I love stealing.
Let me rephrase that...I love stealing certain expressions from other people. I follow the music artist Lecrae on Facebook, and nearly all of his statuses become mine. They are so full of wisdom and insight, and I love stealing those tidbits to share with others.
Laura Story has a great new song out, and I'd love to steal yet again to share some of her lyrics with you. The song is called "Blessings" and I find it so powerful and compelling in light of all that has happened recently in my life and the lives of those around me. You can check out the full song (with lyrics) here.
The whole of the song is basically summed up in a question: What if the hardships of this life are God's mercies in disguise? The chorus reads:
Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near?
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?
Can you relate?
Earlier in the song is the line Your love is way too much to give us lesser things. This is so profound. I've never thought of trials as the result of Jesus loving me enough to allow nothing less. It is so utterly backward to the American way of thinking.
When we look at Scripture, however, this is precisely the truth. Hebrews 12:5-6 reads, "And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: 'My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son. Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons.'"
Christ's grace is so great that he doesn't want to short-change us out of the magnificent growth trials bring. It is all a part of the crazy love he gives us day in and day out.
"Well ok," you say, "I get that part, but how can these trials be a result of his mercy?"
From a personal standpoint, I never seem to understand the value of trials until I realize that I am a totally changed person as a result of them. My greatest periods of spiritual growth have resulted from the worst circumstances in my life. I know that if I were left alone to control my own little world as I please, I would be an utter mess. If I got my way all the time, I'd be as far away from Jesus as possible.
I am reminded of Philippians 3:19-21, which says, "Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables himto bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body."
If the only thing I'm concerned about is feeding my desires, getting my way, and controlling my life the way I want, I'm doomed. That's an earthly focus. Trials have a way of capturing our focus and training it upon the only person on whom it is due: Christ alone.
The second part of that passage references transformation. When we surrender our agendas and selfish desires and give all our attention to Jesus, we finally come to a place where he can transform us. This is how Christ demonstrates his mercy. Rather than allowing us to wallow in our selfishness and earthly desires, he sends trials to transform us and draw us closer to him.
This leads to another startling realization. Our so-called disappointments may not be disappointments after all. When trials are viewed as instruments of God's mercy, our disappointments become mere extensions of that. Not getting our way might be the biggest blessing we'll ever experience.
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy?
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise?
Trials continually bring us back to the place where we realize that Christ is all we need. Nothing in this world can possibly compare with all that he is.
Don't ever forget to listen for God's voice in the rain...his calm, reassuring, "I love you."
Showing posts with label God's Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's Love. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Cue Ram in Thicket
"Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide." Genesis 22:13-14
I love the story of Abraham. Just when I think it's going to get old, it never ceases to amaze me.
Recently I finished reading When I Lay My Isaac Down by Carol Kent. It's a very eye-opening read, especially given this woman's powerful story. In October of 1999, Carol's son--a U.S. Naval Officer--was arrested for murdering his wife's ex-husband. Jason was a Christian man full of integrity, so the news was obviously both shocking and devastating. Immediately, Carol was overwhelmed with a flood of emotions and legal complications that were hard to comprehend. However, thanks to the God she served, her and her husband emerged from the ordeal changed for the better. While her story didn't turn out the way she had hoped, she experienced the power of relinquishment in a profound way and now shares it with others.
One concept that struck me while reading this book had to do with Carol's spin on the ram in the thicket mentioned above. In the Biblical account, Abraham traveled 3 days to a spot God had chosen for him to sacrifice his one, only, and promised son Isaac. He faithfully laid down the wood, tied up his precious child, and raised the knife to kill him...until an angel of the Lord called out for him to stop. Just like in the movies, Abraham looked up and there in a bush was God's provision.
Carol waited for her ram in the thicket. She prayed for her son to be released. She waited. And wept. And prayed some more. It didn't come.
I think that at some point in our lives, we will all reach the point where that ram needs to show up. We wait and we pray and we cry, "God...any day now!" But does it always come? In Carol's case, it didn't...at least, not in an obvious way. God still provided but he chose not to answer her specific plea. Instead he brought her to the place where she could fully "lay her Isaac down" and be completely dependant on him.
The Bible talks again and again about the great faith Abraham possessed. People point to his extreme obedience as an indicator of how he trusted God to keep his promise even if that meant taking away his only hope. It's certainly painful (just ask Carol) but we can do the same. We serve a Lord who delights in bringing us to the point where he can use all of us. Many times that means breaking us until there doesn't seem to be anything left to surrender. Almost every time it requires patience.
Right now I find myself in a place where God has truly called me to wait. Being the organized person I like to think I am, this does not come easily for me. 2009 was the weirdest year of my life. Things have changed so much, but God is still so good! Many times I envision my own personal ram coming in and getting everything back to "normal." But now I'm seeing that maybe that's not God's plan. Maybe he's trying to teach me to be stretched and simply trust like Abraham did. Things probably won't ever get back to the way they were, and Jesus is teaching me to be okay with that. I'll have to learn to live in a new normal. However, I will not love God any less, and in the words of John Waller: "I'll be running the race, even while I wait."
I love the story of Abraham. Just when I think it's going to get old, it never ceases to amaze me.
Recently I finished reading When I Lay My Isaac Down by Carol Kent. It's a very eye-opening read, especially given this woman's powerful story. In October of 1999, Carol's son--a U.S. Naval Officer--was arrested for murdering his wife's ex-husband. Jason was a Christian man full of integrity, so the news was obviously both shocking and devastating. Immediately, Carol was overwhelmed with a flood of emotions and legal complications that were hard to comprehend. However, thanks to the God she served, her and her husband emerged from the ordeal changed for the better. While her story didn't turn out the way she had hoped, she experienced the power of relinquishment in a profound way and now shares it with others.
One concept that struck me while reading this book had to do with Carol's spin on the ram in the thicket mentioned above. In the Biblical account, Abraham traveled 3 days to a spot God had chosen for him to sacrifice his one, only, and promised son Isaac. He faithfully laid down the wood, tied up his precious child, and raised the knife to kill him...until an angel of the Lord called out for him to stop. Just like in the movies, Abraham looked up and there in a bush was God's provision.
Carol waited for her ram in the thicket. She prayed for her son to be released. She waited. And wept. And prayed some more. It didn't come.
I think that at some point in our lives, we will all reach the point where that ram needs to show up. We wait and we pray and we cry, "God...any day now!" But does it always come? In Carol's case, it didn't...at least, not in an obvious way. God still provided but he chose not to answer her specific plea. Instead he brought her to the place where she could fully "lay her Isaac down" and be completely dependant on him.
The Bible talks again and again about the great faith Abraham possessed. People point to his extreme obedience as an indicator of how he trusted God to keep his promise even if that meant taking away his only hope. It's certainly painful (just ask Carol) but we can do the same. We serve a Lord who delights in bringing us to the point where he can use all of us. Many times that means breaking us until there doesn't seem to be anything left to surrender. Almost every time it requires patience.
Right now I find myself in a place where God has truly called me to wait. Being the organized person I like to think I am, this does not come easily for me. 2009 was the weirdest year of my life. Things have changed so much, but God is still so good! Many times I envision my own personal ram coming in and getting everything back to "normal." But now I'm seeing that maybe that's not God's plan. Maybe he's trying to teach me to be stretched and simply trust like Abraham did. Things probably won't ever get back to the way they were, and Jesus is teaching me to be okay with that. I'll have to learn to live in a new normal. However, I will not love God any less, and in the words of John Waller: "I'll be running the race, even while I wait."
Monday, September 7, 2009
The Key
The darkness had come and gone, and now morning slowly crept up over the horizon. It crawled across plains and valleys; villages and farms...past shutters and into homes, joyously announcing that the night had gone. A new day had dawned.
The light filtered in through a lone girl's bedroom where she lay stricken upon the floor. Her blonde ringlets cascaded across her white lace nightgown, falling delicately over her shoulder as if to catch the sun's rays. Faint traces of teardrops could be seen on her pale cheeks. Her once brilliant, dazzling blue eyes had faded to a lifeless gray. In her hands she cradled a porcelain heart. It was broken in pieces, and shards of it lay scattered across the floor. The girl's shoulders heaved a sob as her eyes filled with tears.
"How long?" she choked, "How long, Oh Lord, must this ache fill my heart? I wish to be free of it and yet here I am."
Wind rustled through the trees outside her window and a chill settled over the desolate room. With it came a calming voice, "Why did you give away what was not yours to keep?"
The question was a quiet challenge, yet it was filled with only good intention.
"What do you mean?" the girl asked, raising her ashen face to the light, where the question had seemingly come.
There was a brief pause, and then two words: "Your heart," was the reply.
The girl's eyes traveled from the heart in her hands to the shattered ruin on the floor. Realization struck her with shame, "Oh Jesus," she cried in agony, "Forgive me!"
As she fell to her knees, the pieces of her porcelain heart slipped out of her hands and crashed to the floor. The tears came flowing freely as she sobbed with her face to the ground. Her entire frame shook under the weight of what she'd done.
How could I? she asked herself, After all he's done...the love he's lavished on me? How could I turn and give my heart away to someone else?
When she finally lifted her face minutes later, it was pallid and somnolent. Raising her gaze back to the sun, she gasped as she saw where the light had fallen. Her porcelain heart lay fixed in front of her, basking in a pool of bright warmth with all its pieces set back in place. A few cracks graced the otherwise smooth surface, and as she leaned closer she noticed something else. At the top of the heart was a tiny keyhole...a sort of golden lock. Next to it a small gold key lay upon the floor, gleaming brightly.
"What is this Lord?" she stammered, incapable of saying anything else.
"Your heart, dear one. I have mended it."
She picked it up ever so gently and held it to the light to examine his work.
"The cracks," she wondered silently, fingering their jagged paths across the heart's glassy facade.
"To remind you of your past, so that you may choose wiser in the future," the voice replied.
"And...the key?" she asked.
"That is the key to your heart, daughter. You are free to do with it as you please."
"Can I give it away?"
"To anyone you so wish," the warm voice spoke again.
"To anyone I so wish..." the girl repeated, and then her face grew somber when she remembered his earlier words, "But it is not mine to keep!"
"You're right, my love," her father replied, "That is why I can keep it for you; and then only I can give it away to the right man when the time comes."
The girl reached for the key and her hand trembled as she picked it up. She turned it over in her palm for a brief moment and then slowly got to her feet. She gathered her skirts as she rose, raking a deep breath.
"I have made my choice, Father," she said, her tone quivering slightly, "I shall give the key to my heart to you." With that, she lifted it, cradled in both hands, up to the ceiling.
"Do with it as you wish, Lord," she added, her voice gaining courage with each syllable, "I trust you to give it to the right person when you will it."
She could hear the smile in his voice as he replied, "Well done, my bride. I am very well pleased."
"The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."
-Psalm 34:18
"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."
-Psalm 27:4
Click to listen to the song "Porcelain Heart" by BarlowGirl.
The light filtered in through a lone girl's bedroom where she lay stricken upon the floor. Her blonde ringlets cascaded across her white lace nightgown, falling delicately over her shoulder as if to catch the sun's rays. Faint traces of teardrops could be seen on her pale cheeks. Her once brilliant, dazzling blue eyes had faded to a lifeless gray. In her hands she cradled a porcelain heart. It was broken in pieces, and shards of it lay scattered across the floor. The girl's shoulders heaved a sob as her eyes filled with tears.
"How long?" she choked, "How long, Oh Lord, must this ache fill my heart? I wish to be free of it and yet here I am."
Wind rustled through the trees outside her window and a chill settled over the desolate room. With it came a calming voice, "Why did you give away what was not yours to keep?"
The question was a quiet challenge, yet it was filled with only good intention.
"What do you mean?" the girl asked, raising her ashen face to the light, where the question had seemingly come.
There was a brief pause, and then two words: "Your heart," was the reply.
The girl's eyes traveled from the heart in her hands to the shattered ruin on the floor. Realization struck her with shame, "Oh Jesus," she cried in agony, "Forgive me!"
As she fell to her knees, the pieces of her porcelain heart slipped out of her hands and crashed to the floor. The tears came flowing freely as she sobbed with her face to the ground. Her entire frame shook under the weight of what she'd done.
How could I? she asked herself, After all he's done...the love he's lavished on me? How could I turn and give my heart away to someone else?
When she finally lifted her face minutes later, it was pallid and somnolent. Raising her gaze back to the sun, she gasped as she saw where the light had fallen. Her porcelain heart lay fixed in front of her, basking in a pool of bright warmth with all its pieces set back in place. A few cracks graced the otherwise smooth surface, and as she leaned closer she noticed something else. At the top of the heart was a tiny keyhole...a sort of golden lock. Next to it a small gold key lay upon the floor, gleaming brightly.
"What is this Lord?" she stammered, incapable of saying anything else.
"Your heart, dear one. I have mended it."
She picked it up ever so gently and held it to the light to examine his work.
"The cracks," she wondered silently, fingering their jagged paths across the heart's glassy facade.
"To remind you of your past, so that you may choose wiser in the future," the voice replied.
"And...the key?" she asked.
"That is the key to your heart, daughter. You are free to do with it as you please."
"Can I give it away?"
"To anyone you so wish," the warm voice spoke again.
"To anyone I so wish..." the girl repeated, and then her face grew somber when she remembered his earlier words, "But it is not mine to keep!"
"You're right, my love," her father replied, "That is why I can keep it for you; and then only I can give it away to the right man when the time comes."
The girl reached for the key and her hand trembled as she picked it up. She turned it over in her palm for a brief moment and then slowly got to her feet. She gathered her skirts as she rose, raking a deep breath.
"I have made my choice, Father," she said, her tone quivering slightly, "I shall give the key to my heart to you." With that, she lifted it, cradled in both hands, up to the ceiling.
"Do with it as you wish, Lord," she added, her voice gaining courage with each syllable, "I trust you to give it to the right person when you will it."
She could hear the smile in his voice as he replied, "Well done, my bride. I am very well pleased."
"The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."
-Psalm 34:18
"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."
-Psalm 27:4
Click to listen to the song "Porcelain Heart" by BarlowGirl.
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