Category Archives: Christian Living

Piercing the Gloom

After an evening struggling with discouragement, I woke the next morning from a dream about outnumbered soldiers in a battle where miracles were the only thing keeping them safe, where the final defenses were nearly breached but where victory may have happened at the end. And where the stakes were higher than the soldiers’ lives—where God had a higher purpose.

Lying in bed, thinking about my dream, I got a song: the Newsboys’ “Never Surrender, Never Say Die.”

Then my morning reading included this verse:

As soon as I pray, you answer me;
you encourage me by giving me strength.
Psalm 138:3, NLT*

Wow… I’d been praying for help, for focus and encouragement. I’d been doing my feeble best to keep my thoughts God-centered in the gloom.

This verse tells me God heard. And He answered as soon as I prayed. Not that I experienced the answer then, but I wonder how much easier the night would have been if I’d counted the prayer answered as soon as I prayed it—if I’d begun to thank Him for what He was in the process of doing, instead of waiting until I saw for myself.

Encouraged? Yes. Challenged? Yes. Thank You, God, and please help me be ready for next time.

∞

*New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Cookies and Mangers

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Perfection… the bar was set pretty low, I thought. I was making Christmas cookies. I don’t bother with fancy-decorated ones, but when I roll them out and cut the little shapes, I do like them to be intact and to look like they should.

The cookies weren’t cooperating. Some tore, but mostly they just clung to the countertop when I tried to lift them to the baking sheet, compressing their crisp shapes into long, thin caricatures.

All I wanted was to bake something nice for my family, and suddenly I was dealing with a “take every thought captive and don’t feel sorry for yourself” moment.

The moment passed, the cookies went in the oven, and look what came out. Don’t say God doesn’t have a sense of humour. Would it have mattered if they’d gone on the tray perfectly?

Can you tell what they’re supposed to be? Guess I didn’t get the recipe quite right — they swelled up and lost their sharp edges. If you squint a bit, you can find trees, stars and teapots.

But it got me thinking about how we want everything perfect. And about how messy, dusty, smelly and just plain unsuitable the Bethlehem stable was as the birthplace of the Saviour of the world.

Some suggest the stable was a blessing to Mary and Joseph, a haven from the noise, overcrowding and general mayhem of the guestrooms. Maybe so. It definitely made the shepherds’ visit easier. But it was hardly “perfect”.

Look at what was perfect, though: the timing, the fulfillment of the Bethlehem prophecy, the willing mother and surrogate father, God Himself in human form. The symbolism: the Divine in a humble, earthly mess.

So maybe the lesson from my cookies is to discern which elements need my best efforts at excellence and which are “optional extras”. And to trust God’s perfect working even when I don’t meet my own expectations.

The One Whose Plans Are Always Perfect (oldthingsrnew.wordpress.com)

When the Wait is Long

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Jesus’ birth ended a period of 400 years of silence from God. The angel Gabriel had brought personal messages to Zechariah and to Mary, and we don’t know how young Simeon was when God promised he’d see the Messiah before he died, but these were private revelations. The nation of Israel as a whole heard nothing. Not even a whisper.

400 years.

No prophets. No angelic visitors. Silence.

A remnant of Israel had returned from exile and begun to rebuild, as God had promised.

He also promised a Messiah, a King to come who would rule in power and justice and break the people’s bondage for good.

Nobody expected the King to suffer and die first.

Nobody expected to wait so long.

400 years.

Are you waiting today?

God hasn’t forgotten, or changed His mind, or discovered He can’t do what He promised.

He’s waiting too, for the best time to unveil what’s coming.

May His peace, hope, love and joy sustain each of us in the waiting.

And Merry Christmas. Christ has come.

Thoughts and Attitudes

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God has encouraged me through a few different writers recently, and I thought I’d share the highlights:

At Everydays, Ashley Clark posted about God Moments, and about how our thoughts and attitudes are a choice. The highlight for me:

God is present in every situation, so there is always a reason to rejoice. We have a choice in every moment. (Read the whole post: God Moments)

Jeff Goins’ most recent weekly e-newsletter built on the attitudes-as-choice theme:

“Our attitudes are habits, so why not practice the ones we’d prefer?” (Read the whole post: One Simple Idea that Makes Life an Exciting Adventure)

My biggest takeaway from Jeff’s post? He challenged us to intentionally smile. Know what? When I do that, my body believes my face and I feel happier.

At Hearing the Heartbeat, Carolyn Watts asks:

How might seeing life as an invitation to oneness rather than as an exam change our days? (Read the whole post: Life is not an Exam)

And at Chatting at the Sky, Emily Freeman offers both optimists and pessimists a different way. My favourite line:

Let the believers consider Immanuel, the with-ness of God, right where we are, not where we wish we were instead. (Read the whole post: One Alternative to Pessimism and Optimism)

Will we see the scarred pavement, muddy marks and old leaves, or will we see the heart in the puddle? [Photo credit: Janet Sketchley]

Wonderstruck

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Isn’t it an evocative word?

Wonderstruck.

After my devotional post this week (Surrounded by Glory), author/illustrator Janis Cox alerted me to a new book and Bible study releasing Christmas Day by Margaret Feinberg: Wonderstruck: Awaken to the Nearness of God.

The book is described as

A personal invitation for you to toss back the covers, climb out of bed, and drink in the fullness of life. Wonderstruck will help you:

Recognize the presence of God in the midst of your routine

Unearth extraordinary moments on ordinary days

Develop a renewed passion for God

Identify what’s holding you back in prayer

Discover joy in knowing you’re wildly loved

I don’t know about you, but that tugs at my spirit.

Janis invites us to

Follow Margaret’s snarky, funny, and inspirational posts on Twitter (#livewonderstruck), Facebook or her blog.

To read Jan’s full post, click here.

Benefits of the ACTS Prayer

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One of the simpler and most familiar structures for prayer is ACTS. Not that we need a formula to approach God, but it can be good to have a guideline to keep from forgetting anything important. I’ve been using this one lately to stay focused, and have found some other benefits as well.

Adoration:

I have a bad habit of starting prayer in mid-conversation. I know we’re encouraged to develop the habit of praying unceasingly, but when I stop for an intentional “quiet time” prayer, just me and God, it’s worth going back to the beginning to remind myself Who He is. It’s polite, reverent, and it quiets my heart and puts everything in perspective.
Thinking of God’s attributes and authority reinforces it in my mind so I’m less likely to feel alone and unprotected in the rest of my day. (How sad is it to need reminding of His care?)

Confession:

Looking at God’s greatness is a great way to notice my own smallness and failings. Not that He wants to put me down – He can’t grow me in His image if I don’t see the problems and ask for His help and forgiveness. Regular confession helps me recognize the “little” sins that are easy to gloss over and allow to fester.
Receiving His forgiveness erases any barriers my sin has caused that might keep me from hearing or obeying Him.

Thanksgiving:

How can I be anything but thankful that He forgives me and wants to help and heal me?
Gratitude is crucial to my well-being and with all God does for me, it’s rude to take His gifts for granted. (Again, how sad is it that we forget to notice and say thank You?)

Supplication:

Okay, “supplication” is too outdated a word for something that’s still current, so I call this part “struggles.” It’s the “prayer requests” part that too often we jump into without bothering with the other aspects. Coming after the other parts of the prayer, it’s in better perspective. By this point, I’m better focused on God, we’ve cleared up any communications issues, and I’ve looked at some of the ways He’s showed His care. I’m now in a good place to confidently bring Him needs: mine and others’.
I suppose the S could also be for “surrender” because that’s the best thing to do with these issues. In bringing them to God, I need to release them with “not my will but Yours.” This is so much easier after spending a few minutes adoring, confessing and thanking, because I’m more aware of our relative positions and abilities. I’m less tempted to be sure I know best, and less tempted to doubt His care, integrity or power.

Period

We don’t really end with the “please help”. If we pray until we have peace about what’s troubling us, we end with confident trust in God’s care. Adding another letter would mess up the memory device, so I’ll end with a period. “Full stop,” as the British would say. For the purposes of intercessory prayer, the period declares “ I’ve given it to God and I’m leaving it there. He will deal with it in His perfect wisdom, love and time. I will not fret in the waiting.”
The period also reminds me to stop talking and listen. Prayer is, after all, dialogue. If I fill the time with my yammering, I miss God’s quiet voice.

ACTS. As well as the way this format helps me focus, I love how it can expand or contract to match the time I have for prayer. It’s a great way to start the day, and it puts me in an attitude of prayer that carries with me when I’m back in the fray. I still mess up, but even then if I’ve started well with prayer it’s easier to turn back to God and carry on.

Fog

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The lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia, in the fog
Photo credit: Janet Sketchley

I love to walk in the fog. My world shrinks, cocooned in a soft, grey blanket. I feel peaceful and secure. Given that I live in Atlantic Canada’s coastal region, that’s probably a good thing.

Fog simply is. It has no intent, benevolent or malicious. Our individual natures shape how it affects us. Some thrive in it, while others feel oppressed and caged in. It saps their energy and weighs them down.

Our lives are often a lot like that. Things happen that are outside of our control. Panic wells up inside of us when events seem to be moving too fast, or taking a direction we don’t like. How should we respond? Who knows what’s ahead?

We can’t choose our circumstances any more than our favourite weather patterns. They come to us, filtered through God’s loving fingers. The only control we have is over our choice of response.

In a way, it’s like driving in the fog. We creep along, wearing down the brake pads and straining to see ahead. The limits are suddenly too close. What was perfectly safe for a pedestrian doesn’t allow enough reaction time at a faster pace, and the headlights reflect back at us instead of showing the way.

It’s different when we’re passengers. As long as we trust the driver’s ability, we may as well relax. We have neither control over nor responsibility for a safe arrival at our destination. The decisions are out of our hands. We can fret or enjoy the ride; the results will be the same.

If our lives are a journey, travelling sometimes through poor visibility, sometimes through clear sunlight, where would we rather be, behind the wheel or in the passenger seat? (Well, truthfully, I’d like to take over in the sunny places!)

God is our Creator. He is somehow bigger than time, not limited by it like we are. The Bible says He knows the end from the beginning, and the Old Testament prophets have shown this to be true.

He knows what the future hides from us. We’re free to choose our own way, but accepting His wise guidance gives us a better chance. It’s as if He’s the cartographer who drew the map. Suddenly the limited vision, the daunting unknowns, cease to threaten. He understands the dangers, and can navigate us through them. And He will never abandon us.

The Psalmist declared that even when his path was dark and dangerous, he would fear no evil, because God would be with him to comfort and protect him. When our road gets bumpy, and the fog closes in on us, God is holding the wheel. He can get us safely to the end of our journey. I’m glad it’s not up to us.

[This post first appeared as an article in the Spring 1999 issue of Esprit.]

In the Hard Times

Wise Words on Negative Thoughts

Thoughts that Sting

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Choose…

which thoughts to

dwell on,

entertain,

agree with,

feed.

Choose life.

God has been reclaiming the garden of my heart from an infestation of negative thoughts. I had no idea how many of the enemy’s lies I’d bought, nor how deeply they’d rooted. I’m so grateful that He loves me enough to confront me with the problem, and to forgive me when I acknowledged my part in letting them take hold.

Listen to the father of lies? Believe what he says? Why in the world would a person do that?

But he makes them sound so reasonable, and they attach to our fears and masquerade as truth. Maybe that’s how to discern the difference: does the thought seem to confirm my fears, stir my anxiety? Or does it resonate with my spirit? I really need to check each thought at the mental garden gate and ask for ID. Friend, or foe? Prove it.

Wasps’ nest. Photo credit: Janet Sketchley

Not long ago, I was outside in a quiet spot, pondering what I’m (still) learning. A wasp flew into my space, September-stupid and slow. Instead of retreating like I’d do in with an aggressive summer wasp, I shooed it away with my hand.

It came back; I shooed it again. After a few times, it went away.

In the stillness, it seemed like God was asking, “Did you get that?”

I think I did.

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Philippians 4:8, NLT*

Related articles

Wonderstruck.

[This post first appeared as an article in the Spring 1999 issue of Esprit.]