Pieces of the Puzzle

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; don’t rely on your own intelligence. Know him in all your paths, and he will keep your ways straight. ~ Proverbs 3:5-6 (CEB)

Oh, here we go, taking self out of the picture again. Trust in God, not me. Rely on His intelligence, not mine. But that isn’t all. The only self that should still be in the picture is in the form of self-control and self-discipline. These help establish boundaries and boundaries help us live a purposeful life that can sidestep most carelessness.

Knowing God’s word intimately helps me to understand and know what boundaries are important to keep my path through life straight and help keep getting lost down to a minimum. I also need to learn to give myself space on this path, margins that allow for a little weaving between the ditches of life.  When I work in needed space in my life, it is like padding for the bumps (stress) in the road that is bound to show up from time to time. If I do not work in extra space (time) into my schedule then when I swerve because of a bump then before I know what happens I end up in a ditch!

For me, sometimes “padding” means not being so hard on myself when life happens. Those things that are out of my control are going to happen, and I just need to roll with those bumps, shake myself off and stick to the path God has laid out for me. “Padding” also means for my trust in God to see me through all situations. From my children’s welfare to the roof on my house, I need to be assured that God has my back. Finally, “padding” comes in the form of reading God’s word so that I can know and understand what God’s path is for me.

Father in Heaven, I thank You for Your word where I can learn what boundaries are good for my life. Help me put Your word deep in my heart so that it will be well padded for all the bumps that life brings. Amen.

God created humanity in God’s own image, in the divine image God created them, male and female God created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and master it. Take charge of the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and everything crawling on the ground.” Then God said, “I now give to you all the plants on the earth that yield seeds and all the trees whose fruit produces its seeds within it. These will be your food. To all wildlife, to all the birds of the sky, and to everything crawling on the ground—to everything that breathes—I give all the green grasses for food.” And that’s what happened. God saw everything he had made: it was supremely good. There was evening and there was morning: the sixth day. ~Genesis 1:27-31

A few years ago, my son came home from his last day of classes. He couldn’t wait to show me the sock monkey he has been laboring over for so very long. Proudly he pulls the sock monkey out and presents him with all grandeur and pomp. “See mom, here he is. He may be a little funny looking, but he was made with LOVE!!” He was right, it was a little funny looking but he was so proud of that sock monkey he had created himself.

As I remember that little sock monkey, my heart can’t help but trip a little at its crooked smile and wonky ears. The monkey’s stitches show and we haven’t gotten around to finishing up his arms but that doesn’t diminish my son’s love for this monkey.

When I look in the mirror, so often I notice my own stitches showing, my crooked smile, eyes that aren’t the same size. I know all the parts that still need to be finished. Despite all that is wrong with me, I have a Creator in heaven that looks down with love and says, “I know she may be a little funny looking and she still has some parts that need to be worked on, but I made her with LOVE!!”

Lord, help me rest in Your assurance that I have been made with love. You call me good, supremely good with my stitches showing, my crooked smile and areas that still need some work. May I ever be grateful for the grace You extend to me. Amen

Let’s not get tired of doing good, because in time we’ll have a harvest if we don’t give up. ~Galatians 6:9 (CEB)

No matter what is going on in our lives we must never give up. In the scripture on God’s Armor (Eph 6:10-18) it ends the section with “no matter what, persevere.” This is easy to throw around but how do you even begin to persevere in a world that is full of all kinds of problems, frustrations and difficulties? I persevere by my diligence in prayer, resolving to stay the course, unwavering faith, and determination to stand firmly on God’s Words and His promises for me.

It gets frustrating how slowly things seem to be moving sometimes. It is easy to think that God isn’t dealing with the situation but I have to remember that God is doing some of his greatest work even if I can’t see what He is doing. Also I need to keep in mind if the problem didn’t occur over night it also will take time to correctly resolve it.

No matter what is going on in our lives the victory is in not giving up. I think that is a good definition for perseverance. Not giving up. When the road ahead is full of bumps and I feel like I am acting out one of my son’s ninja shows trying to dodge trouble I need to keep assured that the good that I am trying to do is noticed by God and time will bring fruition to my diligence.

Sometimes God, I get tired of doing the right thing. Give me courage to stay the course give me strength to do your will. Amen.

Jesus replied, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you will see God’s glory?” John 11:40 (NIV)

Have you ever felt that part of your life was dead? I know I have, stuck in my troubles forgetting that God has power that I do not have to turn things around. I, like Martha have cried out, Lord, if  You had been with me I would not be sitting here in pain now! There have been times that I have felt that Jesus seemed to be taking his sweet time getting around to my problem. That He would come too late.

In John 11:21-24 we find Martha in a state of despair. She had sent a message to Jesus to come quickly because Lazarus was gravely ill. Now here Jesus finally arrives and from Martha’s viewpoint, He is too late. “Master, if You had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21).

“Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother shall rise again.’ Martha replied, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day'” (vv. 23-24). I don’t think she really understood what Jesus was saying. She was looking toward a future possibility, not a present reality. She didn’t really expect things to change. Martha was seeing things from her viewpoint, not from God’s viewpoint.

When we are hurting, we need to hold on to the hope that God can bring a new beginning out of the pain. Create a Lazarus moment in our lives. There is more here than just the part we can see. He can show us glory in our present circumstances and he can use the pain for something great.

Lord, Help me to find the glory in my circumstances. I need to hold onto the fact that I may not be seeing the possibilities that exist from my vantage point. Help me have faith in you, the one who lives above life’s storms. Help me to trust your viewpoint on my present circumstances and that all will come together for my good. Amen.

“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary. ~John 10:11 (MSG)

Part of being a Christian is following Jesus’ example. Even to lay down our life for other people. We are called to be Christ to others, and here we see in this passage that Jesus is willing to put his life on the line for those He is in relationship with. When we are willing to share with others our sorrows and joys, our despair and hope, our loneliness and experience of intimacy, it makes our lives available to others as a source of new life.

It can be easy to be overwhelmed with all the pain and suffering I see around me. I have to remind myself not to put on blinders of protection. I am not here to solve the problems of the whole world, but I am here to be a helping hand to those God has put me in relationship with.

In his book Bread for the Journey, Henri J.M. Nouwen says, “One of the greatest gifts we can give others is ourselves.  We offer consolation and comfort, especially in moments of crisis, when we say:  ‘Do not be afraid, I know what you are living, and I am living it with you.  You are not alone.’  Thus, we become Christ-like shepherds.”

Father in heaven,  may I not be so busy in my life to notice the pain and suffering of those I have been called to be in relationship with. Help me to be willing to share out of my life so that someone else might be able to fine hope in You. Help me to be a light pointing to Your love. Amen.

Therefore, stop worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34 (CEB)

Sometimes I think I hold the market on worry. I get so pulled into all the possibilities all the” what ifs” that I sometimes just wear myself out. As a child I would almost make it a game. If I could think of all the “what ifs” then maybe I could keep them from happening. Even though I know the odds of really being able to control things in that way I still find myself in my old habit of worry. Maybe that is part of the key to the problem. I have let worry become a habit. I do it without even thinking. It has become part of a thought process that I need to unlearn.

Just before verse 34 in Chapter 6 of Matthew we are told that God knows what we need. He dresses the earth in splendor, He feeds the sparrows, He knows the number of hairs on my head. Can’t I trust Him to know what I need as well? How I can learn to set aside my worry is to just deal with things as they come. God has equipped me to do this which is why He tells us to focus only on today. Worry only brings frustration and frustration is the first clue that God isn’t in my situation.

Lord help me to practice this day the art of taking life as it comes.  You know what I need and I am assured by your Word that you will meet my every need for this day. Amen.

“The LORD, “David added, “who rescued me from the power of both lions and bears, will rescue me from the power of this Philistine.” “Go!” Saul replied to David. “And may the LORD be with you!” ~1 Samuel 17:37(CEB)

I like the story of David and Goliath. The boy verses the giant and the boy wins. It isn’t the underdog theme that I love it is the confidence that David shows us in the story. He had such an intimate relationship with God that he KNEW that God would take care of him. How did he know? David knew God would take care of him because they had a history together. David tells us some of this history. “The Lord, who rescued me from the power of both lions and bears, will rescue me from the power of this Philistine.” David had confidence to fight the giant because he had a history with God where God had delivered him from the lions and bears. To him it was a natural assumption that God would take care of him in this situation as well.

It is important for us to be aware of the times that God has worked in our lives. Even the small things He has done for us. Recalling the small things He has done bolsters our confidence for the big things in life. If God only came waltzing through our lives at the big events we might not have the faith we need to believe that he will show up in great times of need. But I think he blesses us even in small things so that we can learn to trust him and as our trust grows and our relationship blossoms we gain the confidence that we need for the big battles in life.

The challenge for us is to look for those small blessings that God bestows on us. Sometimes they might be easy to overlook or to say that it is just coincidence. When we learn to look for God in the small moments of our lives we will gain the knowledge we need to see him in the crucial times as well. God is always with us. We have to train our eyes to see him at work in our lives.

Heavenly Father, I know the Bible tells me that you are always with me. Open my eyes to see you in the small ordinary moments so that I will be confident to find you in the trials of life. Amen.

He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. ~1 John 4:8

Some people dismiss Christianity because God cannot be proved, cannot be seen, but here in 1 John 4:8 it says that God is love. The results of love ARE something that can be seen. It can be seen in my behavior and how I treat people. Love causes me to put someone else’s needs ahead of my own. Love has stirred people to do things for me that have blessed me beyond what I could imagine.

First John 4:8 says God is love. To know God I need to love. Gal 5:14 says “All the Law has been fulfilled in a single statement: Love your neighbor as yourself.” When I do as Jesus commanded, loving my neighbors I will see God’s love. How do I love? If we look at 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 we can find many examples of how to love:

Love endures long; it has the ability to put up with stuff for a long time.
Love is never envious; it doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love is not boastful or vainglorious; it doesn’t call attention to itself.
Love is not conceited or rude.
Love doesn’t insist on its own way.
Love pays no attention to a suffered wrong.
Love never gives up!

When I live a life of love there are plenty of opportunities to see love in action. Love can do some pretty unexplainable and amazing things! In those moments I can get glimpses of God.

Heavenly father, I thank you for loving me, I thank you for Your word that guides how to love and instructs how to live. May I not miss those moments that you have given me to catch a glimpse of You. Amen.

I am hunched over, completely down; I wander around all day long, sad. My insides are burning up; there’s nothing in my body that isn’t broken. I’m worn out, completely crushed; I groan because of my miserable heart. Everything I long for is laid out before you, my Lord; my sighs aren’t hidden from you. My heart pounds; my strength abandons me. Even the light of my eyes is gone. My loved ones and friends keep their distance from me in my sickness; those who were near me now stay far away. ~Psalm 38:6-11 (CEB)

Have you ever felt like you have been run over by a semi-truck and then dragged behind it for a few miles? These words from Psalms reach out to me in those times that I feel like I have been beaten up by life. You know the kind of beat up where even your friends avoid you because they just don’t know what to do or say to you.

In those times, I see these words in Psalms and I say, Yes Lord! This is how I feel! Completely broken, my spirit is crushed and my heart is in pieces. But you know my heart Lord, so you know all that is within me, my sighing, and my groaning you know it all. Strength has abandoned me Lord and my eyes can’t find the light. Then as I continue to read through Psalm 38 I see in Verse 15, “But I wait for you, LORD! You will answer, my Lord, my God!” Here is assurance that God will be there for me and He will answer the cries of my heart.

It is in our troubled times that we learn to lean on God and not on ourselves. Each trouble we go through we gain more and more knowledge of God and these moments add up to build trust in Him. 2 Cor 1:10 says “God rescued us from a terrible death, and He will rescue us. We have set our hope on Him that He will rescue us again.” No matter how beat up I feel. No matter how near death I am sure my heart has come, I have knowledge from God’s word that He well be there and that I can set my hope on Him.

Mender of hearts, I put my heart in Your hands. I trust you to help me keep it whole no matter what life may throw at me. In You I know that my eyes will find the light that they seek and that I can have hope for this day. I thank You that I can trust in You. Amen

I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.~ John 16:12-15

“Those words are fraught with power, with expectation, with anticipation and possibility. ‘I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.’ Perhaps we can bear it now- in fact, perhaps we are in desperate need of what the Spirit of Truth wishes to share with us and declare to us now, in this new millennium. The nature of the Spirit is constant transformation, ever the same and ever new- so new that it could not be imagined before, and there was no vocabulary or words to express it. But the Spirit of Truth takes from Jesus and all that the Father has given to Jesus and passes it on- to whomever the Spirit wisher- blowing the breath of truth where the Spirit wills. The Spirit is speaking. Are we listening?” ~This Will be Remembers of Her, by Megan McKenna

Heavenly Father, breathe Your Spirit on Truth on me. Give me the strength to bear Your Truth out into the world. Help me ever to listen. Amen.