The Next Thing

My teachers at Frontier School of the Bible warned me.  They said that we shouldn't be surprised when we teach truths from God's Word and then soon after find ourselves tested on those very same truths.  When I wrote my last post, "The Enticement of Escape," I hadn't felt the way that I described for quite a while.  I could relate to what I was reading in Psalm 55 from past experiences, but it wasn't something that I was particularly struggling with right then. 

Then, more life happened.  We were suddenly bombarded with discouragement and frustration on all sides.  I started really feeling the weight of it all while we were cabin leading for Senior High week at Maranatha Bible Camp.  I told my husband on that Thursday that I felt like I was lugging around a boulder.  My heart was heavy with so many different burdens. I retreated to be alone before God for an hour or so, and He did lift the weight, but my heart was still not completely free from turmoil and exhaustion.  All of it came to a head a few days ago, and I found myself getting angry with God and with my husband again.  I wanted someone to blame.  I wanted to run.

During one of our Grow Groups at camp, the speaker taught about our freedom as believers to choose.  We do not have to be a slave to our circumstances and feelings.  Because of Christ, we can choose to respond differently.  I can choose to trust God even when the stuff of my life doesn't seem to jive with what I think He should do.  I can choose to live in the joy of Christ even when I'm hurting.  I don't always make the right choice.  I need His grace desperately.

Yesterday, God brought me another reminder to free me up again.  In her book, Keep a Quiet Heart, Elisabeth Elliot advises her overwhelmed readers to "just do the next thing."  The first time I received a stack of class syllabuses outlining every single homework assignment required in all of my courses for the year, I nearly had a meltdown.  On top of all of my extra-curricular and church activities, I could not fathom how I could possibly get everything done.  However, I quickly learned that the load wasn't nearly so daunting if I just focused on what needed to be done that day.  I just had to do the next thing. 

I can get so wrapped up in worrying about the future and problems I can't control or change that I forget to look at what's right in front of me.  There's no sense in that kind of thinking.  It reminds me of the little boy I babysit.  He has recently been learning to walk, and he has gotten pretty good at it.  He can walk all over the house.  However, the problem is that he doesn't pay attention at all to his individual steps.  He gets so excited and fixated on where he is going that he is constantly in danger of stumbling over his minefield of toys or slipping on a book and slamming his head on the hard floor.    

God has only given me today: this moment, this step. My assignment is simply to listen to him and just do the next thing.  He will take care of the rest. Giving in to anger and seeking someone to blame doesn't fix anything.  God knows what He is doing.  I have to give Him the load and quit taking it back.  He's walking with me, and He will guide me through - one step at a time.

The Enticement of Escape

            I think most people wonder what it would be like to be able to fly.  I'm not talking about waiting in check-in and security lines for hours at the airport before boarding a large plane along with dozens of other passengers.  Instead, we wish we could just take off like a bird on a whim without relying on any mechanical device.  As a kid, I remember having several dreams where, like Peter Pan, I could simply choose to leave the ground and become airborne whenever and wherever I pleased.  It's no wonder that the power of flight is such a common fantasy, for it appeals to our desires for freedom, adventure, power, and instant gratification.  Beyond all of that, it entices and enchants us with a promise of escape. 

David certainly longed for that escape at times.  In Psalm 55:4-8, he describes this desire with which we are all too familiar, "My heart is in anguish within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me.  Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me.  I said, 'Oh, that I had wings like a dove!  I would fly away and be at rest.  Behold, I would wander far away, I would lodge in the wilderness.  Selah.  I would hasten to my place of refuge from the stormy wind and tempest.'"  David went through many stormy seasons where his life was overshadowed by the thunderheads of death threats and betrayal.  I don't usually think of David as one who would wish to flee from it all.  After all, he took on the Philistine giant as a young boy with little help from any of the grown men who were supposed to be the valiant warriors.  He trusted God.  Still, through the Psalms, he invites us in to see his heart and mind.  There, we see that he was like us.  He felt weighed down and overwhelmed sometimes by his bleak circumstances, and he entertained the thought of just running away from it all.  Running is so much easier than persevering.

            During some of my darker days, the allure of escape has tugged at my heart.  If only I could fly away to a place where no one knew my name, leaving all of my responsibilities, struggles, pressures, wounds, and frustrations as a distant memory.  Better yet, I could find myself an isolated and unknown mountaintop and live out my days as a hidden hermit alone with God.  This siren song tells us that we could find rest, healing, and refuge if we could just leave, if we could just start over, or if we could just escape whatever we're facing.  Some people listen to the song, leaving crushed hearts in their wake, only to find that trouble tends to follow close behind.  There is no true escape from the heartache and weight of this life in running.  Sin resides everywhere on this earth where people are.  Even on the isolated mountain, one sinner remains: you.

David heard the song, but he knew that no true escape could be found in running.  He chose to act on a better way.  He looked to his Maker for the rest, healing, refuge, and hope he so desperately craved.  In Psalm 55:1, David pleads, "Give ear to my prayer, O God; and do not hide Yourself from my supplication."  In verse 22, he encourages us, "Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken." 

God doesn't make life easy for us.  He doesn't always remove us from unpleasant, unjust, or even cruel circumstances the way that we wish He would.  However, He does take care of us and sustain us through it all when we look to Him.  He is available to us, and He listens.  He is our escape.  He lightens our load and gives rest to our souls so that we can keep going.  He is the pure and perfect companion we seek.  He is the only one who is sinless, and He graciously offers His righteousness to us through Jesus.  In turn, we are strengthened to see our circumstances through the lenses of grace and hope, and we are enabled to extend that grace and hope to others. 

Jesus's words in Matthew 11:28-30 echo David's teaching that He alone is our escape: "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  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.  For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."  Similarly, Isaiah teaches, "Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary" (40:31).  There is hope.  There is a way to live life without crumbling under all that is wrong with this world.  It is only found in Jesus.  If you are going to run anywhere, run to Him.  

Marvelous, Matchless Majesty

When I think of Jesus, I must admit I usually picture a simple and inconspicuous man.  I see Him with black hair and a rough beard, skin leathery and darkened by the sun, a neutral-colored tunic, hands calloused and rough from a life of carpentry, and feet dry and dusty from the day's travels.  Usually, my mind places Him sitting alone in prayer, walking alongside His disciples with purposeful and unhurried steps, or standing on a quiet hilltop while teaching with a gentle, yet resolved, authority.  We are comfortable with this picture of Jesus.  We can relate to His humble humanity, and we like His gentleness.  Though this portrait of Him may not be entirely inaccurate (we know that His humanity is very real and that He was not a particularly striking man while on earth), it is certainly incomplete.  Nothing I've said so far would cause the world to be so threatened and offended by Him. 

Psalm 45 gives us an expanded view of Jesus.  Here, He is the King whose very presence emanates power and strength.  He is armed with sword and bow, and He rides into swift and sure victory over His enemies.  His royal splendor and majesty described in this Psalm are foreign concepts to many of us today, especially those of us who live in the United States.  Our culture respects, esteems, and exalts very little other than self.  

Yet, we love stories of great and noble leaders, worthy of all loyalty and even the very lives of their followers.  Thorin Oakenshield's commanding presence, courage, and stubborn devotion to his people and his homeland inspire unwavering faithfulness in his small band of followers.  Aragorn's skill, charisma, tact, passion, integrity, and humility enable him to lead multiple armies into seemingly hopeless battles with boldness and courage.  My husband will be proud of my Tolkien references, but for those who aren't familiar with The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, there is also Aslan: the beloved lion who is the rightful king of Narnia.  He is wise, gentle, loving, and powerful.  Above all of these admirable qualities, these three kings win the hearts of their people, and our hearts, because they are willing to put their own lives on the line for those whom they lead.    

While we can gain at least some small frame of reference from these fictional kings to help us understand Jesus's splendor and majesty, they still fall far short.  Jesus is very real, and not only is He a king, but He is the King of Kings.  He is not only fully human, but He is also fully God.  God!  His righteousness, power, authority, justice, and other kingly traits are not tarnished by sin or limited in their scope.  Instead they are perfect, complete, and infinite.  Not only that, but He laid down His life and paid the sin penalty, not only for those who love Him, but for those who hate Him as well.  Seconds before the dagger was plunged into your heart and my heart, He stepped in the gap and took the blow.  His sacrifice provided salvation for all, though not all will choose to accept that gift through belief.  

When we forget who Jesus really is, it's easy to get inappropriately comfortable with Him.  When we emphasize His humanity without His deity, we bring Him down to our level, and we don't respond to Him the way we should.  Instead of responding with loyal faithfulness and love, courageous obedience, and humble submission, we respond with half-hearted admiration, convenient obedience, or even prideful mutiny.  We rationalize our rebellious, rude, flippant, and apathetic attitudes toward Him by pointing out His patience and forgiveness, but we choose to ignore the fact that He is also the One who will conquer all the governments of this world by the word of His mouth.  Even the dwarves in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey completely transformed in their countenance and behavior when Thorin's arrival was announced by his simple knock on the door.  They responded to his mere presence with a healthy respect and fear.  How much more is Jesus worthy to be exalted, to be set apart in our hearts, to be treated differently, and to be feared?  

I am thankful that Jesus is a human.  He intimately knows my struggles and fears.  He gave us His tangible example to follow.  However, I am also thankful that Jesus is God and the King of Kings.  Psalm 47:1-2 says, "O clap your hands, all peoples; shout to God with the voice of joy.  For the LORD Most High is to be feared, a great King over all the earth."  The fact that we have a Savior who is to be feared is a reason for rejoicing.  We have a righteous and capable Warrior King to follow.  We have a loving Savior who has  all power and authority.  With Him as our Leader, what else or who else in this life is there left to fear?  He is worthy.