Cane River...but the best is yet to come!

     "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners...but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.  He is like a tree planted by streams of living water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers." (Ps.1:1-3)
     I've always loved the imagery of this beautiful psalm--don't we all want to be like that "tree planted by streams of living water?"  Yes, Lord, might it be so for our family and friends that we would be like those trees standing strong in Your Living Water.
     But when I read these words of God, He reminds me of Cane River.  Those ever-flowing streams of living, vibrant, sparkling water...surrounded by lush, green trees...sunlight flowing through the canopy overhead and dancing on the water.  And the sound of those rushing waters? I'm sitting outside on the porch right now listening to their achingly beautiful melody.  Ah, like a divine, ceaseless symphony of peace and praise to the Maker of the heavens and the earth.
     Cane River--just the tiniest taste of heaven.  Surrounded by God's wild, majestic creation--

And enveloped by the love of family--

 (on the truck getting ready to head out fishing)

 (all gathered on the porch of the old log cabin)

 (discussing the day and plotting strategy for the next outing on the stream)

 (a few good men just back from "slaying them"--though we throw back all the fish!  Believe me, the magnificent Rainbow, Brook and Brown trout are safe when the Preyer/Oglesby/Fountain crew arrives!)

 (more than a few good men enjoying being together)

 (Peter intent on catching a big one)

(Mary Norris at Upper Blue Sea Falls.  This doesn't begin to do the falls justice--it's huge and generates a powerful wind from the streaming, powerfully flowing waters.  Truly does make you want to raise your hands in praise to our glorious Creator and Sustainer!  Only our God!)
      Father, thank You for the priceless gift of this world.  If this beauty all around us is only the pale and poor imitation of the "real" and perfect heaven and earth that will one day be revealed, can you even begin to imagine what God has in store for us?!  "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him" (I Cor.2:9)
     Might we remember, when we're struggling through one of those hard, dark days that life inevitably hands all of us, that the best truly is yet to come.  It's not a cliche...it's rock-solid, wondrous Truth.  Our Awesome God who can craft the waterfall, the singing stream, the swaying trees, and the priceless and irreplaceable people in our lives is now, even at this very moment, lovingly and creatively preparing the perfect place for His beloved children.
       So thank You, Lord, for the gifts of Your creation.  Thank You for eyes to see them, ears to hear them, lips to sing of Your praise, and hands to raise in joy.  And most of all, thank You for the privilege of loving You and those You have placed in our lives for our short time on earth.  Help us to love You--and them--well.  We fail so often--but Your grace abounds and Your mercies are new every morning.  Oh thank You, Father, for forgiveness and fresh starts.
     And thank You for the joyous promise of heaven.  We can't imagine...but we rejoice in the certain hope of the wonders just ahead...
     To God be the glory.

What's your treasure?

     "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Mt.6:21)
     Oh don't we all need to be reminded that what we treasure reveals our heart's deepest desires and direction.  And when we start treasuring the wrong things, it's time to reevaluate, repent, and return to our priceless treasure: the Lord Jesus.
     But boy, it's so easy to get off track, isn't it?  And it can be such a seemingly slight and subtle movement off course.  We slowly begin to veer towards the world's pale and poor imitations of treasure and away from our greatest, truest Treasure.  It's a little here, a little there. a tiny move in the wrong direction...and the next thing you know, you're waaaaaay off course.  Missing God's best.  Losing the peace and joy only He can give.  Forfeiting the gifts His grace generously bestows when we're walking in His will.
     C.S.Lewis put it so powerfully in The Screwtape Letters: "It does not matter how small the sins are, provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into Nothing.  Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick.  Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one--the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts."
     Oh Father, protect us from such indifference to You and Your Word!  Lead us relentlessly towards the Light and give us strength, every day, every hour, to choose rightly.  Help us in our daily lives to see You high and lifted up, rather than to focus on ourselves, our circumstances, and our often selfish desires.  Jesus is our greatest treasure and the surest source of infinite and indefatigable joy...not our possessions...not our pleasures...not our success...not our healing...not our comfort...not even our families and those we love most dearly.  
     It's funny the things God uses.  A few minutes ago I was trying to figure out how to delete a few photos from our overburdened computer.  But, being a techno-moron, I accidentally deleted the entire photo library.  ALL OF IT!   Every picture from our daughter's wedding; every picture of family and friends from the past few years; every picture of the grandparents; every picture of old Moses before he died and Bingley as a puppy; every picture of high school graduation, college graduation, state championships; every picture of family vacations; every picture of proms and school events; every picture of birthdays...ALL OF IT GONE!
     Let me tell you, for a techno-moron, this was not only a terrible, horrible, helpless feeling...this was a DISASTER.  I tried pushing every button I could find to restore it.  I asked the computer's "Help" button in a million different ways how to find it.  (Note to self: my definition of "help" and the computer's definition of "help" vary dramatically.  Computer jargon that only a Ph.D can understand is not "help" in my world.)
     The panic began to rise as I realized I had foolishly and quite literally thrown away the most important thing saved on our computer--our cherished photos of loved ones.  And no matter what I did, I couldn't get them back.  My ignorance and inattention had lost them seemingly forever.
     Here's the ridiculously good news--after nearly 45 fruitless, frustrating minutes, God somehow led me to push some button (I still don't know which one it was) and bing--they magically and wondrously reappeared.  I couldn't believe it.  I wanted to weep with relief and joy that the treasure I thought I'd lost, had been found.
     Remind you of any stories Jesus told in the New Testament?  About lost coins, lost sheep, or lost pearls?
     Suddenly I didn't care a whit about the laundry or the dishes or the golf schedule or the yard or the items on my to do list.  All I could think about for that moment was those irreplaceable pictures.
     But what are some pictures in comparison to the Treasure of treasures?  Even those pictures--of far more value to me than most material possessions--pale into nothingness when measured against the masterpiece of our Redeemer.  One day those pictures will all fade into oblivion.  They will be completely forgotten...but our Lord reigns forever and ever.  Hebrews 13:8 says "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."
     Think of that--the same power...the same love...the same grace...the same goodness...the same beauty...the same forgiveness...the same majesty...the same compassion...the same glory today as He had two thousand years ago...and as He will have two trillion years from now.
     Jesus is the Treasure that never fades or weakens or dims.  Ever.  What else in your life can you say that about?  Nothing...save the Word of God.  And His Word describes Jesus, our Living Word.
     So it all comes down to the question: what is your treasure?
     Or as John Piper once probed, "What is your deepest root of joy?  What God gives to you?  or what God is to you?"
     Jesus, You are our Pearl.  You are our Treasure.  Anything less than our Savior as the exalted Sovereign King of our lives and as the Treasure of our hearts will ultimately lead to emptiness and loss.  But when Jesus is our Treasure, as Piper says, "the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be our shepherd, and He will guide us to springs of living water, and He will wipe away every tear from our eyes." (Rev.7:17)  Christ will be our "everlasting pleasure."  Hallelujah!
     To God, our beautiful Treasure, be all the glory.

Not last monday...but today

     Yesterday morning, I awoke and found myself saying, "Oh boy, I wish it were last Monday."  Why?  Because last Monday we were all in the mountains...delighting in the beauty and the coolness and the "margin" (no schedule, no rushing, no urgent agenda)...and especially enjoying all the fine, young fellows who were staying with us for a golf tournament.  There's just nothing like the excitement, energy, and fun of being away together with family and friends.
     So yep, yesterday, as I awoke and thought of getting back to a more normal routine with all it's chores and ordinary, run-of-the-mill concerns, well, I missed the mountains and the freedom and the crazy fun of the adventure that lay before us.  Now it was back to the everyday...and that seemed somehow dull and grey in comparison to a week earlier.
     Yet the moment those words left my mouth, that still, small voice whispered--"This is the only Monday, June 23, 2014 you'll ever have.  This is your one shot at this particular gift of a day.  Are you going to waste it by wishing it away?  Are you going to throw it away on the ash heap of regret?  Are you going to disdain the irreplaceable gift of these 24 hours graciously given to you by Your Sovereign Father?"
      Oh shame on us when we waste even one day God so generously hands to us by looking back with regret or looking ahead with worry.  No, this present moment--that's why they call it "present"--is God's gift of today.  That's all we have folks--right now.
     Yes, praise the Lord, we have the glories of heaven ahead of us, but these irreplaceable moments today are all God has given us to enjoy and savor.  Yesterday--gone.  Tomorrow--not yet.  What's the point of regretting what's done or worrying about what's future.  We may not be here tomorrow.  Do we really want to waste these few moments we have today in fretting or fussing or worrying or wringing our hands?
     The words to Hebrews (what else?  But that's what I'm studying this summer) keep coming back to me: "Today if you hear His voice do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness." (Heb.3:7)  And "But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today,' that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." (Heb.3:12) And "again He appoints a certain day, 'Today,' saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, 'Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." (Heb.4:7)
     Today matters.
     "Today is the day of salvation." (2Cor.6:2)
     "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Ps.118:24)
     Today is the day we can worship and thank and praise our Lord for who He is and what He has done.
     Today is the day we can love those God has placed in our lives.
     Today is the day we can forgive.
     Today is the day we can count our blessings rather than recounting our woes.
     Today is the day we can obey what God has told us to do--whether it's writing a letter to encourage a friend or reading a book with our child or unselfishly serving a family member or appreciating our spouse (and telling them!) or truly savoring the sunset or simply enjoying the gift of laughter with someone we love.
     Stop waiting for tomorrow.  Stop worrying about what's past or what's ahead.  Live the abundant, eternal,  loving, faithful, joyful life Jesus died to give you, now...right now.  
     Today.  And you know what--our forever faithful Savior will be right there with us tomorrow as well.  So let's leave the future--and the past--in His hands.  And trust and rest in Him today.
     To God be the glory.
   

When it's just one of those days...

     A very worn out Mr. Bingley can tell you: it's been a tough couple of days--

     This is not the kind of exhaustion caused by happy squirrel chasing or joyful dog frolicking.  Nor is our puppy whipped after a nice, long walk or a relaxing swim.  Nope, sadly, this is a bone-weary, crummy-feeling tiredness...the kind that, in us two-legged creatures, can strike with ferocity when we're discouraged or disgruntled or defeated.  Almost nothing in this world harder than that kind of weariness, is there?
     Let me explain.
     Last week was all joy and happiness for Mr. B and the rest of our crew.  Surrounded by the magnificent mountains...savoring the blessed coolness...enjoying freedom from the daily grind of chores back at home...and relishing time to breathe, read, write, and think.  "Margin," I think it's called.  Margin, plus family and friends, plus God's stunning mountains--yes, a good, good week to be sure.
     But then, it was back to "reality."  Meaning--arriving home in the early evening to a home that clocked in close to 90 degrees.  A broken air conditioner quickly lead to busted attitudes. Where had that joyful, rested, grateful vacation spirit gone?  We'd left the mountains at 77 degrees and returned to Raleigh at 95 degrees...with our furnace-like house not far behind.  Too bad we weren't in the mood for hot yoga.  But we most definitely were not in the mood.
     After unloading in the stifling humidity--inside and out--for what seemed like hours, it was time for laundry, unpacking, cleaning up, and finally facing the hard reality of that lengthy to-do list that I'd happily forgotten about for a week.
     By the way, have you noticed that to-do lists never seem to diminish when left alone?  No sir, they multiply exponentially, like bacteria spore under a heat lamp.  Those lists just fester and grow uglier, longer, and more urgent.
     Happily, for a distressingly large amount of money (since it was after-hours), the very nice man from the AC/Heating company fixed our problem, and we were back in business...well, that is, after about 24 hours since that's how long it took the house to recover from the shock of the sauna conditions.
     The next day, however, things were looking up...the house was down to a cool 79 degrees, and I only had about 3 more loads of laundry to finish up...well, that and the dreaded to-do list.  But still, progress.  That night (i.e. last night) we went out for a fun family dinner and had a big time--seriously, one of God's greatest gifts has to be good food combined with great fellowship!  And waiting for us back home was another of God's finest gifts--chocolate cake.  Oh yeah, things were definitely looking up.
      Until we opened the door.  I won't go into details except to quote my husband's exclamation last night: "Oh no, Bingley had a sick stomach!"  The rest of us could smell it even outside the kitchen door.
     Then as he walked inside, he yelled, "Oh no, Bingley has had another sick stomach!' (By the way, wasn't that a nice, quaint way to describe it?  I never knew my husband was a poet.  I'm sure Bingley appreciated the dignity and restraint employed by his "daddy.")
     Finally, a moment later--as more of the horrors awaiting us unfolded, Richard screamed, "Oh no, a third one!  Grab the paper towels and clorox now!"
     Here's the really remarkable thing--I don't recall seeing hide nor tail of Preyer or Peter after Richard's first exclamation.  I've never seen those boys move so fast.  They vanished within milliseconds and were not located again for a good half hour.  Gee, thanks guys.
     So it was left to good old Dad, Mom, and Janie (bless her heart--way to hang in there, girl!) to cover our noses as best we could and clean up the kitchen.  Bingley looked pathetic--so sad, so disappointed in himself, and so confused by all our gagging.  Yes, it was a lovely ending to the day.  For the first time in my life, I wasn't all that interested in chocolate cake, if you know what I mean.
     Some days are just like that, aren't they?  In fact, that's simply the cyclical nature of life--some days we inhale the mountain top air of contentment, rest, and happiness.  Others, well, it's choking on the garbage dump of exhaustion, failure, and discouragement.
     But here's the thing--we have the choice as to whether we'll complain or commit it to the Savior.  Whether we'll focus on the mess and all that we lack or fix our eyes on the Messiah and all that we possess in Him.  And whether we'll resent the circumstances God has given us or rejoice in our God whose over all those circumstances.
     Let me be honest here--I often flunk the test...at least initially.  But here's the glorious thing about our God and His Word--the more we immerse ourselves in His Word, the more He speaks to us through it and can correct and change us mid-course.
     And our God can move us in a moment from fussing and fretting to praising and trusting.  Only our Lord can take an ugly, thankless, complaining heart and transform it in the twinkling of an eye into a heart overflowing with gratitude for His glorious grace and goodness.  Through His Word, our God replaces our worry with worship.
     Here's how He did it with me: by glancing at a simple verse framed in our house, "Do all things without grumbling or disputing." (Phil.2:14)  I can't explain it, but reading those words suddenly jerked me back to the real reality--the real reality that God is right here in the midst of all the messiness of our lives. That He is present, that He is moving and active, and that He is using it all, somehow, someway, for His greater glory and our ultimate good.
     Funny how quickly we forget...and sometimes all we need is a quick little reminder to hit "reset."  Reset our attitude, return to our sovereign King, and rejoice in His continual grace in our lives.
     Once God reminded me, He brought to mind the wonderful verses I've been reading this summer from Hebrews: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight [like complaining, self-pity, and ingratitude] and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted." (Heb.12:1-3)
       Says it all, doesn't it?  Lay aside the weight of all that sin and shame, fix your eyes on Jesus, and keep running your race.  Not your neighbor's race...your God-given race.
     And while you're running, keep looking to Jesus; keep seeking His grace for another day; keep asking for His love and wisdom to deal with whatever you're facing;  keep trusting in His perfect provision for your race; and keep rejoicing in Him who has already run the race for you and with you.
     So, thank You Jesus for all of it--the mountains, the friends and family, the coolness, the heat, the sickness, the mess...and the Messiah over all of it!  Help us to keep running our race with joy, looking to You, rejoicing in You, and living for You.  'Cause You've got it all, every single bit of it.  And You will carry us through to the finish line.
     To God be the glory.

Gifts of Friendship!

     "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work; If one falls down, his friend can help him up.  But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!" Ecc.4:9-10
     The house at Roaring Gap is a lot quieter now...and it makes me sad.  We've had the privilege and joy of having a bunch of Raleigh boys up here for a golf tournament, but most of them have gone home now...and we miss them all.  We miss the noise and energy and fun of all those friends joking and laughing and eating and chatting and cheering for basketball and soccer games on TV and sitting on the porch at night.
     You know, here we are surrounded by astounding beauty at every turn--and it is wonderful--but even God's lovely creation pales in comparison to the treasure of friendship.
   Thank You, Lord, for the irreplaceable gifts of our friends and our children's friends.  Each one a unique little gem of Your handiwork.  And each friend a gift from the Father in the life of one another.  Friends prove yet further evidence of our Lord's absolute sovereignty and complete goodness.                     C.S.Lewis put it this way: "But in friendship...we think we have chosen our peers.  In reality, a few years' difference in the dates of our births, a few more miles between certain houses, the choice of one university instead of another, posting to different regiments, the accident of a topic being raised or not raised at a first meeting--any of these chances might have kept us apart.  But, for the Christian, there are strictly speaking, no chances.  A secret Master of Ceremonies has been at work."
      Aren't you thankful we have such a "secret Master of Ceremonies?"  Aren't you thankful for friends?
       Just a few memories of the gift of friendship our boys have enjoyed over the past few days here in the mountains--
      One of Preyer's best buddies warming up and getting ready to play--

   And then there was the cookout the first night--lots of buddies.  Now there's an unbeatable combination--food and friendship!  Oh yeah!  Thank You Lord!

     Peter getting ready to caddie for Preyer.  We won't mention that Preyer "fired" him after a couple of holes since the bag was too heavy for Peter to carry!  But thank You, Father, for the priceless gift of brothers and sisters!

     Then there was the whole Raleigh gang following Peter when he was in a playoff.  "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." (Prov.27:17)  Thank You, Lord, for the way You use friends in  our children's lives (and in ours!) to sharpen and refine us.

     And one more--four irreplaceable boys from One magnificent Creator!  Pure joy!

     Makes me smile with happiness just looking at it...and remembering that every precious friend comes straight from the hand and heart of our generous, gracious Lord.
      Oh Lord, forgive us when we take for granted the remarkable and astounding gift of family and friends.  You crafted each one of them and divinely placed them in our lives.  Help us to be wise, good, and kind friends to those You have so lavishly given to us. Might we love them as Jesus has loved us.          Thank You, Father, for all Your good gifts.  To God be the glory.  

Creation and rustling pages

     "Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all peoples!  For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods...Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it!  Then shall all the trees, of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for He comes, for He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness." (Psalm 96:1-4,11-13)
      Another day glimpsing God's glory in the mountains.

The boys swimming with Bingley--

     And the other night, we sat on the porch and enjoyed a spectacular light show as the moon slowly rose over the horizon.  Beginning as a tiny thumbnail of orange on the edge of the horizon, the bright orange disk gradually grew and grew until it lit up the sky with it's deep amber brilliance.  What a mighty God we serve who has created such a magnificent heaven and earth!

      C.S. Lewis wrote, "At present we are on the outside of the world, the wrong side of the door.  We discern the freshness and purity of the morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure.  We cannot mingle with the splendors we see.  But all the leaves of the New Testament are rustling with the rumor that it will not always be so.  Someday, God willing, we shall get 'in'...We will put on glory...that greater glory of which nature is only the first sketch."
     Looking around the mountains, that splendor surrounds us at every turn...it is a beauty that causes a bittersweet joy and ache.  A realization that this is but the tiniest glimpse into the perfect heaven and earth which shall one day be reality.
     It is the here and now...but not yet.  And so we wait in that sometimes wondrous, sometimes painful in-between.  Praising the Creator for His magnificent creation...yet knowing and trusting that one glorious day, "we shall get 'in'" and witness firsthand His finished, awesome masterpiece.
     On that wonderful day, we too, shall be finished and perfected works to the glory of our God.  Oh how far I have to go in my present sinful, selfish state.  Ugh, so much ugly me and not enough of my beautiful Savior.
      But, praise God, He is not finished with me, or any of us, yet...just as He is not finished with this magnificent world.  Thank You, Father, for the promise and hope of the rustling of those leaves in our New Testament...thank You for the promise of glory.  Thank You for the One who is even now, rustling those pages and who is the Word, our Redeemer and Perfecter, the Lord Jesus.
     To God be the glory.
       

Happy Father's Day!

     Happy Father's Day!  Thank You, Father, for our fathers--earthly and heavenly.  I have been doubly, no triply blessed: the gift of my wonderful Daddy, now in heaven.  Then the gift of my husband and the amazing dad he is to our children.  And finally, the unfathomable gift of my Heavenly Father.  
     Nothing profound here--just thankful.  And realizing it's grace.  Start to finish--grace upon grace upon grace.  None of us deserve our dads.  None of us could ever begin to deserve the love and approval and forgiveness and blessing of our Heavenly Father.  And yet He gives it.  He pours it out upon us in the gift of His Son, the Lord Jesus.  And in response?  Profound, humble gratitude.
     Just last night, we celebrated our daddy and the gift of love.  And of family.  It was what Ann Voskamp once referred to as a "cathedral moment."  A cathedral moment that passes all too quickly where you recognize--in that very moment--the joy of life's ordinary, simple, but oh so wondrous times.  Our cathedral moment was a simple dinner at the lake with almost all our children (only missing Mary Norris' husband Matt who had to be out of town).  It was pure happiness.  Just sitting together, laughing, talking, and eating.  Seriously, what could be better?  I wouldn't have traded those minutes around the table for a trip around the world--and that's a good thing since that ain't happening in this lifetime!  I truly think about nothing in this big wide universe beats sharing a good meal with the people you adore.
     So thank You, Lord, for the gift of simple, joyous moments shared with those we love.  Happy Father's Day to our earthly and Heavenly Daddies!

     Give us eyes to truly grasp these cathedral moments where our God breaks into common, everyday life and infuses it with His gracious, generous gifts of love.  To God be the glory.

Fog, Footsteps, and Faith

     I read a verse the other day that continues to rattle through my brain: "Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen." (Ps.77:19)
     The psalmist had been recalling what God had done for His people in the past.  He recounted how the Israelites, under Moses, were freed from enslavement in Egypt, miraculously delivered through the Red Sea, and then led through the wilderness towards the promised land.
     But this verse struck--and in particular these words--struck me: "yet your footprints were unseen."
     Isn't that so often how our God works and moves?  Quietly.  Hidden.  Unseen and undetected...until suddenly his relentless and indefatigable handiwork is revealed.
     But what are we doing all the while "his footprints were unseen?"  Well, all too often, while His unseen hand is painting a masterpiece, we're doubting, worrying, fussing, and fretting.  We quickly cry out--doesn't He see?  Doesn't He care?  Why won't He act?
     No, the problem lies not with our God but with our vision.  What we cannot see, we do not believe.  But that's the antithesis of faith--"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Heb.11:1)
     Faith is believing without seeing.  Faith is believing that even when we cannot see, God is faithfully and perfectly moving things into place, doing things we cannot imagine, and bringing all things to their best and ideal conclusion.
     I'm learning that if we want to experience the kind of rest that means deep soul contentment, true joy, and worry-less trust, we've got to believe God's Word.  Choose to place our trust in what the Lord of the universe has said rather than in feelings or inclinations or opinions. We've got to base our lives on something--will it be the changeless truth of God's Word or our ever-changing emotions and ideas?
     John Piper says this of Hebrews 11:1--"Faith has at least these two components: one is the conviction that there is a great unseen God who exists absolutely and does not depend upon us in the least.  And the other is the assurance that this great unseen God is a God of love and bounty and free and sovereign grace for all who seek Him in truth."
     Yes, even when his "footprints were unseen," God has always been at work in this world.  And even when his footprints seem hidden in our lives, He is just as surely and certainly working and moving...for our good and His glory.
     Our first morning in the mountains, we awoke to gaze out over the valley from our porch and saw...absolutely nothing.  We could see nada--save a thick, impenetrable wall of fog.  Quite literally, we could glimpse nothing but a complete grey whiteout in front of our faces.  There was no evidence of any kind of world beyond that fog--not even of the yard right before us.
     Yet was that yard still there?  Were all those trees still there?  Had the valley below disappeared simply because we couldn't see it?  Of course not!  How ridiculous a notion to think that our limited vision and perception could alter the immovable truth of what in reality lay out there beyond the fog.  We couldn't glimpse it...but it was all still there in all it's resplendent glory--the lush green of the trees, the beautiful blue of the valley.  All still there.
     One morning we glimpsed nothing but a blanket of thick, wet, impenetrable grey.  But this morning we saw this--

God's glory on full display.  His "footsteps" now clearly revealed in the beauty of the mountains and the valley.
     Oh might we remember--God is always there.  He is always working.  He is always good and gracious.  He always has the perfect plan and the ideal way...whether we see it or not.  Whether we "feel" it or not.
     Give us the faith, Father, to see the unseen and to trust the truth of Your Word.  Clear the fog of our sin and unbelief that we might experience the abundant, joyful, contented, peaceful, purposeful life You came to give us.  
     To God be the glory.

The mountains, finally, and resting

     It was the usual mad dash to get the car packed--and I mean packed.  A few unnamed individuals in our family turn the tiniest bit grumpy when we pack...has something to do with another unnamed individual's propensity to pack waaaaaay too much.  But that's an issue for another day.
     The point is, when we finally crammed ourselves, the dog, the food, the golf clubs, the clothes, the tennis rackets, the dog toys, the games, the books, and the computers into the car...all the rushing and huffing and puffing and grumbling ceased.  We were on our way, and what had seemed totally not worth it 5 frazzled minutes earlier, now seemed abundantly, incredibly worth it now.  Already the sky looked slightly bluer and the future looked brighter...and we had just turned onto the highway heading west.
     And then, about an hour or two later, we saw it: our first glimpse of the mountains--

 The highway threaded it's way towards our distant goal--God's foothills.  For the first time in months, I truly exhaled and felt the stress of life begin to evaporate.
     When we arrived, Bingley, of course, went crazy.  He'd never smelled such a staggering abundance of smells or seen so much green, open territory.  Or maybe he sensed our joy...but he surely appeared to have an ever-present smile on his face.  When we got outside and sat on the porch, he was at DEFCON I.  Staring intently out over the valley, he was poised and ready to leap or bark or run at the slightest provocation.  If only my children were this alert when we're talking to them.  Yeah, well Bingley doesn't have a cell phone.

Here's what he was looking at so intently--

     And a little later, it looked like this--

     I've been reading a lot about rest in Hebrews, and I must say, this is rest.  A time to finally put down all those burdens of schedules, school, responsibilities, worries, chores, to do lists and simply breathe deep of God's beauty and grace.  Sloooow down.  Listen to Him in His Word.  Gaze at Him in His creation.  Worship Him.  Thank Him--not thanking Him just for answering your prayers, but thanking Him for being your Abba, your Daddy.  Love Him and love His gifts and love the treasure of His people in your life. 

     Eugene Peterson says, "We stop, whether by choice or through circumstance, so that we can be alert and attentive and receptive to what God is doing in and for us, in and for others, on the way.  We wait for our souls to catch up with our bodies."  

     That's part of the unmitigated wonder of summer--a priceless opportunity for our souls to catch up with our bodies as we gaze upon the ocean waves and feel the warm sand between our toes...or as we stare slack jawed at the blueness of the valley below contrasted with the verdant green of the mountains around us...or maybe as we simply unplug from life's crazy busyness and savor the stillness or the sun or the summer book read.  

     "Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Mt.11:28-30)  

      Maybe when our souls catch up with our bodies, we remember that Jesus not only gives us rest, He is our rest.  In Him, our restless souls find deep satisfaction, true contentment, and fullness of joy.  Oh might we hand Him our burdens and enter His glorious rest this summer.  

     Thank You, Father, for rest.  Might we daily reflect upon You, rest in You, and then respond in obedience and love.  For it's in that resting that we can rise up singing.  

     To God be the glory.

Where are you wallowing?

     Anybody read Psalm 77 lately?  Wow, talk about a major change of direction!  But isn't that the kind of God we serve?  Our Lord is a supernaturally-turn-it-all-around-sometimes-when-you- least-expect-it-and-most-desperately-need-it, kind of God!  We forget sometimes, don't we?
    While reading this Psalm this morning, I was struck by how discouraged and defeated the people of God obviously were.  The first part of the Psalm laments their desperate and dark plight. Verses like "In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted.  When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. You hold my eyelids open [sleeplessness combined with worry or discouragement--a lethal combination]; I am so troubled that I cannot speak...Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable?  Has His steadfast love forever ceased?  Are His promises at an end for all times? Has God forgotten to be gracious?  Has He in anger shut up His compassion?" (Ps.77:2-9)
     Whew, what a picture of despair.  But haven't you ever known the feeling?  When your prayers seem to be rising no higher than your ceiling...and the way ahead looks foreboding...and God seems unconcerned and unresponsive.
     So what do we do when we're in that dark place?
     Well, all too often, here's our tendency: wallow in it.
     Wallow in our worry.
     Wallow in our fear and fretting.
     Wallow in our frustration and discouragement.
     And that means turning all that toxic mess over and over in our minds--especially at night.  (Ever been wakened in the wee hours of darkness and that negative tape begins playing in your head?) And judging God's faithfulness by our feelings at the moment.  And pigheadedly viewing everything through our myopic lens of self-preoccupied pity and worry.  Geez, so effective, right?  Wrong!  And so totally contrary to the Word.
      Because here's what this seemingly distraught Psalmist does.  Rather than focusing upon all his mess, he choose to focus instead upon God's massive faithfulness, goodness, and glory.
     Look at the very next verse--right after declaring "Has God forgotten to be gracious?  Has He in anger shut up His compassion?" the Psalmist chooses to turn 180 degrees and answers his own question with powerful words.  "Then I said, 'I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.'  I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember Your wonders of old.  I will ponder all your work, and meditate on Your mighty deeds.  Your way, O God, is holy.  What god is great like our God?  You are the God who works wonders; You have made known your might among the peoples." (Ps.77:10-14)
      Now we're talking!  That's how we're to respond when discouragement stalks us or worry steals our peace--we have to choose to change our focus.  We have to choose to stop wallowing in our fear and despair and instead wallow in the Word!
     Yes, wallow in the Word!  Wallow in the Lord and His greatness and glory.
     Rehearse again God's goodness, faithfulness, graciousness, kindness, and holiness.  We have to remind ourselves again that He who never makes mistakes will not make one in our lives.  And that He who has ALL power also has power to change ALL.
     We've got to choose to meditate on the Word rather than meditate on the worry.  Loved these words from Rick Warren: "Surprisingly, if you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate on the Word of God.  Worry is when you take a negative thought and you think on it over and over and over.  When you take a passage of Scripture and you think on it over and over and over, that's called meditation."
     So simple yet so profound!  Wallow in worry or wallow in the Word.  Meditate on your fears or meditate on Your God's faithfulness.  Think over and over and over about all those  terrible "what if's" or think over and over and over about Who God is, what He's done, and what He's said.  One leads to a downward spiral of terror and despair and even hopelessness...the other leads to peace, joy, and hope even in the midst of life's storms.
     Might we choose the Word and our forever faithful Father.  He will never ever fail us, for He is "the God who works wonders."
     "What god is great like our God?"   NONE!  No, not one!
     To our great God be all the glory.

Wisdom from a child's book

     Finished reading one of our very favorite books with our youngest child the other night.  Peter and I had started it a long time ago, but it's been increasingly difficult (well, almost impossible) to find time at night to read with a middle schooler.  I really don't want to age out of reading to my children...though I know that's almost happened.  Sigh.
     Thinking back over the years, no matter how exhausting or discouraging some of those looooong days with our children might have been, reading out loud with them at night was always a joy.  Wonderful books like Little Britches inevitably restored perspective, revived flagging spirits, and often revealed profound truths.  We read this wonderful book with all of our children, so when we closed it's well-worn pages the other night, I felt so sad to finish that chapter of life.  Guess it's time to start looking forward to grandchildren!
     But I thought I'd share two little vignettes (among so many) from this wonderful little book.  Little Britches, by the way is the true story of Ralph Moody and his family who sell all their meager earthly possessions and move from New Hampshire to Colorado to make a new life. It's a beautiful story about the unrelenting work, sacrifice, hardships, challenges, and love of a family trying to make a go of it in  the hard scrabble life of ranching in the early 20th century.
     When they first arrive in Colorado, the "home" they were promised is nothing more than a one room broken down shed--completely uninhabitable.  Moody describes his parents' reaction:             "Mother said, 'Charlie, I don't see how in the world we can do it...with only 387 dollars.  I thought, of course, there'd be good buildings and stock and machinery on it.  We've got a lot of planning to do.'  Her voice sounded hoarse, and seemed to be coming from way down in her throat.
     Father didn't say anything until he had put me down and taken Hal from Mother.  Then he put his arm around her shoulder and hugged her up against him...'There's only one thing to plan about, Mame,' he said, 'and that's getting tickets home while we've still got the money.  I won't have you live in any such God-forsaken place as this.' [They were quite literally out in the middle of nowhere!]
     They stood that way for two or three minutes while Father's hand patted up and down on Mother's shoulder.  And there wasn't a sound, except that dry little cough that Father had then.  When Mother lifted her head, her lips were pressed tightly together, and her voice wasn't trembly any more.  'The Bible says, 'Trust in the Lord and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.'  The hand of God has led us here; we have set our shoulders to the wheel, and we will not turn back.'"
     That's good stuff when you need a little reminding to put some starch in your soul!
     A bit later in the book, young Ralph is dishonest with his Mother and takes a dangerous and foolish risk with their horse. When his Father arrives home, he solemnly shares words of great wisdom with Ralph:
     "When he spoke, his voice was deep and dry, and I knew he must have been coughing a lot on the way home. 'Son, there is no question but what the thing you have done today deserves severe punishment.  You might have killed yourself or the horse, but much worst than that, you have injured your own character.  A man's character is like his house.  If he tears boards off his house and burns them to keep himself warm and comfortable, his house soon becomes a ruin.  If he tells lies to be able to do the things he shouldn't do but wants to, his character will soon become a ruin.  A man with a ruined character is a shame on the face of the earth.'"
     How many times have I thought about that (or shared it with our children)?  When tempted to do something that might be wrong, it's a mighty good question to ask--Am I tearing boards off of my character house?  How am I foolishly burning those boards to earn some temporary measure of comfort or pleasure...at the expense of what really matters?
     Oh Father, help us to live wisely.  In the words of Jonathan Edwards, "Lord, stamp eternity on my eyeballs."  If we have eternity ever before us, we won't foolishly choose short-term pleasure over long-term gain...or tear off those boards from our character house.
     Aren't great books an amazing gift from God?  Thanks for letting me share one that we've loved.  Hope it put a bit of starch in your soul and wisdom in your perspective.  Sure did for me.
     To God be the glory.

Resting

     Our oldest daughter sent us a text with this message and picture: "Remember when Bing would sleep like this?"--

     As a little puppy, Bingley loved his crate, and whenever he was sleepy, he'd head on in there for a good, relaxing snooze...so relaxing, in fact, that he would oftentimes fall sound asleep with his head hanging out of the crate.  It hurts my neck to think about it, but he seemed perfectly content in all possible napping positions.
     When I got my daughter's text, I immediately took a picture of Mr. B today--this very minute, in fact--as a big, gangly 8 month old lab.  This is how he looks now--

     Bingley wouldn't be able to fit his head in that old crate--but he still snoozes just as peacefully.  Give the boy a walk and some food, and he's good to go...especially to dreamland.
     All this canine resting and relaxing has me asking my Heavenly Father to teach me how to rest in Him.  Frankly, true spiritual rest is not one of my specialities...that's probably the case for a lot of us.  We're so busy trying to be better parents (a great and noble thing), to be more loving and encouraging wives or husbands (fabulous), to get as healthy as we can by being physically
active--so we can be better parents and spouses! (a good goal), to strengthen our friendships (so important), to pray and read the Bible more (well, duh--number 1 on the list).
     But then you've got to add to all that--clean out clutter, read more books, deliver graduation presents, cook nutritious family meals (ha!), weed the garden (double ha!), get totally and forever caught up on the laundry (seriously?), write those notes you've been meaning to write, wash the dog, stop complaining and start thanking, go through all your old emails (or alternatively go have a root canal, which might be more fun), finish all those projects you've been meaning to get to at work and at home, volunteer (in all your spare time)...
     It's exhausting trying to be a better person, isn't it?  
     Yes, Bingley may have cornered the market on resting and relaxing, but his "family" (or at least his type A "mom") has a long way to go in learning what it truly means to rest.  I'm reading a lot about rest in Hebrews, and I admit that I've got a loooong way to understanding it, much less doing it.
     But one thing I'm learning is that God wants us to rest in Him...and resting also involves trusting and obeying.  "Again He appoints a certain day, 'Today,' saying through David...'Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.'  For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on.  So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from His.  Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience." (Heb.4:7-11)
     Resting clearly has a lot to do with how we handle today.  As in today.  God gives us today to hear His voice and to heed His voice.  And when we hear and heed the still, small voice of God, we will find rest.  We need to hear and heed His voice commanding that we stop worrying and start worshipping. Stop grumbling and start thanking.  Stop looking around and start looking up.  Stop procrastinating and start obeying.  Stop fretting and start trusting.
      But if we refuse?  If we hear His voice, but ignore...or hear, but make excuses...or hear, but are too busy and preoccupied...or hear, but flat out disobey...or if we refuse to even listen to His voice--the result will inevitably be restlessness.  Restless rebellion.  Restless joylessness.  Restless worry.  Restless discontentment.
     That's simply no way to live.  And that's not the life Christ died to give us.  No, Jesus came to give us life...and life to the full.  John put it this way, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." (John10:10)
     I wrote something in my Bible from Sally Breedlove on rest: "At it's core, to rest is to give thanks for the present and to trust that, as the future becomes the present, God will supply whatever we need."  
     Yes, that's resting in God--thankfulness and trust in the present and resting in the faith that God will supply what we need tomorrow when it's tomorrow.  What He's chosen to provide for today is enough for today...and He will give us what we need tomorrow.  Whether it's hope or peace or joy or energy or wisdom.  Today is the day we must choose to listen for His voice, to obey what we hear, and then to rest in His plans and provisions.
     Today's the day to rest in Him.  Oh Father, teach us to listen, to trust, and to rest.  To God be the glory.
   

Another day of gifts

     It's a late, lazy afternoon.  The humidity hangs in the air like a wet dish rag...and it's led to a sort of weariness all day long.  And then I read this by G.K. Chesterton--

       Here dies another day
       During which I have had eyes, ears, hands
       And the great world round me;
       And with tomorrow begins another.
       Why am I allowed two?

     Why, indeed?  Forgive my callous ingratitude, Father, for the undeserved gift of another day.        Another day to see, savor, taste, touch, love, listen, work, and worship.
     Suddenly that staggeringly massive load of laundry has transformed into something beautiful--it represents the treasure of 3 boys (and sometimes our girls too) home with us for the summer.  And soon, all too soon, they will be off on their own.  But we have them here now--we can celebrate and savor and love and laugh with them this day.  Thank You, Lord.
     Or walking Bingley on the greenway.  Just this morning I sighed and dreaded heading out in the heat and humidity--ugh, not again, I thought.  Yet not all that long ago I grieved over the loss of Moses and desperately missed strolling with him...I even remember thinking, "I'll never complain about walking the dog again."  Losing Moses left such a hole.  Yet I forgot.
     So today, all for free, Bingley and I enjoyed God's "great world round me"--with the blackberries, the birds, the lush green canopy of trees, and joy of seeing old friends.
     So many gifts all about us every day...how often we miss them in our busyness or weariness or distractedness.   "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows. (James 1:17)  He is the Author, Creator, Sustainer, and Giver of every gift...so many gifts in every conceivable shape and size.
     Phillip Yancey writes of some of these myriad gifts:"Guided by Chesterton, I came to see sex, money, power, and sensory pleasures as God's gifts which, in a fallen world, must be handled with care, like explosives. We have lost the untainted innocence of Eden, and now every good thing represents risk as well, holding within it the potential for abuse.  Eating becomes gluttony, love becomes lust, and along the way we lose sight of the One who gave us pleasure.  The ancients turned good things into idols; we moderns call them addictions.  In either case, what ceases to be a servant becomes a tyrant.
     Every Sunday I can turn on the radio or television and hear preachers decry the drugs, sexual looseness, greed, and crime that are 'running rampant' in the streets of America. Rather than merely wag our fingers at such obvious abuses of God's good gifts, perhaps we should demonstrate to the world where good gifts actually come from, and why they are good.  Evil's greatest triumph may be its success in portraying religion as an enemy of pleasure when, in fact, all the things we  enjoy are the inventions of a Creator who lavished them on the world."
     Yes!  "Every good gift and every perfect gift," James tells us, come from our generously extravagant, infinitely loving, astounding creative Father.  The world takes so many of His gifts and perverts them.  So does our sinful flesh.
     But it's time we take them back...remind the world (and ourselves) that every gift comes from the relentlessly gracious Lord.
     Our response should be--awe and gratitude.  Wonder and worship.  For this day.  This day "during which I have had eyes, ears, hands and the great world round me."  Another day to see the face of my husband and children.  Another day to laugh with my friends.  Another day to chat with our daughters on the phone.  Another day to feel the warmth of the sun.  Another day to savor the taste of chocolate.  Another day to walk with our dog.  Another day to live and love in God's big, wide creation.
     Thank You, Father, for Your gifts.  Help us to see and savor them.  And then might we worship with gratitude and awe the Giver of every single on of those gifts.  You are worthy, Lord.
     To God be the glory.

Races and battles, feelings and faith

     Sometimes we simply have to push past our feelings, don't we?  I well remember my running days--back before the earth's surface had cooled--and that sense near the midpoint of every race that I couldn't go any further.  It's called "hitting the wall"--and it happened to me every single race in which I ever ran.  It occurs in life too.  Anybody else ever been there?
     Here's how it invariably happens in a race--you're chugging along nicely, and then suddenly your body begins to send urgent and insistent messages to your mind: "You're exhausted.  This is the dumbest idea in the world.  Why would anybody submit themselves to this nonsense?  Look how nice it looks over there on the sidelines.  Time to quit...or at least dramatically slow down.  You simply cannot go another foot.  Are you listening?--quit now!"
     And here's the thing--you have the choice.  You can choose to listen to that seemingly sensible voice telling you to stop or slow down or give up...or you can choose to listen to your heart and mind that tell you a dramatically different message.  "You've trained for this.  Keep going.  Just put one foot in front of the other.  You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.  It's always too soon to quit.  Trust your training and keep running."  And if you listen to that voice of truth--that voice that urges you to keep going, one step at a time--you'll discover to your amazement that you can push through that wall and finish the race.  And believe me, there's not a better feeling in the world.
     But I'm telling you--it's a battle.  Every. Single. Time.
     I don't do much running these days--it's usually walking with Mr. Bingley or exercising with my buddies--but it's still just as true in regular old, ordinary life.  Every day presents us with choices that invariably involve, at their most basic level, a fierce battle.  Seriously, daily we all must engage in often herculean battles.  Will we choose feelings or faith?  Will we succumb to those emotions of discouragement or exhaustion or fear...or will we boldly choose to walk by faith in the unshakable promises of God and the unseen presence of the Savior?
     "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Heb.11:1)
     Faith is "assurance" and "conviction," and we must choose to act upon that faith rather than giving in to our feelings of worry or defeat or despair or sometimes plain old inertia and exhaustion. (I, for one, have found that just "going with the flow" tends to result in my drifting away from the Lord and drifting towards self-pity and selfishness.  Hebrews put it this way: "Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it." (Heb.2:1)  Nope, forget going with the flow of our feelings--we've got to actively choose faith over those feelings.)
     I love how one commentator explained that this verse reveals that "faith is a settled confidence that something in the future--something that is not yet seen but has been promised by God--will actually come to pass because God will bring it about.  Thus biblical faith is not blind trust in the face of contrary evidence, not an unknowable 'leap in the dark'; rather, biblical faith is a confident trust in the eternal God who is all-powerful, infinitely wise, eternally trustworthy."
     Faith is not "hope so" but "know so" based upon the unshakable promises and unchanging Person of God. Our feelings vacillate wildly, because they are based upon our ever changing circumstances, our emotions, and even what we ate that day, who we saw, and how much we slept!  How reliable can that be?!  But our faith, on the other hand, is buried deep in the bedrock of God's Word--both His written Word, the Bible, and His incarnate Word, the Lord Jesus.  We can trust the immovable, immutable Rock.
     Today, I needed to remind myself again--faith, not feelings. Just in case anybody else out there needed a little reminding, well, here it is--from one fellow battler to another!  Sometimes we simply have to preach ourselves a little sermon, reminding ourselves of the true Truth based upon that which will never change and will never fail.
     When we hit the wall, let's choose to place our trust in our faithful Redeemer and His forever Word  rather than in our fleeting emotions.  He'll get us through the battles and all the way to the end of the race...not somehow, but victoriously.  To God be the glory.
   

God's table in the presence of enemies

         A little food for weekend thought:
     The other day, I enjoyed the privilege of hearing Lt. Carey Cash share his remarkable testimony of serving as a a chaplain with the U.S. marines.  In particular, he told of how his Marine battalion experienced the supernatural grace of God amidst the chaos and violence of the invasion of Baghdad in 2003 at the outset of the war in Iraq.  But what especially struck me was the source for the name of his book, A Table in the Presence--based on King David's Psalm 23.
     Here are his words regarding the moment his battalion learned the invasion of Baghdad would be that night and he was asked to say a hurried prayer:
     "After all the training, all the physical conditioning hikes, all the strategy sessions, all the intelligence briefs, all the live-fire rifle ranges, it had come to this--a decisive moment and a sincere prayer.  We stood together in a circle, asking God for help, for strength, and for courage.  As we bowed together...the ancient words of a familiar psalm came flooding into my mind:
     'Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.' (Ps.23:4-6)
     The 'table' that David spoke about, the 'table' that David longed for in the presence of his enemies, was the table of God's presence.  It amounted to a feast of spiritual strength and friendship that no degree of danger and no amount of evil could infringe upon.  C.H. Spurgeon said it best 150 years ago-
     'When a soldier is in the presence of his enemies, if he eats at all, he snatches a hasty meal, and away he hastens to the fight.  But observe: 'Thou preparest a table,' just a servant does when she unfolds...the cloth and displays the ornaments of a feast on an ordinary peaceful occasion.  Nothing is hurried; there is no confusion, no disturbance, the enemy is at the door, and yet God prepares a table, and the Christian sits down and eats as if everything were in perfect peace.  Oh!  the peace which Jehovah gives to His people, even in the midst of the most trying circumstances!'
     In the quiet moments that  followed our prayer together, I was reminded, by a voice too deep for words, that we were not alone.  Even though we were facing great danger, even though we were about to face our enemies head-on, even though there would be desperate and agonizing hours ahead for all of us, God would be there with us."
     Amen!  (And by the way, Cash's book is really worth reading!) Being a very slow learner, I had never before thought specifically about King David's words here--that God was preparing a table right there in the very presence of his enemies.  This would be a table of blessing, sustenance, comfort, and peace.
     How is that possible?  How is it possible to sit down and enjoy a feast when you are surrounded by overwhelming enemies?  Yet with God all things are possible...and not just possible but promised. God assures, God promises us that even in the darkest of our days--when disease terrorizes or despair threatens or fear stalks or finances fail--God is not only with us, but He is for us.  The God of the universe is for us, and he will strengthen, sustain, and support us right there, right in the belly of the beast.
     Isn't it in those moments of greatest need where all about us seems dark that God's supernatural Light shines brightest?  Yes, a thousand times yes, for we've experienced in our lives!  In those times when our "enemies"--whether disease or defeat or discouragement or whatever--seem to have us surrounded, the Lord is with us, preparing that feast.  He will somehow bringing blessing out of blackness, hope out of despair, and joy out of sorrow.
     Only God. Only our God.  And He is able...a thousand times over.  (Ephesians 3:20)
     Even now, whatever your Baghdad...whatever your enemies...He is preparing that table for you.  He's promised to dine with you in fellowship and to deliver you for your good and His glory.  Remember, right this moment, He is working to bring you "goodness and love" even in the presence of your enemies.  You are never forsaken and never alone.
      Thank You, Father, for Your promises.  Thank You for Your presence.  And thank You for Your perfect peace as we dine with You even in the presence of our enemies.  You are infinitely greater.
     To God be the glory.