Napping is bad for your health!

Ever feel like you have a "personal enemy" just lurking at your back?  You know, that eerie feeling that you just cannot escape some sense of doom and gloom that hangs heavy over your head?  Yep, we all go through that on occasion - no matter how "spiritual" we are!  Guess what - we DO have a personal enemy - he is called Satan.  His mission in life is to make our life miserable as much as possible - especially if we have committed to living by the principles laid out in scripture and entered into the grace God extends through the life of Christ.  He makes it his point to muster his forces to attempt to dissuade us from that pursuit.  Here's the good news - you'd not be the object of his attacks if you weren't living the way Jesus wants you to!

Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.  (I Peter 5:8-11 MSG)

So, in the midst of realizing we have a personal enemy, here's what scripture tells us - keep a cool head!  Don't get overwhelmed by the attack - but see it for what it is!  It is a cleverly manipulated scheme designed to get us off track with Jesus - plain and simple!  Something you may not have considered is the attacks from our "personal enemy" will not stop!  They may lessen from time to time, but they don't stop.  Why?  He wants company in eternity!

Four things come to mind as excellent opportunities for our "personal enemy" to overwhelm us - those times or seasons in our lives when it makes it just a little easier for him to get an inroad into our lives.  What are they?  The times when we are hungry, lonely, angry, or tired.  

- Hungry for the wrong stuff.  Our "personal enemy" plays on our emotions - he wants us to develop wrong appetites in life.  Not so much for the foods we eat, but for the stuff which will whittle away our time, sap us of our energies, and the like.  He wants us to misdirect our attentions to those things which really don't amount to much in the end.  If he can get our eyes off of Jesus and onto ANYTHING or ANYONE else, he has succeeded in taking us from a place of being satisfied in Jesus and being hungry for something else instead.

- Lonely seasons are the toughest seasons to navigate through.  Why?  Isolated people make good targets.  If you have ever watched the nature shows, you know the lion doesn't hunt the herd, he hunts the one who stands apart, who wanders out into the open.  This is a hunting tactic used by those who take their prey from the beginning of time.  If you think Satan is any different in his "hunting" tactics, he isn't!  He looks for the isolated because they make easy prey.  The work of separating them from the herd is already done!  So, to counter this attack, we need to be aware of our surroundings - know when we are getting on the fringes of the "herd" and in danger of pulling away from those who actually act to keep us in a place of safety.

- Anger is probably one of our toughest struggles in life - it is an emotion which is hard to understand sometimes.  We don't always "break down" our anger to see what is at the root of it, so it keeps emerging when we least expect it.  The result of anger is further relationship breakdown, the result of the further breakdown is the chance for isolation, or at least being surrounded by a crowd who may not help you be hungry for the right things!  The sad part of anger is its destructiveness - not just of others - but of us.  It eats at us until it forms a cavernous "ulceration" which just bleeds and festers all the time.  So, if our enemy can get us focused on what we see as something we might just want to get a bit miffed about from time to time, he gets us working on the responses which lead us to form more frequent bouts of anger.  It is cyclic.  If he can get us angry with God - he scores extra points on that one!

- Weariness or being continuously tired is probably the hardest one of these to counter.  You see, our personal enemy begins with our focus.  If he gets us distracted, he can get us to wander a bit.  If he gets us wandering outside of protection in our lives, he can get us to feeling isolated and isolated people find it easier to get angry when things don't go their way in life.  Distracted, isolated, and angry people don't rest well!  In fact, we drive harder, trying to outdo ourselves and others - eventually succumbing to the fatigue which acts as a shadow or cloud over our lives.  The fatigue makes us vulnerable to attack!  See it for what it is - his tool to make it easier for him to take us down!

I don't know about you, but recognizing what it is our "personal enemy" may be up to in our lives seems like a good idea to me.  If you know the plan of attack ahead of time, you can counter the attack.  Just sayin!

We never travel alone

Lonesome:  Depressed or sad because of a lack of companionship; separate, apart, isolated from others.  There are varying degrees of loneliness - even though people are surrounded by other people, it is quite possibly one of the most "alone" times of their lives.  The presence of people never guarantees the lifting of the spirit, but the presence of God in your life does!

And how blessed all those in whom you live, whose lives become roads you travel; they wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks, discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain!  God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and at the last turn—Zion! God in full view!  (Psalm 84:5-7 MSG)

The ideas laid out in our passage today are multi-faceted, but there are a few I'd like to explore this morning:

- If God lives IN a man, there is a sense of blessing, of happiness and awareness of the deep fortune one has in being inhabited by the Lord of the Universe.  Our psalmist doesn't refer to us living IN God, but rather God living IN us.  The description of being lives where God travels with great frequency really bespeaks the continual passage of God through our lives.  My morning times are often filled with God's fresh "passage" in my life.  I see the evidence of his "traveling" as I take time to ponder and consider the things he says, the elements of scripture he gives for me to chew upon.  I think we sometimes get the idea we do all the "travelling" TO God and forget he is the one who is doing the "travelling" IN us.  It is this passage of his presence which brings joy where only despair existed, freedom where bondage persisted.

- Together, lonesome valleys are traveled.  I don't want us to miss this - God lives in us, he passes through our lives with such frequency so as to know well the "routes" he will travel, and he knows the "lonesome valleys" of our soul.  He travels with us through those lonesome places.  I never really thought much about God being with me in the most lonesome places of my life, but when I stopped to consider this truth, I realized how many times he was right there in my "isolation".  In fact, my place of "isolation" from others seemed to be the very place where his presence became more evident in my life.  I think we sometimes "feel" the agony of lonesome places, but forget we did not travel there alone - God is right there with us - this is a road he frequents quite often in us.  Every time we end up at the end of "lonesome avenue", we are never alone - he is there.

- Brooks, cool springs, pools brimming with rain - all are discovered as he travels the roads of our lives.  All bespeak refreshing and cleansing.  It is in the brook we find fresh water flowing.  Brooks are natural places of flowing water - no stagnancy, no real effort of anyone to produce the water, it is just there.  Cool springs are kind of the same - they have a source arising from parts we cannot see, but we know they have a good source because what is produced is awesomely refreshing.  Pools brimming with rain are really dependent upon what comes in the season of rain.  No rain, no pool.  Yet, the rains pool because the conditions of the soil are such so as to allow the collection of that which will bring refreshing as it soaks into the parched places.  All speak of refreshing - some rising from sources we cannot see, but they produce exactly what we need in the moment; others coming from sources we can see, but which bring refreshment long after they are gone.

- All roads lead upward.  In our loneliest times, we seldom feel like looking upward, but if God is "driving" the roads may twist and turn, but they all lead us upward!  They begin in his presence, they end in his presence - they are traveled in his presence.  Nothing short of God's passage in our lives will bring us to the place where we behold his glory.  

So, we might be dry, feeling kind of alone and isolated, but if God is IN us, we don't travel this road alone.  We have a companion who knows exactly how to connect us with the sources of refreshment we need and will ultimately bring us to the place high above our worries of the present day.  Just sayin!

Crossing deserts?

I like salty treats - even to the point of craving them sometimes.  Whenever I consume them though, I usually end up drinking a lot of water - because they make me thirsty.  In the end, they leave me thirsty for a long time, not just while I am taking them in.  My body simply cannot process all the sodium in the salty treats without a whole lot of water.  In fact, whenever we find ourselves in the midst of the "excesses" of life, we often crave what we most need to help us deal with the excess.


God—you're my God! I can't get enough of you! I've worked up such hunger and thirst for God, traveling across dry and weary deserts. (Psalm 63:1 The Message)


So, we crave what we most need to deal with what we find ourselves enduring!  Sometimes we are "enduring" stuff by our own doing - like when I eat a huge bowl of Cheezits or eat a whole candy bar.  The sodium from one and the sugar from the other just cause me to "crave" the very thing which will help my body deal with the excess of sodium or sugar.  Now, let's take a look at some of the things we find which develop a more "spiritual" craving.


Our psalmist gives us an example of traveling across dry and weary deserts as a source of both hunger and thirst.  We all have them - deserts.  We may live in the greenest parts of the world, but we endure deserts!  Let's just look at a couple of deserts, shall we?


- The desert of loneliness.  We may find ourselves suddenly without familiar acquaintances.  Perhaps it is the result of a move to a new locale, the loss of a spouse, or the lack of solid friends we can pour our hearts out to.  Regardless of the cause, we find ourselves enduring a sense of loneliness.  At the core of loneliness is the idea of being without a companion in the journey.  This desert is then a place of isolation - whether you wanted it or not.  In the place of isolation, we often find ourselves without the people or things we have found ourselves relying on in the past.  Now, as we examine the purpose of this desert, we might find it hard to imagine a "good" purpose!  Being isolated is definitely NOT God's plan for us humans - he made us specifically to "relate" to others, not to be alone.  So, what "good" comes out of this desert?  


Well, I can only share some of the things which have come out of my times of being on a journey in this desert.  First, I have learned I actually NEED other people.  There is nothing more revealing about our "dependence" on the feedback of others, the sense of hope rendered in a simple touch, etc., than to be suddenly alone.  We need connection.  In fact, believe it or not, we crave it!  Second, I believe God may actually allow some of us to walk this desert to draw us closer to those he has given in our lives.  You know the saying, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder"?  I think it is realized the most in the desert of loneliness!  God's lessons to you may be a little different, but if you will allow him to speak to you in your desert, he will reveal the lessons!


- The desert of despair.  This is a most difficult desert to face.  It is one in which we have lost hope - we are without any sense of things ever getting better.  In this desert, we often find ourselves out so far on the limb, the weight of our burden so great, hearing the cracking of the limb as it strains to keep us upright.  We are "stuck" - we cannot go further out on the limb or turn back.  This is indeed a most difficult desert to cross.  Yet, the most hopeless place is often the place our faith begins to take flight!  


In the desert of despair, we begin to look for solutions we often ignore when things are smooth sailing.  Things like intimate prayer with our Maker - pouring out our hearts to him with eager desperation.  In the moment of despair, don't we often find ourselves looking back to God?  Did you catch that?  We are looking "back" to God!  It is an amazing thing, but despair often drives us back to God - maybe even without ever recognizing just how comfortable we had become without him!


- The desert of brokenness.  The very thing we need in this desert is the very thing we have absolutely no ability to accomplish on our own.  It is only by the restorative and regenerating touch of our God we cross this desert.  We may be "broken" by a whole lot of things - bad relationships, words which have left us scarred, or just a series of bad choices which resulted in us being "undone" by life.  


In the desert of brokenness, we need "repair", don't we?  What we drink the most freely of in this desert is God's grace.  It is indeed a refreshing and restorative "drink".  


Regardless of the desert, look again at our passage.  The purpose of the desert is to cause us to hunger and thirst.  Hunger for the best, thirst for what will refresh truly.  We may have a lot of desert-crossing in our days.  Just remember this:  No desert is without hunger or thirst of some kind.  What we do with the hunger or thirst determines the outcome of the desert-crossing!

On Empty

I call out at the top of my lungs, "God! Answer! I'll do whatever you say." 
   I called to you, "Save me so I can carry out all your instructions." 
   I was up before sunrise, crying for help, hoping for a word from you. 
   I stayed awake all night, prayerfully pondering your promise. 
   In your love, listen to me; in your justice, God, keep me alive. 

(Psalm 119:145-149 The Message)

Desperation is condition in which hope has faded - - there is a sense of hopelessness, a sense of just wanting to give up.  These are the times when we are often heard just crying out to God, "Hey, are you listening here???"  It is our "God! Answer!"  There are times I think God has allowed me to get to the place of "God! Answer! I am pretty desperate here!"  Yep, you read that right - - he allowed it!  He put me in a place where I came smack-dab face-to-face with the inability of my own talent, inadequacy of my own strength, or insufficiency of my own resources in order that he might become my all-in-all.

Up before sunrise, awake into the wee hours of the night, crying for God to listen to our plight.  A "plight" is often viewed as anything we interpret as an "unfavorable" state.  It could be a relationship that has tanked, financial situation revealing a negative balance more frequently than a positive, or some emotional struggle within which we find ourselves more often than not.

Did you realize that there is a secondary meaning to "plight"?  It is an old world term used to describe the pledging of oneself with the intention of the pledge being as binding as a contract.  When we are calling out to God with our "God! Answer!" cries, we are often referring to the "bond" we have with him without even knowing it!  We are relying on the "contract"!  Not a literal piece of paper that binds two parties, but the bond that exists because God first loved us, sought us out as his own, and then entered into a relationship of "permanence" with us.

The relationship may become a little "devoid" of all the "spark" once in a while, but nonetheless, his commitment to us is as permanent as his Word.  Nothing can sever us from his constant care.  If a "void" exists, it is our doing, not his.  Empty spaces create a sense of emptiness - - emptiness is the basis of a lack of hope (desperation).  Whenever we create a "culture" within our relationships which allows for "empty spaces", we are open to the feelings of hopelessness that follow.

God's desire for us in our relationship with him is a lack of empty spaces!  He wants to fill us to overflowing - - leaving no space for any sense of doubt, frustration, worry, or fear to enter in.  His desire for us in our "human" relationships is this same lack of empty spaces!  We need to be attentive to those things we allow to create emptiness within our lives.  It takes only one moved pebble in a rainstorm to begin to cut the course for a raging river!

If you find yourself feeling a little "empty" today - - it is likely you are sensing it in the one relationship which will sustain you the most - - the one you have with Jesus.  In your emptiness, don't cry out for deliverance!  Cry out for filling.  It is in the filling of the empty spaces that our despair will be dealt its  final blow!

Your number please....

I'm homesick—longing for your salvation; I'm waiting for your word of hope.  My eyes grow heavy watching for some sign of your promise; how long must I wait for your comfort? There's smoke in my eyes—they burn and water, but I keep a steady gaze on the instructions you post.  How long do I have to put up with all this? How long till you haul my tormentors into court?  The arrogant godless try to throw me off track, ignorant as they are of God and his ways. Everything you command is a sure thing, but they harass me with lies. Help!  They've pushed and pushed—they never let up—but I haven't relaxed my grip on your counsel.  In your great love revive me so I can alertly obey your every word.

(Psalm 119:81-88 The Message)

I don't think I have ever experienced homesickness like I did that first week of Basic Training when I went into the US Army.  Those first seven days away from home were torture to my psyche!  I had been to Girl Scout Camp for two weeks, but somehow it just did not affect me quite like being at Boot Camp!  Maybe it was because I knew there was an end to camp, but there was no hope of going home from Boot Camp!  Those feelings we have with homesickness are almost hard to explain, but there is an intense longing to just be safe again.  To be home includes that idea of safety (at least for me) and security - - there is just something about being surrounded by what is familiar that gives us that sense of peace.  

Our psalmist is obviously going through a struggle or two as he pens these words.  He is "homesick" - he wants the safety and security of being comforted by his Lord and Savior!  He is in an intense period of waiting - - the most difficult place to be for most of us!  It is just a word that David seeks - - one word - - giving him hope and the ability to hold on a little longer until his full deliverance can be realized.  It was kind of like when I was waiting for that first letter from home.  Just one letter!  Mom couldn't write until I wrote to her - - she had no idea how to contact me, that I'd made it safe, or that her "wee lassie" was taken care of.  She must have been experiencing some of the intensity of being apart.  I think we often feel the intensity of our own loss without regard for the intensity of loss God must feel when we are "apart" from him for a while.

I am not sure what was going on with David when he penned these words, but his spirit is pretty low.  He has a longing to be near God, but he seems to be experiencing some type of "absence" in the sense of knowing God's comfort.  He is "crying out", "waiting intently", and "longing".  These are words of pretty significant "need".  Here is the real the kicker - - he is "holding on for dear life"!  I think that must be what it means to "not relax his grip on God's counsel".  The idea of "holding on" is requiring a whole lot of effort on David's part and he is feeling the "strain" of the effort.

This is the condition many of us might find ourselves in as we end this year.  We might have been thrust into circumstances throughout the year that we did not choose.  The challenges have mounted and the walls seem to be closing in.  The feelings of "alone-ness" are so intense that we don't seem to see any hope.  We have been waiting so long for God to intervene that we just have grown weary in the waiting.  We cry out, but the answer just seems to be so far away.  In a word, we are "homesick" for God.  We haven't experienced the intensity of his love and presence as much as we would like - - we are bleary-eyed and feeling alone in the attacks of our enemy.

Why do we experience homesickness in the first place?  Isn't it because we have experienced the warmth and love of "being at home"?  We long for what we know to be possible!  Here's the short answer:  God never left!  He is still right there!  We just need to re-establish the contact!  It wasn't until I wrote to Mom that she could write to me - - the feelings of intense "alone-ness" were really resolved when I established the "connection".  I used to have a sticker of a telephone on my guitar case with the words "God never forgets our number" just underneath it.  This is so true!  We forget to "dial into" him, not realizing how much we "grow apart" in the process.  Yet, he never forgets to "dial into us"!

So, as this year draws to a close, let's examine where we are with establishing and maintaining "contact" with the one who cares so deeply for us.  In those "contacts" we are renewed, re-energized, and re-vitalized for the challenges that lay ahead.  "Dial in"!  You won't be sorry you did!

A Three-Stranded Cord

¹² By yourself you're unprotected.
   With a friend you can face the worst.
   Can you round up a third?
   A three-stranded rope isn't easily snapped.

(Ecclesiastes 4:12)

The Book of Ecclesiastes is not usually the first book I turn to when trying to find uplifting, encouraging words to fill my thoughts.  As a matter of fact, Solomon spent a great deal of time "bemoaning" the fate or futility of whatever he considered.  He has a lot of "negative" things to say about life - and he pours out his heart in the many verses contained within the book.  Interwoven every so often is a nougat of truth that will pop out like the one above - illuminating a truth that speaks volumes.

By yourself you're unprotected!  We are not meant to stand alone - though we may try, we will fail.  There is a principle taught from the very beginning of time that we need each other.  From the creation story forward, man was not meant to be alone.  God even said, "It is not good for man to be alone."  Don't get me wrong - God does not want us to become reliant on another to do in our lives what he intends to do.  He gives us each other so that we don't walk alone.

With a friend you can face the worst!  Let me be the first to admit that I have tried my best to "stand alone" in the midst of trial, fearful circumstances, and the worst of times.  In the end, I am miserable.  I daresay, if you've tried this yourself, you have found yourself in the same sad state, too.  Oh, you may not realize it, but it's true.  Unless you actually walk through something you are personally going through with another individual, you will never see the difference.  It wasn't until I reach the point of obedience to God that included letting others into my carefully guarded "space" others called "independence" that I fully realized how miserable it was to walk alone.

A three-stranded rope is not easily snapped!  Round up a third!  Having one close friend is awesome.  Having another is priceless!  The individuals God brings into our lives add value - some bring talent, others bring time, while still others bring invaluable treasure (love, respect, trust, etc.).  Each adds value.  Each brings a strength that we did not possess alone.  Two strands of yarn tightly entwined makes a significantly stronger piece of yarn - but add the third and it is a cord that brings support, strength, and sweetness to a relationship.

So, in the quest for words to encourage you with this morning - I offer these.  Be a friend.  Embrace a friend.  Draw from each other.  Encourage each other.  Open up to each other.  Learn to count on another.  Bring another into your trust.  Within the cords of that relationship there is strength immeasurable.  We are not meant to stand alone.