PERSISTING IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

I made a statement at work a couple of weeks ago that I spent more time on my knees in 2020 then I think I have my entire life combined.  True, but sad, but convicting.  Thirteen days in, 2021 doesn’t look to be any different. In fact, my knee time in 2021 could quite possibly surpass my knee time in 2020, and it should.

Each passing year, despite the circumstances of the world, the happenings in our country, the motion of our own little tiny universes, our knee time should increase.  As we grow in our relationship with Jesus and persist in living in His presence, our communication with Him should increase exponentially.  Frankly, He should at some point be near all consuming.  In fact, I(we) should have the consciousness of His Presence even when I(we) don’t hear His voice.  Chew on that thought a minute. We don’t need to hear His voice to know He is present, to sense His presence, to experience His presence, to be in His presence.  We need only persist.

One day Jesus told His disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must never give up.  Luke 18:1

How much clearer could it be?  The need for constant prayer is so important that Jesus gave them a modern day (their modern day, not so different than ours) example so they could understand. Read it in Luke 18, it’s a beautiful illustration of persistence and faith in prayer.  We know, of course, that we are to persist in all our prayers, but the way in which it is used here in these verses is prayer for deliverance, rescue, salvation, in times of trial.  It means simply, as 1 Thessalonians tells us  “Keep on praying.”  It doesn’t mean we have to pray harder or pray longer, it means we keep our requests before God continually, confident that He will answer.

Some of you may have read the other day in Jesus Calling:

When you bring Me prayer requests, lay out your concerns before Me.  Speak to Me candidly; pour out your heart.  Then thank Me for the answer that I have set into motion long before you can discern the results.  When your requests come to mind again, continue to thank Me for the answers that are on the way.  If you keep on stating your concerns to Me, you will live in a state of tension.  When you thank me for how I am answering your prayers, your mind-set becomes much more positive.  Thankful prayers keep your focus on My Presence and My promises. Sarah Young

Let’s renew our minds, praying for deliverance from the times of trial – physical, mental and mostly spiritual — knowing that Jesus will surely answer, because He said He would, and in this day and age, as in days and ages past, His Word is the only thing we can count on as true.

Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.

Colossians 4:2

So with persistence we devote ourselves to prayer, and enter into the sweet presence continually, with a thankful heart, a heart of praise.  We know that praise always precedes the miracle, and answered prayers are miracles – salvation, healing, comforting – miracles because they can only be answered by God.  For that we are thankful.

Sweet hour of prayer
Sweet hour of prayer
That calls me from a world of care
And bids me at my Father’s throne
Make all my wants and wishes known
In seasons of distress and grief
My soul has often found relief
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare
By Thy return, sweet hour of prayer

Sweet hour of prayer
Sweet hour of prayer
The joys I feel, the bliss I share
Of those whose anxious spirits burn
With strong desires for Thy return
With such I hasten to the place
Where God my Savior shows His face
And gladly take my station there
And wait for Thee, sweet hour of prayer

Sweet hour of prayer
Sweet hour of prayer
And wait for Thee
Sweet hour of prayer

What a slow-fast year this has been.  It’s so hard to believe that Christmas is just two days away.  Wow, what a year?!?  Christmas is looking a little different for us this year, isn’t it? For many of us, our Christmas preparations look very different than in years past.  In order to be safe, much of our shopping has been done on line.  We’re not in stores touching, feeling, squeezing trying to find just the right gift.  Especially not without Christmas scented hand sanitizer and a Christmas mask on. This may be the year, because of logistics, we’re lucky there are gifts under the tree, if there’s a tree.  This year we hesitate to bake and deliver Christmas cheer.  There aren’t the usual festivities that accompany the season – Christmas parties, Christmas programs, singing choirs of angels.  Celebrations with friends and families just look different this year. But, there will be celebrations.

I know I’m not the only one lamenting the changes around our Christmas celebrations this year.  But, as I bemoan the events of 2020 and all the changes, the differences this year has brought, I’m reminded of something that never changes…Jesus was born…Jesus died…Jesus rose from the dead…Jesus will come again.  That’s the Truth we must hold on to. 

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.  For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!  So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

We have learned this year that some things we thought were really important just aren’t.  Life has been put in perspective for us in many ways.  Just as we believers know that 2020 would have been a whole lot more difficult without Jesus, we also know that Christmas is pointless without Jesus.  Without Jesus, Christmas is just like every other holiday that we pack into our neat plastic storage containers, secure the lids, and put in the basement or attic.  Those containers are completely lifeless, completely contained, until next Christmas.  Without Jesus, Christmas has no significance.  It is just another day that has no hope of a future.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:10

We need a Savior, and on Christmas Day that’s what we celebrate.  Let’s remember what the day is really all about —  the birth of our Savior, the Light of the World, the Hope of All Nations, Christ the Lord! When we’re missing the traditions of Christmas’s past and celebrating in different places with different faces seated around our tables on Christmas Day, let’s keep in mind that it’s more important who is seated at the Lord’s table, than our own.  His table is set for all eternity.

Here on Mount Zion the LORD Almighty will prepare a banquet for all the nations of the world—a banquet of the richest food and the finest wine. Here he will suddenly remove the cloud of sorrow that has been hanging over all the nations. The Sovereign LORD will destroy death forever! He will wipe away the tears from everyone’s eyes and take away the disgrace his people have suffered throughout the world. The LORD himself has spoken.

When it happens, everyone will say, “He is our God! We have put our trust in him, and he has rescued us. He is the LORD! We have put our trust in him, and now we are happy and joyful because he has saved us.”

Isaiah 25:6-9

Christ has come! Christ has died! Christ will come again! Something we definitely can count on in uncertain times. He is the real Reason for all Seasons.

Feathers are not unfamiliar sights around our house.  With four chickens, feathers are always a flyin.  Birds’ feathers are like our hair and I can’t help but think that God knows the number of feathers on their backs – or like some of us, the lack of feathers…

You’re not going to believe this, but this here feather has been stuck in that same place in our yard for about five weeks.  It’s become a talking point at our house.  Each morning we get up go to the window and say “It’s still there.”  As I’ve mentioned before my chicks molt at the oddest time of year, they lose all their feathers and get new feathers, and it’s usually in late fall, early winter.  They’re nearly bald for anywhere from 8-16 weeks and that’s a really long time when it’s cold outside.  Just as we’ve noted before God’s ways are not our ways, so molt they must.

What makes this odd is that this feather is completely out in the open, no protection or shelter, and the wind blows at our house all the time – gale force – well, maybe not quite gale force, but a steady 10 with a gust or two all of the time.  We’d welcome a “Quiet down!” from the Lord every once in a while.  Anyway, you get my drift.

As I was heading back from the barn the other day, I did a feather check and I marveled that it was still standing, it was holding steady, even in unsteady conditions.  You see, a 10 mph breeze is nothing for the chickens, the cat, the dog, the horses, and certainly not for us, but for a feather that weighs .000289 ounces (yep), even a breath could waft it into the next county, yet it stands firm.  It may sway in the breeze, but it always goes back to center position, reaching toward the Heavens.  This feather never looses its balance.  This feather is strongly embedded, tethered, anchored to the ground where it fell.  No amount of weather has been able to push it over or away.  It made me wonder if I’m that strongly tethered?  Do I sway with the world?  When a big gust comes along will you find me in the next county?  Can I withstand all kinds of weather and not lose my balance?   Does my anchor hold?

For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying:

“I will certainly bless you, and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.” Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.  Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.  Hebrews 6:13-19

Hope, the anchor for our souls.  Hope in the knowledge that God keeps His promises.  In fact, He didn’t just promise, He also took an oath, in His own name.  We have His promise and His oath! 

If our anchor is tethered to the shifting sands of this world, it simply has no hope of holding.

Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them: He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid his foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the torrent crashed against that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.

But the one who hears My words and does not act on them is like a man who built his house on ground without a foundation. The torrent crashed against that house, and immediately it fell—and great was its destruction!”

Luke 6:46-49

In the trials of this life, the gale (or should I say Gail) force winds, we must be securely anchored to our Great High Priest.  The One who constantly intercedes on our behalf, if we have placed our hope in Him.

Where are you tethered?  What secures you?  What type of foundation are you anchored in? The Rock or in the sand?

As you know (I’ve grumbled enough about it), I’ve had some technology issues for the past two weeks.  When I post my blog each Wednesday, I have to login to what is called my “Dashboard.”  It’s really the hub of where everything is done on a blog.  Where you type, where you format, where you post, where you upload, it’s critical to posting on the website, you can’t do it without access to it,  so not being able to login was kind of a big deal, as you saw.

Over the course of the two weeks, I tried everything I knew.  I did know that my login and password were correct, but for some reason, it just locked me out.  I entered it about a thousand times thinking I must be one key off.  The curious thing about not being able to get in is that my login and password auto populate, I never type them in.  Anyway, that was my problem, or part of my problem.

I can generally operate apps but I don’t know how to make apps work, if that makes sense.  I tried everything I knew to do, but I just could not fix the problem.

After two weeks of stubbornly fighting and fussing, I did what any ordinary person would have done from the get go – I asked for help.  Yep.  I logged right on to my host website and made a new friend, his name is Orwin, I call him Dr. Orwin because he healed my login issue.  We live chatted at 4:30 a.m. on a Wednesday morning.  And much to my dismay and jubilation, Dr.  Orwin promptly fixed my login problem.  What took about half an hour, actually less because of the delay in live chatting, I had agonized over for two weeks.  Ugh!

Is there no medicine in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why is there no healing for the wounds of my people?  Jeremiah 8:22

So, after two weeks of unnecessary pain, frustration and delay, I went to the physician (Dr. Orwin) and I applied the medicine (new login information).  Applying the balm actually resolved the problem quite quickly, but that only happened after I humbled myself and went to the one that could actually fix the problem.

I am so like the Israelites in many ways.  I am stubborn.  I would rather complain than take steps to be healed.  I don’t want to change my way of doing things. I feel sorry for myself.  I get super frustrated.  All because I will not humble myself to the Master Physician.  Gilead was known for its healing medicine, its balm, but the people refused the medicine.  They were stubborn, they complained, they didn’t turn from their ways (sin), they felt sorry for themselves, they frustrated themselves.

Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.  I have come to call sinners to turn from their sins, not to spend my time with those who think they are already good enough.”  Luke 5:31

Just like my technology issue could only be healed by Dr. Orwin, my spiritual issues (sin) can only be healed by the Master Physician, yours too.  Here’s the thing – healing can only take place if we stop trying to fix ourselves, if we stop thinking we’re in control, we’re all powerful, if we stop delaying, if we stop thinking we can do it on our own, if we humble ourselves, if we stop trying every other remedy.  He provides the medicine, the balm, to heal our brokenness, our hurt, our pain, our frustrations, our anxieties.  But the medicine only works if we actually take it, if we apply it.

He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right.

By his wounds you are healed. Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls. 1 Peter 2:22-25

He who knew no sin came to take away our sin.  The only one that can heal us came to heal us.  His wounds were the remedy, the healing for all our broken spirits.  But, healing can only come if we take in the medicine, if we accept the balm, the healing remedy from the Master Physician.

Each year we pull the mats out of the stalls and let the stalls dry out to prepare for winter.  Each year in the Fall as we’re doing this chore we say, next year we’re going to do this as soon as they come out in the Spring. Each year we’re doing it in the Fall, in the nick of time.

Starting in very early Spring through very late Fall,  the horses are outside 24-7.  Of course they are, you say.  They’re animals.  Right you are.  Although we’d been working a little along, we didn’t quite have our barn ready for the cold they called for last night, 20s and windy.  So, at 8:00 p.m. we ran to the barn, finished pulling the last mats back into place, threw out some sawdust a couple flakes of hay and brought them inside.  They walked right in and looked at us with nothing less than gratitude, for real.  They love being in in the winter, who doesn’t like being brought in from the elements?

I’m looking at Paige and I said to Tony, look at her poor eye.  She has an eye thing that when the wind blows her eyes water constantly and it is uncomfortable and with the wind of the past couple of days, the tears were rolling down her face.  Tony said now it won’t be a problem.  Bringing them into their stalls provides a little bit of relief from the wind, the cold, and whatever other element might be happening.  It’s comforting to them.

As I stand there rubbing her nose and wiping her eye, I think to myself, isn’t this what God does for us?  When we’re out in the elements, doesn’t he dry our eyes, give us shelter and protect us from howling winds?

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 2 Corinthians 1:3

He is the source of all our comfort.  He comforts us because we are His children, He comforts us because He loves us, He comforts us because he is compassionate, He comforts us to teach us how to comfort others.

He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

2 Corinthians 1:4

In our troubles we learn what real comfort is – the comfort from God.  It doesn’t mean that our troubles go away, it means that He gives us the strength that we need, it means He encourages us to persevere through our trouble, and it means He will comfort us while we endure those troubles.

Then a really beautiful thing happens.  The God who gives comfort gives us opportunities to reflect Him by comforting others.  How does that happen?

When Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, he wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the LORD.  So when Aaron and the people of Israel saw the radiance of Moses’ face, they were afraid to come near him.  Exodus 34:29-30

Do you see what happened?  When Moses spent time with the Lord, he took on a characteristic of the One he abided with – God.  Moses experienced the glory of God.  God is light and Moses reflected that light.

Do you see what happened?  When Moses spent time with the Lord, he took on a characteristic of the One he abided with – God.  Moses experienced the glory of God.  God is light and Moses reflected that light. Moses literally reflected the light of God.

In the same way that Moses reflected the bright light of God, we can reflect the comfort of God because we have experienced His comfort.  We would not have known His comfort had we not experienced trouble.  We would not have known His comfort had we not seen His light. We would not be able to comfort others had we not been comforted by the Comforter.

“Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the LORD rises to shine on you.” Isaiah 60:1

I scan my blog occasionally.  I like to look back, read over those lessons the Lord has given, evaluate where I am in my walk with Him – moving forward, moving backward?  Did a message stick?  Do I remember the message?  Do I need to hear it again and again because of my stubborn spirit?   What’s my heart condition? Glorious Day is one of those messages I feel like I need to hear often.  I need The Spirit within to remind me that I have a choice as to how I will handle those things that I can and cannot control.  Will I spend my time looking for my lost mind or praising my Savior all the day long?   I pray for His strength to do the latter.

GLORIOUS DAY

I’m out walking in the dawn’s early light.  Sun peeping.  Silent.  Cool.  Refreshing.  Observing the work of the Master Artist puts a little spring in my step, a lilt in my tilt, a be in my bop.  I walk with the worst-best dog ever, feeling whole.  The sense that all is right with the world is palpable.  I offer praises to my Maker for the glory of the moment.  I smile.  It’s simply a glorious day!

When I start thinking about my day, reality sets in.  The song stops.  The birds stop singing.  The storm clouds roll in.  The mind reels.  I think of the busyness of the day ahead.  I think of the diagnosis of a friend.  I think of the relationship hurts of another.  I think of the addictions of another.  I think of the loss of a loved one of another.  I think…I think…I think…  As I think, I pray.  As I pray, I look beyond to the scape that only minutes ago made me feel on top of the world.  Have you ever experienced that? Mountain to valley in a minute? Rising to submerged in a second?  Underwhelmed to overwhelmed in a heartbeat?  I wonder to myself, how did I get from glorious to downright gloomy in a millisecond?  I simply lost my mind – no kidding, I completely lost perspective and perspective comes from the mind.

I look out across the field and the landscape has totally changed.  So, I continue to walk, my prayers changing from praise to pleading.  Then I hear this still small voice (now you really think I’ve lost my mind) say “Nothing that happens today will change the fact that today is a glorious day.”  I understand.  In my lost mind I go to all the buts and His voice responds.  But…it’s still a glorious day.  But…it doesn’t change that this is a glorious day.  But…it will still be a glorious day.  Over and over again.  No matter what happens today…it doesn’t change the fact that today is a glorious day.

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.  Now glory be to God our Father forever and ever.  Amen.  Philippians 4:19-20

Glorious – full of glory – adoring praise or worshipful thanksgiving – absolute gratification.

Rejoice evermore.

Pray without ceasing.

In every thing give thanks:  for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Sun going down, I was again walking the worst-best dog in the same spot as this morning.  I look across the fields and at the sky.  I observe again the work of the Master artist.  The clouds show the Earth’s rotation.  Thinking back on the things of the day, even the things that made me briefly lose my mind, the hard things, the scary things, I can thank Him for showing me that “It was simply a glorious day.”  Thank you, Lord.

The problem with preachers today is that

no one wants to kill them!

Well, that’s a shocking statement, isn’t it?  This statement was made by a modern day Bible teacher as he was talking about the Puritans of the past.  The statement took me a little by surprise, especially with all the violence today in our own backyards, but the more I read this statement, the more I was getting what this Bible teacher meant.  And he’s right.  What, you say?!?  Think about it.  The quote hit me squarely in the heart.  This quote is not just for preachers, or Bible teachers, it is for all of us.

I’m not a preacher hater, I love preachers, and I’m certainly not saying they should be killed, you know that.  After pondering this statement for a few days, I will say I understand the message the stater was trying to convey and it should make us stop and think.  Stephen was stoned.  Philip and Thomas were crucified.  Matthew died by the sword.  James and Matthias were stoned. John was hanged. John the Baptist was beheaded.  Why?  Because the folks they were talking to didn’t like the message.  You know, kind of like “kill the messenger” only these folks and more brought Good News, not bad news.

“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.  The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.  John 15:18-19

We, I mean I, have really tried to make the Good News too good news.  I’ve tried to spin the message to make it a much more palatable message, you know, only the good parts.  I’ve picked the easy parts to espouse – God is love, full of grace and mercy – and that’s so true, but that’s not all there is to the Good News.  I’ve only thrown softballs.  To tell someone only half of the Good News is not Good News for them.  That part would be the half that they easily swallow, but what about the rest of the story, the rest of the Good News. The whole Good News.  God sent His Son, His name was Jesus, to die in our place to atone for our sins.  Yes, we are sinners in need of a Redeemer.  We must be reborn.  We must be changed people.  We must repent. That’s the whole Good News.

Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you.  They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me.  John 15:20-21

Here’s what I’m wondering.  Does anyone want to harm me for the message I bring to the world?  Does the Good News I speak of offend others?  Does it stick in their crawl?  Does it make them think?  Is my message a warm and fuzzy message that has no hope of actually saving anyone, it just makes them feel good?  Does anyone hate me because I love the Lord?

The whole point is that Jesus told us we would be despised and rejected, just like He was, maybe even to death, just like He was.  And I find myself back at the question  — does the world love me or hate me?  That’s kind of the litmus test here.  If they love me is it because I’m speaking only half truths – half truths are lies by the way.  I look at our world and think about how desperately it/we need(s) a Savior.  Will I complain or will I proclaim?  Jesus concludes His message to His disciples as follows:

When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—He will testify about Me.  And you also must testify, because you have been with Me from the beginning. John 15:26-27

Preachers should be bold, truth speakers, Word deliverers, preparing the way for the Lord.  But, they aren’t the only ones – we are too.

P.S.  Yesterday, outside our office, was a preacher – a young guy.  He carried a small amp and microphone.  He stood on the corner proclaiming the Word of the Lord.  He didn’t look like the usual suspect.  In fact, you may have passed him by on the street without as much as a hello.  He read from his Bible, reached His hands to the Heavens and simply proclaimed the Word of the Lord.  It seemed effortless.  The Spirit of the Lord was in him.  He was speaking Truth and testifying about the Lord.  He was boldly proclaiming the Word of the Lord. He was preparing the way of the Lord.   Once again, I was hit squarely in the heart.

Is anyone else out there struggling with focus?  Focusing on Jesus, focusing on His message, focusing on His Word, focusing on His promises, focusing on His plan, focusing on the positive, focusing on His guidance, focusing on His direction, focusing on His still small voice?  Well, I am, big time!  The world we’re living in right now really is not ideal for an ADHDer like myself.  There are just way too many things going on – COVID, confirmation, election, work, life in general.  Can anyone else relate?

I tell you what, I’ve been a bear (my family and friends can attest to that).  I feel like my world, which is probably the same as your world is spinning so fast that my mind is boggled, and I struggle to focus.  There are so many things going on, all at the same time, that with the speed of my thoughts I’m getting whipped into a good ole focusless frenzy.  Picture me (or yourself if you’ve got the same thing happening) standing there with a duh look on my (your) face and the words of my (your) thoughts just swirling around above my head (or your head) so fast they are just a blur.  If I’ve looked at you lately and my eyes didn’t look like there was anyone home, there probably wasn’t.  I’m having trouble focusing.  You too?  So, as believers, what do we do?  We Fight for Focus – F³.  How do we do that?

Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for him, he thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and he is now seated at the right side of God’s throne.  Hebrews 12:2

Just like Jesus…  Jesus fixed his eyes on God, His Father, on whom He depended from beginning to end.  What a prime example He gave us.  If anyone had a right to be distracted, it would have been Jesus.  Distracted by unbelievers, distracted because of fish, distracted because of waves, distracted because of Pilate, distracted because He was being betrayed, distracted because all of His followers left Him, distracted because He was tortured, distracted because He was crucified.  But, here’s the thing – Jesus never lost focus.  He didn’t say “I just can’t think about that right now.” or “There’s too many things going on to be crucified.”  He didn’t give up because of what was going to happen.  He persevered because of what was going to happen to Him and what was going to happen for all of us.  How did He do that?  Well, honestly, He was Jesus.  But, He stayed connected to God.  He was obedient to God.  He did what God told Him to do.  Throughout His entire life He called on the name of His Father.  That’s our answer.

You see, if He knows the number of hairs on our head (or not), don’t you think He knows the number of thoughts swirling in our minds?  He understands.  Remember, Jesus walked this earth, and though He did not sin, He was human.  He knows what we’re going through. So, how do we Fight for Focus?

In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried out to my God. And from His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for help reached His ears. 2 Samuel 22:7

He says it quite simply.  Call on Him.  When we call on Jesus focus is possible.  When we are mired in the relentless thoughts swirling through our minds, we call on the name of the Lord.

He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters. 2 Samuel 22:17

And He answers.  Always. He will reach down from on high and take a hold of us and pull us out of the deep waters of our mind chaos.  He brings peace, discernment, and organization to our thoughts.  If we have to call on the name of Jesus a million times a day to maintain focus, that’s what we do.  When we can’t quite formulate our call to Him, when we just don’t have words, simply say His name – Jesus.  I can’t help but think He smiles every time He hears one of His children call His name.  Every time we call on His name we can smile too – we know whence our help comes from to focus.  It comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and earth.

Did you see that moon?  Wow!  I have a thing about the moon.  I mean I love the sun, it’s a magnificent creation, our daylight and our dayheat.  But, there’s just something about the fall moon.  The other morning, I was sitting on my front porch mooning.  Not the kind of mooning you’re thinking about.  The kind of mooning in the pitch blackness of early morning, very early morning.  The blackness made by turning off all the outside lights.  It is unbelievable what you can see when you turn out the lights!  Another day…Follow me to the front porch, in the silence of the early morning, in the darkness, to a chair.

This morning I sit and gaze at the moon.  All moons are beautiful but this one’s special.  This round, yellow-white, humongous moon was placed carefully in the sky, on the Fourth Day!  With the naked eye you can see outlines and details on this moon.  Spectacular!  So, in the darkness, I moonbathe.  Ever been moonbathing?  It’s similar to sunbathing, only better.  The moon is at about 2:00 over the mountain.  From where I’m sitting, it’s behind a big old maple tree.  You know when the sun is out and there’s a tree, you try to hide your eyes with a branch so you can see?  You know what I mean, right?  Well, it’s the exact opposite with the moon.  Instead of hiding from the moon behind the branches, I find myself searching for the moon around the branches.  The light shines in the darkness – heard that before?  I close my eyes and I sit.  I feel the fall breeze, listen to the tinkling leaves trying to hold on for just one more day.  I feel the moon on my face and I bathe in its glory and in the One who created it.

I think about how well I can see the moon in the darkness, and how incredibly bright it seems to be.  So bright that it casts shadows.  Then I think, would I realize how bright the moon was if it wasn’t so dark.  When the sun’s out, it is always bright, there is no darkness.  Do we even notice?  Not much.  I don’t always see the sun, because it’s always there.  Does that make sense?   I don’t recognize how bright the light, until I’ve seen the darkness.  I would not be able to glory in the moon and the One who created it, if it were always light.

Life’s like that too, you know.  We must sometimes travel in the dark to recognize the light.  There are many different kinds of darkness.  Physical darkness – illness.  Spiritual darkness – sin.  Emotional darkness – anxiety.  Relationship darkness – separation, abuse.  Financial darkness – there’s just not enough.  We’ve all got dark.  But there’s an incredible hope, a Light.

Because of God’s tender mercy, the light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.

Luke 1:78-79

Do you see what that says?  When we are overcome with darkness, when the night is pitch black,  when the dark hole is so deep, God will break upon us.  He will visit, descend, show up, make Himself known, appear, through the Light of Heaven, Jesus His only Son.

Psalm 112:4 puts it another way:

When darkness overtakes the godly, light will come bursting in.  The Lord is generous, compassionate and righteous.

When we are in our darkest moments because we’ve made an ever-loving mess of things, or due to circumstances completely beyond our control, when darkness has overtaken us – our spirits, our thoughts, our actions, our wallets, our relationships, our whatevers, the Light, not a light, but the Light will come in.  It doesn’t say that Light may show up, that it will be subtle, it says BURSTING in.  Jesus always shows up.  Not just a tiny speck of light in the darkness, but a full moon, so bright you can find your way.

Here’s the thing, the Light comes, not because of who we are or what we do, but because of who He is.  Remember what it said?  He is merciful.  He is peace-filled.  He is generous.  He is compassionate.  He is righteous.  He is Light.   The light does shine in the darkness and the darkness has not extinguished it.  It just can’t.  What incredible Light for our darkness.  The Light that gives Light to everyone.   To all who receive Him.  To all who call upon Him.

Sometimes we don’t know how dark it has been until we see the Light.

There’s a tree lined development on the way to our home.  Every time I ride by it, I’m curious.  Anywhere from 8-10 trees line each side of the paved entrance to that development.  When the leaves change this time of year, they really are quite beautiful.  The thing that interests me about these trees is that even though they are all the same species, all the same age, all planted at the same time, and all are exposed  to the same growing conditions – same rain, same sunshine, same wind, they’re all very different. Check them out.  Their leaves run the spectrum from a few browns to plentiful robust green to glowing reds.  They range in appearance from lifeless to vibrant. 

It made me think – isn’t that how we people are too?  I don’t know about you, but there are times I’ve felt spiritually lifeless, spiritually robust and spiritually glowing – sometimes all in the same day, or even the same minute.  Now I’m not a treeologist, but it was so odd to me that each of these trees had the exact same growing conditions yet appear so different.  Why is that?  I’m not sure, but it would seem to me that if they all had the same water, sun, wind, if they all faced the same living conditions, it would have to be something happening, or not happening in the trunk, you know, the heart of the tree – the foundation.  How did the tree use internally the provisions of nourishment to give it life?  Could it be the outer appearance changes are a result of how the inner tree used its provisions?  It stands to reason.

And the bread that God gives is the one who came down from heaven to give life to the world.  John 6:33

Why are we sometimes brown with very few leaves and at other times robust and glowing?  Could our appearance change have something to do with our trunk, our foundation, our heart?  Could it be that there’s something in our trunk that doesn’t allow us to lap up the Living Water?  Could it be that we don’t take in the nourishment of the Bread of Life?  It could be all of the above. 

But the Holy Spirit will come and help you, because the Father will send the Spirit to take my place. The Spirit will teach you everything and will remind you of what I said while I was with you.  John 14:26

We are reminded of where our Help comes from.  We are reminded that there is Someone who was sent by the Lord to teach us how to lap up the Living Water and feast on the Bread of Life.  We are reminded that He who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it.