Category: A Life Worthy

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever (Psalm 73:26).

There’s no “May” about the failing part.

My flesh fails on a daily basis; my heart, at least once per week.

But God is the strength of my heart.

When I am weakened by

my sin,

my failure,

my complete inability to be the husband, the son, the father, the friend, the man he has called me to be,

God is the strength of my heart.

He is my portion.

When I see people around me who always seem to have more,

to do more

to be more

He is my portion.

Forever

Which, frankly, is way beyond my ken.  I’m having enough trouble keeping a calendar for the week.  Still, I like it.

I cling to it.

Forever

So, Beloved…what will God save you from, and through, and for, today?

Happy Wednesday

And earth has nothing I desire besides you (Psalm 73:25b).

Don’t get me wrong.  There are things I like in this world, even things I love.

Mint chocolate chip ice cream

Giant sunflowers

My new hammock

My old chair

The birch trees in my backyard, under which I have hung the new hammock.

Fire

McDonald’s fries

Reruns of Monk  

Those other people I live with

But not one of them–for that matter not all of them–stack up for a moment against Him, now do they?  When it comes to the deep desires, the longings of the heart, the ache in the center of You, there is only One who can satisfy, only One who can meet the need.

Keep that in mind as you move through your Tuesday.  You will be tempted to satisfy your soul with stuff today.  It happens every day.  But whether you buy the latte or the Lamborghini, it won’t be enough.  It won’t fulfill.

But he will.

He is.

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.

…and afterward you will take me into glory (Psalm 73:24b).

This life will not last forever, you know.

I hope that didn’t come as a surprise.

If so…Surprise!

I can’t imagine what glory will be like.

Except…you know…really good.

I hear stories of streets paved with gold, and new bodies with a very low percentage of body fat and virtually no male pattern baldness, and lots of singing and dancing and general delight.

Count me in.

Of course, when it comes right down to it, glory isn’t really about what, or even where.

It’s about Who.

We get to be with him, Beloved.  Literally in his presence.  The One who has formed you and loved you and rescued you and corrected you and taught you and forgiven you and cleansed you and prepared you and preserved you will now be with you.

Forever

Sound good, Beloved?

I agree.

Happy Friday

You guide me with your counsel… (Psalm 73:24a)

I listen to my tax guy.

I listen to my yard guy.

I listen to my car guy.

I listen to my blog guy.

I listen to my chiropractic guy…who’s actually a gal.

Do I listen to my God?

Now there’s a question I have no intention of answering.

Happy Thursday, Beloved.

Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand (Psalm 73:23).

What image comes to your mind when you read this verse?

Is it a child walking quietly with her father, listening and learning and exploring the world?

Is it a hiker stepping across the rocks in a fast-moving stream, holding on to a partner with steady feet and a sure grip?

Is it a bride standing at the altar, taking her husband’s hand as she says, “I do?”

Is it a man old and full of years, breathing his last, holding the hand of the one who has loved him through long years of joy and pain and triumph and loss?

What do you see, Beloved?

It is all these things.

And it is more.

Happy Wednesday.

When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you (Psalm 73:21-22).

It’s amazing how often I’m like a little teeny baby.

Not just the drooling.

No, I mean the part where I don’t get my way so I pout and cry and basically throw a tantrum.  The part where I can lie peacefully in my Father’s arms one moment, and pitch an earth-shattering fit in the next.  The part where I weep and wail and rage against situations I cannot possibly understand.

You know, one of the best Dad lessons I learned was How to Deal With Your Child’s Tantrum.  It goes like this: Let them rage.  When a child throws a tantrum, he is beyond logic.  He is out of control.  He is simply purging all his emotional and spiritual angst into the void.  Chances are, if you let it run and don’t give in to it, the storm will soon be spent and you will find your child once again lying peacefully in your arms.

Or, you can dunk him in a cold tub of water.  Your call.

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.

As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies (Psalm 73:20).

I wonder…

When he returns, will all of this seem like a dream?

Will we blink our eyes, look around, and think, “Wow, that was the weirdest dream!  I dreamed that the world was upside down–evil was called good, and foolishness was considered wisdom.  People boldly proclaimed that there was no God, even though they were surrounded by proof.   They made up their own rules for living and dying and loving and behaving, and they laughed at the laws God had given them.  Whew…I’m glad it was all a dream!”

I wonder…and I hope…and I wait…

Happy Friday, Beloved.

Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin.  How suddenly they are destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! (Psalm 73:18-19)

It may not happen today,

Or even tomorrow,

But it will happen.

And, as much as I sometimes feel that I will relish seeing the wicked get their “just desserts,” I think that when the time comes

I will weep

at the thought of

hearts so hard and

eyes so proud and

minds so willingly deceived that

they trade

life

for death and

darkness

for light and

joy

for despair.

At least I hope so.

Happy Thursday, Beloved

When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny (Psalm 73:16-17).

When you’re frustrated with God, the one place you need to be is the last place you want to be.

In his presence.

I don’t know about you, but when I get frustrated, when I get angry, when I just don’t understand what God is doing, I want to run from him.

No, I take that back.  I do know about you. You’re kinda like me.

Beloved, remember that “perspective” thing we’ve been discussing?  Yeah, well, you find it at the foot of his throne and in the pages of his word.  It’s amazing how some time spent reading and praying through Scripture can clear the dirt out of your eyes and clarify your vision.

I don’t know where your sanctuary is, Beloved.  Perhaps it’s in your garden, or at your kitchen table, or behind the wheel of your car (but please don’t read while you’re driving).  My sanctuary takes the form of creaky green recliner.  Wherever you spend time with your Lord, spend some today.  Ask him to clarify your thinking and focus your vision, so that you can see others–and yourself, for that matter–as he does.  

Because that would be a good thing, ya?

Happy Wednesday, Beloved.

If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed your children (Psalm 73:15).

People are watching.

No, I’m not talking about Creepy McCreeperson stalker types, although you may have to deal with them, as well.  

That’s what you get for being so darn cute.

Once upon a many years ago, I worked the graveyard shift at a grocery store.  I stocked shelves, unloaded trucks, and tried to avoid the tobacco juice my chawing, dipping coworkers left here and there.  One night, in a fit of idiocy, I ran over my own foot with a pallet jack piled high with cases of soup.  There was a sort of popping sensation in my big toe, and then everything started to feel moist and squishy.  My coworkers were not Christians, but they knew that I was.  

Pay attention to that part; it’s important.

The guys were watching to see how I would react to the pain.  They wanted to see if I was going to swear.  The fact that I didn’t, that I kept my composure, made a big impression on them.

(note: Just so you know, my stoicism did not come entirely from a deep level of spirituality.  I was verging on shock and could barely speak my own name.  Besides, one of the guys offered to swear “for me,” and proceeded to scream profanity at the top of his lungs on my behalf.  Kinda ruined the spiritual lesson.)

Get to the point, Michael.

OK, how about this: People are watching you to see if this God stuff is for real.  I’m not saying you shouldn’t be honest about your pain and fear and weakness; I’m saying that how you act and react reflects your relationship with God.

It’s called being a witness, Beloved.

So, you know, be a good one.

Happy Tuesday