…so, here’s the thing, God — just thank You for spreading Your protecting shield over us at the end of the day. [us]… You cover [us] with favor as with a shield.” Psalm 5 Just, really — thank You for shielding us tonight, so we can rest and not be worriers — because You are our protecting Warrior. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
‘Give all your worries & cares to God, for He cares about you’ 1 Peter 5:7 (Ann Voskamp).
It’s easy to glibly quote the line from that famous song, “Don’t worry, be happy” when someone else is having a season of anxiety. Saying words is cheap.
But when it’s you facing fear head on, it’s another matter.
Sometimes, anxiety makes praying almost impossible. It’s hard to whisper supplications to God when it’s all you can do to breathe in and breathe out.
But the Bible says that the Holy Spirit can take even our groans and sighs when we can’t find the words and turn those into just the right words to reach the Father’s ears.
We have God’s promise that all things will work together for good. Not just the overall big picture but every little detail will fit perfectly into God’s design.
It’s not always possible to simply stop feeling fear or worry. But we can pray through it. We can trust through it. We can see that all fear has an expiration date and that hope is just on the other side. And God is with us through it all.
Another piece of Nashville history is going away. In short order, the Hickory Hollow Mall will be demolished to make away for something different (supposedly similar to 100 Oaks Mall for those who live in the area). I have so many good memories from this place from back when I was in high school.
To give a bit of context, the family used to travel up to Middle Tennessee for the summers back when I was young. We’d stay at our property in Christiana, but periodically, we’d trek into Nashville and visit this mall. Those were good days.
I remember they had possibly the best food court ever of any mall in existence. Of course, I’ve only been to 10 malls, tops, so that’s not based on much. But the food court was amazing.
I also remember I had my list of places I HAD to visit during any trip to the mall. Of course, I’d go by Waldenbooks and the music store (which I can’t remember the name of at this particular moment). I’d also make a point to drop by the Family Christian Bookstore.
I had heard that the members of DC Talk liked to hang out at this mall. Or maybe they went there once. Or possibly they shot a music video there at one point. Whatever. I kept thinking I was going to run into them randomly and have my brief moment of fame.
For those of you old enough to remember malls in the 80s, there was a whole mall vibe. You could literally spend the whole day without batting an eye. I even fantasized about getting locked in the mall overnight and having free access to roam around (that was before I saw the movie Dawn of the Dead where flesh-eating zombies invade a mall).
I know this mall has been basically dead for a while now. The last time I was there it was like a ghost town (if ghost towns were all indoors and had stores instead of buildings). It was sad. But knowing that it won’t physically be there hurts my heart a little and makes me a little sad.
RIP to the Hickory Hollow Mall. You were good while you lasted. Thanks for all the memories.
I could see myself living here in my twilight years after I retire and move to the country. A small cabin like this would just fit the bill.
I used to think I wanted a big mansion like the one in the movie Home Alone. By the way, what did that Dad do to be able to afford a home like that and all those tickets to Paris? Now that I’ve grown up, that’s what I think about while watching all of Kevin McAllister’s hijinks.
But I think my tastes have grown simpler as I’ve aged. I think a good front porch with a rocking chair would suit me just fine.
This is most likely a repeat, but it’s worth reading again. It’s from The Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers that is one of the best books I have ever read outside of the Bible:
“O God of Grace, Thou hast imputed my sin to my substitute, and hast imputed his righteousness to my soul, clothing me with bridegroom’s robe, decking me with jewels of holiness. But in my Christian walk I am still in rags; my best prayers are stained with sin; my penitential tears are so much impurity; my confessions of wrong are so many aggravations of sin; my receiving the Spirit is tinctured with selfishness. I need to repent of my repentance; I need my tears to be washed; I have no robe to bring to cover my sins, no loom to weave my own righteousness; I am always standing clothed in filthy garments, and by grace am always receiving change of raiment, for thou dost always justify the ungodly; I am always going into the far country, and always returning home as a prodigal, always saying, Father, forgive me, and thou art always bringing forth the best robe. Every morning let me wear it, every evening return in it, go out to the day’s work in it, be married in it, be wound in death in it, stand before the great white throne in it, enter heaven in it shining as the sun. Grant me never to lose sight of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, the exceeding righteousness of salvation, the exceeding glory of Christ, the exceeding beauty of holiness, the exceeding wonder of grace” (The Valley of Vision – A collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, Edited by Arthur Bennett).
“Elijah was suicidal. Job wished he was never born. David was depressed. Moses was anxious. Hannah was barren. Paul was in prison. Jacob was a cheater. Peter had a temper. David had an affair. Noah got drunk. Jonah ran away from God. Paul was a murderer. Gideon was insecure. Miriam was a gossip. Martha was a nervous wreck. Thomas was a doubter. Sarah was impatient. Moses had a speech impediment. Zaccheus was short. Abraham was old. Lazarus was dead.
God can take the most sinful, weakest, unworthy, unequipped person and do miraculous things through them for His glory. Why couldn’t he use you to do the same? (Unknown)”
As the old saying goes, God doesn’t call the qualified, but He qualifies the called. In other words, God chooses the foolish and weak to shame the wise and the strong. He chooses those who are nobodies over those in the Fortune 500 list.
If God has put a calling on your life, what He wants is your obedience. He will give you everything you need to fulfill God’s purpose on you. Above any kind of skillset or talents you posses, what God wants more than anything else is you — your heart, your very self.
If God can use all the characters in the Bible in the list above, then He can certainly use you. So what’s your excuse?
“Even if today didn’t go as planned, Lord and if it’s not at all what we hoped, and if “we’re* not yet quite what we hoped, and if life’s not unfolding to our Plan A and if it’s not even close to Plan B and if the diagnosis is not great and if the forecast is not good and if not… and if not… and if not… *You still are.* You still are Good & You still are God. And we will be the people who will still… The people who will still rest in it & sing it into the dark: ‘and if not — He is still Good. He is still God… so we can still & be & be at rest'” (Ann Voskamp).
“They say sometimes you win some Sometimes you lose some And right now, right now I’m losing bad I’ve stood on this stage night after night Reminding the broken it’ll be alright But right now, oh right now I just can’t
It’s easy to sing When there’s nothing to bring me down But what will I say When I’m held to the flame Like I am right now
I know You’re able and I know You can Save through the fire with Your mighty hand But even if You don’t My hope is You alone
They say it only takes a little faith To move a mountain Well good thing A little faith is all I have, right now But God, when You choose To leave mountains unmovable Oh give me the strength to be able to sing It is well with my soul
I know You’re able and I know You can Save through the fire with Your mighty hand But even if You don’t My hope is You alone I know the sorrow, and I know the hurt Would all go away if You’d just say the word But even if You don’t My hope is You alone
You’ve been faithful, You’ve been good All of my days Jesus, I will cling to You Come what may ‘Cause I know You’re able I know You can
I know You’re able and I know You can Save through the fire with Your mighty hand But even if You don’t My hope is You alone I know the sorrow, I know the hurt Would all go away if You’d just say the word But even if You don’t My hope is You alone
It is well with my soul It is well, it is well with my soul” (Bart Millard / Ben Glover / Crystal Lewis / David Garcia / Tim Timmons).
I read the following a few days ago and it blew my mind, especially when I got to the end and read the payoff. It’s a bit long, but worth the effort because the answers are so spot on:
“Why did God create evil? The answer struck me to the core of my soul!
A professor at the university asked his students the following question:
– Everything that exists was created by God?
One student bravely answered:
– Yes, created by God.
– Did God create everything? – a professor asked.
‘Yes, sir,’ replied the student.
The professor asked :
– If God created everything, then God created evil, since it exists. And according to the principle that our deeds define ourselves, then God is evil.
The student became silent after hearing such an answer. The professor was very pleased with himself. He boasted to students for proving once again that faith in God is a myth.
Another student raised his hand and said:
– Can I ask you a question, professor?
‘Of course,’ replied the professor.
A student got up and asked:
– Professor, is cold a thing?
– What kind of question? Of course it exists. Have you ever been cold?
Students laughed at the young man’s question. The young man answered:
– Actually, sir, cold doesn’t exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is actually the absence of heat. A person or object can be studied on whether it has or transmits energy.
Absolute zero (-460 degrees Fahrenheit) is a complete absence of heat. All matter becomes inert and unable to react at this temperature. Cold does not exist. We created this word to describe what we feel in the absence of heat.
A student continued:
– Professor, does darkness exist?
— Of course it exists.
– You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness also does not exist. Darkness is actually the absence of light. We can study the light but not the darkness. We can use Newton’s prism to spread white light across multiple colors and explore the different wavelengths of each color. You can’t measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into the world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you tell how dark a certain space is? You measure how much light is presented. Isn’t it so? Darkness is a term man uses to describe what happens in the absence of light.
In the end, the young man asked the professor:
– Sir, does evil exist?
This time it was uncertain, the professor answered:
– Of course, as I said before. We see him every day. Cruelty, numerous crimes and violence throughout the world. These examples are nothing but a manifestation of evil.
To this, the student answered:
– Evil does not exist, sir, or at least it does not exist for itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is like darkness and cold—a man-made word to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is not faith or love, which exist as light and warmth. Evil is the result of the absence of Divine love in the human heart. It’s the kind of cold that comes when there is no heat, or the kind of darkness that comes when there’s no light.
“I dreamed that I stood at that sanctified place Where the Son of God suffered and died. I, standing guilty, out of Adam’s lost race, Watched the innocent One crucified.
I cried out, but not heard for the strong hammer ring. So I forcefully pushed through the crowd. ‘Why this torment?! Stop this unjust suffering!’ But the mockers were boisterously loud.
I grabbed the arm of the soldier with the hammer in tow To put a stop to those crude, wicked men. But I saw that the hammer, with every blow, Was forged from my very own sin.
I made one last attempt through my desperate cries To pull the soldier away from that place. But when I turned him around to look into his eyes, I was looking at my very own face!” (Jim Hatcher).
My takeaway is that Jesus went through all of the cross because of my sin and the sin of everyone else in the world. Jesus saw me at my very worst, and in that moment volunteered to take my place in the punishment that I deserved for my sin, so that I might have the very best of God that rightfully belongs only to Jesus.
“Robert Robinson had been saved out of a tempestuous life of sin through George Whitfield’s ministry in England. Shortly after that, at the age of twenty-three, Robinson wrote the hymn, ‘Come, Thou Fount. Come, Thou Fount of ev’ry blessing, Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise’.
Sadly, Robinson wandered far from those streams and like the Prodigal Son, journeyed into the distant country of carnality. Until one day—he was traveling by stagecoach and sitting beside a young woman engrossed in her book. She ran across a verse she thought was beautiful and asked him what he thought of it. ‘Prone to wander— Lord, I feel it— Prone to leave the God I love’. Bursting into tears Robinson said, ‘Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had then.’
Although greatly surprised, she reassured him that the ‘streams of mercy’ mentioned in his song still flowed. Mr. Robinson was deeply touched. Turning his ‘wandering heart’ to the Lord, he was restored to full fellowship” (Kenneth W. Osbeck, 101 Hymn Stories).
I love a good back story, especially when it comes to how hymns were composed. It’s no coincidence that the very words Robert Robinson penned were exactly the words he needed to hear when he had wandered from his faith. God used his own words to speak to him and woo him back.
God still speaks to us in a variety of ways, but primarily through His word. I think so many of us — me included — will go through the day with our Bibles closed and wonder why we haven’t heard from God.
I remember when I got my very first Bible as a first grader, the pastor wrote in the inside of the cover, “This Book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book.”
How true that has been. We need God’s word and God’s people around us to help us find the way back when we’ve wandered. We may be prone to wander, but God is always faithful to bring His wayward child back.
“Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading. It is a life of faith, not of intellect and reason, but a life of knowing Who makes us ‘go.’ The root of faith is the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest snares is the idea that God is sure to lead us to success.
The final stage in the life of faith is attainment of character. There are many passing transfigurations of character; when we pray we feel the blessing of God enwrapping us and for the time being we are changed, then we get back to the ordinary days and ways and the glory vanishes. The life of faith is not a life of mounting up with wings, but a life of walking and not fainting. It is not a question of sanctification; but of something infinitely further on than sanctification, of faith that has been tried and proved and has stood the test. Abraham is not a type of sanctification, but a type of the life of faith, a tried faith built on a real God. ‘Abraham believed God’ (Oswald Chambers).
I heard a sermon today that talked about trusting beyond knowing. Basically, the idea is that faith goes beyond understanding. If I knew everything and saw the whole picture, I wouldn’t need faith.
But the life of faith is one where you only see the next step in front of you, not the entire path. You have to take that first step in order to see the next one. There is no magic word or secret formula that will allow you to skip the difficult parts or to forego being obedient in the present.
There’s no guarantee that being faithful will always lead to prosperity and blessing. Sometimes, the path of obedience leads through the valley of the shadow of death. But the promise we have is that our Shepherd is with us when we go down that road. His rod and staff will comfort us.
We have no promise of material reward for our obedience. We do know that God is faithful to be with us and to fight for us and to never leave or forsake us. We know that God will provide for every need and He Himself will be our inheritance and our reward.
“When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer” (Corrie ten Boom).
May we sit still and trust our Engineer, no matter where He leads us.
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