Live by What You Know

It's disheartening to be dismissed or rejected by people we do not know well, but we may feel a whole range of greater emotion if we are betrayed by someone we trusted: anger, disappointment, self-pity, even revenge. David expresses all of these in Psalm 55, written probably under the persecution of Saul and his adherents or when his own son Absalom conspired against him. "It is not an enemy who taunts me—I could bear that. It is not my foes who so arrogantly insult me—I could have hidden from them. Instead, it is you—my equal, my companion and close friend. What good fellowship we once enjoyed as we walked together to the house of God. Let death stalk my enemies; let the grave swallow them alive, for evil makes its home within them." (verses 55:12-15)

But listen as David replies to himself. "But I will call on God, and the Lord will rescue me. Morning, noon, and night I cry out in my distress, and the Lord hears my voice. He ransoms me and keeps me safe from the battle waged against me, though many still oppose me. God, who has ruled forever, will hear me and humble them." (12-19)

Again he complains, "As for my companion, he betrayed his friends; he broke his promises. His words are as smooth as butter, but in his heart is war. His words are as soothing as lotion, but underneath are daggers!" And again, he assures and comforts himself, "Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall." (20-22)

In many ways, David's experiences forecast those of the Lord Himself. He came unto His own and His own received Him not, the Scripture explains, and says further that He is (not just was, long ago) despised and rejected of men. Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests to arrange to betray Jesus to them. They were glad see him when they heard why he had come, and promised to give him money for his ugly deed. He began then to plan for an opportunity to betray Jesus. Worst of all, Jesus endured feeling abandoned and cried from the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Yet, at the very last, in spite of violence to body and soul, He acknowledged the presence of His Father by saying, "Into Thy hands I commend my spirit."

David had to live by what he knew rather than by what he could see or what he felt. Jesus had to live by what He knew rather than by what He could see or what He felt. When we feel hounded by circumstances, betrayed by people, perhaps even disappointed in ourselves, we are called to meet the challenge: Live by what you know, not by what you can see or what you feel.

Marjorie

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.

Pleasing Everybody

You just can't please everybody. We quote Abraham Lincoln as saying, "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you can not fool all the people all of the time." (Or that may have been Phineas Barnum of circus fame, according to the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.) It would be equally true had Lincoln or Barnum said, "You can not please all the people all of the time."

I began as a child with the serious business of gaining approval. I tried very hard to please my parents, my teachers, my classmates, my church friends, my brothers although not so much—and God. For many years, I made huge efforts to please everybody or at least not displease them—and especially God.

I outgrew some of my need to please absolutely everyone after I discovered that it was simply impossible to do. But unfortunately, I continued a lot of my effort to please God and not displease Him. I was a Christian a long time before I began to understand that God's love is not earned by even my best personal behavior. Our relationship does not depend on how I feel, and His acceptance of me does not fluctuate according to what kind of day I've experienced. Because "pleasing" has always carried such burden with it, it is helpful for me now to think instead in terms of honoring God and His family. This has helped me change the emphasis from endless worry about doing the right thing to being the person He enjoys being around!

I love the paraphrase of the old "Living Bible," the version which preceded the New Living Translation. David sang in the Shepherd Psalm, "He helps me do what honors Him the most." (Psalm 23:3) God is not off somewhere, making black marks in His book whenever I fall short of my self-ideal of perfection. He is leading me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake, not mine. And He is right here, helping me do what honors Him the most.

Marjorie

A Quiet Place

I am of the opinion that most women, maybe even all of them, need a quiet place somewhere. This is probably true for men as well, although we've been led to believe that men and women are as different as night and day (or Mars and Venus, if you will). However, I know more about women, so I'll share from the viewpoint of those I've known.

I personally know about "busy" and about "tired." I was a single mom with a full-time job who was also attending school and participating actively in my church. And yet most days, I managed to find a quiet time and place for thought and prayer, not because I was so wonderfully spiritual but because it was essential for my survival! I know other women, back then and now, who also are pulled in many directions by their responsibilities, and yet they keep a calm place in the center of themselves. One of the ways they do that is by making a literal "quiet place."

I was grounded in the belief that "daily devotions" were one of the primary acts of a real Christian. Furthermore, one ought to give the best part of the day to God; naturally, that would be morning. (This in spite of the fact that many people would have to confess that morning is not their personal best part of the day!) I was convinced that Bishop Ralph Cushman's poem was exactly right.

So I think I know the secret,
Learned through many a troubled way:
"You must meet God in the morning
If you want Him through the day."

Is that actually true? I no longer think so. Didn't Jesus promise that the Father would send the Holy Spirit who would always be with us and in us? And hasn't the Father sent Him? I do recognize the importance of our two-way communication with God; that is what supports and builds our relationship with Him. I also know that a morning time before we get busy or pulled into some tense situation can be a significant help. But to assume that God doesn't stay close to me if I haven't said "Good morning" is sadly limiting Him. With the respect due Dr. Cushman, I have to differ from his conclusion. Obviously, it worked for him, and many other wise and wonderful Christians who also used early morning hours to pray and study and write their best-seller books. But there are still many others who have not been able to make that work in their lives.

One summer, I assisted in an orphanage, mothering several babies and toddlers. Young and inexperienced, I was simply overwhelmed with the responsibilities. When night came, I crashed wearily into bed. "I am so ashamed," I confessed to God. "I haven't even thought about You all day." A sense of comfort came over me as I remembered Jesus' words to His disciples, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me . . . If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love." (John 15:4, 10 KJV) It is as simple—and also as urgent—as staying connected. That is not the same for every woman, and often it is not the same for one woman at various stages of her life.

Ideally, busy women have a few moments at some time in their day to be alone and quiet, at least most days. This has proved to be important for the mental and emotional and spiritual well-being of a great many women over many generations. Susanna Wesley, mother of Charles and John, gave birth to nineteen babies, ten of whom lived to maturity. How did she ever find time to think and pray? Where could she find a quiet place? She had to create a time and a place. Sitting in her chair, she would flip the apron she was wearing up over her head, and the children knew they were not to disturb her while she was there!

But even if one has not found the quiet place, it is not wise or healthful or spiritual to live under condemnation for not being able to do so! Whatever it takes to keep a strong, vital connection to the Vine is what one needs to do, and all that one needs to do!

Marjorie

The lines of poetry above are part of a longer poem of Bishop Cushman's, which can be found at http://clergyresources.net/I%20met%20God%20in%20the%20Morning.htm

"I'm Here"

Forty years or so ago, an author of books for young people (Judy Blume) titled one of her stories, "Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret." That title came to mind today when I was thinking about whether or not God answers the prayers of those who aren't committed to serving Him.

Understandably, there is not consensus among non-believers, believers, and even scholars. Personally, I grew up believing that the only prayer God could hear from a sinner was "the sinner's prayer"—that is, "I am a sinner. I believe that Jesus died for my sins and I now receive Him as my Savior." That is what my religious instructors taught, and so that is what I believed. I am less sure of that now that I understand God is very much bigger than I thought!

Yes, there are Scriptures to argue for only "children of God" getting their prayers through. The blind man whom Jesus had healed declared, "Now we know God does not hear sinners, but only those who worship God and do His will." (John 9:31) The blind man, however, was simply making an argument against calling Jesus a sinner on the basis of the healing He had done on the Sabbath. He was not making a theological statement or attempting to teach those who were present.

Isaiah speaks of the sin issue too, as does the Psalmist. "Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear." "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear. But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. (Isaiah 59:1, 2; Psalm 66:18, 19 NKJV) There is a condition here that should not be ignored: these were God's own people. He needed to make clear that withholding blessing from them was, or would be, the consequence of dishonoring Him before those around them. To enjoy His favor while living in open sin would send the message that right relationship to God is of little concern.

Does God answer the prayer of sinners when they ask for protection, provision, or other kinds of help? It's hard to say. Countless stories assure us that some wonderful things do happen that are hard to explain in any other way. We know that "the Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation." (Psalm 145:8, 9 NLT) And ”he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike." Matthew 5:45 NLT) Did the righteous farmer get his prayers answered while the unrighteous farmer couldn't expect anything and just had to take what came? I guess only God knows. And He is the one who gets to decide.

I like to encourage people wherever I meet them to pray. Sam Shoemaker, who had significant spiritual impact on Alcoholics Anonymous and who founded the Faith at Work organization, tells of dealing with a desperate man who admitted he didn't believe in God and certainly didn't know how to pray. The Rev. Shoemaker asked him to try this experiment (on a regular basis): First, get down on your knees and say whatever comes to mind, addressing your thoughts to "The Unknown." Secondly, read a chapter from the book of John in the Bible.

Out of respect for the man of God, the inquirer obliged, albeit reluctantly. After awhile, the man found he was actually praying to God and he was reading the Bible on his own. At last he had to admit that "something" was helping him; he eventually became a Christian believer and a leader in the church. This was simply because, Shoemaker says, faith came in "when there was an opening for God to get through."

I would not want to limit God in the creative ways He uses to woo the hearts of those who need somebody on their side.

Are you there, God? It's me, Margaret—or Jennifer or Emily or Madison.
Yes, I'm here.

Marjorie

Scripture marked NKJV taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.

Has God Forgotten?

In the 6th century B.C., in three different deportations, the Jewish people were taken captive and exiled in a foreign land. What about God's promise that a king from David's line would sit on the throne forever? To those people, it surely must have looked sometimes like God had gone back on His word. The dire predictions of the prophets who spoke for God during that time must have alarmed the faithful few among the many idol worshippers. "Where is God? Is His promise true or not? Has He forgotten us?"

What they could not see, nor could the prophets who spoke of redemption understand, was that the Messiah King would come, hundreds of years later. It was He Who would sit on the throne eternally. He would be the fulfillment of all the promises, He would speak to all the disappointment, He would prove that God had not forgotten.

"Has the Lord rejected me forever? Will he never again be kind to me? Is his unfailing love gone forever? Have his promises permanently failed? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he slammed the door on his compassion?" (Psalm 77:7-9) It is not unusual for even the most committed Christian to go through a dark time when, like the captive Israelites or the dispirited psalm-singer, he/she might wonder, "Has God forgotten?" The mind knows, of course, that He has not, but the heart is still anxious. Charles H. Spurgeon, the great preacher from more than a century ago, spoke at length on these questions, and I have extracted some of his statements. (The entire sermon can be found at http://www.spurgeongems.org/vols31-33/chs1843.pdf)

Has God forgotten to be gracious? Then He has forgotten an old, long, ancient,
yes—eternal habit of His heart! Have you not heard that His mercy endures forever? Since His creation has He not, in Providence, always been gracious? Is not His rule to open His hands and supply the need of every living thing? Did He not give His Son to redeem mankind? Has He not sent His Spirit to turn men from darkness to light? After having been gracious all these myriads of ages, after having manifested His love and His grace at such a costly rate, has He forgotten it?

Has God forgotten to be gracious? Why then, He must have forgotten His purpose! Have you not heard that before the earth was, He purposed to redeem unto Himself a people who should be His own chosen, His children, His peculiar treasure, a people near unto Him? Before He made the heavens and the earth, had He not planned in His own mind that He would manifest the fullness of His Grace toward His people in Christ Jesus? And do you think that He has turned from His eternal purpose, torn up His Divine decrees, burned the Book of Life and changed the whole course of His operations among the sons of men?

Has God forgotten to be gracious? Why then, He must have forgotten His own Covenant. Is it not called a Covenant of Grace? Is not grace the spirit and tenor of it? [The Lord declared, "If you can break my covenant with the day and the night so that one does not follow the other, only then will my covenant with my servant David be broken."] The Lord has not forgotten His Covenant with day and night; neither will He cast off His believing people!

More than that, when you say, "Has God forgotten to be gracious?" do you not forget that in such a case He must have forgotten His own Glory, for the main of His Glory lies in His grace. Does a man forget his honor? Does a man turn aside from his own name and fame? He may do so in a moment of madness, but the thrice holy God has not forgotten the Glory of His name, nor forgotten to be gracious!

If God has forgotten to be gracious, then He must have forgotten His own Son! He must have forgotten Calvary and the expiatory Sacrifice offered there! He must have forgotten Him that is always with Him at His right hand, making intercession for transgressors! Can you conceive of that? Yet it must be that He has forgotten His own Son if He has forgotten to be gracious!

Once more, if this were the case, the Lord must have forgotten His own Self, for Grace is of the essence of His Nature, since God is Love. We forget ourselves and disgrace ourselves, but God cannot do so. That the great Lord who has taken us to be His peculiar heritage and His jewels should cease to value us and forget to be gracious to us is impossibility!

I think I hear someone say, "I do not think that God has forgotten to be gracious except to me.” Does God make any exceptions? The Good Shepherd does not preserve some of His sheep, but all of them! And it is not concerning the strong ones of His flock that He says, "I give unto My sheep eternal life and they shall never perish"—He has said it of all the sheep, yes, and of the smallest lamb of all the flock, of the most scabbed and wounded, of all that He has purchased with His blood! The Lord has not forgotten Himself in any one instance—but He is faithful to all believers.

You may be alone or broke or broken-hearted. You may be stuck in a situation that seems hopeless or caught up in a problem that has, as far as you can tell, no solution . You may be weary or angry or afraid. You may be many things, but you are not forgotten. One day, just as He did with coming of Jesus to Israel, He will fulfill His promises, He will speak to your disappointment, He will prove that He has not forgotten.

Has God forgotten to be gracious? No.

Marjorie

Scripture quotation is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.

Christmas Won't Be the Same

Some of my readers will have experienced loss this past year, and they may be saying, "Christmas will not be the same this year." Among my friends and even in my own family, we know that "Christmas won't be the same." We talk about and sing about "home for Christmas," but changes can come that mean home is not what it once was. A parent is gone now, a spouse, or sibling, or child. For many people in this tough economic climate, even the home itself has been lost.

Remembering the "before" is inevitable. It may help if we recognize ahead of time that certain words or rituals will trigger old feelings—sorrow, loss, regret, bittersweet commemoration. It's possible for anger and disappointment to be there as well. Some of these are emotions are to be expected; some may sneak up on us. Tears may come. There is no need to hide them. (You have my permission to let them flow.)

Sometimes a new tradition helps us focus on what we have now instead of what is missing. Don't be afraid to make changes in "what we've always done." On the other hand, there's no need to discard all the established traditions of the Christmas past simply because some of the present circumstances are different; a lot of things are still the same.

For a few women, a look at reality can be helpful. The first Christmas of my single-momhood, I lamented silently, "Look at me! I'm all alone and life is hard. How can I have a happy Christmas?" I was pulled up short by the thought, "And just how many happy Christmases did you have before you were alone?"

In our uncertain world and our changing lives, there is one constant. "Change and decay in all around I see; O Thou who changest not, abide with me!" (Henry F. Lyte, 1847) Everything's different now—and nothing has changed.

Marjorie

Like Elijah

I'm not running from a wicked queen who is out to get me, nor am I going to be hiding out in a cave. Like Elijah, though, I intend for the next ten days or so to sleep and then wake up and eat and then sleep some more and then eat some more, and in between, I will read and walk and talk and think and pray.

It's staycation time—a new word in our dictionary now—a combination of vacationing and staying at home. For a week I am going to be at a nearby country location with a lake and grass and trees and a lot of blue sky, if it doesn't rain as it often does on vacations! There are walking paths (one of them designated as a "prayer path), a hammock, rocking chairs on the patio, friendly cats and perfectly lovely hosts. I could pitch a tent there, but I prefer the comfort of a real bed and some air conditioning in what my family fondly calls "the garden level" accommodations (a walkout basement). There is no television, no cell phone reception (although the hosts have a landline if guests have an emergency), minimal kitchen facilities—nothing to do except the things I mentioned above. Praise be!

I am not expecting an earthquake or wind or fire like Elijah experienced, but I am hoping like him to hear the "still small voice." I'll be back blogging again around the end of July.

Marjorie

The Seasons of Life

Zachery was the eagerly-awaited grandbaby, read and sung to in the womb, loved and prayed for--and stillborn. Two years had passed, and I was still grieving because it seemed to us that medically his death should not have happened. I mourned not only the loss of the baby but also the ugly rift that it caused in his parents' relationship. Some losses can be reasoned with, figured out. This could not. It was wasteful and needless, a terrible trauma in all our lives, and I just had not been able to get past the enormous load of pain to leave it all completely in God's hands. One bright October day, I was walking in the woods at a private "retreat" place in the country, marveling at the brilliant display of fall color: vibrant yellow and scarlet, complemented by more somber shades of brown. Above them all, there was a vast expanse of achingly intense blue sky. As I crunched my way through the thick layer of leaves on the floor of the woods, I had the distinct impression that the Creator of all this beauty wanted me to understand something. "Notice and honor the cycles of life."

Looking about, I saw among the living trees some fallen ones; their gnarled trunks had their own special beauty. Some were still useful as well as handsome, forming the rails of the fence or providing places to sit in the warm sunshine. The thought came to me: "Well, trees just don't live forever. And people don't either. I guess I'm now in the autumn season of life."

Then I noticed around me the little seedlings that were sprouting up here and there. Next year, I decided, and the next and the next, there will be new trees to take the place of the old. "Honor the cycles of life." I could see those cycles here in the woods: living, flowering, bearing fruit, adding value, sharing beauty, changing, and finally—dying. Life in the woods will go on though, and that will be true in my life too. Baby Erin, the newest member of our extended family at that time, along with the other children in her generation will fulfill God's purpose for them, and the cycle of life's seasons will continue long after I am gone. That is not to be feared or shunned. It is good! "My times, Lord, are in Your hand."

Then I made my way to the pasture planted in brome grass. It was stiff and brown, and the immediate realization came: Some things, unlike the trees, have a very short life. The brome grass. Zachery. And God whispered to my heart, "Accept the short growth season of Zachery's life. I rule the seasons." I looked again at the brome. It was not really dead. It had been mowed short and would soon go dormant, but it was not dead. Nor is Zachery dead, I thought, although his season of growth was cut short. His life is abundant now, his growth unequaled in the perfect conditions of heaven!

"But Lord, I still can't understand why . . ." I so wanted an explanation! God's final word was, "There is mystery in the seasons." With that, I will have to be content. There may never be satisfactory answers for some of the things in life--but nevertheless there is comfort. God is in control!

As if to confirm what God was saying, the Scripture portion assigned for our meditation arrested my attention. "For you created [Zachery's] inmost being; You knit him together in his mother's womb . . . His frame was not hidden from You when he was made in that secret place . . . Your eyes saw his unformed body. All the days ordained for him [although not one of them was lived on earth] were written in Your book before one of them came to be." (Psalm 139:13, 15, 16)

Lord, what can I say? You were there when the doctor told the devastated parents, "I'm not getting a heartbeat." You were there in that hospital room when the agony of childbirth produced only a dead baby. You were there when we held Zachery, stroked his dark hair, adored his tiny fingers—and then went home with empty arms. This numbing, awful thing was not a dream—it was really happening—and You were really there! It was dark for us—so very, very dark. But it is all the same to You. Night and day are alike. You are not confused or uncertain. The Scripture says, "The night is as light to You." (Psalm 139:12) In our most awful night, just as in the light, You are always here—watching, waiting, wooing us.

That farm place has new owners now, and is no longer available to me for retreats, but it will always be a "sacred space" in my memory. I think of that day as I encounter the changing seasons of my life. Singleness. Child-rearing. Marriage. Loss of husband. Singleness again. Returning to work in the public sector. Some plans not carried out, some dreams not yet fulfilled. And yes, aging too! It's not helpful to deny or try to avoid that. All the seasons of life are good. The dark times and the light-filled ones are good. I am learning to accept and honor them.

Marjorie

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.