Popular Posts of January/February 2012

21 02 2012

I continue to make good progress on my first draft of the “Unhurried Time” project for InterVarsity (which means I’ve had less time on the blog). Below are those posts that have been most visited and read over the last 30 days:

  • “A Good Retreat Leader” – I shared a great quotation from an old book on retreats by Douglas Steere, Time to Spare. “[He] he is the kind of person who understands and yet is deeply respectful of the hidden life in each one…”
  • “Refreshed in God Alone” – A journal excerpt from June 1991 when I was reflecting on Psalm 91: 14-16, “Because he loves me,’ says the LORD, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name (14).”
  • “Restful or Restless” – A post from May when I was on my way home from the Dominican Republic Journey, I shared some words about how much we struggle with simply being with God.
  • “Seeing God in the Fruit of the Spirit” – Late last Summer, I had a moment of insight on a three-day retreat that the fruit of the Spirit are a perfect description of God’s nature and His treatment of us. Why would this so surprise me?
  • “Becoming Apprentices of Jesus” – I shared the metaphor of a master mechanic training a novice as a way of thinking about how we make disciples. This was one of my favorite recent posts.

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Categories : Looking Back, popular posts

Refreshed in God Alone

31 01 2012

An edited journal excerpt from June 1991

Psalm 91:14, “’Because he loves me,’ says the LORD, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.’” Father, I do love You. You are measureless in Your majesty and breathtaking in Your beauty. As You said to Moses, You are “the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness (Ex. 34:6).” You really will rescue me and protect me.

15He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. What remarkable kindness and grace. I’m grateful for the initiative and commitment I hear in Your, “I will.” When I call upon You, You are responsive and present with me in my troubles. You help me find my way out of trouble and give me a place of honor.

16With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.” I’m overwhelmed that You would satisfy me when I’ve sought satisfaction in so many empty places. I really want a rich, long life. I want to experience holiness and wholeness. Satisfy me as with a tall, cold glass of water in this dry desert I’ve been walking. Help me find richness in You.

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Categories : scripture reflection

Psalm 73: Why Do Good People Have It So Bad?

15 01 2012

An edited journal excerpt from May 1991

“Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever

(Psalm 73:25-26).”

I find a lot of heart echoes in this psalm as I read it. It captures a lot of what has been happening in me.

Verse 2-12 describes a deep jealousy that Asaph was experiencing over the apparent prosperity of the without-God people around him. It looks to him like many of them have it easier and are doing better than the with-God people.

In verse 13-16, Asaph expresses his frustration, feeling like he has been wasting his time being faithful to God in his way of life. Trying to living in harmony with God’s will has left him where his life feels plagued. He feels punished for doing right. Why stay in relationship with God if this is the outcome? Thankfully, he realizes that he would betray his with-God community if he took action on these frustrated feelings. (vs. 15).

Asaph was overwhelmed by the hardness of his with-God life in the face of the apparent trouble-free ease of those who sniffed their nose at God. How will he gain some perspective? Where will he find wisdom? How will he make his way through such a place? When life doesn’t seem fair, when God’s good people suffer and wicked people seem to succeed, the only place to find perspective is in the presence of God (17). In God’s presence, I see with eternal eyes. I see those living in disregard of God in His presence as well, but not standing in His favor.

Like Asaph, I will feel grieved at heart and embittered in spirit (21) in the face of such temporary unfairness. I may respond to such hardship like a brute beast, ignorant and senseless (22).

I’m invited to remember the presence of God. I’m show that I am always with God and God is always with me. I am faithfully held on to in God’s gracious favor (23) and guided by perfect and wise direction (24a). My end, unlike the desperate end of the without-God one, is in the presence of God’s glory (24b).

Rather than letting my grief embitter me as I seek to remain in God in the hard places, I can recognize the lasting reality that only God can truly, deeply satisfy me to the depths of my being (25). The ways the world around me tries to satisfy the soul aren’t enough for me. This is a reality I must face and a choice I must make. My heart and my body may be weak, but God is my strength in all of this (26a). He is my portion—all that I need (26b). What is truly best for me is the simple nearness of God. (28). God is my refuge.

When I find myself in dry places, I often feel tempted to envy the what I see as a life of ease for others around me. God, help me remember that the dryness is helping me remember that nothing in creation is big enough to satisfy my soul. Being near You is my only source of true satisfaction. 

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Categories : Dark Night of the Soul, God's presence, praying scripture

Overcoming Fear Through Trust

14 11 2011

Psalm 56:3-4 NIV
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise—

in God I trust and am not afraid.

What can mere mortals do to me?

When I am afraid. I find myself afraid in many ways. I’m afraid to fail in writing the book I’m supposed to be writing. I’m afraid of looking dumb. What do I do when I’m afraid? Sometimes I distract myself. Sometimes I procrastinate. Sometimes I hide. Does it work? Not really. The fear doesn’t go away. What does David do?

I put my trust in You. Instead of hiding, escaping, or numbing, David puts his trust in God. If I learn to look past my distorted image of God that looks suspiciously like certain authorities figures in my life on a bad day, I can see that He really is faithful—more faithful than I can imagine. If I think about how easy it often is to trust Gem when I see her honesty, sincerity and lack of guile, how much more should I be able to trust God who will never let me down, neither willfully or ‘accidentally’? What helps me to rest trustingly in God more?

In God, whose word I praise—God always says what He means and always means what He says. He doesn’t waste words. I praise His word because it is true, right, good, merciful, kind and words like this could just keep piling up. When I feel it hard to connect with something in scripture because it doesn’t feel real to me, that says very little about the quality of what God says. It probably says much more about my own ability to receive or perceive the goodness of what He says. Father, Your word is most worthy of praise.

In God I trust and am not afraid. I want to learn how to do what David does here. I want to so trust in You, Lord, that I am no longer paralyzed, immobilized or hindered by fears. There is a kind of inward hurry that prevents me from sinking down and soaking in the peace and rest of God into my heart and mind. God, You really are completely trustworthy. You are not holding the failures and transgressions of my past against me. You do not desire to keep a record of wrongs between You and me. You desired to remove them, and so You sent Your Son to make this justly possible. You did it the right way. You didn’t pretend there was nothing wrong with me. You addressed the wrong in me righteously and rightly.

What can mere mortals do to me? I hear in this that the harm fear causes me to imagine is always greater than reality. What harm is actually going to happen? I remember someone once saying that fear is actually a doorway into a deeper experience of God and His love. It just doesn’t look like that from this side!

Interact:

  • What are some of the fears you are currently facing?
  • What is the harm you imagine?
  • How might God be inviting you to step right through that fear into a place of deeper surrender and communion with Him?

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Categories : A Good Word, God's love, love of God

Psalm 25: Learning God’s Ways

14 09 2011

Psalm 25:4-5 NIV
4 Show me your ways, Lord,
teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.

David’s prayer here made me think deeply. Like him, I want to walk in God’s ways, so I ask Him to show them to me. I don’t assume that I already know them. I don’t assume I can find them on my own. I ask Him to teach me and train me. I need a Guide. I look to Him as the best possible Savior. I look to Him hopefully, knowing that He is very good at what He does (to understate it just a bit!). Show me. Teach me. Guide me. Amen.


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Psalm 63: Thirsty For God

31 08 2011

A Gulf Frittilary chrysalis clinging to our backyard patio chair. It's a butterfly today.

5My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. In this dry and weary land, I have hope that You will, in good time, fully satisfy my deepest, truest longings. I think of fine meals for which Gem and I have saved up. These were fast food next to the richness of Your life in me. Satisfy my soul with Yourself, Father.

6On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. What captures my attention through the long, dark nights of my life? How do I keep the darkness from invading my heart and mind? I remember You. I think of You. I look to You. “Be Thou my vision” through the watches of the night.

7Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I realize more and more how much help I really need. You have been showing me the foolishness of assuming self-sufficiency. I need You. I need others alongside me. Be my help, Father, so that I might find myself singing praise in the safe place of leaning against Your chest.

8My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. As this desert place exposes as empty everything in creation to which I cling, I realize more fully that my soul should cling to You alone. I am like a little one who clings to You as You uphold me. Thank You.

Make this psalm prayer more and more a part of my assumptions, my expectations and my hopes. I want to be able to say every word in this psalm genuinely and with integrity. Continue teaching me to find satisfaction in You alone. 



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Psalm 63: Thirsty For God

30 08 2011

Hummingbirds fighting over a feeder in our backyard

(Edited journal excerpt from April 1991)

1O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Lord, You really are my God. I am coming to seek you as earnestly as I know how. My soul is thirsty for You alone. Even my body aches to know You more deeply. This parched place through which I journey only intensifies my longings. I am not finding refreshment or satisfaction anywhere else. You are my only hope right now. Has this been Your plan? Is this desert the place where You bring focus and clarity to my desire, realizing that it is You alone that I want?

2I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. From this desert place, I can easily remember times when I’ve sensed Your presence, felt Your power and was humbled by Your overwhelming glory. I remember the intimacy of Your presence in those private, holy places. I have known moments when I that there was no one and nothing in the world but You and me. This increases my longing for You.

3Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. Can I say this with the same conviction as David? Do I really believe that Your love is better than life itself? Or do I love my life more than I want Your love? What might I be devoting myself to over You? When I realize that nothing in my life, not even my life itself, is better than Your unfailing love, I see You filling the whole horizon of my vision. I am enabled to glorify you, acknowledge Your great honor, praise and glory.

4I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. I am learning that You are always and will always be more than worthy of my puny praise, no matter what may come. Thank You for the challenges I face that deepen this conviction. I must often provoke You in my ignorance and presumption. When I think of Your name, I will lift my hands to praise You, Father.


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Psalm 105: Remembering God’s Wonders

27 08 2011

Psalm 105:5
Remember the marvels He has done;
His wonders and the judgements of His mouth. 

God invites me to remember. I must take this invitation to heart because I so easily forget them. And my forgetfulness gets me into trouble. I forget remarkable things I have witnessed, even in the last few weeks or months. I have seen You meet with those who have languished and wrestled for months with hard things. I’ve watched You solve in a moment what people have wrestled with for month, years or longer.

I have witnessed You heal families that were humanly irreconcilable. I have seen You change hearts that were beyond human hope. No one else could have done that. I have seen You bring refreshment to souls that were utterly exhausted, hope to those who were even beyond despair, new focus to those who were frantic and distracted, peace to those struggling with  anxiety, companionship to those who felt deeply lonely.

You really are a God of marvels and wonders, not just in ancient days, but today. Thank You. Enable me to richly remember Your wonders today. Please widen my perspective beyond difficult present moments.


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Psalm 105: Seeking God’s Strength

26 08 2011

Psalm 105:4
Search for the Lord and His strength;
continually seek His face. 

Search and seek. These are verbs implying that finding the Lord’s strength and seeing His face require a certain effort and intentionality. Persistent attention is needed to abide more deeply and continually in His strength. A real focus of intention is needed to gaze upon His face. I find, though, that I can easily be distracted. This is the opposite of “search…and continually seek.”

Father, May Your Spirit enable me to seek You with more persistence and faithfulness. Apart from You, this is impossible for me. My practical and present experience proves this. But You can enable me to act according to the true, Spirit-inspired desires of my heart. These are the mature, adult desires that I must live out of as I “put away childish things” that do not reflect the good reign of God in my life.


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Psalm 69: Praying Our Grief (Pt. 2)

23 08 2011

Part one

(An edited journal excerpt from April 1991)

16Answer me, O LORD, out of the goodness of your love; in your great mercy turn to me. 17Do not hide your face from your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in trouble. 18Come near and rescue me; redeem me because of my foes. 19You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed; all my enemies are before you. Because You are perfect in love and full of mercy, answer me and turn again towards me. Do not hide Yourself from my heart. Please make haste to answer me in my deep distress. I am Your servant. Notice my enemy’s attacks and keep me from His fierce and cruel assault.

20Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none. 21They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst. 22May the table set before them become a snare; may it become retribution and a trap. 23May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever. 24Pour out your wrath on them; let your fierce anger overtake them. 25May their place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents. I can see foreshadowing of the sufferings of Christ in these verses. As I have a small share in them, I ask that You would be merciless towards my enemy and his forces. Break his teeth. Cause him to become trapped in his own traps. Pour Your wrath out on him in overwhelming ways!

26For they persecute those you wound and talk about the pain of those you hurt. The enemy persecutes and attacks those You have chosen to wound and to discipline. Be merciless to the merciless, as You have said You would.

29I am in pain and distress; may your salvation, O God, protect me. I am. Protect me by rescuing me.

30I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. 31This will please the LORD more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hoofs. 32The poor will see and be glad–you who seek God, may your hearts live! Right now, in imitation of the example of the psalmist, I am going to praise God’s name through singing and I will glorify Him through thanksgiving.

33The LORD hears the needy and does not despise his captive people. You hear me, Lord, when I am needy and trapped. You do not think little of me, Father. Thank You.


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