Following Unseen Footsteps

During the day there was a relentless search for solutions but none were found. In the night his eyelids seemed unwilling to close, always looking but seeing nothing. He wanted to pray but he found he was so troubled he was unable to speak. His present circumstances were oppressive so he sought comfort by tracing the eternal truths that he believed.

He meditated on the ancient wonders of a present God, a God who promised never to leave him or forsake him. This same God who dwells in the highest heavens and works wonders and reveals his strength and power is the same God who dwells with those whose heart is broken and whose hands are limp. As he pondered these eternal truths he heard the voice of the Spirit reminding him of the words of Jesus, "Fear not little flock, it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."

Paralyzed by his fear, he had only focused on his vulnerability but now with the eyes of faith he saw his shepherd. In the presence of his shepherd he realized that he was not dependent on his own strength for survival but the strength of the Good Shepherd. He was quieted by steadfast love and he accepted the truth that everything he needed had already been provided.

The questions that had tormented his mind concerning his inadequacy had been answered by his relationship to the shepherd. The shepherd of his soul was the God of eternity whose voice is like the sound of thunder and whose lightning lights up the world. In the days of old he led his flock through the sea and his path went through the great waters. His sheep followed him even though his footprints were unseen. This shepherd is the same yesterday, today and forever.

As fear lost its hold on his mind and spirit, he began to realize that all his life he had been pursued by the goodness and faithful love of his shepherd. His soul began to find its resting place in the reality that it is never the sheep who pursues the shepherd but the shepherd who pursues the sheep. He could trust his shepherd to work out all the details of his life for good. He could rest in the faithfulness of his shepherd to go before him, be beside him, guard, protect and discipline him on this journey home.

The Strength of Weakness

From as far back as I can remember it would come unbidden and unwelcome but still it would come. It was like a moist blackness seeping in from the cracks in the wall and from beneath the door. It never shouted but issuing from the darkness I could hear the message, the crippling message, that would seek to bind me and hold me captive. I heard a song once that said, "Hello darkness my old friend I've come to talk to you again." But this darkness is not my friend.

When I was young this period of darkness was often accompanied by a dream of being helpless and of falling into a bottomless, cold and dark shaft. These times of being overwhelmed by darkness could be considered a mental illness. But I would like to share what I have learned from decades of struggling in the night.

This thorn in my flesh is like a messenger of Satan that harasses me. My weakness exposes my need for someone greater than myself to come to my rescue. From my earliest memories this messenger has caused me to cry out. In response to my cry I found that I who have sat in darkness have seen a great light. I have come to appreciate the verses I found in the book of Micah, "But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me."

I have found strength in my times of weakness but it is not my strength. I have found that when in the darkness I slip, I am not hurled headlong because my Savior holds my hand. The message I hear hissed by the darkness is silenced by the truth whispered to my spirit, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."( 2 Corinthians 12:9)

Lord Jesus, while others may boast of their strength I will choose instead to boast in my weakness. Please Lord, let your power rest upon me because I know that when I am weak then I am strong in you.

An Unseen Blessing

When I came to her she was shrouded in a cocoon of fear. Over the years I have learned to respect the hurt that others feel and to sit in silence before speaking and so I quietly entered into her pain. My desire is to weep with those who weep, to come along side those who are being crushed by the burdens they bear and share the load. However, when I see someone wrapped in fear I long to blanket them in peace instead.

The words of encouragement I bring are not mine but they are ancient words that I have learned to take as my own. “I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.” (Psalms 40:1,2) There is an unseen blessing that comes when you are trapped and you see no way out. When the Lord comes to you with the key of faith and you take it into your trembling hand you are blessed. “Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust.” (Psalms 40:4)

One of the most crippling aspects of fear is that when we are held captive by it we can see no way out. The circumstances that we face whether they were brought on by our own mistakes or the mistakes of others make us feel hopeless. Walled in and blinded by despair we see no possibility of escape. However, when we use the key of faith to unlock this prison we realize that he can see what we cannot.

“By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” (Hebrews 11:3) We think that solutions to our overwhelming problems must come from what we know and understand but the God who spoke the universe into being offers us himself in answer to our cry.

Sometimes we are so smothered by fear that though we might believe that there is a God we feel that he is impotent or uncaring. We find ourselves crying out as Jesus' disciples did when they were in the midst of a storm, “Jesus, don't you care that we are perishing!” Jesus had been with them all along. He was only sleeping. When he awoke the same God that spoke the universe into being spoke to the storm and immediately the storm ceased. Jesus' disciples were still filled with fear but now the fear was no longer directed at the storm but at the one who was the master of the storm. However, this is a fear that does not bind; this is a fear that brings freedom with it. Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.

When my children were young I would place my hand on their head and pray for them at the end of every day. As a young mother I was aware that this world that I had birthed them into was filled with frightening things and so I prayed, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13) I would tuck them in and kiss them goodnight knowing that I could not keep them safe from the tribulations that life would bring so I asked instead that when they encountered them that they would learn to call out to the LORD and wait patiently for him. I prayed that they would know the voice of the one who spoke the universe into being. I prayed that they would experience the joy and peace that comes from knowing the God of hope.

Considering Migrating Birds

According to a report I read on CNN this morning there is a modern day wonder taking place in the Sea of Galilee. They even went so far as to call it a, “miracle of sorts”. What in the world has captured the imagination of CNN in Israel? Birds, hundreds of millions of birds migrating across Israel.

It seems according to the report that Israel, “is akin to a superhighway of bird migration routes, creating thermal currents that raptors and other birds can ride from central Africa to Europe. Israel is at a bottleneck on the migratory birds' flight path where an estimated 540 species converge.” According to Israel paradise for birds, “Israel is located at geographical bridge between three continents – Europe, Asia and Africa.”

Why do birds migrate? Although the sources I looked at said that the reasons were complex, they all agreed that at least one of the reasons was to find food. In thinking about this I am reminded of when the Lord answered Job's complaints and said,"Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?”(Job 38:41)

This morning I was reading in Exodus where the children of Israel were in the wilderness and they were grumbling and complaining to Moses that it would have been better for them to have died in Egypt where at least they had food. They were migrating to the Promised Land but they were hungry. They didn't understand what migrating birds understand: God is the one who provides for those he leads.

Jesus also used the raven when he told his followers not to be anxious about their lives. He said, “Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!” (Luke 12:24) But there is more to to Jesus' message than just to tell us not to be afraid. I see the message of migration because he goes on to say that all the nations of the world are worried about what they will eat and drink and things like this. But what is at the heart of Jesus' message not to be anxious? Referring to food and drink, Jesus says, “Your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these will be added to you.”(Luke 12:30,31)

Breaking Free from the Prison of Discouragement

Have you ever been imprisoned by discouragement? I have. I didn't mean for it to happen but it did anyway. I suddenly found myself focusing on disappointments and those disappointments became like walls around me. The walls were like the walls of a dungeon blocking out light and truth. But when I cried out for help my cry was heard.

One of my favorite stories in the Old Testament, probably because I identify with what happened, is the story told in Ezra. In the book of Ezra the Israelites had returned from captivity and were attempting to rebuild the temple but there was a problem: the people in the land discouraged them. It wasn't hard to become frustrated. After all, they knew what they were building could never measure up to the glory of what the temple had been. The people stopped the work until God sent two prophets who drew their attention away from their failures and away from their limited ability. These prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, pulled back the curtains of heaven and gave the people an eternal perspective. This also gave them the courage they needed and they were able to do the task God had for them to do.

Haggai and Zechariah also gave them hope when they gave the people prophetic vision they. Hope shifted their view from their insignificance to God. It was God who had appointed them to the task they were to do in their generation. When they put their confidence in God they had the courage to carry out the work he had given them to do. Hope is a cure for discouragement because it calls you to place both your confidence and your expectations in God and his promises and not in your own ability.

Hope also inspires endurance. It was in August of 1926 that Clarabelle Barrett attempted to swim the English Channel. She swam for twenty two hours straight. She was cold and tired but that was not what caused her to give up. It was the fog that got the better of her. All she could see was fog. The people in the boat encouraged her not to give up because land was in sight but she couldn't see it. When she was pulled into the boat she found that she was only two miles from shore. She said later if only she had been able to see the shore she would have been able to have the endurance to reach her goal.

Hope brings with it courage. Hope inspires endurance but how do we get this hope? Like so many things hope is something we ask God for. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:13) The discouragements and disappointments of life are transformed into joy and peace when our confidence and expectations are anchored in God.