“God closed the door. Why are you trying to get into the window?”
A very wise person asked me this question one day as I was trying desperately to figure out a way around a very definite “no” from God. It made me pause and think for quite some time about what I was trying to do. In the years since I have come back to this question many times as I realize I am trying to work around God’s answer to my prayer. We don’t really like to be told that we can’t have something or can’t do something, especially when we think we want it so badly. I can tell you with certainty that in the moment, nos can be hard to swallow, but looking back, God’s plans for me have ALWAYS been better than my plans. You may not be able to see it overnight, but God only wants the best for you, just as any parent does for their children. Sometimes that means we have to say no.
Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He’s the one who will keep you on track. (Proverbs 3:5-6, MSG)
The next time you find yourself jiggling the handle of a locked door, instead of continuing to pound or searching for the unlocked window, turn your eyes heavenward. God has big plans for you, even through heartache, even through disappointment. Just be still a moment and listen for His voice. Let Him direct your paths, for what can we really do apart from Him?
All posts by RunAndBeStill
Still Moments
“The burden borne by mankind is a heavy and a crushing thing. The word Jesus used (in Matthew 11:28) means “a load carried or toil borne to the point of exhaustion.” Rest is simply release from that burden. It is not something we do; it is what comes to us when we cease to do.” A.W. Tozer
Be still and release your burdens.
A Reflection in Reflection
What if I stumble? What if I fall?
While yesterday’s post (A Reflection) was challenging let me follow up today with some encouragement. I am not perfect. I don’t know anyone who is. My Christianity is very real which means that it in turn is flawed and laced in humanity. But I am living a love story, one in which I have found grace, mercy, and forgiveness on those days when I find myself stumbling, struggling, and ultimately failing. I can’t do anything to earn God’s love and in all of my shortcomings He continues to pour out His love and forgiveness because I have accepted His gift of grace, salvation for a struggling soul.
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. (Ephesians 2:8 NLT)
On those days when we find ourselves needing a re-do or a mulligan remember what Charles Stanley teaches on the subject of second chances. “Sometimes your burdens may seem endless. You repeatedly go through the same trial, making the same mistakes. The last time through, you thought you had truly mastered this area of your life. However, now you realize that it continues to cause you pain.
You question if God has abandoned you or if you have displeased Him so greatly that He would allow this suffering to persist. You wonder if you will ever learn the lesson God desires to teach you.
Take heart; the Lord loves you, He is with you, and He will never forsake you. He allows the trials in your life because He desires to give you freedom through them and show you His love.
He is drawing you close through this repeated problem. Do not despair. Cling to Him and He will fill you with His love.”
In return, all we can do is reflect this love to a broken world in search of second chances and show them through your walk, imperfect and stumbling though it may be, the gracious forgiveness you, yourself, have received.
A Reflection
Paul writes, “Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:] (Philippians 2:5 AMP)
Your talk talks and your walk talks, but your walk talks louder than your talk talks. This was on a picture in our house growing up and I always thought it was a cute little saying but now realize how deeply scarring it can be when we don’t take it to heart. When we profess with our mouthes our Christianity (our talk) but live in such a way as to denounce Christ (our walk) we reflect a version of Christianity to others that undermines the very reasons that Christ walked this earth. This is destructive behavior in a world that is hungry for something to believe in. These “Christians” are driving a wedge between the world and a loving, merciful God.
Mother Teresa shares this. When our sisters were in Ceylon, a minister of state once told me something very surprising. He said, “You know, Mother, I love Christ but I hate Christians.” So I asked him how that could be. He answered, “Because, Christians do not give us Christ; they do not live their Christian lives to the fullest.” Gandhi said something very similar. “If Christians were to live their Christian lives to the fullest, there would not be one Hindu left in India.”
The fullness of our heart comes out in our actions. This isn’t about being pious and condemning. This isnt about religion and rules. This is about opening our eyes to see as Jesus did and then opening our hearts in love. Jesus says, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ (Matthew 25:40 NLT)
Mother Theresa goes on to say “None of us has the right to condemn anyone. Even when we see people doing bad and we don’t know why they do it. Jesus invites us not to pass judgement. Maybe we are the ones who have helped make them what they are.”
My heart is convicted by this thought. I am challenged not be a stumbling block for others, to live in a consistently loving manner, especially when I don’t feel like it. That is when Christ’s love has the opportunity to shine through.
Jesus Friend of sinners we have strayed so far away
We cut down people in your name but the sword was never ours to swing
Jesus friend of sinners the truth’s become so hard to see
The world is on their way to You but they’re tripping over me
~Casting Crowns, Jesus, Friend of Sinners
Still Moments
The truth comes in whispers…after we have shut out all of the other voices around us.
Everything we needed to know we learned from Grandpa in Michigan
Our family shapes us and molds us. Their fingerprints are on the very fabric of our souls. George Campbell Brotherton was a leader in his family, his church, the community, a successful businessman, but to me and 15 others, he was Grandpa. Three years ago today, he passed away after succumbing to a brain tumor. Today as I stand in northern Michigan a place rich with family memories I want to share him with you.
Michigan was a place that held many precious memories for Grandpa. From family vacations with his own parents when he was boy to his honeymoon with Grandma, loading up the station wagon and camper, taking his children, then grandchildren and great-grandchildren on Michigan adventures, celebrating his 50th wedding anniversary with his wife and children…what Michigan meant to him was magical, indescribable. With grandpa we have camped, boated, and biked our way across most of the state. This legacy is one that he has passed on and now even his great-grandchildren have come to know and love. And so it was, on Saturday night, three years ago, as we neared the cabin in Michigan, that we received the news that Grandpa was gone. His chains of illness no longer bound him. He had been set free and he was home with his Lord, and Savior. Walking into the cabin that night I was surrounded by reminders him, his voice in my head, and his things just as he had left them, blissfully unaware the year before.
Grandpa taught us, his family and his friends so many things. The following are some of those lessons.
Everything we needed to know we learned from Grandpa in Michigan.
Family matters.
Nothing made Grandpa happier than having his family around him.
Share everything.
His cabin in Michigan served as a vacation spot for many families and he loved being able to share this spot. He felt it a privilege to be able share this place.
Appreciate the finer things in life…like a good meal.
Work hard and play hard.
Grandpa was a hard worker and a perfectionist. Growing up with very little he understood early in life the value of a hard days labor and made sure each of us understood that as well. He also understood the importance of rest and took time to enjoy the fruits of his labor, be it boating, camping, or relaxing on the back porch of the cabin.
Take risks.
It was only last year (now an unbelievable four years ago,) at 79 years old that Grandpa was in a kayak battling the Sturgeon River and playing tour guide.
Compete.
Everything in life is a competition, mealtime is no exception. And along those lines, always pick the fastest go-kart and show no mercy.
Plan ahead, as in dinner.
If its worth doing, its worth doing well.
Grandpa spent countless hours sanding the back porch of the cabin and then applied at least 7 coats of sealant. If one if good, 7 is better.
Take good care of your stuff.
Ivory soap floats.
You will never feel as refreshed or sleep as well as you do after a night swim in Lake Michigan and Grandpa always remembered the soap.
Enjoy a good laugh, even if it’s at yourself.
Try as hard as he might Grandpa wasn’t always the smoothest. Once he welcomed a new cabin visitor to his “humble commode” and on New Year’s Eve just as the ball was beginning to drop he decided to change the channel and find better reception. Needless to say, the group huddled around the tv missed the entire thing. He always enjoyed a laugh afterwards though. Grandpa was also the victim of a practical joke or two. As easy as he was to rile up it was often difficult to pass on the opportunity to stir things up. Whether it was a spoon with fake melted ice cream left on his prized piano or a geo-cache with the cache actually hidden by his barn, he was always a good sport about being on the receiving end of a joke or two.
Finally, the greatest lesson is this. Be strong in your beliefs and don’t apologize for them. Grandpa’s faith was fiery and he shared it with anyone, any chance he got. You never know when something you have shared will make an impact on someone. It may be years later but it’s important to plant a seed. It’s okay to be afraid but hold fast to your faith. Know that God’s hand is in everything and when the waves of life come crashing down, we may not understand why but we know that God is in control and He has a purpose and a plan.
A remarkable man, a remarkable legacy…
Heaven stands
I have unanswered prayers
I have trouble I wish wasn’t there
And I have asked a thousand ways
That You would take my pain away
When my world is shaking
Heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave Your hands
I do have unanswered prayers and I can’t tell you how many times I have prayed that God would take the pain, physical and mental away. But what a comfort to know that heaven, God and a host of angels, are standing for us, behind us, beside us, as our world is shaking. And even more, to know that when it does shake and our heart is broken in the process God never let’s us go.
George MacDonald says “Trusting even when it appears you have been forsaken; praying when it seems you words are simply entering a vast expanse where no one hears and no voice answers; believing that God’s love is complete and that He is aware of your circumstances, even when your world seems to grind on as if setting its own direction and not caring for life or moving one inch in response to your petitions; desiring only what God’s hands have planned for you; waiting patiently while seemingly starving to death, with your only fear being that your faith might fail – “this is the victory that has overcome the world“; this is genuine faith indeed.”
Have you been there, feeling forsaken and unheard? Are you in the place where you faith is thin and if it fails, you know with certainty that you will crumble under the weight of all that you carry? I understand, I have been there. As I faced a future with Takayasu’s Arteritus I was afraid, and I prayed over and over that God would rescue me and He did. Maybe not in the way that I thought He would or should but He has given me more strength, more sanity, more of Him, than I ever had before I was sick and I wouldn’t trade any of that for the busy that I had before. I have come to a place where unanswered prayers begin to take on a different meaning, a place where I can begin to see the good in Romans 8:28. (Read When The Last Thing You Need…)
This is where heaven stands…
Still Moments
“But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41, 42 NLT)
More than a Sunday morning Christian
I need a Christianity that is more than Sunday morning pomp and circumstance. My desire is for a Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday love, real grace and mercy for when we need it most. I believe this is what the world is looking for as well. The challenge is to be more, to live a real Christian life. The Word of God is unchanging, immovable, the same today as it was yesterday and it will remain just as rock solid tomorrow. God is not swayed by the changing social culture, the current president, or the wayward winter winds that blow. But it’s easier and less confrontational to just go with the flow.
John Piper explains it this way. “…it’s the lack of a sense of desperation for God that is so deadly. If we don’t feel desperate for God, we don’t tend to cry out to him. Love for this present world sets in subtly, like a spiritual leprosy, damaging spiritual nerve endings so that we don’t feel the erosion and decay happening until it’s too late.”
“This environment can be deadly to faith. It allows false faith to masquerade as real faith very easily. And its power to dissipate zeal and energy and mission-focus and willingness to risk is extraordinary because it doesn’t come to us with a whip and a threat. It comes to us with a pillow and a promise of comfort for us and our children. The former makes us desperate for God. The latter robs our sense of desperation.”
It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away
It’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
(Casting Crowns, Slow Fade)
Welcome to Sunday morning Christianity. Aren’t we called to be more?
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)
What’s Your Cause?
“The justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.” (Psalms 37:6 NLT)
A group of Team ValleyRunners shared their cause this morning at this 5k/10k.
Get the shirt. Run your race. Share YOUR cause.
Join the movement. Ask me how @ RunAndBeStill@yahoo.com
Run and Be Still 