Finding Joy in the Midst of the Wadings and Waitings

Recently, as parents, we had to do something I hope we never have to do again - call 911.  Our little boy woke up screaming from stomach pain a few nights ago, and it only got worse.  He couldn't walk.  He couldn't stand.  He couldn't do anything, but lie in my lap and writhe in pain.

He cried out to his dad to pray for the pain to go away: "Pray Dad!"  Of course, his father had already been praying, but Seth wanted to hear Steve say it.  So, he did...but the pain didn't go away.  My precious little boy cried and cried, asking me why God didn't stop his pain.

He didn't understand.  He had prayed.  His dad had prayed.  His mom had prayed.  Why didn't God make it go away?  He fully expected God to make him better...right then.  Grasping for words that a little one could understand, I gave him the best Mommy answer I could, "I don't know why God's not making the pain go away.  He could do it.  We'll just keep praying, but sometimes God uses other people to make the pain go away.  The doctors will be here in a minute to help you."

His response was one that struck me, "But Jesus could do it NOW."

Thankfully, the stomach pain subsided by the time we got to the hospital.  Thankfully, the staff at Johnston Memorial were wonderful.  Thankfully, our little boy came out of the ordeal with a new-found interest in doctors and nurses.  "Mom, I think I want to be a doctor when I grow up...no, maybe an ambulance driver," he said with a smile on his face, before drifting off to a peaceful sleep in that big hospital bed.  Thankfully, our ordeal for the night was over...

But Seth's comment remained in my thoughts...

"But Jesus could do it NOW!"

I had caught myself saying the same thing only a couple of days earlier.  Why did He wait?  Why did Jesus choose to do something "the hard way," instead of fixing it for me immediately?  

Isn't it interesting that for the most part, we really do think that God should be at our beck and call.  We think He should give us an easy life, filled with pain-free days and glorious mountain-top experiences.  That is what we truly think, when we get pushed to our limits in situations that are completely out of our control.

And yet, time and time again, Scripture reminds us that God is not at our beck and call...that our life is not about us.  It's about the glory He can receive through what He does in us.    

I'm sure Joseph didn't think it was very fun to be sold into slavery, put in prison for something he didn't do, accused of wrong-doing, forgotten about, and then finally released after years of captivity (Gen. 37-45).  But he came to understand God's plan, when he realized that if those things had not happened, thousands and thousands of people would have died from starvation...including his family.

Daniel probably didn't relish the thought of being thrown into the lion's den (Dan. 6:1-28).  And yet, had he not been taken captive from his home, stolen away, and forced to work for someone who served other gods, we wouldn't have the account of Daniel in the lion's den.  We wouldn't know the power of God's ability to shut the mouths of lions, nor would Daniel's king probably ever come to a head knowledge - at least - of the ONE TRUE GOD. 

I'm sure the people in the early church would have rather not been murdered, beheaded, tortured, etc....  And yet, if the persecution had not come, Believers would not have been scattered in all directions, sending them and the Gospel out to parts of the world they had never considered visiting.  The persecution of the saints was the main reason for the spreading of the Gospel in Biblical times.

If Jesus had not "endured the cross, despising the shame" (Heb. 12;2), then all of humanity would be in a heap of trouble!

Is. 43:1-3a says, "But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you.  I have called you by your name;  You are Mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you:  and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.  When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel Your Savior....'"

Read that passage again...Isaiah doesn't say "IF we pass through the waters" or "IF we pass through the fire."  Isaiah says, "WHEN" we do. 

Yes, there are times that God allows "stuff" to happen....stuff that we never dreamed would happen.  And the option is always there - He could change it immediately.  Jesus could wipe it all away with one thought...and sometimes He does.  But then there are other times when He is patient with us in our suffering.  He doesn't immediately snatch away the thing that breaks us.  It's at that point when we have to put our faith into action and trust that He knows best....that He wants what's best for us...that He is still in control, even when our emotions are not.  It's then when we have to remember that He is WITH us and is causing something greater to be born IN us.


Oh, if we could just see what's on the other side of our suffering.  If we could just see how God takes the stench and turns it into the sweet smelling aroma of Christ for those around us, then our faith would never falter.  It would never waiver again.  But then, it wouldn't be faith.

We don't often get a chance to see those things ahead of time, but there is something we can do in the midst of them.  We can choose to see past what we think we know and see into what God is doing.  Read that again:  We can choose to see past what we think we know and see into what God is doing.  We can choose to believe that He really is with us as we pass through the water and walk through the fire and that He will be glorified and uplifted though it all.  We can choose to know that He is creating in us, more of Himself.

Knowing that - really knowing that - makes the WADING and WAITING have purpose and meaning, giving us joy in the midst of  the "stuff."      

Thank You, Lord, that we "have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body" (2 Cor. 4:7-11).  Praise You, Jesus.  Praise You.

The Covering

My mind has been on Genesis lately.  If you read my last blog post, you'll know why.  The picture of God's love in the midst of the Garden, after the Fall, has really done a number on my spiritual life. And today, I find myself here again...in Genesis...just as bumfuzzled and bewildered about the love of my Lord and His amazing care for His wayward creation. 

After Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, God showed many mercies to them.  One in particular was by clothing them for their life OUTSIDE the Garden.  This wasn't a joyous occasion.  He didn't take them out to the nearest Macy's and say, "Here, find anything you want, and I'll get it for you.  Just make sure it fits well, and I get a good deal for my money."

Instead, God had to do something very sad.  He had to take one of the animals He created...one of the animals Adam and Eve had probably petted and played with...one of the animals which was precious to them all...and He had to kill it.

Death had entered the world.

Adam and Eve, in their shame, had clothed themselves with fresh leaves, but their newly woven garments weren't going to last very long.  Can you imagine how long it would have taken for that type of clothing to be destroyed?  If you're having a hard time picturing it, just think with me about my six year old son playing football in the front yard with his older brother...dressed in a covering of leaves.  No matter how many stitches I had used to perfect the garment, it wouldn't last more than the first tackle! 

God knew this.  He knew their attempt at covering themselves wouldn't work very long outside the Garden.  They would need something else...something a little more suited for the weather...something a little more permanent.  So, in order to remedy this temporary "fix,"  God had to do something drastic. 

He had to kill.

He took one of His creations - we aren't told which animal it was - and He killed it, in order to provide a better covering for His wayward children.  This, in itself, is an act of love.  If He were the angry, vengeful, hateful God that some claim Him to be, He would have kicked the couple out of the Garden right then and there, clothed in their pitiful green leaves.   Yet, instead,  He sadly sacrificed something precious to Him to temporarily cover their sin, until a later time!

Did you get that - UNTIL A LATER TIME!  Fast forward with me a few thousand years.  God's children were still figuratively clothed in their temporary garments of animal skin - skins that wore out - skins that reeked of death - skins that were temporary.  There wasn't a permanent covering for their shame...UNTIL JESUS.

Is. 64:6 says, But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind have taken us away.  Yep, sounds like a covering of rotting leaves to me.  And yet, read on in the New Testament in Romans 4:6,7.  This is where the joyful covering takes place - no more sorrow, no more death:  Even as David also describes the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputes Righteousness without works saying, Blessed are they whose iniquites are forgiven and whose sins are covered.

Do you see the exchange?  God, in His sorrow, sacrificed an animal to provide a temporary shame covering for His children in the Garden.  And through the sacrifice of Christ, God joyfully provided a permanent and lasting shame covering - His righteousness.

Oh, how our lives would change if we would grasp onto this idea that we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ.  Oh, how our lives would change, if we would simply stop trying to cover our shame and allow God to do the work only He can do.

I challenge you.  Every morning as you dress, remember as you put on piece-by-piece - that you, as a Believer, are no longer clothed in shame.  You are no longer clothed in death.  You are, instead, clothed in the righteousness of Christ.  Your pitiful, wilting leaves have been exchanged by Him who knew no sin (made sin for us) that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.  Whew!  Can you hear the Spirit within you agreeing, as I can? 

If we do this, no longer will we get up in the morning, take one look in the mirror and think of what an awful person we are.  Instead, when we remind ourselves continually that we are clothed with the robes of righteousness that God prepared for us through Christ, we will be different.  We will continually be thankful to God, the Father, Who clothed us.  We'll be a humble, grateful people...and the fragrance that we give off to those around us, will be one of Jesus, instead of dead, wilting leaves.

More Genesis to come.  I'm sure of it!!!

Thank You, Father for taking away my stinky garments and providing beautiful, holy, sweet-smelling, precious robes to put on.  Thank You for giving and sacrificing in order for that exchange to take place.  Thank You, Jesus for making that exchange - Your righteousness for my filthy rags.  You are amazing.  Praise You, Jesus.  Praise You! 

Oh, What a Marriage Retreat Can Do For You!

We spent this past weekend at a marriage conference in beautiful, western North Carolina.  We've been about 9 times out of our 19 years of marriage, and it just gets better.  We go there to enrich our marriage, but more importantly, to hear from the Lord...and oh how He speaks when we listen!

One of the most precious times of "hearing from the Lord" this year, came during one of the break-out sessions at the conference.  There were about 60 of us gathered in a room together, waiting anxiously to hear what Dale and Jena Forehand had to say about marriage.  Steve and I had heard this husband/wife team speak before, so we knew we were in for a treat.

Dale Forehand started speaking first, talking about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  He painted the picture of what it must have been like, and then asked this question:  "Why do you think God asked them where they were?"

His question stemmed from Genesis 3:8,9:  "Then they heard the Lord God walking in the garden during the cool part of the day, and the man and his wife hid from the Lord God among the trees in the garden.  But the Lord God called to the man and said, 'Where are you?''  Now, God knew where Adam and Eve were.  It wasn't like He lost them.  So the question Dale Forehand asked was a good question to get some discussion started. 

One of the people in the class said God asked Adam and Eve that question to give them a chance to repent.  Another said something else I can't remember!  And then, the beautiful, blonde-headed lady in front of me said, "Because of His love."

I couldn't figure out why she said that.  I hadn't heard that answer before.  So, I kept turning it over and over again in my mind trying to figure out why God would have asked them where they were because of His love for them.  All of the sudden, I felt the Spirit speak into my heart...He missed them.  What?  I didn't quite catch that...could you repeat that again?  He missed them.

The more I thought about it, the more I think she was right.  Until sin came into the world, God had enjoyed beautiful, unbroken fellowship with His creation.  God spoke unhindered with Adam.  His "feet" walked the same paths in the garden that Adam enjoyed.  Their relationship was special...precious...unlike any every before and unlike any since, humanly speaking.  So, is it any wonder that God, out of a grieving heart, called out, "Where are you?" even though He knew where they were.

Anyone who has a child can somewhat picture a similar scenario.  Let's say that you have enjoyed a beautiful relationship with your son or daughter.  His/her life has been a joy from day one.  You have cared for that child, watched him/her grow, given your loved one everything he/she needed for life...and in return, your child has been so very grateful.  However, all of the sudden, that same child that used to run to you when life got hard, now walks away from you and shuts you out completely.  Instead of the long talks after school, you get a head nod, before your dear one runs and "hides" from your presence in his/her room - shutting the door physically and mentally.  Now, is your child gone?  Do you NOT know he/she is?  No.  Your little one is still in your home.  You know where that child is, but for some reason, he/she seems a million miles away.   I know, as a parent, my heart would be aching over the chasm of  broken fellowship, and I too, would wonder, "Where are you?"

Now, imagine how much deeper the Holy Father must have felt the dis-association with His children...with the entirety of His creation. 

So, as I sat there, my mind turning these thoughts over and over in my head, my eyes filled with tears.  How hurtful that must have been for Him....for them to "hide from His presence" (3:8), because of their sin.  Then it hit me like a ton bricks...He misses me, too..."Where are you, Belinda?"

I about burst into tears right then and there.  The sweetness of His quiet rebuke and the care with which He drew me back to Himself were so very precious to me.  I had allowed the worries, even of that day, to whisk away my mind from Him...to cause me to focus on the things of this world, instead of enjoying my relationship with Him and walking with Him.

So forgive me, but I have to ask you the same question today.  "Where are you?"  Have you allowed some sin to cause you to hide from the presence of the Lord?  Have you just "not had time" for Him lately?  Have you exchanged the trustworthiness of God for trusting in what this world will give you?  Whatever the case, if you've drifted away from the Father, He misses you.  He misses walking and talking with you in the cool of the day.  He misses listening to your struggles about your day and how you're afraid of what tomorrow might hold.  He misses listening to you tell Him of how much fun you had with your friends and how much you appreciate Him giving them to you.  He misses talking with you.  He missed talking to you.

He misses you. 


Don't believe me?  Luke 13:34 gives us a glimpse into the New Testament heart of the Father through Jesus who said:  "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it!"

You see, God wanted a relationship with them.  He wanted their fellowship.  He wanted to gather them together and protect them as a mother hen gathers her chicks under her wings...but they would not have Him.  They were more content to remain in their sin, than to come out from hiding and enjoy His presence.  May it never be said of us.  For you see, He still wants that same sweet fellowship today....with you and me!

So I'll ask you the question once again, and this time, let its truth settle deep into your heart, so that you respond appropriately.  "Where are you?"

Dearest Jesus, I pray for those today, who are hiding...who need to know that You know where they are and are calling them out and back into fellowship with You.  Lead them out of hiding, dear Jesus.  Let them know that even a "little sin" causes them broken fellowship with You.  Thank You, Lord that You speak...that You seek us out...that You, above all, miss us, when we are not walking with You in the garden of life.  Thank You.   You are amazing.  I praise You, Lord.  I praise You.