Trusting

I have a hymn I hate. I used to love to sing it; it always made me cry. But then I really thought about the lyrics and today it makes me cry thinking about ever singing it. Here goes...

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word, what a glory He sheds on our way! While we do His good will, He abides with us still, and with all who will trust and obey.

Just say no. This is not ok. It implies that he withdraws his had of support if we do not trust and obey. But the scripture says otherwise. How did Jesus handle "doubting" Thomas? He let him touch his wounds. (Read John 20 if you want the nitty gritty details.)

Now, perhaps I have giving the hymn too much grief. Let's keep going and see what you think…

Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Don't get me started. Since when does trusting and obeying guarantee happiness? You see where I'm going with this. This is tiptoeing too close to the line of living in illusion not reality. This reads like a sales pitch to me. Maybe I am too cynical….

Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies, but His smile quickly drives it away; not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear, can abide while we trust and obey.

I beg to differ. How many funerals have I tended over where families have trusted and obeyed; prayed and pleaded with God to save their children from addiction or the effects of a mental illness? I've lost count. But what I do know is that the sighs and tears continue even when families trust and obey. It feels like adding insult to injury to ask these families to abandon doubt, fear, sighing and crying as an act of obedience.

"Someone gave me a cartoon of a street preacher with a sign around his neck that said, "The world is not coming to an end; therefore you must suffer along and learn to cope."

Barbara Brown Taylor, Teaching Sermons on Suffering: God in Pain p.85-86

Carry on. Cope. Just understand that suffering is not a sign of disobedience and happiness is not a guaranteed outcome of faith. I hope this helps you breathe if you happen to be suffering right now.

The Blessings of Obedience

I want to say a dirty word…ready? Obedience.

Who likes to hear that? I hang out with people predisposed to saying “No!” when a “Yes” would have served them better. For some reason, I’m attracted to people who like to color outside the lines, break rules, and generally mess with authority figures. I’m not saying this is good or godly, but it is what it is.

Most folks who know my husband today like him better than they like me. It’s true. He’s quiet and kind and funny - and that ability to be quiet in sticky situations makes him seem smart. (OK, he is legit smart.) But I have to confess, I fell in love with him because, having known him for 50 years (gasp), I know he likes to color outside the lines, break rules and generally mess with authority figures that he feels are knuckleheads. For an introvert, the guy certainly could distract a teacher with his antics in our youth. One of our favorite stories about Pete happened soon after he arrived at our school as a transfer from Maine. We had a cool math teacher that we loved and Pete was in a small computer class taught by this same guy. Filled with guys, this small group was known to push the envelope and enjoyed bantering with their teacher. One day Mr. Crane had enough. “The next person that curses in this room gets a demerit!”

“Why the h-e-double hockey sticks do you want to do that?” answered my future husband. Pete had some explaining to do when that demerit notice showed up in the mail. (To fully appreciate this story, you have to know that this man never ever curses, and often chides the rest of us for what he perceives to be “loose lips.”) I suppose that’s why, years later, Pete couldn’t say but so much when our son brought home a note on his report card that said, “Could you please talk to Michael about not distracting me in class? He gets me laughing and this gets the entire class off track!” The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree! Pete and I put on our serious parental unit faces and spoke to Michael about the need to behave in class. It was hard, but we did it. Afterwards, I realized that it shouldn’t have been hard to tell our son this important truth.

Obedience may sound like a dirty word to those predisposed to wanting our own way, but it isn’t. It’s a beautiful word. The discipline of obedience brings with it all sorts of blessings. Disobedience may get us a few chuckles, but it probably won’t build character. Obedience isn’t something we do to avoid punishment; it’s a skill set we develop so that we might become people of character. There are limits to obedience, however. When we are asked to obey someone or something that stands in opposition to the God of our understanding, we do not obey. We resist. But cussing in class does not count as civil disobedience in deference to a higher call.

To obey is better than sacrifice…The holidays are wrapping up, and a new year filled with potential beckons. Is there anything related to “obedience” that you’ve been resisting? Is it holding you back from bigger and better things?