Jesus says so
My best friend needed encouragement. Problem is, she lives 3000+ miles away. I texted her this: “You are loved, you are enough, Jesus says so.” Later I thought: this is truth, one of the authors in the Bible should have written that. But wait…they did!
“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1 NLT) We are imperfect – selfish by nature, on our own we stand condemned. Yet Who we belong to determines who we are. And we belong to Jesus. He has silenced the enemy’s constant reminders of how we mess up. Our accusers say we aren’t good enough. It’s not our ‘good enough’ – it’s Jesus perfect love and sacrifice for us.
I need this truth for me. It was easy for me to reassure my friend. I’ve seen her in tears. I’ve seen her angry. I’ve seen her losing hope. I’ve seen her grasping. But what I also always see: Jesus in her. Will I allow myself the same grace?
We are also this: “…a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” (1Peter 2:9b NIV)
Jesus chose us. We are his royal messengers. We are holy because He is holy. He considers us a treasured possession. Seriously? Yes! Our response is the praise of our lips, coming from sincere hearts. We no longer live in the darkness of sin, we live in Christ’s wonderful light. (Yes, even when we do mess up. Why? Because He paid the debt owed for all our mess before we knew Him as Savior; and for the times since and the times to come when we will blunder.)
Because Jesus says so, Paul was able to write these words of absolute assurance to us: “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.” (Romans 8:37-38 NLT)
Many things will come our way as we go through this earth life. Things out of our control. Things that don’t make sense. Things that should not be. God is not a genie who makes all the trials disappear. But God is all we ever need. He made us and knows us intimately. In all the trials He never leaves us. We come over every finish line better than we were before because the hard stuff refines us and makes us more like Jesus.
Jesus says so and He will keep on standing in the gap for us until that sweet someday when His hug opens our eyes and we find ourselves in forever.
Good things
In a post not long ago, I mentioned a chubby chickadee hop hopping ahead of me as I walked down the hill. Such a smile it brought me as he seemed to be leading the way wanting to show me his discoveries. Children do the same – eager to lead the way even when they don’t know exactly where they’re headed – excited about what’s ahead.
Then life…it has a way of taking the child out of us. Before the fall I think Adam and Eve grabbed hands leading each other to the latest discovery. In the cool of the day, I wonder if they grabbed God’s hands and were eager share what they had seen and done that day?
In the Lord’s creation He has shown us so many good things. There for our discovery, enjoyment, respite from a hard world. “You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing.” (Psalm 16:2b NIV)
I settle back as skies grow black with clouds, echoes faraway of a thunderstorm headed my way. For me a storm has a way of slowing me down from all my busyness. Outside the air takes on the scent of fresh rain. Sun rays splinter across the sky before the clouds blot them out entirely.
What is it for you? Is it the sound of waves lapping on the shore? A trek through the mountains? There’s something right here in the every day of where God has us residing that He’s put there to make us take a deep breath – to breathe in His peace, to experience true joy.
We get excited about a vacation or friends coming over or trying something new. And those are fine. But we need to have eyes to see what the Maker will use to put a smile on our face or to calm our anxious heart. Because today or tomorrow when anxiety makes every breath seem like an effort or when sorrow makes the next step feel impossible, we need to see beyond now.
“Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion and His wonders to the sons of men. For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.” (Psalm 107:8-9 BSB)
I can picture myself in eternity grabbing my Savior’s hand, running ahead, saying ‘Look at this, isn’t it amazing? And that, it’s so beautiful!’ Then glancing back over my shoulder to see Jesus’ smile of delight knowing this child of His will never tire of all His wonders. So why not start now? Let’s look for chickadees, listen for thunderclaps, take long walks on quiet roads. Perhaps it’s the way we’re meant to make it through the valleys.
Transfixed
(Mountains Part 3) Driving mountain roads is either thrill or fright. Switchbacks and curves that go so long you feel like you’ve circled the mountain, grades that either feel like you’re climbing to the sky or streaking down to the valley. They definitely keep ones gaze fixed on the road (and the mountainside inches away or the edge that plunges downward). I love them.
Curves slow you down, there’s not much speeding to be done when the sign has a squiggly line and 20mph. And when straightaways come into view, the sensation of tension melting away til the next curve is most welcome. Straightaways that have tiny gas stations with ice machines out front. Fruit stands with bear carvings. Shops with rusty pails and signs that read ‘Firefly Front Porch – vintage and antique – sit a spell’.
That’s what we need to do – sit a spell. Time slows on out-of-the-way mountain roads. Wildflower fields, freshly plowed rows of vegetables growing, rusty cars with sunflowers popping out of them. Signs for Barbeque ahead – best around, come on in. This is my happy place.
For mountain people sea breezes and sand between their toes might be their longing. We all need our happy place now and then – but that’s not life. While mountain road driving requires eyes watching the yellow lines – life requires eyes looking to God.
We don’t know what’s around the next curve – flash floods, cancer, job loss, love loss. Yet God is never taken by surprise. And while we may wonder why He let the heartache happen, the only way through life’s difficult roads is this: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2Corinthians 4:18 BSB)
One afternoon after a curvy drive, I sat outside looking and listening. At first a gentle breeze tousled my hair, then trees swayed all at once. Leaves and limbs moving in rhythm and silencing all else except their rustling. Birds overhead caught the draft and soared. My eyes were captivated by all creation around me. Soon everything stilled and a faraway rumble and flash of lightening transfixed my gaze.
When we don’t know how to ‘fix the mess’, can’t stop the tears, don’t want to face the hard stuff, this is where Jesus directs: “But my eyes are fixed on You, O GOD the Lord. In You I seek refuge; do not leave my soul defenseless.” (Psalm 141:7 BSB) Our soul is never defenseless. Our refuge from the storms of life is our God.
We must not fix our eyes on what we see. Whatever our eyes see right now is temporary. He is working a mystery we cannot fathom. We can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel or the ever-after of heaven. But our soul can rest assured that, better than a temporary straightaway on a curvy road, our forever has a lot more for us than country fruit stands and barbeque.
Delight
(Mountains Part 2) Once I wasn’t much of a bird person. It started with a bat getting into my grandmother’s house when I was spending the night as an eight-year-old. Years later my cat brought a bird into the house and let it go. But not long ago I began to take notice of their antics, their calls to one another, their varied sizes and colorations and I began to warm up – a little.
We don’t have chickadees where I live, but they are the cutest. I had never seen one with my own eyes until this mountain trip. For several mornings in a row right after sunrise, something would butt up against the bottom of the sliding glass door, over and over. Inspecting, I saw it was a bird and dismissed it. When I went for a downhill, uphill walk to work off some energy, there was that little guy hopping up and down a few steps ahead of me. All puffy fat and seemingly delighted to have a walking companion.
As crazy busy humans we don’t take enough time to see the glory God puts around us. I’ve come to realize all this glory, be it sunrises or hopping birds, are for our joy and delight. God delights in us delighting in the gifts He puts in our path.
One of my true joys in the mountains are fireflies. I’ve often sat outside for a couple hours just to watch the on off, on off yellow-green lights sailing past, making bushes light up, dancing the night away. On this trip I made sure to go out to watch them just before I went to bed – humbled by something God knew I would find pure joy in.
“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4 NIV) This verse isn’t about our wants or needs, though many want it to be so. When we surrender heart, mind, and soul to the Lord, there we find what our heart desires most: His presence, His creation, His salvation, His promises, His mercy, His grace.
I’m home now, no chickadees, no fireflies. Sigh. Oh, how quickly we forget to rejoice in where God has put us. What of the thunderstorm so loud yesterday it shook the house? Of the deep puddles it left where polliwogs emerge? What of the wildflower seeds that had barely poked their heads up before I left on my trip and were blooming bright colors upon my return?
This life is hard. Days will sometimes break our hearts. People will anger us. We will let others down. We dwell on what ifs and entertain regrets. Our Jesus knows this. He was brokenhearted when He dwelled here. But He came just the same…to make a way. A way that peeks out at us now and then as we journey through our earth time. Laughter of a child, hug of a friend. Mockingbirds in love with the car mirror, waves lapping on the shore.
Yet the way everlasting is where Jesus points us. He is our way, our truth, and our life. As David reminds us: “He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me.” (Psalm 18:19 NIV) This is truly a wonder. God delights in me, in you? Yes, enough to secure a future where we will rest in His love with no more hard days and where fireflies dance through the night.
Soul View
Mountain series begins today – ten days of soul rest high in the North Carolina mountains has given me pause to breathe deep and exhale the struggles and fears, the worries and the tears. In some small way may you find rest in the quiet I hope to impart…
Days are longer in the mountains. This time of year, its light outside by 5:30 and dark – ever so slowly – takes over around 9:30 – if you’re going by first light to last light. It’s been good for this early riser, and it has tricked me into staying up a bit later.
At the top of a ridge with only distant mountains slightly higher than my vista the sky looks so close. Mountain skies change quickly. Looming dark clouds ready to let down their torrents linger, and then brief sun glistens green leaves followed by inevitable clouds descending to literally touch the ground I’m on.
When I woke in the mornings, I could hardly wait to get my camera and capture the sunrise as it slowly made its way to peek over the mountain top. I learned that a few clouds make for more dramatic pictures. Yet the simplicity of purple, followed by lavender, breaking into orange of a cloudless panorama inspires my wonder of God’s handiwork.
Then were the days when wispy clouds of all shapes and formations traversed by. In the distance one evening I saw a thunderhead cloud – and was surprised a moment later to see the lightning in the cloud illuminating and then fading – on and off again as the storm it surely carried moved northward.
While I realize all I’m trying to describe really must be seen with your own eyes to truly ‘feel’ it, still I hope you can sense the awe of something we have absolutely no control over. So big, vast is more like it, is the scope of God’s handiwork that when faced with the majesty we can’t drink in enough.
There have been trips up to these mountains when it was time to depart, I wanted to cry. I wanted to see more, explore more, be awed by more. But this trip, so different than others in many ways, reminded me that someday, some sweet day, we will have forever to take in the wonder. And with eyes that are perfect, minds that can continue to learn more and more, and hearts that don’t question or long for more but rest in the fact that eternity always promises more.
Today, whatever elevation you are viewing your surroundings from, may the Holy Spirit open the eyes of your heart to be awed by the Creator and the vistas He wants to show you. May your soul be satisfied with the knowledge that this life isn’t all there is. May you lift longing hands upward and breathe deep knowing this Savior of ours has made the way for us to see Him face to face. And may you rest for just a few moments savoring the goodness of what is and what is to come.
Safe Arms
If you’re scared, I can relate. If you’re worried, me too. And if safe isn’t how you feel, well I get it, but it isn’t true.
There are mornings I wake up hopeful and I can sigh with ‘it was a good day’ by nightfall. But there are mornings I wake up hopeful and tears come unbidden throughout the minutes and hours ahead. God reminds us: ‘be strong and courageous’ – not as an admonishment for being fearful, but because He knows our fears and wants us to remember He’s right here, we are not alone.
I don’t know what you’re dealing with. There are so many hard things this world engulfs us in. And at different times in our lives, one may not seem overwhelming while at another time it came seem like it’s the end of the world. So, just for the next few minutes, let your soul rest here, where there is someone who feels like you do.
My husband, of forty-two years, has a rare form of leukemia – no cure. Just when…we were going to retire and travel…we were going to enjoy our grandchildren…we were going take long walks and eat out a lot. His diagnosis put me in tailspin that led to a bout of depression and physical pain – and just when I was coming out of all that, His diagnosis got worse.
What about you? What were your ‘just whens’ – before all your hard stuff? Did you lose sight of Jesus? Do you feel alone, because no one understands? They can’t, they’re not walking your journey. That doesn’t help, because we need to know someone gets this, feels this.
Someone does. Psalm 27:5a NIV “For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in his dwelling;” ‘Safe’ is tucked into many places in His words to us. “I am writing to all who have been called by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus Christ.” (Jude 1:1b NIV) “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for You alone, O LORD, will keep me safe.” (Psalm 4:8 NLT)
This is why it’s so very important to have Jesus as Lord and Savior. Because there is no navigating the long nights – the empty bank accounts – the divorce – the hospital stays without Him. We have confidence, based on Jesus’ promises, that this life isn’t all there is. Know that there is someone walking with us. That His promise of a tearless, painless, joyful eternity is true and is ours.
Yes, I’ll still lose my way some days, tears will make me doubt. But how I feel, how you feel, isn’t truth. Truth is our Rescuer has us in His arms and this hard thing can’t touch our forever. Safe, we’re safe, even when we don’t ‘feel’ that way. Love this song…
Unexpected slowing
Usually, when we least expect it, something happens that slows the path we’re on. Often unwelcome. For me this week it’s been a mild illness – so mild it’s hard to name it, but enough to break up my rhythm and hinder my plans. So, while I’m grateful it’s nothing major, I’m a bit put out to have to endure until it runs its course.
When forced to slow down it’s disconcerting. Just when I thought I knew the current way of life, a little blip is changing things. I think it goes back to my age-old struggle: control.
I want to have a calendar with the days lined up. A clear path. That isn’t the way of things for most of us, try as we may. Wherever you are right now, in the small inconvenience or the big heart wrenching, you’re not alone. Fellow sojourners can relate, and the God who held your hand before this is still holding it now – even if you are pulling pretty hard to go the other direction.
In the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, I read this verse: “The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (31:8 NIV)
Moses was speaking to the people for the last time, just before they were to finally end their desert wandering. They were about to face many enemies, fight many battles, but victory would be theirs. Frankly after so much wandering I think I might have been a bit put out that things weren’t going to be easy.
But that’s always been the way of it on sin-filled earth. And when Moses said don’t be afraid or discouraged, he knew they would be. But he wanted to remind them of all the ways God had already shown up and always will.
Fast forward from the Old Testament to where Jesus so clearly spoke the same message: “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NIV)
Hmm, just like God has been declaring since creation. There will be many struggles and at times rest. But through it all He reminds His people that He is with them and will see them through. The Bible has so many nuggets for us to hold on to.
He uses the times when we must to slow down to give us opportunities to grab hold of His truths. To take heart and be encouraged. Had I not been unhappily sitting in a chair reading this section of the Old Testament when I would have rather been out taking a long walk, I would have probably just read through it and not seen the words put there for me. He’s does the same for you – “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16 NIV)
He will see you and me through just like He did the desert wanderers. Sometimes on earth it may not seem that way, but this earthly life isn’t all there is. He has set eternity in our hearts; when we slow down, we see the road to it.
You alone
On repeat through my mind this week has been the chorus to a sweet song rephrasing Psalm 23. Ever read any books from an actual shepherd’s perspective on Psalm 23? It makes so clear why this may be the most beloved Psalm of them all. The care it takes to keep sheep safe, fed, watered, rested, healthy – it’s a lot of work.
We’re a lot of work. Our Shepherd is constantly on duty. Keeping us safe when evil surrounds us. Keeping us nourished even when there isn’t much in the cupboard. Keeping us watered, soul watered, so we don’t dry up and give up. Keeping us rested – even though there may be many sleepless nights. And keeping us healthy in the midst of whatever health battle we may face. Sound like it isn’t so? Like those are opposites?
This life will have many things we wouldn’t choose, even when we are Christ followers. The difference for God’s children: what is versus what could have been…
Were He not protecting us, evil would prevail in us – through our own doing as well as evil influence. Sometimes nourishment isn’t food, sometimes it’s His strength even in the famine. Desert places abound when we live day to day, yet in His goodness He will lead us by the still water of His Word to quench our soul thirst.
Rest…that’s a big one for me. I haven’t slept well in some time. I tend to get frustrated about that, let alone worrying that it might affect my health. Yet each day I have energy for the tasks at hand and trust He knows what I need in the wee hours. Healthy – hard one right? Especially when we or a loved one has something that isn’t going to get better. Again, the hand of the Father provides breath for each day and uses pain, or sickness, or physical decline in ways we don’t see.
Back to the chorus of the song, because they are key to believing all of the above:
And I will trust in You alone,
And I will trust in You alone,
For Your endless mercy follows me,
Your goodness will lead me home.
In the face of fear, the silence of 2am, the worry of circumstances it truly does come down to that five letter word: trust. Not in self, a spouse, a job, a bank account, government. Only in God. His mercy is endless – both for our weakness of sin and for all the things we face. And daily He leads on a path that sometimes has forks, sometimes has fallen trees, sometimes is hot and arid or cold and muddy – but He doesn’t leave us. A constant companion for the journey leading us home. Home in eternity is all the things we can dream it could be and so much more.
Price you pay
Interesting but true: to a person, I can say without doubt what we really want most out of life is to be loved. Just-as-we-are. And the Bible reminds us, “God is love; whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” (1John 4:16b BSB)
Since that is true, then what we really want – and really need – is God’s love. Want to know how to love someone well? Read how Jesus loved. Want to know how to love even your enemies? Read what Jesus said on the matter. Want to be loved? Abide in God. When it feels like no one loves you, SOMEONE does. No matter what.
There is, however, a bit of a catch with human love. Sometimes it’s conditional – on our part and theirs. Who of us hasn’t loved someone and then they make us mad, or betray us, or hurt us in some way? Then we kind of pull back on our love. And human love can be heart soaring as well as heartbreaking. From smashed fists of flowers for mom, to “I do” for a lover, to “It’s a boy/girl” – these loves make our hearts full and at times can make them ache.
A sermon I heard recently by Alistair Begg touched on the depths of love. How it reaches our very souls. He made a statement that stopped me in my tracks: “Grief is the price you pay for love.”
Any of us who have lived long enough know that to be true. Love is risky. All kinds of grief can accompany it. You can name the ones you’ve experienced. But the hardest one is death – the final parting of love. Leaving a longing, a hole that cannot be filled.
As risky as love is, we still long for it. The highs and lows are part of life. A life free from heartache is a life free from love. And in the end, that’s not much of a life.
When Jesus died those who loved Him thought it was the end. A huge hole was left, or so they thought. But just a few days later, He filled in that hole by telling them “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b NLT)
So, when we decide to let Jesus be the main love of our life, then all the other loves and their heartaches are part of the beauty of earth life. He is our promise that when this life ends, we get to spend eternity in the presence of Love itself – and with all our believing loved ones who went on before us. Only then there is no longer any risk, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” (Revelation 21:4 NLT)
Right Here
I wish you could have seen it. Easter Sunday as our family attended a sunrise service, the pastor started explaining Romans 10:9 (ESV) “if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” As he expounded on what it means to confess and believe, I looked over at my six-year-old grandson, sitting cross-legged in his daddy’s lap.
It took my breath away and tears sprang instantly. He had closed his eyes and made his hands into prayer hands and was listening intently. I grabbed my daughter’s hands as we rejoiced in our hearts to see how much he already loves Jesus. Not the least bit distracted or concerned with those around him.
Grown-up life is tough. We are distracted by the day-to-day. We are absorbed in accomplishing, or pleasing, or surviving. We feel distant from God forgetting this truth: “God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.” (Acts 17: 27 NIV)
Sometimes there are wonderful nuggets of truth in novels written by a Christian author. In Legacy of Mercy by Lynn Austin the main character tells a young woman who has endured severe challenges in her short life: “We all have moments of doubt. But our faith allows us to bring our doubts to God and ask all those hard questions. Why? Where were You? How could You let this happen? God would much rather have an honest wrestling match with us than have us keep our distance and pretend we don’t have any doubts at all.”
Moments later the main character gets some devastating news and says to herself: “Now my faith has flown on wings of fear…”. Can you relate?
“For in Him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28 (NIV) Paul is speaking to a group in Athens who pride themselves on gathering knowledge. He tells them not only is God near to each of us, but that we can’t take our next breath without Him.
Don’t overlook the deep truths in these two verses, they are the essence of God’s relationship to us. He longs for us to turn to Him, He’s right here with us, He makes it possible that we live and move and be who we were created to be.
I want to try ‘sitting in my Father’s lap’, eyes closed, prayer hands folded, oblivious to all that’s on today’s schedule, and simply remember He’s not far, He’s right here with me.
parisrenae 