Don't Try to Figure it Out

The other day, as I was running some errands by myself, I was listening to praise music on the car radio…I know…the radio…

At any rate, the latest Steven Curtis Chapman song came on and even though I’ve heard it plenty of times already, the first three lines jumped out at me in a special way: 

Lay your head down tonight

Take a rest from the fight

Don’t try to figure it out

I can honestly say that the song hit me as if I’ve never listened to it before…especially the third verse: “don’t try to figure it out.” That’s the line that truly, truly spoke to me. It was as if God Himself was saying it to me at that moment. “Don’t try to figure it out…” whatever “it” may be, sometimes we have to just let it be even if we don’t understand it.

How many things happen in our lives that have no explanation, senseless tragedies, inexplicable wrong turns, unpredictable realities, surprisingly bad decisions…we look at them after the fact and we go like, “where did that come from? And WHY?” 

Hmm…

We turn and toss; sleepless in our beds at night wondering why…why did that child who was raised in a Christian family all of a sudden walked away from the faith? Why did that other child who was seemingly walking firmly along God’s path unexpectedly falls into a life of sin? Why does the innocent girl get killed by a drunk driver while the driver lives? Why does a parent have to die alone, with a broken heart, waiting for a son that never arrives? Why does a daughter have to face life alone, without the love and support of those who were placed on earth to care for her? How is it that godly people face terrible tragedies while unbelievers seem to cruise through life? 

We can go on and on with questions of our very own, going mad, waiting for answers that will never come.

Some things are just not for us to find out on this side of heaven. Some things we just have to stop trying to figure out and move on. Of course, this is way easier said than done. The Word tells us that,

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law. Deuteronomy 29: 29

God’s plans and ways are not ours. No human being can fully comprehend and express who God is. He, however, reveals clues about His nature in the unfolding of His plan. As Deuteronomy 29: 29 states, some things are just going to remain secret for they belong to Our Lord. On the other hand, God chooses to disclose what He decides is crucial for His children to know in order to grow closer to Him. And those things revealed are to be studied, known and followed as we walk along the path of this life.

At the appointed time, however, once we are finally home, He will make His secrets known,

For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Luke 8: 17

In the meantime…there is not much else for us to do than to seek Him first, accept what He chooses to reveal, let go of the things He decides to keep hidden and enjoy the amazing ride.

Linking with Mondays Musings

Have You Found It Yet?

Well, though that is me in the picture above, I am not a contestant in that TV show The Voice : ) All who have ever heard me sing know that there is NO way I would ever be able to participate in any type of contest that involves singing…unless it is a “No-talent-talent-show” type of thing. However, I do have a voice. I use it in my classroom full of college students. I use it in my home with my family. I use it with my friends. I use it when I write on this blog. I am not 100% proficient using it; but the Lord knows what He is doing and He is teaching me every day how to improve the way I deliver His message with it. 

God gives a voice to all of His children. With this voice, all of us who belong to Him are able to tell others our testimony and spread the gospel to those within our sphere of influence. This voice is different for each Christian. The way it is broadcast depends on the individual gift each child of God has been endowed with…and don’t get me the ole’ “I don’t have any gifts” thingy…we all got something:

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4: 10

Besides, let’s not forget that as a child of God, we have the greatest gift of all, the Holy Spirit.

The thing is that the way we express God’s message and our personal testimony differs from person to person. We are all unique and so are our gifts. Even if we share the same gift with someone, the way we express it comes out different. Take two of your favorite Christian singers, for instance. Say, Jeremy Camp and Chris Tomlin, both employ their incredible talent to sing God’s praises and move crowds to worship. Each of them has an unmistakably distinct way of doing it.

It is the same with everyone else. There are those who have the gift of music as they play instruments and speak musical notes as their second language. Others spread the gospel through their gift of management and administration. They are so organized and so good at budgeting that those around them see God as a priority in their lives for the way they manage their resources and spend their money. They can teach others how to do the same, how to honor God with their stewardship of the material. 

There are others who have the gift of teaching, or of research and discernment. They can tell others about Christ in ways that are easy to understand for those who are lost. They can dig into The Word and see truth to then communicate it to those around them. 

The gift of encouragement is one I personally appreciate dearly. Don’t you love it when you find someone who always has something uplifting to say to you? The funny thing is that they don’t even realize it. They are the first ones to say something nice, and the last ones to see how special that was. Hospitality, the gift of making someone feel welcome and at home…like a breath of fresh air!

We can go on and on and on, but the point is that we each use our gifts in our own personal way. After all, it was granted to us, so the way we use it has to resemble us. I cannot compare the way I use my “voice” with anyone else. I was wonderfully and fearfully made by my Creator to be myself. My testimony is my own and I have to share it in my own words. The relationship I have with Christ is mine, and I have to talk about it with my own voice. I cannot pretend I am who I am not. That’s when others begin to distrust us.

God has given me the gift of expressing Him through this blog. Therefore, I have to honor Him by speaking with my own voice, regardless of how it may sound. Some may like it, many may not, but as long as I am being true to Him, who guides me, I am going to go on.

In the end, we may not all be able to manifest the miracle of God’s presence in us the way that Mandisa or Natalie Grant do. We may never win American Idol or even audition for anything like it. But let’s not forget, we all have a voice and it was given to us to be used to spread His message. It may not be glamorous, but it is, O so glorious!

How do you express the message God has entrusted you with? Have you found your “voice”?

Linking with: One Way to Peace & Hope, Little R and R and Whole Hearted Home

Needs vs. Wants

I just read one of my most favorite reflections ever in a Facebook post by “A Wise Woman Builds Her Home” page. The statement says:

“I thank God for protecting me from what I thought I wanted and blessing me with what I didn’t know I needed.” 

WOW!

This statement encapsulates the right attitude we are to have while voyaging the troubled waters of our lives. 

As a Christian who wants to grow closer to Christ, I know this is exactly the right perspective. As a human being who has spent most of her life trying to manipulate circumstances so they come up my way, I have a hard time accepting the wisdom in this expression. I am too attached to comfort. I have made this world my home. I don’t like affliction or trials. I always want to be protected from what scares me. I never want to go through the valley of the shadow of death. Instead, I want to always lie down in green pastures by a refreshing creek resting easy within the safety of a strong fence.

The thing is…it’s very hard to grow while in complete comfort…to grow closer to a Christ-like existence, that is…(‘cause we can certainly grow otherwise while sitting in total comfort : )

It is through the fiery trials, that we learn that fire cannot destroy us. It is in the storm that we find out that the winds and the waves obey the Divine Master who loves us. It is in the affliction and oppression that we realize we will not be crushed. It is in the earthquake that we know we are not going to be moved. It is in the flood when we see we are not going to drown. 

I know this…yet, I am always surprised when it happens to me. The minute I find myself in the midst of a tempest, I panic. I am afraid, because I forget. I forget I am supposed to go through difficult, rough patches in order to be refined, sifted and polished. I fear because I don’t have the faith it takes to rejoice in my affliction, and to be contempt always, regardless of the circumstances. I become anxious because I allow the situation to dictate my emotional state.

Trials shake me because they remind me that I am not always going to get what I want, but what I need. And what I want is to never have problems in life (and that extends to my loved ones). But what I need is to become an overcomer, like My Lord. However, I am never going to be an overcomer like Jesus if I never have anything to overcome.

I am like a child, still. I really don’t know what I need. I have to be shown. But, like a child, I resist been given what I need and throw a fit when denied what I want.

What am I to do?

Trust.

I must trust His promises, for with every challenge, comes an opportunity…with every trial, a reward.

What Bible verses do you go to when you need to be reminded that we are overcomers and that with Him, life will not crush us?

Linking with: More of Him

Praying for Our Children

Recently I had lunch with a dear friend whom I had not seen in years (we couldn’t even come up with an exact number). In the course of a 2 hour lunch, we tried to catch up with what had happened in our lives during the last few years. Needless to say, that was just not long enough. 

At any rate, being both mothers of relatively young kids, our conversation inevitably touched on the subject of our fears for the future. We skimmed the surfaced of the countless issues that are going to surround our children’s growing up and became very somber as we contemplated the road ahead. The ills of our society make it almost impossible to dream about a bright future for our kids.

Through our conversation, I couldn’t help but think about Proverbs 22:6 

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Fulfilling this command is becoming harder and harder in the society we live in. We are mostly on our own when it comes to this task. Not much that surrounds us helps us to train our children in the way they should go. Entertainment, forget it! Schools, let’s not even talk about that! Even some churches are slowly descending into the path of least resistance, becoming agents for the normalization of sin. I don’t know about you, but I am truly concerned.

What is a parent that wants to offer a Christian environment to their children to do, then?

I believe, the answer is found on your knees.

PRAYER!

First, pray for everything and without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18, Ephesians 6: 18 & 2 Chronicles 7: 14)

Pray with others. Find yourself a few other parents to pray with. There is power in numbers! (Matthew 18: 20)

Pray for yourself, that the Holy Spirit may guide you as you parent your children. (Psalm 25: 4-5)

Pray that the Lord will make you an intentional parent, seeking wisdom always. (James 1: 5) 

Pray that you may be intentional about surrounding your children with all things good. (Philippians 4:8)

Pray that God may surround your children with adults who are godly and will guide them in their path to Christ.

Pray that God may surround your children with young people to be their godly friends and role models.

Pray and Praise Him for everything, especially for the gift of having children. (Psalm 95: 2)

Pray, pray, pray. I could fill up electronic pages with prayer, but the important thing is that we fill up our hearts with them. Let’s talk about God in our homes. Let’s take advantage of every opportunity for a godly teachable moment. May the Holy Spirit keep us alert and aware. Above all, however, may we understand that our children are loved by God and He has a plan for them. 

Sometimes we may fear God’s plan because we don’t understand it. We don’t get to see the entire picture, fully developed in front of our eyes…so we become nervous about the direction of things. Let us not be afraid of God’s plan. It is a perfect plan, even if it includes some detours and some rerouting that we were not expecting or desiring. It is still a good plan. It is still the best…better than anything we could have concocted ourselves…

Our society may seem less than ideal. The future may seem grim. We may have our hearts filled with fear for our children. But God is in control. And as long as we stand on His side, we will be OK.

My friend and I parted ways with promises of not letting the years slip by before we met again. May the days not slip by without finding the much needed time to pray.

Linking with:  Monday Musings

Breaking the Chains!

The enemy is so focused on paralyzing believers on their way to growing closer to Christ that he’d do anything in his power to stop us. Although he is not all-knowing, he does know all the right buttons to push to hinder our Christian walk. He throws obstacles on our track to make us stumble and fall, hoping we never get back up, or at the very least delay our recovery long enough to make us think we could never walk again. 

One of his favorite hindrances is deception. After all, he is the father of lies. He uses lies to trip his victims. He throws them on our road like traffic spikes to puncture our “tires” and make us lose control. He wraps his snares of deceit tightly around our feet like anchors to keep us from moving. The worst part is that he deceives us in such a way that oftentimes we end up locking the chains around our ankles ourselves. 

We all have our weak spots. We each have an area of our lives that is very sensitive to the attacks of the enemy…an area where we are most vulnerable. And he knows it all too well. He knows that once we get hit right there, we become disarmed. In my case, my biggest hindrance is fear. It paralyzes me. It keeps me from moving ahead and getting closer to a Christ-like existence. It is the button that the enemy pushes to entangle me and delay my walk.

Sigh…

I am tired of it! I am tired of being exposed to the flaming arrows that the enemy shoots my way. I don’t want to be vulnerable to his attacks. I don’t want to curl up in a ball, panicking. I don’t want to be so blind that I end up walking the plank voluntarily, dragging the ball and chains tied to my feet on my way to the abyss.

He makes us believe we are powerless. He convinces us that we are so unworthy of God’s mercy that we hide in shame. He twists reality in such a way that we end up accepting the lie that we are despised by God. Therefore, we, rather than running to Christ for redemption, end up running away from the Only One who can rescue us.

The good news is that we don’t have to succumb to the Devil’s schemes. We have the most perfect weapon to combat the enemy forces that strike against us. We have Jesus! And in Christ we are victorious. No matter how horrible life may seem, we overcome it all in Him!

There is power in the name of Jesus to break up ALL the chains!

We have the shield of faith to protect us. We have the sword that is the Word to slash the enemy in two when he advances. But we have to know it. We have to have it hidden in our hearts, ready to be pulled out at a moment’s notice.

What Bible verses do you have in your armory to block the attack of the enemy, strike him back and defeat him when he is after you?

Linking with:  Sandra Heskaking.com

I Will!

At a women’s Bible study I just began to attend, we read 1 Thessalonians 2 and then got challenged to come up with a very practical “I will” statement to be fulfilled during the two weeks before our next meeting. The leader asked each individual woman in the group to say their “I will” statement aloud so we could hold each other accountable in some way next time we get together. Needless to say, it was tough.

I watched myself, along with all the other 6 women in the group struggle to compose such a statement. The leader did a wonderful job guiding the women one by one to shape their general musings into an “I will” sentence…then, inevitably, my turn came up and of course I was not ready. As my usual recourse when I don’t know what to do/say, I went for a laugh and pointed out that someone else had taken my idea…so I should just say “ditto,” but that didn’t fly. I had to come up with something of my own, something that deeply spoke to me. 

All along my eyes had kept going back to the second part of verse 6 where it says, “as apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you…” The expression, “being a burden to you” was intriguing. So a question began to emerge, “Who am I being a burden to?”

Immediately, I thought of my husband Dan. I thought of my upcoming follow up tests which are beginning to cause me the usual anxiety. I thought of how much of a burden I must be to Dan every time I become anxious and overcome by fear when facing a check-up. That’s when I got it. The Holy Spirit put it all together for me. After a brief pause, I said, “I have one:”

“I will not lay the emotional burden of my fear and anxiety on my husband’s shoulders, but instead, I will lay it all on the Cross.” 

The leader helped me create a practical, action-statement by guiding me to say “every morning I will lay down my burden on Christ in prayer rather than onto my husband’s tired shoulders.”

It’s not like Dan is not willing to help me cope with my anxiety. He does a wonderful job! But, the Lord is the Only One who is able to withstand the heavy weight of my/our fear continuously, without getting crushed underneath. He is the Only One who would not grow weary or tired or appalled at the depth of our neediness. He is the Only One who would not reject us because of the messiness of our anxiety. He is the One who can take the burden of our despair and turn it into hope.

My husband, though wonderfully laid back and incredibly understanding and forgiving of my flaws (most of them…some others still bother him terribly : ) is not meant to carry the immensity of my unbelief (translate = fear). He is not responsible for it. I am! But, as we all know, I can’t carry such heavy load. No one can. So what’s our only alternative? We must give it to Him, who is strong enough for all of us. 

As I contemplate the day of my tests approaching quickly, I grow more and more fearful. However, I am resolved to do my part and surrender my fear to Him, the Only One who can make “the boogie man” go away. He can break the chain of my lack of faith. By the power of His Name, to which I cling, He will free me from the shackles of fear that have entangled me for far too long.

I don’t know how my test results will turn out. I think they will be OK since there has been no indication of anything being wrong so far. The same Jehovah Rapha who took care of me last year when I was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer giving me a great prognosis will continue to take care of me today. He has never abandoned me before, He is not about to do so now.

I pray that in two weeks, when I meet with my Bible Study-buddies again, I can give them a good report on how I did with my “I will” statement. I pray we can all be accountable to each other and that we may continue to encourage one another in the weeks to come.

How about you? Do you have a group of sisters/brothers in Christ who serve as your accountability board? Do you have a special person who encourages you? Are you an encourager to those around you?

Limiting God

This past weekend I finally saw the movie “Heaven is for Real.” And I really liked it. I thought it was well done and acted, which makes a world of difference. The characters were very believable, and helped bring the story to life. My favorite character was the Dad. I identified with him very much. The way he wrestled with God and with disbelief touched me for I’ve been there so many times before.

The character reminded me of the father in Mark 9: 24 who approached Jesus to ask Him to deliver his son from an evil spirit that had possessed him since infancy. I love the direct exchange between Jesus and that father, 

Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

“ ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" 

Mark 9: 21-24 (NIV)

I can’t help but chuckle every time I read Jesus’ replying to the flustered Dad, “if you can?” From my human and egocentric perspective, I can almost hear an implied, “Don’t you know who I am?” Of course, Jesus’ compassionate and humble heart would not allow Him such an arrogant reply…I do enjoy, however, witnessing His humanity peak through in encounters like this one : ) I can sense His holy frustration with the dilemma of facing His children’s lack of understanding of who He is, while at the same time teaching us who He is.

At any rate, this is a story of man’s struggle with unbelief, and it mirrors on every human being that ever lived. We know the Power of God is limitless, but when it comes right down to it in our own personal lives, we just can’t believe it enough to know He is able to do what He says He can do.

We marvel with jaw-dropped wonder at miraculous stories that relate voodoo priests coming to Christ after witnessing a truly divine healing in Haiti, or at Muslim people becoming Christians thanks to visions gathered in dreams, or at gang leaders surrendering to Our Lord at the very church service they intended to break up. We attribute the steady sobriety of a life-long addict to rehab or the unexplained healing to modern science, forgetting that they are only possible because of the divine intervention and the guiding hands of the Holy Spirit. We forget that there is power in the Word, for the Word is All Mighty! We forget that the same power that spoke the earth and the universe into being is alive today, and it has not lost a bit of such power. We forget that everything is possible for God…even the fact that He may choose to reveal a vision of heaven to a little four-year-old.

Why do we insist on limiting Our Most High God? 

Perhaps it is because we are subconsciously trying to protect God’s reputation. If we look deep inside ourselves, though, who is it that we are really trying to protect with our disbelief? God’s reputation doesn’t need protected. Whether the world chooses to believe it or not, He already walks on water! I think we are trying to protect our own reputation as rational, level-headed thinkers. We don’t believe God enough, so we try to maintain a stance of impartial distance just in case He doesn’t deliver. We lower our expectations, just in case He doesn’t come through. We don’t hope for the supernatural, to avoid having to deal later with the disappointment of a less than ideal reality.

Whatever it is, it is caused by unbelief, and only Christ can help us overcome it. 

Like the father in the movie, the task of moving beyond doubt is impossible on our own. It is only achieved by coming to Him for help with a humble heart that recognizes He that is sovereign and that we can’t fully understand His ways for as long as we live on this side of Heaven. He chooses to do the irrational, the supernatural, the surreal within the constraints of our very material reality, and that throws our limited brains off. However, with His help, we can overcome our disbelief and appreciate His limitless power, whenever He may choose to reveal it.

Linking with: Whole Hearted Home