Category: A Life Worthy

Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. (Psalm 71:20).

Sometimes life is hard.

In case you hadn’t noticed.

I’ve noticed recently that several people in my life are going through brutally difficult times.

And I have a fairly small life.

So much pain.  So much sorrow.  So much fear.  Sometimes I’m even afraid to pray for these people because I get caught up in it, swept up in it, and I feel like their pain will pick me up and carry me away.  And I want to help, but I know that there’s nothing I can do because I’m just Michael, and that’s really not so very much.

But then I read this verse.  I think back on yesterday’s verse.  I remember the troubles, many and bitter, that God has brought me through.  I remember that I am restored.

Redeemed.

And I know that, as painful as these times are, they are not eternal.

They may feel eternal…but that is a lie.

What is eternal, Beloved of Christ, is you.

And Him.

And you and him.

So remember, dear friend, that you are a child of promise.  And that promise is as strong and sure and certain as the One who made it.

He will lift you up.  Believe it.

If it helps…I’ll believe it with you.

Or for you.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved.

 

Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.  Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come (Psalm 71:17-18).

A life spent with him.

Do you remember when you first came to Christ?  I was nineteen years old, living all alone in a cabin in the woods.

Seriously

For the first time everything made sense.  I read my Bible cover to cover within the first month of being saved. I felt a freedom and a strength I had never known.  I was off on an adventure, and I was coming home—all at the same time.

Twenty-many years later, I see the power of his love working in and through me.  I’m not yet the man I want to be, but I have learned the wisdom of Popeye—I yam what I yam, and his grace has not been without effect.

The day is coming when the salt will outweigh the pepper.  My body will be old, though I will probably still act like a six-year-old and make my daughter roll her eyes.  I trust that God will hold me tight even then.  I will get to look back on a life lived with him, and I will pass the torch to my children and theirs knowing that the One who has been faithful to me will continue to work long after he has taken me home.

Kinda cool, when you think about it.  Sorta gives perspective.

It’s Monday, Beloved.

Enjoy the journey.

My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure.  I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign Lord; I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone. (Psalm 71:15-16).

Do you talk about him?

I know that you love him, you trust him, you worship him.

But do you talk about him?

Considering all that he has done for me—you know, forming me in the womb, providing my every breath, saving my soul—it would make sense that I talk about him every day, all the time, to everyone I meet.

But I don’t.

Oh, I talk about him to other Christians, telling them, “How God is working in my life,” because that is safe and expected and makes me look good.  But the nonbeliever, the one who desperately needs to know that there is a God who is real and true and faithful and at work in everyday schmoes like me?

I am often remarkably silent.

Why?  No good reason.

Plenty of reasons…just no good one.

Partly I don’t want to make them uncomfortable, which is silly.  After all, if they don’t know Christ, they need to be uncomfortable.

Partly I don’t want them to think I’m a fool, which is just too pathetic to talk about on a Friday morning.

Partly—and this scares me the most—sometimes God simply does not come to mind.  I am so wrapped up in my daily world that…

Yeah.

I really hope I’m alone in this.  I hope you have no idea what I’m talking about, because you’re out there proclaiming Christ every day, all the time.  I hope you never let your foolish flesh get in the way of God’s work through you.

That is my hope for you today, Beloved.

And my prayer.

(psst…Thanksgiving is coming!  Do you have your copy of Thanksgiving for the Dad Man yet?)

For you have been my hope, O Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth (Psalm 71:5).

Think about it.

It doesn’t say, “You have given me hope.”

Or “You give me reason to hope.”

It says, “You have been my hope.”

God himself is our hope.  He is our confidence.

I gotta tell you…I’m not even sure what that means, but this passage seems to be not about what God does, but about who he is.

I’ve been walking, stumbling, slipping, and striding with Christ for twenty-eight years now.  I can’t count the number of times he has been hope and confidence and joy and strength and peace for me, when there was no earthly reason I should have any of those things.

I can’t count the number of times…but it’s fun to try.

As you head into your day, consider the times that God has supported you, not just with his gifts, but by his very nature.  And praise him, not just for what he does, but for who he is.

Happy Thursday, Beloved.

Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress (Psalm 71:3).

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ love and righteousness.

I dare not trust the sweetest frame

But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand.

All other ground is sinking sand.

All other ground is sinking sand.

Yep.  Stole that one.  But hey, why reinvent the wheel?

Or the Rock?

It’s Tuesday, Beloved.  Hold on tight.

 

(psst…Thanksgiving is coming!  Do you have your copy of Thanksgiving for the Dad Man yet?)

In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame (Psalm 71:1).

Some days he calls me to stand firm, armor gleaming and sword sharp, and do battle in his name.

Some days he calls me to hide myself in him, to pull his protection over me like a child hiding under the blankets, and let him do all the fighting.

Why the difference?  I don’t know for sure.

I do know that if I stood tall all the time, I would probably start thinking that I was doing it on my own.

I’m foolish that way.

So, today I am reminded that there are things out there, both physical and spiritual, that are too big, too strong, too much for me.

But not for the One who loves me.  Not for the One who rescues me.

Beloved, you can’t be strong every day.

And that’s OK.  He doesn’t call you to be strong every day.

He just calls you to be his every day.

Happy Monday, Beloved.

Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness… (James 3:18).

You know, for a long time I’ve been reading this verse wrong.

I thought it said, “Peacemakers who sow peace…”  I figured it was a, “You reap what you sow,” kind of passage.  But that’s not what it says in my Bible.  It says, “Peacemakers who sow in peace…”

So what does that mean?

Well, first of all, James is talking to those who are peacemakers, dedicating themselves to bringing peace between Man and Man as well as between Man and God.  Does that description fit you?

Something to chew on, ya?

Then, James says that they are sowing in peace.  They are not stressed.  They are not striving.  They’re just planting seeds.  I’m not a farmer, but I’ve done a little gardening, and I’ve learned a thing or two.

Thing One: There’s a lot you can do to ensure a good harvest.

Thing Two: There’s a lot you can’t.

Gardening is a lot like farming which is a lot like our spiritual lives.  You prepare the soil, plant good seed, water well, guard against weeds and critters, and trust God for the rest.  If you realize that the harvest is not on your shoulders, that God is ultimately in control of what grows, then you can be at peace, doing your best and trusting God for the outcome.

I’m not saying it’s easy…I’m just saying it is.

So, once again, it all comes back to trusting God. You can no more create spiritual fruit than you can force rutabagas to appear.

Not that you would want to.

You may have noticed that wherever I start with one of these devotions, I end up in the same place—trust God.

I guess I’m kind of a one-trick pony.

Sow in peace, Beloved.  He’s got the harvest covered.

The wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere (James 3:17).

I got a great new app.  It’s called “Sincerity.”  It automatically scrolls through my contacts list, picking names at random.  It then matches each name to one of a list of encouraging Scripture passages.  Once a day, it sends an uplifting message to the people in my life, letting them know that I’m thinking about them, and that I care deeply.

Except I’m not.

And I don’t.

OK, you’re right; there’s no such app.  And if there were, it would be terrible.  But, for a moment, you were thinking, “Hey…”

Weren’t you?

One of my favorite poems is called Psalm of Single-Mindedness, by Joe Bayly.  It begins like this

Lord of reality, make me real.

Not plastic

Synthetic

Pretend

Phony

An actor playing out a part

Hypocrite.

I don’t want to keep a prayer list—I want to pray…

The poem goes on from there, but you get the picture.  It has been my prayer so often that I have a copy of the poem taped to the inside cover of my Bible.

So, Beloved, are you walking into your day fueled by the knowledge of His love and the power of that love to change the lives around you…or are you just saying what you know you’re supposed to say and doing what you know you’re supposed to do?

Don’t rush past this—chew on it for a bit.

There’s no power in going through the motions.

Even if they’re good motions.

May I make a suggestion?  Pray that God would blast through your hypocrisy today.  Pray that he would rub your soul raw, that you might feel this world as he does.  Pray that God would break your heart all over again.

It will be painful, disturbing, dangerous maybe.

But…

Don’t just walk like you mean it, Beloved.

Mean it.

The wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial… (James 3:17).

God doesn’t play favorites.

I do.

Hmm…I oughta do something about that.  Pray for me, would you?

Even if, you know, I’m not one of your favorites.