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Prayer for a Faith that Never Fails

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment
“Perhaps it is written in the tablets of your eternal purpose that we shall soon end this mortal life and die. It is well if this is so, for then we shall see your face that much sooner and drink gallons of eternal bliss. But if you have appointed for us grey hairs and a long and weary time; only grant us grace that, by infirmity, our faith may never fail us; but when the windows are darkened, may we still look out to see the hope that is to be revealed; and when the grasshopper becomes a burden, still let our strength be as our days, even to the last day.
Amen” (Charles Spurgeon).

The Apostle Paul said that to live is Christ and to die is gain. Both are good. To die is to immediately be in the presence of Jesus and to be free from sin, death, and every form of suffering. But to live is to have one more day here because God still has a purpose for you and a meaning for your life.

To die for the faith is good and noble, but to continually die to self in a million small ways while still living in this world is way more difficult. To hold on to faith in a world that celebrates everything that is contrary to what we believe is hard. It’s like constantly swimming upstream when it would be so much easier to give up and go with the flow, as so many have.

But to hold on and keep believing is to cling to the promise that one day our faith will be made sight. One day we will see all the worship songs we have ever sung come alive in full 3-D 4K Technicolor glory. Whatever heaven is, it will make whatever hardships and loss we experience here seem light and momentary compared to the joy that awaits.

Whether God calls you home or wakes you up for another day, it’s worth celebrating. Either way, you are held and loved. Nothing has the power to remove you from God’s love or harm you apart from God’s sovereign plan that still works all things together for good. No matter what, it’s gonna be a good day.

Trusting in True Love

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

charliebrownisokay

“But for my part I trust in thy true love.
My heart shall rejoice, for thou hast set me free.
I will sing to the Lord, who has granted all my desire” (Psalm 13:5-6).

That’s where I am, folks. My life hasn’t turned out like I thought it would, and that truly is okay. It only means something better’s coming.

I still believe that with all my being. I still believe that God has taken me by a unique path because He has unique blessings in store for me.

Maybe that’s you. Maybe your life hasn’t turned out nearly to be what you’d thought it be at this point. Maybe you haven’t hit those all-important societal markers that tell you that you’ve arrived.

Maybe you don’t have kids. Maybe you’re not married. Maybe you’re (gasp) still living with mom and dad, It’s easy to feel like you’re the world’s biggest failure.

But maybe, just maybe, that’s where God has you for a reason. Maybe, just maybe, you’ve got something special coming and you’re just not ready to receive what God has in store for you right now.

I know that the Bible is replete with stories of people who had to wait for their promise from God. Joseph, Moses, Abraham, and David are just a few out of many. So if you’re waiting, you’re in good company.

The point is that what God has promised to you is truer than your present circumstances. In fact, He is so true to His word that whatever He’s promised is as good as done and you can truthfully say right now that God has “granted all my desire.”

That’s not an easy place to be, waiting on God’s promises. Waiting is never easy. But it is a good place. And always, always worth it.

 

 

 

A Very Random Friday Night

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

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I had the brilliant idea to go contra dancing tonight. I’m still not entirely sure what it involves, but it sounds more than slightly Latin and probably a heck of a lot of fun. It’s called me stepping out of my familiar box into something new.

At least that was the theory.

I input the address into my iPhone and away we went ( me and the ever-so-helpful tiny lady who lives inside my phone and gives directions).

I still managed to miss a turn or two, but still got to my destination by 7:25, exactly like my phone predicted. There were lots of cars, so I felt hopeful.

That was short-lived. I did hear two guys singing “Bye Bye Love”, an Everly Brothers song, but not one you can contra dance to. At least as far as I know.

The sign on the door directed me to another address, thankfully not far from the first one. Again, I input the directions and obeyed the nice lady and got to my appointed destination, filled with renewed hopes.

And a back-up plan. My thought was, “If this doesn’t work, I’m going to Starbucks.”

Yes, I found the place where the contra dancing would take place. I had checkbook in hand. But then I learned it was $20 for the night. So Starbucks and a $4 salted caramel hot chocolate suddenly became very appealing.

Back in the car. New directions. Same helpful and friendly voice.

So I get my little cup of heaven and sat down next to an older gentleman and across from a very pretty college-age girl. It turned out, he was waiting for someone. Me and the girl looked up every time someone walked in. We even exchanged glances when he went out to the parking lot and chatted to someone sitting in a parked car.

No dice. I never did find out who he was waiting for or if he (or she) ever materialized. In the meantime, I finally finished reading The Divine Conspiracy. I left, wishing them both a blessed weekend. It seemed like the right thing to do.

There was no a-ha moment to the night, no epiphany. Just a series of disconnected random events that won’t make any headlines or get talked about around any office water coolers on Monday. Maybe one day it will make sense in terms of my overall story, but right now, it feels like a very artsy postmodern movie with no plot and a very vague ending.

But it was a good night. I stopped and enjoyed the moments and my heavenly drink. It was nice.

And sometimes nice is enough.