Category Archives: Challenges & Difficulty

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December 16, 2024

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Bible Stories, Challenges & Difficulty, Holidays & Holy Days, Joy, Thanks & Praise, Today: Make it Count

“HALLELUJAH” RATHER THAN “HUMBUG”

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. [Isaiah 61:1-2 (NLT)]

 

Unfortunately, much of our Advent season is not spent joyfully looking forward to celebrating the birth of the Christ child. In hope of finding the perfect gift for everyone on our list, we pore over catalogues and search for sales and coupons. Either we fight for parking spots at the mall and spend hours standing in line or spend those hours sitting at the computer while shopping on line! We then fret and fuss over wrapping those gifts, mailing packages and Christmas cards, hosting and attending parties, baking cookies, making travel arrangements, decorating the house, preparing holiday dinners, and paying the ever-mounting bills. When we say, “Merry Christmas!” we might find ourselves mumbling a Scrooge-like “Bah! Humbug” under our breath! Instead of looking forward to Christmas with anticipation, there are times we can’t wait until it’s all over and done.

Dr. Seuss’ Grinch eventually realized Christmas really has nothing to do with all those trappings; I wonder why we have so much trouble remembering that same thing. Christmas isn’t about gifts, parties, cards, peppermint bark, decorations, or the “roast beast feast.” Jesus with His message of love, redemption, forgiveness, and salvation is the only reason for the season! Mary didn’t send out 100 birth announcements or bake dozens of cookies and the stable that housed the Holy Family wasn’t decorated with wreaths, ribbons, holly, or tinsel. God took care of the only decoration with a bright star and a heavenly chorus announced the birth. Shepherds were the first holiday guests and they didn’t expect gingerbread cookies or care about the stable’s decor or cleanliness. The Magi’s Christmas presents were odd gifts for an infant and probably arrived two years late.

Today, consider pausing from all your preparations to re-read Zechariah’s prophecy of a Savior who would redeem His people and the beautiful story of His birth in Luke 1 and 2. Tonight, take a drive and look at the Christmas lights festooned around your town; let them remind you of Isaiah’s promise; “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light … For a child is born to us.” Then let us joyfully raise our voices in a “Hallelujah!” instead of “Humbug!”

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. [From “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” by Dr. Seuss]

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine … For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. [Isaiah 9:2,6 (NLT)]

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November 18, 2024

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, God's Plan, God's Promises, Trusting God

TRUSTING JOE

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. [Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV)]

green heron - corkscrew sanctuaryOur old friend Joe recently visited. Along with our friend Ric, he and my husband were partners in a manufacturing business in another state many years ago. Once a year, the three men would meet away from the business (with its phone calls and constant interruptions) to discuss their short-term and long-term business goals. While Ric and my husband were the legal, financial, and sales parts of the business, as a processing engineer, Joe oversaw manufacturing.

Although Joe is a genius when it comes to engineering, electronics, production, and machinery, the innovative thinker had difficulty verbalizing his long-range manufacturing plans to his technology and machinery-challenged partners. Often unable to visualize what Joe had in mind, they sometimes had difficulty understanding his reasoning behind wanting to alter existing equipment, create new machinery, remove or install racks, re-arrange the factory, revise old procedures, or inaugurate new ones. Joe, however, knew exactly what he was doing. Inevitably, a new system would be in place that always resulted in faster and more efficient production, a better-quality product, and a safer work place for their employees. Although my husband and Ric didn’t fully comprehend Joe’s proposals, they knew there always was a method to what sometimes appeared to be madness. Having faith in Joe’s expertise and knowing his concern was for the welfare of their business and employees, they simply had to trust Joe to do his job in the factory while they did theirs in the office!

Just as my husband and Ric rarely understood Joe’s visions, we often have difficulty understanding what God is doing in our lives. We tend to be creatures of habit and prefer doing things the old familiar way rather than learning a new and better way. God, however, is never satisfied with our just being OK; He has great plans for us—to give us “a future and a hope.”

The words of Isaiah 55:8-9 remind us that we must put our complete trust in God; His ways always are better than our own. Because He loves us, we can know that everything in His plans is for our greater good. It’s rarely easy to understand why things (both pleasant and unpleasant) happen the way they do. Nevertheless, it all is part of God’s plan—a plan we cannot fully comprehend. It is only in hindsight that we finally understand why our lives took the twists and turns they did.

Looking back, I see how various difficulties and challenges caused me to mature in my faith, develop character and strength, and become more patient, peaceful, and thankful. Those changes and the circumstances that caused them (most of which I didn’t appreciate at the time) enabled me to withstand the challenges of today. Moreover, the troubles of today will empower me to better withstand the challenges that are sure to arrive tomorrow or the day after. Just as Joe transformed the factory and its manufacturing processes, God wants to transform and perfect us. Let us trust Him even more than Ric and my husband trusted Joe!

Father, thank you for transforming our lives so that we can grow more like Christ. Forgive us when we rebel and question your plan. Remind us to look back and reflect on the many blessings we’ve received that originally came packaged as trouble, sorrow, and difficulty. Thank you for never giving up on us.

Faith looks back upon the past, for her battles have strengthened her, and her victories have given her courage. She remembers that God has never failed her. … Therefore faith…can say, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life!” [Charles Spurgeon]

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. [Psalm 23:6 (ESV)]

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. [Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV)]

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October 24, 2024

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Bible Stories, Challenges & Difficulty, God's Word: The Bible, Nature, Trusting God

LIKE THE HYRAX

There are four things on earth that are small but unusually wise….Hyraxes—they aren’t powerful, but they make their homes among the rocks. [Proverbs 30:24,26 (NLT)] 

High in the mountains live the wild goats, and the rocks form a refuge for the hyraxes. [Psalm 104:18 (NLT)]

Making the point that wisdom is better than strength, the sage Agur spoke of the wisdom of ants, locusts, lizards, and sāphān. Often translated as badgers, rock-badgers, hyraxes, conies, or marmots, the animal’s exact identity is unknown but commentators suspect it to be the Syrian rock hyrax. Looking like a cross between a rabbit, guinea pig, and meerkat, these social animals gather in colonies of up to 80 individuals. Sleeping and eating together, they live in the natural crevices of rocks and boulders or take over the abandoned burrows of other animals.

Although hyraxes are mammals, like reptiles, they rely on ambient warmth to help regulate their body temperature. To warm up in the morning, they spend several hours sunbathing on the rocks together. Once warmed up, they head out to eat a little and then return to rest again on the rocks. If the sun gets too hot, they take their afternoon siesta in the shade.

Since hyraxes spend most of their time sprawled out resting on rocks in full view of any predators, these defenseless critters seem anything but wise. Looks, however, can be deceiving. Hyraxes never venture far from a safe crevice into which they can dash in an instant. Although these vulnerable animals appear to be asleep on the rocks, their eyes are open and, at the first sign of trouble, an alert is sounded.  Within seconds of that alert, these agile and speedy animals will disappear deep into rocky crevices. When hyraxes forage for food, the ever-alert animals form a circle with their heads pointing outward to keep watch for predators. I suspect it was their ability to both detect and escape peril while living openly on dangerous cliffs that caused Agur to call the hyrax “exceedingly wise.”

As a shepherd, David would have been quite familiar with the hyrax. As the likely author of Psalm 104, he even mentioned how the “rocks formed a refuge” for them. Like the hyrax, David and his men found security in the rocks and caves when they were hunted by Saul. The psalmist’s safe concealment in cliffs and caves may be the reason so many psalms refer to the rocks and cliffs as places of refuge. In Psalms alone, we find more than fifteen metaphors of God as a rock serving as the psalmist’s place of safety.

Since we’re not small and vulnerable animals who spend most of their time resting in the sunshine, what are we to make of Agur’s observation and David’s rock metaphors? Even when it looks like they’re asleep, the hyraxes never close their eyes to their enemies—the hungry lion, leopard, hyena, and eagle. Like the hyrax, Christians must be alert to their enemy, Satan—the one who prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour. [1 Peter 5:8] Despite its vulnerability, the hyrax doesn’t conceal itself in the dark like a mole; neither should Christians. Rather than hide in the dark crevices, hyraxes boldly sunbathe in the open on the rocks because they have a secure refuge in the rocks. As Christians, we can be as bold and open in our faith because we have a secure refuge in our Triune God. Indeed, He is our fortress, deliverer, stronghold, shield, redeemer, and salvation! And, like the hyrax and David, when we’re in jeopardy, we can quickly flee to the Rock! As hymn writer Augustus Toplady wrote, “Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee!”

No one is holy like the Lord! There is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. [1 Samuel 2:2 (NLT)]

The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. [Psalm 18:2 (NLT)]

But the Lord is my fortress; my God is the mighty rock where I hide. [Psalm 94:22 (NLT)]

He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. [Psalm 62:6 (NLT)]

Be my rock of safety where I can always hide. Give the order to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. [Psalm 71:3 (NLT)]

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October 17, 2024

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, Prayer, Trusting God

MINDSET

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. [Philippians 4:6-7 (MSG)]

The real problem of the Christian life comes where people do not usually look for it. It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in. [C.S. Lewis]

The above words are from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. For Lewis, those first moments of wakefulness were the most important ones of the day because they set one’s frame of mind. When God is our first thought of the day, we begin the morning with a sense of peace and power – peace because we know the day is in His hands and power because we know that through Him we can get through anything it throws at us. It’s as if an invisible barrier has been set up between us and the desires, troubles, and cares of the world in which we live.

Unfortunately, some days that barrier doesn’t get erected. When that happens, it’s as if the world uses a battering ram to crash into our thoughts and things like anxiety, anger, annoyance, stress, pain, and fear come stampeding through our minds. For the rest of the day, we struggle to find that peace Jesus promised His followers. When Lewis wrote those words about shoving back our thoughts and ceding our minds to God, he added, “We can only do it for moments at first. But, from those moments, the new sort of life will be spreading through our system: because now we are letting Him work at the right part of us.”

Some sixteen years after writing those words, Lewis truly knew how difficult it was to shove back the world’s thoughts and let God’s voice come flowing into his mind. Once again, his wife Joy was diagnosed with terminal cancer and a second miraculous recovery did not appear to be in God’s plan. When writing to a friend about Joy’s diagnosis, Lewis said the following: “The dreadful thing, as you know, is the waking each morning—the moment at which it all floats back on one.”

Lewis is not the only one to wrestle with turning his first waking moments over to God. Even without the impending death of a spouse, we struggle to keep the challenges of the coming day from assaulting us and stealing our peace. When life goes awry, dark troubling thoughts can bombard our minds at the crack of dawn. Instead of dedicating our thoughts to God and thanking Him for another day, we think things like, “Oh God, not another day like yesterday; not another day of pain and trouble; not another day of bad news. Please God, no more!”

Surely, Abraham woke to dark thoughts the morning he was to sacrifice his beloved Isaac. David, knowing his infant son would die, must have had dark thoughts every morning during the seven days of his boy’s illness. Perhaps even Jesus, knowing what lay ahead for Him, struggled with dark thoughts when he woke that last Thursday morning.

As Lewis so wisely said, “We are Christians, not Stoics.” Anxiety, worry, and even fear are part of being human and yet they sap our strength and undermine our faith. The first moments of our day, however, can make a tremendous difference in our journey. It’s a darn sight easier to erect a dike before the flood, shore up a wall before it starts to cave, and turn the day over to God before its troubles start barging in. We’ll still have the challenges of the day but we’ll have the power and strength to face them. As Lewis discovered, it’s not easy but it’s worth a try!

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. [Philippians 4:8-9(MSG)]

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September 12, 2024

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, Fear & Doubt, Obedience, Sharing Our Faith, Today: Make it Count

OUTSIDE THE LINES

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. [Romans 12:2 (NLT)]

Several years ago, I purchased a beautifully drawn coloring book featuring scenes from the Colorado mountain town that had been part of our lives for thirty-five years. Since it was a gift for one of my grands, I asked the artist to sign the book. She added these words to her signature: “Don’t be afraid to color outside the lines!” Was the artist’s advice limited to her book or was it about something more?

“Coloring inside the lines” has come to mean thinking or acting within the generally accepted guidelines. It’s staying within your comfort zone by doing what’s safe—the way it’s always been done. Creating a new and better picture, however, requires coloring outside the lines! Although it can get a little messy, coloring outside the lines means thinking outside the box, seeing new possibilities, stepping out of the norm, using different colors, and drawing new lines. It must be willing to get uncomfortable. Doing God’s work often requires coloring or living outside the lines draw by society!

The unconventional John the Baptist lived outside the lines. A Nazarite from birth, he was an ascetic who practiced self-denial, wore a rough robe of camel’s hair with a leather belt, and ate locusts and honey. Not one to play it safe, he called the Pharisees and Sadducees a “brood of snakes!” and dared to call King Herod and his wife adulterers! Nevertheless, it was by coloring outside the lines that the Baptizer fulfilled God’s purpose to be the voice in the wilderness that prepared the way for Jesus.

Elisha lived outside the lines when he left his prosperous farm and team of oxen to become Elijah’s successor—an odd choice his family and neighbors probably didn’t understand. The young shepherd boy David stepped outside the lines when he dared to take on Goliath—something none of Saul’s seasoned soldiers had attempted. Abigail went outside the lines when she kept David from taking vengeance on her foolish husband as did Rahab when she helped the Israelites. Joseph colored outside the lines when he remained with the pregnant Mary rather than breaking their engagement. Mary of Bethany went outside the lines when she sat with the men rather than help in the kitchen and again when she anointed Jesus with expensive perfume. Peter colored outside the lines when he stepped out of the Jewish code of ritual purity and ate with the Gentile Cornelius as did Paul when he insisted Gentiles didn’t need to become circumcised.

Coloring outside the lines is what we do when we allow God to take control of our lives; it’s leaving your livelihood and tax booth as did Matthew or stepping out of the boat onto the water as did Peter. Staying inside the lines is failing to trust God enough to answer His call and follow His lead. Staying inside the lines is what the Pharisees did. It’s being more concerned about what others think than what God says; it’s being more concerned about how we appear than who we really are.

Coloring outside the lines is refusing to compromise our faith; it is obeying God before man. The artist’s advice to my grand applies to us all: “Don’t be afraid to color outside the lines!” Let’s not be afraid to live outside the lines—honestly, boldly, creatively, faithfully, and joyfully—fulfilling God’s purpose and trusting in His promises.

For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” [Hebrews 13:5b-6 (NLT)]

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August 8, 2024

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Challenges & Difficulty, Miracles, Prayer

DO THE WORK

Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. [1 Chronicles 28:20 (NLT)]

Jesus offered fishing advice to the disciples twice after they’d spent a night of fishing with absolutely nothing to show for it and, twice, after doing as He directed, they ended up with a miraculous catch of fish. The first time, their catch was so heavy that their nets began to tear and the two boats hauling it in nearly sunk from the weight! The second time, unable to pull the net into their boat, the men had to get out and drag it into shore!

Even a fresh crew would have had difficulty hauling in such enormous catches but these men had worked all night and probably were exhausted from the countless times they’d dropped or cast their nets and brought them in. Moreover, the fishermen’s work wasn’t over once they reached shore. They had to disentangle their catch from the three-layered trammel nets and had to clean, repair, and dry those nets before their work was done!

As awestruck as the disciples were by those overflowing nets, imagine their astonishment if the fish had jumped right into their boats! Surely the One with the divine power to restore lepers, cast out demons, feed a multitude with a boy’s lunch, cause a silver coin to appear in a fish’s mouth, and make fish appear at His command easily could have filled the disciple’s boats without the exhausted men lifting a hand. Despite the more than thirty miracles of provision and healing recorded in the gospels, Jesus chose to have them work for their blessing. He miraculously provided the fish but it was the men who did the heavy lifting!

Thomas Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” I think it’s much the same with God’s answers to our prayers. We’d prefer a God of instant solutions but most of God’s answers come disguised as work. Just as the disciples had to cast their nets before catching those fish, the Israelites had to go out daily to gather the manna God provided, Naaman had to wash in the Jordan seven times before God healed Him, and the servants had to fill the jugs with water before that water became wine. The ark didn’t suddenly appear on Noah’s doorstep nor were Jerusalem’s walls restored in a day—God’s provision required the work of human hands!

When we ask for a plentiful harvest, we shouldn’t be disappointed when the answer looks like seeds, bags of fertilizer, a hoe, and a shovel. When we pray for relief from our debts, it’s likely God’s provision will look more like overtime or a second job than an inheritance or a winning lottery ticket. When we pray for recovery from a stroke, God’s provision may mean hours of physical, occupational, and speech therapy rather than a miraculous restoration and, when we pray for sobriety, God’s answer will look a lot like rehab, a counselor, and twelve steps to work. Although God is responsible for the outcome, we’re responsible for the work!

Saint Augustine (or possibly Ignatius) wisely said, “Pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended on you.” That is good advice but only if we remember that prayer is how we must begin! It’s only after turning it over to God that we roll up our sleeves and get to work, always remembering that He alone is in charge and the outcome is up to Him!

You could not be saved through any effort of your own, but now that you are saved it is necessary for you to put forward every effort you can to glorify Him. [Harry Ironside]

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21 (NLT)]

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