A temporary escape

I look up to the hills, but where will my help really come from? My help will come from the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth. He will not let you fall. (Psalm 121:1-3)

I have spent many hours looking for some form of help simply because I got myself into predicaments that were of my own making - my own stubbornness, pride, fear, or anger getting me all muddled up in some situation I didn't really want to be involved in. It happens to the best of us, my friends. We say something without thinking it through and then wonder why we are 'reaping' such a backlash. We get involved in issues not our own, then wonder why things get out of control. The more we want to be in control of our lives, the more we can expect to encounter these kinds of troubles. The more we desire to allow God's control over our lives, the more likely we will be to avoid such conflicts and concerns. There is but one place to look to when we are in need of help (even when we are in the muddle because of our own making), and that is to him.

Our help isn't man-made. It is God-prepared, God-implemented, and God-delivered. We might think we can 'help' our way out of a particular challenge in life, but if we are to be honest here, we don't have any idea how to 'manage' the challenge, much less redeem ourselves! God's assurance to us is that difficulties may come (even those of our own making), but he will not let us fall. That means we may encounter a bit of a rocky course for a bit, but we won't allow us to end up in a place we don't belong. When we fall, we are where we don't belong! God doesn't want us to end up being pulled into compromise, much less full-on sinful acts. When we are in need of his help to avoid sin, do you think he just lets us fall since we were tempted? Absolutely not! He does wait for us to ask for his help, though!

Let's remember what God says here - we are to look to him for help - not the protection of any other source. In the times this was written, attacking armies would put the cities they were attacking into a 'flight' or 'fight' mode. Those who would not stand to fight would flee to the hills, hiding in caves or other outcroppings that would offer them temporary escape. God says we aren't to look to the 'hills' to find our help - simply because they offer us only TEMPORARY escape. God's plan is that we look to him when tempted - because his plan is to deliver us fully from that temptation! Just sayin!

At the end of my comfort zone

God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

Have you ever wondered why we go 'through' troubles instead of avoiding them all together? Jesus went through a lot of stuff while he fulfilled his ministry on this earth, not avoiding even some of the worst things a person could endure. If he didn't, what makes us think we should? Maybe the reason for going 'through' those troubles is so we can do what Jesus did - help others as they face similar troubles. It is quite possible God is making a way for us to be the hands and feet of Jesus to others as they face similar trials and troubles.

Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us to consider where a man stands 'at times of challenge and controversy', not so much where he stands in times of comfort. I believe where we turn, who we look to, and where we find our strength in times of trial or testing is evidence of how deep our dependence is upon God, ourselves, or others. C.S. Lewis told us that if we are only looking for 'comfort', we won't find it, but if we look for truth, we will find comfort in the end. It is a bit strange to think we abandon our 'comfort zone' only to find in the midst of life's chaos comes some of the greatest comfort mankind can find.

We may not want to admit it, but God isn't finished with us yet. There are more troubles ahead that we need to walk through, but he's waiting for us at the point of our need. God's comfort may not come in the form of 'deliverance from' as much as it comes in the form of 'deliverance within'. It is 'within' the trial that we find our own comfort disturbed and miracle of his comfort surrounding us. Maybe that is the reason for the trial - to disturb our comfort and to fill us with his. Our comfort is rarely sufficient to meet the needs of another in their time of trial, but his comfort within us is always sufficient for not only our own need, but that of another, as well. Just sayin!

What is the lesson here?

 What exactly do hard times teach us? Many would say it helps us develop a deeper trust in God - at least, that is what they believe to be the most 'biblical' answer and the one we want to hear. Truth be told, there are more times in the wilderness of hardship that we are struggling with why we are there, what God expects us to learn, and how we are going to deal with the issues we are facing. We might not even think about God's purpose in allowing the hardship until we are waist deep in the muck and mire of it all! 

I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night. Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely. (Psalm 63:6-8)

If we consider the words of our psalmist here, you will observe a couple of pretty 'emotion filled' comments: "I lie awake" and "I cling to you". Something is keeping David awake - he is likely wrestling with some of the things we all face when going through hard times - fear, anxiety, doubt, frustration, and even a little bit of dwindling faith. The pressure is on, and sleep seems to allude him. Notice what he does when he lies awake - he thinks upon God. In other words, he doesn't just muddle over the mess, he begins to turn his mind toward what he knows and believes about the God he serves.

When he is almost at the end of the rope, he clings to God. He recognizes the extreme strength of God, and that God hasn't let go of him in the midst of the hard time. His grip on God might weaken a bit from time to time, but God's hand holds him securely. I recall another story of hardship in the bible - that of Job. He lost of everything - family, herds, flocks, crops, his home, and even his dignity. He found it hard at times to remember the goodness of God, crying out for help, but feeling as though his God was 'slow to act'. He wondered about the purpose of the trials, but even in the agony of his complaints, he never denounces his faith in God.

It is as these great men 'rehearse' the goodness of the God they served that they found their way to peace in the midst of the worst of circumstances. Maybe we could take a lesson from their wilderness journeys, my friends. They valued the love of their God - it mattered to them enough to rehearse it in their minds and trust it in their hearts. If we want to face the hard times differently than the world might face them, we might just want to keep our minds fixed on the things we have learned of God's goodness and grace. Then we might just need to take the next step of 'clinging hard to his hand'. 

What do we learn in the hard times? Maybe we learn to use what God has given us - his Word. Perhaps we learn to trust his promises and lean into them just a little bit more. We might even find we allow the extreme peace we know because we serve him to come through in the chords of praise and worship that spring forth from our hearts. Just sayin!

Has God gone silent?

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help? Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief. (Psalm 22:1-2)

I think we have all been in that place at one time or another where we find ourselves actually thinking God has somehow abandoned us. The circumstances suggest the worst is about to happen, we begin to whirl out of control emotionally, our thoughts are running rampant from one perception to the next, and we somehow feel like we are in it all alone. When we don't IMMEDIATELY see the answer to the circumstances, we might just begin to doubt God will lend any help, all our calls for help seemingly falling on deaf ears. Are we wrong to express our doubts or 'struggle of faith' in those moments? Absolutely not! God doesn't 'ding us' for our moments of doubt - he uses them to strengthen or deepen our faith.

It is never wrong to seek to understand why such difficulties have emerged and why God seems to be allowing us to experience such trying stuff. We don't know the purpose for the troubling times, but we can stand assured that God is not far from us as we navigate through them. He is right there - we just don't appreciate him in the midst of the chaos yet. Times are confusing and we want to express our doubts, but should we? Yes, it is never wrong to express our concerns and bring our doubts to God. He doesn't give us demerits for doubts - he is at work revealing how 'unfounded' those doubts are compared to the greatness of his power and grace in our lives.

We might think we have to understand everything to get through everything, but the opposite can be quite true. We might not understand much, but with God, we navigate quite well through unknown territory. One thing I have realized is that I don't have to 'fake' my faith. If I have doubts and worries, I need to express them. My heart is not hidden from God, so my thoughts don't need to be, either. God is not put off by our expressions of fear, doubt, or lack of understanding. He is encouraged by our honesty and the freedom we feel to express them to him. 

The way we seek to understand is important. We can ask for clarity out of doubt, but God asks us to trust even when the circumstances seem harder than we can handle. Trust him to bring the clarity - to remove the niggling fear and doubt. He will do much more than we imagine, but we need to be honest with him when we are struggling with fear and doubt. He doesn't want us to be overwhelmed - he wants us to be aware, alert, and open to his movement within those hard times. He hasn't abandoned us - he has just 'gone silent' long enough for us to express our need. Just sayin!

A cut path

My troubles turned out all for the best—they forced me to learn from your textbook. (Psalm 119:71)

To disturb the mental calm and contentment of an individual is indeed an unfortunate state of affairs. To constantly worry, be in distress, feel agitated or stirred up is a terrible place to find oneself. There are a whole lot of things in this life that annoy the stuffing right out of us. One trouble upon another will wear us down. If you have ever observed a stone 'grooved' by a constant drip of water, you may not know exactly when the 'erosion' happens, but it does! We never really know what "drop of water" will actually be the first to begin the "groove", nor do we know when the last drop will accomplish its work, do we? We have lots of tiny drops, all working away to "cut a groove" across our lives, trying desperately to divert the waters in a totally different direction. The seemingly impervious stone is eventually eroded away by the "troubling" of the water over its surface. The same is true in our lives - those drops can just splash upon the surface, being deflected for a time, but in enough time, they leave a mark, and in even more time, the mark becomes a well-worn path.

Troubles don't have to vex us - they can become instruments to drive us deeper into God's word, if we will let them. The first "drop" which hits upon the hard surface of our hearts may just seem to "splash" everywhere, affecting much around it. Eventually, God "narrows" the path of the "drops" which he allows to hit our hard hearts until there is a well-worn groove that correctly directs the trouble we face directly back toward him! The troubles we face at first, we try to handle on our own - cleaning up the mess the "drops" create by "splashing over our lives". In time, God wants those "drops" to be channeled directly to him - so he becomes the source by which those troubles no longer produce damage in our lives but are directed away - not affecting our peace because his presence has set the course for those troubles to travel.

If we keep in mind the heart as being the center of our emotions, doesn't it make sense that God wants to have those things which so miserably "stir up" our emotions to be channeled in such a way those "stirred up" reactions don't continue to occur? The enemy of our souls wants the troubles he "drops" into our lives to "stir us up" so we become all "murky" on the inside - an emotional mess, so to speak. God's desire is to provide a means to keep the purity and beauty of the heart undisturbed. When we begin to realize the tiny drops are "cutting a groove", we might just embrace the work of those "drops" in our lives a little differently. Take notice of the drops, then use them as a reminder of the importance of looking deeply into God's word for the means by which the drops can be dealt with. Troubles have a way of either sending us into a tizzy, or driving us to our knees. God's hope is that we take the latter path! God's textbook is his word - filled with every imaginable struggle, sin, and stubborn display of man's troubles. In the pages we also find the tremendous means by which those troubles can be channeled into the very place where God's grace and mercy help us deal with them so they don't disturb our peace.

I don't know what "drops" are wearing the groove into your lives right now, but know this - God's will is for them not to splash out of control, causing havoc in your inner man, destroying your peace and "muddying" the waters of your life. His will is to allow these troubles as a means of wearing away at the hardness of our hearts, until we one day find the path of least resistance is to divert those drops directly to him! Just sayin!

Anyone facing adversity?

A healthy spirit conquers adversity, but what can you do when the spirit is crushed? (Proverbs 18:14)

To be pressed or squeezed with such a force so as to destroy or deform - anyone know what that feels like? It feels like you are being forced out by pressing, so that you will eventually break. Sometimes people don't see my fascination in the study of words, but when we take a little time to explore the various meanings of a word, we often begin to ponder things we might have missed before. This is especially true when it comes to understanding the Word of God. The "words" God chose to share with us in the pages of our Bible are not by chance - they are selected for their meaning. Therefore, getting the most out of the Word of God often requires us to be open to considering the meaning of the words chosen to express a certain matter of thought or instruction. I have some friends who have been through tremendous pressures this past year, and others who are beginning this next year with some of the most terrifying decisions they will have to make in their lifetime. Some have known the death of a family member. Others have faced the all too fatiguing venture into chemo and radiation treatments, fighting for just a few more days on this earth with friends and family. Catastrophic events - painful decisions - still more painful courses ahead. Yet, in it all, one of the things I have seen in each of these individuals is the "extracting" of something from deep within. They have been transformed by the events - not just in a physical sense, but in a deeply spiritual sense, as well.

Some of us think of a crushed spirit is that which cannot bear up under the weight of the pressures exerted upon it. I beg to differ - for in the crushing process something is extracted. I know the passage really speaks to the idea of keeping your spirit healthy - so you stand strong and face all this adversity well. Yet, in the moments of crushing there is something once hidden from view that comes out into the open. Some call this hope or even faith. Regardless of what you call it, the crushing process is what caused it to rise to the surface. I don't think God gives us a load that will completely crush us - pulverizing us, destroying us completely. I do believe he allows some times of "crushing" in order to extract from us what he knows is deep within. The spirit of man is a resilient thing - made to connect directly to the Spirit of God. There is a dynamic effect of connecting man's spirit with that of the divine Creator God's. In fact, when the connection is made the pressures we are faced with have a way of strengthening this connection. Don't get me wrong - the tremendous physical adversities, emotional turmoil, and intensity of making the right decisions that must be faced are real. We cannot trivialize the crushing weight of the issues at hand. Yet, in the midst of the crushing weight of the issue, there remains one thing the enemy of their soul did not count on - faith! He banked on the weight to crush even the most fragile faith - but God counted on the crushing to extract that faith - bringing it to the surface for all to behold! When something is extracted, it is pulled or drawn out to the surface. There is an effort required - but in the pressure exerted - the bounty is beheld.

I do not know the battles you face today, but I do know with a certainty - God's in the midst of the battle and he is allowing just enough pressure to be exerted that will manifest what is hidden deep within. The pressure is real - it shall not utterly crush you - but it shall reveal the depth of your faith, the intensity of your love, and the intimacy of your connection with the Creator of all things. My heart is with you today, dear friends. As you "bear up" under the crushing forces you walk under today, I am praying for the beauty of his grace to be so evident in your lives. Just prayin!

Trouble me

It was Eleanor Roosevelt who authored the words, "Only a man's character is the real criterion of worth." She also said, "People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built." Without experience, life builds no character - it is meaningless and hollow. We need to experience things - it is how we create, give way to new ideas, and learn from each other. Not every experience will be what we label as "rewarding" - but it can be "meaningful" if we learn from that experience! If we learn, we are likely developing something within our character that sticks with us in the long run. Character is what remains after all the "hoopla" of the experience dies down!

We have been made right with God because of our faith. So we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Through our faith, Christ has brought us into that blessing of God’s grace that we now enjoy. And we are very happy because of the hope we have of sharing God’s glory. And we are also happy with the troubles we have. Why are we happy with troubles? Because we know that these troubles make us more patient.  And this patience is proof that we are strong. And this proof gives us hope.  And this hope will never disappoint us. We know this because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts through the Holy Spirit he gave us. (Romans 5:1-5 ERV)

Why are we happy with troubles? The average person is none too happy when troubles come their way - for troubles can make life a little haggard and hard to handle at times. I think "trouble" gets a negative "label" in life - for we think of trouble as something that gets us down, puts obstacles in our way, or mires our lives with all manner of debris we don't want to have to deal with. Trouble can merely mean we don't experience stagnancy! Troubled waters were actually good on occasion, for they stirred up the debris that needed to come to the surface and helped the one navigating the waters to be ever-vigilant. 

Trouble can be a means to a new beginning - in turning over what hasn't been exposed, it can begin to influence that which is now "out in the open". Trouble is more than being "bothered" by something or someone because it really doesn't begin to affect us until it gets at what causes us to be "bothered". I am "bothered" by a lot of things, but only a few of these things actually put me into movement in life! The same is probably true for you - either because you need to avoid the impact of that which "bothers" you, or because you need to remove it so it no longer is a "bother".

As Roosevelt implied, character isn't bought or inherited - it is "earned" through the experiences one embraces. To embrace an experience, we engage with it - we get involved in it. We aren't bystanders - this is not how character is produced. If we are to have sound character, we need to engage in the things that actually help to refine and produce solid character within us. These are the things that might be harder than we liked, longer than we'd wished to endure, and more involved than we first imagined. Yet, these are the things that will teach us to navigate well, help us to be open to new experiences that will helps us to grow even more, and move us from a place of stagnancy into a place of freshness. Just sayin!

Rotate and Align

There is a lovely Christian song by the group 'We Are Messengers' that absolutely catches my heart each time I hear it played on the radio. The words are from the song "Magnify", and they begin with the words: "I've been trying to make sense of the sorrow that I feel, holding onto for life to the only thing that's real. I've only scratched the surface; I've barely had a taste, but just a glimpse draws my heart to change; and one side of you lays my sin to waste. I don't need to see everything, just more of you." How many of us go through our days just trying to figure out some emotional "sense" we have been experiencing - a sorrow of some kind? I daresay it is far more than might want to admit it. The fact is evident - we all suffer some type of sorrow that kind of hangs us up a while - if only because of our own sinfulness. At those moments, we need to remember one thing - we don't need to understand it all, but we do need to realize we need more of him in our lives - for this is the antidote to any and all sorrow we might experience!

Sin once used death to rule us. But God gave us more of his grace so that grace could rule by making us right with him. And this brings us eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:21 TLB)

The words of the song go on and bear hearing this morning: "My sight is incomplete; and I made you look small. I've been staring at my problems for way too long. Realign where my hope is set, until you're all that's left."  All that's left is often all that is needed - when what is left is nothing but God himself. We don't need more "fixing" - we need more of him! You know the old adage about the forest and the trees, meaning we get so caught up in the details of our problems we find it impossible to see any way out. What we need most in life is this "realignment work" that brings us to the place that Christ is all that is left when everything else has finally been put behind our focal point. What we see the most is what we align with the best. Let that sink in for just a moment and then ask yourself where your focus has been lately. If it isn't on Christ, it is time for realignment!

Toward the end of the song, these words resonate the loudest to me each time I hear it: "God be greater than the worries in my life; be stronger than the weakness in my mind." Boy, isn't that the truth?!?! We have worries in our lives that seem to overpower us at times, almost making us feel like impotent and powerless people with no other hope than to go along with whatever has been happening in our lives. Most of the struggle isn't that which is right before us, but what we allow to convince us that we are incapable, or have access to less than what the trouble demands! Our focus begins to turn toward what we don't have whenever we allow our perspective to be clouded by the issue at hand. When we turn again toward Christ, we find the issue gets the right perspective - it isn't going to over-power us because we now see clearly what awesome power is within us. The mind wants to "give into" the troubles at hand, but the spirit is reminding us there is much more within us than the troubles will ever demand!

There is no other "ruler" in our lives - but we can get a little confused at times when we don't maintain the right focus. Most mechanics will remind us we need regular "realignment" of our tires because it allows for "even wear" and "steady drive-ability". The mind is no different - it needs an occasional realignment to become aware again of just how "unsteady" our walk has been without that right alignment! Just sayin!

Take this

Help each other with your troubles. When you do this, you are obeying the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2 ERV)

In other translations you might find "burdens" in place of troubles. Either way, we are to be there for each other - regardless of the burden or the thing that troubles our mind, soul, or spirit. A burden is something that is "carried" - it can be a load, but it can also be what some feel in the sense of what is described as the "onus" to do something or be a certain way. The task some of us are trying to do is more of an obligation than a desire. This may be because someone imposed it upon us, or we committed to something we later would come to regret. The "burdens" we carry can be quite hard for us and God's plan isn't that we remain "under" those burdens - but that we help each other out with them.

Sometimes the greatest "help" we can be is to set someone free from the sense of "obligation" they feel toward something they have committed to do, but which they neither has the joy in doing, or which has become way to hard for them to continue to do any longer. It may be we are helping that individual to realize something much more fulfilling in the long run. That release can turn the tides for the individual who is only "halfway" doing whatever it is they are obliged to do anyway. It can set them free to do something "all the way" with gusto, enjoyment, and a deep sense of fulfillment.

At other times, we need to come alongside an individual burdened down by life and ease the load a little. It doesn't even always have to be that we take the full load, or that we carry it long. Even the slightest relief can make the world of difference in their lives. It renews them enough to continue on. It may be we need to carry that load a little bit longer than we might have imagined, but if we do so with an open heart and in the mercies of God's grace, we find the other individual's need is met and our lives are enriched. 

This is God's plan for "church" - that we come together, share the load, and live in such a way that we are sensitive to the needs of those around us. We open up to the possibility of becoming "burden bearers" for just a little while and in turn, we open up to some of the greatest blessings we could ever imagine. What are those blessings? Well, one would be the cementing of lasting relationship - for each time we open up to bear the burden of another, we are working toward creating bonds that will take us through rough places and deep waters. Just sayin!

Rice cake living

The Lord tells his secrets to his followers. He teaches them about his agreement. I always look to the Lord for help. Only he can free me from my troubles. (Psalm 25:14-15 ERV)

Another word for "agreement" is a much more formal one - covenant. It is always made between at least two parties, one of which is obligated to certain actions. In this case, God is the one who covenants with us - he is the one obligated to continually take certain actions based upon his unyielding love and unending grace. Our part in the agreement is to follow his teaching - to adhere to the principles that actually provide boundaries that will keep us safe. All of God's teachings contained within the scripture, even the bad stuff about those who chose not to adhere to them, is put there so we can learn to walk within these boundaries.

God uses example to teach as much as he uses words. He knows we often learn best when we can see it lived out in someone's life. This means we also have the ability to learn from those who choose not to follow his teachings - for their life is also an example of living "with" troubles.Yes, it is possible for one who chooses not to obey the teachings of Christ to move beyond troubles, but do they have the same unlimited peace as they go through them? Likely not! Do they come out on the other side of those troubles feeling the love and protection of God? Likely not. Yes, they "made it through", but making through under our own power is kind of like eating a rice cake - it lacks much "flavor".

God's covenant (agreement) with his followers is to always be there as an "ever-present help in troubles". That means we don't have to feel obligated to figure things out on our own. We can bring them to him, lean into him for wisdom in dealing with the trouble, and then take steps "with" him to get through the trouble. We don't just "get through" troubles when we walk them out with him, though. We "come through" with grace, wisdom, and a deeper sense of trust in his keeping power.

Since it is impossible for God to lie, his covenant is as "solid" as can be - it is an unbreakable agreement. Herein is the difference between standing on our own through troubles and walking "in him" --- one relies totally upon the mustered effort of mere human while the other relies upon the limitless effort of the Creator of all things. We limit the outcome of the trouble every time we choose to go through them apart from his grace and outside of his love. Both of these are given as part of his covenant and to choose to walk outside of those boundaries is to choose "rice cake" living. It may "fill the space", but it doesn't really satisfy all that well! Just sayin! 

Happy Hearts

5 We have been made right with God because of our faith. So we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through our faith, Christ has brought us into that blessing of God’s grace that we now enjoy. And we are very happy because of the hope we have of sharing God’s glory.3 And we are also happy with the troubles we have. Why are we happy with troubles? Because we know that these troubles make us more patient. 4 And this patience is proof that we are strong. And this proof gives us hope. 5 And this hope will never disappoint us. We know this because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts through the Holy Spirit he gave us. (Romans 5:1-5 ERV)

Almost no one equates troubles or problems as some 'thing' they are to treasure, much less enjoy! In fact, we do all we can to avoid troubles - even creating "troubleshooting guides" in every user manual for items from small appliances to gigantic industrial machines. We want to know 'what' can cause the problem, what 'steps' to take to no longer have the problem, and to be completely reliant on the fact things will 'run smoothly' now that the troubles are reversed. I might not actually want to admit this, but the whole basis of my job is to be a 'troubleshooter', for all that I seek are ways to improve processes that need a little tweaking to allow us to perform at our 'peak'. This means I often have to look for the 'problems' in the process in order to identify where it is we need to focus our attention. Discovering the problem is the first step to creating, or allowing the creation of a solution.

I will be the first to admit - there are times when we 'over-think' the problem, allowing us to miss the very thing that we should be focusing on in the first place. This almost always happens when we assume the position of being the 'victim' in the problem. Let me explain. The 'victim' role includes picking apart the issue from as many perspectives as we can possibly create within our minds while allowing our emotions to dictate the 'mood' we attach to those various scenarios we tell ourselves. The scenarios don't have to be realistic to be "believed" in our minds. What is believed in our minds will soon begin to be what influences our actions and leads us to make decisions that differ from what we normally would make if those 'believed scenarios' weren't influencing us.

An example might help here. We hear that the stock market is 'about to crash'. Someone is predicting the 'turn' in the market as the result of something happening way across the ocean on a totally different continent than where we live. We have a couple of choices - either pull what is invested in our stocks back out of the market, or ride it out. The choice for each of these decisions can be riddled with all kinds of emotions, though. Each of these emotions can create a bit of 'havoc' in our lives simply because they generate a huge amount of 'hormones' that keep us in a sense of anxiety, fear, or even thrill. If we are told very 'believable' stories that we attach some significant amount of emotion to, we will likely be swayed to 'act' one way or another. 

The things we 'tell ourselves' aren't always connected with the reality of the matter, though. We can hear the slightest change in the noise our engines or brakes are making and all of a sudden we think we need to take the car to the mechanic. The fact may be we have driven through very dusty roads, allowing grit to build up on the braking system and now we are hearing the added friction of that grit being worked over the rotors as the brakes begin to be applied. What we may need is a car wash with a good spraying down of the wheels, rotors, etc. One scenario tells us we need to spend hundreds for new brakes - the other tells us to spend an hour washing the car!

In life problems, there are always the stories we tell and the ones that are the truth. They can be one and the same, but depending on the emotions we attach to the stories we tell (and those told to us by others), we can get way too far removed from truth in what we soon begin to believe about the problem. When we are tempted to jump on some band-wagon that will move us one direction or another, it may be the perfect time to just pause and sort out what it is we 'know' and what it is we are being 'told' or 'telling' ourselves. If we don't know, then we go to the source of all knowledge - Jesus himself. 

If we still don't know, we simply rely upon what we know is true - his Word and the truth of his love. Let these guide what we do next - for we rarely will assume the 'victim' posture when we understand that God NEVER violates his truth, nor does he ever do things that conflict with the intense love he has for each of us. Just sayin!

Trouble equals Training

I wonder how many of us could agree with this equation:

Trouble = Training

Most of us equate "training" to the efforts we put forth to AVOID trouble - such as when we work out at the gym or take regular walks in order to keep our hearts healthy and avoid heart disease.  Very few of us will actually equate the present "trouble" we might be experiencing as a way of "training" either our minds, bodies, or spirits.  

God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best. At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God. (Hebrews 12: 7-11 MSG)

Did you realize the primary definition of trouble is that state of mind where your contentment is disturbed?  We call it worry or distress.  I don't think this is what God hand in mind when he tells us our present trouble is not punishment, but training.  I think he may be referring to the idea of the "agitation" of the present moment actually "stirring us up" to do something about the circumstances we have been allowing ourselves to remain in without ever doing anything about them!  Too many times, despite his continual urging, we like to stay adrift on the calm seas of "status quo".  The problem is the stuff which "settles" into the deepest and darkest places in our lives whenever we don't have some "troubling" of the waters of our minds, souls, or spirits.  We become stagnant and the "stuff" which collects at the bottom is kind of gross.

Why do some streams appear so crystal clear, allowing you to see all the beauty in the rocks underneath?  Isn't it because they are constantly flowing? The rivers around my neck of the woods here in Arizona are not so clear - in fact, they are pretty murky.  Why?  They are "dam fed" - in other words, when they open the slews a little, the waters are free to flow downstream, but they come from the bottom of the lake, where all the murkiness is, not the top!  When I was in Tennessee, we enjoyed a freely-flowing creek right off our balcony - frequented by the animals of the forest, and refreshing just to watch.  Yet, there was something else which caught my eye about the "running water" - it had a unique sound to it.

Think about it - stagnant water doesn't make much of a sound, does it?  It takes "running water" to actually be heard.  Now, bigger rivers also have a "flow" to them, but it is a different kind of flow, isn't it?  As we took a paddle-boat ride on the Tennessee River, we could see nothing in the waters because they were so muddy and murky, not even a fish could be seen.  There were many waterways which fed this larger river, but the flow of the river was not enough to filter out the impurities which all gathered at this point.  Although there was a "flow" to this river, it could not be heard, and it was barely observable.  

Sometimes our lives become "catching" places - places where the impurities of life just seem to gather, settle in, and leave us with some pretty murky places in our lives.  When God begins to "trouble" those waters, it is not to bring us turmoil and pain, but to begin to get the "flow" again so we might begin to "filter out" the impurities and hear again the sweet music of "moving waters" in our lives.  Those waters are meant to be "living streams" - music to God's ears!  So, whenever you see troubles come, don't think of them as punishment, but as God's way of "troubling the waters" so the impurities have a chance to surface, be skimmed away and then begin to flow again in sweet melodies which delight the ear and heart of God!  Just sayin!

One tiny drop's creative energy

Troubles:  To disturb the mental calm and contentment; worry, distress; agitate or stir up so as to make turbid; to put to inconvenience, exertions, or pains; to annoy, vex, or bother.  There are a whole lot of things in this life which just annoy the stuffing right out of us.  I was speaking with one of our surgeons this week when she gave an illustration to me which really struck a chord with me.  She was frustrated over something which did not work that day - the water pressure was down in one of the sinks, so it had to be fixed.  It caused some inconvenience, but it did not "stop the show", so to speak.  Yet, her illustration spoke volumes.  She said, "It takes just one tiny drop of water after another to eventually wear a groove in a stone".  What she was saying was one trouble upon another was wearing her (and others in her same career) down - things like demands for time which never seemed to be enough to go around anyway, challenges with the practice which just mount as changes in healthcare abound, and now the very sink she needed to use was out of order!  Of all things, who'd have thought the sink would have made much difference in the scheme of things she had to consider in her daily practice and family life?  Yet, it did - it was just another drop of water cutting its "groove"!

My troubles turned out all for the best—they forced me to learn from your textbook.  (Psalm 119:71 MSG)

We never really know what "drop of water" will actually be the first to begin the "groove", nor do we know when the last drop will accomplish its work, do we?  Yep - we have lots of tiny drops, all working away to "cut a groove" across our lives, diverting the waters a totally different direction.  The tiny drops do a great work, don't they?  The seemingly impervious stone is eventually eroded away by the "troubling" of the water over its surface.  The same is true in our lives - those drops can just splash upon the surface, being deflected for a time, but in enough time, they leave a mark, and in even more time, the mark becomes a well-worn path.  

David reminds us troubles don't have to vex us - they can become instruments to drive us deeper into God's word, if we will let them.  The first "drop" which hits upon the hard surface of our hearts may just seem to "splash" everywhere, affecting much around it.  Eventually, God "narrows" the path of the "drops" which he allows to hit our hard hearts until there is a well-worn groove that correctly directs the troubles we face directly back to him!  The troubles we face at first, we try to handle on our own - cleaning up the mess the "drops" create by "splashing over our lives".  In time, God wants those "drops" to be channeled directly to him - so he becomes the source by which those troubles no longer produce damage in our lives, but are directed away.

If we keep in mind the heart as being the center of our emotions, doesn't it make sense that God wants to have those things which so miserably "stir up" our emotions to be channeled in such a way those reactions don't continue to occur?  The enemy of our souls wants the troubles he "drops" into our lives to "stir us up" so we become all "murky" on the inside - an emotional mess, so to speak.  God's desire - to provide a means to keep the purity and beauty of the heart undisturbed.

When we begin to realize the tiny drops are "cutting a groove", we might just embrace the work of those "drops" in our lives a little differently.  I think that is what David is saying - he noticed the drops, but he used them as a reminder of the importance of looking deeply into God's word for the means by which the drops could be dealt with.  Troubles have a way of either sending us into a tizzy, or driving us to our knees.  God's hope is that we take the latter path!  God's textbook is his word - filled with every imaginable struggle, sin, and stubborn display of man's troubles.  In the pages we also find the tremendous means by which those troubles can be channeled into the very place where God's grace and mercy help us deal with them so they don't disturb our peace.

I don't know what "drops" are wearing the groove into your lives right now, but know this - God's will is for them not to splash out of control, causing havoc in your inner man, destroying your peace and "muddying" the waters of your life.  His will is to allow these troubles as a means of wearing away at the hardness of our hearts, until we one day find the path of least resistance is to divert those drops directly to him!  Just sayin!

Not another envelope!

If you have ever felt hemmed in, you would probably admit it feels like you are so confined you cannot possibly break free.  You might liken the feeling to something like being placed inside an envelope which is just a little too small for the contents, but crushed to the point the edges are just about to burst - so tightly sealed in by the edges of this envelope.  If you have ever tried to open one of these "too tightly packed" envelopes, you probably recognize the difficulty it is to not affect the contents when you are working to expose them.  The same is true in our lives - we might just be so tightly "packed", afraid there will be damage if anyone even comes close to trying to open us up.  The good news is found in understanding the purpose of the envelope.

We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!  (Romans 5:3-5 MSG)

You see, the envelope serves the purpose of "hemming in" the contents - actually causing them to bind a little closer together than maybe they would have if not contained inside the envelope.  It also serves as a means of moving the contents from one place to the next.  I think troubles do much the same thing in our lives.  They bring us a little closer to God and they help us to move from one place to another.  Paul reminds us these troubles may have a "hemming" effect, but they have a purpose not so much to restrict us, but to ultimately get us from one spiritual position into another.  

Here is the truth - those troubles you are facing today are simply God's means of developing within you something which requires some movement from where you are today to where he envisions you to be tomorrow.  In the process, he allows you to feel a little "hemmed in" so as to focus you, much as the contents of the tightly packed envelope brings the contents tightly together - he is bringing you closer to him in the process.  In this day of instant mail (e-mail and instant messaging), we almost have made envelopes obsolete.  "Snail mail" - the traditional paper in an envelope - just isn't the vogue means of communicating these days.  Yet, there is something quite treasured in receiving the handwritten note in the mail, isn't there?  I don't think God accomplishes quite the same thing in our lives when it comes in the form of an "instant message" - but when it comes in the form of a tightly packed, enveloped process, we see things a little differently, don't we?

It takes time for the "snail mail" to actually reach us, doesn't it.  We can go to the mailbox fifteen times an hour, but until the postman is actually sorting into those tiny boxes, the time has not arrived for its delivery.  We will not short-change God's timing - he "delivers" in exactly the right time.  There is something built in the anticipation of its delivery, though.  We wonder at what will come - not fully knowing what the delivery will bring, but confident the box will not be empty forever.  God's dealings in our lives are best when anticipated - hope is built, faith is grown, and heart becomes keenly aware of each beat of the other.  

Paul tells us much about the "enveloping" process of troubles - building within us a patience which would have escaped us had we not been tightly closed in and forced together.  Sometimes we need the proximity of this piece with the other to actually see how they "fit".  The envelope brings the pieces into the position of "close proximity" so God can actually show us how the pieces all fit together in our lives.  It also builds within us an alertness - just as you have a certain alertness to the signs of the postman having made his rounds.  The condition of alertness is only there when there is anticipation.  So, God builds anticipation in the time between becoming "tightly packed" inside that envelope and the exposure of its contents.  The amount of anticipation actually increases as time is passing.  If you don't believe me, watch a child turn a package over and over again under the tree leading up to its unveiling on Christmas morn.  The anticipation builds as each day passes.  

With troubles surrounding us, feeling tightly closed in, surrounded on all sides, we can feel the anticipation of "release" building.  Maybe this is why God takes the time between preparing the "envelope" to the unveiling of its contents.  The release is made all the greater once you have been tightly packed inside the envelope - doesn't it?  But...don't lose sight of the contents.  They have been affected by the envelope, haven't they?  They are not only brought closer together - pieces fit together - but they are also left with a few "creases" which are evidence of their journey.  Be assured of this, my friends, you don't break free of the envelope without evidence of the journey you have taken inside its confines!  Just sayin!