Following the Good Shepherd

One of the advantages of blogging is that when I need encouragement for my soul I can go on a search and find it.  Since I know the essence of what I wrote, I can easily go back and peruse around and reread the things that the Lord has ministered to my heart over the years. 

Another advantage of blogging is that I know some of my readers personally - and I know that some of them too are in a season of struggling, discouragement and loss.

So today's post is sharing a "story" of the Good Shepherd.  As I read back through these posts, I saw the threads of connection between them all and what I was reminded of was that we do indeed have a Good Shepherd who is walking in those dark valleys with us.

So if you need encouragement for your soul today follow along this humble path:

360 Vision: Lacking Nothing
Relishing in His Beauty and Grace
Surrounds

Listen to:
Stranger in a Strange Land: I AM the Good Shepherd (audio 114, 3/27/11) 

Music to minister to your soul:
Stay Beside Me: Future of Forestry

In Christ,

Spiritual Editing

One of my favorite characteristics of Jesus is that He is the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).  I have always thought of this as a "future" truth that Jesus is busy writing the next page of my faith... but as a writer, I began to view it more fully.  Whenever I write, I am always going back, making edits, moving paragraphs around, refining what I have said and deepening it.  Thinking about this helped me to realize that editing is a natural and necessary part of the process. 

As I sat before His Word this morning, I felt like I was going in for an edit.  Some rearranging needed to take place in my mind, some clarification and some renewal.  As a human author, I enjoy the process of reworking my words, strengthening what I have said, deleting confusing paragraphs, etc.  As the author of our faith, Jesus uses our time in His presence to edit us.

"Lord, how do you edit our stories?" The process He uses is called grace.  See we are a work of art, an entity. But within our being lies patches of confusion, misunderstanding and chaos. When we come in for an edit the Lord doesn't scratch the whole thing, nor does He get frustrated and disappointed that work needs to be done. Instead, I believe He smiles, grateful that we've come to work with Him and that He actually enjoys the process of filling in the gaps, removing sources of confusion, adding detail and understanding to truths that were already there. 

I know that there have been seasons in my life where I have dreaded going before His Word. Sometimes it has come out of fear of what I might hear.  Other times, it has felt like a lifeless duty. But the more I have grown in understanding God's great love I truly treasure these times in His Word and it has become as necessary for my ability to function as food and water. 

My prayer for this post is: if you've been absent from spending time in His Word for whatever reason that you would see His heart towards you and His call to come:

Matthew 11:28-30

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

In Christ,

 

P.S. If you are looking for a way to get into God's Word check out Daily Prayer.

Part 10: 2013

Romans 14:1

Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do. And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently.

I have lived on both sides of this verse and the end results have been very different.  In my younger years, I thought Christianity was all about being right.  I could argue with people about theological issues for hours and I know that in the process, I hurt people.  In particular, I remember, having a discussion with my younger sister where a group of us were discussing the role psychology and medication played in a Christian's life.  At times, the discussion got heated and for me it was about winning and being right.  Unbeknownst to me at the time, she had been a victim of rape and she was suffering under keeping this a secret from our family.  In hindsight, it is quite obvious to me why she felt she had to carry this burden on her own. My heart has grieved many times over the last 8 years for the ways the spirit of religion  closed the door for her to immediately come to her Christian family and receive love, acceptance and help in her time of need.

Her story has been one of the ways the Lord has slowed my tongue and opened my ears to hear, love and accept other believers.  Unfortunately, it is not the only incidence of missing someone's heart in my passion to be right, but as always, I am thankful that the Lord is a teacher and a Redeemer and as we stop to listen and walk in His ways we are changed by His grace.

As I stop to look back over my past and see what has changed in me, I realize that one of the main things is understanding my security in Christ.  Before, when I'd argue with people, I was arguing from a place of position that was secured in "my truth."  I was sure that I was on God's side about a particular issue and for anyone to rock that boat for me caused panic.  But as God settled my heart in Himself, over and over again, freaking out has become less frequent, though my husband can attest to the fact that I can still get flustered.  But these moments of flustering usually come when I take my eyes of people and I am just trying to be right.  

The understanding that I am secure in Christ because of He first loved me, has opened the door for me to minister to many different women.  As a result, they have taken the time to be vulnerable with me and to tell their story.  With each new story I hear, an increasing ferocity for protection of these precious hearts rises up in me.  They don't need to be brought to the truth through argument rather they need to be treated with love, honor and respect as precious children of God.  I will gladly admit that it is a whole lot harder to love than it is to argue about being right.  But the most "life-change" I've ever seen has come out of the arena of love not the arena of argument.

Once again a quote from Henri Nouwen puts the words I am fighting for in this post into beautiful succinctness:

In solitude we can listen to the voice of Him who spoke to us  before we could speak a word, who healed us before we could make any gesture to help, who set us free long before we could free others, and who loved us long before we could give love to anyone.  It is in this solitude that we discover that being is more important than having, and that we are worth more than the results of our efforts.  In solitude we discover that our life is not a possession to be defended, but a gift to be shared.  It's there we recognize that the healing words we speak are not just our own but are given to us; that the love we can express is part of a greater love; and that the new life we bring forth is not a property to cling to, but a gift to be received. (from Mornings with Henri Nouwen).

So remember:

In Christ,

P.S. If you have been a victim of rape, first of all I am truly sorry.  If you have never spoken out, please find a trusted friend to open up to.  You can read and listen to my sister's story at that link.  While she never received justice from her perpetrators, she has opened and continues to open wide the door in the political realm for victims.

Relishing in His Goodness and Beauty

I feel like I'm having an "epiphany" of sorts.  Some of my ways of thinking are being shaped, squished and reformed all at once by various sources.  However, as I step back and reflect on it all, I see the fingerprints of God all over this reshaping.

I don't know if you've ever experienced something like this, but I feel like half of myself is stepping away and evaluating my other half.  I am watching "how I've lived" in my thought life and I'm asking if this has been the right way or if perhaps there is a better way.  The "how I've lived" has been shaped by a quiet fear of the unknown, fear of everything suddenly crashing down and as a result even in the moments of great joy, I find myself holding back a little back because I somehow think that if I get too excited it might all fall apart.  So my thought process is, "If I don't get too high in my enjoyment, then when I fall it won't hurt so much." As I step back from these thoughts and evaluate them, I realize that I am allowing the unknown, the fear of the future steal my present joy.

In my edge of the world, spring has managed to sneak through on a few days and on one absolutely gorgeous day, I was on a run when I was struck by the beauty that surrounded me - the green grass, the beautiful blue sky, the singing birds, the cool breeze and the frogs croaking in the pond.  It was one of those moments of complete joy, where at the same time I found myself hesitating from entering in and then I questioned myself, "If the ratio of God's goodness and beauty far exceeds the moments of evil and sadness, why do I find myself more occupied with the thoughts and fears of evil than resting in the beauty of God's grace, goodness and beauty that constantly surrounds?"

The day after I asked myself this question, I was bombarded (in a good way) by Scripture and I was overwhelmed as I saw the invitation of God to live not in a place of constantly being prepared for the bottom to drop out, but rather being able to relish in His goodness:

from Psalm 139:

You encompass me behind and before

and lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

so high I cannot attain it.

from Psalm 146:

The Lord looses those that are bound;

the Lord opens the eyes of the blind; the Lord lifts up

those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous...

the Lord shall reign forever.

from Isaiah 61:

To give them a garland instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness instead of mourning,

the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit, that

they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord,

that he may be glorified.

from Proverbs 4:

I have taught you the way of wisdom;

I have led you in the paths of uprightness.

When you walk, your step will not be hampered;

and if you run, you will not stumble.  Keep hold of instruction;

do not let go; guard her for she is your life...

the path of the righteous is like the light of the dawn, which shines

brighter and brighter until full day.

from Luke 1:

This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham:

to set us free from the hands of our enemies, free to worship without fear,

holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our lives.

from Exodus 15:

In your unfailing love, O Lord, 

you lead the people whom you have redeemed. And by

your invincible strength you will guide

them to your holy dwelling.

You will bring them in and plant them, O Lord,

in the sanctuary which your hands have established.

from 1 Peter 2:

For you were going astray like sheep, but

now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

These Scriptures overwhelmed me with the grace of God and His promises to lead and guide His people.  I realized that I am unable to contain the glory of God in my small meager self - it far, far exceeds any capacity that I have.  Yet that inability does not disqualify me from being able to drink it in and relish in His goodness.

During Lent, my pastor gave each person a seed to remind us about who we are in Christ.  As I've held that seed in my hand and reflected on it, I've continued to feel more layers fall off of "trying to be" something for God; that burden is too heavy.  However, the ability to solely respond to the glory of God and to soak it in as a plant soaks in the sun is a beautiful and freeing.  That is what I see, that is what I feel as I read these verses over and over.  Freedom to be, to live in a place of joy held by the shepherd and guardian of my soul.

In Christ,

For more thoughts on this theme check out my other posts:
Worrying
360 Vision: Not Lacking Anything
Being Changed by Contentment

Part 9: 2013

Romans 13:12-13 
The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can’t afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don’t loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!

"Be up and awake to what God is doing!"

After a week like this week in the news media (Boston Marathon, Kermit Gosnell), it is easy to be discouraged thinking that the evilness of man is somehow winning in this world.  That is what I initially think when I look at the news, but then I stop and I'm once again reminded that God moves in the smalls of this world and in His infinite wisdom He remains patient and confident that His ways will continue to turn this world right-side up.

Psalm 11 asks: "When the foundations are being destroyed, what are the righteous supposed to do?" (Psalm 11:3 NIV).  This Psalm used to frustrate me because I felt like it left a direct question unanswered in a direct way.  However, when I look at it again I see that it calls us to fix our eyes on Him and what He is up to:

Psalm 11 (MSG)

I’ve already run for dear life

    straight to the arms of God.

So why would I run away now

    when you say,

“Run to the mountains; the evil

    bows are bent, the wicked arrows

Aimed to shoot under cover of darkness

    at every heart open to God.

The bottom’s dropped out of the country;

    good people don’t have a chance”?

4-6 But God hasn’t moved to the mountains;

    his holy address hasn’t changed.

He’s in charge, as always, his eyes

    taking everything in, his eyelids

Unblinking, examining Adam’s unruly brood

    inside and out, not missing a thing.

He tests the good and the bad alike;

    if anyone cheats, God’s outraged.

Fail the test and you’re out,

    out in a hail of firestones,

Drinking from a canteen

    filled with hot desert wind.

7 God’s business is putting things right;

    he loves getting the lines straight,

Setting us straight. Once we’re standing tall,

    we can look him straight in the eye.

This Psalm solidifies that God is firmly established on His throne and He is well aware of what is happening in the world.  The question when we see the evil in the world is not what is God doing about it but rather the question is do we believe that God knows what He is doing when He asks us to love, to pray for our enemies,and to do good even when evil is what we get in return?  Does His way really work?

If we answer yes to those questions, it leaves us with one more question - How do we walk this out? The answer circles us back to the end of the first verses Romans 13:14: "Dress yourself in Christ!"  Scripture after scripture tell us how to dress in Christ (if you would like a list of 11 of them click on my post called Spiritual Wardrobe).  These small choices we make everyday are those investments that yield great returns in the spiritual realm.

I will leave you with a final thought from Henri Nouwen from Mornings with Henri J.M. Nouwen:

The mystery of life is that the Lord of life cannot be known except in and through the act of living.  Without the concrete and specific involvements of daily life we cannot come to know the loving presence of him who holds us in the palm of his hand.  Our limited acts of love reveal to us his unlimited love.  Our small gestures of care reveal his boundless care.  Our fearful and hesitant words reveal his fearless and guiding Word.  It is indeed through our broken, vulnerable, mortal ways of being that the healing power of the eternal God becomes visible to us.  Therefore, we are called each day to present to our Lord the whole of our lives - our joys as well as our sorrows, our successes as well as failures, our hopes as well as fears.

In Christ,


This is part 9 in a 13 part series: 13 Inspirational Thoughts for 2013.