All in God's Character
God asks me to trust Him in both big and small situations, just as He asked the Israelites to trust Him for crossing the river. God’s previous faithfulness in my life plus biblical examples like the crossing of the Jordan fuel my trust in Him for facing new personal challenges. I have learned to trust that He holds me safely in His grip of love—just as He does for everyone who belongs to Him.
Jenny, an elderly donkey, failed to show up for her daily serving of grain. After several days I decided to search for her. I walked acres of pasture with the hood of my jacket pulled tight under my chin. I repeatedly called her name then paused to listen for her distinctive brae. I thought of Jesus as I trudged along, when he told the parable of the shepherd who leaves the flock of sheep to search for the missing lamb—an illustration of God searching for the lost.
In Micah 6:8, God says we are to “love mercy.” Showing mercy when I’ve been slightly wronged isn’t very difficult. But extending forgiveness to someone who has deeply and grievously wronged me is profoundly challenging. Can you relate?
And so, Lord, if there are aspects of your character that can only be revealed in the valleys, then lead me to the valleys. Use those valleys to refine me and make me more like you. Use those valleys to strengthen my knowledge of you, my faith in you, and my dependence upon you.
Fallible human, infallible God -- while we may not achieve perfection, Psalm 119:1-7 assures us we can live blameless lives by “walking according to the law of the Lord, seeking him with all of our heart, praising him, and learning from his righteousness.”
3am, 3:30, 3:45—what to do in the middle of the night? Oh how I do not like those wee small hours of no sleep. Up to the bathroom—no, I’ve done that already; toss and turn—maybe it’ll be better on my right side. Perhaps some hot tea. The clock ticks on before my very eyes.
A young mother raised in a culture hostile to Christianity shared a joyful experience with me. After discovering the love of God through Jesus Christ, she immediately noticed how the sky glistened with a deep blue and the leaves on trees reflected various shades of green!
Accompanying a friend to a conference on domestic violence introduced me to the impact of traumatic experiences on children. A child’s brain rapidly forms during those earliest years and the unprocessed emotions of the trauma become hard-wired into their brains and creates a template for viewing life as adults.
What’s over the hill or around the bend? Does it scare you when you cannot see ahead? My two great-grandsons in the photo were excited to get over the bridge to get to the ocean. A trip to the beach is a big adventure!
Have you ever felt that regardless how much you do to please that significant person, it will never be enough? No matter how hard you try, you’ll never measure up to his expectations? Has the dream of love from your younger years been shattered?
My daughter is grieving over the death of a friend who took her own life. Death is hard, but even more so when despair leads to an end no one expected. My daughter and I talk frequently, and “How are you doing?” is a question I repeatedly ask.
Jesus told a short story to a group of grumbling religious leaders to illustrate a poignant point—God will intensely search for those who need His love and salvation. He used a desperate woman, of all things, for his story. She’d lost a coin worth a day’s wage. She had only ten and one was lost. She lit a small oil lamp, the only source of light in her small windowless home, and searched carefully until she found it. She then invited her women friends and neighbors to rejoice with her. Jesus adds in verse 10, “I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God over one sinner who repents.”
Trying to find a home in a large metropolis proved to be much more difficult than I expected. The market was very different from our small East Texas town.
Real kindness isn’t born by pushing harder. Or by squeezing it out like lemon juice. Kindness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. God’s kindness is powerful and generous towards us. Even so, He asks us to bear His fruit. When we bear spiritual produce, we become like Him for His sake.
Coco, my pup, notifies me when it is time to retrieve the day’s mail. One day, after our trip to the mailbox, she watched curiously as I opened a package containing a small, yellowed classic--Lewis Smedes’ book on forgiveness. Its size betrayed its reputation.
