Honest Reflections

“Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul.’” (Acts 27:23-24a NIV)

Every day God says, “Do not be afraid.”

Paul is on his fourth mission trip.  This trip leads him to Rome.  Paul’s journey is not a planned one.  His journey includes a shipwreck, 2 year imprisonment and house arrest.  He shares the good news of Jesus everywhere he goes to whoever he is with at the time.  God tells him at the beginning of his trip, “Do not be afraid” (vs. 24).  

God’s most repeated command: “Do not be afraid.”

The most repeated command in the Bible is “Do Not Be Afraid.”   The words appear over 70 times in the NIV.  Typically, the next thing God does is act:

• “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today.” (Exodus 14:13)
• “Do not be afraid of them; the Lord your God himself will fight for you.” (Deuteronomy 3:22)
• “Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.” (Joshua 10:8)
• “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32)

Any of the above verses will help you overcome your fears.  Fear is what stops us from doing God’s will.  Right now, the world is facing COVID.  Fear is ruling people’s lives.  But that is not how God wants us to live.  He didn’t give us spirits of timidity.  He doesn’t want us to live fearfully.  He wants us to live boldly.

Paul lived his life boldly.   In today’s scripture he’s addressing a crew of hungry sailors. He’s telling them of the impending shipwreck.  He is not afraid, neither for himself nor them.  He trusts God completely.

If we don’t overcome our fears, we won’t fulfill God’s purpose for our lives.  

Elizabeth Elliot’s husband Jim was a missionary in Ecuador who was killed by the natives when he attempted to make contact with them.  After her husband’s death, she went to Ecuador with their 3 year old daughter, Valerie.   They lived with the tribe who murdered her husband for 2 years, bringing Christ to them.  Elizabeth Elliot believed God’s command.  She did not fear.  She fulfilled God’s purpose for her life.

Fear is a daily battle for all of us.  But God’s word is clear, we’re not to be afraid.  Don’t let fear stop you from taking the next step of your journey.  Trust God.  Trust His word.  Go boldly wherever He takes you.  Share His love with everyone you meet.

Question of the Day:

What fear is stopping you from taking the next step in your journey?

Further Reading: 1 Chronicles 9:1-10:14 NIV, Acts 27:21-44 NIV, Psalm 8 NIV, Proverbs 18:23-24 NIV

“Lord my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me,” (Psalm 7:1 NIV)

We all need someone we can count on in life.  God is the One who never lets us down.  Friends don’t always answer the phone when you call, but God does.  He gives us rest from our enemies.  He gives us refuge from the storm.  He always has an answer.  He always has a way forward.  But what does refuge in God look like in our lives?

For me, refuge in God is turning to His word.  When I was younger, I didn’t have a daily Bible reading plan like I do now.  But whenever life was going crazy, I would find a Bible and open it.  I would read whatever page I found and see if God had a word for me.  He always did.  I always found something in my random selections that applied to my situation.  I don’t know how many times this happened, but I know each time drew me back to God’s word again.  Now I take refuge in His word daily.  God’s word fortifies me for the day ahead.

God’s word fortifies me for the day ahead.

No one knows what lies ahead.  We know the battles of yesterday, but not the battles of today.  Fighting the good fight seems exhausting at times.  The lies of this world are overwhelming.  Heartache is everywhere.  Someone is always doing something awful to someone.  I get prayer requests for heart wrenching events which make me feel helpless.  I need God’s word to keep me going.  I need His place of refuge to maintain my sanity. 

God’s refuge also keeps me grounded.  When the world makes me feel crazy, God’s word makes me feel sane.  His promises hold true time and time again. Memorizing scripture helps me have a ready reply.  When I’m dealing with a particularly stressful situation, I find a scripture that applies to it.  I write the words down, and place them somewhere I will see them often.  Above my desk, I have scriptures and notes taped to the walls, reminding me of God’s goodness.  His word is my refuge.

“When I am afraid I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?” (Psalm 56:3-4 NIV)

People hurt us.  We hurt people.  The vicious circle only stops when we take refuge in God.  When we give our hurts to Him instead of taking them out on an unsuspecting victim, we find refuge.  God’s promises are true.  In Him we can trust.

God’s in charge of your problems today.   Take refuge in Him.  Let Him run the world, while You enjoy His peace.

Question of the Day:

What’s stopping you from taking refuge in God?

Further Reading:1 Chronicles 7:1-8:40 NIV, Acts 27:1-20 NIV, Psalm 7 NIV, Proverbs 18:22 NIV

“My soul is in deep anguish.  How long, Lord, how long” (Psalm 6:3 NIV)

God only knows how long the anguish will continue.  One thing is true, whatever is going on in your life, there is always good with the bad.  Deep anguish is something we will all experience.  I still hear myself scream when I found out my nephew had died.  I remember the gut wrenching tears as I wept for my loss.  When I think back on that time, I felt like my tears would never stop.  But mixed in with the anguish, I experienced good.

In the midst of my anguish, God was with me.  I felt His presence more acutely in my moments of grief than I do in my moments of joy.  He wrapped His arms around me with the people He surrounded me with at that time.  My husband has held me for countless hours as tears have flowed from my eyes.  Friends travelled from long distances to put their arms around my family.  People surrounded us in our grief, lifting us up, giving us strength, helping us move forward.  The more the news spread, the more people who came.  In our anguish, God’s presence is near.

In our anguish, God’s presence is near.

A couple of years ago, I completed a study of Job, written by Lisa Harper.  One of my favorite lessons was about the veil.  She talks of a thin veil which separates the physical world from the spiritual world.  When we are in deep anguish, the veil gets thinner.  We can see God more clearly because of our pain.  We hear God better in our anguish:

“Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”  C.S. Lewis

When we are in pain, we turn to God for answers.  Often, we don’t receive the answers we want.  Instead, we receive what we need.  God sends His angels to surround us in our time of distress.  People who will carry us through the darkest night.  When we are alone in the darkness, we have this blessed assurance:

“In my distress I cried to the Lord, and he heard me.” (Psalm 120:1 NIV)

God is with you in your anguish.  He hears your cries.  He is sending in the troops to help you through whatever difficulty you are experiencing.  His presence is closer in the midst of your pain.  The veil is thinner.  Your heartache is His heartache.  He is the One who can heal our brokenness.

Anguish is a part of life.  How long it lasts, God only knows.  Our pain draws us closer to Him.  In Him, we’ll find the light we need to survive.

Question of the Day:

How has anguish brought you closer to God?

Further Reading: 1 Chronicles 5:18-6:81 NIV, Acts 26:1-32 NIV, Psalm 6 NIV, Proverbs 18:20-21 NIV

“Listen to my words, Lord, consider my lament.” (Psalm 5:1 NIV)

Definition is key to interpretation.  When you are having a conversation with someone, you have to make sure you’re talking about the same thing.  For instance, I had a conversation with a friend once about a light.   I was talking about a table lamp, my friend was talking about a car headlight.  We didn’t realize until well into the conversation, we were talking about two different things.  Miscommunications happen easily.  Wrong definition equals wrong interpretation.

Wrong definition equals wrong interpretation.

When we’re talking to God, he never misunderstands.  He knows exactly what we mean when we pour our heart out to Him.  God understands our hearts so well, we don’t even need words to communicate with Him:

“All my longings lie open before you, Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you.” (Psalm 38:9 NIV)

I learned the reality of this verse when one of my best friend’s moved.  Her and her husband were planting a church 7 hours away.  We had grown very close in the few years we had known each other.  Living so far apart was hard to accept as reality for both of us.  The dynamic of our friendship was going to change drastically.  We both knew a chapter was ending.  We didn’t have words to voice our feelings, instead we sighed.  God knew the definition of every sigh.  No further words needed.

When we’re talking to each other, we need to work at understanding.  We have to look for points of agreement from which healthy conversation can flow.  When we talk to God, we don’t have to work as hard.  We just need to show up, making ourselves present to Him. We can let our sighs flow heavenwardly, knowing He understands the meaning.

My mom sighed.  One of the most vivid memories I have of her is sighing.  Usually right after one of her imperfect children dropped some type of bombshell on her.  Like the time I came home at Thanksgiving and showed her my new tattoo.  She sighed then.  Or when I confessed I’d flunked out of school, another sigh. Dad’s diagnosis of cancer resulted in lots of sighs.  Now I know why she sighed.  She didn’t have words to define her feelings.

When you don’t have words to define your feelings, just sigh.  Know that the language between you and God is one that He wrote.  He created a special love language only the two of you understand.  Take a deep long breath, breath He gave you.  Then let the soft swish of air release your cares to God.  He has an answer to your unspoken question.  An answer that starts with grace and ends with love.

If you don’t have words, just sigh.

Question of the Day:

When’s the last time you sighed?

Further Reading: 1 Chronicles 4:5-5:17 NIV,  Acts 25:1-27 NIV, Psalm 5 NIV, Proverbs 18:19 NIV

“A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great.” (Proverbs 18:16 NIV)

Gifts open doors.  The right gift, at the right time will get you in front of the right people.  A gift isn’t necessarily physical.  Sometimes, the best gift is presence.  Presence in the moment is the greatest gift you can give someone.  The person you give your presence to is the greatest person in your life at that moment.

I remember when I was in college.  One of my friends wanted an internship with his favorite news personality.  She had her own production company, at the time, very popular.  He looked her number up in the phone book (before the internet) and called her.  She was so impressed, he landed the interview and the job.  She told him she had a multitude of people who wanted to work with her.  But rarely did anyone just call her and ask.  Sometimes, we miss the most obvious gift because we think it’s not enough. His phone call was a gift to her, it affected her personally for some reason.  He was present in the moment with her.  Presence is better than presents.

Presence is better than presents.

I finished listening to “Maybe You Should Talk to Someone” by Lori Gottlieb this week.  One of the cases she talked about in the book was a couple who had lost a child.  The child’s death had isolated the couple from each other.  At one point, the wife says she misses her husband.  But her husband doesn’t understand why? He’s home every night, answering emails and calls from home.  She knows exactly where he is and what he is doing.  The problem is, when he is physically with her, he’s not emotionally present.

The gift of presence takes work.  We have to put our agendas aside and focus on the other person.  God has shown us the way:

“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” (Psalm 139:7 NIV)

God loves our stories. He gives us His full attention.  He doesn’t start flipping through Facebook when we tell him the same thing, yet again.  God is present in our lives.  He focuses his eyes on us.  We’re the ones who look away, not God.  God gave us Jesus, in physical form to set the example.  Jesus was present when He healed the sick, loved the unlovable and shared the truth with His followers.  His presence is the gift we need most.  Our presence is the gift others need.

God’s gift to us, Jesus, is one no one else can give. Jesus expects us to be present with others.  Our presence in other lives is a gift no one else can give.

Question of the Day:

Who needs your presence today?

Further Reading:  1 Chronicles 2:18-4:4 NIV, Acts 24:1-27 NIV, Psalm 4:1-8 NIV, Proverbs 18:16-18 NIV

“Lord, how many are my foes!  How many rise up against me!” (Psalm 3:1 NIV)

Everyone has felt outnumbered by their foes.  Our enemies aren’t necessarily people.  Sometimes life seems like the enemy.  I felt like life was getting the best of me the other day.  I walked dogs, not realizing I was out of doggie bags.  One of my medium sized clients who never poops on our walks, chose this day to poop.  The only thing I had to carry the poop with was an old pair of sunglasses.  I carefully scraped the droppings onto the sunglasses and gingerly carried my prize to a trash can.  The trash can was a ½ mile away.  

A couple of days later, I realized the sunglasses weren’t my old ones.  They were my good sunglasses.  I had to buy a pair of sunglasses.  The crappy moment kept on giving more crap.   Life’s foes outnumbered me. 

Everyone has felt outnumbered by their foes.

Crap happens to everyone, literally and figuratively.  One bad thing seems to happen after another.  A black cloud hangs over your head.  No matter what you do, nothing seems to go right.  But beautiful things come from crappy moments. 

If I hadn’t had the poop incident happen, I wouldn’t have had a belly laugh with a dear friend.  She had her own “poop” moment happen in life.  Our crappy moments turned into a chuckle, which bonded us closer together.  Beauty from ashes, laughter from tears.  Life’s moments are just that, moments.  Good or bad, they both pass.  The key in facing our foes is realizing, we’re not alone in the battle.

God is with us in our battles.  He knows the poop of life, and He knows what He’s going to do with it in our lives.  All things work to the good for those who believe and trust in Him (Romans 8:28 NIV).   He used my friend and I’s poop moment to deepen our friendship with each other.  God doesn’t waste anything,  He uses everything for His purposes.  He knows the battles we face, He’s already provided a way:

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Cor. 10:3-5 NIV)

When life’s foes are outnumbering you, seek God.   Use His weapons to fight the battle.  Turn to His people to help you gain a new perspective.  You’re not fighting alone.  God’s placed warriors in your life to fight with you.  God’s warriors outnumber our foes.

Question of the Day:

How can your poop moment turn into a victory for you?

Further Reading:  1 Chronicles 1:1-2:17 NIV, Acts 23:11-35 NIV, Psalm 3 NIV, Proverbs 18:14-15 NIV

“Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” (Psalm 2:12b NIV)

The first motion was for prayer.   God is who our forefathers looked to for guidance when they wrote the Declaration of Independence, signed on this day in 1776.  When the First Continental Congress met in September of 1774, the first motion and debate was about prayer.  John Adams, in a letter to his wife described the event:

“When the Congress met, Mr. Cushing made a motion that it should be opened with prayer. It was opposed by Mr. Jay of New York and Mr. Rutledge of South Carolina because we were so divided in religious sentiments — some Episcopalians, some Quakers, some Anabaptists, some Presbyterians, and some Congregationalists — that we could not join in the same act of worship.”

No matter what denomination we are, we all serve the same God.  Our forefathers knew this.  Samuel Adams knew this:

“… [He] could hear a prayer from any gentleman of piety and virtue who was at the same time a friend to his country.”

Prayer is our path to refuge.

Whatever you need rest from today, God is the answer.  He will give you rest.  He will restore your soul.  But you have to turn to Him to receive it.  Prayer is the first step.  Our forefathers believed this so much, their first thing they talked about was prayer.  They decided we needed prayer:

“Accordingly, next morning the Rev. Duche appeared with his Episcopal vestments and read the 35th Psalm. I never saw a greater effect produced upon an audience. It seemed as if heaven had ordained that psalm to be read on that morning.” Samuel Adams

Prayer founded our nation.  Prayer is how our forefathers took refuge in God.  Prayer does the same for us.  Take time to read the 35th Psalm today.  Think about our forefathers, gathered together, listening to Rev. Duche read the words.  God’s word formed our country.  Our nation’s trajectory was set by the Psalmist words:

God’s words started our nation.  God’s words can save our nation.  When we pray and seek refuge in Him, God will answer.  Our forefathers humbled themselves in prayer.  They sought God’s refuge before they did anything else.  We can learn from them. 

We all serve the same God.  No matter what denomination or church we attend, God is the same.  As Samuel Adams said,  what matters is the person’s heart.  When people who love God pray, we should join them.

Question of the Day:

How can you pray for our country today?

Further Reading:  2 Kings 23:31-25:30 NIV, Acts 22:17-23:10 NIV, Psalm 2 NIV, Proverbs 18:13 NIV

“As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the commander, “May I say something to you?” (Acts 21:37 NIV)

When arrested, Paul had one request, to share the gospel.  The people he’s sharing the gospel with are the ones imprisoning him.  He’s offering them the hope of eternal life, even though they treat his life so poorly.

Paul’s passion  for Jesus is inspiring. Beating and attacks were a normal part of Paul’s life.  We don’t know struggles like Paul knew struggles.  But his struggles only spurred him on more.  Paul’s arrest, to him, was opportunity to share the gospel with that particular group of people.  Paul got God.  He understood, wherever He was is where God wanted him to be.  His mission is always the same: love them like Jesus.

Paul’s arrest was an opportunity.

When God leads our life, we find ourselves in interesting situations.  Paul experienced beatings, imprisonment and a shipwreck. He had a thorn of some sort in his life God wouldn’t take away (2 Cor. 12:7-9 NIV).  His life was a life of suffering by human standards.  Yet he viewed every hardship as an opportunity to share the gospel with others.

“I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” (Acts 20: 23-24 NIV)

Each of us has our own race to run, just as Paul did.  We all have the divine task of sharing the good news of Jesus.  Writing has become a divine task for me.  I am able to share my love of God with others.  I pray my writing helps others get to know Jesus.  I pray they will fall in love with Him like I have.  I pray they will understand, He loves them.  They are never alone, God is always with them.  I pray they will grow closer to God with what they read.  Writing isn’t a chore for me, it’s a privilege.  When I write, I’m sharing the gospel with others, my divine task.

Find your race.  Seek God and ask Him, “Who can I share the good news of Jesus with today?”  Follow your passions, that’s often where you’ll find the answer.  Maybe teaching children about Jesus is your passion.  Maybe working with women who have suffered abuse, sharing Jesus’ love with them.  Or volunteering with disabled veterans who need hope in their lives that only comes from Jesus.  God has given you something you love to do.  Whatever it is, use it to talk about Jesus.

Question of the Day:

Who can you share the good news with today?

Further Reading: 2 Kings 22:3-23:30 NIV, Acts 21:37-22:16 NIV, Psalm 1 NIV, Proverbs 18:11-12 NIV

“One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys.” (Proverbs 18:9 NIV)

Laziness destroys relationships.  No matter what you do in life, relationships are a part of it.  Married or single, we have relationships with our friends, family and co-workers.  Life is about the relationships we have.  God places people in each of our lives.  We are to have relationships with them.  Relationships take work.  If we don’t work at relationships, we destroy them.  

Laziness destroys relationships.

Relationships with the people in our life requires work.  Having a good relationship with your spouse takes work, from both parties.  One person cannot do all of the work.  Having healthy relationships with your friends takes work.  One person can’t do all of the calling.  Friendship is a two way street.  Using the excuse, “You didn’t call me,” is not an excuse.  The phone works both ways.  Having a productive working relationship with your boss takes work.  You have to accept, whether you like it or not, they are your boss.  You have to respect their authority in your life.  You have to find a way to deal with them. If you can’t deal with your boss, leave.  Your boss isn’t going to change.  You are the only one who has the power to change your work environment. 

The lazier we are in our relationships, the worse the relationships are.  We take people for granted.  We know there’s a problem, but we don’t deal with it.  We don’t take responsibility for our actions.  We put the blame on others without taking any of it ourselves.  We don’t pay attention to what is going on in our loved ones lives.  We assume no news is good news, which isn’t always true.  We ignore the nudges we have to call, text or email someone.  We put our own needs before the needs of others. 

God is clear, we’re to work on our relationships:

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:2-3 NIV)

Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church says it this way:

“I want those who KNOW ME BEST to RESPECT ME MOST. That’s the true measure of SUCCESS.”  

If we want the people who know us best to respect us most, we have to work at it.  We have to take an honest evaluation of our relationships.  We have to take responsibility for our part in them.  We have to let others do the same.  Each day is a new opportunity to do better.  Laziness destroys, but hard work builds.

Question of the Day:

What relationship do you need to work on today?

Further Reading: 2 Kings 20:1-22:2 NIV, Acts 21:18-36 NIV, Psalm 150:1-6 NIV, Proverbs 18:9-10 NIV

“The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.” (Proverbs 18:8 NIV)

Gossip is sinful pleasure.  The juicy morsels of someone else’s woe secretly make us feel better.  Especially if the gossip is about someone we don’t like. The friend who betrayed your trust, what’s the harm in gossiping about them, right?  The boss who makes work difficult, gossiping about him is easy.  How about the ex-spouse, boyfriend or partner?  Hearing gossip about someone who hurt you deeply secretly brings pleasure.  We want them to suffer for the suffering they caused us.  We enjoy listening to gossip because it takes our attention away from our own problems.  Gossip is a sinful pleasure we don’t think is harmful.

Gossip is a sinful pleasure we don’t think is harmful.

Gossip is harmful.  Not only does gossip hurt the person who is it’s subject,  listening to it is harmful to us.  Gossip diverts us from the truth.

Gossip’s definition: casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true. Gossip is lying.  Gossip is making up something about someone that isn’t true. Gossip destroys relationships, devastates people and causes harm hard to repair.  Gossip destroys trust.

Gossip starts so easily, and usually innocently.

A friend of mine was recently struggling with a health issue that wouldn’t go away.   Normal treatment wasn’t effective.  Because of family history, the doctor’s checked for a brain tumor, there was none.  A few weeks later I was having lunch with a different friend.  Knowing of my other friend’s struggles, she told me she’d heard something.  When I asked her what she had heard, it was that my friend had cancer.  A total lie, somehow started innocently that spread like wildfire.  I debunked the lie immediately.

Gossip isn’t a harmless sin, it’s tendrils are long and deep.  People ruin others’ lives because of the lies they tell.  Lies we believe easily because we’d rather see the worst in people than the best.  As Christ follower’s, fighting gossip is an everyday battle we can’t avoid.

How do we fight the battle?

First we mustn’t gossip.  Set the example for others.  Don’t talk about other people. Don’t spread lies.  Don’t start rumors.  Don’t gossip.  Secondly, when someone starts to gossip to you, stop them.  Don’t allow them to lie about others.  If you know the truth, tell them the truth.  If you don’t know the truth, and they don’t know the truth, then don’t talk about the subject at all.  And when you falter and partake in gossip, confess your sin.  God already knows, confess to Him.  He’ll lead you in what to do to repair the mistake.

Gossip is juicy, but following God is juicier.

Question of the Day:

Who have you gossiped about lately?

Further Reading: 2 Kings 18:13-19:37 NIV, Acts 21:1-17 NIV, Psalm 149:1-9 NIV, Proverbs 18:8 NIV