shani4jc

A few years ago, one of my nieces was sitting at the table in a restaurant and accidentally spilled her milk. She quickly looked up at her mom with wide eyes, waiting to see if she was going to be in trouble for making a mess. Her mom smiled and said, “Look at the masterpiece you made! You spill milk better than anyone I know!” My niece just beamed. She was expecting to be scolded and instead received praise. What a wise young mother! Accidents happen. No one is perfect, and we all make mistakes. And we have a Father who knows we are only human and knows that we are going to make mistakes along the way. He will not degrade us, humiliate us, or embarrass us when we make a mistake. He will lovingly encourage us along the way. He will help us clean up our “spills” with kindness and gentleness. Just as my niece is a blessed little girl to have such an understanding mother, we are very blessed to have such an understanding Father.

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus…” Romans 8:1

“He is your constant source of stability; He abundantly provided safety and great wisdom; He gives all this to those who fear Him.” Isaiah 33:6

I came across this verse of Scripture today and the part that really struck me was “constant source of stability.” In the world we live in, stability seems almost like a fleeting dream.  There are so many difficulties and trials looming over us that we can find ourselves one step away from falling into the pit of instability on any given day. We blame the difficulties of life for our instability, but could it be that they are not the problem at all? Could it be that we are trying to find our stability in the wrong places and when those places fail us, we are left falling apart? For example, we may be looking at wealth for our stability, but when something happens and the money is gone, where does that leave us? We may be looking at our job for stability, but if something goes ary and the job ends, what are we left holding on to? We may be looking for another person as our stability, but  what happens when that person fails us or is no longer there? The truth is there is nothing other than Christ that can be our stability. Anything we turn to other than Him will inevitably fail us, leaving us with nothing to hold on to.  He alone is our anchor who will keep our feet firmly planted no matter what comes our way.

“It is a good thing to be without trouble; but it is a better thing to have trouble and know how to get grace enough to bear it.” Charles Spurgeon

I think most of us more readily relate to having trouble in our lives than to not having trouble in our lives. Trouble is inevitable, so we have to know how to handle it. We have to decide beforehand where we are going to turn when trouble rears its ugly head; otherwise, we are not going to be prepared. Sometimes, we seem shocked that difficulties find us, but God never promised anyone a problem free lif. What He did promise us was His presence. He promised that He would be with us every single step of our not so easy path. He promised to stay with us even when the going got tough. He promised to fight for us, be our strength, and provide everything we need to endure whatever comes our way. So, again, trouble is inevitable, but turning to God is out sure fire victory over any difficulty.

“And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave or forsake you; do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:8

“The car is a total loss.” These are the words that my husband reported to me regarding our son’s car today. I was in a car accident a few days ago in the car and the insurance adjuster decided to total the car because the damages are too extensive and the cost to repair it would be greater than the value of the car. These are not the words I was hoping to hear! My son got a great deal on that car and has only had it a year. I was really hoping the car could be savaged because I know he will have a hard time finding another deal as good as that one. Hope as I might, that’s just not what’s going to happen. The car is beyond hope and cannot  be fixed! Some of us may feel like we are that car. We may feel as if life has left us beyond repair and without hope. We may feel as if we are a total loss because our damage is just too extensive. However, we are unlike the car because we have a God who can take the most devastating, beyond hope, twisted up disaster of a life and make it brand new! He can not only repair us, but He can make us better than we ever were. God will never look at us and say that we are a total loss! In fact, He specializes in complete restorations!

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

Today as I was reading, I came across a definition of “faith” that I’ve never heard before, but one I can certainly relate to:

Faith – trust that has no logical explanation other than knowing that God has this

If you have walked with Christ for very long at all, you have certainly encountered situations in which your faith has been put to the test. We know that faith involves trusting God, but what I think we sometimes fail to realize is that faith is not necessarily logical. It doesn’t always make sense to us. It can go against every fiber of our being. It can defy everything we have ever been taught. It can test every truth we have ever believed. It can push us to limits that have us questioning every step we take. It can drive us completely insane because it just doesn’t make seem reasonable to us and we cannot imagine how God could possibly be at work in the situation. And those things are exactly what makes faith faith! And without faith, we cannot please God! We may not understand His ways, but by faith, we can trust Him!

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a retarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6

We celebrated Father’s Day today and, because of this, I have been thinking a lot about my dad.  He passed away about two and a half years ago and although I miss him every day, holidays and special occasions always have me missing him more than usual.  He was very sick for the last few years of his life, and I know that he is so much better off now than he was here on earth, but the selfish part of me still wishes he was here sometimes.  The good news is that my dad was a Christian and I know where he is spending his eternity.  I also know that I will one day see him again.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.  And the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And thus, we shall always be with the Lord.”  1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

For those of us who know Christ as their Savior, there is always the hope of an eternity spent with Him, as well as our loved ones who have gone on before us.  There may be days on this earth that we miss them, but we can know without a shadow of a doubt that we will be reunited with them one day.  Knowing this won’t take away all of the pain or sadness, but it can help us through on days like today.

Happiness is something we all desire, but many struggle to experience. Life can be an uphill battle of epic proportions, and we can find ourselves wondering if God even cares about our happiness or not. God does care, but He knows that happiness is not the most important thing we can have…He is! What God finds more important than if we are happy or not is whether or not we are following Him. He would much rather see us in total brokenness depending on Him for our every breath than happy and finding our  strength in our own self. He would much rather see us falling completely apart at His feet than having it all together and tooting our own horn. God knows that our true joy can only be found in Him, and He will do whatever necessary to draw us to Him. We may struggle with God’s methods of bringing us to find our “happy place”, but we can trust Him. He is our Father, and He loves us beyond measure! He does want us to be happy, but He will not accept our happiness as a substitute for what we really need which is Him.

“The Lord is waiting to show you mercy, and is rising up to show you compasssion, for the Lord is a just God. All who wait for Him are happy.” Isaiah 30:18

This afternoon, I was at a complete stop on the highway, waiting for incoming traffic to pass so I could turn onto my street. I was less than one minute from home when WHAM…I was hit from behind. The young lady who hit me had looked down for a few brief seconds and, by the time she looked up, it was too late. There was nothing she could do but hit me. Fortunately, we both escaped with no injuries other than the fact that I will probably be a bit on the sore side tomorrow. As I was thinking about the accident, I thought about how we can just be minding our own business when Satan hits us out of nowhere. And he hits even harder than a car smacking you at 60 mph. The stiffness and soreness I will likely be feeling for the next couple of days is nothing in comparison to the hurt he causes. His goal is to totally annihilate us. Nothing thrills him more than to completely incapacitate us. We have to stay on the offensive and be ready for an attack at all times. We cannot afford to take our eyes off of him for even one second because he is seeking every opportunity he has to pummel us. We have to be prepared, and we have to be smart enough to know the attack is coming. We have to know ahead of time how we are going to handle the attack. And our only hope is to turn to God. He is our strength, our hope, our deliverer, and our way to victory!

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Ephesians 6:10

My 10 month old grandson has recently started a new ritual. Every time he takes a bite of food, he looks at me with his big, brown eyes, claps his hands, and waits expectantly for me to say, “Good job!” Once I say those words,he bursts into the biggest grin and is then ready for another bite. It just melts my heart because you can just tell by the look on his face that he knows   that “good job” is coming. He likes receiving praise from his Nana and because it thrills him so, I make sure I lavish him with it. Liking to be praised starts young and we never outgrow it. We all like to hear that we are doing a good job. We all like to know that someone is paying attention to us and that we are important to them. And we all have a Father in heaven who loves us even more than I love my sweet boy! Everything we do matters to Him. He is there watching us every step of the way, ready to offer us praise and encouragement along the way.

“Dear friends, don’t overlook this one fact: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like one day.” 2 Peter 3:8

Most of us are familiar with this verse, but if you’re like me, you probably notice the first part more than the second. We can feel like waiting on the Lord to do something takes forever! We want Him to do everything on our timeline, and are not very patient when it doesn’t happen that way. We relate to His “one day” equaling a thousand years because we feel each day that we are waiting for Him to respond to us is the equivalent of a thousand years.  What we forget is that His “thousand years” can be just a day. God is so mighty, so powerful, so beyond what we can fathom that He can also accomplish in one day what it would take anyone else a thousand years to do. We need to always be expectantly awaiting God’s work in our lives. Even when it seems like it’s taking a thousand years, we have to hold on and trust that He is at work because we never know when He will show up and do the miraculous in the blink of an eye!