Silence: the Deafening Din

I have, O Lord, a noisy heart. And entering outward silence doesn't stop the inner clamor. In fact, it seems only to make it worse.
When I am full of activity, the internal noise is only a distant rumble; but when I get still, the rumble amplifies itself. And it is not like the majestic sound of symphony rising to a grand crescendo; rather it is the deafening din of clashing pots and clanging pans. What a racket! Worst of all, I feel helpless to hush the interior pandemonium.

Dear Lord, Jesus, once you spoke peace to the wind and the wave. Speak your shalom over my heart. I wait silently...patiently. I receive into the very core of my being your loving command, "Peace, be still." Amen. 

(Prayers from the Heart. 1994, Harper San Francisco.)

As we prepare for a new year, the thought of a new set of 365 sets of 24 hours is refreshing. Though it is also somewhat daunting.  Too appealing is the temptation to mull over the worries and anxieties those days will bring through the trials and hardships that are sure to arise. The temptation to dwell on needs unmet, desires unfulfilled, and dreams crushed. Those things surely happened on some level over the past twelve months, so the coming year will no doubt be yet another roller coaster of crashing circumstances and surging emotions.

When we find our minds wandering in this direction, meandering through Memory Lane and making a wrong turn onto Regret Drive, we must stop and reevaluate our path. If we really believe that God is still in Heaven and that He is who He says He is, who are we to allow anxiety and worry to claim our hearts? A loving God dwells within us who reigns in ultimate goodness: holiness and love. I find that when I allow my perspective to be introspective and self-analyzing, my thoughts and emotions truly clamor within me to an unbearable level. However, when I turn my perspective to be God-analyzing and truly seek out the face and character of my Savior, my worries turn to prayers, my anxieties are overcome by promises, and my fears are ruled out with patience. What an awesome God we serve, and when we humbly recognize that He is in supreme control over every second of our lives, we can then rejoice in both the joys and sorrows that our days may bring. To spend our days wisely in spite of our emotions is to remember that when God made time, He surely made enough of it.

And when the clamor is too loud and the silence is deafening, we can quiet our souls with the cleansing promises of our Savior.

Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.
{Psalm 139:16}

~ GE (College Sophomore)

Prayer in Faith

“It is good that we should have to submit to what we do not understand. it teaches us the laws of faith and hope. 
It is good that we should have to do what we should rather not, in circumstances not of our choice. 
It is good that there should be always something to prick us on, something to remind us that we are in an enemy’s country, belonging to a marching column. 
It is good that we should meet with checks and failures in what we undertake to keep us humble and prayerful. 
All these things belong to sowing in tears. 
God seems to have laid out the order of things in His Church, not for a general and brilliant triumph but for the hidden sanctification of the individual souls which compose it.”
{Janet Erskine}

In Whatsoever State I Am: Content!

        As 2011 draws to a close, I have been reflecting on all the Lord has brought me through this year. Last year about this time, I was reading several blogs, and I kept coming across the idea of picking a word to live out in the year ahead. As I got to thinking about the idea, I decided that in 2011 I wanted to focus on having contentment. So my theme for the year became "Contentment v. Complacency."  At first, I thought that I would kind of learn about these two concepts through personal study. However, I quickly realized that God knew that I needed to learn about these concepts through circumstances and direct experience.

        The year quickly spiraled into unmanageable busyness as I tried to plan for college, my senior trip to New York City flew by, high school ended, graduation came and went, the summer brought an evangelism trip to the Philippines, the fall took me to my first semester at Bible college, and my mom took a new job and moved across the country last week. Now here we are, at the end of another year. Although 2011 was incredibly packed with changes, it was also a year of waiting. Waiting on college decisions, waiting on high school to end, waiting for scholarships to be awarded, waiting for job applications to be accepted, waiting to see souls (in whom I had deeply invested) saved, waiting to start college, waiting for prayers to be answered, waiting to see my family, waiting to know God's revealed will. 


        It seemed to go on forever. But God knew what I needed to learn. He knew that I needed to experientially find out the difference between contentment and complacency. In all of my seasons of waiting, I had to wait on God to provide  for my needs. And ya know, He always came through! He had a plan far before I did (Psalm 139:16), and He had a lesson in contentment waiting for me far before I even desired to learn it.

        A passage on contentment that I have been studying recently is Philippians 4. I have heard people quote verse 13 many, many  times. However, I never realized that when Paul says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," he is speaking in regard to his finances! He is saying that, regardless of how dismal his bank account may appear at any given time, God is fully able to meet his financial needs for whatever God wants him to do. Paul is thanking the Philippians for giving him financial support as directed by God. He is relaying to his fellow Christians that God has taught him to be joyful with little and how to be responsible with a lot. But, Paul makes it clear that God has taught him to be content in any financial situation. Paul can do this because he is resting in the fact that his God has no limits on His financial ability! 

What if...?

"What if it's not everything I dreamed it would be?"

This is a common thought in regard to God's plan for our lives. For some reason, many Christians have a tainted view that God did not have our best in mind when He ordained all of our days in His book before one of them even came to be (Psalm 139:16). However, we must realize that He did, and does, have our best interest in mind. Now we merely "look through a glass dimly," contrasting the circumstances of this life to God's loving character. But one day "we will be face to face," and we will know Him fully. (1 Corinthians 13:12)

We so often fail to see that although our humbling wouldn't be our decision, it's there that God's glory shines brightest. When we want happiness, God instead pushes us toward holiness. While God commands us to be content, we still wish for circumstances that would easily lend way to complacency. We want the crown, but our Father gently reminds us that the cross precedes it. We must ask God to teach us to pray His will, not ours. We must ask Him to continually correct our perspectives, and give us a proper view of our own mortal desires in light of His eternal interest. We must be digging through His Word for solid ground to replace the sandy foundation of our souls' desires.

I Run to Christ When...

I Run to Christ
Chris Anderson

I run to Christ when chased by fear
And find a refuge sure.
“Believe in me,” His voice I hear;
His words and wounds secure.

I run to Christ when torn by grief
And find abundant peace.
“I too had tears,” He gently speaks;
Thus joy and sorrow meet.

_____

I run to Christ when worn by life
And find my soul refreshed.
“Come unto Me,” He calls through strife;
Fatigue gives way to rest.

I run to Christ when vexed by hell
And find a mighty arm.
“The Devil flees,” the Scriptures tell;
He roars, but cannot harm.

_____

I run to Christ when stalked by sin
And find a sure escape.
“Deliver me,” I cry to Him;
Temptation yields to grace.

I run to Christ when plagued by shame
And find my one defense.
“I bore God’s wrath,” He pleads my case—
My Advocate and Friend.

If you are interested in introducing this song to your own church, or just for use as private worship.This song can be found at Church Works Media

Just What I Need: When I need it!

Have you ever had a circumstance in your life when you thought, "How is this thing good for me? How is this process profitable? Why is this person in my life? Why am I not getting that right now? Why am I getting this right now? How will I get through this?"?

I think if we are honest with ourselves, we would probably all say that we have thought nearly all of those questions, during various circumstances in our lives.

However, as a Christian, I have a just, gracious, merciful God who gives me just what (and when, where, who, and how) I need! Because of who my God is, I can trust that He has my best interest in mind, and will cause things to happen according to His sovereign will (Philippians 1:6)

In His justice, He gives me what I deserve.
In His mercy, He doesn't give me what I deserve.
In His grace, He gives me what I don't deserve.

He puts things and people in my life in just the right way, in just the right place, and at just the right time. Although I cannot always see what is best for myself, I have a Savior who knows my inmost thoughts and needs (Psalm 139).

Who
God knows the people I must have relationships with in order to become more like His Son-- whether they be sweet and kind, or consistently testing my patience. 


What
He knows the things I need (and don't need!) in order to become more like His Son-- whether a thing will bless and provide for me, or will simply become a snare and a stumbling block to my feet. 


When
He knows the exact moment I need to encounter things in life in order to become more like His Son-- whether my persistence for "Today, Lord!"  is good, or a time of stillness and waiting would teach me.


Where
He knows the perfect location I need to be in order to become more like His Son-- whether it be the thrust of a raging storm on the sea, or the soothing of a gentle breeze in the desert. 


How
He knows the process I must go through in order to become more like His Son--whether it be a trying and difficult one, or a pleasantly simple one.

I recently had an overwhelming need, and I had figured out the "perfect" way to fulfill it. However, God had a totally different plan of how He would provide for me! I had prayerfully stepped out in faith, acknowledging that I would do my best according to His revealed will, but that I was ultimately trusting Him to provide the way. And surely, He worked! Provision came in way I never expected, from the people I had least anticipated, and at a much later time that I had hoped!

Coauthoring with God

I wouldn’t say I’m a control freak; but I do like to know where I’m going and how I am getting there. That’s not necessarily a bad thing either. It’s great to have a goal and game plan! As the saying goes, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” You probably do the same thing, right?

You may love carrying around your day planner or checking items off that seemingly endless checklist. But do you have a life planner? It’s probably an unwritten story of how your life is supposed to go. You may have it rather detailed down to the house number and street you plan on living at when you retire, or the when and how you will meet that special someone that you have pictured perfectly ever since you realized that boys and girls do NOT have cooties.

We all have these desires (hopefully less detailed!) in us. We think we have the greatest happily-ever-after story lined up for our lives. But how quickly things diverge from our plan. We try to orchestrate it back in to place, but it just doesn’t seem to fit into place. We realize, we are out of control.

"But God": the most powerful words ever used. But God is in control. In fact, He is better than just “in control”. God is a loving, good God that has remarkably beautiful plans for His children who let Him lead. But that’s where the problem lies, isn’t it? We don’t let Him. We are so busy whispering in his ear or maybe even shouting in His face how our life is meant to be. We take the pen from His caring hand and begin to “make a few adjustments” to the story line. We live in fear that our Father either does not have TOTAL control or that He is not good. We buy into Satan’s lies.

Trust and Obey

Sometimes, it can be difficult to trust someone with something that I wish I had control over.  Even if it's someone who is worthy of my trust, it is still hard to accept that I will be without power in the situation. Unfortunately, although God is worthy of my trust (as a mere human) in every aspect and every situation, I often don't give it to Him.  I doubt Him, whether deliberately or not. Ultimately, I am challenging His authority (Isaiah 55:9) and questioning His faithfulness (Deuteronomy 32:4). 


Also, it can be difficult to submit to someone else's control over me.  Obedience can be a hard thing to do, because I don't like to admit that I am subordinate to someone else, therefore acknowledging that they are in a higher position than I.  Again, this is often our attitude toward God, although He is completely worthy of our obeying and honoring Him in His omniscience and omnipotence. 


However, if I stop to think about it, trusting and obeying actually do go hand-in-hand.  Obedience with trust-- It's action in waiting.


I can't truly do one without the other.  God has called us to action (Philippians 2:12-13), to obedience, not to just sit around pray that His work would be done. We  are the ones He uses to accomplish His work!
On the other hand, we can't just go out and do whatever we think needs to be done, either.  We are to prayerfully seek out the Lord's will first, and then to do what He has called us (2 Timothy 1:9) to do, trusting that He will go before us (Deuteronomy 1:30) and give us His power (2 Corinthians 12:9) to accomplish His plan.


If we are consistently and sincerely seeking God's will and obeying what He has revealed to us, how is it that we cannot trust Him with what is yet to be revealed?  If we can trust Him with the unknown, how can we do anything but obey what we know He wants us to do?

Here am I, Lord -- Use Me.

All I Ever Want to Be

All I ever want to be is what you want of me, 

Lord; I give my life to you.

And all my hopes and dream and plans I place within Your hands, Lord,

And give my life to You.

Here am I , Lord, use me; take my life and mold me.

All I ever want to be is what You want of me, Lord; 

I give my life to You.

And all my hopes and dreams and plans I place within Your hands, Lord,

And give my life to You.

(We're Singing -- The Wilds)

GE (High School Senior)

Doubt Not His Grace

Over the past few months, I have been waiting on some very important news that would affect the direction of my life.  As I waited, every day I hoped that the news would come. It was extremely difficult at times to tell the Lord that I knew His timing was perfect and that I was content waiting for it.  During times of discomfort or suffering, it is often easy to overlook the fact that God is grace. He knows exactly what we need and He also knows exactly the right time to give it to us.  For some reason, even though we have all heard this a million times, trusting God when it's not comfortable is definitely easier said than done.


Long story short, the news came this week!  It came when I was least expecting it, honestly, and the outcome was also what I had least expected after waiting for so long.  I had had a rough day, and receiving an answer from the Lord to all of my many prayers over this topic was exactly what I needed in that exact moment.  No sooner, no later--that was clear.

Disciples in Waiting

This Easter, and the past few days leading up to it, has inspired many thoughts that I had never had before.  These past few months have yielded many lessons in waiting for me, as I have been waiting on some things to be decided that will determine the course of my life.  At times, trusting God has been a struggle, although I do know that He is in control.  


As I was thinking about Jesus' crucifixion on Good Friday, some people came to mind who had a very difficult time of waiting.  They were Jesus' disciples.  When Christ was crucified, their hopes were shattered. They thought that He was their Messiah, but then He was tortured to death as a criminal.  And while we remember the crucifixion with the knowledge that the resurrection  was coming, they didn't know it was coming.  Sure, they had heard Jesus tell them that He would soon leave them, but would be coming back, but they did not know how it would all play out.  


In their time of waiting, they struggled with trusting that Jesus was even who He had told them He was--their Lord!  Now, we can look at that and say that we are at least a little better than that, because we "don't doubt that Christ is our Lord."  We know  that is true.  


We just doubt that He is....who He tells us He is. 
We doubt He is our compassionate Shepherd.  We doubt that He is our faithful Provider.  We doubt that He is our loving Friend.  We doubt that He is our gracious Father. . . .The list goes on.  We doubt that He is who He has promised He is!  Sure, we know it in our heads.  But the true understanding of His essence does not come until we are seeking His face (not His hand), and we experience these attributes for ourselves.

Lessons in the Waiting

Wait

by Russell Kelfer

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;

Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.

I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .

And the Master so gently said, "Wait."

-
"Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply.

"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!

Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?

By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.

-
"My future and all to which I relate

Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait?

I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,

Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.

-
"You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,

We need but to ask, and we shall receive.

And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry:

I'm weary of asking! I need a reply."

-
Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,

As my Master replied again, "Wait."

So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,

And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting for what?"

-
He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .

and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.

I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.

I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

Does Jesus Care?

Have you ever wondered if Jesus really knows and cares about every detail in your life? I have at times.  Though I don't consciously wonder that very often, my actions show that I do. The Bible teaches about God's omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. Most of us who have been taught these truths would have no trouble agreeing with words that they are, indeed, truth. However, I'm ashamed to say that often our actions prove contrary to our words.

In the past few weeks, many of my prayers have been answered and events have unfolded which were undoubtedly God's doing. Unfortunately, I'm not always so quick to recognize that God is the one that is planning all of my moments. I think this is often because I fail to pray throughout my day, consulting the Lord before I make decisions. Usually, when I am conversing frequently with Him about things, it's so much more apparent when He does things that I had asked Him for or talked with Him about.