Seeing. Waiting. Worshiping.

Seeing.
“Open up my eyes to the things unseen…Break my heart for what breaks yours.” So goes an often relied on song for today’s contemporary worship services. God wants us to see the world as He sees it: a group of individual lives all in need of a Savior –in need of salt. Throughout Colossians, Paul reminds his readers of this calling: “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt…” (Col. 4:5-6). Our ministry –the fulfilling of God’s call for us- is everywhere around us. It is where God places us. He may choose to move us at any time, and we must follow, keeping in mind that every role and season is significant and brings Him praise and glory. From translating the Word to another language to fulfilling the gift of motherhood to moving to the next season of life with grace and praise, we are to see our ministry around us –or move to where it is. Every role is necessary in the work of the Lord –and each is just as glorifying to Him if embraced with the right attitude.

Waiting.
A lot of times we see the need before we hear the calling. Especially those eager to embrace the sorrow of the world and attempt to provide the solution must be careful to remember their specific call must come straight from the heart of God. Colossians 4:17 states that this ministry is received…IN THE LORD. One of my friends in foreign missions could not stress enough how important it is to “wait on His call and His leading for ministry,” to quote her exact words. “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him: fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the one who brings wicked things to pass” (Psalm 37:7-9). Waiting can be just as glorifying to God as going. God can have us see a need in the world for a variety of reasons and still ask us to wait to serve it. So we must seek Him carefully.

Worshiping.
When Jesus asked Peter to walk on water, Peter’s mistake was to focus on the task rather than the One who had called him. How guilty am I of this… When I walked by the harbor this morning, I was reminded of Peter’s brutal awakening to this struggle so frequent in a believer’s life. In Matthew 14:28-31, Peter begged Jesus to let him come to this place of faith: walking on water right alongside Jesus. Jesus indeed called Peter to this, but then Peter focused on “the wind boisterous”…and was swelled by fear. Whenever we realize the depth and danger of our call, our hearts, minds, and souls should return to and remain in the One we so eagerly rushed to and begged to give us His call initially. We are called to worship –to solely, completely, purely focus on Him alone. As poignantly stated by Oswald Sanders, “Paul could afford to take lightly the comments and criticism of others, for his heart was owned by God.” So should be said about you and me. Our HEARTS are OWNED by our GOD. 

Norfolk Notes

We like to think that we can’t live without something, and as a result, we put restrictions on the will of God for our lives because we don’t think we could be in a certain place or without a specific convenience. I remember beginning to explore this falsehood and its opposing truth almost two years ago now (see December 2012 posts), but God thought it crucial to remind me this morning in a new, refreshing way.

On a business trip to Norfolk, VA, I had a few minutes for some leisure time. Of course, my sense of adventure refused to lock me in my room and encouraged my legs to take my heart to follow its pursuit: exploring the down-town waterside harbor. Engulfing the morning wind and eaves-dropping on the conversation of seagulls, my soul soared, reflecting on the words I had read earlier in the morning: “let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer everyone” (Col. 4:6). That I may KNOW –so much confidence and power in that five letter word! Whatever conversation I would be placed in during this trip, my key to success would be consistently filling myself with His truth and trusting Him to speak for me if I let Him. And the same promise would apply to any future trips.

As I continued to walk along the wooden paneled dock, the fresh air revived me. It’s so easy to become confused and conflicted in this world, its cares, its pressures and expectations, and thus forget the Source of life. My mission here is not to be comfortable or within my limits; and it may not consist of always choosing whom or how I serve. Sure, God places preferences on my heart but I cannot let those dictate where I go. He, and He alone, must lead. And as He leads and I follow, He provides my soul with what it truly needs. If I commit to be fed by Him, He will provide my soul the refreshment it needs. Cities can overwhelm a country spirit like mine; yet Norfolk’s treasures show me that God provides me with what I need to find my solace.

Walking back to my hotel, I realized not only I had found the fresh air my body craved but so my soul had been refreshed too, grown closer to my faithful Leader and providing Creator.

The Story of Us

Ever since I can remember, I have been fascinated by Esther, the secret Jew turned queen of the Babylonian Empire. Perhaps it was her courage that inspired me, or her commitment to pursuing justice even in the face of great danger –or simply the fact that she was a strong woman in a dark world full of hurt, suffering, and persecution. Recently, I re-read the book of Esther again and was challenged by the deep themes exposed through its plot and the insightful details about the lives, thoughts, and hearts of the different characters of the story.

The recorded events reminded me of today’s world; its characters reflected various people around me; and its concepts challenged my very core. The story of Esther reminded me of me.

The book of Esther is unique because it never mentions the name of God and fails to reveal much, if any, commitment to God by His people, even by the main characters of the story. Rather, we are given insight on very human individuals –people just like you and me. Xerxes is a self-absorbed king, full of passion for his wealth and title; yet he falls in love with a beautiful queen and is willing to give half of his cherished kingdom to her. Haman so loves himself that he is willing to sacrifice honor by plotting to murder his small opposition. We do not know much about Mordecai, but we cannot help but wonder if his request for Esther to hide her Jewish identity was in wise discernment or in fear of men rather than God. Finally, we look at Esther and can call her full of faith or simply committed to her duty to humanity. There are so many ways to look at each of our characters in Esther; and we could argue about their faults and try to place their positive traits on a pedestal. But what we should observe is that they are simply you and me.

What stands out so powerfully in the story of Esther is that coincidences and life choices blend so quickly, forming simply life as we know it too. God’s hand is hidden –yet is still so visibly in control and at work through these seemingly uncontrollable events or attempts at riveting personal actions. Proverbs 21:1 explains that “the king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He will.” Similarly, Proverbs 19:21 stresses God’s sovereignty as well: “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” It can be difficult to see the hand of God in the life of Esther and those around her, especially when it appears that her entire people group would die. However, God’s promise of the survival of His Jewish people stood even through these challenging times. His plan remained. His ways still triumphed, even if they were hard to see. “God’s methods may vary, but His purposes do not. His workings may be obscured to skeptics by the disguise of coincidence, but the people of God recognize His sovereign hand in the ebb and flow of history. His name is not mentioned, but His influence is unmistakable” (Hill & Walton, p. 351).

Similarly, our lives resemble as those described in the book of Esther. Perhaps we do not face the possible destruction and extinction of our people –but surely we face death, pain, and suffering. Perhaps we do not feel we must deny our family background to be accepted –yet there has at least been one day where your past shamed you or you felt you had to hide what you truly thought. How many of us have denied what we believe? How many of us have hidden behind a title, a degree, a social status, or a position of authority to withhold vulnerability?  

The story of Esther is the story of us. “The thing that makes [Esther] so fascinating is that this is our story…this is a marvelous parallel to what is going on in our own lives” (Stedman, n.p.). None of the characters in Esther were perfect people. Rather, they were all openly flawed, pursuing what they each saw as their highest possession. Yet, the book of Esther also reveals that “God often works quietly behind the scenes to implement His plan. God rescues the Israelites, not because of Esther’s piety, but because saving them is part of His character and His plan, even though at the moment the Jews in Persia are not living obediently. God often works in our lives even when we do not deserve it. God is faithful to His promises and to His plan in spite of us” (Hays & Duvall, p. 249).

The same goes for us and for our story. The hand of God is often hidden, especially if we are not asking Him to reveal it to us. But He is still at work. He is sovereign, even through death, sickness, our doubts, our mistakes, and our shortcomings. “God can accomplish His purposes just as easily through ‘coincidences’ as He can through grand miracles of deliverance. Though He works behind the curtain, He is just as much in control. Events that others see as chance or fate, can be seen by believers as signs of God’s sovereignty” (Hill & Walton, p. 347).

A couple days ago I promised to answer the question of WHO is in control.
Perhaps, I have now. 

The Falsehood of Control

It’s fun to control –or, at least, it can be satisfying to THINK we control. At times, we may find comfort in this assumption or may seek our purpose in it. Only temporary peace resides, though, with this quickly fleeting role.

Recently, a young woman chose to take her life to avoid the suffering that was accompanying her slow surrender to a brain tumor. Often coined by the media a heroic act to die with dignity, her death caused uproar in a United States battling a cultural and moral war for years now. Did Brittany Maynard not have the right to die and hold the choice for her timing of death in her hands? This question ran its course, from churches to bars and from social media to philosophical debacles.

What the debate seemed to forget was that Brittany Maynard’s act is not so foreign from any of our daily actions, words, and thoughts. Every day, we try to begin or end things for which we do not really own the authority to command in the first place. Even in our places of rightful leadership, we tend to forget our positions are only temporary and allowed by the Sovereign God of the universe to use for HIS glory and purposes. How often do we abuse what He has entrusted us with? 

We can criticize Brittany Maynard all day long for her very human choice, but if we were to look more closely and with more humility, whom would we really see in her decision? Ourselves –yes, simply, purely ourselves.

Who, then, is really in control?

I will let you ponder the answer until my next post…

You Can Have All This World

In the past couple months or so, God has completely transformed my perspective on my life. Or, rather, He has been working on this for a while –I just have now come to realize it.

Life –what is life?

Knowing the answer to that question is essential to our successful development and pursuits; but how quickly do we attempt to summarize it or produce our own version of repeated fluff?

For some, life is an adventure or a journey. Thousands through the ages find its answers in parties or work or esteem. Others found purpose in family or singleness. All have attempted to define it somehow.

Life is but a vapor, the Bible states (James 4:14), and all of us would be quick to agree. A timeless country song even challenges its listeners through its analogy “Don’t Blink” –because life slips through our hands. One heartbeat, one breath –one blink- can change everything you ever knew in an instant. Though we make plans and should be prepared for the future, we are not promised tomorrow (Proverbs 27:1). All of us have seen life flash by our eyes, with friends and loved ones stolen from us too quickly by death’s snatch.

Here I am almost finished with my graduate degree, and I have no idea what is coming next. The entire world is before me –while at the same time, maybe just a lonely mountain with a forgotten people could be my next abode. I have had so many questions, yet God has only repeated His century-old truth: “to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21). Life is not about my will above all but rather about the triumph of His work: to know Him more and more day by day and to make Him known.

So now I must live with His entrusted truth: I must live TODAY fully with eternity in mind. I must live, laugh, love –TODAY. Today is all I have at this moment, and I must choose wisely how I will spend it in order to reflect my utmost purpose: to know Him and make Him known –TODAY. Coincidences become opportunities to grow in Him or to share His glory; life is no longer a solo adventure but a committed journey besides the Savior of my heart, mind, and soul.