Life is painfully miserable for Job and he has no idea why. Our natural response to anything unwelcome is to ask why. Why this? Why me? Why now?
My mother suffered from Alzheimer disease and her agonizing questions were always a variation of “What have I done to deserve this? Why is God punishing me? “
Aren’t we prone to ask the same questions whenever we face difficulties?
Western people have been taught, since childhood, to think of all of life as secular, neutral in regard to religion, the spiritual, and God. Government is secular, as is education, and even the natural world. Most importantly I have been taught that my life, including my decisions and my possessions, is secular, that it also exists in a neutral place, not for God, not against God.
Read More control, secular, sacredHere I go again on my own. Or am I on my own?
Nothing disappoints me more than to watch a movie with a different ending than the one I would have chosen. I’ve invested an hour or two of my time and lo and behold, I’m left with an opposing, unsatisfying outcome.
Read More control, trust, patience, perseverance
In my experience it is only when I am in a state of desperation, like a deer panting for water, that I am able to break through the ceiling of confinement and the restraint that I impose on myself which prevents me going deep with God. The paradox is that I resist the very things God uses to bring me to this point of desperation so I can go deep with him.
As survivalists of the highest order we work to insulate ourselves from all uncertainty be it relational, financial, personal security or healthy wellbeing.
Read More honesty, thirst, prayer, desperation, control
These two proverbs are essentially the same, both speaking to the theme of dishonesty. They harken back to Deuteronomy 25:13-16 where instruction is given “not to have in your bag two kinds of weights, large and small.” An ephah and an ephah¾a stone and a stone, diverse weights and measures allowed the possibility for deception, overcharging for what is being purchased. The issue here is dishonest intentions and such intentions are an “abomination” to the Lord.
Read More control, obedience, consequences, dishonesty, integrity
Read Reflect We call the book “The Acts of the Apostles.” But as we read the book we realize we should call it “The Acts of the Holy Spirit through the Apostles.” For as Luke shows us in this text, the real leader of God’s mission in the world is not an apostle, but the […]
Read More control, listening, Holy Spirit, leader, God’s mission
Read Reflect Every day, every hour, we face the temptation either to put our faith in God or to establish other gods that we feel might be better suited to ground our trust in. This temptation is often stoked by our doubt and insecurity in the unseen, and fueled by the pressures of the trials […]
Read More reliance, faith, control, trustRead Reflect Joseph must have felt like such a failure. Mary must have been so mad at him, or trying hard not be. But she couldn’t have been as mad at him as he was at himself. He didn’t really know how it had happened. A lot of it was out of his control. There […]
Read More plans, God’s grace, controlTwo days ago we read about Agabus, the prophet who made it known to Paul that he would be delivered over to the Gentiles once he was in Jerusalem. It all happened exactly as Agabus had said.
Some Jews who had come from Asia and were hostile toward Paul recognized him in the temple.
Read More prophecy, control, trial, victories, plan, failure, Holy SpiritWhen something hard happens in your life, like unexpected illness or financial difficulty, the dissolution of a relationship or the loss of a dream, how do you respond? Do you pray, committing your pain and confusion to God? Or do you pick yourself up and carry on as if nothing has changed?
Read More Good Shepherd, prayer, control