“We all know John 12, where our Lord is recorded as saying, ‘Except the grain of wheat fall into the ground and die…’ The question is not whether there is life within. That we may take for granted. But will we allow the shell of our hearts to be cracked?

…The timing is always in the Lord’s hand. In some lives, the Lord works sudden destruction; in others, he works gradual trials. We cannot shorten the time he wishes to take in accomplishing his work of destroying our shell so as to set our spirit free. But we can certainly prolong it, and this is most serious. For nothing is more grievous than wasting God’s time – and how often the work of the church is meanwhile hindered as well! Let us therefore consecrate ourselves wholly, without condition, to him, willing – delighting – to give him his full way in us” (Watchman Nee, The Release of the Spirit).

How will you live in surrender to God’s purposes for your life?

I have no good reason for posting this picture (other than this little pug looks a bit like my sister’s dog Piggy). Also, I have a daily calendar at my workspace featuring Doug the Pug. You should definitely follow him on Instagram.

I just thought that in the midst of all the grim doom-and-gloom news that constantly tells us that the inevitable worst case scenario is coming, you might need a little Star Wars little dog levity.

By the way, this also might serve as inspiration for this coming Halloween if you want to dress up your tiny dog. Just sayin’.

Anything that’s worthwhile takes a bit of effort to appreciate. I found this old poem that I’m still not sure that I 100% grasp but what I did understand was enough for me to want to share it with you.

I think it says that mere intellectual assent is not enough. Knowing all about God, sin, salvation, and all the other doctrines isn’t enough. Believing in facts about Jesus, no matter how true, isn’t enough.

It requires passion. It requires surrender.

For some of you, this poem may awaken nightmares of a 12th grade Literature class. For others, it will inspire you to write your own poems. For many, it will simply inspire worship:

“Batter my heart, three-personed God; for you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise and stand, o’erthrow me, and bend
Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new. 
I, like an usurped town, to another due, 
Labor to admit you, but O, to no end; 
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend, 
But is captive, and proves weak or untrue, 
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain, 
But am betrothed unto your enemy. 
Divorce me, untie or break that knot again; 
Take me to you, imprison me, for I, 
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free, 
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me” (John Donne, Escape Routes).

“It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When he had said this, he breathed his last” (Luke 23:44-46, NIV).

I was reminded tonight of something I had heard a long time ago but had forgotten. When Jesus was on the cross, one of His seven last sayings was reciting a bedtime prayer taught to Him by His parents.

“Into your hands, I commit my spirit.”

It’s originally from Psalm 31:5, followed by “deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.”

It was more than merely a declaration that Jesus was about to die; it was a prayer of complete obedience and trust in the Father to the end.

It’s also a good prayer for those of us who follow Jesus in these very uncertain times. It’s a declaration of our dependence and a way of owning up to the fact that we can’t control anything in this life.

If God didn’t hold my world in place at every moment, it would fly apart and take me with it. If God didn’t hold me in His sustaining grace at every second, I’d fall away in a heartbeat.

“Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit.”

It’s a statement of surrender to a faithful God who keeps all His promises at all times to all His people. It’s a testimony of trust in God who bids storms cease and sickness to depart.

“Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.”

I was listening to a podcast today that dealt with faith themes. One of the threads running through the entire day’s conversation was about the love of God.

Specifically, love as defined by Tim Keller would seek the absolute best of the beloved at all times. That love wouldn’t let anything get in the way of the beloved’s best.

In terms of God, He won’t let anything get in the way of seeing His best for us come to fruition. He won’t let anything stand in the way of us becoming our best selves as God intended. He won’t let anything separate us from His love. Not even death.

If the worst case scenario of death can’t defeat God’s purpose for us, what else can? Absolutely nothing. Not any tragedy or natural disaster or pandemic. Not tornados, not floods, not earthquakes, not COVID-19. Nothing.

For those who are in the middle of a bad day or week and feel like giving up due to all the stress and anxiety, not even that can thwart God’s plan or stop Him loving us.

If you ever go back and re-read a favorite novel or watch a favorite movie, it does make the more suspenseful parts easier to handle when you already know the ending. If you’ve read Revelation 21-22, you know the ending of God’s story is a happy one, so that makes all the dark days and difficulties a little less dark and difficult if you know that they must one day end.

It’s not about my love for God that will sustain me but God’s love for me that gets me through.

It turns out that my iPad purchase came at just the right time. Plus I got a really good deal.

I went on Facebook Market and found someone selling his iPad Pro right at the very beginning of the whole coronavirus pandemic. I was able to meet him at a coffee shop and make the purchase.

Since I bought it, I’ve used it to stream movies and videos. More importantly, since my church has gone to online services, I’ve been able to stay connected on Sundays.

It still feels surreal. I keep expecting to wake up and find everything back to normal. I’m reminded of Jesus’ words that in this world you will have trouble. Not might have or maybe could have, but will have. It’s a guarantee.

But also guaranteed is Jesus’ promise that He has overcome the world. He’s with us in the midst of those troubles.

One of my favorite recent movie lines is “Everything will be fine in the end. If it’s not fine, it’s not the end.”

I think I’ll bear that in mind as I keep hoping and trusting God in the days and weeks to come.

“The heart is stretched through suffering, and enlarged. But O the agony of this enlarging of the heart, that one may be prepared to enter into the anguish of others!…The cross as dogma is painless speculation; the cross as lived suffering is anguish and glory. Yet God, out of the pattern of his own heart, has planted the cross along the road of holy obedience. And he enacts in the hearts of those he loves the miracle of willingness to welcome suffering and to know it for what it is – the final seal of his gracious love” (Thomas R. Kelly, Rich in Years).

Lord, may all your children always be granted the miracle of willingness in whatever you ask of us. Help us to daily practice surrender as we lay down our own desires to make room for Your own desires to grow deep in our hearts.

Amen.

“The image Jesus left with the world, the cross, the most common image in the Christian religion, is proof that God cares about our suffering and pain. He died of it. Today the image is coated with gold and worn around the necks of beautiful girls, a symbol of how far we can stray from the reality of history. But it stands, unique among all religions of the world. Many of them have gods. But only one has a God who cared enough to become a man and to die” (Philip Yancey, Where Is God When It Hurts?).

The cross is more than a fashion statement. It’s more than a symbol of the religion of Christianity.

The cross represents the worst of humanity, and one of its most brutal and degrading ways to execute a human being. All you need to see a glimpse of what a crucifixion was really like is to watch Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, which comes closest to capturing the gory reality but still falls short of the graphic nature of dying on a cross.

God knows and understands our suffering. He knows and understands death. He is not unaware of His people who cry out to him day and night.

Because of the cross and the resurrection, COVID-19 will not have the final say. Death and the grave will not have the final word.

When we celebrate Easter Sunday in a few weeks, we celebrate that not that God wins but that God has already won. Death, hell, the grave, he coronavirus, AIDS, cancer, all other illnesses, and anything else this world can throw up against us, have been forever defeated.

“So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:

They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.
We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us” (Romans 8:31-39, The Message).

See how the majestic tiny panther takes her rest after a hard day of self-quarantining. She practiced her social distancing and apparently, it was quite exhausting.

She refuses to open her eyes until the weekend officially starts.

I can’t say that I blame her.

“A seed only flourishes by staying in the ground in which it is sown. When you keep digging the seed up to check whether it is growing, it will never bear fruit. Think of yourself as a little seed planted in rich soil. All you have to do is stay there and trust that the soil contains everything you need to grow. This growth takes place even when you do not feel it” (Henri Nouwen).

It helps if you think of this season of self-quarantining and social distancing as a time of waiting. It’s a time where God is saying to us, “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations.”

Sometimes, it’s good to stop and reflect. Even so, many of us will never take the time to pause unless we’re forced to stop. Either you pick a time to rest or your body will pick it for you, as I heard it said before.

Lately, it feels like life has hit the pause button on the Celestial Remote. You can’t rush and hurry when there’s nowhere to go.

May we all use this time as a time as a sacred pause, a time to learn again how to discern the voice of God. I in particular need all the practice and help I can get for hearing God speak to me.

But this is the season for it. May we use our time wisely in this season so that we may be better image-bearers of God when the normal resumes.