Reflection
Thank God Even in Hard Times
Every year, I realize even more how much I have to be thankful for. I’ve now lived for over half a century. We’ve not had any family deaths this year (a reprieve after the last several years). God continues to provide the right amount of work to meet my needs (plus a latte here and there). I have been generally overly blessed.
I’m aware though how easy it is to thank God when everything is going well. Thanking Him for hardship becomes much more difficult. Some of you have lost loved ones this year. You or a family member may have lost a job. Even in the hard times, we need this weekend to regroup and say, “Thank You, Lord, for Your blessings on me!” “Thank You that You love and care for me and that even when I don’t understand why some things happen to me You are still good.”
In my rejoicing, I do remember that I have a friend under hospice care. I have other friends who are dealing with health crises and financial difficulties. I care about them so I feel their pain, but I will also encourage them to count their blessings wherever they can find them. You do not want to hit rock bottom where you feel as though God has abandoned you. This can be a human response when everything seems to be coming against you, but rest in your Father’s arms and let Him carry you until you are able to walk again. Even that is something to thank Him for.
Rethinking Job’s Friends
Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place. … They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. … And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. ~Job 2:11-13
My sister and I were reading Job recently, and some things jumped out at us that we hadn’t noticed before. (At least I hadn’t.)
Every sermon I have heard on Job has focused on his suffering and the insensitivity of his friends, but as you read the above verses, there are some things we can learn from these men.
- Each of these men “came from his own place.”
There’s a chance that these were not neighbors of Job, but rather friends who had heard about Job’s plight and traveled to see him in order to comfort him. (Remember, traveling was not as easy in Bible days as it is today.)
- “They raised their voices and wept … they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads.”
These men were not uncaring. When they saw the depths of Job’s suffering, they deeply grieved for him.
- “They sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him.”
This is the part that really jumped out at us. They sat with him … on the ground … for seven days and nights … without saying a word. Most people don’t have one friend, let alone three, that is willing to take a week of their life just to “be there” for them. During this time, Job wasn’t talking either so they were literally sitting in silence, just to show their support. That is true friendship.
The problem came when the men opened their mouths. They had been watching their friend suffer for seven days now, and their motive was no doubt sincere in wanting to help Job end his suffering, but they misunderstood the situation, thereby making it worse for Job, who just needed prayer and encouragement at that juncture.
People today need friends who will “be there” in whatever capacity they’re able to be. Obviously, if you have a job or a family, you can’t drop everything and go be with everyone you know who is hurting, but there are other ways to support them. It may be listening to someone who is going through a trial of which there seems to be no end. Maybe it’s praying for someone who is sick or dying. Maybe you are able to go hold someone’s hand and let them know that you love them. However God leads, I hope that you will learn to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice (Romans 12:15), to lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees (Hebrews 12:12). I believe the majority of people have things we can learn from them as well as things we want to avoid. Job’s friends are no exception. This week, I encourage you to reach out to someone who needs lifted up. God may lay something on your heart to say to them, but don’t be afraid to listen without input since that may be what is needed.
Prayer Requested for Jeremy Peace
Hey Everyone, I just found out that Jeremy Peace (the former tenor for the Old Paths and LeFevre Quartet, among others) is having brain surgery today. I don’t know what time it is scheduled for so it may have happened already, but I’d like to ask you to pray that the surgery will be successful and that God will give Jeremy and his family peace (no pun intended) as he goes through this. He’s been having seizures, speech and cognitive deficits, and he’s losing his vision. He’s also in stage 3 liver and kidney failure as a result of the medication he’s been taking. They need a miracle, but God is able. Thank you, friends. I’ll post an update when I have one.
Calling All Mentors
I just finished reading Mark Dever’s book Discipling: How to Help Others Follow Jesus. As I neared the end, I remembered that I read another book not long ago on the topic of discipling/mentoring. I didn’t intentionally set out to study this topic, but since God seems to be bringing books my way, I’m taking notice.
I use the word “mentor” in the title because it sounds less scary than “discipler.” When you think of disciples, you probably picture the 12 apostles following Jesus, watching everything He did, and listening to every word He said. Although there are cases where your disciple may live with you, chances are that’s not happening, and I’m not suggesting that. However, it saddens me that I don’t often see older people taking younger ones under wing to teach them things they have learned along the way, nor do I see young people seeking to glean the wisdom of those older. And yet the New Testament is all about discipling and then sending them out to disciple others.
I’m a firm believer in our primary responsibility being to our families, but I don’t think that should be our sole world. When children are little a mother may not have time or energy to think about anything but making sure their children are cared for and training them to know and love the Lord. But when those children are grown, she often goes into depression because that was her life. This is the time to pray about others that you should invest in.
I know young women whose mothers have died or who didn’t have a good role model for a mother. These women would love to have older women they could learn from or just talk to. Boys who don’t have a dad in their life would like to see an example of what it means to be a Godly husband and father, or would just like to think that someone cares. Relationships take time, but if you calculate how much time you watch TV or scroll through Facebook, and exchange that for investing in another person, now you have the time.
To everything there is a season, and I know not everyone is in a season where they have time to disciple, but as Mr. Dever pointed out, a discipler doesn’t have to have it all together. Discipleship isn’t always accountability sessions and hard discussions. It can be living life in front of others, inviting someone for dinner once a week or so (you have to eat anyway), riding together while you do errands, letting them see God at work through even the stressful moments. This is not something most of us are comfortable with, but it’s something to consider.
Your disciple can be your child, your siblings, a young person in your church, a young married couple, new parents, or someone new to the area who needs a friend. You may not see yourself as a discipler, but others may be learning from you anyway.
Too many Christians are comfortable with their routine that the thought of letting someone else into it seems daunting. But I hope you will at least pray about what I’m saying. I can’t help but wonder if fewer young people would apostasize if someone would come alongside them and show them what it means to walk with Jesus.
Mining for Gold
Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.” ~Mark 4:24
I started a Bible study on the Gospel of Mark tonight. I’m not teaching it; I just want to keep studying God’s Word to see what He would teach me. I want to know Him as well as He knows me. I realize that’s not possible since He is my Creator, but I definitely want to know Him more so that I can better emulate Him.
When you hear a phrase like, “To you who hear, more will be given,” you may panic and think you don’t want to hear any more, but being stretched is not a bad thing. It can be painful at times, but when you look back and see your growth, you will likely find that it was worth it.
There is so much in the Bible that it would take many lifetimes to completely dissect it all, but I encourage you to dig in. Picture yourself as a miner panning for gold and rejoicing with each nugget that you find. That’s what the Bible is like. I found a couple of nuggets this evening, and I hope to have at least a hat full by the time I’m done with this study.
Pleasing God in ALL things
And he walked in all the ways of his father Asa. He did not turn aside from them, doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Nevertheless the high places were not taken away, for the people offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places. Also Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel. ~1 Kings 22:43-44
When I read about Jehoshaphat, I consider him the Godliest king since King David, and yet even he had some shortcomings. He left high places so that people were still able to sacrifice to false gods and, although he was quick to seek God in certain matters, when it came to the kings of Israel, he valued his alliance with them and often followed their bidding.
As I look at my life, it’s easy to think I’m doing well because I don’t do many things that the world does. Sure, there may be areas that I’m lax in, but God will no doubt overlook those because of all the things I do for Him. I know this isn’t true, of course, but it’s easy to live in this mindset, whether consciously or not.
Over and over in Kings and Chronicles, we see either, “He did wickedly in the eyes of the Lord” or “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Nevertheless …” It’s the “nevertheless” that stuck out at me. I don’t want God to be pleased with my life except for one or two areas. I want Him to be completely pleased. I don’t want there to be any shame when I stand before Him. Of course, even my best righteousness is as filthy rags when compared with His holiness, but I want to please Him everything I do.
Oh God! Don’t let me be satisfied if there is anything in my life that displeases you, but root out those things that maybe I don’t even see and throw them far away from me! May I be your faithful servant until the day You take me Home. Amen
It’s Time to Cast Away Idols
Go, tell Jeroboam, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Because I exalted you from among the people, and made you ruler over My people Israel, and tore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to you; and yet you have not been as My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart … but you have done more evil than all who were before you, for you have gone and made for yourself other gods and molded images to provoke Me to anger, and have cast Me behind your back–therefore behold! I will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam.” ~1 Kings 14:7-10
In 1 Samuel, we read about the transition from judges to kings. Although it grieved him to do so, Samuel was instructed to heed Israel’s cry and anoint an earthly king to lead them. Unfortunately, Saul too quickly gave in to pride, which caused God to hand his kingdom over to David. God was with David throughout his lengthy reign, but his affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband resulted in things not going well for his descendants.
God blessed Solomon’s reign and gave him peace with the surrounding nations which was unprecedented up until then, but his love for foreign women caused him to turn to idols. Because of this, after Solomon’s death, God divided the kingdom and gave the majority to Jeroboam, who had been Solomon’s servant. As we see in the above verses, Jeroboam too turned to idols, and God harshly judged him for not clinging to the God who had given him the prominence he enjoyed. (I’m giving you the quick run-down, assuming you are familiar with these stories, but if you are not, you will find them in 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles.)
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that, as I’ve been studying these accounts, I just finished reading Idols of the Heart by Elyse Fitzpatrick. When you read the Old Testament, it’s easy to read the stories as just that–stories. But I believe that everything in Scripture is included for a reason. Christians don’t build idols of wood or stone, but we often have idols just the same.
Merriam-Webster defines idol as “an object of extreme devotion.” Some things that come to mind off the bat that could fit this description are sports, your favorite TV show, your family. These things aren’t bad in themselves, but if they are more important to you than your relationship with God, they have become idols.
My heart goes out to parents of young children and those who work jobs that require long hours since it can be hard to figure out where to fit God into your crazy schedule. Although it’s possible to pray on the run, one cannot maintain a close walk with someone that they barely talk to. Busyness can be an idol too, but it’s not necessarily, and I understand that. We all have schedules to keep and deadlines to meet, and obviously, you can’t ignore young children while you take a two-hour prayer time. But I would encourage you to evaluate what you fill your free time with. If your only time to be alone is your 15-minute lunch break, do you spend it reading God’s Word or in some other way? When your baby naps, do you turn your heart to prayer until you follow suit? Every believer is called to seek the Lord. Everything else can wait until you have done that.
Fifty Years and Counting
If you could see where He brought me from to where I am today
Then you would know the reason why I love Him so
I turned 50 last week. It feels surreal. How could I have lived half a century? I know those older than me are thinking, That’s so young! But, to me, it’s a significant milestone.
As I think back over the years, I feel like I have lived quite a few lives.
I have intermittent memories of my childhood, but I remember being happy. I had my parents and my brother. Mom taught me how to read and bake. My brother and I played outside frequently, often with neighbor boys. Although we’ve had our disagreements through the years, we never fought a lot. A friend’s mom called me Sunshine, because she said my smile lit up the room. I think I smiled all the time back then.
When I was 8, my life fell apart as my parents divorced, and my mom married a man who was abusive. They were married for about nine years, during which time I no longer smiled much. I went through a long season of wondering if anyone could really love me. I eventually found peace in knowing that God loved me, but people? That was another story. Those who stuck with me deserve a medal as I was self-focused and not easy to love back then.
We moved away from everything I’d ever known when I was 17, and I began to draw closer to God than ever before. I still dealt with a lot of insecurities, but as time went on, I realized that if I wanted friends, I had to show myself friendly. I also had to start thinking of others instead of being so focused on myself and everything bad that had happened to me.
As I look at my life today, I see a totally different person than the scared, shy, unhappy teenager of yesteryear. I don’t know when the change occurred, but I know that God used each joy and each trial to mold me into the person He created me to be. He has brought so many people into my life that I believe love me. I still wonder why anyone would care, but I am thankful they do.
A number of years ago, I decided that I didn’t want to spend my life in the background, but I wanted to personally be used by God in some way. That continues to be my prayer as I realize that I most likely have more days behind me than I do ahead of me. I pray that I will be faithful in whatever God has for me to do so that I will finish well.
This also seems like a fitting time to thank you again for reading my blog. Although I don’t post as frequently as I’d like to, I trust that you will be encouraged or challenged by what I write. Most importantly, may you draw ever nearer to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Busyness
Do you ever have times when you feel like you are too busy to think? That is my life lately. There are decisions that need to be made and yet little time to figure out the best path to take. This is complicated by the fact that, although I may ask God for direction, I hardly have time to listen to His reply. I often warn my readers to guard against this, but sometimes busyness can’t be helped. Therefore, I must learn to listen while I fulfill my obligations which keep me running.
If you find yourself in a similar predicament, I encourage you to watch for a window in which you can set a slower pace. There are seasons where one must increase the pace, but I don’t feel like this should be normative. If you never have time for God, you are really too busy.
The next few weeks will be hectic for me, but I will watch for minutes here and there to acknowledge my Father. I don’t want to drift apart from Him as people do when they haven’t talked in a while. My relationship with God is the most important one that I have so I praise Him daily and thank Him for His many blessings while trusting that He will give me the guidance I need when I need it. I continue to read His Word even if it is more rushed than usual. If I take that out of my routine, I may never get back to it, and that could harm my relationship with Him as well.
I hate to cut this short, but I see a half-hour window in which I can spend some time with my Savior, so I’m going to close for now. Maybe you can take some time to do so too.
Happy Palm Sunday!
Where does the time go? I always have great plans of writing more as I draw ever closer to the Lord and yet time gets away from me and the next thing I know, it’s been at least six weeks since I’ve posted. I’m very grateful to those who follow my page so that you know when I do write something new.
I wrote a Palm Sunday post for Music Scribe so I won’t post one here, but you can read it at https://blog.musicscribe.com/2023/04/palm-sunday-thoughts-2023.
Last month was busy as I think I was only home seven full days, so this next week will be spent catching up on a lot. Pray for me if you think of it. And don’t forget to focus on our Lord and everything He went through leading up to and including the Cross. It should make you love Him even more.
