A Barren Desert

I do not know how many of us have spent very much time in an actual desert, I know that I have not. I can imagine the dry air and blowing sand, the heaviness of one's feet as they journey through the barren land looking out upon a wide span of brown sameness. We do all know of the "oasis" idea that is often a mirage, but this desert I see is just simply barren.

I came across this verse today in Psalm 66, "He turned the sea into dry land; They passed through the river on foot; There let us rejoice in Him!" (verse 6) On my heart has been the journey of one in a spiritual desert. This I am sure is something each of us knows something about in our life. There can be so many words to describe this dry journey, but to sum them all would be to say it is not ideal or enjoyable, yet we persevere and endure.

Our tired feet keep treading through the sand and we continue keeping our eyes forward, seeking the vast wide-open land for an oasis. The heat will become too much for us and our parched lips will nearly cease to be able to speak. We feel the burden of becoming overtaken, rather than overcoming.

I have sat here in this place and looked back to see where my footsteps have come from, but the wind has blown them away. There is not a clear path behind or ahead, but as I came to this verse today, I felt incredibly encouraged. I am not at all claiming this verse to mean what it spoke to my heart today in application to everyone, I am just sharing a moment of God's whispering to me here in this sandy spot.

I had been in a place where the waters were rushing and although I could see the other side of where my heart longed to be and my body needed to rest, the waters were impassable. Today when I read, ""He turned the sea into dry land; They passed through the river on foot; There let us rejoice in Him!," I whispered, "Thank you Lord for this place for me to pass."

It is not one that I would have chosen for myself, but I know that You Alone are Sovereign. To me, that is my oasis in this journey. I can simply trust and keep walking. I do not need to have all the answers or even understand at this time the reason for such a long barren road, but I do need to remain steady and trust.

I know that my heart speaks the words my lips are too parched to say themselves and that the eyes of my heart see a hope my body is much too weary to feel. So thank you Lord for the dry and barren deserts that keep me humbled, close to You and dependent upon Your Sovereignty Alone. And yes, I will "rejoice in Him."

In the Little Things

Hello again....

Last night we met with our small group, which we love, and it had been awhile since we had all been together. Our pastor is doing a sermon series on Revelation (click here to check it out!) so we are spending our small group time in further discussion about the sermon.

We discussed the July 5 sermon, and we spent a great deal of our time talking about ways in which we "deny" Christ. Denial can take many different forms and we discovered that here in our plush, un-persecuted world it is very easy to slip by having to really "stand" for Christ. It doesn't help us either that as adults we have been trained and influenced by many different fears and ways of thinking passed onto us from family, experience and worldly pressures.

I am always quieted when my five year old asks someone if they love Jesus~ he hasn't been influenced to think that that is not a good idea~ he just thinks everyone should love Jesus. He is always so excited to tell a perfect stranger that he has received Jesus into his heart. Ah!~ The beauty of child-like faith. All he knows is that he loves Jesus and this is worth sharing!

Now, don't we know that same thing? Don't I have 26 years of experience with God's faithfulness in my life, His drawing me nearer and nearer to Him, His perfect provision always sustaining me as I walk in realtionship with Him? Yes! Of course I do~ but why do I sometimes act as if I do not?

Fear, doubt, denial.

So, where do I strengthen these muscles? Last night we all agreed that it was in the small things. Developing my faith and trust in God in the small decisions, strengthens me for trusting in the big things. When I can keep walking in full trust in the daily decisions and things that pull at me, then this is my default mode when the big storms come raging. As one friend last night said, "The storm is raging around me, but I am walking on steady calm ground."

God is big and He is actively at work right now. We read in His word about a burning bush, a talking donkey, a staff that turns to a snake and we think, "Wow! What it would be like to see such a miracle." Well, stop just a minute and think of a way He has divinely provided for you in this last week. Have you seen a baby in a mother's womb? Have you been able to forgive someone through Christ? Have you read anything about the modern day persecuted church around the world? God is still in the business of miracles and I believe in everyday kind of miracles.

Trust, faith, perseverence.

Let these be the words that define us and drive us towards living a life that stands more firmly for Christ. Do not deny Christ the glory due His name anymore. Live your life in such a way that it shouts, "I belong to Christ!" See what He might do through you to reach the lives of those living in the greatest denial, which is unbelief.

Just trust me, ok?

Trust is a very BIG five letter word. It looks so innocent, we can trust the God of the universe right? Well, yes, of course we can. So, do we?

Well, so often that evil little three letter word creeps in...

But....
This is what I have come to realize about that little three letter word is that it negates everything previously said.

Yes God, I know you are sovereign and working in my best interest, but....
Yes God, You have proved yourself faithful time and time again, but....
Yes God, I know what Your word says and I believe that it is inspired by You and applicable for all times, but....

So, in one small word we have lessened the sovereignty of God, His absolute faithfulness and made His word less powerful than it most certainly is! It is not always blatant, but if it is there than He knows our doubt and we so often act on that instead of acting on faith.

Now, what is faith? Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the hope of things not seen." Things not seen is a very real idea to us, especially in today's economy. We cannot see the future of our investments, we cannot see how we will make it through the week without any income, we cannot see how we will go another day with so little sleep, we cannot see how our fear will not overcome us. The list goes on and on. Yes, it does seem quite rocky in our world today, but honestly, we have never been able to "see" all that was ahead! Not even in the times of plenty and little concern. Can you think back to a time of "plenty" in your life? Were you trusting a little easier then? Probably you were. I know that I would say I did.

Unfortunately it is probably because we felt like we were more secure. Uncertain time cause us to be uncertain. When in all honesty, they should cause us to have more confidence! Why? Becuase the GOD OF THE UNIVERSE is working on our behalf. I once heard John Piper say, "God is busy at work doing 1,000 things in your life right now, that you cannot see." Ahh! There is that "hope for things unseen." What a beautiful picture of God Himself at work on my behalf. I also love that just because things in my life change, my God does not change.

My husband losing his job, does not make God less sovereign.
My children stubbornly remaining in foolishness, does not make God less powerful.
My finances lost in the world market, does not make God less than a perfect Provider.
My unanswered questions and fears, does not make God out of touch with me.

In complete contrast, the ways of the world, which fail so often, should cause us to burst out in thanksgiving and strengthen our faith because we KNOW God has NOT changed! And, the other beauty in faith is that is only has to be the size of a mustard seed and God Himself will strengthen it! Nothing will be impossible for me, because God is on my side.

The other amazing thing about God is that He doesn't shut down the work site. When I stumble in my faith, when it is incredibly weak and I am questioning, He is still at work. He is not getting paid to do what He does for me and for you, but He is faithfully working hard for us! Some of the things we are doing right now with our lives do not seem to be collecting any benefits. Does that make them worthless time spent? Absolutely not, because we know that " in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary." (Galatians 6:9)

Are you carrying a heavier load right now due to the ways of our world? It has caused many of us to save more, work more and do with less, which is honestly sometimes a little more work. But because we can trust, we can keep doing. We do not want to be the fool talked about in James: "Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?" (James 2:20) We want to be those found faithful in the end, hearing "Well done, good and faithful servant." ( Matthew 25:21)

Saying we have faith in our God, yet not doing the very things He is asking of us is showing that "faith apart from works is useless." We cannot fake trust. We either do trust or we don't, period.

So, where are you having to trust right now that seems beyond your own ability? That's it! You have found the perfect place in which you need to be absolutely obedient and say yes to God. For me, it is that God is asking me to work less and be home more. (Which I am more that happy to do!) Is there some fear? Yes, because lessening our income in today's world doesn't make that much sense, but... I have very clearly heard my God say, "Just trust me, ok?"