by His design

When His Voice is Heard

“At this also my heart trembles, and leaps from its place…God thunders with His voice wondrously, doing great things which we cannot comprehend” (Job 37:1, 5 NASB).

Mindful that I’m a day over my self-imposed deadline, I’m anxiously imagining many of you checking to see if there’s a new post. I’m writing this week after getting home from a week-and-a-half trip that included the promise of cross-country skiing in the Rocky Mountains and a long-awaited visit with extended family in another state. Well, due to sub-zero temperatures in both places, my husband and I are feeling sub-normal. The doctor said his ear infection turned to walking pneumonia, and after a flurry of unpacking, doing laundry, catching up on workouts at the gym, and grocery shopping, vertigo and accompanying nausea hit me last night.

But the other parts of our hiatus included news that my ninety-five-year-old grandmother died peacefully in her sleep, and a respected Christian publishing house has sent a contract to produce our resources for those facing loss in many forms. None of this seems all that unusual, however. It’s all a part of God’s thundering voice…doing things humans can’t fully understand.

In the next chapter, God speaks to Job and the others for the first time since Job’s life was turned upside-down. Elihu, one of the simplistic counselors (Have any of those?) gets part of the message right:  God is powerful and majestic. He, however, ends his speech to a wearied Job with a dubious application:  “Therefore, men fear him; He does not regard any who are wise of heart” (v. 24). If Elihu means those who think they are wise, he has a point. But Elihu berates Job for five chapters, and like Job’s other friends, thinks Job is deluded:  Job has earned his suffering but just won’t admit it. Job is on the right path for learning wisdom, in any case. Life’s reversals, when we come to our sovereign Lord in them, are our teachers.

Our suffering has a purpose. Recently I read a statement that rang true: instead of asking, “How can I get out of this?” say “Lord, what can I get out of this?” My husband and I are anticipating getting out of our sick bed in a couple days to join a godly couple who are having a house blessing after their previous home was burnt to the ground in the Waldo Canyon fire less than seven months ago. Because they chose faith in devastating circumstances, they have invited others to share their joy in rebuilding their lives and continuing their walk of faith in their same neighborhood.  God, their Redeemer and Restorer, thundered from on high, “I am here and my plans for you are good,” even for the humble, when we can’t yet comprehend.

God of the Storm

Lord God, speak wondrously through our lives. Be strong that all may know Your work. In back of the storm, let us experience Your calm. When the winds change direction at Your command, may they be followed by lovingkindness, touching many. Grow wisdom in tumult, humility amid pain. And when we rise to face a new day, illumine our way. In majesty remember grace, that can’t be denied. Because of Your great love that reaches out to find us, Amen.

A Mighty Fortress

“A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;

Our helper, He amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing…

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing,

Were not the right man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing…

And though this world with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,

We will not fear for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us…

The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him who with us sideth.

Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;

The body they may kill; God’s truth abideth still,

His kingdom is forever.”

Who’s the Crazy One?

“And He came home, and the multitude gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. And when His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him, for they were saying, ‘He has lost His senses.’ And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, ‘He is possessed by Beelzebul,’ and ‘He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons’” (Mark 3:20-22).

Think about it. Wherever Jesus went He was always gathering a crowd, yet in His own hometown detractors were everywhere:  his neighbors, family members, and the religious elite from Jerusalem. It would seem that after witnessing another of Jesus’ relatives, John the Baptist and his unorthodox ways, they would get used to the idea that God does things differently than many of us are comfortable with. Not to mention, stories of the prophets, their set apart lifestyles and the miracles they performed, were still circulating centuries later. Then why is this so threatening, an itinerant teacher who heals and shows compassion to those from all walks of life? What’s so great about the expected, conventional practices of daily life, or religious life?

Jesus came with unmistakable authority. He also was no respecter of persons. Anyone was eligible to be shown mercy and receive truth to live by. Jesus brings Life and Light to lives. The multitudes responded to His new approach and benefitted when they demonstrated faith. He said He forgave their sins and came to do the will of His Father. Then welcomed them into the family.

“And His mother and brothers arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him…A multitude was sitting around Him…and said to Him, ‘Your mother and brothers are outside looking for You’…He said, ‘Who are My mother and my brothers’…looking around on those sitting around Him…’Behold My mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, his is My brother and sister and mother’” (v. 31-35).

A Risky Prayer

God, my Father, help me, and those like me, to accept this version of family life. Let the love You give extend to strangers, not just friends and relatives. Let me, and those like me, be willing to be considered crazy, “having lost my senses,” because I want to follow Your plans, rather than my own, or ones imposed on me by others. Help me risk rejection if following You is unpopular with some. And let me appreciate my brothers and sisters who place their faith in You, because of Your Son. Amen.

The Air I Breathe

This is the air I breathe,
This is the air I breathe,
Your holy presence living in me.

This is my daily bread,
This is my daily bread,
Your very word spoken to me.

And I, I'm desperate for you.
And I, I'm lost without you.

 

“Is it Lawful…”

“…He entered into the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they were watching Him to see if He would heal on the Sabbath, in order that they might accuse Him” (Mark 3:1-2).

When reading the gospels, it doesn’t take long to see Jesus facing opposition. In the process of healing and helping the needy, another group asserts itself.

“And He said to the man….’Rise and come forward!’ …(to His accusers) He said, ‘Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save a life or to kill?’” (v. 3-4)

Seems like an easy pop quiz. What follows the heart of God? I’m guessing “doing good and saving a life.”

“But they kept silent. And after looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand’” (v. 4b-5).

Then Christ Jesus, the Power of God, did a gracious thing:  He made the man’s hand whole. God’s Servant, who the Bible calls Faithful and True, chose to do good on the Sabbath. The Lord of the Sabbath  and our Great Physician was not intimidated by powerful men. He knew what He came for and why He was sent. He came to restore.

In this New Year, what do you need Jesus to restore? In spite of men (anyone with hardened hearts), how can you ask the Son of the Most High to help you? What is withered—a relationship, a physical infirmity, or possibly your own hard heart? He can, if we let Him. Stretch out your hand. Don’t be like Jesus’ accusers. Notice their response:

“And the Pharisees went out and immediately began taking counsel with the Herodians (those from King Herod) against Him, as to how they might destroy Him” (v. 6).

It’s easy to tell those with hardened hearts. They can’t appreciate a miracle when they see one. They want to destroy the source of it.

Prayer of Restoration

Father, God, let us look to you this New Year with humble hearts and come forward with our need. We confess the times we’ve done harm to another and know that this has also harmed our own hearts. Soften us. Reveal those areas You want to restore. Help us to stretch out our (______). Let us not be concerned what others may think. And silence our accusers.

In His Hand

“I have a Maker;
He formed my heart.
Before even time began,
My life was in His hand.

Chorus
He knows my name;
He knows my every thought.
He sees each tear that falls,
And hears me when I call.”

Still Life Among Liars

“O God of my praise, do not be silent! For they have opened the wicked and deceitful mouth against me. They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They have surrounded me with words of hatred and fought against me without cause. In return for my love they act as my accusers; but I am in prayer” (italics mine, Psalm 109:1-4).

I’ve been here, like David. Have you? Most of us will know a similar experience or listen to a friend unload a tale such as this. Life can be unfair and people selfish and cruel. I once took a work-related seminar where the speaker said, “Stop worrying if they are talking about you. They are!” Relationships are a mixed bag. It doesn’t matter if it’s women or men, gossip happens and undeserved attacks can be aimed your way.

David, God’s chosen successor to King Saul, was hounded and threatened by Saul for fifteen years after David was anointed. Saul was jealous and wanted his life. He saw David as competition and wanted to reserve all glory for himself. Is your workplace free from such people? Are our extended families? Even our churches? Too bad. Organizations are riddled with human beings who are capable of hurting others. How do we deal with it?

In prayer. We tell on them to God, and we don’t hold anything back. David often spoke of his very real adversaries, because the higher you get, the more there are. The gist of David’s prayers are like that of Psalm 109, “I’m being pounded without cause, so get ‘em!” David suggests God “appoint a wicked man over him…” (v. 6). I like that. In the following verses, David gets very specific about the affairs of his accuser’s personal life. He is asking for a reversal of fortune—for generations. It seems his accuser didn’t just single David out. It was a lifestyle, “Because he did not remember to show lovingkindness [loyal love], but persecuted the afflicted and needy…the despondent in heart, to put them to death” (v. 16).

David finally says when You save me according to Your lovingkindness, let them know it’s from You. “And let them cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe” (v. 29). David then promises to praise his Lord “in the midst of many” because He stands at the right hand of the needy (and wounded) “to save him from those who judge his soul” (v. 31).

That about covers it. David didn’t just fret or seek his own paybacks. He prayed—to mighty, compassionate, holy God. Have you been living with an oppressive relationship? Has someone, or even a group of someones, made life unbearable? Spend time on your knees, or your face, telling God how it feels and what you know of Him and His character. I’ve had to do this several times in both my professional and personal life. It works; God listens. Praying at the gut level, staying at it as long as necessary, will create that still place in the tempest of our souls.

On My Face Before You

Abba Father, you see all that is and will ever be. You care about everything that happens in our lives. Take care of us in the unfair, brutal times. According to Your will, give us Your power to keep walking in the right direction. Handle our adversaries, the liars, that victimize us and steal what’s ours—reputation, livelihood, relationships, and heart. Expose their ways and make them ashamed. Then show us how to praise you “in the midst of many.” Others are watching and wondering too.  Amen.

Forever All My Days

God I look to You; I won’t be overwhelmed.
Give me vision to see things like You do.
God I look to You; You’re where my help comes from.
Give me wisdom; You know just what to do.

I will love You Lord, my Strength,
I will love You Lord, my Shield,
I will love You Lord, my Rock,

Forever, all my days, I will love You God.

Hallelujah, our God reigns
Hallelujah, our God reigns
Hallelujah, our God reigns,

Forever, all my days, Hallelujah.