Glimpses of God’s Love

“And the time comes one morning when you wake up and find that you have become irrevocably what you were preparing all this time to be.”

Katherine Anne Porter

I do not know if this is true for others, but for me, the older I get the more my life makes sense. I understand myself a bit more and can give myself a tiny dose of compassion and empathy around the choices I made that are, perhaps, regrettable.

Although I do not know if it is true, I feel the hands of God on my timeline. I sense his presence and even intervention. Rarely was this apparent in real time.

As I age I think less about what I might mess up and more about what I will miss if I fail to pay attention. I feel far less pressure to perform because I have lost all confidence in my ability to control.

There is peace in this. My prayer for us -

God, help us to believe in your presence even when we cannot feel it. Help us to trust in you even when we do not understand you. Give us glimpses of your love for us so that we might carry on with courage.

Amen

Believing in the Worthiness of All

“A collective sense of worthiness could shake the world.”

Brené Brown

It could, but will it?

I do not mean to sound like a negative Nelly after feeling like a prickly pear just a few days ago, but there you have it. Will we ever collect enough sense of worthiness to shake us awake, much less shake the world?

I do not know.

But I do know two things, tops:

God, for whatever reason, chose us to be part of the shake up. This seems like such a crazy strategic plan, seeing as how courage so often fails us and we are so good at diminishing ourselves and others.

Thing two: God is moving. His pace may feel slow, but his word assures us that his plans will come to fruition. He wants a kingdom where the inherent worth of all is a given, not a cause for alarm or protest.

I’m settling into this idea that I am old enough that I may never see a world shaken by worthiness. But I refuse to abandon the plan. I don’t want to slow the pace down by my own actions. I am fully well aware that I am a small pea in a big pot of peas living on a tiny dot of the timeline of creation. But there is “thing one” and “thing two” to consider.

So for today, I choose to believe in the worthiness of all. And I am going to continue to feel alarmed when anyone’s worth is diminished and do my part to be a voice of dissent when worthiness is not valued for all and by all.

But first, I need a nap. Also something God does not frown on because he knows we are frail and mere mortals. We really do need a discussion with Him about why he feels so strongly that we can be a part of his kingdom coming work!

A Quiet Space of Strength

“Never assume that loud is strong and quiet is weak.”

Unknown

My granddaughter needs to get into gymnastics as soon as possible. We are running out of options at Meme’s house for her to express her athletic prowess and dramatic moves. Our TRX, end tables, exercise balls and weight bench have all become places for Norah to practice her moves. When she tried to do a pull up using an end table with a big lamp on it, we had to get LOUD to get her attention. Otherwise, that lamp was going to tumble and her head was probably going to be the thing that broke its fall.

But mostly, loud is not the way God works.

God is often quiet. He is in the song of the bird, the sneaky budding of plants in spring. Did you ever catch a leaf opening? God is quiet in his relentless movement towards justice and mercy for all. He is in the steady murmur of a new father as he rocks his wailing, loud baby to sleep.

God is quiet. God is showing us how to do strong.

Could you find some quiet today in your life? Just a few minutes is better than none.

See if conscious contact with God improves when you move into his quiet space of strength.

Chasing Our Tails

No temptation has seized you that isn’t common for people. But God is faithful. He won’t allow you to be tempted beyond your abilities. Instead, with the temptation, God will also supply a way out so that you will be able to endure it.

1 Corinthians 10:13 CEB

In the book of 1 Corinthians the Apostle Paul is writing a local church that is steeped in discord. Paul writes to both exhort and encourage them. When he gets to the part of his letter that includes the above mentioned passage, he is calling upon historical context to help the Corinthians further understand his advice. The history of God’s people is this:

“God’s people have a history of chasing our tails when we get anxious.”

(Scott McBean)

It turns out that throughout history, God’s people remain stubbornly predictable. When it gets difficult for us to feel God’s presence, we get scared and impatient. We run after other gods. THIS is the context of 1 Corinthians 10. He makes the case of the pattern in the first part of the chapter, and then exhorts his friends to do it differently going forward.

This passage is less about temptation and more about perseverance!

Perseverance is required because God’s plan is unfolding over a very long period of time. No wonder we get frightened and begin to look around for shortcuts to a satisfying life! The answer is not found in assuming that we should be able to overcome all temptation.

We are and will continue to be tempted. But the temptation is different than we have so literally assumed! It’s not egg mcmuffins or two pieces of cheesecake when one slice should suffice. It’s not about whether or not we are going to cheat on our spouse. The solution is not found in white knuckling the process of denying our preferences for things that are not good for us.

So what is it about? Stay tuned!

In the meantime, consider the word perseverance. Ask yourself what it might mean for you to persevere as you await God’s unfolding plans.

Day 16: The First Advent...

When the first recorded evidence of the Advent tradition occurred so very long ago, they were not the first people to wait:

During the rule of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest assigned service in the regiment of Abijah. His name was Zachariah. His wife was descended from the daughters of Aaron. Her name was Elizabeth. Together they lived honorably before God, careful in keeping to the ways of the commandments and enjoying a clear conscience before God. But they were childless because Elizabeth could never conceive, and now they were quite old.

It so happened that as Zachariah was carrying out his priestly duties before God, working the shift assigned to his regiment, it came his one turn in life to enter the sanctuary of God and burn incense. The congregation was gathered and praying outside the Temple at the hour of the incense offering. Unannounced, an angel of God appeared just to the right of the altar of incense. Zachariah was paralyzed in fear.

But the angel reassured him, “Don’t fear, Zachariah. Your prayer has been heard. Elizabeth, your wife, will bear a son by you. You are to name him John. You’re going to leap like a gazelle for joy, and not only you—many will delight in his birth. He’ll achieve great stature with God.

“He’ll drink neither wine nor beer. He’ll be filled with the Holy Spirit from the moment he leaves his mother’s womb. He will turn many sons and daughters of Israel back to their God. He will herald God’s arrival in the style and strength of Elijah, soften the hearts of parents to children, and kindle devout understanding among hardened skeptics—he’ll get the people ready for God.”

Zachariah said to the angel, “Do you expect me to believe this? I’m an old man and my wife is an old woman.”

But the angel said, “I am Gabriel, the sentinel of God, sent especially to bring you this glad news. But because you won’t believe me, you’ll be unable to say a word until the day of your son’s birth. Every word I’ve spoken to you will come true on time—God’s time.” ...When the course of his priestly assignment was completed, he went back home. It wasn’t long before his wife, Elizabeth, conceived. She went off by herself for five months, relishing her pregnancy. “So, this is how God acts to remedy my unfortunate condition!” she said.

Luke 1:5-20, 23-25 The Message

As we wait, we remember how God has acted towards his people in the past; oftentimes, even the good guys, like Zachariah struggled to make sense of what God was up to. If you’re feeling confused about who God is and what he is up to, if the signs of God’s presence seem fuzzy and out-of-sync to you, you are not the first person nor will you be the last to question God. Breathe.