Being Still

I grew up embracing the Americanism, "Don't stand there, do something!"  And, I certainly agree that there are times when swift, decisive action is warranted.  But so many other times it is slow, deliberate inaction that is needed.  There are times when, instead of flapping about "like a chicken with it's head cut off," we need to be at peace - still before the Lord.

Often times, the hardest thing to do is nothing.  We are so prone to activity that to be still seems to be more than we can do.  We feel the need to do something, anything.  And yet, in times when we are at or wit's end, we are not called to frantic activity.  Instead, we are called to remember "what the Lord has done" (Ps 46:8) and then “Be still, and know that I am God" (v. 10).

Against all the clamouring to take charge and do something before it is too late, the Spirit bids us "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret" (Ps 37:7).  This is where we tend to find ourselves when things are out of control, larger than life, to much to handle - we pace, wring our hands and fret - just at the time when our Lord is calling out of the storm, "Peace, be still."

The problem is that the noises in our heads, accompanying our fears, our insecurities and our feelings of inadequacies, are too loud to hear His voice calling us to be still.  Our "fight or flight" response kicks in over and against our "faith not sight" response, which God is calling us to, and we are not listening for the Lord, we are not waiting for the Lord, we are not resting in the Lord.

Am I singing your song?  I know that I am singing the song of my people, the American, hyper-active, overly anxious, got to do something People.  But, is it your song too?  Are you, despite your faith in God, fretting about your future?  Are you wringing your hands in care instead of clasping them together in prayer?

I'm not suggesting that we sit back, fold our arms across our chests and say, "OK God, you take over and when I can see that you've got everything worked out, I start engaging again."  Rather, I am saying that in the middle of the turmoil that you rest in our spirit, moving forward knowing God will see you through, not waiting for everything to be resolved first.  I am suggesting that we "live by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor 5:7).

Do you recall the biblical narrative of when Israel crossed over the Jordan River to the Promised Land?  The river was at flood stage, the people were to cross it on dry land but they did not wait for the river bed to be opened.  They began marching toward it as God directed and "as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing" (Josh 3:15-16).

Being still is not being motionless, it is being at peace, at rest in your soul.  It is to be able to move forward without fretting, without having fixed every problem beforehand, without having to see your way clear.  It is to move forward, knowing by faith that God will make a way, that he "will not leave us as orphans" (Jn 14:18).  Be still in your heart, God's got this.  Jus' Say'n.

Facing The Giants

In the 2006 film, Facing The Giants, a coach who never won a game in six years on the job helplessly watched his best player transfer to another school and then learns a group of fathers were conspiring to have him fired.  Combined with pressures from home, he felt overwhelmed and gave up on hope and faith until an unexpected challenge caused him to find purpose bigger than just victories.  Daring to trust God to do the impossible, Coach Taylor and the Eagles discover how faith plays out on the field and off.

When the young shepherd boy faced the giant Goliath, who had paralyzed the Israelites with fear, he did not tremble, instead "David said to the Philistine, 'You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands'" (1 Sam 17:45-46).

When the Israelite spies came back from scoping out the Promised Land, 10 of the 12 said, "We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them" (Num 13:33).  But 2 of the 12, Joshua and Caleb, believing in God's power and promise, reported, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it" (Num 13:30).

The point I am coming to is that facing the giants (those things too big for us to handle alone) is not what determines success or failure.  Rather, it is in where we focus in that moment.  Coach Grant had been focusing on his ability to prepare his team the heretofore juggernaut teams.  The 10 spies sized themselves up against the behemoth Nephilim warriors.  But David, Joshua and Caleb, and later, Coach Taylor, sized up the giants against the power and promise of God.

The difference in placing your focus on self or on God is that, when it comes to facing giants, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God" (Mk 10:27).  The fact that you personally lack the power to face a giant is irrelevant when you walk with God.  It is as the Lord spoke to Joshua the former spy and now leader of Israel, "Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you" (Josh 7:23).

It is not the giants you face along the path, it is the path along which you walk.  Are you seeking the kingdom of God, focused on his power and will; or are you self-seeking, focused on your own power and desires?  When facing the giants, where do you focus?  Jus' Ask'n.

The Right to be Wrong

So, same-sex marriage is the law of the land.  It is the right of every man and woman to choose to marry the man or woman of their dreams.  So be it.  It is the law and therefore a right but that does not make it right.  It simply means that a law is passed sanctioning the right to be wrong.

You may be surprised to hear it, but I am not particularly opposed to government sanction of gay marriage, what I am actually opposed to is the government's regulation of marriage at all.  It is not man but God who joins a couple together.  As Jesus said regarding the dissolution of marriage, "Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate" (Matt 19:6).

Mankind, in his arrogance has assumed many rights as he wrongly turns his back on God's right of rule and concern for God's will.  It is called sin and it is based on pride coupled with the will of self-determination rather than accepting the call of God.

It is clear that God determined that marriage was to be that event where "a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh" (Matt 19:5), and that this heterosexual coupling was God's original plan for Jesus said, "...at the beginning the Creator made them male and female....For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife" (Matt 19:4-5).

He didn't say "made them humans or individuals," but specifically said "male and female" and that it was for that reason - the heterosexual nature of family - that man and woman would separate from their original families and begin one of their own.  This is God's plan according to Jesus Christ.  I accept his words over the Supreme Court's ruling, even though I accept the Supreme Court's right to that ruling for the course of man, which does not embrace the will of God.

The apostle Paul said that we are not to judge "the people of this world [for]....In that case you would have to leave this world" (1 Cor 5:10).  Instead, we are to love and accept them as they are but not accept what they chose that is outside the will of God.  We can accept that it is their right to so choose but not that it is right to make a particular choice.  God gives them and us, the right to be wrong.

God does, by the way, love everyone but the very fact that there is a heaven and a hell, that there will be a Judgment Day, tells us that God will not accept everyone into his heaven.  We have the right to make choices but we mus also accept the responsibility of those choices.  That is why I can never condone or assist in gay marriage - I will not willingly help someone make a choice to turn their back on God will (that would include adultery, fornication, lying, cheating, lust, etc.).

I'm not going to herein take up the argument of whether one is born gay or not.  I am going to say that one has the choice to engage in sexuality and the type of sexuality regardless of or in deference to the will of God.  One may have been born gay but one is not born having intercourse.  On the other hand, if one is born black, they are wearing black skin from the get go and they have no choice to make.

So, to my gay friends and to those who may not regard me as such, I do choose to love you and respect your right to choose your lifestyle and your legal right of same-sex marriage.  I do not choose to endorse it or condone it or embrace it in any way other than your right to be wrong.  Jus' Say'n.

The Lord Is My Strength

"The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights" (Hab 3:19).  I love the imagery of this oft quoted passage.  Image, for instance, a mule deer coming to a high, jagged sheer cliff.  It doesn't back up, doesn't give up, it heads up - up the side of the cliff.  It is an amazing site to see.

The strength and agility combined with the calm focus of a creature that has no fear of the heights or the concern for the difficulty of the climb.  It simply accepts the challenge and equipped by God, it navigates the rock like a "Spider-Buck" (forgive me Spider-Man purists).

As I consider the mule deer on the side of a rocky crag, it occurs to me that God equips them not only to go up but also to come down.  And, he gives them the strength to stand still on the side of that sheer rock.  The point of having "feet of a deer" is that we can "tread" or navigate fully the challenging mountains that we come to in life.

I often tell my hospice patients that we are either in a mess, coming out of a mess or going into a mess.  Life is constituted with a series of challenging time.  We may be facing the challenge, in the middle of it or on the other side of it.  The Lord is our strength to maintain our balance, regardless of the challenge or just where we are in the process of dealing with it.

As difficult as going up can be, coming down can even be more challenging.  And being still on the side of a cliff can be particularly unsettling.  Facing difficulties in life can be very similar.  Staring down a threat to our safety or security can be very scary but coming out the other side can leave us shaky and uncertain of what to do next.  Trying to be calm in the middle of a storm is no simple thing either.

But when the Lord is our strength, we can face every aspect of the challenges of life with calm and certainty, which knows with that same certainty that "God's got this!"  When you fully trust in God, knowing that he is your strength, why would you be afraid?  Why would you back away from the challenge?  Why would you be unable to experience "the peace of God, which transcends all understanding" (Phil 4:7)?  Jus' Ask'n.

Falling Down

Reading from 2 Chronicles 9:22-24, it was impressive that Solomon was "greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings" and that "all the king of the earth sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart."

But it was so depressing to read further that Solomon maintained thousands of horses when he had been warned not to multiply horses, and that he had 700 wives plus 300 concubines from nations the Lord warned him not to take wives.  Solomon, in all his wisdom, could not keep from falling down from the mountain  top of pride.

Apparently he began to believe all the praise he received from other kings and thought himself beyond the reach of the temptations that brought others to ruin.  He didn't see the danger of him becoming like those who "trusted in horses and chariots instead of the Lord" (see Ps 20:7).  He dismissed the idea that marrying women from idolatrous nations would "surely turn [his] heart to other gods" (1 Kgs 11:2).

But Solomon was quite wrong.  His pride overcame his wisdom and because he turned away from the Lord to idols, God determined to "tear the kingdom away from [him] and give it to one of his subordinates' (1 Kgs 11:11).  Wisdom is a virtue that co-exists only with humility.  Pride  cannot bear wisdom: "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom" (Pr 11:2).

True wisdom is from the Lord and is shown by "deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom (Js 3:13).  The wisdom of the world, "which is foolishness in God's sight" (1 Cor 3:19) is accompanied by a pride in self and a distain for seeking help, even from the Lord.  "I got this," instead of "God's got this," is the mantra of the one filled with human wisdom.

Solomon fell down from the heights of which no man or king had ever know before or since because he allowed the wisdom from God to be corrupted by the vanity of self.  It has always been and always will be that "pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall" (Pr 16:18).

Pride is a stumbling block that causes the falling down of even the wisest among us.  The active choice of humbly coming before God, seeking his counsel and care is the only antidote to a sin-sick spirit of pride and the destruction that follows.  Jus' Say'n.

Balance

I've come from a very conservative religious background.  There weren't any extreme sports when I was young but there was extreme religion.  Based on a shallow understanding of Revelation 3:15-16, which reads, "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!  So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth." I thought there was only one way to perceive things and one way to approach them.  To do otherwise, to any degree was to straddle the fence or become lukewarm and fit only to be spit out.

I didn't see myself as a fundamenttalist or as narrow-minded.  I thought I was committed to t he truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.  I thought the church to which I was a part had the full and complete, unadulterated, unchangeable and unbending tuth.  In my mind, everyone who didn't agree with us on every biblical issue was heretical and, of course, lost.

I had no doubts, mostly because I had no idea.  Even though the apostle Paul was so plain in saying, "One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God," (Rom 14:5-6), I thought there was no give, no balance - only hard-core, hard-pressed in one direction.

I completely missed the simple truth Solomon shared in Eclesiastes 7:18, "The man of God will avoid all extremes."  The inescapable reality is that anything moved to far to either the right or the left is out of adjustment or lacking balance.  To stay in the middle isn't straddling the fence so much as it is staying on the bridge.  Too far to the right or left is to careen off the bridge to disaster below.

The disaster in our political  landscape of the day is that far too many are posturing on the far left or the far right.  Neither side wants to work with or work things out with the other.  Each side hods the other in contempt and simply does not seek to find middle ground.  Each side is working hard to erect walls between them and the other instead of building bridges.

I know that the two sides are diverse, that they have different ideas about what to do when.  One want to move on an issue, the other want to hold fast.  Next time they will switch places, each side digging in, insisting their way is the only way.  I've noticed that cars have both an accelerator and a brake. Both are quite useful though polar different.  Both have a function and are meant to be used together in concert.  You can't use them both at the same time, that causes on tension.  You can't use only one ever for that will lead to going nowhere or going too far.  You must use them in a harmony that allows for braking and accelerating in order to safely arrive at your destination.

Did you know a successful marriage will employ the same principle?  Do you suppose a successful business uses both?  Does not the ability to turn right and left, stop and go, and move forward and reverse seem to be a good idea?  Does not balance seem like something to achieve rather run away from  to the extreme?

I'm not suggesting that there is not a right and wrong path; Jesus is clear that both exist (cf. Matt 7:13-14).  What I am saying is that to travel the path, which leads to life, one needs to start/stop, turn right/left, move forward/backward.  We need to be able to stop when we start getting off the path.  We need to back up when we've gone too far in one direction, we need to turn back to the right or to the left when we begin to stray.  What I am saying is that godly, right-thinking people will have balance.  Jus' Say'n.

Moving Mountains

If you are as gray as I am, you no doubt remember Elvis crooning, "It's been one hill after another, I've climbed them all one by one.  But this time, Lord you gave me a mountain, a mountain I may never climb...."  And, with all those gray hairs, you have seen your share of hills and faced a mountain or two.

Truthfully, gray-haired or vigorous youth, you may be facing a mountain right now - an event or circumstance to big to overcome.  You may have recently sat across the desk from your boss telling you that your services are no longer needed.  Your spouse may have walked out out your life for good.  You may looking over your bills, wondering which ones you can afford to pay this month or if there is any way to avoid foreclosure.

For all of us, there have been, are or will be be time and circumstances, where we cannot see any way to climb the mountain before us.  Sometimes, it doesn't just look like there's no way over, sometimes there is no way over.  You are facing a mountain too big to climb - you are not going to recover from your cancer, you are not going to save your marriage, you are not going to keep your house.  What then?  What do you do when the mountain is too tall to climb?

Answer?  Don't.  Don't climb it.  Instead, move it.  Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt...you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done" (Matt 21:21).  Can't climb that mountain, call upon God's power to move it.  "Whatever we ask for according to His will, we will have it" (1 Jn 5:14-15).

When, in faith, we ask God to change our circumstances according to his will, he will do it.  The mountain we faced will no loner be on our horizon, for our horizon will be changed.  Death will not longer be a threat, money will no longer have power over your life, a particular individual will no longer determine your feeling loved and needed.

When God's will is your will, when his treasure is your treasure, there is no obstacle on earth that will stand between you and God's desire for you: "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well" (Matt 6:33).

Don't try to climb an unclimbable mountain by your own power, move it out of the way by God's power.  Jus' Say'n.