No vacating God’s Word

. . . He leads me beside still waters. (Psalm 23:2)

This morning I rose and gazed out the window at our daughter’s backyard pool. Of all the places we holiday, this one is the best. A perfect hostess, comfortable home, great food, entertaining dog, warm weather outside and AC inside, and the still waters of a swimming pool; what more could a person want? I’ve been on vacations where my mind was filled with conflict and frustration, meaning no rest at all. This week is not like that. South Carolina isn’t heaven, but this is a lovely place to take a rest.

The Bible often talks about rest in a different context. It is the rest of totally trusting God. That trust comes from allowing the Word of God to do its work. Reading it is important. So is being open to what God says. He shows me what causes inner turmoil and conflict, but the Holy Spirit also uses it to bring correction and closure so that I’m trust Him and am at rest.

Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:11–12)

Of course this rest is more than a state of being right now. It points toward the eternal rest that is ahead of me, but for now, there is nothing like having God expose and then change any unsettling thoughts and motives that worry my inner life. Who can vacation when antsy on the inside? I am so glad that God proves . . .

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)

Another thing about the Word of God is that it does what God wants it to do. I can’t plan that or make it happen, but He can do it, using it just as He says, “so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)

God’s Word helps me with temptations too, which can multiply while on vacation. I’m tempted to eat too much, exercise too little, spend too much money on all those bargains, and forget about the responsibility to read and study and keep up with submission deadlines (my online courses do not go on vacation). I feel as if God has brought us to this place, but even here the only weapon I have against the suggestions of Satan is the Word of God. Jesus is my example . . .

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:1–4)

I don’t know what other people do, but when we take time off to travel or rest, I cannot take a vacation from daily Bible reading and prayer. To be what God wants me to be, even if loafing, I need His words for, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the (woman) of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16–17)

Thank you Father for the still waters and the calm heart that only You can give. This is a lovely place to rest.

Value systems

Yesterday’s trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains added a few hundred photographs to my vacation collection. The leaves have not reached their most spectacular display, but the higher we  climbed, the more color we saw. Later we learned that this park is visited by more people than any other park in the world. They come mostly in late October, by the millions. 

At the end of our trip, we happened upon a famous hotel where presidents and movie stars have slept. To me, that wasn’t as interesting as the way it was built. The stone walls are irregular and rough and it has a tiled roof resembling the thatched roofs of an English country cottage, only this place is no cottage. 

As we stood in the lobby, someone suggested we have tea there. I looked around at the money flowing and felt like tea would be outrageously expensive. All I wanted was something to refresh me, not the status of having tea where famous people have tea. When I said so, it seemed as if I’d thrown a wet blanket on the party. 

The others didn’t say anything though. The only voice I was hearing was my spiritual enemy giving me flack for speaking about my value system, or maybe for saying what I did about a worldly value system. The only reason I was vulnerable to his yakking is because I hate to make people annoyed with me, especially my family and especially when we were having a good time. Yet the beauty of the trip, at least in my mind, was spoiled by the status symbol of even looking at this hotel, as if it had anything over the treasure of the vistas we had just admired.

This morning’s verse is not particularly about this small incident of yesterday, but it does remind me of God’s faithfulness.

Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. (Micah 7:8)

I don’t think my enemy was rejoicing over me because I fell. It was more like heckling me because I had the nerve to challenge a worldly value system. However, I realize God’s value system is like a black tunnel in the minds of those who don’t know Him. To place the pleasure of rustling golden leaves and layer upon layer of blue horizons over rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous seems foggy to some, even somewhat childish. That I felt this hotel threatened to be a blot on our day would make some people think I was a bit off.

There is nothing wrong in building massive hotels or respecting prominent people. What bugs me is the idea that anyone is somehow made more valuable, even if just in their own eyes, if they can do something that rich people do. 

Biblically, the only way that can work is if my life somehow reflects the life of Jesus Christ, the only prominent person that matters. He didn’t care about fancy this or expensive that. He created an incredible universe by speaking it into existence. How can I be more impressed by anything else?

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Lord, I am awed by Your creation. Even the best that man can do does not compare with the smallest butterfly, never mind the layers of mountain ranges and the fall foliage that we saw yesterday. Forgive me for the times that I have been over-awed by human achievement. Also forgive me for the times I have remained silent when others are carried away by the things that will not last. Most of all, thank You that when value systems become hazy or even dark, You are able to grant me light to see what is most important to You.

Living without fear

At 32,000 feet, I sometimes imagine what it would be like if the airplane lost its engines. On a busy highway, I wonder about careening vehicles and big trucks coming out of nowhere. While these thoughts don’t keep me awake at night or fearful during a flight or travelling in my car, I’ve seen folks driving or riding with white knuckles and fear evident on their faces. 

A few weeks ago, a friend drove me through our city to a meeting. Her fear of traffic was obvious. My husband and I just left Barbados with its narrow roads and late afternoon bumper to bumper traffic. We drove the center of Bridgetown and decided that would happen only once. How would my friend do this? How did we do it? Those islanders drive on the left side of the road, with roundabouts and unexpected one-way streets, no signs and no parking. We shake our heads at the memory of it. But we were not afraid for our lives, just perplexed that we couldn’t find what we were looking for.

Early this morning we got on a plane for Miami. This city airport is a small city itself and driving in and out of here is as confusing with signs as Bridgetown is without them. As I sit here waiting for our next flight, I watch travelers. Some of them are relaxed; most look frustrated and many seem fearful. Do they worry about their plane falling out of the sky, or their car being a statistic on these frantic streets? 

Today’s devotional makes me say “ahhh” and breathe a sigh of thanksgiving to God for His mercy, love and grace --- mercy because I do not deserve love and grace, love because He has made His love real to me, and grace because my life is made valuable by Jesus Christ. The verse offers wonderful promises…

Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge— no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. (Psalm 91:9–11)

As easily as I can imagine a plane falling out of the sky, I can see a myriad of angels holding it up. Instead of an out-of-control vehicle smashing into me, I can picture a thousand angels directing traffic on those busy highways. Rather than getting lost for days in a melee of confusing one-way streets without any street signs, I can laugh and remember that a quick prayer brought us the way out and the way home.

We will soon leave this massive airport and land in a smaller one where we will visit our daughter and her husband for a few days. I cannot post this until we get there, for this airport charges a fee for WiFi  which I will not pay just for a quick post. However, God gave me these rich thoughts for rest of today…

He is where I live. No matter where I am, I am in Christ. He is my refuge and my strength. He controls what happens to me and will not allow evil or illness unless he has purpose for it. His angels are serving His desire to take care of me, and because of His grace, I can live without fear.

Blessings from heaven

When is a shower of blessing not a shower? When your hubby is in a golf tournament in the mountains and it stops raining for the day!

We are in the Rockies. I look out the window to see fresh snow on some of the peaks. It was really warm yesterday but temperatures dropped in the night and rain fell for most of it. The forecast said it would rain all day too, and be cold, but it stopped by 7:30 and now, an hour later, the sun is pouring through the clouds. Here, it could go one way or the other – sock in and pour, or clear up and warm up. For those in the tournament, the blessing would not be a shower!

God used the metaphor of showers for His grace to His people. Someone wrote a hymn called Showers of Blessing, an old hymn but still sung in many churches (listen to this snappy version). For ancient Israel living in an arid land, showers were a great image for God’s promised blessings.

And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. (Ezekiel 34:26)

Spurgeon wrote the devotional today. In his flowery language, he makes the point that there is more than one kind of drought. God’s blessings are for those dry in spirit and parched for comfort from God.

I’ve been there; not right now, but the verse says “showers in their season” because God knows that His children will have times in our lives when all the life seems sucked out of us. We cannot go on without a blessing from Him. It is good to know this promise before trouble strikes.

The promise is enormous. He says showers, in plural and in the right season – their season, a hint that the showers will be in the right time, place, portion and type to bless each one on the receiving end according to their need. Perhaps even more amazing is that the first part of this verse says He will make the dry and needy person and all places around His hill (probably referring to places of worship) also a blessing. It is one thing to be watered and nourished through a dry spell, but even more to become a blessing to others because of God’s blessing!

I don’t know if the blessing today will be rain, no rain, or even sunshine. I do know that whatever my husband needs, God is quite able to give that kind of care to him. I also know that if He does, He will get the glory.

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Father, You control the weather, but also in Your hand are the showers of blessing, whether they come as actual showers or not. Thank You for this place, the splendor of creation around us, and for all Your decisions concerning us. Your mercy and grace have no limit.

To Live is Christ — longing for home

Vacations remind me that I don’t slow down very much. When I am at home, I get too busy to reflect, too busy to get out into the beauty of God’s creation. I seldom stop and just enjoy the variety of people, places, and things in the world. My sometimes hectic routine blurs how many other things there are to do and see, and how much happens outside my doors, both good and bad. It is good to ‘get away from it all’ and experience other things.

We are vacationing in a scenic part of the world with tall trees, mountains, rivers and lakes. The people around us are friendly. There is time to rest and daydream. We are not watching television or reading newspapers, so our awareness of world events is minimal. This is refreshing as well.

However, my husband and I talked about boredom this evening over supper. This is Day Three of ten days away and we have already done what we wanted to do. We both laughed that we feel a little bit like going home. Perhaps this relates to being so non-involved in life while on vacation, feeling useless because we’re not doing anything useful. Loafing has value, but self-indulgence gets boring — quickly.

Besides that, we wondered if we are bored. Boredom happens when people do not live up to their full potential, but who wants to be bored on a vacation?

We also wondered if this sense of wanting to “go home” really isn’t about home, at least the place where we normally live? When I read the verses for today in my devotional guide, I can see that our longing could be confused with a different kind of homesickness. 

On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 25:6–8)

This has great appeal. Imagine, eating the richest of food in a place where none of it will go to waist? This means no more ordering appetizers for our meals, or asking for one item from the menu and two plates! We can eat as much dessert as we want — chocolate cake to the max!

Imagine having the shroud of death, and the fear of death removed forever? Since our bodies will not be aging, we will not get tired. Heaven is our eternal rest, so no more work and my to-do list will fade from memory. Yet still I have a feeling that I will not be sitting with my feet up, because I’ll finally be able to live to my full potential. Heaven means no aging, no boredom, no death, but richness of life.

There is more. The Lord says that all tears will be wiped from all faces. What makes me cry? Sorrow, grief, shame, yearning, being distressed or embarrassed? He says that He will remove the disgrace of His people from all the earth. Not only that, all self-indulgence (which causes some of those things) will be gone too. No more tears.

I cannot fully imagine heaven. It could be similar to a vacation, but far better. No wonder the people of God have a longing in our hearts for this place described as being on a mountain with God.

For now, we have to settle for vacations. I’ll likely feel more interesting in sightseeing and doing holiday things tomorrow. We can look at the mountains, and enjoy good food here. In a few days we will head home and go back to the routine of normal life. After a few weeks or months of that, I’ll again look forward to a vacation.

Yet I know that no matter how good it gets here, and no matter how wonderful the vacation, that yearning for heaven will remain. Someday, we will feast on that mountain with God. He will give me the best of everything, yet it will be to His glory, without self-indulgence. He will take away the sorrows of life and wipe away all my tears, removing all disgrace and perplexities of this life. Then I will be truly and finally — home.

To Live is Christ — even in the wilderness

We are driving south to spend a week in a wilderness resort. While it has golf, swimming pool, bike rentals, air conditioning and a room with a roof, it is also isolated, even without cell phone service. I wonder what being away from my to-do list might mean for my spiritual life.

The question comes easily as I've been reading about the Old Testament people of God and their wilderness experiences. It seems that this has always been a place where God made them take some exams.

In Exodus, the people left Egypt and slavery, but when they refused to enter the land God promised them because they were afraid of its inhabitants, God let them wander in the wilderness for forty years. That was a test and they didn't do so well with it. The prophet Ezekiel reminds them of those days, but also that He did not destroy them for their disobedience.

So I also raised My hand in an oath to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey,' the glory of all lands, because they despised My judgments and did not walk in My statutes, but profaned My Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols. Nevertheless My eye spared them from destruction. I did not make an end of them in the wilderness. (Ezekiel 20:15 17)

The next passage was later. They had been in the land for years, but were still not obeying God. This time Ezekiel told them how He was going to deal with those who disobeyed.

And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will plead My case with you face to face. Just as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you," says the Lord God. "I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; I will purge the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the country where they dwell, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord. (Ezekiel 20:35 38)

Then I read again the passage from my devotional guide. This time, instead of chastening and warning them about their disobedience, God tells them what He intends to do with their wayward hearts.

Israel, I, the Lord, will lure you into the wilderness and speak gently to you. I will return your vineyards, and then Trouble Valley will become Hopeful Valley. You will say "Yes" to me as you did in your youth, when leaving Egypt. I promise that from that day on, you will call me your husband instead of your master. I will no longer even let you mention the names of those pagan gods that you called "Master." And I will agree to let you live in peace you will no longer be attacked by wild animals and birds or by weapons of war. I will accept you as my wife forever, and instead of a bride price I will give you justice, fairness, love, kindness, and faithfulness. Then you will truly know who I am. I will command the sky to send rain on the earth, and it will produce grain, grapes, and olives in Jezreel Valley. I will scatter the seeds and show mercy to Lo-Ruhamah. I will say to Lo-Ammi, "You are my people," and they will answer, "You are our God." (Hosea 2:14 23, CEV)

The children of God never did well on their wilderness tests. Then God sent His Son who was also tested in the wilderness. He passed.

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." But He answered and said, "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.' " Jesus said to him, "It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord your God.' " Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.' " Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. (Matthew 4:1 11)

I don't know if my wilderness experience will be a test of some kind, or only a vacation. If a test, I've the Word of God to guide me and the Son of God to set the example of how to pass a wilderness exam. If not, I can still depend on His presence should this backwoods experience simply allow me a chance to relax.