And Jesus Had Not Joined Them

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here was he?  He promised he would be there and that he would be there on time.  It wasn’t like Jason to be late.  In fact, he was the one who insisted on being everywhere fifteen minutes early.  Sarah remembered the time they had shown up at the corner market at 5:45 in the morning just so Jason could have his pick of the fresh strawberries.  It wasn’t like the strawberries would start to sour at 6:00, but that was Jason, no excuse, always on time.

So what could be the hold up?  Sarah promised herself there was some logical explanation and that he wouldn’t be more than five or ten minutes late at the most.  So you can imagine her shock when, after a full hour, no Jason.  She began to pace back and forth, what could be keeping him?  On at least five occasions she picked up the phone to call the local authorities but she changed her mind at the last second.

They had arranged to have dinner at their local restaurant and had made a reservation for 7:30.  But it was now 9:00 and Jason had not joined her.  Sarah was beside herself and just as she rose to leave she saw him coming through the door.  He looked absolutely fine, not a hair out of place and not one wrinkle in his suit.  And to beat it all he was smiling!  That upset her all the more but when he got to her, she was simply so overjoyed to see him that all the fear and worry disappeared.

Now, Sarah and Jason are obviously fictitious characters and yet there story could have happened just yesterday, to any one of us.  None of us like to be left wondering if someone we care for is injured or if some circumstance has caused them to delay their promised arrival.  Jesus’ disciples were no different and on the Sea of Galilee one stormy evening, they experienced in the real what was only imaginary in the story of Jason and Sarah.

In John 6:17 we read these words, “By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them.”  What dejection there is in these words. The disciples had just spent the most miraculous afternoon with Jesus.  They had seen him take five loaves and two fish and feed over five thousand people until they were completely stuffed.  There were 12 baskets of leftovers and everyone knew they had been in the presence of the Messiah.

Now, they found themselves all alone on the Sea of Galilee with the darkness closing in all around them.  Hour after hour they had looked for and hoped to see their Master but alas, he had not come.  Had something happened to him?  Had some unforeseen circumstance prevented him from coming?  All these uncertainties were only compounded by the growing darkness.

The sea of life is much the same.  How often do we strain at the bough of our boat looking for Jesus only to find darkness?  How often do we seek shelter from the storm or try to hide ourselves from the blustering winds of trials only to find the waves growing in intensity and the gusts gaining in strength.  It seems it is dark and that Jesus will not join us.

But just when we are at our wits’ end, just when we are ready to give up, we hear his voice saying, “It is I be not afraid!”  Jesus, our master always comes to us.  He promised he would never leave us nor forsake us and even though we think he delays in coming to our rescue, we find that he is always on time.  No matter how dark it is around you, rest assured that Jesus loves you and will join you right where you are just when you need him most.

That Don't Make No Sense!

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hat don’t make no sense!”  Movie aficionados among you may recognize a quote from the movie “O Brother Where Art Thou?”  I must admit, the first time I saw it at my parents’ home I fell out in the floor laughing when I heard this line.  What could be more nonsensical than a band of three convicts, having escaped prison, searching for a buried treasure which doesn’t exist and in the process getting into more trouble than you can imagine?

Watching their exploits, I wondered what would happen next that could make the situation they were presently in seem harmless.  And, just about that time, I received my answer.  Something more fantastic, far beyond anything you can imagine occurred, and the boys found themselves in another fix, much worse, more complicated, and more serious than the preceding predicament.  In all honesty, the movie could be have been subtitled, “The Predicament du Jour!”

We are all familiar with this scenario, especially if we are living a life of faith.  Just about the time we have the next step figured out, just when we have the master blueprint all drawn, when every “T” is crossed and every “I” is dotted, that’s usually when the unforeseen happens and all our plans go up in smoke.  We look at the new situation life throws our way, we scratch our head, we may even shed a few tears, and we say, “God, that don’t make no sense!”  I’ll bet you didn’t know God spoke Southern, did you?

Well, lest we believe we are all alone when this happens, let us look at the life of a man who lived a long, long time ago; who understood that life “don’t make no sense” and that sometimes even our best and most noble attempts often fail.  The don’t fail because they are bad or wrong, they fail because God has something better for us, even though we can’t see or understand it from where we are now standing.

Genesis 41:1 gives us a very straightforward look at the life of Joseph.  The passage simply says, “When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream…” The whole of Joseph’s life can be summed up in this statement.  His was a life of waiting, of not understanding the difficult circumstances.  I am sure Joseph never understood why his brothers betrayed him, why Potipher’s wife tried to seduce him, why he was unfairly imprisoned, or why the cupbearer forgot him.  In fact, the Scriptures never tell us that Joseph ever received any of this information.

After trying to orchestrate his own exit from the prison by asking the cupbearer to speak to Pharaoh on his behalf, we find Joseph waiting two more years until Pharaoh had a dream.  But once Pharaoh had his dream, Joseph was positioned and ready for God’s use.  After all that had happened to him, after all the false accusations, after all the betrayal, and after all the long nights in a lonely prison wondering what had become of his world, Joseph found himself second only to Pharaoh in all the land of Egypt.

My fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to take great encouragement from this passage of scripture and from this man Joseph.  The last verse of Genesis 40 tells us the cupbearer forgot Joseph.  The cupbearer did; God didn’t.  For the next two years, he was with Joseph and he was already making preparations for Joseph’s promotion two years down the road, a promotion Joseph never dreamed of!

This is the way God works.  Whatever your present situation today, I pray you will know that God is not only above it; he is working beyond it!  It’s when life just “don’t’ make no sense” from our perspective that God does his greatest work in us and through us.  Stay the course! Hang in there! Trust God’s heart even when you can’t see his hand.  One day it will all make sense!  Who knows, that day just might be today!

The Lesson of the Sponge

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ne perk of owning your own business comes from all the samples of neat stuff various salesmen try to sell you.  They enter your place of business—unannounced I must add—open their brief cases—which look more like suitcases—and pull out all types of nifty little samples of their wares.  I remember some of the things my dad used to receive on consistent basis at work.  There were pens, notepads, calendars, refrigerator magnets, you name it. 

Once in a great while, however, a salesman produced something out of the ordinary, an item that was so unique and unusually captivating that you couldn’t help but be mesmerized by it.  I arrived home from school one day to find just such an item sitting on our counter top in the kitchen.  Mom was busy cleaning the kitchen sink and right beside her was a small plastic package filled with a long yellow strip.  Mom picked up the package, tore open the plastic wrapping, and removed the slender material. By now, my curiosity was peaked.  I had no idea what the material was but I rushed to the sink to find out.

Mom threw the strip into the water.  There, right before my eyes, the yellow material began to move and grow.  What was a strip of yellow a few seconds earlier began changing into something two to three times the size.   Finally, it stopped and in the sink was a new sponge, sopping wet, fully loaded, and ready for action.  Mom reached into the sink, took the sponge, wrung out all the excess water, and began using the sponge to clean the cabinets.

I have never forgotten the image of that sponge or the lesson it taught me.  What I learned from that sponge many years ago was one of the greatest of life’s lessons.  The sponge is no good until it is plunged into water, allowed to swell to the bursting point, and wrung out, removing all the unnecessary water.  A sponge that is too dry cannot clean and sponge that is too full just makes a mess.  In order for the sponge to be effective, it has to be both soaked and wrung out.  The soaking part is the fun part but the wringing out process requires work and isn’t terribly exciting and wonderful from the sponge’s perspective.

Perhaps no one in the Bible understood the plight of the sponge better than Noah.  After all, he was plunged into a great sink of water and left there for over a year before he was allowed to exit the ark.  Sometime after his 500^th birthday, God called him to build a boat, better known as the ark.  This is proof that retirement at age 65 is NOT biblically based!!  For years Noah labored building the ark, preparing it for the day the first drop of rain would fall.  This was the soaking up part of Noah’s life.  Although he was working hard on the ark, he was gathering strength for the long journey ahead, a journey that would wring out everything but the most necessary element of his life—his faithfulness and obedience to God’s calling.

Genesis 7:23 provides an interesting window into Noah’s life after the rain had stopped. “Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.”  Thus began the wringing out process in Noah’s life.  The account of the flood in Genesis 6-9 tells us that Noah was in the ark for over a year.  During that time, Noah worked, caring for all the animals on the ark, tending to their needs, fulfilling the purpose for which God called him. 

The last sentence of this passage tells us that Noah and those with him were the only one’s left.  Can you feel God’s fingers squeezing the last bit of water from the sponge?  Noah must have felt alone, isolated, and forgotten.  While the waters were soaking the earth, God was wringing him out.  While the tide continued to swell beneath him, God’s purging of his life continued.  While everything else perished, Noah remained alive.

This is God’s way with us.  There are times when we bask in His presence, soaking up all that He has to teach us.  At times such as these, the journey is easy, the spiritual lessons we learn seem so evident, and the presence of God is so near and so real to us.  But there are times when God chooses to wring us out in order to use us for His purposes.  Like the sponge, this means God will remove all but the most essential elements of the spiritual life so that He can use us for His purposes.  At times you may feel abandoned and pressed beyond all measure.  But nothing could be farther from the truth.  God knows where you are, He understands your situation, and He is using it to wring from your life everything that keeps you from being all that He knows and wants you to be. 

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ave you experienced the lesson of the sponge in your life?  Are you soaking or are you being wrung out today?  Where ever you are in this process, take heart from another statement from Noah’s life, found in Genesis 8:1, “But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.” God always remembers where you are! Have a great day in Him today!

Road Work Ahead

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k, I’ll admit it. I lost my cool the other day as I was driving around running errands. On no less than four occasions I encountered that little annoying orange sign which reads, “Road Work Ahead.” Is it just me or does anyone else believe the transportation department strategically places those “little signs” in order to cause the maximum amount of frustration possible? To top it all, every time I come across a construction site, no one is ever there working! Why erect a sign advertising work if there is no work taking place?

Do you feel my frustration yet? I know this seems like a small thing—and it is—but I really get bent out of shape when I am forced to take a detour just to go around the block! It wouldn’t be quite so bad if the construction were completed in a reasonable amount of time. But the signs remain in place for weeks or months on end with very little if any visible progress. For those of you working for the transportation department, please accept my apologies for getting so worked up. There is a great lesson in all this as we will now see.

OK, my little tirade is over and all the frustration is out of my system. While sitting at one of the intersections currently under construction, I had time to sit and think about the process of repairing or building road. It is quite fascinating, especially if you really observe all that goes into the laying of pavement. The ground must be prepared by bulldozing all the obstacles out of the way, by leveling the soil, and by preparing the shape the road will take. Next the workers build a form to hold the necessary components required to build a road and give it shape. They introduce gravel, steel bars, an extremely thick portion of concrete, and then they add asphalt on top. When all these steps are completed and the surface is painted, the road is open for business and cars travel back and forth, easily riding on the smooth surface that months of back-breaking work has produced.

As I sat there thinking about this, a very popular verse from the prophet Isaiah came to mind. It is one simple sentence carrying a wonderful promise about the coming of the Messiah. It also indicates that a lot of road work needed to occur before Israel was ready to receive him. The prophet writes these words in Isaiah 40:4 “Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth.’

You want to talk about road work!! God had so much to do in order to prepare the people for the coming of His messiah. Mountains had to be bulldozed, winding roads had to be straightened, valleys had to be filled-in, and all the rough, washboard roads had to be smoothed out. The process was ongoing. Year after year, generation after generation, and century after century it seemed the work would never be completed. At times, God seemed to be on vacation, not working as the countless years dragged on but God was working. He was on the job every day, working in and through the lives of His people until the coming of a man named John the Baptist. It was he who had the wonderful job of proclaiming the road was open and he did it with these words found in John 1:23 "I am "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Make straight the way of the LORD.”  Finally, the time for construction was over and the road was open for business.

Today, we continue to walk this road started so many years ago. At times, God still puts up road work signs, making us wait or take detours. At other times it appears as if He is not working, that He has abandoned us and left us stranded. But rest assured and know that our God is always working. The times when you can’t see His hand, it’s probably a good indication he is doing work on your foundation, making sure you are ready to bear up under the rest of the journey as you continue your daily walk along life’s road.

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he next time you see a sign labeled “Road Work Ahead” keep your cool. Use it as a wonderful reminder that God, in Jesus Christ, prepared the way for your salvation and that from time to time, when He deems it necessary, He closes your personal road to make repairs and do construction so that your walk with Him will be all He wants it be. Are you experiencing road work today?

Expect Delays

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he flashing sign on the side of the road offered me little hope.  Traffic had already been heavy due to road construction and now the sign promised that farther ahead, delays could be expected.  Now there is nothing more uplifting when you are in a hurry to get somewhere than being told that delays are not only likely, they are guaranteed.  Faced with this prospect, I determined to enjoy my drive and take the delays, and whatever else came along, in stride.

Not too far past the flashing panel, those wonderful little orange cones came into view and slowly but surely the right-hand lane grew narrower.  Finally, the lane disappeared completely and a three-lane Interstate highway was reduced to two lanes.  As you can imagine, this caused all types of “interesting challenges” as drivers waited until the last possible second to leave the right-hand lane and join those of us trying our best to keep our patience and maintain forward momentum.

If you’ve ever been in a similar situation, and I’ll just bet you have, you understand the frustration that comes with moving along at a snail’s pace down a major highway.  It wasn’t so much that I was frustrated with the drivers attempting to join the slow but steady flow of traffic; instead, I was aggravated with the whole idea of being delayed in the first place.  I was on a schedule and it didn’t include delays on the highway.  I was determined to be at a certain place at a certain time, but the delay in the traffic’s flow completely wrecked that idea.  The delay, however, didn’t prevent me from enjoying my ride; it just altered my arrival time.

It should come as no surprise that in the Christian walk there are slow-downs, detours, delays, and sometime complete halts.  The Scriptures are filled with example after example of times when things didn’t go exactly according to plan.  Time after time we see God halting the forward momentum of His people when they would rather have continued going.  But God’s perspective is so different from ours and He knows when delays and detours are necessary in order to teach us to rely on Him.

One man who knew all about delays was Joseph.  Betrayed and sold into slavery by his brothers, having committed no wrong against them, Joseph’s life in Egypt seemed to be one series of delays after another.  He became a slave in Potipher’s household and just when things seemed to be moving forward at a good pace, bam, there was a roadblock and a detour which landed him in prison.  While he was there, Joseph was place in charge of his fellow prisoners and just when he thought he saw a way out, he was forced to sit through a delay.

This delay is found in Genesis 40:23-41:1, “The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him…When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile…” While in prison Joseph successfully interpreted the cupbearer’s dream and requested that when he regained his position that he use his influence with Pharaoh to free Joseph.  As the Scriptures tell us, however, the cupbearer forgot Joseph and he experienced a two-year delay.

But at the end of those two years, Pharaoh had a dream and the cupbearer remembered Joseph.  What seemed like another rejection, another bump in the road, was in fact God’s divine intervention.  He had not forgotten Joseph and the Lord had not caused this delay in order to be cruel or overbearing.  Instead, Joseph had a place of service in the prison that prepared him for service to Pharaoh and to all of Egypt.  When the two-year delay was over, Joseph was raised to second in command over all Egypt and was placed in charge of the entire country.  When the delay was over, was no longer on a two-lane road but on a major highway!

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oday you may be experiencing a delay in your walk with God.  It may seem He has forgotten you, that you have been sitting still for the longest time and you wonder if you will ever make any forward progress again.  At times such as these, the temptation is to shut down, withdraw from God and from others, and become easily frustrated.  What you may not realize is that God is way up the road, smoothing out rough places, laying new pavement, or putting in more lanes so that your walk with Him will be better than it has before.  These times are also the times God chooses to test your faith and your reliance on Him.  He knows where you are at all times and will never abandon you.  That day on the road the sign read “Expect Delays!” It did not say “Turn off your car and get out!” 

When God Puts Us To Sleep

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n one of his poems, Edgar Allan Poe asks the following question:  “Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream?”  I can think of no better description of waking after surgery than this.  The effects of anesthesia last a long time after the patient initially goes under.  Hours after the surgery is over, the body begins to wake up and what an interesting process that is.

I remember waking up after heart surgery.  I could hear voices that sounded muffled, as if someone were speaking through a pillow.  I couldn’t make out exactly what they were saying and after a few moments of trying everything went black.  A few moments later (it was actually several hours later) I opened my eyes.  There were people in the room and everything was in a fog.  I remember seeing my mom and dad, the nurses, my pastor, and my doctor.  Then everything went black again.

Slowly, but surely, I began to wake up. My eyes stayed open longer, people began to talk more coherently, the fog lifted, and people’s movements came up to speed.  That’s when I began to notice the pain in my chest and I realized that something had really happened. I wasn’t the same person I had been just before the anesthesiologist worked his magic.  Whatever that stuff is it’s really good!

While I was asleep, a team of doctors opened my chest and repaired the hole that had caused my heart to work harder than necessary.  The surgery took several hours but they seemed like mere moments to me.  I remember being in the operating room getting ready for surgery and the next thing I knew, I was in Intensive Care unit, recovering.  I missed the whole thing!  But somehow, the pain in my chest reminded me I had been present all along.  I went to sleep one way; I woke up another.  The change had occurred during those few hours of forced sleep.

It shouldn’t surprise us to learn that God was the first anesthesiologist and the first surgeon.  The story of God’s creation of Eve from Adam’s rib has been told and retold from one generation to the next. Yet, if you stop and really think about that event, you will see that sometimes God causes us to sleep so He can work on the deepest areas of our lives.

Genesis 2:21-22 records the following, “So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.” 

We need to take closer look at the opening line of this passage.  Notice that Adam didn’t go to sleep on his own.  The scripture clearly states that God caused Adam to fall into a “deep sleep”.  There are times in life when God causes a deep sleep, a silence, a hush to fall over us.  We are not sure where He is, we don’t know what He’s doing, and we have no awareness that anything is being done in our lives.  It’s as if we are asleep spiritually, waiting for God to wake us up, to bring something new into our lives.

This is exactly what happened to Adam.  God needed to do some deep work in Adam’s life and He didn’t need Adam thrashing around, fighting Him every step of the way.  Sound familiar?  So, God knocked him out.  He opened the man’s chest, withdrew a rib, and made a woman.  God created for Adam what he could never have imagined.  While he slept, while he was unaware of any activity, while life seemingly had stopped, God was working.  He was working to provide Adam’s need, a need Adam wasn’t even aware he had!

What a beautiful picture this is of God’s care for His children.  He is always watching over us, always taking notice of the events and circumstances of our lives.  He knows us better than we know ourselves and He is constantly aware of our needs even when we are not.  Jesus, himself, reminds us of this fact in Matthew 6:25-34. 

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oday, you may feel that you are spiritually asleep. It seems it has been forever since God spoke to you or moved in your life.  You wonder if He knows about you and perhaps you feel as if God no longer cares.  We all feel this way in our walk with the Lord, but we know that nothing is farther from the truth.  We serve a God who loves us, who cares for us, and who provides for us.  God does His best work during our moments of sleep.  He is busy even now meeting needs and preparing you for events you know nothing about.  We are never the same after a sleep session with God.  Like the patient after surgery, we find ourselves changed when God puts us to sleep.  Won’t you let Him operate in your life today?

That First Step Is A Doozy!

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here is an old Chinese proverb that reads, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”  I have often repeated these words to myself and I have often written them on a blackboard for my students to consider.  It is amazing to watch as the reality of this small statement becomes evident, especially for high school or college seniors who are standing on the threshold of a new stage of life.

But college seniors and high school graduates are not the only ones who experience the truth of this statement.  All of us, at some point in our lives, will face the truth of this old proverb. Many of us have already experienced it at least once and many more have faced it several times.  It happens when we must make a career change, or when we have to move away from familiar surroundings and set down roots in a strange place. For others, the journey comes with the loss of a loved one and they must face the road ahead without the presence of their one-time companion.

Whatever the circumstances, one thing is sure, the journey, when taken as a whole, is overwhelming and that first step is always a doozy!  In fact, the whole secret to the journey is contained in that first step. If we can find the courage to put our foot forward for that first step, we find that the rest are easier.  It is the first step that is the most difficult and it is at the first step that the enemies of doubt, fear, insecurity, and mistrust attack us the most strongly and the most effectively. 

The Bible is filled with examples of men and women who walked with God and who took great journeys with Him.  Who can forget Moses leading the people in the wilderness?  Who hasn’t read about Noah and the ark?  And the story of Paul’s missionary journeys fills the New Testament pages with the history of the spread of the Gospel.

But to get a feel for the importance of the first step, to really appreciate what it means to move forward into God’s hands, to actually experience walking with God when you don’t know where you are going, we need look no further than Chapter 12 of the book of Genesis. The first verse of this passage tells us all we need to know about a man called Abraham and the journey he took with God.  Genesis 12:1 reads, “The Lord had said to Abram “Leave your country, your people, and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.”

Notice that God’s words contain a command, “leave your country, your people, and your father’s household and go to the land” and a promise, “I will show you.”  The command part had to be the most difficult for Abram.  He knew God had called him, and he knew God would show him where to go, but taking that first step would be a difficult and heart-wrenching decision.  Not only was Abram stepping out into the unknown; he was also stepping away from the known, leaving his home, his family, his friends, his life, and his security behind him.  That first step was indeed a doozy but Abram exercised his faith and took it.

There is a great lesson here which God has been teaching me in recent days.  The life of faith is always one away from the camp of security and comfort.  Abram’s faith in God was secure but the circumstances of his life were not.  He lived in a tent, not a permanent dwelling.  He lived in a land in which both he and his neighbors referred to him as an alien and a foreigner.  But Abram learned the only way to please God and to receive His best was to walk continually in faith.

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herever you are in your walk with God today my friend, my prayer is that you will not shy away from taking that first step.  It is a doozy in more ways than one.  That first step will separate you from the world but it will also separate you unto God.  It may take you a thousand miles away from home, but it will never take you where God is not.  The journey may have uphill struggles, rocky mountain slopes, and deep valleys, but it will also provide you with views and joys you could never experience at home in base camp.  My prayer for you today is that you will pack your bags and determine in your heart to take that first step of faith with God.  It will be a doozy, I grant you that, but it will be one that will change your life forever.  Are you ready to take that first step today?

Stay Where You Are

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t all started one winter afternoon!  The weather forecasters had said that inclement winter weather was a distinct possibility and this time, at least, their predictions were right on target.  Around 2:30 in the afternoon, the skies opened up and rained down sleet.  As the ice pebbles hit against the building, all of us in the office pressed our noses against the windows, staring in amazement, mouths agape, just like thousands of school children who were no doubt doing the same thing.

The excitement from the sleet, however, soon gave way to concern about the drive home and the impending problems the ice would cause as literally thousands of people jammed the highways in order to arrive safely home before the brunt of the storm hit.  Classes were cancelled; schools and offices closed early, and people began making their way home.  My trip home from the university was uneventful and I arrived at my apartment safe and sound.

Later in the afternoon and all throughout the evening, the sleet continued to fall.  Sometimes it came down very hard, almost in sheets, and at other times it was barely noticeable. But all the while, the amount of accumulating ice continued to grow and the ground was soon covered in a blanket of white.  The next morning, I looked out and noticed that a significant amount of ice had accumulated during the night hours.  It was a beautiful view but one that was also fraught with danger.

The television news channels and the radio stations were all promoting the same warning: Stay where you are!  All of the anchormen and women repeated that message over and over, stressing the importance of remaining indoors and not braving the elements or the icy road conditions.  Although it appeared harmless, the ice was indeed deadly, causing cars, trucks, buses, etc. to lose traction and veer off the highway.  Unless absolutely necessary, everyone was urged to stay home where it was safe, dry, and warm until the icy conditions were gone.

The weather here provides a deeper understanding of a passage of scripture from the book of Isaiah.  The prophet gives us a warning which we should consider as we walk with God.  Isaiah 50:11 reads, “But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment.”

There is a solemn and sober truth in this passage of scripture.  Israel was awaiting the coming of the Messiah and had in her mind the manner in which he would appear.  They believed the Messiah would overthrow Israel’s oppression and set up God’s kingdom in its place.  But the kingdom of God did not come by way of the sword but by way of the cross.  It did not come with an overthrow of a political government but with the overthrow of sin and death.  It did not come in the manner in which they thought it should so they walked by their own understanding and completely missed God’s plan for man’s salvation.

The same is true for us in our daily walk with the Lord.  When we lean on our own understanding, when we believe we know how we are to proceed, and when we fail to stay where we are when God tells us to rest, we place ourselves in great peril.  The conditions all around us tell us to stay where we are, but instead we venture forth, losing our footing, sliding off the chosen road, landing in the side ditches where we get into trouble and difficulty.  Just as God said through the prophet Isaiah, when we do things our own way instead of obeying God we always bear the consequences of our actions.

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herever you are today in your walk with God, pay close attention to His commands.  It may be that the road ahead is covered with ice, impassable, and treacherous.  If God, who knows the way much better than you, has commanded you to stay where you are, don’t take a flashlight and strike out on your own.  Remain where you are in the safety of God’s presence until He sees fit to move you forward.  You will never be disappointed and you will never be in danger as long as you walk with Him.  Are you walking with God or ahead of Him today?

Out Of Sight; Not Out Of Mind!

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ut of sight, out of mind is an old cliché I have heard all my life and one that I practiced regularly as a kid.  I used the space underneath my bed as storage for all my “important stuff.”  Whenever I needed to store something or get rid of something, under the bed it went.  When all that space was taken, I began using the available space in my closet. 

When my mom cold no longer tolerate my clutter, she would simply announce it was time to clean out from under the bed.  I had to get down on my hands and knees, drag out all that “important stuff” and then throw it away.  I found things long forgotten, things I intended to use again but never did.  It took my hours sometimes to clean it all out and I wondered what had ever possessed me to stuff things under my bed in the first place.

Sometimes we feel that God has just stuffed us under the bed and forgotten all about us.  We keep praying, we keep reading the Bible, we keep on believing his promises but it feels like he has totally forgotten us.  Our lives seem so cluttered and filled with all kinds of challenges and difficulties and God is nowhere to be found.

This is exactly the way Mary and Martha must have felt when they sent word to Jesus that Lazarus was sick.  They expected him to come right away, to perform a miracle, and to restore Lazarus to perfect health.  However, things didn't turn out exactly the way they planned.  J

John 11;6  gives us Jesus’ initial reaction to the news of Lazarus’ illness, “Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.”  Unbelievable!  One of Jesus closest and dearest friends is sick and when he learns about it he does nothing.  He stays two more days where he is.

This does seem like Jesus has placed them underneath the bed, stored them away, forgotten all about them.  Both Martha and Mary express this to Jesus when he arrives, telling him that Lazarus would not have died if he had come on time.  In other words, Mary and Martha are saying, “If you hadn’t forgotten our request, if you hadn't put us out of mind, Lazarus would still be alive.”

All of us have shred Martha and Mary’s feelings.  All of us have had moments when we felt God had left us alone to fend for ourselves.  But the truth is, we are never out of his sight and we are never out of his mind.  His thoughts are always toward us and he always knows where we are.  We cannot hide from him, we cannot be separated from him, if he knows when sparrows fall, he knows everything that concerns you and me today.

When confronted with Mary and Martha’s concerns, Jesus simply told them to believe and all would be well.  He raised Lazarus that day and restored him to his friends and family.  Mary and Martha believed Jesus forgot them.  They felt alone and helpless and wondered why he didn't come when they called.  But Jesus had something far greater in mind and in store for theses sisters, something they could never imagine or hope would happen.

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oday, whatever your situation, rest assured God has not forgotten you. He is not in the business of sweeping you under the rug or storing you underneath the bed.  He knows all about you and he is aware of everything that touches your life.  He is constantly working on your behalf and his timing is always perfect.  At times God may be out of your sight, but you are never out of his mind!  What a wonderful thought and promise.

Daybreak!

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he sound of the piercing alarm clock rouses me from a deep, restful sleep.  The room is still dark, but the first tendrils of daylight indicate that the sun will soon rise in the east and a new day will start.  The alarm is still sounding so I throw back the covers, get up, walk across the room, turn off the alarm, and then climb back into bed for “just a few more minutes.”

As I lie on my bed looking out the window, I notice that it is steadily growing lighter outside.  I can now see the outline of trees, houses, and the birds and squirrels have started their early morning jaunts and their never-ending search for food and water.  Soon, the highways will be filled with people going to appointments or hurrying to their jobs and another hectic Friday will be in full swing.

But for now, the sun continues its steady approach and light is rapidly overtaking the darkness that has held the world captive for the past several hours.  I enjoy this time of the morning, as the night gives way to the day.  Although the darkness tries to linger for “just a few more minutes,” it is no match for the light.  The sun totally dispels all the darkness and chases it away, making everything clear and visible.

Isaiah knew what it was like to watch God create a morning.  I’m sure he watched the sun rise and dispel all the darkness and the gloom of night.  Perhaps that is why he used this analogy to speak of the coming Messiah and of a time when all would be made clear and visible.  He wasn't speaking about seeing the physical world better, but about having a clearer spiritual understanding of God and his plan for mankind.  Isaiah knew that the coming of the Messiah would remove the spiritual darkness holding mankind captive and would replace it with the burning light of God’s salvation, love, and mercy.

In Isaiah 9:2, the prophet writes these words, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned”  Can you think of a better way to describe a sunrise than this?  Isaiah heard an alarm sounding, indicating that the long night was ending and a new day was beginning.  From his vantage point, he could see the small but perceptible tendrils of God’s light that would one day dispel all the darkness of sin from the earth.

We are now living in that light and that light is Jesus Christ.  Jesus, himself, said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12).  Jesus fulfilled the promise Isaiah made so many years before.  The light of God’s salvation did come and it did remove the darkness from the world.  But notice that in order to walk in this light, we must follow Jesus.  He is the only way to God and he is the only means of light in a dark world.  Only by believing in and following him can we ever hope to leave the darkness behind.

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s it dark where you are today?  Are you walking in the light of Jesus’ salvation?  You can.  Listen carefully and you will hear the alarm clock sounding.  It is God’s voice calling you from the darkness to walk in his eternal light.  Won’t you get out of that spiritual bed and watch the sunrise today?  You will never see things in the same way again!

Testing Time!

            

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hile living in Europe, I grew accustomed to the tradition of drinking hot tea.  You must understand that growing up in the southeastern United States meant the only form of tea with which I was familiar was iced tea.  In addition to being iced, it was also very sweet.  I still love to drink my tea this way but I do enjoy brewing a nice hot cup of tea in the evenings.  It just seems to make reading a good book or listening to good music better, not to mention what it does for shortbread cookies!

Now the requirements for making hot tea are very few. The only items you need are a kettle, some water, a cup, and a tea bag.  Taken by themselves, they are just ordinary items, but when they are combined, the result is very satisfying.  Yet, before you can enjoy that cup of tea a few things have to happen. 

The water must be placed into the kettle and brought to the boiling point.  Then, tea bag must be placed into the hot water and allowed to steep.  Only by placing the tea into the boiling water, and only after leaving it there for a period of time, is it possible to produce a good, hot beverage pleasing to both body and soul.

The Christian life is just like this!  The tea bag represents the Christian life, and the hot water represents the trials and tests that sometimes come in life.  In order for God to draw out of us those qualities that glorify him, he sometimes has to put us into "hot water." 

Trials and conflicts are part of life and the Christian is not exempt from this truth.  Christ promised to be with us in trials, not to keep us from them.  It is in the difficult times of life that our true character is revealed and true spiritual growth takes place.

Just like a tea bag that must steep in hot water in order to release its goodness, so is it necessary sometimes for God to place us into difficulty and leave us there.  He does not abandon us, but allows us to steep so that we may bring honor and glory to him and reach others for Jesus Christ.

No one understood more than Job the idea of being left in the midst of trial.  He was consigned to extremely difficult circumstances.  Yet, by obeying God and submitting to his will, Job proved to be an example for us all.  Although he didn't understand why God had permitted this testing, he saw it as coming from God and knew it had a purpose.  In verse 10 of chapter 23 Job says, "But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold". 

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est assured, wherever you are and whatever your circumstances today, your Heavenly Father is aware of them.  He knows your trials and he trusts you with them.  You will not stay in "hot water" a minute longer than is necessary to make you what he wants you to be.  You have his word on it!

Step Right This Way

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ach summer, the high desert of New Mexico in the southwest United States, becomes home to a host of young people eager to hike the trails, scale the mountains, explore the valleys, and walk the meadows of Philmont Scout Ranch. Some of these crews have waited several years to visit the ranch and to experience scouting's ultimate challenge.  However, before these eager youths can begin their journey, they must first get   directions for the road ahead.  They arrive with great expectations of what the backcountry holds; but they must develop a definite plan of action before beginning their wilderness experience.

One of the most important stops the crew makes at base camp is a visit to logistics. Here, the crew leader meets with a trip planner who provides vital information on the various aspects of the hike. Before their arrival, logistics is aware of the crew’s wishes and needs. Each crew is assigned a trip planner who indicates on a map the appropriate places to get food, fresh water, and to pitch camp. Every aspect of the trip is planned out BEFORE the crew leaves base camp.  They arrive with a selected trek in mind but logistics determines the route they will take and the time period they will follow.

This process teaches us a great truth about the plans God makes for us.  In Proverbs16:9, Solomon writes, "We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." In this brief, but all-important passage of scripture, Solomon unlocks one of the great truths about God.  He is constantly and fully aware of our plans but he decides the paths we take to reach our destination.  How many of us have prayed for patience only to find that the pathway lies through difficulty and hardship until we learn what patience truly is?  How many times have we asked God to give us a forgiving spirit, only to be placed into situations that demanded us to forgive those who wronged us?  And how often have we asked God to teach us contentment and found ourselves removed from comforts and familiar surroundings until we learned to be at peace no matter what the circumstances?

Our heavenly father knows what we want, but more importantly, he knows what we need.  He also knows that the easiest route is not necessarily the best one or the one that will mold us and shape us according to the plans he has for us.  God is very interested in us and the paths we choose to tread; but he reserves the right to determine the paths we take to reach our destination. 

God is familiar with life's terrain.  He knows its high peaks and its low valleys.  He understands the uphill climb and the long, dusty roads.  He understands our frustrations and our discomfort with life's situations at times.  That is why he chooses the paths.  He knows where and when we need rest.  He knows how to restore us and supply us from his own, infinite resources at just the right time. 

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od's paths are not always easy; but they are always rewarding; designed to strengthen us, mature us, develop us, and transform us into the image of Christ.  Are you walking his paths today?

Stand Still!

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hen we were young kids, my mom used to make our clothes.  She loved to sew and I remember her working way into the wee hours of the morning, making sure everything was just right.  Easter especially saw a bevy of activity around the Carpenter household. Mom would very methodically measure us, hold the patterns up to us to make sure they were the right size, cut out the material, and then start the sewing process.  We were very involved in the process and I was more than a little impatient at times. 

Mom would encourage us to play outside, out from under her feet, so she could actually get something done.  However, she didn't want us to stray too far so we could come in and try on our clothes in order for her to make any necessary adjustments.  I remember many Saturday afternoons as I played in our backyard while mom sat in the back hallway at her sewing machine making new clothes for me to wear.  She could call me to come in for "just a few minutes" which to me were an eternity.  She would hand me the clothes and then make the most impossible and least favorite of all requests, "Stand still!"

I hated standing still and I would jiggle and shift my weight from one foot to the other.  I would crack jokes and make her laugh which meant we stayed there longer.  She finally would tell me to be quiet, another impossible feat, while she checked the length of a sleeve or pants.  The hardest part was standing still for the hemming of a pair of pants.  I had to stand perfectly still while she made sure the pants were the correct length.  She would pin the pants to the desired length and then she would let me go.  While I was sleeping, however, she was working, hemming those pants until early in the morning.  She did the same for my brother and for my sister.  Honestly, I don't know where she found the time, but I am so glad she did.  I am so glad that she taught me that sometimes it's necessary to stand still.

In the Christian life, we want to be constantly in motion. We find it so hard to be still, to be inactive, and to let God do the work while we stand by and watch.  For us, standing still seems to have no useful purpose and seems to be counterproductive.  We must forever be doing something, we think, if anything is to be done to further God’s kingdom.  Yet, this is the exact opposite of what God would have us do.  David was right when he said that the battle belongs to God, and Moses hit the nail on the head when he declared that the Lord would do battle for his children.

The Apostle Paul echoes these two great men of the Old Testament in his letter to the church at Ephesus.  In Ephesians 6:13, Paul speaks about the Christian life in terms that all people in the Roman world would have understood at that time.  "Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." Rome conquered and held the known world through military might.  She did this by having the best equipped and best trained soldiers the world had ever known.  The Roman war machine was well respected and was built on the idea of the foot soldier.  Providing them with the best equipment was essential to conquering the known world.

In Ephesians6:11-17, Paul speaks about the various pieces of armor a soldier would wear.  He encourages and admonishes his readers to put on every piece of spiritual armor meticulously and, once ready for battle, he orders them to stand. He does not suggest they attack, march forward, or launch their weapons, but simply stand still.  The Roman solders wore sandals equipped with spikes in order to grip the ground and provide a firm stance.  The idea for a foot soldier is not to lose any ground but to hold position and advance when necessary as a unit.  This tactic ensured Rome's power for almost 1000 years.

Paul's advice is applicable to us today.  Every piece of the spiritual armor Paul describes is defensive in nature.  The only offensive weapon is the sword of the Spirit, the word of God.  The shield is used to quench fiery darts launched at us, the belt, breastplate and helmet protect vital organs; the shoes help us stand our ground.  This is Paul's command to us, to hold our ground.  God is our general, he is out in front, and he is fighting all the battles for us.  Our job is to hold the line, to keep the enemy from advancing, to lock our shields, to dig in our heels, and to hold our position.  This is the job of the foot soldier who looks the enemy in the face and doesn't flinch, who has confidence in his general, who knows that ultimately the victory will be his because he held his ground. 

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o, if you feel you are making no forward progress, if you think God has left you in the line because you have no usefulness, if you feel your place is unimportant, hold on, dig in, stand firm.  It may be that the very position you are holding is preventing the enemy from encroaching on God's territory.  Your faithfulness in the fray, your willingness to be obedient, and your firm stance is what God is counting on.  Don't give up!  Hold that line! Stand still!

Before I Was, He Knew

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aturday and Sunday mornings at our house were pretty typical.  We would sleep later, drink our coffee slower, and talk with each other longer, easing ourselves into the day ahead.  A visit to my parents’ home in North Carolina several years ago proved to be no exception to this rule.

During these visits, the conversation will invariably turn to events and stories from the past.   On one particular Sunday morning, we were standing in the kitchen, one of my very favorite haunts in any house, just talking about nothing in particular.  The conversation, however, took a turn toward the past. For a few moments, we took a stroll down memory lane, discussing the many ways God had provided for us as a family, and for me in particular.

I was born with several congenital abnormalities for which I have undergone numerous surgeries over the years.  One of these "little challenges" concerns my heart.  In June of 1975, I underwent open-heart surgery to repair a hole between my heart’s upper chambers.  The surgery was successful and I had no difficulties afterward.  I grew stronger and could run and play for longer periods without getting tired.

However, a few years after surgery, the doctors discovered another abnormality with my heart's electrical system that caused me to have sporadic, rapid, irregular heart rhythms.  Actually, they had suspected this problem all along due to my irregular electrocardiogram which did not change markedly after surgery.  They were able to determine the cause of the problem and were able to prescribe medications to keep it in check.

When I travel, I carry a copy of my medical record so that a physician will know what to do in case of an emergency.  In the record are letters between my pediatrician and my first cardiologist at Duke University Medical Center.  Those letters indicate their assurance that, at some point, an irregular rhythm episode would occur and they had discussed possible means of treatment. 

As I read those letters, I couldn't help but be amazed at the way God had put in place the people to help me.  These two doctors, from different parts of the country, met each other in medical school years before I was born.  Nevertheless, God was already working, putting them together so that when I came along, they could provide the medical care I needed and assemble one of the finest medical teams to address this issue. 

Before I was, He knew what I would need and made provision for it.  Before my mom and dad married, before any of this, God knew.  Some would chalk this up to coincidence or luck.  In my experience, there is no such thing.  God either cares for us or He doesn't, He either knows everything or He doesn't, He is either who He says He is or He isn't, we either believe Him or we don't.  I choose to believe God is exactly who He says He is and that He knows us and provides for us even when we don't yet exist.

David knew this to be true and penned the following words in Psalm 139:16, "Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.  And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them."  David knew and understood how awesome God is.  He understood how wonderfully he had been fashioned and he also knew that if God could create everything that exists, then He knew how to take care of it and maintain it. 

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oday you may be struggling.  The circumstances you are in may seem so overwhelming and daunting.  You may be wondering where God is and if He even knows or cares about where you are.  Rest assured He does.  He has been making plans for you for years, even before you were born.  Nothing enters your life without His knowledge.  If sparrows do not escape His attention when they fall, nothing in the life of His children goes unnoticed either.  Today's challenges only speak of tomorrow's victories.  Everything you need for this day, God will provide because before you were, He knew!!!