Good comes out of pain and tragedy

I’m one of those people who does not laugh at the so-called funny videos of people falling. I feel physical pain when I see them. Yesterday’s nap and last night’s sleep were violently interrupted by the same vision. Our granddaughter had described to us her horrific fall and every time I shut my eyes, I could see it, and feel her pain, and usually started crying.

This event in our lives has done more than deepen my empathy. This young woman has a most marvelous attitude. She is not angry. There is pain but no complaining. I tend to compete, blame, or judge and she cheerfully corrects my attitudes without making me feel condemned, just gently reminded. Does she know this verse? 

If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.” (John 12:47–50)

I’m getting a strong example of what it means to be like Jesus. It is as if her recent fall and injuries destroyed selfishness and self-pity and gave her His peace and joy. We marvel at how someone with casts and braces on all four limbs can be this way. Did the fall do it? Is the Father sending her in her brokenness to rebuke me in my thoughtlessness? Whatever else is going on, I’m feeling like the disciples must have felt when Jesus washed their feet:

When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. (John 13:12–17)

The one time someone did this literally was both humbling and an expression of humility. While my feet were not covered in the stuff of walking barefoot, having them washed has an effect that is difficult to describe, yet it clearly expresses loving care. This is why Jesus said:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34–35)

In love, we visit and support our broken and bleeding granddaughter. I love, she is behaving in love toward us, her nurses, and even the people who could not fix her phone. She is like the Lord Jesus when He showed no sign of His own needs (He was on the way to the Cross) as He cared for these men who were at that time so oblivious to all else but themselves. Again, all I can say is “only God” and marvel at His grace.

PRAY: Our lives constantly face challenges. This one is huge and multifaceted, giving us an understanding of You that is new, and wonderful, and at the same time almost terrifying. Such power to save, both physically and spiritually. She could easily have died. She could, like most people, be angry at the world, blaming and in misery. Only You can take tragedy and make it good, even amazingly beautiful. 

Disappointments?

 

Yesterday God prompted me to think of the folly of those who put getting rich at the top of their priority list. All day I remembered this amazing promise from Jesus:

Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:33–34)

And all day I was thankful that He blessed my life with abundance. Putting His righteousness at the top of the list resulted in blessings never expected. I often feel like a spoiled brat in His kingdom.

Yet this morning I woke up feeling anxious for tomorrow, for family who do not seek the Lord, and anxious for other things and commitments. I sang the truths but felt as if I didn’t mean them or believe them. The sermon yesterday was about disappointments and many of them coming from wanting the wrong things. Is my desire for the salvation of others a ‘wrong’ desire? I don’t think so. Why then this sadness?

Could it be that I wanted instant results? One unsaved family person was here — with no interest or desire in anything but what could be seen on her cell phone. But then we went to an event at church and a boy who spent much of his youth in our home was there and we had the most incredible conversation about our abundant life in Christ. I can rejoice that this boy now a man who seems more like family than some family does.

But this morning the burden for family stuck. Piper points to God and in mixing the order of these verses, reminds me that God…

… determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. . . .  His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love. . . .  He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. . . . The Lord lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground. (Psalm 147:3-11)

Reading them in this order seemed to calm my heart. This God who names the stars (and they do what He says) is able to deal with all whose lives are wounded, sometimes with their own sin. One person comes to mind who has been on a slippery slope for many years and is now in a slimy pit. Is there hope for her? Will this pit break the hardness of her heart?

I might as well ask if the God who tells the stars what to do can bind up her wounds. What folly to think that she is beyond His power. Yes, He could cast her to the ground, but I’m not asking for that, but thinking how He loves us even while we were sinners and I want Him to delight in the day when she hopes in His love rather than in the lure of all that is not only false but ruining her life.

PRAY: God, the burdens in my heart threaten to overwhelm me at times, even after the blessings and joy of deep and sweet fellowship with Your family and mine in the house of the Lord. Forgive me for letting those burdens overrule the peace and joy of trusting You totally and completely. You are fully able to accomplish Your will in the lives of those who seem to never give You a second thought. I know the Holy Spirit has the power to heal hearts that are broken and messed up by sin as well as other wounds. All I can say is ‘have at it’ — humble their pride and in stedfast love and mercy, bring them to their knees before Jesus.

 

Needing some good news . . .

 

READ Zechariah 10–14

I’m tired of watching or reading world news. This planet is filled with doom and gloom. Reading the prophets is like that too, at least much of what they say is about the problems in their day and the lengths God must go to turn the mess into glory. These five chapters do have some good news in it, so my focus is on that even though the reasons God needs to intervene are woven into these texts.

First, Zechariah says the Lord will bless them even though they have tried to get blessings from other gods and fortune tellers and are in trouble because they have no leader:

Ask rain from the Lord in the season of the spring rain, from the Lord who makes the storm clouds, and he will give them showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation in the field. For the household gods utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies; they tell false dreams and give empty consolation. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. (Zechariah 10:1–2)

He also tells them: “I will make them strong in the Lord, and they shall walk in his name.” ( 10:12) and points ahead to the Messiah, His death and their realization of who they rejected:

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. (12:10)

The good news is told and as I read these declarations, I know ‘that day’ is when Jesus came and fulfilled all that the prophet said would happen:

On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. And on that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness . . . . On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive. (13:1-4)

No more sin. No more idolatry. No more prophets who lie and deceive. But it will come at a cost:

In the whole land, declares the Lord, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive. And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people;’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’ (13:8–9)

The next chapter describes what can only be the second coming of Jesus Christ. On that day He will stand on the Mount of Olives and it will split in two. The people will flee as from an earthquake. “Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.” (14:3–5) This is good news!

“On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord.” Light will appear in the evening, with living waters flowing from Jerusalem, and “the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.” (14:6–9)

But the horror is there, sounding like an atomic bomb for there will be a “plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.” (14:12)

However, everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts . . . . And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the Lord.” (14:16–21)

Yes, it seems that right now, evil prospers. Zechariah says not to be fooled by the news. The Lord is in full control. As we pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” His Word and His promises affirm that will happen and this mess will be no more. That Jesus will return and make all things the way they should be. This is my focus today. I will praise our coming King now and forever!

Personal update: We were surprised and blessed today when hubby did a rapid test, and it was negative! The Lord knows when we need good news! Hubby is still stuck with that persistent dry cough and feels weak but after twelve days, that one little red bar looks so much better than two of them. Thank You, Jesus.

 

Made in God’s Image

 

 

READ Isaiah 11–15

Yesterday’s Memorial Service was a most incredible experience. The man who died had deeply affected his children, grand-children, and great grandchildren. As they shared what he did in their lives, seeing the fruit of it was easy. For one thing, everyone is determined to make this world a better place. No one mentioned biblical principles, yet the ideas of goodness and righteousness shone forth.

Somehow, this man who died at age 104 left a family profoundly altered by a goodness they didn’t seem to realize. As we glorified the work of God, they seemed willing to acknowledge it and if they read the today’s portions of Isaiah, may even cheer, “So be it!”

The prophet speaks of Jesus this way:

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. (Isaiah 11:1–4)

Jesus has the rare attitude of unselfish judgment. We saw hints of this in the family who were impacted by their forward-thinking patriarch. He was fair-minded. He was also interested in everything and everyone, seldom drawing attention to himself. He had a PhD; I didn’t know that. He played wild tag with his granddaughter in public places; I didn’t know that. The list is long of what he accomplished.

He did know the Gospel and wanted Ben Franklin’s epitaph said at his funeral. His life demonstrated love for people and our planet. I wondered if he had ever said words like this:

“I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me. “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day: “Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. (Isaiah 12:1–4)

I wondered if he rejoiced at God’s plan for the wicked as Isaiah said, “Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come! Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt . . . . I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.” (Isaiah 13:6–7; 11)

Probably not. He was more apt to think of ways to change the way things were done, rather than criticize those who were foolish in their actions. That attitude had a profound affect on his family. It also affected me. I find it easier to point out the foolishness of calling evil good and good evil. My cousin might shake his head but instead of pointing fingers, he worked on theories to change, to produce something that would cause, “the whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing.” (Isaiah 14:7)

Some of the family did not want spiritual overtones in the Memorial, yet when I shared how God answered my prayers for this man, all faces reflected acceptance and thankfulness, some saying, “That needed to be said.”

My hubby and I agree that the hand of God was involved to build a biblical attitude in his family without drawing verbal attention to Himself. For us who know Him and His ways, His presence in our cousin’s life was incredibly obvious. We came away from the events of yesterday and the honor given to this incredibly special man filled with praise for the Lord for what He can do and humbled to realize how He shapes lives for His purposes, even the lives of those who say, “I don’t have faith like you do, but I’m not against it.”

One thought runs through my mind: when anyone marvels at the beauty of a flower, God does not shout at them, “Look what I made” — He merely makes them aware that this flower is incredibly lovely. He can do the same with all of us whom He created in His image.