One day, my very good friend was talking with his young nephew. They were standing by his nephew's bed admiring with awe the new tent bed he received for his birthday.
borrowed from: http://sonicgranades.blogspot.com/
My friend said to his nephew, "When I see something like that I say, 'Chicken egg!'" His nephew looked at him and back at his new tent and with a very thoughtful serious expression replied, "When I see something like that I say,
'WOW!'"
Today ... for me ... either one of those expressions applies. When we Walk. Stand and Wait in faith ... God Himself shows up. That deserves a "WOW!" from our lips.
This morning I read Isaiah 43:1-4. This is what jumped out at me as I read this passage: Thus, says the LORD ... the LORD who created you, who formed you ... Fear not. I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, and the flames shall not consume you. For I AM the LORD your God, the Holy One, your Savior. You are precious in my sight; you are honored and I love you.
Can I get a
WOW!?
Right now, I am not working and haven't since the end of December. It was my decision to leave my last post. God said to me, "Go" and I went. ... When I passed through the waters of not knowing where to go or when or how to get there, He was with me. When the rivers of fear and doubt threatened to overwhelm me, He whispered, "Fear not. You are mine." When the fire of despair over the future seemed to burn brighter than my hope for it, God revealed himself to me through His Word and in prayer saying, "I AM the Lord your God, the Holy One, your Savior. You are precious in my sight; you are honored and I love you." I could not have heard those words nor can I continue to hear them ... unless I intentionally, day-by-day, moment-by-moment walk in faith, stand in faith, wait in faith. Faith that what God promised to Israel, his chosen people is also true for his people now saved by faith in Jesus Christ. The promises of the LORD my God, my Savior is true for me ... and you ... today.
"Chicken egg!"
A very fun video from Bethel Church. Witness the joy over what God does for us! Makes me wanna get up and dance ... why not! C'mon ... join me!
Well ... which is it? Walk - or - Stand and wait? Umm ... both. Living {WITH}IN Christ today is walking one step at a time in faith AND standing and waiting in faith ... at the same time.
I was ruminating on 1 Kings 19:1-18 a couple of days ago and these seemingly opposite ways of living in faith came together for me. Elijah is running in fear for his life from Jezebel. He's just been God's instrument for a completely amazing victory over the "prophets" of Baal and Jezebel is out to make mincemeat out of him. So, he gets to this place where he's done ... he has nothing left and he plops down under the broom tree and says, "I'm done. I'm like a dead man so just let me die here." God doesn't argue with him, instead he lets Elijah sleep. Then, he sends an angel to gently wake him and feed him cake and water - the bread and drink of heaven that fits him for his 40 day journey. That food strengthened him for 40 days and 40 nights. Some kind of nutrients in that stuff!
Anyway, here is where Walk - Stand and Wait come together. Elijah is now physically fit. Good rest, good food, healthy exercise. He's ready to walk forward again, but God has him live in a cave on Mount Horeb. Here on Mount Horeb Elijah is made mentally, intellectually, and spiritually ready.
"What are you doing here Elijah?"
And, Elijah gives God the rundown on what he's done and how he feels about it. His heart whines about the people and cries that he is alone!
Have you ever been in that place? I have. Standing in worship I whine about everything around me and cry out about my condition. So, easy to have eyes focused in on me and my world instead of eyes focused on Who God is and who I am/we are in Him.
God doesn't answer Elijah but tells him to go and stand on the mount. And, before Elijah the wind tears apart the mountain, the earthquakes beneath his feet, and fire pours over the land. And, then comes ...
a still small voice
A whisper. A sheer silence. But it is not void. This is the voice of God that declared creation to be and it became. And Elijah recognizes the Presence of God, of Who God is and who he is {WITH}IN Him ... and in that recognition he covers his face.
God repeats, "What are you doing here Elijah?"
Elijah's answer is exactly the same ... but his mind and heart are in a very different place. Elijah has "walked" forward in faith, in understanding God ... that God is in control, that God is all-powerful, that God takes care of His people, that God is worthy of worship. But, to take those steps forward in faith, Elijah had to "stand and wait" on God.
As we walk {WITH}IN Christ in faith we stand and wait in Him ... our minds and hearts prepared ... knowing that He is in control of all things - nothing escapes His notice, He is all-powerful - over all circumstances and events surrounding us, He takes care of His people - loving, saving, forgiving, caring for us, and He alone is worthy of worship.
Today, as you go to worship may you know that Our God comes to you, is ready to speak to you, is ready to care for you. Walk forward in faith believing that and stand and wait for His voice.
So, if we believe that with God there are no mistakes, then coming up against a closed door is not a mistake. Rather, it is an opportunity to live today in faith ... {WITH}IN Christ.
Since the closing of the door, God and I have had many discussions about what it means for me to have faith in Him ... faith that he is acting on my behalf, working on my behalf even when I cannot see it or many times, in my case, when I don't see it. I know that "Faith is a verb. It's active and not passive. It's something you do. Decision making is a faith-building activity. ... Faithful decision making requires ... letting go of security. You cannot move in faith and hold onto the past at the same time. You have to move forward..." - Rick Warren (thank you Janis!) Warren goes on to use the trapeze artist as an illustration of letting go and having faith that God will catch you. I don't have much experience as a trapeze artist. However, I do have and am having experiences in taking one step forward and then another and another all the while not being able to see the road ahead of me. As in the past, that is my faith-building experience at present.
See that drop off on the right? See the hillside to the left? See how steep? See how seemingly treacherous? See the fog? One step forward. One step. And, then one step of faith turns into two steps of faith. Then, three. And, then I find I'm walking deeper into faith {WITH}IN Christ. Sometimes the fog is so thick I can't even see the road right in front of me. Right now, faith is taking that step and believing that God has the road under my next step ... and it's not going to be over the cliff on the right or tripping and slipping on the steep hillside on the left. No. Surely the Lord is gracious and as soon as he hears my cry for help, he answers me. And, although this may be a way of adversity ... He will not hide himself from me, but I shall see him. And, my ears shall hear a word behind me, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," when I turn to the right or when I turn to the left.- Isaiah 30.19-21
Warren says that "You cannot move in faith and hold onto the past at the same time. You have to move forward..." I understand what he is saying. There are things of the past that can keep us from moving forward. But, there are also things of the past that help us move forward. In fact, we need them to move forward. Those things of the past are the remembrance of Who God Is and what He has done. It's a very Jewish notion to back into the future always keeping your eyes on the testimony of God and his work on behalf of his people. Think of walking backward on the road in the photo! Now that is faith!
But, right now, I'm walking forward ... s-t-e-p ... by ... s-t-e-p. I don't know what kind of road you are walking - perhaps it is like mine where you are looking for your next place of work, but maybe it's where you are going to live or who you are going to marry or what kind of treatment you need for an illness or ... you fill in the blank. The road is foggy and seems treacherous and it's hard to see ahead. Well, here's what is true:
God made the hillside and the cliff.*
God made the misty, foggy future.
God made the road through it.
God was with us on the road we've come so far.
God will be with us for every s-t-e-p we take.
God loves us, hears us, answers us, is {WITH}IN us.
For God, our LORD, has promised:
I AM with you.
I will keep you wherever you go.
I will bring you to the land I promised you ... flowing with milk and honey.
I will not leave you.
I will do as I have promised.
- Genesis 28.10-17
Can I get an AMEN?!
Take a listen to Love Came Down from Bethel Church: (can't you hear Jordan Sturm singing this?)
*"God made the hillside and the cliff." If you read this as adversity... then, God made them to test me along the way in order to strengthen my faith, not to do me harm. At the time I wrote this a furious storm raged outside my window. Looking at the beauty of the photograph and seeing and hearing the storm outside ... my heart welled with wonder that God... the One who is Power above all other power... created this home for us. He made it for our good and for His good pleasure. The hillside, the cliff, the fog ... are blessings for me and you.
I know this is a familiar phrase to lots of us and I know that it reminds us that God holds our future and He alone knows what is behind each door. I know it reminds us that He knows what is best and directs us to what he would have for us. This is all true. But, can I just tell you that it's not always the most comforting thing to hear. When someone is looking at the door that he/she was hoping to be the bright future ... to see it close brings such a cascade of emotions and questions that it can be overwhelming. I know this because I've experienced it more than once and yesterday was one of them.
Yesterday, God closed the door that I have been hoping would be the one for me to walk through. I have dreamt of the ministry there, yearned for the promised life I could lead there ... but now the door into that future is closed. I know that God holds my future and I do indeed trust Him with it, and yet my initial response to the closed door was...
What?!
Anger rushed in with: How can this be? I've waited. I've prayed. It all seemed so right. What went wrong? And, then the realization that the possibilities - the doors for my future suddenly diminished. Fear and worry flooded over with: What am I going to do? Where will I live? How will I live without an income? And, they challenged my future with: What if there won't be another door? What if work doesn't come? What if there is no one there to take care of me in the far future? What if...? What if...? What if...? In that moment I forgot that I am in the all-powerful and all-knowing Hands of God.
Isn't that just like the enemy? On Sunday I celebrated the glory and wonder and joy of Christ's Resurrection and only days later the pounding temptation of anger, fear, and worry arrived at my door. Of course they did ... the enemy sent them to drown me, to undermine my faith, to tempt me to forever forget God's all-powerful and all-knowing Hands that hold me. Thanks be to that God that my sister was there when I watched the door close before me. She helped me walk through my anger and hurt. She listened and waited as I wrestled and struggled with my questions. She gave no pat answers, no trite responses. She reminded me that I am in the all-powerful and all-knowing Hands of God. She reminded me that He has always ... ALWAYS ... taken care of me. She knows this because she knows me ... how I have lived life to now. I have never gone without. I have never lacked for any good thing. In fact, all good things have come from God. ALL good things. For you see, I live and move and have my being in the all-powerful and all-knowing Hands of God. I know this and I believe this. This means I cannot drown in anger, fear, or worry unless I do it myself.
Does this mean I will never experience these emotions? Obviously not. But, it does mean that I do not need to wallow in them, I do not need to allow them to flood in through the door of my mind and heart and let them live there. In fact, I close the door to them. I close it with the help of others, my sister in this case, and with prayer. The Jesus Prayer has become my "shield of faith and sword of truth" against these foes that tempt me to forget. When my lips fill with the prayer, my heart and my mind turn from anger, fear, and worry to the One who defeated them, to the One who holds me in His Hands. My mind quiets. My heart stills. And, I remember. I remember this past Sunday ... and the Amazing Grace that opens doors to a life of joy and thanksgiving and peace and rest.
This morning a friend sent me an email of Wintley Phipps rendition of Amazing Grace. I've seen it many times before, but it always fills me with remembrance of God's love for me ... and you ... for us. Take a listen and I pray you will find courage for whatever doors you may face today.
