Gulp...it's me

When you read Proverbs, do you find yourself saying, "who is this 'fool'?" "Who is this 'wicked person'?' "Who is the 'righteous'?"

I do. And then I reason, Oh, the wicked person and the fool is the unbeliever. The righteous are the believers made righteous in Christ, as Paul says.

And this is true.

But, I just glimpsed a more relevant meaning. A more applicable meaning. A more realistic meaning.

The fool is...me. The wicked person is

me.

Me in my sin. Me in my natural tendency, my flesh. Me in my own ways. Me without God's help.

Hmmm. I'll be reading Proverbs a little differently now. Heh.

Not what but how

The  more I read the New Testament, particularly the epistles, the more I see that God is not so concerned with what, but how.

I get so contorted with anxiousness about the what: what to-do item to tackle first, what to feed my family, what to be doing with my time, what to buy on amazon. And I so remember that "what" angst with life decisions that seems to start in  high school: what college to go to, what job to take, what man to marry, what city to live in, what house to buy. 

It's so important! 

But...I am really seeing that God is more concerned with how.

(And the right how leads us to the right whats.)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, (how)

And do not lean on your own understanding. (how)

In all your ways acknowledge Him (how)

And He will direct your paths.

Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (how)

I was just sitting here thinking, do I really care what my kids do with their free time? I mean, I do. But do I care much what they draw or paint or build? Do I care if they're playing with dolls or legos or Paw Patrol? Certainly I care and I'm interested and I love to hear their play babble.

But I care far, far more about how they are playing: are they getting along, do they have peaceful loving hearts, are they joyful, are they sharing, are their words to one another encouraging and building up, are they working in harmony together and out of love for the Lord?

And those things--mixed in with their own uniqueness and creativity--are what make their play-babble so beautiful to my ears and the rejoicing of my heart.

And what drives me crazy? Not when they change activities (unless they don't clean up the first...which rarely happens actually...we're working on it, ha). 

But when they start fighting. When they grab. When they hit each other. When there's a cutting word, or they turn a deaf ear to a call for help.

Wow, 23 results for "love one another" in the New Testament. It's amazing to skim through those and hear the heart of God. And then most other NT commands are the "how" of that love.

"Above all things, have intense and unfailing love for one another..." I Peter 4:8

Lord, renew my mind with this truth! So that I can love my fellow Christians and fill Your heart with joy. <3

Infinitely MORE delicious and fun

How exciting must God be

if His gifts alone keep us busy and addicted for a lifetime!

...and distracted from the Giver.

Impossible

Sin is essentially telling God, "I don't need You. I can do this on  my own."

I am so foolish!

I'm like a sunflower seed saying to the sun, "Please don't shine on me. I can do this growing and blossoming thing on my own."

Feeling Christmas

This Christmas...

If we feel honored yet suddenly controversial,
let us bear reproach with Mary.

If we feel shocked and betrayed,
let us toss and turn with Joseph.

If we feel the approval of God but the disdain of man,
let us faint with Mary's parents.

If we feel perfect peace and elation at home but unsettled and out of place around our peers,
let us waddle--with a cane--with Elizabeth.

If we feel chastised yet filled with praise, but unable to express it,
let us learn to listen with Zechariah.

If we feel weary and overburdened and put upon,
let us groan with Mary's donkey.

If we feel like we're late to a party we weren't invited to, and our neediness is met with indifference, even contempt,
let us join Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem.

If we feel that we must have planned poorly or misunderstood God's direction, and thus failed our children or caused our family unnecessary suffering,
let us join Joseph and Mary in the stable.

If we feel jerked into an emergency situation for which we are utterly inadequate and completely alone--hour after hour through the long, dark night--soothing, rubbing, babbling platitudes we will to be true, agonizing with and for a loved one--a dependent, simply doing in the moment while shutting out past and present, giving out of emptiness, stretched impossibly beyond the breaking point,
let us join Joseph helping Mary deliver a baby in a stable.

If we feel the elation of surviving an ordeal we never would have chosen for ourselves,
let us consider the One Who deliberately and calculatingly chose to be...

socially unacceptable
"unplanned" and considered illegitimate
poor, cold, hungry, uncomfortable
unwelcome
ignored
hunted and attemptedly slaughtered
a refugee
a nobody
a letdown
called an impostor, liar, devil
flattered and used, hated and slandered
plotted against
betrayed, arrested, condemned
whipped, mocked, spat upon
crucified

...for you. for me. for us.

If we feel the pinch of the narrow road--so much less traveled--
let us remember that it is the only way that leads to Life,
and step into rank beside--surprise!--all of God's especially-favoreds: Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, all those crazy prophets, John the Baptist, Peter, Paul.

Jesus.

If we feel anything,
let us feel awe.

Safer in the storm

We think once the storm is past, that we can breath a sign of relief: We are safe.

But in fact, we are less safe. For it is self-sufficiency and complacency and prayerlessness that are the true danger, the real enemy, not the storm.

It's thinking we are safe and don't need God's help that puts our souls in peril.

Persevere, not interfere

I just caught myself saying in my heart, regarding God's work and promise, "It's not happening fast enough for me." And alarm bells from the Holy Spirit went off in my head: that's what Sarah was thinking when she told Abraham to get a son through Hagar.

"I know God made us a promise, Abraham, but it's not happening fast enough. It must be my fault. [As if I, a mere mortal, could thwart the plan and decree of God.] We thought He meant a son through me, but maybe He didn't. Maybe we misunderstood. [As if His Holy Spirit doesn't help us--yea, make sure--that we understand when we need to, when we really want to.] Take Hagar."

And look at the untold regional and global unrest and terror that that interference has wrought from day one up to the present headlines.

Lord, I submit to Your timing. Enable me to believe You and to persevere, not interfere.