A Life Worthy

Looking around, I see a lot of anxious hearts.  Therefore, this week’s One-a-Days have a theme: Rest in Him.

The Lord your God is with you; he is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.  (Zephaniah 3:17).

There’s a whole lot of great theology packed into this verse.  Walk through it with me, would you?

The Lord your God is with you The God of the Universe, he who created everything—by which I mean everything—with his spoken word, is on your side.  He wants you to succeed; he wants you to prosper.

He is mighty to save  This one who is on your side is the Lord of the Universe.  He has the power to protect you, to care for you.  Look, I love you, my friend, but what can I do?  God, on the other hand—when he says he’ll protect you, you know you’re protected.

He will take great delight in you  This same Lord of the Universe we’re talking about?  He doesn’t just love you.  He likes you.  He delights in you.  You, Beloved.  You make his heart sing.

He will quiet you with his love  God’s love has the power to calm that stressed out heart of yours.  I remember when my kids were little. Sometimes they would be upset, and I could scoop them up into my arms, hold them close, and feel their anxiety melt away.  God wants to do that with you, Beloved.

He will rejoice over you with singing   You.  Your Father is filled with joy over you.

Notice, nothing is said about how much you deserve all this—or don’t—so get the self-incrimination out of the way.  Just read the words—two or three or ten times—and let them sink deep.  Let him quiet you with his love this morning.

Happy Monday, Beloved.

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me (Matthew 16:24).

There is a man in my area who has a cross.  It’s a full-size, heavy, wooden cross, very authentic looking except for the wheel at the base.  This man, as far as I can tell, spends his days walking the highways and byways, sharing the gospel without saying a word.  To see him dragging that cross along the road is surprising, and comforting, and yet a little disturbing.  It’s a reminder that I do not always appreciate.  All of which is probably why he does it.

I admire the man, though I doubt that this is what Jesus meant in the above passage.  I kinda wish he had.  I mean, as tough as dragging that piece of wood undoubtedly is, it’s cake compared to the cross Jesus is talking about.

The cross of self-denial.

The cross of it’s not about me.

The cross of true humility.

What does your cross look like today, Beloved?  What will it mean for you to deny yourself so that you can be with Him?  Your cross will look different from mine, but it will be heavy all the same.  And yet…the reward.

To follow him.

To walk with Christ.

No matter how big, how ugly, how brutal your cross may be, his grace will enable you to lift it.  He wouldn’t tell you to do it otherwise.

Trust him…he’s earned it.

Heave-ho, Beloved.

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think more highly of yourself than you ought… (Romans 12:3).

“Yes, but I deserve…”

Dangerous words.

I can’t tell you how many times those words, or at least that spirit, has flashed through my mind when I had the opportunity to help/serve/love someone.  If it’s going to take any sacrifice on my part, my brain immediately jumps to reasons that I shouldn’t have to do it, why I deserve better…or at least why I deserve recognition for my noble sacrifice.

And then, if I’m lucky, I remember.

It’s not about me.

This verse comes right after Paul’s urging to offer ourselves, “As living sacrifices,” and to be, “Transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  The thread here seems to be that if we belong to God and he is truly at work in us, we will be able to see ourselves as we really are, with eyes that are unclouded by pride and self.

In those moments, when God allows me to see myself as I really am, I dare not utter the words, “I deserve…”

Because I know what I deserve…and it ain’t recognition for my noble sacrifice.

Take a good look at yourself today, Beloved.  You don’t deserve much, and yet you are worth everything.

And so is that person God is calling you to serve.

…he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities (Psalm 103:10).

It’s called Grace.

Don’t try to analyze it

Or quantify it

Or codify it.

Not today, Beloved.

Today, just receive it.  Just breathe it in and know that it is yours.

Because you are his.

Happy Friday, Beloved

Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not his benefits—who forgives all your sins, and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your strength is renewed like the eagle’s ( Psalm 103:5).

Once upon a time I ran a marathon.

Well, I kinda ran-walked-stumbled-crawled a marathon.

Anyway, as I ran I had Isaiah 40:36 going through my head: Those who hope in the Lord shall renew their strength.  They shall mount up on wings like eagles.  They shall run and not grow weary.  They shall walk and not faint.

It was one of those verses that rang hollow in the moment, as I dry heaved by the side of the road and watched a 90+ year-old woman race-walk past me.  And yet, in the big picture, it was true.  I finished the race.  I knew strength that was obviously beyond my own.  I didn’t die, though I kinda felt like I had.

Sometimes he gives you the strength to fly.  Sometime it’s just the strength to take another step.  Or crawl another…crawlie step.  But make no mistake, Beloved—that strength comes from the One who loves you, and it is enough.

Maybe just barely, but enough.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved.