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Learning from hardship

My firstborn girlie turns fifteen this weekend. Fifteen years ago we were in the midst of a whirlwind of crisis and activity. This little baby was arriving with a half a heart. We were facing the largest hurdle and challenge life had thrown at us. We didn’t know what to expect, and we were anxious and afraid. But calm. There was nothing we could do but hope and hang on.

As I look at this event in the rear view mirror, much of the pain is hidden. I see the outlines, like a city fading into the distance. I don’t see the raw, ugly streets that were traversed. Just the fading emerald city.

Life is like that. We can’t hold onto the pain. It must subside, or we couldn’t manage to keep moving forward. We carry the scars and the lessons of the past, but we move onward. Sometime onto better days, sometimes into other struggles. But we must keep moving.

If we are wise, we let the trauma teach us without embittering our hearts. This is tricky, but essential. If we see our suffering as a lesson that we can share with others, then we are less prone to envy. In this way we can find benefit in the hard fought experience, not just pain. This is how we can avoid bitterness.

Ephesians 4: 31-32 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Divided attention

Sometimes our attentions are divided. We call it multitasking. We try to accomplish one thing while attending to another. If you have ever tried to write an email while listening to a child, you know how hard this can be.

But sometimes, it is unavoidable. Driving in busy traffic for example. We need to be keenly aware of the surroundings, while still doing the functional job of driving.

I like the story of Nehemiah. The Israelites return from Babylon to rebuild the city walls. At this time a city without a wall was a sitting duck. Raiders, invaders and other threats had no obstacle between their intentions and the city of Jerusalem.

The surrounding people mocked Nehemiah, they didn’t respect the Israelites or their God. These men had to split their focus. They needed to be alert to danger, while they put in the hard work of repairing the wall. A brick in one hand and a sword in the other.

Maybe we as a people have let go of our swords. We have been so busy building and being productive that we have forgotten to protect ourselves and our families. We have let down our guard.

Nehemiah 4: 16-18 From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me.

Noah built more than an ark

Noah built an ark. Noah who had never seen rain and had no idea what he was building, built an ark. He did it because God asked him to do it.

He endured scorn and ridicule. No one could figure out what crazy old Noah was doing. Even Noah couldn’t truly understand what he was doing. God asked him to do it, so he did it.

Astounding obedience and trust.

What Noah built, ended up being the salvation of his whole family. This ark was the vessel that saved his family from the coming flood. His obedience and trust had ramifications beyond his own life.

How often do we consider the impact of our choices on our own family? Are we building a better life for our children? A life of material wealth, comfort, success? Or are we building a life that will lead to their salvation?

Genesis 6: 17-18 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.

An update

I am planning to start a virtual bible study this fall. I emailed my list but some of the folks following the blog are WordPress users. If you are interested in more information please email me at roberta.davis@silverwords.ca – I’ll get you more information.

God’s wisdom

I matured in the era of the self-help book. I was a young adult, learning and charting my course, surrounded by a culture of instruction. It was everywhere, daytime television, books, classes, businesses… everywhere you ran into a basic formula. Do A,B,C and you will have a happy marriage. Do A,B,C and you will be successful in business. Do A,B,C your children will turn out and be wondeful. Do A,B,C and you will find inner peace.

Even churches did this. They abandoned generations of culture and learning to adopt the new step by step guide to getting to your desired destination. Correct doctrine – check. Appropriate levels of faith – check. Trust God – check. Be as prefect as you can be – check. Attend all the right services – check. Offer the right services in the community – check. Of course not every church was like this, but many were.

I am not suggesting for even a moment, that any of these ideas on their own are bad. It is the concept that we can live our lives by rote, by list, by ticking off all the boxes, that I strongly object to. As a young adult I stressed over every single decision, sure that every move I made would propel me on the right path or would take me off onto the wrong path. This belief was in the air I breathed.

Life is far more complex than that. Wisdom can’t be distilled into a list of dos and donts. No amount of planning can predict the future or prevent the chaos caused by our past. Life is messy. Humans are messy.

The best I can do is build my foundation on belief in God. When I do that I am anchoring myself to the Creator. I am drawing on His wisdom. I lean on His strength and guidance.

1 Corinthians 3: 18-19 Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”

Fireworks

We have had the opportunity to see several lovely displays of fireworks this summer. I’m always thrilled with fireworks. Such a glory of light in the dark sky. It is always wonderful to see how much the kids enjoy it also.

This year as I watched, I couldn’t help but wonder, if this is what man can create what would God do? What did the creation of the world look like? What wonder and glory were revealed and displayed as he spoke the world into being.

One day we may know. For now, I can only presume it would be more awe-inspiring than I could handle. Like Moses, I would likely have to hide my face from the sheer magnificence.

How to lament

I was feeling a bit overwhelmed the other day. Life had me pinned in a corner and the ref didn’t see me trying to tap out. I started looking through scriptures to find passages that could helped me digest my feelings.

I started reading Lamentations 3. I have not spent a lot of time reading Lamentations. It is not a book I know well. Daniel, I’ve read many times – it’s my favourite. But Lamentations, no.

I got about 20 verses into this chapter and I thought, “Holy smokes, this is a bit over the top.” Modern man seems to feel the need to curb our sense of self-pity. I will cry and feel sorry for myself for a bit, but I put parametres around it and often start to think of others who are worse off. At this point in the chapter there didn’t seem to be any breaks or boundaries. Just full out cries of anger and despair, blaming God.

About 20 verses in the tone shifts. Even in the face of this suffering and wailing God is still good. God is still worth waiting on. I’m not sure what lesson to take from this. There are obvious cultural differences as well as the deeper meaning of the book as a whole with which to grapple.

Maybe it helps me see that we can cry out to God, he’s big enough to take it!

Lamentations 3: 24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”

Self-doubt

Often when I think about the Bible I find people within it’s pages to whom I relate. I admire Esther’s courage and willingness to be used for the good of her people. I wish I were more like David, who confidently strode into battle with Goliath because of his confidence in God. I love Mary’s heart as she watches her Son become the Messiah.

Perhaps the story that hits closest to home is the story of Moses when he is called to go back to Egypt to save God’s people. Moses sees a bush burning, but it isn’t spreading or burning up. He thinks, “That’s strange” and investigates. Before he knows it he’s standing barefoot, covering his face, talking to the creator of the Universe.

God tells him he wants him to go back and rescue the Israelite people. Moses says, “What if…” God answers. Moses says, “What do I do when…” God answers. God shows him miracles he can preform. Even after all this Moses says, “I’m not a good speaker, you better send someone else.”

Moses is talking to God through a burning bush. God is showing him how to do miracles and when he says, “Go” Moses thinks, “Nah, you can find someone better.” Do you think it might enter Moses mind, that if God had a better choice he would know about it?

I am too often like Moses. My own self-doubt keeps me from feeling up to the task. I think of millions of reasons of why I am not worthy. But like Moses, this lack of confidence in oneself is actually lack of confidence in God’s ability. It was God who freed the Israelite people, it was by his power, Moses was just the vessel. I need to put my faith in the Great I Am and allow him to work in my life.

Exodus 4: 13-17 But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”
Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth;
I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.”

God loves me and you too

Every now and again God gives us an experience, the kind of moment that we hold in our heart and treasure. A glorious sunset, a drive home with tired kids, welcome in a gracious and giving home, a look of love from our spouse, a gentle breeze on a hot day, the list could go on.

Joy, hope and love are found in these moments. Like a beautiful sound track to a movie, they give unspoken sound to our hearts. Like jewels in our mind, glistening just out of reach and yet bouncing light everywhere.

These are the moments when I feel closest to God. Those moments when he uses other humans to help me feel His love.

God be with you today and may you feel the joy and peace of knowing that he sees you, regardless of what sorrow today may bring.

Grace is sufficient

Many of the ideas in the Bible are counter-cultural and even counter-intuitive. They go against what is instinctive for humans. The best example of this is the Sermon on the Mount. I don’t pretend to fully understand these ideas. They are a struggle – my humanness gets in the way of my understanding.

Lately, Paul’s phrase ‘my grace is sufficient,’ has been running through my head. How do we feel this in the face of personal loss? How do we understand this when our life is stuck in neutral? How do we share this when we see others facing serious trials? And yet, this is the most important idea for a Christian. Grace. Pure simple grace is enough. It is sufficient.

Wrapped up in this is the hope for a better tomorrow. The hope of reunion with loved ones. The hope of a dwelling with God. The hope of resurrection. Grace. The one complete act.

It is my job not to be distracted by the failings of life, by sin and the earthy trials. Grace! It is my obligation to not let my heart be drawn into the pleasures of earth. Grace! It is my responsibility to not be seeking affirmation from the world. Grace!

What other prize and trophy or reward could compare with grace?

2 Corinthians 12: 9-10 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.