There is peace even through chaotic times

Watch out! There are rough patches ahead!

John 16:1-3 (MSG) I’ve told you these things to prepare you for rough times ahead. They are going to throw you out of the meeting places. There will even come a time when anyone who kills you will think he’s doing God a favor. They will do these things because they never really understood the Father. I’ve told you these things so that when the time comes and they start in on you, you’ll be well-warned and ready for them.

In the 16^th Chapter of John, Jesus is preparing the disciples for the day when He will return to the Father. Jesus knows that the disciples’ hearts are troubled because He’s going away (v. 5). He tells them again that He is not going to just leave Bethem high-and-dry. He will be sending them a Helper. But the Helper can only come if Jesus goes.

The Helper will not only help the believer, he will help the non-believer as well. He (the Holy Spirit) will lead them into all truth. Jesus had so much more to say to his disciples but they weren’t ready to hear it. It was too much for them to handle at that moment. Isn’t that an awesome thought? God cares so much about us that He gives us only what we can handle – one thing at a time.

In our lives when things get chaotic, it’s easy to let stress overwhelm us. But don’t let it.  Psalm 48:14 (NASB) ensures us “God is our God forever and ever and he will guide our paths until death.” He’s got our lives and each and every circumstance in His hand. God will guide us by the Holy Spirit living inside us. The Spirit leads us in ALL truth. Jesus spokes these words over 2,000 years ago to His disciples and they are still true for us today.

Isn’t that comforting?

John 16:33 (MSG) I’ve told you all this so that trusting me (emphasis mine), you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace (emphasis mine).  In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.

I am so thankful to know that Jesus tells us we can have peace… but did you notice something else in that verse? Jesus tells his disciples in this verse they would have trouble too. GREAT…  just when we thought it was safe to go outside. But catch the last few words of verse 33… “But take heart! I h have conquered the world!” Jesus knew his time was coming soon. He knew he was going to die, but death would not hold Him. He would defeat death and the grave and rise again, conquering our sin once and for all.

So be brave dear friends. Jesus has “…told you these things to keep you from giving up.” (NCV) What circumstance do you have in your life right now that you need to be brave and stand firm? Are you giving up or are you relying on the Holy Spirit to guide you in all truth?

Be brave! Don’t give up!

Does life seem to be spiraling out of control?

Don't worry, Jesus sees our circumstances

John 11:21-22 (GW) Martha told Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask him.”

Have you ever been in the middle of your circumstances and asked “Jesus I need you! Why aren’t you here?” It seems as if everything around you is spiraling out of control and you just want something miraculous to happen. Perhaps you wonder in these moments if God even cares. 

Have you been there? I know I sure have and so had Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus. In the 11^th chapter of John, the story is told of Lazarus’ death. When Lazarus fell ill his sisters sent word to Jesus for him to come. When Jesus received the message it didn’t shock him at all, in fact he stayed where he was for two more days. Jesus knew exactly what would happen to Lazarus.

I wonder what was going through the minds of Mary and Martha when Jesus didn’t come immediately. “We are his close personal friends, almost family, so why isn’t he dropping everything to come and heal Lazarus? Doesn't he care?”

When Jesus finally made into Bethany, the Bible tells us Lazarus had been dead and in the tomb for four days. Martha, after hearing Jesus was on his way, ran out to meet him. “Jesus, if you had only been here! Lazarus would still be alive!” She knew Jesus had the power to heal, she had witnessed the miracles herself. But Jesus hadn't made it in time. Her brother was dead.

Jesus knew his delay had a specific purpose, look how he responds. “Your brother will rise again.” (v23) Martha thought Jesus was talking about rising again on resurrection day. But Jesus continued “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will have life even if they die. And everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” Jesus asks the question “Martha, do you believe this?”

Her response without hesitation, “Yes, Lord.” Martha's statement of faith is exactly what God is looking for from us. Complete and total trust.

The exchange between Martha and Jesus is comforting to me because Jesus knew what was happening. He had the situation in his sight, fully aware the entire time. He wept with them and then brought glory to the Father by bringing life out of death.

No matter how "out of control" our lives may seem, Jesus has our situation in full sight as well. He will meet all our needs according to his perfect schedule and purpose. He does bring healing out of pain and gives us life...eternal life for those who put their trust and faith in him.

Pennies from Heaven

A few years ago, I remember a conversation I had with my friend as we both were on our way to work. I listened as she vented about the frustrations surrounding her responsibilities and how much time they consumed. For the past several months, she had been working upwards of 60 hours per week leaving her exhausted, frustrated, in desperate need of an assistant, and above all else in desperate need to get back to the normalcy of her morning quiet time with God. As she talked I could totally relate to every word she said. At the time, I too had allowed my morning quiet time to slip because of overwhelming circumstances. It seemed that the more hectic everything had gotten, the further away I had gotten from my quiet time with God. My morning routine hit a road block and instead of getting up early to spending precious moments with God, I hit the alarm clock and rolled over for another hour of sleep. 

During our conversation, our venting led us to the conclusion that we both felt like poor examples of women of faith to those around us. Our daily routine had gotten exhausting and we were too tired to get up early and start our day with God. As a result, our attitudes and moods changed. We saw things differently. We agreed that we needed to get back to the peace and assurance a morning quiet time brings to the day…but how? With that, we hung up the phone feeling a little better that we were able to vent and confirmed the fact that we were not alone.

Praise God for the friends he places in our lives. 

But how do you get back to where you need to be when you’re doing the best you can in what seems to be overwhelming circumstances?

That week was my son’s last week of kindergarten. Where does the time go? As part of his class’s end of the year celebration, parents were able to join their children for a pizza and ice cream party. After the party, I followed my son to his classroom to collect his belongings and take him home for the day. Just as we were leaving, his teacher handed him a sand bucket full of “goodies”. Little did I know at the time but God was going to use one of the gifts in the bucket as a gentle reminder of how valuable I am in his eyes.

On the drive home, my son sifted through the buckets' content. He pulled out a little party favor bag with a home-made tag attached. He wanted to know what the tag on the outside of the bag said. At a stop light, I began to read the tag. It was a “First Grade Survival Kit” and each gift inside had a very special meaning. What a thoughtful gift. As I read the tag to my son I didn't get past the first line. The words I read rendered me speechless so much that my eyes welled up with tears and I was instantly overcome with emotion. 

Of course this didn’t go over very well with my son. He wanted to know what it said, but I couldn’t speak. There in black and white text on orange laminated construction paper stood the gentle reminder "I am special to God." 

"No my matter what the circumstance… I mattered.” God had sent his Son to die for me because he loved me so very, very much (John 3:16). Why couldn’t I have remembered this simple truth in the midst of my overwhelming circumstances?

I quickly thought back to the conversation I had with my friend a few hours earlier. We had made the mistake of taking our eyes off of Christ. That was our problem. We allowed current circumstances to shift our focus. We were trying to carry burdens we were never intended to carry (Matthew 11:30). Flooded by emotion, I reached for my cell phone to call my friend. As the phone rang I thought “this is a bad idea – she’s at work and can’t handle this right now. I’ll share later.” I ended the call.

“M-O-MMMM!” a concerned voice from the backseat “why are you crying and what’s wrong with your friend? Why did the card make you cry?” I had to smile at his words. The card had not made me cry, it was the gentle reminder of the words and how far away I had gotten from the truth of them. I told him that the card reminded me of a very important truth. 

“Can you read what the card says now please Mommy?” another plea from the backseat. “Gladly” I responded and began reading the first line of text.

A penny to remind you that you are valuable. You were bought with a price!

Moving forward, I will forever look at pennies in an entirely different way. What was intended to be a reminder for my son is now a reminder for me. I am continually amazed by God and the way he reaches out and remind us of his great love.

Father  -

Thank you so much for the unique way you choose to reach out to us. I stand in awe of you and your unconditional, unending love for us. Help us not to forget or take for granted your great love and what Jesus sacrificed so we could be free. Help us to remember to lay our burdens down and look to you to give us rest.

Amen

Attention everyone! "HOPE has left the building!"

Psalm 69:13-14 (MSG) “And me? I pray. God, it's time for a break! God, answer in love! Answer with your sure salvation! Rescue me from the swamp, Don't let me go under for good, Pull me out of the clutch of the enemy; This whirlpool is sucking me down.”

Reading: Matthew 14: 25 – 31

Have you felt hopeless in the midst of what seems to be an unbending circumstance? Perhaps there has been a time in your life that you thought things were destined to stay the same and NEVER change. You were stuck in that situation, end of story. Hope had hopped a flight out of town and you were left with nothing but yourself. Have you ever felt this way before? If you have you are not alone. There are plenty of us out there, believe me.

One afternoon while I was playing with my son in our front yard, I was quickly reminded of how I sometimes deal with the unpleasant circumstances in my life. We were hitting golf balls that day and he had just hit an impressive loft shot for a boy his age. As I followed the ball up into the air, I was distracted by the beautiful sunset just behind the tree line. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky that afternoon and what I saw looked like a magnificently painted canvass. The top burst with a vibrant cobalt color reminding me of calm Caribbean waters. As my eye drifted down I saw radiant waters flowing into a softer blue, but they couldn’t linger there as the bottom of the canvass quickly exploded up with a bright reddish-orange glow. Apparently, this day was not going down silently. It was making its exit with resounding splendor. I stood captivated by the beauty, but as hard as I tried, I couldn’t enjoy God’s masterpiece in its entirety. The bottom part of the canvass had been distorted by trees and rooftops in the distance. The “stuff” in my neighborhood had taken my focus off of the masterpiece.

I was quickly reminded of what happened to Peter when he jumped out of the boat and walked on water to meet Jesus. In Matthew chapter 14, the disciples were in a boat crossing the Sea of Galilee. When the disciples were a good distance from the shore, the wind began to howl and waves started to pummel the side of the boat. Place yourself in the boat with the disciples. How are you feeling about the circumstances surrounding you? How do you think the disciples are feeling?

During the storm, Jesus was making his way out to meet them. The disciples noticed him, but they didn’t realize who it was on the water. How would you feel at this point? The disciples had just witnessed the incredible miracle of Jesus feeding 5,000 men plus their wives and children. Their faith in him had to have been kicked up a notch. But now they’re in the middle of the lake and a big storm has come up on them, and next they see someone walking on water. Would you be a little freaked out or what? I think I would be. The Bible says the disciples were terrified when Jesus called out to them. “It’s a ghost!” They screamed out in fear. Jesus calmly replied “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!” (NLT)

Wait, did you catch that? “I am here.” Jesus is standing in the middle of a howling storm, on his way to be with his disciples and they think he’s a ghost. “I am here.” They are terrified. “I am here.” What happened to that incredible “faith high” they had just been on hours before? “I am here.” I have to admit, I probably would have done the exact same thing.

Peter responds, "Lord if it's you, tell me to come and I'll come.” Peter didn't ask questions. He was willing to get out of the boat and leave everything just to be with Jesus. "Come" was the response Peter heard. Without hesitation Peter threw his leg over the side of the boat and started walking towards Jesus. In that moment, Peter didn’t hear the howling wind or see the crashing waves. All he saw was Jesus. “Come Peter. I am here.”

The story doesn’t end there. Peter had allowed his current circumstances (a little wind and rain) to divert his focus. Peter had walked closely with Jesus and had witnessed the healing and miracles he had performed first-hand yet he was still distracted by the conditions that surrounded him. When Peter began to sink he screamed "Lord save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and saved him.

"You of little faith...why did you doubt?" were the words Peter heard. What do you think went through Peter's mind at that moment? I can only imagine. I know what would have been going through mine "I don't know why I doubted you Lord. I just watched you feed 5,000 men and their families. I have watched you turn water into wine. Oh Lord, forgive and help my unbelief. Help me not to doubt you."

Just like Peter on the water that night, I too have lost sight of Jesus in the middle of my circumstances. Have you ever done that? When I looked up at the sky that afternoon and wasn’t able to see the beautiful sunset in its entirety because of a few trees, it reminded me of letting my circumstances take my focus off of Jesus. I don’t want to do that. Jesus never intended for our circumstances to get the best of us. He proves that in this story “I am here”.

When the storms of life begin to pummel away at you, make the words of Matthew 14:27 personal by inserting your name. “Don’t be afraid Sheri. Take courage. I am here!”

Point to Ponder: What circumstances are distracting you from seeing Jesus clearly?  Write them down and then ask Jesus to help shift your focus from the circumstance to Him.

Father,

Thank you for the reminders you give us each and every day to keep our focus clearly on you! Help us to know you are here in each and every moment and to see you in front of our circumstances. Help me hear your calm and gentle voice saying “Don’t be afraid. Take courage. I am here!” Amen