Don't Just Hang in There...Hang on to God

This month has been overwhelming at times, full of emotional highs and lows of a great variety. I predicted it would be a kind of wild ride, and I was right. It is hard to try to form all of that into meaningful words for my readers, so I think I'll just stick to one lesson I have learned (or perhaps, have relearned) this month.

It started with a radio show I tuned in to on my drive home from a training session at my new job. The DJ was sharing how God does not require us to "tough it out" when things in our lives completely knock us off balance, but rather, God often emphasizes how He wants us to lean on Him in the hard times.

The DJ specifically spoke out against a common misquote of 1 Corinthians 4: 13. This verse says, "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." He (and I) had heard this verse quoted without the mention of temptation, as a way of saying, "God won't give you anything you can't handle in this life, so if you are buckling under the load, toughen up."

It is Okay to Be Broken Before God

But anyone who has ever lost a loved one, or been diagnosed with a terminal illness, or discovered that their spouse was cheating on them, or maybe has just been suffering from extreme stress due to a crowded schedule, may have reason to say that this teaching is a bunch of malarkey.  You know what? It really is.

Sometimes things come along that we can't handle. It's not that we don't try to--no one likes to feel weak or broken--but sometimes, it is just beyond our ability to endure. Why is this such a novel thought? There is nothing in the Bible that says that only tough, superhuman people need apply for the position of Christ follower!  In fact, we serve a God who meets us in our weakness instead of only supporting us in our strengths (Psalm 73: 21-28), and who teaches us and comforts us to make us strong, rather than expecting instant perfection and nerves of steel (2 Corinthians 12:9; Proverbs 3: 5-6). It is okay with our God if we admit defeat and ask Him to intervene on our behalf or to give us peace and reassurance (1 Peter 5: 6;  Isaiah 37).  It is okay with Him if we hand our problem over to Him and let Him take over the worrying and the grief for awhile, while we try to get some sleep, or make dinner, or finish our homework (1 Peter 5: 7).

In fact, He volunteered for the job!  He volunteered because He loves us and feels compassion for us.

The bottom line is that we aren't supposed to "stick it out," because in doing that, we are holding ourselves up by our own strength, which is very limited, instead of leaning on God's infinite strength. God is actually the only one in control. He is the only one who can bring healing, the only one who can give guidance about the future, the only one who can bring peace, and the only one who can lead us out of the dire situations in which we find ourselves. It is folly to try to "be strong," but great wisdom to be broken before God, so that He can heal us.  In fact, He promised to heal us, so we should go to Him today.

The End is the Beginning

Still Singing!

As a writer, I rarely find a time when words begin to fail me, but it seems like that has been the case for me lately, especially when I try to write on this blog. I am in a thoughtful mood again today, trying to find some way to put my feelings onto paper (well, a screen, anyway).

At the start of this year, I wrote about how I felt God telling me that 2013 was going to be a year of "ending things."  I've seen that coming true ever since then, sometimes in good ways and sometimes in bad ones. Moving forward is a good thing, but sometimes change comes through bittersweet endings, and I've seen a few this year.  The loss of my dog was one, and the tornado that tore through my hometown was another.  A friend of mine is moving away tomorrow, and with that, I see an era or a chapter closing, at least in what I consider my old familiar pattern of life.

It's not all bittersweet, though. Over just the past few weeks, I've been able to move forward on my writing career goals after what seems like years of delays. I've also gained some clarity through all of these changes that will help me organize the rest of my work and life. Besides that, God has been reconnecting me with old friends and adding new ones to my life.

Look on change from an eagle's point of view...

He is opening doors for me, and although I don't fully know what to expect out of the rest of this year, I still feel that God is going to be with me, and that He is behind these changes.

If you, like me, are going through some whirlwind changes right now and are perhaps feeling a little weary in the midst of them, be reminded that God is in control, and that you can trust Him. Throughout Scripture we read how the prophets under God's direction predicted the end of things, but never do we read of an end without talk of a new chapter to follow...and that is always a grand and beautiful thing!

When something is taken, God restores, and when the end comes, God has made Heaven to follow.

Here is a passage that has come up in conversation a number of times over the past few weeks. It has encouraged me, and I think it will encourage you.

Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40: 28-31 NIV)

Words of Refuge

Bits of paper, siding, and insulation on my lawn
after a tornado passed close by two weeks ago.

Another week has gone by, punctuated by yet another terrible, stormy night that brought tornadoes to my area and left more people homeless and sifting through the wreckage of their lives. This time, the clouds also brought deadly flooding rains.

I would say that the chaos is taking its toll on everyone, even those not directly affected by the storms. In the aftermath of anything like this, there is widespread anxiety, stress, and depression as the populous struggles to accept what has happened. This is a natural grief process.

People need to feel that they are safe, and that someone is looking out for them. They need reassurance and comfort concerning their present circumstances and the future that currently seems out of reach.  They are not going to find that kind of comfort in rituals, which have been disrupted; possessions, which have been taken or threatened; or most kinds of organized religion, which preach that humankind is nothing and the deity of choice is the only one who matters.  Christianity stands alone in its statements that (1) the lives of people matter to God, (2) are all equal in His presence, (3) God specifically cares about every individual, and (4) He personally intervenes in our circumstances and lives.

1.  "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life," (John 3: 16 NIV).
2. "So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus," (Galatians 3: 26-28 NIV).
3.  “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?  And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.  In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish." (Matthew 18: 12-14 NIV)
4. " And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose," (Romans 8: 28 NIV).

I realize there are many hurting people who need that comforting reassurance right now. They may have heard that the God of Christianity is none of those things, and they may have encountered supposed "representatives" of Christianity who wronged them at one time.  They may be afraid to reach out to God, fearful of the stigma from family and friends, or just cautious.

If you feel that way, I encourage you to seek out the truth about Christianity in the Bible, which is what God has said about Himself and His intentions.  I personally have nothing to gain from saying this, but I know how much you can gain from a personal relationship with Christ.  I urge you to find that calm reassurance that has helped me through the last few weeks. I know that Christ can help you, too, no matter what you are facing right now. He is a friend who cannot be moved or taken away from you:

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord," (Romans 8: 38, 39 NIV).

Putting Work at the Feet of Jesus

When I sat down to write this blog, I was confronted with the realization that I've got a problem with overworking today.  Every time I started to concentrate on what I was going to write, I found myself thinking about other work I need to do today. I mean, of course I need to be dedicated to my job, because otherwise, I won't be able to cover my bills, and that just isn't good.  Still, why this compulsion to open five tabs in the browser or tweet when it's supposed to be a scheduled time for contemplation with God? Can't I take a break for five minutes? What's the matter with me?

Part of this, when I force myself to close those browser tabs and really think about it, is pure habit.  On the other hand, part of this, I think, is born of some of Satan's lies.  If I stop working, I might be "lazy," or perhaps "abandoning my duty," or "proving a failure who doesn't know when to work and when to quit." Satan would have me feeling guilty for sleeping or taking enough time for a meal.  He would make me feel unsatisfied with any reward I might have gotten out of a job well-done.  Ultimately, he'd like to see me broken down, worn out, depressed, and ineffective for the Lord.  He couldn't just cut to that ending, so he has to start with guilt.

I am a freelancer for a living. I know there may be a lot of freelancers out there reading this and nodding their heads.  However, freelancers aren't the only ones dealing with the "guilt of work." Whether you work a regular 9-5 office job, do physical labor outdoors, or corral toddlers all day, you have probably found yourself doing work out of guilt or some kind of compulsion, even when it's time to do something else (like maybe, sleep).  I might be describing you if:

• You frequently interrupt bedtime prayer mid-sentence to add to a grocery or to-do list.
• You can't seem to get into a conversation because you keep checking your phone for updates.
• Watching movies in the movie theater with friends or family make you feel fidgety, because you have to turn off your phone and abandon your computer for a whole hour and a half to two hours.
• When you are home watching television or doing something with your family, you feel nervous, as if you "should really be doing something."
• It is hard to sit down and lose yourself in a fictional book or hobby. If it's not nonfiction, you feel that it should be. If it isn't "good for your career" or potentially going to make money, it isn't worth the time.
• You suddenly solve the answer to a problem you've been having at work when the pastor is still preaching.

There are more situations like these, and I could go on listing them, but I think you get the idea. 

Other people value us by the money we earn or the tasks we complete, but it seems God measures our time by our spiritual development, according to His purposes. He would like us to see work as good for a few things, not our source of meaning.  He certainly doesn't want our "work guilt" from any source to keep us from coming to Him (Matthew 11: 28-29). He wants us to see our work for what it really is (important, but not spiritually essential), so we can come and rest at His feet (Luke 10: 38-42).

It comes down to a confrontation with those guilty feelings that keep egging us on without a rest.  We need to face the fact that we can't hold up the world on our shoulders, and purposefully, actively give it to God.  That might mean literally ceasing to work for a few minutes while we focus on God, like Martha's sister Mary did, just to prove to ourselves that the world won't end if we do.  Alternatively, if stopping is not an option at that moment, it might mean confessing those guilty feelings to God and asking Him to remind us of how He values us, so that we can keep working with a healthier attitude about it.

Here's a question for my readers out there.  How do you cope with "work guilt"?  Any tips you could share? Good ones will go into a follow-up blog on this subject.

Trust and the Sabbath

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work....For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.--Exodus 20: 9-11

For some time now, I have been pushing myself so hard in my work that I've pretty much worked right through the weekend.  Besides the fact that I feel guilty about my failure to take a proper Sabbath, I've heard (and can personally confirm) that this kind of schedule is bad for creating burnout and heightening stress levels.  So, this past weekend, I really tried to stop. I really did. I ended up feeling restless and even bored, and found myself switching the computer on again, just to fill the boredom.

This experiment revealed some weaknesses in me that I need to correct. It also made me think a little more about the purpose of the Sabbath in Biblical times.  Most obviously, it was symbolic of the rest that we could find in Christ, who opened the doors of heaven for those who believe in Him (see Hebrews 4: 8-11).  Without minimizing this very important meaning, I also wanted to point out some subtler messages that the sabbath rest sends.

To a mostly agrarian society, the idea of completely stopping all work one day of the week was pretty radical. A lot can happen with livestock in one day (obviously, the Bible made allowances for helping an animal in distress on the Sabbath).  Also, if a person is harvesting a field and has to stop for a day of rest, what could happen to the unharvested crop in the meantime? This carries forward today, even in non-agrarian jobs, when a worker has to leave a project half-completed, and wonders if he or she did "enough" to stem the work overload when Monday comes.

There is also the worry about finances that creeps over people when they are not working. Taking a whole day off makes people very aware of the fact that they are not making money at that moment, especially those who make little money anyway, or those who have a lot of bills.  Since money buys food, clothing, and shelter, and these things are essential for life, taking a day off is almost like jeopardizing survival.  It can be scary!

On top of these basic worries, there is a feeling of lost esteem that can overtake people who are used to actively working at a job.  There may be few people to interact with on a day off, and no accolades or any kind of emotional reward.  This is perhaps the most subtle loss of all.

So, I guess what I'm saying is that, besides the spiritual symbolism, the Sabbath is a trust exercise that God established to teach us about Him and to clear up our misconceptions about work.  We can get so involved in our work that we begin to think we can control our futures and buy our salvation and security with our efforts, and we begin to value ourselves by our labor. God wants us to see that He guards our interests, provides for our needs, and gives us the value and attention that we secretly desire--but we need to trust His word on it!  Through Christ, God's only son, God has prepared and established a future for those who know Him which can never be taken away--not even by a catastrophe that sweeps over us in one day. The work of preparation, and the work of salvation, is already done. Now He just wants us to enjoy it with Him.

Let me reiterate my point: Work is good, but it serves a different purpose from establishing salvation, protecting our futures, or giving us our value. God has already done all of that, so if at all possible, we should take time from our labors to acknowledge and truly enjoy this new-found rest with Him.  That is what the Sabbath is for--a weekly reminder of God's power and provision.

In Case of Emergency (and Even When It's Not)

In public buildings in the US (I don't know about other countries), there is always a fire extinguisher, encased in glass, on every floor, marked "In Case of Emergency, Break Glass." The obvious understanding is that you don't break the glass for any emergency--only for fires.

While it's an imperfect comparison, I can say I've observed people treating God like that fire extinguisher: He just sits there behind the glass, only to be used in an extreme situation, and only in a situation when we think He can help us.  The problem with this image is that it's unrealistic, and will lead to trouble.

God isn't only there to help when we can't solve the problem; He's always there, always available, and always able to help.  We are taught to be resourceful and self-reliant, and that is fine as far as our interactions with other people go.  We are taking it too far, however, if we think that we only need God "in case of emergency."  We need Him, always.


I am reminded of a "non-emergency" prayer I prayed in college one weekend. I had so much homework that I had opted to say in the dorm rather than going home to enjoy the comfort of familiar surroundings and Mom's cooking.  I felt weary at heart and not just in my body, and as I sat poring over some research papers before dinner, I wished for the one meal the school cafeteria did especially well--breakfast food for dinner.  It was comfort food, and that's what I felt I needed at that moment.

I decided that it wouldn't hurt a thing to just ask God for it.  He claims in His word, "The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry," (Psalm 34: 15 NIV).  The Bible never says, "God only listens when He thinks it's worth His time."  Keeping in mind that the worst He could say was "no," I prayed for biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs and bacon, and maybe some hashbrowns and pancakes.

Guess what the cafeteria workers had whipped up by the time I made it to the cafeteria two hours later?

If you guessed a full range of breakfast products, you got it right.  They didn't taste like something out of a box, either!

As I munched on my third helping of biscuits and gravy with my friends, I attributed this miracle to God.  Unfortunately, only a few accepted this explanation.  Most of them chocked it up to coincidence and dismissed it.  I could have agreed with them, but I have chosen not to.  I believe that "Every good and perfect gift is from above," (James 1: 17a NIV), so there are reasons to thank God and spiritual lessons to be gleaned, even in a good plate of eggs and bacon.  I also believe that frequently "coincidence" is the hand of God dismissed, since nothing happens outside of His awareness or without His permission (Psalm 33: 13-15).

So, returning to the fire extinguisher metaphor, I'm asking you to change your thinking if you are still thinking of God as a fire extinguisher.  Call on Him, even for "silly" needs that you think you can handle without Him.  He wants to show you how closely He is listening, and how easy it is to depend on Him for everything.  Be prepared to be amazed.

P.S. I will be out of town for the Monday post, so I will see you back here next Friday.  Meanwhile, I welcome you to peruse the archives here at SavvySheep.  I hope you will find something good there that will bless you!  Thanks for reading.

That Restless Feeling

Lately I've noticed a pattern in my moods at the end of the day.  Maybe you've had days when it seems that, no matter when you get up, or what you do all day, you feel like you haven't done enough when night comes.  You get restless.  At first you try to distract yourself with some interesting activity such as browsing the Internet, watching some random tv show, or reading a book.  You still feel restless.  If you get desperate, this is the point where you go and speed clean something, or some other activity you don't care for all that much.  You figure if you haven't done enough, chores might fill that void.

It doesn't.

I had gone through several nights of this in a row when I finally noticed the antidote to that restless I-need-to-feel-productive mood.  Get alone with God for awhile!  It really works.

Nothing under heaven can really fulfill the need to be needed, although some things seem to, for awhile (like relationships, or parenthood, or a promotion at work).  What we really desire is for someone to really notice our efforts and give approval.  Until then, we may find ourselves chasing that approval and feeling restless when silence greets us at the end of the day--and scented candles, positive quotations, and a clean bathroom aren't going to fill the void.

Spending time with God means, to me, spending time reading the Bible and really analyzing what it says and how it applies to me, and praying accordingly.  It helps me realign my priorities with God's, and see where I am falling behind in obedience.  I don't feel so restless because I'm reminded again of where I stand with God, and what He wants from me.  I feel like I really did something worthwhile with my time.  I'm so blessed to be able to actually draw near to God and get my instructions from the source (Deuteronomy 4: 7)!

This, I believe, is essential for feeling contentment.  Rather than wasting precious minutes on things to fill up that restlessness and dissatisfaction I am feeling, I'd rather offer up my life and my free time to God (although cleaning that bathroom has to be done from time to time).  It's what I was made to do (Ecclesiastes 12: 13-14), and what I feel the most useful doing.  Besides that, it is pleasing to God, and that's the approval I've been looking for.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12: 1, 2 NIV)