Do you believe, way down deep in your heart, honestly now, that being a Christian should guarantee or at least give access to, a trouble-free, easy life? When you look at your troubles and sufferings, do you wonder why God allows you, His beloved child, to go through them? Has He not promised at least a bit of ease and comfort?

Well, comfort yes, ease no. The comfort is found in the shadow of His wings. In Psalm 57, David cried out to God for mercy, since his soul was in the midst of lions and fiery beasts. (Sounds pretty bleak to me.) We too cry for mercy when we struggle: "God help me!" But David goes a step further than merely crying for mercy. He takes refuge. Where? In a cave, hiding from Saul's men, but more crucially, in the shadow of God's wings. Both dark places, to be sure. But one a safe place, a refuge for his very soul.

In the dark times and always, God has us covered, protected from the worst of the storm. We are not alone. Our hearts can be steadfast. (Repeat that statement as needed for maximum comfort.) We are sheltered.

Are you aware that it is a grain of sand, a tiny piece of earth, that is at the core of a pearl? That it is an irritation that creates such a beautiful precious thing? There is certainly a parallel here to our irritations, even trials, that we do well not to miss. It reinforces the thought that "trials are a mark of God's mercy", to quote Elyse Fitzpatrick. Trials are not merely a way for God to show us mercy, but are actually given to grow us, to help form us into beautiful reflections of Jesus Christ. We have all heard how it is the refiner's fire that purifies gold and other elements into things of beauty, and that the same can be said of irritations in our lives.

James rightly says then to "consider it all joy, my brothers, when you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness, and let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

Think now of a current irritation or trial in your life. Are you letting the testing of your faith produce steadfastness? Are you leaning into God in this thing? Are you letting the steadfastness of God have its full effect by settling into it and thanking God for it? I know this is hard, impossible even, without the Lord God. Read Psalm 57 slowly, inserting your own struggles into it, and understand the steadfastness of the Lord on your behalf.

More tomorrow on God's help in your suffering.

Self-talk Finale

A final note about self-talk: When you think about what you tell yourself regarding life, circumstances, other people (especially annoying ones), trials, keep in mind the gospel. How does the gospel inform my thought patterns? How does the historical reality of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection alter what I might say to myself?

Because of the gospel, I am a new creature, body, mind and soul. There is the real possibility of and power to think new thoughts, thoughts that mirror Christ's amazing grace to me. I can be pure, I can love others, I can be strong in trials because of Christ's Spirit living in me. Second Corinthians 3:18 reminds me that "we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." Amen and amen.

So today, behold the gospel, the Christ of the gospel, and be changed.

Burdens and Rest

Alright, so I've finally given something to God that I've been holding onto and am really beginning to trust Him with it. Or am I? Maybe I'm just past caring. Maybe I'm so tired of caring too much that I've decided to not care at all and have called it by the noble title "Trusting God". And it just all comes back to fullness of me instead of fullness of joy.

Well, laying my burden down is laying it down, it matters little why. The important thing is to lay it down and spend my "worry" time instead "learning of Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:29) Jesus will give me rest from my burdens and worries, especially the more I learn of Him and what burdens He bore for me. Read Isaiah 53 and think of them, those burdens of His. Rest in the completion of them for you. And remember that when you lay your burdens down, He takes them up.

I bless the Christ of God; I rest on love divine:
and with unfaltering lip and heart, I call this Savior mine.
His cross dispels each doubt; I bury in his tomb
each thought of unbelief and fear, each lingering shade of gloom.
from "Not What My Hands Have Done"

Mercy and Trials

"Your trial is a mark of God's mercy." What do you think of that statement? Do you agree? What does it mean to you? In what ways have you found it to be true in your life?

Jean

Wrestling with God

I wrestled with God last night. In fact, I threw every argument in the book at Him. I even tried the crying ruse. Guess who won?

At least one good thing came out of it--I finally figured out why these wrestling matches come so often in the middle of the night, besides the fact that the devil loves darkness and idle minds: God finally has our undistracted attention in the depths of night. Especially in winter. Who's going to get out of a warm bed to watch TV in a cold house? I can't even reach an arm out from beneath my electric blanket to turn on a reading light. So God had me right where He needed me to be.

And once my rantings and arguments were over, He spoke soothing words to my soul, words of Scriptures I had memorized this year, concluding with "Blessed is the one who trusts in You" (Psalm 103).

Psalm 62 says:
For God alone my soul waits in silence;
From Him comes my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I will not be greatly shaken.

Thank God that He always wins. As much as I'd like to be King of the Universe, I wouldn't make a very good one.

Therefore my trust is in the Lord, and not in mine own merit;
On Him my soul shall rest, His word upholds my fainting spirit:
His promised mercy is my fort,
My comfort and my sweet support;
I wait for it with patience. I wait for it with patience.
from "From Depths of Woe" by Martin Luther

Care to share any of your own wrestling stories?
Jean

Mirrors

"If we're truthful with ourselves, we'll see a lot of things we'd really rather not look at", says Shelly Beach in The Silent Seduction of Self-Talk. And I don't think she's talking about unplucked eyebrows and gray hairs. Okay, maybe the eyebrows. But she really means for us to look below the surface at the irritations we feel toward certain people; at the way we are so easily annoyed, even angered; at our me-first approach to situations (like checkout lines?); at my, dare I say it?, anger toward God for not working things out my way.

We probably all need to take that good long look at our real selves and deal with what we see there. Here are some first steps:

• Ask God to reveal hidden ungodly motives and sense of entitlement to you. Shelly says, "One of the most amazing things about our self-talk is our power to deceive ourselves into thinking preposterous things." God can open your eyes to those things.
• Journal what God reveals to you. Ask a close friend to help you with blind spots and any victim mentality you may be exhibiting. Ask yourself hard questions. Listen to yourself. Practice silence.
• Seek to be accountable to someone. Ask that good friend to tell you what you sound like.
• Make new choices based on what God has shown you.
• Draw near to God; tend a passion for him. Soak in Scripture, even memorizing it.

What is God really after here? Does he want us to become people who stare at ourselves all the time, watching our every step, lest we step out of bounds? Romans 8:29 tells us what he is after: "For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." What is he after? Our sanctification, our Christlikeness, our looking like him, "filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the praise and glory of God." (Philippians 1:11) So it's not really about me and my eyebrows at all, is it? It's about freedom for me and glory for him.

Thoughts?
Jean