Don’t Be Afraid

Written by A Prodigal January 19, 2007

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Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there.  Genesis 46:3

Don’t be afraid.  God spoke to Jacob, while was on the road moving his whole life to a strange country and away from the land of promise.

As the Psalmist would pray centuries later, God searched Jacob’s heart and knew his anxious thoughts. (Psalms 139:23)  And right in the middle of the night and the anxiety, God spoke those wonderful words: Don’t be afraid.

How many times has He done this for me?  For you?  Moreover, how many times has He tried but found us distracted or disinterested.  He wants to speak His peace to us in the very midst of our storm.

Will we listen?

Will we trust?

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For more Ponderings, click here

Questions

Written by A Prodigal on September 4, 2006.

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We all have questions.  And questions are OK.

We ask why the baby had to be born with that defect.  Noah asked about the boat in the desert.

We ask about the death of a young husband and father.  David wondered how long he would have to live in the cave.

We ask about the pain the affair of a spouse caused.  Joseph questioned his prison sentence.

We ponder the tsunami waves that devastate whole nations.  The disciples were perplexed over the death of Jesus.

We question the tests we face and their length.  Jesus felt forsaken on the cross.

We all have questioned and nowhere in all of Scripture are questions condemned if asked in sincerity and earnest.

Habakkuk gives us an example.  He had questions.  He was appalled at the sad state of affairs in Judah.  Depravity, immorality, and idol worship ruled the day.  Habakkuk wanted to know what God was going to do about it.

And God answered.  The Babylonians were coming.

This answer only prompted another question – why use such a wicked, heathen people as the tool to judge Judah’s sin?

Micah’s Message

Written by A Prodigal on September 2, 2006.

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It’s a Saturday morning, well into year number five of this exile.  I’m not on the top of the world this morning – not by a long shot.  Despite my most well-intentioned efforts to remain positive –numerous writers have opined that it’s a choice – I am anything but positive this morning.

I feel abandoned by those I need the most.  Taken for granted by those I try to help.  Unloved by the very ones I love more than life itself.

Maybe it’s that I just have too much time on my hands – too much time to think.  Too much time for the enemy of my soul to plant pessimistic, defeated, the “glass-is-half-empty” , “things-will-never-get-any-better” thoughts.  It’s the same with any prison, I reckon, whether physical, emotional, relational, or psychological.  Too much time to spend dwelling on the negative side of things.

And once you embark on that road, anxiety begets anxiety and you can so easily find yourself completely devoid of all hope.

The people of Judah living under the reign of good King Hezekiah were no doubt feeling the same way.  From without, under siege by the Assyrian army which had already routed and relocated the nation of Israel.  From within, exploited and oppressed by the wealthy, the rulers and the false prophets.  The light of hope was flickering – like mine is this morning.

When Answers Don’t Come Quickly

Written by A Prodigal on September 1, 2006.

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“…always pray and never give up!” – Luke 18:1b

Is there any doubt that God desires and rewards our faith?

Are you ever prone to question why some situations arise and then just hang on – like a parasite threatening to suck the life and faith and joy out of you?  Does it ever seen like the heavens are brass bouncing your prayers right back at you?  Are you ever tempted to call it quits, throw in the towel and surrender?

Well, take a lesson from Hannah.  She knew all about it.  She had the dream of every woman of her day – to give birth to a son.  A simple, normal, natural, God-given desire.  The yardstick by which self-worth was measured.  But she couldn’t conceive.  She remained childless – in spite of her husband’s love and attention – in a society where the barren were shunned – a disgrace.

And, as if that weren’t bad enough, her “rival”, her husband’s other wife, gave her a hard time over it.  Ridicule and insults were Hannah’s lot.  Sound familiar?  Know the feeling?

Well, look at how she handled it.  You think she was ever hurt?  Of course.  Who wouldn’t be?  Angry?  Surely!  Verse 7 sees her provoked to tears.  Discouraged?  Probably!  Verse 8 finds her husband asking why she is so downhearted.

But lose her faith?  Not a chance!  She remained true.  She continued to pray.  She continued to believe.  She never gave up.  She trusted God.

Back to Prison – Part I

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.  (II Corinthians 4:8-9)

 

Dejected?  Surely!

 

Confused?  Probably!

 

But doubting? Never!

 

Joseph maintained his faith and started over again. Those were days and weeks and months of idleness, made all the worse coming from his place of responsibility. His nights were consumed with wondering what was going to happen and why he had been removed from usefulness and productivity.  Surely he remembered the meals in Potiphar’s house (meals he had planned) as he ate the prison gruel.  Certainly, lying on the straw mat, he thought of the soft bed he so recently had had.  He probably asked God more than once why he was being punished when he had done nothing wrong.  And Potiphar’s wife?  How long before forgiveness replaced the resentment?

 

But he waited on and trusted in his God.  And God did not disappoint—God made him a success.  A successful inmate; now there is an apparent oxymoron.  But God caused the jailer to take notice of Joseph, and, before you know it, Joseph was running the jail!

The 11th Son – Part II

 

I began working for the Agency, a branch of the Military Department of the State of Tennessee shortly after arriving in Nashville; January 27, 2004, to be precise.  After initially serving as a low-level functionary and technician in a position where my equipment calibration duties extended to include vacuuming offices and cleaning restrooms (perfect jobs for inmates in most people’s opinion), I was eventually moved into one of the five main directorates and assigned to the director of the division as an Administrative Assistant.

 

As the months passed, my list of duties and responsibilities increased, so much so that by March 1, 2005, I had been hired on as a full-time State employee with all the benefits that brings.  Not bad for a guy who returns to and sleeps at a prison each night.

 

I felt like I had arrived!

 

Since beginning my life in prison, I had been considering what life would look like upon my exit from behind the fence.  It’s not easy to find employment with a felony record.  And my situation was a bit worse than most since I had no real skill or experience in any field other than Law, and that door was closed forever.  I hate to admit I had been worrying about it, but how I would support myself had definitely been on my mind.

 

Now, however, after being hired in March of 2005, and satisfactorily completing my probationary period on September 1^st of the same year, I finally began to picture my life after prison as a State employee.  I finally felt I could mark that concern off the list of things to worry about.

Surrounded

Read 2 Chronicles 13

Any military strategist would have to agree – this battle could not be won.

The army of Judah, impressive in its own right, was overwhelmingly out-manned and out-maneuvered.  You would think four hundred thousand soldiers would be sufficient to win the day.  Any commander would feel confident – even self-sufficient – engaging the enemy with almost half a million men.

Well, you would until you arrived at the battlefield to find the opponent had two for every one of yours.  Eight hundred thousand men.  And not just in front of you, but behind you, sitting in ambush, as well.  What a sight that must have been.  How demoralizing.  Your vast army dwarfed.  Your sure victory snatched away.  What’s the use – let’s give up and go home.

That’s what we’re tempted to do, isn’t it?  The enemy shows up with its overwhelming resources and surrounds us.  They arrive with their promises and enticements and we suddenly feel weak and insignificant.  We believe it would be better to give a little ground than to be annihilated.

So we compromise.  We do give a little ground.  We drop back and try to regroup, not appreciating the slipperiness of that particular slope.  Not realizing that that was our opponent’s battle plan all along.

If

 

“No manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in His God.” Daniel 6:23

 

 God “tries” us to prove us – - that we might prove Him. Only thus can we understand that inexplicable….

 

  

If

If you never were faced with the wild sea’s embrace,

And the enemy’s shout in your ears,

Would you ever “stand still” to behold with a thrill

 God’s pathway that saves from your fears?

 

  

If you never were out in the dark den of doubt,

With the lions tossing their manes,

How then could you guess God’s angel could bless

 By using miraculous chains?

    

If you never were caught in that furnace white-hot

Of suffering beyond strength to bear,

Could you quite understand how real is the Hand

And the Presence that comforts you there?

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For more of the poetry of my grandmother, visit the “Uplifted Eyes” page.

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God Did It!

David said, “God has burst out against my enemies by my hand,

like a bursting flood.” – I Chronicles 14:11

 

The parsonage sat on a beautiful lot in an older neighborhood of Roanoke, Virginia.  From the back yard, Mill Mountain was breathtakingly beautiful but that sight was completely ignored on that sunny afternoon.

The men of the family were all in the backyard.  Shooting basketball.  Dad and I were trying to prove to each other who was the best shot by taking the long tries from outside the hard-packed dirt where grass refused to grow.

The little guy – my younger brother, only four at the time – didn’t have the option of picking from a variety of shooting spots.  His little arms were barely strong enough to get the ball to the rim when standing directly under the basket.  But that’s where he stood and, when his turn came around, would valiantly try to immulate the grown-ups, slinging the ball up toward the rim.  Failure didn’t seem to affect his determination, but his excitement knew no bounds when, suddenly, one of his shots found the mark.

Turning toward us with the biggest grin on his cherub-like face, he proudly announced, “God did it!”

Having found the range, the next two or three attempts met with similar success and each time he would proclaim that God had made the goal, not him.

Past Experience Determines Future Actions

It’s part of the human condition.  Unless there is a mental defect that causes us to ignore what has gone before, the things we experience tend to affect future decisions and actions.  We don’t touch the red-hot burner because we’ve been burned before.  We don’t speed through a certain stretch of road for we’ve been stopped there before.  We don’t take that deduction due to the audit it caused before.

And this is the way it should be – the way God intended that it should be.  The learning curve – while longer in some – is God’s way of teaching us the important lessons of life so we can avoid the pitfalls that have the potential to harm us.

But it’s interesting (at least to me) that, while we can remember not to clip that toenail too short (ouch!) or take that big swig of steaming coffee (ouch again!) or stick our tongue on the frozen flag pole (duh!), we don’t remember the faithfulness of God in the past when we’re faced with new challenges.  We are all poster children for forgetfulness and we all seem as geese and wake up in a brand new world every day, forgetting how He made a way through those deserts in our past.  We haughtily scoff at the poor children of Israel when we see them repeatedly turn from God at the advent of every new trial while we do exactly the same thing in our day to day living.

Just once I would like to be able to face down a trial and the potential for depression and despondency by pointing back to His faithfulness and deliverance and sustaining grace that have not just punctuated, but have characterized my life, especially of late.  If I stop to think about it, He has provided in such wondrous and miraculous ways through out my life.  He has protected me and the ones I love even as I was doing my best to destroy all I should have held most dear.  He was carried me through the deep waters and the long nights and has placed me in a place of safety and met all my needs when I probably deserve it the least of anyone I know.

And yet, just as the Israelite whose sandels were still dusty from the floor of the Red Sea voices his desire to return to bondage, I seem to face each new situation with dread and fear.

When will we learn?  When will I learn that He is able and willing so handle every situation and provide for every need according to His riches?  When will I realize once and for all that nothing surprises Him or catches Him off guard?  When will it sink in that He never thinks, “Man, I didn’t see that one coming!”?

Ouch and Duh.  Maybe next time………..

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For more Ponderings, click here.

…including Peter

“….including Peter…..”  (Mark 16:7)

           

It had been a rough week for Peter.  For the one Jesus had dubbed “the Rock”, the events of the past ninety-six hours had been the sledge hammer.  He was a broken man.  Smashed to pieces against his own good intentions.

He had protested at the foot washing Jesus had performed.

He had brashly proclaimed his willingness to go through death with his Lord.

Feeling guilty over his inability to stay awake in the garden, together with his proclivity to act before thinking, he sliced off an ear and received the rebuke of the One he was attempting to protect.

We can almost hear him think, “I just can’t do anything right.”

Then, to compound all of that, when the rubber met the road he faltered.

He failed.

Did you hear that?  He finished what he had started….making a complete mess of things.

And, when the rooster crowed that morning and his mind’s eye replayed the scene and he heard once again Jesus predict this failure, he was done.  Finished.  Humiliated.  Embarrassed.  Done!

Brashness was gone.

Self-image destroyed.

Hope of recovery shattered.

Peter, the Rock, became Simon the fisherman again.  Resigned to a life of mediocrity and obscurity – a failure.

But Jesus had others plans for Peter.  Plans that required – even demanded – his brokenness.

Jesus saw the potential where the world saw failure.  Jesus saw promise where Peter saw only denial.  Jesus saw the foundation of His church while Peter was resigned to pulling and mending nets.

So, on Easter morning, it was no accident that the angel at the tomb specified Peter by name.  At the mention of “disciples”, the women would have naturally included Peter.

It wasn’t for fear of them forgetting to tell Peter.  It wasn’t for Jesus’ sake or heaven’s sake that his name was called.

It was for Peter’s sake.

You see, Peter didn’t feel much like a disciple that morning.  As far as he was concerned that designation had been forfeited, once and for all, around a fire three days before.  A commission for the women to go and tell the disciples would not have drawn Peter to the meeting.

So his name was called.  His was the only name called.  He was the only one who had denied the Christ.  He was the only one whose temperament would not allow him to forgive himself.  So he was called by name.

“Make sure you tell Peter,” the angel said.

Imagine how Peter felt when he heard that heaven had called him by name.

Have you heard your name called?  Do you think your failure is greater than Peter’s?  Do you think you’ve been too bad to be forgiven?

Forget it!  Jesus loves you and is calling you by name.  He has plans for you.  Plans to prosper you as you work for Him.

Repent of your sins.  Genuinely apologize to the God of Heaven and Earth for your failures and then forgive yourself – He’s already forgiven you – and move on in service to Him.

“Now go and give this message to His disciples, including ______.”  Your name goes here.  He died for you.  He lives to make intercession for you.  He loves you.

And that’s enough!

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For more Ponderings, click here.

What Am I Worth?

This thought was penned in the small hours of the morning on January 24, 2004.  At the time it felt as though the sentence would never end; that freedom would never again be realized; that my existence was pointless and futile.

And yet…………………….

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Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  And even the hairs of your head are all counted.  So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. Matthew 10:29

            What am I worth?  An often asked question.  Answers will vary from person to person.  Even with regard to one person, the answer will vary.  We are so affected by so many external influences and internal emotions.  We tend to view ourselves and evaluate our worth in the light of circumstances and perceptions of others.

At this particular moment in my life the answer to this question could be across the spectrum, depending upon whose view I adopt.

            What am I worth?

To the State of Tennessee, not much.  Worth only to be incarcerated and warehoused.

To victims of my crime, even less.  To them I have ceased to exist and, even sadder, they are glad.

            To my employer, the value of what I can produce, for as long as I can produce it.  When I cease being useful and productive, or when another can fill my shoes either more efficiently or more inexpensively, my value will drop immediately and dramatically.

To my family and friends, I am an embarrassment and, while they love me, they also distance themselves from me.  It’s less painful for them that way.

            So where can one turn to find even a semblance of self-worth and any sense of value?

Many will seek acceptance at the risk of the loss of their freedom.  Peers are fickle and will turn their back at the first hint of trouble.

Many will seek to escape the pain by diving headlong into a life of alcohol and drug use and abuse.  Anything to make them feel something – anything – other than the loneliness and emptiness that marks and characterizes their lives.

            Some will confuse worth with attention and will engage in random and risky promiscuity.

But, at the end of the day – at the end of each and every day – each of us is left alone.  Things, highs and passion only lead us deeper into the void and farther away from the true source of our worth.

Our Heavenly Father loves us.  Loves us so much He died for us.  So much that, even if each of us were the only one on the planet, He still would have taken on skin and sacrificed Himself so we could be freed from this futile and frustrating search for our worth.

He sees the ants in their colonies and cares for them.

He sees the pigeons that populate the prison where I live and cares for each one.

He sees me, as I work and as I sleep on the 21^st bed in the 17^th guild of the annex to one of the many prisons in this State.  And He cares.

            So the answer to the question, “What am I worth?”, comes down to the stark and humbling answer:

            His Life!

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For more Ponderings, click here.

August 5, 2001

You’ve read a letter from this person before.  It was a scathing tirade that set me on my heels for a time.

And I couldn”t answer her letter right away.  The return mail would have been much too harsh had I composed it in that early frame of mind.  So, taking a page from the life-book of my father, I waited and let the intervening days cool my temper.  So the letter I sent her in reply was calmer and contained more humility than I thought possible given the recent events and her stinging words.

The Spirit had to have both prompted my words and prepared the way for her next letter was of a completely different tone.

Read it for yourself……..

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August 5, 2001

Dear Dan,

For my own conscience, I feel that I have to write you back and make a couple of “clarifications” myself.  I was very, very angry when I wrote that letter to you, although I’ll bet you couldn’t tell! HaHa!  Anyway, I feel bad for some of the things I said.  You said I probably “didn’t care to read a detailed explanation.”  Well, if you don’t want to that’s fine – that is your business – however, I do care, Dan.  Can you not understand how betrayed I feel?  I know my letter was horrible, but it did make me feel better!  Sorry….

The thing that really kills me right now is starting over.  I hate to say it, but you were the best boss I’ve ever had…..  Now I wonder if you gave us everything we needed (and more) because you valued us as your employees, or if it was for something else.

I don’t get it, but apparently I never will.  I don’t know if you snapped or if Satan got inside of you.  But I do pray for you, Dan.  And yes, I struggle with the very thing that you addressed in your letter.  I struggle with the fact that I’m supposed to accept that God loves the child molesters and the rapists as much as He loves me!  Of course, I haven’t lived the perfect life – you know that, but I haven’t ever deliberately harmed anyone else, haven’t killed anyone, haven’t cheated on my husband, etc.  So why does God love the people that do these things?  I don’t understand it.  One day you said that Catholics believe that they can do anything they want and no matter how bad, if they do into a confession booth and confess their sins, then they’ll be forgiven.  You said you had a real problem with that.  Well, what‘s the difference in that and what any other religion believes?  Don’t you believe that if you pray for God’s forgiveness then you’re forgiven?  What’s the damn difference?  I am so confused – maybe more than ever – about all of this!  And since I am confused and don’t understand, does this mean that I’m not a Christian?  I am asking you for your input.  Does God punish us for things we have done, do you think? …..  I’m just lost right now!

Anyway… although I do think you deserve to be where you are, I do hate that you are there and I hate that you chose the path that you did.  I pray for you and your family every day.

Take Care…..

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Confusion and self-doubt are hard things with which to live.  Questions about degrees of sin and how a Righteous God can – and does – forgive and forget the sins we commit, but the theft of the pack of gum, the running of the red light, the tax evasion and the murder.  All are sin in His eye and all can be covered by the blood of His precious Son.

I am thankful for the surety I have in this regard.  I am humbled by His provision for me.  I remain concerned over my friend and wonder how she is doing with her questions.

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For more of the Prodigal’s Mail, click here.

Blessed Be the Name of the Lord

The words of Job are the shining example of trust in God.  Circumstances didn’t seem to matter.  His faith was not situational.  “Though He slay me, yet will I serve Him.”  Wow!  That’s amazing.

However, even despite his incredible faith, the humanness of the man had to have desperately sought and desired to know the reason behind the awful travail through which his family was asked to go.  Here was a man of God.  Prosperous, blessed and fortunate are all words that jump to mind as we read the beginning of his story.  And from all that we know, he deserved it.  A wonderful man, wholly and unreservedly committed to the Lord. Not the least uncertain from whom his bounty came.

Then disaster struck.  In the space of days his children were dead, his possessions lost and his wife gone.  And with failing health and with the ridicule of friends, he found himself homeless and alone.

But His faith never faltered.

How are you doing?

Abraham, journeying through the promised land, getting along in years, finally, as God had promised, has a precious little boy.  The boy through whom the promises of God were to be fulfilled.

Then came the day when his world fell apart.  “Sacrifice the boy to Me”, he heard God say.

“Why?” he cries.

“Trust Me,” is the only reply.

So up the mountain they go – just the two of them.  The father in him was surely dying inside.

The child in him chose to trust.

How are you doing?

Jephthat made a promise to God.  The battle was imminent and a promise was made.  From a father’s point of view – really, from anyone’s point of view – a terrible promise.

“Go before me into battle and, when I come home, the first thing out of the house will be sacrificed to You.”

Imagine the horror of seeing his daughter – his only daughter – bound out of the house, tambourine in hand, to greet her victorious father.

“Why?” he cried.

“Will you trust Me?” is the only reply.

As we read, we just know that an alternate sacrifice will be found to spare the girl.  After all, God did it for Abraham, why not for Jephthat?

You can read the story.  No alternate was provided.  The only daughter was killed.

How are you doing?

Are you in a situation you don’t understand?  Looking for – expecting – an answer from God?  A miracle of deliverance?

“Why?” you cry.

“Trust Me,” is His reply.

And you can.

Job said it.  “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.”

That could be a fatalistic statement taken alone.  But the next phrase changes it to the most amazing evidence of faith ever expressed.

“Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Is God worthy of your trust?  Of course He is.

Will you continue to trust even when the answers don’t come and the heavens are silent?

I hope so.  It’s the only way.

His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.  Blessed be the Name of the Lord.

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For more Ponderings, click here.

Following

“Then all the disciples deserted Him and fled.” – Matthew 26:56b
“But Peter followed Him at a distance….” – Matthew 26:58a 

     At least he was following.  Peter was the big mouth – remind you of anyone you know?  He had big ideas and plans.  “Boisterous” described him to a tee.  Ready to go.  Anywhere – anytime.  Just ask him.

     As Jesus was finishing the Passover meal and outlining the upcoming events, Peter broke in with his extravagant promises.

     “I’ll follow you all the way.  You’ll not get rid of me. No Sir.  I’ll go with you to the death.”

     Remember?  Again….remind you of anyone?

     Then came the garden scene.  With sleep in their eyes and half-finished yawns, the little band of disciples is confronted by the Romans, Jewish religious leaders and Judas.  I can imagine the scene.  Jesus is so very calm, cool and collected.  Of course, He had the advantage – He knew what to expect.  The poor disciples were caught completely off guard.  Rocked back on their heels.  And, after Peter’s brief venture into the unknown, wielding a sword, an action which earned him Christ’s rebuke and had to have further confused the man, the disciples just seemed to melt into the night.

     So as the ear falls and the blood spurts and the guards recover from their paralysis of surprise, the mighty eleven scatter.

     Now Peter catches a lot of grief due to his following at a distance and the denial, as well he should.  But at least he was following.

     What about you?

     Fast forward a few days.  The scared, confused, disillusioned ones are fishing.  They didn’t know what else to do. Their whole world had just been shattered.

     But this morning was different.  The stranger on the beach who was no stranger.  The huge haul of fish that had been just over the side of the boat all night long.  The smell of fish cooking over an open fire.  Forgiveness awaiting the tired, humbled men.

     And the same question, asked three times that were really three very different questions.

     Peter’s answers.  The restoration.  And the statement, “Upon this rock I will build my church”.

     Do you see it – the significance for us?

     The Bible says that all have sinned and fallen way short.  That “all” includes Peter.  That “all” includes us.  But, thanks be to God, our Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ, we don’t have to stay “fallen”.  Regardless of what has gone before, we can be forgiven. We can be a Rock.

     “For I know the plans I have for you…..”

     The past is the past.  No amount of anguish or self-punishment can change it.  But with Christ’s help, in His strength, we can have a hope and a future.

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For more Ponderings, click here.

God Provides

Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.”So Abraham called that place “The LORD will provide”
Genesis 22:8, 14a

     A scene in a movie always jumps to mind when I read this great story.  Indiana Jones is standing on the edge of a great and seemingly bottomless chasm.  He needs to cross this span to complete the journey on which he has embarked, but there seems to be no way.  At one point we think he’s going to try to jump it using his own strength – how he does most things in those movies.  But he realizes just how futile that attempt would be.  Ridiculous to think he could cross that distance.  He’d have to be Superman.
     Finally he pauses for a moment and then quietly, if timidly, steps out on faith.  And just at the moment we all think he will plunge to his death, a bridge, hidden until that moment, appears to bear him across the distance.
     At the last minute.
     I can’t imagine the faith it took for Abraham to bind Isaac and lay him on that altar.
     How many times in our lives have we stood on the edge of a precipice, wondering how we would ever cross?  How many times have we contemplated our eternal predicament and fretted over how we would ever satisfy the Holy God with our puny little selves and our flawed and inadequate attempts?
     How many times have I visualized myself in the place of Indy and wondered if my faith would be stout enough to tap into the limitless resources of my Heavenly Father.The bridge is already there.  The provision has already been made.
     Truth produced and performed a song a number of years ago with the hook line of, “Step out and the bridge will appear.”  So true.  God wants – even demands – our faith and trust.  He’s standing there with the bridge in place waiting to see if we trust Him enough to step out when all we can see is the chasm.
     “God, I trust in your faithfulness to change both my attitude and my circumstances.”

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For more Ponderings, click here.

Fulfilled Promises

And he believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness.
Genesis 15:6

God is unpredictable.  His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts light years beyond our feeble capabilities.  So, with that in mind, it should not surprise us – it is the next logical conclusion – when promises He has made to us are not fulfilled in the way we expect them to be. 

But that head knowledge rarely translates into heart acceptance, does it?  And we plan it all out and become discouraged, disheartened and disgruntled when He doesn’t agree with us.

Choosing to believe God – to view Him as the ultimate promise-keeper – in spite of circumstances and failures and setbacks is the essence – the very definition of – faith.  Without faith no man shall see God is more than a promise dealing with eternity.  It is a promise that renews itself each and every morning.  Our faith allows us to see Him move in our lives and in the lives of those around us even when by earthly standards the situation seems hopeless.

By exercising our faith, we allow God to be God in our lives, in all that that entails.  We allow Him to use us to bless others.  We allow Him to use others to bless us.  These things are not possible without faith.  That is not to imply that unless we believe God is handcuffed.  Much to the contrary.  But it does prevent His blessings and provision from being manifest in our lives.  And it hinders the fruition of the amazing plans He has in mind for each of us.

Believe in the Lord.  Have faith in Him.  And watch how He will work.

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Finding The House

My first full day in Nashville seemed to solve my housing problem.  Spending $900 per month for an extended stay motel couldn’t last long. My budget was screaming and I was tiring of the noise.  I went to see a friend from the “gated community” who owned a condominium in a town north of the city.  We had talked two years before about a possible rental situation and I would have certainly accepted his offer had the Parole Board seen fit to release me then. 

Now, two years later, the place was rented, but during our short visit, I discovered that she was behind in the rent and was on her way out.  I would soon have a place to live.  

After another week in the motel and the out lay of another $230, I found out that that was not to be.  My friend caved to a sob story and my apparent answer turned out to be the wrong answer.  

My next stop was an apartment complex down the street from my job.  I stopped in during a lunch break, made application, paid for credit and background checks, and was notified that very afternoon that I would not be invited to live in the community.  But that’s already been discussed. 

So it was back to the “cell” for the foreseeable future and, in God’s glorious timing, that future was closer than I ever dreamed. 

Today – being the 12^th of November – a co-worker told me about a small house he had seen down the street from his home.  A “For Rent” sign had just gone up over the weekend and he gave me the phone number and directions.  I figured to drive by after work and check out the situation and the surroundings. 

That wasn’t to be, either. 

My boss, the poster child for Type-A personalities, caught wind of it, knew about my need, and by 1100 we were in his truck headed to the house.  We met the property manager, made the deal, and scheduled a time for tomorrow to sign a lease. 

Questioning the goodness, providence and provision of God?  Let’s review for a moment: 

·         Instead of a one-bedroom apartment where my boys would have nowhere to sleep but the great room, there will be two bedrooms and room for my children to visit.
·         Instead of a two-story condominium, there will be everything on one floor.
·         Rather than sharing walls with others, there is now a free-standing dwelling that is all mine.
·         And, as a bonus, it turns out that I will be living in the same small town with my boss and several of my co-workers, not to mention that I will be outside of Davidson County with all that that entails. 

I’m glad God is in control of things.  His ways are truly higher. 

Confusion

Therefore it was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. Genesis 11:9
Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran, they settled there. Genesis 11:31

Is there still any doubt about God being in control? 

If there is, the story of the Tower of Babel should dispose of it.  Man can make his plans, dream his grand dreams and bask in his illusions of grandeur, but at the end of the day, God has the final say.

We start out on many journeys throughout life.  Careers, marriages, missions and purposes.  Yet so many times we fail to persevere and see our dreams realized.  The family of Abram set out for Canaan, but somehow became distracted along the way so “they settled”.  Sadder words were never penned.  How many times have I been in the midst of a good thing only to become distracted?  How many times have I settled for less than my dream or forfeited a goal in exchange for the substandard?  Less than God’s plan.  Less than my potential.  Less!! 

Well, I’m through with less.  I want more.  I want far beyond anything I could ever ask of even think.  I want abundance and fullness and richness of life here and eternity in heaven with Jesus.

Is that asking too much?  I don’t think so.  Neither does God!

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For more Ponderings, click here.