Faith--not fear--in Him

   
     "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?" (Ps.56:3-4)
     "I have set the Lord always before me, because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.  Therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure."  (Ps.16:8-9)
     Thank You, Father, that You know we will experience fear in this life.  Accidents, failures, diseases, uncertainties can leave us feeling breathless with anxiety.  But You, Lord, are always our Rock, our Refuge, our Fortress and our very present help in trouble and in fear.  
     Our son, Richard, is on a mission trip in Kenya.  We just learned that his team was involved in a car accident.  Another vehicle was apparently trying to pass them on Kenya's very narrow roads and sideswiped them and caused their van to roll over.  Praise the Lord no one was seriously injured.  O thank You, Father, for Your hand of protection.  But a wonderful doctor on their team, Mark Helms, and Richard both apparently suffered significant enough injuries that they required a number of stitches.  The details are still fuzzy, but the last we heard was that Richard had to have 16 stitches in his shoulder, and Mark was going to a larger hospital for treatment of a laceration to his arm.
     So here's the thing--my first response when we heard about this was fear.  In fact, pretty overwhelming anxiety.  Another wreck.  Another accident involving one of our children when we were not there and could not help them.  A sense of helplessness that we could not protect those we love, as well as worry about what they might not be telling us.  And fear for all the members of the team.  The fear so suffocated me that I literally could not catch my breath for several minutes.
     So what do we do with our fear?  Where do we take it?  
     The Lord's still, small voice whispered--take it to Me.  Hand it to Me.  Let Me bear the burden of your fear.
     My first thought had been, "Lord why?  Where were You?  How could You allow this to happen...again?"   But almost immediately, the Lord reminded me--"I was right where I always am--right there with them."  He was in that wreck.  He was in Janie's wreck.  In fact, the Lord Jesus took on the greatest wreck of all--the wreck of the cross--and bore our punishment and pain for us...all for us.  He took the fear.  He took the sorrow.  He took the anguish.  He took the forsakenness.  He bore every bit of it all so that we need never ever experience the full brunt of it.
      He defeated it all...and rose from the dead, victorious.
     And if He defeated it all, then we, who are in Christ will defeat it as well.
     If He rose...we will rise.
     If He lives...we will live.
     If He endured the agonies of the cross...then we will endure whatever we are facing.
     If He trusts and never ever gives in to fear...then we will trust in Him and refuse to fear.
     If He conquers sin and death and despair...well, then we will conquer them as well.
     Thank You, Father, that because we are in You, You are with us in absolutely everything we will ever go through.  We need not fear, for You are with those that we love--no matter where on the earth they may be right now.  And we need not fear because You will not only never leave us or forsake us, but You also have all power, all hope, all joy, all peace, all sufficiency, ALL we need to enable us to walk through whatever storms we may face in this life.
     As Max Lucado puts it: "The next time you find yourself alone in a dark alley facing the undeniables of life, don't cover them with a blanket, or ignore them with a nervous grin. Don't turn up the TV and pretend they aren't there.  Instead, stand still, whisper His name, and listen.  He is nearer than you think."
    Yep, He is.  Always has been.  Always will be.  Forever and ever...until faith becomes sight and He takes us to His--and our--glorious home.
    Until then, we will choose to place our trust in our Savior, knowing that in Him, we cannot be shaken.  Not by accidents.  Not by fear.  Not with our Lord.  To God be the glory.
     
   

A year later...a lesson learned

    Mary Norris at Upper Blue Seas Fall at Cane River.  Beauty and power and wonder and glory!  What a Creator!
    Almost exactly one year ago, I took this same picture with Janie and Richard in front of the falls.  It was just two weeks before her accident, and we often looked at that picture of the two of them while sitting in that ICU room as Janie lay unconscious.  Back then, God taught us quite a lesson from that picture: heed the still, small voice of the Spirit. How I pray I will never forget it--when God whispers to you, listen and obey.
     Here's what happened that day a year ago.  Janie and Richard wanted to hike up to the waterfall, but my husband, Richard, and I were beat and ready to hike back down to the cabin.  It was early evening, and we were all muddy, hungry, and had a lot of packing to do in order to leave early the next morning.  Thus, making the arduous trek up to the waterfall didn't make a lick of sense to two exhausted parents.
     We had started back down with two disappointed teenagers in tow, when that gentle prompting of the Spirit told me--"Don't miss it!  Don't miss this never-to-be-repeated moment!  Go back up there and witness My glory with these children who are growing up all too quickly."  Sadly, how often do I ignore the Holy Spirit's prompting in favor of following my own agenda and desires?  But, praise the Lord, that day we didn't.  We turned right around and suddenly exclaimed--to the astonished delight of our children--"Okay, let's do it!"  Everyone wheeled around and trekked back up towards the falls, pulling ourselves up by tree roots and branches, climbing over slippery rocks, and finally arriving at, well, God's glory revealed in a magnificent waterfall.
     So this time, I didn't need a bit of encouraging or prompting when Mary Norris suggested we hike up to see Upper Blue Seas Falls.  The Lord knows we can all be mighty slow learners, but He's so patient with us and ever provides new opportunities to trust and obey Him.  He never gives up on us.  And so I had learned...and we hiked...and beheld, one year later, God's glory pouring forth over the waterfall.
     Once again, this picture doesn't begin to do it justice.  Something about the camera and the distance from the falls diminishes it's size, but trust me, it's tremendous.  The water, which is especially high this year due to all the rain, poured, gushed over the falls with stunning force.  Even from the back edge of the pool, we could feel the wind generated by the falling water, and the mist coming off the falls covered us with a cool spray.  And the sound, O my, there's nothing like the glorious symphonic sound of rushing waters.  Power and yet peace.  Constant motion and yet continual rest.
     We just stood and marveled and shed a tear or two at God's majesty, goodness, and grace.  Who knows what a year will bring?  And yet God is always and forever faithful.  None of us need fear what is ahead...for no matter what is coming, our Lord will be there before us and beside us and within us.
     "But now thus says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.  For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.'" (Isa.43:1-3)
     That is our God and there is none other.
     I love what Scotty Smith prayed about these verses: "Father, You don't promise we won't experience floods and torrents and fires and flames.  But You do promise that You will be with us.  To know that You are near and to know You are good is all we really need.  We will go anywhere and do anything as long as we are convinced that You will never leave us, forsake us, abandon us, shame us, or reject us.  Father, we know ourselves to be precious and honored in Your sight, and greatly loved, because You gave us Jesus in exchange for us.  Though Jesus was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor, so that through His poverty we might become rich (2 Cor.8:9).  We praise You for the One and only truly indescribable gift (2 Cor.9:15)!  And since You didn't spare Your own Son, we can trust You graciously to give us everything else we need (Rom.8:32), for every season and storm ahead.  We don't have to be afraid of anything or anyone.  You are with us and You are for us."
     Yes, Lord, through the storms, through the fires, through the floods of life, we learn--sometimes slowly, sometimes painfully--that You will never leave us nor forsake us and that You are always always always enough. You are more than enough.
     Keep us focused upon You and Your glory.  Keep us listening to and obeying Your Holy Spirit rather than our own selfish agendas.  We don't want to miss out on anything You have for us, Father...not one divine appointment to witness Your grace and Your glory...not one waterfall.  Not ever.
     To God be the glory.
   

Game Only...Lord Forever!

     Clear blue sky.  Lush green golf course.  Our youngest son and lots of his golf buddies walking with him and his friend as they finish up their individual match in a golf tournament.  All having a ball--laughing, talking...no homework, just summer fun...for everyone, that is, except Mama.
     Why?  Because Mom suffers from a terminal case of nerves when it comes to golf tournaments involving her children.  Pathetic, I know.  Seriously, I should be enjoying this.  The simple joy of being outside in the fresh air, watching a game--a game, for pete's sake--with no agenda at the moment other than enjoying the gift of savoring my child playing a game he loves.
     But when it comes to worrying, I could compete with the best of 'em.  Combine that anxiousness with competitiveness, and well, it's a pretty lethal combination.
    I come by it naturally.  My family loved games and competition of all kinds.  A "fun"family tennis game of doubles was no laughing matter.  It was kill...or be killed.  We loved it, of course, and loved each other.  But still, the goal was victory at all costs.
     And, mercy, don't even talk to me about watching the Tar Heels play basketball when I was growing up.  The decibel level during those games could be ear-splitting. Even today, my children sometimes ban me from the room where we're watching the game due to my, shall we say, exuberance. Like I say, I come by this naturally--blame the Preyer clan. A loss to the team-that-shall-not-be-named could ruin our day...or our week.  And never, and I mean never, say anything negative about Dean (the Dream) Smith in our presence.  He's right up there with Shakespeare,  Lincoln, and Churchill.
     These qualities are not conducive to peacefully and contentedly watching golf tournaments.  My sons and husband have repeatedly chided me for my less-than-godly attitude of tension and worry.  "Chill out!" they say.  "Relax!  This is just a game; this is all for fun.  Just enjoy it!"
     And they also warn me that I cannot show any emotion.  Not even the slightest hint of sighing or frowning or even smiling happily.  And certainly, no tension of any kind.  They can read my body language, I'm told, so I just have to stand there and somehow or other give the world the impression that I'm relaxing on a tropical island and languidly humming, "Don't worry, be happy."
     Yeah, right.  There's a little problem here.  In case they've forgotten: I'm a WOMAN.  Worse still, a MOM!  Last time I checked, we women and moms do not specialize in suppressing all our emotions...especially when it comes to our children.  Love seems to begat the desire that all would go well with those you love...including on the golf course.
     But seriously, I know my attitude is wrong.  Totally wrong.  Not to mention misery-inducing.  Sure, I really don't show much emotion on the outside...but on the inside, I'm dying a thousand deaths.   You know how it goes--that running interior chatter that steals our peace and destroys our joy: "O Lord, not another hook into the woods!...Father, that downhill put is going going going waaaaaay beyond the hole!  Arrrgh.... O mercy, I'd rather have a root canal than watch that chip out of the trap into--O NO!--the other trap!"
     So I talked with the Lord and told Him I was tired of being an anxious, less-than-joyful parent on the golf course...or anywhere else for that matter.  He's the God of all peace and joy and hope, and as His child, I want my character to reflect His...and not my own sometimes selfish, prideful, competitive, anxious nature. This is just no way to live--and certainly not how our Heavenly Father wants His children to live.
     The Lord keeps bringing me back to Philippians 4:4-7: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say rejoice.  Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.  The Lord is at hand.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."  Such good stuff--truly one of my favorite passages in the whole Bible.
      It's a choice--a daily, hourly choice to rejoice--and rejoice always--rather than fret and complain.  And a choice to pray and praise--about everything-- rather than wring our hands in worry.  Turn those problems, moment-by-moment, into petitions--with thanksgiving--and then enjoy the supernatural peace that the Father longs for us to have.  And peace is defined as the calm assurance that God is in complete control and that whatever He is doing is best.  Best on the golf course.  Best for our children.  Best for our loved ones.  Best when the good times roll...but also best when sorrows roll over us.  Because we don't have all the facts...but God does.
     So I'm happy to report, I just went to a golf tournament and actually, sort of, kind of, enjoyed it.  Really.  Because God and I had a little talk beforehand, and He got my mind right--Philippians 4 right, that is.  Thank You, Lord, for Your patience with this very slow learning child of Yours!   Worry over nothing + prayer and praise over everything = supernatural peace.  That's the formula that never ever fails, for any of us, in any arena.
    And here's how the Lord and I translated that formula for the golf course.  It's a little acronym for "Golf"--"Game Only...Lord Forever."
     Yeah, yeah, I know you probably think that's really dumb, but it sure helped me on that golf course.  When things got tense, I silently reminded myself--this is a "game only...but the Lord is forever and ever!  He's in control.  He's the One to be praised and lifted high.  He's the One who loves us infinitely.  So remember in this moment--He's here and it's about Him and His glory and His greatness and His goodness.  Game only...Lord forever."
     Whatever you might be going through right now, remember, it's "Game only...Lord forever."  No, it's not all about golf and silly games, but you fill in the blank..."_____only...Lord forever."  Failure or disease or discouragement or fear or frustration or loneliness--whatever it is that is stealing your joy and peace--it's temporary. Only temporary and fleeting.
     But our glorious God is forever.  And He will use whatever is going on in your life or your children's lives or your loved ones' lives,  to refine us and teach us and stretch us and grow us more and more into the image of the Lord Jesus....all for His glory, all by His grace, and all for our good.  And since His way is absolutely the best, well, then, that's the way I want it too...whether in golf or life or death or anything in between.
     ______ Only...Lord Forever!  To God be the glory.

Preach it!

     "The joy of the Lord is your strength." (Neh.8:10)
     I have always loved that verse.  Twila Paris had a wonderful song that I used to love to sing based upon that verse.  "The joy of the Lord will be my strength.  I will not falter;  I will not faint.   He is my Shepherd, I am not afraid.  The joy of the Lord is my strength.  The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength..."
      I know that is true.  Absolutely, positively...but sometimes I forget.
     When I live and love based upon what I believe, I find my strength renewed.  As Isa.40:31 declares, "but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."
     Problems arise, however, when we base our actions not upon what we believe but upon what we feel.
    And here's the thing: sometimes we simply forget.  We're too busy, too preoccupied, too self-focused, too tired, too overwhelmed sometimes to remember.  Remember the rock-solid truth.  Remember Who our Savior is and what He has done for us and who we are in Him.  And when we forget what we believe, when we respond based upon our feelings or our level of exhaustion or our selfishness or our distorted expectations, then we find our strength shriveled and our joy diminished down to nothing.
     We lose sight of the fact that His joy is our strength.  Not our circumstances.  Not our children's performance.  Not our successes.  Not even our loved ones health or happiness.  Not our anything.  
     It's Him and what He has done and what He is doing right now in our lives--weaving together all the happy and hard and challenging and perplexing events in our lives to bring about His perfect will.  And His will is always "good, pleasing and perfect." (Rom.12:2)
     Sometimes, though, we need some good old fashioned reminding!  No, not sometimes--we need it daily, hourly.  We need to preach the Gospel to our forgetful, stubborn old selves on an hourly basis.  That's why we have to be in the Word--so our Father can use it to transform and renew our minds to think rightly and remember the Truth. "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--His good, pleasing, and perfect will." (Rom.12:2)  If we don't, we'll just fall prey to that sad, dead-end old pattern of "stinkin' thinkin'"--this is hopeless;  they'll never change; I'm all alone; God doesn't hear my prayers; no one cares about my needs; it's all about me...blah blah blah.  Sure, we may not say those things...but we think them.  And thinking them is just as deadly.  Yuck!
     Nope, time to do a little preaching to ourselves!  As C.J. Mahaney says, "On a daily basis we're faced with two simple choices.  We can either listen to ourselves and our constantly changing feelings about our circumstances, or we can talk to ourselves about the unchanging truth of who God is and what He's accomplished for us at the cross through His Son Jesus."
     Time to "preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season"--to ourselves!  Preach it, sister, when you're tired and you feel like crying or yelling!  Preach it when you're discouraged or defeated and you want to just give in or give up.  Preach it to yourself and remind yourself of the true Truth.  It's not about my feelings...it's about His faithfulness.  And He is working and moving and weaving and orchestrating and using it all for His greater glory and our greater good.
     'Cause Aslan is always on the move.  Especially when we can't see Him.
     Think I might sing a chorus or two of "The joy of the Lord is my Strength" to remind myself.
     To God be the glory.
   

Streams of refreshing

        "He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit." (Jer.17:8)
     The waters at Cane River are pouring down after weeks and weeks of rain this summer.  All I can think of as we climb and stumble and wade and fall through the frigid, cascading stream is "Thank You, Father!"  What a God of glory!  What a God who gives gifts upon gifts!  So much beauty He has created.  To think, these waters pour and pour--hour after hour, day after day, year after year, millennia after millennia.  They never run dry or run low.
     Such is our God of grace.  His mercy never ends.  His love never fails.  His grace never relents.
     And to every one of us, He beckons.  Come. Come and drink and be filled and satisfied.  "Come everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." (Isa.55:1)

      So thank You, Lord.  Thank You for family and friends.  Thank You for long dinners around the big battered wooden table at Cane River.  Thank You for laughter and old stories and hot buttered biscuits.  Thank You for cookouts on the river and toasted marshmallows.  Thank You for hiking in the verdant green that completely encompasses us.  Thank You for watching thunderstorms on the porch and for the soothing sound of pounding, cool rain.  And thank You for the warmth of the sun and the way it's rays dance and sparkle on the water. Thank You for truck rides and fishing poles and shared family joys and sorrows.  Thank You for these times to pull away and find refreshment.

     But thank You most of all for Your living water--the water of salvation.  The water of the Holy Spirit that fills and refreshes and renews us again and again.  Thank You that when we are planted in You, we will remain fresh and green and verdant like those trees growing by the banks of Cane River.
     Keep us coming back to You, Lord.  Keep us in Your stream.  Refresh us.   Fill us again and again and again, Father.  Restore to us the joy of Your salvation.
     To God--our Living Water--be the glory.
   

Whispers of glory

     He leads me besides still waters.  He restores my soul (Ps.23:3)
     Thank You, Lord, for the gift of Cane River.  For cold, rushing streams.  For dancing rapids.  For quiet pools.  For flashing multicolored rainbow trout.  For towering mountain peaks.  All just whispers of Your glory.

     For the astounding beauty of sunshine sprinkling through the leaves overhead--

     Wow, Lord.  Just wow.
     Might our lives reflect Your glory and Your goodness.
     "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever." (Ps.23:6)
     To God, the Creator, the Artist, the Sustainer, and the Redeemer, be all the glory.

Not the end of the story

     Lord, this day I lift before Your throne so many right now who sorrow and struggle and grieve.  A dear friend who has lost her Daddy.  Other friends who have lost their beloved husband, son, brother, and friend.  Still other friends who have lost a precious child.
      O Lord, I know only a tiny taste of their pain.  But You know and feel it all.  You have drunk that pain of separation and sorrow to the dregs.  And even at this very moment, You are with them in their sadness and desolation.  O might they feel Your loving, powerful presence, Father.  Right at this moment, might they know that they know that they know that You will NEVER leave them.  That You said, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" on the cross so that they need never ever be forsaken.  Give them vision and faith in You that goes deeper than their feelings.
     Lord, show them that this is not the end of their story.
     No, not the end, just a part of a story that You are weaving and overseeing and ultimately bringing to a glorious conclusion.  None of our stories are finished.  You will always always always have the final word.  Not death.  Not disease.  Not accident.  Not failure.  Not sin.  No, You and You alone are the One who will always finish our stories.          
     And Your stories--every single one of them--end in redemption's song.  No matter how they start.  No matter their middle.  No matter the seeming defeats endured in those stories...they all end with You and in You and through You in victory and glory and redemption.
     Because of the cross.
     That's how we know--what seemed the end...was just the beginning.
     What seemed utter defeat...was glorious victory.
     What seemed despair and hopelessness...was the joyous song of redemption and salvation.
     So, too, our stories.  The beginnings, the middles, wherever we are right now, Lord, show us, teach us, that You have something far greater and more glorious than we could ever begin to imagine.
     And in the midst of it all, in the hardest, darkest places in our stories, You are still there.  Right there with us.  O help us to know how beloved we are by the One who made us.  "See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me." (Isa. 49:16)  We are forever inscribed on Your heart and Your hands, Father.  And those walls of despair or doubt or disease that seem so certain to be the end of our story, well, they are nothing but a middle, maybe an intermission.  You've not finished writing.  Those walls are nothing to You.  And You are our Door, the Door in that wall that will lead us to the other side.  To hope and joy and peace and life--real Life--restored.
     "He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!'  Then He said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." (Rev. 21:5)
     Thank You Lord that no matter what we will face in our stories, we know Who is with us through it all and Who will be there at the very, very end.  And it is You. The One who sits on the throne and who is making all things new.  Our mighty Lion of Judah.  Our Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  Our Fortress.  Our forever faithful Friend.  Our Good Good Good Shepherd.  Our Rock.  Our Redeemer.
     To God, the Only God, the Writer and Sustainer and Redeemer of all our stories, be all the glory.