The Quiet Still

God is often in the quiet still of the morning, and He is. Maybe because here, outside of really stepping into our day, we can hear Him.

But, what is He saying? to you? to me? Life so often is filled with unanswered questions, disappointments, and lost dreams. So, what is He saying?

“I have never left you or forsaken you.” Does He say this to you? “I have always loved you, with an everlasting love,” and, “trust me.” Does He say these things? Does He tell you how much you mean to Him? Like a lover who paints his Affection across every sunrise he sees? Does He say these things? as if, there were no other?

Because it’s often in the quiet still of the morning you will find Him.  It’s here that He’s been waiting… all along… for you.

“My lover is mine, and I am his. He feeds among the lilies! Before the dawn comes and the shadows flee away, come back to me, my love.  Run like the gazelle or a young stag on the rugged mountains!” Song of Songs 2: 16.

“I Surrender! I Surrender!”

Lately I’ve been giving a lot of thought to what God requires of us. Or maybe, what God requires of me.  Because lately, God’s really been putting me through it, to the point that I’m now down in the trenches and waving the white flag of mercy, “I surrender! I surrender!”  And this can be a tough place to be, at least for me, because, I thought I had already gone through all my surrender issues.  Apparently though, there are still some areas of my life I’ve been hanging on to, (namely, trust issues) which God not so gently pointed out to me.

Yeah, God can be tough on us sometimes, it’s true.  The longer you hang with Him and really get to know Him, you’ll see.  He’s pretty much a  stickler about everything.  Oh, sometimes He’ll go gentle on us (especially if you’re a newbie), but if you got some serious weeds, (with deep roots) He won’t hesitate to pull out a bulldozer – whatever it takes.  Unfortunately for me with this last ordeal that I’ve been through, (and I’m sorry to say am still in the midst of) God plowed me.

Now, with most of these “God plowings” God usually gives us ample opportunity to avoid them, but in this case, such as not listening to Him in the first place, (think of Jonah here) He has no choice but to amp it up, “CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?”  Me: “I think so.”  Because literally, I just took it on the chin and am now down for the count,  “1… 2…”  Well, you get my drift and the last place you want to be, is in a boxing match with God.

Now don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t outright defiance, (okay, maybe it was to some degree, the more I think about it) but it was just a little thing, really.  Kind of like Jonah and Nineveh, (okay, maybe not quite that big) but still, God was calling me on a mission, only… I kept hesitating, God kept calling, and again… I kept hesitating.  Yeah, the thing about a mission is, when God calls you, it’s going to require of you two things: something called sacrifice, and something else: faith, and lots of it.

Me: “But…”

God:  “No, no buts…”

Me:  But…”

And then this is the part where God gets really annoyed and I land flat on my back with two bad knees.

God: “I kept telling you.”

Me: “I know.  If only I had listened.”

Yeah, if only I had listened, but the thing about God is, He still has a mission, for each and every one of us.  And the thing about God is, even if we do screw it up by not trusting Him in the first place, (and yeah, those orders will self destruct in 30 seconds) He’ll send another one, until we finally do get it.

And how do I know this? Because when you’re laid up, it has a really big way of getting your attention.  Not to mention that when I walked, (and yeah, thankfully I can still walk) into the doctor’s office the other day and took a seat in the waiting room, there just so happened to be a story on the news about some guy who wrote a book on faith, (yeah, talk about divine appointment).

Now, don’t ask me to recall who the author was or even the name of the book, because that’s not what I remember.  The only thing I remember is that it followed the story of a man who was sent to prison, and once there he told God, “God, if you’ll just get me out of this mess, then you can have my life.” Or in other words: surrender.  Oh, and that man is now a pastor in an inner city somewhere making a difference in the lives of people, who really need the hope that he brings them.

God:  “CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?”

Me:  “Yes, God.  I’m going.”

When All Else Fails

It’s funny, sometimes I come to the keyboard and I think, “I just need to write something,” but what? I have no idea. Than a title pops into my head and I think to myself “I’ll write about that!” When All Else Fails.

Have you ever felt like that? You’ve gotten to a place where everything, and I mean everything has fallen away, or literally, it’s as though someone’s pulled the rug out from beneath you and what have you got left to hang onto? Well, what do you? What do you have left to hang onto?

I know for all of us, there will be times in our lives that we feel we have nothing left to hang onto. There is no one there to catch our fall or perhaps no one cares or even knows. No one notices when we hit the floor. No one that is except for one. There is one who knows, one who notices when it seems everything and everyone else has deserted us. And His name? His name is Jesus.

Does it feel as though you’re hanging by a precipice? Well if so, Jesus is there. “Take my hand,” He says. We look up, perhaps clinging to one scraggly branch, “take my hand,” He says again. “Can we trust Him?” we wonder. “Should we?” Perhaps some of us might even be blaming Him for the current state we’ve found ourselves in and then again we hear Him, “you can trust me.” He says, “take my hand. Take my hand.”

How many of us really take His hand? “Take my hand,” He says. Imagine it. The God of the Universe longs to help you. The God of the Universe knows when you have nothing left to hang onto, “take my hand” He says. “Take My hand.” And what if you do? What if you finally realize, “there is no one who will love me more. There is no one who can fix this. No one else who could possibly get me through this.” And what if you do? What if you throw everything at His feet and finally, forsaking all those little things you thought might save you, instead you say, “God, save me! Save me!” And so what if you do?

Looking up you see God’s hand outstretched to you and letting go of the very last thing you thought might save you you place your hand in His. “I won’t let go,” He says and pulling you up He sets you back on your feet and though still a mess and irregardless, “I love you,” He says, “I always have.”

If you’re hanging by a precipice take His hand, and He who died for all mankind, He alone will save you.

For 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. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:9-13).

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10).

Planting

“Open your hands,” the Lord said.
“But I have nothing,” she insisted for she didn’t, she sat destitute before His feet, crying, tears as they streamed down her face, fists clenched.
“Open your hands” He said again.
And so she looked down at them, her hands, and they were so dirty. She had been out working, working in soil that had produce for her nothing. Nothing now but dirty hands and tear stained cheeks.
“Open them,” He said again and so this time she did when much to her surprise there within her palm a tiny seed. With her other hand she held it up in wonder, “what is it?” she asked.
“You only need to know that you are to plant it,” He said.
“And then?” she asked.
“And that is all.”
“But how can that be?” she asked. “Surely wouldn’t I need to tend to it or water it even?”
“No” He said, “the rest… is up to me.”