Going Through The Storm

                   Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you—1 Peter 5:7

We once lived next door to an amazing older woman. She had emigrated to the United States in the early 20th century from Hungary. She had come with her Aunt and Uncle but not her parents whom she had a difficult relationship with, as I recall her telling me. She was quite young, around six years of age and spoke no English. She had a hard time at first in school and with the neighbor boy who also did not speak English, but Swedish.

Why I consider her amazing  was for her take on life. Through every difficult situation she would explain all the difficulties facing her as she aged- her husband’s Alzheimer’s, her own declining vision, a fall that caused her a near fatal broken neck,  relationship stresses caused by her family obligations, and of course weather related storms that worried her. At the end of each discussion of her current hardship she would pause and exclaim; “But what are you going to do?” It was not so much of a question she posed to me as a calm answer to all that she was facing and had faced in her long life.

She had been through many storms in her life and she had this great perspective that there wasn’t anything you could do about certain situations, so why get upset. She didn’t avoid talking about her problems as though they weren’t there, she described them, faced them and decided she might as well accept things as they were. She went through.

I remember my Mom giving me similar advice; “This too shall pass” I always thought of it as kinda cryptic, but now that I am older and have been through the storms, I can now say my mom was right. When we are younger, it is hard to take the advice of our parents. We really do think we know everything there is to know about any given situation. But, given the current worldwide crisis due to the corona virus, I am beginning to get a slight glimpse into what the older generations went through and were forced to go through at young ages, giving them every right to know what they are talking about. They were strong and resilient, because they had to be. It wasn’t something they chose to go through. Oh we have had our own share of armed conflicts and large super storms, earthquakes, tornadoes in the late to early 20th and 21st centuries, but nothing on the global scale of the current COVID-19. Our lives have been disrupted and basic supplies are difficult to find. It is now that I recall my grandparents and even my parents stories of what it was like during World War II. Everyone received booklets that rationed items like, meat and sugar. people did not travel and my Mom told me of the air raids that often happened at night. If you were home you were instructed to turn out all your house lights and if in a car you would pull over and turn off the headlights. Apparently it was a regular occurrence.

So,as we are all a little anxious at this moment with our regular predictable lives on hold, let’s remember the words of previous generations. They went through and got through it. We cannot change what is happening, but in those moments when we feel anxious, we can be reminded to turn to God and cast all our anxieties on Him. Sometimes we cannot avoid going through hard times, we just have to. We can’t pretend we don’t have fears or anxieties when we do. It’s okay to describe our difficulties as my elderly neighbor use to do. But once we do, we can go to God and admit we need Him to calm our fears and still our anxieties. I know that’s what I have been doing. -God Bless – Nancy

Not For Sale

The truth is hard to take. It is impossible to take when it is something about ourselves. Ouch! It hurts to face the truth about ourselves. Recently I was reading an article on the rising number of atheists among Gen Z. What was hard to take was that the article mentions the fault for such a thing was not that there wasn’t enough opportunities for them to have heard the Gospel, aka the good news, but that their parents had presented them with a Christianity that just wasn’t realistic.  It is one that was based upon self fulfillment, prosperity gospels, and entertainment. The Gen Z saw right through that, but the parents did not. Gen Z desired social justice, authenticity and acceptance. And they are right in expecting this from Christianity. This message is found in the Gospels. Jesus accepted all people who were willing to follow Him (equality). He came that all men might be saved. He called for community (acceptance) He also treated women with high respect, compared with the religious leaders of the time ( women’s rights).   Examples of caring for the  environment (Environmental justice) is found in the Old Testament as well, as mankind was called to be good stewards of the land and animals (Genesis 1:28). They were given the role of care taker of the earth and to be generous and support the widows and children (social justice) as acts of pure religion( James 1:27).  So the Gen Z’s who want this are actually wanting what Jesus wanted for His followers. But what the Gen Z’s see is a church full of self serving hypocrites. And they are right. So they look elsewhere to find the answers to life. So what happened?

I suspect that we as parents of Gen z and millennials failed our kids by allowing them to be sold out to the highest bidder. What do I mean? We sought out churches with the best youth activities and mission trips, but not always considering whether they were getting the best understanding of the Bible. We sought the best worship music experiences with the best lighting and video effects. However,  we failed to help them learn to disinguish between the true and false teachers taking up pulpit space. We ourselves wanted a blessed life without problems. We wanted to be blessed in our finances and health and fell for the lies of the prosperity gospel that we just have to believe and we can somehow manipulate God into doing our bidding. We thought He was there for us, to serve us and our needs, rather than somehow we were to serve Him? That poverty and lack were to be battled against as an enemy to our happy Christian life. We allowed ourselves as parents to believe the lies that it is an “us” versus”them” world; the” us” that have it and the “those” who do not. We ourselves fell for the clever marketing of the Gospel. We bought the T shirts and attended the concerts and conferences. We loved our churches and branded church emblems more than God. We idolized Christian speakers and leaders and taught our kids to do the same. We watched the leaders we idolized fall away from the faith and were shocked to hear them denounce Christianity.  We taught our kids that acceptance and participation awards were more important than standing out as an individual. We told them it was more important to feel good about themselves and to avoid dealing with negative thoughts. We filled their schedules with activities so they would fit in with their peers and not feel left out. We taught them that feelings were more important than facts. We ourselves did not want to feel bad, so we found ways to medicate pain and difficulties we did not want to face. We failed to give them the truth. We sold them out to a marketed truth that filled the pockets of a Christianity which fell to the same marketing strategies as the corporate world. Give people want they want, and if they do not know what they want, help them to realize that you have what they need. Invent felt needs that only you can fill with your product. Offer to give away some of this magic elixir for free, but just enough so they will desire more. Do not include warnings, except in tiny fine print, for any side effects. or better yet, just omit any warnings and give them only promises of good results if they follow their specific Church plan.

Does Christianity come with warnings? Yes, the Bible is full of them. Christians will deal with all of the problems of this world and then some because of their faith. Christians should expect that they are not shielded from real life. There will be hurts, heartaches, disappointments, isolation, loneliness, grief, sadness, financial loss, job loss, diseases, accidents, rejection, suffering, pain, and the deafening silence from God when you seek Him for answers to prayer. This does not sound appealing does it? It would not market well, but it is truth. The God we have been sold by contemporary Christianity has failed us and we in turn have failed our kids. When they, and we, hit real life problems the catchy sound bite Christianity fails us. How do I know? I have been there, done that and bought the t shirt. No pun intended, but I couldn’t resist. I found out the hard way that ministries are not always what they seem and some are for profiting themselves and not helping people find God and grow their faith. The only thing growing are their bank accounts. I have also learned that God’s plans are not mine. We can’t “name it and claim it” to get what we want. It just doesn’t work that way. We shouldn’t expect God to give us everything we want. It is about Him, not us. We will have pain in this life. It is something we must deal with and go through. I know this from losing my Mom. My brand of Christianity almost failed me through the grief I felt in her death. I have also fallen for the false acceptance (over- eager church welcomes) and the free give aways done in clever marketing of churches who are seeking to pad their numbers. I felt accepted and important and needed, until I wasn’t, or until I raised questions about their motivations or programs.

But it is not about the numbers, it’s about real people with real lives and real eternities. What Gen Z’s want is authenticity. Will we give them the truth of what it means to be a Christian? Will we tell them it is not an easy road? I applaud the skeptics of this generation that are asking the tough questions of Christianity and demanding real answers. We should have answers for them, not marketing strategies. We can’t sell them out any longer. God doesn’t need our marketing; He does a pretty good job reaching out to those who are looking for real answers, not false promises. I fear more for those who do not ask enough questions and fall for a less than the truth Christianity. We need to admit we were wrong for giving them this model to follow. We need to help them find the truth among many opposing truths that Peter warns about in 2 Peter chapter 2. I found this verse interesting, “In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up.” (vs. 3, NIV). I think this is what the Gen Z’s have called us out on and they are right. Although this verse refers to what was happening in the first century church, it is also true of today’s churches. They exploit and make up stories so that we will buy what they are selling. A false gospel that will make us feel better and benefit those who teach it. It was a problem then and it is the same today. Human nature has not changed. We are all designed for acceptance and relationship. This is to be met in personal relationships with friends, community, and in marriage, but ultimately is to be met by God Himself. We were designed for a relationship with God. It is not just a “felt” need, but a real one. Gen Z’s are wanting this and have discovered that in some cases, churches are standing in the way of them discovering this truth. They do not want a relationship with a church; they want a relationship with God. Will we continue to tell the younger generations to love their church, idolize their pastors, and seek for blessings? Or will we point them to Christ, who although He had never done anything deserving punishment for a crime, chose to suffer on our behalf, experiencing unbearable pain in the name of loving mankind. Will we tell them that once they realize what Christ has done for them, they won’t need to keep seeking more blessing? This is all the blessing they need. Will we tell them this love for Christ and from Christ will motivate them to suffer and endure things such as pain and even isolation, in His name? The first century church we read about in the New Testament existed in a world that was hostile to them. It was a difficult world, as it is today.  Will we continue to present a false story of Christianity or a true one? Will we teach younger generations to be watchful of false teachings, such as the prosperity gospel? Will we tell them that discernment is an important tool to sift out the scams of Christianity that exist?  Will we warn them about idol worship in the form of churches or pastors?  Will we teach them apologetic methods to help them explain their faith? Will will teach them to learn the Bible and not just memorize Bible verses for a prize? Will we teach them good hermetical practices so they will not fall for false teachers who take Bible verses out of context? Will we do the same for ourselves? Will we realize that the truth is not for sale? I hope so.

Tough Stuff

This week has been a challenging one. Some of you know that I am in the graduate program at Liberty University studying Christian Apologetics. Graduate school has it challenges with the amount of reading and writing required, but sometimes it can be quite difficult when asked to give personal reflections. This week’s assignment was no exception. The class required a personal theodicy of suffering. Why does God allow suffering? What good can come of it, and why aren’t Christians free from the pain and suffering of this world? I decided to share just a small excerpt from the paper here that maybe someone might get the help they need from it.

“Is there purpose in the pain suffered in this life? It is evident that in this life there will be pain and suffering. This pain might be physical or emotional but the effects are the same; suffering hurts. Since Christians hold to the belief that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent, it seems hard to grasp why a loving God who could take away all the evil that causes pain and suffering would not do so. It is especially difficult to come to terms when the suffering is personal, rather than just a textbook illustration, or something that is happening to others, rather than self. But this life is full of hardships, difficulties, pain and suffering.”

What we can hold onto is that we might not ever know the purpose for the pain and suffering of life. We just do not have the ability to understand things as God does. We can try to formulate a bunch of reasons, but often we speak before we think. The only thing that we can be sure of is that God loves us unconditionally. He Himself understands our grief and sorrow. It was God the Father who sent Jesus to the cross to suffer on our behalf. It was Jesus who willingly did so, because of His love for us. Such suffering appears unjustifiable, because Jesus had not done anything wrong. Yet, His love for us prompted Him to do the Father’s will, even if it meant undergoing painful physical suffering.We can be reassured that God understands pain and suffering and is with us in it. Although we might not ever know the reasons, we can trust that God knows. We can also trust Him. We don’t always have to know the why’s in life. God comes beside us and comforts us in times of hurt. We do not always feel it. Sometimes it feels like the silence is deafening. We try to have hope, but it is hard to do so. Hope is only hope when it is unseen according to the Apostle Paul (Romans 8:24-25). We hold onto hope for a future in heaven when we will see our loved ones again and the wrongs of life will be made right. However, its important to remember that God has eliminated evil and suffering in the world through Christ. It does,however, remain to be fully implemented when Jesus returns. We live in the midst of victory, yet while the world remains in a chaotic state. The current state contains pain and suffering, sometimes unjustifiable and lacking any comprehensible reason for it. Someday, all this will make sense and will be a distant memory. We will be free of pain and suffering and live forever with God, as He originally intended. In the mean time, we have hope, which is everything. God Bless- Nancy

Impossible

So, do you have any impossible people in your life? Those difficult ones who you have written off ? The people you’d rather avoid? I’m sure as I mentioned it, you could think of at least one or two. If you didn’t, well then, you’re awesome and do not need to read this blog.

Anyway, I admit there have been people who have crossed my life’s path that well, I thought would always be the way they were. Nope, that person is definitely difficult and I’d rather not hang out with them. Maybe they shared a different political opinion than me, or a different religion or a lack of religious affiliation, but there was just this thing that made them difficult. And I admit, I thought I was a much nicer person than they were. So, I wrote them off as the impossible people in my life. The ones who were too far away from ever changing.

I was reminded yesterday at worship that God does the impossible. As we sang a popular worship song by Sanctus Real that’s chorus says “Unstoppable God let your glory go on and on. Impossible things in your name they shall be done” , God brought to mind a person who I had seen the impossible work of God take place. Many times I think when we sing songs like that, we are thinking of how God will do things for us, rather than thinking of what He can do for others. Those difficult ones. The ones we have written off as impossible. I was reminded of that person yesterday I had written off, the one who would never change and whose heart was hard and cold, especially toward God. But, He did. God did the impossible and reached the impossible person that I had given up on. I found myself praising God as I thought of this amazing impossible thing God had done. This song took on a whole new meaning for me. The story of the rich young man came to mind as I began to write this morning, reflecting on yesterday’s worship..

In the Book Of Matthew 19:16-26, Jesus is questioned by a young man what he should do to live forever. Jesus knows the young man’s real problem, despite his good life, is that he lacks compassion and is holding onto his riches for his security rather than trusting God. We might call him a rich man or a self-made man, who although he appeared to do everything right, Jesus saw his heart. And then Jesus asked him to give away all he had and follow him. The man turned away sadly as apparently he didn’t want to do this. Jesus then began to teach that it is difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom of God. I know you might be thinking” Wow, does this mean I’m supposed to be poor to follow Jesus?” No, Jesus’ point wasn’t that , He just saw how much the young man placed his stuff before Jesus. Even the disciples questioned Jesus about this, so relax, you’re not alone in your thinking. They wondered  what Jesus had meant and asked Him ” So, WHO can enter the kingdom Jesus?” It is impossible for anyone if the standards are so high that you’re telling us this rich young man, even though he does what’s right in every other area of his life, can’t make it. To this Jesus replied; “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (ESV)

So, what is Jesus talking about? Men might look at the outside appearances and circumstances, as the disciples had done; they saw the young man walk away from Jesus and heard Jesus say it was difficult if not impossible for the rich to inherit the kingdom of God and write the person off. It is Jesus who sees the hearts of men and works the impossible from the inside out. The people we think will never change, God can change. He is the God who does the impossible. He did the impossible in my heart, so why should I limit what He can do in another person’s heart. Someone might have written me off  before I became a follower of Christ, but God did the impossible and while I might still be difficult, I mean we all aren’t perfect!, I know God is the God of the impossible; I have seen it for myself. I have learned to not be so quick to write others off as the unreachable or unchangeable. -God Bless Nancy

Letting Go….

Hi, my name is Nancy and my superpower is worrying and overthinking. Everything. Or at least it was. With the new year I have decided to let go of my superpowers for a bit. Or at least try to. If you’ve read my posts before, then you know I over plan and over think and over worry. Is that really a thing? I think it can be. I think there is nothing wrong with a bit of concern, but when we take it too far and what ever we are concerned with takes up all our thoughts, well yup you got it!, over worry.

So, while I might not admit to making a New Year’s resolution, I usually do; I just don’t tell anyone, so that way if I fail, no one has to know. Pretty good plan, huh? Well, this year it isn’t so much what I am adding to my resolve, like exercise, but what I’m leaving behind. I’ve decided to leave the past, right where it should be, the past. Everything that went wrong and everywhere I fell short, or others fell short. I’m just going to not bring it up in my mind. This year is a new chance for falling short, both mine and others.

When we hold onto those past short comings we label people and ourselves in such rigid ways, that we end up only seeing ourselves and others in that way. So we enter a new year expecting the worst from ourselves and others. We limit them and us and restrict any growth.

I really don’t like labels. People can move forward and grow. We are all capable and with God’s help we will continue to grow in our faith walk and in life in general. No one would expect a kindergartner to do Algebra and neither would they stay at the kindergarten level. They will grow and learn. Adults can grow too. We learn from the past and give ourselves the grace to move forward despite making past mistakes. We should offer this grace to others as well. Putting the past behind and moving forward is not just a cliche, but is a part of living.

But what about worry? Are you going to mention that again? Yes. Yes, I am. I am still a work in progress in this area and a verse came to mind this morning as I thought about what to write. It’s from Matthew: Here’s Jesus’ words on the subject of worrying: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?(6:25-27, NIV).

Many of you might be familiar with this passage, but I think the best part is found further on in the reading of chapter 6 from verse 34;  “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for today is its own trouble” (ESV).

Ahh, see there’s my biggest nemesis! Being anxious and worrying about things that haven’t happened yet. Today is enough for today. And this is also where letting go of the past comes in. I think much of what we base our worry and anxiety on is from our past. If something went wrong before, surely it will go wrong in the same way tomorrow, right? Well, no. Yesterday’s mistakes were so yesterday, tomorrow’s mistakes will be tomorrow’s, we need to be concerned about today. And when we focus on that, the part about not worrying about our stuff, as mentioned in verses 24-27 about food and clothes comes in to play. Don’t be anxious about tomorrow. Think about today. And oh yeah don’t worry about today. God’s got this. That might be a unofficial version of the text, but I think that is what it is saying. Just something to think about. God Bless -Nancy

Night Light

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

– Psalm 119:105 (NIV)

I really enjoy driving around the neighborhood looking at all the Christmas lights. Some people seem to have gone all out and bought every light strand and inflatable Santa available. It amazes me how some people will even risk life and limb to put lights on their roofs. But I’m glad they do. Christmas lights on the houses and the tree reminds us of the light of the world that came into a dark world. It certainly brightens up what would ordinarily be a dark season of the year, at least here in the northern hemisphere.

Without the lights, it would be pretty dim around the neighborhood except for a few streetlights. I grew up in the country, which means no streetlights and it was in a valley and surrounded by trees. What this means is that it got really dark, really fast in the winter months as the sun went down. If you didn’t have a flashlight in hand to walk between the house and the barn/garage it could be kinda scary for a little kid.  You couldn’t see where you were going, much less where you were stepping.

But the years since then have made me braver, if not wiser and I don’t fear the dark as much. I live in a neighborhood with streetlights and porch lights to guide my walks out at night. The light is great for walks, but not for sleeping, so we have blinds to block the light coming into our house. This is great for sleeping , but not walking around inside the house. I still need light inside for that. But, sometimes I try to risk it and walk around without turning on a light. Yay for me! I have overcome my fear of the dark. Yes! I have conquered it! Watch out world, I now believe I can do anything! I don’t need a light!

Yeah right! I wish I hadn’t been so brave and bold the other night as my foot became entangled with a chair leg. Who put that chair there, anyway? Oh yeah it was me. My second thought was why? As I looked down at my foot which was in pain, I noticed that my pinky toe was no longer where it should be. It looked like it was trying to run away from my foot. Seeing my broken toe was disturbing. But I also felt a tremendous amount of regret for not turning on a light before I ventured into the living room. I thought I knew where everything was. I thought there was a clear path ahead. But, I was wrong. I needed light to see where I was going. I had walked into the living room and through it so many times, that I was certain I could make it safely without needing light. But, reality is often different then what we think it is. We need light to safely travel on our paths. We need clarity, direction and safety. Things can change, obstacles shift and if we are trying to navigate by memory or trust the things are the same in the dark, we’re going to stumble and fall.

Life is full of changes and what we need is some light on our path so we won’t fall. Psalm 119 gives us the answer to that light; the Bible. It’s easy to get brave and try to rely on ourselves for our own direction. We know what we are doing and we can figure it all out on our own, or so we think. We made it work before, so we should be able to do it again. We don’t need to read the Bible or seek God’s plan, we can handle it all, until the obstacle we didn’t see ahead blocks our path. Walking through life without seeking God’s plan is like trying to walk in the dark.

As you see all the Christmas lights out there, take time to reflect on what it means. Jesus came into the dark world that was without hope to shine light and reconcile men to God. Without Jesus the world is stumbling around in the dark trying to make sense of all this. Jesus came as the light of the world and exposes the darkness of the world. He offers a clear path that leads to life. Time to stop bumping into stuff in the dark and turn on the lights. -God Bless Nancy

20/20

Their faces appeared suddenly in the video and at once I was transported back to a time that, although not many years ago, still seemed like a life time. So much had changed about them and about me since are paths had first crossed. I wasn’t alone watching the video, but the crowd watching with me were unaware of my connection to those faces staring back at me in the video. They had not seen the video before  or the  faces before, but I had. My mind quickly replayed the last time I had seen these people and then quickly fast-forwarded to what I knew of about them now. A few had changed in appearance, some retired from full time ministry and a few others had become entangled in a controversy with a fellow church leader.  It was as if I was staring at my past, while considering where I was now. It was a weird place to be where the past and present meet.

But, as time has moved me past what might have been in serving with these particular faces from the past, I have learned to trust God. He has my back, to speak in modern terms. I was reminded today of the often quoted verse from Romans 8:28; “And we know that in all things God works for the good for those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose” (NIV).

I admit, I still do not have the perfect 20/20 hindsight vision to understand why things did not work out to serve with those in the video, but I see a glimpse of the reasons at times. God has His reasons and I know I have grown as a Christian since. Maybe I wouldn’t have grown as much if things had worked out in the way I had wanted them to. At the time, it was difficult to feel rejected, to be judged and evaluated by my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and shown to be falling short of their standards. It hurt. Quite a bit in fact. But now, I am content with the past, the “almost was”. God was working out everything for my good, and now I can look back and reflect upon it.

Sometimes we might think that we are moving so slowly towards the future and the goals we have set out ahead of us. When we look backward, we can actually see how far we have come and how God has been there, working it all out. When we  realize this, we can move forward,trusting Him as we face new situations that will be our next “almost was” situations. God is faithful and His promises are true. -God Bless- Nancy

Waiting For The Morning

“Sorrow may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5)

Do you know many joyful people? Those people who always seem to have a smile on their face, no matter the circumstances? I do. And I admit sometimes I’m jealous that they can seem to be so happy all the time. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy, but I do not always appear that way. I’m a thinker, who likes to think about everything and if you see me out and about, I probably have a serious look on my face. It’s just that I’m thinking and reflecting on something. If you have seen me lately, you probably would have noticed a little bit of a frazzled look added to my my serious look due to my recent philosophy classes, which force me to think too much. But I am happy, just maybe not outwardly joyful.

This topic came up recently when my husband woke me up in the early morning hours to ask me what “sorrow lasts for the night , but joy comes in the morning” meant. It was a good question. Although I was tired, I managed to grab my phone and do a Bible verse search to find the passage the phrase had come from. Memorizing scripture is an area that I admit I do not have skill in, so I am so thankful for Bible search apps. It wasn’t easy to find because some versions trade the words sorrow for weeping. We decided to table the conversation until we were both more awake, but it started me thinking. Why do I not feel joyful all the time? Is there something wrong with me?

Maybe you too, have asked yourself this question before too. Are Christians always supposed to be joyful? Isn’t it a bit too unrealistic? Well, maybe what the problem is found in our definition of joy. If we treat joy as a feeling, then yes, we will not always feel “joy”. We might feel joy when our favorite sports team wins, but then become sad and depressed when in the next game the team loses. This kind of joy is changing with our circumstances. No one would expect us to feel joy if our team lost, or we receive news of the death of a loved one, or of a bad health diagnosis. So, what is this passage trying to say?

This particular phrase is found in Psalm 30 and its writer is David. If you’re familiar with the Psalms, David seems to write whatever pops into his thoughts. There are times when he cries out to God and wonders where God is in dark times. He will then remind himself of previous occasions when God came through in these darkest hours and he rejoices with praises to God. Psalm 30 is no different. Bible commentator Matthew Henry finds evidence in this Psalm of David’ sadness at God’s turning away from him because of his (David’s) sin. Henry believes David had security in himself and this brought him to sin and the feeling of sadness or sorrow that was replaced with joy once David repented.

While, I am not an expert at the meaning of this Psalm, I’ll offer what I can as I let God work on me through this passage. This is some of what I have gleaned through reading Psalm 30: 1)There will be times when we do have dark times. there is no getting around them. This is life, and the fallen state in which we live in the world. We as Christians, cannot escape the bad times in life, the dark hours, just because we are Christians- they will come.2) I also believe there are people who are just naturally happy go lucky people. It’s just their nature whether they are Christians or not. 3) We are all created uniquely by God and shouldn’t compare ourselves with others- even other Christians. We all have different temperaments. I might be more of a serious minded thinker, but that doesn’t mean I’m not joyful on the inside. 4) Joy is more than a feeling; it is a quiet confidence and trust in God. We rejoice because we know God will strengthen us through anything. 5) We can trust God and  He will get through to the morning- the times when we can rejoice again. 6) We should ask ourselves if we have let confidence in ourselves lead us into sin- is it God who has turned away, or have we turned away? If so do we need to repent a little? 7) The passage seems to be meaning that we shouldn’t focus on the dark times as a permanent place regardless of the cause- it is temporary. 8) After we go through these dark, joyless times, there will be joy. Times of praising and remembering all that God has done.9) Sometimes, we can be mistaken as to when we are in the dark places when actually we are in a time when we should be rejoicing. We can assume we having bad, difficult circumstances, but maybe things aren’t as bad as we think. We can focus on the negative or choose to think about the good, which is what I suspect the” happy” people  I know do regularly.

My husband’s question was a good one, and as I said, I probably do not have the perfect answer to the meaning of the passage, but I think it is one to reflect upon and do some research on. If you are finding yourself in a place where you are having are difficult time being joyful, reading the Psalms is a great place to start. Just be assured morning will come. Sometimes we just need to wait. -God Bless- Nancy

 

 

 

God View

So, I’ve got a confession to make- I’m a recovering perfectionist. I thought I had outgrown it from my childhood, but sadly I am a work in progress. But aren’t we all? None of us can claim to have it all figured out and to have overcome every weakness or quirk in our personalities. For me, I still find myself trying to do everything perfect- including my faith walk- why? well, I believe it depends upon my view; my God view.

See, how we view God, reflects in how we view ourselves in our walk with Christ. If we view God as a heavy -handed task master, we will feel the unending need to work for His approval. If we see God as a loving Father, we will rejoice and find rest from our endless striving to do more. We will not see His corrections as a call to be perfect, but the hand of a loving dad who wants us to realize and experience who He made us to be.

If we dig still deeper, we can learn that how we view God reflects how we saw our own dads. When we as Christians call God our heavenly father, we have in our minds, what we have been taught as an example by our earthly fathers. These things learned first stick with us into adulthood.

However, this view really doesn’t reflect God completely. Our earthly dads can make mistakes, but God doesn’t. He remains steadfast and the same. His nature never changes. God is always good, always loving, always just. These are in God’s nature, it isn’t simply an action on His part, but in His very nature. Men (and women) bear the image of God and have been created in God’s image, but unlike God, we are fallen in our natures. It is like a mirror with a crack in it. The reflection has been distorted and doesn’t give a clear picture of God anymore.

What we need in order to get a much better view of God, is to look into His word, rather than trying to put our own view of father on God. The more we study God’s character and nature, we will realize He is not the heavy handed task master, but a truly loving father who desires the best for his kids. That doesn’t mean He doesn’t care what we do,  but He rather knows what is best for us and does give us boundaries to stay within. But, we should never feel like we have to earn His approval or earn His love. he loves us unconditionally. He knows we aren’t perfect, but He is willing to teach us how to live in a better way.

How’s your God view? Is it based upon the example seen from your own dad, as a flawed, fallen person, or is it based on what the Bible reveals of God, as a loving, forgiving heavenly father. -God Bless- Nancy