It’s Thanksgiving and I will be doing all the Thanksgiving family traditions, going to my sister’s house bringing along a variety of foods I’ve prepared for dinner. We meet there every year because she has the room to feed all of us. I slept in, taking advantage of the day off. But this day is set aside for more than sleeping, eating and football. It’s a day to gather together and remember all the goodness we have been blessed with throughout the past year.
We can all tick off the ways we’ve been blessed, but in doing so, we’d forget some of the gifts God has bestowed on us, there being so many, and we’d miss some entirely because we never knew of them. God’s blessings are sometimes unseen. The unknown accident that might have befallen us were it not for divine intervention, the chance meeting of an old friend, the illness we did not contract because of God’s protection. But I will attempt to name just a few of things I am grateful for today:
I am thankful for the love of family; for a loving husband and the blessing of a godly son; for love of faithful friends who have loved me through tough times and laughed with me in the good. I am blessed with good health and a good job. I have a house, that though humble, is nevertheless more than most people in the world have. I am not wealthy, yet I am able to pay my bills and have a little extra after they are paid. I am able to pay for medicines because I am able to afford health insurance. I live in a land with abundant food. I have clean water to drink. Countless people do not. I live in a nation that is free of civil strife and armed warfare. I have been gifted by God to do his will with writing and music, for that I am thankful. I did nothing to earn it, he just gave it.
And what I think most other Christians would say, I am most thankful for the love of God that caused him to send his Son into the world that we might be saved and have eternal life. I rejoice this day that I have had my spiritual debt paid in full, not of my own doing, but by the blood of Jesus. All other blessings are icing on the cake, so to speak.
I pray that your Thanksgiving be a day of rejoicing as you recall to mind all the goodness the Lord has poured out on you. The list is endless, but we have eternity to praise him for each one. Amen!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
All is Not Lost
It sometimes seems like I am a loser. Not in a game sense, or in a worthwhile sense. I mean there are times when I experience loss and it hurts. We all face losses throughout life. Loss of jobs, finances, health, and most painful of all, relationships with those we love most. Lately, it feels as though I have been the loser, and it’s painful.
In the past few months I’ve had to deal with loss as my only child went off to college on the east coast and that means very rarely ever seeing him. It’s not been easy to live without his presence, his laughter, and yes, even his grumblings, though they were few. Although I knew he would grow up and move out, I still wasn’t prepared for the sense of loss I have felt.
I am facing the potential loss of my longtime canine companion. He’s quite old now and his health is rapidly deteriorating. I know there are those who do not understand how people can get so wrapped up in their pets, but I will feel the loss keenly when he breathes his last which may be sooner than I had hoped. I will be expecting a wagging tail and wet nose to greet me when I come home, and he will not be there, and yes, I will cry.
But another painful loss is that of a dear friend. She is moving to the southeast and like the circumstance with my son I will rarely have the opportunity to see her now. It will feel like she’s a million miles away, and though I know we will continue to communicate, I will miss her being nearby. I already feel the loss of her presence, and it hurts.
I have to stop and ask myself where God is in all the loss we experience. To be honest, I question him at times because of it. I know we are just sojourners in this world, and we have been warned that all things of this life are temporary, but that impermanence can break hearts and leave us grieving. It seems to be the human condition. We have lived with loss ever since the first one in the garden.
I forget that God feels loss as well, more than we can understand. The paradox of knowing he doesn’t need us, yet he doesn’t want to be without us. A sense of loss that compelled him to send his Son to reclaim those lost to him. It’s what causes him to extend grace so we can know what we, too, have lost relationally with God, to comprehend in our limited capacity how great the loss was when we sinned. Without grace, we can never understand how much we stand to lose if we neglect the free gift of salvation.
He understands our other losses, too, and although I am no theologian, I can’t help but think he redraws the lines of our lives to keep us moving closer to him. He takes no pleasure in our sorrows and losses, but he will use them to transform us. He will use brokenness to strengthen us, and will turn our losses into gains.
As I write this, it doesn’t make the pain of loss lessen. And the old adage of “time heals all wounds” is a crock. Loss hurts and it always will until Jesus returns and all tears are wiped away. But even though knowing all things are temporary is painful, knowing all things are temporary is also a gift of grace. For Paul says he counts all things as loss save the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
One day, I will be forever with those I love. There no distance will impede presence and joy. Until then, I will live with the losses and the tears and know that God will restore all to what he had envisioned for us at creation. I will thank him for the love I have experienced through those he has placed in my life, those near and those far. And I will try to remember that losses are only for a season, even though they might be painful. God’s restoration will make all things new.
While we await the fullness of the promise, God will hold our hearts, minds and spirits close to him, and grieve our losses with us. And the Spirit will remind us once again that Christ lost all for us so we could gain all in him.
In the past few months I’ve had to deal with loss as my only child went off to college on the east coast and that means very rarely ever seeing him. It’s not been easy to live without his presence, his laughter, and yes, even his grumblings, though they were few. Although I knew he would grow up and move out, I still wasn’t prepared for the sense of loss I have felt.
I am facing the potential loss of my longtime canine companion. He’s quite old now and his health is rapidly deteriorating. I know there are those who do not understand how people can get so wrapped up in their pets, but I will feel the loss keenly when he breathes his last which may be sooner than I had hoped. I will be expecting a wagging tail and wet nose to greet me when I come home, and he will not be there, and yes, I will cry.
But another painful loss is that of a dear friend. She is moving to the southeast and like the circumstance with my son I will rarely have the opportunity to see her now. It will feel like she’s a million miles away, and though I know we will continue to communicate, I will miss her being nearby. I already feel the loss of her presence, and it hurts.
I have to stop and ask myself where God is in all the loss we experience. To be honest, I question him at times because of it. I know we are just sojourners in this world, and we have been warned that all things of this life are temporary, but that impermanence can break hearts and leave us grieving. It seems to be the human condition. We have lived with loss ever since the first one in the garden.
I forget that God feels loss as well, more than we can understand. The paradox of knowing he doesn’t need us, yet he doesn’t want to be without us. A sense of loss that compelled him to send his Son to reclaim those lost to him. It’s what causes him to extend grace so we can know what we, too, have lost relationally with God, to comprehend in our limited capacity how great the loss was when we sinned. Without grace, we can never understand how much we stand to lose if we neglect the free gift of salvation.
He understands our other losses, too, and although I am no theologian, I can’t help but think he redraws the lines of our lives to keep us moving closer to him. He takes no pleasure in our sorrows and losses, but he will use them to transform us. He will use brokenness to strengthen us, and will turn our losses into gains.
As I write this, it doesn’t make the pain of loss lessen. And the old adage of “time heals all wounds” is a crock. Loss hurts and it always will until Jesus returns and all tears are wiped away. But even though knowing all things are temporary is painful, knowing all things are temporary is also a gift of grace. For Paul says he counts all things as loss save the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
One day, I will be forever with those I love. There no distance will impede presence and joy. Until then, I will live with the losses and the tears and know that God will restore all to what he had envisioned for us at creation. I will thank him for the love I have experienced through those he has placed in my life, those near and those far. And I will try to remember that losses are only for a season, even though they might be painful. God’s restoration will make all things new.
While we await the fullness of the promise, God will hold our hearts, minds and spirits close to him, and grieve our losses with us. And the Spirit will remind us once again that Christ lost all for us so we could gain all in him.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The Times are in God's Hands
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment…For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, busy with this very thing. Pay to all what is due them—taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due. (Romans 13:1-2; 6-7)
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. (1Tim. 2:1-2)
The election process is finally over. It has been a long, strange journey, filled with ground-breaking surprises, highs and lows. We have awakened this morning to a new president-elect and I know I am not alone in wondering what this means for our nation. Things were going change regardless of who was elected. Now we wait to see what will come of this decision by the citizens who voted.
Scripture makes clear that all authority is from God. We have as our president the one appointed for this time. For those who supported the candidate who lost, it might be a time of disappointment and concern for the direction of our country. But God is in control and we are to entrust all things to his keeping, including our leaders and nation. Scripture says we are to pray for our leaders so we can go freely about kingdom business. This is what I will do. My pastor often says, “It will be what it will be.” Wise words. Not fatalistic, just true. We do not always understand what God is doing. He chooses to keep things veiled from us sometimes. Our job as believers is to trust and obey as the old hymn says. We are to pray for our leaders and render to them what is due. Regardless of how you voted, this is what God commands.
Pray for our new President. Pray for our Congress. Pray for our Governor, and for all who are in positions of authority. Pray for our nation, that godly men and women would work for justice and peace. And pray that as believers, we would seize every opportunity to spread the gospel whether circumstances are favorable or not (2 Tim. 4:2). And be thankful that we live in a nation where power changes hands in a peaceful, orderly manner and that we can exercise our faith openly. We are doubly blessed.
Regardless of how you voted, the times are in God’s hands. Leave to him what the future holds and be faithful to do as he commands: trust and pray. This is the will of God for all who are called. It is our witness.
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. (1Tim. 2:1-2)
The election process is finally over. It has been a long, strange journey, filled with ground-breaking surprises, highs and lows. We have awakened this morning to a new president-elect and I know I am not alone in wondering what this means for our nation. Things were going change regardless of who was elected. Now we wait to see what will come of this decision by the citizens who voted.
Scripture makes clear that all authority is from God. We have as our president the one appointed for this time. For those who supported the candidate who lost, it might be a time of disappointment and concern for the direction of our country. But God is in control and we are to entrust all things to his keeping, including our leaders and nation. Scripture says we are to pray for our leaders so we can go freely about kingdom business. This is what I will do. My pastor often says, “It will be what it will be.” Wise words. Not fatalistic, just true. We do not always understand what God is doing. He chooses to keep things veiled from us sometimes. Our job as believers is to trust and obey as the old hymn says. We are to pray for our leaders and render to them what is due. Regardless of how you voted, this is what God commands.
Pray for our new President. Pray for our Congress. Pray for our Governor, and for all who are in positions of authority. Pray for our nation, that godly men and women would work for justice and peace. And pray that as believers, we would seize every opportunity to spread the gospel whether circumstances are favorable or not (2 Tim. 4:2). And be thankful that we live in a nation where power changes hands in a peaceful, orderly manner and that we can exercise our faith openly. We are doubly blessed.
Regardless of how you voted, the times are in God’s hands. Leave to him what the future holds and be faithful to do as he commands: trust and pray. This is the will of God for all who are called. It is our witness.
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