Trust Me

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

Sometimes life can be hard to understand. There are inconveniences and then there are real problems. It’s when the real problems occur that our faith in God and our obedience to his Word are put to the test. Problems like the loss of a job with a family to feed, a marriage that is falling apart or a sickness to which medical science says there is no cure. It’s at those times, when we sometimes panic and frantically try to find solutions to our problems and how we can fix them. We pray, but we don’t always trust God to take care of it, at least not the way we want him to.

I’ve discovered that I have felt this way lately. I would probably never have admitted that I didn’t trust God, but I realize I haven’t fully put my trust in him concerning my dad. My dad has been sick with ALS for about a year and half. Over the past few months, the progression has happened rather quickly. To tell the truth, it’s scary. To see him go from a healthy, active man to being confined to a wheelchair not able to do anything for himself has been heartbreaking. My family and I along with countless others have prayed so much for him, but he has only gotten worse.

I’ve questioned God’s faithfulness. I’ve always believed God’s word is true, yet I couldn’t understand if he was faithful, why my dad was suffering so much. Why my mom, who has always loved and trusted God, has to be physically, mentally and emotionally burdened with this tremendous job of caring for my dad. I have tried to figure out where I was failing. As if it all depends on me. Was I praying wrong? Was I not praying enough? Was my faith not strong enough? Was there doubt in my prayers that God would heal him? What else could I do?

Then God spoke to my spirit, “trust me.” You see, I didn’t quite understand God’s faithfulness. His faithfulness doesn’t mean he will always come through exactly the way we want Him to. Does every disappointment we face mean that God is less faithful? Absolutely not! God will be true to his plan and his promises and he will continue to work in our lives. Now, I don’t believe for a minute that this suffering is God’s perfect plan for my dad. Even so, I felt God telling me to place my dad in his hands and stop trying to figure everything out. He reminded me that he loves my dad and my mom more than I do. Although I don’t understand, that is what faith is all about. It’s about trusting God and his word even when we don’t understand. Things don’t always make since to us, but God’s ways and thoughts are higher than ours. Isaiah 55:9.

Even when God allows trials that seem unbearable, he remains the same, and we can still trust him. We have to make that choice. “All he does is just and good, and all his commandments are trustworthy. They are forever true, to be obeyed faithfully and with integrity.” Psalm 111:7-8.

We always need to remember that this world is not our home. God is an eternal God and his thoughts are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 says “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal.”

Our troubles may not seem light to us. Sometimes they are more than we can bear. But if we put our trust in Jesus, they will pale in comparison to our final reward: a home in heaven with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Keep the Peace

Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God. Mathew 5:9

I am the youngest of five. My role in our family was often the role of peacekeeper. My brother and sister who are just older than I am laugh about it now. Growing up, they fought all the time. I couldn’t stand it. I always tried to get them to stop fighting and make up. It would upset me when they fought. Steve is able to ignore it when Nathan and Sophie fuss, but it drives me nuts!
I crave peace. I don’t like confrontations, and I don’t like fighting. I know some people who love to stir up trouble and only seem to be happy when they are. To me that’s so sad. It’s also against what the word of God teaches. Proverbs 6: 15-19 says that the Lord detests “a person who sows discord among brethren.” Other translations read “a person who stirs up conflict in a community or family.”
On the other hand, Psalm 34:14 says “Turn from evil and do good: seek peace and pursue it.” It is not enough just to want peace. There are two action verbs in this verse: seek and pursue. This leaves the ball in our court. We are to strive for peace. What does that look like? Don’t initiate an argument with accusations or fault finding. We should be careful with words and actions so that we don’t cause strife and anger. When we do have an argument with someone, be the first to apologize. Always be willing to talk things out. If the strife is between people you love, don't’ take sides. Use wisdom and help them find a peaceful way to resolve the conflict. If you can’t or shouldn’t get involved, (again use wisdom) pray for them. We should also ask God regularly to check our hearts and confess any sin. This will help us have inner peace as well.
Sometimes peace with a certain person may not be easy to accomplish. We can’t control the actions of another person. God knows that too. Romans 12:18 says “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” See God knows that we are going to encounter difficult people. He does not expect us to change them. That is His job. He does expect us to do our best to live at peace. That doesn’t mean that we are to sweep things under the rug or ignore sin. It means that we are to act and speak with wisdom and in love so that peace remains present in our hearts and in our relationships.
We all want peace...don't we? Be an instrument of peace. Pursue it!

Control Yourself!

So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.  1 Peter 1:13

If you have ever been in a moment of sheer frustration or emotional distress (and haven't we all), you know it can sometimes be hard to think clearly. Whether it is an argument with a spouse, a child who is disobeying or an injustice by a stranger, our emotions can get the best of us. This verse is a very wise verse. 
Think clearly. When we feel the emotions getting too intense, we need to take a moment to clear our mind. Emotions like anger, jealousy, extreme sadness or even moments of excitement can cause us to jump to conclusions, make wrong decisions and get us in a mess. When we find ourselves in situations that challenge our rational thought pattern, we must override the emotion and think clearly. Use our heads. Obey God. Our hearts can be misleading when ruled by our emotions.
Sometimes, we don’t think clearly when we have been entertaining thoughts or actions that are not godly. We allow Satan to skew the truth, and we must not entertain thoughts that are harmful to our spirits, our families and our lives. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” In other words, if it doesn’t line up with God’s Word, don’t think it.
Exercise self-control. This part of the verse is much easier to obey if we have done the first part.  When we think clearly, we are more likely to have self-control. Self control keeps us from saying and doing things we will regret. “Running off at the mouth” and saying hurtful things don’t happen when we practice self-control. Giving in to temptation and falling prey to sin doesn’t happen when we think clearly and exercise self-control. Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. If we have been saved, then we have self-control. We just have to learn to use it. This verse is all about using wisdom. Proverbs 12:16 says, “A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted.” 12:18 says, “Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing.” 13:16 “Wise people think before they act; fools don’t.” 14:16 “The wise are cautious and avoid danger; fools plunge ahead with reckless confidence.” There are many other verses that connect this verse with wisdom. So let’s use wisdom. Let’s think clearly and exercise self-control.

It's a Daily Walk, Not a Sunday Talk

My Aunt Bertha was my hero of the faith.  She exuded joy and had an evident love for her savior, Jesus Christ.  She never tired of encouraging others with the word of God.  One of the statements I remember her saying often has stuck with me through the years. Speaking of the Christian life and the faith and commitment it takes to follow Jesus Christ, she would say, "It's a daily walk, not a Sunday talk."  Thus, the title of this blog.  ("A Daily Walk" was taken!)  The last time we carried on a normal conversation was on Thanksgiving a month before she died.  Although she was not well, she was the one encouraging me.  This time it was about writing.  She had just read an article I had written, and she wanted to make sure I would continue writing.  She wanted me to write a book, but for now, maybe this blog will do.