and call upon His strength… even in the time of need. From tantrum to praise! Do you?
