Are You Hungry?

November 7, 2021

One of my favorite Bible passages is Psalm 37:4—“Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” One of the reasons I like it is its promise that God will give us our own hearts’ desires if we delight in him. It doesn’t say he will give us the desires of his heart, but of our own. That he gives such a wide open promise is an amazing example of how much God loves and trusts those who delight in him. God is in the business of blessing his own.

Recent experiences have reminded me that this promise doesn’t always play out the way we expect. We all have hearts’ desires that are good, and God-honoring, that just don’t pan out. Though we can trust in this promise, God isn’t a divine vending machine where we can push our holiness and good works through the slot, and out pops whatever blessing we want to claim when we push the prayer button. There is always more to life than we are able to see in our finite wisdom. I for one, have much yet to learn in this department.

Just this morning, I was reading this psalm again, and noticed the third verse: “Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.” The last phrase in this verse jumped out at me: “Feed on his faithfulness.” 

Too often, we feed on our fears or sorrow; we eat anger and resentment like candy, drink envy and bitterness instead of feeding on, and lingering over God’s faithfulness, savoring its flavor and texture. The world’s fast food of media, entertainment, of divisiveness and race or economic-baiting, is making us sick. We don’t need merely to diet, but to take an extended fast from it all. Merely cutting down won’t begin to cure our addiction to this world’s poison-laden fare. We need to break its hold upon us. The more we feed on it, the more we want it and the less we hunger for God.

“Taste and see that the Lord is good,” declares Psalm 34:8. When our children were small, a friend invited us to his beautiful old Victorian home with 12 foot ceilings, oak and butternut paneling in living room, parlor, and dining rooms. He set before us a full seven course meal which we savored slowly. “Children need to learn to dine, not merely eat,” he declared solemnly. He was right in more ways than one. Fine dining has given way to drive in fast food which cannot satisfy both body and soul. In reality, it cannot even satisfy the body that grows bloated and flaccid as we we ingest it. 

If this is true of our physical bodies, it is no less so for our souls. Feeding on the faithfulness of God is the only diet that will nourish and strengthen us to face the challenges and the societal and spiritual pandemic sweeping across our land. The world’s food is only making us sicker, and making our need to feed on God’s faithfulness more acute. His table is set; dinner time has come. Is anyone hungry?

 

Seeing in the Darkness

 November 6, 2021

“Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; 

Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. 

Your righteousness is like the great mountains; 

Your judgments are a great deep; 

O Lord, You preserve man and beast.”

—Psalm 36:5-6 

In the opening verses of this psalm, David speaks of the wickedness of men in contrast to the virtues of God beginning in the fifth verse to the end. In the fifth and sixth verses, there is an interesting and subtle shift in his thinking as he moves from the heights of God’’s mercy, faithfulness, and righteousness to the depth of his judgments. If we’re looking for them, it’s not hard to find God’s mercy, faithfulness, and righteousness. These blessings overshadow everything God does, and are plain to see for those who will see. 

The next phrase however, is a bit harder to swallow—“his judgments are like a great deep,” often incomprehensible, dark, and unyielding to our understanding, impenetrable to our searching. Sometimes, the only way we make it through the depths through which we cannot see is by trusting in the blessings we have seen, and in the God who gave them. 

I wish I knew why so many of my prayers remain unanswered—“his judgments are a great deep.” But there are so many blessings I have seen that I know to trust God in the times I cannot see. This is what David expressed in verses 7-9:

“How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! 

Therefore the children of men put their trust 

under the shadow of Your wings. 

They are abundantly satisfied 

with the fullness of Your house, 

And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. 

For with You is the fountain of life; 

In Your light we see light.”

I know that the day will come when the light of Christ will enlighten those dark places where I cannot see, but until then, I’m still in the trusting stage. I’m OK with that, because I know that day of enlightenment is coming. “Come, Lord Jesus, Come.”

Another Day’s Story

 November 5, 2021

After driving all day, arriving at the hospital around 5:00, spending a couple hours talking and praying with my brother in law, his wife, cousin, and I got a late supper and went to bed. Verna shook me awake at 2:30. Dennis was gone. We headed to the hospital so Verna could say her goodbyes, then came home for a couple hours’ sleep. I had written about bad news, good news for the past two days, and watched it play out before my eyes today. When I got the call Wednesday that things weren’t looking optimistic, I had been trying to wire my truck lights so I could take my sidecar motorcycle to Ohio for servicing. I’m no mechanic, and an even worse car electrician, so the wiring job wasn’t going too well. Had it gone as planned, I would have been in western Ohio when the call came in. The bad news of my wiring problem became the good news of being able to immediately pack a few things and drive south. One day more would have been too late. 

I still don’t know how God intends to turn the bad news of Dennis’ death into good news, but I believe it will happen. I had been so confident that God was going to heal him, and cannot believe all the prayers of all the people are in vain. Dennis’ deepest desire was to see his son come back to Christ, and for his own life to be a witness to others of the grace of Christ unto salvation. So now I adjust my prayers to align with his, and give thanks to have been able to be a part of his story, going back more than fifty years. That story is for another day.

Bad News, Good News

November 4, 2021

Yesterday I was reflecting on 2 Kings 20 and the story of Hezekiah, with the thought that sometimes bad news can become good news and good news can become bad news. I spent the better part of today on the road, driving to N. Carolina to see my brother in law, giving me lots of time to think and pray. For some reason, I had a hard time formulating thoughts for prayer, but I did think a lot, and it occurred to me that there is more to that good news/bad news mantra than I first thought.

In the story of Hezekiah, the first bad news was given by God, who changed it to good news. Hezekiah took that good news and turned it into bad news. Isn’t that the way it usually happens? God takes bad news and makes it good, while we take the good news and make it bad. 

God took the bad news of my sins and made it good news when I responded to the Gospel with repentance and faith. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve taken advantage of that good news and played fast and loose with it, turning it into the bad news of forgetfulness, sin, and rebellion. It seems I don’t have the capacity to keep the Good News good news. The good news is however, that my bad news is no match for the expansive and glorious Good News of Jesus Christ. No matter how often I’ve misused the good news, making bad news of it, God never fails to take that bad news and once more make good news of it. That IS Good News!

 

Good News, Bad News

 November 3, 2021

Sometimes bad news can become good news and good news can become bad news. 2 Kings 20 tells the story of King Hezekiah, who was deathly ill with an infection. The prophet Isaiah told him to get his affairs in order because he was going to die. Hezekiah’s response was to pout like a child. As Isaiah was leaving the palace, God spoke to him, telling him to go back and inform Hezekiah that his prayers had been heard; he would not die, but be given fifteen more years—bad news became good news!

However, during that fifteen years, Hezekiah fathered a son, Manasseh, who would prove to be the most corrupt king the nation had ever had, and the final straw leading to Babylon’s overrunning the kingdom and taking the people into exile. Good news had become bad news.

We think we can tell the difference between the two, but it’s not always as easy as it might seem. The concept of good and bad news switching places occurred to me when I read this chapter this morning, but I had no idea that before the day was half gone, I would be on the road to North Carolina to see my brother in law, perhaps for the last time. He’s back in the hospital with more complications from the surgery he had in August, and now the doctors are telling him that the surgery that he had hoped for that would restore some semblance of normality to his life is no longer an option. Back in August, his surgery was to have been good news; reconnecting his esophagus. It turned out to be bad news when he almost died. A week or so later, it was good news as he came out of his induced coma and gradually gained strength to come home. The good news became bad news as he aspirated his food. Back and forth it went, to the point where we weren’t able to tell which was good, and which was bad news. 

Right now, I cannot see the good news in all this. I had been confident in my prayers that he would recover. I haven’t given up on those prayers, but he and his wife are not hopeful. I wish I were able to tell how this will turn out, but all I know is that figuring out what is good, and what is bad news is not always as easy as it might seem. The only good news that remains so is the Good News of Jesus Christ, who assures us by his death and resurrection that even the worst news we can receive becomes good news for those who like my brother in law, trust in Christ for forgiveness, healing, and eternal life.

Daily Light

 November 2, 2021

As a recovering melancholic, I need every bit of encouragement I can find to stay upbeat. My daily regimen of gratitude literally changed my life eight years ago, but pivotal events need daily feeding if they are to maintain vitality. I still consult my gratitude calendar, and have doubled down on my intake of the news, most of which is designed to foment fear and anger. I need neither in my life, so I only read the minimum I need to stay current. Some may think this irresponsible, but my first responsibility is to my own mental and spiritual health, neither of which is helped by the media.

From the time we were in college, Linda and I have used a little devotional entitled “Daily Light.” It’s a compilation of various Bible texts arranged by theme for each day. We’ve used it particularly when we’ve been apart for any length of time, like when I’ve been in Cuba. I had gotten out of the habit of reading it daily, and decided to once again begin my day with it. Today’s reading took me back to my high school days.

As a newborn Christian, I was encouraged to memorize Scripture, which I faithfully did. I’m glad I did so back then, because it is increasingly difficult for me to do it now. Most of what I rely on in my walk with Christ harkens back to those early days and the faithful instruction I received from Sunday School teachers, Vacation Bible School staff, and from Fred Thomas and Sterling Huston at Rochester Youth For Christ. These people poured into me their very souls, and gave me a foundation that has remained rock solid for over sixty years. 

I memorized a fair amount of Scripture back then, but the one text I was never able to master popped up in this morning’s reading. I can remember the preceding and following verses, but this one has always eluded me: 

““Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” —Philippians 4:8 

It’s not particularly difficult, but I was never able to remember all the “whatsoevers” in the right order. Nevertheless, this verse has been like the North Star for me, and this morning was another reminder from the Holy Spirit to guard my mind and guide it towards that which is good in this life. It’s not really that hard to do, but with all the negativity that gets thrown around, it is also easy to forget. Tonight, I am thankful to have read this once more this morning. It anchored my soul so my spirit could be free.

Patience

November 1, 2021

It amazes me how shallow my Christianity can be. I once spoke to a pastor of a church of about 450 average attendance; he said, “We are a mile wide, and an inch deep.” Too often, that describes me.

My plan was to take my Ural out to the dealer in Ohio where I buy parts and supplies. I borrowed a trailer from our pastor, and hooked everything up. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t get the brake lights or the left turn signal to work. I tried everything, and probably made it worse by cutting off the old connection and splicing wires together. I’m not particularly skilled at soldering, and trying to get everything connected while lying on my back and needing another pair of hands got the best of me. 

I have all kinds of patience with people who don’t do what they should, but mechanical things are supposed to work, and when they don’t, I get frustrated. I guess I should expand my doctrine of Original Sin to include inanimate objects. Anyway, after about four hours of frustration and ultimately failure, Linda called me for supper. She asked how it went, which wasn’t what I wanted to talk about at the time. I didn’t snap or say bad words, but I have to admit to a few minutes of sulking.

For many people around the world, having a mere recalcitrant wiring harness would have spelled a great day. They would love to trade places with me. I have friends dealing with cancer, families that are fractured by abuse, divorce, drugs, or alcohol, and others who literally don’t know where their next meal is coming from. A bad wiring harness? Not so bad. 

It’s often a matter of perspective. Most of the things that bother us aren’t nearly as monumental as it seems at the moment. If you put a quarter right in front of your eye, it can block out the sun that is thousands of times bigger than our entire earth. If I let small stuff like this come between me and my God, who is far bigger than my problem, I’m holding the problem too close. Stepping back for perspective isn’t just a good idea; it is essential if I am going to live faithfully. Letting a small problem obscure my vision for God is not only foolish; it is sinful.

So, tonight I’m stepping back. Pastor Joe has offered to help tomorrow afternoon, but maybe…just maybe…I’ll get it figured out before then. Either way, it’s not a big deal, and Jesus didn’t get caught off guard by this, any more than he has been off duty on the bigger things in life. It’s taken me a few years to learn this kind of patience. Early on, I had to search through the grass for wrenches thrown in frustration. Those days are thankfully gone, which assures me that though growth in grace has often been slow, it has also been steady. And I can always take the bike out to Ohio next week.