A moment of suspense

You meet those who gladly do right,
    those who remember you in your ways.
But you were angry, and we sinned;
    because you hid yourself we transgressed.
We have all become like one who is unclean,
    and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth.
We all fade like a leaf,
    and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
There is no one who calls on your name,
    or attempts to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
    and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.
Yet, O Lord, you are our Father;
    we are the clay, and you are our potter;
    we are all the work of your hand.
Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord,
    and do not remember iniquity forever.
    Now consider, we are all your people. Isaiah 64:5-9

Joy in the absence of feeling God’s presence can be challenging. But we must trust. We must be obedient. We must persevere. In this scripture, though Isaiah is feeling abandoned, he remains faithful to God and pleads for Him to show himself again. He likens himself and his people to clay in the potter’s hand, ready, to be molded and formed. In times like this, we are to be aware, be fit and be ready.

Be aware of the inner workings of our hearts. Listen deeply for the longings we have and what they are telling us about ourselves. Be aware of the needs around us. An awareness of the longings of others is essential as we are all connected and called together in some way.

Be fit. We must continue to act on the knowledge of God even when the feeling of His presence is missing. Be loving and do loving acts. Continue to seek God and understanding. Stay in the practice of your faith.

Be ready. He will not leave you in suspense forever. When the work of His hand begins to unfold, and His purpose is more and more evident, be ready to do that which His hands so lovingly molded you to do.

Above all, trust in the slow work of God. Give Our Lord the benefit of believing that his hand is leading you. And accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

A moment of bitterness

He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart… Mark 3:5

Sometimes our anger is justified. Anger is a necessary emotion. It tells us when something is wrong. It is a warning to look for a problem. Bitterness is never justified. Bitterness often is what happens when we see a problem and instead of addressing it head on we build a fortress around it and protect ourselves from the issue that sparked the anger. The problem is that when we create that strong fortress, we also block out any possibility of healing, forgiveness or love. We sit alone in our fort, the bitterness grows, we add weapons to the walls, and fire at anyone who attempts to enter.

This calls to my mind an excerpt from a book that I read years ago. I laughed and cried when I read it because it hit so close to home.

God is visiting her soul with a terrible rot called madness. First, she is only mad at her husband. Years pass and she is mad at he family. As time goes on she is mad at the Church. Then she is mad at the mailman and mad at the waitress. Practicing, always practicing, perfecting her madness. Mad, all the time mad. Madness. (Debi Pearl pg. 63)

So what do we do to keep from going mad?

actions for good

pro-verbs

PROVERBS 3

BE LOYAL Do not let loyalty and faithfulness forsake you; v.3

Be good to those you encounter your friends, your family and the people you meet only for a moment.

BE TRUSTING Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. v.5

We cannot rely on our own thoughts to fix our own thoughts. We need a clear perspective. Seek God’s perspective he has everyone’s best interest at heart.

GIVE HONOR Honor the Lord with your substance…v.9

Honor begins in the heart. When we hold God in high esteem, we will begin to hold His creation in the same regard. We will be grateful for what he has shared with us. And gratitude is always a healer of the spirit.

SEEK WISDOM My child, do not let these escape from your sight: keep sound wisdom and prudence,…v. 21

We must be careful not to act on our emotion because they are not always in line with the truth. Look to scriptures for guidance and take care to remember what is loving.

FEAR NOT …for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught. v. 26

When we protect our own hearts, it is often out of fear. We build bitterness around our hearts creating walls that cannot be penetrated. When we understand God as the creator and protector of that which he loves we can walk more securely and rest more easily.

BE GOOD Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. v. 27

It comes up over and over, when trying to find healing for yourself, do something for others.

PRETEND

When you are not feeling particularly friendly but know you ought to be, the best thing you can do, very often, is to put on a friendly manner and behave as if you were a nicer person than you actually are. And in a few minutes, as we have all noticed, you will be really feeling friendlier than you were. (C. S. Lewis pg. 188)

Citations:

Pearl, Debi. Created to Be His Help Meet: Discover How God Can Make Your Marriage Glorious. No Greater Joy Ministries, 2014.

Lewis, C. S. Mere Christianity. HarperCollins, 2001.

All Bible quotes are from the New Revised Standard Version

A moment on the bright side

“Look on the bright side.” they

I probably shouldn’t, but I always get bristly when cliche phrases are said to try to make others feel better. Sometimes things are just dark, and the bright side is too far off in the distance to even imagine what could be there. But if we are in the darkness, and Jesus is the Light of the world, and Jesus is God made flesh, then the bright side would be God’s side. As I looked at this photo, from the dark side, I saw the light reaching over the mountains, reaching over to the dark side.

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. John 1:4-6 (NKJV)

I may not be able to look at or imagine what the bright side is like as I am in the darkness, but knowing there is another side brings me comfort. Let me assure you, there is another side to our pain and our darkness. There is God’s side. And as I notice the light coming over the mountains, I am reminded God’s side is not separate from our side. He has a plan and a purpose for each of us and for all the events in our lives. His purpose is to draw us ever closer to Him. Pain, suffering, and darkness are a necessary part of the process. So that when we glimpse the other side, we long for it, we move toward it. We open our hearts and trust in it. And the light that may seem distant at the time can settle deeper into our hearts.

As I read the following passage this morning, I was struck by Simeon’s delight at seeing the Messiah and what must have been compassion as he tells Mary of her future suffering.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,

“Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
    according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
    which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
    and for glory to your people Israel.”

And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.” Luke 2:25-35 (NRSV)

Though we may not be able to fully comprehend these things. And though it may not soften the blows of our individual suffering any more than I imagine it could have for Mary. Perhaps like Mary, we can trust the bright side, knowing the bright side is on our side.

In him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. John 1:4-5 (NRSV)

A moment of dejection

The purpose of prayer is that we get ahold of God, not of the answer. It is impossible to be well physically and to be dejected, because dejection is a sign of sickness. This is also true spiritually. Dejection spiritually is wrong, and we are always to blame for it. Oswald Chambers

Some days are just like that though. We feel dejected uninspired and wondering “What is the point?” Those days for me, I am of not much use to anyone. If I try to confide in others, I risk the possibility of bringing them to where I am. And, “Though misery loves company.” as they say. I don’t feel it is a very kind friend that dumps on another the very dejection that we are trying to get out of. Where do we go then?

I feel I have a few choices.

I can go to someone who can be detached from me personally, who is strong at the moment in their own spirituality and can be my encourager with facts, not feelings. This is a rare friend and often hard to find.

I can look outside myself for some small contribution I can make to another person to encourage them and make their day brighter. This, in turn, will lift my spirits.

Or I can go deep. Deep into the place where that dejection first started. What was I looking for in the first place? Was it egocentric? Was I open to the possibilities of the looking for one thing and finding something else? Can I stop for a moment open my heart and see the Grace that was very likely hidden right there? Can I just be in the moment, waiting?

The moment we go deep, we are in prayer. This is where we are speaking of our dejection out loud, and we are waiting for an answer. This is the moment hope begins. We are no longer dejected we are waiting in hope for a word from the inner voice of our God.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
    and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
    more than those who watch for the morning,
    more than those who watch for the morning. Psalm 130:4-6 (NRSV)