Don't Give Up!

I've had two conversations in as many days with dear friends of mine, one a girlfriend, one a guy friend, both of whom are going through an evaluation of their faith.  (I'm thinking, "Do you know what kind of year I've had?  Are you sure you want to be talking to me about this?").  Maybe though, I am a good source for them right now, being a step out of the valley but not yet on the mountain. I understand how they feel.  I know where they are and it's rough.  I've struggled with doubt about God's faithfulness and plan for my own life, too.  As I did, my friends both feel let down by God, ignored, looked over, neglected. They are questioning God's protection, His provision, His purpose, and His care. 

I think it was divine wisdom that Paul compared our walk of faith to a race.  Hebrews 12:1 says,

"Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us."

A race involves sweat, fatigue, pain. It requires faith that after leaving the starting line, you will make it to the finish line.  It includes "runner's highs", where you are doing good, feeling strong, running fast.  It also includes shin splints, knee pain, burning lungs, and the further you make it, exhaustion that makes you want to roll to the ground and collapse.  I think our culture has a lot to do with this, but somehow we convince ourselves that after giving our lives to Christ, the rest of our time on Earth should be a cake walk.  A leisurely stroll down a garden path, seventy degree weather with a cool breeze, refreshment booths along the way should our bodies even begin to think about thirst, and fluffy beds with mosquito nets should fatique get anywhere near.  That comes later, but if you are alive and reading this, you know we are not there yet!

Life is hard and I don't know about you, but to me it seems like life is getting harder.  Everywhere I look, there are challenges, in my own life and in the lives of the people I love.  Babies die.  Twenty-year marriages end.  Loved ones pass before reconciliation takes place.  Husbands lose jobs.  Kids run wild.  Betrayal plaques families over and over.  Mental illness drains faithful caregivers of all their strength. Years of dedication are rewarded by being shown the door.  Three months before your wedding day, your fiance' has a motorcycle accident and never comes out of a coma. Investments go bad. Teenagers commit suicide. Entire families are divided over disagreements. Your kid's college fund is depleted just to keep food on the table.  Cancer strikes and takes tender lives. Hearts are broken into tiny pieces. Again.

"He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good,

and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."

Matt 5:45

Hard times, extreme challenges, and horrible disasters of spiritual, emotional, and physical natures strike even the most godly, faithful, loving, forgiving, praying, fasting, tithing, full of faith people who love God and have surrendered their life to His purpose.  These times make us ask God "where were You?", "why did You let that happen?" and "do You not love me anymore?".  These are very real and honest questions but, this side of heaven, are very hard to answer.  We only see a small part of the big picture, and even that we "see darkly".  We interject our own perceptions, beliefs, and values into our circumstances and may never know the true meaning and purpose until we are able to ask God face to face.  Disappointment and rejection cloud our judgement and there are always plenty of situations anxious to cause us to become jaded and bring hardness to our hearts.  So much happens that we don't understand. God gives us a green salad after we ordered a triple cheeseburger.  It makes us mad, but can we get to the point that we trust that He knows a steady diet of cheeseburgers will kill us, and that salad with spinach and bean sprouts will be the best choice for us?  Can we hold onto the belief that God loves us, promises never to leave us, and, oh yeah, He's made a way for us to go to heaven when we die, saving us from an eternity in hell? The second verse of Hebrews 12 tells us how to keep running the race described in the verse one.....

 "We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus,

the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.

 Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame.

Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne

Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people;

then you won’t become weary and give up." 

If you find yourself at a precarious crossroad of faith, faced with the decision to A) determine it's not working, it's not worth it, it's too hard, you'd rather drop out of the race and join the other team, hey, they've got pizza there, or B) you decide that you have come too *&$@# far to stop now, you've worked too hard to throw away your testimony, things will get better, the prize will be worth it if you keep going, then let me encourage you friend....

Choose B. Stand strong. Don't give up.  Hang in there. If you can't run one more inch, then just stand here.  ("Having done all, stand..." Eph 6).  Ask God to meet You where you are and to bring truckloads of strength and grace until you can resume the race.  If you don't have the strength to stand, then sit.  Hey, at least you're not going backwards and you're not crawling off the track.  Don't lose the ground you have already won.  Surround yourself with people who are full of wisdom.  Find encouragement from those you love.  Put a demand on your reserves and pull out every last ounce of determination that your seeds of faith produced.

That finish line may be a lot closer than you think.

"I stand at the gate...."

Yesterday morning I sat in my Nigerian doctor's swanky, redneck church (I'm serious. The pastor used to be a country-western singer) listening to a man with lots of wisdom and sensitivity to the Spirit preach about the narrow gate in John 10. Yesterday afternoon I was sitting outside watching the sun set when two little long-haired dogs wearing clothes ran into my fence from the opened back gate. I watched them chase birds, run around the trees, play with each other, etc. After a few minutes their owner, my neighbor two houses down, began searching for them and calling for them to return home. I continued to watch as their playful frolicking turned into confusing frustration about how to get out of my back yard. The owner clapped, whistled, hollored. The dogs ran to the side of my fence and just stared through. Seemingly oblivious to go back out the same way they came in, through the narrow gate, they started whimpering and barking for their master. "Come here!" he called. He could see them in my yard, they could see him in their yard, but for whatever reason they couldn't find their way of escape. Realizing that these dumb creatures were going to need an intervention in order to escape my property, the owner came to the gate. Overjoyed, the little pups scampered off to where they needed to be, rescued by one who was willing to come to the gate and direct them out. We have One who leads us too.

Darkness

Are you in a dark place? Meditate on these words.....

"Sometimes Jesus turns out the lights because He wants more intimacy with us." -Jason Upton

"God promises to walk through the dark place with us and shine upon the immediate step we are to take. That's our walk of faith". -R. Barth

"Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely upon his God." Isaiah 50:10

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Psalm 119:105

"I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the darkness." John 12:46

The Secret Place

The words "the secret place" keep rolling around in my spirit. Is God speaking to anyone else about this? Here are my thoughts.

God promises to be a secret place of safety for us. King David understood this well. He sought God. He hid in God. He found peace, healing, and safety there. When challenges came, David didn't blame anyone; he knew right where to go to find refuge.

"He will conceal me there when troubles come;

he will hide me in his sanctuary.

He will place me out of reach on a high rock."

Psalm 27:5

We all need a secret place in God where we can find refuge. A place where we can run when we are hurt. confused. alone. sick. afraid. weak. depressed. nervous. angry. tempted. grieving loss. lacking wisdom. healing from divorce. fighting addictions. without hope. needing peace. If you have created this secret place with God, it's familiar and comfortable to retreat there at any given time. at the drop of a hat. in the middle of the night. when the doctor calls with bad news. when your world turns upside down. If you don't have this place with God, you can. Some folks only turn to God when a crisis hits, but that's okay. If you find yourself in the foxhole, you can ALWAYS CALL ON GOD. He welcomes you. He loves you. He's not mad at you. He wants a relationship with you. He wants to carve out a secret place with you that fits you and Him perfectly.

"I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hidden riches

of secret places, that you may know that it is I,

the Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name."

Isaiah 45:3

If we don't run to God for our refuge, we will run somewhere else. It is hard-wired in us to seek relief from pain. Life is hard and we cannot navigate alone without screwing things up. We have two choices; follow our God nature or follow our sin nature. The world offers many options to help us find comfort, but any way we find to soothe ourselves, that isn't pleasing to God, will not provide the satisfaction we long for. God's ways promise to "fully satisfy" (Psalm 17:15). But here's the kicker about finding refuge even in the most holy way.....
It's on us to go there. When God speaks to us about the secret place, He uses verbs: run. pursue. hide. kneel. trust. ask. seek. knock. Just like all relationships, it takes work. time. prayer. faith. scripture. discipline. God is totally available, but it's up to us to pursue Him who is "out there" until He is "in here". God will not force any part of Himself on us. He loves us enough to give us the will to decide just how much of Him we want.

"His confidential communion and secret counsel

are with the righteous. "

Proverbs 3:32

The secret place is where God speaks to us. The wisdom of man cannot compare with the voice of God. In order to hear Him though, we have to be close. When I was working at a church in Dothan, I used to sign to my assistant when we were across the sanctuary from each other, or during a service when the music was loud. We were close enough to see each other, but too far away to hear each other. Communication is much easier when we are face to face with the One that has all the answers.

"You called in distress and I delivered you.

I answered you in the secret place of thunder."

Psalms 81:7

What makes the secret place so "secret"? Part of the definition of the word "secret" is: hidden, private, something kept from the knowledge of others. I think one of the greatest things about our secret place in God is that He has specific, personalized provisions for us there. I see it like a store, kind of like a general store, but smaller. You and God are the only ones allowed in. Not because He's being snobby or exclusive, but because the things in that secret place "store" are only for you. On the shelves, waiting, all packaged up, are things you need for what's going on in your life. God knows everything about you. all your needs. all your desires. all your struggles. all that hurts you. all your fears. In the secret place we receive from Him exactly what we need for our hearts. our circumstances. our purpose.

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High

shall remain stable and fixed under the

shadow of the Almighty."

Psalms 91:1