Cure for the Homesick Soul

Once when I was on a small boat I began to experience motion sickness. The owner of the boat recognized my distress and advised me to fix my gaze on the shore. Keeping my eyes on something that was stable helped to ease my discomfort. During these turbulent times I find that I need to focus my mind on eternal, unchanging truth.

I find myself feeling off balance as day after day I encounter the storm of news. I am desperate for a frame of reference. Rather than the motion sickness that I felt on the small boat, my soul feels homesick. As the dark clouds gather, blinding my vision, I use the words of the Psalmist to express my longing. “How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God” (Psalm 84:1,2)

I think the prophet Daniel had a homesick soul. As a youth he had been taken captive and brought to Babylon. He lived through stormy, uncertain times, and yet he was known for his wisdom. The kings who ruled over him sought out his counsel. How did he keep his equilibrium? Three times a day Daniel got down on his knees and with his windows opened toward Jerusalem he prayed, giving thanks to his God. He never forgot his true citizenship. He anchored his soul with prayers of thanksgiving to an unchanging God.

Like Daniel the storms we face are real. There can be a feeling of helplessness when it seems that there is nothing stable beneath our feet. In times like this if you are relying on your own strength your heart will be filled with anxiety. But if your heart and mind are set on pilgrimage you can know a deep and settled joy. During these turbulent times I rely on a strength that is not my own as I fix my gaze on the kingdom of God where I have my true citizenship.

“One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock” (Psalm 27:4,5). 

My soul is homesick for the day when faith becomes sight, but until then I will, like Daniel, find my security on bended knees praying with thanksgiving to my Heavenly Father. He is the Lord of the storm and my soul is anchored in His promises.

Good News!

During this time when the news is full of political upheaval and unrest I find myself longing for the good news that Jesus preached. Jesus preached the good news of the kingdom. *The Greek word for kingdom is basileia. It comes from the word which means king. A kingdom always requires a king.* The good news that Jesus preached was that “the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 4:17)! The kingdom was near because the king had come.

Jesus came not only with the proclamation of the kingdom, but He came with the power to heal. The kingdom of God is not the only kingdom that exists in the universe, there is another kingdom—the kingdom of Satan. **The Bible shows us that in ages past there was just one kingdom, the kingdom of God. But, through the rebellion of an angel named Lucifer (now known as Satan), another kingdom was established over which the Prince of Darkness rules.** Jesus came not only with the power to establish His kingdom, but also with the power to heal the suffering caused by the Prince of Darkness.

“The people who live in darkness have seen a great light, and for those living in the shadow of death, light has dawned” (Matthew 4:16). The light of the world had come at last to break the curse, to proclaim liberty  to the captives, to give sight to those who had been blinded by the darkness. Jesus had come at last to set at liberty those who are oppressed.

“Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 4:17)! When Jesus came, those who lived in darkness were presented with a choice. Those who had been slaves to the kingdom of Satan could at last find liberation. Jesus had come to break the curse of death and bring life. But in order to enter the kingdom of heaven there needed to be repentance. 

Repentance means to change. Jesus preached that the kingdom of heaven had come near, but He began by saying, “repent.” The good news is that the kingdom of heaven has come near. What is our response to the good news? No one can serve two kings. 

*HELPS Word-studies

**Selwyn Hughes

Imperfect Prayers to a Perfect God

 Sometimes I find that in order to believe I have to first stop and confess my unbelief.

What exposes my unbelief? It is the depression that is caused by my inability to protect the people that I love. I come to God overwhelmed because of my inadequacy. I am face to face once more with the lie that I have believed, that I can be my own God and that I have the power to save myself or anyone else who is trapped by sin.

I have enough faith to pray, but at the same time my eyes are filled with the struggle before me. I am blinded by my unbelief and I stumbled and fall before the throne of Him to whom I bring my petition. If the answer to my prayers were dependent on my faith, I would be hopeless. I have come, but before I can voice my prayer I must first confess my disbelief.

My prayer is not pretty, it is not well crafted, it is poured out in tears and inarticulate groans. It isn’t because of my faith that my prayers are heard, it is because of the Lord’s faithful love. Even though at times my ears are deaf to the truth of His steadfast love, His ears are never deaf to my plea for mercy. I discover again what I have found to be true so many times before: His mercy never comes to an end. His faithfulness doesn’t depend on my ability to believe. His love is steadfast and unfailing.

When my storm of tears and pleas have quieted, I wait. My heart is still heavy, the situation has not changed, but in the silence I find rest for my soul. I know that I have been heard. Quieted by His love I am aware of His outstretched hand. He raises me to my feet and I stand. My faith has been restored and I remember that, though I cannot save the ones I love, He can.

When You’re Coming Apart at the Seams

The Greek word for anxiety is merimna. HELPS Word-studies describes it this way, a part separated from the whole; (figuratively) worry (anxiety), dividing and fracturing a person’s being into parts. Perhaps you’ve experienced the sensation of becoming emotionally disintegrated. There are times when the pressures of life make you feel like you are coming apart at the seams. What do you do?

My daughter gave birth to twins two weeks ago. Because they were premature, they had to stay in the NICU. Abigail was able to come home, but because she developed postpartum preeclampsia we ended up making two emergency trips to the hospital. The last time we went they did a CT scan to check and see if there was any bleeding in her brain. When I wasn’t with her in the hospital I was helping to take care of her two special needs little boys. The twins are home, my daughter is doing well, and the little boys are thrilled with their tiny baby sisters. However, there can still be opportunities to feel anxious.

When we exhaust our store of endurance we are invited to cast our cares on a God who cares about us. When our strength fails God invites us to enter into His rest. There is a name for this exchange. It is called humility. True humility happens when we are fully dependent on the Lord. “Humble  yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6,7).

When I feel like I'm falling apart I remind myself that I have an invitation to find refuge in the shelter of the Most High God. When I am overwhelmed I find my resting place in the shadow of the Almighty. When I finally stop trying to be in control I find peace for my soul. I cast my anxiety on Him and find that He has covered me with His feathers and that refuge is found under His wings. Fear cannot follow me into this place of humble trust.

The stresses of this life expose our frailty. How we respond to those stresses exposes what we believe. However, when we respond with humility and choose to fully trust God we find that He is worthy of our trust. “We may trust Him fully, all for us to do, They who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true.”

*Like A River Glorious 

At the Golden Altar

There is a place where the divine world and the human world come together. It is a place of exchange and communication. I have been invited to come to this place with boldness, and so I come. I come boldly, but I also come aware of my weakness and my need. With a humble but hopeful heart I approach the golden altar that stands before the throne of God.

Altars represent places of sacrifice. What is it that I bring to this sacred place? I bring my need, my brokenness and my confusion. My heart full of concern for those I love, my mind flooded with circumstances over which I have no control. These are the sacrifices I bring on bended knee but with a heart lifted to the Sovereign who is seated on the throne.

There are times when the sacrifices that my heart bears are so heavy that tears replace words. But in this sacred place I encounter Love that can translate my inarticulate plea. I find someone who advocates for me before the throne of grace. Here, at the golden altar, the cry of my heart is transformed into incense that is pleasing to God.

At the golden altar the darkness within me is bathed with light. It is here that grief is replaced with comfort, and fear and helplessness with His presence and peace. The welcome that I find does not cease, because access has been gained for me by the blood of the Lamb who stands before the throne.

This golden altar is a place of exchange and communication; not only a place where I am heard and known, but a place where I come to listen. It is here that I find that the Almighty God who is seated on the throne is One who wants and waits to be known. You cannot come into the presence of this holy One and stay the same. My plea and my prayers go up from this altar as a pleasing fragrance, and in exchange I receive mercy and grace to help me in my time of need.

Where Is Your Focus?

It’s hard not to be constantly checking the news. There is so much going on. However, if your only perspective is what you hear, and it really doesn’t matter which news group you listen to, you’re bound to feel anxious. I have found a cure. It is a change of focus.

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared do you from the beginning? Have you not considered the foundation of the earth? God is enthroned above the circle of the earth...” (Isaiah 40:21,22) When our mind is focused only on the things happening around us we become unbalanced. We become like people who are tossed about by the waves of an angry sea.

The chapter in Isaiah that begins with the words, “Comfort, comfort My people,” asked the question for a second time. “Do you not know? Have you not heard” (Isaiah 40:28)? What was it that they should have known? What was it that they should have heard? “Yahweh is the everlasting God, the creator of the whole earth. He never grows faint or weary; there is no limit to His understanding. He gives strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless. Youths may faint and grow weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:28-31).

When our view of God becomes limited we begin to see ourselves as victims of chance. When we cease to know that God is almighty and that the Lord God comes with strength, and that His power establishes His rule we lose sight of truth. When our view of God is small our souls shrink and we become fearful. To have a proper view of God is to have a proper context in which to place all that is happening around us.

*“We become like the things we focus on. If we center on man rather than God, then we ought not be surprised in we finish up off center—eccentric.”

*Selwyn Hughes

Come With Me on a Spiritual Journey

There is a chill in the air and dusk seems to be coming a little earlier every day. Autumn is a transitional season that links summer to winter. For me it’s a season of reflection. In my journey through the Bible September takes me through Job, Ecclesiastes and then into the Song of Songs. These are not books that are easy to understand. As I have read through them I’ve been thinking about how they reflect my own spiritual journey.

As a young child I would enter into the reverential silence of the sanctuary. There was the lingering fragrance of frankincense and myrrh, the flickering of the candles, and the chanting in Latin from the balcony behind me. My eyes would seek out the candle that I had been told was a symbol of God’s presence. I  genuflected and took my seat. As a little girl I was introduced to the holiness of God.

My Grandmother lived close by, and often I would spend the night with her. At bedtime she would invite me to snuggle close beside her. I listened as she read aloud long portions from the book of Isaiah. I could feel a stirring in my soul even though I had no understanding of the poetry of the words. I would stand at the doorway in the morning waiting as she knelt by her bed, her long grey braid falling between her shoulders. I would listen as she blanketed those she loved in prayer. I traveled in prayer with her as she prayed for my aunt who lived as a missionary on the Amazon River. I learned that though God was holy I could learn to hear His voice, and that He was listening for my voice as well.

As a child I was taught that Jesus loved me. This was symbolized for me by a picture of Jesus sitting on the grass surrounded by children. In the picture there was a little girl with her head on Jesus’s lap. I believed that that little girl was me. Every night I would pretend that my pillow was His lap. In childlike trust I would rest my head there. As the night shadows gathered I would rest in His tender love and care.

This was how my journey began, with simple childlike faith. But it is a journey, and that is what I see represented in the books of Job, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs. There has been light, and there has been darkness; there have been times when I have felt a deep intimacy with God, and there have been times that I wondered if He existed at all; there have been times when I have wept with the knowledge of His kindness, and there have been times when I wondered if He was cruel. I would like to invite you to join me as I reflect on my spiritual journey.