I've always found the Psalms to speak very well to all aspects of life. The honesty about all of the emotions that come in life draws me in. David wrote many of them and he always seemed to be honest with God. I think that is a reason why we commonly call him a man after God's own heart. Instead of hiding it or trying to pretend it wasn't real, David took it all to God. He cried everything he was feeling out to God - the good, the bad, and the ugly. But he always came around to trusting God, no matter what he was bringing to God.
Lately, I've been drawn to Psalm 34. This psalm is filled with promises of God's hearing and answering the cries of those who call out to Him. And that He will restore those who call to Him in their trouble.
I will extol the LORD at all times;
His praise will always be on my lips.
I will glory in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
Glorify the LORD with me;
let us exalt His name together.
I sought the LORD, and He answered me;
He delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to Him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
He saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him,
and He delivers them.
Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed if the one who takes refuge in Him.
Fear the LORD, you His holy people,
for those who fear Him lack nothing.
The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from telling lies.
Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
and His ears are attentive to their cry;
but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to blot out their name from the earth.
The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
He delivers them from all their troubles.
The LORD is close to the broken-hearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
The righteous person may have many troubles,
but the LORD delivers him from them all;
He protects all his bines,
not one of them will be broken.
Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
The LORD will rescue His servants;
no one who takes refuge in Him will be condemned.
David was declaring to those who would be hearing this psalm God's protection for those who trust in Him who are in trouble. David wrote this psalm while he was on the run from Saul - a time when he really needed God to protect him from harm and rescue him from his enemies.
This is the same way we can call out to God and be honest with Him in our own lives.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Friday, October 25, 2013
Five Minute Friday:Together
It`s that time again. Five Minute Friday over at Lisa-Jo Baker`s blog. Five minutes of unedited writing that we then share. Today`s word is together.
Ì enjoy it when we spend time together.
She said those words as I climbed in my car. She walked away before I could respond. If she hadn`t I would have responded the same way.
I enjoyed spending time with her too. But this was the first time in three months we had taken the time to spend together. We had our list of excuses why it hadn`t worked for us to get together, but I wondered as I drove away how true our excuses really where.
Sure I had lots of things going on in my life, but I still always found time to spend with people if I wanted to. And I knew that she was home most evenings because we would chat online. But that online chat that we tried to make replace seeing each other face-to-face really didn`t do it. It didn`t replace spending time together - sitting across a table from each other having a conversation, walking along the lake while we talked.
I decided that I would make spending time with friends more of a priority as I drove home that night. With this friend and with others that it had been far too long since we sat down to talk.
Together . . . time with people we love and care about . . . it`s something we all need.
Ì enjoy it when we spend time together.
She said those words as I climbed in my car. She walked away before I could respond. If she hadn`t I would have responded the same way.
I enjoyed spending time with her too. But this was the first time in three months we had taken the time to spend together. We had our list of excuses why it hadn`t worked for us to get together, but I wondered as I drove away how true our excuses really where.
Sure I had lots of things going on in my life, but I still always found time to spend with people if I wanted to. And I knew that she was home most evenings because we would chat online. But that online chat that we tried to make replace seeing each other face-to-face really didn`t do it. It didn`t replace spending time together - sitting across a table from each other having a conversation, walking along the lake while we talked.
I decided that I would make spending time with friends more of a priority as I drove home that night. With this friend and with others that it had been far too long since we sat down to talk.
Together . . . time with people we love and care about . . . it`s something we all need.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
It`s Okay to be Not Okay
"How are you?"
"Fine. You?"
"Fine."
And then both people move on to other things - maybe the weather or a sports game, or maybe to different people to have the same short conversation with.
That's become a standard way for "how are you?" conversation to happen. And that's the case everywhere . . . on the street, in a coffee shop, in the grocery store . . . even in our churches.
But how often are we answering the "how are you?" question with "fine" when we're anything but fine?
How often would our real answer be that we're struggling with something? Or upset about something? Or grieving a loss? But we don't feel we can say that when someone asks how we are.
When did we decide it was not okay to be not okay?
When did we decide we had to live behind a façade?
And, most importantly, when did this thinking invade our churches?
When I think about it, the church should be the one place where it's okay to be not okay. The one place where we can be honest with each other about what is really going on below the surface.
The truth is, we're all broken people. We all have hurts. We all have struggles. But we feel this strange need to hide that from everyone else. We act like we have it all together when we're really falling apart.
And, for what? So people will look at us a certain way.
Behind those facades we put up of having it all together are some lonely people who really aren't as okay as they try to make people think they are.
This way of thinking has to change. In Luke 5:31-32 Jesus says, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
Jesus didn't come for those who had it all together. He came for those who are broken and hurting. And His church should be a safe place for them to come and be exactly as they are.
The church should be a place where it's okay to be not okay. Because it's only when we fix our eyes on Jesus that anything makes sense and we can be healed. And while we're walking through it, we need a safe place to be not okay. That place should be the church.
How you doing at being honest about being not okay?
It has to start somewhere if we're going to get rid of the facades we're living behind that make us lonely. Maybe in your circle it needs to start with you deciding it's okay to be not okay and sharing that with those around you. Yes, it's a risk, but it's a necessary one if things are going to change and it's going to become okay to be not okay.
It doesn't mean you have to tell your whole story to everyone you talk to - sometimes you will, sometimes you won't. It starts with answering the question "how are you?" with something other than fine - with something that's true to how you really are. And then see where the conversation goes from there.
It's okay to be not okay. That should be true in our churches and our lives.
"Fine. You?"
"Fine."
And then both people move on to other things - maybe the weather or a sports game, or maybe to different people to have the same short conversation with.
That's become a standard way for "how are you?" conversation to happen. And that's the case everywhere . . . on the street, in a coffee shop, in the grocery store . . . even in our churches.
But how often are we answering the "how are you?" question with "fine" when we're anything but fine?
How often would our real answer be that we're struggling with something? Or upset about something? Or grieving a loss? But we don't feel we can say that when someone asks how we are.
When did we decide it was not okay to be not okay?
When did we decide we had to live behind a façade?
And, most importantly, when did this thinking invade our churches?
When I think about it, the church should be the one place where it's okay to be not okay. The one place where we can be honest with each other about what is really going on below the surface.
The truth is, we're all broken people. We all have hurts. We all have struggles. But we feel this strange need to hide that from everyone else. We act like we have it all together when we're really falling apart.
And, for what? So people will look at us a certain way.
Behind those facades we put up of having it all together are some lonely people who really aren't as okay as they try to make people think they are.
This way of thinking has to change. In Luke 5:31-32 Jesus says, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
Jesus didn't come for those who had it all together. He came for those who are broken and hurting. And His church should be a safe place for them to come and be exactly as they are.
The church should be a place where it's okay to be not okay. Because it's only when we fix our eyes on Jesus that anything makes sense and we can be healed. And while we're walking through it, we need a safe place to be not okay. That place should be the church.
How you doing at being honest about being not okay?
It has to start somewhere if we're going to get rid of the facades we're living behind that make us lonely. Maybe in your circle it needs to start with you deciding it's okay to be not okay and sharing that with those around you. Yes, it's a risk, but it's a necessary one if things are going to change and it's going to become okay to be not okay.
It doesn't mean you have to tell your whole story to everyone you talk to - sometimes you will, sometimes you won't. It starts with answering the question "how are you?" with something other than fine - with something that's true to how you really are. And then see where the conversation goes from there.
It's okay to be not okay. That should be true in our churches and our lives.
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