The Plumbline

Don’t worry—I am with you. Don’t be afraid—I am your God. I will make you strong and help you. I will support you with my right hand that brings victory. (Isaiah 41:10) If most of us started each new day with this promise in mind, I wonder just how differently we'd face the issues of the day? I imagine we might just not be as haggard at the end of the day, exhibiting just a bit more wisdom with the actions of the day, and perhaps with a bit more accomplished than we'd see without his help. The instructions: 1) stop your worrying, 2) let your fear go, 3) trust your God, 4) lean into his strength, and 5) you will feel his support. Stop worrying - because God isn't deserting us, but going with us, having prepared a way before us. If we'd just get this simple instruction worked into our brains, reminding our emotions that they aren't in control, God is, then maybe we'd find it a bit easier to turn away those worries when they start to creep in. Let go of your fears....

Figs might not grow on the fig trees, and grapes might not grow on the vines. Olives might not grow on the olive trees, and food might not grow in the fields. There might not be any sheep in the pens or cattle in the barns. But I will still be glad in the Lord and rejoice in God my Savior. The Lord God gives me my strength. He helps me run fast like a deer. He leads me safely on the mountains. (Habakkuk 3:17-19) None of us wants to hear of bad things happening, much less that we won't have food to eat, the land growing barren before us, the storehouses emptied of all reserve. Kind of sounds a little 'apocalyptic' doesn't it? Do 'lean times' mean we will trust God any less? I certainly hope not! The harder things get for us, the greater our faith is put to the test. The more it is tested, the more we find ourselves either turning into God, or running from what he is doing. The direction we take determines the outcome we will realize. The ...

There are a couple forms of strength that we use to 'get by' in life. One is this thing we call physical strength. It is the 'brute strength' we use to pick up a heavy object or move a stalled car. It is technically the ability exert physical force upon an object. There is also mental strength - the thing we use to overcome pain and push a bit further when all we want to do is give up on that five-mile run. If allows us to be productive throughout our day and to be more efficient. It is how we get things done. There is emotional strength, which some clearly lack, while others seem to have it all together all of the time. Sometimes we struggle to make it through a day because we are a basket case, while at others we can muddle through just fine. The type of strength we all need but may not have right now is this thing we refer to as spiritual strength. It is the God-given strength that goes beyond physical, mental, or emotional strength.  I pray that from his glorious, u...

With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.  (Eleanor Roosevelt) Yet there is one ray of hope: his compassion never ends . It is only the Lord’s mercies that have kept us from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his loving-kindness begins afresh each day . My soul claims the Lord as my inheritance; therefore I will hope in him. The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for him, to those who seek for him. It is good both to hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. (Lamentations 3:21-26) It is good BOTH to HOPE and WAIT QUIETLY. In the quietness of waiting, do you brim with hope and expectation? If you are relying upon the loving-kindness of God today, then I daresay you are filled with the best hope there is! It might be hard for us to understand God's compassion, but we don't have to fully understand it to appreciate it and thank him with a grateful heart. The Lord's mercies are new each and every day - dare I say they are new each an...

Why would you ever complain, O Jacob, or, whine, Israel, saying, “God has lost track of me. He doesn’t care what happens to me”? Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening? God doesn’t come and go. God lasts. He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath. And he knows everything, inside and out. He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind. (Ezekial 40:31) This passage never grows old for me because I find something that bolsters my inner man each and every time I read it. Complaining or whining a bit lately? Maybe what we need when this happens is a fresh reminder of God's presence - nothing else quite satisfies like his being right there in the midst of o...