A Life Worthy

Tag: trust in God

  • One-a-Day Thursday, 7/3/14

    number 1My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.  But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me (Psalm 131:1-2).

    I mentioned this Psalm in a post a couple of weeks ago, but it’s still on my heart.  The image is so powerful—a small child walking quietly along, holding his mother’s hand and going wherever she leads.  The child is not worried about where they are going or when they will get there or how they will pay the rent or who will be President.  Mom is there, and so all is well.  And that’s all that matters.

    God is here.

    Isn’t that all that matters?

    Take his hand today, Beloved.  Walk quietly with him, content that he is here, and so all is well.

    Breathe deeply, and have a peaceful Thursday.

  • One-a-Day Monday 6/30/14

    number 1

    Lately I’ve noticed a lot of anxiety in the hearts around me.  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.

  • One-a-Day Thursday 4/3/14

    number 1Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).

    But I like my own understanding.  It makes sense, sorta…to me, anyway.  God’s ways, as he has pointed out, are not mine.  He doesn’t think the same way I do, and that frightens me.

    I once did one of those challenge courses at a camp.  The counselor people put me into a safety harness, and then I had to shimmy up a 30 ft. pole, balance on the 12-inch platform on top, and…leap.  The harness and rope would lower me gently to the ground, or so I was told.  I just had to trust the harness.

    With all my heart…and skull…and various internal organs.

    My own understanding told me that I was going to die.  In great, unrelenting pain.  My own understanding made perfect sense…and was completely wrong.  I climbed, I balanced, I trusted, I leapt, and the harness held me.

    God is ever so much stronger than a nylon harness.  So why do I have so much trouble trusting him?

    He has a straight path for us to walk.  The problem is that it doesn’t always look straight when seen in the funhouse mirrors we like to call reality.  Which is why we have to trust him, to believe that he has us on his mind, in his heart, and under his protection.  Essentially, you have to believe that the God of the Universe, who created time itself and loved you enough to die for you, knows what’s best and wants what’s best.

    So…do you?

  • Preparation

    Nuclear BlastThe end of the world came last week.  Again.

    It was a disappointment.  Again.

    Not as disappointing as, say, the Mayan Calendar thing.  Not nearly as unsatisfying as Y2K.   Nowhere near the level of the promised Zombie Apocalypse that just never seems to arrive.

    Still, I’m left feeling a certain sense of betrayal. (more…)